Kashmiri choice

August 24, 2008 on 3:29 pm | In Newspapers, Times of India | No Comments

A Kashmiri Muslim student came to see me last week and it was not long before our conversation turned to the current azadi wave in the valley. He did not think that an independent Kashmir was viable, and its only choice was either to be with India or with Pakistan. After a pause he asked guilelessly, why was India a democracy and Pakistan an autocracy? This set me thinking. I told him that Pakistan was more the norm–third world countries do not generally become stable democracies. India is an exception. Continue reading…

In prasie of grand gestures

August 10, 2008 on 3:24 pm | In Newspapers, Times of India | No Comments

On a soggy monsoon afternoon last week I found myself in the company of not just one but two finance ministers, P.Chidambaram and Jaswant Singh, at the launch of a book by the admirable Swaminathan Aiyar. An unfailing rule for spreading happiness in the political class is to flatter—there is no limit to how much one can boost the human ego. I chose, however, a less comfortable course and quizzed the worthy politicians about the painfully slow pace of reforms. When both BJP and Congress agree on the major reforms, why can’t we insulate them from the football of competitive politics? Continue reading…

Gurcharandas.Org site is Powered by WordPress with Pool Theme  managed by Center for Civil Society.
^Top^