Helmed by Mohit Suri and starring fresh faces Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, the July 2025 launch of Saiyara defied the conventions of Bollywood. Despite lacking star power, connections to well-known franchises, the film impressively garnered nearly ₹200 crore within just nine days of its release, cultivating a garnered acclaim as one of the year’s best emotionally resonant cinematic experiences. This outcome was not a mere coincidence; it stemmed from astute marketing strategies rooted in behavioural science, emotional branding, and a digital-first approach to communication. The movie’s return on investment transcends mere financial gain; it encapsulates a profound experience.
Category: India
India is Experiencing a ‘Grief-Tech’ Revolution: AI Bots Mimicking the Dead are Causing a Stir
A new wave of artificial intelligence (AI) products, often called “grief bots” or “ghostbots,” is coming into the memory-driven marketplaces that provide emotional assistance. This […]
Operation Mahadev: Strategic Closure to the Pahalgam Terror Strike
Operation Mahadev stands out not only as a military victory but as a new perspective on evolving national security practices. This operation aimed to neutralize the attackers of the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam massacre, which resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians. On July 28, 2025, Indian security forces conducted a joint operation in the Dachigam forests near Srinagar. It provided immediate retaliation and a data-driven closure, supported by continued intelligence, forensic verification, and international diplomatic efforts.
Atmanirbhar Bharat: Reforms for Empowering India’s Defence Ecosystem
Since its inception, the term “Atmanirbhar Bharat” that literally translates to Self-Reliant India has increasingly become the symbol of India’s growing economic self-sufficiency, manufacturing prowess and holistic national development and India’s defence manufacturing sector has been pioneering the actualisation of the vision like no other. With indigenous defence production skyrocketing to record high of ₹ 23,622 crore in 2024-25, that marks a growth of 12.04% over 2023-24, India’s defence ecosystem stands as testament to the remarkable shift that the industry has undergone from heavy dependence in the post-independence era to a growing indigenous industrial base, in recent years.
Post-Pahalgam: Rethinking the Indus Waters Treaty amid Climate Pressures
Pahalgam attack in Kashmir has once again brought the India-Pakistan relationship into sharp focus. In the aftermath of such violent incidents, there is often a renewed scrutiny of the strategic levers both states hold over each other. One such lever—frequently invoked in times of heightened tensions—is the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960. Signed with World Bank mediation, the IWT is widely regarded as one of the most successful water-sharing agreements in history. Despite multiple wars and skirmishes, the treaty has endured. But with accelerating climate stress, dwindling water resources, and shifting geopolitical dynamics, its resilience is being tested like never before.
The US Strategic Pivot Towards India and Saudi Arabia
During the recent POLITICO Security Summit, US Representative Mike Lawler presented a forceful argument for reshaping America’s strategic alliances. Focusing on India and Saudi Arabia as fundamentally important to US security interests for the coming decade, Lawler sketched out a policy direction that does not merely seek to deepen bilateral relationships but also rebalance world power in reaction to the intensifying assertiveness of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
India’s post-Pahalgam Doctrine in the Shadow of Institutional Deficit
April 2025 attack in Pahalgam, which resulted in the loss of civil-security personnel, did not provoke an immediate retaliatory strike from India. This deviation from past patterns, such as the Balakot airstrike of 2019, has puzzled many analysts. While public expectations leaned towards a swift kinetic response, India maintained a calibrated silence. This restraint does not imply strategic inertia but suggests an evolving doctrine shaped by regional complexities, global alignments, and domestic political calculus. India’s hesitance is not a retreat but a reflection of the growing understanding that militarised responses do not resolve established patterns of cross-border insurgency.
Pahalgam Massacre is Pakistan’s Islamist Tonic for its Domestic Audience
The brutal massacre of 25 Hindu tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir by The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), backed by Pakistan has sent shock waves across the world. Many global leaders have condemned this barbaric attack and have pledged their solidarity against Terrorism. This was the deadliest attack in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. As per the eyewitnesses, the terrorists opened fire on the tourists, rounded them up and asked for their religion. The tourists were even asked to recite the ‘Kalma’ and their pants were unzipped to identify Muslims.
Operation Sindoor: Justice is Served by the Indian Army
The attack on (mostly Hindu) tourists triggered a nation wide call for swift military action and the same was promptly delivered by the Indian Armed Forces during early hours on 7th May 2025, codenamed Operation Sindoor. This article is a general briefing about the India’s swift military operation against Pakistan followed by ongoing retaliatory attacks and ending with aftermath along with remarks containing public and international reactions.
Decoding the Pahalgam Terror Attack through an Intelligence Lens
While my previous article (commentary) discussed the potential link between these two attacks and how they fit into the ongoing proxy conflict between India and Pakistan — more specifically between their respective intelligence agencies, namely the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) — in this article, I argue that Pakistan’s military, particularly its Special Service Group (SSG) (Pakistan’s special forces), must be behind this attack, with planning support from the ISI-backed groups, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and The Resistance Front (TRF).