Articles

By Soroor Ahmed, TwoCircles.net, While it took less than a year for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lose his magical touch, electorate of Delhi got disillusioned with the Aam Admi Party (AAP) in less than a month. From experience of hindsight, it can now be said that perhaps both the BJP and the AAP got more seats than they deserved. If the saffron brigade is losing its sheen and AAP is in turmoil, they are themselves to be blamed, as their common opponent, the Congress, has not yet recovered from the shock it got after the last year’s rout. Though it is also true that the Land Acquisition Bill has, of late, caused a groundswell of support for it.

By Dr M.Vijayanunni,

By Bhaskar Menon,

By Bhavana Akella and Sushil Kumar New Delhi : Bihar on Thursday joined the states that have banned liquor, with newly elected Chief Minister...

If not, stop Bt Brinjal: assert your right to safe food & food choices By Kavitha Kuruganti,

Genetically Modified (GM) foods are created unnaturally by taking genes from unrelated organisms and inserting them into the cells of our food plants like brinjal, rice, bhindi, tomato, cauliflower, potato etc. The science and technology of Genetic Engineering is imprecise and irreversible and is documented to cause many health and environmental impacts.

By Amulya Ganguli, Seven years after the deed was done, the new Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, has confessed that his party made a mistake by withdrawing support from the Manmohan Singh government on the India-US nuclear deal in 2008.

By Amulya Ganguli It has now become almost a routine feature of Narendra Modi's trips abroad to take a dig or two at his...

By Mahmad Sidat, Chetan Bhagat once famously said that "To be good is new cool", but reading his article published in Times of India on 22nd March 2014, it seems like "Bigotry is new cool”. The way he justifies the post Godhra violence in the name of retribution, one is reminded of the propaganda Hitler’s Minister Goebbels run in 1938 Germany.

Without acting against the architects of the 2002 pogrom, India cannot move on. Without justice, there’s no peace By Aijaz Zaka Syed,

Saffroning Kerala: Part 9 By Abdul Basith, TwoCircles.net,

By Saeed Naqvi, The world was in ideological transition when I met Nadine Gordimer in her bungalow in a Johannesburg suburb. Nelson Mandela had been released that very month after 27 years in the “White Man’s prison”. Earlier, the Soviet Union had collapsed.

By Chander Mehra, The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) insists that unless global warming is addressed, the planet promises to suffer all manner of evil. Courtesy coastal flooding and storm surges, urban populations are especially susceptible to the risk of death, injury, and disrupted livelihoods, activists say, lamenting that the Indian government, preoccupied with elections, has failed to make its stand clear.

By Shahidur Rashid Talukdar,

By Uday Salunkhe, IANS,

By Shobha Shukla, CNS The nation is abuzz with the news of Rouvanjit Rawla, a class VIII student of Kolkata’s prestigious La Martiniere School for boys, who hanged himself four months ago, reportedly unable to bear the humiliation after he was caned by his school principal Sunirmal Chakroborty, and allegedly by some other teachers as well. What was his crime?

By राजन झा नवगठित बिहार विधानसभा में अध्यक्ष के पद को लेकर महागठबंधन में आम सहमति बनाना कठिन होगा. महागठबंधन के तीनों घटक दलों कांग्रेस,...

By Ram Puniyani, The humiliating electoral defeat continues to dodge the BJP. In quick succession lot of things are happening, old pillars are crumbling, earlier cracks are on display with bigger clarity and those who joined the party in the hope of basking in the glory of power are deserting. In the process a lot of things which were slightly hidden are becoming glaringly obvious.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,

Sayeed Khan is the founder president of MY India (Muslim Youth of India). He is leading a campaign against extremism after getting disillusioned with Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Charu Bahri of TwoCircles.net spoke to him about SIMI, extremism, and future plans for MY India. Background

By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net Rajasthan: Four Kashmiri students who were allegedly thrashed and later arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of cooking beef in...

By Asghar Ali Engineer,

Book: Who Killed Karkare? The Real Face of Terrorism in India Author: SM Mushrif Price: Rs 300/ USD 25 Pages: 319 Publisher: Pharos Media (www.pharosmedia.com), New Delhi By M Zeyaul Haque, A new book curiously titled Who Killed Karkare? says a nationwide network of Hindutva terror that has its tentacles spread up to Nepal and Israel is out to destroy the India most Indians have known for ages and to remould it into some kind of Afghanistan under the Taliban.

