INDIA with ME....

Two Reasons Why Indian Voters take National Security for granted

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 May 2015 16:31:00 +0000

Russia, Poland, France, Italy, USA, England, Japan, China and many other European countries were the ones actively involved or affected during the World War 2. It should not take a length of words to explain why these countries have an aggressive National Security approach now in the modern world.

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The horrors from their ordeal of having a foreign invader on their motherland are still afresh & drive their foreign policy in a big way till date. Interestingly, for an average Indian voter this link between a Historic War & modern day foreign policy will seem to be laughable, and that laugh should be alarming for India.

In November 2008, India was attacked covertly by Pakistan in its deadliest terrorist attack on Mumbai on 26/11. With elections in 2009, after such a serious lapse in National security (5 terrorists killed more than 180 innocent people in a 3 day long hostage drama) nobody with rational thinking would have expected the careless Congress government to return to power. But, it did. Because an average Indian voter does not keep National Security as the highest priority in the list of his issues.

After Modi government took over in 2014 with a mammoth mandate, the Prime Minister has made great efforts in changing the shape of our Foreign Policy for the better. For India's security interests we need to have strong relations with the developed and developing nations. Diplomacy played by India within these circles will keep Pakistan & China under check around us. Modi knows this and hence is making strong efforts to revive India's image to get an upper hand when sitting on the negotiating table with our rivals.

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But again, the way our opposition leaders have criticised PM for his visits abroad resonates the fact that an average Indian voter doesn't really understands the importance of National security. Had a majority of Indians given it the importance it deserves, in the list of all other issues, our Congress friends would not have dared to raise such points in the parliament so confidently.

As a student of Political Science my understanding for this mindset of an average Indian voter is based on two facts:

1. Indians have been misled about their history from decades

Our History books have made us embrace invaders as Indians (read Mughals), mass-murderers as legends (read Tipu Sultan) and conquerors as saviours (read the British).

Even when our ancestors faced the wrath of invaders, struggling to save their homes, families and lives, (documented proofs and facts of such situations available in public domain) we have been made to believe that they happily lived under "Mughal Empire" & other invaders. An average Indian voter doesn't really understand what it's like to be invaded by or to live under a foreigner's rule. The freedom that we have enjoyed all these years, without any obligation of civic duties, have made us think less & less about what will happen if the same freedom is put at stake.

2. India has never faced a full fledged War on its streets

France, Russia, Ukraine and even England are living examples of the Nations that have faced bloody battles on the streets. Even now these countries have families who can recall the horror of such times. With such experiences a better sense of prioritising National Security comes naturally. India never had such a situation. We fought many wars but they were limited to our borders and previous governments never cared to include the stories of these battles in our history books.

Had we known the truths of Invasion of our great nation and the atrocities that our ancestors faced this air of apathy towards India's security issues would not have been the case.

Its a chicken & egg situation for India right now. Since India never faced a War that touched its population entirely, Indians tend to be careless about National Security. On the other hand, if Indians tend to continue their callousness towards country's security issues they might just end up with a War in their streets. Dangerous!

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Now is the right time to wake up from our slumber & look beyond roti, kapda, makkan or personal gains. Let us vow to keep Nation first every time & always and make our leaders, government & opposition accountable for it on a priority basis.

Thanks!

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Modi's Initiatives which will end Farmer's misery

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 07:15:00 +0000

Some situations often need an ignorant person to restore your faith in a cause. Sometimes it’s not the pundits but an ignorant layman who successfully convinces the masses for an act. The usual homecoming of Rahul Gandhi & the three day family drama of Congress party is one such situation. Don’t let media trump you to believe that Rahul has succeeded in turning opinion of millions against the Land Acquisition Bill (LAB), when in fact, it’s the opposite. He has succeeded in bringing the fence sitters to join NDA camp and support the LAB.

When in his rare parliament speech Rahul Gandhi mindlessly asked the Government: “What have you done for the farmers?” I knew he surely hasn’t spoken to a single soul in this country, after his return from lavish Holidays abroad, because if he had done so he would have known about the following:

“Per drop, more crop”: This is PM Modi’s mantra for agriculture which he recently unveiled while addressing Indian Council of Agricultural Research on its 86th Foundation Day. NDA government aims to end the despair of R&D wing of Government of India towards Agriculture sector. Aiming at July monsoon this year government wants to provide satellite based research reports to farmers for their Land to increase productivity and lowering the input costs. Farmers have already started moving on from Rain god to ‘Satellite God’.

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Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana: another taboo for past congress governments is being touched upon by current NDA government. With this 1000-crore irrigation scheme the Government has vowed to bring water to every farmland in India. Ambitious but yet a revolutionary step for Indian agriculture sector.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana: A scheme that aims at fixing the sad state of country’s poor & farmers, even after 60 years of Congress rule, works for financial inclusion of the last citizen in the queue. Till date it has provided 1,471 lakh zero-balance accounts with an insurance of Rs. 1 lac along with each account. This one of the biggest exercises of financial inclusion in the World has been hailed by World Bank and the United Nations as well.

Soil Health Card: The Central government has launched a scheme to issue Soil Health card for farmers. This will help farmers determine the right amount of fertilizers to be used to make the soil more productive and least contaminated. On an average a farmer can save 50,000 rupees on every 3 acre of land per year.

..all the above & much more in 10 months of NDA government. But, all that Rahul baba could claim in his speech was that “acchhe din” government has failed the Nation.

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Now, this is what Rahul baba did the other day. He framed his speech, as if to be delivered in an election campaign, by making hollow claims of what UPA had done in their 10 years rule. He never touched upon & argued on the above schemes initiated by the Modi government. Thus, it is safe to assume that the Modi government is working in the right direction for the benefit of farmers. And this is what restored my faith in the new Land Acquisition Bill too.

As a mature & world’s largest democracy it is a shame that we have such an opposition in the Parliament. Even after 10 months of the formation of new government the Congress party is unable to swallow its defeat and still seems to be in an electioneering mode. They make speeches boasting on what all good they think they did for farmers during their rule rather than debating on the new laws & bills. Should this be the role of an opposition & its leader?

Robert Vadra

To add to my confidence in support of the bill was the Indian media which hailed Rahul baba as an incarnation of Lord Buddha who came back enlightened from his 56 day vacation on foreign soil. This is the same Media that skilfully hides the fact that the same Rahul baba has a land usurper Robert Vadra as his brother-in-law while he champions for Farmer’s cause. Strange!

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Thanks!

An Open Letter to Arnab Goswami: #Presstitute is your Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 07:53:00 +0000

I am writing a letter to you Arnab since this is the only way where I can express myself uninterrupted without getting bullied by you. I must tell you that I have closely observed you. When two years back on NewsHour you started focusing on scams most of the prime time English news hungry public, including me, hailed you as one daring journo, and truly you were. As the UPA 2 regime piled up on scams one after the other you continued your aggression & noise on your shows. Come May 2014 we all know what became of the UPA. But very few know what became of you after that. As I said, I have closely observed you Arnab, so today I will tell you what had happened to you in May 2014.

The results of Lok Sabha election 2014 got into your head. Somebody made you believe, very strongly, that the UPA fall was because of the new ‘trendsetter’ in the town: Lord Arnab Goswami of the English prime time News Hour. You started believing that your baby, the News Hour, will now on decide the top agendas of this country. You started taking it as a personal achievement when it was not really you but others out there on streets fighting it out with the corrupt regime. You made it personal Arnab Goswami. A journalist reports on the events in the country. But you started reporting with an aim to set agendas. You shifted your focus less on journalism and more on influencing by sensationalism. From then you started disappointing me.

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Arnab, being focused on what you think is right is a good virtue. But when keeping focus in a particular direction is with an intention to only do something different, however wrong it may be, it becomes a boon. Trending #ShameOnTimesNow was one such moment that should have made you realize that your daily hour of 'daring journalism’, as you claim, had degraded to an arrogant irrational noisy hour. You had successfully brought street vandalism against out cricket team to a prime time news show. Congratulations. But that fine day you lost me as a viewer.

Being shamed by Tweeples, nevertheless, you chose to satisfy your appetite for sensationalism by going after a retired General of the Indian Army. Don’t tell me that you, the chief of a kangaroo court called ‘News Hour’ who investigates and gets secret documents on his debates, wasn't able to catch the sarcastic tone in General Singh’s statement. I mean, seriously, do you want me to believe that? You chose not hear the tone because you had made it personal with the General after he had strongly rebutted the media on his Pak Embassy visit reporting. You were waiting for something to catch hold of him again and you twisted his words to take your revenge. Always remember its you who started this.

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General VK Singh had joined the Army in 1970 and you were born in 1973. You see the point? One shouldn't mess with such an experienced armyman without facts. And that’s where you got a whacking insult. Thanks to you, Media stands exposed identified with a new terminology of “presstitutes”. You had never expected such a daring reply from the General but it’s not only you who can bully others. Right?

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Today your condition is like that of Hitler on the day of ’20 July Plot’, when after escaping death & getting seriously injured in a bomb blast in his headquarters he proudly declared “I am God, nobody can kill me”. This was his way of reassuring himself of his greatness which we all know was utterly false. Arnab Goswami, I don’t see the News Hour now but I assume you sensationalise, interrupt & bully as usual on your daily show. May be that’s your way to reassure yourself that you are still the 'God' for the English news hungry public. Retrospect before you push yourself to total irrelevance.

My Best Wishes!

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“My name is not Khan and I also have Human rights”

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 07:05:00 +0000

Disclaimer: This post does not intend to target any particular community or favour any other. It is just an analysis of some of the recent events in India.

Times have changed. In 2010 Karan Johar directed movie “My name is Khan” won much applause and accolades. This Shahrukh Khan starrer movie was on the sensitive issue of how a particular community was allegedly being treated in the USA after the deadly attacks of 9/11. Alas! Today, after 5 years the time has completely changed. It’s now the majority running for cover and begging for basic human rights in India. Lives are being lost, in vain, and we as a democracy should be ashamed for not supporting them. An apt title to picture this ordeal could be “My name is not Khan and I also have Human rights”.

