Manmohan Singh’s peace gamble: vision confronts reality
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS,
Considering the ease with which anti-Pakistani feelings can be ratcheted up in India by the opposition parties and sections of the media, it takes a great deal of courage to try to reduce tension and move towards peace. In this respect, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's initiatives in Sharm-el-Sheikh were a bolder venture than even Atal Bihari Vajpayee's bus journey to Lahore a decade ago.
Media causing undue public anxiety about swine flu
By Girish Bhaskar, IANS,
What started as an epidemic of swine flu in Mexico in March 2009 has now spread to 100 countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been alerting countries for the past eight years to get prepared for a major influenza outbreak. It seems to have finally arrived.
Revival of India’s merchandise exports on the horizon
By Sushma Ramachandran, IANS,
The outlook for India's merchandise exports now looks set to improve over the next few months, giving rise to hopes that a positive growth will finally be recorded by January 2010. The exports data for September clearly shows that the rate of decline has dropped considerably, even as global demand has picked up.
Violent Aligarh protests kill Sir Syed’s mission
By Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad,
When Sir Syed stood up as a harbinger of Muslim Renaissance by contributing his efforts in the field of education, he earned the wrath of status quoists who never wished that their grip over the common illiterate masses be loosened resulting in the loss of their followers and hero worshippers.
The Future of Islam
By Youssef Chouhoud
According to a recent Gallup poll, a majority of Americans still have little to no knowledge of Islam's basic tenets. More disheartening, if not outright frightening, is that even given this avowed lack of knowledge, a sizeable percentage of US citizens nonetheless maintain a negative perception of Muslims.
Fighting extremism in a suit and tie
By Alfred Hackensberger
Less than two weeks after the death of Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appointed Tantawi's successor to the most senior post at the 1,000-year-old university, the oldest and most revered seat of learning for many Sunni Muslims.
Ahmed al-Tayyib, the former Grand Mufti of Egypt, has assumed the position of highest religious authority in the country, one which sets the tone for Sunnis the world over. Approximately 90 per cent of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims are Sunnis.
Masses swayed by sensational media gossips
By Zohra Javed,
In the recent times media’s love for sensationalism has been boundless. Supposedly serious print and electronic media have also gone crazy and over-board with gossip and inconsequential news items like M F Husain insulting the Hindu sentiment, Taslima Nasreen hurting the Muslim ego, Amitabh Bachchan and the Maharashtra CM in a silly controversy, Sania Mirza to marry Shoaib Malik. Such trivias are blown up to larger than life size and days and weeks are wasted in going over their details.
From jihad to ijtihad
By Asghar Ali Engineer,
‘JIHAD’, with its imbued wrong meaning, became a notorious word in the West after 9/11. Terror now has an overwhelming presence in parts of the Muslim world, including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. Violence there seems at times to be out of control as it is Muslims themselves who are targeted by terrorists.
The creative genius who bore suffering silently
By Sankar, IANS,
Six feet two inches in height, Rabindranath Tagore had to strive hard to hold his head high. The 14th child in a family of 15, he alone was sufficient reason why India should not worry too much about family planning. And 150 years after his birth, he continues to grow in stature as the subcontinent's greatest creative genius.
Those who know many languages claim he has no equal anywhere on earth. The issue is not whether he is the Mt. Everest, but, say after another 150 years, will anybody believe that such a man ever walked this earth?
Gunning for Mulayam: How wise a step it is?
By Soroor Ahmed, TwoCircles.net,
Political parties in Uttar Pradesh strongly criticized Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav after he publicly apologized before Muslims for roping in former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh at the time of election. For his opponents it may be a correct action as this is what politics is all about.
TB Alliance Launches First Clinical Trial of a Novel TB Drug Regimen
By Shobha Shukla - CNS,
Thrills, frills, colours and fun on bookshelf (IANS Books this Week)
By IANS,
New Delhi: The bookcart this week is overpowering - by its sheer strength of drama. Browse with IANS...
Sermons against misuse of Eid related tours, this time serves the purpose
By Abdul Basith, TwoCircles.net,
Two approaches to justice in Bombay
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,
The rise of extremist Buddhism in Sri Lanka
By Christine Nayagam, IANS,
Suddenly, a group of monks, with heads clean shaven and wearing saffron & red robes, emerge out of nowhere on...
Impact of flattening yield curve of US bonds
By Vatsal Srivastava,
In her last press conference after the minutes of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) were released, the Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen said interest rates would start rising six months after the quantitative easing (QE) program completely winds down. Bond market traders have had to adjust their positions accordingly as the rate hike is now being priced much earlier than it was previously expected. Market expectations are for the first rate hike to occur somewhere around May-June 2015.
