Month: March 2010

The Indecency of Legislating Decency

Malavika Patil asked in a comment to the post “My Position on MF Husain”: “Does obscenity/pornography deserve free speech rights?” As a free speech fundamentalists, I can only answer, “Yes, yes, and yes!” I am enough of a realist to believe that no individual or group is so wise as to be a judge of what speech deserves the protection of law and what doesn’t. The only way forward is to allow all speech, regardless of how someone feels about it. Continue reading “The Indecency of Legislating Decency”

Gone Travelling to Delhi

I am off to Delhi and will be on the road much of the time. Often comments are held in moderation — so if your comment does not show up immediately, please be patient. I will have internet access but not all the time.

Bye for now.

My Position on MF Husain

This should not require any clarification but one has little choice but to live in the world as it is, not in an imaginary world where people are reasonable. One anonymous person posted a pretty needless question on my post “The Land of Retards and Hypocrites.” He, or she, wrote, “Are you unhappy about Husain’s depictions? Are you okay (or sort of okay) with cases slapped on him?” Continue reading “My Position on MF Husain”

Blaming People for Natural Disasters

What do Pat Robertson, Priyanka Chopra, Jerry Falwell and Mahatma Gandhi have in common? If you thought that they were all religious nutcases, you are wrong. Priyanka Chopra’s nuttiness doesn’t belong to the religious variety. So think again. Give up? OK, they all blame people for natural disasters. Continue reading “Blaming People for Natural Disasters”

Kaushik Basu: “Words Don’t Feed the Poor”

Among economists who can explain economics to anyone even remotely interested in the subject, Prof Kaushik Basu is in a league of his own. Many years ago as a graduate student at Berkeley, I had had the privilege of hosting him for dinner together with Profs deJanvry and Sadoulet. I occasionally re-read his columns to learn how to write. Here I present an extended excerpt from a 1997 India Today column of his. {Click on image for source.} Continue reading “Kaushik Basu: “Words Don’t Feed the Poor””

In Delhi Next Week Mon-Tue

I will be in Delhi next week Monday and Tuesday (8th & 9th of March.) If anyone wants to meet up, it would be excellent. Please email me atanudey at gmail. (This is a sticky post and will be unstuck in a few days.)

The Ideas of the Peoples

The power of ideas has been a constant underlying theme of this blog. All transformations, good and bad alike, are fueled by adoption of ideas by people. Allow me to quote from a book that I am currently reading. Continue reading “The Ideas of the Peoples”