Realms of expression

My journey with podcasts!

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 17:30:00 +0000

Indicast and Bizination

I had my first brush with podcasts in 2007 and 2008. I had just moved to Singapore and this podcast called 'Indicast - Indians on India' caught my eye. It was a podcast with two guys - Abhishek Kumar and Aditya Mhatre - just talking to each other about news and happenings in India at the time. I found their style really relatable and for most part I thought it could have been me talking to my own friends. I remember listening to episodes about India's 2007 world cup performance and Pratibha Patil becoming India's first woman president, so I suppose it must have been in late 2007 and throughout 2008.

Through Indicast itself I was introduced to their sister podcast - Bizination which was a discussion about business news in India with one of the hosts of Indicast and another lady whose name I now do not remember.

As a 15-16 year old, I did not particularly enjoy Bizination much but I do distinctly remember that it was on Bizination that I had first heard a discussion on the WTO and the Doha round of negotiations. It is testament what a disaster the Doha round has been, that more than eight years later when I was 80% through with my law degree and attending a summer school on WTO law organised by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and the World Trade Institute, Doha round negotiations and compromises on agricultural subsidies were still current and relevant topics of trade law and policy.

In any event, I do not know why but I seem to have stopped listening to Indicast, Bizination or indeed any podcasts sometime in 2008 because I started attending Meridian Junior College in 2009 and I do not recall listening to any podcast when I was there. I hear that Indicast went off the air for four years but has now relaunched in 2020. I haven't tried the new episodes

Extremities

In 2019, I began spending a lot of time watching stuff on Youtube. Mostly on weekends, but also often during the commute to and from work. So much time infact that I even subscribed to Youtube Premium. Yes, really, I pay to watch the same videos which are available to everyone for free, I just get them ad-free and with the ability to play Youtube in the background if I do not want watch the video and just listen to it instead.

No idea why (probably because the recommendation engine just keeps recommending stuff similar to what you have watched before) but I watched a lot of short informative / documentary style videos on Youtube. Many of these videos were from the channels - Half As Interesting and Wendover Productions. It was here that I saw them promoting their new podcast called - Extremities.

It was around this time I had decided to make most of living in Bandra and made up my mind to go on morning walks at Bandstand or Carter Road everyday and I realised that listening to a podcast might be better than listening to Youtube videos play in the background without actually watching the video.

Honestly, the decision to try Extremities was a fantastic decision. Extremities has three seasons of 5-6 episodes each which take you on a journey to three extremely remote places - Pictarin Islands, Svalbard and St. Helena. The episodes elaborate on just how remote these places are, their fascinating histories (shipwrecks, revolts, imprisoned emperors, international shipping routes, international treaties and what not), the present challenges these places face and their unique economies.

I absolutely loved every episode of Extremities and I would highly recommend everybody to try it. Just make sure you read the episode notes and listen to each season in the correct order. My favourite episode was the second one in the series about Pictarin Islands titled 'Pitcairn's Beginning, Boat, and Bureaucracy'.

2 THE PiNT!

I just heard episodes two through four of this podcast yesterday. This is really a podcast that I should have listened to much sooner because the host is none other than my close friend Gaurav Palkar. If you are that lone person who has been reading this blog for more than seven years, he is the person who appeared as Mr. GP in this post when we ate Emu Kheema. It has been a long time since then and today he and his cousin are the men behind 2downbeerco which has been turning heads by winning two jury awards at Tapped, one of India's biggest craft beer festivals.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 2 Down Beer Co. (@2downbeerco) on Jul 13, 2020 at 12:16am PDT

2 THE PiNT is the podcast where these Beer Bros educate us about beers. I used the word educate here only because I learned a lot from the podcast, the podcast itself is nothing like a lecture. It is an engaging conversation about a different style of beer in each episode where they cover its history, variations and interesting anecdotes. My favourite episode is Episode 3: "I like Wheat Beers" which explores the style that is extremely popular in India's growing craft beer scene. I particularly enjoyed the story of origin of Hoegarden as well as the etymology of the word dunkelweizen. It is also the only episode on the podcast (so far) where the Beer Bros are joined by a guest.

If you are more interested in drinking their beer rather than hearing them talk about it, you can order it here. I highly recommend the Basil Blonde and Dark Matter.

Personal Finance - Paisa Vaisa and the Capitalmind podcast

You probably know about Paisa Vaisa if you live in India and are even remotely interested in podcasts. Anupam Gupta, more popularly known as @b50 (which is his handle on twitter) is the best podcast host in the country and the podcast has been crowned 'best business podcast' at the Asia Podcast Awards. Every episode is Anupam talking to experts about personal finance issues. Over more than 250 episodes so far, he has covered practically every aspect of personal finance ranging from pensions, insurance, mutual fund investing, stocks, real estate and more recently crypto. His conversational tone and style of questioning makes each episode very engaging. The episodes which I have enjoyed are - the series on Fixed Income, episodes with Nithin Kamath, the one on behavioural aspects of investing and many others which I cant recall right now. One note of caution though - there are many episodes which are essentially founders talking to Anupam about their companies and products. If you are listening to one of those, it is advisable to verify and research further yourself. For instance, Minance which is now accused of some unsavoury and possibly illegal dealings was featured on the podcast. Separately, on an episode released on 29 Apr 2019 (as per Google Podcasts), the founder of Finzy touted how their platform had no NPAs (defaults of more than ninety days) when some borrowers were clearly on the verge of being NPAs by then, as is clear from finzy's public disclosures which disclosed 2 NPA accounts just 12-13 days later on 10 May 2019.

The other personal finance podcast that I really enjoy is the Capitalmind Podcast where Deepak Shenoy, the founder of Capitalmind, discusses a host of personal finance and macroeconomics issues. He also occasionally does episodes on topics making headlines such as the PMC Bank debacle and the launch of Bharat Bond ETF. While he also has guests from time to time, my favourite episodes have been the ones in which he is talking himself. I think Cpaitalmind's episodes titled How to buy a Mutual Fund? and Should you buy a house?

are great guides for beginners but the one on Stubborn Cost of Capital in India would be my favourite. It was quite eye opening for me.

Wondery Podcasts - Business Wars, Scandal and Sports Wars

During the initial days of the Covid-19 induced lockdown in India, the only time I got out of my house was to walk around the building for exercise. Walking several rounds of the same less-than-200m path was rather infuriating and drove me to find some podcasts that I could listen to while walking.

I was hoping to find something similar to Extremities but I finally stumbled across American Business Wars from Wondery where over every 5-6 episodes we hear a story of an epic business rivalry. The episodes super well researched and very well produced in a manner that the story is not only narrated but some parts are actually acted out as dialogues between the narrators. I loved the Starbucks v Dunkin series and the Nintendo v Sony series and there are also many others that I intend to try. Listening to this also took me down the rabbit hole to many other Wondery shows. Particularly interesting are Sports War which is on similar lines as Business Wars (I liked Serena v Venus and Brady v Manning) and American Scandal which tells the stories of outrageous scandals. I particularly liked their recounting of the Exonn Valdez oil spill and the fraud at Enron.

One warning though - all of Wondery's shows on any podcast streaming site are full of ads for their other shows and these ads can get really annoying after a while. It is all a part of their plan to get you to subscribe to Wondery Plus, their ad free subscription service. So far I have been able to resist.

Ex Machina

With his columns in the Mint and the book on privacy, Rahul Matthan has always been at the forefront of the public discourse on the intersection of law and technology / privacy in India but what sets the podcast apart and what I particularly love is the various stories that Ex Machina has told about the adoption / development of technology in India. The episode 'Platforms for Society' had Pramod Varma, the Chief Architect of Aadhaar narrating the tale of early decision making regarding Aadhar. The most recent episode 'A Delicious Irony' has some fabulous stories about how Indian government once had a 'science plan', how India had an unimaginable lead in the field of statistics and finally about the circumstances which unwittingly gave birth to India's massive IT services industry, none of which I knew before. However, the most fascinating of all was the story of the 'Simputer', a personal computing device developed in India and intended to be a shared device which featured in the episode 'The Sharing Solution'.

Listening to podcasts

During my first brush with podcasts in 2007-08, the way to listen was by downloading episodes in iTunes on my laptop. It was only sometime in 2008 that I got a third generation iPod nano and could finally listen to podcasts on the go. And by on the go I mean having transferred the downloaded files from iTunes in the laptop to the iPod using a cable.

Things have changed so much now that I literally cannot even remember when was the last time I transferred any audio files from computer to any device using cables. This is ofcourse the age of streaming and I listen using Google podcasts. Spotify seems to be the app of choice for several other folks that I know. Given that I do not subscribe to Spotify for music or even use its ad supported version, I do not see the point of downloading and using it just for podcasts. So far, choosing Google podcasts over the more popular Spotify and Apple podcasts apps has not been a problem because till very recently, all podcasts have been platform neutral and available on all podcast players. However, the recently launched "Michelle Obama Podcast" is a Spotify Exclusive. Techdirt makes a good case that 'We Shouldn't Call Michelle Obama's (And Joe Rogan's) Proprietary Exclusive Audio From Spotify A 'Podcast' Any More' if it is not platform neutral. Spotify's exclusive shows are likely a consequence of its new Streaming Ad Insertion technology which may allow it to play personalised ads rather than hardcoded ads which are a part of the audio files across platforms. Whatever the reason, there seems to be a real risk that podcasts / audio shows going exclusive to a platform like Spotify may down the line lead to a situation corresponding to the Netflix - Prime - Disney situation in streaming video and we may have to get two or three subscriptions to be sure that our favourite show is at our fingertips. I am not looking forward to that.

Book Review: The Undeserving Boss by Hasina Saiyeda

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 18:49:00 +0000

The Undeserving Boss by Hasina Saiyeda
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I had such high hopes from this novel. The blurb speaks of a "a scam so profoundly integrated into the company’s system that if neglected, could bring her father’s reputed business down to its knees" and promises "riveting corporate drama". The cover is interesting too!

I was expecting a scam of epic proportions. Something more outrageous than accounting frauds at Enron, Satyam (and Wirecard more recently).

I was outraged but not at the purported scamsters. I was outraged that the novel has no 'riveting corporate drama' whatsoever. Forget about a boardroom showdown, the novel does not even mention the words board of directors or shareholders because the so called 'company' in the novel is some sort of proprietary concern with not more than 5-6 employees. Also the scam, is just a case of theft. I seriously wonder if the person writing the blurb has actually read this novel or indeed any corporate thriller at all.

While this was bad enough. I wish I could report that atleast the plot and writing is interesting. It is a story of Ella, the narrator who takes over her dad's business, uncovers rampant theft and resolves the mystery of who the thief is while also falling in love in the process. It has been written as if the author wanted to write an amateurish detective novel. The narrator's sidekick does indeed refer to himself as Watson a number of times as they try to solve the mystery of the scam / theft. There is also some family drama in the narrator's life which the book could have done without.

