Modi went part-way towards BJP’s muscular defence strategy with the appointment of former Intelligence Bureau chief Ajit Doval as his National Security Advisor The Rajyabhishek in the magnificent Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt was a sight for sore eyes, and understandably some of us went ape even if we were not among the 4,000 people attending Narendra…
One word summed up the five-week election: certitude. From the very beginning most of us were certain that the National Democratic Alliance would win power. It is fairly certain that the Congress party will suffer its worst defeat in 16 general elections. Over 300,000 kilometres, 440 rallies, 1,350 holograms, 4,000 chai pe charchas, and a…
The end of campaigning in Amethi in a cacophony of anger, derogation, and obloquy was briefly leavened by “Twitter joining Rajinikanth.” The Superstar’s followers piled up at the rate of 20,000 an hour. Not even Narendra Modi, one of the Thalaivar’s first followers, could have matched that. Fantasy had trumped politics. As if in affirmation,…
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.- Julius Caesar, Act 1 By Wednesday elections had been held for 438 seats, or four-fifths of the 16th Lok Sabha, and it seemed like a good point to draw breath and take stock of the men and women who…
Certainly not the growing number of people who believe that “free speech” means a loose mouth and the abuse of certain classes or communities. Imran Masood, Azam Khan and Mulayam Singh Yadav are not afraid of Narendra Modi. Nor is the swelling saffron sena if you believe Ram Rajya is about to dawn. In its…
“There are two kinds of people Greeks, and everyone else who wish they was Greek.” Gus Portokalos in ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ I couldn’t stop laughing every time the father of the bride in this comedy which I watched (not for the first time) with my family a few days ago, claims every word…
Several moons ago a car driver in Chennai told me the fascinating story of a young man whom he drove around in Coimbatore during the 2009 general elections. At every stop, the driver said, the young man would return with a bulging sack that he would stuff into the boot. The young man was collecting…
It is a wonder that we Indians find the time to accomplish all that we do. Huge chunks of our working days are swallowed up by totally unproductive toing, froing, talking, shouting, negotiating, and surviving. It is also a wonder that we aim to accomplish all that we want to. There is no scarcity of…
In the late 15th century, an anonymous playwright wrote Everyman, widely billed as the world’s greatest morality play of all time, in which the gentle aam admi, visited by sinister Death, is saved only by his Good Deeds after his Pride, Beauty, Strength, Discretion and Five Wits have all deserted him. What Good Deeds…
It has been a rather bewildering week, with things not what they seem to be. The two Rohtak sisters who beat up their molesters on a bus: did the incident really happen? The Uber cab rape allegation: should all web based taxi services be banned in India or should we strengthen our technology, our telecommunications,…
IF IT’S THE ONLY WAY OUT Feel the need to shout. Hurl your hurt at me; Let anger tinkle in sparkling shards If it must To my feet, to my toes that redden, My blood a curious rust. Grow roots into my stone perch. Come, hang your rage, Festoon my granite arms. Don’t let this…
HELSINKI — The International Monetary Fund forecast Wednesday that Japan would slip into recession this year, the European economy would grow by well below 2 percent, and the U.S. economy should recover in the first half of next year. In remarks to journalists in Helsinki, the IMF managing director, Horst Koehler, said the fund…
ISLAMABAD – The chief military op ponent of the Taleban in Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah Massoud, died Friday of wounds suffered in a suicide bomb attack last Sunday, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press said. The agency, which has good contacts on both sides of the Afghan civil war, said the guerrilla leader had died inside…
BRASILIA – Brazil’s Bar Association and Press Association formally asked the Congress on Tuesday to impeach President Fernando Collor de Mello for failing to uphold moral standards” by profiting from corruption. The request opens the way for Congress to begin a process that could lead to Mr. Collor’s removal from office. Mr. Collor, 43, has…
Reuters New Service WASHINGTON – Microsoft Corp. reiterated its call for the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling that the company violated U.S. antitrust laws, saying once again that the case was tainted by mis conduct of Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson. In a legal brief filed Wednesday with the high court, Microsoft…
Reuters KIEV — Ukraine inched closer on Wednesday to conceding that one of its missiles might have blown up a Russian airliner, but President Leonid Kuchma stepped into a diplomatic minefield by saying “bigger mistakes have been made.” Mr. Kuchma said he would accept the findings from a Russian investigation into the crash last…
China’s official media yesterday attacked a “small group” they accused of plotting to overthrow communist rule and said the group had help from the highest level of the party. The front-page article, printed in every major newspaper in the Chinese capital and read in full on state television and radio, also accused the plotters of…
By CHAITANYA KALBAG, of Reuter, in Thimbu Tucked away in the eastern Himalayas lives the ruler of a fairyland little kingdom who must be one of the world’s most eligible bachelors because he is the world’s youngest reigning monarch. The personal life of the Druk Gyalpo (precious ruler of the dragon people) is not gossiped…
By CHAITANYA KALBAG of Reuters through NZPA Thimphu, Bhutan On many mountainsides in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, Buddhist prayer wheels powered by streams tumbling through birch and pine trees spin in endless movement. The wheels turn on present-day gear shafts that speak of modern Bhutan, moving slowly towards development and yet rooted…
Compiled by Our Staff From Dispatches New Delhi — Hindu and Muslim rioters burned and vandalized mosques, temples, homes and shops Friday in some of the worst violence to hit the capital this week. The nationwide death toll from the religious violence passed 1,000. As the police reported that three people had been killed…