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Commentary
T V R Shenoy

T V R Shenoy edited The Week for many years before he decided to go freelance. Erudite and well connected, he has an insider's view of the goings-on in the capital and brings this insight to the columns he writes for rediff.com and Mid-Day, among other publications. In recent years, he has acquired the reputation of being one of the BJP's spin doctors, even though he has no official connection with the ruling party.

If Saddam turns Gandhian  - November 14, 2002
'What if he threw open Iraq to UN inspectors, after ensuring they would not find anything?'

Four decisions for the future  - November 7, 2002
'The rulings/opinions offered by Their Lordships will continue to echo long after the curtains have fallen on the political actors of today.'

The recipe for chaos  - October 24, 2002
'The Supreme Court is one of the few institutions that still commands respect across India. How can Karnataka get away with open defiance of an order from the apex court?'

The new era is here --- er, is it?  - October 9, 2002
'The only thing the Congress and the PDP seem to agree on is that a person from the other party should not be chief minister.'

Why cosy up to Taiwan?  - October 9, 2002
'Part of my uneasiness about the subject comes from memories of a similar dual taxation treaty which India inked with Mauritius. That agreement was a very costly mistake.'

Target Saddam  - October 3, 2002
'Washington is haunted not so much by the living Hussein as by two ghosts from the past --- Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain.'

Kerala's cup of woes  - September 25, 2002
'If matters don't improve soon, or at least stop becoming worse, Kerala will soon have a new tag --- 'Bihar of the South'!'

The winds of change  - September 17, 2002
'This, in fact, is probably the fairest and freest poll held in unhappy Jammu and Kashmir since 1978.'

Advantage Jayalalithaa  - September 5, 2002
'The Tamil Nadu chief minister has chosen her issues with immense care. And these are only the opening moves in a long game with the Congress (I).'

Is anyone in charge in Islamabad?  - August 28, 2002
'Maintaining the general in power is the United States' headache, not that of India. What should worry us is what might happen if Musharraf chooses to opt for a war in a bid to give the people of Pakistan another focus of hatred.'

EC versus Govt of India  - August 20, 2002
'I am happy that the Union Cabinet has decided to ask the Supreme Court for a clarification through the medium of the President, but I cannot help feeling that it is a no-win situation for all concerned.'

Did the BJP sabotage Krishan Kant's chances?  - July 29, 2002
'He was an intelligent man, somebody smart enough to realise his chances of making it to the top job were vanishingly slim.'

Amma makes her move   - July 24, 2002
'The fates are clearly smiling on Jayalalithaa. As if it were not enough for Vaiko to trap himself, Dr Ramadoss of the PMK suddenly demanded the partition of Tamil Nadu.'

The failed crusader   - July 15, 2002
'K R Narayanan was a grandmaster who blundered in the endgame.'

A Superman named Ambani   - July 8, 2002
'After bombarding me with statistics, Dhirubhai would pause. Then he would add, "And I did it all single-handed!" And then he would guffaw. Because he lost use of his right hand after his first stroke in 1986; for 16 years he was literally single-handed. It was his way of mocking that cliche about rags-to-riches entrepreneurs doing everything 'single-handed'. And, perhaps, of cocking a snook at the fates as well.'

The two the Cabinet can do without   - July 5, 2002
'Congratulations to the prime minister for the two faces that were notably not there at Rashtrapati Bhavan on July 1 -- Mamata Banerjee and Farooq Abdullah.'

Towards Rashtrapati Bhavan   - June 19, 2002
'I am hard put to name any purely scientific field where Abdul Kalam has blazed a trail. So, why then is everybody eager to pin the "great scientist" tag upon him?'

Alexander versus Narayanan redux   - June 6, 2002
'The BJP, which loyally backed Narayanan to both the vice-presidency and the presidency in 1992, has reservations about doing so again. The Congress, which gave Narayanan the nod at the eleventh hour then, is now trying to boost his chances.'

The general and his silly fibs   - May 30, 2002
'Frankly, I cannot say I heard anything new in General Musharraf's speech. But would it have made a difference even if he had made a dozen new promises? Irrespective of what he says, can India trust him?'

What exactly are India's options?   - May 22, 2002
'When the Union home minister announced in Parliament that India must look to its own defences, he spoke as much to Washington as to Islamabad.'

A prejudiced view   - May 15, 2002
'Sonia Gandhi's own party workers are now implicitly suggesting that Christians are somehow a breed standing apart from the average Indian.'

Wanted: A new mindset for MPs   - May 7, 2002
'Just how far can politicians go before citizens at large decide that they aren't being represented adequately? Or represented at all?'

