It’s a dirty picture — that’s what Sushant Singh Rajput’s death reminds us about Bollywood
Bollywood can be so unfair to the outsider because it is a brutally competitive game with no umpires, adjudicators or whistle-blowers.
Modi’s bid to sway China’s Xi with personal outreach was a big error. India’s paying for it
India is now paying for those obsessions, and needs hard introspection, realism and course-correction, be it on China, US or Russia.
Uttar Pradesh is India’s broken heartland, break it into 4 or 5 states
Uttar Pradesh, our largest state by population and most powerful, is also the worst governed. A state with 1-in-6 Indians has no hope because of its size.
Read my lips, forget the camera
Say Central forces' angry soldiers. They need reform, committed leaders. And very sensitive handling.
It’s time for China, Pakistan, even India to rethink the fantasy Modi called expansionism
India, China and Pakistan all want territory from another. But it’s a pursuit doomed to fail as they can’t get it without annihilating the other.
India must believe threat of war is real, even if Chinese build-up is coercive diplomacy
India invented coercive diplomacy with Op Parakram. But unlike Pakistan back then, it must never blink, be prepared for war, and wear out the Chinese.
Xi has thrown the gauntlet at Modi. He can pick it up like Nehru, or try something new
Modi, like his predecessors, tried to break out of India-Pak-China triangulation and failed. Whatever he decides to do next will mean new compromises.
Divided by a virus — why the pandemic makes it look like nobody is in control in India
The pandemic debate is divided by ideology and BJP leaders are exploiting a grave crisis in political self-interest. The result of this conflict is now showing.
Why Modi doesn’t feature in a list of India’s reformist prime ministers
Despite big ideas, Modi comes off poorly as a reformer, because his bureaucrats lack the motivation to push reforms and are beginning to enjoy unbridled power.
The Chinese are so predictable, Modi & Shah should’ve seen them coming on 5 August 2019
India should’ve anticipated the Chinese appearance in Ladakh, even the timing of it, when the status of Jammu & Kashmir was changed.
Nawaz Sharif or Asim Bajwa, corruption scandals in Pakistan turn into never-ending soaps
In Pakistan, no one seems interested in demanding stronger, more independent institutions which would do due diligence away from the public glare.
Stringent Kamath panel suggestions mean not many stressed firms can avail of RBI debt recast
RBI has implemented KV Kamath panel’s recommendations in totality, including parameters like high debt service coverage ratio and investment grade rating.
Defence
China wanted ‘no escalation’ on hotline call in the day, tried to capture territory at night
Hours before trying to push in 1,000 soldiers near Pangong Tso on 28 August, Chinese PLA had called Indian Army to avoid escalatory action and night patrolling.
Fort Modi is impregnable despite China, Covid, job losses. Only one leader can defeat him
Critics wonder why voters aren’t turning against Modi. But a well-entrenched Indian leader has never been defeated by a rival; only Modi can do that to himself.