Mark Tully

India needs to relearn what it has to teach

Minds have to be kept open because there will always be something more to learn about these questions. That’s why Indians should be proud to be an argumentative country. That is why there should not be any full stops in India

In Britain, top universities are battling to win the academically brightest international students. They show no desire to reverse this trend and send their best students abroad. This is not to say there is no interest among international students in coming to India. Still, it is far from being a demand for foreign education at an affordable cost. So, achieving substantially cheaper costs will take a lot of work. (HT PHOTO)

opinion

Updated on Jan 14, 2023 07:56 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Celebrating unsung freedom fighters

If we had continued to fight for Gandhi’s India, if we had not forgotten those inspired by his vision, we would now be a very different nation, writes P Sainath in his new book

India is still, in so many ways, a dysfunctional pre-Independence nation with Parliament and assemblies, courts and police bent on following the government’s will regardless of the law (HT PHOTO)

opinion

Updated on Dec 31, 2022 08:50 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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For Bangladeshi politics, a turbulent time looms

From creating despair among development economists, investors and donors, as it used to, the country now gives them hope. But has the bubble burst?

Sheikh Hasina is now facing severe economic problems that could provide fuel for the fire if the Opposition lights it. (AFP)

opinion

Published on Dec 17, 2022 07:35 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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The message from G20 Religion Forum

I would like to draw your attention to an article written by Ram Madhav on the G20 Religion Forum, or R20, which ensures that religion functions as a genuine and dynamic source of solutions rather than problems in the world

For religious leaders to play an influen-tial role in making us realise we are all part of one great unity, they must stand together and differ because their beliefs are different (ANI)

opinion

Updated on Dec 03, 2022 09:03 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Remembering friends and the golden days

In the 19070s and 1980s, the radio was king. Fortunately for the BBC and me as their correspondent, the government’s control didn’t allow All India Radio to exploit its potential. So, Indians would turn to the BBC to get independent news. Rajiv Gandhi turned to the BBC to confirm his mother had died

Our friends all loved the BBC as it was then. It’s different now. Is it better? Does it matter to India as much as it used to? (HT)

opinion

Updated on Nov 19, 2022 07:21 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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The road to atmanirbharta may go through GM seeds

Lifting the ban on genetically modified seeds should allow tests for the new mustard seed developed by a scientist at Delhi University. But will the step be a game-changer?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government is now expected to take a political call on whether to allow commercial cultivation of GM mustard in India. (Reuters)

opinion

Updated on Nov 06, 2022 05:30 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Successor to Truss will face a raft of challenges

The new prime minister will inherit a country wracked by an economic crisis, labour unrest and a ruling party divided against itself

Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss comes back inside 10 Downing Street, October 20, 2022 (AFP)

opinion

Updated on Oct 21, 2022 07:38 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Decoding the Russian gameplan in Ukraine

Putin has said he is prepared to defend territories he annexed using all available means. Does he hope to arouse such fear that America and NATO agree to cut back or even stop their supply of arms to Ukraine, or is it possible that Putin is prepared to go nuclear?

A Ukrainian firefighter pushes out a fire after a strike in Zaporizhzhia on October 6, 2022 (AFP)

opinion

Updated on Oct 08, 2022 05:28 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Queen Elizabeth was a symbol of stability

Queen Elizabeth succeeded because she was aware that she had to do her duty, and more often than not that meant keeping quiet.

In the end, the 12 days of mourning were a gathering of the Queen’s people to give thanks for a reign of nearly 70 years. She had seen the winds of change sweep away the British Empire, the church accepting women bishops and divorce becoming accepted practice. She held weekly talks with Britain’s first three women prime ministers. (REUTERS)

opinion

Updated on Sep 24, 2022 06:23 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Queen Elizabeth accepted limitations, dedicated her life to being the Queen

Queen Elizabeth II’s death marks the end of an era not just for the people of Great Britain but also for the people of the Commonwealth and indeed the whole world bearing in mind the standards she stood for and the values she upheld. She broke the record for the longest reigning monarch and the oldest queen. She made 247 Commonwealth visits.

