Neha Poonia

'We should all be feminists.'

NEW from @nytimes: Elon Musk was on a call between Trump and Modi this week. The two leaders talked about the Iran War started by Trump and Israel and the resulting energy crisis. Musk has business interests in the Middle East and wants a foothold in India.

On 28 March 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is arriving to inaugurate the Noida International Airport. The District Magistrate of Ghaziabad had issued an order that beneficiaries of government schemes would attend the event by boarding 800 buses. As a result, schools were to remain closed for students, with classes held online. The order has now been changed. Schools will remain open. However, the new order does not clarify how the beneficiaries will now travel to attend Modi’s programme.

Singapore's FM. Very blunt on Trump: - "the underwriter of this world order has now become a revisionist power, and some people would even say a disruptor" - "the entire global economy has been taken hostage and we will all pay a price on hostilities" mfa.gov.sg/newsroom/press…

Important point by @vsirnate about @MorningConsult surveys that themselves base results on 300-500 online respondents in India, out of 1.5bn. According to July 2025 results PM Modi's approval was 75%. Why has it dropped to 68% just 7 months later? newsonair.gov.in/pm-modi-emerge….

Alt News is ₹10 lakh short of breaking even this financial year. We need 2,000 people to donate ₹500 each before March 31. That's 6 days. Fighting misinformation isn't like putting out a fire. There's no moment when it's done. It's a fact-check every morning, a verification every afternoon, documentation of hate speech that nobody else is recording - day after day, year after year, for nine years. We don't take ads. We don't have sponsors. We have readers. Donate before March 31! pages.razorpay.com/altnews If not you, who? If not now, when?

While PM Modi has been calling up counterparts abroad to wish them for Eid, in his constituency, authorities prepare to send 14 young men for allegedly breaking their fast on a boat, to jail for 10 years. #VasudhaivaKutumbakam-The world is our village but not our own countrymen

Many small canteens like this one in our office building switched to kerosene pressure stoves in the last 10 days. But kerosene which should retail around Rs 61 per litre is going at Rs 120 per litre in Mumbai. Now, kerosene too is apparently running out either because of hoarding or not enough supply. India's kerosene production fell 80% in last 7 years to < 1 million tonne as homes rightly switched to gas.

I personally know off 1000 plus hotels, restaurants and kitchens - that have nearly zero revenue for over 10 days now My kitchens are going to be in a loss of roughly 1 CR this month Sab changa hai, sab changa hai

HT Impact: The office of I&FC minister Parvesh Verma said that he has “sought a detailed inquiry into the tender & the circumstances under which it was issued”. Tender not being cancelled, its conditions to be changed to ensure “need-based procurement.” @appriseParas

Ok, then

First, the Omani FM came out and revealed that there was a deal on the table that met Trump's demands, but that he instead chose war. And now, it is revealed that the British National Security Advisor was also part of the talks, and he too attests to the fact that A) there was no imminent threat from Iran, B) Trump could have gotten a surprisingly good deal if he stuck to diplomacy. But the perhaps most damning quote in the story comes at the end, attributed to an unnamed diplomat: “We regarded Witkoff and Kushner as Israeli assets that dragged a president into a war he wants to get out of.” theguardian.com/world/2026/mar…

Sri Lanka declares Wednesdays off as Asian countries try to conserve fuel bbc.in/41ahui4

