Monthly Archives: September 2010
India, Pak back to square one on J&K
Forget those tennis volleys; the verbal salvoes have returned. India and Pakistan have moved back to their 20th century positions on Kashmir, virtually erasing a decade of incremental progress that had brought the contentious issue off the boil and closer to resolution.
Ayodhya’s verdict: This is Ramjanmabhoomi
While the Supreme Court has postponed until September 28 its hearing on a plea to defer the Allahabad high court’s verdict in the Ayodhya title suit, in the pilgrim town itself, there’s no dispute: The place was, and is, Ramjanmabhoomi for its … Continue reading
18 years on, have we learnt the lessons of Ayodhya?
The Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992. The act triggered weeks of communal riots and a decade of distrust between Hindus and Muslims, culminating in carnage in Gujarat in 2002. Now, the ghost of the Babri Masjid has been stirring … Continue reading
Ayodhya: Beyond ground zero
The six-lane national highway from Lucknow cuts through green paddy fields. Faizabad arrives without warning. The city is one straight road with narrow lanes radiating from it and vanishing into a jumble of old, half-built houses.
Casino operators withdraw their pleas against govt
The operators of floating casinos on Thursday withdrew the petitions filed by them challenging the state government’s decision to shift their vessels from the Mandovi river to the Aquada bay area.
MOEF panel meet in Goa to gather data on Western Ghats
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, constituted by the ministry of environment and forests will hold a consultation with the state government, civil society and industry in a bid to gather data on the biodiversity of the western ghats.
Caste Census: The Road Ahead
Having announced that caste will indeed be counted in the Census of 2011, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is busy demonstrating once again the crucial difference between taking a decision and acting decisively. The sudden agreement arrived at in … Continue reading
Ayodhya: The Redefining of India
The Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi dispute has been one of the biggest influences in the shaping of independent India. It appears almost unreal to remember that this is, in legal terms, a mere dispute over the title to a small plot of … Continue reading
No More Ore For China Please
IN AN impassioned address to Indian and Chinese businessmen in Chengdu, Indian Ambassador to China, S Jaishankar repeatedly returned to a single point: India must give iron ore exports a break and quickly focus on selling finished goods. As expected … Continue reading
As the Valley implodes, people wonder where are the leaders they voted for
BY ZAHID RAFIQ EID HELD up a harsh spotlight to the political landscape of the Valley last week, highlighting three months of protests, strikes and curfew in Kashmir. Even as lakhs, led by Hurriyat stalwart Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, prayed at the … Continue reading