Musings of a Spectator

Responding to the Economic Meltdown - Arun Shourie

2009-03-22T17:28:00.007+05:30

Responding to the Economic Meltdown -Some lessons for South Asia by Arun Shourie(The Asian Development Bank recently organised a meeting in Manila of central bank governors, ministers and senior finance officials from South Asia to consider the impact of the economic meltdown, and possible responses. Michel Camdesus, former managing director of the IMF delivered the opening address, former Union

What Can India Contribute to the World of Today and Tomorrow?

2008-01-24T04:55:00.000+05:30

I came across this presentation by Prof. S N Balagangadhara given on October 24th, 2006, Research Centre Vergelijkende Cultuurwetenschap, Ghent University, Belgium. Those who intend to read a PDF version of the same, may download it here.What can India offer to the world of today and tomorrow? I will not tackle this problem directly but instead take up one of its sub-questions: to whom is this

Racism?!

2008-01-08T02:00:00.000+05:30

A friend of mine and I were chatting yesterday about the racism charge against Harbhajan and the stalemate that world cricket has brought itself into in. Indian team has rallied behind their team-mate (See here). Whereas the Australians have stated their case categorically (See here). The transcript of our chat was something that I felt it might be interesting to read and here it is. It has been

Spreading the good word

2007-07-25T07:45:00.000+05:30

How would one remember Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam as the President of India? As the President remits his office, scores of stories , reviews have appeared in the media and press.In the midst of all this, after his stint at the Raj Bhavan, comes the news that he has decided to get back to the Academia and shall be joining Anna University. What's more?He has accepted our Institutes's offer to be one of

Fraternal Affinity: Agastya and Agastyabhrata

2007-05-17T00:22:00.000+05:30

The following is taken from "Studies on Ramayana" - an English translation by Sri C Sivaramamurti of the Lectures on Ramayana delivered by Sri Sribhaashyam Appalacharyulu in Tirupati in the '80s. The book is published by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.Fraternal Affinity Fraternal Affinity is a theme of absorbing interest. The offspring of common parents share kinship of blood; this consanguinity

A Case for Consideration

2007-03-15T04:46:00.000+05:30

"Internet is provided from taxpayers’ money, from government’s money. My challenge is that the student should reach the classroom at 8:30 in the morning and I have been teaching for almost 30 years now. I have seen sleepy eyed students in the class. I don’t want that to happen. I want them to learn in the classroom" IIT Bombay Director Prof. Ashok Misra The recent decision of the IIT Bombay

Post Budget Satisfaction

2007-03-03T06:09:00.001+05:30

Sometimes, I think one should pat one's own back. In a way, I tried my bit towards understanding the state of mind of Manmohan Singh on the Quota issue, I remarked that he was making way for a larger allocation from the Budget towards Education Sector which generally becomes a difficult thing - given immense pressure from Corporates who always seem to like to have a pie from the Government. I am

Insecurity Syndrome

2007-02-13T05:25:00.000+05:30

Indian Government recently seems to have denied Visas for Fulbright Scholars who wanted to do social science research on what the Government describes as "sensitive" areas - be it religion, culture, communalism...Opposing this position strongly Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta has written an incisive article in the Indian Express. Here are my views on the same:I completely agree with the argument on the

A Glimpse of Netaji's Handwriting

2006-12-29T05:00:00.000+05:30

(click on the photo for a better view)Recently been to Netaji Bhawan (Netaji's residence) in Kolkata. More about the visit in future posts.

On Being Young

2006-11-09T18:03:00.000+05:30

A friend of mine recently wrote a post that dealt with Professor's Dilemmas. So, I was speaking to Prof. PRK Rao, especially about the Dilemma 2 listed in that post. I asked him if he would agree that current day Professors are not able to capture the attention of the young.He replied in all his wisdom - I wouldn't say that is the case. Professors certainly have the responsibility to make things

Dharampalji (1922-2006)

2006-10-25T17:09:00.000+05:30

This is a sentence typed after almost 3 hours of blankness and a loss for words to convey that - Dharampalji, a man who has had a profound influence on my thoughts, is no more.This blog has referred to Dharampalji more than once. I request all the readers of this blog to please go through the following, and if you feel more interested, please visit the following links: Click here and

On the Death of a Young Girl

2006-10-12T17:42:00.000+05:30

Thoughts of a death at a young age, as a friend of mine writes in his blog, have shifted towards this English Translation of a French poem. On the Death of Young GirlThough childhood's days were past and goneMore innocent no child could be;Though grace in every feature shone,Her maiden heart was fancy free.A few more months, or haply days,And Love would blossom, - so we thought,As lifts in

Haute Couture - Time for Khadi!

