News / Author / Uddalok Bhattacharya

Uddalok Bhattacharya

Uddalok Bhattacharya was part of Hindustan Times’ nationwide network of correspondents that brings news, analysis and information to its readers. He no longer works with the Hindustan Times.

Articles by Uddalok Bhattacharya

No sex, please: Sandeep Kumar pays the price of prudish politics

Unlike in American politics, interference to this extent in somebody’s personal life had never been something that was encouraged in this country. This is a new trend

The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) decision to strip a Delhi minister, Sandeep Kumar, of his post after he was caught in a compromising position with a woman in a CD shows a new trend in Indian politics(Hindustan Times)

analysis

Updated on Sep 01, 2016 02:04 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Odisha incidents remind us that State expenditure on health needs to improve

The percentage figure on healthcare expenditure goes up as one goes down the income level, pushing crores of people below the poverty line each year

Community health centres, which are meant to provide specialised treatment to patients, have seen a remarkable drop in the number of specialists such as gynaecologists and obstetricians. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest the drop has been almost 30% for the country as a whole(HT)

analysis

Updated on Aug 26, 2016 09:01 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Floods reveal a failure of flood management

Lack of dredging and rampant constructions along river banks are mainly responsible for inundation

Allahabad: Huts of sadhus submerged in waters of rivers Ganga and Yamuna(PTI)

editorials

Published on Aug 25, 2016 02:42 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Rohith Vemula suicide report: More omission than commission

The broad facts relating to Rohith Vemula’s suicide are more important than which caste he belonged to. But the central government is persisting in its efforts to obfuscate the issue, obviously with next year’s assembly elections and the Dalit vote in mind

People protest over the death of Rohith Vemula at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, January 23, 2016.(Ravi Choudhary/Hindustan Times)

analysis

Published on Aug 24, 2016 12:48 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Parties not revealing earning sources is unfortunate

If they fail to adhere to basic financial discipline as regards keeping detailed records of their income and expenditure, their moral authority will become weaker

A Congress rally in Lucknow. Political parties should show a level of accountability(HT File Photo)

analysis

Updated on Aug 24, 2016 11:46 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Pune Muslims punished over Ganpati donations shows growing intolerance in India

In this country weaker communities are being chastised and browbeaten, right-thinking individuals are left aghast, modernity is being betrayed and inhumanity is striding along

Day by day a community is becoming pulverised(AP file photo)

editorials

Updated on Aug 22, 2016 10:28 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Improvement in Muslims’ status can be thought of only in the long run

Restructuring reservations in government services on the basis of family income can help the Muslims.

It is regrettable that nothing has changed much in Muslims’ representation in the higher echelons of government service such as the IAS or the IPS.(AP File Photo)

analysis

Updated on Aug 19, 2016 11:18 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Hooch tragedy: Nitish Kumar should order a crackdown

Now that the chief minister has introduced prohibition, which, according to an estimate, will cost his government Rs 5,000 crore this financial year, he should make all arrangements to ensure that no drinking happens in the state

The family of a victim of the hooch tragedy(Hindustan Times)

editorials

Updated on Aug 18, 2016 08:56 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

The Lodha panel should revisit its decision to give approval to 26 colleges

Ignoring the Medical Council of India, which is charged with overseeing medical education in the country, is not a good idea

Though the MCI had fallen into disrepute in recent years, it is the sole organisation charged with maintaining standards for medical education, regulating it, recognising foreign medical institutions, and the accreditation of medical colleges(REUTERS)

editorials

Published on Aug 18, 2016 05:27 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Vinod Rai should know that one cannot be partly honest

The former comptroller and auditor general’s thoughts on what constitutes public and private gains are out of line

Vinod Rai, the former comptroller and auditor general (CAG), has defended the not so legal practice of government officials going on private trips at the expense of the exchequer and then passing them off as official visits(HT)

editorials

Published on Aug 17, 2016 07:17 PM IST

ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Assam: Flood and human trafficking go together

Human trafficking takes place mainly in relief camps, where organised gangs of touts from cities as distant as Delhi or Mumbai operate.

Assam chief minister Sarbanda Sonowal (left) has recently discussed the state’s water situation and flood-control measures with ADB and IIT Guwahati. But unless it can be assessed how much the volume of water in the river is during the monsoon due to precipitation, flood control can be at best be partially successful.(PTI Photo)

editorials

Updated on Aug 16, 2016 09:21 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Kashmir unrest: India and Pakistan have no option but to talk

Looking at the pattern of violence in the Kashmir Valley, there is now little doubt that the impetus is coming from Pakistan.

