Liberhan report has leaked out and no prizes for guessing the culprit behind this leak. It is definitely the ruling party which is trying to use this mileage at a time when it was cornered for Koda case, 1 yr of 26/11 attacks and the price rise. The real issues have been back tracked for an issue which has absolutely no relevance. The country is going through one of its worst crisis ever and the biggest apathy is that we have all turned a blind eye to all of this. The discussions in the parliament were on this report rather than being on the more important issues for the country.
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Food inflation is something that is killing the middle class and the lower class and is creating a serious hole in our pockets, one can argue that this is a global phenomenon but there are governments that have tackled all of this in a much better manner. Commodity markets need to be tracked and regulated and black marketing which has been regularly seen has to be shot down. The government has done absolutely nothing to stop the food inflation and all it has done is to blame it on the global price rise, it could have well tackled it by increasing the interest rates, but then who would feed their greedy tummies in case the industry slows down temporarily due to increasing rates. This is the most important issue for the government but as usual our incapable government is just sitting back as the opposition is disintegrating and the government is enjoying it.
When Mumbai was attacked last year it was presumed that the action from India’s side would be stern and swift as India’s elite was attacked, around the same time a blast in Assam took 100 lives and no one talks about it but anyways even for an attack that the media still covers every day and we have weeklies dedicating one issue to remember that dreadful day we have not done anything and nothing is in the pipeline for something to happen and the perpetrators are prosecuted. Indian PM travels to US and the US commits nothing as there is no solid will to resolve this issue. Pakistan has to be cornered militarily as well as economically and we have to twist the arms of US and the rest of the world in case we ever want to do this. If this country can afford a KODA it can also afford to live without external help and assistance of the west in our economic development. This is a demon that we need to kill now. The west needs us for their economic survivals and we need to capitalize it right now, China uses it and Its difficult to understand why we can not.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Of Birthdays
Its my birthday this week and I am usually very excited about my birthday, as a kid we waited for our birthday’s and the birthday parties and gifts that we would get. Often we would not wear the school uniforms on working days in school as well. Even today most of us celebrate our birthdays with lots of excitement and do feel special on the day but it seems that most of us don’t feel as special about our birthday as we earlier did. Some may argue that this is probably because we are getting older but I strongly believe that there are other factors involved here.
In the last 10-15 years we have seen people finding out newer reasons to celebrate life and to party. Today in India we have Halloween weekends, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving day and surprisingly a lot of people also party on the American independence day. Along with these even Indian festivals are highly glorified now and are synonymous with excessive partying like dandiya and diwali. Even Holi festivities are accompanied by a week long partying.
The fact is that in the last decade Indians have found out so many reasons to celebrate that the excitement around one’s personal festivities like anniversaries and birthdays have reduced a lot. Even these occasions have become synonymous with partying. So whenever you say birthday, your friends might get late in wishing you but not in asking for a party.
In the last 10-15 years we have seen people finding out newer reasons to celebrate life and to party. Today in India we have Halloween weekends, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving day and surprisingly a lot of people also party on the American independence day. Along with these even Indian festivals are highly glorified now and are synonymous with excessive partying like dandiya and diwali. Even Holi festivities are accompanied by a week long partying.
The fact is that in the last decade Indians have found out so many reasons to celebrate that the excitement around one’s personal festivities like anniversaries and birthdays have reduced a lot. Even these occasions have become synonymous with partying. So whenever you say birthday, your friends might get late in wishing you but not in asking for a party.
Monday, November 9, 2009
20 years of the fall of Berlin Wall
It was November 1987 when Ronald Reagan challenged the communist world to bring down the Berlin wall. The wall that separated two ideologies was now gone on 9th November 1989. The first place where the East Germans flocked was actually a McDonalds, the ultimate symbol of Capitalism. Marxism was dying and so was the ideology. 1989 changed a lot of things and led to geo-political and economic changes across the world. The world was divided in the cold war ere into Capitalists led by US and the Communists led by China and erstwhile USSR. There were trade sanctions imposed on the member of either group by the rival group countries and therefore no growth could be holistic.
