Deepa Balakrishnan

Journalist. Story-teller. Mom. Rights-ist. Reading, chai, travel make my day. Tweets are personal.

[Nirupama Menon Rao 🇮🇳 @NMenonRao]

The #ceasefire (US-Iran) announcement marks a pause, but more importantly, it reveals where each actor now stands.

The United States has stepped back from the brink it created. A deadline backed by threats of overwhelming force has given way to a conditional pause built around negotiations. That signals not strength alone, but recognition of limits: military objectives may have been met, but political end states remain elusive.

Israel, for its part, finds itself in a more ambiguous position. Having driven escalation, it is now tethered to a process it does not fully control. Its objectives, particularly around regime change or long-term degradation of Iran, sit uneasily with a negotiation track shaped elsewhere.

Iran emerges with a measure of strategic resilience. It has absorbed strikes, retaliated, and then shifted the frame from ceasefire to conditions for a broader settlement: sanctions relief, security guarantees, and regional de-escalation.
In doing so, it has moved from target to negotiating actor without conceding core positions.

Pakistan’s role has unfolded not as architect, but as conduit and catalyst. It has provided the channel through which messages travelled, deadlines were softened, and a narrow diplomatic opening created. That is not mediation in the classic sense, but it cannot be dismissed with stray witticisms either.

What we are witnessing is not resolution of conflict , but repositioning.
The war has not ended. It has entered a different phase, where coercion and negotiation now proceed together.

For India, the implication is clear.

Do not read this as de-escalation alone. Read it as a system under strain, where outcomes are still fluid.
India should state its position with clarity:
support de-escalation, safeguard maritime flows, and resist alignment with any one narrative of this conflict.
This is not a moment for silence.
It is a moment for calibrated voice.

#WestAsia
#IranUSConflict
#MiddleEastCrisis
#StrategicAutonomy
#IndiaForeignPolicy
#Hormuz
#MaritimeSecurity

[Frontline @frontline_india]

#Sathankulamverdict is not just about two #deaths. It is a rare moment when the courts called #custodialtorture what it really is: #stateviolence disguised as #lawenforcement.

@rinpoet

https://t.co/Hm19srr0xo

[Deepa Balakrishnan @deepab18]

@Zakka_Jacob Good luck !

[TFTC @TFTC21]

Netanyahu posted a proof-of-life video. People said it was AI because he had 6 fingers. He posted another one ordering coffee and showing 5 fingers. People said that was AI too because the coffee didn't spill.

We've crossed a line we can't uncross. The same AI tools that can generate a convincing fake of anyone on Earth have made it impossible to prove anything is real.

The technology that was supposed to give us more information has made all information less trustworthy.

This isn't about Netanyahu. Every world leader, every CEO, every public figure now lives in a world where "that's AI" is an unfalsifiable response to any evidence.

Proof of life now requires multiple videos, press witnesses, and cafe Instagram posts. People still don't believe it.

We built tools so powerful that seeing is no longer believing. Nobody has figured out what replaces it.

[Nirupama Menon Rao 🇮🇳 @NMenonRao]

The issue is not whether India should be “for” or “against” Israel, the United States, Iran, or the Gulf states in some emotional or ideological sense. The issue is whether any of these relationships, as they are currently conducted, advance India’s long-term interests without narrowing India’s strategic autonomy.

India’s strength has always lain in balance — in keeping multiple relationships alive at once, in speaking across divides, and in refusing to let any one partnership become a trap. That is not weakness. It is the essence of serious statecraft for a country of India’s scale, geography, and civilizational depth.

What has changed in recent years is the tone of the domestic discourse. There is a marked tendency to see Israel less as a partner than an object of admiration, even envy — a symbol of unapologetic force, swift retaliation, and the fantasy of unencumbered power. Much of the media has climbed aboard this train, cheering Israel less as a state with which India has specific interests than as a projection of their own ideological desires.

That is where the danger lies.

Admiration for Israeli military prowess is not strategy. It is emotional substitution. India is not Israel. Our geography is different, our scale is different, our society is different, and our vulnerabilities are different. We cannot afford to inherit another country’s siege mentality as if it were our own doctrine.

The real test for India is not whether it can applaud force. It is whether it can preserve room for manoeuvre, protect its energy and maritime interests, maintain credibility across West Asia, and keep its own voice.

A country like India should not suffer from “Israel envy”. It should have the confidence to be itself. I am sure it can.

[Nirupama Menon Rao 🇮🇳 @NMenonRao]

Diplomatic statements are often most revealing in what they omit, and the Iranian readout is a textbook example of that.

Look closely at the structure of the statement.

The Iranian foreign minister uses very strong language about the United States and Israel — “crimes,” “aggression,” “violation of the UN Charter,” and a call for governments to condemn them.

But when it comes to India and EAM Jaishankar, the tone shifts completely. There is no criticism, no complaint, no hint of disappointment about India’s silence or cautious posture.

The restraint is deliberate.

Iran clearly understands that India is in a delicate position:
•close strategic relations with the United States
•strong defence ties with Israel
•deep economic and historical connections with Iran
•vital energy and diaspora interests across the Gulf.

From Tehran’s perspective, antagonizing India publicly would achieve nothing. Instead, Iran is doing something much subtler: keeping India inside the tent.

