Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia
News
News
Recent News
The realm that is the intersection of politics and economics is encountering a weighty paradox in India. The Modi government is exercising mastery over the
political domain, but the problems of the Indian economy are growing worse. The chasm between increasing political domination and deepening economic frailties may not be bridgeable without serious reform.
Read Article
political domain, but the problems of the Indian economy are growing worse. The chasm between increasing political domination and deepening economic frailties may not be bridgeable without serious reform.
It has been nearly two years since the 2024 national elections. How should we conceptualise the state of Indian politics today? Are there any significant reasons for concern?
Read Article
The Telegraph Online
Yamini Aiyar: Ways of seeing
Did the SIR with its deletions and active disenfranchisement of over 27 lakh voters propel the BJP to power in West Bengal? This is the question that is dominating the political debate
Read Article
Hindustan Times
Yamini Aiyar: Delimitation, with a new federal compact in mind
The defeat of the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill in Parliament affords an opportunity to wrest the delimitation debate from narrow partisan concerns and open a wider conversation on India’s federal bargain.
Read Article
What is the larger significance of India’s recent state elections? It is important to avoid easy generalisations, however tempting such generalisations may be. The BJP’s victory in West Bengal, undoubtedly hugely significant, does not imply that the 2029 Lok Sabha elections already have a foregone conclusion.
Read Article
How should we judge the defeat of the Narendra Modi government’s 131st
Constitution Amendment Bill in India’s Parliament? Can we say India has won and
the government has lost? In the political life of a nation, there are moments when
the defeat of an elected government becomes synonymous with the victory of the nation.
This was one such moment.
Click to read the full article
Read Article
Constitution Amendment Bill in India’s Parliament? Can we say India has won and
the government has lost? In the political life of a nation, there are moments when
the defeat of an elected government becomes synonymous with the victory of the nation.
This was one such moment.
Click to read the full article
In this OP Jindal Distinguished Lecture at Brown, Fareed Zakaria reflects on India’s evolving role in a changing global order and the forces shaping its future. A thoughtful conversation on power, possibility, and global transformation.
Read Article
News from Saxena
Fareed Zakaria: Spring 2026 OP Jindal lecture
In this OP Jindal Distinguished Lecture at Brown, Fareed Zakaria reflects on India’s evolving role in a changing global order and the forces shaping its future. A thoughtful conversation on power, possibility, and global transformation.
Read Article
How long might the war in Iran go on? In what ways is India affected or vulnerable,
now or later? What are India’s options?
Read Article
now or later? What are India’s options?
The Telegraph online
Yamini Aiyar: Central grip
No chief minister, even in today’s era of political centralisation, would stay quiet if the Government of India failed to set up the Finance Commission. This is the battle local governments must fight
Read Article
In December 2025, newspapers in India carried an arresting, dystopian image: scores of young people sitting obediently in rows on an airstrip in the eastern state of Odisha to take an exam. Over 8,000 test takers had lined up under the sun to compete for 187 posts in the police service. That so many people were willing to take an exam in such inhumane conditions is revealing. In India, government jobs have long been coveted because they bring financial security and a measure of social prestige. But the candidates in Odisha were vying for the lowest rung of the police service. Such a large volume of candidates for such a poorly paid post reflects widespread desperation among educated youth. India’s economy has failed to generate opportunities for the country’s many young people, even as it has recorded an average annual GDP growth rate of six to seven percent over the past three decades.
Read Article
Is the India-US trade deal beneficial to India, or is it an act of coercion on the part of
the US, which India has humiliatingly accepted? The
Read Article
the US, which India has humiliatingly accepted? The