Book Review [37] : Everybody loves a good drought

P. Sainath has rightly said few months back that "There are two kinds of Journalists, one kind is Journalist and the other is stenographer". 'Everybody loves a good drought' is a magnum opus by P. Sainath. This book documents his reports of his travels to the poorest and 'uncivilized' regions of India, viz Kalahandi, Surguja, Palamau, Malkangiri, Jhabua, Ramanathapuram etc. Malgangiri is a micro cosmos of tribal India, here lives more than few dozens tribes of India. It also has a distinction of being one of the poorest and illiterate districts of the country. To get two diets a day becomes a question of life and death here then how come people can think of hygiene and education. Poors and tribals have paid a great prize to protect and develop India, Central India hosts a lot of dams and power plants still the land is devoid of irrigation and villages of electricity. The electricity we use, the dress we wear and the schools we attend is actually the subsidy given by these poor people to us. What have we done to live a life of such an opulence and what are the things these poor people have done to live a life of such an extreme? May be we are more concerned about our buildings, cars, houses and cooks, if these people get education and wealth then we will lose our labourers, drivers, cooks and cleaners. Its a shame.
A must read books for any Indian, freedom comes with a responsibility to know, learn and fix the problems. 
Highly recommended (9/10).

Book Reviews [35-36] : We The Nation and Middle East Illusions

This year has started well for me and by the grace of God, i got some time to read two very well compiled collections of essays/speeches. Both relate to the tumultuous time of 1960's and 1970's with a pinch of 1990s. 

We the Nation: It is a collection of articles, essays and speeches of the eminent Jurist of India, Nani Palkhiwala. He was a great defender of the fundamental rights and played a key role in the "Basic Structure" concept of Indian constitution. This book renders his thoughts on the political, social, economical and religious spectrum of India after the demise of Nehru. He writes about the fundamentals problems faced by India and their possible solutions. A good read if you want to learn about India's state in 1970s.

Highly Recommended (8/10)

Middle East Illusions by Noam Chomsky is an engrossing book on the Ethno-Religious conflicts between Israel and Palestinians Arabs with a peripheral view on Iraq, Turkey, Egypt and US. The more i read about Jews history the more i get sad but that sadness turns into anger when i read about the pathetic conditions of Palestinians Arabs, who were ironically made refugees in their own land by the European Jews.  This book is bit outdated as most of the articles were written before 1973 war but still relevant.

The best possible solution of Palestine problem (according to me) is the just division of Palestine between Jews and Palestinian Arabs, and the administration of Jerusalem by a UN authority. This was proposed by UN General Assembly Resolution 181 in 1947. That time it was wrong but now its fine, again a cruel irony of time. Gaza Strip Arabs should be settled in West Bank region and corresponding territory should be given to Palestinian Arabs from Israel in a region bordering West Bank. All the Jewish settlements made after 1993 Oslo Accord in West Bank should be dismantled and that territory should be given to Arabs. The Arabs living in Israel should be a given a choice to emigrate to West Bank with all their properties. The equal amount of land should be given to them in a Jewish region bordering West Bank. This will make West Bank a greater West Bank and a practical contiguous Palestinian Arab state bordering the fellow Palestine state of Jordan. This is the best possible solution at this point of time.
Recommended (7/10)