Urban Mirror

As early as 1980s, the menace of drug addiction had become noticeable in some districts of Uttar Pradesh where I had the occasion to serve. By the early nineties, drugs...

The human greed for even more wealth, more power, more territory to rule , more people to  subjugate has remained the sole cause for wars in civilization and remains the...

  The prevailing situation needs to be altered at the earliest and beginning has to be made with overhaul of our current economic policy paradigm. Gone are the days for...

Introducing the collegium system was  purportedly  to protect the independence of the judiciary, but  it had many flaws. The most troubling was its opacity- the absolute lack of transparency of...

Unleashing our military might against a failed Pakistan state is unwise. The Indian state must bleed the rogue state by doing everything required to eliminate the terrorists and their supporters....

Separation of powers and a system of checks and balances among the three arms and the three tiers of government are part of the constitutional mechanism laid down to prevent...

 In view of complex situation in Israel-Palestine tangle, declaring one side “right” is unpragmatic. Both have valid historical claims-which are still unresolved. The occupation and displacement have caused humungous suffering,...

Education is the foundation of any progressive society. It shapes young minds, builds critical thinking skills, and equips individuals with the tools necessary to contribute meaningfully to their communities. In...

India stands at a critical juncture in its journey towards becoming a developed nation. With a young and dynamic workforce, vast natural resources, and a rapidly growing economy, India possesses...

The tyranny of merit, is not merely an economic or political problem but a moral one. It distorts our understanding of success, fosters social resentment, and undermines the bonds of...

‘The Parliament is a stage, and all the M.P.s are merely puppets: They have their shouting spells and their walk-outs; The pressure groups of the time  pull the puppet strings,...

  Constitution makers made judiciary independent to ensure that these higher ideals were made a reality. An independent judicial system was created with the sole purpose of delivering justice to...

Politics is deepening the chasm between haves and have nots -which is portentous for the future of society-a peaceful world cannot exist with one third rich and two thirds hungry....

With the elections over and the legislators in place, the machinery is ready to run and deliver. Now here comes the crucial question. Does the machinery work by itself ?...

The simple fact that there are limits to growth of any town for providing civic amenities even of passable standards, somehow, has been missed by the city authorities. Further, it...

 The leader of a nation, the public servant, must epitomise civic virtues: he must be honest, law-abiding and selfless. Instead of  speaking about justice, he must live it; not to...

The real issue is the complete lack of attention to putting in place a democratic, accountable governance structure in place in these ‘industrial townships’! Existing NOIDA model is a classic...

  The future of the Jan Suraaj Party can be predicted. Nursed at infancy by the alcohol lobby the party can hardly be sober. If elected to rule it would...

 The majority of voters are facing the brunt of corrupt and pathetic governance even though these are the empowered people who make or mar the future of these wily politicians....

 My service of four decades has made me comprehend one simple truth - corruption travels from top to bottom not otherwise. Inefficiency and corruption are the two sides of the...

The significance of football in Mandela’s life extended beyond Robben Island. After his release in 1990, Mandela understood the deep cultural power of sport to bridge divides, a realization that...

 For any nation to survive in this competitive world with dignity and to be respected by other nations- having decisive economic and military might is a prerequisite. Obviously, no nation...

Vinesh Phogat’s story serves as a reminder of the delicate line between activism and politics. Her journey, once one of hope and resistance, now stands at a crossroads. Will she...

Despite tall claims made by successive governments of “zero tolerance to corruption”, our nation  is known for its widespread corruption rampaging across all sectors because of the thoroughly corrupt political...

  Of late there is increasing use of bulldozers in States by the authorities to raze the residential and business premises of the ‘accused’ who are yet to be proclaimed...

 It’s time to rethink how we allocate resources in Indian sports. Rather than focusing on celebrating individual triumphs with monetary rewards, we should invest in the broader sporting community. By...

The mafia ruling the medical education system are political heavyweights with humongous clout and tremendous wealth to not only influence but also to determine lucrative decisions. This  enables them to...

  For the past several years, social media platforms have become easy and very fertile ground for various religious, sectarian, extremists and political outfits to espouse their sinister agendas with...

The real tragedy lies in how this situation was allowed to unfold in the first place. How did we, as a nation, let one of our finest athletes, who had...

We need to heed the salutary advice of the great thinkers, philosophers and ethical leaders to be tolerant, just and compassionate, to live and let live. Then only will we...

The beauty about space and universe is that no matter what you say about it, no one can say that you are wrong since the entire universe is not explored...

