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Shantanu Datta
Shantanu daydreams at night and has nightmares during the day, when he is allegedly at work. He tweets at @desktopdiarist and chirps whenever he is supposed to be silent. He also worked in Governance Now.
Contributions
Dear jogger who bumped into British PM, thank fairies you ain’t an Indian
For Modi, ministers’ foot-in-mouth disease runs unabated
#MarsMission: from red earth to boring reign, how politicians might react
#MarsMission: from red earth to boring reign, how politicians might react
Are by-poll results UP’s way of saying Love Jihad no more?
Why Sathasivam should not have taken up Kerala governor`s post
Teacher’s day? Me says no thanks
Blacklisted by UBI, Kingfisher set to ask calendar models to get own clothes for shoot
Don’t deify Irom Sharmila, dear Manipur, debate issues she raises
Vaughan is wrong: IPL is cricket, cricket is IPL
On I-Day eve, apex court gives welcome ‘lesson’ on liberty
Why do we need Sachin, Rekha in parliament anyway?
5 questions for Sonia’s hand and pen
CSE dead right on chicken, I dread that right!
Sum total of Natwar’s charges: Sonia `Gandhigiri` still stands
Why everyone should stop reacting to BJP leader’s dig at Sania
‘Even god can’t stop rapes in UP’ remark shocks even gods: sources
LG Najeeb Jung should clear air on Delhi govt formation
Public statement of a Bengali lungi
Nurses returning from Iraq: home run for MEA?
Dear “Chandannagar-er maal” Tapas Pal, you are a face, so rest your tongue
Not Preity but fighting for seats is in Indian sub-culture
Inflation up, markets down: is Modi`s honeymoon over?
Mr President, sorry couldn`t see your speech. Powerless, you see!
Is it end of road or only a pebbly stretch for AAP?
I am either right or should die
Why we should have no issues with political dynasts
3 reasons why BJP sweep doesn`t mean end of caste factor
Barring entertainment, exit polls offer lose-lose options
Why is Modi suddenly raging against the EC?
Dear Diggy, sympathies but don`t seek privacy on social media
Mamata in poll action, finally!
`Butcher of Gujarat`: has TMC bitten off a bit too much?
Secret diary of Modi: ab ki baar... thank you, yaar!
Surprise: aam does not mean garib!
The Rahul riddle: vague speeches, hazy remarks, imperfect pitch
In nightmare, Arnab sees muffler garrotting, dragging him to jail
Analyse this: who is a spoiler in polls?
Inspired by Oscars, 3rd Front leaders meet to shoot a selfie
So opinion polls are fixed? Big deal, I say
Winter fading. Season`s greetings, and groanings
`Single` remark, many questions: is Modi diluting his script?
T-grip lost, Cong equally to blame for pepper spray in parliament
Wendy Doniger was wrong
So why the big fuss over Kejriwal`s stand on khap?
Dear Mirje, have you sent friend request to Taliban yet?
Er, is that an err in Rahul Gandhi`s earnestness?
Pre-poll pole position? Picture abhi baaki hai!
Dear Shinde & Bassi, you were asking for ruckus at Rail Bhavan
Moral spin doctors shouldn`t blame Twitter for Pushkar`s death
RaGa in 3D version: is it too little and too late?
Dear netas and nation, leave security for Kejriwal to Kejriwal
Binny & Co has hurt AAP where it hurts most: its core idea
Cong would have done better to let PM tackle graft
Dear Anna, ever wonder what changed UPA`s stance on Lokpal?
How fans on internet reacted to SC ruling on gay sex
Love him, hate him, Delhi ran on steam in D-day due to Kejriwal
Why I would have debuted with my vote this time
Why politicians should shut up on sex crimes
3 reasons why politicos (not media) should pipe down on Snoopgate
PM, FM`s lecture to CBI a punch at apex court?
Why the call for ban on pre-poll opinion polls has little logic
Anti-Modi front wastes chance of genuine brainstorming
RIP gold. Will Unnao get back to being back of beyond?
On Pak front, time to talk tough now
Post-Phailin op sets off cold war between Odisha govt, Centre
Everything depends on everything else in 2014: survey
Why Rahul can`t change Congress
Why I won`t miss sleep, or Sachin Tendulkar
Moily idea: oil`s well when you save some, waste some
Why flattering Congress might be a mistake for jailed Lalu
`Utter nonsense` becomes word of the day without ordinance
Ananthamurthy sounds more passionate than pragmatic
Nilekani the MP can`t do any better than other professionals in politics
Dear Miss America, no offences but little reason to blame Bollywood if it doesn`t want to cast you
Iron man turns irony man: sulk in bulk, then cheer minus fear
Gangrape justice in, now get on with punishing, protecting more
Durga Shakti vs Muzaffarnagar: how intelligent is Akhilesh`s intel unit?
