Opinion as TRUTH

More Indian students expected to study abroad in future ...

2020-01-31T02:42:00.000-08:00

Australia, United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand and and Canada have traditionally been the favorite destination for Indian students,

It’s strongly believed that foreign degrees will help stay ahead of the students who opted to stay at home and study at local colleges and universities. For many parents it’s a matter of prestige that their children are studying abroad, it proves that their children are brilliant and family is well off. Another way to look at this is that a degree from a foreign university has more value in the Indian job market too. Most Indian employers consider foreign degree and exposure a vital factor when making decisions about the applicant to hire. It further demonstrates to your future employers that you possess a go-getter attitude.

Today Indian middle class has easy access to foreign education loans that granted by almost all bank. Apart from this many universities also woo Indian students with strong marketing and branding approaches in granting particial scholarship and bursaries.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM courses) have always remained the top preferences for Indian students, and 2020 will see no exception. Right from software engineering to computer programming, accounting, banking finance and engineering, Indian students will grab such courses as they all want to get lucrative job opportunities following the completion of their degree. In addition to all this the post study work plays a big part and most important role in their decision for going abroad.

Immigration or migration benefit is the other top reasons why Indian students, especially at the graduate level, look to pursue a degree abroad. Presently countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK and USA, all offer work some sort of permit allowing students to seek employment on completion of studies and also other immigration benefits. Indian students will continue to move abroad to fulfill their dreams of working and settling abroad.

Apart from this the high quality life style and living in neat world class cities add up.

No wonder India ranks second to China in the list of international student enrollment in colleges and universities across the world.

US Sting Operation fake university - Need to have listing of all institutes which can enroll international students

2019-02-06T06:36:00.000-08:00

While many Indian students study abroad and this number is growing day by day. While the data on the number of students from India studying abroad is not accurate however the government in the year 2017 has released this data in answer to the question in Lok Sabha raised by one member.

Please click here to see the report

According to this reply in the Lok Sabha and as per the government data (2017) its estimated that almost 5.53 lakh Indian students are studying in 86 countries. Plus as per this document almost 206708 Indian students are studying in the USA out of the 553440 Indian students studying abroad, the highest for any country.

While USA is the top and favorite destination for Indian students and students are attracted by the the top ranking universities with excellent infrastructure and its believed that US degrees offer them great exposure and get them into a rewarding career. The Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Curricular Practical Training (CPT) available to international students is the major attraction.

https://factly.in/time-high-2015-16-number-indian-students-usa-set-fall-2016-17/

But the current issue in USA about the fake university and undercover operations to find illegal students who are involved in the "pay to stay" scam is on every one’s mind. Prospective students and parents are confused with the ongoing press and media reports daily. It’s being told that many Indian students (almost 130) have been arrested or being asked to leave the country for breaching the student visa (F1) conditions and termed as illegal students. Its also told than another 500 students enrolled in other such fake universities have received notices. This time the Department of Homeland Security conducted an undercover operation of creating a fake university and enrolling students in this has led to the current happenings. Some argue that the students were not aware that the university they have enrolled is fake and such claims go on.

Here are some links to this story

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/129-indians-out-of-130-students-arrested-in-us-pay-and-stay-immigration-scam/story-RApI0Xa35VuNMdAyQ6VJmI.html

While they say that U.S. Department of Education has taken numerous steps to strengthen their accreditation system for education providers but still I think it has quite a few loop holes.

In the past few years we have seen students enrolled at Tri Valley University, University of Northern Jersey, University of Northern Virginia, Northwestern Polytechnic University and few others being sent back and their visas cancelled. These fake universities were attracting students promising all goodies like CPT from Day 1 and encouraging students to enroll.

Almost all such universities were owned by American citizens who knew how to con the students with . In the first place why permit them to set up such fake colleges? Next was there no audit system to monitor their enrollments and course quality that was delivered.

The fact is that in USA there is NO legal registry of courses and education providers (colleges, universities) that can be enroll international students

In India we have the University Grants Commission (UGC) which very clearly on their website lists all recognized universities both public and private plus also rates them. The website also has the list of fake universities operating in India with a warning to students not to enroll in such institutes. .(https://www.ugc.ac.in/page/Fake-Universities.aspx)

While most other countries have such information on public domain and easy for anyone to access this information and understand but its MISSING with the United States or confusing.

The US government must work on a similar model to the Australia or even New Zealand and learn from them.

While in Australia there are some really excellent legislations in this area. The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) is a register of Australian education providers that recruit, enrol and teach overseas students. It’s a strict regulation that education institutions can only enrol and deliver education services to international students in Australia on a student visa if they are registered on the CRICOS. In addition to this all Education Registered providers must have met, and continue to meet, the requirements of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) and National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2007 (National Code).

(Please see http://cricos.education.gov.au/default.aspx)

Such strict governments acts or publicly available information is missing with USA and various departments and it’s also believed that their audit system has enough flaws.

I must congratulate both Australia and New Zealand governments to have such transparent and good legislation which benefit both all parties including the students, government agencies and education providers. Having such good legislation's such as ESOS Act and CRICOS will definitely protect the rights of the international students and all involved. The way its implemented is also very well structured.

In USA there are some associations like AIRC which are non-profit and work for the betterment of the international education industry, at least they must have some information on their websites about these fake or good universities and pass it on to their agency members.

Students must be educated on such fraud and to follow the right protocols instead of such “sting operations”.

While I am totally aware that the intent of the students enrolled in such fake universities is wrong and they must face the action. However we must also consider the fact that they were encouraged by American citizens to pay tuition fee, luring them with goodies such as no need to classes, earn credits and make progress for actual degree. Yes it’s a “pay to stay” scam but how can such be avoided in future?

Obstacles in getting part time job for the international students in Australia

2019-02-04T07:21:00.003-08:00

As education consultant one of the common and popular questions to me from prospective students is about the part-time jobs.

International students in Australia on a valid student visa can work for up to 40 hours per fortnight (every 2 weeks) while their course is in session, and there is no limit on the number of hours an international student can work during vacations.

Family members (spouses) accompanying the international student under their student visa have the same work rights as the student – 40 hours per fortnight. For those students obtaining a graduate degree, like a master’s degree or doctoral degree, their spouses can work unlimited hours (full time).

The one good thing about working part-time while studying is the great opportunities which international students can attain with first-hand experiences in the working environment and this can help them prepare for the real working world. It’s a great head-start and develops their interpersonal skills.

International students can get into a wide range of industries and have part time employment opportunities in areas such as:

· Retail - supermarkets, petrol stations, other retail and clothing stores

· Hospitality - cafes, bars, sporting venues and restaurants

· Tourism - hotels and motels.

· Agricultural - farming and fruit-picking.

· Sales and telemarketing.

