This fortnight is particularly rich in issues of national concern, what with the Election Commission and the President both going to Gujarat, and the continued turmoil in Jammu & Kashmir. But I’m going to give it all a miss for a matter of more fundamental concern in a nation that … Read More
By the simple act of removing his own shoes at Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi, President Abdul Kalam has subtly rewritten the rules of political etiquette in a nation long inured to the wanton disregard of democratic and republican values by its ruling class. It is to be hoped that in future … Read More
A report in a daily newspaper alleging that the Centre has decided to “go after” Time magazine correspondents in India by denying them official access seems an appropriate occasion to introspect on the nature of contemporary journalism and the merits of arguments raised in the controversy over FDI in the … Read More
It is to be hoped that by the time the Shankaracharya of Kanchi next visits Nepal, His Majesty, King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, would be in a position to cock a snook at rootless modernists and perform the aswamedha and vajpeya yagnas. More power to his throne. The tragic circumstances … Read More
By all accounts, the elevation of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to the office of President of India originated in an apparently innocuous manner in the unofficial backroom parleys between political parties of both the ruling coalition and the opposition alliance. The emissaries shuffled around the old tired names of tenacious … Read More
Like many Indians, I am bemused to find that we are still engaged in verbal bombast, notwithstanding the high rhetoric following the Kaluchak massacre last month. Even reputed defence analysts seem clueless about what will constitute the proverbial last straw for the NDA regime; Pakistan meanwhile has offered fresh humiliation … Read More
It is difficult to remember when an Indian Prime Minister last visited even the Jammu region of troubled Kashmir. Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s decision to visit the state is therefore a welcome assertion of personal confidence and national sovereignty. As the visit will owe its success to the already overworked … Read More
Indians abroad, particularly those who left the country some generations ago, are going through an interesting metamorphosis. For the sake of a working definition, I would call it an intermediate stage of consciousness. This is not wholly satisfactory because the communities, especially the youth, are bursting with ideas and energy, … Read More
The wise have long recognized that justice must not only be done, but should also be perceived to be done. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in this country, especially regarding the legitimate interests and sensitivities of the majority community. In fact, majority baiting has assumed such alarming proportions … Read More
A Hindu fanatic may burn himself on a pyre, but he will never light the fire of Inquisition under another being – Swami Vivekananda. A people who have traditionally been strangers to the idea of religious persecution are now at the end of their tether, unable to control their … Read More
