2014

President Pranab Mukherjee has been making speeches verging on politics from Day One. He has been commenting on the problems confronting the nation as if he is presiding over the affairs of the country. His Republic Day broadcast beats them all and has naturally evoked some angry comments. Several political parties like the Communist Party of India (CPI) have characterised the speech as political.
What President Mukherjee says is generally correct. For example, his remarks that populist (…)

[( TRIBUTE
Pete Seeger, 94, the legendary US folk singer, passed away at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital on January 27, 2014. A week earlier he was admitted there as he was suffering from ailments associated with advanced age.
According to AFP, Seeger, with a career spanning decades, was credited with popularising the hymn of the US civil rights movement, We Shall Overcome, and was known for renditions of songs like If I had a Hammer and Where have All the Flowers Gone.
According to (…)

by ARUN SRIVASTAVA
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the self-proclaimed liberal socialist, is the new symbol of the petit bourgeoisie, in the back-ground of John Keynes’ economic theory, for the progressive and democratic forces to bring about a fundamental change in the democratic and political institutions of the country. These forces have been carried away to such an extent by the actions and utterances of Kejriwal that they are reluctant to find fault with his dharna at Rail (…)

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did not succeed in the Muslim majority constituencies in the recently held Delhi Assembly elections even though the AAP leadership tried hard, even monetarily, in this direction to help the candidates. In order to secure the Muslim votes, the AAP supremo visited the heads of many Islamic organisations/bodies, and also appro-ached Maulvi Taukir Raza Khan in Bareli. The AAP found Muslim candidates easily enough, even the BJP is able to seek out Muslim candi-dates, but (…)

The New York Times report that President Barack Obama is planning a visit to Riyadh in another six-seven weeks from now, towards the end of March, signals an American move to mollify the Saudi feelings over the situation around Syria and Iran. The Saudis have been angry that Obama did not attack Syria and help remove the regime and, more important, engaged Iran in direct talks.
Obama is making a smart move to pay his respects to King Abdullah who ‘lost’ face over Syria and Iran. Two (…)

IMPRESSIONS
In one corner Devyani Khobragade, aglow with disarmingly oversize smiles. In the other, Preet Barrara, collector of celebrity heads as hunting trophies. The unequal match is so smartly manipulated that all we see is an explosion of righteous indignation—indignation over a diplomat being provocatively humiliated, and indignation over a housemaid being exploited in customary Indian style.
How neat. But this clash of emotive issues defies logic. US-India relations are based on (…)

by SREEKUTTY MOHANDAS
“Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures,” said Emerson. And sometimes fiction confirms certain facts. An interesting conversation between Sir Thomas More and Will Roper in Robert Bolts play A Man for All Seasons gives a cue on the outcome of not adhering to international treaties and multilateral institu-tions. Roper, a young zealous man, wants Sir Thomas More to arrest a wicked man, even though the man did not break any law. Sir Thomas More warns Roper of the (…)

BOOK REVIEW
The following is a book review sent to us by the reviewer from Lahore for publication in this journal.
The Shadow of the Crescent Moon by Fatima Bhutto; Penguin Viking; pages: 231; Price: Rs 499.
Fatima Bhutto ingeniously crafts her first novel, The Shadow of the Crescent Moon, around life in a small town in the frontier province of Khyber PakhtunKhwa. The fictional town of Mir Ali is a microsom not merely of the North-West Frontier region of Pakistan but also of the (…)

A phone call from the District Magistrate about 8.30 in the morning on October 7 (?), 1992 startled me. I was informed from the other end that communal troubles on account of the Durga Puja immersion of idols had begun the previous night in the Sitamarhi town and engulfed the Riga town and some surrounding villages. The District Magistrate was palpably demoralised. He even expressed his apprehension that the angry and agitated mob could attack his official residence anytime. This was perhaps (…)

The Bapu Asaram episode has distressed and disturbed a very large number of people, and it is extremely important for truth and justice to prevail in this case. No one, no matter how resourceful and politically well connected, should be allowed to destroy evidence or otherwise hamper the process of justice.
While first and foremost it should be ensured that justice is neither denied nor delayed in the latest case of sexual exploitation, it should be remembered that this is only one among (…)