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Saturday, April 20, 2024
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National Interest

Is India shining again? Why flashing victory sign too soon is a perilous national trait

Victory has been declared in all kinds of areas, from the quality of our airports to vaccination numbers. But there is also much that is wrong, much that looks dangerous.

India’s hijab supporters will lose even if they win SC battle. Because the real war is political

In a highly polarised time, cornered minorities tend to lean back and protect the roots and fundamentals of what is so dear to them. Politically, it can often be a bad trap.

AAP’s filling a big vacuum in Indian politics. Question is how long it can sustain without ideology

If you find admiration for AAP qualified, if not muted among many of the Modi-BJP’s critics, it is because they question it for its lack of ideological clarity. Especially on secularism.

5 yrs back, India ‘legalised’ political corruption. Now, the time to end secret funding is here

Nobody believed the BJP govt would keep its promise of further reforms to electoral funding. The real disappointment was the too-hot, leave-it-to-a-wiser-generation response of the SC.

On Kartavya Path, ask not what Modi can do for you…ask what you can do for Modi’s India

Modi's emphasis on 'kartavya' puts the monkey on citizen’s back, by shifting definition of constitutional state from govt’s duties to citizen. It’s central to his political proposition.

3 cheers for INS Vikrant & 3 questions for India’s leadership on naval doctrine

INS Vikrant is reason to celebrate. But does India need aircraft carriers? What kind & how many? What kind of firepower should India field & where will it come from?

Why Sonia-Rahul’s Congress began its race to the political bottom in 2004 & is now winning it

Indira Gandhi had begun returning Congress to the Centre after realising she’d pushed it too far to the Left. Rajiv, Rao & Manmohan stayed the course. Sonia & Rahul reversed it, became indistinguishable from CPI(M) & just as unelectable.

Remember a convicted ‘non-guilty’ IAS officer, HC Gupta, when fretting over stalled economic reforms

The 2010-13 season of scandal-mongering still casts a shadow on Indian politics, and the victims are those at the lowest end of the decision-making chain.

Tiranga vs Tiranga: Gloves are off as Kejriwal joins the ‘nationalism’ battle with Modi

Kejriwal’s maun vrat on Modi has ended. This is an important turn in Indian politics. In some ways rivalling the dramatic turn in Bihar.

In Kashmir 3 years on, 3 positive changes, 3 things that should’ve happened & 3 that got worse

Kashmir as a crisis has fallen off our headlines and from the top of our collective minds. Which is precisely the most important change for the better.

On Camera

Stop asking fans to explain why they like Taylor Swift. Belittling Swifties reeks of sexism

She’s perhaps the only artist that one still has to offer a ‘reason’ for liking. No one bats an eye if you like Harry Styles or Beyonce. But god forbid you express your love for Swift publicly.

CBDT signs record 125 Advance Pricing Agreements, 31% more than last year

The 125 APAs include 86 Unilateral APAs (UAPAs) and 39 Bilateral APAs (BAPAs). The total number of APAs since the start of the APA programme has risen to 641, with 506 UAPAs and 135 BAPAs.

Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi to take over as Chief of the Naval Staff

He has been the chief of personnel and the flag officer commanding-in-chief, Western Naval Command, in the rank of vice admiral.

44 years on, two things that have changed in Modi’s BJP, and one that hasn’t

As the BJP heads for a likely third successive term in power, it's fascinating to debate how true it looks to the original proposition: a party with a difference.