Columnists

Christophe Jaffrelot

Christophe Jaffrelot is senior research fellow at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris, professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at King's India Institute, London, and non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He offers valuable insights on South Asian politics, particularly the methods and motivations of the Hindu right in India.

US-Iran crisis is pushing India to clarify its stand. But ambiguity may be a more comfortable position

Wed, Jan 15, 2020

It is very likely that India is now taking the side of the US against Iran, with the blessings of Israel and Saudi Arabia which is becoming an important partner and investor along with the UAE. In this context, Iran may turn to China more actively.

Ahimsa 2.0: Subcontinent is witnessing revival of non-violent movements, to protect constitutional values

Sat, Dec 28, 2019

The first challenge that a non-violent protest faces, always, is to remain non-violent in the face of repression and activities of agents provocateurs.

Citizenship law, proposed nation-wide NRC will revise conception of group rights in India

Thu, Dec 12, 2019

A nation-wide combination of the CAB and NRC will mark India as the natural habitat of Hindus while deriding some Muslims as “foreigners”. Indians will be called Indians not only on territorial grounds but also on ethno-racial and religious lines.

BJP has been effective in transmitting its version of Indian history to next generation of learners

Sat, Nov 16, 2019

Will the Congress government re-rewrite the history textbooks of Rajasthan, or is the Hindu nationalist version bound to prevail? And if one more version of India’s history is produced, in the context of the political narrative in India today, will it have any impact on the next generation of learners?

On socio-economic indicators, Muslim youth fare worse than SCs and OBCs

Fri, Nov 01, 2019

The percentage of youth who are currently enrolled in educational institutions is the lowest among Muslims. Only 39% of the community in the age group of 15-24 are enrolled against 44% for SCs, 51% for Hindu OBCs and 59% for Hindu upper castes.

There is a contradiction in trying to attract foreign investors before reforming labour, land acquisition laws

Thu, Oct 17, 2019

Why has Make in India failed to deliver? First, a large fraction of the Indian FDI is neither foreign nor direct but comes from Mauritius-based shell companies. Second, the productivity of Indian factories is low.

Bank mergers don’t address crux of crisis: The nexus between lenders, borrowers and election funding

Wed, Sep 25, 2019

To understand what is at stake in the NPA story, one needs first to understand why the public sector banks lent so much money to companies which are today unable to pay it back.

The problem of skilling India

Sat, Sep 07, 2019

India’s employment crisis calls for more government expenditure in education, adequate training.

Caste politics is being reinvigorated by actors who traditionally opposed it

Thu, Aug 22, 2019

The BJP is implementing it at the time of candidate selection and in expanding caste-based reservations. The judiciary is making it easier by relaxing aspects of past jurisprudence.

Current paradigm shift in J&K is in tune with the steady centralisation of the state since 2014

Wed, Aug 07, 2019

The two trends — obliteration of cultural differences and state centralisation — that are well illustrated by the way J&K has been dealt with, may impact policies vis-à-vis other states and other domains. For instance, Hindi may be promoted at the expense of linguistic diversity more decisively.

Delhi to Tehran via US

Fri, Jul 12, 2019

India’s gameplan in Iran-Afghanistan has been damaged because of the Trump administration’s strategy

Terms of estrangement

Wed, Jul 03, 2019

India-US tensions are fuelled by rise of national-populism in both, Delhi’s policy of multi-alignment

One man show

Fri, Jun 21, 2019

In long run, BJP’s dependence on PM Modi can hurt the party, contribute to erosion of federalism

Madhya Pradesh: In bettering 2014 showing, BJP kept out ‘dynasts’, leveraged central schemes

Tue, Jun 04, 2019

For the Congress, an immediate challenge is to ensure the stability of its government in the state. Its huge Lok Sabha majority and clear hegemonic aspirations could lead the BJP to try to get the support of additional MLAs to pull down Kamal Nath’s government.

Months after Vasundhara Raje ceded Assembly, how BJP swept all LS seats again

Mon, Jun 03, 2019

Rajasthan, however, presents a curious case. In the December 2018 Vidhan Sabha (VS) elections, the Congress made a strong comeback, and formed the government in the state with the help of the BSP’s two seats.

Breaking down the Gujarat verdict: How regional pride, nationalism made Modi-Shah even stronger on home turf

Wed, May 29, 2019

Post-Pulwama air strikes and the pride of having a Gujarati PM and his trusted aide Shah in Parliament, coupled with nationalistic sentiments mattered more in this election than local concerns over drinking and irrigation water, as well as job crisis.

Explained: Why so many MPs are dynasts

Mon, May 27, 2019

A record 30% of the new Lok Sabha MPs belong to political families. Among states, Punjab and Bihar have the highest proportions of dynastic MPs. Among parties, Congress remains the most dynastic but BJP is catching up, while CPM is the least dynastic. Two political scientists examine the trends and reasons

Explained: In Hindi heartland, upper castes dominate new Lok Sabha

Mon, May 27, 2019

Election results decoded: The last decade has seen the return of the upper castes and the erosion of OBC representation.

Election results invite questions for liberals. Worldwide, they lack their rivals’ discipline

Fri, May 24, 2019

Liberals are facing similar problems elsewhere: they lack the discipline of their rivals and before they realise that they should close ranks, the populists have changed the rules of the game for good – or for the span of time during which the strongman is in command.

BJP’s move to field Pragya Thakur in Bhopal underlines an ominous political paradigm shift

Sat, May 11, 2019

How do we explain the shift in democratic politics when those arrested on charges of terrorism and out on bail are now beginning to contest elections? What sort of a moral force are they able to wield?

Opinion & Edits