USSR was a superpower. It split into 15 countries in 1991.
What was once Yugoslavia is now seven countries.
India can end up like USSR and Yugoslavia.
Large parts of India are not under government control. There is trouble in Kashmir. Different groups extort money in North-East. They call it taxes. Muivah who wants sovereignty for Nagalim is given z plus security. Many districts are under Naxal control. Separatists are active in Punjab.
On 5/7/2010 there was Bharat Bandh. Parties belonging to Left Front, NDA and some others had called for bandh. The bandh was in protest against rise in prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG. Many leaders courted arrest. Buses were damaged.
The bandh was supposed to be for the common man of India. Bandhs disrupt life and do not benefit common man. There is loss of day’s work. People who had to travel long distance by bus, car, train or plane suffer. Some book tickets months in advance. Many people do not get medical attention and sometimes people die.
There is a demand in Tamil Nadu to make Tamil the language of Madras High Court. According to the constitution of India English is the language of High Courts and Supreme Court. Making Tamil the language of Madras High Court requires constitutional amendment.
If UPA decides to go for constitutional amendment to make Tamil the language of Madras High Court other states will demand their languages be made languages of their High Courts. The amendment will have to apply all High Courts.
On 25/6/2010 the government of India increased prices of petrol by Rs.3.50, diesel by Rs.2/- kerosene by Rs.3/- per litre and LPG by Rs.35/-per cylinder. Petrol and diesel prices were decontrolled.
The increase has come at a time when food price inflation is about 18%.
The increase was avoidable. For the week ended 18/6/2010 foreign exchange reserves increased by $3 billion. If the government had not increased foreign exchange reserves the dollar value would have gone down making oil import cost less and there would have been no need for price increase.
Corporal punishment to students has become a controversial subject. There have been instances of excessive beating by teachers, causing injury and sometimes death. TV channels reported it for a day, some discussed it for a few minutes and everything was forgotten. A boy from La Martiniere in Calcutta died in February. After three and half months the death became controversial.
After the verdict on Bhopal gas leak a blame game has been going on. Most of the time it has been about Warren Anderson. Who let Anderson go? Why was he not extradited? These questions have been discussed ad nauseam. M. K. Rasgotra, then foreign secretary, has spoken. Warren Anderson was given an assurance that he will not be arrested in India. After his arrest USA’s charge de affairs contacted M. K. Rasgotra. M. K. Rasgotra contacted cabinet secretary and home ministry and Anderson was free. Rajiv Gandhi was then foreign minister. Narasimha Rao was then home minister. Both are dead. Arjun Singh, then chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, kept quiet for many days. Then he said he did not release Anderson.
On 7/6/2010 CJM Mohan P. Tiwari delivered judgment in Bhopal gas leak case. All the accused were sentenced to two years imprisonment and were released on bail. Many say justice is not done. The gas leak happened in December 1984. CBI filed the chargesheet in 1987. In 1996 the Supreme Court reduced the culpable homicide…
Some colleges in Bangalore have 50% of seats for boys and 50% of seats for girls. This year girls performed better than boys in school board examinations. As a result cut off marks for girls are higher than for boys. Many girls are upset. Many women say this is discrimination. A girl’s father has filed…
BCCI has refused to send cricket teams to Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou in November 2010. Men will have a cricket series with New Zealand at that time. Women do not have any series but BCCI has not agreed to send women’s team also. Some have called BCCI’s decision a national disgrace. Some…
National Highway 39 in Manipur has been blocked by some Nagas since 11/4/2010. Prices have shot up in Manipur. Life has become difficult. Manipur government has done nothing to stop the blockade. Indian government has done nothing to stop the blockade. National Highway 53 also came under blockade. However some suppliers were brought through under…