September 15, 2007

It was written in these columns last week (Mainstream, September 8, 2007): Musharraf has firmly declared that notwithstanding the Supreme Court ruling in favour of Nawaz Sharif he would definitely arrest the PML-N leader if he steps on Pakistani soil. In that eventuality the pro-democracy movement would assume a new dimension in Pakistan and the internal situation of the country would snowball into a real crisis for the military dictator himself. As things stand today, Musharraf is fast (…)

As the ruling Congress-led UPA coalition and the Left parties still supporting it from outside hold the first meeting of the committee set up with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the convenor to discuss the ramifications of the Indo-US nuclear deal in the backdrop of the Hyde Act, a US national law, several disturbing developments in the functioning of the UPA Government on the domestic front have caused serious concern.
The first relates to the wheat import scam. One (…)

Nehru’s vision of India, which dominated our political life for several decades, has come under considerable, often unmerited, criticism. The alternative Hindutva view of India has proved politically inept and culturally bankrupt. The resulting ideological vacuum is currently being filled by a new vision, canvassed by an influential body of opinion cutting across the usual political and ideological divide and enjoying the support of influential sections of the NRIs.
India has long felt (…)

India has developed its nuclear energy sector almost entirely by its own efforts. In the process, it has mastered the complete nuclear fuel cycle ranging from the mining of uranium, fabrication of reactors, enrichment of uranium, separation of plutonium from spent fuel to the numerous practical applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Aware of the country’s acute shortage of uranium, the pioneer of India’s nuclear programme, Dr Homi J. Bhaba, envisaged a three-stage development (…)

India celebrates significant GDP growth numbers more recently. This brings the boast of the Central policy-makers that more growth means “more inclusive” growth. This runs contrary to the experience of acceleration revealing “divisive growth”. It is divisive between urban and rural dimensions. It is divisive between coastal and inland States of the Union. It is divisive in terms of location and commitment of Central investments directly by government and indirectly by the public sector (…)

If we do not struggle If we do not persist in our struggle The enemy would finish us with his bayonets And pointing to our bones he would tell the rest of the world Look, these are bones of slaves! Look, these are bones of slaves!! (A Hindi couplet)
D. Dhanraj from Tsundur (Guntur, AP) possibly does not know how the rest of the world remembers the 6th of August. Neither possibly he knows that there is a city called Hiroshima in far- away Japan which was nearly obliterated that day. But for (…)

The good earth of Bihar gave birth to Buddha and Ashok, in ancient times. Its soil was sanctified by the blood of Birsha Munda and Khudiram Bose, martyred in the battle for freedom against foreign rule. Bihar gave the Republic of India its first President, Rajendra Prasad.
Today night has descended on this very same Bihar: behind its prison walls has been perpetrated with cold-blooded precision the most gruesome crime. Undertrial prisoners, thirtyone of them, have been blinded by the (…)

BOOK REVIEW
A Matter of Equity: Freedom of Faith in Secular India by John Dayal; Anamika Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi; 2007; pages: 487; Price: Rs 800 (Hard Cover)
Christians from all over India recently gathered in the Capital to protest against the Hindutva assault on their faiths in different parts of the country. On May 29, 2007, when they all assembled at Jantar Mantar seeking the government’s intervention to protect their institutions and people, it was a reminder to (…)

Pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals are two key sectors having direct implication to the everyday life of the people. Hence, it is important to regulate the safety, efficacy and quality of pharmaceutical products and agrochemical products. Most countries in the world have their own regulations for the marketing of these products. While patents are meant to reward innovations by giving the inventor a monopoly right for a fixed term, the regulatory approval system seeks to ensure that only (…)

Russia, China and the US have spent the past few years jockeying for position in Central Asia, as have, to a lesser degree, regional powers like Turkey, Iran and India. Some would say, the geopolitical setting of the region being what it is, Central Asia will continue to be cast as the site of a new “great game” as far as global and regional powers are concerned. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the US began what it called “enhanced engagement” in Central Asia. The US goals included pushing (…)