It is legitimate to be critical of the Union home minister’s handling of the Makalu affair. Mr Zail Singh has been over-anxious to prove that the alleged saboteurs, acting possibly on foreign instigation (according to the CBI), wanted to kill the Prime Minister. But from being critical of the home … Read More
India is not at not at peace with itself. It cannot be, amidst so much want, injustice and discontent. The anti-reservation agitation in Gujarat, which threatened to polarise the Hindu society as it has not been polarised ever before, is barely over. And the stir over the “foreigners” issue in … Read More
So wide is the power gap between the United States and India that it is unavoidable that in its relations with Washington, New Delhi should be at the receiving end. This was the case in the ‘fifties when America was launched on a policy which was injurious not only to … Read More
Mrs. Gandhi’s response to Pakistan’s determined bid to manufacture nuclear weapons and the US move to arm it in a big way is as restrained as it is firm. In its history as an independent country, India, as she has said, has never before faced so grim a situation. The … Read More
GIRILAL JAIN brings into focus the two faces of America. All countries abound in contradictions but the United States inevitably more than others. Everything, as the Americans love to put it, is bigger and better there. It was the first to place man on the moon and it has … Read More
The ministry of external affairs has spared little effort to ensure that the forthcoming non- aligned conference does not end in bitter recriminations. Its officials have visited several capitals to canvass support for a consensus approach and they feel that the exercise has not been futile. While it is difficult … Read More
The incident in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday was as unprecedented as it was painful. This was the first time since the enforcement of the Constitution in 1950 that the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha not only withdrew from the House in anger but also made an observation which could … Read More
Who was it who said after a visit to the Soviet Union: “I have seen tomorrow, it works”? It could have been George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, Webb or one of many other distinguished figures in the ‘thirties. Today it is difficult to find a similarly distinguished non-communist writer who … Read More
It was perhaps only to be expected that the joint Indo-Soviet “declaration” issued at the end of Mr. Brezhnev’s visit to New Delhi would not reflect the differences that are said to exist between the two governments on the issue of Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. In fact the declaration … Read More
The U.S. state department has been quick to dismiss President Brezhnev’s five-point doctrine of peace and security in the Gulf as “basically a reiteration of long-standing Soviet proposals.” So, indeed, it is. But that is by itself not a serious criticism.
