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

Team Anna announced a discussion titled “Save the Republic” to be held on Republic Day. I can almost imagine Team Anna’s critics going, “They first wanted their own version of a bill passed. Now they have problems with our democracy and want to Save the Republic.” Let’s start by setting aside the emotion and the ideological differences and objectively evaluate the state of the Republic after 65 years.   Today, India is run by a coalition government at the center and several ...

Team India’s recent dismal failure in Test cricket has resulted in a mad frenzy to find scapegoats. Leading the pack of scapegoats currently is VVS Laxman, followed by the captain, MS Dhoni himself. Many experts profess that the veterans should be phased out, beginning with VVS Laxman. Others believe that Dhoni’s stint as captain of the Test team needs to come under scrutiny. There are others who feel that the Coach Duncan Fletcher should be fired. Finally, there are those ...

There budget session of parliament is fast approaching. Hanging in balance is the UPA government’s commitment to pass its Lokpal bill - a ridiculously weak bill that no one but the Congress is in favor of Getting the “Jan Lokpal” bill passed is India’s Mission Impossible (MI). Each MI has a different feel to it. This one, in particular, is clearly an all-desi version packed with the rustic oratory of our MPs, juxtaposed with the evasive, smiling, smooth-talk of the ...

The crux of the Lokpal battle has finally boiled down to the issue of independence for the CBI. The fundamental problem today is that the CBI is under the clutches of the party in power. Further, every party is firmly under the control of its “high command”. What this means is that the CBI is completely under the control of a few powerful people from the ruling party. History is replete with examples of political parties using this control over ...

A number of myths have been propagated over the past year about the anti-corruption movement ranging from crafty attempts to derail the movement to gross mis-representation. 1. It is anti-Congress:  Those in the Congress (and unfortunately many among the general public) believe that the anti-corruption movement is against the Congress. The Hissar election is often cited as an example. The reality is that the Congress party is in power today as the head of the UPA and wields enough power to ...

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar said his faith in the BCCI was shaken because they have reneged on a commitment to pay him Rs. 5 crores. "Sharad Pawar and Arun Jaitley both promised me that my dues will be cleared." he said. The issue apparently came up for discussion in the working committee meeting after Gavaskar wrote to the BCCI.  Gavaskar talks to the BCCI chief and he offers him a verbal commitment of 5 crore rupees! No contract, no paper ...

According to a report in the New York Times, Union Minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal met with leading social networking sites in an attempt to censor messages posted on them related to India. According to the report, Mr. Sibal called legal representatives from the top Internet service providers and Facebook into his New Delhi office... At the meeting, Mr. Sibal showed attendees a Facebook page that maligned the Congress Party’s president, Sonia Gandhi.  “This is unacceptable,” he told attendees, and he asked them to ...

A number of people have been wondering why the Tamil-English song “kolaveri” has been a runaway hit. Fueled by social media and Youtube, the song has had over ten million views in a matter of a few days. Interestingly, the singer, lyricist and actor, Dhanush, has described his song as “absolute nonsense.” Nevertheless, the song surely has struck a chord. Kolaveri is a Tamil word that means murderous rage. In the case of this song (and very often), it is used in ...

The word “High Command” is so out of place and sticks out like a sore thumb in this day and age. It is the first thing that needs to be curtailed from its overarching control of Indian politics before India can embark on a path of genuine reform. Firstly, the term “High Command” has strange connotations almost of a higher, supernatural power which commands and controls our destinies. This is is ludicrous, to say the least, in a democratic country.   Secondly, ...

"Anna demands Bharat Ratna for Sachin," screamed the headlines. According to the same news report, Anna's exact words were as follows: "Sachin Tendulkar is an icon for Indian youth. He has made India proud with his exploits in cricket. I feel he deserves the Bharat Ratna," This is a sentiment expressed by many, especially Sachin fans. There is nothing wrong with what Anna has said in this case, and surely there is nothing controversial either. But is that what the ...