Today’s Hindu carries an op-ed by Vishnu V. Shankar on the subject mentioned in the title. Here is how he begins: What connects Captain Preston, Kehar Singh, Saddam Hussein, Manu Sharma, and Salim Hamdan? Besides …
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Caste and Economic Discrimination: A Few Comments
This is a belated commentary on the series of studies on the relationship between caste and economic discrimination in the Indian urban labor market conducted by Sukhdeo Thorat, Katherine Newman and others that was published …
Continue readingNon-Nativist Exclusion: A non-debate in India
I just read an interesting post by Sandy Levinson on the blog, Balkinization on Nativism and the American Right. Levinson endorses abolishing the American Constitutional provision that the President and Vice President shall be a …
Continue readingHarish Khare’s lessons from Pakistan Continued: A Perspective
Mr.Thiruvengadam, in a previous post, brought to attention a recent op-ed in the Hindu by Harish Khare on the lessons that constitutional actors in India can learn from the recent turmoil in Pakistan. Mr.Venkatesan, in …
Continue readingFocus on Nandigram
Events in Nandigram and Kolkata over the past year (and especially the last fortnight) reveal much about conflicting conceptions about the rule of law and governance in contemporary India. It is impossible to provide the …
Continue readingMr.Harish Khare’s simple lessons from Pakistan & the risk of over-simplification
Mr.Harish Khare’s op-ed piece has stirred a lively debate on our blog. I hope to carry it forward by expressing my unease over this analysis, which has seemingly been endorsed by Arun and Dilip. Mr.Khare …
Continue readingWhen a Tree Shook Delhi
I have just finished reading the book, When a tree shook Delhi: the 1984 carnage and its aftermath by Manoj Mitta and H.S.Phoolka (Roli Books, 2007). The book serves the useful purpose of bringing together …
Continue readingFrank Rich does a Harish Khare
I have been struck by how closely the global media is tracking the developing story in Pakistan, and how so many commentators in different parts of the world believe that events in that nation have …
Continue readingKarnataka circus: Lessons on the use of Article 356
Now that President’s rule has been revoked in Karnataka, to facilitate the assumption of office by the BJP-led Government, it is perhaps time to look back and examine how the events ought to have evolved. …
Continue readingThe Insufficiency of Economic Growth
Today’s Economic Times carries an article by Sunil Khilnani that raises serious questions about India’s increasing focus towards economic growth to the exclusion of other important concerns. He argues that India’s unity and social justice …
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