Opinions and Editorials

Subtlety resides in the subliminal private garden of every person. Subtlety introduces an element of elevation into society, it contributes to a civilisation's refinement. Empowered sections such as entertainment, politics, journalism, industry and religion that help to form and influence public opinion usually need to exercise subtlety to gain credibility.

Abu Azmi was perfectly entitled to take oath as a legislator in Hindi which is our national language.

Every time I go to a country that used to be way behind India and is now way ahead, gloomy thoughts fill my head and as a responsible columnist I feel it my duty to share them with you.

The UN designated November 19 as World Toilet Day some 20 years ago but nobody in India appeared to have paid much notice to it until a toilet-cleaning powder started advertising it on radio this year.

Campaigning for the Jharkhand assembly elections has picked up pace, with voting in the five-phase schedule beginning on November 25. The Congress- and BJP-led alliances have released manifestos promising everything from cheap foodgrain to job creation.

Unusually but, and I hope you agree with me, justifiably, this edition of the column shifts its focus beyond what was on news TV. We look at a section of news TV audience.

The south-western border districts of Bengal, where Maoists are fast gaining ground, were until recently, unquestionable strongholds of the ruling Left.

More than 15 months after the hugely successful Beijing Olympics concluded, doping has once again reared its ugly head with five athletes, including two medallists, being found guilty of having used CERA. CERA is a new and improved variant of the now famous EPO, which has become a part of folklore for its constant presence in biking and the Tour de France.

Poll toll Political excitement continues in Gilgit-Baltistan after its first-ever provincial elections concluded last week.

Crises precipitate summits and summits usually spew a bunch of banalities. 2009 witnessed several summits — the G-8, a few G-20s with different levels of government representation, and a just-concluded World Summit on Food Security, convened by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome.

Air India needs some drastic brand therapy. But why would it wilfully destroy the portly Maharajah, arguably the last shred of emotional connection with the airline? Created for an internal letterhead by Air India's Bobby Kooka and JWT, the Maharajah's showed up in the unlikeliest places — sumo wrestler, Spanish matador and more — smiling benevolently over Times Square and Kemps Corner.

In an ideal situation, the agitation by sugarcane farmers and the nation's political opposition (and at least one constituent of the Union government) would have ended in the only desirable, and long-desired, outcome — an end to our long history of politicisation of sugar, of its procurement prices arbitrarily determined by both the Centre and the states.

The controversy over the Sino-US joint statement in Beijing last week over the Chinese role in the subcontinent has set the stage for an honest conversation between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama on whether and how the two sides could cooperate in the eastern and western parts of Asia.

When you think of Amitabh Bachchan today, what is the first thing you see? It is the parcel. And the packaging. A Harlequin jacket. A Pied Piper's hat. A long ostrich feather trailing the headgear. Zircon, zari, zardozi. All accoutrements. All embellishments. The actor who has been our steadfast screen companion for four prolific decades has been buried under this ever-burgeoning mound.

Obama's China trip has been sharply criticised by most US newspapers as being unnecessarily deferential and obtaining no real concessions.

The sale of shares of up to 60 public sector enterprises by the Central government will have many advantages.

North Block hopes it has found a lever to increase bank lending — money will come in (capital infusion in state-owned banks) if money goes out (loans to business).

Inevitably, expectations from Copenhagen have been tamped down by now. Climate action will not come from one dramatic global compact next month. And India has decided to be big about the matter, offering to submit a national communication on climate action every two years, which could become the basis for negotiating with the world and bargaining for technological or financial payback.

So umpires in India have started calling bowlers for chucking and it is nice to see a forgotten law being implemented! Some bowlers, especially those who have played first class cricket for eight or ten years might choose to disagree with the current practice, they are entitled to be a bit confused, but really in our part of the world we had no alternative.