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| Is the BBC
governable? |
 In
the current crisis faced by the BBC, the UK's
licence-fee paid state broadcaster, as it
lurches from one quagmire to another, Lopa
Patel examines whether the corporation is
governable. Acting BBC Director-General Tim
Davie pledged to get a grip of the crisis,
saying "one thing I don't like is where you've
got messy decision making and lack of clarity,"
before, adding that he will be putting in
a clearer structure. And therein lies the
first dilemma. 
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more |
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| 'Satyamev
Jayate' should help solve India's ills |
 Meaning
literally 'Truth Alone Prevails' Satyamev
Jayate, hosted by actor Aamir Khan, is an
Indian television talk show that aired on
various channels within Star Network and on
national broadcaster Doordarshan. It attracted
record viewer numbers and proved an internet
phenomenon. But now, it has a duty to promote
solutions to India's ills says sociologist,
social commentator & social entrepreneur
Pathik Pathak.
read
more |
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| Women
on Boards: It's Time for Quotas! |
 Following
his visit to the Northern Future Summit (8th
- 9th Feb 2012), UK Prime Minister David Cameron
announced that he is considering bringing
in quotas for the number of women appointed
to corporate boards. To achieve a sustained
and credible shift we need something more
than piecemeal projects and calls for a "gentleman's
agreement" on a cultural change in the boardroom
- we need quotas, now!
read
more |
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| Aid
or Trade? Stop Patronising the Indians |
 Britain's
policy of linking "aid with trade" is much
in the news this week as it transpires that
the UK's £280m annual aid given to India
has failed to secure it a contract for fighter
jets. Never mind that I find the concept of
giving aid with one hand and expecting a return
with the other hand abhorrent, I also think
is about time that Britain stops patronising
India.
read
more |
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| Revitalising
the Commonwealth brand |
 C.
Raja Mohan, one of India's leading strategic
analysts, has recently suggested that India
could play a major role in revitalising the
Commonwealth as a "significant international
alliance of English-speaking democracies".
In pure brand terms of course, the Commonwealth
has a great deal of "brand equity".
read
more |
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| Has
anything changed for Indian Women in the last
100 years? |
 As
we celebrate the centenary of International
Women's Day on Tuesday 8th March 2011, my
thoughts turned to the women in my own family.
For many years, the woman I knew vaguely as
"ba" (grandmother) was not my grandmother
at all but a great aunt who single-handedly
brought up my father and his four sisters.
As I had met my grandmother only once, I asked
my cousin Dr Arun Patel to share with me his
memories.
read more |
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| Lord
Davies "disses" ethnic minority women in his
'Women on Boards' review |
 Lord
Davies of Abersoch has inadvertently dissed
(disrespected) a generation of ethnic minority
women by failing to tackle the issue of quotas
for women on UK Corporate Boards. Given that
there are no Black British female directors
in the FTSE 100 companies and the Equality
Commission estimates that it will the UK until
the year 2225 to achieve gender parity in
corporate Britain at the current rate of progress.
Sadly he chose to sidestep the issue.
read
more |
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| Stop
trying to 'fix' education with technology |
 My
head is swirling after the 'Learning Without
Frontier' 2011 event in London. Based on the
ethos of "rebooting education", the event
clearly means to change paradigms in education
globally and the word "disrupt" was widely
used by the profile speakers.But we haven't
achieved a new paradigm in education with
the use of technology in British schools.
The real question is "do we need to"?
read
more |
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| 'Big
Society' idea in big peril |
 David
Cameron's 'Big Society' idea is in big peril.
The reason is that it relies heavily on Third
Sector voluntary organisations being in a
position to "pick up the slack" when cuts
in public sector funding take place; whether
this is in providing transport for those with
disabilities or maintaining the heritage of
our country. My own experience with third
sector organisations is that many are in disarray.
read
more |
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| Geek
Girls just wanna have fun! |
 For
girls, the option of whether to study further
i.e. a degree, will determine not only your
future pay packet, but the subject you choose
will determine the "pay gap" between you and
your male colleague. So choosing wisely at
this stage is crucial. Little wonder that
the Universities and Science Minister David
Willetts spoke only the truth when he said
that state schools frequently advised children
wrongly about exams. But with advice currently
on offer do we have the right choices for
'Geek Girls who just wanna have fun!'?
read
more |
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| Asians
are better at 'Big Society' |
 The
UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, wants Britain
to embrace the concept of 'Big Society' where
members of the public step in to provide services
that have previously been supplied by local
councils, central Government or paid contractors.
Asians are, of course, better at 'Big Society'
than most. This is no idle boast. National
Sewa Day, 21st November 2010 is a great example.
read
more |
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| Britain's
Education Cloud |
 "I
wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on
high o'er vales and hills, when all at once
I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils",
the lines from William Wordsworth’s poem have
been haunting me lately, although in the context
of an education 'cloud' rather than the literal
one. The need for a British Education Cloud
has never been greater.
read
more |
|
| Is
Islamophobia stopping aid to Pakistan? |
 With
nearly a third of country under water, 14
million people displaced, a 1600 death toll
(and rising), Oxfam have called Pakistan's
floods a "mega" disaster. And yet
the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal
has raised a paltry £10.5 million after 10
days, despite high-profile TV appeals by Boxer
Amir Khan and actor Art Malik.
read
more |
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| Anil
Ambani's Reliance Group should buy British
television channel ITV
|
 Indian
business mogul Anil Ambani's company Reliance
should buy British television channel ITV.