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The “4^th pillar of Democracy”, as described by Edmund Burke in 1787 parliamentary debate in House of Commons of Great Britain, the main stream media (MSM)has come a long way in India. Today, they have the power to make an innocent person guilty OR let a guilty walk free and hailed by masses. This is a big power to possess and to my disappointment they are using it irresponsibly.

When injustice is done to a citizen and the system fails to offer relief it’s the MSM which he sees as the last ray of hope. The same media is now judging injustice with a lens of religion & community.

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Let me substantiate this fact through some recent events.

Firstly, an unfortunate incident of a nun being raped in a robbery incident occurs in West Bengal. MSM reports it and then over-reports it by debating if the minorities feel safe in India. Shockingly, not the same enthusiasm is shown when a sadhvi from the same state is gang raped just a day before the above incident. Was she not a citizen of this country? Doesn’t she have the same human rights as the nun? Do the so-called champions of liberty, proudly trending #SaveOurGirls on social sites, consider this a just act in democracy?

Secondly, we have seen debates on Church ‘vandalism’ which every time turns out to be a hoax or a simple law & order problem among the locals. But, have you seen this passion for reporting robbery and vandalism in temples? Are we not scared when a Hindu temple is barged in and robbed in broad daylight? Does the majority in India not vulnerable to same criminal elements as the minority?

There are many more such cases from the biggest news agencies in the MSM. Not all can be elaborated here. But the essence of the whole issue is the sense of insecurity & the loss of hope for justice settling in the majority of this country. I, as a Hindu, am scared. I am scared that if something wrong happens to me & my family in future then all these famous faces on the TV – Arnab, Barkha, Prannoy, Ravish, Rajdeep, Sagarika – won’t help me in exposing the injustice because I am a Hindu.

Media is an important part of democracy only when it acts impartially & in a fair manner. If at all it gets tangled in the politics of propaganda the MSM stops being productive and helpful to Nation building. I still hope the better minds in the MSM make efforts to bring the media out of this infamous image they have managed to earn.

Ironically, the media was mourning Lee Kuan Yew’s death. Had they learned only a bit from his views on Media’s role and their propaganda machinery it would have been a different India altogether.

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#Delhi - A Patient on Death bed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 23:08:00 +0000

Delhi has been a city of Inspiration and Legends from centuries. Apart from being the seat of power of a vast country like India it has also been a birthplace of new philosophies and ideas. Many of the ideas that emerged in Delhi have united this Nation, few others have ruined us. But in this election season it's much more than just a battle of ideas and ideologies. It's more of a battle between those who have proved themselves and those who haven't. And among all the battle chaos, I write this piece because I see a certain section of Delhiites not realizing the importance of proven abilities in political arena.

Past 15 years of Congress rule has brought Delhi to such a pathetic state that the anger of the residents against the Government has forced the Chief Minister to cancel her visit to several areas within the City. This is shameful for any state / country and shows the plight of its citizens. All these years of Congress rule have seen a sharp rise in crimes in Delhi and the recent events, that shook the Nation as a whole, display the reason why Delhi is often termed as one of the most unsafe cities in the Country.

The most unfortunate part for Delhi has been the fact that rather than accepting lapses and ill-governance the Delhi CM insensitively passes the buck to the Centre every time any horrific incident takes place in the city. Even the Corruption charges on Delhi CM involving millions of taxpayer's money come under the purview of passing-the-buck approach to Governance. Police inaction, corruption in institutions, power and water issues are some of the many issues that have made Delhi desperate for Good governance. No doubts that its majority has decided that Congress has ruined the chances it was given by Delhiites to prove its ability of delivering Good Governance.

Having said that let us see what other options Delhi has to rely on for Good-Governance. Let us start with the new entrant - AAP. This is a party born out of strong protests carried out in capital in the year 2011 against corruption. Lead by Anna Hazare these protests saw huge turn outs and great enthusiasm for their cause. Though the Gandhian activist Anna Hazare is not with AAP but most of the founding members of it were the organizers of the former protests. Their leader being Mr. Arvind Kejriwal.

I have a lot of respect for the bold initiative that this new party has taken. But when I look at AAP with hopes of finding solution to my problems, I feel disappointed. Firstly, AAP promises a "change" in Delhi's governance but has only one single point agenda of Anti-Corruption to do so. The extent of relating everything to its single point agenda is so unrealistic sometimes that it makes you wonder about the connect between reality and vision of AAP. Recently Mr. Kejriwal justified his vision by saying that if Lokpal would have been enforced in Delhi then the Onion prices would not have soared to Rs. 100/Kg. Any clues how can one arrive at such conclusion?

Secondly, if AAP really wants to bring "change" in the political system right from the roots to the top and have a clear vision for it that can be practically transformed into a good governance model then I wonder why didn't they start their career from Panchayat OR Muncipality level elections? They could have started from the roots, cleansed the system with their anti-corruption agenda and come up to the Delhi assembly voters with proven track record.

Straight away plunging into assembly elections and offering "change" that has serious doubts on its feasibility only shows their hunger for power. I see no difference in AAP's visions and Rahul Gandhi's rhetorical speeches since both are unproven and will make a Guinea pig out of my vote and constituency.

Second contender is BJP. They have recently shown a United front by declaring Mr. Harshavardhan as their CM candidate. He is a proven good administrator (as highly successfull Health Minister in NDA regime) and a clean political personality among the stalwarts fighting in Delhi elections. Moreover, BJP as a unit has a lot of experience in Good Governance in state and Centre level.

All the BJP governments have proven track records in states like Gujarat, M.P., Chattisgarh, Goa. Moreover, many of its Delhi unit leaders have vast experience as Ministers in NDA Governemnt which is by far the best Central Government we have seen. Besides, Much has been said and analysed about the performance of BJP led state governments and we have a proven model of Good Governance with them.

It wont be wrong if I say that the ill-treatment of Delhi by its Government has made it look like a patient fighting for life on its death bed. And assembly elections are an exercise to choose who is the best Doctor to cure this dying sufferer.

If Delhiites don't want their suffering city to be given as a Guinea pig for clinical (read political / administrative) trials in the hands of inexperienced Doctors (AAP), they should, at least this time, choose an experienced contender with Good track record (BJP) to make their city stand from the death bed, be cured and walk in next five years.

Within that span of time let us see how our inexperienced Doctor performs in curing the system from its roots (panchayats / municpalities) and lets decide about him in next turn.

Thanks!!

Prateek

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Why I will not Vote for Nandan Nilekani

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 21:01:00 +0000

Recently the National dailies were circulating a piece about the speculation of a stalwart from Information Technology, Mr. Nandan Nilekani, likely to contest in upcoming General Elections from South Bangalore seat. I being a resident and a registered voter of South Bangalore constituency chose to share my views on this new development.

The news seems to be great for the hope it might incur in a voter’s mind. It might seem to be the beginning of entry of urban educated middle class in politics. Interestingly, some have even gone as far to claim it to be a stepping stone to clean the Politics. But is it really so? I feel it is good that a person like Mr. Nilekani is entering politics. We need more like him. But by contesting elections from the side of a party ruled by dynasty he will end up diminishing the same values that he represents and have been a driving force for him on his journey from a normal middle-class boy to the legendry icon he is today. Wondering how?

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“Values are supposed to define who you are” writes the legendary Jennifer Crusie in one of her books. So what does Mr. Nilekani’s values define about him? He rose up from being a normal techie in a software company in Bangalore to being one of the founding fathers of an IT giant INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES, which is acclaimed for putting India on the world stage in the field of IT. No doubts that he did it with his sheer hard-work, intelligence and the right attitude of building up an organization brick by brick with right people at the right place.

So then why will I not vote for Mr. Nandan Nilekani? It is because Mr. Nilekani, if decides to contest elections from Congress ticket, will end up adding fuel to fire to a dangerous trend of sycophancy that is preying on some of the best and well-educated intelligent minds of our country. An example of this disease engulfing our people was seen recently when Mr. Manmohan Singh - Prime Minister & ex-Finance Minister of second most populous country in the world, a University of Cambridge and University of Oxford graduate – praised a young member of Gandhi dynasty – who does not have any proven record of administration and even education – and even went as far to issue a certificate of eligibility to him for the post of PM (Read Here).

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Seeing such educated minds letting themselves fall in the category of renowned sycophants as Khurshids and Digvijays (ironically they too are educated men) evokes a feeling of astonishment, shame and pity at the same time. One wonders what force or need is so strong that makes them shower such high praises and worship a person who has not shown any ability for even oratory let alone administration. One is compelled to think usefulness of such high education, numerous degrees & accolades from across the globe if such people are ready to sacrifice Nation’s interest by willing to give its baton in the hands of an inexperienced and undeserving man just because he has taken birth in a renowned dynasty family.

This is where I see Mr. Nilekani on the verge of falling. A corporate company, like the one he created, works on strict rules and policy of having the right talent and experience at the right designation within the organization. Young minds work hard, learn and rise up the ladder in Corporate world, of which Mr. Nilekani is an Icon for innumerable youths in this country. It would be a shame seeing Mr Nilekani – a person who instilled the value of hard work and ability in the organization he founded - praising the likes of Rahul Gandhi without any proof of their knowledge and experience in the field of administration. I wonder if he would have done something like this when he was in the process of cultivating values in INFOSYS.

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I am an IT engineer myself and have seen Mr. Murthy and Mr. Nilekani with lot of respect all my years in this field (Read Here). How in the world can Mr. Nilekani explain turning into a sycophant after coming from a field that does not promote dynasty culture? How on earth can he clarify his turning into an advocate of inexperience and inability when in his own company he nurtures a culture of hard work, talent growth and accountability?

For those who think that this might be the right step and he would initiate the cleansing of politics that we desire my reply is simple. In Congress party whosoever has not bowed his or her head in front of the family has been thrown out or has been reduced to nothing better than non-existent. Thus, cleansing and sycophancy can never go hand in hand. One of them has to be given up and it won’t be sycophancy in case of Congress.