· Administration or Clerical roles.

· Tutoring.

However part-time jobs are NOT easy to find and here I have outlined various reasons that can make it difficult to find one:

Unreliable: Some employers worry that students are unreliable because of busy study and exam schedules and other commitments. The main concern is that if they employ too many students, then around exam time most or all will ask for time off or even just quit. Another issue is that they think students are not serious and may cause errors and may just walk away without being responsible.

Lack of network with locals: This is a major one. Many international students find it very hard to make friends with locals and their only known friends are other international students from their own university or college and often from their own country or hometown. This makes their network limited and they often don’t hear about jobs which they can get into.

The Right CV: It’s observed that many international students don't know how to prepare a good CV (resume) for employers. The format, spellings and grammar is pathetic and it does not really project on the actual skills of the applicant and how the applicant is suitable for the job or with no emphasis on his skill set.Its suggested that students invest a small bit of money in getting professional help with their CV (resume).

English ability: This is the most common reason for students not to get short listed for the jobs. In quite a few retail and customer service positions, there is a need for good command of English. If you're fluent with less mother tongue influence then this won't be an issue.

Not having a local and valid driver licence: This too sometimes can affect ability to get some jobs. Some jobs have a requirement of full driver’s license and knowledge of roads, suburbs, traffic and city.

Experience and Referees: Many international students are not experienced and will need a lot of training especially in customer service and product knowledge. Most employers don’t want to spend time in training and may consider already trained people for the job. Some positions require formal training which include handling food safety, fire and . Its also observed that many international students don’t have a referee. The Referees is a person who can give potential employer information about the applicant’s past work experience, skills, character and conduct.

Prejudice: It’s also observed that a few business owners only prefer to employ people from within their own ethnicity. This is actually wrong and illegal but it does happen. For example, some Chinese employers will only hire Chinese, some Indian employers will only hire people who come from the Indian sub-continent, some European may only employ European etc. It can also be because of language reasons, but in reality they just feel more comfortable working with people similar to themselves. But again this can also work to the applicant’s advantage if they are from the same ethnic group as the employer. This may not be common and prejudice is not major, but it can be a factor sometimes.

Most student jobs are advertised on the university/college job-board and popular employment websites and community newspapers. ts also acceptable by many businesses where the job applicant can walk in and drop their resume and ask for vacancies. Its advised that students leave their resume with potential employers and ask them to keep in mind for future vacanciesInternational students must make sure they have a good CV with Australian mobile number and local address and Tax File Number (TFN)

To make the employment process as easy as possible, students must have a Australian bank account in which the employers can deposit the earnings. They must also apply for Tax File Number (TFN) from the Australian Taxation office, in this way they are not taxed high rate (Almost all employers will provide job seekers with a TFN declaration or it can be obtained online or by calling Australian Tax Office on 13 28 61).

It is important that all international students are aware of their employment rights. They are paid a fair wage for any work they do, so beware of employers who insist on paying ‘cash in hand’ or those who ask to complete unpaid work on a ‘trial’ basis. Students should also be familiar with the pay and conditions for the area of employment — known as an ‘award’ — and carefully read any employment contracts they sign.

See the https://www.fairwork.gov.au/find-help-for/visa-holders-and-migrants for more details.

Note: My advice to students is not to depend on part-time work for all their expenses. International students must have sufficient financial support from their home. It is very important for students to concentrate on their studies before looking for work.

Nishidhar Reddy Borra

Atlas Education Consultants, India

nishiborra888@gmail.com

Misconception

2019-02-01T23:52:00.003-08:00

F1 (Student Visas) & Pay to Stay scams

The illegal student issue (which includes international students breaching the conditions) is of top concern to the US authorities and they have taken serious steps to curb it. Every country does this.

While the news here is all about the fake University of Farmington undercover operation by Department of Homeland Security, USA – there is a lot of misconception and in the general public. The entire operation was to get the data of international students who have misused their student visa and breached its conditions.

It must be noted that the exact number of students who got the notice or detained by the department is not clear, while a few TV channels claim it to be 600 students and others claim it to be 1500 or even 5000. It’s also projected that ALL Indian students studying in USA are being targeted. These wrong speculations and projections are creating panic among many parents here.

Website of the fake University of Farmington as on 01/Feb/2019

While the truth is that many students have used falsified academic documents, fake financials and other documents to gain the student visa. Many have changed the courses and universities looking for short-cuts seeking admission into value less courses and dodgy institutes. Many have breached the student visa condition and are working full time. They have knowingly joined such fake and dodgy institutes just to keep their F1 (student visa) status alive and to stay on in the country. While there is unconfirmed news that a few such students have been detained for immigration violation and may face deportation soon.

USA is the home for the largest foreign-born population and is a country of immigrants. Students studying at good universities and who have submitted genuine documents or have not breached the student visa regulations NEED NOT fear at all. Genuine students with intentions to study are always welcome in USA.

As an education consultant and to avoid any such situation in future I urge the media to educate the prospective students and parents of the facts:

1) That overseas study is expensive affairs and they must have sufficient funds for tuition fee and living expenses

2 2) That Student cannot work while studying and only option is on-campus jobs for up to 20 hours per week which are very competitive and difficult to obtain. Often such on campus work includes cleaning of campuses, working in cafeteria or assisting lecturers.

3 3) Optional Practical Training (OPT) is temporary employment only granted for 12 months. Students can opt for this either before completing their studies (pre-completion) or after finishing their studies (post-completion).

4) STEM OPT Extension: This is only available for certain students who have completed their studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. They must be employed by employers who have registered in E-Verify system and is only available to a maximum period of 2 years

5) That any sort of fraud submissions will be dealt very severely and fraud of any sort is not accepted

6) Students must do their homework and sufficient research before they choose their study destination and must examine the post study opportunities, fee, living costs, details about the city and weather before they opt for it. All this information can be easily available on the internet.

Nishidhar Reddy

E-mail: nishiborra888@gmail.com

Student Visas & Uncovered evidence

2019-01-29T02:45:00.002-08:00

Blowing the whistle

It’s an open fact that many students from India have used fraud documentation which have passed through the admission and visa systems and are enrolled in institutes all around the world. Fake degrees, fake financial support documents and work reference letters have been heavily used. A few also have bogus or fake test scores.

It’s also observed that student visa is used to get into a cash rich economy and work. Again and again in the past many years I have seen many countries like Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand having experienced such high fraud reacting to it by clamping down with some strict temporary regulations. But closing all corners is not possible and it still continues

I have been an international education consultant and been observing this market from the past 18 years. The purpose of writing all this is to address the common risks in international student recruitment arena. The entire essay is not to exhaustive the level of fraud or corruption in the international education sector but aimed at raising awareness among various stake holders.Thanks to all the inputs from a few students and other fellow colleagues by which I got good idea of the happenings.

