RIFLE RANGE BOY

Hunger Games (Based on Novel Trilogy by Suzanne Collins)  Film Series, 2012, 2013, 2014. 2015, 2023 There is a thin line between having hope and fear about things happening our way. To quote Baruch Spinoza, there is neither Hope without Fear nor Fear without Hope. This applies at an individual level when one wants to pull himself up with his bootstrap. He may tell himself not to fear the unknown but to hope for a better future. Hope is not a bad thing when things look hopeless. To hope and not strive is foolhardy. That must be the reason why 'hope' was one of the reasons it was found to be one of the contents still lingering in the Pandora Box when it opened. Perhaps it was the lesser of the evils, as all others had escaped.  To rule over a group of people, politicians create fear among their subjects. The goal is to create so much fear that the subjects will succumb to the pressures and submit to the demands of the oppressors. At the same time, to avert retaliation, the subje...

Chanakya Amar Chitra Katha Classics Thanks, Aman, for the suggestion. Forget the 16th century Niccolo Machiavelli and his devious Machiavellian tactics in 'The Prince' to usurp power and defeat your enemies. Forget Adam Smith as the 18th century Father of modern economics and his treatise 'Wealth of Nation. Before the modern world knew about science, politics and economics, Indian civilisation had already delved deep into the above subject. Chanakya, who lived around the 300CE, was a master political advisor exemplaire . A Brahmana, a scholar knowledgable of various sciences, is said to have been instrumental in masterminding Chandragupta to establish the Maurya Empire.  It was about 2,500 years ago when Alexander (questionable whether he was Great) from Macedonia was creating a ruckus in Northern India. Maghada was the largest kingdom in India then. Hence, most people thought that it was natural for its ruler to chase away foreign aggressors from their land.  It started wi...

The Prince Author: Niccolò Machiavelli (1532) Think Machiavellian politics and what comes to mind are Robert Mugabe and even Dr Mahathir. Many miniseries addicts, especially of 'House of Cards' would recall the Kevin Spacey character of Senator Francis Underwood and his modus operandi which are similar to one propagated by the Master himself, Niccolò Machiavelli. At a time when altruism and fear of God were the order of the day, Machiavelli's writing must have been a controversial one. It remains a pioneer scripture in the field called political philosophy. What Machiavelli propagates may not appear just or 'Christian-like', but a leader to stay in power, it must be the divine. A true leader who is convinced is the best one for the nation, whether elected by force or popular demand, has to follow rules laid out by the man himself. He has to remember that he is alone. The only people that he can depend on are general citizens. He must always keep the genera...