GENRE: Voices

Its 8:30 am and Doctor MRV Prasad is on his rounds - but this time it's a different kind of rounds. Dr Prasad is contesting the MLA elections from the Padmanabhanagar constituency on a JD (S) ticket. He is constantly going door-to-door asking people to vote for him. The campaign is a low-key affair, with only a handful of supporters walking with Prasad. Dr Prasad has been a physician in Thyagarajanagar for the last 40 years. A man on scooter, on spotting Dr Prasad, stops and tells him that he went by his nursing home but there was no one…

"A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user."- Theodore RooseveltIn democracy, vote is the rifle. Vote is the power. Vote is the panacea to ills of the society. Vote is the instrument to bring about the desired changes in one's surroundings, society and country. Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can also reach us through Twitter or Facebook! Bengaluru This Week Get our free weekly newsletter. Name Email Bengaluru This Week archives. The Indian democracy has two challenges.Making everyone vote.Voting…

It is election season in our state and in our city. Citizens of our state and city are faced with that important question - who to vote for? I am repeatedly asked this question by many Bengalureans wherever they encounter me - be it my morning walk or when I am out for a social occasion or at work.It is not my business to tell you who to vote for but I can certainly help you understand the challenges that we face as a city and state and pose the questions to the person who will represent you in our…

It's a sign of our times that while we are positive about many aspects of our lives, we are negative about politics. Many of us choose to live in an insulated world, scorning the ‘filth' of the political machinery. Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can also reach us through Twitter or Facebook! Bengaluru This Week Get our free weekly newsletter. Name Email Bengaluru This Week archives. For those who do so, let me tell you that you are wrong. Let me also tell you why you…

Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can also reach us through Twitter or Facebook! Bengaluru This Week Get our free weekly newsletter. Name Email Bengaluru This Week archives. I'm a just-so person. Have no political affiliation, do not belong to a community that has political clout or to any significant group / union that can make noise and is sought after by political parties (like some auto drivers who throw tantrums, forget what their job is and can go on a "pre-poll" strike so that they can…

Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can also reach us through Twitter or Facebook! Bengaluru This Week Get our free weekly newsletter. Name   Email       Bengaluru This Week archives. Our politicians who are elected to office make many decisions that affect our lives -- they formulate laws and develop projects. They do this without consulting citizens, and later we citizens are forced to fight those that are unacceptable to us, on the streets and in courts. Elected representatives plan our cities without proper roads,…

As per the last census, Bangalore had a growth of over 48%. Across Indian cities, the growth has been rapid. It is the kind of growth that would have tested the best of political and managerial talent in an extremely empowered city - mayor kind of system that we see globally. Given that we do not have proper city governance system, no visionary leaders and lack of urban governance skills, we have a perfect storm developing across our cities. Do we stay with business as usual?Each of us has our own view of the problem in the city. It could…

It's hot - and I don't mean the weather. Election fever is spreading, with parties and politicians busy working out strategies that would help them retain (or get to) power.Politicians in power who drive through signals in official cars with red lights whirling on top and pilot cars ordering all traffic to make way for the VIP, have become suddenly supplicants, appearing with folded hands in roadside hoardings, telling us how keen they are to 'serve' us.Look at the party election manifestoes of last elections, and you will see that they all make near-identical promises in seeking votes - capturing…

Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can also reach us through Twitter or Facebook! Bengaluru This Week Get our free weekly newsletter. Name Email Bengaluru This Week archives. As I scrolled through some Facebook updates last week, I saw a note shared by my friend. It talked about a Political Action Internship by Prof Rajeev Gowda, an eminent personality who teaches at IIM Bangalore. I read through the note and it interested me. This turned out to be a great workshop covering some topics and uncovering many…

The recent ‘World Giving Index' published by the Charities Aid Foundation surveyed about 195,000 people living in 153 nations. According to the data, India ranked at 134 with only 14% known to have donated to a charity in the past 12 months, while 12% had offered to volunteer for a cause and 30% had helped strangers. The World Giving Index score of India only counted to 19. This is very poor considering the highest score on the index is 57 and the lowest is 12.How can India overcome this dismal status and move up the ranking? One answer can be…