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Barkha Dutt

Barkha Dutt is consulting editor, NDTV, and founding member, Ideas Collective. She tweets as @BDUTT.

Articles by Barkha Dutt

The West misunderstands, and misrepresents, nature of Pakistan’s terror policy

The US response to the Pahalgam terror attack shows how little the West understands Pakistan’s weaponisation of terrorism as State policy

There’s an element of massive doublespeak in Vance hoping India’s response doesn’t lead to a “regional war” given that no American politician would have said this to Israel after the Hamas attacks (PTI)
Updated on May 02, 2025 09:13 PM IST

Kamra vs Kanal is about mob against citizen

The debate is not about humour but about what sort of people we want to be and what we wish for in our democracy

Bullying is bullying, and mob violence is exactly that. (Hindustan Times)
Published on Apr 04, 2025 09:23 PM IST

Adolescence is a call for conversation, compassion

Watch the series with your parents, with your teenage children, in your classrooms. Bleak as it sounds, grim as its self-reflection is, it is a call to action

This series actually tells the story of men alongside women at a time when it has often felt impossible to do so. (Adolescence/Netflix)
Published on Mar 21, 2025 07:56 PM IST

The death knell for myth of American Exceptionalism

With Donald Trump in the White House, America is in free fall. 

Trump’s upending of policy, both foreign and domestic, is, by turns, wildly entertaining and often unstable and dangerous (via REUTERS)
Published on Mar 01, 2025 07:39 AM IST

Focus on Allahbadia instead of marital rape acquittal is telling

The news is obsessed with one and refuses to give any airtime to the other. What does this say about our priorities?

The Chhattisgarh high court has legitimised the idea that a wife is the private property of a husband, to do with as he pleases. (HT Photo)
Published on Feb 14, 2025 09:32 PM IST

Saif Ali Khan case shows the culture of misogyny thrives

Media frenzy over Saif Ali Khan's stabbing mirrors past witch hunts, with Kareena Kapoor Khan unfairly targeted, revealing ongoing misogyny in coverage.

Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan leaves the hospital after her husband Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was discharged after being treated for stab injuries during a scuffle last week with an intruder at his home in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) (AP)
Updated on Jan 31, 2025 08:06 PM IST

Congress needs to focus on politics, not polemics

Bewilderingly, the Congress leadership is pulling the party into ideological squabbles that have little to no resonance with regular voters.

New Delhi, India - Jan. 16, 2025: Congress supporters seen as Sandeep Dikshit, Candidate of Congress Party from New Delhi Constituency for upcoming Vidhan Sabha Elections goes for filing his Nomination Papers in New Delhi in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, January 16, 2025. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)
Updated on Jan 17, 2025 08:33 PM IST

Opposition must tell its story better, or tell a new one

This winter session of Parliament offered an opportunity to the Opposition to put the government on the mat in relation to bread-and-butter issues.

New Delhi: LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra take part in a protest of opposition MPs demanding Union Home Minister Amit Shah's apology for his remarks which they claimed were an insult to B.R. Ambedkar, during the Winter session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary) (PTI)
Updated on Dec 20, 2024 08:25 PM IST

A Pandora’s box that the Supreme Court has opened

The apex court’s mixed messaging on the Places of Worship Act has allowed claims to be made about the Sambhal mosque and the Ajmer shrine

The danger right now is a slew of copycat petitions across India in local courts pushing for a redetermination of the nature of a particular place of worship (PTI)
Updated on Nov 29, 2024 08:50 PM IST

On terrorism, the West is guilty of double standards

Before 9/11, the Kanishka bombing was the worst act of mid-air terrorism. Yet, US and Canada have been soft on pro-Khalistan activists who celebrate such acts

It has been galling to watch and read the commentary on the showdown between India and Canada and the rising friction between India and the United States (US) over the harbouring of pro-Khalistan terrorists and separatists within their jurisdictions. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP) (AFP)
Published on Oct 25, 2024 08:35 PM IST

Lessons from BJP’s hat-trick in Haryana

The results show that ideological positioning is not enough to attract votes, smart tactics and organisational might matter more

The RSS and the BJP are resetting their relationship and managing their frictions: Their common goals keep them on the same side of the fight. (ANI Photo/Amit Sharma) (Amit Sharma)
Published on Oct 11, 2024 09:14 PM IST

Why J&K polls feel nothing like those in the past

There is no boycott call this time, neither has coercion to vote been reported. The assembly polls, however,feel unpredictable and full of intangible variables

Ganderbal, Sept 25 (ANI): Voters wait in queues to cast their votes for the second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, in Ganderbal on Wednesday. (ANI Photo) (Election Commission of India-X)
Updated on Sep 27, 2024 09:14 PM IST

Failure of political astuteness in West Bengal and Manipur

Often, the most obvious response to the crises such those in the two states is the appropriate one. It is resistance to the obvious that muddies the waters

Demonstrators attend a protest march to demand an end to the latest spurt of ethnic violence, in Imphal, Manipur, India, September 10, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer (REUTERS)
Published on Sep 13, 2024 08:59 PM IST

Kolkata to Kerala, how not to respond to sexual abuse

From Kolkata to Kerala, a deluge of sexual harassment complaints exposes the plight of women in India, highlighting political indifference and systemic failures.

