untouchable EARTH

Perspectives of Indian Economy

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:54:00 +0000

BY Youvraj B

Certain policy decisions transcend their visible peripheries and acquire more of strategic significance especially so when they read out political statement of the regime in response to changed socio-economic circumstances. Decision to de-regulate petroleum prices taken last year (in July 2010) is one of such. After creating rumble last year the issue is back on agenda after on 15^th May OME (Oil Marketing Enterprises) declared price hikes in petrol by Rs. 5 and again on 24^th June in diesel and LPG. Considering the onslaught of globalization over past 2 decades and commitment of UPA government under leadership (?) of Manmohan Singh to neo-liberalism, this should have been merely a step further in that direction. However significance of petroleum prices on socio-economics of the country and a peculiar backdrop of global crisis of capitalism highlights its strategic prominence. Country largely depends on import (around 85%) for crude oil and later profoundly influences union budget and overall economic scenario. Any upward surge in prices only fuels inflation higher. Considering this dependence on import and its knock on effect on inflation the petroleum prices were kept under regulation since 1973. Though Indian economy was ‘opened up’ in 1991 subsequent governments of both Congress and BJP repeatedly dodged the decision of deregulating these products for last 2 decades and maintained status quo. On this backdrop the decision taken by UPA government on this reflects major shift in policy & attitude in dealing with politically and socially sensitive issues that have bearing on economic growth of the country. With the view of analyzing changed circumstances that led to such shift in policy the article reviews the post-recession economy and draws out perspectives for the coming period.

Global Recession and Indian Economy –

Let us first consider the peculiar backdrop of global and Indian economy in 2010 when the decision to deregulate petroleum products was announced. The collapse of Lehman Brothers wrecked havoc in 2008 and Indian economy like other major economies went deep into coma. Though things improved marginally over next 2 years many of the economies were still in ICU. But not so for Indian economy. By 2010 it was well recovered. Share market index graphically illustrates this. On 15^th Sept BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) was at 14402. Following collapse of Lehman Brothers share markets all over the world raced to bottom and BSE too reached its lowest in next few weeks. After lingering at bottom for next 6 months the index turned northwards from March 2009 and on 25^th May 2009 i.e. in merely 8 months it reached 14625, pre-crisis levels.

BSE

(http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=^BSESN#chart3:symbol=^bsesn;range=20071001,20110527;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off)

On the contrary Dow Jones (American Stock Exchange) took 20 months to regain its pre-crisis level.

Though complete meltdown of global economic system was somehow avoided, leading economies were still grappling hard in 2009 and 2010. On the contrary Indian economy showed the signs of relatively stronger recovery from mid-2009. Obviously it boosted the morale of Indian bourgeoisie and its rulers. The decision to deregulate petroleum prices well reflects the elated sprit and hence audacity of this class.

Analyzing the recovery –

Here we must analyze the recovery of Indian economy deliberating over its reasons and more importantly its character. The key role in this recovery was played by huge surge of liquidity in the market with carry trade in US dollars. In response to credit crunch Federal Reserve and ECB (European Central Bank) drastically reduced their interest rates as shown below.

Fed interest rate that was above 5% in 2007 was brought down to 2% through 2008 and has been maintained at lowest level of 0.25% from Jan 2009 till date. (Bank of England has maintained it at 0.5 %). Accounting into inflation, the funds were made available at practically negative interest rates. This was done to encourage capitalists to borrow money for investment that could generate employment, demand and get the jammed wheels of economy moving.

http://www.gecodia.com/India-Repo-Rate--Reserve-Bank-of-India-Repo-Rate_a1256.html

Interest rate in India too came down from 9% to 4.5% in 2009. Still that was significantly higher than that of advanced countries. Over next few months international speculators flooded Indian and other emerging markets with huge inflow of borrowed funds. In 2009 FIIs invested $ 17.23 bn in Indian market through this route flushing it with liquidity and share market index soared up.

Another factor was stimulus package declared by the government. In particular implementation of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations made additional funds available to public sector workers while huge tax sops were declared to corporate sector. This along with boosted liquidity and availability of cheaper credit boosted demand for industrial goods to some extent. Also giant stimulus package of $ 585 bn and investments in infrastructure by China benefited exports further boosting industrial production in second half of 2009. Subsequently IIP (Index of Industrial Production) reached 16.7 in Q1 of 2010.

The specific stage of liberalization of financial institutes in the country too played a significant role. Though liberalization was carried out in banking and insurance sector, nationalized banks and institutes still dominate the finance sector. Few like ICICI and HDFC banks with larger proportion of foreign capital holding do not reflect the general state of Indian finance institutes. The functioning of nationalized banks was re-oriented towards market in this period. Instead of financing priority sectors like agriculture, small scale industries these banks financed real estate, private automobiles and other commodities thus stroking and sustaining ‘debt driven consumption’ and in turn ‘consumption led growth’. However their sphere of functioning has been mainly domestic market. Consequently their exposure to US Sub-prime market was only negligible. C.V. Kamath, then President of CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) remarked that this exposure amounting to $ 450 mn could be less than 0.5% of banks’ balance sheet. (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Citi-UBS-like-subprime-debacle-not-to-repeat-in-India-Kamath/articleshow/3001816.cms) Of this $450 mn the share of nationalized banks was merely $90 mn highlighting their role in limiting the scale of exposure to the crisis. Of course the bourgeoisie and its executives in the parliament do not deserve any credit for this. Instead it was trade unions, left organizations and to some extent left parties that staunchly opposed wholesale privatization of public sectors banks. Was it not for this, the Indian economy too would have gone burst. What happened to Iceland speaks for itself. In 2007 the country with highest per capita income was declared ‘happiest nation’ on the earth. In the boom period 3 banks of the country invested feverishly in sub-prime market earning huge profits (and as usual IMF and other institutes applauded them for this). With onset of sub-prime crisis these banks literally went bust. Now the country with $ 14 bn GNP is weighed down under public debt of $ 100 bn.

During this period Indian capitalists resorted to indiscriminate job cuts to sustain their profit levels. This was true for not only unorganized but for organized sectors as well. Information Technology business depends solely on human labor and hence job cuts is the quickest way to prevent profits from dropping lower. IT companies in India brutally resorted to these tactics leading to large scale job cuts. For IT workforce that enjoyed feverish growth in 2000s the period was literally like reign of terror. An employee could receive a call from HR Dept anytime threatening to resign ‘voluntarily’ or else he or she could be blacklisted with NASSCOM (Software service providers’ association) precluding them from obtaining any other job in future. Thus for the very first time IT workforce experienced what could be termed as ‘dictatorship of bourgeoisie’. A worker of one of the leading IT Company harassed by HR bosses in this way ultimately lodged police complaint against the company. (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-12-03/software-services/28076769_1_wipro-employees-wipro-technologies-wipro-officials). Another worker from the same company committed suicide by jumping off 11^th floor of the office. Given the vast experience of Indian bourgeoisie in dealing with such ‘trivial incidents’ no wonder the cases were suppressed. This however highlights the hideous and ugly face of IT capitalists masquerading as the blue-eyed boys of shining India.

Blissfully Ignorant Indian Bourgeoisie

It would not be inappropriate to classify the period of Indian globalization as pre-recession and post-recession given the scale and scope of global recession. Dialectical analysis of the changed global scenario and its implications on Indian economy holds key in drawing perspectives of Indian economy for the coming period. Though bourgeoisie has managed to orchestrate some kind of recovery globally things are far from being settled for them. Sovereign debt crisis in Europe threatens to pull the global economy into yet another deeper crisis; US has failed to achieve any structural growth while Britain, France, Germany too are grappling in the dark. Failure to achieve any spectacular growth and create jobs has led popularity ratings for Obama sinking lower. Though he is banking on ‘capital’ of killing Bin Laden to prevent his vote ‘bank’ from melting down, it is yet to be seen if such an ‘investment’ would be sufficient to earn ‘dividend’ of next Presidential election.

On this backdrop the performance of Indian economy stands out or at least that is how it is being projected – an economy that weathered the crisis owing to its strong fundamentals. Obviously what we discussed above exposes hollowness of such claims. Huge injection of foreign funds by global speculators in order to boost their profits and a particular stage of liberalization of Indian finance institutes really helped it avoid worst. And yes their (hereditary) ability to suck blood and sweat of masses through class and caste exploitation did play a critical role. A holistic view of the entire episode only highlights the fickle, flimsy and parasitic nature of its recovery and hence of Indian capitalism. A closer look at capital movement reveals it. In 2008 as clouds gathered thicker and thicker on markets investors started pulling out money and in first 9 months itself FIIs withdrew $ 11.1 bn from Indian markets. Indian bourgeoisie was badly shaken and BSE that was at 20,000 in Jan 2008 plunged to 10,000 in matter of 10 months. As a knock on effect INR (Indian Rupee) depreciated drastically from 39.20 to 48.86 and RBI (Reserve Bank of India) could somehow avert its further fall only by injecting $28.5 bn. If anything, it gives glimpse of how things could have moved had it not been for massive injection of dollars through carry trade by end of 2008. The crisis yet again underlined the neo-colonial character of Indian economy and its dependence (along with complementary nature) on global economy.

Blissfully ignorant, Indian bourgeoisie is cheering and celebrating its ‘strong fundamentals’. Quoting some of global leaders or those of IMF, WB they and media houses owned by them are creating jingoism devoid of any serious or objective analysis of the crisis. In reality this is the deepest crisis facing capitalism since 1930s and has had capitalist class all over the world deeply shaken by its sheer scale. On 20^th Sept 2008 Finance Times, mouthpiece of global capitalists declared ‘Capitalism in Convulsion’. Tsunami of the crisis caused intellectual paralysis to bourgeoisie economists and intellectuals and few even frantically shuffled through Karl Marx’s ‘Capital’ in order to make sense out of what had happened. Though superficially, some of them attempted to ponder over the future of capitalism. Al Gore, former vice president of US declared ‘Time if up for short term thinking’ in one of the articles in Finance Times (dated 26^th Nov 2009). The article discussed the myopic nature of erstwhile capitalism and called for ‘sustainable capitalism’. Michel Barnier, Commissioner (internal markets) of EU called for ‘Capitalism for entrepreneurs rather than capitalism for speculators’. Needless to say both had been day-dreaming.

And when we look at the Indian bourgeoisie intellectuals what strikes is complete lack of any serious analysis. Their analysis didn’t go beyond lame criticism of bankers’ greed and ritual mention of widening disparity in the country (for which their solution is to further accelerate the growth). As picture of India’s alleged recovery got sharper their tone got more and more confident and rather arrogant. They declared that the crisis vouched decoupling theory. Politicians and capitalists used to occasion to scratch each other’s back. Below incident indicates the arrogance of this class. In 2009 when stock markets rallied upward few commentators rightly expressed the fear of another bubble being blown up. Reacting to this Swaminathan Iyer, a leading bourgeoisie analyst advised investors to not to be worried and instead make max out of it commenting in Times of India (dated 22^nd Nov 2009) “secret of staying ahead is to ride the bubbles when they are inflating and get off before they burst. Right now, it’s time to ride” As if 2008 never happened!

A huge paradox emerges when overall picture is considered. On one hand we have a global bourgeoisie deeply shaken by the crisis that exposed yet again the rottenness of capitalist system and its utter inability to progress human society and hence obsolescence of the system; on the other hand we have relative recovery of Indian economy on flimsy basis and Indian bourgeoisie that notwithstanding the reality has turned jubilant and arrogant as a consequence. The dialectic analysis of this contradiction would help the prognosis of the Indian economy.