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Anyways, there is still a lot of time left in General Elections. If, in the meanwhile, Mr. Nilekani decides to change sides and switch to any cadre based parties like AAP, BJP etc. then he might change my choice for Vote because then he will represent the same values that we all hail him for. I hope that happens for the good of the Nation.

Otherwise, if the start of a politician’s career is marked by discarding all the values that he has till now lived for and has preached all his life then I am not sure how much normal voters might be able to trust him for their future.

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“If we keep treating our most important values as meaningless relics, that's exactly what they'll become”

Thanks,

Prateek

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"Chote Sarkaar, Nakhre Hazaar aur Desh Barbaad"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 23:31:00 +0000

"Those who want to reap the benefits of a great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it" said the Great English-American revolutionary Thomas Paine. Unfortunately, he did not live to see how India has modified these words of wisdom with their own version of Democracy. From quite a few years, a decade to be precise, our federal structure has been following a rule - "Reap the benefits of a Great Nation and let the whole Nation bear the fatigue of supporting it". And all this is made possible by no other than hundreds of regional parties - "Chote Sarkaar" in my vocabulary - across the Country. DMK, SP, NCP, JDU being the driving force behind this change.

I will explain the roots of my protests against the regional parties named above. But before that I want to clearly mention that I am not against the presence of regional parties in our polity. After all, this is one the best tools for a Democracy like ours to represent the concerns of the people from even the most remote parts of the country. However, my concern are the ways this efficient tool is being denuded off its moral responsibility towards the Nation as a whole and hence my protest is towards the involvement of such regional parties in National Elections. Let us see case by case.

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First case under study is the LTTE issue in Sri Lanka and the toll it has taken on us as a Nation. What happened with Tamils in Sri Lanka was not Humane in any sense. But to have a brush with the history, I should reiterate that an Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was deployed in Sri Lanka in 1987 to counter LTTE and it comprised of soldiers from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

We all know how badly it failed (Read Here) - mainly due to political blunders which I shall address in another post - and how many of our soldiers got massacred at the hands of LTTE. To be exact, the count stops at 1200 (Read here). Also, the LTTE assassinated an Indian Prime Minister as well. This remains nothing less than a shame for our country till date.

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Now, let us look at the reactions of major regional parties of Tamil Nadu on this conflict - DMK being the oldest of them all - after the end of Civil War in Sri Lanka which marked the elimination of LTTE to it core. As a part of UPA 2 the DMK made Indian Government keep off from the bids for the sea ports construction that were offered by the Sri Lankan government.

Result? China bagged a mega deal and found an easy way into Indian Ocean closer to our borders on the South. China's regular mischiefs along the borders on the North is nothing new but in spite of being aware of the dangers if we have let it come closer to us from all sides, as in this case, then its a National Security concern visible enough even to everyone.

Does it make sense to risk a Nation's security as a whole for some regional issue, which in-fact in this case is an internal issue of a foreign country altogether? Concern for Human Rights could have been raised in UN or in other International forums and we could have saved our waters from intrusion by China if the policy of NOT keeping the NATION FIRST for petty gains would not have been followed by regional parties of Tamil Nadu.

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Second comes the combined case of SP (in U.P.) and NCP (in Maharashtra). Both the parties have only one aim - grab Money in form of dole-outs to State Governments by the Centre. Every now and then they threaten to pull their support from the Centre Government and in return flush out some thousands of crores in the name of grants for Agricultural progress of their respective states. Interestingly, the progress only appears to be of their bank balances and nowhere else in the state.

Moreover, having a larger part of the cultivable land of the Nation these acts of corruption by SP and NCP cause a deep negative impact on the production of food for the masses which is again one of the causes for inflation and higher account deficit for the country. The drastic case of two decade long drought in Vidarbha in Maharashtra is a classic example to support this argument.

In UP its even worse now. Samajwadi Party has extended this policy of blackmail to get a no-action assurance from the Centre Government on cases of failed governance in the state (read Muzzafarnagar and other 100s of riots in UP).

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The UP state Government has even gone to the extent of releasing terrorists locked up in different jails of the state for showing it as a good gesture towards a particular community in a hope to ensure the loyalty of their votes for Mulayam and Akilesh Yadav (Read here). Who will bear the losses from the deadly actions of the terrorists released by UP Government for mere vote-bank politics? Of course, the NATION as a whole.

Lets move on to the next case - Janta dal United (JDU). JDU, the ruling party in Bihar, is the most interesting in this lot. On one hand Mr. Nitish Kumar claims his governance model to be the best in the country and "inclusive". And on the other hand he regularly visits Delhi to beg for 'Special Status' for Bihar. His definition of "inclusive growth", it seems, is to devise a way to remain backward and eat on the resources of the rest of the country which have come by sheer handwork of the people and development in other states.

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If Mr. Nitish Kumar is a so confident of his "inclusive" model of growth and governance then why doesn't he lift Bihar to a level where they need not beg special favours from other governments? Why should the Nation bear the burnt of his ill-governance, lack of innovation and hard-work to lift-up his state in the race for Development like other exemplary states have done?

All these problems of blackmails by regional parties can be brought to a halt in Indian Democratic structure if the rules for contesting elections at National level are made more tough for the regional parties.

By raising the bar of minimum number of seats required, in at least three-fourth of states in the Country, for a regional party to contest elections at National level this problem can be solved OR that we simply STOP voting for regional parties in National Elections.

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However, on an ending note this must also be made clear that a solution can come in different views & forms very easily but if ever we want it to come on paper, to get our polity rid of this evil, then there are several actions to be taken before that. First and foremost is to do away with the weakest Central leadership,

that we have today, that shamelessly tolerates and even publicly puts "Coalition Compulsions" - I call them "Nakhre Hazzar" - as an excuse for looting and weakening this country - finally "Desh Barbaad".

Thanks,

Prateek

GDP : Great Days of Pessimism

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 00:35:00 +0000

A recent event made me remember something similar from my childhood memories. The day my results used to come in those early school days of mine, I used to plan carefully of how to defend myself while declaring the results at home. One very easy strategy was to tell my mother that everybody in the class had got less grades in a particular subject in which I had not fared well.

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To make my point I used to add a few names, known to my mother as my classmates, as the victims of the same injustice that was done to me. However, never ever would I mention the names of the ones who had fared well in the same subject. That could have made my defence collapse then and there itself. Initially this great tactics worked well, but then it started failing miserably.

Now, the cause of sharing this sweet childhood remembrance? A speech. A similar tactics. A failed attempt to hide one's failures - "(A series of events) are now sharply pulling down not just the Rupee, but also the Brazilian Real, the Turkish Lira, the Indonesian Rupiah, the South African Rand and many other currencies". This statement was made by an "aggressive" PM on the floor of the Parliament on 30 Aug 2013. First of all, I have dealt and written enough on the issue of so-called "aggressive" and "wonderful" speeches of Mr. PM in one of my previous posts appropriately named "When Lambs try to sound like Lions". However, what I see in this speech, especially at a time of utter despair and disappointment in the country on issues of inflation, account deficit and overall economy, is the sheer pessimism and helplessness for a citizen on a day when the GDP figures for the first quarter of this fiscal year are released.

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Coming to the specifics of the statement. It doesn't help Mr. PM in any way - in trying to get away with the incompetencies of UPA - that along with the Indian rupee every other currency he mentioned was having a free fall. If even after all these years of being ruled by an "Economist" like him we are comparing ourselves with Indonesia and Turkey (thank god he did not mention Pakistan) then God knows what Mr. PM has actually brought on the table for this country during his tenure.

Secondly, he says "On May 22, 2013, the US Federal Reserve Bank indicated that it would soon ‘taper’ its quantitative easing as the US economy was recovering. This led to a reversal of capital flows to emerging economies which are now sharply pulling down not just the Rupee, but also the Brazilian Real, the Turkish Lira, the Indonesian Rupiah, the South African Rand and many other currencies". Why is shying away from mentioning currencies like JPY (Japanese Yen) which have not taken a free fall due to the reasons stated above? Is it fair to have selective observations in a speech being delivered in the Parliament to deceive people of this country about the pathetic state of Governance which UPA has unleashed for India during the last decade?

Going forward he mentions - "Many foreign analysts worry about banking problems that may arise in the wake of the currency crisis. The Indian banking sector has seen some rise in bad loans". Now that's a daring statement to make. Because, if he remembers clearly UPA 1 had famously gone with its 52,275-crore loan waiver scheme just before elections. A few years into UPA 2 and it is revealed that around 34 lakh farmers (out of 3.45 crore) did not get the waivers and another 24 lakh parties got undue waiver of loans which amounts to another good amount of SCAM (Read Here) which now Mr. PM explains very casually in the parliament. If these scams (read Coalgate, 2G, CWG, Choppergate etc. etc.) and doles for votes are not responsible for the current economic distress of ours then who is? USA? Dollar?

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Further he puts - "In 2010-11 and the years prior to it, our current account deficit was more modest and financing it was not difficult, even in the crisis year of 2008-09. Since then, there has been a deterioration, mainly on account of huge imports of gold, higher costs of crude oil imports and recently, of coal. On the export side, weak demand in our major markets has kept our exports from growing. Exports have been further hit by a collapse in iron ore exports. Taken together, these factors have made our current account deficit unsustainable large". On a lighter note, I am glad he did not say that import of LED TVs have made our fiscal deficit increase manifold as this was quite evident from the recent measures taken by the Government.

However, just to put on record, in 2008 India's fiscal deficit was $70 billion, in 2010 it was $81.9 billion and in 2012 was $88 billion. With an increasing figures like these if Mr. PM is so worried and aware about the fiscal deficit why did he not oppose the Food Security Bill at this time of crisis? Industry mood is at all time low and he is anticipating at a reduction of CAD (current fiscal deficit), that too a whooping $18 billion? Wow!!

Well, there are several other points to rip apart in his speech but the real pessimism comes out of the fact that there's literally nothing in it that could lift the mood of a common man. Inflation will certainly rise in coming months. May be especially drafted Onion security OR a Vegetable security bill might be brought to save us from the mess we have been put in. There's nothing on loss of jobs and rising unemployment.

