The irony with PC Alexander was that when Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980, she handpicked him as Principal Secretary and he became her political adviser, conscience keeper and administrative trouble-shooter.
The Morarji Desai PMO was divested of the IB, the R&AW, and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board. But the civil servants still looked up to V Shankar for guidance and advice.
PN Haksar emerged as Indira Gandhi's ideological beacon and moral compass, playing a pivotal role in ‘Garibi Hatao’ and transformed her image from a 'goongi gudiya' to an 'Iron Lady'.
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.
You could argue that some of the things Narendra Modi does or talks about are not meant to win the approval of elders at RSS. He is doing them with an eye on his own constituency.
In ‘Western Media Narratives on India’, Umesh Upadhyay writes about how former colonisers maintain their sway using media. He focuses on how the narrative was spinned in India from 1947 to now.
Modi's reference to the 'committed judiciary' takes us back to the 1970s, when Indira Gandhi’s government twice superseded senior judges while appointing the Chief Justice of India.
In an incisive analysis of the 1971 Lok Sabha election, American political scientist Myron Weiner wrote that this was the first election fought on national issues.
Indira Gandhi targeting RSS during Emergency & legitimising it, Rajiv giving up mandate in 1989, and Vajpayee, Advani advancing general elections – these errors changed the course of India’s politics.
Peter Manuel's ‘Cassette Culture’ showed the booming Bhakti music during the '80s and '90s when Anoop Jalota, Gulshan Kumar achieved success by singing the sanitised Bhajans.
Economists say there are weaknesses in India’s GDP data. But statisticians claim the accusations are based on flawed understanding, saying while GDP has problems, the economists are looking in the wrong places.
An anecdote about Shri S K Mishra. When there was a change of CM, the new person told him, Suna hai aap previous CM ke bahut kareeb thay. He replied with a smile, Aap bataiye, aap ke liye kya kar sakte hain.
An anecdote about Shri S K Mishra. When there was a change of CM, the new person told him, Suna hai aap previous CM ke bahut kareeb thay. He replied with a smile, Aap bataiye, aap ke liye kya kar sakte hain.