Editorials News, Articles and Analysis

The case to preserve Mangar Bani as protected heritage

Editorials

Updated on May 05, 2025 09:42 PM IST

The imperative of conserving the area for its immense ecological and archaeological value can’t be stressed enough

Archaeologists and researchers working at the Mangar section of the range have found a trove of prehistoric tools and rock paintings from the Lower Palaeolithic age (HT Photo)

ByHT Editorial

The politics of apology

It is a healthy trend if politicians and parties reflect on their journey and own up to their mistakes

A politics of confession that encourages politicians and parties to confess and offer regret for their errors — from corruption to communal riots to unprincipled alliances and party-hopping — could surely be a cathartic experience (PTI)

Editorials

Published on May 05, 2025 09:32 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Amaravati’s second life and the future of urbanisation

Prime Minister Modi launched ₹58,000 crore projects in Amaravati, reviving its status as Andhra's capital after political turmoil and legal battles.

The return of Naidu to office in 2024 led to a revival of the project, with the Centre and World Bank agreeing to fund it (@APDeputyCMO)

Editorials

Updated on May 04, 2025 10:00 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Reversal for the reforms process

The SC's rejection of JSW's takeover of BSPL raises concerns about the IBC's credibility and future resolutions

The court’s order, unless it is reversed by a larger bench, threatens to jeopardise not just JSPL’s investments but also the recoveries made by BSPL’s creditors, most of which are public sector banks (REUTERS)

Editorials

Updated on May 04, 2025 09:47 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Share, not fight over, the rivers

Punjab and Haryana must get realistic about availability and be sensitive to each other’s needs

In the long-run, though, water-sharing will remain a major point of contention between Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi unless there is a serious assessment of the long-term needs, resource availability, storage and transfer infrastructure, and mitigation measures (for both dry and wet seasons)

Editorials

Updated on May 02, 2025 09:20 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Hundred days that shook the US and the world

Global power relations and the world economy are reeling under Trump's radical policies

Trump’s biggest challenge is in the realm of the economy. His “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariff announcements have managed to shock the Americans more than the rest of the world (AFP)

Editorials

Published on May 01, 2025 11:05 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

The case for a popular government in Manipur

A closure in the ethnic conflict may take time, but it’s time measures to initiate the healing process are started

Chief minister Biren Singh was responsible for the mess in Manipur. His actions and pronouncements when ethnic tensions started to roil the state undermined the administration’s authority and gave the impression that it was partisan in dealing with the violence (AFP)

Editorials

Published on May 01, 2025 08:32 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

The return of caste census

Union government to include caste enumeration in census, reshaping Indian politics and policies, despite previous opposition from major parties.

Both the BJP and Congress now recognise that they must address caste as a political category rather than engage with it tactically through instruments of patronage (HT Photo)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 30, 2025 08:03 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

After Pahalgam, reset in India-Afghanistan ties

India’s engagement with the Taliban has moved forward largely because of a sense of pragmatism in New Delhi

It is significant that the Taliban regime condemned the terror attack that killed 26 people and said such incidents undermine regional security (ANI)

Editorials

Published on Apr 30, 2025 08:00 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Keeping private schools in check

Delhi's proposed fee regulation bill aims to curb profiteering in private schools, ensuring parental involvement and addressing arbitrary fee hikes.

New Delhi, India. 16th April 2025: Several parents of students studying in private schools in the Delhi area staged a protest against an alleged fee hike in front of the Directorate of Education office at Delhi Vidhan Sabha in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 30, 2025 06:53 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

The right to criticise, in good faith

Good faith and transparency is a two-way street. Social media influencers must fully disclose their interest in assessing a product and their affiliations

Claims related to health effects must be factual and disclosure about potential adverse effects, including of specific ingredients, must be made transparently (AP)

Editorials

Published on Apr 29, 2025 07:46 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Time for reset in Canada ties

Ottawa, Liberal Party, and the world have changed. India can do business with PM-elect Mark Carney

The victory of Carney offers an opportunity for New Delhi and Ottawa to return to the table to reshape the overall relationship (AP)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 29, 2025 07:41 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

On service charges, restaurants are wrong

At the heart of the debate are three issues: consumer rights, free-market principles, and wage security of restaurant workers

Salary agreements have to be made on the basis of the revenue the restaurants generate or expect to generate, not on the basis of passing on a part of the burden to the consumer through an extra charge

