Letter from London

A Requiem for the Doha Round

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 11:13:17 +0530

The idea of a common world trade policy is a fantasy.
Trade and politics have always been intertwined. A country's trade policy cannot operate independently of its political climate

Conjoined Twins: Dissent and Democracy

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 29 May 2006 11:10:23 +0530

The BJP Yuva Morcha's decision to prevent the screening of Fanaa or any movie starring Aamir Khan in Gujarat is a comment on the unedifying level of political discourse

A Political Googly

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 11:52:35 +0530

It is high season among MPs for an absurdist drama of staggering proportions. When the Congress petitioned the Election Commission seeking Jaya Bachchan's disqualification from the Rajya Sabha on the

Beatles, Bush and a toon-seum

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 12:02:43 +0530

Abbey Road
Tucked away in a quiet and leafy corner of north-west London lies Abbey Road, made famous by the eponymous album by The Beatles in 1969. The cover photograph, with

The Global Game

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 01:18:34 +0530

Unless you prefer a reclusive and hermetically sealed existence from the everyday occurrences around the globe, you will have noticed that the football world cup is everywhere. It is on

A Midsummer's Anxiety

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 01:53:27 +0530

The UPA government requires no second invitation to a controversy. Throughout the year, it has swaggered in a puzzled state of half-wakefulness from one entanglement to another. In the immediate

A Necessary Yatra

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 12:21:57 +0530

The attempt on Pramod Mahajan's life has been shocking and unfortunate to say the least. As the BJP leaders and the public rightfully send him fervent wishes of support for

The Silent Leadership

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 22 May 2006 02:18:05 +0530

As the protests against reservations spill from the classrooms to the streets, the deep well of public discontent emphasises the unsatisfactory and piecemeal approach of the government to this vital

Manmohan Singh's Surprise

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 11:21:51 +0530

It is too soon to tell whether Manmohan Singh's robust and elegant defence of the Indo-US nuclear deal in last Thursday's debate in the Rajya Sabha marks a turning point

The Politics of Grievance

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 04:35:13 +0530

The extent to which the political landscape in India continues to be influenced by grievance should be a matter of concern. Recent events bring this issue again into sharp relief.

Public Private Partnership: A Corridor of Uncertainty?

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 09:58:20 +0530

The Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project is swiftly turning out to be a litmus test for infrastructural projects in India. Last week marked a subdued opening of the first phase

Terror in Mumbai: Inertia is not an option

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 10:37:43 +0530

The appalling carnage in Mumbai is a shocking reminder of the fragility of life in this age of terror. Echoing the bombings in Madrid and London last year, the evil

Of Small Towns and Big Ambitions

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 12:01:15 +0530

A few months ago over lunch, an acquaintance enquired after my roots in India. I let her know, I'm from Indore. This disclosure sparked off an expression of bewilderment. She

General Musharraf's Dilemma

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 15 May 2006 07:47:15 +0530

In the altered reality of the post 9-11 era, perhaps no politician has benefited as much as General Musharraf. As Pakistan's strategic importance became apparent in the "war against terrorism",

Indo-US N-Deal: A Partnership for the 21st Century

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 10:25:29 +0530

The monsoon session of the current parliament has been brimming with a torrent of farcical activity. As MP's groggily recover from their current obsession of excessively pouring over a raft

Sweet Are the Uses of Adversity

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 11:10:44 +0530

Rahul Mahajan's fateful tryst with cocaine has undeniably embarrassed the BJP. At one level, some might view it as the waywardness of an individual's lifestyle choice. At a deeper level

His-Tory lesson for BJP

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:34:58 +0530

The Tories offer the BJP some valuable lessons The Tories were once seen as the natural party of power in Britain but three successive electoral defeats threatened to irrevocably

The Demographic Disconnect

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:02:11 +0530

Since his election as the leader of the Conservative party, David Cameron has posed some searching questions for the British political terrain. With the Labour party in the middle of

Friendly Fire

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:22:44 +0530

The Cause of the PM's Unhappiness
Manmohan Singh is plainly an unhappy PM this summer. When he accepted his prime ministerial brief just over two years ago, he

Let's Talk Without Reservation

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 10:31:50 +0530

The UPA Government has dropped a real clanger with its proposal to increase reservation in central and state-funded universities from 22.5 per cent to almost 50 per cent. The HRD

The Rise of Rahul Gandhi

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 08 May 2006 12:14:04 +0530

It has been a very busy stretch lately for Rahul Gandhi. As campaign manager for his mother's by-election in Rae Bareli, the obedient son has left no stone unturned to

Letter From London

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 12:51:49 +0530

The Balance of Power
Two significant events have occurred recently which deserve closer attention. First, as part of a restructuring of its diplomatic services, the US has announced a

The Big State and Small Citizens

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 12:00:23 +0530

President Kalam's rejection of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill 2006 posits fresh difficulties for the government. Better known as the Office of Profit Bill, the President's refusal to

The American Paradox

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 11:39:35 +0530

At first instance, to speak of capitalism and philanthropy in the same vein might seem like an oxymoron of sorts to some, a bit like speaking of socialist landlords or

A Tale of Two Scandals

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 04:41:15 +0530

This is a tale of two scandals, one in Britain and the other in India. The facts are different but the underlying themes are similar: the uneasy cohabitation of politics

The Price of Loyalty

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 01 May 2006 11:10:33 +0530

Natwar Singh cuts a sorry figure these days. While he is convinced that the enquiry chaired by Justice Pathak will absolve him of any mala fide dealings alleged in the