In Focus by The Hindu

More than 99% of humanity lives in nation states. But nations are less than 200 years old, and today many countries are sliding into xenophobia, debt and a cost of living crisis. With the liberal ideas that underpinned the nation-state system -- human rights, dignity, security for all – in retreat, millions are feeling abandoned by the nation-state, and turning to cross-border migration in desperation.

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After months of administrative paralysis, the Indian Super League 2025-26 season finally kicks off in February 2026, but this is no ordinary season.With the collapse of the AIFF's commercial partnership, slashed budgets, mass pay cuts and a condensed four-month format, Indian football finds itself at a crossroads.What does this truncated version of the tournament mean for players and clubs? Are fewer foreigners this season good or bad for the league? And how deep has the crisis cut into the Indian football pyramid?Football veteran Pradhyum Reddy previews the season ahead and also unpacks the sorry state of affairs of Indian football’s top-flight league and how the crisis has impacted the football ecosystem.

Guest: Pradhyum Reddy, coach and commentator

Host: Reuben Joe Joseph

Edted by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kerala and Tamil Nadu, scheduled to have Assembly elections soon, and stressed the need for a double-engine government. The term double-engine government refers to having the same political party (in this case, the Bharatiya Janata Party or its allies in the National Democratic Alliance) in power at both the Centre and in a State. Critics of this model include Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who has asked how Opposition-ruled States are doing well without a double-engine government. Does a double-engine government ensure growth? Louise Tillin and Yamini Aiyar discuss the question in a conversation moderated by Sai Charan. Edited excerpts:Does the discourse around a double-engine government imply an inherent bias against non-BJP/non-NDA governments in the States?

Guests:

Louise Tillin is Professor of Politics at King’s India Institute, LondonYamini Aiyar is former President and Chief Executive of the Centre for Policy Research and senior visiting fellow at Brown University

Host: Sai Charan

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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The Supreme Court’s landmark judgement recognising the right to menstrual health and hygiene as a fundamental right grabbed headlines all of last week. Why was this recognition needed? Because thousands of girls continue to drop out of school every year in our country due to a lack of clean, safe toilets with access to running water. And because periods continue to be shrouded in stigma and silence despite nearly half the population of the country experiencing them.What exactly does the judgement state? How important is it to sensitise boys and start conversations in schools? And how does period poverty impact women across the board in India? 

Guest: Poonam Muttreja, executive director, Population Foundation of India

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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Bangladesh will have its general elections on February 12. Nearly 2,000 candidates will contest on 300 seats of the Jatiya Sangsad. Alongside the parliamentary vote, electors will also vote in a referendum – on whether or not to adopt the July National Charter. 

Bangladesh has two major legacy parties -- the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and the Awami League. With the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League banned from contesting, the two main players are the BNP, which is contesting from 288 seats, and the Jamaat-e-Islami, which is seeking 224 seats. There is also the student-led National Citizens Party (NCP), which will contest in 32 seats, as part of an alliance with the BNP.

What are the main issues in this election? What’s at stake for the minorities in Bangladesh? What are the prospects for the non-legacy parties?

Guest: Kallol Bhattacharjee from The Hindu’s Delhi bureau, who joins us from Dhaka.

Host: G Sampath

Producer: Jude Weston

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In late January and early February this year, coordinated attacks across multiple districts in Pakistan’s Balochistan province marked one of the most intense phases of violence in decades. The Balochistan Liberation Army described the offensive as Operation Herof Phase II—a “Black Storm”—involving simultaneous strikes on security installations, transport routes, and administrative targets.

For Pakistan’s security establishment, the attacks raise urgent questions about control, intelligence, and the protection of strategic assets. For the region more broadly, they have revived long-standing debates about political marginalization, economic exclusion, and the unresolved history of Balochistan’s integration into the Pakistani state.

So what exactly is unfolding in Balochistan? Is this a turning point in a decades-old insurgency, or a sharper expression of a conflict that was never truly resolved? And what does the latest escalation mean for regional stability, foreign investment, and the prospects, if any, of a political solution?

Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Host: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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On January 28, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) National President Ajit Pawar died in a tragic air crash, leaving behind state politics in flux. Within a week, his wife was hurriedly sworn in as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of the country’s richest state. There has also been one-upmanship between the two NCPs for control of the party, amid speculation about the ‘invisible hand’ of the BJP, sparking a debate on whether the two NCPs will reunite, and what the future has in store.
In this InFocus episode, we speak with veteran journalist and founding editor of the People's Archive of Rural India (PARI), P Sainath.

Host: Vinaya Deshpande Pandit

Produced and edited by Jude Weston

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Last month, during the joint session of the Karnataka legislature, Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot walked out of the House after reading only a few lines of his customary address prepared by the State Cabinet. The Chief Minister accused the Governor of violating his constitutional obligation and indicated that the government was considering approaching the courts. The incident followed similar developments in two other Opposition-ruled States. In DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu, Governor R. N. Ravi walked out of the Assembly without delivering his inaugural address. In LDF-ruled Kerala, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar omitted portions of the speech cleared by the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet. Should the practice of Governors addressing the State legislatures be scrapped?

Guests: P.D.T. Achary and Alok Prasanna Kumar 

Host: Aaratrika Bhaumik

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced on social media that India and the US have agreed on a historic trade deal, or at least the broad framework for one. Under the agreement, the US will reduce tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%. India will reduce tariffs on all American goods to zero, and eliminate all non-tariff barriers.

Trump also announced that India has agreed to import American goods worth $500 billion. To put this figure in perspective, American imports to India are currently at $50 billion. Also, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has claimed that, under this deal, India will import huge volumes of American farm products, “pumping cash into rural America”, and reducing America’s agricultural trade deficit with India, which stnds at $1.3 billion.

One year ago, US tariffs on Indian imports averaged 2-3%, while Indian tariffs on American imports ranged from 5% to 30%. India’s duties on US agri-imports averaged 39%. So, does an agreement where India’s tariffs come down to zero while American tariffs on Indian goods go up (from 2-3% in Jan 2025 to 18% in Jan 2026) constitute a ‘good deal’ for India? Will this deal fix India’s foreign capital outflows problem and restore investor sentiment? What does it mean from the vantage point of India’s key economic priority – generating employment?

Guest: Prof. Arun Kumar, Economist and Former Professor, CESP, JNU

Host: G Sampath

Edited by Shiksha Jural

Recorded and produced by Jude Weston and Shiksha Jural

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On January 13, the University Grants Commission (UGC) notified new regulations to promote equity and protect from discrimination students from SC/ST/OBC communities and other marginalised categories. These are the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026.

These regulations are an updated version of the UGC’s campus equity rules passed in 2012. This revision was the outcome of a Supreme Court order. But the new rules sparked a wave of protests from the upper castes, and the Supreme was quick to pass a stay order.

Why were these new regulations passed? What explains the protests against them? What exactly is ‘reverse discrimination’ – a fear expressed by the protesters?

Guest: Professor Sukhadeo Thorat, former chairman of the University Grants Commission

Host: G Sampath

Producer: Jude Weston

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