The writing does not involve any sort of detailing and is almost comically vague, imprecise or just wrong at times, like when the narrator guessing a password and opening a hidden excel file is described as 'hacking'! Similarly all descriptions of how business is conducted at the company seem like they were written by a school going kid who has the most rudimentary understanding of how businesses are run. It wasn't even remotely comparable to how any other business thriller (or any other book for that matter) which I have read.

Did I mention that the resolution of the mystery only happens largely by chance and only in the last 10-15 pages of the novel? While the plot continued to disappoint, I hoped that a book set in Calcutta would atleast take me on a ride through the city describing its sights, smells and unique approach to life which is unlike any other Indian city. However, no such luck either. The characters drink cutting chai, have naan and chicken, and there is simply no reason why the book is specifically set in Calcutta. Lastly, the book has been poorly edited and has sentences like - The tea arrived. It was smocking hot. I felt the smoke coming out of hot terracotta mugs. - I really hope that the author gets a good editor for her future novels.

The only saving grace is that some (not all) of the interactions between the narrator and her best friend seem relatable and I guess cliché enjoying romantics may find cute, the dialogues between her and her love interest.

All in all, please avoid this book at all costs.

Click here to view my other reviews on Goodreads.

Book Review: India's War by Srinath Raghavan

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 09:30:00 +0000

India's War: The Making of Modern South Asia 1939-1945 by Srinath Raghavan

AN AMAZING READ! I have always been fascinated with the second world war history but always felt that many documentaries and books, the Indian Army, the largest volunteer force did not get its due. So I was really looking forward to this book and it did not disappoint at all.

Of the military aspects, it was very interesting to read about the East African campaign and how the experiences in Eritrea affected the troops and the commanders who later went on to fight in other theatres. Another interesting aspect I did not know about previously was how much back and forth happened in terms of the planning for the operations in Burma and the American-Chinese angle to those preparations.

To my mind however, what makes this book a must read is not the account of the campaigns but the detailed account of the political context and happenings in the political sphere including attitudes of various leaders and their reaction. It was interesting to read about the 'empire of the raj' i.e. the British Indian government's views of its strategic interests around the world as well as the tussule between New Delhi and London on issues of financing the war including the sterling balances. The book also opened my eyes to the outsized influence which American public opinion and Roosevelt had on Churchill and the India office during the war years. Lastly, ofcourse the chapters about the war economy and those which elaborate on the thinking of the Indian nationalist leaders at each of the stages i.e. declaration of the war, Cripps mission and the post war cabinet mission as well as Indian representation at Bretton Woods and UN, are also interesting.

All in all, make sure that you read it if you have slightest interest in the history of the Indian Army and the political developments during the war years in South Asia.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

View all my reviews on good reads.

Transactions in India - truly SIMPLE!

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Sun, 25 Aug 2019 20:21:00 +0000

Earlier this year, this tweet from 'Simple' the new age bank, popular amongst millenials in the United States caught my eye.

How many checks would a checkbook check if a checkbook could check checks? Well, 25 checks to be exact. What does this mean? It means paper checks are officially here!! Get yours for $5 right in the app or online. pic.twitter.com/EsdPkyU4Gc
— Simple (@simple) May 7, 2019

I had a good laugh. US$5 sounded like a ridiculously excessive charge for 25 cheques. Every single bank account I have ever had in India, yes even the one I had as a student with miniscule minimum balance requirement, gave me 25 cheques every quarter for no extra charge at all. Though I must admit that I have only ever used cheques to cancel them and hand them over to financial institutions, schools or employers as a means to share my bank account details. I have not yet exhausted the initial set of 25 cheques I got from my bank for my newest bank account that I opened in 2016.

This made me wonder whether anyone still uses cheques in India and if so for what purpose. My very unscientific Instagram based survey yielded the following results.

Just as I suspected, more than 65% of the respondents reported not using cheques at all in the last six months while of those who do use cheques, more than half use it for rent payments and to share bank account details using cancelled cheques.

This prompted the question why was a new age bank in the United States offering cheques to its customers? Surely no one in the land of the silicon valley would have any use for cheques - or as they would spell it - checks, right?

Turns out that Simple's move to offer paper cheques was coupled with it discontinuing a service called 'bill pay'. A startup bank not allowing you to pay bills? Something does not appear to be quite right. Ability to pay bills online is a service which even the public sector banks in India offer despite being (in)famous for not-so-great online banking portals. The mystery was unravelled when I found out what innocuous sounding "bill pay" actually was -

We know it may seem like we are taking a step back in time, but when you use online bill pay, you are technically sending a check to the recipient. Paper Checks will put you in control - we will make sure your funds are safely tucked away, and ready to use via Expenses. ^RC
— Simple (@simple) May 19, 2019

I kid you not. When a customer selects "bill pay" online on a bank website or application, the bank (including until recently this new online only bank) writes a physical cheque and sends it by snail mail to billers who then presumably take that physical cheque to their own bank to deposit it.

I could not in a million years have imagined that the utilities and banks in the United States would be using a system so primitive and inefficient. However, it so appears that the entire payment ecosystem in the United States is no match for what we have in India. On Instagram, 104 of my followers reported paying bills by truly online modes (such as UPI, wallets, net banking) as opposed to just 1 who reported paying by bills by cheque.

Be it for payments to merchants or to friends, today I have atleast three digital options in India - UPI, wallets and NEFT - all of which are free to use. Further with UPI (Unified Payments Interface) the transfer is instantaneous and can be initiated quickly not only online but also at any local shop due to the now ubiquitous payment QR codes.

If I am paying a friend, I just input his/her UPI ID on my UPI app (I use GPay but my friend could be using any other), I initiate a transfer, I enter the authorisation password and that is it. Within less than five seconds I get an SMS saying that the money is deducted from my bank account and my friend gets an SMS saying it is deposited into his/her. Though I feel silly typing this out, I just want to emphasise that instant in India really does mean instant.

Compare this with Venmo, which arguably is the most popular payment tool in the United States. While Venmo to Venmo payments are instantaneous, sending money from Venmo back to a bank account takes 1-3 DAYS! You would think that it is a great development then that this August, Venmo has started offering an 'Instant Transfer' option ...

...but "instant" for Venmo means thirty minutes and for that privilege you need to pay Venmo a massive 1% fee which seems absolutely ridiculous to my Indian brain used to truly instantaneous and free transfers.

Infact, with the tremendous competition between UPI service providers like GPay, and PhonePe, the Indian consumer is spoilt for choice with not just free transfers but expectations of cashbacks. While there are many fair criticisms of venture capital funded cashbacks, the basic premise that the user should be rewarded for using a digital payment method rather than an administratively cumbersome cheque or MDR heavy debit card or credit card, is a sound one.

I also hear from my friends living in the United States that merchants or outlets accepting digital payments such as Venmo are nowhere as ubiquitous as in India (or atleast Mumbai) where nearly every shop and restaurant has a QR code allowing UPI users to scan and pay directly from their own bank account to the merchant's bank account.

So it is time now to add 'great payment systems' to the list of awesome things in India that are unheard of in the United States (other items on the list are water in the toilet and requiring a permit to buy a handgun).

---

Parting thoughts
1. While UPI will never kill the credit card because it does not offer credit, it is entirely likely that UPI may make debit cards obsolete. If this State Bank of India initiative succeeds I think other banks could follow soon.

2. I hope NPCI takes Rahul Matthan's advice and makes UPI international. Not only will it be able to provide truly instant transfers to the Americans, it would have the added advantage of stopping Facebook's Libra in its tracks.

3. The simplest justification for the United States not having sophisticated digital payments systems is that nobody there wants to pay using anything other than physical plastic credit cards / debit cards. But even for cards, the systems used in the United States are incredibly primitive. See this video for a simple explanation.

House of Cards Season 5 Episode 1 No-spoilers Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 14:30:00 +0000

Anticipation

Since its debut in 2013, each successive season of House of Cards, has always been very eagerly anticipated by millions of fans. The show has been the most talked about political drama series over the last four years.

One of the key elements of the last season's finale was an investigative article on possible crimes committed by the president being written by Tom Hammerschmidt and published by ‘The Washington Herald’, the leading daily newspaper of the House of Cards world. Upto the last season, Frank Underwood had the unparalleled ability to shock us with his unethical ways, thirst for power and seemingly unconventional or unstatesmanlike behaviour. This year however we are in the Trump era. Just five months into the Trump presidency we already have Washington Post articles about his unethical behaviour while his statements and tweets are often far from usual standards expected of world leaders and always very dramatic.

How to be more dramatic than what is being shown on the daily news cycle and whether to draw parallels to the Trump presidency was always going to be a challenge for the House of Cards Season 5.

The season 5 trailer, released earlier this year did manage to add to the excitement in the run up to the season premiere.

Action

The episode picks off from the previous season finale, making it very clear that ICO (House of Card world's equivalent of ISIS) is going to remain a focus in this one as well. A significant part of the episode is about the search for the ICO terrorist. One of the iconic lines of season 4 finale was Frank saying “War. Fear. Brutal. Total.” and in season 5 we have Underwoods implementing their strategy of fear by ruthless manipulation of the events around them to fit their own objectives.

The other theme which carries over immediately into the second episode is the fall out of Tom Hammerschmidt’s article on Frank’s alleged crimes and Frank’s attempt to keep the story from expanding any further. We are treated to scene of Frank tossing away the copy of the Herald with that article which was featured prominently in the season 5 trailer as well.

Analysis

Much of the fourth season was about an embattled Frank trying to cope with the crises facing his presidency and the election campaign. The manipulative Russian president, his extremely good looking opponent with a picture perfect family, and Claire’s increasingly ambitious demands were all situations Frank was forced into. What feels fresh about the opening episode of season five is that once again we have Frank setting the agenda and doing things his way. This also seems to be the way in which the writers are distinguishing themselves from the Trump administration which is lurching from crisis to crisis. However, the episode does include a sort of a travel ban which seems really familiar.

Having become the vice presidential candidate already, Claire also seems to be aligned with Frank’s objectives in season five and playing a key role in his plans. In that way the episode brings back the memories of the initial seasons especially when Claire and Frank go on to the White House balcony for the final scene of this epsiode.

There is also much to reflect about after watching the episode. Art afterall so often mimics reality. It made me think of the extent to which political leaders closer to home are using fear and nationalism to further their own agenda. Frank Underwood encourages the sort of sentiment which is on the lines of ‘’Either you agree with me or you are an anti-national”, throughout the episode. Eerily familiar, isn’t it?

Watch the House of Cards Season 5 premiere on Zee Café and let me know what you think about it! #HOConZCafe

Frank Underwood is coming to India with the television premiere of House Of Cards Season 5 on Saturday, 3rd June, 5 PM onwards, only on Zee Café!

This post is a part of Indiblogger.in's Homecoming of Terror activity.

Has the ICJ really stayed Kulbhushan Jadhav's death sentence?

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Sat, 13 May 2017 16:53:00 +0000

2345 hours 9th May. I had just enjoyed watching Kolkatta Knightriders fail to chase a total of 167 against Kings XI Punjab and keeping Punjab's qualification hopes alive. Pleased that the form of the second placed Knightriders was faltering, I was about to go to bed as a happy Mumbai Indians fan secure in the knowledge that our top spot was not under threat.