This humungous coaching culture is the product of a mindless pursuit by question paper setters of UPSC to ask such complex questions which are beyond the capability of any normal...

Drug addiction has developed into a serious health pandemic now. It is not only destroying the abuser but his entire family, ravaging the society and the nation. It promotes anti-social behavior such...

M Hasan Lucknow, July 27, 2024: A sharp tussle has emerged within Shia community as Karbala battle has echoed in Palestinian fight aggressively during this Moharram. It was global phenomenon...

  M Hasan Lucknow, July 25, 2024: An intense debate has ensued in well-entrenched Shia community in India-Pakistan over some “objectionable” comments of Shia cleric Maulana Aqee-lul- Gharavi against world...

               These serious slippages have been showing  for decades but the people in power have either decided to close their eyes or were complicit in perpetuating...

  The magnitude of this Delhi excise scam and the brazen manner in which it was executed is mind boggling. How could the CM, Dy. CM, ministers of Delhi government...

Since independence, the country and its states have seen and tested many governments and  many parties, but all the governments and leaders knowingly or unknowingly, so far, seem to agree...

  People in every state, in every part of our country, irrespective of the party in power are still suffering at the hands of the corrupt bureaucracy and police. No...

  The new government at the center must have a serious re-look at the economic policies which have been mindlessly followed for decades leading to the current state of affairs...

      The current neo liberal economic policies have allowed free run due to the overarching influence of billionaires. The unbridled greed of the rich and powerful to accumulate...

  We have learned to rule as a mob, perhaps, but, not certainly, as an enlightened community. An eminent journalist of the sub-continent has described, rather aptly, the current democratic...

  The Muslim community victim of historical othering, social exclusion, violence and other prejudices during the last one decade under majoritarian India has this time resorted to “tactical silence” to...

  According to a recently published world inequality report inequality  in India has skyrocketed since the early 2000s, with the wealth share of the top one per cent of the...

    The media remained complicit and did not question Kejriwal on facts already in the public domain and laid bare before the courts by investigating agencies, which prove beyond...

  Day in and day out we find the newspapers full of advertisements from this breed of universities offering a whole spectrum of courses from liberal arts to engineering to...

  Democracy has to stand for, equality in terms of opportunity for education training, employment, and, business ventures, that is, complete access to every facility for development for every citizen...

  Higher education programmes therefore are not merely degree awarding exercises but meant to enhance perceptions, sensitivity and creativity. Unlike functional literacy, at the other end of the spectrum, the...

  This whole business of Madrassas has assumed proportions of a racket. UP and Bihar Madrassas overproduce Maulvis who are employed as Imams, Muezzins and Khateebs on petty salaries. They...

  Justice has to be accessible, justice has to be equitable and justice has to be swift, in order to be meaningful. The  judicial system is massive, stretching from the...

Undoubtedly, our ​democracy is imperiled today with the octopus like grip that black money has on impacting our elections at every level of our polity. In addition to that political...

Tinkering in the appointments to the top positions in various institutions of the governments like CBI, ECI, CVC, CAG etc. has not produced the desired results. There is always a...

Inflammatory speeches, intentional or otherwise, senseless reporting of events and even a casual remark communicated, now over the mob.is capable of creating unrest of dangerous proportions, and, has done so,...

  The issue is not whether Manu is a villain or a saint, nor that Manusmriti should be considered holy or should be burnt, but that whether it has any...

  While the BJP has vociferously publically opposed “caste census, caste politics” to consolidate Hindu vote bank, in Muslim community the party has “Pasmanda gameplan” to split the community. It...

Vaccines are available to take care of the computer-machine viruses, but,as on date, no vaccine is available to counter the virus of dishonesty in men, to ensure cent percent reliability...

The matter is straight forward. How far, a nation with millennia old culture, can go back in time to correct historical wrongs. Since emotions and sentiments can not be codified,...

Since science of argument, has no final end, With gowned pleaders ,likes of Sibal, Singhvi, to contend, Learned Judge should only grasp the facts, and, show them out, For the people to trust...

The inability to take a decision is not inherent in the individual or the authority, but is largely, induced by external forces of muscle, money and mob. Sadly, the political...

  During nearly 38 years in public service, I have noticed one thing clearly- that our ruling class, politicians and bureaucrats included, have one unwritten rule or understanding, whatever one...

  Pride is justified but, in the true spirit of Hinduism, there can be no room for prejudice. The reignited lamp should illuminate the greatness of the past and light...

