Ugly Antics

Karnataka's Porngate exposes political hypocrisy

Ugly Antics

The BJP and its hardcore Hindutva ally, Sri Ram Sene, have repeatedly exercised moral-policing over men and women who, in the cosmopolitan environs of Bangalore, have embraced the modern culture. But the recent event must surely highlight the hypocrisy of politicians who assume "the right to paint medieval morality onto normal social behaviour while failing to control their own proclivities."

-The Times of India, February 9, 2012 

In U.P. polls, local dalit histories vie with BSP's grand storyline

"All social communities have a history that is experienced, or perceived, or both. When political forces try to mobilise these communities, they usually do so by exploring their history and then giving it a political meaning that suits their agenda. "

When Kanshiram, founder BSP, realised that U.P. people are more influenced by cultural, mythical and identity issues, he started using the local histories of different castes to mobilise each dalit caste individually. These small histories were then put together to form a grand history of oppression and exploitation by the upper castes, which was then used in the image-making of Mayawati. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : In U.P. polls, local dalit histories vie with BSP's grand storyline. In the process, it marginalised the micro-histories of the small dalit castes.

In this U.P. Assembly elections, although development and hi-tech modernity appear to be the chief agenda of most political parties, a closer look at the political mobilisations by the various political parties shows that micro-histories of different dalit castes are once again being used for mobilising these castes individually.

The hidden histories of the various dalit castes are providing space for different political parties to mobilise them. While the BSP's effort to create a grand history and memory has served to suppress the micro identities of the small Dalit castes, other political parties are gleefully digging them out and celebrating these hidden histories for their political purposes.

Hollywood likes tree-hugging Dr. Seuss character

The Lorax, perhaps the most famous anti-industrial crusader from children's literature, is about to become a big-time corporate spokesman. The animated movie is about a creature who 'speaks for the trees' and fights rampant industrialism in a retelling of the Dr. Seuss children's book first published in 1971.

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Hollywood likes tree-hugging Dr. Seuss character: The studio is being selective about its partnerships, with a focus on planet-saving activities, like planting trees, that aren't usually the focus of children's movie campaigns.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hopes the movie will help children understand the link between saving energy and saving the environment.

Time to be realistic

According to the advance estimates of GDP growth, the economy will grow by 6.9 per cent during the current year (2011-12), sharply lower than the 8.4 per cent clocked last year. This may not be surprising but a detailed analysis of the numbers does indeed provide grounds for concern.

It may even be argued that a growth rate of almost 7 per cent is commendable given the adverse global and domestic environment. However, the signs of the slowdown continuing are discernable everywhere. The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Time to be realistic

"With the right policy reorientation — and a reform process that ensures transparency and regulation — it should be possible to revive these key sectors and post more impressive growth figures next year."

Dirty picture

Legislative proceedings are usually far from stimulating, so three Karnataka BJP ministers who were forced to resign chose a most unusual way to escape what they regarded as an arid discussion on the drought situation in the State by watching, ahem, a film clip, on one of their cell phones.

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Dirty picture: "But rather than reacting to what they did with blustering moral outrage, the incident should be used as an opportunity to expose the hypocrisy of the BJP and its aggressive fellow travellers in the Sangh Parivar, who, through their moral policing and self-styled vigilantism, regard themselves as the custodians of Indian morality."

The rot in India's scientific establishment

In a recently concluded and published report from the expert panel setup by the PM Manmohan Singh, former Isro chief Madhavan Nair was suspended from holding any critical posts in the scientific establishment, primarily due to alleged favouritism in the Antrix-Devas deal...

In the wake of such a scandal, Parsa Venkateshwar Rao analyses the entire scientific scenario of this country...

"The Antrix-Devas deal is not about corruption alone. The loss due to the favouritism shown to Devas, a company floated by a former Isro scientist to use the S-band spectrum and the commitment by Isro to build two satellites for dedicated use by Devas, is estimated at Rs2lakh crore, higher than the estimated Rs1.76 lakh crore in the 2G spectrum allocation."

The rot in India's scientific establishment

UP's voter

Seema Mustafa analyses the entire political scenario on ground-based politics and explains the strengths and weaknesses of each and every party whch is trying to gain any stake in the state elections 2012...

UP's voter is savouring her moment in the sum

Mumbai or Delhi?

Colleen Braganza compares the two giant cosmopolitans of India in terms of the women safety...

She is heavily inclined towards Mumbai in terms of offering better safety to women and she explains why in this article...

Why I feel Safer in Mumbai

'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.