The best way out

"While the Supreme Court may have forced General V.K. Singh to withdraw his petition, it is important to highlight there was no slur on his integrity, which the Bench said it had complete faith in. Nothing can take away from General Singh's ability and accomplishments. He is widely recognised as a brilliant strategist and as a reform-oriented officer who tried hard to restore the image of an Army whose image had been blighted by corruption scandals such as Adarsh and Sukna."

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : The best way out: In a way, the Supreme Court has pulled off a diplomatic coup. By ensuring that the petition is withdrawn, it has avoided the ugly situation. The Court must have been aware of the implications of making an exception for General Singh on the age issue viz. promotions of other senior Army officials, and the morale of the entire 13 lakh strong army.

All in all, the Court found the best way out of a tricky impasse.

Facebook IPO

"The Facebook IPO has the potential to change the internet sector, creating what will be one of the most valuable internet and technology companies."

Analysts say that Facebook is aiming for a far greater offering than the $5 billion planned initially. Its IPO could well be the largest by any company. Its valuation could be somewhere in the region of $75 to $100 billion. It suggests that stock markets in the U.S., though weighed down by macroeconomic concerns, are still willing to reward exceptional players. The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Like/Comment/Shares:

Ironically, Facebook does not need capital and is going public mainly to comply with regulations. Without a tangible plan to invest the bulk of the issue proceeds, the company's future profitability might suffer.

Porngate's reality

Cooperations minister of the Karnataka State Cabinet Laxman Savadi was caught in the act of watching porn in the state assembly and hence was forced to resign...

Now here is a twist: Mayank Tewari who has watched the video says it not porn!!!

He also speaks about the half-truths and half-lies that the system has to contend with...

Read along if you want to know the relationship between a politician and a bikini!!! (As a side note to the crux of the article)

Celebrating spring with half truths and politics of porn

Paradise is perched on the edge of hell

"Political chaos in the Maldives, security services across the region fear, could open the way for a resurgent Islamist movement."

Security experts have feared Maldives will become a paradise for jihadists instead of tourists. Its 1,200-plus islands are near-impossible to police, which means terrorists could use them as bases to target India's western seaboard and even Europe. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Paradise is perched on the edge of hell


The Lashkar-e-Taiba's charitable wing, along with British-based Islamists, funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars into tsunami-hit communities — in return for their souls and proselytize to Islam.


Even in the face of threats, feminists and secular-democrats have mounted trenchant resistance to the religious right. Their struggle will determine the Maldives' fate.

The Russians are leaving … Russia

"Highly qualified middle-class professionals, feeling ignored by the country's economy and political system, are emigrating in search of greener pastures."

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : The Russians are leaving … Russia: Russians consider emigration as their chance for self-attainment and a better life. Who could have imagined two decades ago that Russians would be leaving their country in search of social justice and security?

In absolute terms, emigration from Russia is not that big when compared with many other countries. Moreover, it is offset by the influx of immigrants from other former Soviet States. The problem is that the country has been haemorrhaging highly qualified and entrepreneurial cadres, the cream of society, whereas the bulk of newcomers are unskilled labourers from Central Asia.

Cynics say the Kremlin is only too happy to see the disgruntled leave the country and this is one reason why it has been pushing for a visa-free travel arrangement with Europe. The country that lives off its oil and minerals does not need that many qualified specialists anyway.

Decoding Syria's vote

India recently voted for the continuation of the Syrian Government in the voting held at the UNSC...

A country that normally abstains itself from voting on internal issues of another country has suddenly pulled a rabbit out of the box by voting on the Syrian unrest issue...

Alankrita Sinha & Abhijit Iyer - Mitra attempts to decode this rather precarious foreign policies of our country...

Decoding India's Syria Vote

The licence to be corrupt

The country has seen scandals after scandals regarding across the state at various echelons of the county's federal structure...

The issue is just not that but the 'Babus' and 'Mantris' of the country have lost all moral authority and are unnecessarily lodging a verbal spat over another...

The Licence to be corrupt

Pakistan's judiciary faces criticism for ‘overreach'

"The superior judiciary's seeming convergence with the anti-government sentiments in the establishment and media has sparked unease."

