The Hindu Editorial Analysis : 14th September 2026

The Hindu Editorial Analysis

We understand the significance of reading The Hindu newspaper for enhancing reading skills, improving comprehension of passages, staying informed about current events, enhancing essay writing, and more, especially for banking aspirants who need to focus on editorials for vocabulary building. This article will explore today’s editorial points, along with practice questions and key vocabulary.

BRICS Bridges Iran-UAE Rift, Adopts New Delhi Declaration

• On Saturday, India was able to bring all the BRICS countries to an agreement after Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed at the last moment to a compromise on the wording about the war in West Asia. Because of this agreement, the 11-member BRICS group was able to adopt the New Delhi Declaration at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The declaration did not directly mention the attacks carried out by the United States and Israel against Iran. It also did not directly mention Iran’s later attacks on its Persian Gulf neighbours, including the UAE. Instead, the statement called for “maximum restraint”, meaning that all sides should show the greatest possible control and avoid further escalation. The declaration also did not separately mention the Russian war in Ukraine.
• The meeting was attended by the leaders of eight BRICS member countries. Those present xxincluded Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The leaders of Indonesia, Ethiopia, Egypt and South Africa also attended. Brazil and the UAE sent high-level representatives instead of their heads of government.
• An important point was that, despite India’s close relations with Israel and Prime Minister Modi’s own visit to Jerusalem in February, the BRICS group strongly criticised Israel for its bombing of Gaza. The group also expressed support for South Africa’s case against Israel in international courts and called for humanitarian aid to be provided to the people of Gaza.
• The New Delhi Declaration called for “comprehensive reform” of the United Nations, meaning that the UN should be changed and made more representative of today’s world. It supported giving Brazil and India a bigger role in the UN Security Council. The declaration also stressed the need to protect civilians and expressed “deep concern” about attacks on civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities in West Asia. This was a reference to the missile attacks carried out by the United States and Israel against Iran.
• While speaking to the leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that 20 years after BRICS was originally formed as a grouping of emerging economies, BRICS was now “coming of age” and had developed a “distinct identity.” He said that the group was not formed to work against other countries on the world stage.
• Modi said that the BRICS countries respect each other’s different views and move ahead by reaching a common agreement. He said that BRICS wants to move forward with an approach that is “not against anyone but instead seeks to take everyone along.” This statement may have been a reference to criticism in the United States that BRICS is an “anti-western” group.
• Prime Minister Modi suggested that BRICS should create a “troika” system similar to the G-20. Under such a system, the current, incoming and outgoing presidents of BRICS would work together, helping the group maintain continuity in its discussions and decisions even when the presidency changes.
• Modi also suggested a number of other plans. These included a road map for reforming global governance, a network to help seafarers in distress, and a BRICS Global South mechanism for developing skills in new technologies.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping, who held an hour-long bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi after the BRICS session, announced that China would take over the BRICS presidency for the next year. Xi said that BRICS had become the “world’s most influential platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries.”
• The declaration also criticised the United States for its blockade of Cuba and expressed concern about the violence taking place in Sudan.
• Earlier BRICS ministerial meetings held during the year had failed to issue joint statements because of disagreements between Iran and the UAE over the wording related to the conflict.
• According to sources who were aware of the negotiations, Iran wanted the declaration to strongly condemn the United States and Israel for starting the war through strikes that assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader. Iran wanted the BRICS statement to use language similar to the statement issued by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The SCO does not include the UAE.
• On the other hand, the UAE wanted Iran’s attacks on its neighbouring countries to be condemned equally. Therefore, Iran wanted strong criticism of the United States and Israel, while the UAE wanted equal criticism of Iran for its attacks on neighbouring countries. These different demands made it difficult for the BRICS countries to agree on the final wording.
• In the end, the countries reached a compromise by using general and non-specific references to the conflict in the final declaration. This meant that the statement did not directly name one side as responsible for the attacks.
• The final agreement was reached after months of detailed and very thorough discussions, described as “threadbare” discussions, according to Sudhakar Dalela. He was the Indian Sherpa for the BRICS talks and also the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs.
• Dalela was speaking at a media briefing held after the closed BRICS session, which focused on the future of global governance and the strengthening of multilateralism. He said that the cooperation and collaboration of all the BRICS members was key to reaching the final agreement.
• The Hindu asked Dalela whether India had asked other BRICS leaders to support its efforts to convince Iran and the UAE to agree to the draft wording. Dalela did not directly answer this question. Instead, he said that the cooperation and collaboration of all the members was important.
• Dalela also pointed out that the BRICS countries had a common position against cross-border terrorism. He made a specific reference to the Pahalgam terror attack in 2025 while discussing this common position.
• On Sunday, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to chair a BRICS Plus session. This will be an outreach session involving BRICS Plus countries and regional representatives. The leaders of Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Uganda, Vietnam and Kazakhstan will take part in this session.

