Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill that allows abortion beyond 20 weeks in special cases is progressive and prudent. It recognises women’s right over their bodies, and gives them greater power to choose, a departure from its earlier anachronistic version. It’s particularly creditable, coming from a usually conservative BJP government.
Rawat should focus on running his politically unstable state instead of women in ripped jeans
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat’s criticism of women who wear ripped jeans is steeped in regressive and misogynistic thinking. It isn’t such women who set ‘bad examples’, it is those with such retrograde thinking who do. Rawat should focus on running his politically unstable state instead of moral policing.
Covid surge, transfer of Mumbai police commissioner point to Uddhav Thackeray’s inexperience
Transfer of the Mumbai police commissioner following Sachin Waze’s arrest is yet another example of the MVA government’s incoherence and troublesome ineptitude. CM Uddhav Thackeray is failing with the Covid-19 crisis too. His inexperience shows as he stumbles from one crisis to another and is easily distracted by peripheral issues.
Exit of PB Mehta and Arvind Subramanian a blow to Ashoka University’s stature
The principled departure of professors Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Arvind Subramanian is a blow to Ashoka University’s rising stature. It’s particularly disappointing for a higher education pioneer built through private, liberal philanthropy, and isn’t a teaching shop. This is a lesson to other such institutions. And not a good one.
This lies at the intersection of medical science and ethics. I do not take any position on the pro life / pro choice debate, although Roe vs Wade is settled law, should not be revisited. There are many situations in which a woman may choose not to proceed with her pregnancy. Perhaps that very consequential decision ought to be taken much earlier than 20 weeks. With each passing day that incredibly precious life form lays claim to enter the world. 2. Very pleasant reminiscences. In early 1989, wife and I visited a clinic in Chowpatty. The sonography showed two pearls in the oyster. As we came down, filled with a sense of wonder and responsibility, we had coconut water. A few years back, came e mail images from Singapore, showing little Ananya forming in her cocoon.
Mr. Rawat seems to be the latest victim of the woke Leftist media. Anyone who does not conform to their idea of freedom and choice is conveniently labelled as retrograde, regressive, misogynistic and what not. Surprisingly, they keep mum when the issue of burqa arises. Their idealistic notions of freedom and choice for women goes for a toss.
They close ranks in support of Islamists and defend the worst forms of abuse of women’s rights. Unfortunately, Mr. Rawat is Hindu and therefore is a very convenient target for them.
Allah has not bestowed vast hydrocarbon wealth on India. For most Indian families, giving their children a decent education is pretty much the only wealth they can pass on. A poor education system means a lot of the demographic dividend will not be harvested. 2. India should be inviting some of the world’s finest universities to set up campuses here. Not undermining those with the vision and resources to create institutions of global repute. Recall the first appointee to HRD. Consider the quality of Chinese education, how relentlessly they are working to place their universities in the world’s top 100 and 50. 3. It was kind of Bush / Rice to say, America will help India become a major power. They saw the promise and potential of one sixth of the human race. If we chuck it all away, everyone is in any case busy stealing everyone’s else lunch.
After watching Cut the Clutter and reading IE’s anguished Edit. Saw the list of generous Indians who have created this fine institution. Universities like Harvard have a corpus of tens of billions of dollars. Like the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, a part of America’s immense social capital. India is a young nation, a nascent economy. There are many forks in the road. Not all lead to greatness.
Maharashtra is fortunate to have an elder statesman of Shri Sharad Pawar’s caliber and stature. One does not know what the inner dynamics of this complex coalition are, but the state is not facing any difficulties that are beyond what he has dealt with, in one capacity or another, since at least 1978. He also understood and respected the state’s bureaucracy , kept a balance between it and the political class. Only one Secretary in the CMO, invariably a scrupulously apolitical appointee. Gave space to Cabinet colleagues, some of whom became CMs, others who had the qualities to hold that post.
Both PB Mehta and Arvind Subramanian had their careers in the US and are closely associated with the Liberal cohort in the US Democrat party. With their patrons turning their guns toward the BJP and Modi, their surrogates are following suit. Their decision to leave is solely to bring the spotlight to the recent reports by the Freedom House and V-Dem reports, which too were written again by the same left-liberal intellectsia. The best course of action for the govt is to simply ignore them and focus on economic policy to bring US investments into India. The Wallstreet is the best lobbying agency for Indian interests in the US. ‘Wolf warrior’ diplomacy akin to what Jaishankar has been tasked with is counter-productive and will only lead to more of it.
Serious question : What qualities of head and heart are required to be appointed CM ? The ideological quotient now seems to surpass all other attributes. Apart from a new found love for the warrior class. Ideally, especially for a mammoth state like Uttar Pradesh, prior experience in government should be considered essential. For a small state like Tripura or Uttaranchal, it is possible to experiment with a promising newcomer. The ruling party seems to be following in Mrs Gandhi’s footsteps. One fine day, the portly Babsaheb Bhosale became CM of Maharashtra. Over the long term, adds enormously to the talent crunch.
Ashoka University is not important enough to hog the limelight. It is no Presidency University or Delhi University. Has barely functioned for a few years and is exclusively meant for the uber rich who can afford to pay lakhs of rupees for a single semester of “quality” liberal arts education.
The Print’s obsession with this university gives rise to suspicions of ulterior motive.
Print ko kahiye, Aap bhi giant washing machine se guzar kar, Nirma ke jaise saaf suthre ho jaeeye …