India’s Marxist veteran looks back with pride
CALCUTTA, India, June 15 (Reuter) – The leader of the world’s oldest democratically elected communist government looked back on his 20 years in power and…
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INTERVIEW-AMBIKA SONI
“WE WERE ALL COWARDS!” When Anand Mohan and Chaitanya Kalbag called on Mrs. Ambika Soni in Delhi on August 17, they expected her to come…
INTERVIEW-JANATA PARTY PRESIDENT CHANDRA SHEKHAR : Mrs. Gandhi Will Have To Answer To Many Things
Transindia: Mr. Chandra Shekhar, do you think you have one of the most thankless jobs in the country today, what with having to build up…
INTERVIEW-PRIME MINISTER MORARJI DESAI
‘Is Drinking A Ritual “? Then I Think ‘It Is Better to Close Our Diplomatic Missions!’ The appointment is at I pm at the Prime…
WILL THE EUPHORIA REMAIN ?
Gandhi must have been passing through an extremely clairvoyant phase when he came up with this statement in the Thirties. In the thirty years that…
Governor’s Disgrace
EIGHTEEN hours after Haryana Governor Ganapatrao Devji Tapase committed the most undemocratic faux pas in India’s political history, he was cowering on a sofa in…
INTERVIEW : Brahmananda Reddy’
CONGRESS PARTY PRESIDENT- BRAHMANANDA REDDY “We Will Return to Power Soon” Transindia: Mr. Reddy, many people feel that the Congress Party has had a great…
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
The Best of intentions go awry sometimes. That aphorism has struck home at INDIA TODAY where the effort to do a job better and more…
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
DEMOCRACY sometimes teaches strange lessons, and the strangest of them all is currently being acted out in the remote North- eastern state of Assam. Since…
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
THERE are, said the poet Wallace Stevens, 13 ways of looking at a blackbird. The essence of that particular truth came home forcefully last fortnight…
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
NEWS does not have to scream from the headlines to be news. In fact, it is probably one of the failings of the media that…
Letter from the Editor
THERE can be little more excitement for the media than to chronicle political events from inception to climax. Opportunities tend to be rare, but as…
VIOLENT PHILIPPINE POLLS SEEN MARKING RETURN OF OLD POLITICS
17 January 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited MANILA, Jan 17, Reuter – Monday’s local elections are billed as President Corazon Aquino’s last…
PHILIPPINES MUST NOW FOCUS ON ECONOMY, ANALYSTS SAY
19 January 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited MANILA, Jan 19, Reuter – The Philippines has emerged from a tumultuous year with democracy…
Focus- Indian polls start “calm and confident”
16 February 1998 Reuters News English (c) 1998 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Indian voters queued up early on Monday to cast…
India wrestles with the wages of democracy
22 February 1998 Reuters News English (c) 1998 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Feb 22 (Reuters) – “Watch this space.” The website of India’s 112-year-old Congress…
India waits in trepidation for election result
1 March 1998 Reuters News English (c) 1998 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 1 (Reuters) – Indians waited uneasily on Sunday for official results from…
Who’s afraid of India’s Hindu nationalists?
3 March 1998 Reuters News English (c) 1998 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 3 (Reuters) – India’s Bharatiya Janata Party appeared tantalisingly close on…
Focus- India set for Hindu-led coalition government
10 March 1998 Reuters News English (c) 1998 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 10 (Reuters) – India was set on Tuesday for a new coalition…
India’s BJP wins power, but daunting task ahead
15 March 1998 Reuters News English (c) 1998 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 15 (Reuters) – Atal Behari Vajpayee received the green light on Sunday…
India’s Vajpayee tries to form coalition
16 March 1998 Reuters News English (c) 1998 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 16 (Reuters) – The leader of India’s Hindu-dominated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)…
Focus- Hindu leader Vajpayee takes power in India
19 March 1998 Reuters News English (c) 1998 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 19 (Reuters) – Hindu nationalist leader Atal Behari Vajpayee took office on…
India says China has surveillance base in Myanmar
3 May 1998 Reuters News English (c) 1998 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, May 3 (Reuters) – India’s defence minister said on Sunday China had built…
CHINA DISCUSSING SIX LOANS WITH ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
18 April 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited MANILA, April 18, Reuter – China is negotiating with the Manila-based Asian Development Bank for…
SUITABLE CHINESE PROJECTS HARD TO FIND — ADB HEAD
27 April 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited MANILA, April 27, Reuter – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has found it difficult to…