Track record of UPA's so-called "inclusive" growth has been almost without any rise in employment numbers. What about that? Who is responsible and who will fix? Probably, immigration policy makers of USA.

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For coming few more months and, hopefully, extending to not more than a year from now the days when GDP numbers will be declared will be the Great Days of Pessimism (GDP) for majority of the people in this country who work hard for a decent life. All of this because we chose the wrong side, TWICE.

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Thanks,

Prateek

Political Consultancy – A New Trend that needs to be defeated by Voters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 11:24:00 +0000

Facts show that recently the most emerging & prosperous job in the World is that of a Consultant. In this job one does not own responsibility of a given situation and neither is entitled to the blames for failures, if any. But yes, one could easily take the credit of Successes made at the cost of others’ hard work and that’s the real beauty of being a Consultant.

All was good with being a Consultant till now unless it started creeping into the political arena of India and that too at the helm of power centres of this Country. Typical example being our current PM followed by the seasonal creatures of Politics, appearing only during election seasons, who are also the members of the “First Family of India”, namely the Gandhis (I hate to write this phrase but unfortunately this has become the truth of India and ironically, we call ourselves the biggest Democracy in the World).

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Below I will describe some of the Qualities that Consultants hold to keep their jobs afloat and interestingly we have peculiar examples from our power centers that show the practical use of the same -

Consultant Quality No.1 – Speak only when pushed to the point of desperation

It is always the case with a not-so-expert Consultant that he gives comments or views about a particular situation only when pushed to the verge of desperately saving his/her job. The reluctance is due to the fact that nobody wants to get exposed with their in-capabilities and lack of knowledge in their jobs. Similarly, the reluctance in expressing a clear view on any issue has now become a trademark of our once-so-honest PM. On issues which make our daily news appetite like Soldiers being killed, foreign countries invading our lands, Maoists posing a threat to Internal Security, Scams and Corruption feeding on public money, women being brutally raped and so on, our PM mostly remains silent till he is pushed to the verge by public anger or political advisors to uninterestingly read a speech from somewhere.

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The so-called youth leader and future PM for Congress sycophants, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, is another one to fall fit in this category. As a favorite youth icon of a section of media - that’s off the ground reality by miles - Mr. Gandhi never showed up when the youth of this country was flooding the streets with anger against corruption, ill-governance and pathetic state of safety of women in this Country. In fact, he even went a step ahead of Mr. PM and never, till date, has given any views on all these issues.

Consultant Quality No.2 – “Solutions” are a part of a Consultant’s job description, “Actions” are never.

To know what Solutions without a pinch of Action result into, we can pick up our current elected Government’s track record as a perfect case study. Speeches of our PM, Mr. Gandhi, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi are full of what they think is the ideal “Solution”. However, they are addressed in a way that you get a feeling that these personalities are sitting in the opposition party of this Country. Surprisingly, these are the people at the helm of the Government who are responsible for actual actions on the ground to solve our problems but they speak as if giving advice to someone else, someone so mysterious that we do not know yet even after 10 years of their rule.

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Examples – Our PM said “We will not forget those who died in 26/11 and the perpetrators of the attack should be brought to the book” and yet he goes and shakes hands with Pakistan’s PM in Sharm el-Sheikh to concede to all the points made by him and gives away the cause of Indians.

Mrs. Sonia Gandhi writes to PM about making sure that no injustice is done to the honest IAS officer Durga in UP over the issue of land mafia. Result? The Officer gets suspended for doing the right thing and nobody intervenes. Besides, there was no follow-up from Mrs. Gandhi.

Finally, coming to Rahul baba, with all his jumbled and confusing speech about India as beehive and so on and so forth, he talks in praise about Indian youth and their aspirations. Generations of Gandhi family have contested from Raebareli and Amethi but what is the development in these constituencies? What about the aspirations of youth in these two tiny districts, leave alone the nation as a whole?

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I hail from Lucknow and it’s my personal experience that makes me say that Raebareli and Amethi are still the third grade cities in Uttar Pradesh. A bus journey from Lucknow to Allahabad says it all. In the district of Raebareli roads are pathetic. Drains full of filth overflow on city roads. A full scale description of the situation there would eat up all the space of this Blog.

Consultant Quality No. 3 – Take up Responsibility? Are you kidding?

This is the best part of being a Consultant. You are not responsible for the results of the situation for which you have given a “solution”. Nobody can dare ask you for owning up the responsibility of the failure that has occurred in the course of your consultation. You can anytime blame someone else for the wrong execution of your directions OR, even better, you can blame the overall World environment for the present condition and get away easily.

Such a quality is a part and parcel of a Consultant’s services to a Corporate which may cost it a few billion dollars. But for a Nation this snowballs into a huge cost of life, security & wealth. The only way PM can sideline himself from the huge scams of Congress led UPA government is by admitting that he is just working as a consultant and does not really takes up responsibility of his cabinet team. He can thereby change the designation of “PM” to “PM-in-C” (Prime Minister in Consultation) for his own ease and Nation’s clarity.

Leave alone his team of incompetent ministers; Mr. PM doesn’t own the responsibility of the one and only thing he was supposed to be expert of – Economy. Now that we are in shatters he blames it on our bad luck to be caught in a gloomy World Economic situation. This is Crap!! U.S. is recovering fast from depression; Europe has controlled the gloom it faced a year back. And here we are with the worst performing Currency of the world, rising prices and expected to live at 28 Rupees per day. Pathetic!!

I would have given benefit of doubt to Mr. PM and his team if he would have portrayed the right picture of the situation and told clearly that it has been the mistake of UPA that stalled major Infrastructure and other projects in the country that caused this situation and that now they are doing everything they can to make things better. That could have, in fact, fetched few votes as well. But it seems the so-called honest PM does not consider Honesty to be the best policy in politics.

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As for the case of electoral season personalities of Indian politics – the Gandhi family – they have refused to even come out clean in the case of Robert Vadra – the other Gandhi family member. When you are in public life – that too in a life that drives this Nation – you can’t be cocooned in your own world of sycophants without coming clean on issues closely related to your family, especially when the issues are hurting the heart of an already economically downgraded Nation.

The above qualities (or the opposite) do work in Corporates and Private sector jobs but when it creeps into National polity it becomes a worrisome issue for the citizens of the country who are the real doers of the Nation. People can’t just afford to sit at helm without taking responsibility and ignoring the facts. They can’t just be sheltered in the name of family backgrounds and whatever their forefathers had done or dreamt for this Nation.

This is the same situation as when first time the contenders started fighting elections from Jail. If we would have collectively discarded voting for such contestants then we would not have had criminals sitting on top of the system framing our laws. But this time we have to stop these kinds of no-doers and Consultants from entering our parliament. This is what Democracy stands for – Action & Development.

Thanks!!

Prateek

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Now, the Onus is on the people of Bihar

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:43:00 +0000

Don't be mistaken as to what "Onus" I am talking about in the topic of this post. This is in no way near to the "Certificate" that Mr. Nitish has, out of desperation, tried to give Mr. Modi and disapprove him as BJP's candidate for PM, which anyway would happen in 2014 irrespective of what Mr. Nitish thinks. What I am talking about here is that this is the time when people of Bihar have to decide that they have to break away from their stereotyped image of being poor & under-developed or they have to again fall prey to "symbolisms" of pseudo-seculars like Mr. Nitish and keep concentrating on vote-bank politics rather than on development agendas.

The biggest unfortunate part of Bihar's history has been the fact that politicians have always convinced them of being poor and underprivileged. In fact, most of them have worked hard to keep them that way to continue with their political ambitions. What Mr. Nitish Kumar is doing now is no different than this.

Firstly, Mr. Nitish Kumar is highly active & enthusiastic in arranging rallies for demanding special status for Bihar. His argument being that since Bihar is the most backward state of the country so it needs special treatment from the centre, which officially tags Bihar as the state of the under-privileged. Let me tell you Mr. Nitish that Biharis are not beggars like what you have projected them to be for your selfish political motives. People of Bihar are the most intelligent lots of this country who contribute the maximum in the service of this nation in form of Civil Servants & Defence personnel & equally in almost every other field. The image that Mr. Nitish has been taking around of the state is undermining the efforts of the people of this great land.

Secondly, and ironically, the same Mr. Nitish Kumar is not so hyperactive when he's suggested to apply a famously tried and tested good governance formula, that has been successfully applied in some other states of the country, in his own state. Without even giving it a thought & an experimental space in his state, he declares "Gujarat model cannot be applied to Bihar". A good leader, as he has been projected to be by the media (the same media that finds Rahul baba's speeches full of vision), always adopts good ideas gracefully to do something better for his people. Gujarat model has proved to be the most successful model of Governance in the country may it be politically, economically or socially. And to shun the best Governance structure without even trying it just brings out in public the vested personal & political interest that Mr. Nitish Kumar has in projecting his people as the most poor & backward lots of this nation, which is contrary to what they are.

Thirdly, I suggest Mr. Nitish to visit Gujarat once because that will enlighten him about the real meaning of the word "Inclusive Growth". In last elections of Gujarat in November 2012 and after that in bye-polls in Jan 2013 BJP, under the leadership of Mr. Modi, has won from constituencies having majority Muslim population. That's called Inclusive Development. I cannot agree to the point that Mr. Nitish might have been fooled by the Congress's propaganda machinery against the Gujarat model of Growth. If that is so then he is no better than people in far isolated districts of this Nation where they still vote for Congress in the name of Indira Gandhi and, thus, he should quit being a CM of an Indian state. But still, he chooses to frame his own definition of "Growth" in Bihar without having any credible evidence of what he says is "Inclusive".

Lastly, taking forward the legacy of leaders who have always worked hard to keep the status quo of the state of poverty in Bihar for decades, Mr. Nitish has done a daring act. In the times when people of this country, rural or urban, are moving forward and maturing in their thoughts & outlook of the World, Mr. Nitish has skilfully tried to throw the people of Bihar off the peak of their confidence & emergence into a valley of vote-bank politics & symbolism. If wearing a Muslim cap on head or a Tilak on forehead would have solved the problems of people from different communities then we would have been a happy nation by now. Instead, if he would concentrate on giving results & hence choose to "wear" his accomplishments, of uplifting Biharis & ending the stereotype that they have been locked in for ages, on his sleeves then that will be a much better and matured path for his political success.

