Mar 9, 2008
The Hindu, 9 March The most remarkable thing about the Indian Premier League player auction was the spectacle it generated. The heady mix of wealth and fame proved intoxicating for many, not least representatives of the media, who celebrated the auction as a triumph of the new India of the free market. For others it… Read more
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 9 March In the coming months, the same event will be commemorated by two different groups in starkly contrasting fashions. May 15 sees the 60th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel. In Britain, the programme of celebrations includes a gala fund-raising dinner at Windsor Castle in the… Read more
Feb 10, 2008
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 10 February After twelve days in which the residents of Gaza poured in hundreds of thousands through a small breach in a steel-and concrete wall, Egyptian forces have resealed the Rafah crossing, and Israel’s collective punishment of 1.5 million people continues unabated. As a result of Israel’s blockade, these people… Read more
Jan 13, 2008
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 13 January The world looks on at the US presidential primaries with a mix of hopes and fears, and not a little bemusement. The road to the White House is serpentine, its course laid out by an amalgam of federal and sate law, constitutional interpretation by the courts, party regulations,… Read more
Nov 4, 2007
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 4 November Two remarkable works of contemporary American art have lightened my load in recent weeks. Both are the products of dissident white men in their fifties, deeply versed in their song-writing craft, steeped in American musical traditions and at the same time driven by opposition to current American policies,… Read more
Oct 7, 2007
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 7 October Who’s being invaded by whom? From the headlines in Britain’s most popular newspapers, and statements from politicians, not least government ministers, you’d think the country was about to be swamped by an alien horde, a wave of immigrants threatening its culture, public services and safety. In his speech… Read more
Sep 30, 2007
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 30 September Four miles from my doorstep lies one of Europe’s largest construction sites: 500 acres to be transformed into an Olympic Park and Village in time for the 2012 Games. At the moment, it’s a wasteland. A few hundred tenants have been evicted from a council estate. Nineteenth century… Read more
Aug 26, 2007
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 26 August St. Bartholomew’s Hospital – known to Londoners for generations simply as Barts – has a claim to being the world’s longest-established provider of free medical care to the poor. It was founded by a penitent Norman courtier in 1123 as a priory hospital on the edge of the… Read more
Aug 12, 2007
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 12 August It was a low-key conclusion to the British Army’s longest continuous campaign. On 1st August, Operation Banner, the British military intervention in Northern Ireland, was declared at an end. Some 5000 troops will remain stationed in the area, but with the same duties as troops elsewhere in the… Read more
Jul 28, 2007
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 28 July That the teaching of history is politically disputed terrain will come as no news to Indian readers. Efforts by the Hindu right at the centre and in the states have amply illustrated how the study of the past can acquire an all-too-potent present-day ideological and communal force. In… Read more
