Many of you may remember this shloka that used to preface each episode of the seminal series “Chanakya”. I continue to find it profoundly inspiring…Here’s wishing you and your loved ones the very best of health, happiness and prosperity in 2012…
|| Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti… ||

***
I would be grateful if any of you can help me with the translation of the entire shloka. Thanks.

Late one evening last week, I was asked by a well-meaning friend why did I hate the idea of “Food Security Bill” so much? Surely no one can reasonably object to making sure every Indian is well-fed and healthy? He was right. No one can reasonably argue with the aim of ensuring that our population is well-fed, literate, healthy etc etc. What I was railing against was the “means” – and the misplaced belief that subsidies are the way to solve these problems; the misplaced belief that all we need …

This is a short post – written as a prelude to a discussion on “Why Socialist Planning is a Stupid Idea” that I hope to host early in Jan ’12 (exact date/time to be confirmed shortly). Pl read and share – especially with the younger ones in your family. Children in our family and society are the ones we really need to focus on – to make them aware of this dangerous (and false) ideology that passes for economic theory (even to this date).
Earlier today, while reading something else, it …

In a post titled, “Politics and democracy“, Pragmatic Euphony mentions why it is important to get the nomenclature right (emphasis added):
Whatever might be your primary vocation, once you are in politics, you are a politician.
Does it matter? Yes, it does. This narrative betrays a lack of trust in our politics and politicians — an economist is better than a politician. In a democracy, there is no way of bypassing politics; politicians should and must matter. It is dangerous to assume that a non-politician can fix the system. Yesterday it was …

Quote of the Week from the HT:

I believe and I claim that you can count the number of corrupt leaders of the political class.

Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi

..in which the “Prince” reminds us that regardless of who we want to be known as – and what we achieve, we will always be known by our caste, language, religion etc etc.
Thanks to the “Prince”, I learnt yesterday that Sam Pitroda is from a “backward class”

This next generation leader and PM-in-making is supposed to represent the “Youth” and promises to lead India into the 21st century. Really?
Sad, embarrassed and ashamed of the crisis in leadership that plagues India.
As a friend remarked, we must be the “only nation in …

English is a mark of India, not Bharat.

Here is the relevant excerpt:
Surprisingly, for an Englishman who was knighted by the British monarchy in 2002, Tully was less than enthusiastic about the growing status of English as an aspirational language of the Indian middle class. “Learning English is an economic asset,” he said. “But the problem is its impact on regional languages. English is a mark of India, not Bharat,” he added.
The interview also has some quotes on Smt Sonia Gandhi. Also read, “Secular Fundamentalism”..alive and kicking in India
Somewhat Related: “The …

From a recent news-report on Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to Lucknow (whose title is interesting in itself: गलती थी मोदी की तारीफ,आन्दोलन सांप्रदायिक हुआ तो अलग हो जाऊंगा’  - Modi’s praise was a mistake, will leave if movement becomes communal), a few excerpts & quotes that might set you thinking:
केजरीवाल ने बताया कि जब भी कोर कमेटी का विस्तार होगा, उसमें दलित व मुसलमान को भी शामिल किया जाएगा। बैठक में तय हुआ कि अब पोस्टर हिंदी के साथ उर्दू में भी छपेंगे।  [
[loose translation] Kejriwal said that whenever the core committee is expanded, …

We will defend any citizen’s right to freedom of speech till our last breath
… But, we don’t want this kind of content to be on the social media.

From the transcript of an interview with Karan Thapar
Related Posts:  On Artistic Freedom, Censorship and Responsibility

From Koodankulam stalled again: Sinister geopolitics by Radha Rajan, below are some figures to put the whole debate in perspective*:
*** Excerpts ***
India needs 1, 00,060 MWe of power while we are generating only 1, 00, 034 MWe. Of this –

60% is Thermal power which uses coal, diesel and natural gas as fuel
25% is Hydro
7% is from non-conventional sources like solar, wind and bio-gas; and
2.9% is nuclear

World average for nuclear power is 20%. 75% of all France’s power requirements is met by nuclear energy.

20% US
18% UK
12% Germany; and
5% China

In addition …