His green turban and bulky body used to define his persona. Raj Narain was not an ordinary leader. For his political adversaries, he was a foe who would ignite terror in their hearts. In the 1970-80s, many had learnt the lesson that it would be a mistake to cross paths with the Lok Bandhu, as he was popularly known.
Through a curt two-paragraph letter on December 11, 2017, Rajeev Dhavan, senior advocate of the supreme court, informed chief justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra about his decision to quit legal
Just a few months before the Lok Sabha elections of 2004, the BJP had held its national executive in Hyderabad to chart out the future course of action. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu was then the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. He was at the peak of his popularity as a "cyber CM" and had a certain flamboyance that literally intimidated friends and foes alike.
The preface of the current Economic Survey concludes with the words of TS Eliot: “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice”, which is highly apt considering the change in narrative from the last year’s Survey. For example, while last year’s survey portrayed demonetisation as an impet
Modern banking in India is just about 250 years old. In the interim, we have witnessed dozens of crises, scams and scandals of varying degrees. In many cases, dozens, even more, banks failed. The reasons for the runs on the banks, or their subsequent ‘saviour’ decisions, were many. But ironically, and possibly not coincidentally, two themes have been recurring for at least 150 years
Political seismology is an inexact science. Underneath the social sea, tectonic shifts happen as silently and stealthily as you can get. Any effort to predict it often brings grief to Mr Know-All of politics. The scenario unfolding in Uttar Pradesh conforms to this thesis. The coming together of the SP-BSP in the by-elections for two Lok Sabha seats, Phulpur and Gorakhpur,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Agartala in December 2014 to dedicate the second unit of ONGC`s Palatana to the nation. People gathered in large numbers to listen to him. Invited to the ceremony was Tawfique-e-Elahi Choudhury, advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had helped in setting up the plant by allowing transshipment of equipment via Bangladesh. The h
My greetings and good wishes to the aspirants for the UPSC civil services examination. Every year a large number of young women and men apply for the thousand-plus civil service slots, after serious preparation, in many cases for years. In the pre-independence days, government service was the most coveted occupation; naturally entry into the ICS was a crowning achievement. However, the state ci
Prime minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman are in the midst of one direct attack, one insidious insinuation and a special kind of offensive. These concerted actions have emerged after both firmly showed their hand and spoke their mind on going down the indigenous path for most of India’s long-term defence needs. The decision to order 83 Tejas Mk1A aircraft, pro
Diagnosing what ails India’s governance, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar used to name three units or offices that are so corrupted that they are beyond redemption: village patwaris, police station darogas and Railways ticket collectors. In his stint as executive head of Bihar, he seems to have included one more category in this list: bank employees. And Nitish Kumar was e
The private sector in education should not be driven by the profit motive alone. Private educational institutions are necessary, but commercialisation of education must be checked. The supreme court struck an optimal middle, allowing private schools to generate reasonable surplus for sustaining themselves but warned against commercialisation. It has advised state governments to come up with reg
Budget 2018, forecast to be a “please all” budget, has come out as a “disappoint all” budget. The public is looking askance at a budget that gives with one hand but takes away with both, the Sensex has gone into a tailspin and the pink papers are issuing dire warnings. The government, on its part, is finding it hard to explain the contradictions in the bu
[Mahatma Gandhi’s Autobiography, first published in book form in 1927 and 1929, had sold 50,000 copies in Gujarati alone, reports the Translator in the preface to the ‘second revised edition’. When we also consider the other Indian languages and foreign languages it has been translated into, the work is arguably the biggest best-seller from India, rivalled only by the astr
The new year is barely a month old and, all of a sudden, it seemed the year 2019 was almost here. The end of December was the time of crucial state election results, and the beginning of February was the time of the last full-budget the this government. Both events came to be seen in the light of the next year’s general elections. The result is that nobody is talking of 2018; it is as if
The Narendra Modi government, in its last full union budget 2018- 19, introduced two ambitious health policies under ‘Ayushman Bharat for New India - 2022’. The budget introduced 1.5 lakh health and wellness centers are proposed to be established, and health insurance worth Rs 5 lakh per family is to be provided to nearly 100 million families under the National Health Protecti
Within a couple of days of assuming charge, Jai Ram Thakur made his first trip to Delhi as Himachal Pradesh chief minister. After meeting the BJP leadership, returning on December 30 – a Saturday, he wasted no time in changing the bureaucratic leadership of the state. After winning the elections primarily on the promise of fighting corruption, the BJP regime’s first move was to appo
Listen, O! Lord: Standing things shall fall, That which moves shall stay… As prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday walked across the aisle to reach both houses of parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, for his reply to the motion of thanks to the presidential address, he subconsciously recited this rhyme penned by Sant Basaveshwara, a Hindu socia
In the union budget for 2018-19, some big announcements have been made especially for the health sector but not supported by corresponding budgetary allocations. While, on the one hand, allocations for some of the key programmes have not shown any increase, on the other, promises have been made for rolling out a big insurance scheme for the poor with no specific budgetary provisions.
Political parties rarely survive on static social bases in a democracy. The BJP has been experimenting with shifting its social bases and coalescing them in a formidable vote bank in every round of elections, be it state assembly polls or general elections. And the last full union budget presented before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections must be seen in this context. Take for instance
After prolonged controversy, the Hindi movie “Padmaavat” has finally been released and has been a roaring success in revenue terms (it is believed to have earned a whopping Rs 200 crore within less than a week). Ignoring the menacing semantics emanating from so-called Rajput outfits and self-proclaimed protectors of Rajputs’ vanity and pride, masses thronged cinema halls and w