TAIWAN SAYS ROW OVER NAME CHANGE CONTINUES WITH ADB
27 April 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited MANILA, April 27, Reuter – Taipei has ended a two-year boycott of the Asian Development…
PHILIPPINE SENATE HARDENS STAND ON DEBT
11 May 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited MANILA, May 11, Reuter – The Philippine Senate has ended a six-month lull by taking…
PHILIPPINE SENATE APPEARS TO SOFTEN STAND ON NUCLEAR BILL
12 May 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited MANILA, May 12, Reuter – The Philippine Senate is apparently softening its stand on a…
Dalai Lama accuses China of “cultural genocide”
9 March 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 9 (Reuter) – Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday accused…
Nepal PM says government safe — for now
23 May 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited KATHMANDU, May 23 (Reuter) – Nepal’s fragile coalition government is not in any danger despite…
PHILIPPINE OFFICIALS LEAVE ANTI-NUCLEAR ISSUE TO AQUINO
19 July 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited MANILA, July 19, Reuter – Philippine officials said on Tuesday that It was up to…
AQUINO, SECURE IN POWER, PUTS ON BRASS KNUCKLES
28 July 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited MANILA, July 28, Reuter – Philippine President Corazon Aquino, secure in power near the end…
INDIA ECONOMY SEEN OPENING MORE, WHOEVER WINS POLL
20 November 1989 Reuters News English (c) 1989 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, NOV 20, Reuter – Whoever wins this week’s Indian elections will face some…
CALCUTTA’S INDIANS TAKE ELECTIONS IN STRIDE
21 November 1989 Reuters News English (c) 1989 Reuters Limited Calcutta, Nov 21, Reuter – The six Bengalis splashing around a fire hydrant inches from…
INDIA’S POLITICAL INSTABILITY SEEN SLOWING GROWTH
22 November 1989 Reuters News English (c) 1989 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, NOV 22, Reuter – Political instability likely to result from this week’s elections…
INSTABILITY SEEN SLOWING GROWTH IN RESOURCE-STRAPPED INDIA
22 November 1989 Reuters News English (c) 1989 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Reuter – Political instability likely to result from this week’s elections could slow…
EXHAUSTED GANDHI ENDS CAMPAIGN IN MUD, OPPOSITION JUBILANT
24 November 1989 Reuters News English (c) 1989 Reuters Limited LUDHIANA, India, Nov 24, Reuter – Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi wound up an exhausting…
Japan opposition leader said ready to press PM bid
15 April 1994 Reuters News English (c) 1994 Reuters Limited TOKYO, April 15 (Reuter) – A leading opposition politician is preparing to revolt against his…
Wrapup 1- China undecided on another bank bailout
12 September 2003 Reuters News English (c) 2003 Reuters Limited BEIJING, Sept 12 (Reuters) – China has not ruled out another big bailout of…
Commonwealth chief says African democracy growing
20 March 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 20 (Reuter) – Democracy has taken root in most African countries but…
INTERVIEW-China bank watchdog upbeat on foreign players.
12 September 2003 Reuters News English (c) 2003 Reuters Limited BEIJING, Sept 12 (Reuters) – China’s new banking regulator said on Friday foreign banks…
Taiwan seeks banking concessions from China
15 September 2003 Reuters News English (c) 2003 Reuters Limited TAIPEI, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Taiwan will permit its banks to do business in China…
Taiwan blames China over name change controversy
15 September 2003 Reuters News English (c) 2003 Reuters Limited TAIPEI, Sept 15 (Reuters) – China is to blame for growing frustrations in Taiwan that…
INTERVIEW-Taiwan says it still has upper hand over China.
15 September 2003 Reuters News English (c) 2003 Reuters Limited TAIPEI, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Taiwan still holds the upper hand against China in trade…
India aims to grant autonomy to state-owned media
27 May 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, May 27 (Reuter) – India is determined to grant autonomy to state-controlled television…
INTERVIEW-Washington’s Taiwan envoy bemoans rigid China.
16 September 2003 Reuters News English (c) 2003 Reuters Limited TAIPEI, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Douglas Paal, Washington’s unofficial ambassador to Taipei, must choose…
India relives midnight “tryst with destiny”
14 August 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Aug 15 (Reuter) – India’s leaders gathered in their parliament’s majestic Central Hall…
India celebrates half-century of independence
15 August 1997 08:15 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Aug 15 (Reuter) – India put on a dazzling show of fireworks,…
Britain’s Labour accused of Kashmir freedom agenda
16 October 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Queen Elizabeth’s tour of India slid deeper into controversy…
THE JANATA PARTY – Will It, Won’t It, Will It, Won’t It Split?