I know that people Bihar have matured and are poised to progress economically & socially. However, the onus is on them if they want to choose someone as their leader who realises their dreams & diverts their energies for the best of their state & country OR someone who begs for special status, doesn't adopt new ideas of the changing world & takes them back to old age era of vote-bank politics. YOU CHOOSE.

Remember - do caste your Vote!!!

Thanks,
Prateek

The Curious case of Mr. Singh

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:39:00 +0000

"Mr. Manmohan Singh is an overrated Economist & an underrated politician" were the explosive words of ex-Finance minister Mr. Yashwant Sinha after an interview of PM to a leading newspaper a few months back. If one considers the facts from last 9 years of "consultancy" given by Mr. Manmohan Singh to the central government then the truth of the above statement comes out to be astonishing. However, that is not going to be the only content of this post. It is just a coincidence that my two consecutive posts have been devoted to the spineless but shrewd hypocrisy of Mr. Prime Minister but, unfortunately, some of the recent incidents just made my fingers pen down the content that follows.

Recently, UPA lost one of its major ally DMK on the issue of UN resolution against Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Tamil issue itself is one of the greatest blunders of UPA-1 & UPA-2. The lame policies this government has helped increase the presence of our biggest rival China in major portion of the Indian Ocean. But that is not in my scope today. What I want to bring to the notice of my readers are the events after the withdrawal of the support & Mr. Manmohan Singh's reaction to them which strongly prove the worth of the opening statement made by Mr. Yashwant Sinha.

Event - CBI raid on Mr. Stalin's house in relation with the case of illegally imported cars.

Reactions - "PM upset with CBI raids on Stalin's house". Another channel quotes Mr. PM as "We are all upset at these events. The government had no role in this that I am sure of. We will find out the details. This should not have happened."

Firstly, either I am not aware of the facts or I am just not searching deep down in my memory enough that I am unable to recall such a quick reaction from Mr. Manmohan Singh on any issue till date. In fact, the most touching issues of this country made him speak after 8 days. " Theek Hai"!!! Issues like national security, inflation, terrorism & domestic violence have hardly been spoken about by Mr. PM in last decade until people have flooded the streets in anger. However, he chooses to respond promptly & promises to look into the matter of CBI doing its job against a wrong-doer. Amazing!! Who says PM doesn't know Politics. In fact, he reacts promptly to be politically correct.

Secondly, CBI has always been controlled by Congress to "manage" its allies, who undoubtedly have a long list of corruption cases against them. This raid is just another chapter in the long history of dossier-politics played by Congress. If someone argues that the timing of the raids might just be coincidental with the current political situation then the first reaction by Dr. Manmohan Singh, promising to "find out the details", gives a satisfactory counter-argument that UPA controls CBI so much that it can even order the agency to explain & backtrack its investigative procedure if its against Congress's political interests. Who thinks this to be a work of some beginner politician?

Lastly, Mr. PM has skilfully sidetracked from major scams involving him & his own office. Even when documents reveal that PM office had full knowledge of 2G spectrum auction & scam that followed, Mr. Singh has kept distance from the issue saying he was at an "arm's length" with Raja. In fact, this kind of ridiculous face-saving explanations, in presence of all the documents proving the opposite, can only be thought of by a proficient political mind.

The saddest part of all these observations is that due to lack of prompt reactions & power to control administration by a person enjoying the maximum authority one can have in this country, Mr. Manmohan Singh has made us look lame on various fronts. However, he chooses to be the opposite, even to the extent of curbing the investigations against the culprit, when it comes to survival of a lame Government by few more days. God save India!!

Thanks!!

When Lambs try to sound like Lions..

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 05:34:00 +0000

The problem with highly incompetent people is that a slightest deviation from their usual lethargic behaviour comes as a shocker and most of the times they successfully take others for a ride on hopes that their incompetency has ended. Little do the others realise that this is just a deviation to disguise their past failures, repercussions of which cannot be undone anymore. Most of them end up being fooled who think the era of incompetency has ended its stint in such a person’s life. Something similar happened this week on our national stage. Guess what. Our honourable Prime-minister spoke.

Mr. Manmohan Singh has earned such an image of a highly introvert person, who speaks only when pushed to the brink, that his speaking in parliament is considered a deviation from his usual behaviour worth becoming front-page headlines. Now, I do not have anything against introverts. In fact, most of the successful people in this world have been introverts. But, such a no-mouth-opening attitude from a PM on issues ranging from corruption to terrorism to inflation is unacceptable. Moreover, what is more unacceptable is the angle of coverage that media gives him when he speaks.

A person’s inability to realise the expectations of millions he is ruling & inability to communicate with them to give them a healing touch, in times when they are surrounded by basic problems of life as rising prices & violence, cannot become an excuse of accepting whatever rhetoric he says at times when he speaks. This is why I am not prepared to buy whatever Mr. PM said in Lok Sabha on 6th March 2013. His facts in the speech were baseless & most of the important issues were never even mentioned by him in the speech. Moreover, some of the issues had the same decade old response – “we will not spare anyone found guilty”.

The media has been covering the speech of PM as if he has made a history of some kind in replying to Mrs. Sushma Swaraj & Mr. Arun Jaietly, the oratory levels of whom cannot be reached by him even in dreams. Moreover, its not only about their oratory skills, the speeches of Mrs. Sushma Swaraj (watch here) & Mr. Arun Jaietly (watch here) have more valid facts than rhetoric which have vision and logic & thus make them worth listening. However, in this case, Media ignored the content of Mr. Manmohan Singh’s speech and concentrated on the fact that he replied to the opposition with couplets & shayaris, which made his speech wonderful (as per MMS standard).

What good did it bring to the Nation & to the parliament debate for that matter to include shayaris in the speech rather than mentioning that how exactly the UPA is trying to curb corruption? What would have been more fruitful for the PM – including shayaris or including future plans of the UPA to bring down the heat of rising inflation on aam admi? But no. Important issues were never touched & Mr. PM took the easy way out by not answering any of them while the media got busy biting the bait of sher-shayari extended by him.

I will here mention some points from the speech of Mr. PM which were false factually & still no one in the media circle bothered to have a detailed look –

1. We are facing a situation of Global slowdown which is affecting our economy – To start with, we all know that Mr. PM takes credit for a high GDP during UPA1 rule. However, he fails to mention that during 2004-08 global economic situation was far better than what it is now. Thus, if he is blaming the global meltdown for our bad economic situation then by the same logic he should not give credit of high GDP to his government but to the better global situation at that time.

2. UPA has given better growth than NDA – unless the citizen of this nation is a fool, we all know that no major economic policy changes were made during UPA1 (until the election year, of course, when congress came out with its usual freebies to win votes and tumble the economy). So, it was a continuation of NDA’s economic policy which was designed with a long term vision. Thus, the better growth in all sectors should be accredited to NDA more than to UPA1.

3. Even states like Bihar, M.P., U.P. which are considered poor have done better in UPA rule – Dear Mr. PM, if I am not wrong, all these states are run by non-UPA, non- Congress governments. Thus, this is totally not a point to take credit for.

4. Slow industrial growth is a concern – I guess the only word in Mr. PM’s dicitionary is “concern” and there’s nothing as “action”. Slow industrial growth and policy paralysis has been evident from last couple of years when big corporates like Tata & Birla (Read HERE and HERE) have started telling publicly the messed up condition of Governance from New Delhi. In fact, no more words on the action being taken from Mr. PM is a concern for us.

There are several other points in his speech that were simply far from actual facts. I write this to make our people understand that a random once-in-9-year speech of PM is not what it has been projected to be. We have enough of poems in our academics & hell lot of shayaris in Bollywood. We do not need these from a PM’s speech in parliament. What we actually need is a vision & assurance of an existing plan to make our lives easier so that we can send our children to school to learn poems from the same academics & we can safely go and watch weekly Bollywood movies in theatres that teach us shayaris.

Thanks

I am outraged!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:05:00 +0000

I, no other than the youth of this country that sparked a series of protests at India Gate recently, am outraged!! In last five years we have witnessed two major occasions when the ordinary citizen had to stand up and vent his anger on streets of Delhi to make this incompetent Government act on some of the basic & important issues that touch our lives. I will put my points on the impact that these two events had on the young minds of this country.

First came the Protests against corruption & the demand for a Jan Lokpal that can keep a watch on the misdeeds of the Ministers (after the irresponsible behaviour shown by the UPA ministry in last 9 years). Lead by a former soldier and Gandhi-an socialist Anna Hazare people protested strongly against an evil that is eating up their hard-earned money from decades. Result?? Government seen running for cover, putting together an illogical Lokpal Bill in hustle with clauses that ultimately bring a greater control of Government on the civil society groups. Media, unable to evaluate the new trend of this outrageous society and failing to differentiate it from the usual political rallies they are used to cover, started assessing the success of protests by the number of people turning up on streets. Not even one of the media houses now concentrates on the fact that slowly & swiftly the Government has been successful in maintaining a status quo like the last 50 years in case of Lokpal bill & investigation of corruption cases. No wonder this is a confidence booster for the corrupts in power to continue with their loot.

Second, the real shocker, is the recent outrage of the people across the country in wake of brutal Delhi gang-rape. The whole course of event had nothing new in it for a city like Delhi. Rapes, kidnappings & other crimes are flourishing in the city in last 5-6 years at full pace. This horrific incident just brought together every section of society, with their patience running out, on the deteriorating conditions of the City. Peaceful marches, protests to India Gate & then to North Block were a symbol that we believe in our country's democracy and pay homage to our martyrs but at the same time we have woken up to the incompetency and careless attitude of UPA towards the security of citizens. Enough is Enough was the call.

The second series of protests met with the same fate & saw a drastic drying up of crowds. However, media was much more sensitive and critical of the government this time, concentrating & debating on the right points. But the question still remains "will the anger be converted to actions any soon?". I think the question lies in the following analysis.

