Oldspeak marries newspeak
The squishy softness of recent government has sharpened the BJP's appeal. Hard nationalist, right-wing governments have obvious attractions. To self-proclaimed realists, much of their charm is an innate strength which does not derive from numbers in Parliament.
Premature pessimism
Moody's was wrong about East Asia and could be wrong about India too. But right or wrong, international credit rating agencies wield considerable influence on investment decisions around the world. So, Moody's announcement that it is reviewing India's sovereign rating for a possible downgrade is bound to reinforce negative assessments of the economy.
The past is less than objective
If it were possible to know about the past once and for all, there would be no need to write history. It should be clear to historians in the wake of Hayden White's writings that recovering the totality of the past is virtually impossible. Traditional practices of writing of history fail to question the conditions of their own making and, therefore, retard any development of a democratising critical intelligence.
Tiger by the tale
Among the many voices raised in dissent against the re-appointment of Mohammed Azharuddin as India's cricket captain was that of former captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. In retirement since the mid-1970s, Pataudi has little to do with today's cricket and restricts his involvement to an occasional comment or interview on the state of the game.
Hegde at home
Once upon a time, there was an extraordinary politician called Ramakrishna Hegde. As India's only practitioner of value-based politics, he colonised the media columns as the most favoured prime ministerial candidate of the middle class.
In the shadow of disasters
The last Mahakumbh mela of this century is now on in Hardwar. Arrangements for the pilgrims, that should have been complete days before the mela began on January 1, are still going on. And despite the presence of the devout by the riverside, questions are being raised about the readiness of the holy town to host the Mahakumbh.
