Of the elephant in the courtroom
JAILED rights activist Umar Khalid withdrew his bail application from the Indian supreme court last week, preferring instead to try his fortunes at the lower courts. Implicit in the move…
Supremely fractured
ON a cold morning in January 2018, four senior judges of India’s supreme court mounted a revolt against their chief justice. Addressing a press conference, the dissident judges lamented the…
The fear of India-Pakistan bonding
THERE’S no gainsaying that vested interests within and without do not want India and Pakistan to have friendly relations. In the early days, conjured falsehoods placated a vile nationalist streak…
Uzra Zeya’s ambitious India visit
UZRA Zeya is President Joe Biden’s human rights point person. Her July 8-14 visit to Bangladesh and India is being seen as important to Biden’s interest in sprucing up his country’s image…
A billion Indians minus the four
ELECTIONS are underway in five Indian states. The BJP lost all five last time, though it has created the impression that it won the round hands down. Many see the…
Cherry-picking of India’s heritage
IT was Nehru’s death anniversary on May 27, an occasion that sees little state involvement today, leaving the Gandhi family and a few Congress leaders offering rose petals at his…
Is a Constitutional Court the answer?
After the government failed to have its Constitution Amendment Bill secretly rubber-stamped at midnight by oblivious parliamentarians; some in the ruling coalition rushed to disassociate themselves. They admitted to mistakes…
India’s first tribal president
INDIA is such a complex country with its mosaic of ethnicities, belief systems, castes, sub-castes, regions, languages that are perpetually jostling to catch the eye, and so much else in…
When the courts surrender?
During the devastation of WW-II Winston Churchill said, “Thank God. If the courts are working, nothing can go wrong”. When all defences failed, justice prevailed. To uphold human freedom courts…
Decoding India’s gamble in Kashmir
At an event commemorating the 25th anniversary of the India-Pakistan conflict in Kargil, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused Pakistan of attempting to maintain relevance through "terrorism" and "proxy war".…
