random thoughts

 The appointment of BJP’s Rekha Gupta as Delhi’s Chief Minister, replacing AAP’s Atishi, marks a significant shift in Indian politics. Since the Delhi Legislative Assembly was established in 1993, women have dominated the capital- Sushma Swaraj in 1996-98 and Sheila Dikshit 1998-2003-2008. Given Delhi’s unique status, where governance is directly influenced by the Central government, women politicians have often remained on the sidelines, securing occasional cabinet positions but rarely being considered for the highest office. However, with the Women’s Reservation Bill set to take effect in the 2029 general elections, this reality may be on the verge of change. For decades, political parties have made lofty promises about ensuring women’s representation. Yet, when election tickets are distributed, winnability becomes the sole criterion, often sidelining women. Rekha Gupta’s appointment makes her only the second female chief minister in India today, alongside West Bengal’s Mamata Ba...

The NDA is back for a consecutive third term and PM Modi is only the second prime minister to win three successive terms as leader of the ruling party. Much has been written about the kind of victory the BJP-led NDA secured in the 2024 Parliamentary election. BJP depends on two regional parties, JDU and Telugu Desam, for a stable government. BJP will not be able to further its Hindutva ideology through legislation like the Uniform Civil Code. At the same time, the BJP has a five-year tenure to rectify some of the mistakes and be in a poll position for the 2029 election.  The recent budget is indicative of this strategy to win back the lost groups and aim for a majority in the next election. The first full budget of the new government showered large on the middle class, once seen as the support base of the BJP. It had its immediate impact on the Delhi Assembly elections, where the BJP came back to power after 27 years ousting the AAP government. The breakdown of the INDIA allia...

The Club of Hindi and Urdu Poets (CHUP) at Christ University, Bangalore organised the annual Sham-e-Gazal night on 25th February 2025 in the main auditorium, Central Campus. One by one, poets took the stage—some sang, others recited—bringing their verses to life. Urdu and Hindi, often unjustly viewed as symbols of religious division, intertwined effortlessly in the voices of the performers, creating a shared space of artistic expression. The words of Allama Iqbal came to mind:  "Kaahil baste rahe, Hindustan banta raha" (The idle kept settling, and Hindustan kept being built).  Poet Raghupati Sahay, popularly known to the world of poetry as Firaq Gorakhpuri imbibed the spirit of Hindustan. He was an English professor, who wrote mostly in Urdu and in Hindi. Throughout his life, he tried to dispel the notion that a language is linked to one religion but belongs to anyone who learnt and spoke the language. Yet, the legacy of Partition has fueled the mistaken belief that Urdu belo...

 The media very extensively showed us the atrocities committed by Hamas on Israeli citizens inside Israel on 7 October 2023. The next few days the media and I mean mostly the Western media CNN and BBC in particular, had only the story from the Israeli side and justifibily so. This narrative of being the victim was then used by Israel to launch an air-based retaliation into Gaza. So far 10,500 people have died most of them civilians in the so-called targeted bombardment of Gaza by IDF. The Western countries that took very little time to come to the support and aid of Israel are slow in condemning and pressurising Israel to stop the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza. Israel has never differentiated between the militant Palestinians and civilians when it retaliates. We have history to recall- the massacre of innocent Palestinians in Lebanese refugee camps in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon by Israel. Israel was never brought to justice for the war crimes as the US vetoed any attempt ...

 No price is big enough to have an unfettered voice. But $44 Billion to use Twitter as a personal megaphone is the limit. There are some who welcome Elon Musk buying Twitter as he is all for allowing unmoderated messaging on the world's most popular common digital town square. Social media, and before that internet, ushered in the most democratic digital space for humanity. Old media was all about mediated communication, the new media would be different and allow anyone with anything to say a free voice. Slowly, but surely, politicians of all hues and interest groups started to highjack the social media for their own narrow ends. Yes, now and then, we did have the Jasmine Revolution and Black Lives Matter campaigns enabled by and through social media. But one also saw extremist organisations and groups deluge the platforms with hate and personal attacks. Ultimately, social media, and in particular Twitter is a media platform and it is us, the people, who give it character and subst...

 AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal is on a roll. With the success in Punjab, well deserved at that, behind him, Kejriwal is truly expressing national ambitions. In conversation with Sanket Upadhyay on NDTV Townhall on 16th September 2022, Kejriwal made it very clear that AAP wants to win the next general election on its own. His aversion to coalition or even working with other opposition parties was amply articulated. Negotiating some tough questions, Kejriwal showed his true self. He not only looks like the politicians he despices but is increasingly talking their language. With couple of successes in Delhi behind, Kejriwal ably glossed over some sharp criticism of his style of functioning and the ability of AAP to rely only on providing a few, but important, services as the basis for national alternative. There is a need for an alternative at the national level. Two party system is important for a functional democracy. No true opposition at the centre has been a bane for democratic fun...