November 7, 2012
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
If you thought that I was about to quote Alexis de Toqueville, you were wrong. I quote H. L. Mencken. “As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward … Continue reading
January 11, 2012
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
Scientific American Mind (dated Jan 10th) has a piece titled, “Voter Turnout Is Tied to Sense of Identity.” Unfortunately it is behind a subscription wall and therefore unavailable to me. But the short summary (reproduced here below the fold) is … Continue reading
January 10, 2012
by Atanu Dey
23 Comments
Who you are determines what you do. That’s not the most incisive of observations but one’s identity is inextricably mixed up with what motivates one. Consequently identity does have predictive and explanatory power regarding the behavior of people. Naturally political … Continue reading
December 20, 2011
by Atanu Dey
12 Comments
But that’s too generic a description. Besides being too general a description, democracy is hardly a comprehensive description of the Indian government. Surely, the democracy found in say Switzerland is quite different from what’s in India. We need better descriptors … Continue reading
July 3, 2011
by Atanu Dey
22 Comments
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 … Continue reading
March 16, 2011
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
US President Dwight D. Eisenhower had warned of the danger of the military-industrial complex 50 years ago in Jan 1961. Too bad the Americans did not take the warning seriously enough to do something about it. Here’s a short text … Continue reading
November 5, 2010
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
It’s been a while since I contributed to “The Indian National Interest Review: Pragati.” I had to write a piece. I didn’t want the editor, Mr Nitin Pai, to get mad at me. It’s always best to be on his … Continue reading
May 4, 2010
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
Thus spake Heinlein. “The America of my time line is a laboratory example of what can happen to democracies, what has eventually happened to all perfect democracies throughout all histories.”
February 7, 2010
by Atanu Dey
16 Comments
The news item is titled “Subramanian Swamy wants ATM-like receipts after casting vote through EVMs.” As Baldrick would have said, “That’s a very cunning plan, my lord.” And as Blackadder would have replied, “It is also bollocks.”
January 20, 2010
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
In today’s Business Standard, Pranab Bardhan in his article “India — A case of bad governance“, makes a number of very important points.
March 29, 2009
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
It’s been a while since I caught up with my contrarian friend CJ. I asked him what he’s been up to. I nearly dropped the phone when he said that he read in the newspapers that Indian elections were announced. … Continue reading
March 24, 2009
by Atanu Dey
10 Comments
So it’s time to unveil the IT policy that I had been promising for a while. I have already laid a bit of ground work in the previous three posts — “BJP’s IT for All“, “A Rational IT Policy: The … Continue reading
March 9, 2009
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
Elections are the most visible of the external trappings of the institution called democracy. Democracy, like other important institutions that support a liberal civil society, has an inside structure — a deep back-end — that is not visible. What you … Continue reading
March 6, 2009
by Atanu Dey
11 Comments
We are urban Indians and we number around 400 million. Our aspirations are principally related to working hard for a living, caring for our families, educating our children, and being good and responsible citizens. As an urban Indian, I will … 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 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
August 28, 2008
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
Newly educated and semi-educated classes – social or intellectual – seek positions in government bureaucracies or social advocacy rather than in industry and commerce where competence is inarguably measured at the end of every business quarter. The growth of bureaucracies … Continue reading
July 19, 2008
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
Anyone familiar with the disastrous state of India should not be overly surprised to learn that the Indian parliament has an overwhelmingly greater percentage of criminals than the general population. How effectively a nation functions and how successful it is … Continue reading
July 18, 2008
by Atanu Dey
7 Comments
Is this the much tom-tommed Indian democracy? The convicted 6 who may decide UPA’s fate: Among those who hold the key to the survival or fall of the government on July 22 are six jailed MPs, some convicted on serious … Continue reading
June 5, 2008
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
I don’t know who Swami Ramdev is. I have not seen him, read him, or heard him. My knowledge of who he is is limited to what I read about him in this Rediff article, “Swami Ramdev attacks the political … Continue reading