Congress prepares for defeat, as smaller parties build castles around it
By Saeed Naqvi,
I thought election 2014 would come with nailbiting suspense until I turned up at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club on Mathura Road where the Congress whiz kid from Chicago, Sam Pitroda, was holding court in a Tarpauline Tent which looked like a parking lot for camels.
What Indians expect from PM Modi
By Syed Ali Mujtaba,
The landslide victory of Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of its Prime Ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi is one of the most fascinating stories in the recent electoral history. Defying all odds and silencing all its critics, Narendra Modi, romp to victory symbolizing the aspirations of millions of Indians that desperately wanted a change in leadership and style of governance.
Jaitley sporting enough to think of Indian sport
By Veturi Srivatsa,
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is, perhaps, the first finance minister who paused during his "Super" budget speech to talk of the needs of Indian sport and also doled out fat sums to the youth affairs and sports ministry in his budget allocation.
Varanasi, India’s oldest city, desperately needs a makeover
By Karishma Saurabh Kalita ,
You would be forgiven if you thought that Varanasi, one of the oldest cities known to man, which is now...
Wagah attack aimed at derailing Indo-Pak, SAARC processes
By Saroj Mohanty,
The retreat ceremony at the Wagah land crossing, the main immigration and trade point between India and Pakistan, has been taking place daily since 1959. Soldiers on both sides stomp around in a synchronized drill that climaxes in a shutting of the double gates, while crowds gather on either side to watch the show. Their increasing numbers signify the curiosity to see each other in person and connect as travel and trade between the two neighbours remain highly restricted, despite some opening in recent years.
India’s ambivalence on China can derail regional groupings
By Subir Bhaumik,
A senior diplomat recently told a seminar in Kolkata that India joins too many regional groupings, some of them overlapping, and then not doing anything worthwhile to carry forward their intended agendas. The message from this former ambassdor to three countries was clear: Only when convinced it will benefit India should we join a grouping - and that with a clear roadmap and leveraging it for Indian interests.
Can Indian cricketers buck the trend in Australia?
By Veturi Srivatsa,
The entire cricket world is waiting with bated breath to see the first bouncer bowled in the India-Australia Test series after a short-pitched delivery fatally felled Phillip Hughes at the Sydney Cricket Ground barely two weeks ago.
Sri Lanka verdict a slap for Tamil extremists
By M.R. Narayan Swamy,
It may sound bizarre but the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka's presidential battle is a huge slap for LTTE supporters who had called for an election boycott by Tamils.
Hardcore supporters of the militarily vanquished Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the West wanted Tamils living in the north and east of the island to stay away from the Jan 8 election.
Can Internet be allowed to spell death for the unborn girl child?
By Satish Agnihotri,
The low and declining sex ratio in the country is no longer a subject matter of debate or doubt. The child (0-6 years) sex ratio has declined from 962 in 1981 to 945 in 1991, 927 in 2001 and to 918 in 2011. If we had the same sex ratio in 2011 as in 1981 we would have had 3.9 million more girls. This is the number of girl children that have been eliminated. The danger is real and present and needs urgent response.
Dynastic politics does not go well with democracy: Kuldip Nayar
By Prashant Sood
New Delhi: India is unlikely to see the imposition of another Emergency due to changes made in the Constitution and people being...
Prime Minister needs to speak up on beef killing
By Tajinder Bains
The brutal killing of a man in Bisada village in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, not far from the Indian capital, on suspicion...
What is in BJP’s CD: script in Hindi
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Third anniversary of a jaded government
By Amulya Ganguli
Unlike at the time of its first and second anniversaries, the Manmohan Singh government appears jaded and weighed down with multiple burdens as it completes its third year in office.
First click for NRI Investors
By Kul Bhushan
When an NRI wants to invest in India, what is his first step? Look for opportunities in India through different government bodies promised as 'a one-stop shop'. As if all the existing bodies to attract investment were not enough, the ministry for overseas Indians launched a new one last week - the Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC).
Rise of the Hindu Taliban?
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS
Even as the veiled women fundamentalists of a religious seminary in Islamabad are threatening video shop owners and setting a deadline for the introduction of Shariah laws in Pakistan, their Hindu counterparts in India have also become active, underlining a retrogressive tendency towards the Talibanization of the entire subcontinent.
