Chanakya Niti vs The Art of War: How India can tame the Dragon

June 27, 2020

Outsourcing by developed economies to China in search of low-cost manufacturing has actually created a “Frankenstein”. It is now clear that Chinese have been stealthily making chessboard moves to put India in a tight position -- both militarily and economically. Chinese are so swayed away by their inspiration of ancient...

Govt asks ventilator makers to indigenise spare parts

June 23, 2020

The Prime Minister’ Office (PMO) has directed Niti Aayog to explore ways and means of becoming self-sufficient in manufacturing of medical ventilators urgently required in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. Import of spare parts is leading to delay; therefore, there is a need to indigenise components required for making ventilators....

Beijing can be no substitute for Ayodhya-Janakpur links

June 20, 2020

The Global Times news dispatch -- that if India takes on China it would have to fight a threefront war -- is a gross misinterpretation of the actual situation. One could understand China counting on its all-weather friend, Pakistan. But it would be rather stupid on the part of China...

India needs to nurture civil society heroes at borders

June 13, 2020

Phunsukh Wangdu, the main protagonist of Bollywood blockbuster Three Idiots, was inspired by Sonam Wangchuk, the Ladakhi educationist. The film was released eleven years ago. While Sonam was quietly working in his region for decades, it took India 32 years to recognise him as an icon and civil society leader...

Convergence of Muslim and Leftist thoughts may lead to loss of identities

June 6, 2020

Convergence of Islamic political thought and Left-wing ideology is nothing new, it has been there for ages in several countries. In India too these two ideologies got along quite well for a mutually beneficial relationship in some states -- to name a few, West Bengal and Kerala. Of late, the...

Convert ‘Black Swan’ of migration into advantage

May 30, 2020

Sixty-seven years ago, legendary Bollywood actor Balraj Sahni played the role of a rickshawpuller in the film Do Bigah Zameen. Shambu Mahato, the rickshaw-puller, was forced to migrate to Calcutta to earn money and repay Rs 235 loan on his small piece of land in his native village. The critically...

Indian Muslims need to conquer their inhibitions

May 23, 2020

A few days ago, Allahabad High Court disposed of a PIL seeking permission to offer namaz in mosques on the day of Eid. The court while setting aside the matter observed that the petitioner should first exhaust all the remedies and approach the UP government for the requisite permission. This...

Reports of India paying US for ventilators wrong: BJP’s Chauthaiwale

May 20, 2020

The BJP has reacted sharply to the doubts surrounding the India-US friendship. This time the controversy is being created on 200 repurposed ventilators being donated by the US to India as a “goodwill gesture”. Vijay Chauthaiwale, the incharge of the BJP’ s foreign cell and overseas friends of BJP, in...

It’s time for India to redefine swadeshi

May 16, 2020

We cannot take an ostrich-like approach in competing world economy. Indians should have a choice to deciding on their favourite products. A person should have a choice on deciding between a Zodiac shirt over Celio or vice-versa. The spirit of Make in India should not be lost in overzealous nationalism....

Corona offers chance to bind Indians

May 9, 2020

The fear and foreboding which comes with Covid-19 also brings some great opportunities for us. As they say, every challenge is an opportunity. Today, we have many unforeseen opportunities waiting for us; we may take them or let go. The lockdown has brought several hardships to people but its flipside...