The best time to give advice is to speak to a chair in front of you with nobody sitting on it. Empty chairs have arms. No ears, no minds, no conscience. Tell an empty chair anything and it will listen. And that’s precisely what I have planned to do in this column — give gyan… Continue reading Dear Vice President: Eight suggestions for the new incumbent, whoever that may be
I still remember that muggy morning in Delhi fourteen years ago. For the first time ever in my life, I was meeting a person holding a high constitutional office. The then Vice President of India, Mr Hamid Ansari. It was my first day in Parliament. After being sworn in, he called some of us rookies… Continue reading The Vice Presidents of India I Know
The Monsoon Session of Parliament begins next week. The dates were announced 45 days ago. Unusual. Normally, schedules for Parliament sessions are put out 18-20 days in advance. The reason for the early announcement of dates for this Monsoon Session, by a skittish NDA government, is simple: Avoid a Special Session of Parliament and delay… Continue reading Question Hour is one of the few tools still available to hold this government accountable
In the previous column, your columnist shared how greats like Gandhi, Ambedkar, Azad, Savitribai Phule, Vajpayee and others saw the English language as a liberating force. Today, let us continue the conversation, drawing on different voices to emphasise how English remains a vital thread in our national fabric, in spite of what Mr Amit Shah… Continue reading We Are Indian. Can We Please Say That In Any Language We Like?
Two quizmasters in conversation. Derek O’Brien: This is the first time we’re doing something like this. Thank you, Siddhartha. Siddhartha Basu: It’s the first time ever the both of us have been together, and I’m delighted. DOB: You and I met just three years ago. And it was such a beautiful occasion. We had dinner at home. You… Continue reading Two quizmasters, on the facts
“In this country, those who speak English will soon feel ashamed, the creation of such a society is not far away.” – Home Minister Amit Shah, 19 June, 2025. 121 languages. 19,500 dialects. In a country as vast and diverse as India, English is not only a language, it is a unifier. For the lakhs… Continue reading For Amit Shah, A Note On What Ambedkar, Gandhi, Azad Said About ‘English’
Framing of Meghalaya honeymoon case speaks of a disconcerting pattern when it comes to the region “Even Ganesh idols come from abroad, small-eyed Ganesh idols whose eyes don’t even open properly” — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, May 27. If the Prime Minister of India can propagate a hurtful stereotype against the 4.5 crore people living… Continue reading Unseeing the Northeast
June 9 marks exactly one year since Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers were sworn in. Before the elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) published a 69-page manifesto. Here are 15 promises from the BJP Manifesto 2024. What is the reality in 2025. 1. Promise: Expanding our efforts to protect garib ki thali (page 11). Reality: According… Continue reading BJP Manifesto: Promise versus Reality
Centre’s skittishness about calling a Special Session is of a piece with its attitude to parliamentary precedents and principles This week, leaders from 17 political parties wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to call a special session of Parliament in June. Within hours of doing so, a skittish government hurriedly announced the dates for… Continue reading The Government’s Parliament-ophobia
There are some things about life that we take for granted. Sometimes that list includes life itself, whether we realise it or not. On Wednesday, May 21, I boarded an Indigo flight from Delhi to Srinagar. Just another day in public life. Just another flight. I take my usual seat at 19F, at the emergency… Continue reading 30 Terrifying Minutes On A Delhi-Srinagar Flight That Changed My Life
