Utpal Kumar (@Utpal_Kumar1) header
Utpal Kumar (@Utpal_Kumar1) profile picture

Opinion Editor, @Firstpost & @News18. Previously with Sunday Guardian, Mail Today, HT, Pioneer. Views are personal & retweets are not necessarily endorsements

New Delhi, Delhi
Joined August 2013
Photo by Utpal Kumar (@Utpal_Kumar1)Photo by Utpal Kumar (@Utpal_Kumar1)Photo by Utpal Kumar (@Utpal_Kumar1)Photo by Utpal Kumar (@Utpal_Kumar1)Photo by Utpal Kumar (@Utpal_Kumar1)Photo by Utpal Kumar (@Utpal_Kumar1)Photo by Utpal Kumar (@Utpal_Kumar1)Photo by Utpal Kumar (@Utpal_Kumar1)
A year ago, in January 2025, my second book Eminent Distorians: Twists and Truths in Bharat’s History was released. With Mahadev’s blessings and your immense love, it has been a remarkable journey. The book has not only sold well but, more importantly, sparked a much-needed discourse on how Bharat’s history has long been distorted. What gives me even greater satisfaction is seeing the term “distorians” entering popular conversation for our so-called “eminent historians.” And now, one year later, I am delighted to share that the Hindi edition is here — Prakhyat Galpkar. The title, beautifully coined by its translator Arun Tiwari, captures the spirit of the original. Arun ji has poured his heart into ensuring that the essence, intensity, and intent of the English version resonate just as powerfully in Hindi. My heartfelt thanks to my publisher, @praveenBlu ji, and the entire team at @BluOneInk for their unwavering support. As the book is available on #Amazon (amazon.in/dp/9365477328) on preorder, I seek your blessings and encouragement once again. Support this book — not merely because it carries my name, but because it is a sincere effort to reclaim and restore the true history of Bharat. Looking forward to your continued love and support. 🙏 #newbookrelease #books #EminentDistorians #PrakhyatGalpkar #newbookalert
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This @sunandavashisht piece is straight from the heart. "For Indian-Americans, this is perhaps the first time that their political choices have produced such deep anxiety about their place in the country. Those who moved away from the Democratic Party and supported Trump in the hope of a rational debate on immigration now find themselves disappointed and disillusioned. They did not vote for a politics that would make their own legal immigration journeys suspect. The 2026 midterms, therefore, are more than a referendum on Trump's policies. They are also a moment of political reckoning for Indian-Americans. The community is increasingly wary of strengthening Maga further, but it is hardly finding an easy alternative. Traditionally fiscally conservative, committed to meritocracy, and supportive of firm action against illegal immigration, many Indian-Americans no longer see the Democratic Party as their natural political home either. The party's increasingly progressive establishment, and what they perceive as its flirtation with ideological extremes, has created its own discomfort. Indian-Americans find themselves searching for a political centre in a country where both parties appear to be moving further towards their respective extremes. Read: firstpost.com/opinion/from-m…
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Benjamin Netanyahu may have lost ground in Israel’s latest election, but his political ideology has reshaped the country’s politics, writes @Utpal_Kumar1
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A change of prime minister may not mean a change in Israel’s underlying security doctrine. This, in a way, is the measure of Netanyahu’s ideological triumph. Read the complete article: firstpost.com/opinion/netany…
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Eisenkot challenges Netanyahu’s methods, not his fundamental assumptions. The two men may be bitter political adversaries, but their differences are far less ideological than their rivalry suggests.
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Herein lies the Netanyahu paradox. Bibi may not have won the polls, but he has so thoroughly transformed Israeli politics that even those seeking to replace him largely inhabit the political universe he created.
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Netanyahu may not have won conclusively, but Netanyahuism already has Benjamin Netanyahu has fundamentally altered the grammar of Israeli politics, writes @Utpal_Kumar1
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This troubling inversion was on display this week when French footballer Kylian Mbappé found himself apologising for calling Mao Zedong a “dictator”. Read the complete article (@Utpal_Kumar1) firstpost.com/opinion/mbappe…
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"Xi has discarded much of the diplomatic caution associated with the Deng era, embraced a more assertive nationalism and brought Mao’s worldview back to the centre of Chinese governance. Mao’s rehabilitation is part of this larger project: the restoration of unquestioned Party authority at home and the projection of Chinese political confidence abroad." My colleague @Utpal_Kumar1's piece is a must-read. firstpost.com/opinion/mbappe…
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Mbappé’s apology exposes how Xi Jinping’s China is increasingly demanding that the world accept its version of history, writes @Utpal_Kumar1
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For much of the five decades since the US brought Mao Zedong’s China out of international isolation in the early 1970s, Washington and its Western allies nurtured a comforting illusion: that China’s growing engagement with the West would eventually make it democratic🧵
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Mbappé was spot on on #Mao and yet he had to apologise. What does it say about Xi's China and the world we are living in. Read my article on @KMbappe's grim message from #XiJinping's #China: Mao the #dictator is dead, long live Mao the democrat. Link of the article in comments
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Mbappé was spot on on #Mao and yet he had to apologise. What does it say about Xi's China and the world we are living in. Read my article on @KMbappe's grim message from #XiJinping's #China: Mao the #dictator is dead, long live Mao the democrat. Link of the article in comments
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Under Xi Jinping, Beijing has gone a step further. It is no longer content merely to suppress democratic aspirations at home. It increasingly seeks to influence what can be said, debated and tolerated abroad.
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Instead of democratising China, economic engagement helped the Communist Party consolidate its authoritarian rule. Rather than smoothing Beijing’s illiberal edges, globalisation gave it the confidence to challenge the very international order that had enabled its rise.
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