Dear All: This post was triggered by RealityCheck’s response to Praveen Swami’s remarks on the MahaKumbh. In discussions of Haj subsidy, many of you must have heard arguments along the lines of “..but the government subsidises Kumbh Mela too“. Although demonstrably false, this argument continues to be rehashed – sometimes even by well-known columnists. The latest to join this group is Praveen Swami. Below, excerpts from a brilliantly written counter-piece by RealityCheck on the specious logic of Praveen Swami:
Praveen Swami after a flying recap of the Salman Rushdie affair, lands …

Dear All: Following up from the successful (& hugely interactive!) live chat on “Illegal Infiltration and Impact on Demographics” that we had on 6th Jan, below are details of the “Republic Day Special”  live text chat on the “Role of Youth in Today’s Politics…and “ What can You and I do to bring about Systemic Change?”. Some of you will recall that we had a discussion on this topic almost 2 yrs back…A lot has changed since then..and I felt it would be useful and informative  to have another discussion …

Dear All: Following the series of interviews on my blog of young, aspiring, independent politicians, I am pleased to carry below an interview with Nehaa Patil, Lok Sabha candidate from Bengaluru North constituency. Many of you may have already joined Nehaa’s campaign page on facebook…She now also has a website where you can join as a volunteer, contribute and express your support. Nehaa’s initiative is commendable and deserves full support. She – and others like her – are showing the way that change can come to India..
All we need are a …

Earlier today, I was reminded of this news-item from June ’11:
Mystery surrounds an American agency carrying out a survey in different parts of India to know the Muslim opinion on some sensitive issues like placing Sharia over the Indian laws, Islam’s role in mainstram Indian politics, and whether Islam is under any serious threat.
…Kerala Police chief Jacob Punnose says the survey had communal overtones and hence a case has been filed against TNS India for asking communally sensitive questions.
“We have decided to file a case of 153(a) under Indian Penal …

Many of you may have seen this photograph of Raju Narayan Swamy, IAS 1991 circulating on the internet with the title, “Every Indian Must Read and Share This. Pls Share”

The note accompanying the photograph mentions, among other things how…
After a decade of meritorious service in IAS, today, Narayanaswamy is being forced out of the IAS profession.
Leaving aside the fact that it is practically impossible to force anyone out of IAS, let us continue with the note (emphasis added)..
…Mr. Narayanaswamy is on the verge of leaving IAS to go to Paris …

Dear All: Following up from the series of “live chats” and calls last year, I would like to start 2012 with a live text chat on:

“The continuing illegal infiltration from Bangladesh and its implication for the demographics of Assam and Paschim Banga”
Time: 8pm IST
Date: 6th Jan ’12 (Friday)
Please do leave a note below (via comments) if you have a specific question or wish me to address a specific point.

 
Illegal Infiltration & Impact on Demographics
The text-based chat will be a relatively free-flowing discussion focused on illegal infiltration from Bangladesh and …

..and below the surface to understand the real causes of what you see around you.
As an example, see this recent news-report about pending RTI applications…
Staff shortage results in a pile of 19,000 pending RTI appeals in Maharashtra
Does this surprise you? Probably not.
Which is why I keep making the point that the real solution must be to focus on “Open Government” rather than another law or more babus…That is how things should be..We don’t need a law (RTI) and then additional bureaucracy (staff to deal with RTI applications). Far better to insist on openness, …

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 …