The past decade has seen a unique exploration of Mahatma Gandhi’s life. If Sudhir Kakar wrote an imaginative novel on Mira and the Mahatma unraveling various aspects of Gandhi’s psychology, the Mahatma’s grandsons Rajmohan Gandhi and Gopalkrishna Gandhi explored his personality by writing a biography and compiling an anthology respectively to throw light on hitherto untouched
The content available on the internet encompasses the world; even a phrase such as “rum bum tum” which carries no meaning for a person with average intelligence presents 647,000 results in 0.35 seconds on Google search. Did you say, “Ting xing bing?” Roll your eyes; 5,490,000 results in 0.25 seconds. The Indian internet user has matured and has moved on to use mo
New Year resolutions are no longer about giving up smoking or being kind to strangers. It is about spending less time on the internet. Recently I met a friend who spends so much time on the net that he has no time for his real job. “I think I must get myself one of those things,” he said, “You know, that app... I can’t remember the name... I’ll have to look it up o
By 2050, there will be more women than men in India`s population of those over 60 years of age, according to a report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). India`s aging will, however, be in keeping with the global trend — more women in the club than men. "By 2050, the olderly women (60+ category) in the country will e
I am happy that Yuvraj is well and healthy but the cancer took its toll and it is typical Indian sentiment to boost him beyond his capabilities. It is heartbreaking to see the hypocrisy as we applaud every run he scores...like it was magical. Stop it. By the same token Harbhajan, Balaji, Irfan Pathan are yesterday`s people and already put to farm. Why resurrect them? As for Rohi
India has been ranked 66, much lower than neighbouring China, in the 2012 Global Food Security Index released on Thursday by the American chemical company DuPont. According to the report, India is protein and vitamin-A deficit nation. Not everyone in India can afford nutritious food, the report indicated. The report showed India scored the highest in food availability (51.3) but lowest
I have just joined in the department of economic affairs, ministry of finance, as joint secretary in charge of World Bank–IMF related work. I am in the seventh heaven of bureaucracy, so to speak. My batch got empanelled as joint secretary a few months back and most of my batch-mates would have gladly given their right hand to be in the place that I have managed to bag. In the IAS, there i
The planning commission has suggested the idea of allowing higher education institutions to run for-profit. In the final draft of 12th Five Year Plan, the commission has incorporated this suggestion despite strong opposition from the ministry of the HRD. The commission argues that the philanthropy-driven institutions do not have the resources to bridge the demand supply gap in higher ed
Incredible it may sound but National Knowledge Network (NKN) chairperson and advisor to the prime minister on Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations (PIII) Sam Pitroda did hold a press conference on social networking site Twitter. In the name of `democratisation of information` (He "created a hash-tag #DoI" formally), Pitroda answered queries on the social networking site
When renowned Hindi writer Phanishwar Nath Renu wrote of Purnea in Bihar in the 1950s in ‘Maila Aanchal’, his protagonist, a doctor who chose to stay in the village observed from the closest quarters social backwardness, illiteracy, grief, ignorance, superstitions, social exploitation and struggle and diseases like malaria and black fever (both killed many in those times). T
Google has refused to take down the controversial “Prophet” video (which has sparked extensive violence in the Middle East) from YouTube in the United States, but continues to block it in India. Do you see that as a positive sign? Recent developments have sensitised even the social media networks to the fact that there are issues which need to be addressed,
It is quite ironical that 2012, the year which in many ways saw a revival of the non-proliferation norm on issues such as nuclear security with the Seoul Summit in March 2012, the use of sanctions and immense negotiations to curb any Iranian weapons program, has also become the year to witness a series of nuclear-capable missile tests by North Korea, India, Pakistan and Iran. With the exception
The supreme court may have upheld the 25 percent seat reservation for free schooling of economically weaker section (EWS) children in all schools (except minority-unaided ones) in the hearing of a review petition filed by private schools, but the schools seem to be still very far from the implementation of this provision of the right to education (RTE) Act. The RTE Act was aimed at ensu
“Dear PM, the Special Cell is a group of licensed marauders,” Irshad Ali wrote to the prime minister when he was lodged in Tihar Jail. Ali’s emotional letter to the PM was a narrative of the harrowing experience he underwent at the hands of the special cell of Delhi police despite being an `informer` for it. He had been arrested in 2006, charged under the explosive substance A
India is home to as many as 7,730 ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals whose combined wealth amounts to a whopping $925 billion, says a study. According to the world ultra wealth report 2012-13, by Wealth X, a global wealth intelligence and prospecting company, India has 7,730 UHNW individuals, of which 109 are billionaires. However, in the corresponding period last year ther
A candidate of a student organization barely two months old, Students Federation of India-JNU (SFI-JNU), was elected to the post president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) on Friday. V. Lenin Kumar, the party’s candidate got 212 votes more than the nearest rival, All India Students Association’s (AISA) Om Prasad. SFI-JNU was formed in July after the Delhi ch
When union minister of state for women and child development Krishna Tirath said that the government was considering to bring a law under which a husband would have to legally pay a definite amount to his wife from his salary in recognition of her labour, most wives would have instantly felt empowered. What I often thought was conveyed by the minister and it is sure to empower women financially
Two days after banning gutkha and other smokeless tobacco products, the Delhi government on Wednesday ordered a blanket ban on use, storage, sale and manufacture of plastic bags in the city. Two major initiatives in a span of a couple of days should be good news for Delhiites. However, people are skeptical about the effective implementation of the twin orders. And, there is vali
We might be proud of our top higher educational institutions but when compared to their international counterparts these institutes do not stand anywhere. No university or institutes of excellence are among the best 200 in the world according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranking 2012, the most reputed global rankings of institutes for higher education. This classification takes into account
