Every Which Way

The BJP's triumphalist campaign to convince us that victory is theirs, that the Congress is a rabble, incapable of putting up a fight, was becalmed too. There is no such word as triumphalist in my Oxford dictionary, but at a conference on English I learnt, from unimpeachable academic sources, that there is no standard language. Even Hinglish is apparently not entirely out of court. But back to politics. The United Front became even more disunited—hardly an earth-shattering event. The only other news has been of the manoeuvre of politicians for position, not principle enlivened by the brawl in Talkatora gardens which does not augur well for India's oldest political party. But I found one change for the better—DD and AIR have been as good sources as any for the daily ebb and flow of political fortunes. A far cry from the days when only one side got a shout on nationalised airwaves. All parties have accused S.S. Gill, Prasar Bharati's chief executive, of "slanting the news". They would, wouldn't they? They want it slanted, but in their direction.