Jawahar T R, Author at News Today

Where losers are winners

Posted on September 13, 2019 by Jawahar T R

I was at once amused, astonished and aghast at a couple of news items that appeared one below the other in a national daily. PayTM, a much touted desi payment app, hogged the headlines for two diametrically opposite reasons. One proudly proclaimed that PayTM’s parent company would be bidding for a sizeable stake in the private sector Yes Bank. And another announced that the same parent has tripled its losses in three years between FY2016-19, from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 4,217 crore. Continue Reading →

Why TN is forbidden land! — 10: Run on temples

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Jawahar T R

The BJP rode to power on the prime poll plank of building a Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The BJP, drawing its lineage from Savarkar’s Hindutva, claims to be an agmark Hindu party seeking Hindu votes for Hindu causes. Continue Reading →

Why TN is forbidden land! — 9: Hindutva hits a hurdle here

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Jawahar T R

Tamilnadu, I can claim with absolute assurance, has always been the the most devout State in the country. This is also the State wherein the most virulent form of modern atheism took roots. Continue Reading →

Why TN is forbidden land! — 8: Embracing the enemy

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Jawahar T R

It is a numerical coincidence that the Three Language Formula failed for the third time recently. It was nixed by the Constituent Assembly in 1950; shelved by Nehru in 1963; and now shot down by verbal missiles from TN after Modi’s present regime made a draft proposal. Continue Reading →

Why TN is forbidden land! — 7: ‘Hindi’tva Hegemony

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Jawahar T R

Let me start with my now familiar invocation: When Sanskrit itself is being challenged, whither Hindi? Really, compared to Tamil, Hindi is a bachcha. It does not have much of a history, let alone literary history. Still, a brief on that brief history would put the present in perspective. Continue Reading →

Why TN is forbidden land! — 5: The lost past

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Jawahar T R

It is said historians are like the deaf who answer questions not asked. The ‘authoritative’ nationalist history texts in vogue in academia and public domain are largely south-blind and north-centric. Continue Reading →

Why TN is forbidden land! — 2: A conflict of civilisations

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Jawahar T R

Let’s begin at the beginning … ‘Thamizh predates sand and stone’ This core dictum is embedded deep in the psyche of the Tamil-speaking population world over. Continue Reading →

Why TN is forbidden land – 1

Posted on June 7, 2019 by Jawahar T R

‘What’s wrong with you people in TN?’: I have been bombarded with this condescending query ever since this State bucked the national trend in the recently-concluded LS polls. Continue Reading →

Modi’s DNA

Posted on May 24, 2019 by Jawahar T R

Modi the politician and Modi the Prime Minister are but just minor manifestations of Modi, the mighty man. In these days of celluloid super heroes, India appears to have found an invincible one in flesh and blood. Not just elections and not just politics, India’s present story is the story of Modi, a story that is unfolding as an unbelievable history. Continue Reading →

Predicting pollsters

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Jawahar T R

The ban on poll-astrology some years back was heart-breaking news for Media. Predictions, particularly the exit polls, whatever their credibility, released right on the evening of poll-day, constituted much of primetime and contributed hugely to TRP in a highly competitive environ. Continue Reading →