http://www.boloji.com Boloji is the world's biggest Articles Database. en-us Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:41:01 GMT http://www.boloji.com/specials/rss.xml Indian Solutions ideas@ekant.com (Ekant Solutions) ideas@ekant.com (Ekant Solutions) http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14558 After the announcement of the formal split between the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP and the Janata Dal United JD-U the National Democratic Alliance NDA is left with three alliance partners The BJP Akali Dal and Shiv Sena. Mr. Sharad Yadav JD-U President has resigned as National Convener of the NDA. Mr. LK Advani continues to be the Chairman of this shrunken body. He reportedly contacted BJP President Mr. Rajnath Singh after the split to point out that it was Mr. Narendra Modi s elevation as Chairman of the BJP National Campaign Committee that has led to the split. 16-Jun-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14558 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14541 The Congress as an institution should be buried even though Congress leaders may continue to rule the nation. This demand is made because the Congress acted as Imperial Britain s political instrument for partitioning India. To undo the spirit of Partition it is necessary to discard Britain s instrument used for achieving it. My demand echoes the last wish expressed by Mahatma Gandhi in his Will released on the day of his assassination. He wanted the Congress as a political party to be dissolved. 12-Jun-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14541 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14528 Mature politicians anticipate the possible need to take the last extreme step before taking a drastic first step. One presumes that Mr. LK Advani did that before skipping the Goa conclave of BJP. The final logical step for him is to split the BJP. One hopes he stays the course to do it. A split in the party will be good for national politics and good for all members of the BJP from both major factions. 11-Jun-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14528 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14515 Iraq is atop a political volcano. Sectarian strife between Sunnis and Shiites threatens violence reminiscent of what happened in India in 1947. The UN Envoy to Iraq Mr. Martin Kobler has warned Systemic violence is ready to explode any moment. How strange that a decade after the US invasion of Iraq amidst this entire turmoil one nation is blissfully promoting its economic prospects. Post invasion Iraq has emerged as one of the world s top oil producers and China is its biggest customer. 10-Jun-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14515 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14504 Within a couple of days by the end of the BJP national executive meeting in Goa starting on June 7 2013 Mr. Narendra Modi may be declared as chairman of the party s election campaign committee or perhaps even as the party s prime ministerial candidate. In either event it will be perceived with near certainty that he will become eventually the BJP prime ministerial candidate. This prospect fills his supporters with glee and his detractors with alarm. One section thinks that his ascent to the post will bring deliverance. The other section believes it denotes disaster. Who is right 05-Jun-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14504 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14500 It is over two weeks since the scandal erupted. For all that period there has been a clamour for the resignation of the BCCI President Mr. N. Srinivasan. At the moment of writing he firmly sticks to his post. Why this clamour for his removal The facts of the case reflect not only the sad state of cricket of politics but also of Indian society. What the scandal has exposed is not just the collapse of cricket of the politicians dabbling in the sport but of Indian democracy. After considering the conduct of those involved directly or indirectly with the sport one is led to wonder if Indians at all understand let alone practice democracy. 03-Jun-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14500 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14486 Recall the Oil for Food scam probed by the UN appointed Volcker Committee which submitted its report seven years ago. Mr. Natwar Singh was sacked from the cabinet for alleged involvement in that deal after the Justice Pathak Commission probing the deal submitted its report. 30-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14486 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14482 Remember that ancient tale about the boy who cried wolf False alarms of an approaching wolf lulled society into ignoring the wolf when it really came. In India the word Emergency has acquired a dirty connotation. Indira Gandhi s fraudulent imposition of dictatorship in the name of emergency justified by leveling totally false allegations against Jayaprakash Narain brought this about. Much later Indira Gandhi acknowledged her error publicly in a speech delivered at Ram Lila Ground in Delhi. But the damage had been done. 28-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14482 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14472 Never has a government appeared more vulnerable. From business to politics to sport entire society is tainted with corruption. There is no accountability. There is no institution working with requisite competence. The public is yearning for change. The situation is a godsend to the opposition. But the main opposition party seems paralyzed and incapable of cashing in on its opportunity. One does not know why this paralysis. 25-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14472 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14453 BJP leader Mr. Rajiv Pratap Rudy has introduced a private member s bill in parliament seeking a change of our system into virtually a presidential form of government. Presumably he would not have introduced this bill with its far reaching proposal without the approval of his senior leaders. It may be inferred therefore that the BJP is seeking a change of our democratic system. A demand for a serious reappraisal of our present system was long overdue. Governance has collapsed and all political institutions are crumbling. 