The Demographic Disconnect

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Since his election as the leader of the Conservative party, David Cameron has posed some searching questions for the British political terrain. With the Labour party in the middle of intense warfare over Blair's succession, the principal beneficiary of its paralysis has been Cameron. Like a prized blue chip share in a bullish market, the Cameron stock continues to soar. Last week, as he flew Jet Airways back to London after visiting India, his presence among India's political elites also unwittingly poses some revealing questions for the Indian political culture. Age is a good place to begin. David Cameron is just 39 years old - he'll turn 40 this October. Michael Howard, his predecessor was in his mid-sixties. By electing Cameron as leader, the Tories boldly jumped a generation. His youthful persona is turning out to be a vital facet of his appeal. Contrast this with the tepid....

Manmohan Singh's Surprise

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It is too soon to tell whether Manmohan Singh's robust and elegant defence of the Indo-US nuclear deal in last Thursday's debate in the Rajya Sabha marks a turning point in his prime ministerial tenure. Nonetheless, his impassioned address before the Upper House is an event of some significance. Perhaps not since Atal Behari Vajpayee's fiery parthian volley during the no-confidence motion that stymied his thirteen day government in 1996 has any other prime ministerial speech induced an equal sympathy. The prime minister's assertive intervention in the nuclear debate is important given the political background that preceded it. First, through most of the year, Manmohan Singh's isolation within the Congress party hasn't exactly been classified information. It does not take a "mole" to figure this out. In several areas of policy, some in the cabinet and in the Congress fold have had little hesitation in departing from prime....

Indo-US N-Deal: A Partnership for the 21st Century

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The monsoon session of the current parliament has been brimming with a torrent of farcical activity. As MP's groggily recover from their current obsession of excessively pouring over a raft of 'manufactured' issues such as, the comical treasure-hunt for a mole and fretting over what a breach of privilege means, some urgent domestic and foreign policy issues that deserve parliament's attention are waiting on the anvil. The prospective Indo-US nuclear deal of civil nuclear energy cooperation is one such pivotal issue. Recently, the US House of Representatives approved the US and India Nuclear Cooperation and Promotion Act 2006 by an overwhelming margin (359 to 68). It now awaits the US Senate's consideration in September. In India, a high-pitched opposition to this deal has been expectedly led by the sanctimonious leftists, an insecure SP and a shrill BJP. While the left's opposition stems from their ideological aversion....

A Requiem for the Doha Round

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The idea of a common world trade policy is a fantasy.
Trade and politics have always been intertwined. A country's trade policy cannot operate independently of its political climate and domestic pressures. Attempts to forcibly sever a country's approach to trade from its political compulsions usually end in disappointment. Seen as such, the failure of the recent Doha round of global trade talks isn't particularly surprising at all. The blame game began swiftly. Peter Mandelson, the EU's interlocutor had little hesitation in pointing the finger at the US for the impasse: "Having been mandated by heads of government at the G8 to come together to indicate further flexibility, I felt that each of us did, except the United States." Agreeing with him, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said, "Everybody put something on the table except one country..." On the other hand, Susan Schwab the US representative saw it rather....

A Midsummer's Anxiety

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The UPA government requires no second invitation to a controversy. Throughout the year, it has swaggered in a puzzled state of half-wakefulness from one entanglement to another. In the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, instead of examining the efficacy of its counter-terrorism strategy, it chose to block certain websites and deny India's burgeoning community of bloggers from exercising their freedom of expression. If ever there was an instance of misguided priorities, this must surely be it. When ministers and mandarins switch instinctively into an authoritarian mode almost like automatons, it is a reminder of the danger to liberal democracy from a capricious state. While terrorists are working diligently to challenge India's libertarian ethos, it seems that some politicians too are capable of doing their tuppence bit. Underneath the government's decision to swiftly issue a directive to internet service providers to proscribe access to certain websites....

Terror in Mumbai: Inertia is not an option

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The appalling carnage in Mumbai is a shocking reminder of the fragility of life in this age of terror. Echoing the bombings in Madrid and London last year, the evil act of targeting innocents on packed commuter trains conveys yet again, that confronting an underground network of global terrorism is an urgent challenge of our times. As Manmohan Singh attends the G-8 summit in St Petersburg, this impetus assumes more significance than ever. While Mumbai inches painfully back towards normality, the possible involvement of elements across the Wagah border in the 7/11 attack has come into the limelight. Concerns regarding Pakistan's involvement in either facilitating the infrastructure for extremist groups or deliberately omitting its gaze from such groups training within its realm continue to remain unaddressed. Importantly, these are concerns shared not just by India but by the wider international fraternity too. It is apparent that General....

Friendly Fire

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The Cause of the PM's Unhappiness
Manmohan Singh is plainly an unhappy PM this summer. When he accepted his prime ministerial brief just over two years ago, he would have anticipated that negotiating with political allies during his government's tenure would be a thorny business. However, what the good doctor perhaps failed to diagnose was that supping with his fellow congressmen might be an equally tricky bargain. Sequestered from the Congress party's working apparatus and wounded by "friendly fire", the beleaguered PM's plight is obvious. Throughout this year, the Congress party has assiduously cultivated an image of variance with prime ministerial initiatives. For example, when the price of fuel rose - triggered by the volatility of the global markets - it was expected that the opposition parties and the leftists would opportunistically agitate to make some political capital out of it. Less expected was the Congress....

The American Paradox

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At first instance, to speak of capitalism and philanthropy in the same vein might seem like an oxymoron of sorts to some, a bit like speaking of socialist landlords or military intelligence. However, the beauty of experience and reason lies in forcing us to steer ourselves away from our preconceived notions and myths toward new ideas and wider boundaries. Warren Buffett's remarkable decision to give away most of his Berkshire Hathaway fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is a stunning act of philanthropy that ought to make those often critical of capitalism pause for reflection. Beginning in July this year, the Gates Foundation will receive a tranche of Berkshire Hathaway shares annually from the "sage of Omaha". Statistics tell a revealing tale: At current valuation, his 2006 donation is worth about $1.5 bn. The overall value of Buffett's donation to the Gates foundation is estimated to....

The Global Game

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Unless you prefer a reclusive and hermetically sealed existence from the everyday occurrences around the globe, you will have noticed that the football world cup is everywhere. It is on the front and back-pages of the national dailies and tabloids, on the airwaves, on billboards and on the internet. But most importantly, it is present in our living rooms, in our animated banter at work, in classrooms and beyond. More than just an event, the world cup is a phenomenon because it captures the hearts and minds of millions across geographical borders. The compelling popularity of the game leads Kofi Annan to confess, "the word cup makes us at the UN green with envy". On the other hand, the world cup also re-ignites the debate about the conflation of sport with nationalism and the possible ill-effects of this mixture. A famous proponent of the latter thesis was George....

Public Private Partnership: A Corridor of Uncertainty?

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The Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project is swiftly turning out to be a litmus test for infrastructural projects in India. Last week marked a subdued opening of the first phase of the 111 km 6-lane "Indian autobahn". As the country's first private expressway, the Rs 2250 crore project was intended to showcase the untapped potential for infrastructural investments in India and the consequent mutual benefit to private investors, state actors and citizens. Hence, the Karnataka government's alarming effort to take-over the BMIC project sends a negative signal to prospective investors in infrastructure and undermines the necessary development of public private partnerships in India. Under a Framework Agreement executed in 1997, the promoters of the BMIC project are contractually empowered to develop the expressway and five townships between Bangalore and Mysore. It is a project that has incurred the JD(S) government's ire. In a petulant....