Automatic Doors After They Are Dead..!
So, the Railways have announced—with the solemnity of a priest at a last rites service—that they’ll finally install automatic doors on Mumbai’s local trains. Not before the tragedy.Not to prevent it.But after four lives were crushed, mangled, and tossed aside like used tickets on a Mumbra platform. Only then did…
Lower the Bribe Rate..!
A few days ago, while having my morning coffee, listening to the birds and flipping through the newspaper with one hand I nearly spat the hot brew on the crossword puzzle. A full-page article—yes, not an ad for designer tiles or discount flats—boldly proclaimed that builders in Mumbai were requesting…
Dying Before Knowing…!
Many years ago, while writing for the Asian Age, a paper that MJ Akbar owned, he wrote me a line I’ve never forgotten. “Never criticize anyone immediately after a tragedy.” A rare bit of editorial wisdom. And so, though every fibre in me wants to take a red pen dipped…
Bangladesh, a Mirror of Ourselves..!
It’s astonishing how swiftly history fades—quicker than ink on wet paper, more transient than promises made before elections. Days after a mural commemorating the Liberation War of Bangladesh was veiled in Lalmonirhat district, it was demolished at the behest of local authorities. On the very day that marks the hard-won…
Bulldozer Justice..!
The first time I saw a bulldozer, it was an awe-inspiring sight. A giant machine, powerful and imposing, tearing through mounds of earth with a mechanical efficiency that seemed almost hypnotic. It was a thing of purpose—used to build roads, clear debris, and shape landscapes. But lately, the bulldozer has…
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.