What both the issues had in common is the involvement of the masses. Not only the protests but also the root of the problem in both the cases involve a closer look of the same public that was on road venting anger after the incident. In simple words if I had to summarise the root causes of above two incidents I would choose to say that "our society has disintegrated & rotten up by constant incompetent & lethargic governance in last four decades (barring a few years which ill explain in my other posts) and we continue to degenerate constantly unless we do something about it as a mature citizen of this great Nation by using the right to vote sensibly".

Nothing in a social scenario changes overnight. The illogical vote bank governance of going soft on influential people and instead punishing the police over the years has demoralised and shaped authorities with a mentality of not acting responsibly. Similarly, the same behaviour has made people go berserk with any form of violence on streets because they have confidence in the incompetency instilled into the policing by the Government.

My readers from Delhi will agree to me if I say that in the capital city there have been numerous cases when traffic policemen have landed themselves in trouble by simply carrying out their duty on some influential people in the city. Such incidents demotivate the police personnel and they surely wont react responsibly the next time they see a law being broken on the streets in front of their eyes. As a continuation to this chain reaction a whole new generation in our society has grown up seeing police doing nothing against the wrong-doers and that has, sadly, become a new normal for them.

Its a horrifying analysis but the truth is that this is where a visionless & incompetent governance has taken our society in last decade. I'll put forward one examples out of many others to support the above analysis.

On 4th August 1982 Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic) Kiran Bedi ordered a challan of PM Indira Gandhi's Car for wrong parking. Result? She was transferred to Goa for carrying out her duty. Now imagine what would have been the tragic impact on the morale of the police force as a whole when their Commissioner gets punished for doing the right thing. This incident, may be a small incident in eyes of few, according to me was a big jolt to the police organisation that completely shaped its actions in every aspect after that day.

There are lot of such cases description of whom will make this internet space look smaller. But here is the point. We never came on streets when we saw our system being played with by incompetent, leaderless Government. We did not care when incidents such as above were made into only small stories on some inside page in the newspapers. We never understood the gravity of such events, taking place all across the country, which unfortunately are the main causes of our candle marches & protests these days. History tells us clearly that the majority of Governments since independence have taken advantage of this ignorance of ours. And the result is as we see today - outrage pouring on streets.

I have always believed that the youth of India today is energetic, has vision & capabilities to create wonders across the globe. We do not deserve to be lead by some sycophants, visionless people who are incapable of leading. I AM OUTRAGED of being on streets again & again. I AM OUTRAGED on the incompetencies that have been infused into almost all the Government organisations by a visionless government in the past decade. Let us take a vow to change this in future.

LOOK AT THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM & NOT ONLY THE REMEDIES.

Democracy Vs Pseudo-Democracy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 21:23:00 +0000

Rational thinking & rational actions have just becomerare these days in Politics of our country. The virus that has cleared everysingle trace of rationalism is Vote-Bank. The trend setup by our own rulingleaders in the past is now starting to cripple the country. This isn’t a newtopic I am discussing today but when vote-bank politics joins hands withpseudo-secularism then it endangers the social ethics, peace & harmony of asociety.

The triggering event responsible for the outburst of myideas in a blog has been some recent events in Uttar Pradesh. The recentlyelected Samajwadi Party’s Government has decided to drop some ongoing critical casesin the state. Well, that’s normal in today’s political scenario. Isn’t it?However, this is something different (Read here).The beneficiaries of the cases being dropped are –

1. Four HUJI Terrorists responsible for Blasts inVaranasi & attacks on Army barracks in Rampur claiming a total of 23 lives.

2. Mr. Azam Khan who is a U.P. Cabinet Minister& has several criminal cases against him.

3. Mr. Amar Singh – involved in huge financialirregularities.

4. Mr. Varun Gadhi who is charged for giving inflammatoryspeeches against Muslims.

Shocked?? Most of the readers would agree that the firstbeneficiaries in the above list gave them the biggest sense of surprise &shock as compared to the others. However, for some group of people the third beneficiary,namely Mr. Gandhi, has been the most shocking & saddening addition to the list.These groups are no aliens. They are amongst us. The only difference is thatlike a spoilt brat, spoilt by the decade’s long appeasement-for-vote-bankpolitics of some national & most of the regional parties, they see eachdecision of the government through the prism of self-interest & castepolitics rather than as a Nation’s responsible leaders.

To understand the whole picture read this article I cameacross here.It says in bold – “SP Plans to drop cases against Varun, angers its own Muslims”.I fail to understand that why the same group of Muslims do not get angered bythe decision of the same SP Government to drop cases against Mr. Azam Khan orthe Four HUJI Terrorists or Mr. Amar Singh?? Are they not considered to bewrongdoers?? By advocating punishment for giving speech against their religion andfailing to replicate the same righteous attitude towards the other cases ofhigher National Security interest these people are setting a very bad precedentin the country.

Does this mean we will allow people to run amok & killothers in this country only because they belong to a particular community?? Or,will our leaders still wake up and see how illogical their politics has become.

I am not advocating Mr. Varun Gadhi’s innocence. What I am tryingto bring out from these events is the level of rational thinking or ratherirrational thinking our leaders have reached. We are Secular and notpseudo-secular. We are a Democracy and not pseudo-democracy. Criminals are criminalsirrespective of the religion they belong to.

People who are happy for any of the beneficiaries of suchdecisions, as has been taken by the SP Government, irrespective of theirreligions, need to rethink about the humanity they have been left with on theinside. Moreover, if they think this is what fetches them votes then let thevoters also have a look at themselves and decide if they want suchself-imposing short-sighted groups to become their voice & face in front ofthe world. Do they really want to elect leaders who will release terrorists& criminals to loot & shoot their own people on the streets & intheir homes? Yes??

The basics of this attitude of such groups in our countrylie deep inside our political history which I shall discuss in my further posts.However, I would have loved to write a blog in praise of leaders who would haveopposed this recent decision of UP government as a whole rather than choosingthe beneficiaries and opposing them selectively for self-interest goals. I am still hopeful.

Thanks!!

External Link Courtesy: Deccan Herald, The Sunday Guardian

Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia.org

Exposing “Godmen”: A typical Indian thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:51:00 +0000

The idea for this post came to me when I came across an article in a very prominent political magazine. The article was based on the hype around the sad demise of Shri Satya Sai Bab recently. The author included Sai Baba amongst the likes of Chandraswamy and Nityananda who are an example of wily con spiritual fraudsters. I am no follower of Shri Satya Sai baba but I am saddened by such reactions of some of the prominent Media houses after this unfortunate incident. It’s not about Sai Baba in particular but it’s meaningless to simply stamp all the spiritual leaders and sadhus as dhongis just because of some Nityanands and Chandraswamys in history.

You may want to read the post on Outlook (Click Here). The author argues that all the Spiritual Babas have only one aim and that is to squeeze money from people’s pocket. He overlooks the nexus between the powerful and the likes of Sai Babas and Ramdevs. The Author questions the money that comes in hands of the spiritual leaders. My simple reply to the Author on all this is that he is overpowered, to an uncontrollable extent, by the typical how-could-he-do-it-and-not-me attitude. He has been blinded to an extent that he’s not able to see through that how beneficial these Spiritual leaders are proving to the Indian Society. Talking in Particular about Shri Satya Sai Baba, he has built an empire which runs Hospitals, Medical Colleges and Ashrams where the poor are fed and taken care of.

Now, if some foolish author, driven by his illogical paranoid attitude of pointing out faults in almost everything, comes and proves that so-and-so minister’s black money is being poured into Baba’s empire then I would weigh Baba’s contributions to the society more than looking into where the money is coming from. In fact, if it is so, then he is using the black money (robbed from the public) in causes beneficial for the public only. Well, that’s the case of Satya Sai Baba in particular and I am not saying that this Black money chain (as claimed to exist) is right. But, the importance of Spiritual leaders should not be ignored.

I think we are so much involved, attracted and influenced by the western culture that we are ready even to let go our spiritual leaders and their learning in the name of being practical and so-called “modern”. I am not saying we should be a restrictive society but to be an open to an extent of criticizing everything without taking into account its benefits just to look ‘Cool’ and care-free is not justified either.

A strange fact that I came across my mind is that we middle and higher-class Indians are so much busy in our lives that we don’t get time to even look into issues of society. How many of us would have ever gone to help in social activities as teaching unprivileged kids or helping people at an old-age home. Lack of time is our excuse. Surely, some of us must have done this. But, aren’t we lost somewhere in race for money?? If someone like Satya Sai Baba, Baba Ramdev and Sudhanshu Ji Maharaj drives us to do all the good things by their preachings and they themselves initiate the helping deeds why to waste time criticizing them??

At last, whatever the world may say, I would believe Baba Ramdev more than a scientist in US when he says that he can cure Cancer. This isn’t a superstition, but a belief in him and the people around me whom he has cured by bringing in light hundreds of aasans of our very own Yoga.

Thanks!!

Lokpal Bill: A Long Leap but still longer way to go

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 12:41:00 +0000

From the whole episode of the Lokpal Bill that has unfolded in last few weeks has left me with only one thought: “It’s just a step of getting rid of the Spoilt branches of a tree. The real infection still lies in the Roots”. The people who would likely be punished and prosecuted by the upcoming Lokpal bill (if at last it came into effect) are not aliens; they all are from amongst us. Punishing them may bring a satisfactory feeling for a person who’s suffering at the hands of Corruption.

But, if we have to end the Corruption, as a whole, we have to change our attitude, education system, the ideals and the environment which we are giving to our younger generation. If the cure isn’t done at the roots we wouldn’t be able to stop the infection from paralyzing the branches.

I have no intention of diluting the importance of the steps taken by Mr. Anna Hazare. His initiative is commendable and he has really given a way to most of the Indians to express their concern about the degrading Indian society at the hands of Corruption. It is sad to see that we all have the same attitude and feelings towards on issue but we wait for an Old man to abdicate his meals and keep his life on edge to make us come together. Mr. Hazare’s initiative has brought the Government at its feats and will hopefully bring a revolutionary change in the constitution to curb the acts of Corruption at higher levels.

