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Reuters blog archive
from India Insight:
Corruption trumps reforms and economics in Kejriwal’s politics
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily of Thomson Reuters)
The transformation of Arvind Kejriwal from taxman to anti-corruption activist and politician has been hard to ignore. He became something of a celebrity last year when he launched broadsides against rich, powerful people. That in turn gave him a platform to enter politics with his "Aam Aadmi Party" (party of the common man). Now Kejriwal, 44, must build a party in time to contest state-level elections in New Delhi this year.
After an hour-long election speech on a makeshift dais at a bus stand, the novice politician was visibly tired as he climbed into an off-white SUV for the journey home to Ghaziabad. I waited for him to stop coughing and take a sip of water before asking questions. We then had an animated, if one-note discussion about India's economy and politics. The short story? Fix corruption and you fix everything else. Details about the economy, such as statistics and reports on inflation and economic growth? Just numbers for the media to repeat.
Here are some excerpts from the interview on Sunday:
Q: The Indian economy is set to grow 5 percent in this fiscal year. What do you have to say about the way our economy is growing?
from India Insight:
India ponders deficit control after the gold rush
India's central government in January raised the tax on refined gold imports by 50 percent. This increase to 6 percent from 4 percent is the second rise this fiscal year. Why does it keep making gold more expensive, particularly as the nation enters its prime wedding season when brides will be bedecked with the metal from head to toe?
That's part of the problem -- a large part. India's cultural attachment to gold is something that anybody who has been to an Indian wedding could tell you about. For those of you who haven't, consider this report from CBS's "60 Minutes" TV news program:
from Photographers Blog:
Meet Miss Malini
Mumbai, India
By Vivek Prakash
Where I live is not the India of most people's imaginations or memories, and it's hardly the India I once knew as a kid.
My Mumbai has easygoing cafes, organic markets, swish malls, expensive restaurants serving great food and wine, fabulous nightclubs and raucous house parties. The idea that this India is any less "real" than bad infrastructure or the world of Slumdog Millionaire is misguided.
from Expert Zone:
India Markets Weekahead – Opportunity for those who missed out rally
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily of Thomson Reuters)
It was a second straight week of losses of 1.59 percent with the Nifty closing at 5,903. As discussed in this column a fortnight back, we are in a phase which would tire out the participants and change the mood to a negative consensus on the street.
from India Insight:
‘Nobody can stop you if you engage in art with dignity’: Zila Khan on singing and Islam
The members of Praagaash, an all-girl band in Kashmir, split up this week after an influential cleric deemed their music un-Islamic. Zila Khan, one of India’s most popular sufi singers and daughter of sitar maestro Vilayat Khan, spoke to Reuters about how singing is closest to worship and meditation and how children should be allowed to sing.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
Questions about Grand Mufti of Kashmir and Islam are best answered by experts in the field of religion. I am an expert in music, it will be no use pondering on subjects that I am not an authority on. There will be more experts to say better things on this issue. I can, however, talk about music, on my journey as a singer and the issue of women’s rights.
from India Insight:
‘Vishwaroopam’ and Tamil Nadu’s cinema of politics
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily of Thomson Reuters)
The most unfortunate aspect of the censorship controversy over Kamal Haasan's new movie "Vishwaroopam," which came out on Thursday, is that it is happening in Tamil Nadu. India's southernmost state has a history of using cinema as a tool of political dissent and expression, particularly regarding the Dravidian movement, but that spirit seems to have vanished with the decision to release a truncated version of the film after Islamic groups said certain scenes offended them.
from India Insight:
Turning a Bangalore shanty town into a mall
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily of Thomson Reuters)
The Bangalore city government and a private developer kicked more than 1,500 poor families out of subsidised housing in January, razed their neighbourhood and left them homeless. The reason? They want to build new, better housing – and a mall.
from Left field:
Domination in ODIs a thing of the past
Recent results in one-day cricket have not only made a mockery of the rankings but it has also injected some much-needed excitement in the format.
First, it was current No. 1 India, who lost to Pakistan (No. 6) at home, followed by third-ranked Australia, who fought hard to just level a series with visitors Sri Lanka. Then it was the turn of hosts South Africa to lose a three-match series to lower-ranked New Zealand.
from India Insight:
Narendra Modi follows his roadmap to Delhi
The Narendra Modi charm offensive showed up in full force in India's capital on Wednesday. Modi, the main opposition party's likely prime ministerial candidate gave a speech on progress and development at one of Delhi's premier colleges, the youthful audience greeted the 62-year-old politician with gusto, news outlets called his speech a "roadmap for India," protesters showed up en masse and Twitter went bananas.
If not a direct declaration of grand political ambition, the nearly one-hour speech at the Shri Ram College of Commerce sounded like a pitch for a national role: here was the chief minister of Gujarat talking about development to more than a thousand students in New Delhi, staying away from the usual and divisive political overtones, repeatedly referring to the youth of the country (future voters), and outlining his vision for India.
from India Insight:
Delhi Art Gallery’s nude portrait exhibition draws protesters
Modern Indian artists have celebrated the body on the canvas for more than a hundred years. Amrita Sher-Gil, known as India's Frida Kahlo, may have been the earliest Indian artist in modern times to paint nudes, including a self-portrait. The Delhi Art Gallery’s latest show – "The Naked and the Nude" – presents a retrospective journey of the representation of the body in modern Indian art, mostly from the dawn of the 20th century to the present.
It's also generating anger among groups that object to art involving nudes. When I visited the gallery, the front office operator received a call from a regional political group, demanding that the show be closed. That is not an option, said Kishore Singh, project editor and head of exhibition and publication at the Delhi Art Gallery. "We cannot and will not take seriously people’s right to be offended, and demand that we take something down."
