Religious Faith- Devilish and Divine, The Telegraph
I write this on a day when the front page of the newspaper reports that a Cabinet Minister has visited Rajasthan to consult an astrologer. Meanwhile, a back page photograph [...]
How The Mehtas Conquered Manhattan, Hindustan Times
There is a rich literature on how the culture of modern cities has been nourished by immigrants from other countries. Books have been written on how American writers (from Ernest [...]
Nehru and Patel, Hindustan Times
The best biography of Vallabhbhai Patel was written by Rajmohan Gandhi. Based on full access to Patel’s own papers, it is a rich account of his life and struggles, set [...]
How Congress Lost the Diaspora, Hindustan Times
In April this year I was in Houston, which has a large Indian community. I had dinner with a group of NRIs, and we spoke about the 16th General Elections. [...]
The Indian Path to Unsustainability, The Telegraph
In her recent book Green Wars, the environmental journalist Bahar Dutt writes: ‘The editor of a leading media house, everytime I pitched a green story, would invariably complain: “Environmentalism is [...]
The Past and Future of the Congress Party, Hindustan Times
In the year 1970, Rajni Kothari published a major book with the straightforward title, Politics in India. The bulk of the book was devoted to the then dominant Congress party. [...]