Road Rage and Democratic Values   Recently it was reported that a woman driver who had the temerity not to allow a car to overtake her; at the first instance the vehicle behind her was able to overtake hers, its driver stopped right in front to her, blocking her way, and he and his companions got out and shot her. Unbelievable? In fact, this kind of incident is becoming only too...

Democracy in India The Indian voters have off and on shown their strength, thrown out one government and brought in another. The elections, conducted more or less peacefully, have, on the whole proved that democracy – at least in its electoral aspect – is well- entrenched in India. Indeed, Indian democracy is thriving on the basis of other criteria as well- campaigning is free and open with no restriction on any...

How free are we? Inevitably, on the eve of every August 15, the thought of freedom comes to mind. And one wonders how precarious that freedom is.           We boast of independence from the foreign yoke, freedom form colonialism, democracy, free elections. Yet each one of those freedoms has its own obverse, each one has bread situations in which we are not free. We may be free of the foreign rulers,...

India’s Population and Its Economic Implications   POINTS TO DEVELOP Billion- mark in numbers crossed in 2000. Complexity of Indian demography. Economic implications include impact of populations growth on economic development in the contexts of (i) agriculture (ii) environment and (iii) quality of life. Can we turn the numbers to advantage? Conclusion: Planning necessary to stabilize population level so as not to derail socio- economic development process.   Aastha was born...

Privatisation of the Economy     POINTS TO DEVELOP Growing privatizations the world over. Privatisation – meaning, forms, aims causes. Problems with privatisation. Prerequisites identified. History of privatisation-beginning with Britain. India begins privatisation in India. Reasons and circumstances. An account of privatisation in India. Problems with Indian pricatisation. measures suggested. Conclusion. There is a lot of euphoria today over privatisation as a panacea to fiscal deficits and other economic ills. However,...

Economic Liberalisation- Challenges before India     POINTS TO DEVELOP Concept and origin of liberalized economy. India’s liberalization efforts and global context. Purpose. Impact- economic and social; criticism. Challenges- factors that would influence the success of the measures. A cautious effort and good governance required.   As the Industrial Revolution entered its mature stage in the Europe of nineteenth century, liberalism began to spread, and with it the doctrine of ‘laissez-faire’...

Can Terrorism be justified?   POINTS TO DEVELOP 1. Incidents of terrorism and definition of terrorism. Examining the causes and growth of terrorism worldwide. Differences between terrorist activity and other acts involving violence. Focus of terrorist violence –innocent people – which is what is unjustifiable. Terrorism in its fight for rights shows no repect for others’ rights – so it cannot be justified. It is not the only way to achieve...

The Changing face of Terrorism POINT TO DEVELOP Terrorism is not a new phenomenon. Recently terrorist attacks have increased and have manifested changes : they are by smaller groups, more brutal, more sophisticated with technological advances. There is more interaction among terrorist groups facilitating operation and making it difficult to tackle. shift of focus form ideology to ethnic, religious of ‘nationalistic’ or even ‘economic’ variety. Support from legitimate foreign governments adds...