In this Oct. 9, 1982 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, centre and her husband Prince Philip react, as they drive through the crowd of athletes and officials during the Closing Ceremony of the 12th Commonwealth Games, in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Sports Centre, in Brisbane, Australia. (AP)

india news

Published on Sep 09, 2022 11:16 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Queen Elizabeth accepted limitations, dedicated her life to being the Queen

The very recent celebrations of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee demonstrated her popularity and the popularity of the monarchy.

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, died aged 96. (AP Photo, File)

world news

Updated on Sep 10, 2022 07:29 AM IST

ByMark Tully

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Why Birmingham put on a massive show for CWG

The reason is Birmingham’s wish to shed the title of Britain’s Second City.

Actors perform during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, Thursday, July 28, 2022. (AP)

opinion

Published on Jul 30, 2022 07:56 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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UK’s PM race: Who should Indians back?

In my view, Sunak is the man who knows India because of his years as Johnson’s finance minister. He needs support, too, because he is receiving such offensive attacks from the tax reducers

Johnson has been forced to resign by his party members in Parliament. Their revolt was sparked off by two ministers with subcontinental roots — Rishi Sunak, the former British chancellor of the exchequer, and Sajid Javid, who was the secretary of state for health and social care. (REUTERS)

opinion

Updated on Jul 16, 2022 07:25 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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India can lead the democratic world

In his forthcoming book, Towards Decentralized Democratic Global Governance, economist Ramgopal Agarwala argues that the leadership India can provide would lead to the end of hegemony

To me, the size of India’s population and the potential of its economy make the country potentially hegemonic. Ramgopal calls his governance: “Happiness of all and hegemony of none: A neo-Swadeshi Indian Dream”, and he believes the dream can be fulfilled (Hindustan Times)

opinion

Updated on Jul 02, 2022 08:46 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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The pivotal partnership between God and science

If religious groups are to lead the fight against what Amitav Ghosh calls “the securitisation and corporatisation of climate change” they will have to have a theology which goes with it.

All religious leaders, Semitic and Indic, can teach us that we too are created by God and must, therefore, respect all that is created by God’s will.(Pexels)

opinion

Published on Jun 18, 2022 07:46 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Why we shouldn’t be careless about Covid-19

In this Covid-19 calm, the central government and the WHO should sit down together and discuss calculations made by both sides to find out what went wrong and how to put that right

A health care worker collects a swab sample from a passenger for Covid-19 testing, Prayagraj, May 10, 2022 (PTI)

opinion

Updated on Jun 04, 2022 08:30 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Reform the Raj-era judicial system

The dark shadows of the colonial past hang over the proceedings of the SC too. E-courts alone won’t clear those shadows away

This seems to be a classic example of the malfunctioning governance, the laxity, evident in almost all Indian governance. If the SC can’t enforce its orders, what hope does a rural divisional court have? (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

opinion

Updated on May 07, 2022 07:45 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Reforming the higher education system

Students are worried about recovering lost knowledge. But they must also worry about another issue: There may be no teachers to teach their subjects. There is a shortage of 6,481 teachers in centrally funded universities

CUET has just been born, and there could well be trouble when more details are known, particularly its syllabi. Once its full scope is revealed to the public, educationalists will judge whether CUET is a genuinely new exam or it suffers from the same fault almost all Indian exams suffer from (Hindustan Times)

opinion

Updated on Apr 23, 2022 06:01 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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The effect of Putin’s actions on the US, NATO and India

People who claim to know Putin well say that he will never accept any end of the war which he cannot see as a victory and sell it as such to the Russians.

It looks as though Putin needs to, at the very least, win control of Donbas to end the war, while Biden needs the sanctions to bring him down before he achieves that objective. (Reuters)

opinion

Updated on Apr 09, 2022 07:17 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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The West is unwilling to fight for Ukraine

Did Zelensky have to fight Putin? Was it wise to sign a charter on strategic partnership with the United States in 2021?

