Sep 26, 2022What does a contest for the Congress President position mean for democracy?Amidst the turmoil in Rajasthan, the question of who will become the Congress President has become more intriguing. Before stepping down as Congress President, Rahul Gandhi had entrusted a group of people to search for a new Congress President. This was mentioned in his earnest resignation letter. Three years on…Congress4 min readCongress4 min read
Published in India Centre·Sep 3, 2022Post INS Vikrant, why India needs its second indigenous aircraft carrier soon.The commissioning of INS Vikrant — India’s Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) marks a red letter day in India’s military history. It is a tribute to two decades of hard work of thousands of workers, engineers, and shipbuilders of the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) against several odds. …Ins Vikrant4 min readIns Vikrant4 min read
Published in India Centre·Jan 30, 2021Going Local to Solve the Urban Water Crisis6 lakh households in Delhi do not have safely managed water within their premises. This figure is based on the latest socio-economic survey (2019) by the Delhi government. Most of these households have to buy water through water tankers, with their women standing in long queues and have to pay…Water4 min readWater4 min read
Sep 26, 2020Amidst pandemic crisis, why Indian economy misses Dr Manmohan SinghIndia is going through tough times. The pandemic is raging. Economic distress is in its prime. Some commentators are attributing more than the deserved share of the economic mess to COVID-19 and the stringent lockdown which we have implemented. But that’s not the case. The economy has had at least…Dr Manmohan Singh4 min readDr Manmohan Singh4 min read
Published in Indian National Interest·Jul 22, 2020Lateral Entry should be Ingrained in India’s Public ServiceLateral entry in civil services is a welcome step as long as the process is transparent, merit-based and not done based on political connections. Lateral entry is especially needed in fields of administration which entail specific domain expertise. — The Indian State is generally considered weak in state capacity. Many have argued that this gap in state capacity can be bridged by ‘lateral entries’[i]. Many factors led to the demand for more ‘open’ system and a push for lateral entry. First, economic reforms in 1991 and the change in…India6 min readIndia6 min read
Published in India Centre·May 20, 2020Farmers need support before getting free.Free our farmers. They can help us absorb the impact on COVID- 19. Freeing here means remove the bottlenecks in their supply chain. Yes. The same ‘supply chain’ which the Prime Minister mentioned 9 times in his speech on 12th May. Following it, Finance Minister announced the creation of ‘Rs…India5 min readIndia5 min read
Apr 13, 2020The grammar of anarchyExcerpts from the Constituent Assembly speech by Dr B.R. Ambedkar on Friday, the 25th November, 1949. As much defence as could be offered to the Constitution has been offered by my friends Sir Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar and Mr T T Krishnamachari, I shall not therefore enter into the merits of…Ambedkar12 min readAmbedkar12 min read
Published in India Centre·Feb 29, 2020Riots and RajadharmaThis piece was published on Wion News with a different headline. Delhi burnt and almost all our policymakers failed us. ‘Rajadharma’ is the construct often abused in modern Indian polity. The notion of Rajadharma in the ancient Indian political traditions, as a normative yardstick to evaluate governance, has always been…Delhi4 min readDelhi4 min read
Published in India Centre·Feb 29, 2020Protests in the times of Internet shutdownsThis piece was published on Wion News on 1.01.2020 This year, India has earned the dubious distinction of shutting down the internet and communication services for the largest chunk of global population and for the longest period of time. Recent media reports have indicated that India was home to 67%…Internet Shutdowns6 min readInternet Shutdowns6 min read
Published in India Centre·Feb 25, 2020Member-onlyWill Trump-Modi bonhomie result in freer trade?A redacted version of this article was published at CNNNews18 Blog here. U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to India comes as an extension of the process of strategic partnership started by George W Bush and Barack Obama. With the Chinese economy hitting a rough patch and the Indo-US trade relations…Narendra Modi4 min readNarendra Modi4 min read
