Articles by Ramaswamy R Iyer

Adapting Gandhi’s words on non-violence, let us proclaim that development is the first article of our faith, it is also the last article of our creed. Let us hold aloft the banner of development. Development is our birthright.

There are some worrying signals from the new government in New Delhi that it could compromise on environmental concerns in the pursuit of more rapid growth: clearances could be given quickly (i e, environment protection requirements will be loosened), the Land Acquisition Act could be diluted and more. It may be more useful if we shake ourselves free of the obsession with GDP growth rates and try instead to make India a caring, humane, compassionate, equitable, just and harmonious society.

This criticism explores the relationship between the Chomskyan and Wittgensteinian views of language. It argues that Chomskyan linguistics seems reductionist, as it defi nes linguistics narrowly, refusing that name to many different kinds of language study.

We are dismayed and distressed at the reported statements by R P Singh, former director general (DG), Telecom Audit which has the potential of undermining the effectiveness and the credibility of the audit department.

The recent Supreme Court decision on two writ petitions of 2002 on the inter-linking of rivers is a deeply disquieting judgment because it is not only a clear encroachment into the executive domain, but also shows an inadequate awareness of the extensive debate on the project. The ruling provides strong backing to a "project" that many hold to be fundamentally fl awed and potentially disastrous. This article fi rst deals with the question of judicial overreach and then considers the soundness of the project in terms of the various benefi ts that are claimed on its behalf. It concludes with a plea for an urgent reconsideration of the judgment.