Abhilash Khandekar

A retired general’s unpublished memoir has succeeded in briefly forcing India’s lawmakers to argue with ideas rather than one another. I love following Indian politics from close quarters, however dirty, self-seeking and theatrical it may be. Yet I am drawn less to its daily intrigue than to the aroma of books and the knowledge-filled contents they carry. Between beautiful books and pitiable politics, books win hands down. Consider, for a moment, the power of the written word. One is reminded...

Gita Gopinath’s remark on pollution at Davos punctured India’s celebratory mood, exposing a far deadlier crisis than tariffs or trade wars.   The recent World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos was expected to ruffle the feathers of Indian politicians in the least. Most were making merry there, besides attracting ‘large’ investments into India. They have succeeded in that endeavour, as we were told. Some were there with families and must have enjoyed the beauty of the world-famous Alps region...

A farcical censorship row at Bhopal’s lit fest shows how in trying to protect Hindutva from imagined enemies, its most overzealous foot-soldiers have embarrassed the very ideas they claimed to defend. Syed Akbaruddin, easily among the most effective communicators, was singing paeans for Narendra Modi’s foreign policy; a top Pune industrialist, Aditya Pittie, was fondly talking of ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision while detailing his book on the theme. Earlier, Bhupendra Yadav, Union Minister, discussed...