M.J. Akbar

The last laugh

The last laugh

This is the first time that a national party’s campaign has stepped into that erogenous zone of politics called wit. Updated 11 Apr, 2014 01:47pm
Anger and amnesia

Anger and amnesia

After nearly four decades we have a politician who has promised to send Indian journalists to jail in large numbers. Updated 11 Apr, 2014 01:49pm

Running on empty

DONALD Rumsfeld, who was America’s defence secretary during the Iraq war, pointed out that you fight with the army... Published 09 Mar, 2014 08:45am

US smells the saffron

THE news item flickered warily somewhere in the middle of NBC’s morning bulletin on Friday. A dead man had come... Published 02 Mar, 2014 07:19am

The 29th state

THERE will be a 30th state in the Union of India. The 29th, Telangana, is not the last post in the reorganisation of... Published 23 Feb, 2014 08:17am

Kejriwal’s 49 days

ARVIND Kejriwal could not stand the heat so he got out of the kitchen. As a means of self-preservation, this is... Published 16 Feb, 2014 08:15am

The political calculus

WHY, and when, does a politician defect? The simplistic, but not all that simple, answer is money. We have good... Published 09 Feb, 2014 07:42am

In Pawar’s shadow

BETWEEN a story and the reason for it, there often falls a shadow. The news item, published in a Marathi newspaper,... Published 02 Feb, 2014 08:06am

All who watch

EVERY electorate may or may not get the government it deserves. Voters can fall for a bluff: if they did not believe... Published 26 Jan, 2014 07:40am

Not a firecracker godown

ANY political party that rises from street turmoil must of necessity reflect the varied character of its origins.... Published 19 Jan, 2014 07:57am

Axis of the heart

NOSTALGIA is not very good news for the nostalgic. The elegy of age lies a layer below the surface, trying hard but... Published 12 Jan, 2014 09:48am

Axis of the heart

NOSTALGIA is not very good news for the nostalgic. The elegy of age lies a layer below the surface, trying hard but... Published 12 Jan, 2014 07:42am

Dr Singh’s retirement

THE one person who does not seem unduly bothered about what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will do once he fades into... Published 05 Jan, 2014 07:33am

Good riddance, 2013

THE sense of an ending — a phrase borrowed from the title of Julian Barnes’ moving book — inevitably breeds... Published 29 Dec, 2013 08:10am

Unilateral world

WHEN the incredible litany of silly reasons for great events is written, top billing must surely go to this ... Published 22 Dec, 2013 08:04am

The law must be wise

NO penalty points if you have never heard of a certain Henry Glapthorn. After all, he lived some three and a half... Published 15 Dec, 2013 08:38am

Disciples of a deeper faith

IS Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron an unabashed hypocrite, or is he merely another Conservative politician?... Published 08 Dec, 2013 08:22am

Picture of possibilities

THE yin and yang of the current fighting season in Indian democracy is at eye level, but perhaps just below the ... Published 01 Dec, 2013 08:57am

Let memories begin

SACHIN Tendulkar was 10 years old when in 1983 Indian cricket suddenly, even inexplicably, turned into a sky-bound... Updated 24 Nov, 2013 10:08am