'It is unclear whether there will again be such a confrontational moment in our politics before we all go to vote in 2019,' says Aakar Patel.
'China held a meeting on the One Belt One Road and India boycotted it.' 'However, all of India's neighbours attended, except for one, Bhutan.' 'India warned those attending that the partnership with the Chinese would come at a heavy price, but almost nobody heard us.' 'The question is: Why not?' asks Aakar Patel.
She said that Defence Minister Manohar Parikar was wrong in comparing Pakistan with 'hell'. She said, "It is nothing like that. People there are just like us and there is no difference. They treated us very well."
'The CAA should be kept in abeyance, without making it a prestige issue.'
'Laying down a clear policy on the future of illegal migrants will dispel anxieties and help in implementing the CAA, NPR and also the NCR,' suggests former Union home secretary Dr Madhav Godbole.
'How will one day's crackers change pollution levels?' 'And why limit such genius solutions to just the capital when air pollution and pollution affects all of India?' asks Aakar Patel.
'There appears to be no relation between a government with a majority and GDP growth as the stock market and its analysts seem to fear.'
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the inflation index would determine the nominal growth figure, and it is better to set modest targets and outperform them.
Dravid, who is also tipped to take additional charge as the director of NationalCricketAcademy in Bengaluru, had recently suggested that talented young cricketers should get some vocational training, which can help them later in their lives.
'The world's economy is booming and growing at 3%. But even in this environment, India's growth has declined.' 'This is because of the deliberate slowing down induced by eccentric actions like demonetisation,' argues Aakar Patel.
'Sonia's term as Congress president -- which was 20 years -- was the longest in the party's history.' 'It will also go down as the period in which the Congress transformed in the way Indians viewed it,' says Aakar Patel.
'What happens in case the party joins a post-poll alliance with another party whose ideology the legislator is opposed to?' 'Should s/he let down her/his voters merely because her/his party leadership has taken a decision in that direction?' asks Aakar Patel.
Although Suu Kyi has won an overwhelming victory, it is not going to be easy to translate this victory into political gains.
'A nation can take a quick decision in a fit of passion or excitement that can be damaging to itself in the long term,' says Aakar Patel.
'We expect mobs on the subcontinent to hand out punishment without trial.' 'To have ministers doing it and then being proud about it says something about how the law is treated in India and how seriously ministers take their oath of office,' says Aakar Patel.
'The bullet train is not modernity itself. It is the product of modernity.' 'It is this modernity that we would be fortunate to be able to import from Japan.' 'It occurs to me that we seem to believe that by acquiring the toys we will become a modern nation,' says Aakar Patel.
'One hopes that in his second term, Modi spends more time reading serious material even if it bores him or is against his nature,' says Aakar Patel.
'Revelations about his assaults on young women mean that his reputation and all that he has stood for is in tatters for all time,' says Aakar Patel.
'It is only for a particular kind of Indian. The thing is: Even some of those types of Indians do not like it,' says Aakar Patel.
'Many of the biggest events at such lit fests have nothing to do with books or authors, but about current events and the changing nature of society,' points out Aakar Patel.
'If Rahul Gandhi's authority was absolute, he could have picked his man.' 'Compare this with the ease with which outsiders like Adityanath, Khattar and Fadnavis were picked.'
'The armies that are lined up and firing at each other without ceasing, without much change on the ground and without much benefit, are replaced by civilians (also in uniforms, of team colours) screaming abuse,' says Aakar Patel.
'For the Congress, it has become necessary to make alliances, but this is not easy to deliver at the local level,' says Aakar Patel.
'If Amazon's officials had secured their visas through proper paperwork, under what rule or law was Swaraj threatening to cancel them?' 'If she felt a crime had been committed, as a law abiding citizen she should have registered a first information report or a complaint.' 'Instead she fired off a twitter fatwa, acting like a despot.'
'Till we are able to understand this reality of what is happening to our fellow citizens today in 2018, it would be hypocrisy to continue to teach in our textbooks about the great atrocity of 1919,' argues Aakar Patel.
'What does Bhagwat think his militia will do once it is at the border?' 'What does Bhagwat imagine his Sangh followers will do that will protect Mother India?' asks Aakar Patel.
He was deliberately reducing Ansari to his Muslim identity by linking his career as a diplomat in the Arab world and educationist and his reflections on intolerance with his religion.
'We should credit Prime Minister Modi with having foresight and courage and showing leadership on climate change.'
'Why do visas require the intervention of India's Union ministers? Does any civilised nation assure visas like this over Twitter?'
'If it is true that we are in a moment in time when the few economic advantages we hold are being lost, our focus must be on that rather than on finger-pointing,' says Aakar Patel.
Demanding the case be handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation, the victim alleged that the administration has done little to ensure the security of women in the state.
'We should be open to looking at Ramdas Athavale's suggestion of reservations. India will not be unique if it chooses to do this, says Aakar Patel.
This would be a practical way of bringing a huge sum of money.
'Arguments about politics and religion do not end in name calling and abuse when they happen face to face.' 'In person we are more balanced because we are aware we are being observed.'
'Those who were first at the site of Gauri Lankesh's murder scene noticed that the place was still open for people to casually walk in and out.' 'No forensic evidence of value can remain in such places,' points out Aakar Patel.
'It can't be a coincidence that he and his family, uncles and all, vanished from India only days before the scam was discovered.'
'We are in the presence of a truly great politician,' says Aakar Patel.
'Middle-level managers account for 10 per cent -- or 450,000 people -- in the IT industry in India.' 'And of these 225,000 would lose jobs over the next one decade as their work would get automated.' 'This is grim news for many reasons,' says Aakar Patel.
'There is an observable difference between Nepalis and Lankans and the rest of us.' 'It would serve us well to understand where this difference comes from and, if it is something that is better in some way, how it is that we can access it,' says Aakar Patel.
'On corruption the Yadavs of UP and Bihar will find it very tough to give an answer to the accusations of the BJP and its supporters,' says Aakar Patel.
'You can accuse him of many things but one thing you cannot accuse him of is being bad at politics,' says Aakar Patel.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances