2011

The past-midnight police attack on Baba Ramdev’s supporters at the Capital’s Ramlila Maidan on June 4-5 and its consequences are still being discussed among wide sections of the public, horrified as the people are by the wanton assault on thousands of peaceful agitationists backing the yoga-guru’s campaign against black money, the ostensible reason for his indefinite fast to force the recalcitrant government take urgent steps to bring back such unaccounted wealth stashed away abroad. Since (…)

by TARUN PATNAIK
The atrocities of the Delhi Police on Baba Ramdev’s supporters in Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on June midnight must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Power has been abused. Force has been used to suppress the innocent public who were but inspired by the feeling of patriotism and compassion for compatriots. They were raising their voice against corrupt citizens who by their anti-national activities have kept money, earned by looting the government exchequer and by (…)

The drafting of the Lokpal Bill is back in the news after the round of Assembly elections. The co-chairperson of the high-power committee involved in the drafting has said that progress is slow and that the June 30 deadline is likely to be missed. Some civil society groups made suggestions on what the Bill should contain. The chairperson of the drafting committee responded with alacrity, sensing an opportunity to let the government have its way by claiming divisions in civil society. (…)

by NOAM CHOMSKY
After the assassination of bin Laden I received such a deluge of requests for comment that I was unable to respond individually, and on May 4 and later I sent an unedited form response instead, not intending for it to be posted, and expecting to write it up more fully and carefully later on. But it was posted, then circulated. It can now be found, reposted, at http://www.zcommunications.org/my-reaction-to-osama-bin-laden-s-death-by-noam-chomsky.
That was followed by a (…)

ISI Chief Ahmad Shuja Pasha warned India that any Abbottabad-like attack by it would invite a befitting response from Pakistan as targets inside the country (India) had already been identified and a rehearsal carried out. Pasha’s warning came as he addressed the in- camera joint session of the Pakistan Senate and National Assembly on May 13.
He repeated the warning of Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary, Salman Bashir, who was the first senior official of his country to speak at a news (…)

Though Iqbal had limited his concept of a Muslim homeland in the subcontinent (he enunciated it in 1929 to the NW only), partition was conceived in 1940 for the benefit of the Muslim majority living in the northwest as well as the east of the subcontinent. The Pakistan Resolution, adopted by the Muslim League in March 1940, spoke in terms of ‘Muslim-majority areas’ in these two regions and the creation of Muslim states therein. The Resolution conceived that the religious minorities, living (…)

COMMUNICATION
Sathya Sai Baba rose into prominence as an ‘incarnation’ of the great, universally respected savant Sai Baba of Shirdi. Later he claimed to be God. But God is immortal and Sathya Sai Baba was a mortal human being who died on April 24, 2011 at the age of 84. His death created a wave of shock and sadness among his followers in India and abroad who revered him for his spiritual powers, supernatural ‘miracles’ like deposits of vibhuthi, materialisation of miniature deities, and, (…)

This article was received by us several months ago but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons. It is now being published as its contents are still of considerable relevance.
I
Wilderness is the raw material out of which man has hammered the artifact called civilisation.
—Aldo Leopold It is estimated that there may be somewhere around 30 million species of plants and animals—many of them are yet to be discovered. These life-forms came into existence through the processes (…)

The last thing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev did before departing for France to attend the Group of Eight summit meeting in Deauville was place a call to Damascus.
Prima facie, one may think the call made sense, since as Reuters reported, “Syria’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests” is going to be high on the agenda of the summit. But Medvedev had other thoughts on his mind: he wanted to ostentatiously pick up the thread from his previous conversation with his Syrian counterpart, (…)

FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
Within two years of Indira Gandhi’s spectacular come-back to power, one of her minions has fallen. This is an episode which brings a sense of relief and also sounds a note of warning—depending on the angle from which it is viewed. Antulay’s ignominious exit from office will certainly be welcomed by all those—politicians, pressmen and officials—who have had to face the brunt of his high-handed conduct. It is also a warning signal to all those in our public life—and (…)