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The #2G Presidential Reference: An Exercise in Futility
The Supreme Court’s judgment in the #2G Presidential reference case has led the government to claim vindication. Several media outlets sympathetic to the government have also hailed the judgment while its critics have claimed the opposite. So its worth taking a quick look at it. This reference was quite controversial...
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Escape to Nowhere: A Riveting Narrative of the Rabinder Singh Saga
Though the story outline is well known, I found the narrative to be riveting. Like other books written by bureaucrats that I have so far read, it is told in very simple and straight language, gets right down to the heart of the matter without wasting much effort in prolonged...
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Analysis of the RTE Judgment: Part I – The Question of Severability
The RTE Act is probably one of the most radical attempts at social engineering ever conducted in India. Few enactments in our country can rival it in terms of its reach or the level of its intrusiveness into the lives of ordinary residents. It signals, truly in every sense, the...
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Managing Dissent: A Response to P.B. Mehta
P.B. Mehta’s case in yesterday’s op-ed titled ”Do not disagree” is that a bumbling, incompetent and intolerant state is unleashing its draconian powers now against NGOs in an attempt to stifle dissent. There is no doubt an element of truth in this. We have seen enough investigations, inquiries and anonymous insinuations against Team Anna, Devas...
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UPA 2.0: A Record Examined
It has been more than two years since the UPA2.0 government came to power and seven years since a Congress led dispensation assumed power in Delhi. A lot of water has flown under the bridge during this time and the ruling coalition has firmly put its stamp in many areas...
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A Hagiography of the First Family
This account by Rani Singh is a hagiography of Sonia Gandhi. The author makes it clear right at the start that she does not intend it to be a definitive political critique of Sonia Gandhi but “to tell the story…using research and interviews with those who know or have known her” which...
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Key Issues in the Lokpal Debate
I am writing this as a quick primer for dummies on some key issues involved in the Lokpal bill. 1. Appointments: The key question has been whether the political as opposed to the “apolitical” government must have primacy in the selection committee and whether a search committee with civil society...
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Role of a Model Legislator
The parliamentary prerogative versus people’s rights debate has been playing itself out in the media ever since the Anna Hazare movement began. Anna Hazare’s slogan has been that people are the masters and the government exists to serve them; they should therefore listen to the “voice of the people” as...
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The Salwa Judum Judgment: Judicial Assertions and Reality
Introduction During the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly, several members warned that the judiciary should not place itself as an imperium in imperio. The recent Supreme Court orders in the Nandini Sundar v. Chattisgarh (hereafter the ‘Salwa Judum’ judgment) and Ram Jethmalani v. Union of India confirm those worst fears...
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Building a Conservative Movement II: A Few Clarifications
This is a follow up to my earlier post where I will try to take forward the debate about the ideological framework of a future conservative movement. There, some objections were raised in the comments section which I will attempt to address here. Sidd@ma_falesu is right that the word “traditionalist” is...
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Conflicting Narratives on the Right
Harsh’s post as a response to Amit’s post on the MF Hussain controversy is worth reading. A quick response to it. I too, like Harsh, am going to generalize here with some loss of accuracy. As B.Raman and others have earlier stated, he too points to the fact that Hindu...
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Baba Ramdev, Lokpal and Corruption
With the dispersal of the crowds from Ramlila grounds, the Baba Ramdev movement might have at least temporarily come to a halt. With a boycott of the Lokpal committee meeting and another fast by Anna Hazare looming on the horizon, the soi disant “civil society” drama shows no sign of...
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The Lesser Known Aspects of Mahatma Gandhi – A Review of Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India
Anita Desai’s review has covered most of the principal aspects of Joseph Lelyveld’s new book Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India. Charmy Harikrishnan’s op-ed in IE and Lydia Polgreen’s news report in NYT together have almost all the details on the controversial aspects of the book especially...
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Building a Conservative Movement: A Few Thoughts on the Way Forward
This post is part of the CRI’s 1st year anniversary celebrations. We have launched a blogging festival where every member of the CRI Commentariat will participate and write on issues that affect their political outlook. Podcasts with Conservative intellectuals are also coming up, so stay tuned Nikunj Mehta has written...