Naidu's gamble   - May 3, 2002
'Chandrababu Naidu needs the BJP on his side -- whether he is the chief executive of Andhra Pradesh or president of the Telugu Desam. So what drove him to take a public stance on Narendra Modi?'

Unmindful minders   - April 22, 2002
'Journalists, if given the opportunity, can put politicians and bureaucrats to shame with their sheer lust for money.'

The front-runner   - April 8, 2002
'In the absence of any sensational events, I think we may see P C Alexander as the next President of India before the summer is out.'

Financing terror   - April 3, 2002
It is not just some banks that are acting, possibly unwittingly, as conduits for terrorist money. Investigators are all but sure that at least some cooperatives are also being used.

Two CMs making a difference   - March 13, 2002
A K Antony and Buddhadeb Bhattacharya have the wits to see that the old ways are not good enough any longer. That's why the Centre has given them high marks for at least trying.

A record that we can do without   - March 8, 2002
'It takes India's judges 761 years to settle a dispute. So can you blame people for being just a little cynical when they hear a judicial solution being touted as the best way out of the Ayodhya dispute?'

Why the BJP needs a Laxman   - February 28, 2002
'The BJP has lost the first Test -- the assembly polls. It is in the middle of the second Test -- the Budget session. Will it come out fighting for reform or retreat again? Remember that there is a third Test -- the fourteenth general election.'

No surprises this time   - February 19, 2002
'It will just be the same old story in UP. And if Narendra Modi, Jayalalithaa, and H D Deve Gowda win their by-elections, the reaction will be a polite yawn. There won't be any major story unless these people lose.'

The economic black hole called Kerala   - February 15, 2002
'Physics tells us north and south are poles apart, but the difference between Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram verges on the absurd.'

Gone Enron   - February 7, 2002
'Given these straws in the wind, how did Indian officials decide to accept Enron's valuation? How did officers in both the prime minister's office and the finance ministry try to rush through the money that Enron was seeking?'

The abduction of Daniel Pearl   - January 29, 2002
'The fact that an American journalist can suddenly go missing in Pakistan is a reminder of the professional hazards of journalism in that country. Second, it questions the assumption that General Musharraf is in complete charge of his nation.'

The limitations of a General   - January 23, 2002
'General Musharraf would be happy to see the Dawood Ibrahims and the Chhota Shakeels depart. But it is open to question if he can force them to do so.'

Let there be war!   - January 15, 2002
'Does the arsonist who sets his neighbour's roof on fire deserve a reprieve for promising a teaspoon of water at some future date?'

On the eve of another war   - January 8, 2002
'There is still time to avert it. I only hope that L K Advani and George Fernandes can convince their American hosts of the depth of India's frustration and anger.'

No war on our cards   - December 26, 2001
'Will there be war between India and Pakistan? In the long run: who knows? In the immediate future: unlikely!

Some more rope, General?   - December 19, 2001
'Please do not expect any drama on the lines of the American assault on Afghanistan or Israel's pounding of the Palestinians -- not, at any rate, in the immediate future.'

What is the chosen path?   - December 11, 2001
'How long must India wait patiently as an unfriendly neighbour chooses to bleed it slowly? What is the Government of India proposing to do? Actually, very little.'

Time is running out for Musharraf   - November 27, 2001
'Musharraf knows America is all that stands between him and an assassin's knife. Pakistan's decade-long Afghan policy has failed; a generation of Afghans will never forgive Pakistan.'

Myth vs reality   - November 21, 2001
'Kabul did not "fall" to anyone; the Taleban vacated it in good order. Wars are not won by retreat, but they are not lost either as long as your enemy has his men and his weapons intact.'

India has lost the PR war   - November 13, 2001
'Speaking Hindi at the United Nations may make some Indians happy. But diplomacy is supposed to be about influencing foreigners! We are losing out on public relations - and neither the United States nor Pakistan is responsible.'

What if Musharraf falls?   - October 29, 2001
'India wants a buffer state between itself and the lunatics in Afghanistan. Delhi's chief fear is that Musharraf is losing the battle to keep control of Pakistan.'

Is America losing the war?   - October 24, 2001
'Osama bin Laden is a hero to Muslims across the world. And unless the United States can dent his image, all those 'smart' bombs in its arsenal will not win the war.'

The road to bin Laden   - October 10, 2001
'The United States secretary of the treasury will have more to do to win the war than will his counterpart in the Pentagon. The money trail will be a far better guide to the terrorists than any guided missile.'

