Congress will miss Gogoi and Patel
Ahmed Patel’s death is a colossal loss to Sonia Gandhi, who gives her confidence and mind to few. She trusted...
Obama is a remarkable man
Whether he was a great President or not only time will tell. Former US President Barack Obama’s autobiography, A Promised...
Biden will be a blessing after Trump
In 2001, in Washington, Joe Biden hosted a lunch for Sonia Gandhi. Manmohan Singh, Murli Deora and I accompanied her....
Mahathir in the news, for wrong reasons
He is now out of office and in his mid-nineties, still active in politics, stirring the political waters. I...
Should democracy be at mercy of public opinion?
Winston Churchill said, ‘Democracy is not perfect. Alternatives are worse.’ It is becoming clear by the day that the...
Too many faux pas by Maharashtra Governor
The latest outrage is his ‘intemperate letter’ to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Maharashtra is among the largest states in...
Trump vs Biden debate was a slanging match
Biden not only conducted himself with restrained dignity, but proved to be better debater and better prepared. I witnessed...
My meetings with Dev Anand
I first met him in 1962 at the United Nations Delegates Lounge. On 2 October was Mahatma Gandhi’s one...
Equality of nations not part of UN charter
The UN is almost bankrupt and a lame duck outfit. Does the world need the UN? The Charter of...
Beginning of end of Arab-Israeli enmity
If wisdom prevails, Palestinian leadership should begin to think about normalising relations with Israel. Early in the week an...
India, China make modest progress
Yet the road to de-escalation is an arduous and hazardous one. Even the critics of the Narendra Modi government’s China...
Pranab Mukherjee was a remarkable man
He relished power, keeping it under wraps with expert astuteness. Broadly speaking, Indian politicians avoid intimacy. The late Pranab...
A letter to Indira Gandhi and one from Raja Rao
I reproduce the two letters. This column I shall confine to two letters. My letter to Prime Minister Indira...
Thinking of Tagore this August
On 7 August 1941, Rabindranath Tagore passed away in Calcutta at the age of 80. That August is a...
Kamala Harris is not an Indo-American
Indian media has gone overboard with Harris. She is not an Indophile. The Rajapaksa family dominates the 38-member Sri...
Amar Singh will be missed
I shall miss his humour, ebullience and generosity of heart. At 8.15 am on 6 August 1945, a US...
People will not accept a Presidential system
Our democracy has flaws. But which democracy is flawless? What is happening in the United States today? Some days...
How Rajasthan was stopped from burning
Man Singh’s death caused an explosion of unprecedented rage among the Jats. On 20 February 1985, Raja Man Singh,...
A letter from Krishna Masi
The letter highlights the affectionate and enduring relations between her and the author. Jawaharlal Nehru had two sisters. Vijailakshmi...
Racism gets a new life in Trump’s America
I am not sure if President Donald Trump has a black friend. 41 Harefields, Oxford, OX2 8NS My dear...
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...
