Exactly a week from now, I will be leaving for Indore (in Madhya Pradesh) on one of the most unusual visits I have ever made.
Over a period of seven days (between 2nd ~ 7th Jul ’09), I will be meeting a large number of people, from diverse backgrounds and varied affiliations…but sharing one thing in common – a dream for a better India.
This visit is part of an outreach effort to get more amongst us interested and involved in politics…but that is not what makes it unusual.
What makes it unusual …

Back from a hurried and intense 5-day visit to Pune and Bengaluru. I am getting more involved in some exciting initiative(s) at Pune and foresee more frequent visits to the city…Updates in due course.
Bengaluru was at the kind invitation of Barun Mitra (Empowering India) and Zainab Bawa who hosted a round-table at CIS covering issues around Technology, Transparency and Political Activism. Expect updates on Zainab’s blog soon. Saw a number of people with whose name I was familiar – and others who are doing some tremendous work …

As some of you know, I have been organising a regular monthly get-together of like-minded fellow citizens and concerned Indians in London since the Mumbai Remembrance event that we did in December.
The meetings have continued steadily since the first follow-up in January. The mailing list now includes around 40 people…and we always run short of time (though rarely on food!).
In between the discussions and shared pizzas, we have also managed to raise funds for Loksatta and ADR (Election Watch).
The next meeting is on Monday (27th April) and the agenda is …

Last Friday (27th), we had the third meeting of a small group of politically active friends here in London.
I shared a few slides on “Liberalism” at the meeting as introduction to a discussion we had about FTI.
Do have a look and do share your thoughts/comments. Rohit has already raised some (very good and valid) points on this and I hope he will share them in the comments section below.
Liberalism Presentation at LBS Mar 09
View more presentations from Shantanu.
Look forward to hearing from many of you,
Jai Hind, jai Bharat!
Related Posts:
Food, …

This confession was inspired by Chaitanya. On his blog, Chaitanya wrote:
I am 36, and I have never voted in my life. I feel ashamed of this fact today—more than I ever did before.
The race to earn a living as soon as I graduated took precedence over everything else, including registering myself to vote. Being a working bachelor, during my early years as a voter, with no real residence for more than a couple of years in a place didn’t help.
…
Yes, I have been one of those ‘Chalta hain’ people. It …

Long time readers of this blog must have noticed that although I am posting a lot more articles than before, the number of “original” posts (i.e. written by me) has been dwindling over the past few months…
It is not because of writer’s block…or because I have run out of things to write about (in fact the list keeps getting longer)…
But since the past few weeks (especially beginning Feb), I have found myself more busy than ever – even though I am supposedly working only 1-2 days a week!
Of course as most …

Last friday, we had the second meeting of a small group here in London which is beginning to think about political reforms and governance in India. There were 11 of us…we raised funds for ADR and discussed a broad range of issues…includuing agenda/direction of future meetings. I believe the next few months will be crucial in getting this initiative off the ground…More on this in the days to come.
On Tuesday, I am chairing a panel discussion at the Digital Business India event. In the evening, I will be speaking …

Just back from a hectic and intense 10-day visit to India.
I did four cities on this visit…and on an average, slept about 5 hours each day…by 7pm on most days, my throat would begin to hurt (from talking too much)…and I actually managed to run down a fully charged phone battery in about 15 hours during one of the days!
Highlight of the visit was an hour I spent with Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s parents. It was a moving and unforgettable experience…I will write more on this in the next few days.
Had …

Almost exactly seven weeks ago, on the back of very well attended Rememberance Meeting for the victims of terrorism in India, many who had gathered for the evening asked me what can we – as ordinary Indians, living several thousands of miles away from India – do to change the “system”?
I did not have any ready answers…but suggested we can start by getting like-minded people together to share thoughts and discuss various ideas.
The upshot of that was a dinner with an explicitly political agenda that I organised last Friday, on …

A small effort in London to remember the victims of terrorism…
Mumbai Remembrance
A quiet, non-political, non-religious time for us to stop and reflect for a while
Date: Friday, December the 5th 2008
Venue: Lecture Theatre SG06, London Business School
Regent’s Park
London NW1 4SA
Time: 1700 hrs to 2100 hrs (You are welcome to come in, whenever is suitable for you during this period)
Directions: Can be found here. Nearest tube stations: Marylebone, Regent’s Park (both on Bakerloo line), Baker Street (Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Jubilee and Bakerloo lines)
Thanks to London Business School and the …