The story of Disproportionate Weight

One late dusky evening in 2011, Prashant Bhushan and I were chatting on our drive back after a two day meet on Lokpal Bill in a remote, dusty village in Rajasthan. The jeep was crammed with activists of all varieties and shapes. Prashant, seated next to me in the front seat, was known to me from common friends and I had followed his immense contribution to democracy through his legal work. Earlier that afternoon, another respected, strong willed and controversially outspoken activist had charged at Prashant for including the dubious figures like Kiran Bedi (how prescient of him) within IAC fold (AAP had not been formulated by then). I was chatting with Prashant about everything from Manmohan Singh's PHD thesis (Prashant had earnestly taken the time on his family trip to visit Oxford to browse through Dr Singh's thesis) to our observations on traversing the glaciers of Alaska. My personal objective for many years had been to know, understand and learn from leading figures whose work had influenced India. The attack during the debate had been quite vicious, challenging the very sanity or judgment of Prashant's. However, Prashant did not lose his calm throughout the chaotic proceedings held in a parliament-like-dome hall in the middle of nowhere, yet in the very heart of India, with scores of leading activists present. I gingerly broached the matter of afternoon row wondering how he had maintained such equanimity in that heated argument. Prashant, the veteran of many a testy law room tussles, responded simply without rhetoric or pomp (paraphrasing) - The success of IAC has given my voice a disproportionate weight and power. I have to be careful of what I say and accept the criticism as much as the praise.

Ever since, I have kept that comment (and many others that afternoon) and its spirit close to my heart. From that meeting and several such talks, I knew the man believes in the concept of self check, is against personality cult and for decentralization of power.

PS: In Mar 2015, Prashant was ousted from PAC of AAP for the above beliefs.

Heroes and Influences

Heroes:
Mahatma Gandhi
Jawaharlal Nehru
Dr Prithvi Sharma
Dr Subhash Sonawane
Glenn Greenwald
Mikail Gorbachev
Prince Emmanuel De Merode
Romeo Dallaire (Canadian General)
Scaher
Ho Chi Minh
Bill Clinton
Prakash Amte
Baba Amte
Nikhil Dey
Glenn Greenwald
Malcolm X
King Hussein of Jordan
Oliver Stone
Aamir Khan

Influences:
Trotsky
Arundhati Roy
Tariq Ali
Warren Buffet
Bill Gates
P. Sainath
Karl Marx
Aruna Roy
Tarun Tejpal
Edward Snowden
Dr Binayak Sen
Potti Sreeramulu
Romila Thapar
Shabnam Virmani
Safdar Hashmi
Habib Tanvir
Shah Rukh Khan


Evil isn’t the only threat. Ignorance and Indifference are just as dangerous, and a hell of a lot more common.

Assimilation of a Kashmiri

Right around the time when India confronts leadership vacuum in political arena, Omar Abdullah is a breath of fresh air. An accomplished young politician with strong sense of historical context (very important characteristic to lead an ancient civilization) , decisive mindset and armed with effective communication skill. Had he been the CM of any other state than Kashmiri, he would have made a strong case for Prime Ministership of India.

My single line summary of the Kashmir situation is that it is an integral part of India but India needs to do more to assimilate a moderate Kashmiri and nurture his or her aspirations to better living standards.

To catch a glimpse of what I suggest, watch this swashbuckling 20 mins of hard talk.

People Vs Political Parties

The Battle Lines are not between the parties but between civil society and the political parties

India's general elections are coming to an end in couple of days. I think it is a good moment for us to take stock of the situation; to discuss not just where India is headed but what our role is in India's future as citizens . Does our responsibility end with voting? I think it actually begins when voting ends. My hope is that the growing political interest of young generation would translate into personal involvement or at least engagement with the mechanism of politics and democracy rather than superficial sloganeering.

The premise of this is that although we may be fighting each other backing one party or the other, the true battle lines are between we citizens one one hand and all political parties on the other.

