As long-time readers of this blog know, I (usually) avoid talking about personal matters in my posts. I am however going to make an exception in the next 2-3 posts, starting with this one*.  The trigger for this was a question that I get asked fairly frequently: “What brings you back to India?” (and the related question about “What made you leave?”).  A few weeks back, Nilesh asked this question in a private email to me. I asked his permission to reproduce his question on the blog – along with …

On the ocassion of our Indepdence Day, I would like each one of you to just spend two minutes and think: What can you do today to make sure that 15th August 2011 is better for you, for our society and for our nation?
What can you do about your responsibilities towards the society that has made you what you are – and the nation that gives you your identity?
What can you do to help us break the paradigm of poor governance and ineffective leadership that is slowly eating away at …

George Friedman explains it well…From Geopolitics, Nationalism and Dual Citizenship (emphasis added)
In looking at the nation-state, the idea of nation is more complex, and perhaps more interesting, than that of state.
The idea of nation is not always clear. At root, a nation is a group of people who share a fate, and with that fate, an identity. Nations can be consciously created, as the United States was. Nations can exist for hundreds or thousands of years, as seen in parts of Europe or Asia. However long a nation exists and …

This post is straight from the heart…It has been a very long time since I have felt so overwhelmed with rage, anger, frustration and a feeling of helplessness…
But something tipped over today…
Something tipped over that brought tears in my eyes even before I had my first cup of tea this morning…
Something tipped over that made me type these words even before I had brushed my teeth…
Something tipped over that made my forget all my pending emails and important calls…
Something tipped over today…

Was that something the news about Rs 44crore (almost …

Please join us on Monday, 2nd August if you can at this discussion jointly organised by the IIT Delhi Alumni Association and Freedom Team of India.
6:30pm – 9:30pm
August 2nd (Monday) 2010
Location:  7th Floor Main Building, IRD Hall,
Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas

The discussion will focus on issues in “governance” in India, the present situation and how can it be improved. As one of FTI’s founder-members Sanjeev mentioned:
India’s governance shows no sign of improving, stumbling from one crisis to another. Our security is threatened, our economic growth stumbles every few …

In this brief and final part of Notes from North-East, I would like to share some wonderful memories and unforgettable moments…

The best part of my day: Waking up every morning and seeing the clouds kissing the hills from my window
The seond best part:  Late late into the night listening to the rustle of leaves in the wind and watching the dance of night insects
Most memorable moment: View of the sunset at Shukreshwar Ghat, Guwahati (no picture; that would have been a sacrilege)
The best moment of the visit: Starting the Rotary …

Amidst the depressing & gloomy dose of my daily news, it is rare to come across a truly cheerful story. This one lifted my spirits…Read on for an extraordinary story of grit and determination…(emphasis mine)
*** Excerpts from Rewriting fate ***
June 17 morning, Rajesh Laxman Pille was a tad nervous. The monsoon had arrived in Mumbai. Just a day ago Rajesh, like all soccer-crazy kids in Mumbai, had played a match of soccer with his friends, knowing that life after June 17 may not be the same again.
Like thousands of students …

Dear All: It is my pleasure to invite you to a Live Chat on CoverItLive on 4th July, Sunday between 430pm – 630pm IST (11am – 1pm GMT; 7am – 9am EST). The chat will be a relatively free-flowing discussion covering news-reports, Mainstream Media (mainly English MSM) and perceived biases and prejudices in news-stories. We will also discuss ways in which we can help raise awareness about this offline and help improve standards in reporting.

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Mainstream Media and Prejudices
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Two recent examples of worrying news-coverage (or …

Sometime during the last 48 hours, the || Satyameva Jayate || page on Facebook crossed the 1000+ mark.
This is all the more remarkable considering that the page was started less than 8 months before…and considering that I have not spent a single Rupee in promoting this or advertising the group.
To all my friends, blog readers and Facebook Page Members, as I wrote in a related context few days ago, A BIG Thank You, धन्यवाद, நன்றி, ধন্যবাদ, ધન્યવાદ, ਮੇਹੇਰਬਾਨੀ, ಧನ್ಯವಾದಳು…

Although small, this is a significant milestone in our journey and this …

Continuing the series of posts from North-East, here is a brief compilation of some of the questions I was asked at various meetings and dicussions re. politics, FTI, corruption etc. Hopefully you will find them thought-provoking. I have summarised my responses too.
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Q1: Why did you decide to leave your job/work and get into politics?
A: Because I believe this to be the only way to improve the current situation in India (along a number of dimensions -  not just in terms of socio-economic conditions but also in terms of policies …