21-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14453 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14434 The prospect of a meaningful peace dialogue with Pakistan has become faintly visible after Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister of Pakistan. If India is serious about achieving a breakthrough in the dialogue this time around the moment to undertake some hard contingency planning is now. Whatever the modalities of a future dialogue and however cooperative the Pakistan army might prove to be no real breakthrough in the peace talks can occur without resolving the dispute over Kashmir. It is a real issue that will not disappear even given all the delusions that Indian politicians are habituated to indulging in 17-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14434 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14421 The Supreme Court SC responding to the government s interference in the CBI s Coalgate investigation has demanded that the government must ensure by next July that structural changes in the administrative machinery enable the CBI to function independently. With all due respect to the SC is it any business of the Judges to direct the executive or the legislature about what the administrative structure ought to be The business of the court is confined to judging whether the law of the land is being observed or not. No more no less. 14-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14421 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14413 Never in recent memory has any Pakistani politician spoken as boldly as incoming Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif. Addressing the national media Mr. Sharif made three unambiguous assertions. 13-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14413 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14397 The double standards adopted by the CBI while dealing with two current cases is glaring. Surprisingly it has not attracted any notice among media pundits. 09-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14397 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14386 Human conduct affects the working of a political system. A political system influences human conduct. There is continuing interaction between the two. A democratic system is intended to ensure self correction through its checks and balances. When a system fails to function because of human misconduct one must ask why its self correcting mechanism is not working. Today there is wide perception that the Indian democratic system has failed to perform. Consider briefly the broad salient facts. 07-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14386 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14380 When Mr. Arvind Kejriwal announced the formation of his Aam Admi Party AAP I criticized his decision for being premature. My reasoning was that to create a genuine national alternative and not merely a new party additional to the fifty plus already existing there was need first to have a nationwide movement to propagate an agenda and recruit adherents for creating an organizational structure. But Mr. Kejriwal formed and plunged his new party into the forthcoming Delhi assembly elections. How is his party performing up till now 06-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14380 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14363 Some years ago there was considerable talk about the emergence of a Shining India. What the nation has been reduced to instead is a Whining India. Nothing brings this out more painfully than the current reaction to the death of Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan jail custody. There is national outrage. The details attending this tragic event are too fresh in mind to bear repetition. New Delhi s impotence and Islamabad s callous contempt have inflamed public opinion. 03-May-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14363 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14351 The opposition criticism of the Prime Minister s Office PMO and the Law Minister overseeing the CBI report on its investigation into the Coalgate scam being monitored by the Supreme Court is understandable. What is not understandable is the failure of politicians and intellectuals to recognize that such a situation was inherent and inevitable under the prevailing system. It is all very well demanding a change in the government. What about demanding a change in the system 30-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14351 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14347 The demand for Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh s resignation is growing and with good reason. The PM s accountability as Minister concerned for the corruption unearthed in the Coalgate scam cannot be ignored. However that does not quite explain the current outcry against him. 29-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14347 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14334 There is widespread speculation about China s motives after its troops encroached into Ladakh and camped there before the forthcoming visit of the Chinese Premier Mr. Li Keqiang. I present my take on the subject. I know of course that it is only of academic interest. It is futile to discuss foreign policy as long as moronic puppets continue to dominate India s political scene. 26-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14334 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14318 There is an old saying that those whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad If there is any truth in that are we witnessing the last days of the Congress Party 22-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14318 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14305 Craving the reader s indulgence I would like to share a bit of my personal experience in active politics. I do this not satisfy my ego but in the belief that recounting those few experiences may help people better appreciate how practical politics renders probity impractical. Contrary to popular belief decentralization of political power does not weaken but consolidates national unity and strength. That is why as far back as 1992 I had concluded near the end of my book Recovery of India ... 20-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14305 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14292 The latest Gujarat exposure arose from the government making available to anti-riot petitioner Mrs. Zakia Jafri the voluminous record of police wireless messages that had been denied to lawyer Ms. Teesta Setelvad in another case on the plea that these records had been destroyed. Thereby the lies committed by the Special Investigative Team SIT have been exposed. Ms. Jafri shared the damaging police wireless recorded messages with the Headlines Today news channel to confirm that the riots were pre-planned and the administration did not heed police warnings to act. 17-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14292 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14288 There seems to be developing a crisis within the National Democratic Alliance NDA . The BJP and JD U are threatening to split on the issue of selecting the next Prime Ministerial candidate. The race for occupying the PM s post after the next general election is in full swing. One wonders why. There are a few aspirants openly in the fray. Others are lurking in the shadows. 