The Literary General

Sunday 15 October '06

General Pervez Musharraf has outstripped Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, V S Naipaul, Rohinton Mistry and other greats of literature.

Death by Hanging

Sunday 1 October '06

The debate about the abolition or retention of capital sentence is unending. My objections against it are based on the fallibility of human judgment...

The Pope and Islam

Sunday 17 September '06

Pope Benedict XVI’s foray into history and his remarks about Islam are unfortunate.

Diamond Jubilee

Sunday 6 August '06

After some years I visited Srinagar last week for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

Judicial restraint

Sunday 23 July '06

Judicial restraint has different facets. In adjudging the constitutionality of socio-economic legislation...

Bizarre indeed

Sunday 9 July '06

For sheer bizarreness, our country takes the cake. An instance is the controversy over the non-formation of the Shivlingam at the Amarnath shrine.

Insult to religion

Sunday 25 June '06

There is no law of blasphemy as such in India. The nearest is Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code...

Passport And Fundamental Rights

Sunday 11 June '06

In 1967 our Supreme Court, in the celebrated case of Satwant Singh Sawhny, ruled that the right to travel abroad...

Soli loquies

Sunday 23 April '06

The agitation surrounding the Narmada dam has led to bizarre events. One may vigorously disagree with Medha Patkar’s views or her methods.

Soli Loquies

Sunday 26 March '06

Violation of human rights by discrimination is pervasive. It occurs in every society, in various forms. In essence...

Soli loquies

Sunday 12 March '06

In her death, or rather murder, Jessica Lal has stirred the conscience of the nation. Schoolchildren, lawyers, judges, academics, common citizens and even some in the police establishment are outraged that a heinous crime has escaped punishment.