The fact that grief cut across party lines is a tribute to Scindia the human being   - October 2, 2001
'But it says much for the utter paucity of talent on the Congress benches that his death is being interpreted as a major setback for the party. Can we be a little realistic, please?'

Throw the remote control away   - September 10, 2001
'Who thought that O Paneerselvam, elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly for the first time, would become chief minister as well? Does anyone think he is even remotely qualified to hold the post once graced by Rajaji, Kamaraj, or Annadurai?'

Pakistan in a bind   - September 18, 2001
'Who will be the first to overthrow the Pakistani establishment -- crusading Americans, a vengeful Taleban, or its own long-suffering citizens?'

The tumble and the fall   - September 5, 2001
'It was high time that Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan were moved out of their departments. Both men were obstacles on the highway of economic reform.'

The Tehelka Tragedy   - August 27, 2001
'If Tehelka uses methods as sleazy as those popularly associated with politicians, then it cannot complain about coming under the spotlight. It must now prepare for some searching questions.'

From Rajaji to Jayalalithaa   - August 22, 2001
'Where does Jayalalithaa wish to go? To the Tamil Nadu assembly of course. But alas for her, the Supreme Court has thrown a spanner into the works.'

Let's dispel the myths   - August 16, 2001
'If anyone in Delhi's central secretariat thinks that Pakistan may fall apart because of economic reasons, well, then think again'

Where are the chowkidars?   - August 13, 2001
'The Securities & Exchange Board of India was meant to be the watchdog of the Indian markets. Sadly, it has proved only a sniffer dog, a beast which appears only after the crime has been committed.'

More important than Phoolan's murder   - August 2, 2001
'I agree the death of a member of Parliament is serious. Yet that is not the issue that is at the top of my mind right now.'

Banda yeh bindaas hai   - July 26, 2001
'Thanks to India's laidback attitude, Pakistan is being hailed the victor of the Agra summit.'

The heartache overshadowed by the summit   - July 19, 2001
'The Government of India accepts that it cannot let down its guard on the Pakistan border. But that shouldn't mean that the doors of the economy are left without wardens.'

The Agra tea party   - July 11, 2001
'If India and Pakistan can reach some agreement on cross-border trade in narcotics alone, the whole show would have been worth it.'

Does the Constitution hold sway in Tamil Nadu?   - July 2, 2001
'Never, even during the Emergency, were over 23,000 people arrested in a single day in a single state. You tell me: is the Tamil Nadu government civilized?'

How far can Vajpayee and Musharraf go?   - June 22, 2001
'Musharraf is hemmed in by the rhetoric of decades. Vajpayee has to battle the mistrust caused by the Kargil conflict.'

The Amma-Didi factor   - June 13, 2001
'Jayalalitha has proved that she retains her hold on the electors of Tamil Nadu; what exactly does Mamata Banerjee have to show?'

The war of the CMs   - June 4, 2001
'Both Antony and Bhattacharya talk through their hat when they speak about making their states the infotech capital of India. But Antony has a longer, rougher road to travel.'

End of the party   - May 28, 2001
'It will be relatively easy for the Tamil Maanila Congress to rejoin the Congress (I). It will take time for the Trinamul Congress to do so. But sooner or later, both parties are destined to vanish.'

Winners, half-winners and losers   - May 21, 2001
'While Jayalalitha and Jyoti Basu emerged the clear victors, Mamata was the biggest loser. The result in West Bengal is probably the single biggest shock of the current polls.'

The decline of the Marxists   - May 7, 2001
'I never thought I would see the day when the mighty CPI-M would be reduced to secret bargains with the Bharatiya Janata Party -- and in Kerala of all states!'

The changing equation   - May 1, 2001
'It would be foolishly presumptuous to say that this assembly election marks the end of the Left in Kerala. But yes, I do believe that this is the beginning of the end!'

Deeper sinks the Congress   - April 16, 2001
'Once upon a time, conventional wisdom went that any Congressman who left the party was doomed to a life in political wilderness. This is simply not true any longer.'

Bee in Sonia's bonnet   - April 9, 2001
'If Karunakaran can challenge Sonia Gandhi's privilege to name chief ministers, then what shall stop someone else from doing so?'

The battle for Fort St George and Fort William   - April 3, 2001
'Jyoti Basu and M Karunanidhi are two old men clearly in the winter of their political life. And both these pioneers of non-Congress governments are wondering if they can end their long careers with one last victory. I for one believe they have every reason to worry.'

