All stories by Sunil Sethi
Who is to blame for the royal mess in Rajasthan?
Rediff.com6 Aug 2020The BJP may be ready and waiting to pounce on another key state of the Hindi heartland, but it is the Congress's holy trinity that issued them an invitation to the beheading, notes Sunil Sethi.
I am recovering from Covid
Rediff.com23 Jul 2020'A tornado... when it lands, it swirls through the body, causing chaos, confusion, coughs, wreaking damage to each organ it touches.'
I spent 8 days in a Covid hospital
Rediff.com14 Jul 2020Sunil Sethi caught the coronavirus. This is what happened next.
What the scourge of COVID-19 has exposed...
Rediff.com10 May 2020'...are the deep ruts and fissures in the rotting fabric of our cities and the incompetence of elected leaders and administrators,' notes Sunil Sethi.
Can Kejriwal beat Modi in Delhi?
Rediff.com5 Feb 2020'Mr Kejriwal has played it cool in distancing himself from Delhi's hotspots, adroitly pandering to the BJP's Hindu vote.' 'He neither visited the scene of JNU violence nor has he dropped by at Shaheen Bagh,' notes Sunil Sethi.
Modi must be wary about campus protests
Rediff.com27 Jan 2020'New Delhi's rulers should be alert to lighting a dangerous tinderbox,' warns Sunil Sethi.
Why Aatish Taseer's case must worry us
Rediff.com2 Dec 2019A punitive majoritarian State can make an example of individuals who raise their voice in criticism of the prime minister and divisive politics, warns Sunil Sethi.
Confessions of a 'Khan Market gang' member
Rediff.com14 Jun 2019'If Khan Market today -- a neon-drenched spectacle of blingy shops and pricey eateries -- is what it is, it's not due to the dramatic shift in political dispensations, but because free-market India is another country,' notes Sunil Sethi.
What venom! What vilification!
Rediff.com11 May 2019'The vitriolic campaign now in progress, the underlying threat of violence, and the elevation of Pragya Thakur as a star candidate are key markers in the BJP's obstacle-strewn march back to New Delhi,' says Sunil Sethi.
At election time, cash is king
Rediff.com19 Apr 2019'Votes-for-notes no longer only means cash and goodies for fence-sitting voters,' points out Sunil Sethi.
Will Modi's drum of war help BJP?
Rediff.com21 Mar 2019'Prior to Pulwama, the BJP appeared to be on the defensive, uncertain of its stop-and-go development programmes, fearful of growing discontent among agriculturists and unemployed youth, and nervous of gathering steam among Opposition parties across regional and caste alliances,' says Sunil Sethi.
Why are our passports so shabby?
Rediff.com9 Feb 2019'Why can't a country that builds and manages airports of acknowledged excellence at home and abroad produce passports of durable quality for its citizens?' asks Sunil Sethi.
Is Priyanka more than a show-stopper?
Rediff.com7 Feb 2019Can compassion, common courtesy or an 'emotional connect' win seats in the harsh realpolitik of UP, a state riddled with divisions of caste and religion, and confronted with a seemingly impregnable BSP-SP alliance? asks Sunil Sethi.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu are quiet champions of India
Rediff.com26 Jan 2019'There is a degree of civility, efficiency, cleanliness and cultural ease here that has all but vanished in the squalid, chaotic and rootless Hindi heartland,' says Sunil Sethi.
Why Nehru is worth remembering this Republic Day
Rediff.com26 Jan 2019'India's first and longest-serving prime minister created -- or at the very least imagined -- a modern, democratic nation-State of the 20th century,' says Sunil Sethi.
The Great Property Crash
Rediff.com25 Jan 2019'In many parts of the country, the empty nest-and-empty-nest egg story is a painful boom-to-bust saga.' 'Among the old and young, it is hitting pockets hard, in a linked chain of debt-laden banks, corrupt politicians and builder mafias and disastrous government policies,' says Sunil Sethi.
Has Modi fatigue set in?
Rediff.com2 Jan 2019Desperate times need desperate actions, and the BJP's only option is to enforce legislation to build a Ram mandir, says Sunil Sethi.
Who's the tallest of them all?
Rediff.com15 Dec 2018'All statue-building is an exercise in hubris, but Mr Adityanath's enterprise begs a question: Can a state with rampant child malnutrition and 325 children dying in a Gorakhpur hospital afford Rama's benediction?' asks Sunil Sethi.
Phase Two of #MeToo begins
Rediff.com31 Oct 2018'Mr Akbar has underestimated the level of pent-up anger and commitment among these women,' a young lawyer tells Sunil Sethi.