India is a nation that has about 1.1 billion people. It goes without saying that many of them are fanatical cricket fans including me. In the past few years India is also clearly the economic engine that drives the world of cricket. So why is that a test match against South Africa, which is a major cricket playing nation, is played in a stadium that is almost empty? Continued…
Posted in Sports & Entertainment.
Tagged with baseball, Boston Red Sox, cricket, India, Israel, Nagpur, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Ranji Trophy, South Africa, Sweden.
By Hari
– February 8, 2010
India has invited the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Salman Bashir to meet with his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao for talks later this month (Nirupama Rao has already met the Pakistani High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik to discuss the possibility of these talks). New Delhi has indicated that it is willing to discuss any issue that Pakistan raises. Continued…
Posted in News & Government.
Tagged with Afghanistan, America, China, Democrat, India, Iraq, Pakistan, peace, Republican, Talks.
By Hari
– February 7, 2010
There is a tradition particularly among Catholics that a person should confess to his/her priest if they commit sins. The person will begin by saying “Forgive me father for I have sinned”. The priest will then listen to the sins and once it is concluded the priest will give the person penance (prayers). Confession gives the individual a clean slate (until the next confession!) and also allows the individual to go straight to heaven after death. Continued…
Posted in Culture & Religion.
Tagged with Buddhism, Catholic, China, Church, Dalai Lama, democracy, freedom, India, Tawang, Tibet.
By Hari
– February 6, 2010
It is very clear that the Indian government has a major problem on its hands in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena is not only challenging the state and central governments authority over the state but is also trying to influence India’s foreign policy. If the government does not handle this swiftly and cleverly then it has the potential to become another long lasting, expensive and violent problem like the Maoists or the Telangana issues. Continued…
Posted in News & Government.
Tagged with Australia, Bangalore, Chennai, India, Maharashtra, Maoists, Marathi, Mumbai, Pune, Shiv Sena, Telangana.
By Hari
– February 5, 2010
Former American Presidential candidate John Edwards was known for his “Two America” speech during his campaign trail. He says “today, under George W. Bush, there are two Americas, not one: One America that does the work, another that reaps the reward. One America that pays the taxes, another America that gets the tax breaks. One America – middle-class America – whose needs Washington has long forgotten, another America – narrow-interest America – whose every wish is Washington’s command ..” In a rich country the apparent struggle is always between the middle class and the rich. Continued…
Posted in Culture & Religion.
Tagged with Charity, China, Fuel, India, Indians, Middle Class, military, Pakistan, Poverty.
By Hari
– February 4, 2010
George William Curtis was an American writer and an individual involved in the founding of the Republican Party. He is often credited with saying that “A man’s country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle”. This is a powerful statement and forced me to think about India, the Indian principles and values and ultimately what patriotism actually means in an Indian context. Continued…
Posted in Culture & Religion.
Tagged with American, Buddhism, China, democracy, Gandhi, Indian, Republican Party, Sanskrit.
By Hari
– February 3, 2010
One of my old history teachers was fond of saying that “all Indians are equal but some Indians are more equal than the others”. I was not sure what he meant that time but I have a better understanding of it now. Some of us whether we are politicians, businessmen or the social elite enjoy certain rights and privileges that the common man can only dream of. I think that this reality of life in India is well understood by most Indians today. Continued…
Posted in Culture & Religion.
Tagged with Chinese, Human, Indian, Pakistan, United States.
By Hari
– February 2, 2010
Look at the parking lot of any apartment that is popular with the Indian community in the United States and you will notice many Honda Accords and Civics and Toyota Camry’s and Corollas. I do not want to generalize but there is a level of loyalty towards these brands more so than towards any other brands among the non-resident Indian community here. Continued…
Posted in Cuisine & Travel.
Tagged with GM, Honda, Indians, Reliability, Toyota.
By Hari
– January 31, 2010
All political parties and organizations in the world indulge in what is nowadays called wedge politics. But nobody does it better than the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States. At least that is what I thought until I started following the Indian political parties and their messages and innuendos closely. Continued…
Posted in News & Government.
Tagged with America, BJP, Congress Party, Democrat, India, Politics, Republican, United States.
By Hari
– January 30, 2010
If you watch evangelical Christian television channels as I do one of the themes you will notice is their strong support for the state of Israel and their policies. On the surface they also are very supportive of the Jewish people. I find it interesting how a particular religious group can be so supportive of another religious group. Maybe this is the first step towards world peace. Not so fast. Continued…
Posted in Sports & Entertainment.