2006-10-05T16:27:00.000+05:30

This post shall probably be a logical continuation of my previous one. It may appear far fetched for people to think of charkha today, and of coming up with the kind of Charkha that Gandhiji talked of, but hold on..here's something to note!I found this article on "Khadi Comeback" in the New Indian Express which goes something like this:Khadi today is about revival. The khadi of old — the

Was Gandhiji anti-technology?

2006-09-26T08:09:00.000+05:30

Gandhiji has been hailed by many as a severe critic of Western Civilisation. But that does not seem to make him a Luddite. And this distinction is important.I think this link here should lay such claims to rest. I found it interesting and felt it must be shared.Here we are told of a Machine Contest that Gandhiji seems to have announced whose method and reach is something that can be used even

President's Speech and Some Personal Experiences

2006-09-19T01:38:00.000+05:30

I was writing this post for the past so many days that it will get to see the light of the day today.President Kalam's speech on the eve of Independence Day this time has centered around "National Awakening" - pumping in some interesting thoughts as he shared his experiences from his tours to various corners of the country, by quoting different methods/models applied by eminent people across the

Desh bechaa nahin gayaa!

2006-08-19T22:49:00.000+05:30

Recently, a friend of mine, ended up writing a Daily News kind of post, and for someone who's been out of blogging for a long time, it appeared a good way too, though a silly one. Thankfully the morning's newspaper has given me a good direction.In the midst of several news items, opinions and columns full of what in some sense be termed an intellectual desert - comes an Oasis in the form of these

A Correct Prescription?

2006-07-06T11:35:00.000+05:30

Here's an article by Dr. Kaveri Nambisan on Rural Health in India:Wrong prescription, doctorThe recent interview with Dr Devi Shetty by Shekhar Gupta ( Click here) has spurred me to write this. I admire Dr Shetty for starting an excellent hospital in Bangalore, and for giving up his lucrative job in the UK to work in India. I appreciate his concern for the health of our rural communities and for

What then must we do?

2006-05-26T17:12:00.000+05:30

The Prime Minister declares - Reservation issue is settled.Contradictory signs emerge from two of the Cabinet Ministers - Mr. Sibal voting for gradual increase in the quotas whereas Mr. Arjun Singh - declares that the quota shall be implemented fully from 2007 - also corrects the notions - reservations and increasing the seats in educational institutes are not interlinked. And the students and

Yes, I walked!

2006-05-24T03:50:00.000+05:30

On completing 2 years at the helm of affairs, PM Manmohan Singh said: "running a government is not difficult, building a nation certainly is. This is what our people expect of us. We must never fail them".We have got a Prime Minister who is a first rate thinker, and whose words always create a sense of respect for him.Yet, on the same day, he had to plead, at some other place, with the students

A Call for a "One World Forum"

2006-05-17T17:24:00.000+05:30

Arun Maria, Chairman, Boston Consulting Group has written an enlightening piece on Economics and the focus that it must take, you might as well check. Click here.Some excerpts:Economists tend to over-simplify their assumptions to enable mathematical modelling. For example, The Economist says, “Measuring profits is fairly straightforward; measuring environmental protection and social justice is

In Memory of John Kenneth Galbraith

2006-05-01T15:49:00.000+05:30

Going through the collection of books of a close friend of mine, I came across this book called "The New Industrial State". Not having heard of this man earlier, I did not pay much attention, but the same evening, as I go through his obituaries, I realise the importance of his contributions to the world.Professor John Kenneth Galbraith, former Ambassador to India, and long time Professor of

In Search of Musi

2006-03-20T12:42:00.000+05:30

Upodghaatam (Introduction)Thoughts of a batch trip - and institutionalising the idea of batch trips in my Institute has been on my mind for quite some time. [More on this later]Identifying right places - and ensuring that the first set of batch trips happen successfully is in a large sense the first target that I was looking at. Looking for places which are not yet explored by many of the

