2010

[In this brilliant write-up, a noted scholar, author and classmate of Aung San Suu Kyi recalls her past association with Burma’s iconic symbol of the ongoing struggle for democracy while narrating the latter’s extraordinary battle against the world’s most ruthless military dictatorship, and raises a pertinent query: how will Suu, now that she is free (at least for the present), “react to the consistent pusillanimity of a country that was not only her childhood home, but is also Burma’s (…)

Let us first reject the latest fad,“The Beijing Consensus”, created in 2004 by J.C. Ramo (Foreign Policy Centre, London, May 2004), a kind of opposition to “the Washington Consensus” which favoured the neo-liberal theses in the 1990s. Though not promoted by the Chinese, the new consensus refers to the development model of China for developing countries.
In fact, the achievements of China since 1978 do not constitute “a model” or a recipe that is transferrable. They are due to the (…)

by M.R. Biju
Articles 243 E and 243 U of the Constitution of India deal with the question of dura¬tion of Panchayats and Municipalities and pe¬riodicity of elections to the rural and urban local bodies. It is stated therein: “Every Panchayat/Municipality unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force shall continue for five years from the appointed date of its first meeting and no longer.” This constitu¬tional provision also prohibits any dissolution of a (…)

by Ravi Hemadri
The recent case of deportation of 47 suspected Bangladeshis from Ahmedabad and the questions the Gujarat High Court asked the State Govern-ment to answer shows the continuing ambiguity in the country with regard to the rights of refugees and transnational migrants. Last year the Gujarat Police arrested 75 persons suspected to be Bangladeshi migrants and deported 47 of them in two batches in November 2009 and January 2010. In a petition filed by the Jansan-gharsh Morcha it (…)

by Siddharth Ramana
In late September 2010, the United States issued a travel advisory for its citizens warning against travel to European cities. This occurred in the backdrop of a high terror alert across the European countries of France, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom; all these countries are known allies of the United States and are battling domestic Islamic radicalisation. This commentary focuses on one aspect of the European terror plot—the role of Germans in global jihad. (…)

FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
Summit meetings are not boxing rings which the public watch to cheer or boo at the players punching at each other. Most of the summits are meant for serious business either to thrash out differences or haggle over a coveted prize.
Judging by this criterion, the Prime Minister of India’s summit with the President of the USA at Washington (May 19, 1994) could be regarded as useful as they noted in clear terms the points of difference on some of the major issues not so (…)

IMPRESSIONS
So everything went off well. Obamaji was nice, Michelleji was nicer, and the kababs at Rashtrapati Bhavan were nicest. A good time was had by all. Now, what about the fine print?
We can ignore Obama’s pitch that India must stand up for democracy and human rights in Burma and Iran. We can do a pahle aap number here and wait for the US to first stand up for democracy and human rights in Saudi Arabia. We can also more or less ignore the India-US strategic partnership for “East (…)

Obama’s visit, which was initially hailed with a note of caution, created a sense relief, comfort and strengthened friendship with the US after the nation heard him addressing the Indian Parliament. In Mumbai where he landed with his business entourage consisting of CEOs of American MNCs, the President, as expected of him, talked of the US’ business interests in India and at Delhi he addressed some of the vital politico-economic issues ranging from cross- border terrorism from Pakistan to (…)

Before embarking on his recent (November) trip to India and other Asian countries, President Obama said at a press conference in Washington: “As I plan for my trip later this week to Asia, the whole focus is on how are we going to open up markets so that American businesses can prosper, and we can sell more goods and create more jobs here in the United States. And a whole bunch of corporate executives are going to be joining us so that I can help them open up those markets and allow them to (…)

TRIBUTE
My association with Siddhartha Shankar Ray (1920-2010) goes back about 50-60 years. We were colleagues in court, though he was about a decade ahead when I joined the Bar. We have appeared in many cases both together and against each other. And this was to be repeated even later, as we both entered politics. Even though our parties and politics were mutually opposed, we had a very good personal relationship. In fact, he often told Jyoti Basu (who persuaded me into politics), that he (…)