All public sector agencies (government departments) in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, UK, USA or any others would like to maintain high standards of ethics. For all of them dealing with scams is all about risk management and integrity. All of them have different policies and protocols in place to combat fraud and corruption whenever it’s found. In addition to this most universities also established processes for risk management and identification of fraud.

As universities become more business oriented and commercial, such instances of fraud is increased. Most universities work with agents (or representatives) all around the world. Agents are very important as they are the first point of contact for majority students and guide the student with the correct protocols which include career counseling, course selection, student follow up, guiding with visa procedures, pre-departure briefing etc . Agents are fully supported by the international offices by various means which include training, familiarization trips to universities, broachers, intuitional visits etc. The Australian government further makes institutes responsible for ensuring that agents preserve the reputation of Australian education system and trustworthiness.

Who creates these “SCAMS”?

Most agents have the interest of students in mind and work honestly; however the “tight regulations and tougher screening” plus “easy money” can sometimes be blamed for opening doors to such scams. It’s often a “economic decision” for student who dares to submit such fraud credentials that he has not earned. This economic decision can be because of many reasons like tough competition in jobs in India, dollar dream, society reputation and image and many other such excuses.

Like any other field there are also “unethical or rouge” agents everywhere. Now let’s now focus on the various kinds of fraud in the market:

Academic Fraud: Using fake certificates or degrees is a serious problem all over. This can include using of false education documents. Verifying the autheicity for various qualifications in India is a night mare and not possible in many cases. Fake, bogus or manipulated certificates do arounds and are available at cheap costs and quite identical to the original (real) certificates. One can buy such fake degrees from the most reputable institutes of India for peanuts.

In some cases the degrees are real and number of fails (backlogs) in the year wise memos is edited to meet the entry requirement and this is termed as a common practice in certain parts of India.

Fake Academics is not only an major issue in India but a global problem today

Identity Fraud: Using fake names or other person’s credentials has been deducted a number of times with a few applications. People using other persons name, education documents and obtaining a passport and then applying for visa. There are agents everywhere in all cities promising a passport with in no time, some also open bank account with a new address for the address proof, get a PAN card and also drivers license.

(Note: The Adhar card necessity in India may put an end to this in future)

Such students who use such fake identity and manage to get the visa can be called as “Ghost students,” as such students fails to show up at their university or college at all. In such cases, the apparent motivation is often to work, as opposed to attending classes or studying abroad. .

Financial Fraud: The usage of falsified bank guarantee letters, bank statements, education loans sanction letters or fixed deposits is an ongoing issue and has been on the rise. Students, Agents and corrupt Indian bank officials all play a lead role here.

Fake Education Loans : This fraud is widespread. Falsefied education loan sanction letters are provided by the bank manager at a cost to the agents or students. The bank managers have their own middle men who act. In some cases the bank managers want to help these students who have no finances and on the letter head type and give a loan letter and verify this too.

Bank Statements / Fixed deposits: Funds are shown in bank account and generally these are recent deposits often put in by other individuals in return of small interest. Generally 2% of the deposit amount if charged from the student

The reason for this fraud to be successful is because it relies on the corrupt bank manager.Other financial documents relating to gold loans, property sale and agriculture income are commonly false or fake.

Misrepresentation via emails and local advertisements and websites: The email id of few individuals or agents I similar to the institutes email id and name. This one case where a student got a email that he can visit XXX agency to meet them on a certain date. The email claimed that representatives from YYY university would be there and this student can meet and discuss all details with them. In reality the XXX agency is not an agent or representative of YYY university and was sending emails to hundreds of students about this.

In other cases it’s found that the local agent is using the logo downloaded from the internet and advertising about spot admissions and assessments by the university staff. Again in reality this agent has no agreement with any institute nor he represented the university he advertised.

One other agency created website using information and logos of multiple universities by downloading logos from the internet which created an impression that this agent represented all those institutes. None of the universities has appointed him as their representative or agent.

Money Theft: Some students fall prey to dodgy agents who take non-refundable upfront payment for all services, bias fees and overseas institute tuition fee. They promise all kinds of help to the students which in reality are not possible.

Package deals and money theft: A few agents charge a non-refundable upfront payment from students for all the services which include academic tampering, first semester fee payment, airport pick up in host country and accommodation support. They promise all kinds of goodies which in reality are not possible. It’s found that students with weak academic credentials, low English levels often fall a prey to such

Its saidf that most fraud is driven and enabled by agents, with the agreement of the student.

But the other side of the coin, there are good ethical agencies too all over who guide students with correct protocols and this must be encouraged.

There are, unfortunately, no easy solutions to combating fraud totally and eliminating it. Fraudsters are hard to prosecute and often getaway.

The Way Forward:

There is no easy solution or regulation to stop all this. In my opinion "self regulation" is the only solution, not only agents but also universities and institutes need to self-regulate themselves. I have been a member of Association of Australian Education representatives in India (AAERI) and its aim is to assure integrity and credibility among agents recruiting for Australian Education institutes. There is a strict code of ethics to be followed and its members have agreed to be fair and honest in all their dealings with students and institutes. Such is the need of the hour

Another angel is prospective students must be warned about the consequence of using such fraud

While Studying Abroad is a common dream among Indian students. The total number of Indian students going abroad to pursue their higher education has been steadily increasing over the years

One of the main reasons why students from India want to go abroad is because they think that their future is outside India. They believe that by pursuing an undergraduate or post graduate course in a foreign country will help them to get a job there and eventually residence and pathway to the country’s citizenship. Settling down in USA, UK, Australia, Canada or New Zealand and some other such countries is very attractive to many.

The tuition fee plus the living costs abroad is high. Most parents use their life time savings or take a loan mortgaging their assets to pay the fee and cover other costs. So the return on investments is important factor and its determined by options for post study work available or pathway to residence.

Nishidhar Reddy
nishiborra888@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect on any one person or organisation in particular. It’s a gathering of opinions from author's own experience in the overseas education industry

One of the most inspirational videos

2013-12-18T07:55:00.000-08:00

Ms.Ananda Shanker (IAS Officer from AP) was diagnosed with Cancer in the year 2008, she instead of the deadly disease overtaking her fought back and she took the stage at TED one year later while still undergoing treatment.

The strength she took from her hobby (dancing) and her words & performance plus determination serves as a great inspiration.

Ananda Shankar Jayant fights cancer with a dance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYjK2kANhok

Mera Beta Engineer Banega (Translation: My son will become an ENGINEER)

2013-06-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

Back in the 1990’s getting a seat in Engineering was considered very prestigious, in those years there were around 10,000 engineering seats in Andhra Pradesh, many students at that time went to neighboring Karnataka or Tamil Nadu to study Engineering.

