Shekhar Gupta

Founder, ThePrint. Politics, governance, non-hyphenated journalism. And typos are my fingerprints.

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

Publisher’s ban on Joe Sacco’s brilliant Muzaffarnagar riot comic is a cynical, disrespectful joke on India’s freedoms, stressed as they are..

#NationalInterest for the week

Illustration: Shruti Naithani @Shrru_art

https://t.co/pNcwoVoV8s

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

1. The Ram Mandir donation theft case has fired up politics in Uttar Pradesh & left the VHP embarrassed, with the resignations of Champat Rai & Anil Mishra. There have been 8 arrests so far, & the SIT submitted a preliminary report last week. #CutTheClutterlooks at how the case unravelled. It also explains how temples are managed elsewhere in India.

2. First, an inventory.
·        On June 6, a former temple employee in a video statement alleged irregularities during cash handling & deletion of key CCTV footage
·        Next day, Akhilesh Yadav called for a probe
·        A former SP MLA claimed Rs 7-7.5cr had been embezzled
·        On June 12, a PIL was filed in Allahabad HC asking for an inquiry
·        The very next day, CM Yogi Adityanath formed an SIT, which submitted its report within 12 days
·        On June 16, a former kar sewak said not only cash but valuables — jewellery, gold bricks etc — were also looted.  
 3. Several voices from within the broader Sangh Parivar demanded accountability. Former leaders, current functionaries & individuals closely associated with the temple movement publicly called for a fair probe. Even Nripendra Mishra, former principal secretary to the PM, who is on the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, has argued that the management system needs reform.

4. Among those arrested are relatives of influential figures involved in operational roles, raising questions about nepotism & internal controls. The trust was constituted after SC’s 2019 judgment through a gazette notification. It did not get any statutory structure or protection. No law was passed.

5. Across India, temples are managed under a state law or they fall under the ambit of a larger state law. In this case, there was a completely autonomous structure with no oversight. In much of southern India, large temples function under state endowment laws. They usually have structured boards, formal procedures & the chief executive is an IAS officer.

6. The second temple management system is what you see at Vaishno Devi, where a shrine board was set up under a 1988 law. Jagmohan, who was then the governor in Jammu and Kashmir, immediately took over the shrine and cleaned things up.

7. Watch #CutTheClutter: How Ram Temple theft case unravelled: Charges, suspects, politics & the debate over temples' control



https://t.co/dOa83c8cTN

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

Comes on top of two Test whitewashes at home, by SA and NZ. Takes real talent, surely…

[Iceland Cricket @icelandcricket]

We can confirm that we don't wish to add Gautam Gambhir to our coaching staff. He clearly has talent, though. To take those Indian players and deliver those results in Ireland takes truly remarkable gifts.

[ThePrintIndia @ThePrintIndia]

1/5 Thirty-five years ago, 27-year-old nurse Sarla Bhat left work at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences but never made it home. Three days later, her body was found on a downtown street with a handwritten note accusing her of being a "mukhbir" (informer)

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke speaks to Esha Mishra @esha__mishra of ThePrint on the Jantar Mantar protest, the demand for the Education Minister's resignation, exam controversies and plans to take it nationwide.

Video: Nikitha Arathi Naveen @nikithanavar

https://t.co/Mb9M8RoNsj

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

Picking up the pieces from the relationship wreck that Mohd Yunus left behind…

India resumes tourist visas for Bangladesh as envoy to Dhaka Dinesh Trivedi elevated to Cabinet rank

Keshav Padmanabhan @Keshav_Paddu reports

#ThePrintForeignAffairs

https://t.co/PPhGWEbCWu

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

'Indians are way too anxious to apply for a foreign visa. Some of it is our own fault'…

@virsanghvi with his #SharpEdge

https://t.co/73ejHz58wK https://t.co/ewoTnh6abO

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

Why the ‘white stripes’ row between Mumbai’s Marathi and Jain communities brought the city’s identity politics to the fore.

Watch #TheFirstMetro by ThePrint Deputy Editor Manasi Phadke @manasi87

https://t.co/zmZ2n7DjYO https://t.co/gW7vyJfIjb

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

India's space story is entering a new chapter.

At #ThePrintOTC we’re thrilled to host in Hyderabad @SkyrootA founders @PawanKChandana & ⁦@bharathdaka⁩ ahead of their & our pvt sector’s 1st launch…

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

Mandatory financial investigations, crackdown on clandestine labs—India’s narcotic drug control vision

Ananya Bhardwaj @BhardwajAnanya reports for ThePrint

https://t.co/F1e23pfRFk

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

1/5: Lately, the phrase ‘middle power’ has acquired the remarkable ability to mean almost anything.

