On the clammy evening of the 3rd of June 1991, during one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of independent India, a cargo van broke down with a flat tyre on a busy highway leading to the Sahar International Airport in Bombay. The van contained a highly classified and secret cargo, the existence of which and the…
Quick question: What do you mean by e-Governance? Forget Wikipedia, and government-provided definitions, what would your own definition be? Something like “Get government stuff easily and straightforwardly done through the Internet without having to go to government offices, face stony faced officials and labyrinthine processes“? Well, that is my idea too, but only it does…
In addition to being the largest repository of cat pictures and porn, the internet unfortunately has also turned out to be the greatest misinformation generator in human history. Nowhere is this more evident than on Social Media in general and Facebook in particular. Thanks to over-enthusiastic image-creators and sensationalists who post all kinds of senseless bullshit to…
Lord Thomas Babbington Macaulay had the best interests of the East India Company and the British in mind when he framed the Indian Education System in 1835. A system like that was obviously built for the long run, the British presumed that they would rule India forever those days. But Macaulay would never have expected his legacy…
For 4000 years until the arrival of the first invaders some 700 years ago, India had a history of creating intellectually superior awesome people who invented the Zero, Calculus, monstrous baths and discovered the meaning of life among other things. But it went all downhill from there and unfortunately all that we seem to be…
The incident of cruel violation and subsequent death of a hapless 23-year old woman, though shocking in magnitude, was unfortunately only another one among the stream of bad and worse news emanating from our country every day for the past 65 years. Be it about infrastructure, politics, economy, education, transportation, healthcare, crime against women and…
One of the channels of outrage in the aftermath of the brutal, inhuman violation, assault by six men and subsequent death of the 23-year old lady in Delhi was directed at an unexpected target: The Indian Punjabi rapper Honey Singh (Yo! Yo! Honey Singh). It started on the internet first and on the ground later…
Starbucks have opened shop in India – A 4500 square foot store in Mumbai, in the historic Elphinstone building at the Horniman Circle, South Bombay, next to the Bombay Stock Exchange (Click here for address and location of the Starbucks Mumbai outlet). Globetrotting, liberated Indian yuppies celebrated by uploading pics of them hanging around the…
By the time Std.9 was over, all energies of the Universe was directed at making us cram our everlasting lives out preparing for those final two “boards” weeks. The tension and stress was unbearable. Forget sports and so-called extra-curricular activities, even sleep had to be put aside in preparation for the coming war. All imaginable arrangements…
“Study, study, study!” “Marks, marks, marks!” “Ranks, ranks, ranks!” “Grades, grades, grades!” #YouRemember? For anyone who grew up and underwent their “education process” in India, these words and associated memories (often not too fond) form an inseparable and intrinsic part of their growing-up experiences. In fact, for most, these words are the only memories they…
The 30th Olympic Games have drawn to a close in London. India won an unprecedented SIX medals making this the nation’s best-ever Olympic performance in history! Congratulations to those athletes! But still, all those performances were more on individual merit rather than on the country’s merit. Very simply put, what part did the country, the…
Another molestation news has created headlines. This time it was a minor girl who stepped out of a bar who was stripped and molested for around half an hour in full public view by a mob of around 30 men in Guwahati. A news crew recorded the entire incident which spun off a branch of…