If he shall not do so today, can Dr Manmohan Singh ever push reforms and infrastructure initiatives?

M Karunanidhi, who is keen on ensuring that all his children are well settled before he passes into the ages, needs to learn from President Kalam's example.

'The chips are down for the BJP today, it doesn't show that the issues have been rejected or defeated. People have supported it because it is perceived as the only party that doesn't feel embarrassed to protect the Hindu ethos.'

This does not sound like a ministry that is all set to revive the ailing Indian economy in a hundred days flat, as Dr Manmohan Singh vowed, does it?

Phase IV: Cong fields maximum crorepatis

Congress has the most crorrepatis in the fray in Phase V of the polls.

Invincible as he appears in his western stronghold, can Narendra Modi sweep forth from it and take New Delhi for an insurgent BJP? The good news for Modi's rivals in his party is that these results don't even begin to suggest he can.

Instead of a steamrolling 150 seats tally, terrifying the Bharatiya Janata Party high command into an abject surrender and hailing him as a prime minister-in-waiting, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra got 115 seats, 2 short of his 2007 score(117), enabling his party rivals to deny him what he covets the most, says Arvind J Bosmia

If the Bharatiya Janata Party's own chances of returning to power are so weak, where is the question of Narendra Modi assuming its leadership and becoming the next Prime Minister. B Raman examines

Now that the numbers are out and it is nowhere near as spectacular as expected/feared by some or hyped by many -- it is Narendra Modi's lowest in three elections -- it is a sobering thought. Is this the best he can do, wonders Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

Narendra Modi of 2002 couldn't change Hindustan into Modistan; it is Hindustan which has changed Modi of 2002 into Modi of 2012, notes Sajid Bhombal.

'Unless he engages with the darkness within, unless there is remorse for what happened within his rule, I don't think he is going to be my leader,' says filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt in his forthright style.

Narendra Modi, who posted a resounding victory in the assembly elections, will be sworn in as Gujarat Chief Minister for the fourth time on December 26.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is yet to congratulate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and refused to say anything on Modi's hat-trick victory on Friday.

Modi has arrived. Probably the country is not yet ready. Modi knows it. If Modi destroys the existing political consensus he will have to quickly replace it with another, notes M R Venkatesh.

There are 57 members with criminal background, one with even charges of rape, and 134 crorepatis (74 per cent) in the newly-elected Gujarat assembly, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms, a non-political group aiming at governmental and electoral reforms. Vicky Nanjappa reports.

Supporters of a "dislike" button, which Facebook does not have, say the culture of Facebook has become too nice. WSJ's Andy Jordan reports from San Francisco on what some creative contrarions are doing to game the Facebook system to "get" a dislike button.

"The Bay Lights" light installation, inspired by the 75th anniversary of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, is officially unveiled March 5. Here's a preview of what it will look like, and a conversation the artist, Leo Villareal.

If you’ve read a book in a car, you probably know what motion sickness feels like. WSJ’s Tim Higgins visits Massachusetts-based ClearMotion, which is betting its suspension technology could provide a solution as we move closer towards a future with driverless cars. Photo: Max Esposito/WSJ

Sunderban fishermen are caught between court directives and politicians limiting their traditional lives, and large trawlers that operate unfettered by those same overseers.

Fishermen oppose a new notification by the Environment Ministry that would open up the coast to industrial development. Their state governments agree, but the Centre and the World Bank are pushing ahead nonetheless. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Moneylender troubles, a fast depleting catch due to reckless pollution, and displacement: it has been raining blow after blow on fisherfolk in Andhra Pradesh recently. Will a meeting with a cabinet minister fix things? Keya Acharya reports.

An expert committee appointed to review the existing marine fishing policy and suggest a new one has come up with recommendations favouring the bigger, foreign players, drawing the ire of the smaller fishing community. P N Venugopal has more.

A voter discusses the chances in the Sawaimadhopur Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan where Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla, who led the Gujjar agitation last year, is the BJP candidate.

Safety and criminality in society must be assessed directly from the people themselves. The government is deluding itself and citizens by conflating law enforcement statistics with crime data, writes Tara Krishnaswamy.

The second attempt of the NDA government to create a market for farmers' produce may not fare much better than the first one, for the same reason - it fails to address the asymmetry of power between the farmers and buyers, writes Kannan Kasturi.

