Potpourri

India Decides To Support UNSC’s Syria Resolution

2012-02-03T22:53:00.000-08:00

India has finally decided to support United Nation Security Council’s resolution on Syria, after dillydallying over the issue for quite some time.

I personally feel it is a wise decision, in terms of diplomatic strategy as well as humanity. First, it is important for India to get its voice heard in an international issue, as it will help it further strengthen its status as a power to reckon with. Secondly, there is the question of humanity and ethical responsibility, which compels India to do something to address the Syrian bloodshed that is continuing without any sign of end.

It is not that through this act India will become a party to an act of any forced regime change. Nothing in the language of the resolution talks about any endorsement of regime change. It is only focused, at least apparently, on restraining the ongoing violence and facilitation of a negotiated settlement.

India has deep respect and appreciation for the sovereignty of every nation of this world, and no force can force our country to deviate from that principle. However, we cannot afford to overlook the government sponsored massacre of innocents in Syria in the name of crushing rebellion. The Bashar al-Assad government has every right to be strict with any form of mobocracy that is destabilizing that country. However, the world has the right to intervene if it finds the situation is getting increasingly scary with every passing day. In fact, it might even turn into a favourable development for Assad, by ushering in peace and stability that will enable him to focus on the development of his country.

Let’s hope that our Syrian friends soon find themselves in a peaceful Syria, and then work together to make their motherland as glorious as Mount Hermon.

Photography – My New Passion

2012-01-28T03:50:00.000-08:00

Of late I have been “captured” by a new passion – the passion of “capturing moments”. In plain speak, Photography.

It is not that my interest in photography is something completely new. Rather I always have had interest in it, since my childhood. Like many of you, I have always found it to be a thrilling idea to permanently capture various moments of my life, and also various incidents, etc. that I find to take place around me. However, till the other day this interest was “just an interest”. But now with every passing day I find it to be increasingly turning into a strong passion, which may even be called madness. Now I always keep thinking of “capturing” something in my cell phone camera, whether it is gorgeous high rise that I come across while driving through the street, or when I find my colleague buttering his sandwich during the lunch break at office. In fact, sometimes I take a snap of something while questioning myself whether it at all worths being photographed. Guess sometimes I “click” only for the sake of it, as I am actually in love with the “act of clicking”.

Anyways, I must admit that I am enjoying this new hobby like anything. At least as of now.

Christmas – The Pan-religious Festival Meant For The Entire World

2011-12-25T00:36:00.000-08:00

Officially Christmas may be just a religious festival of a certain religious community. But in reality it is a pan-religious festival, widely popular with and enthusiastically celebrated by people of all religions across the world.

Why is it so? Well, the reason lies in the pan-religious appeal of Christmas. The festival represents the eternal virtues of the human society – Love, Friendship, Unity, Harmony and Bonding. These are the virtues which serve as the basic components of the lifeblood of the society, and have thus always held a special position in our heart. We find the reflections of these virtues in Christmas, and this in turn explains why people of all faiths identify themselves with this beautiful festival.

In fact, it will be an understatement to refer to Christmas as just a festival. It is rather the personification of a philosophy of life, which teaches us how to make our beautiful world more beautiful, by just turning ourselves into better human beings.

Within few days there will be New Year, which will witness us making colourful New Year Resolutions (most of which we will not follow). Let us make a resolution today, on this auspicious occasion of Christmas, that we will collectively try our best to reduce hatred, malice and hostility in this world, thus doing more justice to the “civilized” tag that we use to describe ourselves.

Why should we hope for a Heaven after death? Why don’t we try to convert this world itself into a Heaven?

A bagful of love and wishes from me and my family to every reader of this small piece.

Lesson For India – UK Aims At Empowering Voters To Recall MPs With Questionable Activities

2011-12-17T00:12:00.000-08:00

It is a development that offers a lesson and inspiration for all parliamentary democracies of the world, including India.

The UK Parliament (also called the British parliament) has moved a bill that aims at empowering the British voters with the right to recall an MP elected by them, if the latter is found to be engaged in questionable activities.

If the bill gets passed by the British Parliament, then it will give the voters from a constituency to force a by election if they feel that their elected representative has got engaged in serious wrongdoings. The only condition is that the petition moved to that effect must be signed by at least 10 per cent of the constituents.

I feel everybody will agree that it is a very significant step, likely to play a very effective role in purifying electoral system and curbing malpractices by elected representatives.

I eagerly wait for the day when the Indian parliament will show the courage to come up with one such bill. And I also appeal to the Election Commission of India to study the said bill, and check whether the same can be replicated in India (with necessary modifications, if any).

Indian Govt. Mulling Institutionalization Of Community Policing

2011-11-26T05:59:00.000-08:00

It was heartening to know that the Indian government is planning to institutionalize community policing, by setting up an exclusive wing for the same. The said wing, to be named 'Community Policing' or CoP, will be a part of the existing police department itself.

It is undoubtedly a very significant development. It is now an established fact that appropriate involvement of community always enhances the quality of the governance. This explains why it has now become such a popular practice for governments across the world to partner with local community members for carrying out various tasks and activities (one notable example is that of “Community Forestry”).

And moreover, community policing has been proved to be a very fruitful tool for curbing crime, with the practice being followed in a number of developed countries for quite some time. No matter how much strong network of informers a police force has, there is no parallel for a system where the common, grass roots level citizens act as the “eyes” and “ears” of the force. All of us are aware of at least a couple of incidents where the alertness of a common citizen has helped the police to smell a crime that is about to take place, and prevent it by taking necessary steps at the right time.

I was also happy to know that new courses and programmes were being developed for being taught in police academy, which aim at sensitizing police personnel on the role they have to play in community policing.

Let’s wish the government all the best for this smart move.

MP Govt. Admits Involvement Of Forest Staff In Tiger Poaching At Panna

2011-11-12T07:03:00.000-08:00

Poachers involved in the killings of tigers at Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve enjoy support and co-operation from the very people who are supposed to protect those amazing animals from them – the forest staff.

This painful (but probably not very shocking) fact came to light after the state government was forced to share a report submitted to it in January 2011 by the Filed Director, Panna Tiger Reserve. The government was forced to share the report after an application to that effect was filed by RTI activist Ajay Dubey.

Hopefully the state government will take necessary steps to ensure that Panna does not experience what happened to Sariska. And yes, will the government now accept the Central Government’s proposal for a CBI enquiry into the matter?

Ms. Manusmriti Of India Becomes The 4th Generation Cop, Makes World Record

2011-11-06T03:34:00.000-08:00

Ms. Manusmriti of India has made world record by becoming the 4th generation cop in her family. Manusmriti, who has joined India’s elite Indian Police Service (IPS), comes from a family which has been serving the Indian police force generation after generation since 1921 (which means for 90 years).

Her great grandfather Harihar Prasad Verma had joined the police force of the Indian state of Bihar as a Constable in 1921, i.e. when India was under the British rule. He was followed by his son Arbind Prasad (Manusmriti’s grandfather), who joined the Bihar Police as an SI (Sub Inspector) in 1952. He was again followed by his son Kamlendra Prasad (Manusmriti’s father), who joined the IPS in 1981. He is an IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, and is now serving as the Director of the National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science, New Delhi.

And now Manusmriti has lived up to the legacy of her family by joining the IPS. She has joined the Union Territory cadre. She and her father have also made the record of being the only serving father-daughter IPS duo. A bright student, Manusmriti is an alumnus of Delhi’s St. Stephens College and London School of Economics.

However, there has been an example of a 4th generation cop in Canada as well. There is one David Stewart who joined the police force of Vancouver in Canada on 23rd September, 2011. And he is reportedly the 4th generation cop in his family. However, his family has been serving the police force for 82 years, i.e. eight years less than the number of years for which Manusmriti’s family has served the force.

A bagful of congratulations, Manusmriti. The nation wishes you all the best.

At the same time let us wish all the best to our Canadian friend David Stewart. Both David and Manusmriti have lived up to the legacy of their respective families, and we sincerely hope that both of them will prove themselves to be the assets for the police forces of their respective countries.

AFSPA Withdrawal – Omar To Take Full Responsibility If Something Goes Wrong

2011-10-28T00:25:00.001-07:00

For last some days J&K CM Omar Abdullah has been very vocal about his demand for the withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from at least some parts of the state.

This demand, allegedly a ploy to win cheap popularity, has brought the 3rd generation Chief Minister of the state into direct conflict with the armed forces, with the latter being strongly opposed to any such step. And this view of the latter is shared by the nation as well, with the ground situation seemingly not being favourable for any such step.

However, the young and handsome Chief Minister is defiantly sticking to his guns. He seems to be quite confident that the so-called draconian law has now become irrelevant for certain regions of Jammu & Kashmir. And he is apparently determined to get those regions 'liberated' from the clutches of that law.

Fine. If the honourable Chief Minister feels that way, then it is OK. But let there be one condition. Let Omar sign an agreement that if there is an escalation in the terrorist activities in the concerned regions after the withdrawal of AFSPA, then he has to take the full responsibility for it and immediately resign from the position of Chief Minister, and also has to arrange for compensations to be paid to the kith and kin of the security personnel and common people who will be the victims of that escalation.

Are you game, Mr. Chief Minister?