Casino Economy and Intellectual Chauvinism

While intellectual bankruptcy is one of the reasons behind such smug and complacent state of bourgeoisie another is objective necessity to remain so. This necessity stems from organic character of capitalism. It is a mode of production inherently based on anarchy of markets. Without any central planning production is done at the perceived indications of market and with lust for higher and yet higher profits at the core of it. Consequently boom and recession are organic to this system. Finance capitalism has taken this chaos to yet higher level and could be termed as super-anarchy of markets. In fact it has reduced itself to casino economy. Last decade saw Investment Banks coming up with an array of sophisticated and complicated instruments like sub-prime lending to CDS (that Warrant Buffet calls ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’) to swindle trillions of dollars that capitalists have accumulated over decades. It would be naïve to believe that these investment bankers holding masters degrees or doctorates from the most renowned universities in the world and with the most sophisticated means of knowledge at their fingertips betting on such huge sums were completely unaware of risks involved. But their belief on the sustainability of the capitalist system and the casino economy is the driving force that keeps them moving. As Karl Marx proved money is nothing but universal expression of value. Considered from this perspective these trillions of dollars do not even remotely have any relation to Value. And today this huge sum of money completely divorced from its Value is like a hanging sword on the head of Capitalist system. Even capitalist class and its intellectuals do have a vague idea of this. But having their stakes involved, they have no option of quitting but to only keep on betting. Long back foregone is the stage where surplus value extracted from labor could be put to use for further industrialization (and there is no going back unless devastation to the scale of world war takes place). And there is no alternative to speculation to keep its surplus value invested and further recycled into more capital. This is the objective (or material) necessity of the capitalist class that further begets intellectual necessity to whip up theories dwelling upon eternal exuberance of the system. In the period of boom or favorable changes on socio-political forum this intellectual necessity soon acquires the form of intellectual chauvinism. Francis Fukuyoma declaring ‘End of History’ following disintegration of Soviet Union is one such example. Another is ‘laissez-faire model of capitalism’ implemented by Alan Greenspan during his 20 years tenure from 1986 to 2007 as Fed Chairman. Mr. Greenspan rejecting any form of market regulation summarizes his ‘laissez-faire’ doctrine as "It is precisely the greed of the businessman, or, more appropriately, his profit-seeking, which is the unexcelled protector of the consumer." The doctrine that legitimized capitalists’ lust for profit only represents the chauvinism prevalent on Wall Street in 2000s following one of the longest periods of boom. The intellectual chauvinism doesn’t remain merely at intellectual level but governs its actions and maneuvers which in turn are offered social and legal legitimacy by such doctrines. This legitimacy has its own significance especially in liberal democracy and proponents of such doctrine are often cheered as champions of the society. No wonder Alan Greenspan, a devoted disciple of Ayan Rand’s Objectivism school that approves ‘laissez-faire capitalism’ as the only legitimate system exercised absolute power over Fed for 20 years.

Union Budgets of last 3 years –

Though Indian bourgeoisie is yet to reach such high degree of chauvinism, its arrogance is too pronounced to escape. A cursory glance at government decisions and policies over last 3 years reveals – Notwithstanding the scale of crisis, fundamental weaknesses exposed by it and pertinent questions raised on very future of capitalist system, the capitalist class and their executives in the parliament have made up their mind to go full throttle on the road of neo-liberalism. Deregulation of petroleum products was a key milestone in the journey. As mentioned earlier, rulers were well aware of its potential socio-political implications and hence it reflects strong determination on their part. Union budgets of 2010 and 2011 too consolidate this trend. In 2010 it reversed earlier policy of garnering more revenue through direct taxation than indirect tax and thus causing lesser burden on common man. By restructuring income tax (direct tax) slabs it offered huge tax sops to high income individuals and professionals. Resulting loss of revenue in direct taxes to the tune of Rs. 26,000 crore was compensated by steep hike in indirect taxes. Later amounted to Rs. 46,400 crore much higher than required to compensated for lost revenue due to direct tax concessions. Food and fertilizer subsidies were cut by Rs. 800 crore. Tax concessions to Corporate sector amounted to Rs. 4,99,340 crore, astonishingly 79% of total tax revenue.

Fiscal deficit conservatism is one of the core principles of neo-liberal policies. In 2003 India enshrined this principle by enacting FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) act that imposed limits on fiscal deficit. In the period of crisis bourgeoisie all over the world resorted to Keynesianism and allowed fiscal deficit to inflate. India too followed the suite with deficit mounting to 6.7% in 2009-10 though immediately in the next budget it pledged to bring it down to 5.5%. Indiscriminate public expenditure cuts and indirect tax increases described above though making life precarious for working masses are nonetheless important to further fuel neo-liberal growth of the country.

Indian Economy – An adjunct to global capitalism

In last 63 years since independence Indian bourgeoisie has come a long way and is undoubtedly far stronger than many of its peers in other Asian and African countries liberated near around same time. Having said this in past 2 decades it has established a peculiar relationship with global capitalism under the auspices of globalization, the relation that is servile though complimentary as well to some extent. The neo-liberal framework of policies dictated by global capitalist institutions (including WB, IMF, credit rating agencies) now defines the operational periphery of Indian bourgeoisie. It not only dictates the overall direction of Indian economy but also prescribes parameters to assess its success or failure. Religiously obliging to this the modes de operandi of Indian capitalist class has been to score maximum on these parameters by exploiting its class monopoly along with pre-existing institutions of exploitations like caste and patriarchy it ‘inherited’. Everything dictated is pious and it has neither any will nor the guts to challenge any of these. When compared with its neighbor China that can assert itself strongly (in relative terms), the dwarfishness of Indian bourgeoisie stands out.

Two parameters in assessing the success of the economy are GDP or growth rate and tab on fiscal deficit. A country could be penalized severely by global capitalists if it fails to score on these 2 parameters leading to derailment of its economy. Even today any pull out of capital invested in markets by FII could cause havoc for Indian economy.

To uphold its position on global forum and thereby sustaining the inflow of global capital and thereby maintaining its higher growth rate mandates Indian bourgeoisie to further accelerate implementation of neo-liberal policies i.e. privatization, liberalization. Only by doing this it can keep Indian economy ‘attractive’ enough for global capitalists though considering ‘foot looseness’ of later that isn’t particularly easy. It requires more and more sectors of economy thrown open to FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), further disinvestment of public sector enterprises (including banks), keeping wages depressed to ensure steady flow of cheap labor and more importantly to sustain the consumption level in domestic market. Though domestic petroleum market is yet to be open to foreign players, its deregulation is a step in that direction. Yet another decision awaiting final nod and has global capitalists their mouths salivating is allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, market that is worth $ 560 bn. Single brand and wholesale cash and carry are already opened up for foreign investment and there is lot of pressure on government to do so for multi-brand. The decision process has gone quite far and it is matter of time that decision will be announced.

Real challenge is sustaining the consumption level or demand in domestic market. It is quite obvious that restructuring income tax slabs thereby making big tax cuts for higher income individuals and granting huge tax sops to big businesses was a move intended at fuelling demand on one hand and encouraging investment on another. These policies are inspired by what is termed as ‘supply side economics’, theory that blatantly proposes to offer higher tax rebates to rich and those filthy rich.

There are 2 aspects to this process of further accelerating liberalization and privatization. One economic and other socio-political. From economic stand point, though these policies could help sustaining the demand (or to be precise preventing it from depressing further) in short term, it would lead to imploding domestic market (that is already narrow) and capitalist economy based on it in longer term. As capitalist system is utterly incapable of achieving inclusive development creating mass employment and thereby wider base of consumers with purchasing power, it has to rely increasingly on smaller and smaller section of society for consumption. An example could be real estate. Boom in the real estate did contribute to boosting GDP. Though over last few years availability of cheaper credit along with increasing prices sustained the demand, in reality skyrocketed prices have simply pushed off millions of perspective consumers in cities from the market. As per recent survey 20% newly constructed flats in Pune are vacant. Experts comment that the trend is temporary due to higher interest rate and there is substance of truth in that. It directly boils down to the relationship between purchasing power and credit. In the absence of purchasing power of masses capitalism has often relied upon cheaper credit to stimulate market. Real estate is no exception and sooner than later the sector would stagnate. For other sectors that registered impressive growth over last decade it may not be possible to maintain growth rate. Best example is IT (Information Technology). Over last 10-12 years IT giants posted 20% YOY (year on year) profits on an average and this was simply dazzling. In this decade most likely its growth would considerably lower or at the best stagnate. The sector played an important role in expanding markets for various commodities in cities and hence any slowdown here will have knock on effect on other sectors as well (including real estate).

Under capitalist relations of production capitalist class denies of due share of wealth generated to working class (responsible for creation of that wealth) and subsequently it leads to contraction of market. This is an organic contradiction of capitalism and Indian capitalism is no exception. Faster the process of neo-liberalization is carried through; larger and deeper would this contradiction grow with Indian capitalist system heading for a major structural crisis.

Perspectives of Class struggle –

This is an economic aspect. Equally if not more important is another aspect – social and political implications of accelerating neo-liberal onslaught. To put it simply as onslaught gets brutal, wider and stronger would be struggles against it. Even today there are struggles against globalization all over the nation from POSCO to Jaitapur. Daring entire state machinery, military and police, masses are fighting tooth and nail. No doubt struggles would get fierce and this would not be merely quantitative but qualitative change.

When we think of elements of society that were worst hit by the globalization in past 2 decades – they have been small farmers that were already handicapped by caste based ownership of land and were further devastated by introduction of free market policies in agriculture; rural people who found their lands, the only means of subsistence being snatched away by capitalist vultures; and adivasis (tribal) living in the areas rich in natural resources. Free market policies ripped off very basis of their livelihood. The picture in urban area was ‘relatively’ different. Though working masses especially those in unorganized sector had more hardships in making both ends meet and thus surviving among rampant commercialization of everything around them, it was not as devastating as sections of society mentioned above. Discussing about organized working class we need to consider few things. In a way Globalization stimulated the economy that had been long stagnated (referred to as ‘Hindu growth rate”) in 1970s and 1980s. Subsequently there was an expansion of service sector in urban areas and new jobs created in IT, Finance sectors. With free movement of capital there has been abundant supply of commodities in market both indigenous and exotic; this coupled with liberal and cheaper supply of credit resulted in broadening of commodity markets in cities. LPG cylinder, 2 wheelers / 4 wheelers, telephone connection etc. that were earlier required to be booked months if not years in advance could now be obtained on the same day. Sprawling malls, 7 star townships, multiplexes, abundantly available electric gadgets - . The glitter and blitz of globalization was too dazzling for impoverished masses of the poor nation. It helped mass media and audio-visual media build an illusionary picture of growth and prosperity. It was obvious that these economic, social and equally important cultural transformations have had an effect on class consciousness of workers. Working class was already bogged down by historic defeats of trade union struggles in 1980s, disintegration of Soviet Union in 1991 and subsequent ideological confusions among left and lull in the movement. All put together resulted in working class disassociating itself from any struggles against globalization.

Obviously the process was not monotonous. In parallel working class was being attacked by large scale casualization, contract labor in both manufacturing and services along with intensification of labor. Rising inflation, privatization and gross commercialization of education, health and other public services have been rapidly transforming aspects of urban life. They are increasingly making struggle of survival harsher and more acute. Here what needs to be considered is parameters of life (and hence of consciousness as well) of working masses in cities are far different than those in rural or semi-urban areas. A working youth earning Rs. 10,000 in cities still has multiple issues haunting him –his marriage, buying home for his family, bringing up children and expenses of their education and health. Prevalent economic and social conditions weigh heavily against him and his desperate struggle for maintaining his social existence shapes his life and in turn his consciousness. As discussed above for India maintaining growth rate of economy is going to be increasingly challenging and reckless implementation of neo-liberal reforms based on ‘widening’ and deepening of class and caste exploitation is a pre-condition to it. And it is going to engulf urban working masses. In such times delusion of growth and prosperity so ingeniously built by capitalists and their media starts fizzling out rapidly and class consciousness escalates in leaps. Dimensions of exploitation hidden so far appears crystal clear to working class and it turns out to be a prologue to a new stage of struggle against not only the regime but the system.

The aim of article is not to pain the rosy picture of working class revolting tomorrow and uprooting capitalism. Instead it attempts to critically analyze the qualitatively changed economic conditions and social processes begot or influenced by these changes. Duly acknowledging the complications and challenges involved in subjective response of working class and its leadership, the analysis of the objective changes nonetheless helps gauge the renewed possibilities of struggles both locally and internationally.

It's the time to party!

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:10:00 +0000

By - Abhijit

Everyone, get ready! It's time to party once again. Let us stop bothering about the 2G and Adarsh Scams, let us forget that one more budget has given nothing to people, let us forget that the petrol prices and inflation are now going through the roof, let us also stop bothering about the nuclear catastrophe in Japan and the upcoming one at Jaitapur... because, the great party of all times is coming! Yes, India meets Pakistan in the semi-final of the world cup! That is the one thing we have been waiting for years, that is the magic cure of everything and it is here! Let 's party folks !

We are common people and common people have nothing to bother about the mundane problems like poverty, illiteracy, health and environment... All we need is our daily dose of media extravaganza and hysteria and we'll happily forget everything! See, when the likes of PMs, CMs, Prince Charming, Cricket Minister who also sells onions, and even the heart-throbs of Bollywood are dying for this event, how can we, their loyal followers, be left behind! We were, we are, we'll be there!

