In Mahatma Gandhi’s worldview, the end never justified the means. In his very first public speech after returning to India, on the occasion of the foundation-laying ceremony for Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on February 4, 1916, he criticis
The au naturel pictures of Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton floating freely in cyberspace have serious national security implications for India. Hackers dug out what was considered by close to 100 celebrities as their private, intimate and complet
Sugna Devi has probably seen many more days than 29,200 if she was 80 years old. But since none in her Rajasthan village knows her exact age – estimates hover between 80 and 90 – one can safely assume Devi has defecated in the open for
Prime minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, expressed his dream of making India open defecation-free by the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019. Eradicating open defecation is important not just because the Mahatma
My life is my message, said Gandhi. If you are a student of Gandhiana, you don’t have access to that life today, but it is encapsulated in his words, all of which are available in The Collected Works of
Electoral battles in Tamil Nadu have mostly thrown up decisive results. Considering the trend since 1967, it has been either of the two Dravida parties – the DMK or the AIADMK – coming to power. But with former chief minister a
“Sheer Parochialism,” said my father instantly when I read to him the statement of Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on the opening of the Nathu-la pass in Sikkim as an alternate route to Kailash Mansarovar. Munching the fresh pe
After much dilly-dallying on September 30 and October 1, a vacation bench of Karnataka high court decided that Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa will at least spend five more days in jail. The courts being closed for Dussehra and Bakr-Id br
As anticipated by the economists and market leaders, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its fourth bimonthly monetary policy statement left untouched all major rates affecting the economy. In its policy statement released today (September 30)
On a flight from Bangalore to Delhi, I was ruing not having participated in a smart cities summit in Mumbai. That’s three un-smart cities in one day: un-smart not because of their citizens (they are very smart), but because of their sub-adul
Prime minister Narendra Modi has a knack for ‘smart’ acronyms and sutras. His latest has touched a chord even with a sceptic like yours truly. As Modi tweeted, the idea of ‘inch’, i.e., India and China, working toward a &ls
Picture this from the 1973 blockbuster Zanjeer: As Pran attempts to sit down, Amitabh Bachchan kicks away the chair. “Jab tak baithne ko na kaha jaaye sharafat se khade raho... yeh police station hai... tumhare baap ka ghar nahi
While Tamil Nadu has got its new chief minister in O Panneerselvam, what is a cause of concern for many senior bureaucrats in the state is that the process of decision-making and actual work would slow down with former chief minister J Jayalalitha
With two major parties calling off alliances with their political partners days before filing nominations, the battle for Maharashtra assembly has turned into the infamous sultry Mumbai weather of October. When Saamana, the Shiv Sena
Wind back three or four decades. In the 1960s, ’70s and till the middle of the ’80s four-wheeled automobiles came primarily in two models. Barring the odd Contessa, and the even fewer big, imported sedans, India’s roads were domi
Jayalalithaa’s close-aid Navaneethakrishnan, an AIADMK MP and former advocate general, told Governance Now over phone from Bangalore: “We are moving the Karnataka high court vacation bench tomorrow (Monday) morning and file for bail.
Tamil Nadu, especially the state capital Chennai, has a tense weekend in store as irate and passionate supporters of J Jayalalithaa raise the temperature in the aftermath of the chief minister’s conviction and sentencing by a Bangalore in a
This year’s UNGA session is providing a platform for a build-up to 2015, which marks the 70th anniversary of the UN. This would be an appropriate milestone to take stock of its performance, effectiveness, role and India’s multi-faceted
India-Singapore relations have come a long way, with both nations set to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2015. Although India was one of the first countries to set up diplomatic relations with Singapore after its independence, relati
Symbolism plays a substantial role in defining Indian politics, and it was on full display at a rally where former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala assumed the role of a catalyst in attempting to forge an anti-BJP alliance.
