Nitish is in a spot of bother on his home turf and is worried about arresting the dwindling popularity of his party.
If the BJP has to use Modi as its trump card in 2012, it cannot afford to remain ambiguous about him beyond October this year.
Dalits and OBCs are treated as sacred cows. We provide them with an official identity kit while trampling their life chances. Nandy was trying to break through that hypocrisy, but unfortunately got caught in a fly trap of populism.
The only appropriate response to an idea - even if it's as horribly skewed as Nandy's original proposition and his equally bizarre clarification - is to challenge it intellectually and disprove it.
Democracy is supposed to allow individuals to flower. In India, the individual identity is being forced to conform to group identities to enable political mobilitation
The BJP has to choose between Modi, who can fire up its support base but alienate pre-poll allies, and playing it 'safe' and risk losing the enthusiasm of its rank and file. Events will probably compel it to gamble on Modi.
After his anointment, Rahul Gandhi is about to start building his new team. Who will be in it? Here are some pointers.
Justice Verma had slammed the home ministry in his report.
The Afghan war has been won by the Taliban. The American withdrawal is actually a retreat and the next stop for a buoyant Taliban is Pakistan worries documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
The crematoriums in Kolkata are a living nightmare for bereaved families. Doms, priests, local thugs and politicians make mourning an ordeal for the people of Kolkata.
The US Senate isconsidering a plan to award a 'green card' to immigrants who have received a PhD or Master’s degree in science, technology, engineering, or math from an American university. It could be a windfall for Indian students.
Taking the reference to Taliban in a popular film as a reference to Indian Muslims and militating against an artistic expression is perhaps a conscious effort at fomenting trouble.
This is the second time the court has failed to do its job, abrogating the responsibility it is designed to shoulder. Vishwaroopam has been submitted to the CBFI, as is required before the exhibition of any film in India. Once the CBFI certifies the film as fit for theatrical release, that should have been the end of that.
Millions of Indian have showered fame, fortune and fan-love on Shah Rukh Khan, but all he can do in the autumn of his career is to play the Muslim victimhood card.
The Justice Verma Committee's sweeping recommendations on gender equality and legal changes will be almost impossible to implement in our overcentralised governance structure
For all the feel-good nature of President Pranab Mukherjee's outlining of India's achievements, a dispassionate and honest account of history must also acknowledge that the plotline of the Great Indian Story has gone horribly awry.
The fight was not between Gadkari and Advani. Advani had the moral standing, but not the clout, to impact the race. The fight was between RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and his lieutenant Suresh Soni
Even if Headley is never extradited to India, the US must make available his case files, which can strengthen India's evidence of Pakistan's complicity in the November 2008 Mumbai attack. But with Home Minister Shinde looking the other way - at "Hindu terror" - the prospects appear dim.
Saffron terrorism is a misnomer, but not Hindu terrorism. The Hindu reference is not to the religion but the terrorists' cause
In a charged Chicago courtroom, a US judge says Headley deserved to die, and criticises the 'plea bargain' with the US government that let Headley walk away with a relatively light sentence.
At the heart of Justice Verma's recommendations on gender justice is police reform. But no government wants to do this
Justice Verma's report on gender biases and equality is really Project 2030. It is not a single-bullet cure for patriarchy
Given Rajnath shares an excellent relations with RSS, it will be interesting to see how he maintains a balance between his own autonomy and RSS’s inclination to micro-manage the party.
The Justice Verma Committee set up after the Delhi Gangrape is a frontal attack on patriarchy's worst features - especially gender injustice
The Commission report offers measured, yet radical, recommendations to meaningfully address the problem of sexual assault and violence against women at many levels, including at the foundational level of societal patriarchy.
By inadvertently catapulting Rajnath Singh to the centre of power in BJP, the Congress may have helped save its rival from embarrassment and even strengthened it
Right up until Tuesday evening, Nitin Gadkari was sure of being re-elected. But LK Advani's resolute opposition right till the end - and the dramatic IT action against Gadkari's business empire - turned the tide against against him.
For a party that denounces and mocks the Congress' inability - or unwillingness - to outgrow the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, the BJP comes across as equally wussy whenever it has to face up to the RSS. It should break free - and redefine its relationship.
Rahul Gandhi is trying to have the best of both worlds. He’s a democrat during the week but a prince on weekends.
Both the BJP and the Congress have a big role to play in national polity. It’s good for the country if both offered clarity about themselves.