A. Raja’s Ridiculous Attempt To Drag The PM’s Name Into The 2G Controversy

2011-07-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

It is really shocking to see that how the former Telecom minister Mr. A. Raja is trying to drag the honourable prime minister’s name into the 2G Spectrum controversy.

Mr. A Raja’s desperation to defend himself is understandable. But he must realize that espousal of any baseless reasoning to wash his hands off can hardly dilute the charge against him. Rather such acts will leave his image to be murkier.

He has said that the prime minister (and the then finance minister Mr. P. Chidambaram) knew about the steps he was going to take about the 2G Spectrum allocation. OK, accepted. But does that establish this that they are equally responsible for the scam? No. We must realize that knowing about the administrative or policy decision of a ministry is something, and realizing the possible outcome of that decision is something else. To study a policy decision and identifying its possible outcome is actually the responsibility of the in-charge of the concerned ministry (i.e. the concerned minister), as he has hands-on connection with the day-to-day activities of the ministry. We can at most say that the prime minister should have sensed the outcome of Raja’s decision, but we can never say that he should must have sensed it. At the end of the day it was Raja’s responsibility to sense the outcome, and back out from the controversial decision that resulted in the scam. That he did not back out from his decision naturally naturally reflects this feeling that he had actually identified the irregularities in his decision, but still went ahead as he had his personal gains in mind.

Mr. Raja must realize that the prime minister can not set up a Group of Ministers for each and every issue, then it is meaningless to have dedicated ministers for the government ministries. Besides, if the prime minister is to mind the pros and cons of every decision and step of a ministry, then what is the role of the ministers-in-charge? Are they there only to execute prime minister’s orders? Cannot they take independent decisions? They have to independent decisions, and will have to take full responsibility for the outcome. Therefore, sorry Mr. Raja, you have to face the music alone. Please do not try to drag the name of your honest prime minister, who is an asset for this nation.

General Election To Be Held In Egypt – A Good News, But…

2011-07-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

It was really heartening to know that Egypt’s Military Council has announced the holding of general election in Egypt in October 2011.

The common Egyptians fought tooth-and-nail to overthrow the dictatorial Mubarak regime. And after that it was understandably frustrating for them to be under the Military Council. It is certainly true that the setting up of the Council was an inevitable decision, as one such caretaker entity was required to run the show till a popularly elected government could take charge. The common Egyptians also realized it, and accepted the development as a stopgap arrangement.

However, of late their patience was running out, as they probably felt that the Military Council was not sincere about holding general election at the earliest. They were not ready to wait for a popularly elected democratic government, their cherished wish, and their displeasure was oozing out through various activities and incidents. Now they must be feeling relieved and happy that at last the military council is going to hold general election, the occasion that they have awaited for so many days.

However, there is one issue that is preventing some people from becoming completely happy and relieved. The Military Council has barred international monitors from observing the poll, and has chosen Egypt’s judiciary to play that role.

I hope everybody will agree that it would have been better if the Military Council gave international monitors to observe the poll process. Probably the Council top brass feels that if international monitors observe the poll, then it will not be in line with Egypt’s national pride, or even sovereignty. But the Council should remember that if the election takes place under the supervision of international monitors, then its transparency and credibility will be unquestionable. Otherwise, people (both from Egypt and outside) might feel that the Military Council has manipulated the election, to ensure that its favourite party/coalition comes into power. Given the sensitive nature of the upcoming general election, if the elected government suffers from even a grain of credibility deficit, even then it can be disastrous for its stability.

So, I feel Egypt’s Military Council should change its decision and permit international observers to supervise the election. I humbly request Egypt’s military bosses to reconsider their decision in this regard. I also remind them that such a decision will also give a huge boost to the Egyptian army’s image.

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Agreement – The End, Or The Beginning?

2011-07-19T00:34:00.000-07:00

Is the signing of the tripartite Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) agreement the end of the around 3 decades old Gorkhaland problem? Or is it a signal step towards the formation of a separate Gorkhaland state?

West Bengal Chief Minister Miss Mamata Banerjee and Union Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram have clearly said that there is no question of accepting any proposal to divide Bengal. The GTA agreement has been signed only to boost development in the Darjeeling area (as if it was impossible without this agreement), and not to smoothen any process to divide Bengal that has already faced the brunt of division once at the time of India’s partition in 1947.

Significantly, during the signing of the agreement, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supremo Mr. Bimal Gurung also did not utter a single word about the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state (though he did not categorically say that they have dropped that demand, either).

All this may be taken as a sign that the GTA has been successful in placating the grievances/feeling of discrimination/etc. of the so called sons of the soil (sorry, all of these local people are not indigenous to Darjeeling), and now they are no more interested in having a separate Gorkhaland state.

However, the matter might not be that simple. While Bimal Gurung himself did not say anything about Gorkhaland demand, the occasion saw many of his supporters raising slogans like “We Want Gorkhaland”. More importantly, on the sidelines of the signing of the agreement, a couple of GJM leaders told journalists that the GTA agreement was not going to put an end to the struggle for Gorkhand state. Rather that demand will very much remain in place, and in fact that is their ultimate goal.

I feel before the signing of the GTA agreement Mamata Banerjee should have got an official assurance from the GJM leadership that after the agreement they would drop their Gorkhaland demand. That (or something like that) would have been a better thing to do. Unfortunately, Mamata did not bother to do anything like that in a hurry to get the agreement signed and claim credit for resolving a long-standing issue.

Anyways, I feel that immediately the West Bengal government and GJM should jointly issue a media statement, wherein they will clarify their stand and view on this. Otherwise there will be room for rumours and false hopes, which is not very appreciable. The common people want to know the truth, and they must be told the truth. It is a sensitive issue, and there must not be any confusion over anything.

And yes, GJM must drop its demand to bring Nepali-speaking parts of Dooars and Terai under GTA. This is simply too much.

Finally, a bagful of congratulations to my friends, brothers and sisters of Darjeeling for getting an autonomous body for themselves. I may not appreciate the idea of Gorkhaland. I may be uncomfortable even with the signing of GTA agreement. But I certainly appreciate the grievances/ethnical sentiments, etc. that have made you support the Gorkhaland movement. (It is only that I feel that Gorkhaland is not a must to address your demands and aspirations.) I sincerely wish that GTA becomes successful in addressing your grievances, demands and aspirations. And yes, I also hope that GTA pays equal focus on the development of every ethnic community (the Gorkhas, the Lepchas, the Bhutias, etc.), instead of remaining obsessed with one or two community/communities.

Darjeeling has always lied very close to our (Bengalis) heart, and we will keep loving this beautiful place (and its inhabitants) whether it remains under the West Bengal government or GTA or any other entity. An average Bengali’s bonding with Darjeeling is purely emotional, which has nothing to do with the political status of that place. We will always love Darjeeling. And we will always love and adore the people of Darjeeling, even if they perceive us as their enemy, or even oppressor.

And, sorry to say, for us Darjeeling will always remain Darjeeling, and not Gorkhaland. Never!

Let There Be “Shoot-At-Sight” Orders Against IM And LeT Operatives

2011-07-18T00:32:00.000-07:00

I know it is very difficult for the Indian government to implement, as there are issues like communal sentiment, etc.

However, if the government has to enhance its anti-terror operation, then I feel it should immediately issue “shoot-at-sight” orders against the members of Indian Mujahideen (IM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (a.k.a. Jamaat-ud-Dawa). And I hope technically it will not be very difficult, as both the organizations are now banned by the Indian government.

I understand that the proposal seems to be somewhat harsh, and also appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to the recent Mumbai blasts. However, I will very confidently say that there is no other way. Whenever police arrests one member of any of these banned organizations, it has to waste a lot of time and energy to gather evidence and prepare a chargesheet against him. Until and unless a proper chargesheet is not filed, the person cannot be prosecuted. And he keeps enjoying a happy life in the custody.

More importantly, both IM and LeT have a huge membership. If police takes so much time to tackle one member, then how can it tackle the entire organization?

Prosecuting an arrested terrorist through legal process is a lengthy procedure, which delays his punishment to a huge extent (just recall the examples of Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab). Terrorism is now like an ever expanding tumour for India, and we have to wipe out as much chunk of the problem as possible by spending as little time as possible. We have to be fast and swift, ruthlessly cutting down each and every branch and fruit of the two venomous trees – IM and LeT. And in that case there seems to be only one way out – instantly gunning down an LeT or IM operative the moment police can have a hand on him.

The idea might not appeal to so-called intellectuals who are obsessed with catchy words like “Human Rights”, “ethics”, “morality”, etc. Well, I have due respect for the philosophy of “Human Rights”. But I am sorry to say that I do not feel it to be more valuable than the lives of my fellow Indian citizens.

Some Appeals To Mr. Milind Deora, The New MoS – Communications & IT

2011-07-13T00:35:00.000-07:00

Hi Milind (or shall I say Mr. Milind Deora?),

A bagful of congrats for getting selected as a member of the Council of Ministers. While becoming a Minister itself is a thrilling experience, what must have made you more thrilled is that you have been made an MoS at the Ministry of Communications & IT. What I feel, after going through some of your newspaper articles, that you take a special interest in Telecommunications gadgets, like cell phones. And you seem to have some definite plans as far as that field is concerned. In that case your ministerial appointment has provided you with a golden opportunity to realize your plans, right?