Birbhum: People protest against the rape and murder of a Kolkata's trainee doctor, in Birbhum district, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (PTI Photo) (PTI)
Published on Aug 30, 2024 09:25 PM IST

A rape, a cover-up, and a mysteriously powerful principal

In the Kolkata rape, every Indian woman sees a shade of her own reflection, either from an experience already lived, or the dread of one just around the corner

Mumbai, India - Aug. 16, 2024: Ghatkopar Rajawadi Hospital Doctors  a Candle March to about the recent horrific incident at R G Kar Medical college in Kolkata, where a follow doctor was brutally assaulted and killed, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, August 16, 2024. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)
Published on Aug 16, 2024 11:44 PM IST

In Jammu attacks, a clear imprint of the Pakistan army

There is, by all accounts, enough intelligence that points to a direct participation of the Pakistan army, and not just in the conventional sense of the Pakistan Deep State patronising security assets against India

Doda, Jun 13 (ANI): The Indian Army conducts a search operation in the dense forests of different districts to track down and neutralise terrorists after a Special Police officer was injured in exchange of fire with terrorists in the Gandoh area, in Doda on Thursday. (ANI Photo) (ANI)
Published on Jul 19, 2024 09:02 PM IST

Review Agnipath. Roll it back or change it

The problems with the scheme, from ethical challenges to implications for unit cohesiveness, make it clear that status quo is not an option

Kargil, Jun 03 (ANI): Army personnel perform combat sports during the Summer Carnival 2024 organised by Forever In Operations, The 8 Mountain Division of Indian Army as part of Kargil Vijay Rajat Jayanti Mahotsav, at Dras in Kargil on Monday. (ANI Photo) (Gourav)
Published on Jul 05, 2024 09:07 PM IST

NEET fiasco is a test of the govt’s outreach skills

Government mishandles student protests over NEET exam, exposing broken examination system and political nexus. PM Modi's communication strategy needs a revamp.

New Delhi, India - June 20, 2024: Students from various student organizations protest outside the Ministry of Education over the issues of NEET exam at Central Secretariat in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, June 20, 2024. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)
Updated on Jun 21, 2024 08:38 PM IST

What the verdict holds for the BJP, its mascot, Modi

PM Modi may need to turn into a consensus builder to manage NDA allies and also to negotiate the changing power dynamics within his own party

BJP supporters during a campaign rally. (ANI Photo)(HT_PRINT)
Published on Jun 07, 2024 10:00 PM IST

States hold the key to unlocking Mandate 2024

The BJP banks on Brand Modi whereas Opposition hopes to gain from confusion among BJP voters restive about new alliances, import of leaders

Solapur: Supporters of BJP candidates from Solapur constituency Ram Satpute and Madha constituency Ranjeetsingh H. Naik Nimbalkar during their campaign rally before they file nomination for Lok Sabha elections, in Solapur, Maharashtra, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (PTI Photo)(PTI04_16_2024_000123A)(PTI)
Published on May 10, 2024 11:34 PM IST

What the South thinks — lessons from a road trip

Narendra Modi is, by miles, the dominant political persona of this election. But faith-centric issues are not the motivation for BJP supporters in South India

People queue up to vote during the second round of voting in the six-week long national election outside a polling booth in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo)(AP)
Published on Apr 26, 2024 10:00 PM IST

A Vadra twist in Congress’s Amethi story

Could Robert Vadra be pitching for a nomination in the party’s prestige seat with the sanction of the Congress leadership?

Robert Vadra. (ANI)
Published on Apr 12, 2024 10:00 PM IST

AAP story: Leader in prison, party on the backfoot

Whether the AAP can stay intact and fight with its senior leadership in prison is the existential question before the party

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal leaves Rouse Avenue Court after appearing in a liquor case, in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, March 28, 2024. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times)
Published on Mar 29, 2024 11:38 PM IST

Conflict of interest is built into the idea of electoral bonds

It is a cause of worry that some of the firms raided by central agencies are among funders of India’s political parties

New Delhi: A replica of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at the Election Commission of India (ECI) head office, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore)(PTI02_28_2024_000219A)(PTI)
Published on Mar 15, 2024 09:55 PM IST

Tips for Rahul Gandhi from the world of media

Rather than turn bitter about the state of the world, stay agile and be adaptive to change to remain in the game. The alternative is retirement

Targeting the media, as Rahul Gandhi has begun to consistently do in his speeches, won’t change the Congress party’s political fortunes much (ANI FILE PHOTO)
Published on Mar 01, 2024 10:00 PM IST

Constitutional idealism gets a boost from SC

The verdict on electoral bonds suggests that the healthy and necessary tensions between the executive, judiciary and legislature are alive and well

Electoral bonds are unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. (AP)
Published on Feb 16, 2024 10:00 PM IST

Congress’s position on mandir ceremony points to confusion

Hindutva will be a key factor in the general elections and the Opposition has itself to blame

Ayodhya, Jan 19 (ANI): A glimpse of the beautification work at the Ram Temple ahead of the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony, in Ayodhya on Friday. (ANI Photo)(Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshet)
Published on Jan 20, 2024 03:15 AM IST

Like Labour in the ’90s, Congress needs a third way

Politics in India has changed. The Opposition needs a new template that is more than anti-Modism to stay relevant

Leaders of the INDIA bloc at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Friday. (Vipin Kumart/HT Photo)
Published on Jan 05, 2024 10:15 PM IST

In Sakshi Malik’s tears, a message for Indian women

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s continuing hold over Indian wrestling raises questions

Wrestler Sakshi Malik hangs up boots during a press conference as she announces her retirement from the sport, protesting against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Singh winning the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) election for its presidential post, in New Delhi, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023.(PTI)
Published on Dec 22, 2023 10:19 PM IST

Congress’s anger against voters and EVMs is pointless

On leadership, narrative and organisation, the party has yet to find an effective counter to Moditiva. It is fighting – and losing – on Modi’s terms

Congress leaders Rahul gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge (ANI)
Updated on Dec 08, 2023 10:30 PM IST
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