Rang de Basanti - II

2006-02-22T20:17:00.000+05:30

Note that in my previous post I was careful to argue that the Director of the movie does justice to all the characters and their characterization in the movie and that one does not find anything to take inspiration from as far as reality is concerned- in the movie. Columnist Sagarika Ghose writes an interesting analysis of the movie. She says:Rang De Basanti does a terrible disservice to the

Rang de Basanti

2006-02-19T09:04:00.000+05:30

A close of mine said - "You may not like this movie" - another said - "It'd be interesting to know your views on this one" - I was waiting for an opportunity to decide for myself. At last, I ended up watching this high-voltage movie called Rang de Basanti. If you are looking here for a good review of the movie, I suggest you to take a look at this one.I completely agree with Soha Ali Khan when

Voltaire's Story of a Good Brahmin

2006-02-14T17:27:00.000+05:30

This story ,that I came across in www.philosophicalsociety.com as I was trying to locate some of the writings of Voltaire, is something that has had a great impression on my mind or so I believe (with a fond hope that when I say so - I am not ignorant of my state of current understanding about what my impressions are and how they influence me to act). The story is interesting.One of the commonest

PM's speech at the DSE Golden Jubilee function

2006-01-19T08:49:00.000+05:30

These are some of the interesting parts from PM Manmohan Singh's speech at Delhi School of Economics.The complete text of the speech can be accessed here." India is the world’s most exciting social laboratory for any social scientist to study.We are an ancient civilization but a young nation. A nation of immense possibilities. A nation brimming with a renewed sense of confidence.""In the 1980s,

HSEE 2006:: IIT Madras growing to be a University!

2006-01-18T13:15:00.000+05:30

This is a must read."The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) is one of the earliest departments established at IIT M. The Department is essentially multi-disciplinary in nature and has reputed faculty from diverse disciplines such as Economics, English, Philosophy, Sociology, History, German Studies. The Department has been offering doctoral programmes in humanities and social

1st Anniversary Posts I: No 'Coke' for Universities

2006-01-09T15:14:00.000+05:30

January 8th, 2005 - an year ago, this Spectator started his Musings.In celebration of this event, he intends to publish a series of posts.The First One: For some reason, some important issues miss the required attention. In many a sense, a good newspaper reminds the reader about these and a good writer points them to us.I was reading this column by TJS George, which reminded me of the issue of

Dharampalji's Speech

2006-01-07T07:52:00.000+05:30

18/2/2006 : The following is the text of Dharampalji's talk in the campus - he has sent me the corrected version of the earlier approximate version. It is important to study his thoughts for a different perspective of how the world could be. I strongly recommend every one of you to go ahead and study the speech.The corrections made in the text of the speech provide greater clarity to the reader

Breaking a myth...

2006-01-02T14:23:00.000+05:30

...yes, and a myth created possibly a few years ago right in front of my eyes, a myth that I propagated myself.Yesterday, Dharampalji (the Gandhian Historian, almost an octogenarian, who I had the pleasure to meet at Gandhi Ashram, Sewagram) came here to IIIT for about 20-day stay.I went to receive him at the Airport and as we were coming back to the campus, he started asking a number of

What's the score of SF?

2005-12-20T19:48:00.000+05:30

FSTTCS (Foundations of Software Technologies & Theoretical Computer Science) 2005, the Silver Jubilee Conference which was recently held in our campus shall remain etched in my memories for a number of reasons. The Conference took place for 6 days(!) including the Pre-Conference Workshops. I happened to volunteer for this conference which happens to be my first experience of witnessing a Theory

e- Jaadoo Ki Jhappi a K a e-hug

2005-12-03T23:37:00.000+05:30

A big e-jaadoo ki jhappi aKa e-hug for the anonymous person who corrected me >:D

BlogWorld's Jaadoo ki Chchabbi

2005-11-30T01:59:00.000+05:30

Jaadoo ki Chchabbi aKa a warm-hug - as popularised by Munna Bhai MBBS is a wonderful concept. In the one-time Best Seller Chicken Soup for the Soul, we are told:We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.It feels so nice too, to hug,gives a sense of reassurance, a sense of strength, .... and I can keep writing... Jaadoo ki Chchabbi -

Narayana Murthy & Politics

2005-11-29T12:40:00.000+05:30

Recently, the First Prime Minister of Singapore and one of its most influential leaders Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, on his trip to India asked Mr. N R Narayana Murthy to join politics to transform the Nation, just the way he did with IT industry. [In a way, the background was perfect given the highly popular - "Gowda v/s Narayana Murthy"] It'd be really interesting to see if it turns out to be true.

dont u wish, u had someone?

