Former prime minister Manmohan Singh had famously said that ‘minorities have the first claim on (the country’s) resources’. While this was hailed as a ‘secular’ statement, it doesn’t fit into any definition…
Category: Political
Love Jihad is more than just a Conspiracy Theory
The “Love Jihad” controversy has been generating more heat than light. NDTV’s Sreenivasan Jain weighed in with an analysis of rape numbers by community, without normalising for relative population sizes. While Rupa Subramanya critiqued…
Indian Left’s support for Palestine follows European script and history
[New Delhi: Left leaders protest against Israel’s attack on Gaza at Parliament House in New Delhi on July 18. PTI Photo by Atul Yadav] Palestine is a pivotal cause for the…
On Leadership and Government
Recently, I was privileged to hear Dr. Abdul Kalam speak at The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) event in Seattle on the topic “Entrepreneurs in a nation’s development: Vision 2020.” In the context of…
Hit Pakistan army where it hurts — its funding
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Islamabad and gave 6 million pounds (about Rs 433 million) to Pakistan’s government as a reward for the attacks on Mumbai, carried out by trained Pakistani militants….
The Crisis of Governance: What India can learn from America
We have been busy learning many a thing in adopting a Western lifestyle—among these consumerism, new means of environmental destruction and a fragmenting social structure—yet we haven’t emulated the American systems that…
The Land of Equality, Part I
In my quest far and wide for a society that had achieved equality I reached the Republic of Ladnam. At the border, there was a big arched gate made of stone. On it were…
Are Indians Corrupt?
In his recent Republic Day address, Indian president Abdul Kalam spoke about what has become a hot topic in India today. He said: “…There are only three members of the society who…
Why India Is A Nation
One of the oft-repeated urban myths that sometimes pops-up in conversation even among many educated, well meaning Indians is that India as a nation is a British creation.
The Empire Within
Sankrant Sanu responds to Arundhati Roy’s speech at the World Social Forum Dear Arundhati: I enjoyed reading your first novel. I respect some of the stands you have taken. I write this…