Radia tapes

With the continuing exposé of the Niira Radia tapes, a question keeps popping up in my mind: who do we, the people, believe now? First we trusted the politicians in whose hands we entrusted our future, then the industrial giants on whom we relied for growth and, finally, the media which we believed would tell us the good and bad happenings in and around our country. 

The fresh set of leaked Radia tapes is a reconfirmation of the conspiratorial role played by the captains of industry through their agents and lobbyists to influence the government. But for the leakage of the tapes, the cosy media-corporate relationship would have remained under wraps. Society would have continued to believe that the elite classes have achieved what they have by rendering service to the nation. The Supreme Court should take cognisance of the disclosures while dealing with Ratan Tata's plea to protect his privacy.

The Top Scams in India

This is the season of scams and the biggest ever corruption cases in India have been unearthed more recently. So, we decided to dig deep to see which scams were the biggest and most damaging to the country and its citizens alike.

In our daily life, most of us must have been a witness to or a victim of the corruption thriving in some or the other part of the country. It could be in the form of a taxi-driver manipulating the meter to jack-up the reading or a government officer taking bribery to promptly transfer your file to the next department or even yourself offering bribe to a traffic police on breaking a signal.

An average Indian citizen is hard working and diligent, but it is the people in charge of the system (The Babu’s) or with whom the power lays, that act as a cancer spreading the venom, slowing down progress and what all not. But, somewhere down the line, we ourselves are responsible for allowing and being taken for a ride by these people, aren’t we?

However, it is during a multi-thousand crore scam, that a tax-payer actually realizes the heartburn of being cheated from his valued contribution of funds towards the development and well-being of the nation. But, that’s what a scam, be it big or small, means – the act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme or action.

The public has a right to know

Thanks to WikiLeaks and ‘Radiagate,' a significant treasure trove of classified or privately held information with the potential to affect the lives of millions of people has been brought into the public domain.both provide a much-needed glimpse into the real world — especially the real and often illegitimate interests that lie hidden behind the diplomatic niceties, political correctness, and corporate PR that dominate international and domestic messaging.The leaks we have seen and those that are yet to come are unlikely to alter any of fundamental balances.


We learn, for example, that America frets over not just what Beijing or Moscow thinks or does on a crucial question like Iran. Ankara and Berlin are also seen as potentially dissonant hothouses. American helplessness is writ large in the cables we have seen from Kabul and Islamabad. We know, for example, that Washington was worried that radioactive material in nuclear power stations in Pakistan could fall into the hands of terrorists but that Pakistani authorities refused to give the United States access to a research reactor for fear that local media coverage of the removal of highly enriched uranium would fuel public suspicions about an American takeover of Pakistani nuclear weapons.


 So also is the news that the U.S. is seeking to spy on senior United Nations officials. Apart from a Hillary Clinton cable referring to India, Japan, Germany, and Brazil as “self-appointed front-runners” for a permanent seat in an expanded U.N. Security Council and a cable from Ankara confirming that Turkey kept India out of a regional meeting on Afghanistan in deference to Pakistani sensitivities, there is little in the disclosures so far to discomfit New Delhi. But when the 3,000-odd dispatches sent by the U.S. Embassy in India are published over the next 48 hours, it is possible that some or many feathers will end up ruffled.


The Niira Radia tapes have only confirmed what we have known all along about dubious links among corporate giants, mediapersons and politicians. That policies are influenced by various interests and subjective decisions are made by the government has always been evident. What comes as a rude shock is the existence of a well-entrenched system that has perfected the art of enforcing subjective decisions. Mediapersons can no longer take the moral high ground while anchoring issues of national importance.

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farmers from Jalgaon travelling to Boston and speaking at Harvard University

The report of two farmers from Jalgaon travelling to Boston and speaking at Harvard University's Business School on drip irrigation was moving. I congratulate The Media on giving coverage to the farmers, Hemchandra Patil and Rajendra Patil. Ordinary people like them indeed contribute a lot towards the flow of knowledge. However I wish it could have been the lead story in the front page, which need not always belong to politicians. Can't an ordinary citizen, too, get some prime space in the media?

It is now clear that Indian farmers too are capable of doing something innovative and constructive in the field of agriculture. The presentation by the farmers from Maharashtra is a classic example of the fact that knowledge is universal and can originate from any part of the world. We should honour Hemchandra Patil and Rajendra Patil as we honour sportspersons who bring laurels to the country in internationals events.

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Bihar Election 2010

After five years Nitish Kumar has grown bigger and bigger.There was no other option in front of people of Bihar.So Nitish got the "crown" and the 'rule" in absence of any option with the help of some development slogan.

Out of the 49 muslim seats in Bihar; NDA wins 36. CON party gets 1. A big change in the Indian Politics. Nitish Kumar finally proves that what people want is development and progress...not some silly divisiveness and casteism...way to go! Also Congress' bankrupt dynastic politics has been ruthlessly exposed in Bihar' Couldn't agree more.

I don't know if it is the "Golden Age" of Bihar or not, but it's definitely the Golden Age of BJP-JDU government. Clearly schools and colleges will have to be at the centre of the next 5 years in Bihar. Education,water,sanitation,girl empowerment & employment should be given due care.

all Politicians shud now get d message what works-sincere attmpt at anticorruption & Development always wins:)Hereafter, jokes will be about the Lalus and the Congress and not about Bihar :)

Black money trail: 'India drained of Rs 20 lakh crore during 1948-2008

Given the rampant looting of public funds in our country, it is hardly surprising that money amounting to half-a-trillion dollars has illegally flowed out of the country since 1948.This money is indeed the product of corruption, bribery, kickbacks, criminal activities and tax evasions, as pointed out by the Global Financial Integrity.


The government has not demonstrated any great urgency to go after the crooks and bring back at least part of the money. While international collaboration is urgently called for to check cross-border flow of black money, national governments must do their part by reforming domestic laws and strengthening enforcement.


 It is alarming to note that a substantial chunk of GDP, which could have been used for paying our external debts, alleviating poverty and developing our economy, has been stashed away in foreign countries.


Was not the country given to understand time and again, by our India Shining brigade, that the extermination of the licence raj regulatory mechanisms and reduction of taxes for the rich would eliminate the parallel economy by dis-incentivising tax evasion? Why has the magic theory of lesser-the-taxes-higher-the-taxpayer-compliance worked in the reverse direction?

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Adarsh Society

Apparently India has fallen victim to a scam by Adarsh Society One thing is for sure... Adarsh Society scam is definitely going to cloud cwg corruption sensation. We are being habituated to it every new day , anew scam.

Cwg corruption  then  Adarsh Society scam, so many scams , we could have a dedicated corruptions news channel ICN. Everyone seems to have forgotten Cwg corruption, thanks to Adarsh Society scam. New heroes makes you forget the immortals of the past. Adarsh Society has done same for the Cwg.

Kalmadi at CWGames and now AshokChavan in Adarshsociety scam. What's common in the two??? Congress. If all the politicians involved in the Adarsh Society scam leave office; Maharastra will be completely devoid of congresswallahs!

What exactly is meant by 'offer to resign'?  Have never quite understood that! can media do this country a favor- people in these Scam should not be let off, please take this to the finish..!!

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