…and must be defeated The outcry over a bunch of thugs going about their thuggery donning the mantle of ‘Hindu’ armies of Rama might well distract attention from other, more pressing, security issues. But it is well-deserved. The UPA government’s dismal record on stamping down terrorism and bringing terrorists to justice has created a cynicism ...
The old gun, head, negotiate routine So Pakistan doesn’t need any lectures from the United States. Just the money, equipment, technology and tools. And, of course, Kashmir. Whoever wrote Asif Ali Zardari’s op-ed in the Washington Post left something in it for every concerned American. Including the post-Al Gore generation, who too have been given ...
Constitution-maker, defence minister, president Former president Ramaswamy Venkataraman passed away in New Delhi today, aged 98. He was a member of the constituent assembly and rose to become president of the republic during a critical period in its history. His contribution to India’s strategic security is less well-known, but very significant. As defence minister in ...
It’s wrong to deny Gujarat’s economic achievements under Narendra Modi By V Anantha Nageswaran (In his recent Mint column, Salil Tripathi argued that it is “odd…to credit Modi with Gujarat’s vibrancy” and that “the colossal failure to protect civilians during the anti-Muslim violence in 2002″ disqualifies him from holding office. Now, Mr Tripathi is by ...
On participating in public affairs For reflection on Republic Day: on liberal nationalism; on the necessity of voting; and a railway parable. Related Links: Three thoughts on on Republic Day 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and Independence Day 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004. Tweet ...
Serious fun How much fun is there in the universe? Will we ever run out of fun? Are we having fun yet? Could we be having more fun? What is the relation of available fun to intelligence? What kind of emotional architecture is necessary to have fun? You might have your own answers to these ...
Calling out the Financial Times’ anti-India prejudices The editors of Financial Times have time-and-again demonstrated an anti-India bias that is unfathomable. Or it is perhaps a ‘poison-pill strategy’ to prevent Anil Ambani or Vijay Mallya from buying over the paper and casting out the condescending snobs who sit on its editorial board. If these are ...
Overstating the power of Washington’s lobbyists As headlines go, this one at ForeignPolicy.com scrapes the bottom. India’s opposition to President Obama’s plans to include the Kashmir brief in the special envoy’s portfolio was neither secret nor directed specifically against Richard Holbrooke. So to describe India’s actions as a “secret war on Holbrooke” is factually incorrect, ...
Independent opinion journals and their editorial orientation Over at The Awkward Corner, Niranjan Rajadhyaksha pays tribute to Sachin Chaudhuri, founder of the Economic Weekly, the forerunner of the journal we now know as Economic & Political Weekly. That venerable institution turns sixty this year, and has undergone both a cosmetic facelift (and one hopes, one ...
India must increase its intellectual investment in studying Pakistan For a country that faces an acute, chronic threat, India does not have any–forget the best–think tank or school engaged in a multi-disciplinary study of Pakistan. When most analysts offer policy recommendations, it is either based on experience or polemics, and not on deep analysis. So ...