Anthropology has failed to trace the origin of the world’s first godman. But most probably he preceded the idea of god and sold it out to people until it gained currency. India being the spiritual capital of the world has now graduated from being the land of snake charmers to that of godmen. All types, hues and sizes are available. So much so that they occupy one-third of the country&rsqu
The Durga Nagpal controversy has brought to the surface the issue of political interference impeding bureaucratic work. Our columnist, a former bureaucrat himself, had written this piece about how bound administrators in our country are by our representatives. We are reviving his column (published February 13, 2013 on our website) for more insight into legislative-executive relations.
As if the numerous controversies the Congress is battling in recent times are not enough, the party’s MP from Kerala K Sudhakaran has added another one for the party’s troubleshooters to handle after he made offensive remarks against the Suryanelli rape victim, calling her a “prostitute”. And to make matters worse, he has refused to apologise. On Sunday, while ad
Press council of India chief Markanday Katju is a marksman par excellence. After relentlessly trying many targets, he seems to have hit through the right one. In a signed article that appeared in The Hindu on February 15, Katju questioned Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s s
“1949: Only socialism could save China 1979: Only capitalism could save China 1989: Only China could save socialism 2009: Only China could save capitalism” - Joke doing the rounds in Beijing after the global financial crash China, the world’s most populous country, with a population of 1.3 billion and the fourth largest count
President Pranab Mukherjee in a recent meeting with the vice-chancellors of central universities has proposed several initiatives which could perhaps help in transforming higher education and connection between academia, innovators and rest of the society. According to the press release dated Feb 7, 2013, he would interact with teachers
Career diplomat Arvind Gupta who is the director-general of Delhi-based think tank, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), is man of ideas. He wants to take the institute, which is in its 49 years of existence, to the new heights of excellence. Parachuted from the ministry of external affairs (MEA) where he continues to serve as additional secretary to head IDSA, he is trying to bre
Governance Now and CVoter carried out a survey of the trust various institutions of governance inspire among the people. Read more about the overall findings of the survey here:Trust of the Republic survey: little faith in government
Union minister for overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi has claimed that he was joking when he made an offensive remark to a woman journalist in Kerala. Asked about the Congress party’s stance on Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien, allegedly involved in the Suryanelli rape case in Kerala, Ravi responded, “Do you have anything personal against Kurien? Has something happene
Veteran politician and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar is livid with party leader and Maharashtra minister Bhaskar Jadhav for the “gratuitous extravagance” which the latter displayed at a social occasion. Jadhav, who is minister of state for urban development in the state government, was in news recently for the lavish weddings of his son and daughter. Accordin
On January 20, following two days of stimulating discussion and deliberation to perk up the party ahead of next year’s general elections, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said in Jaipur, “I assure you that I will personally continue to press for the passage of the law that would provide for one-third reservation for women in parliament and state legislatures.” It was a
Aravind Sitaraman is the president for inclusive growth with Cisco, where he aims to provide inclusive growth by providing education, health and skill development in India through out-of-the-box technology solutions. The company has partnered with various state governments as technology and service providers for their tele-education and tele-health initiatives. In conversation with Shiv
In Dabangg 2, when the jeep of protagonist inspector Chulbul Pandey (played by Salman Khan) lands up in a large pit and the engine chokes to death in a cloud of dust, he asks his constable in his typical comic baritone, “Yeh kiska khet hai, Sharmaji.” And the constable replies meekly, “Sir, ye toh Kanpur ka main chauraha hai.” While the joke had viewers of
Saturday, February 9, would have been just another day had news channels not begun beaming the news of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s hanging. Not that it made much of a difference to the man/woman on the street going about his/her business on an exceptionally sunny day, marking the onset of spring in Delhi. Not, also, that the news brought a collective sigh of relief
Air pollution is the fifth largest killer in India taking 6.2 lakh lives per year and Delhi is among one of the five most critically polluted regions in the country, a study by a US-based health institute has claimed. The other four most critically polluted regions in the country are Ghaziabad, Gwalior, West Singbhum district in Jharkhand and Raipur, according to the study. The study ha
Governance Now and CVoter carried out a survey of the trust various institutions of governance inspire among the people. Read more about the overall findings of the survey here: Trust of the Republic survey: little faith in government or in print in the February 1-15 iss
On January 20, following two days of stimulating discussion and deliberation to perk up the party ahead of next year’s general elections, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said in Jaipur, “I assure you that I will personally continue to press for the passage of the law that would provide for one-third reservation for women in parliament and state legislatures.” It was a
At some strange level, the Indian political system has a deep, if not too apparent, connect with Bollywood. Like a half-decent Hindi masala flick, the Indian polity, and thereby the political system, sees and believes in only the colours black and white, with no chance in hell for the existence of a grey, let alone shades and tones of it. Like the sheriffs in the Western flicks, from where Boll
The government’s decision to secretly execute Guru just days before Maqbool Bhat’s death anniversary — Bhat was a symbol of Kashmir’s resistance against what many in the state believe is India’s claims over the region, who was also executed in the same Tihar jail 28 years ago — seems to have touched a raw nerve, especially among the youth of the Valley.
David Devadas, veteran journalist and author of `In Search of a Future: The Story of Kashmir`, wrote for the Hindustan Times on December 2 last year why Afzal Guru should not be hanged. We present the column, as a counterview. Courtesy Hindustan Times: Stick
