Swapan Dasgupta
Opposition can learn from Naveen Patnaik’s bipartisan ways
Despite facing electoral defeat, Winston Churchill, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and now Patnaik have emerged as national heroes with enduring legacies because they chose to put national interest before political advantage
Why Modi doesn't really need a makeover
Even though some of the more radical facets of his agenda will probably have to be put on the backburner, Modi will be misreading the verdict if he chooses to reinvent himself dramatically
Don’t read too much into market jitters, turnout
The logic of the 2024 verdict will inevitably be understood in hindsight. However, experience (and archival evidence) suggests that the magnitude of most electoral waves has escaped media comprehension. This includes the landmark elections of 1977, 1984 and 2014.
Pannun: Western outrage shouldn’t touch RAW nerve
Had Operation Pannun not failed, the matter would have been forgotten in the US since pro-Khalistan Sikhs are relatively insignificant there
Western media’s already out to undermine legitimacy of a Modi win
In the past, the foreign media had periodically riled govts — Indira Gandhi barely tolerated their presence — but, today, Modi sarkar’s impatience with western media is shared by a sizable section of India’s middle classes. It just doesn’t correspond with their own lived experience
Is baar, Vindhya paar? Anti-Hindi wall coming down
To reach its '400 paar' ambitions, BJP must achieve breakthroughs in eastern and southern India. While critics has said the party's focus on Hindi would stand in the way, these criticisms are overstated
With opposition vocal for local, BJP should think supra-national
It is becoming increasingly clear that in many states, particularly where opposition parties control the government, the battle will be fought on two sharply divergent perceptions of parliamentary politics
Can BJP’s southern push make it a pan-India force? This election will be a test
In this year’s election, Modi is much more than a national figure. He has acquired a cult-like status. To what extent 2024 will witness a Modi referendum will become clear after the results
- Swapan Dasgupta
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Sandeshkhali: Bengal’s bahubali is a throwback to an earlier era
Having fulfilled his obligations to the political masters, Sheikh Shahjahan was allowed control over the local police and civil administration.
Temple effect? More allies may do a BJP wapsi
Time to read the tea leaves after the Ayodhya temple inauguration
INDIA alliance: Parties wake up to its fragility
The motivation of some regional parties to go with a Congress-led formation appears to be waning after the assembly election results
Ayodhya: Congress boycott sends clear message
Instead of re-establishing links with Hindu nationalism, Congress seems to have acted with an eye to its minority votebank
Kashmir to Ayodhya, how Modi changed the national mood
Previously, many core BJP voters and even some within the party believed that its Hindu credentials was strictly an electoral exercise. The Modi government has quite dramatically narrowed the gap between what was once regarded as ideological posturing and statecraft
What 1971 saga tells us about Kissinger’s approach to global chess game
Henry Kissinger was only too mindful that in the global chess game, there are never permanent enemies and that, in the ultimate analysis, what matters is the security and prosperity of your own country
Polls loom but old fault lines still haunt Bangladesh
US backing has only emboldened the Opposition in Bangladesh, which is set on a boycott of the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held on January 7, 2024
Lessons India learnt from Kandahar and can learn from Gaza
For India, Kandahar was nothing short of shameful capitulation resulting from a loss of nerve. It is reassuring that the lessons of this humiliation were learnt after 2014
PM don’t preach: Stand on Hamas attack shows change in India’s foreign policy
The blind hatred of Israel that was a feature of official foreign policy in the past has been replaced by the clear understanding that close ties with Israel are in India’s self-interest
Why India should stand by Sheikh Hasina on new US visa policy
Washington's new policy of denying US visas to any Bangladeshi individual believed to be "responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process", encourages opponents of Sheikh Hasina and constitutes interference
Trudeau exposes Canada’s double standards on terror
Did Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau want to shift focus from his party’s China links?
Bharat-India controversy is much more than a trivial tussle over names
A re-invigorated, developed Bharat holds out greater excitement than an India that is modern but indistinguishable
- Swapan Dasgupta
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM