May 2010
THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE, The Telegraph
Thirty years ago, a Department of Environment was set up in the Central Government; twenty-five years ago, this was upgraded into a full-fledged Ministry of Environment and Forests. As we mark these anniversaries, it must [...]
TRAVEL TIPS FOR THE PRIME MINISTER, Hindustan Times
In seventeen years as Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru visited the United States on three separate occasions. Dr Manmohan Singh has been three times to the U. S. in the past year alone. Those on the [...]
March 2010
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BIPARTISANSHIP, Hindustan Times
When the politician-social worker Nanaji Deshmukh died last month, none of the obituaries mentioned what may have been his finest moment. This occurred during a debate in the Rajya Sabha in the first week of [...]
THE PAST AND FUTURE OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, Caravan
Not long ago, I found myself in a panel discussion on television with three politicians. One was a Congress Member of Parliament, a second an MP from the Bharatiya Janata Party, the third the President [...]
February 2010
RECONCILING THE MAOISTS, The Telegraph
Soon after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in January 1948, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) was banned. This was in part because Gandhi’s murderer, Nathuram Godse, had once been a member of the RSS; and [...]
January 2010
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BILINGUAL INTELLECTUAL, Economic and Political Weekly
This essay is inspired by an argument between the scholar-libarian B. S. Kesavan and his son Mukul that I was once privy to. I forget what they were fighting about. But I recall that the [...]