Great of India and FBI !

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It was a hazy evening on the highway and suddenly a swanky SUV arrived from nowhere and came to a screeching halt in front of my car. Knowing Delhiites' penchant for mowing down those who challenge, I did not raise my voice but my wait in that police check post was agonisingly long and I noticed that something 'unusual' was going on as there were shouts and screams around the vehicle ahead of my car. Nothing else to do I was staring at the back of the vehicle to read "Great of India" on the number plate and wondered if it was one of those misguided patriotic sentiments or one of the ingenuities of Indian brain? After a few seconds, the SUV disappeared from the scene and it was my turn and I innocently asked the policemen manning the check-post, "kya hua tha?" One of them....

Incognito and Indian democracy

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I sometime wonder if the Indian ruling class knows about the existence of a wonderful 'tool' called 'incognito' which, should they prefer to use, I believe, would, in a small way, contribute to the betterment of governance in this country. Of late a sort of pessimism is gaining currency that those who are in power remain aloof from the ground reality and let the neo-elites corner all the benefits meant for the poor and powerless. It is always expected of governments to stay ahead to face challenges and they should not hesitate to adopt unconventional methods and out-of-the-box ideas to get to the bottom of the problem. While going incognito may be termed impractical and childish in a country like as big and complex as ours, there is nothing wrong in giving it a try. The Indian mythological stories contain innumerable such stories and our....

Has clash of civilization arrived?

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What is the right balance between expression of religious belief and national values? Is Europe suffering from xenophobia in the name of secularism? Will forcing the women not to wear burqa ensure more freedom and more dignity? These are some of the questions that come to the fore when the governments of many European countries ponder over banning burqa, or niqab, or when minarets fail to find a place on Swiss mosques. These fissures, to the utter discomfort of many, prove that conflict between civilizations has really come to occupy the centre-stage in the modern world. A civilisation is a cultural entity. Villages, regions, ethnic groups, nationalities, religious groups, all have distinct cultures at different levels of cultural heterogeneity. With blurring of boundaries because of increased economic cooperation amongst many nations and modern communication technologies the different societies and cultures are forced to live together and share....

Has clash of civilization arrived?

0

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What is the right balance between expression of religious belief and national values? Is Europe suffering from xenophobia in the name of secularism? Will forcing the women not to wear burqa ensure more freedom and more dignity? These are some of the questions come to the fore when the governments of many European countries ponder over banning burqa, or niqab, or when minarets fail to find place on Swiss mosques. These fissures, to the utter discomfort of many, prove that conflict between civilizations has really come to occupy the centre stage in the modern world. A civilization is a cultural entity. Villages, regions, ethnic groups, nationalities, religious groups, all have distinct cultures at different levels of cultural heterogeneity. With blurring of boundaries because of increased economic cooperation amongst many nations and modern communication technologies the different societies and cultures are forced to live together and share their....

What ails the Indian Railways

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If they say that "only change is the constant" I don't think this is true of the Indian Railways because it's more than 150 years old but is still not in a position to provide basic and dignified service to its core customers - the passengers. The lifeline called Indian Railways may qualify to be a better mover of goods and parcels but not definitely an amiable passenger rail service. A railway station in India would invariably present a picture of neglect with unattended urinals, with human excreta strewn all over the place, tobacco stains, mounts of garbage, stray animals, beggars, touts and cheats. The rolling stock is no different with coaches meant for the last century, dilapidated coaches, lack of even basic facilities such as uninterrupted water supply, food and other essential items, unhygienic coaches and with no real research and development to cater to a growing modern....

My moment of truth unveiled on TV!

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It's an expensive-looking studio and as the cameras are set to roll I look tense. The anchor asks me to introduce myself while I struggle to settle on the hot seat. "I'm Sachay Kumar Singh, a former lawmaker, and let me introduce my friends who are seated behind me - Shri Gupta, a retired government official, Shri Meena, a contractor, Smt Khanna, the wife of a famous businessman and, lastly, Shri Yadav, a party colleague". Satisfied, the anchor moves to the question round after explaining the rules of the game. He religiously goes through the motion starting with the terms and conditions of the show, "Dr. Singh, you may want to leave the show at any point of time and choose not to answer the questions which you do not feel comfortable. And your friends too have an option of stopping you from answering one question in....

Why our new MPs need to worry about population boom

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Now that Independent India is more than 60 years old and with the General Elections round the corner to elect the 15th Lok Sabha, it should no longer be wishful thinking if Indians expect their leaders to set and deliver meaningful agenda for governance for the next five years. There are many challenges facing India and none is too bigger than the population explosion. If our rulers have any semblance of foresight, they should focus their attention on this much-neglected and much-ridiculed idea of population control before it pulls down the entire edifice. They should not shy away from doing something on this front merely because it is neither popular nor going to reward in electoral terms. They should not look at the problem with any religion or community in mind. The magnitude of the annual increase in population can be seen from the fact that India....

Internal Democracy in Indian Political Parties

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Benjamin Disraeli, England's first and only Jewish prime minister, once said, "in a progressive country change is constant; change is inevitable" but I don't think this applies to Indian politics because the scourge of nepotism has never left the centrestage of Indian politics and it's constant. In our childhood days when we were told about India's "unity in diversity" I'm sure we would never have understood the full extent of the meaning of the phrase but now, thanks to omnipotent "nepotism" in Indian politics, our education system has yet another example to teach our children about India's "unity in diversity". From Abdullhas in Kashmir to Karunanidhis in Tamil Nadu our politicians are one in perpetrating "nepotism' and it's not an exaggeration if we claim this gene of nepotism runs in every Indian's blood - the length and breadth across India! Like many of the ill-wills afflicting this....

Nothing secular about pseudo-secularism

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In India the debate between secularism and pseudo-secularism is never ending but let's for a moment pause and have a look at where we stand today. The word "secular" was inserted into the Preamble of our Constitution by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, during the Emergency in India. It implies equality of all religions and religious tolerance. In other words, India does not have an official state religion. Every person has the right to preach, practice and propagate any religion they choose. The government must not favour or discriminate against any religion. It must treat all religions with equal respect. All citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs are equal in the eyes of law. Let's now come to understand the term 'pseudo-secularism'. It is the state of implicit non-secular trends in the face of pledged secularism. The term is used by groups who perceive a double standard....