Tomorrow we'll religiously watch all the commercials, and forget that in the end, it is the sponsors who win and not India or Pakistan. One a side note, we don't have to forget it, because we never wanted to care for it -- that we the people of India not only SHARE ALL OUR PROBLEMS, BUT SHARE THE CRICKET HYSTERIA TOO with the Pakistanis. Tomorrow, we'll have only one thing to achieve in life -- beat Pakistan in the match. Nothing else, even recovering of all the money of 2G scam from Reliance, Tatas, Birlas, Mittals, will match it!

We'll happily buy all the products that Dhoni will sell to us, and just keep dreaming of those products for which we don't have that much money, because it is THEY WHO SOLVE all our problems. How does it matter even if that is only for one day, is there anyone else who can solve it even for one day?

Earlier they used to say that liquor is the solution. It makes you forget what you are, helps you forget agonies of your life, and takes you to that heaven where the world looks faltoooo..... Today that place is taken by Cricket. What a wonderful world we are living in. No longer individual solutions -- now we live on the mass consumption of the mass's addiction - cricket!

Well, we never demanded it... we never demanded one after another cricketing matches.. Just 7 days after the world cup and IPL will start... we did not demand that also. But you know, there some people who are always caring for our problems, and they knew how to solve them. So they created the IPL and the world cup and see.. the world is going ahead. Earlier there used to be one cup every 4 years, now there is one almost every 3 months.

We really love this manufactured life, consciously created world of cricket! 100 years back when the Gandhis and Bhagat-Singhs were fighting for freedom, could they ever imaging this kind of a solution to the problems of the country? Never! It is only the Airtels, Coca Colas, Hondas, Tatas, Arevas, POSCOs, Reliances, and all their brethren who could think of it! How kind of them of bestowing us with the honour of watching one cup after another!

Ignorance is bliss.Tomorrow the entire nation will curse Pakistan, taking revenge of all the hunger, poverty, corruption, illiteracy and everything! What a wonderful way to solve the problems. The Pakistanis, we're sure will do the same thing! But ultimately the one who wins the match has got the problems solved -- so we must win the match! Sachin, you must score your grand-ton, otherwise how can India's score on Human Development Index rise?

On a more personal note, we the people of Pune also want India to win because some restaurant has promised one Misal-Pav free on another if India Wins, Some Car seller has promised discounts, Some NGO has promised us free dessert on purchased food ... We're sure the government will announce holiday for one day if India wins!

Don't worry that Bastar is burning, bring all the fiddles, we are ready to play them!

Abhijit's blog

the serpent on the moon

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:07:00 +0000

the serpent on the moon

the serpent, with a husky voice

lay upon a stone in the board earth light

start sliding down to interior of a crater

half of the body under extreme hot

and half of it under extreme cold

as he cares both

he is listening to the trembling sound of a collided comet

and whispering to cosmos in anger

in every full circle of moon rotation

he looks straight in to the eyes of few dark suited human

seems unforgiving

he takes out his tongue out

to measure heart pulsation of child

to hear

sweet sound of heart beating

still there

the serpent keeps data on his skin

and dragging them everywhere on the moon surface

he is swimming in the void between planets and galaxies

the serpent

the serpent land on a colony of worms

their skin glowed in the earth light

the serpent push his fangs in to deeper on their body
a Dracula bite
phosphorus poured out from their body

shiny

the serpent speak to a frog elsewhere in earth

the alienated frog cried

the lonely frog

the lonely and abandoned

the serpent speak to crows elsewhere in earth

they defy curfew

they on the street

they in protest

the dirty serpent crushed a sky bound building

before it touched the moon

the lazy, the romantic serpent

lie on the surface of the moon in silent

standstill

always....since long back...

CWG: Showcase of the Nation’s Progress?

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:09:00 +0000

By Youvraj Bagade

Now it’s almost a month that Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010 hosted by Delhi concluded (14^th Oct) after 12 days of competition. Games witnessed participation of 6000 athletes from 71 nations competing in 17 sports. Earlier in 2003 Delhi had fought stiff competition from Canada, Ontario, Hamilton to host the event promising higher amount to participating countries along with other free largesse. Indian bourgeoisie was determined to use this as opportunity to showcase country’s development and growth. Looking back it’s clear that CWG truly showcased India’s growth and development but only in a caricatured manner.

Games Ridden with Corruption

Mega projects like hosting CWG games offers a huge opportunity to make big bucks and corrupt ruling classes leave no stone unturned to make max out of it.

Financial regularities were widely observed across all projects executed under CWG umbrella and issuing of tenders was equally dubious. In one such project work was actually allotted to a bidder quoting highest price jumping off all procedural norms while in another instance contractor that won the bid after quoting lower price was allowed to change the figures later. Sleaze and perfidy of politicians could not take more vulgar form as deals on overlays. Even the most expensive treadmill would cost 10,000 GBP at the most expensive malls in London but that didn’t deter Organizing Committee to pay Rs. 975,000 (around 14,000 GBP) for the machine. And if you are not shocked enough, then this is the amount not to buy the treadmill but only to hire it and that too just for 45 days. Similarly murky were dealings of chair, refrigerator and so on. Often such dealings ‘transcend’ political and even national boundaries. One of the firms that supplied overlays was owned by nephew of a BJP (opposition party) leader and another supplier Nussli is a Switzerland based firm. In another such transaction huge amount of funds totalling around 450,000 GBP were transferred to an obscure event management firm in UK.

Obviously issue of corruption acquired centre stage, as it often does in run up to the event. Intellectuals and column writers severely criticized politicians and bureaucrats involved. However often their analysis indicts them as immoral and fallen individuals bringing disgrace to the country. Not mentioned is how corruption is product of underlying social and economic structure of the society. In fact widespread corruption is prevalent not just in India but a common phenomenon characterizing colonial countries. Absence of bourgeois revolution implies corruption has not acquired pure ‘corporate’ form as in advanced countries. Instead co-existence of bourgeois, petty bourgeois and feudal interests found its expression in rampant corrupt practices followed at every step of life.

Be it contractor treacherously changing prices after allotment of work in CWG or a senior bureaucrat being gifted a luxurious flat for ‘facilitating’ a land deal in Mumbai or a minister openly taking bribe for clearing a file, if one looks at them closely these are absolutely ‘crude and rustic’ forms of corruption when compared with ‘sophisticated and legitimized’ forms in advanced countries. However later form of corruption is no more monopoly of imperialist nations alone. In India too there is large scale legitimization of corrupt practices to quench profit thirst of the economic interests. Deregulation of petroleum prices that directly results in windfall profits to private petroleum companies like Reliance, Essar is its recent example. While big industrial houses effectively use Parliament, Union Government and even judiciary to skew policies in their favor weaker sections of bourgeoisie along with petty bourgeois and feudal elements often have to rely more on lame malpractices linked to crony capitalism and nepotism.

It might be apt here to mention that involvement of international businesses in corruption in neo-colonial countries is not new though in their home countries they speak high of corporate morals. Be it mining deals in Africa or Oil exploration rights in South America international businesses have often resorted to corruption (in addition to other instruments of imperialism like military might) to push forward their commercial interests.

On the blood and flesh of working class

Bourgeoisie and mainstream media often make lofty claims about employment provided by organizing such events. Multiple projects related to CWG employed 415,000 workers. Impressive! However a closer look at nature and conditions of employment would reveal appalling truth behind figures.

Majority of labor in this mega project was employed by construction contractors. This industry employs around 8.5 million workers, one of the most vulnerable segments of unorganized sector in India – workers that build beautiful bungalows, apartments and stadiums but themselves are condemned to live in slums and migrate from a place to place all their lives. Reeling under a perpetual threat to life and working for uncertain hours, they have only contractual and temporary relationship to their employer. Speaking of social security would be a cruel joke; having enough food to feed their children makes them content. Given India’s social fabric this unorganized labour is mostly drawn from backward castes that are compelled to migrate from a site to another in order to make their living.

CWG truly ‘showcased’ the horrendous condition of country’s unorganized labor. Workers were made to work day and night at work places that were extremely unclean, unhygienic and unsafe. No safety appliances confirming to national standards were used or issued by private contractors in order to boost their profits. Under such work conditions accidents took place frequently resulting in death or permanent disability. A panel appointed by Delhi High Court discovered 43 workers killed building venues for CWG projects.

Equally scandalous were wages paid to these labors. Unskilled workers were paid around Rs. 90 while skilled ones around Rs. 120. Both these figures are significantly lower than Rs. 152, minimum wage for 8 hours stipulated by Delhi state government. Considering that workers worked for 14-16 hours a day they were in effect paid only around 1/3 of their due wages.

And all this under the very nose of Union Government, Parliament and Labor ministry. While opposition stormed parliament over charges of corruption trying to corner Congress party in power at centre as well as Delhi we never heard them protesting against death of so many workers or at their sub-human work conditions.

Disarticulation of funds

This has been the most expensive CWG games in history with total budget of around $ 6 bn including infrastructure projects. This is 4 times higher than previous one hosted at Melbourne for $1.4 bn. While for giant corporates it may be a routine figure for million of Indians it is not. This is huge sum of money that could have been spent on building thousands of schools providing accessible and free education to children that are compelled to toil along with their parents. It may have been just enough to make medical services available to thousands dying from curable diseases in ‘shining’ India.

Even if one keeps aside this issue of prioritization and considers allocating the funds for development of sports, was the money spent furthered the cause? Or was the money spent on sports at all? Jaypal Reddy, Urban Development Minster confessed in Parliament that of Rs. 165 billion given to Delhi Government only Rs. 6.7 billion has been spent directly on games. Rest has been spent on infrastructure development not directly related to games. So just 4% of the total sum spent on games! And by the way what is this infrastructure development? A significant amount has been spent on road scrapping, widening, building flyovers and bridges. All that abets indiscriminate growth of private vehicles posing very serious (if not disastrous) challenges to sustainable development of the city and living standards of its inhabitants. However it perfectly fits into Indian bourgeoisie’s plans to boost GDP growth. Who cares for sustainability and living standards? Truly, contractors both Indian as well as foreign along with steel, cement companies have reaped astounding amount of profits from infrastructure projects.

What about 4% money spent on games? At least that should have created new sporting facilities. As a matter of fact most of the money was spent on renovating stadia constructed earlier! Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main complex for the event itself had been built for 1982 Asiad games and merely renovated this time though after spending a whooping sum of Rs. 10 bn. Same is the case of Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. Thus whatever amount spent on games under CWG has hardly improved abysmal state of sports infrastructure in the country. So inept is this bourgeois state that even this infrastructure may be abandoned to gather dust after the event. In Pune a similar sports village constructed earlier for national games and later used for Commonwealth Youth Games 2008 has turned itself into white elephant.

Argument is not against allocation of funds for development of sports. Sports is quite an important aspect of social life especially for youths to sharpen and demonstrate their physical as well as psychological capabilities. However under capitalism that has been reduced a mega event, commercial harvest for bourgeoisie but at the cost of development of sports. IPL (Indian Premier League) may be its most grotesque manifestation where players are auctioned openly for crores of rupees. At international level too games like soccer have transformed themselves into entertainment industry.

National Jingoism:

Bourgeoisie and media controlled by it grabbed the opportunity to whip up jingoism across the nation. Holding games successfully was a matter of national pride and prestige, announced the leaders. Anyone not agreeing was a traitor, anti-national element. As games approached and filthy conditions at games village threatened the very commencement of games, media severely criticized Organizing Committee and government. However this criticism was not against trampling of workers rights nor was it against their gross exploitation but stemmed more from fear of shoddy hosting of the event tarnishing India’s global image. It was just nervous that games could turn into ‘national shame’. So occupied was the media with national pride and shame that it hardly found any space to report horrifying working conditions of workers or their deaths. Perhaps it didn’t consider them as fellow ‘citizens’ of nation they were referring to. After all slaves can not have citizenship and their death hardly means anything. In fact it becomes ‘too trivial’ when ‘few’ lives are lost while bringing glory to the nation. So reckless was bourgeoisie that it was not even ashamed to divert funds worth Rs. 7.45 bn earmarked for welfare schemes of Scheduled caste and tribes (SC/ST). It was yet another ‘small price’ paid in the honor of national glory.

