Rani Mukerji plays a journalist in Bombay Talkies

After No One Killed Jessica, Rani Mukerji is set to don the garb of a journalist once again for Bombay Talkies. The film is a bouquet of four stories directed by different directors – Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar and Dibakar Banerjee. It is an ode to 100 years of Indian cinema.

The story directed by Karan features Rani, Randeep Hooda and Saqib Saleem. Both Karan and Rani have been best friends ever since the actor made her debut in the film industry with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and have shared a long professional relationship.

“Rani will be essaying the role of a journalist in the movie. She is paired opposite Randeep. The duo are sharing screen space for the first time,” the spokesperson of film said in a statement. Added the source: “Rani was briefed on her character nuances by Karan. She effortlessly got into her character.”

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Congress leaders ask FM to raise IT exemption limit

Increasing subsidised cooking gas cylinders from nine to 12, more jobs, curbing price rise and providing income tax relief to the salaried class were some of the wishes Congress leaders shared with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday during his pre-budget consultations, said party leaders.

"Issues like farm sector, minorities, tribal development, education and infrastructure sector were raised. Out of the 46 leaders present, 32, including Chidamabaram, spoke," Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters after the two hour long meeting.

Briefing the leaders, Chidambaram told the leaders that the Indian economy was undergoing a difficult period and the global recession has impacted the growth rate.

He said former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had tried to arrest the decline in the Indian economy in 2008-09 through a financial stimulus.

"Chidambaram highlighted that the fiscal deficit has to be controlled," said a Congress leader who was present in the meeting.

Senior leader Ajit Jogi talked about tribal development and the need to push development projects in the Maoist-affected areas.

General secretary Oscar Fernandes wanted more gas reserves to be found to reduce India's dependence on oil imports.

Suggestions about increasing the budgets for minority welfare, child welfare and education development departments were also made.

General secretary Jagdish Tytler stressed the government should focus on creating more employment opportunities with an eye on the 2014 general elections.

Demands like a rail coach factory in Jammu and Kashmir to generate local employment and focused development of the usually neglected north eastern region were also made during the meeting, said the sources.

Some leaders also wanted spending on social sector and flagship programmes to be increased.

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A Humble Snack Gets to Shine - Almond Tikki

Ziya’s almond tikki.

MUMBAI — When Vineet Bhatia was a hotel management student in New Delhi in the 1980s, he would regularly snack on aloo tikki at local street stalls.

“It was the cheapest thing you could eat: chickpeas and potatoes,” says the Mumbai-born chef, “and it was absolutely divine.”

Mr. Bhatia elevates this north Indian roadside staple at Ziya, a restaurant in Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel that he has managed since 2010. The result is the almond tikki, a dish that combines hot and cold, sweet and spicy, crisp and soft. “It’s something that tickles your palate,” says the 45-year-old chef.

His blend of traditional Indian flavors and contemporary Western technique has made him the first Indian chef to earn a Michelin star, first at Zaika in 2001, then at Rasoi in 2006, the London restaurant he still helms.

Here is how Mr. Bhatia’s almond tikki comes together:

The patties: In keeping with the original recipe, humble mashed potatoes are the central ingredient. In Mr. Bhatia’s version, however, the potatoes are boiled in water flavored with turmeric, cumin and salt. He adds green peas to the mash, along with more cumin, garlic, ginger and fresh coriander, before making them into burger-sized patties.

Almond flakes: The patties are coated with almonds, not an ingredient you’d find in the classic street-side aloo tikki. Inspired by almond crusts on Western-style chicken and fish dishes, Mr. Bhatia says he wanted to make the patties crispy. “All these textures are very important for the palate,” he says.

Street food essentials: Spicy chickpeas and yogurt are the staple accompaniments to roadside snacks in north India, and they’re part of Mr. Bhatia’s dish too. The chickpeas are cooked with tomatoes, garlic and ginger. Before serving, he adds onions, chopped coriander and a squeeze of lemon. The yogurt, which coats the patties, is sweetened with sugar and, in Mr. Bhatia’s twist, a dash of ground cardamom.

Chutney sorbet: Rather than serve a typical thick, tamarind chutney, Mr. Bhatia lightens things up with a sorbet. He cooks tamarind with jaggery, an unrefined palm sugar, as well as masala spices for over an hour. The solution is strained, reduced over heat into a thick custard, then churned in an ice-cream maker.