By Harivansh Chaturvedi, The Narendra Modi government's focus on human resource development (HRD), a slew of directional measures and announcements to improve access to education, enhance quality of delivery and spur innovation in science and technology, is a breath of fresh air.

By Mohammad Sajjad, Since the year 1900, the relationship between the students and the [European] staff of the MAO College (now, AMU, Aligarh) was in deep trouble. One of the issues was food.

By Shahidur Rashid Talukdar,

By Mahtab Alam,

By Bobby Ramakant, CNS, Activists expressed their deep anguish and concern on unabated mass killings in Sri Lanka which is, as they underlined, "no short of a humanitarian disaster in northern Sri Lanka". "We also protest the covert provision of economic and military aid to Sri Lanka by Indian government which has, certainly, deeply aggravated the situation in Sri Lanka" said Dr Sandeep Pandey, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee (2002) and Convener of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM).

By Iqbal Ahmad for TwoCircles.net ''I warn you against shedding blood, indulging in it and making a habit of it, for spilled blood never sleeps.''

By Nivedita New Delhi: There is a clear shift of design sensibilities and an eye for detail in Indian consumers, especially the middle-class regarding home...

Colombo : Sri Lanka's new cabinet on Thursday vowed to amend laws to increase the number of women in local politics and state institutions. Addressing...

By Amit Kumar, TwoCircles.net Ahmedabad: The Azaadi Kooch (Azadi March) oragnised by Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti from August 5 to August 15, starting...

By Fali S Nariman, The elections in April-May, 2014 this year have put a strong majoritarian Government in power at the Centre. I welcome it. Whilst I welcome a single-party majority government, I also fear it. I fear it because of past experience with a majoritarian government in the nineteen sixties and nineteen seventies: when the then all-Congress Government had unjustifiably imposed the Internal Emergency of June 1975. And rode rough shod over the liberties of citizens.

MOSCOW. (Yevgeny Kuznetsov for RIA Novosti) - In the first month of 2008, avian flu caused by the H5N1 strain was registered at least in 12 countries - Israel, Vietnam, Britain, India, Iran, China, Egypt, Germany, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. Surprisingly, there have been no cases of avian flu in Russia, but there is a high risk of an outbreak in Russia's European South - the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories.

By TwoCircles.net news desk Misra Commission report excerpts- home page CHAPTER 9 DEMANDS FOR AMENDING CONSITUTION (SCHEDULED CASTES) ORDER 1950 Constitutional Provisions The Constitution of India does not restrict the Scheduled Castes class to any select religions. The term “Scheduled Castes” has been defined in Article 366(24) read with Article 341(1) as:

Dear Dr. Manmohan Singh, The blasts in Delhi (September 13, 2008) are another in the series of tragic blasts in which scores of people have been killed. We strongly condemn the blasts and demand a proper, unbiased investigation into the same. We demand that the guilty be punished. At the same time it seems that our investigating agencies are ignoring some thing very crucial in the matters of investigating the acts of terror.

By Ram Puniyani

By Asghar Ali Engineer,

By Brajendra Nath Singh At least one thing is sure. Call drops don't just affect the common man. Even ministers are victims of the sudden...

Saffroning Kerala: Part 6 By Abdul Basith, TwoCircles.net, Root of ‘problem’

By Jasim Mohammad,

By Amulya Ganguli, Nothing shows the weakness of the Narendra Modi government more than the fact that it gives the impression of having been spooked by Rahul Gandhi to strive for a pro-poor image. Hence, the directive to ministers to go around the country after the budget session to counter the perception that the government is anti-farmer.

By Rupa Abdi, TwoCircles.net Black was the colour of pathos, and I was submerged in it. Women dressed in black sarees and salwar kameez were beating their chests to the chant of ‘Ya Hussain’. The chorus rose to a fevered pitch followed by a sudden silence. In that momentary silence was crystallized generations of mourning. The place – a Shia Muslim neighbourhood in Lucknow; the time – the tenth of Moharrum. If grief has different shades, on can see it during Moharrum.

By Gaby Mahlberg When the European Union celebrated its 50th anniversary in March, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she intended to present a roadmap setting out how Europe should go forward before Portugal took over the EU presidency this summer. Yet, the word "constitution" was strangely absent from the speeches that marked the great occasion in Berlin. With the German EU presidency ending on June 30, the people of Europe are left wondering what has happened to the proposals to place Europe on a renewed common basis.

