Kuldip Nayar

BETWEEN THE LINES

Veteran Indian journalist, syndicated columnist, human right activist and author. He was appointed High Commissioner to Great Britain in 1990 and nominated to the upper house of Indian Parliament in 1997. He is also the author of 15 books, including "Beyond the Lines” and "India after Nehru."

71 years on, frosty relations continue

It was August 12, 1947, three days before India became free. My father, a practicing doctor, summoned us, the three brothers, and asked what our plans were. I told him that I wanted to stay in Pakistan just as the Muslims would in India.

6y ago

Lynching to nowhere

More gruesome details about the Alwar lynching have come to light. Rakbar Khan, the victim, could have been saved if the police had acted in time. In fact, the force stopped for tea and wasted three and a half hours in reaching the victim to the hospital. He bled to death. If one were to put all the pieces together, one would come to the conclusion that the police delay was deliberate.

6y ago

Can Imran Khan be the man of the people?

The army in Pakistan seems to have devised a way where a particular person is elected even without a valid cause. Imran Khan is a product of such phenomena. Long before the latest elections, his name was tossed around.

6y ago

Dangers to secularism

I recall after the Independence, politician and diplomat Syed Shahabuddin articulated the Muslim point of view. He did not ask for separation but suggested a self-rule for Muslims within the country. Nobody took him seriously, not even the Muslims because the partition had brought misery to both the communities.

6y ago

Rift in India-US relations

An autocrat can really unhinge a democratic system. This is what President Donald Trump is doing. But he is also turning into an imperialist power.

6y ago

A modicum of truth

I feel honoured that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken notice of my criticism. Indeed, he praised me and said: “I respect veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar ji, he fought for freedom during emergency, he maybe a harsh critic of us but I salute him for this.” The prime minister and I are on the same page when it comes to the criticism of the emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister.

6y ago

An apology overdue

Certain dates are so important in a nation's history that they cannot be forgotten.

6y ago

A false step

Pranab Mukherjee is a man of all-political affiliations. He has occupied the highest position as a Congressman and has also floated a political party with a few of his associates in the Congress. But one can call him a self-made man in the political arena. He has accepted the invitation to visit the RSS headquarters at Nagpur to address the cadre.

6y ago
June 1, 2015
June 1, 2015

Modi's non-rule

Information Minister Arun Jaitley is inviting editors from different parts of India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to underline the achievements of his first-year rule. This public relations exercise is nothing new because all his predecessors have done so.

May 24, 2015
May 24, 2015

General Musharraf's outbursts

I have not been able to make out why General Pervez Musharraf, who is under house arrest on charge of treason, has made a public

May 16, 2015
May 16, 2015

Courts tilt towards rich

Salman and Jayalalithaa can afford the best of legal brains in the country. But the judges, who heard their cases, too have to see that they deliver justice however weak the prosecution is.

May 9, 2015
May 9, 2015

Disturbing trend at AMU

There is no inconsistency if a Muslim is made to feel that he has an identity of his own, but the overwhelming identity of all people living in India is Indian.

May 4, 2015
May 4, 2015

NGOs and agrarian crises

That the BJP is tilting towards the Hindu ideology is unfortunate, to say the least. But that does not mean those who are fighting against parochialism to underline the secular spirit of our constitution should be getting the wrong end of the stick.

April 16, 2015
April 16, 2015

Encounter or sheer murder

Yet another encounter has taken place in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. I have lost the count. What is distressing is that even the

April 11, 2015
April 11, 2015

Children of democracy

RELIGIOUS sensitivity has deepened since the advent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regime.

April 4, 2015
April 4, 2015

Improving police command

IT is a travesty of justice. The court has let off all the 16 policemen, belonging to the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) of Uttar Pradesh on the lack of evidence.

March 28, 2015
March 28, 2015

Saffronisation of secularism

NOT many in Pakistan, still fewer in India, recalled that this March 23 marked the 75th year of the Muslim League's resolution to demand partition of India.

March 13, 2015
March 13, 2015

Is AAP going Janata way?

WHEN movements convert themselves into political parties they lose their original shape.