16-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14288 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14282 America s projected exit from Afghanistan in 2014 has been received with dismay by the mandarins of South Block. The popular perception is that without US restraint on Islamabad the Kabul government would be dominated by the Taliban and act as an instrument of Pakistan to force severance of India s ties with Kabul. This flawed perception arises from the inability of Indian policymakers to think independently instead of blindly following the west. 13-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14282 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14264 The one big hope that Pakistan will pull through its horrendous multi-faceted internal crisis that threatens its very existence is provided by its English language media. The insight displayed by many of its commentators and columnists would do any newspaper functioning in a democratic society proud. It is Pakistan s media that encouraged this writer to continue harbouring optimism regarding the future of Indo-Pakistan relations. Such optimism is fading fast due to a variety of recent developments. 08-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14264 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14250 Two recent events provide a faint glimmer of light from the end of the tunnel. Mr. LK Advani addressed his party workers in Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Rahul Gandhi addressed businessmen at the Chambers of Indian Industry CII . Consider what each leader said and then assess the only realistic way in which their respective sentiments can in fact be translated into reality. 04-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14250 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14244 After the CBI raided DMK leader Mr. MK Stalin the Prime Minister PM and Finance Minister FM publicly criticized the move and claimed ignorance. The CBI works under the Prime Minister s Office PMO . Mr. Narainasamy is the Minister of State in the PMO directly overlooking the CBI. Mr. Narainasamy is a known Mrs. Sonia Gandhi loyalist. The statements of the PM and FM revealed that he had failed in his duty to keep the cabinet informed before sanctioning the raid. He should have been sacked. 03-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14244 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14237 After the new 2014 BJP team has been announced by party president Mr. Rajnath Singh contrary to what most media experts have opined the prospect of Mr. Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister has not increased but in fact sharply declined. It appears this has happened not by default but by design. And the author of the stratagem to spike Mr. Modi s chances is the RSS Chief. Mr. Modi had become too big for his boots and had earlier challenged the RSS. His belated overtures to Nagpur evidently bought him peace but not trust. RSS Chief Mr. Mohan Bhagwat it seems does not forgive or forget very easily. In the days to come Mr. Modi may learn this to his cost. It would be instructive to see how precisely Mr. Bhagwat has cut Mr. Modi to size. 01-Apr-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14237 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14230 After the end of the BRIC summit at Durban South Africa a review of our puppet government s handling of foreign policy would not be out of place. But first a look at the emerging global balance of power in the light of recent history is necessary. In brief the worst years of the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union were globally dominated by American bankers. They had a foot firmly planted in the power systems of both nations to afford them unique leverage. There is insufficient public awareness about how American bankers funded Russia s communist revolution and later the Soviet economy. 30-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14230 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14225 Congress General Secretary Mr. Digvijay Singh made a sensational confession by admitting that the Sonia-PM joint system of governing India has failed. 28-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14225 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14218 I am notorious for proffering unsolicited advice to politicians in India which is consistently ignored. Thereby I have acquired a thick skin. I am now proffering unsought advice to you after your arrival in Pakistan. I am writing to you because I believe that you can play a decisive role to resolve the crisis in Pakistan and thereby stabilize relations with India. 26-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14218 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14197 According to set procedure before the CBI can launch investigation order prosecution or conduct a raid against a public official it must obtain sanction from the cabinet. In other words if the CBI is not lying it must have informed at least Mr. Narayanasamy about the decision to raid Mr. Stalin. The importance of the individual raided would make it imperative that clearance for sanction should have been granted after due consideration at the highest level. 22-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14197 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14190 One day after the DMK withdrew support to the UPA government the CBI raided the residence of Mr. Stalin who was a known hawk of the DMK advocating withdrawal of support. The CBI conducted the raid in pursuance of a probe into alleged financial irregularity committed by Mr. Stalin. Opposition parties naturally put two and two together and alleged that the government was misusing the CBI to carry out a political vendetta against the DMK. Then strange things started to happen. These happened because of the silent struggle within the UPA government right at the top. I will refrain from elaborating on that aspect. Instead let us consider the government s odd reaction which exposes systemic farce. 21-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14190 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14182 Controversy related to language policy has erupted once again. Strong opposition to the Union Public Service Commission s UPSC decision to include marks for the English language paper to the overall tally in the government s Civil Service examinations has compelled authorities to stay implementation. Earlier candidates were required to only pass the English language paper without its marks being added to the overall score. 19-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14182 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14161 To translate policy into action there must be a government. We have a government without a shred of governance. Indian democracy has collapsed. The Indian nation is tottering. The first and foremost need therefore is to restore a government. No hope may be placed upon the present dispensation reforming itself. One must focus on how to ensure that India gets a government that can deliver after the next general election. 14-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14161 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14147 More than one political commentator has lamented over the fact that no big idea has emerged as yet to set the poll debate for the 2014 general election. This writer has reiterated two issues that one thought could have become big ideas for the election. But there were no takers. I present a third idea that is feasible and eminently achievable. 