Anation of over billion people, fastest growing economy, established democratic government, huge military establishment yet India is helpless, looking for US to assist in bringing culprits to book for a crime that shamed national pride and killed over 200 Indians broadcasted live on various Television channels. On the other hand Pakistan is a rouge state, no financial power except military backed up by ISI and D Company. Jihadi’s are regularly making mockery of Indian establishment since Mumbai bomb blast in 1993 till date unabated. They have created huge presence in India with local help and taking advantage of religious divide that exist in India, now when Taliban have forced Pakistan to accept Shariat law in Swat valley in North West province the threat is more real to India than it ever existed.

A nation of over billion people, fastest growing economy, established democratic government, huge military establishment yet India is helpless, looking for US to assist in bringing culprits to book for a crime that shamed national pride and killed over 200 Indians broadcasted live on various television channels. On the other hand Pakistan is a rouge state, no financial power except military backed up by ISI and D Company. Jihadi’s are regularly making mockery of Indian establishment since 1993 Mumbai bomb blast to date unabated. Just take an example of recent 26/11 case fallout and Indian response, the 11,280 page-chargesheet was filed by Mumbai Police in a court in Mumbai and it nails the Lashkar-e-Taiba as the main conspirator behind the outrage. The chargesheet names 47 accused of which 45 are Pakistanis. Three have been arrested and 9 killed but 35 Pakistani nationals wanted in connection with the attacks still haven’t been caught. The two suspected armymen, who figured in the list of the 35 wanted accused from Pakistan in the 26/11 chargesheet, were named as Major General Saab and Colonel R Saadat Ullah. The other 33 wanted Pakistanis mentioned in the November 26 Mumbai terror attack case chargesheet, included Zaki-ur-Rehman Laqvi, Yousif Muzammil, Abu Kafa, Abu Ramza and Zarar Shah, all commanders of the banned terror outfit Laskhkar-e-Taiba (LeT), now the ball is in Pakistan court, guess what next? No prize is offered though. A day after the Mumbai police filed the chargesheet in the terror case, the martyr’s late Major Unnikrishnan father found no sense of justice but only anger. “The chargesheet filed in Mumbai attack is over 11000 pages….who will be able to read, I think its an eyewash,” said K Unnikrishnan.

His big break came in 1994 after his film Shallow Grave came out. The black-humored story was a major hit on the indie film circuit and led to him directing one of the most well-known films of that decade, Trainspotting (1996). The success of Trainspotting, starring an unknown Ewan McGregor and Kelly Macdonald, pretty much solidified Boyle’s place as a director with talent, virtually guaranteeing him work and his choice of projects.

Boyle went through a few rough years after Trainspotting without a major success, but in 2002 he hit the big time again with a zombie film — of all things. 28 Days Later, starring Cillian Murphy and Naomi Harris, struck a goldmine with audiences and spawned a sequel in 2007 (this time with Boyle producing only, not directing) entitled 28 Weeks Later. Boyle continued to work actively as director and producer with Sunshine, starring Rose Byrne and Michelle Yeoh, again garnering a lot of positive buzz on the indie film circuit.

1 At the outset we respectfully submit that an independent, impartial and honest judicial system is backbone of a civil society. Therefore, in view of the recent incidents that have appeared in Media and in some cases we have observed that the independence/impartiality of present judicial system has suffered a serious setback obviously for reasons understandable.

2. The issue about professional qualifications and competence of judges is also under scanner. There are instances wherein not only the conduct but also the judgments pronounced by some of the judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court Judges have raised serious issues resulting into crisis of crediability of the Courts.

3. We had been observing that over the years the quality of judges being appointed in the High Courts has suffered a setback resulting into degradation of justice dispensation system. The sole reason for such degradation is that the lawyers of repute earning much morethan the salary of a judge are not interested in joining judiciary.

