The yatra that changed India
One of the top stories of the week has been the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress ‘Bharat jodo yatra’. For the Congress, it is perhaps another shot at political revival, an...
‘Azad’ or ‘Modi Fied’
Has Ghulam Nabi ‘Azad’ become truly ‘Azad’ from the Gandhis as his supporters have claimed or is he ‘Modi-fied’ as his critics allege.. or is the truth somewhere in...
Kahan Gaye Woh Din
This week, I am turning the clock back a bit and getting a tad nostalgic. This has been a week where the news of NDTV being taken over by...
Towards a Single Party Electoral Democracy
Are the 2024 general elections done and dusted already? A loaded question that hints at the ascent of a single party electoral democracy is now being increasingly answered in...
Shiv Sena’s ‘Maha’ battle for Survival
‘Whoever becomes chief minister, the remote control will always be with me.” Sitting on a silver throne-like armchair, sipping a glass of white wine, that was Bal Thackeray’s...
Centre Versus States: The Battle Within
One of Narendra Modi’s most striking achievements when he first came to power at the Centre in 2014 was just how easily he seemed to make the transition from...
Bulldozer with an ominous message
“You can get quite far in a democracy if you can convince a majority that they are victims of a minority, and that only you can protect them.’ Garry...
Rise of a ‘new’ BJP in a ‘new’ India
If a week can be a long time in Indian politics, a decade is truly an eternity. Just jog back to Uttar Pradesh 2012 when the BJP won a...
BJP has clear edge in UP battle
In the narrow lane from the Hanumangarhi temple to the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya, the local shopkeepers are visibly upset. Their shops will be demolished as the town...
All in the Family
For years now, the strongest critique that the BJP has had against the Congress and several regional parties is that they are family run fiefdoms, the parties of ‘Shehzadas’.