Play It Straight
A week after a British tabloid reported the alleged collusion of some Pakistani cricketers with a London-based bookie in spot-fixing, there's more proof in the public domain regarding betting, which should make cricket lovers worried. Yasir Hameed, a colleague of the three tainted Pakistani cricketers, reportedly said the players have been doing [...]
How To End A Greek Tragedy
The tragedy in Greece is out of character. It is premature: the traditional Dionysia festival for Greek tragedy is at the end of March. Besides, a Greek tragedy brings a great figure down, thanks to his own mistaken action. But here, the Greek mistakes on fiscal policy are bringing down the euro, and distressing big European players Germany and [...]
Hasan Suroor: Brown’s makeover to connect with voters
Indian politicians should regard themselves lucky that they are not required to hug babies, humour demanding mums or chat up lonely pensioners to show their “human” side and prove that they are able to “connect” with voters. The touchy-feely, emotionally literate politician is a uniquely western phenomenon. And, in the 24-hour television [...]
In On The Great Game
Throughout the 19th century, Russia and Britain sparred for control of Afghanistan and what is now Pakistan. The "Great Game" ended in stalemate. The Afghans remained fiercely independent. As the saying goes, you can rent a Pathan but you can't buy one. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and new national security adviser Shiv Shankar Menon the same [...]
Hasan Suroor: How real is British outrage over “killer” passports?
It was billed as the moment when, we were told, Britain would read out the riot act to Israel over Mossad's suspected link to the abuse of British passports by the killers of Hamas commander, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in Dubai last month. But the first thing that the Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor did as he emerged from a meeting with the Foreign [...]
Seumas Milne: A murder to fan more conflict
Imagine for a moment what the reaction would be if Iranian intelligence was almost universally believed to have assassinated a leader of one of the organisations fighting the Tehran government in a western — friendly state. Then consider how Britain, let alone the U.S., might respond if the killers had carried out the operation using forged or [...]
A reverse sweep
Things come a full circle when an Indian buys the East India Company, of which the Times, London, said in 1874: “It accomplished a work such as in the whole history of the human race no other company ever attempted and as such is likely to attempt in the years to come.” Technically, of course, ‘John Company’ was wound up in 1873. But even [...]
Hasan Suroor: Faith lobby and secular laws
While across the Channel in France secularists are on the march and busy banning any hint of religiosity in public, in Britain the wind appears to blowing in exactly the opposite direction with the religious establishment setting the agenda. Its latest triumph is winning an extraordinary exemption from a new equality law which would make it [...]
Two Cheers
Instances of the Congress and BJP agreeing on anything are all too rare. That's why the praise heaped by BJP chief ministers, including Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, on the Congress-led UPA government is welcome. Home minister P C Chidambaram as well as the Union home secretary both came in for a pat on the back from BJP CMs for their handling of [...]
Lessons of Iraq ignored: The target is now Iran
We were supposed to have learned the lessons of the Iraq war. That’s what Britain’s Chilcot inquiry is meant to be all about. But the signs from the Middle East are that it could be happening all over again. The U.S. is escalating the military build-up in the Gulf, officials revealed this week, boosting its naval presence and supplying tens of [...]