Anyways, without taking much of your time, I will like to come to the point straightaway. I have some appeals, and with your kind permission I dare to place them before you.

i.) Please try to inculcate some professionalism in the functioning of MTNL and BSNL. Even at this age of high cell phone penetration the basic telephony still enjoys a significant popularity. And when common people think of basic telephony, they usually think of the government players (i.e. MTNL and BSNL) and not the private players. So it is very crucial that MTNL and BSNL upgrade their customer service, which can be called “just average” at its best.

ii.) Please take strict measures to ensure that porn site viewing in cyber cafes comes to an end, or at least gets reduced.

iii.) Please ensure that your ministry keeps a vigil on the social, health and other impacts of the various value added services offered by cell phones.

iv.) (Most important appeal) Finally, can you please conceptualize something like an “e-mail and snail mail combo”? What I mean is like this –

Suppose I want to send an e-mail to Mr. X, who does not have an e-mail ID and is not e-mail friendly in the first place. So I send the e-mail to the post office that is located nearest to his residence. The post office people take out a print of the e-mail, and then deliver the hard copy to Mr. X’s residence in a way snail or postal mails are delivered. Is something like this possible? Sorry if my plan sounds stupid.

OK, so these are some my wishes which I dared to share with you.

Congrats to you again, and a bagful of wishes for a successful ministerial career.

Hey Subhasis, Hearty Congrats For Your Debut Novel – “Those Were The Days”

2011-06-30T03:48:00.000-07:00

As a person of little (or better to say no) caliber, I have nothing as such to boast of. So naturally I need to depend on reflected glory, which I manage to gather by trying to get close to talented and successful people who have carved a niche in various fields.

And trust me, I am really lucky in this respect. While god has not given me any quality to stand out from the crowd, he has certainly given me quite a number of friends to feel proud of.

And the latest one in that group of friends is Subhasis Ghosal, the sharp and intelligent software engineer-turned-marketing communications professional who was my colleague at Espire Infolabs, New Delhi around 4-5 years back. And while he quit Espire before I did, we had already cemented a life long friendship which is, needless to say, still there.

A man with equal command on software domain and creative activities, Subhasis had already started working on a novel when I was working with him at Espire. He told me that the novel was based on student life, and he would take some idea from his own student life. I was thrilled that he was writing a novel, and wished him good luck, and was at the same time doubtful about whether it would at all see the light of the day.

I kept touch with him after he quit Espire and moved to Pune with his new job. Whenever we would communicate through Facebook, SMS or phone call, I would ask him about his job, his family, etc. But never I would ask him about his novel, as, honestly speaking, I had forgotten about it.

It was just one or two months back that Subhasis told me, during a Facebook chat, that he was through with the novel, and it would be published soon. And then the other day I got the good news. His novel, named “Those Were The Days”, is out in the market. My beloved friend Subhasis is now an author.

Congrats dear. A bagful of hearty congrats. Only I know how happy I am. And I sincerely hope that “Those Were The Days” is just the beginning, to be followed by many other works. Let your passion for novel writing always be with you.

Mamata’s “Revolutionary” Decision – West Bengal To Have 6 More Official Languages

2011-05-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

Mamata Banerjee-led TMC-Congress government of West Bengal has taken an “innovative” and “revolutionary” decision.

From now, apart from Bengali and English, West Bengal will have 6 more “second” official languages - Urdu, Punjabi, Nepali, Ol-Chiki, Oriya and Hindi.

So from now onwards every government communication will be printed in all these languages, the Calcutta Doordarshan will have news programme in all these languages, and so on. Wow, what a revolutionary step by our firebrand Chief Minister.

However, I am such a nagging person that instead of appreciating this step for promoting communal harmony, I rather find the decision to be a bitter ill to swallow. I am so sorry.

Actually, I completely fail to understand the logic behind declaring 6 more languages as the second official language fails me. There are some loopholes in the government’s logic, which I cannot ignore.

For example, the government has said that Punjabi has been chosen as an official language to recognize the fact that the Punjabi speaking community has made a huge contribution in the development of the state. Besides, the Punjabi community has a sizeable presence in West Bengal, that too for several years.

Nobody can dare to contradict the logic that Punjabis have really played a very appreciable role in the in various developments of West Bengal, especially in the field of trade & commerce (courtesy their legendary entrepreneurial skill).

But if by that logic the beautiful Punjabi language can be given an official status, then why not the same be done to the Rajasthani language? Punjabis of West Bengal have been staying here for many years, and the community has also played key role in the economic and other developments of the state. But in that case why Rajasthani (the language of Marwari community) was left out? Marwaris have also been in the state since the days of Jobe Charnock and Sirajdaulla, and have played a very significant role in the overall development of the state, with the main area again being the field of trade & commerce. In fact, if today we try to think of any Calcutta based industrialist, then the two names that will obviously come in our mind ar R.P. Goenka and Harsh Neotia (both Marwaris).

And by what logic was Oriya (one of the world’s richest languages) selected? With due respect to Oriya friends who stay in West Bengal (and we cherish their presence), Odisha or Oriya community has historically not played that much a significant role in any aspect of West Bengal’s development and growth, (though since ancient days we have had cultural and business relations with that region). Nor it is so that the educated and erudite Oriya community has any sizeable presence here. (I wish more Oriya friends made West Bengal their home).

Every community should enjoy equal right/prestige/honour on the soil of every Indian state, with the so-called “sons of the soil” enjoying no special status. But this is certainly not the way to offer the “equal treatment”. Rather I find this decision of the West Bengal government to be a big joke.

By the way, I hope nobody will misunderstand me. While opposing the selection of a language as West Bengal’s official language, I have only questioned the cultural and historical logic behind it. And by no means I have tried to show lack of respect to those languages and their speakers.

Thank you so much for reading the post. You have honoured me.

NY-based Indian Diplomat’s Daughter Arrested For Crime She Did Not Commit, Real Culprit Let To Go Scot Free

2011-05-25T02:29:00.001-07:00

It is an unfortunate incident that cannot be expected to take place in a city like New York.

Krittika Biswas, the 18 years old daughter of a New York based senior Indian diplomat, was arrested and suspended from high school for a crime she did not commit in the first place – sending sexually explicit mails to her teachers.

Krittika Biswas is the daughter of Debashish Biswas, the vice consul at the Consulate General of India in Manhattan.

On February 8, 2011, this bright student of John Bowne High School was paraded out of her school in, hold your breath, handcuffs. And that was followed by the ordeal of spending 28 hours in a dark cell.

However, later the school Principal Howard Kwait identified a male student to be the real culprit.

Naturally, now the charges against Krittika were dropped. However, now two interesting (read more unfortunate) things happened.

Though now the real culprit was identified, he did not have to face any legal action like what innocent Krittika had to face. Reason? Well, the school did not want to press charges against him. (Why? Is there any racial angle in this story?)

More interestingly, even after the baseless charges against Krittika were dropped, school officials insisted to keep the hapless girl detained in a suspension centre for more than one month. Reason? Well, I suppose only the almighty has the answer.

Now Krittika is suing the New York City administration for $1.5 million for the wrongful arrest and the subsequent harassments. I feel the amount is quite low given the strong blow that her self-respect sense suffered.

I sincerely hope that the US government will take serious note of the issue, and will ensure that all the people directly or indirectly responsible for Krittika’s nightmarish experience are brought to book.

Grassroots Activism And Digital Activism - Complementary To Each Other

2011-05-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

Grassroots activists often look down upon and mock at digital activists.

I appreciate and respect the “hands on” approach of grassroots activists. Given the fact that it is they who actually run a movement on the ground, there is no doubt that they form the most vital part of a movement’s lifeline.

However, while taking justified pride in their role, they should also appreciate the significant role played by digital activists in bringing an issue to the world’s notice, thereby generating public support and sympathy in many parts of the world.

The fact is that grassroots activism and digital activism are complementary to each other. And it is only through a combined presence of the two that a movement can become most likely to be successful.

Digital activism can draw public sympathy and support for a cause, but that sympathy and support will wither away if there are no grassroots activists to tap that support and utilize it in furthering the movement on the ground.

On the other hand, if there is only grassroots activism and no digital activism, then those grassroots activists will have to fight for their cause without the world sympathizing with them and their cause. And in that case they will be deprived of a strong moral support that often plays a key role in a movement.

A Few Humble Suggestions To Ms Girija Vyas, President, National Commission For Women (India)

2011-05-18T03:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Madam,

Your organization, National Commission for Women (NCW), is a significant and crucial body that is playing a very valuable role in upholding the cause of the respectable womenfolk of our land. It is courtesy the presence of NCW that a number of women from cross sections of the society are being able to fight against various injustices committed against them, thereby managing to safeguard the honour and dignity of their life. Every right thinking citizen of India appreciates the valuable service offered by NCW, and takes great pride in its presence on the Indian soil.

However, I sometimes feel that there are certain occasions when NCW might get vulnerable to misuse and misutilization, without even realizing it. Such incidents are sure to malign your organization, not withstanding its noble objectives.

