@visaraj alerted us that Justice Dinakaran started his career working under Hon Minister Sh P Chidambarm http://tiny.cc/T9M5G
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Smt Sonia Gandhi was reported as having told MPs that she took the decision to create a separate Telangana state in the “national interest”. This article explains why “National interest should be read as Rahul becoming prime minister”
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Rahul Gandhi was chosen as “Politician of the Year” because “no one toured India the way he has in the past 60 months”
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Swapan Dasgupta alerted us to how the Indian position on Climate Change was being subverted …

In this part of the “Nightmare at Noon” series, a look at why “Water” is the new “Oil”, the possibility of water scarcity leading to “Water Wars” in the future and China’s worrying plans in Tibet.
It was almost two years ago that I was first alerted to the gravity of this matter. The first trigger was an article by Prof. Brahma Chellaney (Jun 2007)  in which he warned about how:
Water has emerged as a key issue that could determine whether Asia is headed toward mutually beneficial cooperation or deleterious interstate …

Please use this thread to share thoughts, comments and ideas on re-organisation of states in India.
To kick-start the discussion, excerpts from a few thought-provoking posts and articles below. The first excerpt from To reform UP, trifurcate it by Pratap Bhanu Mehta:
…But neither political party (Congress or BJP) is willing to be politically imaginative and ask a more fundamental question: what are the reforms needed to bring about the kind of radical change that politics in UP requires?
The answer to this question is complex. But most observers would agree that …

Is this a mohalla meeting that we have gathered all these people (from Ladakh, Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri) to discuss local affairs?

- Yasin Malik, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front
Brief excerpt from Madhu Kishwar’s Open Letter to Yasin Malik:
In the November 7 meeting, you expressed your annoyance over the fact that representatives from Ladakh, Jammu, Poonch, and Rajouri had been invited. You dismissed their presence with open contempt saying: “Is this a mohalla meeting that we have gathered all these people to discuss local affairs?”
This attitude of assuming that it is only …

Please read this post in continuation of Revisiting Ram Janmabhoomi – Part II and Revisiting Ram Janmabhoomi – Part I.
This post contains further references and evidence supporting the presence of a ShriRam Mandir at the disputed site. In the next part, I will strive to summarise evidence exchanged between VHP and AIBMAC in 1991. I believe the VHP subsequently submitted a rejoinder in reponse to AIBMAC’s evience but the the AIBMAC did not do so – I am not absolutely certain of this though so if any of you …

Here is Thomas Friedman (Advice From Grandma), lamenting about the state of affairs in US of A. Almost every word excerpted below might well have been written for India (emphasis mine).
…What I increasingly fear today is that America is only able to produce “suboptimal” responses to its biggest problems — education, debt, financial regulation, health care, energy and environment.
Why? Because…
Money in politics has become so pervasive that lawmakers have to spend most of their time raising it, selling their souls to those who have it or defending themselves from the …

30th Nov, early afternoon. I am about to have my lunch. As my hand reaches out to a glass of water, a nightmarish thought crosses my mind: “What if I had no water to drink?” This somewhat abrupt post is an attempt to banish that thought.
I am pretty sure most people who are reading this take “Water” for granted – if not all the time, at least most of the time..and if not all kinds of water, at least drinking water. Unfortunately, we belong to a very privileged minority in …

‘New insights on the modular planning of the Taj Mahal‘ by Prof R Balasubramaniam – Exploring the link between Taj Mahal and Harappa [ pdf download ]
Is Islam the Problem? by Jonah Godlberg
K N Govindacharya on Akhand Bharat (in Hindi)
Climate change: the worst scientific scandal of our generation by Christopher Booker
The latest issue of Towards a Great India
Selected past weekend readings:
Recommended weekend reading
Weekend potpourri: Kashmir, BJP, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

…in other words, some light weekend reading.
*** Excerpts from a recent interview of Nafisa Ali ***

Why have you rejoined the Congress?
Because that’s my party.
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Why do you say that your decision to join the SP was ‘a mistake’?
I took a step which, if I was rational and calm, I would never have taken. I went against my principles. I made a mistake because I didn’t have political backing and the support I needed at that time.
Did you join the SP because you wanted a seat at any cost?
It’s not about …

Note: Up to 2 multiple-choices allowed
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How should India remember 26/11?(opinion)

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Pl. also read: Pearl Harbour, 26/11 & Another Day of Infamy
UPDATE: Additional options included