I was reflecting on the contrasts with China that the sorry, shabby Loomer episode illustrates. The contrast I refer to is not about openness versus control. It is about attitudes toward hierarchy and self-respect in public life. What Kissinger noticed in 1971 about India was was a tendency toward obsequiousness when confronted with Western power or proximity to it. That instinct has deep historical roots. The word “khushamd” in Persian and Urdu literally means flattery offered to please someone in authority. In everyday usage it shades into something darker: ingratiation, calculated praise, the art of pleasing those above you in the hierarchy. British administrators in colonial India became fascinated by the term because they believed it captured a social habit they encountered repeatedly in courtrooms, durbars, and bureaucratic dealings. For two centuries the subcontinent lived under imperial structures in which advancement often depended on pleasing those above you in the hierarchy. The habits of speech that develop in such systems do not disappear overnight. In a rigid hierarchy where power flows sharply from the top, people learn quickly that bluntness is risky. Survival and advancement depend on reading the moods of authority. Language becomes lubricated with praise because praise reduces friction. Over time this produces a political culture where deference becomes a technique. China travelled through a very different historical arc.For most of its long imperial history China regarded itself as the civilisational centre. Foreign envoys were received within a carefully staged hierarchy in which the emperor’s court defined the terms of interaction. Visitors were expected to show deference to China, not the other way around. Even when China weakened in the nineteenth century, that cultural memory did not vanish. It remained embedded in the political reflexes of the state. This difference becomes visible when modern outsiders arrive carrying the aura of Western political celebrity. In India the reception often slips, almost unconsciously, into a familiar pattern: excessive politeness, warm praise, eager listening, and visible admiration. Panels become stages of affirmation rather than interrogation. The visitor is not merely hosted; they are subtly elevated. China almost never allows this dynamic to emerge. Chinese officials may be courteous but the tone is controlled and emotionally neutral. Praise is sparse. Questions are disciplined. The visitor’s importance is carefully calibrated so that it never exceeds the authority of the host institution or the state itself. Even globally powerful figures encounter this restraint. One can see it in how Chinese leaders treat Western visitors. They rarely flatter. They do not perform admiration. They project calm authority and expect the guest to adjust to that frame. In other words, status flows inward toward the state, not outward toward the visitor. In India the flow often reverses. The visitor’s celebrity radiates outward, shaping the atmosphere of the encounter. A social media provocateur can suddenly appear larger than the forum that invited them. This is what gives the Loomer episode its uncomfortable undertone. The issue is not free speech or the right to host controversial figures. Democracies must live with those realities. The issue is the tone of reception. When a platform meant for national conversation begins to resemble a stage on which outsiders are indulged and admired, the imbalance becomes visible. It is the same imbalance that Kissinger detected decades ago when he described Indians as masters of flattery. China’s instinct would have been the opposite. A confident civilisation listens, questions, and reminds the guest that they soeak on someone else’s stage. #IndiaTodayConclave #Khushamdi #PoliticalCulture #IndiaUSRelations #CivilisationalConfidence #SoftPower #IndiaChina

Around 100 Iranian sailors fly out of Kochi airport, along with 33 Iranians who came in from Colombo. MP Praveen reports @the_hindu thehindu.com/news/national/…

Day 14 of the West Asia War It has been a very busy 24–48 hours in the Erbil region, with around 50 missiles, drones, and rockets fired toward the area. One French service member was killed in a drone strike on a military base just outside Erbil...: @ollybarratt shares more details from Erbil with @madhavgk.

How it should be done. Kudos @Smita_Sharma

All of Chennai's 60+ Sathya showrooms have sold out electric induction stove and electrical cooker. 120 induction stove sales in T.Nagar Satya showroom in the last 3 days. Panic has gripped to an extent that customers even bought the display piece at the showroom with scratches tells Sitharaman, General Manager of Sathya showroom on @IndiaToday Next stock will come by today itself but salespersons are sure it'll run out in no time.

The @WSJ reports that Iran has actually managed to increase its oil shipments through the Straits of Hormuz, even as Saudi shipments are halted. Basically, Iran has managed to sanction other countries and benefit from higher oil prices -- precisely the opposite of Trump's plan.

"The recent developments follow a period of intensive engagement by the Reliance leadership, which helped secure the 30-day Russian oil purchase waiver and made progress on deals involving Venezuelan interests, the people said." This is buried at the end of the Bloomberg story.

From Paharganj To GK-2: Delhi Restaurants Shut Doors, Slash Menus As LPG Supply Dries Up | Exclusive ⁦@SimranBabbar_05⁩ news18.com/cities/new-del…