If you do take it as an audacity, then I will like to present just a couple of humble suggestions which may help you to ensure that there is no misuse of your organization.

a.) NCW must ensure that on the occasion of a normal household arguement a lady can not blackmail her husband/in laws by flaunting her personal contacts with NCW officials and functionaries. I hope you will accept that it is not a good practice for a lady to make remarks like “I know Ms. XYZ of NCW. I will just call her tomorrow”, while having a somewhat normal argument with her husband/in laws.
b.) You must ensure that when a lady visits NCW office for some official or other work (and not to lodge any complaint), then she is not entertained to make any verbal complaint against her husband/in laws while having a casual chat with any NCW official. If she tries to do something like this, then the concerned NCW official must not entertain it. Rather she should tell that lady that if she really has a genuine complaint to make, then she is welcome to lodge a formal, written complaint with the appropriate person. Otherwise, that lady may later blackmail her husband/in laws by saying things like “Today I told Ms. XYX of NCW everything when I visited their office. She was very angry, and has said that she will ensure NCW takes strict action against you people”.
c.) When a lady lodges a complaint with NCW, then, after recording the complaint, NCW may do the following two things – c.) 1.) – It may verify the genuineness of the complaint before taking any action against the accused, And, c.) 2.) – Even after it finds that the incident mentioned in the complaint is true, it may try to find out the root cause, which eventually resulted in that incident. For example, NCW finds that a lady was indeed slapped by her husband as she has mentioned in her complaint. Now, before taking action against her husband, NCW may try to find out whether there was some very strong provocation from the lady which made her husband to slap her at the heat of the moment. It may have been so that the lady was abusing her in laws in a very offensive language, which made her husband lose patience (after all, he is a human being). Worse, it may have been so that the lady had pounced on her husband and was physically assaulting him, and the husband had to slap her back simply for self defence.

So madam, these were just a couple of suggestions that I dared to make, with this hope that the same might help NCW to be further effective in its actions. I again hope that you will not count my action as an audacity.

I want to highlight that my coming up with these suggestions does not mean that I have any doubt about the competence of NCW officials.

I will also like to highlight that I do not claim to have any personal experience as far as the situations/scenarios - that I have mentioned above as examples - are concerned.

Please accept my heartfelt respect and regards and share the same with each and every member of NCW. Please always be there and be a strong support for our mothers, sisters and daughters, who genuinely need your help. I wish you people all the best.

The Thrilling And Educative “User Testing” Event, Courtesy Teekha Web

2011-05-16T00:16:00.001-07:00

As an Internet enthusiast, I will cherish for a long time the nice experience that I had yesterday (15th May 2011). So which experience am I referring to? Well, yesterday I had the opportunity to attend, and be part of, a “User Testing” event conducted by “Teekha Web”, the upcoming online solutions consultancy launched by a bunch of passionate and energetic Web enthusiasts, who eat, sleep and breath WWW.

The concept of “User Testing”, as they explained to me, entails conceptualizing and designing the outline of a web site by strictly keeping in mind the target user. Well, people may say that there is nothing unusual about it, as the target audience is kept in mind while preparing every web site. That is in fact one of the basic rules of web site preparation. True! But as a former content writer I know that this focus on target audience is given mainly while preparing the web site contents (such as text and its language, images and pictures, etc.). But usually not much focus is given on user friendliness in terms of “navigation designing”. It is very common for web site makers to forget to judge whether their web site is easy to navigate, where the user will be able to easily detect the appropriate links, before clicking on the same and accessing exactly those web site pages that contain the information/data that they are looking for.

And it is precisely this factor that is emphasized on in this “User Testing” concept. As per this concept, before actually getting into preparing the web site content, the content preparation team should sit together and conceptualize the web site home page through the eyes of the target audience. They will discuss among themselves (a la brainstorming) and try to identify each and every information/data that the target audience will like to have in the web site. And they will give equal focus on how the links to those data are to be put on the web site, so that the target audience has no problem in detecting/identifying those links and click on them. The basic tenet of the “User Testing” concept is that it is not enough to put necessary information/data in the web site. But you should also ensure it that the target audience has no problem in identifying the links to those data. If the links to those data get lost in the “jungle” of various confusing links, etc., and the target audience fails to access the information/data that they are looking for, then the presence of those information/data in the web site becomes meaningless, right?

I in fact had the “hands on” experience to be a part of this “User Testing” practice. I joined a team that was conceptualizing the home page of a hotel, and enjoyed the experience like anything. While it left me nostalgic by reminding me the experience I used to have as a content writer, I also enjoyed the thrill of learning a new but key concept of web site preparation.

I profusely thank “Teekha Web” team for the great experience (which was both educative and thrilling), and wish them all the best.

Apa Sherpa – A Steady “Climb” of “Himalayan Success”

2011-05-12T01:57:00.000-07:00

The living “Everest Legend” Apa Sherpa has done it again. Boasting the record of scaling Mt. Everest for the most number of times in the world, this jewel of the respectable “Sherpa” community again climbed the world’s highest peak on May 11, 2011, for the 21st time. This time he scaled the peak as a member of Eco Everest Expedition 2011. Eco Everest Expedition 2011 is an initiative aimed at cleaning the litter at Mt. Everest that was left behind by earlier climbers. The initiative also focuses on generating mass awareness on the possible impacts of climate change.

Now in his early 50’s, this pride of the Asian mountaineering community scaled Mt. Everest for the first time in 1990. And then he made it his practice, eventually establishing himself as the man to scale the peak for more times than anybody else.

Apart from being a legendary mountaineer, Apa Sherpa also enjoys the honour of being Nepal’s ambassador to promote tourism. He is also the founder of Apa Sherpa Foundation, the organization which is dedicatedly working for providing better education to Sherpa children located in rural Nepal. The Foundation is also working for the preservation of Sherpa language and culture.

Please accept a bagful of heartfelt salutations, sir.

One Day The Entire World May Become A Single State

2011-05-06T03:03:00.001-07:00

A time may come when the entire world will become a single state
And I have a feeling that one day it will happen, though the idea may sound absurd on today’s date.

There will be a single World Government, running the affairs of the entire globe
Spanning from Africa to America, and Asia to Europe.

There will be no “countries”, but only “administrative divisions”
And people will have no “nationalities”, as there will be no “nations”.

Every person will have only one identity – that he is a World Citizen
No matter originally which place he is from - the USA or India or Kenya or Yemen.

There will be no “international border”, as the entire world will be a single country
With various regions of the world being like the branches of the same tree.

There will be no war, as there will be only one country with not a second one to challenge its “territorial integrity”
And people across the world will enjoy a life of peace, harmony and unity.

The entire global fund will be spent on development, with not a single pie being wasted in war preparation
There will be no “war psychosis”, as that is impossible when the entire world has only one nation.

Words like “patriotism”, “nationalism” and “nationalist feeling” will be completely obsolete
And people will find such feelings to be ridiculously “parochial” and “narrow-minded”.

All the people across the globe will live as a single community
Working together for the world’s over-all development with dedication and integrity.

Just imagine what a beautiful place the world will be, if my dream becomes a reality
I know the dream sounds to be Utopian, but cannot we take at least some baby steps towards a Global Unity?

“Mukhtaran Mai Gang Rape Case” Verdict – The Pakistan Judiciary Makes A Mockery Of Itself

2011-04-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

The Pakistan Supreme Court has made a shocking mockery of the entire Pakistan judiciary including itself, and certainly of justice as well, by acquitting all but one accused in the infamous Mukhtaran Mai Gang Rape Case.

A resident of Meerwala village in the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan, Mukhtaran Bibi (now widely known as Mukhtaran Mai) was gang raped on the orders of a local tribal council of the Mastoi Baloch clan.

The harrowing incident was actually the final outcome of a series of incidents. It all began when Mukhtaran’s brother Shaqoor, who is from Tatla clan, was accused of having an affair with Salma (aka Nasim), a lady from Mastoi Baloch clan. This resulted in tensions as the Mastoi Baloch clan is more rich and powerful than the Tatla clan, i.e. the clan of Shaqoor and Mukhtaran.

However, the trial court came up with the verdict that there was no supporting evidence against Shaqoor’s “misdeed”. But as everybody knows that in Pakistan’s tribal areas Kangaroo courts are more powerful than formal judicial organs, Salma’s family decided to take the law in their own hands. They abducted Shaqoor, and got him sodomized. This now further resulted in a series of charges and counter-charges. And finally came that fateful day, when, empowered with the backing of a local tribal council, Salma’s brother Abdul Khaliq and his aides dragged Mukhtaran inside a stable and garg raped her for full one hour. And yes, that was not all. After that she was paraded naked in the village in full public view.

The hue and cry raised by the Pakistan media and civil society forced the government to initiate actions. The trial court came up with the verdict that the accused were indeed guilty, and awarded death sentence to them. But the accused appealed to the Lahore High Court, and the latter acquitted five of the six accused on the basis of “insufficient evidence”. It was in 2005.

Within days of the Lahore High Court verdict the Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo moto cognizance of the case. And on 21st April 2011, after 6 years, it has come with its loan awaited verdict which upholds Lahore High Court’s verdict – acquittal of all but one accused.

