Indian general plays with fire
Indians justifiably take pride in the robust durability of their country’s democracy, barring the Emergency (1975-77), and the relatively apolitical nature of its armed forces. Unlike in many third world…
State of uncertainty
The meeting in New York between prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Manmohan Singh helped to ratchet down tensions that had surged in recent months between the two countries. It yielded…
Immoderate Modi
Elections are to be held in India early next year, and the results will be important not only for India but for the world in which it is an increasingly…
Return to the fold
Obviously everyone has an ancestry; it is only a matter of rummaging deep enough into the past to discover who one’s forebears were. The British aristocracy has made a fetish…
Modi’s low politics
The Bharatiya Janata Party has committed a historic blunder by allowing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – a conspiratorial, unelected body with a deeply sectarian and anti-democratic agenda – to dictate…
The pretender and the prince
Is it really happening? Or is this merely a disturbing dream that will end when one wakes up? One would have thought that years of eager anticipation and hubbub promising…
Modi and democracy
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) nomination on Sept 13 of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections caused little surprise. The sole…
Kashmir compromise
PM Nawaz Sharif should be applauded for his attitude and initiatives in regard to maintaining peace and improving relations with India. (Little did I imagine I would ever write about…
For an India of many states
Sometimes political leaders do the right thing for the wrong reasons. This is true with a vengeance of the decision of India’s ruling United Progressive Alliance, led by the Congress,…
Look in the mirror for the Ugly Indian
Some years ago, India Today did an interesting cover story titled ‘The Ugly Indian’. That June 1998 magazine issue has remained etched on my memory all these years because of…
