'This is a profound moment in the history of immunisation'

Q&A


Seth Berkley is CEO of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), a public-private partnership dedicated to spreading immunisation across the world. Bring together developing nations with donors, vaccine industries with international organisations like the WHO and Unicef and philanthropists like the Gates Foundation with civil society, Berkley spoke with Kounteya Sinha about the exciting moment we are witnessing in global health today, growing equity between rich and poor nations in health - and how a shot in the arm could save a child's life:

Interview - Q&A

-The Times of India, February 8, 2012

Cricket's Tipping Point

If administrators don't move quickly, India's great passion for the sport could begin to wane

Cricket's Tipping Point

"It is imperative that the BCCI puts in place a long-term vision of what's good for the game and its fans. Otherwise it might just find fans turning it to other sports."

-The Times of India, February 8, 2012

Double standards

Are Indian liberals less outspoken about Muslim bigots than about Hindu bigots

Double standards

-The Times of India, February 8, 2012

An Equal Half

A couple's assets should be joint property

An Equal Half

-The Times of India, February 8, 2012

Don't Blow It

The budget is our chance to revive confidence in the economy

Don't Blow It

-The Times of India, February 8, 2012

The law of life

"The Supreme Court last week ruled as unconstitutional the mandatory imposition of the death penalty under the Arms Act in view of the absence of judicial review."

The ultimate sentence was the only penalty available under this provision — a clear violation of the Constitutional rights to equality and life, as the court observed. Moreover, the prescription of the death penalty as mandatory was a contravention of the principle of judicial review. The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : The law of life In addition, the provision also violates Article 13(2) of the Constitution, which bars Parliament from enacting laws that may abridge fundamental rights.

When Annie Besant came to court

"The Madras High Court was one of the few courts to which even litigants added excitement."

While celebrating an important milestone in the history of a court, we normally tend to remember only the lawyers who stood and argued, and the Judges who sat and decided cases. But, the contribution of litigants was in no way less significant. Persons of eminence, whose names have gone into the history of India, have appeared as litigants in the Madras High Court and fought many a battle. The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : When Annie Besant came to court

Annie Besant was involved in two famous cases decided by the Madras High Court. One related to the guardianship and custody of two minors - one of them later became an independent thinker and celebrated philosopher, J. Krishnamurthi and another case related to the freedom of the press.

Another illustrious litigant to appear was Nani Palkhivala in a case that became one of the landmark decisions on the Copyright Act, and what Palkhivala, then not a name to reckon with, became in the next two decades, is history.

From page three parties to front page politics

Robert Vadra has once again hinted at the possibility of his joining politics.

“If people want,” he told journalists at an informal press conference, “then I can come into politics.” On whether Priyanka was contemplating entering politics, he blithely responded: “This is the time of Rahul Gandhi, after that the time of Priyanka Gandhi will come in the future, and also of other family members.”

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : From page three parties to front page politics:  The official spokesperson of Congress Abhishek Manu Singhvi admitted that the episode — both the flashy motorcycle rally and the articulation of personal ambition — had “embarrassed the family.”

Has he crossed that Lakshman Rekha this time?

In the Maldives, a resignation that keeps democracy afloat

"Nasheed's short tenure, when compared to the long innings of his predecessor, will be remembered for not only heralding a democratic era but also avoidable constitutional and political deadlocks."

Rather than allowing events to drift towards a political or even military showdown, Maldivian President Mohammed “Anni” Nasheed has shown great fidelity to democratic principles in a country where none existed before him by stepping down from office with grace and poise. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : In the Maldives, a resignation that keeps democracy afloat

The new President and his two predecessors can play a concurrent and contributory role to make a Maldives of their collective dreams.

You have to pay for wrong calls too, Telenor

"The multinational may have only itself to blame for its angst."

Telenor is upset with last week's Supreme Court judgment cancelling its licence, along with 121 others, to provide telecom services in the country.  The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : You have to pay for wrong calls too, Telenor. Telenor's angst is understandable given the financial losses that it is now bound to suffer but then the company has only itself to blame.

