May 2016
The Press In India: Somewhere Between Free and Unfree
In the first half of 1988, I was doing research in Uttarakhand, when news came of the murder of a brave young journalist from the region. His name was Umesh Dobhal, and he had published [...]
The Mahatma On Medicine, The Telegraph
I belong to a family of doctors trained in modern or Western medicine. Back in the 1980s, the doctors I was related to, or friends with, were all sceptical of alternative forms of health care. [...]
Words From An Open Mind To A Closed Or Sealed One, Hindustan Times
A once great but now mostly forgotten Bangalorean was Mirza Ismail. A distinguished Dewan of both Mysore and Jaipur, in those princely states he reformed and modernized the administration, beautified their capital cities, and emphasized [...]
April 2016
My Favourite Bangalorean, The Telegraph
The achievements of the Parsis are well known. A community numbering some 70,000 people has produced some of India’s greatest patriots (Dadabhai Naoroji, Bhikaji Cama); its most prominent and philanthropically oriented business houses (the Tatas, [...]
In Praise Of West Indies Cricket and Cricketers, Hindustan Times
On the last day of March, a friend of mine, temporarily in London, wandered into a pub. It was night in India, but afternoon in England, so there were just the odd drinker around. My [...]
March 2016
The Government Of-By-And For The Slogan, Hindustan Times
At its recent meeting, the National Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party passed a political resolution, a passage of which read: ‘Our Constitution describes India as Bharat also, [hence] refusal to chant victory to Bharat [...]