Editorials

Published on Apr 28, 2025 08:14 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Free trade must also be fair trade

India must not accept the European Union's demand on sustainability clauses in FTA

Ceding to such demands will amount to a double injustice: India being shortchanged in the ongoing bilateral negotiations where its exporters lose market access for not adhering to what are extremely expensive standards, and the largest block of advanced economies unfairly imposing these conditions on a developing economy (@narendramodi)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 28, 2025 08:10 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

The journey ahead in India-China ties

Restarting after a gap of five years, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is a cautious and agreeable step in normalising ties

Notwithstanding the importance of the pilgrimage, it’s important to remember that it is but one part of the complex nature of Sino-India ties

Editorials

Published on Apr 27, 2025 08:12 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Falling short on credibility

Pakistan PM’s offer to join in a neutral probe on Pahalgam is duplicitous

This offer has little credibility because of Pakistan’s past record in cooperating with India in investigating terrorist attacks (via REUTERS)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 27, 2025 08:09 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Big Tech gets a reality check from Europe

Like the 1990 Microsoft antitrust case that reshaped computing, the EU’s fines on Meta and Apple could begin transforming the digital marketplace

The Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has opened many investigations, forcing companies such as Google to commit to mending their ways, is on the right path (REUTERS)

Editorials

Published on Apr 24, 2025 08:16 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Closing the terror tap after Pahalgam

New Delhi’s moves suggest it intends to move incrementally up the escalatory ladder

The suspension of IWT— brokered by the World Bank to divide the six rivers of the Indus Basin between the two countries — may not have the spectacular element of a surgical strike across the Line of Control or International Border but its long-term implications for Pakistan could be far more serious (REUTERS)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 24, 2025 08:10 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

The good news for India in IMF’s outlook

India’s 6% plus growth prospects are a result of domestic tailwinds to growth

Conciliatory noises by the Trump administration — Trump saying he won’t fire the US federal reserve chairman, and the US treasury secretary saying current tariffs between US and China are unsustainable — in the aftermath of the WEO report suggest that all hope is not lost (Bloomberg)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 23, 2025 08:22 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

After Pahalgam, the just response

The political and security establishments must work closely to pin responsibility on the perpetrators of the attack and punish them

It is widely expected that India will react militarily to the terror strike — targeting, as it did after the Pulwama and Uri attacks, terror pods across the border (REUTERS)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 23, 2025 08:19 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Street to studio, verse as art commodity

In the absence of trust and transparency in the engagement, reproduction, renewal or reworking of existing material could be deemed unethical or dishonest

Aziz fears that his political art has been appropriated and commodified in a studio environment, which produces a sanitised aesthetics that is in sharp contrast to the language of protest

Editorials

Published on Apr 22, 2025 09:15 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Revival of terror spectre in J&K

The attack on tourists in Pahalgam is a devious attempt to disrupt Kashmir’s journey to peace and normalcy

The separatist narrative, enabled and sustained by Pakistan, that peace was impossible in Kashmir, was negated by the picture of a resurgent economy and a local population welcoming of tourists. Tuesday’s attackers want to puncture this scenario and push the region back into an abyss of fear and desperation (PTI)

Editorials

Published on Apr 22, 2025 09:09 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

A pope who spoke for the poor and marginalised

Pope Francis did enough to rile the conservatives.

Pope Francis’s election in 2013 was in extraordinary circumstances when Pope Benedict XVI decided to resign from the papal office, a first in 600 years (AP Photo)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 21, 2025 07:45 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Resetting Delhi, Dhaka ties

PM Modi's meeting with Bangladesh's Yunus hasn't improved ties, as trade measures reveal ongoing tensions.

Dhaka’s open welcome to Beijing, while ignoring Indian sensitivities, has not been lost on New Delhi (AFP)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 18, 2025 08:39 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

UK court ruling risks shrinking transgender rights

The limited reading of the law by the UK Supreme Court is certain to get politicised

There is a global pushback against transgender inclusion, evident in not just the roll-back of key protections for such persons in the US but also actively hostile laws enacted by other jurisdictions (AP)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 17, 2025 08:28 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Cost of Trump’s many trade wars

The bleak picture in WTO's global trade outlook holds important lessons for India

This disruption should be seen as a global shock rather than some new zero-sum game to India’s advantage (Bloomberg)

Editorials

Updated on Apr 17, 2025 08:27 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

New front in the federalism debate

Tamil Nadu’s panel to review Centre-state relations can enrich the ongoing conversation on the subject

The Justice Joseph committee could also enrich the ongoing conversation on federalism and even help reset the contours of the Centre-state relations, especially regarding the fraught matters of delimitation and revenues (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

Editorials

Published on Apr 16, 2025 07:49 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Need to hedge against variability of monsoon

IMD's above-normal monsoon prediction offers hope for farmers, but past inaccuracies and erratic rainfall highlight the need for better monsoon management.

