Party without direction
The Aam Aadmi Party is likely to lose the upcoming municipal election in Delhi, but what is more alarming is the complete loss of vision and direction (“AAP will revoke residential house tax if voted to power in Delhi civic polls, says Arvind Kejriwal”). I used to be an avid fan and like the rest of Delhi, voted them to power on the basis of promised good governance, accountability and transparency. Unlike other parties, the AAP’s manifesto wasn’t populist and promised a new wave of ground-oriented leaders, a breath of fresh air for the national capital.
However, the AAP failed to fulfill many of its promises, some due to its failings and others because of political interference from the Centre. But that is not why one is disillusioned by the party.
The party had absolute control over roads, education, and health, and performance in those departments can be a measure of their success.
The AAP, however, is fighting the municipal election on one ground only: the abolition of property tax. They argue that the process of collection is ridden with corruption and the tax should thus be abolished. This is the party that once spoke about decentralised power through Area Sabhas. This is the party that was led by a confident leader.
Municipalities are the backbone of local governance and are intended to allow for localised decision making, or people’s participation. I thought that the AAP would be the party to finally grant municipalities the space they are entitled to, but today, they’re so desperate to win and so under-confident, that they’re willing to starve the body of its only independent source of revenue, without a care for the already cash-strapped corporations.
If corruption was their main concern, that is what they should have tackled. The AAP today is not what it had set out to be. Much like the others, it now thinks of victory only –good governance is second priority. – Sukrit Nagpal
Everyday racism
Yes, we South Indians are the worst offenders (“The TM Krishna column: News flash, Tarun Vijay critics – we South Indians are racist too”).
Dark girls are told they will have trouble finding a match. In our films, we always get our heroines from North India or relatively fairer women from other South Indian states. Will any director of Tamil dare have a dark heroine in his or her films? – R Venkat
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This is an excellent and very well-written article. TM Krishna has articulated his opinions lucidly and has justified his stance in his own inimitable manner. I love the style, language and the tone. – Jayashree Lakshmanan
River rescue
The National Green Tribunal has proved that it is not a competitive body (“Art of Living destroyed Yamuna floodplains and it will take 10 years, Rs 13 crore to fix it: Panel”). They are now giving lame excuses like they were not given enough time to inspect before the Art of Living event. The polluted rivers and lakes across the country are evidence of the efficiency and green this tribunal is.
They should see how active, efficient and committed the volunteers of Art of living are in maintaining and reviving water bodies. The Vrishabhavathi river project they took up is an example. Let Yamuna river revival project to be taken up by Art of Living volunteers. They will show the NGT how to clean it and maintain. – Ram Mohan
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The actuall damage is not Rs 13 crore, as your report says, but Rs 42 crore. Also, that will only be the restoration cost. No value can be ascribed to the loss of the ecology and biosystem. One quantifiable loss is that of the ground water recharge capacity of the flood plain, Assuming an average of 30 inches of annual rainfall in Delhi, a an absorption rate of 30%-50% of the rainfall, an area of 200 hectare and a cost
of 15 paise for water, the loss amounts to Rs 9 crore a year, which for 10 years works out to be Rs 90 crore. – Anand Arya
Dating in Beijing
This is a wonderful piece and is very relatable (“An Indian woman’s notes on dating in Beijing: It’s a confusing, dreadful adventure”). I live in China and have had the same experiences. If the author is ever in Shanghai, I’d love to show her around! – Tanvi Arora
EVM controversy
Most of the articles on your website somehow seem to have an anti-Modi bias, but for once, I came across an article on your platform that tries to address the fake news and doubts being spread by so-called liberal politicians like Arvind Kejriwal and Mayawati about EVM tampering (“Dholpur bye-poll: One more report of EVMs favouring the BJP falls apart under scrutiny”). Keep it up. This will gain you more supporters from apolitical Indians like me who are fed-up with the obvious biases in mainstream supposedly liberal media reporting. – Ram Garikipati
Higher education crisis
The plight of JNU students makes me sad (“‘Is this the end of the road?’: JNU’s MA students face a crisis as MPhil and PhD seats are slashed”). The government’s ignorance towards higher education has brought us to this pass. I do not understand what UGC is up to. The University is tight-fisted about opening up MA English courses in colleges. Such a discrepancy in higher education discrepancy prompts me to think why I or many students like me opted for academics given that chances of finding a job even after a NET, PhD of Junior Research Fellowship. – Vishakha Sen
False alarm
The hue and cry about the Aadhaar card being useless and anti-people has been manufactured by so-called intellectuals and activists who do not know the first thing about how the unique identity number works (“Aadhaar trouble: How a woman’s wages under MGNREGA were transferred to someone else’s account”).
