Saturday 14 November 2009

CCE - A welcome change in Indian Education

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In a rush of 100 day achievement, our Union Home Minister, Kapil Sibal had mooted his team to come out with some revolutionary measures. The result is, abolishing the Board Exams for X standard for CBSE schools.

At the outset, the exams are not abolished but made optional. There will be exams and there are changes in the exams. I welcome this change. At the least, someone had initiated the long pending changes. Changes brings with it challenges and challenges forces one to make attempts and I am hopeful of something good churning out of this exercise.

Before making a comment on the proposed changes that will effect from 2011, I would like to brief the limitations in the present system and the proposed changes in the new system.

The limitations in the present examination system are:

Students are evaluated on the basis of marks and not by their ability: It is a better known fact students’ intelligence levels are decided by their memory power and not by the knowledge they had gained. It is not a surprise that our students thoroughly lack application once they are through with their degrees or diplomas. These certificates are mere tickets for job as far as India is concerned.

Limited evaluation techniques in the present system: the present question bank system is here for years and students have mastered the art of answering them from scoring point of view. They simply go through the question banks only and not learning their lessons. It is very true in case of the entrance exams for IIT where students literally ignore their 12th syllabus and prepare themselves for the IIT entrance through the tutorials and gain seat. Another problem with this system is students are not reading anything beyond the syllabus.

Education is to inspire, to make experiments and to encourage students questioning. Nothing of these three happens with the present system.

Stress / Peer pressure / frustration / humiliation: The pass / fail factor decides the students future. Time is precious. What is the point in deciding a student fail at the end of the year rather than noticing this at the earlier stage and worked upon. Why the monitoring is not done on day-to-day basis. With the world environment becoming highly competitive peer pressure is here to stay. The problem with the present system, it does not teach the students on how to handle the pressure. The stigma attached to a failed candidate and the treatments to such students are the mistakes of the society and not the system per se.

Comprehensive Continuous Evaluation:
v The newly proposed system is christened as Comprehensive Continuous Evaluation.
v It is classified as Scholastic and Co-scholastic.
v While the Scholastic deal with the academics, Co-scholastic will deal with Art, fine-arts, physical education, life-skills, health, etc.,
v The assessments are classified as Formative Assessments and Summative Assessments.
v Formative Assessment is done at school level by the teachers concerned on a day-to-day basis continuously, monitoring and to work upon the deterioration found, if any.
v Summative Assessments are done on a periodical basis similar to the present day exams. However, the pattern of the exam is also being revised and reviewed.
v While the Formative Assessments contribute to 40% the rest is done by Summative Assessment.
v No marks will be given but only grades. However, grades are defined by marks scored.
v Instead of ranks given, ranking will be given on percentile basis. For example if a student has scored 78 marks in Science and 22 students have scored less than him, then the percentile will be marks scored x (No. of students scored less than him / total no of students)
v The Board exams for X standard is optional. However, students who would like to continue their XI in the same school need not appear for Board exams. If they wished to change the school, they need to appear for Board exam.
v Even for appearing the Board exam, one has to undergo Formative and Summative Assessments.
v CBSE is exploring the possibility of conducting the board exams online.
v The questions for the exams will be supplied by the central board from the question bank it has generated.

On the whole the CCE would focus on the broad based education of the students and with the behavioral pattern of the students.

It is too early to make a comment on the proposed CCE and it is all in paper. Only in the second semester of this year for 9th standard students, this is being put in practice. The CBSE board is burning the midnight oil in conducting the training programs for the teachers all over India in explaining the new system, make them understand and prepare the teachers to evaluate the students. This is a Himalayan task and CBSE had taken it.

There are challenges ahead in implementing this new system.
v How the evaluation of teacher in the urban and the rural areas would remain same?
v If Board exams for 10th are abolished because of “Stress Factor” why have it for 12th std?
v In the name of broad based education, would a fish be asked to run on land? Would not it be ideal to identify the skills of the student and focus on the subject?
v Would there be reservations too?
v If the teachers of the same school will be evaluating, what is the scope to eliminate the bias-factor?

This system is similar to the system in USA. How far this would suit our conditions and our people is to be waited and seen. Yet, I welcome this change for that this has initiated something towards the better. Change is permanent and change for better is termed as development. It’s high time our education standards had developed.

Tuesday 10 November 2009

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Karma is one of the widely known Eastern Mystical concepts by the West. Simply put, Karma is a process of Cause and Effect. If you do X, Y will happen. It is about experience and fulfillment of purpose. Karma is not about punishment. The idea that we are punished for sins is, perhaps, a man-made form of social control.



In Spirit, there is nothing called absolute right or wrong or Good or Bad. Who are we to decide what is good and what is bad. The great Tamil Poet Subramania Bharati told, nalladu teeyadu naamariyom annai, nalladai naatuga teeyadai oottuga (we are unaware of what is good and bad so, feed me good ones and drive away from me the bad ones). What is good to you might be bad to others. Ahimsa is good but if a lion practiced it how can it survive? We cannot decide what is good and bad as we do not have a universal scale to measure it.



The first step in dealing with karma is awareness and acknowledgement of it. Are there any themes that seem to recur throughout our life? Nothing happens by chance. Recurrent themes suggest the existence of karma. Once one understands the karmic themes of incarnation one can start working with them, ie swim with the tide rather than against it. If one finds it hard to acquire or hold money, he needs to practice money management; If one finds it hard to make friends she needs to be that nicer to others… To know on how to work with Karma, one needs Spiritual guidance.



Karma is a Sanskrit word originated from the root verb --“Kri” meaning “to do” or “to make”. Karma is a concept of wisdom, which explains a system where beneficial events are derived from past beneficial actions and harmful events from past harmful actions, creating a cycle of actions and reactions throughout a person's reincarnated lives. When we talk about “Our Karma” we’re talking about the actions we’ve “sown” or performed in the past (including our previous lives) that are the cause of what we “reap” in our current life situation.



Every action, either physical, emotional or mental, every movement occurring either on the plane of gross matter (Sthoolam) or on the astral planes (Sookshma), causes an emission of Energy. In other words, it produces a Seed. Being a Seed, Karma fructifies or does not fructify immediately after it is sown. The Vedas advocate, “Here they say that a person consists of desires. And as is his desire, so is his will. As is his will, so is his deed; whatever deed he does, that he will reap.”



Karma is different from destiny. Fate is the notion that one’s life is preprogrammed by some external power, and one has no control over it. One might ask, “when the life is pre-programmed, so are the actions. How can the karma decide?” The fact is, Karma can be corrected, because human is a conscious being and he can be aware of his Karma and thus strive to change the course of events, with the help of superior powers.



Karma will assist you with the wherewithal for your performance. However, the ability part is yours. To get a good life-partner is the result of your karma, however, to retain, sustain and nurture this relationship is in your ability. Karma cannot help here.


Karma is of four types namely Sanchita Karma, Praarabdha Karma, Kriyamana Karma and Aagami karma.



Sanchita Karma (Sum Karma or "Accumulated actions"): Sanchita Karma is the store of accumulated Karma from all the previous births that are yet to be resolved. This is one’s total cosmic debt. Every moment, either one adds or reduces to it by means of actions. It is waiting to be fulfilled in one’s present or future births. So unless and until the Sanchita Karma of a Soul is zeroed, it keeps on birthing in new physical bodies, in order to exhaust its balance. Sanchita Karma is equated to arrows in the Quiver – either you exhaust it or keep accumulating.



Praarabdha Karma (Fructifying Karma or "Actions began”): The portion of the Sanchita Karma destined to influence human life in the present incarnation is called Praarabdha. In other words, Praarabdha Karma is Karmic Template that is ripe enough to be experienced by one and allotted for this lifetime to work on. If you work upon the agreed debt in this lifetime, then more past debts will surface to be worked on. And that much Sanchita Karma gets dissolved. This karma equates to arrows in motion.



Kriyamana Karma (Instant, Current Karma or "Being made"): Kriyamana Karma is the daily, instant Karma created in this lifetime because of our free actions. It refers to those which are currently in front of us to decide or act on. This contributes to our Future Karma in a big way. These are debts that are created and worked off - i.e. for example, you enter in the No-entry lane, get caught and got fined (punished) immediately. This is like an arrow in the hand.



