Indira Gandhi used to say, “my father was a saint
Indira Gandhi used to say, “my father was a saint. I am not.” To Jawaharlal Nehru realpolitik had a bad odour. Not for her. He really had an easy political ride from 1947 to 1962. Not Indira Gandhi. She had to fight and 
fight hard before she obtained supremacy. I remember so well the atmosphere at 1 Safardarjung Road when the results of the 1967 Lok Sabha elections started pouring in. There was no comfort, no cheer. The outcome was dismal. She presided over a government, which depended on the tacit support of the Left. With great courage and sagacity she navigated the Indian political craft in rough waters with a steady hand. As far as I know, she very seldom was subject to a common phenomenon called cold feet. When necessary, she would dig in her heels and not budge come what may.
In my five years in the Prime Minister’s secretariat, I travelled around the world with her. What a presence she had! Among all the Kings and Captains of the world she stood out, beautiful, confident, regal and yet immensely human. Even her common touch had something of the aristocratic swing of her father.
I asked her after she had met Margret Thatcher, “Madam, what did you make of the Iron Lady?” Her answer: “What Iron Lady? I saw a nervous women sitting on the edge of the sofa.” Her father was loved. She was loved and feared. He was a world leader of his epoch, she of hers.
She grew in her job. She infused inspiration. She invited loyalty and she received it in plenty. But there is the other side of the coin. Until she demolished the odious Syndicate, removed Morarji Desai as Finance Minister, she needed strong nerves to meet the political challenge and came out on top.
I have just put her letters to me in my forthcoming book, Yours Sincerely. She enjoyed receiving and replying to letters. They made her intellectually relaxed. The real epistolary treat that one gets from Sonia Gandhi’s Two Alone, Two Together is quite something. She has edited the book, which contains a huge number of letters father and daughter wrote to each other, with amazing frequency. Open the book on any page and you will not be disappointed.
Her great triumph was the creation of Bangladesh. She displayed patience, grit, intuitive foresight and statesmanship of the highest order. She got Europe and Russia on her side, also the international media and liberal America. Mr. Nixon and the too clever by half Henry Kissinger were isolated.
Foreign policy was her forte. She wrote an article for Foreign Affairs in October 1972. She spelt out hardcore India’s foreign policy. “India’s foreign policy is a projection of the values which we have cherished through the centuries as well as our current concerns. We are not tied to the traditional concepts of a foreign policy designed to safeguard overseas possessions, investments, the carving out of spheres of influence and erection of cordons sanitaires. We are not interested in exporting ideologies.”
fight hard before she obtained supremacy. I remember so well the atmosphere at 1 Safardarjung Road when the results of the 1967 Lok Sabha elections started pouring in. There was no comfort, no cheer. The outcome was dismal. She presided over a government, which depended on the tacit support of the Left. With great courage and sagacity she navigated the Indian political craft in rough waters with a steady hand. As far as I know, she very seldom was subject to a common phenomenon called cold feet. When necessary, she would dig in her heels and not budge come what may.In my five years in the Prime Minister’s secretariat, I travelled around the world with her. What a presence she had! Among all the Kings and Captains of the world she stood out, beautiful, confident, regal and yet immensely human. Even her common touch had something of the aristocratic swing of her father.
I asked her after she had met Margret Thatcher, “Madam, what did you make of the Iron Lady?” Her answer: “What Iron Lady? I saw a nervous women sitting on the edge of the sofa.” Her father was loved. She was loved and feared. He was a world leader of his epoch, she of hers.
She grew in her job. She infused inspiration. She invited loyalty and she received it in plenty. But there is the other side of the coin. Until she demolished the odious Syndicate, removed Morarji Desai as Finance Minister, she needed strong nerves to meet the political challenge and came out on top.
I have just put her letters to me in my forthcoming book, Yours Sincerely. She enjoyed receiving and replying to letters. They made her intellectually relaxed. The real epistolary treat that one gets from Sonia Gandhi’s Two Alone, Two Together is quite something. She has edited the book, which contains a huge number of letters father and daughter wrote to each other, with amazing frequency. Open the book on any page and you will not be disappointed.
