The banishment of Nawaz Sharif
Pakistan’s Supreme Court has become morbidly activist, its chief justice luxuriating in an exaggerated pantomime of anti-politician ‘justice’ while a mountain of case backlog grows in the courts.
BY: Khaled Ahmed On April 13, the Supreme Court of Pakistan decided that ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, earlier controversially disqualified from office, would not be able to contest elections for the rest of his life. The lifetime ban came from Article 62 (1)(f), a remnant of the judicial irrationality of General Zia’s Islamising dictatorship, which […]
Bombs won’t save Syria’s children
BY:Will Bunch With so many crazy contradictions illuminated by the rocket’s red glare and the bombs bursting in air over Syria on Friday night – the lack of any coherent American or allied policy in that nation’s ruthless 7-year civil war, the lack of any legal justification for the United States to attack the regime […]
The ‘new’ South Asia
As China’s leverage increases, New Delhi has to reimagine its terms of engagement with neighbours
BY: Harsh V. Pant As Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to redefine the priorities of the Commonwealth at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London this week, India’s neighbourhood policy is coming under scrutiny. The visit of Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Oli to India earlier this month has led to suggestions that it could […]
Dear friend, speak up
The government has now completed nearly four years in office, presented five budgets and used up all the opportunity available to it to show results.
BY: Yashwant Sinha We all worked very hard for the victory of the party in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Some of us had been struggling against the rule of the UPA government, in Parliament and outside, ever since it assumed office in 2004 while some others were enjoying the fruits of office in their […]
Towards a regional reset?
Bold moves to normalise ties with China and Pakistan will enhance India’s standing
BY: Suhasini Haidar Change often comes unannounced, and the government’s foreign policy moves over the past few months represent an unannounced but profound shift in its thinking about the neighbourhood. This could change the course of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy before the general election next year. On the mend The most obvious in […]
Is India safer for women after Nirbhaya? The answer is no
Does any parent feel safe if his daughter is out late in any part of India, especially in metro cities? The answer is no. Isn’t every woman walking or driving alone considered fair game by otherwise seemingly harmless men? The answer is yes.
It was December 16, 2012, when a young women, all of 23-years-old, was brutalised in the vilest manner possible in a moving bus in the heart of India’s capital. The brutality of the assault sent shock waves of revulsion throughout the country. People were outraged and took to the streets to vent their anger. Young […]
From fake to real
THE lie at the heart of the quest to oust Nawaz from politics was that there was a crisis. That without getting ridding of Nawaz the crisis would metastasise and swallow the rest of us. There was no crisis. Sure, could Pakistan have been doing better? Yes. Was the economy being managed well? No. Were […]
When Kathua and Unnao Became Just ‘Incidents’
One of the several protests in Kashmir over past 3 months
It is not a good day for a country when its Prime Minister dismisses two heinous incidents of rape and murder as casual “incidents” being “discussed since the past two days.” The two incidents that he did not describe or directly refer to can be presumed to be that of little Asifa, abducted, raped […]
The myth of unity
Commenting on Hindutva’s ambitious project to “unite all Hindus”, Aakar Patel, former editor and the current executive director of Amnesty International, offers an interesting argument. While it should not take much effort and imagination to unify the 85 percent majority against the less than 15 percent voiceless minority, Hindus are not a monolithic community. Far […]
Modern-day Writers
When a person is praised because of his prowess, skills and abilities, that’s the real tribute to the person. Some are praised merely due to their ‘utility’ factor, and that’s nothing but flattery. Some need to be praised ritually in a conference, assembly, seminar or meeting since they are sitting in chairs of veneration. Similarly, […]
