Local Self-Government in India and UK

The different Indias we inhabit

India Not Shining..

Many reasons for man made floods in AP and Karnataka?
Warning: A rambling rant without any external links.My last blog post was a translation of a famous scene from the Telugu film, Daana Veera Sura Karna. As the saying goes in Telugu, there are a thousand reasons for Karna's death.It needed the coming together of many banes (शाप, శాపాలు) to have Karna killed.This could also be true for the floods raging over parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for the past one week.Where does one start when pinpointing the reasons for these floods? May be some one like P.Sainath should write a book called - Every one loves a flood?The straightforward reason is the belated reaction or negligence by the Go

The coronation of Karna
I made an attempt to translate one of my favourite scenes from the movie Daana Veera Shoora Karna. There could be a few words that I have not translated, but overall, I think I managed to convey the spirit of the dialogues, especially the ones by Suyodhana.Scene: The Court of Kaurava king Dhritarashtra. The court opens on to a ground. The Kaurava and Pandava princes, the elders of the clan, and other courtiers are present. The public is seated around the ground, where an exhibition of skills has been going on. Arjuna has emerged as the best fighter among all.Drona: In the entire Bharata Khanda, my favorite disciple, the thir

On the age of 'ostentatious austerity'
I wanted to write about this austerity thing. But now, its taken a new turn. Will write after we see the fun with Shashi Tharoor's 'cattle class' statement, inspired by Kanchan Gupta, and taken offence to by the Congress Party. Meanwhile, here's an excellent view of the issue from former diplomat M.K.Bhadra KumarHypocrisy of the 'austeri

Will / Should Jagan succeed YSR as CM?
When I heard a confirmation of YSR's chopper being found last Thursday, I had just reached my office. I called home and asked my wife to switch on the .I told her to call me as soon as she sees a confirmation of YSR's survival or demise. And in a conversation with a colleague a few minutes after the confirmation of his death, I suggested that by evening we would see Jagan being sworn in as the new CM.That it did not happen and Rosaiah was made interim CM was explained away by people.They said it was mourning period and let Jagan at least complete the last rites along with his family. Well, the funeral did not stop Rajeev Gandhi from being sworn in as PM on the night of Oct 31, 1

YSR (1949-2009) - The 'born again' politician - 4
In the previous three posts on YSR's legacy ( Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3), we looked at the political career of YSR. However, along with 'factionism', 'dissidence', 'paada yatra', and 'welfare sops' , the question of YSR's role in the spread of Christian evangelism in AP is also an important motif for polarising opinions on him.The first point to note is