Open Magazine - Top Stories

Freedom Issue 2026: Editor's Note
Freedom Issue 2026: Editor's Note
3 min read
Testament of a Radical Liberal
16 min read
Liberalism is not a repudiation of patriotism and to reclaim it is not to mimic the West but to rediscover a native grammar of freedom
Behold Gandhi the Hindu: How Sanatana Dharma Shaped India’s Independence Movement and Nationalism
12 min read
He tackled Jinnah, Ambedkar and the Christian missionaries with philosophical panache when his belief in Hinduism came to be directly challenged
The Ides of August: The idea of freedom
9 min read
Diplomatic postings in Singapore and Pakistan have given the author a ringside view of how the intersection of history and politics alters the idea of freedom
The Capital of Mobilisation: Delhi and the unfinished argument of the Republic
8 min read
Governments have changed, sometimes dramatically, but the city’s deeper history lay in the claims made upon them. The important question is not only who occupied the seat of power but who was standing ...
Chamoli Tunnel Tragedy: 7 Dead, 3 Missing as Rising Water Turns Rescue Into Race Against Time
2 min read
Twelve workers have been rescued alive from the flooded THDC tunnel in Uttarakhand, but seven have died and three remain missing. With up to six feet of water, sludge, low oxygen and relentless rain h ...
Australia vs Bangladesh 1st Test: How Bangladesh Turned Australia’s ‘Soft Start’ into a Test Nightmare
4 min read
Australia began the Bangladesh series as the overwhelming favourites. Two days later, they have been bowled out for 198, watched a 25-year-old playing only his second Test make history, and trail by 1 ...
Azadi Reloaded: How Brands Are Rewriting Independence Day Advertising
2 min read
From “Loot the British Raj” to the freedom to travel, explore and live with dignity, five campaigns are taking Independence Day storytelling beyond the usual tricolour tropes
The Fight Ended in 2015. For Prichard Colón, It Never Really Ended
4 min read
Puerto Rican boxer Prichard Colón entered the ring at 23, unbeaten in 16 professional fights. He walked out on his own feet, then collapsed minutes later. He would spend the next 11 years living with ...
open magazine cover
14 Aug 2026 - Vol 05 | Issue 33

Freedom Issue 2026

Shashi Tharoor on being radical liberal | Ram Madhav on how Gandhi used his Hinduism | TCA Raghavan on a diplomat's travels in history | Sumana Roy on the novel beyond the Booker | Carlo Pizzati on the dissolution of Borders
Testament of a Radical Liberal
Behold Gandhi the Hindu: How Sanatana Dharma Shaped India’s Independence Movement and Nationalism
Freedom Issue 2026: Editor's Note
The Ides of August: The idea of freedom