2 Feb 2012
The Eastern and the Western food retailer
K Radhakrishnan, a veteran retail professional explains the startling four differences between the food retail in the big western and eastern retailers...
Water as a human right
Water as a human right by Dr. Rajiv K Gupta and Pr. Asit K Biswas...
A fantastic read and provides lot of insights on international and national issues on water rights... The article focuses on the core issues of making provision of safe, clean and potable water a right...
Angelina Jolie says everything that matters in life has to do with parenthood
Times View - Fulfilment has many forms
Counter View - Parenting key to healthy society
-The Times of India, February 2, 2012
Counter View - Parenting key to healthy society
-The Times of India, February 2, 2012
India Can't Be China
Media messages aren't responsible for social chaos
India Can't Be China
-The Times of India, February 2, 2012
India Can't Be China
-The Times of India, February 2, 2012
"We are witness to massive changes in power structures and ways of life. The once powerful nation-state struggles to control flows of information and ideas across its borders"
Birth day suit
Generally speaking, all DoB disputes lead to naked embarrassment
Birth day suit
-The Times of India, February 2, 2012
Birth day suit
-The Times of India, February 2, 2012
Welcome Ruling
Citizens can seek sanction to prosecute public servants
Welcome Ruling
-The Times of India, February 2, 2012
The supreme court recently upheld a "citizen's right to file a complaint leading to the prosecution of public servants for corruption, including ministers, MPs and MLAs."
This is most certainly a welcome change.
Welcome Ruling
-The Times of India, February 2, 2012
The supreme court recently upheld a "citizen's right to file a complaint leading to the prosecution of public servants for corruption, including ministers, MPs and MLAs."
This is most certainly a welcome change.
Standing Stumped
Boom and bust hit Indian cricket and economy
Standing Stumped
-The Times of India, February 2, 2012
Cricket and economy, says the editor, "reflect little strategy."
"Both face sharp decline today and must rework their game."
Standing Stumped
-The Times of India, February 2, 2012
Cricket and economy, says the editor, "reflect little strategy."
"Both face sharp decline today and must rework their game."
Growing irrelevance of the Indian ayatollah
"Helped by the government, Deoband's clerics won the battle to silence Salman Rushdie — but their armies are in inglorious retreat."
Last month's silencing of Salman Rushdie, preceded and followed by a succession of faith-inspired attacks on free speech. Had it not been for the helping hand of the Indian government, it is improbable the clerics of Deoband would have succeeded in Jaipur. This fate and Deoband's contrasting success in Pakistan help illuminate the prospects of communal politics in India. The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Growing irrelevance of the Indian ayatollah.
Deoband is dying because the social classes and conditions from which it drew its strength have changed. Deoband's clerics aren't the only faith-based political order to be facing this crisis: organised Hinduism has haemorrhaged followers to new-age gurus; Sikhism to a range of eclectic cults. Faiths, as a whole, exercise less of a hold on lives than political struggles for equity.
Even though communalism remains a depressing part of India's political landscape, its lethality is diminishing. In India, faith and the new civilisation of Capitalism are pitted against each other in an epic battle - and god's armies are losing!
Last month's silencing of Salman Rushdie, preceded and followed by a succession of faith-inspired attacks on free speech. Had it not been for the helping hand of the Indian government, it is improbable the clerics of Deoband would have succeeded in Jaipur. This fate and Deoband's contrasting success in Pakistan help illuminate the prospects of communal politics in India. The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Growing irrelevance of the Indian ayatollah.
Deoband is dying because the social classes and conditions from which it drew its strength have changed. Deoband's clerics aren't the only faith-based political order to be facing this crisis: organised Hinduism has haemorrhaged followers to new-age gurus; Sikhism to a range of eclectic cults. Faiths, as a whole, exercise less of a hold on lives than political struggles for equity.
Even though communalism remains a depressing part of India's political landscape, its lethality is diminishing. In India, faith and the new civilisation of Capitalism are pitted against each other in an epic battle - and god's armies are losing!
Words were his soldiers
"Remembering Sukumar Azhikode, that extraordinary public intellectual from Kerala."
In one of his last public speeches, Sukumar Azhikode stated that words were his soldiers: a strange thing to say in a world where tyrants of all hues keep on proving that soldiers are their words. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Words were his soldiers.
