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
The parliamentary standing committee on finance was tasked to examine the changes proposed by The Companies Bill, 2009. The committee made various recommendations, one of which relates to mandatory corporate social responsibility by companies. Stemming from a concern for a comprehensive CSR policy, the committee’s report states that the bill may now include a mandatory provision tha
Is Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi, that is) relevant today? To that clichéd question that pops up twice a year, Narayan Desai’s answer is: he remains as relevant as you want him to be. Last year, there were reports from West Bank, which has been witnessing one of the most violent conflicts of our times, that Palestinians were trying o
Watching ‘No One Killed Jessica’ is not like viewing any other film. One, it deals with too recent a history. Secondly it leaves one kind of confused. Whose tale is it? The fighter Sabrina or the foul mouthed TV anchor? Does it convey the victory of truth over evil or the result of a master con game played by a rising media star out to prove a point to her peers? Whatever, the film
Forty days before anti-Mubarak slogans rented the air at Cairo’s Tahrir Square on January 25, India’s Supreme Court passed a stricture against a cabinet minister. The court slammed Vilasrao Deshmukh for abusing his power as Maharashtra chief minister by shielding a Congress MLA, doubling as dubious money lender and accused of squeezing debt-ridden Vidarbha farmers dry, against crimi
The most dangerous moment for a bad government is when it begins to reform itself.” Alexis de Tocqueville, the French political thinker, may have altered his views if he could have taken the Manmohan Singh government into account. This government not only lacks the courage to even go through the charade of reforms but also buries its head deep in the sand in the face of the gathering stor
The corporate affairs ministry has initiated a healthy debate on corporate social responsibility that has thrown up several ideas. The latest among them is that companies with a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more (or net profit of Rs 5 crore or more) should set aside two percent of the net profit for CSR. The parliamentary standing committee on finance headed by former finance minister Yashwant