There is probably hardly any doubt that Mukhtaran Bibi will remember 21st April 2011 as a day equally “black” as the day on which she was gang raped by some beasts in the garb of human beings. On that fateful day she was raped by miscreants. And on the “Judgment Day” she found her hope for justice to be raped by the weak judiciary of her country. She had waited for 6 years to see those bastards finally getting punished for the heinous crime that they dared to commit. Instead, now she will have to bear the pain of watching them moving freely, an experience that will far aggravate the pain of bearing the memory of her harrowing experience.

It may have been so that the Judiciary did not have enough evidence to punish the accused. But would it have been so difficult for the honourable judiciary to gather some key evidences, if it were really sincere about it? And yes, what was the role of the investigating agencies? How could they fail to collect enough evidences given the fact that the crime was committed in full public view? Was it simply a case of professional incompetence? Or is it so that they were not serious about the investigation in the first place?

There should be immediate initiation of investigation to find out whether a section of the government connived with the accused. And, if anybody is found to be guilty, then he should be awarded with strongest possible punishment, which will act as a deterrent for other “potentially” erring government functionaries.

The Mukhtaran Mai gang rape case verdict will remain as a “black chapter” in the history of Pakistan’s judiciary. It is a different matter that the history of the said judiciary is already replete with a number of “black chapters”, and is likely to have more.

Congrats To Gujjars For “Simple Marriage” Resolution

2011-04-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

It was really heartening to see how leaders of Gujjar community passed a resolution to keep marriage a low-key affair. The notable and praiseworthy resolution forbids vulgar show of wealth in marriages, while also prohibiting the use of guns and liquor on such occasions.

This is undoubtedly a pleasantly startling move, given the fact disturbingly ostentatious marriage ceremonies have now become so common in North India. People unhesitatingly use wedding ceremonies as a tool to display their money power, stooping to the level of competing with one another in terms of glitz and glamour. Under such circumstances it is not too much to say that this resolution of the Gujjar community leaders represents a ground-breaking move.

I also heartily appreciate the prohibition of use of gun in wedding ceremonies. This practice of gun firing, something so common in North Indian wedding ceremonies, is already frowned upon by a large section of the society. I regularly come across news of accidents (including fatal accidents) in wedding ceremonies resulting from gun firing. And therefore it is a welcome step in itself to ban the use of gun in Gujjar weddings.

A bagful of congratulations to Gujjar community leaders for coming up with this significant resolution. It is a powerful initiative to cleanse the rich North Indian culture of needless extravaganza. North Indian wedding ceremonies are quite glorious and colourful, and they do not need any “artificial” extravaganza to appear more glamorous. In fact, doing away with such extravaganza will help the North Indian wedding ceremonies to display their real self, which is a captivating combination of magnificence and liveliness.

Achieving 33 Per Cent Green Cover Is Impossible For India – Jairam Ramesh

2011-03-21T06:09:00.001-07:00

Are you an Indian “green enthusiast” eagerly awaiting the day when the Indian government will be successful in realizing its target of bringing 33 per cent of Indian ground under green cover or forest cover?

Well, in that case it is time you heaved a sigh of pain.

The Environment & Forests Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh has been very candid in saying that the Indian government’s aim to achieve 33 per cent green cover for India is impossible. Reason? Well, mainly two factors are playing the spoil sport – the size of the population and the developmental issues.

Mr. Ramesh has said that instead of running after the elusive goal, it is better India focuses on retaining the 21 per cent forest cover that it enjoys at present.

Interestingly, Mr. Ramesh has also admitted that 40 per cent of that 21 per cent forest cover is open and degraded land, and is not exactly worthy of being called “forest”.

Mr. Ramesh’s acceptance of the harsh fact might have broken many of our hearts. But it is better we appreciate his honesty, and wish and encourage him that he manages to retain and nourish the 21 per cent forest cover enjoyed by our beautiful motherland.

Europe Is Considering A Nuclear-Free Future – A Welcome Thought

2011-03-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

Will the recent tragedy in Japan, that has made the country face a possible nuclear disaster, eventually push European Union (EU) to go for a nuclear-free future?

Well, there seems to be a possibility, if a recent observation by EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger is anything to go by.

Shocked with what is happening in Japan, EU has decided to test the resistance level of its nuclear power stations, to judge whether there is any possibility of a nuclear disaster in case those power plants face a situation like what is now happening in Japan. It is in this context that Mr. Oettinger has said that EU should check whether it can stop depending on nuclear power, in the near future, to address its power needs.

It is a welcome thought, Mr. Oettinger. It will be really great if EU can go ahead with this plan. It is something that should be given serious considerations by every country in the world. And I suppose it is OK to part with nuclear energy even if we find that will create deficiencies in addressing power needs, and other requirements. It is OK to pay the moderate price that we are supposed to pay if we stop depending on nuclear power. But it is disastrous to pay the price that we will pay if the nuclear power develops problems. Let us not fail to learn a very crucial lesson that lies beneath the disaster that our Japanese friends are facing today.

What is ENGLISH?

2011-03-16T00:34:00.001-07:00

E = Expressive
N = Necessary
G = Global Harmony Facilitator
L = Lovable
I = Internationally Understood
S = Sweet
H = Hearty

Fight Back, “The Land Of The Rising Sun”

2011-03-14T05:33:00.000-07:00

A combined attack of a major earthquake and tsunami – for any other country it would have been a major blow
But the country in question is Japan, which is known for not letting any disaster make its morale low.

“The Land Of The Rising Sun”, Japan managed to stand up from the shambles of Hiroshima bombing
It is a strong-willed nation, for which fighting back a disaster with grit is not a new thing.

History bears the proof of the determination and courage that the Japanese community personifies
And there is hardly any doubt that the great country will overcome the present disaster with aplomb and ease.

The entire world’s sympathy, love and wishes are with you - our beloved Japanese friends, brothers and sisters
Fight back with your natural courage, by displaying for the umpteenth time the indomitable spirit of the Japanese mass.

Your ancestors faced Hiroshima bombing, and constructed a new Japan from the rubble of that devastation
Repeat that valour of your ancestors, and prove once again the resilience and buoyancy of your great nation.

(I wrote this poem on 14th March 2011 following the devastating Tsunami and earthquake in Japan that shook the world).

Pilots With Forged Certificates/Documents Should Be Charged With Attempt To Culpable Homicide

2011-03-10T04:18:00.001-08:00

Recently a lady pilot of IndiGo was found to have forged her marksheets of DGCA Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) test, thereby getting a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) and eventually a job with a top commercial airline. In fact, there have been two more such cases that have come to light, wherein a person has got pilot’s job by furnishing forged certificates/documents.

And these three incidents are not isolated incidents. It is not very rare for us to come across news of such frauds, wherein incompetent people are found to have gathered CPL though unfair and illegal means.

I personally feel that such people should be charged with attempt to culpable homicide. They themselves know it pretty well that when they fly a commercial airline, they very much put the lives of the passengers in danger (apart from their own lives). And I do not feel that it is too much to demand that such elements are charged with attempt to culpable homicide. Such a strong charge is also likely to play an effective deterrent for the shameless people who indulge in such crimes.

I appeal to the concerned authorities (Directorate General of Civil Aviation, etc.) to have a serious thought on this issue.

Pakistan’s Stupid Demand To Involve A Third Party In Kashmir Dialogue

2011-02-11T23:47:00.000-08:00

During the recent Foreign Secretary level talk between India and Pakistan, the latter again raised the apparently justified but actually baseless demand to involve Kashmiris as a third party in dialogues over the Kashmir problem.

It is a demand that has been raised for quite a number of times by both Pakistan and Hurriyat Conference. And, as I said, though the demand appears to be a justified one, in reality it is simply a stupid demand that does not even worth any consideration.

But why is it so? Simple. Even if India and Pakistan try to involve the common Kashmiris in the dialogue process, how can they go for the same? They cannot literally invite the mass of that region to participate in the dialogue process, right? Rather, the mass has to be represented by an appropriate entity.

Fine. Now Pakistan might say that it and India can find that representative of common Kashmiris in Hurriyat Conference. In fact, Pakistan actually refers to Hurriyat Conference every time it talks about involving the common Kashmiris as a third party.

Now comes the crucial question. How can India accept that Hurriyat Conference is indeed the true representative of common Kashmiris? Where is the proof? Neither the leaders of Hurriyat Conference have ever contested (and won) any election in Kashmir nor they enjoy any other kind of recognition that qualifies them as the true representatives of common Kashmiris. An organization cannot be accepted as the true representative of the wishes and aspirations of a community simply because it claims itself to be the same.

Secondly, even if it is taken for granted that Hurriyat Conference leaders do have some influence and acceptability among the Muslim Kashmiris, it is well known that they have absolutely no acceptability among the Hindu and Buddhist Kashmiris. I hope that Pakistan has the basic courtesy to accept that Muslim Kashmiris are not the only representatives of the common people of that region. The Hindu and Buddhist Kashmiris are also to be counted, right? And in that case Hurriyat Conference cannot claim itself to be a true representative of the common people of Kashmir, as its acceptability is confined only within a certain section of the Kashmiris.

So, at the end of the day we find that there is no organization that can claim itself to enjoy acceptability among all sections of Kashmiris irrespective of religious background. So even if India and Pakistan try to involve a third party as the representative of “wishes” and “aspirations” of the common people of Kashmir, they cannot be successful in that “noble mission”. Because no such organization or entity exists in the first place. It is high time all relevant stakeholders accepted this “harsh fact” with a “broken heart”.

