History is not a tool to divide society and perpetuate the injustices of the past. It is there to show us what wrongs have happened in the past which should not happen again. We need to march towards a just society where all live the life of dignity and respect, a society where all of us enjoy equal citizenship rights.
Public opposition towards the reforms escalated after a web link to a gay dating site was found in one of the lessons in the grade six English language module. This website was subsequently blocked by the regulator for internet users in Sri Lanka. The lesson was intended to teach ten-year-old kids how to make online friends.
Producing satellites for any purpose is an expensive endeavor. Failure to launch them has a profound impact not just on the client entities’ bottom lines but even the quality of science and services they may be seeking to pursue. Fifteen out of the sixteen satellites on the failed mission were from foreign entities, which constitute a lucrative market for ISRO. If they begin to nurse misgivings about ISRO’s reliability it can seriously dent not only the agency’s revenue but, more important, its reputation
Internationalisation also plays a crucial role in addressing the long-standing issue of brain drain. For decades, large numbers of Indian students have pursued higher education abroad, particularly in North America, Europe, and Australia. While this has strengthened India’s global presence, it has also resulted in substantial outflow of talent and financial resources. Many students who leave choose not to return, contributing their skills to other economies.
Communal divides are bad, Economic divides being created can be equally so, with increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of fewer people so that we have a nation split, literally and metaphorically, between the few within gated communities and the majority who cannot step in.
The BJP, time and again, has highlighted how PM Narendra Modi works 24X7 and sleeps for four hours, symptomatic of his due diligence pertaining to work. The idea of overworking is often draped as self-sacrifice, a cultural phenomenon typically revered in Indian society.
I think Jimmy Carter was one of the most decent and honest occupants of the White House who probably was undone by the Washington establishment who always considered him an outsider. His presidency was called a failed one, though in retrospect people feel he did not get the credit due to him.
And lo and behold most of the fringe organizations of Hindutva politics are coming out to oppose Bhagwat. One knows that RSS is a strict disciplinarian organization, and its members do not disobey the commands of its leader. So who are these Senas, Dharma Sansads springing up by a dozen and going against the appeal of Bhagwat?
On the one hand, we can see India pouring its heart out in memory of a life journey of grace. On the other hand, is a path of bitterness, a pulling down of civility and finger-pointing. It is the plain truth that the government delayed in naming a memorial spot so that the last rites for Dr. Singh was per force conducted at a public crematorium.
In my many discussions with him we discussed where the country was going. He felt sad about the present situation and said that this is not the India he recognizes. He said that India is a pluralistic society and the leader has to respect the diversity of opinion, divisive politics will not work, and will be harmful for the country.
In 2008, there was a new visitor to the PM house. A man from village Gah in district Chakwal, Pakistan, crossed the border to meet his old school friend 'Mohna'. He carried soil and water from the village in Punjab for the friend with whom he shared a bench in his school. Ali Raja Mohammad and Manmohan Singh had parted in 1947 and met in 2008. Not only this region but all of South Asia was Dr. Singh's very own.
The Indian rupee is expected to depreciate due to strong dollar policies of the Trump administration compounded by a wider trade deficit in India. The worry about how to increase foreign direct investment will remain. It has been falling for several years. The outflow of capital as well as the flight of rich people to other countries is also a matter of concern. Indians are expected to spend 70 billion dollars on the “import” of education, i.e. on students studying abroad.
For years, Imran Khan and his party have been vocal critics of foreign interference in Pakistan’s internal matters. They’ve consistently defended Pakistan’s sovereignty, opposing any foreign meddling in the country’s political affairs. Yet now, when the PTI finds itself in a political struggle, it is calling on the international community to intervene.
India’s neighbourhood policy can be tweaked by making conditional every foreign aid, technical assistance, bilateral cooperation and multilateral facilitation. Bangladesh is the largest beneficiary of Indian grants and assistance under the Neighbourhood First Policy. Attaching conditionalities—akin to the Chinese BRI loans— can act as a deterrent to any anti-India adventurism
The debate around freebies and promises in a democracy often centers on balancing short-term relief with long-term solutions to societal problems. Often, in these giveaways, economic prudence is a casualty in favour of transactional political advantage.
The share of workers in industry has stagnated for far too long. And so have wages. As per a report of WorkIndia, more than 57 percent of blue-collar jobs in India pay less than 20,000 rupees a month. That is probably justified because of low average productivity.
A strong India is not only about protecting the borders but equally about systems and processes that do not allow companies, particularly giants from foreign shores, to get away with anything less than standards that some of these companies are required to follow in their home countries. Even if the clean up happens, at long last, the other lesson for holding companies to account is yet to be learned.
Allowing neutral arbitration institutions to appoint and administer arbitrators will help to address the challenges of unilateral arbitrator appointment by interested organisations, reduce the additional burden on courts to appoint arbitrators, and eliminate our arbitrators' bias in awards issued by arbitrators appointed by financial institutions.
Indian polity and judiciary have opened a Pandora’s Box which is deepening the religious divides in society. What is the need of the hour? To search for temple underneath every mosque or to build the ‘temples of Modern India’ as defined by Jawaharlal Nehru, “while starting the construction of the Bhakra Nangal Dam to describe scientific research institutes, steel plants, power plants, dams being launched in India after independence to jumpstart scientific and industrial progress.”
