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Ajay Singh
Ajay Singh was Editorial Director of Governance Now.
Contributions
When Jaitley asked me to guess his age...
What Imran’s rant against RSS tells us about Modi’s Kashmir policy
Modi’s forward-looking I-Day speech lays down 5-year agenda
The Evolution of Modi
Driving change
“Socialism is the most relevant ideology and will never wither away”
The chronicles of a gradual fadeout
Priyanka’s ill-advised photo op with Azad reveals Congress diffidence in UP
Crossing the border
The ancient city’s modern avatar
Balakot airstrike: Narendra Modi`s strategic pragmatism
Budget and Modi’s ‘neo middle class’ strategy for elections
Betting on nostalgia
Budget a helping hand for neo-middle class
Fernandes: a die-hard proponent of anti-Congressism – with shifting loyalties
Kumbh: Soul and Sangam
The Kumbh: The grandest spectacle on earth
Modi’s reverse sweep reverses Mandal, counters opposition spin
Interview: Yogi Adityanath on how he’s changing the perception of UP
Why Naseeruddin Shah should be heard, his remarks debated
Raman Singh routed by Peter Principle
Back to ‘lamppost politics’
Yogi Adityanath and the law of karma
MP assembly polls: Of frogs, scales and upper caste equations
The Master Sahib effect
Why the bureaucracy needs to re-learn to work
MP voters want to bake bread on the other side
MP assembly polls: Closed sugar mills spell trouble for Shivraj Chouhan
Language Bar
Making sense of Modi’s counter-intuitive economics
With Sardar statue, Modi builds a legacy and dwarfs Congress too
The making of the Banana Republic
CBI chief’s delusions of grandeur harmed the agency
Indian state has failed Mahatma’s vision of non-violence
Apple executive`s murder: Real cause is Yogi`s `thok denge` attitude
Making sense of RSS: Consistent yet flexible
Modi raises battle cry with power packed slogans
Gaslighting: Decoding Rahul’s falsehoods against Modi & RSS
Mahanayak: Vajpayee, the leader and his legacy
India mourns leader with exterior of a lotus but inner strength of Vajra
Muzaffarpur, in news for gang-rape, was once touched by Mahatma
It’s time for the Bullshit Season
The movie inspired by Modi’s childhood has a remarkable social message
Rahul’s messianic words don’t match dirty deeds of politics
With infighting, CBI faces unprecedented drift
New medium is the new message
Police reform: Fixed term for top posts a cure worse than the disease
The Galahads of Indian bureaucracy
Thugs of Hindustan
IAS lateral entry is attempt to cut cobwebs of complexity in governance
Pranab Mukherjee wasted opportunity to take RSS to task
Coming full circle: The ‘strong leader’ vs the gang-up
Look who’s talking ethics in Karnataka?
Rise of the robots
Voter, voter everywhere, but not a drop for them to drink…
Some Sholay dialogues can help make sense of Karnataka polls
Expect Karnataka to thrash predictable political punditry
Modi-Jinping meet: The art of personal diplomacy
Togadia, Sinha and anti-Modi prejudices masked by empty rhetoric
Kodnani’s acquittal raises doubts about criminal justice system
A rare peek into the mind of Modi
From ‘Nirala’ to Kuldeep Singh Sengar, Unnao has come a long way
Sengar episode once again highlights the perils of Yogi’s macho statecraft
Painting RSS as anti-dalit is prejudiced –and contrary to facts
Why Karnataka vote is no pointer to 2019 elections
Peak performance
What the by-poll verdict reveals: Modi is the only vote-catcher for BJP
Modiji is way ahead in every respect, says Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani
The aam aadmi’s maverick
Naidu’s habitual brinkmanship won’t work with Modi
Akhilesh-Mayawati`s social coalition might not take wing
Tripura results: How BJP brought down the Red Fort
An eerie shadow: With the return of raid raj, the spectre of VP haunts Modi
Exclusive Interview with Gujarat CM Rupani: `Modi magic is intact`
Yogi will have to come out of spell of Maya
Modi post Modi: “It is a question of your leadership…”
The case of the missing middle
Behind Modi`s speech was a carefully crafted electoral strategy
Budget: How Modi is shifting BJP’s social base
Budget: Modi launches political psy-ops to rattle rivals
What ‘Padmaavat’ episode says about Rajput leaders – of BJP
Modi has exorcised national day celebration of the ghosts of Pakistan
Karat then, Yechury now; Left leadership remains clueless
The un-importance of being Pravin Togadia
Reform, my lords, so that you may preserve!
