(Article written in 2010) The Government of Jammu & Kashmir didn’t stop at revoking the land allotment. It actually affected status quo ante by taking over the Yatra arrangements from the Amarnath Shrine Board and placing them under the Tourism Ministry. This issue, which is tantamount to literally dismantling the Shrine Board, has somehow been […]
(This article was written in 2008 during the Birth Centenary Celebrations of the second Sarsanghachalak of the RSS PP Shri Guruji – MS Golwalkar) Three famous ideals that inspired the French Revolution i.e. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity have subsequently found place in almost all the democratic constitutions of the world including ours. Liberty and Equality […]
(Article written in 2009) For days, one TV Channel ran visuals of how the Christians have been targeted for violence in Orissa’s Kandhamal district. Several other so-called national channels too joined the chorus sufficient enough for Mombattiwalas (Candle-Light Activists) to plunge into the ring and declare that ‘entire Orissa’, if not ‘entire India’, is in […]
(Article written in 2009) It was a couple of days after the deadly Israeli attack on a Lebanese village Kfar Kana that killed scores of innocent children, on the 31st of July 2006, that the Prime Minister of Israel chose to come out with a statement. And what a statement it was! “There are no […]
RAM MADHAV (Views expressed here are personal) India probably doesn’t need another Central Agency by name NCTC – National Counter Terrorism Center – a name borrowed from the Center that has been established in the US after 9/11. As it always happens Chidambaram, as Home Minister, became enamored of the idea of replicating it in […]
Tragedy at Kumbh is shocking. May the departed souls attain Moksha. It is an uneasy feeling to know that people had to die in dozens just because of the callousness of some. This is not first time that such a big congregation is taking place in Prayag. The Kumbh last time was in 2001. There […]
We Need a New Strategic Culture India has earned the sobriquet ‘Soft State’ due to its handling of terrorism and hostile neighbours over the years. After the hanging of Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist responsible for Mumbai attacks in 2008, some commentators opined that India has now shed the image of a Soft State. Is it […]
DOES THE EUROPEAN UNION DESERVE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE? Last week in Brussels I bumped into a junior level official at the European Commission. Brussels has one of the best public transport systems – underground and overground metro, tram and bus – and our chance meeting happened in one of the overground metros. It was in […]
Every child in India should have a fundamental right to basic education. With this laudable aim the 86th Amendment of the Constitution was introduced by adding Section A to Article 21 in our Constitution in 2002 during the NDA regime. The idea was mooted originally by Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, the NDA HRD Minister. […]
It is clear now. Nobody wants the Lokpal Bill to be passed in Parliament. The ruling party has always betrayed unease at the prospect of a strong Lokpal for reasons not difficult to fathom. The Opposition, although seemed committed to the idea of an institutional mechanism to combat institutionalised corruption, is apprehensive of the motives […]
