A tweet of mine from May 14th:
Pakistani PM: Nawaz Sharif Indian PM: Na–Aawaz Na–Sharif
— Atanu Dey (@atanudey) May 14, 2013
Don’t know the source.
May 18, 2013
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
A tweet of mine from May 14th:
Pakistani PM: Nawaz Sharif Indian PM: Na–Aawaz Na–Sharif
— Atanu Dey (@atanudey) May 14, 2013
Don’t know the source.
May 6, 2013
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
We spend a great deal of time in mostly trivial pursuits on the web. But the web has an enormous wealth of content that could be of value to us. However we have to invest time and concentration to take what we are given so freely. This talk by Roger Ebert is worth the time.
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May 3, 2013
by Atanu Dey
10 Comments
The 3rd president of Pakistan, General Yahya Khan, must be the original “My Name is Khan.” In 1971 he instructed his army to “Kill 3 million of them and the rest will eat out of our hands.” He was talking about his compatriots in the eastern half of Pakistan, present day Bangladesh. Not just the borders, Pakistani innards are bloody as well. Anyway, the Pakistani army proceeded with the job of killing three million and by some estimates, achieved that target. India helped in bringing the killing spree to a close but at an enormous price. Staggering humanitarian costs: The Indian army suffered thousands of casualties; around 10 million refugees flooded into India (most of whom never returned). I don’t know if anyone can reliably estimate the economic costs. What bothers me is that too many people did not learn the important lesson even after this. I want to know why.
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May 3, 2013
by Atanu Dey
7 Comments
I deleted two recently posted comments on this blog. My policy regarding comments is to allow all comments except those that are irrelevant or abusive. I don’t mind someone ranting in the comments but it has to be a relevant rant. If the post is about India and someone decides to rant on about the US, I will not allow it. Keeping on topic is important to me. But what if there’s something on your mind which you need to talk about? Here’s where you can express yourself. Write what you will here. Thanks.
May 1, 2013
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
I have had the privilege of calling both India and the US home, and have had the opportunity of observing both from near as well as from afar. I am not an impartial observer because I am too emotionally invested in both countries. However precisely because I care for both countries that I bother to observe them so carefully and criticize them so relentlessly. The words of an old song express my feelings well: “I love you too much to ever start liking you // So don’t expect me to be your friend.” I feel pity, sorrow, anger, fear and loathing for what they have done (and are doing) to India.
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April 30, 2013
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
“It was 20 years ago today, Sgt Peppers taught the band to play . . .” Actually, I got carried away. What I really meant was that it was 20 years ago today, on April 30th 1993, that a bunch of researchers at CERN, a physics lab in Switzerland, decided that they would put some of the software they had created for sharing data in the public domain. That was the birth of the World Wide Web. And the first website, you ask? Here is a screen capture. (Click on the image to visit the world’s first website.
April 24, 2013
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Money does grow on trees. Quite a bit of it is printed on stuff that is grown — wood cellulose & cotton. But money is not wealth. It is easy to confuse money with wealth but they are not the same. Governments create fiat money but that does not mean that governments create wealth. People through their effort create wealth. The government merely takes some of that wealth and uses it for various purposes, only some of which are defensible and some are not.
Today I read that the Bengal government is going to spend Rs 500 crores to compensate the victims of a chit-fund scam. The chit-fund scam is a crime but I believe it is also criminal to use public money to compensate the victims of fraud. I have argued against the use of public funds even in cases involving victims of accidents and crimes such as rape. I wrote the following for Quartz (March 13th, 2013).
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April 24, 2013
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
Mahavir Jayanti namaskar to all sentient beings. According to Jain tradition, Vardhamana Mahavira (599-527 BCE) was the 24th (and the last) tirthankara. “In Jainism, a Tīrthaṅkara is a human being who helps in achieving liberation and enlightenment as an “Arihant” by destroying their soul-constraining karmas, became a role-model and leader for those seeking spiritual guidance.” (Wiki.)
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April 23, 2013
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
India is not doomed to be poor due to factors outside its control. Yet India is desperately, depressingly, chronically, and acutely poor. Why is that so and what is missing? I explore this question in this piece which is part 2 of a series I am writing for NitiCentral.com. Part 1 was “All Men are Created Equal but Nations are Not.”