Tagged with Biblical, Christian, Israel, Jewish.
By Hari
– January 29, 2010
India’s best ever female tennis player today made a surprising announcement that she has called off her engagement with Mohammed Sohrab Mirza. In a statement she said “We were friends for years but found ourselves incompatible as fiancées. I wish Sohrab the very best in life.” Most men dread hearing the “wish you the best” part in the end. It normally feels like someone just drove a dagger through our hearts :) Continued…
Posted in Sports & Entertainment.
Tagged with Engagement, India, Muslim, Sania Mirza, Tennis.
By Hari
– January 28, 2010
Indians from all walks of life are upset and are taking out their frustrations on the government and the politicians. This is very obvious to anyone who follows the Indian media on a regular basis or to those who are familiar with the Indian blogosphere. There is a feeling that the government is not responsive to the needs of the population and that the changes if any are slow. Continued…
Posted in Culture & Religion.
Tagged with America, British, India, reservation.
By Hari
– January 27, 2010
Detroit is back in the news again. General Motors is getting ready to launch the much anticipated electric car aptly named the Chevy Volt. The Volt is a plug in electric car that will be unlike any other car on the road in the world today (there are many companies that have all electric concepts but none that will be commercially available any time soon or that is relatively inexpensive like the Volt). Continued…
Posted in News & Government.
Tagged with America, Chevy Volt, Hybrid, India, Prius, Toyota.
By Hari
– January 26, 2010
India is celebrating its 60th Republic Day today. South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak is the guest of honor at this years Republic Day parade in New Delhi. Most of the major cities in India are under heightened alert and the security measures are very tight. Continued…
Posted in Culture & Religion.
Tagged with China, India, Pakistan, Republic Day, South Korea.
By Hari
– January 25, 2010
Bangalore is the city that put the “new” India on the map. Before Bangalore most Americans if asked to name an Indian city would most probably name Calcutta. The world knew of Calcutta for all the wrong reasons because of Mother Theresa and also because of movies based in Calcutta like the “City of Joy”. Continued…
Posted in News & Government.
Tagged with Bangalore, Europe, India, London, Philadelphia.
By Hari
– January 24, 2010
The Karnataka government granted a 50% tax exception (entertainment tax) to the Bollywood movie Paa starring Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan. Prior to the Karnataka governments decision the Gujarat government granted a total waiver from entertainment tax after Amitabh Bachchan met Narendra Modi who is the Chief Minister of Gujarat. What are the justifications for these decisions and does the public benefit? Continued…
Posted in Sports & Entertainment.
Tagged with India, Karnataka, Kerala, Paa, Tamil Nadu, Tax, United States.
By Hari
– January 23, 2010
On May 21st 1991 Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India was assassinated in Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu). He and fourteen others were killed by a female suicide bomber by the name of Thenmozhi Rajaratnam belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE was fighting an insurgency against the Sri Lankan government forces for an independent country of the Tamil speaking people of Sri Lanka. Continued…
Posted in News & Government.
Tagged with LTTE, Nalini, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi.
By Hari
– January 22, 2010
I live in the United States which is a country that has a long history of racial discrimination. Slavery was abolished in 1865 but legalized segregation lasted for more than a hundred years and ended only in 1968. During segregation minorities (mostly African-American) lived in their own separate communities, went to segregated schools and had to use bathrooms meant for African-Americans only. During most of this time black Americans were prohibited from participating in sports with other white people. Continued…
Posted in Sports & Entertainment.
Tagged with China, cricket, descrimination, India, IPL, Pakistan.
By Hari
– January 21, 2010
Indian actress Kushboo has decided to take her case to the Supreme Court of India. There are approximately 23 defamation complaints pending against her in the State of Tamil Nadu for making some “controversial” remarks to a Tamil weekly in 2005. The Supreme Court bench consisting of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice J.M. Panchal and Justice B.S. Chauhan asked Kushboo’s Counsel Pinky Anand to submit the transcript of the 2005 interview within two weeks. Continued…
Posted in News & Government.
Tagged with DPI, Kushboo, PMK, Tamil Nadu.
By Hari
– January 20, 2010
Rules for Commenting on Blogs
My blog (www.indiafirsthand.com) is only about six months old. Early on I was often wondering whether anyone was reading the material that I was writing. There were very few comments and most of the comments were basically spam. But traffic has picked up a little bit and I have a small following. I am also noticing some feedback on the articles that I write. Continued…
Posted in Culture & Religion.
Tagged with Blog, Comments, democratic, Hatred, India, Telangana, US.
22 comments
By Hari – February 1, 2010