Saturday, February 20, 2010

Aligarh Muslim University professor suspended for being gay

The news of the professor from Aligarh Muslim Univesity was caught on camera having consensual sex with a man is indicative of a far larger problem in our society than homophobia (which is not to say it is not a problem in itself).  The way the professor was caught through hidden camera (whether set by students or some news company) shows a basic contempt for individual choice, privacy and more importantly the law of the land.  This means any group of people can dictate the mores in society based on their lifestyle choices if they have the backing of people in positions of authorities. You may say that this has been a trend for a long time between goons and politicians.  But such behaviour is not expected from an institution of learning.

THE GLOBAL “GO-TO THINK TANKS"

The University of Pennsylvania has published a global database of think tanks. You can access it here.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Controversy over Bt Brinjal

Bt Brinjal is in the eye of the storm. While Jairam Ramesh has put a moratorium on its commercial cultivation, there is need to understand the issues at hand in more detail. Is the opposition to the plant valid? Is the Minister justified in ignoring recommendation from the Genetic Engineering Approval Council, which is a scientific body set up to govern genetically modified food? For more on the issue, please read the entry on the PRS Blog.

Focus on marriage, not so much on children

Do parents who focus too much on their children have less happy and demanding kids? Apparently so. For more information, please read http://bit.ly/a6Ggnd