Swadeshi and My Maruti 800..!
There’s something about the word Swadeshi that makes the chest swell and the voice quiver with patriotism. We picture Gandhi at his spinning wheel, khadi clothes fluttering, and villagers proudly making salt. Today, the Prime Minister thunders about Swadeshi, and dutifully, like good children of the soil, we nod our…
Our Doctorates, Awards and Rewards..!
So, Shah Rukh Khan is finally getting his first National Film Award. Yes, after thirty years of redefining cinema, of winning hearts across continents, of creating an empire on nothing but sheer talent and charm, the powers that be have finally remembered him. They’re dusting off an award and handing…
Why China..?
Just when I thought I’d figured out our foreign policy—a headline in today’s paper left me scratching what’s left of my head: Defence Minister Set to Visit China to Rebuild Ties. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for building bridges. But building one back to China, right after they…
Of Tunnels, Terror, and Tears..!
Exactly two years ago, I found myself descending into the bowels of the earth—into the underground city of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia, Türkiye. A vast subterranean labyrinth, carved out of volcanic rock, where some twenty thousand early Christians once lived, breathed, bartered and believed—in peace, but not in freedom. Why underground?…
Arms, Legs, and no Body..!
A dear old lady, after reading my piece yesterday on “Using the whip inside the temple,” wrote to me and said, “Bob, do you think our religious institutions would ever need such a cleansing?” I wrote back, “Ma’am, if Jesus walked into some of our places of worship today, he’d…
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.