a tribute to Sardar Patel Vidyalaya .....

...S P V !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Le chal pagle majhdhar mujhe Lehero ke takrnae se aata reh reh ke pyar mujhe Dede ab patwar mujhe Lehro ke takarane se aata reh reh ke pyar mujhe Sardar patel Vidyalaya has been like a womb to me. A womb in which my personality was conceived. As I grew up from those tiny baby steps in the care of Maduri aunty I discovered that this unique and special place was a universe within. There are too many memories to recount, but one abiding lesson was in the Vidyalaya's tradition of not giving anyone a first in a race. The joy of participation, the old cricket saying, "Stick around this could be fun" inculcated early in our school was the one lesson I took with me when I step out to the outside world. It is this that gives us Patelians that characteristic edge. We are not here to win. We are talking a walk, smelling the flowers, admiring the painting and while we are at it doing our job. It just turns out that we have been nurtured such that the job is well done, always. We are trained to look at the bigger picture to find our individual gifts and to work on ways that perfect these. The thing about our school is in its unique ability to ensure that the ethos of our motherland with all its diversity is steeped into each and every one of us. From the love for music to the unique bilingual medium onto the little things like art camps and nurturing Mandi gaon. Each of these seeming unconnected steps led to the creation of a rootedness so critical in a fast globalising world. Today the elite private school education creates that dreaded creature the resident non-Indian, we at SPV on the other hand, know our roots and have an essential comprehension that can only come from an involved passionate consideration of what it means to be an Indian. The School's greatest strength is in the Holy trinity of teachers, friends and the support staff. I felt right through the 14 years I spend in the school (they could easily have been 16 or 17 but for re tests and the god sent CBSE policy of lowering pass marks from 40 to 33!) that it was tailor made just for me. All my friends felt the same. I remember (with much dread back then) that Mrs. Parthsarthy knew the name of each and every kid. If I needed to learn management - I had no need to go to the Harvard business school. Peter Druker the distinguished management theorists, invented the terms managing by walking around, well our principal has been walking the talk for an entire generation of grateful students. All my teacher, Madame Banerjee the strict yet loving guide friend and philosopher to us, Mamta maam with her great throw of the notebook into the dustbin to put the fear of god in us, Arunkant maam with her story telling skills, Mrs. Subramiam who made history interesting and empires come alive, Vijaya maam who crossed our t's and q's or Singh sir on the morning parade, to each I owe an abiding debt. Thank you, all the teachers from a student who did not realize he was learning so very much! I very much miss late Mrs grace and Sharma sir who put the school on the cricket pitch. May god rest their soul and may it be remembered that in our hearts and deeds they live on. And of course late Patakh bhai taught us how to get things done without making any noise. He will be remembered as the walking real life super computer which got every thing down to the last detail done perfectly, every time. As for friends well this is not the correct forum for me to go into regrets and confessions! The old line from the west comes to mind. We were all "friends for years, legends for life and tough guys forever." There was a Dill Chahta hai type bonding you meet after years and man it way like yesterday once more. Today with associations going back 20 years I need neither orkut nor facebook to connect. We have that extraordinary bond of being Patelians just reach out and you can touch anyone of these old and very dear friends. As for the support staff from Balan sir to all the rest including the superb lab assistants one can only say that what is often the weakest link of an Indian hierarchy was the strongest tie at SPV. As a family of Patelians is strong because of this core functionaries who were tireless committed and always on call to help. Finally the building itself is a fond memory. The green and the trees, the wide corridors and the principal's room ( with which I was well acquainted having spent a majority of my growing up years standing just outside) . The building is big but the rooms cozy, there is a large ground but lovely familiar old nooks. So was there nothing bad about the school, you may ask? There must have been but I guess I was way too much fun to notice! I am privileged that not only can I look back with satisfaction and nostalgia - I can also look forward with hope. In this the fiftieth year, my child Sharvil has taken the first tiny steps with Chitra maam as his teacher. I am sure a wondrous journey of self-discovery, music , quite confidence, art and color awaits him. Let us hope that like him the school flourishes as it goes back to the future.

