This may sound sinister, but I expected a bomb blast a little earlier, say around Nov end. My premonition had nothing to do with 26/11 or 6 Dec for I do not believe terrorists consider these ‘dead’lines auspicious, though the nation shuts itself up on those days; morbid as it may sound, they would instead create fresh occasions and anniversaries what with their absolute ability to choose the time and place to strike.
Browsing: COLUMNS
A Tamil adage has this advice for those discussing touchy topics: ‘In daylight, look around before you talk; at night, just dont talk’. The Radia tapes and wikileaks have indeed shown that not just walls but even air has ears and nothing is, therefore, secret or sacred. They are also probably indicative of a future scenario when even your thoughts can be tapped into.
For a columnist committed to comment but often constipated by lack of choice of topics, this week is a bonanza of sorts. But such an eventful week also poses the problem of surfeit. A fair distribution of words is therefore called for. So here we go on a verbal tour across nation and news.
The spectrum scam is not just about A.Raja. To believe that he could have single-handedly caused a loss of Rs175 lakh crores is to overstate his capacity and calculating abilities. Nor is this a system failure: On the contrary, the system that includes various ministries, departments, official watchdogs like CAG and the judiciary has actually worked.
Since law in Bharath always takes its own slow course, it is ever a case of justice denied. At the other extreme is ‘encounter justice’ which is delivered instantly, often before an accused reaches court. Now how do the criminally-inclined negotiate this huge chasm? We herewith offer those troubled souls itching for trouble with the law some trouble-shooting tips.
As with most Hindu festivals, Deepavali too has many origins and versions. And all of them could be true because it is quite possible that different auspicious events had occurred on the same day (thidhi) in various years and even across yugas. The cause for its celebration may therefore be varied, but Deepavali is unique as it signifies an early dawn.
The appointment of ‘neutral’ mediators to negotiate with Kashmiri separatists on behalf of the Indian State is a sordid act of abdication. Now, why does the State need interlocutors to deal with its own subjects? After all, governments are elected to govern. But if they were to outsource this constitutional function how then do regimes justify their existence?
I called a halt out of sheer fatigue of mind and eye. The number of articles (and still counting) on the Ayodhya verdict just as the English press would have exceeded by many times even the 10,000-page judgement. For that matter, the CW games, with its shaky run-up, a rather face-saving run and a shady aftermath, would have, for its part, consumed forests by the score.
Would VVS Laxman’s lone batting battle be any less glorious had India lost? Well, it may seem so, for, winning is the statistical reality that will linger in memory once the match itself fades into the maze of time. But his effort was valiant by all standards and odds.