The floods in Uttarakhand have destroyed lives, devastated homes and local populations for generations ahead. Our armed forces have once again stood out for their valor, gallantry and sacrifice like they did during the Kargil war or later the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, both orchestrated from Pakistan. The integrity and rapid response of our jawans and…
Author: Siddharth Srivastava
Journalist
Does sex mean marriage?
The Madras high court in a recent judgment has equated the mere act of sex between two adults to marriage needing a “decree’’ of divorce to annul the same. A one-night stand, time with a prostitute, pre-marital sex or even an extra-marital affair could translate as legal commitment to be wife or husband, as the…
Modi versus Advani
The Congress government under Manmohan Singh has scored so many self-goals that it has lost credibility – there are allegations of massive corruption in telecom and coal block allocations to private companies, while growth has dipped due to lack of economic reforms. The de facto Prime Minister of India Sonia Gandhi is on a quixotic…
Roads full of rage in India
A Pakistani diplomat was recently assaulted in Delhi when his car bumped a motor cyclist. Although Islamabad sees a larger conspiracy, this gives too much credit to India’s intelligence agencies which, unlike Pakistan’s dreaded ISI, are incapable of executing such a delicate operation — getting a lowly paid agent to ride a bike, bump a…
Indian cricket needs fixing
Just as one was beginning to believe, for a change, the IPL this season would end without any major controversy, the spot fixing scandal has happened. Issues of the past such as party brawls, cheer leaders in little dresses and Shahrukh Khan losing his temper, seem piffling in comparison. The spirit of the game is…
A low cost five-star retreat
It is height of summer in north India. With schools shutting for annual vacations, everybody is headed to the hills. Traffic jams for Shimla begin at Delhi; one has to walk from Dehradun for any reasonable chance to make it to Mussoorie Meanwhile auto air conditioners are being re-checked and replaced to prepare for the…
No touching, feeling Indian VVIPs
We have yet another instance of a VVIP, this time Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan being questioned by security officials at an American airport. Apparently Khan was gently quizzed by a lady official for ten minutes, the time normally taken by disembarking passengers to visit the loo, if there is a bit of rush. Usually,…
Should porn be banned in India?
India’s Supreme Court is deliberating banning Internet pornography. The trigger has been the brutal sexual and physical assault on a 5-year old girl in Delhi by two perverts, allegedly after drinking alcohol and watching porn. Interestingly there is no call to ban sale of alcohol, which is a much greater social evil due to direct…
Dont Let Pawar Pee
There are many problems in India, including drought. Ajit Pawar’s crass pee remark to fill up empty dams in Maharashtra is unacceptable. The state faces large scale farmer suicides due to crop failure brought about by drought and lack of irrigation facilities. Pawar probably thought he did a Jaspal Bhatti or a Navjot Singh Sidhu…
Enduring Indian Gossip
Some relationships seem to be forever under scrutiny. In politics, there is the one between Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. Despite the analysis and speculation, Manmohan-Sonia plane of operation is clear – do as she says or don’t do anything at all. Given such sound understanding that has stood the test of two uneventful tenures…
Siddharth Srivastava 