Sheldon Pollock

The anti-Pollock campaign is based on quotes stripped out of their context, marinated in prejudice and fried in reductionism before being served with a side dish of plain wrong conclusions

Letters: Battle against Pollock

Business Standard

The CBI is probing into the alleged bribery "facilitated" by Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland's Italian parent, of some bigwigs in India

Letters: An 'impartial' CBI

Click on graphic

The early results from India inc for Q1 of 2015-16 are in, and these strongly suggest that a cyclical recovery is underway

StatsGuru: Tracking India Inc's green shoots

Lack of convictions points to a flawed investigation process

Murky defence deals

West Bengal polls: Phase-6

Association for Democratic Reforms scrutinised the affidavits of 169 candidates contesting the 6th phase Assembly polls in West Bengal

The Congress seems to be promising the same things to the people of West Bengal that brought Mamata Banerjee to power five years ago. Addressing a rally in Cooch Behar, where elections will be held on May 5, state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday said the Trinamool Congress would be wiped out from the state after the Assembly poll results are declared on May 19. He said poriborton (change) - Banerjee's rallying cry in the run-up to the legislative Assembly election in 2011 - was imperative for West Bengal as in the last five years nothing happened in the state except "false claims and tall talks". "When a child is born in Bengal, she will bear a debt burden of Rs 45,000 as the total debt burden in the state has swelled to Rs 300,000 crore," he claimed.

Change is the only constant

Many in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) top brass are yet to pay a visit to senior leader and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who was admitted to New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences with chest congestion and fever last week. Among the party bigwigs who have visited Swaraj are Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Swaraj is a rare BJP senior leader who enjoys a rapport with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi. This, despite having fought a bitter battle against Sonia Gandhi in Karnataka's Bellary in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections and even taking an oath that she would get herself tonsured if the Congress president were to become the PM. No wonder, Rahul Gandhi, who is the Congress vice-president, called on her a couple of days after the PM.

Healthy rapport

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) President Kanhaiya Kumar feels that prohibition - recently introduced in his home state, Bihar, by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar - is a violation of the right to freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution. But he is okay with it being enforced in rural Bihar, where drinking is often a cause of wasteful expenditure and domestic violence. Kumar had introduced complete prohibition in Bihar, which was part of his election promise. Addressing a gathering in Patna on Saturday, the student leader said: "Prohibition has contradictory aspects attached to it. It goes against the grain of the Constitution." He was, however, quick to add: "Ban on liquor in Bihar is a right step. Liquor consumption used to lead to fights." But what of those who can afford a drink or two and don't get unruly thereafter? The JNUSU president left them wondering whether to drink or not to...

To drink or not?

With reference to "Evening the odds" (May 2), the editorial clearly indicates that the "net" outcome of the second phase of the odd-even scheme, which ended on Saturday, was not quite "encouraging" as measured by Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai himself, irrespective of various "contributory" factors that caused such a situation to emerge. It may be pertinent to point out that the National Green Tribunal, too, had asked the Central Pollution Control Board to collect data related to the capital's pollution levels during the odd-even scheme and its findings reportedly did not present a rosy picture for the Delhi government's ambitious programme.Even now, a report by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee has showed no significant change in absolute pollution levels over the fortnight of the scheme. It's a different matter that a survey of over 1,000 people conducted by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry met with wide appreciation of the scheme because of a cut in commuter time and

Letters: Combating pollution

Kishan Rana's "Some steps for India's renewal" (May 1) was like a breath of fresh air. Coming as it does in the din of scores of others lamenting about how the opposition party's cussed approach is harming the nation, not letting the government function, et al, Rana's plea of "cooperative governance" merits serious consideration from the saner elements of all our political parties. Here is someone who has seen and studied the German system first-hand; and we are all aware that there aren't many other nations in the world that can match the political sagacity and unqualified success of this "standard bearer of European economies". Interestingly this country also "bears an uncanny resemblance to India on several basics"!Modi has initiated a great thinking by inviting the main opposition party for a dialogue. Hopefully, the Congress will also respond positively - if for no other reason than their possible realisation of the "extinction of the grand old party" in the not too distant future

Letters: Cooperative governance

Top MF execs' payslips

The salaries of some of the country's best investment brains are higher than those of even the best-paid CEOs of India Inc

Nandigram, Haldia, Panskura East and Tamluk are among the 25 constituencies in West Bengal that will go to the polls on Thursday

Focus back on Nandigram

Business Standard analyses one family's finances and suggests a way forward

Case study

With reference to the report, "Government promises action against the corrupt" (April 29) defence purchases have been mired in scams and graft charges for long

Letters: BJP can rewrite history

With reference to the Weekend article by Manavi Kapur, "A new Sanskrit wave?" (April 30), efforts to revive dying languages through the medium of cinema should be applauded

Letters: Becoming a polyglot

The SC's decision to hold a National Eligibility and Entrance Test for admission into medical and dental courses from this academic year has received diverse feedback

Letters: Mixed response to NEET

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seems to be on an apologising spree

Master of apology

On Friday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Udit Raj lamented how the "influence" of members of Parliament (MP) was decreasing

In letter and spirit

Senior Janata Dal (United) member of the Rajya Sabha K C Tyagi had a bone to pick with Deputy Chairperson of the House P J Kurien

Business Standard

Business Standard

Page 348 - Business Standard

Letters: Battle against Pollock

Letters: An 'impartial' CBI

StatsGuru: Tracking India Inc's green shoots

Murky defence deals

West Bengal polls: Phase-6

Change is the only constant

Healthy rapport

To drink or not?

Letters: Combating pollution

Letters: Cooperative governance

Top MF execs' payslips

Focus back on Nandigram

Case study

Letters: BJP can rewrite history

Letters: Becoming a polyglot

Letters: Mixed response to NEET

Master of apology

In letter and spirit

All in a name

Evening the odds