The Tamil Nadu or Uttar Pradesh model: What lies ahead for India in 2019?

An exploration of how the two states diverged over 25 years and what that means for the upcoming general elections.

Samar Halarnkar

· Feb 07, 2019 · 08:00 am

The rehabilitation of SRP Kalluri, and why the Congress is edging towards the wrong side of history

Rahul Gandhi’s party is doing to the BJP what the BJP did to the Congress. If it doesn’t show courage to go beyond, its resurgence will fade.

Samar Halarnkar

· Jan 05, 2019 · 08:00 am

No Amit Shah, the ‘entire country’ does not want a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya

The BJP may survive its politics of hype and hate, but a school concert reminds us why hope must endure.

Samar Halarnkar

· Dec 23, 2018 · 08:00 am

Why a honorarium for priests is more newsworthy than the fate of India’s farmers

Mainstream Indian media are now given to majoritarian bias, pro-government propaganda and outright lies. As it slips away, press freedom will be hard to regain.

Samar Halarnkar

· Dec 02, 2018 · 08:00 am

Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Sabarimala: BJP’s Hindutva distractions are harming India’s national interest

A spree of renaming cities with Muslim-sounding names cements the BJP’s electoral shift from economic to religious issues and reveals its growing insecurity.

Samar Halarnkar

· Nov 11, 2018 · 08:00 am

My wife faces a union minister, his 97 lawyers. It takes special courage to do that

The consequences of sexual harassment have fallen entirely on India’s women. The men must step up or step aside.

Samar Halarnkar

· Oct 16, 2018 · 08:00 am

In India of 2018, the bizarre becomes policy and jokes invite police action. Try not to laugh

Politics and police are fast-tracking the country into an era of competitive absurdity, with serious consequences.

Samar Halarnkar

· Sep 23, 2018 · 08:00 am

Constitution must dictate India’s fate, not popular morality of politicians, society and terrorists

As radical Hinduism grows and mimics radical Islam, the Supreme Court verdict on homosexuality offers a larger reminder to the republic.

Samar Halarnkar

· Sep 08, 2018 · 08:00 am

Empowered, emboldened and weaponised, India’s roving mobs flourish under state patronage

If the majority believes it is above the law, India is at risk of transiting from flailing to failed state.

Samar Halarnkar

· Aug 11, 2018 · 08:00 am

Secular Indians should be shot, says BJP MLA, vanguard of the new India

The day to create a new creed of nationalist intellectualism and proclaim a new breed of nationalist intellectual is here.

Samar Halarnkar

· Jul 28, 2018 · 08:00 am

The suicide of S Subramani and the tragedy of Indian governance

To an insecure, marginalised army of frontline workers – constables, sweepers, teachers, health workers – falls the task of changing India.

Samar Halarnkar

· Jul 15, 2018 · 08:00 am

Zero Day looms as India consumes, poisons and wastes more water than any nation on earth

The government just issued a dire warning of looming shortages. But it’s the government that needs to listen.

Samar Halarnkar

· Jul 01, 2018 · 08:00 am