Columns

Guest Column

Patrick French

Patrick French

Patrick is a British writer, historian and a biographer who takes keen interest and writes on the social, economic and political affairs in India. Some of his notable books are: Younghusband, Liberty or Death, India: A portrait, and The World is What it is—the biography of V.S. Naipaul.

LAST WORD

'Bond'ing with the best

'Bond'ing with the best

One of the places I have been meaning to visit for many years is Landour, a small cantonment in the...

By Patrick French November 22, 2015
England’s Arvind Kejriwal

England’s Arvind Kejriwal

During last year’s general election campaign, travelling the length and breadth of India for THE WEEK,...

By Patrick French October 18, 2015
Arab Spring to Islamist Winter

Arab Spring to Islamist Winter

Europe is facing an unprecedented crisis: a perfect storm of human suffering and political confusion....

By Patrick French September 20, 2015
On the right side of history

On the right side of history

If a political wrong was being imposed on us by a tyrannical government, surely we would stand up for...

By Patrick French August 30, 2015
Magna Carta and the world

Magna Carta and the world

For these last few weeks I have been working in the British Library in London, reading hard-to-find...

By Patrick French June 28, 2015
The lives of others

The lives of others

Earlier this month I had a strange experience: I spent an evening in a graveyard with a group of people...

By Patrick French March 19, 2015
Remember the written word

Remember the written word

When I was researching the biography of V.S. Naipaul, The World Is What It Is, a decade or so back, I...

By Patrick French March 19, 2015
Webbed with technology

Webbed with technology

I love new technology―and all the things we can do that were impossible only a decade or so ago. It...

By Patrick French March 19, 2015
Claiming the past

Claiming the past

The debate over the nation’s future is nothing compared to the current kerfuffle over its past....

By Patrick French March 19, 2015
Clarity, not consensus

Clarity, not consensus

When I was a child, we had a family friend who worked at a think tank. Unsure whether the tank might...

By Patrick French March 19, 2015
Keeping faith

Keeping faith

After the terrible shooting in Paris at the office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in which 12...

By Patrick French March 19, 2015
Goat's curd, Mr Viceroy?

Goat's curd, Mr Viceroy?

The durbar, where the ruler could be seen interacting with visiting dignitaries, was replaced in India...

By Patrick French March 19, 2015
Go soul-searching in Goa

Go soul-searching in Goa

I used to spend a bit of time in South Goa, not doing anything in particular, just riding a two-wheeler...

By Patrick French March 19, 2015
A bridge across the Pacific

A bridge across the Pacific

Acronyms for people of Indian heritage, like NRI, PIO and OCI, have been all the rage in recent years....

By Patrick French April 26, 2015
Lecherous guide, shimmering Taj

Lecherous guide, shimmering Taj

When I was a student at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, we would make plans to travel during the...

By Patrick French May 31, 2015