My Columns: Without Fear and Favour

BOMBAY MUSINGS Corruption, Inefficiency... The Legacy of a Callous Force By Deepak Parvatiyar (in Bombay) (This column was published in Free Press Journal, Bombay on 8th March, 1993) If one ignores its dubious role during the recent riots, the Bombay police did enjoy a reputation which could make the famous Scotland Yard envy it. But the recent riots and the emergence of a corrupt and partisan police force made one wonder about such an hyped-up image of the city police. And as the chroniclers recorded the latest events for posterity as a blotch on the face of the city police, one was tempted to flip the pages of history to find out whether the city police ever bore a semblance to the other three Ps -- profiteering, puissance and pomposity -- which have unceremoniously remained a hallmark of Indian police. The modern police force in the city traces its origin to the Bhandari Militia, which had been established around 1672 mainly due to the efforts of the the...

Who will be the next Chief Minister of Jharkhand? By  Deepak Parvatiyar November 29, 2014 Jharkhand ceases to surprise so far as the issue of chief ministership is concerned. The state in the past has seen even an Independent, Madhu Koda, annexing the CM’s throne. In a brief span of 14 years since its formation in November 2000, the state has seen five chief ministers, but what makes the whole issue murkier is the fact that the CM’s chair was shared among these five men on nine different occasions!  While the reason is attributed to fractured mandates in successive elections in the state, it is more to do with opportunistic alliances and political expediency. Former Jharkhand CMs in the Fray This time once again all the former CMs (barring three time CM, Shibu Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha who is now a Member of Parliament) are in the fray –  Hemant Soren (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), three time CM, Arjun Munda (BJP), Madhu Koda (who has float...

SAARC Summit: the Same Old Story By  Deepak Parvatiyar November 28, 2014 Ever since the first summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 8th December 1985, SAARC has failed to live up to the high expectations that it had generated for a regional political and economical cooperation in South Asia. The forum’s contribution has been dismal largely because of the tense Indo-Pak relationship in the region. Despite the free trade pact of 2006 between the eight member nations – India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives – the member nations do hardly five percent of their total trade with each other! The Kathmandu SAARC Summit: Low on Deliverance The 18th SAARC meet in Kathmandu, held after a gap of three years, too was not much different in terms of deliverance and agreement as just one of the three issues tabled there could be reached because of Pakistan’s veto. (A ...