Latest Updates from Guest Column

By Ashutosh Mishra London: Crime is on the rise in this city. While a drug cartel seems to be active knife crime has escalated. According to reports in a section of the media here this kind of crime has risen to a record high with more than 15,000 offences in a year being for the […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Odisha Congress’s defeatist attitude is the biggest stumbling block in the path of its revival in the state. The latest example of this attitude is the statement of party veteran, former minister, Suresh Kumar Routray on a local TV channel almost conceding defeat in the Bijepur assembly by-poll. Asked about the […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: For the BJP, which has emerged as the main opposition party in the state, results of the last assembly elections were not upto the leadership’s expectations. Set a goal of 120 plus seats by BJP president, Amit Shah state party leaders had hoped to win at least 50 seats, if not […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Senior police officials in Koraput recently brainstormed on ways to contain left wing extremism in southern Odisha, specially the erstwhile undivided Koraput district. The area comprising the present Koraput, Malkangiri, Nowrangpur and Rayagada districts deserves special attention as Maoist rebels have been most active in this belt. The area shares borders […]

By Ashutosh Mishra London: Railway service in England is pretty efficient. Trains are fast and run on time. Instances of disruption of service are few and far between. The kind of shambolic scenes that we generally witness at railway stations in India are but rare here. Extinction Rebellion protesters, who practically laid seize to this […]

By Ashutosh Mishra London: The island of Malta, located slap-bang in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, is being touted as one of the hottest destinations for the footloose and fancy-free looking for a perfect winter getaway. One of the newspapers here has run a two-page ad feature that begins thus: “shrug off winter’s chill and […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: If reports in a section of the media are to be believed Odisha has the dubious distinction of being ranked among 10 Indian states with a high crime rate against women. Backed by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures they paint a grim picture of the state as one of the […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Chief minister, Naveen Patnaik has taken a step in right direction by asking ministers to make surprise visits to check the quality of food served to children at schools and orphanages. They have also been instructed to share meals with students in schools and the inmates of orphanages. Equally significant is […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Coastal security is a major issue in Odisha given the state’s 480 km long coastline which is largely unguarded. At least it does not have the kind of security it deserves. The issue of coastal security comes into focus from time to time when incidents reminding the authorities of its need […]

By Ashutosh Mishra London: The tragic death of 39 Chinese migrants in a refrigerated lorry that was discovered in Essex earlier this week has brought the issue of human trafficking back into focus. The illegal migrants were dreaming of starting a new life in Britain, the never never land of their imagination with its streets […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The mammoth victory of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate, Rita Sahu in the just concluded assembly by-poll in Bijepur has re-affirmed the ruling party’s electoral supremacy in the state. While it comes as yet another proof of chief minister, Naveen Patnaik’s invincibility it has dealt a blow to BJP’s ambitions of […]

By Ashutosh Mishra London: Among British newspapers, the Guardian seems to have given the most authentic and graphic account of the last moments of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the dreaded Islamic State leader who met his end in a dead-end tunnel in northwestern Syria. The paper’s Middle East Correspondent, Martin Chulov begins his story as if […]

By Sandeep Sahu It’s an extraordinary situation for sure and I seriously doubt if the judicial system in India has seen anything like this before. Just imagine a High Court, no less, as one of the ‘parties’ in a case! It had to the unenviable task of appointing a counsel to ‘represent’ it in the […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is on a high following its landslide victory in the just concluded Bijepur assembly by-poll. On present form it seems to be miles ahead of its rivals—BJP and Congress—who have utterly failed to project themselves as an alternative to Patnaik. Congress is down in […]

By Sandeep Sahu The murmurs were heard even before the elections. But they had not become loud enough for anyone to take serious note of it. But it has now grown into a full-throated war cry that is hard to miss. And the message that it sends out is loud and clear: “Odisha Congress is […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: With despondency growing and future appearing bleak in the wake of yet another defeat, this time in a by-poll, younger generation Congress leaders in the state are becoming impatient. The campaign for the removal of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president, Niranjan Patnaik, launched at a meeting of party leaders at Panth […]

By Ashutosh Mishra London: Britain is getting ready for its first December election since 1923. Before that, the country had gone to polls in the year-end month in 1918 when troops returning from World War I had joined women voting for the first time. A December election follows opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn’s willingness to pick […]

By Sandeep Sahu There are times when it is hard to take a stand on an issue. There are two diametrically opposite views on the same issue with strong and convincing arguments to back each of them. In the end, what clinches the argument is the perception of the person taking the call. But that […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: It was heartening to read about Home Minister’s Special Operation medal being presented to 25 police personnel from Odisha for their role in an operation which led to the killing of five Maoist rebels in Koraput in May this year. Those honoured included a superintendent of police, an additional SP and […]

By Ashutosh Mishra London: There is tremendous enthusiasm among the youth for the upcoming Christmas election in the country. Authorities received more than 300,000 applications for registration as voters within 48 hours of elections appearing inevitable and then being confirmed. Of these nearly two-thirds came from people aged 34 or less while those over 65 […]