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Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Gopalkrishna Gandhi read English Literature at St Stephen’s College, Delhi. A civil servant and diplomat, he was Governor of West Bengal, 2004-2009. He is currently Distinguished Professor of History and Politics at Ashoka University

Articles by Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Nehru was a leader of shining veracity

Jawaharlal Nehru is not to be belittled. He is not to be eclipsed by the sawdust haze of idealism’s current drought

Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of modern India, was a human with human flaws and failures but a leader of shining veracity. And guts beyond the ordinary.(HT Photo)

columns

Updated on May 26, 2016 09:06 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Why give MPs a chance to swear in the name of god?

The Constitution is wiser now. There is, however, one feature that has not only not changed but has entrenched itself. And that is about the Almighty

columns

Updated on May 03, 2016 02:03 AM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Twinkle, Twinkle: It’s more than just a lullaby

The abandoned and the mentally ill have to be the kind of persons Jane Taylor, the creator of Twinkle, Twinkle, must have thought of as being in need of guiding light

Starry night over the Rhône, Vincent van Gogh (1888)(Wikimedia Commons)

columns

Published on Mar 25, 2016 11:23 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

The woman who said no: How Rukmini Devi chose dance over presidency

Rukmini Devi would have been vegetarian enough to favour the beef ban but democratic enough to not go with a sectarian manipulation of that issue

Rukmini Devi would have made an iconic first woman President of India. And from 1980 India would have had that unimaginable combination: A woman president and a woman prime minister.(Photo: Kalakshetra)

columns

Updated on Mar 04, 2016 09:56 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

On Gandhi’s death anniversary, need to do more than lament the tragedy

On the anniversary of the Mahatma’s assassination, we must do more than lament the greatest tragedy that has befallen India

What makes Feliks Topolski’s painting astonishing? In a stroke of prescience, the Polish artist painted a possible future assassination of Mahatma Gandhi well before January 30, 1948.(Getty Images)

editorials

Updated on Jan 30, 2016 03:48 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Imagining an ageless Hindoostan... ten years from now

Even 10 years from now, India’s myriad problems will not end. But the country’s republicanism will ensure that we continue to keep the faith.

India 2025 will be the theatre of pandemics, a trapezium of zoonotic ogres caused by the leviathan of callous living.(Reuters)

columns

Updated on Dec 25, 2015 10:26 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Celebrating Nehru: A PM who saw India as tolerant and compassionate

Celebrating our first PM today is much more than a matter of nostalgia. It’s about defending the nation from groups wanting to re-engineer India writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Jawaharlal Nehru believed in and worked for an India where those, more numerous or powerful, would not overawe the less numerous or weak into silence. India for him was home to a civilisation and that civilisation was home to tolerance, compassion and care.(Reuters Photo)

columns

Updated on Nov 13, 2015 09:24 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Writers as dissenters: Badges of honour dulled by shame

It is in the context of whether the NDA wants dissenters to feel secure that returning awards becomes important.

A file photo of Nayantara Sahgal.(Sunil Saxena/HT Photo)

columns

Updated on Oct 14, 2015 11:06 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

This is a history-making election year for Bihar

This is a Bihar year. The state of Bihar itself came into existence 80 years ago this year, by a provision of the Government of India Act, 1935.

No one can tamper with democratic rights and civil liberties in India without a howl of protest rising to set the wrong right. Bihar’s JP and JP’s Bihar have vouchsafed that.(HT file)

opinion

Updated on Sep 19, 2015 11:45 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

This is a history-making election year for Bihar

This year’s election will be a momentous one for the state. The impact of the results, due on November 8, will be felt nation-wide.

columns

Updated on Sep 19, 2015 01:13 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

This is a history-making election year for Bihar

This year’s Bihar election will be a momentous one for the state. The impact of the results, due on November 8, will be felt nation-wide.

columns

Updated on Sep 19, 2015 02:03 AM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Stay out of the zone: It's time India blunts quake impacts

Muhammad Bin Tughlak moving the capital from Delhi was capricious, but staying put on three live seismic faults is no less so.

columns

Updated on Aug 22, 2015 01:57 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByGopalkrishna Gandhi, New Delhi

Can truth be in power or, coming into power, remain truthful?

We could have, in a Sanskritic mood, gone in for Vande Mataram or in a Hindustani moment, for Sare Jahan Se Achha. But Satyameva Jayate as a universal proposition that went beyond ourselves and our country to a human precept, was as universal as the Vedas and the Upanishads.

columns

Updated on Jul 25, 2015 07:48 AM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

India's powerful women: An inspirational artistic presence

India has always nurtured powerful women who have led from the front, inspired people around them and enriched public life.

