Vol. LX, No. 47, New Delhi, May 31, 2009

Emergence of a two-party system By Shyam Khosla MARK Tully, the veteran British commentator, is not off the mark when he asserts that verdict 2009 is largely an accumulation of regional impulses that don’t have a national or ideological character, at least not the way corporate media would like us to believe.    more > Thinking Aloud Disconnect between crime and punishment By Dr Jay Dubashi THERE is something called “cause” and “effect”. It means that if you do something wrong, sooner or later, you will pay for it. It also means that if you do something right, you will be paid for it, either in this life or the next one. This is also known as “crime” and “punishment”, on which the entire legal edifice is built.    more > The Moving Finger Writers Stop bullying India, Mr Obama By MV Kamath IF Mr Robert Blackwill, former US Ambassador to India (2000-2003) is to be believed, India may encounter eventual US pressure on Kashmir issue because of Barack Obama’s focus on Pakistan.    more > Editorial Bipolarity and National Mood in Mandate 2009 UNDERSTANDING the 2009 mandate is easy, analysing it is difficult. It is a vote for stability, continuity and evolution of a national polity. The silver lining in this electoral outcome is the unmistakable play of the national psyche and the emergence of a clear two-party system.    more > Corruption, vote-bank politics, group war shatter CPM fortress By S Chandrasekhar WHEN the election results of Lok Sabha poll came out, the happiest man in Kerala was VS Atchudanandan. It was a beaming and gleeing VS who met media, after the CPM was devastated in the poll, just winning four out of the twenty seats.    more > Opinion In the sunrise of bipolar politics BJP has the best chance to be the alternative By Rajendra Prabhu THE winner takes all in this election game as in a Russian roulette. And the ifs and buts of history are scattered around for the academicians to analyse like the hidden clues in a forensic investigation.    more > Elections and after Never say never again By Aditya Pradhan in Mumbai JUST as sub-brokers in Mumbai are known to have their ear to the ground for insider trading, the bookies almost got it right this time round in general election, as far as government formation is concerned.    more > The party that expands nationally has better chance to rule By Shivaji Sarkar AS the election process was on, I mentioned to some friends that I would pity the voter if they prove our assessments correct. Rightfully they have proved every known evaluator, surveyor, self-acclaimed analysts and even political parties wrong.    more > The challenge before BJP By Dr Gautam Sen MANY usually sympathetic to the BJP now privately diagnose that its future is bleak. The persistence of serious internal squabbles in the party, regularly being aired in public, and the absence of a clearly thought-out political and electoral strategy confuse them.    more > Trend towards two-party system By Justice (Retd) Dr M Rama Jois During the election campaign to the 15th Lok Sabha, an impression was created that the election outcome would throw a hung Parliament with innumerable parties, none of which would be anywhere near the required majority of 272 giving scope for unhealthy politics of manipulation by smaller parties, ...    more > Colloquium on Natyashastra Lo! The profundity of Natyashastra By Ratnadeep Banerji DELHI hosted a five-day long workshop on Bharat Muni’s Natyashastra at Triveni Kala Sangam. Prof Bharat Gupt, a litterateur and an acclaimed historian of comparative cultures delivered the lectures.    more > Togadia Speak Whose kursi is it anyway? By Dr Pravin Togadia WHEN we were in school and when children would not spend most playtime on computer games, there used to be a very popular game. It was called sangeet kursi (musical chair). There used to be many chairs at the beginning and as the time passed one by one a chair and a player were eliminated.    more > Third-year Sangh Shiksha Varga begins in Nagpur By Virag Pachpore OBLIVIOUS to the recent setback to BJP in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, 936 swayamsevaks drawn from various parts of the country have been currently undergoing the rigorous physical and ideological training at the regular third-year Sangh Shiksha Varga (RSS training camp) at Reshimbag since May 10, 2009.    more > BJP-AGP tie-up works in Assam By Nava Thakuria UNLIKE the national outcome, the Bharatiya Janata Party has performed well in Assam. The rightist party, which had an electoral alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad gained significantly in the state, though the regional party could not show the impressive result.    more >

COVER PAGE Think It Over Living by myths and hopes By MSN Menon UTOPIA! Ram Rajya! They never cease to rouse the hopes of the poor. And each time, the hope ends in disaster. Do we learn anything from this experience?    more > Economic Watch Consumerism: A threat to mankind By DG Bokare DEVELOPED nations are in deep troubles due to their ‘don’t care for others’ attitude. Many are presently facing a threat to their lavish and vainglorious living styles.    more > Kids’ Org Custodians of the universe—I Digpals: The rulers of directions By Ratnadeep Banerji You are woman, and you are man, You are the youth and the maiden,    more > Health Watch Role of doctors in protection of torture victims By Dr SS Agarwal, MD FREEDOM from torture is an indisputable human right and prohibition of torture is a basic principle of International Human Rights Law. This prohibition is absolute and allows no exception.    more > Bookmark A portrait of a great filmmaker By MV Kamath Shyam Benegal: Sangeeta Datta; Roli Books; Pp 275, Rs 285.00. Global warming and fate of humanity By Ratnadeep Banerji 2009: State of The World, Into a Warming World, Edited by Linda Starke, Norton & Co. NY, Pp 262, US $ 19.95 An appraisal of past and present India By Ratnadeep Banerji India: A Cultural Decline or Revival, Bharat Gupt, D.K.Printworld Pvt. Ltd, Pp 236, Rs 300 A profile in patriotism By Manju Gupta Stirring Times: An Autobiography of a Nationalist, Anand Mohan Sahay, Purple Peacock Books & Arts Pvt Ltd, 381 pp, Rs 495.00 100 great books By Vaidehi Nathan 100 Great Books, Masterpieces of All time, Edited by John Canning, Rupa & Co, Pp 640, Rs. 395.00 Thinkpad Helpless Hindus of Pakistan and Bangladesh By JG Arora IT is tragic that though Sanatan Dharma, commonly known as Hinduism, proclaims universal brotherhood and oneness of humanity, and addresses entire humanity as divine children (Shrunvantu vishve amrutasya putraha - Rig Veda: 10-13-1), most of the Hindus have either been killed or converted or driven out from Pakistan and Bangladesh which used to be Hindu lands.    more >

Perspective Sanskrit: A global language to be proud of By Achyut Railkar SANSKRIT is the oldest and the living language on our planet. We see its wonderful history passing through many millennia. It is the language of the most ancient Indian scriptures belonging to various faiths and it is the language of divinity.    more >

Grievance Democracy has failed displaced Kashmiri Hindus By Ajay Bharti STRANGE, but true. The Election Commission on one hand has involved a number of celebrities and NGOs to persuade voters to participate in the festival of democracy (remember pappu doesn’t vote ha ha ads),...    more >

Readers’ Forum Real Ratna of Bharat: —DS VAJRAM, 3 Param, Lakaki Road, Model Colony, Pune Bharat Ratna awardee Pt. Bhimsen Joshi was staying in one of the flats at Lokmanyanagar in Pune during the 80s. He had by then travelled widely all over the world and performed and thrilled audiences all over.    more >

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