Yogendra Yadav argues that the window that seemed to open with the Parliamentary election results of 2024, but was steadily narrowing thereafter, is now firmly shut. “The window of opportunity that opened in 2024 with the Parliamentary elections, suddenly a whiff of fresh air, suddenly the country looked more democratic than it appeared for a few years, and suddenly it seemed as if things could happen, could change, that window became narrower after Maharashtra and Haryana elections and particularly after the Bihar elections. I think it’s safe to say that the window is firmly shut today.”

Sen said he was particularly worried about India’s exports to the Gulf region which have presently been blocked by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. He said he was not confident that India could find alternate markets for what it sells to the Gulf countries and if it can’t this will have a direct impact on the concerned exporters leading, he agreed, to losses in jobs. This, he believes, will be a major component of the decline in GDP growth that he talked about.

Sir Andrew says that Starmer is now a Prime Minister with serious question marks about his longevity and his capabilities, many of which are recognized by the Labour Party, but who may not be easily removable from office because there is no clear contender to take his place. This means that the prime ministership of Britain, the future of the Labour Party government and of the country itself is surrounded by uncertainty and doubt.

Singhvi says that this decision by the Vice President can be challenged in Court and it’s quite possible that it will be overturned. Singhvi points out that in accepting the merger the Vice President has ignored what Singhvi calls “the preponderance of judgements” and instead allowed himself to be guided by “an awry judgement” in the Chodankar case.

She said: “I think this is along the line of Suez for the Brits. A very big geo-strategic misstep where the US has, I think, unambiguously lost from this. And it’s in a weaker position in the Gulf and it’s in a weaker position internationally.”

Minton Beddoes said Trump should be thought of not as a conventional American President with a cabinet and advisors who speak their mind, debate and then come to agreed conclusions but as a King surrounded by courtiers who vie to tell him what he wants to hear.

Minton Beddoes believes that there is a good chance the war could resume because, at the moment, both sides believe they have the upper hand and they are waiting for the other to give in.

Speaking about the Chief Election Commissioner, Sibal said if the CEC had been truly independent and impartial “he should have issued him (the PM) a notice. (In fact), he would not have allowed the speech to go on. He should have made a statement. And he knew, he would have known, the Prime Minister was going to give a speech. He should have stopped it. He should have got the text of the speech. But he didn’t do (any of) it … that’s the problem in this country. If institutions, integrity, collapses, there’s nothing left.”

Tewari has done a back of the envelope calculation which shows that if the government’s amendments are passed the number of seats UP has in the Lok Sabha will increase from 80 to around 140 whilst, in comparison, the number of seats Kerala has will only increase from 20 to around 23/24. This means that the present 60 seat difference in the size of their respective representation in the Lok Sabha will jump to somewhere around 123-125.

Sarna said: “I don’t think Trump has pulled of anything, as I see it. I think he’s backed off. He’s backed off not only from his hugely exaggerated and bombastic comments of yesterday but he’s actually backed off from this entire conflict that was a war of aggression, a war of choice, launched by the US and Israel.”

Archbishop Dsouza said: “This is a straight forward loot and theft of the Christian institutions and their properties through a legal amendment of a bill. Just as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said years ago demonetization was organized loot and plunder, I say if this law is passed this will be the legalized loot of the Indian Christian community and the global Christian community.”

Prof. Shaikh points out that the amendment bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on the 13th of March, is “a fundamental shift that undermines the core of what it means to be a transgender person in law. Under this formulation, tens of thousands of individuals who currently identify, and are legally recognized, as transgender may find themselves excluded. Their identities would not merely be ignored; they would be erased.”

Mr. Narayanan said: “I think we are confused. I think India’s foreign policy has been confused for a very long time. I think this is one more instance of that kind. Somewhere down the line India still believes we are, or we have the ability, the capacity, to sort out the problems of other nations … I think this is part of the Indian belief that we are leaders of the global south, we are in a position to mediate, we have the authority or even the influence or the ability to sort out other people’s problems, etc. I think there is this misplaced understanding of where we stand in the world today … I certainly think that we are poorer in the eyes of the world today than we were when we were economically weaker … I think this is the quandary that we are in. We still stick to the idea that the world looks upon us as an important power broker. I think we need to get out of that comfortable area that we are in and realize that we are probably just one of the other countries in the world and no longer one that other countries look up to … if you really look at it you are not even a power to reckon with even in the region in which you are located. How then can you speak for the rest of the world? So we have problems ... That’s what I am trying to say: what India does does not seem to matter today to the same extent that it did when we were much weaker economically and militarily … At one stage India was the leader of the non-alignment movement. We are now talking of multipolarity, of this and that. Nobody is quite clear where India stands. Nobody is quite clear how India reacts to situations … I think that (once) people saw there was an intrinsic strength that India possessed and they were willing to listen. We still possess that intrinsic strength and probably have much more of it but you are not able to make people see how we stand and where we have the weight to pull … Internally perhaps today we are stronger than we have ever been, economically we are stronger than we have ever been. The question is we have not been able to transmit that to the world at large that we are now in a position to do things elsewhere.”

