2014

Sixtysix years after independence, India continues to be a country with widespread poverty and backwardness and finds a place only at the bottom of the development index in the international league of nations. The euphoria generated at the time of independence, when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru proclaimed that ‘India is waking up to life and freedom’ and ‘the soul of nation will find utterance’, has disappeared. The national mood today is of pessimism, frustration and anger. Corruption is eating (…)

REVIEW ARTICLE
Swaraj by Arvind Kejriwal; Harper Collins publishers India, New Delhi; 2012.
This is a narrative that goes to the root of the national predicament. The common man, his agrarian background and marginalisation, are the points of departure for any conventional inquiry into public policy in India. Swaraj, self-governance, was the rallying cry for restoring his place in the sun during the freedom struggle. The author promises (in desire and deed) to discharge the role of (…)

Sharks and piranhas famously go into a feeding frenzy when they suddenly see an abundance of prey. Turning crazy with rage, they tear into the flesh of anything within biting range. Something similar is happening among opponents of the Aam Aadmi Party. Even liberal intellectuals are in a frenzy to feed on the new party’s weaknesses, ignoring the larger picture. AAP is easy prey to all. (Notice that the frenzied feeders avoid difficult prey. Hardly any fulminations against UP’s Ministers who (…)