In final medal tally India shot to second place claiming 101 medals and bourgeoisie shocked by initial guff up found a great solace in it. While we welcome achievements of sports persons, it may be far fetched to perceive it as a sustainable trend. General state of sports infrastructure and facilities continues to be abysmal. In urban areas various sports clubs, fitness gyms are springing up and at times it may create an impression that sports culture is slowly permeating through society. However as with other sphere of life class bias asserts itself harshly in sports as well. Let us take a small example. Swimming pool is the basic infrastructural requirement for swimming and related sports. In Pune there may have been 100 odd swimming pools constructed over past decade. Some of them have state-of-art facilities along with availability of experienced coaches. But all of them are enclosed within fortified enclaves of luxury townships duly guarded by security guards to ensure no ‘outsiders’ intrude into. For vast majority there are hardly any public swimming pools built. Same is the story with other sports facilities as well. Few municipalities have even found space amounting to few acres for golf clubs while children in surrounding areas play cricket in narrow lanes of their settlements.

Though bourgeoisie is putting brave face citing India’s medal tally and grand opening ceremony, it has miserably failed in achieving lofty goals it set when bidding for CWG. Games were to demonstrate that one day India would bid to host Olympics instead the world witnessed it struggling to host even CWG. As Wall Street Journal pointed in an article dated 15^th Oct 2010 “India exceeded the world’s low expectations for the CWG after a chaotic run-up to the athletic event but the organizers fell far short of their goals of showcasing the nation’s economic progress and burnishing its global image”.

We obviously disagree with this ‘imperialist’ analysis. To be honest the games did ‘showcase’ nation’s economic progress. It thoroughly showcased how this growth is built on the exploitation of its working masses. It did demonstrate how economic ‘progress’ has made its media more ‘progressive’ to ignore deaths of workers. It very well showcased its children laboring over construction sites. And it did showcase how amidst all this its bourgeoisie could indulge in gala celebrations with dazzling light- shows lightening skies.

One Day on Earth

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:36:00 +0000

One Day On Earth

Join on 10.10.10 for an unprecedented event. Every Nation, 24 hours and You.

Across the planet, documentary filmmakers, students, and inspired citizens will record the human experience over a 24-hour period. By participating in this historic event, you will help capture the diversity of life and culture on this planet.

One Day on Earth is a documentary and new media project about the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occurs in one 24-hour period on Earth. More than a film, One Day on Earth is a multi-platform participatory media project. The flagship of this project is a feature length documentary to be released theatrically. Through the One Day on Earth platform, we will establish a community that not only watches, but participates.

[So, now pick up your movie camera (any format) and get ready to capture....... :) ]

Into The Universe With Stephen Hawking - The Story Of Everything

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Wed, 12 May 2010 11:10:00 +0000

Into The Universe with Stephen Hawking is an epic new kind of cosmology series, Hawking gives us the ultimate guide to the universe, a ripping yarn based on real science, spanning the whole of space and time, the nature of the universe itself and lot more.

Hylozoism: an Holistic Documentary

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:56:00 +0000

Hylozoism
by cormacscanlan

Cormac Scanlan’s movie Hylozoism is a ‘Holistic Documentary’ which, whilst offering no answers, uses associational form to encourage its audience to ponder life's big questions. Alluding to topics as varied as psychology, philosophy, anthropology, urbanity and evolutionary biology, the film invites viewers to think about who we are and where we came from. Hylozoism asks questions about how are we connected to each other and our planet, ponders about where are we headed as species and examines our purpose as both an individual and a part in a larger society and history.

Filmmaker name:Cormac Scanlan

The Real Helen Keller

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:52:00 +0000

More than forty years after her death, Helen Keller is still known internationally as the little deaf-blind girl, the "miracle child" who triumphed over adversity. It is an image that endures through the Hollywood film "The Miracle Worker" - but Keller never chose that image, and she battled against it all her life. Hidden from the public gaze was the real Helen Keller, a flesh-and-blood woman, writer and radical activist, suffragette and socialist.

some illustrations

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:29:00 +0000

On Payroll

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:50:00 +0000

Dissolved summer

Wealthy winter again

Autumn is waiting on the vacant corridor

The planet look tired

Merchants are busy on buying and selling

So be it

We are all in

[On vacation now..will be back on feb 2010]

Solaris: exploring "I"

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:54:00 +0000

I remember the day when I first saw Solaris in my school days. The day I saw this movie it was at midnight on home TV. Those time DD(Delhi Durodarshon) used to broadcast every Friday a wonderful movie at night 11pm, but now they are not doing this anymore. Films of great masters like Tarokovosky, bergman, fellini, Satyjit Ray etc are often broadcasted through TV. I was just mesmerized by the visual, by that night when I was alone watching Solaris, the night all quiet in home and outside, in a cold, dark atmosphere.
Later day I discussed this film with my friends but more I was in magical trance of this movie. This movie is visually hypnotic and thematically nearby film on love, conscience, and reconciliation. Again I have seen this movie few days back, and this time I watched with little more maturity. Solaris is considered a science-fiction film. But not as usual known science fiction films likes Star Wars, Alien and The Terminator etc. No lesser gun, special spaceship, alien or this one nothing like a cliché science fiction. Tarokovsky treated this movie amazingly and a genuine exploration of human life in science genre. Solaris is the only Tarkovsky film based around a love story.
Tarkovsky writes in his brilliant book, Sculpting in Time, Solaris is only by chance a science-fiction film. He explains:
Unfortunately the science fiction element in Solaris was nonetheless too prominent and became a distraction. The rockets and space stations - required by [Stanislaw] Lem’s novel - were interesting to construct; but it seems to me now that the idea of the film would have stood out more vividly and boldly had we managed to dispense with these things altogether.
Stanislaw Lem was not agreed with output of his novel Solaris as film. There was some argument with Tarkovsky about treatment of the movie and changes Tarkovsky made. Basically Stanislaw Lem does not like the movie solaris as he said “I never really liked Tarkovsky's version of Solaris.”
But Tarkovsky is clear about this point when he writes in Sculpting in Time:
I have to say at the outset that not all prose can be transferred to the screen. Some works have a wholeness, and are endowed with a precise and original literary image; characters are drawn in unfathomable depths; the composition has an extraordinary capacity for enchantment, and the book is indivisible;
Solaris as a film ultimately came out an wonderful piece of artwork with stunning visual. Bergman stated that, “set of Solaris should be preserved.”

Tarkovsky with actors of solaris on solarisi set

Dr. Kelvin, who is a psychologist by training, as we see later in the film, is mourning the death of his wife. Two men walk up to the Chris’s house. They come to tell Chris that, “The Solaris crew is transmitting puzzling data.” Chris is to go out to the station and confirm whether this is true. If proven, the station will have to be shut down. We see a documentary film that shows, Henri Burton, the astronaut who filmed it, is suggesting that the planet that the station orbits is intelligent. A scientific discussion that makes out that the “problem” is lies in Burton and not with the planet. The next scene, Chris in space is heading for Solaris. Once he enters the space station, Dr. Snaut tells Dr. Kelvin that one of the three men onboard has committed suicide after the “trouble” began.
And gradually we are involved and confronted with a new level of metaphysical phenomena; we see strange occurrences and uncomfortable situations that force us to make sense of our human condition, those are beyond logic. Chris attempts to solve the enigma of the “personality disorders” that the others on the station are experiencing and he found himself in the situation. The suspense and anxiety are relatively evolved around the movie and it is spreading to the viewers. Spirituality along with human physical existence is one of the dominant themes of the film. This theme is developed alongside of Chris’ internal struggle to understand his wife’s sudden appearances. The character of Chris evolved according to his internal struggles and not through outward action or in a flat presentation.
According to Gibarian what is taking place is indescribable. It is the planet solaris which is doing all this. That’s reasonable on the basis of unknown of universe and limitation of human knowledge. Here Tarkovsky present us beautifully how human fight back with strange occurrences and our understanding of core value of human existence. Tarkovsky presents the viewer with the genuine possibility of adapting a new notion of what we regard as understanding of some basics. We are not introduced to beings from another world that will enlighten us with some new truth or not knowing of some new knowledge, a discovery. It is our relationship to us, it is how we see us in a mirror, knowing us individually and spiritually, that Tarkovsky explores and reflects in his films. His concern is not with scientific exploration but with the living of homosapien and explore them and to understand them. Again Tarkovsky has done this with rational scientific approach. For which everything he does is convincing for its sets, makeup, visuals etc.
Another theme of the film is the importance of memories in our lives; this is one of core concern of solaris. Tarkovsky’s treated this wonderfully as when Chris’s wife, Hari, dies again on the space station and Chris is forced to experience loss once again. The new memories start to emerge in new situation. Chris sees Hari again when he wakes up to find a young woman sitting on a chair facing him. She comes and kisses him. When Chris asks her where she came from, she just says. “How wonderful.” And, after Chris asks her how she knew that he was there, she becomes confused and asks, “What do you mean?” Chris began to fight with his own radical mind and to resolve the situation he puts Hari on a rocket and launches her into space. Chris is reacting to what he considers a hallucination on his part and creating closure of the past. For a shock to Chris when Snaut reveals to him: “It’s the materialization of your memory of her.” Snaut explains that the problems began when “we finished the experiment of beaming x-rays down at the ocean’s surface. Apparently the x-rays enabled the ocean to explore all the little islands of our memory.” Really this one is fantastic treatment in the movie and an interesting situation as we see us in our own confrontation. Solaris is digging up us in to deeper and deeper, to our heart, to our soul, to our existence, to our love, our feelings etc..etc..to all.
Possible explanations that Chris shows onboard, he feels the emotions suck out by these experiences. The relationship that exists between his true “internal” memories and the hallucinatory, external ones is experiencing everything same as physical on the station. This is easily evidenced when Hari cannot remember or make sense of her self, or her past, because she does not exist for herself, but only for Chris with the power of solaris. When she start explores her in the regard, she finds a negation of herself. Chris initiates a conversation with Hari that may be interpreted as actually being a conversation with himself: actually with his own memories. Hari presses him to tell her what or who she really is and the film is heading in a new direction from this point. Now this is about how we are dealing with what is eternal or how we connect with others. One is how linked with another. One is how linked with another beyond physical. The being “I” is how related to “you” or “you” is how related to “me”.
Thus, the film ends as it starts, with scenes of flowing water and Chris walking around the woods by his father’s house. But his return home is more than just a physical return, now Chris is enlightened. In visiting the space station, Chris discovered a sense of cosmic mystery, the unknown, how to approach towards unknown, he discovered belief and love around this earth that he must retain in his earthly existence, even if he is in a space station light years away. This is the strongest suggestion that Tarkovsky makes at the end of the film. Chris explores the nature surrounds his father’s what is vital in human existence. At the end, Tarkovsky’s is juxtaposing final scene of what is vital and presence situation of overbroad in space station in neutral, even terrifying but brilliant way. Solaris’ ocean signifies a realm of big materialistic universe, not the other half as we know dark mater, more visual space time which related to pure consciousness, acts of awakening, responsibilities that human govern and conduct humbly.

A hollywood version Solaris was made later, directed by Steven Soderbergh, but this one not going anywhere...as usual trapped under hollywood cliche.

Ascension: One of the beautiful scene of love in movie history, love as it protected by human treasure as art, music etc.

Irom Chanu Sharmila: 10 Years on hunger strike

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:32:00 +0000

Lokayat organises:

One Day token Hunger Strike in support of Sharmila Irom’s epic struggle

Poet and activist Sharmila Irom began her epic hunger strike on November 2, 2000. This is now the tenth year of her hunger strike. Her hunger strike has one single goal: withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA). imposed an even more murderous act, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. This act is a harsher version of the act the British used to quell the 1942 Quit Indian Movement. This act allows not just officers but even Junior Commissioned Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of the army to search, arrest, and even kill any person on grounds of mere “suspicion”.Yes, they can kill anyone with impunity, without fear of persecution! The armed forces have committed gross human rights violations under the cover of this act. The jawans of Assam Rifles daily arrest, beat up, torture nearly 80 to 100 people every day! Many women have suffered sexual abuse, rape, gang rape, and not one soldier has ever been prosecuted.

On November 2, 2000, the Assam Rifles (AR) gunned down 10 people at a bus stop in Malom village, near Imphal. Unknown insurgents had planted a bomb near the AR camp the previous day and, unable to locate the culprits, AR personnel hit out at random, killing many innocent citizens. Human rights organizations protested, to no avail. Shaken to the core by this injustice, poet and journalist Irom Sharmila decided to go on a hunger strike in protest.

Since then ten years have passed. The government and armed forces are adamantly refusing to withdraw the AFPSA, despite government appointed Justice Jeevan Reddy judicial commission recommending it. And Sharmila is determined that till it is withdrawn, she will continue her struggle.

