Category Archives: India

Imagine a world with easy visas on arrival…

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Venky

(This column was published in DNA edition dated January 5, 2011.) Venky Vembu The ex-Beatle and irremediable peacenik John Lennon, who was murdered 30 years ago last month, wanted us to imagine a world without countries (or religions or possessions). … Continue reading →

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When Barkha joins Sun TV, it’s time to eat your noodles

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Venky

(This column, intended purely in jest as a turn-of-the-year satire, was published in DNA edition dated January 3, 2011.) Venky Vembu A year ago, I gave expression to my wish-list of 10 whacky things I’d like to see happen in … Continue reading →

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Wen a neighbour comes calling…

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Venky

(This article, a curtain-raiser to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s upcoming visit to India, was published in DNA edition dated December 12, 2010.) Venky Vembu A chill wind is blowing across Beijing, but it isn’t just a momentary meteorological effect that … Continue reading →

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China’s might versus the power of an empty chair

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Venky

(This column was published in DNA edition dated December 8, 2010.) Venky Vembu At the ceremony in Oslo last year to award the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama, China was given a platform to showcase an element … Continue reading →

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Flash News: ‘No-panty’ Yana shows India is booming

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Venky

Venky Vembu In the Vanities No one wears panities —- Ogden Nash, Theatrical Reflection   In the early 1990s, when the Indian economy was opening up to the world, foreign consumer brands, in the first flush of excitement, came tripping … Continue reading →

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Rahul Mao and Modi Zedong

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Venky

(This column was published in DNA edition dated December 4, 2010.) Venky Vembu It is hard for anyone but the most fawning supporters of Congress dynastic politics to fathom precisely what distinctive skills Rahul Gandhi has that qualifies him for … Continue reading →

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WikiLeaks proves the world isn’t run by robots

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Venky

(This column was published in DNA edition dated December 3, 2010.) Venky Vembu A couple of months ago, Sha Zukang, one of China’s top UN diplomats, made sensational news when, in a fit of alcohol-induced garrulousness, he told his boss … Continue reading →

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‘China can’t win a trade war; it will be massacred’

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Venky

(This interview with economist and fund manager Richard Duncan, on the prospects of a trade war, and its implications, was published in DNA edition dated November 29, 2010.) Venky Vembu In his first book, The Dollar Crisis, published in 2005, … Continue reading →

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Behind China’s ‘bamboo curtain’ is an amoebic God

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Venky

(This review of two books on China was published in DNA edition dated November 28, 2010.) Venky Vembu Prince Charles, whose own personality is far from sparkling, once described Chinese leaders as “appalling old waxworks”. The validity of that judgment … Continue reading →

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How China ‘punishes’ countries that receive the Dalai Lama

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Venky

(This interview, with a research scholar who identified a ‘Dalai Lama effect’ on international trade with China, was published in DNA edition dated November 27, 2010.) When jailed Chinese political dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, … Continue reading →

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