Karan Thapar

A perfect spy novel for the lockdown

It's not flowing prose that sweeps you along. Instead, the author has opted for short, staccato sentences. They're like terse commands: Insistent, demanding but strangely riveting

Why our court system is not in good health

Judiciary's "independence" and "fearlessness" have been converted into partisanship and sycophancy

The best of 2019 from a voracious and eclectic reader's bookshelf

Though the author of Hindutva, savarkar was "hardly a practicing Hindu in the religious sense"

Where are the tough questions?

Nothing illustrates the growing inclination to "follow the leader" with an uncritical, unquestioning gaze like PM Modi's TV interviews

Is the wind changing direction?

On Kashmir and Pakistan, it seems to be. The question is, how strongly it is blowing and for how long

Views of people's representatives of J&K must come to fore: Faizan Mustafa

Assembly's expression of views is not power because those views cannot change anything. Parliament can ignore its opinion, says NALSAR University vice chancellor

Karan Thapar on how an interview soured his relationship with Chidambaram

Chidambaram, Thapar says, often demanded the right to clear interviews before it was broadcast

A constitutional legerdemain?

The government might have transgressed the letter and spirit of the Constitution with its decision regarding Article 370 and the division of J&K along with its demotion to Union Territory status

Confident that rate of unemployment will be about 3-4% in 2 years: Gadkari

'Politics is a game of compulsions, limitation and contradictions'

By not censuring PM for his campaign speeches, the EC shows lack of courage

The Election Commission seems to lack the capacity to act against the PM. But I pray it proves I'm horribly wrong. If it does, I will readily apologise

Present evidence. Prove Imran is lying

The Balakot strike showed a determined India would respond decisively to terror. For this message to be delivered, the doubts must be removed

It's not about social justice for all

Why the government's decision to amend the Constitution to permit 10 per cent reservation for economically backward upper castes smacks of desperation

Simply a bad idea

If state and national elections are held together, important state leaders would be unable to challenge national leaders and their parties

Some questions on Rafale deal

Why was the number of planes reduced from 126 to 36? If the government has now issued another tender for over 100 planes, how is the reduction justified?

Atalji's passing has touched more people than any politician's since Nehru

Often critical of Nehru and Congress as an Opposition leader, Vajpayee as PM was Nehruvian in his breadth of vision, concern for parliamentary etiquette and considerate treatment of the Gandhi family

Book by Bose's great nephew shows how we've always known the truth

That some maintain Subhas Chandra Bose spent years incarcerated in a Soviet Gulag camp or hiding in Manchuria is unbelievable. Yet some do

Is PM Modi increasingly seeming Trumpean?

It's not just what he says or who he attacks that Mr Modi reminds me of Mr Trump. Their personalities overshadow the high offices they hold

Azmal Hoque is a human being, not a statistic

The case reveals more about us than it does about him

We should be careful about expanding misdirected subsidies: Raghuram Rajan

Interview with Raghuram Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India

Our mandate is to bring down inflation: Raghuram Rajan

Interview with Raghuram Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India