I have previously observed here that India has what I call a “cargo cult democracy.” In India’s neighborhood that is not a distinction. The entire Indian subcontinent suffers from that malady. The short version is that around here democracy as… Read More ›
Month: December 2007
The Age of Content-free Communications
One of the more irritating aspects of the change of calendar years is the increase in meaningless messages that land in one’s inbox. I love the internet and the world wide web, but that love is severely strained when I… Read More ›
Summing Up
Time to take stock. It’s been a good year overall, but I am sure that 2008 is going to be even better. The trends are all good. Except in the US, thanks to George W Bush. No, I take that… Read More ›
Benazir Bhutto, the Benevolent
Good riddance. “Those that live by the sword, die by the sword” as Jesus is supposed to have cautioned Peter according to Matthew. And as they say in India, “Indian government, hai, hai.”
The Most Important Image Ever Taken
The Hubble Deep Field and the Most Important Image Ever Taken by Humanity. Watch it and wonder. Wonder how insignificant our concerns are, how parochial our interests, how utterly immaterial even our greatest conflicts are. Watch it and wonder how… Read More ›
Walking Around the Elephant
Today’s Mint carries my opinion piece “Walking Around the Elephant” — a write-up on my conversation with Pranab Bardhan, professor of economics at UC Berkeley. The transcript of the conversation is also up on the Mint website under the title… Read More ›
Arun Shourie on the Tectonic Shift
Go read Arun Shourie’s op-ed in today’s Indian Express. I agree with him. I think that passivity in the face of naked aggression is morally wrong. It encourages those who harm society. I have written about that in my post… Read More ›
The Great Instrument
The Acorn explains why the US paid big money to Pakistan following a report in the NY Times that “Billions in Aid to Pakistan Was Wasted, Officials Assert” which begins: After the United States has spent more than $5 billion… Read More ›
Anti-incumbency or Non-performance?
The Acorn remarks (in the context of Narendra Modi’s electoral victory, no doubt) that voters have nothing against an incumbent government that is competent. He says, there is no such thing as anti-incumbency, only anti-incompetency. It is certainly a plausible… Read More ›