Lalu and `secularism`: two strands of a narrative coming to end
A tale of two verdicts shows Modi is no control freak
Jo Jita Wohi Sikandar, yes, but the victor is PM, not BJP
LIVE: Whatever the result, blame it on EVMs
The fairy-tale thriller
Gujarat Elections: For BJP, voters show both pride and prejudice
Gujarat Elections: How disasters have redrawn the state’s political fault lines
Ayodhya imbroglio could be heading for a resolution now
In Gujarat polls, forget conventional calculations, Modi will win hands down
Rahul should stop flaunting lineage as asset
Interlocutor’s talks with Kashmir groups break the ice – but that’s about it
Pollution figures as an index of criminality
Modi meeting Karunanidhi was astute political move and an old-world courtesy
Himachal Polls: Why battling mafias will be an uphill task for Modi
Democracy inside
In poll-bound Gujarat, what Rahul misses is Modi’s organisational strength
Yashwant Sinha’s tirade is driven by personal agenda
Something rotten at the heart of BHU
In Yogi regime, police return to notorious past of encounter killings
Mohan Bhagwat’s views on Hinduism not new: that’s old RSS position
Don’t jump to conclusions on Gauri Lankesh murder
Welcome to the new age of Indian politics
With Doklam, Modi has exorcised the ghost of 1962
Let’s not look at Gurmeet Ram Rahim in black and white
From Shah Bano to Shayara Bano: How Rajiv’s blunder undid secularism
If Prabhu is really angry, why is he not taking on the railway board?
Loneliness of the high priest of political Hindutva
Amar Singh: Samajwadi Party’s stormtrooper
Bihar Polls: Why Nitish is on a shaky ground
An increasingly ungovernable nation
Narendra Modi’s silence is as eloquent as deafening din
Not a game of gentlemen
In conversation with actor-MP Paresh Rawal
Lalit Modi episode is an Ashwathama moment of new BJP
Contours of a new architecture of governance
Indian army’s covert operation is cosmetic, may muddle complex northeast
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana: Silent revolution
At a critical crossroads
Modifying Marxism
Fake encounters: When the state turns trigger-happy
Book review: How Modi won it
Tobacco v/s beef and humans v/s cows
Sonia’s Congress in no mood to get well soon
Hashimpura: The ugly truth about the state
Politics of opportunism in ‘post-ideology phase’
Arun Jaitley’s juggling act may turn into bad politics
Bihar: Round one to Nitish, six months to the bell
Restore the splendour of the rusting steel frame
Bihar’s famous aloo and infamous democratic farce play out as state slips
UP lessons for Bihar: Subversive politics may boomerang
Breaking Bread with Governance Now: A chat with Ananth Kumar
Missing: Delhi’s home-grown leadership
The lone wolf finally comes to India
Modi baiters have their strategy wrong
How and why we are inching towards an authoritarian state
A level-playing field between centre and states
Minding their own language: sacking the sadhvi won’t cure it
For a new, improved Central Bureau of Investigation
Kejriwal takes a leaf out of BJP’s Ayodhya book, now for the lesson
Radical change can wait; pragmatism rules for now
Has Modi replaced despondency with hubris?
Charan Singh: a mirror to changing politics
Paradox at the heart of Modi’s victory
He Ram! What happened to Gandhi’s idea of moral hygiene?
