Empowering 1.2 billion Indians through information, the Right to Information Act, introduced in 2005, gave new meaning to the motto “seek and you shall find.” but some RTI activists could only find an answer in the form of death. Attacks on information seekers have become commonplace with transparency groups estimating that 28 activists have been killed since the RTI Act was passed in 2005. It is really sad and unfortunate that RTI activists and information seekers using this rightful transparency tool have been victimized and many have even lost their lives. So I think it is always better to file RTI anonymously, to be on safer side. Now the big question is that is there any way to file RTI anonymously? Is it legal ? Getup4Change.org is a website where Indian citizens can file RTI queries anonymously, under the banner of RTI Anonymous (RTIA). Let’s see how it works!

How it works?

• RTI applicants can log on to www.getup4change.org
• Click on the ‘Submit RTI’ link to file a Right To Information application
• Users can also send an email with a dummy email ID, if they wish
• The team files the RTI through their network of volunteers at no cost to the applicants
• Applicants can choose to be appraised on the progress of their application via email
• The information or document is put up on the site once obtained
• The group has no details of applicants. So, identity of information seekers is protected

What is RTI?

The Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament of India “to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens. Under the provisions of this Act, any citizen may request information from a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days. The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to pro-actively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.

“There is no protection for the common man who files an RTI application. There are so many school teachers who have been killed across the country for seeking information via RTI, reducing RTI to a complete sham since there is no protection offered. An RTI activist was killed earlier this month in Hyderabad itself and almost 350 people have been killed so far in barbaric manner to discourage others from using RTI. It is only a law on paper because the law does not work to offer protection barring the Whistleblower’s Act. There is no serious move to protect those who use RTI. RTI deaths is one of the worst sagas in history of India. True freedom is the ability of a common man to bring a sea change in system.” – Filmmaker Mani Shankar

It’s official now. Google Chrome has finally become the most popular web browser. According to web analytics website StatCounter, for the first time in the history of internet, Google’s Chrome web-browser has overtaken Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to become the most used internet browser worldwide. Interestingly, Asia and South America has contributed most to the Chrome traffic share, while Internet Explorer and Firefox are more popular in North America and Europe respectively. However in India, Chrome is the most popular web browser with Firefox on second place.

Google Chrome is a freeware web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008.

By default, the main user interface includes back, forward, refresh/cancel and menu buttons. A home button is not shown by default, but can be added through the Settings page to take the user to the new tab page or a custom home page. Tabs are the main component of Chrome’s user interface and as such, have been moved to the top of the window rather than below the controls. This subtle change contrasts with many existing tabbed browsers which are based on windows and contain tabs. Tabs, with their state, can be transferred seamlessly between window containers by dragging. Each tab has its own set of controls, including the Omnibox.

This web browser is also the basis of Google’s Chrome OS operating system that ships on specific hardware from Google’s manufacturing partners. The user interface has a minimalist design resembling the Google Chrome browser. Chrome OS is aimed at users who spend most of their computer time on the Web; the only applications on the devices are a browser incorporating a media player and a file manager.

Chrome is available for

• Windows: XP Service Pack 2+ / Vista / 7
• Mac OS X: 10.5.6 or later, Intel processors (not PowerPC)
• Linux: Ubuntu 8.04 or later / Debian 5 / OpenSuse 11.1
• As of 2012, 32-bit and 64-bit builds are available for Linux, with only 32-bit builds available for Mac OS X and Windows.

Yesterday Mamata Banerjee added one more feather in her cap when she stormed out of a CNN-IBN show on one year of Trinamool Congress rule, accusing the audience, which consisted of students, to be Maoists and CPM cadre. She lost her cool and stormed out of the interactive TV session when members of the audience questioned her on the recent cartoon controversy. Sometimes I wonder, is this the same Mamta Banerjee who almost one year back, got unprecedented victory in West Bengal? Her behavior was totally unexpected and unreasonable. I strongly believe that she is unfit for the post of Chief Minister. She does not deserve this position.

In response to students’ questions, she got furious saying there was no crime against women in the state, and accusing them of being CPM cadre and asking “Maoist questions”. Later, she claimed that it could even be verified that the members of the audience were Maoists and CPM cadres, and they were asking nothing but questions of the Maoists and the CPM.

The questions that made her uncomfortable were

• the increasing attacks on women in the State
• the infringement of democratic rights by the authorities
• the police action following the recently circulated e-mail by a Jadavpur professor with graphics directed at her.

