Ashutosh Varshney

The writer is Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences at Brown University, where he also directs the India Initiative at the Watson Institute. He is a contributing editor for The Indian Express.

Why did China agree to Wuhan?

Wed, May 02, 2018

Anything which arrests India’s potential drift towards the US and its allies is good for China.

Liberals and nationalism

Thu, Mar 29, 2018

They disapprove of Hindu nationalism, but support the constitutionally consecrated view of the nation

Denying Nehru his due

Wed, Feb 14, 2018

Were ancient Indian polities democratic, democracy thus representing India’s enduring culture? And what was Jawahar Lal Nehru’s role in institutionalising democracy?

What Gujarat means

Tue, Dec 26, 2017

If the Congress needs to worry about its urban base, the BJP has to work on a rural message

Globalisation in retreat

Thu, Nov 30, 2017

It is being challenged by a nationalist politics. But a nationalist economics is unlikely to take its place

Is Narendra Modi a populist?

Mon, Oct 23, 2017

The old narrative about India’s Prime Minister is not dead, but a new one is emerging

More accountant, less visionary

Wed, Aug 16, 2017

PM’s large narratives — corruption, growth— invite questions. His neglect of communal peace is notable

The Nitish echo

Thu, Aug 03, 2017

Nitish Kumar's pragmatic choice reinforces a fraught idea — of Hindu consolidation and Muslim peripherality

Crime and context

Fri, Jul 07, 2017

Lynchings draw upon the master narrative of cow protection promoted by the current political elites

The Yogi gamble

Mon, Apr 17, 2017

Adityanath’s elevation as UP CM is a move of radical novelty — and political risk

A PM like Indira Gandhi

Thu, Mar 16, 2017

Like her, Modi has established his dominance. But can he move beyond her legacy, to rule by persuasion?

When the state looks away

Wed, Mar 01, 2017

Gujarat 2002, like Delhi 1984, is a case of state culpability. One was ideological, the other strategic.

America vs America

Wed, Feb 15, 2017

Trump presidency deepens clash within: Ideals of equality and freedom vs its pre-1965 history.

Demonetisation 2.0

Thu, Feb 02, 2017

It has become manifestly clear that it is a political move without an economic rationale.

Post-truth demonetisation

Thu, Jan 05, 2017

Instead of government by argumentation, we have government by rhetoric and spectacle.

White with rage

Sat, Nov 12, 2016

Trump vote is not primarily born of globalisation anxieties. It is the outcome of white nationalism.

Last tango in America

Wed, Nov 02, 2016

Trump’s victory, if it happens, will defy several probabilities. But such defiance is not unheard of.

Inside, outside

Tue, Sep 27, 2016

Any response to Uri must factor in the Pakistani state’s relationship with non-state actors.

Return of the cow

Tue, Aug 23, 2016

Cow protection, paradoxically, poses a threat to the BJP’s project of Hindu unity.

In China, a stirring and a new question

Wed, Aug 03, 2016

Peoples’ desire for freedom is greater. Can the government continue to control the flow of information?

Jun 19: Latest Headline

Delhi must hold on to its cosmopolitan culture: Writer Rana Safvi

Writer-scholar Rana Safvi says it is imperative for Delhi to hold on to its cosmopolitan culture. Her latest book "The Forgotten Cities of Delhi" emerges at a time when there is a brazen attempt to re-write Indian history with demonisation of the Mughals.

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