Islam and inter-faith engagement
By Asghar Ali Engineer
Islam is being projected as intolerant of other faiths. This perception of Islam is based on certain selected events, not on Qur’anic teachings or Prophet’s ahadith. It is one thing to judge a religion by its teachings and another to see it in the light of some instances of intolerance by some individuals. Also, such events are picked up selectively to suit certain assumptions, often politically motivated.
Indo-US Nuke Deal In Line of Fire
By Syed Ali Mujtaba, TwoCircles.net
"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a traitor who has betrayed the nation by continuous bluffing on the Indo-US nuclear deal. Had an American President done that he would have been removed, if it were in China they would have settled it with one bullet in his head." These comments are made by the NDA convener and opposition leader George Fernandes.
Fernandes comments have sparked off a fierce debate in the country, whether Indo-US nuclear deal is in India's interest or it undermines the national sovereignty.
September 29: Musharraf’s Day of Blunders
By Nasim Zehra, IANS
The legal 'home-run' handed down to General Pervez Musharraf was never going to translate into immediate political gain. But the Musharraf government seems to have become adept at aggravating its political problems by its own blunders.
If Sep 28 brought some respite for the Musharraf camp, Sep 29 should have been a day of serious remorse and reflection. The dominant reality of the day was the unfettered application of brutal force by the police on protesting lawyers and on journalists reporting the protests.
Indian American in White House! Why not?
By Kul Bhushan, IANS
While celebrating the election of Bobby Jindal as the governor of Louisiana, many Indian Americans are beginning to ask, "Why not an Indian American in the White House?"
Ashok 'Rocky' Madan writes from California, "The White House is not far now!"
Straddling the world of words in India
By Roswitha Joshi, IANS
Recently a German nephew visited me in Delhi and after listening to a conversation between my Indian husband and myself was surprised that we switch effortlessly between three languages, namely English, German and Hindi. He then asked me whether we do it for any particular reason. And I spontaneously replied: "No. In fact, I had not even been aware of these switches. They have become so normal."
Can journalism keep pace with India’s mushrooming media?
By Sevanti Ninan, IANS
India is on an extraordinary media proliferation spree. Delhi just got its 14th morning daily in English, the tabloid Mail Today. New TV channels have been surfacing at the rate of two a month, and eight more are in the queue to make their debut in the next few months, we are told.
Is the government underestimating the Maoist threat?
By P.V. Ramana, IANS
In a daring raid, believed to be codenamed Operation 22, guerrillas of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) looted 1,100 weapons -including pistols, Self Loading Rifles, AK and INSAS rifles and Light Machine Guns (LMGs) - Feb 15 night in Orissa's newly carved-out Nayagarh district.
The town was seized for approximately two-and-a-half hours. Those familiar with the Maoist method of organising fighters and weapons think the rebels would be easily able to raise three battalions, given the number of weapons looted.
Saddest day for Indian hockey
By Pargat Singh, IANS
It must surely rank as the saddest day in Indian hockey, maybe even for Indian sport. For years we have clung to the hope that hockey will one day bring us the Olympic gold as it once did for decades at a stretch. Reaching a situation where we needed to qualify to play in the Olympics was painful enough; now we have a situation where we will not even be playing at the Beijing Olympics. That was really unthinkable. Now it is true.
Has India let down its spies?
By Maloy Krishna Dhar, IANS
The media has often accused the Indian government of neglecting spies once their cover is blown. The reality is that intelligence agencies take full responsibility of locating, cultivating and, if possible, retrieving highly prized agents as opposed to others who pass off as spies.
Col. B. Bhattachariya, arrested in East Pakistan from a border region, attained national attention because of the war-like situation between India and Pakistan in the early 1960s. Bhattachariya was a spymaster and not a spy.
Iranian film shows that tragedy breaks down barriers
By Vanessa Arrington and Kowsar Gowhari
The film Bam 6.6 weaves the drama of Tobb and Adele, a Jewish-American, with other accounts of the catastrophic natural disaster that killed more than 40,000 people and destroyed 90 percent of the buildings in the historic city of Bam, which means "high place", in southern Iran. It goes beyond the tale of these two Americans and other survivors, however, to show how quickly divisions of nationality and politics break down in the face of major tragedy.
Advani’s memoirs – raising more questions than answers
By Monobina Gupta, IANS
L.K Advani's walk down memory lane is proving to be too bumpy for comfort. The release of his memoirs "My Country, My Life", coming close on the heels of the launch of his prime ministerial candidature by his party has opened up an unexpected can of worms.
The flood of controversy threatening to swamp the author has come at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was all revved up to answer the final call. He had finally got the backing of his party for the top job in the country that he had been eyeing for long.