Viewing the judicial activism in the context of 'jockeying for power and influence in the formative phase of democratic transition', the increased tension between the elected executive and non-elected Supreme Court could be used by the opposition to destabilise the government. Given the state of affairs in the country and maintaining that the military's capacity should not be underestimated. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Pakistan's judiciary faces criticism for ‘overreach':

What you lose when you 'buy' an education

"The gruesome murder of a Chennai schoolteacher by her 15-year-old student should serve as a wake-up call to educators and parents to focus on what is missing in the way we approach schooling."

Every school should have a qualified counsellor who is accessible to students, teachers and parents. Value Education curricula need to be revamped to address real issues that students contend with. Programmes on anger management can be introduced so that children learn acceptable and unacceptable ways of expressing negative emotions. Teachers should be trained to identify children at risk of various psychological problems. In this digital age, schools must allot time for Media Studies, where children are taught to discern and critique the information that bombards them from various channels. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : What you lose when you 'buy' an education:

The consumerist view of education is counterproductive as teachers feel belittled in the process and do not receive the respect that is due to them. Teaching is, indeed, a very taxing profession that is not accorded the status it deserves.

We, as a society, have embraced a very utilitarian model of education. For most Indians, the main aim of education is to get a good job that pays a lucrative salary. As a result, parents put undue pressure on their wards and teachers to obtain stellar results on examinations. Schools have also succumbed to this unidimensional perspective and advertise the number of rank holders and professional college placements. In the process, education has lost its soul.

Students have to be equipped with skills and techniques to cope with life's strains and stresses.

'We have this image that people are helpless - i want to get rid of that'

Q&A


Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win a Nobel for economics, has done path-breaking research in political economy, focussing on managing common pool resources like forests, fisheries and irrigation systems to maximise long-term returns from these. Challenging notions about elaborate governmental regulation needed to manage environmental resources, Ostrom spoke with Nitin Sethi about changes individuals can make, the urgency to move beyond debates - and the role of transformation:


Interview - Q&A

-The Times of India, February 13, 2012

Not The Done Thing

Gen V K Singh has put self before institution, and the government is not blameless either

Not The Done Thing

Retired Major General and founder member of Defence Planning Staff, Gen Ashok K Mehta, says

"Gen Singh may have set an unhealthy precedent for the rank and file: to challenge decisions of superiors to which he had previously acquiesced, which goes against the ethos and ethics of the army"

-The Times of India, February 13, 2012

Staying in touch

Touchiness has taken on a whole new meaning

Staying in touch

With the advent of touch screens, ATMs, and other touch-gadgets, "touching" has become a widely pursued activity.

-The Times of India, February 13, 2012

People Are Strange

The dangers of psychiatric empire building

People Are Strange

Some US psychologists have circulated an updated version of the 1994 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which will result in millions of 'normal' people being labelled as abnormal or ill.

"Such cases might include loners, brooders, rebels, incurable romantics, compulsive gamblers and even those frequently fantasising about sex."

Murder in the classroom

"The murder of a school teacher by a 15-year-old boy in Chennai who was angry at being reprimanded for his poor performance in class has thrown up deeply disquieting questions on parenting, teaching, and social and cultural mores."

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Murder in the classroom: Many factors are at play, some of them at larger societal levels that are not easily controllable. Blaming parenting is easy, but this is no more than a way of absolving the rest of society of all responsibility.

The teacher's murder is indicative of a collective failure of society — our schools cannot remain untouched when the world outside is not peaceful, fair and just. We need also to pursue remedies at the school level itself

A past that will not pass

The Gujarat High Court lit into the Narendra Modi government, accusing it of “inaction and negligence” resulting in the destruction of over 500 Muslim places of worship during the 2002 post-Godhra pogrom. A day later, came the news that Mr. Modi had been cleared of the charge of abetting the 2002 violence in a final report filed to the magisterial court by the Special Investigation Team.

It is clear that the last word on the question of criminality will not be said for some time. So the CM's camp followers will do well to show some restraint, not least because his administration has come in for repeated censure by courts in the past year.