The Kriyamana Karma is classified into two sub-categories: Arabdha Karma - literally, ‘begun, undertaken;’ the Karma that is ‘sprouting’- and Anarabdha Karma - ‘not commenced; dormant’ or ‘The Seed Karma’. While some Kriyamana Karmas bear fruit in the current life, others are stored for enjoying in future births.



Aagami Karma (Future Karma): Aagami Karma is the Karmic Map that is coming, as a result of the merits and demerits of the present actions of your current birth. In other words, it is the portion of Karma that is created because of the actions in the present life and that will be added to your Sanchita Karma. If you fail to work off your debt, then more debts are added to Sanchita Karma and they become more Karmic Seeds and are served to you in more future lives.



Some say Karma is luck whereas it is not. Karma is not luck. I am not sure whether luck is for real or just a perception of the mind. Luck is an illusion that’s why it is called Adrisht – means invisible. An invisible power guides and that is termed as luck. If you don’t win a lottery despite repeated buying, stop wasting money on it but don’t blame luck as bad.

Monday 27 April 2009

Indians in India?

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An American visited India and went back to America where he met his Indian friend who asked him, “How did u find my Country?”


The American said it is a great country with solid ancient history and immensely rich with natural resources.


The Indian friend then asked, “How u found Indians?”


”Indians? Who Indians? I didn't find or met a single Indian there in India.”


What? Who else could u meet in India then?


The American said, “In Kashmir I met a Kashmiri, In Punjab a Punjabi, In Bihar, Maharastra, Rajasthan, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala I saw Bihari, Marathi, Marwadi, Bengali, Tamilian and Malayali…”


”… Then I met A Hindu, A Muslim, A Christian, A Jain, A Buddhist, but not a single Indian did I meet.”


The day would not be far off when indeed we would become a collection of nation states if the present situation continues. It lays with us the people to stop this trend. Let us not encourage parties that put forth regional interest ahead of the nation’s interest. Discourage regional parties. Let us not allow them to divert us!

Indians in India

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Wednesday 15 April 2009

Save India - Vote Congress out

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Do you want to vote a man who is a habitual misleader


In 1999 while contesting the South Delhi seat which he eventually lost, Manmohan Singh gave a clean chit to the Congress Party and claimed the invisible hand of the RSS in the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots. http://www.sikhtimes.com/news_090299a.html


The latter had in fact saved hundreds of Sikh lives in Delhi which was even acknowledged by Khushwant Singh In 2005, he apologized to the Sikh community on behalf of the Congress. In 2009, he welcomed clean chit to Tytler and Sajjan Kumar.


The so called master economist with a twin B.A degree had in these 18 years not provided a single theory of reform. In fact, the liberation of the economy came after pawning of India’s gold reserves, thanks to Nehruvian socialism. The NREGA is another of his bankruptcy proposals. Not a single skill enhancing educational-technical skill enhancing measure is included in this program. It simply expects villagers to work as glorified labourers by digging ponds even as the water table plummets. Thousands of farmers have committed ritual suicide at Vidarbha and AP, both run by Congress government, the former for over a decade and yet they expect to win votes.


Silence on Swiss Money: US pressure on UBS has forced it to reveal names of account holders. One year ago Germany offered the CD with names of Indian account holders in the Lichenstein Bank but transparency international noted that the Indian PMO and ministry of finance, headed by Chidambaram showed little interest in tracing the details. Advani’s letter to the FM was followed by an evasive letter by the latter. Now who has skeletons in the cupboard?
Nuclear deal: which officially defines India as a non nuclear weapons state pursued and ratified. Now under Obama’s pressure India will soon sign the CTBT and make it a sitting duck for Jihadi nuclear bomb

Muslims have first right on resources. In Mumbai, two days back MMS repeats his promise. Is this naked lust for communal vote, the mark of a statesman?
Rahul and Sonia had both misled the public on their educational qualifications while filing their electoral affidavits. Why? http://offstumped.nationalinterest.in/2008/05/03/the-raul-vinci-chronicles/


PM declared “Reservation in private institutes was an idea whose time has come” The time has also come for you to retire from night watchmanship for Rahul Baba who has suddenly acquired all traits required for a PM. The man who is incapable of providing an interview or speaking extempore has only a single but necessary qualification for becoming PM, he is the great grandson of Nehru. That is why, a rank outsider called Priyanka Vadra in response to Modi's comment indirectly exclaims that "Congress is Priyanka." Why not? After all, India was Indira! India is the personal jagir of the Nehru parivaar.


A bag of empty promises and lies.
In 2004, PM declared “We will make Mumbai Shanghai!”

In 2009, he now claims “We will make Mumbai a Global City” Similarly, for 60 years Congress Party speaks of eradicating hunger. This is the reason we stand 69th in global hunger index.

Now, PM promises another pipedream – end of poverty in ten years. Can you believe in this man and his fake promises? Remember, Indira's Garibi Hato in 1971?


In 26/11, 200+ are killed by runaway Jihadis and PM expresses satisfaction that the terrorists who planned an excursion to Islamic jannat were killed! Not a single mastermind of the attack from across the border has been brought to justice. None of the locals involved in the attack have been apprehended probably out of fear of outraging Muslim interests. The Urdu press and Ulema councils which have dubbed 26/11 as a Hindu-Zionist-CIA conspiracy are functioning with elan even as innocent Hindus rot in jail.

http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=8491&SKIN=M


And PM compares the incident with Qandahar when the plane hijacking actually took place outside the country in Nepal. All except one of the 300 passengers was rescued. Congress at that point actually instigated relatives of these passengers to demonstrate outside BJP’s office to release the terrorists. In an all party meeting, the Congress urged the Government to give top billing to the safety of the passengers which was non negotiable. And now, this hypocritical foursome wants to make a political issue out of Qandahar.


Consider the Congress allies.


IUML is the new arm of erstwhile Muslim League which partitioned the nation on the basis of religion. The Muslims of North Kerala were staunch supporters of Muslim League in the pre-independence era and had also showed their beastly nature by killing thousands of Hindus during the Moplah rebellion. Post-independence, the community has been supporting IUML. This shows that the situation has not changed a single bit. These Muslims do not consider themselves a part of the national mainstream and IUML is a party which is representing such internal ‘anti-nationals’.


MIM: It was a party which opposed the integration of Hyderabad with India. It was the party hich organised Razakars who went about killing thousands of Hindus to maintain the ‘Islamic’ State of Hyderabad. The party was initially banned in 1948 and the Razakars’ leader was deported to Pakistan in the late 1950s.


Kerala Congress (Mani) [KC(M)] in Kerala is again a Christian party.
Now, how do I call this Congress a secular party?
Do you want to vote a party which practices divide and rule! It is common knowledge that
British pursued this divisive policy by appeasing Muslims. By giving them reservations [Montey Mirlo 1909 reforms, and Montago Chelmsford 1919 reforms and finally Pakistan] Congress could never match the appeasement of Muslims but it continued with this policy at the expense of the Hindus who were stranded in Pakistan, East and West. Even as millions of Hindus were being butchered and raped by Pakistanis, Nehru urged Patel to build a wall on the Bangla border so that Hindu refugees to do not inundate India. According to Nehru, India would cease to be secular if did not have healthy percentage of Muslims and the Hindus across the border were exaggerating their discomfort in an Islamic republic! [Sardar Patel select correspondence, Volume 2] No wonder, a disgusted Patel called Nehru “India’s only nationalist Muslim.” However, to expand the 'secular' votebank, Bangladeshis Muslims have been given a free ride from across the border. The Supreme court in 2005 struck down the illegal IMDT act in Assam according to which the onus of proving one's nationality or otherwise lies on the complainant whereas under the (usually universal) Foreigners Act, the onus is on the accused. The court also strongly observed that the act in question had encouraged Bangladeshi infiltration. A panicky Congress party in fear of losing out on its Muslim vote ahead of Assam assembly elections amended the Foreigner’s act itself which effectively subverted the contrary Supreme Court ruling.


Nehru started the Haj Subsidy but did not provide a paisa for restoration of the Somanath temple. Today, Muslims are being provided reservations which is totally unconstitutional even in the view of genuinely secular judges [See, 13th May 2008 Delhi HC judges observation on Sachar committee] Do we want a second partition


Do you want to vote a party whose president and her son considers the BJP to be a bigger danger to the nation than Islamist terrorists?


