A Mighty Bird Folds Its Wings

After 62 years of unbroken service, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to retire its remaining MiG-21 fighter jets in Septem­ber this year. Inducted in 1963, the MiG-21 formed the back­bone of the force and no other plane has served it longer. Over 600 were manufactured locally in India under agreement.

In recent decades, the MiG-21 earned the infamous tag of being a ‘flying coffin’ as the jets were involved in a large number of accidents that led to the deaths of more than 170 pilots. But the plane also has the record of notching up a large number of ‘kills’ against enemies, including an F-16 in 2019 during the Balakot strikes.

Since 2000, it was obvious that the time had come to say goodbye to the MiG-21. The aircraft be­longed to a different age and was not capable of handling modern jets. India spent a lot of money re­furbishing and modernising these planes. But better avionics, radars, computers and armaments can only take a plane so far. The Flying Oorials, a legendary squadron of IAF, bid goodbye to the plane in October 2023. The remaining MiGs—around 35 to 40—are housed at the Nal Air Force Station in Bikaner. These planes have been progressively replaced by the Sukhoi 30 MKI that is now the mainstay of the Air Force.

With the phasing out of the plane, an era is coming to an end. Today, standalone fighter jets don’t stand a chance in air war. Un­less a fighter jet is networked with a bevy of radars and computers, it is impossible for a plane and its pilot to enter contested air spac­es, carry out a mission and return to his or her base safely. Then, with so much information to process, situational awareness is no longer a merely human attribute: perhaps a large part of that will be taken over by machines and computers. The future for standalone fighters lies in defence and offensive operations done differently. The age of heroism symbolised by the MiG-21 is coming to an end.

Newsmaker: Ratan Thiyam
Down to Earth
A theatre visionary rooted in cultural tradition

WHEN EBRAHIM ALKAZI took over the National School of Drama (NSD), he was conscious that theatre was a performance art, not literature performed on stage. He was, as his daughter Amal Allana has written, creating a language of performance that was distinct from the language of words. It broke the bounds of what was considered good theatre and opened the door for students and eventual practitioners such as Ratan Thiyam (1948-2025). The Manipur-born director brought the sights and smell of his home state to what he had learnt and paid it forward to one of its greatest institutions which educated generations of students. Thiyam’s theatre group in Imphal popularised the theatre of roots, a movement that focused on ancient Indian traditions. Like most theatre greats, he was a teacher by nature, and returned to NSD as director and chairman. He was also a complete visionary, with total command over script, stage, design and music. His textual inspirations had no boundaries, Whether it was Chakra­vyuha, drawn from the Mahabharata, adapted as a comment on the plight of Manipuri youth, or the interpretation of Jean Anouilh’s Antigone as Lengshonnei, which was a critique of politicians in Manipur, he believed in the power of theatre to educate and illuminate. One of the greatest disappointments of the noughties was the erosion of poetry and theatre from public life. Men like Ratan Thiyam need to be celebrated to memorialise the importance of both, whether they borrow from Kalidasa or Agneya. The phone screen has replaced the proscenium and we are that much poorer for it. (By Kaveree Bamzai)

Noisemaker: Ishaq Dar
Grievance Diplomacy

 

Pakistan predictably used its current chairmanship of the UN Security Council to rake up disputes with India with its Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar accusing New Delhi of violating international law by suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and demanding the implementation of long obsolete UN resolutions relating to a plebiscite in Jammu & Kashmir. It has now become the case that the repetition of Pakistan’s endless gripes no longer moves any member of the UNSC or the General Assembly. It only helps India to not only rebut the charge but turn the spotlight on Pakistan’s parlous economy and its state sponsorship of terrorism.

Ideas
Relaunch

Marvel Studios has just launched its latest movie featuring one of the most iconic superhero teams in its comic book stable, but one that it had struggled to adapt in movies. The Fantastic Four, a sort of dysfunctional but loving family that gets its powers after being exposed to cosmic rays during a mission to outer space, was a wild hit when it was first introduced in comic books. But its film versions never worked. The studios have rebooted the characters thrice already, but each take was increasingly worse than the previous one.

It has now finally seemed to have got it right. The latest adaptation, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, appears to have won over critics and set the cash registers ringing. That’s a sound Marvel hasn’t heard in a while.

Interestingly, Marvel isn’t the only studio hoping to relaunch a character they have so far struggled to come to grips with. Superman, DC’s most famous character, one that arguably set the original template for all superhero characters both in comic books and in films, has had a difficult liftoff ever since Christopher Reeve hung his cape. DC has gone through a roster of movie stars and directors, but each reboot has failed. Some of the problems stem from the character himself. Superman, an alien with extraordinary powers, isn’t relatable by any stretch of imagination.

The latest take on the character, however, appears to have become a roaring success. Keeping a tone that has been described as both sincere and goofy, with light touches at the right moments, the film Superman is being seen as the movie that has put back the wind in the superhero’s cape.

Money Mantra
Learning From the Earnings Season
Home in on performance, not promises

THIS EARNINGS SEASON has drawn a clear line between companies converting tailwinds into cash and those still promising a better tomorrow. The first principle is dura­bility over drama. Forget the one-quarter EPS surprise. Instead, check the scaffolding underneath it.

Did operating cash flow rise in step with profit? Are margins expanding because of mix and efficiency, or because of a one-off gain or accounting tweak? Does the balance sheet allow the company to invest, absorb shocks, or return capital without jeopardising growth?

Winners this quarter mostly checked these boxes: They had pricing power, visibility on volumes, and room on the balance sheet to keep compounding. That’s the club you want your core holdings to belong to, even if you pay a premium.

Also, treat any “second half will be better” talk with scepticism. If a management team cannot translate a bulging order book into revenue and cash within a couple of quarters, hope is doing more work than execution.

This is where many laggards sit today: IT vendors guiding to “early green shoots,” retailers blaming “investment phase” margins, pharma players citing “temporary” price erosion.

Some of these names will, of course, turn. But until you see either a margin reset, a structural cost change, or a genuine demand revival, size such positions modestly or stay patient on the sidelines.

While you’re at it, control the reflex to buy ‘cheap’ just because a stock has corrected. Valuation without velocity is a value trap. Look instead for companies where the PEG compresses because growth re-accelerates, not because the P/E keeps falling.

The broader lesson from a split earnings season is simple: In a bull market that’s narrowing, breadth will not bail you out. Your edge comes from insisting on proof: Of pricing power, of cash conversion, of capital discipline. (By Ramesh Singh)

Viral
Antics Atop a Moving Car

A few days ago, Nazeem Sulde, a content creator, stood on the bonnet of a slow-moving Mercedes, performing some kind of dance, as the vehicle made its way around on a busy highway in Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar area. Sulde, who has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube and 8.5 lakh followers on Instagram, was recreating a viral video of an 11-year-old Indonesian boy dancing on a boat during a race. Those on the road witnessing the strange sight of a person dancing on a moving vehicle looked stunned, and there were plenty of people who expressed their displeasure online. Sulde was of course hoping to attract attention online, which she did, but she also caught the attention of the police. She was taken to the police station, and a case was registered against her. Taking to Instagram later, she said, “I don’t understand anything what to do next, what’s going to happen.”

 

investmentIshaq DarmarketMiG-21Ratan Thiyamviral