2019

If a fact is a fact is a fact is a fact, And truths are multiple, Then every fact may have a truth That justifies a quibble.
Would there be words were it not so— Words on words on words— Would we distrust what exists, But trust an absent God?
The perfection that Plato saw In an imagined perfect circle— Is that the truth we never reach, However we may prattle?
Did Jesus say “forgive them, father,” Or “why hast thou forsaken me?” What was the truth about that fact On mount Calvary?
Was (…)

by Sudhir Hindwan
Condemnation should ring out loud and clear against the consecutive serial suicide bombings ripping apart churches and hotels, and killing more than 250 people while leaving over 500 injured on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. There is a growing frustration among the people at large over the government’s inability to control the rising tide of religious terror and violence. It has brought opposition in myriad forms, increasing pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to take (…)

by Debtanu Majee
India and Pakistan shared a malevolent relationship from the very inception of both the countries. Pakistan was the product of the divide and rule policy followed by the British between the Hindus and Muslims. The Hindu-dominated secular state of India was seen as a threat by the Muslims. They wanted an Islamic state of their own and thus was Pakistan born by fragmenting India. Pakistan’s too much dependence on their religious identity turned the clock in the reverse (…)

TRIBUTE
When West Bengal was in the throes of the 2019 parliamentary election campaign, noted scientist, social worker and leading associate of popular movements, Dr Meher Engineer, 80, breathed his last in Kolkata’s ‘Parsi Old Age Home’ on April 24. He was the former head of the Bose Institute, one of the premier scientific institutions of the country based in Kolkata.
He was in the front ranks of the movement against the installation of the Tata Nano factory at Singur in West Bengal’s (…)

EDITORIAL
As the parliamentary elections for the 17th Lok Sabha are drawing to a close within a few days, the election campaign is becoming increasingly murkier.
One has just returned from a fleeting visit to Lucknow but even in the short span of one’s stay in UP one was able to clearly discern the public urge for a change from the BJP dominating the State to the SP-BSP mahagathbandhan; and experienced observers of the electoral scene disclosed that the BJP would suffer considerable (…)

by Joseph Abraham
For the vast majority of the Indian electorate, the current elections appear to be a complex decision-making process between the economic gains of the pro-poor welfare schemes of political parties and the concerns of the electorate on issues relating to faith and religion. Though there is little doubt that these two are equally important for the large majority of voters, the growing agrarian crisis and rising unemployment appear to have shifted electoral preferences and (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
When politicians as a community are in a state of siege in the eyes of the public, it is extremely short-sighted on the part of any government to make any move that may appear to the public as a means to cover up or to close the channels of the politician’s exposure.
While in the public mind, corruption among politicians has become a live issue since the Bofors bribery scandal, it was during Narasimha Rao’s Prime Ministership that the enormity of corruption in public (…)

by Farzana Behram Contractor
All I know is, without exception, everyone seems to be afraid. Afraid of the outcome of the ongoing elections. Fear and uncertainty seem to be the general emotion everywhere. What will happen to our lives if the BJP comes back to power, majority or coalition, it doesn’t matter. Twice as bad? Fact remains that we put our hopes in this party and they let us down. Lies, deceit, pretense... they misled, mistreated, caused confusion, twisted and re-twisted facts, (…)

by Prem Singh
1
Narendra Modi, during the campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, had specifically emphasised two things: First, nothing has happened in the country during the Congress rule of the last 65 years. He, accusing the Congress of failures during its 65 years’ rule, had then claimed that he would complete 65 years of task in just 65 days if he is given power. Second, he will bring the black money, deposited in foreign countries, back to the country and deposit Rs 15 lakhs (…)

Designation did not make Hafiz Saeed less lethal. As patriotic Indians, we savour this moment as we hear the good news that the United Nations is blacklisting Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. The country applauds India’s diplomats who have finally clinched the issue through quiet, patient, dedicated work. On a personal note, it makes me feel proud of my erstwhile colleagues in the Indian Foreign Service.
However, before we move on later today, inevitably, to the fateful final lap of the (…)