The first phase after 1989 saw trade bans on China being lifted despite the Tinamen Square massacre, China has not looked back ever since. It could never have attained their economic superiority if they did not have the markets of the west for their products. The growth has consistently knocked down double digits and is now just a sniffing distance from Japan to become the second largest economy in the world. Americans also benefited from this opening up as their corporations like GE & GM grew to become global powerhouses thanks to the new markets they managed to find for their products.
India too was closer to USSR in the cold war era and we made a conscious effort to move away from that stance as the balance of power was now crossing the Atlantic. India’s emergence in the economic world coincided with the death of Marxism globally. India has emerged a stronger economy on the back of liberalization of our economy, sectors like IT and Auto did not even have a significant existence prior to 89.
Prior to 1989 the world was divided into Marxists and Capitlists and there was an active cold war with limited real conflicts or action, today on the other hand the world is divided into Capitalists and fundamentalists and this is more dangerous than the earlier divide as this divide is on ideology as well as power and it is getting skewed towards the most dangerous places in the world, be it North Korea or Pakistan. Hope this Berlin wall breaks too.
The first phase after 1989 saw trade bans on China being lifted despite the Tinamen Square massacre, China has not looked back ever since. It could never have attained their economic superiority if they did not have the markets of the west for their products. The growth has consistently knocked down double digits and is now just a sniffing distance from Japan to become the second largest economy in the world. Americans also benefited from this opening up as their corporations like GE & GM grew to become global powerhouses thanks to the new markets they managed to find for their products.
India too was closer to USSR in the cold war era and we made a conscious effort to move away from that stance as the balance of power was now crossing the Atlantic. India’s emergence in the economic world coincided with the death of Marxism globally. India has emerged a stronger economy on the back of liberalization of our economy, sectors like IT and Auto did not even have a significant existence prior to 89.
Prior to 1989 the world was divided into Marxists and Capitlists and there was an active cold war with limited real conflicts or action, today on the other hand the world is divided into Capitalists and fundamentalists and this is more dangerous than the earlier divide as this divide is on ideology as well as power and it is getting skewed towards the most dangerous places in the world, be it North Korea or Pakistan. Hope this Berlin wall breaks too.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Just When you thought Sachin has lost it
Legend in sport is a term that is used more often than not for any good player but in the sport of cricket, especially modern day cricket where the physicl requirements of the game are incredible. I still remember the teenager who was hit by a Waqar Younis express delivery on the nose and then whacked him for a couple of boundries after getting bandaged. He has been so consistent ever since, he scored his 1st 100 in ODI's in 94 five years after making his debut but gosh 45 tons is something that no one would have ever imagined. The record for highest number of tons in ODI's was earlier with Desmond Haynes, the fiery batsman from WestIndies. In the mid 90's there was a period where we could win matches only if Tendulkar fires, that was a pressure that Sachin carried on his shoulders and more often than not he delivered.
The most memorable innings that he ever played have actually been in Sharjah against the mighty aussies on two days 28th and 30th april 1998, where he single handedly beat the entire Aussie team full of superstars lead by Steve Waugh. Or for that matter the innings in Cape Town when along with Azhar they made mincemeat of the SouthAfrican bowling attack lead by Allan Donald.
Just when we feel he is getting older, just when we feel he is looking at retiiring, he fires and fires like a young man hungry to prove a point, though there is just nothing left for him to prove. All these achievements and still the level of humility that he has can put even normal induviduals to shame. He is only driven by playing for the country and he is the true son of soil.
LEGEND, he is
The most memorable innings that he ever played have actually been in Sharjah against the mighty aussies on two days 28th and 30th april 1998, where he single handedly beat the entire Aussie team full of superstars lead by Steve Waugh. Or for that matter the innings in Cape Town when along with Azhar they made mincemeat of the SouthAfrican bowling attack lead by Allan Donald.
Just when we feel he is getting older, just when we feel he is looking at retiiring, he fires and fires like a young man hungry to prove a point, though there is just nothing left for him to prove. All these achievements and still the level of humility that he has can put even normal induviduals to shame. He is only driven by playing for the country and he is the true son of soil.
