Bangkok siege
A familiar feeling of siege is once again gripping Bangkok. The so-called Red Shirts have planned to gather in the Thai capital for anti-government protests. Collected under the banner of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, they are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, now in exile after being removed in a [...]
Suhasini Haidar: Why half the sky is not enough
During the debate in Parliament and outside over the Women's Reservation Bill, many people have referred to quota “success stories” worldwide — proposing that India could gain from the experience of about 40 other countries that have enacted legislation on such reservation for women. In fact, if India were to introduce such reservation by [...]
Cast in doubt
Politics has broken out in Iraq,” said US Vice President Joe Biden, describing his expectation that clashing sects would channel their grievances into the electoral process. However, much sectarian bloodletting has already occurred during the campaign and on election day, as Iraq voted to elect a new parliament. The going is hard, as the [...]
Iraqis Vote
Final results from Iraq’s parliamentary election may not be available for days, but this much we can already say for sure: Iraq’s citizens once again showed tremendous courage and determination, defying bombs and a flawed pre-election process to cast their ballots. We hope that Iraq’s political leaders will show at least as much courage [...]
On ladies, not gents
In the much-vaunted tradition of buddy flicks, the two bad boys of Parliament brought the big guys to their knees, or at least the day’s business in the world’s largest democracy. The Yadav ‘brothers’ or bhaiyyas, if we subscribe to authenticity, were the only people who delivered on International Women’s Day, on their threat that is. [...]
Turkey and the Army
The recent arrest or detention of dozens of Turkish military officers for alleged coup plotting could signal a significant shift in power from the tarnished army to civilian leadership. These cases could help strengthen Turkish democracy — provided the government and the judiciary scrupulously apply the rule of law. For most of modern [...]
Winning Formula
India and the 27-nation European Union resolved last week to speed up talks so as to ink a free trade agreement by end-2010. The October date needs keeping, since a trade pact has been hanging fire since 2007. If the FTA means $9 billion worth of immediate business for India, the gains aren't just on one side. The world's second fastest growing [...]
Nirmalendu Bikash Rakshit: Compulsory voting
THE Gujarat government has recently introduced a Bill to make voting compulsory. If passed, every voter will be legally bound to cast his vote. He will be liable to face punishment unless he can furnish valid reasons for abstention. In fact, the turnout in this country is so poor that the idea of compulsory voting was made some time ago. The [...]
Madhavi Goradia Divan: Attire of choice
THE freedom of expression, a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, is a multi-faceted, multi-nuanced notion which enables a citizen to express herself in a vast variety of ways. The freedom of expression under our Constitution means the right to speak, to criticize, to differ. It also entails the right not to [...]
Kanti Bajpai: Be Civil With The Military
One of the cornerstones of democracy is a healthy civil-military relationship. India stands out as one of the great success stories here. Its military has thankfully stayed out of the hurly-burly of politics, and Indian democracy has been the longest standing in the developing world. Yet, we should not conclude that all is well with civil-military [...]