Final touches: The almond-crusted patty, covered with sweetened yogurt, is placed in the middle of the plate and garnished with chickpeas around it. The dish is then topped by a scoop of the sweet and tangy sorbet. The question Mr. Bhatia wants guests to ask is: “How is the sorbet on top of the hot cake but still not melting?” The answer lies in the papdi, a thin fried chip, which separates the two.

Already a more complex mix of flavors, textures and temperatures than the street version, the towering presentation is also prettier than classic aloo tikki, which is traditionally served in disposable plates made of dry leaves. “This is all designed to please the senses,” says Mr. Bhatia.

Ziya, The Oberoi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road, Nariman Point

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Culture of India

The Jataka tales from Ajanta Caves.

The culture of India refers to the way of life of the people of India. India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food, and customs differ from place to place within the country. The Indian culture, often labelled as an amalgamation of several cultures, spans across the Indian subcontinent and includes traditions that are several millennia old. Many elements of India's diverse cultures, such as Indian religions, yoga, and Indian cuisine, have had a profound impact across the world.

Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript

There are two major subcultural variations within India, which evolved mainly by contact with Muslim powers: North Indian States were influenced by the medieval Indo-Persian culture, exemplified by its musical, culinary and architectural designs such as the Hindustani classical music and the Taj Mahal, while the culture of South India developed largely independent of foreign influences — three of the four languages classified as classical languages of India belong to the Dravidian language family, namely Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.

India's diversity has inspired many writers to pen their perceptions of the country's culture. These writings paint a complex and often conflicting picture of the culture of India.

According to industry consultant Eugene M. Makar, for example, traditional Indian culture is defined by a relatively strict social hierarchy. He also mentions that from an early age, children are reminded of their roles and places in society.This is reinforced, Makar notes, by the way many believe gods and spirits have an integral and functional role in determining their life. Several differences such as religion divide the culture. However, a far more powerful division is the traditional Hindu bifurcation into non-polluting and polluting occupations. Strict social taboos have governed these groups for thousands of years, claims Makar. In recent years, particularly in cities, some of these lines have blurred and sometimes even disappeared. He writes important family relations extend as far as gotra, the mainly patrilinear lineage or clan assigned to a Hindu at birth. In rural areas & sometimes in urban areas as well, it is common that three or four generations of the family live under the same roof. The patriarch often resolves family issues.


Others have a different perception of Indian culture. According to an interview with C.K. Prahalad by Des Dearlove, author of many best selling business books, modern India is a country of very diverse cultures with many languages, religions and traditions. Children begin by coping and learning to accept and assimilate in this diversity. Prahalad - who was born in India and grew up there - claimed, in the interview, that Indians, like everyone else in the world, want to be treated as unique, as individuals, want to express themselves and seek innovation. In another report, Nancy Lockwood of Society for Human Resource Management, the world's largest human resources association with members in 140 countries, writes that in the past two decades or so, social change in India is in dramatic contrast to the expectations from traditional Indian culture. These changes have led to Indian families giving education opportunities to girls, accepting women working outside home, pursuing a career, and opening the possibility for women to attain managerial roles in corporate India. Lockwood claims that change is slow, yet the scale of cultural change can be sensed from the fact that of India's 397 million workers, 124 million are now women. The issues in India with women empowerment are similar to those elsewhere in the worl^d

According to Amartya Sen, the India born Nobel Laureate in Economics, the culture of modern India is a complex blend of its historical traditions, influences from the effects of colonialism over centuries and current Western culture - both collaterally and dialectically. Sen observes that external images of India in the West often tend to emphasize the difference - real or imagined - between India and the West. There is a considerable inclination in the Western countries to distance and highlight the differences in Indian culture from the mainstream of Western traditions, rather than discover and show similarities. Western writers and media usually misses, in important ways, crucial aspects of Indian culture and traditions. The deep-seated heterogeneity of Indian traditions, in different parts of India, is neglected in these homogenized description of India. The perceptions of Indian culture, by those who weren't born and raised in India, tend to be one of at least three categories, writes Sen:

• Exoticist approach: it concentrates on the wondrous aspects of the culture of India. The focus of this approach of understanding Indian culture is to present the different, the strange and as Hegel put it, "a country that has existed for millennia in the imaginations of the Europeans."
• Magisterial approach: it assumes a sense of superiority and guardianship necessary to deal with India, a country that James Mill's imperialist history thought of as grotesquely primitive culture. While great many British observers did not agree with such views of India, and some non-British ones did, it is an approach that contributes to some confusion about the culture of India.
• Curatorial approach: it attempts to observe, classify and record the diversity of Indian culture in different parts of India. The curators do not look only for the strange, are not weighed by political priorities, and tend to be more free from stereotypes. The curatorial approach, nevertheless, have an inclination to see Indian culture as more special and extraordinarily interesting than it actually may be.

