Mainstream Weekly

Clean Epitome, Loam Pattern

Amna Mirza — 2014-11-22T20:15:40Z

‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness.' These towering ideas of Mahatma Gandhi have been there since a long time. The recent act of ‘Clean India' in the form of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan' by Prime Minister Modi has captured the imagination of masses towards this dictum.
It is often pointed out that even in the past such initiatives were taken. However, this time the idea of a polity which is uncontaminated has been ushered in at the governance plank. The era of globalisation, the peculiarities (…)

- 2014

The Veto and Future Sketch

Amna Mirza — 2014-10-06T07:10:49Z

The recent proclamation by India at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meet in Australia— that it has the right to retain higher stock-holding of foodgrains—has led to arguments over the Bali Agreement, the final Trade Facilit-ation Agreement (TFA).
India's latest veto has ignited debates from the national and international levels alike. At one side, it was argued that India, with its change from the coalition era to a single party- dominant National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which rose to (…)

- 2014

New Sojourn

Amna Mirza — 2014-07-14T16:54:29Z

India is heralded for a new sojourn. The new Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda recently tabled the Railway Budget which is said to herald a new era in the realm of transport in India. It is being pegged as shunning populism and moving forward towards consolidation and modernisation. What justifies this notion is the move to moot Foreign Direct Investment in suburban rail corridors, stations, revamping the reservation system, public-private partner-ship for rail projects, work stations in (…)

- 2014

Miscalculations of the Coronation

Amna Mirza — 2013-07-16T00:41:40Z

The applauses and celebrations at the BJP National Executive meeting at Goa indeed sent vibrations throughout the nation as the polity gears up for the 2014 elections. Right from the conspicuous absence of the Right-wing stalwart who had led the party from a mere figure of two seats up to 182 in the Lok Sabha, L.K. Advani, and others like Uma Bharati, Yashwant Sinha owing to several reasons, the meeting caught the attention of the masses because of the new brigade to watch out for. The much (…)

- 2013

Brahmins + Muslims = Jitin Prasada's UP Social Network

Amna Mirza — 2013-05-18T15:45:34Z

The serene and palatial Raza Library in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, that has a priceless collection of historical works in Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi and other languages, including manuscripts of earliest translation of the Quran was buzzing with activity recently. This sudden flutter in this usually quiet yet invaluable repository was created by the visit of the MoS, HRD, Jitin Prasada.
While some may term it as any other ministerial duty providing lot of photo ops to both the party's and official (…)

- 2013

India and the BRICS Bank Way

Amna Mirza — 2013-04-12T19:11:56Z

The recently concluded fifth BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit at Durban this year brought to light new contours of the world order. Held in Africa for the first time, it saw the presence of leaders of state like Dilma Rousseff, Vladimir Putin, Manmohan Singh, Xi Jinping and Jacob Zuma. Alongside deliberations on diplomatic relations, it presented the idea of a BRICS Bank to focus on infrastructure development because of insufficient long-term financing and foreign (…)

- 2013

New Indian Political Dialogue

Amna Mirza — 2013-03-06T08:16:42Z

The recently concluded Chintan Shivir of the Congress party will be etched in people's memory for years to come for two reasons: elevation of Rahul Gandhi as the party's Vice-President being the first and his candid speech being the second. The nation witnessed a stellar address at the Congress' Chintan Shivir. The event began on a note of rethinking and realigning the contours of work of the ruling party. The elevation of Rahul Gandhi to the AICC Vice-President, juxtaposed with his speech, (…)

- 2013

The Undemocratic Politics of Disruptions

Amna Mirza — 2012-10-11T19:42:49Z

As the monsoon session of Parliament comes to a close, a raging sense of democratic paralysis engulfs our democratic polity. The Parliament of India is a supreme body as a deliberative forum which represents the issues and concerns of the people of India at the apex level. This understanding of our legislature is put under a dark shadow when one views the recent washout of the monsoon session of Parliament.
The current monsoon session was stalled due to the Opposition's strategy to (…)

- 2012

The Federal Dialogue

Amna Mirza — 2012-05-13T19:58:08Z

Dynamic Centre-State interactions are a defining yardstick of a federal set-up. The Indian federal dialogue has got a new fillip recently as seen from the nuanced way in which States have come forward to let the Union factor in their demands and grievances. This article tends to trace the interaction of the process of federalism and globalisation and attempts to make a plea for building constitutional structures of inter-governmental relations to streamline this Centre-State balance. India (…)

- 2012

FDI in Retail: Federal Deficit in Decision-making

Amna Mirza — 2011-12-12T18:01:52Z

The winter session of Parliament was speculated to be on fire due to debates over the Jan Lokpal Bill and the final outcome of the Team Anna-UPA II Government duel. What emerged surprisingly was the decision to allow foreign direct investment in the retail market. The phenomena saw not only the Opposition coming forward with its sacred exercise of criticising the government but also the key allies of the UPA like the Trinamul Congress and some Congress Members of Parliament expressing (…)

- 2011