By Niloufer Khan / Mumbai
Given the official shroud of secrecy over old leases of large tracts of land in the island city of Mumbai, it is not surprising that citizens learnt only recently that the term of the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) in Mahalaxmi is ending on May 31.
Club officials and members are scrambling to get the lease renewed, while public opinion is solidly against leaving this relic of the Raj (which still genuflects to British royalty) a private amenity for the elite, sprawling over 225 acres in the heart of the city.
By Simantik Dowerah (Guest Writer)
Barely out of the decades old Ulfa terror, Assam is staring at another similar, and potentially bigger, menace: Maoists. While there is no concrete proof yet that the red rebels have entrenched themselves in the state, stray indications point to that fact they could be in the process of doing so. Some recent cases prove that Maoist leaders from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are trying hard to spread out in the state by recruiting local youth.
By M H Ahssan / Hyderabad
If you want your child to enrol for a professional course like MBA, IIT, CA, CS or attempt a competitive exam test like GATE, more often than not, she would want to attend coaching classes. And, the fee for such coaching classes can drill a big hole in your pocket.
INN checked out with a few coaching classes. For JEE, the entrance exam for IIT, the fee was as high as Rs 2 lakh. Even for GRE, GMA and CAT, the fees were easily in the range of Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000.
By Mithilesh Mishra / Raipur
He’s never once mentioned them, even in passing, in all the interviews he’s given: the brother called Parshuraman, who was killed in a firefight with the Andhra Pradesh police back in 1994; the sister called Kanukamma, whose body was torn apart by bullets while fighting by his side.
He never once mentioned the son born that year, who went to school in Sukma wondering if one the things he’d learn that day was that his father and mother were dead. He’s spoken only of ‘The Cause’, the man who ordered the massacre of 29 in Chhattisgarh last week.
“The language of war is killing”, said 9/11 perpetrator Khalid Sheikh Muhammad. Ravula Srinivas, secretary of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, has long known this. His story tells us what happens when people cease to matter and only a cause remains.
By Rajinder Puri / Delhi
Remember that ancient tale about the boy who cried wolf? False alarms of an approaching wolf lulled society into ignoring the wolf when it really came. In India the word ‘Emergency’ has acquired a dirty connotation. Indira Gandhi’s fraudulent imposition of dictatorship in the name of emergency justified by leveling totally false allegations against Jayaprakash Narain brought this about. Much later Indira Gandhi acknowledged her error publicly in a speech delivered at Ram Lila Ground in Delhi. But the damage had been done.
Now in public perception no real emergency can ever exist. But consider the current situation.
By M H Ahssan / Hyderabad
Mention the word “corruption” and images of sleazy netas and babus are conjured up in the popular imagination. Corruption is typically associated with politicians and bureaucrats who run government organisations, spearheaded by individuals who abuse their discretionary powers to enrich themselves at the expense of the public at large.
But at least two studies that recently entered the public domain indicate that corruption in the Indian private sector has come of age. This is what has been highlighted in two reports prepared under the aegis of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) – interestingly, this particular UN agency deals with corporate corruption. These reports were prepared despite the non-cooperation of representatives of private firms.
By Khaja Pasha / Bangalore
It is a rare and a beautiful sight to watch traditional lime kilns — surprisingly still surviving today amid the din of machines and urbanisation. INN visits Dambala in Gadag district and learns a thing or two about lime kilns.
While strolling around Dambala village in North Karnataka’s Gadag district, surprised to spot some dome-shaped structures built of brick and mud mortar. Chandi Saab, a passerby, who could read my face, said “It is a lime kiln (sunnada batti in Kannada) used to produce quick lime by burning limestone”.
By M H Ahssan / Raipur
Rahul Gandhi’s agitated one-liner at the high-level security review meeting in Raipur two days ago took all participants by surprise. The Congress vice-president was present at the meeting held at Raj Bhavan to take stock of the Maoist attack in Darbha Ghati that killed 14 Congressmen, seven security personnel and three civilians. It was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Shortly after the meeting started the young Congress leader shot off “who will take the responsibility?” It surprised the participants, particularly those from the Chattisgarh state government, which included Chief Minister Raman Singh, Chief Secretary Sunil Kumar and top police officials.
