<table> <tbody> <tr> <td>The author retired from the IAS in December 2010. A keen environmentalist and trekker he has published a book on high altitude trekking in the Himachal Himalayas: THE TRAILS LESS TRAVELLED. His second book- SPECTRE OF CHOOR DHAR is a collection of short stories based in Himachal and was published in July 2019. His third book was released in August 2020: POLYTICKS, DEMOCKRAZY AND MUMBO JUMBO is a compilation of satirical and humorous articles on the state of our nation. His fourth book was published on 6th July 2021. Titled INDIA: THE WASTED YEARS , the book is a chronicle of missed opportunities in the last nine years. Shukla's fifth book - THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER'S DOG AND OTHER COLLEAGUES- was released on 12th September 2023. It portrays the lighter side of life in the IAS and in Himachal. He writes for various publications and websites on the environment, governance and social issues. He divides his time between Delhi and his cottage in a small village above Shimla. He blogs at http://avayshukla.blogspot.in/</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
Any more infusion of animal spirits into our economy will result in even more squirreling away of the national wealth in Antigua and the Cayman Islands, and wildebeest type of migrations of our uber rich to greener pastures abroad
The internet, competitive consumerism and the breakdown of familial relationships drive us to constantly seek “new experiences” and new vistas
The first major test of Ayushman Bharat, a program of assured health care for millions of India’s poor, was in Muzaffarpur – and it failed miserably.
Washing machine has been improved upon and today the clean chits come out smelling of roses, the dirt flushed into the holy Ganga and recycled under the Swachh Bharat programme.
The naked truth is that Rahul Gandhi did not lose the 2019 polls, Congress ideology did. Messers Modi and Shah have created a New India in which there appears to be no place for what the Congress has always stood for: liberal values, secularism, inclusiveness, consensus, human rights, genuine federalism, compassion for the poor.
The explosion of trekking in forest areas and fragile mountains is getting completely out of hand and in the days to come shall pose the biggest danger to the natural environment, including its flora and fauna.
The Modi- Shah duo have single handedly replaced the idea/ideology of a humane, plural, tolerant India with an assertive, Hindu dominated, impatient, proud India which is prepared to wait another five years for the fruits of development to trickle down to it.
Even by the standards of our rapidly plummeting polity and social discourse the events of the last week have shocked all right (and left)…