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April 23, 2013
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
Why are nations unequal? Apparently a simple question but hard to answer. I am writing a set of columns on that topic with reference to India. Here’s part 1. A slightly different version of this appeared on NitiCentral.com earlier this month.
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April 22, 2013
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
The first lesson of development economics is that economic policies matter. Even if a country has everything going for it, lack of good policies condemn it to poverty. So it is easy to believe that if only good policies were known to those in power, economic development would necessarily follow. My good friend, the globe-trotting adventurer and consultant to capitalists, Utsav Mitra, brought that lesson to mind in a recent twitter exchange on my timeline. As a student of development, I have written a bit over the years on the matter and Utsav refers to it in a tweet which is embedded below.
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April 20, 2013
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
Below the fold I quote a bit from the start of that post to lure the reader into the tent.
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April 13, 2013
by Atanu Dey
23 Comments
I don’t usually argue with people’s claims about their objectives but once in a while when I see a claim that is absurdly irrational, I cannot but call bullshit. So it was that I (perhaps irrationally) decided to challenge a person’s stated objective. Here’s what @ReclaimBharat’s twitter header says:
I responded. Here is a picture of that twitter exchange.
April 11, 2013
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
“Freedom, freedom, freedom . . . Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, A long way from my home,” sang Richie Havens at Woodstock. Lots of people struggle for freedom. What they are seeking freedom from? From other people. We have to remember this: People need to leave other people alone. Do what you will and don’t impose your will on others. That should be the totality of the law.
Below the fold, the text of my recent column at NitiCentral.com, “The Iron Laday who Fought for Freedom.” But first here’s Richie Havens in 2009 singing that song which he sang in the 1969 music festival held on Yasgur’s farm near Woodstock, NY.
After 40 years, the man still retains his voice. Watch him at Woodstock here.
April 9, 2013
by Atanu Dey
7 Comments
Go click on the poll at rediff.
I am guessing that the numbers for Modi will drop and Pappu’s number improve on the rediff poll. The #twitterNREGA people have yet to get on the ball.
April 7, 2013
by Atanu Dey
23 Comments
Most people realize after a little bit of observing and thinking that terrorism is not a matter of poverty. In most cases, the terrorists themselves proclaim their motives quite loudly which does not ever include poverty. The poor may have legitimate grievances against the others but they don’t resort to the indiscriminate killing of people as a result. Every act of terror is ideologically motivated and in most cases it is an intolerant vicious desert religion which promises terrorists rewards in their afterlife. But there are people who are either afraid or too stupid to acknowledge that; instead they blame poverty — and therefore the poor — for terrorism. That is insanely immoral.
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April 5, 2013
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
April 4, 2013
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
So the big news is that the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) had a meeting which was addressed by the appointed prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the son of his Italian madam, the half-Italian Mr. Raul Vinci who goes by the name Rahul Gandhi.
Referring to Raul/Rahul as “Pappu” is becoming popular. The name pappu (pronounced ‘pup-poo’) has a passing resemblance to ‘puppy’ but in many parts of north India, pappu is a term of endearment used for very immature little boys. Continue Reading →
March 29, 2013
by Atanu Dey
47 Comments
It is time once again to lay that old chestnut to rest. The specious claim that the IITs are better than some of the best universities in the world is beyond slack-jawed silliness. I am reminded of that by this tweet by my friend @KiranKS
Infosys founder Narayana Murthy’s son wanted to do Computers at IIT. But didn’t get within 200th rank. Went to Cornell. Ivy League a backup!
— Kiran Kumar S (@KiranKS) March 29, 2013
March 26, 2013
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Sanjeev Sabhlok, Exec Dir of India Policy Institute, is having a conference on “How can India’s governance become world class?” in New Delhi on 13-14th April. Shri Gurcharan Das will give the inaugural address and Sanjeev Sabhlok will present the keynote address. Details are here (pdf). Who should attend?
All Indian citizens who want to learn about good governance principles and practices which are commonplace in the West, but almost entirely absent in India, are a suitable audience for this conference. Participants will learn about a range of intuitive (and some not-so-intuitive) solutions to India’s problems, enabling them to directly address such issues if they have a direct capacity to implement such solutions, or demand that such issues be addressed in India.
I regret that I won’t be able to attend as I am not in New Delhi on those dates. I wish IPI and Sanjeev great success in the event and the mission that he is on.