# The Grand Chessboard’s Substack A strategic lens on global affairs. This newsletter unpacks power dynamics, conflict, and diplomacy through curated analysis and historical context. For readers who don’t just follow the world, but seek to understand its design. Page: Feed: --- ## [The FDI Mirage: Why Blaming the Iran War Masks a Structural Failure That Began in 2020](https://thegrandchessboard6.substack.com/p/the-fdi-mirage-why-blaming-the-iran) _2026-08-06 · The Grand Chessboard_ A convenient narrative has taken hold in recent months: India’s struggle to attract and retain foreign capital is largely the result of the Iran war and the ensuing spike in crude oil prices. ## [Bulldozers Over Books](https://thegrandchessboard6.substack.com/p/bulldozers-over-books) _2026-07-31 · The Grand Chessboard_ The Yogi Government’s Assault on Mohammad Ali Jauhar University ## [The Resignation Was Not Given. It Was Taken.](https://thegrandchessboard6.substack.com/p/the-resignation-was-not-given-it) _2026-07-26 · The Grand Chessboard_ A Firsthand Account of the Delhi Uprising ## [How BJP Starved Education to Feed Highways](https://thegrandchessboard6.substack.com/p/how-bjp-starved-education-to-feed) _2026-07-24 · The Grand Chessboard_ The NEET paper leak is not an isolated scandal. ## [Bengal's Political Irony](https://thegrandchessboard6.substack.com/p/bengals-political-irony) _2026-05-09 · The Grand Chessboard_ Ex-TMC Leader as Chief Minister ## [BJP’s Budget 2026: Breathing New Life into ‘Worse’ Or Just Choking on It?](https://thegrandchessboard6.substack.com/p/bjps-budget-2026-breathing-new-life) _2026-02-06 · The Grand Chessboard_ In the high stakes circus of Indian budgeting, where each fiscal year is a sequel promising bigger spectacles, the BJP seems to have adopted a peculiar motto: “How bad can it get? ## [The Great Green Heist: How India’s “Development” Dreams Are Rooting Out Forests and Accountability](https://thegrandchessboard6.substack.com/p/the-great-green-heist-how-indias) _2026-01-04 · The Grand Chessboard_ In the lush, untamed paradise of Great Nicobar Island, where ancient rainforests whisper secrets older than human memory, the Modi government’s grand vision of “vikas” (development) is swinging an axe with reckless abandon. ## [The Silent Exit: Hiren Joshi’s Vanishing Act and the Unraveling of India’s Godi Media Machine](https://thegrandchessboard6.substack.com/p/the-silent-exit-hiren-joshis-vanishing) _2025-12-23 · The Grand Chessboard_ In the shadowy corridors of India’s power elite, few figures have wielded as much invisible influence as Hiren Joshi, the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) who for over a decade operated as the de facto puppet master of primetime news. ## [Ache Din’s Affluent Vault: BJP’s Billowing Billions](https://thegrandchessboard6.substack.com/p/ache-dins-affluent-vault-bjps-billowing) _2025-12-15 · The Grand Chessboard_ In the grand theater of Indian politics, where promises of prosperity echo like election jingles, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has masterfully orchestrated a financial symphony that would make even the most seasoned conductor envious. ## [CLI-first decentralized compute (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/amjj5H08sU3N) _2025-12-15 · **Sponsored**_ Run and pay spare GPUs from the CLI — transcode, coinpay (DID+escrow), infernet (AI). ## [Delhi’s Air-pocalypse: A Smog and Mirrors Tale of Governmental Blunders](https://thegrandchessboard6.substack.com/p/delhis-air-pocalypse-a-smog-and-mirrors) _2025-11-29 · The Grand Chessboard_ Delhi, the capital that’s more famous for its choking haze than its historic haze-l, is once again gasping under a blanket of pollution so thick, you could cut it with a knife, if you could see the knife through the smog.