All those who know Azhikode — as he is popularly known – will readily vouch for the truth of what he said. He did not rely on political parties or groups to fight his battles. Indeed, they kept lifting him up, and then dropping him, at will. Cynics saw his shifting stands as opportunism, but his admirers, millions of them, did not seem to care as they found significant public values at stake in all his moves.
One of his final concerns was the shrinkage in space for serious literary criticism in our journals.
This article is essentially an biographical outline of Sukumar Azhikode, his life and his contributions - literary, political and otherwise by another poet.
All those who know Azhikode — as he is popularly known – will readily vouch for the truth of what he said. He did not rely on political parties or groups to fight his battles. Indeed, they kept lifting him up, and then dropping him, at will. Cynics saw his shifting stands as opportunism, but his admirers, millions of them, did not seem to care as they found significant public values at stake in all his moves.
One of his final concerns was the shrinkage in space for serious literary criticism in our journals.
This article is essentially an biographical outline of Sukumar Azhikode, his life and his contributions - literary, political and otherwise by another poet.
The everyday embrace of inequality
"The institution of paid domestic labour produces cleanliness, meals and childcare, but it also produces and reproduces an unequal home and society."
The Help, a film about the relationship between African American maids and their employers in 1960s Mississippi, and the book on which it is based, is well-meaning, but both patronising and sentimental, while ignoring the inequality between employers and domestic workers in the U.S. today. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : The everyday embrace of inequality.
It also raises some important issues for those of us who live in servant-keeping societies. It is a reminder of the peculiar nature of inequality in the intimate environment of the home.
Because of the long history of servant employment in India, we often do not reflect upon the institution. We simply assume that we cannot live a middle-class existence without it. But we would do well to reflect on the effect of the institution of paid domestic work on the internal dynamics of middle-class families. The article the focuses on the morale and the ideology that is inculcated in the children seeing a paid domestic help in their home performing certain duties, and the effect that it has on the society at large.
The maintenance of the institution of paid domestic work, leads to the reproduction of hierarchies, even in the 21st century in very many societies, and stands in the way of any move towards a genuinely egalitarian one. Indeed, it produces what we have called a culture of servitude through which relations of domination, dependency, and hierarchy are normalised.
It also raises some important issues for those of us who live in servant-keeping societies. It is a reminder of the peculiar nature of inequality in the intimate environment of the home.
Because of the long history of servant employment in India, we often do not reflect upon the institution. We simply assume that we cannot live a middle-class existence without it. But we would do well to reflect on the effect of the institution of paid domestic work on the internal dynamics of middle-class families. The article the focuses on the morale and the ideology that is inculcated in the children seeing a paid domestic help in their home performing certain duties, and the effect that it has on the society at large.
The maintenance of the institution of paid domestic work, leads to the reproduction of hierarchies, even in the 21st century in very many societies, and stands in the way of any move towards a genuinely egalitarian one. Indeed, it produces what we have called a culture of servitude through which relations of domination, dependency, and hierarchy are normalised.
Strategic lift in Rafale tailwind
"The fighter deal is expected to add momentum to France’s interest in working with India in intelligence sharing and nuclear technology"
Paris will now be looking to enter into a new era of relationship with New Delhi encompassing intelligence sharing, nuclear enrichment and reprocessing and even joint production of sub-theatre range missiles. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Strategic lift in Rafale tailwind.
India had recognised the steadfastness of France in standing by India especially after the Pokhran nuclear tests. And during the kargil conflict, Dassault's Mirage fighters blasted bunkers in seemingly impregnable positions after the MiGs had not performed up to expectations.
We now expect France to standby their commitment for a "complete" civil nuclear partnership with India that would include enrichment and reprocessing (ENR), which is denied to countries that NSG thinks do not conform to their norms. Unkown to many, France cooperated with us in setting up a fast breeder reactor despite the 1974 nuclear test and the sanctions that followed.
More intimate alliances in the nuclear, military and intelligence fields would also allow India to spread its influence in western Africa, known as France's backyard. India and France which have always professed respect for each other's national security interests and shared the quest for strategic autonomy, could help further democratise global politics as well as help each other.
