Geography 101 taught us that winter solstice comes when the sun is at its lowest on the horizon. Around December 22-23, the Indian state dug itself into a similar hole. As the nation seethed over the gangrape of a 23-year-old medical student, each of us had our favourite Hades. Most blamed an apathetic, semi-literate, lecherous constabulary, and its chiefdom grown on courting
For a country whose history textbooks generate so much controversy (either allegedly too Leftish, a.k.a. the CBSE books, or purportedly too Rightish Hindu revivalist in BJP-ruled states), we learn little from history. Forget the textbooks; to take just one example, even Bollywood tells us that most freedom fighters were hanged early in the morning, and their bodies disposed of quietly w
There are times when a society discovers new meanings in existing idioms. The death of the 23-year-old, who was violated brutally by some youths on a Delhi bus, is one such moment that has now become an idiom. An idiom that will change a few things forever. I am convinced that it will be very difficult for the ruling class to dismiss these things and give tickets to candidates carrying
Yes, we all have to something to say. She fought the good fight and died. In some ways, however gross that sounds, she has been relieved of pain. It also brings the death penalty on the table for the creeps who did this unspeakable thing. They took a life in cold blood. Now, pay for it. It kind of knocks the new year mood for a loop as our first response is one of h
Was he, was he not? That’s the question of the day thrown up by ABP Ananda’s report on Abhijit Mukherjee’s gender sensitivity. Was he high? Was he not? While reports that Mukherjee has relocated to Mars after being too high proved to be rumours, unconfirmed reports said the vehicle he had booked for the trip had gone to the workshop. Yes, to get dented and p
The government of Delhi and the centre recently announced that they were ready for a partial transition from the public distribution system (PDS) to transferring cash to the poor. This decision once again opened up the debate about whether ‘food’ is better than ‘cash’, and whether this proposed move is simply one more right-wing, neo-liberal reformist measure aimed at di
At a time when his father, President Pranab Mukherjee, was trying to find a solution to women’s safety and trying to address the slightly violent streak the anti-rape demonstrations had taken over the weekend, his Member of Parliament son Abhijit Mukherjee tried to comprehend the nature of protests taking
At times, what are politicians for if not to provide fodder for a daily dose of mirth and musing? Welcome today’s benefactor then, ladies and gentlemen: Abhijit Mukherjee, a.k.a. Member of Parliament from Jangipur in West Bengal and better known as President Pranab Mukherjee’s son. No sooner had he made that eloquent comment today than the twitteratti took the attack straigh
It is an extraordinary story of triumph of pragmatic economic interests of both the countries overtaking long-term historical problems and tensions. China has about 25 billion dollars worth of trade surplus with India which the Indian prime minister recently pleaded with Chinese leadership to reduce. But if we were to calculate the knowledge exchange index as a measure of global innovation lear
In retrospect, the Indian government may be as much responsible as the GMR Group for the latter’s ejection from the airport project in Maldives. The decision by the island neighbour had its roots in issues related to corporate governance (GMR’s decisions), local socio-politico-economic dynamics, and New Delhi’s diplomatic fiasco. Recently, Male terminated the Indian firm&rsquo
Shame on all Indian cricket lovers. What a shabby, pathetic way to say goodbye to the king. One day before we play Pakistan in a historic ‘open the gates’ series we dump our biggest asset without pomp, ceremony or grace. This man, Sachin Tendulkar, broke every record, climbed every mountain, forged every river, gave us years of mind-numbing excitement. And we discard him lik
I don’t ever want to be in that position but what would I do if I was present when a young girl was being raped or some individual being brutalised by a gang of savages in a public place? I don’t know but I pray to God I would have the moral courage to do the right thing even if it meant injury to myself or worse. If there had been people on the bus in Delhi would they have all
I have a friend who refuses to write cheques. His signature never matches with the doodles he drew while opening the bank account. It’s not that I recall such characters usually on weekday mornings but reading the newspaper headlines this morning somehow made the brain do a bit of jogging backward. Most missed the drama that lay readers like me looked for after the adrenaline rush
Development as vote-catcher Unlike 2002 and 2007, there was no communal angle in 2012, save a bit of the Ahmed ‘Miyan’ Patel talk on one side and the minority-in-danger from the other. Then, it was essentially a vote on Narendra Modi’s model of development. And it has worked. (In 2007, too, it was probably the same story except that the Soh
The most disturbing thing about this end of the world stuff on December 21, 2012 is that I have a cheque given to me for December 22 and that is really unjust. What if I cannot cash it? So, let’s not get too carried away with the abrupt end of the Mayan calendar I want to cash that cheque. Maybe they ran out of ink or papyrus or simply got bored with the whole thing, like an unfin
Ever since the country heard of the horrendous Sunday night incident in which a 23-year-old paramedical student was gangraped in a moving bus in south Delhi, people have been expressing their angst in different ways. Political leaders, women’s rights activists, lawyers and the common man have reacted sharply to the incident, and the entire capital is once again discussing the pressing iss
Who exactly is standing for the cause of the victim of the beastly gang rape that took place inside a moving bus in south Delhi late Sunday evening? Is it only the young victim in hospital, battling for a life scarred, and/or impaired? Except for the frenzy on social media and slogan-shouting by the political class, there is no sustained effort at finding concrete steps to ensure such c
Reservation (noun): 1. [mass noun] the action of reserving something: the reservation of positions for non-Americans 2. [count noun] an arrangement whereby something, especially a seat or room, is reserved for a particular person: do you have a reservation? That’s Oxford dictionary for you. In Indian context, the first means “quota” a broad classification to res
These are troubled times for the once celebrated steel frame of the country. Governance has virtually collapsed and a large part of the blame is being laid at the doors of the civil services. Corruption charges are flying thick and fast and there is a general perception that the neta-babu-businessman combine has been able to manipulate the system to serve its vested interests. A number of senio
A recent report (read http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/millennium-development-goals-case-shifting-goalpost) on United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UNMDGs) is interesting, in that it evaluated the progress on the much-discussed millennium goals as a case of sh
