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.
Authors you can follow
More From Meghnad Desai
No reason why citizens should not take up the task of debating Constitutional reform
It is the right and duty of citizens to reclaim their original freedoms as it is more than unlikely that governments of any political party which benefit from their power over citizens will renounce their privilege.
Sun, Jul 26, 2020
Ram Manohar Lohia was right. The Congress is the problem
Nothing will be done to prevent it. Neither by the push me-pull you Rahul Gandhi nor by the longest serving Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Sun, Jul 19, 2020
Modi can learn from Nehru what not to do
Nehru was prime minister already before the 1952 election. His record of 17 years at the top is unlikely to be equalled by anyone. Not that Modi could not win a fourth election but Modi abides by Sangh Parivar discipline and will retire when he is 75 in 2025.
Sun, Jul 12, 2020
China has followed Deng’s rulebook by unilaterally breaking the Hong Kong Treaty
The Hong Kong Treaty was like Article 370. It was designed for international display. Now that the time has come, China has torn it up. The timing is important not just because China is more powerful.
Sun, Jul 05, 2020
Covid has exposed appalling weaknesses in our societies but soon other problems will take priority
In every country, the hospital facilities proved inadequate. The poor of all ages and races suffered. They will stay that way... Relax.
Sun, Jun 28, 2020
India-China: No conceivable solution, we must defend our people as much as territory
The Chinese feel that two centuries since the Opium war signalled its decline, it is now a powerful nation. It wants to be on top, the Middle Earth — as it believes it was. India never was a single Empire; not even the Mughals ruled over all of it.
Sun, Jun 21, 2020
Mahatma Gandhi has been denounced by several. But why racist?
Over his lifetime, Gandhi suffered a lot of abuse and even after his death, 72 years ago, the criticism has not stopped.
Sun, Jun 14, 2020
The plight of migrants would not have gone unchampioned had George Fernandes been around
Socialism in India has never looked after the poorer workers in the private informal sector. They are the overwhelming majority, but they do not count.
Sun, Jun 07, 2020
China’s war on India: Xi is playing for high stakes for another major plank in Chinese nationalism
Meghnad Desai writes: This time the China-India confrontation will not be an isolated affair with India friendless as in 1962. It will be part of a global (hopefully) Cold War.
Sun, May 31, 2020
When lockdown is over, bring workers back to their jobs but with free rail travel
Encourage local industries or work from home to harness women’s energy. The shramik has waited long enough. They deserve better.
Mon, May 25, 2020
It has taken the coronavirus crisis to bring out the radical in Modi
Modi has a spectacular second victory to his credit with a larger majority. He has nothing to fear from the Congress which has inflicted injury on itself.
Sun, May 17, 2020
The Centre will need to nurse the Constitution and India back to good health
The Centre is asymmetrically more powerful as it can impose curfew on any and every state. It also has much greater capacity to raise money despite the many Finance Commissions which have tried to devolve more revenue in a formulaic way.
Sun, May 10, 2020
Disruption of global supply chains during pandemic creates tremendous opportunities to reindustrialise India
Over the last 70-plus years, India has frittered chances to become a centre of manufacturing on the scale of other Asian countries.
Sun, May 03, 2020
Metros are the weak links against coronavirus pandemic
The metros are the weak links against the pandemic. While the chain from the Centre to state to panchayat is clear and backed by money flowing down, the municipalities are in an anomalous position.
Sun, Apr 26, 2020
Need a plan to help migrants
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed many weaknesses but the most noticeable is the plight of working people in the informal sector in urban areas, particularly metros, who are normally employed but with precarious livelihoods.
Sat, Apr 18, 2020
Friends say proudly that there is something unique about India and Indians
So far the number of deaths in India has remained small. There seems to be a wave of self-congratulations.
Sun, Apr 12, 2020
President Xi Jinping cared more for his reputation than to admit a crisis
Without exception, every leader has been caught unprepared. China took days to realise and then publicly admit that Wuhan had coronavirus infection.
Sun, Apr 05, 2020
Out of my mind: Amidst lockdown, poor need karuna
The poor cannot afford social distancing. If they cannot work in the metros, they have to flee to their rural homes.
Sun, Mar 29, 2020
British plan for judges way to go for Rajya Sabha?
It is interesting that the nomination of former chief justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha has raised doubts about the independence of the judiciary.
Sun, Mar 22, 2020
Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit seals Congress’ fate
The question now is why are Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tiwari, Gaurav Gogoi, Milind Deora, Sachin Pilot still wasting away in the Congress when all they can look forward to is Priyanka Vadra taking over since her brother does not fancy the job for which he was never elected.
Mon, Mar 16, 2020
India has multiple histories that are a fundamental part of its diversity
There are attempts to impose a single monistic structure on it but we can see the limitations of doing so. India is many, not one.
Sun, Mar 08, 2020
Why Delhi CM should be in charge of police
One thing is clear. Delhi cannot go on having a dual government. Make it a state so the Chief Minister can take charge of security. The Central government is too remote.
Sun, Mar 01, 2020
Donald Trump put on a good show for PM Narendra Modi
If India is to be one of the richest nations, it has to fashion trade deals. Modi may yet be the prime minister who liberates the Indian economy from its old shackles of protectionism and makes it as large and nearly as prosperous as the US economy. He can if he uses his friend Donald Trump well.
Wed, Feb 26, 2020
Meghnad Desai writes: India doesn’t need a single story of nationhood
India is a civilisation. It does not need a single story of its Nationhood. India is large enough to accommodate many stories of Nationhood. Indeed each linguistic region has its own story of Nationhood. That is its strength. The task is to weave these multiple regional stories into a rich garland that is India.
Sun, Feb 23, 2020
Meghnad Desai writes: Why Kejriwal win is a game changer
Arvind Kejriwal ran an astute campaign for Delhi elections which did not allow the BJP to distract voters from the solid achievements of the Aam Aadmi Party in delivering public services. He did not fight PM Narendra Modi on the CAA, and treated it as irrelevant for Delhi polls.
Sun, Feb 16, 2020