India's Climate Change Choices

India's Climate Change Choices

-The Times of India, January 7, 2012

With Frenemies Like These...

Political bonhomie is a many-squandered thing


With Frenemies Like These...

-The Times of India, January 7, 2012

The corrupt rule the roost

"Strong watchdog institutions in a weak democracy make for a tall order."

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : The corrupt rule the roost
by  Arun Kumar, a Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. E-mail: arunkumar1000@hotmail.com

"Democracy has become formalistic. Legislatures should check corruption but it would not be so if the elected are beholden to the corrupt or are themselves corrupt. The problem is political; it cannot be resolved through technical fixes or by having more laws — these are anyway being circumvented. A weak democracy presents a no-win situation: if a democracy is weak, the corrupt get elected and misuse their autonomy; if the legislators' autonomy is curbed, democracy weakens. Only a conscious public, not rules and laws, can deliver autonomous and incorruptible legislators."

The glory and the blemishes of the Indian news media

"Our free media, including our largely unfettered press, are a hugely important asset for democratic India. And yet the celebration of the Indian news media can go only so far — and no further. There are at least two barriers to quality that need to be overcome. The first is some real laxity in professionalism in achieving accuracy. The second is the bias, often implicit, in the choice of what news to cover and what to ignore, and the way this bias relates particularly to class divisions in India."

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : The glory and the blemishes of the Indian news media

by Amartya Sen, the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor, and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998. The Bharat Ratna was conferred on him in 1999.

Taliban wants Gitmo prisoners sent to Qatar

"Mr. Karzai's government is concerned about being sidelined in the negotiations between the Taliban and the U.S., and Mr. Faizi stressed that it wanted “an Afghan-led transition.”"

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Taliban wants Gitmo prisoners sent to Qatar

Energy and security

"The row the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is now confronted with is between the Petroleum and Defence Ministries over security clearance for oil and gas exploration in eight blocks off the east coast and in the Andamans."

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Energy and security

Lessons from Yiwu

"It is surprising that despite the booming trade between the two countries, no joint trade body, such as a chamber of commerce exists, to which businessmen can take their problems, that could give advice on finding reliable business partners, run credit checks or provide legal assistance."

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Lessons from Yiwu

Waiting for e-services

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Waiting for e-services:

"A lot of work will have to go into re-engineering government processes before the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, 2011 introduced in the Lok Sabha can start delivering results. "

Electronic governance infrastructure can serve as the backbone for delivery of services, but it cannot work a miracle in the absence of administrative reform. ... The public outcry against corruption has brought forth some measures to eliminate rent seeking and lack of accountability from a government under pressure. Now, it must show sufficient political resolve to deliver.

Quarrelsome couple

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Quarrelsome couple:

"In short, the Congress in West Bengal is doing unto the Mamata government what the Trinamool is doing unto the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre."

The war of words between the two parties is unlikely to result in the break-up of the alliance, but could redefine the nature of their relationship. As is true of marriages of convenience, they can neither live with each other, nor live without each other.

A great medium of public education declines

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : A great medium of public education declines:

"Finding something worth listening to on medium wave in the broadcasts of an All India Radio station in any part of the country is like looking for life in a drought-hit landscape."

Achieving the American dream gets tougher

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Achieving the American dream gets tougher:

"It is harder for a poor man in the U.S. to rise in economic standards than his peers in Canada and much of western Europe."

Stephen Hawking finds women ‘a mystery'

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Stephen Hawking finds women ‘a mystery':

"The renowned physicist marks his 70th birthday this weekend."

In Indonesia, sandals mark public anger

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : In Indonesia, sandals mark public anger:

"Piles of old sandals donated to oppose the trial of a 15-year-old boy accused of stealing sandals."

Cattle class: native vs exotic

The Hindu : Columns / Sainath : Cattle class: native vs exotic:

"Kerala is feeling the ill-effects of an official policy that favoured disease-prone crossbreeds over low-maintenance native breeds."

'Mamata's compulsion is to be seen as fighting for the people'

Q&A


with  A B Bardhan, four-time general secretary of the Communist Party of India.

Interview - Q&A

-The Times of India, January 6, 2012