2013

TRIBUTE
While mourning the untimely demise of Hugo Chavez we offer our sincere tribute to that indomitable personality. We are reproducing here the following profile of the Venezuelan leader issued and distributed by the Venezuelan Embassy in New Delhi, and publishing a poem composed in his memory.
A tireless fighter. A unique social vision. An idea, universal and perennial: Socialism of the 21st century.
Hugo Chávez Frias was born in Sabaneta de Barinas, on July 28, 1954. He passed (…)

You looked the bully in the eye,
And called his bluff,
Till millions rose around you
To say enough is enough.
You spoke to them of the things
That were all their own;
Till they said, lead us, brother Chavez,
And we will not relent till we are done.
You sat in the middle of the hoi polloi
And made your best decisions there;
You recounted the truth of oppressions,
Till every labouring one was clear
How the eagle had to be stopped
From marauding at will,
And how a (…)

British Prime Minister David Cameron has exhibited once again England’s imperial side when he came to discuss the Kohninoor. He said at Amritsar during his visit that his country “controls” the diamond, which is partly studded in the Queen’s crown. This only explains what the UK has done with the diamond after taking it away forcibly from India. This does not establish control, much less legal title. This only confirms British high-handedness.
Cameron would have gone down better in India (…)

IMPRESSIONS
There is an accepted way to handle Budgets —and there is the Indian way. Our Budgets are the handiwork of politicians, not financial experts or railway specialists. They do not seek long-term plans aimed at public good. Some Ministers are smart and some are naive, but all focus on short-term advantages. Budgets are, year after year, our country’s biggest missed opportunities.
Consider Railway Minister Bansal’s perfor-mance. This was his maiden Budget, the first time in his (…)

The Finance Minister has announced a number of facilities for the farm sector. But as per past experience, farmers do not realise what is ensured in the Budget. This is because the system is not well guided both in clarity and specific commitment which is much needed in the context of the prevailing prohibitive factors.
While the new private banks are expected to open branches in rural areas, they are now given facilities which are provided to the nationalised banks. But the introduction (…)

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram stressed during presentation of the Budget that the fiscal deficit should be kept in control in order to attain high growth rates. He has not made large increases in outlays in order to keep the fiscal deficit under control. The government is much concerned that international rating agencies may downgrade India if the fiscal deficit is not kept under control. A downgrade may lead to the foreign investors fleeing and that would bring the UPA crashing down. The (…)

FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
It’s like a political rope trick, Chidambaram’s maiden Budget as the Finance Minister of the United Front Government. Everyone from V.P. Singh and Somnath Chatterjee to the captains of the corporate giants have praised it and the Finance Minister coiuld go home in peace, as he has been anointed by the media as “Thiruvallu-var’s Disciple”. Indeed a long way that the young politician has travelled from the day when he promptly quit as the Commerce Minister to avoid being (…)

COMMUNICATION
Chidambaram’s proposal to burden the buyer with the requirement of deducting tax at source at one per cent, where the value of immovable property purchased exceeds Rs 50 lakhs, will be a harassment to most of the individual buyers, for they will have to seek professional assistance to comply with the relative formalities like obtaining the TAN and filing the TDS return. It would be wiser if the seller collects the tax (TCS), instead of the buyer deducting it. In any case, the (…)

by JAYANTI ALAM
Of all the Human Rights a woman or the “inferior” human being can think of, it is the right to work or an income-generating work that can perhaps give her an upward social mobility and an awareness of her freedom. Work is of greatest significance for women. However much the right to work or employment is not a Fundamental Right in our Constitution, however much women’s household work is not recognised while calculating the nation’s GDP and however much women are invariably (…)

by MONICA MUNJIAL and POONAM KAUSHIK
India is one of the largest democracies in the world. It also has one of the largest minorities. A true democracy ensures not only individual rights but also rights of minorities as a community. Our Constitution has laid down in Articles 25 to 30 the rights of religious, cultural and linguistic minorities and thus made India a truly democratic and pluralist nation.
There was, however, a big gap between noble intentions and actual realisation. The (…)