Avinash Godbole

Professor and Associate Academic Dean, JSLH, JGU.

China, IR, Politics, Theory, Climate Change; via Mumbai, JNU, Yale. ex IDSA and ICWA.

[Avinash Godbole @avingodb]

Necessary illusions and emotionally potent oversimplifications...

[Manoj Arora @manoj_216]

What's happening in this country, @nitin_gadkari ji?
You are introducing some fancy mix of fuel every day without any ecosystem support?
Why is there no buy in from insurance companies or manufacturers?
Use of E20 can lead to claims rejection. I don't want to use E20. Do I have a choice at the fuel station?
Why are we being taken for a ride?

[Suhasini Haidar @suhasinih]

MEA needs a less clichéd and more serious script for the PM's visits abroad, one where he engages with his hosts on substantive issues, rather than his own accompanying troupe and Indians settled abroad.

[Shashi Tharoor @ShashiTharoor]

Deeply shocking to read this official US statement, which contains absolutely no expression of regret or condolence for the loss of innocent Indian lives. How can a “friend” and strategic partner be so deeply insensitive?

Why couldn’t a non-compliant commercial vessel have been stopped using other, non-lethal means? Is it not possible to disable a ship's propulsion or steering without firing missiles targeted to kill civilian crew members?

Practically every merchant ship navigating these crucial waters has Indian crew on board. Are they all considered fair game for US missiles now?

This approach is unacceptable and I hope @DrSJaishankar had said so to @marcorubio.

[THE SKIN DOCTOR @theskindoctor13]

India provides free premium entertainment daily. Never a dull day.

[Avinash Godbole @avingodb]

As weapons become more destructive & more expensive, future wars will end in stalemates.
Only the side that manages battles outside the warzone better, in terms of propaganda and diplomacy, will enjoy the upper hand.
It's visible in Ukraine, Op. Sindoor and now US-Israel & Iran

[Tarun Gautam @TARUNspeakss]

Even USA couldn’t defend killing of 3 Indian nationals like Bagree did for USA.

For him it was a collateral damage & they themselves were responsible for it!!

This is BJP IT Cell. These are the real anti-nationals. Only BJP & Modi’s image matters to them.

[Avinash Godbole @avingodb]

three days later,
after immense criticism too

[Dr. S. Jaishankar @DrSJaishankar]

Spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this evening. I reiterated India’s strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners. Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified.

[Dr. Brahma Chellaney @Chellaney]

The irony is that the U.S. and India are "Major Defense Partners," conduct joint military exercises and cooperate across the Indo-Pacific. Yet the U.S. Navy has launched missile strikes against commercial tankers in international waters and killed Indian merchant mariners.

The U.S. Navy had direct communications with the crews of the three foreign-flagged commercial tankers and was fully aware of their Indian nationality before launching the strikes that killed three crew members this week.

This echoes March, when the U.S. Navy torpedoed and sank, in India's backyard, an Iranian frigate returning in a non-combat configuration after largely expending its munitions during an India-hosted multilateral naval exercise in which the U.S. also participated.

And just as the U.S. Navy did not attempt to rescue the sailors from the sinking frigate, it likewise did not come to the aid of the surviving Indian crew members aboard the three tankers it struck. The rescue efforts were mounted instead by Omani authorities.

It is noteworthy that the vessels Washington labels part of a "shadow fleet" transporting crude oil are largely linked to China and Russia. Yet since the Trump-ordered naval blockade began on April 13 without any basis in international law, the U.S. military has not struck a single tanker actively bound for, or coming directly from, either China or Russia.

Striking such a vessel would transform a localized naval blockade into a direct geopolitical confrontation with Beijing or Moscow — a line the Trump administration has explicitly avoided crossing. Instead, it has employed kinetic force only against lower-profile vessels, including those carrying Indian crew members.

Taken together, these incidents are a sad commentary on the state of India's foreign policy under the present government.

[The Wire @thewire_in]

A Year After Ahmedabad Crash, the DGCA Unit Meant to Keep Planes Airworthy Is Half-Empty

The Modi government had not made a single new hire in the unit, nor created any new post in it, since the air crash.

#TWExclusive | @kunalpurohit✍️
https://t.co/1PDdAKF00o

[anjali mody @AnjaliMody1]

How to raise a kid: "My parents encouraged rational thinking. They never shut down discussion. They encouraged debate, perspective and logical reasoning. That shaped the way I approach public issues today."

[Catty @CatWomaniya]

The same judiciary that recently sentenced a YouTuber to 6 months in jail for his “tanashahi” remark, believes that calling women journalists r*ndi does not warrant an FIR because the abuse was in a form of a shayari.

Then we wonder why we are dealing with a rape epidemic.

[Bar and Bench @barandbench]

#Breaking

A Sessions Court in Delhi has stayed the Magistrate Court's order for registration of an FIR against Abhijit Iyer-Mitra for his allegedly "objectionable" tweets on Newslaundry and its journalists.

The Sessions Judge says the words used by Iyer-Mitra are in the form of shayari, but no individual has been specifically named.

@Iyervval @MnshaP @newslaundry

[Sushant Singh @SushantSin]

The issue is not what China is doing. The issue that the Modi govt has left India so weak that it neither has any leverage over Beijing nor even the voice to demand something. We have diplomats who want to only project 'friendly ties' with China, come what may.

[Mohammed Zubair @zoo_bear]

Union Ministers, BJP leaders, BJP CMs, Spokespersons have got a new task. To visit the temple and offer prayers to mark the 'milestone' of @narendramodi becoming longest 'continious' serving PM.
News agencies have got a task of covering all the temple visits by the Ministers. 😁😁

[Anish Gawande @anishgawande]

248 crore flyover, only 750 metres long, costing Mumbaikars 33 lakh rupees per metre of taxpayer money.

And when you park your bike on it, you have the unique opportunity to leave a mark that lasts forever!

Sinking into freshly laid asphal, soft enough for a bike stand to go inside within days of inauguration.

Congratulations, @mybmc 👏 I am sure you will release another unnamed “clarification” about this as well. Because you have clearly decided to take citizens on a ride!

[Josh Kaplan @js_kaplan]

NEW: Earlier this year, an obscure startup in Texas announced that it had received at least $100 mil from one of the richest men in Asia.

We dug into the backstory. We discovered a saga involving Donald Trump Jr., Russian oil, and an Indian billionaire family’s private zoo.

[The Hormuz Letter @HormuzLetter]

BREAKING: US strikes have now hit two drinking water tanks in Sirik, southern Iran, cutting off all drinking water in the district, per IRIB.

Iran has warned 2 hours ago it will immediately place all regional Gulf energy infrastructure under continuous missile fire, and with this US attack, water desalination infrastructure which the Gulf depends on for over 90%, would specifically become major targets.

[Varun Chitnis @TheVarunChitnis]

NITIN Gadkari’s obsession with Ethanol will be the single reason why NDA will lose power eventually.

The anger is rising and it’s just going to get worse. Existing owners of vehicles bought a few years ago are experiencing issues. People buy vehicles after saving for years.

[Vijay Marathe @Fintech00]

They could have expanded the CNG Stations

They could have expanded the EV charging stations

But they choose to expand E85 stations.

Math is not mathing here.

[Mogambo @Netajinonsense1]

2014: We will bring back black money.
2016: Demonetization will strengthen rupee.
2026: Rupee at 100 is just a number.