On My Mind

I n 2005, the Central Government constituted a committee headed by former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Rajinder Sachar to study the social, economic and educational condition of Muslims in India. The Sachar Committee submitted its report in 2006. The report found a range of disabilities hampering the Muslim community in the country. It placed Indian Muslims below Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with respect to backwardness. It especially highlighted the poor representation of the community in decision making positions like the IAS, IPS and in the police. [1] To understand the intricacies of the issue, we need to go back to the creation of the modern nation of India.  India was independent in 1947. At the very onset, attempts were made by the state to bring reforms in the Hindu (here it implies anyone who was not a Muslim, Parsi, Christian or Jew) personal laws. The first elected government came to power in 1952 and by 1956 it was able to g...

Long ago, the world was different. It was simple but with its own challenges. In a corner somewhere, lived Pandora. It is said that she opened a box, freeing up all kinds of evils to spread through the society. While violence, dishonesty, greed, selfishness may be some of the "better" known ones, the evil of "Pretentiousness" has its own far-reaching impacts. Things as basic as food can be pretentious today. A box of candies, assorted from the very best of Mediterranean fruits, hand picked by the renowned chef from the exotic country of Luxembourg are basically the candies you purchased 4 of which for Re. 1 from the nearby grocery store. The box now sells at INR 1000/- only, and if you are lucky, you get 25 instead of 24 candies. Golgappas have magically transformed to a delicious serving of Indian Bread made of nutritious whole grains dipped in tamarind sauce with a pinch of salt and filling of healthy boiled peas or potatoes. Sounds yummy! Sports is some...