Indian Opinion

Ever since the formation of Uttarakhand in 2000, the situation of the state has been marked by disputes between the two prominent political parties. At that time, Nityananda Swami Ji left Congress for the power-struggling BJP and had the good fortune of being made the interim chief minister. However, this did not reduce the inter-party conflicts and Bhagat Singh Koshyari was made the Chief Minister. The situation was such that the BJP badly lost the elections in 2002 - the first interim Chief Minister Swami also lost the election. In 2007, after defeating the Congress, BJP formed a paralyzed government – it side-lined Bhagat Singh Koshyari under whose leadership the party had won and made Bhuvan Chand Khanduri the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. However, given the continued conflicts, the controversy-ridden Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was crowned Chief Minister by the BJP. But because of allegations of corruption, Khanduri was again made the Chief Minister; and he lost the Assembly elect...

Mukesh Devrari Twitter’s outright refusal to accept India’s domestic laws is remarkable. It refused to accept the Information Technology Act 2000 and ignored the govt. order regarding the removal of certain accounts and hashtags. It has also refused to appoint the officials to coordinate with the government and instead provided an address of a private law firm to file any grievances against the company. Rather Twitter is trying to pressurize the BJP govt. by launching an international campaign with the help of western media outlets. It would not be unjustified to argue that BJP is over-cautious despite the contempt Twitter has shown for India's parliament and its domestic laws.     The legal position regarding the freedom of speech and expression is settled in India. The constitution allows reasonable restrictions on all fundamental rights enshrined in part III of our constitution. In fact, the Parliament can make any law in India, if it encroaches on fundamental rights, ...

Mukesh Devrari Are we living in the most unethical era of human history? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is in the affirmative. The Covid has again reminded us how ‘selfish’ human beings are. Perhaps the states in the modern world have jettisoned their cruelty in dealing with their own citizens, but much has not changed beyond that. In the late 20th century the western society argued that the emergence of globalization and liberalization will bring freedom, liberty and prosperity across the globe.   The west swore by the virtues of globalization and its imminent advantages. Paeans have been written about the benefits and inherent efficiency of the interconnected and globalized world. As li fe on this planet is controlled by western nations. The ideas pushed by the west followed in other continents as well. They decide the ethics, contours of conscience, morality and preach that we are living in a rule-based order. It looks appropriate that there should be a rules-...

  Mukesh Devrari If the children have some inherent, inalienable natural rights then right to access to playground should be among the top. Although Uttarakhand has a decent proportion of green cover, still most of our children in large cities like Dehradun do not have access to any greenery. What makes the situation more ironic is, most of the small private schools also do not have any playground. Most parents also do not look for the playground in schools. The aspirational lower-middle-class families send their children to private English medium schools, their focus is on English medium, they are least bothered about outdoor sports amenities. Only the renowned private schools have proper indoor and outdoor sports facilities but only the children of highly rich, powerful, influential and people having connections with high and mighty can find a place there.   The result is millions of kids are growing up in our cities and they have no access to parks and playgrounds. Th...

Mukesh Chandra Devrari Book Review: Title - Vajpayee: The Years that changed India, Author - Shakti Sinha, Publisher - Penguin Random House India Private Limited, Kindle price – 387 Rupees Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee enjoys a mythical status in the history of non-Congress politicians who could reach the zenith of political power in India despite his humble origins. His mesmerizing poetry, powerful speeches, commitment to constitutional morality and devotion to the centre to right ideology was remarkably down to earth. He was a diamond in a coal mine. Due to his humility and demeanour, he was described a s  the right man in the wrong party by liberals in India.     Former private secretary of Prime Minister Vajpayee Shakti Sinha recently published a book titled, ‘Vajpayee: The Years that Changed India’. It is difficult to say what was his purpose of writing the book. If the purpose of the author was to establish his illustrious former boss as larger th...

Mukesh Devrari The tallest Pashtun leader before the independence was Abdul Gaffar Khan, also known as Frontier Gandhi. He was one of the most fascinating and towering figures of Indian National Movement who preached truth and non-violence to his people who are mostly known for their tribal culture of revenge. He was the pre-eminent figure of Indian National Congress. “The British just about knew how to contend with vegetarian Hindus who raised slogans rather than guns, but Bacha Khan’s “unarmed army” of Pashtuns, which turned the martial race stereotype on its head, left them completely bewildered” (Shamsie, 2016) .   After Congress accepted the partition plan, he famously said, “You have thrown us in front of the wolves” (Tempest, 1988) . “He rejected a separate Muslim homeland and sought instead to join India to avoid Punjabi domination”  (Schofield, 2011, p. 38) . Due to his influence, many Muslims from the region migrated to India at the time of partition (Shukla...

Mukesh Devrari India is facing a severe health crisis, not due to coronavirus, but in general due to the neglect of the healthcare sector for generations by the various union and state government since independence in 1947. Over the years, governments’ have given de facto acceptance to the idea that universal healthcare is not possible in India. So, those who cannot afford healthcare should die as human society is also akin to a jungle where only fit has a right to survive. This narrative only shows the medieval mindset prevalent in India.   BJP and Congress are equally responsible for the terrible situation of the healthcare sector in the state of Uttarakhand. Over the years, neither central nor state governments have allocated adequate funds to the health sector. Not enough hospitals, nursing colleges, pharmaceutical institutions were created in the state. Health and education are the two most crucial sectors to ensure opportunities for upward mobility. People expect that t...