Just as I went through with my bed time ritual of scrolling through my twitter timeline for the last time in the day, I was startled by this tweet of Sushma Swaraj, India's Cabinet Minister for External Affairs, posted just after mid-night:

I have spoken to the mother of #KulbhushanJadhav and told her about the order of President, ICJ under Art 74 Paragraph 4 of Rules of Court.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 9, 2017

Minutes later, online news websites in India had reported the news -

#KulbhushanJadhav row: International Court of Justice #stays former naval officer's #hanging by #Pakistan https://t.co/Ed6SC7zHxz pic.twitter.com/NU6rCo4dMw
— Firstpost (@firstpost) May 9, 2017

International Court of Justice stays execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan: Report https://t.co/YlFggXIu4p
— scroll.in (@scroll_in) May 9, 2017

While the newspapers and TV newschannels followed up the next morning -

One thing that was consistent in the coverage across the Indian media was that it gave the readers / viewers the impression that the ICJ had issued a 'stay order'.

In contrast, Pakistani media reports mentioned the filing of the petition but no mention was made of any stay order. Dawn went with the headline "India moves International Court of Justice against Jadhav's conviction" while The Express Tribune said "India petitions ICJ for stay in Kulbhushan Jadhav’s death sentence". Daily Pakistan Global even asserted that the Indian claim was false:

Indian media, govt incorrectly claim stay granted by ICJ - No official statement from ICJ yethttps://t.co/QRxKVNrjUS
— DailyPakistan Global (@dailypakistangl) May 9, 2017

In turn ScoopWhoop in India published an article claiming that the Pakistani media was 'in denial of the stay on Jadhav's execution'.

While there are assertions aplenty from both sides, nobody has really tried to answer the question of whether or not a 'stay order' of the ICJ really exists.

The request for provisional measures

India has approached the International Court of Justice alleging a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) to which both India and Pakistan are parties. Whenever a national of another State is arrested in the territory of a party to the VCCR, Article 36 of the VCCR requires the State to inform the consulate of the country of that arrested national, allow the consulate to meet and assist the arrested person in the criminal proceedings if he so desires. India is alleging that these provisions were not adhered to in Jadhav's case and that India was denied consular access to Jadhav.

Since Jadhav has already been convicted and sentenced to death, India also requested that the ICJ pass 'provisional measures'. Provisional measures are similar to the concept of 'interim orders' in the Indian legal regime. Previously while deciding the LaGrand case which incidentally was also about VCCR violations, the ICJ has clearly held that the 'provisional measures' are binding.

ICJ's press release summarises India's request for the provisional measures as follows:

"India therefore requests that, “pending final judgment in this case, the Court indicate:

(a) [t]hat the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan take all measures necessary to ensure that Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav is not executed;

(b) [t]hat the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan report to the Court the action it has taken in pursuance of sub-paragraph (a); and

(c) [t]hat the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ensure that no action is taken that might prejudice the rights of the Republic of India or Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav with respect of any decision the Court may render on the merits of the case”.

Urgent communication

Fearing that Jadhav maybe executed before the ICJ even has an opportunity to pass provisional measures, India requested that the ICJ pass an order on provisional measures without waiting for an oral hearing. However, India making a request does not automatically mean that ICJ would make such an order without hearing Pakistan. The ICJ has instead scheduled a hearing on the request for provisional measures in front of all the judges at 10am (Hague time) on Monday 15 May 2017. ICJ is scheduled to hear from both the countries that day. If after this hearing the provisional measures were passed in India's favour, it may be accurate to say that Pakistan has been ordered to 'stay' Jadhav's hearing.

Pending the hearing, the president of the ICJ (akin to a Chief Justice of an Indian High Court or Supreme Court) has merely sent an 'urgent communication' to the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The ICJ press release regarding this urgent communication does not reproduce the contents of the the urgent communication.

This urgent communication is what Susham Swaraj mentioned in her tweet as the 'order of the President, ICJ under Article 74 Paragraph 4 of the Rules of Court' (sic). Here is how Article 74 of the Rules of the Court reads:

Article 74

1. A request for the indication of provisional measures shall have priority over all other cases.

2. The Court, if it is not sitting when the request is made, shall be convened forthwith for the purpose of proceeding to a decision on the request as a matter of urgency.

3. The Court, or the President if the Court is not sitting, shall fix a date for a hearing which will afford the parties an opportunity of being represented at it. The Court shall receive and take into account any observations that may be presented to it before the closure of the oral proceedings.

4. Pending the meeting of the Court, the President may call upon the parties to act in such a way as will enable any order the Court may make on the request for provisional measures to have its appropriate effects.

While the words "act in such a way as will enable any order the Court may make on the request for provisional measures to have its appropriate effects" suggest that the President of the ICJ in his communication must have asked the Pakistan government to maintain status quo, the fact that these are preceded by the words "may call upon the parties" suggests that the 'urgent communication' is not in the nature of an order but merely a suggestion or a request as there is no language stating that the communication is binding.

European Journal of International Law blog has pointed out that while such a communication could be seen to be similar to provisional 'holding requests' of ICSID tribunals which have been held to be binding, the crucial difference is that the ICSID holding requests are passed by the entire tribunal while the ICJ urgent communication is by the President acting alone.

Thus it seems that the Pakistani media has been accurate about there being no 'stay order' per se in this case while Indian media has gotten carried away.

Precedents

Many congratulatory posts on Twitter by Indians show that the ordinary Indians have high hopes of a favourable outcome for Jadhav from this proceedings. However, if the previous three cases of Paraguay v. United States, LaGrand case (Germany v. United States) and Avena case (Mexico v. United States) are anything to go by, there exists a possibility that Jadhav may be executed regardless of the decision of the ICJ.

Read more about these precedents in my scroll.in piece here - A short history of India vs Pakistan cases at the International Court of Justice - Despite the headline, that piece does cover other non India-Pakistan VCCR cases as well.

I have also in the past written for scroll.in about all the India-Pakistan international adjudication cases in greater detail here - Five previous India-Pakistan disputes that have been taken to international forums

What an Irony!

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Sun, 07 May 2017 08:44:00 +0000

The Guardian's theatre critic, Mark Lawson has written about historical inaccuracies of modern television shows in his article "Not in this day and age: when will TV stop horrendously airbrushing history?" published on the Guardian website on Friday.

Lawson argues that the modern day television shows 'characters with laughably liberal values for their day'. He points out that protagonists in Sky1's eight part drama 'Jamestown' are portrayed as surprisingly liberal feminists which women from colonial Virginia in 1619 were most unlikely to be.

Screenshot from the Guardian website

He goes on to compare it with a movie set in 1914 in which a character declares “The first world war has just broken out!” While showing someone in 1914 saying 'first' world war is clearly a mistake, I don't think it is quite the same as comparing it with fictional characters' values. The purpose of fiction is to be entertaining and stories of exceptional persons are likely to be much more entertaining that the average folks of the time. Why would any person be interested in a show about the daily drudgery of life in 1619? To be fair to him, later on in the article Lawson does consider the justifications for giving women in the series some modern values but also goes on to discard the those justifications.

However what I found the most ironic was how Lawson also trains his guns on the hit show 'Downton Abbey'. He says (emphasis added),

"Jamestown is produced by Carnival, the company that made Downton Abbey, a show that shocked many students of English class history with its presentation of an early 20th-century Earl who agonised about the working conditions and personal lives of his servants and would obviously have voted Liberal Democrat if the option had existed."

While complaining about the television writers/producers lack of understanding of the historical context, Lawson commits the same mistake himself! In the early 20th century (1900-1925) voters in Britain did have an option to vote for the Liberal Party.

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, of the Liberal Party served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 while another Liberal, Herbert Henry Asquith, who was later made the 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith served as the Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916. Downton Abbey is set in 1912. It is thus set in a time when the Liberal Party had managed to secure the largest number of seats in the preceding General Election in December 1910. It is this same Liberal Party that later merged with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form today's Liberal Democrats.

So Mr. Mark Lawson, an earlier version of Liberal Democrats did exist in early 20th-century and the Downton Abbey protagonist may well have voted Liberal!

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Sources:

Gov.uk - Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Gov.uk - Herbert Henry Asquith
Wikipedia - United Kingdom general election, December 1910

I told you so!

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Mon, 01 May 2017 15:23:00 +0000

Though I do not blog very often, this blog is now more than six years old and it is time for some reflection on the couple of things that I got right.

In 2013 when the then central government came up with a bank which was supposedly exclusively for women, I wrote this blogpost titled - ‘Bhartiya Mahila Bank - A Misguided and Pointless Endeavour’.

Bhartiya Mahila Bank was inaugurated with much fanfare in 2013 with Sonia Gandhi handing account opening documents to the first customers and the then Prime Minister in attendance. Media reports of the time indicated bank’s ambitious plans of 25 branches in the first year and 75 more every following year..

In 2017 my words have come true and the Bhartiya Mahila Bank has was merged with State Bank of India on 1 April 2017 along with the SBI Associate Banks. The merger has finally ended the central government's first and thankfully the only experiment with a government promoted bank (all other PSUs were nationalised rather set up afresh). Bhartiya Mahila Bank never really promoted itself like other new private banks did and reports indicate that it had significant trouble getting new business. It also also remained headless from August 2015 onward when Usha Ananthasubramnian, the bank's former CMD was appointed as the CMD of Punjab National Bank. At the time of merger, it only had 103 branches which is a far cry from the stated expansion plans at the time of its innaugural.

Outlook has mentioned SBI clearly stating that the business of BMB was insiginificant:

On the merger, the SBI said that although the addition of 103 branches of the BMB and business of approximately Rs 2,000 crore will not have a significant bearing on the SBI, it will be ensured the merger strengthens and reinforces the focus on financing of women entrepreneurs.

Approximately 2,000 crore is also State Bank of India being generous and other reports have pointed out that the special bank for women had total business of only 1,600 crore rupees. While SBI opened its first all women employees branch in 2013, the same year that Bhartiya Mahila Bank was set up, by 2017, SBI already had 126 all women employee branches whereas the Bhartiya Mahila Bank had managed only 7. It couldn’t be clear that women can be served better by State Bank of India.

I had ended the my blogpost with the following words:

“The Mahila Bank is hence a solution that no one was asking for and also one that is likely to worsen the problem which it set out solve. When the question is asked a few years from now “What did the Mahila Bank achieve?”, the government is not going to have any answer.”

Let’s hope that the government has learnt its lesson and does something actually meaningful to improve women’s lives rather than going ahead with half baked segregationist policies.

Time to reform Rajya Sabha election process

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Sun, 07 Aug 2016 10:09:00 +0000

This article was first published on GNLU's only student run online magazine - Jury's Out.

In May 2014, the BJP won a historic victory in the general elections and managed to secure a single party majority in the Lok Sabha, a feat which hadn’t taken place for atleast the two preceding decades. However, despite the overwhelming majority of BJP’s National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha, the government has not been able to achieve some of its major legislative objectives such as passing the Goods and Services Tax Act, because India’s bicameral legislative system requires any bill to pass not just the Lok Sabha but Rajya Sabha (the House of States), as well. Despite its poor showing in the 2014 general election Congress remained the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha and along with the other parties could muster enough votes to block government bills.

