All stories by AAKAR PATEL
Acche Din? Not for BJP's Gujarat campaign
Rediff.com11 Dec 2017'This is a negative campaign, of slurs and fears.' 'The BJP has no desire to fight a positive campaign as it did in 2014, on the issue of governance and achche din.' 'Where the BJP can use these tactics, it will,' says Aakar Patel.
We must fight for those fighting for human rights
Rediff.com9 Dec 2017'I have been a court reporter for many years and have not seen such blatant suppression of those who are fighting for human rights, suppression of freedom of expression, and linking it to terrorism.'
If Modi wants to win Gujarat, this is what he must do
Rediff.com4 Dec 2017'Gujarat is a high turnout state and the BJP, even if it leads opinion polls, must ensure that its base comes out and votes.' 'The Congress can be confident that, even though its base is smaller, their voters will turn out because they are angry.'
When will India's Weinsteins be exposed?
Rediff.com24 Nov 2017'In Bollywood, the power is disproportionately in the hands of a few men, whether they are actors or producers or directors.' 'The woman who makes an allegation against them can forget working in the industry again.'
Why do fire extinguishers attract 28% GST?!
Rediff.com13 Nov 2017'In a nation where safety standards are the lowest in the world, why make compliance expensive?' asks Aakar Patel.
What does Modi really believe in?
Rediff.com6 Nov 2017'If the 'ideology' is just Hindutva, meaning cattle slaughter, temple issue, love jihad, joined with random acts on the side of economics and foreign policy, then we are in deeper trouble than we think,' says Aakar Patel.
Sushma Swaraj's Twitter durbar
Rediff.com30 Oct 2017'Why do visas require the intervention of India's Union ministers? Does any civilised nation assure visas like this over Twitter?'
Why can't Sreesanth play for another country?
Rediff.com23 Oct 2017'None of us has the right to tell Sreesanth what to do with his career and it is childish to expect him to hold the torch of our bogus cricket patriotism,' says Aakar Patel.
Shah Jahan built the Taj in gratitude
Rediff.com19 Oct 2017'After it was finished, Shah Jahan visited the Taj only twice.' 'There is a letter from Aurangzeb to him after a visit, reporting that the dome was leaking and needed to be fixed.' 'Shah Jahan wasn't bothered: He had moved on to designing his next project, Shahjahanabad,' reveals Aakar Patel.
Why I don't support the cracker ban on Diwali
Rediff.com16 Oct 2017'How will one day's crackers change pollution levels?' 'And why limit such genius solutions to just the capital when air pollution and pollution affects all of India?' asks Aakar Patel.
Why most don't see communal riots as terrorism
Rediff.com9 Oct 2017The American police said that the Las Vegas shooting was not an act of terrorism because he acted alone. The killer was a Christian. Would the police have said the same thing if he was Muslim? I don't think so.
Why Yashwant Sinha criticised Jaitley and not Modi
Rediff.com4 Oct 2017To write a criticism of the finance minister's performance without having included the PM's role is deliberate. It is not difficult to see why Jaitley interpreted it as being Sinha's way of sucking up to Modi.
Temples must be open to all, not for 'only Hindus'
Rediff.com27 Sep 2017'Why exclude those who are curious about our faith but not born into it, to experience the temple?'
Why is India rejecting the Rohingyas?
Rediff.com19 Sep 2017'As a great democracy, we must be responsible and uphold the rights of those who come to us seeking shelter.' 'Everything in the Hindu faith tells us that this is obligatory on us,' says Aakar Patel.
Bullet train costs 3 times more than India's health budget
Rediff.com14 Sep 2017The vanity project, of absolutely no use to most Indians, will suck money that could be used for health and education, says Aakar Patel.
I won't be surprised if Gauri's killers are not caught
Rediff.com13 Sep 2017'Those who were first at the site of Gauri Lankesh's murder scene noticed that the place was still open for people to casually walk in and out.' 'No forensic evidence of value can remain in such places,' points out Aakar Patel.
Why note ban failure won't affect Modi
Rediff.com5 Sep 2017'You can accuse him of many things but one thing you cannot accuse him of is being bad at politics,' says Aakar Patel.
Why I have not got an Aadhar card
Rediff.com28 Aug 2017'There must be thousands if not lakhs of people the government is illegally spying on.' 'Why should we enable this criminal activity by volunteering our details?'
Is boarding an airline first the right way of honouring the soldier?
Rediff.com22 Aug 2017'The Indian soldier will fight where he is asked to, and he always has.' 'It is up to us as a democratic society to see that his service and sacrifice is for the most useful causes, and that we do not needlessly ask him to die for us,' says Aakar Patel.
Modi's remarks reduced Hamid Ansari to his Muslim identity
Rediff.com16 Aug 2017He was deliberately reducing Ansari to his Muslim identity by linking his career as a diplomat in the Arab world and educationist and his reflections on intolerance with his religion.