How Can We Matter

(A summary of this extended post can be found at the end.) T his post follows up on my earlier piece titled   Beyond Condemnation: A Deeper Look at Responsibility , published on September 14, 2025, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s tragic murder. In that article, I made a heartfelt appeal to his widow, Erika Kirk, urging her to consider a radically different path in responding to the intense anger directed at the accused, Tyler Robinson. I respectfully invited Erika to explore an alternative approach by asking:  "what if you chose a different, more  courageous  path? A path not of  hate  for the 22-year-old, but of  radical compassion . Instead of seeking retribution, you could lead your family in a new direction— a mission to heal the deep divisions in our world with love and empathy . This would not be an act of weakness, but one of  extraordinary strength , offering a powerful  counter-narrative  to the cycle of violence". ...

We're all familiar with the MRP ( Maximum Retail Price ) printed on packaged goods in supermarkets and other stores.  MRP  ( Maximum Retail Price ) Well, I've often felt it should really stand for Misleading Retail Price ( MRP )! While shopping, it's a huge point of irritation for many of us, as this seemingly deliberate overpricing by manufacturers feels like nothing short of a " legal scam ", one that many suspect has the quiet approval of the Finance Ministry.  The lack of clear guidelines for setting MRP allows many manufacturers to intentionally inflate it. This practice enables retailers to offer discounts, typically ranging from 10-30% normally and a hefty 70-90% during "flash sales." Despite these seemingly large reductions from the MRP, I am sure that shopkeepers still manage to turn a profit.  E-Commerce MRP and Discount The level of discounting also varies by product category. For instance, electronics, fashion apparel, sanitary-plumbing-hardw...

Are lawyers like mercenaries who will fight for any cause provided they get their fees? Image courtesy: Amazon In the book " India's Legal System: Can It Be Saved? ", published by Penguin on 15 March 2017, the author Fali S. Nariman, the renowned constitutional expert and senior Supreme Court lawyer who died recently on 21 February 2024 at the age of 95 years, states: "India has the second-largest legal profession in the world, but the systemic delays and chronic impediments of its judicial system inspire little confidence in the common person".   Debatable Question However, what prompted me to ask this rather controversial question about our uninspiring judicial system is something different. We regularly see a set of high-profile lawyers of the Supreme Court who always represent clients of the opposition political parties or opposition-ruled states or even criminals in their legal fights against the Union government , and who act like mercenaries (hired profes...

Prelude Writing this post brought back fond memories of my professional career as a Senior Consultant with the Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Centre (ADSIC) , now defunct and probably functioning under the new name Abu Dhabi Digital Authority .  It was during those six years (2008-2014) that I had the opportunity to get acquainted with the Strategic Plans of several Abu Dhabi Government Departments and also create a couple of Strategic Plans for whole-of-Government initiatives such as  Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure (AD-SDI) Program   and  Abu Dhabi No Objection Certificate (NOC) Program . The work on Geospatial Data Contend Standards  made me familiar with the works of International Standards bodies OGC and ISO.  Reminiscing on the good old days in UAE, I would like to recall with gratitude my associations with colleagues at  GISTEC ,  ADSIC and the GPC Group .   Image Credit: UN HR Portal Edits since publishing on...