The juggernaut of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which triumphed in three of the four east and north-eastern states that went for assembly bypolls on Saturday, was halted yet again in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress registered a six-on-six clean sweep.
Why has a nation created on strong secular principles slowly chipped away those essential values? Why are so many Indians willing to compromise their freedoms and those of their compatriots for the cause of economic progress and to see a shining India,' asks Aseem Chhabra.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) could have performed better in the recently-held Lok Sabha polls and perhaps, too much time was spent in reaching seat-sharing agreements, Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has said.
'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'
In a stunning comeback, Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance on Saturday stormed to power in Jharkhand for a second consecutive term, winning 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, despite an all-out blitz by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance which managed only 24 seats.
'Nehru remains central to the polemic between the Congress and the BJP, or stated ideologically, between secular and Hindu nationalism.' 'The reason is that Nehru represents what is optimally possible as a secular politics along with liberalism and democracy in a country like India.'
Two women are in contention to become prime minister for the first time in Japan's history -- a potential turning point for a country that ranks below Saudi Arabia in terms of female political representation, points out Rajaram Panda.
People in Bangladesh have welcomed the new interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, hoping it would restore order, end repression and hold a fair election to facilitate a democratic transition of power.
China's stand is that relevant parties should find a solution internally.
China would have become another India "where around 20% of the world's poorest live" if it adopted democracy
With challenges such as raising the legal age of marriage for women, combating malnutrition among women and children, and addressing women's safety issues, the new ministers face a formidable agenda.
...Even if it means less democracy, so that their everyday problems get solved? argues R Jagannathan.
Of all recent Japanese leaders, new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been the most enthusiastic about the future of India-Japan relationship and gave it an entirely new dimension. New Delhi now has a chance to greatly improve its ties with Tokyo. It must seize the moment, say Harsh V Pant.
Showing total disregard for the US constitution, Trump has said that this could be the last election to be held in the country. A Trump presidency could lead to mass deportation of undocumented migrants and harsh family separation, warns Aseem Chhabra.
Though May won her Maidenhead seat in south-east England with 37,780 votes, she faced pressure to resign after losing her parliamentary majority.
The two major parties offer the United States choices that are basically unacceptable and the bench strength, such as it is, is not entirely capable of winning popular acclaim, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
The leader of Liberal Democratic Party Shinzo Abe has become Japan's new prime minister, giving top priority to overcoming the prolonged economic slump. Abe, who led the LDP to a landslide victory in the general election after three years in opposition, will form a new Cabinet later in the day with his close allies.
In a village of Rajputs, the vote is for Modi even though the BJP is not contesting from here.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday pulled off a stunning performance in Maharashtra winning a record number of seats to propel the party-led ruling Mahayuti alliance to a landslide victory while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) stormed back to power in Jharkhand on the back of a spectacular showing by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
He could have blazed a trail that few Indian judges had. It was a missed opportunity of a lifetime, notes Ramesh Menon.
Opposition Conservative party is now being closely followed by the Labour party, though the former still leads the race in the in the 2010 general elections.
The Democratic Party of Japan has won a landslide victory in the elections on Sunday, ending 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party, the BBC has said.
'The intellectual A G Noorani and A G Noorani the family man sound like a contradiction in terms, but both aspects were integral parts of the individual.'
Conservative leader David Cameron, whose party has secured the largest number of seats and highest percentage of votes, is expected to form the next government in Britain that is set for an India-style coalition politics after no party won an overall majority.
Chief Adviser to Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, has said the issue of attacks on minority Hindus in his country is 'exaggerated' and questioned the manner in which India projected it.
In days of smart, networked technology and no shame over collateral damage, what will blow up next -- cars, mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators? And where?, asks Shyam G Menon.
Johnson has set his hopes for getting his snap poll bill through the Commons threshold. His latest attempt may just succeed after the Opposition Labour Party said it would back an early election in December.
'We should be mindful that the religious minority community in one country is the majority in another (and) so treatment of the minority community in our respective countries will be an important variable in our relationship'
The collegium system has shut the doors of judgeship in the higher judiciary on Dalits, OBCs and even the poor among the upper castes
'Is there a connection between the way we pitched the entire issue of Udta Punjab's censorship and the apologetic, full-of-very-specific-answers tone of the movie?' 'Maybe it's just me, but as an Indian liberal, I am more scared of us liberals than I am of the average Indian conservative bloke,' says Sreehari Nair.
'Although there is a visible dent in TMC's urban votes, especially among women, the CPI-M and the BJP are unlikely to benefit from this'
India said it will continue to extend its developmental assistance to the friendly people of Sri Lanka.
If one were to go by the latest manifesto, Hatoyama's world consists essentially of Japan, the US, China, South Korea, North Korea (all mentioned by name) and "other countries". India has been relegated to the position of one of the "other countries".
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made reviving the economy his government's top priority, but his spending promises have raised concerns that Japan's public debt burden, already the worst among major economies, could deteriorate further.
Jailed rights activist Binayak Sen's wife on Monday said it appeared that the only recourse left to her is to seek political asylum in some 'liberal' democratic country as she felt that her family is not safe in India.
Bangladesh is in turmoil, which is not good news for India, which shares a porous 4000 km border with it. There is a danger of fundamentalism growing there, and India has to move in to reset its ties with the new dispensation before China and Pakistan make capital out of it, alerts Ramesh Menon.
Britain's new Conservative- Liberal Democrat coalition government in its first policy pronouncement on Tuesday promised to "enhanced partnership" with India, but said that restrictions will be imposed on the entry of non-European Union immigrants.
Whether Rajeev Chandrasekhar wins or not, Thiruvananthapuram will likely never see such an interesting contest again.
'...We should first look at and acknowledge what we have done to ourselves.' 'To not do so opens us to the accusation of rank hypocrisy and also reduces the stature of our globetrotting peaceniks,' asserts Aakar Patel.
'The time has come for all those believe in a democratic India to stand up and be counted and to make a choice.'
