All stories by AAKAR PATEL
If Jaishankar's diagnosis is correct, what stops him from correcting it?
Rediff.com14 Sep 2020'What Jaishankar says is simplistic.' 'The past does not matter that much.' 'If we think that it does it is because we are not good enough at running the nation competently today and are searching for excuses why,' argues Aakar Patel.
Ladakh crisis: Why doesn't Modi speak to Xi?
Rediff.com7 Sep 2020'It is astonishing that such a serious issue be handled in so casual and cavalier a fashion, but this has become what is expected of this government,' observes Aakar Patel.
Why the lockdown has failed in India
Rediff.com31 Aug 2020'India is the only large nation along with Argentina whose numbers have continuously and without a break risen from March,' observes Aakar Patel.
Is Sushant's death more important than India's crises?
Rediff.com26 Aug 2020'I cannot remember a time in my life when we had such economic strife, such levels of unemployment, a national epidemic and the enemy inside our house and such little interest in these and a focus on Bollywood and temples and such things,' notes Aakar Patel.
I-Day Speech: Why was Modi silent about China?
Rediff.com17 Aug 2020'He spoke about 20 jawans in Ladakh, but he couldn't even name China.' 'He said the world had seen what had been achieved, even though we Indians don't know because Modi has himself said that nothing had happened and nobody had come,' points out Aakar Patel.
Why the Indian media has got a Hindutva edge
Rediff.com12 Aug 2020'A decade ago, even though the sentiment might have been felt in large parts of the media, it was not expressed.' 'There was a reserve and there was a culture that adhered to the principles expressed in the Constitution,' observes Aakar Patel.
Modi and the art of event management
Rediff.com29 Jul 2020Aakar Patel looks forward to Prime Minister Modi's speech at the bhoomi pujan for the Ram temple in Ayodhya next week. It will be entertaining and stirring, predicts Aakar, and make lots of promises that he most likely won't be able to keep.
Modi and the problem of 2 minute presentations
Rediff.com24 Jul 2020'It won't be easy to undo the damage that has been done to the economy by the lockdown and the solution will not come from two minute presentations,' observes Aakar Patel.
Has India ever seen multiple crises like these?
Rediff.com11 Jul 2020We have a full blown epidemic, an economic recession with the highest unemployment in Indian history, and a powerful enemy whose aggressive and offensive actions we did not anticipate, states Aakar Patel.
When will Modi use force to kick Chinese out?
Rediff.com30 Jun 2020'Even those who do not like him will rally to his call if he says that the country's sovereignty is being threatened by China,' notes Aakar Patel.
From BJS to BJP: The Road Travelled
Rediff.com25 Jun 2020'The BJP's constitution promises allegiance to India's secularism and socialism.' 'This is the oath that it makes all its members sign,' observes Aakar Patel.
How will Modi resolve the Chinese problem?
Rediff.com9 Jun 2020'Modi has not taken India into confidence over what is happening and what has happened.' 'We have not even officially been told what the position is with respect to the land lost between Fingers 4 to 8,' observes Aakar Patel.
Modi must give Indians the capacity to reach 2021
Rediff.com5 Jun 2020'All parties and the government acknowledge that there we are in trouble and there is more trouble ahead,' observes Aakar Patel.
Why recording the current period is necessary
Rediff.com30 May 2020What is a migrant going through today on the walk home? What is it like to be a Muslim and watch the news on television every night in India? Is there a bureaucrat who is noting down the absurdity of what is announced and what is actually happening in her domain? A medical resident who has gone through three weeks of 12-hour shifts while her seniors abstain from coming to the Covid hospital? They may be our everyday experiences, but they are how history will understand what happened to us all in this strange and surreal time, points out Aakar Patel.
Why the poor won't trust this government anymore
Rediff.com24 May 2020'"We have lost our jobs, we have lost our savings, we have been beaten up for being on the streets, we have walked for a thousand kilometres, we have seen our children starve or die because nobody came to help us".' 'For such people, the relationship with the government has gone,' notes Aakar Patel.
After the lockdown: How will government treat us?
Rediff.com16 May 2020'There are many questions that come to mind as we consider the reality of India and what Indians will be expected to do from the time this lockdown is opened up,' notes Aakar Patel.
Crores of Indians have no income today
Rediff.com14 May 2020'Money must be produced constantly.' 'This need is driving people to find work, and for many of them, it is working for a living for the first time in their lives,' observes Aakar Patel.
Be warned! Dark economic times ahead!
Rediff.com8 May 2020'Two consecutive quarters of negative growth are the technical definition of an economic recession, and for the first time in this generation's memory, we may be staring at one,' observes Aakar Patel.
COVID-19: Modi govt's flip flop way of working
Rediff.com3 May 2020'The Union government does not have much of a governance function other than to send orders.' 'But even the sending down of orders it cannot do properly,' observes Aakar Patel.
What India will we wake up to on May 4?
Rediff.com21 Apr 2020'One hopes that it is for the better that this disaster alters our reality from the morning of May 4,' notes Aakar Patel.