Yogi's Corner

In the wake of the ongoing Corona Virus pandemic, images of migrant workers’ treacherous walk back home from the cities built with their sweat and blood shall continue to haunt India’s conscience for a long time. While these workers - some barefoot, some carrying sacks on head or infants on shoulders - walked in the sweltering heat, the political executive and heartless bureaucrats looked the other way from their airconditioned offices. In the backdrop of affluent Indians’ evacuation by air from abroad, works’ plight stood out as abject neglect of the poor. Bharat Mata does not live in inanimate portraits; she lives in the souls of India's working class and their toil.  (Mis)management of the migrant workers' immediate requirements created huge problems. Abandoned by their employers, turned away by their landlords and with no social security guaranteed by the governments they elected, these workers were left high and dry on the unending road home. Jean Dreze, a noted ...

Wheelchair borne Colonel Jagdeep Singh in discussion with Shri Manpreet Singh Badal, Finance Minister, Punjab. Oh! The king of Magadha! The day soldier has to demand his dues be the sad day for Magadha! On that day, you lost all moral sanction to be the king! -Chanakya. Kautilya, (also known as Chanakya, c. 350-275 BCE), advised his king thus. He was an Indian statesman and philosopher, chief advisor and Prime Minister to Indian Emperor  Chandragupta , the first ruler of the  Mauryan Empire . Soldiers make supreme sacrifices for the nation; the bravest of the brave leave behind legends of valour that inspire future generations. Sacrifices are made unmindful of the fate of their families after they are gone. In event of their martyrdom, soldiers trust their government and the society to look after their brave mothers, proud wives and their children.  Unfortunately, this trust has mostly been betrayed by the very establishment on whose call soldi...

  India crossed the Rubicon on 5 th  August 2019 when the President promulgated an order to de-operationalise Article 370 and its adjunct Article 35A of the Constitution of India. Contrary to common perception,  this Article has not been scrapped. Ironically,  provisions of the Article itself were used to defang it  [1] .   Doing away with Jammu & Kashmir's (J&K) special status and splitting it into two Union Territories (UT) was executed in one fell swoop that left Kashmiri politicians and the separatists dumbstruck. While the process to gradually erode the special status of  J&K was set in motion in 1950,  de-operationalising the Article now culminated that process to fully integrate J&K into Indian Union. Article 370 - Contextualising History. Article 370 was introduced in the Indian Constitution on 17 th  October 1949 as 'temporary provision concerning the State of Jammu & Kashmir' under Part XXI of th...