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Columnists
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Bloggers
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Opinion | Indians Are Growing Sick Of Customs Harassment - But Who Cares?
You would think that the Wintrack experience would serve as an example to other customs officials and make them more careful and professional when dealing with citizens. In fact, the opposite is true.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Oct 22, 2025 11:11 am IST
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Opinion | The Northeasterner: Indian, Until Someone Needs A Punchline - By Vir Sanghvi
The racism we casually throw at those from the North East is not so different - or any less offensive - from the racism that Indians face in the West. Yet, we remain blind to it.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Oct 10, 2025 17:48 pm IST
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Opinion: Forgive Me If I'm Not Crying For Musharraf
How did you feel when you heard that General Pervez Musharraf had died? Were you sad? Were you overjoyed? Did you feel a tinge of sorrow and regret? Or did you find it hard to control your jubilation? I'll tell you how I felt.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Feb 08, 2023 15:24 pm IST
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"Varanasi Live" Shows How Modi Has Rewritten Politics - by Vir Sanghvi
Anyone looking for proof that the BJP has completely transformed Indian politics need only have watched today's live TV coverage of the Prime Minister's latest Benaras adventures.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Dec 13, 2021 18:21 pm IST
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Opinion: Yogi Does For Priyanka What PK Couldn't - by Vir Sanghvi
It is a strange world where the man who causes a turnaround in Priyanka Gandhi's political fortunes is the guy who appears to despise her.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Oct 06, 2021 18:59 pm IST
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Opinion: Amarinder Singh's Exit Proves 7 New Congress Qualities
Chief Ministers always come and go. But the real importance of the resignation of Captain Amarinder Singh lies less in what it means for Punjab politics, and more in what it tells us about the Congress party of today. With each passing day, it become
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Vir Sanghvi
- Sep 19, 2021 15:11 pm IST
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Opinion: Jitin Prasada's Move Reflects Worse On BJP Than Congress
Dynasts will come and go. But the real danger to the Congress comes not from a privileged elite or even, the BJP. It comes from the inability of its leadership to manage the party.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Jun 09, 2021 18:24 pm IST
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Opinion: Opinion: So, No, Mr Modi Does Not Know How To Sweep Elections
If the results of the Bengal election force the government to focus more on the pandemic and less on politicking, campaigning and legislator-purchasing then India will have gained. And lives will be saved.
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Vir Sanghvi
- May 02, 2021 18:30 pm IST
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Opinion: Rahul Gandhi vs G-23 Is Really What It's About. And India Doesn't Care
Hello and welcome to Episode 203 (or is it Episode 406?) of the Congress's civil war. Like some long-running serial that began with a flurry of excitement but has now settled down to daytime monotony, the Congress's version of "The Bald And The Boring" does attempt to deliver neardaily new twists. But nobody cares.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Mar 02, 2021 18:51 pm IST
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Opinion: As Foreign Criticism Grows, Modi Has An Image Problem
It should be clear by now that India has a global image problem. Most Western newspapers of note (The New York Times, Le Monde, Time, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The London Times, etc.) have all been critical of the government's record on farmer protests, Kashmir, free speech, the right to dissent, treatment of minorities, and so on.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Feb 06, 2021 19:47 pm IST
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Opinion: Where Farmer Leaders Failed And What They Should Do Next
But there is also a half-view, full of innuendo and conspiracy, that has emerged even as the merits of the new laws are being discussed. This view lurks on social media and turns up, with increasing frequency, in conversations.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Jan 28, 2021 19:33 pm IST
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Opinion: In Pranab's Memoir, Telling Revelations Of Manmohan, Sonia
It's a story that needs to be told. And perhaps Pranab's memoir will shed a little light on it, no matter how much his children squabble.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Dec 16, 2020 12:20 pm IST
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Opinion: Trudeau Was Wrong. But Surprising Amount Of Support For Him
Justin Trudeau is of as much consequence as Justin Beiber. But the Indian responses to his statements have me worried.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Dec 01, 2020 20:05 pm IST
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Opinion: Why Sonia Gandhi And Ahmed Patel Were The Perfect Team - by Vir Sanghvi
I have no idea how Patel felt about any of this because he was too discreet to say a word. But till the end, he remained by Sonia's side, low-key and loyal. Like the rest of us, he probably had no idea where the Congress is headed.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Nov 25, 2020 12:48 pm IST
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Opinion: Rahul Gandhi's Leadership Exposed Again As Disastrous
There are many reasons for the Congress's failure but, in the public mind, it all comes down to one thing:the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. Admittedly, some of this has to do with hostile and largely biased media perceptions of Rahul. But it also has to do with the way Rahul himself has handled the situation.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Nov 17, 2020 20:38 pm IST
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Opinion: The Real Whodunit In SSR Case Is Obvious, Isn't It - by Vir Sanghvi
We have become a nation that can be easily manipulated by anybody willing to spend a few crores on social media. And rather than resist this onslaught of untruths and smears, we have fallen in love with the lies.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Oct 07, 2020 17:00 pm IST
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Opinion: So, Rhea's Arrested. Take A Good Look At Yourself.
All of our indignation is justified. Nobody can deny that. But here's my problem: we tend to blame everybody else except for the principal culprits.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Sep 08, 2020 18:44 pm IST
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Opinion: Pranab Da Remained ‘PKM’. It Should Have Been ‘PM’
Pranab Mukherjee was an extraordinary politician, capable of feats of memory outpacing computers. On nearly every subject he dealt with, from Finance to Foreign Policy to Parliamentary Procedure, he was an expert. He was capable of gentle humanity and great humility. And yet he was short-tempered, could be unnecessarily stubborn and often lost his shirt needlessly.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Aug 31, 2020 17:56 pm IST
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Opinion: The Difference Between Sonia And Rahul Gandhi As Leaders -Vir Sanghvi
Despite the fuss over the issues that dominate the letter signed by over 23 Congressmen which set the agenda for today's meeting of the Congress Working Committee, there is really only one issue which is at the root of the current crisis in the party: Rahul Gandhi.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Aug 24, 2020 19:34 pm IST
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Opinion: So We Have Ourselves A CBI Inquiry For SSR Case - by Vir Sanghvi
What started out as the story of a nation shocked and then angered by the tragic death of a talented actor has now become a tamasha where everyone takes part and gets attention for themselves and their own interests.
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Vir Sanghvi
- Aug 19, 2020 19:08 pm IST
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