What I want to bring into notice is that we need a same revolution in changing our mindset and attitude towards what we are teaching the younger generations. I am of the view that people like Raja and Kalmadi are not culprits. They are just scapegoats. Any Indian in their place would have done the same what they have done, ‘Chance pe Dance’ if I would explain in simple Hindi. It’s not they who grabbed all the money it’s their attitude and their nurture that made them do so. Most of us have the same attitude towards making money. We are running an endless race of collecting ‘moolah’.

From the beginning we are taught to study and work-hard to get a good job to make money. One may argue as to what’s wrong in that, after all, to be financially secure is the first and foremost priority in life. But for most of the Indians the word ‘Financial Security’ amounts to endless money. What I think is the real problem to be solved is this attitude towards life. Our greed is ruining us.

I hope we shouldn’t be waiting for some other Gandhian to surrender his meals to make us realize that it is us who has to change to avoid another Raja and Kalmadi in future. Moreover, this is for our own values in life and better living standards. Teach tolerance and accountability to the coming generations and they ma thank you for what you did for them.

Thanks!!

Happy Diwali to all

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 05:43:00 +0000

I wish you all a very Happy and safe Diwali. May this festival add more prosperity to your lives and may all your wishes come true.

Thanks!!

Sachin Tendulkar: We need more like Him but not in Cricket

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:21:00 +0000

This post has nothing to do with the recent double century of the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar against Sri Lanka or his invaluable contribution in leveling the series. I don’t think these innings matter anyhow on the Legend’s image. This was only an exemplary show of his caliber and the reason why he is “The God of Cricket”.

What I am writing here is about the legendry attitude that the Little Master carries. His rapport in the Cricketing world is that of a sober simple ethical player who is calm and is full of spirit of the game. His confidence in his abilities makes him answer his rivals and critics on the field.

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He is not a legend because of some denouncing acts; instead he is a legend because of his ability to stay calm when the rivals criticize his acts and reply them on the field when they also are at their best. Such an attitude is needed not only on the cricket field but in many spheres of life. Hats off to the Little Master!!

Now what I am concentrating here are the two events that took place a couple of weeks ago. Here comes the first. Honorable minister Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyer made his wish public that he would be glad if the CWG proves to be a disaster.

He wished that all this money would have been spent for development of athletics in the Country. I think his reason is quite good but may be the failure of games is not the only solution of what he actually wishes. I’ll surely take up this issue some other time but for now I wish the person opposite to Mr. Aiyer would not have been Mr. Kalmadi but a sensible person who is as calm as Sachin always is. It would have been better if Mr. Kalmadi would have taken up the criticism as a challenge and not as a personal abuse.

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Instead of replying Mr. Aiyer by saying he is “anti-nationalist”, if he would have kept quiet and concentrate on his work then the actual Games in October would have been a reply to Mr. Aiyer’s criticism. But, he screwed up his image. We need Sachin’s temperament in dealing issues that are not only cricket but unfortunately we have only one Sachin Tendulkar and that too in Cricket.

Second incident what I want to bring up throws light upon the best quality of the personality that the little master carries. Being a legend is no license to criticize people. Not a single match, out of the 500 matches that Sachin has played we have seen him criticizing any of his rivals. He knows that experience and legendary achievements can be washed away with a single irresponsible statement.

Unfortunately, this is what has happened with Mr. Bedi. He criticized another legendary spinner M. Muralitharan by calling him a “Chucker” because of his unusual bowling action which, on the contrary, has been given a clean-chit by the ICC itself. I don’t know what made him say this and moreover at the time when Muralitharan was about to retire with an exemplary record number of wickets to his credit. Can’t we let people do their job? Is it Mr. Bedi who has to decide what kind of bowling action Muralitharan has?

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Then what was the need for him to denounce the legendary bowler? It’s just a habit of poking into other’s job, which most of us have, that has depreciated the status of Mr. Bedi by this incident. Had he been a sportsperson as mature as Sachin he would have congratulated Muralitharan on his last day on the field. It’s sad that he in turn questioned the ability of the legend to have his own image depreciated.

India is blessed to have a personality like Sachin on its soil. But we need more like him to spread the fragrance of his calmness and result-oriented personality in other fields as well.

Thanks!!

Photo Courtesy: Rediff.com

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Independence Day Wishes to All..

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 09:23:00 +0000

Happy Independence Day to all my Countrymen

May this be the start of a new Era of Indian Culture and Progress. May this be the start of an Era of peace and Unity. May this be the start of the best times for our Country.

I shall hereby leave you with an excerpt from the Address of the president made on the Eve of Independence Day.

"In every village and in every colony of every town, city or metropolis, people can come forward to form groups to work for the disadvantaged. Some amongst us may ask, what difference can these small efforts make? For them, I recall a story of a man walking down a beach, moments after a storm. He noticed a person ahead of him picking up starfish washed ashore and throwing them back into the sea.

He asked the person how his efforts could make any difference, as the beach was long and there were lakhs of starfish washed ashore who would die. The person looked at the starfish in his hand and threw it into the water saying, "it makes a difference to this one". The message is clear - every effort, big or small, does make a difference."

Thanks

Prateek

P.S.:- To read the full address of President of India Smt. Pratibha Patil please visit the below link -

http://presidentofindia.nic.in/sp140810-2.html

26th July 2010: A tribute to Kargil Martyrs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:34:00 +0000

“The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins”

On 26th July 2010 we celebrated 11th Anniversary of the Victory over Pakistan in Kargil War. the war was a striking blow on the face of the tyrant enemy who dodged our every effort of peace and co-operation in the region. We pay tribute to our brave-hearts on this day and wish that the lives and sacrifices of our martyrs inspire more and more people to fight for the truth.

I hereby present a small tribute to the Soldiers of the Indian Army who fought and Won war for our better future. May god give strength to the families of our countrymen who laid down their lives on the hills of Kargil.

Thanks!!

Indo-Pak Talks or No Talks: Solution is at home…

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:19:00 +0000

The early days when we had Bollywood movies on The Indian Independence struggle and on the likes of legendary Bhagat Singh and M.K. Gandhi, the lesson they taught or the reason, they portrayed, as to why we were ruled by British for so long, was the diversity that India had. We had many states and as many Kings ruling different parts of the country. The only reason I can make out for the successful invasion of India by the British is the lack of a unified defense against the enemy forces. This was an inevitable result of the environment of mistrust and non-cooperation between the small-small princely states prevailing in those ages. Most of the small states were only self-sustainable and were unable to help anyone outside their territories. Altogether, people across the country had no trust in single command and we as India were not united which opened the door for outsiders to rule us by the successful implementation of “Divide-and-Rule” policy.

Today, I see the same happening again, and this time the enemy is our neighbor who seeks to utilize every opportunity of mistrust amongst our people for weakening our defenses. I am pointing to the violence and chaos that is prevailing in Kashmir from so many days. They are our own people and yes, just like sometimes children get angry by their parent’s behavior, our people in Kashmir are angered by Government’s attitude and this anger is being utilized by Pakistan to ignite chaos in the valley. I will not deny the fact that Kashmiris have often been meted out with a different behavior by the security forces. I will also not deny the fact that they don’t have many opportunities to better the conditions of their lives. But, I think the solution lies within the country, amongst our own people and not on the other side of the border.

Why should we talk to Pakistan when our first move to any problem should be to get all the Indians on board together to strengthen our defenses?? Why should we struggle for the confidence-building measures with the evil neighbor when the same trust-building measures with our own people in Kashmir would bring us a victory over the wrong doings of Pakistan?? Why should we waste our money and minds on such talks, as the last one which had no result, when the same effort can win hearts in the valley?? Do we think Pakistan holds the key to this problem?? I guess, if we think so then that’s the most insane thought one could ever think of.

In 1972, Ireland faced similar incident when the British Army shot down 26 innocent youths protesting for the cause of Northern Ireland. A fierce protest was made by the people of Ireland and finally the Prime Minister apologized for the gruesome act. I wish something similar could have been done for consoling our people in Kashmir. I can’t make PM to apologize for the act but from my side I can apologize for the loss incurred by my countrymen in Jammu & Kashmir. I want them to know that we care for them and that they can give us a chance to prove ourselves together as a Nation.

I want my Kashimiri people to know that there are no less opportunities waiting for them. There are many government projects going on in Jammu & Kashmir which bring them endless opportunities of a Happy Life. The only thing we need to understand is that all these Confidence-building measures have to done between our own people and the government so that we do not give an opportunity of Divide-And-Rule to yet another vile entity. And, in-turn we solve the problems, about which we are talking to our neighbors, at home.

Thanks!!

Photo Courtesy: NDTV.com

Times Magazine article on Indian – Americans: Face the Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:17:00 +0000

“We assumed all Indians were geniuses”. This is an extract from Joel Stein’s article in Times Magazine which comments on the presence of Indians in Edison, a flourishing American Town. Then why is the article so criticized?? The reason is that the writer says “in the 1980s, the Indian doctors and engineers brought over their merchant cousins, and we were no longer so sure about the genius thing”. I am of the view that Joel Stein’s observation is not fully wrong and that we Indians have made people like him think about us in such a manner.

I am of the strong view that if one goes to some other country; he or she should not make the hosts feel uncomfortable. It’s similar to what we feel when we drop in someone’s home as guests. The behavior of a few people from a community is enough to set up a good or bad image of that community in the world. Unfortunately, the writer has met typical Indians who never improved their ways and standards of living even when in the most developed nation. We are still loud, careless and irresponsible as far as the civic sense is concerned.

“In the 1990s, the not-as-brilliant merchants brought their even-less-bright cousins, and we started to understand why India is so damn poor”. We can easily make out what impression the chain of relatives, of the well settled Indian- Americans, had on the natives. We try to make a little country of ours wherever we go. Most of us are too stubborn to adopt the new ways and culture and mingle up with the hosts and so we try to make “little India(s)” wherever we go. Communicating with Indians abroad and grouping them all in a host country is not at all wrong unless it makes the host feel outnumbered by us. Everyone has a sense of security and if that is threatened then the results would be devastating as we have seen in Australia.