India's snake man Romulus Whitaker

Romulus Whitaker is famous in India as the “snake man” this devoted conservation specialist is India’s foremost expert on reptiles. He is a man of many parts having worked, among other things, with the US Army. He has survived many poisonous snake bites and has discovered on the way that he is allergic to anti venom treatment! He has received the Whitley Fund for Nature award in 2005, and a Rolex Award for Enterprise in November 2008. He spoke to Ninad D Sheth. It has been a long association with India and her wildlife..... Yes! Ever since 1957, I have been involved with Snakes crocodiles and other reptiles in India. On the way there have been many memorable movements and I have been able to witness firsthand the good news and the bad news in India's environment. . What is the research agenda of the rain forest centre? The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station was created as a base for research, conservation and education to do with rainforests. We are creating a biodiversity data base for Agumbe and carrying out a telemetric study on the ecology of the king cobra. We are also encouraging researchers in all natural history disciplines, from frogs to flying foxes, to use ARRS as their base. The aim is simple to document and highlight the bio diversity some of which is unique to the Western Ghats and then to build on solutions for the protection of this area. 2. How critical is the fact that only 200 pairs of garial are now in the wild? The gharial is now listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered, it is the most endangered large animal on the Indian subcontinent and because our rivers are in deep trouble from pollution, overuse, dams and barrages, interlinking and climate change everything that lives in them: otters, mahseer, turtles, river dolphins and gharial are under threat for their very survival. This is a time when political will has to be forced by a people's movement to save our rivers, literally to save ourselves! The problem is not in the media glare but it is real. These magnificent creatures as we all know have been with us since the time of the dinosaurs and it would be a great pity should they now disappear. Captive breeding can augment some numbers but without proper habitat and cleaner rivers it is not going to be a sustainable way to protect the Ghariyal. 3. Which states in your experience have been more sensitive towards investing in preserving their wildlife? Right now we have collaborative projects with the Forest Departments in UP, MP, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and the Andaman and Nicobars. It is very much up to the officers in the Forest Departments as to whether interest and action takes place. Some of them are visionaries with a strong desire to do the right thing and understand that partnerships with NGOs such as our Madras Crocodile Bank and Agumbe station will reap benefits both for wildlife and habitats as well as for local people in the long run. They have their expertise and we have ours, put the two together and we are able to make considerable strides in species and habitat conservation. 4. You have pointed out that the larger picture esp. that relating to the water sources of the Western Ghats? We treat our water sources as sewers and dumping grounds in India. This MUST STOP! Our precious water sources need maximum protection and rehabilitation if we are to have enough water to sustain our children and grandchildren. Everyone must be urged to be part of the solution to our increasing water problems, it can be done and it has to be now, without delay. 5. How would you classify the king cobra in India in terms of its numbers reviving n the near future? Are you an optimist on the king cobra’s future in India? King cobras are dependent on the sanctity of the rainforests in the Western Ghats and in the Northeast. We have already done away with up to 80% of Indias rainforests, thanks to the creation of tea and coffee estates over the past 150 years and the massive deforestation for settlement, agriculture, dam projects and the like, much of it in the past 50 years. We still have some quite large contiguous chunks of protected forests, such as the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and the Agumbe Rainforest Complex, but there are greedy eyes out there, totally ignorant of the priceless value of these forests as water sources and only interested in squeezing whatever profits can be made from mining, electricity production, timber and other forest produce. The king cobra and all the denizens of the rainforest can survive if we allow their habitat to survive. It's an uphill struggle and the only way to remain optimistic is to be part of this struggle to make sure we win.  

