There has been considerable confusion about the now-infamous 123 Agreement, with the Left parties threatening to bring down the government if it goes ahead with the deal. For long, I wondered what was so wrong with the deal that it threatened the longevity of the government. Finally, I lost patience with all this politicking and…
Category: Politics
Journalism…or is it simply business?
A few days ago, we were told, by television news channels, that one Delhi schoolteacher was selling her students off for prostitution. We were all suitably shocked and outraged at the news. Teachers are supposed to be seconds parents. We were justifiably furious at this teacher whose actions went against all norms of humanity. Then,…
Chak de…India!!
Today, I watched a movie. Nothing special about that. But, the movie in itself was rather special. Those in India must have heard of Chak de…India, a movie with Shahrukh Khan in the lead. To cut a long story short, the movie was worth watching. More on that a little later. Before that, I would…
Bihari is not a bad word…but Madrasi?
Yesterday, The Hindu published an article on its Open Page titled, “Musings of a Bihari“, in which the author, Mayank Rasu laments the bad name politicians like Laloo have earned for Bihar. So far, so good. What got my attention, and subsequently, made me angry, was the veiled reference to the apparent disloyalty of Tamil…
Temple of gold?
This morning, NDTV, or was it CNN-IBN, ran a news story about the consecration of a new temple in Sripuram near Vellore in Tamil Nadu. So, what’s the fuss, you may ask. The fuss is that the said temple is built using 1.5 tonnes of gold. Yes, you read that right. 1.5 tonnes of gold….
Freedom of expression and religious sentiment
This is a continuation of my previous post on the attack on Taslima Nasreen. As I said before, the attack is simply outrageous. So, you can imagine my outrage and disgust when I read that the Hyderabad has slapped a case against Ms. Nasreen for hurting Muslims’ religious sentiments. The way the Hyderabad police is…
Right to free speech?
Yesterday’s attack on controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen speaks volumes about the increasing intolerance in Indian society. We, as Indians, pat ourselves on the back about democratic tradition in our beloved homeland and pride ourselves on the inherent tolerance of the Indian people. But, where has that tolerance gone now? Ms. Nasreen was in Hyderabad…
Journalism and the case against Dr. Haneef
The case against Dr. Haneef has finally ended. He is back home in the safe haven of his home country. Nobody can throw him in prison for being present illegally. But, during my three-day stay in Bangalore, I noticed something about the way the media has handled the case. My case against the media is…
Farewell, President Kalam
This morning, I was watching the news on CNN-IBN. One report was on President Kalam’s last day in office. Tomorrow, the President-elect, Mrs. Pratibha Patil will be sworn in as President. On this occasion, CNN-IBN interviewed children in schools all over India to find out how they feel about the change of guard at Rashtrapati…
Electing a President…
Electing a president for the world’s largest democracy seems to be getting more and more difficult. We have come a long way since the choice of a presidential candidate was reached through consensus among the largest political parties. The election of Ms. Patil seems to be getting dirtier and dirtier every day. Her candidature, which…