This year, more than 140 organisations have decided to support Sharmila Irom’s hunger strike by organizing various programs during the week from November 2 to 7. The demands are:

   1. In all states where AFPSA is in force, all cases of rape and violence against women be investigated by a independent judicial body and those responsible be prosecuted under the law of the land.
   2. The AFPSA be withdrawn from Manipur and the other states where it in force.

In support of this countrywide protest, Lokayat is organizing the following program:

Program: One Day Hunger Strike in support of Sharmila Irom

Date:    November 7, Saturday

Time:   Morning 7 to Evening 7 pm

Venue: Tilak Putla, Mandai, Pune.

Wrong Monsoon

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:36:00 +0000

Whenever there is a green mountain

And rain

Often it says something to him loudly

Trees are seems like cables, falling from sky

He does venture in event horizon, in dark universe

He takes breath there and walked side by side with asteroids

He looks after of those wild white flowers

And fond of watching dragonflies

When they zooming their eyes in to interior of flowers

Some time he believes that there is wrong monsoon

Or he trapped in wrong monsoon

The Girl and the Ocean

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:44:00 +0000

A 16-year-old Australian steered her bright pink yacht out of Sydney Harbor on Sunday to start her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world.Jessica Watson's plan to make a 23,600-mile (38,000-kilometer) journey through some of the world's most treacherous waters sparked a debate in Australia about whether someone so young should be allowed to try such a potentially dangerous feat.Although she will sail solo and unassisted, she will be in constant contact with her support team via radio, e-mail and a blog."I know you are all anxious to hear from Jess, but she's a little preoccupied on her first day, so she asked me to post a quick note to let everyone know that the departure went well this morning," Julie Watson wrote on the blog.

Age of teens are time of winning the world and doing something , conquering some thing..lot adventure.....growing up with lovely earth...let be the world always like this...youthful with beauty..energetic and primarily raw..a raw earth.

Sail away Jessika..sail with your dream..all our wishes with you.

Her site: Jessica Watson

Blog Action Day 2009 – Climate Change

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:06:00 +0000

We don’t going have this earth forever, 700 million years from now the sun will blow up and will become a red giant. May some astronomer in coming years will discover a comet and path of that comet might in the line of planet earth, but it is plan of nature that Jupiter is there, mostly the Jupiter covered us as umbrella from those about to hit comets. There are lot cosmic ray out there and continuously emerging to the earth atmosphere, including deadly ultra violet. Again it is plan of nature that we have layer of Ozone and that protect earth from these rays. And earth geographical scenario is not always same and it will be change in coming years naturally.

But what about rapid climate change as we have seen now, and who courses it. It is human who shoot itself on the feet.

Year 2050 or approximately there will be shortage of fossil oils, and all short of energy crisis will hovering on planet earth. Nuclear energy is not safe fully. USA as most energy consuming country compared to other countries in the world and we have already seen what cost other country have to bear to maintain energy consumption same for another country like USA. All short of war imposed on lot of country in the name of “democracy”, “justice” etc.

Furthermore is digging up all earth, raping rain forest for increasing amount of greed all over and competition in corporate culture. One of the major root of this Climate Change is capitalism, so it is need to understand basic cause of the climate change more than some smooth actions which ask you to do some dull things ( ex, switch off your bulb when you not in the room , some NGOism with aimless actions) which do not affect anything to climate change.

So this post is in solidarity with those blogger who have concern for this planet, the only home to human and other species in the universe.

Blog Action Day 2009

Relevance of Bhagat Singh: A Tribute to birth centenary

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:58:00 +0000

Then, whatever bitterness the spectacle of the crumbling of an ancient world may have for our personal feelings, we have the right, in point of history, to exclaim with Goethe:
“Sollte these Qual uns quälen Da sie unsre Lust vermehrt, Hat nicht myriaden Seelen Timur’s Herrschaft aufgezehrt?”
[“Should this torture then torment us Since it brings us greater pleasure? Were not through the rule of Timur Souls devoured without measure?”]
[From Goethe’s “An Suleika”, Westöstlicher Diwan]

Marx quoted above in his wrting " British rule in India".

Bhagat Singh

His dreams are still dreamed by youth in South Asia. He was reading Lenin just before he was hanged and said to the police, "hold a minute, now a revolutionary meet an another revolutionary."

Anant Kanhare – hanged on 19.4.1910

Marching fearlessly after his arrest

These kinds of daring/passion are already somehow lost, what we see is salaried patriotism.

The exemplary courage and fearlessness, and total contempt towards the atrocities and punishments of the Britishers shown by revolutionaries, inspired young generation so much that they continued their valiant fight against British rule without any consideration for the safety of their life.

Sanyasi Revolutionary – died on 6.5.1924

Alluri Sitaram known as “Raju”, organized hill men and tribal of Vishakhapattam and Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh in Nov 1920. His main struggle was against govt. officials. Though Alluri was recognized as a religious man, he with the help of his two lieutenants Mallu Dorey and Gautom Dorey known as “Gam Brothers” began to attack police stations. On 23.9.1922 they destroyed an army contingent with two British commanders and 30 sept they totally destroyed one police barrack. In one of the fight against huge british army Alluri died along with his twelve comrades.
The “Gam Brothes” continued their fight against British authorities till their death.

Khudiram Bose - Hanged on 11.8.1908

For their writings against Bengal partition, some editors of Bengal were given harsh punishments by Kingsford, the magistrate of Kolkata. The daring deed of avenging this cruel act was entrusted to Khudiram and Prafull kumar. On 30.4.1908 they made unsuccessful attempt on the Kingsford and killing by mistake two British ladies. Prafull kumar committed suicide when he was encountered by police and Khudiram was executed on Majafferpur jail.

Santhal Sidhu – 1855

There is no such important national monument named after him, nothing goes after his name now, when lot place, forest, sports etc are flooded with name after members of one family, who virtually rule India as dynastic ruler.

Under the leadership of Sidhu thousand of “Santhal” declared their aims to overthrow the rule of East India Company. Around 30 to 50 thousand Santhal killed in the fight against British army.

Maulavi Ahmedshah – Died on 1858

He was courageous leader and brilliant commander. He organized a band of 80000 soldiers and drove away the British army from Ayodha (Yes, same Ayodha where Ram janambhumi conflicts still going on). However a treacherous Raja killed him.

Pics courtesy: Chapekar museum

Below a conversation with a young Trotskyist friend
( He is 21 and interested in having an Ukrainian girl friend in near future. )

Here his input:

(italic text in bracket are my opinions)

On the permanent crisis of capitalism:

However, instead of permanent “crisis” I would prefer the terminology of permanent decay which more correctly brings out the fundamental character of the epoch of imperialism which we are in today. Competition from major branches of economy stand eliminated and substituted by monopoly capital. This is correct insofar as it reveals the predatory nature of monopoly however, competition on the whole has not been eliminated but rather replaced from the preceding free market competition to monopoly competition which brings out a much more aggravated , more reactionary and bloodthirsty nature of capitalism which is predatory in itself.

Imperialist globalization sounds a bit of an oxy moron. Globalization per se cannot be construed as imperialism as we understand it. To consider the same is to accept a Maoist / third-worldist perspective which considers the third world and the imperialist world as a homogenous whole. This is a flawed super-internationalist perspective that ignores altogether the very existence of nation-states which is a stark contradicting reality of the times. For the backward nations themselves I would further like to add, a uniform progress has hardly been reached by globalization and imperialism. For some nations globalization has appeared to bring about immense economic growth through tech transfer and access to international finance markets etc like India and China. For others it has brought about mass pauperization. Latin America and Africa are examples to that effect as well as some South East Asian countries like Indonesia. (I say in general all the same in all third world countries, unequal growth and misery to maximum number of peoples)

Brain-dead free market fundamentalists who have little to offer but they only to make astrologers look good. I cannot however, appreciate the following point as much which appears to avoid mention of the rise of the USA as an imperialist power as well as Japan over the decaying corpse of European imperialism which threw up the most reactionary capitalist institution yet seen in the form of fascism. The nature of the prolonged crisis of capitalism itself is more complex than in presented here which was shown by a crisis of overproduction and subsequent destruction of massive capital in the form of world war I and world war II each succeeding prolonged and painfully exploitative periods of deflation in which holders of credit are favored more than borrowers. Generally speaking it has summarized some of the key economic developments of the post world war reconstruction period which showed flawed efforts at controlling the tremendous financial mess threw up by the preceding periods however an omission has been made on the mention of the usury institution of the petro-dollar by America as a substitution of the gold standard. The succeeding section seems to summarize the character of the crisis of 1973 correctly as a crisis of overproduction wherein the resumption of global trajectory of capitalism was revived. In addition to this I would say this phase marked the end of productive reconstruction of capitalism in which finance capital temporarily played down. The same section should ideally have also included the phase b/w 1945 and 1973 in which there were global mass movements of the proletariat which were put down by the dual combination of fierce oppression and Stalinist bureaucratic treachery. The latter aspect is especially significant for our purposes of exposing the weaknesses of Stalinism.

On the whole a negative omission of the political role of the Stalinist bureaucracy which played on the whole a dirigiste / protectionist role which acted in the best as a stop gap against imperialism and in the worst case as an agency of imperialism to restrain the revolutionary proletarian movements throughout the world. The current condition of the post Stalinist world and we may say that an implicit admission was made therein of the stop-gap like role played by world Stalinism against imperialism.

On World Economy and the Nation State:

The relations between the nation-state and world capitalism, as a whole is presented here as inherent contradiction between an economic system that socializes and a socio-political structure of the nation state which acts as a barrier to the same. Thus we see dialectical relation b/w imperialism and the nation-state. A dialectical relation is exists no doubt. My disagreement with the instant relation lies is in its presentation of the socio-political entity of the nation state as the main harbinger of capitalism. Historically, the emergence of the modern bourgeoisie nation-state appeared with the negation of the old feudal structure which subdued all political relations which would act in a way to unite the people of a given nation into a fragmented economic relation and a quasi centralized monarchy. In the modern nation state we see that it acting as a carrier of bourgeois property relations subdues all pre-existing relations into the bourgeois socio-political and economic framework in a transcendental incorporation. Hence, the gradual transformation from feudal property relations to capitalist also gave rise to the emergence of the nation state. The said form of property arrived not after but before the emergence of modern nation-states. Hence, capitalism itself appeared not with the appearance of the nation-state rather with the appearance of bourgeois property. In time global transitions from pre-capitalist to capitalist forms took place not through neat transitions as they had in Europe but through exploitation and imperialist adventure and which resulted in the imposition of European bourgeois property relations upon the orient and Africa. In other words the progressive national movements which arose in EuropeAsia and Africa and Latin America. Thus the national movements against imperialism have in themselves a progressive content working against the reactionary institution of imperialism. (Common, nation states are no more has its progressive role, Bourgeoisie national just becomes alter ego to British intruder of that period, a role repeated again, taken by Bourgeoisie this time to its own people as Marx said, “Now, the British in East India accepted from their predecessors the department of finance and of war, but they have neglected entirely that of public works. Hence the deterioration of an agriculture which is not capable of being conducted on the British principle of free competition, of laissez-faire and laissez-aller. But in Asiatic empires we are quite accustomed to see agriculture deteriorating under one government and reviving again under some other government. There the harvests correspond to good or bad government, as they change in Europe with good or bad seasons. Thus the oppression and neglect of agriculture, bad as it is, could not be looked upon as the final blow dealt to Indian society by the British intruder, had it not been attended by a circumstance of quite different importance, a novelty in the annals of the whole Asiatic world. However changing the political aspect of India’s past must appear, its social condition has remained unaltered since its remotest antiquity, until the first decennium of the 19th century.”) These struggles further class struggle in a progressive revolutionary direction and thus require our unconditional support. However, national-democratic goals are not an end in themselves and that develops uninterruptedly into the socialist revolution and the fulfillment of socialist proletarian goals. This is the essence of permanent revolution which shows their relevance all the more in every national struggle. They cannot possibly circumscribe national self determination but must begin from that and uninterruptedly mature into a socialist proletarian revolution. It would thus be criminal of us to take a view of nation-states as reactionary institutions of imperialism. The nation-states in themselves in this epoch of imperialism have outlived their progressive character economically and as political institutions. Their use for imperialism is little more than cannon fodder for providing a conducive atmosphere for the development of exploitative and usury relations. along with the movement against reactionary feudalism were realized in full with the realization of the socio-political entity of the nation-state. The same was restrained from arising in the colonized world in

On Vital importance of namely the international character of the socialist revolution:

It would thus naturally make space of an open analysis of international factors and forces which give rise to such a character of the socialist revolution. Quite unfortunately the clauses under the above mentioned section do not show such understanding. You have begun with the claim that the era of “national projects” had ended with the end of the First World War. This claim is so thoroughly detached from the practical experiences of the last century which far from showing the end of national “projects” as you call them has shown the emergence of a strong current of national movements culminating in the end of the colonial system this constitutes an important chapter of class struggles of the proletariat which has been entirely overlooked in this section. I would quote Marx where he said “Whilst the struggles of the proletariat are national in action they are international in essence”. This was the dialectics of proletarian internationalism as espoused by Marx himself. Your position in the aforementioned clause seems to almost thoroughly contradict this position where you call for the “orientation” of the masses flowing in the reverse direction to that of Marx’s when you say it must flow from international to national. While asserting the position of Marx which Trotsky later espoused you seem to conclude that the proletariat which begins its action on the national scale does so from the heightened awareness of an internationalist perspective. The points subsequent to these seem to be generally correct an exposition on the nature of imperialism and capitalism as well as posing the objective need for its revolutionary overthrow. I have in brief underlined my position regarding the history of class struggles the place of the Bolshevik revolution and the inadequacy of the Fifth Internationalist movement. I shall merely reiterate the same point here which seems to imply the formation of a new revolutionary international as a tool for the world working class to unite under a revolutionary international banner. (Ok thats something I agree upon) Even if it does not do so it still raises a question as to where precisely our position lays with respect to the divergent trends of the internationalist Trotskyist movement.

