All stories by Aakar Patel
Why Modi is HARSH on NGOs
Rediff.com24 Jul 2021It should stop what it is deliberately doing to the NGO sector and let it operate as freely as the rest of the private sector, asserts Aakar Patel.
Why were the BK 16 Arrested?
Rediff.com17 Jul 2021None of them had anything to do with the violence at Bhima Koregaon, where they were not even present, points out Aakar Patel.
Modi Failed India on the Economy
Rediff.com10 Jul 2021The government did not tell us why our economy had imploded. The prime minister simply stopped speaking on the subject, asserts Aakar Patel.
Modi's Huge Challenge: The Economy
Rediff.com30 Jun 2021After 24 months of slowdown beginning in January 2018 before the pandemic and then 18 months of collapse since January 2020, we have become the world's worst performing economy, observes Aakar Patel.
What Vikas Yatra is Modi talking about?
Rediff.com14 Jun 2021A report by the Azim Premji University showed that during the pandemic 270 million Indians were pushed into poverty. Meaning that they were not poor according to the government poverty line before, but have become now. Aakar Patel mulls on the state of the nation as the Modi government enters its eighth year.
Why is Modi angry with Twitter?
Rediff.com27 May 2021Social media is reflecting a reality that the BJP does not want communicated. More people are saying things on social media that are upsetting the government, asserts Aakar Patel.
Why did Modi fail to anticipate a second wave?
Rediff.com18 May 2021'We had decided that India was unique and had overcome Covid.' 'Other nations ordered vaccines on time.' 'They let their scientists determine whether the battle against the pandemic was won instead of a divinely inspired leadership,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Is India hiding Covid death numbers?
Rediff.com14 May 2021A person who has Covid but also has another disease can be classified as a Covid death or not. It serves the immediate purpose of the government to pretend that the official number is low because it makes it appear less incompetent and helpless than it is, points out Aakar Patel.
Why Modi's Gujarat model has failed
Rediff.com9 May 2021As India suffers and the ruling party is on the defensive, the truth is that the only way that this wave will pass is if exponential growth of the virus stops on its own, asserts Aakar Patel.
Mr Modi: How will the poor pay for the vaccine?
Rediff.com8 May 2021We are today carrying out the reconstruction of New Delhi which will cost us Rs 20,000 crore and give the prime minister a new house while crores of people have no means and no money to buy vaccines for their children, observes Aakar Patel.
What do Indians Vote For?
Rediff.com3 May 2021'Many Indians are not voting mostly on the basis of issues like the economy and their own well-being as measured by data provided by the government.' 'They seem to be as concerned and perhaps more concerned about other things, especially those that have to do with the harassment of India's minorities,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Why India needs an independent media
Rediff.com10 Apr 2021The government is attempting everything it can to make sure that this does not happen, observes Aakar Patel.
Is this how India is fighting COVID-19?
Rediff.com26 Mar 2021Why did we go into nationwide lockdown when we were adding 100 cases a day and why are we not going into lockdown but allowing cricket stadiums, political rallies and Kumbh Melas when we are adding 40,000 cases a day? asks Aakar Patel.
What parivartan does Modi want?
Rediff.com18 Mar 2021The prime minister says he will bring real change to Bengal. Perhaps he will. The interesting thing is that his party has never defined what this change is, observes Aakar Patel.
Modi's Dilemma
Rediff.com13 Mar 2021Our precipitous decline is being noticed and recorded abroad with alarm. It is strange that within India we are carrying on as if it is business as usual, observes Aakar Patel.
Does Modi really care about Indians?
Rediff.com6 Mar 2021The Indian government today does not care what it does to Indians as long as it can continue on its path, observes Aakar Patel.
When will Modi cut high taxes on fuels?
Rediff.com24 Feb 2021The logic of deregulation was that the consumer was protected no matter what the price of crude. But now the reverse has happened. The government is protected no matter what the price of crude, observes Aakar Patel.
Is India becoming a flawed democracy?
Rediff.com9 Feb 2021For those who think India's democracy is just fine and there has been no change in the last few years, perhaps it would be instructive to see what has happened on a few issues, observes Aakar Patel.
India's growth story is over
Rediff.com2 Feb 2021You can make all the speeches you want, you cannot argue against 39 straight months of slowing, observes Aakar Patel.
Will this Budget be a 'Game Changer'?
Rediff.com31 Jan 2021That is what you will hear again after Nirmala Sitharaman presents a speech that will prove to be meaningless and numbers that will show themselves to be wildly off the mark, observes Aakar Patel.