EDITORIALS

TIMES OF INDIA
10 15 August 2014.
11 AUGUST 2014

THE RIGHT BALANCE

BACKGROUND:
Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju's recent
disclosures that the current system of appointment of
judges to superior courts by a collegium of Supreme
Court judges needs to be changed to ensure greater
transparency and accountability
PROPOSITION:
supports the legislative move to create a Judicial
Appointments Commission
-initiated by the UPA
-being pushed forward by the Modi
Governmet


THE RIGHT BALANCE
1. Legislation constitutional change- Constitution
amendment bill
Judicial Appointment Commission:
Composition- Constitutional status.
50:50 break-up between judicial and nonjudicial
members: Advantages and future consequences.
2. Appointing all 31 judges in the Supreme Court and
over 800 judges in the 24 high courts, as well as their
transfers would be a difficult task.
Solution is to have two levels:
-one commission for the Supreme Court
-a separate state level commission.

THE RIGHT BALANCE
CONCLUSION:

Create two Judicial Appointment Commissions to select
judges and make their composition constitutional.

SOLVE SACHINS DILEMMA
BACKGROUND:
Sachin Tendulkar and Rekha are caught in a storm
over their naughtily low attendance in the Rajya
Sabha.
PROPOSITION:
Take a tip from Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa on how
to make your presence felt even when you're
absent.
Her absence makes her party members' hearts grow
fonder
They make up with frequent references every
AIADMK member begins speeches
apparently by invoking the Puratchi Thalaivi
Tamil Tai Amma or revolutionary leader
and Tamil motherfigure Jayalalithaa
and seeking her august blessings.
SOLVING SACHINS DILEMMA
Chinese phatakas darkening Sivakasi's fireworks
BJP MPs -Narendra Modi, Congress leaders - Sonia
and Rahul, for Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee
as is Jayalalithaa for AIADMK.
Sachin and Rekha:
They don't have party men but have fans thronging
Parliament
MPs: the ones who are awake/sleep
Reference to Rahul Gandhi
SOLVING SACHINS DILEMMA
CONCLUSION:
Learn and follow the strategy as to how Puratchi
Thalaivi Jayalalithaa shows presence even when
absent!
MODI HAS A BEARD
PMs brand equity is good news for those who want
to be read.
Comparison with Manmohan
82% increase
Even ebola
Sweet tooth and jalebi
Throw a piece of Modi into the pot
Until the charm runs out.
All things bright and beautiful
To get noticed / read
12 AUGUST 2014
A POLITICAL AWARD
BACKGROUND:
There is a speculation that the government may be
considering a Bharat Ratna for former Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose
THE ISSUE:
The Bharat Ratna has become heavily politicised
However, the Bharat Ratna can not be delinked from
politics
Hence, the new choices of awardees
do offer an interesting window into the
politics of the NDA government.
A POLITICAL AWARD
BJP is making sharp inroads into West Bengal in the
2014 election. So, honouring one of modern Bengal's
greatest icons would also be a deft political
manoeuvre aimed at gaining easy political capital.
The possible choice of Kanshi Ram is an interesting
one. It shows dalit icons will not be left to Mayawati
alone, with BJP willing to take the fight into her
backyard in its quest to conquer UP as it is into
Mamata's in Bengal.
As for awarding Vajpayee, this would be
no different from the award to Rajiv Gandhi
The debates such awards unleash
simply detract from issues of today.
A POLITICAL AWARD
CONCLUSION:

Bharat Ratna for Netaji, Kanshi Ram, Vajpayee would
be NDA's attempt at rewriting history

FYUP PURGE
BACKGROUND:
After making the Delhi University scrap its Four-Year
Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), UGC is looking
to do the same to other institutions across the board
notably including the Indian Institute of Science
(IISc), Bangalore.
Bharat Ratna awardee C N R Rao, who also heads
the PM's scientific advisory council, has said that
India's education system should not be confused with
the country's armed forces. For the University
Grants Commission (or HRD ministry) to
hand out military-style commands to
reputed educational institutions is a
recipe for their destruction
FYUP PURGE
Unless its only objective is to curry favour with a
Centre it senses is against FYUP, UGC has therefore
every reason not to meddle here.
Only decentralisation and the freedom to experiment
that can deliver to India the radical educational
upgrade it needs today .
The autocratic, cookie-cutter approach has created
an educational system that produces little quality ,
pervasive mediocrity and hordes of unemployables.
From course content to faculty salaries,
higher learning institutions should be allowed
to make their own decisions.
FYUP PURGE
CONCLUSION:

C N R Rao is right, government must abandon military
approach to educational institutions