Today Andhra Pradesh is the state with the highest number of engineering colleges in the country. There are almost 350000 engineering seats available and the funny part is that not more than 230000 write the entrance exams (EMCET) for these seats thus making the entrance exam just a farce as anyone who wants to get a seat will get one irrespective of the marks they get in the exam.

Here is a table showing the increase of seats has been through the years

Year	Number	Number of seats	Vacant Seats
1995-1996	37	10155	0
1996-1997	37	10455	0
1997-1998	57	14155	0
1998-1999	89	19773	0
1999-2000	102	25064	0
2000-2001	107	30896	0
2001-2002	174	46090	0
2002-2003	217	62710	0
2003-2004	225	65960	0
2004-2005	238	82225	0
2005-2006	262	92600	0
2006-2007	282	98793	0
2007-2008	337	118993	0
2008-2009	530	174742	17577
2009-2010	656	226000	48795
2010-2011	705	252000	74972
2011-2012	721	350000	120000
2012-2013	728 (approx)	354000 (approx)	200000 (approx)

Source: Eenadu Telugu daily

Thanks to the state government, more and more colleges opened up in the last 8 years and there is a huge increase in the number of seats available. Most of these colleges are run by politicians and influential businessmen. The actual reason for the sudden rise of these colleges is the “Andhra Pradesh Governments Fee Reimbursement Scheme” where any family with a income less than Rs.1,00,000/- per year are eligible for complete fee waiver and fee was paid by the government. At one point Rs 5000 crores was being shelled out by the state to private engg colleges annually. In addition the belief that holding an “Engineering” degree is prestigious in the society, however we still have surplus seats and student numbers are not high enough to fill all the seats.

This growth has led to a dangerous situation here - students who do not have a liking or aptitude for engineering or sciences are/were studying engineering. The quality of education, faculty and infrastructure in most institutes is pathetic and substandard. The quality of the education has dropped drastically, thus making not more than 30% of the engineering students who pass out each year employable. 70% of the students (approx 200000 students who joined in 2009-10) who have spent 4 years of their lives studying for a degree that is not able to get them a job.

No doubt that overseas education is popular here in Andhra Pradesh especially for the post graduate sector. Many students opt for going abroad and improving their skills and yes they can be re-skilled and trained. This is the reason we find almost 90% of our students wanting to study abroad already having an Engineering degree. Majority of the others go many years (I have seen students who have spent 2 to 3 years) just searching for an appropriate job or joining some training organization to upgrade their skills.

Nishidhar Reddy

Managing Director

Atlas Consultants, Hyderabad

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and author alone.

License to abuse and rape

2012-10-15T10:46:00.001-07:00

First day of Navaratri today - Looks like India is the worse place to live in the world for women. Men worship women as goddesses and also abuse them with no regard for their rights or respect.

The recent spate of rapes in the state of Haryana - 13 in just one month – took a few by surprise. But again these sorts of incidents happen all around India, every state, every district and every city has such ghastly incidents every day. All the leading channels had debates and talk back shows soon after every incident. Famous personalities condemn it all in front of the cameras. But is all this noise making any sense to any one. Next day we hear more stories like this and again next day some more stories. Such news articles have become so common that people like to read it for fun express their sympathy and then forget it.

More shocking is the reaction of the law makers and keepers. Last week the newspapers reported a young sixteen year old girl was gang raped by four men. Not able to bear the shame, she set herself on fire and died. In another case the father of a rape victim committed suicide as he was not getting any justice.

Back in Hyderabad this morning (Monday 15^th October 2012) I started to browse the news articles in the local news papers which include The Times of India and Deccan Chronicle reported 5 crimes across India:

· Front Page – Times of India: Bangalore Law student gangraped on varsity campus

· Page 5 – Times of India – Minor girl raped in front of 5 kids, 30 years old held for rape

· Page 5 – Deccan Chronicle – Pregnant women raped and killed by gang of 4

· Page 7 – Deccan Chronicle - 17 year girl pushed off train by stalker

· Page 7 Deccan Chronicle – Couple forced to pose for obscene snaps by gang of four men who barged into their hotel room

While last weeks incident is still fresh,today a Bangalore law college student incident has rocked our channels.

INDIA where Goddesses are worshiped with passion and devotion, but women and girls are humiliated and treated with no respect. Some are killed in the womb and if they are not killed in the womb then what awaits them is a nothing but hell. Women are branded as the keeper of the family's honor they don’t have any form of freedom. Any unwanted incident happens to them they suffer and they are blamed and they are the ones to bear the consequences. This is what the recent stories tell us.

Like usual instead of taking prevention measures and getting tougher laws, our senior politicians and bureaucrats advise women should not be working after 8pm, and should wear appropriate clothes! Some further advised “don’t wear this or don’t wear that. Be comfortable, but at the same time, be careful about how you dress.... blaming the western culture blindly they accused the west for causing such crimes to happen.

In another incident recently the local village council leader came up with some great solution to rape. He feels early marriage would put a stop to rapes. "I believe this is happening because our youth are being badly influenced by cinema and television. I think that girls should be married at the age of 16, so that they have their husbands for their sexual needs, and they don't need to go elsewhere. This way rapes will not occur," adding to all this is that a chief minister from the ruling party calls these rapes as a conspiracy to defame his ruling party… (wonder who would do that???).

Some say that the way women dress and womens clothing has a lot to do with a man;s behaviour towards her. In one way we are talking about equality of both sexes and on the other side we agree to things like this. Does it mean that a women covered from head to toe will not be molested, raped or abused ever?

My question is How does all this apply to a minor who has been gang raped recently?????

Will dressing “carefully” guarantee safety and respect to a woman’s integrity? And what has “adopting the west” got to do with a man’s psyche that thinks of women as mere sex objects? Why are woman be blamed for being abused? Its not lack of rules or stricter laws, its all about the implementation of the so called laws and imposing punishments that is lacking. Women again face the second assault in the police stations and court rooms and his is worse than the original assault.

Did all our fellow Indians learn to respect the opposite sex - or are we just letting another day go past. There is no point in faking devotions by installing Durga Mata Pandals all around the cities to show this when we cannot honor her manifestation

Self-proclaimed "Leaders" and ugly hoardings....

2012-03-19T20:36:00.004-07:00

To become a politician and to be known the first step should is to erect hoardings and banners in your locality, apart from being a good liar and a great actor.

Hoardings of the so called political leaders with festival greetings, congratulations to some other leader and happy birthday greetings for some other senior politicians are common sights in almost all cities in India. In fact this is the way how some express their ambitions or aspirations to be known as “politicians” or “leaders”. It’s a way to get recognised in the circles

The excuse to appear on these hoardings and have their picture on the hoarding can be anything from local MP or MLA’s birthday, Rahul Gandhi’s Birthday, L.K.Advani’s birthday to Indian team winning the cricket world cup. No key message is given to the public by means of such posters and it does no good to anyone. These sorts of hoardings only exhibit the false clout that some stupid so called politician enjoys and it’s a internal message to his party cadres and to his known people that he is an aspiring politician.

