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”…
Rectifying India’s Bruised Ego..!
Ah, a billion or more of us have our cheeks swollen again! Not from a cricket ball hurled by a Pakistani fast bowler, but from the slap of Uncle Sam’s indifference. We lie bruised because the American administration—led by Trump, the dealmaker-in-chief—has not treated us with the reverence we’ve been…
Profiteering and Funding a War..!
During the Second World War, stories were told of black marketers who hoarded cigarettes, butter, and sugar, and sold them at obscene prices. The world despised them. They were looked at as parasites, gnawing at the miseries of ordinary folk, profiteering while others bled. But here in India, oh how…
Don’t Waste Our Money on Roads..!
Ah, so once again we cut the ribbon, light the lamps, and smile for the cameras as our Prime Minister inaugurates ₹11,000 crore worth of highway projects to decongest Delhi! Bravo! The champagne corks must be popping in cement companies and contractors’ offices even as I write this. But pardon…
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.