Rajasthan's Royal Season

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Rajasthan rarely makes news when compared to states. Delhi is in news since it is the seat of Indian democracy. Maharashtra makes great headlines for its Stock Exchange and farmer's suicides. Karnataka hogs media attention because its home to India's Silicon Valley. West Bengal is in news for its reds and Bihar for its blues. But Rajasthan, till a few months back it's contribution to national bulletins was often limited to weather reports like 'Temperature dips below freezing point in Churu' or 'Mercury shoots past 50 degrees in Chittor' , or 'Unseasonal rains ruin Rabi crops in Barmer'. Well it's a different story this year. For if one were to pick one flavour for this season it was Rajasthani. First the serial bomb blasts that hit the capital city of Jaipur then the Gujjar agitation and finally the victory of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. The....

Say Cheese! Its Good For Democracy

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Russia has a new President, who smiles! The 42-year-old lawyer and loyal Kremlin aide, Dmitry Medvedev has spent almost half of his life in the company of his predecessor, Vladimir Putin. Western media has repeatedly dubbed him as a proxy or a puppet President. After all Putin still holds the Prime Minister's office in one of world's youngest democracies. But ever since I noticed Medvedev smile, I am rethinking about the future prospects of the new Russian President, who incidentally shares his name with a famous tennis player. During his eight years of rule in Russia, Putin carefully crafted a brand of politics that was symbolized by phrases like, 'Icy-' and ' Steely-'. The former communist state was increasingly described as an oligarchy ruled by a handful of ex-KGB agents who crushed all dissent with an iron-hand. Western media, enamored by the new wealth of Russia and its....

Cold Comfort

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Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments,embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour - John Boswell Winter is a season to philosophise about life. All those conversations that fill the time while we sip our numerous cutting-chai makes one think and ponder more than one does in the simmering summers. After all what sort of philosophy could one do while eating ice cream and drinking lemonade? In winters though, for the few hours when the sunlight sparkles, often a bunch of people gather around the tea stove and begin conversing, forming a cozy little intellectual hub that disperses once the rounds of chai are finished. But as thoughts often do, they linger in your mind much after they have been spelt out. One such thought has persisted in my mind for the last couple of days. It goes like-....

Not a Ratna to Remember

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee is back, but this time it's not his own doing. The Bharat Ratna controversy seems to have landed the poet-politician at the center of what he has been trying to avoid so far. Ever since 2004, Vajpayee has been gracefully withdrawing from the arena of active politics, playing the role of a 'Margdarshak' to his party. I feel Advani didn't quite think it through before he dragged Vajpayee name into this silly bickering .But whatever be the outcome of this amateurish rumpus, Vajpayee doesn't need to worry. It simply doesn't matter if he gets the Ratna or not, he has already secured his rightful place in history. Perhaps now the only gift that the veteran BJP leader deserves from his people is a well-researched and well-written biography. After all which leader will want to live in history, while he is forgotten in public memory. And....

Of Imran Khan, by Imran Khan and for Imran Khan

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I have rephrased the famous cliche after following the bizarre politics of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan. Much has been written on how Imran Khan the politician can never come out of the shadow of his own hallowed past. In the last two weeks I have come to the conclusion that this past-life trauma that he suffers is to a great extent Imran Khan's own making.The problem with Imran Khan and his brand of politics is that he reduces democracy to a road-show. In Imran Khan's vision of governance, populism replaces policy and rhetoric substitutes for the fine art of statecraft. In the last few months ,every time he has come out in public, the news is never about what he did or tried to do, the news is always himself. In the news reports he remains a charismatic fighter, much like his cricketing avatar who led his....

Musharraf: Once a commando, always a commando

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Commander is Chief In a remarkable event yesterday, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf did what few dictators in the midst of a political crisis would think of. It occurred at a press conference in Islamabad where he was updating dozens of national/international journalists on the latest in his game plan. Once he finished, he got up and moved towards the exit door but a few foreign correspondents pursued him with some tough questions. To the surprise of many the General didn't walk away. Some would say the correspondents got too close and too personal in their questioning, prodding him on his grip over the army after he takes off the uniform .But here was Musharraf, dressed in smart 'civilian' clothes, ready with his response, assuring everyone with a tone the bore the imprint of a man in charge. All impromptu! My editor once told me how Musharraf remains....

Live and heart breaking

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All eyes were on ticker during the big news day on Saturday As the sun went down behind hills, I was wandering at an ancient temple's ruins in Malot. I should have switched off my mobile phone, since it was in those idyllic hills that I received the disturbing news. Within the next few minutes my mobile phone had exhausted its charge. We drove back immediately to check if what we had heard was true. As most people in the room preferred Urdu we switched back and forth between Geo and Aaj TV. My Urdu is already an embarrassment here and with the tickers and flashes moving at the speed of light I was struggling to get the latest updates right. I asked strangers to read out what was appearing at the bottom of the screen. A friendly old man staying in our guesthouse obliged and....

Coalition Dharma in Pakistan

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The endgame in Pakistan has begun. With the return of Benazir Bhutto from exile, the political arena is now being prepared for the first full-bloodied (pun un-intended) general elections in the country after a gap of 10 years. But it's not going be a straight fight between any two parties. All that one can say right now is that the Pakistan People's Party is set to be one of the chief contenders in the ring. Now that Karachi has received its BB, Lahore can't wait to receive its very own exiled-leader. Mian Nawaz Sharif might book a flight for home before the winters set in. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has already sent out a carefully-worded invitation for a re-union. But after years of exile of their leaders, either of the two traditional rivals, PPP and the PML, will find it difficult to get a clear majority in Parliament.....

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