2014

EDITORIAL
With the elections to the 16th Lok Sabha having pronounced a decisive verdict, the Lower House of Parliament presents a scene completely different from the one witnessed in the previous Lok Sabha. As the first session of this Lok Sabha is formally inaugurated after a day’s adjournment on June 4 due to sitting member and Union Minister for Rural Develoment Gopinath Munde’s tragic demise in a road accident in the Capital, this becomes starkly visible. While the Congress has been (…)

The South Asian region seems ripe for a strategic realignment, although no one cares to talk about it openly. The Russian report to the effect that Moscow is ending its self-imposed arms embargo on Pakistan amounts to a signal that the tectonic plates of the geopolitics of the region are shifting.
If the report is true—RIA Novosti is an official news agency—this is further confirmation that India and Russia are drifting apart. From a stance of benign neglect of the relationship in the (…)

A few days after ‘Operation Bluestar’ I was in the Amritsar home of Sardar Gursharan Singh, the legendary theatre personality. He had shown tremendous courage by publicly criticising the Punjab militants and even enacted plays in Bhindranwale’s village raising questions about the Khalistani movement.
We were in the midst of a discussion when a very agitated young Sardar walked in. He said he had heard a Supreme Court lawyer was visiting and he wanted to know whether the lawyer could help (…)

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Much as this writer and many millions the world-over wish this would happen, it appears unlikely for now that Capitalism’s slayer is brewing within its own productive womb. That “inevitability” seems not so inevitable. The historical transformation in productive practices from factory to call centre seems to yield crony aspirants to its fruits rather than ideological antagonists fated to sound its knell. When economies crash, as in America and Europe, the culprits—banks, financial (…)

The election of Shri Narendrabhai Modi to the post of the Prime Minister of India and that of Smt Mayawati as the Chief Minister of UP earlier reinforce my faith in the inner strength of our democracy. Almost every democratic country does have its “blue-blooded” families who always aspire for the high elected posts through their wealth and family and business social network. Bushes and Kennedys of the US could be one illustration. Britain has its “ruling” families in a more camouflaged way (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
Nineteen-Eightyfive has begun in this country with a New Look government formed after a phenomenal victory of the Congress under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi. With the unprecedented Congress score of 400 seats in the Lok Sabha, the Rajiv Government commands a majority which never came to the lot of any previous Prime Minister, not even of his illustrious grandfather, while the votes secured this time by the Congress-I crossing the majority of total votes polled, is (…)

World Environment Day — June 5
People and society as a whole react to sudden or quantum increase in matters which affect general safety or welfare, but are neglectful of slow changes. Global warming and consequent climate change have ongoing effects which are gradual or creeping but very real. The long-term effects are known and accepted as meriting serious consideration. There are many antici-pated effects of climate change, but possibly the best known is the melting of polar ice (and (…)