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1 day ago | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Anand Mishra |Sushanta Talukdar |Vaishna Roy
Dear readers,With less than five months to go for the Bihar election—where dynasts have claimed seats across party lines—a new D has entered the political lexicon: damad, or son-in-law. Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), frequently attacked for its family-first politics—Rabri Devi is an MLC, two sons are MLAs, one daughter is an MP—has now gone on the offensive, accusing the Nitish Kumar-led government of institutionalising damadwaad.
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4 days ago | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Anand Mishra |C.S. Venkiteswaran |Vaishna Roy
On June 9, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, referring to an article that he wrote in The Indian Express, made a post on the X.com social media platform titled “How to steal an election? Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step.”These were the “steps” he listed: “Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission. Step 2: Add fake voters to the rolls. Step 3: Inflate voter turnout.
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2 weeks ago | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Anand Mishra |C.S. Venkiteswaran |Vaishna Roy
Dear reader, Caste is not a cuss word in politics, but it is certainly a controversial one. Which is why no party’s position on it is cast in stone. Like shifting sand, the stance of major political players—especially the Congress and the BJP—has swayed with the winds of electoral arithmetic and social pressure. Their contortions have raised more than a few eyebrows. Take, for instance, the long saga of the 2015 Social and Educational Survey in Karnataka.
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4 weeks ago | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Anand Mishra |Vivek Katju |Vaishna Roy
Dear readers,Politics is a game of hard-nosed calculations. On the other hand, love—pyar, preethi, premam, kaadhal, or whatever you want to call it—has never really bothered with practicalities. So what happens when the messy impulsiveness of love collides with the cold pragmatism of politics? We got a glimpse last week, thanks to Tej Pratap Yadav.
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1 month ago | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Anand Mishra |Gowhar Geelani |Vaishna Roy
Dear readers,When Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on May 12, following air strikes against terror hubs in Pakistan, he didn’t invoke the usual tropes of the Line of Control or the Line of Actual Control. Instead, he reached for a line etched deep in Hindu mythology: the Lakshman Rekha. “India’s Lakshman Rekha against terrorism is absolutely clear,” he declared.
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1 month ago | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Anand Mishra |Gowhar Geelani |Vaishna Roy
By May 14, when the Congress announced a nationwide series of “Jai Hind” rallies accusing the BJP of politicising “Operation Sindoor”, the party had largely calibrated its response to the Modi government’s handling of the recent Indo-Pak conflict. This came a day after the BJP launched its 11-day Tiranga Yatra (May 13–23), aimed at highlighting the government’s response to Pakistan—a country it repeatedly called a “rogue state”—and at instilling national pride and unity.
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1 month ago | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Anand Mishra |Gowhar Geelani |Vaishna Roy
Dear readers,Indian politics often flirts with the melodramatic and sometimes leaps straight into the bizarre. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something even stranger comes along. This time, it was a video clip that went viral: a man in a saffron scarf pouring milk over a portrait of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi. A Hindu youth offering a “milk bath” to a leader often demonised as a hardline Muslim by Hindutva trolls?
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1 month ago | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Anand Mishra |Gowhar Geelani |Vaishna Roy
The Centre’s sudden announcement on April 30 to conduct a caste census seems to have thrown poll-bound Bihar’s politics into turmoil. Coming just six months before the Assembly election, the move will force all parties to recalibrate their strategies.
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1 month ago | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Anand Mishra |Gowhar Geelani |Vaishna Roy
The Union government’s decision to include caste enumeration in the next census marks a significant departure from the BJP’s earlier dithering and the RSS’s caution on the issue. It is a move with far-reaching ramifications for the polity.
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1 month ago | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Anand Mishra |Gowhar Geelani |Vaishna Roy
Dear readers,What’s in a name? An alarming lot, apparently, especially if you live in New India, where non-partisan critique is becoming an unaffordable luxury. Find fault not with a military operation, but merely with its name, and you’re branded a traitor. If your shop is named after a city in Pakistan, no amount of historical vindication will stop the mob. Take the case of the now-notorious Karachi Bakery.