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam After a whole year of anti-Muslim slander campaign and sporadic violence against Muslims (to a lesser degree, against Christians as well),...

By Soroor Ahmed, TwoCircles.net, If the BJP preferred Narendra Modi over Lal Krishna Advani as its prime ministerial candidate because of the former’s young age, by that logic Mahatma Gandhi was right in not accepting the opinion of 12 out of 15 Pradesh Congress Committees to make Vallabhbhai Patel the first PM of India and opted for 14 years younger Jawaharlal Nehru.

By Mahtab Alam,

By Saeed Naqvi I was on the third floor balcony of a friend's apartment in Mehrauli, Delhi's first city. It had a commanding view...

Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday suspended its legislator Rampal Yadav for allegedly working against the party interests. Announcing the suspension,...

By Abdullah Umar, I never had this strange feeling of mixed emotions, there were tears in my eyes, yet I was smiling, there I had goose bumps, yet I was so happy. Such was the feeling, when, on 16th of May, 2014 the Supreme Court in a historic judgment acquitted all the 6 unfortunate convicts, who were alleged to have participated in the terror strike on Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar on 24th Sept, 2002.

By Manzar Imam,

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter, Bhubaneswar: National Confederation Dalit Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR) has decided to train Dalits and Adivasis in the state of Odisha to...

By Syed Ali Mujtaba, The Parliamentary elections are a mandate to govern India. The issues in these elections are common to all the Indians and are of national importance. The expectation of the common man is to know the difference in policy prescription that the political parties have on the issue concerning the nation. They want to know the unique ideas political parties have on all such common issues and how different are they from their rivals in its solutions.

By A. Faizur Rahman for TwoCircles.net,

By Vikas Datta, Some of the most memorable, enduring literature has been inspired by history's bloodiest eras - the French Revolution, trench warfare in World War I, the Spanish Civil War, the Nazi killings, the partition of India and its dangerous dislocations, the Cambodian and the Rwandan genocides and so on. But these are not only intended as harrowing records of those turbulent times but a warning against their recurrence. So is it about the Stalin era with its pervasive paranoia and fear, violent purges, mass repression, 'justice' dealt on torture-achieved confessions and denunciations, historical manipulation - and an over-arching personality cult.

By IANS,

By Md. Aziz Haider Do you know that the mammoth exercise of Census 2011 being carried out by the Government has no column for your religion, linguistic background and whether you are an OBC but demands to know if you are SC/SC, with an explicit remark that SC/SC can only be a Hindu, a Sikh or a Buddhist.

By Puneet Bedi, IANS

Justice has finally been done in the 1993 Bombay blasts cases. What about those who provided the motive for those crimes though? By Aijaz Zaka Syed,

By Imran Inamdar, TwoCircles.net Panjim, Goa: As Goa goes to polls in the beginning of next year, the Congress party has said that they would...

By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net, Guwahati: Raham Ali is a farmer in one of the most backward areas of Assam in South Salamara of Dhubri...

By K. Datta, IANS, Baichung Bhutia's men had done well enough in Hyderabad till the mud and slush at the Gachibowli Stadium became so unplayable as to force the organisers to shift the final to Delhi. They did even better on a drier, greener turf in the capital by winning the AFC Challenge Cup and qualify for the Asia Cup after 24 years.

By Shafee Ahmed Ko, TwoCircles.net, The Town of Ambur (Vellore Dist) has a devout young man whose duty, as he feels, is only to honour the great scholars in Islam and serve them to his best. He has constructed a mosque, runs schools and he feels only to hallow the name of Allah. Himself being Hafiz-e-Quran, he wishes that youngsters become Hafiz along with the modern education.

By Aijaz Afaqui, Growing up in the India of 1970s and 1980s, I often found myself debating the identity crisis facing the Muslim community with my father.

By Harish C Menon, IANS,

By Tarun Vijay, IANS, It's election time in Jammu and Kashmir and once again the politicians are divided between issues of national integration and separatism to gather votes. It's not electricity or water supply, but security of the people and declarations of equidistance from India and Pakistan that hog the electioneering, speeding up a strange competition in raising secessionist voices.