Xi, Modi hail ‘steady progress’ in India-China relations

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday during the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
• In the meeting, both leaders said that India-China relations had made “steady progress” since their last meeting in Tianjin in August 2025.
• Modi said that they discussed all major areas of India-China relations. He also gave his best wishes to China for its BRICS presidency, which will begin next year.
• According to the External Affairs Ministry, both leaders welcomed the steady improvement in relations between India and China since their meeting in August 2025. They also agreed that both countries should look at their relationship from a long-term and strategic point of view.
• Both leaders stressed that differences between India and China should not turn into disputes.
• Modi stressed that it was important to maintain “peace and tranquillity” in the border areas. He said that peace and calm along the border are an “essential basis for development of bilateral relations”.
• Chinese State media reported that Mr. Xi said India and China have “different national circumstances”, meaning that the two countries have different conditions and situations. However, he said that both countries can learn from each other’s strengths and work together for shared development.
• Xi gave four points for keeping India-China relations stable and developing them over the long term. These were: having a “rational strategic understanding” of each other, working together through “cooperation through mutual benefit”, maintaining “mutual respect and understanding”, and supporting “openness and inclusiveness through multilateral cooperation” in organisations and groups such as the UN, SCO, BRICS and G-20.
• The External Affairs Ministry said that both leaders agreed to work towards a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question”. They said this should be done by keeping in mind the overall political relationship between the two countries and the long-term interests of the people of both countries.
• The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that India and China should continue making progress in their overall bilateral relations as well as on the boundary question at the same time. Each area should support progress in the other, while both countries should continue to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
• Xi arrived in New Delhi earlier on Saturday with a large delegation for a two-day visit. He was taken to the summit venue at Bharat Mandapam under tight security arrangements.
• While speaking at the summit about the situation in West Asia, Mr. Xi said that the war had caused “serious losses” to people in all countries of the region. He said that the war was against the common interests of the international community.
• Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, while referring to Mr. Xi’s speech, called for a “political settlement” of the crisis, meaning that the crisis should be resolved through political talks and negotiations.
• Xi said that China would work with the other BRICS members to play its proper role in bringing peace and tranquillity to the Middle East. He described India and China as “key members of the Global South”.
• Xi said that countries must keep the future of humanity and the well-being of their people at the centre of their efforts. He called for countries to work together to promote high-quality cooperation within the expanded BRICS framework, support an orderly multipolar world, and promote economic globalisation that is beneficial and inclusive for everyone.
• He said that these efforts should bring greater positive energy to the promotion of global peace, stability, development and prosperity.

Saudi Arabia Shuts Oil Pipeline as Houthis Tighten Their Grip on the Red Sea

• Saudi Arabia has temporarily shut down its East-West oil pipeline after the important oil pipeline was attacked by drones. The attack has added to fears that oil and energy prices may rise even more as the war in West Asia continues to spread.
• Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of crude oil. It closed the pipeline after the drone attack because both Iraq’s government and Saudi Arabia said that the attack had come from Iraq. Iranian-backed armed groups operate in Iraq. Following the attack, Iraq removed a military commander from his position on Saturday.
• The 1,200-km-long East-West pipeline runs across Saudi Arabia and is important because it gives the country another way to move its oil without depending on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Ship traffic through the strait has fallen to very low levels because of the six-month-long war between the United States and Iran.
• Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said that the pipeline was closed as a safety measure. In recent months, the pipeline had been carrying around 4–5 million barrels of oil every day. This is equal to about 4–5% of the world’s total oil supply.
• No group had immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, satellite pictures showed black smoke rising from an area of the pipeline south of Medina.
• The attack caused some injuries and damage. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said that officials were still checking the damage to find out how serious it was.
• S. President Donald Trump, who was in Ireland to attend a golf tournament at one of his resorts, said that Iran was probably behind the attack.
• Trump also said that the war he had started six months earlier would probably end soon after the U.S. midterm elections in November. He said that when the war ended, oil prices would “come tumbling down.”
• At the same time, the Houthis took control of the strategically important island of Perim on Friday. The island is located at the entrance of the Red Sea, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an important sea route for ships carrying oil and other goods.
• Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, spoke to Trump by phone last week and asked for U.S. military help to fight the Houthis, according to two sources who spoke to Reuters.
• According to the two sources, Washington told the Crown Prince that the United States would not directly enter the fighting for now. However, the U.S. said it would help Saudi Arabia by providing intelligence and information.
• Trump confirmed on Saturday that he had spoken with the Crown Prince. He also said that the Houthis had contacted his administration and asked the United States not to directly get involved in the conflict.
• The two attacks reported on Friday — the attack on the Saudi oil pipeline and the takeover of Perim Island — could lead to a serious increase in the fighting. This is especially worrying because diplomatic efforts to stop the war have stopped making progress.
• Saudi Arabia has been using the East-West pipeline to send crude oil to the Red Sea. This route has become the main alternative way of moving West Asian oil because normal access to the Gulf has been blocked during the war.
• Meanwhile, forces backed by Saudi Arabia and supporting Yemen’s government in the south said that they would try to take back the areas captured by the Houthis earlier this week during the Houthis’ very fast military offensive.

Important Questions

1. How did India help BRICS countries reach an agreement between Iran and the United Arab Emirates on the wording about the war in West Asia?
2. What did the New Delhi Declaration adopted at the BRICS Summit in New Delhi say about reform of the United Nations and giving Brazil and India a bigger role in the UN Security Council?
3. What did Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping say about the steady progress in India-China relations since their meeting in Tianjin in August 2025?
4. What four points did Chinese President Xi Jinping suggest for keeping India-China relations stable and developing them over the long term?
5. Why did Saudi Arabia temporarily shut down its 1,200-km East-West oil pipeline after the drone attack, and why is this pipeline important during the war in West Asia?
6. Why is the Houthis’ takeover of Perim Island near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait strategically important for oil and other goods moving through the Red Sea?

Important Vocabulary

1. Rift — A serious disagreement or division between people or countries.
2. Restraint — Control over one’s actions or emotions.
3. Multilateralism — Cooperation among several countries or international organisations.
4. Threadbare — Very detailed and thorough, leaving little unexplored.
5. Tranquillity — A state of peace and calm.
6. Bilateral — Involving or relating to two countries.
7. Inclusiveness — The quality of including everyone.
8. Multipolar — Involving several powerful countries or centres of power.
9. Strategically — In a way that is important for achieving a major objective.
10. De facto — Existing in reality, even if not officially recognised.
11. Offensive — A planned military attack against an enemy.
12. Diplomatic — Relating to managing relations between countries.

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