Some country was going to break the pledge, breach the agreement. That it would be the United States of America was known. That it would come in less than three weeks of signing on the G20 communique, was not. As the twin epicentre of both, the ongoing financial crisis as well as it solution through talks at G20 (Group of 20) nations at the London Summit, the world expected greater restraint — India certainly did. Read more

Shed a tear for Shanno’s smothered innocence. It is my fault, of course. I didn’t learn the alphabet. The teacher is right to punish me. But why this weakness? Why is the ground blurring? I must be strong. The sun is so hot today…

Shed a tear for Shanno’s pain. I stood in a contorted position, like a criminal in a self-righteous policeman’s cell. But maybe that’s the way of the world I’m going to grow in. Read more

I am an Indian but bureaucratic procedures will not allow me to vote from my real constituency. She is a Bangladeshi but will elect a representative who will likely govern us. She is neither ‘Savita’ nor Indian but her paper-perfect Indian identity entitles her — and the 20 million illegal migrants in India — to vote. Read more

This post is going to go national today as your blogger evaluates the six pledges and 38 recommendations that the leaders of G20 signed and what they means for India. As I mentioned earlier, there are more benefits than costs and if we were to look at the big picture, I think India has gained. But 6.4 is a pathetic score for leaders of G20 to get in what was the biggest financial event this world has ever seen. Here’s the break-up: Read more

The London air outside is cold but refreshingly so. The road outside Crowne Plaza at St James near Buckingham Gate is empty but for a sudden buzzing cavalcade that seems to be carting G20 leaders who are busy with four things — meeting the US President Barack Obama, meeting UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, meeting the Queen and possibly meeting one another. Read more

In the high profile tracking of recommendations from governments and multilateral agencies, I overlooked some others. Here are four that I wasn’t able to bring to you as they were released but are nevertheless important. This quad of recommendations are important not because of what they contain, but because it heightens, very elegantly, the expectations people across continents, ideologies and interests have. Read more