NDA should rise above parochial concerns on nuclear issue
By K. Subrahmanyam, IANS
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is justifiably very proud of conducting the Shakti tests and declaring India a nuclear weapon power. It was so possessive of this claim for quite some time after the tests that the NDA leadership was reluctant to give the credit for having developed the nuclear weapons to the Congress prime ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao.
Ahmadinejad’s visit – India intensifies global energy game
By John Stanly, IANS,
Iranian President Mohammad Ahmadinejad's brief but significant visit to India and his cautious criticism against the "bullying" policies of the "rulers of the world" (read the US and its European allies) make one point clear - New Delhi has finally come out of its strategic confusion.
Terrorism: A Political Cancer
Ram Puniyani,
The blasts in Jaipur (13th May 2008), have once again brought to fore the grim reality of global and local political scenario. In a short span of time close to hundred innocent lives were lost. What was heartwarming was the calm with which the society handled this grim tragedy. The amity with which the post blast situation was handled certainly needs million respectful salutes.
Will the contradict the diver?
By Mamoun Fandy,
The visit of US President George Bush to the region and the realisation of the two-state solution are governed by four determinants of which anyone interested in the peace process should not loose sight.
The first determinant is the time limit attached to President Bush's departure from the White House in eight months. Is this long enough for the US Administration to establish a Palestinian state? Will the remaining time be sufficient to establish a Palestinian state, even under international supervision in the manner of the independence of Kosovo?
Surviving the Turkish political minefield
By Diba Nigar Goksel, CGNews,
Two weeks ago, the Turkish police detained an additional round of suspects for their affiliation with Ergenekon, described as a mafia-like gang of largely ultra-nationalist Turks, many of whom are linked to various state institutions. It is rumoured that they are plotting to bring down the government through a bevy of methods, ranging from creating chaos to staging a military coup.
Straightening the pictures
By Aygül Cizmecioglu, CGNews,
Perfect weather in Berlin – the sky is a brilliant blue, and it is pleasantly warm. Rather than enjoying the sun at one of the street cafes, however, dozens of camera people, photographers, and politicians push their way through Saxony's State Mission.
For peace in Nagaland, dialogue among Nagas must succeed
By Sanjoy Hazarika,
For months, the fragile peace in the Naga Hills has been shattered by internecine conflict. This is ironical because the ceasefires between the government of India and its armed forces, including the paramilitary, and the two factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (or Nagaland) -- the group led by Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah and that headed by S.S. Khaplang -- remain in place.
Asif Zardari as next Pakistani president: Hope and Despondency
By C. Uday Bhaskar, IANS,
Pakistan is scheduled to elect its next president on Sep 6 after the resignation of General Pervez Musharraf from that office on Aug 18. From current evidence, it appears that Asif Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), will emerge victorious in the three-way contest. Given his dramatic rise from what the Pakistan media has characterised as "playboy to first husband" - and later "Mr. 10 percent" - to grieving widower of Benazir Bhutto, Zardari is now a few days away from the highest constitutional office in Pakistan.
Hindu intellectuals’ take on terrorism, serial blasts
By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: It is not that only Muslims are critical of probes of serial bombings and terrorist attacks in the country and media coverage thereof; there is a big silent majority that includes Hindu intellectuals who have the similar views.
TwoCircles.net talked to some academicians and intellectuals in Delhi, Patna and Bangalore to get their views on the probes of serial blasts, spread of terrorism, faltering judicial system and vanishing journalistic ethics.
Has China finally shut the door on Dalai Lama?
By Mayank Chhaya, IANS,
The door has been peremptorily shut on the Dalai Lama's quest for a "middle path" peaceful solution to the over five-decade-old Tibet dispute with China accusing him of seeking "ethnic cleansing" across the region.
Pakistan ruling elite caught in intrigue and denials
By C. Uday Bhaskar, IANS,
US vice president-elect Jo Biden made a low profile visit to Islamabad last week - two days after Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sacked his National Security Adviser (NSA) Mehmood Ali Durrani Jan 7.
Durrani, earlier military assistant to ex military dictator Gen. Zia-ul-Haque and held in high esteem by Benazir Bhutto, was a close confidant of former army ruler Pervez Musharraf and in 2007 had engineered the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-Musharraf rapprochement. It is understood that he was hand-picked by President Asif Zardari to be the NSA.
Election Commission row can cause its credibility serious damage
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS,
The Election Commission, like the judiciary, has been a symbol of India's success as a democracy in a region of authoritarianism, unstable popular governments under the thumb of military juntas or embroiled in civil strife.
