Rajdeep Sardesai – Page 14 – Breaking Views

September 11, 2020
Rajdeep Sardesai
Columns

Sushant-Rhea case: We are all part of a circus

For several weeks now, the obituary of tv news has been written by many media observers. The breathlessly sensational, ethically flawed and, at times, totally inane coverage of actor...

August 28, 2020
Rajdeep Sardesai
Columns

Of Dynasts and Democrats

In the aftermath of the ‘letter bomb’ in the Congress that didn’t quite explode, there has been much angst over the apparent lack of inner party democracy in the...

August 14, 2020
Rajdeep Sardesai
Columns

From Ayodhya to Mumbai and back

Doordarshan’s recent boast that its live coverage of the Ram Temple bhumi pujan saw record viewership is reflective of a frenzied media whirl where TRPs (television rating points) are...

July 31, 2020
Rajdeep Sardesai
Columns

‘New’ BJP: from value based to ‘high value’

In Indian politics, where you stand depends on where you sit. The latest instance of this truism is provided by the chubby faced, genial Rajasthan governor Kalraj Mishra. In...

July 17, 2020
Rajdeep Sardesai
Columns

Father and son: a tale of two Pilots

Long before Sachin Pilot, there was his equally charming father Rajesh Pilot. In 1997, Pilot senior decided to take on octogenarian Sitaram Kesri for the Congress president’s post. It’s...

June 19, 2020
Rajdeep Sardesai
Columns

Enter the Dragon: Ladakh Exposes Limits of Modi’s China Outreach

Of the many ‘achievements’ of prime minister Narendra Modi that his supporters like to routinely flaunt, this is a statistical record that may haunt the Modi army of bhakts...

June 5, 2020
Rajdeep Sardesai
Columns

Covid-19: Where a new India is born

Since a prolonged lockdown offers an opportunity for the creative juices to flow, allow me a little bit of poetic licence this week to adapt the famous poem of...

May 22, 2020
Rajdeep Sardesai
Columns

Dark side of Gujarat Model

The much-trumpeted ‘Gujarat model’ is in a mess in corona times. Consider the following: Not only does Gujarat have amongst the highest number of corona virus cases in the...

May 8, 2020
Rajdeep Sardesai
Columns

The Babus Have Taken Over Corona Fight

The classic BBC television sitcom, Yes Minister, superbly captures the intriguing relationship between politician and bureaucrat. In one memorable sequence, Sir Humphrey Appleby, tells his minister James Hacker, “You...

April 24, 2020
Rajdeep Sardesai
Columns

No Islamophobia Please in Corona Times

“Hey, news television seems to have finally broken out of the Hindu-Muslim mindset!” I exulted to a colleague soon after the lockdown was announced last month. As news channels...