Yes, there will be teething problems and some people will try to cheat the system, but all such problems will eventually be sorted out and Aadhaar will help create transparent systems.
Essentially Aaadhar just provides you a unique number and authenticates it with your biometric details. Once you have the unique ID, no one can take it away from you or fake it.
Two people may have identical names and impersonate each other but once Aadhar based systems evolve and the authentication is available on all counters, then fraud will become difficult and will become a thing of the UPA days.
Journalists and politicians who are trying to implant false stories and create fear about Aadhar have either not researched well enough or miss the days when corruption was easy to get away with. – A Nagesh
Off court
This is a nice write-up on the growing popularity of PV Sindhu and badminton (“The jam-packed stands for PV Sindhu’s India Open final proved how Indian sport is changing”). It is an incredibly exciting sport and more courts should be opened so that it can become more widely played.
The fact that the venue for this match was jam packed shouldn’t be a surprise given the fact that we’re talking about the second most populous nation on the planet.
India has the potential to go the China way in this sport by making a concerted effort to tap into local talent. The sport should also be made more lucrative.
Why is badminton yet to catch up to tennis, cricket or football? That cannot be the case for a sport so engaging and galvanising. The speed, reflexes, power, touch and movement required in badminton are unmatched. It’s the one sport that calls for a high level of athleticism, acrobatics and guile, not to mention physical and mental tenacity. – Maureen Singh
Derby spirit
It was nice to see the derby sentiment find reflection in an article after long (“How the Kolkata derby became a pillar of Bengali identity and why it’s losing its significance”). It should be considered a refresher for all Bengalis and even Indians at large. But to say that the derby spirit has died down over the years is wrong. The sentiment is still strong, as you would have noticed during the Calcutta Football League. The commercialisation aspect, although relevant, is true for most Indian sports.
It is believed that Bengalis are born as either East Bengal supporters or Mohun Bagan supporters. But the commercialisation of one of the biggest sporting rivalries in Asia is definitely federation’s fault. – Krishnendu Banerjee
Spoiler alert
This is with regard to the article titled “What happened to the Pakistani submarine that inspired the movie ‘The Ghazi Attack’?” I sincerely feel such articles should not be encouraged since they colour the audience’s perspective before the movie is released. We ought to be more responsible and try and promote such films, which are few and far between. I personally enjoyed the movie and had no problem with the liberties it took with the fact. After all, it is a movie based on a historical incident, not a documentary. – Shataparna Banerjee
Divisive remark
What kind of person is this man (“If we were racist, why would we live with South Indians, black people around us: BJP’s Tarun Vijay”)? Is he even educated? We south Indians are noted for our culture tolerance and extreme intelligence. What has colour got to do with all this? What a disgusting and racist statement. It is hateful. – Abishek Thomas
Life on the street
I have great respect and admiration for you, Harsh Mander sir (“What a tribunal that blamed a man sleeping on the road for his death should know about homelessness”). I wish I had your courage and your motivation. If only we could see them as fellow humans worthy of love and effort. – Vashti Suantak
Eye-opener
This article on Russia leads me to two possible conclusions (“How the West has failed to get Russia right”). Either our media is obsessed with all the mainstream sources in the US and hence unquestioningly accept their narrative of US hegemony, or they are deliberately neglecting what is really going on in the world. Secondly, as the US has shifted her alliance just for geopolitical reason, our narrative has to be in line with the newly formed alliance.
Crimea was never invaded; rather a peaceful referendum was held by the people to go with Russia. As it has a strategic important naval base which opens into the Mediterranean Sea, the US is furious and has promoted it as an invasion.
Sanctions imposed by the US and EU have hurt Europe most as their economies are in a disarray despite Russia.
This is the first time in the history of mankind that the masses have awakened to what is really going on in this planet. Truth will prevail in coming days. – Junaid Ahmad
Epic row
Kamal Haasan should not have commented on the Mahabharata (“Despite columnist’s gaffe, Kamal Haasan wasn’t born Muslim – his original name was Parthasaraty”). This led to him being fooled by people like the one who commented on his personal life. Avoid hurting the sentiments of the common man. – Ramachandran Vengadapuram Velappan