Africa's low-key Drone war
Last week the New York Times reported that the US is planning to establish a new base for its drones in north-west Africa.
Bihar's Gujarat agenda
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is known to always get his timing right. After all, how many politicians in India can sup with the BJP and also keep its Muslim votes intact?
1951 & 1986:The Blunder Years
Every which way you look, the curse of identity politics and victim-hood is becoming even more rampant and poisonous in 21st century India. Literacy keeps growing, as does intolerance and prejudice towards other identities.
The Pakistan card
India's troubled neighbourhood is set for yet another change when US troops depart Afghanistan in 2014, three years after President Barack Obama grandiosely announced his 'surge and exit' policy from the war-wracked country.
'Training programmes will continue even in worst case scenario'
Post 2014, the perception of the Afghanistan leadership will be important. It will also depend on the kind of political system which will be in place the country.
Afzal Guru retrospective
In the petition for reprieve, generally referred to as mercy petition submitted before the President of India, prime Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru has likened the story of his life with the story of hundreds of Kashmiri youth, especially those still behind bars.
Fanatics and hypocrites
"We all are Afzalâ€, read a poster held tightly by a JNU Kashmiri Muslim student at a hurriedly-organised protest march by pro-separatist and ultra-leftist groups in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, hours after Mohammad Afzal Guru, key conspirator of the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001, was secretly executed at Tihar Jail on February 9.
What's Left ?
Look back at the exhilarating yet chaotic scenes after Lok Sabha elections in 1996. The Congress had been handed a resounding defeat and a coalition headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee of the BJP lasted a mere 13 days.
Crisis in civilisation
Tagore says in Crisis in Civilization that it’s a sin to lose faith in man. At the age of 80, I haven’t lost faith in the polity of Bengal. Commoners have become aware that in Bengal, the political culture has gone wrong. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former governor of West Bengal, read a paper at the Bose Institute in Kolkata.
Global Left is changing
In the slew of bad news coming out of European economies, readers can be forgiven if they missed a couple of good news. While relatively sound economies like Germany and Poland have started showing signs of slowdown, as the bad apples, Italy, Spain and Greece, show no signs of recovery; Ireland and Iceland have come up with alternative treatments that have stunned the world.
His Last Chance
This is the thirteenth time in 13 years that I am starting the presentation of my Alternative Budget.
Subhash Chandra Bose- Man, Myth & Mystery
Everything changes, and then it looks as if nothing has changed in an ancient land like India. Just a few kilometers away, people have been vehemently protesting the scheduled arrival of the Pakistani women cricket team to practice and play a World Cup match.
Herr Bose?
The ideological commitment of any individual is best tested when he or she is pushed to the wall. Because it is here that the option to take an easy way out or strike a compromise appeals the most.
Is the game up?
On Tuesday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's boys registered a thumping victory over England in Kochi’s Nehru Stadium to draw level in the ongoing five-match ODI series. The beaming captain was quick to acknowledge that "this is the kind of pitch we were looking forâ€.
Transition phase or terminal illness?
Team India gets roasted 0-4 in the English summer. The top brass of BCCI shouts in unison – it’s a one-off. The stark reality is the exact opposite. The fact that a series was to decide India’s dominance in world cricket seemed lost upon the administrators. Instead of making sure a fighting fit unit embarked on the tour, the entire pool of players were sent on the IPL trip, six days after an emotionally and physically draining World Cup win.
Issue Dated: Feb 5, 2017
