WHEN I referred to the hypocrisy of the poll pundits in a previous post in the context of U.P. election analysis, some blogger friends could not understand whom I am against: voters, analysts, or parties/candidates? …
Continue readingCategory: Uncategorized
BSP’s SPECTACULAR VICTORY: SOME POINTERS
Among other things, there are two significant pointers I find noticeable from the BSP’s spectacular victory in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. One is that the party’s victory based on its appeal to caste identities should …
Continue readingU.P. ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS: SOME THOUGHTS ON ELECTION ANALYSIS
Even as the television channels vie with one another to make sense of the electoral outcome in Uttar Pradesh, the hypocrisy of all that goes under the label ‘election analysis’ is apparent. The Election Law …
Continue readingE.C.’s Symbols Order, the BJP and the turmoil in the DMK
The Election Commission is in a self-congratulatory mode, after the “successful” and “peaceful” conclusion of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. The Chief Election Commissioner is now in the limelight giving interviews to the media one after …
Continue readingPresidents and conventions: History revisited
In my last post, I suggested that the long string of precedents after Rajendra Prasad’s second term as President, limiting the terms of Prasad’s successors to one, cannot be called a convention, because there has …
Continue readingSearing critique of an ongoing slum clearance drive in Delhi
Yesterday’s edition of the Hindustan Times featured a biting indictment of the slum clearance policies of the Delhi government as well as recent orders issued by the Delhi High Court. Authored by Bela Bhatia of …
Continue readingA critique of the Maintenance of Parents Bill 2007
On Saturday, the Indian Express carried a critique of the UPA government’s Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Bill 2007, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March. M. R. Madhavan, who …
Continue readingPresident’s second term: The Myth of conventions
In his well-argued piece in The Hindu, Mr.Harish Khare elaborates that there has been a convention to deny a second term to the President, and that this ought to apply to the incumbent President, A.P.J.Abdul …
Continue readingThe EPW’s suggestions for resolving the Mandal II Impasse
A recent issue of Outlook magazine had this interesting piece, which asserted that the EPW’s influence on governmental policy-making is considerable. If true, this probably explains why EPW editorials, more than other newspapers, adopt a …
Continue readingPresident Kalam’s tenure: An unexplored episode
President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam finds himself in the midst of a debate whether he should seek a second term in office. I was one among those who was unhappy with the then NDA Government for having …
Continue reading