2016

MUSINGS
Though curfew has been lifted in most parts of the Kashmir Valley after 17 days of turmoil which has left 47 persons dead and over 2000 grievously injured, there is no trace of peace. In fact, fresh reports of nine more cases of pellet injuries. Pellet guns in use even after much hue and cry! Extremely confusing signals—what, with several politicians quipping ‘no pellet guns’ but the CRPF’s top brass coming up with an additional one-liner: pellet guns only in extreme situations. (…)

Around the autumn of 2009 when Khushwant Singh was working on his book Absolute Khushwant’ and I was putting together/compiling his views-cum-viewpoints, he looked towards me and quipped—
‘What do you think of Zakir Naik?’
‘Zakir Naik! Who Zakir Naik?’
‘That Mumbai doctor who gives talks on Islam.’
‘Haven’t heard him. Is he good?’
‘No, no, unimpressive... he comes across as no great scholar. In fact, the mundane techni-calities he speaks of overshadow the real and actual essence of (…)

As India prepares to commemorate 69 years of freedom from British imperial rule, it may be worth remembering a dusty town in Uttar Pradesh that suffered the consequences of declaring itself an independent country for a few days in 1942, that is, 74 years ago.
The sovereign Republic of Ballia, headed by Chittu Pandey, managed to survive for some seven days before the British-led military and police forces managed to regain control and unleashed a series of atrocities that are still (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
August 9 this year marks the 74th anniversary of the ‘Quit India‘ movement also known as the August Revolution. On this occasion we reproduce the piece that N.C. wrote in Mainstream on the golden jubilee of the movement in August 1992.
The Unconquerable Spirit of 1942
A grateful nation is celebrating the golden jubilee of the ‘Quit India’ movement which, fifty years ago, marked the final glorious phase of our freedom struggle.
With Gandhiji‘s clarion call of ‘Do (…)

The idea of a single market in India will get politically discredited if it marginalises farmers, workers and the poor even if it is beneficial to the elite sections of society. GST is too complex and requires computerisation, making it tough for the small-scale sector to implement it.
Britain’s vote to exit the European Union (EU) dents the idea that a single market is good for society. Even if by a close margin, the UK has voted to delink from the European market. The UK was the least (…)

by Bharti Chhibber
The recent vote for Brexit has jeopardized seven decades of European integration. Many are already calling the then Prime Minister David Cameron’s election promise of a referen-dum a historic blunder which he initiated with no additional safeguard. It has resulted in a political uncertainty and negative impact on the global economy. It may alter the international scenario in the economic field with repercussions on the geopolitical space too. Brexit ushered in a major (…)

by Sanjal Shastri
In December 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari mentioned that the Boko Haram’s ability to launch ‘conventional attacks’ has been reduced significantly. Nearly a year after promising to defeat the Boko Haram, what success has Buhari achieved? Despite Nigeria’s significant conventional military victories, the Boko Haram still poses a significant security threat. Why is a conventional military victory not enough to guarantee peace and stability? Why is an (…)

IMPRESSIONS
How green was my valley when patriotism meant loving my country and nationalism meant identifying with its civilisational essence. We were all patriots and nationalists when we fought for—or read about—our country’s independence. We were patriots and nationalists when we built the great edifice of our Constitution, perhaps the most egalitarian in the world, and gave unto ourselves a polity based on equality for all, justice for all. We had our differences, for we were a rainbow (…)

by Renji George Amballoor and V. Mathew Kurian
The voters of Kerala gave a thumping majority to the Left Democratic Front (LFD) Government in the recently concluded Assembly elections with a definite mandate for change. The LFD secured 91 seats in the 140-member Assembly and the United Democratic Front (UDF) was reduced to meagre 47. Kerala is known for the see-saw approach in electing a new political conglomeration to power every five years. This time around, the seats secured by the LDF (…)

by Roshan Iyer
As of 2015, Indo-African trade stands at $ 71.65 billion making up 10.6 per cent of India’s world trade. Prime Minister Modi’s four-day trip was a bid to expand Indo-African ties in two key areas: trade and investment, and greater diplomatic cooperation. The continent hosted four out of the 10 fastest growing economies last year and demand for investment and projects have ballooned by 300 per cent since 2009. Africa’s existing diaspora on the continent along with historic (…)