This is a micro-post/ a short (and hurried) worm’s eye view of the situation in North-East.
Spent yesterday going around knocking on doors (almost literally) with an earnest young volunteer (Thanks a lot, Jyoti and to Rohith & Tanmay).
We visited several institutions and colleges…and came up against walls of indifference but were also very fortunate to meet some kindred souls.  Thanks to this effort and the 100+ emails I sent during the last few days, the outreach effort is now coming together. People are introducing me to their contacts and …

In a few hours time, I will be on my way to the North-east part of India. I will be offline for the major part of next 48 hours but hope to have some connectivity after that (fingers crossed).
Please expect some delay in responding to (and moderating) comments.
I expect to do a lot of “tweeting” during this visit as (I think) I’ve finally managed to set this up on my phone. The easiest way to follow the tweets (and the blog) is to join the Satyameva Jayate Facebook group …

|| Satyameva Jayate || – The Blog is now in Top India News on Alltop…along with Gurcharan Das, Atanu Dey, Rajesh Jain and many others!  Here is the link.

(pl click image below to enlarge)

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???
Perhaps…
Actually, no – they don’t!  I did not pay anyone anything to put this blog up there…the blog owes this position SOLELY to you – and your continued loyalty, encouragement and support.
A BIG Thank You, धन्यवाद, ধন্যবাদ, ધન્યવાદ, ਮੇਹੇਰਬਾਨੀ, ಧನ್ಯವಾದಳು… Sorry, this is a poor and incomplete attempt but I hope you get the general idea …

or…Changing India – Step IV
In a few days’ time, I will be making my way to the land of seven sisters…one of my favourite regions of our beautiful country.  I will arrive with the Monsoon…but am looking forward to return with rays of hope in my heart. This is going to be anything but a tourist trip…Over the span of several days, I will be spending lots of time trying to get a better and deeper understanding of the region.
The north-east has long been an ignored part of India. It …

Last week, I spent some time at a very unusual small company in Bengaluru. It was one of the most uplifting experiences I have had in a very long time.
The company is called Vindhya E-Infomedia.
What makes it unusual is that almost 95% of its staff of 200 youngsters comprises differently-abled and physically challenged youngsters. What makes it special is their team-spirit, their dedication, their sincerity and commitment to their work. What made the experience uplifting was the palpable feeling of pride, dignity and achievement I sensed that day.
In their …

Friends who know me well sometimes wonder how I manage to keep up with developments in spite of not reading any newspaper (in print) or watching any TV.
I stopped relying on the TV as a source of news more than 15 years ago (my monthly TV viewing these days averages between 2-4 hours at most).
I stopped reading news in print since 2005. At first, this was a reaction to my intense travel schedule and attendant jet lag. But as I began to  spend more time online for news, I discovered …

Dear All: In the next few hours, I will be leaving on a short vacation with the family. I cannot easily remember the last time I took a break…so I am looking forward to this one.

Soon after we get back, I will be on the road once again – for another 10 days or so. The blog will be a bit quiter than usual during this entire period (from now until last week of April).
I will be auto-scheduling some posts and excerpts from various articles (some *very* controversial) during this …

Pl continue the discussion on Offstumped Live here via the comments section…
Image courtesy: Wikipedia
*** Excerpts from the Transcript of the Online Discussion: Long, but fascinating post ***
Don’t miss the four online polls and their results (inline)
Ashwin Kumaraswamy:  Youth can be broadly be defined as one who has uncluttered throught process, may be between the age group of 16 – 40
Dipinder Sekhon: There are two ways of thinking about it: based on age … say 18/20 to 35/40 could be called “youth” … the other (better in my opinion) …

Don’t miss this (courtesy the Offstumped community):
We are happy to organise a town hall with folks who have been actively trying to engage youth of India and making them more informed about the political process and choices to make.
The format of the debate would be 1 hour of panel discussion followed by half an hour of audience discussion and the last 30 minutes Q & A with the panelists.
All rules of civility expected. Please login with your twitter or facebook email ids to login to participate in the townhall.

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*** An evening with Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi ***

Last evening, we had Dr ChandraPrakash Dwivedi at our home for dinner (thanks to Amitabh). I had met Dr Dwivedi before but last night was different…
We talked not just about “Chanakya” but also Buddhist philosophy, film-making, Vedanta and some of his recent projects, including “Upanishad Ganga“.
And I learnt what it is to be truly humble…The first thing that strikes you about the man is his humility. In spite of his prodigal talent and extraordinary creativity, there is not a trace of arrogance or …