India, described as world’s biggest democracy, goes to the polls to elect 543 members to the 15th Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament) in five phases (beginning April 16, and ending on May 13, 2009). The results of the election will be announced on May 16, 2009. India has 714 million registered voters (of the total 1,161,460,000 population). See here… And here… Indian authorities are stepping up security for political leaders, fearing possible militant attacks as a general...

In May 2008 Nepal (world’s youngest Republic that shares its borders with India and China) abolished monarchy, and King Gyanendra was given 15 days to leave the palace. A fortnight later the ex-king and his wife left Narayanhity Palace, thus ending 240-year-long Shah dynasty. The palace is now a museum and has so far attracted over 36,000 visitors in the capital city of Kathmandu. (The former king Gyanendra’s stepmother Queen Mother Ratna, and his grandfather’s 94-year-old concubine...

Italy celebrates this year the 2,000th birth anniversary of Roman Emperor Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus responsible for many of the Roman buildings, including the Colosseum. He also took drastic measures to restore sanity to the Roman Empire’s finances, which had been emptied by Nero’s extravagance (One is tempted to make comparisons with the present times!!!). The Independent pays handsome tribute to Emperor Vespasian: “In the judgement of one contemporary historian, Vespasian...

The world-wide interest in Titanic tragedy (of 1912) was fueled by the 1997 film on the sinking of this Olympic-class passenger liner. Interestingly, tales relating to The Titanic keep surfacing with surprising regularity. Here is the latest one attributed to the survivor Ms Barbara West (photo left)… The latest story emerged after the death of Barbara, one of the last survivors of the disaster, in 2007, reports The Times of London. Barbara narrated the bravery of her father Arthur West “who...

Followers of Islam, Christianity and Judaism may have lots of differences, but when it comes to the disposal of the dead body, they share a common, and a strong, belief that it must be buried. On the other hand, Hindus, and followers of other Eastern religions, opt for cremation of their dead. Down the centuries India has remained highly tolerant towards diverse religious practices on its soil, allowing people to bury their dead or even follow other different religious practices. But it is not...

In the blogosphere the second birth anniversary of a blog may not look exactly a big deal. However, Sri Lanka-based Nalaka Gunawardene’s “Moving Images” deserves mention as it vividly captured not only his country’s traumatic/critical journey through ethnic turmoil/terrorism, but also his pertinent observations on global issues. I first met Gunawardene at Vestras (in Sweden) in the late 1980s where we were attending an international seminar on “Media In Times Of Crisis”....

During the past few days Pakistan witnessed a high drama with top opposition leaders, including the powerful former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, put under house arrest. When the confined leaders broke free and began a big protest march to the capital city of Islamabad, the Pakistani government buckled under and agreed on Monday to reinstate the independent-minded former chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. This followed a hectic backroom consultations/diplomacy involving...

India (or, for that matter South Asia) has been described as a rich place but inhabited by poor (especially in the rural areas). In their race to catch up with the developed world, the rulers in the Indian subcontinent simply forgot that a SYSTEM (and a proper INFRASTRUCTURE) has to be in place in the teeming villages/towns to prevent an ensuing chaos. At this juncture, Israel’s expertise in the field of agriculture can be of great help. Martin Sherman, a research fellow in the School of...

The image shown above of George W. Bush smartly ducking a shoe aimed at him, is unlikely to be erased from public memory whenever there is a mention of the former President of the USA. Similarly, the perpetrator of the shoe-missile incident, who has now been awarded a three-year jail term for this indiscretion, is unlikely to be forgotten. “Long live Iraq!” shouted Muntadar al-Zaidi, the 30-year-old Iraqi television journalist, as the sentence against him was handed down, reports The...

Paul Cézanne played a pivotal role in the birth of modern art. “Cézanne and Beyond” exhibition, hosted by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is a “beautiful and powerful collection of modern and post-modern art by some of the most talented painters of the past 100 years,” reports The Economist. Lucky are those who can be part of this major event that continues until mid-May this year. “Pablo Picasso, who, with Georges Braque, invented cubism, called him ‘my one and only...

To remain fit and fine once you are over 60 is a big challenge. An interesting book tells us that the best recipe is to continue to remain curious and communicative. Irma Kurtz, 73, once a “proper journalist” who reported from Vietnam and interviewed celebrities long before they were called that, has written a book Growing Old Disgracefully. She was born in New Jersey, grew up in New York, moved to Paris and finally came to London. In 1970, she joined Cosmopolitan magazine as its first Agony...

After the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, there have been numerous articles by Jews from different countries narrating their own wonderful experiences in Mumbai, and how much they loved the city. In this series, I am grateful to our colleague Holly for sending me yet another moving and informative piece. Leila Bilick, who works for Pro Mujer (a nonprofit organization that gives small loans to Latin America’s poorest women), narrates a fascinating story of the Jews in India. She and her husband...