12-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14147 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14106 Fresh developments have made it imperative that the government cancel the Rs. 62000 crore Raphael fighter jet deal. The defence ministry is staggering from one corruption scandal to another. What is surprising is that even though warning signals are given in time the government refuses to heed them. Even while the government is mired in the Augusta Westland Helicopter scam the threat of the Raphael fighter jet scam is looming over its head. Readers might recall that one year ago in March 2012 it was pointed out in these columns that there was a cloud over the Raphael deal. 08-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14106 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14087 It is conceded that much of our security lapses may emanate from sheer incompetence. But after such lapses are discovered should not action to stem the rot by the government be swift and transparent If the government ignores such lapses what is one to conclude 05-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14087 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14081 At the very outset let it be clearly understood that this writer neither supports nor opposes Mr. Narendra Modi s candidature to become prime minister. His opponents claim he will divide the nation. His supporters claim that he will bring a qualitative change in India. I am detached and indifferent because a qualitative change does not excite me. Only a fundamental change interests me. I will focus therefore on the narrow aspect of the much touted Gujarat Model of development associated with Mr. Modi. 04-Mar-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14081 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14062 After the new US Defence Secretary Mr. Chuck Hagel s speech delivered to an Oklahoma University in 2011 resurfaced there was consternation expressed by several Indian voices. In that speech Mr. Hagel accused India of financing projects in Afghanistan that created problems for Pakistan. He said India for some time has always used Afghanistan as a second front and India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan on that side of the border. 28-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14062 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14051 After the recent spate of hangings the debate about the desirability of capital punishment has revived. Some advocate abolishing capital punishment for being inhuman and uncivilized. Others insist that no satisfaction to the victims would be delivered without retribution through the death penalty. Until now I was in two minds. But the chances of miscarriage of justice and innocents being irrevocably hanged given our justice system run by incompetent prosecutors and judges gave reason to pause. 26-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14051 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14048 Pure farce is what the Joint Parliamentary Committee JPC probing the 2G spectrum scam has been reduced to. Over two years have elapsed since its cosmetic probe under the chairmanship of Mr. PC Chacko began. Amazingly the chief accused in the scam and presently in jail former Telecom Minister Mr. A Raja has not been questioned even once by the JPC. What kind of probe is the JPC conducting 25-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14048 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14029 Terror has struck Hyderabad. There was terror in the past. There will be terror in the future. There has been terror in Hyderabad. There will be terror in other cities. India seems to be helpless. Critics say that India is a soft state. India is a soft state because those who rule us have soft heads. After the recent blasts the Home Minister stated that the Union government had given prior warning to all the states. Critics ask why adequate steps were not taken in advance. The state governments are blaming the centre. The centre is blaming the states. This blame game will go on forever. That is why I say our politicians have soft heads. The solution stares them in the face. They refuse to see it. 22-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14029 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14025 The most widely viewed English language TV news channel is vigorously campaigning against corruption in the Augusta Westland helicopter deal. The channel s anchor belligerently asks the government why it refuses to question Abhishek Verma the alleged lynchpin of the scam presently housed in Tihar jail instead of sending CBI sleuths on a wild goose chase to Italy. It is a good question. But equally good questions may be asked of the TV channel itself and other mainstream news outlets. 21-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14025 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14017 Recently the cabinet was in two minds whether or not to cancel the Augusta Westland helicopter deal in which serious corruption allegations have surfaced. Reportedly the Defence Ministry favoured cancellation while the Ministry of External Affairs was against it. Official sources even leaked to the media that Defence Minister Mr. AK Antony was threatening to resign. Subsequently Mr. Antony turned turtle and said that he would not resign but perform his duty as the Minister. He echoed the Prime Minister to assert that there was nothing to hide and he would face any debate in parliament. It matters little which side in the cabinet relented. What needs to be seen is what happens to the helicopter deal. 20-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14017 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14006 India should not bank on Italy to unravel the Agusta Westland helicopter corruption. Indeed circumstantial evidence suggests that the Italians could actually mislead Indian authorities regarding the truth. The scam erupted in full force only after the Italian government arrested the CEO of AgustaWestland s parent company Finmeccanica on charges of corruption. This raised high hopes in certain Indian circles that the Italians will do what the UPA government refuses to do. The hopes could be misplaced. The reasons are complex. 