Do you want to live in a country where speaking of Muslim and Christian reservations is secular, and uttering the word Hindu is communal. Today, Hindus dont constitute even 80% of the total population. Pakistan and Bangladesh are prime examples of what happens to Muslim countries when Hindu population is sacrificed at the altar of Jihadis.


Vote MMS out and the hand which rocks his cradle. Its probably our last chance for change

True face of Secularism in India

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In a book,Religious Politics and Communal Violence(Oxford University Press, New Delhi) a place of pride was given to a person of dubious integrity. I am speaking of none other than Teesta Setelvad whose essay "Gujarat, Crime against humanity" has been included in taht book. In the Best Bakery case, the special court had previouslyt observed that the tutoring of Zahira Sheikh [the prime witness] was obvious. http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_print.asp?id=379118

Now, The fact of Setelvad's diabolical political agenda has been confirmed by the Special Investigation Team responsible for the arrests of those accused in Gujarat riots which has severely reprimanded NGOs and social activist Teesta Setalvad who campaigned for the riot victims. The team led by former CBI director R K Raghavan told the SC on Monday that the rights activist cooked up macabre tales of wanton killings.Besides, false charges were levelled against then police chief P C Pande and false witnesses were tutored to give evidence about imaginary incidents.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=CAP&showST=true&login=de\fault&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&GZ=T&AW=1239685925625 [Times of India 14.3.2009]


On enquiry, the SIT found that all the 22 affidavits were drafted, typed and printed from the same computer, giving sufficient grounds to believe they were “tutored”. When the SIT questioned those who signed the affidavits, it was shocked to learn that these complainants were not even aware of the incidents.


Referring to another instance that exposed the Citizens for Justice and Peace’s much ‘trumpeted’ charges, Rohtagi said the SIT investigation found untrue allegation about a gangrape of a pregnant woman Kauser Bano, whose stomach was allegedly pierced by sword and her foetus killed.Even the instance of dumping of bodies into a well at Naroda Patiya and a charge of the police allegedly shielding accused persons in murder of a British national was found to be untrue, Rohtagi said. Firing a salvo at the NGO, Rohtagi said, “It is clear from the report that the horrendous allegations made by the NGO were false. Cyclostyled affidavits were supplied by a social activist and the allegations made in them were untrue,” he added, with an obvious reference to Setalvad.

http://dailypioneer.com/169490/Gujarat-riot-myths-busted.html

The Gujarat Riots were triggered by the mass Jihadi attack on the Sabarmati express which killed 58 Hindus, mostly women and children. The consequent riots, saw over 1000 dead of which 258 were Hindus (as per the UPA Government figures released in 2005) Then, how could anyone passively elevate this figure to twice this figure and construct a so called overnight state sponsored pogrom out of a riot is just beyond comprehension. I am afraid both you and Oxford by giving opportunities to scamsters like Setelvad who make a living out of otherpeople's misery have shown yourself in extremely poor light, and have actually given credence to the charge that yours is a heinous political and not academic project.

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Issues and Elections

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Are elections in India contested on the basis of the real issues faced by the common public? If someone is replying yes, then he must the most hypocritical person in this world. How do we define the real issue? Among the population of over 100 crores, can there be one single issue that is acceptable to one and all? This is discussed already in my earlier blog real&politikindia

How many of us have genuinely gone through the manifesto released by the parties? Had we gone through, how many of us have raised queries that arose in our mind? Sops after sops were promised and no source of revenue was mentioned. Did we ever worry to question that?

Whether one accepts it or not, elections are nothing but selling. The party that is contesting has to sell itself among the public. Obviously, when it boils down to convincing the prospect, marketing techniques are adapted. The political parties are catering to variety of customer segments. The elite class, the middle-class, the media and those in the BPL. This can be further classified into regional, religious, caste, creed and what not?

Political parties are forced to create an image of themselves among the public. How many of us would appreciate a candidate who comes silently from door to door canvassing his election? After the media started reporting the property details of candidates in dailies, what is our reaction? Did we ever try to gather information on the source of their income instead, we discuss who has more? When we have such an attitude, we should not talk of discussing issues in elections.

How many of the middle-class citizens go out for voting? Hardly 35% of them go out to vote. They have the excuse, “all of them are same and why should we vote?” How many times, we came down on streets to register our protest on an issue? We are driven by euphoria. After 26/11, some media gathered mass and diverted the public from the core issue of Governments inaction by lighting candles. All our problems related to terrorism got solved once we lit the candles and changed the minister. At the least the people’s response gives this indication.

As a marketing guy, I would concentrate only on those segments that give me returns. Hence, there is nothing wrong in politicians concentrating on BPL. Two thousand bucks a day, free meals and alcohol is too much for those in the BPL. Make hay while sun shines. Why not vote as many number of times as long as I get benefited. After all, this is the time for them to make money. Why should they give up their chance?

If the elections are to be fought on real issues as we define, then it lies in our approach and not in the politicians’. In this representative system the communication between people and the representative is one-way. They speak and we listen. When will we speak and they listen? How many of us preferred watching LokSabha DD to ever-crying soaps? When will we come down on streets to protest anything that we felt unfair? When will we come out for Voting even if it meant we are making it invalid or choosing option 49-O?

Let us stop blaming squarely the politicians for all the problems we have with us. Issues that concerns the nation does not impact the elections. Issues have no influence. The elite class never comes out to vote but fund the parties and maneuver the policies to their benefits. Those in the BPL live for the day and they are paid for the day, and they are least bothered about tomorrow. Those in the middle class are good at whining, commenting from their drawing room, would never come out to vote. Why should the politicians worry about this lot who in no way beneficial to him or the society?

If we want elections to be contested on issues, let us play a constructive role in this. Go out for voting is the prime task in this program. I am not repeating what I had mentioned in the series of blogs on this subject. We can talk of issue based politics only when the turnout reaches 75%. Till then, talking of it is a FARCE.

Monday 6 April 2009

Achievements of UPA

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Achievements are the measure of one's performance. If we have to ascertain the performance of the present Govt of india, one has to find out their performances. With nothing to boast, this govt had listed many achievements that had no relation of the Govt nor their contribution. A school of thought.

Aam Aadmi: If it was garibi hatao decades ago, it was the turn of aam aadmi in the last elections. God only knows that what the govt did for the aam aadmi in these 5 years. The biggest achievement is that the population of the BPL is increased by 20% than what it was 5 years ago. The rich and the poor divide kept on increasing. Not very recently, ex-RBI Governor made a statement that the cumulative wealth of 20 richest Indians is more than the cumulative wealth of 30 crore poorest Indians! Another irony is those who figure in the top 10 richest Indians do not figure in the top 10 income-tax payers’ list.


This is the biggest service they did to the Aam Aadmi – to increase their population of BPL so that these aam aadmi would return them to power with their votes! Yes this government is for the aam aadmi to keep in them in this band and as far as welfare is concerned, this is for the Khaas aadmi.


Economic scenario: Inflation is an index that is given on the basis of average calculations of the present situation vis-à-vis preceding weeks. The inflation has shot so high that the average is now showing almost zero inflation. They boast of near-zero inflation as an achievement whereas all of us are aware how far the prices of essential commodities soared high. The way they played around the petroleum prices as the elections approached near showed their ability or the lack of it to control the prices.


The economic figures can be cooked but this Government had made it possible that none in the poor category would be able to cook anything at their home.


Unemployment: Unemployment is a perennial problem in India and considering its population it would be very difficult to provide employment to all. The present day problem is not about unemployment for fresh job seekers but of those who are employed already. Here again, let us not discuss about the white-collared employments where pink-slips are issued in the name of downsizing or rightsizing. Let us discuss about those who lost their jobs in the unorganized sector – real estate (labors in construction) etc., this is fully attributed to the severe economic crisis that has plagued us now.



Who is responsible for the crisis to grow faster and eat us away? It is none other than the present government. Had they acted proactively, there could have been improvements. Forget about alternate measures not even a damage control exercise was carried out. The Government allowed the crisis to have its run (or ruin) and die on its own.


National security: The entire world is aware of the fact that India is a very soft target. Courtesy, its undecided, unclear diplomacy, India has been a victim of cross-border terrorism since the early 1980s. However, the past 5 years were the most agonizing period.