No-one-I-know-today-who-belongs-to-the-Indian-north-understands-India-s-south-as-Kapila-Vatsyayan-does-She-knows-by-instinct-almost-that-the-mridanga-has-power-but-the-chenda-has-magic-PTI-Photo

opinion

Updated on Jun 29, 2015 02:24 AM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

In this India which needs a voice, silence reigns

The prime ministership of India has to be the world’s toughest assignment. But it is also perhaps the world’s most powerful one. Not because his fingers can touch nuclear buttons or launch craft to the moon and Mars but because they can touch and transform the lives of our benighted millions, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

columns

Updated on May 22, 2015 09:47 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Modi govt's first anniversary: It has been a year of icy silences

As Narendra Modi enters his second year as Prime Minister, I felicitate him and urge him to look at a picture of a very differently silent Mahatma Gandhi during his tour of riot-torn Bihar. And ask him to explain the difference between the Republic of India and a Hindu rashtra, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Indian-Prime-Minister-Narendra-Modi-addresses-the-crowd-crowd-during-an-event-in-Toronto-on-Wednesday-April-15-2015-AP-Photo

columns

Updated on May 17, 2015 05:57 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Doing great damage long after we are dead

What does it matter what happens to your corpse?’

On-what-was-just-a-spot-by-the-Yamuna-rose-Rajghat-a-most-ironic-name-for-the-site-of-the-cremation-of-one-who-had-been-an-opponent-of-the-Raj-which-had-ended-and-had-not-identified-with-the-Raj-that-had-come-in-its-place-Virendra-Singh-Gosain-Hindustan-Times

columns

Updated on Apr 19, 2015 11:18 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

The dissenter is alone, but not the State

"The strongest man," says Dr Stockmann in Ibsen’s immortal play An Enemy of the People, “is the one who stands alone”.

columns

Updated on Mar 20, 2015 10:50 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

The voters of Delhi have given a triple verdict

Oceanic sweep of AAP should not make it lose its balance. Facing a three-member Opposition can give the 67-member strong party a sense of heavenly writ. Nothing can be worse for democracy or for Delhi.

AAP-volunteers-wield-brooms-the-party-s-poll-symbol-as-they-celebrate-outside-the-Patel-Nagar-party-office-Arvind-Yadav-HT-Photo

columns

Updated on Feb 11, 2015 10:18 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Keep the Republic’s taper burning bright and tall

The ‘waters’ of pluralism, of democracy and republicanism are being tested. They must not be found to be running thin or shallow, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Punjab-police-woman-constable-during-rehearsal-for-the-Republic-Day-parade-at-Guru-Nanak-Stadium-in-Amritsar-on-Tuesday-Sameer-Sehgal-HT

columns

Updated on Jan 23, 2015 10:48 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Why 2014 was an extraordinary year for our Republic

The year 2014 was an extraordinary one for me. What made it so is the change I have seen at our — India’s — basic core, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

columns

Updated on Dec 26, 2014 10:16 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Change course for a tryst with Nehru’s dreams

It is important for us not to lose sight of the Hind that Jawaharlal Nehru yearned for as we commemorate his 125th anniversary, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

columns

Updated on Nov 13, 2014 11:09 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Sailing on the seas of history

Meera Abraham offered a rare glimpse into the trading traditions of peninsular India and the link between South Indian and Roman merchants. Gopalkrishna Gandhi writes.

columns

Updated on Oct 18, 2014 08:50 AM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

The PM must represent India, not just market it

The Indian PM goes with the confidence he will be seen as a symbol of India’s democratic will, India’s scientific audaciousness, India’s economic venturesomeness. But this is to be noted: On his first visit to the US, PM Nehru went to represent, not market India, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

columns

Updated on Sep 29, 2014 12:11 AM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Richard Attenborough told India Gandhi’s story

Richard Attenborough and India coalesce in the life story of Mohandas Gandhi. But the epic success of Gandhi (1982) has obscured from general awareness an earlier association of his with India, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

columns

Updated on Aug 31, 2014 10:00 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

You could impress Nadine Gordimer, disgust her, but not fool her

Nadine Gordimer’s death at 90 earlier this month revived interest in her life and work as no event in her life had, not since the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to her in 1991.

columns

Updated on Jul 25, 2014 11:05 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Not just figureheads: why the governor's post is important

In suggesting that governors of the day demit office before term, the present government is doing what was done unto it. Tit for tat is not a game to be played for the office, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

columns

Updated on Jun 28, 2014 12:02 AM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Public-spirited individuals are nation’s most ‘loyal’ opposition