Views from the other side   - March 29, 2001
'I am sure Tehelka did not deliberately aim Laxman, Fernandes and Jaitly for ethnic reasons! And I was frankly shocked that a taxi-driver from Pakistan had more faith in Indian journalism than did the wealthy Non-Resident Indians gathered in Washington.'

Better sorry than safe   - March 19, 2001
'The charges made by the Opposition need to be answered, countered if possible. And a truculent or self-righteous defiance is definitely not the answer.'

Thus goes the Congress   - March 6, 2001
'A third-rate party led by a second-rate leadership -- will that be the epitaph of the Congress party?'

The silence of Dr Singh   - February 26, 2001
'Dr Manmohan Singh is often called both the architect of liberalisation and the conscience of the Congress. Why is Dr Singh so careful to keep his mouth shut today? Why isn't he joining in the condemnation of the government?'

Left behind   - February 21, 2001
'When the first Lok Sabha opened in 1952, the main party in the Opposition was the CPI. Five years ago, a Marxist almost became prime minister. Today, they will be happy if they can retain two chief ministerships.'

The price of idiocy   - February 12, 2001
'In Laloo Prasad Yadav's fiefdom, the power situation is so bad that it will take seven hundred and two years before the hamlets in Bihar enjoy the benefits of electricity.'

It's sloth once again   - February 5, 2001
'Gujarat authorities say there is no more money for relief measures because it has had more than its fair share of natural calamities. Fine, but surely that does not explain why, for instance, the batteries of the special satellite phones were not charged regularly!'

Sonia's holy dip   - January 23, 2001
'Sonia Gandhi is doing precisely what she accuses the Bharatiya Janata Party of doing -- mixing religion with politics.'

Congress gets poll-axed   - January 17, 2001
'The Congress boss is scared that the Bharatiya Janata Party might try to take advantage of a sudden burst in popularity.'

Hemnagar's melancholy history   - January 8, 2001
'What happened in Hemnagar was not an isolated instance of violence. There have been an increasing number of reports about attacks by the Marxists on their opponents. The Communists are clearly worried about the effect Mamata Banerjee has had ever since she left the Congress.'

The Kerala model is an abject failure   - January 3, 2001
'Kerala's current bunch of Marxist masters are opposed to globalisation. That puts them at odds with not just the rest of India, but even with their Chinese comrades.'

Khush with Bush   - December 28, 2000
'There are lots of reasons why the Vajpayee ministry has reason to be glad that Bush won through. For one, Bush's National Security Advisor designate has said that the United States should move beyond discussing Kashmir when talking with India.'

Eastward Ho!   - December 14, 2000
'China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam -- The prime minister has set himself a fairly hectic schedule, but that is the price he has to pay because his predecessors neglected the East.'

The puppet CM of Bengal   - December 7, 2000
'Does Buddhadev Bhattacharya utilise the powers of his office to crack down on anti-national elements? Does he at least venture to speak up against them? If you thought the answer to any of those is 'Yes' then you know little about the pusillanimity of the Indian Communist.'

Lessons from Florida   - November 29, 2000
'Politics is in serious danger of being the concern of professional politicians and the media alone, not of ordinary people. And that is a dangerous situation.'

Good luck to the new states   - November 24, 2000
'Let me congratulate the citizens of the three new states. I must confess, however, that I have some concerns for all three.'

All America needs now is a Laloo   - November 14, 2000
'I am not joking -- the American polls have everything like our own polls. There is a strong dynastic whiff, allegations of faulty ballots, some proof of unfair electoral practices, seemingly endless delay before the results are published. All we need is a Laloo Prasad Yadav parading his so-called wit, and it will be a perfect match.'

It doesn't matter to India who the next US Prez is   - November 7, 2000
'A British prime minister of the nineteenth century laid down the dictum that great nations have permanent interests, not permanent friends. That maxim probably guides the American state department today.'

Are the Marxists fading out?   - October 25, 2000
'The CPI-M can trace its roots almost three-quarters of a century, older than almost any party short of the Congress-I. But its current leaders are in their seventies, or older, themselves. As they wither away, shall the party follow suit?'

Are politicians the only ones to blame?   - October 18, 2000
'There are other people who must be taken to task -- bureaucrats and businessmen. It is ridiculous to say that Rao, alone and unaided, did everything that he is being condemned for today.'

Kerala abolishes political untouchability   - October 12, 2000
'The best-concealed secret in Kerala's politics is the fact that both the Marxists and Congressmen are depending on support from the Bharatiya Janata Party. If the two Big Brothers can get away with that, it would be hypocritical to deny one of the smaller siblings the same privilege!'