Indian Navy sails into the future

The new Chief of Naval Staff Admiral D. K. Joshi takes command at a time of extraordinary expansion for the Indian Navy. He has also gone on to say that the Indian Navy — the fifth largest in the world — is ready to protect the country’s economic interests in the South China Sea, particularly the oil blocks off the coast of Vietnam being explored by ONGC. The Indian Army and the Indian Air force are accustomed to fast growth, but the Navy, after a brief spurt in the mid-80s, suddenly came to a halt. It, however, appears to be back in full steam mode. However, the Navy’s place within strategic thinking in India, a country with a predominantly landlocked mindset, is uncertain. The Royal navy legacy According to the Defence Ministry, the Navy has added as many as fifteen ships over the last three years. This includes a leased nuclear submarine from Russia, the Akulla II class. It will soon take delivery of the much-delayed Russian aircraft carrier retrofitted for Indian use, the INS Vikramaditya. Other ships include three “stealth” frigates of the Shivalik class, resupply tankers and fast attack boats. The plan is to add five more ships every year for the next five years. The Navy has received a major boost in its surveillance capability with the acquisition of the US-made P8i aircraft, armed with Harpoon missiles. These aircraft will replace an aging fleet of Tu142 and IL38 aircraft of the 80s. The aircraft carrier group and the nuclear submarine are capabilities, that could, over time, restore Indian maritime primacy in the Indian Ocean waters. The imperial Navy that India inherited from the British controlled seas from Aden to Singapore. That sea control included an outreach capability over the three critical “chokepoints”— Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf, the straits south of Sri Lanka and the Malacca straits in the Singapore littoral. More bases Besides these impressive strides in hardware, the Indian Navy has also developed two critical bases, at an estimated cost of $3 billion. On the Western Seaboard, the INS Dweeprakshak on the Lakshadweep Island will handle surveillance and base larger war ships. With this base, India has will acquire a robust sea control capability. On the Eastern Sea Board similarly, India has opened a new base, the naval air station, Baaz. This base will be under the tri-command in the Campbell bay, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Significantly, it is nearer to the Malacca strait than to India. The two bases are complemented by India’s longest runway at the INS Rajali in Tamil Nadu that will base the P81 spy aircraft. The Navy has also gone digital with all ships in the process of being linked to a command and control apparatus. Strategic Centrestage With its ability to remain underwater without refuelling for long periods, the nuclear submarine is the ‘Alpha’ asset. It is virtually impossible to detect and can have several nuclear weapons aboard depending on the configuration. What is more, the nuclear submarine can be far, really far, out at sea. The Navy is unique in its ability to project power beyond the constraints of national boundaries. After twelve nautical miles, the world is your oyster. Neither the Army nor the Air Force enjoy a similar advantage. For India, the submarine combined with the aircraft carrier battle group provides a critical edge. It is a pity that the Indian mindset is landlocked. The strategic planners need a complete reorientation from brown and white lands of Rajasthan and the Himalayas to the endless oceans. The Navy, to be truly a strategic force, will require two critical changes in India’s way of war. First, India will have to move away from prioritising the million-plus army and allocate bandwidth and funds for the Navy in strategy. Time overruns Second, the Defence Ministry and the Navy with the myriad defence public sector undertakings that they control, need to get their act together. Although Indian-made warships cost a quarter of similar class ships in the West and Japan, the time overruns are very high. The Navy has a staggering delayed delivery schedule. This constrains the force with only about six submarines at any given point at sea. The Indian Navy needs robust oversight and a bold decision — allowing private players in warship building. Some of this is already happening. The hull of Arihant, India’s own nuclear submarine due for sea trials this year, was built by L&T, a private firm. Such participation can accelerate if India allows majority investment by foreign players in shipbuilding and taps the potential of defence offsets. Partnership is the way forward. India’s state-owned shipyards are in a growth dilemma — choked with orders they cannot fulfil for lack of technology and funds. The ocean is too large to be anybody’s playground. Technology, with cruise missiles and potential anti-aircraft carrier missile defence, has shrunk geography. India shares with democratic countries the maritime advantage — all of them have robust navies. Working with the democracies of the US, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia will be to its advantage. This will need diplomatic innovation and a strategic re-jig. Without it, floating assets, even hefty ones, will count for little. Lastly, the Defence Ministry will need to control leaks on its mother ship. With a nuclear submarine, potentially armed with nuclear weapons out at sea, another such leak could lead to an unthinkable catastrophe. Securing ships is the vital challenge for the Indian Navy in the years ahead.

