Public Issues

I heard a brilliant quote from Ayn Rand a few days ago “You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.” The quote can be applied to so many dimensions of the current world and I will try and explore some of them here. continue

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Although I have historically been a supporter of BJP, I feel that everyone should be open to change and if anyone does something right then it should be commended. I have been trying to follow the political happening in India and recently Mumbai has been on its forefront. Shiv Sena, once a powerful force and probably a righteous organization, has started taking the same path as MNS and going on the Marathi and Maharashtrian Fundamentals. For a good number of days when MNS and Shiv Sena both were making statements which promoted regionalism, and no national leader came out criticizing them and this made me feel all the more terrible. continue

Recently Mumbai witnessed yet another gimmick of exchange of words, high intensity drama and its fall when three of the icons of the field of Bollywood, Maharashtra Politics & National Power confront each other – Shah Rukh Khan, Shiv Sena and Rahul Gandhi. We would be assessing the positives negatives and strengths of each of these confrontations. continue

(Disclaimer: The views expressed below are those of the author and not of strat.in as a blog in general)

See the greatness of the IPL (Indian Premier League), how highly it stands among other sporting events, which has already provided us so much drama before the play has actually begun. It is in the news all over, flashing here and there, and catching eyes of all. Media is so much excited! After all, everybody was so much bored to see bald-headed Headley and evil-smiling Rathore’s face every day at the breakfast. IPL has provided the idle-sitting cricketers something to chirp about, write columns and give fancy statements in the media. It has given some freshness to the Pakistani people who had all got bored burning effigies of the US and the Taliban. It has given Pakistani ministers something to brag about and divert attentions from more serious issues. continue

Ever heard of these names: Prajakta K. Kshatriya, Vrushali Kale, Vineet More ? Well, you are not alone in not knowing these names.  My guess is 90% of readers who read this article haven’t heard of these names either. These are names of students in the age range 13-22, who ended their lives in Maharashtra, due to what authorities speculate ‘intense academic pressures’. continue

Until about 1.5 years back, Investment banker was one of the hottest and wealthiest job anyone could ever have. It was the ‘Angelina Jolie’ of all campus placements. But today, if there is one profession you want to bash and kick at and get an applaud – just lash out at any top executive employed with one of the global financial institutes or banks. continue

Every year a lot of people graduate from business schools and join marketing! Throughout business school a word taught in all marketing courses is ‘Brand‘. To be brutally honest one of the main reasons to go to a business school is The Brand! but lets try and have a better look at the origination of brands and its current use. continue

Its 2010 and as we step into the next decade, Business and Technology remain the scale of measuring the overall strength of any country. Though jaw-dropping start ups keep coming forward from the dorm rooms and garages of the Silicon Valley, investors in US are worried that the  government is not doing enough to entice entrepreneurs to stay. continue

(South Block houses the Ministry of External Affairs)

When I look back and see if India should really have been like what it is today after 62 years of our freedom, I feel that we could certainly have done much better. We have shown progress on several fronts, both domestic and international, but a lot more needs to be done and a question that needs to be addressed is ‘Are India’s foreign policy makers holding India back?’ continue