Photographs of Chief Minister, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi or Late Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy are now used to put up by ambitious so called leaders to get noticed, to attract attention of the senior leaders in their own party. Its focus on one-self for one-self. The locations of such hoardings are often near Minister’s homes, busy cross roads and near secretariat or airports.

Maybe to play the game in politics it’s all needed.

However its time our so called politicians get off this self publicity campaign and political parties should set some standards. We all would like to see a clean, banner free city at all times. The people who put up such hoardings should be penalized as they are creating more work for the civic authorities and its tax payer’s money used to remove them all.....

Shashi Tharoor: Why nations should pursue "soft" power | Video on TED.com

2010-09-15T08:50:00.001-07:00

Shashi Tharoor: Why nations should pursue "soft" power Video on TED.com

A very impressive speech by Mr Shsshi Tharoor - he says "India has a long long way to go when it comes to economic development and acknowledges that unless India’s vast human capital is underdeveloped, as long as India is “superpoor”, it cannot call itself a super power"

He talks about how much India has developed, and he talks of telecommunications.

He talks about India’s soft power and mentions how India has put itself on the world map because of this. He talks of India’s soft power in terms of its music, its movies, its cuisine and disciplines like Yoga, Ayurveda which have spread all across the world.

He further says that " India’s people, the scientists and doctors to mathematicians and software gurus who have made the world over sit up and take notice of India around the globe, Indian heritage, language and diverse cultures"

Really Impressed

Indian Traffic Mess – our policy makers must act …

2010-07-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Driving in India is a nightmare, it’s frustrating and annoying. Yes,this sentence is true to a great extent. Some say that building new wide roads is only solution to congestion. Some say that the pace of infrastructure growth in India is not matching the growth in vehicle ownership, so traffic conditions are bound to get worse in future.

According to the World Health Organisation report more people die of road accidents in India than any other place in the world every day. People love to talk about the growing traffic concerns; it’s a hot topic to be discussed at every social occasion. What many of us don’t realize is that Traffic rules are never followed here, the rules here are meant to be broken at every level. Indian traffic rules, regulations or signs are not known to common Indian road users, Indian License is given to anyone who can provide an identity, residential proof and to any one who can balance and ride a motorbike or drive a car. There is no formal training or assessment done here. Now this is one of the main factors of this undisciplined growing traffic concerns.

Some countries like Australia, UK or USA have one of the toughest driving tests however it can be taken even by school dropouts or illiterates, the main point is that by the time one passes the test, the correct road etiquette is ingrained in to the drivers. This aspect is totally missing in India.

Never were any of us trained to stop at a Zebra Crossing or give way to Pedestrians, more sadly there are no footpaths for pedestrians to walk, And where they exist they are encroached not by hawkers, slums, toilet blocks or badly designed bus stops, poorly placed electricity boxes and last but not least garbage skips.

Most Indian drivers son’t understand how to use the vehicles headlights. Many drivers don't use any lights even when it is dark, on other hand, some use the high beam even in built up urban areas. Our motor driving schools don’t have trainers with real knowledge of traffic rules or driving ettiquettes. Often wrong information and habits are passed on to the new learner drivers. The commonest mis-information shared is with regards ''flashing of lights''. As per traffic rules in India or anywhere in the world, flashing lights is illegal. In India drivers flash lights to demand right of his way. In contrast, in many western countries flashing of lights means “you first” or “giving way”.

The other mis-information is around dealing with acute bends on a road. Again, driving institutes in India are culprits in teaching two wrong things - honk and flash lights as you approach a bend. The recommended and correct thing to do is to approach the bend as slowly as possible, this is the only way to ensure road safety around bends. When its twilight or night time, keep your low beam 'on' throughout without flashing it. In addition to all this we have the cows, goats and dogs on our streets and our authorities don't do anything about them.

Our leaders always talk about improving the standard of life and basic amenities, they are all aware of the problems mentioned above. They talk about constructing roads and highways or wide express ring roads, but never they bother about the implementing any of the of road safety or norms.

The Indian government talks about buying technology, products and weapons from western countries. We see the development of buildings in Hyderabad, Bangalore or Gurgoan and think this is development. Our leaders also show us these and say we have developed, our people belive that India has developed.

I think now its time for the policy makers in India including our leaders and Bureaucracy to get some training lessons from abroad on the road safety issues and they must learn to make our roads safer and emphasis must be given to make our roads more safer rather than wider.

Coming back home to India

2010-04-20T01:03:00.000-07:00

Coming back home to India

“Home is where the heart is” took over me and after living for nearly 12 years abroad in Melbourne and Auckland finally I decided to come back to India in November 2001.

The main thing that attracted me to live back in India was of course the family ties added to this was the sudden boom in the Indian economy. At that point I saw the sudden rise of the Indian stock market, real estate and booming economy, clearly for me India was a hot destination. My strong belief that I can make more money here than abroad was one other major factor.

Now it’s almost 10 years that I have come back, set up my own education consulting and English testing business and I must admit it is doing very well. What I did not realize was that if I want to be successful and survive in India, the I will have to trade of my dignity and my self respect. I slowly became a hostage to the corruption in India. Today I feel insecure about the future of my kids.

At every stage to get any work done, right from the clerk to the highest level. When I buy a car and to get it registered I need to bribe, when I need a permission for building a house or when I want to register the land I just purchased, wherever and whenever I could not do it without bribing people. Corrupt politicians, corrupt judges, corrupt police officers, corrupt bureaucrats, corrupt contractors, etc I found that corruption has become acceptable norm among people in India and is also welcomed with open arms.

Never did I actually realize that India is not anymore a civilized society. India is rules by money, power and greed. We call ourselves tolerant citizens, but again when we see injustice happening around us, we turn away or walk away. I must admit I did this several times till now. In India today we accept violation of human rights and mis governance. Corruption has become an acceptable norm among people in India and corruption is welcomed with open arms.

People only talk about corruption and many movies are made every year where they project on eradicating corruption in India, people love to watch these films but in actual life no one does any thing.In fact it’s the same people ( all of us) encouraging this practice.

The corruption in India is toying this lovely country. I belong to India and will be here for the rest of my life making this a part and parcel of my daily life

Proud to be Indian - Lets prove it

2010-02-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

India is getting richer and Indian economy is one of the most developing economy’s in the world. It is the third largest economy in the world, in terms of purchasing power, is going to touch new heights in coming years. Speaking about Indian history we have many great things to say.