A destroyed Russian Rys armoured vehicle, Trostianets, Ukraine, March 25, 2022 (via REUTERS)

opinion

Updated on Mar 26, 2022 10:40 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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What do the verdicts mean for the Congress?

Are its days as the alternative party over? Now that it has lost Punjab, the only two sizeable states that it rules are Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

With Sonia Gandhi unwell, Rahul Gandhi‘s record of failures, and now, Priyanka failing too, how much longer can the Congress hold together? (ANI)

opinion

Published on Mar 12, 2022 06:41 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Haryana: The grim reality of brick kiln labourers

There was no work between March 2021 and February 2022 in the brick kiln. So, the workers earned nothing in that time because they are paid on a piece-work basis.

Kailash Satyarthi shared the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaigns against the exploitation of children, but children still work alongside their parents in brick kilns. (AP/Representative Image)

opinion

Updated on Feb 26, 2022 07:44 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Why Mangeshkar mattered so much

The Mangeshkar I treasure most is her accompaniment to the destitute Nargis struggling to pull a plough in Mother India

There is no doubt that Lata Mangeshkar was the singer of India. She sang in different languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, and Tamil. She sang in ways each listener could identify herself with, be they in love or out, rejoicing or weeping, in company or alone (HT Photo)

opinion

Updated on Feb 12, 2022 05:17 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Modi’s speech marked the end of Nehru era

The RSS leaders were not included, but they didn’t figure in the Independence movement. The most immediate reason for the PM selecting this heterogeneous collection of men as bulwarks of nationalism is to demonstrate the end of the Nehru era

The PM installed Bose under the once royal canopy, looking along Rajpath, to symbolise an independent India without mentioning the Nehru family, whose members’ names still adorn so many streets, institutions, and buildings. (AP)

opinion

Published on Jan 29, 2022 05:14 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Need: A genuinely independent justice system

Recent events in Britain and India prove that both countries need a system of justice entirely independent of politicians and civil servants

Many die in Indian prisons either due to inadequate food, or lack of medical treatment, or both. (HTPHoto)

opinion

Updated on Jan 15, 2022 08:49 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Tutu: In the steps of Mahatma Gandhi

The Indian team’s gesture in honouring Tutu symbolised the nation’s recognition of the link between the Archbishop and Mahatma Gandhi. It was a physical link

Tutu died on the day after Christmas. There is, of course, always a sadness about a death, but there’s also joy in the memory of a life well-lived, and Desmond Tutu’s life was well-lived. (AP)

opinion

Updated on Jan 01, 2022 08:02 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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To protect democracy, remove inequality

Biden’s summit has made it clear that democracy must be seen to deliver greater equality if it is to win the battle against authoritarianism

Inequality is not just a problem for developing countries. The world’s two largest economies, the United States and China, suffer from it in roughly equal measure. (AFP)

opinion

Updated on Dec 18, 2021 07:40 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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An integrated method to measure poverty

Measuring a nation’s welfare by the size of its economy and, therefore, concentrating on achieving GDP growth is damaging. NITI Aayog’s new national multidimensional poverty index can change that

The MPI is based on the National Family Health Survey conducted between 2015 and 2016 (AFP File Photo)

opinion

Updated on Dec 04, 2021 10:20 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Use religion to battle the climate crisis

In India, almost all the world’s religions have a historic home but the voice of faith on the climate crisis is hardly heard. Religious leaders must come together to demand a change in the narrative of development

How much energy do we need was a question that was not asked at COP26. It is obvious that developing countries need more energy but do the developed countries need to consume as much energy as they do? (Amal KS/HT PHOTO)

opinion

Updated on Nov 20, 2021 07:44 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Close Story

Why Merkel stood out among world leaders

In spite of her policy of seeking compromise in the best sense of the word, Merkel would not have survived for so long if she had not been able to be tough