2005-11-27T14:08:00.000+05:30

After a looong time, and it feels so nice at heart as I write this. I owe this to a close friend of mine, who introduced me to this blog of Rajesh Advani. We were chatting yesterday, and here's an excerpt from that:My Friend : here is a author i like .. http://rja.blogspot.com/2005/02/late-night-phone-call.html---- after reading the story...................... --------- Me : I liked

Peter Drucker is no more

2005-11-13T23:57:00.000+05:30

"The 21st century will be the century of the social sector organization.The more economy, money, and information become global, the more community will matter. And only the social sector nonprofit organization performs in the community, exploits its opportunities, mobilizes its local resources, solves its problems. The leadership, competence, and management of the social sector nonprofit

Thank You Sir C P Brown

2005-11-10T16:38:00.000+05:30

This is a wonderful little poem (padyam as it is called in Telugu where 'd' is to be pronounced as in "th"is) by Yogi Vemana. This also happens to be my first trial at using images on this blog. This link gives all that one would like to know of Vemana by none other than Sir C P Brown whose service to Telugu language is unforgettable. I bow humbly in reverence before this great soul who was born

"Don't send me Diwali gifts"

2005-10-29T05:54:00.000+05:30

Don't send me Diwali gifts: PMPress Trust of IndiaPosted online: Friday, October 28, 2005 at 1635 hours ISTUpdated: Friday, October 28, 2005 at 1640 hours ISTNew Delhi, October 28: In view of the destruction caused by the October eight earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday appealed that no gifts or sweets should be sent to him this Diwali and people should

Good people shall save the day

2005-10-20T15:41:00.000+05:30

"Some months back a poor fisherman named Jaykumar came to the office of ‘Ananda Viketan’, a prestigious Tamil weekly, accompanied by his wife Rajavalli and 10 year old son Udaykumar, with the request that the editor help him in returning an amount of one lakh, which he had received as a consolation money, because his son was thought to be dead, to the govt. He said that his request had been

Mr. Narayana Murthy on Empowerment of India

2005-10-17T17:54:00.000+05:30

...The tragedy of India is that we shy away from bold and tough decisions because we do not want to displease anybody. To push these decisions through, we need strong political leaders. We need leaders who have the courage of their convictions: the courage to dream big, to take difficult decisions, and to make sacrifices..... - N R Narayanamurthy Leaders, leaders,

Sharma Leadership - A meeting with Robin Sharma

2005-10-13T07:11:00.000+05:30

Robin Sharma is one of world's top experts on leadership, elite performance and personal growth. Further, he is the author of some of the International best sellers like The Monk who sold his Ferrari.A great motivational speaker and I can keep on continuing.Those who visit his website are sure to find good number of adjectives and nouns that tell about what he does/he can do/he did.By some stroke

Principles, Experience and Education

2005-10-04T15:51:00.000+05:30

If you have assimilated five ideas and made them your life and character, you have more education than any man who has got by heart a whole library. - Chairman, Wipro Corporation Azim H Premji There comes a great sense of reassurance to one when great men say or convey something that you have always believed in.I first heard a similar kind of argument

Gandhi through my eyes

2005-10-03T07:02:00.000+05:30

136 years have passed since the man hailed by Einstein in the following manner was born."Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth. (said of Mahatma Gandhi)"Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - hailed as the Father of the Indian Nation, revered as Mahatma - was born on this day, 2nd of October in 1869. Typical start to something on

