ALL his life, Dr Jayant Vishnu Narlikar kept expanding the domain of science as a scientist with relentless pursuit of knowledge. His passing away at the age of 87 has brought curtains on a blazing era in Indian science, global astrophysics and science education. His life steeped in knowledge, seeking to stretch the huge spectrum of science further, has left a legacy that cannot be confined only to laboratories and observatories. Dr Narlikar has left a trail of pioneering contributions to cosmology ..

T HE scheduled Indian tour of England for a Test series was eagerly awaited by cricket fans for a special reason. It was supposed to be the last outing for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in whites for India. Instead, an anti-climax has unfolded for the fans with the twin retirements of the veterans. A few days after Rohit Sharma announced his departure from Test cricket, Kohli followed suit much to the chagrin of his long legion of fans. The King of Red-Ball Cricket has brought an abrupt end to his ..

DEFENCE Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh has raised a very important issue for the world’s consideration. He has said, given its vulnerability to pressure from terrorist ecosystem, Pakistan’s nuclear facilities -- of production of N-arms and their storage -- should be brought under a close monitoring of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Possibly such a monitoring may not be in actual mandate of the IAEA -- and a separate arrangement may have to be sought. Nevertheless, the point Mr. Rajnath ..

PRIME Minister Mr. Narendra Modi did a great job personally nailing Pakistani canard about its forces destroying the runway and the air defence system and the fighter jets of the Indian Air Force at the Adampur Air Force base in Punjab in the recent strikes. The Prime Minister arrived at the Adampur Air Force base, shook hands with the senior brass, mingled happily with the air warriors, raised slogans such as ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jay’ and ‘Vande Mataram’, gave a no-nonsense message in his speech that ..

THE “new normal” India is working at currently is a condition that every Indian had always wanted. And to everybody’s delight, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi is leading this “new normal” initiative against terrorism. The current period, thus, may be described as the most awaited phase in India’s counter-terrorism measures -- that the Prime Minister wants to be “bigger and stronger”. The purpose of this initiative is clear: India must communicate to terrorists that no place in Pakistan is ever safe ..

PAKISTAN is acting true to its own nature. When the Indian Armed Forces conducted precision-strikes on specific terror targets at nine locations, they took care that their action was non-escalatory and spared civilians from any negative impact. They also refrained to hit any military targets in Pakistan. The idea was simple: India did not want to give Pakistan any reason to complain or to accuse India of having taken wrong steps. That good gesture, however, made no difference to Pakistan. For, when ..

FOR this very moment, the nation had been waiting -- the moment of reckoning, the moment of assertion of Indian pride ! Of course, the nation had already decided to teach Pakistan a lesson. It only waited for the right moment. And the moment came -- and will stay frozen in India’s collective memory forever. India will never forget the precision missile strikes on nine terrorist locations in Pakistan and Occupied Kashmir. Every Indian person takes this is as only a beginning of a sustained action of ..

STATEDLY, understandably, comprehensively, decidedly, unitedly, India is getting ready for war with Pakistan. In the past few days since the Pahalgam attack, the whole nation is waiting for the Government to take decisive military action against the rogue State of Pakistan. And now, with the Ministry of Home Affairs ordering nationwide civil defence drills, the atmosphere appears ripe for ‘action’ which may come any time, given the signals emanating from corridors of power. The moment of reckoning ..

FOR Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought with it a massive challenge of transition. As the 18th year brings new challenges of adulthood in a human’s life, the 18th edition has thrown up the same question for CSK -- What Next? Always a darling of the crowd, even from opposition teams, the CSK have remained totally off-colour in this entire season. They have become the first team to get knocked out of the play-offs race and now stare at the possibility ..

PRIME Minister Mr. Narendra Modi presented to the country a new horizon of achievement of excellence and top position in what he described as “Orange economy” -- by way of which he expected the Indian people to make the best utilisation of three pillars: Content, Creativity, and Culture. ‘Use these three pillars to create new humane expressions for the country and for the world’, he said in effect, as the country’s creative community in art and culture applauded his vision. The ‘World Audio-Visual ..

THAT the Armed forces have full freedom to decide the mode, the target, and the timing of the country’s response to Pahalgam terror strike, means India has moved its preparedness to hit back to another level. This is something the entire country had been waiting for. This green signal by a high-level meeting of Defence Minister, National Security Advisor, chiefs of three Forces under Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s chairmanship demonstrates India’s heightened readiness to teach Pakistan a lesson ..

A STITCH in time saves nine. This adage has timeless wisdom in it, not only for individuals but also for the nations. With the ongoing tension with Pakistan, thanks to the terror-sponsoring nation’s latest misadventure in Pahalgam in Kashmir, the Central Government has asked the States to track and deport Pakistani nationals. Accordingly, the States also have initiated measures. As a response to the prevailing situation, this move is alright. However, had the above adage been followed on a regular ..