18-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14006 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13991 The Augusta Westland helicopter corruption case offers opportunity not only to unearth the guilty in this deal but to clean up the nexus that runs corruption in the major official deals in the nation. When the system becomes corrupt as has happened in India there grow permanent service providers for laundering money transmitting money providing legal safeguards and actual bribing of officials that might be used in all deals and not just any one particular deal. The evidence surfacing from the August Westland scam provides opportunity to crack the system and destroy the mafia running it. 15-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13991 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13980 The Bofors deal was a watershed in India s fight against corruption. Bigger corruption might have occurred earlier. But for the first time the most powerful politician in the land was perceived to have deliberately covered up the crime. That corruption case was never satisfactorily cleared. But the efforts of the government to bend rules and cover up the truth became increasingly evident over the years. Now there are prospects that what could not be accomplished with regard to the Bofors deal could be realized in the Augusta Westland helicopter deal. 15-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13980 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13972 After Hurriyat leader Mr. Yasin Malik publicly participated with Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan to mourn the death of Afzal Guru there was serious protest among sections of media and politics. One wonders why Were not Mr. Malik s connections with Pakistan long suspected What was covert is now open. That is something to be welcomed. What needs to be considered is why silent cooperation was discarded and public collusion displayed. There is speculation that Afzal Guru s hanging could lead to renewed militancy in Kashmir. The challenge could be much more formidable. 12-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13972 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13958 Public opinion inspired by the electronic media has gone gung-ho after the hangings of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru. At last people say the government is serious about fighting terror. Is it These belated hangings signify absolutely nothing of significance regarding the war on terror. 09-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13958 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13940 Addressing a public rally last Sunday Congress spokesperson Mr. Shakeel Ahmed described Mr. LK Advani as a Pakistani who came to India to seek power. Mr. Shakeel Ahmed said Pakistan born Advani s intention was not to serve Hindus but he wanted to become Prime Minister of India. Advani was not just born in Pakistan ... The BJP condemned Mr. Sahkeel s statement and demanded immediate apology from the Congress Party. An apology is inadequate. Much much more needs to be done. The time has come for plain speaking. 06-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13940 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13933 The Lokpal Bill continues to provoke fierce national debate. Both Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal have rubbished the government s proposed Lokpal Bill. Kiran Bedi has approved the government s draft of the bill. Arun Jaitley has criticized it because it has excluded provisions that were unanimously approved in the parliamentary debate. 04-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13933 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13914 Two chief ministers have publicly confessed that they cannot maintain law and order in their respective states. ... publicly admitted that they were coerced into acting against law abiding citizens because of threats by critics. Because the chief ministers could not handle those who threatened to take the law into their own hands they deprived the rights of citizens who lived within the law. Both chief ministers by their actions have created a precedent for others to coerce the government with threats in order to have their way. 01-Feb-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13914 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13900 Two leading Indian intellectuals betrayed not only their clumsy articulation but revealed also their imprecise understanding of prevalent reality. Intervening at the recent Jaipur Literary Festival noted author Mr. Tarun Tejpal set the ball rolling by asserting that corruption was a great social leveler because it allowed deprived sections to acquire wealth and upward mobility. 30-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13900 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13892 The candid admission by Pakistan s retired General Shahid Aziz that there were no Mujahideen but only the Pakistan army involved in the Kargil attack could be a game changer if the Indian response to it were not so immature and unintelligent. Many Indian critics are gloating and calling General Musharraf a liar. Others are taking the high moral ground and accusing Pakistan of deception. 28-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13892 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13883 Surprisingly Indian reaction to the light sentence given to David Coleman Headley key conspirator in the 26 11 terror is one of surprise and shock. It should have been expected. With the exposure and arrest of terrorists involved in Mumbai and Denmark the probe in the US is far from over. And the plea bargain negotiated by Headley to avoid the death sentence is clear indication that he could be a crucial source of information even in the years ahead. 26-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13883 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13870 Home Minister Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde addressing his party s brainstorming Chintan Shivir at Jaipur almost immediately after Mr. Rahul Gandhi had been appointed the party s new Vice-President declared On one hand we are trying to bring peace in this country. We are also taking steps against injustice to minorities as also against infiltration. But in the midst of all this we have got an investigation report that be it the RSS or BJP their training camps are promoting Hindu terrorism. We are keeping a strict vigil on all this. 25-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13870 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13857 I had earlier pointed out with some pride how the Sunni-Shiite rivalry has been contained in India unlike in other parts of the world. Even in neighbouring Pakistan terror and killing between both sects is frequent. I traced India s unique relationship that exists between Sunni and Shia to the traditional Hindu way of life which is markedly different from the nonsensical fundamentalist version of Hinduism propagated by a fringe element. However I was perhaps indiscreet because I wrote that too soon. 21-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13857 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13842 Understandably the allusions to India s youth and middle class made by Congress President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi in her inaugural address to the Chintan Shivir session of her party in Jaipur grabbed major media attention. This was a marked change from the earlier garibi hatao and aam admi slogans. Her allusions indicated the thrust of the party s strategy for the 2014 general election. However Congress leaders would be sadly mistaken if they focused only on formulating appropriate policies in order to revive the flagging fortunes of their party. 