  Nations, who shelter elements inimical to our national interests, need to be handled prudently and strongly. The debate about the moral way or otherwise are all subject to interpretation-...

  Over the years percentage of women in government jobs has remained below 12 percent and it has hovered between 20 to 25 percent in higher Civil Services like IFS,...

  Despite tall developmental claims India’s heath and education system is pathetic. Our villages and most towns are devoid of even basic civic facilities like sewage system, sanitation, clean drinking...

  The base issue to focus on, is not the division of the available opportunities, caste, community, colour, language, latitude, or, longitude wise, but on the creation of more and...

  Serious cases of murder, rioting, embezzlement, extortion etc continue to remain in an endless queue yet the cases of people with political God fathers or, Mr.Deep Pockets, continue to...

The brazen expenditure of crores of rupees in elections by various political parties and their candidates has become a norm. This truth cannot be denied now. The dominance of black...

  Recently a seminar was held in Nainital, a prominent hill-town, which is becoming unliveable for the permanent residents. The objective was to identify the reasons for the decline and...

  The people’s representative, elected (unfortunately?) by us believes that he/she, is a Don above all laws and regulations which apply to the common citizen. And the political parties, defeated...

The accomplishments of a ruling party may not be much to write home about, but, when neatly dressed smiling faces of the political leaders gaze at you from the front...

    As the youngest mountain range connected to half a dozen countries, affecting the geo-climate over a large region, the  little attention given to the integrated eco-friendly, development of...

The selection process of the judges through the Collegium system itself is a hush-hush affair and only the outcome is known to the public at large. On what grounds X...

    The logical question is that when money is extracted through illegal means to carry on the electoral campaigns of political parties -then in the eventuality of such illegal...

    The serious existential crisis looming over Mr. Kejariwal’s future as CM and his politics because of this excise scam is becoming graver every day. The facts which are...

  The comment that qualified hate speech was worrying as it indicated disturbing trend that has roiled the country in recent times. It is not only poisoning minds and polarising...

  The Opposition parties alliance named as INDIA has been stitched together with the same old tattered faces, tainted to the hilt, dyed with lack of integrity, devoid of morality...

  When political parties and politicians start spending billions of rupees to win elections, their proximity to money bags is the obvious outcome of this greatest sin in democracy. Hence ...

  The central and state Governments, in the light of the observations of Parliamentary standing committee, should immediately take corrective steps to bring the pattern of all the competitive exams...

  The culture of the blame game is all pervading. In the Parliament the opposition targets the government and blames it for the wrong policies being followed creating unrest, unemployment,...

  Even after seven decades of independence we remain bracketed in the category of corrupt nations and have failed miserably to provide clean, honest and efficient delivery and governance system...

      The unfortunate part of our nation’s life is that it remains deeply mired in all pervasive corruption and the worst sufferers consequently are the poor and marginalized...

  Anti student policies in admissions have pushed our education system to the brink of disaster and students are forced into the dragnet of flourishing coaching classes to qualify by...

Blowing hot and cold in the debates on supposed interference in religious precepts and practices, as well as, creating disturbances at the drop of a hat, on imagined affront to...

  The scams of the Delhi government exemplify the selfsame brazen looting. The story of 400 plus fake appointments by the current Delhi government is an astounding saga of lies...

  It is said that law is blind but in India, it appears, that it is colour blind. It recognises only black silk gowns and nothing else. There are any...

    The Kejriwal Government has spent Rs 1106.02 crore on advertisement, in the last three financial years which include Rs 297.70 crore in 2020-21; Rs 596.37 crore in 2021-22...

      Those castigating the current defection saga in Maharashtra need to reflect whether they were not, once upon a time, skilfully playing the same game of power grabbing....

        The preliminary examination of civil services exams conducted by UPSC has reached such a level of absurdity that now experts call these exams a kind of...

  In the ongoing violence in Manipur, the time has come to  expeditiously  end  the violence by acting impartially and taking stringent steps. Strong signals have to be sent to...

  While working in Uttar Pradesh, I came across several instances of medical college buildings built with hundreds of crores of rupees lying vacant. They had become the refuges of...

  Despite availability of these technological tools, it seems the system failed to adopt them to the optimum. This horrifying collision shows that the work on adoption of these technologies...

  The leaderless Muslim community under the control of Mullahs has already been politically marginalised during the last ten years and further caste division, as is evident glaringly, is threatening...

    The hackneyed slogans of garibi hatao , sarvajan hitaye, sabka vikas have failed to deliver to the populace which has been reduced to subsisting on doles and freebies...

