Open Magazine - Top Stories

Supreme Court Rejects Plea to Replace Hanging as Death Penalty Method
Supreme Court Rejects Plea to Replace Hanging as Death Penalty Method
2 min read
The court refuses to order a shift to lethal injection, shooting or electrocution, but allows the Centre to examine whether scientific advances can offer a less painful and more dignified method of ex ...
BJP Looks to Refresh Narrative With Major Party Recast
3 min read
BJP has rebuilt its team. The party is looking to refresh its conversation with younger voters, and the sweeping organisational churn sets out its roadmap to the 2029 Lok Sabha election. A revitalised ...
JNU Deprivation Points Row Explained: Why Delhi High Court Put 2026 Admissions on Hold
6 min read
A candidate can receive up to 12 deprivation points, effectively adding as many as 36 marks to a CUET score. JNU calls it a bridge across geography and disadvantage. The court fears it could rewrite a ...
From Engineering to Edge of the Universe: Meet Rohan Naidu, the Astronomer Behind ‘Black Hole Star’ Discovery
4 min read
He left engineering at 18, boarded his first flight and switched paths. Years later, Hyderabad-born astronomer Rohan Naidu is helping scientists understand one of the strangest objects spotted by the ...
Bond vs Thor? Pierce Brosnan Is Joining Chris Hemsworth in Extraction 3
2 min read
Pierce Brosnan once played the world’s most famous spy. Chris Hemsworth plays a Marvel god. Now, the two are entering the same action movie — and yes, the pairing is as fun as it sounds.
‘Congress Turning Maoist’: Kiren Rijiju Defends Gen Z Protest Response, Draws BJP’s New Battlelines
5 min read
The Union minister defended the handling of Gen Z protests, escalated the “dimagi Naxal” battle with Congress and hailed Nitin Nabin’s new national team as the BJP’s organisation for the future
Silence, FOMO & the Imperfect Engineer: How Jan Brockmann Runs Hot & Keeps His Cool
13 min read
He won't tell you everything about the exit. He will tell you about the mistake. An intriguing departure, a boom he chased, a market that turned. Somewhere along the way, Jan Brockmann learnt what it ...
The ceasefire was supposed to calm the Middle East, but Iran used it to reload
4 min read
A pause in fighting was meant to create space for diplomacy. Instead, reports suggest Iran used the lull to rebuild its missile arsenal, strengthen the Revolutionary Guard and coordinate with regional ...
Bhind horror: 8 killed, several injured on MP highway — here’s what happened
2 min read
Eight migrant labourers returning to Uttar Pradesh after paddy transplantation work were killed and 32 were reportedly injured when their pickup collided with a truck near Chhimka village in Madhya Pr ...
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
Behold Gandhi the Hindu: How Sanatana Dharma Shaped India’s Independence Movement and Nationalism
Testament of a Radical Liberal
Freedom Issue 2026: Editor's Note
The Capital of Mobilisation: Delhi and the unfinished argument of the Republic