Opposition is not about the number of seats in Parliament. Jayaprakash Narayan and C Rajagopalachari were never MPs but their opposition was powerful, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

columns

Updated on Jun 16, 2014 12:21 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

It’s all out in the open

The rancid noun, the foetid verb and the acid invective that we heard this election season suggest that euphemism is on its way out. Gopalkrishna Gandhi writes.

columns

Updated on May 30, 2014 10:20 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

Modi will be the govt, the govt will be Modi

Modi’s was not just the face of the 2014 elections, it was the only face, full, up-front. All others were profiles. Modi was, in reality, if there can be such a thing, ‘un-utsav-murti’, a festival statue on wheels, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

columns

Updated on May 17, 2014 09:05 PM IST

ByGopalkrishna Gandhi

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Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Gopalkrishna Gandhi read English Literature at St Stephen’s College, Delhi. A civil servant and diplomat, he was Governor of West Bengal, 2004-2009. He is currently Distinguished Professor of History and Politics at Ashoka University

Jawaharlal Nehru is not to be belittled. He is not to be eclipsed by the sawdust haze of idealism’s current drought

The Constitution is wiser now. There is, however, one feature that has not only not changed but has entrenched itself. And that is about the Almighty

The abandoned and the mentally ill have to be the kind of persons Jane Taylor, the creator of Twinkle, Twinkle, must have thought of as being in need of guiding light

Rukmini Devi would have been vegetarian enough to favour the beef ban but democratic enough to not go with a sectarian manipulation of that issue

On the anniversary of the Mahatma’s assassination, we must do more than lament the greatest tragedy that has befallen India

Even 10 years from now, India’s myriad problems will not end. But the country’s republicanism will ensure that we continue to keep the faith.

Celebrating our first PM today is much more than a matter of nostalgia. It’s about defending the nation from groups wanting to re-engineer India writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi

It is in the context of whether the NDA wants dissenters to feel secure that returning awards becomes important.

This is a Bihar year. The state of Bihar itself came into existence 80 years ago this year, by a provision of the Government of India Act, 1935.

This year’s election will be a momentous one for the state. The impact of the results, due on November 8, will be felt nation-wide.

This year’s Bihar election will be a momentous one for the state. The impact of the results, due on November 8, will be felt nation-wide.

Muhammad Bin Tughlak moving the capital from Delhi was capricious, but staying put on three live seismic faults is no less so.

We could have, in a Sanskritic mood, gone in for Vande Mataram or in a Hindustani moment, for Sare Jahan Se Achha. But Satyameva Jayate as a universal proposition that went beyond ourselves and our country to a human precept, was as universal as the Vedas and the Upanishads.

India has always nurtured powerful women who have led from the front, inspired people around them and enriched public life.

What does it matter what happens to your corpse?’

"The strongest man," says Dr Stockmann in Ibsen’s immortal play An Enemy of the People, “is the one who stands alone”.

Oceanic sweep of AAP should not make it lose its balance. Facing a three-member Opposition can give the 67-member strong party a sense of heavenly writ. Nothing can be worse for democracy or for Delhi.

The ‘waters’ of pluralism, of democracy and republicanism are being tested. They must not be found to be running thin or shallow, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

The year 2014 was an extraordinary one for me. What made it so is the change I have seen at our — India’s — basic core, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

It is important for us not to lose sight of the Hind that Jawaharlal Nehru yearned for as we commemorate his 125th anniversary, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Meera Abraham offered a rare glimpse into the trading traditions of peninsular India and the link between South Indian and Roman merchants. Gopalkrishna Gandhi writes.

The Indian PM goes with the confidence he will be seen as a symbol of India’s democratic will, India’s scientific audaciousness, India’s economic venturesomeness. But this is to be noted: On his first visit to the US, PM Nehru went to represent, not market India, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Richard Attenborough and India coalesce in the life story of Mohandas Gandhi. But the epic success of Gandhi (1982) has obscured from general awareness an earlier association of his with India, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Nadine Gordimer’s death at 90 earlier this month revived interest in her life and work as no event in her life had, not since the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to her in 1991.

In suggesting that governors of the day demit office before term, the present government is doing what was done unto it. Tit for tat is not a game to be played for the office, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Opposition is not about the number of seats in Parliament. Jayaprakash Narayan and C Rajagopalachari were never MPs but their opposition was powerful, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

The rancid noun, the foetid verb and the acid invective that we heard this election season suggest that euphemism is on its way out. Gopalkrishna Gandhi writes.

Modi’s was not just the face of the 2014 elections, it was the only face, full, up-front. All others were profiles. Modi was, in reality, if there can be such a thing, ‘un-utsav-murti’, a festival statue on wheels, writes Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

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