In Haryana, Chautala attempts an anti-BJP, anti-Cong alliance
“My ties with Modi too deep to let anything spoil it”
Don’t doubt my total allegiance to Modi: Rajnath
SP’s politics to slay BSP at any cost would affect Mulayam party too
Katju`s moral crusader act is a charade to please his new masters
Dilip Kumar: An actor of record
Bureaucracy: more a caged parrot than the famed steel frame
Bureaucratic battles over CBI posting: what really happened
Modi introduces a new grammar of politics
Tragedy of Nitish: Bihar`s best yet taking a blow
From pracharak to PM: The making of Narendra Modi
Munde was BJP`s man of the masses in Maharashtra
Modi`s moment of glory: maximum style, minimum diversity
Modi`s victory signals arrival of the outlier
Little change in legal shield for corruption
The other Varanasi: weavers tell a sorry tale
Many shades of hope and hype in key state Uttar Pradesh
Vadra`s business, Modi`s wife: Nothing personal about it
Rajnath`s rivals surrendered before the battle
Mulayam`s village reveals chinks in his armour
Caste equations to decide Mathura vote, Hema`s fate
Aadha Gaon: UP`s Gangauli offers the big picture of current politics
How Modi has shaped himself, and will shape India
Chinks in Naveen Patnaik`s armour: Agriculture is "dead" in Odisha
"Odisha Congress is correcting its mistakes"
"I hope Odisha results would surprise you all"
Modi`s juggernaut has few takers in Lord Jagannath`s temple town
In Odisha, it`s Patnaik all the way
BJP`s sabotage nearly grounded Nitish...
Expedience and the sanctity of the written word
Will Vaishali finally throw up a surprise?
Misa Bharti: Even Modi harping on caste, why single out Bihar?
Kanpur: where politics is now a joke
Perks - and predicament - of being a power base
In age of transformation, UP remains in trance
India needs a strong leader, says scholar of Hindu Right
Kejriwal emulates VP Singh, but 2014 is not 1987
Will they recall my copy of Doniger`s book?
Fence-sitters beware: Nitish draws battle lines
Alchemy of a riot: fuel to ire, reason to dust
Kejriwal`s dharna: curious case of a statist anarchist
Unique case of Arvind`s anarchy: more things change...
Can Rahul be the Krishna for Congress that Rajiv was?
PM`s history lesson: Is he the last Mughal of modern politics?
UPA walks into Modi trap with panel to probe love, sex & dhokha
What Kejriwal`s Ramlila brand of politics implies
Witnessing the irony of people`s power
Modi, Kejriwal and victory for outliers
Reviving the Sardar debate: Modi`s experiments with half-truths
Modi removes fig leaf called Article 370, revives debate
Were the Talwars arraigned to make up for governance deficit?
Why Modi is effective in drawing the crowds
Modi makes the right noises in bomb-scarred Patna
As Lalu loses LS seat, a look at Bihar`s god with feet of clay
Lalu: a case of subaltern aspirations gone astray
NaMo delivers branding lessons to image-makers
Modi, Advani and mysterious symbolism of public gestures
Modi on Mahatma, economy and strengths of India
Set to be cornered in BJP, Advani sticks to his guns
Riotous past returns to haunt western UP
Gods that failed: Vanzara letter bares the state of a criminal state
As RSS scales up Modi-for-PM chorus, a look at BJP`s parental headache
Parikrama politics: UP goes around in circles
To free or not to free `caged parrot`: CBI, UPA govt fight turf war
I-Day thought: where are more upright officers, leaders?
Lalu`s trick fails, SC refuses to change trial judge
Modi`s Obama act lacks touch of conciliation
"Tripura offers an alternative model of development"
Cut Rahul some slack please!
When CBI failed to awaken the Bania in Amit Shah
Ajit Singh: We need survivors, Etihad deal has helped Jet survive
When desires sharpen their teeth on the rocks...