There should be no soft options   - September 27, 2000
'Let there be an open admission that the Rubaiya Sayeed incident was comprehensively mismanaged. Then, lay down the policy that the Government of India shall not negotiate at the point of the gun.'

Is the Information Age passing Kerala by?   - September 21, 2000
'Anti-Americanism is all very well, but as chief minister of Kerala, Nayanar's first duty is to attend to the interests of his state. At all costs, he cannot allow the state to be seen as one whose chief minister is bracketed with Rabri Devi.'

Petrol price hike cannot be ducked any longer   - September 13, 2000
'The prime minister's US visit is the dessert before the main course. The bitter items are soon to follow.'

Catch-22 for Pranab   - September 8, 2000
Some say Jyoti Basu will be the last Marxist chief minister in Calcutta for a while. I have a different question: will Pranab Mukherjee be the last president of the Bengal Congress while the party is still an effective force?

Kerala politics: Casteist and communal   - August 31, 2000
'The truth is that there is now very little room for the Congress and the CPI-M to stand out from each other where policies are concerned. The calculation is that whichever party wins the assembly polls of 2001 shall continue to survive, whereas the other one will be ground out.'

India, a nation for soft targets   - August 23, 2000
Our leaders often state that the twenty-first century shall belong to India because of the nation's expertise in information technology. But, all I can say today is that by caving in to terrorists' demands almost consistently, we are rapidly becoming a nation famous not for its software, but for offering soft targets.'

Kashmir once again at the crossroads   - August 17, 2000
The Government of India has already made a decision to take steps to make the militants pay for the deaths of innocent Indians.

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch won't win the larger war   - July 21, 2000
'Economic reforms are now a fact of life. Whether that is good or bad, only time will tell.'

Another instance of irresponsible politicians   - July 13, 2000
'One such rogue project is the Haldia Fertilizer Project of the Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation. In 21 years, this child of the taxpayers of India has not produced one, repeat one, single gram of fertilizer!'

Why every state should seek autonomy   - July 6, 2000
'Prejudice against Farooq Abdullah should not prejudice us against autonomy per se. Over half a century, the powers of the states have been steadily whittled away and those of the Union government have been aggrandised. It is time, beyond time I think, that this unhappy drift was halted, even reversed if possible.'

Who will succeed the LIC Chairman?   - June 30, 2000
The LIC chairman retires on June 30. The committee of secretaries who shall decide will meet only hours before he steps down!

Don't ignore the trouble in Tripura   - June 23, 2000
'Tripura combines some of the worst traits of Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir. There has been a general breakdown in the machinery of the state, and there has been a simultaneous rise in militant activity.

Congress gets left out   - June 16, 2000
'Much might happen between now and the Rajya Sabha polls on June 23. For instance, the two Communist parties might agree on some kind of compromise. But we do know a couple of things already: first, there will be two LDF victors, and second, there will be no Congressman in the Rajya Sabha from Kerala.'

The Left Front's Pyrrhic victory   - June 9, 2000
'Five years ago, the Left Front won forty-five municipalities and the Congress had thirty-two. In other words, the Left Front tally has slipped by thirteen, and that of the Congress by nineteen. These are not reasons to celebrate, but to take stock of what has gone wrong.'

It's all about the chair   - June 2, 2000
'The Malabar wing of the CPI-M is aware that a tie-up with the Muslim League could lead to the alliance sweeping as many as 48 of the 56 seats from this area. That means the next chief minister will, yet again, be someone from Malabar.'

Need to draft appointments policy for financial institutions   - May 24, 2000
'Irrespective of his seniority, the best man must get the top job at an important institution, and he should be granted a two-year tenure at least.'

From Plassey to Panskura   - May 19, 2000
'The effects of the Battle of Panskura will not be as far-reaching as those of Plassey, yet I believe that its ripples will be felt across India.'

Time for a fresh start   - May 5, 2000
'India does not believe China's links with Pakistan shall weaken as a result of the thaw in Indo-Chinese relations. That might not even be desirable.'

The twain can't meet   - April 29, 2000
'CPI-M general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet and Sonia Gandhi might wish otherwise, but the compulsions of their local units in West Bengal and Kerala are pulling the two parties apart.'

A hopeless cause   - April 21, 2000
'General Musharraf is in no position to do anything to improve relations between India and Pakistan, even assuming that he wants to do so. Making peace with India is to cut at the root of the Pakistani Army's supremacy in its own country.'

