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
The Prime Minister owes it to the nation to quickly announce full compensation and rehabilitation for the families of the sixteen Border Security Force soldiers butchered by Bangladesh Rifles in a remote Meghalaya village. Pictures of the insulting manner in which Bangladesh returned the highly decomposed bodies – with corpses … Read More
Are you honest, boy? Then be not spendthrift of your honesty, But keep it to yourself; in Padua Men think that honesty is ostentatious, so It is not of the fashion. – The Duchess of Padua, Oscar Wilde. Sedated by the ease with which power and effortless money is … Read More
We need a new grammar of ethics in journalism and governance to understand recent developments in both. When the Tehelka.com expose` broke out, one could not imagine it would hog headlines for so long, or that it would throw up as many questions about journalistic credibility as about the calibre … Read More
The most distasteful aspect of Taliban’s military offensive against the Bamiyan Buddhas and other pre-Islamic relics in Afghanistan is the ill-disguised glee of our predatory radical secularists who have worked overtime to subvert the significance of this civilizational assault and provide an alibi to its perpetrators. Delighted at this unexpected … Read More
It is truly ironical that Dr. Farooq Abdullah, variously berated as a playboy and non-resident politician, should have emerged as the principal proponent of India’s civilizational ethos. In a significant, though unfortunately largely ignored statement last week, the Chief Minister offered to abrogate the contentious Article 370 which confers special … Read More
It is a sad commentary on this country’s sense of public accountability and political morality that over two weeks after Gujarat’s apocalyptic earthquake, the effete and incompetent Keshubhai Patel continues as Chief Minister. National and international relief and rescue teams including ordinary citizens, the army, voluntary organizations, media and visiting … Read More
