Mainstream Weekly

India - Pakistan: Seventyone Years On, Frosty Relations Continue

Kuldip Nayar — 2018-08-16T15:26:49Z

It was August 12, 1947, three days before India became free. My father, a practising doctor, summoned us, three brothers and asked what our programme was. I told him that I wanted to stay in Pakistan just as the Muslims would in India. My elder brother, who was studying medicine at Amritsar, intervened to say that Muslims would ask the Hindus to vacate the house in West Punjab just as the Muslims living in East Punjab would be asked to leave. I asked how that could be possible if the Hindus (…)

- 2018

Lynching to Nowhere

Kuldip Nayar — 2018-08-12T22:11:02Z

More gruesome details about the Alwar lynching have come to light. Rakbar Khan, the victim, could have been saved if the police had acted in time. In fact, the force stopped for tea and wasted three-and-a-half hours in reaching the victim to the hospital. He bled to death. If one were to put all the pieces together, one would come to the conclusion that the police delay was deliberate.
The religion of the victim—he was a Muslim—has been his undoing. Inquiry would give details but there is (…)

- 2018

On Whose Side Is Imran?

Kuldip Nayar — 2018-08-07T21:36:53Z

The Army in Pakistan seems to have devised a way where a particular person is elected even without a valid cause. Imran Khan is a product of such a phenomenon. Long before the elections, his name was tossed around. One can now assume that probably nobody else fitted into the scheme of things which the Army wanted. Nawaz Sharif had been elected in the past but was found wanting in the eyes of the Army. Even the military regime of General Pervez Musharraf was not up to the mark.
Why then has (…)

- 2018

Dangers to Secularism

Kuldip Nayar — 2018-07-29T08:14:10Z

I recall after independence, politician and diplomat Syed Shahabuddin articulated the Muslim point of view. He did not ask for separation but suggested a self-rule for Muslims within the country. Nobody took him seriously, not even the Muslims because the partition had brought misery to both the communities.
Now Assauddin Owaisi, the President of the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, has demanded that there should be reservation for Muslims in the armed forces. Owaisi is quite right (…)

- 2018

Too Harsh a Judgment?

Kuldip Nayar — 2018-07-21T13:12:01Z

Pakistan's Supreme Court has sentenced twice popularly elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for 10 years in prison. The general remarks about the verdict is that it is too harsh. Nawaz Sharif, who heard about the judgment in London, has said that he would return to Pakistan. However, sources close to the rulers say that he would be arrested as soon as he lands in the country.
Once again it seems that the confrontation between the civilian rulers and the military is building up. Perhaps, the (…)

- 2018

Drift in India-US Relations

Kuldip Nayar — 2018-07-15T13:26:31Z

An autocrat can really unhinge a democratic system. This is what President Donald Trump is doing. But he is also turning the US into an imperialist power. India has had a good understanding with America and the two democracies, one the strongest and the other the largest, have ambled their way through in the chaotic world.
President Trump has reportedly asked India to stop importing oil from Iran. New Delhi has explained that India has reportedly told Washington that it has entered into a (…)

- 2018

A Modicum of Truth

Kuldip Nayar — 2018-07-09T20:52:23Z

I feel honoured that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken notice of my criticism. Indeed, he praised me and said: “I respect veteran journalist Kuldip Nayarji, he fought for freedom during the Emergency. He may be a harsh critic of us but I salute him for this.” The Prime Minister and I are on the same page when it comes to the criticism of the Emergency imposed by Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister.
Where we differ is the shape of society we want. He belongs to the Bharatiya (…)

- 2018

An Apology Overdue

Kuldip Nayar — 2018-06-30T16:33:53Z

Certain dates are so important in a nation's history that they cannot be forgotten. One such is June 25, when Mrs Indira Gandhi, then the Prime Minister, switched off the lights of democracy. Instead of resigning from her office after the Allahabad High Court verdict for a poll offence, she suspended the Constitution and did the worst kind of excesses. One hundred thousand people were detained without trial and many were killed because they were the staunch critics of Mrs Gandhi. (…)

- 2018

Progress of RSS is Ominous

Kuldip Nayar — 2018-06-24T17:35:45Z

I find the followers of the secular ideology as fanatic as the others are. There was a furore over the visit of BJP President Amit Shah to my residence a few days ago. Criticism over telephone and e-mails were numberless. And all that they said was: “You should not have allowed him to visit you.”
I want to put the record straight. A couple of days before Shah's visit, a few activists came to my house. We were together in the Jaya-prakash Narayan movement. They asked me if I had any (…)

- 2018

Bhindranwale Still Lives

Kuldip Nayar — 2018-06-18T16:43:16Z

Indian history is replete with tragedies which, when retold, suggest that the happenings could have been avoided. ‘Operation Bluestar' is one of them. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a militant, holed himself up at the Akal Takht, the highest Sikh seat, and created a state within a state. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used the Army to silence his guns and sent tanks into the Harmandir Saheb. Whatever one may say, Bhindranwale continues to enjoy respect in the hearts of Sikhs.
I had a taste of (…)

- 2018