Passionate About India

At a point in time, when millions of poor and disadvantaged households across the nation are reeling under the scorching rise in prices of basic goods and commodities, the recent announcement of the Government of India (as suggested by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector) to provide a cashless health insurance scheme for the 300 million people below the poverty line, has been a welcome relief! In fact, the scheme was announced by the Honourable Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, during his Union Budget speech this year itself. As per the announcement, the scheme is slated to cover all the 300 million people below the poverty line, within the next five years. It is estimated that the premium per family will come to Rs.750, of which the Centre will be paying 75% and the rest 25% will be borne by the respective state governments. The Planning Commission has announced that the entitlement of the benefits to the people would be determined by the respective st...

My dear readers must first be told a little about the country they live in, to understand the story I am about to tell in the right perspective. India is the land where we have defined the poverty line at a shameful level of about Rs 450 per person per month (shame we don’t call it the destitution line)! And below this shameful definition of poverty line lies 29% of our population. When we give a reasonably respectable definition of Rs 750 per capita per month (though the worldwide accepted definition of poverty line is a dollar a day ie Rs 1,200 per capita per month), we find roughly 65% of our population falling below the poverty line! That means in India, more than 65% of the people earn less than Rs 750 per head per month! Given that definition of poor, the definition of rich would definitely be those earning more than Rs 3,000 per capita (i.e Rs 15,000 per month for a family of 5) in the context of the country we are talking about. If it shocks you, then for your comfort, let me c...

While the world was about to acknowledge the Chinese ascension in the 21st century through its hosting of the Olympics this year, the ghost of the typical Chinese style persecution and how human rights still remain an alien concept in this supposedly 5000-year-old civilisation has stared haunting all over again. Last heard, the unofficial figures are put at a death toll of 80, while the Chinese media puts it at not more than 13!! Strangely, despite the incredible economic growth and even putting behind the First World in terms of manufacturing feat, the gap between Chinese and non-Chinese media when it comes to estimation of figures still remain very pertinent. While the world assumed that China as a country has come a long way from the days of Tiananmen Square, and while many thought that economic maturity and prosperity would somehow soften the Chinese regime with respect to human rights, the sheer threat of use of force and brutal subjugation that is coming from the Chinese regime e...

Hillary Clinton just two days back said that the Iraq war can’t be won. I really hope you didn’t get carried away reading it and started taking her seriously! She is still a first generation dynastic hopeful with her husband having no war experience. George Bush on the other hand is a seasoned second generation warring cowboy!! And trust you me he knows the game better than you can imagine. Let me explain you how the smoke ‘em out cowboy has actually won the war on Iraq... well at least as far as his schemes were concerned!! It has been exactly five years since the time President George Bush went on a rampage on Iraq, hunting for those world threatening WMDs!! In these five years the world is testimony to the fact that the US could neither find any WMDs, nor could their intelligence establish any links between the Late Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaida, but in effect, on account of the ongoing American engagement, Iraq got completely devastated. Over 1.1 million Iraqis have been killed, some...

These are questions which must be top-of-the-mind for anyone who is even slightly politically conscious or committed. For merit or otherwise, the leadership of the largest serving party of independent India is being thrust upon this man. The big question is – will he be able to deliver ever? For, given the way the Indian political scenario is taking shape – with regional parties replacing national parties at the state level – if Rahul fails to deliver, it might take the party a few decades more to regroup and regain its position. In the framework of this context, it was indeed heartening to read Rahul’s latest views on reviving the Congress party. For the first time, someone could openly say that the party lacks inner party democracy and that the high-command system must give way – issues all Congress supporters and detractors have always been critical about. Probably thanks to his status of being the son of the dynasty, Rahul could say what everyone has always felt, but never dared to...

No doubt, year after year the Union Budget ritual is a big let down. But then, this year’s Budget has surpassed all such milestones created by previous Budgets in letting down the masses of this country. It was amazing to watch how casually and callously our honourable Finance Minister (FM) kept on doling out favours after favours, with the least respect for a citizen’s money. It was also amazing to note how our sitting MPs, dead drunk in ‘populism’, kept on vehemently applauding each and every illogical and irrational announcement made by the FM. The final icing came towards the end of his speech, when mainstream media, industrial associations and industrial big wigs shamelessly sang in unison in appreciation for the FM, without getting into the details of the actual impending effects of some of the reckless decisions taken by him, in his Budget speech. Let’s start with our Honourable FM’s biggest kill in this year’s Budget – Waiving of a staggering Rs 60,000 crores worth of loans of ...

Knowing that HIV/AIDS is a global concern, wherein governments, multi-lateral institutions and NGOs across the world are leaving no stone unturned to arrest the epidemic, it is appalling that in our country the association of people living in HIV/AIDS have to literally plead with our government to table the HIV Bill. The Bill which has been drafted by Lawyers’ Collective HIV/AIDS Unit, with an objective of safeguarding the interests of people living with HIV/AIDS and also to prevent and control the epidemic, had been approved by the Ministry of Health and was forwarded to the Ministry of Law in August 2006! Since then it has been languishing with the Law Ministry, waiting to be tabled and for a go-ahead from our honourable parliamentarians! Forget taking any cue from the proactive measures which governments across the world have been taking, it is literally shocking that even after knowing that this Bill affects the basic survival of a staggering 2.5 to 3 million people, who are living...