On 26 June, I watched a webcast streamed from a classroom of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, on a panel discussion on the draft IIM Bill designed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been giving speeches overseas about the post-independence era. His “Scam India to Skill India” slogan, recited in Canada, is perhaps one of the worst ones coined by him. Most of his speeches condemn, directly or indirectly, Jawaharlal Nehru’s legacy.
The recent ban on cow slaughter in Maharashtra, expanded to include both cows and bulls, has caused a commotion in several quarters. This is already affecting the leather industry from Mumbai to Chennai.
I read the article of Meenal Annachhatre on commercialisation of Yoga (“Has the Yo Gone Out of Yoga?”, EPW, 29 November 2014) with great interest. I agree with the analysis but do not agree with the implied intentions. Here I would like to draw a parallel from Indian classical music.
I was pained to read the editorial urging the Prime Minster of India, Narendra Modi, to speak out against those who are dividing the present India ("Will Narendra Modi Speak Out?", EPW, 13 December 2014).
The creation of Vidarbha is a long- standing demand of the people of the six districts of that region. When I was studying the cotton sector in Vidarbha during 1977-81, I had an opportunity to see in depth all the districts of Vidarbha and enjoy the hospitality of the local people.
I am not sure if the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) chief has contemplated the implications of his aadesh (order) to ban the meat exports from India, this in his annual address on 3 October 2014 on the day of the Vijayadasami festival.
I am shocked to read the editorial “Modi and Modified Crops” (26 July 2014) on the subject of genetically-modified (GM) crops, which comes close to saying that even research on GM crops should be postponed and virtually banned.
EPW’s editorial “Anger, Aspiration, Apprehension” (24 May 2014) has correctly raised serious concerns about the prime minister elect from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Narendra Modi.
During my stay from 27 February to 3 March 2014 in Myanmar (Burma), I met several traders dealing in pulse export. My interest stemmed from the fact that India has a huge deficit in pulses even as it has a surplus in cereals.
In one of his last articles in EPW, the China scholar, late G P Deshpande (“Celebrating Nehru? Well, Almost”, EPW, 15 December 2012) had informed readers that China is opening some kind of museum on Jawaharlal Nehru.
