Is the BJP scared of India Shining redux?
India Shining, the nation may be, but the BJP's election campaigns still take no prisoners. Anything goes is their style and substance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attacks on the opposition may seem stretched but they are deliberate. From saying Muslims, who have...
An audio-visual tribute to Seshachary of Hyderabad Brothers
Daruri Seshachary, who paired with his sibling Daruri Raghavachary to form Hyderbad Brothers, passed away on Feb 24, 2024. Below is a tribute to him. Seshachary formally learned mridangam from his uncle, Vidwan Sri K Sudarsanacharya...
Listen to T M Krishna — for his singing and speaking
I hope T M Krishna does get to give his Sangita Kalanidhi oration. These speeches have not been momentous, barring a few times. One can recall Balasaraswati’s 1973 speech that, in and of itself, seemed typical. But, just by recounting her formative years and her...
DMK poll manifesto: Some good, a lot bad
The DMK manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is typical in the sense that it promises loads of freebies even while fleshing out some worthwhile points regarding the long-term needs of the people. Today, the discourse on freebies has evolved to judging freebie...
‘Lackluster, visionless Tamil Nadu budget mum on poor finances’
Tamil Nadu budget 2024-25 has several warning signs for the state economy. While there is no official assessment of the economy through a State Economic Survey, the budget does show that blaming the Center will not camouflage deep set problems. Fiscal deficit has...
Global Investors Meet: How the TN govt rolled back its claims
Investors may be drawn to other states by good governance and ease-of-doing business. The Tamil Nadu story is one of human capital, natural resources and good core infrastructure like good roads, ports, airports, waterways, railways and affordable power. Human capital...
Babri Masjid: When communists fail…
My neighbour of 30 years in Chennai knocked on my door recently and offered what seemed like temple prashad. He said he had gone to Ayodhya as part of a family pilgrimage that included Varanasi. My neighbour's politics is typically Tamil, or Dravidian, if you will. He...
CMDA crosses 50 years: Time to assess
Urbanization has reached such a level in Tamil Nadu that the functioning of the CMDA (Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority) is under the lens now. A failing CMDA is an indication of the poor state of urban governance in the state reflected in declining...
Vijayakanth – the first Indian politician whose career was railroaded by the internet
This article was first published On Aug 26, 2018 There was something unusual about the Tamil Nadu political scene on Saturday. Vijayakanth was in the news – it was his birthday – and he had not invited troll attention. It seemed as if they had given him a pass because...
TN’s urban planning ignores climate change threat, causing huge losses
Close on the heels of crippling rain and flood in Chennai during 2021, the 2023 monsoon has wreaked havoc in the city and later in the Thoothukudi - Tirunelveli belt in Tamil Nadu. It is becoming clear that the pattern of urbanisation and urban planning in the State...
Ground zero Tiruvannamalai: Why does TN fail on road safety?
At least 15 people have died on a stretch of a national highway in prosperous Tamil Nadu that connects Tiruvannamalai and Bengaluru in just ten days during October 2023, bringing the State closer to another dubious road traffic accident record. Only some months ago,...
Cauvery: Karnataka activists seek re-assessment by CWRA and CWMC
Even as Bengaluru area, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru City, Mandya district, and Ramangara district experienced total shutdown on Sept 29, activists in Karnataka protesting the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu say what the state needs is an official document on water...
Karnataka bandh: Vatal Nagaraj weighs in
Vatal Nagaraj, former MLA and head of Kannada Chaluvaliga, is not supporting the Sept 25 bandh called by political parties in Karnataka on Cauvery but speaks for some in the state when he says Karnataka has exclusive rights over Cauvery. He told inmathi.com: “I stand...
As Kerala govt defaults, teachers save midday meals scheme
While the Tamil Nadu state government is on an expansion mode strengthening the midday meals scheme for school students with breakfast, the cash-strapped neighbour Kerala is struggling to serve noon meal for its over 30 lakh students of government and aided schools up...
One nation, one poll: DMK against it ideologically, AIADMK under Jaya was for it but EPS-OPS have flip-flopped
(This article was first published in July 2018) (The first part of the series looked at why the one nation, one poll idea is a ploy by NDA government to come back to power; the second looked at the legal complications in bringing this about; this article deals with...
One nation, one poll: Why the Chief Election Commissioner calls it ‘very difficult’ to achieve
(This article was first published in July 2018) The first part of the article dealt with how the one nation, one poll proposal may be help BJP in the short-term by giving it an advantage in the next Lok Sabha polls. The question is whether it has the intention or the...
One nation, one election: A ploy by Modi to come back to power in the centre
(This article was first published in July 2018) The first thing that must be understood about the move to have simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies is that it is aimed at establishing single party rule throughout the country, including in...
Who celebrated Onam first? Answer: The Pandyas
(This article was first published on Sept 7, 2022) As Keralites throughout the world are celebrating Onam festival, the cultural festival of Malayalees cutting across caste and religion, a public holiday has been announced in several districts of Tamil Nadu too....