100 PhDs

2005-09-18T03:06:00.000+05:30

Third in the Foundation Day series.One of the highlights of the Foundation Day, at least from my perspective was the Q&A session that followed the "messages" from the Panelists.[The following is an approximately correct version of what happened]Somu to Prof. SangalSomu: Sir , I have heard from various corners and have heard you announce that IIIT aims at graduating 100 PhDs every year starting

Remembering Kon-Tiki

2005-08-31T19:08:00.000+05:30

When I was twelve I think, I read this book named "Kadali meeda Kon-Tiki", which translates to Kon-Tiki on Sea about the famous voyage of Kon-Tiki by a group of Norwegian sailors who were on this expedition to prove that people from South America could have settled Polynesia in the south Pacific in Pre-Columbian times - though it was never viewed as an Anthropological experiment, it is

SC, Reservations, Centre and IIIT

2005-08-24T02:32:00.000+05:30

I have resisted my temptation to a large extent to avoid writing this post. Yet this reaction of the Supreme Court(click here) made me feel that it is appropriate to at least make a mention of it.One thing about my Institute that I am really proud of, is that it has stuck to one policy (such a rarity!) since its inception - and that is the NO RESERVATION policy for admissions. I can proudly tell

Aamir and the Raj

2005-08-17T20:56:00.000+05:30

Recently, in a speech given at the Oxford University, PM Manmohan Singh had remarked that the British, despite their atrocities, have done much good for India. Do you agree? I think everything they did was for their own selfish reasons. For example, we didn’t ask them to build the railways. Hamne koi tender to nahi nikala tha. They made it to smoothen the passage of their troops and supplies.

National Languages for India!

2005-08-16T21:14:00.000+05:30

All those of us who are fooled by the age-old NCERT text books which repeatedly teach us that Hindi is our National and Official Language may correct themselves as this tells for itself: Click here.Thanks to an Elocution Competition organised in Hindi in our college with the topic as "Raashtra bhaasha Hindi hain yaa Angrezi?" - We've got to know that all of us got into a dreamland created by our

Ozymandias and De-Romanticism

2005-08-06T15:27:00.000+05:30

Thanks to a fellow from NALSAR who won the Debate Competition in Felicity, I came to know about this sonnet called "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley. Arguably the most famous one.Here it is:I met a traveller from an antique landWho said:—Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. Near them on the sand,Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frownAnd wrinkled lip and sneer of cold

An Apology par excellence

2005-08-02T18:40:00.000+05:30

It's been quite a while since I posted. And yes, life has become a bit more demanding since the time I returned from Wardha. The flurry of ambivalent thoughts have clogged a brain which was already set in a pattern of thoughts arising out of the consequences of the past few months with a tinge of foresight into the future. And wrestling through these thoughts, I, after quite a long struggle

Sevagram, Wardha

2005-07-17T03:44:00.000+05:30

This is the second in the series.A Brief Introduction:In 1930, Gandhiji started Dandi March also popular as the Salt Satyagraha (you must be aware of the Platinum Jubilee Celebration held by Congress under Ms. Sonia Gandhi commemorating the same, earlier this year in Gujarat). Dandi March started from Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat towards Dandi. As he left the Ashram, he vowed not to return back to

Living the History

2005-07-12T14:10:00.000+05:30

This is the first in the series of posts that I hope to fill on my trip to Sevagram, near Wardha in Maharashtra. My stay at the Gandhiji's Ashram for 3 days. And the various experiences with Shri Dharampalji, Gandhian, Historian, and a "crusader" against whatever is "UnIndian" - if I may describe him so. I do not know how I can thank Prof. Sangal for making me go on this trip to Central India

Masha'Allah!

2005-07-01T14:08:00.000+05:30

I think there seems to be something like a divine prerana and an indication towards something that was in mind but not so fixed which is becoming more and more concrete as time passed - a friend of mine gave me a copy of The Holy Qu'ran late in the night yesterday. Masha'Allah! so be it! I believe it is time for the efforts of young people to look at these books and try and understand what they

A tree fell...

2005-06-30T11:05:00.000+05:30

A few days ago I was greeted by our super^2 senior and our tutor Ms. Chaitanya. We discussed a few things and then she made a comment, referring to the neem trees that are there in our campus, which I try to reproduce: It feels so nice to see that the seeds that we have sown have grown up into trees and so much has changed...IIIT has become greenerI remember her saying quite often, looking at our

aah! Freeeeedom!!