Anyway, one thing is clear, whenever politicians such as Mamata Banerjee, Kapil Sibal try any attempt to subvert idea of free speech and expression in this country through their dictatorial policies and decision, the people of India will never tolerate them. And this became evident when the students asked so called Maoist questions from Mamata Banerjee.

The only thing which millions of Bengalis ask Mamata after this incident, Why this Kolaveri Didi?

See Didi’s walkout!

Vividh Bharati is one of the most popular radio services which provides entertainment in the form of film music, skits, short plays and interactive programmes. Some of the old popular programmes of Vividh Bharati are ‘Sangeet Sarita’, ‘Bhule Bisre Geet’, Hawa Mahal, ‘Jaimala’, ‘Inse Miliye’, ‘Chhaya Geet’ etc., are still distinctly recognized by the listeners. From time to time new programmes were introduced like ‘Biscope Ke Batein’, ‘Sargam Ke Sitare’, ‘Celluloid Ke Sitare’, ‘Sehatnama’, &’ Hello Farmaish’. Like millions of kids of early 90s, I also grew up listening to Vividh Bharati. I have always been big fan of Vividh Bharati. Bioscope ki baatein, Celluloid Ke Sitare and Hawa Mahal were some of my favorite Radio Programmes.

From last a few years, I couldn’t get chance to revamp this long lost hobby. Many people including me find trouble to listen radio these days, especially in the age of internet and mobile phones. However, it is possible to listen to Vivid Bharati through live streaming resources available on internet.

In 1999 Vividh Bharati Service proved its success connecting Indian Soldiers posted on remote border areas to their family members through a special programme entitled “Hello Kargil” (during Kargil War), through which not only the family members of the soldiers , but even a layman including young and old conveyed their best wishes to the soldiers to keep up their morale.

Eminent actors, play back singers, renowned writers, lyricists, directors and music directors have found way to express their experience and opinion through the Vividh Bharati Platform .

With the advent of new technology the transmission of programmes gradually migrated from earlier medium wave transmission to high quality digital stereo FM. Vividh Bharati now enjoys global listenership through Direct to Home Service (DTH) besides other 11 channels of All India Radio.

Popular Vividh Bharati Programmes ::

• Hawa Mahal
• Sangam
• Sangeet Sarita
• Bhule Bisre Geet
• Jaimala and Vishesh Jaimala
• Inse Miliye
• Chhaya Geet
• Biscope Ke Batein
• Sargam Ke Sitare
• Celluloid Ke Sitare
• Sehatnama
• Hello Farmaish
• Sakhi Saheli
• Pitara
• Ujaale Unki Yaadon Ke
• Hello Saheli

To listen Vividh Bharati Online, click the below mentioned link.

Slowly and steadily, Green tea is getting popular in India. We Indians, who are the world’s largest consumers of tea, are developing a taste for a new brand of drink called Green Tea. Green tea, mainly consumed in China and Japan, has also become popular in the western countries, where black tea is traditionally consumed. Green tea is generally made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis plant that are then applied to heat quickly after picking, either by steam or by dry cooking in hot pans. These methods minimize oxidation. Over the last few decades medical scientists, through their experiments, proved that green tea has numerous health benefits. From it’s potential as a cancer cure and fighting off heart disease to lowering cholesterol, burning fat, preventing diabetes, gingivitis and strokes – green tea has a lot of use in a healthy, balanced diet.

Researchers do have knowledge of green tea containing at least two kinds of antioxidants, polyphenols and catechins, each of which are beneficial. Free radicals can cripple cells and DNA inside the cells, and that’s what antioxidants work to protect against. That is the reason why, Green tea is more effective in healthy properties than other teas, such as white or black teas.

Some of the advantages of Green Tea are ::

Green Tea

• Reduces the risk of Heart attack.
• Reduces risk of Cancer.
• Enhances immune function.
• Helps weight loss
• Controls Diabetes
• Slows the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
• May Help to Control Blood Pressure.
• Reduces and prevents acne.
• Slows the aging process to prevent wrinkles.
• Effective in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
• Helps to fend off infections.
• Lowers total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol level).
• Flushes out toxins.
• Increases the HDL Cholestrol (the good cholesterol) level.
• Eases the pain of rheumatoid arthritis.
• Acts as a blood thinner
• Prevents dental cavities and Gingivitis.
• Boosts longevity.
• Fights the cause of allergies in your body.

