Thank You, BCCI, for Hitting Back at Dave Richardson

When will the westerners ever get out of their colonial hangover? ICC official Dave Richardson criticizing Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni shows some of them still think they rule the world.
It was good to see the ICC hit back, and hard.
If it was the English captain who had said this I am sure the ICC would have gone ahead and scrapped the system.
The balance of power in the world is shifting, and if these guys don't understand that we need to show them their place.
And it nice of the India cricket board assert to itself even though India's political masters still know only to kow tow.

Does India Really Need an Annual Budget?

Another budget. As the cloud settles over the annual financial ritual I can't but help wonder why we still need this relic from the past.
We are no longer a planned economy in the true sense of the term, 5-year Plans not withstanding. And policy changes now cannot wait for the annual acrobatics; they need to be announced to catch the fast-changing economic landscape.
So why do we need annual budget? Frankly I don't know.
But there is serious money in celebration of this annual rite -- for the media. Just as our elections are a way for the media to mint money.
Apart from that I see no need for this exercise. But then, when has India shown that it can break away from the burdens of the past?

Is India ripe for mass protests too?

The protests sweeping the Middle-East and Northern Africa make me wonder if it is time Indians too stepped into the streets to hold mass protests against the government.
We all know how corrupt and putrid our political system is, and going by the corruption scandals that erupt steadily and get squelched as steadily, I suspect India's political rulers are way more corrupt that some of those despots in the Middle East. Think of the government's reticence to find out and bring to book Indians who have slashed money in tax havens.
The question, maybe, is not whether we should hold protests -- but who will lead them and what next?
The drama playing out in the Middle East is far from ended, and big question marks hang over how the political vacuum there will be filled -- without the anarchy that we saw in Iraq soon after the Saddam regime was toppled and before the Americans finally wielded power.
Is India ready for that. And, given how manipulative our politicians are and how prone to divisive doctrines we as a people are, can we ever put up a unified protest?