Forget about attacks from outside, people have started attacking us from inside with support from outside. Month after month, bomb blasts ripped our cities killing thousands of innocent lives. Our Home minister was busy changing suits and issuing statements after statements. To expect anything more than that was the fault of the person.


Adding insult to injury is that this Minister, who was rejected by the people in elections, owed his post to the loyalty he expressed towards the family went on record with his statement, “How can we hang Afzal Guru when we are demanding Sarabjit’s release?” What a shame? The minister is not even aware that Afzal Guru is an Indian, convicted by the courts of India and still the Govt lacked the guts to hang him whereas Sarabjit is a foreigner in Pakistan and his case is a case of mistaken identity.



The totally incompetent minister was allowed to be at the helm of affairs for almost entire tenure of this government thus providing all sorts of ammunition to the enemies of our country. As the election approached and the 26/11 bomber rocked this Government from their slumber, it had to do an “eye-wash” exercise by removing him and bringing in another.


Once it was found that personnel of one particular community are behind the successive blasts, the Government floated another theory of “Hindu-terrorism” just to polarize people on the lines of religion. Islamic or Hindu terrorism, this Government failed miserable in tackling terrorism. They failed to realize that as long as terrorism is viewed with the lens of religion, forget about combating the cant even face it.


In the name of secularism and appeasement to Muslims, the first thing this Government did was to repeal the POTA. Was POTA anti-muslim law? If so, who said so or who projected it so? When congress ruled state had similar law why such laws were not allowed to practice in states ruled by BJP? What do they wanted to prove? What’s wrong in saying this act as an act of perverse mind?


Corruption: Mr. Manmohan Singh may be personally Mr. Clean but he aided all practices of corruption in his tenure. He allowed the misuse of institutions. The glaring one being allowing Ottavio Quattrocchi, the prime accused in Bofors Scandal to go scot-free. The other one being sending official letters to extend favors (out of the way) to a company that never existed but owned by the relatives of Union Minister Mr. TR Baalu. Adding insult to injury was, Baalu opened asked, “Whats wrong in it” in the Parliament and our Prime Minister supported his argument making it obvious the PMO has been extending favors. The third one is the “Cash for Votes” scam. Every time the Congress was in a minority they flexed all their muscles and tried to retain in power by all means. When Dayanidi Maran was forced out of the cabinet, his colleague Raja blamed Maran of corruption practices in the ministry. What happened to those complaints? Why no actions were taken on those complaints? Let us not discuss about the 6% commission charges paid on buying ammunition from Israel.



To fool public they projected a clean image Prime Minister but this puppet is maneuvered to do all the corrupt practices by misusing the office.


IMDT: This is the biggest joke of this Government. After Indira Gandhi manipulated with words and made this law sting-less just for allowing Bangladeshi infiltrators to invade India (for the sake of votes and numbers in Parliament), this Government went over board by doing nothing on it. In fact the Supreme Fact slapped the Union Government and described this as “External aggression” and the Government promised the Court that they will look into. All they did is to form a panel and do nothing else. Bangladeshis are invading India, getting Indian citizenship and stealing ourselves from our home land. This infiltration what started with Assam had now spread to West Bengal, Maharashtra and other states too. This Government is not even bothered about the report presented to it by the former IB chief (present Governor of UP) that this infiltration would lead to another partition of India in north-east.



Expenses: Our beloved Prime Minister advised all of us to adapt austere measurements and pruning of expenses considering the deteriorating economic situation. However, they could not do with their jumbo cabinet. When the economic situation brought the nation to severe crisis, they spent around Rs 300 crores of public money on advertisements in Print Media only. The advertisement by others means would run into another few hundreds of crores.



This Government rewarded the dishonesty – they waived off loan amounts taken from the co-operative banks for farmers. All of us are aware that cooperative banks are in the hands of politicians and who would have got benefited from it. The honest payers did not get any incentive let alone reprieve. This is how this Government rewarded honesty. How can we expect them to give us a corruption-free government?




The functioning of Indian government organizations is well known to one and all. It is the utmost illustration of how not to function an office! With the sixth pay commission recommendations being implemented, there is no word on the accountability of the workers in this sect. The Government has not even thought of it.



As the expenses soared high, the Government kept on borrowing money from RBI (went on printing currency to the tune of Rs 60000 crore). Where it will lead is known only to the economists as I am not an expert in this field.


Infra structure: While this Government is well known for christening all their projects with their first family names, they have not even considered a re-look into the projects initiated by the NDA Government though it meant well for the country. The Golden Quadrilateral project that completed almost 81% of the task for that period had now only completed 51% of the period in these 5 years. However, our PM promises a Shangai out of Mumbai and the cramped roads are an eyesore!



Nuclear Deal: Though delayed, It was indeed a good step taken by this Government. Still we could have done better. Now the deal is hanging on signing the pact with IAEA.



There are several others that need to be attended but this Government preferred to sleep.

Monday 30 March 2009

Barking Dogs

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Don’t you think the Varun bashing is going overboard? Is this an issue that needs to be given so much of importance for such an extended period of time? Who is not spewing the venom against their own brethren? What do they want? Nowadays the quality of politics is too low that there is no presence of quality is seen around.



I am still at lost to realize in what way Varun’s statement was communal or that invokes violence. All he said that is he will cut off those who offend Hindus or Hinduism. At the outset this is a hypothetical statement. If at all people are reacting to this statement, then they are proving that they are in the process of offending Hinduism and they need protection from the retaliation. In all fairnes, is it not a statement made in self-defense?



Equality does not mean that one has to be suppressed to the maximum. The Maharashtra Govt has cleared an amount of Rs 24 crore in various projects for development in just 9 days. What does this imply when the elections are nearing too close? When the farmers were dying committing suicide, this is the same Government watching them helplessly. Now where from are they doling out this money just to appease a section of the people? What would you call this? Secularism?The height of the irony is the advice from Priyanka Vadra who suggested Varun to read Gita. "Madamji, Varun had gone through Gita or else why he should contest his cousin? Dont you know that Mahabharata was also fought between cousins?" Its high time Priyanka read undistorted Indian history now.



The tolerance levels of Hindus should not be abused. If at all India is unsafe, it is unsafe for the Hindus who live here. Any one can vouch for this going by the recent monthly-blast celebrations IM had on India and the Government simply sat back and watched it. Our Prime Minister lost his sleep when an Indian from a minority community was arrested elsewhere under suspicion but he had sound sleep when India was literally burnt month after month at various places.



Why is that only when hindus retaliate – mind it – they are not starting on their own but retaliating – people cry of communalism? What sort of religious equality are we practicing? How many of the media personnel went over board when the entire bogie of Indian railways was set ablaze by a few fanatics causing damage to lives and the Government property? They maintained silence because they were from the minority sect?



Varun’s statement can be considered as an act of self-defense. He did not say that Muslims should go out of the country. He said, you are free to live here but don’t fiddle with Hindus. No longer would Hindus tolerate this in silence. The Government has not arrested Sanjay Dutt who was proven guilty by the court in providing logistic support to the terrorist elements in the 1993 blasts. Irony is he is contesting. The destruction of Babri structure and Godhra is repeatedly raked but the ’84 Sikh riots are conveniently forgotten. Where else it will happen that Hindus in their own homeland had to leave and run for their life like refugees? This is what was happening in Kashmir for the past two decades and why the press is silent on this? Is it because the driving force is from the minority sect?



After all, Varun only said and politicians are notorious for not keeping their word. What is happening elsewhere is in action but the authorities are silently watching it.



Oh my secular friends, we are not against minorities. We are against the appeasement policies adapted by the authorities that are biased. Have the minorities ever felt insecure in India? If at all they felt, it was the myth created by the pseudo-secularists. There were many instances where the authorities sprinted additional miles to appease the minority sect even if it meant hurting the sentiments of the majority sect. We are against the selective secularism approach adapted. Irony is, the minorities do not realize that such an approach would only keep the minorities in status quo and the development will never happen. High time they realized that these are vote gaining gimmicks adapted by the political parties.



It is the country of hindus. Hindus should realize that 800 years of moghul rule had not changed us and what can these Taliban do to us? It’s the time for us to remain united and act without a prejudice. Don’t talk show in action. Mind it a barking dog never bites.

