Utkarsh Mishra writes on politics and current affairs. You can e-mail the author at utkarshm@rediff.co.in
On its 177th anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra explores the history and relevance of The Communist Manifesto.
Kangana Ranaut's decline as an actor feels complete, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
Freedom At Midnight is a bold attempt to revisit the whole discourse about Partition, its causes, and the predicament under which the Congress leaders accepted it. It perfectly captures the extremely confused and complicated situation to which it seemed the only viable solution, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
Captain Sharan and Flight Engineer Anil Jaggia both confirm that the hijackers seemed to know a lot about flying an aircraft. Without help from the ISI or the Pakistan army, it was impossible, points out Utkarsh Mishra.
On Bhagat Singh's 117th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra recounts fascinating incidents from the legend's life.
From the time he first rose to prominence during the movement against the then UPA government, Arvind Kejriwal has regularly grabbed headlines for his surprise moves and decisions. Here are 10 such instances.
As with biopics these days, Kangana Ranaut's films may be less about telling the story of a dark chapter of Indian history and more about giving fodder to those who seek to defend or justify government highhandedness today, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
'Nehru remains central to the polemic between the Congress and the BJP, or stated ideologically, between secular and Hindu nationalism.' 'The reason is that Nehru represents what is optimally possible as a secular politics along with liberalism and democracy in a country like India.'
Utkarsh Mishra's impressions of the Narendra Modi roadshow in Varanasi.
With the kind of money and talent that has gone into making this movie, a really good biopic of a personality like Savarkar could be made. But this film is lost in polemics, as is the case with almost every biopic and period drama today, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
As Ae Watan Mere Watan and Swatantra Veer Savarkar release this week, Utkarsh Mishra takes us down history and reminds us about India's freedom struggle.
'On hard cases like this one, the Supreme Court has only episodically stood against Parliament and the executive government.' 'I worry that this decision sets a precedent where President's rule is imposed in another state... and during the operation of President's rule, the state is fundamentally altered.'
'Hinduism meshed with his sense that the world was paradoxical and puzzling.'
On Jawaharlal Nehru's 134th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra recounts incidents where the first prime minister showed exemplary courage, bravery and integrity.
'The relationship between Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370 is vexed.' 'Sentiment in Jammu towards Article 370 was largely unfavourable and Jammu resented being lumped with Kashmir and placed on a different footing from the rest of India.'
'Article 370 laid down the edifice of the relationship between J-K and the Union of India.' 'If you look at the Article, what is there now is a provision which states that all provisions of the Constitution of India applies to J-K.' 'The veto that the state could exercise previously on most Union laws has ended.'
Rediff.com's Utkarsh Mishra visits the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, which is fast being turned into another mandir-masjid dispute.
Oppenheimer is a very politically significant film for our time, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
Hope this film would be able to teach Indians the value of their rights and the perils of exchanging those for 'economic development' or promises of a better future by some populist leader, notes Utkarsh Mishra.
Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai reminds us that we haven't run out of instances where even the most vulnerable can secure justice against the mighty, applauds Utkarsh Mishra.
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