students and democratic struggles

The author of the article, (THE HINDU)“students in the van guard of democratic struggle” Prabha t  Patnaik  (7.1.20) is right is stating that, students who are socially sensitive and who are committed to the values of secularism and democracy are powerful bulwark against Hindutva projects , because , they bring with them the energy of youth and the  enlightenment of education . We have given voting rights to the youth from the age of eighteen,  yet ,we do not want them to have  their own  political ideology  and express solidarity and support  to their informed political choices. We want them to  develop   critical thinking power and sharpen it through the tool of questioning , so that they invent and innovate, but we do not want them to cross this boundary by questioning  their university administrators when  they indulge in mal practices and curtail  their basic academic freedom. We want them to grow as responsible citizens , yet, we attack them physically when  they fight for social issues , arrest them and penalise them in different ways to kill their independent spirit . But the courage and conviction with which the targeted students fight for their democratic and personal rights give  hope about  future India

My letter published in the Hindu on on Tamil Nadu's all India ranking in certain indicators

Tamil Nadu government is giving wide publicity to the all India ranks announced and obtained  by this state  in the social and economic indicators . While the government  feels  elated about higher ranks(within 10 ranks) in few sectors , it should  also  feel ashamed about the shocking rank in commerce and industries sector which is responsible for contributing higher per capita income ,savings and further investment and finally reflect on job generation and higher growth rate. Every one knows that, high level of corruption and low rank in ease of doing business  are the prime reasons  which obstruct investment flow into Tamil Nadu and divert the course of investment to our  neighboring states  Poor performance of the secondary sector is a matter of grave concern  and will affect the present and future of millions of  educated and trained  youth through continued jobless growth .