So, lets start with economic policy: Both leading parties - Congress as well as BJP and almost all regional parties with few exceptions are offering us the same neo-liberal agenda. What we citizens should demand is that during policy making there be public debate and public information on specifics of the law whether it is Land Acquisition Bill or Food Security Act or resolution on FDI in retail. Now that's about future changes. But what about implementation of existing programs and policies. I think we should all agree on common non-negotiable principles that no law be violated in the name of development. As an example - If land acquisition law requires a public hearing with impacted people, we must vehemently support that regardless of whether we support the project itself or not. In the past, this particular provision of the law was broken by Congress in several land acquisitions in Haryana; there were gross violations in POSCO project in Orissa under the rule of a regional party, Biju Janata Dal, and of course the king of all violations, Narendra Modi's BJP govt in Gujarat went to great extent ensuring that no legitimate public hearing occurs for the Mithi Virdi nuclear power plant in Gujarat. We all talk about Adani but how often do we mention Mithi Virdi which has long term repercussions. So, the point is if we see a project in future, we must fight for the legitimate process irrespective of which party we support.

Lets take another provision - Every large project requires Environmental Impact Assessment. We have heard all kinds of debates in this election but we hardly heard the word - ecology or environment. Does that concern you? Do you know that we are exploiting natural resources 10 times faster in last 10 years than we did in first 50 years? There is widespread deforestation, abysmal water pollution and we are turning mountains into empty bowls for extravagant mining. Most importantly, Govt of India is only getting 10% of the selling price in most cases. Rest of the profits are going to private hands and most of the minerals are going to China. In short, our collective natural resource is transferred into private hands for windfall profits.

The Lavasa project supported by NCP in Maharashtra blatantly violated all environmental provisions, same was the case with mining in Yeddyrappa's BJP govt in Karnataka. Again, Gujarat is no exception except that it leads in complete destruction of top soil and mangrove forests on the entire coast of Saurashtra for whom? Either for Adani's international port or for Nirma's limestone quarries. I hope you all realize that once we destroy the environment, it takes several thousand years to replenish that natural resource. Do also recognize that repercussions are not direct and immediate but make no mistake - They are devastating. Nature's fury knows no bounds. For example, if the Mangrove forest of Gujarat coast is destroyed, the possibility of 2002 like cyclone has increased manifold because there mangroves serve as protection.

Bottom line - Lets pledge that we citizens will not allow rupturing of environmental laws in the name of development irrespective of whether Modi comes to power or Rahul Gandhi or if Arvind Kejriwal is part of some coalition.

Let us also understand that this is not a matter of socialism or capitalism.It is simply a question of whether the law of the land is respected or not.

Good Night and Good Luck

Why I support AAP conditionally

As an active citizen of India, I can only offer conditional support to political parties and candidates because I am married to India's cause and not to a given political party, candidate or ideology. I don't believe my responsibility starts and ends with voting but rather by closely following individual public policy developments (not TV debates pls) and supporting or rejecting particular policy proposal based on my independent research and analysis. Essentially, my engagement with India's political process is wholesome and I call upon my friends to do the same to whatever degree possible if we are to see sustainable change across the vast swathe of land that is India.

Given below is my current opinion which I reserve the right to update for above mentioned reasons:

Why I support AAP in first place:(Conditions in a separate section below)

