Bunch of Thoughts

Come budget day, everyone turns into an armchair economist. I admit that my knowledge of policy making is limited but here is my take away from the Budget... Bold - This budget goes where no budget has gone before..... a) Universal Social Security - A comprehensive(health + life + accident cover)  social security program covering a population of a billon people... think about this , we will have more people covered under social security than US and Europe put together.  b) Fight against Corruption - A new law that brings back black money, confiscates property purchased with black money, 10 of rigorous imprisonment for defaulters... In addition a law to confiscate benami property locally in India. This budget does more to fight corruption than any Lokpal bill  c) Focus on Entrepreneurship - Lower tax on businesses, low tax in income from royalties, changes in taxes to boost local production, there was never a better time in India for startups....Time i...

The earliest memory I have of a BJP karyakarta was of my mother''s colleague and friend called as Rajani aunty . Rajni aunty and her family were dedicated, committed karyakartas of the RSS, Jan Sangh and then the BJP.  Their commitment was so complete that they made every contribution they could - tan, man and dhan. Even in the 1980's when the BJP was a very young party, Rajani aunty and her family stood like a steady rock. When Vajpayee lost in the 1984 election, there were tears in her eyes. Rajani aunty used to work as a professor at the Sophia college in Mumbai. Once she asked a rather innocent question in the GK paper - "Who is the founder of the RSS ? ". The secular Catholic management took a very hard view and she was forced to quit her job. For 2 years she did not have a job but never once regretted her commitment to the ideology. Through her trials , she always stood by the Sangh. Her family for generations and decades stood by the Sangh no matte...

As the debate on conversion and re-conversion ( Ghar-Vapasi) continues, I looked back at the works of intellectuals who had analysed and commented on the issue at length. Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi have written extensively on the issue of conversions and re-conversions and have made some very interesting observations. This blog attempts to put forth views of Bapu on the topic. Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sanghralaya have published a booklet called as "Gandhiji on Religion Conversion" and I plan to present a few of Bapu's quotes from the booklet and let the reader make their own conclusions ... I present 5 quotes from Bapu  - "Christian missionaries have been doing valuable service for generations, but in my humble opinion, their work suffers because at the end of it they expect conversion of these simple people to Christianity ...How very nice it would be if the missionaries rendered humanitarian service without the ulterior aim of conversion."   ...