Operation Rising Lion and Operation Epic Fury have redrawn the Middle East's military map. Whether the United States and Israel have won the war—or merely a series of battles—depends on six questions whose answers will not be known for years. Nagesh Bhushan | Hyderabad, India O n June 11th 2025, Israeli jets crossed into Iranian airspace and began the most audacious military operation in the Middle East since the Gulf War. Twelve days later, a ceasefire brokered by Donald Trump halted what both sides were already calling the defining conflict of the region's modern era. Nine months later, the United States joined in earnest, launching Operation Epic Fury on February 28th 2026—a campaign that lasted 71 days, struck more than 9,000 targets, and gutted Iran's navy, air defences, and ballistic-missile stockpile. On May 5th, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared offensive operations concluded. The guns, for now, have fallen silent. The silence, however, is not th...
By T.Chiranjeevulu, IAS (Ret), Founder President BCIF( BC Intellectuals Forum) The judgment in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) stands as one of the most pivotal rulings in Indian constitutional history regarding social justice. Through this verdict, the Supreme Court clarified that 27% reservations in Central Government jobs should be implemented for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). This ruling provided constitutional backing to the implementation of the Mandal Commission's recommendations. However, in the same judgment, the Supreme Court introduced another crucial concept: the theory of the "affluent classes" or the "Creamy Layer." The Court opined that if economically, educationally, and socially advanced affluent sections within the OBCs were allowed to avail the benefits of reservations, opportunities would not reach the most backward sections. Consequently, the Court suggested excluding these upper strata within the OBCs from the purview of re...