By Saeed Naqvi, "Jup raha hai aaj maala ek Hindu ki, Arab Barhaman zaade mein shaan e dilbari, aisi tau ho Hikmat e Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ki, kasam Mar mitey Islam jispey kafiri aisi to ho." (Arabs are chanting the name of a Hindu, Just look at the heart winning prince among Brahmins, Behold the statesmanship of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, World of Islam lies at the feet of this non believer, free of sins.)

मनोज मिश्र कल हमारे घर में मेरे बचपन की साथी छल्लू ने अपने जीवन के आखिरी बच्चे को जन्म दिया, छल्लू अब तक बहुत...

TwoCircles.net presents “Agenda for India”. Series editor is Charu Bahri. Challenges & Solutions According to Noor Mohammad, Director, Physical Education, Jamia Millia Islamia, “The government must look into improving and expanding the sporting infrastructure at the college and university level. At present, as institutions have to rely on their own resources, the infrastructure offered is very basic. The government should offer grants for this purpose.”

By Anand Philar, IANS, Par for the course is how one can best describe India's final position in the 7-8 bracket at the 12th men's Hockey World Cup. Ultimately, the fracas over a denied goal and consequent victory against South Africa last night did not impact India's standings in the pool, although Pakistan would have avoided playing for the 11-12 slots.

By Soroor Ahmed, TwoCircles.net,

By Mayank Chhaya, IANS, Throwing shoes during news conferences is an extreme form of editorialising which professional reporters must refrain from, especially those who are a poor shot.

By Soroor Ahmed, TwoCircles.net,

By Lulua Asaad, Vienna - When I made the decision to move to Vienna, I was unprepared for the repercussions my attitude, behaviour and opinions would have in forming and influencing European perceptions of women from Saudi Arabia, a country that is at a crossroads between modernity, globalisation, liberation, empowerment, heritage and cherished traditions.

By Veturi Srivatsa, IANS, Pakistan's most charismatic cricketer, Imran Khan, must be feeling let down by the gunmen who attacked the Sri Lankan team coach on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore's upmarket Gulburg area on the third day of the second and last Test. The former Pakistan captain has been insisting that the terrorists will never attack cricketers and implored other cricket-playing nations to visit the country without any fear. He, like many in the subcontinent, thought that cricket is like an elixir and players will not be touched by the zealots.

By Ram Puniyani,

By Ahmad Sadri Real change can result from elections in Iran as long as there is a home grown democratic heart beating within the theocratic Republic. But for how long will that be the case? Iran may not be a liberal democracy but it is certainly a far cry from those fake Democratic Republics that littered the world before 1989. A representative democracy grafted onto a theocracy, the Islamic Republic is a unique specimen in the menagerie of political systems from Uruk, Constantinople and Geneva to Athens, Philadelphia and Moscow.

By Kaneez Fathima,

By Khalid Kamal Rumi, The thumping victory of Narendra Modi led NDA in the general elections for the 16th Lok Sabha is “potentially” poised to be the best thing to have happened to the Muslims of India in the last one decade. The emphasis, in bold, is on potential here! Now it is up to the community to invest and reap richly by turning imminent challenges into opportunities. I stick my neck out here taking cue from Winston Churchill who once remarked: “a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

By Tanveer Jafri, In India while the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has started its second consecutive term, the main opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party which faced an enormous defeat this time, has not been able to come out of shock. Instead, there are daily incidents of accusations on one another within the party, for defeat in the elections.

By Parvez Alam, This is in response to the article published on 21 April 2014 in The Hindu by David B. Cohen titled, “Is India about to elect its Reagan?” Let me start with the biases of David B. Cohen first. He is ‘a great admirer of President Reagan’ and also ‘a great admirer of India’. As an American he is not ‘looking down on India’ and he is also ‘pro-India American’. To my mind his prejudices can mislead Indian voters as well as political analysts of India and US who don’t have time to turn over the pages of history about Reagan’s era.

By Dr. Mumtaz Naiyer, I hail from a place in India, where the Bengal reaches out to Bihar and the Bihar reaches out to the Bengal. You must be mapping your mind to find my place of birth and my place of belonging? Let me help you and throw a light to this place. This place, where I belong and where my soul resides is Kishanganj. It is a border area surrounded by Nepal at one side and Bangladesh at the other side. Although surrounded by two different countries it is a peaceful, quiet place.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter दिल्ली: देश में हालात अच्छे नहीं होने के कई प्रमाण हैं. नहीं कहा जा सकता कि लेखक, फिल्मकार, साहित्यकार, विचारक, वैज्ञानिक,...