HIS, HERS AND OURS
About the hardships of being called Mr.Jyothi or
something like that
The incident
Dedicated to all people who have common gender
names.
13 AUGUST 2014
MODIS KASHMIR MANTRA
BACKGROUND:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of bringing a
saffron revolution to Jammu & Kashmir was quickly
explained as a reference to the spice and not BJP's
colours. But the fact that he has now made two visits
to the state since taking over as prime minister
underlines its importance in BJP's emerging political
calculus. If the Lok Sabha voting patterns get
replicated in the assembly elections due early next
year, BJP is ahead in 29 of the state's 87
assembly constituencies.
MODIS KASHMIR MANTRA
STRATEGY:
Home minister Rajnath Singh raised expectations
around Modi's second trip to Kashmir by once again
reviving the Vajpayee formula of insaniyat
Modi, speaking to soldiers in Kargil, condemned
Pakistan's terror strikes in Pulwama district.But he
chose to emphasise one theme in his political
outreach: development.
Kutch visit: Modi: on matters that directly
affect people and their livelihoods.
He thus chose to project himself as the
face of the wider theme of economic
development
MODIS KASHMIR MANTRA
CONCLUSION:

BJP makes new political moves in J&K with an eye
on upcoming assembly elections

BEYOND CRONYISM
BACKGROUND:
On Independence Day , Prime Minister Narendra
Modi is expected to outline a plan to give every
household a bank account within a year or two.
Transferring money directly to millions of households
as a part of social welfare packages.
Political payoff
Raghuram Rajan, RBI's governor, thinks that this can
act as a catalyst in transforming the political system
and breaking the corrosive link between
business and political interests
BEYOND CRONYISM
STRATEGY
Direct cash transfer may not be a silver bullet, but it
could set the poor on the road to true political
independence
Rajan's hypothesis is that crony capitalism's growth
has its roots in India's failure to provide the poor with
their legitimate share of public services.
Politicians help the poor navigate a hostile system
and, in turn, get votes for the patronage.
The chain is complete when corrupt
businessmen and politicians collude to
rig the game in favour of a chosen few.
BEYOND CRONYISM
Hopes have been pinned on good people to change
things. But we are only as good as our systems allow
us to be. Bad systems neutralise good people.
Cash transfers (or smart cards which can be used to
avail specific benefits) give us an opportunity to break
the cycle.
A voter who does not deal with politicians and
bureaucrats from a position of helplessness will be
more demanding.
Crony capitalism bleeds the economy .
Curb it.
BEYOND CRONYISM
CONCLUSION:

Time to try Raghuram Rajan's innovative pill for
corruption: cash transfers

OWNERSHIP OF LIFE
If you dont belong to yourself, to whom should you
belong?
Indians believe that they are free citizens of a free
society.
The foundation of free society is the right of
ownership
All these rights of ownership depend on your right to
your own existence.
Right to your own life.
Law in India does not permit terminally ill
patients the right to decide an end.
Mercy killing and voluntary self termination
How will law help?

14 AUGUST 2014
CONFUSING SIGNALS
BACKGROUND:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comment during his
recent visit to Leh that Pakistan had lost the ability to
fight a conventional war and was hence engaging in
a proxy war by aiding and abetting terrorists does
nothing to move the needle forward on improving
India-Pakistan relations.
Hours after Modi's comment Pakistani troops violated
the ceasefire along the border.
Islamabad's foreign office by stating that
Pakistan itself was a victim of terrorism
and that New Delhi would do well not to
engage in blame games.
CONFUSING SIGNALS
THE ISSUE:
The comment made to Indian soldiers and officers
fails to recognise the fact that the Nawaz Sharif
government in Islamabad isn't the sole or even main
actor in determining Pakistan's India policy.
Takes away from the positive momentum that had
been generated when Modi invited Saarc leaders to
attend his swearing-in ceremony in May
But putting the screws on Islamabad ahead of the
upcoming meeting of foreign secretaries
CONFUSING SIGNALS
The Sharif government is under siege with two
separate protest marches Imran Khan and the other
by Canada-based religious scholar Tahir-ul Qadri
rumoured to be supported by Pakistan's
military-intelli gence complex.
If the Pakistan army is the main actor in determining
India policy , a way must be found to engage the
Pakistani armed forces themselves, whether through
formal or informal channels.
Modi has shown a capacity to innovate and surprise,
as in the case of his invitation to Sharif. More of such
innovation will be needed for progress in
India-Pakistan ties.

CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION:

Modi chiding Pakistan for pursuing a proxy war does
nothing to improve bilateral relations
Innovations needed.
DONT DO A NITISH
BACKGROUND:
Rejecting an alliance with arch-rival Samajwadi Party
in Uttar Pradesh, BSP chief Mayawati displays a
political maturity Bihar's Nitish Kumar could learn
from.
ISSUE:
Nitish's union with former foe Lalu Prasad opposing
whose crime-ridden governance in Bihar became
Nitish's clarion call to victory.
The two claim their alliance aims to defeat
communal forces represented by BJP.
Thisunion of polar opposites hasn't
impressed voters, the first joint rally was
attended by a handful of hundreds.