A non-feasible alternative   - April 12, 2000
'A K Antony's idea of the Congress forming a front with the "secular" parties in Kerala and West Bengal is not a feasible alternative. What the party needs to do to rejuvenate itself is to woo the voters who have defected to the erstwhile Third Front. And to do that the Congress needs to accept tactical aid from anyone willing to offer it.'

A General scorned   - April 7, 2000
'Parvez Musharraf must have known that he will receive some flak from western democracies, the United States and the European Union. But he probably thought that some of the major Islamic countries like Turkey and Indonesia will be more muted in their protests against his acts. But he now finds that they are his most eloquent critics.'

Building Bridges   - March 29, 2000
'Having more or less got over our obsession with Pakistan, the Vajpayee government has finally succeeded in mending fences with the most powerful nation in the world, the United States. It remains to be seen whether it can do so with China, the strongest nation in Asia, too.'

While everyone raves about the Taj, how many people have heard about Vijayanagara?   - March 22, 2000
'Come to think of it, how many times have you read that Mohammed Ghori conquered India after defeating Prithviraj Chauhan? But the fact is that the battle at Tarain settled the fate of nothing more than Delhi and the Punjab.'

Where does the Congress stand   - March 11, 2000
'It is fine and easy to say that the Congress shall never support any ministry in which the BJP is an active participant. But does that translate into automatic backing for the RJD?'

Disasters in the making   - March 3, 2000
'Mistakes made in Bihar or with the Budget can be corrected sooner or later. Who shall pay the environmental bills when they fall due?'

Old men in new jobs   - February 25, 2000
'Assuming that my hypothesis is right and the three men leave for Patna, Bhubaneswar, and Lucknow, who will be the new ministers for telecommunications, coal and mines, and surface transport?'

Bill Clinton's visit cannot lead to any miracles   - February 18, 2000
'There is not a single substantive measure that will come about as a result of President Clinton's visit. Let us not pretend that this will do anything to deepen any understanding between India and the United States.'

Message from the Hindi belt   - February 5, 2000
'Wouldn't further losses in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar be tantamount to saying that the two states have no confidence in the Congress and the BJP.'

Some people, it seems, never learn!   - January 28, 2000
'I believe that Uttar Pradesh has been dangerously tardy. Sadly, it is not alone; almost every state in India is dancing on the edge of bankruptcy.'

The fault, dear Vajpayee, lies not in our stars...   - January 21, 2000
'There is no point asking the United States to help confront terrorism, or, alternatively, ask Pakistan to stop aiding the militants. Ultimately, it is India's duty to get its act together.'

The rot begins at the top   - January 15, 2000
'No less a worthy than India's intelligence chief in Nepal was on the ill-fated Flight IC-814!.. The basic cause of the repeated intelligence failures is the lack of professionalism within RAW... Believe it or not, RAW is staffed by men who just don't make the grade to other offices.'

Our Leader of the Opposition   - December 17, 1999
'I think the Congress should start looking for a new leader. To date, Sonia Gandhi's performance in the Lok Sabha has ranged all the way from the merely inconsequential to the truly pathetic.'

Sonia's recipe for rebellion   - December 10, 1999
'What does Sonia Gandhi offer in return after upsetting state chieftains? Indira Gandhi could ride roughshod over satraps because she was a formidable vote-winner in her own right. Sonia Gandhi can demonstrate nothing more than that she led her party to its worst performance ever.'

A war without winners   - December 3, 1999

For whom the bell tolls   - November 26, 1999

The Congress and the cyclone   - November 19, 1999

Bureaucrats and white elephants   - November 12, 1999

The dharma of coalitions   - November 5, 1999

The Q option   - October 29, 1999

Kerala's commies and their dirty tricks   - October 22, 1999

Pricking the democratic balloon   - October 15, 1999

Loser of the Election: Sonia Gandhi   - October 8, 1999

V for Vajpayee   - October 5, 1999

NDA may not cross the 300 mark   - September 30, 1999

The gold medal in Uttar Pradesh   - September 22, 1999

The Congress: sinking with Sonia   - September 15, 1999

Bellary's shadow looms over Amethi   - September 10, 1999

Why is it that not a single Nehru-Gandhi family head has chanced his or her luck with Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, or Calcutta?   - September 3, 1999

