Sadanand Dhume

Republicans who call Zohran Mamdani an Islamist are speaking nonsense. But the mayoral candidate does represent a de facto alliance between Islamists and the left based on a shared antipathy toward Israel. [My take]

The BJP has obviously not created a dynasty. Modi has no children, and nobody in their right mind thinks Jay Shah will ever be PM. You could, however, argue that Modi has ended the collective decision-making culture of the BJP. Vajpayee-Advani (or at times Advani-Vajpayee)…

If you think of India’s old license-permit raj as a way to enhance productivity it was obviously bonkers. But if you think of it instead as a sophisticated system to extract bribes from businessmen it was well designed. [From “Backstage: The Story Behind India’s High Growth…

TOI edit: “The larger point is that we no longer naturally assume that constitutional office holders will maintain the dignity of their office.” [Filed under true, but sadly not new.]

I wonder if Hungary and Finland have political parties whose followers would get upset to learn that their language originated in Siberia. cc: ⁦@razibkhan⁩ news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/…

“Consider what Milei has achieved in just a year and a half. When he was sworn in as president in December 2023, the Argentine economy was a seemingly incurable basket case. In 2023, its gross domestic product had shrunk by 1.6 percent, according to the International Monetary…

Moral of the Anil Ambani story: Even post-liberalization, wheeling-dealing can get you far in Indian business, but it’s not enough to have it as your ONLY skill.

What made Indian VP Jagdeep Dhankhar suddenly quit his job midstream? @sheela2010 has the goods. rediff.com/news/special/m…

“Minus economic leverage, India is not a vishwa guru, or even a vishwa mitra; it is a vishwa also-ran.”

I don’t hate NPR. I’ve appeared on it as a guest many times, and have always been impressed by the quality of its journalism. There is nothing on right wing radio that approaches NPR’s thoroughness and professionalism, though the right does have some good podcasts. But it’s also…

It turns out that random Reddit dude wasn’t the only Indian impressed by Kuala Lumpur. Back in 1990, Prime Minister V.P. Singh also noticed its transformation. Source: Backstage by Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

No offense meant to PTI fans, but let’s be honest. In the subcontinent, a crowd this small is an embarrassment not an achievement. #Pakistan

Pakistani liberals who speak out against the horror of blasphemy killings are among the bravest people in the subcontinent. But it’s hard to be optimistic about this question. Maybe (at best) we’ll reach a point where the threat of blasphemy killings becomes less common. But I…

One of the strangest things about Pakistan is that its journalists and influencers spend 100x as much time criticizing Israel’s actions in distant Gaza than they do criticizing their own government’s actions in next door Afghanistan.

I think @VivekGRamaswamy is right. Mamdani’s opponents should focus on his batshit crazy ideas, not on his race or religion.

This is a pretty balanced take by @davidfolkenflik on how public broadcasting in the U.S. lost bipartisan support, though anyone who follows this issue knows that conservatives dislike Katherine Maher not just for supporting Biden and condemning Trump, but for being almost a…

Trump: “Planes were being shot out of the air. Five…four or five, but I think five jets were shot down actually.” [My 2¢: This squares with both credible international reporting and what Indians will admit to privately. Someone who follows this stuff closely told me India lost…

“India is alone among the founding BRICS members in wanting to reduce China’s sway in world affairs.” v ⁦@travelli⁩ nytimes.com/2025/07/18/bus…