The curatorial approach, one inspired by systematic curiosity for the cultural diversity of India within India, is mostly absent.

Susan Bayly, in her book, observes that there is considerable dispute in India and Orientalist scholars on perceived Indian culture. She acknowledges that many dispute claims of pervasiveness of caste and strict social hierarchy in modern India. Bayly notes that much of the Indian subcontinent was populated by people for whom the formal distinctions of caste and strict social hierarchies were of only limited importance in their lifestyles.

According to Rosser, an American sociologist, Americans of South Asian origins feel the Western perception of the culture of India has numerous stereotypes. Rosser notes that the discourse in much of the United States about the culture of India is rarely devoted to independent India. People quickly make sweeping and flawed metaphysical assumptions about its religion and culture, but are far more circumspect when evaluating civil society and political culture in modern India. It is as if the value of South Asia resides only in its ancient contributions to human knowledge whereas its pathetic attempts to modernize or develop are to be winked at and patronized. Rosser conducted numerous interviews and summarized the comments. The study reports a stark contrast between Western perceptions of the culture of India, versus the direct experience of the interviewed people.

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The Tomb of Rani Asni - 1514, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Part elevation, details, perspective view plans etc., measured & drawn by architect G.S. Langford in 1882. Rani Sipri’s Mosque is situated to the southeast of the centre of the Ahmedabad city. This small mosque is also known as the Masjid-e-Nagira or Jewel of the Mosque due to its graceful construction, with slender minarets-again a blend of styles. It is said to have been commissioned in 1514 by the Rani Asni, wife of Sultan Mahmud Begara. She is also buried here. The square tomb with jali screens stands in front of the mosque.

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Bollywood: Dostana 2 goes all desi!

Karan Johar has finally given green signal to Dostana 2 and the film is expected to go on the floors this summer.

According to a report in a leading daily, John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan will reprise their roles from the previous film but the two will be seen in different avatars.

In Dostana 2, the duo will go all desi and from the beaches of Miami they will now be seen in the mustard fields of Punjab.


So, instead of John's famous canary yellow trunks get ready for dhotis that the duo will wear in the sequel.

The script has gone through a lot of improvisation. Reportedly, Karan was not happy with the second half of the original script for Dostana 2 which led Tarun Mansukhani to rewrite the script.

Leading lady of the film is not yet finalised.

Get ready for the bromance in dhoti.
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VHP unlikely to endorse Narendra Modi for PM's post at Dharma Sansad

Allahabad: All eyes are on Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Dharma Sansad on Thursday and whether Narendra Modi will be hailed as the Prime Ministerial candidate. While VHP leader Ashok Singhal has openly endorsed Modi, many are looking at it as VHP's attempt to build bridges with Modi.

A splash of politics at the Maha Kumbh of faith as BJP President Rajnath Singh made his way to the VHP core committee meet, it was clear, 2014 was on his mind. Rajnath said, "I have come here for a spiritual experience and not to hold any political discussions."

The poster boy of Hindutva - Narendra Modi - may not have come to the Kumbh yet but he is the point of conversation everywhere. Will the VHP's Dharma Sansad endorse Modi as the PM candidate? The organisation is split over the question.

Ashok Singhal is openly pitching for him but Modi's pet peeve Praveen Togadia, refuses to even take the Gujarat Chief Minister's name in his press interactions. While Singhal compared Modi to Nehru, Togadia said he will not talk about one person or one party.

Though a product of the sangh, Modi and the VHP haven't had the best of relations in the past. The Gujarat Chief Minister has wiped away the organisation in his state. Singhal's statement is being seen as an attempt to build bridges with the the rising star of the BJP.

Irked by all the attention Modi is getting, the Samajwadi Party (SP) warned the BJP to keep politics away from the Kumbh. A destination where 10 crore people are expected to pass through, is a pretty good place to make a political point.

