“King’s Speech” is the talk of the town. The movie has won four Oscar awards. “Based on the true story of King George VI, ‘The King’s Speech’ follows the Royal Monarch’s quest to find his voice,” says its official website. It provides as good an occasion as any for a few words on the power of words in
Gandhi was a vaishnav jan. So were his followers then. Today we have a gallery of Vaishnavi jans – the patrons of the PR agency called Vaishnavi, run by Niira Radia. They all last came together on one platform in Vibrant Gujarat in January, praised Narendra Modi and at least one of them said he was the third greatest Gujarati after the Mahatma and Dhirubhai Ambani. Obviously, it’s t
So I am flying back to Dubai yesterday and this man next to me is a professor and he hates cricket. I ask him why he hates it, I mean you might not like the game but why do you have to actively hate it. “Complete nonsense, two men standing in front of sticks and eleven others hanging around and millions watching, what a waste of manhours,” he says. &ld
The other day, my 85-year old uncle called from Lucknow. My father had told him that India Strategy Group was assisting Governance Now in Gov2.0. Never a great fan of government, his former employer, Uncle asked wryly what "Gov2.0" meant. As many of us handle the elder generation, I carefully skirted the question and focused on his medicines and morale. But yesterday evening, my fathe
Politicians love to hand out doles to the poor. That keeps the poor happy and the vote bank intact. Therefore, there is little incentive to go for fundamental changes that obviate the need for it. The UPA government is no different. In this year’s budget, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee promises a major policy shift in the subsidy regime. He has set up a task for
It was the last leg of my journey from work to back home. I was waiting at the Rajghat traffic intersection for the signal to turn green. Totally oblivious to my surroundings, I was trying to make a note of the pending tasks at work: my boss’s possible reaction to a particular article of mine or an important email I forgot to respond to. Then there were four appointments the next day and
An ambassador might be an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country, but lower down the food chain the definition of the diplomat seems to be undergoing a change. If recent revelations are to be believed, diplomats are sent abroad to speak their version of the truth, and express it in as undiplomatic a language as possible. Thus we know what diplomats think of world lea
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee skimmed lightly over the problems afflicting the agricultural sector – food inflation, inadequate agricultural production, declining soil fertility, massive food wastage – and made no mention of agrarian distress or debt-driven farmers’ suicides. Those expecting reforms in agriculture and the public distribution system were doomed to disappoin
I recently met a number of village community leaders and innovators who had achieved remarkable results in collaboration with the Water and Sanitation Management Organisation in Gujarat in dealing with the problems of drinking water and sanitation. If through transparency, honesty and self-critical attitude, public officials can achieve so much in this programme, then lessons need to be
The media leaves little doubt about the dire straits that we find the tiger in today. Millions of dollars are raised at home and abroad to secure the future of this magnificent beast. But the people who are paying dearly for the conservation of the charismatic big cat are the unglamorous local people who have had to quietly forsake their homes and tradi
Natural death comes as an unspectacular, unrevolting, inevitable end. It lacks the additional sensational dimension of untimely, forced or assisted demise. That is why it does not provoke quite the same reactions among those who survive the deceased. That is why it is easier to live with. In democratic politics, as in life, there is a natural order of a ruler’s ascent a
"What is wrong with your facebook?" was the first thing my long-lost friend asked when we met recently. To match her level of amusement, I asked with mock concern, "What is wrong with my facebook?" In reply, she consumed much of our conversation time over coffee. "You have the Delhi traffic police, the Mumbai traffic police, Jammu
Fifty-nine people, many of them VHP activists returning home after campaigning for the Ayodhya temple, were killed as the S6 coach of the Sabarmati Express burnt. How did it happen? Take your pick: * According to the U C Banerjee committee (set up by the railway ministry when none other than Lalu Prasad was rail minister), there was no external input which led to the burning of the trai
In the age of twitter, written words run the risk of getting distorted. Ask Shashi Tharoor how he faced flak for describing general category air passengers as “cattle class”. He was rapped on the knuckles by his boss – Sonia Gandhi. But the twitter generation is irrepressible in not only giving expression to its feelings through smart usage
Urban development minister Kamal Nath’s assurance to members of parliament (MPs) and members of legislative assembly (MLAs) that they will have a greater say in the implementation of the second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is a welcome step. Even a cursory reality check will reveal that the scheme has at best been a partial
The problem with opening ceremonies is that there have to be closing ceremonies and that means more canned culture, corporate cupidity and mind-numbing visuals of boys and girls running aimlessly with coloured pieces of cloth. And what could be worse than all this? Lots. As the World Cup opening ceremony wound down (not that it ever would up) I was le
