Please take a moment today to remember the “Iron Man” of India: Lauh Purush Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel…

Image Courtesy: Government of India

A stalwart whose name seems to have forgotten in popular memory that is drowning amidst a sea of names ending with “Gandhi”.  Unfortunately, he did not live long after Independence. I wonder the India that might have been had the Sardar lived longer.
Also read, his letter to PM Nehru in 1950, days before his death – warning of the threat from China.

As the interlocutors talk of amending the Indian Constitution to consider the “Azaadi” option for Jammu & Kashmir, please realise that slience and indifference are no longer an option…
This could be the beginning of another division of India…another partition and another bloodbath…
Nail the LIES on Jammu & Kashmir.
Remind your friends and acquaintances of the history of the accession of the State. Those who question Kashmir’s history and links with India need to be forcefully reminded that Kashmir owes its name to Maha-Rishi Kashyap.
Remind them of the numerous …

This post was prompted by an article I read yesterday. From Eye On: Conditional Cash Transfers by Adrienne Villani, this brief excerpt (emphasis added):
What do we really know about what works and what doesn’t when fighting debilitating global poverty?
What about aid? Does it “work”? …what paths to development truly maximize results? Where should we concentrate our energies? Should we concentrate on the role of institutions, macroeconomic policies, growth strategies, and other country-level factors? Or should we take a more grassroots approach—concentrating on microeconomic interventions such as …

Dear Friends, As we move towards the conclusion of this series on India’s finest, please take a moment today to remember the “Param Veer”s of 1962, Major Dhan Singh Thapa, PVC and Subedar Joginder Singh, PVC.     The war of 1962 is a painful chapter in Indian history…but it is also a chapter of heroic stories, of incredible valour and extraordinary courage. Today, the story of two heroes from those times – two of the finest amongst the hundreds.
From the Indian Army website:

The Param Vir Chakra is awarded for …

Dear All: Over the next few weeks, you will begin to see small but noticeable changes to the blog…These changes are a result of several factors – most importantly, my increasing involvement with events and activities on the ground (“offline”) and my intense travel schedule over the next several months (and possibly foreseeable future)…I have also been thinking very hard about how to increase interaction with readers on topics of critical importance (policies as well as situation analyses)…You will begin to see more of “Live Chats”, Skype conference calls and …

Excerpts from the concluding part of a recent essay by Andrew McCarthy. Seriously thought-provoking (emphasis added). Read on…comments/thoughts welcome as always…
*** Beginning of Excerpts ***
There is no “moderate” sharia devotee, for sharia is not moderate. Gingrich noted that in response to global outcry against the prospect of death by stoning for an Iranian woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, convicted of adultery, the mullahs’ great concession appears to be that she will be hanged instead. Islamism is not a movement to be engaged, it is an enemy to be defeated.
Victory, Gingrich said, …