By emphasizing continued consultations and bilateral relations, Iran is signalling that it still sees India as a country worth engaging, perhaps even as a potential diplomatic bridge to other actors.

In diplomacy, this is sometimes called “leaving the door open.”

There is another layer too. Iran has always valued India as one of the few major countries that maintained relations with it even during periods of heavy Western sanctions. Projects like the Chabahar port and broader civilizational links still matter in Tehran’s strategic imagination.

So rather than chastising India for not condemning the United States or Israel, Iran has chosen to acknowledge the conversation and move on.

In other words, Tehran is saying:
“We know you cannot say what we want you to say — but we are not going to push you into a corner.”

That kind of restraint is rarely accidental in diplomatic language. It suggests that Iran still sees India as a country whose strategic ambiguity is useful rather than hostile.

And in a war where narratives matter almost as much as missiles, keeping a large regional power like India connected to Tehran may itself be considered a small diplomatic victory.

[शिक्षित बेरोज़गार @kaul_vivek]

Cash is not a four-letter word

Cash stings when you spend it – and that sting saves you.

Cards and UPI make money feel fake, fuelling impulse buys. Notes and coins keep you grounded, force discipline, and protect your future.

Cash isn’t old-school. It’s your smartest money habit.

My weekly Paisanomics column in the Mumbai Mirror.

https://t.co/Cyw73onlqH

[Shekar Iyer @SHEKARSUSHEEL]

Happy Birthday Gulzar ❤️
Gulzar turns 91 today. What an iconic personality. Lyricist, author, poet, screen writer, director. His movies and songs have left an indelible impact on me. My top most favourite being Ijaazat. And this song remains my No 1 song of all times .
Contd...

[Pravin Sawhney @PravinSawhney]

I see similarity between Trump's air strikes on Iran's three nuclear facilities which by all accounts were empty ........ and India's #OperationSindoor on nine terrorist camps & launch pads in Pakistan when Pakistan had enough warning (from April 22 to May 6 that India was preparing for revenge) to clear them.
Note the following:
1. In both cases, victory was claimed without proof of damage assessment.
2. In both cases, no defined military target or nuclear capabilities were hit.
3. Trump & India announced their limited operation was over unless the other side escalated.
4. In both cases, the attacks were done to ease domestic pressure.
5. Trump & Modi said that further operations were not ruled out. India called it 'pause'
6. In both cases, there was realization that an escalation could gravely harm own national security.
7. In both cases, the opponents were not deterred.
8. In both cases, it was 'wasted overkill' which did not help initiating nation's credibility.
9. In both cases, the world was left wondering: What Next?
So, enjoy the new uses of military power!

[Dhanya Rajendran @dhanyarajendran]

Today, the Delhi HC made it clear that Abhijit Iyer Mitra’s tweets are unacceptable. He has to take it down. His lawyer tendered apology and said will take down in 5 hours. I want to ask journalists who get him on panels, what is your excuse? A few samples

[Ashwin Mahesh @ashwinmahesh]

The transition to the correct infrastructure will take a decade at least. The only thing left to do now is to start doing things right. But if we neglect that thinking that's not a quick solution, we won't get the slow solution either.

[Deepa Balakrishnan @deepab18]

How often netas have refused to react to questions saying something is 'sub-judice'! Now, finally, this..

[Bar and Bench @barandbench]

#BREAKING: In a significant ruling on free press, Supreme Court holds even sub judice issues can be debated by general public and that it is NOT the duty of the court to "tell the media that delete this and take that down" #SupremeCourtofIndia

[Vidya Shankar Aiyar @VidShankarAiyar]

@anubhabhonsle Well said.

Did India blunder in thinking this is finally a clash of narratives? Not lives?

https://t.co/5WpQhxztKo

[Dhanya Rajendran @dhanyarajendran]

A tribal man from Karnataka spent 18 months in jail for murdering his wife, but she was found alive in 2025.

The police forced a confession, ignored DNA reports, and declared a random skeleton as her body.

@kavashivani reports

https://t.co/kFnDJv1Yxi

[Deepa Balakrishnan @deepab18]

Amazing

[Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta @readingkafka]

Very excited that Karnataka will soon have 6599 more village libraries.

In addition to over 5800 rural libraries that are already functioning.

Rural public libraries are community learning spaces for knowledge & interaction.

#socialinfrastructure #publiclibrariesforall

[Live Law @LiveLawIndia]

#BREAKING "75 years into our republic, we cannot be seen to be so shaky on our fundamentals that mere recital of a poem or for that matter, any form of art or entertainment, such as, stand-up comedy, can be alleged to lead to animosity or hatred amongst different communities. Subscribing to such a view would stifle all legitimate expressions of view in the public domain which is so fundamental to a free society" - Supreme Court.

SC made these observations while quashing a Gujarat FIR against Congress MP @ShayarImran over a poem shared on social media.

[Arvind Gunasekar @arvindgunasekar]

CBI closes investigation in the death of Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, gives clean chit to @Tweet2Rhea and her family.

[Deepa Balakrishnan @deepab18]

@mahajournalist @TheFederal_News Many many congrats!

[Curiosity @CuriosityonX]

There have been thousands of generations of humans, and you are alive to witness the first photo of a Sunset on another World.

This is a real photo of the sunset on Mars.