Dilip D'Souza : Thoughts for a nation
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Jan 15 2005
The shape of common sense
: The shape of common sense
In Samiyarpettai, sub-collector Rajendra Ratnoo had put together a disaster management plan as a test case just two months ago. When the tsunami came last December 26, Ratnoo's plan worked spectacularly. Over one hundred survived because of Ratnoo's plan. That was an achievement, says Dilip D'Souza.
Dec 01 2004
Classes everywhere, not a stop to think
: Classes everywhere, not a stop to think
Many teenagers in Mumbai are spending their evenings on the "untiring toil" of tuitions, trying to learn what their teachers should have been teaching them in junior college but don't. This is a system that unthinkingly takes away these kids' leisure time, says Dilip D'Souza.
Nov 01 2004
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Subsidy to nowhere
Offer to build 320,000 houses for slum-dwellers. Deliver only 1146. In two years, only a tiny fraction of the number of houses a Maharashtra government plan called for actually got built. Dilip D'Souza dissects an infamous cross-subsidy fiasco that was born as an election promise.
Oct 01 2004
Your quake, my insecurity
: Your quake, my insecurity
Dilip D'Souza contrasts the unquestioned annual increases in the defence budget with the real challenges of security faced by civilians.
Sep 01 2004
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Alang: give us a break

Asia's largest shipbreaking yard has a regular supply of cheap labour as well as suspect environmental and safety conditions. Dilip D'Souza on the conditions we tolerate.

Aug 01 2004
Things could be different
: Things could be different
The Kumbakonam and Ervadi tragedies may not have happened if our nation building process had taken a different turn decades ago. Dilip D'Souza on a patriotism that stems from concern for everyone.
Jul 01 2004
The questions, they will not die
: The questions, they will not die
Often, the deaths of our military officers raise questions. The answers? That's the hard part, says Dilip D'Souza.
Jun 01 2004
Meet you at the library
: Meet you at the library
Accessible public libraries bring strength to democracy, says Dilip D'Souza.
May 01 2004
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Election Diary: Srinagar, April 2004
Dilip D'Souza on his first-hand observations of low election turnout in Jammu and Kashmir.
Apr 01 2004
Peace: more important than Cricket?
: Peace: more important than Cricket?
The outpouring of feeling between the countries in recent weeks only underlines the need for more meetings between ordinary Pakistanis and Indians, asserts Dilip D'Souza.

Dilip D'Souza was educated in Pilani, Providence, Delhi, Rishi Valley, Bombay, Cambridge, Austin and places in between. He was once a computer scientist, but now he writes for a living, on themes like development, nationalism, science, poverty, as well as travel. He has won several awards for his writing, including the Statesman Rural Reporting award and the Outlook/Picador nonfiction prize. He has published three books and a monograph of essays on patriotism. His most recent book is Roadrunner: An Indian Quest in America.