golden phoenix

Another GST Battle Brewing on petrol prices As the petrol, gas and diesel prices shoot up, the memes on the central government abound. Old tweets are dug up and replayed over and over again to showcase the irony of the situation and how the tables have turned. In case you have not seen it, mimicry also has taken centre stage with 3 million views within a week of being uploaded. As the hue and cry over petrol price rises, the central government has gone into a spin over drive with a variety of reasons to explain the price rise. But the bottomline remains the same: Crude Barrels are currently ~$60 per barrel (159 litres) and the price is Rs. 100. When the price was $150 per barrel, the price was Rs. 70 in 2014.  To put it in bigger context, assuming a dollar conversion rate of 75 (march 9, Indian government is earning Rs. 5,00,000 (5 lakh) extra per barrel and yet wants people to believe that it is managing the situation. Sinister Themes: Cripple state revenues through petrol price...

  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...

Sabarimala Issue: Administrative or Religious Quick thoughts around the Sabarimala issue. I am not sure if Supreme court can actually give a ruling on Sabarimala temple. Understanding the issue in Sabarimala vs. Supreme Court: Women between the ages of 10 and 50 cannot enter the temple because Lord Aiyyappan vowed celibacy and didn’t want to be distracted by other women. Hence Sabarimala temple remains closed for women of these ages Unnecessary Judicial Activism: Firstly, Courts are supposed to interpret laws and not make them.Their job is to provide correct interpretation and nothing more. Secondly, Whenever passing a judgement, there has to be an overarching principle which can be applied universally to all situations. For e.g. universal voting rights which means that everyone should be allowed to vote and if women are not allowed to vote then the court can pass judgement again this practice on the overarching principle of equality Thirdly, the issue should be...

Audacity of dreams and capriciousness of reality Dreams and reality most of the times seem like yin and yang. For one to exist the other must be let go of. Sometimes they just seem like parallel lines. Forever destined to travel together but never to meet or cross paths. At times, things just don’t seem worth it. What I am doing here ? Why I am doing this ? Is this what my heart really wants ? At times the chaos and madness of it all just seems to defy belief and sometimes just plainly astound. The utter senselessness of it all sometimes makes one to chuck everything away and be done with it. The dreams that you had in college, in school, the times when everyone around you seemed not so self obsessed seem like a lifetime away. At times you feel cold... You just want to get into a small corner for a few days and curl up and be away from it all. Just let your thoughts run completely wild and just be disconnected from it all. Just you and your 5 feet * 5 Feet empire or kingdom that ...

Haider, even by Vishal Bhardwaj’s incredibly high standards is a master piece. In a topic that is extremely touchy in India, Bhardwaj manages to present an extremely balanced view of the ground situation. The delightful interplay of the various characters is riveting and the intensity never lets up always keeping the viewer on edge. At the same time it raises uncomfortable questions for the all the stakeholders concerned: the Indian army, plight of the Kashmiris and the Pakistani agenda. The most credible part of the film is that does justice to both Indian army and the Kashmiris and does not take any sides. The film’s dark shades are present throughout the film and convey the gravity through subtle nuances. Even, the scenes with laughter in them, always serve to convey something serious than to provide moments of comic relief. The epic monologue of Shahid “Hum hain ki hum nahin” beautifully puts across the existential crisis faced by the everyday Kashmiris. Caught between Paki...