Mihir Swarup Sharma

It is not the first time that phones have been tapped in India, and it is certainly not the first time that the finger of suspicion has pointed to agencies of the union government. Nevertheless, it counts as a new and disturbing development.

You know how you get positive coverage? By doing positive things. Address the real problems - oxygen, beds, misinformation. Apparently it hasn't even occurred to the Modi Sarkar that the safest way to more positive stories is by doing a good job.

These assembly elections are a victory for regionalism, yes. But they are also a reminder of why those who care about a federal India need greater unity of purpose if they are to survive.

The Prime Minister emphasised that the decision to extend the lockdown came with the assent of - indeed, one might say at the behest of - state chief ministers. This follows ample publicity of his weekend meeting with Chief Ministers, as well as leaks and statements that they had asked for the extension.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi first addressed the nation on March 19, he told us that a task force would be set up to deal with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. It then took the government almost a week to come up with an economic relief package. This was not a positive beginning - the delay was mystifying, given that the expec...

If the BJP's campaign has been one of open malice, the AAP's campaign has been no less damaging to India's soul. This is a victory of not just cowardice, but of submission to the BJP's core values.

What we got in this Budget was not just 'pakodanomics', but 'thalinomics'. It was a mess of ideas, of mixed-up priorities - raising tariffs while insisting on creating more tradeable goods for exports, for example.

When a photo emerged of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, surrounded by his senior officials including Home Minister Amit Shah, meeting with economists this week, the internet had only one question: where was Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman?

For some years now, a narrative has been consciously and maliciously built up by the establishment, its pliant plants in the mainstream media and its shock troops on social media and WhatsApp.

The BJP's hold on the map of India has shrunk. In 2017, after the party's spectacular victory in Uttar Pradesh and Nitish Kumar's return to the NDA, the political map of the country was swathed in saffron.

The BJP is faced with an odd dual responsibility: it must show its angry cadre that it can do in the bright light of day what they have for years have had to whisper in the darkness. They will only be satisfied when it is said, openly, that India has no place for more Muslims and that there are too many of them already, and that they should go to P...

With every victory, whether won at the polls or through subsequent backroom dealing, the BJP's advantage grows sharper. For the opposition, whether the Congress or regional parties, the threat is existential.

It was not the best of weeks for Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Two central planks of its all-conquering image were severely eroded: the notion that the economy is in safe hands with Modi in charge, and the idea that the BJP is some sort of unconquerable political juggernaut that can never be out-maneuvered by its opponents.

The power of politics is to make what was once bitterly contested seem inevitable when it eventually comes to pass. Today, the Ram temple seems inevitable; but that is because of completeness of the victory of temple politics.

Remember: the Opposition did not win these elections. So it should not celebrate. It has a long, hard road back to relevance. But these elections show that if it thinks small, acts locally, and is responsive to those of its workers who have remained loyal, it may yet survive the Modi era.

It is not the first time that phones have been tapped in India, and it is certainly not the first time that the finger of suspicion has pointed to agencies of the union government. Nevertheless, it counts as a new and disturbing development.

You know how you get positive coverage? By doing positive things. Address the real problems - oxygen, beds, misinformation. Apparently it hasn't even occurred to the Modi Sarkar that the safest way to more positive stories is by doing a good job.

These assembly elections are a victory for regionalism, yes. But they are also a reminder of why those who care about a federal India need greater unity of purpose if they are to survive.

The Prime Minister emphasised that the decision to extend the lockdown came with the assent of - indeed, one might say at the behest of - state chief ministers. This follows ample publicity of his weekend meeting with Chief Ministers, as well as leaks and statements that they had asked for the extension.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi first addressed the nation on March 19, he told us that a task force would be set up to deal with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. It then took the government almost a week to come up with an economic relief package. This was not a positive beginning - the delay was mystifying, given that the expec...

If the BJP's campaign has been one of open malice, the AAP's campaign has been no less damaging to India's soul. This is a victory of not just cowardice, but of submission to the BJP's core values.

What we got in this Budget was not just 'pakodanomics', but 'thalinomics'. It was a mess of ideas, of mixed-up priorities - raising tariffs while insisting on creating more tradeable goods for exports, for example.

When a photo emerged of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, surrounded by his senior officials including Home Minister Amit Shah, meeting with economists this week, the internet had only one question: where was Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman?

For some years now, a narrative has been consciously and maliciously built up by the establishment, its pliant plants in the mainstream media and its shock troops on social media and WhatsApp.

The BJP's hold on the map of India has shrunk. In 2017, after the party's spectacular victory in Uttar Pradesh and Nitish Kumar's return to the NDA, the political map of the country was swathed in saffron.

The BJP is faced with an odd dual responsibility: it must show its angry cadre that it can do in the bright light of day what they have for years have had to whisper in the darkness. They will only be satisfied when it is said, openly, that India has no place for more Muslims and that there are too many of them already, and that they should go to P...

With every victory, whether won at the polls or through subsequent backroom dealing, the BJP's advantage grows sharper. For the opposition, whether the Congress or regional parties, the threat is existential.

It was not the best of weeks for Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Two central planks of its all-conquering image were severely eroded: the notion that the economy is in safe hands with Modi in charge, and the idea that the BJP is some sort of unconquerable political juggernaut that can never be out-maneuvered by its opponents.

The power of politics is to make what was once bitterly contested seem inevitable when it eventually comes to pass. Today, the Ram temple seems inevitable; but that is because of completeness of the victory of temple politics.

Remember: the Opposition did not win these elections. So it should not celebrate. It has a long, hard road back to relevance. But these elections show that if it thinks small, acts locally, and is responsive to those of its workers who have remained loyal, it may yet survive the Modi era.