governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
One wonders whether Muhammad Ali Jinnah would have been disappointed or elated at a band of misguided, ultra-right Hindus, objecting to his portrait hanging in the students’ union office of the Aligarh Muslim University. Disappointment, at becoming a hate object, would fit well. the elegant, urbane man with a taste for fine suits, that Jinnah […]
Read More Resurrecting ghosts is bad politicsModi enters Parliament for the first time in 2014 in a characteristic “Indian” manner – prostrating himself at the steps of this very British institution. Stooping to assimilate is the Indian way. Photo courtesy Indian Express Three years ago, when Modi’s BJP entered Parliament in May 2014, with a never before majority, the “realtors of […]
Read More Modi: Unassailable at threeThe national hype around the “beef ban” issue and the rise in the price of toor daal has done what the combined political force of other parties could not do — humble Narendra Modi in Bihar. Both are self-goals by the Bharatiya Janata Party. photo credit: http://www.arun-wicfy.quora.com Whose duty is it anyway to regulate agri. […]
Read More Beef and Toor fry BJP in Bihar(photo credit: http://www.en.wikipdia.com) By polishing shoes at Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, in New Delhi, as “Kar Seva,” the refreshingly ordinary Lt. Governor, Najeeb Jung and his wife, have raised the bar for people in high public office. A “Kar Sevak” is one who volunteers to provide pro-bono service for a religious cause. That a deeply religious […]
Read More The glue of cross-religious Kar SevaThe best thing about democracy is that it provides options to the zero-sum game where the winner takes all. Even the losers, in a democracy, retain their right to participate in decision making and benefit from state actions. We have seen too little democracy in India; the largest and the developing World’s best functioning democracy, and […]
Read More Avoid zero-sum political gamesIn India, fractured as it is by multiple social divisions, on top of the usual economic distinctions of class, the notion that any one party can appeal to the majority seems far-fetched, especially in the context of an increasingly aware and literate electorate. Intelligent voters seek to maximize their self-interest, which is increasingly defined in […]
Read More Rahul and Kejriwal; common aspirations
Opinion India 