The Janata Party will soon split. The Janata Party has always been a loose coalition. The Janata Party’s constituents have view- points and ambitions that…
I have to follow capitalism: Buddha
IT IS like being thrown about in an ideological cocktail shaker. You get off a gleaming passenger jet and drive over a soaring expressway to…
Earthy Tales
Last week I was on a flight to Mumbai About two hours in, the captain an- nounced that there was unseasonal heavy rain ahead and…
Push to Start
One speaks the glory of the British queen, And one describes a charming Indian screen; A third interprets motions, looks, and eyes; At ev’ry word…
INDIA : Return To Normalcy
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s dramatic announcement on January 18 that the Emergency in India is being relaxed and that elections to the Lok Sabha will…
MRS GANDHI Vs. THE CHALLENGERS
Speaking about the 1971 elections to a Newsweek correspondent, Mrs Indira Gandhi had said: “I am the real issue in this election.” In 1977, too,…
THE NEW DEAL IN NEW DELHI
There had been many signs of the anti-Congress wind in the final days of the 1977 election campaign, but its magnitude amazed the canniest political…
IT’S THE ELECTION, STUPID
The economy is whirling around in a populist spiral Pranab Mukherjee is starting to look worryingly like a feckless heir squandering his generous inheritance while…
Anniversary Issue 30th Momentous Years
Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the struggle within “We are all like a family and there is bound to be dissent in a democratic party.” The…
India’s Hottest Young Executives
Sssssay now … what we have we here?” hisses Kaa the snake in The Jungle Book, smacking his lips over Mowgli. “Jusssst you wait till…
THE SCINDIAS-The Battle Royal
It Began as a small tiff, as all battles do. The two antagonists identities lent it a delicious irony: Vijaya Raje Scindia, the ex-Rajmata of…
BIHAR PRESS BILL-BATTLE CRY
Whatever else the government is butter-fingered at doing, it is adept at keeping the results of its impetuosity in a state of continuing suspense’. The…
THE SCINDIAS-THE BATTLE ROYAL
It Began as a small tiff, as all battles do. The two antagonists’ identities lent it a delicious irony: Vijaya Raje Scindia, the ex-Rajmata of…
SPOIL OF SYCOPHANCY
For all those journalists who think they belong to a thankless and poorly-paid profession, there is hope on the horizon. It comes from the latest…
DESERTS – GREENING OF THAR
Lush vegetation in the Thar? Groves jamun trees? Mighty rivers the size of the Ganga and Indus? Seasons of monsoon-like rainfall? None of this is…
The Opposition-The Games Old Men Play
There is an old Indian parable that says it all: six blind men feel various parts of an elephant’s anatomy, and each one extrapolates, from…
GUJRAT-HURRICANE HAVOC
It was a visitation of grief and destruction, a cruel twist to the suffering Gujarat was already shrouded in. Meteorologists first noticed the brewing cyclone…
FRIEND IN NEED
The Rashtriya Swyamsewak Sangh (Rss) is everybody’s favourite bugbear. So perhaps it was inevitable that it would be accused of having a hand in the…
FINDING A VOICE
Politics cinema, like the new wave of the mid-’70s, has long acquired a pejorative meaning in India. At most, a political film that catches the…
UTTAR PRADESH – PEACE OF THE GRAVEYARD
I know no one can do me no harm because happiness is a warm gun. Yes it is. Vishwanath Pratap Singh had cause to be…
THE BHAJAN BLUDGEON
The Sprawling city that Charles-Edouard le Corbusier had designed for bureaucrats and retired people looked like an army encampment girding up for an enemy onslaught.…
AN UNCERTAIN LULL
SHEIKH Mohammad Abdullah’s health more than anything else has been responsible for the sudden thaw in Delhi-Srinagar relations For a while last month Kashmir teetered…
MIRAGE IN THE DESERT
Within a few years from now, the westernmost and thirstiest fringe of Rajasthan, along the Indo-Pakistani border, is going to be brought to life by…
TAKEN FOR A RIDE
No point of no return was so final as the one Charan Singh and Devi La1 reached on July 21. The crusty Jat leaders have…
FOR WHOM THE BILL TOLLS
One of the misconceptions spawned by the Bihar Press Bill is that it will emasculate Bihar’s journalists. The truth is that Bihar’s journalists have already…
Marching To Discovery
In the coolness of the early morning there is little traffic on National Highway 3. Outward bound from Nasik, the tar stretches infinitely in mottled…
FIREFILES CAUGHT IN A LOGJAM
Without second-generation reforms and a drastic overhaul of its institutions, India is condemned to mediocre income and growth. As befits an ancient land, India is…
Interview: Robert Zagha
Roberto Zagha has been the World Bank’ s Country Director in India since January 2009, when the economy was reeling from the global financial crisis…
The Method Man
Gujarat’s Chief Minister tells Chaitanya kalbag in a wide-ranging interview that policy and process make a heady development cocktail Narendra Modi is not a tall…
Scrabbling Away From the Abyss
Nitish Kumar’s victory in last month’s Bihar election celebrates the triumph of economics over feudalism, but the climb out of poverty will be steep and…
HINDI-CHINI BUY BUY
Sushma swaraj said it simply in parliament in early august when she ruled out war with China over the Doklam plateau: “China has contributed to…
DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARNESS
The Washington post adopted this four-word slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” in February 2017, its first in 140 years. It was used by its owner…
ONE NATION, 173 M VOTERS
To be precise, 173, 213, 635 Voters aged 21 years or above. That was the total on the electoral rolls published, constituency by constituency, between…
LOSER TAKE ALL
The wise ones among us are all ganit shastris(Mathematicians) and love crunching our election result which seem more frequent than our economic indicators. Politics is…
NaMo the FMCG
If you want to decompress from the 2019 election campaign, and haven’t already donned the colours to be a cheering face in a shouting crowd…