B Shantanu's Blog

The Curious Case of the “Kidipede Ramayana”

B Shantanu — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:28:01 +0000

*** CAUTION: Long Post *** About a month ago, I came across a “History” site meant for kids which had this “Ramayana Project for Kids“. Under “Some points for discussion”, it mentioned: The Ramayana is …an Aryan story, and they show the people of southern India as bad monkeys – not even human. How should we feel about [...]

“Maharashtranomics” and Bihar - Part II

B Shantanu — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:57:09 +0000

Following up on my earlier post, here is a neat table titled “Index of Fiscal Self Reliance”. It comes from Annexure 7 (Annex 7.10, Para 7.33) to the 12th Finance Commission Report [pdf file]. Index of Fiscal Self Reliance States own Revenue/Revenue Expenditure ( as %) Average Average ‘93-’94 to ‘95-’96 ‘00-’01 to ‘02-’03 Andhra Pradesh 59.2 59.5 Arunachal Pradesh 20.3 [...]

Recession? What Recession?

B Shantanu — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:57:52 +0000

Citigroup gets ready to cut 52,000 jobs …Citigroup Inc revealed plans to cut 52,000 jobs by early next year in Chief Executive Vikram Pandit’s most dramatic move yet to restore profitability and bolster a sagging share price. The cuts, announced on Monday, will affect 15 per cent of Citigroup’s workforce and come on top of 23,000 jobs [...]

“The Idea of India” - must read

B Shantanu — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:26:27 +0000

I am grateful to Sh Krishen Kak for allowing me to publish this essay by him (in full), first published as THE IDEA OF INDIA by India First Foundation, Nov 2008:127-138. I would encourage everyone to please read it in full. It is superbly thought-provoking, richly referenced and well researched. Without further ado (CAUTION: Long [...]

Mistaken Attribution: Article in “Think Israel”

B Shantanu — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:17:01 +0000