19-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13842 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13836 Recently responding to the ceasefire violations by Pakistan this writer had advocated measures that would either make or break the peace dialogue with Islamabad. Events have overtaken that suggestion. Internal developments are forcing a make-or-break choice for Pakistan. The outcome of the crisis will depend upon one man who stands in the middle. He is of course Pakistan Army Chief General Parvez Kayani. How will he swing To assess that recent events in Pakistan deserve appraisal. 17-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13836 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13818 According to media speculation the new BJP president will be chosen within the next week. The choice becomes significant one year before the next general election. The importance of the President of India s major opposition party cannot be minimized. Newspapers had indicated that RSS Chief Mr. Mohan Bhagwat favoured a second term for Mr. Nitin Gadkari. However that is no longer certain. Two events create doubts. 14-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13818 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13800 For how long will India continue to waste time while dealing with Pakistan The stalemate between both nations has spanned six decades. India s progress on all fronts is impeded because of this albatross hung around the nation s neck. The recent movement forward in peace talks has been derailed yet again by an incident on the border. 10-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13800 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13790 There is growing soul searching in democracies across the world. There has arisen a crisis of democracy that cannot be ignored. After the global economic crisis this soul searching began. America and Britain no less than nations in the developing world are beginning to look askance at the system of governance under which they live. The very foundations of democracy are being questioned. The Left is crowing. 08-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13790 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13776 There is Indian theory and Indian practice. There is Indian promise and Indian performance. There is Indian hype and Indian hypocrisy. There is awesome gap between what we plan and what we deliver. And as superb rationalists and escape artists we dwell on one and ignore the other. Thereby we salvage our disturbed conscience. This trait in India s national character has seldom been exposed more painfully than by the recent horrendous rape crime in Delhi. 05-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13776 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13762 The recent Supreme Court judgment on the appointment of the Lokayukta in Gujarat is questionable not because of what it states but from what it fails to state. The court clearly states that the Governor must act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in the State. At the same time the court has upheld the Governor s decision to appoint the Lokayukta that went against the advice of the Council of Ministers. 03-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13762 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13753 One result of the recent Delhi rape tragedy has been the impetus it has given to the demand for expediting the Women s Reservation Bill. It is a mistake to connect the two issues. The general attitude of Indian males towards women is deplorable. It needs to be rectified. But it is a grievous error to conclude that such reform would result from giving women reservation in parliament. The two issues women s reservation and excesses against women are unrelated 02-Jan-2013 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13753 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13741 The Delhi gang rape revealed two aspects. One related to society s barbaric attitude to women the second to the collapse of governance and rule of law allowing criminals to break law with impunity. The first aspect grabbed public attention. Hopefully it will lead to reforming attitude and treatment towards women. The second aspect has been overshadowed. It is no less important. The very quality of life depends upon the state of governance. Is it not time to seriously address this issue 31-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13741 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13688 First it was corruption. Now it is crime. It was a particularly inhuman crime of rape that broke the back of Indian tolerance. ... Something snapped in the Indian consciousness. Educated Indians students women and activists are tumbling out in the streets across the nation to protest. They demand justice. They want change. 24-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13688 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13661 Pakistan Prime Minister Mr. Raja Parvez Ashraf meeting this week a seven-member team of All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Islamabad stated that Pakistan seeks to resolve the Kashmir issue on the basis of UN resolutions and the aspiration of the Kashmiri people. This statement should be welcomed by New Delhi. Once again it offers an opportunity to New Delhi to right the wrong committed by successive Indian governments for the past six decades. 21-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13661 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13647 Pakistan Interior Minister Mr. Abdul Rehman Malik is not famous for his tact and diplomatic skills. Not surprisingly he peppered his recent visit to India with a string of tactless and unnecessary remarks that badly muddied the atmosphere. Predictably this raised hackles among Indian media and official circles. But there is need to distinguish between what Mr. Malik was trying to convey and what he actually said. New Delhi should be mature enough to reject the messenger without rejecting the message. 19-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13647 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13640 Home Minister Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde posed as a tough adversary of his Pakistani counterpart Interior Minister Mr. Abdul Rehman Malik who recently visited India. Mr. Shinde rebutted Mr. Malik. He informed Lok Sabha on Monday that Pakistan had not arrested Hafiz Saeed for the 26 11 terror as Mr. Malik had claimed. 18-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13640 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13630 Once again a government official has blown the whistle to lock the stable after the horse has bolted. Former CBI Director Mr. US Mishra informed a TV channel that political pressure is indeed exerted to influence the agency s investigation. This is old hat for critics of course. 17-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13630 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13607 The Pakistan delegation visiting India led by Interior Minister Mr. Abdul Rehman Malik has sought from our government the latest update on the Samjhauta Express bomb blast probe. This query was anticipated. It was predicted. And our government s response could change the name of the game regarding Pakistan s role in terror. 