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Will V.K. Sasikala, the close aide of late Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, unite the AIADMK or divide it? That is the question that is dogging the party, of late. The controversial leader, who announced that she would not dabble in politics six months ago, has been making waves in the AIADMK party in the past few days. 'Chinnamma", as she is called, has come back to politics with a punchy slogan "Naam Ondraaga Vendum; Kazhagam Vendraaga Vendum' (We have to be one, and we must win). Her argument is that the party should have one leader at the top. Presently there are two leaders steering the party. She indicates that she is ready to take over.

New Delhi: Promising midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad has exuded confidence that India will have a podium finish at the Hockey Junior World Cup to be played in Bhubaneswar from 24th November to 5th December.

Sunni Muslim ultra-conservatism is having a field day. Barely three months after the Taliban claimed victory in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the second most populous Muslim-majority state, is moving to join Kabul in becoming an outpost of religious intolerance and Muslim supremacy.

India was the jewel in the crown for the British Empire and the jewel in my emerging market portfolio in a year when the Sensex alone is up a stellar 27%. Yet my passage to India is guided by two of my best friends in life, my adorable Asas Capital colleagues Harry Khandelwal and Meg Agarwal, my jungle guides to Dalal Street under the ages of their firm Marwaris R Us Inc.

Nicaragua, a small nation of Latin America is going for the Presidential polls on November 7 this year amidst threats of more sanctions by the United States and the protests by the opposition parties and the civil society activists against the curbs imposed by the Daniel Ortega government on normal democratic activities.

“To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice” is a commitment that comes from the Magna Carta in England, and today is reflected in various constitutional provisions guaranteeing access to free, fair and independent courts. However, whether the courts are able to live up to these promises is something that is a subject matter of study and debate. Without the real ability to recover costs in India’s court system, going to court is invariably expensive for ordinary people.

It is a pity that the rampant drug abuse in India, one of the world’s top ten markets in narcotics smuggling and consumption, rarely hits the headline and gets debated nationally except when rich and popular Bollywood cine stars, their kins and associates are caught by the police in drug use or illicit drug possession cases. The stories printed or aired by the media in such cases are often sympathetic and even defensive towards celebrity drug abusers. Typically filmy-style, they even seem to question the integrity and intentions of the police, indirectly pointing fingers at possible extortion bid. There is little concern about the growing narcotics consumption in India, ruining millions of lives across age groups and income levels. Published reports suggest that consumption of narcotic substances in India — from traditional plant-based drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin to synthetic drugs such as Tramadol — has increased manifold in recent times.

Barun Dasgupta, a leading journalist of the country, who worked in many national dailies including The Hindu and The Indian Express, died in Kolkata of old-age ailments on October 31. He was 86. Barunda, as all the younger reporters called him affectionately, worked for the India Press Agency (IPA) for the last ten years. His incisive commentaries on the political developments in the northeastern states of the country, as well as our South Asian neighbours, won significant admiration and loyal readership from even the foreign ministry officials of the Indian Government.

Nawab Malik is a household name. The NCP minister in Uddhav Thackeray’s cabinet is a tireless pursuer of criminals and those who convert religions to consummate marriages with “mashukas”; who allegedly use caste labels to con jobs in the Indian Revenue Service. Nawab Malik’s own son-in-law is not beyond reproach, but Nawab Malik doesn’t care who he hurts, the crusader that he is. Nawab Malik is Arjun, one of his eyes focused on the eye of the fish.

Political parties in Utter Pradesh are trying to position themselves in the most advantageous way they can imagine. Except the Congress, all three major parties – the BJP, the SP, and the BSP – are working on their old agenda of communalism and casteism. Congress has been making leads for the past few months not only by campaigning aggressively, but also setting a new political agenda. A direct fight between the BJP and the SP has been visualized for months now, but the Congress seems to have entered the political chakravyuh laid out by the BJP and SP.