Bihar’s ‘Shatranj’ Election
Electoral politics in Bihar provides a much needed dose of oxygen for a critical patient on ventilator. For the last 12 months, Bihar has lurched from one disaster to...
Of Muslim and Dalit Lives in Yogi’s UP
Long before Boolgarhi village in Hathras, there was Bisada village in Dadri. Exactly five years ago in September 2015, a 50 year old Mohammed Akhlaq was lynched to death...
Hate is in the Air
Covid 19 is not the only virus stalking the nation. Hate is in the air with social media acting as a super-spreader. Last week, on the death of prominent...
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...
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...
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...
‘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...
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...
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...
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...