Opinion

Nearly a million corona cases: What now?

16 Jul 2020 05:21 AM IST

At a time when India is on the threshold of crossing the one-million mark in Covid-19 cases, the third highest in the world, the numbers involved appear mind-boggling. But a country of 1.3 billion people should not be scared of numbers. The actual number of active cases in India is

Why India should not worry if Biden becomes US President

16 Jul 2020 05:21 AM IST

Before US President Donald Trump visited India in February 2020, there were a number of unsuccessful efforts to invite him. In December 2019, I got some indications from my contacts that he might like to visit India. In December 2019, I requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite Trump before

Children hit hardest by Covid-19 pandemic

15 Jul 2020 06:22 AM IST

The underprivileged kids who have neither the wherewithal for e-classes nor the food back home to compensate for the lost mid-day meals at school have suffered the most.

Congress scores a self-goal

15 Jul 2020 06:22 AM IST

Two years ago when I was writing my book The Contenders, on GenNext politicians, I interviewed Sachin Pilot for the chapter on him. Interestingly, he revealed a funny quirk about himself and said that even when he watches a movie, he researches it first to figure out if it’s worth

Maharashtra govt infusing anarchy into state education

15 Jul 2020 06:21 AM IST

Ever since the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government took the reins of Maharashtra, it has been under constant public scrutiny for every wrong reasons leading to nothing but a state of governing anarchy. Considering the overall pattern of ineffective administration in the state, it won’t be wrong to

Babudom needs an overhaul if self-reliance is to succeed

14 Jul 2020 05:29 AM IST

The British built a system to ‘administer’ and ‘regulate’ a colony, and we are continuing that. We must change. Now is the time to instead reorient our bureaucracy towards ‘facilitation’.

Meanwhile in Bengal, the Wild East

14 Jul 2020 05:29 AM IST

Bengal is back in the news and once again for all the wrong reasons. The death of a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, Debendra Nath Roy—found hanging in an alleged case of murder—should serve as a reminder to the fact that the state is headed for elections in less than a

Time to give expanded Quad Plus a chance

14 Jul 2020 05:28 AM IST

In the backdrop of its trade wars against the US, an increasingly aggressive China starts land reclamation and territorial expansion which results in geopolitical shifts in the Asia-Pacific region. Controversies surrounding information security acted as a catalyst and Quad was revitalised after an eightyear-long hiatus, by meeting on the margins

Congress’ idea of India begins & ends with family

13 Jul 2020 05:23 AM IST

The party’s ‘first family ‘is essentially driven by a dictatorial mindset and thus its invective-driven politics which repeatedly casts aspersions on the choice of the people if not voted to power.

SIT probe should cover all aspects

13 Jul 2020 05:22 AM IST

The extrajudicial killing of Vikas Dubey as well as the circumstances and sequence of events that led to the ambush and killing of eight policemen by the gangster and his accomplices would be closely scrutinised by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government. However, the formation

Why China can’t be trusted on Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal

13 Jul 2020 05:21 AM IST

The deadliest clash since 1975 in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley is a grave reminder of how India is still a victim of the erroneous conception of history. In order to comprehend China’s territorial claims and ambitious geopolitical projects one must interrogate history. The Republic of China was established on 1 January

Systemic failures led to free run for criminals like Vikas Dubey

11 Jul 2020 06:14 AM IST

The police encounter of UP’s notorious gangster exposes India’s criminal justice system. His case is a classic example of both criminalisation of politics and politicisation of criminals in India.