Menon, who has also served as a former Ambassador to Israel and China and former High Commissioner to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, said: “I find our silences and our action quite inexplicable. Frankly. I mean not to have anything to say when a Head of State of a state you recognize and in your neighbourhood is assassinated by another country. By not signing the condolence book for five days and then sending the Foreign Secretary, not the Foreign Minister, not the Prime Minister. And to stay absolutely silent on the issues. Not to condemn the attack. And this is unfortunately part of a pattern. Not willing to call the Russian invasion of Ukraine an invasion. You are not willing to vote when Palestinians are being slaughtered in Gaza and on the West Bank. You abstain on voting at the UN. I find this very strange. And rather sad that a country like India with its traditions should end up absolutely mum.”

“Indians are the third most undocumented community in America,” says Tadepalli, deputy executive director of Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR). “Among Indians there is a perception that we are all here legally, as tech workers, doctors, but many Indians are not in a position of privilege,” she says in a podcast conversation with Sidharth Bhatia.

Many organisations are working on educating Indians of their rights vis a vis ICE, she says. HfHR runs a Know Your Rights programme. “We’ve operated at Hindu mandir’s in New York City, coordinating with 10 of them and distributed Know Your Rights cards, conducted training.” 

HforHR claims it is the ‘only Hindu organisation working to protect our community from the viciousness of ICE violence.’ Pointing out that organisations like Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh, which is linked to the RSS, “cares more about hating on Muslims rather than supporting Hindus. I’ve never seen a statement from the HSS about ICE. I've never seen any actions from the HSS about ICE. So that should tell us something.” 

She emphasises that HfHR spreads “progressive Hindu ideas. We have monthly discussions, called Baithaks for Liberation, where people talk about Hindu liberal ideas, which promote inclusivity, equality, diversity.” This emphasis on the “social justice principles of Hinduism can weaken the stronghold that Hindu nationalists have.”

Instead, Sen described this as “a business-as-usual” budget which he called “unremarkable”. Asked how well the budget has tackled the problems the economy faces, Sen made clear that it has not done so effectively. He said he couldn’t see “the bada boost” to job creation, which the prime minister identified in his post-budget statement. And Sen thought it was “irresponsible” for the finance minister to have almost forgotten about agriculture in her budget.

Palshikar says that history will remember Ajit Pawar for the work he did for the development of Maharashtra. In time the scams that were associated with his name or the alliance with the BJP will be forgotten or diminish in importance and what will be remembered is Pawar’s commitment to development.

The crisis facing the T20 World Cup emerges out of Pakistan’s threat to boycott this event. Mohsin Naqvi, the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the country’s interior minister, has indicated that Pakistan will decide about its participation on Friday or, even, as late as Monday. Ugra says the ICC has mishandled the present crisis, which began with Bangladesh’s demand that its matches be held in Colombo rather than Kolkata and Mumbai but, actually, goes all the way back to BCCI’s instructions to Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Mustafizur Rahman from their team. She says without Pakistani participation (if that happens) the T20 World Cup would be damaged and its credibility is “out of the window”. 

Justice Sharma was referring to the treatment of the Assistant Editor of the Express who is also the paper’s correspondent in Kashmir, Bashaarat Masood, who was summoned for four days between January 15 and 19 by the cyber police station in Srinagar and asked to sign a bond that he would not do anything to disturb the peace. He was also not the only journalist to be summoned in this manner.

Sircar argues that the anti-Bangladeshi fury in India is playing into the hands of extremists and fundamentalists in Bangladesh. In this context, he points out that the decision to force Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Mustafizur Rahman was completely mistaken and wrong. It overlooked the fact that Rahman is an icon and hero for Bangladeshis and in no way responsible for the mistreatment of Hindus in that country. Now, he says, this will encourage ordinary Bangladeshis to turn against India.

Dave says its “really flawed both in facts and law”. He says the two judges have done a disservice to themselves as well as to the Supreme Court. He says increasingly in India, judges are afraid to give bail.

"Broadcast television … has been awful. It must be amongst the worst in the world, whether you look at either the Hindi television sector or the so-called national TV news channels, they've been awful for the most part. Almost overwhelmingly."