Monday 23 March 2009

National Identity

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India has remained in the league of developing country for long. One is not sure when it will be in the league of developed countries. Indians are hoping to build India into a super power and the Vision-2020 is geared towards this goal. However, one factor that nags us is the confusion that exists regarding our national identity. We are known for our attitude of craving for recognition from the West or White Race. Unless we get a certification from the West or White race, we term it backwardness. My question is: Will a superpower allow these things?



Can we define what the Identity of a nation is? Does it exist or ever felt in India? Perhaps, we felt it only when we watched India playing cricket. Indians are highly competitive as individuals but a total failure as a team. We resemble the Navgraha with each one of us facing at different directions. We also argue that what every individual see is right and the best and persuade others to accept it.



After all, why do we need a National Identity? How does an Indian identify himself with his country? No answers; because we don’t have one. History says India never remained a country prior to Akbar and hence it has no identity. Whatever it has is a mixture of various cultures left over by the invaders. There is no original Indian per se. All I can say is that our history is a book of distorted stories. With our attitude of craving for recognition from White race, we distorted our history to please them. One had the audacity to compare India to a doughnut with center empty and the periphery being the only identity. Adding insult to injury is, if one opposed such things, they are labeled as Fascists. May be, we the Indians, have allowed one to make such a remark and to an extent our behavior too, supported this argument.



Nation first – is the foundation stone to build a national identity. Our politicians were successful in keeping the people perpetually divided on the lines of Caste, Region, Religion and what not? The formation of third front by a cluster of regional parties who do not have a national ideology, dreaming to rule India is an irony. None of these political parties can express their unbiased views on a public issue like Cauvery water dispute. They knew that doing so would cost their vote bank in either of the States involved. This situation is the result of lack of National Identity.



Do we need a National Identity? Our education system never emphasized on the need of National Identity and hence the citizens did not attempt much to learn that. Thus, the bond that supposed to exist between a nation and its citizen is missing in India. Precisely, this is the reason; we need an identity for our nation – To develop a bond between the nation and its citizens. It is not an antibiotic that can be injected into the system whenever we felt weak. It has to come from within like the natural immune system developed in our body.



National identity is not about jingoism. It is about mutual respect among the citizens irrespective of their social status or any other identity. All are citizens of this country and all of us are equal. This is practically possible only if the respect expressed is mutual. Our civilization always embraced differences reciprocally. Indian philosophy is built on celebrating diversity — from Gods to languages to cultures to traditions.



What is our National Identity? Shall we say Corruption, Lack of civic sense, Me-first-society-last attitude, and son-of-the-soil? These are some of the traits we possess but these cannot be our identities.



Shall we say Secularism? Secularism, literally, is the antonym of Spiritualism or a synonym of Atheism. India is a spiritual country. However, we feel shy in declaring it so. In the Indian political context, secularism has a different meaning altogether. The political pundits, although, claim it meant equality of all religions, it is not practiced in this manner. It is applied in a selective manner. Dual standards are evident from the approaches adapted time and again. It is appeasing one at the cost of another.



While “satanic verses” is banned, book ridiculing Ram & Sita is published by the Govt. When cartoons attacking satirically on Islam are condemned, Hindu deities portrayed in nude is termed as expression of artistic freedom. Hosting an Ifthar party and meeting Imams and issuing fatwa is secular but meeting Shankaracharya is communal. Even the Election Commission, that is supposed to be a neutral office, christened a party that opposed BJP as Secular (Janata Dal Secular). What they wanted to imply by doing this is known to them only.



In short, the secularism in India is selective – means Hindu bashing. If you talk for Hindu, you are labeled communal but you can join hands with leaders of religious groups and claim yourself secular. The approach of the governments in handling the issue of land leasing for Amarnath yatra is a fine illustration to the secular approach in India



So, can we say the secularism what practiced in India is our National Identity? Not at all!



Shall we say diversity? Diversity yes but not fragments. If classifying a person on religious line is a sin, then what do we say on classifying people on caste or regional lines? However, you can do this under the camouflage of social-justice. People cry that conversion takes place because discrimination is practiced in Hinduism. Why can’t the Govt stop the sops extended to the discriminated society once they are converted, if other religions do not discriminate?



In the name of social justice, Hindus are divided. Diversity never posed a problem to Indians in the past. Unfortunately, Independent India brought in the quota system by adapting caste identities. Thus they failed to protect individual’s rights. This divided people and this was exploited by politicians aka vote-bank entrepreneurs. The people are so pampered that politicians are ready to do anything fearing offending these small fragments even it meant at the cost of the nation.



Pity is, in the name of diversity, we focused more on the fragments and we kept on fragmenting ourselves. One cannot have a national identity that fragments the country.



Shall we say Hindutva? This is a phrase coined in by the intellectual mafia of the Indian educated elites. To be precise, there is no such factor present as Hindutva! Our civilization is ages old and is subjected to changes from time and again as to accommodate the social changes happened. Hence, none of us knew its original form. The name Hindu got originated because it flourished on the banks of river Sind. Ours is a Dharma (rules & regulations) and this culture is not created by a single man like all other religions. Dharma is not a religion but a walk of life. Had it been a religion, it would not have recommended changes according to the changes in the society. The smritis explain this very clearly. This reflects our identity of accommodating and respecting the others sentiments. It accommodates all the diversities in the society. Its a pity that less educated ones distorted the real meanings and gave it a wrong meaning. However, the same can be changed.


The need of National Identity is a must at this point of time. I have listed my choices and leave it you to decide which one would suit us. One can differ from my views, after all, Hinduism taught me this – to respect others sentiments. However, we need to arrive at a consensus considering the national interest as the prime factor

National Identity

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India has remained in the league of developing country for long. One is not sure when it will be in the league of developed countries. Indians are hoping to build India into a super power and the Vision-2020 is geared towards this goal. However, one factor that nags us is the confusion that exists regarding our national identity. We are known for our attitude of craving for recognition from the West or White Race. Unless we get a certification from the West or White race, we term it backwardness. My question is: Will a superpower allow these things?




Can we define what the Identity of a nation is? Does it exist or ever felt in India? Perhaps, we felt it only when we watched India playing cricket. Indians are highly competitive as individuals but a total failure as a team. We resemble the Navgraha with each one of us facing at different directions. We also argue that what every individual see is right and the best and persuade others to accept it.




After all, why do we need a National Identity? How does an Indian identify himself with his country? No answers; because we don’t have one. History says India never remained a country prior to Akbar and hence it has no identity. Whatever it has is a mixture of various cultures left over by the invaders. There is no original Indian per se. All I can say is that our history is a book of distorted stories. With our attitude of craving for recognition from White race, we distorted our history to please them. One had the audacity to compare India to a doughnut with center empty and the periphery being the only identity. Adding insult to injury is, if one opposed such things, they are labeled as Fascists. May be, we the Indians, have allowed one to make such a remark and to an extent our behavior too, supported this argument.




Nation first – is the foundation stone to build a national identity. Our politicians were successful in keeping the people perpetually divided on the lines of Caste, Region, Religion and what not? The formation of third front by a cluster of regional parties who do not have a national ideology, dreaming to rule India is an irony. None of these political parties can express their unbiased views on a public issue like Cauvery water dispute. They knew that doing so would cost their vote bank in either of the States involved. This situation is the result of lack of National Identity.




Do we need a National Identity? Our education system never emphasized on the need of National Identity and hence the citizens did not attempt much to learn that. Thus, the bond that supposed to exist between a nation and its citizen is missing in India. Precisely, this is the reason; we need an identity for our nation – To develop a bond between the nation and its citizens. It is not an antibiotic that can be injected into the system whenever we felt weak. It has to come from within like the natural immune system developed in our body.




National identity is not about jingoism. It is about mutual respect among the citizens irrespective of their social status or any other identity. All are citizens of this country and all of us are equal. This is practically possible only if the respect expressed is mutual. Our civilization always embraced differences reciprocally. Indian philosophy is built on celebrating diversity — from Gods to languages to cultures to traditions.




What is our National Identity? Shall we say Corruption, Lack of civic sense, Me-first-society-last attitude, and son-of-the-soil? These are some of the traits we possess but these cannot be our identities.




Shall we say Secularism? Secularism, literally, is the antonym of Spiritualism or a synonym of Atheism. India is a spiritual country. However, we feel shy in declaring it so. In the Indian political context, secularism has a different meaning altogether. The political pundits, although, claim it meant equality of all religions, it is not practiced in this manner. It is applied in a selective manner. Dual standards are evident from the approaches adapted time and again. It is appeasing one at the cost of another.