• Courage to challenge the blindly accepted paradigm of India's development model which includes massive environmental and civil rights violations in the pretext of capitalism. Over last 5 years, India's economic policy has increasingly tilted toward neo-liberalism making it the sole economic policy supported both by ruling as well as opposition party. Projects in different states smack of crony capitalism (Eg: Lavasa in Maharashtra, Adani port in Gujarat and POSCO in Orissa) although Gujarat was especially vigorous in land grabbing by violating all and sundry laws to support large  monopolistic industries. Despite that, Gujarat's model was singled out as the ideal future economic model. There promulgation by Guj Govt and public announcements by Modi bordered on false propaganda and deliberate misinformation. At the same time, some friends and acquaintances - regional journalists and activists - depicted a different picture of this land, a place where RTI requests were routinely ignored and dissent arm twisted in to acquiescence. It was especially shocking that none of the leaders of national stature questioned the obvious discrepancies in numbers and statistics of Gujarat state. I myself spent as week in Nov 2013 discussing even further were university scholars, farmer leaders, workers groups who provided a sinister picture of how law of the land had no place in Gujarat. Arvind Kejriwal was the first leader with national media attention to challenge this blindly accepted paradigm. His courage to actually visit Gujarat despite the hostile environment and communicate his findings (which were consistent with my independent learning) caused me to trust AAP to raise the most pertinent questions about neo-liberal economic model.
• No apparent bias toward Congress or BJP: As much as BJP criticizes AAP today, it was AAP that broke the hallowed citadel of the Gandhis by exposing serious irregularities in Vadra deals in Haryana. When figures like Baba Ramdev were expelled, the last vestiges of religious symbolism were uprooted from AAP's precursor, IAC. But the defiant questioning of the Gujarat model made it clear that AAP was truly an independent party and will spare neither Gandhis nor Modi.
• Personal information of Arvind Kejriwal's committment: I have gotten to know Arvind Kejriwal and his work over 8 years through several common friends and I understand him to have the highest degree of personal probity and honest in public life. Same is true for Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and Medha Patkar. There is no other party where I feel the same about such 4 senior party figures.
• Grass-roots activists as politicians: AAP has given tickets to many grass roots activists across the country whose work I have followed and vigorously supported for several years like Soni Sori and SP Udaykumar. Over the years, as it became evident that some of these activists were also good public speakers or possessed acute inter-personal skills, I wondered if some political outfit will give them a platform to run for political office. AAP answered those questions.
• Environmental Issues: Although discourse of environmental issues is discouraging absent in Indian elections, 

I support AAP on these conditions:

• Inner Party Democracy: As founder and convener, Arvind Kejriwal should bring more democracy and transparency within AAP because inner party democracy is fundamental to expanding nation's democracy.
• Include Grass-roots Workers: AAP must deepen relationships with people having real world grass roots experience like Medha Patkar and Soni Sori as against relying solely on statistics provided by Technical Experts from computers while sitting at home.
• No Populist Measures to Gain Votes: AAP will not indulge in populist measures to create a welfare based vote bank. Welfare measures should be used only in rarest of rare scenarios and not as a standard policy to ameliorate poverty. 
• Genuine Inclusion of Women: AAP continues on the path of supporting strong women candidates based on proven accomplishments rather than their whittled down version to create a facade of support for women. Today, women's representation is not commensurate with their contribution to society.
• Political and Economic Decentralization: Actively supports 73rd and 74th amendment to augment Decentralization Process with specific bills to address shortcomings. 
• Encourage Industry: Takes measures to encourage small and medium scale industries as against creating giant monopolistic corporations. Recent history in western world has shown that such corporations secure capitalist incentives from state to grow and once they are too big to fail, they shamelessly turn to socialist welfare measures to salvage themselves (Multi-Billion Dollar loan from government). 
• Zero Tolerance to Crony Capitalism: Clearly delineate and communicate the difference between crony and pure capitalism. Step up prosecution of crony deals and raise vigorous debate on the floor of the house and at the corner tea stall about the pros and cons of capitalism in Indian context (not in abstract terms) before deciding on a policy.
• Development and Ecology: Revive debate on ecology and its relationship with development. For a country with 25% of world's population, we will have gigantic impact on world's ecology and there is not a single political party raising these environmental debate.
• Energize Radical Viewpoint: Create mechanism within the party to ensure more members of the likes of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan are nurtured and buoyed by the party rather than sidelined for their seemingly radical views. 
• Transparency in financial dealings: AAP is the only party that voluntarily publishes all donations publicly on web.

