Sidharth Bhatia

Jan 27, 2011

The writer is a senior journalist and commentator on current affairs based in Mumbai

Ardh Satya

Something about Aamir Khan’s weekly show, Satyamev Jayate, has been nagging me for a while. He has received wide praise for it and much criticism, too, on all kinds of counts. His fans — and this goes beyond his normal filmi fan base — say that he has done signal service by bringing social issues to the forefront.

The anonymous war to free the Internet

The battle lines are being drawn between advocates of total freedom of the Internet and those who want restrictions on its use.

A rudderless BJP in India’s political sea

With the Indian political league hotting up and elections barely two years away (or less, Mamata Banerjee has claimed), it may be a good time to look at where the major players stand.

BJP & the free fall

With the Indian political league hotting up and general elections barely two years away, (or less, as Mamata Banerjee has claimed), it may be a good time to look at where the major players stand.

Good grammar is long went

In a world getting increasingly complicated, one is always searching for some certitudes. You want that old song to sound the same (no remixes), that old shop still to be where it was (no malls). This is not just nostalgia for its own sake; these are the unshakeable pillars that you can hold on to in the bewildering, fast moving universe.
Language is one such constant. One recog-nises that language must move with the times — this is what gives it flavour and relevance — but some rules cannot and should not change. They should not be treated in an off-hand manner, to be discarded because of fashion or worse, repeated abuse by the masses. And yet, such travesties take place all the time.

Why the beep can’t I watch this beep?

The Central Board of Film Certification, usually called the Censor Board, is that ever vigilant body that has kept a sharp eye on anything that might be offensive, vulgar and generally against Indian

Why Agent Vinod matters

Whenever a hugely hyped film opens, film critics tend to approach it with corresponding scepticism and extra-sharpened claws.

The isolated man of Indian politics

Whatever those opposed to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi may think, the fact is that he has a fan club of his own. This includes voters, businessmen, Gujarati NRIs and not a few public commentators who stand up for him whenever the occasion arises. But whatever these supporters and acolytes may believe, there is a considerable body of opinion against their hero too. This is not limited to those who suffered in the Gujarat pogrom, or just Muslims everywhere, or the pseudo-secularists or indeed activist busybodies who are fighting him legally and every which way.

Big cities and the selfish gene

The low percentage of voting (less than 46 per cent) in the municipal elections in Mumbai predictably got the media all excited and outraged. Immediate comparisons were made with the high turnout in Uttar Pradesh and instant conclusions were drawn — the poor were more aware of their democratic duties than the comfortable urban middle and upper-middle classes. That Mumbai has always shown scant interest in voting and that the tonier and richer areas often vote the least is now almost a self-perpetuating axiom that’s trotted out in every election to show the apathy of the self-serving rich. Equally clichéd are the photos and quotes of prominent celebrities from those areas who did vote, the more to shame those who chose to stay away.

Our identity in a catch-22 cycle

How do you prove who you are? This is a question that can be troubling most times, but is becoming more and more bothersome now.

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