The revolution as it would unfold in India would have requisite characteristics of both the ideal formation of revolutions as they unfold in backward countries generally speaking as well as its own subjective peculiarities. It seems strives to explain our understanding of a socialist proletarian revolution as it would unfold in India. This is a rather large endeavor in itself which would require a thorough and concrete analysis of conditions as they exist in India in relation to the objective conditions as exists the world over. As far as this section is concerned, what is lacking is a thorough analysis of the objective conditions as it exists today in this pre-revolutionary phase of the country and how they would play out in the plane of class struggles as they emerge in its full revolutionary form culminating in the conquest of power by the proletariat. This is one of the basic pre-requisites of the building of a socialist economy in any country not just a backward one like India with a tremendous semi-feudal weight upon itself. However, questions of a fundamental nature relating to our impending political tasks and our view points on the various classes and parties as they stand do not find mention here. The omissions made in the sections apart, the omission of an appraisal of the classes and parties itself make the programme rather weak in this respect. I would suggest a brief statement to this effect be added. You have described the process of revolution in India as a “single process”. I am unable to understand what precisely you intend to explain by describing the revolution as a “single process”. Do you view the political capture of power by the proletariat an exclusively political exercise detached from social class dynamics? you seem to simplify the significance of India to mere geo-political equations without looking into the various economic dimensions of the Indian economy with relation to the world economy as a whole neither does it seem to consider the possible paths through which a revolution would unfold in India (ok, added here as in South Asia) and what impact it would have. The other observations with respect to these points are more or less factual relating to the degree in which the peasantry holds economic importance in India. The peasantry does not comprise 2/3rds of the Indian population rather the population of rural India is at about 56% of the national population and out of which about 70% are peasants. The economic contribution of agriculture to the Indian economy as a whole is marginal relative to its demographic weight. The characterization of the immediate tasks of the proletarian revolution in India is basically correct in the sense that the proletarian regime would be faced with solving the agrarian problem which is of great urgency. Without resolving this all important unfinished task of the bourgeoisie (yes, with some national questions, ethnic questions, dalit questions, caste questions etc.) the proletarian cannot hope to advance into socialism leaving a vast unfinished task of rural reform. On the ambiguity of the phrase “radical transformation of rural relations”, my doubt is that when we are speaking of such a “radical transformation” do we intend to do this keeping the institution of private property through limited land reforms? Or is it our intention to go in for the full nationalization of land? On this point I would like to further ask how pray do we intend to collectivize production in the countryside keeping the restraining institution of private property? The two are mutually contradicting. The correct dialectical understanding in this regard in my opinion is that the nationalization of land while depriving the usury propertied classes in India would provide relief to both marginal and deprived landless rural proletariat. The proletarian regime would at the first instance not merely gain the political alliance of the peasant and urban petty bourgeois class but also continue to hinge on the support of these elastic classes at least in the initial period of transformation of society upon conquering political power. This is more out of necessity than anything else especially in the case of a backward semi-feudal country like ours. the nature of the political party of the proletariat and its tactical functioning pertaining to the political independence of the party in relation to its political tasks, the support of the peasantry in the impending revolution, the central tasks of the proletarian regime in India and ultimately its impact on a world stage. Generally speaking they seem to treat these issues in a somewhat speculative manner rather then being concrete and objective. This is reflected which attempts to draw out a line for the Indian revolution and its impact on the world stage. In this epoch of imperialism where global integration of the economy and the saturation of the productive forces of capitalism have already taken place a revolution in a country of great political and economic significance would undoubtedly start out a climactic chain reaction of revolutionary upheavals not merely restricted to the South Asian region or even the Asian region but all across the world. But even so I would still caution on treading around this point too closely. The question of the later spread of revolution from India to the world is a matter that can only be decided upon the revolutionary conquest of power by the proletariat in India. Such conquest no matter how small the country in which it takes place has a naturally electrifying effect across the globe. In this I would like to draw attention to the impact the revolutionary struggles in Vietnam and Cuba have had. With respect to the “central task of the proletarian regime”, it seems that you have confused the “central task” of the regime with that of the immediate tasks. According to this the central task of the proletariat is not that of building socialism but that of spreading the revolution to the advanced countries! (Wow…spreading it to USA, London,etc, this I doubt as an Indian revolution can’t be a single transformation process somewhere in Earth, there is more possibility of chain events of revolutions in many countries.)You are in effect suggesting that because the proletariat in India is not an advanced proletariat they must resort to servicing the needs of the advanced workers of Europe, East Asia and America for their revolution! Further more I would like to question what precisely is meant here by the word “central task”. Immediately upon capturing power the central task of the Russian proletariat was the abolishing of feudalism and Tsarism. Thereafter, during the event of civil war the central task was the defense of the revolution against forces of counter revolution. And for the purpose of achieving the central task of building socialism in Russia it was evident that there was a necessity of the revolution to spread internationally. More specifically to Germany which was one of the 5 leading imperialist nations in the world as well as an immediate regional power with relation to Russia’s geo-political disposition. Thus, the central task of a revolutionary regime in IndiaIndia and for that matter the whole world is the abolition of capitalism and supplanting it with a socialist economic and socio-political structure. cannot be restricted to merely one goal under ideal conditions but the same must have a dynamic character to it. You seem to be considering the same as a static phenomenon which I hold is completely wrong. But then these doubts emanate from confusions regarding the way “the central tasks” have been described in the section. Looking at the long term the central task of the proletariat in

On Classes in Indian society and their role in the revolutionary struggle:

Earlier one comrade had suggested the formation of a new constituent assembly of workers and peasants as a tool to win them over. It is a good suggestion and presents itself as an aspect of the transitional demand which provides a bridge between the present capitalist structure of society and economy and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. However, this suggestion does not auger well with the specific task of winning over the peasantry. Considering the experience of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917 and later revolutionary upheavals the task of winning over the peasantry had been intrinsically linked with the transformation of land relations in the countryside. This radical transformation which culminates in the collectivization of production can only be achieved by the full nationalization of land. This for the small peasantry does not amount to its seizure and the forced displacement of the peasant from his land but rather acts to secure his life which is tied in with the produce of the land. This will act only to the detriment of the usury classes of rural India the landholders, moneylenders etc. Thus I forward the demand for the nationalization of land in India as a transitional demand for the revolutionary transformation of productive relations in the countryside and thereafter the gradual and voluntary transformation from individual peasant production to collectivized productive relations. With regard to the nature of the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat the draft appears to give a rather undue significance to the rural aspect of the impending tasks of the revolutionary proletariat. This I say not just for this section but even the foregoing sections. India it must be understood is a far more proletarianized country then Russia was at the time of revolution. Today nearly half of India resides in cities. (I don’t think it is correct statics, not half of India resides in cities) A great swathe of the population has been expropriated from the country side (I’d say brutally starved out by the advance of capitalism) and incorporated into the city as the urban proletariat. Thus, the working class holds a paramount significance in terms of its economic strength more or less at par with the national bourgeoisie. This objective pre-requisite of revolution has already been fulfilled. What is lacking more seriously is the lack of the subjective factor of revolutionary leadership which can transform the proletariat into a fighting force which will in the long run be able to take the reigns of power and complete the revolutionary overthrow of the dictatorship of capitalism. I agree with the characterization of the peasantry which very correctly identifies its political elasticity and general characterless and sheer lack of revolutionary understanding however, this does not diminish the significance of the peasantry as a revolutionary auxiliary to the proletariat in its quest to conquer power from the bourgeoisie. One other point the draft almost completely misses out on is the question of the rural proletariat, the large and middle peasants. They too generally speaking assume the role of the bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie in a rural setting however; in relation to the small and marginal peasants they are on a more secure economic footing then the semi-pauperized marginal and small farmers. How we intend to reconcile these differences in the countryside and what the role of these classes will be in the revolutionary struggle remains an open question which the draft does not answer in this section.

