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Operation Sindoor: A decisive strike on terrorism, but its backers remain unfazed.

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Exactly five days after my previous op-ed, lamenting at the lack of action by the Indian establishment to such a vile act of terror, a decisive act of retaliation was carried out by the Indian armed forces in the form of Operation Sindoor: a tri-service coordinated series of missile, drone and airstrikes across the length and breadth of Pakistan, hunting for the terrorists, and their hideouts in the terror state. Within minutes, many terror hideouts found themselves as no more than rubble, incapable of serving as launchpads for terror attacks against India for the foreseeable future. The ensuing retaliations, escalations and broader conflict that lasted for four days, served as some of the most tense and heated times the country had seen since the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. Drone swarms, missile strikes, naval threats, fighter jets, air defence, you name it, and it was on the cards. One could say that it was a war for all intents and purposes, in all but name. India claims that...
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The musings of an Indian on the Pahalgam attack and its aftermath.

Before I start this op-ed, I extend my deepest condolences to the victims and families affected by the dastardly and heinous terrorist attack that occurred in Pahalgam in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir on the 22nd of April, 2025. I write this op-ed with anguish, sadness, and anger against the perpetrators of this evil terrorist incident, with a deep longing for justice. I write this op-ed reflecting my musings on this situation and India's response to it. Post the attack, the Prime Minister assured the nation that we would pursue the perpetrators to "the ends of the earth". The subsequent whirlwind meetings held by the Prime Minister at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg (his official residence) suggested an imminent military response to a scale never seen before, being in the works in a clandestine and secretive manner. The admittedly historic decision to hold in abeyance the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, a treaty having survived 3 full-scale wars without issue, reflected India's deep desir...
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The Euroquestion.

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This article is the final one of a series of reports called "The Euroquestion" where we explored the individual future prospects of the leading nations in the European Union. This article now delves into the collective prospects of the EU as a bloc and explores its destiny. The European Union has been widely touted as the largest integrated single market in the world. It has served as a role model for economic cooperation organisations around the world, on how effective and efficient economic integration can be achieved on a bedrock of cooperation and consensus. Although it has seen its fair share of problems, the general consensus is that the EU as an economic entity has achieved relative success. With a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$20.3 trillion, counting the EU as a single entity, it is the 3rd largest economy in the world after the US and China. A wide variety of exports, free economic and political movement between member states, and a heavily integrated, ...
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The Euroquestion #3 | Italy

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This article is a part of a new series of reports called "The Euroquestion" where we explore the individual future prospects of the leading nations in the European Union, and then delve into the collective prospects of the EU as a bloc and explore its destiny. Italy, being one of the "Big 3" economic powers of Europe, is in a period of great flux, both in its internal affairs, as well as its affairs within the European Union. As one of the few countries in Europe that are ruled by a right-wing government, namely the Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) under the incumbent prime minister Giorgia Meloni, it is signalling a shift from its traditional post-WWII stances, through tougher stances on immigration and economic austerity. With a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2.46 trillion, Italy is a major player in the economic affairs of the European Union, with its famed luxury goods, products and automobile industries, with a perception of luxury and quality asso...
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The Euroquestion #2 | France

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This article is a part of a new series of reports called "The Euroquestion" where we explore the individual future prospects of the leading nations in the European Union, and then delve into the collective prospects of the EU as a bloc and explore its destiny. France's president Emmanuel Macron has just concluded a pivotal visit to the United States, where Ukraine was taken up along with many other significant issues. This visit is proving to be a consequential visit for the future of the war in Ukraine, and its future course. Through this step by the French government, France is seeming to signal its intent of assuming a more proactive role in European security policy, with regards to its internal security, as well as outside the European Union, with its advanced involvement in the Indo-Pacific, through its strategy for the region. With a nominal GDP of US$3.2 trillion, France is one of the three leading economies of the European Union, and with a GDP growth of 0.7% in 2...
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The Euroquestion #1 | Germany

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This article is a part of a new series of reports called "The Euroquestion" where we explore the individual future prospects of the leading nations in the European Union, and then delve into the collective prospects of the EU as a bloc and explore its destiny. Germany has just concluded its federal snap elections, where the centre-right Christian Democratic Union along with its sister party, the Christian Social Union of Bavaria looks set to form the incoming government under the chancellorship of Friedrich Merz. As of now, the coalition partner remains undecided, but the CDU/CSU looks to be in the driver's seat in terms of the broad governing agenda. Today, Germany is suffering from widespread economic stagnation with its gross domestic product (GDP) contracting by 0.2% in the 2024 calendar year and by 0.3% in 2023. This is considered a recession by most economists, which does not bode well for a country claiming to be the "economic leader" of the European Unio...
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World (trade) War III has begun*.

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The White House I, Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>  via Wikimedia Commons The United States under the current administration, has started to leverage its position in the global order by means of weaponizing its economic dominance. This has come at quite a tumultuous time for the global order, and global economic politics. The US has declared that it will impose a tariff of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico, with China facing an additional 10% tariff over and above the existing rate 1 . This reflects the US' increasing desire to distance itself from the global economic order, or rather its role in the global economic order of propping up its allies. This move signifies arguably the most significant economic policy shift since World War II, when the US started to dole out money to stop the spread of communism into Europe under the Marshall Plan. The new America is a nation that is looking to create an own "walled garden" ...
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