Imagine it’s October the 3rd and you are a voter in Tripura, Lakshadweep or Sikkim. Or if that’s too far away imagine you are a voter in one of the 31 seats in UP, or one of the 16 seats in Bi...
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How India has changed. I can vividly recall the 1970s and ’80s when I would pack my bags with all the goodies I could find before flying home on holiday. Not just chocolates, biscuits, cheeses ...
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Well, two days of voting are over although, of course, there are three more to go. In a sense we are trapped right in the middle of the electoral process. Hapless victims of loud talking parties ...
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Time can play tricks with you but there is none more disconcerting than realising that growing old is not the same as growing up. I realised that last weekend when I met, after a decade or more, o...
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I’m reading a book that reveals as much about its author as it does of its subject. It’s the author I find interesting because I like what I read of his views. In fact it’s a revelation on ...
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When I think of Jyoti Basu three images come to mind. A kindly smiling face; a large expensive Lallique figurine and the memory of a man who is not afraid to admit his mistakes. These may seem li...
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We’re a strange lot. There is no denying it. For instance, did you see the picture of the sikh gent trying to smash a coconut resting on the head of a sikh woman? It was in all the papers and ...
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What’s in a name? Actually not much but if you happen to be an Indian politician seeking to burnish his tarnished image or curry favour with a disenchanted electorate then the answer is an awful...
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Do you know the saying ‘great minds think alike’? I always thought it had to do with their supposed genius. Well it doesn’t or, at least, it’s not limited to that. Greatness in the sense...
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Is Pakistan a failed state? A little news item last sunday brought the question forcefully and irresistibly to my mind. But, to be honest, I don’t have the answer. The best I can offer is the ...
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