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : A past that will not pass: "Whatever the final view taken by the courts on Modi's individual legal culpability for the tragedy of Gujarat, the fact that he remained — at best — a mute spectator to the killing of hundreds of innocent citizens and did nothing to ensure justice for the victims afterwards is a moral and political badge of dishonour that will ensure the higher office his supporters seek for him remains out of reach."

Slow Train Coming

Only a drastic change in government policy can make a difference to Indian Railways

Slow Train Coming

The Indian Railways has consistently eluded reform, says the editor. Right from the speeds at which trains run to passenger fairs, the Indian Railways lags much behind International standards. It is in UPA's interests to "rescue Indian Railways from becoming an antique relic."

-The Times of India, February 13, 2012

The Republic of Hurt Sentiments

"The protest-readings from Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses must force a rethink of our religious hate speech laws and what they mean for freedom of expression."

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : The Republic of Hurt Sentiments: If the ‘Rushdie readings' trigger a much larger rethink about our religious hate speech laws and what they mean for freedom of expression, then the controversy would have been well worth the making.

Nation in a State: Why are politicians not being held accountable, IAS officials ask

"Andhra Pradesh's ‘steel frame' rattles with indignation as the CBI goes after top bureaucrats in scam cases."

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Nation in a State: Why are politicians not being held accountable, IAS officials ask: Where does the buck stop in government, at the desk of a minister or that of the bureaucrat who signs the files? This question has stirred a passionate debate in Andhra Pradesh, where the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two bureaucrats and questioned many more in connection with a slew of corruption scams.

A battle without winners

"The row over General V.K. Singh's age has created fissures between the Army and the Ministry of Defence. The main victim is the modernisation of the Army."

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : A battle without winners: Irrespective of the outcome of the Mexican stand-off between General V.K. Singh and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over his disputed date of birth, both the Army and the Defence Ministry are eventually bound to be the losers in equal measure.

Welcome show of judicial muscle

"The 2G judgment goes beyond telecom, spoiling the party for corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and big business."

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Welcome show of judicial muscle: The reverberations of the judgment actually extend far beyond telecom, crushing the subjective power of the government to issue licences and contracts in any sector like power, coal, minerals, mines, land, and even special economic zones (SEZ), that allocates scarce national resources.

This effectively attacks the fountainhead of all large corruption linked to government contracts.

Putting down the burden of borders

"Addressing unresolved bilateral issues would silence the Bangladeshi Opposition from questioning the value of improving ties with India."

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Putting down the burden of borders: In an era of globalisation marked by a phenomenal growth of science and technology, Bangladesh and India cannot lag behind — nursing and sustaining mistrust and hostilities. Let us hope the relations put in place by the two countries, after decades of acrimony, will emerge as an example for South Asia.

Confusing signals on Afghanistan

With the Obama administration balancing election year with concerns about stability in Afghanistan, the confusion that passes for Washington's Afghanistan policy is very evident. With regional players such as Pakistan, India and Iran and international big powers all jostling to position themselves in the so-called Afghan endgame, the situation can only get more muddied.

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Confusing signals on Afghanistan: " Afghan civilians have borne the worst of more than a decade of war, and they will continue to do as long as that country is viewed more as a geo-strategic piece of real estate rather than as a nation with real people. "

Clinical trials in the dock

For multinational companies eager to cut corners, India is a favourable destination for human clinical trials, since it offers an attractive package of weak laws, lax and almost non-existent oversight of trials, a huge illiterate, vulnerable population that can be easily exploited, very little volunteer protection and a sizeable number of unscrupulous doctors willing to compromise on ethics for gain.

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Clinical trials in the dock: "Having amended the patent laws in 2005 to make India an even more attractive destination for trials, the government is duty-bound to put in place a proper regulatory and monitoring mechanism that would prevent unethical trials from being initiated and flagrant violations from taking place."

Doctors and companies earning handsome profits by throwing ethics and procedures to the winds and turning vulnerable people into guinea pigs will then, hopefully, become a thing of the past.