April 26, 2008

For some politicians it is difficult to understand India’s diversity and appreciate it too. The lesson taught in our school days that there exists ‘unity in diversity’ in Indian society is taught even today in our schools and colleges. Although the slogan emerged at a particular point in time yet it is as relevant as it used to be in the past. However, very few know the basis of this ‘unity of diversity’ contained in this slogan, which was coined by British historian Vincent Smith and later (…)

Arun Jaitley, named Senapati of the BJP’s akshauhinis, has visited his troops. S.M. Krishna, appointed charioteer of the Congress armies, has inspected his field formations. The conches have finally sounded announcing the order of battle.
Kurukshetra is all set. So who is planning what chakravyuhas? We can safely leave the Congress and JD(S) alone for the moment. They plan nothing new. One will be busy with self-destructive faction fights, the other with the nanotechnology of separating (…)

Instances of assent and dissent to the relay of the Olympic torch, along with the protests in the European streets and one in India, reminds us once again that protest is one of the effective arsenals ‘we the people’ have at our disposal to articulate the tacit as well as repressed. In the wider gamut of discourse, organised as well as otherwise, protest acquires dubious distinctions. It is not so simple as some Members of Parliament walking out in protest, or in an organised manner bringing (…)

The government had an awkward time facing an angry Parliament on the sugar price scandal. Although the adjournment motion could be defeated by the government in the Lok Sabha by the sheer force of its brute majority, it was clear to the members of the Treasury Benches that in the wider arena of general public all over the country has come the perception that not only mismanagement but sufficient black money deals might be involved in it to graduate the scandal into the category of a scam. (…)

[(Several noted personalities have left us in the last few months. We offer our sincere homage to their abiding memory.)]
P.N. JALALI, born in 1926 in Srinagar, was a self-effacing freedom fighter attracted to the national movement drawing inspiration from the legendary Bhagat Singh’s heroic exploits. As with many other freedom fighters in the Kashmir Valley, he was soon to join the communist struggle for independence as an integral part of the national movement; but what distinguished him (…)

We should not get too worried due to the collapse of the share markets. The immediate reason is the huge losses incurred by the American bank, Bear Sterns. This bank had aggressively given massive loans to persons with weak credit ratings known as ‘sub-prime’ borrowers. These loans went into default and the bank incurred huge losses. The bank stopped getting new business while old clients rushed to withdraw their monies. This forced the bank to sell its assets like shares at low prevailing (…)