In normal course, whenever a new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president assumes office, the national council is summoned to formally inaugurate the presidency and put its stamp of approval. The public anointment is the new president’s moment of glory and an occasion to enlist party cadre in the immediate programmes being planned. For three days in early March, however, the spotlight was n
Having taken on all forms of political parties and formations, government and constitutional bodies, media and trivia, opposition and divergent proposition, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has found a new adversary in the state election commission (SEC). If the poll panel cannot give her, and her constituents, firm dates for immediate elections to the panchayats to showcase t
In the past six months, UPA-II and especially finance minister P Chidambaram have been applauded for a slew of reforms. The government has claimed that it has broken the shackles of policy paralysis and is on its way to usher in a new growth phase, after the downturn in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Each and every decision that was taken in the recent past was categorised as a ‘game changer’
It seldom happens when economic wisdom wins political argument. This is a reality of our democracy, which has consistently been ignored the basic temptations of its economy for achieving ‘unknown benefits’. It is surprising to see Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar pitching for seeking special status for Bihar as his gameplan for upcoming elections and ahead. Undoubtedly this would b
It seems apparent that the main issue in the next general elections would be about who can bring benefits of the ongoing economic reforms to the poorest of the poor people of India. And that is where the young Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, comes in. Having declared that the “last aam aadami in the queue” and India’s eager youth are his constituency, Rah
If you played cricket as a child in the lane in front your house or the colony park, you certainly remember that amusing rule: if the bat, ball and wickets belong to me, you better not question me; or the game is off. I am going home, see you tomorrow mate. That’s a rule not exactly endorsed by the rulebook of the Wisden Cricketers Almanack, or even the Indian cricket board, which
On Tuesday, Animal Rights International (ARI) will hold a peace walk at Jantar Mantar to encourage Indians to switch to ‘green’ food. According to Kritika Sharma, ARI’s executive director and one of the organisers, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has pegged Indians` per capita consumption of meat at 5.2 kg per year, the highest for the country since FAO began
The stock of FDI in India, as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is now about $220 billion or 12% of GDP. Multinationals have a long history here. It had a steady course – not counting the aberration in the 1970s, when IBM and Coca-Cola were sent packing. An RBI study says that the 745 foreign firms that have invested in India had an overall return on equity of about 13% in the year end
The difference between a good leader and a bad one is thinner than the crust of a good pizza. It could well be defined within the realms of blame game, that favourite Indian pastime: the former usually cops all the blame, voluntarily, while the latter passes it on to lesser minions, usually voluntarily, though seen through a maze of bureaucratic balderdash of putting things in order. It
The developing story of the Italian marines requires reiteration of a fundamental tenet of our civil society. Decisions of the supreme court of India have always been recognised as the final word on all disputes adjudicated by them. Judgments of the supreme court are the law in our republic and binding on all parties. The constitution gives the supreme court powers to pass any orders for the en
Do check the facts of your tweet if you do not want 50-odd Narendra Modi supporters lashing out at you for your brilliant faux pas. Ask Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor. On Thursday, Tharoor tweeted about an article, from a listings site ‘Sulekha.com’ which cites statistics showing how Kera
Shortly after the news of Bitihotra Mohanty’s arrest in Kerala last week, came news that Ram Singh had ‘committed suicide’ in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Bitti has been on the run since 2006, when he jumped parole and escaped a seven-year sentence for raping a 26-year-old German woman in Alwar, Rajasthan. Singh was the main accused in the brutal Delhi gangrape of 23-year-old par
I felt depressed after reading Chanakya’s New Manifesto To Resolve the Crisis Within India. This isn’t because the book, drawn from Pavan K Varma’s readings of Chanakya’s Arthashastra, tells the truth as it is. It’s because the new manifesto that Varma draws for addressing these cancers will never be achieved. Let me explain. At the very outset, th
One thing which the BJP and Congress have in common is their double standard when it comes to issues related to the western world. Praise from foreign leaders, newspapers and magazines is presented as an endorsement, while criticism is dismissed, by simply saying that external opinions don`t count. The grand old party spared no opportunity to shield Dr Manmohan Singh from domestic criti
The social media is smelling a rat in the alleged suicide of December 16, gangrape accused Ram Singh who, according to reports, hanged himself in his cell with a rope made of his ‘own clothes’. No one believes the story of the suicide; and the laxity of the police administration, which is unable to guard its own prisoners in custody, now comes to fore. Also re
Akhilesh Yadav, the chief minister of UP, was recently reported as stating that the bureaucrat has “no allegiance to anyone” (kisi ka nahin hota hai). This statement was made while addressing the party workers. It is not clear whether the statement was adulatory, referring to the neutrality and impartiality of the civil servant; or was it a lament that the senior bureaucrat has no &
There is much anger among lawyers on the release of the upcoming release of Arshad Warsi-starrer starrer, Jolly LLB. As soon as its trailer went on air, at least three different cases were filed against the release of the movie scheduled for March 15. A group of lawyers in Meerut moved the Delhi high court against the release of the movie claiming that the scenes in the trailer
I woke up to screaming adverts and news stories in the papers this morning about the many facets, and the many faces, of Indian women; how important they are to our lives, and the national economy; how it is our duty to respect them. It felt good, though a little heady: a little patronising, are we being? Reaching office, I logged on to facebook, where a woman friend — a f
The UPA government has completed nine years in office. Nine years is a reasonable period for any government to leave its footprints behind. It can effect changes which will impact the destiny of the nation. The UPA has a dismal record in office. It inherited the governance of an enthusiastic nation. India was being show-cased before the world as an investment destination. The NDA left behind a
One day, many thousand years ago, somewhere near what is now the national capital lived a man named Devabrata. When his father, a king named Shantanu (ahem), a man apparently not known for his fidelity, like many kings of that era and later, fell in love with a fisherwoman’s daughter and wanted to marry her, young Devabrata took a vow that wows India till date: never to marry, to look aft
