golden phoenix

  Farmer Protests vs a supplicant media: India on the cusp of institutional chaos and anarchy   Farmers vs. Central Government:   Recent deadlock between the central government reached some chance of getting resolved after it had reached a new low when the government chose to deploy water cannons against protesting farmers in bitter winters. From “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan” (Hail Soldier, Hail Farmer) , this marks a 360 degree turn in the attitude towards protests and “Anndaata” or “food provider” farmers.   What farmer protest also brings to forefront is how the Indian society is on the cusp of institutional chaos.   Power of Fear   Fear is powerful, fear consumes and fear forces one to subjugate to the basest of base instincts: Self-preservation and survival.   Question: But what happens when the base instinct itself is challenged? Answer: First Protests, then demonstrations, then marches and then eventually chaos all around   If you subjugate som...

Israel: surrounded but defiant On June 5, 1967, Israel was surrounded by enemies on all sides. Syria, Egypt and Jordan had launched a full scale war on Israel. Israel was all alone with no world aid forthcoming. The very future of this tiny but proud nation hung in balance. It was all alone and it was a real possibility that the entire nation of Israel might be decimated.   We all know what happened. Israel emerged victorious against all odds.   Galwan: India and China Galwan valley escalation doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Claims and counter claims are flying with little way of verifying either India’s or China’s claims.   While it is easy to dismiss Galwan as a one off transgression by China, it has been many years in the making. Nibbling away at Indian territory through dubious means, India has already (probably) lost a lot of territory to China through a variety of reasons.   India, China, Pakistan and Nepal It is easy today to get carried away due to th...

Chapter 1: Unfairness of Online Education Coronavirus is one of the most racist and unfair viruses that have hit mankind. It will create fissures in society which cannot be healed in next 20 years or so. While everyone has been gung-ho about Online education, we are missing one very important point. It has so many limitations that virtually excludes the poor from its ambit. How patently unfair Coronavirus is, for the underprivileged. Cost of Online Education To put it in perspective, a single module from Byju for Math and science costs Rs. 30000. And a broadband connection will cost around 1500 per month for an unlimited data pack. Plus the associated charges for electricity for say 5 hour usage (say Rs. 20 daily or 600 per month). And of course the cost of tablet will be around 6000. Assuming a 3 month course, this is a cool Rs. 20000 per month cost per child. Average income in India is Rs. 10000 a month… And cost of Online education is 20000. How is a p...