Prior Background of Political views:

• Tryst with Nehrus, Gandhis and India's farmers: In my Teens, I had extensively read up on Gandhi, Patel, Nehru and other founding fathers. As a kid, I had an opportunity to interact with farmers, politicians and executives due to my father's role as a Managing Director in a large Milk Cooperative.
• First slice of Congress Vs BJP: I was naturally inclined to Congress party having known its historic contribution and ideological proclivity to secularism and democracy. This was more apparent in the backdrop of Advani's deliberate extremist position to galvanize Hindu vote bank. 
• Moderate voice within extremist party: I found myself modestly accepting BJP's Vajpayee government as it served as a good democratic counterpart to balance the Congress party which could otherwise become smug in its invincibility.
• Sonia Gandhi and her Public Policy: Subsequently, my engagement became more intense and consistent with all strata of Indian society and appreciated Congress's first term (2004-09) for its efforts to spread economic benefits of a global, liberal economy to wider sections of Indian society and mitigate the divide. 
• Successful Policy Vs Poor Governance: Over the course of the second term, as I formed my independent views on each policy, I found Congress increasing fall short on governance, communication and connect with the aspirations of New India. Unabashed arrogance of ministers like Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Chidambaram was the last nail in the coffin.
• Alternative Paradigm and Future of India: As I rummaged for alternatives, I warmed up to a possible Non-Congress government sans Hindutva-focused ideology. Figures likes Shivraj Chauhan (BJP) and Nitish Kumar (Third Front) represented those feelings. 
• Emergence of AAP: AAP emerged as an alternative to Non-Congress Non-BJP government. Although I generally support Anti-Corruption movement, I hold reservations about the specifics of IAC's Jan Lokpal Bill draft. Having said that, AAP has single handedly changed the political landscape in India and brought hitherto brushed-under-the-carpet issues right into our living rooms. When was the last time we discussed Gas Pricing by the way? For this courage and other dashing moves, I am willing to bet on them and wait a little longer to prove their governance and feasibility.

No More NaMo

There are many reason why I single out Narendra Modi in my criticism but I will highlight 3 most important factors:

1) Modi is the worse performer on all parameters - Who owns nation's public assets especially natural resources:

• The dictator has signed Multi-Billion dollar MoUs with leading corporations promising to hand over public assets. These companies are supporting Modi for that one simple reason, nothing else - Access to widespread public resources. In this context, efficient administrator means 'Hand in Glove' with big business houses.

2) Suppression of civil rights and Abrogation of fundamental freedom:

Most people seem to think that 2002 riots was the only violent episode. Quite on the contrary, the bloody trail continue over the decade from Haren Pandya's murder to Amit Shah's UP episodes. 

• 2002 riots took place under his watch as CM and right under his nose as he was present in the very region of the riots.
• Therefore, he is either an incompetent administrator who cannot control the worse genocide in Gujarat or he is an accomplice. Which one is he? You decide
• In either case, he must sincerely apologize. He has not done that for 13 years. Apologies are to be offered not just because of I will not accept him as my PM. 

3) He is the only leader who has escaped public or media scrutiny because as the chief administrator of the state where these violations occurred, he had the administrative machinery at his disposal to suppress slightest hint of dissent. Congress is already much maligned in media and social networks. Instead of questioning Modi similarly, many of his supporters aggressively suppress informed debate. Under such uneven circumstances, it is even more urgent that I express my resistance on social media.

Comparison of 1984 riots with 2002 riots: A brief overview of the context for the excited

Comparison of 1984 riots with 2002 riots: A brief overview of the context for the confused and the excited

Who was in charge? Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and HKL Bhagat were congress MPs/leaders without any administrative power. On the contrary, Modi was the CM and led the home ministry which directly controls Police and other administrative machinery of the state

Who got the green signal? The congress leaders or anyone for that matter can incite a crowd based on their clout but cannot lead a official meeting. Modi, in fact, held an official meeting in which he allegedly said - Lets not obstruct the Hindu rage. 

Day to Day operations? MPs constitutional mandate is to participate and vote in lawmaking. CMs constitutional duty is to manage day to day operations and protect state citizens. Both groups engaged in inhuman actions but one has a much larger potential for misuse of power due to huge official machinery. In business terms, MPs are shareholders while CEO is in charge of daily operations.

Apology? In a Gandhian moment of moral clarity, Congress Prime Minister apologized to Sikhs for the 1984 riots although he was not personally involved in the same. We are still waiting for Hindutva Samrat to apologize to victims of violence in his backyard.

