The search for a lily-white reformer could trip the reform itself. This is a dilemma the Bhushans need to confront THE LEGENDARY samurai have a code of being that is difficult to attain: they must be ready to do battle no matter the odds, they must have no fear of consequence, they must value honour and pride above all else, they must be benevolent and they must have no interest in...

They played to the gallery, grabbing every opportunity to put Hazare's agitation centre stage. THE movement against corruption led by Anna Hazare had the media completely on its side. The agitation, which began with Hazare announcing that he would begin an indefinite hunger strike on April 5 demanding the passage of a people-inspired Lokpal Bill, ended on April 9. The five days of the agitation saw the mass media, especially...

Slogans of the “Second Freedom Struggle”, references to the political class as “kale angrez”, Anna Hazare as Gandhian and even Gandhi, the wearing of the Gandhi topi, the projection of the fast-unto-death as a Gandhian method, have all evoked linkages with the struggle for Indian Independence. Many enthusiastic TV reporters, swayed by the sight of swelling crowds, added their bit by calling it the biggest movement since Independence. Was this...

Has the battle between good and bad been lost again? Can we remain silent at the insidious adventures of some elements trying to scare away public-spirited people? The national capital is an excessively pampered city. Mindboggling amounts of money have been poured into it for improving infrastructure. This exercise has undeniably yielded dividends. Supreme among the additions to the average citizen's comfort is the metro built by Sridharan who, incidentally, is...

Irom Sharmila Chanu and Anna Hazare have one thing in common – the ability to fast indefinitely for what they perceive is right. But the similarities end there. She has been on a political fast for 11 years but her silent resilience moves you when you realize the sheer magnitude of what she is single-handedly trying to achieve. Far from the glare of studio lights of television channels and tangled wires of...