The unbearable Buta
It was so easy for Buta Singh. When mathematics took precedence over idealism in post-election India, he was just a one-vote, one-wish bargainer in the market. For the BJP, a Buta Singh, even though he was a discredited refugee from the Congress, mattered quite a lot then.
Restraint, Minister
The call was bound to come. The surprise is that it came quite so quickly. Ramakrishna Hegde's remarks about the need for a fresh mandate to fight blackmail by Jayalalitha may only be a lashing back by a victim of the AIADMK chief's excesses. But they are disturbing.
The state of the state
Some time back, the World Bank organised a conference of the spiritual heads of various faiths to discuss the problems of governance. Last year, it had brought out a report whose basic thrust was that an effective state helps people and markets flourish. It is heartening to note that the Bank has been laying so much emphasis on governance.
Measuring life in pegs
Public euphoria is often a false measure of social well-being. The celebratory postures of society's more articulate sections can hide the terrible despair of others who dwell behind the ghunghat of their own helplessness. So it was when prohibition was lifted in Haryana on April 1.
Trapped in a Kodambakkam comedy
In Jayalalitha Jayaram's universe, justice and revenge ought to be as instant as they are in Tamil movies. If the story does not end the way she wants in the time she has, the credits will roll and the audience will leave. Perhaps new players will come in and actors will exchange roles by the next show. Jayalalitha sees it coming.
Militant moneybags
Shabir Shah failed his admirers across Kashmir by declaring his assets worth Rs one crore created out of the funds sent from abroad for the "liberation movement". "You too?" exclaimed Kashmiris, who have grudgingly watched the rags-to-riches rise of many leaders of the armed insurgency.
