January 31, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
I have been promoting that idea — that the solution to rural development lies in urban planning — for a few years. The RISC model (Rural Infrastructure & Services Commons) is about planting the seeds of in situ urbanization in … Continue reading
January 30, 2009
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
Although I had planned to, I will not be attending the “5th National Conference on Electoral and Political Reforms” of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). It’s happening in Mumbai, and I alas, am in Pune. My colleague Rajesh Jain … Continue reading
January 30, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
Item: Chyetanya Kunte wrote a blog post “Shoddy Journalism” on Nov 27th, 2008. I cannot give you a link because he has since removed it from his blog (although you may be able to read it on google cache). He … Continue reading
January 29, 2009
by Atanu Dey
22 Comments
Governance matters because how a society functions is clearly determined by how it chooses to govern itself. I have my doubts about democracy as a good form for organizing society — smacks of majority rule — but it’s better than … Continue reading
January 28, 2009
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
“Death to the (Zionist) Juice” urges the demonstrator in London. Why? Because it’s written in the holy book.
January 27, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
From a review of the movie Slumdog Millionaire by Dennis Lim in Slate: A slippery and self-conscious concoction, Slumdog has it both ways. It makes a show of being anchored in a real-world social context, then asks to be read … Continue reading
January 25, 2009
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
At the intersection of high-tech gadgets and public spending on education in poor countries lies XO, the machine from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project led by Nicholas Negroponte. I have been a critic of the program right from … Continue reading
January 25, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
“HUBBLESITE . . . Out of the ordinary, out of this world” has pictures. I could spend days checking them out and indeed I have. I am sharing a small collection from there: “Astronomers Select Top Ten Most Amazing Pictures … Continue reading
January 25, 2009
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
I get to watch TV news only occasionally, mostly at airports, hotels and while visiting friends. Today at my friend’s place in Delhi, I woke up to TV news. It was wall-to-wall coverage of Dr Manmohan Singh’s heart surgery and … Continue reading
January 23, 2009
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
Netaji Bose was born on this day in 1897. When and where he died is a mystery. The airbrushing of his image from the consciousness of Indians bears testimony to M K Gandhi’s success in crushing his opponents. Gandhi appointed … Continue reading
January 21, 2009
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Your turn to say what you will in the comments. You need to be registered to comment but fortunately now you can register yourself within a few seconds. And here’s a poll. Just for the heck of it. How long … Continue reading
January 20, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
I am off to Delhi for a few days. I hope Jet Airways — the same airline that ferried me back and forth to San Francisco just a few weeks ago — gets me there from Pune uneventfully tomorrow afternoon. … Continue reading
January 20, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Institutions as Ideas Institutions defined most generally are essentially ideas. They are big ideas, ideas that are persistent and which have a profound effect on the populations that evolve, and adopt, the ideas. Examples of powerful institutions – therefore powerful … Continue reading
January 19, 2009
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
Have you had any economics courses in school? ( surveys)
January 19, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
This year, 2009 CE, marks the 200th birth anniversary of Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882), and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured … Continue reading
January 15, 2009
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
Worth recalling from that Hindi song: kaviraj kahey na yeh taaj rahey na yeh raaj rahey na yeh raaj gharana preet aur preet kay geet rahey kabhi loot saka na koi yeh khajana mera naam raju gharana aanaam behti hai … Continue reading
January 15, 2009
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
An Air India ad: “If you fly with us, your wife flies free.” Seen today on a huge billboard on the road from Pune to Mumbai. The generous explanation is that Air India perhaps does not know that everyone does … Continue reading
January 15, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
One in every ten people lived in urban areas a century ago. Now, for the first time ever, most people live in cities. By 2050, the United Nations projects, almost three-quarters of the world’s population will call urban areas home. … Continue reading
January 15, 2009
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Gaurav Srivastava wants Shri Arun Shourie to be the BJP’s candidate for prime minister. He believes that the core constituency of BJP — the urban middle-class voters — are not particularly impressed with Shri Advani. It would be good if … Continue reading
January 14, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Upstream and Downstream Choices It is fairly well understood that information and communications technologies (ICT) tools expand choice. We all have access to a very large set of information and have the freedom to choose what we want to read, … Continue reading