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Drumbeat: Ad Buzzaar
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Friday, May 15, 1998
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First casualty is democracy
If policy or strategic doctrine drove the nuclear tests in Pokharan, it was made in inner Bharatiya Janata Party circles long before it came to power. With the possible exception of the defence minister, none of the other parties who form the Government of India has contributed to the decision, nor the Opposition, nor informed public opinion. That is the inescapable conclusion from the timing and sequence of events.
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If she is competent, why reservation?
All our political parties appear to have reached a consensus that 33% reservation for women should be made in the legislatures. It is indeed heartening that the leaders of the country are concerned about the welfare of women. But, whether such "equality" is the way out is very much questionable.
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N-weapons for dummies
Two days ago, IMRB made public a pie chart of staggering simplicity. It had three slices -- consisting of people who had said `yes', `no' and `don't know' to the Pokharan tests. Similar polls in other countries have shown that there is always a fourth slice within the first, representing people who are unfamiliar with nuclear deterrence and its implications.
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Bill, the selective bully
Oh, whatever happened to this perfectly wonderful country? It has blasted away its national greatness, sighed Bill Clinton who, on the eve of the 21st century, would like to see a millennial burst of peace shaking the entire world. Shaken by the shockwaves from Pokharan, the peacemaker-in-chief, the self-assigned globo-cop, has decided to redeem the `wonder' that was India, the wonder that once beguiled Hillary and Chelsea, by imposing economic sanctions.
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Goodbye to B-class
It's a jailhouse rock of sorts. From now on, the 250 privileged B-class denizens of the Capital's Tihar jail will not get their special room, TV, toilet and, yes, their glass of milk, thanks to the recommendations of the Santosh Dubey committee that the dual class system in this jail should go. They will now lead a lifestyle similar to that of their C-class counterparts who, incidentally, number around 9,000.
The never-never city
I have always tried my best to avoid visiting two of our metros -- Calcutta and Mumbai. Earlier I dreaded these visits because I would set out from the green and spacious New Delhi. The drive from the airport into the city of Mumbai was a clear stretch of stink and squalour. True, I would stay in a luxury flat or a five-star hotel, but I had to go out on work. And there was nothing but filth and funk all around.
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