Bobby Ghosh
Bobby Ghosh was editor-in-chief of Hindustan Times. He has spent over two decades covering international affairs, including long stints as correspondent and editor in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the US. He tweets as @ghoshworld
Articles by Bobby Ghosh
The Unified Theory of Trump: Why America has been resistant to reality checks
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON AUG 29, 2017 12:23 PM IST
For most people who have never lived in the US — and indeed, for many who have — it is mystifying how Americans elected as their leader a man so palpably unsuitable for the job
China’s video games on Doklam show why Beijing finds it hard to exert soft power
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON AUG 23, 2017 07:28 AM IST
The two recent videos — one of Indian and Chinese soldiers attacking each other with fists and rocks, and the other a bizarre one released by Xinhua — show that the problem lies with the Chinese government, and its default posture of condescension toward its neighbours
What India risks if it gets on board Trump’s Afghanistan project | Opinion
By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON AUG 22, 2017 08:59 PM IST
US President Donald Trump has said that he wants to further develop strategic partnership with India to achieve country’s goals in Afghanistan
Time to rescind Aung San Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize | Opinion
By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON OCT 13, 2017 11:20 AM IST
Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been silent on the plight of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority that is being systematically oppressed by Buddhist extremists and the Burmese government.
The Hurriyat never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity in Kashmir
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON MAY 16, 2017 06:56 PM IST
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference, so quick to call for Valley-wide protests and hartals when one Kashmiri is killed by the security forces, could not be moved to outrage over the murder of seven men in Kulgam district
A speech in Lal Chowk or a ‘Mann ki Baat’, what Modi can do to heal Kashmir
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON JUN 01, 2017 09:10 AM IST
In Kashmir, pellet guns have replaced Papa-2 as proof that the Indian state cares nothing for the concerns of Kashmiris. The state may argue that the pellets of today are better than the bullets of the past, but such gainsaying ignores the larger reality that parleys are better than projectiles.
Saudi Arabia on UN commission protecting women — now that’s a cruel joke
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON MAY 04, 2017 07:25 AM IST
Saudi Arabia finding a seat at the UN Commission on the Status of Women shows that the United Nations is not only inept, but also impotent. This will seriously undermine the credibility of the body
Erdogan comes to India a winner and loser
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON MAY 28, 2017 10:46 AM IST
The outcome of the Turkish referendum is especially embarrassing since Erdogan has spent the past two years systematically titling the playing field in his favour, by purging the opposition, and suppressing press freedom.
Syria gas attack: Those who use sarin can’t escape justice | Opinion
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON MAY 07, 2017 08:47 AM IST
Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was the first to actually use sarin as a weapon of mass destruction. It must now be the goal of the US — and indeed, of all right-thinking nations — to bring Assad to justice. But justice, even for so horrific a crime, can take years.
Why Arabs are not protesting against Modi’s proposed Israel visit | Opinion
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON MAR 29, 2017 10:09 AM IST
One reason for the Arab pococurantism over deepening Indo-Israeli relations is a resigned acceptance that the two countries have much in common, including their enemies, in the shape of Islamist terrorism
How Pakistan’s Abdul Basit could be Modi’s ambassador to Islamabad | Opinion
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON MAR 21, 2017 05:39 PM IST
Having spent three years pushing the Pakistani line in India, the High Commissioner can start by telling Islamabad that India’s prime minister is not buying any of it
Assembly election results are a bigger feather in Modi’s cap than the 2014 victory
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON MAR 15, 2017 01:22 PM IST
The thumping BJP victory in Uttar Pradesh – combined with the results in Uttarakhand, it amounts to a sweep of the old, pre-bifurcation UP – is arguably a greater achievement for Narendra Modi than his 2014 Lok Sabha triumph.
Elections 2017: Whoever wins UP should demolish it | Opinion
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON MAR 07, 2017 07:56 PM IST
The state is too big to succeed. China’s largest province, Guangdong, now has 104 million people. India’s largest state has twice as many — and this is despite the fact that a chunk of it was carved out in 2000 to make Uttarakhand.
Voters liking one leader, voting for another party seems to be a pattern in UP
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON MAR 01, 2017 07:49 AM IST
Voters appear closer than ever to break away from the old block politics, but many are hesitant to take the final leap; those who make the jump will be influenced more by personalities than by issues.
