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A time to Party! and part with socialism
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Published on :
Sunday, August 15, 2010 |
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Political ideologies are simple tools by which people decide on the general direction they think society ought to take. In a true democracy, different political ideals have to compete to win the support of the people. But the Preamble to the Constitution was amended in 1976, and the election law in 1989, requiring all political parties to affirm to the Constitution, and to socialism. Now, the Supreme Court has acknowledged that there are valid questions on the issue of socialism, though academic, at this point in time. So it is a time to form a Party, and part with socialism. Let us be liberal and play the tune of freedom! Barun Mitra writes in Pragati magazine. |
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Independence Day: 10 Milestones in these 63 years
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Published on :
Saturday, August 14, 2010 |
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Political Independence was gained by India in 1947, but it took a long time for India to gain many other freedoms.In 1950, India turned a republic and in 1951, land reforms were initiated. Ambedkar reformes Hindu personal laws.1n 1973, judged were superceded in the appointment of CJI.The emergency took off our freedoms.The constitution abolished untouchability and the Narasimha Rao Government initiated economic reforms, which pushed us into an era of prosperity, writes Manoj Mitta in The Times Of India. |
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India: Soft state based on hard theories
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Published on :
Wednesday, August 04, 2010 |
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We shouldn't send an army against the Maoists and Naxalites. We need a much more nuanced approach. Several talks with and commissions for the Nagas haven't resulted in anything worthwhile. Chidambaram needs a hard state, but many like Digvijay Singh and Mani Shankar aiyar have a much more sophisticated stance.Our country can be called a "talking republic". Hopefully, it will always remain so, writes Jaithirth Rao in The Indian Express. |
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The grammar of anarchy
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Published on :
Monday, August 02, 2010 |
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Who can say how the people of India and their political parties will behave? A bad constitution can work well, if the people involved are good, and a good constitution will turn out to be bad if the people working on it are bad. An excerpt of the concluding speech B R Ambedkar delivered as Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee on the floor of the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949. It is our contribution on the occasion of the forthcoming 63rd anniversary of India's Independence. |
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A democracy can’t have a fixed ideology
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Published on :
Friday, July 16, 2010 |
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A democracy can't have a fixed ideology as far as the politico-economic system being implemented is concerned. The founding fathers of the Indian constitution, who were social democrats, thought so. The present situation that all political parties should swear allegiance to Socialism allows no difference of opinion, writes Sanjiv Agarwal in The Economic Times. |
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CIPE Youth Essay Contest 2010
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Published on :
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 |
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The Center for International Private Enterprise invites young people to share their ideas on how to create opportunities for youth to strengthen democracy and the private sector in their own countries. |
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Arab states: Need for citizenship, social contract and constitutional government
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Published on :
Thursday, July 16, 2009 |
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At the risk of sounding overly pessimistic, the new Western plans for the Middle East will soon prove futile. Many of these blueprints have been tested and failed in the past, and there is little reason to believe they will succeed now. At face value, a lack of democracy stands behind the failure of Arabs in building modern states. But such a diagnosis only scratches the surface. Modern states need citizens, and these are nowhere to be found in Arab countries, writes Hussain Abdul-Hussain in Al Ahram. |
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Report on the Julian Simon Lecture 2009, by Tom Palmer - "Enduring Democracy"
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Published on :
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 |
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Dr Tom Palmer delivered the Julian L Simon Memorial Lecture 2009, in New Delhi on 13 June 2009. He introducing the term "sustainable democracy", he said that, "Sustainable democracies are those that are limited and that incorporate institutions that protect rights – both individual rights and rights of local autonomy, from being overridden by collective choice. That is, sustainable democracy is liberal democracy." |
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Democracy and Limited Government: The unbreakable partnership
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Published on :
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 |
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A state needs two elements to qualify as a democracy. Some system to determine how the rights will be protected is needed, and John Locke showed why majorities are a good means to determine such policies. But a system of majoritarian democracy without, i.e, free speech, cannot determine what the majority opinion is and lapses into one or another form of dictatorship. On the other hand, insisting on various inviolable rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, entails limits on the power of majorities, as well as of minorities to exercise collective choice, says Tom Palmer. |
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MPs move PM on behalf of Burma's Suu Kyi
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Published on :
Thursday, June 11, 2009 |
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Parliamentarians have urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ask Myanmar to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and to hold elections with the widest possible representation. Co-convenor of the Indian Parliamentarians’ Forum for Democracy in Burma Sharad Joshi, who initiated the move, wanted India to change its policy towards Myanmar and establish contacts with the people there too, reports The Hindu. |
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