Narendra Modi

Modi has a chance to change India’s discourse, but for that he must speak

Leave a Comment / August 2, 2014

Narendra Modi has a chance to lead, even change, the nation’s discourse. Right now, we are ripe for a thousand unspoken conversations: Secularism, inclusiveness, development, gender, poverty. But instead of a dialogue we have competitive shrillness. There is a great noise around Narendra Modi’s silence since the 60-odd days that he has been prime minister. […]

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English is Indian: Kindly adjust

Leave a Comment / July 4, 2014

We need to stop apologising and start acknowledging that English is now our language, adding to a rich profusion of the languages we already own. Narendra Modi’s address in English at the recent PSLV launch at Sriharikota has, predictably, led to some raised eyebrows. A political decision, say some. He wanted to show the world

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A big idea for Modi: women’s empowerment

Leave a Comment / May 17, 2014

Chanted as a mantra by nearly all parties, but always preceded by other priorities, the issue has so far failed to translate into political reality. India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking for a big idea, he might want to look no further than women’s empowerment. Chanted like a mantra by nearly every political party in

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What sort of prime minister will Modi be?

Leave a Comment / May 9, 2014

If Narendra Modi’s ego is as large as his detractors claim, then he will want to be remembered as a great prime minister, better even than Atal Bihari Vajpayee. To do that he will have to focus on growth and development. At the end of this interminably long election of fear and loathing, three questions:

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The page 3 election

Leave a Comment / April 11, 2014

A slap on Arvind Kejriwal’s face or Narendra Modi’s admission of his marriage to Jashodaben attracts more attention than real issues. Has any other poll been so dominated by personalities. The BJP candidate standing from my constituency has multiple criminal charges against him but my affable neighbour at the polling booth where we are lined

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Narendra Modi should make real promises, solve real issues

Leave a Comment / November 22, 2013

The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate should know that national pride lies in not wanting the world to look at India in admiration. It lies in making your country a better place for its citizens. The man who hopes to be India’s next prime minister is talking about national pride. It will be built on the

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The stage’s virtually set

Leave a Comment / April 12, 2013

Elections in India are not decided by Twitter trends or ‘likes’ on Facebook. Thanks to Twitter, I’ve now learned a new word: Feku. Even as Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi addressed meetings in New Delhi, the first at the FICCI Ladies Organisation and the second at CNN-IBN’s Think India festival, the hashtag, ‘Feku’ (boaster, teller

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