2011

November 27 this year marks the thirteenth death anniversary of P.N. Haksar, the eminent administrator and distinguished diplomat as well as one of the country’s foremost thinkers. He was the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and a Member, UN International Civil Service Commission. On this occasion we offer our sincere homage to the abiding memory of that towering personality, a recognised authority on foreign policy, by reproducing the (…)

FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
The mere fact that President Johnson ordered the halting of bombing of most of North Vietnam and simultaneously announced his decision not to seek re-election to the office wherefrom he has wrought unprecedented havoc, is no doubt seen the world over as a victory not only for the valiant people of Vietnam but for peace-loving peoples in all countries including Johnson’s own.
But the so-called de-escalation ordered by the US President is not such as to convince the (…)

by MIRATUN NAHAR
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, known as the father of the Aligarh Movement, was born in a highly respectable family in 1817, the very year in which the Hindu College was established in Calcutta. Sir Syed, in his childhood, did not display any excellent character-trait. Rather, he exemplified the maxim that one could become the man he wanted to be by sheer effort and perseverance. In his youth he was a luxury-loving young man. But after the death of his elder brother he changed (…)

IMPRESSIONS
Here’s a brand new idea aired by our brand new messiah. All clean and non-corrupt politicians must leave their political parties and come together to form a new independent party, says Anna Hazare. It sounds like an old idea.
Actually the old idea is that there’s need for a new political party. That the good guys in existing parties should quit and form this independent party is a new take.
This sounds more practical than the idea of a bunch of amateurs forming a party. (…)

The intense debate on the Jan Lokpal Bill should not overshadow the multiple approaches that are available to combat corruption and, more importantly, the larger issue of governance reforms in India. India definitely needs an independent authority such as the Lokpal to combat the menace of corruption. Tragically, the debate on the jurisdiction of the Lokpal had a misplaced focus on whether to bring the Prime Minister, legislature and judiciary within the ambit of the Lokpal. In the (…)

by SANJAY MISHRA
Mani Shankar Aiyar is not new to controversies. Indeed, over the years, he has perfected the art of creating and courting controversies. It is really intriguing to note the absence of diplomacy or, for that matter, euphemism in his verbal attacks, notwith-standing the fact that the better part of his antecedence was occupied by diplomacy. How come a person who has been a career diplomat for about 26 years and who has been in politics for more than two decades be so (…)

BOOK REVIEW
by SAJAD PADDER
Kashmir: Identity, Autonomy and Self-Rule by Dr Gull Wani; Apple Books, Srinagar; 2011; pages: 218.
The quest for identity as a basic human urge has received specific academic recognition in the post-modern political thought. In the case of Kashmir, identity has been the most persistent and dominating urge of the people. The book, Kashmir: Identity, Autonomy and Self-Rule, by Dr Gull Wani deals with one of the most crucial problems of the contemporary era: (…)

Timing is three-fourths in international diplomacy. The spectacular display of three happy coincidences on the eve of PM Manmohan Singh’s pow-vow with US President Barack Obama in Bali is near-perfect in timing:
• India successfully test-firing Agni-IV missile that has a reach over large areas of the Chinese hinterland;
• Australia’s change of heart about selling uranium to India; and,
• Delhi announcing the rules for the implementation of India’s nuclear liability law.
Each of the (…)

by ANAND MUTTUNGAL
The constitutional experts say that the Chief Minister who rules the State on behalf of the Governor before going for a fast in any nature will have to seek the permission from the Governor; if the Governor refuses permission then he /she has to resign to take up fasting. It is not clear whether the Chief Minister has obtained permission. Whatever may be the constitutional position, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi began his fast with the words: “May God give me (…)

Last week a special riots court in Gujarat created history by sentencing the maximum number of people to life imprisonment in a single case. The court adjudicating the 2002 riots cases convicted 31 persons, mostly landed Patels, for the carnage at Sardarpura village in north Gujarat on March 1, 2002 that resulted in the killing of 33 people; and subsequently sentenced them to life imprisonment. At the same time 42 of the 73 accused were acquitted by the judge. It was indeed a gruesome (…)