BETWEEN THE LINES
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
An apology overdue
Certain dates are so important in a nation's history that they cannot be forgotten.
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.
The tragic death of Kashmiriyat
When terrorists attack from the front, it means that they are not afraid of consequences.
Courageous civil servants
The goverment of Narendra Modi is not about promoting one man and his idiosyncrasies. It is more about ideology, the Hindutva. That makes it much more ominous.
Modi's Trump card
President Donald Trump in a joint statement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following their first meeting at the White House, made terrorism the cornerstone of mutual cooperation between the two countries. The statement went beyond the usual American position and while criticising Pakistan it also echoed Indian concerns regarding the Chinese-led Belt and Road Initiative.
Emergency should never be forgotten
Strange, in the process of selecting who should be the next President of India, the nation has forgotten the emergency which was imposed some forty-two years ago.
What is the criteria for nominating Indian presidents?
Instead of building consensus behind the candidature of Hamid Ansari for president, the party has appointed its top three leaders to
A trumped up charge
The government has been using sedition laws to silence dissenting voices. And there are over 51 freedom of information activists who have been found murdered since the law came to force in 2005.
These are beefy issues
The demolition of the Babri Masjid and the ban on cattle sale for slaughter are two sides of the same coin. They reflect the prejudice of
We have learnt nothing from these tragedies
The Hashimpura massacre that took place on May 22, 1987, was as deep a tragedy as the anti-Sikh riots in 1984.
Why Kashmir remains disturbed
Whether stone pelting on Indian Armed Forces in Kashmir is being done at the behest of Pakistan or as a response to fundamentalists'
Ugly side of war
War is ugly. It becomes uglier when it is between two inveterate neighbours. They go to any extent to harm and humiliate each other.