  In the ongoing Karnataka election campaigns of contesting parties, it is back to caste, religion and freebies. Instead of debating the policies and programmes mentioned in their manifestos and...

    Today's Indian women are more literate and educated. They're enrolling in schools and colleges in greater numbers and staying in school longer than previous generations did. But that...

    In a highly criminalized electoral politics the pampering of criminals-turned politicians has assumed serious dimension with almost all political parties opening floodgates to criminals for electoral gains. In...

    Increasing the upper age limit for women candidates for competitive exams like Civil Services Exams etc to 35 years would be a first step in this direction which...

    The incompetence and inefficiency of the police administration is always blamed for such turbulences when the fact is that the police administration can control any situation if allowed...

  The unfortunate part of “history rewriting spree” is that it doesn’t serve national interest in any way. Ignoring true history and distorting it to serve the narrow political ends...

Corruption preponderates in our governance system and  taints public life. Our nation is governed  by the “rule of law” but in practice, it remains limited to being  on paper only....

  Rahul Gandhi has contented that the opposition is not allowed to raise issues in the Parliament and he is not given a chance to speak. The parliamentary records speak...

There is an urgent need to take corrective steps to change the deplorable conditions. For that it is essential that principled leaders start working indefatigably in the interests of the...

    The irony is that most of the leaders who have occupied prominent positions in our country have been so self- centered that after attaining power they have negated...

With the high and the mighty, transgressing the approved and accepted framework of law, laid down rules, regulations, and, procedures, wrong signals go to the common people. And, soon enough...

  The bed-rock of democratic governance is discipline. And, if the bed-rock, the very foundation, is missing all the structures, the legislature, the executive, and, the judiciary collapse, like a...

  To win elections the political parties find it easier to raise emotions and promise sops rather than put forth concrete program of development and outline the formidable efforts required....

  Opposition for opposition’s sake has been the guiding principle of political parties, and, frivolous, half true, and false statements, their main tools to create mountains out of mole hills....

    The yawning chasm between the rich and poor in visible everywhere in our country. It is callous that our ruling class and the well to do in our...

  To destroy a nation all one needs to do is to destroy the youth. The impressionable young minds can be easily programmed to accept illusion for reality, and perceive...

   Any system of governance which is devoid of truth and morality is bound to aggravate the misery of the people whom they govern. This all-pervading amoral culture of mal-...

    As the state of the nation supervisor, the media has immense responsibility since every wrong reporting, can and does, more often than not, lead to grave consequences soon...

In recent years, there has developed the common perception, that the guardians of the constitution, the Hon’ble Courts,  seem to be over reaching the functions and powers enshrined for them...

For the last several decades saving the environment has been the burning topic of the day, and, one international conference after another is being held in one country or the...

  A minuscule of officers dispose off the files in time, and, answer letters in time, however, the majority sits on the files, does not answer or even acknowledge letters...

  Stopping such Fellowships and such other rewards and fellowships will certainly demoralize deserving youth and deprive them of the consequential monetary support and adversely impact the nation’s march towards...

  History is a chronicle of man’s deeds and misdeeds, achievements and failures, kindness and cruelty. The only purpose of the study of history is for the people to learn,...

Maha Upnishad, holds that, the world is a family and Brihadaranyaka  upnishad prayer is, lead me from darkness to light. These, and, any number more, are the nuggets of gold,...

   The country has failed to recognize that the all-pervading corruption in all kinds of construction activities is at the root of these problems. Bridges do not fall on their...

  During my tenure in HRD ministry a paper on neighborhood school concept was prepared and a former Union Education Secretary was tasked to study this scheme and come up...

    The decades of inept leadership which has mired this great nation in the cesspool of corruption, poverty and deprivations of all kinds. These incompetent, visionless, corrupt, avaricious leaders...

  Despite a road map laid out by the IIT Kanpur study to bring down the pollution levels in Delhi and NCR, very little was done by way of implementation...

Despite people suffering hardships of all kinds, for generations, surprisingly these very political parties have been quite successful in ensuring that people keep voting for them for the same promises...

The bottom line is that the stock markets are totally out of sync with the performance of the economy and its poor health. Clear signals are emerging that something is...

The tragedy of our nation is that competence and integrity are seldom the criterion for appointments to position of power which, undoubtedly, matter the most in determining the direction of...

Unfortunately,it is near hopeless,to expect moderation from the politician,as,arousing emotions is his bread and butter.But,certainly the media can present the right picture in the right way.Or is it hoping too...