Armageddon Parlaya kayamat Nuclear weapons in Pakistan

The command and control of nuclear weapons in the Islamic State of Pakistan are of great concern for the outside world. The news on the ground is bad and it is getting worse. Pakistan has one of the five largest nuclear arsenals in the world. According to last year’s Global Fissile Material Report, it is thought to have 90 to 110 nuclear warheads. But the security of the nuclear weapons is not the sole concern. The very fabric of the State itself is mutating towards Islamic extremism. With every passing day, the danger of nuclear weapons, fissile material and even scientists finding their way to terror groups increases. Pakistan’s polity — where radical Islam is creeping into everyday life — is now riddled with frequent attacks on sites that are thought to store the country’s nuclear weapons. These combine to produce a perilous instability. Even more dangerously, the Pakistani military establishment may have elements within itself that are allied with the Taliban. In such a scenario, an attack of the kind on the Minhas airbase in Kamra could become frighteningly successful. That attack was not the first. Earlier in 2011, an assault was mounted on another facility at the largest Pakistan navy base in Karachi, also believed to house nuclear weapons. In 2009, the nerve centre of Pakistan’s army — its general head quarters in Rawalpindi — came under attack. It is as if terror groups can pick and choose their targets at will in Pakistan. None of these assaults was a small-time attempt. They were commando operations with rocket launchers and machine guns. Tellingly, they took out at least as many soldiers as terrorists. Pakistan has refused to sign the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. With its new nuclear reactor at Khushab, Pakistan will add more nuclear bombs to its already massive nuclear arsenal. The terror architecture has robust foundations in the Islamic republic. Pakistan is the laboratory of terror groups that have probably been nurtured by the State over the last four decades. Some of these terror groups have now turned on the State. They demand the formation of a puritan regime in Pakistan with sharia law. This is not a political demand. These are radical extremists armed to the teeth, and having a mass base amongst the population. But the looming threat has not stopped Pakistan from continuing to nurture terror groups. The Pakistani army and its ‘secret service’, the Inter-Services Intelligence, still see profit in the terror option. The fact that Osama bin Laden was just outside Pakistan’s most important military training establishment in Abbotabad underlined this dramatically. Pakistan is hooked to the low cost-high returns proxy wars, which are against America. In many countries, democracy mitigates extremism. In Pakistan, however, the exact opposite is at play. The party widely tipped as the next winner in Pakistan’s elections is lead by the cricketer-turned-politician, Imran Khan. It is believed to be very close to the current army leadership. The party has General Hamid Gul in a mentor’s role. Gul was the chief of the ISI who fast-tracked extremist militia groupings as a proxy war tactic for Pakistan. Should Khan’s party make it in the general elections, the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists could come one step closer. Given the possibility — some futurists will say the certainty — of terrorists laying their hands on nuclear material through an attack on one of Pakistan’s nuclear plants, the international community has to seriously consider its options. The options are few and fraught with danger. At a minimum, Pakistan must be a party to the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. Diplomatic efforts round the world need to stress the removal of the opacity from the Pakistani nuclear stance. Any new reactors must come under this regime. The other option which occasionally crops up — of America or Israel ‘taking out’ the nuclear weapons — can be tried but will probably have an unpredictable outcome. Pakistan is playing a dangerous game with unforeseeable circumstances. The more the international community vacillates, the greater the danger. Pakistan insists that the command structure of its nuclear weapons is foolproof — it’s relevant to ask who controls them. Diplomatic efforts must focus on ensuring that the next 9\11 — if it happens — is not under a mushroom cloud.

Banning tourism will kill the tiger

The Supreme Court’s decision banning tourism in core areas of tiger habitats overlooks several critical considerations. It will harm, rather then help, the cause of tiger conservation. For a start, it gives way too much power to the forest department. The ban will mean only one agency will both implement the tiger protection agenda, and audit that process. The various forest and environment officials at the Centre and at the State level have a terrible record of tiger protection. They had held up the absurd number of 5,000 wild tigers in India till recently when it was already clear to every one (including the much maligned lodge owners) that there are only about 1,500 tigers left in India. Tellingly, the two parks from where the tiger completely disappeared due to poaching were Panna and Sariska and both were not in the top ten most visited by tourists. In contrast, parks with the highest tiger density, such as Ranthambhore and Corbett, are amongst the most visited In India. In both Panna and Sariska, the forest officers went to great lengths to deny that the parks were without a single big cat. The unscientific relocation in Sariska has been a double disaster. These are the very people who will run tiger parks across India, if the new order is implemented in its current form. Tourism isn’t the villain Tourism allows for ample outside scrutiny of the forest and thus aids tiger preservation. Tourism brings in its wake assessment by lodge owners, guides, photographers and other stake-holders whose survival depends on robust tiger numbers. Breeding of tigers has been observed with regularity by experts even when the tourism season is in full swing. What is more, no tiger deaths due to tourism have been reported. Forest officer vehicles have, however, caused at least three tiger deaths in national parks of Madhya Pradesh in the recent past. Poaching for skin and bones and poisoning by nearby villagers remain the two main causes of tiger deaths in India. Incidentally a majority of the poaching incidents, including the latest one in Corbett last fortnight, have happened during the monsoon, when Parks are closed to the tourists. The Minister of Environment and Forests has proposed dismantling of tourism infrastructure in and near parks within a five-year framework. Instead, this is the time for the tourism industry as well as the MoEF to draw up a regulatory framework. And hotels that violate norms need to go. Price it for rarity At the same time, India needs to understand that the tiger is the rarest of the rare, and access to it should be priced accordingly. The African model offers some lessons. A one-week visit to the Masai Mara, Kenya, during the great migrations costs $3,000 while a week in Ranthambhore or Corbett costs a measly $400 - and the Masai Mara is far cheaper than reserves in places such as Okavango in Botswana. Raising access fee to national park core area will not only regulate tourist numbers but also provide for far greater revenues for the upkeep of parks and sharing with the local population. This is the one measure that will achieve the desired ends and is also easy to implement on the ground. To deny future generations that heart-stopping moment - when one sights a tiger in the wild - is no solution. The State’s job is to facilitate this majestic experience through a regulatory approach. Each park in India has unique issues and will need different solutions. A thought-out policy framework - not an “off with the tourist's head” diktat - is the way forward.