Her great triumph was the creation of Bangladesh. She displayed patience, grit, intuitive foresight and statesmanship of the highest order. She got Europe and Russia on her side, also the international media and liberal America. Mr. Nixon and the too clever by half Henry Kissinger were isolated.
Foreign policy was her forte. She wrote an article for Foreign Affairs in October 1972. She spelt out hardcore India’s foreign policy. “India’s foreign policy is a projection of the values which we have cherished through the centuries as well as our current concerns. We are not tied to the traditional concepts of a foreign policy designed to safeguard overseas possessions, investments, the carving out of spheres of influence and erection of cordons sanitaires. We are not interested in exporting ideologies.”
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may pray and by whatever name we may call, it goes to that one source. Further, the Quran clearly states that God can be invoked in different names. “Invoke God, or invoke the Most Gracious by whichever name you invoke Him. He is always the One, for His are all the attributes of perfection [Al Isra 17:110]. Another verse [Al Hashr 59:22] proves that God is beyond even the 99 names mentioned in the Quran. “Glory be to God, beyond any associations. He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Form. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.” This means that God can be addressed by anything that’s uttered in reverence and with a sense of beauty.
game has changed beyond recognition since the master was at the height of his prowess, but the diminutive right-hander still ranks among the most elegant batsmen the world has ever seen. His square cuts were a sight for the Gods and his straight drives had inspired artistry written all over them. In an exclusive interview with TSI’s Satish Chapparike, Vishy, as the cricketing world knows him, looks back on a glorious international career and airs his concerns about the rapidly changing face of Indian and world cricket. Excerpts from a free-wheeling conversation:
would encourage the Lankan government to settle the Sinhalese in Tamil areas. Calling the move a politically motivated one, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa says: “The CM knows that the Centre would not grant citizenship to Tamil refugees because this would encourage refugees from Bangaladesh, Myanmar and Tibet to demand it too.” Says the state’s BJP vice president H Raja: “The Tamils should be rehabilitated in the island. Efforts to give them citizenship only reinforces Rajapaksa’s plan of ethnic cleansing.” Raja and Nachiapapan are being backed by a large number of refugees who are languishing in 115 camps across TN.
according to the statistics available, our presence on the planet is not sustainable. We are consuming more than the earth can replenish and we are dipping into our savings – our natural resources – that in fact belong to our future. Food security is at a critical stage, the earth’s capacity to produce and feed our growing population is limited.
of change. As customers become more health-conscious and begin to stay away from these fly-infested and dusty eateries, owners are beginning to create closed and covered spaces to keep the heat and pollution out.
are a unique community. They arrived here in the late 18th century and quickly established themselves in the city’s industries. There are as many as 7,000 Chinese residing in several parts of India, but for them, Tangra is like ‘home’. It’s true that life has been tough for the community of late, but they have hung in there. 
Sino-India war in 1962. When Lata Mangeshkar sang it, millions of Indians, including the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, were reduced to tears. The song is a tribute to the sacrifice that soldiers make for the motherland of the battlefield. It also creates a bond between Indians of varied backgrounds. What helped it click was the simplicty of the words and the brilliance of Lata's flawless rendition.
She made history as the first Indian woman to enter the Olympic 400 metres hurdles final in Los Angeles in 1984. Her Olympics debut was in Moscow 1980 at the age of 16. She performed brilliantly in the 1982 Delhi Asiad. The LA Olympics was followed by meets in Jakarta and Seoul in 1985 and 1986 respectively. In Jakarta she bagged five gold medals in 100 meters, 200, 400, 400m hurdles, 4x400m relay and 1 bronze medal in 4x100m relay. An Arjuna awardee, she has also received the Padma Shri. 
acquired fractious political overtones, following Operation Bluestar in the Golden Temple in the 1980s and the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya by Hindu fundamentalists in the 1990s. In the pure Sikh religious context, however, it only means 'labour of love'. Men and women get together for voluntary community service for constructing, maintaining and cleaning gurudwaras and their environs.
acceptability, communion and fraternity. The combined strength of the society, that is otherwise a loose and non-cohesive conglomeration of individuals, is reflected in community feasts. The concept of community feast is limited to oriental cultures and traditions. We have a billion gods, traditions, sects, religions, languages, interest groups and ideologies. A feast fosters social cohesion. But it is complete only when it is held in true spirit.
