- Indore-Patna Express derails: Train accident kills 120, many feared trapped; fractured rail likely cause
- Indore Patna Express derails: From a photo of the dead, a 4-year-old tries to pick father
- Demonetisation: Will make changes when needed, says PM Modi
- Indore Patna Express derails: Wedding cards, lehngas, bangles; victims were on way to marriages
- Self-help groups run scared as loan dubbed ‘black’
Columnists
Why trains derail
The Indian Railways has lost focus. The system needs a generational change.
Ringmaster Trump
There is a bully in the bully pulpit. For America and the world, it promises to be a bumpy ride.
Raja Mandala: Sharif versus Sharif
Government has rarely won the battle against the army in Pakistan. Delhi must be prepared to signal its support to civilian rule.
Edit- Merkel, reloaded
Germany’s Chancellor will fight elections again — and offer a worldview contrasting with Donald Trump’s.
Edit- Learn by accident
Railways needs greater focus on flagging infrastructure, improvement of rescue and relief operations.
Jobs vs Wages
Three faultlines in wages sabotage private formal job creation. Demonetisation will undo some damage.
More, Mr Parrikar
He is duty-bound to confound assessments of India’s nuclear deterrent.
From plate to plough: Change is in the air
Demonetisation gives dignity to honest Indians. But for it to succeed, the ministry of agriculture must take the lead.
Next door Nepal: The fragile republic
Only politicians have been beneficiaries of the decade-old peace accord.
Edit- Small And Medium Perils
Demonetisation has severely affected rural business activity. Government, RBI can ill afford to ignore the distress here.
Edit- Marrakesh Message
Developing countries will step up, instead of waiting for industrialised nations to take the lead on climate change.
No proof required: Big bang or big thud?
Demonetisation will have no benefits if the government does not follow up with tax reforms, reduce discretionary powers of bureaucrats and reform election laws
In Indira’s India
She disliked plurality of politics and policy, and preferred centralisation. We continue to pay the price
Breaking the N-silence
Parrikar has broken a tradition of sphinx-like silence, wherein his two UPA predecessors rarely acknowledged the existence of India’s nuclear deterrent or even mentioned the ‘N’ word.
High price, uncertain gain
Is it necessary to punish all to tackle the 3 per cent who generate the big black incomes?
Unorganised sector is worst-affected by demonetisation. Can banks go to them?
An informal credit and debit mechanism has been demolished. Without adequate cash in the system, it is less likely to be restored soon.
Confusion is risky
After Manohar Parrikar’s comments on no-first-use policy, a prime ministerial clarification is called for.
Navigating the Cauvery
A participatory approach, involving non-state actors, is needed.
A taxman more friendly
Rules should be drafted with clarity to avoid harassment of taxpayers.
You have been warned
Demonetisation politics unfolds as a vast morality play. Its imagination unleashes the state on you, in the name of protecting your own virtue.
Telescope: Day and night
Evening debates applaud PM’s money move, daytime reports capture queues.
Fight for the global good
Politics is bitterly anti-globalisation. But that shouldn’t daunt activists.
Gender justice, in fact
Arguments in favour of a uniform civil code often project Hindu law as just, in spite of the evidence of its anti-women practices.
A larger cause, a petty opposition
Politicians and the people must join the prime minister’s fight against black money.
Edit- Use by date
India’s food safety authority has not been sure-footed on the matter of issuing standards for fortified foods.
Edit- Beyond the atm
The cash crunch hurts non-urban India more. Government must urgently reach out, address its problems.
Risk and some disorder
There had been a clamour for radical reforms. Demonetisation shows what real reforms feel like.
Don’t nuke the debate
Manohar Parrikar has been criticised for suggesting a re-evaluation of ‘no-first-use’. But nuclear doctrines are not written in stone.
When government plays judge
Executive’s bid to have the final say in judicial appointments is alarming for democracy. Past experience tells us why.
Edit- Hope floats
In the Valley, a heartening moment to build on, as students turn out in large numbers to take the board exams.
Edit- To see a chance
Opposition parties spot an opportunity in the cash crunch. But it may not be glue enough.
Edit- Bernie’s day out
Hillary withdraws, Trump shocks and awes — Bernie Sanders arrives to save America again.
Impolitic musings
Parrikar’s comments on no-first-use fail to acknowledge the costs, complications of a policy shift.
The Legal Aid Lifeline
Absence of a lawyer during arrest, interrogation, can mean vulnerability to torture.
Forest rights and wrongs
Social activists and wildlife groups must acknowledge that no rights can be championed, nor wildlife saved, if the forests at the centre of the tussle vanish
Raja Mandala: Neweurasia
The Trump effect is likely to reconfigure the region’s politics
Not at the click of a mouse
AIIMS’s online appointment system has worked to the detriment of poor patients.
Edit- Eye on the big prize
For demonetisation move to be a game-changer, stakeholders must urgently come together to address short-term problems.
Edit- No one’s cause
Courts have done their bit. But for pollution to be contained, political parties, government agencies must own the issue.
Nehru for our time
India needs to recall its first prime minister for his love and passion for personal liberty
Young and alienated
Kashmiri youth are dejected. Delhi must abandon the security-centric approach, acknowledge that economic measures can’t stand in for political outreach
Next Door Nepal: 100 days later
Nepal’s PM is struggling to balance India and China. Resentments are building within
Not Mother Angela
She is hailed for saving refugees but Merkel is no moral answer to Donald Trump.
Republic of Unfreedom
NDTV and Bastar incidents display the undemocratic instincts of India’s politicians and public officials.
A Big Deal
Nuclear pact signed with Japan signals a wider acceptance of India as a responsible nuclear power.
Across the aisle: Old notes for new is not game-changer
The reality is the old notes will be replaced by new notes. Hence, the true test will be the answer to the question ‘what proportion of the old notes will be tendered for replacement’? It is only the notes that are not tendered that will be ‘demonetised’ in the true sense of the word
Inside track: Leak-proof
To ensure that there was no leak, Law Ministry officials were asked to wait in the Finance Ministry, and the Intelligence Bureau kept tabs till the PM’s announcement.
Out of my mind: At last
The master stroke that Narendra Modi struck on the night of the American elections is that, by fiat, he made hoards of cash valueless.
Fifth column: Lessons from America
We must hope that once he becomes President, a wiser, more serious man will emerge to enable him to tackle grim international problems that are complex and terrifying.
Ideas of India
A BJP-RSS intellectuals’ conclave spoke to — and heard out — diverse thinkers
Nov 21: Latest Headline
Chandigarh PGI director’s position a selection post, not based on seniority: Health Ministry
In Atam Nagar constituency: Mixed reaction from local AAP workers
Russia deploys new missiles to the Baltic Sea region
Rajasthan Congress to hold protest march on November 24
Kerala: Cooperative banks can give details on deposits
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