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Showing posts from 2012

Lest We Forget

Wednesday , November 26, 2008... It was the usual winter evening, perhaps colder than today (November 26, 2012). There were guests in our house and the likes of those with whom i rarely had any interaction. Distant relatives. Sitting with my laptop, tucked under the sack, I was reading something irrelevant ( Its an insane habit), as i usually do. Clicked on the news website, for a second. Usual Process Again. A blood red strip of Breaking News flashed on my screen, that read "Firing in Mumbai, Gunbattle On" Prompting me to stream the news. Out of shear curiosity, or otherwise (Its an insane habit, of course!) It was indeed a blood drenched story. Those distant relatives , in a moment of truth, became instant acquaintances, and then friends. As the news poured in. One headline after another and the utter chaos that followed, I could not take the agony of it. Perhaps Broke Down Too Many Times. The Visuals were clear, The visuals were horrible. The visua...

Misunderstood Silence

“Hazaaron Jawabon Se Acchi Hai Meri Khamoshi, Na Jaane Kitne Sawaalon Ki Aabru Rakhe” The above couplet was recited by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to the media awaiting his word, when he was not allowed to speak in Parliament due to the constant slogan shouting and ruckus on the coal block allocation issue. Dr. Singh as a PM of the country had every constitutional right to make a statement on the coal block controversy in the Parliament. Later enroute to Delhi from the NAM summit, when asked about the opposition strategy of "paralyzing" the Parliament, he said that he has to maintain the dignity of his office and he will not indulge in a "tu-tu , main-main" duel with the opposition. There has been a widespread impression in the Indian media that Dr. Singh refrains from giving his views on issues bothering his Govt and on daily issues of Governance! In an earlier attempt I had debunked this theory by proving through statistics that the PM was ...

An Ode to India

India's First Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru  at the ramparts of Red Fort on 15th August 1947 An Ode to India - On the eve of India's 66th Independence Day - Miles To Go Before We Sleep !  India is a land of diversity and immense contradictions. The land of several races, religions, languages, cults, castes, and people! India is the land of lofty sky-kissing peaks, mighty rivers, majestic forests, mesmerizing landscapes- of deserts, of valleys, gorges, of ravines, of unknown islands, and of the surrounding oceans. India is the land of a billion desires. India is the land of rich aspiring entrepreneurs as well as the lesser mortals who toil day and night in the vast farmlands to feed India,who lift bags full of building materials to create a better India, of hundreds and thousands of factory workers who work tirelessly to strengthen it. India is a land of millions of individuals who travel in thousands of buses and trains daily to earn their daily bread. Ind...

Democracy Delivers it !

        It has been an extraordinary intellectual journey as a student of politics. The charade has ended. Indian Democracy emerges victorious. Yet Again. Winston Churchill   has been quoted in countless history books lampooning Indians (on the eve of their Independence) saying "Power will go to the hands of , rogues and freebooters. All Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles." In Modern India of 2012, This is far from true. I have no doubt whatsoever that there have been shortcomings. Some Big, Some Small. There has been rampant Corruption, Communalism and Casteism (The Big C's ) in our socio-politico-economic existence. But when one sees the larger canvas, there is undoubtedly a feeling of sheer pride. A small sense of achievement in the eyes of every Indian. Democracy is Collective...