Recently, as a member of the expert group set up by the King of Bhutan, I attended the meeting to develop gross national happiness (GNP) as a viable substitute for gross domestic product (GDP). The latter goes up when the trees are cut while the former goes down for the same act. There are many other differences between the two concepts which have triggered a worldwide debate. So
Mirror mirror on the wall, which neta is the most anti-free speech of ’em all? In the open season on muffling free speech in India, that Mamata Banerjee’s is one of the bigger silhouettes seen on that mirror often goes unnoticed. Yes, she calls people “Maoist” at the drop of a hat; yes, she has people arrested for questioning her policies (the
In an age where 22-second sound bites become the source of heated political debate and vacuous intellectual discourse, eminent sociologist Ashis Nandy’s indiscretion may seem unpardonable. Clearly, he is too old to adapt to bites-induced intellectualism, making him almost incompatible with an impatient class of social elites whose intellectual span is defined by the limits set by TV studi
The Kolkata Police’s ‘advisory’ (read ‘warning’) to Salman Rushdie to stay away from the ‘cultural capital of India’ was not based on anticipation of Muslim volatility in Kolkata (or, indeed, any other part of West Bengal): It was based purely on political exigency as the police’s bosses in the Writers’ Buildings perceived it. It had nothing
More than a month after the Delhi rape incident, much of the anger has subsided. The intervening period saw intense debates, mass protests and much collective action from different people. Two issues were emphasised repeatedly: the commodification of women by the patriarchal society and the sheer brutality of the violence leading to the death of the female victim. Both these issues however have
In a democratic country, the constitution of which promises freedom of speech, what has Shah Rukh Khan done wrong in speaking about how he felt about certain things at certain point of time in his life? Why is everybody hell-bent on accusing him of trying to establish victimhood? Why can’t his views be personal? Once those arclights are off, why can’t Khan be li
Warning: This is a politically correct report. The author does not take responsibility for any or all of the words, actions, theses, syndromes (whether actual or perceived), typecasts or typos you will come across in the words strung together to form sentences underneath this disclaimer. Warning 2: Read with a pinch, handful or bucketful of salt. Dateline: Delhi. Ti
So much has been said about Ashis Nandy’s remark about people from the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe (SC/ST) communities being the most “corrupt” that let me take a minute to recapitulate all of it. Most of those arguing for Nandy lament the loss of debate in the Indian republic. Debate, they say, is dead. Some say we are living in an illiterate society where no one can
In the global Open Budget Survey for 2012, India ranks 14 among the 100 countries surveyed. It also scored 68 out of 100 open budget index score conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP). However, India’s rank is same as it was in 2010. But on different parameters India has improved which is slightly better from 67 in 2010 to 68 in 2012. Among all the South Asia nati
At the IIM Ahmedabad campus, the Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI) organised the 10th Sattvik traditional food festival, hosted an innovation exhibition by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), and facilitated farmers’ haat for organic produce to connect producers and consumers. Around 50,000 people visited Sattvik during Decem
On Lynas’ turnaround There is nothing new, content wise. It is a huge PR exercise emerging from the (GM) industry as though Lynas’ change of heart is a game changer. That is not true at all. He was never an active GM crusader or made substantive contribution to the anti-GM debate or activism. He was mostly working in the field of climate change. He doesn&rsqu
Utpal Sharma in his dual role as special secretary IT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Principal, Dr BR Ambedkar Institute of Technology is pushing for e-governance initiatives in the UT to make sure that people enjoy technology and its benefits. Edited excerpts from his interview with Shivangi Narayan How do you handle e-governance with such glaring connectiv
When people – students and housewives, slum-dwellers and the south Delhi set – came out in the streets demanding justice for the gangrape victim, only one factor was missing in the state’s response: empathy. The first response from those elected or appointed to oversee law and order was obviously to play the blame game. When the prime minister spoke up a week later, a couple o
Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, it seems, is yet to come to terms with his present position. A strongman of the Congress’ pinch-and-cachinnate battery, he forgets his new chair hardly allows him that luxury. After his recent gaffes have invited guffaws and sparked criticisms, we hope he learns the bitter truth soon. In the eye of storm for his unwarranted comment that he h
In terms of statistics, India has perhaps solved the puzzle of primary education. The enrolments are high, according to many reports. The government is also happy securing brownie points on this issue. But, dig deeper and you will find poor quality education now becoming a huge challenge for the country. Two recent reports released in the new year highlight the sad affairs of education,
Less than a year after taking over the reins of Uttar Pradesh after his historic poll victory, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s laggard legacy comprises only this much: an ugly blame game between the horse and the cart. Yadav has held state bureaucrats responsible for the failure in implementing various projects that formed part of the Samajwadi Party`s (SP) poll manifesto prior to the ass
With an average tenure of 18 months for each chief minister since its formation in 2000, Jharkhand seems to be set to become a test subject for constitutional pundits whether small states suffering from continuous instability are a fit case for being made union territories – what with repeated the president’s rule anyways. After eight CMs in a short span of its format
What do you think of environmentalist Mark Lynas’ sudden change of heart – from being an anti-GM crusader to a pro-GM crusader? It is a renewed propaganda push to create goodwill around GM crop. This is a product that very large corporations are trying to sell. India is a very particular target because of large scale rejections (of GM crop) in Europe, many pa
Mamata Banerjee has a lot to tell everyone, every day. The general public, the voters, other political parties, political opposition (“CPM”), Maoists, conspirators, “anti-people central gorment”, “mischievous and conspiratorial media” — they all get their daily dose of homilies from the West Bengal chief minister. But it’s time Banerjee di
Some years ago, when a friend who had just been invited to provide commentary for a cricket match broke the good news at the press club, a senior journalist told him: “At least now you won’t make spelling mistakes.” Had it been the reverse, and a commentator had been offered a slot as a columnist, well might he have been told, “At least now you won’t make terrible
