Shaky coalition
Maharashtra's cabinet reshuffle proves the correctness of the old adage: uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. If it is a coalition crown, it is uneasier still. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh maintains, tongue-in-cheek, he has merely carried out a routine exercise. Obviously, it is nothing of the sort.



100 days later
The government has done well to finally state what for long appeared to be the obvious. Responding to a query in Parliament this week, Home Minister L.K. Advani clarified that the government envisions no mediatory role for the Hurriyat in its Kashmir peace initiative.



Darwin's legacy
A few years ago, while waiting for a train at Itarsi railway station in Madhya Pradesh along with a friend, I was watching a stray dog loitering on the platform. The frail-looking animal was suffering from scabies and was being hooted out by one and all.



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