Amid a raging debate over intolerance, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday deplored "blatant violation" of the right to freedom of thought by "some violent extremist groups" and shared the view that it was an "assault on the nation".
'By not only decriminalising routine business failures, but by ensuring that institutional lending and corporate rescue frameworks are strengthened via the IBC, the prime minister has ensured there is no room anymore for the proverbial 'reckless, prodigal debtor',' notes Sanju Verma.
India is too diverse to be governed centrally and with a single system. The way forward is for the central government to keep the monopoly of military power and a share of national resources while the provinces must have greater autonomy, recommends Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'We should give azaadi to Jammu and Ladakh from the domination of Kashmir valley politics,' suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Wearable' outfits for the 'fashion-conscious' modern man.
'Modi, focused on youth and their aspirations, has articulated a truly disruptive change: One of hope, of duties rather than rights, of standing up to the world instead of being bullied by it,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
The Niti Aayog is preparing 15-year vision document that will replace the Five-Year Plan from the next financial year
'Like in cricket, M S Dhoni was the captain and Virat Kohli played under him.' 'Then Dhoni played under Kohli.' 'Now imagine, having a second switch.' 'That is the analogy here, and I find no other example in Indian politics, or even world politics.'
At war, the Jalashwa can carry and launch a full infantry battalion in a single wave. At peace, the Jalashwa can evacuate 1,000 people in a single trip. Ajai Shukla explains why the Indian Navy's new tender for more ships like the Jalashwa must be treated with special urgency.
'The new generation voter is hyper-nationalistic, but it isn't essentially illiberal.' 'They will find the rants of Adityanath as laughable as Irfan Habib's. They will also find the BJP's polarising approach to vote-gathering unacceptable if it fails to deliver jobs and growth,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'We cannot ignore the role of public institutions in driving development... I don't see much focus on institutional renewal.'
The Congress has not invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to an international conference it is organising to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, joining the battle with Modi, who it accuses of trying to appropriate freedom movement leaders.
Amruta Fadnavis, Raghu Ram and Abhishek Kapoor came together for an important cause.
'As we reach 2022 we are creating a very new, different India where the Citizenship Amendment Act will be passed, NRC will be pushed through, Article 370 scrapped...'
Girish Karnad lived several lives not only on the stage but also as a scholar, theatre personality, an actor and director in a career spanning over five decades.
'Until India fully absorbs the fundamentals of international relations, it will continue to get evil for good,' says Brahma Chellaney.
In the Modi government, he was the mentor -- he groomed half a dozen of those who became ministers. Some remembered, others did not -- Jaitley seemed to care little. Aditi Phadnis reports.
When Nehru came in active contact with Gandhi 100 years ago, he was a Westernised rationalist while Gandhi was deeply soaked in the Indian ethos and spirituality, notes Rasheed Kidwai.
The 2019 election gives the Indian public the same choice: Between growth and oligarchs (or, in our case, dynasts and crony capitalists). If we chose wisely, well and good. If not, well, we have the Nehruvian Rate of Growth and massive corruption to fall back on. In a large sense, it is a choice between the India of the Lutyens elites and the Bharat of the real citizen, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'Most Indians know very little about Patel which is a great shame.'
'This has absolutely nothing to do with Kalburgi or anybody else, it only has to do with two words: Bihar elections. It's electioneering by other means, let's save the fig leaf of morality,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'The government may backpedal for now to stave off bad international press and diplomatic demarches, but that it will go ahead with putting religion at the centre of citizenship rules is certain.' 'For it is convinced that this is the magic bullet that will ensure its return to power in 2024,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Actually, the RSS is deeply ambivalent and uncomfortable with Gandhi as well as also Ambedkar, but it is not politically wise to oppose these two.' 'So Nehru is the main and only target.'
'The BJP, or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, are celebrating their biggest ideological and philosophical victory in some time,' says Shekhar Gupta.
As the battle between the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party over Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy continues, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Monday hit out at the National Democratic Alliance government saying it has no understanding of Nehru's values.
'The IAS officers are after the rich people, the IRS officers are after the middle class and the IPS officers are after the poor. This is the new varnashrama created by the bureaucracy.'
'India's first and longest-serving prime minister created -- or at the very least imagined -- a modern, democratic nation-State of the 20th century,' says Sunil Sethi.
'That is important for Modi politically when he launches a do-or-die campaign seeking a renewed mandate in the 2019 poll,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The party, in a resolution adopted at its 84th plenary session, accused the National Democratic Alliance government of pursuing a foreign policy "bereft of focus and direction".
'This is the era of images; no speech that Mukherjee could have given could counter the sight of a senior Congressman, elevated by the party to Rashtrapati Bhavan, standing rigidly next to the RSS gerontocracy as those worthies delivered the organisation's faux-fascist salute,' says Mihir Sharma.
Why are so many people so reluctant to give up on Arvind Kejriwal? The simple answer is 'Narendra Modi', or rather the fear of Narendra Modi,' says T V R Shenoy.
In a veiled attack on Narendra Modi-led dispensation, Rahul Gandhi slammed those who were trying to "rub out" Jawaharlal Nehru from history as an international conference on the country's first prime minister affirmed that democracy, inclusion and empowerment espoused by him were of "enduring relevance".
He wrote a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi who immediately accepted his resignation and relieved him of his charge as party General Secretary.
'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.
I have always believed that the Nehruvian vision of giving a separate status to Jammu and Kashmir was a flawed one, says BJP's Arun Jaitley.
'Nehru's hegemonic politics has been responsible for many ills, which undoubtedly includes Kashmir'
'If Rahul wants to pick up the sacred thread where his 'daadi' left it, especially when the BJP, which reduced his party to 44 in 2014, claims monopoly over Hinduism, it's smart politics.' 'Why cede your Gods to your rival?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
'Part A of the Budget was like it was written by somebody from the 21st century and Part B was written by somebody from the 19th century.'
'The objective is not to make India into a one religion place, but to ensure that there is harmonious and peaceful co-existence of all faiths with each of them having their cultural personality.'
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