The Child is the Father of Man The celebrated English poet, William Wordsworth said, “The Child is the Father of Man.” Indeed, a seed of the oak or the banyan tree is tiny, but in a matter of years, it is transformed into a huge tree. Perhaps, the same is true of human beings. Modern scientists are inclinded to state that genes, or rather the X and Y chromosomes, are the...

If the British had not Colonised India History cannot be altered and its myriad paths would follow their own destined course. However, it would not be entirely futile to involve our imagination in visualizing the course of history if such and such an event had not taken place. One such occurrence is the British colonialism in India. The British colonised India gradually and established their rule over the country for more...

ISI – A Threat to India The intelligence community of Pakistan consists of ‘the Intelligence Bureau (IB) formed by the division of pre-partition IB of British India and ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) formed after the unsatisfactory performance of IB (Pakistan) in 1948 in the first Indo-Pak War (1947-48) over Jammu and Kashmir. The ISI is manned by officers from the three services to specialize in the collection, analysis and assessment of external...

Private Sector versus Public Sector The old debate on the public versus the private sector—which one of the two is better for the growth of Indian economy—has been long alive. It has assumed increased importance with India’s recent impressive performance in all fields—from IT to computer software, from telecommunications to health, from generation of energy to manufacturing of industrial goods. While the popular belief is that most of the public sector...

Non-violence Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is the I N law of the brute–so spoke Mahatma Gandhi, celebrating the need and nature of the principle of non-violence for mankind. All wise men down the ages have preached the doctrine of love and non-violence. Zoroaster, Buddha, Mahavira, Christ, and Nanak primarily emphasised a moral code that gave due status to non-violence. Non-violence is a philosophy of life, a...

An Apolitical Defence Force Good governance is the right and expectation of every citizen. Citizens exercise their right to vote in the hope and belief that the party they vote for will bring peace and prosperity to the country and a better quality of life for the citizens. Politics, therefore, is a part of citizens’ life and as soldiers are also citizens, they also have the right to vote. However, as...

The Politics of Information The recent communication explosion is the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind. This era is characterized, on the one hand, by the rising aspirations and expectations of millions of people living in the Third World and, on the other. by the emergence of new forms of domination and colonialism. The recent advances in the field of science and technology have led to an...

People’s Participation in Development People’s participation is becoming the central issue of our times. The democratic transition in many developing countries, the collapse of several socialist regimes and the worldwide emergence of people’s organizations—these are all parts of historic change, not just isolated events. People today have an urge–an impatient urge—to participate in the events and processes that shape and influence their lives. And that impatience brings many dangers and opportunities....