That there is something awry in the entire strategy is now established. Now, even moderate critics of the government are questioning the methods of the home minister and his ministry.
The tense atmosphere between India and China has changed for good after the Copenhagen summit, claimed a top-level source dealing with the Chinese in Indian government.
Slowly, the debate will shape up in such a way that support to the judgment will be interpreted as support to the Hindu cause and opposition to the judgment considered as identification with Muslim disappointment, believes Sheela Bhatt.
Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, was restrained in his reaction to the Ayodhya verdict delivered by the Allahabad high court's Lucknow bench; but his joy was hardly hidden.
Sheela Bhatt speaks to Muslim leaders to plumb the emotions in the community after the court verdict in the Ayodhya title suit
The Congress-led government has taken a defensive position on the political battleground in the Ayodhya title suit.
Bureaucrats, police officers and the security clan spend public funds as lavishly as ministers do.
In the current sordid saga, it is not the Indian people who have failed. It is India's political leaders who have failed the people, unforgivably, says Sheela Bhatt.
Sheela Bhatt analyses the gameplan behind the Congress's decision to play hardball in Tamil Nadu, to the extent that it doesn't care if the DMK walks out of the UPA government at the Centre.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley on why it is important for the government not to bow to those propagating violence and offers possible solutions to the problems plaguing the valley.
It seems that realisation has dawned, at last, in New Delhi that the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir has become a national crisis. The government is waking up to connect to the state, which is under the wave of violence, notes Sheela Bhatt.
Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt was in the courtroom at the Sabarmati Jail where the judgment in the Godhra train burning case was pronounced on Tuesday. She has also followed and written about the twists and turns in the historic nine-year legal battle. Her impressions and analysis of the verdict.
Sonia Gandhi was elected president of the Congress party for a record fourth time on Friday. Sheela Bhatt takes a look at the road the Italian-born leader has taken to political acceptability.
Nandkumar says it is too early to say to quantify the deficit in food grain production but, a 6-million hectare deficit in paddy cultivation has been noted in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Nandkumar, whose office has a top view of the farming sector in India says that Indian farmers could somehow make up by growing maize or jowar instaed of paddy.
Nearly a decade after Kutch faced its worst-ever earthquake, rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in a two-part series assesses the transformation witnessed in the Kutchi society since the time the calamity struck on January, 2001, and its implications.
The February 25 India-Pakistan talks are bound to fail. India is acting under American and British pressure. The Americans and the British are just looking for an honorable excuse to flee from Afghanistan. And Pakistan will continue to undermine India till the Indian armed forces don't have clear superiority. This, in essence, is what former Indian national adviser Brajesh Mishra -- a vocal opponent of New Delhi's latest olive branch to Islamabad -- feels.
Rahul Bedi, who has been writing relentlessly on India's strategic and defence related issues, thinks this year will cement India-United States defence ties like never before. New Delhi-based Bedi is a correspondent for the prestigious Jane's Defence Weekly spoke to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Haiti reminds Indians of Kutch. The rescue, relief and rehabilitation of earthquake victims have local requirements that vary from region to region but, the story of how Kutch was reborn after the devastating earthquake of January 26, 2001 can became a useful template for Haiti.
Sheela Bhatt lifts the lid off a Gujarat government scheme, piloted by Law Minister Amit Shah, currently in the dock over the Sohrabuddin encounter, to offer prime plots cheap to judges
The foreign ministers' talks failed just when progress seemed on the horizon, says Sheela Bhatt
Sheela Bhatt says the Congress cannot have a celebratory party until it addresses the national issues demanding attention.
Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt presents an inseiders view of the Congress plenary held at Burari.
A series of allegations, scams and election setbacks and everyone is predicting that it's gloom time for Congress party in the season of Radiagate. But then few things are working in favour of the Congress party if looked at in a wider time-frame. Let's take a look at 10 of them...
'No political office anywhere in the world holds as much clout and influence over society as it does in India. I say that because the political office holder is the only person in the country whose influence is far more than his or her innate merit,' says L K Advani.
'Their Maoism is a facade only to become leaders in society,' argues former IPS officer Mahendra Kumawat, who has extensively dealt with Naxalites.
On the night of November 25, at around 10.30 pm, Rakesh Maria hand-delivered a long letter to Chandra Iyengar, the state additional home secretary. He took three hours to draft his letter because he has attached a detailed rebuttal with his letter expressing a desire to resign if he is not defended.
Senior Police Inspector Ramesh Mahale tells Sheela Bhatt that the Headley-Rana angle will not affect his case.
The Union home ministry believes the newly-formed National Investigation Agency will have to reinvestigate the 26/11 case if the David Headley-Tahawwur Rana probe produces unexpected links with the Mumbai terror attacks. This will be a serious matter and hit the Mumbai police's credibility.
'To get success in business one should know how to create and attract talent and how to retain it.'
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is heading for the most crucial time of his political career. On Tuesday, no less than the Supreme Court dragged Prime Minister's Office in the massive telecom scam and that gives the hint of forming of the political storm which has the potential to damage PM Dr Singh.
Although Dr Manmohan Singh readily answered questions during his press conference, he gave the feeling that he is a secretive politician who doesn't reveal the story easily. More than 80 minutes of questioning failed to provoke him. He played a defensive game and didn't convey through anything new, writes Sheela Bhatt.
Sheela Bhatt explores and explains the Rahul Gandhi phenomenon and what it means for the Congress party and the nation's politics.
Monday's verdict of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case was extraordinary in many ways. Reading Sheela Bhatt lists out 10 most important things to understand about the judgment.
Experts differ on whether the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh could escalate tensions between India and China and even lead to war.
"Instead of talking about war, we must increase trade many fold, we should have common goals for space, energy and food security. India and China should protect the supply chain. Like securing Malacca Straits from pirates on the high seas. Both countries should jointly find ways to use high technology for poverty reduction. And evolve a consensus on environment and terrorism-related issues."
Sheela Bhatt deconstructs the murky goings-on in the Indian Premier League.
The recommendations of the people's tribunal on the problems of the tribals and the Maoist insurgency offers a comprehensive plan to tackle the situation and looks into the root causes of the issues at stake.
His arrest has created a sensation, given his affluent origins in Mumbai and his elite Doon School -- where he was Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi's classmate -- and London education. Ghandy is an intellectual supporting the Maoists in various ways, and has no criminal record whatsoever.
Intelligence officers have been recruited and are being trained at a state-of-the-art intelligence academy, reveals Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandan in an exclusive interview to Sheela Bhatt.
Sheela Bhatt meets RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at a media interaction in New Delhi. She says that while he was rigid on his stand on the Ayodhya issue, he impressed with his simplicity and clarity of thought.
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