Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

Feb 01, 2011

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta is an educator and commentator

BJP’s great gamble

Why has the Rashtriya Swayamse-vak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party taken, what would seem to many, such a big gamble by projecting Narendra Modi as a prime ministerial candidate?

It’s lonely at the top. Especially when those who once lionised you turn into your bitter critics. That indeed is the unfortunate denouement that Palaniappan Chidambaram, the Harvard-educated three-time finance minister and former home minister of India, currently finds himself in.

What does this artist shed awareness on?

Dyslexia. While doodling might predominantly be a hobby born out of boredom, this artist has made scribbling serve a cause.

The good of a few

The decision by the Union Cabinet on June 27 to increase the price of natural gas has given rise to a major controversy. The government claims it is acting in the interests of the nation, but its critics argue that the decision to increase gas prices will spur inflation and help corporates not consumers.

The doctor’s dilemma

For Dr Manmohan Singh, who has entered his 10th year as Prime Minister of India (he was sworn in on May 22, 2004), the irony could not have been more cruel.

Political twists, Karnataka to Delhi

The rout of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Karnataka Assembly elections was far from unexpected. But despite the Congress’ success in Karnataka, the first state in southern India the Hindu nationalist party has ruled on its own for five years, the mood within India’s “grand old party” is far from exultant. Why?

Karnataka election: Spoiler alert!

The Congress appears confident of coming to power in Karnataka where Assembly elections will take place on May 5. This is arguably the only state in the country where the country’s “grand old party” is hopeful of increasing its number of MPs by more than 10 when the 16th general elections are conducted.

The Budget Sudoku

Now that the proposals contained in Union Budget 2013-14 have been dissected and debated for nearly a fortnight, it is worth revisiting certain key assumptions and projections that will determine whether finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram’s numbers are credible or not. Importantly for the Congress, and the UPA, the estimates made in the Budget and the overall direction of the government’s economic policies will willy-nilly determine the fate of the ruling coalition in the 16th general elections scheduled for March-April 2014.

Hope trumps realism

Sonia Gandhi’s economic and political ideology may have apparently triumphed over that of Manmohan Singh. The neo-liberal finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram may be conveying an impression that he’s turned socialist with a vengeance by increasing taxes on the rich in the run-up to the 16th general elections.

Budget: Left, right, left

The faultlines within the Congress Party are exposed as finance minister P.

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