A letter from Raja Rao
I first met him in New York in March 1963. Earlier I had reviewed his ‘The Serpent and the Rope’...
A letter from Mulk Raj Anand
Mulk was a dedicated Marxist who at the same time venerated Mahatma Gandhi. I had the good fortune to have...
My Dilip Kumar stories
I persuaded him to accept nomination to the Rajya Sabha. Many of us have personal Dilip Kumar “stories” up our...
Gandhi and Tagore
They had fundamental differences on certain issues. Mahatma Gandhi and Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore were born in the same decade. Tagore...
Emergency: A lethal blow to India
I was Deputy High Commissioner in London at the time. B.K. Nehru was the High Commissioner. Drip by drip the...
In memory of Kenneth Kaunda
He visited India several times. On Thursday, 17 June, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, founder President of Zambia passed away in Lusaka...
What we need to know about H. Hatterr
Hatterr is an erratic, well read, endearing soul who is constantly getting into hilarious situations. I have just finished reading...
Foreign policy needs eternal vigilance
Inevitably, in one or two cases, PM Modi has been subjected to wholly unfair blame and criticism. I have no...
Letters from E.M. Forster
‘I still sit about quietly, still have no telephone and though I have a gramophone, it does not revolve as...
Letters from Indira Gandhi
Two letters written in 1976 and 1980. I am, in today’s column, producing two of the many letters Prime Minister...
A letter from Han Suyin
We met by chance in Peking in July 1956 and took to each other immediately. I am 92 years of...
Mamata arrives on national scene
India is in dire need of a strong opposition. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has now arrived on the national scene....
The times they are hard
After the first Covid-19 wave, it was mistakenly thought that the worst was over. Complacency was all too evident. The...
My memories of Fidel Castro
During my 1982 visit I had not expected to meet President Castro. A few hours before my departure I was...
Wind of change in Russia-Pak relations
Sergey Lavrov has been Foreign Minister of Russia for 17 years. Perhaps the longest serving Foreign Minister in the world....
A letter from Sharda Prasad
‘Diaries are not always truthful. They record the minutiae but miss the essence.’ When Emergency was declared on 26 June...
Gopal book gives peek into Gandhi’s life
Gandhi Restless As Mercury is an extension of Gandhiji’s autobiography. I have respect for a few people. Gopal Gandhi I...
Those who gave us quotable quotes
‘No Englishman is too low to have scruples; no Englishman is high enough to be free from tyranny.’ Gandhi: “I...
Dandi march: The salt revolution of 1930
The march began on 12 March 1930. Gandhi left Sabarmati Ashram at 6.30 am, accompanied by 79 satyagrahis. Mahatma Gandhi’s...
No lowering our guard against China
China is planning to build a ‘passageway’ between Tibet and South Asia. The National People’s Congress opened in Beijing on...
Fingers crossed on India-Pak ceasefire
Moeed Yusuf later denied that any meeting between him and Ajit Doval was held. This should be taken with a...
Remembering Nelson Mandela
While Nelson Mandela was a genuine admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, he writes, ‘In India, Gandhi had been dealing with a...
Matter of Myanmar: Our own interest is priority
It would be unwise to withdraw our ambassador. He could be called for consultations and kept in Delhi for some...
Re-reading a Gandhi biography
Louis Fischer’s first book on the Mahatma, A Week with Gandhi was published in the United States in 1943. I read...