14-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13607 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13595 Pandit Ravi Shankar was a rising sitar player. He was known as the younger brother of Uday Shankar the great dancer who made a classical film on dance Kalpana. Ravi Shankar was married to Annapoorna daughter of the great Sarod player Ustad Allaudin Khan. My classmate Parshottam Jhingan played the sitar and had full access to Ravi Shankar who lived in a ground floor apartment in Mandi House those days. 12-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13595 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13586 Discharging a legal requirement Walmart informed the US government that it had spent the equivalent of Rs. 125 crores to lobby in India for Foreign Direct Investment FDI in retail trade. The opposition parties were quick to smell a rat and accused Walmart of paying bribes. Lobbying is illegal in India but legal in America. 11-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13586 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13580 Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju while addressing a seminar organized by the South Asia Media Commission said that he rejected the two-nation theory and the Partition of the subcontinent. He said The cause of the Kashmir problem is the partition of India on a totally bogus basis the two-nation theory I don t recognize Pakistan as a legitimate country because the whole basis is the two-nation theory and I don t accept the two-nation theory. 10-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13580 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13552 Jawaharlal Nehru s grievous errors of policy that led to the debacle against China are these days widely acknowledged. From that the facile assumption is drawn sometimes that an adversarial policy towards China at that period of time was mistaken. However India erred not by confronting China but doing so stupidly on the false assumption that Beijing would never respond militarily. Nehru was na ve enough to believe that after he had personally facilitated China s permanent membership of the UN Security Council Beijing would never take to arms against India. Subsequently his pathetic ignorance about military realities led to the debacle. 07-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13552 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13526 The most significant aspect of the current Gujarat election is not whether it throws up a future prime minister or whether it will make or mar the electoral prospects of this or that party in 2014. The most significant change of this election will be its impact on India s political culture. 04-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13526 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13516 Attention had been drawn earlier in these columns to the curious covert partnership that exists between Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi s political secretary Mr. Ahmed Patel. It was even asked whether this partnership was blessed by Mrs. Gandhi or whether she was losing grip and her close aide Mr. Patel was playing solo politics. 03-Dec-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13516 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13491 Let me stick my neck out and make a rash conjecture. I believe the government could order a snap poll to be held in early 2013. My reasoning is simple. However dumb Congress leaders might be while formulating policy they are exceptionally smart when it comes to intrigue and calculation related to preserving power. And the context for a snap poll could not be more propitious for this tainted government. 30-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13491 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13480 India s major opposition party is in crisis. It desperately needs competent conflict management. To achieve that first the forces in conflict need to be recognized. Their respective aims require understanding. Such speculation related to the internal affairs of a party may be considered inappropriate. But the uninhibited manner in which the protagonists inside the party air their views in public invites such speculation 28-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13480 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13460 BJP President Mr. Nitin Gadkari has painted himself into a corner. His refusal to resign from his post provoked mounting criticism against him from interested elements within BJP. Mr. Ram Jethmalani was the most vocal and persistent. He even dared the party to act against him. At the moment of writing he is suspended from the primary membership of his party. Clearly Mr. Jethmalani wants more. He wants to be expelled. 26-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13460 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13450 When will India get a government prepared to act and not just gesticulate Unless India starts to exercise its leverage against China Beijing will not be restrained from hegemonic bullying. The appeasers who describe themselves as pragmatists will argue that India has no leverage against Beijing. China they say is too powerful militarily and advanced economically to be intimidated by New Delhi. These appeasers which includes the entire policy making class belonging to the government as well as to the opposition are wrong. I have outlined earlier how India can compel China to see reason. 24-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13450 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13440 The hanging of Ajmal Kasab has led to widespread jubilation across the nation. The satisfaction that justice has been done among relatives of the direct victims of the dastardly terrorist attack on 26 11 is understandable. The sense of euphoria experienced elsewhere is not. 22-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13440 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13433 Briefly recapitulating the sequence of events leading to the arrest of two teenage girls for messages posted on the Internet will help us appreciate the enormity of the incident. One girl Shaheen Dhada on the day of late Balasaheb Thackeray s funeral posted the following on the Facebook Every day thousands of people die. But still the world moves on. Just due to one politician dead. A natural death. Every one just gone crazy. When was the last time did any one show some respect or even 2 mins for shahid Bhagat Singh Azad Sukhdev or any of the people because of whom we r free living Indians. Respect is earned not just given. N definitely not forced. 21-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13433 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13420 There is almost universal acceptance of the fact that India is in serious crisis. Governance has collapsed and corruption continues to mount. Civil society crusaders against corruption are attracting a huge response. Alas Mr. Anna Hazare is not seen as an alternative Prime Minister. Nor does he want to become one. Mr. Arvind Kejriwal is seen by many as being as yet too immature to lead the nation. What is the solution 19-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13420 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13415 Both critics and admirers of the late Bal Thackeray are agreed on one point. The most unique quality of the late departed leader was his uninhibited candour. He spoke as he felt regardless of how the world would react. One hopes therefore that the same lack of inhibition would be welcomed when displayed by a writer assessing his legacy. 