2005-06-26T17:08:00.000+05:30

This is second in the list of posts attributed to my "event"ful day yesterday.My friend and I were sitting in front of the main gate, on the steps. 10 yards from where we were sitting, there was this fence, made of wire. Towards the other side of the fence, there were 2 cows (white) and 2 bulls (black). I think I've got their gender correctly, anyway that doesn't matter much to the discussion for

Who wants math?

2005-06-25T12:50:00.000+05:30

Today was a highly "event"ful day and I mean it. I went to the Thread Ceremony (Upanayanam)of a close friend of mine. The venue was right beside Ganapati Sachchidananda Aashram situated on the Balanagar- Medak route. This is the first in the series of posts that I have up my sleave.My friend has an illustrious uncle in Mr. G T Murthy, who has held various positions at different companies, has

A few thoughts from Anil Ambani

2005-06-20T14:20:00.000+05:30

I found this on Pioneer. Read this keeping in mind the recent story of the split in Reliance:Click here to read the story.

Simple, easy and fun....

2005-06-17T11:25:00.000+05:30

Do something simple, easy and fun today- said my prescription. And that put me to thinking. What could be simple, easy and fun at the same time?Easiest thing to do was to ask for someone's advice.(By the way, I remember someone telling me that giving an advice was the easiest thing to do - that way, the other person also shall be doing a easy, simple thing whether or not it's fun for them)I

Parineeta - for a Change

2005-06-13T16:32:00.000+05:30

A few days ago my father brought a pamphlet and asked me to go through it. This was an announcement from Visaalandhra Publications (one of the most popular publishers for Telugu literature) regarding 12 volumes of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya's novels translated in Telugu, starting with "Devadas" (purposely written so - for in Bengali it must be "Divodass", for there is ample evidence of making

Light at the end of the tunnel

2005-06-08T16:40:00.000+05:30

This is Version I of the post - Proof Reading to be done later.This post exclusively deals with Leader of the Opposition - Shri L K Advani's recently concluded visit to his roots in Pakistan and his speech at the function organised by the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations, Economic Affairs & Law - which also formed the last leg of his trip. Different reactions from different sides - Sangh

Indian Govt.'s Gift on World No Tobacco Day

2005-06-01T17:40:00.000+05:30

India becomes the first country to ban on-screen smoking Govt’s Doctor plays The Cigarette Censor Ramadoss: India becomes first country to ban smoking/cigarettes on screen; says foreign movies need blurring TOUFIQ RASHID Posted online: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 at 0000 hours ISTNEW DELHI, MAY 31: The next time you see smoke on celluloid, it won’t be coming from a cigarette or a chillum —

Ha! there is a stereotype

2005-05-27T15:49:00.000+05:30

"Our class's philosopher" - This was how I was introduced very recently by a friend of mine. I just smiled sheepishly, and got going. I am not sure if I am one but then, that put me to thinking. The result? This post.I've been learning to chat in chat rooms these days, and one of these days,I chatted with this lady from USA. During our conversation, the following things came up: me: by the way, I

Better blogs eh?

2005-05-18T16:12:00.000+05:30

Came across this news item which says : "India to accredit dotcom scribes, bloggers"Sounded really good. IANS reports:"India is in the process of framing rules for granting accreditation to Internet journalists and bloggers for the first time, taking a reality check on an evolving world of net writers who could shape opinion and who have already been granted access to official corridors in

Ekla Chalo Re!

2005-05-06T15:06:00.000+05:30

In the midst of a conversation with my father a few days ago, I tried to convey that expecting people at large to take up collective social responsibility and do a selfless job is something that is highly improbable (I happen to be an optimist always, I never say impossible) - and inspiring them to do so is even more difficult.One thing that is within your reach is to take up the responsibility

Frustration - Motivation

2005-04-28T19:25:00.000+05:30

I've somehow resisted my temptation to write another post for the past so many days. Almost a fortnight, if I am not wrong. I am aware that I am yet to answer my friend Rastogi's questions. But if answers were so readily available and if things were so perfect, then the world would not be an exciting place to live in. It would more be a very dull place. So, I shall put that to a later post.

Winding things up...

