Debating markets and identities Apropos this interesting debate in the Indian Express between messrs Rajeev Mantri and Harsh Gupta and well-known political scientist Professor Ashutosh Varshney. First things first: Both parties are to be congratulated on an engrossing debate—an unfortunate rarity in Indian opinion pages. Let me offer some thoughts on Professor Varshney’s arguments—not because I necessarily agree [...]
Search results for "middle class"
No Balls, No Freedom?
Or Why Hartosh Singh Bal is both right and wrong Writes Hartosh Singh Bal in the Open magazine, There will be the usual litany from JLF camp followers, part of the large industry around books that feeds off JLF (‘our’ corruption is indeed more sophisticated) who will write in to protest, but this really is [...]
The Great Indian Middle Class Awakening
And the pit-falls ahead In my column in The Wall Street Journal, I examine the recent protests against the brutal rape-cum murder of a medical student in New Delhi, So it’s worth paying attention when this important section of society realizes it has a stake in the state’s performance. Some of this was apparent in [...]
On the Delhi Gang-Rape
Before blaming the police, let’s try to understand the context in which they operate The brutal gang-rape and the subsequent death of a Delhi medical student have grabbed the national headlines over the last couple of weeks. There has been a sense of outrage amongst a section of the urban middle class* and it has [...]
Don’t Focus on Vasant Dhoble
Ask why we cannot reform our laws Much brouhaha has happened recently over assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Vasant Dhoble’s alleged war on the Mumbai night life.He has busted parties, fined pubs, and in some cases allegedly labeled innocent working women as prostitutes and put them behind bars. Rediff.com has even attempted some pop psychology trying to [...]
Blaming BJP
If you want a better opposition, you need a responsible government too Apropos this NDTV discussion on the government’s decision to sharply raise petrol prices. Poor Chandan Mitra who probably thought this was an excellent opportunity to score a few political points against the Congress party was cornerned when the host Nidhi Razdan and the excitable [...]
On the Petrol Price Increase
A big screw-you to the middle class? Leaving aside the economic debate, it was certainly unexpected that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government would tolerate a 10% hike in petrol prices. The UPA government has been extremely cautious when it comes to economic decision making preferring to sacrifice reforms at the altar of populism. It [...]
On Media and the Radia Tapes
Barkha Dutt ko gussa kyun aata hai Much debate has happened in the US recently on “objective journalism.” Some journalists, citing the examples of the likes of Fox news and MSNBC, lament the death of non-partisan journalism with shrill anchors like Keith Olberman and Bill O’Reilly dominating the ratings. Others argue that objective journalism is [...]