18-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13415 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13403 Specialists and experts often go wrong while making political forecasts. Buried in a welter of facts and statistics they tend to lose sight of the simple truth. Political events are dictated by social and economic trends. But they are equally influenced by the politicians who govern them. Politicians are people. They seldom fail to leave their human imprint on the direction of events. 16-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13403 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13392 Despite strenuous assertions to the contrary it may safely be said that the RSS and BJP function as one team. 13-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13392 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13374 The fourth exposure by Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and Mr. Prashant Bhusan is easily the most serious and substantial given by the India against Corruption IAC team made thus far. True once again there is no startlingly new information. The issues raised had been reported earlier. 09-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13374 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13365 The world is in a critical stage of evolution towards a new global order. A new world order is unstoppable if mankind is to survive. Technology has ordained that. The question is how might that new order be shaped to ensure peace justice and stability. The European Union could be the harbinger of global federalism. The four years given to President Obama to govern the world s most powerful nation is not a long time. But it is sufficient for him to lay the foundation of such a world order. 08-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13365 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13355 Stupidity is by no means monopolized by the Congress. The BJP is an even stronger claimant. Consider its current crisis. BJP President Mr. Nitin Gadkari was subjected to a sustained campaign in the media and among political parties alleging corruption. There grew increased speculation about his continuance in office. Eventually the silent murmurs within the BJP exploded into a public display of rebellious criticism. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Mr. Ram Jethmalani publicly demanded that Mr. Gadkari should demit the office of BJP President and face a credible inquiry into the charges leveled against him. 07-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13355 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13338 Earlier this week CBI sleuths visited Sri Lanka to question former LTTE leader Selvarasa Pathmanathan in connection with Rajiv Gandhi s assassination. Rajiv was murdered over two decades ago. Is the probe behind his killing still on If not has it been revived Or is it that the CBI ad hoc started probing the case again because of recent events Is there any proper procedure being followed Has any proper procedure ever been followed by Indian officialdom One does not know. One does know that the performance record of the CBI is abysmal although the agency employs first class officers. 04-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13338 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13337 If the loan was advanced by the Congress party why the shares of the company were reciprocally transferred to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Rahul Gandhi and not to the Congress party The answer is self evident. Apart from Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Rahul Gandhi there is no other Congress party. I am not saying this. Congress leaders by their silence are saying this. 04-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13337 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13328 America threw the cat among the pigeons when its special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Mr. Marc Grossman stated that the Durand Line constituted the international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. This raised Kabul s hackles because all Afghans ranging from President Hamid Karzai to the most extreme Taliban refuse to recognize the Durand Line as a legitimate border. Islamabad on the other hand swears by the Durand Line as the international boundary. The dispute is rooted in history. 02-Nov-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13328 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13314 There is a continuous stream of information related to the Rs. 3546 crore Augusta Westland VVIP helicopter contract which is being currently probed by Italian investigative agencies for alleged graft. Italian authorities have seized many hours of taped conversation between the agents and consultants who pulled through the deal. Excerpts of these conversations are finding their way into the media on a daily basis. From what has appeared up till now the following conclusions may safely be drawn. 31-Oct-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13314 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13308 China s official newspaper has quoted unidentified anti-terrorism sources to claim that Uighur separatists from China s Xingjian region have joined Al Qaeda terrorists in Syria to fight its regime. ... By the latest official media report inspired by Chinese authorities Beijing is attempting to present itself to the world as a victim and not as a patron of terrorism. It needs to do this because the shoe is beginning to pinch in Xingjian. 30-Oct-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13308 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13297 This critic had always considered the real dispute between China and India not arising from their conflicting claims over sparsely inhabited or uninhabited land but from the fact that Beijing denied India its legitimate sphere of influence. It now transpires that Beijing has similar concerns. It considers its questioned rights over Tibet to be the real cause of Sino-Indian discord. 28-Oct-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13297 http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13296 Italian investigators probing corruption by middlemen in various defence deals stumbled upon a taped conversation between some of them related to the Indian VVIP helicopter deal negotiated by the Augusta Westland firm. The conversation recorded on the tape is between the Swiss based consultant Mr. Guido Haschke and his Italian counterparts. Currently Swiss authorities have placed Mr. Haschke under arrest due to evidence unearthed in the Italian investigations. 28-Oct-2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=13296