Nuance of political discourse lost in days of 140-letter tweet haze
Behind-the-door story of Advani`s resignation
Hold that obit, the old fox is back in business
Mobs pull down everything, Babri mosque or Advani!
In Goa, you are either with Modi or against Modi
Playing in Goa: Modi coronation, LKA eclipse and the pariwar!
LKA built BJP from bootstraps, remember?
In bid to emulate Indira, Rahul can only be a bad copy
BJP pays price for putting power before principles
CBI’s freedom from govt best news in Bansal nephew bribery episode
CBI chief is running with the hares and hunting with the hounds
Govt wanted CBI chief to lie on oath, top team told him not to
Discovery of another India
Rajnath`s team of unknowns adds numbers, not value
Razia phans gayee goondon mein, courtesy Karunanidhi
Nitish invades Delhi, brings politics of poor to centrestage
A new Modi emerges: Combines Atal rhetoric with ideologue`s aggro
Budget as poll strategy: PC plan to contain Modi, placate Nitish
Budget 2013: More politics than economics
Modi influence on eco survey?
Bansal appropriates anti-establishment poet
Lost and found at kumbh: lessons in humane governance
What Congress wants from flash execution of Kasab and Afzal
Akhilesh`s scapegoat for non-performance: bureaucracy
Nandy and the Twitter age
Nandy and the plight of original thinker in Twitter age
Bhagwat-Soni turf war took Gadkari`s head, not Advani`s stand
Protesters demanding justice or enemies of state?
I-T raid took moral stuffing out of RSS, saved BJP
Shinde’s attack on BJP-RSS carefully planned by Congress
While at it, give us a good name for RSS hegemony, Mr Jaitley
Vibrant Gujarat: Modi pulled off vishwaroopam act
Chautala: a classic case of rogue progenies in politics
No tears shed for seven troopers killed fighting Maoists
Media helping Govt replace gangrape reality with mythology
Secrecy of funeral only reveals fears of the ruling elite
The many messages in Narendra Modi`s walk and his talk
Modi wins third election and many arguments
Maya and Mulayam push UP to the brink on way to vote bank
Modi panders to ‘neo middle class’, eyes national role
Gujarat`s god of growth and its deep development trance
The enigma of Jethmalani
The enigma of Jethmalani
Development of consensus: in Gujarat, choice is clear
RSS wary of Modi, so Gadkari hangs on – but how long?
Modi’s new fans: Christian tribal leaders from Hindutva lab!
Never exonerated Modi as I am nobody to do so: Vastanvi
A little Bihar – right in Gujarat
Travel to Modi land: why middle class banks on his win
Nitin Gadkari is RSS answer to the Sharad Pawar brand of politics
Brahmin Gadkari more equal than Dalit Bangaru for BJP?
Why mum’s the word when sons-in-law are involved
Minister as law: Salman Khurshid ko gussa kyon aata hai
Nitish`s latest yatra: Silencing a million mutinies in Bihar
Is Gujarat an enemy nation?
The uses of Gandhi
New police motto: Don’t shoot with gun, use camera instead
Shining Bharat and other fanciful fallacies
Bihar evolves new growth paradigm
Just too many suitors
Repeat of a JP-like movement: What`s holding Anna back?
“Without helpful approach of govt, revival of a PSU is impossible”
“Without helpful approach of govt, revival of a PSU is impossible”
Rendezvous with Raisina: why everyone wants a friendly prez
Rendezvous with Raisina: why everyone wants a friendly prez
In search of another Vajpayee, nostalgic mythmaking won’t help
There’s a little bit of Saranda in everybody’s life...