"Caveat emptor" or buyer beware is a first principle in any commercial transaction and Uninor is guilty of ignoring it. Telenor probably believed - mistakenly in hindsight - that the Indian system can be “worked” any which way.

There is also an incorrect view among some that the judgment sends all the wrong signals to overseas investors. The judgment clearly underlines the supremacy of law in the country just as much as it provides clarity in future policy, something that foreign investors should welcome.

Trouble in paradise

Mohammed Nasheed resigned as President of Maldives, emerges as a well-intentioned politician with strong democratic convictions but one who was unable to make properly the transition from activist to leader of a country.

He can take the credit for overseeing the end of the three-decade reign of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. But unfortunately, he failed to recognize his dependence on opposition parties; instead of cultivating allies, he alienated many in his haste to weed out the Gayoom legacy.

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Trouble in paradise: "It is praiseworthy, and speaks to his progressive political beliefs, that he stepped down rather than impose Emergency, enabling the vice-president to succeed him in an orderly and constitutional transition of power."

Alumni's role

In a country where educational infrastructure is such a huge concern, shouldn't the successful alumni's from these universities take a bigger role following the footsteps of our western counterparts?

Sadly, very little money is earned by Indian Universities due to donations from their Alumni's and are heavily dependent on tution fees...

Manjula Pooja Shroff addresses more on this issue...

Why don't alumni love Indian Universities

the Humans Vs The small species

"The human species, armed with tremendous power derived from its mastery over science and technology, considers its interests superior to others. Thanks to its ever-increasing numbers, it requires more and more resources for satisfying its endless requirements. In this endless quest for cornering all the natural resources, where does it leave any space for the lesser species?"

US Vs Them: How lower species fall to our greed

Charged with terror, damned by aliases

"The incredible story of boy ‘terrorist' Mohammad Aamir whose youth was destroyed because of his wrongful arrest and 14-year long incarceration."

Over the following 14 years, the darkness and isolation of Aamir's solitary high-security cell became his world even as the world outside changed unrecognisably. His father, in financial ruin and broken from failing to free his only son, died without Aamir knowing about it. His mother, struck down by a brain haemorrhage, lost her voice and became paralytic.

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Charged with terror, damned by aliases: When Aamir, now 32, finally walked free, he had been acquitted in 18 of the 20 terror cases — an astonishing acknowledgement of the lack of evidence against him. 

Indeed without a single witness in any of the cases connecting him to the blasts, the trial court — which acquitted him in 17 cases — came up with the same line on each judgment day: “there is absolutely no incriminating evidence against the accused.” The Delhi High Court which overturned one of the three cases that went into appeal said: “the prosecution has miserably failed to adduce any evidence to connect the accused appellant with the charges framed, much less prove them.” 

His case reinforces the demand for urgent police reforms. 

Syria needs diplomacy, not intervention

"If anything, the pursuit of regime change is hurting the international community's ability to end the crisis."

President Bashar al-Assad's government has used brute force to crush a genuine popular upheaval against his regime. Human rights have been systematically violated. But the crucial question is how and what steps can international society lawfully take to bring an end to the crisis. The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Syria needs diplomacy, not intervention:

The Syrian regime, however unpopular, is supported by a significant section of people. Regime change through outside intervention wreaks havoc, violates the United Nations Charter, the rules of international law, and undermines the stability of the world order. These fundamentals must not be overlooked.

Bashar al-Assad is no pushover. Diplomacy should seek his consent to a plan which leaves him in office but ensures a democratic transition. The resolution is not an aid to diplomacy but an instrument of duress. The Arab League and its Western backers were impatient on regime change.

One suspects that regime change is the main objective; human rights violations are a pretext for it. Beneath the crisis in the U.N. system lies a deeper crisis of the legitimacy of an order which is devoid of an international consensus. That can be restored only by a wide consensus.