While “satanic verses” is banned, book ridiculing Ram & Sita is published by the Govt. When cartoons attacking satirically on Islam are condemned, Hindu deities portrayed in nude is termed as expression of artistic freedom. Hosting an Ifthar party and meeting Imams and issuing fatwa is secular but meeting Shankaracharya is communal. Even the Election Commission, that is supposed to be a neutral office, christened a party that opposed BJP as Secular (Janata Dal Secular). What they wanted to imply by doing this is known to them only.




In short, the secularism in India is selective – means Hindu bashing. If you talk for Hindu, you are labeled communal but you can join hands with leaders of religious groups and claim yourself secular. The approach of the governments in handling the issue of land leasing for Amarnath yatra is a fine illustration to the secular approach in India




So, can we say the secularism what practiced in India is our National Identity? Not at all!




Shall we say diversity? Diversity yes but not fragments. If classifying a person on religious line is a sin, then what do we say on classifying people on caste or regional lines? However, you can do this under the camouflage of social-justice. People cry that conversion takes place because discrimination is practiced in Hinduism. Why can’t the Govt stop the sops extended to the discriminated society once they are converted, if other religions do not discriminate?




In the name of social justice, Hindus are divided. Diversity never posed a problem to Indians in the past. Unfortunately, Independent India brought in the quota system by adapting caste identities. Thus they failed to protect individual’s rights. This divided people and this was exploited by politicians aka vote-bank entrepreneurs. The people are so pampered that politicians are ready to do anything fearing offending these small fragments even it meant at the cost of the nation.




Pity is, in the name of diversity, we focused more on the fragments and we kept on fragmenting ourselves. One cannot have a national identity that fragments the country.




Shall we say Hindutva? This is a phrase coined in by the intellectual mafia of the Indian educated elites. To be precise, there is no such factor present as Hindutva! Our civilization is ages old and is subjected to changes from time and again as to accommodate the social changes happened. Hence, none of us knew its original form. The name Hindu got originated because it flourished on the banks of river Sind. Ours is a Dharma (rules & regulations) and this culture is not created by a single man like all other religions. Dharma is not a religion but a walk of life. Had it been a religion, it would not have recommended changes according to the changes in the society. The smritis explain this very clearly. This reflects our identity of accommodating and respecting the others sentiments. It accommodates all the diversities in the society. Its a pity that less educated ones distorted the real meanings and gave it a wrong meaning. However, the same can be changed.



The need of National Identity is a must at this point of time. I have listed my choices and leave it you to decide which one would suit us. One can differ from my views, after all, Hinduism taught me this – to respect others sentiments. However, we need to arrive at a consensus considering the national interest as the prime factor

Friday 13 March 2009

The Third Front is an Affront

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The election euphoria is heating up. Almost all ordinary news becomes sensational during these days and the people of India are treated with more masala than the news per se. The buzz word for the past one week is the “Third Front”. This front has nothing to do with ideologies but with opportunities. This is a cluster of small regional parties who over estimate their value and has no national image. However, they are pretty good at their regional levels.



With the two major national parties Congress and BJP failing to act authoritatively while negotiating seat sharing with regional parties, India is turning more federal which is not a healthy sign. It is an irony that these two major parties put together do not represent half of the House. This number is not likely to increase as these two parties are not given more seats to contest by their small partners.



The rest of the house is represented by regional parties who do not know what is meant by national ideology. They represent their respective regions and are not willing to come out of it. Ironically, these two national parties count on such regional parties, courtesy, the identity these parties possess in their respective regions.



The debates in Parliament are long forgotten matter. One finds the house disrupted more than it discussed. Bills are not allowed to read let alone debating on it. The previous regime had the dubious record of having the least hours worked in a single tenure. This is the result of lack of accountability. With weaker center, one can’t even think of it. Under such circumstances, where the time for debates is limited, one cannot expect unrecognized parties gets more representation in the debates. Hence, electing an independent has no meaning.



Worst case would be, these smaller parties clubbing together (with an outside support from the communist parties for whom China is their motherland) forming a Government at the Center. The media adds fuel to such fire by projecting Mayawati as the future PM. The only qualification she has is she hails from Dalit Caste. Hailing from a caste that was considered once untouchable cannot become a sole criterion to become a Prime Minister of our country. This seat deserves much more capabilities and merits.



One should not get surprised if any of these two national parties support Mayawati to become a PM just to get an acknowledgement from the media and society for supporting the cause of social-justice. India need not have to prove its stand on social-justice to anyone else and we all knew who we are. India needs something more than that at present.



With economy under severe crisis, had it been in any other country, slew of debates would be happening but here in India nothing of that sort is happening. None of the parties rake this issue nor do they have a road-map to stabilize this situation. India is one of the most difficult countries in the world to do business in. After Narasimha Rao opened the flood gates in 1991, all his successors followed him in continuing the reforms. Even the communists who ideologically opposed it had no other option but to support it. These reforms have its advantages and its limitations.



We need a government who can act stern and implement harsh economic policies that may not sound popular. We can’t provide job security any longer at the cost of performance. Government employees should realize now that they either perform or perish! The government formed by smaller parties with the support from Communists would never allow this to happen. This will, in turn, throw spokes on the wheel of our country’s progress!



The issues of internal security, Kashmir, Cross-border terrorism, Economics, development, etc., do not occupy the agenda during the elections any longer. All it matters is regionalism, secularism, minority appeasement, populist measures and no importance to welfare of the country. As to accommodate smaller parties in their umbrella (after all this is the number game), the major parties are forced to compromise on their core principles (if at all they have one) and they come out with a Common Minimum Program of implementation that never takes off. Thus, the potential of multiple issues getting generated to be catered resulting in loss of focus. In the end, one cannot see a single entity with strong center but a picture where major parties are being crushed under and dominated by these smaller parties. Slowly, this leads to stagnation.


Imagine a Government heading India that has no national Ideology, for whom national interest meant nothing. With power being ceded to regions, how can this Government act on the policies of National security which is the utmost need of this hour? India needs a decisive Government, an assertive Government that can take hard decisions. Nuclear deal is singed and so is the deal with IAEA. Hence we may not expect major agreement in the next 5 years. However, India needs to pull up its socks pertaining to upgrading its Navy, Military and Police forces. This requires a strong Government at the center to do so.

A weak center cannot have control over the States. It cannot take a firm stand on disputes like Cauvery Water sharing or border issue between Maharashtra and Karnataka or the likes of it. A weak center would allow indiscipline and insubordination to flourish which is against the nation’s health. The control or the lack of it by the Central parties over Shekhawat or Narayan Rane is a good example for this. When we boasted “Unity in Diversity” we indirectly bragged on our hypocrisy. We lacked unity and history is a proof to this. With such Government at the center, days are not too far, when one would require a Visa to visit another State in India!



Infrastructure is one area where the present government failed to pay attention. The golden quadrilateral project that completed 81% when the NDA Govt left, got completed only 56% at the end of this regime. In the name of supporting “aam aadmi”, developmental projects were being shelved and the opportunities of employment were thwarted. Redistribution-through-corruption will increase as states become more powerful in center. Here again, the state that returns most number of MPs would get major chunk of the infrastructure projects over-ruling the needs. This is not healthy in nation’s perspective.



Diplomacy is an area that is expected to get affected badly with a weaker Government at the center. With smaller parties ruling the country, they would hardly get time to discuss with their neighboring countries. What will be their stand on LTTE-Srilanka or Kashmir-POK-Pakistan, or Bangladesh-Bengal, or Arunachal Pradesh – China? Such nightmares do not allow me to sleep.



If these two national parties, Congress and BJP, still feel that they are the guardians of protecting the honor of our country, they would not allow this to happen. In the sense, at any cost, they should not allow the third front to from a Government. One might say it is the votes that decide. Still, If these two parties join hands and form a National Government (in case of a hung Parliament that seems obvious) under a common leadership. These two parties has potential leaders who can bail this country out of the crisis and these two parties has presence almost all over India. Their actions cannot be termed biased and accountability automatically fall in place.



