'If the virulence of COVID-19 has muted the toxicity of the BJP's communalism, it will be an example of good coming out of the pandemic,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
If Manmohan Singh was hobbled by allegations of sleaze and a stagnant economy, Modi faces the twin challenges of high unemployment and an uncertain and potentially volatile situation in Kashmir, points out Amulya Ganguli.
'There is a need for a younger person at the top, but the old guard wants to grab the post themselves,' points out Amulya Ganguli.
'Will the BJP now replace a Muslim name for a street or a railway junction with Naipaul's name?' 'It is the least the party can do for its sole Nobel Prize-winning admirer,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Was there an element of orchestration between Mukherjee and Mohan Bhagwat about their speeches to the effect that the former would leave out any reference to Muslims while the RSS chief will not talk about a Hindu rashtra?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
'"Life-changing" clearly denotes an exceptionally high level of regard for Narendra D Modi.' 'One has to find out if the UGC used such an adulatory term for any other speaker, whether from politics or from academe,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'He was No 2 to Laloo Prasad in the last government and he will be No 2 in the new one as well, not to Sushil Modi, but to the other Modi in Delhi.' 'In the process, Nitish Kumar will have to forget any role which he may have secretly entertained about playing a larger role on the national stage,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'There is little doubt that his exertions are among the reasons why Narendra Damodardas Modi routinely lambastes the dynasty at nearly all his rallies, suggesting that he regards the Congress's First Family as a bigger threat than any other political formation,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
'Manik Sarkar may have been able to hang on if he hadn't been a follower of the CPI-M's all-time hardliner Prakash Karat,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
'Mercifully, the Supreme Court is currently playing the role of the elderly wise to prevent wrong-doing,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Even if Rahul doesn't emerge with flying colours -- at least initially -- during the jousts with the media, he will at least be posing a kind of challenge which will not be to Modi's liking,' feels Amulya Ganguli.
'The involvement of policemen in either committing the crime or shielding the accused in Kathua and Unna points to a crumbling civil and moral order,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'For the BJP to lose this virtual pocket borough of the saffron brotherhood demonstrates how resolutely the people of Gorakhpur have turned against the party,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'It is perhaps a sense of intellectual inadequacy, of an ingrained inferiority complex born of the years when the BJP languished in the margins of Indian politics and society that, when faced with the soaring ideas about Indian pluralism, the Hindutva camp turns its face so resolutely against Nehru,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'It will not be a battle of unequals as it may have been thought a few months ago, but one on more or less a level playing field.' 'The Gujarat outcome cannot but breathe new life into the Congress for having almost succeeded in bearding the lion in its den,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'It is possible that in his perambulations from the company of Baba Ramdev to that of Anna Hazare and finally to the BJP, he hasn't had time to refurbish his memory of what he may have read earlier,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Given the growing animus against the Mughals in the Sangh Parivar, only a brave person will be ready to bet that no harm will ever be done by Hindutva storm-troopers to the Taj,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Since the goal of taking everyone along on the path of development -- sabka saath sabka vikas -- requires an atmosphere of amity, there cannot but be an emphasis on the primacy of law and order -- and it cannot be only against road-side Romeos or gutka chewers,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'From the evidently pre-selected questions to the promotional slides on a screen redolent of the official audio-visual department, the choreography was palpably intended to present the prime minister in as good a light as possible in a 'safe' environment insulated from uncomfortable questions,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'The reshuffle was expected to show some sign about the BJP's awareness of the looming difficulties.'
'But there is no certainty that the new inductees will be able to breathe life into the government,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Modi has become confident enough not only to look forward to a second term in 2019, but also to celebrate the 75th year of India's Independence in 2022.' 'It will be in the fitness of things if the vestiges of the past are swept away and the country is reminded that the 1,200 years of 'slavery' under the Muslims and the British were a bad dream.' 'And what better way to achieve this objective than by rubbing out the names of the invaders?' says Amulya Ganguli.
'In a party run by 'two-and-a half men', Kovind fits the bill perfectly because, unlike the BJP's previous choice for the Presidency, A P J Abdul Kalam, he is unlikely to return a bill as Kalam did with the office of profit legislation,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
'The BJP and RSS may realise it is much easier for the ICHR to rewrite textbooks and for the ICSSR to float its bizarre interpretations on social themes than to keep people away from their favourite dishes.'
'The sacking of Outlook magazine's Editor-in-Chief Krishna Prasad provides another example of the saffron camp's disrespect for dissent,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
'His assessment is wide off the mark from what is expected to be history's final verdict -- which is that Indira was the most unacceptable of all prime ministers because she was the only one who tried to throttle Indian democracy,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'If India adopts a punitive and unforgiving stance against the Rohingyas, it will be courting disgrace,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Modi maintains what has been called a 'strategic silence' on controversial topics,' points out Amulya Ganguli.
'There is perhaps a need to pay heed to L K Advani's belief about an Emergency re-run,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Even as the BJP makes inroads into previously unfamiliar territories in eastern India, the party will have to be wary of losing out elsewhere, says Amulya Ganguli.
'It may not be coincidental that the rise of these warriors with their bile and diatribes has come at a time when the concept of neutrality in journalism is fading.'
'Swamy's crash-landing carries a message to all loose cannons.' 'Get your rants vetted by someone higher up in the party so that you are not left high and dry,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Since the general election is only two years away, the BJP will need a surefire plan of action -- and it cannot be either the Ram temple or ultra-nationalism,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'The valiant upholder of national honour is strangely silent when African envoys are complaining about the insecurity of blacks in 'tolerant' and 'incredible' India,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'The setback for Trump carries a message not only for him, but for the far right in general.'
What the Congress will have to understand is that it is not enough to have a 40-something vice-president in New Delhi, but young faces with fresh ideas in the states,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'It was only to be expected that she would grace the national awards function in her distinctive style.' 'For her admirers, the flouting of norms was in character because she has made her mark in highly competitive Bollywood on her own terms,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'The BJP is so keen to use this opportunity to make its foray in a state where it hardly exists, says Amulya Ganguli, that it has silenced the vociferous animal rights activist in its ranks -- Maneka Gandhi.'
'It is clear that Prashant Kishor will be nowhere near repeating his earlier massive wins.' 'Nonetheless, he deserves at least two cheers for having the guts to take on such a challenging task.'
Beijing should remember the advice of its celebrated military strategist Sun Tzu: 'Fight not unless the position is critical.'
'It will be a mistake to imagine that Sidhu will be a permanent feature of the Congress' Punjab scene,' says Amulya Ganguli.
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