THE HORSE- TRADERS By Sanjay Jha On TEHELKA http://tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws190911A_good.asp And www.HamaraCongress.com ( If indeed the BJP did orchestrate the cash-for-votes scam , did it not effectively contaminate India’s reputation for their own political resuscitation? Should we casually ignore the damage to Brand India )? There is a wafer-thin fine distinction between audacity and temerity. The latter imbibes a bit more of chutzpah and cunning. Thus, there … [Read more...]

THE DEATH OF GANDHISM By Sanjay Jha On Tehelka; http://tinyurl.com/42usmf6 And www.HamaraCongress.com At 5.15 pm on January 30th 1948 Mahatma Gandhi was shot thrice by Nathuram Godse at point-blank range. In the years that have followed his tragic assassination, the Father of the Nation as he is appropriately called , has influenced the world at an unprecedented magnitude making Gandhism a philosophy of life. Non-violence, peaceful protest, silent resolution, indomitable … [Read more...]

KILL BILL ? NOT REALLY! By Sanjay Jha ( How could they miss the “ public sector”, albeit it may come under the Prevention of Corruption Act ? Why does the JLP want to entrap the poor salmon’s first while the Big White sharks are quietly let loose? And shouldn’t the Lok Pal be implemented in a phased manner ?). Everyone carried a dismal hang-dog expression. It was as if we were at the receiving end of a devastating Armageddon. As if India’s credit rating was being … [Read more...]

( Delivered in the Lok Sabha on 26th August 2011.) Madam Speaker, I have been deeply distressed at the developments of the last few days.  Many aspects of the situation have caused me anguish. We are all aware that corruption is pervasive.  It operates at every level.  The poor may carry its greatest burden but it is an affliction that every Indian is desperate to be rid off.  Fighting corruption is as integral to eliminating poverty as is Mahatma Gandhi NREGA or the Land … [Read more...]

MADNESS IS THE METHOD By Sanjay Jha On www.HamaraCongress.com “ If you had the freedom of choice to invite whoever you wished for dinner home, who would be your first guest ?”. My answer was instantaneous : “Mahatma Gandhi”. This was during those nerve-wracking campus interviews in business school when your energy levels were kinetic. Ergo, imagine my dismay, acute discomfiture, anger even when bombarded by grotesque comparisons of the great Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi with … [Read more...]

Dear Reader, Whether you support the Indian National Congress Party’s ideology or manifesto is not a limiting factor. We are keen to listen to your views on matters and issues that affect India. As a concerned proud Indian. Like the Jan Lok Pal Bill, Land Acquisition, Right to Food Security, and on other relevant issues such as electoral reforms, etc. It does not matter even if you support other political ideologies or party. Often, we lose both sight and perspective by getting mired in … [Read more...]

By Vinay Sitapati Curtesy - Indian Express , Wed Aug 17 2011 This “activist” was quite different from the suit-wearing PIL litigant or the Left-leaning jholawala. In the run up to Anna Hazare’s first fast over an anti-corruption law in April, a communications company provided the technical support to a service in which, if mobile users called a toll-free number, they would then receive free alerts on the protests. The service was one of an array of technologies — from Twitter updates … [Read more...]

12 REASONS TO BACK UPA by Sanjay Jha on www.HamaraCongress.com Nothing succeeds like failure. Large sections of the social media, intelligentsia, public and especially the urban middle-class seems to be constantly complaining about the UPA government. There is a sense of disenchantment and despondency. Of course, some of the issues could have been handled differently, with greater finesse in appropriate time It is acknowledged that things could be better , but that is a truism that … [Read more...]

BROKE IN THE USA ( As global markets crash to ominous signs of ill-health following the US credit rating downgrade, India needs to wake up and drink the coffee. It will be naïve to pretend that we are insulated from its potential downsides). By Sanjay Jha On TEHELKA FW This quite does not seem to be an august month. At least, not just as yet. Standard & Poor’s casual miscalculation which overestimated the US deficit by a staggering USD 2 trillion ( more than India’s … [Read more...]

FINDING EMO By Sanjay Jha Published in Tehelka/Financial World Also on www.HamaraCongress.com There was an outrageous outpouring of flagrant cynicism last week; the disgraced former boss of CWG and Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi was apparently suffering from dementia. Promptly there was frenetic speculation that Kalmadi had pulled off a rather creative subterfuge, loss of memory, which would give him warm protection from legal hawks and gnashing prosecutors. It soon turned into a … [Read more...]