Thus, when elections were held for 57 Rajya Sabha seats earlier in June this year, one would have expected keenly contested polls with each side hoping to maximise their numbers.

However, this could not be further from the truth. Of the 57 MPs chosen, 30 i.e. more than half were elected unopposed from eight states. Even in the states where elections were conducted, most states had just one more candidate than the number of seats up for grabs. In Uttar Pradesh for example, there were 12 candidates vying for 11 seats which is in stark contrast to the 2012 legislative assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. In those elections there were 6839 candidates contesting for just 403 constituencies and not a single constituency had less than 6 candidates in the fray.

The reason for the apparent apathy with regard to the Rajya Sabha elections is because the Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by the Members of the Legislative Assembly of each state using the single transferable vote system. Since the parties know how many MLAs they have in each assembly they are content to divide up the Rajya Sabha seats in the same proportion rather than putting up candidates and vying to get other party MLAs’ support as well.

This has led to a situation where any party leader can get elected to the Rajya Sabha regardless of his relationship with the state he is contesting from. In the present round of elections, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu whose entire political career has been from Maharashtra, has been elected unopposed from Andhra Pradesh. Another minister, Venkaiha Naidu is from Andhra Pradesh but previously represented Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha and has just been elected from Rajasthan in 2016. Similarly, veteran lawyer Ram Jethmalani who has spent his entire career in Mumbai or Delhi has been elected unopposed from Bihar on an RJD ticket, a party he just joined.

The use of Rajya Sabha by political parties in this manner completely defeats the original intention of the framers of the Constitution. They intended that MLAs would send local leaders to the Upper House to represent the view of the state while debating central legislation.

The obvious question that arises is that; why don’t local MLAs refuse to vote for outsiders parachuted in by the party high command. With the possibility of a local rebellion the party big wigs would have hesitated from putting up candidates with no local background. In 2003, the Parliament amended the Representation of People’s Act to base the Rajya Sabha elections on an open ballot system rather than closed or secret ballot. This means that the way each MLA votes is now public knowledge and any MLA voting in defiance of the party whip can face action from the party as the Janta Dal (Secular) MLAs are finding out in this election cycle.

Furthermore, the same amendment also removed the requirement that a candidate for Rajya Sabha elections be an elector in the State which he seeks to represent. Though prior to 2003, some MPs did anyway represent states they did not have any relation to, the most prominent example being former PM Manmohan Singh as a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam, yet this requirement at least tried to ensure that the Rajya Sabha representatives be from the State they represent. Following the removal of this provision, the abuse has only grown. The interests of the people of the states they are supposed to represent have been sacrificed to make Rajya Sabha an avenue for political parties to get their senior and/or unelectable leaders into the Parliament, real quick.

If we truly desire that Rajya Sabha serve the purpose of giving states a voice in the affairs of the Centre it would be prudent to overhaul the system of Rajya Sabha elections. Step one should be the roll back of the 2003 amendments. Following that, India would be wise to consider a complete overhaul in the days to come. Strict residence requirements for candidates, direct elections with the state divided up into larger constituencies or even whole state as one constituency (similar to Senate elections in the US) are all ideas which may give results more in line with the intended purpose of the Rajya Sabha.

No film should require clearances from three courts for release...

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 17:34:00 +0000

This article was first published on GNLU's only student run online magazine - Jury's Out.

‘Udta Punjab’ which released in theatres on 17 June, fought a rather uphill battle to get there. After the much publicised showdown with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in the Bombay High Court, the film got an A certificate with only one cut but the filmmakers’ legal troubles were far from over. Advocate Wattan Sharma had filed a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court calling for a ban on the exhibition of the film in Punjab alleging that the film reflects negative branding of Punjab and Punjabis, while Human Rights Awareness Association, an NGO approached the Supreme Court as well. Udta Punjab is far from the first movie to have to defend itself before courts in the face of petitions calling for bans. It is very common for groups to file Public Interest Litigation calling for a film to be banned on a variety of grounds including the most common ones of being against Indian culture or hurting religious sentiments. In recent years, ‘Finding Fanny’, ‘PK’, ‘Delhi Belly’, ‘Ram-Leela’, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ and many others have been in this position.

No say for objectors within the certification process

The Cinematograph lays down the certification process that each film must go through before it can be exhibited at any cinema hall in India. First, a film is viewed by an “Examining Committee” formed by the regional officer of the CBFC office where it is submitted for certification. The Examining Committee decides which certificate is to be granted and decides the cuts to be made before it can be granted. If the Applicant is unsatisfied with the decision of the Examining Committee, the applicant may also request the Chairperson of the CBFC to refer any film to Revising Committee. The CBFC Chairperson can also refer the film to the Revising Committee on his own motion. The Revising Committee views the same film print shown to the Examining Committee without any changes and makes its own recommendations with regard to certificate and cuts. Both the Examining Committee and the Revising Committee can also refuse to grant any certification at all which in effect works as a ban on the film in India entirely since under the law, no film can be shown without a certificate. In 1981, the Act was amended and the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) was created, adding a further step to the process. Now, an applicant can approach the FCAT against an order of the CBFC refusing to grant a certificate, granting only an S or A or U/A certificate or ordering for cuts in the film.

However the crucial part here is that only the original applicant for the certificate can lodge such an appeal before the FCAT. Thus, other groups or individuals who are offended by the film and wish that the film not be given any certificate at all (and thereby be banned) cannot approach the FCAT with their grievances. Thus, they resort to filing writ petitions before the High Courts or the Supreme Court and attempt to get films banned.

Amendment required

The present situation creates a situation where groups offended by a film approach the High Courts or the Supreme Court and in some cases like ‘Udta Punjab’ even both or several High Courts. This not only places an additional burden on these constitutional courts which are already burdened with more serious civil and criminal appeals but also creates multiplicity of proceedings where the filmmakers have to get clearance from the CBFC as well as various courts before releasing a film. As happened with Ram Leela and Udta Pubnjab, prolonged delays in litigation can cast doubts about the planned release dates of the movies as well.

One amendment that could easily resolve these issues would be to allow any person or organization which has an objection to the release of any film in any state to approach the FCAT against the decision of the CBFC granting a certificate to that film. In such a scenario, the FCAT which is a specialized film tribunal will be able to address the appeals of the filmmakers as well as the other interested parties in a single proceeding and its decision shall be final. The FCAT is adequately equipped to handle other petitioners’ legal and constitutional arguments as well since the Cinematograph Act already requires that the chairperson of the FCAT be a retired High Court Judge or a person qualified to be appointed as a High Court Judge.

Adopting such a procedure shall reduce the uncertainty that the filmmakers face and shall also help them to reduce legal costs as they would have to defend themselves before a single forum rather than many. Finally the courts shall be rid of the burden of the film related petitions and shall be able to apply their time towards more pressing legal and constitutional matters. It is high time that the Parliament realises that the time of three of its constitutional courts need not be spent on the matter of release of a single film.

This article was first published on GNLU's only student run online magazine - Jury's Out.

European Oddity

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 16:07:00 +0000

What unit do you use to measure liquids? Ask any person in India and you shall get a single answer. “Litre” Be it any quantity, from small to ultra huge, liquids are invariably measured in litres and litres alone. From soft drink cans to huge tankers carrying water or fuel on the roads, however big or small the quantity, the only unit used is litre.

In school we have seen this chart -

Image from: http://hinkhousescience.weebly.com/metric-mini-unit1.html

But in real life we never really use decilitres or centilitres. Even in Singapore where metric system is used more than in India, for example centimetres are used to measure human height while most Indian stick to feet and inches, with regard to volume I never saw anybody use any unit other than litres.

In Europe however, dl or decilitres were just everywhere. The volume of all small beverages on offer was quoted either in decilitres or centilitres for really small quantities. Check out these pictures from Hungary.

This is a european oddity indeed!

Lansdowne

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 13:37:00 +0000

Last summer I went to Lansdowne, the beautiful hill station in Uttarakhand and absolutely loved it. I have written a travelogue of this visit for the GNLU magazine, Jury’s Out. Check it out here - https://jurysoutblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/lansdowne-an-eco-friendly-military-town/

It was very pleasant even in the summer. I strongly recommend it to anyone planning a summer trip!

Book Review: The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 15:58:00 +0000

“He stopped his lecture soon thereafter and they broke into Q&A.” That was how the first chapter ended and it had me frowning. First chapter over, eight pages done and yet no murder! It had me scratching my head, was this a Ravi Subramanian novel at all?

Sure, the cover and the back says “Love. Betrayal. Redemption.” But then who takes the blurbs seriously? Bankerupt mentioned emu farming on the cover, but it was an out and out banking thriller i.e. exactly the fare we have come to expect from Ravi Subramanian.

So first things first, if you are a die hard Ravi Subramanian fan hoping for a traditional thriller, you are in for a shock. This book for most part is a romance novel with some elements of a thriller dropped in right at the end. After doing some digging on the internet, I found out this article where he has made it clear that with this novel he is targeting a new audience. However, I am sure that like me, many others are going to pick this up expecting something else because, by the virtue of his creative marketing efforts for his previous novels and having often been described as the John Grisham of Indian banking, as of now atleast, he has definitely been type cast as a thriller writer in the eyes of the ordinary reader.

The Bestseller She Wrote begins with the lead protagonist, Mr. Aditya Kapoor, the author of five bestsellers meeting Shreya, an aspiring author at an IIM-B campus event. The middle aged author loves the attention he gets from the young MBA grad while Shreya enjoys her access to his inputs on writing. Aditya gets her on his team at the National Bank and soon it is inevitable that the mentor-mentees shall be lovers, nevermind the fact that he is married. Though Aditya keeps getting enmeshed further and further in his lies, we are kept guessing about the genuineness of Shreya’s feelings as she alternates between expressing her love for Aditya and milking him for his publishing industry contacts. As all affairs play out, the deception is uncovered and Aditya tries to call off the affair while his wife goes through a crisis, only to find that Shreya has left him no way out. Backed into a corner, Aditya uncovers some secrets about Shreya which help him ultimately reconcile with his wife. It is towards this masala ending that Ravi Subramanian tries to make the love story seem like a thriller. But at the end, the explanations seem barely satisfactory and I was also annoyed (as I often am) by the few pages where the protagonist has found a way out of the predicament and is acting upon it but the author/narration doesn’t reveal it to us for many more pages.

All in all the story by itself is rather predictable and the ending seemed barely satisfactory. If I had to nitpick, I would also point out that some of the relationship stuff is wayyy unlikely. For example, they flirt and sext on SMS! Yes SMS in the world of WhatsApp and Snapchat. And the girl’s bestfriend is particularly pally with the girl’s boyfriend whom she doesn’t even approve of much. Like seriously? I am sure many guys wish that girl gang loyalty was so easy to breach and be able to turn one girl against the other but I have never heard of this actually happening. The more intimate scenes could also have been a little more imaginative.

