Allan Octavian Hume, a sidelined official of the British Raj, founded the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1885. Born in Kent, UK, Hume was the quintessential gora sahib (white master) who had gone native. He took the initiative to create a modern political platform in a newly colonized and...
This is the end of election season in India. Parties have announced many schemes. Although the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is projected to win, the results may not be a foregone conclusion. To win public support, the Indian National Congress, the opposition party, has promised Nyuntam Aay...
In India, about 900 million people are voting in the world’s largest election. In more ways than one, it is a triumph of democracy. People will cast their votes freely and fairly. If the government loses power, the transition is likely to be peaceful. If it wins, the opposition is unlikely to...
As India goes to the polls, its opposition party is proposing a policy that threatens the unity of the country. All political parties bring out manifestoes before elections. Think of them as love letters to the electorate that tell citizens about the person wooing them. In India’s ongoing...
In the fourth of a five-part series on opinion polls about the forthcoming Indian elections, pollsters concur that regional parties hold sway in the south, but disagree as to seat numbers and the implications for the next national government. South India has a different historical memory to the...
In the third of a five-part series on opinion polls about the forthcoming Indian elections, pollsters agree that the Congress-led coalition is on the ascendant but disagree as to what degree. As election fever heats up, pollsters in India are debating outcomes. Yogendra Yadav and Sanjay Kumar of...
Invoking Nehru will not save Sonia Gandhi and the Congress Party from irrelevancy. Sonia Gandhi’s renunciation of power ten years ago is still fresh in the minds of Indians. Her rejection of the prime ministership, and her selection of a non-political, Oxford-educated yes-man...
India’s imperial-era intelligence apparatus has multiple flaws and needs radical overhaul. Since India’s independence in 1947, the country has been a democracy. Elections are held as scheduled, the press is largely free and parliament convenes regularly. Despite these democratic practices,...
Modi, with his modest roots and focus on the economy, promises to usher in a new era for India. The Congress party has ruled India for the bulk of the period since independence. For the last decade, it has been in power in the form of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), a coalition it forged...
If Modi can address key issues in Asia, India can fuel a regional dynamo. First, it was the Americans who spoke of a "pivot" to Asia; then, it was the Russians' turn to consider prioritizing the region. The Europeans, not to be left far behind, also debated following suit. Now, it seems...
