India at Asian Games 2026: A Record-Sized Team Carries the Momentum of Hangzhou to Japan The next chapter of India’s Asian sporting story begins in Japan. The 20th Asian Games, Aichi-Nagoya 2026, officially open on September 19 and run through October 4, bringing together athletes from across the continent in one of the biggest multi-sport competitions before the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. For India, there is an additional layer of significance. The country is arriving after its greatest Asian Games performance ever. At Hangzhou, India won 107 medals — 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze — and finished fourth in the overall standings. Now comes the difficult part of sport: Doing it again. India sends 503 athletes to Japan India’s final delegation has grown to 503 athletes — 269 men and 234 women — according to the Olympic Council of Asia’s September update. More than 300 members of the athlete contingent are making their Asian Games debut, according to India’s Sports Ministry’s send-off information. That is more than just a number. It indicates both experience and renewal. There are established Olympic and Asian Games medallists heading to Japan, but alongside them is a substantial group entering the continental

From Jaipur to Dubai: How Indian Weddings Became a Global Celebration Industry There is a useful way to explain the modern Indian wedding to someone who has never attended one. It is not simply a wedding. It is a wedding, fashion show, concert, food festival, family reunion, hospitality operation and destination holiday—sometimes all before the actual wedding ceremony has started. And increasingly, this distinctly Indian way of celebrating is travelling around the world. From Muscat and Abu Dhabi to Mauritius, Thailand, Italy, Bali and Türkiye, Indian couples are taking familiar rituals—mehendi, haldi, sangeet, pheras and elaborate receptions—and placing them against international landscapes. The result is an unusual form of cultural globalization: India is exporting not merely clothes or cuisine, but an entire celebration format. That is the fascinating part. The Indian wedding has become a global business without becoming culturally anonymous. First, let’s talk about the money The frequently quoted $100 billion figure needs some caution. India’s wedding economy is estimated at around that level, with WeddingWire India’s 2024–25 survey describing the Indian wedding industry as a $100 billion market and reporting an average wedding expenditure of ₹29.6 lakh among its surveyed couples. India House Foundation similarly describes India’s wedding

How Indian Shipyards Are Changing the Navy’s Future There was a time when an Indian Navy warship usually came with an interesting footnote: “Built with foreign assistance.” Today, an increasingly common description is rather different: Designed in India. Built in India. Armed increasingly with Indian systems. That change is one of the most consequential developments in India’s defence-industrial story. India’s naval modernisation is no longer just about buying more ships. It is increasingly about creating the industrial capacity to design, build, maintain and eventually export sophisticated warships. And the shipyards are getting very busy. Project 17A: the frigate programme becoming a manufacturing lesson The clearest example is Project 17A, India’s Nilgiri-class stealth frigate programme. The programme comprises seven advanced multi-mission frigates, being built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata. By 2026, the programme had moved substantially from construction into induction. INS Nilgiri, INS Himgiri, INS Udaygiri and INS Taragiri had already entered service, followed by INS Dunagiri in June 2026 and INS Mahendragiri in July 2026. INS Vindhyagiri remains the final ship of the seven and is still under construction. These are not merely larger floating pieces of steel.

Novak Djokovic Retirement: The Decision Belongs to the Champion, Not the Crowd Editor, Doonited News There is a particular cruelty in watching a sporting legend struggle with the one opponent nobody can defeat forever: time. Novak Djokovic’s first-round exit from the 2026 US Open has reopened an increasingly familiar question — should the 39-year-old Serbian champion retire? The question is legitimate. But the decision is not ours to make. Djokovic’s defeat to Argentina’s Mariano Navone was extraordinary by the standards of a career built on extraordinary consistency. Navone won 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 after four hours and 36 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was Djokovic’s first opening-round defeat at a Grand Slam since 2006. More concerning than the result was what happened physically. Djokovic struggled with nausea and vomiting and battled cramping and pain involving his back and shoulder. He eventually lost control of the match after taking a two-sets-to-one lead. In his own account after the match, he indicated that physical problems had been following him through much of the season. That makes the retirement debate understandable. But understandable does not mean decisive. The body is asking a difficult question At his peak, Djokovic’s greatest weapon was

How an Old Hindi Song Became a New Diplomatic Moment Diplomacy normally has a familiar soundtrack: formal statements, handshakes, carefully negotiated phrases and microphones that seem to multiply whenever a leader enters a room. But in New Delhi this week, diplomacy briefly found a different rhythm. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim picked up a microphone and sang Kishore Kumar’s “Khwab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeeqat,” the evergreen Hindi song from the 1965 film Teen Devian. The moment, captured on video, quickly travelled far beyond the room where it happened. The accompanying pianist was Indian musician M. Rehman, and the performance took place during a gala dinner associated with the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi. Within days, the clip had become one of those rare diplomatic moments that ordinary social-media users could enjoy without needing a briefing note to understand it. There was no complicated communiqué to decode. Someone was simply singing a beloved Hindi song. Anwar and Kishore Kumar — not exactly a new acquaintance The viral performance may have surprised viewers who knew Anwar primarily as Malaysia’s prime minister, but his connection with Indian music is not new. During an earlier India visit, Anwar had already performed

