Sumitra waits at a counter for the money the state owes her. Anand watches the state take his before he sees it.
One made a permanent recipient, the other a permanent donor. Neither is the other's enemy.
A new post on my blog. Please read and give me your feedback.
https://t.co/uMsE4wPSJs
Most parties approach the voter with a list of reasons. One party asks for nothing except that you be what you already are.
In a contest between a sales pitch and a mirror, the mirror wins.
A new post on my blog. Please read and give me your feedback.
https://t.co/ybtc5Up0l5
The first Aadhaar number was issued in Nandurbar in September 2010. The 83,000th shakha was counted in March 2025.
Somewhere between those two dates, the budget line and the ballot box became the same line.
The closing piece of the six-part Invisible Machines of Indian Democracy series. Please read and share your feedback.
https://t.co/zQsbeiTM8I
About sixty per cent of Indian voters do not support the BJP. That number has stayed the same for ten years. In theory, it is enough for the opposition to form a national government.
But it never adds up. Why?
To know the answer, please read part 5 of the Invisible Machines series, on why the opposition cannot consolidate.
https://t.co/hex1l0ygN1
Twelve state governments will spend Rs 1.7 lakh crore on cash transfers to women this year. Ten times what passed through electoral bonds in their best year.
Political money in India is no longer mostly money that goes to political parties. It is money that flows from parties in power to voters.
Part 4 of the Invisible Machines series is here. Please read and share your views.
https://t.co/B1FxcyCgI1
Bengal has fallen. Tamil Nadu has rotated. Kerala has alternated again. Three states, three different verdicts on May 4, 2026.
Here's part 3 of the Invisible Machines series, which asks where the BJP's national voluntary machine reaches its limits, and why each state stopped it differently. Please share your feedback.
https://t.co/UFeloyzwJ2
The TMC machine that won 215 seats in 2021 is now 81. Mamata Banerjee has lost her own seat. The BJP government is going to be sworn in on Tagore's birthday tomorrow.
Please read my thoughts on what just happened in Bengal, and the question the new government will be measured against.
As always, your feedback is welcome.
https://t.co/nDBpRILdKg
The shakha meets every evening. It has done so for a hundred years.
No other political organisation in India, or in any democracy, has an infrastructure of this depth.
Here's part 2 of a six-part series on the invisible machines of Indian democracy.
As always, feedback is welcome.
https://t.co/H0vRkRy7wD
The slogans change. The machines do not.
Of the two machines, only one disappears when a government falls.
Part 1 of a six-part series on the invisible machines of Indian democracy. Please read and share your thoughts.
Thank you.
https://t.co/I3nFJSRifw
The regional parties have unique political vocabularies. The BJP has a machine. On 4 May, we find out which one can live without the other.
There are two ideas about how the language of power works. There is also a hidden campaign that few people are discussing.
As always, I welcome your comments. Thank you.
https://t.co/AykJUfw0CP
Cinema is the most powerful tool for political communication ever created. It came before television, lasts beyond election cycles, and reaches further than any manifesto or news report.
The CIA secretly funded Animal Farm. The Pentagon reviewed more than 800 Hollywood films. Top Gun brought crowds to Navy recruiting offices. This is Model One.
Indian filmmakers hid messages like "Vande Mataram" and "Hindustan hamara hai" in films that British censors missed. This is Model Two.
MGR wore party symbols in his films. Fan clubs turned into party workers. For 60 years, every Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu has had ties to cinema. This is Model Three.
Dhurandhar earned Rs 2,350 crore without any commission. Here, ideology turned into a market, and the market shaped the cinema. This is Model Four.
India is the only country to use all four models. Yet, it still has no clear plan to share its cinema with the world.
Please read my thoughts on this and share your feedback.
https://t.co/6TxyZkl9zv
Russia’s @RT_com broadcasts in 11 languages, reaching 950 million viewers with a $388 million budget. Putin launched @RT_India_news from a Noida studio. China’s @CGTNOfficial airs in 65 languages. Pakistan is also rapidly expanding its global media presence while claiming it wants to help resolve the Iran conflict.
But India, the world’s fifth-largest economy with a diaspora of 32 million, stays quiet on the world stage. There is no major institution sharing India's story.
No Indian government has filled this gap. Nehru didn’t. Indira didn’t. Vajpayee didn’t. The UPA didn’t. Now, PM Modi has a real chance to change this. Will he take it?
Check out my latest blog and let me know what you think.
https://t.co/naDLYuMDkg
The Strait of Hormuz closed on Feb 28. India's cooking gas supply was cut overnight.
The government increased production 28% in five days. Impressive.
It also said nothing publicly for eleven days. Then raised the price. Then blamed the opposition for the panic it created.
A new post on my blog. Feedback is welcome.
https://t.co/CMaNPovEK2
They poured concrete. We poured over files.
China: 45,000 km high-speed rail.
India: Zero.
The gap isn’t resources. It’s execution.
Presenting part 2 of Learning from China without Losing Our Soul.
Awaiting your feedback. Thank you.
https://t.co/Eycz2qDadp
4/4
Part 1 of my 5-part series: Learning from China without Losing Our Soul.
We can’t chart the future without understanding the gap.
Please share your feedback.
https://t.co/5SONGRGqda
A politician once asked me to create a deepfake of himself making a gaffe.
Why? So he could dismiss any real footage as fake.
This is Indian politics in 2025. I wrote about what it means for democracy everywhere.
Feedback is always welcome. 🙏🏽
https://t.co/r8J8ndruvi
The CM called. Thanked him by name. Asked about his sister's college admission. Knew his community's concerns.
But, the CM never called. He was at a rally 100s of kilometres away!
Agentic AI is here. UP 2027 is the proving ground.
New post ↓ Your feedback is welcome. 🙏🏽
https://t.co/reajivxidb