Editorials

Using their convergence of perception on many issues, India and the U.S. can work closely in reshaping the global order Global politics is changing at a fast pace. Thus a setting where there was a chariot of peace, joint co-operation, multilateralism and liberalism whose strings were controlled by institutions such …

The Assembly election verdict will indicate the political future of State-based parties As Haryana gets ready for its 14th Assembly election, to be held on October 21, it is time to see how it compares in electoral terms with other States. Differences and similarities Haryana’s ‘exceptionalism’ becomes evident when we …

India must not trade away its national data rights at the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations In a digital economy, data is the central resource. The Prime Minister recently compared data to property at the advent of the industrial era. Data is being considered as a nation’s new wealth. How …

As the nation gathers to pay homage to the Father of the Nation on his hundredth birthday, it is natural for those who have grown up in the post-Gandhi era to ask what his unique contribution was. There were other great national leaders who campaigned for independence and there were …

Supreme Court’s order on anti-atrocities law is a caution against entering legislative domain After last year’s amendments aimed at nullifying the effect of a Supreme Court judgment that was seen as diluting the law against atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the apex court’s decision recalling the earlier verdict …

Better infrastructure for water managementto break the droughts, floods cycle is needed If Bihar is struggling to stay afloat in the ongoing monsoon, its distress can be traced to poor infrastructure and a lack of administrative preparedness. Even large parts of the capital, Patna, have been paralysed without power and …

Tanzania, which has long enjoyed a reputation for democratic stability, is taking an authoritarian turn As Tanzania nears the 2020 election, its anti-corruption crusade seems headed to a one-man dictatorship. President John Magufuli, leader of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), or Party of the Revolution, made waves when he …

India needs to have a non-coercive sanitation policy forthose who continue to use the outdoors October 2 was not only Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, but also the fifth, and perhaps final, anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission. Speaking in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared India “open defecation-free”. But …

There is scope for India-Bangladesh ties to move to the next level, based on cooperation, coordination and consolidation Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will make her first official visit to India from October 3-6, post the general elections in Bangladesh (December 2018) and India (May 2019). She will address the …

It is time to rethink the power of arrest and the concept of cognisable offences Let us say we were creating the law on criminal process from scratch, for a just utopia. The law would need to empower police to arrest persons who are probable, not merely possible, suspects. Inbuilt …

It spells double danger — threatening India’s secular and democratic standing and miring the economy deeper in crisis Hindutva “nationalism” unlike anti-colonial nationalism does not comprehend economics. The reason is simple. Central to anti-colonial nationalism was an understanding of colonial exploitation. This is why it distinguished between all previous rulers …

Putting more money in the hands of rural households will stir up the economy The government’s statistical machinery has begun work on revising the indices that capture the trends in consumer prices experienced in rural India. This opens up the prospect for an upward revision in the wages paid out …

Tax cuts have enthused Corporate India, but there is the fiscal problem to deal with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ushered in Deepavali early for Corporate India and the markets on Friday with her announcement of deep cuts in corporate taxes and roll-back of some market-unfriendly proposals in the Budget she …

A Parliament Budget Office can help drive smarter, more focused debate in the media and with the electorate When most people arrive at the ballot box, they vote with their gut. But getting there requires absorbing and shaping months and years of conversations, long-held opinions and ideally, hard facts and …

The Indian American gathering in Houston will be an unlikely reminder of the futility of the claims of ultra-nationalism Around 50,000 Indian Americans are expected to attend a rally in Houston, Texas on September 22 to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump, current leaders …

Residents of four high-rise apartment complexes along the Vembanad lake in Maradu, Kerala, are protesting against a recent Supreme Court order to raze down their homes, reportedly built in flagrant violation of CRZ guidelines. K.S. Sudhi chronicles the controversy Following a Supreme Court ultimatum in early September, life has taken …

British Nobel prize winning scientist Dorothy Hodgkin yesterday [August 13] announced the discovery of the crystalline structure of insulin, the life saving drug used by diabetics. Dr. Hodgkin made her announcement at a Press conference held on the first day of a 10-day meeting of the Eighth International Congress of …

The mass defection of MLAs makes a mockery of democracy in Sikkim The switching of sides by 10 MLAs from the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Sikkim on Tuesday and later two others from the SDF to the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) brings a …

The auto sales slump reflectsa pervasive lack of demand India’s automobile industry is experiencing a snowballing crisis of demand that shows no signs of abating, leave alone reversing. Domestic sales across all vehicle categories slid 19% year-on-year in July, as passenger vehicle despatches plunged 31% to register the segment’s steepest …

India barely found the inclination to celebrate its independence from Britain on August 15, 1947. Communal riots and a massive influx of refugees following Partition threatened to fragment the fledgling country. Broke and traumatised, it had nothing like the Marshall Plan to cope with the challenges it faced, despite significantly …