Why target Modi?: All 3 MPs and pussy cat Namo should be indicted by legal process. Even if that fails, conscious citizens should openly censure all 4, irrespective of their party affiliation. Political career of the 3 congress leaders was more or less finished after this incident. Modi's career has actually flourished since the crisis. There is no reason for us to give a blank check to Modi and we should absolutely question if we want a bigoted zealot to be our PM. We would do exactly the same if any one of the 3 congress leaders was seeking any senior role.

My brief views on India's and Gujarat's Development Model

• We must question the unjust and undemocratic neo-liberal development model blindly followed by all parties in our country. In that sense, I disagree with several Congress leaders especially M S Ahluvalia, Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram and their ilk. In following this model, everyone has violated almost all environmental laws and flouted several land acquisition provisions. 
• However, in following this model and destroying India's natural resources, Narendra Modi stands out for promising big business houses unobstructed access to our country's assets at fire-sale prices. This abuser of democratic values will menacingly crush every legal process and pugnaciously suppress every dissenting voice. Do you know that we are entitled to a public hearing when a large scale public land is handed over to a private party? It is our land folks. Letting it go for dirt cheap price directly leads to increase in taxes without any substantial increase in government services.This deepens poverty and pushes the marginalized ever so more into an abyss from which they will only come out dead. An entire generation of destitute are sacrificed at the altar of this modern development model. I vociferously deny any support to such lop-sided and illegal development model. I have voiced my concerns against all 

Gujaratis always at the forefront of enterprise and growth; Nothing to do with Narendra Modi

Gujarat's Economic Journey in brief:

• Since its creation on 1st May 1960, Gujarat has been among the leading states in India
• It is also one of the first industrialized states in the country throughout 80s, 90s and 21st century
• Its per capita GDP has always been one of the highest in India
• Gujaratis are and have always been among the most enterprising merchant-industrialists thriving in India and across the world. 
• When Indian economy liberalized in 1991, anyone with elementary knowledge of economics understands that the state with more entrepreneurs and merchants will thrive even more.
• To attribute this success to Narendra Modi is nothing but falling prey to propaganda that overhypes and plays up growth indicators with hyperboles.
• And when a Gujarati living in Gujarat himself attributes this to Narendra Modi, he is like a gullible person who attributes the fruits of his own hard work and innovation to Modi just like historically some laborers worked the farm but attributed the yield to their feudal lord as their messiah.
• Having talked of Guajarat's high points, lets be sure to understand that Gujarat was not and is not the #1 state on any economic indicator and never ever was a #1 state in any human development index. It is among top rankers but not top ranked.
• In 2002, since businesses were already thriving, what one would have liked to see under Modi is improvement on human development indices and reduction in ecological damage.
• On the contrary, small and medium scale industrialists are suffering while Gautam Adani is thriving.
• As for ecology, that debate has not even begun in India yet for the educated middle class. wait a minute? So, are we really educated because our debate is just like illiterate?

My personal journey in Gujarati company:

• Although Gujju entrepreneurship can be verified by statistics and social observations, I can also vouch for it personally as I grew up with 89 Gujju/Jains among 90 students in a fine hostel in Pune where the air wafted with the smell of Thepla-Khakra every evening and every morning dawned with a plate full of fresh Mug-Puri. 
• In far flung North-East, I have met with Gujarati and Marwari Jain merchants running little stores and made friends with Gujju industrialist families from as south as Chennai. More recently, on an amazing safari to Tanzanian wildlife parks, I closely got to know a Bohri Gujju CEO of the professional tour company I traveled with. Gujjus contribution to Mumbai's economy is not secret. 
• I have broken into impromptu gig and danced to Garba music and Gujju girlfriend/wife's tunes all for a decade now. 
• Two of my favorite political idols are Gandhi and Patel, both Gujaratis and my inspiration for continuing public policy work despite the air of despair and apathy around me. 
• I have about 25 friends whom I depend on emotionally. At least 20 of them are either Gujaratis or Marwari Jains. For someone who has resolved to dedicate his life to nation building, there are many dark and grim days full of melancholy and depression. These friends are my pillar of support and I am proud to say so many of them are Gujaratis. 
• I hope this note serves as a clarification to those who react as if I am against Gujaratis whenever I write something against Modi. I am Pro-Gujarati and Anti-Modi. Yes, that's possible.

