2010

The London Conference in which India felt it was marginalised, the sudden crackdown by the Pakistanis against the leadership of Quetta Shura whose existence they had denied all this time, the detention of 124 militants, the spate of anti-Taliban articles and pronouncements in the Pakistani print and electronic media and the glowing certificates from high-level US officials on Pakistani cooperation with US strategy—all this has persuaded the Indian strategic community that the Obama (…)

As expected, the Budget session of Parliament has begun with both the Houses being adjourned on the second day or the first working day (the first day witnessed President Pratibha Patil addressing the joint session of the two Houses in the Central Hall as is the customary practice) with the entire Opposition unrelenting in its demand for a discussion on the serious issue of price rise under a substantive motion entailing voting, and the government inflexibly stonewalling the demand so that (…)

The situation in Afghanistan is becoming increasingly complex with the passage of time.
The London Conference on the Afghan Problem decided at the end of January to work towards reintegrating the Taliban into the Afghan political mainstream. This has sent shock waves among Indian defence and strategic analysts as also in the corridors of power in New Delhi though some seasoned diplomats and foreign policy experts assert that there was no reason for the Government of India to feel (…)

‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009’, that has come into force after the relevant Bill was passed by Parliament, and the recommendations of the Bansal Committee appointed by the Government of Maharashtra for the regulation of fees charged by non-aided schools are two important measures for educational reforms discussed in this article.
Fee Fixation by Unaided Institutions
Recent measures to introduce educational reforms have put into sharp focus issues of (…)

The Bill to provide free education for all children in the age-group 6-14 (which has now become an Act) ensures that any child can demand provision of free education to him or her in his or her neighbourhood right up to the 8th class. It is also claimed that the state will provide compulsory elementary education. Here there is some confusion. Right to education implies that the parents of some children want to get their children educated but fail to do so because there is no school in the (…)

The crisis over Telangana which has overtaken New Delhi has been the creation of the Congress leaders themselves. On one hand Dr Channa Reddy’s political frustration has led him to ignite the flames of regional chauvinism, and it is this that has stirred up the present round of violence in Telangana. On the other hand, Sri Brahmananda Reddy’s over-bearing cock-sureness deceived the Centre in a manner that few Chief Ministers have been able to achieve so far.
Sri Brahmananda Reddy (…)

TRIBUTE
The years after independence saw a number of outstanding young men and women throw their hearts and bodies into building a new India. K.N. Raj was a giant of that generation. Today when careerists and those who put their self-interest above everything else rule the day, it is important to stress how K.N. Raj and others of his kind, one could very easily have made their names anywhere in the world, were fired with passion for just one thing: contributing to a modern and equitable (…)

On February 9, 2010, a solemn and portentous conclave was held by the Sheriff of Hindoostan and his two Vice-Sheriffs of Banga and Kalinga provinces in what was once known as Calcutta and is now called Kolkata. Two other Vice-Sheriffs of Anga provinces slipped away to keep their options open. The reason for this grave conference was to chalk out a plan of action to contain, if not to exterminate, the menace of Naxalism (Maoism) in the Central Indian wooded uplands which start from the edges (…)

The acceptance in principle of the demand for the formation of Telangana by the Union Home Minister on December 9, 2009 for defusing the situation created by the deteriorating health of K. Chandrashekhar Rao, the leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) not only led to a powerful reaction in the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of the Andhra State but also resulted in revival of the demand for Harit Pradesh and Bundelkhand in UP, Maru Pradesh in Rajasthan, Coorg in Karnataka, (…)

Recently the ex-Army chief of Sri Lanka created a wave by saying that many Tamil separatists were gunned down by the Army when they were ready to surrender. If this is true then there is a gross violation of human rights. According to General Sarath Fonseka, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the Defence Secretary—the brother of the current President—instructed soldiers not to take in rebel prisoners. Sri Lankan authorities have resisted international calls for a war crimes investigation amid allegations (…)