LEGEND, he is
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Cricket overdose
The injury list of the traditionally fit aussie cricketers is worrying, as this only goes on to prove the burnout theory that people often talk about. The game today is more physical than ever with a lot more stress on fielding and running between the wickets and the players work a lot on their fitness to last season after season and play good cricket as much as possible. Today it’s the aussie cricketers and tomorrow its definitely gonna be us.
Consider this; an average player would play at least 10 test matches, 25 one dayers and at least 10 Twenty-twenty matches in a year which works out to be 85 days on the field in an year. Television bucks have motivated boards around the world to extend the cricketing season to all around the world at the highest level. The top players get no time to play for their domestic leagues at all except for the big buck IPL which does nothing for the game of cricket, its only for entertainment.
The talk of 20-20 cricket replacing the ODI format is also a take off from the demands of TV viewers. Cricket is now more of a entertainment driven sport than a skill driven sport and is on the path of complete death. Games like Soccer and tennis have not seen the entire format being changed the way it’s been seen in cricket, it only goes on to prove that the governing body is more concerned about the television audience rather than the game. Its clear that superstars of the game are definitely not as technically sound as the stars of the yesteryears. The bowlers not as fast, the batsmen have no techniques and are only ready for wham bang cricket.
Wishing that cricket survives..
Consider this; an average player would play at least 10 test matches, 25 one dayers and at least 10 Twenty-twenty matches in a year which works out to be 85 days on the field in an year. Television bucks have motivated boards around the world to extend the cricketing season to all around the world at the highest level. The top players get no time to play for their domestic leagues at all except for the big buck IPL which does nothing for the game of cricket, its only for entertainment.
The talk of 20-20 cricket replacing the ODI format is also a take off from the demands of TV viewers. Cricket is now more of a entertainment driven sport than a skill driven sport and is on the path of complete death. Games like Soccer and tennis have not seen the entire format being changed the way it’s been seen in cricket, it only goes on to prove that the governing body is more concerned about the television audience rather than the game. Its clear that superstars of the game are definitely not as technically sound as the stars of the yesteryears. The bowlers not as fast, the batsmen have no techniques and are only ready for wham bang cricket.
Wishing that cricket survives..
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
GANDHI NEHRU GANDHI philosphies
I quite agree with MJ Akbar when he speaks of the reasons why Gandhi wanted Indians to behave in a certain way. India, at least the northern region has seen more invasions than any where else in the world. Indians are inherently violent people and can fight for no reason. You can see it on the road; we can fight for just about anything. Add to that a nation with thousands of languages, castes and communities, each insecure about their existence. Indians can be easily provoked emotionally to kill each other and that is probably the reason why Gandhi preached Non-violence to save us from each other. The strongest emotions that came out from the Mahatma were only when there were riots of any sort and the nation was more often than not united for any cause that Gandhi stood for. He gauged India absolutely spot-on.
Nehru in comparison had a dream of India which was independent and not just free; he worked hard for it and tried to carry on the legacy of Gandhi. Trusting China before their invasion was low point of his stint as the PM. In the first decade of independence the country was running smoothly as people were still coming to terms with freedom and the entire country was more or less at the same level of socio economic strength and there were not many disparities or should we say the perils of capitalistic society. There was real development happening in India till Nehru was at the helm.
Indira was seen as the strongest of them all, Indira’s stint at the helm re-emphasized the fact that Indians still liked to be ruled by Kings and Queens and democracy is only in name. During Indira’s stint we saw the strengthening of the lower class, the emergence of communists, rich getting richer and more poor getting poorer. Indira was a true patriot, she would probably put country before self under most conditions and had the guts and the will to stand by whatever she believed in. This led to a separation of congress and formation of a government with Marxists with Indira at the helm. During those two decades we saw violent trade unions, emergence of naxalism, unrest in Punjab & north east, emergence of regional parties in south, war with Pakistan and the emergency.