Why blow Zubin Mehta`s Srinagar concert out of proportion?
Bhatkal arrest and conspiracy theories
Stop the psycho babble. Rape is a crime, not a syndrome
Mumbai rape: why politicians should just keep quiet
Why Manmohan should speak up on missing files
Digvijay vs Modi: who is a fascist?
Four ways to help economy and onion eaters
Has Vadra`s image begun to hurt Congress?
Why Kashmiri Rasool should have played for Team India
Half-time to Mamata but game not won yet
Half-time to Mamata but picture still left, kya?
Did Congress overplay its Telangana ace?
Coarse may be, but is Chandan Mitra totally off course on Amartya Sen?
Now, Nitish sees Mamata`s ghosts, smells conspiracy
BJP`s revivalism: Modi`s puppy talk, Rajnath`s Sanskrit, Shah`s mandir
Is BJP losing `development` plot or has it got a method to `madness`
Dear telegram STOP yours sincerely, twitter
Gangrape: pause for 14 days, how fast is fast-track in India?
Rahul Gandhi`s task is cut out: cut the fawning among leaders
Nitish`s good guy image set to stain as divorce with BJP ends in court
Moily owes it to nation to name `threat makers`
"Mobile platform will widen access, reach of services in rural areas"
Why Mamata`s 3rd front idea is a non-starter
Tsunami warning: Digvijay to speak on behalf of both Congress & BJP
Upset with upset stomach, Advani acts like HAHK in YJHD days
Dear Shilpa, Kundra, keep your righteous wrath to yourself
Sreesanth, the gangster! Now, that`s stretching it too far
3 reasons why Kejriwal has more pluck than BCCI worthies
Mr Srinivasan, step down, or get tripped like Dalmiya, Modi
Should Indian hospitals bar Ranbaxy drugs till all-clear sign received from regulators?
Don`t banish the game, ban gamers; watch IPL final with black badge
Mr Sibal, cricket fans don`t need your law now
Delhi Police chief can stay off IPL but his logic`s a bit awry
9 legacies of UPA govt at 9: from slush to hush
Dear BJP, UPA could be worse than you think
In peccadillo, sacked Murthy fathers a verb: Phaneesh-ed!
Should IPL be banned for bad governance, as Shiv Sena demands?
IPL fixing: Why blaming BCCI isn`t a solution
Spot-light on Sreesanth, Harbhajan`s diary breathes fire
Mr Tharoor, Sreesanth not guilty but not `not guilty` either
Sanjay Dutt: hero to joker in 6 weeks as he surrenders today
Why are our aspirational films so tedious?
Did Ashwani and Bansal quit or were they axed?
Mamata`s panchayat poll dates court a punch
Kumar at PMO gets ringtone alert: merey to law lag gaye
Cong floors BJP in Karnataka: who said what
Final Coalgate verdict: SC wants dour agents to quiz, not relate
Parliament adjourned sine die, and why we should rejoice
Karnataka didn`t vote against graft, it outed bad governance
BSP ‘backs’ Bansal, what’s your point, Maya?
Did CBI change other probe reports too? Who knows!
Bansal cuts call to quit: Nephew is nephew but no business with him
Sarabjit attack or coalgate details, PM doesn’t know what’s on
On China border, Indian stand clear: dragon doesn’t exist
Sajjan clear, lack of evidence wins the day
Law minister, PM guilty of quiet complicity
Law minister, PM share award for most boring line
What CBI is for: to fulfill ‘desires’ of political masters
Mamata’s smokescreen: a sham to undo Saradha`s scam
Top 10 dolts: politicians talk gibberish on crime against women
Yes, Mr Shinde, rapes take place and your job is to explain why
Run Mushie run: did Musharraf outrun pizza delivery boys?
Bangalore blast sets off netas against each other
Why this special treatment for Sanjay Dutt, your honour?
Mamata and 3 mistakes of 1419
In apology to Presidency, too, Bengal gov bats for Trinamool
No water but served Rs 13k bill, Palam residents protest
Sidhu to BJP: Sideline is like a bikini
Mamata’s joke: rural polls without CRPF in strife-torn Bengal
Mr Pitroda, DD isn’t socially relevant. It’s irrelevant
‘Pee’ Pawar apologises, but to whom?
Battle @ biz chambers: 5 reasons why Modi outwitted Rahul
Fast-track courts for ‘innocent Muslims’: 5 questions for Shinde
Bengal panchayat polls a victim of Mamata’s ego battle?
Is Raj Thackeray the Modi of Maharashtra?