There are
3.22 Million Indians in America.
38% of Doctors in America are Indians.
12% of Scientists in America are Indians.
36% of NASA employees are Indians.
34% of MICROSOFT employees are Indians.
28% of IBM employees are Indians.
17% of INTEL employees are Indians.
13% of XEROX employees are Indians

In spite of having all these great qualities and positive attributes the behaviour of Indian students abroad is a major concern today. Unruly and abusive behaviour of some newly arrived overseas Indian students, mostly from Punjab, is causing much concern among the Australian-Indian community and this was published in all the leading newspapers all over the world recently. Indians students have been accused of creating an unpleasant environment by shouting, arrogant behaviour, abusing each other, playing loud music on mobile phones, putting their feet up on seats in local trains and public places; and driving recklessly. The Australian department of Immigration has identified shams and fraud with Indian student’s applications. Recently UK has announced a ban on Indian students from North India, the main issue was that they identified was fraud, doggy institutes and fraud misleading financial papers from majority of the applicants from India. Strict additional checks have being done on all student applications. Fake loan certificates and financial documents prepared by agents and doggy institutes in UK also plays a major role in this ban. Indians in Australia kill another fellow Indian and we call it Racism. To claim insurance amount one Indian tries to burn his car and in return burns himself and we call it Racism.

As an education agent in India I think I fully endorse this and my role is guiding students with the right course, look into their welfare, career counselling and also bridging the gap between the foreign Institute and the students in India. In the recent years there has been a growing trend of Indian students going abroad for education. Whether it is America, the United Kingdom or Australia, the number of Indian students going to study overseas has risen tremendously, so much so that in 2008-2009, maximum students going to the United States for further studies were Indians. I strongly believe that foreign universities help to transform young talented students from India to world class skilled professionals. In addition to this students have several other benefits. There is an emphasis on practical learning, as opposed to theoretical learning, thus conceptual clarity is the key in any course abroad.

But it very sad that today this student recruitment industry has turned into an industry of shams and scams. Education agents are involved with thriving black market in sham marriages, forged English language exams, bogus courses and preparation of fake bank certificates. In fact the foreign education counselling industry is full of these sorts of people.

We need to tell our youth and people to wake up. We all need to fight against the fraud system, the loopholes in our own law and also educate our young youth not to fall a prey to doggy agents or doggy institutes. We must educate our education agents not to use the excellent student visa system to transport people and human trackffing. We must get rid of these shameful things we do to go abroad and protect our image in front of the whole world. We must all be truly proud of India and being an Indian not engaging in any of the above shameful acts.

The government of India also definitely has a role to play in all this, overseas education industry needs to be regulated. But more important is that all citizens of India have a major role to play much bigger than the government. Education agents must act more cautiously and ethically and not involve themselves in any unethical trade. They should guide students in the right pathway and must warn them not to use any fraud documents in their visa applications.

Indian / Aussie Govt Warning and Ignorance

2010-01-29T23:41:00.000-08:00

Indian government issues warning to students not to choose Australia as their study destination as it is not safe.

A nine-year-old Russian girl was allegedly raped on Tuesday evening in Goa’s Arambol beach, a popular hub for foreign and domestic tourists. According to the complaint filed by the victim's mother, the girl was raped while playing in the waters. The mother said that as one Indian tourist struck up a conversation with her, another ventured in the waters and raped her child. None of the politicians or elders of the society have condemned this enough

On December 1, 2008, a Goan politician, John Fernandes, raped a 25-year-old Russian near Colva beach. Four (4) Australians have been killed in Mumbai terror attack in Nov 2008. In the past Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt alive in their car by Hindu extremists in Orissa and in 2004 Australian tourist Dawn Griggs was robbed, raped and murdered by two taxi drivers after arriving late at night at Delhi airport.

Many incidents like this have become quite common for us. Our politicians don’t bother to look into these nor issue any warnings to our own people. Foreigners in India are exposed to many bad experiences like cheating, begging, unhygienic conditions, lack of safety, robberies, racism etc.

But the few Australian attacks on Indians attracted more attention that any of the above, film stars, community leaders, politicians have all raised their voices on this. But again no one has raised any concerns on the rape of a 9 year old Russian girl in Goa which happened

Indians have been going to Australia from the past many years, never did we hear about incidents like this. But again today things have taken an ugly turn. For me it looks like Australian & Indian media are using these attacks for trashing each other.

The Australian attacks on Indian taxi drivers are examples of urban crime. Yes I agree that Indians are over-represented in robbery statistics and there is definitely a racist element to some attacks, but we must know the real reason for this. The behavior of a few Indian students has definitely a role to play in this all. It’s a common problem all over India and also abroad.

Indian students are allowed to drive cabs; many students especially from Punjab are into this. They are strangers to Melbourne and don’t know the routes very well, they also lack English fluency and they purely depend on the GPS system to know the routes. Some times the GPS only guides the cab thru the main routes and avoids shortcuts. These cabbies are exposed to drunk teenagers and gangs at nights, sometimes they take the long route and end up in fights / arguments with the passengers, some how even these are being reported as racist attacks.

Indian government and Australian government fail to understand these issues. The Australian government policies have too many loop holes and they are unable to come up with the correct measure to control such incidents. The attacks were stray incidents and small street brawls which have been given great importance. The Australian Immigration policy has also to be blamed in this, student visas were issued without proper checks and protocols. The result was that the quality of students that Australia absorbed from the past few years was really bad and hopeless. Its time they have a look into this and adopt a policy where good genuine Indian students wanting to study in universities and good institutes are encouraged and change their policies.

Searching for a Meaning: We forget the meaning of "RACISM"

2010-01-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

Searching for a Meaning: We forget the meaning of "RACISM"

OZ RACISM ATTACKS - Reasons & Solutions

2010-01-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

The recent attacks in Australia on a few Indians have attracted worldwide attention and worldwide condemnation. These attacks caused outrage in Indian Media. While the Indian media have labeled attacks as racist, but Australian police and the government have said the attacks are purely criminal.

I myself lived in Melbourne for almost 6 years, initially as a student and after a couple of years I was employed full time. While I personally did not face any issues of racism and found that Australia is a good country, with decent friendly people.

Indians are among the largest community of skilled migrants in Australia from the past many years. Indian professionals in Australia have contributed to the growth of its economy from the past many years. In addition to this Australia has thousands of Indian students studying in various institutes and universities.

My opinions on Reasons for the attack:
Many of these students in Australia generally prefer to hang around and stick to their own fellow mates (mates from the same part of India). This is a natural and accepted, very common among students who are far away from their country. But now it looks like this being taken by some Australians as being unwilling to accept Australian culture and customs. In addition to this many students who have gone to Australia to study may not be very fluent in English and may not be able to communicate in the Aussie slang. The cultural shock can further add to this.