Deluge and drought can affect crop yields, cause significant damage in terms of the infrastructure and human toll they extract, and result in serious economic pain, not just for the farming community but beyond

Editorials

Updated on Apr 16, 2025 07:39 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Polls in sight, churn in Bihar politics

Electoral politics is also a game of perceptions. With assembly elections due in Bihar, the exit of a high-profile leader can cause ripples

Paras has spoken fondly about Lalu Prasad suggesting that he may consider joining the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan

Editorials

Published on Apr 15, 2025 08:49 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Keep the cash for bad times

Any decision to pass on gains from falling crude prices to consumers must factor in the potential loss of revenues in a period of low growth

If there is a point to quibble over, it is that the Union government is reaping windfall gains by using a special duty. This is not part of the divisible pool, which means it is not shared with states (REUTERS)

Editorials

Published on Apr 15, 2025 08:45 PM IST

ByHT Editorial

Editorials

The imperative of conserving the area for its immense ecological and archaeological value can’t be stressed enough

It is a healthy trend if politicians and parties reflect on their journey and own up to their mistakes

Prime Minister Modi launched ₹58,000 crore projects in Amaravati, reviving its status as Andhra's capital after political turmoil and legal battles.

The SC's rejection of JSW's takeover of BSPL raises concerns about the IBC's credibility and future resolutions

Punjab and Haryana must get realistic about availability and be sensitive to each other’s needs

Global power relations and the world economy are reeling under Trump's radical policies

A closure in the ethnic conflict may take time, but it’s time measures to initiate the healing process are started

Union government to include caste enumeration in census, reshaping Indian politics and policies, despite previous opposition from major parties.

India’s engagement with the Taliban has moved forward largely because of a sense of pragmatism in New Delhi

Delhi's proposed fee regulation bill aims to curb profiteering in private schools, ensuring parental involvement and addressing arbitrary fee hikes.

Good faith and transparency is a two-way street. Social media influencers must fully disclose their interest in assessing a product and their affiliations

Ottawa, Liberal Party, and the world have changed. India can do business with PM-elect Mark Carney

At the heart of the debate are three issues: consumer rights, free-market principles, and wage security of restaurant workers

India must not accept the European Union's demand on sustainability clauses in FTA

Restarting after a gap of five years, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is a cautious and agreeable step in normalising ties

Pakistan PM’s offer to join in a neutral probe on Pahalgam is duplicitous

Like the 1990 Microsoft antitrust case that reshaped computing, the EU’s fines on Meta and Apple could begin transforming the digital marketplace

New Delhi’s moves suggest it intends to move incrementally up the escalatory ladder

India’s 6% plus growth prospects are a result of domestic tailwinds to growth

The political and security establishments must work closely to pin responsibility on the perpetrators of the attack and punish them

In the absence of trust and transparency in the engagement, reproduction, renewal or reworking of existing material could be deemed unethical or dishonest

The attack on tourists in Pahalgam is a devious attempt to disrupt Kashmir’s journey to peace and normalcy

Pope Francis did enough to rile the conservatives.

PM Modi's meeting with Bangladesh's Yunus hasn't improved ties, as trade measures reveal ongoing tensions.

The limited reading of the law by the UK Supreme Court is certain to get politicised

The bleak picture in WTO's global trade outlook holds important lessons for India

Tamil Nadu’s panel to review Centre-state relations can enrich the ongoing conversation on the subject

IMD's above-normal monsoon prediction offers hope for farmers, but past inaccuracies and erratic rainfall highlight the need for better monsoon management.

Electoral politics is also a game of perceptions. With assembly elections due in Bihar, the exit of a high-profile leader can cause ripples

Any decision to pass on gains from falling crude prices to consumers must factor in the potential loss of revenues in a period of low growth

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