Open Magazine - Top Stories

NTA in spotlight again as it orders re-tests after UGC-NET errors
NTA in spotlight again as it orders re-tests after UGC-NET errors
2 min read
The re-examination will be held for English, Commerce and Sociology papers on September 9 and 10
Ashok Dham Stampede Explained: What Triggered the Crush That Killed 7 Devotees in Bihar?
6 min read
Two trains reportedly delivered a sudden wave of pilgrims, a barricade buckled and rumours of a fallen electrical pole ignited panic. Within minutes, seven devotees were dead. The precise trigger rema ...
Tropical Storm Lala is Leaving Hawaii. Why its Blackouts and Flood Threat Are Not
5 min read
The storm never made landfall and has weakened from a hurricane. It still flooded roads, tore into homes and knocked out power to more than 200,000 electricity customers. As Lala moves away, Hawaii is ...
17 Years Later, The World Comes Back: Can India Rule its Own Badminton Court?
6 min read
Seventeen years after India last hosted the Badminton World Championships, everything has changed. PV Sindhu has five Worlds medals, Satwik-Chirag are title contenders and India has gone from chasing ...
Mr. & Mrs. Vance: Does the vice president have a presidential problem?
3 min read
A double law graduate from Yale, Usha has long been in the crosshairs of MAGA. White supremacist Nick Fuentes has attacked Usha with slurs against her Indian heritage. Fuentes called JD Vance a ‘race ...
No Excuses, Few Answers: Cummins Concedes Australia Were Outplayed, Ponting Says Change Is ‘Inevitable'
3 min read
Australia arrived prepared and still collapsed for 198, conceded a 228-run lead and lost to Bangladesh by nine wickets. Pat Cummins says there are “no excuses”. Ricky Ponting has gone a step further: ...
Trump Cuts US-South Korea Military Drills: What Changes and Why Kim Jong Un Matters
6 min read
Hours before 18,000 South Korean troops were due to begin Ulchi Freedom Shield, Trump ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the exercises. He cited their cost, his relationship with Kim Jong ...
Farmers’ Delhi March 2026: Why Khanauri Is Barricaded and What the India-US Trade Deal Has to Do With It
8 min read
A small group planned to walk 228 kilometres from the Punjab-Haryana border to Delhi. Five layers of barricades stopped it at the starting line. Behind the standoff lies a much larger battle over chea ...
Afghanistan Natural Disasters: Why Floods Have Hit More Than 97,000 People in 2026
5 min read
At least 97 people have been killed, 331 injured and over 12,000 homes damaged or destroyed across Afghanistan this year. Floods caused most of the devastation, striking communities already trapped be ...
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