Kanchan Banerjee

Welcome 2014! Welcome India! It’s Homecoming time once again! Excitement kicks off in New Delhi on January 7 with the inauguration of the 12thPravashiBharatiya Divas event. It is indeed, time to celebrate, to rejoice and to get engaged. In the good old days, people from around the globe flocked to India for both knowledge and wealth. The ancient Indian centres of learning – Universities of Takshashila and Nalanda and travelogues of numerous travelers from Greece, China and Middle East are testimonials of that rich bygone era. Always a safe haven for the world’s persecuted communities – including the Jews, the ...

No mean task –handling health-care of 1.2 billion peoplefor any country or government. Health-care services in India have undergone a vast change over the last few decades. The industry is expected to supersede China by 2030 in terms of population expansion. India has a curious mix – a mixed healthcare system – public and private. Public health-care is used mostly by the less affluent people and also for emergency services. There are ‘super-facility’ hospitals–mostly for the rich and affluent, locals and foreigners. These create headlinesin India’s economic progress stories that claim to provide health services at par with hospitals in ...

India is a wonderful paradox. The real strength of Indian lies in the ability to celebrate its amazing diversity. Catch the glorious hues of India’s diversity. Will Durant described India as ‘mother of us all’, through which the great river of ‘time’ flows incessantly, making it the oldest continuous civilization on earth that has not yet lost its past completely. It speaks in 20+ languages, and thousands of dialects; its dresses are fashion statements – from Sarees to Dhotis to Kurtas to colorful Turbans to Ghangras. Its tastes vary from north to south, east to west. India, the so called ...

The founders of ancient Indian civilisation chose to use language as key criteria. And hence, most states grew to be identified with one language. This saga continues with the government giving the nod to Telangana… but India should take pride in its multiplicity.  Early builders of modern India perceived the prime role that English education could play in order to match  up with the West. Imagine an India speaking French or Portuguese or even Arabic, as opposed to English. History witnessed not only the speakers of these languages ruled India, but also the Greeks and, for a short stint, an ...

Kanchan Banerjee urges each and every India to be an agent for change on the eve of the 67th Independence Day August 15 – the day India broke free from colonial shackles– has come again. This is the 67th year. A new India was born out of the old with the image of a modern nation, and guided by a Constitution which is largely British inspired till date. But asking question about Indian Constitution’s effectiveness for the people may not be a politically correct act. Although the Greeks are given credit, the idea of democracy originated in India, even the ...

West Bengal has been in the news lately several times – not always for good reasons. And that is the nature of news that are `catered’ to by and large these days all across the media platforms. ‘If it is not negative it is not ‘news’! Yes, there are cases of rapes, some unreported communal violence, missing people in Uttarakhand Nature’s fury, Left Wing Extremists threatening the lives of Chief Ministers and also mundane stuff like growing joblessness, legalities of panchayat polls etc. Yet, one must see beyond these to understand the state’s current affairs. Compared to many other states, ...

India is said to have become a nation-state on 15th August 1947, as if until then there was no idea of what is represented by a modern idea of nationhood. The idea of ‘rashtra’ which has wider meaning compared to ‘nation’ has existed in India from time immemorial. The idea of ‘Bharatvarsha’ is not an 18th or 19th century concept, but for millennia. Emperors Asoka and Chandragupta and even some of the Mughal rulers envisioned one India bound by common history and heritage. There lies the delinking of past, present and future of India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime ...

Bihar and Pataliputra (modern-day Patna) has one of the most glorious histories in the world. It has been 101 years since Bihar became a state of India. It is not in the distant past when Bihar’s name was uttered with negative connotations, and at times even derogatory. The socio-economic condition of Bihar became the example of a worst case scenario. However, it took only few years to change the face and the reputation of Bihar. Kudos to the government and the people of Bihar under the able leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, ...

Who said we are in the 21st century? Who said we are more civilized than the medieval era of brutality? If we look at the violent incidents of the past year in different parts of the world, they would tell a tale of manmade calamities affecting lives of millions which in itself is evidence of a global village full of primitive inhabitants and leaders for whom the progress of the civilization seems regressive. In the name of religion, violence is found in so many countries! The jihad is more visible around the world now than even 10 years ago. This ...

It appears that India has suddenly shaken off the stereotypical ‘caste, cows and curry’ image in all media and textbooks. The nation’s economy has touched a new high. It is now, almost third largest and militarily third most powerful. India has one of the largest educated middle class populations. That has made some people to call India, a super power. The potential is there, but what does being a super power mean? In the contemporary sense, power means economic and military power. This power could mean bullying and controlling world affairs, which is not the will of the people of ...