It is important to acknowledge that Article 370 is a liberal concern
Writing in the Times of India, Jug Suraiya seems genuinely perplexed by what should be the liberal reaction to Article 370. Well, if intellectual honesty is valued, then the answer is clear enough. Nevertheless, kudos to Suraiya for at least discussing Article 370 especially [...]
The elite have functioned as a willing arm of the political establishment
In the Indian Express, the ever perspicuous Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes,
The third dimension of the crisis is social. Elites set standards in any society. And the extraordinary social respectability, if not downright obsequiousness, with which the Sena leadership has been treated over the years has [...]
Transforming a society is the hardest challenge for Nitish Kumar
In many ways, Tehelka’s cover story on Bihar breaks no fresh ground. It reiterates the usual talking points: improvement in security, investment in basic infrastructure, and a better business climate while pointing out that many pitfalls lie ahead and there is a long way to [...]
Amar Singh is not going anywhere
It would seem at first flush that Amar Singh has reached a dead end with Mulayam Singh & family aka as Samajwadi Party. Strong statements have been issued; threats made; and it appears as if the relationship between Mulayam Singh’s family led by his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav and the [...]
So to blame Rao for not being an entirely enthusiastic supporter of liberalization in a party which is officially socialist to this day is laughable considering its leader in 2009 credits a retrograde step like bank nationalization carried on in 1969 at the height of the socialist mania for saving the Indian financial sector in 2009! Or is it Sanghvi’s argument that Sonia Gandhi is an extremely enthusiastic supporter of economic reforms?
Maybe yes but…
Wise heads tell us that the next BJP leader must be elected and not nominated. While the mechanism is not clear, it would necessarily involve party workers and sympathizers voting in a closed primary.
Prima facie, it is hard to argue against this approach. Rather than imposing a leader by the unelected–and unelectable!– apparatchiks of Nagpur, [...]
Let’s stop being apologetic about wealth
In my article in the October issue of Pragati, I argue that UPA government’s so-called austerity drive achieves little except legitimizing poverty,
The fundamental problem with the austerity drive and its glorification in certain quarters is that like Mr Bachchan’s movies from the 1970’s, it legitimises poverty. The clarion calls for [...]
The complicated legacy of YSR
The tragic death of the Andhra Pradesh chief minister has achieved what had seemed impossible only a few days earlier: displacing BJP from news headlines. In an era of 24/7 news channels, it was almost inevitable that a search for a missing copter which went on for over 24 hours [...]
Let’s not confuse a power grab with ideological battles
Reading prominent political commentators it would appear that the current factional fights in BJP are about ideology: On one side are the ”moderates” led by the likes of Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha opposed by the Hinduvata lobby led by the party president, Rajnath Singh. The more [...]
A requiem for BJP
The most hopeful take on the sordid Jaswant Singh affair is that he was really expelled due to internal politics of the BJP: The Advani clique is simply unprepared to accept accountability for the party’s stunning electoral defeat and BJP will act against anyone who demands even a degree of accountability. By [...]
