Prof. John K. Galbraith, a former US ambassador, once described India as a “functioning anarchy”. Galbraith’s famous quote comes to mind on hearing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent helpless cry that the country’s fight against Maoists/Naxalites is failing. Such public display of vulnerability appears pathetic, although it is a fact that governing a large democratic and diverse country like India is a big challenge. This strange admission came when the Prime Minister was speaking...

In the famous Peter O’Toole film “Night Of The Generals”, the record-keeper in Paris tells Omar Sharif (acting as German officer investigating murders of prostitutes in Nazi-occupied Warsaw and Paris): “Major, why do you bother…All Generals are murderers!” That was a film dialogue. In real life Generals are not murderers. They are expected to carry out the commands of their Governments/Presidents/Prime Ministers or civilian authority whether that order is good...

Legendary keyboardist and bassist Larry Knechtel, 69, performed with top-selling artists for nearly half a century. His most famous piano work is his 1970 Grammy Award winning contribution to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel. Larry earned fame performing and recording with a broad range of artists, including his work as a session musician with Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys (Pet Sounds, Smile), The Mamas & the Papas, The Doors, Elvis Presley...

Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has a reputation of creating ripples with his irreverent words and deeds. Now a storm has broken out over Rudd’s use of four-letter words while arguing with some Members of Parliament. Interestingly, Rudd defended his outburst. The PM said in the presence of three female MPs: “I don’t care what you f***ers think,” News Limited has reported, says AAP report. Rudd later told another senator: “You can get f***ed.” Later, Rudd...

After bitterly contesting the case, a British oil trading giant has agreed to a multimillion-pound payout to settle a huge damages claim from thousands of Africans who fell ill from tonnes of toxic waste dumped illegally in one of the worst pollution incidents in decades, reports The Independent. The Western world has shown remarkable tolerance towards economic/business/environmental/political criminals, while going berserk in response to crimes committed in the name of religion by militants/terrorists. “Trafigura,...

Ever since the collapse of the mighty Soviet Union, the doomsayers are having field day predicting the break-up of India and Pakistan. Last year, a leading Russian political analyst stated that the economic turmoil in the USA had confirmed his long-held view that the country would divide into separate parts. Cashing on this phobia, Slate offered last month a “week-long thought experiment” on “the United States’ demise” by asking its readers: “How is America going...

India’s favourite spiritual book, The Bhagavad Gita, has made a dramatic impact at Harvard, Wharton and other business schools with its universal message of “concentration, consistency, and cooperation”. In a nutshell: “You can’t succeed in business (or war) unless you develop the intellect, which controls the mind and body.” The Gita remains relevant in the conduct of any war, including Afghanistan. But first about business schools. At one time it used to be...

Three British Muslims were convicted yesterday of plotting to commit “mass murder on an unimaginable scale” by blowing up transatlantic airliners in an attempt to kill thousands of people in the air and on the ground, reports The Independent. “Last night, senior Scotland Yard detectives told The Independent that, if the plot had been successful, the death toll could easily have exceeded the 2,752 people killed in the 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001. “The terror cell, operating...

NATO’s first Secretary General, Lord Ismay, famously stated the organization’s goal was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down”. The world is a different place now. Some have even begin to question the need for keeping NATO alive in the post-Cold War era. Mary Dejevsky says in The Independent: “Nato’s dissolution is long overdue… Where more than two or three military or defence specialists are gathered together, the war enters...

In the wake of 9/11 attacks in the USA, the relations between the “Christian West” and the “Muslim World” took a nose-dive. Australia is among the few countries who made a concerted effort to win over the hearts and minds of the Muslims in their own country and elsewhere. Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, now on a visit to India, announced in New Delhi that the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding, located at the University of South...

The Economist magazine announces in almost celebratory tone that “big business” is back. But a spirited discussion follows in the comments section on the merits and demerits of big corporations. Recalls The Economist: “In 1996, in one of his most celebrated phrases, Bill Clinton declared that ‘the era of big government is over’. He might have added that the era of big companies was over, too … “Today the balance of advantage may be shifting again. To a...

The Forbes list of the world’s 100 most powerful women is out. The top honour goes to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the leader of the world’s fourth-largest economy. She has won this honour for the fourth consecutive year. “In assembling the list, Forbes looked for women who run countries, big companies or influential nonprofits. Their rankings are a combination of two scores: visibility — by press mentions — and the size of the organization or country these women lead,”...

Comments that follow an article in a newspaper/magazine/blog generally indicate the quality of its readership. The Economist magazine does get an impressive array of views. I offer below the views, tied in a string in a random fashion, of different readers under the article “Losing Afghanistan?” Reader No. 1: “The real purpose of the (American) occupation is to extend and entrench western military presence in this strategic region. America wants to establish a permanent base with...

