Page 4 - Shekhar Gupta/undefined

Sikh separatists' violence should concern host countries, not just India

If Sikh separatists are a nuisance, it should worry their host countries. Should it bother India if they keep killing their own in gang rivalries and making their neighbourhoods unsafe?

Why is Indian public opinion so indifferent to Gazans and Palestinians?

We must avoid the temptation to see Indian indifference to Palestine as usual "enemy's (Muslim) enemy (Jew) is my friend". Reason is the changed reality of Islamic world & India's equation with it

Victory, defeat and vindication: Twin poll verdicts a huge positive for BJP

A leader's charisma is a big plus. But don't underestimate the craft of mounting an election campaign. Haryana is BJP's reward for mastering it

BJP focus in Haryana shifts from Modi, returns to upper castes and Punjabis

The fight now can be defined as between the BJP's anti-Jat coalition and the Congress playing down the Jat domination that urban castes fear

Why is democracy so fragile in both of our large subcontinental neighbours?

How come Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, and Sri Lanka remain constitutional, democratic, and stable despite Islam and Buddhism, respectively, but Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar don't?

How some nations manage upheavals successfully and others go to pieces

The Sri Lankan transition was smoothly managed. Check Bangladesh for contrast. They forced their incumbent into exile, and installed a mostly unelectable govt of non-political people

BJP's muscular approach in NE falters, but party sticks to its strategy

Manipur represents the BJP's unique ideological approach to governing Northeast by playing identity politics jiu-jitsu. It hasn't gone well yet and is getting worse, but party insists on continuing

We, the prickly people: Why has Kangana's 'Emergency' run into trouble?

You can still put words in Indira Gandhi's mouth and get away with it. But if you garnish your pretence of fact with so much fiction, you might end up messing with Bhindranwale

Who speaks for Bangladesh Hindus? This necessitates raising questions

Do we remember when an Indian PM last called his American counterpart for help in protecting Hindus in our neighbourhood? Does India want to be the OIC equivalent for Hindu interests?

Can Modi 3.0 beat the 3C trap of caste, coalition and Constitution?

Modi govt preparing for Census leads us to examine a new reality, marked by 3 Cs - caste, coalition and Constitution. The BJP machine could take all 3 in its stride, but this election has changed that

Bangladesh crisis: India should junk victimhood and excessive religiosity

Bangladesh is just the latest example of disquiet in India's neighbourhood. We need to show renewed respect to our neighbours

When underdog pushes top dog

The third Modi govt has quickly moved away from dismissing all Congress ideas as unimaginative and is now implementing several of them. Think poll-bound Haryana and Maharashtra

Great coaching scam & abomination

How broken our governance and how incredible our hypocrisy must be that we cannot make profits from educating young Indians, but can earn thousands of crores by giving them tuitions?

What the middle class isn't

What the Modi govt got wrong: Moving away from its generally upbeat messaging of 'India is on the rise, growth will get steeper, and markets are red hot and will get hotter'

Union Budget 2024: BJP back to BASE

The 10 budgets of the Modi government so far were BJP budgets. This is its first coalition budget

Watching space Rahul

Congress party's score of 99 in the Lok Sabha elections has vaporised three painful questions dogging Rahul Gandhi for two decades. His record so far deserves a closer look

Modi & 'jai jawan, jai kisan' trap

Modi govt will need to address massive challenges without the total power it got used to, in the face of relentless electoral challenges, one after another

Modi 3.0, T&C apply

A changed reality for Modi govt in its 3rd innings is by no means rise of a new phenomenon. It's a return to old normal where even majorities had to routinely wrestle with storied million mutinies

Which way the Sangh blows

Occasional lovers' tiffs have marked the history of RSS-BJP relations. To think that Nagpur will bring about any change in leadership is a misreading of both its intent and its power

Hindu-Muslim coalition back

The Muslim vote is the BJP's biggest worry. Knives are already out and probing its most critical fault line. Without recovering UP, the BJP's decline threatens to become chronic, and progressive