Vichaar

We are roughly one year away from the 2024 General Elections in India, which promises to be a blockbuster political show not just for India but globally. India boasts of being the world's largest democracy and elections are more so noisy and people-engaging here. From the random tea stall gossip to heated newsroom debates, everyone has a say on who is winning and who should win. If anything, the political discourse has only turned more bipolar in the last decade, with a large section of the political right and the political left each becoming more opinionated and intolerant of opposing views. For the right-wingers, it's about getting Narendra Modi to his third consecutive term with an overwhelming majority, while the left supporters hope for a turnaround in the country's political landscape and they just want to see anyone other than Modi in that PM seat. How so much do we discuss issues, narratives, arguments, morals, ethics, etc., it all boils down to the numbers at the e

 In a very emotional  speech  couple of days back, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his decision of recognizing the independence of Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic (together known as the Donbas region - part of eastern Ukraine). And today morning in another  address  , Putin authorized "military operations" in Ukraine and since then, a full fledged military campaign has been launched by Russia in Ukraine which has captured the eyes and ears of people globally. Most prominent question all around is if this is the beginning of the Third World War ? So what exactly is this conflict all about and what is the endgame here ? A Brief Overview of the current situation :- In 1991, the then Soviet Republic (USSR) disintegrated into 15 sovereign countries including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus etc. bringing an end to the Cold war era. At that time, a power differential was created between Russia and the west. Interestingly, Ukraine was the world'

Please read till the end.  Few people asked me what's happening in Afghanistan and my views around the same. From my limited understanding by reading books and listening to the subject matter experts on this topic, this is what I think has happened and is going to happen.  Sequence of events :- 1. Taliban Government which comprised mainly of Pashtuns was established in Afghanistan in 1996. They governed under Sharia Law and there were gross violation of human rights, especially for women who were not allowed to educate or roam on the streets without men.  To counter them, Northern Alliance was formed under the leadership of Ahmed Shah Masoud and other warlords like Marshal Dostum, Abdullah Abdullah etc. who represented mainly the ethnic minorities like Tajiks, Uzbeks etc. They challenged the radical government and wanted to bring a liberal establishment in place.  2. Northern Alliance was limited to pockets and used to wage guerrilla war on the Taliban with limited resources and s

It's 15th August - our national holiday or as we proudly call it : INDEPENDENCE DAY. It's a day where all of us feel very patriotic and proud to belong to this land. This day, we tend to remember our national heroes, the sacrifices they made in getting us free and our hearts are filled with a rejuvenated passion towards our country, the emotions oozing through pompous flag hoisting ceremonies and the sound of patriotic songs being played throughout the day. Indeed, it's a very special day deserving all our attention. Not just to remember what happened on 15th August, 1947 but to remind ourselves of what values we as a nation together stand for. All of us have our personal allegiance to something or someone, a particular cause that drives us and which matters the most to us. But we should never forget that it is this free and sovereign land and system of governance we got on 15th August, 1947 that propels our personal goals and ambitions. Had it been a colonial rule, we prob

India is a secular nation in principle and guided by the Constitution of India we adopted in 1950. The basis of law & order in India is governed by Our Constitution. When I say we are secular, I mean 1) Everyone is free to practice their religion as long as it doesn't affect the fundamental rights of the others. 2) The state shall have no religion of its own and it will treat all the religions as equal. 3) All the policies of the Government and laws of the Constitution will apply equally to all the citizens of the country and no discrimination shall be made. However being a large democratic country accommodating diverse groups of people cut across caste, creed, language, culture, region, there can't be a one-liner definition of secularism that everyone can interpret in their own way and therefore, we have seen time and again how the judiciary upholds the Constitutional values in case of disputes. We saw the Supreme Court judgement on Triple Talaq. We saw the Supreme Court j

During my childhood and teenage years, I grew under the impression of an under-confident, abused and mocked Bihar. Such a perception of birthplace would disappoint and demotivate any person. The same has happened with an entire generation in Bihar. We had been repeatedly told that we were always an innately poor, crime-ridden, uneducated, ill-cultured and a backward class society. Were we indeed a butt of jokes and mockery ? Did Bihar and Biharis fail or it was rather the failure of a political leadership and administration ? And if it was the latter, then how did the stereotype apply to all of us ? Let's try to find that out ! Before I proceed, a small note to the readers - the article is not about boasting of my Bihari identity or trying to portray a superficial superiority but it is to address the stereotype of being backward culturally an entire generation in Bihar had to go through. Bihar was one of the oldest civilizations across the globe because of its fertile land. And in