2/5: While the US and Russia dominate frontier defence technologies, countries such as Turkey and the UAE have begun developing defence ecosystems that are considerably more modular.

3/5: It is on this issue that today’s middle-power conversation deserves greater attention. Often, it gets ignored because it lacks the theatre of superpower competition.

4/5: An issue-centric discussion must remain central to middle-power discourse. Otherwise, it risks suffering the same fate as ‘Global South’—a term that everyone invokes and no one defines.

5/5: Read #ThePrintOpinion by Swasti Rao @swasrao

‘A middle power defence synergy is on the rise. Don’t let it become another ‘Global South’’

https://t.co/9QGZeiJRg5

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

Should HoDs in medical colleges change every three years? NMC wanted to introduce mandatory rotation, but strong opposition from doctors and institutions has forced a rethink…

@RichhariyaSneha explains what's behind the debate

Watch: https://t.co/ntN9C8GrcG

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

Can Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft case hurt BJP or RSS, will it have impact 2027 UP polls?

Political science prof @Chandrachursing of Hindu College, DU, Political Editor @dksingh73 & Deputy Ed @NPDay in #PoliticalAdda

https://t.co/VQEwFp4pZi https://t.co/87xOq1ld0m

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

'An X post, SIT, and finger-pointing—the Ayodhya Ram Temple donation case raises many questions'

Prashant Srivastava @Prashantps100 writes

ThePrint #NewsmakerOfTheWeek

https://t.co/KhBROpRv7N

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

Ram Temple donations theft row, US easing sanctions on Iran, allegations against MP CM Mohan Yadav, Trump's global ratings fall, and more…

In our weekly show #ShekharSeSawaal, where I answer your questions in Hindi with @MandhaniApoorva

https://t.co/CTudoRPjMt

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

SSS Defence introduces Tyto, the urban sniper and Varaha, an acoustic-based anti-drone system for both domestic and foreign markets.

@sneheshphilip speaks to @Viv_Krishnan, CEO of SSS Defence

ThePrint #DefenceScope
https://t.co/bD7Sq6qd38

[Ananya Bhardwaj @BhardwajAnanya]

‘Steady in crisis, master negotiator who built consensus in J&K, Leh’: Who is new IB chief Mahesh Dixit

Colleagues described him as one of the “finest minds in intelligence”. They say he is “calm, composed, exceptionally well-versed in India’s security architecture, and one with a measured approach”.

https://t.co/tOm4soRchu

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

Mask or masquerade…

Oppn wants forensic test of CM Mann’s latest ‘proof’ against sacrilege charge…

@ChitleenKSethi reports

#ThePrintPolitics

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

Centuries-old walnut wood tazia attracts devotees in Prayagraj. It dates back to Sher Shah Suri

Amrin Rajpal, TPSJ alum & intern at ThePrint, reports

#ThePrintFeature

https://t.co/iCvPDAV5g2

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

1. Just how popular is Donald Trump around the world? The latest Pew survey across 36 countries & 2 territories finds that trust in Trump has fallen globally, & confidence in the US has weakened. #CutTheClutter breaks down the findings — the scepticism about Trump’s handling of trade, Gaza & Iran, where its allies stand & how India & Pakistan are on opposite ends.

2. First, there’s no country where Trump has become more popular than before. Not one. In some, like Israel, his popularity hasn’t fallen by much, but it has fallen. He’s become much more unpopular in countries with larger Muslim population — Indonesia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Pakistan, Turkey. Remember, Turkey is a NATO member & Pakistan is a major non-NATO ally.

3. Fewer countries also now see the US as a reliable partner. Across most allies, confidence has fallen sharply. Only 2 countries buck the trend: Hungary & Israel. There’s another interesting point: What does the world think of the quality of American democracy? Well, 56% believe the US doesn’t respect the liberties of its own people.

4. So, which countries have the highest confidence in Trump? India ranks among the countries with the highest confidence in him among major democracies — 39% have confidence, 36% have little or no confidence. What about Pakistan? Despite improving ties, public opinion tells a very different story: 12% confidence in Trump, 82% no confidence.

5. Now, how do India & Pakistan view the US? At 45%, India still ranks high. However, it is a decline from the 51% confidence rating of 2024. And a much further decline from 2015, when US popularity peaked in India at 70%. In Pakistan, meanwhile, 15% have confidence & 81% have no confidence.

6. One fascinating finding concerns perceptions of US interference abroad. Among 17 middle-income countries surveyed, India is the only one where fewer than half believe US interferes in other countries’ affairs. Ironically, Americans themselves largely agree — 83% believe US interferes in other countries’ affairs.

7. Watch #CutTheClutter: Trump leads US to global trust & confidence collapse. India & Pakistan on opposite ends

https://t.co/ABZBYaVWul