Tavleen Singh
Tavleen Singh, a leading Columnist associated with The Indian Express. Find all Columns from Tavleen Singh here.
Articles By Tavleen Singh
Political instability in Karnataka and Goa is more dangerous for BJP than Congress
If the Prime Minister is sincere about creating a new India, then he will have to create a new political culture. It should be one in which defectors are not welcomed into the BJP as if they were heroes.
Rahul Gandhi ran a lousy election campaign behaving like an entitled prince trying to oust a usurper
The truth is that the Congress party did not offer Indian voters anything other than an entitled prince and princess who hoped to win only by exalting the ‘charisma’ of a Dynasty that has ruled too long.
Fifth column: I wish PM Modi had pointed out that without rule of law there can be no democracy
The vigilantes have mostly got away with what they did. Inevitably, now that Narendra Modi’s mandate is bigger than the one that he got last time, many of his supporters see it is as sanction for them to carry on with their violent activities.
If bad old habits continue in ‘new India’, there will be no new India
What is no longer acceptable is that our politicians and high officials should be permitted criminal neglect of government health services, simply because they never have to use them.
It’s time opposition tried to address what actually happened this general election
If they want to survive to fight another day it is time our opposition leaders tried to address what actually happened. The Prime Minister described it in one of his speeches as the triumph of chemistry over arithmetic and there was a bit of that.
Fifth column: Signs of hope in Kashmir?
This is as good a time as any for the Prime Minister to make a serious effort at bringing peace to the Valley. Not only because there is fatigue evident in the militancy but because Pakistan is broke.
Advice for the Congress
I offer it only because I believe that democracy without a strong opposition party causes more harm than good. Narendra Modi may truly have a spiritual strength that will prevent absolute power from going to his head, but it is too risky to bet on this.
No revival of that old order: The idea of India in which there are privileges and not rights is dead
The past five years have been difficult for India’s ruling elite. High officials, famous writers, editors of English newspapers, celebrated TV anchors, heirs of political dynasties, leftists and liberals have found their importance diminish by the day.
If Modi returns to power, he might have to drop the Hindutva project
Ordinary Indian voters do not see Narendra Modi as wicked. They believe it is because of him that such things as toilets, gas connections and loans to build homes have become available to them.
If Modi becomes PM again, it will have a lot to do with Congress misjudging the national mood
There was a time when the Gandhis could win elections on their vaunted charisma. That time has gone.
Most foreign correspondents see India through the lens of a Delhi drawing room
Modi has brought with him some very nasty Hindutva leaders, and if he wins again, he should get rid of them. But, he has also given a voice to Indians who do not speak a word of English and who have never put a foot in those rarefied spaces where India’s levers of political power exist.
Worrying to see how Rahul has turned his campaign into a war between rich and poor Indians
You could vote for those who have ruled India (badly) for more than half a century or you could vote for a man who continues to promise change and prosperity.
Fifth column: Giving Sadhvi Pragya a ticket to enter public life is puzzling and wrong
In a more enlightened time, Sadhvi Pragya would not have been allowed to ‘preach religion’, leave alone be a member of the Lok Sabha. So to give her a ticket to enter public life is puzzling and wrong.
Fifth column: Modi’s good deeds forgotten by the hate his associates often spread
There are many former believers in Modi who have lost faith in him, and their reasons for losing faith are economic. The World Bank may rank India as a country that has become one in which it is easier to do business, but on the ground this appears somehow to have got lost in translation.
Fifth column: Rahul Gandhi has behaved as if a usurper had stolen his birthright
What is that old saying about great arrogance coming before a great fall? Whatever it is, somebody needs to whisper it in the ear of Rahul Gandhi, the man who hopes to be prime minister next month.
Fifth Column: If Rahul Gandhi believes his NYAY is going to make a difference, he is wrong
Taxpayers will pay Rs 3.6 lakh crore extra to support the NYAY scheme that some describe as ‘Gareebi Hatao 2.0’. Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother launched the first version of this scheme in 1971 and won a spectacular victory in the general election that year.
Fifth column: No justice yet for Pehlu Khan
Democracy is not possible without the rule of law. We must hope that Modi remembers this if he becomes prime minister again.
Where is the Rafale bribe money?
It is not just the Air Force that struggles along without the modernisation it needs. The Army and Navy fare no better. During the Kargil War, we found to our horror that the Army did not have enough coffins to bring dead soldiers back from that mountainous battlefield.
A suicidal Opposition?
The media is entitled to express different points of view. But, for senior Indian political leaders to start sowing horrible doubts about the nature of the Indian State should disqualify them from being in public life.
Fifth column: Well done, PM Modi
So I am proud of what the Indian Air Force did last week and congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his courageous decision to allow a military response. But, a little annoyed that the Modi government has let the narrative slip out of its hands.
