Good work is not done by ‘humble’ men. It is one of the first duties of a professor, for example, in any subject, to exaggerate a little both the importance of his subject and his own importance in it. A… Read More ›
Month: April 2009
India Orders 250,000 OLPCs?
Endgadget reports that “India bids mythical $10 laptop adieu, turns to OLPC.”
Iqbal Bano 1935-2009
Just got to know that Iqbal Bano passed away on 21st April in Lahore, Pakistan. She was born and brought up in Delhi. Listening to her sing Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry is deeply moving. Among many well loved songs by… Read More ›
Just deserts: India Deserves the Congress
In an opinion piece in the Financial Times of April 15th (hat tip: Sudipta), Razeen Sally writes that “the Congress deserves to lose the elections”. Right up front, Sally wrote about “the do-nothing, zero-reform record of Manmohan Singh, prime minister,… Read More ›
The Taliban Are Coming
The topic of the Taliban gaining control of Pakistan is hot this summer. Newspaper editors are busy with lots of serious hand-wringing and mopping of sweaty foreheads. An editorial writer at the New York Times is obviously worried to distraction,… Read More ›
A Self-confessed Slave
I was wondering about something the other day. For people who are stupid, we say that they lack a brain. Figuratively, we associate a condition with an organ and say that that organ is missing. So if someone is weak… Read More ›
Appointed PM, Dr MM Singh, is Not Weak
It is widely reported and generally held as a fact that the appointed prime minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, is weak and ineffective. He was appointed in 2004 and has dutifully followed the orders that were given to him…. Read More ›
The Dollar Auction: Some Figures
I have maintained for a while that the reason that Pakistan gets propped up by the US and its allies is that India and Pakistan are engaged in a dollar auction game and therefore anytime Pakistan is about to go… Read More ›
Make No Little Plans — Revisited
One of the consistent themes of this blog has been that India should think big. My favorite quote in this context is from Daniel Burnham, the fabled Chicago architect who said that we should think big: Make no little plans…. Read More ›
Shourie on Indian Money in Tax Havens
For 55 years, the Congress has been the party in government of India. India has been a command and control socialist economy, which implies that politicians who controlled the license-permit-quota-control raj had the opportunity and the means to collect rents… Read More ›