That said, despite the not-so-great plot, the book does have a super redeeming quality, that kept me turning the pages. The book is flooded with references to real life events and publishing industry inside info. The protagonist Aditya Kapoor who is a superstar author keeps giving gyan about how to become a super-star author. What makes it even more interesting is that Aditya Kapoor has several traits of the current super stars of the publishing industry. He is a banker like Ravi Subramanian himself, he is from IIM and gets an offer to judge a reality show like Chetan Bhagat and is heavily involved in promoting his book like almost every author these days. I once even heard Amish promoting his book on the radio. There is so much speculation about who the protagonist is based on that some authors have put out statements to deny that they are him. (Unless that is also merely another marketing tactic from Ravi Subramanian’s team.)

Ravi Subramanian knows a fair deal about marketing his books. I got the first email about The Bestseller She Wrote from the ‘Think WhyNot’ Ad Agency, almost a month before its launch and this book has animated trailers as well! So through his protagonist, Ravi Subramanian gives us a lot of information about how books are marketed today and how celebrity authors obsess over their portrayal by the media. He even mentions book reviews from bloggers as a marketing technique! Furthermore, the book is also full of references to real life events and personalities and many of these references also seem to reflect the author’s attitude. We find reporters being called ‘presstitutes’ while Amish Tripathi and Ravi Subramanian himself are named as Grishams of Indian Banking. Nirav Singhvi also finds a mention and Anurag Kashyap is a minor character in the story. The best digs though are all aimed at Chetan Bhagat.

“I don’t want a Chetan Bhagat quote. He might have seen today’s newspaper article and jumped onto the bandwagon for some quick publicity.”

So finally, do pick this book if you want a time pass one time read infidelity story with an opportunity to laugh at the famous celebrity authors but if you are actually looking for an unputdownable Ravi Subramanian novel, you would be better off picking God is a Gamer or Bankerupt!

You can buy The Bestseller She Wrote from flipkart here -

I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers.

Disclosure : I was supplied with a review copy by Blogadda.

Book Review: ‘Career of Evil’ by Robert Galbraith

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 16:04:00 +0000

The job of a detective, in my opinion is to investigate a crime that has occurred. I don’t usually like it when he himself becomes enmeshed in a crime be it as a victim, a framed suspect or in any other way. Thus though I had enjoyed reading the first two outings of Cormoran Strike, I was wary of the third novel in which Strike has a case forced upon him when his young assistant Robin Ellacott receives an amputed leg in the mail. Our protagonists are forced to crack the crime as soon as possible since the negative publicity surrounding the event threatens to destroy their budding detective practice which now includes colourful clients like a man hoping to catch his stripper girlfriend cheating and a lady gather evidence of her ex-husband’s interference with their children’s lives.

The basic plotline in relation to the ‘crime’ unfolds in a rather simple manner. The sender of the amputed leg is a serial killer who likes chopping of bits of his victims and hates Strike. So in order to track him down Strike and his assistant focus their efforts on four primary suspects who have reasons to wish revenge upon Strike.

The key thing that sets this novel apart from the earlier two in the series is that (thankfully) the book is hardly about catching the murder alone. While Robin’s engagement with her boring accountant fiancé, Matthew and its contrast with the sexual tension between her and her boss was just occasionally mentioned in the first two books, it becomes an almost equally important side story in this one with enough twists and turns to rival the hunt for the serial killer. This also sets the stage for revealing to us, Robin’s past which offers some explanations for her behaviour and elements of her unique personality. Since two of the suspects crossed Strike’s path in his former career as a Military Police Officer and one is his step-dad, we learn a great deal about Strike’s past as well, thus leaving us with a much enhanced understanding of the two protagonists of the series.

This novel is also clearly the darkest of the three so far with themes ranging from paedophilia, Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), and detailed descriptions of violence as also of Strike’s mother’s sordid sexual liaisons. The various side stories of Strike’s relationship with each of the suspects adds colour to an otherwise straight forward tracking down of four suspects and attempting to link them to the killings.

What made the straightforward storyline of this book into a great novel that I enjoyed reading was the tremendous evolution of Robin’s character and her storyline in this novel. She is the real star of this show and makes the book a great read!

You can buy it on Amazon or Flipkart!

Disclosure : I was supplied with a review copy by Hachette India.

#GE2015 - Why can’t Singapore trust its youngsters?

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 06:11:00 +0000

It’s election time in Singapore! Most of my friends in Singapore (1992 born) shall be getting only their first opportunity ever to vote in a General Election unlike my Indian buddies who have already voted in a General Election as well as several state elections.

Though in the words of Singapore’s first Prime Minister, (Harry) Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore has moved ‘From third world to the first’, Singapore still maintains its colonial hangover of having a minimum voting age of 21 though Britain and most of the rest of the world has already reduced the voting age to 18 if not lower.

Along with Singapore, the other members of the group of countries with a high voting age are, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Tonga and Tokelau! Is this really the group of countries that Singapore wants to identify with? (Yes, neighbouring Malaysia also retains a high voting age of 21 but just because they have a colonial hangover doesn’t mean that Singapore should too. And this applies to not just the voting age but other issues such as 377A, preventive detention and judicial caning too.)

Most Commonwealth countries, and western democracies have reduced the voting age to 18 during the 1960s and 1970s. Even in Singapore’s own backyard, all ASEAN countries apart from Singapore and Malaysia allow their citizens to vote at atleast 18 years of age. Japan, one of the last developed countries also holding on to a high voting age, just recently amended its law and has reduced the voting age to 18 this year.

“Old enough to fight, old enough to vote”

In the United States and Great Britain, one of the most prominent arguments for lowering of the age of voting was that anyone who was considered old enough to fight and die for the nation, should be considered old enough to take part in the nation’s decision making processes. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the American forces in Europe during the Second World War and then became the President of the United States himself stated that he believed that those who were old enough to be conscripted should be considered old enough to vote. The logic behind this argument is a fairly straightforward one, if someone is going to be sent to war, he should have a say in choosing the leaders who make those decisions regarding going to war (or not). More simplistically, if you can trust someone with handling lethal weapons (and multimillion dollars worth military technology and platforms such as fighter planes, radars and submarines), you should be able to trust them to make a simple choice for their leaders at the polling booth.

Even at the worst of times, United States has only had a ‘draft’ or ‘lottery’ system of conscription while Singapore has universal conscription for all men. Thus, the “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote” argument applies just as much, if not more, to Singapore as it did to the United States. It is imperative that the Singaporeans conscripted into the SAF have the opportunity to vote for the leaders who make the decisions about their deployment.

Clumsy Justifications of the Ministry of Law, Singapore

At present the Singapore Ministry of Law justifies the high voting age by simply stating that Singapore does not have a single threshold age of majority for all purposes. Adulthood is attained through a gradual process, with a progressive increase in rights and responsibilities. The example given is that the right to drive is attained at 18 while voting and making a will is allowed only at 21. This is at best a description of the situation at hand and by no means is it an explanation or justification regarding why the voting age is 21.

Why does Singapore believe in a system where some rights are given at each threshold rather than all at 18? Even if it has to be a progressive system why the right to vote only at 21? Why cant it come before the right to drive?

The letter by Ministry of Law representative (reproduced above) provides no answer to these questions, nor does it give any logical connection or showing how acquisition of certain rights makes citizens better enabled to choose their representatives at a later point in time. Did learning to drive or rather having the right to drive really make anybody better qualified to vote or choose a representative? I don’t think so.

The letter also makes a reference to citizens having had work experience and NS experience by the age of 21 without demonstrating how exactly that makes one better able to gauge electoral candidates. The laws made by the Parliament affect all the citizens equally rather than just those who are employed, so there is hardly any natural link between employment and assessing candidates for parliamentary elections or their policies.

Just trust the teenagers

Unlike what the Ministry of Law believes, voting is simple matter. It is not some complex level of decision making requiring hyper maturity which young Singaporeans don’t have. All you have to do during an election is to choose a candidate who you think could represent you and your area (constituency) the best. You have to look out for your self interest. Looking for one’s self interest is such a basic human attribute that even children do not need to be taught. With one of the highest literacy rates in the world, Singaporean teens are definitely educated and mature enough to understand national policies and to evaluate candidates. Many of the polices are even discussed in the Social Studies (Combined Humanities) classes in Secondary Schools and General Paper Classes in the Junior Colleges. Similarly, teens are also exposed to the electoral process on a smaller level in the elections for students council / prefects et al in their schools.

Lastly, there is no right way to make a choice about whom to vote for that needs to be learnt. In a vibrant democracy, people choose whom to cast their votes for, for various different reasons. Some people cast their based on the party, some look at the candidates, policies are important for some while the manner of speaking / persona or charm maybe the key for others. None of this is wrong or right, it is just one of many ways in which to make a choice. As long as someone has basic education and ability to make simple decisions in self interest, it is enough. Some countries are now even moving to a 16 years voting age so the least Singapore can do is to trust its young men and women to vote at 18 like the rest of the world.

Note: One of the images used in the blogpost is a screenshot of the following webpage. The copyright over the content in the image vests with AsiaOne. Webpage - http://news.asiaone.com/print/News/The%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20080510-64381.html

Ordinance Finally Brings Clarity regarding Cheque Bounce Cases

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 09:48:00 +0000

Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 contains the offence of ‘dishonour of cheque’, commonly known as ‘cheque bouncing’. Though it is one of the most commonly used provisions of criminal law in India – in several court complexes there is a designated courtroom dealing with only section 138 cases all year round – yet there has been great confusion regarding the jurisdiction of courts in these cases which the government sought to settle once and for all by promulgating the NegotiableInstruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015.

Section 138 lays down that the person who receives a cheque which bounces when presented for payment can approach a magistrate for bringing criminal action against the drawer of the cheque if the cheque amount is not paid within 15 days of giving a notice to the drawer.

The Multiple jurisdictions system and its problems

For several years, the victim who received a cheque which bounced had the freedom to lodge a complaint before either the magistrate in whose jurisdiction the collecting bank (bank branch where cheque was presented for payment) is located or with the magistrate in whose jurisdiction the drawee bank (bank branch in which accused has an account and on which the cheque is drawn) is located or even the magistrate of the place from where the notice was issued. Infact the 1999 Supreme Court judgement (K Bhaskaran v. Sankaran Vaidhyan Balan) regarding jurisdiction in such matters was so broad that there could even be five possible jurisdictions based on where each of the five elements of the offence is committed. This often led to abuse of the system where complainants presented the cheques in faraway places or issued notices from cities with no link to the transaction just so that they could file the complaint from these third cities.

Supreme Court changes course

However, the Supreme Court upset the existing status quo when in Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod v. State of Maharashtra, it held that the offence was committed only when the cheque was returned by the drawee bank for the lack of funds and thus only the magistrate of the place where the drawee bank is located had the jurisdiction to hear the case. This now meant that if a cheque drawn on a bank branch in Srinagar was given to a person living in Chennai and it bounced when presented it for payment at a bank branch in Chennai, the victim shall have to travel all the way from Chennai to Srinagar to file a case. This is because the offence is committed when the bank in Srinagar returns the cheque for lack of funds and not before that.