The VHP is doing exactly that right outside their camp at the Maha Kumbh. As the politics over Modi heats up it's not just the BJP or Modi who will keep a close watch at the Dharma Sansad but the Opposition as well. As the say, what happens at the Maha Kumbh certainly doesn't stay at the Kumbh.
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Babri Masjid: SC asks CBI to explain delay in challenging HC order

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to explain as to why there was a delay in filing the appeal against the Allahabad High Court order in the Babri Masjid demolition case which upheld dropping of conspiracy charges against Bharatiya Janata Party and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders.

The CBI had in 2011 moved the apex court challenging the May 21, 2010 order of the Allahabad High Court judgement, which had upheld a special court's decision to drop the charges against senior BJP leader LK Advani and 19 others. The CBI had taken more than 90 days, which was the time allotted to it to file an appeal against the HC order.

The High Court had at that time, however, allowed the CBI to proceed with other charges against Advani and others in a Rae Bareily court, under which the disputed structure falls. The Supreme Court had on December 6, 2012 directed a Rae Bareily court to expeditiously hear the case against senior BJP leader LK Advani and 19 others against whom charge of criminal conspiracy was dropped by the trial court.

The bench had pulled up Additional Solicitor General AS Chandiok for not being present in the court to argue the case for CBI saying the law officer is taking the court "casually". Besides, Advani others against whom the CBI wants the charges of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B IPC restored are - Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Satish Pradhan, CR Bansal, MM Joshi, Vinay Katiyar, Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Sadhvi Ritambhara, VH Dalmia, Mahant Avaidhynath, RV Vedanti, Param Hans Ram Chandra Das, Jagdish Muni Maharaj, BL Sharma, Nritya Gopal Das, Dharam Das, Satish Nagar and Moreshwar Save.

The May 2010 order of the High Court had said there was no merit in the CBI's revision petition against the May 4, 2001 order of the special court which directed dropping of criminal conspiracy charges against them. There are two sets of cases - one against Advani and others who were on the dais at Ram Katha Kunj in Ayodhya in December 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished, while the other case was against lakhs of unknown 'karsevaks' who were in and around the disputed structure.

The CBI had chargesheeted Advani and 20 others under sections 153A IPC (promoting enmity between classes), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505 (false statements, rumours etc circulated with the intent to cause mutiny or disturb public peace).

But it subsequently invoked charges under Section 120 B (Criminal Conspiracy) which was quashed by the Special Court whose decision was upheld by the High Court. While upholding the special court's order, the High Court had said the CBI at no point of time, either during the trial at Rai Bareli or in its revision petition, ever stated that there was offence of criminal conspiracy against the leaders.
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Rahul Gandhi's First Durbar

In first durbar, Rahul calls for emotional bonding in party...

While concluding a staggered three-day meeting of party office-bearers in New Delhi, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi stressed on the need to go by the rulebook and termed the Congress’s constitution as a “radical document”.

Contrast this with his coronation speech at Jaipur a fortnight back, where he said: “You talked about change. I want to talk about rules and regulations. The Congress party is the world’s biggest political organisation but it does not run by any rules and regulations. Perhaps there is not a single regulation in this party. Every two minutes we make one and bury old ones. Nobody present here knows if Congress has some set rules. It is an interesting organisation. At times I ask myself, Bhaiya, how does this organisation run? So there is a need to frame rules…”

Even on the opening day of his interaction with office-bearers, he talked of the lack of rules and regulations.

Now, of course, his view is different. While there is a feeling of relief in the Congress that the new Vice-President has finally discovered that the party did indeed have a rulebook and regulations, there is also a sense of dismay in certain quarters about how conveniently he changed his stance so quickly.


The office-bearers, particularly the younger ones, see a a silver lining in one simple thing – that they got a chance to speak their mind to the extent they possibly could. Rahul’s interaction with a whole lot of office-bearers was initially billed to be a limited affair last Thursday, but it got stretched to Friday and then resumed after a two-day weekend on Monday. Since Rahul gave them the mandate to speak about whatever they thought fit, it unleashed the suppressed feelings of a lot of office-bearers, some mixing their personal grievances with policy issues.

Rahul’s “glasnost “, as some would lovingly call it in the Congress, has however raised a few alarm bells among the old guard, as they feel that if it goes unchecked it will be very difficult to contain voices of dissent at various levels. But then the Vice-President has also spoken of the need to have discipline in the party. The whip could be cracked as and when needed. For now the party is happy to have given nearly 45 office-bearers the chance to speak to the new boss.

Whether Rahul will be able to meet their aspirations or live up to their hopes is another matter.

