Politics

Where to Tricity???

Tricity-meaning three cities combined. One such tricity consists of 3 cities namely: Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. Chandigarh was planned a new city as the capital of Punjab when Lahore was lost to Pakistan. It was matter of prestige for Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India who wanted to assuage the sufferings of the Punjab which befell it due to partition. Everyone is aware of the beautifully planned city. As the years went by, States of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana were separated from the Punjab. There was a demand by Punjab to hand over the Chandigarh city… Read More »Where to Tricity???

Opium poppy: Seeds of Trade

Britain ruled India not for nothing. They exploited the abundant natural resources as well its simple folks. They earned huge profits by exporting tea, opium and cotton to Europe. They employed the Indians like Africans as labors in many of their colonies overseas where there was a shortage of labor for cultivation. Opium obtained from poppies grown in the fertile valley of Ganges in Bihar was considered of high quality because of its high alkaloid morphine. It was traditionally grown in this region since the times of Mughals who were heavy users of it and many of their princes are… Read More »Opium poppy: Seeds of Trade

Nobel Prize Controversies 

This article pertains to October 2015. Nobel Prizes for this year are on. Already the prize for medicine has already been announced to William C. Campbell, Satoshi Ōmura and Tu Youyou on nature based medicines. Prizes in other categories will be announced one by one. There had been times when Controversies arose over the prizes. Following is the list of some controversial prizes. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Henry Kissinger Peace prize to Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, in 1973 is considered as the most controversial. Two members resigned from committee in protest. Milton Friedman Economics prize to Milton Friedman in 1076… Read More »Nobel Prize Controversies 

Milking the Great

In India, there are always plenty of people with vested interests. They hijack the name of some great man and exploit it for religious, political and other interest by creating the frenzy among the gullible people. But ultimate aim is to create a life of riches and comfort for themselves and their coming generations. For this they even don’t spare their own innocent people. Take for example, Mahatma Gandhi. He tried his best to become apolitical and urged to disband the congress on the logic that its role is over once the country became independent. No one bothered to listen… Read More »Milking the Great

Spying on the leaders

It was when Russia was USSR and soviet state was pushing hard to become at par with US. A top erstwhile spy told that Russian Soviet dictator Stalin, used to spy on the visiting world leaders like Mao to know their hidden personality traits. They even used scientific methods for this. Soviets used to analyze the excreta for Potassium and Amino acid tryptophan to know the state of mind of the leaders. Tryptophan is used by animals for synthesis of proteins essential for growth. Studies indicate that it acts as an antidepressant. For example, if they detected high levels of… Read More »Spying on the leaders

WHY US AND OTHER WESTERN POWERS RESENT NUCLEAR TESTS BY NORTH KOREA?

Western powers have monopolized the nuclear power and weapons. Russia and US hold 92% of the resources. Treaties like CTBT discriminate against the rest of the countries who want to use nuclear resources even for peaceful purposes. India has not signed this treaty. Supply of nuclear materials is controlled by Nuclear Supplies Group (NSG) which is largely controlled by US and Russia and puts discriminatory conditions on developing nations.This is why they are bitterly opposing nuclear tests by North Korea who is not toeing to their line. Here are statistics No. of nuclear tests: US: 1030 USSR Russia: 715 France:… Read More »WHY US AND OTHER WESTERN POWERS RESENT NUCLEAR TESTS BY NORTH KOREA?

Price of being a whistleblower

Jagjeet Singh is a photographer. He has a shop of videography and photography in Tarn Taran. He shot video of Punjab police officials thrashing a woman in 2013. With the video becoming public he became a whistleblower and his woes began. He got threats and harassment. He stopped getting photography assignments. After approaching the authorities he was provided with security cover. Now he is in Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab, to obtain permission to sit on indefinite hunger strike to withdraw his security cover because he is unable to bear the expenditure of the security. It means that security instead… Read More »Price of being a whistleblower

Code of Controversy

Lui Liu is a painter of Chinese origin and lives in Canada. He mostly paints nudes. His paintings seems like dreams. Some critics call his paintings magic realism. But he says that magic realism is a genre of writing invented by South American writer most notably Gabriel García Márquez whose novel “Hundred years of solitude” is written in this genre. Lui Liu says that magic realism in strict terms is a way of telling surreal stories in which even dead people converse with living but these do not contain any political message. Lui Liu seems to be a person often… Read More »Code of Controversy

Akashitora Dutta

Dr. Akashitora Dutta has a pleasing personality and talent with which she has lent glamour and substance to many television programs and films. She has tragedies in her life which she hides behind the façade of journalism and acting in serials and films. Model, actor and writer Akashitora Dutta, whose father Kamala Saikia was the first journalist to be killed by militants. She has written many novels. Her second novel was about the erosion of the values which the banned militant group claims to uphold. Coming 15 years after her father’s death, the novel is based on real-life events from… Read More »Akashitora Dutta