Pakorakorner | A personal portal with a strong Asian Indian flavor on a whole range of topics.

Shehla Masood, the RTI activist from Madhya Pradesh who was shot and killed recently, joined the unfortunate list of seventeen other known cases of RTI activists who have suffered the same fate over the last couple of years. According to a close associate of Shehla, she filed more than one thousand RTI applications in diverse areas ranging from the judiciary, the tendering process, the enforcement of Wildlife and Forest laws, heritage conservation, the lavish spending of public money, and human ...

In the aftermath of the recent anti-corruption surge, an important bill that is in the works, the Sports Development Bill, is simply not getting the attention it deserves. This bill has everything to do with corruption and the unholy nexus between politics and big business. Interestingly this time around, the crusader who is on a war-footing to fix sports administration in the country is Union Minister of Sports, Ajay Maken. His opposition is the who-is-who of the country’s business and ...

The anti-corruption drama has now moved to the next stage. At the moment, all sides seem to be claiming victory. As one observes the developments over the last few days a few fundamental questions repeatedly come to mind. Who exactly is running this country today? How are decisions taken? What exactly is the Congress' real stand on Lokpal? Let us take a quick look at the sequence of events.  First, the UPA sent its messengers to meet with Team Anna. One ...

As Anna persists with his fast and the Government wobbles along in rudderless fashion, the media is actively courting sound bites from the well-known. Arundhati Roy and Nandan Nilekani are two famous names that have been drawn into the feeding frenzy of late. While Ms. Roy wrote an article on the issue, Mr. Nilekani gave an interview or two. Another blog on TOI did a thorough job of exposing Ms. Roy’s inaccuracies among other things. It’s deeply disappointing to see ...

I have heard that a number of Indian commercial films are made without a fully written script. In other words, the script falls into place as the movie is made. The current anti-corruption saga seems to be unfolding in a very similar fashion, with the UPA in the director's seat. At the moment, the UPA seems to be completely clueless on how to end this film. At every stage in this battle, Team Anna seems to be ahead of the ...

Recent events have proven that there is clearly a groundswell of support for strong anti-corruption laws. The first phase of show of strength between the Government and Team Anna is now over. The government grossly underestimated Anna's reach, credibility, and grassroots support. If attacking his credibility didn't work, arresting him only made it worse. All the naysayers and Anna's critics should now have their answer loud and clear. Like it or not, the vast majority of people in India back ...

The Congress party’s handling of the Anna Hazare’s upcoming fast leaves a bad taste in the month. It is fairly evident, as pointed out by Kiran Bedi, that the Delhi police was acting on behalf of the Government of India. The terms imposed on Team Anna by the Delhi police – arbitrary limitations on number of people, cars, days, etc. – are downright ridiculous, besides being unconstitutional. It appears as though the Govt. is trying to derail the fast by ...

I came across a recent news report where Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys, said that politicians must have a retirement age of 60. For the longest time, we have had politicians all the way up to the upper echelons of India's decision-making hierarchy, who are well into their 60s, 70s, and even 80s. If you apply Murthy's newly minted law, an entire swathe of our top level political leadership across party lines will automatically be disqualified from their present positions. Next, ...

The Chief Minister of Karnataka, home to India's Silicon Valley, who was buried in corruption charges, finally resigned from his post and promptly proclaimed, "I am a free man." How long will it be before our judicial system puts him and his cronies behind bars? The Telecom scandal of the 1990s featuring Sukh Ram took over 10 years to wind its way through our legal system, so Yeddurappa is probably a free man for several years to come. Meanwhile, the ...

Ok, that's a rather tacky title. I'll be the first to admit that. But jokes apart, the film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara has some interesting takeaways for most people. So I couldn't resist the title. This movie is about three friends who decide to reconnect and go on a road trip across Spain. There is plenty of banter, some hilarious comedy combined with some clever dialogues that make the film truly enjoyable, though it was a little over-stretched, especially towards ...