• UNITY OR UNIFORMITY?

    School children wear uniforms, because they are vulnerable and impressionable; hence need a distinct identity and protection. However, when they grow into critically aware young adults entering college, they abandon their school uniforms. College campuses are a riot of colour, after the staid straight jackets of school kids. Is our country a mosaic of many…

  • DE-CODING THE UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

    (A background paper to assist stakeholders in responding to the Questionnaire prepared by the Law Commission) A. INTRODUCTION: The Law Commission (LC) of the Govt of India (GOI), headed by retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Dr B.S. Chauhan, has on 7/10/16 issued an Appeal and prepared a Questionnaire with 16 questions; seeking a response from…

  • POVERTY vs. PROSPERITY

    Prima facie, such a topic is hardly debatable. Poverty is a curse, and prosperity is bliss. It brooks no argument; unless of course one is a Christian with a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible, and the orthopraxis of the Catholic Church. This “debate” entered my head while attending the 10th annual awards ceremony of the…

  • OBITUARY: NO LONGER NAKED, BUT LIBERATED

    (George Menezes 10/4/1928 – 9/92016) Two years ago I did a review of the book “The Naked Liberal“, on anthology on George Menezes, written by Selma Carvalho.   I enjoyed reading the book, and also writing the review; because it was a labour of love for someone I loved, cherished and respected. Now he has crossed…

  • MISSING THE SAINT FOR THE MIRACLES

    After watching the canonisation ceremony of Mother Teresa on TV on 4th September, I don’t know whether to yawn with ennui, or bang my fists with angst. I was not particularly enthused about Mother Teresa being declared a Saint, as I believed that, her human shortcomings notwithstanding, she was always a living saint, and did…

  • CLOSING THE FLOODGATES ON SURROGATES

    Surrogacy has been in the news, because a bill to close the floodgates on the surrogates is being introduced in Parliament. More than the issue of surrogacy itself, what really opened another floodgate was the statement of Shushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, that gay couples would not be allowed to go for surrogacy, as…

Latest Comments

  1. The term ‘Laity’ (Greek word) that means the common man, devoid of knowledge or power, still holds good today in…

  2. Your play on the words scribe, scribble, scrabble and scramble is very apt and has neatly traced the route to…

  3. Thank you for this insightful piece. Your parallel between the biblical scribes and modern bureaucracies hits the nail on the…

  4. Quantum of sorrow appropriate title Just thinking of the trauma those Altar boys r going through