Domestic economic power will bring, slowly, international power. The rupee has a good chance of being the world’s reserve currency, unless the US follows a’scorched earth’ policy and allows a change to the system of single dominant currencies just as the dollar is being booted out. No worry. Being the world’s reserve currency has its downs as well as ups. And India’s rise is probably good for the world, too. Of course, every hegemon considers their hegemony good for the world. Remember Kipling? But America has proved an ill-suited guardian of power: too trigger-happy and too spendthrift. India’s may well succumb to the latter ailment, but its cultural background may save it from the former. Certainly, India’s reasonableness and self-restraint so far in its fight against terrorism is un-American.

This future will be seen more clearly in the second half of the century than the first. The future for the advanced economies looks like India of the recent past. In the future, we will have repressed banking. Much of it will be voluntary. Bankers’ appetite for risk has been crushed and replaced with an insatiable appetite for liquidity. In the past banks gave away liquidity; now they are hoarding it. But if any bankers out there were not with the new programme, they will be regulated into line. There will be a regulatory backlash from the crash. It will be morally justified, but it may not be economically or financially so.

As the two teams took a few hours break, Dhoot sought divine help. I found a temple in Paris and prayed there for two hours. In the evening when we met for the next round of talks, I offered prasadam to our Thomson counterparts. Soon, they began to talk my language and we closed the deal on our terms, he says.

Dhoot, however, does not seek God’s help only to close a deal. He prays daily reciting two chapters of the Gita. Like his father and grandfather, Dhoot undertakes annual pilgrimages, too.

Like him, many corporate chieftains have an intense relationship with religion and spirituality. Whether it is Anil Ambani going to temples with his close friends, metal magnate Anil Agarwal naming his company after an ancient spiritual tradition, or Vijay Mallya flying on his private jet to Tirupati for divine blessings faith permeates corporate boardrooms in multiple ways.

Does faith also heal some wounds during an economic slowdown? Are prayers and meditation helping CEOs in the present scenario?

Parsvnath Developers’ Founder and Chairman, Pradeep Jain, born into a Jain family, is a follower of Sai Baba. Each room in his office has a picture of Sai Baba. Indeed, BT met him on a Thursday Sai Baba’s day against the backdrop of a Sai hymn playing in the background.

Jain says: The terrible last few months, when the macroeconomic environment deteriorated for realty players, did not perturb me too much because Baba is there. Sanjiv Goenka, Vice-Chairman, RPG Enterprises, says: I was born into a deeply religious family where I was encouraged to pray everyday. It is a habit which remains to this day. And I do not do it merely for compliance. For Goenka, his beliefs strengthened during a particularly tough time of his life. For B.K. Modi,Buddhist philosophy became a focal point after his father’s demise in
1977.

There are many things in common between Dr Kakodkar and Dr Nair — rural origin, robust scientific background, similarity in training and employment, known scientific accomplishments in crucial sectors, masterly leadership of institutions in their respective areas (BAARC and VSSC) remaining in their respective states (Maharashtra and Kerala ) for the most part and so on.

But the point of interest for me is that both of them played a significant role in Vienna during my own time in the Austrian capital. In my work in Vienna, I had more to do with Dr Kakodkar and Dr Nair than with my own colleagues in the ministry of external affairs.

The fact that they were highly regarded, personable and purposeful was a factor of extreme importance in my role in Vienna as the permanent representative of India to the United Nations. Their work beyond Vienna may have won them laurels now, but their work in Vienna was also worthy of approbation and emulation.

The global recession has meant that large corporates worldwide are downsizing their staff, production and expenses. Even some of India’s biggest companies have laid off several employees and might continue doing so in the coming months. Agreed the economy is in bad shape. But remember great opportunities exist even if an economy is in bad shape. It is those who capitalise on these opportunities and sustain themselves even through tough times who will rule the economy in the coming years. Folks looking to start a new business, Indian startups, small and medium enterprises, SMEs, need to look at the market in a positive way and find their way towards a great future. Young entrepreneurs, start-ups as well as employees who have got laid off, should consider recession as nature’s plan to bring fresh perspective and new motivation to the world. Future leaders are current individuals who believe in change, globalisation, new strategies and innovations.