The Mumbai police have decided to issue maroon T shirts and shorts for male suspects lodged in central lock ups. “It’s an ingenious idea,” said a police commissioner from another state in northern India, known for its instant justice. “Ingenious?” I asked. “How?” He looked at me the way a…
Robert Clements is a journalist and newspaper columnist. With an estimated 6 million readership, his column, Bob’s Banter is published in over 30 newspapers and magazines in nearly every state in India, as well as in the top newspapers of Bangladesh, London and Dubai and is also translated into Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.
Darkening His Skin Tone..!
A political leader from the north, has decided to darken his skin tone before addressing rallies in Tamil Nadu. I doubt this is very clever strategy. Because if there is one thing we have perfected as a nation, it is our absolute, unwavering, and sometimes ridiculous obsession with fairness. Not…
Your Actions Advertise Your Faith…!
Somewhere in the madness of war, where bullets argue louder than philosophers and explosions interrupt even the sincerest prayers, two soldiers found themselves in a moment that no debate show could ever recreate. One was wounded. The other was not. Now if this had been a panel discussion, experts would…
The Quiet Whimper That Wasn’t..!
The other day someone told me, in a voice usually reserved for income tax notices and dental appointments, “I am afraid I will disappear into the unknown without a whimper.” Now that is a frightening thought. Not the disappearing part. We all know that is part of the deal. You…
Giving Up the Old Man..!
A few evenings ago, I spent an evening with someone who I heard was on first name terms with every liquor bottle in the neighbourhood. And then something happened. He gave his life to God. Now before you imagine a dramatic thunderclap and a choir singing somewhere behind the curtains,…
It’s Saturday..!
There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who wake up on a Saturday morning with a sense of purpose, and those who wake up and wonder what that unfamiliar feeling is. That feeling, my dear reader, is called freedom. It visits you once a week, looks around…
Sexual Harassment and Forced Conversion..!
Yesterday I read a news report that left me more confused than a man trying to understand GST without a calculator, a lawyer, and divine intervention. A corporate office in Nashik, had been accused of sexual harassment. Serious issue. Grave matter. Needs investigation, justice, and strong action. But later, a…
Clothes Maketh a Man..!
As a teenager, I wrote a play about two young men in college. One arrived each day looking as if he had stepped straight out of a fashion catalogue, wearing stylish new clothes with all the pride of a peacock at mating season. The other had a simpler wardrobe. White…
Death of a Singer..!
When news spread that Asha Bhosle is no more, something very strange happened in our homes. Radios were switched on with unusual reverence, playlists were dusted off like old family albums, and suddenly people who had not hummed a tune in years began to nod thoughtfully, as if they had…
Woman’s Reservation: A Step Backwards..!
The other day I watched a group of women before a meeting, planning the events. It was strategic. It was, if you ask me, better organised and dramatically executed than most cabinet meetings. And as I stood there, pretending to check my phone while actually listening with great national interest,…
Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.