Bewildered by the real-life demonstration of satyagraha by educator and innovator Sonam Wangchuk, the nation is being forced to turn its attention towards this man. Wangchuk & Friends believe that someone should be held responsible for the avoidable NEET mess, writes Editor-in-Chief Jyoti Malhotra in her weekly column (The Great Game) article Should Sonam Wangchuk be left to die. As for Rahul Gandhi, this much must be said for the Congress party’s most powerful leader. After returning from a three-week summer holiday, he clearly has one thing in common with the BJP: both have nothing to say on Wangchuk, she writes.The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is under scrutiny for theft of temple donations months before the UP polls. While PM Modi, who saw to it that the Trust was controlled by Delhi, remained silent, CM Yogi Adityanath swung into action. As of now, an objective assessment from UP is that while the BJP’s credibility has been dented by the temple theft, Modi and Yogi can be counted on to salvage the situation before the Assembly polls, writes senior journalist Radhika Ramaseshan in her Edit article Ram Mandir theft tests Hindutva plank. The onus is on the Opposition to corner the BJP in the upcoming session of Parliament, she writes.Geopolitics makes the sharing of cross-border river waters a complex and divisive issue. In 2024, China announced that it was commencing the construction of Medog, the world’s largest hydropower project, on the Brahmaputra river, which flows from Tibet into India’s Northeast. China is constructing a cascade system of five dams and massive 20-km-long diversion tunnels bored through a terrain characterised by an unstable geology. There is a very real possibility of a seismically induced series of colossal landslides and collapse of dam structures that would inevitably have an impact downstream, writes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran in his Edit article China’s hydel project bodes ill for India. There is no long-term solution possible unless rivers are treated as living assets. They can only deliver benefits to humanity if they are cherished and nurtured through collaboration among states that enjoy their bounties, he suggests. He asserts that New Delhi needs to build a well-reasoned case against the Medog dam system.Nepalese rapper-turned-politician and Prime Minister of Nepal for the last four months Balendra Shah is facing uncomfortable questions from the public. On July 12-13, sections of Gen Z, took to the streets once again to protest two unrelated events and Balen’s response to both protests has been silence. A streak of authoritarianism is evident in many of his acts of commission or omission, writes independent journalist Nirupama Subramanian in her Edit article All is not well in Balen’s Nepal. His disregard for due process, reclusive decision-making and bypassing of his cabinet on important decisions have left even those who voted for him angry, worried or just plain puzzled.The world is moving at a fast pace as the dawn of the AI age breaks. Like in the 1990s, when we opened up the Indian economy to the IT sector, we need to rediscover ourselves. India’s private sector, if given the proper environment, is more than capable of being globally competitive. The government must once again be a facilitator more than a regulator, writes former Manipur Governor and ex- J&K DGP, Gurbachan Jagat in his Edit article Needed — a ‘new deal’. India needs an initiative like the ‘Manhattan Project’, where we put together our best minds from the fields of science, technology, research, finance and administration — all under one roof. The results would be quick in coming and a game-changer.