Mani Shankar Aiyar – Author, NDTV.com

Opinion: Why I Said What I Said In Pak

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Wednesday February 14, 2018

My parting shot was, "I love Pakistan because I love India".

Opinion: Modi Will Look To Distance Himself From Rajasthan Rout

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Saturday February 03, 2018

Are the Rajasthan bypolls the End of the Beginning for Modi - or the Beginning of the End? Before seeking to answer that question, let's just take a quick glance at the magnitude of the BJP's reversals at the polls.

Opinion: The Mysterious Math Of Team Modi's Rafale Deal

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Friday January 26, 2018

When it comes to a comparison of the total costs, the UPA commitment was around Rs 54,000 crore. The Modi government will be shelling out Rs. 58,000 crore. By what logic is 58 "much lower" than 54?

Opinion: Modi-Netanyahu Truly Made For Each Other

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Wednesday January 17, 2018

In each other, they have found a mirror image of themselves.

Opinion: Goa Asks Where's The Beef

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Monday January 08, 2018

What is a current political hot potato in the state is the shortage of beef in wholesale markets at the height of the busiest tourist season. It seems the principal cattle slaughterhouse in Goa is closed and there are huge bureaucratic hurdles put in the way of importing beef from other states.

Opinion: Why BJP Making Eyes At Rajinikanth Makes No Sense

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Tuesday January 02, 2018

Does Rajini, in fact, have the breathing space he thinks he needs between launching his new outfit and preparing it for the assembly polls?

Opinion: Whoever Won In Gujarat, I Lost

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Monday December 25, 2017

I squirm, of course, at the thought that I should have brought down the party that has given me so much. I particularly regret having dashed the cup from my friend's son's lips just as triumph was around the corner.

Opinion: Modi-<i>ji</i>, Thank You For Ending My Has-Been Status

Opinion: Modi-ji, Thank You For Ending My Has-Been Status

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Friday December 15, 2017

He has given me more publicity than I could have garnered for myself in three lives. Thank you, Prime Minister.

Opinion: Modi And Media Distorted My Aurangzeb Remark

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Wednesday December 06, 2017

Modi (and the TRP-lusting visual media) grabbed this "fake news" to claim that I was comparing Aurangzeb's succession to succession in the Congress - when, in fact, I had contrasted Aurangzeb to Rahul to underline just how far off the mark Poonawalla (and his new-found patrons, the BJP) were in attempting to portray a democratic election of our party president as "sel...

Opinion: When A Judge Asks Sonia To Forgive Rajiv's Assassins

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Saturday November 18, 2017

The usual place for the standard disavowal, "Views are personal", is in italics at the end of the column. In this case, I am putting my disavowal upfront in the opening paragraph because what I want to say regarding retired Justice KT Thomas' letter to Smt. Sonia Gandhi of 18 October 2017 (reported in The Indian Express, 16 November 2017) is entirely personal

Opinion: Don't Ignore The Russian Revolution Of 100 Years Ago

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Wednesday November 15, 2017

To ignore the 7th of November is to ignore one of the most path-breaking moments of human history. It amounts to a betrayal of the intellectual and moral inheritance of humankind to dismiss the day as just another blip in history.

Opinion: Misreading Modi's DMK Visit In Chennai

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Wednesday November 08, 2017

A serving Prime Minister paying a courtesy call on an ailing state patriarch is hardly breaking news. Yet, every attempt is being made to read hidden meaning into a ten-minute encounter (some accounts say "12 minutes") in Chennai, where Modi had gone to attend the platinum jubilee of a major Tamil newspaper.

Opinion: My Differences With Rajdeep Sardesai's Take On Indian Cricket

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Wednesday November 01, 2017

For, although I am no expert, I seem to remember from my childhood that in England a sharp distinction was maintained between "Gentlemen" and "Players", the former being cricketers with money of their own who would not deign to stain their talent with dross, while Players were those who indulged in so vulgar a practice as actually wanting to be paid for defending thei...

Opinion: Modi Should Offer Shah His 56-Inch Chest For Succour

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Monday October 23, 2017

It's been a bad few days for Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Fortunately, one has a 56-inch chest and the other ample shoulder-space for each to lean on the other and cry. But, alas for them, Omar Khayyam's "Moving Finger" has written - and not all their "tears can wash out a word of it". So, while the nation waits with increasing skepticism for their promise of "achche ...

Opinion: In Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi Begins Demolishing Modi's Fibs

Mani Shankar Aiyar | Monday October 16, 2017

Rahul Gandhi has been touring Gujarat while the Trio of Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath and Smriti Irani have been descending on Rahul's parliamentary constituency of Amethi in UP.

OPINION