Accountancy
Auditors and fraud
THE last decade or so -- coincidental with but not necessarily causally related to -- the `liberalisation' of the Indian economy -- has been witness to a series of frauds of varying magnitudes perpetrated by entities ranging from non-banking finance comp
anies to a mutual fund created by the Central government.
Will the graft work?
K. Srinivasan on the proposed grafting of co-operative principles on company law
Miscellaneous
Burqa, by choice vs decree
FOLLOWING the terror attacks in the US, and Osama bin Laden and his hosts, the Taliban, becoming dirty words across much of the world, a lot has been written about the plight of the women of Afghanistan who have been leading a sub-human existence under t
he Taliban regime.
Radio/TV
Reporting from trenches
WAR and television have always had a very strange and intimate relationship. How many people, for example, know that the Second World War actually dealt a body blow to the fledging television industry, especially in the UK? The British government, not co
mfortable with the new medium and not sure what impact it would have on the people's morale, decided to close down television broadcasting till the end of the War. Radio, by then an extremely mature medium, was the preferred one.
Terrorism
A General and a Rogue Army
A NUMBER of Western newspapers, such as The New York Times, carried announcements labelling the Pakistan army a "Rogue Army'' during the Kargil conflict. These announcements noted that the Pakistan army had killed more of its own citizens
in its operations against its own people in Bangladesh, Baluchistan, Sind and the Northern Areas than any other armed force in contemporary history, except perhaps that of Cambodia's Pol Pot. It was also observed that the army's intellige
nce establishment, the ISI, had developed links with terrorist groups worldwide and was working hand in glove with the Taliban in fomenting terrorism not only in Jammu and Kashmir, but also in Central Asia, Chechnya, Algeria, Egypt, the Phili
ppines and indeed across the globe.
The BBC show
THE economy of the nation is dependent upon the BBC show _ not that of the British Broadcasting Corporation _ but the anxiously watched moves of the Bin Laden-Bush-Colin Powell combine.
Reality check on Afghan front
THE US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald H. Rumsfeld, and the Chairman, US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Richard B. Myers, could scarce forbear gloating over the pounding of the Afghan cities for the fourth day and night in succession. They say they have run out
of targets, and are looking for `targets of opportunity' which they can attack at will `round the clock', whether during day or night, as there apparently is very little resistance from the Taliban. Their missile sites have been smashed and all but one
airfield razed out of existence, and even that would be (hopefully or hopelessly!) gone by the time this piece appears.
