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1 week ago | 
thefridaytimes.com | Rohinee Singh
The other night, I found my seven-year-old son leaping from sofa to sofa, clutching a plastic jet in one hand and shouting, “Strike! Strike! Target destroyed!” When I asked what he was playing, he replied with wide-eyed enthusiasm, “Like on TV! India is winning the war again!” He had no idea what war really meant—no clue of blood, loss, or diplomacy. But he had clearly absorbed the nightly theatre of Indian news channels, where toy planes have grown into TRP missiles.
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1 month ago | 
thefridaytimes.com | Rohinee Singh
For over a decade, India’s Muslims have felt the squeeze of second-class citizenship in a country constitutionally committed to secularism. Amidst growing communal cacophony elsewhere, Punjab has stood apart, an island of interfaith harmony. But that delicate equilibrium now faces an uncertain future after the Indian Parliament’s passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025.
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2 months ago | 
thefridaytimes.com | Rohinee Singh
At a time when properties linked to the family of Pakistan’s first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, in Muzaffarnagar, have been declared "enemy property" by the Indian government, another piece of his legacy continues to stand tall in the heart of Delhi. The elegant two-story residence, once known as Gul-e-Rana and now called Pakistan House, serves as the residence of Pakistan’s High Commissioner. It also hosted the first Pakistani Embassy in Delhi, soon after the Partition.
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Feb 13, 2025 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Rohinee Singh
A decade ago, both Pakistan and India saw the rise of political mavericks—Imran Khan and Arvind Kejriwal—who promised to cleanse the system, end corruption, and bring governance back to the people. Both men rode the wave of public frustration, presenting themselves as crusaders against entrenched elites.
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Feb 1, 2025 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Rohinee Singh
Election season is here in Delhi, and for housewives like me, it feels like I’ve just stumbled into a grand game show where the contestants are politicians, and the grand prize is our vote! Delhi goes to polls on February 5. Every day brings a new dazzling promise—free bus and metro rides, subsidised LPG, direct cash transfers—at this rate, I might soon start expecting a golden rolling pin and a VIP pass to grocery stores.
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Jan 15, 2025 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Rohinee Singh
The recent passing of Dr Manmohan Singh, India’s first Sikh Prime Minister, serves as a poignant reminder not only of his triumphs, but the overall resilience of the Sikh community. His journey from the devastating upheaval of partition to the pinnacle of political leadership—symbolises the indomitable spirit of a community that has consistently turned adversity into opportunity.
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Oct 12, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Rohinee Singh
In the shadows of the mighty Pir Panjal range, a tale of political resilience and regional identity unfolded in Jammu and Kashmir this week. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), despite its access to official machinery, substantial electoral weight (at least in other parts of the country) and strategic manoeuvrings, has failed yet again to secure a significant presence in the disputed Kashmir Valley and the Muslim majority region of Jammu in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
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Sep 5, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Rohinee Singh
It has been a decade of significant political shifts in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, marked by the Indian government's decision to revoke autonomy and divide the state into two centrally administered territories in August 2019. It was also followed by attempts at demographic and electoral reconfiguration, including the controversial gerrymandering of assembly seats.
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Aug 6, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Rohinee Singh
In the picturesque yet tumultuous region of Indian Jammu and Kashmir, the impact of political decisions echo against the backdrop of the Himalayas, shaping lives and landscapes. On August 5, 2019, the history of this storied land saw a significant turning point after the Indian government decided to revoke the disputed region's special constitutional status.
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Aug 2, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Rohinee Singh
Hindu nationalists in India have long viewed Israel as a model of sorts. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) patriarch Lal Krishna Advani established the Indo-Israel Friendship Group in Mumbai during the 1960s. Despite this historical affinity, when the BJP eventually came to power in 1998 under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and later in 2014 under Narendra Modi, the official policy towards Israel and Palestine has remained consistent: support for the Palestinian cause and advocacy for a two-state solution.
