My Columns: Without Fear and Favour

What is Vyapam Scam? What Are Its Implications? By  Deepak Parvatiyar July 11, 2015 5.00 / 5  (100.00%)  1 vote Published in elections.in (http://www.elections.in/blog/what-is-vyapam-scam-and-what-are-its-implications/) I am reminded of a Bollywood blockbuster where it took a mega star, that too in a disguise of a superhero, to ensure the safety of a key witness till she was produced before the judge for her testimonial against a dreaded criminal who had politicians and top police officials under his control! In the 1988 flick, a dishonest police inspector was compelled to employ the invincible and mysterious Shahenshah to get to the criminals because an ordinary police inspector was simply ‘incapable’ of cracking such nuts! Films mirror society. Security of the witnesses has been an issue for quite long. Shahenshah is just one such example as there is a long list of such films on the topic. Yet, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that the...

Is Indian Politics Motivating Enough for the Youth to Join? By  Deepak Parvatiyar July 9, 2015 5.00 / 5  (100.00%)  1 vote Published in elections.in (http://www.elections.in/blog/is-indian-politics-motivating-enough-for-the-youth-to-join/) What sets the likes of Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora, Omar Abdullah, Akhilesh Yadav, Hemant Soren, Agatha K Sangma and Arvind Kejriwal apart is that they are not only young but well educated, too. Today they all play a leading role in shaping the politics of the country. They have tasted success early in their respective political careers and already held important positions such as that of union ministers or state chief ministers. They are young and dynamic. Yet, barring Kejriwal, they all inherit the political legacy of their fathers or forefathers.  A big plus is that they chose politics over any other job that they could easily have got because of their educational qualifications. But w...