In an age where a film is declared a hit or a flop on the first weekend’s performance, politicians too are finding their ratings being judged in a compressed timeframe. Narendra Modi was elected prime minister for five years, but he has already had to go through a series of early tests: 100 days, 200 and then 300 days, now his impending first year anniversary have all become occasions for the media to rate his performance. It is almost as if he is facing a constant agni-pariksha.
They can be insensitive at times, but television news channels are still seen as the first information report for news
This is, it seems, open season for name calling against the media. The Union minister and former army chief, General VK Singh, describes journalists as ‘presstitutes’.
On the night before India’s World Cup semi-finals with Australia, I innocently tweeted: ‘Heart with India, head with Australia.’ Within minutes, followers on my twitter account were enraged.
Almost every political party in India is run by a family or an individual. To have expected AAP to be different was just an illusion, Rajdeep Sardesia writes.
Rahul Gandhi’s political career has been a case-study in never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity
Kejriwal’s win in Delhi has dented Modi’s invincibility, but it is too soon for him to become a rallying point for anti-BJP forces.
The contrasting moods suggest that the 2015 Delhi elections are reflective of a growing class divide. Upper income groups seem to be drawn to the BJP while the poorer sections of society are attracted to AAP, writes Rajdeep Sardesai
The success of a Kejriwal or a Bedi will offer hope to the many skilled professionals who might want to take the plunge into formal politics but are wary of being eased out by an unethical, non-meritocratic old order.
Both Modi and Dhoni would probably be seen as the ultimate icons of the neo-middle class. The problem at times is that this class isn’t concerned about the means but only focuses on the end result, writes Rajdeep Sardesai.
The decision by the Narendra Modi government to declare Christmas as ‘Good Governance Day’ troubles me: It is a completely unnecessary attempt to confuse the spirit of a festive occasion with political symbolism, writes Rajdeep Sardesai.
The rest of India can be won by the promise of good governance; Kashmir needs genuine ‘insaniyat’. Empathy must go beyond symbolic gestures, writes Rajdeep Sardesai.
Is ‘conflict of interest’ really a concept that is taken seriously enough, or is BCCI president-in-exile N Srinivasan simply symbolic of a deeper malaise in public life? Asks Rajdeep Sardesai.
It is possible to express a measure of caste pride in harmless ways without expecting it to reap dividends in today’s meritocratic world. Rajdeep Sardesai writes.
The Congress has not reckoned with the kind of politician Narendra Modi is and it seems to be nursing the illusion that power is cyclical and eventually the wheel of political fortune will turn in its favour, writes Rajdeep Sardesai.
