Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg NewsGasoline drips into a container at a Bharat Petroleum Corporation gas station in New Delhi, May 20, 2012.As the Indian rupee continues to fall in global markets, many respected analysts contend that the weakening currency signals the failure of the economic policies of the Indian government. In an op-ed column last weekend in The Business Standard, a leading business daily in India, Shankar Acharya said: “The real cause of the rupee’s weakness is the relentless deterioration in our economic policies in recent years. A falling rupee is simply a symptom of the underlying disease: unsound economic policies.” Mr. Acharya was part of the team that helped design the original economic reforms of 1991 and is a former chief economic adviser to the Indian ... Continue reading →
Myanmar's about-face: 5 recent reforms Since 1962, Myanmar's dictatorship has jailed the opposition, beat up monks, denied aid to disaster victims, and run scorched-earth campaigns against ethnic minorities. That may be changing, however. Here are five key changes the regime has made in just a matter of months: - Simon Roughneen, Correspondent 3. Calling for peace Myanmar’s Army has long been accused of widespread human rights violations in ethnic minority regions, a vast arc stretching from the Myanmar-Bangladesh frontier in the west to the border with Thailand to the southeast. Two areas of fighting have been particularly bloody. Myanmar’s Army and the Kachin Independence Army, a 10,000-strong militia seeking increased local autonomy for the largely-Christian Kachin, one of the larger of Myanmar’s 130-odd minorities, have ... Continue reading →
Motive for the attack appeared to be the ASI’s testimony in the court against the accused in the case. LAHORE: A policeman was beaten badly by a group of lawyers after testifying in a habeas corpus petition at the Lahore High Court on Tuesday. Khalid, an assistant sub inspector (ASI) from Gujranwala, was attacked as he left the courtroom of Justice Anwarul Haq by Advocates Rafique and Shahid Iqbal. Accompanied by dozens of other lawyers, they punched and kicked the ASI and tore his uniform. LHC security personnel intervened to rescue the policeman. The motive for the attack appeared to be the ASI’s testimony in the court against the accused in the case. Justice Haq summoned bar representatives after hearing of the incident. Lahore High ... Continue reading →
Consider the view from New Delhi at the beginning of the previous century's final decade. In 1991 India was a nation of 843 million people and five million telephone lines. A billion dollars separated it from bankruptcy. The Indian map had rarely looked so vulnerable to another cartographic revision. If the flames of separatism in Punjab seemed to be simmering, the secessionist strife in Kashmir was just peaking. Hindu nationalists, a fringe force in Indian politics a mere decade ago, now occupied the bulk of opposition seats in parliament, poised to banish the secularism that had been the foundational basis of Indian nationalism. India was holding its 10th general election against this backdrop, and it was turning out to be the most violent in the ... Continue reading →
Consider the view from New Delhi at the beginning of the previous century's final decade. In 1991 India was a nation of 843 million people and five million telephone lines. A billion dollars separated it from bankruptcy. The Indian map had rarely looked so vulnerable to another cartographic revision. If the flames of separatism in Punjab seemed to be simmering, the secessionist strife in Kashmir was just peaking. Hindu nationalists, a fringe force in Indian politics a mere decade ago, now occupied the bulk of opposition seats in parliament, poised to banish the secularism that had been the foundational basis of Indian nationalism. India was holding its 10th general election against this backdrop, and it was turning out to be the most violent in the ... Continue reading →
Namas Bhojani for The New York TimesStudents prepare for summer placements at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, in this November 10, 2008 file photo.Dear Graduates and Post-Graduates,This is your new employer. We are an Indian company, a bank, a consulting firm, a multinational corporation, a public sector utility and everything in between. We are the givers of your paycheck, of the brand name you covet, of the references you will rely on for years to come and of the training that will shape your professional path.Millions of you have recently graduated or will graduate over the next few weeks. Many of you are probably feeling quite proud – you’ve landed your first job, discussions around salaries and job titles are over, and you’re ... Continue reading →
Consider the view from New Delhi at the beginning of the previous century's final decade. In 1991 India was a nation of 843 million people and five million telephone lines. A billion dollars separated it from bankruptcy. The Indian map had rarely looked so vulnerable to another cartographic revision. If the flames of separatism in Punjab seemed to be simmering, the secessionist strife in Kashmir was just peaking. Hindu nationalists, a fringe force in Indian politics a mere decade ago, now occupied the bulk of opposition seats in parliament, poised to banish the secularism that had been the foundational basis of Indian nationalism. India was holding its 10th general election against this backdrop, and it was turning out to be the most violent in the ... Continue reading →
