Dheeraj Kalgutkar

Yesterday, Indian Parliament headed by BJP which enjoys brute majority declared Article 370 which gave Kashmir special status in Indian union revoked, it bifurcated the Jammu and Kashmir state into two parts, and it also declared both the parts as Union Territories. The reason why they did this is one part of a debatable story; the manner in which they executed this is another. Kashmir was never a federal state like others. It was and continuous to be a military occupation (with increased troops now, one gunman to 10 civilians). But now it has lost even the facade of being an independent state. And we are told Kashmiris are real people. If they are real people like mainland Indians, why does military occupy civilian spaces there? When are we scrapping AFSPA? You have numbers now. You can do anything. Democracy, those who have read would know isn’t about numbers but doing what is right even when what you want to achieve is wrong in the eyes of the majority. It i...

Let me tell you an important story which for all reasons will be retold for years to come as our democracy transforms in coming decades. Way back in March 2014, 10 days before the general elections, the Delhi High Court found both BJP and Indian National Congress guilty of accepting foreign funds . The court ruled that these parties were violating the FCRA and were slated to be disqualified because both of them had taken donations from Vedanta and its subsidiaries — which are foreign entities — between 2004 and 2012.  — via Newslaundry.com I know how you are feeling. This was just before the biggest elections that voted in Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of the Republic of India. Imagine those elections without BJP and Congress; just imagine.  If this is indeed true (which it is), how come both parties fought the elections? That’s the interesting bit to know how political parties fight their battles and unite with ‘rivals’ when need be but we will come ...

Can I ask you something? Will you listen to me without any prejudice or malice or a quick label for me? Will you? I'm feared where we are heading. Are you? Just tell me what sort of protests are allowed? What pranks are allowed? Can I make fun of the ruling class? I ask this for I'm feared and worried. If a student leader in JNU can be arrested, I too can and you too. Everyone one of us is potentially at risk. Do you realize this? Do you realize where we are heading? Do you know what differentiates a India from Pakistan or Arab countries? Is whats happening today point to that difference or are we becoming one of them? Everyday someone or the other comes with, if you had done/said it there, they would have done like that! Now, have we scooped such low to compare ourselves with them? Are they our yardsticks now? I'm worried. I'm worried for you and me. I'm worried for this nation of ours! Leave everything aside, think. Think what is going wrong. JNU has always b...

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI's) much awaited Prohibition of  Discriminatory  Tariffs for Data Services Regulation, 2016, is being hailed for its support of Net Neutrality. In fact, some have gone on to christen it as the law that is all powerful than what the FCC passed in the US. The order comes nearly two months after TRAI floated a paper asking whether differential tariffs should be allowed for data services linked to specific content. This paper was linked to one of the key principles of Net Neutrality - that all data should be treated equally, with no preference in speed of pricing to any particular set of contact. But does it achieve all that, and is it really that strong a law as few want us to believe it to be? First and foremost, sorry, hold your horses, it is just an order not law and in the absence of law the aggrieved parties (read telcos) can question the order in High Court under section 227 of the Constitution. And for...