ULFA Peace Talks – A Significant Step Towards Stability In Assam

2011-02-08T04:16:00.000-08:00

The Indian government’s peace talks with the leaders (of the Arabinda Rajkhow faction) of ULFA (United Liberation Front Of Asom), to be held on 10th February 2011, is going to be a key step forward towards restoring peace and stability in the picturesque north-east India in general and Assam in particular.

ULFA has been a frontline outfit in the terrorist and insurgent activities in Assam, and one of the most dreaded outfits in the north-east as a whole. And it is undoubtedly a significant, if not historic, development that today it is going to have unconditional peace talks with the Indian government. That the outfit is genuinely sincere about the dialogue that can be understood from the fact that it has dropped its sovereignty demand as a pre-condition for any talks. In fact, when ULFA dropped this pre-requisite for talks, that was a highly notable development in itself.

It is more-or-less obvious that the Paresh Baruah faction of ULFA will try to create problems for the talks. ULFA’s Central Executive Committee has threatened to take disciplinary action against him if he defies the outfit’s decision to hold talks with the Indian government. But honestly speaking that does not seem to deter him if he wants to create problems. However, even if he tries to create problems, hopefully that will fail to get the talks derailed as a whole. After all, the majority of ULFA cadres have realized the futility of walking the road of violence and bloodshed. By walking that path throughout the life, today they find that they have achieved only one thing – keeping themselves deprived of a normal life. So now they also desperately want to come back to a normal life. And therefore they will undoubtedly work hard for making the peace talks a success.

A bagful of good wishes to both the parties (The Indian government and ULFA) from each and every Indian citizen.

Plain Hypocrites: That Is All That Can Be Said About The People Of Jammu & Kashmir

2011-02-03T03:37:00.001-08:00

Whenever there is any reported or alleged killing of any innocent civilian by the Indian security personnel in Kashmir, the people of the Valley immediately swing into “protests”. They take out processions, do squatting in front of government offices, clash with police and security personnel wherein they hurl stones at the former, and so on. (And naturally all these get so enthusiastically covered by the Pakistani media). On the other hand the separatist leaders start giving their reactions to the media, especially electronic media, expressing their “shock” and “anguish” over the “appalling” actions of the Indian security personnel.

Nobody is supporting the killings of innocent civilians in Kashmir by Indian security personnel. Such incidents are undoubtedly despicable. But what is very strange is that while the people of Jammu & Kashmir are so enthusiastic about expressing their anger over the alleged killings of innocent civilians by the Indian security personnel, they never utter a single word when such killings are conducted by terrorists. On such occasions not a single voice is heard, neither from the separatist leaders nor from the common people of Jammu & Kashmir.

Just take the latest example of two sisters being killed by terrorists at Sopore. Terrorists dragged the two girls out of their home in broad daylight, and gunned them down mercilessly. But there has been absolutely no reaction (like protests, etc.) on the part of the people. Not many months back a toddler fell victim to irresponsible stone pelting by a bunch of so-called protesters, when the baby was being taken to a doctor by his parents and their car came across those protesters (read hooligans). But even then there was no voice of objection from any quarter, neither the separatist leaders nor the common people.

The selective reaction of the separatist leaders can be understood, as we all know that they are just pet dogs of Pakistan, and their loyalty to that country’s government prevents them from criticizing heinous activities of those terrorists who are sponsored by that very government.

But how come the common people of Jammu & Kashmir are so selective in expressing their protest? Why do they remain completely silent on such occasions, while they are so smart in protesting against such (alleged) activities by the Indian security personnel? Shall we conclude that they do not find the killings of their fellow Kashmiris that painful if those killings take place at the hands of terrorists?

Shame on the common people of Jammu & Kashmir for their naked hypocrisy and double standard.

The Posco Clearance By The UPA Government – Why Are You Now Silent, Ms. Mamata Banerjee?

2011-01-31T23:36:00.000-08:00

The Union Ministry of Environment & Forest’s conditional clearance for the controversial POSCO project has brought the hapless minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh into an eye of storm. He is being severely criticized from various quarters, including environment activists. And, apart from being criticized, he is also being accused of being a hypocrite. The reason? Well, critics are saying that the initial sternness shown by Mr. Ramesh over this issue was just an eye-wash, and the ultimate softness shown to the said project was pre-planned.

However, personally I feel that if the POSCO project has really brought into the “limelight” the hypocrisy of a person, then that person is nobody else but Ms. Mamata Banerjee.

Just recall the way this “fire brand” leader and aspiring West Bengal Chief Minister spoiled the proposed “Nano” project in West Bengal, a project that could have brought such a significant boost for the ailing economy of the state by creating a plethora of jobs. And what were Ms. Banerjee’s complaints against the project? Well, she had mainly two complaints. No. 1 – the project was about to use fertile agricultural land. No. 2 – it was going to displace local people from their ancestral lands.

Now let us have a look at the POSCO project. It is going to use (read exploit) around 75% of forest land. And it is going to displace (read uproot) a huge number of indigenous people from their ancestral lands.

So how can you now accept your government’s approval for POSCO project, Ms. Banerjee, when you opposed the “Nano” project for virtually similar reasons? Why do not you now go to the proposed site of POSCO project, and mobilize the local tribal people in the way you mobilized villagers at Singur against the proposed Nano project? And if you cannot do that, then at least you should resign from your ministerial position and pull your party out of the UPA coalition.

Come up with any of these two actions, and prove that you are not a hypocrite. It is an open challenge to you.

The Three Types of Friends/Relatives In Terms Of How They Treat Us

2011-01-29T04:35:00.000-08:00

From what I have experienced in my life, I feel we can broadly classify our friends/relatives into three types in terms of how they treat us.

Some friends/relatives treat us like a staple food. They genuinely love us and keep touch with us all the time, even when there is no need to do the same.

Some friends/relatives treat us like an essential commodity. They might not love us that much, but still keep touch with us as they feel they might need us anytime for their own interest.

And then there r some friends/relatives who treat us like a medicine. They will look for us only when they need us, and will never bother to keep touch when they have no need to do the same.

The “Mass Movement” Chain Reaction Unleashed By Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution

2011-01-28T00:02:00.001-08:00

It seems that now famous “Jasmine Revolution” of Tunisia has unleashed a chain reaction of pro-democracy mass movements, which is gradually spreading its sphere across the Arab world.

Barely a few days had passed after the Revolution dethroned Tunisia’s once all-powerful President Zine Al-Abedine Ben Ali, when the global media came up with the startling news of Egypt’s “heir apparent” Gamal Mubarak’s fleeing to the U.K. The reason – a massive mass uprising in Egypt against his extra-constitutional influence in the country’s governance.

And then, just today (28th January 2011) I read about a mass protest that has erupted in Yemen, demanding the ouster of the country’s President for 30 years, Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Saleh had become the President of the then North Yemen in 1978, and became the first President of reunified Yemen in 1990, the office that he holds till date).

It is really interesting to note how an apparently internal matter of a country can eventually have international political ramifications, thus significantly affecting the political scenarios of other countries. Such incidents always enjoy special attention from current affairs enthusiasts in general, and life long students of Political Science in particular.

“Hi, Nice Meeting You” – Height Of Social Anomaly

2011-01-21T01:57:00.000-08:00

I am genuinely sorry if I do not sound to be appreciative of social pleasantries. I may even sound to be a bit harsh and rude, somebody who does not have any idea about the value and significance of social decorum.

But I just cannot help saying that I feel odd about a way people now-a-days greet one another after getting introduced – “Hi, nice meeting you!”

There was a time when people used to say “Hello” and “Hi”. There was also the custom of saying “How do you do”, apart from some other forms of greetings.

Then, around 12-13 years back (if I am right) came this style of saying “Nice meeting you”. And now it has become the most common way of greeting one another after getting introduced for the first time.

So exactly what is the problem that I have with it?

Well, I find it to be a bit weird, and I will try to explain why it is so.

Let me ask you something. Suppose you have been given an apple (or any other fruit, or food, or beverage, etc.). Now, first you will consume it, and only then you will say “Wow, it was nice having it!” Right? Certainly you will not say anything like that before having it. Because you cannot appreciate a food item before even consuming it. It is common sense.

Similarly, isn’t it so that you should say “Nice meeting you” to somebody only after interacting with him at least for some time? How can you say something like that immediately after being introduced to him? How can you appreciate an experience (in this case the experience of interacting with that person) before even having that experience?

So this is my problem with this expression/way of greeting.

Could I make myself clear, dude?

The Indian Government Extends Visa-On-Arrival Facility – A Step Likely to Boost Tourism

2010-12-31T04:50:00.000-08:00

The Indian government has extended its Visa-On-Arrival (VOA) facility to four more countries, viz. The Philippines, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (all ASEAN countries).

Before this the government offered this facility in January 2010 to five other countries, viz. Singapore, Japan, Luxembourg, Finland and New Zealand.

Some key features of the said facility –

It will initially be available at the airports of New Delhi, Calcutta or Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

It will allow a traveler a single entry facility with a validity of 30 days.

