ISSUES AND CONCERNS

Friends We are into the new financial year beginning this April. The first full union budget was presented by the Finance Minister. By now, it has comprehensively been dissected by all those interested groups of stake holders, especially the haves with their network, to get more out of the system. The charge that BJP, the main party in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is a friend of business class has come to stay. Despite its anchors in TV debate and ministers and members of parliament  making all kinds of noises for the government and its budget being people friendly, the perception that it has the interest of business and corporate houses, has really stuck. While there was not much for the aam aadmi to celebrate in the central budget for 2015/16, the expectation of exemption limit increase was bellied. But the increase in service tax is going to hurt across the board. Instead of dropping wealth tax, there could have been rationalization of service tax regime on, what...

TAMIL NADU: Devoid of DMK/AIDMK political tu tu-mai mai -, and since Pose garden is quite with the Tamil Nadu queen Jayalalitha confined to home, not much news is emerging from Tamil Nadu. However, an incident that took place or did not take place in an Engineering Deemed University College landing up  in Madras High Court suddenly catapulted Chennai into a bit of controversy. “No ramp walks on campuses, rules Madras High Court” was a print media news, the other day. Anna University College of Engineering had conducted a fashion show with the help of corporate houses. Big money prizes were announced but not given to winners. A mother of an aggrieved student went to court claiming compensation from the college. But Justice Sivagnanam, while refusing to grant compensation, questioned the whole idea of these decadent fashion shows and what purpose would such shows serve? It’s a good question and all serious educational institutes must address. Board of Control for Cricket in In...

NEW YORK TIMES – KASHMIR & IDEA OF INDIA It was not exactly, the famed Latin couplet Veni Vidi Vici. He came, he saw but did not quite conquer. Indians, at least most of them liked U.S. President Obama, since he is like one of them, a brownie, besides his oratorial skill and concern for the disadvantaged. He may still be the most liked U.S. President in India, but could have left the shore of India, post Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, in a blaze of glory. But his parting remarks about secular credentials of India did leave an eminently avoidable jarring note in an otherwise a very successful journey to the world’s largest democracy. Then he followed it up in the U.S., at a meeting where he shared the podium with Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama by mouthing similar unsolicited remarks. Of course, Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetans living in India, who has a first hand experience with the accommodation of exiled Tibetans across the country, ever since they lef...

6 Reasons Why I Don’t Want India To Become A ‘Superpower’ JAIMINE BEZBOZNIK Who will involuntarily pay the hefty price for the inflationary cost of maintaining a core nation? Mainstream economists and politicians are always immersed with the illusionary episodes on ‘structural transformation’. This phase is “seen”, whereas I am certain that the mass tends to subconsciously circumvent the“unseen” side. This article is a critical attempt to rationally expose the “unseen” costs involved in making, maintaining and middling of India as a superpower nation. I am not scorning the social efforts of the citizens, but holistically questioning the rationale of economic costs enlisted in the process of proselytizing the semi-periphery status (developing power) into core status (superpower). Nothing comes for free and so easy, as camouflaged by the politicians because the health of any master in the world is unhealthy without conscription of‘purchasing power’ of the subjects. Other thin...

DHAMMAPADA Dr. M. V. Kamath In the absence of an acknowledged gentleman of letters, to fill the Last Page  we are falling back on MVK’s writings.  His book – Letters to Gauri – includes some of his brush with historical wisdom. We are reproducing them with some sequential order for the benefit of our readers. – Editor My dear Gauri, I said in my last letter that the Dhammapada is to Buddhism what the Sermon on the Mount is to Christianity. I will come to the Sermon preached by Jesus Christ at a later stage. One writer has said that if all of the New Testament (which is that part of the Bible, holy to Christians) had been lost and only the Sermon on the Mount had managed to survive, we would still have all that is necessary for following the teachings of Christ. Similarly, he said, if everything else were lost, and only the Dhammapada survived, that was enough for the practice of Buddhism. Dhammapada is  the Pali equivalent of  Dharmapatha – the path ...