2012

Published in The Morning News—Sunday Times Service (London) on July 3, 1975. An introduction to the article read:
“An uncensored account from Jonathan Dimbleby who was in Delhi last week for the Thames Televivsion programme: ‘This Week’. He filed his report from Addis Ababa to avoid censorship.”
This was included in The Press She Could Not Whip: Emergency in India as Reported by the Foreign Press. —Editor
The famous Indian journalist sat in his silent office surrounded by notes for an (…)

by RUPNARAYAN DAS
Much revered Prof V.P. Dutt, the doyen of Chinese Studies in India, passed away in Delhi last year of April 26. The demise of Meera Sinha Bhattacharjea three years back, and that of Giri Deshingkar earlier, and the passing the passing away of Gargi Dutt, wife of V.P. Dutt and a China scholar in her own right, had already created a void in Chinese studies in India. Prof V.P. Dutt’s demise will be long felt by Chinese scholars and policy-planners in the country, (…)

by S. MOHAMMED IRSHAD
This article is about contextualising the People’s Court decision to release Chhattisgrah MLA Jhina Hikaka in a democratic process. The nature and process of trial are unknown to the public; however, it creates a public perception that the movement has some democratic values to impart. There is absolutely no clarity on the government response as well.
The MLA was later released and the Maoists reported as saying that he has undergone trial under the Public Court of (…)

by AMRUTA KARAMBELKAR
Inspired by Singapore’s successful gambling industry, the Government of Vietnam is consi-dering legalising casino-gambling and sports betting. This article is presenting different sides of this issue while looking into the following questions: Why is the government considering this policy? Can the gambling industry deliver as envisioned in the present state of affairs? Would the social cost of gambling industry outweigh the economic benefits?
Background
IT would (…)

UNDER THE BANNER OF THE SHANGHAI SPIRIT
With the determination to make Central Asia a nuclear-free zone and accepting the “Declaration on Building a Region with Lasting Peace and Common Prosperity”1 the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), under the banner of the Shanghai spirit, is on the verge of completing eleven years of its existence. The SCO is a complex and dynamic organisation that marks the altering trend of the 21st century political alliances, and it advocates for the (…)

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has always been the sum total of the concord available in the relationship between China and Russia. This is also where the grouping’s strength and weakness would lie. The SCO’s summit meeting in Beijing this month bears this out.
Ten years on, the identity of the SCO—which includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan—is still evolving. It is far less than a formal alliance but is much more than a mere “talking shop”. (…)

by BISHWAJIT SEN
Rajkamal Choudhary, a rare genius of creative writing, died on June 19, 1967, at PMCH, Patna. He died early, at the age of thirtyseven years and six months. During this short lifespan, he left, for the Hindi and Mathili readership, a great wealth of material—six short-story collections, six poetry collections and twelve novels. Alongwith this, he translated into Hindi the epoch-making Bengali novel Chowringhee by Shankar, the eminent Bengali novelist of considerable (…)

Finally the Congress-led UPA II—the ruling coalition at the Centre—has taken the decision: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is going to be its candidate for the Presidential poll. This sets to rest all speculation about the UPA’s nominee for the office of the head of state.
Much has been already written, broadcast and telecast about various aspects of the presidential poll. What has not been brought into focus, in all probability deliberately, is the role of the corporate sector and big (…)

For Pranab Mukherjee, who has been in politics for about half-a-century, the Number One position has always been the proverbial ‘jam tomorrow’. At last, he is going to be the Numero Uno—the first citizen of the country. What is more, the UPA has sponsored him, the Left is about to make a formal announcement of its support to him, the NDA, at the time of writing, is giving broad hints that it will not oppose him.
The BSP has made known its support for him. And topping the list of Pranab’s (…)

Immediacy for Peace
The title and contents of A.G. Noorani’s article “Settle the Siachen dispute now“ [Ref. 1] strongly suggests peace-by-demilitarisation of Siachen on an immediate basis. His quest for peace is unexceptionable. Every Army jawan and most officers would not dispute this aim for, after all, they bear the brunt of military operations on Siachen. The huge amounts of money spent on these military operations are amounts that would be better spent on roti-kapda-makan for 80 per (…)