First he showed us how to bat, then he inculcated the winning habit, he showed to the world that India can also produce cricket legends. He inspired a generation. Because of only him, India is flourishing in the cricketing world. From West Indies to New Zealand, from Garry Sobers to Richard Hadley… people respect him. And there is a road named after him at Wellington - Gavaskar Place.
the creator of ‘common man’ R K Laxman’s cartoon strip ‘You Said It’ in the Times of India, has attained cult status. Laxman’s simple but punching lines are deemed as a critical outlook as well as satiric images of Indian social and political life for more than half a century. Born in Mysore to a school head master father, Laxman was a child prodigy and used to draw on the floor, walls and doors of his house doodling caricatures of his teachers at school; praised by a teacher for his drawing of a peepal leaf, he began to think of himself as an artist in the making. After high school, Laxman was rejected by JJ School of Arts, Mumbai. The rest is history. 
the Mahamastakabhisheka ceremony is watched by lakhs of devotees. Inscriptions on the base of the statue reveal that a general, Chamundaraya, was the brain behind the construction of the imposing statue. But the irony is that we have no idea who the master artist was. He and his associates toiled to build the Bahubali statue over a thousand years ago.
of the Central government both affect Assembly polls. As far as local issues are concerned we have a set ideology and work pattern that people understand very well. And as for price rise, who doesn’t know this is because of the failure of the monsoon.
wildfire, pushed many mourners to take their own lives. While some killed themselves, others died of heart attack caused by the unbearable grief. But what caught my attention were the people who committed or attempted suicide on learning of the political leader’s demise. None of us has forgotten the uproar that Michael Jackson’s death stirred up. News related to MJ still gets updated every hour. When a film star or a mass leader dies, we Indians do not lag behind in the public display of grief by either killing ourselves or by protesting violently! Fans of famous personalities normally commit suicide because they are not able to digest the cruel reality of their icon’s death. Though psychology does not have any particular term for these types of suicides and suicide attempts, this tendency is said to arise from uncontrollable grief.
perspective that his father never had. Back in 2002, when Vajpayee was the unquestionable leader of India and the Congress was a party in ‘terminal’ decline, his sister Priyanka Vadra took the initiative and launched the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust in Amethi. The trust launched a scheme called the Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojna (RGMPV) to help poor and destitute women earn a sustainable livelihood. Please do recall that the media pundits who are now gushing about Rahul Gandhi as the future of India did not have the time to write even a few words about him; except perhaps a few disparaging and condescending adjectives. Today, RGMVP is spread across 50 blocks in 12 backward districts of Uttar Pradesh with more than 18,000 self help groups.
appears to be a changed man. Gone is the politician who once kept his own partymen at arm’s length and sported a cold cloak of aloofness. He is now consciously seeking to evolve into a popular leader – accessible and friendly.
failing in Urdu and Mathematics, possibilities of higher education appeared bleak to her. She had appeared in the examination with best possible instruction and guidance her village school at Shayok, 140 kilometres east of Leh town in Ladakh, could offer. Still the effort had failed to bring desired results. Tsomo knew that the place to go for better instruction and guidance was Leh. But her father could not afford the expenses. “My father is a porter. He takes his horse and brings petrol and other things for the Army,” says Tsomo. “So he could not afford to send me to Leh.”
in Dhaka. For a none-too-avid fish-eater, Bangladesh was proving to be a gastronomic nightmare. So a helpful local journalist-friend suggested that I try the best “Bihari kebabs” available in town. Bihari kebabs? It didn’t ring a bell at first. I was perhaps too tormented by my food-related woes to give it a long enough thought. By evening, I was in Mohammadpura looking for “Kallu ki dukaan”. As soon as I got there, it dawned upon me that something was amiss. The glittery Bangla signboards gave way to faded Urdu banners. Slowly, very slowly, Bangla rock music faded and the voice of Mehdi Hassan took over — “Yeh dhuaan sa kahaan se uthtaa hai…” But it was a lonely husky voice with a thick accent that confirmed that I was no more in Bangladesh — at least notionally. “Ka re, ketna din se nahi nahaya hai,” a lean, wheatish man chided a child. The voice was Jamil Ahmad’s.
