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Ian Birrell

Columnist & Foreign Correspondent

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India / Pakistan

Closer to calamity: dangerous rivalries simmer once again

Published by The i paper (8th May, 2025) Six years ago, Mike Pompeo was serving as secretary of state in Donald Trump’s first administration when he was woken […]

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Aid / India / World

India’s lunar ascent shows absurdity of our dismal aid system

Published by The Times (24th August, 2023) There was jubilation in India after it became the fourth country to successfully send a mission to the moon. The joy […]

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China / India / World

Muslims are under siege around the world

Published by The i paper (30th December, 2019) Boris Johnson focused on persecution in his first Christmas message as prime minister, pointing out that for many people around the […]

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India / Politics / World

How our first Asian MP shaped the Brexit debate

Published by UnHerd (25th July, 2019) When my generation was growing up half a century ago, we were taught the basics of history in terms of heroic British […]

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Environment / India / Policy / World

Running on empty

Published by Tortoise (25th July, 2019) Prabu Kasinathan was leaning over a concrete balustrade, gazing at the vastness of Puzhal Lake spread out below in the fierce summer […]

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Environment / India / Policy / World

Clean air is worth the political price

Published by The Times (25th July, 2019) Slowly but surely, the world is waking up to the climate emergency. I recently returned from Chennai, where one of India’s […]

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India / World

India’s huge vote in favour of democracy

Published by The i paper (15th April, 2019) People went by camel, car, foot, bicycle and tractor when voting started last week in the world’s biggest general election. […]

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India / World

Divisive extremist with blood on his hands or saviour of his state?

Published by The Daily Mail (17th May, 2014) Twelve years ago, a train containing Hindu activists heading for a protest at the site of a demolished mosque was […]

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Aid / China / India / World

Forget aid and target inequality

Published in Prospect (November 9th, 2012) Should Britain give aid to India? For a hefty majority of people in this country, the answer is clear: it is absurd […]

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Ian Birrell is an award-winning columnist, foreign correspondent, feature writer and investigative journalist. He is contributing editor of The Mail on Sunday, a weekly columnist in The i Paper and writes frequently for other papers and platforms. He is also co-founder with Damon Albarn of Africa Express, the acclaimed collaborative music project. (Pictured: Talking to refugees in Iraq fleeing Islamic State)... Read More.

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