Amartya Sen is arguably India's greatest living public intellectual. In 1998 he won the Nobel Prize in Economics1. His award was a matter of great pride for us Indians. But it wasn't until dad/I bought a copy of his 2005 book, The Argumentative Indian, that we became aware of just how knowledgeable Sen was about India itself, its history and its ( Read more... )

"Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth." -Albert Einstein

Today is the 60th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination at Birla House, Delhi. Some of his ashes have been poured into the Arabian Sea in Mumbai. It is as good a time as any to reflect upon the world we live in ( Read more... )

"I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers." -Mahatma Gandhi

रघुपति राघव राजाराम , पतित पावन सीताराम
सीताराम सीताराम, भज प्यारे तू सीताराम
ईश्वर अल्लाह तेरो नाम, सब को सन्मति दे भगवान

Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, Patit Pavan Sita Ram ( Read more... )

Exactly 10 years ago, my family and I were celebrating India's 50th Independence Day in Jaipur. Exactly 60 years ago, India got its Independence from the UK, and broke-up into three parts: West Pakistan, India, and East Pakistan. Twenty-four years later, in 1971, East Pakistan became its own nation-state, Bangladesh. Two of the three are ( Read more... )