The Don of Dhanbad

Dhanbad’s dreaded Mafia gangs were riveting topics of conversation last fortnight, and for different reasons. Film actor Shatrughan Sinha, with the blessings of the ruling…

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Earthy Tales

Or, why India really needs to dig itself out of a mineral hole Last week I was on a flight to Mumbai About two hours…

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Mai-Baap re Baap

The Civil service still remain a big draw Fresh out of South Africa, Mohandas Gandhi made a particularly strong speech in Benares in February He…

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India, The Class Act

With this kind of rebellious example, how will fair play and righteousness prevail? Won’t the lower castes get out of hand? In this decadent age,…

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Bihar Press Bill-Battle Cry

Whatever else the government is butter-fingered at doing, it is adept at keeping the results of its impetuosity in a state of continuing suspense’. The…

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An Heir Splitting Legacy

The story is as complicated as the whorls on a fingerprint, a ready-made screen-play bursting with grandeur, feudalism, pretension, and the tattered remnants of pomp…

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Interview: Anil Agarwal

“Everybody is going to die, but I am going to die last.” He started out as a scrap trader in Patna. Today, with a personal…

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Scrabbling Away From the Abyss

Nitish Kumar’s victory in last month’s Bihar election celebrates the triumph of economics over feudalism, but the climb out of poverty will be steep and…

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Jaat Kahan Ho

Some day extraterrestrials will thrill to Raag Bhairavi in outer space   Imagine there’s no countries / It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill…

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