Post emergency rout of Congress goes on to prove that democracy is over any one and every one and the electorate completely rejected democracy and Jaiprakash Narayan led Janta Party finally came at the helm. Weak organization led to the fall of Janta Party government. Indira got power again and this time she was more like a dictator. With all due respect she has done a lot for the country but she was not suited for a democratic set-up as she was a master manager and executioner.
What Indira did in Punjab is debatable but was the ultimate reason for her killing and her martyrdom.
IN A WAY THE FACT THAT SHE WAS KILLED GAVE HER MARTYRDOM, IF SHE WOULD HAVE SURVIVED WHO KNOWS IF SHE WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY SURVIVED????
Nehru in comparison had a dream of India which was independent and not just free; he worked hard for it and tried to carry on the legacy of Gandhi. Trusting China before their invasion was low point of his stint as the PM. In the first decade of independence the country was running smoothly as people were still coming to terms with freedom and the entire country was more or less at the same level of socio economic strength and there were not many disparities or should we say the perils of capitalistic society. There was real development happening in India till Nehru was at the helm.
Indira was seen as the strongest of them all, Indira’s stint at the helm re-emphasized the fact that Indians still liked to be ruled by Kings and Queens and democracy is only in name. During Indira’s stint we saw the strengthening of the lower class, the emergence of communists, rich getting richer and more poor getting poorer. Indira was a true patriot, she would probably put country before self under most conditions and had the guts and the will to stand by whatever she believed in. This led to a separation of congress and formation of a government with Marxists with Indira at the helm. During those two decades we saw violent trade unions, emergence of naxalism, unrest in Punjab & north east, emergence of regional parties in south, war with Pakistan and the emergency.
Post emergency rout of Congress goes on to prove that democracy is over any one and every one and the electorate completely rejected democracy and Jaiprakash Narayan led Janta Party finally came at the helm. Weak organization led to the fall of Janta Party government. Indira got power again and this time she was more like a dictator. With all due respect she has done a lot for the country but she was not suited for a democratic set-up as she was a master manager and executioner.
What Indira did in Punjab is debatable but was the ultimate reason for her killing and her martyrdom.
IN A WAY THE FACT THAT SHE WAS KILLED GAVE HER MARTYRDOM, IF SHE WOULD HAVE SURVIVED WHO KNOWS IF SHE WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY SURVIVED????
Friday, October 30, 2009
NRI's right to crib???
The most ironical fact when we meet our NRI relatives and friends is that they are talking about the sad state of affairs in India especially when it comes to traffic, cleanliness, bureaucracy and food amongst other problems.
Fortunately or not, I have had my share of interactions with NRI’s due to the nature of my job and also due to the number of my friends and relatives who now live abroad. This cribbing is by far the most irritating aspect common amongst most 1st generation NRI’s. In fact I truly believe that “I” should be taken out of their classification (NRI) as some one who has lived in India, studied Engineering, Medical and Management at dirt cheap rates in India is now building up a foreign economy by contributing there as a consumer and as somebody who is providing services outside India because of the education that he/ she received in India. On top of that he is paying taxes to the government there and his income is used to build up that foreign land and none of it is contributing to the Indian economy and building up our wonderful country. If at all someone has a right to question the system effectiveness it is only some one who is building the system and not some one who is only using the system.
So NRI’s have no contribution in building up our economy as they are not paying direct or indirect taxes in India so they have absolutely no right to use whatever India has to offer, leave alone criticize it. These NRI’s can at best be called as tourists and welcomed as one. Just as I cant go to Turkey or Thailand and criticize their country for lack of civic amenities these guys can't do that in India.
There are two exceptions here, especially NRI’s from Kerala/ Punjab who have their families in India do remit money for their families helping Indian economy in the balance of payments (BOP) and supplying us with enough foreign currency through remittances to their own families, this aspect is deeply welcomed by the government of India. The government also supports and motivates NRI’s looking at business investments in India and is providing preferential treatment to NRI's looking at such opportunities in India.
The second group could be NRI’s who have always lived abroad and have been born an bred on foreign bread and have studied there as well, atleast such NRI’s do not have the sort of negative impact on India that the other set has as they have used all benefits that the government has provided and the time for payback came in these guys always took the easy way out (Brain Drain).
