All stories by SHYAM G MENON
'Can you imagine a Thrissur Pooram without fireworks?'
Rediff.com21 Apr 2024Devaswoms are meant to manage temples, not the faithful. Why didn't they simply stick to their set of responsibilities and execute it well and efficiently?, asks Shyam G Menon.
Wayanad May Not Be A Breeze For Rahul
Rediff.com16 Apr 2024Wayanad will continue to support Rahul but not to the same extent as in 2019, when his margin of victory had been enormous. Articulate, to the point and speaking in fluent Malayalam, CPI's Annie Raja, had the people who gathered to see her, listening in rapt attention, notes Shyam G Menon.
Vadakara: The Most Important Contest In Kerala
Rediff.com16 Apr 2024Shailaja Teacher, arguably the most famous Covid warrior in India, versus former student leader Shafi Parambil who defeated 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan in the last assembly election. Shyam G Menon reports from the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency, which some feel is the most politically important contest in Kerala this election.
Election 2024: The Big Fights In Kerala
Rediff.com1 Apr 2024Kerala's election discourse operates surreptitiously. Its explicit face focuses on important national and local issues. At the same time, it seeks to secure apt communal equations to ensure votes, notes Shyam G Menon.
'Modi Ki Guarantee' A Liability for BJP Candidates
Rediff.com21 Mar 2024Given the 2024 general elections, it is unlikely that the allegations around electoral bonds, raised by the Opposition, will disappear easily or with a shrug of the BJP's shoulders and fabled 56-inch chest, argues Shyam G Menon.
What if 'socialist' and 'secular' go from the Preamble
Rediff.com14 Mar 2024It is in circumstances like this that the Constitution becomes extremely important. It reminds us that we have a commitment towards higher human values to fulfil, a path to get back to, suggests Shyam G Menon.Else, we risk being rudderless in an ocean of money and majoritarianism, suggests Shyam G Menon.
Which Way Will Kerala Vote In 2024?
Rediff.com8 Mar 2024In a state where thin margins and minor swings decide electoral outcomes, nothing can be left to chance, even for those relishing the cocooned life, observes Shyam G Memon.
It's Raining Bharat Ratnas!
Rediff.com14 Feb 2024In the 76 years since India gained independence, 53 recipients of the Bharat Ratna have been there. That's less than one every year, which is a healthy ratio given there is the sanctity of this gem of an award to preserve. But four recipients for the year were announced in a few days in addition to one announced earlier. That took the total number in 2024 to five in less than a month, the highest for any year, post-Independence, notes Shyam G Menon.
The Fears Of The Only Voice
Rediff.com9 Feb 2024The prime minister's insistence that his voice cannot be suppressed left me both puzzled and amused. He has at his call, the government's official news dissemination/publicity channels, the pliant newspapers and television channels that were eager to prostrate themselves before a powerful government and yet, the dominant voice thinks it is in competition with other voices! exclaims Shyam G Menon.
Time Running Out For INDIA Alliance
Rediff.com7 Feb 2024Every passing day featuring parties within the INDIA alliance sniping at each other at state level is bad publicity for the alliance particularly given the proximity of the 2024 general elections, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Does A Democracy Need A Sengol?
Rediff.com2 Feb 2024The sengol must revert to where it belongs -- behind a glass case and not figure in ceremonies concerning India's democracy, argues Shyam G Menon.
When Some Speak For All
Rediff.com19 Jan 2024...close to the 2024 general election. The BJP calling the Congress 'seasonal Hindu' is as laughable as the saffron party sparing itself the title of 'seasonal extreme Hindu.'
How else should one describe its election campaigns of the past years?
It was typically obsessive religion and personality cult with economic development for fig leaf, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Can Mahua Moitra Fight A 30 Year Battle With BJP?
Rediff.com3 Jan 2024For that to happen, Moitra's much followed speeches should be heard outside Parliament so that the PR spins of the ruling dispensation are countered with informed debate, argues Shyam G Menon.
Only A Security Breach?
Rediff.com18 Dec 2023Amidst the investigation into the security breach in Parliament -- which I emphasise, should be done -- let us not forget the grievances raised (this is, of course, assuming the protestors were there to put the spotlight on said grievances and not for any other purpose). For questionable laws, unemployment, Manipur, authoritarianism; all these are contemporary worries among sections of the public, points Shyam G Menon.
Modi-BJP Gives Two Hoots For...
Rediff.com9 Dec 2023A democracy is one, only if it has a robust Opposition. And as its actions show, the Modi-BJP combine gives two hoots for that. So, the Opposition must learn to convince people why the BJP must go. Else, it can count down to 2029, points out Shyam G Menon.
Of Modi And His Priorities
Rediff.com21 Nov 2023It isn't that a person occupying high office has no right to do what he/she likes. For sure, they do; after all, they are human. But there are also things like priority, timing and sense of larger country. Sadly, we live in a world awash in tunnel vision, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Will Chandrayaan's Success Make Science More Robust In India?
Rediff.com9 Sep 2023'Perhaps the government should explain how the same scientific temper, which authored a precise landing for Chandrayaan-3, finds the periodic table and the theory of evolution not good enough for inclusion in the educational curriculum,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
Is It All About Modi's Guarantee?
Rediff.com23 Aug 2023August 15, 2023 became for me, an extraordinary Independence Day. I will remember it as the day the country's largest political party -- one that struts around like a colossus and tutors us in apt behaviour -- suddenly looked bankrupt in terms of ideas and had to take out a personal guarantee from the prime minister to underscore its capacity to deliver our future, observes Shyam G Menon.
Is Faith Above Science?
Rediff.com9 Aug 2023Against the backdrop of Kerala's appetite for commonsense, it was assumed that this controversy would pass. Respect for rationalism and scientific outlook is strong in the state despite political forces gnawing at it for their own goals, observes Shyam G Menon.
The Curious Case Of The Conspirative Mic
Rediff.com8 Aug 2023If a 15 seconds-long mic problem merits a case being registered, then the police risk an avalanche of complaints of similar and greater gravity, seeking their intervention, notes Shyam G Menon.