Hated and admired, Goody was reality TV’s shooting star
By IANS,
London : Jade Goody was the ultimate reality television star. From shooting to villainy for her racial barbs against a Bollywood actress to becoming an icon of courage in her last moments, the 27-year-old Briton chose a life that would put small screen dramas to shame.
Not many people grow up overnight, right in front of us, on our TV sets, the way she did. Before her cervical cancer finally consumed her early Sunday she seemed to have made peace with her many demons.
‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is an assault on Indian self-esteem
By M Rajaque Rahman, IANS,
Jai Ho! From mobile ring tones to tea shops, the winning spirit is all over the place. No wonder the Congress has lapped up the Oscar winning song of "Slumdog Millionaire" as the main campaign jive. The number represents the spirit of India, its unparallel resilience. But does "Slumdog Millionaire" represent India? Or just a piece of fascinating cinema? Or a prejudiced peddling of India's poverty to the west?
Economic agenda will be more of the same with new government
By Sushma Ramachandran, IANS,
Even as uncertainty looms large in India over which party or coalition will run the next national government, what has emerged as a given is continuity in the country's economic policies - but for some sensitive areas like lifting the cap on foreign investment and divestment of stake in state-run enterprises.
After six decades of independence, the distinct differentiation in the economic policies among the major political parties with ideologies tilted toward the right, left and the centre has transformed into a fuzzy kind of sameness.
SMS hotline for Free TB support service in India
By Bobby Ramakant,
A Short-Message-Service (SMS) hotline was launched in New Delhi, India to provide round-the-clock free tuberculosis (TB) support service to TB patients. This SMS helpline is being managed by ex-TB patients.
Northeast in the age of coalition politics: The touchstone of Meghalaya
By Sanjoy Hazarika, IANS,
The new council of ministers, with a predominance of Congress representatives, shows a fascinating compromise that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi as well as their chief aides, not least Rahul Gandhi, have manoeuvred. And nowhere is the delicate, difficult and thankless task of coalition building seen best as in the case of little Meghalaya where both members of parliament have found a place.
Maulana Azad and partition
By Asghar Ali Engineer,
In the current debate on partition started by Jaswant Singh’s book every one is talking about the role of Jinnah, Nehru and Sardar Patel in partitioning of India but hardly anyone has mentioned what Maulana Azad, an important leader of Indian National Congress and an eminent scholar of Islam who held post of President of the Congress for six long years before partition, had done to avert partition.
Interview with Shweta Bhatt: ‘What wrong has Sanjiv done? Truth will prevail’
By Rafat Nayeem Quadri, for TwoCircles.net,
Expanding circle of influence: Importance of mentoring in the business world
By Uday Salunkhe, IANS,
Kashmir’s economic growth depends on power: Omar
By IANS,
Jammu: Economic growth and holistic development of Jammu and Kashmir is largely dependent on the production of electricity, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Tuesday.
The extreme danger of the NCTC
By Bhaskar Menon,
On 27 February 1933, four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, there was a devastating fire in the national Reichstag (parliament) in Berlin.
Heart of Darkness! – II
Part II of the two parts articles on recent trip to Dhubri in Assam. Read Part One here.
Can Modi swing Jammu for the BJP?
By Sheikh Qayoom,
Jammu : It's a constituency the Congress has won eight times and which it currently holds. The BJP has won Jammu - its 1.76 million voters making it the largest among the six Lok Sabha constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir - thrice and could just come up trumps this time around thanks to the Narendra Modi factor.
Afghan drawdown: New conflict or back-door occupation?
By Vishnu Makhijani,
When, in mid-1945, the allied armies advancing across Western Europe were ordered to halt to enable the marauding Soviet forces perform the...
Congress’ parting kick: K Rahman Khan humiliates upright officer
By The Milli Gazette,
In late January came the news that senior IPS officer Mohammad Wazir Ansari has been promoted as the new Chhattisgarh DGP. It was feared that Ansari would leave his current crucial assignment as Secretary of Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF). But he decided to stay with the Foundation.
Taking India ahead
By Amit Kapoor,
India has long been considered a goldmine of potential, banking on its ability to integrate despite the diversity posing threats to its foundation for growth and development. India is a singularity of plurality in terms of its people, culture, language, demographics and even its identity and its 28 states stand to prove that as a nation, it remains a sundry source of potential that can transform India into a glistening image of its past glory. However, India remains a long way from the dream that its potential can convert it to as its regional competitiveness is either ignored or developed without a comprehensive understanding of its capabilities and resources. India’s growth and performance story are not restricted to its rate of growth as sustainability targets are not matched and the society has become an amalgamation of unequal opportunities and indicators. Competency of a nation is a function of the performance of its regions and states and the development of the nation as a whole needs to be accepted as an amalgamation of its divergent competencies.