As they said in my favorite film RDB”Koi desh perfect nahi hota, usse perfect banana parta hai”
Fortunately or not, I have had my share of interactions with NRI’s due to the nature of my job and also due to the number of my friends and relatives who now live abroad. This cribbing is by far the most irritating aspect common amongst most 1st generation NRI’s. In fact I truly believe that “I” should be taken out of their classification (NRI) as some one who has lived in India, studied Engineering, Medical and Management at dirt cheap rates in India is now building up a foreign economy by contributing there as a consumer and as somebody who is providing services outside India because of the education that he/ she received in India. On top of that he is paying taxes to the government there and his income is used to build up that foreign land and none of it is contributing to the Indian economy and building up our wonderful country. If at all someone has a right to question the system effectiveness it is only some one who is building the system and not some one who is only using the system.
So NRI’s have no contribution in building up our economy as they are not paying direct or indirect taxes in India so they have absolutely no right to use whatever India has to offer, leave alone criticize it. These NRI’s can at best be called as tourists and welcomed as one. Just as I cant go to Turkey or Thailand and criticize their country for lack of civic amenities these guys can't do that in India.
There are two exceptions here, especially NRI’s from Kerala/ Punjab who have their families in India do remit money for their families helping Indian economy in the balance of payments (BOP) and supplying us with enough foreign currency through remittances to their own families, this aspect is deeply welcomed by the government of India. The government also supports and motivates NRI’s looking at business investments in India and is providing preferential treatment to NRI's looking at such opportunities in India.
The second group could be NRI’s who have always lived abroad and have been born an bred on foreign bread and have studied there as well, atleast such NRI’s do not have the sort of negative impact on India that the other set has as they have used all benefits that the government has provided and the time for payback came in these guys always took the easy way out (Brain Drain).
As they said in my favorite film RDB”Koi desh perfect nahi hota, usse perfect banana parta hai”
Thursday, October 29, 2009
What Muslims were to BJP, Maoists are to Cong: Arundhati Roy
Monday, October 26, 2009
What Muslims were to BJP, Maoists are to Cong: Arundhati Roy
New Delhi, 25 OCT: Supporting unconditional talks with the Maoists, Booker prize winner and activist Arundhati Roy has alleged that “economic interests” in mineral-rich states have driven the government and establishment to launch action against them.“My fear is that because of this economic interest the government and establishment actually needs a war. It needs to militarise. For that it needs an enemy. And so in a way what the Muslims were to BJP, the Maoists are to Congress...,” Roy said in an interview with Karan Thapar in his programme Devil's Advocate for CNN-IBN channel.When asked about the talks between the Government and Left Wing extremists, she said: “There should be unconditional talks with the Maoists.“If I was a person who is being dispossessed, whose wife has been raped, who is being pushed of their land and who is being faced with this ‘police force’, I would say that I am justified in taking up arms. If that is the only way I have to defend myself,” she said when asked whether armed struggle was justified.“We should stop thinking about who is justified...You have an army of very poor people being faced down by an army of rich that are corporate-backed. I am sorry but it is like that. So you can't extract morality from the heinous act of violence that each commits against the other,” she said. ;PTI
Source: The Statesman 26 October 2009
What Muslims were to BJP, Maoists are to Cong: Arundhati Roy
New Delhi, 25 OCT: Supporting unconditional talks with the Maoists, Booker prize winner and activist Arundhati Roy has alleged that “economic interests” in mineral-rich states have driven the government and establishment to launch action against them.“My fear is that because of this economic interest the government and establishment actually needs a war. It needs to militarise. For that it needs an enemy. And so in a way what the Muslims were to BJP, the Maoists are to Congress...,” Roy said in an interview with Karan Thapar in his programme Devil's Advocate for CNN-IBN channel.When asked about the talks between the Government and Left Wing extremists, she said: “There should be unconditional talks with the Maoists.“If I was a person who is being dispossessed, whose wife has been raped, who is being pushed of their land and who is being faced with this ‘police force’, I would say that I am justified in taking up arms. If that is the only way I have to defend myself,” she said when asked whether armed struggle was justified.“We should stop thinking about who is justified...You have an army of very poor people being faced down by an army of rich that are corporate-backed. I am sorry but it is like that. So you can't extract morality from the heinous act of violence that each commits against the other,” she said. ;PTI
Source: The Statesman 26 October 2009
Maoism my views
Any attempts to eliminate all Naxalites/ Maoists would create more Maoists. If one clearely has a look at the story of the Rajdhani express one would know that they were armed with basic weapons and hardly had firearms. Maosim is not equivalent to terrorism as it is often equated to be as this is just a reaction of a common man to the problems that he is facing. He was anyways fighting for survival and on top of that rising food prices are not helping him out in anyway. If that was too less the threat of draught and floods. Its a story of every year.