The subsequent section which deals with the national bourgeoisie is another significant section however, not as significant as the preceding section which deals with the peasantry. Its importance lay in the present day positioning of this national bourgeois in relation to world capitalism as a whole and the characteristics it displays. The instant section is correct in so far as it identifies the failures of the bourgeoisie to accomplish the national democratic tasks that history had set before it however I cannot but disagree with the characterization in the second half of the section. It seems to overlook the structure of the Indian economy and the changes that it underwent since the establishment of the dictatorship of the Indian bourgeois in 1947 and straight away uncritically analyzes the import of foreign capital as one that has reduced India to a complete dependency of the same. The facts belie the assertion that India is a semi-colony in any sense or a neo-colony. ( read INDIA BECOMING A COLONY AGAIN ) The fact is that India today has achieved the heights of capitalist development which has allowed for the emergence of a largely monopolistic economy and thereafter the export of capital and the super exploitation of foreign labor. India as of 2009 exported roughly $69 billion worth of fdi mostly in African Asian and Latin American countries. It has emerged as a lender nation lending loans upto $ 4billion to backward countries which in every way show more semi-colonial characteristics than India does or ever did (e.g Afghanistan). However, India has reached this advanced stage of capitalism which shows itself in the monopolistic structure of the economy more or less divided among giant monopolistic corporations both privately owned as well as state owned. The draft is correct in so far as it identifies the shortcomings of the Stalinists and Maoists in understanding the fact that the national bourgeoisie has expended all its productive potential however it fails to identify the rather myopic perspectives of Maoists and Stalinists who forward a somewhat Menshevik alternative of limited reforms of the Indian economy aimed at a more protectionist structure that had existed earlier in India in the 4 decades that succeeded the attainment of bourgeois independence in 1947. This alternative economic solution which seems to suggest that India is a semi-colony or will become one if it allows in more foreign capital into India completely ignores the dynamics of the modern day economy of India which has emerged imperialist in its own right. The Maoist and Stalinist arguments against the entrance of foreign capital almost suggests as though nationalized industry under the rule of the bourgeois would constitute a ready bulwark against imperialism as a whole! They seem to have either forgotten or deliberately ignored Lenin’s conclusions on imperialism and the nature of the same that he had deduced. Imperialism and by that I mean modern imperialism based on monopoly capital and the dominance of finance capital on industrial capital arises not on the arbitrary will of any monopolist or even as a matter of policy decisions by bourgeois governments but arises as a natural formation of capitalism as a result of the law of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall which gives rise to monopoly capital and the peculiar manner in which it behaves namely the export of capital to compensate for the inadequacy of mere export of goods. These fundamental characteristics of imperialism exist in India. What is significant in this regard is that India has arrived at this stage without fulfilling some of the rudimentary national bourgeois goals which include the transformation of social relations in the countryside and the abolition of old pre-capitalist relations in the form of the caste system this stark contrast between the advance of capitalism and the existence of pre-capitalist relations provides a perfect case for the proletarian revolution. The fact of India’s emergence into imperialism merely adds more political and economic strength to the otherwise backward Indian proletariat who has yet to taste the levels of advancement which the major imperialist nations of Europe, America and East Asia have achieved. Under conditions of revolution this very nation that in lieu with world imperialism enslaves the workers and peasants of other nation would transform itself and become their liberator! The dismantling of India’s imperialist edifice in fact would amount to the fulfillment of national democratic tasks which history has thrust upon the proletariat of India. This would be done through the undoing of partition and the merger of India Pakistan and Bangladesh into a free union of Socialist republics (once the revolutionary tide has swept into these nations) the proclamation for independence of Kashmir, and the unconditional granting of independence to all oppressed nationalities (yeah..sure). The return of occupied lands of Nepal, and the absolute repudiation of all pending debts owed to India by third world nations and the exit of India from imperialistic bi-lateral organizations like the IMF and the ADB ( in which India is incidentally the 6^th largest stake holder after China ). However, these are based on observations only regarding the present status of India in the greater scheme of world imperialism. These positions are by no means absolute and by no means static and would be subject to regular updating considering the world situation and the conditions as existing in the nation. I am not trying to provide a cookbook solution to the issues revolving around the imperialist tendencies of India nor am I saying that these would automatically resolve all standing issues which have their own complexities. (I understand it… pal) However, the general direction of the revolutionary struggle of the Indian proletarian would be incomplete without taking into consideration aspects of anti-imperialism within India i.e anti-‘Indian imperialism’. The proletarian must be mobilized to act against its own nation in the interest of the world proletarian whenever its bourgeois acts in an imperialist / oppressive way. This is the essence of proletarian international solidarity. This is vital importance for the impending revolution. And then there is the question of political positions with regard to aggressions upon India and aggressions made by India on other nations. Considering India’s imperialist dynamic it becomes outright betrayal to let the sons of workers and peasants in the army march into the enemies ranks for the sake of imperialist designs. My stance with regard to an Indo-Pak war is to call for unconditional revolutionary defeat of the Indian bourgeois in the instance that it is the aggressor and to call for the same even in case of an invasion by Pakistan upon India but simultaneously calling for the transformation of the revolutionary transformation of the imperialist war on Pakistan’s end into an anti-imperialist civil war aimed at its comprador bourgeois which takes its orders from Washington rather than Islamabad and is by now an absolute slave of IMF loans which seem to flow into their nation at a unbelievable pace each year. This in my view is keeping in line with both the strategy of revolutionary defeatism as well as the essence of proletarian internationalism. This is in brief my views on the nature of the national bourgeois and from this point stems my disagreement with the draft’s position on the same. The possibility (or rather the impossibility) of forming united fronts with bourgeois parties I feel the same has been improperly treated and leaves a huge grey area. The question of united fronts is not so simple. In the last 80 years of the last century we have had several conflicting examples of united fronts some ending in brilliant success and some ending in dismal failure. In India it is the latter we have seen with regard to the narrow electoral alliance between the Congress and the CPIM and the latter’s eventual liquidation as a significant political force in the country. On the other side of the spectrum we have a most successful example of its application in the second Chinese revolution which leads to the overthrow of the semi-fascist bourgeois KMT from China then there is also the united front of the Bolsheviks and Kerenesky against the Cossack hordes of Kornilov. The united front as I view it differs from that of a popular front in that is allows for the party of the proletariat to organize independent of its ally while fighting against a common enemy. This position is summarized by the beautiful dialectic of “March separately but strike together”. This dialectic must be borne in mind when speaking of any kind of united front with the bourgeois or anyone else. You completely ignored it and gone in with a somewhat ultra leftist position as was taken by the German KPD with regard to posing a united front with the SPD against Hitler. Had the United front formed there would have been a chance of defeating Hitler and arresting the rise of Fascism in Germany at a very critical juncture when they had arisen as a mass force. From these above significant examples (which I may add are by no means exhaustive) one can construe some fundamental pre-conditions for calling a united front into existence. If I were to summarize it would be thus:

1. That there must be an urgent threat against the proletariat in which the forces of the proletarian may not be sufficient to counter the same.

2. That the ally in a united front must pose as an alternative that would be better than the extreme reaction, this would threaten even rudimentary gains made by it. (E.g. Kerensky in relation to Kornilov was a lesser evil since the latter would reinstate the Czar and defeat even the limited freedoms of bourgeois democracy)

3. The front is only a temporary formation which dissolves once its central aims are fulfilled. (E.g the defeat of the imperialist aggression of Japan upon China)

The above summary is by no means any exhaustive text of the united front but a brief explanation of the political tactic. Keeping the above in mind I conclude that the position to be taken in this regard should take into considerations the conditions present in the country that can justify the necessary evil of allying with the political formations of the class enemy. United fronts cannot be called into existence in a sui generis manner as had been done by the CPIM so many times in the Indian context under various pretexts ignoring completely the class character of the political parties or the class forces playing out in India at any given time. I would like to further add that while condemning the much abused policies of Stalinists who it is needless to say understand next to nothing about the tactics of the united front, you have not made so much as a whisper on the much abused policies of several revisionist Trotskyist groups who practice the most condemnable compromises under the pretext of the now proven failure of entryism. Time and again this flawed policy which so completely compromises the organizational independence of the proletarian party has lead to the complete disintegration and in worse cases dissolution of political parties. We have seen the same happen in the case of the BLPI whose historical role in class struggles in India has been almost completely omitted. The instant section which deals with the national bourgeois also omits the role played by reactionary fascist parties and where they stand in the political spectrum in India and how their presence will affect the course of class struggles. The question of fascist and semi-fascist parties is all the more important while considering the question of the united front with liberal bourgeois parties.

One of important political question is our position on Stalinist and Maoist parties in India. Ideologically hardly any difference exists in the core ideas of the Stalinist and Maoist, root them in “the common soil of stagism”. However, that’s where most if not all the similarities end. When we speak of Stalinist formations in India we generally refer to the parliamentary cretins of the CPIM and CPI who despite their bureaucratic formation and organization are rooted in the working class nonetheless but while we speak of the Maoists generally it is pertaining to those parties who base themselves largely on the peasantry and more specifically to the Naxalites who have reduced revolutionary class struggle to the military exercise of protracted guerilla struggle (“quick and dead” policies). I am neither against armed tactics nor even against guerilla tactics generally speaking (more I think as left RAMBO actions). I am however stringently opposed to the universalization of tactics and raising tactical questions to the plane of strategy. Both the Stalinists and Maoists are guilty of making this blunder. The same has not found mention in the instant section. I would like to point out the factual incorrectness of the assertion that the Stalinist “two stages” theory developed in accordance to their world view. The advent of the bourgeois in central and Eastern Europe took place at a belated period owing to the failure of revolutions in Prussia in 1848 and the incompleteness of the Italian revolution. In both cases the unfulfilled tasks of the bourgeois revolution and the belated entry of the bourgeois into the era of capitalism gave rise to the phenomenon of fascism which found a fertile ground in the semi pauperized petty bourgeois in these countries. This of course deals more with the question of fascism and less with Stalinism and Maoism and its role in India. A question on the Stalinists and Maoist formations in the country which I would raise which is related to the question of the united front is whether in the instance of a threat of an urgent nature we would ally with a Stalinist or Maoist formation to counter say a fascist force who are an imminent threat to the working class. In the aforementioned point which deals with the question of formation of united fronts seems to indicate this where you say that we only propose united fronts with working class parties. The Stalinists and Maoists have bureaucratic and heavily centralized political formations which stratify the leadership of these political formations from the class that they base themselves on. This however must not be confused as being the complete detachment from the class. The Stalinists and Maoist parties are essentially workers parties however they behave in a way that acts ultimately to the detriment of the class they represent.

On trade unions:

Its significant both as a practical question as well as making for an interesting topic for theoretical deliberations. The question of trade unions has been a bone of contention for many a revolutionary as is evident from the various polemical texts from the foremost revolutionaries of the last century. Lenin, Trotsky and Rosa generally speaking tend to take a rather pessimistic view on this question while Marx and Engels took a relatively optimistic view of the same. This is the general understanding. The LRCI document on trade unions which I have attached along with this mail in my opinion is a pragmatic take on the question of the trade unions which is most consistent with the correct revolutionary outlooks on the same as espoused by Trotsky, Marx and Lenin. The same pragmatic position finds an expression in the transitional programme wherein Trotsky admits the role of the trade union as an elemental organizational need of the proletarian before the attainment of higher forms of organization like Factory Committees and Worker’s Soviets. We cannot circumscribe the elemental organizations of the working class and reach directly at these higher forms of organization which are the products of a very advanced stage of the class struggle. We must keep in mind that the revolutionary class isn’t revolutionary at all times. It may not always be readily willing to form such advanced forms of organizations of dual power which challenge bourgeois rule to its very bare essence. We have to work with the existing tools that the workers posses in their struggle against the dictatorship of capital. However, Trotsky as well as Lenin had very correctly criticized the approaches of the Anarchists towards the question of the Trade Unions as well as identified the negative tendencies of trade unions. The Anarchist approach hitherto has been to form isolated revolutionary trade unions counter posed to the more bureaucratized apparatuses. This amounts to nothing more than an ultra leftist Puritanism and a pinprick on capitalism. Lenin in Left Wing Communism had underlined the correct approach towards reactionary trade unions (who form the majority of India’s unionized workforce) wherein he mentioned the radical intervention of revolutionary workers into the unions as a means of challenging the rigid trade union bureaucracies. Only through such interventions can the real ailment plaguing unions can be cured namely that of bureaucratic control. The fight against the union apparatuses is in essence a fight against their leadership and not the union itself which presents the least bad possibility to the working class between having a union which may provide some redress and not having any organization in the absence of which they do not find any means of expressing their grievance or having any organized apparatus to fight the bourgeoisie with. However, notwithstanding these aforesaid positions, in the instant section you seem to have gone with the pessimistic line of the ICFI which claims that Trade unions have only a negative role in the class struggles of the proletariat which make them repressive tools of the bourgeois under conditions of highly centralized monopoly structure against the period of progressive “free market” capitalism. The assertion is only partially true. Whilst it is true that monopoly capitalism has restrained the freedom of formation and action of unions to an unbelievable extent we cannot write off unions entirely. The present disposition of trade unions as subordinated to the control of the capitalist class in the workplace only makes the case for formation of higher more democratic and independent organizations of the workers and a revolutionary struggle against the bureaucratic apparatuses of the unions which serve the interests of the capital first and foremost as a consequence of its commitment to defending its own privileged position in relation to the large majority of workers. The other assertion that the era of “free market” capitalism represented the era of the progressive fighting unions is rather suspect. Judging by the fragmented nature of the Chartist movement in England and its limited reformist perspective I wouldn’t say that the vitality of the union movement was any greater in the era of “free market” laissez faire capitalism then it is now. Rather if we consider the tremendous socialization of production and the formation of unions as mass organizations as was the case with the German union movement the era of imperialism showed the most progressive trend hitherto seen in the Trade Union movement wherein the mass unison of the proletariat has been achieved under the organization of the Trade Union. However, the same phenomenon of concentration of capital and integration of finance capital and industrial capital in the era of imperialism produces a dialectal phenomenon wherein the socialization and organization of labor is counter posed to the formation of restrictive bureaucratic apparatuses in the Trade Union as a consequence of monopoly capitalism. I’ll conclude by stating my position with regard to the question of Trade unions thus: Recognizing that they are but an elemental need of the working class and simultaneously admitting their degeneration as bureaucratic apparatuses under the de facto control of the bourgeois for the purposes of containing the proletarian at the workplace I conclude that the fight against unionism is in essence a fight against its bureaucratic leadership and not the union itself nor against unionism per se. We call for the overthrow of the bureaucratic leadership which bring the union under the constraints imposed by the bourgeois and strive to achieve the fullest independence of the union from the clutches of the bourgeois capitalists. This can only be done through the conscious intervention of the revolutionary party of the proletariat.

On National struggles and self determination:

I would like to draw your attention to the comments made in the earlier mail relating to the treatment of nationalism. The general treatment of nationalism as observed earlier seems to have had their culmination which held that the nation-state had become entirely invalid and that all national movements for self-determination are necessarily redundant. How then do we reconcile the movements for self-determination where there are actually oppressed nationalities? Is not national self-determination a national democratic goal left unfinished by the bourgeois whose completion must be made at the hands of the proletarian regime? I leave it at this question.

On “Identity” movements:

Such movements are in essence reactionary currents which only harm international and national working class solidarity and attempt to divide them into rival “communities” or “identities”. It thus has the effect of supplanting class consciousness with a reactionary communal consciousness. The worker would cease to identify himself as a worker and his main enemy as the class enemy and identify the communal enemy or the rival community as his main enemy. This only serves the interests of the bourgeois who from time to time resort to such reactionary currents in the event they are unable to control the militant rebellious proletariat. It thus inevitably becomes a tool of oppression of the bourgeois.

me: Ok ok....but we seems see all virtual revolutionary, laptop revolutionary, keybord revolutionary....where is field practice..
he said: you are.. a skeptic..

