The Vivekean Times

The charges and counter charges between Kapil Mishra, Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP only reveal that there are no honest politicians in India today – only two-faced hypocrites. It is extremely foolish of the BJP and Congress to take a ‘holier than thou’ stance since they do not practice cleanliness in their electoral politics either. Yes, you're guilty even if you accept dirty money for your kin or party. If some politicians are still considered clean, it's usually due to the takeover of media houses, lack of evidence, U-turns of eye witnesses (with money changing hands), bungling or complicity of investigating agencies, or the existence of labyrinths (such as a network of shell companies) created to conceal the scams. Have you ever stopped to think why no political party is now asking for the full implementation of the Lokpal Act? Because it suits them all. Aam Aadmi fought for the Lokpal Act. The Congress and BJP promised to deliver on TV debates, but now all of t...

To say that the Jan Lok Pal movement is just an anti-corruption movement is an insult to our intelligence. It is an Anti-Congress movement propped by right-wing and left-wing fundamentalists attempting to topple the UPA government before the next elections or to further damage their credibility to enable the BJP to form the next government. Yes, the UPA government has failed miserably in curbing corruption and inflation but I still will not support this movement because of the following reasons: 1) It is a Political Movement and not a movement by civil society. With Shanti Bhushan (ex-law minister of Indian, a former BJP politician and RSS man), Swami Agnivesh (a Maoist representative), and Anupam Kher (Husband of high-level BJP functionary) promoting and participating in this movement, the Jan Lok Pal Movement is definitely a political movement. The high level of support of RSS activists and Maoists outside parliament and the BJP politicians inside parliament justify th...

In the aftermath of the powerful bomb blast at the Delhi High Court, the helpless Prime Minister of India solicited help from politicians and intellectuals by way of suggestions on how to tackle the menace of terrorism. Coincidentally, terrorism is one of the focal points of my book, “Rose Gardens and Minefields” wherein I accused the West of doing nothing against this menace while it grew from a small caterpillar to a huge, elusive butterfly. Here are a few suggestions that I can give the current government on this subject: 1) Hang all terrorists currently on death row (including Kasab) within the next three months and send a strong message to all terrorists. The Government would need considerable assistance from the President and the courts to achieve this deadline. 2) Frame a new terror law based on consensus between political parties, the judiciary and the civil society. Representatives of each of these sections must be involved in a drafting committee before it goes to the ...

To say that the Jan Lok Pal movement is just an anti-corruption movement is an insult to our intelligence. It is an Anti-Congress movement propped by right-wing and left-wing fundamentalists attempting to topple the UPA government before the next elections or to further damage their credibility to enable the BJP to form the next government. Yes, the UPA government has failed miserably in curbing corruption and inflation but I still will not support this movement because of the following reasons: 1) It is a Political Movement and not a movement by civil society. With Shanti Bhushan (ex-law minister of Indian, a former BJP politician and RSS man), Swami Agnivesh (a Maoist representative), and Anupam Kher (Husband of high-level BJP functionary) promoting and participating in this movement, the Jan Lok Pal Movement is definitely a political movement. The high level of support of RSS activists and Maoists outside parliament and the BJP politicians inside parliament justify this truth....

India was in deep financial crisis and facing a shameful default in the early 1990s when the ex-RBI governor, Dr Manmohan Singh became the Finance Minister of the newly elected Government. He brought in a wave of sweeping reforms that saved the face and economy of the nation. It was due to his astute policies that privatisation, liberalisation,deregulation and tax reforms took place. The economy was saved and India grew to become one of the strongest economies in the world by 2007 with Dr. Manmohan at the helm as the Prime Minister of a Congress-led UPA coalition. Despite surviving the financial crisis of 2008, India has found itself in a soup with spiraling inflation (as faced by almost every other country on this planet) and large-scale corruption at every level of government and society. The 2G Telecom scandal and the Commonwealth scams have rocked the UPA government hard and it had almost sunk when Anna Hazare started his anti-corruption drive insisting on a Lok Pal bill draf...