Problems Galore

The Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod decision of the Supreme Court meant that lakhs of cases had to be transferred to other courts or withdrawn to be filed again. Further complications were added because many banks now issue cheques that are ‘payable at par’. When presented for payment, these cheques are processed not by the bank branch on which they are drawn but by the same bank’s branch closer to where the cheque is presented for payment. The Supreme Court had not clarified where exactly the offence is deemed to be committed and where the jurisdiction shall lie in such cases.

The Ordinance Fix

The ordinance promulgated by the President on Tuesday again changes the jurisdiction in cheque bounce matters by adding section 142(2) –

“(2) The offence under Section 138 shall be inquired into and tried only by a court within whose local jurisdiction the bank branch of the payee, where the payee presents the cheque for payment, is situated”

As per the ordinance, the local court within whose jurisdiction the cheque is presented for payment shall have jurisdiction over the matter meaning that if you issue a cheque drawn on a bank in Srinagar and give it to someone who presents it to his bank branch in Chennai for deposit in his account, only the courts of Chennai shall have jurisdiction. In the past, in cases of multiple cheque bouncing, some complainants used to present the various cheques which they held in different places in order to harass the accused by have commencing criminal proceedings in various different cities. However, the new ordinance puts an end to such harassment by making it clear in section 142A(2) that once one cases is filed in one court, for all the future cheque bounce instances between the complainant and the accused, the same court shall have jurisdiction regardless of where the cheques are presented for payment by the complainant.

The ordinance shall once again prompt large scale transfers of cases, however by incorporating a clause pertaining to jurisdiction within the Act itself, it eliminates the possibility of future conflicting decisions of the courts on this issue. Furthermore, by prohibiting complainants from approaching more than one court in respect of several cheques of a single person, it also adequately takes care of the interests of the accused and thus must be seen as a positive step.

Recourse to the ordinance route was necessitated because though the Lok Sabha passed an identical Bill in the previous session of the Parliament, it could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha due to the lack of time. It is imperative that both houses approve the Bill to replace the ordinance in the next session because allowing the ordinance to lapse would plunge the system back into a chaotic state.

Scholarship - Starting a New Life!

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 12:05:00 +0000

Finally it came. THE LETTER! For the past six months I had jumped through various hoops for this. First an extremely long drawn out application form. Then the dreaded written exam. Three papers of an hour each. One paper so lengthy that I couldn't even finish (but I was glad to find out that no one else did either). And finally there had been that interview. The fourteen year old me and five interviewers, two of them principals of schools in Singapore, I later learnt. For half an hour I had discussed the randomest of things. From why my math scores were not high in the written test, to Indian cricket team, my favourite authors and surprisingly, yoga.

The letter had the result. It was going to be the answer of whether or not I had succeeded in impressing the interviewers. I opened it with trembling hands but in a hurry. I could not wait to find out!

"We are pleased to offer you the A*STAR India Youth Scholarship for four years of study in Singapore..." I could not believe it! To say I was overjoyed would be an understatement. My joy knew no bounds. This was to be the start of a new life. I had to reply to them within a week stating if I was accepting the scholarship.

"Will you be able to stay away from home for that long?" "Will you be able to manage on your own in a foreign land?" "Why do you want to go to Singapore? What does your present school in Mumbai not have that you shall get there?" "There must be some catch!" The naysayers were soon trying to rain all over my parade. They soon managed to plant seeds of doubt in my mind as well because not all of their concerns were misplaced. I had never stayed away from home, away from family for more than a couple of weeks. I had never ever gone abroad even on a holiday. I had no reference to assure myself that I shall make it in that Pardes-land. There was no way to know whether I shall be able to cope with the academics there either.

But, living your boring life is easy, starting afresh is much more exciting! I had no answers to life's big questions, whether I shall cope, whether the classmates shall bully me, whether I shall miss home too much. I just did not know these things. What I did is focused on the little things. Singapore has some of the world's best cuisine. You can get chinese, malay, Indian, western, peranakan, and every other type of food there. I looked up pictures of typically Singaporean delights such as satay, chilli crab and laksa. I also thought of how I could sleep in till late in the morning and stay up till at night if I had no family chasing after me. Full season TV show marathon could be a reality! That time in 2006, Singapore telcos were already introducing 3G when the concept of internet on phones (regardless of slow or fast) was unimaginable for most people in India. I focused on the small things and made up my mind. I was going to take the plunge, begin an adventure, start a new life. I accepted the scholarship!

***

Also check out Housing.com and their Start a New Life Campaign video!

The Letter!

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:14:00 +0000

“Dad! The postman says you have to sign something. I am not old enough.” Anil heard his daughter shout out. He hurried to the door to see what the matter was. He expected some kind of a “Registered Post” packet for which the receiver has to sign on the acknowledgement card. “Aapke liye money order hai. Aur chitthi bhi.” (There is a money order for you, and also a letter.)

Anil was taken aback. This was the year 2015. He did not even know that people still sent money to each other using money orders. He quickly signed what had to be signed and the postman handed over Rs. 1120. “Who would take such efforts to send me such an insignificant amount and more importantly, why?”, Anil wondered.

The postman handed over the envelope and went on his way. “Hopefully this shall clear things up.”, thought Anil as he tore open the envelope and began reading. The writing looked like that of a child.

“Dear Mishra Sir,You probably don’t remember me. I am not at all a part of your life. However, you have paid a major role in my life. Do you remember the incident at Vashi’s Tilak College? I was playing the harmonium on the street when you and your friends came out of the ‘The Big Bang Café and Bar’. Two of your friends asked me to play “Pardesi Pardesi jana nahi”. Twice. And I did it happily. Then they made me play “Ai Ai ya karu main kya suku suku” and then “Phoolon ka Taaron Ka Sabka Kehna hai”. I thought I was finally going to alms. It had been a bad evening for me even though it was my most crucial. Just when I thought that you and your friends were about to leave, they asked me to play and sing “Kaho na Pyaar hai”. It was a song that I didn’t know. They laughed and kept laughing about how I knew the old songs but not a new one. One of them tossed me a five rupee coin and all of you began walking. I yelled after you. Yes, I was just begging, but I had sung for more than twenty minutes and I hoped for more, I wanted more, I was desperate for more. I ran after all of you and begged for more. Not one of you paid me any heed. After a couple of minutes, your friends asked me to scoot and even threatened to beat me up. They only stopped because you called out for an autorickshaw and sent both of them on their way. Then you turned to me and asked what do I do. You laughed when I said I am a student. You laughed even more when I said I was begging for money to pay fees.
You said, “I don’t believe you one bit. You will go drink with the money I give you. But it is Saturday night, just why not. I have had a good time and so should you. Also, I like the song 'Pardesi Pardesi'. Go ahead, enjoy.”

And I could not believe my eyes when you handed me the Rs. 1000 note. I told you I shall be ever grateful and shall pay you back but you just laughed. When I begged for your name and address you threw me the business card. I still have it. I called your office to get your home address.
That day, only because of your generosity I could gather enough money to pay my college fees which were due the next day. I managed to pay the junior college fees and earlier this year I scored 68% in my board exams. I have now been recruited as a junior peon in the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. I received my first salary today and am sending you your money back. Thank you sir, you have helped me make my life.
Yours,Sakharam”

The letter brought tears to Anil’s eyes and then his wife’s when he showed her. The young beggar had not only made the most of his random act of drunken generosity but had also stayed true to his word and returned the money, along with some interest that too!

It was a story more inspiring than any other. He still keeps the letter with him and reads it when he feels down because it never fails to fill him up with hope and optimism! It makes him lookup!

***

You should check out Housing.com's Look Up campaign here - https://housing.com/lookup

***

This post was a part of Indiblogger's Happy Hours Contest!

Umar Bhar Befikar!

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 16:33:00 +0000

Most of us live our lives worrying. Worry about family, work, money and what not. Our lives are often spent doing what we do not want to do but must do because of external compulsions. Thus, IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company's new tagline Befikar Umar Bhar appeals instantly.

You can checkout the entire advertisement here -

I cannot help but imagine what would be the things that I would do if I was Befikar Umar Bhar! A whole wide world is literally open to the person who does not have to worry about money and time. So these are the top five things that I would do!

1. Around the World in 80 days

I absolutely love reading. Commercial Fiction, Literary Fiction, Non Fiction, Comics, Newspapers, Magazines, I read anything and everything that I can get my hands on! However, if there is something I like more, that thing can only be travelling. So when I am befikar umar bhar I shall combine both and retrace the steps of the protagonist of Jules Verne's timeless classic, 'Around the World in 80 days'. I shall take the exact same path he took and try to use the same modes of transport. Whether I shall have the same number of adventures, now that remains to be seen...

Around the World in 80 Days Route
Source : Wikimedia Commons

2. Get myself a Batmobile

I love the feeling of the wind blowing in my face when I ride any motorcycle. And in motorcycles what can be more top of the range than a Batmobile? I shall commission some top engineers to build me a fully functional Batmobile! Why? Have you seen the thing?

3. Learn Cocoa Farming in Ghana

One of the problems of the above mentioned itenary of Around the World in 80 Days is that it does not let me explore the African Continent. Jules Verne's hero just made one African stop. Cairo. I however, would like to see more and learn something while I explore Africa.

I have had chocolates from India, Singapore, Malaysia, Switzerland, USA, Belgium and many other countries. I can probably name fifty chocolate brands! However, I realise that I know way too little about the chief ingredient of chocolate, the Cocoa nut! So I would go to see and learn Cocoa Farming in Ghana for a couple of years while I take occasional tours and safaris to other parts of Africa.

Cocoa Pods
Source : Wikimedia Commons

4. Travel on a Cruise from Mumbai to Singapore

I have lived almost my entire life on two islands, Mumbai and Singapore. However, I have never travelled from one place to other by an ocean liner. I would love to go visit my friends in Singapore and enjoy the luxury of a cruise ship while I am on the way! A different cuisine for each meal, sea view throughout the journey and rounds of games to kill time! Or perhaps, I may just buy a cruise ship!

A cruise ship!
Source : Wikimedia Commons

5. Open a Free Legal Aid Clinic

My hero, Batman uses all his wealth and time for a good cause and so shall I. I shall buy a huge house next to the seaside somewhere along Maharashtra's Konkan coast to act as my home and office. There I shall run a free legal aid clinic offering my services as a lawyer to the poor and underprivileged who do not have the means or the awareness and knowledge to resort to legal remedies for their problems. I shall also spread awareness about consumer law so that no one is cheated by vendors. I shall ensure that no poor accused goes undefended and neither the government nor any well off individuals or organisations in the society deprive the aam admi of his legal rights. I shall try to ensure that justice is done.

This is what I would do if I was #BefikarUmarBhar! Read more about IDBI Fedral's campaign here - http://bit.ly/BefikarUmarBhar

This post was a part of Indiblogger's Happy Hours Contest!

The Real Heroes Of The Republic Day Parade

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 17:30:00 +0000

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This post was first published at Huffington Post India on 04/02/2015.

