India Won the Battle, Can It Win the Story?

0n December 31, 1999, while the world celebrated the arrival of the new millennium, the mood outside India's Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi was sombre. I stood among the journalists, waiting anxiously for news about Flight IC 814-hijacked six days earlier en route from Kathmandu to Delhi and diverted to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Backed by Pakistan-based terrorist groups, the hijackers demanded the release of jailed militants. Under immense public pressure and with no viable military option,...

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After ceasefire, a reckoning

Did Operation Sindoor (OS) advance India's national interest? The answer depends as much on political common sense as it does on expert knowledge of strategic affairs and foreign policy. What is our national interest? Or, whose interest is our national interest? Who decides what is in our national interest? These are political questions that cannot be left to experts. An assessment must begin by defending the Narendra Modi government from two unfair criticisms, one from warmongers and the other fro...

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Operation Sindoor: A New Benchmark against terrorism

My dear countrymen, Namaskar! In the past days, we all have witnessed both the strength and patience of our country. First of all, on behalf of the people of India, I salute the valiant forces of India, the armed forces, our intelligence agencies, and our scientists. Our brave soldiers displayed immense courage to achieve the objectives of Operation Sindoor. I pay tribute to their bravery, courage and valour. I dedicate this valour to every mother, every sister and every daughter of the country. ...

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മറ്റെല്ലാം മറന്ന് രാജ്യത്തിനുവേണ്ടി അണിനിരക്കുക

നമ്മുടെ രാജ്യം പ്രത്യേക സാഹചര്യം നേരിടുന്ന ഒരു ഘട്ടമാണിത്. അത് നമ്മുടെ രാജ്യത്തിനുനേരെ നടന്ന ഭീകരാക്രമണത്തിൻ്റെ ഫലമായി ഉണ്ടായതാണ്. നിർഭാഗ്യരായ നമ്മുടെ സഹോദരങ്ങൾ കൊലചെയ്യപ്പെടാനിടയായ ...

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ലിപ്സ്റ്റിക്കിടും പൊട്ടുതൊടും 'നിങ്ങൾ പറഞ്ഞുകൊള്ളൂ, പക്ഷേ വീ ഡോണ്ട് കെയർ'

പഹൽഗാമിലെ ഭീകരാക്രമണത്തിൽ കൺമുന്നിൽ അച്ഛനെ നഷ്ടമായ ആരതി രാമചന്ദ്രൻ പറയുന്നു:   ‘പഹൽഗാം അനുഭവം എന്റെ ജീവിത കാഴ്‌ചപ്പാടിനെ ആകെ മാറ്റിത്തീർത്തു. നമ്മൾ എത്ര സമാധാനത്തിലാണ് നാട്ടിൽ ജീ...

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An Artist with a view PRITHVIRAJ SUKUMARAN

Prithviraj Sukumaran is no revolutionary in the garb of a filmmaker, but the nature and full wrath of the ruling establishment and make one look so. The Malayali actor-director has been experiencing just that since the release of his third directorial L2:Empuraan, starring Mohanlal, which has a 15-minute sequence of what appears to be references to the Gujarat riots of 2002 as well as criticism of central investigative agencies. The right-wing backlash has been relentless. Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece...

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എമ്പുരാനായാലും തമ്പുരാനായാലും കട്ട് വരും കട്ടായം

മോഹൻലാൽ നായകനായി അഭിനയിച്ച എൽ-2: എമ്പുരാൻ ചിത്രം ഉണ്ടാക്കിയ പുകിലും പൊല്ലാപ്പും ചില്ലറയല്ല. സമീപകാലത്ത് അഭിപ്രായ സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യത്തിനും മാധ്യമ സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യത്തിനുമെതിരെ ഉയർന്നുവന്ന വലിയ വെ...

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No jokes please, we're Indian

To call a film "brave" is a fragile compliment because it is not so much about the film itself as about the context in which the film was made and released: "hand on the primal bone/... taking the word from the stream/Fighting the sand for speech, fighting the stone", as the poet Dom Moraes said. To call a film "brave" is to demand a society where such words need not be used the act of this film being exceptional is in the hope that one day such films might be unexceptional. ...

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