By Harihar Swarup To understand the BJP’s rapid political moves across India, think back to 1996. That year sagging under the weight of a raft of corruption, scandals and internal defections, the incumbent Congress went to polls weakened. This allowed the BJP to vault into pole position, becoming for...
By Arun Srivastava What a coincidence! On July 13, while Justice Amrita Singh of Calcutta High Court was telling the lawyer of the State Election Commission, Kishore Dutta, that the lust for pecuniary gain and a job for five years was at the back of huge amount of electoral...
By Sushil Kutty Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma speaks in a different tongue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s. On the one hand, Modi goes out of his way to woo Muslims with targeted welfare schemes; on the other, the Assam Chief Minister makes it a daily habit to...
By Arun Kumar Shrivastav Meta’s groundbreaking ‘Threads’ caused a seismic shift in social media, generating unparalleled excitement. Positioned as the ultimate challenger to Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg disrupted the online networking landscape by introducing Threads which is increasingly perceived as a clone of Twitter. This clash between industry giants has...
By K Raveendran The government has announced plans to monetise the huge domestic gold holdings from time to time, each subsequent version seeking to correct the drawbacks with the previous plans. But the hard fact is that none of these achieved even a fraction of the desired results. Indian...
By James M Dorsey A recent 27-year, four million-tonne liquefied natural gas (LNG) Qatari export agreement with China, the longest in gas export history, highlights different Gulf state approaches to navigating big power rivalry between the People’s Republic and the United States. Widely seen as giving China a grip...
By Dr Arun Mira Much is being talked about making 100 cities throughout the country as smart cities. Focus of smartness is on digitalization, beautification, high rise buildings, big flyovers, wide spaces for cars to run on the roads, luxury parks etc. Little is being said about issues that...
By Ashis Biswas KOLKATA: Several thousand people from West Bengal had fled to neighbouring Bangladesh areas and Assam during the prolonged spell of violence that marred the recent Panchayat elections in the state. While the exodus went unreported in the Bengal mass media outlets, Assam Chief Minister Mr Himanta...
By Nitya Chakraborty The second conclave of the opposition parties is now scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18 to take forward the decisions arrived at the first Patna conclave of 16 parties held on June 23. The Bengaluru conclave hosted by the Congress Party...
By D. Raja “I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved,” declared Dr Ambedkar nearly a century back to a gathering of over 3000 women in 1927. This statement made by Dr Ambedkar still remains a good yardstick to gauge the...
By Binoy Viswam People used to call Manipur the Jewel of India. Later, the government also borrowed that word to decorate their advertisement hoardings. The history, culture and arts of Manipur were evolved through periods of time in which the people played their due role. Meiteis, Kukis and Nagas...
By Anjan Roy The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has formally cleared a bail-out package for Pakistan yesterday of $3 billion. The bail-out facility was worked out after protracted negotiations with the country when at times the package looked increasingly uncertain. No one will ask for a IMF ail out...
By Girish Linganna The battle-hardened Rafale aircraft has proven its capabilities in various conflict zones, including Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. Equipped with a formidable arsenal of potent weapons, this fighter jet possesses lethal capabilities, The Rafale—produced by the renowned French defence company Dassault Aviation—was first introduced into operational service...
By Pradeep Kapoor LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party national President Akhilesh Yadav is under pressure from alliance partner RLD and minority community to take Congress in anti-BJP front in Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh Yadav has shown his reservation to join hands with Congress for an alliance in UP as he is not...
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Several data on poverty and hunger have recently been released by some international organisations on the basis of which it has been widely reported by the media favourable to PM Narendra Modi led government that India has worked wonder in reducing incidence of poverty and...
By Sushil Kutty Five days ago, Congress leader Priyanka Vadra Gandhi said that once in power at the Centre, a Congress-led government will abolish the Agniveer scheme. She said that a “professional army of full-term soldiers” cannot be replaced by ragtag “mercenaries for hire”. Priyanka Vadra Gandhi is right....
By Rahil Nora Chopra The second meeting of the Opposition parties will be conducted on July 17-18 in Karnataka’s Bengaluru. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi will mark her presence for the dinner that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be hosting for the Opposition leaders at Bengaluru on July...
By Tirthankar Mitra With an eye on Rajbanshi community votes in next year’s Lok Sabha elections, Bengal BJP is supporting the candidacy of Greater Coochbehar People’s Movement leader, Ananta Maharaj who is known for his divisive activities. The move to keep its support base in the areas inhabited by...