India had recognised the steadfastness of France in standing by India especially after the Pokhran nuclear tests. And during the kargil conflict, Dassault's Mirage fighters blasted bunkers in seemingly impregnable positions after the MiGs had not performed up to expectations.
We now expect France to standby their commitment for a "complete" civil nuclear partnership with India that would include enrichment and reprocessing (ENR), which is denied to countries that NSG thinks do not conform to their norms. Unkown to many, France cooperated with us in setting up a fast breeder reactor despite the 1974 nuclear test and the sanctions that followed.
More intimate alliances in the nuclear, military and intelligence fields would also allow India to spread its influence in western Africa, known as France's backyard. India and France which have always professed respect for each other's national security interests and shared the quest for strategic autonomy, could help further democratise global politics as well as help each other.
Making science enjoyable
"Current education system ends up blunting or even destroying the inborn curiosity, thinking capabilities and problem solving skills that the children already possess. The systemic problem can be traced to the way science is taught today in schools and colleges: through lecture-oriented, teacher-centric instruction."
The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Making science enjoyable: This turns the students into passive learners, compels them to become rote learners and excellent reproducers of "boring, incomprehensible facts", notes a editorial in Science.
The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Making science enjoyable: This turns the students into passive learners, compels them to become rote learners and excellent reproducers of "boring, incomprehensible facts", notes a editorial in Science.
The journal has started publishing one inquiry-based activity a month. The intent of the initiative is to "increase scientific literacy and impart a fundamental understanding of the nature of scientific investigation." If properly used, they can surely serve as a starting point for teachers and students to appreciate the power of learning through 'real' experiments.
On the other hand, institutes in India should focus on moving away from the teacher-centric education that is in vogue to a more active student-centric instruction.
Beyond the Rafale deal
"Given the size of the contract — more than $10 billion, is the largest defence deal struck by India — the acquisition of the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) was viewed in many quarters as a purchase in which political and strategic considerations would, or even should, play a role. "
It seemed that the technical and commercial factors prevailed over extra-contractual considerations. Since, the selection process was uninfluenced by the United States administration. The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Beyond the Rafale deal.
But the decision to buy the fighters could provide the leverage for India to hold France to its promise of increasing cooperation across a whole range of areas, but especially in the nuclear and defence fields, including the greater sharing of technology and expertise.
Since the Nuclear Suppliers Group reneged on its 2008 bargain with India last year by banning the sale of enrichment and reprocessing equipment (ENR) but France, has said it will not be bound by the new restrictions. The French must now be held to their word.
It seemed that the technical and commercial factors prevailed over extra-contractual considerations. Since, the selection process was uninfluenced by the United States administration. The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Beyond the Rafale deal.
Since the Nuclear Suppliers Group reneged on its 2008 bargain with India last year by banning the sale of enrichment and reprocessing equipment (ENR) but France, has said it will not be bound by the new restrictions. The French must now be held to their word.
Women's reservation bill
The civic polls are due in Maharashtra and the nominations are going on...
As usual, it's a huge mess as candidates, cry, weep, beg, fight, create chaos for a seat where each one of them is trying to pull the strings of another... However, things are slightly unusual this time with the Maharashtra legislative council having passed the women's reservation bill...
What was chaos earlier has turned into a mayhem this time with finding potential women candidates being an added issue...
ornithologist's disaster
During all the buzz of the international and national activities over the last fortnight, the second edition of the Gujarat Bird watchers' conference got concluded...
Author Shyam Parekh explains more about it as he explores the intricate complexities of bird-poaching and what are the primary difficulties in facing it... Some fine examples of cowardice, wasted bravery and lacklustre of bird-watchers and officials is indicated...
The Congress dynasty
Congress party's image has faded throughout the country. It is in a hapless state where the central government is in a state of flux with all the corruption charges and misgovernance and it is trying to find a foothold in most of the states in the state elections 2012 except, maybe Punjab, where the anti-incumbency factor is an issue for their principal opponents, The Akali Dal- BJP combine...
The situation in Karnataka, Andhra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and many other states is not something that the congress can flaunt on...
Coalition politics and more significantly, the dynasty rule of the Nehru-Gandhi family is only deepening the crisis for the oldest party of the country which could boast of extreme superiority before 1980's
What is the way ahead?
NV Subramanian explains more...
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