At the meetings, office-bearers were told to focus on “emotional unity” because the party had missed many opportunities in the past for want of discipline. For the vast mass of Congress workers, emotional unity means unflinching support for and trust in the Nehru-Gandhi family which has kept them going against the odds. As a number of AICC secretaries complained of the lack of work allocation and being ignored by  the party, Rahul chose the occasion to stress the need to develop an emotional chord with party men and treating party workers as family.

The biggest takeout for party workers is that Rahul has expressed his desire to have such candid discussions from the block to the state level. There is a feeling that this is easier said than done, given the sheer numbers involved. Party General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi,  however, put it on record: “Rahul Gandhi said he desires to hold such meetings even at the state level and, if possible, even with party workers at district and block level. As and when a programme is finalised, you will be informed.”

Sensing that the dissenting voices heard in the meetings may get hyped up in the media and won’t be healthy for the party’s image, a senior party functionary is understood have issued a gag order against leaking any information to the press.

However, nothing damaging emerged. And the one underlying point to emerge is that Rahul Gandhi bowed to strong pleas from Congress leaders by agreeing in principle to hold a ‘janata durbar’.
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Priyanka's debut single receives a thumbs up

The video of Priyanka Chopra's debut single as a singer, In My City, featuring Will. I. Am was launched online on January 29 and in less than a week, it has generated 11,71,456 hits on YouTube, which escalated the single to the top list of the site.

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Source: India Today

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Rs.2300 crore tax demand on BCCI

IT dept slaps Rs.2300 crore tax demand on BCCI, Board looks for legal loopholes

Income tax authorities have reopened old cases involving the Indian cricket Board and slapped taxes totalling about Rs. 2,300 crore for seven years after terming all its activities as "commercial", forcing the world's richest cricket body against the wall.

Tax assessment cases under the scanner are from 2003-04 to 2009-10, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has, over the years, even paid a portion of that amount, totalling about Rs. 1,000 crore during this period, under protest and has at the same time appealed to tax authorities.

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Source: India Today

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"Vishwaroopan" - TN finally gets a date! Vishwaroopam to release Thursday

It’s final — Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam will be released in Tamil Nadu this Thursday.

The actor, who withdrew his petition against ban by the state government in the Madras High Court, announced the release date a few minutes ago.

Haasan thanked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for facilitating his dialogue with the Tamil groups, which paved way for the release, as well as the support by the film industry in Tamil Nadu and rest of India, his fans and supporters, and the media.

All the changes suggested by the Muslim organisations are being carried out. Since considerable part of the post-production of the movie was done in the US, the changes are also being done there.

Although non-availability of theatres was initially a hitch for the actor, the failure of two big films at the box office — Kadal and David — will be a blessing in disguise for him. Not only are the theatres and film buffs looking forward to a blockbuster experience, failing footfalls for other films will prompt theatres to accommodate Vishwaroopam.

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We have remained an oddly backward country: Amartya Sen

“They should have called the session the Prophet  Meets the Goddess,” quipped a wag at the Kolkata Literary Meet. It was called instead What moves India, What Stops it – Amartya Sen in conversation with Sharmila Tagore. When the inevitable question about freedom of speech in the wake of l’affaire Rushdie came up from the audience, Sen said with a wry smile, “I know enough about newspaper coverage to know that if I answer your question extensively, anything else I have said today would not be reported.”

He did make points about the perils of limiting the argumentative Indian and how Rushdie was just a way to distract attention from the real problems affecting Muslims but the Nobel laureate indeed had a lot else to talk about.

India is NOT even Bangladesh

First the good news. India is NOT becoming China. Despite the welcome mat being pulled out from under Rushdie’s feet and the wrangle over Vishwaroopam, Sen said we still have a system where “freedom of speech protected in a way that if there is a violation, there is a way to protest against it.” It’s not that criticism is completely unheard of in China but “comparing with China is a mistake India will come out looking better. But that does not make it adequately good.”

Next the bad news. India is NOT becoming China. “There is much to be learned from China in terms of economic growth,” said Sen.  He was impressed by the way they had raised living standards. “The percentage of homes without toilets is 1 percent in China,” pointed out Sen. 48 percent of Indian households don’t have proper toilets. Instead India is “much more engrossed in space travel and missiles.” “It’s a denial of personal liberty,” he added.