and skill. There is no class or caste bar when it comes to learning from someone. However, the same is also applicable in trans-national relationship; especially a country can learn a lot from its neighbours. Many of the Latin American countries have gone democratic because, the big neighbour the US, inherited it successfully. Many preferred capitalism because it turned out to be a successful economic system in the US. Similarly, if European countries are somewhat equally prosperous and united, it is because each strived to learn lessons from neighbours. Even in Asia, China is perhaps a classic example. It's incorporation of positives of capitalism - initiating liberalisation and privatisation led by Deng Xiaoping after he found that neither the socialist command economy favoured by Communist Part of China (CPC) nor Maoist ideology of shifting from socialism to communism as exercised in agriculture but failed had actually worked in favour of an economy unique in itself. Initiating reforms in a communist country like China was not easy!
standard school education from the next year onwards has been welcomed. Initially the new education policy to have a single-board system will be implemented in the academic year (2010-11) for I and VI classes and in 2011-12 it will be expanded to other standards.
over and through your woollens like missiles seeking to smash their way through armour. The Sunday Indian was witness to a strange incident that freezing morning in Pagauda village in Western Uttar Pradesh. In the last week of January 2008, farmer Attar Singh simply set fire to his standing crop of sugarcane and fought desperately to rein in his tears. It is August 2009 and Attar Singh still has nightmares about sugarcane.Sugarcane and sugar mills have left a lifetime of bitter memories for Attar Singh and thousands of farmers.
in a poverty-ridden African nation. Its name itself reflects its ideology – to oppose anything western. It is run by a western-educated leader, Yusuf, who sends his children to private English-medium school. An affluent member of nation’s middle-class, Yusuf boasts of a fleet of cars (of course, all of them of western make), and loves to ride his chauffeured Mercedes SUV. It is completely another matter that his comrades and henchmen are asked to forsake wealth for the sake of “the cause”. Surprising? Welcome to Nigeria. Welcome to the world of Boko Haram.
from the state capital Bhubaneswar, Champailo is known for the 23 young people of the village, who went to Rangoon looking for a job and ended up joining Netaji’s Indian National Army (INA). We heard the real account of the heroics from Brahmachari Uttaray, one of the very few of the 23 still around. “It was 1943. We had no work in our village. To earn a living, we finally decided to go to Rangoon and were working there as daily labourers. That was the time when we heard Netaji’s call to fight against the ‘goras’. We could sleep no more in peace. Finally in a meeting at Mangla in Burma, we decided to join INA. Netaji said that independence is not possible without blood.” Asked about the difference between India then and now, he replied, “Back then we were fighting to free our country. We thought everything will be alright after independence and we'd live happily, but nothing like that happened. Today, the government may pay us Freedom Fighter’s Allowance, but there are no real feelings for us.”
able to devote enough time in the construction of his new home, but he seems to have made up for it by contributing to the décor of his sweetheart’s new home. John apparently surprised Bipasha Basu by purchasing all the light fittings and chandeliers that she had laid her eyes on for her new apartment, and he made sure that they were all put in place before he left for London. While John is now busy shooting for Abbas Tyrewala’s film there, Bipasha just can’t seem to get over her boyfriend’s endearing endeavour! 
against western threats during a press interaction, the Iranian Ambassador to India, HE, Seyed Mehdi Nabizadeh avowed that such an old culture and dynasty can not wipe out so easily. Though it apparently seemed an emotional response, an in-depth analysis exemplifies that Iran has been incorporating certain intellectual and effective policies which are likely to bring a tectonic shift for the nation. Apart from some of the attributes such as democracy, strong economy, energy hub and a strong military power which made it influential in the region, there are many other areas on this land yet to be explored as it experiences rapid transition. To begin with, Iran though along with many other anti-American nations is affected indirectly due to oil price decline, its proactive response is credible enough to praise and effective than some of the worst affected economies. Some of the immediate policy response were to prepare an annual budget, taking into consideration the new international prices to avoid the budget deficit, policy to increase more reliance over domestic tax income, reduction of increase in money supply and controlling inflation, creating institutions of funds for increasing absorption of the running domestic and international capital and most importantly forming a committee for analysing the results of the crisis over the country and initiation of adequate policy needs to confront the same.
