Durban has belied all expectations, producing a world order privileging Islam and its original Arab adherents and turning the traditional definition of race on its head. Press reportage of the World Conference Against Racism has generally been poor, and makes the United States appear unreasonable for walking out in protest … Read More
The determined bid by Christian evangelists to take caste-based discrimination in India to the UN World Conference against Racism (WCAR) has inspired leftists, liberals and human rights activists into a frenzy of verbiage and sanctimoniousness. Yet, for all the anti-caste rhetoric we have been subjected to these past few months, … Read More
The acid attack on four young Muslim women in Srinagar last Wednesday by an unknown militant outfit, and the swift compliance by women of all ages on the issue of wearing the chadar (head-dress) in public, has introduced a new menace in the Valley and the country. The Centre, state … Read More
The Prime Minister’s assurance on a party forum that future talks with Pakistan would be held on the basis of a structured agenda is his first indirect admission that the Agra summit failed due to inadequate preparations at various levels. While the decision to henceforth be accountable to the nation … Read More
Semantics cannot gloss over the fact that the Vajpayee-Musharraf summit has failed to make progress on substantive issues. The reasons are not far to seek. Just as there were two nations present at Agra, so there were two divergent world-views competing for legitimacy and dominance. Indeed, it would not be … Read More
There is little doubt that the Tamil Nadu Governor, Ms Fathima Beevi, was guilty of grave dereliction of duty last Saturday when she failed to inform and keep the Centre abreast with developments following the scandalous arrest of former Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi. The very fact that the President KR … Read More
There is now little doubt that regardless of the formal agenda of the forthcoming talks with Gen. Musharraf, the BJP-led Government is all set to discuss Kashmir with the Pakistani dictator. Indeed, this may well be the only issue that is discussed at all, since Islamabad is hardly anxious that … Read More
The latest twist in Indo-Pak relations, with Gen. Musharraf slated to receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt next month, has so shocked the nation that most commentators have condemned it as an ill-conceived volte face by the Vajpayee government. They have cited the Government’s consistent refusal to … Read More
Although it was widely acknowledged that the BJP had small stakes in the recent state elections, the overall results are cause for concern. The party has fallen victim to a derailed leadership, an infidelity to core values, and flawed decision-making processes. It is already evident that the stocktaking exercise with … Read More
The aversion of the Congress and the Left parties to the Centre’s swift and positive reaction to American President Bush’s proposed National Missile Defence Plan is proof that these parties remain in a time warp, and cannot find their way in a vastly changed world order, of which India is … Read More