During my six-month stay in Adelaide (Australia) last year, I was struck by the fact that more women (as compared with men) smoke in public. While in the US more and more smokers are kicking this addiction. In India an increasing number of women are lighting up. Why? The typical response of all women: Tension! Men don’t give a clear answer! (Last year, a WHO study revealed that nearly two-thirds of the world’s smokers live in 10 countries led by China, which accounts for nearly 30 percent,...

Thank you Jason Gale (of Bloomberg) for your important story “India Failing to Control Open Defecation Blunts Nation’s Growth”. India has enough strength to withstand the periodical attacks by terrorists. But its Achilles heel could very well be the lack of proper sewerage facilities/hygiene in overcrowded cities and small towns. Ironically, in the Indian subcontinent, the cradle of over 5000-year-old Indus Valley Civilization, archaeological findings reveal that while planning their...

There was a high drama. Despite Government of India’s attempts to prevent the auction of Mahatma Gandhi memorabilia at New York, the auctioneers went ahead…And there was furious bidding. Finally, representatives of Vijay Mallya, the billionaire chairman of United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines, outlasted other collectors. Mahatma Gandhi’s five personal items, including the iconic round eye glasses and a pair of leather sandals, that went under the hammer on Thursday were...

“Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one, as this (Gandhi), ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” — Albert Einstein Today “the sacred pieces of Indian heritage” would go to the highest bidder in the USA. These are Mahatma Gandhi’s few surviving personal effects, including a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles, a Zenith pocket watch and a pair of sandals. Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal said Wednesday he plans to bid on several belongings...

When the news leaked out that Mahatma Gandhi’s personal belongings were going under the hammer on March 5, there was a public outcry in India and the Indian officials tried to persuade the Californian collector to sell these to them. But so far the collector has refused do so. Why? Because the Indian government was giving him low payment for such a precious collector’s items, which include Mahatma Gandhi’s Zenith pocket watch, steel-rimmed spectacles, a pair of sandals and an eating...

Aren’t we all worrying endlessly and banging our heads against a wall, knowing well that the frightening recession would not disappear in the foreseeable future? We are repeatedly told: “Jobs are scarce. Housing is a mess. And the difficulty of making money threatens our comfort and leaves us feeling anxious and stressed.” What is the way out? Pray that Barack Obama and Co, and other world leaders, would bail us out? Or is there any other possibility? Is self-help the best help?...

Twelve masked men attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team at Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday seriously injuring some players and killing a few policemen guarding them. ( The attack bore the hallmarks of the same militants that carried out the attack on Mumbai in November, a senior Pakistan official said on Tuesday.) More here… The AFP quoted the police chief that it was likely the work of “well-trained terrorists”. He said five policemen were killed in the gun attack which also wounded...

Although Australia has joined hands with the US to train Pakistani soldiers in the on-going “war-on-terror”, there seems to be a great deal of doubt and confusion with regard to the success of this mission.There is an excellent article by Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor, The Australian, under the heading “Unhappy Marriage With Pakistan”. The immediate cause for concern in Australia is the imposition of Sharia law in Swat Valley, close to the capital Islamabad, and the rehabilitation...

Pakistan was often warned during the past two decades that its double-speak on, and nurturing of, Islamic militants and jihadists on its soil could one day endanger its own survival. By ceding the administrative control of certain border areas to Taliban recently, Pakistan has perhaps finally come to terms that the wolf has arrived on its doorstep, and the world is now in panic. On February 16, 2009, the Taliban militants and the government of Pakistan’s North WestFrontierProvince (NWFP) signed...

Last week when a commuter plane crashed in icy weather near Buffalo, New York, a tiny American lady with silver hair was among 50 people killed. Mrs Alison Des Forges, 66, was a rare scholar and human rights activist. She had issued a timely warning of the massacre in Rwanda, that later turned into one of the biggest modern genocides. As it is there are few outsiders who know about life (or take any interest) in African countries. “Mrs Alison Des Forges was steeped in Rwanda’s turbulent...

Ever wondered why the de riguer femme fatales of yesteryears’ movies have almost vanished from the screen. Some believe the dearth of old-style glamour could be one reason. Others think women were avid cinema-goers in the Forties, and maybe later, and these remarkable roles of vamps were created to spark their fantasies. Next month sees a monster celebration of the femme fatale in all her guises in Britain, reports The Independent. “Screened as part of the Birds Eye View women’s...

Some excellent articles have appeared in the recent weeks to help people understand the magnitude, gravity and the implications of the current financial crisis. I recommend a recent post by William K. Black on this subject in the Huffington Post. See here. Black makes an interesting analysis of the biggest white collar crime the world has witnessed, and which has pushed the financial markets to become profoundly dysfunctional. He is the author of “The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One:...

World’s love affair with President Barack Obama continues to manifest in different forms. Take, for example, a Brazilian carnival queen who painted President Barack Obama’s face on her body. (See the Huffington Post story here.)