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In terms of resources, the best time for humanity is now!
We don’t think over this issue of resourcefulness every now and then, because we don’t usually think about the bygone era of humanity. But, if you think a little deeply, you will find that we are at the cusp of best times now as compared to almost all the generations that have come before us.…
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Good planners, but bad executioners- the missing link?
Since independence, there is one area where we have done great job! It is in planning things for welfare programmes, developmental initiatives, law & order, administrative reforms etc. For example, “Gareebi Hatao” as a policy goal was expounded in 1970s. When it was announced, there was much fanfare around it, elaborate planning would have been…
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Control the controllables- need to stop futile comparison with others!
The legendary tennis player Andre Agassi sported very long hair in his early career. It looked good on him and he was a sensation. It was called as “lion’s mane” as it was similar to the hair on the lion’s body. The only problem was that it was a WIG! Yes, Agassi himself revealed that…
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What is a democracy sans the trust?
There is a very fragile connection that connects a citizen to the democratic political system. It is the right to vote for his/her own government! It is the trust embodied in his/her vote that the elected government will act in the interest of the citizen, in particular, and the nation, in general. This trust is…
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The dissonance between demand and supply leading to an unsustainable future!
If you have read a little bit of economics, then you must have read about the forces of demand and supply operating in the market economy. This is an amazing concept which says that whenever there is dissonance or disequilibrium between the demand and supply, the market will shift in a direction so as to…
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Patriotism vs. humanity OR Patriotism and humanity- that is the question!
Recently, I saw a video where an American suddenly stopped his car in the US on spotting an Indian couple. He confronts them by saying “India is so incredible! Why you just don’t stay in India? Why do you have to come to America?” The Indian man answers with a smile- “To explore world”, to…
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The internal resistance to change- but can it really stop reform?
Long-time back I read a book called “Who moved my cheese?” by Dr. Spencer Johnson. It was a short book telling the interesting tale of two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two “littlepeople” (of the size of mice) Hem and Haw. This tale was about acknowledging that- “Change is the only reality in life that…
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Acknowledgement of failure- the first step towards accountability
In a risk-averse society as ours, there is a general inhibition to acknowledge and accept that there was some failure or error or act of omission or act of commission on our part which led to some bigger failure later. Take a simple example, when you were a kid and you went to someone’s home…
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When vote becomes the commodity, then democracy becomes the tragedy!
What is the most essential feature of democracy that connects a citizen to his/her government directly? It is the “power to vote for the government”! This power to vote is the most basic thing that determines the formation of government in a democracy. It is the outcome of the essential fundamental right to express one’s…
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Vanished in a second! When passion is more powerful than even life!
The Ferrari boys who gave up their life for racing Peter Collins- gone too soon…. Image courtesy: Museums Worcestershire Yes, that’s what it takes to take your life- just one second! Things move here and there, bizarre and unexpected, and wooooshhhh!!!! Before you could even think what happened, life’s gone out of the mortal body!…