indian air force in trouble.

Depending on what media you access, the price of the Rafale, the new “bird” of the Indian Air Force (IAF), ranges between $10 billion and $18 billion. Clearly, while the IAF will fly the Rafale, the media is flying kites! However, for the IAF there is plenty of turbulence to deal with. The deal has been delayed, even though it was trumpeted as the fairest in India defence procurement history, thanks to earlier objections raised by Rajya Sabha MP, Mr M.V. Mysura Reddy. It took the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the IAF well over five years to initiate final negotiations. These negotiations will take a further year to close if all goes off well with the inquiry the Defence Minister has ordered. In this one-year period, the cost could rise by at least 25 per cent, combining inflation and the depreciating rupee. Thus, a seemingly fair procedure has come at a very high cost. Meanwhile, Rafale has developed new radar and added some avionics and airframe capabilities. WHAT ABOUT TEJAS? Maintaining its fighter squadron strengths to the minimum mandated level is the biggest challenge for the IAF. Even with the addition of the proposed SU 30s and the Rafaels, the strength of the fleet is unlikely to reach the desirable 42 squadrons that it plans by 2020. The IAF will retire more aircraft (such as the Mig 21s and the Jaguars) over this period than it will induct. Thus, the air force is likely to be short of optimum strength in fighter planes well into the next decade. The lack of squadrons is directly related to war preparedness and results in a domino which includes lesser sorties flown in peacetime, constrained war wastage reserves and a bigger part of the fleet in overhaul and maintenance. Lost in the cacophony surrounding the acquisition of the Rafale is the fate of India’s own light combat aircraft — the Tejas. The aircraft has been under-funded from its inception in 1983 — the actual funding for the programme came almost a decade later in 1992. The Indian defence acquisition strategy is at variance here from that of China, which has focused on indigenous aircraft development since the 60s. The LCA Tejas has, as yet, not got simple clearances, such as an all-weather-capability and lightning strike clearance. The strategic role of this aircraft is in question, although it has world-class avionic capabilities. It is unlikely to be inducted in effective numbers till 2018 or even later. Thus, the IAF has a missing middle — a single-engine new aircraft that can act as the bulwark — even as it gets very expensive twin-engine-heavy Sukhois and Rafales at the top end. INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICIT The IAF does not have a basic trainer aircraft on which to hone the skills of rookie pilots. The IAF is probably the only air force in the world that puts pilots directly on a jet rather then a turboprop basic trainer. Even the jet trainer is of a model from the 1970s. The Hawk aircraft have come a decade too late and the interim has caused loss of precious lives and compromised training. The MoD has belatedly approved the acquisition of the Swiss Pilatus trainer. Even if its procurement procedure goes forward, it will be five years before a fleet can be put in place. This is because acquiring the aircraft is only the beginning. Instructors have to be trained on the new aircraft and the equipment protocols put in place. Till such time, the safety record of the IAF is likely to suffer all the more. The IAF lost 46 fighters in the last six years. Alarmingly, the losses include not just aging MiG 21s, even ultra-modern SU 30s were lost. The IAF does not even have hangar facilities for majority of the SU 30s. This came to light when exposure to foreign elements was believed to be a cause in the last major crash of an SU 30. If basic infrastructure on the ground such as a hangar is unavailable in requisite numbers one can only imagine the state of more advance airworthiness procedures. Some years ago the IAF damaged half a dozen frontline Mirage 2000s in Gwalior when a hangar complex housing them collapsed apparently due to sub-standard construction. No lessons have been learned. The list of woes is endless — from Russian air-to-air missiles, that as a CAG report pointed, under-perform both in range and in accuracy during operations, to the fact that by the IAF’ s own admission there are major gaps in radar coverage across India. It is time that these matters were discussed in Parliament and the public domain, even as the Ministry of Defence mandarins pretend it is business as usual and bask in undeserved glory

