The Rao I knew
P.V. Narasimha Rao once told me, ‘I can take her on, but I do not wish to do so.’ ...
PM Imran will be history’s minor footnote
His two-year tenure as Prime Minster has been, to put it mildly, dismal. Imran Khan was undoubtedly one of...
Never underestimate the Chinese
I have met dozens of great and famous men, but very few were as impressive and refined as Chou. ...
Three letters
‘I used to be a hopeless letter writer before, but now I promise improvement’, wrote R.K. Narayan. In the...
A letter from E.M. Forster
I met him at Cambridge in 1952. His impact on me was among the great blessings of my life. ...
Migrant crisis mishandled
Which agency will monitor implementation of Supreme Court order on migrants? Nothing exposes the mishandling of the migrant crisis...
India-Nepal dispute must be resolved soon
Without Beijing’s encouragement, PM Oli would not think of antagonising India. The top priority on the international agenda at the...
Major world problems cannot be set aside
Will America’s anti-China verbal overkill continue? Will China come clean and disclose facts? For the last few months humankind has...
Is this the Age of Fear?
What will tomorrow bring? More fear or hope? Hope for whom? President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his inaugural address...
Trust bureaucrats to write such regulations
Lockdown three was promulgated because majority states wanted it. The other day an American doctor said on CNN that...
My memories of Gopal and Radhakrishnan
Radhakrishnan patted Chairman Mao on his left cheek. Among the very best biographies written in 20th century was S. Gopal’s...
Lockdown cannot continue post 3 May
Another lockdown will not go down well. It will lead to anger, frustration, immense financial strain. Has Kalyug arrived? A...
Covid-19: Life is changing, will change further
Is humanity trapped by faith, hit by bad luck for its sins (to paraphrase Gandhi)? Human beings are, at the...
Tablighi Jamaat should be banned
One critic says that the movement has served as a fertile breeding ground for radical Islamic militancy in many countries....
PM’s lockdown has so far checked virus spread
With a few exceptions, the blockade is being enforced. Life has been hugely disrupted, but lives are being saved....
World’s worst health crisis in 100 years
Imposition of a voluntary day long curfew a good idea, but almost impossible to implement in rural India. The...
Covid-19: Devastation, if not controlled now
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suggested that the SAARC countries should jointly combat this crisis. If the coronavirus, Covid-19,...
Islamic world will hold Delhi riots against us
The Ayatollah cannot be asked to mind his own business. He is respected not only by the Shias but by...
Verbally restrained Trump was a surprise
Our PM deserves credit for dealing deftly with an unpredictable individual. President Donald Trump is the sixth US President to...
Congress revival not on horizon
The dilemma the Congress faces is acute. Who will have the guts to ask the Gandhis to step down? No...
It’s known Nehru didn’t include Patel’s name
Hodson wrote in 1969: “Pandit Nehru’s first list for his post-independence Cabinet omitted the name of Sardar Patel.” Three pages...
A letter from R.K. Narayan
I opened the rickety wooden gate. On the veranda stood a man wearing a white shirt and white lungi. ‘My...
Letters from Forster, Rajagopalachari and Vijayalaxmi Pandit
Here are three letters from elderly eminences whom I knew well. My dear Natwar, A line—which ought to have come...
70 years since Purna Swaraj became a reality
A mini parade was held. The President unfurled the National Flag, with PM Nehru standing next to him. Jawaharlal...
