Indian Politics
The rise of the Ambani brand
With great wealth, should there not be great scrutiny and accountability?
On the 2024 farmers’ protest in India
Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana have taken to the streets again, just over two years after their previous year-long agitation.
The Modi Decade
Dissent is framed as disloyalty, with criticism of government policies labeled “anti-national.”
PROJECT SYNDICATE / India's looming demographic divide
India’s population is expected to grow over the next four decades to approximately 1.7 billion, before plunging to 1.1 billion by 2100.
Can India’s Oldest Party Reinvent Itself?
For the first time in nearly 25 years, Congress will elect a president who is not a member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
India should think beyond the Hindutva agenda
Over the last few years – under the BJP government – India’s religious polarisation has increased in degree and intensity.
India’s caste census and the chimera of data-driven policymaking
Caste census, once again, is the talk of the town—at least in the Indian state of Bihar.
Is a federal party possible?
When former Congress President Sonia Gandhi said that they would not allow the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to return to power, she hinted at joint action on the part of the Opposition. It also means that she does not want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to run for a second term. On its own, the Congress does not have the numbers to pose any threat to the BJP-run government or Modi.
BOTTOM LINE / West Bengal and Assam election results and its impact on Bangladesh
The Election Commission in India needs to be congratulated for conducting a free and fair election in Assam and West Bengal, among others, as no party has alleged any rigging in the outcome of elections. Both Trinomool Congress and BJP did much better than expected in the two states.
The receding of the Congress tide
The pattern of voting and the places where the BJP has won show that the party has uprooted a well-entrenched Congress. What it means in real terms is not the success of the BJP's ideology but people's exasperation over corruption in the Congress.
A visit to Srinagar
New Delhi has to appreciate the fact that the Kashmiris' desire to distance themselves from India may not be considered in any meaningful transfer of power from New Delhi to Srinagar. Yet, the impression that the Kashmiris rule themselves has to be sustained.
Acts of commission and omission
Corruption in all the three neighbouring countries - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - has become a way of life. A politician's standard of living is now so high that the emoluments which he gets are not adequate to meet his expenses.
Dubious chopper deal
The past seems to be catching up fast with President Pranab Mukherjee.
Indian minister caught on cam touching woman inappropriately
Madhya Pradesh of India Home Minister Babulal Gaur has struck again. This time the minister was caught on camera inappropriately touching a woman during an event in Bhopal, reports India Today.
The Kohinoor story
It is clear that the British have no intention of returning the diamond or, for that matter, tons of material which is stored in the basement of museums in London. Though there was no response from England, France complied with the UNESCO resolution and gave up the relics which they had in their possession during their rule.
Water, water everywhere, but…
New Delhi has set up the Central Water and Power Commission to have a systematic plan to harness not only water but also generate power. This has worked to a large extent, but in certain parts of India, the fallout has led to a series of disputes, which remain unsolved even after decades.
Section 377 - An archaic, discriminatory law
Sixty-six years after adopting one of the world's most liberal constitutions, India is being convulsed by a searing debate over...
Unimportance of awards
This charge will remain because the selection is done by people who are nominated by the government. You can include the opposition leader in the selection panel, but he or she would be in the minority.
Peace with Pakistan?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Lahore, Pakistan, on Christmas Day brought his hyperkinetic year of global diplomacy to a headline-grabbing close.