Bollywood first superstar Rajesh Khanna is trending on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Do you know why?  After recovering from some serious health issues, Rajesh Khanna aka Kaka is back in action with his first television ad, which has got big applause from his fans. It is Havell’s fan ad campaign which shows the iconic Bollywood superstar talking about his fans and giving the viewers a sense that he still enjoys a huge fan following. In the ad, Mr. Khanna goes down memory lane, remembering how his fans used to follow him everywhere when he was a superstar. The yesteryear actor has said that he is ‘delighted to reconnect with fans once again’.

“To be approached after so many years is indeed a great honour for me and I am delighted to reconnect with my fans once again. Shooting after a gap of so many years has definitely brought back fond memories and I feel that not a lot has changed at all. It’s good to be back,” Rajesh Khanna said in a press statement.

The huge success of this ad proves that Rajesh Khanna still commands a lot of respect and has a big fan following.

Rajesh Khanna achieved overnight super-stardom with Shakti Samantha’s ‘Aradhana” in 1969. He became the craze of the nation, and critics started calling him the First Bollywood Superstar. Some of his memorable films are “Aaradhana”, “Dushman”, “Anand”, “Amar Prem”, “Avishkar”, “Aap Ki Kasam”, “Prem Nagar”, “Prem Kahani”, “Chhailla Babu”, “Chakravyuha”,  “Khamoshi” , “Amardeep”, “Red Rose”, “Kudrat”, “Dhanwan”, “Avtaar”, “Awaaz” , “Babu”, “Hum Dono” and “Adhikar”

During the peak of his career he would be mobbed during public appearances. Fans kissed his car, which would be covered with lipstick marks, and lined the road, cheering and chanting his name.

Female fans sent him letters written in their blood. There used to be a line of cars of his producers and hysterical fans outside his bungalow every day. Actor Mehmood parodied him in Bombay to Goa where the driver and conductor of the bus were called ‘Rajesh’ and ‘Khanna’.

Even today, he remains the favourite of mimicry artists, who copy his trademark style and dialogue delivery.

During the filming of Amar Prem there was a scene that needed to be filmed at Howrah Bridge with a boat carrying Khanna with Sharmila moving under the bridge. The authorities ruled this scene out as they realized that if the public found out that the hero of the film would be there, it may create problems on the bridge itself, and that it might collapse due to the amount of people trying to get a glimpse of their favourite actor.

Film critic Monojit Lahiri remembers “Girls married themselves to photographs of Rajesh Khanna, cutting their fingers and applying the blood as sindoor. Rajesh was God, there has never been such hysteria.”

Do watch this ad and don’t forget to post your comments

I consider The Hindu as the best national daily of India. It is the only newspaper where the pure character of journalism is still alive. If you are looking for no nonsense, accurate, intelligent, serious, unbiased and reliable reporting with in-depth yet to the point editorials and opinions, it is the right option. The only demerit which I see with this newspaper is that sometimes, it becomes pro-left but anyway despite being an avid right wing supporter, I am big fan of The Hindu. According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2011 The Hindu is the third most widely read English newspaper in India (after the Times of India and Hindustan Times) with a readership of approximately 2.0 million people.

The Times of India, on the other hand, is the world’s largest selling English-language daily but the fans of The Hindu, including me, often criticize TOI for its extra attention on Bollywood, Cricket, fashion news and page 3 gossips. You can always find substandard and pure sensationalism with heavy dosage of film and page 3 party news in TOI. Even if you visit the website of Time of India, you will find it very much cluttered and full of advertisements and pop ups.

An ad war started between these two leading newspapers when Times of India first launched a new campaign for its Chennai edition. The campaign titled, ‘Wake up to The Times of India’. The Times of India declared in its ad that The Hindu (without naming the paper) puts readers to sleep due to its boring news and content. In that ad you would see a Tamil man sleeping in different scenes in a satirical way so as to project that the readers of Chennai have been reading boring papers for a long time and now the time has come to switch to TOI’s Chennai edition for their daily dose of colorful and exciting news.

The Hindu responded with YouTube videos which showed a series of youngsters being unable to answer basic general awareness questions but being totally up to speed on trivial information such as Hrithik Roshan’s nickname and Kareena’s size zero. Naturally, it was because they read The Times of India. And believe me, these ads damaged reputation of TOI almost all over India.

