Some things to Reconsider

  For a decade now, the oratory from India’s right-wing leadership has been less about neighbourly affection and more about fanning fears, feeding bigotry, and occasionally—just for sport. In today’s hyper-connected world, foreign policy is no longer defined solely by strategic alliances, trade deals, or ceremonial photo opportunities between heads of state. Modern diplomacy now unfolds not just in official channels but also across the vast, unruly terrain of social media. Among the most affected is our immediate neighbourhood, where we are deeply intertwined through geography, history, and shared cultural ties. Yet, despite these affinities, New Delhi's soft power diplomacy has come under strain, partly due to the unchecked and inflammatory rhetoric proliferating across social and televised media landscapes. Take Bangladesh for example. Over the last few years, Indian political leaders have made several controversial remarks that have not gone unnoticed across the eastern bord...

  Shobhaa De’s column “Sindoor Was Modi’s Finest Hour” reads like a Page 3 party report dressed in fatigues .   Her mention about a cordial exchange in a London café is heartening, but does little to reflect the deeper, unresolved tensions between the two nations. —as if war and diplomacy are settled over Earl Grey and polite nods. War is not a fashion show. It’s not a soap opera where symbolic Sindoor and gender-balanced briefings make for strategic brilliance. Two women officers giving press conferences may be a welcome sight—but let’s not pretend it changes the cost of conflict or the calculus of deterrence. And then—out of nowhere—She crowns a new trinity: Modi the statesman, Tharoor the global Indian, and Abdullah the reborn moderate. I’ve seen stranger combinations, but not many. This isn’t analysis. It’s narrative airbrushing. She skips over international reaction, the fragile regional balance, the blowback that may still come. Instead, she takes a swipe at Trump, calli...