Latest Updates from Guest Column

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 […]

By Sandeep Sahu The Smitarani Biswal case in Jajpur looks all set to go the way the Bebina, Itishree, Kanakalata, Madhabilata, Snehalata and the Kunduli cases have done before it: into a dead end. By now, it is abundantly clear to anyone who has followed developments in the case that Jajpur police has done everything […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Odisha government’s decision to organise Marine Drive Eco Retreat festival near Konark from December 14 is obviously aimed at drawing more tourists, especially foreign tourists to the area which not only houses the world famous 13th century sun temple but also has an excellent beach and a beautiful wildlife sanctuary. The […]

By Ashutosh Mishra London: Being used to the boisterous and colourful election campaigns in India I find the ongoing campaign for the Christmas elections in this country strangely quiet and drab. There are no banners and posters, no loudspeaker mounted vehicles blaring out songs and slogans and no processions with dance and music. For us […]

By Ashutosh Mishra London: Political analysts here appear worried that Brexit fixation of major party leaders is going to make the Christmas elections terribly skewed. One commentator calls it the hijacking of the elections by Brexit which, by all indications, has turned into an obsession. Everything else has become secondary. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who […]

By Sandeep Sahu “Power”, as Lord Acton has said famously, “corrupts; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But there are other things that power does to human beings as well: making them arrogant, for one. To paraphrase Lord Acton, “Power makes people arrogant and absolute power makes them absolutely arrogant.” This truism was in evidence for […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Sundari, the Royal Bengal tigress who was brought to the Satkosia tiger reserve from the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh under the first-ever inter-state tiger translocation project in the country last year, remains confined to her enclosure after a brief period of independence when she was allowed to roam free […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: For all Nature lovers safety of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles, who nest on the beaches of Odisha between November and March every year, remains an overriding concern. This is because hundreds of them are killed every year by fishing trawlers which routinely violate the fishing restrictions imposed by the authorities […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: There is some good news for environment-conscious people from Sambalpur where the district administration has decided to encourage the use of sal leaf products as a substitute for plastic disposables. Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) have been engaged to augment the production of sal leaf plates, in particular, as they are […]

By Sandeep Sahu Judicial pronouncements invariably leave one side disgruntled. So, it was not exactly a surprise to see the Muslim parties feel hard done by the long awaited Supreme Court verdict in the vexed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute on Saturday. While the petitioners themselves have been rather subdued in expressing their disappointment, the virulence […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The worst part of the migrant labour trade is that a sizeable chunk of the labourers going out of the state in search of livelihood are children. According to one estimate, around 30,000 children from the drought belt of Bolangir and Nuapada leave their homes behind to work on farms and […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: If not special category state status, Odisha at least deserves special treatment from the Centre. Battered periodically by natural calamities like cyclones and floods the state has a strong case for being put in the special category in terms of financial assistance. The damage caused by a series of disastrous cyclones […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Chilika, the largest brackish water lake of Asia, has turned into a plumed wonder with hundreds of migratory birds presently lazing in its cerulean waters. This is the best time of the year to visit the lagoon when it is bathed in exotic colours with winged guests making all kinds of noises. […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The figures keep changing. The latest claims put the number of people who received money under the KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme without fulfilling the eligibility criteria at 45,965 which is nearly 14,000 more than what the earlier statistics provided by the government had shown. These bogus […]

By Sandeep Sahu At a time when the whole nation is celebrating the sesquicentennial year of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, the School and Mass Education department of the Odisha government is justifiably drawing flak for rewriting history in respect of what perhaps is the best known event in the life of the Father of […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik deserves kudos for demanding ‘National Maritime Heritage Festival’ status for the Cuttack Balijatra which has come to symbolise the great maritime tradition of Odisha. The coast of Kalinga, as the state was known in ancient times, was dotted with important ports which were fulcrums of trade and […]