DONT DO A NITISH
Mayawati has avoided such a scenario in UP
SP and BJP are currently locked in a deadly game of
fanning communal fires.
By keeping away, Mayawati has ensured her image
isn't singed by riot embers
Secondly, she's ensured her legacy of relatively
good law and order remains spotless.
Only a few months ago, national elections in the state
were won by BJP making promises about
development and jobs.
Since then, UP's seen mostly riots and rapes..
By taking up the development agenda
discarded by BJP, Mayawati could score
big points in upcoming elections.
This is not a likely scenario for Nitish.
DONT DO A NITISH
CONCLUSION:

Mayawati shows political wisdom by resisting alliance
with Mulayam's SP

TWIST WITH DESTINY
No more Indirah-rah and the original Gandhi isnt
faring too well either.
We will be hearing the speech of another orator.
Reports that Nehrus name is rumored to be dropeed
from the JNNURM and the Indira Awas Yojana will be
rechristened the National Gramin Awas Mission.
Ports, airports, etc
450 projects, buildings, universities, statues, etc
Whole new yojana to identify them
In 1924: Lenin to Stalin
Till the next Government.
15 AUGUST 2014
CAN INDIA RISE?
BACKGROUND:
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru spoke about a
dreamlike `tryst with destiny' 67 years ago. But the
Indian dream is still half realised.
The nation's tryst with modernity remains an aborted
one as the old India of caste, communal riots,
patriarchy and mass poverty is still very much with us
albeit to a lesser extent than before.
CAN INDIA RISE?
THE ISSUE:
India did seem to be in take-off mode during the
second half of the last decade when the `India story'
made headlines. It proved to be a short-lived burst
The last UPA government was slow to react to these
changes. It always projected economic recovery to
be round the corner.
Mean while, Narendra Modi ran an electrifying
campaign that promised `achhe din', which aroused
dormant hopes of better days to come.
Two months into a Modi government is
arguably too short a time for any tangible
result. But this and the next year are
going to be crucial.


CAN INDIA RISE?
Enormous expectations were built around the NDA
government's first budget. But when finance minister
Arun Jaitley announced it this Parliament session, it
looked merely like a good UPA budget
Meanwhile, UP remains on a slow boil as communal
tensions there are stoked by , among other parties,
BJP and Sangh Parivar.
Is the old India poised to strike back? Can the Indian
dream of greater prosperity as well as a fair
and non-sectarian system where citizens
are empowered and enjoy personal
freedom ever be realised?
CAN INDIA RISE?
A million eyes will be riveted on the ramparts of
Delhi's Red Fort today when Prime Minister Narendra
Modi climbs them to deliver his first Independence
Day speech.
It won't simply be because people want to catch a
glimpse of his famed oratorical skills.
It will also be because they want to know whether, on
the occasion of the 67th anniversary of Indian
independence, the PM also has a plan for their
personal independence.

CAN INDIA RISE?
CONCLUSION:

PM Modi's Red Fort speech has to be looked for clues
whether Indians can enjoy true independence

COLLEGIUMS END
BACKGROUND:

The NDA won a big victory on another equally
landmark Bill, which breaks up the present collegium
system and revises dramatically the way judges will
be appointed. The Lok Sabha passed the National
Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 and the
accompanying Constitution Amendment Bill by 367
votes to nil.
COLLEGIUMS END
THE BILL:
The first Bill lays out procedures for appointing and
transferring judges to the Supreme Court and the
high courts while the second stipulates its
membership and provides it constitutional protection

Congress pointed out a major flaw in the appointment
process and the amendment moved by Congress
was accepted.
COLLEGIUMS END
The original legislation stated that if the president of
India rejected a candidate sent for his approval by the
committee, then all six members of the committee
would have to unanimously endorse the judge for him
to make the grade.
Congress pointed out, rightly, that this opens up a
way for the government to rig the system. If it didn't
approve of a particular candidate the president could
reject him and then the law minister veto him.
The unanimous provision has been
dropped.

COLLEGIUMS END
CONCLUSION:

Parliament quickly passes landmark legislation to
transform judicial appointment process

A good example of how government and opposition
can work together constructively for the sake of
improved legislation.

UP FOR ADOPTION
Wanted: a new home and caring guardians for an
unwanted two-month-old
Cruel and heartless
Constantly demands attention
Better than dumping into garbage like a few parents
do, giving it up for adoption.
Smart phone- Nokia
SMS, WhatsApp, Viber , Fb, other electronic pests.
Sending it off to an orphanage
A small step for man, a giant setback
for smartphone-kind.