Congress Party member Mani Shankar Aiyar said recently in a meeting that “India is prospering, Indians are not”. He added “GDP growth rate is no index of what is happening in our country”. He criticized the Indian government (which is lead by his own party) and questioned the governments economic policy. There is no debate [...]
In an article published in the online magazine Slate, former Governor of New York State and a CNN talk show host Eliot Spitzer indicated that countries like Brazil, India and China will be thrilled if the Republicans win the upcoming midterm elections. He wrote “We have three weeks to make this choice. Because if we [...]
I remember watching Doordarshan the day the Babri Masjid was destroyed by Hindu fundamentalists. The Central and Uttar Pradesh governments knew that this was coming but was totally ill prepared to prevent the 500 year old Mosque from being attacked. But what state controlled media like Doordarshan and All India Radio did was even more [...]
Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said today that the chances of a slum-free India within the next five years is “not unachievable”. This was the goal of a program called “Rajiv Awas Yojana” (why doesn’t the government of India have names for these programs that the rest of India can understand!!). The [...]
I am a little worried about the growing anger aimed at the Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi (India). Former Union Sports Minister and a senior member of the ruling Congress Party Manishankar Iyer said “Personally, I will be unhappy if the Commonwealth Games are successful … If the Games do succeed, that [...]
I have always wondered about what the right to self determination means. According to the United Nations “All peoples have the rights of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” This statement raises more questions than answers. Can my neighbor claim [...]
We have all come across this situation one time or the other. We are driving our motorcycles and pull up right behind an overloaded truck that is spewing smoke from its exhaust. We cautiously take a peek to see whether there is any oncoming traffic and try to pass the truck before our face turns [...]
“I’ve been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life. Next time I want to be just something quiet and supporting”. Hollywood actress Julia Roberts made these comments to a magazine while promoting her latest movie Eat Pray Love. According to reports she is now a Hindu and like many Hindus she now [...]
I want you to think about these numbers for a moment. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimates the GDP of the United States is $14.26 trillion (2009). For the same period India’s GDP was $1.16 trillion. American defense spending was approximately $663 billion for 2009 which is more than half of India’s GDP. [...]
Shangri-La is a mythical Himalayan utopia. If you are a fan of rock like I am then I am sure you have listened to the song “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin is one of the all time bands and Kashmir in my opinion is their best work. The song is a tribute to their [...]
Recently a co-worker of mine who is a Muslim from the Middle East asked me whether Indians like the people of Pakistan. I explained to her that an average Indian citizen probably has never heard of Pakistan and would not be able to point out Pakistan or Kashmir on a map (an average Indian most [...]
The United States of America is not a popular nation among the Muslim community in the world. This unpopularity is a major problem for America. The future of America, particularly from an economic standpoint is closely tied to Asian economies. Most of these Asian economies including India, China, Indonesia and Malaysia have significant Muslim populations [...]
I am from Kerala but I lived in Tamil Nadu (mostly in Madurai and Coimbatore) for a couple of decades. Due to state government policies then I was forced to learn Tamil during my school days. I did not like being pressured to learn a new language but I am now glad that I did [...]
Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace has published the failed states index for 2010. The group aims to rank nations based on what they call “12 Degrees of Failure”. This includes among other things demographics, number of refugees, illegitimate government, brain drain and human rights. For the record Somalia came in first with [...]
Former American President and five-star general of the United States Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower once said that “We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom”. There is no question that peace and freedom go hand in hand. You cannot have peace if you do not have freedom. But this message is yet [...]
The Canadian High Commission in New Delhi has described the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) as “a notoriously violent paramilitary unit engaged in systematic attacks on civilians and responsible for torturing suspected criminals”. This was used as an excuse to deny visa to a former BSF jawan who wanted to travel to Canada. Such language [...]
It is my nature to be very skeptical of human beings who make extraordinary claims without backing it up with data. History is full of stories of people who spent most of their lives, time and wealth following the so-called leaders only to be disappointed in the end. As Buddha said pain and suffering is [...]
