Individuals and Society

It is very common today to find people advocating political solutions to problems (imagined or real). For example,
Problem:
Lot of people take to smoking
Solution:
Tax tobacco products heavily, Ban the portrayal of smoking in cinema, Punish celebrities who dare to smoke
Problem:
High incidence of fatal accidents on roads
Solution:
Make it mandatory to wear helmets while driving
Problem:
Low representation of women in [...]

Civil Service and The Constitution (Part 1)

In an article in The Indian Express, Meeta Rajivlochan says that civil servants should “owe allegiance to the constitution first and foremost”. She goes on to say
“Overt neutrality and strong commitment to the Constitution and the rules of the land make a bureaucrat function much better”.
and concludes
“It is the danger of relinquishing a commitment to the [...]

License-Raj

An article in today’s The Times of India – Cool cab overcharges ex-top cop (link unavailable) – reports that a cab driver who refused to carry an ex top cop at the fare he was willing to pay was fined and will probably have his license suspended for a month.
“Ribeiro (an ex top cop) argued with [...]

Satire and Cynicism

The editorial page of The Sunday Times has columns by Shobhaa De, Jug Suraiya and Bachi Karkaria, often by all three of them (out of a total of 6 columns). These columns are satirical at best and merely sarcastic at worst. What does so much satire (and sarcasm) on the editorial page (titled ‘All That Matters’) of a widely [...]