With CEC and the President handpicked by the present government, we cannot expect them to take a neutral stand in case of hung parliament. However, those who are interested in the welfare of the country have no other option but to form a national government with representation from the major parties. Will it happen?

Sunday 8 March 2009

FAQs on Voter Registration, Voter ID

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If you are a new voter this election, or would like to vote but do not know where to start, this 'questions and answers' report is for you. Even if you are regular voter, there is information here that you could utilize.



Who are eligible to enroll as voters?
You are eligible for registration if you are 18 years and above on the qualifying date (January1st of the year of preparation of voters’ list). You must be an ordinary resident of the constituency /ward in which you live.


What does ordinary resident mean?
You are said to be an ordinary resident of the place where you mainly / normally reside. If you are living or working away in a city / town other than the place where you normally reside, you can choose to register either at home or at the place where you are studying / working, but not both!


How do I enroll (register) myself as a new voter?
Fill out Form 6. It can be downloaded from the EC website (www.eci.gov.in). You can access this from any cyber café near your house.
Form 6 is also available at your nearest Revenue office if you live in a municipality, Tahsildar’s office if you live in a Taluka (rural), and Revenue sub-divisional office if you live in a mofussil area.
Form 6 is also available at offices of the Election Commission of India.


What documents are needed while filing Form 6?
Address Proof (photocopy) and an identity card (photocopy). Any of the following documents are valid address proof: PAN Card, Property Tax Receipt, Water bill, Electricity bill, Telephone bill, LPG (cooking gas) bill, Bank account statement, Residential rental/lease agreement, Pension cards, Passport.


Where do I go for registration? What are the timings?
Citizens in municipalities are served by Assistant Electoral Registration Officers at every Revenue Department’s sub-division offices and by Electoral Registration Officers at the Revenue Department’s Division offices. Find out your ward number and contact the Revenue department (Registration) office that has the jurisdiction of your ward. Voter registration forms are accepted during regular office work timings, Monday-Saturday.
For rural areas, file Form 6 at the Tahsildar’s office if you live in a Taluka and Revenue sub-divisional office if you live in a Mofussil area.
If you unable to find out office of registration, call the returning officer for your constituency and you will be directed to the nearest registration office.
While handing over Form 6, do not forget to collect the acknowledgement slip from the receiving clerk.


What is the last date to enroll as a new voter/for filing the Form 6s?
In general, voter registrations are accepted up to one week before the last date for filing of nominations of candidates To find out the election schedule for your region, go to the EC elections schedule page.


If I submit my Form 6 now, will I get a voter ID card?
It is unlikely that you would get a voter ID card, before the coming elections. You will be able to get this after the elections.


How do I vote if I have enrolled recently but do not have a voter ID card?
On the date of voting, carry the acknowledgement that you received when you filed the Form 6, an address proof with the address details that you filled with the Form 6 and a photo identity to the polling booth.


I have moved to a new place, within the same constituency. How do I give a change of address?
Fill up Form 8A, and submit an address proof of your current residence, and a copy of the old voter ID. The instructions on how to get Form 6 apply to all forms.


I have moved to a new place, from another constituency, within the same state. How do I give a change of address?
Fill up Form 6, and submit an address proof of your current residence. Obtain a deletion certificate from the other constituency by filing Form 7.


I have moved from another state. How do I give a change of address?
Fill up Form 7 to delete yourself from old constituency. Obtain a deletion certificate from the previous constituency and file along with the new Form 6.


How do I make corrections to the details on my voter ID card or my particulars on the Electoral roll?
File Form 8 after filling it up with the correct details.


How do I verify if my name is included in the electoral rolls?
For your name to be in the rolls, you must have registered as voter. Contact the Electoral Registration Office nearest you.



QUESTIONS REGARDING CANDIDATES AND SCRUTINY
What kind of information does a candidate have to file with the returning officer?
According to a Supreme Court order dated 13th March 2003, every candidate will have to file affidavits with the following information:
¨ Criminal antecedent of the candidate
¨ Assets
¨ Liabilities including government dues
¨ Educational Qualifications
This information is to be displayed on the notice board of the Returning Officer and to be supplied to media representatives, candidates and citizens upon request.


How do I contact high ranking election officials?
The contact information for all state chief electoral officers and senior officers are available at the website of the Election Commission. Click here to download contacts from ECI.


How do I report malpractices (hoardings, candidate misstatements/lies/conduct, money and liquor distribution, defacement of walls, loudspeakers...)?
Complain to the state’s chief electoral officer and/or EC nominated election observers.


For further details in this regard, you can also visit here

Friday 27 February 2009

What if i do not vote?

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In continuation to my earlier blogs on the necessity of voting and floating suggestions on the electoral reforms required for a healthier democracy, I am further registering my school of thoughts in this blog in this regard.




In India, Elections have become a ritual. Invariably, the voter turn-out on election dates do not go beyond 65% unless something happens similar to what happened at Tirumangalam constituency where the bye-election was held recently. Considering rigging, hardly the actual figures of people turn out to vote would not be more than 60%. What happens to the balance 40% of the voters? Why do not they vote? I am sure the Election commission of India would have thrown some light on this. Perhaps, the political parties also, for whom every vote matters, might have done some ground-work on this.




I am not a statistician however; I throw my hat and come out with some figures which might be more or less similar to factual ones.



¨ Out of this 40%, 5% are attributed to people who are either on the move or who cannot move. This is the problem of accessibility. EC should work on improving the accessibility.
¨ Another 10% of voters are those people who are rich, for whom standing in a queue among others (to vote) is a waste of time. Irony is these people will have their say among the rulers as they fund the politicians irrespective of their party origins.
¨ The third is the category who takes the excuse of “none is qualified”. Still, section 49 O, provides an answer to this. All that one need to do is to exercise this option if they are genuine in citing this excuse. This category too, cannot exceed 10%.
¨ The fourth one is the category where people do not vote because they do not want to. This category forms the major chunk of the non-voter percentage.




Voting is our right and duty as well. Had we considered voting as our right, we would never stay away from voting unless the reasons are genuine. Hence, Let us take up the duty part. “What do I get if voted?” “What if I did not vote? What will I lose by not voting?” these are the questions that linger in almost all of their minds. Perhaps, we do not have answers for this. This does not mean that those who vote do not get such questions in their mind. Still, they do vote. Why? If we did this study, perhaps, we might get the solution too. This is termed as differential diagnosis in problem solving techniques.




It is the human tendency that one needs motivation to perform his duty. My take is that despite such question that rise in mind, there must a factor that motivates the voter to come out and vote. That factor may be caste, religion, party, money (given by the contestant), or his commitment to the voting right. Hence, there has to be a motivating factor for some one to come out and vote. It will be better if the factor is in the interest of the nation.



Let us consider voting is our duty. Can there be a duty that is as easy as this? Is the duty of the voter gets fulfilled as soon as he clicks the button against the candidate’s symbol? His next turn of performing the duty comes only after 5 years? What happens to his duty during these 5 years? Does he have a way to express his approval or denial to the proposals of the Government from time and again in these 5 years? Ironically, he remains silent all through these 5 years. A few of them might raise a voice through newspapers, magazines, blogs and very few of them participate in the rallies of some political parties (if paid). Other than this, as a voter, who has a duty towards democracy, what does a voter do or what else can a voter do? The voter neither has the responsibility nor the accountability however; he bears the brunt of any wrong decision taken by the Government. Irony is, such decisions are taken in voters’ name! This is why I said, Elections have become a ritual in India.



Had we maintained the relationship perpetual between the voter and the ruler, by means of communication, perhaps, refraining from voting might not happen. Whether we like it or not, voting is our duty. As said earlier, our duty does not end with voting alone. In our representative system of democracy, people’s voices are never heard but political party’s voice is heard. Indeed, it is difficult to listen to 1 billion voices and make a decision. Still, the communication needs improvement. As on date, only monologue prevails ie only politicians speak and we listen. It does not happen the other way. To make it a success, people should not stop themselves from providing valid suggestions. Trivial issues like water supply and electricity can be dealt at the level of ward councilor.



Cable TV is an excellent media of communication that can bridge the gap between the voters and representatives. Like beaming new films in the local channels, why can’t the voter and the representative set up a discussion forum on a fortnightly or a monthly basis that will be beamed? This provides opportunity to gage the wavelength of the voter and would persuade the representative to act accordingly. The representative can be asked to present his performance, the utilization of MPLAD funds on a monthly basis. Thus, accountability will be brought and an open appraisal can be done.



