Your Taxes-Our Re-Election Fund..!
Today, as I opened the morning paper, my coffee nearly turned cold. There it was, staring me in the face—Bihari women had each received ten thousand rupees, not from some benevolent businessman, not from a charitable trust, but from our tax money. Ten thousand each! And with a smile added:…
Visas, Tariffs and Doing Unto Others..!
I sat this morning and saw headline after headline of India and Indians being targeted abroad. In America, Trump’s tariffs, visa upheavals and deportations hit businessmen and students. In England, placards scream against “outsiders.” In Australia and Ireland, fists and words are raised against Indians. And as I watch our…
Birthday Celebrations and Democracy..!
A few days ago, newspapers greeted us with full page ads all trying to outdo each other in wishing the PM on his birthday. We also watched lavish celebrations and wondered whether we were still a democracy—or whether we had quietly slipped into some ancient monarchy. Streets decorated, speeches thundered,…
Wanted – A Statesman..!
Our political leaders in the ruling party are getting old, and soon we will need younger, dynamic ones to lead our country. But as I watch our netas thump their chests and roar into microphones, I feel like putting out an advertisement in the classifieds: “Wanted – A Statesman. Age…
The Real ‘Sin’ in Sin Tax..!
So, the GST Council has decided to simplify our lives. Yes, you heard right—simplify! Out go the old four tax slabs, in come two: 5% and 18%. And for those who like their pleasures with a little indulgence—say, a cigar, a peg, or imported cheese—there’s a brand-new “sin and luxury”…
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.