Mani Shankar Aiyar's book on the former prime minister provides something of a history of that period. However, the author should have included a section on the massacre of Sikhs in 1984.

The Prime Minister of India fled the field when his people needed the government most.

Mobs can now deny Muslims prayer spaces granted to them by the state, and the state will withdraw its permission, among other discriminatory incidents. Because this mindset has been made acceptable, it will continue to spread.

It shows the utter contempt that the Central government has for the Opposition and for democracy, the disregard it has for the judiciary and the extent to which it can go to secure its own interests over those of the country.

The CAA is here. But what do we know of the Narendra Modi government's plans with the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens?

There are no indices anywhere in the world, including in nations we consider as friends and allies, which suggest that Indians have become more free and India less authoritarian since 2014. There is no objective defence.

Fraternity can come only when we stand up for each other.

The episode reveals that when a strong executive decides it wants something, even something that is dangerous and unconstitutional, there is little resistance from within to stop it.

Under international human rights law, states must ensure that evictions only occur in exceptional circumstances, require full justification and the provision of adequate legal safeguards. None of that here in New India, of course.

If we look at the manifestoes of the BJP/Jan Sangh, which were published a few years ago, readers may be surprised to find little or no continuity in the way that the party thinks. On critical issues, it has reversed its position with no explanation for the changes.

One wonders how many BJP members who sign written declarations saying they accept Integral Humanism as their “basic philosophy” actually understand what it is that they have accepted.

As a news report put it, this was done to 'attract global financial institutions,' and to that end 'alcohol would be allowed at hotels/restaurants/clubs offering ‘wine and dine’ in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (or GIFT City) near the state capital of Gandhinagar.’

That such a vicious falsehood was allowed to be spread deliberately should tell us much of what we need to understand about where we are today.

The army says it conducts its own justice system, the court martial. These are opaque processes where the survivor or victim does not have access and shouldn’t be used for crime unrelated to military discipline.

There was no demand in India that the laws be changed. We are not referring to tinkering, meaning removing and adding that which becomes necessary with changing times. We are referring to taking down an edifice fully and dismantling it without reason.

Bhagat Singh threw his smoke bombs to oppose the Public Safety Bill. It allowed the government to jail people without trial. Just like UAPA, under which many Indians have been charged and are in jail. It does not define “terrorist” or “terrorism”.

Increased cooperation between South Asian countries has the potential to produce significant gains across all countries in the region.

Asha Thadani shows that though trapped, the individuals she introduces us to are not unaware of their shackles and give us a glimpse into their defiance and their spirit.

In 1990, India's per person income was $367, while China's was $317. By 2000, India's per person income had risen to $1,357, compared to China's $4,450.

The reality is that the UPA’s schemes had anodyne and unmemorable names even though they had the same aims. Modi’s schemes have catchier names because he spends so much effort personally polishing coinage.