Criminal law is least effective when it's motivated by anger against its defendants. Perhaps that's why the Indian Penal Code, argues that capital punishment should only be handed out in the rarest of rare cases.
Anna's backroom image builders choreographed a great presence for Anna. But did his frontroom boys and girl spoil the show?
Should a hunger-strike with its emotional appeal be given much more attention than logic? But this is what happens in India time and again: a sob story gets results, not sober thinking.
The increasingly strident self-righteous tone of Team Anna and its wholesale intolerance of those who challenge its position on the Lokpal bill debate are symptoms of an out-of-control movement.
Despite a shift in public mood against the government after the arrest of key Team Anna members, the government seems to be working to a plan. It believes the middle class protest will ultimately taper off as people tire of coming onto the street.
Cabinet minister Jairam Ramesh talks on politics, role models, the IITs, and how he managed to make it to ministership because of Sonia Gandhi.
First MV Wisdom, and now MV Pavit's unannounced drift to Mumbai's shores shows that despite government 'action' following 26/11, the city's coasts remain vulnerable.
The indomitable Bellary brothers continue to be a pillar of strength as well as the sharpest thorn in Karnataka BJP’s side. Towards the weekend, the BJP leadership was in a tizzy over who made Janardhan Reddy a minister in the state cabinet.
Today’s party spokespersons are spinmeisters who go with the flow. They don’t deliver information, provide a clarification or correct an impression but try and monopolise the air waves as much as possible to set the agenda for print the next day.
The glee with which Stalinists are latching on to the Oslo shooter on the basis of his manifesto is appalling.
Maulana Vastanvi's ouster as Darul Uloom V-C was preceded by a slander campaign against him launched by some Delhi-based Urdu newspapers, whose loyalties had obviously been bought by the Madanis of Deoband.
Granting more autonomy to the GTA (not to forget the Rs 200 crore annual grant from New Delhi for the next three years) may not easily bring political tranquillity to Darjeeling.
While sitting across a table for meaningful talks, it is imperative that mutual sensitivities are appreciated and a bit of give and take is resorted to most diplomatically.
Mamata has bought herself time, not a complete solution; for GJM chief Bimal Gurung it’s perform or perish from now on.
An honourable Fundookistani minister talks about liberating treasure from a Very Old Temple to use for greater social good and poverty alleviation in his country, which may be more familiar than many of us realize.
The Supreme Court has ended Chhattisgarh's disgraceful practice of using tribals in the frontline of anti-Maoist operations. But its order is so full of ideological prejudice and pretenses that it will surely have to be reviewed.
There are times when normal laws cannot be used to counter terrorists. The US' tough approach post 9/11 shows that giving no quarter to terrorists works. We have to bite the bullet on this.
Mumbai and other cities have been through enough terrorist attacks to have evolved a proper protocol on dealing with the aftermath. Politicians and public have to be kept away from blast sites and hospitals for a while
The Lokpal bill looks like it is to be buried yet again - just like it has consistently been buried for the last 45 years.
Recent events and circumstances surrounding the drafting of the Lokpal Bill have inadvertently proved that the law of diminishing returns, fundamentally a law of economics, applies to the political process too.
Karunanidhi's tears at Kanimozhi's plight has all the elements of an epic tragedy. But somehow I am not as moved as I should be.
The support for Anna Hazare’s all-or-nothing position stumps me. He could do it as climbers do — climb a bit, set up camp; climb some more, set up a second camp. And a third and a fourth...
The Karnataka state government's refusal to allow a UNESCO tag for the Western Ghat forests is because it will prevent them from plundering these sites at will.
If actions speak louder than words, then Nigamanand’s struggle ought to be screaming sense into us. But it's doubtful that it will do that.
Paresh Baruah is a spent force. His ultimatum to an oil and gas company is a desperate bid to stay relevant.
A full monty of diversionary tactics are taking the attention away from the real issue at hand.
The greatest tragedy of the Baba Ramdev fracas is that we'll now be talking about everything except the most important issue at hand, writes Firstpost community blogger, Shining Path.
Manipur-Nagaland tension is only beginning to rankle again. But the ripples are yet to be felt in far off New Delhi.
Sun TV, the number one Tamil language channel, is threatended thanks to a moment of stupidity and greed.
We have seen India engaging the ISI in recent backroom talks; we have seen India tolerating the return of Taliban. It is not totally implausible to think that there may be some diplomat advocating a patch-up with the LTTE.