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The Decapitation Gamble: Hegemony, Pyrrhic Victories, and the Coming Political Reckoning

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Picture of Israeli Attack on Teheran Mehr (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)   The dust has seemingly begun to settle on the most significant escalation in the Middle East in decades. Following the April 8, 2026, ceasefire , a new and unsettling landscape is emerging. While the immediate thunder of "Operation Epic Fury" has silenced, the geopolitical ripples suggest that we are not witnessing the end of a conflict, but rather a violent recalibration of its terms—one where "victory" is a word used by leaders who may soon be out of a job. Provided this peace goes through, quite a few interesting outcomes are visible. 1. Striking the Head of the Hydra For years, the strategy was defined by "mowing the grass"—degrading proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah. In 2026, the doctrine shifted from the limbs to the "head of the hydra." By moving beyond containment to direct strikes on Iranian command structures and nuclear infrastructure, the U.S. and Israel attem...
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The Puzzle of Affordable Housing in India - What Do We Need to Understand About it to Solve It

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Affordable housing is a subject that can generate a lot of passion from every walk of society. Yes, affordable housing is a need. But what is it needed for? Who is it needed for? Where should it be? No one seems to be able to answer it properly. What constitutes affordable housing? What is the paradigm through which it should be seen? These are questions that fundamentally need to be addressed. Housing is a function of demand and supply, or so is the thinking usually. However, it is not so simple. Housing is a response as well to the economic functioning of any city. Economic geography’s Bid Rent Theory, despite its limitations, points out that housing prices decrease with distance from a city center due to competition for prime land. This theory came up to explain the lack of affordable housing in the city centre, and was primarily linked to the idea of a “Central Business District (CBD)” driving a city’s economic growth. On the surface, it seems a fair theory, and one may assume that...
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Blurring the Boundary - To What End Will Local Traditions be Ignored

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People visiting DC Office in Kullu to register their protest against eco village (courtesy: ETV Bharat) In the cacophony of daily news, once again stories that we would be concerned about have been buried. Stories that should have gained attention and made you wonder if it is okay to test the boundaries and limits on bending traditions in the name of development rarely get discussed in the national media. Asking questions of late have become a matter of abuse and vilification of people of the region, with accusations of selfishness coming forth. Protests have started in Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh against an upcoming tourist resort in Kasol. The bone of contention is the diversion of the water from the natural hot springs of Manikaran towards this “eco park” , a harebrained idea that only a typically deracinated system and its machinery can conceive. Ecological challenges are clearly not thought of, but what is worse is that the hot springs, believed to have associations with Shiva...
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