Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
18 July 2010, 06:57 AM IST
In a month from now, on August 17 to be precise, the newly-opened Terminal 3 at Delhi airport could witness a disagreeable sight calculated to shame all Indians: the deportation of Bang-ladesh-born writer Taslima Nasreen, who currently lives in Delhi.
...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
04 July 2010, 12:31 AM IST
Novelists and poets have traditionally provided much-needed fodder to gossip columnists. Their little quirks, eccentricities and bohemianism have added spice to the more predictable tidbits concerning politicians, film stars and the category that has come to...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
20 June 2010, 01:40 AM IST
In the past fortnight, La Martiniere, Kolkata, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The tragic suicide of 13-year-old Rouvanjit Rawla, a student devastated by insensitive teachers and harsh punishment, has incensed people and disgusted the alumni....
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
06 June 2010, 12:22 AM IST
Last week i revisited some stomping grounds of a misspent youth. Much had changed in the past three decades but some things are timeless. In a week that has witnessed a huge emotional outpouring over the killing of nine Turkish ‘peace activists’ by Israel in...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
23 May 2010, 12:33 AM IST
Earlier this year, a fashionably 'progressive' essayist lauded India's Maoist terror squads as "Gandhians with a gun", a description that is about as persuasive as 'celibate rapist'. Not that either mockery or public anger plays any role in tempering...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
09 May 2010, 01:09 AM IST
In recent times the world has witnessed a lot of crying over spilt milk. Germany has apologized to the Jews for the Holocaust; Japan has said sorry to the US for Pearl Harbour; the Pope has publicly taken the burden of his errant clergy on himself and bowed...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
25 April 2010, 03:51 AM IST
If recent opinion polls mirror the outcome, it would be wise to endorse London Mayor Boris Johnson’s appealing solution to a looming British disaster: “Dissolve the electorate and summon a new one.” There is still a fortnight for Albion to come to its senses,...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
11 April 2010, 01:01 AM IST
Now that the decks have been cleared for the Sania Mirza-Shoaib Malik marriage on April 15, it is worth reflecting on the controversy that riveted the subcontinent for a week. Was it, as the brigade of the superior feels, a classic case of the media pandering...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
28 March 2010, 03:46 AM IST
March 23 was the 69th anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh. Like most sarkari occasions, the commemoration was characteristically tokenistic and would have remained confined to telecasts of “Rang de Basanti” and “Legend of Bhagat Singh” had it not been...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
14 March 2010, 12:48 AM IST
On Sunday evening, i am scheduled to participate in a net debate on an issue that has disturbed me for some time: the marginalization of the Right from the liberal space.
The subject is undeniably abstruse and of interest to either those who perceive...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
28 February 2010, 03:26 AM IST
A controversy centred on the human rights body Amnesty International is raging in Britain and it could be instructive for India. Earlier this month, Gita Sahgal, the head of the organization’s ‘gender unit’, publicly protested against its close association...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
14 February 2010, 01:37 AM IST
Assuming Islamabad has an equivalent of the committee of the great and good that decides on India’s Republic Day honours, it may find it worthwhile considering something innovative: honouring the Shiv Sena with a Pakistani award. There are few organizations...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
31 January 2010, 12:03 AM IST
For someone whose fluency in the languages of the Aryavarta is fairly basic, there are few things more exasperating than being caught in the crossfire of incomprehension at social gatherings where, as a rule, you meet people of your own social strata. Delhi is...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
17 January 2010, 01:01 AM IST
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the awards ceremony hosted by the Infosys Foundation as a proud parent: his daughter Upinder was being awarded the prize for history.
As he cherished the moment, a few thoughts must have run...
Posted By
Swapan Dasgupta
03 January 2010, 05:09 AM IST
The Noughties has witnessed the most sustained strains in Indo-Pakistan relations in living memory. The decade which began with the infamous Kandahar hijack, has been marked by the attack on the Indian Parliament, the resulting military mobilization, the...
Well-known journalist and political commentator Swapan Dasgupta has worked for many leading Indian publications, including The Times of India. He thinks the Right is an endangered community in India's English-language media. "Right & Wrong" is one of the few voices of the community.
The views expressed in Right & Wrong are the author´s own.
