Editorial

Editorial

From Colonial Rule to Editorial Rule: The Correspondent Raj

We are told that India threw off the colonial yoke in 1947, built a vibrant democracy, and developed an independent press that speaks truth to power. We love telling ourselves this story. It makes us feel good about our post-colonial journey, our intellectual evolution, our hard-won sovereignty. Except—It'

Editorial

The Architecture of Falling Apart

I had not expected that grief would be so disorienting. The experts speak of 'stages'—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance—as if loss was a metro line with clearly marked stops. They do not mention that you will Google 'how to feel normal again' at 3

Editorial

Pakistan is not a Failed State. It's a Wildly Successful Scam

Tell me if you nod along with any of this: Pakistan is a struggling democracy, victim of colonial legacy, fighting terrorism while managing complex regional dynamics. Western foreign policy experts make sense when they talk about "strategic partnerships." Indian liberals have a point about "people-to-people connections"

Editorial

Your God Is Your Prison Warden

Dear defender of the faith. You think you're seeking truth, don't you? You've got your worldview all mapped out—your beliefs about God, politics, human nature, whatever gets you through the day. You've built yourself a nice little ideological fortress, and you

Editorial

Dear Atheists, You're Still Religious

Dear atheists. I get it. I really do. You figured out Santa Claus was not real around age eight, and you've been applying that same ruthless logic to everything since. God? Mythology. Soul? Brain chemistry. Meaning? Human construct. Purpose? Evolutionary accident. You've stripped away the comforting

Editorial

The Sweetness of Cultural Suicide

People without roots don't fight back. That's why they cut yours. You think losing your culture happened naturally? You think forgetting your family's stories, abandoning your traditions, and feeling ashamed of your ancestors' ways is just "progress"? Wake up. This was

Editorial

Karma Isn't Police

The popular narrative goes like this: karma is cosmic justice. Some divine scoreboard where bad people get their comeuppance and good people win lottery tickets. You've probably nodded along to this sanitized, Westernized idiocy while sipping your 'chai tea', thinking karma works like some celestial court

Editorial

Whose Rules Are You Playing By?

Your cousin gets into Harvard. The whole family shares the Facebook post. Your aunt calls everyone she knows. Banners are put up. And you feel it too - that swell of pride, that sense of "we made it." But here's what you don't realize

Editorial

The Woman Who Never Existed (And Why You Believed She Did)

There you were, scrolling through your feed, feeling good about sharing that inspiring story of Fatima Sheikh—India's pioneering Muslim woman teacher, a forgotten hero finally getting her due. You hit "share" with that warm glow of righteousness, didn't you? Because this is exactly

Editorial

Caring For Show

Last week, I watched my friend Ragini—lovely person, theater professional, animal lover—post seventeen stories about a crisis she'd literally never mentioned before. Not once. In years of casual conversations, this particular injustice had never crossed her lips. But seventeen Instagram stories in four hours? She was

Editorial

Washington's Holy War

Dear America, We need to talk. You think you're the good guys, don't you? You believe your government spreads democracy, fights terrorism, and makes the world safer. You've been told that your relationship with unsavory characters is regrettable but necessary—the price of operating

Editorial

The Country That Shouldn't Exist

Dear Western mind, let me guess what happened when you first tried to understand India. You pulled out your map of the world. Clean borders, color-coded countries, everything in its proper place. Developed nations in blue, developing ones in yellow. Religious societies over here, secular ones over there. Traditional cultures