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