Thanks to Sh Ashok Chowgule-ji for alerting me to this excerpt from an interview of Prof Amartya Sen in a recent issue of Outlook (emphasis added):
Question: In your new book, The Idea of Justice, you speak a lot about the difference between niti (institutional justice) and nyaya (realised justice). Do you think we have too much niti in India and too little nyaya?
Prof Amrtya Sen: The short answer is yes. Niti has huge appeal and this applies to the great as well as to the non-great. In the Bhagavad …

In one of his recent essays, Prof. Art Carden mentions one of the main reasons why political leaders routinely dismiss capitalism:
Under capitalism, the common man does not need an intellectual vanguard or a group of virtuous surrogates to make his decisions for him or to defend him against the rapacity of his fellows. He can do just fine without our help, thank you very much, and would be much obliged if we would go back to our ivory towers and leave him alone.
The idea that great statesmen are not needed …

Some of you may have already seen these two videos that have been doing the rounds on the internet. They show a mini riot and violence that occured in Miraj (Distt. Sangli) in Maharashtra late last week.
About 2 minutes into the first video, you can clearly see a mob that has assembled (although not clear how and from where)…
First Video (7 mins long)

.
The second video (3 mins long) shows what happened…

The videos raised a lot of questions in my mind – broadly around two issues:
A] What should have been the …

From a speech by Janab R.M. Sayani on the occasion of his Presidential Address at the 12th Session of the Indian National Congress in 1896. Source: History and Culture of the Indian People, edited by R.C. Majumdar, Volume XI, The Struggle for Freedom, Bombay, 1981, pp. 296-97.) Referenced by Virendra Parekh (emphasis mine):

Before the advent of the British in India, the Musalmans were the rulers of the country. The Musalmans had therefore all the advantages appertaining to it as the ruling class. The sovereigns and the chiefs …

Start the weekend with this fascinating piece on a flawed understanding of intelligence.
Move on to a persuasive piece by Swaminathan S Aiyar on why direct cash transfers may provide better relief  to the drought hit than NREGA.
Next, read Aseem Shukla on why Scotland’s myopic act of mercy in releasing Abdel Megrahi may cost the world dearly.
And finally, read RealityCheck on why  Below Poverty Level is not “Below Poverty Level”.
Enjoy the weekend. Stay Safe and Keep Healthty.
Excerpts from all the above articles below, as always.
.

This chapter focuses on Gandhi’s Satyagraha.  In this excerpt, Dr Radha Rajan examines Gandhi’s Satyagraha and its (flawed) philosophical basis.
Excerpt from Eclipse of the Hindu Nation, Chapter 2 – Deconstructing Gandhian Satyagraha
The non-truth of Satyagraha
Gandhi’s Satyagraha has no precedent in Hindu tradition or history as a weapon in any war to re-establish dharma. We have to agree with Gandhi that Satyagraha is not for the weak; but it was a method which only individuals or small, homogenous groups could practice when confronting a more powerful enemy. What is more, this …