Statistical Proof:

The above text is deliberately personal rather than scholarly but those who prefer academic evidence, Please refer to this Outlook Article 

AAP aur HUM?

Dear friends,
Many of my friends have brought up a discussion and wondered whom they should vote in the upcoming general election? The commonly held line is that AAP is not yet ready. I think the bigger question is if we are ready. Change is not easy and certainly never perfect. It does not come in superman's suit or with a magic wand. It comes with a cuss word uttering law minister and rollback of your favorite policies (read FDI). The American revolution did not bring freedom to slaves. Abolition of slavery did not bring equality of opportunity to blacks until civil rights struggle of 1960s. American saw the first black president after yet another 50 years. But, each step was a quantum leap that enabled the next step. There are several such example throughout history whether it be Latin America's slow untangling from imperial arm-twisting or the coming together of the grand vision of Europen Union. Change is a continuous process of ebb and flow directly proportional to ordinary citizen's engagement. If we thought AAP was single-handedly going to bring about change, we were wrong. They can change with your participation. I am not asking that we give AAP a clean slate. In fact, I am asking exactly the opposite. We should question their policies but not with apathy and skepticism; rather with active participation. It is the first party that has opened the doors for young generation to participate. At least, we can be certain that their coffers are not filled with dirty money. You can join them with conditions making your demands known. Participate in their volunteer programs. But we may not do that because that means giving our time away from shopping or watching cricket. We could research and suggest an alternative policy but we may not do that because that will force us to think rather than follow the headlines of TOI or HT. Suggest a good candidate for your constituency but we will again not do that as it will force us to take a stand. I am suggesting a hard way because I am asking us to demand with contribution. Most of us like to expect but without contribution and conditions. Let us agree that history will not absolve us if we let this opportunity slip by without giving it adequate chance. That will require optimal dose of hope and resistance from all of us.

For over 30 years, we have collectively complained and groused about the absence of honest political party. Now that a party has emerged whose founding members' struggles for various people's rights (RTI, freedom of speech, anti-corruption) are well-documented and which lays an intra-party democratic framework, lets not back out from our end of the deal using excuses of public policy procedures and ideologies that until recently none of us discussed. Let us acknowledge that the exponential increase in our interest is a direct result of AAP's lightning attack on our stinking political system.

There will be a time when I will take a clear and open stand on AAP - for or against. Today is not that time. The baby is just born. I am going to nurture it and challenge it. I will be judgmental about whether he or she is a good person at an appropriate age. There is no place for apathy and skepticism that has rankled our souls for way too long. Its time to raise. We are the ones we have been waiting for.

-Nitin Sonawane

Do we really understand the diversity of India?

Dear friends,
One of the key shortcoming of our emerging middle class and youth is the lack of grasp of what India constitutes; what it means by the concept of India in terms of its ethnic and geographic composition. We know from rote learning and school books that it is a vast and diverse nation but do we truly embrace what that means. Yogendra Yadav's speech and following Q&A will be a good brief initiation for those who are genuinely interested in undertaking this quest. Relax and enjoy this expert's calm and composed but sharp and incisive commentary.

Bihar rejuvenated - Go Nitish

Heartwarming article on Bihar's rejuvenation and rehabilitation

Creators/Innovators of Green India

I wish this Vellore model was recreated in Pune -

Bombs, Bauxite and Bihar

Dear Indians,
Time has come to have a debate. Our core Democratic values are at stake. There is a lot of noise from different quarters. Although some people dislike Arundhati, her voice is far too unique to be ignored at our own peril.

