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Articles Archive for May 2011

Corruption in India, Current Affairs, Politics and Governance in India »

[31 May 2011 | 4 Comments | 419 views]
Tomorrow’s news today…

or..Only the Paranoid Survive.
At the risk of looking completely foolish, here is tomorrow’s news today…
Talks on the Jan Lokpal Bill break down sometime between now and mid-June.
Baba Ramdev’s movement increases pressure on government to do something.
Between the 2nd and 3rd week of June, the government agrees to talk with/ initiates discussions with/ invites Baba Ramdev and his supporters for talks/ discussions (and very likely, the Jan LokPal group joins these discussions – which now have a broader agenda of clean government, corruption and bringing foreign money back in India).
Under …

Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), Global Terrorism, Pakistan related »

[29 May 2011 | One Comment | 150 views]
“Moderate Pakistan, if such a thing ever existed, is dead”

Kapil Komireddi, writing in the Foreign Policy magazine, says:
Moderate Pakistan, if such a thing ever existed, is dead

Below, excerpts from a thought-provoking piece titled, Take Pakistan’s Nukes, Please (emphasis added):
..The attack on Sunday, May 22, by Taliban fighters on the Mehran naval air base in Karachi — its audacity, the foreknowledge it implied, the militaristic precision with which it was executed — carried a message: Pakistan is no longer a contested territory; it is now emphatically their turf. The reins of official power may not be in their hands yet, …

British Rule in India, Modern Indian History »

[28 May 2011 | 20 Comments | 704 views]
Re-examining Savarkar…

For most Indians of my generation, Savarkar is a somewhat shadowy figure – rarely mentioned in any detail in history books; even less so at public events or occasions that commemorate India’s independence. For a small few though, he is the archetypical hero – the one who fought fearlessly against the British, the “Veer” (brave).
As some of you would know, by the time India became a republic in 1950, Savarkar was already on the path to oblivion. A few years later, he died – unsung and hardly mourned.  In the …

Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement »

[26 May 2011 | 34 Comments | 755 views]
Losing sleep over communal violence and hate propaganda

Yes, I was in digital detox slumber..but the worthies at NAC managed to wake me up.  Below , collated readings on the Communal Violence Bill, proposed by the NAC. Do read and worry.  And add “hate propoganda” and attempts to destroy “secular fabric” of the nation to “scandalous information about high-profile people” and other such things you should worry about if you write a blog or say/write anything in public… The signs are not good..not good at all…
To start off, excerpts from Sh Arun Jaitley’s commentary on why the communal violence …

Miscellaneous, Personal »

[24 May 2011 | One Comment | 100 views]
A mini Digital Detox

Dear All: I’ll be undertaking a “Digital Fast” over the next 3 days.  Although the idea has been on my mind for the last several month, something prompted me to say “enough” yesterday evening. Perhaps it was the urge to check my email one last time before switching my laptop off..or perhaps it was the strain I felt in my eyes after almost 10+ hours of screen time..or the realisation that my “To Read” list of books/articles is continuously increasing.
I am undertaking this “fast” in the hope I’ll be able …

Pakistan related, Quotes »

[23 May 2011 | 3 Comments | 146 views]
Quote of the week..

US President Barack Obama

Pakistan has been very obsessed with India. They see that as their existential threat. I think that’s a mistake

There is one more (emphasis added)..
Our job is to secure the United States. We are very respectful of the sovereignty of Pakistan. But we cannot allow someone who is actively planning to kill our people..we can’t allow those kind of active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action.
Past quotes are here.. Image courtesy: WhiteHouse