The curious India tourism paradox. Domestic pilgrims opt for luxury, foreigners go budget https://theprint.in/ground-reports/the-curious-india-tourism-paradox-domestic-pilgrims-opt-for-luxury-foreigners-go-budget/2640086/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-intl ..  Udit Hinduja 29 May, 2025  Once seen as the preserve of pensioners or the devout poor, pilgrimage travel has gone mainstream. College students, middle-class families, and high-end travellers alike are scrambling to book temple-centric trips, from Kedarnath in Uttarakhand to Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu. A post-Covid reality check and pivot toward faith, government-led temple-infrastructure development and better access to pilgrimage cities is redefining India’s tourism sector

India’s pilgrimage business is booming, with choppers for the rich and dorm beds for the poor. But the days of wooing foreigners to the Taj, Jaisalmer, and Palace on Wheels are over. In Modi’s decade, the priority has shifted to the domestic base. 

Real Estate Expert: Billionaire Narratives, Financial Illusions & Real Estate Crisis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLAeULdaTBc  - Ravi Sinha

 the struggles of domestic investors, exposes the real estate crisis, and tackles the ever-growing wealth inequality. 🏠📉
From the rise of financial influencers to the political forces shaping India’s future, 

Was it dignified for the Haryana SWC to latch on to an incident that has nothing to do with gender, and nothing to do with any form of sexist biases? https://thewire.in/women/national-commission-for-women-state-renu-bhatia 

At the time, Mohini Giri, Padma Seth and Syeda Hameed were members of the National Commission for Women. The NCW and the state women’s commissions used to be nationally acclaimed for the way they fearlessly questioned people sitting in the highest citadels of power on gender issues. 

Now, an apex body that has been constituted to safeguard the rights of women chose to single out a Muslim academician who pointed out the symbolism or ‘optics’ that was used by the government in showcasing a Muslim woman as upholder of ‘Operation Sindoor’. He was speaking truth to power by saying that you have singled out a woman and Muslim woman to show your ‘tehzeeb’ but what have you done for the millions of Muslim women (and men) who are being abused, tormented and vilified in your state and all over the country? 

by Syeda Hameed

27/05/2025

THE TYRANNY of STRUCTURELESSNESS https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tyranny.htm by Jo Freeman aka Joreen  Audio : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ttKaxy3OgE

The informal groups' vested interests will be sustained by the informal structures which exist, and the movement will have no way of determining who shall exercise power within it. If the movement continues deliberately to not select who shall exercise power, it does not thereby abolish power. All it does is abdicate the right to demand that those who do exercise power and influence be responsible for it. If the movement continues to keep power as diffuse as possible because it knows it cannot demand responsibility from those who have it, it does prevent any group or person from totally dominating. But it simultaneously insures that the movement is as ineffective as possible. Some middle ground between domination and ineffectiveness can and must be found.

(The movement) now needs I to establish its priorities, articulate its goals, and pursue its objectives in a coordinated fashion. To do this it must get organized -- locally, regionally, and nationally.

some principles .. essential to democratic structuring 

1) Delegation of specific authority to specific individuals for specific tasks by democratic procedures. 

2) Requiring all those to whom authority has been delegated to be responsible to those who selected them. 

3) Distribution of authority among as many people as is reasonably possible. 

4) Rotation of tasks among individuals. 

5) Allocation of tasks along rational criteria. Ability, interest, and responsibility have got to be the major concerns in such selection.

6) Diffusion of information to everyone as frequently as possible. 

7) Equal access to resources needed by the group. 

Olive Jones about the Renaissance intentional community in New Zealand 

I- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CyHKVc95oo

II - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y_2zuEKAaM 

III - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-F2i-2ssxU

IV - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKOmNWKSZNs

Clearly, India’s ‘strong leader’ is caught between his aspiration to emerge as national war hero and thus sweep the polls with a two-thirds majority on the one hand and be a trusted Trump buddy on the other. https://thewire.in/politics/modi-silent-maun-ceasefire-trump-response-public-relations 

The Wire had in these columns narrated how Narendra Modi had often lampooned his predecessor as ‘Maunmohan’ Singh but how he had himself sought the cover of silence as prime minister. Since then, there is a lengthening list of Modi’s silences on crucial issues facing the nation. The latest entry on the list is the total maun on Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he had forced a ceasefire on India and Pakistan.

by P. Raman

28/05/2025

https://thewire.in/rights/seeking-justice-for-lynching-demolitions-not-a-crime-former-civil-servants-group-on-mahmudabad 

The Constitutional Conduct Group, a group of former civil servants, on Wednesday (May 28) released a statement of solidarity with Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad who was arrested over his posts on Operation Sindoor.