There’s no doubt India has talent and brilliance. But if we are so stubborn in adopting cultures and are so easily offended with the statements like “group of people whose gods have multiple arms and an elephant nose”, then we better be at home and use our talent in India itself. I hope rather than transforming places in world as “Little India”, people, who really want to settle down abroad, adopt the new culture of natives and present a good image, of millions of Indians back home, in front of the world.

Thanks!!

Photo Courtesy: time.com

Kargil War Gallantry: Captain Vikram Batra “Yeh Dil Mange More”

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:11:00 +0000

“Ya to Tiranga lehrakar aunga ya to Tirange main lipta chala aunga, par aunga jaroor” (Either I will be back after hoisting the flag or I will be back wrapped in it, but I will come back for sure). It takes this level of exemplary courage and unmatched confidence at a Warfield to battle out with enemy single-handedly. And what do you think, in the midst of such emotions, could be the answer to challenging enemy officer who says “Why have you come here Shershah?? You will not go back”?? This is what an Indian Army officer had to say to this moron- “We will see who remains at the top of the hill within an hour”. Param Veer Captain Vikram Batra, codenamed ‘Shershah’, was the one to give this confident reply. Captain Batra accomplished what he said and within an hour Batra and his men ran over craven-hearted Pakis to capture Point 5140 in the early morning of 20^th June 1999. What follows here is a tribute to a gem we lost in Kargil War.

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Born on September 9th, 1974 in Palmpur, Himachal Pradesh to Mr. G.L. Batra and Mrs. Jai Kamal Batra, Vikram proved to be a very intelligent and jolly personality in school. During his graduation days he decided to Join Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun. He was very fascinated by the life of a soldier. He is believed to be of the view “A soldier lives by chance, loves by choice and kills by profession”. After his graduation he was inducted in Jessore Company of Manekshaw battalion of IMA. As a brilliant Gentleman Cadet (GC) in IMA he was commissioned in 13 Jammu Kashmir Rifles (JAK Rif). IMA days earned him a nickname ‘Shershah’ for all his courage and enthusiasm that he had.

The first task given to his company was of capturing Point 5140, strategically important for the Kargil Sector. Captain Batra decided to lead his team from the rear of the peak to take the enemy by surprise. As the team neared the hilltop they faced a stiff machine gun fire from the enemy. Undeterred by the enemy fire Batra and his men reached the top and blew up the mortar position by grenades. He himself killed three enemy soldiers in a close combat. He was injured during the battle but continued fighting until the last enemy soldier was finished. Motivated by the courage of their officer the troops fell upon the enemy and captured point 5140 at 3:30 a.m. on June 20, 1999.

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“Yeh Dil Mange More” was the new war cry invented by Captain Batra in this War. After his interview with NDTV from his bunker in the Kargil sector this slogan became the symbol of unstinting valor and courage of the Indian Army. In the interview just after capturing point 5140 Captain Batra is seen relaxed and calm but still hungry for more success and victory over the enemy. Such are the men of the Indian Army for whom fear is the word unknown. In reply to a Pakistani’s taunt that we will leave Kashmir if Indians give them Madhuri Dixit, Captain Batra shot the taunter and said “From Madhuri, With Love!!”. His was a perfect reply to the morons and he made them pay for their deeds.

The victory on Point 5140 was precious and paved way for other valuable victories as on Three Pimples, Point 5100 and Point 4700. After his successful attack on Pt. 5140 Batra led his men to victory at point 4750 and Point 4875. While rescuing a fellow officer during the attack on Point 4875 he was critically injured and later succumbed to his injuries. He was awarded Param Veer Chakra (posthumously) for his exemplary valor and bravery in the face of enemy.

We still remember the legend in our hearts and may god give such a strength to every child of this nation.

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P.S.: Captain Batra's character was portrayed by Abhishek Bachchan in the movie L.O.C. Visit the below link to see Captain Batra’s interview from the Warfield.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs_KTxPugVc

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Photo Courtesy: bharat-rakshak.com

The World of Entrepreneurs: Mr. Sabeer Bhatia (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 13:43:00 +0000

Continuing with the Entrepreneur legendry of Mr. Sabeer Bhatia today let me unleash the story of the hard negotiation Sabeer made with Microsoft biggie Mr. Bill Gates and that too in the Indian style, as he describes.

In the end of year 1997 Microsoft top officials started approaching Sabeer for a buyout. Sabeer at that time had a price of about a billion dollars in his mind but this was not a serious market value he had decided. It was just a jokingly decided price of his company. He was actually unclear of the price at which he should accept the deal. They offered some tens of millions and he refused. Microsoft kept approaching him for weeks after weeks in vain.

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Side by side Sabeer started to evaluate his company’s market value. He approached a venture firm with the buyout deal and was offered a $200 Million. When he refused this also he was told by the head of the Venture firm that if he gets somewhere amount equal to this in the market then he would have Sabeer’s statue in the front lobby of his office. Well, at that time, probably, the Venture capitalist didn’t know he would have to fulfill his promise one day.

Finally the day arrived for the meeting with the stalwart. Sabeer and two others were flown to Redmond where they were scheduled to meet Mr. Gates. Returning from his trip to Russia Gates didn’t waste any time and came arrived for the meeting at lunch. Face-to-face with the smartest businessman Sabeer was a bit nervous. They started asking questions to Sabeer “tell us about your company”. Soon after, Mr. gates, in his Socratic style of finding weaknesses in the negotiator, started grilling Sabeer and his team.

Sabeer recalls that it was this moment when he realized that they were asking the same questions which he was generally being asked by his investors. He realized, in the midst of his nervousness, that Bill Gates was not a superhuman. “He is also a simple human being with flesh and blood”, he says. After this realization Sabeer explained his company’s key features very confidently.

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But where is the Indian style in this whole story. Here it comes. As a child grown up in Bangalore, Sabeer had encountered many times the scene of people negotiating with the street vendors. They often said “I can pay you only this much” or “I don’t have more than this, I can’t give you more”. He knew how to tackle such vendors. Microsoft was aggressive and desperate. They started flowing cash on table, $200 Million then $300, $350 Million. But Sabeer didn’t succumb to the offers so easily. There were times when Microsoft negotiators stormed out of the conversation frustrated.

Finally on the New Year’s Eve, 1997, the deal was struck for $400 Million which left all biggies in the Silicon Valley astonished. Sabeer Bhatia was the new name amongst the rich of this Valley. The whole saga of building up of a company and negotiations brought out the real confidence and intelligence that this Indian entrepreneur had. He used every little experience of his life to sharpen his Entrepreneurial skills. There’s a lot to learn from this legend.

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Photo Courtesy: msn.com

Kargil War Gallantry: Param Veer Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:12:00 +0000

To commemorate the legends of the Kargil War today I would be writing about a gallant officer of the Indian Army, Param Veer Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey from 1/11 Gorkha Rifles. Born in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, Manoj was a very intelligent and energetic personality. He completed his schooling from Uttar Pradesh Sainik School, Lucknow and soon after joined National Defense Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla. He had a keen interest in sports, especially Boxing. He excelled in sports at the NDA too. After graduating from NDA in the 90^th course from M squadron he was sent on the forward post. After serving in Siachen, when his company was to return back to home, the first intrusions of the Pak Army were detected on the Kargil Heights.

Considering the Gorkhas to be the best fighters for the terrain they were deployed in the Kargil Sector. Captain Manoj, as described by his Commanding Officer, Col. Lalit Rai, was a very confident and caring officer. He was a highly optimistic personality who once said “Some goals are so worthy, that it’s even glorious to fail”. But, the word “fail” was not in this young’s officer’s vocabulary. Captain Manoj is credited for leading his men to some of the early victories of the Kargil War. He ruthlessly ran over the enemy at Jubar top. Jubar was the most important strategic point for the Indian Army.

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This young officer’s appetite of victory was not yet over. When a deadlock occurred for the troops at Khalubar Hills, Captain Manoj volunteered to lead the troops to the hill top. On the night of 2/3 July 1999 a team led by Manoj took to the most difficult path to the hilltop. After reaching half the way the Pakis fired from the top. The fire was heavy and Manoj quickly decided to distribute the team in two. One was sent to attack from right and the other he took with him to attack from left. Fighting ferociously Captain Manoj went from bunker to bunker killing the enemy in a hand to hand combat, shouting the Gorkha War-Cry “Jai Maa Kali, Aya Gorkhali”.

Shot in right shoulder Captain Manoj killed to enemy soldiers and cleared the first bunker. Seeing their officer’s valor the team was encouraged to cut the enemy into pieces. They fell upon the Pakis like never before. Colonel Lalit Rai recalls the situation “It was amazing to see 5 feet Gorkhas jumping courageously and chopping heads of 6 feet Pathans”. He remembers the sight of falling heads of Pak soldiers down the hill as he was climbing up along with his men.

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Such was the encouragement that Captain Manoj had filled in his men. Unfortunately, while clearing the second bunker Captain Manoj got fatal shots in leg. However, undeterred by the pain he advanced towards the other bunkers and cleared two more. He succumbed to the injuries soon after assuring that the Khalubar has been fully cleared off the enemy. The last words of the Gallant officer were “Na Chodnu” (Don’t leave them).

What a huge loss it was for the Army as well for the country which was deprived of one of its brightest son. Captain Manoj was awarded Param Veer Chakra posthumously on the 52^nd Independence Day. National Defense Academy, thereafter, named its Science block after the legendry officer as Captain Manoj Block. His gallant and valor would prevail in the hills of Kargil forever. His confidence and the appetite for success is a constant source of inspiration for youth all over the world.

It’s true that for every evil (Raavan) on this earth a Brave-heart (Ram) is born somewhere on the same planet. For us, men like Captain Manoj play the role of God in disguise. May his soul rest in peace.

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P.S.:- Character of Captain Manoj was portrayed by Ajay Devgan in the movie L.O.C.

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