Trump’s first crisis abroad: He can tell Putin that Russia’s expansion must stop
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON FEB 15, 2017 09:39 AM IST
With his biggest American fan safely ensconced in the White House, Putin seems to have decided to return to his plans to expand Russia’s territorial outlines in the west
US politicians who have remained mum in the face of Trump’s attack are cowards
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON JAN 31, 2017 06:57 PM IST
To remain mute in the face of such bare-faced bigotry is reprehensible, and it will carry a high political cost. Americans, individuals as well as organizations, are keeping tabs of who’s saying what at this critical moment in their nation’s history. The politicians who fail to lead now will not be able to dissimulate later. In the not-too-distant future, Republicans will win or lose elections based on what they are saying (or not saying) now
Even in the worst of times, China is no substitute for the US on global stage
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON JAN 25, 2017 08:47 AM IST
A year ago in Cairo, and recently in Davos, Xi Jinping appeared as a man with a plan to address global concerns as Washington is reducing its presence in many parts of the world. But beyond Xi’s rhetoric, Beijing has not yet demonstrated any interest or ability in being a solver of prickly international problems
Barack Obama’s misses, and their consequences, will be with us for a long time
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON JAN 11, 2017 01:55 PM IST
Even the few foreign affairs success Obama now claims will be found historically flawed. He will be remembered as the man who gave the order to kill Osama bin Laden, but did nothing to punish Pakistan for harbouring America’s greatest enemy
By feuding with intelligence agencies, Trump is putting the world in harm’s way
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON DEC 14, 2016 01:45 PM IST
The American president-elect has been avoiding daily security briefings by the intelligence services. A man so plainly ignorant about the world should be asking for a double dose of briefings
The simplicity of referendums is exactly what is wrong with them
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON DEC 06, 2016 10:36 PM IST
We should be grateful to Babasaheb Ambedkar for a democratic exercise that our constitution doesn’t allow: Referendums
Fidel Castro may be India’s hero but he was Cuba’s villain
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON NOV 29, 2016 07:06 PM IST
Fidel Castro’s apologists paint him as a Third World champion in the political contest against the First, but the truth is he was a Communist dictator who left Cuba decrepit and its people unhappy
On Trump, Obama would do well to emulate the silence of some ex-presidents
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON NOV 23, 2016 07:14 AM IST
Sparing Trump’s feelings is not the reason Obama should keep his opinion to himself. The dignity of the office demands that the courtesy be extended even to the most undignified person imaginable.
Clinton’s defeat weakens Merkel, Trump’s victory strengthens Le Pen
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON NOV 15, 2016 11:43 PM IST
Hillary Clinton’s defeat may have weakened Angela Merkel, and improved the chances of Marine Le Pen, whose politics mirrors Donald Trump’s
Let’s not kid ourselves, with Trump, what we have seen is what we will get
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON NOV 10, 2016 07:04 PM IST
Trump is not likely to find much motivation for moderation as he looks across the wider world. Instead, he will find that leaders who say and do outrageous things are not only getting away with it, they’re being rewarded for it, with public approbation. From Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, leaders who resist compromise are being lauded by their electorate.
Donald Trump: If he’s bad for the US, he’s bad for us
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON NOV 09, 2016 07:24 PM IST
Trump is bad for India because he is bad for his own country, and the wellbeing of the US is now closely connected to our own.
Trump or Clinton: Poor choices for America in this presidential election
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON NOV 02, 2016 02:39 PM IST
During the 1988 US presidential election, the national mood was captured by a popular bumper sticker: THANK GOD WE ONLY HAVE TO PICK ONE OF THEM. Starting on November 9, I could start selling a bumper sticker: COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE: WE COULD HAVE PICKED THE OTHER ONE
On Arunachal Pradesh, New Delhi must tell Beijing to mind its own business
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON OCT 26, 2016 01:49 AM IST
Peace along the India-China border is not being damaged by the visit by the American envoy to Tawang, but by the clandestine infiltration along the frontier by Chinese troops
Baghdad must ensure Mosul is not given over to vengeful Shia death-squads
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON OCT 19, 2016 07:40 AM IST
The words Muslawis will want to hear have not yet been uttered — assurances that their city will not be given over to vengeful Shia death-squads or covetous Kurds, promises of political inclusion and economic opportunity
Yemen brings shame to all
By Bobby Ghosh
PUBLISHED ON OCT 12, 2016 10:38 AM IST
The war in Yemen will intensify, bringing shame upon all the protagonists
Hindustan Times | By Bobby Ghosh
UPDATED ON OCT 12, 2016 06:55 AM IST
The Houthis have not previously been known to possess such firepower. Inevitably, fingers will be pointed at their patron, Iran. The US will also worry about the potential for these weapons to fall into the hands of al-Qaeda’s Yemeni operation, which has used the chaos of the war to expand the territory it controls, and to raid government armouries
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