To Amma, Madam is worth a shawl and few roses   - August 27, 1999

Sonia's poodles   - August 20, 1999

Congress in a quandary   - August 13, 1999

Battle Symbolic   - August 6, 1999

Deccan is the key to Delhi   - July 30, 1999

Armchair strategists   - July 23, 1999

Mullahs and mind-washing   - July 19, 1999

Better role models   - July 9, 1999

Looking for a scapegoat   - July 2, 1999

Pilgrimage to Beijing   - June 25, 1999

Nawaz Sharief as fall guy   - June 18, 1999

Let Pakistan continue to bleed   - June 11, 1999
Technology doesn't lie   - June 4, 1999
Ridiculous comparisons   - May 31, 1999
World Cup, what?   - May 14, 1999
What's sauce for Gamang is sauce for Gandhi   - May 7, 1999
What's keeping the Election Commission this time?   - April 30, 1999
Election it is!   - April 22, 1999
India's most despised politician   - April 16, 1999
Avoiding the clash of civilisations   - April 9, 1999
The old man and his sad tale   - April 3, 1999
Assembly, or the WWF?   - March 26, 1999
This is what the Congress will do now...   - March 19, 1999
Between the Yadav and the Gandhi   - March 12, 1999
The connection between Bofors and Bihar   - March 5, 1999
The Lahore Expedition was about saving lives   - February 26, 1999
Sonia stands to lose quite a bit   - February 19, 1999
Kumble claimed 11 wickets that day!   - February 12, 1999
Why is the Orissa police doing a lousy job of investigating the Stains murder?   - February 5, 1999
Yes, let's debate conversion   - January 29, 1999
Let the law take its course   - January 22, 1999
Family fight   - January 15, 1999
In offence of Bhagwat   - January 8, 1999
BJP inherited a messy defence situation   - December 31, 1998
A case of red herrings   - December 24, 1998
Assault on Parliament   - December 18, 1998
Fall from grace   - December 11, 1998
Six more months of hemming and hawing, and the BJP can bid farewell to power for some time to come!   - December 4, 1998
Up to Sonia   - November 27, 1998
Will Italy decide India's defence policy?   - November 20, 1998
Second take on Sharma   - November 13, 1998
Without naming names   - November 6, 1998
Distance makes the heart less fonder   - October 30, 1998
The women's bastion   - October 23, 1998
Ladder of lies   - October 15, 1998
Directionless CPI-M inching into dustbin   - October 8, 1998
Let not Ravana get a whiff of Sanjeevani!   - October 3, 1998
Saffron spreads South   - September 23, 1998
Dissidents in the pack   - September 17, 1998
Return of the tourists   - September 10, 1998
The myths about Vajpayee   - September 3, 1998
A Clintonian folly   - August 28, 1998
Spitting on the Moon   - August 20, 1998
Jayalalitha is fishing in the troubled waters of Yamuna, not of Cauvery   - August 12, 1998
The Prasar Bharati Gill   - August 6, 1998
Win Chaddha, Sonia and Jayalalitha   - July 30, 1998
Chauvinists in Parliament   - July 24, 1998
The TINA factor   - July 16, 1998
Who's S Ramachandra Pillai?   - July 11, 1998
Bihar needs President's rule, Tamil Nadu doesn't   - June 26, 1998
Building temples in the air   - June 19, 1998
Are the untested first-time ministers capable of reading the riot act to a headstrong civil service?   - June 12, 1998
Pokhran II told both Islamabad and Beijing that deterrence is a two-way street   - June 4, 1998
It's politics as usual!   - May 28, 1998
America is the world and the world is America!?!   - May 21, 1998
The BJP was ready for nuclear tests as far back as May 1996   - May 14, 1998
The untold ISRO spy story   - May 7, 1998
Silence of the Lambs   - May 2, 1998
The sun doesn't rise and set on Amma's whim!   - April 23, 1998
The UF's skewed appointment of governors   - April 16, 1998
Trouble in Karnataka   - April 9, 1998
Mamata, Atal and Jyoti   - April 2, 1998
The Three Wise Men   - March 27, 1998
Why is the CPI-M desperate to pull down Vajpayee?   - March 20, 1998
Had Vajpayee refused, to whom could the President have turned?   - March 12, 1998
The fathers of victory   - March 4, 1998
The stage is set for a classic battle between two pillars of democracy   - February 26, 1998
The DMK, far from being abashed, is taking credit for keeping L K Advani safe!   - February 20, 1998
If there is any thread linking the allies in the south, it is pure, unadulterated hypocrisy!   - February 13, 1998
You really can't blame the CPI and the prime minister for refusing to go along with the bunch of losers masquerading as a United Front   - February 6, 1998
Why did Sonia back off from contesting the Amethi seat?   - January 30, 1998
Divided before the poll, united afterwards, the United Front in a nutshell   - January 23, 1998
The only people insisting on having the SPG trail after them are the Nehru-Gandhi and Vadra families   - January 16, 1998