The first 100 days
By Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam,
The NDA has crossed the 100-day mark in office and it is rightly in for evaluation. So, let us see what we (or the government) have got to show for it. In short, nothing much!
All these 100 days slogans and big promises have been dinned into our ears, day in and day out. We had been told at the beginning of the regime that it would bring back the huge amounts of black money stashed away in foreign banks within 100 days.
How my head hangs in shame
By Faraz Ahmad for TwoCircles.net,
What happened to the three African students is a shame and a disgrace for any civilized society, having pretensions of being modern and democratic. It was horrible to witness the three young boys being beaten up mercilessly by a lynch mob. The police and security personnel are being blamed for not saving them and rightly so, though eventually it did reach belatedly to rescue them and take them to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
Dhoni’s abrupt good-bye stunning, mystifying
By Kishen Datta,
The suddenness with which Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket “with immediate effect” is as stunning as it is mystifying. Cricket captains who have led their country for as long as Dhoni has – 60 Tests, to be exact – don’t bid good-bye as unceremoniously and as instantly as he did at Melbourne on Tuesday. The words “immediate effect” say it all. After missing the first Test, did he have to go all the way to Melbourne to announce his decision? What if under him India had not lost the Test and, with it, the series against Australia. There is one more match to go before the four-match series ends.
India needs habitable cities before smart cities
By Sanjiv Kataria,
Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his government's plans to create 100 smart cities, there is a rise in the clamour by chief ministers to get the tag. From Ajmer to Allahabad and from Salem to Srinagar, the list of contenders grows, even as India gives shape to a plan and an agreement on what constitutes a smart city.
Earthquakes and their impact: Building codes must be strictly followed
By Ramesh Singh,
A big earthquake in Assam and in the Himalayan region was expected ever since I was a geophysics student at Banaras Hindu University during 1974-1976. At that time, funding agencies spent money for routine observations of various parameters in the wake of a major earthquake. In the past, a few major earthquakes have occurred in the Himalayan region: the Bihar-Nepal earthquake of In 1988, Uttarkashi in 1991 and Chamoli in 1999. They claimed many lives and many houses collapsed, especially during the Uttarkashi quake. The major damage to buildings occurred because of the poor quality of construction.
How a death in UP can influence polls in Bihar
By Amulya Ganguli
For the present, the Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh has bought peace with the family of the slain journalist, Jagendra Singh,...
Inspired by TV show, Bengal man eats snails, insects
Kolkata: Inspired by 'Man vs. Wild', a survival television series hosted by British adventurer Bear Grylls, a man in West Bengal has changed his...
Madhya Pradesh CM spent Rs 3 crore on five-day US trip: RTI reply
By Sidhartha Dutta
New Delhi: An eight-member delegation led by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan spent close to Rs.3 crore ($465,000/$58,000 per...
Violence No Answer
By Mohammad Yousuf Naqash
Armed offensive conflict is not the answer to the problems confronting the world. Islamic principles show us the right path in this regard. As a matter of fact, Islam totally rejects extremism in whatsoever form and manifestation. We need to make a difference and draw a clear line between right and wrong and choose between the Islamic and the non-Islamic. Masked faces with double standards within our community have to be identified, exposed and isolated so as to help stop misinterpretation and misrepresentation of Islam.
Comparing corporate czars and rich politicians
By Amulya Ganguli
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned against high corporate salaries, he didn't seem to have taken into account the fact that there were wealthy people not only in the business world but also in the political establishment.
Fondly remembering the ‘people’s president’
By K Datta, IANS
As the charges and countercharges flew thick and fast and the muck-raking intensified in the weeks before India elected a new president, one was left wondering if it was worth going through all the mud-slinging for the right of tenancy of a piece of real estate which is a relic of a colonial past the republic has left behind.
Palestine now
By Naomi Chazan, CG News
The intense diplomatic activity in the wake of the Hamas takeover in Gaza may yield absolutely nothing unless it focuses squarely on the issue of Palestinian sovereignty.
Now is the time to re-examine the working assumption guiding negotiations since Oslo - that statehood is the ultimate outcome of the resolution of the conflict, rather than a vehicle for its achievement.
Global giants make foray into Indian advertising industry
By Sushma Ramachandran, IANS
The advertising scenario in the country came into sharp focus with the visit of Martin Sorrell, head of one of the world's largest advertising agencies, WPP. His agency also has a large footprint in India, having bought a stake in the major agencies like Rediffusion DY&R, Grey, and Ogilvy and Mather. During his visit, he made it clear that emerging markets like India and China are becoming increasingly important for multinational giants.