Brian Lara’s Imran Khan Appeal: When Cricket’s Respect Crosses Political Borders Cricket has always been more than a game in South Asia. It creates rivalries, national emotions and unforgettable sporting memories—but it can also create a shared language between people who otherwise stand on opposite sides of political boundaries. That dimension returned to the spotlight on September 5, 2026, when West Indies cricket great Brian Lara publicly expressed concern about the treatment of former Pakistan captain and former prime minister Imran Khan, calling for proper medical care and dignity while Khan remains in prison. Lara made his appeal through his official Instagram account. He recalled that he and Khan had crossed paths only a handful of times on the cricket field, but said the respect he developed for the former Pakistan captain was immediate and lasting. The significance of the intervention lies not simply in the identity of the person speaking, but in the language he chose. Lara deliberately separated his appeal from politics, describing the issue as one of basic humanity and asking that Khan receive independent medical care and the dignity due to every human being. From cricket captain to political prisoner Imran Khan occupies a unique place

India Must Build Its Own Tech Giants: From Digital Dependence to Technological Power India has the engineers, entrepreneurs, digital infrastructure and market scale to create globally competitive technology companies. But building credible alternatives to X, Instagram, WhatsApp, AWS and ChatGPT will take more than patriotic ambition. It requires sustained research investment, reliable infrastructure, user trust, original intellectual property and a strategy that prioritises genuine technological capability over copying foreign products. Imagine an Indian business launching a new social network, a cloud platform or an artificial intelligence assistant. Its technology works, its interface is polished and its engineers are talented. Yet customers hesitate to switch because their friends, colleagues, business software and digital workflows already depend on established global platforms. This is the central challenge facing India’s ambition to build its own technology giants. Developing software is difficult; creating a product that millions of people trust, businesses depend on and international customers are willing to pay for is harder still. India has become a major market for global digital services and a significant provider of software talent. It has also demonstrated that large-scale digital infrastructure can be built for Indian needs. The next strategic question is whether the country can turn

The Contributions, Sacrifices and Untold Costs of Migration Indian migrants help staff hospitals, build cities, power businesses and connect cultures across borders. Their work supports families and economies, but the rewards of migration are not shared evenly. From recruitment debt in the Gulf to the strain of raising children across continents and the uncertainty of long immigration queues, the human cost can remain hidden behind the success story. International Migrants Day is a chance to look at both sides of that equation. A global contribution built one journey at a time On 18 December, International Migrants Day recognises migrants’ contributions and calls attention to their rights and well-being. The United Nations established the observance in 2000, reflecting the growing importance of migration and the need for international cooperation to protect people who move across borders. For Indian families, migration can be a route to better wages, education, security and opportunity. For destination countries, migrant workers contribute skills, labour, entrepreneurship and cultural knowledge. But “migration” is not one experience. A construction worker recruited for a Gulf project, a nurse joining the UK health service, a software engineer in California and a child born into a diaspora household encounter very different opportunities

COP31 approaches in Antalya, the Indian diaspora has opportunities to connect climate finance, technology, research and community resilience across borders. But private investment and philanthropy cannot replace governments’ climate commitments. The real test is whether diaspora networks can help deliver measurable results where they are needed most. COP31’s implementation challenge—and the diaspora connection When global climate negotiators meet in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20, 2026, the central question will extend beyond promises: how can climate commitments translate into finance, technology and practical action? The United Nations confirms the dates and venue, while the conference process includes negotiations on finance, adaptation and technology development and transfer. For Indians living and working overseas, this agenda has a direct connection to home. Diaspora professionals, entrepreneurs, researchers and community organisations often operate across the very borders that climate solutions must cross. They may understand the requirements of an overseas investor, the capabilities of a research institution and the realities of a community facing heat, flooding, water stress or unreliable power. That position can create useful connections. It does not, however, mean the diaspora is a single, coordinated climate actor—or that every overseas Indian has the wealth, expertise or opportunity to invest. The

Jodhpur RIFF 2026: When Rajasthan’s Folk Traditions Meet the World Under a Desert Moon From dawn music at Jaswant Thada to late-night performances within the historic Mehrangarh Fort complex, Jodhpur RIFF returns from October 22 to 26 with Rajasthani folk traditions, Indian classical music and international collaborations. As the festival marks its 20th year, its […] Read More…

Karishma Swali: How Indian Craft Is Finding a New Language Through Contemporary Art Karishma Swali’s work sits at an increasingly important intersection in Indian culture: traditional embroidery, contemporary art, fashion and the economic agency of women artisans. Through the Chanakya School of Craft and her own artistic practice, she is part of a movement asking […] Read More…

As India marks the centenary of Satish Gujral’s birth, exhibitions and conversations in Mumbai are bringing renewed attention to an artist who treated painting, sculpture, murals, architecture and design not as separate careers, but as different languages of the same creative mind. Some artists spend a lifetime perfecting one language. Satish Gujral spent his life […] Read More…