Viswanathan K's Thoughts

In an earlier blog , we saw how a coin tester was responsible for the “discovery” of Ashoka. The story we know today goes like this. Conquers Kalinga in a brutal war. Experiences extreme remorse. Converts to Buddhism. Spends the rest of his rule in positive acts of governance.   But is that what really happened? Devansh Malik explores the question. One , Ashoka lived 2,300 years ago and there are very few sources of info. Two , those famous inscriptions on rocks and pillars, well, Ashoka got them done, so can we be sure that they weren’t just “ancient press releases - public messages carefully crafted to shape his image”? Three , Buddhist descriptions of him were written centuries later, so how accurate were they?   To make matters worse, the different sources don’t always agree. In fact, they often flat out contradict each other! One thing they do agree on is that as a prince, Ashoka was very capable at administration and at military strategy. But he wasn’t the favou...

As Narendra Modi continues as PM, some have started questioning what, if anything, has he done so far. To me, this sounds weird. Did he not increase railway fares (thereby reducing the railway subsidy)? Is he not continuing the trend of letting the market decide fuel prices (thereby reducing the oil subsidy)? A reduced subsidy account means that the government has more money for other things like, I don’t know, infrastructure or hospitals. So to me, the real question is how Modi intends to spend the money gained via the reduced subsidies? And equally importantly, can he ensure those projects get executed at all (and dare I say, executing them on time and at cost)? All this questioning reminds me of this article by Aaron David Miller that talked about how “great” American leaders no longer seem to emerge. After Washington, Lincoln and FDR…nobody. Notice the common theme, says Miller: “We admire the bold, transformational leader who seeks fundamental change, and value less the c...