Columnists

Mani Shankar Aiyar

The writer is a former Union minister.

Why Atal Bihari Vajpayee remains Pakistan’s best-loved Indian Prime Minister

Sun, Jun 05, 2022

In her biography of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sagarika Ghose explores how despite his faith in his party’s Hindutva line, once in power, Atal Bihari Vajpayee remained in thrall to Jawaharlal Nehru’s idea of a pluralistic India

Congress should consider Prashant Kishor’s suggestions

Thu, May 05, 2022

Mani Shankar Aiyar writes: They are less rigid and self-assured than he might be personally.

Why it is timely to read Bhaswati Mukherjee’s fresh look into how Bengal negotiated Partition in ‘Bengal and its Partition: An Untold Story’

Sat, May 08, 2021

Mukherjee puts much of the blame for Partition on the weak negotiating capabilities of Jawaharlal Nehru, exonerating her bhadralok heroes who had laid the foundations of the second division of Bengal

Pranab Mukherjee had the ability to push opposing views towards common ground

Wed, Sep 02, 2020

It was this ability to carry no baggage and, above all, no resentment at having been wronged that Pranab Mukherjee exemplified and imparted to others.

To the extent that Congress letter-writers sought a hearing in party interest, they have prevailed

Thu, Aug 27, 2020

What needs to be stressed is that their proposals have been defeated but they live to fight another day. The proposals are so intrinsically sensible that they are bound to find at least partial acceptance.

Congress needs a hands-on leader who enjoys the confidence of the party

Wed, Jul 15, 2020

Congressmen have left Congress earlier. But they were different leaders, and it is not the same party

The panchayati front: Tap potential of local self-government to fight COVID-19

Wed, May 06, 2020

Mani Shankar Aiyar writes: Planning for withstanding the ingress of COVID-19 requires the full deployment of the mechanisms for district planning envisaged in Article 243 ZD involving all three tiers of the panchayats and the municipalities brought together in the district planning committee

How can this be right time not just to leave Congress but, worse, defecting to other side?

Mon, Mar 23, 2020

Congress is at long last rediscovering its voice. Congressmen should seize the moment — not defect to the other side.

‘United we stand, divided we fall’: Congress needs to make this tired old cliché its clarion call

Fri, Mar 06, 2020

Kerala's UDF and its rival LDF provide a template for surviving and taking of saffron forces. Both Fronts have stabilised their alliances by determining well in advance which constituencies the partners in the alliance will fight and which portfolios will go to which partner in the event of a coalition government being formed.

In Valley, a reality check: My trip to Srinagar laid bare a false narrative of normalcy

Sat, Feb 22, 2020

If, when I was in the foreign service, I had reported to my ambassador after such a trip that I had found “normalcy” in Srinagar, he would have recommended that my further promotions be frozen.

The Non-Alignment Man

Sun, Jan 05, 2020

An ‘archive rat’s’ account of the extraordinary life of V K Krishna Menon.

PM Modi cut his teeth in violent student movement, now he decries damage to public property

Fri, Jan 03, 2020

We are not told what these “tasks” were but we do know that “the agitation helped local leaders of the Rashtriya Swamsevak Sangh and its student organisation, ABVP, to establish themselves in politics.” Wikipedia helpfully adds, “Narendra Modi was one of them”.

Who are we to teach Kashmiris the virtues of democracy?

Mon, Aug 12, 2019

What is sought to be drowned out is the legacy of unflinching patriotism to India that the Kashmiri Muslim has displayed, first in being the only Muslim-majority concentration in undivided India to close their ears to the siren call of Pakistan.

Absent any direct dealings with Pakistan, the US insidiously becomes our intermediary

Thu, Jul 25, 2019

Modi has been lauding to the skies the US involvement at every crucial turn in Indo-Pak relations resulting in Trump thinking Modi is leading him up to finding a solution to a problem that “has been going on for many, many years”.

Sound the secular bugle

Tue, Jun 04, 2019

As the new government takes its oath of office, it is necessary to restore to public discourse the passionate advocacy and practice of secularism.

No Emergency Exit

Sat, Nov 17, 2018

Locating 1975 in the larger context of draconian colonial imports and how they strain Indian democracy even today

Treasured Epistles Book review: Between Friends

Sat, Sep 15, 2018

An enduring collection of correspondence between K Natwar Singh and his eclectic circle of friends that included Nirad C Chaudhuri, Indira Gandhi, RK Narayan and Mulk Raj Anand

Mixed Doubles

Sat, Jun 23, 2018

An exhaustive account of PN Haksar, who helped steer Indian diplomacy with then PM Indira Gandhi

The four year toll

Wed, Jun 06, 2018

BJP-led government might be good at coining acronyms but the people know that it has only marginally built on the legacy of Congress-led governments.

Panchayati raj at 25

Wed, Apr 25, 2018

Every state is progressing, some at snail’s pace, others leapfrogging. Much remains to be done.

‘Rank Odour of Hellfire’

Sat, Feb 03, 2018

The fates did not conspire to have Bhutto hanged. He brought it upon himself by the aggression and callousness of his politics

Missing a Nobel chance

Fri, Oct 13, 2017

The world no more acknowledges India as a major force for peace. It is seen as an also-ran in nuclear race

Border Dispatch

Sat, Aug 05, 2017

Meena Menon’s book explores conventional strands of terrorism but also delves into the daily-ness of the average Pakistani with much enthusiasm

Welcome home, Pranabda

Tue, Jul 25, 2017

Why the Congress party is the biggest gainer from Pranab Mukherjee leaving Rashtrapati Bhawan.