We, as a nation, do not lack in resources. We have the knowledge, we have the manpower, we have the road map to achieve these goals. Unfortunately, we have lacked...

Education is not filling a pail but lighting a fire and higher education is more so. Higher education programmes therefore are not merely degree awarding exercises but meant to enhance...

Our invaluable franchise has to be exercised to elect authentic, principled, transformational leaders-not these outworn masqueraders desperately capturing and then dishonorably clinging to power. Dr. Smita Pandey King Alexander the...

We have to burn the candle at both ends,one end for illuminating our past and the other to light up the path to the future.We have to clearly view and...

The cost of any product is based on the cost of production, licensing cost, expenditure on setting up the additional facilities, if any, required for manufacturing the product and such...

The scholarly report reflects sincere idealism and deep erudition.The only question is whether the ground truth of the problem has been understood so that a realistic solution can be attempted?...

The faith of the people in the judiciary is the foundation of the third pillar and if the foundation gives way the entire edifice of democracy would come tumbling down....

The level of noise in the news-media, both print and electronic, has continued to increase over the past few decades, and, now it appears, that, the noise has overpowered the...

If the democratic governance in India has to be effective it is well past high time that responsible citizens be involved in overseeing the working of public institutions in a...

The elected have been changed from time to time but it seems to have made little difference. The reason is not hard to seek. From time to time Ali Babas...

The special skill of the politician consists in knowing what passions can be most easily aroused and when aroused how to prevent them from being harmful to himself and his...

The very idea of two Capitol establishments for Uttarakhand is not only senseless, but, an invitation to administrative and economic disaster. A summer capital for the resource starved state is...

Political shenanigans have clouded the fact that honest wages, for honest day's work, across the board, is the only key to national development and not any number of political promises....

Today, in the name of freedom of speech & expression, individuals mouth obscenities, slap unfounded charges, circulate fake news, indulge in character assassination, and, tell lies of every color, whenever...

The Samajwadi Party talks about concept of socialism but whenever it came to power in Uttar Pradesh it was far away from real concept of this ideology and its style...

All societies governed by rule of law have left very few choices to their people as laws themselves have clearly demarcated the boundaries between do’s and don’ts and specified the...

While political row over Covid vaccination drive is unfortunate, the government of India should launch it free of cost and without further delay. V S Pandey For past several days...

India has been ranked at 103 out of 119 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2018 with hunger level in the country categorised as serious. Unfortunately, the country’s ranking has...

Long cherished hopes of judicial settlement of the decades-old vexed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute now appears in sight, as the Supreme Court has fixed October 18 deadline for both parties to...

Even as Assam continues to struggle with finalising and updating National Register of Citizens (NRC) where 1.9 million residents have been excluded, various BJP-led state governments are toying with the...

Dr HC Pande Lucknow: The U.P. Government has just come out with a proposed umbrella act to ensure that the standards of higher education are not diluted with the expansion...

M Hasan Lucknow, May 26: The newly appointed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for carrying the Muslim minority together is unlikely to be materialised without satisfactory resolution to the Ayodhya...

Dr HC Pande On 26th January,1950 the people of India took a vow,that for better or worse,it is democracy or nothing.Now in the 72nd year of existence as a democracy,...

Dr H C Pande With the general elections having been announced,the political haute-couture designer fraternity is having a field day,and,their order-books are over flowing.The Beautician,the Ghost-writer,and,the Ideology Bar-tender,are having whale...

Dr HC Pande It is said that the strength of democracy is the strength of the small man.In India,in its democratic scheme of governance,the small man is hugely conspicuous by...

Dr HC Pande Defining democracy,M.N.Roy once remarked that it is nothing but just the majority of one.The truth of this remark need not be discussed here,since in India,democracy is alive...

Dr Smita Pandey "It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are not punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." Voltaire’s ironical truth resonates...

Editorial  The image of Indian media (both print and electronic) is in the shamble. With every passing day the situation is going from bad to worse and there appears to...

Editorial: The elimination of corruption and restoration of transparency in country’s political system is unlikely to be achieved without complete ban on political funding by the corporate houses. Huge funds...

Editorial The investigating agencies have failed to nab PNB bank looter Nirav Modi and others so far. Unfortunately even after lapse of nearly four months the investigating agencies are beyond...

The caste and communal prejudices for political gains have assumed serious dimension in the country, which is threatening the democracy and entire social fabrics. Unfortunately communal and caste-based political parties...