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Modi-Jaya-Naveen bonhomie: Are we reading into it too much?
The Modi-Jayalalithaa-Naveen Patnaik bonhomie has opened the possibility of new equations in the Indian polity. Political analysts see it as a win-win combo that might set the tone for political developments before the general elections of 2014 and its aftermath. But are we reading into it too much at this #J. Jayalalithaa #Narendra Modi #Naveen Patnaik #Nitish Kumar #PoliticsDecoder
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Dangerous sign, when Pranab sacrifices economy for politics
The economy is in free fall. The rupee is finding new lows, the Sensex is bleeding, inflation shows no sign of receding and industrial output is dipping dangerously. That the situation is gloomy is an understatement. It calls for hard decisions and bold initiatives. It is pointless now to blame #FDI #Pranab Mukherjee #ThisisNext #UPA
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All aces up his sleeve, Yeddy leaves BJP helpless
BS Yeddyurappa won’t let the BJP breathe easy. By postponing his decision to quit the former chief minister has compounded the problems for the party. It has to brace for another round of tantrum, maybe several, from the leader before the assembly polls next year. It means a long period #Bharatiya Janata Party #BS Yeddyurappa #DV Sadananda Gowda #PoliticsDecoder
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Cartoon row: What makes us intolerant to criticism
What’s there in a cartoon? It twists images, fits them into an idea and packages dreary events involving those important and the common man in a humorous way for public consumption. It makes a statement subtly but effectively. The element of offense, if at all it is there, is too #Lokpal #OnOurMind #Politics #Trinamool Congress
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Cricket turning into the bowlers’ graveyard? Not quite
When Dale Steyn, arguably the world’s deadliest fast bowler at the moment, gets whipped for 23 runs in one over while in the best of his rhythm, you realise cricket has turned into an unequal game. Bowlers are running out of options as batsmen have worked out answers to every #bowling #Cricket #Dale Steyn #OnOurMind #Sports
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DIG loose talk: Why we must stop making the symptom the disease
Social legislation in India is a vacuous morality exercise, nothing more. That explains why laws drawn up to address social maladies are a spectacular failure in the country. Laws and the society operate on completely different wavelengths. The chasm between them is too big to be bridged easily. When a DIG #Baba Ramev #female foeticide #HowThisWorks #Khap
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Yeddy: Why some in BJP would be cheering SC’s decision
For a change, an adverse court decision would elicit secret smiles in the BJP’s top rung. Ever since BS Yeddyurappa was removed as the chief minister of Karnataka following a damning Lokayukta report on his alleged role in the mining scam, he has been an albatross around the party’s neck. Fixated #B. S. Yeddyurappa #Bharatiya Janata Party #Karnataka #PoliticsDecoder
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Chisty’s release: Will it bridge the India-Pak trust gap?
The conditional release of Khalil Chishty, the 80-year-old Pakistani virologist, by the Supreme Court is not likely to change the troubled India-Pakistan relations dramatically. But as gestures go, this is a positive one. Not long ago, a Lahore Court had ordered the release of 33 Indian prisoners, three of them #ConnectTheDots #India #Khalil Chishty #Pakistan #Siachen
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Why Aamir’s method promises hope and Team Anna’s doesn’t
Let's face it. There’s nothing Promethean about actor Aamir Khan’s television debut Satyamev Jayate. In the first show he said nothing about female foeticide that has not been in the public domain already. The numbers (the 1000:914 male-female ratio) have been discussed to death. The role of the ultrasound machines #Aamir Khan #Anna #Anna Hazare #HowThisWorks #Satyamev Jayate
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Sonia’s choice: Hold on to ‘mystique’ or lead Congress from the front
When she speaks, which happens once in a blue moon, Sonia Gandhi talks sense. Her speech writers take extreme care to make sure that she appears balanced in her views on the Congress, on issues, the government and the rest of the world. The words are measured and designed not #Congress #Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi #PoliticsDecoder #Sonia Gandhi