It's easier becoming the PM than a Lok Sabha MP   - January 9, 1998
Sonia Gandhi's decision came as a bitter birthday gift to the Communists   - January 2, 1998
Sonia... Yet so far   - December 26, 1997
'In the name of battling so-called communal forces, Kesri is only too eager to embrace criminal forces'   - December 19, 1997
If the UF and the Congress can't decide on a leader, can we expect them to provide a decisive government?   - December 10, 1997
For days on end two desperate old men tried their best to revive a dead body   - December 5, 1997
The Congress didn't have the manhood to destroy the DMK in open debate   - November 27, 1997
The Congress did far worse than merely delay the Jain Commission probe   - November 20, 1997
Kesri could be Jain Commission's first victim   - November 13, 1997
Will Congress MLAs in Gandhinagar follow their fellows in Lucknow, and show the way for MPs in Delhi?   - November 6, 1997
Gujral is not a prime minister -- he is an external affairs minister promoted well beyond his competence   - October 29, 1997
Can the UF survive Congress demands for the heads of V P Singh, Karunanidhi and Chidambaram?   - October 23, 1997
The only time Delhi recalls that India extends beyond Bengal is when a crisis erupts   - October 16, 1997
The AGP government is acting like the classic bully -- after being yelled at in the street, he goes to beat his wife!   - October 9, 1997
If Suzuki wants control of Maruti, let it pay up!   - October 3, 1997
Who dare investigate the investigators?   - September 25, 1997
The chaos incarnate called the United Front   - September 18, 1997
If the Jain Commission report is here, can elections be far behind?   - September 11, 1997
Prince Charles was damned as an adulterer. What of Diana?   - September 5, 1997
Kesri is just as vulnerable as Rao...   - August 28, 1997
The I-Day farce   - August 21, 1997
Crying for momma   - August 14, 1997
True power rests, and always has, with the Congress president of the day   - August 7, 1997
At least all of Rabri Devi's ministers come from her own party...   - July 31, 1997
No government in Delhi has survived without strong support from south India   - July 24, 1997
If the gods are gracious, Gujral won't last weeks before his rickety coalition shatters   - July 19, 1997
India should thank Laloo Prasad Yadav for exposing the United Front once and for all   - July 12, 1997
On His Majesty's Service   - July 4, 1997
When MPs and MLAs from the ruling party threaten civil war, isn't it the duty of the Union home minister to act decisively?   - June 27, 1997
The St Kitts case is nothing less than a blueprint for an assault on every Indian citizen   - June 13, 1997
Kesri's unleashes 'friendly' PROs to doctor poll lists   - June 6, 1997
Advani, the air-raid shelter   - May 30, 1997
For all their bombast and bluster, there really isn't any
Congress leader with a spine stiffer than plasticine
  - May 23, 1997
A post-dated cheque drawn on a crashing bank   - May 15, 1997
Bofors can blast the Gujral government to smithereens   - May 8, 1997
There are bigger scams than Laloo's   - May 2, 1997
Gujral will weaken either the Congress or the United Front   - April 23, 1997
AThe President has made 'closed room' deals possible --
all in the name of saving the Budget!
  - April 16, 1997
Advani was the only one with enough faith in the judiciary
to seek justice in an actual court of law
  - April 9, 1997
One principle binds the Congress from top to bottom today:
Power without polls
  - April 3, 1997
Not since the Mughal viceroy Shaista Khan has an
Indian general had to hide behind skirts
  - March 28, 1997
The Congress is not a political party; it is a business house   - March 20, 1997
Hastings, Bentinck and the thugs of today   - March 13, 1997
A defence minister is supposed to keep his eyes on
Lahore and Lhasa; Mulayam Singh can focus on
nothing but Lucknow!
  - March 6, 1997
Jai Sitaram!   - February 27, 1997
Bhima, Kichaka and Bofors   - February 20, 1997
The Punjab rout means Kesri can now stop dreaming
of becoming prime minister
  - February 12, 1997
The true memorial for any ruler is what s/he does
when still alive -- what they do for the people
  - February 7, 1997
In Ramanagaram the conflict between Sitaram Kesri and
Deve Gowda is in the open
  - January 31, 1997
The rise and rise of Kanshi Ram   - January 24, 1997
Why is Shankersinh Vaghela shying away from an election?   - January 17, 1997
The urea scamsters put Zardari to shame.
They weren't content with anything less than 100%.
  - January 10, 1997
Hawala, one year on   - January 4, 1997
The Congress is ready to make its bid for power   - December 30, 1996

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