Strengthening democracy and political parties – II
The military often takes over power swiftly and comfortably without any meaningful resistance either during or after the process of the take-over. Prime ministers are put behind bars and sent…
Viewpoint: Guru’s hanging
The manner in which the Kashmiri 'militant' Afzal Guru was tried and secretly hanged in New Delhi's Tihar Jail on Saturday morning and buried in the jail premises unknown to…
Double standards of justice
If it were not for injustice, stressed Greek philosopher Heraclitus, men wouldn’t know justice. Indian Supreme Court’s judgement handing a five-year sentence to superstar Sanjay Dutt under the Arms Act…
It is 11 o`clock
Arithmetic obviously matters, for democracy is a game of numbers. But there is a smarter way for a minority government to ensure stability: good governance. Dr Manmohan Singh has the…
UPA on shaky ground
When Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, the second largest component of India’s ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), walked out of the alliance last September, nobody thought that would immediately destabilise the…
The long shadow of Afzal Guru
When Afzal Guru was hanged secretly last month in Tihar Jail, Indian officials claimed that it was a simple case of the law taking its course and that politics had…
Kargil heights
The successful first three years of his civilian rule notwithstanding, Musharraf failed to give his own core constituency the leadership and direction they deserved for their unwavering loyalty to him…
The original sin of Shahrukh Khan
Now what was Shahrukh Khan thinking when he did that article for Outlook? If anyone in the Mumbai film industry knows how to engage the media and use it to…
A judicial murder and desperate politicians
One has often heard Indian Muslim intellectuals warn that there isn’t much of a real difference between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Their policies are essentially one…
The Indo-Pak tango
What prevents India’s total domination over Pakistan? India is ahead of us in practically all indicators of national power potential – size, population, natural resources, economy and military. It outperforms…