Here’s the worse news for Indian jingoists. India is not even Bangladesh. Only 9 to 10 percent of Bangladesh is without toilets. Immunisation rates in Bangladesh are at 96 percent. India is far behind. “Bangladesh comprehensively overtakes India in most human development categories except per capita income,” said Sen. “I think women’s agency made a big difference in Bangladesh,” he said. “It should be an important realisation for us. Women got involved in family planning, immunisation, health care early.”

What it all boils down to is this: “I think (India) has remained an oddly backward country in a way that we don’t recognise.”

Not your father’s aam aadmi

Sen’s antidote for this was “an engagement” that he said still eludes us in India.

That sounds a little strange coming on the heels of the waves of anti-rape protests that themselves came on the heels of the anti-corruption protests. The aam aadmi is so visible these days, he has even been lent his name to a political party.

But Sen said he thought the definition of aam aadmi  itself was being re-jiggered.

He told the audience that when newspapers hollered last year that 600 million Indians “were plunged into darkness” they omitted to mention that 200 million out of them never had any power. “So they were not specifically plunged that night, they are plunged into darkness every night.” When the aam aadmi is up in arms about the rise in cooking gas prices, most of us don’t realise that most Indians don’t have the instrument to use that cooking gas.

“There has been a redefinition of ordinary people,” said Sen. “It is the relatively poorer of the privileged group in India.”

And then he cited an example. The revenue that was foregone from having no import duty on gold and diamonds is twice what was being asked for by the additional programmes for food security according to Sen. In the 2011 budget the government tried to put in “a modest import tax on gold and diamond imports.” There was such a hue and cry the government eventually backed away. “Because that’s an organised group. Undernourished children are not.”


What’s up, Doc?

One of the biggest issues Sen saw looming in India’s near future was health care. India spends only 1.2 percent of its GDP on public health. Sen remembered that when Jamshedji Tata set up Jamshedpur he provided free healthcare to everyone not just the employees of the company. While the US for a long time was the one outlier among developed countries when it came to public health care, even it was making baby steps in that direction with the so-called Obama care.

But “India is the only country that is trying to have a health transition on the basis of a private health care that does not exist,” warned Sen.  “We have an out-of-pocket system supplemented by government hospitals.” That was bucking the trend in the rest of the world.

“Privatisation is doing an extraordinary amount of harm in health care,” cautioned Sen. In 1946 a committee said India’s economy was affected by terrible health care. While he admitted India has achieved “much economic growth” he lamented that as a country we have “an extremely foggy idea” about what economic growth is. India’s per capita income has gone up but its position in living standards has gone down. It was the second best in South Asia after Sri Lanka, said Sen. Now “we are the second worst, ahead only of Pakistan.”

“It is isn’t about whether opposing the US-India nuclear deal was right or wrong, that’s a minor thing compared with what you are providing for the people. And I don’t expect that to come from a Hindutva-oriented party. I expect it somewhat more from the Congress but also much more from the Left.”


But Sen said he was dismayed that even the Left parties were “going after cooking gas, electricity prices and aam aadmi issues rather than the larger picture.”

Virtuous circles (and Tagore)

All, however is not lost. Sen looked at the corruption protests and said mindsets can change if there is “a virtuous circle.” When we recognise that something “may be common but it’s not standard and it’s bad” that is the first step towards creating a “groundswell.” It happened with footbinding in China and is happening with female genital mutilation in Senegal. And he saw it happen in Italy when he advised its anti-Mafia commission. Until then the Mafia had just been regarded as unavoidable because everyone did it and you would be at a competitive disadvantage not to do it.

That change in mindset could happen here as well if we are open to looking outside for some answers instead of hiding behind lack of “political will” which he dismissed as “a non-answer”. India can learn about introducing universal health care from Mexico. It can learn democracy and public unions from Brazil. And women’s agency from Bangladesh.

“Rabindranath Tagore was telling us to break out of the limited universe,” Sen reminded his audience. (Yes, of course Tagore came up. Sharmila was on stage. Sen had gone to Shantiniketan. And this was Kolkata). “That breaking is not complete yet.”

“The most terrible thing that happened in the world were because of ignorance,” said Sen. “The moral obligation to be informed is very important. The cupidity and villainy of human beings is over emphasised. Ignorance is under emphasised.”

And the opposite of ignorance is  sometimes also the wisdom to know what you don’t know. When a questioner asked him a complicated question about changes in university admission procedures in Kolkata, the Nobel winning economist grinned and said “I am always flattered when people think I know more than I do. I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.”
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