Freedom First

Summary

The November 2011 issue of Freedom First steps back from the intense Hazare focus of the preceding months and turns toward governance, economic policy, security, and international affairs. The editor notes appreciative reader response to the anti-corruption issue but explains that the magazine will await the Standing Committee on the Lokpal bills before further analysis.

The rendered pages include Sharad Bailur on rectitude and paralysis of governance, Vasant G. Gandhi on interest rates and inflation, Neelakant Patri on wealth, Ashok Karnik’s Point Counter Point, D. B. Shekatkar on terrorism as an extension of foreign policy, Furdoon S. B. Mehta on the Army needing its own voice, and the opening of Firoze Hirjikaka’s article on Narendra Modi.

Essays

Between Ourselves

By S. V. Raju

The editorial reports reader appreciation for the October anti-corruption issue and explains why Freedom First will not yet publish a planned article on the parliamentary Standing Committee and the Lokpal bills. It says the magazine should wait for the committee’s work and instead discuss larger questions of enabling or disabling legislation.

The note also reflects on reader discomfort with serious articles, defends the magazine’s communication philosophy, and comments on political vindictiveness and coalition weakness.

• Reports strong reader response to the October anti-corruption issue.
• Defers further Lokpal analysis until the Standing Committee reports.
• Defends serious public-affairs writing when events require it.
• Comments on political vindictiveness, weak coalitions, and reader engagement.

Rectitude and Paralysis of Governance

By Sharad Bailur

Sharad Bailur’s “Rectitude and Paralysis of Governance” continues his concern that good intentions and institutional caution can produce paralysis. In the post-Lokpal context, the article treats governance as a problem of principled action, decision-making, and the consequences of avoiding responsibility.

The article is complete in the rendered pages.

• Examines how rectitude can coexist with governance paralysis.
• Connects anti-corruption debate to decision-making capacity.
• Warns that excessive caution can disable public administration.

India Hikes Interest Rate to Curb Inflation

By Vasant G. Gandhi

Vasant G. Gandhi’s article discusses India’s interest-rate hikes as a response to inflation. It situates monetary policy within the broader economic anxieties visible in the issue and asks whether higher rates can curb price pressure without damaging growth.

The article is complete within the rendered range.

• Explains interest-rate hikes as an anti-inflation measure.
• Links monetary tightening to wider economic stress.
• Raises the growth-inflation tradeoff.

Terrorism as Extension of Foreign Policy

By D. B. Shekatkar

D. B. Shekatkar’s “Terrorism as Extension of Foreign Policy” treats terrorism as an instrument used in the pursuit of state or strategic objectives. In the issue’s table of contents it is one of the major cover-advertised security pieces and is complete within the rendered pages.

The article broadens the issue’s governance and economic concerns into national security and foreign-policy strategy.

• Frames terrorism as a tool of foreign policy.
• Places security threats in a strategic rather than merely criminal frame.
• Expands the issue’s focus from domestic governance to external threats.

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Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.