- The idea that India is losing clout in the neighbourhood has recently become a special cause for anxiety among Delhi’s commentariat. But is this phenomenon really new? A longer look at India’s regional diplomacy suggests that Delhi has always been losing some and winning some in the region, explains C Raja Mohan in the Indian Express.
- Gone are the days of hoping to trasnform India into a thriving $5 trillion economy by 2025, says William Pesek in Forbes. Nowadays, conversations focus on whether India could be the first member of the BRICs grouping – Brazil, Russia, India, China – to bedowngraded to “junk” status.
- Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Tandhi have gained an upper hand – at least for today, writes Javed Ansari on NDTV.com.
- Would a Universal Basic Income make us lazy or creative? In Bloomberg, Andreas Kluth explores the results of a new study.
- From GST to the farm bills, the Modi government has been riding roughshod over the states. But India is a Union of states for good reason, and its diversity and plurality cannot be managed on the economic front through hierarchical fiat, explains Rathin Roy in the Business Standard.
- Jaswant Singh stood at a slight angle to the universe, writes Sunanda K Dutta-Ray in the Telegraph.
- Can the Modi govenrment’s new labour laws help Indian manufacturing catch up with Vietnam and Bangladesh in attracting companies exiting China, asks TN Ninan in the Business Standard.
- The study of German jurist and Nazi party member Carl Schmitt has exploded in China. The reason explains Jackson T. Reinhardt in Inquiries in is that Schmitt was a political philosopher of illiberalism.
- Did Xi Jinping just save the world by committing China to strict carbon emmission targets, asks Adam Tooze in Foreign Policy.
- United States President Donald Trump is the ultimate triumph of neoliberalism, notes Branco Milanovic in Global Policy.
Reading
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1
A restaurant menu from 1935 is a reminder of how much Bombay has changed
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2
A book on Delhi’s histories recounts how Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s shrine became a pilgrimage site
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3
Not all private property can be redistributed by government for common good, says Supreme Court
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4
How did Surat become the setting for an 18th-century French story?
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5
Why Nawab Wajid Ali Shah appointed his lovers to important positions in his court
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6
Science fiction: Jagat is frozen in stasis for 100 years for a crime he may not have committed
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7
‘Illegal’ immigration, fiscal conservatism: What’s driving Indian-American support for Donald Trump
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8
‘Iru’: A biography in motion about anthropologist Irawati Karve, who lived life on her own terms
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9
How an Indian journalist ended up playing a role in the history of three countries
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10
‘Keep your eye on the prize’: Director Mira Nair shares the lessons she learned along the way