Budget 2021: A different Perspective
(Figures given in graph are based on Budget 2021 documents) From the perspective of the common man, the relative importance given to various ministries in the budget allocation is an…
Whither Rajadharma?
President’s Blog The phrase ‘Jai Kisan’ has become not only a hackneyed phrase but one attracting several interpretations. Source: The Hindu, Farmers protest at the Modinagar railway station in Ghaziabad,…
Lessons from the Chozha Dynasty for Our Democracy in Decay
By Raghavan Srinivasan Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new parliament building, referred to Uttaramerur village assembly in Tamil Nadu to observe that Indian democratic traditions…
Arbitrary arrests and Preventive Detention violate Human Rights
President’s Blog Whenever protests and demonstrations erupt in India it is common practice for the government of the day to promptly declare Section 144 and arrest citizens en masse. The…
Why we fight!
Far too many of us have no idea how easy it is, to get up and do something! Raising your voice on behalf of others, gives profound pleasure (somewhere in…
Poverty – Statistics and Lies!
A new study by Abusaleh Shariff and Anirudh Krishna has brought fresh insights on whether poverty is decreasing or increasing. The study points out that the usual “head count ratio”…
Budget 2010 – It is neither “inclusive” nor “popular”!
Budget 2010 is being widely praised in the media and by business leaders as an “inclusive” budget, a “budget with lot of takeaways”. But this is not true. If all…
Political parties and “paid news”
Several political parties are pushing for an amendment to the Representation of the People Act to declare “paid news” as an electoral malpractice. This issue of paid news came up…
Should we let this archaic political process continue? Open Primary tabs configuration options Primary tabs
The recent UK elections and the wheelings and dealings after that gave a feeling of déjà vu for us in India. The election results led to a hung parliament with…
Is the UPA government really accountable to the people?
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently presented his government’s report on completion of the first year of the second stint of the UPA government. The report is pretentiously called the ‘The…