For Mamata, democracy is of, for and by Trinamool
Why Sanjay Dutt and Co should not cry victim
Why Scindia switched off Gujarat’s feat
Seeing win-win scene, DMK checks out of UPA
Shinde’s stress buster: rejig the jigsaw when puzzle too baffling
After cricket, India plays hockey diplo-messy
Marines drive off: Mamma mia, they are not coming back!
Modi’s many messages: Hello and goodbye in same breath!
Delhi gangrape accused ‘kills self’ in jail, DCW chief hangs logic
Sonia’s head to Beni’s heart: Threatened, kya?
Monday, Tuesday, women’s day, Thursday...
Five counters to anti-Modi Wharton group’s gripes
3 carps on Rahul Gandhi’s Bhishma denial
No, Khaleda`s snub is not the highlight of Pranab’s Dhaka visit!
PMs in waiting wait in waiting room
Gaffe goofy day: Shinde’s foot to sue his mouth
Note to self: 7 post-budget commandments
Kolkata fire sees same political fire as TMC minister blames Left
2 lessons from Bansal’s rail budget speech
Will Tharoor’s pop sycophancy invite Rahul rebuke?
Hyderabad blasts: why it’s too early to zoom in on the IM angle
Shinde regrets alright but is Congress on sticky wicket?
Four questions on British PM’s apology for Jallianwala Bagh
Kingfisher pays month’s salary, plans revival plan
Lessons from a provisional stay on execution
DJB’s fudged records raising Delhi’s water bills, alleges AAP
Cheers to SC’s red card to red-beacon VIP security
For women’s bill, it’s guns and roses from Cong
For women’s bill, it’s guns and roses from Cong
Dear Omar & Shinde, please read shades of grey, too
Rahul a flop, Afzal Guru hanging Cong’s last ace?
Secret diary of a politician seeking police protection
Modi arrives in Delhi, sets off buzz on dateline 2014
Omar fiddles on Twitter, loses girls` bandwidth
Jaya may have started new row with Vishwaroopam release
Is Mamata India’s most anti-free speech neta?
Will the amended Lokpal Bill serve any purpose at all?
Jayalalithaa, Mamata show green card to minority card
Darjeeling gets taste of Mamata’s wrath
If SRK is a victim, he should check with Mumbai’s ‘bhaiyyas’
Being politically correct in a growingly intolerant India
Dear Mamata... yours truly, “Maoist”
Missing report from Ranchi: political logic at large
Megalomaniac Mamata needs Modi lessons in inviting India Inc
On Pak front, ministers, PM talk at different wavelength
Apex court ticks off khap, but who will take them on?
Pak makes angry moves; India sulks, baulks
Owaisi arrest: Eye on 2014, CM set to sleep with friendly foe?
Dear ministers, Pak aggression more than just ‘inhuman’
Zee News booked, now book others
Karuna starts Chennai super king v Chennai super king duel
FIR filed on hate speech, Reddy apes PM`s sleeping duty
Dear lawyers, please leave out passion in dealing with gangrape
Secret new-year diary of Manmohan Singh. Theek hai?
Signs of nervous British Raj in secret funeral
Signs of nervous British Raj in secret funeral
High on ground realities, Abhijit cancels Mars trip
High on ground realities, Abhijit cancels Mars trip
If constable wasn’t ‘killed’, did top cop, media jump gun?
Gangrape protests: It`s not just hooligans that killed Constable Tomar
Plot sickens when cops use baton on an anti-rape rally
Modi-fied to taste: Day newspaper headlines put us to sleep
Why we got Keshubhai impact all wrong
Quota for promotion: Soon, quota for those with quota?
Get real, Madam MP, don’t score political points over rape
Mayawati ‘respects’ Ansari: She is right, but was she right?
Wanted: a salesman in UPA govt to market retail FDI idea
Has Shweta Bhatt erred in first step in taking on Modi?
Dear Mamata, Katju, think before you talk
Aam aadmi’s party on, time Kejriwal reloads & takes fresh aim
Kasab hanged, justice done. Leave festivities at home
Account deactivated on account of fear
Winter test in parliament looks set for disruptive draw
Who owns Indian cricket? BCCI or the average fans?
If Rahul G is Yusuf Pathan, why play him in Dravid’s position?
When netas are needled, cops get into Dabangg mode
Bill’s retail tale: Karunanidhi sees light on Diwali
At 70, Bachchan turns to Bachpan
Cong leaders talk it out to listen to the Gandhis
Hello, mike testing: what Congress should discuss
Meet Mr Kejriwal, the new untouchable
Congress bites into Manmohanomics, at last
Rahul’s Ramlila message: If only people could decipher…
Singhvi: Stumped by ‘sleaze’, back for talk therapy