When Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, decided to launch a Gaurav Yatra (journey of pride for Hindus), it reminded me of another incident which I could not put my finger on. When before, I wondered, had somebody declared that […]
General Dyer’s Gaurav Yatra Read More »
Before the Johannesburg summit on the environment, I was asked what I thought it would achieve. I replied that the amount of hot air generated would surely contribute to rather than solve the problem of global warming. The millions of
Clean water or hot air? Read More »
Even cynics were shaken when Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray ordered Power Minister Suresh Prabhu to resign on the ground that he was too honest. We are used to the notion that politicians should resign if caught extorting bribes. Never
Suresh Prabhu and Simple Simon Read More »
Readers are familiar with the concept of jobless growth. But India is now demonstrating a less familiar phenomenon, which, for want of a better phrase, can be called industryless growth. This was unsurprising last year, when the global recession forced
Is industryless growth here to stay? Read More »
The government’s proposal to issue identity cards with machine-readable numbers to all citizens has, predictably, raised angry questions. Do you really want to be known as Citizen 1004762548 ? The Economic Times had a cartoon showing Home Minister Advani stamping
The case for Citizen 1004762548 Read More »
Whether the rains revive or not, India faces the worst drought since 1987. If it rains steadily for the next two weeks in drought-hit states, something can be retrieved from the wreckage of the monsoon. Even so rural India will
Combat the drought with jobs Read More »
India needs to withdraw its army from the border quickly. This will reduce the economic costs of war tensions, and consolidate the gains of its spectacular diplomatic success in getting the US to arm-twist President Musharraf into formally renouncing terrorism.
Pull Back From The Border Read More »
For decades, I was anguished by the lack of calories for our poor. I believed our nutritionists, who that Indians were seriously underweight, calorie-deprived and physically deformed by malnutrition. I believed it made sense to define our poverty line in
Starvation Diet May Be Good For Health Read More »
Most developing countries are both integrating with the world economy and devolving power to local governments and communities. This combination of globalisation and localisation is best called glocalisation. The centralised nation-state is giving way to both supra-national and sub-national institutions.
Glocalisation: globalisation plus localisation Read More »
Everybody agrees that there is more to life than money. Yet we measure living standards in rupees. Why? Because measuring non-monetary things may be important but is difficult to do. How do you measure the value of communal peace? Or
Longer Life Means Less Poverty Read More »
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