Courtesy: - TOI Crest Author :- Subodh Ghildiyal & Rajeev Deshpande It was October 2007. The anxiety among Rahul Gandhi's aides was palpable as their young boss sat in an auditorium in Pauri, Garhwal. It was still early days of Rahul's reaching out to the country's youth. His aides were nervous and they sensed so was their boss. Sure enough, the trick question came: "Why has Afzal Guru (convicted of the December 13 Parliament attack) not been hanged?" asked a boy. Was this a BJP … [Read more...]
A Study in Contrasts
February 12, 2010 By 2 Comments
As Narendra Modi desperately tries to change his image, he's now got new BJP President, Nitin Gadkari batting for him. Gadkari reveals his breathtaking naivete by comparing Modi with Mahatma Gandhi. Here's how sociologist Shiv Vishvanathan pooh poohs Modi's pretensions in the Indian Express. Gandhi was concerned with the truth. He used his body as a site for experimentation in diet, protest and new ways of thinking. There was a stark simplicity to Gandhi’s idea of fasting and truth. … [Read more...]
HAMARA CONGRESS ASKS
February 11, 2010 By 2 Comments
- By Sanjay Jha HAMARA CONGRESS ASKS 1) Why did not Union Minister Sharad Pawar use his celebrated “ personal rapport and good relations” to ask Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray to stop his party’s senseless agitation and mindless violence against Shah Rukh Khan’s film My Name is Khan when he met him to seek his “blessings” for his IPL tournament and allow the Australian players to participate ? After all, is not the law and order situation in Mumbai the … [Read more...]
INDIA : THE PARADOX WITHIN
February 9, 2010 By 1 Comment
- By Sanjay Jha I have begun writing a book, partially planned and partly triggered by the bizarre events that have unfolded in Mumbai in recent times. Albeit one will try and do justice to the complex conundrum that is India---an unfathomable mystery beyond normal human sensibilities, I am prepared for the long haul. Over the last week we have had chaotic madness sweeping the city of Mumbai and leaving it’s millions of denizens fairly shell-shocked and feeling acutely embarrassed and … [Read more...]
95 Years Since Mahatma Gandhi Returned to India
February 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Historian Ramachandra Guha, in an article on the website IndiaTogether , reflects on the Mahatma's return to India as a crucial turning point in the evolution of our freedom struggle. We reproduce the article in full: This year features a spate of anniversaries highly relevant to the multiple pasts (and possible futures) of Indian democracy. In the first month of 2010, the Indian Republic completes sixty years; in the last month of 2010, the Indian National Congress will mark … [Read more...]
