MTO - All Editorials Snapshot: 09-October-2025

The Hindu Editorials snapshot

Editorial 1

Chemistry Nobel 2025 – Designing the Architecture of Matter

The 2025 Chemistry Nobel Prize honoured Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa, and Omar Yaghi for their pioneering work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — porous crystalline structures that offer vast internal surface areas and tunable cavities. These frameworks, composed of metal ions linked to organic molecules, can trap greenhouse gases, harvest water from air, and store clean fuels like hydrogen and methane. Robson’s 1980s discovery of diamond-like crystals with empty cavities, Kitagawa’s 1997 development of 3D frameworks that retained structure when drained of water, and his 1998 insight into “breathing” MOFs expanded the possibilities of gas storage and molecular absorption. Yaghi’s creation of reticular chemistry in 1995 enabled systematic design of robust 2D and 3D frameworks, culminating in MOF-5, whose stability and extreme surface area revolutionised materials engineering. Today, thousands of MOFs are in use or under development, from industrial reactors to semiconductor manufacturing. Challenges remain in making MOFs more durable and economical, but this year’s laureates have shown that chemistry can precisely design both solid matter and the empty space within it — opening endless possibilities for innovation.

Editorial 2

Bihar Assembly Election – A Test for the Election Commission

The upcoming Bihar Assembly election, to be held in two phases on November 6 and 11 with counting on November 14, is not just politically significant but a litmus test for the Election Commission of India’s neutrality and efficiency amid growing concerns over electoral integrity. Calling it the “mother of all elections,” Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has outlined 17 measures to boost voter trust and participation. These include reducing maximum booth size to 1,200 voters, completing postal ballot counts before final EVM rounds, mandatory VVPAT counting in case of mismatches or uncleared mock poll data, mobile phone deposit facilities at polling stations, and real-time turnout monitoring via the ECINet platform with live booth feeds. This election also comes after the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which removed 69 lakh names in Bihar for reasons such as deaths, migration, duplication, and suspected foreign nationality. Politically, it is a high-stakes contest for the BJP, Congress, RJD, and JD(U), with leadership transitions and alliances in question. For the ECI, success in Bihar will be critical to restoring confidence in India’s election machinery.

The Indian Express Editorials snapshot

Editorial 3

Miss Rishikesh Contestants Stand Up to Intimidation

When a self-proclaimed moral guardian attempted to halt rehearsals for the Miss Rishikesh pageant on grounds of protecting Uttarakhand’s “sanskriti,” the contestants refused to give in. Led by resilience, they stood firm for their right to choose, forcing the disruptor to abandon his campaign. The event went ahead, crowning a new Miss Rishikesh the next day. While small, this victory was significant in a climate of increasing efforts to enforce narrow definitions of Indian culture and restrict artistic, literary, and personal freedoms. The defiance in Rishikesh reflects the growing empowerment of Indian women, who have historically been policed into constrained roles under the guise of morality or protection. As more women enter classrooms, businesses, and public spaces, such resistance helps ease the way for others, challenging the bullies and strengthening the collective voice for freedom and equality.

Editorial 4

Strategic Autonomy – India’s Path in a Fractured World

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has redefined India’s “strategic autonomy” as a pragmatic approach for navigating an increasingly divided global order. Rather than an abstract idea, he views it as a method to ensure freedom of choice while engaging major powers such as the US, Russia, Europe, and China. Strategic autonomy, he argues, is dynamic — it requires constant adaptation, recalibration, and revision of strategies in response to change, rather than rigid non-alignment or indecision. India’s growing strength, compared to its early post-Independence vulnerability, enables it to maintain balanced relations without being forced into alignment. Jaishankar also cautions against the recent drift toward “re-hyphenation” with Pakistan, revived by Washington’s renewed engagement with Islamabad. He asserts that India’s best strategy is to rise far beyond Pakistan’s capabilities — economically and geopolitically — rendering any comparison irrelevant. The persistent use of anti-Pakistan rhetoric in Delhi, however, risks undermining this separation and weakening India’s global stature. True strategic autonomy, in Jaishankar’s view, lies in confidence, flexibility, and the decoupling of domestic politics from foreign policy.

Top Vocabulary Picks from Today’s Editorials

Word	Simple Meaning	Synonym	Antonym
Porous	Full of tiny holes that allow liquids or gases through	Permeable, absorbent	Solid, impermeable
Coordinated	Joined or arranged together effectively	Linked, connected	Disconnected, separate
Tuned	Adjusted for a specific function	Optimised, adjusted	Uncalibrated, misaligned
Architecture	The design and structure of something	Structure, framework	Disorganisation
Self-assembled	Built automatically without external control	Auto-formed, self-built	Manually constructed