Suzanne White, my favourite Chinese astrologer, is an American with a no-nonsense approach that’s a hallmark of her style even when she writes on non-astrology subjects. Here I am referring to her two posts: “Why Do Americans Fear Socialism?” and “Don’t Speechify. Teachify.” White’s first post, and here it goes: “I don’t want to ‘become a socialist’ anymore than I want to ‘become a dentist.’ I am not a person who joins political...

Kevin Rudd’s government is in a celebration mode following Australia’s twin victory in finalizing 20-year-long liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deals with India and China. A sales and purchase AUD 25 billion agreement between ExxonMobil and Petronet LNG of India signed last week is the “dawning of a new trading partnership.” Under the agreement, Exxon Mobil will supply about 1.5 million tonnes per annum of its share of LNG from the proposed Gorgon LNG project over 20 years....

In my earlier post I wrote about Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrated on August 14. This post is about India’s Independence Day (August 15). Two people who spelt out powerfully the aspirations/vision of free modern India were Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, and India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Mahatma Gandhi motivated Indian masses during the freedom struggle. Tagore’s vision of India was set out in his immortal poem: Where The Mind Is Without Fear...

India and Pakistan won freedom from the British colonial rule in August 1947. Pakistan celebrates its Independence Day anniversary today (on August 14), while India marks it a day later. Let’s look at the media reports of celebrations in Pakistan. Pakistani leaders called for peaceful relations with India and announced new rights for tribesmen (in the militant-infested area) along the border with Afghanistan, reports Voice of America. “In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Yusuf...

Keeping in mind the horrors of the two world wars, a clutch of conventions were adopted six decades ago this month in Geneva, and these agreements still form a bedrock for the laws of war and the protection of non-combatants. The Economist raises important points about these in the present context. “Do the old rules really apply in such conflicts? And if they still do, how can they be enforced more effectively, since all the evidence suggests they are not only not honoured but dishonoured...

Aung San Suu Kyi, 64, Burma’s popular leader under detention for years, once said that “it is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it…” Now, the Myanmar or Burmese military junta has further extended her house arrest by 18 months. Ms Suu Kyi’s 18-month sentence will prevent her from taking any direct part in the next year’s scheduled general election and the introduction of a new constitution, says The Times. “Ms Suu Kyi’s...

Is Michelle Obama the power behind the White House throne in Washington? Or is it the American Vice-President Joe Biden? Or, Chief of White House staff Rahm Emanuel? Could it be State Department chief Hillary Clinton? Or, Barack Obama’s mother-in-law, Marian Robinson? “You may not recognise her face, or her name. Yet Valerie Jarrett is arguably the most powerful person in the White House apart from the President, ” says Robert Draper of The Independent. “Valerie Jarrett...

Baitullah Mehsud, 35, chief of Pakistan’s Taliban umbrella group, Tehrik-i-Taliban, was killed in a CIA missile strike inside Pakistan. Pakistan’s foreign minister says intelligence sources have confirmed Mehsud’s death, reports Voice of America. Pakistani intelligence officers said that the militant commander, blamed for dozens of suicide bombings, including the fatal attack against the former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto, had been seriously ill with a kidney ailment, reports...

The arrival of the “People’s Car” (equivalent US$2,421) — Nano – on Indian roads “is a symbol of the coming-of-age of mass consumerism in the developing world,” says Andrew Buncombe of The Independent. “India’s roads are broken and inadequate, the country is overcrowded and there is a middle class of anywhere up to 300 million people who might be tempted to buy a Nano. The equation simply does not add up; the result would be chaos. “Yet...

In Chinese astrology 2009 is the “Year of the Ox”. Only that person or a nation, it is said, would remain unscathed if it works its backside off this year. US president Barack Obama was born in the “Year of the Ox”, and his nose is tied to the grindstone. But he might just work out some miracles…provided his countrymen share his burden instead of nitpicking. Among various alternatives for economic stimulus and stabilization in the financial crisis-ridden USA, the Obama...

Rajmata (or Queen Mother) Gayatri Devi, of the erstwhile princely state of Jaipur in India, passed away at age 90. In her youth, when she was a Queen, the Vogue magazine described her as one of the 10 most beautiful women in the world. She was cremated with full state honors…See here… Gayatri Devi was one of the few people remaining who could vividly describe the life of fabulous wealth of the old feudal Indian royalty (that ruled over nearly 40% of the Indian subcontinent at the time...

Let me share my random thoughts…When lust takes center stage, the thinking and rational behaviour flies out of the window. We live in a promiscuous age/world where America provides, apart from huge arms and war material, 80 per cent of pornography world-wide. Now a question: Why is the USA pumping so much money in Afghanistan? It looks more like a case where a love-lorn or lust-stricken person puts at stake everything in life. How? For almost 60 years the USA had a steady wife in Pakistan...