I must say, the Hindu’s Ad is hundred times more innovative, punchy and creative than that of TOI. What I like most about the Hindu ads that they have not only nullified the impact of Times Of India campaign but have also managed to project readers of other newspapers as dumb. This might definitely inspire the people to reconsider their choice of the newspaper they read and should directly contribute to an increase in Hindu’s market share.

Questions you should answer correctly, if you are The Hindu reader.

1. Who is author of Harry Potter series?
2. Paul Mac was part of which band? 
3. What does ATM stand for?
4. What does UPA stand for?
5. Who will succeed Ratan Tata as the head of Tata Group?
6. what did Dhyanchand play?
7. Who is the vice-president of India?
8. Where is Tahrir Square?
9. In Ramayana, who is Ram’s father?

Questions, you should correctly answer, if you are TOI reader

1. Which Bollywood heroine is associated with Size 0?
2. What is Ritik Roshan’s pet name?
3. Is Aishwarya baby, a boy or a girl?

One of the regular readers of TOI commented on YouTube ::

I’ve been reading TOI for over 7 years, but having seen how vehemently readers of the Hindu tend to defend their newspaper, I subscribed to it for a week to see what the difference actually is. I realize that now. The Hindu tends to be far less ‘sensationalist’, publishes pretty much no celebrity gossip and trash, has an occasional full-page science and technology section, has much better writing in the editorial section, and a decidedly libertarian political stance. I’m switching over for good.

First see these TOI Chennai Edition’s Print Ads ::

The Times of India TV Ad ::

The Hindu Video Ads ::

The Hindu Print Ads ::

The Times of India Response ::

The ghost of Bofors is back and now with a bang. It has again started haunting the ruling Congress Party. Let’s first try to find out what exactly Bofors is and why it is considered as the major corruption scandal in India. Bofors Scandal came into picture in 1986 (25 years ago) when senior Congress leaders including the Indian prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India’s 155 mm field howitzer. It was a historical and highly political because for the first time since independence any Indian Prime Minister was involved in a massive corruption. It was this Bofors scandal which ultimately led to the defeat of Gandhi’s ruling Indian National Congress party in the November 1989 Indian general elections. I have compiled 10 things that you should know about Bofors Scandal. It will help you to know more about this scandal.

1. What is Bofors Deal? During mid eighties, the Indian Government bought 155 mm howitzers from AB Bofors, a swedish company in a Rs.1,500 crore ($285 million) deal. The Bofors scandal’s news first came into public on April 16, 1987 when a Swedish Radio broadcast claimed that AB Bofors had paid kickbacks to top Indian politicians and defence officials to secure the deal. According to many newspapers, the scale of the scandal was to the tune of 640 Million Rupees.
2. Bofors Scandal broke out during Vishwanath Pratap Singh’s tenure as defence minister. V.P. Singh stated during a testimony that Quattrocchi had sought appointment with him on a number of occasions but he did not give him any appointment. Rajiv Gandhi then asked him to meet Mr. Ottavio Quattrocchi (an Italian businessman).
3. The Bofors Scandal was revealed through investigative journalism by Chitra Subramaniam and N. Ram of the newspapers the Indian Express and The Hindu. In 1987, Swedish Police chief Sten Lindstrom also known as Swedish Deep Throat, leaked over 350 documents to Chitra which helped her to further report this Scandal in the newspaper (The Hindu) she was working for.
4. The middleman or you can say the villain associated with the scandal was Ottavio Quattrocchi, an Italian businessman who represented the petrochemicals firm Snamprogetti. Quattrocchi was reportedly close to the family of Gandhi and emerged as a powerful broker in the 1980s between big businesses and the Indian government.
5. There are allegations that the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi may have soft-pedalled the probe into kickbacks in the gun deal to protect Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.
6. Why the ghost has come back? 25 years after Bofors, Lindstrom, who led the Bofors probe in his country, revealed massive cover up by his Indian counterparts, in an interview with Chitra Subramanian in “The Hoot”.
7. According to Lindstrom, there was no evidence to suggest that Rajiv Gandhi had taken a bribe in the Bofors deal but he did nothing to prevent the cover-up that followed in both India and Sweden to protect Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.
8. How Amitabh’s name came into this Scandal? On Jan 31, 1990, the Dagens Nyheter, a Swedish daily newspaper, reported that Swiss authorities had frozen an account belonging to Ajitabh Bachchan (Amitabh’s younger brother) into which Bofors commissions were transferred from a coded account.
9. Now Lindstrom is saying that Indian investigators probing the scandal had during a trip to Sweden in 1990 “planted the Bachchan angle.” The media is regarding as clean chit to filmstar Amitabh Bachchan in Bofors Scam.
10. Inspite of the associated controversies and scams, the Bofors guns have been proved very useful to Indian army. They were used extensively as the primary field artillery during the Kargil war (1999) with Pakistan and gave India ‘an edge’ against Pakistan in that war.