She is tired of seeing her and boyfriend Saifu’s name in the newspapers every other day and hates this intrusion of privacy. In fact, this desperate need for privacy has gone to such a level that she is now planning to buy a house in Switzerland so that she can hide from the paparazzi! Is this the same Kareena Kapoor who was once so open about her love life to the media?
Flavour of the day! India – with an unprecedented tally of 23 metals (including the first-ever Grand Prix, Integrated Lion & Cyber Lion) swept across all categories, and re-enforced by physical presence in all major juries – scored big, both at the hustings and the mind space of the global guru’s gracing the glamorous, glitzy and hi-profile ‘Oscars’ of the ad world! Accolades came thick and fast from hot-shots like Terry Savage (“They have done extraordinarily well this year”), Craig Davis (“brilliant ideas can come from anywhere. Bravo!”), Mark Gross (“Their work is beginning to stand out because they are getting to know more about the medium, its nuances and what should be done in that medium. They will now move only upwards …”), Rodney Fitch (“India has indeed scored very high!”) and Colleen DeCourcy (“India is already thinking on the new media as well and the creative talent is being groomed to think in that direction. That is a good sign. Clearly the expectations will be more, next time.”)
Internet has changed the way we communicate. The role of public relations has therefore become more significant in building this trust with the consumers. Now public relations have to let-go the message in order to build trust. When you are communicating with a blogger or somebody who is running an online forum, the way of communicating becomes different in an altogether different way. The message should be authentic and believable. Internet, therefore, has fundamentally changed the way of communication. As far as India is concerned, Internet penetration is just 5.4%. This is a very miniscule penetration. But that also means there is a big opportunity waiting to be exploited. But 85% of people who are online are reading blogs and out of which 40% of these read blogs daily.
with trepidation and a certain gumption that would hardly ruffle the feathers of a mighty and towering giant of an entrepreneur whose companies have been on a quest of global conquest in the last few years; albeit without the marauding violence and contempt displayed by the rampaging armies of George Bush Jr. I marvel at the vision, stamina, will power, fortitude, leadership skills and chutzpah you must have to manage a group with about 80 companies. I was an even more ardent admirer of your predecessor the late J.R.D. Tata.
first seven months of FY 2008-09. According to the AMFI data, Rs.406.08 billion of this was lost in October alone. Notably, BSE Sensex and BSE-500 also recorded their single biggest monthly fall in October. BSE Sensex plunged by 23.9%, while BSE-500 fell by 27.1% in October. AUM in equity related schemes too declined from Rs.1,890.25 billion as on March 31,2008 to Rs.1,579.13 billion as on October 31, 2008. This fall in AUM is partly due to value erosion in equities & partly due to redemptions that followed them.
lovingly brandish their nimbler, fuel-efficient machines at the American consumers, it’s GM and Ford that are not just going green with envy but are literally gasping for survival! To avoid falling into a similar trap, the impulse of going ‘green’ is running faster than blood in India Inc.’s veins. From IT giants to luxurious hotel chains, from automobiles to mutual funds, corporate India is moving fanatically ahead with green initiatives. But will the gamble eventually pay off? Deepak R. Patra digs in...
and some solid. I love music. I started my music career in the 80s with our band Vital Science. The lead singer of the band was one of my closest friends. We were together for 17 years. But suddenly he got misdirected and started thinking that music is un-Islamic. He didn’t stop at that. He started appearing in public and spoke against music. That’s when I chose to make this movie because he had no right to mislead the young.
