Ned Donovan

Monday

Ned Donovan

Modi’s ideological project in Jammu and Kashmir

Curfews, internet shutdowns, house arrest for opposition leaders. It’s the kind of list one normally hears in the world’s great authoritarian dictatorships. But today it is in fact the state of affairs in a part of India, the world’s largest democracy. Today the government of India announced that it was implementing direct rule and integrating the northwestern state of Jammu and Kashmir, one of the world’s hottest flash-points. The state sits on the border with Pakistan and has been a place of tension since the partition and independence of India in 1947. Ruled nominally by a Hindu Maharaja, the Muslim-majority state tried to avoid partition and declared its independence.

Friday

Ned Donovan

Narendra Modi is the powerful leader India craves

Looking back on Narendra Modi’s first five years in office as India’s Prime Minister, it’s hard to find good news. Record-high joblessness, a stagnating economy, and continued widespread government corruption. With any other person, this would spell electoral defeat, but not for Modi. This week, the 68 year-old leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power for a second term, outperforming his results in 2014 that led him to power and picking up more than 300 seats in the Indian Parliament. His first victory had been a complete shock. For an almost uninterrupted 60 years, the Congress Party had controlled India and its parliament with a system of patronage and a controlled economy.

Thursday

Ned Donovan

The patron prince

It’s like any traditional bazaar. Cushions litter the floor and crowds gather around displays of Chinese pottery and Persian rugs. Tea cups stand ready to celebrate a hard-bartered purchase. Except no tea will be poured: this market happens to be in the middle of a stateroom in Buckingham Palace and is the centrepiece of the Prince of Wales’s new exhibition showcasing his favourite pieces of art and craftsmanship. The show is titled ‘Prince and Patron’, and it is packed to the brim with objects he loves. It also offers a glimpse of what the eventual reign of King Charles III may look like. There has been court gossip that the Prince will choose another name to reign with rather than be identified with the two previous monarchs called Charles.

Wednesday

Ned Donovan

Why have the Tories abandoned their promise to fight ‘burning injustices’?

This week the Conservative Party quietly abandoned the promises made by Theresa May to the British people on the steps of Downing Street when becoming Prime Minister. As a then-new First Lord of the Treasury, May vowed to her fellow citizens that she would right the 'burning injustices' that confronted society’s worst-off and prevented them from meeting their fullest potential. The United Kingdom would, she said, 'be a country that works for everyone' and made reference to the disadvantages facing minorities in areas like the justice system.

Tuesday

Ned Donovan

The Tories need to get over Thatcher

A lot of attention has been given to the new think tank, Onward, that claims it will win back Britain for the Conservative Party by targeting disaffected Blairites and young people. There is, however, one part of society conspicuously missing from its remit: the poorest. The group's founder, Neil O’Brien MP, claims that Corbyn is 'crackers' and his policies, including nationalisation of infrastructure 'need deleting'. At no point does Onward – or any of the other right-wing think tanks that have launched – seem to question why Corbyn's policies are so popular throughout the country. Nor do they wonder whether any Conservative government has made them work before.

Wednesday

Ned Donovan

Is Piers Morgan the only Catholic offended by the Met Gala?

It will come as no surprise that something in the news has Piers Morgan deeply troubled. For the past two days, Morgan has been incandescent over the Met Gala and its dress code. In a column for MailOnline he claims that, as a Catholic, he has become a victim of cultural appropriation due to fancy dress outfits worn to a party by celebrities. The Gala, a fixture of the New York social season at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is well known for the theme it sets, and this year it was ‘Heavenly Bodies’ - inspired by the Roman Catholic Church. The Gala was held to launch an exhibition of the same name. Dozens of items of religious clothing have been allowed out of the Vatican Archives to be seen by the public for the first time.

Friday

Ned Donovan

Is Zayn Malik as delighted as I am by Azealia Banks’ Twitter ban?

There aren't too many things I have in common with Zayn Malik, but as of this week, we do at least now have a shared enemy: Azealia Banks, the American rapper and part-time witch. She took to Twitter on Wednesday to send racist tweets to the former One Direction star, including one in which she called him a ‘curry scented bitch'. The think pieces have not stopped since. This is not a think piece from an outsider though, but from one of Miss Banks’ other victims. I first came into contact with her last month when she threatened on Twitter to kill a friend of mine’s mother using a voodoo curse, after the said friend mocked her ancient African magic ‘powers’.