During Merkel’s years in office, Europe has lived through crisis after crisis — the Greek debt turmoil, the influx of refugees, Brexit, and it’s widely accepted that Merkel has steered the diverse community through them (AFP)

opinion

Updated on Nov 06, 2021 04:01 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Mark Tully

Minds have to be kept open because there will always be something more to learn about these questions. That’s why Indians should be proud to be an argumentative country. That is why there should not be any full stops in India

If we had continued to fight for Gandhi’s India, if we had not forgotten those inspired by his vision, we would now be a very different nation, writes P Sainath in his new book

From creating despair among development economists, investors and donors, as it used to, the country now gives them hope. But has the bubble burst?

I would like to draw your attention to an article written by Ram Madhav on the G20 Religion Forum, or R20, which ensures that religion functions as a genuine and dynamic source of solutions rather than problems in the world

Lifting the ban on genetically modified seeds should allow tests for the new mustard seed developed by a scientist at Delhi University. But will the step be a game-changer?

The new prime minister will inherit a country wracked by an economic crisis, labour unrest and a ruling party divided against itself

Putin has said he is prepared to defend territories he annexed using all available means. Does he hope to arouse such fear that America and NATO agree to cut back or even stop their supply of arms to Ukraine, or is it possible that Putin is prepared to go nuclear?

Queen Elizabeth succeeded because she was aware that she had to do her duty, and more often than not that meant keeping quiet.

The very recent celebrations of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee demonstrated her popularity and the popularity of the monarchy.

The reason is Birmingham’s wish to shed the title of Britain’s Second City.

In my view, Sunak is the man who knows India because of his years as Johnson’s finance minister. He needs support, too, because he is receiving such offensive attacks from the tax reducers

In his forthcoming book, Towards Decentralized Democratic Global Governance, economist Ramgopal Agarwala argues that the leadership India can provide would lead to the end of hegemony

If religious groups are to lead the fight against what Amitav Ghosh calls “the securitisation and corporatisation of climate change” they will have to have a theology which goes with it.

In this Covid-19 calm, the central government and the WHO should sit down together and discuss calculations made by both sides to find out what went wrong and how to put that right

The dark shadows of the colonial past hang over the proceedings of the SC too. E-courts alone won’t clear those shadows away

Students are worried about recovering lost knowledge. But they must also worry about another issue: There may be no teachers to teach their subjects. There is a shortage of 6,481 teachers in centrally funded universities

People who claim to know Putin well say that he will never accept any end of the war which he cannot see as a victory and sell it as such to the Russians.

Did Zelensky have to fight Putin? Was it wise to sign a charter on strategic partnership with the United States in 2021?

Are its days as the alternative party over? Now that it has lost Punjab, the only two sizeable states that it rules are Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

There was no work between March 2021 and February 2022 in the brick kiln. So, the workers earned nothing in that time because they are paid on a piece-work basis.

The Mangeshkar I treasure most is her accompaniment to the destitute Nargis struggling to pull a plough in Mother India

The RSS leaders were not included, but they didn’t figure in the Independence movement. The most immediate reason for the PM selecting this heterogeneous collection of men as bulwarks of nationalism is to demonstrate the end of the Nehru era

Recent events in Britain and India prove that both countries need a system of justice entirely independent of politicians and civil servants

The Indian team’s gesture in honouring Tutu symbolised the nation’s recognition of the link between the Archbishop and Mahatma Gandhi. It was a physical link

Biden’s summit has made it clear that democracy must be seen to deliver greater equality if it is to win the battle against authoritarianism

Measuring a nation’s welfare by the size of its economy and, therefore, concentrating on achieving GDP growth is damaging. NITI Aayog’s new national multidimensional poverty index can change that

In India, almost all the world’s religions have a historic home but the voice of faith on the climate crisis is hardly heard. Religious leaders must come together to demand a change in the narrative of development

In spite of her policy of seeking compromise in the best sense of the word, Merkel would not have survived for so long if she had not been able to be tough

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