Archives: Post Timelines

From Ammu to Amma: Rise, fall and rise!

  By Vijay Darda | 07-12-2016 Legend has it that Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa was referred to as “Ammu” by her mother Sandhya and her mentor and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M G Ramachandran. But by the time the 68-year-old breathed her last, she had become “Amma” to millions of her followers across the state. Her adult

Congress gropes for answers to saffron surge

  By Vijay Darda | 05-12-2016 If the results of the local body elections in Maharashtra and the parliamentary and assembly by-elections that preceded these polls are to be taken as an indication of the political state of affairs, then the BJP’s dominating trend that began in the 2014 general elections is firmly on the ascendant. It is not getting

Critical economists, silent PM

  By Vijay Darda | 28-11-2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs1000 currency notes has literally stunned the country. It is his declared intent that the decision has been taken to unearth the black money that is eating into the vitals of the economy. The reality is that there is no reason to oppose the

Ignoring Indira and other icons

  By Vijay Darda | 21-11-2016 We are very well aware that when it comes to icons, every regime has two lists – a negative list that it plans to ignore and a positive list that it wishes to promote. The current NDA regime has its preferences well-defined and the logic is also pretty uncomplicated. It is guided by the

Uncertainty after Trump’s triumph

  By Vijay Darda | 14-11-2016 The American establishment and by its extension the rest of the world was preparing for an era where a woman would be the president of the oldest democracy. This was supposed to be a natural transition in a modern country that had elected a ‘black’ Barack Obama for two terms. There is a feeling

Modi’s disruptive innovation

  By Vijay Darda | 11-11-2016 Special Report  In the field of business and technology, this is the era of disruptive innovation. Displaying his quintessential Gujarati entrepreneur’s character, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unleashed the most disruptive innovation for the economy. He fully understands that India is a predominantly cash economy, and has thus withdrawn almost 86 per cent of

Bhopal shoot-out & the rule of law

  By Vijay Darda | 07-11-2016 It seems that by some unwritten law the long standing chief ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party have to graduate as efficient administrators through a rite of passage – ruthless encounters. The bar had been set by the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to show that he had the steely resolve to take

Turmoil in house of Tatas

  By Vijay Darda | 03-11-2016 Special Report Succession issues in families, political parties and business houses have always demanded extremely skilled handling of the complexities involved. There can be no set formula for success, and every situation evolves itself depending on the way the players acquit themselves in the process. It is an unfortunate reality that the great house

Remembering martyrdom, but selectively?

  By Vijay Darda | 01-11-2016 A small reference has been made in the autobiography of former foreign secretary of the country Shiv Shankar Menon, published, recently. He writes that soon after the Mumbai terror attack in 2008, the UPA government was contemplating a direct attack on Pakistan. But it was thought that observing restraint instead of mounting an attack

How far does misguided patriotism take us?

  By Vijay Darda | 24-10-2016 After the Uri attacks, shocking as they were, we have seen a surge of jingoism in almost all walks of life. The hysteria in some sections of the electronic media would have us believe as if there is real war going on across the border. Yes, it is true the violence from across the