Another major factor for these hate crimes can be the sudden rise of the number of Indian people in all levels of society. There have been discussions and arguments that few Australians are worried about losing their jobs to young educated immigrants from India. The global recession is also to be blamed in this.

The effect of Media on this issue:
Media backlash in India and the publication of the Victoria policeman as a member of hate group Ku Klux Klan further damaged the relationship between the communities. Adding to this was the Indian governments travel warning to Indian students going to study in Australia. The comparison of crime statics of both the countries by the Prime Minister of Australia Mr Kevin Rudd further made the situation worse.

The publication of this cartoon made Australians quite angry and they started to write about India and how safe India was compared to Australia. In one of the leading news papers of Australia it quoted that “In 2007, according to India's National Crime Records Bureau, 32,318 people were murdered in India. Another 3644 were victims of ''culpable homicide'', roughly equating to manslaughter. In a category of its own, 8093 brides or their relatives were killed in ''dowry deaths'' - murdered by greedy grooms and in-laws angry over the amount of dowry paid by the bride's family. And there were a further 27,401 attempted murders.
The Indian media did not react 10 years ago when Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt alive in their car by Hindu extremists in Orissa? Or in 2004 when Australian tourist Dawn Griggs was robbed, raped and murdered by two taxi drivers after arriving late at night at Delhi airport?

By contrast, in 2007, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports, 255 people were murdered in Australia. Another 28 were victims of manslaughter, and 246 survived attempted murders. No dowry deaths were recorded.
The Australia-Indian community leaders and their religious or social welfare organizations have not issued any strong statements against these racist attacks. While a couple of student organizations or associations made a hue and cry over the attacks. There was a difference of opinion within Australia among Indians for these attacks. I am still surprised that no Indian organization or well settled local Indians take any individual or community action to prevent these ugly attacks? If Yes then what ?

I also saw an interview on BBC last week with Mr Anoop Chopra who is an Indian teacher working in Perth. He said "Australia is a great place to live. I have seen racism among very few Australians but have never experienced it directly. Indians are a relatively new migrant community in Australia and the local population is still ignorant of our culture, religion and values. In spite of that they make a genuine effort to welcome us in their homes and make us feel comfortable in their country.When an Australian is bashed, we call it a crime. When an Indian is bashed, we call it a racist crime"

Lately local Australians also complain on Indians:
Many Australians have complained that Indian students are usually fond of loitering in front of their apartment complexes with loud music blaring the latest out of Bollywood songs. In trains and also in trams Indian students speak loudly in their own language disturbing others. Many Indian students have also violated their visa status and are loitering for jobs. Some of them in search of local Australian females for marriage for residency. Many Aussies also accuse the Indian students of forcing their Indian culture in university campuses by celebrating their hundreds of festivals and cooking their foods. It is also noted that Sydney beaches are full of the drunk impolite Indian students ogling and harassing the women.

My Opinion :

As a education consultant recruiting students to Study in Australia and having lived and worked there every day I am asked questions such as “ Why Australians attack Indians? Are Australians Racist? What’s happening in Australia?”.
Most of said attacks on Indians have been in bigger cities like Melbourne or Sydney. Yes it can be linked urban crime where some elements are attacking innocent victims for robbery and it can be termed also as an opportunistic attacks.. Many Indian students don’t mix with Australian people and the only Australians they know are drunk teenagers often on drugs or homeless teenagers in the streets or on the trains. Most of these crimes are petty robberies that happen late at night. Because many Indian students have part-time jobs that finish late in the evening, they often become victims of these petty crimes. Indian students also have this habit of living in poorer suburbs as the rents are much cheaper which is infested with drug addicts/ anti-socials. The western suburbs of Melbourne are good examples of this. Many young Australian street kids know that they can easily get away from the crime due to the relaxed laws on minors.

Need to take precautions and steps urgently :

The Australian government needs to take steps and work closely with the Indian communities in Victoria. The Victorian police has to put its act together and nab the culprits involved in the crimes as soon as possible. Australia further needs to explain their citizens that their country is a home for many nationalities and their economy is doing well with the support of immigrants.

Indian government must also come out with a pre-departure training for all the students who will be going to Australia soon. The Indian communities in Australia also need to do this. The Australian police further needs to be specially trained in sensitivity issues of racial crime.

Universities / Institutes must also join hands with local agents in India and work towards more cross cultural exchange and training. The Immigration Department of Australia should also get in changes to its policy and encourage good students from India who are going to study in Universities and post graduate courses like USA or UK. It should work closely with universities, ethical agents and create a holistic marketing plan jointly to get good top students from India instead of getting students to study English or other silly courses like hairdressing or cookery. The past policies and assessment levels of university going students needs to be looked into and changes should be done immediately.
The Immigration policy of Australia can be blamed as the main cause for the poor standards of Indian students in Australia. Their hard and strict policies have led to scams and shams in this industry. Its about time they look into it and also make changes to the policy by understanding Indian standards and Indian students. By doing this Australia will prove that Indian students are welcome as quoted by their deputy prime minister

Racism Debate

Racism is a serious global issue spread all over the world. Australia is no stranger to this. Discrimination and acts of racism occurs against nearly all minority groups everywhere in the world not just on Indian students in Australia. Racism and hate can also be a reason for attacks in Australia but again the racism issue has been overplayed by the Media. The media made it look like every Indian is being attacked and targeted on the streets of Melbourne. I am confident that the attacks were a very unhappy and sad coincidence. Tag of ‘racism’ will only complicate things and sow the seed of hatred. It is better to look deeper into reasons of crime.

The voice of Indian students in Australia has been heard by the highest authorities in Australia government today. The governments of both the countries also have been in a dialogue over this issue. The government of Australia has assured strict action on the accused. In addition to this it is taking steps to safeguard the student community and we must give them some time.

Conclusion

The demands on the media, whether in Australia or India, are similar. They need to create sensation and attract largest number of viewers. Some sections of the media often ignore the facts, are irresponsible and can cause a lot of damage.

There will always be some bad people (in both Australia and India) but they should not be allowed to spoil the relationship.

We forget the meaning of "RACISM"

2010-01-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

We forget what “Racism” means……

The words “Racism & Racist” are quite dangerous. Last few weeks we have seen that the international racism rows are dominating the headlines in India and in fact all over the world. The talkback shows on various national channels, the newspaper headlines for about two weeks now made it obvious that Indians are ready to talk about Indians being racially discriminated outside India. But what about the equally serious condemnable racial discrimination within India?

