CATEGORIES

Curse Of The Corona

Disaster movies sometimes seem not so far-fetched after all. We have not been short of judgement day prophecies of various hues in recent times. But this can be the scariest morality tale of them all: a mystery virus threatening humankind. The reality is more banal in its causative chain, but fear of the unknown is very much its part --- and justly so. As the novel coronavirus explodes like clusterbombs across the plane — over 80 countries have been hit, with nearly one lakh infected -- where does India stand? It's a 'known unknown'. We only know that we do not know.

‘I'm not in the race for Bihar CM, nor will I lead any electoral front'

The AAP government’s recent nod to Delhi Police to go ahead with the prosecution of Kanhaiya Kumar in a 2016 sedition case has triggered a debate, bringing the youth leader back into the spotlight. The decision came only a day after the 33-year-old former president of the JNU students’ union addressed a big rally in Patna as part of his statewide campaign against CAA-NRC-NPR in poll-bound Bihar. In an exclusive interview with Giridhar Jha, Kanhaiya talks about the sedition case, his defeat from Begusarai in last year’s general elections, and whether he is ready to head an alternative front ahead of the next assembly polls in his home state. Excerpts:

WHISPERS ON WHITE NIGHTS

The irruption of visiting sportsmen in Gulmarg is but a brief interlude. Since last August, it has lain in snowy silence, to which it is fated to return.

Playing On Your TV: Girls Aloud

The youthful Indian women’s team that took the field in the T20 World Cup turned a new corner in their game: brash, clinical, exhilarating

YES, YOU ARE IN QUEUE

The crisis in Yes Bank had been apparent for years, but regulatory oversight was lacking

‘Himachalis are honest, tough… patriotism runs in people's veins'

Shimla is bitingly cold, but Jai Ram Thakur, 55, exudes the sort of personal warmth that defines a quintessential organisational man. Pitchforked to the chief minister’s chair in Himachal Pradesh after the BJP’s chosen CM-candidate lost the elections, Thakur has been at the helm and consequent limelight for little over two years. Over steaming hot coffee, he spoke to Editor-in-Chief Ruben Banerjee about his achievements, disappointments and all that he wishes to achieve in the remaining three years of his term.

Sarkar Unhappy With India As Seen From Abroad

Foreign media coverage of the recent riots in Delhi seems to have hurt the government more than the violence itself

Royalty Shift Ruffles The Middle Kingdom

Scindia’s apostasy is a warning: in a rudderless Congress seething with disaffection, more malcontents might follow him unless corrective measures are taken. Maybe it’s too late for that.

Moonwalk At Masked Ball

A well-washed world covers up, flinches from needless contact. Entire regions are quarantined, travel suspended. And the cases pile on, relentlessly....

Kunwar KAMUNIST

There is a reason Bihat-Masnadpur is still called ‘Little Moscow’, a throwback to the times when the USSR was a Communist beacon and this village a hotbed of the Left movement in Bihar. It is the birthplace of comrade Chandrashekhar Singh (1915-76), the torchbearer of Left ideology in this region and a popular CPI leader who put BihatMasnadpur on India’s political map. It is also home to Kanhaiya Kumar. The brash, tambourine-playing, azaadi-seeking young leader loved and reviled in equal measure depending on which side of the political spectrum one stands. An upholder of secularism and democratic traditions, they say. For others, an anti-national and a leader of the ‘tukde-tukde gang’ hell bent on breaking up the country (what he will gain by this, however, they won’t tell). An icon of hope; a symbol of anarchy. A towering leader in the making; an overhyped student activist. Kanhaiya Kumar is all that and more. And he is here to stay.

Hang Your Head In Shame

A 12-year-old girl is gangraped and murdered in Assam by nine juveniles. What’s fuelling the spurt in crime against women in the state?

The Socialite Moved On And Stayed On Top

Propaganda may not always match the achievements of Naveen’s two decades as CM, but the marathon itself is a lifetime award

Rising to the Challenge

NEHA ARORA 35, FOUNDER, PLANET ABLED

Tank Tracks On A Cleared Field

Faint hope flickers after the US-Taliban deal. But a Taliban offensive, with covert Pakistani help, bodes ill for India plans in Afghanistan.

Winds of Change sweep U.P. under CM Yogi Adityanath

In the past three years, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has brought remarkable changes in Uttar Pradesh’s affairs, touching every aspect of people's life in the state

Love, Longing & Broken Hearts

Violence tears apart businesses and relations built over years in Delhi’s migrant colonies

Designing A Growth Strategy

WHEN 22-year-old architect Gita Ramanan stepped into a meeting room one afternoon to make a presentation to 18 men seated around the table, she was asked: “When is your boss coming?”

The Wall, Shaken

China’s pre-eminent position in the global economy and diplomacy is jolted by the disruptive coronavirus outbreak

CASH FLU

As the virus spreads, economic growth stutters. But there’s a silver lining...

Delhi Riots - Everyone A Nero

Where were the leaders when rioters killed, burned and looted?

Who Fanned The Flames?

Claims, counterclaims fly as capital counts its dead... two dozen and rising

Tricks Of The Trade

American President’s tour didn’t yield a business deal. Will the US and India be able to resolve their differences?

Onus is on Women

It is by performing well that female officers can lead the armed forces to absolute gender equality

Old older changeth, to be the same again

Congress veterans refuse to budge from their high perch and rigid doctrine of family-first as the party ‘young’ jockey for position

Stand To On The Pacific

Though a great trade deal is elusive, the grand India-US CGSP has been arrived at through sedulous work over 15 years

Lapse of Reason

The quantum of penalty awarded to a convict often depends on judges’ perception of the crime, rather than its severity

Handicraft Uncrafted By Artisan Hands

How technology is altering equations between traditional skills and the market

GLAD TO OBLIGE, PARDNER

Trump soaks in Modi’s welcome, cuts lucrative deals for the US and hopes to score points with NRIs. India basks in the nimbus of US power.

BLOOD SMOKE SHARDS HATE

A walk through the scarred aftermath of a classical riot

The Genomic Route To Targeted Cures

Enabling a sharper understanding of Asian populations, the GenomeAsia 100K project may well shake up our medicine cabinet