I lit my cigarette

me: look at time line, 1857 - first indian uprising, birth of nations, nationalities, just after almost hundread year 1947 - power shifted to national bourgeise...then what do you think about 2040/50...
he said: ha ha ha ha ha...comon don't go with mathamatics.....social history does not go with mathamatics

me: lets we find a bar now...

My Romanticism - 1

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:42:00 +0000

One day I will go to Munich, Germany to attend this beer festival and drink..drink....drink......

Hofbräu beer tent on the second day of the Oktoberfest beer festival on September 20, 2009. Munich, Germany

Visitors rest against a wall during Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. Me also lying there after attending the fest.

More pics of Oktoberfest here

Another one of the people's times and RUMI'S voice

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:35:00 +0000

More at The Real News

Zelaya's return to Honduras met with force

Ousted president makes surprise return to the capital, coup government responds with vicious crackdown

Eighty-six days after he was summarily kidnapped and forced out of the country by the military, and on his third attempt to return, ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya appeared at the Brazilian embassy in the capital city of Tegucigalpa on Monday morning. Hondurans flooded into the streets to support his return, to which the coup regime responded by instituting a curfew. When thousands of Hondurans refused to adhere to return to their homes, the regime resorted to brute force.

Produced by Jesse Freeston.

A piece of poetry by Rumi:

get up! do not sleep! we have come close.
we have already heard the dog and the rooster
of that neighborhood.
by god they were signs from the village of the beloved:
all the flowers that we grazed on.
get up! do not sleep! it is daytime.
the morning star has risen and we see the footprints.
it was night and the whole caravan
was locked up in a Caravanserai;
get up! for we have rid ourselves of the dark and of the prison.

Landscape on canvas - medium oil

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:40:00 +0000

Due to swine flu pandemic, city was almost shut for one week, so two full days stay at home I able to produce two landscape. (And realize I should more frequent on paint)

Landscapes are originated from the regions of north east India.

Ponyo: Hayao Miyazaki's new gift

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:23:00 +0000

After animation masterpieces such as“Howl's Moving Castle”, “Spirited Away” etc, Ponyo is the new animated feature from master film maker Hayao Miyazaki. Some time there are things that may be related to race and I sense it as some things are can be done only by particular race (don’t take it wrong). The movies created by Hayao Miyazaki are so fresh, so Japanese and completes with distinctively unique in style, and at the same time is universal. The creation of “Ponyo” can be only done by a Japanese.

Although creations of Moebius , Walt Disney etc. other master creator stands in different arena and also different in style and tradition.

This old man is symbol of purity. Beauty and treatments in his films are seems like visuals and resonance of some Haiku words. Of course also results of extreme hard work, focus and integrity.

Ponyo is a story about a goldfish named Ponyo who becomes friends with a young boy and decides to live among the humans. However, once Ponyo makes the decision it creates a crack in an ancient magic spell that puts the world order in danger.

That enormous pile of paper actually is even bigger and radiates with the devotion of Studio Ghibli's animators. About 320,000 pictures were drawn till the completion of the film and even though Ponyo's length is only 1 hour and 40 minutes, it used by far the most pictures a Ghibli movie ever needed.

Ponyo (100 min 54 sec): 170,653 pictures used

John Lasseter: Can you talk a little bit about how you develop your stories?

Hayao Miyazaki: My process is thinking, thinking, thinking. Thinking about my stories for a long time. If you have a better way, please let me know. (Comic-Con)

I do all my work by storyboard. As I draw the storyboards, the world gets more and more complex. As a result, my north, south, east, west kind of shift and go offbase, but it seems like my staff, as well as the audience, doesn't quite realize this has happened. (Press conference)

HAYAO MIYAZAKI TALKS PONYO!

Here is an conversation with Hayao Miyazaki about animation

Kelts wondered why in films like Nausicaä and even in Ponyo there's a great tsunami that threatens to destroy the setting?

Miyazaki responded that people tend to think they are separate from nature; but, he doesn't believe people are separate from nature. Nature is included within people. The nature that's inside Ponyo becomes the tsunami, which is the way she reaches the town where the boy Sosuke lives. The tsunami doesn't destroy the town or hurt the people there; it's more a magical tsunami that cleanses the town and the people who live there. Miyazaki finds hope in the power of nature.

Kelts asked Miyazaki to lay out for audiences accustomed to CGI animation what the value is of hand-drawn animation?

Miyazaki responded that-since drawing by hand can be sheer drudgery-they considered the option that it might be easier to use computer graphics. They hired a young person to explore computer drawing; but, soon realized they could draw faster by hand than by computer. For Miyazaki, it's a matter of thinking that animators should be more casual about drawing animation. He thinks an animator is more free, drawing by hand. When a character is feeling downtrodden, an animator can draw the character thin and small, and when a character is feeling full of confidence, they can draw his head bigger and show his feelings. It's difficult for computers to intuit human feelings.

TSE2009 at Tawang - Arunachal Pradesh

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:20:00 +0000

My ill luck that I was not able to been places where TSE2009 occurred fully , even in my place visibility was 90%, but we missed the phenomenon due to raining.

JVP (Jyoti Vidya Parishantha) was on TSE2009 mission at Arunachal Pradesh, here some pics taken by Parimal Dave. Parimal is an amateur astronomer.

Part of his message:

Hi ......

We arrived back just yesterday night. We missed the Corona but could see the eclipse though the clouds.

.....Parimal

Solar Halo - 22 degree halo as observed from Tawang town

Eclipse - partial phase

Eclipse - Before full Eclipse

JVP team at Tawang Monastery - At work

Parimal, busy with his Telescope

Sky during Totality and Tawang Town under darkness

End of eclipse

Rainbow - on the way to Sela Pass - (Arunachal Pradesh)

Sela Pass - (Arunachal Pradesh) - It was rainy - no snow - one of the highest motorable roads of the world

Heavy rains at Sela - very windy - less oxygen

The falls at Jang -No words

Flowers paradise at Sela pass

Original Master - An interview with Sergei Parajanov

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:41:00 +0000

Sergei Parajanov was a Soviet Armenian film director and artist, widely regarded as one of the 20th century's greatest masters of cinema.

On the above

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:41:00 +0000

40 years ago some earthlings landed on the moon. Those earthlings landed on a place which was out of this world. That said symbolically something huge and its mean lot for human philosophically, although it was a scientific milestone in human history.

I used to read Flash Gordon comics in my teens and those were amazing reading time with wonderful graphics of outer world, space travel, cosmic perspective, time wrap, space adventure etc. This picture (taken from the Moon in Apollo Mission) is one of my favorite pictures. It depicts a perspective which one now very much real, not like a fantasy adventure of Flash Gordon. The perspective which is altered our outlook as seeing things from earth perspective in opposite way. This picture let you allow sit outside of this world and you can participate in Einstein’s vision/experiment imaginatively and this picture and perspective let you allow to falling in love with 3rd planet of Sun Solar System called earth.

“Gatatri Amavasya” was celebrated yesterday, from this day onward people of some part of India use to not eat Non-Veg/Alcohol for complete one month as this month from Indian calendar treated as sacred month traditionally.

Yes, I have got an invitation from a friend and I had some good eating/drinking time and spent a complete gambling night (teen patti/three cards, lose some money as end result).

The Carnival of Socialism

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:01:00 +0000

Compiled by Renegade Eye

The Carnival of Socialism # 40 is here. At it's description profile it says, "The Carnival of Socialism attempts to bring a fortnightly round up of everything that's going on in the global socialist blogosphere." Hopfully this carnival, will introduce a few new blogs for your consideration, at other carnivals as well.

Kasama caught my interest with a post entitled Mao Zedong: Should Reactionaries Have Free Speech?.

American Left History should be a regular stop on your blog reading. This blog centers on American history and culture, from a socialist view. Markin's love of history and art shine through.

The Third Estate managed to interview political icon in the UK Tony Benn.

Left in East Dakota notes Obama's base being disillusioned with him.

Worker's Press criritiques Obama on healthcare.

River's Edge notes that the UK anti-terror units, only find rightist plots, "it is invariably more by luck than by design".

Vengeance and Fashion has an interesting post about a schoolteacher who was abused by his students and snapped. There are Facebook groups supporting both sides. It is unusual for socialists to write about such a subject so close to home.

The Trotsky Museum has a blog of its own.

Querida Celia Hart Is a Spanish blog that honors Celia Hart Santamaria, the Cuban revolutionary who died last year in an auto accident related to the Cuban Hurricane. Celia opened doors for socialist democracy in Cuba.

From Turkey Mehmet Çagatay writes about Michael Jackson.

The Red Mantis tackles Iranian unrest, and asks who leads and where is it going?

Histomat replies to a BBC documentary about Leon Trotsky, based on the book The Exile and Murder of Leon Trotsky. Histomat writes, "Just as Stalin smeared the Jewish Trotsky as an agent of Hitler, so Richard Overy describes Trotsky's supporters as a 'motley crew', while Trotsky himself suffered from a 'blindness to any sense of humanity' and apparently 'never had any scruples about killing those in the way of the Marxist utopia'. It is a pity that Overy has seemingly not made time to read Trotsky's Their Morals and Ours where he answered exactly Overy's critique about 'moral scruple' over seventy years ago:"

Socialism or Barbarism reviews the Irish economy, in a two part series.

Celticfire writes about a Portland transit riders union.

The Daily Maybe discovered the Trotskyist soft drink Red Kola.

Untouchable Earth writes from India about the will of the Iranian people. This blog is oriented to socialism, art and astronomy.

Madam Miaow gives us good analysis of the Uighur uprising in China. At my local coffeeshop Madam Miaow's blog is blocked by the computer's filtering software. What's wrong with Anna Mae Wong?

A Reader's Word from India, takes on the myth of micro finance.

The next Carnival will be August 02, 2009 at Red Wombat

Renegade Eye

TSE2009 - Live Workshop in SURAT

noreply@blogger.com (noni) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:07:00 +0000

Total Solar Eclipse 2009 Path

This year, on morning of 22nd of July, the umbral shadow of the moon will be passing over the rich heritage of our country. The Greatest eclipse of the century is just few days away from us and is tailor-made for India. It crosses the entire breadth of India starting from the westernmost state of Gujarat to the easternmost state, Arunachal Pradesh. The path of totality passes over 13 Indian states including the small area called the Chicken's Neck in West Bengal. Not only this, partial eclipse is visible throughout the country.

Total Solar Eclipse 2009 Program by Amateur Astronomers Association of Surat- AAAS

International Live Workshop on Total Solar Eclipse 2009
Total Solar Eclipse 22 July 2009
Live Webcast from SURAT !!!

Dear All,
AAAS is organizing a special event on "International Live Workshop on Total Solar Eclipse 2009" on 21-22 July 2009 collaboratively with Aatmiya Vidyamandir School at Surat. Eminent scientists ,from PRL and ISRO, and Astronomy experts are going to join the event.

Venue: Aatmiya Vidya Mandir- An International Residential School, Koli-Parthana Road, Taluka- Kamrej, District- Surat 394180

Date: 21-22 July 2009 (Tuesday-Wednesday)

Registration Fee: Rs.200/- Including Food, Accommodation and Kit

Those who have their own Telescopes/Binoculars/Solar Filters are requested to bring it with them. The campus and place is safe for all those Astronomy Items. Rest Assured!

Regards,
AAAS, Surat

Tentative Schedule:

Day- 1 : 21st July, 2009
11:00 - 11:30......Opening Ceremony
11:30 - 12:15......Keynote Address
12:15 - 1:00........Lecture-1
01:00 - 02:00......Lunch
02:00 - 03:00......Lecture-2
03:00 - 04:00......Lecture-3
04:00 - 04:15......Tea Break
04:15 - 05:00......Lecture-4
05:00 - 07:00......Group Activities
07:00 -08:00.......Dinner
09:00 - 10:00......Star Party

Day- 2: 22nd July, 2009
05:30 - 08:30.....Eclipse Viewing Programme
09:00 - 09:30.....Data Collection
09:30 - 10:00.....Breakfast
10:00..................Valedictory Function

For more information and Registration/Application visit here

Although now all type of rubbish, superstitious programs are started broadcasting on various mainstream media TV, ignore all these rubbish talk, discussion and if possible just witness this natural celestial phenomenon.

Only you need to take some guidance/precaution from expert while observing TSE2009