Editorial
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| | Dialogue only way out | | Only meaningful peace process can help resolve all India-Pakistan issues including terrorism and Kashmir | | | As India and Pakistan continue to tear each other apart at the United Nations Human Rights Council session, it is time to be reminded that talks are the only way out of disputes, howsoever intractable and complex. While India called Pakistan a terror state, Pakistan propped up the question of India's state repression in Kashmir. The belligerence and rigidity follows expected lines. Last week, union home minister Rajnath Singh said that it is meaningless talking to Pakistan till the latter stops aiding terrorism. It would serve little purpose of both sides continue to turn their backs to each other by invoking their respective concerns. It will not help resolve the dispute but further hardening of positions which are detrimental to the interests of the peoples of the two countries. Constan... |  | |
| | | Cong visit a non-event | | The party must come out clean with its own stand on Kashmir before it rightly criticizes Centre's flawed policy | | | The Congress is only partially right in criticizing the government for absence of any meaningful dialogue process in Kashmir. Manmohan Singh led delegation of the party that concluded its tour to the state for assessing the Kashmir situation yesterday has very rightly asked the Centre not to shut all door of talks on Kashmir, emphasizing the need to reach out to the people to minimize the extent of frustration and deepening anger in the Valley. The delegation is also right in stating the obvious - that the situation has deteriorated in the Valley due to policy paralysis of state and central governments. But that would be only a half-truth. The situation in the Valley has indeed been deteriorating rapidly since the Narendra Modi led BJP came to power in New Delhi but the descent into chaos... | | |
| | | Tamil Nadu floor test? | | The Madras HC has adopted a less-than-reasonable course in staying the floor test in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly | | | The rationale given by the Madras High Court in its interim order that there is no need for the floor test in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly until September 20 next is difficult to accept and digest. The HC order in itself appears to be guided by some other considerations than what is followed in letter and spirit in a healthy democratic country, where floor tests have been directed by the Supreme Court even in worst of the circumstances. In fact, the claims of the rival political parties have been set aside by the SC giving preference to the floor test in the legislature instead of parading of the elected representatives by the political beings outside the democratic institutions. The order stalling a trust vote came on a writ petition seeking an early test on the floor of the House to ... | | |
| | MARGINALIA | | Where bigotry is a joke, challenging it a blasphemy | | | By Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal | |
| | The greatest irony of life is that since times immemorial majority of the most intelligent of living species - human beings - have shown immense resistance to knowledge and thinking even as the evolution of civilization from the primitive man to the modern jet age is a fascinating theory. Socrates was punished by drinking hemlock for his ideas that challenged the popular discourse of the day and Galileo's path-breaking scientific theories were rebuked as a sign of idiocy. Nothing has changed since then. Majoritarian opinions still remain averse to non-conformist views and ideas. In the modern civilized world, critical thinking remains as debased a value. In an age where lies are so easily and quickly transmuted and multiplied through random circulation and propagation thanks to the moder... | | |
| | | Pros and cons of Bullet train | | Going by the present rate of inflation of 3 percent per annum, India will accrue debts double the amount of investment by Japanese | | | The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's assertion that the loan component coming from Japanese at an interest rate of 0.1 percent over a period of 50 years coming close to as 'almost free' appears to be a misnomer. If the current inflation rate in the Indian market is calculated over a period of twenty years in comparison to the inflation in Japan at almost Zero percentage points, the loan amount would be Rs 1,50,000 crore on a loan amount of Rs 88,000 crore. This amount is solely to be used for the construction of the Bullet Train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai which will call for an investment to the tune of Rs 1,20,000 crore even if the cost escalation is considered to be static till the completion of the project in 2023. Apart from this, this project is being touted as one of the majo... | | |
| | | Spiralling petroleum prices | | The NDA-govt needs to ease and rationalise taxes to make petrol and diesel more affordable to consumers | | | The prices of petroleum products under the NDA-government have been increasing slow and steady over the past three months inviting anger and criticism which is usually directed at such petrol and diesel prices hike. In fact, the murmur among the people against such price rise has swelled to open expression of anger among the people and political parties in the opposition when the international prices of crude petroleum have been low. The crude prices have been the lowest during the last one year and hovering between US Dollar 32 and US Dollar 70 in the international market but the retail sale price of petrol is close to Rs 80 per litre, the highest in Mumbai while it is a little less in northern India and Eastern part. The price of petrol in Delhi, for instance, has cumulatively increased... | | |
| | | Double-speak on 35-A | | Rajnath's assurances are not enough, Centre needs to spell its stand and challenge the petitions pending in SC | | | Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's assurance on Article 35 A remains tricky and hollow as long as the Centre continues to hesitate from countering the petition in Supreme Court challenging the validity of Article which defines the state subject and bars people from outside Jammu and Kashmir to acquire immoveable property in the state. Singh's measured words both in Srinagar and Jammu during his visit to Jammu and Kashmir betray a hint of calculated illusionary trick. On Article 35 A, he maintained "whatever our government does, we will not do anything against the sentiments of the people here", elaborating in Jammu "sentiments of all the people of Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir. That should have been reassuring only if he had appended the remarks with an assurance that his government will do... | | |
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