Sept 13 and 14 – Karnataka wide bus strike. Millions of commuters stranded. Huge impact in small towns where few people have private vehicles. Sept 20 – Bharat bandh in protest of FDI. People who eventually get affected by FDI, got the most affected by the bandh. Oct 1 and 2 – petroleum dealers in the city went on a no-purchase protest. Oct 5 and 6 – Bangalore and Karnataka bandh to protest Cauvery water release to TN. Common man not sure which water they are they talking about. The one which does not reach the chawls, or the one with which they wash their glass villas? Continue reading
Category Archives: Politics
Bandh, bandits and duragraha
The Wikileaks phenomena
Like every other social asset, media is a neutral, double-edged sword with equal opportunities of it being used or misused. In the ideal world, media should present the combined opinion of the masses as a unified, single and loud voice, and authorities should give heed to them. Unfortunately, in the world we live in, media is busy curtailing the basic rights of masses, hiding facts and parading the unimportant. With the epic failure of mass media in recent times, it is important that citizen media takes over. This is precisely the reason Wikileaks is important and must be supported. Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Politics, Technology
Broken whistles
Remember Satyendra Dubey? The engineer who was murdered since he blown the whistle in a corruption case in the NH Authority’s Golden Quadrilateral project. Recently, a Karnataka official SP Mahantesh, said to be a whistle-blower in controversial land allotments by societies, was brutally murdered. The list of whistle-blowers and RTI activists who have been murdered, is huge. Continue reading
Democracy adjourned
Bills are stuck. Files are closed. Eyes are shut. Minds are rotting. Welcome to the monsoon session of parliament which has remained paralyzed for 12 days in a row. Tomorrow, the monsoon session gets over. BJP all along said – “The Prime Minister must resign. We won’t let the Parliament function until he does.” What kind of childish parliamentary practice is this? Next time they might as well say – “Voters give us a majority or we won’t allow the legislature to meet.” When did two wrongs become right? Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Philosophy, Politics
The legacy of Capt. Lakshmi Sehgal
Capt. Lakshmi Sehgal, in each stage of her life, represented a stage of her political evolution – from a young medical student drawn to the freedom struggle; as the leader of the all-woman Rani of Jhansi regiment of the Indian National Army; as a doctor, who restarted her medical practice in Kanpur amidst refugees and the most marginalized sections of society; and finally, as a an activist fighting for political, economic and social justice. Continue reading
सौरभ राय | Sourav Roy 