A passenger will have to pay a fee of $60 for availing the facility.

One passenger will be allowed to avail the facility for not more than 2 times in a calendar year. And there must be a minimum gap of 2 months between the two occasions when he will avail the facility.

My “Time-Efficient” Way To Read Newspaper

2010-12-27T04:43:00.000-08:00

I love to keep regular track of all that is happening in the world, I mean all those incidents and developments that we collectively call current affairs.

At the same time now-a-days I do not get that much time to devote to reading the daily newspaper. There was a time I used to read newspaper like anything, virtually covering every sentence of every page (note: I said “virtually”). This habit of “eating the newspaper like a hog” was there with me till the beginning of my professional life. And then I realized that I had entered a life where I could not afford to give so much time for newspaper reading. Because in the morning I am in a hurry to get myself ready for the office. And when I come back, that time I like to have some quality time with my family rather than reading the newspaper.

But at the same time I did not want to give up my passion for keeping myself updated of all the latest news across the world, ranging from global politics to Indian corporate scenario.

So I have started following a simple formula, which I think many of you people also follow. And what’s that?

Well, it is actually something very simple. After opening the newspaper I just keep running through all the news. What I mean is that while reading a particular news piece, I never go through the entire news. Rather I quickly go through just the first 2 or 3 paragraphs. And you bet, I manage to get at least a gist of the news from that around 3 paragraphs. And then I quickly rush for another news piece. Sometimes I even manage to gather the basic news just by looking at the headline.

And, in this way I manage to finish the entire newspaper in around 15-20 minutes (sometimes I may take around 30 minutes, though), without compromising on reading any of the news pieces of my interest.

In case I overlook or miss any key part of a news piece, I get it “rectified” through another method. During lunch breaks or coffee breaks at office I discuss various current affairs issues with my colleagues (albeit in a casual manner). And then I manage to gather a key part of a news piece that I missed while going through it in the morning newspaper.

I suppose I am not alone who follows this formula of reading newspaper. Many of you also do the same, right?

Uttarakhand Government’s Blatant Violation Of Indian Forests Protection Act

2010-12-27T00:57:00.000-08:00

Uttarakhand’s Lachchiwala reserve forest area is witnessing shameless felling of lush green trees, with the number of felled trees having already crossed 300.

And this massacre of trees is being done at the behest of the state government itself. Reason? Well, it is being done for the development of a herbal garden that will be spread over 5 acres of the forest area. In fact, this herbal garden initiative is reportedly a dream project of the Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

Unfortunately, the state government has completely overlooked (or given a damn to) this fact that this mindless felling of trees of kukat, kher, semal, sheesham, silver oak and kaju has completely violated the Indian Forests Protection Act of 1927.

Is the Uttarakhand government being run by ministers and bureaucrats who are not adequately aware of the laws of the country? Or is it so that they give a damn to those laws that cross the path of their own ideas and ideologies?

Gujjars’ Quota Agitation: Isn’t It A Contempt Of Court?

2010-12-27T00:49:00.000-08:00

I do not know how much right I am. But I personally feel, very strongly, that the ongoing Gujjar agitation for quota hike is a case of contempt of court. Their quota hike demand has been declined not by the Rajasthan government, but by the Rajasthan High Court. And by openly refusing to accept the Rajasthan High Court’s verdict, the Gujjar agitators have shown strong disrespect for the Indian judiciary. And I feel it qualifies, at least to some extent, to be a case of contempt of court.

I would have understood if there were no democratic way to challenge the Court’s decision. But that is not the case. The Gujjar agitators had the opportunity to appeal in a higher court challenging the Rajasthan High Court’s decision. But instead of doing that they went for certain disruptive activities in the name of protests and agitation.

There is another issue that I want to highlight here. One of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution is the “Freedom to assemble peacefully without arms”. And it is this fundamental right that many pressure groups, etc. use (and exploit) while launching their protest/agitation. And these Gujjar agitators are also using precisely this fundamental right to launch their protests.

However, we often forget that while guaranteeing the fundamental rights, the Indian Constitution has also mentioned that no such right is “unlimited”. And no person/group of people can exercise a fundamental right that will hamper the fundamental right of other people.

By disrupting the train movements the Gujjar agitators are depriving the train passengers of one key fundamental right guaranteed by the same Indian Constitution – “Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India”.

More significantly, can such an assembly be called a “peaceful assembly” which resorts to activities like disruption of train services, thereby creating so much trouble for so many innocent people?

India’s Parsi Community Is Facing Extinction, Thanks To Their Own Fault

2010-12-23T00:11:00.000-08:00

India’s respectable Parsi community – a community to which our country owes so many stalwarts from so many fields – is on the verge of extinction.

So why is the community on verge of extinction? Well, I suppose we all know the reason. The reason is an alarmingly low fertility rate that has been plaguing the community for quite some time now.

But why does the community suffer from such a disturbing fertility rate? I suppose that is also known to more-or-less all of us.

There are mainly two reasons.

The first reason is a general trend of late marriage in the Parsi community. This practice of late marriage naturally impacts the fertility potential of Parsi women, eventually resulting in a steady decline in the Parsi population.

However, the second factor that has contributed to the current status of Parsi population is more significant. It is actually an archaic practice that is, in a blunt language, very unhealthy. It is a practice of strictly precluding a Parsi man or women from marrying outside his or her community. And what will happen if a Parsi person marries somebody from outside his/her community? Well, in that case he/she will face Excommunication. In plain speak, he/she will be banished from the Parsi community.

For several generations the Parsi community has been following this practice of intra-community marriage, and today probably every Parsi man has some sort of blood relation with every Parsi woman. And so the marriage between them will obviously bear the risk of adversely affecting the health of their child.

It is high time that our Parsi friends shed off their flawed idea of ethnic purity, and look beyond their own community for matrimonial relationships. They must remember that no matter how old a custom or practice is, it cannot be more important than the survival of their community. After all, what is the meaning of adhering to a custom when it poses a threat of extinction to the very community that is practicing it?

I earnestly appeal to the elders of the Parsi community to “banish” this archaic custom of excommunicating Parsis who marry people from outside their own community.

The Parsi community has been a very resourceful community for India, and our motherland cannot afford to lose it.

(Note: I sincerely apologise in advance if anything in this write up hurts the religious or ethnic sentiment/emotion of any Parsi friend).

AI Domestic Loses Spot To IndiGo – Another Indication Of Indian Domestic Passengers’ Preference For LCC?

2010-12-21T00:20:00.000-08:00

An Indian civil aviation sector watcher may not find it very striking to know that Air India Domestic has lost its 3rd position in terms of domestic market share (the 1st and 2nd positions are held by Jet Airways and Kingfisher respectively).

But it is certainly at least a bit interesting to note that AI Domestic has lost its 3rd position to IndiGo, an LCC (low-cost carrier), and India’s youngest LCC for that matter.

IndiGo had been breathing on AI Domestic’s neck for quite some time, and finally overtook the latter in November 2010.

For some of us it may appear to be just an insipid piece of market data. However, as an ordinary watcher of the Indian civil aviation sector I feel that it is yet another implication that Indian domestic passengers are developing more preference for LCCs. We must not forget that both Jet Airways and Kingfisher have LCCs (JetLite, Jet Konnect, Kingfisher Red). And there are ample reasons to believe that their LCC services have contributed a lot in helping these airlines to occupy the top two market positions.

I feel Air India should introduce a domestic service of its international LCC, AI Express, at the earliest.

Possible Extension Of Deadline For Phasing Out Expat Pilots In India

2010-12-20T04:44:00.000-08:00

The Indian government is likely to extend the 31st July 2011 deadline for phasing out expatriate pilots. If that happens, then it will be a great relief for the Indian carriers, who have been very vocal about their dependence on pilots from foreign countries.

The Indian carriers and cargo airlines have said that they will collectively require 2,665 expat pilots till 2015. And they have also made it very clear that in case their demand is not met, then they will be forced to ground a huge number of their collective aircrafts. Needless to say that if that happens, then it will have a very adverse impact on the Indian aviation scenario.

However, while the Indian carriers have lobbied for a 5 years extension for the deadline, the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has made a recommendation to the Indian government for an extension of 2 years. And it is a 2 years extension that the government is currently considering, though a final decision in this regard is still pending.

Presence of a huge number of expat pilots is certainly not a comfortable scenario for wannabe Indian pilots with licenses from Indian training institutes, as it severely shrinks their employment opportunities. Under that circumstance, they will certainly not be able to welcome a decision to extend the deadline for phasing out expat pilots.

However, the Indian government certainly cannot afford to have a situation where all the Indian carriers will be forced to ground a huge number of their total aircrafts overnight, eventually resulting in a temporary but serious disorder for the Indian civil aviation market.

Then there is also the question of security. Many Indian airlines fly such aircrafts that can be flown only by expat pilots. And the Indian pilots cannot overnight be given the responsibility of flying those aircrafts until and unless they have picked up the necessary expertise. It is a question of passenger security.

So now the Indian Civil Aviation Ministry has to espouse a balanced approach. On one hand it has to offer the necessary extension as sought by the Indian carriers. But at the same time the government must ensure that the Indian carriers start taking steps so that soon they are able to employ Indian pilots. For example, the carriers may start training Indian pilots on how to fly those aircrafts that reportedly can be flown only by expat pilots.

