What India needs is a critical core agenda! On the day when the just installed Manmohan Singh govt. was faced with its first crisis, when Mr. Karunanidhi of the DMK threatened to walk out over portfolio allocation, I bought two old books in an antiquarian bookshop. One, Hugh Gaitskell, 1906-1963. Two, Anthony Crosland’s Socialism. Now,…
Author: V.Isvarmurti
Farmers’suicides in the news
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised a new controversy with his teacher’- like exposition of the finances of the State Electricity Boards. In inaugurating a power station in Himachal Pradesh, the PM said free power to farmers is not justified and also asked for reducing power subsidies to farmers. This has raised a storm. The first…
Government back tracks on education promises?
Midday meals programme for all children only in a “phased manner” The Congress -led coalition government, within a matter of just two weeks had developed cold feet! Its tall promises in its so-called Common Minimum Programme (CMP) is heavily diluted, if not heavily backtracked. Its bold promise on education, specially on elementary education was seen…
Young MPs, too many, in Parliament!
Youth is a symbol of idealism or cynicism? I am sure the young men and women of today are much more sensitive to events in the world and in India. Or, am I wrong in imagining the young MPs who are now elected to Parliament are otherwise? Once they join the more seniors in politics,…
Education outside the classroom?
There is too much outside! Media, Cinema and TV; they educate or divert attention? Mahesh Bhatt, the famed Mumbai film maker and a social thinker and social activist has written a thought-provoking article (Economic Times, April 22, 2004) on our “attention deficit disorder”. By this he means how our Bollywood stars and other film industry…
Open letter to Vajpayee
Thoughts for ex PM! This is not a charge sheet. Nor a balance sheet. It is a tribute to a leader who raised the image of India in the world. The 2004 elections are variously called as a great historic turnaround for the country. The BJP which contested the elections on a very confident note…
Tamil literature’s high point
Tamil Literature’s modern pioneers of short story Remembering TMC Raghunathan, heir to Pudumaipithan The Thirties, when the Freedom Movement was at its height there arose a new Tamil literary movement, commonly called, the “Manikodi” group of writers. This group, as we can see now, is heir to the nationalist poet, Subramanya Bharati’s soul stirring nationalist…
NGOs haven’t changed rural India’s face!
What hopes NGO would make a change this time? President Abdul Kalam inaugurated a three-day national summit on rural NGOs in Delhi in April. He spoke with much candour and conviction. What he said is that a large number of NGOs that get lots of foreign funds don’t spend them properly. The funds don’t reach…