Flare-up at a funeral & a dying politics
Joshi, a bad dream for BJP, but RSS loves nightmares
Bathani Tola verdict: a reminder of the dark nineties
At CPM conclave, no lessons from losses & lot of good literature
Rent-seeking in politics or why Kejriwal`s barbs hurt our MPs
Why Rahul Gandhi bombed in UP and why we got it wrong
Gadkari’s gaffe
“While Cong collaborated with Maya, we fought against her misrule”
UPsurge: There could be big gains for Rahul Gandhi, Cong
As Khurshid tries to do a Modi, history is repeated as farce
Sanyasin’s second innings: No return of a prodigal daughter
Premchand’s sense of justice vs. Rajya Sabha’s low cunning
If Anna is not JP, Manmohan Singh`s not Indira Gandhi either
Why govt is co-opting judiciary
Manipur`s blockade blues
Split wide open: UP as well as realpolitik
Lack of leadership, realpolitik split Uttar Pradesh wide open
Rahul makes no waves, much lesser sense
The state of federalism
Secularism is to do, not talk
The union home ministry guns don`t fire in the states
Secularism is to do, not talk: Modi throws new model into the ring
Sibal`s empty words vs Anna`s potent gestures
Why Sibal’s words mean little and Anna`s gestures speak volumes
Now Mayawati will kill the farmers with kindness
The bigger bugging question
The bigger bugging question
Comeback travails
Blame it on education and affluence
The message from the aam aadmi
Farmers` protests: Corruption, not land, is sowing discontent
Because Modi must be made to pay
Dalal of street politics
"Phone tapping key to nailing tax evaders"
Phone tapping key to nailing tax evaders: CBDT chairman
The talkative Indian and transmitting American
Politics over propriety
Letter and spirit of another era
Portrait of a PM as a caricature of his former self
When nobody seems in charge
PM`s dud: New cabinet, with same old governance deficit
"Corporates are turning India into a banana republic"
State of a sustained struggle: Lessons from the Telangana movement
Small price for good governance !
Business as usual?
If this is business as usual, there is cause to be alarmed
Charge of the Nitish Raj
"Bihar`s grammar changed, but Lalu followed old syllabus"
Count Rahul Gandhi among the Congress sycophants
Time to worry when CBI outdoes itself
When the CBI outdoes itself, it is time to worry
RSS sans the mask - radical face of fundamentalism
Poor governance preceded partisan governor
Indian State as the official scaremonger & media the panic-fueller
Khare does a Govindacharya
A rudderless ship called BJP
BJP remains a rudderless ship ahead of Ayodhya, Bihar
How to handle a hostage crisis
Nitish sounds the bugle; says Lalu, Paswan sticking to "old syllabus"
"Bihari sub-nationalism has toned down caste divide to a certain extent."
Chidambaram faces some home truths
The importance of being Pulok Chatterjee
The reformer Congress chooses to forget
The dead weight of shame long forgotten
Rediscovery of Gandhi-Nehru
The political reality of fake encounters
Why nobody wants Pawar out
PM`s prevarication is unacceptable
“This govt is eradicating the poor, not poverty.”
HAND IT TO HER: Sonia has put social agenda on centre stage
BJP`s political Alzheimer`s
Let Maya be placated, government be saved, governance be damned
Let Maya be placated, government be saved, governance be damned
Price rise leaves the common man gasping
Gadkari finds place in the sun too warm for comfort
Dumb charade
Do you think the Haj pilgrimage subsidy should be phased out?
The sants have it, the sants have it: State gives Tehri water
Sonia`s NAC agenda
The story of Raj Kumar & why your sugar is sour
Fear of the fair sex
PM`s selective political amnesia
United colours of opposition
Do you think statues of elephants erected in parks are BSP`s party symbol?
Commissions of Omissions
BJP`s return to roots, or to RSS?
Omar fiddles as Valley burns
Amar`s devious divide-UP plan
“Two-party system would be ideal"
Is RSS` concern for north Indians genuine or motivated by impending Bihar elections?
Should public money be spent to guard Mayawati`s statues?
Monumental Obsession
Shouldn’t we just junk the Padma awards?