I read today that a certain state in India has built and runs a large number of government English medium schools. As is the norm these days, social media has exploded in a storm of political mockery and nationalistic outrage at the fact that that state chose English as the medium of instruction, and not…
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To Hijab or to Hijab is the question!
I don’t know whether the Hijab has been prescribed by the Quran. Even Muslims are divided in their opinion. Accordingly, some wear the Hijab and some don’t. Really, I don’t care either way. The High Court of Karnataka decided that the Hijab is not prescribed by the Quran. The Court’s other observation is that schools…
India makes progress on LGBTQ / Transgender issues! Thanks to Bollywood!
I saw the movie Badhai Do yesterday and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui a few days back. Just some random thoughts based on those movies: I think India is becoming far more progressive and liberal on LGBTQ and Transgender issues than the US, which seems to be regressing on all LGBTQ, Transgender and Abortion issues. The US…
Elephantine memories!
My maternal grandfather was terribly mischievous. He created and got into a lot of serious trouble throughout his life. Once my grandfather coated the insides of a coconut with a whole lot of ‘chunnambhu’ or ‘chuna’ (I think it is called lime cement in English, the kind used in our ‘paan’), fed it to an…
Bull(dozer) in a China shop of legality!
Shri Adityanath Yogi, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and presumptive Prime Ministerial nominee, has started another trend as he often does. This time, he has blazed his way into the news as ‘Bulldozer Baba’. I remember the movie, Trishul, in which Amitabh Bachchan arrives at a goonda’s lair with an ambulance in tow. That…
The passing of an old man
When I see the kind and number of vicious and malevolent messages on social media about the death of Fr. Stan Swamy, my mind goes back to the time when Indira Gandhi was murdered. She had a lot of haters too, millions on millions hated her, especially after the atrocities during the Emergency. And yet,…
Real real-life heroes!
The fastest bowling I have ever faced in my life were the 3-4 balls bowled by my uncle. He was an excellent all round cricketer who should have gone on to much greater things, had it not been for ‘those days’ when cricket as a career was not encouraged. He bagged many an award during…
India’s annual Budget a meaningless exertion!
In developing countries like India, citizens expect the government to do almost everything for them. In the process, they end up handing over too much power and control to it. The government has a say in almost everything, from the daily lives of the poor by way of sops and handouts to the productivity of…
Let’s not grab too much credit for lower Covid numbers – my take on Chetan Bhagat’s blog in the Times of India!
I don’t blame any govt for mishandling Covid. This pandemic was sudden and unprecedented. Nobody knew what to do or what was the right approach. It was all trial and error and the jury is still out on what works and what doesn’t. Nobody has established a cause-effect relationship so far beyond a shadow of…
Blaming Nehru!
https://archive.org/details/HindSwaraj-Speech-03-1 I have been listening to this speech and reading the text again and again – and getting goosebumps every time! For me, this must be one of the great speeches of all time! I know a lot of blame for all the ills in this country is always being attached to Nehru, but just…