renowned 12th century Sufi saint Baba Farid, the patron saint of Faridkot, the town now believed to be the home of Ajmal Amir Kasab, one of the terrorists who stormed Mumbai and was captured by the Indian police. As neighbours refuse to acknowledge him, and scores of bereaved families look to the government for justice, why not look for peace, and meaning in our lives, through the time-tested healing powers of Sufi music…
of the past three months in the relief camp as ‘harrowing’. Despite belonging to the Bodo community – the earliest inhabitants of Assam, and the supposed ‘bhumiputras’, he and the entire Bodo population of Dalgaon Batabari were thrown out of their homes by Bangladeshi immigrants in a matter of minutes. Today, their existence at the relief camp has been brought down to this: a tin shed, four kgs of rice, 1.1 kg of dal, 250 ml mustard oil and some salt, “per person, per week”.
“With a market share of 24%, Honda has been at the top of the premium segment. We will continue to provide the latest technology to the customer on a regular basis,” says an optimistic Masahiro Takedagawa, President, Honda Siel. Even Gaur adds, “Honda is an established brand in India and enjoys a brand equity few can match. The company caters well to the customer with the best of products.”
authoritative neighbour, Russia, which bombed the Georgian cities and snatched control of her seceded province of South Ossetia. While Russia stopped its assault after a week of adventure, it did not do so before stretching her attacks on ‘mainland’ Georgia. Tanks, heavy artillery and infantry were already on the outskirts of the Gori in central Georgia when ceasefire orders were finally read out. This was the first ever attack on a Georgian city in ‘Georgia Proper’. The attack is said to have intensified after Georgia announced a unilateral ceasefire and withdrawal of troops from South Ossetia, which many believe were actually chased out by the Russian forces.
the best among peers is what spears a man ahead of the race. But all these desires come with lots of constraints – lack of finances being one of them. One such aspiration that has remained long unfulfilled for many Indians is the desire to own a family car. But no more! The second hand car market has made all those dreams of driving an opulent vehicle come true. The growing used car market across the country in the form of both organised and unorganised players is a testimony to the vast potential of this segment.
to the environmentally concerned speed junkies. The cutting edge design features a canopy style door opening and all wheel drive system.
Central to the design is a high performance gas turbine powering each wheel independently.
roof. And under such circumstances, one of the most affected is the Indian mutual fund industry. In fact, its miserable run over the last couple of months have left investors really disillusioned. Following the AMFI data, the joint average AUM of the 34 fund houses in the country plunged to Rs.5,296.29 billion in July, compared to Rs.5,647.52 billion in June. This 6% drop in AUMs marked the second successive month of losses. However, in the meanwhile, A. P. Kurian, Chairman, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) shares with B&E’s Sunanda Roy, the initiatives taken by them & concerns that need to be addressed.
have hit the Indian terrain! The epitome of strategic alliance of the two lions from the Hollywood blockbuster can be well compared to the business alliance between Anil Ambani promoted Reliance Infrastructure Limited (R-Infra) & Chinese power equipment maker Shanghai Electric Corporation. No doubt, with this unprecedented deal (Indian domestic power utility player tying up with a power equipment-manufacturer), Ambani is looking at a larger picture. The Chinese component of that picture is expected to increase in the coming time in view of the ongoing Indo-China business treaty. Even if its with or without the Chinese partners, to say the least! But then, will the alliance really support Ambani junior in getting his desired chunk of the power and energy market flesh?
hat now a Goldman Sachs report says that factors like little time left before the government’s term expires, the need to pacify and meet the demand of allies and the next general election, might force the government not to take up any controversial issue or bill in the Parliament? In similar lines, disinvestment and listing efforts of the government, too, have been in the news lately. More than a dozen IPOs and FPOs are expected to come into the equity market. But firstly, it doesn’t make sense to bring equity offers when the markets have lost more than 34% in dollar terms since mid-May; and secondly, across the board approvals are required, clearly going against the logic of time remaining before the next general election. But then, the government does need money to fill in the huge fiscal gap (see graph above) that its ridiculously populist measures have created. Evidently, it is looking for quick-fix solutions since it has failed to adhere to the requirements set by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act.
