By Sankar Ray The gloss of political triumph in the sweeping victory by the Pakistan-Teehreek-e-Insaaf in seven out of eight bye-elections to the National Assembly faded out by a technical knockout by the Election Commission of Pakistan. ECP disqualified the PTI chairman and the erstwhile Prime Minister of Pakistan...
By Arun Srivastava The leaders of the saffron brigade, RSS and BJP, are quite annoyed with the Supreme Court’s concern over hate speech and putting the simple question; “what have we reduced religion to? There cannot be fraternity unless members of community drawn from different religions or castes of...
By Harihar Swarup “Ek parinda bhi nahi mar sakta Ayodhya main (I will not allow a bird to flap its wing in Ayodhya)”—the line famously delivered by Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1990 that was to make him presiding deity of M-Y (Muslim—Yadav) politics in Uttar Pradesh for quarter of...
By Sushil Kutty On October 21, when the Supreme Court asked police of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to initiate direct action against hate speech and not “wait for complaints”, adding that “hesitation” will invite instant retribution, the first thought that came to mind was that the Supreme Court...
By Prachi Arya “Encryption safeguards the personal security of billions of people and the national security of countries around the world.” The opening statement on the About page of the Global Encryption Coalition (‘GEC’), which consists of 180 members from among civil society organisations, companies and individuals, captures the...
By Tirthankar Mitra When chief minister, Mamata Banerjee said that it was CPI-M and not she who drove away the Tatas from Singur small car project, it was no throwaway remark. Twin hidden agenda lay in it which include diverting the Opposition criticism from issues troubling her dispensation together...
By James M Dorsey The final run-up to the 2022 World Cup and the tournament’s management is make-it-or-break-it time for Qatar. Both will determine Qatar’s ultimate soft power benefit from the World Cup. How Qatar manages the tournament, and potential flare and hick-ups will shape how the 2022 World...
By K Raveendran The release of Bilkis Bano rape case convicts by the Gujarat government is turning even more dubious amidst new disclosures that the remission was allowed despite opposition from the CBI as well as the city civil and sessions court of Greater Bombay and the prisons and...
By Sushil Kutty As if the remission to the “Gujarat gang-rapists” and the showboating from the ramparts of the Lal Qila weren’t enough, now there’s India’s humiliating 107 out of 121 ranking on the Global Hunger index, too, indicting the Modi Government. Only the morally-corrupt and the ethically-challenged will...
By Rahil Nora Chopra Veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge becoming the third Dalit president of the Indian National Congress, after D Sanjivaiah (1962) and Jagjivan Ram (December 1969), is expected to have a big impact on Gujarat assembly polls. In the western state and home-turf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,...