There is the United States of America and then there is the ‘idea’ of USA that exists in the minds of significant portions of the middle classes all across the globe. How this looks in real life varies slightly according to the region of the world, reflecting specific aspirations and anxieties. In the subcontinent, the […]
In terms of symbolism, Arvind Kejriwal could scarcely have chosen a better date to found a new political party dedicated to ending corruption in India. On Oct. 2, the birthday of Mohandas K. Gandhi, the 44-year-old activist announced to a gaggle of followers and a battery of cameras, “We declare that from today this country’s […]
Here is one way you can put the life of Brajesh Mishra in context. If you asked the top leadership of this UPA government to name one person they could inherit from the NDA, the answer was instant: Brajesh Mishra. Obviously, this was not primarily for his strategic (as in security and foreign policy) talent. […]
It had been a brutal August for India’s Congress party: economic growth was wilting, the monsoon rains were failing and the opposition had it cornered on yet another corruption scandal. In stepped Sonia Gandhi to revive the morale of the ruling party’s lawmakers, exhorting them at a meeting to “stand up and fight, fight with a […]
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector has been at the epicentre of national debate. Much has been said on India possibly losing out on investment by sending a wrong policy signal. But do we really need to get so worked up? Considering the anticipated level of inflows on account of FDI in retail, there […]
Building ‘capitalism with Indian characteristics’ means decisions cannot ignore concerns of voters and communities, says Siddharth Vardarajan As the economy slows down and the rupee wilts, Manmohan Singh has bitten the ‘reforms’ bullet with both eyes on the credit rating agencies whose negative reports have done much to dampen the ‘animal spirits’ of investors, foreign […]
Yet, it was what an unblinking Manmohan Singh said sotto voce, and what he left tantalisingly unsaid, that may be more politically significant. In the spaces between his prepared speech, what he was effectively saying was that what the country needs is more of the reforms that former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao unleashed in 1991 (with Manmohan Singh as […]
The tragedy of India is not the explosion that we have witnessed in the visual media. The tragedy is the complete disconnect that exists between the media and the reality on the ground. The plight of the people in the left wing extremism affected villages is not even the concern of the media at the […]
looking beyond borders 