Part 1 -


Part 2-


Part 3 -


Part 4 -


Part 5 -

Top Cop on impending Naxal implosion

So rarely has the cerebral blended with the sinewy; and blend it does with incredible confidence and hopes of well being for a nation torn in its social fabric. Here is a look at what our very own home grown Top Cop has to say about the impending and imploding Naxal crisis -

Devinder Sharma on Democracy Now

Devinder Sharma is one of India's leading Agro experts. He was recently on Democracy Now explaining root causes of Global Food Crisis

As US and Other Wealthy Nations Slash Aid, UN Warns of "Silent Tsunami of Hunger" in Global Food Crisis. Click here for the video

Bhopal still burning, Dow still rising

IFA visit in Gujarat

Charlie Rose and the business of Art and Journalism

Dear Indians,
As a young man growing up in India, I always craved for inspiring leadership; for electrifying oratory; for sound, balanced analysis of a successful entrepreneur. For any society that catapults itself to the zenith of glory, one definite precedent is multitude of heroes. Heroes not only in the army and in political sphere but also impartial journalists, sincere Lawyers and committed doctors. Professionals we meet in daily walk of life. Men we encounter on regular basis. I desired to know more about them. How did they get to the positions of influence? What character traits drove to success? Is there a pattern? Was there a trajectory to be followed to reach the heights of any profession? In this quest, the most essential missing piece was an in-depth character analysis. Heroes in India were either deified or worshiped as though no flaw could ever exist in a bright man. That divineness almost took the shine out of the possibility of drawing any electrifying inspiration. On the other hand, true innovators and veritable creators were unheard of. There very existence was shrouded in mystery. I seldom got a chance to read long profound interview of a interviewer or examination of a scientific mind. None at all. I am sure things are changing as India glows in its new found confidence but I still see a vacuum for inspiration and subsequently an impediment to the path to glory. Here is an example from an American journalist who has tried to scrap the surface and peek a little further into the life of a fellow journalist. I think its a classic; a study in impartial yet sincere analysis of the man himself.


Click here for the piece on Charlie Rose

Taliban in our backyard

Dear Indians,
Let us spread the word to bring awareness about the brewing threat of radical orthodoxy in our own backyard so that while we remain proud of our modernisation, we do not turn a blind eye to those marginalized and suffering from extreme injustice in our very same motherland.

Click here to read

After the death of passive protests

Dear Indians,
We all know we suffer from collective amnesia but I was confident this was different; This terrorist attack had awakened a new kind of India, I thought. While I would pontificate in the fancy sidewalk cafes of Los Angeles on the future of my mother India, I would eagerly await every news article that would detail the horror of that night. That night when my mother lost 3 of her prominent and much respected sons. What may have happened? I wondered? I ran many "What if" scenarios in my tiny computer literate brain. But, no answers. Directionless protests in the immediate aftermath were followed by deafening silence on the details of THAT night. I was fuming. How could we not even blame someone (Top security officials or politicians) or something (Security Apparatus) for the unedeniable horror of THAT night? Some of us are already anointing India as the next super power. I speculated. Do future superpowers only build tall brick buildings or do they also build an accountable system based on thorough analysis? Well, I temporarily slaked my thirst with the first thorough reconstruction of that night by a respectable media house.

Read the news report here

The other Gandhi

Dear Indians,
Writing a character study is always challenged by the need to bring out various layers and contradictions to make a character complete. Almost every article examining a personality falls in the trap of lopsided view if not complete bias or partiality.
Shoma being Shoma does a fine job of bringing out the nuances of a long standing family saga and keeps us enthralled in this article on Varun Gandhi.

Young guns of India

Dear Indians,
Tehelka recently carried a series on young parliamentarians.
I think Mr BJ Panda stands tall among them for the depth and width of his knowledge and his vision for India.

The interview is in depth covering range of issues and Mr Panda suggests dramatic changes without exiting the realm of pragmatism.

Mao in our backyard

Dear Indians,
Naxal movement has gathered so much momentum that government can no longer ignore it as another problem in our backyard. Admitting that past govt oversight may have contributed to this movement moving from the margins to mainstream could be a good start.

Read Ajit Sahi's articles on his visits to the hinterland.
They capture the surreal truth in dark spaces like a tout thriller.

