Offered without comment. Hon Sh Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam:

I am equally concerned (about corruption) and I have proved it. No state government has sent as many cases of corruption – 10 in all – to the CBI as Assam

Context:  Chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday criticized Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev for trying to project themselves as the only two people in the country who are fighting against graft. “They are not the only two persons concerned about corruption. I am equally concerned and I have proved …

Most of you must have read the news a few days back about President Pratibha Patil rejecting the mercy plea of Devinderpal Singh Bhullar – the first such “decision” in more than 10 years. At least some of you would have also read about the demands from some political parties to pardon Devinderpal Singh  and/or reconsider the decision. Very few of you might have thought any more about it. I was in the same camp…until an email from my friend Gurmeet shook me up. Below the story of an extraordinary …

Those of you who are also on the facebook page will recall a brief post last year about an extraordinary institution called “Chanakya Institute of Public Leadership” (CIPL).
For those who may not know or remember, Chanakya Institute is school for the political leaders of tomorrow. Based on the eternal political principles of Chanakya (also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta) given in the Kautilya Arthashastra and Chanakya Niti this school equips students in the ‘Art of Thinking’ besides training them to apply modern technology and specialized management techniques in the political …

In the season of hot tempers, high emotions and midnight dramas, this is brief reminder to myself to watch my tongue (and my words)… This brief post was prompted by Sanjeev Sabhlok’s post yesterday, calling Baba Ramdev a coward, Anna Hazare an intellectually challenged and India Against Corruption a “one-trick pony”.  He is of course not alone in voicing such sentiments. Similar words and phrases have been used by others..
In an internal FTI post, AAryan reminded us to…
..maintain a political demeanour and acuteness when we comment or write on Political matters …

Like many (most?) of you, I was shocked to read the news about what happened this morning at Ramlila Maidan..Below, a collection of links, excerpts on what happened…and an invitation to join a Live Chat (online) this evening at 830pm IST.
Ramdev banned from entering Delhi for 15 days…
…A senior police official said they had granted permission to Ramdev-led Bharat Swabhiman Trust to hold yoga training camp at Ramlila Ground.
“But the same was withdrawn, as the events unfolded, when all efforts failed to convince Ramdev and organisers to restrict to the activities what …

As many of you would remember, today is the birth anniversary* of MahaRana Pratap of Mewar. On this occasion, some inspiring excerpts detailing the exploits of the one who never gave up…The first excerpt is about the famous ”Battle of Haldighati” as described in “The History of India: The Hindú and Mahometan Periods” by Mountstuart Elphinstone:
On June 21, 1576 (June 18 by other calculations), the two armies met at Haldighati, near the town of Gogunda in present-day Rajasthan. While accounts vary as to the exact strength of the two armies, all …