The assembly elections in five states have shown that the BJP can be shaken up, even defeated, by strong, strategic opposition alliances. After the victory of the Congress in all three Hindi heartland states in the tightly-fought assembly elections, some contours about the political scenario in the next few months are becoming sharper. With general elections barely six months away, both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition parties will have drawn lessons from the results and the voting patterns. The coming days will see the granular details being…
Read MoreDay: December 12, 2018
Shaktikanta Das, MA in History is first non-economist in 28 years to be RBI governor
Highlights * 14 of 25 RBI governors have been bureaucrats including 12 coming from IAS/ICS* Immediate predecessors of Shaktikanta Das were economists* Shaktikanta Das has got tenure as RBI governor till 2023 There are no fixed eligibility criteria for appointment of a person as the RBI governor. According to the RBI Act, appointment of governor is approved by the PMO on the recommendation of the finance minister. Shaktikanta Das is the 25th RBI governor and 14th career bureaucrat including 12 IAS/ICS officers to hold the position.With the appointment of Shaktikanta…
Read MoreCommunal riots, War with Pakistan likely after BJP poll wipeout
Many people are gloating over the state election results of Tuesday that saw the defeat of BJP governments in three states. In my opinion, however, the only effect the assembly election results will have is to reduce lynching of Muslims a bit, though it is wrong to assume that such incidents will be totally eliminated. India is still a semi-feudal society, and as I have repeatedly pointed out, communalism is always latent in it, only awaiting some catalyst to bring it to the surface. Today, most Hindus in India are…
Read MorePDP, Congress in war of words over granting divisional status to Ladakh
The Congress and PDP on Tuesday accused each other of ‘communalising’ the proposed move of the state administration to grant divisional status to Ladakh and the demand raised by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti to impart similar status to the Pir Panjal and Chenab valley region. Senior Congress leader Dr Karan Singh alleged that Mehbooba Mufti was trying to divide the Jammu region on communal lines while PDP spokesperson Rafi Ahmad Mir said the veteran Congress leader “seems to be playing to the gallery”. “Mehboobaji’s attempt to link this (Ladakh) matter…
Read MoreMandir-Masjid politics rejected by people: NC, PDP, Congress
The National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress Tuesday said the results in the assembly polls to five states have shown that political awakening is on the rise in the country as people have rejected the communal politics. “People rejected Mandir-Masjid politics, results show political awakening on rise in India,” the PDP quoted its president Mehbooba Mufti as saying on its Twitter handle. She was referring to the loss of BJP, which was an ally of the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir government till June this year, in the…
Read MoreDeath of two teenaged militants raises some difficult questions across Kashmir Valley
On August 30, three Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were killed in Parray Mohalla in Hajin, a town in the North Kashmir’s Bandipora district. The next day, two boys who lived in the area went missing. Until then, very few in the area had known about the friendship of Saqib Bilal Sheikh, 16, and Mudasir Rashid Parray, 15. They had little in common. They studied in different classes in different schools. Saqib Bilal belonged to an affluent farming family. Mudasir lived in a makeshift hut. In his free time, Saqib would usually slip…
Read More