I read this interview of Dr Prodosh Aich a few months back but did not post it as I wanted to get my hands on his book. “Lies on Long Legs” is a painstakingly researched book that goes back to primary sources in an effort to find out more about the “History” of India – as we know about it today. Who were these people who “authored” this “history”? What was the basis of their interpretations? What were their intentions? What was their training? What were the factors that might …

…or should this be “Joke of the week?”

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would have grown by another 2% if there would have been no RTI delays

Dr Choubey, Director General, SCOPE
Quoted in HT.  Image courtesy: Scope
Also read:  Prime Minister wants relook at RTI ‘grey areas and a related video snippet from my talk at IIM Indore last month: “On Open Government, Information and RTI“.

Ironically, Dr Choubey was awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Amity University (in Feb ’08) “in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the overall development of social and business …

…with grateful thanks to Joseph Sobran. Excerpts from “Teach Your Children Well” (emphasis added):
“Because I write about politics, people are forever asking me the best way to teach children how our system of government works. I tell them that they can give their own children a basic civics course right in their own homes.
In my own experience as a father, I have discovered several simple devices that can illustrate to a child’s mind the principles on which the modern state deals with its citizens. You may find them helpful, …

Dear Friends, in the spirit of openness, transparency and “being the change you want to see…*”, I have now uploaded summary of contributions and expenses related to my political activities from April ’11 – to date on the blog (you can view and download them from this page; scroll down to the box).
My sincere thanks and gratitude to all of you for your generous and continued support. The total of all contributions since April ’11 now stands at Rs 34,504 (approximately).  In the meantime, I remain committed to being open and …

Barely a few weeks back, I wrote a post lamenting our inability to learn any lessons from past experiences with China. I had not realised I would be writing a  follow-up post so soon after. I learnt recently (via Gaurav Sawant) that Chinese troops have committed 50 violations of LAC in the last 3 months alone.
Apparently platoons of PLA (on foot, horseback and helicopters) destroyed Indian defences & bunkers during this violations. Gaurav also reported that DC Leh had filed several reports saying Chinese troops beat up Indian shepherds, steal their cattle & …