A boy hold a flag of Pakistan during celebrations marking Pakistani Independence Day in Srinagar(HT)

analysis

Updated on Aug 16, 2016 01:18 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Speed up judiciary: Holding up judges’ appointments is a denial of justice

Holding up appointments of high court judges would be going against the spirit of the age

Chief Justice of India TS Thakur has said India has too few judges. It is impossible to disagree with this.(HT file photo)

analysis

Updated on Aug 14, 2016 01:51 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Militancy: How the Kashmir Valley calculates its notional economic losses

The common agenda of the ruling combine in Jammu and Kashmir hinges on tourism and urban development, which cannot take off without lasting peace

Srinagar:Policemen patrols during curfew in Srinagar(HT)

opinion

Updated on Jul 13, 2016 10:17 PM IST

ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Brexit is another name for house-keeping

British insularity does not exist anymore. Their ‘independence’ is just a matter of business now

A demonstrator draped in an EU flag sits on floor during a protest against the outcome of the UK's June 23 referendum on the European Union (EU), in central London on June 25, 2016(AFP)

analysis

Updated on Jun 26, 2016 08:52 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

No office of profit could be more important than propriety

All definitions given to ‘office of profit’ have been less than adequate

When the ‘office of controversy’ erupted in 2006, Congress president Sonia Gandhi resigned as MP and as chairperson of the National Advisory Council(HT)

editorials

Published on Jun 18, 2016 09:27 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Tagore was every inch a liberal and suited to our times

For Tagore it was humanity that was at the centre of things.

Tagore’s thoughts on pacifism had far predated those of Einstein.(Getty Images)

analysis

Updated on May 07, 2016 08:49 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Sachin or Gavaskar? Know your history before calling a cricketer ‘god’

In an age in which cricketers are better-known for the money they earn and the number of their product endorsements rather than the cricket they play, it is no surprise that the player who ‘replaced’ Bradman as the world’s all-time best batsman is also called ‘god of cricket’. Never mind if his Test average is 53 or 54

Virat Kohli during the World T20 semi-final match between India and West Indies at The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, March 31.(AFP)

analysis

Updated on Apr 01, 2016 06:30 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

President’s rule in Uttarakhand: A return to the political skulduggery

What has happened in the Uttarakhand over the past 14 days is at best a return to the 1970s and 1980s, when the opposition parties used to bemoan the dictatorial tendencies in the polity, or, at worst, plain political skulduggery.

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat addressing the media outside the Assembly in Dehradun on Saturday. PTI Photo (PTI3_26_2016_000206A)(PTI)

analysis

Updated on Mar 28, 2016 12:13 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Dig at UPA, Hindustani couplets: Jaitley’s ‘different’ Budget speeches

In the three Budgets that he has presented to date, finance minister Arun Jaitley has made several departures from what his predecessors had done.

budget

Updated on Mar 01, 2016 12:36 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Durga row: Sadly, no one questioned Smriti Irani who the Asuras are

Smriti Irani is simply concerned with the ‘derogatory references’. She did not think going into the antecedents of ‘Durga killing Mahishashur’ fell within her remit.

HRD minister Smriti Irani arrives at Parliament House in New Delhi during the Budget session.(PTI Photo)

analysis

Updated on Feb 28, 2016 05:42 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Reasons behind the madness: What accounts for the Jat stir

The main factor that underpins the current stir, which has claimed the lives of nearly 20 people, is the fact that no political party has been able to co-opt this community; equally, the Jats have not managed to hitch their wagon, and their aspirations, to lawmakers in Delhi.

The burned Jhajjar police station during the Jat quota stir in Haryana India.(Arun Sharma / HT Photo)

opinion

Updated on Feb 26, 2016 08:59 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

In Indian politics, history is still what it used to be

The NDA has got it in Bihar and in a manner that’s much worse than what had happened to the UPA in 2005 or 2010. And judging by the way it has slipped up on matters concerning the Dalits and issues such as reservations.

Both UPA 1 and UPA 2 got a drubbing in Bihar and UP. The NDA has got it in Bihar and in a manner that’s much worse than what had happened to the UPA in 2005 or 2010.(HT File Photo)

analysis

Updated on Feb 09, 2016 03:59 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

In hand with the Hand, the Left would be left further behind

A crisis of theory can be a serious setback for any party, not just the Marxists. But for the Marxists, it is nothing new.

analysis

Published on Jan 21, 2016 05:30 PM IST

ByUddalok Bhattacharya

A tale of two leaders: Praising Netaji Bose to run down Nehru

Is the praise for Bengali icon a Trojan horse for targeting India's first prime minister?

Files relating to Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose are displayed at the Police Museum in Kolkata. The West Bengal government has declassified 64 files related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, which have been placed in the archives of the Kolkata police museum. (AFP PHOTO)

analysis

Updated on Sep 23, 2015 08:02 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

A tale of two leaders: Praising Netaji Bose to run down Nehru

Is the praise for Bengali icon a Trojan horse for targeting India’s first prime minister?

Puri’s famed sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik creates a sculpture of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose. The freedom fighter’s fate has been a source of mystery.(PTI)

analysis

Updated on Sep 23, 2015 07:59 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Mercurial Mulayam's exit leaves Third Front idea in tatters

The Samajwadi Party's (SP's) decision to contest the Bihar polls alone is significant on several counts, even if it is just a bit player in the state.

