News and Views

In 1971, legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen made a film called Interview. Written by my father Ashis Barman, iconic Indian actor Ranjit Mallick debuts here as a personable young fellow looking for a position in a boxwallah firm.

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Over the past week, a flux of reports on the outcomes and processes of the ongoing talks between the US and the Afghan Taliban, through its office hosted in Doha, Qatar, have sent across a wake of reactions from both stake-holders and analysts on Afghanistan.

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The drama of the absurd played out in Kolkata on 3 February evening, leaving the city completely stunned. A ‘street fighter’, Mamata Banerjee, who swept the polls in 2011, took to the streets and led police officers in a dharna.

While some hold that this act undermines the dignity of the chief minister’s office, there is a section that believes it will give CM Mamata Banerjee’s prime ministerial ambitions a further boost, as members of the Opposition have shown support.

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An Indian Air Force (IAF) Mirage 2000 crashed during takeoff on 1 February 2019 at about 10: 30 am IST. The aircraft was under acceptance test flight after an upgrade program. Sources indicate that State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was involved in deliverance of the upgrade. This was the second or third acceptance sortie.

Test pilots manning the ill-fated flight, Sqn Ldr Samir Abrol and Sqn Ldr Siddhartha Negi, both alumni of the 40th Flight Test Course (FTC) from Air Force Test Pilots School, Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), IAF, Bengaluru perished in the crash. They leave behind families (and testers like me) who are still coming to terms with the terrible tragedy. The IAF and ASTE are doing their best to assist the bereaved while an investigation is underway.

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What does one make of frequent statements by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, repeatedly embarrassing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership, forcing it to order spokespersons scurrying for a briefing on what to say in the event of media questions and debates?

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Hours after his investigative report revealed that the Defence Ministry itself had raised serious objections about the PMO conducting parallel discussions on Rafale with the French side, former editor-in-chief of The Hindu N Ram spoke to The Quint about the significance of the revelations, and how it proves that the Modi government actively misled the Supreme Court in the Rafale case.