Cynicism, Casteism Haunt Women's Reservation Bill
by Amulya Ganguli 
Since electoral considerations rather than a genuine desire for women's empowerment were behind the latest move to revive the 12-year-old legislation for reserving parliamentary and assembly seats for women, its fate may be no different from what happened earlier.
Read On

Education, Healthcare and Infrastructure: Development Tripod by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Newton or some other genius when praised profusely for his discoveries and inventions is said to have humbly remarked that if I look so tall, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants. If a nation aspires to become developed and wealthy, it first needs the tripod of education, healthcare and infrastructure to elevate itself to a higher plane. Read On

Nepal : Maoist Must Reclaim Shangri La
by Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle  
Nepal’s scenic country side is complimented by cheery, fun loving people, making the country a must for tourists across the World. Yet the elites of Nepal be it monarchs or ministers have been letting down the country over the past half a century of so. Read On

India Ignores Wake Up Calls: Will Disaster Jolt it to Reality? by Rajinder Puri
The Supreme Court struck down the amended law by which the All India Medical Institute (AIMS) Director Dr Venugopal had been removed from office. The amendment was motivated to target one individual, Dr Venugopal. Health Minister Ramadoss was not getting on with him. The Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of Dr Venugopal. This setback to ... Read On

Pokhran-III Prospects Dead
on Pokhran-II Anniversary? by Tarun Vijay
What difference does it make who signed the Pokhran files? Brajesh Mishra, the powerful former security advisor to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, revealed a bit too late. There was a time when the Congress must have felt elated to claim making India nuclear. The first Pokhran test (in 1974) was their contribution and Indira Gandhi dared the Americans bravely. Should we be ashamed of it or try to delete that chapter from Indian history just because she happened to be another party's leader? Read On

The Land of Milk and Honey
by Subra Narayan 
As the flight prepared to land and I kept looking out the window taking in the beautiful landscape of the country for the first time, the older gentleman sitting next to me said, “This is why they call America the land of milk and honey”. Twenty years later, the price of a gallon of milk has more than tripled and the bees are disappearing at an alarming rate! What happened to the world’s numero uno superpower, the world’s model democracy, the land of unlimited opportunities! As we look forward eagerly to a healthy change in the upcoming Fall elections, that will hopefully install a leader who will focus on the core issues that are fundamental to the public, we need to understand what ails America! Read On

India’s General Elections 2009 : The Run-Up
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
General Elections earlier than the scheduled timing of the first half of 2009 has been an active talking point in India’s political circles for nearly a year. This speculation was fuelled by the stream of ultimatums emanating from the ruling Congress Party coalition partners threatening to withdraw support on every conceivable issue and bring about the fall of the Congress-led Government. Leading the pack more actively has been the Leftists combine led by the CPI(M). Read On

Where Have the Good Old
Filmi Mothers Gone? by Subhash K. Jha   
The portrayal of mothers in Hindi cinema has undergone a huge transition - from the sacrificing ones of the 1960s and 70s to the working and even single moms of today. But the roles of mothers has somewhat got diluted over the years - a few exceptions apart, of course. Last week's terribly unfunny comedy ... Read On

Auspicious Signs of IPL Stirring Community Feeling by Shylashri Shankar
Everyone agrees that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has produced a fine spectacle but disagrees on whether it is good or bad for cricket. Film star brand ambassadors like Akshay Kumar and owners like Shah Rukh Khan and Preeti Zinta, the  cheerleaders and others provide the glamour and glitz Read On

• The Hari Putar Dialogues – 4 

Cambridge: Solace in Reunion by Aruni Mukherjee 
Cambridge- what does the name of the city evoke in you? An image of a historic city full of grandeur and heritage, one of mankind’s oldest seats of learning perhaps. Bengalis being typically globally nostalgic, the name should give us goose bumps. Yet, as I got down on the platform and walked towards the taxis, I somehow felt an acute sense of de ja vu. Read On

Who Says Condoms Are For Men?
by Tarannum 
Even as the urban belts of India debate the use of the female condom as an effective method for family planning and prevention of HIV/AIDS, in some rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, the condoms are helping women have better control over their reproductive rights. In the nondescript town of  ...Read On

Robotic 'Poorams' by J. Ajithkumar 
Global warming has started taking its toll in the least expected scenarios. The increasing cases of pachyderms going berserk and killing people during temple festivals (poorams) in Kerala is a direct result of increasing heat conditions. Read On

Fight that Sinking Feeling
by Barbara Lewis 
Decades after novelist Virginia Woolf and poetess Sylvia Plath made their private pain public, female depression as a literary subject matter is more in fashion than ever. In Britain where research has established women are around twice as likely as men to become depressed, a minor flurry of ...Read On

Water Pollution: Maladies and Remedies by Naira Yaqoob
The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody has decided not to see. A saying that we heard in the past as a mere quote has turned into the very stark reality of the present. Everybody knows that pollution refers to ... Read On

India has Failed to Provide Basic Entitlements to its People by K V Venkatasubramanian
Despite its upward economic growth, India has failed to put into place even the most basic entitlements that will ensure the right to survival, life and dignity for women, particularly Dalit and tribal women, a new NGO report to the United Nations says. Read On

• Green Tea – The New Health Drink