“We are greatly distressed by the grave criminal charges levelled against Mahmudabad and his subsequent arrest,” the statement said, calling the charges “outrageous and absurd.” “The main burden of his posts was to make eloquent and heartfelt calls for peace,” it noted.

Calling the charges against Mahmudabad reminiscent of the colonial-era sedition law, the statement said that it “be a crime to seek justice for victims of lynching and bulldozer demolitions, or to  call for peace and restraint.”

29/05/2025

 Regulators & Conflicts of Interest: India’s Blind Spot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y5UB6dZ4BA   May 28, 2025 
SEBI's new chairman, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, has openly acknowledged a serious lapse in transparency standards—an admission that starkly contrasts with past denials. In this powerful commentary, Sucheta Dalal breaks down the urgency of reforming SEBI’s outdated and voluntary conflict of interest code.

She argues that the High-Level Committee (HLC) must go beyond a cosmetic fix and set new benchmarks for all Indian regulators—from fixed tenures and cooling-off periods to blind trusts and broader definitions of conflicts.

With India allowing lateral entries into regulatory roles, the need for a legally binding code of ethics is more urgent than ever. Don’t miss this in-depth analysis of what went wrong—and what must happen next to restore credibility in India’s regulatory institutions.

Read more …

Lokpal gives clean chit to Madhabi Puri Buch in Hindenburg case   https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/lokpal-gives-clean-chit-to-madhabi-puri-buch-in-hindenburg-case/article69630578.ece the allegations in the complaints are more on presumptions and assumptions and not supported by any verifiable material and do not attract the ingredients of the offences in Part Ill of the (Prevention of Corruption) Act of 1988, so as to direct an investigation therefor. ..

“As noted in our order dated 20.09.2024, that report by itself cannot be made the sole basis to escalate action against the RPS [Ms. Buch],”....the analysis of the allegations by us ended with a finding that the same are untenable, unsubstantiated and bordering on frivolity,”..

https://www.moneylife.in/article/madhabi-puri-buch-gets-clean-chit-from-lokpal/77264.html "The complaint(s) under consideration were essentially founded on the Hindenburg Report dated 10.08.2024, by a known short seller trader whose focus was to expose or corner Adani Group of Companies," the Lokpal noted, highlighting concerns about the source material's credibility.
 
On the 5 crore investment by Buch and her husband in a fund linked to an Adani Enterprises director, the Bench observed that the money had been redeemed in 2018—well before SEBI began its Adani probe in 2020. 

The order concluded: "We hold that the allegation that the RPS intentionally provided heavily redacted documents to the Expert Committee of the Hon'ble Supreme Court is devoid of merit, truly a veiled attempt to reopen and question the findings of the Supreme Court."

that Buch’s husband, Dhaval Buch, received over 4.78 crore as consultancy fees from Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Group while SEBI was handling regulatory issues related to the group, The Lokpal noting that “this allegation is speculative and borders on frivolity.” 

 Stepping back from the brink: time for reason and rapprochement between India and Pakistan https://www.bmj.com/content/389/bmj.r1102   In the  biennial International Congress of Pediatrics,  speakers highlighted the challenges that India and Pakistan face in public health, social determinants of health, climate change, environmental issues, and enormous gaps in health and development equity that need to be closed. Despite this harsh reality, both countries, irrespective of the relative size of their economies, spend a disproportionate amount on their military and nuclear arsenals. Notwithstanding the human costs of the conflict, the costs of the missiles and drones lobbed at each other and the damage in the five days after 7 May 2025 easily ran into billions of dollars. We wonder what could have been achieved had this money been used for public health in either country...We must activate formal and facilitatory platforms for scientific and cultural exchanges and focus on common tangible solutions related to climate, environment, water security, and child rights.