The Nehru-Gandhi mystique
Less than a month ago the Congress was haemorrhaging badly and the end seemed in sight. Now, even the BJP and the United Front (UF) concede, if indirectly, it is back in business. There is more to the story than Sonia Gandhi. It looked as though the Nehru-Gandhi factor could work its old magic thus far and no further. But public reaction has been better than expected after the relatively subdued first rally at Sriperumbudur.
Now wait for the unravelling of Sonia
One month of Sonia Gandhi in active politics is a story of good tactics and pragmatism. It is now clear that she is moving to a carefully crafted gameplan and is bidding for the top slot. But her campaign shows that she is likely to be a one-time election wonder: a crutch to a crippled Congress.
Not for caste's sake
Enough damage has been done to the armed forces generally, and the Army specifically, by political and bureaucratic indifference over the years. But the damage now being done to the Army is even greater and of far more serious consequence. It is well known that for once caste is the prime determinant.
Vote-catching net
In the beginning was the word -- on the microphones and the walls. In the days that are becoming a dim memory, electioneering used to consist almost exclusively of polemical cacophony and painted appeals. Times have been a-changin', however, and technology has continued to transform the ways of the vote-catchers. Radio and recordings of speeches and sloganeering songs provided some respite to the aspirants to power as well as their audience. Technology has yet again camouflaged itself in the form of the internet for this power hungry class to wage their war from.
Ditch the 13 for luck
Those who are faulting the Bharatiya Janata Party, the champion of Hindutva, for losing its original flavour are missing a crucial point. Hinduism is all-encompassing and boasts a pantheon of 30 crore gods and goddesses. The number will swell if we include icons of the age like M.G. Ramachandran in Tamil Nadu and N. T. Rama Rao in Andhra Pradesh. The goddesses are Jayalalitha and Madhuri Dixit.
"Rajiv case raises doubts on parallel probes"
D R Karthikeyan, the CBI's officiating Director, has said the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case has triggered a debate on whether a commission of inquiry and a criminal investigation on the same subject should proceed simultaneously.
