Death is an inevitable consequence of birth and evokes as much a sense of mystery as it inspires awe and fear. In the Kathopanishad, Nachiketa considers knowledge of death and the beyond as the only truth. The idea of invoking death by choice, or ichchhamaran, is unique to the Indian ethos. But it has taken decades of struggle to legalise the idea of a ‘living will’ (which sets out
The supreme court’s recent ruling on the right of a person to make a ‘living will’ has underlined the inevitable. The petition, filed by registered society Common Cause, was about the right of a person to decide on the chain of events that would determine the future course of treatment should that person become incapable of making such a decision. In the unanimous judgment by
How did the agriculture sector go into crisis? There was distress for quite some time. The situation improved from 2004 to 2011. Since 2011 conditions have been bad for farmers. Some kind of stress was building up; still, it was not a crisis-like situation. But when this government took over, a series of events happened and the situation worsened rapidly. We are seeing t
In the early 1970s, during a talent hunt show organised by Gramophone Company of India, legendary singer Begum Akhtar gave a pat on the back to a young contestant.“Riyaz karo, bahot aage jaogi,” she told the girl. The same girl went on to become a highly acclaimed and popular folk singer who is fondly called Bihar Kokila: Sharda Sinha. She has been a recipient of Padma Bhushan (
In India, every election is unique in its own way. Each can be called a trendsetter for future politics, although the reality is that an election often resets established political equations. Those who think that the Karnataka Assembly election, to be held on May 12, will set the tone for national politics are bound to be overwhelmed by the next set of political calculations that may emerge fro
Manish Kumar, a 1991 batch IAS officer, heads National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), and thus is driving the skill development mission of the Modi government. Earlier, he was the country coordinator and senior institution development economist, water & sanitation program (WSP), water global practice, at the World Bank. He has also held leadership positions with the government of
For quite some time now there has been a lot of talk and focus of the government on the ease of doing business. Recently, the World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report showcased the progress India has made by making a 30-point jump in its rank. Though there are about a 100 countries performing better than us, yet the improvement is significant. Similar efforts are being made by the states t
What is Narendra Modi’s biggest electoral success during the current term as prime minister? At first blush, most would say the Uttar Pradesh victory. That would be looking at the obvious (UP is the heart of the Hindi heartland) and at mere numbers (it has the maximum Lok Sabha seats). Yes, it was a tough fight, it came past the mid-way mark of his term, and regaining the state with mammo
Like our jails, our correction centres for juvenile offenders are hardly conducive to bringing about positive change. No one will dispute the fact that an underaged criminal, especially if he or she is a first-timer, needs to be given a chance to reform, however heinous the crime. Unfortunately, society’s ideas of justice are so linked to punishing the offender that we do not give a chanc
In the post-Modi phase of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani is the first BJP leader to lead the party in assembly elections and seek a fresh mandate. The results in December were rather underwhelming as the BJP managed to win only 99 seats, down from 115, in the 182-member house. Yet, the BJP can take solace from the fact that it succeeded in countering anti-incumbency after more than two decades of
His green turban and bulky body used to define his persona. Raj Narain was not an ordinary leader. For his political adversaries, he was a foe who would ignite terror in their hearts. In the 1970-80s, many had learnt the lesson that it would be a mistake to cross paths with the Lok Bandhu, as he was popularly known.
Through a curt two-paragraph letter on December 11, 2017, Rajeev Dhavan, senior advocate of the supreme court, informed chief justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra about his decision to quit legal
Just a few months before the Lok Sabha elections of 2004, the BJP had held its national executive in Hyderabad to chart out the future course of action. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu was then the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. He was at the peak of his popularity as a "cyber CM" and had a certain flamboyance that literally intimidated friends and foes alike.
The preface of the current Economic Survey concludes with the words of TS Eliot: “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice”, which is highly apt considering the change in narrative from the last year’s Survey. For example, while last year’s survey portrayed demonetisation as an impet
Modern banking in India is just about 250 years old. In the interim, we have witnessed dozens of crises, scams and scandals of varying degrees. In many cases, dozens, even more, banks failed. The reasons for the runs on the banks, or their subsequent ‘saviour’ decisions, were many. But ironically, and possibly not coincidentally, two themes have been recurring for at least 150 years
Political seismology is an inexact science. Underneath the social sea, tectonic shifts happen as silently and stealthily as you can get. Any effort to predict it often brings grief to Mr Know-All of politics. The scenario unfolding in Uttar Pradesh conforms to this thesis. The coming together of the SP-BSP in the by-elections for two Lok Sabha seats, Phulpur and Gorakhpur,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Agartala in December 2014 to dedicate the second unit of ONGC`s Palatana to the nation. People gathered in large numbers to listen to him. Invited to the ceremony was Tawfique-e-Elahi Choudhury, advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had helped in setting up the plant by allowing transshipment of equipment via Bangladesh. The h
My greetings and good wishes to the aspirants for the UPSC civil services examination. Every year a large number of young women and men apply for the thousand-plus civil service slots, after serious preparation, in many cases for years. In the pre-independence days, government service was the most coveted occupation; naturally entry into the ICS was a crowning achievement. However, the state ci
Prime minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman are in the midst of one direct attack, one insidious insinuation and a special kind of offensive. These concerted actions have emerged after both firmly showed their hand and spoke their mind on going down the indigenous path for most of India’s long-term defence needs. The decision to order 83 Tejas Mk1A aircraft, pro
Diagnosing what ails India’s governance, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar used to name three units or offices that are so corrupted that they are beyond redemption: village patwaris, police station darogas and Railways ticket collectors. In his stint as executive head of Bihar, he seems to have included one more category in this list: bank employees. And Nitish Kumar was e
