Lalita Panicker leads the opinion section at Hindustan Times. Over a 33-year career, she has specialised in gender issues, reproductive health, child rights, politics and social engineering.
Articles by Lalita Panicker
Book Review: Becoming Indian
Nehru’s first words to the nation were in English: “ Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time has come to redeem that that pledge…”
Updated on Mar 06, 2010 01:32 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Monsanto defends Bt crops
In the row over Bt brinjal, the voice of the farmer still remains unheard. “I can count on the fingers of both hands the number of farmers across the world who don’t want biotechnology,” says Brett Begemann, executive vice president, global seeds and traits, Monsanto, reports Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Feb 02, 2010 11:54 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker, New Delhi
Sikkim lost Rs 2,000 crore since Gorkha agitation: CM
The Centre’s seeming acquiescence on the Telangana agitation seems to have provided a shot in the arm to those battling for a separate Gorkhaland.
Updated on Jan 07, 2010 11:07 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker, New Delhi
In the eyes of the lord
Anthony Snowdon has captured many through his lens. In Delhi to attend the ‘India by Snowdon’ exhibition, he spoke to Lalita Panicker about ‘marvellous’ people, India and himself .
Updated on Dec 18, 2009 10:12 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
A kingdom in the skies
In Bhutan, silence speaks in a thousand tongues, all amiable and joyful. But how long can one take such determined happiness? Lalita Panicker writes.
Updated on Dec 13, 2009 12:13 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Not a kangaroo court
It is a welcome sign that Australian leaders themselves are taking the initiative to dispel the myth that all Australians are allergic to Indians, writes Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Dec 10, 2009 10:55 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
No jet lag on climate
France says there can be no free riders on the environment and that India needs to be more proactive, says Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Dec 06, 2009 10:29 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker, Paris
Shakespeare: The bard, the manager
When you meet Richard Olivier, the obvious question to ask is what it feels like living with the knowledge that his father is a legend. But Richard, son of actor Sir Laurence Olivier, takes this in his stride. He kept the audience spellbound in his address at the HT Leadership Summit.
Updated on Nov 01, 2009 12:22 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker, New Delhi
Shakespeare: The bard, the manager
When you meet Richard Olivier, the obvious question to ask is what it feels like living with the knowledge that his father is a legend. Lalita Panicker reports.
Updated on Oct 31, 2009 11:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker, New Delhi
A cape of good hope
Thanks to historical links, India has various advantages over China in Africa. But it needs to make its presence felt, says Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Sep 29, 2009 09:37 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Nowhere to hide
The long arm of the law seems to be increasingly catching up with law-enforcers as the judicial probe into the sensational 2004 ‘encounter killing’ of Ishrat Jahan and three others in Gujarat reveals.
Updated on Sep 08, 2009 11:55 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker, New Delhi
Not a formula sport
No Formula 1 for India, it has decreed, so go rev up your engines elsewhere. Why pick on Formula 1, you might ask. Elementary, dear lover of elite sports, it is not purely sports, it is entertainment, says the ministry. Lalita Panicker writes.
Updated on Aug 25, 2009 11:50 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Mind the gap
People don’t respond when they are told to keep their families small. A more nuanced approach to population management is required, says Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Aug 11, 2009 01:39 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
We really need some intensive care
So neglected has the health system been that no one even complains any more about the fact that many life-saving drugs are simply out of reach for the majority of people. Most hospitals, whether private or public, expect the patient to buy drugs for his treatment, writes Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Jul 13, 2009 11:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Mamas’ ploys
Mothers seem to be hitting the headlines recently with cricketer Mitchell Johnson’s mater grumbling about how her son has been annexed by his scheming fiancé, writes Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Jul 10, 2009 12:18 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
The nowhere people
From Partition onwards, India has had to handle refugees, though it has so far refused to sign the international convention on refugees or acknowledge the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Lalita Panicker writes.
Updated on Jun 18, 2009 09:37 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
No Marx for this
The CPI(M) may claim that individuals don’t matter as much as the party, but Vijayan’s confrontational style has caused enormous damage to the state unit, writes Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Jun 08, 2009 11:24 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
‘Marxists have encouraged mob rule’
Who on earth wins by 99,999 votes? Well, Shashi Tharoor, the surprise candidate in this election, does. And that too from Thiruvananthapuram, not an easy constituency to win from, writes Lalita Panicker.
Updated on May 21, 2009 01:29 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker, New Delhi
A discovery of India
Mandy, not Mandeep, a second-generation Indian from America comes slumming it to India for a cousin’s wedding. His journey of self-discovery, indeed the discovery of India, is told in Amit Dasgupta’s innovatively illustrated book Indian by Choice. Lalita Panicker elaborates.
Updated on May 09, 2009 11:58 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Missing the mark
So, it has come to pass that before I could say count me out, the system has already counted me out. So, next time around, I shall adopt the policy, ‘if you can’t beat them, join them, ' writes Lalita Panicker.
Updated on May 07, 2009 10:56 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Behind the green curtain
Even during poll time, the adivasis of Kerala are invisible people for politicians, writes Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Apr 26, 2009 09:13 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Supping with the devil
The message to the CPM in Kerala is loud and clear. There is no need for self-appointed messiahs to take up the ‘Muslim’ cause. The aspirations and needs of the Muslims are no different from those of other communities. Lalita Panicker examines...
Updated on Apr 14, 2009 10:24 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
In Zamorin’s own country
With great food, sights and heritage to match, Malabar is the perfect place to spend time away from the rat race, writes Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Apr 10, 2009 10:18 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Dreams run out in Kerala
Hit by the slowdown, 5 lakh Keralites have lost jobs in the Gulf, returning to homes they can no longer afford, families they can’t support and loans they cannot repay. And just as money vanished, so did their political clout. Lalita Panicker reports.
Updated on Apr 05, 2009 10:52 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker, Ponnani, Kerala
Idli & Scotch
With his UN career firmly behind him, Shashi Tharoor now wants to step into the muddle of Kerala politics. Can he handle the odd mix? Lalita Panicker examines...
Updated on Mar 20, 2009 11:03 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Chop the deadwood
The existence of the Commission gives the government a fig leaf that it has set up an authority. But what’s the use if it’s run by a bunch of vested interests? Lalita Panicker ponders.
Updated on Mar 03, 2009 11:18 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Beg their pardon
No society neglects its children so much and basks in its economic glory as we do. Lalita Panicker elaborates.
Updated on Jan 30, 2009 12:23 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Eastward Ho!
Hasina’s ascension to power is perhaps a good time for New Delhi to address the threat from outside the eastern border, writes Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Jan 01, 2009 10:59 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker
Biotech crops solution to food shortage: expert
In a world of unpredictable climatic changes, growing water stress and lifestyle diseases, the issue of food availability and quality has assumed much greater urgency than ever before, reports Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Dec 31, 2008 11:26 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker, New Delhi
God’s own badlands
The worrying part about these madrasas and mosques and their unemployed hangers-on is that they have become recruiting grounds for those who have a very destructive concept of jihad, writes Lalita Panicker.
Updated on Dec 15, 2008 10:39 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Lalita Panicker