NITI Aayog has not said what the reasons were for having achieved or not having achieved what was sought to be achieved, or what lessons can be learned for the future, points out Aakar Patel.
Given that the BJP made all these moves and that these moves were presumably approved by Modi if not directed by him, who should accept the responsibility for the party's rout? asks Aakar Patel.
Bhima Koregaon represents what the government can do in India against well meaning people who speak up against atrocities, who stand up for the weak and the dispossessed and for this reason alone as seen as enemies of the State and kept in prison for as long as the government can manage. So long as the rest of us do not speak up against this misbehaviour by the State, so long as we forget about those who have been made its victims, this behaviour will continue, asserts Aakar Patel.
Our focus is not on substance, but communicating how we did not shake hands and how we made angry faces. This is what India's foreign policy has become, notes Aakar Patel.
'The linking of Aadhaar to births and deaths will revive the debate around citizenship.'
Happily, it does not require the world to hold a mirror up for us. We can look at ourselves and understand easily if we choose to be honest about where we find ourselves three quarters of a century after Independence, asserts Aakar Patel.
Particularly the small and independent Web sites that have developed a following in the recent past because the mainstream is seen as totally aligned with the government, points out Aakar Patel.
It is a question that his supporters must ask of the prime minister. It may be enjoyable for them to pass through this phase of going after other Indians. But once this has been achieved to satisfaction, then what?, questions Aakar Patel.
The rhetoric that we are fed daily needs to be measured against performance and the facts. That is not happening, points out Aakar Patel.
In our mystery the watchdog agencies are silent, but it is the market that has barked and has not stopped barking. Till such time as it continues to do so, this headache will not go away, notes Aakar Patel.
Overall, the record of the second term reveals a contradiction between the image and the reality. The image, especially on media and social media, is one of the man at the height of his power, and unstoppable. The reality on governance is someone who has found it difficult to get things implemented and unsure of what to do next, points out Aakar Patel.
Not many modern democracies have gone down this path before, setting it upon themselves to use the law and media to target citizens, points out Aakar Patel.
India's national security focus has shifted from the western border to the eastern one. But our trade with China keeps rising. This trade is against our interest, because most of it comprises of Chinese imports, argues Aakar Patel.
So far the government has been silent on the charges being levelled, even after the stock price rout. Perhaps it is hoping for the share price to settle so that the matter goes away, predicts Aakar Patel.
When was the last time we heard this government speaking of the disaster in primary education, rather than Ganga cruises and cheetahs? Less money -- Rs 88,000 crore -- was spent by the Union government on education in its last Budget than has been allocated to the Bullet train, notes Aakar Patel.
History would not see the institution kindly if it continues to avoid, as appears to be the case, hearing and deciding some of the most pressing issues of our time, asserts Aakar Patel.
I think the 'What-if-it-had-been-Patel?' sentiment represents a yearning for more of what we are already seeing around us in India today, observes Aakar Patel.
There seems to be a desire for opacity when it comes to confronting China, points out Aakar Patel.
The most important institutions have been and are being undermined with almost no resistance, warns Aakar Patel.
Seven years after Modi took office, merchandise exports were lower in 2020-2021 than when he had taken over from Manmohan Singh, points out Aakar Patel.
A protest happens because the State doesn't follow its own laws. A protest is an objection and a complaint. It exists because it is otherwise unheard, observes Aakar Patel.
But it is less adventurous. It seems, at last, that in its eighth decade, Pakistan has settled into being a parliamentary democracy just like Bangladesh has and like we have always been, observes Aakar Patel.
One wonders what, given the recent past, the next quarter century holds in store for India, asks Aakar Patel.
There is no sign of it losing popularity with a significant section of the voting population, which appears to be attracted to the party for identity reasons, observes Aakar Patel.
If we have not been world beaters in cricket for the longest time, here is the reason: We look down on our bowlers and deify batsmen, argues Aakar Patel.
After 2014, our growth has been average of around 5%. If this continues, we will remain here like Egypt, Brazil, South Africa and Bangladesh, points out Aakar Patel.
If the prime minister says clearly there is going to be no NRC and that the Census will drop the NPR questions, the Census will proceed. He will not, observes Aakar Patel.
When we know that the ED's conviction ratio is less than 1% of the cases that it prosecutes, when we know that ED 'raids' are today more than 25 times as they were before 2014, why are we giving the ED more powers? asks Aakar Patel.
This is New India, where our heroes and heroines are vilified and jailed by a State intent on damaging its own people, asserts Aakar Patel.
Our government shows a benign mask to the world behind which its fangs are bared against its own citizens, observes Aakar Patel.
Billionaires are not only eyeing a profit as they push mankind out into the stars.
It appears India will be among those nations consigned to being among the watchers and not participants of this crucial phase, observes Aakar Patel.
Why did the department and his colleagues not stop this 'rogue' officer from implicating an innocent man while the entire nation was watching for weeks? The answer is they either approved, or disapproved and refused to intervene or they didn't care, notes Aakar Patel.
If the government and the political party controlling it want to destroy the homes of people without trial or conviction, where do those people go?, asks Aakar Patel.
The thing is that unemployment and joblessness are a personally felt shame. It is not easy to mobilise a set of people who identify with others as a group that cannot get work, asserts Aakar Patel.
On such things as the meat ban and hijab ban, we are finding that elements that comprise the system are enthusiastic about denying people their rights. It says something awful about us as a society, asserts Aakar Patel.
'If we were to change the name of our country officially and become a Hindu Rashtra, will the treatment of Muslims change?' asks Aakar Patel.
To resist external pressure, it could use India's inherent assets and try and make democracy stronger by giving more space to human rights and minority rights, advises Aakar Patel.
Today beef, tomorrow namaz, the third day Sunday mass the fourth day hijab, the fifth day halal, the sixth day love jihad will always be the issues on hand, asserts Aakar Patel.
If we have already excluded Muslims from political office by default, and if we are already harassing them daily through laws, like Nazi Germany did and like Pakistan did, then why do we need a Hindu Rashtra or a change from the present set of laws? argues Aakar Patel.
There are laws that are as out of time and place today as the Rowlatt Act was a century ago, explains Aakar Patel.
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