On the face of it, the Vijayawada get-together of opposition parties, including four non-Congress (I) chief ministers, has been a washout. It has led to the formation of an opposition council and adoption of a resolution which holds the Congress (I) responsible for all the ills the country is suffering … Read More
Some western newspapers have carried reports to the effect that a new consensus may emerge among top Chinese leaders favouring a tough stance towards the United States. These reports suggest that following criticism of his previous pro US stand by, among others, Mr. Hu Yaobang, the party’s general secretary, Mr. … Read More
Pakistani claims that a negotiated settlement of the Afghan problem in none too distant a future is possible have begun to look credible. This change in perception is the result of the US State Department’s confirmation of reports that the Jamaat-i-Islami section of the Peshawar-based Mujahidin “have worked put some … Read More
The government of India has launched a drive to convince Arab governments that Muslims in this country are not being maltreated and to impress Indian Muslims that Arab leaders recognise and appreciate its support for Arab causes. New Delhi has thus sent special envoys to Arab capitals, invited Arab journalists … Read More
It is tempting to take the view that the country should have been spared the unseemly slanging match between Mrs Indira Gandhi and her widowed daughter-in-law, Mrs Maneka Gandhi. The argument in support of this proposition would run as follows: Maneka exasperates the Prime Minister on account of her ways … Read More
In deciding to ignore Congress on the question of the sale of upgraded F-16s to Pakistan, the US administration has demonstrated that it is prepared to go out of its way to accommodate the Zia regime. The reasons for it are obvious enough. Pakistan figures prominently in America’s strategic design … Read More
Sant Longowal has publicly returned to the old Akali theme that the Sikhs are a qaum. This statement spotlights, as nothing else could, the psychology of the men who are currently leading the agitation in Punjab and in the process poisoning Hindu-Sikh relations and, indeed, exposing the state to the … Read More
It is difficult to say whether the current Akali agitation represents the last flicker of resistance to the process of national integration, or a new phase in the rise of Sikh sub-nationalism or even nationalism. The answer is likely to depend as much on how the Akalis behave in coming … Read More
This is not the first time that Mrs. Gandhi has spoken of foreign interference in India’s domestic politics. She has done so whenever she has been faced with a difficult political situation; on the eve of and during the emergency, for example. As in the past, she has not cited … Read More
Mr. PC Sethi is not one of those Congress (I) leaders who believe that one of the quickest and most effective ways of endearing themselves to the Prime Minister is to condemn the press. It is, therefore, sad that faced with a difficult situation arising out of publication of documentary … Read More
