Madhu Kishwar writing in OutlookIndia.com says, “I fail to understand why almost every commentator, every TV anchor, every editorial writer feels compelled to pay ritual obeisance to the “personal honesty and integrity” of Dr Manmohan Singh.” I note that Madhu qualifies the statement with “almost every.” As a blogger, I have been insisting that the appointed prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh is despicably dishonest man, and that he will be remembered for his venality. That he is getting a free pass right now can only be because Indians are not …

“The Citizen at War” is my article in the July issue of Pragati–The Indian National Interest Review. (Click on the cover image to open a pdf version of the magazine.) Below the fold is the text of the article, for the record.

This is the weekend edition — a round up of things that have caught my eye over the week. As it happens, there appears to be a theme: how the powerful have fallen. Three tales about three entities — two people and one firm — tell about their descent from rarefied heights to close to the mean sea level. They are about Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Rajat Gupta, and Infosys.

Dr Manmohan Singh is a despicably dishonest man. The Supreme Court is slowly realizing that.

[Hat tip: Santosh.]

The Economist’s article, “Too much information: How to cope with data overload,” deals with information overload. (Hat tip Prasanna Viswanathan @prasannavishy for the link.) For a few years I have been concerned about it since I have a very low threshold for information. In 2005, I pondered the matter in a number of blog posts. I realize the irony in writing yet another blog post on information overload, but there you have it. The Economist article underlines my fears.

It is widely rumored that India is a vibrant democracy but one wonders if the rumors are wild exaggerations with little bearing to reality. I could be wrong but doesn’t the idea of a democracy include having an effective opposition to the ruling party? Or is it still a democracy if it is a one-party rule which does whatever suits its narrow interests because there is no opposition to provide the checks and balances that are needed to assure that the ruling party does not use its rule to enrich …

I have been neglecting my blog because I have a lot to do, what with the teaching and other things. Fortunately, the long 4th of July weekend has given me time to take a breather and I hope to write a few posts today and tomorrow. Do tell what’s on your mind. So while I go and write something sensible, here’s a link to Rajan Parrikar’s photo blog. He’s once again gone photographing in Iceland and the results are phenomenal. Samples below the fold.