Debarth's Den

As I watched the delirious celebrations of the English Cricket team after it outlasted the Australian team to win the Ashes, a certain amount of vicarious pleasure buoyed my spirits as well. Strangely, though, I also felt an unusual sense of pity for the Australian team members. The heady days of Australian dominance when they battered the wits out of every team on the planet are yet to fade from memory even as the team stood with forlorn faces staring at the excruciating result of a series that was purported to be one of sweet revenge. The arrogance and conceit that had made Australia the Bete Noire of world cricket with that undisputed aura of invincibility have suddenly been ground to dust. Ricky Ponting’s men looked just so vulnerable in defeat that pity was but a natural and spontaneous emotion that welled up in me at that moment. The Australian game of aggression, intimidation and mental disintegration had claimed many a foe with uncanny precision, and an innocuous English team w...

No sooner had I got over my sordid musings about racists and racism by venting them out in this space (“The Color of Equality”, 14th August), I am confronted with more of the same. The news of Shah Rukh Khan being detained and questioned on suspicion of being a terrorist by the Newark police for two hours flashed disturbingly across TV channels in India. I am no great fan of SRK’s acting abilities nor have I been influenced in any degree by his charismatic sway over the masses. Yet, I found the news disquieting. It is just that the egregiousness of intent on the part of the American security staff is so starkly visible in the episode. The bristles from the impudent behavior of the staff of United Airlines’ flight to Newark towards our former president, Dr. Abdul Kalam are still fresh in the mind of every proud Indian when this new tale of White American arrogance made the headlines. Both the instances of effrontery were cleverly camouflaged under the pretext of “national security guide...

As an Indian, the completion of the sixty-second year of my country’s Independence evokes in me a mixture of emotions. The country has indeed moved on. From being an underdeveloped nation with an uncertain future, India today has risen in stature to be one of the powers to be reckoned with on the world stage. Industry and intellect have combined to transform a country of hope into one of fiery ambition to be a major protagonist in the affairs of the continent. Yet, I say a mixture of emotions because in spite of all the achievements over the last six decades, the nation hasn’t moved as far forward as is desirable. We have certainly freed ourselves from the reins of a foreign monarchy, but can we say that we are independent in the true sense of the term? How can a country gain Independence if it is still hopelessly dependent on the following? DIRTY POLITICS : The biggest scourge of the country yet. Politics in its ugliest form has continuously deprived the laity of its fair share of edu...

Close to two decades have elapsed since Apartheid was officially pronounced dead in South Africa. People of the planet rejoiced at the advent into this world of secularity and equality in the fullest sense. However, many wondered whether a political resolution and a declaration on paper would have sufficed to cleanse the evil of racial prejudice from the hearts and minds of countless people who believed themselves to be “better” creations of God thus far. As is evident from incidents reported with increasing frequency from various corners of the “white” world, racism is far from dead. It continues to thrive and prosper in the minds of fair-skinned egotists who still believe that the color of the skin supersedes every other quality in a human being. Even the most powerful of people are not secure from this deep-rooted evil. The case of US president Barack Obama is worthy of note in this regard. Obama minced no words in his criticism of a certain police officer who humiliated a well know...