06 December, 2017 Constantly making changes to policies like GST shows that a government is responsive and open to course-correction, despite what critics say. Various experts in the pundit-republic of India have told us with supreme élan and wit that the frequent flip-flops with respect to our newest tax, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), […]
27 April, 2023 The Supreme Court must carefully weigh the tradeoff between the wisdom of our ancestors and the fashionable doctrine of the day. Our revered Supreme Court is soon about to tell us what the meaning of the word “marriage” is. I know that many fashionable lawyers arguing before the bench will say that […]
05 April, 2022 Thanks to the IT industry, India is no longer about wandering cows and fakirs. Harish Mehta’s ‘The Maverick Effect’ tells that story. The partial biography of a sensitive Indian businessperson and a successful industry, Harish Mehta’s The Maverick Effect is a treat on many levels. Mehta writes candidly and, at times, poignantly about his personal […]
26 April, 2022 Violence around cow slaughter and religious processions is not novel in India. Virtually every single ICS officer had to deal with ‘riots’ and ‘law and order problems’. The commentariats on both the Left and the Right are having a great time arguing that the current situation in India is something novel and […]
06 July, 2022 Strong centres can be misused. But let’s not forget that there are many more competing checks and balances on central governments than on states. People like historian Ayesha Jalal have criticized Patel and Nehru for insisting on a strong central rule in India. Many criticized Ambedkar for opting for a central control in our Constitution. Even […]
26 July, 2022 India’s sobriety and balanced approach has been a complete contrast to Sri Lanka and ranks as one of the better national economic policies anywhere in the world. All the lefties in India — please note I do not call them left-liberal intellectuals as they are not liberal and are far from being […]
12 October, 2022 Don’t limit Kautilya to antiquarian studies. His Arthashastra is for the modern world shows Sriram Balasubramanian in his book Autodynamics. Chanakya, or more correctly, Kautilya has been seen by many as a political theorist and analyst of international relations wedded to the realist school. Kautilya’s philosophical contributions and his views on political […]
19 October, 2022 Modi has, in some sense, taken forward Indira Gandhi’s torch. His proud unapologetic actions are very much in the spirit of the intrepid Indira. I watched Narendra Modi’s Varanasi speech in February 2022. Despite the limitations of my Hindi, I was impressed (why don’t they have subtitles in other Indian languages and in English?). This time, […]
07 December, 2022 Lapid reminds me of many western intellectuals who have argued that Jews lie about anti-Semitism and routinely exaggerate violence against them. Dear Nadav Lipid I am not well-acquainted with the world of Avant-Garde cinema. I am told that you are a shining star in that community. In that capacity, you were, I believe, recently invited to […]
09 December, 2022 The road ahead may not be smooth for China but to argue that it is peaking or on the way to decline is just outlandish. India would do well to not get excited. The internet is full of experts, media personalities and think tanks telling us: China has peaked; China is about […]