Columnists

Meghnad Desai

Meghnad Desai loves to cook, watch and write about old Bollywood movies and shuttles between London, Delhi and Goa. He pursues controversies on economics, history and anything else which catches his attention. He is also a British parliamentarian sitting in the House of Lords. He has written over 25 books, over 200 articles in learned journals and hundreds of newspaper columns in UK and India.

Out of my mind: Myanmar, and an Asian atrocity

Sun, Dec 15, 2019

The astonishing thing is that the case has been brought by Gambia. Not by any neighbouring Asian nation. Not Malaysia nor Indonesia nor Pakistan.

Can UK bear more of Brexit debate?

Thu, Dec 12, 2019

The Conservative Party has been deeply divided over the Brexit question, but right now Johnson is asking for a large vote ‘to get Brexit done’. He has negotiated a deal and he needs a comfortable majority to get it through the House of Commons.

Modi 2.0 and Mumbai’s jugaad politics

Sun, Dec 01, 2019

There is a glaring lack of interest in the fortunes of the economy, which was the central focus in Modi 1.0. Has Modi 2.0 abandoned Sabka Vikas?

Out of my mind: Whither the Hindu Rashtra?

Sun, Nov 24, 2019

From the proceedings in Maharashtra, there are deeper conclusions to be drawn. If two Hindu nationalist parties cannot agree on a power-sharing coalition because of the Brahmin/non-Brahmin difference, what hope is there for a Hindu Rashtra?

Out of My Mind: What would reverberate is for the VHP to say sorry for destruction of Babri Masjid

Sun, Nov 17, 2019

The beauty of the present judgment is that it accommodates the realities of power with requirements of legality in a way which bequeaths a legitimacy which is conducive to public peace if not harmony.

Out of My Mind | Dilli Chhodo: Time for a new Capital

Sun, Nov 10, 2019

The Republic of India has the most extensive territory, larger than any previous Empire it has seen — Hindu, Afghan, Mughal or British.

Out of my mind: Govt’s dozen own goals on Kashmir

Sun, Nov 03, 2019

The episode involving the European Parliamentarians shows that the government does not believe in its own propaganda that all is well.

Recent elections show that Indian democracy is alive and well and kicking

Sun, Oct 27, 2019

Certain things are clear. Never take the voters for granted. Voters know not only how to use their vote but also how to lie to pollsters.

India and its politicians exist in a goldfish bowl acutely aware of Western gaze

Sun, Oct 20, 2019

A recent example of this sensitivity to Western opinion came when the British Labour Party passed a resolution on Kashmir. It was critical of the Modi government.

Boris Johnson’s Brexit troubles are not over

Sat, Oct 19, 2019

It has been a tense few days and the coming days will be even more so. Boris Johnson has to bring the deal to the House of Commons, persuade Parliament to support it.

Have the courage to remove or at least reform the IPC

Sun, Oct 13, 2019

English laws were to be used to keep Indians in order. The British rulers never understood their subjects — the mob as they called it. They needed someone to fashion tools for keeping Indians in order.

Brexit: The fruits of a partition

Sun, Oct 06, 2019

It was alright for England, Scotland and Wales — Great Britain — to leave the European Union and get out of the Customs Union and the Single Market. But what of Northern Ireland, which shared the island with the Republic which wanted to remain in the EU?