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Doordarshan's Republic Day Parade broadcast gave us much background information regarding our gallantry award winners but it forgot to focus on some other heroes at Rajpath - the viewing public who managed the awe-inspiring feat of procuring the parade tickets. Here's the story of what it takes to make it to Rajpath on 26 January.

Having a quiz to attend in Delhi on 22 and 23 January, I spotted an opportunity to extend my stay and watch the Republic Day Parade live at Rajpath. When I asked around for the procedure to get a ticket, I soon realised that the only advice that everyone (even the otherwise loquacious breed of Delhiites) had was to get a pass by contacting influential bureaucrats. I was often told, "Ticket line se nahi, pehchan se milti hai (You get tickets not from a queue but through contacts)."

Though I discreetly enquired of my friends if they knew these pass-bearing influential persons, I refused to believe that this underhanded method could be the only feasible way to obtain passes. I searched the internet to find out how I could lay my hands on the tickets being sold to the public at large.

The Press Information Bureau had no useful release regarding the sale of 2015 R-Day Parade tickets. The only available press release merely stated that tickets are still available at the "designated sale counters" without any mention of where these were.Media articles were just as vague.

Finally I thought I had struck gold when I found a 2007 press release detailing the locations where the tickets were available. However, when I turned up at the Gandhi Ashram in Chandni Chowk (which isn't really an ashram at all but a khadi store) I was told that the press release I was relying upon was hopelessly outdated and that no tickets were available there. The store attendants suggested that we go to the government's tourist office at 88 Janpath.

Having wasted my time once, I decided to call the tourist office at Janpath only to discover that the Delhi Tourism website lists only a seven-digit phone number for its Janpath office which is obviously an incomplete number and cannot be dialled.

Hearing from a friend that tickets are usually available at Parliament House, I dialled the reception where the very helpful receptionist explained to me that the Ministry of Defence personnel selling the tickets had shut shop and left an hour early as 23 January was the last day of sale there.

Hearing my side of this phone conversation, a helpful aam admi on the metro informed me that tickets were being sold at Pragati Maidan. Upon reaching Pragati Maidan Gate No. 1 the next afternoon (after being thoroughly fleeced by auto drivers) I was delighted to at least see a ticket sale counter in existence. The joy was short lived though, since the official manning the counter told me that the daily quota of Republic Day parade tickets was sold out and that I could only buy tickets for the Beating Retreat programme. He asked me to return at 8am the next morning (25 January) to buy the coveted Rs 300 tickets which apparently give one the right to reserved seating. What I did not know was that he had left out some key details.

The next morning, I braved the freezing weather (at least to my Mumbai body) and made it to the Pragati Maidan counter at 8.15am only to find a long queue of at least 50 well-equipped ticket seekers laughing at the sorry figure I cut. I had neither a warm jacket or hat nor the required documentation. The kind souls in the queue told me that the guy at the counter was issuing the reserved tickets only to those who had a photocopy of an identity card. So I walked for 1 ½ km each way and returned with a photocopy of my driving license. It was 9am by then and the counter was still not open. While I was wondering why the person at the counter didn't tell me the ID card requirement the previous day, the people around me had even more surprising details to share. On an average it was the second or third purchase attempt for everybody in the line. I was also told that even upon having ID, a person could buy only one reserved ticket meaning that I would not be able to purchase any for my quiz partners who were patriotic enough to want to watch the Parade live but not enough to go hunting for tickets.

While we were waiting for the counter to open, Delhi Traffic Police and CRPF personnel made their appearance in large numbers and briskly informed us that the counter would not open until 1pm and that we had to clear the area in an hour. When half an hour passed without anyone believing the police, the cops could be heard murmuring to anyone who asked them "Please chale jiye warna danda marke bhagana padega (Please leave otherwise we may have to chase you away with sticks)."

When clearing the sidewalks of the road which the American President plans to take to Raj Ghat takes precedence over selling Republic Day tickets to patriotic Indians, that is the point when you realise how apt the tourism slogan is. India is truly incredible.

Upon the police officer's suggestion, I decided to try my luck at Jantar Mantar where apparently the second of these mysterious ticket sale counters was located. I stopped enroute in Connaught Place to grab brunch and buy a sweater. The mission to acquire tickets was taking significantly longer than I expected it to.

As I walked towards Jantar Mantar, I could barely see its entrance or the ticket counter. All I could see was a mass of humanity, certainly numbering in the hundreds, in what might (or might not) pass for a queue. I dutifully joined it. However after the queue did not move for a few minutes, I decided to investigate. I was surprised to discover that a couple of hundred people had been queuing for two hours on the vague promise that more tickets might arrive soon. I was wondering whether to join this hopeful exercise when the Indian bureaucracy threw its final and fatal hurdle in my path. At the counter there was a small notice which stated, "Only Aadhaar Card and Election Card shall be accepted as ID proof." Since the only identity document that I was carrying to Delhi was a driving license, I finally admitted defeat in the face of these arbitrary and ever-changing ticket requirements.

I am trying to convince myself that I did not miss much since the gods literally rained on our parade. However, I can't shake of the feeling that a celebration to commemorate the day when we adopted the ideal of equality as a nation should not just be available to the elite with contacts. The ticket sale process definitely needs to be made transparent and publicised, if not reformed and opened to people apart from Delhiites with enough free time to decipher the maze of designated counters.

Of Suicides and Protests

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 18:27:00 +0000

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This post was first published at Huffington Post India on 18/12/2015.

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The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary announced in the Parliament on Wednesday that the central government is planning to give effect to the 210th Report of the Law Commission of India by decriminalising 'attempt to commit suicide'. This decision shall undoubtedly be controversial since many believe that section 309 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises 'attempt to commit suicide' is infact a provision that helps to uphold the dignity of life since it discourages taking of one's own life. While there already are debates raging regarding the morality of the move, the ramifications of the move on the culture of suicides during agitations and protests in India seem to have been ignored.

Hungerstrikes and Self Immolations

Ever since the pre-independence era, a 'fast-onto-death' has been a popular tool of protesting government actions and demanding a roll back. More violent protesters have also adopted the method of attempting self-immolation to draw attention to their demands.

Such protests are infact frighteningly common in India. Just over the past two years, there have been self-immolations for issues ranging from Telangana agitation, protest against the visit of Chinese President and even to protest the conviction of Jayalalitha, CM of Tamil Nadu.

Government decision shall render the police helpless

Most of such self-immolation protests lead to unnecessary deaths of misguided youth and rarely if ever achieve any significant objectives. The police forces' most preferred way of getting rid of such protestors is to simply arrest them for 'attempt to commit suicide' when the police get winds of their plans to self-immolate. Following the move to decriminalise it, this tool shall be no longer available to the police.

Due to the decriminalisation of suicide, the police are going to be deprived of their power to stop such protests. Police shall also not be able to prevent death of non-violent actitivists during the course of hunger-strikes and fasts-onto-death with such events only leading to further law and order problems sparked by outrage amongst the dead activists' supporters.

The Iron Lady of Manipur

The greatest impact of this shall probably be seen in Manipur where Irom Sharmila has been on a hunger-strike for ten long years. The Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize winning activist began a fast on 2nd November 2000, when Assam Rifles personnel killed ten civilians at a bus stop in Malom, Manipur. Her demand is that Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) -- a law that in effect provides military and para-military forces immunity from prosecution for their actions -- be repealed. She was arrested for attempting to commit suicide a mere 3 days after her protest began and has been force fed by the police ever since. She is arrested for the same offence again when she continues her hunger-strike even after being released every time at the end of her one year sentence.

The government should be prepared for a volatile situation in Manipur if 'attempt to commit suicide' is decriminalised because the Iron Lady has made it clear that she would rather die than give up her cause. The death of such a prominent activist shall promptly bring the issue of Manipur and AFSPA into ever sharper focus and is likely to lead to much unrest.

Thus while the government decision to decriminalise 'attempt to suicide' is rightly being studied from a moral and philosophical perspective, it would also be wise to analyse its implications from a practical standpoint of powers of police in relation to protests and agitations. It shall be an undoubtedly regressive move if it completely takes away the powers of the police to prevent unnecessary deaths and the government should find a way around this problem before going ahead with decriminalisation of 'attempt to commit suicide'.

Captain cool checks out Melbourne!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 18:25:00 +0000

This post is a part of Indiblogger's Melbourne contest

He had just finished the gruelling press conference. Why can't a man just do what he wants? Captain Cool had taken his team to #1 a few years ago and yet the pesky reporters had so many questions regarding his retirement. He had wanted to shout at them, "There is nothing higher than #1 folks and I am renting Liverpool's trophy cabinet space to keep my trophies." But true to his name he kept his cool and some how got away from the press conference. The wonderful display of the paintings and photographs of the cricketing greats at the world famous MCG - Melbourne Cricket Ground automatically put him in a good mood by the time he came out and hailed a cab for Westin Melbourne, the grand and beautiful hotel overlooking the vibrant City Square. Tomorrow he would tour the city, for now he just wanted to sleep after a long and tiring last day of test cricket of his life.

Bright and early next morning, Captain Cool hopped on to the City Circle Tram and the small town boy inside him was pleased to note that he could hop on and hop off at will without paying a cent for a ride on this wonderful tram which took him around the entire city!

The tram ride was amazing but he wanted to see more of Melbourne and even beyond if possible. So Captain Cool decided to go for one of the most unique experiences of Melbourne.

He headed out to the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere at Melbourne's Eureka Skydeck 88. He was amazed at how the lift propelled him to level 88 in under 40 seconds and silently prayed for pace bowlers who would bowl this fast for his one day team of which he was still the captain. Since Eureka 88 is an experience that can't properly be told in words, you shall have to watch Captain Cool's friends Rohan and Tanmay in action at the Eureka Sky deck!

Captain Cool was fascinated by the beautiful views of Melbourne from high up at Eureka 88 but again he wanted something more. Since he was missing soaring through the air to take impossible catches as a wicketkeeper, he decided to soar through air again but this time on a Hot-Air Balloon! But on his way to the Hot Air Balooning Site, Captain Cool also made it a point to drop by the Gem Pier to check out the HMAS Castlemaine Museum Ship, the last of the sixty Australian-built Bathurst Class corvettes to be still afloat. He enjoyed exploring the ship and checking out the life style that the Australian sailors had when the ship served the Navy during the Second World War.

He thought he may get hungry during the Hot Air Balloon Ride and made it a point to pluck some strawberries at the Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm, delighted that he could pluck them right off the plant by hand rather than having to buy in a market.

Finally Captain Cool boarded his Hot Air Balloon and drank in the sights of the beautiful city of Melbourne to his heart's content! He was also pleased to know that the balloon ride included complimentary breakfast at the Sofitel Hotel!

Captain Cool's body had soared as high as possible but his mind still had some way to go. Captain Cool headed to the Scienceworks where a Melbourne Planetarium show took his mind to the stars and beyond all the while sitting on a luxurious chair!

The evening had been set aside for the Sovereign Hill visit where Captain Cool tried his hand at finding gold and became a part of history by joining in Australia's famous gold rush! Again his friends can explain it best!