By Vikas Datta, War and humour - no two words can seem as divergent. But some incorrigibles, adept in uniting the most incongruous elements, have fashioned out quite a close relationship, manifested in some unforgettable depictions of armed conflict and combatants, bringing out the heroism, but also the futility, barbarity, and above all, the absurdity. Joseph Heller's celebrated black comedy "Catch 22" (also a successful film), TV series "M*A*S*H", film "Kelly's Heroes", and Mort Walker's "Beetle Bailey" comic strip are some of the most famous examples.

फ़हमिना हुसैन, TwoCircles.net दिल्ली: रमज़ान के पाक महीने में रोज़े के साथ इबादत का मज़ा ही कुछ और है. तभी तो बड़े तो बड़े बच्चे...

Teesta Setalvad has written a new book, Beyond Doubt: A Dossier on Gandhi’s Assassination on Mahatma Gandhi’s murder. By Hillele.org, Mumbai: Hansal Mehta, Tushar Gandhi and Kumar Ketkar came together in support of Teesta Setalvad’s book Beyond Doubt: A Dossier on Gandhi’s Assassination on Monday, March 16.

By SR Darapuri, It will be apt to mention in the beginning that a comparison between Obama and Mayawati (Dalit woman Chief Minister of UP state in India) is not very appropriate because there is a world of difference between their personalities and deeds. But some over enthusiastic followers of Mayawati have started comparing them and are spreading the dictum that "if Obama can do it why cannot she?" They have started projecting her as the future Prime Minister of India. As such it becomes necessary to make an attempt to make a comparison between Obama and Mayawati.

By Amulya Ganguli, IANS,

By Rafat Nayeem Quadri, for TCN,

By Sameer Jafri,

[ Raja Muzaffar Bhat is the AAP (Aaam Aadmi Party) candidate against Farooq Abdullah for Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency ] Dr.Mohamed Ajmal For TwoCircles.net, Around 14 yrs back I joined college for my MBBS studies at Al Ameen Medical College, Bijapur. I still feel nostalgic remembering those initial days in college, the religious atmosphere at the hostel, the seniors, good and the bad, the new friendships, the ragging, etc.

By सिद्धांत मोहन, TwoCircles.net, नई दिल्ली: किरण बेदी एसयूवी की छत पर खड़े होकर लोगों को स्याही से रंगी ऊँगली और विजय चिन्ह दिखा रही हैं. वे चारों दशरथ पुत्रों की तरह भरत-मिलाप के बाद आठों दिशाओं को अपने दर्शन मुहैया करा रही है. एसयूवी के सबसे करीब एबीपी न्यूज़ का संवाददाता है, लिहाज़न एबीपी न्यूज़ का माइक कमोबेश सभी न्यूज़ चैनलों के फ्रेम में दिख रहा है. पीछे से किसी कैमरामैन के चिल्लाने की आवाज़ आती है, ‘अरे, माइकवाले’. इसके साथ माइक नीचे आ जाता है और सभी को सुलभ दर्शन होने लगते हैं. कार के बोनट से सरकते हुए किरण बेदी नीचे उतरती हैं, सारे माइक धकेलते हुए कार की अगली सीट पर आ बैठती हैं, तभी फ़िर से एबीपी न्यूज़ का कैमरा ड्राईवर की खिड़की से घुसता है, और संवाददाता कहता है – ‘मैडम, दो सवाल हैं बस’. मैडम ध्यान नहीं देती हैं, तभी इंडिया न्यूज़ का माइक फ्रेम में दिखता है और एबीपी का कैमरामैन चीख उठता है – ‘अबे, इंडिया न्यूज़’.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter नई दिल्ली: काकोरी कांड के शहीदों के 88वें शहादत दिवस पर ‘इंकलाबी जन एकजुटता’ अभियान के तहत जामिया नगर के बटला...

(Thirty years of Bhopal gas tragedy) By M.R. Narayan Swamy, "Can you go to Bhopal immediately? Something big seems to have happened. Many people have died. You can help out our local bureau and return after two or three days."