Samajwadi-Party-chief-Mulayam-Singh-with-RJD-supremo-Lalu-Prasad-JDS-chief-HD-Deve-Gowda-and-JD-U-chief-Sharad-Yadav-share-the-dais-at-Jantar-Mantar-in-New-Delhi-PTI-Photo

analysis

Updated on Sep 03, 2015 10:39 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

Romancing history on the roads of Ayodhya

ICHR chairman Sudershan Rao’s view of history has much support from the West. And from the East too.

analysis

Updated on Aug 01, 2015 02:09 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya, New Delhi

Emergency: When the past gobbles up present

Without going into the interplay of the past and the present, one thing could be said: When too much of a society's past is overlaid on the present, the present is, at best, diminished and, at worst, confused.

opinion

Updated on Jun 27, 2015 02:36 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya, New Delhi

Nothing surprising in the Hashimpura ruling

What ails our police force? Principally it lies in their inability to think of themselves as being nothing but the repressive arm of the State and society. Clearly this is an inheritance of the Raj, which came in handy to the post-Independence political leadership and the higher bureaucracy.

Relatives-pose-with-photos-of-Hashimpura-massacre-victims-in-New-Delhi-Saumya-Khandelwal-HT-Photo

opinion

Updated on Mar 24, 2015 11:28 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByUddalok Bhattacharya

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Uddalok Bhattacharya

Uddalok Bhattacharya was part of Hindustan Times’ nationwide network of correspondents that brings news, analysis and information to its readers. He no longer works with the Hindustan Times.

Unlike in American politics, interference to this extent in somebody’s personal life had never been something that was encouraged in this country. This is a new trend

The percentage figure on healthcare expenditure goes up as one goes down the income level, pushing crores of people below the poverty line each year

Lack of dredging and rampant constructions along river banks are mainly responsible for inundation

The broad facts relating to Rohith Vemula’s suicide are more important than which caste he belonged to. But the central government is persisting in its efforts to obfuscate the issue, obviously with next year’s assembly elections and the Dalit vote in mind

If they fail to adhere to basic financial discipline as regards keeping detailed records of their income and expenditure, their moral authority will become weaker

In this country weaker communities are being chastised and browbeaten, right-thinking individuals are left aghast, modernity is being betrayed and inhumanity is striding along

Restructuring reservations in government services on the basis of family income can help the Muslims.

Now that the chief minister has introduced prohibition, which, according to an estimate, will cost his government Rs 5,000 crore this financial year, he should make all arrangements to ensure that no drinking happens in the state

Ignoring the Medical Council of India, which is charged with overseeing medical education in the country, is not a good idea

The former comptroller and auditor general’s thoughts on what constitutes public and private gains are out of line

Human trafficking takes place mainly in relief camps, where organised gangs of touts from cities as distant as Delhi or Mumbai operate.

Looking at the pattern of violence in the Kashmir Valley, there is now little doubt that the impetus is coming from Pakistan.

Holding up appointments of high court judges would be going against the spirit of the age

The common agenda of the ruling combine in Jammu and Kashmir hinges on tourism and urban development, which cannot take off without lasting peace

British insularity does not exist anymore. Their ‘independence’ is just a matter of business now

All definitions given to ‘office of profit’ have been less than adequate

For Tagore it was humanity that was at the centre of things.

What has happened in the Uttarakhand over the past 14 days is at best a return to the 1970s and 1980s, when the opposition parties used to bemoan the dictatorial tendencies in the polity, or, at worst, plain political skulduggery.

In the three Budgets that he has presented to date, finance minister Arun Jaitley has made several departures from what his predecessors had done.

Smriti Irani is simply concerned with the ‘derogatory references’. She did not think going into the antecedents of ‘Durga killing Mahishashur’ fell within her remit.

The main factor that underpins the current stir, which has claimed the lives of nearly 20 people, is the fact that no political party has been able to co-opt this community; equally, the Jats have not managed to hitch their wagon, and their aspirations, to lawmakers in Delhi.

The NDA has got it in Bihar and in a manner that’s much worse than what had happened to the UPA in 2005 or 2010. And judging by the way it has slipped up on matters concerning the Dalits and issues such as reservations.

A crisis of theory can be a serious setback for any party, not just the Marxists. But for the Marxists, it is nothing new.

Is the praise for Bengali icon a Trojan horse for targeting India's first prime minister?

Is the praise for Bengali icon a Trojan horse for targeting India’s first prime minister?

The Samajwadi Party's (SP's) decision to contest the Bihar polls alone is significant on several counts, even if it is just a bit player in the state.

ICHR chairman Sudershan Rao’s view of history has much support from the West. And from the East too.

Without going into the interplay of the past and the present, one thing could be said: When too much of a society's past is overlaid on the present, the present is, at best, diminished and, at worst, confused.

What ails our police force? Principally it lies in their inability to think of themselves as being nothing but the repressive arm of the State and society. Clearly this is an inheritance of the Raj, which came in handy to the post-Independence political leadership and the higher bureaucracy.

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