It’s been a week since the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation lawsuit concluded in Depp’s favour and penalised Heard with $15 million for the same. The case has made headlines over the months and has reigned as the most trending topic on social media. From Twitter and Facebook memes to TikTok disses, the people’s court had […]
I have grown up reading about power and what it means and what it does to people. Power was taught sometimes as money and sometimes as derived from control. However, the more I have delved into India, the more I realize how untrue this is. India is a country run by the mob or the […]
George Washington had 100’s of human slaves. Blacks that were part of his property. Yet, he is one of the most renowned libertarians of all time. Yet, he is one of the founding fathers of the place we know as United States of America. Here, locally in India, I used to jump traffic lights when […]
If independence is the ability to do what you want, when you want and where you want, then let me start by breaking down the basic notion of independence for you. Are you really independent? Can you really be independent? Will you really want to be independent? Before everyone jumps to the obvious answer, I […]
The dream of a two-party system seems not so far away. It is undoubtedly because of BJP’s relentless efforts to appease the Gods above. Seems like the beef ban, or the ‘tapasya’ we all endured when we stood in those long ATM lines during demonetization – everything has contributed to the arrival of a day […]
A political party that once controlled the country. A political party whose proud history is parallel to the history of the country, not to mention the two blurring together at times. The Indian National Congress also known as the ‘Grand Old Party’ has seen a golden period. Navjot Singh Sidhu is right when he says, […]
As we are ushering into the 71st year of Independence, I want to take time for us all to explore the meaning of independence in a bit more detail. Have you ever wondered what independence really is? This blog is specifically to explore the meaning of independence as it does for a country. The next blog will explore it from an individual perspective.
India gained her independence on 15th August, 1947. So, what did it really get?
Wikipedia says: Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over the territory. The opposite of independence is a dependent territory.
But what does self-government or sovereignty mean?
I have asked this to many a nationalist reveling in the idea of the nation called India, but haven’t received a convincing answer. I have asked others and the notion of independence for a country is devoid of a foreign ruler.
In my view, independence for a country is simply the notion that from now on all resources in the country will be optimized for the benefit of the nation. (Please note the word is optimize, not maximize).Continue Reading
“Have you ever heard of Harry Houdini? Well, he wasn’t like today’s magicians who are only interested in television ratings. He was an artist. He could make an elephant disappear in the middle of a theater filled with people, and do you know how he did that?
Misdirection.
What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes.”
Today, I am reminded of this famous quote from the movie, Swordfish. Perhaps Travolta’s best work after Pulp Fiction.
Seems like Donald Trump got his training from Harry Houdini himself. The latest decision to quit Paris Climate Accord seems clearly like a misdirection.
The best part of it is, we all will still fall for it. Under pressure from all corners about variety of legal, illegal and unethical issues, Trump has done what any seasoned politician will do. Change the Subject!
For the last 24 hours, no one seems to care about Russia or hacking or any other issues that have clouded Trump’s presidency over the last 3 months.
What I found particularly fascinating is the role that social media plays in it. There was a time when I thought about the digital audience (the cool microbloggers on Twitter) as a discerning lot. Those who can separate the wheat from the chaff.Continue Reading
Let me begin by congratulating Narendra Modi and the NDA government for successfully completing 3 years. I am extremely glad that things in India are much better in 3 years than the 3 months of the newly elected US government.
Even the staunchest opposition to Narendra Modi and the current government will agree that his ability to connect with the masses is strong and effective. The working of the government is a miracle at best and a very well run marketing machine at the worst. This is where closer analysis need to be done.
This government so far has much lesser serious scams, though a lot more newsable discussions.
Everything from intolerance to cow-slaughter to caste/religion and other aspects have kept this government on its feet and points to a less than effective control.Continue Reading
Ranil Wickremesinghe: An insight for the new Sri Lanka President
On last week’s Wednesday Parliament, Sri Lanka elected Ranil Wickremesinghe as their new President through a cabinet vote. What most of the population has hailed as a disastrous move as the political veteran and the six-time Prime Minister is a close ally of the former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. By defeating the former journalist Dullas Alahapperuma, […]