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  1. Why Narendra Modi could be a Jyoti Basu

    Posted by
    / January 13, 2013 / 2 Comments
    The fifth straight win for the BJP in the Gujarat elections, and Modi’s third, has already been trumpeted by the right as the beginning of their march to Delhi. But will it be a Triumphal March, winning state after state in 2013, or a Mao-like Long March? Or, as my...

  2. The Bangladeshification of India

    Posted by
    / August 31, 2012 /
    (Spoiler Alert: This post is not about Bangladeshi immigrants, illegal or otherwise. So if you were looking for a rant on those lines, sorry) Question: What party has initials that begin with a B and end in P, has a narrow and religious definition of nationalism, cannot stand the prime...

  3. The Kalki Syndrome

    Posted by
    / August 6, 2012 /
    Before I start, I admit I have no training in sociology. Nevertheless, what I write below is based on some observations I’ve made over the last few years, and also draws from India’s Hindu heritage. We’ve grown up with the idea that we live in Kali Yuga. That has probably made...

  4. An old childhood memory

    Posted by
    / May 18, 2012 /
    Some interesting developments led me to dredge this thing up from fading memories of a childhood spent on the Indo-Pak frontier. This was a doggerel that we kids used to recite in recess and generally have fun. There are many versions, mostly harmless. But this one isn’t, largely as an...

  5. Satyameva Jayate = Social Pornography?

    Posted by
    / May 6, 2012 / 20 Comments
    Aamir Khan’s much hyped TV program is finally on air, and my parents spent the morning hour watching it. I can happily exclude myself, since I’m an internet addict, and the computer in my house is at right angles to the telly. I did hear it though, from start to...

  7. Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Who?

    Posted by
    / February 26, 2012 / 4 Comments
    In Maharashtra, it is mandatory to sing the National Anthem before and after cinema performances. When one has attended a fairly nondescript movie, it is the fairly rousing anthem that one remembers. But who is the ‘jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka’ to whom our national anthem is a paean? Have you given thought to...

  8. The Minister’s Mistake

    Posted by
    / January 23, 2012 /
    By now we have heard of the Madhya Pradesh minister who got a tribal child to tie his shoelaces at a public function. He has since had to apologise and clarify his act. He also made a vow that he would never wear shoes that have laces again, ordering six such...

  9. Dilpasand is Dil Pasand

    Posted by
    / January 18, 2012 / 1 Comment
    When I moved into the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) campus in August 2000 to begin my masters, Bengaluru was still a new city for me. I had been to the city on vacation, but that was mostly on family occasions when one is copped up in marriage halls all...

  10. Indian Cricket – Two Wasted Generations?

    Posted by
    / January 18, 2012 / 3 Comments
    The country is wallowing in self-pity currently, as the high priests of its religion are bested at their altars. Our national depression has no larger reason than the failure of the national cricket team; issues like corruption, casteism, black money, scams etc can be ignored. Enough has been written already...

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