From the beginning, US authored events leading to humiliation in Kabul
Imperialism, which finally died in Afghanistan last week, had actually begun to hiccup in the mid-70s. Of this hiccupping, Vietnam was the most serious convulsion.
3y ago
April 2003: US in Iraq, Vajpayee’s Pak initiative and Worldview India
April, 2003, was the cruellest month for the people of Iraq, a month of reflection on Pakistan by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and a rare opportunity for Worldview India, a dedicated group of Indian journalists who helped lift the mist from the historic events that month.
3y ago
Politics by blackmail: Eulalie syndrome in Indian public life
If the Gandhi trio stirred themselves into action as a serious opposition, is there a possibility that they would end up in jail? If they were spared despite this affront, it would imply that the Modi outfit has come to the conclusion that the Gandhis are now totally harmless.
4y ago
Two brick-laying ceremonies for Ram: Which one was kosher?
It reflects on the civilisational power of Lord Rama in this ancient land that Independent India’s five prime ministers involved themselves in the affairs of his birthplace at Ayodhya: Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Narendra Modi and, tangentially, V.P. Singh in between.
4y ago
Fair is foul and foul is fair in the Trump universe
When the tortoise agreed to ferry a stranded scorpion on its back across the river, which was in spate, he didn’t know what he had bargained for. Midway, the scorpion stung the tortoise, deep, through its hard shell.
4y ago
Your lordships have turned upon a community in a daze
Your Lordships have turned upon a community in a daze. Altaf Hussain Hali’s verse comes to mind:
5y ago
Many uses of Al Baghdadi: Why did they kill him?
In these dark days when terrorism has become a strategic asset, to bump off a superior practitioner like Abu Bakr al Baghdadi has implications.
5y ago
India-Pakistan ODI: Notes from days when cricket wasn’t war
Last Sunday, June 16, I looked forward to being seated with friends in an arc around the TV set, ready to exult at the outcome of the Indo-Pak ODI at the Old Trafford in Manchester.
5y ago
December 10, 2017
Three Mosques: “Muslim Generosity Would Electrify Hindu Masses”
The 25th anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition will rekindle the debate: why was it demolished, historical wrongs, Mandal Commission inviting a Mandir backlash, Hindu yearning for a Ram temple and so on.
December 4, 2017
Left, Right, Centre? Or does AAP defy simple definitions?
I probably move in the wrong circles, because nobody I know has a good word for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). You mention AAP and they begin to whine. This is not the response I get from neighbourhood drivers, other workers and their friends. There is a wide difference of opinion. Is there a clear class divide?
July 16, 2017
Enemy's enemy is my friend: BJP, CPM Target Mamata
On the eve of the May 2016, West Bengal Assembly elections, Arun Jaitley shared his campaign experiences with some editors. When
June 25, 2017
Origin of Saudi-Qatar spat
The western media, which was shy of mentioning the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as a threat to the Saudi regime, has now started describing it as a threat to Riyadh quite as potent as Shia Islam. This change is a major fall-out from the Saudi-Qatari spat.
May 1, 2017
Kejriwal, a dangerous idea
The wag has a point. The 2017 Delhi Municipal Corporation elections, as we are being persistently reminded, were won by the BJP handsomely because of a single factor: a Modi wave. Fair enough. But the BJP won the two previous Delhi Municipal elections also. Who generated the waves then?
December 18, 2016
How authentic is the western media?
Since I had been to the region some time ago, a school invited me for a talk on Syria, particularly Aleppo, and why Assad was killing his own people.
December 1, 2016
A turning point or stopgap as the Centre crumbles everywhere?
After a convivial evening at King's College on the Strand, when he boarded the Victoria Line to Earl's Court, Professor Ron Geaves experienced the first public reaction to a Donald Trump victory.
October 27, 2016
When suffering becomes a propaganda icon
The four year old Syrian boy with a burnt face found his way to the final debate between Republican candidate for president Donald Trump and the Democratic Party's Hillary Clinton at Las Vegas earlier this week.
October 3, 2016
Some Real Losers
I realise more than most people that these are abnormal times. In fact, my career as a foreign correspondent would have been impossible without unstinted help, on a personal basis, from friends in the foreign office.
September 26, 2016
Why Bijnor's communal villainy did not spread
I had Muzaffarnagar riots of February 2013 at the back of my mind when I drove towards Pedda village on the Bijnor-Najibabad Road where three Muslims had been shot dead by Jats who fired with guns and pistols from the terraces of their homes.
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