Akshaya Tritiya or Akha Teej is an auspicious day, which is believed to bring good luck and success, for followers of Hinduism and Jainism. Every year, it falls on the third Tithi (Lunar day) of Bright Half (Shukla Paksha) of the pan-Indian month of Vaishakha. On this day, people celebrate birthday of Lord Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Also, it was the day of Akshaya Tritiya when Veda Vyas and Lord Ganesha started writing Mahabharata. “Akshaya” means something that never diminishes. It is believed that if you do charity on this day you will be blessed, also this day is considered auspicious for starting new ventures and buying gold.

Any venture initiated on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya continues to grow and bring prosperity. Hence, new ventures, like starting a business, construction etc. is initiated on Akshaya Tritiya. Usually on this day Hindus take dip in holy water, organize prayer, offer barley in a sacred fire, buy gold, start new ventures, worship Lord Ganesha, Devi Lakshmi and do charity.

Religious significance of Akshaya Tritiya ::

On this auspicious day, many big historical events happened. I have compiled a list of those events. Please have a look.

• As already mentioned, Lord Ganesha alongwith Veda Vyas started writing the epic Mahabharata.
• Goddess Annapoorna and Lord Parasurama were born on this day.
• Kubera, the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology, received his wealth and position as custodian of wealth and property along with Goddess Lakshmi on this day, by praying to Lord Shiva at Shivapuram.
• King Yudhisthira received the Akshaya pathram from Thirumanthurai temple on this day, which he used to serve food for all the needy in his Kingdom.
• Kusela, a poor friend of Lord Krishna visited Him to greet Him after He became the King. With nothing to offer due to his poverty, Kusela took with him Poha (puffed rice) and offered it to his friend and never discussed his poverty though he intended to. But on his return he found that his hut was changed to a Palace.
• It was on this day, Dushasana, Duryodhana’s younger brother unveiled Draupadi at the Royal Court of Hastinaapur where Lord Krishna protected her providing the ‘undiminishing’ veil.
• Adi Shankara recited the Kanaka Dhara Stotr on this day for the sake of the poor couple at whose house he stopped for Bhiksha on the day and was offered the only available gooseberry in the house.
  

According to the team of scientists at the National Health Research Institute and China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan, smokers who exercise are likely to find it easier to quit successfully. The team carefully studied the health and habits of 434,190 people in Taiwan for a long period of 12 years,  from 1996 to 2008. The research team also said getting just 15 minutes of exercise a day made smokers 55% more likely to quit than people who weren’t active at all. Moreover, after quitting the cigarette life expectancy was found to increase by 5.6 years on average, and the risk of death was reduced by 43%.

The fact of the matter is that exercise can help you stop smoking and make it easier to stay quit for life after you’ve finally stopped smoking. There are many reasons how exercise can help you to quit smoking.

Exercise or physical workout is very helpful to the human body, blood flow, heart disease prevention, positive mood, sense of well-being, etc. When you stop smoking and start exercising you not only help your body to recover from nicotine dependence but also get great success in reducing the cravings to smoke. If you regularly do exercise after quitting smoking your appearance, lungs, mood, and overall health will be much better.

Exercise acts as a great agent for Detoxification :: When you stop smoking your body begins to ‘dump’ nicotine primarily through urine and sweat. Exercising or any physical workout causes you to sweat profusely, thus cleansing your body of nicotine more quickly.

Our brain naturally produces neurologically transmitted chemicals such as dopamine, endorphins, etc. that send messages to the sensory department of your brain. In the early stages of withdrawal from nicotine, your brain is learning to cope without cigarettes and produce these chemicals. When you exercise, you are forcing your body to naturally produce endorphins and other chemicals that may have not have otherwise been manufactured that early under the influence of nictoine withdrawal symptoms.

An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Normally people smoke to avoid idleness. By involving yourself in exercise or workout you will leave less room in your day-today life to be tempted to smoke a cigarette.

“Our message is to quit and exercise – to do both is the best, we want smokers to do as much exercise as possible” Professor Chi Pang Wen.