News analysis: Can cabinet reshuffle save Abe’s political fortune?
By Ni Hongmei, Xinhua
·Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday reshuffled his 11-month old cabinet.
·As the ruling party president, Abe also named a whole new leadership of LDP.
·In Monday's shake-up, Nobutaka Machimura, 62, was appointed as foreign minister.
Tokyo : Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday reshuffled his 11-month old cabinet, replacing key ministerial posts including chief cabinet secretary and ministers of defense, foreign affairs and finance with veteran politicians.
Tehran opts for the hard way
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov) - Tehran plans to take a tougher stance in its dialogue with the UN Security Council over its nuclear program.
This conclusion is prompted by the resignation of Ali Larijani as head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Saturday. He was Iran's chief negotiator on the nuclear issue.
Changing negotiators at a crucial moment is a bad policy, but Iran is changing more than personnel; it is changing its policy, along with the political elite.
From Madrid to Annapolis – peace conferences are not enough
By Daoud Kuttab
As Palestinian and Israeli leaders were meeting at the Annapolis Naval Base last week for yet another attempt at peacemaking, I remembered how my journalistic career led me to cover the Madrid peace conference in 1991. I vividly remember how then-US Secretary of State James Baker had kept everyone in the dark about the location of the international meeting. Once he declared the site, many of us Palestinians felt a sense of jubilation at the looming discussions, even though the exact nature of the Palestinian delegation was still unknown until the last minute.
Nandigram: attempt to destabilise an elected govt through Maoist violence
By Sitaram Yechuri, MP
[Text of speech given in Rajya Sabha on Nandigram issue]
Hope for Pakistan
By Mike Ghouse
Much has been written about Benazir Bhutto, her death is a severe blow to democracy in Pakistan.
She threatened the extremists, a dare move perhaps calculated to win the support of majority of moderates in Pakistan who want to live a normal life. They got to her before she could get them.
Israel, Russia and the Iranian Nuclear Program
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov) - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's visit to Moscow may not be the easiest for the Russian side because of Iran.
Creating a US-Iran bridge
By Leila Zand
The upcoming second round of talks with the United States on Iraq Security offers another opportunity for US-Iranian dialogue and negotiations. However, an atmosphere of mistrust between the United States and Iran persists, leaving open the potential for yet another disastrous conflict in the Middle East.
United States and Syria should talk (about everything)
By Theodore H. Kattouf, CGNews,
The recent compromise on power sharing in Lebanon spares the country further bloodshed, and allows its people to return to a modicum of normalcy. However, the underlying causes of the conflict remain, and Lebanon continues to be an arena where external powers play out their rivalries.
Unless and until Syria and the United States reach a grand bargain, the Lebanese will continue to pay the price.
India has arrived as a power – the meaning of NSG waiver
By K. Subrahmanyam, IANS,
India had always strongly supported the nuclear nonproliferation regime.In 1965, India with Ireland and other nations sponsored Resolution 2025 which laid down the balance of obligations between the five nuclear weapon powers and the rest of the international community.The nuclear weapon powers were to enter into negotiations in good faith to stop the arms race and reduce their nuclear arsenals.
Dealing with terrorism
By Abdul Rashid Agwan,
Terror trail is taking toll of human lives city after city. It is now affecting the entire country and becoming almost an indomitable threat to human lives, communal relations, economic progress and even political stability of the country. This calls for civil society, administration, media and law enforcement system to come up with some tangible solution.
More police reform required in Rajasthan
By Maja Daruwala, IANS,
It's election time in Rajasthan again. Once more the hopefuls will make their promises. Once more the people will vote in the hope that this time the minimum guarantees of a peaceful life will come true. A good police system is central to making sure this happens. Making it happen has to be a bipartisan effort. What kind of policing is going to be in place over the next five years has to be central to election debates and promises.
Cry, my beloved Mumbai! It won’t be the same anymore
By Mayank Chhaya, IANS,
Reminiscing of the Bombay of the good old fashioned gangsters of the 1980s with any nostalgia may sound gratuitously insulting today.
The worst that the mob bosses then did apart from smuggling gold, VCRs and some drugs was to occasionally engage in internecine gangland murders. Crime happened every day but it largely stayed confined to the underworld. Rarely did it spill over to the streets and fatally co-opt innocent citizens.