I am surprised as Indian Media and also the Indian government only elaborate “attacks on Indians in Australia” or issues like racist attacks on one Bollywood actress, Shilpa Shetty by her white housemates on British reality TV”

My friend Mr a friend who is from North East India, his features and colour are like an Asian (Mongoloid). He has been a victim of racism in many occasions in his own country. He was always called “cheeky” or “chunna” by his own friends. While he was in school he was treated as different to all other class fellows, he applied for a job he was not selected as he looks different and his employer had to admits that they need a more local face for the job. He wanted to take a flat on rent and the landlord did not agree to rent him the flat as the landlord believed that his cooking would be smelly and stinking and would spoil the ambiance in the flats. There were times when he along with his sister was not allowed to enter the pubs in Hyderabad on weekends.

For me it looks like he was being discriminated more than what Shilpa Shetty could imagine. There are thousands of people like this in India who in their own country are being discriminated by their own people. Independent India has witnessed considerable amount of violence and hate crimes motivated by caste, race or religion. Is this not racism?

This is a more serious issue than the 50 or 100 attacks in Australia on Indians.

The government of India including all the authorities should step in and eradicate this dirty game in our own country. India is celebrating diversity, but again it has no meaning if the nation remains silent to the domestic realities of racial abuse and discrimination. Media too needs to play a role in this and educate our own people

Telengana Issue........Matters of Detail

2010-01-15T07:03:00.000-08:00

Last few weeks seen many arguments / opinions and agitations for the formation of a separate state of “Telengana”.

Some say it’s a strong linguistic feeling and is needed to attain peace and prosperity, some others say term this Telengana issue as regional sentiments by "vested interests" for "political gains" While some say it will stop the development while other quote the opposite.

The Politicians are trying to make the most out of this situation. Suddenly we see all the congress MLA’s who have never spoken about Telengana during YSR’s time, now suddenly changing their tone and sides.

Linguistic state means that all the people possessing same language should be in one region, but it does not mean that they all should be in a same state, and this is not possible. Some say “Separation” is the democratic desire. Being united forcefully is imperialism.

Today, all over the country wave/demand for small states has cropped up. However the legitimate fight for creation of TELENGANA with Hyderabad as its capital, within the legal confines of Indian Constitution, has had a voice since the time of Indian Independence.

I was talking to a friend Mr Bhasker Rao who is a strong supporter of Telengana and according to him:

400 years of existence as a separate entity ( Hyderabad State ) under the rule of Nizam, before independence, automatically grants Telengana the right to demand a separate state.

Further according to him the food, the cultures and the language has a lot of difference. To prove this he quoted that “In many of the families an arranged marriage does not happen between a Telengana family and Andhra Family”

10 out of these 15 chief ministers till date have come from the non-Telengana regions of Andhra Pradesh either from Rayalseema and Coastal Andhra Pradesh. The last chief minister from the Telangana region was in power as far back as 1990’s. While the dominance of chief ministers from the non-Telangana regions has always been there and this is the reason why except for capital city of Hyderabad none of the other Telegnaga regions have improved. This clearly shows that the Telegana movement is not hollow.

Nagarjuna Sagar dam lies in Telangana region. While the original plan included two canals, one to arid and dry Telangana, and the other to the fertile and inundated Andhra region, only one canal was constructed towards Andhra region, while Telangana continued to remain arid, dry and impoverished. All the recommendations that forced the government to construct the new canal were struck down by the majority and partisan Andhra leaders. The coal mines and power plant of Singareni lie in Telangana region, but the backward districts of Telangana get no power. There are thousands of villages and towns in Telangana where they get two hours of power during entire summer, while people of Andhra experience small inconveniences.

With examples like this discrimination is seen in irrigation, in industry, in roads, in canals, in dams, in energy, in education and in employment.

There was consistent and methodical discrimination against people of Telangana for all these years. Newer generation of Andhra and Rayalaseema who had no role in this discrimination find it hard to understand why Telangana people protest for a new state. They have absolutely no idea what has happened in the past and see the present situation in isolation and conclude that Telangana people are brainwashed by their wily and cunning politicians.

The main requirement for overall development of any region is a comprehensive plan for scientific utilization of the entire natural resources of the state after proper and exact estimation of the availability of all natural resources like water, minerals, forests etc., while implementing any project priority should be given to backward areas. Concrete steps should be taken to develop educational and health facilities and to create employment opportunities in all the areas. This can be possible in smaller states very easily.

On my comment that the recently formed states like Jarkhand have not developed:
States like Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and the newly formed Jarkhand, Uttaranchal, Chattisgadh ae examples where there is absolutely no development nor is there any hope of development in the future. But this should not be the main cause of us not having a separate state. Comparing this with TELENGANA issue is not RIGHT.

In Andhra Pradesh a suffocating situation is prevailing. Social, economic, political, cultural, ethical and moral crisis is engulfing. There is no proper educational and health facility for our people, no employment for millions of our educated youth, no security for our mothers and sisters. Retrenchments and closures of industries are throwing thousands of our workers on to the streets. Suicides of peasants due to debts are going on unabated. Because of capitalist exploitation a few handfuls are becoming millionaires. This situation is prevailing through out the country, in every state and in every region. This should not be considered in the Telengana seprate state factor

Rives such as Krishna and Godavari enter Andhra from Maharashtra, through the Telangana region, proceed to feed other regions of Andhra Pradesh (except Telengana) and drain into the Bay of Bengal . The Pulichintala project at Nemalipuri village in Nalgonda district is one of the biggest project ever taken by the state government. The project, a balancing reservoir, is planned to submerge 35,000 acres of land in Telengana in order to stabilise the Krishna delta, which mostly falls in the Andhra region. Many farmers have become landless because of this and this will cater the Andhra region.

Some people term this Telengana issue as regional sentiments by "vested interests" for "political gains". This may be true to some extent only, but again its not true to say that this statement is totally true. The cause for a separate state is genuine.

On Telengana Issue causing lot of unrest & violence

Protest / Violence are a part of democracy and this sort of agitations cannot be stopped in India . Gandhi taught us this type of agitations like protesting,civil disobidence and hunder strikes and and this is being followed by all today.

The fact today is “Telangana is less developed compared to Andhra”. Telengana farmers are not as rich as Andhra farmers. Rivers like Krishna and Godavari flow through Telangana, but the water from the dams are sent to Andhra lands. It’s a pity that Telengana farmers could not buy expensive lands in and around Hyderabad and invest in big projects like the Andhras.

Because of less literacy and backwardness of Telangana people, most of the new jobs, postings in government and education are given to people from Andhra. The result is Telangana people are discriminated in their own region. They are seen as inferior, lazy and illiterate. Even the Telangana language is ridiculed and its speakers are butt of many demeaning jokes ( Telugu movies are examples of this)

Except for common language, the people of Andhra and Telangana have different dialects, histories, cultural systems, different food habits.

Now after listening to all this…. I am jinxed…… (*)(*)