A brief & hurried dissection of  Exposing Indian democracy – the Op-Ed in today’s The New Indian Express. Comments and thoughts welcome, as always…

It has now become abundantly clear that Qatar has offered M F Husain citizenship, though it is not entirely clear yet whether one of India’s greatest artists has accepted the offer yet.
What is abundantly clear is that Sh Husain does not have to accept it. It has been offered not forced on him.
If he does, he will have to renounce Indian citizenship. And that, as members of …

Two things stand out from my visit to Bharat last week: lots of (sometimes too sweet) tea and a palpable sense of hope.
I managed to squeeze in four semi-public meetings during my 4-city trip, and several private conversations centred on political reforms and prospects for change in India..
The first of these meetings – in Bengaluru – was organised by Janaagraha on the topic of “New Age Political Movements” in India. I shared a panel with Dr Shankar Prasad who is contesting as a Loksatta candidate in the upcoming BBMP elections. …

*** A ROLL CALL OF SHAME ***
PTI News:
Army captain, jawan, militant killed in J-K encounter
Srinagar, Feb 23 (PTI) An army captain, a jawan and a militant were killed in an encounter between ultras and security forces in Sopore district of North Kashmir early today.
DNA India:
Gun battle ends, 3 soldiers killed in Kashmir
Srinagar: Militants holed-up in a house at Chinkkipora village of Sopore on Tuesday killed three soldiers of Special Forces who had gone to flush out the ‘high-value target’.
Hindustan Times:
Sopore encounter: Two army men, one militant killed
An Army officer and …

I may be an extremist, a militant, an Islamist, a fighter, a jihadi…but I am not a terrorist.
This post was prompted by a 1500-odd words long article in a recent issue of TIME, “Somalia, Again” by Alex Perry.
The article’s description of the situation in Somalia is unsettling…but what was even more unsettling for me was the missing “T-word”
The article talks about Somalia being “much on the minds of those fighting terrorism these days“, then moves on to the leader of an Islamist group before mentioning a handful of jihadis …

Snapped in Bengaluru, 930pm on 13th Feb 2010. Pl. click on the image to see in full size.

The banner reads:
Sri Brahmatantra Swatantra Parakala Swamy Mutt
Homam for Students Success in Examinations
On Feb 28-2010 @ 8.00am
…
As most of you would know, a “Homam” (also referred to as Havan, Yagya, Yagna, Homa) is a ritual involving offerings into a consecrated fire.
Behind the ritual is the spirit of sacrifice and the thought of well-being of the entire society and all forms of life. “Homam” constitutes an important part of most Sanskaras in Hindu belief …

Excerpts from a thought-provoking essay, “Ambedkar’s Desiderata” by Ramachandra Guha (emphasis mine):
*** Excerpts begin ***
…In his last speech to the Constituent Assembly—delivered on November 25, 1949—Ambedkar issued three warnings that are compellingly relevant to the predicament that the nation finds itself in today. First, he urged his compatriots to “abandon the bloody methods of revolution”. In the circumstances of colonial rule, there were grounds for taking to the streets to protest, and even perhaps to use violence. But with the coming of a free, sovereign and democratic republic, wrote …