This would fulfill Ambani's dream to be a
global media baron and deliver Indians in
Britain the presence they have long craved.
The fact that Rupert Murdoch's Sky TV has
been forced by UK regulator Ofcom to divest
part of its 17.9% in ITV leaves the field
clear for Reliance.
read more |
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| Why
the BBC is right to close Asian Network |
 In
a post that is likely to 'lose me friends
and alienate people'*, I agree that the BBC
should close its digital radio station BBC
Asian Network. The station has been losing
listeners and has cost far too much. The Asian
market is already well served with a commercial
radio and TV stations and print & online
media publishers will also be relieved when
the BBC no longer distorts markets.
read
more |
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| Iconic
Indian Ads: Can India's Ad Industry take on
the world? |
 India's
entertainment industry is likely to create
global opportunities for more than films,
video games and TV shows. Its advertising
industry, drawing upon the iconography of
Bollywood, is also set to take on the world.
The move was brought to light this week when
a twitter trend on the subject became the
2nd most popular topic on the site.
read
more |
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| The
'Asianisation' of British Advertising: Asians
in Adverts |
|
 There
are so many Asian faces in British adverts
that it is hard to believe that Asians are
still an ethnic minority in this country.
But how successful are these portrayals?
Are advertisers really trying to target
this increasingly affluent ethnic community?
Or are they simply latching onto the wave
of Bollywood fever that is still sweeping
the country? Whatever the 'endgame', why
do so many advertisers get it so badly wrong?
read
more
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| More
Viewpoint & Opinion Pieces |
|
Why
is 'Apps for Good' so good? (12/12)
Is
the BBC governable? (11/12)
'Satyamev
Jayate' should help solve India's ills
(08/12)
Women
on Boards: It's Time for Quotas! (03/12)
Aid
or Trade? Stop Patronising the Indians
(02/12)
Revitalising
the Commonwealth brand (07/11)
Has anything
changed for Indian Women in the last 100
years? (03/011)
Lord
Davies "disses" ethnic minority women in
his 'Women on Boards' review (02/11)
Stop
trying to 'fix' education with technology
(01/11)
'Big
Society' idea in big peril (12/10)
Geek
Girls just wanna have fun! (08/10)
Asians
are better at 'Big Society' (08/10)
Britain's
Education Cloud (08/10)
Is
Islamophobia stopping aid to Pakistan?
(08/10)
Happy
Birthday NHS...From a Grateful Fan (07/10)
Anil Ambani's
Reliance Group should buy British television
channel ITV (03/10)
Why
the BBC is right to close Asian Network
(02/10)
Iconic
Indian Ads: Can India's Ad Industry take
on the world? (02/10)
LATWF 2010, Britain at Its best (01/10)
Top 20 Female Boss Misconceptions (12/09)
Female Bosses - lessons for us all?
(12/09)
Are the Tories really headed for a landslide
victory? (12/09)
Are the litigious few ruining our prospects?
(11/09)
Are Jains the only true environmentalists?
(11/09)
Do Indian businesses actually support sport?
(11/09)
CBI plans will set UK Education back 20
years (09/09)
Is TV show 'Dragon's Den' past its 'sell-by'
date? (09/09)
'Bitchcraft' is such hard work! (09/09)
Honour, what kind of 'Honour' is this?
(09/09)
Are Hindus really this gullible? (09/09)
The Reluctant Indian (08/09)
TATA secures private funding for JLR
(08/09)
India season cometh (again) (08/09)
Black Beauty will vanquish all her critics
(07/09)
Non-Doms - It's time to "pay up or
ship out" (07/09)
'Bonfire of the Quangos'? Start with the
GLA (07/09)
Why are Indians so earnest? (07/09)
French Burqa Ban - A positive step forward?
(06/09)
Nigel
Dowd (N. Dowd) and Ian Candy (I. Candy):
When Baby Names Go Wrong (06/09)
Mrinal
Patel, cheating Harrow school mum, should
not be prosecuted (06/09)
The
Indian Elections 2009: What Went Wrong and
For Whom (05/09)
Madonna
is right to adopt another child from Malawi
(03/09)
Britain
should not bail out Land Rover Jaguar
(03/09)
Why Prince
Harry Should be Sacked From The British
Army (01/09)
The
'Asianisation' of British Advertising: Asians
in Adverts (06/03)
UK bosses
paranoid about Indian Call Centres (03/03)
Taking
a jab at Gandhi (01/03)
The
God Commodity: Hindu Gods on Lunchboxes
(01/03)
Kololo Remembered
- Ugandan Asian 30 years on (08/02)
10 'Modern' Wedding
Vows for Women (02/02)
10 'Modern' Wedding
Vows for Men (02/02)
The Asian 'Name
Game' (05/00)
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