Articles by Ashwin Mahesh

Republic Day is a good time to think about citizenship, and the responsibilities it carries. The basic premise of a democracy is that the people imagine it, create it, shape it and sustain it. There are no 'others'. But in fact, what we find is that most people go about their lives without any of this. There are many reasons for this, but one important reason is misconception about what is needed. A lot of people think doing things for the public good is a 'major' commitment, and that they cannot achieve much by giving a few hours a week.…

Republic Day is a good time to think about citizenship, and the responsibilities it carries. The basic premise of a democracy is that the people imagine it, create it, shape it and sustain it. There are no 'others'. But in fact, what we find is that most people go about their lives without any of this. There are many reasons for this, but one important reason is misconception about what is needed. A lot of people think doing things for the public good is a 'major' commitment, and that they cannot achieve much by giving a few hours a week.…

It's too early to say that Swachh Bharat is failing. But it's getting late to say what it will take to make it work, and so far there is no sign of those things. 1. Get rid of the broom, and replace it with a pair of buckets—one for wet waste and the other for dry waste. Segregation at source is key to any garbage management plan. The PM's symbolic efforts with the broom did help signal an important focus that India needs, but getting the imagery right going forward will help even more. 2. Pass the Dumping Saaku law.…

It's too early to say that Swachh Bharat is failing. But it's getting late to say what it will take to make it work, and so far there is no sign of those things. 1. Get rid of the broom, and replace it with a pair of buckets—one for wet waste and the other for dry waste. Segregation at source is key to any garbage management plan. The PM's symbolic efforts with the broom did help signal an important focus that India needs, but getting the imagery right going forward will help even more. 2. Pass the Dumping Saaku law.…

I was surprised to see news reports that the Women's Right Commission (WRC) chief has written to the DGP and the Home Minister asking the State to discourage the Kiss of Love protest, because she felt it was uncivilised. In some ways, it shows how little she understands what her own job is. The WRC is intended to be a progressive body. If all that is required in a commission like this is that it should merely reflect whatever is going on in society, we would not need it at all. Child rights, women's rights, gender rights, dalit rights, minority…

I was surprised to see news reports that the Women's Right Commission (WRC) chief has written to the DGP and the Home Minister asking the State to discourage the Kiss of Love protest, because she felt it was uncivilised. In some ways, it shows how little she understands what her own job is. The WRC is intended to be a progressive body. If all that is required in a commission like this is that it should merely reflect whatever is going on in society, we would not need it at all. Child rights, women's rights, gender rights, dalit rights, minority…

A rising spate of regulations in the education sector is slowly choking the supply. And Education departments around the country are catching up to Revenue and Transport departments in their levels of corruption. The irony is that the Education department officials turn a blind eye to the government schools, which often don't meet even the most basic regulatory standards. Unfortunately, parents whose kids are in private schools are not sufficiently worried about this. They believe that schools should be forced to keep fees as low as possible, while delivering quality education. They also believe that their children's schools will pay…

A rising spate of regulations in the education sector is slowly choking the supply. And Education departments around the country are catching up to Revenue and Transport departments in their levels of corruption. The irony is that the Education department officials turn a blind eye to the government schools, which often don't meet even the most basic regulatory standards. Unfortunately, parents whose kids are in private schools are not sufficiently worried about this. They believe that schools should be forced to keep fees as low as possible, while delivering quality education. They also believe that their children's schools will pay…

A surge of promotions by e-retailers brought out the brick and mortal merchants in full force. They are demanding that the government should do something to make sure that the deep discounts from e-commerce companies are not life-threatening to the old retailers. There is a concern that some of the discounts from deep-pocketed web sites are 'below cost' sales, which are anti-competitive. (a) Direct intervention by government would be wrong. There is a Competition Commission of India, which is the appropriate body to look into unfair trade practices, and it should be left to the CCI to deal with this…

A surge of promotions by e-retailers brought out the brick and mortal merchants in full force. They are demanding that the government should do something to make sure that the deep discounts from e-commerce companies are not life-threatening to the old retailers. There is a concern that some of the discounts from deep-pocketed web sites are 'below cost' sales, which are anti-competitive. (a) Direct intervention by government would be wrong. There is a Competition Commission of India, which is the appropriate body to look into unfair trade practices, and it should be left to the CCI to deal with this…