The central government has just announced that it plans to "dope" petrol with 5% of ethanol, a biofuel made from sugar cane, from November 1. However, this also poses some problems; cars, not people, will be responsible for most of the increase in global grain consumption this year, writes Darryl D'Monte.

Twenty years after the Brundtland report, it is self-evident that economic growth which consumes resources without regenerating them is, by very definition, unsustainable. But despite taking the moral high ground early, India's record on this front has been at best a mixed one, writes Darryl D'Monte.

The government's focus on solar energy is driven by the need to demonstrate a commitment to renewable energy. But equity too is vital for the success of the National Solar Mission, writes Sujatha Byravan.

Policy makers have understood the importance of producing energy, but have been much slower to promote measures for energy efficiency. This has to change, writes Girish Sant.

Shale gas and oil reserves are being eyed hungrily by an industry that is looking at the sunset of conventional reserves. But fracking is full of risks, and we must address those first, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

Both the Ministry of Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Environment and Forests appear loath to pay attention to the potential environmental impact of small hydel power projects in the country. Parineeta Dandekar underlines the shortcomings in the official stance towards such projects.

In remote villages of Rajasthan women are assembling small, portable solar lamps and then travelling to different hamlets in the region to retail them. Renu Rakesh reports.

The energy sector is undergoing a massive transformation, with large customers option for direct access from producers and those in the middle looking for decentralised storage and consumption. Between these forces, the old distribution business faces serious risk, says a report from the Prayas Energy Group.

They cannot compete with Mayawati, or Jayalalitha or Sonia Gandhi. But the new breed of women politicians springing up in India's small towns will become a political force to reckon with in the years to come, writes Kalpana Sharma.

The recently released `Status of Women Journalists in India' report, commissioned by the National Commission for Women presents a disturbing picture of women journalists. Malvika Kaul reports.

Have male and female roles in Indian ads changed over the past decade? Have the images of men and women in ads softened over time, blurring the stereotypes, or have they hardened? Shoma Chatterji writes about change in the advertising scene and the importance of media literacy for women.

The Sunanda episode leaves us with some hard questions, about the attitude of the media to women, about sexism and other hurdles that women face everyday at the workplace, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Mars missions and scientific innovations notwithstanding, a large section of India still reposes great faith in the future predicted by astrologers. Satellite TV leverages that to offer a plethora of shows, one of which recently defied all limits of decency, as Arpana H S reports.

Interactions at the WSF, Tunisia with activists and thinkers from vastly diverse fields, united only by their dream for transformation and alternatives to well-being, inspire Ashish Kothari to hope for another world.

The recent government crackdown on Greenpeace in particular, and the activism sector in general, reeks of arbitrariness and illegitimacy, says Ashish Kothari in a scathing critique. The question is will the people give in to the state’s tactics?

In the recent history of development in India, examples of interconnected success -- in local autonomy, forest rejuvenation and agriculture -- such as this, are rare. For Nagaland, it all started under the stewardship of Achyut Madhav Gokhale. Surekha Sule has it all.

Displaying extraordinary grit, courage and openness to change, women from some of the most feudal communities in Rajasthan's villages are changing the rules forever and leading development and local governance at the grassroots. Abha Sharma brings us their tales.

Increasing firepower is the answer to the wrong question; security doesn't come neatly defined in military terms alone, says Firdaus Ahmed.

Public attention must focus on what Pakistan's options are, both in battlefield tactical terms, and in the face of India's military resurgence, says Firdaus Ahmed.

India's doctrine of 'deterrence by punishment' is least credible in the most likely scenario of Pakistani nuclear use. But the tenets of this doctrine are not above revision, and times of relative peace offer a better opportunity to find the way forward, says Firdaus Ahmed.

If Lt. Col. Purohit's activities are only one instance of something wider, then the Army has a real problem - namely, the penetration of majoritarian religious ideology into the historically secular defence forces, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

India begins 2009 from a position of strength. But how it approaches security issues in the internaland external security planes will determine how it ends the year, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The two protagonist South Asian states got their independence in the middle of the last century, and it is about time that they seize control of their mutual and intertwined destiny, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The recent award of life sentences to the army personnel involved in the 2010 Macchil killings in J&K sends out a positive message, but there are deeper layers in the justice system that need introspection and overhaul in the pursuit of reconciliation. Firdaus Ahmed explains.