IndiaOn

The only way bureaucracy, in India or elsewhere, can survive is to create more work for itself. After 9/11, paranoid governments have begun introducing more and more security measures that increase travel hassles. The latest in this list is Britain, which has begun fingerprinting all visitors. When all this is happening, can India be left behind? == == Related Links == ...

In the midst of all the talk about the migrants in Mumbai and whether they are a burden or an asset to the city, I came to visit my mother in Kolkata. She lives in the Ballygunj area, once (probably still), an extremely elitist old money colony of the Bengali elite. After uninterrupted Left Front rule in the state since 1977 ...

The Indian people generally are a hardy lot. Due mainly to their philosophic nature, they are able to withstand immense hardship and gamely live on even in the most poverty-ridden districts of the country. What drives them to despair are often the government’s “development” programmes that uproot them from their traditional habitats and destroy their community linkages with nature. Therefore, I ...

_“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colours are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”_ Last week, with the closing down of Appu Ghar, a part of me died (sorry, I couldn't resist using the cliché). Appu Ghar is (was!) an indelible part of the consciousness of any 80’s Delhi child. ...

“Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us” – Calvin (of ‘…and Hobbes’ fame. Not to be confused with John Calvin) Dear NASA, First of all let me congratulate you on your 50th anniversary. Your organization has been at the forefront of space exploration and ...