By Kailash Behl / Dehradun
With the Uttarakhand disaster still unfolding, whispers and murmurs of bad luck and bad omens are already forcing their way out of the cracks of the tragedy. Call it superstition or co-incidence ! Since time immemorial, locals here have claimed that angering Dhari Devi, a form of Goddess Kali, will result in destruction. And their faith has seemingly been avenged, albeit in a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. On the evening of June 16, the idol of the goddess was uprooted from its ancient temple, located near Srinagar (Garhwal), for a hydel-power project. Hours after the idol was moved a cloudburst hit the Kedarnath valley, washing away the entire shrine town and killing hundreds of people.
By Sarah Williams / New York
If you're an empathetic person -- good at connecting with other people's feelings -- can that help you win prestigious jobs that pay $100,000 a year or more? Or will you be stuck at the low end of the pay scale, doing a lot to promote rapport and smooth out problems in your field, but never earning a big salary for your trouble?
Earlier in June I wrote a piece for LinkedIn Influencers, arguing that empathy will emerge as a "must-have" job skill by 2020.
By M H Ahssan / Hyderabad
Just when you thought our netas couldn’t plumb the depths of politics any further, they go right ahead and surprise us. Images of Andhra Pradesh Congress MP Hanumantha Rao and Telugu Desam MP Ramesh Rathod jostling with each other and virtually trading blows at the airport in Dehradun point to the extent to which the optics of the rescue effort in Uttarakhand are being cynically used in the tug-of-war of partisan politics.
By Arshad Mahmood (Guest Writer)
This is an attempt to present the historical view of one-sided research of India and Pakistan relationship from inception. The historical evidences may throw some light on the long-pending and unsolved issue of two countries.
Immanuel Kant - the 18th century German political philosopher from liberal school of thought is known for his achievements in area of ethics and epistemology. Kant was the first thinker to foreshadow the liberal peace theory - in his essay "Perpetual Peace" written in 1795 - claiming that if all nations were democratic, it would end war.
By Swati Reddy / Dehradun
Congress leaders got into fisticuffs with Telugu Desam Party politicians on Wednesday over providing assistance to pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh stranded after floods in Uttarakhand. The leaders of both parties fought each other at the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun.
Congress and TDP have already been engaged in war of words over relief operations in the rain-ravaged state but it finally came to blows.
By Sanjay Samarth (Guest Writer)
History is replete with the examples of uninitiated personalities marking their historical presence felt in all sorts of areas, more so in politics, business and adventure. The most recent example is President Obama succeeding against all odds without the so-called experience or background. Similarly, the leaders with impeccable credentials have gone inexplicably bust in the flow of tide in no time.
By Rambo Muneeb / Chennai
The rise in price of non-vegetarian items in the past week has now resulted in some small food joints and hotels increasing the cost of food items and some even cutting on the quantity served, leaving customers to bear the brunt.
Retail rates of chicken shot up after the producers cut down supply claiming that their production rates have gone up. Subsequently, mutton rates too went up, followed by some varieties of fishes that are being sold at a price much higher than the cost at which they were sold before the 45-day ban.
From CJ Rashmi Kalia in Chandigarh
Of late, shouting from rooftops about India‘s social evils has become a norm with our celebrities and artists. One couldn’t help but feel sick in the stomach everytime one watched an episode of Satyamev Jayate, the celebrated television series on India’s social evils that has catapulted Aamir Khan to an iconic status and led to him being featured on the cover of the U.S Time magazine. A rate feat indeed, considering that he is only the third Indian actor to be featured on the cover of the prestigious international magazine.
