Recent Posts
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From the Archives
Below is a scanned document located in the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. It was located in a 2009 research visit in the midst of some files on nuclear security (private papers of PN Haksar if I remember correctly). In any case, the document below DOES NOT provide any evidence...
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The Indian Condition
It is remarkable how entrenched statism – and to a slightly lesser extent, socialism – are in the Indian psyche. In any discussion of the country’s shortcomings, the common refrain one hears among Indians is that the government does not do anything. In a country whose parliament is essentially filled...
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The myth of Islamic contribution to India
Is it ignorance or agenda that drives Indian history narrative? The myth about Islamic contribution to India Actor Girish Karnad’s attack against V.S Naipaul,a Nobel laureate and celebrated author, at the Tata Literature Live festival was totally undeserving and in bad taste. It smacked of deep-seated prejudice and ignorance. Girish...
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How to Think About Graft
The political climate in India in recent years has been marked by a number of cases of corruption emanating from gross misuse of power, and has led to a decently popular anti-corruption movement which has now taken a political turn. In this background, it is no surprise to see that...
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Advantage BJP In A Close Fight for Himachal Pradesh
The three-tier approach to electoral politics As Himachal Pradesh has already voted last Sunday to decide the fate of Prof P. K. Dhumal led BJP government, it must be noted that this small hill state has never enjoyed such limelight in the national media in the past. The reason...
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The Romney Challenge
Full disclosure: Even though Mitt Romney was not my favourite candidate, I prefer him over Obama for being, well not Obama Also please read my previous post on American politics Today is the day when Americans (the real Americans that is* ) decide who will be their next head of...
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Why is Reagan Still So Popular
There is a reason conservatives keep going back to Ronald Reagan. In 1980 Ronald Reagan asked that famous question “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” in the debate with Jimmy Carter. Reagan went on to win a landslide. In 1984 Reagan won an even bigger landslide....
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Modi, interrupted? (Updated)
Update at the end Note: As a recovering political junkie, I avoid electoral politics, but this issue has broader implications. With his expected victory in coming Gujarat elections, Shri Narendra Modi is nearly certain to be BJP/NDA prime ministerial candidate for coming Lok Sabha elections. However I am not...
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RTE Dissenting Judgment – An Analysis
If these (examined in the previous part) were the reasons by CJ Kapadia and Justice Swatanter Kumar for upholding the constitutional validity of the RTE Act, Justice Radhakrishnan gave the following reasons in his dissenting judgment. To understand the scope and intent of Art 21A, Justice Radhakrishnan relied on the...
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Newspaper Track: Gadkari versus Gandhis
Newspaper Track: Allegations on Gadkari Vs Sonia & Rahul Gandhi The Newspaper Coverage is tracked just after a day on which allegations were made. Shri Arvind Kejariwal made the allegations against Shri Nitin Gadkari on 17 Oct 2012. The respective coverage is tracked for the date 18 Oct 2012. Shri...
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Announcement: Jijnasa Interactive Session
Announcement from the broader Right/Centre-Right community * * * * * Jijnasa An initiative under the aegis of Centre for Educational and Social Studies (CESS) organizes An interactive session with Ramananda Sengupta, Consulting Editor, India Defense Review on In China’s Wake: What the rise of China means...
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America’s Secret Competitive Advantage is a Dirty Secret
Abstract The noted management guru Michael E Porter identifies seven unique competitive advantages for the U.S. economy to explain the country’s pre-eminence, ranging from its environment for entrepreneurship, its institutions of higher learning, its technology and innovation machine, to its commitment to competition and free markets. In this article, I...
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The Vaad-Prativaad Series : Secularism is Important to Modern India
E-Book for Kindle, Nook & other readers | PDF
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The Origins and Devolution of Liberalism
What exactly is liberalism? Any description, either by its protractors or detractors, quickly brings up the image of the four blind men and the elephant. To complicate things further, anything beyond a cursory look reveals multiple strands of liberalism, ranging from the 20th century welfarist Left-liberalism of progressivism to the laissez-faire market capitalist orientation more common...
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Show Dont Tell
Much of my original posting on CRI has been in way of criticism without offering any positive alternative or solution, one reason for this, as the cliché goes, criticism is easy, other is my own political views are still work in progress (As Oscar Wilde said, “I am not young enough to...