I hardly doubt whether a portion of our population see the LOKSABHA TV. Those who pursue political science also are not watching this channel. There was a time healthy debates used to happen in the Houses. Even the vociferous BJP is not contributing in the House they used to do years back! Such is the awareness and interest in current affairs among our people in India. The press media, unless it is sensational (like MPs fighting), has made it a point not to cover the Parliamentary proceedings. They are not fools to waste their columns that would not attract readership. Who are we to suggest them? After all, they are here to make money and it is your fault to consider them as a pillar of democracy!



Like we enjoy the freedom of this democracy, we should be ready to accept the responsibilities of the duty - The duty to vote. Making it compulsory might sound odd but unless enforced certain things do not happen. I have been telling that compulsory voting is a must. The EC has to facilitate this by listening to the potential problems of the genuine cases where one cannot vote. If one does not prefer to tax the non-voter, extend some fringe benefits to voters. This might work in our country.



Experts need to analyze and present the real-situation to people on the harm of not voting. For illustration, in Kashmir, there were twelve constituencies where voting turn out was less than 30%. Out of this 12, 8 seats were won by the party that got an opportunity to rule the state. Is it not ironical? In the number game, the essence of democracy is lost.

¨ We get the right Government if we vote
¨ If one does not vote, he loses the opportunity to place our country on the path of progress
¨ Voter might not lose anything instantly but the country would lose its position in the global arena if right policies are not set. In the process, the voter too loses!



Considering these, one should not refrain from voting unless the reason is genuine. Will these things happen? Only time will tell us!



Tuesday 24 February 2009

Slavedog beggars

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Frankly, I wished no Oscar be awarded to Indians. However, the much-hyped film swept the event and bagged more awards. As usual, Indians went overboard in celebrating this great achievement (?). Invariably, all the media channels covered this event and beamed it repeatedly throughout the day as if nothing else had happened in the world. Newspapers did not leave anything behind. From the first page to last page, details after details were covered. They went on to cover even the minutest of the details happened during this journey.



At the outset, why such a reaction? I did not see this reaction from the public or media when Chandrayaan stepped on the moon. Is this an Indian film? No it is not! It is a film of British. May be there were Indians but even among them, majority of them were Indians by origin and not by citizenship. So, why we go overboard on the celebrations?



Is not the theory of “judging the best” wrong? Any creative art is an achievement. Loko bhinna ruchihi! Opinion differs from people to people. Liking of an art is subjective. What is good? How to define it? Shall we say good is the one having the right or desired qualities? Then who will decide what is right or what is desired? My desire might change from yours. What is right for me may be wrong for others? So, how to define this?



Who has got the qualities of judging what is good and what is bad? I don’t watch movies. I have not seen any of the movies those where nominated for Oscar! But I have read that this is a mediocre film and an award to this is a shocking surprise. I have listened to Jai Ho song and if Oscar has decided to award this as best music, then it proves that they have never listened to Indian cine music earlier! I am not here to comment on the films. I am here to comment on the reaction we are expressing!



Why do we crave for an international recognition? What if Oscar was not awarded to AR Rehman? Will not getting an Oscar mean Rehman a bad composer? Oscar or no Oscar, Rehman will keep composing and people will keep listening and many might like his music.



Last decade we observed that there was a sudden surge of beauty queens from India. Soon after Sushmita and Aishwarya, beauty pageants were conducted at every corner of our country. Priyanka Chopra, despite giving wrong and lousy answers, was selected. Then, it struck on us that it was all a ploy to promote several MNC’s cosmetic and personal care products in India.



I see this too in this angle. Indians are notorious to their habit of non-stop film watching. Within a limited market segment, if Indian film industries (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bhojpuri) mint more money than Hollywood who has access all over the world, why not penetrate Indian market and walk way with their share?



In the name of recognizing Indian talents (?), gift away the awards (reward the award) and make believe that Hollywood is altogether a different standard. Our craving for international recognition, our behavior of being slaves to white-race is being exploited to promote their market.



Oscar does not represent the entire world. I am reiterating that Oscar or no-Oscar, things will remain the same and we do not need any certificate for the quality of it. If they like it let them enjoy it but when it comes to grading talents, please do not allow it. If they did and decided to award us, let us not over-react. It is indeed disgusting.

Friday 20 February 2009

Protectors or predators?

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It is not an exaggerated statement if someone remarked, “Either get indigestion by watching morning news or get insomnia by watching night news!” I can’t say whether it’s a status of pity or a curse which haunts our country that all the news being classified in the similar pattern highlighted in the opening statement.



Many a times, in the comments section of my various blogs, it was mentioned that unless we have our people educated, such situations are bound to occur. I had always refused to buy this argument. The reasons are many. One among them is that an Indian Education system does not teach value to the learners.



What happened in Chennai High Court two days back is shocking. This is not the first time that Tamil Lawyers are taking the law in their hands. They have done this many times earlier and they are notorious for such acts. Ever since the Dravidian parties climbed to power, the law college is fully politicized and bifurcated centrally. It is a bitter truth that only those with rowdy-background join the Law College of Madras. Lawyers turning hooligans? What’s happening around us? What is the legacy we are leaving to the generations that follow? The morality of the country is shaken.



It started with some lawyers throwing eggs on Dr. Subramaniam Swamy, Ex-Minister of our country, within the premises of the Court. Court is a place where common people still believe that justice is maintained and delivered to poor in the rich-biased society. When the police arrested the one who threw eggs, lawyers turned violent and went to the extent of burning the entire police station?


¨ How intolerant we have become? We can’t respect others’ sentiments but are ready to force ours down others’ throats?


¨ If it were rowdies who did this act we can control but if this is done by none other than lawyers who are supposed to fight for justice within the legal norms as specified by IPC, what should one think?


¨ Who gave the authority of taking the law in their hands to these lawyers?


¨ Under what norms, we can call these hooligans as educated ones?


¨ In what way they differ from the anti-social elements?


¨ Simply by having a piece of paper that states these men have scored sufficient marks to pass through the exam, they are different?


¨ What is the value they add to them, the institution, the society and the country?


¨ What is the link of Srilankan Tamils (reportedly some lawyers raised slogans related to this issue) issue to this episode?



The reason being, senior experienced advocates have shied away from taking the responsibilities of the BAR association. The reasons are many, prime one being the politicization of the entire activities. With politics stooping to such low levels, the educated elites, instead of fighting it, shied away from it. This gave way for the less experienced, politically biased lawyers to be at the helm of affairs. They lack the wisdom to guide others and they believe that they can behave like Cine-heroes and get away with it.



Here in this episode Police also should have behaved reasonably. Last time when such violent things happened in Madras Law College, policemen were severely criticized for being a mute spectator. Hence, this time they did not want to give a chance for complaint. While I am not protesting their act, I would have appreciated had they taken the confidence of several other lawyers by protecting them (who were reasonable). Policemen would have got their support too. When they went beserk, they lost support of the genuine ones and it became a lawyer versus policemen issue.



Ours is a country where Law-breaker becomes law-maker, dishonest ones become policemen, and Protectors become predators. It is high time we started respecting every individual.

Wednesday 11 February 2009

Micro Fiction - 55 Word stories - An attempt

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Accident
(Word Count - 54 Theme – Cheating)



Under the water-lorry, the old man is lying with his head broken. The wheat bag he carried is torn and wheat is strewn, some soaked in blood. A young boy collects the non-stained wheat-grains. The lady cries, “You promised to live and support us till he grows up. You cheated me….”

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Cheater
(Word Count – 54 Theme – Cheating)


“Cheater-cock! You said you won’t arrest our man but you did!”



“Cool! Had I not done it, I will be thrown out. Your man is safe. We will make sure that investigation stagnates and drag time. In fact, I am not cheating you but my people” having said thus he hung the phone.

********************


Valentine’s Day Gift
(Word count – 54 Theme – Cheating)



I wish to gift my wife, on this Valentine’s Day. She is so caring, from my shirt’s button to shoe’s lace; she never complain but take pride in serving me. So, I am at this mall where young ones gather. There I saw our neighborhood boy and my wife drinking cola from same bottle.

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புதுமை புதிர்: குணா - பார்த்த விழி

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