If one looks at the places where Naxalism is active we would see that places like Jharkhand, Orissa, Vidarbha, Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh are also the poorest parts of the country, the stories of atrocities on the common people here is not unknown to everybody. Also these are zones of a lot of action from mother nature be it floods or draughts or both as we are still dependent on rains to take care of our crop.
Strangely the most ambitious project called the River Linking Project which was targeted to take care of all our future water requirements and problems. The problems of draughts as well as floods wont exist but it has been strangely scrapped. No one knows or understands why it has been scrapped but one can only say that probably it happened as it was an ambitious project started off by a party which is now sitting in opposition. Strangely the government is not under scrutiny for this. If India can affoard construction of a Dalit memorial for 800 cr we definitely deserve a project like this.
The media is always present when Mr. Rahul Gandhi is present in a village eating with them and presenting its views on how great our leaders are. Mr. Gandhi himself has said that Naxalism is caused due to the inability of the government to reach out to its people. This statement was meant to attack the state governments where Naxalism is common but the fact is that Centre is as much responsible for this
The fact is that any villager in these areas is a potential Naxalite as his land is often forcibly taken away in the name of development, anyone who has land is still a farmer and any one who loses it either commits a suicide or is a Naxal or in our government's terms more dangerous than terrorists.
Its better that we concentrate on the reason rather than putting fingers on our neighbours for this movement and their funding. Atleast people who have survived the attack on Rajdhani Express should understand and share this view with me as miraculously all of them are unhurt even after the hijack.
All these are major problems that our government does not seem to have an intent to sort out quickly and are now talking about using force, which would ultimately create more and more Naxals or so called TERRORISTS.
If one looks at the places where Naxalism is active we would see that places like Jharkhand, Orissa, Vidarbha, Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh are also the poorest parts of the country, the stories of atrocities on the common people here is not unknown to everybody. Also these are zones of a lot of action from mother nature be it floods or draughts or both as we are still dependent on rains to take care of our crop.
Strangely the most ambitious project called the River Linking Project which was targeted to take care of all our future water requirements and problems. The problems of draughts as well as floods wont exist but it has been strangely scrapped. No one knows or understands why it has been scrapped but one can only say that probably it happened as it was an ambitious project started off by a party which is now sitting in opposition. Strangely the government is not under scrutiny for this. If India can affoard construction of a Dalit memorial for 800 cr we definitely deserve a project like this.
The media is always present when Mr. Rahul Gandhi is present in a village eating with them and presenting its views on how great our leaders are. Mr. Gandhi himself has said that Naxalism is caused due to the inability of the government to reach out to its people. This statement was meant to attack the state governments where Naxalism is common but the fact is that Centre is as much responsible for this
The fact is that any villager in these areas is a potential Naxalite as his land is often forcibly taken away in the name of development, anyone who has land is still a farmer and any one who loses it either commits a suicide or is a Naxal or in our government's terms more dangerous than terrorists.
Its better that we concentrate on the reason rather than putting fingers on our neighbours for this movement and their funding. Atleast people who have survived the attack on Rajdhani Express should understand and share this view with me as miraculously all of them are unhurt even after the hijack.
All these are major problems that our government does not seem to have an intent to sort out quickly and are now talking about using force, which would ultimately create more and more Naxals or so called TERRORISTS.
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