Delhi Guardian

The brouhaha surrounding the Baba Ram Dev incident has disturbed many around the country. This has unfortunately diverted attention from the core issue of rampant corruption. It is imperative that, at this critical juncture, we stay focused on the central issue of corruption and don’t allow ourselves to be distracted by the hullabaloo. News channels are incessantly airing the Ram Dev story, and seem hell-bent on digging deeper into his past. The guru certainly has doubtful antecedents and for all you know he might have engaged in skullduggery to expand his yoga empire. But that is for the overburdened CBI to investigate. The police crackdown has been compared to the dreaded emergency during Mrs. Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister. Political parties have taken the opportunity to engage in recriminations. This turmoil seems to have diluted the force of the movement against corruption. Most agree that the government has been inept in dealing with the acute problem of...

The death of Osama Bin Laden has sent ripples across the globe. Governments around the world breathed a sigh of relief. The leader of the deadliest terrorist organization was finally put to rest after ten grueling years and billions of dollars spent to capture or kill him. The Indian government in a formal statement underscored the importance of eliminating terrorism stemming from Pakistan. For once the world knew that New Delhi was right all along. Pakistan is a sanctuary for terrorists and will continue to be one. I certainly can’t speak for the rest, but every time India’s terribly uninspiring leaders call upon Pakistan to put an end to terrorism ‘ emanating from its soil’ it gets me agitated. I distinctly remember the days after 26/11. Pranab Mukherjee, in an articulate and peremptory tone, gave stern warnings to Pakistan. If I remember correctly, his words were ‘ all options are open’ . The public was quite confident that India would take some serious action and ...