Interview with George soros

'The challenge for democracy is to go beyond the vote' George Soros He has been famously called a 'moron' by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammed, and was criticised as 'an evil man' by the Thai government. This was in 1997, when the tiger economies of Southeast Asia went into a tailspin and those countries felt that speculators, led by the billionaire George Soros, had pulled out money leading to economic chaos that lasted years. But Soros is more than just a man with lots of money; he also has a mission — to promote democracy — for which he has pledged his own funds. He was in New Delhi last week to release a survey on the state of democracy in South Asia by the Center for the Study of Developing Societies. In a chat with Ninad D Sheth he declined to talk about his investment plans or the economy, preferring to stick to his great concern: the promotion of democracy. You have never been to India before, which is surprising. What is more interesting is that you have never invested here... India has always been of close interest to me. I had tried to invest here way back, as many as 15 years ago. However, at that time there were several restrictions. As for India as a democracy, we at the Open Society Institute watch it very closely, and I am here to learn first-hand about the magic of Indian democracy. Rest of South Asia has an uneven relationship with democracy… Yes. Two countries are of particular interest to me — Pakistan and Burma. Pakistan is obviously not a democracy. But many independent people have told me that there is more media freedom under Musharraf than there was under Nawaz Sharif. I find it perplexing that on the level of press freedom, electoral democracy in Pakistan has not been able to deliver. In Burma, on the other hand, there is a clear void, since elections are not allowed. It is a non-democratic and non-representative regime and I believe that it is critical to push for the democratic alternative in that country. I have a personal initiative in Burma and I spend considerable time and effort in watching the situation in that country closely. The last few years have seen democracy emerge in several countries. How has it evolved in your own lifetime? Well, it has obviously spread much wider now. However, its depth remains a problem. I also think that instead of aggregation of concerns of the voting public, a lot of the time the elected politicians are concerned only about their own good. This is a worrying development, more so since corruption and lack of governance are directly linked with what I see as a self-serving governing elite. The challenge for democracy is in its ability to get more accountability and better governance through more transparent institutions. Don't you think voters see through such elites and vote them out? Electoral democracy alone is very limited. While electoral processes are critical in setting the broader terms of discourse, they have limitations in ensuring good governance. It's important to broaden the democratic base to include checks and balances beyond the mandate of the ballot box, and to revive non-governmental institutions and vitalise alternatives beyond political parties. The challenge for democracy is to go beyond the vote. Open societies need constant vigil to maintain the openness — it cannot be taken for granted. What challenges does financial globalisation pose to democratic control and the nation state? The challenges posed by financial globalisation are not new. What has changed is the speed at which financial globalisation has gone ahead. I believe that the challenge for democracies is to build flexible institutions that can react to the pace of change. It is in that context that foreign policy in the financial sphere should look to regulation, from an international standpoint; this is particularly true for democracies that are also globalised markets. You have watched Russia closely. There are concerns that Moscow is increasingly turning towards totalitarianism… Yes, this is true. Putin has curbed a lot of institutions, including the power of opposition parties and the media. Moreover, he is in a very firm position — the Russian economy will remain in the growth mode for some time to come. Answers for Russian democracy, I believe, have to come from within Russia. Outside criticism only makes Putin stronger, as he can play the nationalist card and prey on old fears. But there is bound to be an impact on Eastern Europe and Russia's so-called 'near abroad'. It is too early to tell. One thing is certain though — Russia will use its newfound leverage, especially in commodities prices, and the Baltic states and Ukraine are obviously more vulnerable. However, other East European democracies are less influenced by Russia. For one thing, most are now in the NATO framework and therefore have institutional democratic support. Are you likely to open an institution in India on the lines of the Soros Foundation? I would like to, but I cannot. There are too many restrictions on foreign foundations in India. We do not feel that we will have the independence that we need to operate here. I am afraid Indian laws regarding foreign foundations are much too restrictive.