After spending time in history a call from his wife brought Captain Cool back to reality and he rushed to the Queen Victoria Market so that he could buy some lovely gifts for his wife. Regardless of how many T-20 teams you maybe captain of , at home the wife is the boss and you can get retired hurt if you come home without the most fascinating gifts.

I would love to tell you more about Captain Cool but I have to rush because I have to catch the evening show with him at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre!

Why don't you read up more on your own here? Answer my simple question below by leaving a comment and I promise some EXCITING prizes for you! Contest closes on 4th Jan 2015! Comment fast!

"Which of these places would you want to visit in Melbourne and why?".

igenius Young Singing stars Grand Finale

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 11:13:00 +0000

MaxLife Insurance is a company that seems to have a special relationship with the children of India. Over the past few years it has endeavoured to provide some or the other opportunities to children each year as a part of its igenius programmes. There have been scholarships awarded as well as young authors hunt conducted under the igenius banner.

However, this year they did something different. In collaboration with Universal music, they came up with a singing event for children to identify the best talent in India. This is what gave birth to the "Young Singing Stars" competition which saw the participation of more than 1,30,000 participants from across the nation. By the 17th of December, after a rigorous elimination process, the top ten participants (five from the senior category and five from the junior category) were remaining for the grand finale in Mumbai which I had the opportunity to attend because of Blogadda.

Mansi Scott was the host for the evening who brought the event to life by singing one of her unreleased songs. Soon thereafter, the Grand Finale,-- taking place just one day after the horrific events which on 16th Dec unfolded in Peshawar -- struck the right chord as the participants along with the audience were asked to observe 2 mins silence for the victims.

After speeches by senior executives MaxLife, Mr. Devraj Sanyal, MD, Universal Music Group who also has a band of his own spoke about how excited he was to be associated with Young Singing Stars and identifying new talent. He was also a part of the jury for the finale.

Shraddha Sharma, the next member of the jury then took the stage and mesmerised the audience with her melodious voice which has enthralled millions on YouTube, and made her a shoo in for singing stardom.

Salim Ali, the man whom the crowd was dying to see was the next. He also expressed his anguish regarding the attack on the Army School in Peshawar and dedicated his rendition of Ali Maula as a prayer to the victims.

With all the preliminaries done, the youngsters finally took stage for round one of their performances. It seemed like they were managing to outperform each other constantly because each song seemed like the best one.

With the first round of finalists' performances over, acapella band RaagaTrippin took the stage and out in an absolutely mind blowing performance! Simply the range of sounds that they manage to produce using merely their vocal cords let me speechless!

Their performance was followed by another round of finalists' performances which were again superb. I think a large amount of credit is also due to igenius, who I heard provided mentoring opportunity the finalists before the grand finale. I am sure that the kiddos got to learn a great deal from the mentors.

Kavita Seth then took stage to while the scores were being tallied.

And then last, as the participants and their parents waited with bated breath, the event concluded with Shivam Ahuja of the junior category and Shraddha Shree of the senior category being declared the Winners!!!

However, that did not mean that the others went home empty handed. What I loved about the Young Singing Stars was that while the winners got an album contract each with Universal, the four other finalists also got a single song contract each! Thus Universal and MaxLife Insurance are providing all ten of them an opportunity to kick start their singing careers!

Can't wait to hear those voices again! I hope they get to release their singles/albums soon!

Let Bigger Dreams Take Flight! - A short story!

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 17:00:00 +0000

"Running around in circles on the lawn in Vihar Park, wearing her bright yellow teeshirt and shorts along with a black cap makes Mahesh look like a cute honey bee buzzing in the air," thought Seema as she sat on the wrought iron bench watching her eight year old play lost in his own imaginary world. In Mahesh’s mind as well he was soaring through air but not quite as simply as a bee.

The previous day, Seema’s sister had handed over to her a bag of old toys which the sister’s son had lost interest in. Mahesh showed no interest in the old toys until amongst that batch of toys he found the 7 inch long clay model of an airplane which even had tiny plastic propellers attached to its engines. Mahesh was amazed by the model though a significant portion of its tail had chipped off and one of the four propellers was missing, thanks to his cousin’s mishandling no doubt. Seema wouldn’t even have been able to identify it as the popular passenger airliner of the 1950s if not for the words DC-6 printed on it as a part of its livery. Previous night, she had read up on the internet regarding various aircrafts, for the barrage of questions she knew would soon come from her inquisitive child.

“Brrrr Brrrrr Brrrrrrrrrrrr” Mahesh was growling trying to imitate the sound of the engines of airplane model that he held in his hand as he ran at top speed imagining himself soaring through the air on the aircraft. He swooshed and whisked it around avoiding imaginary obstacles and banked it left and right doing tricks. All of a sudden, Mahesh fell backwards, hitting the ground with an audible thump which made Seema’s heart skip a beat. As she rushed towards him, she realised that he wasn’t crying or trying to move at all because he wasn’t really hurt.

He had fallen down on purpose. His eyes were transfixed on a real aircraft in the sky as it glided low, about to make its landing approach. He held up his free hand and pawed the air as if to reach the aircraft with the innocence that only a child can have.

"Mumma why cant we see the engines of that plane like this?" he asked, toying with the three remaining propellers on his DC-6 model.

"Because it is a new aeroplane, it has much faster engines than this one. They are called jet engines." Seema replied, glad that she had read up the previous night.

"Mumma but why, why new engines?"

"So that it can be big. That plane can actually carry more than 200 people!"

Tiny Mahesh's eyes shone with astonishment as he contemplated the big number. "But Mumma, it looks small from here."

"It looks small in the sky, but is really big and even with so many people it can go really really fasttt!" Seema continued as she picked him up and twirled him around while he laughed with glee. With the sun about to set, they started heading back home.

"Mumma I have decided. When I grow up, I shall drive an aeroplane. I shall drive the biggest aeroplane in the world.” He spoke with determination in his voice. “Which is the biggest aeroplane in the world, Mumma?"

"It is the A-380." Seema replied as they reached the lift of their apartment complex. "Do you know it even has two floors! You have to use an elevator inside the A-380!" She told him as he looked on in amazement.

Upon reaching home, Seema ushered him to clean up and he then went off to watch TV while she got busy as well and both forgot about their conversation. Only to be reminded again, at bed time.

Just as she was tucking him in for the night, he stopped her and with a forlorn expression said "But Mumma, I cannot be a big A-380 driver."

"But why?"

"Because I can’t stay away from my Mumma." he said almost teary eyed. "I shall miss you."

She smiled as she kissed his cheeks. "Don't worry son, A-380 now flies from and to Delhi. You don't have to go far at all... "

Lufthansa now flies A-380 non stop from Delhi to Frankfurt! Check it out here!

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This post is a part of the “Lufthansa A380 – Bigger is Better” contest on Indiblogger.in sponsored by Lufthansa.
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Get more details regarding Lufthansa's A-380 non stop service from Delhi to Frankfurt here!

Post by Lufthansa India.

Book Review : Tough Customer by Vandana Vasudevan

noreply@blogger.com (Sagar Godbole) — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 16:52:00 +0000

Are you entitled for compensation for delayed flights? Can stickers be placed on the printed MRP? Can we hold a fairness cream to the promises made in its advertisement?

Tough Customer - Vandana Vasudevan
328 pages | MRP - ₹ 395
Publisher - Westland Ltd.

These are just some of the common questions that any ordinary person is curious about. Consumer law is a field of law that touches the life of the aam admi in innumerable ways on any ordinary day. However, till date all the literature that I had read about 'Consumer Law' was in the form of textbooks discussing each section of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and explaining the judicial interpretations of the same. It was all Consumer Law for the lawyers.

There was no book explaining consumer law for the consumer and this is the void that 'Tough Customer' by Vandana Vasudevan fills perfectly.

The book is divided into four parts, the first one covering the six rights of the consumer, a section on consumer service, another regarding the failure of certain consumer welfare legislation and the last being a must have 'Toolkit for consumers''.

Right from the first two chapters on safety and information, it is apparent how well researched the book is. The section on safety not only covers the obvious concerns that would come to one's mind such as issues relating to food adulteration and protection of financial data but it even goes on to give comprehensive information regarding India's mixed record with respect to railway safety and dubious record with respect to safety measures on roller coasters. The second section regarding the right to information is a delight to read it manage the laws relating to mandatory information disclosures on packaging in simple and succinct terms. Furthermore, we are treated to some fascinating case studies which expose how instant-noodles and cosmetics brands in India flout information disclosure and advertising norms with impunity.

The book's chapter on Right to Redressal shall be of particular interest to any reader as it describes the entire scheme of filing a consumer complaint in detail but at the same time in simple and clear language. Author employs bulletted lists under headings to explain various aspects of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and within those handful of pages an aam aadmi can find answers to all his questions such as "What is unfair trade practice?" "Who can complain?" "When and Whom to complain?" "What relief can the forum give?" etc. The author also goes beyond the Consumer Protection Act and has also included details of other redressal mechanisms such as the Banking Ombudsman, Insurance Ombudsman etc.

The book doesn't stop at just telling the reader how to file a complaint but also tries to inspire the reader by presenting the stories of several consumers who filed consumer complaints and got generous relief from the Consumer forums. It is often said that the Indian judicial system is stacked against the ordinary man and that large corporations get away with anything. However, in this book we find tales of consumers who took on and won against mammoths like the Railways, DLF and Idea mobile. These real life stories written in a fine narrative style are not just heartening but also at times funny and unfailingly enjoyable to read. If I had to pick a fault with this book (apart from the fact that it has scared me regarding several things by exposing the lax safety standards in India), it would be that the author hasn't included any cautionary tales regarding when consumers failed to prove their case before the forums. Such counter-anecdotes could have provided some advice for the readers regarding the pitfalls to avoid while filing consumer complaints.

The section of the book on consumer service is also replete with anecdotes, most from author's own life regarding how the standard of consumer service in India is a major cause for concern while the following section is a detailed analysis of four consumer welfare laws and the author's views on possible reform. Here again what sets this book apart from most other law books is that even an analysis of the law never feels like burdensome reading. While getting the point across, it remains simple enough to be understood by the ordinary man.

The last section "Toolkit for consumers" is a real gem. It includes the contact details of various consumer welfare organisations and also contact information of consumer forums and other grievance redressal mechanisms. The toolkit also includes model form of a consumer complaint which can be adopted an used for his/her own purpose by the reader. This is followed by a checklist of precautions that an informed consumer must adopt in everyday scenarios such as while buying electric appliances or while buying jewellery. It might possibly be worth buying the book for this section alone! However do note that the tips and tricks aren't restricted to this section alone. The entire book is replete with small tips and information that shall come of use to every single person. (Eg - Tips to differentiate between genuine or fake maid agencies, entitlement to compensation in cases of delayed flights, identifying puffery in advertisements etc.)

When I was reading this book, it did not feel like drudgery for a single moment. Every single chapter is relevant and includes references to situations that we face day in and day out.

This book would be of some utility to each and every person who purchases or has ever purchased any goods or services in India!

Disclosure : I was supplied with a review copy by Wesland Ltd.