Developments in Bihar, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh leave little room for doubt that the Janata has landed itself in a grave crisis, the gravest since it came into existence two years ago. It is no longer divided among its former constituents, each of them anxious to avoid an outright split. … Read More
So the Jana Sangh constituent of the Janata has hit back at its detractors in the party. And it has chosen Bihar for the counter-offensive. Neither of these developments is surprising. The Jana Sangh has been under attack within the Janata for its association with the RSS for almost two … Read More
When in the midst of a difficult economic and political situation in 1974 Mrs Gandhi began pointing towards the CIA as the source of the mounting attacks on her and her government, I for one took the view that she was looking for a convenient scapegoat and said so in … Read More
While it is reasonably certain that Pakistan is trying to acquire nuclear capability with financial support from some publicly unidentified oil-rich Arab countries, it is premature to say either that it will succeed soon or that it and its patrons will be able to agree on the control mechanism. President … Read More
Judging by the standards some of the leaders now in the Union cabinet set while in opposition, it is difficult and unfair to criticise Mrs Gandhi’s call for the liberation of the Pakistan-held part of Jammu and Kashmir. But Mrs Gandhi is not an ordinary opposition leader who can feel … Read More
It is perhaps a little premature to say that Mr. Biju Patnaik has pulled off a victory for the Orissa chief minister, Mr. Nilamani Routray. For, in the kind of politics that is becoming common all over the country it is difficult to be sure that all the 75 Janata … Read More
Even another Pakistani General with a modern outlook could have overthrown Mr Bhutto, tried him on an equally serious charge on the strength of equally flimsy evidence, changed the composition of the Lahore High Court to secure the former Prime Minister’s conviction, ignored the mercy petitions on his behalf and … Read More
By postponing organisational elections, the Janata leadership has averted a major crisis in the party. But it has done so at a cost which may turn out to be crushingly heavy. Since the former BLD headed by Mr. Charan Singh had boycotted the elections on the grounds that its principal … Read More
Towards the end of 1977, Mr. Nirad Chaudhuri wrote an article in the Encounter, London, broadly taking the line that Mrs Gandhi was running the emergency regime with the help of the Western-educated elite which, according to him, had shamelessly exploited the Indian people since independence. The reality on the … Read More
To discuss current political developments in terms of a conflict between Mahatma Gandhi and Mr Nehru will be to simplify and even distort issues. The two leaders saw themselves not as antagonists but comrades-in-arms in the common struggle for national independence, communal harmony and social justice. Gandhiji in fact named … Read More
