I am not a great fan of Congress leader Renuka Choudhary. She comes out as a leader completely confused on most of the issues. But the compassion and the passion with which she suggested ‘parading the culprits with their faces blackened and heads shaved’ compelled me to think over it. Read more

“You don’t have to put in any special effort; the trick lies in simply putting yourself, your family and your work before everything that the Nation needs from you. It’s not a new thing …. It’s been there for 65 years and now we are very close to achieving this wily aim. This happens to be the most successful silent destruction charter adopted by the citizens of India after independence.” Read more

Chote Lal Chaurasia, a retired UP government official, walked into my room the other day. He was brimming with excitement. He giggled, he laughed as he shared his experience of meeting Rahul Gandhi in Delhi recently. Read more

A Silent Pledge

Often surveys tell us how bad the new generation is about the country’s Independence struggle — knowing little or nothing. Read more

Corruption is the catchword in the country today. Many in the intelligentsia attribute heavy turnout in the ongoing polls to Anna Hazare, who turned corruption into a potent electoral issue. The mood is no different in the North of India. Read more

One can hate Narendra Modi, but can one dismiss the fact that Gujarat is the largest growing state in India. The Planning Commission has termed Gujarat as the leading state in the country with 12 percent growth rate. Read more

As scams were tumbling out of cupboards in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and at the Centre, I noticed with glee that all was quite well in the Hindi heartland, at least in Bihar where Nitish Kumar’s development mantra triumphed in the recent elections. Read more

Saffron bands, shrill slogans and rabble rousing – the trappings of the 1990s temple movement – are missing today. Instead there is caution and concern. Read more

When I left Lucknow for Bareilly on Monday, I was quite a happy person. A day before, I had attended the Pratibha Samman function of our sister concern Hindustan, which awarded talented kids from humble background in the state. Read more

Remember Habib Hussain of Moradabad who recently hit the headlines as he hid in a toilet on an Air India flight from Saudi Arabia to India.

Many mocked at him; some dismissed it with ‘Oh! this illiterate lot’. Read more