Two aspects of yesterday’s bomb blasts in Hyderabad worry me. The first has to do with the identity of the bombers. Judging by past experience, it is probably fair to say that Indian investigators will not do a lot of detective work. In the case of previous attacks, various police forces have competed with each other to arrest the men they believe are responsible, without doing any investigation to actually determine guilt or responsibility. Read more

Two things need to be said about this week’s Cabinet reshuffle. The first is that it was an exercise in spectacularly inept political timing. It is bizarre to shift the country’s home minister at a time when parts of Assam are still in flames and to replace him with a man who knows nothing about that situation and has never before held this portfolio. Read more

It is now almost an article of faith within the media that a) this is a very corrupt government and that b) its leaders lack the will or the inclination to fight corruption. Read more

Viewers of TV news channels will have noticed a slightly surreal political drama unfolding on their screens over the last week. Read more

Back when news TV first became a phenomenon, we heard many complaints about how the influence of TV would rob Indian politics of its gravitas. Read more

I was surprised to learn that the government is setting up a group of ministers to examine how best to communicate with the media. Read more

The Union Cabinet decided on Monday to put off approving a hike in the salaries of MPs and ministers. Read more

I grew up in the 60s and the 70s in a vaguely Lefty family. This was a time when the phrase ‘the ugly American’ was in common use, when the US was involved in unpopular exercises of its power (in Vietnam, for instance) and when the CIA was actively interfering in Indian politics (just because we exaggerated its influence, do not believe that the Agency was idle). Read more