More than two years ago, in a post dealing with politics and corruption, I wrote:
This is a subject with such rich pickings (pun unintended)…that I am seriously considering a series on “How to earn Rs XYZ crores in X years” focused on politicians (- feel free to write in with tips and information).
That post was about earning Rs 10 crores+ a year (give or take a few)…so my eyes naturally popped when I read this bit from Shantanu Guha Ray’s “The Rise and Fall of King Koda” in the lastest …

… as in paying “taxes” to “militants”… or is it “protection money”?

If you ever wondered how bad the situation is in the North-East, look no further.  Courtesy this news-report by Rahul Karmakar (HT)*: Ministers Too Pay Tax to Militants in North-East (emphasis mine):
It’s out in the open. Ministers in the Northeast do pay `taxes’ to militants. A top leader of a faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland has claimed while drawing a line between extortion and levies imposed by underground `governments’.
…”Yes, we collect taxes and there’s nothing illegal …

At the monthly meeting of our political discussion group in London last week, we talked about “Corruption in India“…
While browsing around the net for more information on this topic, I stumbled on the transcripts of a dozen slides on “Managing Police Integrity – The Hong Kong Experience“. Unfortunately I could not locate the actual slides but the transcript makes the following points:
Given the complexity of the problem the HKP (Hong Kong Police) adopted a holistic four-pronged approach to address the issue of police integrity. The prongs are :
(a) Education and …

This is a true life experience of Shabbir Merchant, who heads ValueLead Consulting a in Bengalore. When Shabbir narrated this incident to his friends, they suggested he write it down and email it to his friends and acquaintances.
Friends of his emailed it to their friends, in turn and that is how I first heard about this. Here is a “Glimmer of Hope” in Shabbir’s own words:
*** Glimmer of Hope ***
…here goes an interesting experience of interacting with an IPS officer, who made me see a Glimmer of Hope, amidst the …

Satyendra Dubey, Manjunath and now Yogendra Pandey…
As I read the news about investigation into Yogendra Pandey’s death yesterday, I wondered where does the trail of death end?
Last week (18th June) Yogendra Pandey, an engineer responsible for road-works in Bihar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Sitamarhi collectorate premises.
On 25th Jun, the government of Bihar finally recommended the case to centre for a CBI enquiry. Indian Express reported that “…the police term the death (of Sh. Pandey) a suicide even as the second autopsy and forensic sciences reports …

On the cover of Sanjeev Sabhlok’s first book, “Breaking Free of Nehru” is a short quote by Gurcharan Das. He says: “It must be read by every Indian”.
I cannot agree more.
Whether or not you agree with the crisp, bordering on the combative, title of the book, I guarantee you will find it thought-provoking and disturbing.
“Breaking Free of Nehru” can best be summarised as an “Ode to Freedom”. The book is heavily influenced by the liberal philosophy of thought, by thinkers such as Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman and makes …

Comment # 131:
@Ashwin, I agree, let us wait for 15 months (not 5 yrs) to see how Raul really is as a politician cause I feel that will the the time when he will be installed in the front end of the government.
I find your selection of words, to describe Raul, very funny and more NDTV/CNNIBN type when you say “Rahul has been media shy and more measured when he is asked to give instant comments on issues…”
That is the hypocrisy I hate most! Different yardsticks for different people?
Comment by …

As I was clearing my backlog of articles from past few weeks, I chanced upon this interview of Digvijay Singh by Karan Thapar.
Read the excerpts against the backdrop of events leading up to the elections and the 2009 mandate to Congress (I)…and you will see why I chose the title of the post.
*** Excerpts from Devil’s Advocate: Digvijay on what if Cong loses ***
Karan Thapar: The revelation that your government has withdrawn the red corner notice against the Bofors scam accused Ottavio Quattrocchi, is an embarrassment. What justification you can …

Start the weekend with this provocative piece by Atany Dey. A brief excerpt from Whistling in the Dark about the Future:
Gurcharan Das writes in the Times of India (10th May) that “The Future Belongs to India.” That’s his argument which I suppose he made in a debate in London on the proposition that “the future belongs to India, not China.” I understand perfectly the need for such an argument because I too feel a lot of distress when I compare what China has achieved relative to India and have to …

Anil Bairwal of ADR released their “Updated Analysis of Lok Sabha MPs” – Criminal, Financial,Educational Background yesterday in which I found this nugget of information:

Total number of crorepati MPs in the present Lok Sabha – 300

I realise being a crorepati is no big deal in India today (e.g. read India home to fastest growing number of millionaires) but still…
Sadly, ADR’s report reveals in spite of all the talk about “change” and clean, value-based politics, the BJP has the maximum number of MPs having criminal cases against them – 43 (out …