2005-04-12T01:29:00.000+05:30

In my reply to my friend Rastogi, I have given my reasons as to why there was a natural choice of presenting the Right Wing "propaganda" after bringing the W W Hunter's argument. I shall try to wind things from this end by showing a few pointers to the other side of the story and put a view up, which needs explanation that shall be provided in some subsequent posts.As I look back at the previous

Partition... Not an Aberration

2005-04-05T10:09:00.000+05:30

I think now that two articles on Communalism are put, let me put this also for your consumption. Note: I mentioned about Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Aligarh Muslim University earlier - here is something on it - I haven't looked out for a counter-view of the same, so do not consider anything stated hereunder as something that I put my weight behind.Let's see, after some study, I shall give my own

Communalism 2: What the Islamists fear

2005-04-01T14:48:00.000+05:30

The following column by Balbir K Punj has references to some of those things mentioned in the previous post, and you may be interested to look at this. I shall follow this up with my own interpretation - let's see, what Mr Punj says: (source : www.dailypioneer.com)What the Islamists fearTwo recent incidents point towards spiralling Islamic aggressiveness in the country. The first is Uttar Pradesh

Communalism and The Indian Musalmans...

2005-04-01T14:31:00.000+05:30

Fortunately, I got to take a look at "The Indian Musalmans" - an excellent and path-breaking, influential book which has since the time it was published has had an an impact on the minds of people even till today.A master piece by W W Hunter. If only he had been true to his statement of not generalising a case of Bengal to the whole of India, the idea of partition may not have got so deeply

Not without a reason...

2005-03-25T14:15:00.000+05:30

I think I need to write a lot in order to get out of the jinx that I put myself in.It's been quite sometime since there has been any kind of intellectual pleasure that I could derive out of the various ways in which I worked for the past few days. There are many things that could have been done but could not do. I could attend only the introductory two lectures on Paninian Grammar by Prof.

Film-i-Chakkar

2005-03-05T15:40:00.000+05:30

This is an interesting story to give a glimpse of how things work at my institute. Probably it is so elsewhere too, but I find it very interesting. Various things that happen. And I am fortunate to be in a position to spectate, and in some cases also be a part of the work concerned.It was sometime ago, one fine morning that I find Dr. Vishal asking my help for writing a script for a film! Yes, I

The Difference

2005-03-04T18:00:00.000+05:30

Posted first on 4th March 2005 at 4:30 AMEdited on 6th March 2005 at 3:09 AMI am not sure when will I complete all that I promised in my previous post. But this is an important point that I noticed today which I feel is worth noting.Yesterday, that is the 3rd of March, I gave my first technical presentation - on my Honors Project I - Introduction to Quantum Theory of Computation - to a group of 3

Lots of things to tell...

2005-02-19T13:36:00.000+05:30

My last post was about a month ago. I began to write another post in the meanwhile, but the flurry of thoughts that came into my mind when I started to write a few issues made me feel really irked that I stopped writing it and left my browser open so that I could fill it up later, only to find that a rare power failure in my campus results in the loss of almost 1000 words of meaningful work. And

Accomodating Perspectives...

2005-01-10T15:20:00.000+05:30

I happen to be a TA for humanities course called The Making of the Modern Mind. It deals with the way the Modern Indian mind is influenced mostly by the set up of the Colonial times. What a period that was! Studying this part of the history probably may sometimes drive the senses out a person if he is not careful enough to observe the common thread that lies to each of the ways in which one can

First Thoughts ....

2005-01-09T03:25:00.000+05:30

When I first saw this famous quote by Des Cartes - "I think, therefore I am." I understood in a very different way as opposed to the way it was meant. While reading Russell's Problems of Philosophy, I realised that Des Cartes used this as his basis for knowing his existence ! But yeah, what was the way in which I understood it? I take it for granted that each person in the world is unique. But

I begin here...

2005-01-09T02:35:00.000+05:30

Not long ago, a close friend of mine,also one of the seniors in my college, with whom I am very closely associated, published his first paper - something related to the use of PDAs and its relevance in ICT4D - at a conference held in Bhopal where he said he came across this very interesting person called Atanu Dey who is an Economist and told me to go through his writings at www.deeshaa.org (You