edit orial
Sonica Malhotra Kandhari | [email protected]
Of Liberty, Equality
and Fraternity
On November 25, 2011, we formally launched Demo-
Editor's
choice
Looking Back
Author Kunal Basu’s
life has been full of
twists and turns. No
wonder his books throw
up such fresh and
interesting stories
cratic World (DW) after months of planning and
effort. The evening was a great success and I’d like to
thank all you generous people who gave us your time
and support. I look forward to continued involvement
from our well-wishers, readers and contributors as
that is the only way DW will retain its democratic
spirit and be a magazine we can be proud of.
At the launch, we got great encouragement from
the words of the Honourable Chief Minister of Delhi,
Shrimati Sheila Dixit and Union Civil Aviation Minister, Shri Vayalar Ravi. Take a look at what they had to
say as well as key moments of the launch in our Event
Report on page 06. In keeping with Ms Dixit’s advice
to focus on the positive and look at the people who
have made a contribution to the country, this month
we have a special feature on Soli Sorabjee, the former
Attorney General of India.
In over five decades of practising law and holding
posts at the highest level, Soli Sorabjee has been one
of the best-known champions of democracy. Amongst
those of us in the media, he is known as a fearless
advocate for the freedom of the press. In one of his
earlier cases, the litigation specialist argued successfully for the right of an Indian citizen to hold a
passport unless proved unsuitable. Before that, the
awarding of passports was left to the discretion of the
authorities concerned. (On a lighter note, those who
read our Hitchhiker’s Guide — we take you to Bhutan
this time — or any travel column voraciously, can doff
their caps to the man who made international travel
easier for the average Indian.)
Our Issue section this month also deals with a subject that impacts civil life and liberty in the country.
We take a close look at the Armed Forces (Special
Powers) Act that has been the topic of raging debates
in recent times. DW believes that the impasse can
be breached only if there is dialogue with both sides
involved and to that end, we spoke to the directors
from the Centre for Land Warfare Studies and a government interlocutor for Kashmir.
Two new columnists grace the pages of our Platform
section this month. Santosh Desai and Ashok Malik
have been prolific writers and have regular columns in
newspapers. Their work is both witty and wise, and I
hope you enjoy reading it just as much as we did.
After the successful launch of the first issue, this
second edition brings me a quiet sense of satisfaction.
However, if it is to delve deeper and reach further in
the new year, it will need your support. So keep the
suggestions coming and have a great start to 2012.
January
2012
Democratic
world
1