By Digvijay Singh (AICC General Secretary), After the Batla House encounter, I was shown a photograph of one of the persons killed in the encounter who had all the five bullets on top of his head. This, I felt was impossible in the event of an encounter. Therefore, I along with some other Congress leaders had met and requested the Prime Minister to order an inquiry into this encounter. The PM then referred this to the National Human Rights Commission.

By IANS, Washington : A Washington University team has developed a software that enables deaf or hard-of-hearing Americans to use sign language over a mobile phone video link. The real-time video communication between cell phones, demonstrated for the first time in the country, has evoked tremendous response from the aurally challenged since its posting on YouTube. "A lot of people are excited about this," said principal investigator Eve Riskin, a professor of electrical engineering at the Washington University (WU).

7th All India National Educational Conference concludes in Bhopal By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net, Bhopal: A two-day 7th All India National Educational Conference on the theme...

By Mohammed Ayub Khan Maulana Maududi's estranged disciple and Tanzeem-e-Islami chief Dr.Israr Ahmed appearing on the Jawabdeh program of GEO television in 2005 made some startling remarks about Indian Muslims. According to a published report of the program in the liberal Daily Times he reportedly said the following:

Mussadiq Ameen opens up his heart to the global Muslim Community. Soon after my birth, I became too busy carrying the burdens that the world loaded on me. The first burden was my studies, which I relinquished in the middle of my college days. I did realize that the scholastic education cannot take me any where if I lacked perspiration and self-effort. I was not ready to carry empty bowls in the form of degrees to beg for alms from some employees. Hardly could I find any guidance to develop me – neither my parents were capable of guiding me nor the world could stop for a while to tell me how to proceed. Therefore, I wanted to make myself. Yes! Today, I do not put any academic qualifications beside my name, but I have learnt how to be loyal to my creator (Allah); I know what is good and bad; I know how to be kind and compassionate; I know I should never follow the ways of wrong doers; I have learnt how to be a self-employed and do successful business. Thus, I begin my journey all alone – but I know the ever compassionate Lord is with me all the time guiding me from within.

By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net, A university started by a Muslim, it not only has the word ‘Muslim’ in its name, but also has a predominantly ‘Muslim’ character. And, it bars girl students from entering the University library premises as it would purportedly ‘attract’ more boys.

अफ़रोज़ आलम साहिल, TwoCircles.net मीडिया का काम दबे-कुचलों की आवाज़ बनना है, लेकिन जब मीडिया खुद ही दबा दिया जाता है तो लोकतंत्र के लिए...

By Abdul Hannan Siwani Nadvi, Keeping Lok Sabha poll 2014 in minds; political parties are busy in their campaign to grab voter's attention to secure their votes in their favour.

By Syed Ali Mujtaba,

By Vikas Datta, Mankind has always had a hankering for a more perfect, equitable society than the one they live in and many have tried to give it a shape - Plato in "The Republic", Christian theologian St Augustine with "The City of God" for his co-religionists to aspire to, and English statesman Sir Thomas More, who coined a generic name for it with his "Utopia" (1516). But as visionaries kept on dreaming of ideal societies, its converse also developed - the brutal, dehumanising "dystopia" - based on fears of increasing intrusion of the modern state into people's lives, extreme ideologies, and technological developments that could aid control - and ultimately, repression.

By Yoginder Sikand, TwoCircles.net

By M.J. Akbar, Leaders come in two cultures. One sort of leader accepts the necessity of accountability in public life. This group is in a minority. The majority follows a law, which their followers know only too well: “If we win, I get the credit; if we lose, you get the blame”.

By Amulya Ganguli, IANS That the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the paterfamilias of the ultra-nationalist Hindutva camp in India, controls the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has never been a secret. For all practical purposes, the BJP has always been the RSS's political wing rather than a party that takes its own decisions. Although a number of presidents of the BJP and its predecessor, the Jana Sangh, such as Mauli Chandra Sharma in 1954, had grumbled about the RSS's stranglehold, they had generally expressed their views behind closed doors.

By Amit Kapoor, Citizen control and takeover by companies is often pointed out as an Achilles’ heel in any capitalist society. People with leftist leanings, too often criticize free markets, citing market failure and greed as fundamental reasons for radical activism or resort to force. Not only does this position appear weak as an argument, but also appears to us as being fundamentally flawed. The reason for that is markets in our opinion expand choices and promote economic liberty for citizens.