Author: Dilip

I'm a scholar, writer and teacher; and my blog is designed for intellectual exploration. It carries no advertisements and requires no cash subscription

What the 2023 Monsoon Session of Parliament Tells Us About the State of Governance

Deepanshu Mohan Waves of parliamentary theatrics define the disjointed operative functionalities of Indian democracy.  For watchers and observers of session proceedings, repetitive adjournments, an ecosystem of chaos, protests in and outside the chambers of the house, bias and favouritism among House speakers against opposition party parliamentarians have all become a part of an unusual norm.… Read More What the 2023 Monsoon Session of Parliament Tells Us About the State of Governance

Dilip

Kautilya’s observations on the causes of discontent in a polity

Impoverishment, greed, and disaffection, he says, are engendered when the king: 1/ ignores the good [people] and favours the wicked; 2/ causes harm by new unrighteous practices; 3/ neglects the observation of the proper and righteous practices; 4/ suppresses dharma and propagates adharma; 5/ does what ought not to be done and fails to do… Read More Kautilya’s observations on the causes of discontent in a polity

Dilip

Corruption and Fraud / Auditor General of India calls out massive financial irregularities

Here are some recent exposes of recent happenings; aside from corrupt practices over the years. Not much is reported of it on mainstream media. Now there are calls for the arrest of independent journalists Derek O’Brien takes a snipe at PM Modi Modi Reality & INDIA : मोदी इकोनॉमी की फाइल खुली..तो पलट जायेगी बाज़ी… Read More Corruption and Fraud / Auditor General of India calls out massive financial irregularities

Dilip

Ukraine’s war of attrition draws parallels to World War I

By Ishaan Tharoorwith Sammy Westfall The brutal war raging in Ukraine is a profoundly 21st-century conflict. Drones buzz around its battlefields. Hypersonic missiles plunge into unsuspecting targets. Satellites disperse the fog of war. Algorithms generated by artificial intelligence help guide artillery. Footage captured on mobile phones proliferates on social media, giving the conflict an almost visceral,… Read More Ukraine’s war of attrition draws parallels to World War I

Dilip

Will half-truths in the Parliament bring peace to Manipur?

Bharat Bhushan The government’s interventions on the Manipur violence in the Parliament do not address the root causes of the unprecedented ethnic cleansing in the state. Speaking on the no-confidence vote, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made two points – that the Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh must be retained because he was “cooperating”… Read More Will half-truths in the Parliament bring peace to Manipur?

Dilip

India’s subdivision of criminality (how one massacre deserves another)

Ours is the age of the intellectual organisation of political hatreds: Julien Benda, The Treason of the Intellectuals; 1928 Once crime was as solitary as a cry of protest; now it is as universal as science. Yesterday it was put on trial; today it determines the law: Albert Camus, The Rebel, 1956 A BJP minister’s… Read More India’s subdivision of criminality (how one massacre deserves another)

Dilip