GLUTEN ALLERGY. PERIOD LEAVE. Mental health. Self-care leave. Children with learning disabilities. When anyone addresses these topics or similar ones, the standard question is: “Where did all this come from? We’ve never heard of it in our days.” Whack the kid. Sweep it under the carpet. Ignore it, and it will go away. Those were the standard responses in the past.
As society evolves and becomes enlightened, the light shines on dark and painful realities—and they get addressed. Accepting an issue’s existence is the first step. Then comes the gradual hunt for the solution. THE WEEK was part of the solution, attending the Mpowering Minds Summit 2026 in Bengaluru. This issue is the Women’s Day Special of your favourite newsmagazine.
A week ago, we published an interview with Neerja Birla, who is the driving force behind Mpowering Minds. In addition to her, the summit saw a galaxy of speakers such as Karnataka’s Minister for Women and Child Development Lakshmi R. Hebbalkar, Olympian Anju Bobby George, social entrepreneur Janhavi Nilekani, designer Masaba Gupta, transgender activist Dr Akkai Padmashali, Hindustan Unilever’s Sunita Wazir, Padmini Sahoo IPS and Dr Prathima Murthy of NIMHANS.
Mental health is tied to stress and conflict, and the Middle East is providing enough worries for all of us. My heart goes out to everyone with families and friends in the GCC countries, Israel and Iran.
We cover the conflict in detail. The lead article is by Dr P.R. Kumaraswamy, who teaches contemporary Middle East at JNU. Other voices include D.P. Srivastava, former Indian ambassador to Iran; Prof. Seyed Hadi Sajedi from the University of Tehran, and Dr Moonis Ahmar of the University of Karachi. Chief of Bureau (Delhi) Namrata Biji Ahuja interviewed Reuven Azar, the Israeli ambassador to India.
Another major section in this issue is from THE WEEK Leadership Summit in Chennai. Key speakers at the summit included Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, MP and former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram, state Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Members of Parliament K. Kanimozhi, Thamizachi Thangapandian, Kamal Haasan, John Brittas, Kanimozhi N.V.N. Somu, and former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian.
In @leisure, Principal Correspondent Pooja Biraia discusses designer Prabal Gurung against the backdrop of his memoir, Walk Like a Girl.
Beyond print, let me recommend a limited series video offering on THE WEEK’s YouTube channel, brought to you in association with CEAT. The anchor is our Sports Consultant, Ayaz Memon, and the content is all about cricket beyond the scoreboard. In the first episode, Memon and commentator Jatin Sapru discuss cricket broadcasting.
Chief Subeditor Anirudh Madhavan has captured the highlights of that episode on pages 62-63. He begins with a line attributed to British commentator Brian ‘Johnners’ Johnston.
“The bowler’s Holding, the batsman’s Willey.”
Johnston has denied saying it. Wisden has no record of this line. Yet, the urban myth lives on. There is, however, a record of something else involving Peter Willey, Graham Dilley and Dennis Lillee. It is from the scorecard of a 1979 Test between Australia and England at the WACA.
Lillee, c. Willey, b. Dilley