Interview of the Week
‘We are for Muslim quota, but proportionate to population’
He is the face Samajwadi Party is banking on. Akhilesh Yadav, son of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, has virtually taken over the reins of the party.
‘Reforms in India have been disappointingly slow’
Lord Karan Bilimoria, the founder of the famous brand Cobra beer in the UK, is a prominent British personality. He has maintained close links with India. In this interview with P.T. Thufail, he speaks of investment prospects for overseas Indians and their strong interest in charity, education and health in India
‘Pak’s Afghanistan policy is to support Taliban’
An influential US foreign affairs expert, Ashley J. Tellis, currently senior associate at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, tells Anand K. Sahay that in Pakistan the civilians are fighting a rearguard battle to protect their turf, and that this is being opposed by the Army and the judiciary in cahoots
‘In terms of manpower, the Indian Army is ageing’
On the occasion of Army Day, former Army Chief Gen. V.P. Malik says that the current method of civilian control over the military leaves much to be desired. He also tells Sridhar Kumaraswami that grouping all strike corps under a strategic command is not a good idea.
Given the current threat perceptions, do you think we need more soldiers/officers in our 1.1-million strong Army? And which weapon systems do you think need to be inducted?
‘Good science will come with risky research, high spending’
Dr Baldev Raj, former director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, tells
‘Our system encourages people not to behave in the right way’
What did you think of the discussion on the Lokpal Bill in Parliament?
December 29 was a very depressing day for me. First, we saw India lose to Australia in the Test match. A nation of 1.2 billion cannot produce 11 men who can beat a team from a nation of 19 million people. You can rationalise it in any way you like, but the point is: Did you do it? That’s all that matters. Then, I watched the Rajya Sabha proceedings.
