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Palaniappan
Chidambaram does not want to ruin his own
copybook but the rising international crude
prices, fuelling an all-time high inflation, are
making things difficult for the country's erudite
finance minister. Days before he sat down for this
no-holds barred interview at his office in the
imposing North Block, the FM had rejected demands
from the oil ministry for bonds to bail out ailing
PSUs and angered the cement lobby by forcing the
cement companies to lower prices.
Click below to post your
views on eleven interesting issues raised by the
FM in the interview:: |
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Nano:
Part of the Solution or Part of The
Problem?
Total
active post[s]: 33 |
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The
launch of the Nano, Tata’s Rs. 1 lakh 'People's
car', has captured the nation’s imagination in
an unprecedented way. If the Nano is an answer
to many problems, it also raises larger concerns
that needs to be pursued beyond the hype
surrounding it. To start with, in a free
society, how to reconcile the right to pursue
individual aspirations with concerns about its
environmental impact? What are the issues it
raises, and the unforeseen challenges it brings
forth? Join the debate on the “People’s
Car”. | |
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Should
Indian politician be also held accountable for
what they do in their personal
lives?
Total
active post[s]: 14 |
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Nicholas Sarkozy announces his
affair with Carla Bruni. Bill Clinton Admits his
liason with intern Monica Lewinsky. Is it the
turn of the Indian politicians who to be more
transparent about their personal lives,
considering the social powers and the role they
have in shaping the Indian democracy? Or is it
okay for them to guard their secrets under the
garb of
privacy? | |
Taslima
Nasreen: Publicity Hound or Free Speech
Martyr?
Total
active post[s]: 21 |
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Salman
Rushdie, MF Hussain, and now Taslima Nasreen too
have joined the ever expanding list of cultural
figures under attack in the name of religion.
Cultural intolerance – whether Hindu, Muslim or
Christian – seem to be on the rise everywhere,
with the fundamentalists ire often directed
against artists and cultural figures. Who
decides if a painting or a book is offensive or
not? Are we being played by publicity-hungry
artists or are we falling prey to the agendas of
religious
reactionaries? | |
Himachal’s
Third Force
Total active post[s]:
1 |
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As
Mayawati’s elephant gently but firmly makes it
way up to Himachal, both the established parties
– the Congress and the BJP- can feel the ground
shake. What are the BSP’s chances? Will it be
able to ride on the wave that started in UP and
pull off a coup in Himachal or will it prove to
be
non-starter? | |
Gujarat
Elections
Total
active post[s]: 51 |
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The
election campaign in Gujarat is heating up,
while both parties try not to ‘rake up’ the
crimes of 2002 and instead talk about ‘peace’,
‘harmony’ and ‘development’? Can there really be
peace and prosperity in Gujarat when the
perpetrators of the gravest crime in the state’s
history remain unpunished? Or will defensive
Gujarati voters vote them back into power once
again? | |
Nandigram:
Revelation or Repetition?
Total active post[s]:
14 |
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The
CPM’s shameful and blatant act of brutality in
Nandigram has been widely condemned by the
intelligentsia, the media, and civil society,
with some even comparing Buddhadeb to Modi. Was
what we saw a new face of the CPM – the
self-declared champions of the poorer and weaker
sections of society - or was Nandigram
consistent with the Party’s track record of
violence? | |
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Not
Just Gujarat’s Shame
Total active post[s]:
2482 |
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Those
who cheered from the sidelines, those who waited
and watched, those who had the power but did not
want to ‘interfere’; all of India stands
implicated in the events that transpired in
Gujarat. Will this revelation of the deepest,
most terrifying truths that lie at the heart of
our divided society provoke self-reflection or
denial? | |
Whither
Democracy?
Total active post[s]:
134 |
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The
events that unfolded in 2002 will forever be a
blemish on democracy, and not just in Gujarat.
Above all, because the very people who were
responsible for the pogrom were re-elected in
the elections that followed it. What does it say
about Indian democracy? What’s its future in
India? | |
Narendra
Modi: Implicated Beyond Doubt
Total active post[s]:
354 |
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Key
BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists spoke
openly of how Narendra Modi blessed the
anti-Muslim pogrom. The Gujarat Chief Minister's
future now hangs in the balance. Does the
Tehelka tapes merely confirm what everyone
knew? | |
At
What Cost Hindutva?
Total active post[s]:
209 |
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The
perpetrators of the Gujarat’s pogrom refer to it
as a ‘lab’ of Hindutva, a successful experiment
that could be replicated elsewhere. The Sangh’s
version of Hindutva has exacted a terrible price
from the nation. Now that it’s rotten core lies
exposed, where does Hindutva go from
here? | |
The
Castle Over the Graveyard
Total active post[s]:
69 |
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In the
years following the riots, Gujarat became the
hottest destination for foreign and domestic
investment in India, and Modi hailed as a
‘visionary’ and feted by NRI tycoons and
corporate leaders. Why did India Inc. think it
was ok to do business with the 'devil'? Or is
morality to business what water is to
oil? | |
Role
of the Police
Total active post[s]:
85 |
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Accounts of those who engineered
the riots reveal how the guardians of the law
colluded with the outlaws to make Gujarat’s
horror even worse. Is anyone familiar with our
police surprised? Would this finally bring about
long-pending police reforms and check
saffronisation of the forces in Gujarat and
beyond? | |
Legal
Subversion
Total active post[s]:
71 |
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Parts
of the judiciary has been found to be equally
complicit in the events of 2002. Public
prosecutors ran with the hare and hunted with
the hound, keeping their sympathies strictly for
the accused. To what extent did the most trusted
public institution fail in its duty? What can be
done to stem the
rot? | |
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