Columnists

Ashutosh Varshney

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

Hindu nationalism, White supremacism threaten to morally impoverish the two democracies

Mon, Jul 06, 2020

After the mid 20th century, a democracy is not a proper democracy unless it safeguards minorities. And if the minorities are also poor, the protection becomes even more necessary.

It is not simply the death of a black man, but yet another moment of truth for America

Wed, Jun 03, 2020

In a country claiming to be the first in the world to be founded on equality, why have black lives been so cheap? Can black Americans ever be treated with equality and dignity, instead of being brutalised?

The new capitalism: In the foreseeable future, politics will drive economic policies, not market-based rationality

Mon, May 04, 2020

We should not only expect that labour flows will now be more strictly regulated than before. But also more than ever before in recent decades, Western investors will also have to factor in political risks in their investment decision-making.

How we define and categorise the Delhi violence matters

Mon, Mar 02, 2020

India’s citizenry is well and truly into a battle for constitutional values, which must be fought, most of all, with non-violent determination and vigour.

If Modi government violently cracks down, anti-CAA protests will engulf more of India

Tue, Jan 28, 2020

Centre faces classic dilemma civil disobedience unfailingly poses: Whether or not it cracks down, protests will grow

Recent exclusionary steps can only bring India’s international image down

Mon, Dec 16, 2019

A fusion of law and exclusivist ideology is in the making. Brute arithmetic is being used for majoritarian ends.

If Shiv Sena wishes to remain in power, it can’t return to full-blooded Hindutva

Mon, Dec 09, 2019

Political power is bringing about an ideological re-orientation in the players which may or may not endure

A temple on contested site of mosque’s destruction departs from judicial counter-majoritarianism

Thu, Nov 14, 2019

If Hindu consolidation goes further, Muslims will become electorally even more irrelevant. We can’t still be sure this would happen. But even if Hindu electoral consolidation remains at the current level, India’s Muslims would need the judiciary’s counter-majoritarianism to safeguard their interests.

For Modi, Houston guaranteed a huge turnout of Indian Americans. Trump may need them to win Texas in 2020

Sat, Oct 05, 2019

Indian Americans are perhaps not more than 4,00,000 in number, but if Texas becomes a “swing” or “battleground” state, ready for a political flip, even such small numbers might ultimately matter.

By numbers alone

Sat, Aug 17, 2019

The change in Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional status is democratic only in one sense — it had a parliamentary majority. But democracy is much more than that.

Democratic ambivalence

Sat, Aug 03, 2019

Modi, Trump and Bolsonaro are great election winners, but their stance on civil liberties is seen as questionable.

Transfiguring India

Mon, May 27, 2019

Are we on the path to a Hindu Rashtra? Much will depend on how the electoral verdict is read by the victor

Travelling East UP

Thu, May 16, 2019

Almost as a cliché, but a true one, and not trivially so, human warmth and courtesy, as in so many parts of India, make up for the harsh landscape of East UP.

Caste and religion still form the bedrock of people’s political understanding in Uttar Pradesh

Thu, May 16, 2019

In Uttar Pradesh, one can speak of two sub-waves, one among the upper castes, and another sweeping through the Dalit-Muslim-Yadav communities. The BJP is the primary beneficiary of the former, and the SP-BSP-RLD Mahagathbandhan of the latter.

2019 and populism

Sat, Apr 06, 2019

There is large support for anti-elitist politics in India, but it is not uniformly spread out.

National security will compete with unemployment, farm distress as a critical election issue

Thu, Feb 28, 2019

The size of the middle class, timing of the current India-Pakistan clashes, and the nature of the regime in Delhi will shape the narrative in days to come.

View from city’s margins

Tue, Jan 22, 2019

Among urban poor, demonetisation has taken an untold toll. Government schemes are a mixed blessing

Taming hubris

Fri, Dec 14, 2018

BJP has work to do to take back narrative — assembly results raise questions on governance record, temple

Midterm elections: A bruised Trump

Tue, Nov 13, 2018

The next two years of his presidency have now run into democratically created counter-power.

A new RSS?

Fri, Oct 05, 2018

It’s unlikely, given the deep tension between RSS philosophy and individual freedoms and rights.

‘A battle between Hindutva and Hinduism is coming’

Sat, Aug 11, 2018

In a wide-ranging conversation, Walter Andersen speaks of the changing nature of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, how it was influenced by its different sarsangchalaks and the challenges that lie ahead of the organisation

Grime Beneath the Glitter

Sat, Jul 21, 2018

James Crabtree argues that India’s living out the same gilded age that America did in the 1800s — where corruption swirls under a shiny surface.

Is China meritocratic?

Wed, Jul 11, 2018

Its examination system is famous for its rigour, but its quota system gives preference to the privileged

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