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

Examining the silent giant

Dear Indians,
Here are couple of articles analyzing Dr Singh's performance. They make a worthy reading for a common man because it provides a sweeping examination of 5 years of governance and serves as a good starting point for the uninitiated to do more research on last 5 years of public policy.

Article by Sandeep Pandey

Article By Aruna Roy

A few good men

Dear Indians,
My habit of drawing parallels between a common American citizen and a common Indian citizen found that more often than not, both were equally silly or mediocre in their understanding of their civic rights and the influence of power on their lives.
Then, I wondered how come America has some of the finest models of governance. Sure, their foreign policy is questionable but their domestic instituitions stand out as paragon of excellence for its citizens. The answer lay in the sentence - A few Good Men. America has been lucky in finding sane and vocal leaders not only at the national and state level but even at the grassroots level; be it in their urban NY neighborhood or be it in the next dusty Arizona small town. India sure has many successful grass roots leaders but not nearly as much as that in America.



Here is an article dedicated to a man who has withstood the test of time by working for the truly needy and those that are isolated and shut off from the idea of shining India.

SRK - Uncut version

Dear Indians,
SRK has been the flavor of the decade and half for people in my age group. I loved him just as much as the youngster/hipster/jester next to me but I never believed what he professed. I always felt he is smarter than his public presentation; brighter than what he reveals. Since I am somewhat associated with cinema world, I knew there is more to him than meets the eye. There is a certain veil that no reporter has opened, certain wall that no journalist has scaled.

And now, finally, here comes an article that reveals the intelligent charismatic man and the reasons he choose to be proverbialLY YEDA BANKE PEDHA KHANA

Right to Education is the closest link to India's future

To, Dear Indians,

If India is to rightfully stake its claim to stardom in the new world order, it definitely needs to wipe the shame of illiteracy and lack of basic health care for highly preventable diseases. How does one do that?

Well, here is an opportunity at our doorstop with this not-so-perfect yet a giant leap of sorts education bill
Nitin Sonawane

Universal power of micro finance

To, Dear Indians,

Dr Yunus and his experiment with micro finance has brought this poverty-eliminating tool at the forefront of our discussion on the big ideas that could change the world.
Like every sport that needs an even playground and impartial referee to succeed, micro finance has to be complemented with platform of governance and job opportunities.

Click here for an interesting article on the challenges and limitations of the power of micro finance.

Guilty without trial

To, Dear Indians,

The state of our state is abysmal and there are tragic stories galore. If our heroes like Gautam Goswami cannot get a fair trial within reasonable time, what shall a common man aspiring to be a hero dream of? Experts from legal fraternity, I am eager to see your suggestions for a solution. Please respond!

Nitin Sonawane

Click here to read the story

While we were cribbing, Dr Ravi Chopra was defying convention

Dear Indians,

Perhaps, our most irritating, banal reaction to a call for public service or nationalist sentiment is - Koi Kuch Nahi Kar Raha Hai - so why should I bell the cat?
Well, while many of us are abandoning our responsibility to our nation ostensibly because no one is doing anything, here is an example of someone who gave up a potentially cushy lifestyle for a worthy cause of our nation. So, I dedicate the following article to all naysayers and non-doers. I pray to God that he be kind enough to awaken you from your unhealthy slumber before you are the only ones left NOT serving the nation.
Nitin Sonawane

Please click here to read about Dr Ravi Chopra

India lacks informed citizenry and is as much to blame as corrupt officials & politicians

To, Dear Indians,

Here is an interesting article on how we are becoming informed citizens judiciously electing candidates on issue of governance but that we are not demanding nearly enough from our elected representatives on the issue of exercise of power. The blame, however, does not fall on the politician himself, but upon us citizens. The battle is not between citizens and politicians but it is between voters of two kinds. One that insists on sound public policy and other that claims rights based on caste or community. Who wins this battle will determine the future of India. When we hear of something as egregious as one leader holding countless ministries, we do not express adequate vocal criticism. This lack of public demand for better governance allows our politicians to bow to the public demands of caste based ministerial appointments.
Nitin Sonawane

Please click here to read the article