THE strong measures India has taken to teach Pakistan a tough lesson after the Pahalgam terrorist attack on tourists may appear to many as appropriate. However, having known what Pakistan is and how it has been behaving for the past 75-plus years, it must be emphasised that all the diplomatic and other measures -- including the unilateral suspension of the Indus Water treaty -- are just not enough if weighed against the sins Pakistan has been indulging in all along. India needs to take some sterner ..

THE Pahalgam terror strike targetting tourists should be treated as the last straw on the camel’s back. The Government should now live by its own promise that the perpetrators of the crime would be made to pay for their sin. But this must happen immediately -- possibly in the next couple of days in the most merciless manner. If the Government fails to comply with this, then it will prove itself as incompetent. In the past few days, Kashmir is witnessing increased terrorist activity -- keeping the ..

A HUMANOID robot named Tien Kung Ultra crossing the finish line at the world’s inaugural humanoid robot halfmarathon in Beijing on Saturday, instantly triggered a debate worldwide if the robots are to replace humans and how it would impact various sports. But, the debate appears to be unfounded at least at this point in time. For, whatever be the technological advancements, they cannot replace the values that humans represent. Humans have nothing to worry about at least now...

VICE President Mr. Jagdeep Dhankhar hit the nail on its head when he said that the judiciary cannot act as a ‘Super Parliament’ and direct even the President of India to set timeline for taking decisions. The reference was clear -- to the direction of the honourable Supreme Court to decide the timeline for making up her mind on the assent to the Bill kept reserved by the Governor. Mr. Dhankhar felt that the Supreme Court was going beyond its brief to issue such directives to the executive -- which ..

EVERY Indian person is in a joyous mood as the city of New York has declared April 14 as ‘Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Day’, thus indicating how the world sees the great emancipator of the down-trodden. Union Minister Dr. Ramdas Athawale, therefore, rightly stated at the United Nations that Dr. Ambedkar’s advocacy for equity, justice for all, and human dignity of the down-trodden resonates far beyond Indian borders, pointing to the fact that Dr. Ambedkar is a global icon. Even as the world recognises the tremendous ..

THE arrest of economic offender Mehul Choksi by the Belgian authorities on India’s extradition request is a step forward in bringing to justice everybody who harms national interests in this or that way. The arrest on Saturday -- was confirmed by the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice -- proves that India has been pursuing its agenda of correction of the wrong on economic front (by whosoever) in all sincerity. This arrest also tells the story of how Mehul Choksi had been evading being booked ..

INDIA has delivered a hard blow on the face of Bangladesh by terminating the 2020 agreement that allowed trans-shipment of export goods from that country to other (third) countries such as Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. From now on, Bangladesh will not be able to use land-ports and air-ports in India to send its goods to third countries. In financial terms, this may mean a loss of countless millions of dollars to Bangladesh -- which is already smarting under severe economic constraints, thanks to its ..

SINCE its inception in 1980, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that celebrated its 45th anniversary of foundation two days ago has become the country’s political totem pole offering multiple benchmarks for other parties to follow or live by or assess their own value and values. Boasting of itself as the world’s largest political party, the BJP, today, has every reason to celebrate its success not just at the hustings but in every sphere in which it touched people’s lives in ways beyond common imagination. ..

THE ‘Liberation Day’ promised by United States President Mr. Donald Trump has spooked markets all over the world after the reciprocal-tariff regime took shape from April 2, 2025. The tariffs vary from country to country but mostly affect all economies as Mr. Trump is going by his promise made to domestic electors of Making America Great Again. Many economies are severely hit while some are still assessing the outcome of the reciprocal tariffs by the United States. In the melee is India, taking a burden ..

TO describe the bilateral relations between India and China as a (dragon-elephant) tango is just preposterous. On the ground, what is witnessed is only a tangle whose loose ends are just not visible or available to untangle the innumerable knots that block any proper definition from being attempted. Yet, on the 75th anniversary of relations between the two countries, Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping has chosen to use the word tango - - meaning ‘dance’ -- of the Chinese dragon and the Indian elephant. ..

PRIME Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s description of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as the Akshay Vat -- timeless banyan tree -- on the centenary of the iconic organisation creates a grand picture of the contribution the RSS has made to India’s cultural persona in the past one hundred years. The metaphor just fits well -- of a massive, timeless spread of the banyan tree with countless stilt-roots adding value to the grandeur of the great canopy under which Indian culture has stood protected and ..

  THE walk-out of the Rajya Sabha Business Advisory Committee meeting by Rajya Sabha Chairman (and Vice President ) Mr. Jagdeep Dhankhar citing “lack of decorum” should come as an eye-opener to everybody. The news item about the inci..

LOK Sabha Leader of Opposition Mr. Rahul Gandhi does not appear willing to give his bad habit of levelling false charges against Speaker Mr. Om Birla. Mr. Gandhi has once again accused Mr. Birla of running the Lok Sabha proceedings in “non-democratic” style. That was so because Mr. Om Birla had cautioned him against violation of norms and regulations of the House. In response, Mr. Gandhi accused the Speaker of not allowing him to speak -- a charge he has made on numerous occasions in the past as well. ..