Ashok Malik

VVIP, Not 5 VIP: On Sharad Pawar Seat Row At PM's Oath, A Clarification

India News | ANI | Thursday June 6, 2019

The Rashtrapati Bhavan has clarified on Wednesday on a controversy over Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar's seating at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath ceremony. Mr Pawar had skipped the oath ceremony after his party was reportedly miffed about his seat in the fifth row.

Sanjay Kothari Appointed Secretary To New President

India News | Press Trust of India | Saturday July 22, 2017

Sanjay Kothari, chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board, has been appointed secretary and senior journalist Ashok Malik press secretary to President-elect Ram Nath Kovind.

Opinion: Arvind Kejriwal, Consider VP Singh A Warning

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Wednesday April 26, 2017

However one interprets them, the municipal elections in Delhi are a severe setback for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Opinion: What Amit Shah Has Set In Motion For The BJP In Bengal

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Thursday May 4, 2017

BJP president Amit Shah's recent visit to Bengal has energised politics in the state. It holds up the tantalising prospect of a BJP thrust in a polity currently dominated by Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress.

Opinion: 2 Big Headlines In By-Elections For AAP And BJP In Bengal

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Saturday April 15, 2017

Nevertheless, it is apparent the CPI(M)-led Left Front is dying a slow and painful death in Bengal. Those hostile to Trinamool are increasingly shifting their support to the BJP.

Opinion: What Modi Has Mastered That Others Haven't - As Yet

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Saturday March 11, 2017

The BJP's success owes much to the rainbow coalition it built of the upper castes and urban middle classes, the non-Yadav OBCs and sections of Dalits. The BJP has done this before: in the early 1990s, under the leadership of Kalyan Singh;a broad coalition was stitched together then in the context of the emotive Ayodhya movement.

Opinion: Budget Shows Modi's 'War On Cash' Is A Serious One

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Thursday February 2, 2017

The budget persists with a Modi-Jaitley resolve: the willingness to sacrifice short-term popularity, even among those who may be BJP voters, to effect a longer-term transformation.

Opinion: Wrong To See Modi's Speech As Loaded With Handouts

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Sunday January 1, 2017

What does one make of Narendra Modi's address on December 31, 2016, after the demonetisation exercise and at the cusp of the New Year? Many have commented that it was low-key and lacked his characteristic flamboyance. The fact is, however, that in his mind, Modi is careful to distinguish between, for example, sober speeches as Prime Minister and rh...

Opinion: What Rahul Gandhi Has Won - And Risked - By Playing Hardball

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Friday December 16, 2016

While it hardly transacted business, the winter session of parliament marked a transition for the Congress and the opposition. As Sonia Gandhi took a backseat, due to health reasons or out of a desire to give her son more room, Rahul Gandhi became the Congress' prime mover and interface with other opposition parties. He attend parliament regularly,...

Opinion: What Demonetisation Says About And Does For Modi

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Saturday November 19, 2016

Close to two weeks into the demonetisation exercise, how does one assess it? Frankly, there are several aspects to the episode: the execution, the aspiration, and the medium to long term political impact.

Opinion: Modi Has Just Bet He Can Change India's Social Behaviour

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Thursday December 1, 2016

For Modi, this is not just a political or economic imperative; it is a colossal task of social engineering.

Opinion: In Handling Of Surgical Strikes, Modi Has Ticked All The Boxes

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Wednesday October 12, 2016

If tough, pre-emptive action against terrorism is now the new normal, then surely guarded statements and not speaking just because there's a mic and camera handy should also become a new norm. The Prime Minister has indicated that. Now he must ensure it happens.

Opinion: Crossing The LoC To Prevent Terror Strikes Creates A New Normal

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Friday September 30, 2016

The political willingness to cross the LoC for short distances to pre-empt attacks has now been demonstrated. The genie is out of the bottle; it will not go back. In fact, sooner or later, that genie will seek to travel even further.

Opinion: Sushma Swaraj's Speech Outwitted And Outshone Nawaz Sharif's

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Tuesday September 27, 2016

The meat of the External Affairs Minister's speech was, of course, on terrorism. She was careful to locate the threat to India - including most recently in Uri - within a worldwide battle against Islamist terrorism that has stretched from Bangkok to Mogadishu and New York to Kabul.

Opinion: Balochistan Was Waiting To Be Used As Propaganda. Modi Seized It.

Opinion | Ashok Malik | Wednesday August 17, 2016

There were three proper nouns Modi used and it is important to understand the context of each.