Assembly elections confirm bipolar trend in India
By B.R.P. Bhaskar, IANS,
Contrary to the fond hopes of Third Front promoters, the Indian polity is moving towards a two-party system. Those who have their eyes focused on the national stage may have missed it, but the results of the just concluded assembly elections confirm the bipolar trend.
Hindutva outfits are threat to India
By Madhu Chandra,
Be it the post-Godhra violence in Gujarat 2002 or ethnic cleansing of Christians in Orissa 2008 or Mangalore pub attack on women, the non-action of concerned ruling state governments in dealing with fanatic outfits is grave threat to Indian secularism.
The Karnataka BJP Governments' Home Minister deciding to wait and watch the Sri Ram Sene outfit to commit the crimes on "couples celebrating Valentine's Day will be forced to marry in temples" is the clear sign of ineffectiveness of the concerned state government.
Byline: There is nothing called a dull election
By M.J. Akbar,
The gem dropped in the middle of a convivial lunch when my friend, apropos of nothing, said: “There is some good news and there is some bad news. The good news is that there is no bad news.”
Sri Lanka situation will impact on elections
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS,
Even as the Maoists continue their desperate, if ultimately futile, attempts to disrupt the polls, perhaps the most uncertain aspect of the present scene is the impact of the suffering of the Sri Lankan Tamils, first, on Tamil Nadu politics and then on government formation at the centre after the general elections.
End of the road for L.K. Advani?
By Darshan Desai, IANS,
New Delhi : Age was not on his side. And now it seems people were not either. Verdict 2009 seems to have dashed the prime ministerial hopes of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 'iron man', 81-year-old, L.K. Advani forever.
The 15th Lok Sabha election was arguably his last attempt to get the nation's top job in the twilight of his nearly five-decade-old political career, after being in the shadow of Atal Bihari Vajpayee for long.
Vote for development will ensure economy tops government agenda
By Sushma Ramachandran, IANS,
With the mandate for the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) clearly in favour of development, economic issues will top the agenda of the new government, as it seeks to meet the high expectations of the poor and homeless and fulfil the aspirations of the masses as quickly as possible.
‘Bluestar’ will remain etched in the Sikh psyche for generations
By Jaideep Sarin, IANS,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently asked the Sikhs to move on with the cataclysmic events of 1984. Though the comment of the country's first Sikh prime minister were in the context of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and other places, the reference was also obliquely linked to the other, and bigger, happening of the same year - the June 6, 1984 military assault on the holiest of Sikh shrines, the Golden Temple.
Why does the world weep for Michael Jackson?
By Rajendra K. Aneja, IANS,
My cook Kundan was heart-broken. "Michael Jackson is gone," he told me in anguish. Kundan hails from a remote village in India. He has never heard a Jackson song nor seen him perform. Yet he was shattered. I wondered why?
Then it dawned on me that Michael had over the last three decades become a part of our lives, through his music, songs, dance, episodes. We had assumed he is always there - like the clouds, stars, rivers, flowers. And then suddenly, he is gone. And suddenly now, we feel older, more vulnerable.
Uneven growth makes India uncompetitive globally
By Sushma Ramachandran, IANS,
Is India a good place to do business? The answer seems to be it is excellent in some areas and difficult in others. No wonder the Indian economy has risen in one global index of competitiveness and gone down in another on business climate.
In times of recession, one can find a bit of cheer in the news that the country has climbed a notch in the competitiveness index compiled by the Davos-based World Economic Forum. But to counter that is the fact that it has fallen in the Doing Business Index of the World Bank and the International Finance Corp.
Oil pricing reforms essential to stabilise economy
By Sushma Ramachandran, IANS,
Politics and economics rarely mix well. This has been highlighted in the case of energy pricing where good economics says fuel prices must be raised, but political will is clearly lacking.
Indian Muslims should emulate Super 30 model
By Syed Ali Mujtaba,
There is a view among a segment of Indian Muslim that instead of seeking favors from the government and hankering for reservation for shedding the burden of backwardness, some members of the community should come forward and emulate the Super 30 model of Bihar to uplift the fellow members of the community.
Defining moment expected for corporate mergers, takeovers
By Jagannadham Thunuguntla, IANS,
There is widespread anticipation regarding possible revision of the threshold limit for mandatory open offers for the purpose of takeovers from current level of 15 percent to 25 percent. If that eventually happens, interesting shareholders' activity can be expected in several listed companies.
When the pen stops writing!
By Shafaque Alam,
Supreme Court notice (Mar 4) to Advani and other Sangh Parivar leaders, in connection with the Babri Masjid demolition, has once again brought them back to the limelight.