The Prime Minister’s decision to drop the defamation Bill will be widely welcomed in the country. The decision is liable to partisan interpretation. It is as possible to see it as a victory for journalists and others who saw the bill as a most dangerous attack on the freedom of … Read More
In these passionate times when even WOGs (Westernised Oriental Gentlemen) have begun to shriek in order to drown the little voices of dissent, it is becoming difficult to follow the rules of civilized public discourse. But it is precisely in times such as these that it is particularly necessary to … Read More
So the National Front has finally been launched at a rally organised by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Madras. Nothing could have been more appropriate. After all, the DMK is a regional party par excellence; at one stage it even stood for Tamil Nadu’s secession from the Indian Union; … Read More
It is reasonably clear from the Prime Minister’s observations in Guwahati on Thursday that the government has decided not to drop the Defamation Bill under pressure from journalists and opposition parties. It does not necessarily follow that it has also decided to go ahead with the Bill and introduce it … Read More
The conference of non-aligned foreign ministers in Nicosia is notable above all for the recognition that the new trend in the US-USSR relations calls for a fresh assessment of the international scene and possibly a new strategy on the part of the non-aligned movement. In keeping with the well established … Read More
The Prime Minister owes a debt of gratitude to Congress MPs – Mr Jagannath Mishra, Mr Chimanbhai Mehta and, above all, Mr Nanje Gowda – who have spoken out against the Defamation Bill and he should acknowledge it by inviting them for a discussion with him. They have shown him … Read More
In all literate discussions on Indian politics, it is assumed, quite rightly, that Brahmins have constituted the core group in the Congress-led alliance system which has ruled India since independence with the exception of the brief Janata interlude between 1977 and 1980. But seldom, if ever, are related issues raised … Read More
After the Samajwadi Janata Dal, the National People’s Front. Opposition leaders are, indeed, active, perhaps hyper-active. They have not completed the first exercise in opposition unity and they are launched on the second. There is a “little” difficulty, though. The first exercise is threatening to come unstuck, with the former … Read More
Mr. VP Singh must be disappointed over the decision of his colleagues in the Jan Morcha to retain their “identity” and not merge with the proposed Samajwadi Janata Dal which he is likely to head. His inability to carry his old allies from the Congress with him must embarrass him, … Read More
The system over which the Congress has presided since independence with the brief Janata interregnum between 1977 and 1979 is obviously in deep trouble in both physical and moral terms. Surprisingly though it may appear on a surface, this is as much an expression of the overall success of the … Read More