Do We Have A Tunneled Vision Of Development?

2010-12-16T00:16:00.000-08:00

Do we all have a tunneled vision of development, wherein we confuse “development” only and only with “infrastructural and economic development”, while giving little or no importance to the other aspects of human society?

Areas like science & technology, transport, telecommunications, trade & commerce, real estate, etc. are key constituents of human development. There is simply no doubt about it. But they are not be all and end all of human development. Equally important are areas like social cohesion, family values, interpersonal empathy and respect, compassion, camaraderie, etc. In fact, these are probably more important. Because it is these characteristics that help the human civilization to remain humane, rather than turning into just a civilization.

Unfortunately, now-a-days we are only obsessed with economic and infrastructural development, while being almost completely indifferent to the development of humane qualities. Interest in the latter is mostly confined within some research analysts, experts and academicians. When they publish their research papers, reports, etc., highlighting the sorry state of these qualities in the modern world, we just express some “intellectual regret and concern”, and then get back to our usual world of so-called development.

Friends, the humane qualities that comprise the cornerstone of human society are steadily on the wane. And it is high time we addressed that bleak scenario. Otherwise soon our civilization will turn into a civilization like the ones of the aliens of Hollywood sci-fi movies, i.e. a highly (technologically) developed civilization with no room for emotion and other soft feelings.

Let us not forget that an ideal human civilization is neither exclusively head-specific nor exclusively heart-specific. Rather, it adheres to a balanced attitude where both human head and human heart enjoy an equal importance.

Do You Want To Change Train At Rajiv Chowk Delhi Metro Station?

2010-12-14T04:36:00.000-08:00

I usually travel by Delhi Metro while going to and coming back from office. And every day while going back to my Noida home from Gurgaon (where I have my office), I have to get down at Rajiv Chowk metro station to catch the Noida bound train from there. It may be mentioned here that Rajiv Chowk acts as the “connecting station” for trains headed towards either Noida or Anand Vihar or Dwarka, the route named “Blue Lines”.

Now, almost everyday at Rajiv Chowk metro station I come across people who want to catch trains headed towards either Noida or Anand Vihar or Dwarka, but are clueless about it. They keep asking people, and run from here to there.

Please permit me to offer some directions to them. I hope it will be helpful for at least few commuters.

You want to board Dwarka bound Train?

That you have to catch from Platform No. 4. After getting down at Rajiv Chowk station, just climb the staircase and go to the upper part of the station. Now ask people about the platform for Dwarka bound train. Or you can ask them about how to reach the Platform No. 4. Once you reach Platform No. 4, just wait for you train.

You want to board Train headed towards Noida/Anand Vihar?

That you have to catch from the Platform No. 3. After getting down at Rajiv Chowk station, just climb the staircase and go to the upper part of the station. Now ask people about the platform for Noida/Anand Vihar bound train. Or you can ask them about how to reach the Platform No. 3.

After you reach Platform No. 3, wait for you train. But remember one thing that it is a common platform for both Noida bound and Anand Vihar bound trains. Both of them pass through this platform, and have a common route till Yamuna Bank station. So before boarding the train, make sure about it that you are boarding the right train.

There is an electronic display board, which displays the destination of the forthcoming train. Keep an eye on the same.

However, if after boarding the train you come to know that you have boarded the wrong train, do not panic. As I have told you that trans headed towards both Noida and Anand Vihar have a common route till Yamuna Bank station. So if you have boarded the wrong train, get down at Yamuna Bank station and wait for the right train.

Remember – If the Yamuna Bank station falls on the right side of the train, then it is a Noida bound train. And if the station falls on the left side of the train, then it is heading towards Anand Vihar.

Sri Lanka Scraps The Tamil Version Of The National Anthem

2010-12-13T04:44:00.001-08:00

The Sri Lankan government has scrapped the Tamil version of the island nation’s national anthem – “Sri Lanka Matha”. From now onwards the anthem will be sung in all official and state functions in only Sinhala language.

This is the latest proof of the current Sri Lankan government’s blatantly discriminatory attitude towards the hapless Tamil citizens of that country, for whom Sri Lanka has always been a “step motherland”.

It seems Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa (the CEO of Sri Lanka Pvt. Ltd.) was a very poor student of History at school. Or probably he has never studied History at all. Otherwise he would not have been so poor at learning lessons from the recent History of his country.

All I can say is that the way the ethnic Tamils of Sri Lanka are being discriminated against, the birth of another Prabhakaran is just a matter of time.

Is Gmail Eating Into Yahoo Mail’s E-mail Market Share?

2010-12-12T00:39:00.000-08:00

That Yahoo could not succeed as a search engine only because of Google that is well known. In the Internet world there is only one search engine, and that is Google. In fact, we so much identify Internet searching with Google that while suggesting somebody for searching some information in the Internet we rarely say “Search it in the Internet”. Rather, most of the times we precisely tell him “Look for the information in Google”. I feel even Ms. Carol Bartz herself prefers Google to Yahoo while looking for some information in the Internet.

However, while it failed to achieve the desired success in the search engine business, Yahoo had established itself as arguably the most preferred e-mail service provider. Every second person that I would meet used Yahoo! Mail (some of them also had accounts in Rediff, Hotmail, etc. But Yahoo! Mail was their main tool for e-mail communication). Rarely I would come across people who would use other e-mail services, like Hotmail.

However, for last 2 years or so I find Gmail has been fast expanding its hold on the e-mail market. Every second Yahoo! Mail user I know has “logged into” Gmail. And more startlingly, a good number of them have already started using the latter as their premier e-mail communication tool. And yes, let me mention that I have noticed this spread of “Gmail mania” among those people as well who had previously been using e-mail services other than that of Yahoo.

So I was just wondering whether Gmail is pushing Yahoo! Mail to a relatively less significant corner of the e-mail service market, turning it from the “Emperor of e-mail service market” into one of the various “courtiers”?

Gemini USB Optical Mouse – Do You Find It Convenient Enough?

2010-12-11T06:25:00.001-08:00

Well, I do not mean to launch any campaign against Gemini USB Optical Mouse. Nor I am trying to malign it.

However, there is one thing that I will like to highlight. Every time I use a computer that has a Gemini USB Optical Mouse attached to it, I find it very inconvenient for use.

So what exactly is my problem with that brand of mouse? Well, actually the left and right keys in this mouse are not prominent. And that makes it difficult for me to have a proper grip, eventually resulting in a nagging problem when I try to click any of the two keys.

I reiterate that I am not trying to spread any bad word about the product. I just felt that I should let the manufacturers know about the inconvenience that I am facing, as it may help them identify some rooms for development.

I would also love to know whether other users of the product face the same inconvenience while using it.

Let’s Ban Diesel Vehicles In And Around The Himalayan Region

2010-12-10T00:58:00.000-08:00

The ongoing climate negotiations in Cancun have brought back into focus the debate that whether soot or “black carbon” is contributing to global warming, and having adverse impact on the health of Himalayan glaciers.

Indian Minister of Environment & Forest Mr. Jairam Ramesh has understandably opposed the developed countries’ attempt to include the “black carbon” issue in the main framework of the climate negotiations. It is quite evident that the developed countries have raised this issue to divert attention from their own drawbacks as far as addressing the greenhouse gases emission is concerned. Besides, Mr. Ramesh has rightly pointed out that India’s “black carbon” emission percentage is too negligible to create any serious impact on the environment.

Moreover, it is practically impossible for the Indian government, at least till near future, to restraint certain soot producing practices like burning of wood or cow dung. The poor people of India who are into these practices cannot overnight be provided with any affordable alternative. It is a practical problem that the government of India cannot wish away.

However, if there are reports of soot posing a threat to Himalayan glaciers, then the same cannot be completely ignored. And I feel that the government of India can take at least one step in that regard, which is banning of one soot producing practice in and around the Himalayan region. And the soot producing practice that I am referring to is the use of diesel vehicles.

I know that the government cannot overnight ban the use of diesel vehicles in that region. But it can certainly be done in a phased manner. Initially the government can at least try to restraint the use of such vehicles in that area. Then, slowly but gradually it can go for complete ban.

Of course there are some factors that will hinder the implementation of any such step. One such factor is the inevitable rise in the transport cost in that area if there is a complete shift to petrol vehicles from diesel vehicles. However, hopefully the government will be able to address that as well, through ways like subsidies, etc.

Congrats To India For Showing The Guts To Attend Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony

2010-12-09T04:59:00.001-08:00

It is really heartening to know that my beloved motherland India is going to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony In Oslo (Norway), where the imprisoned Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo will be bestowed with the award in absentia.

The shameless Chinese government had started arm-twisting the various governments of the world, ultimately forcing many of them to decide to give the ceremony a miss.

However, the government of India has remained committed to the age old ethics and values that India stands for, and has decided to attend the award ceremony in full defiance of China’s veiled threats.

I wholeheartedly congratulate our government for this bold step.

Assange – The Information Warrior With A Cause

2010-12-07T00:19:00.001-08:00

Our dear Assange, you are a gutsy information warrior with a noble cause

You are the “Internet Knight” who has made all the world powers to suffer such a huge image loss.

We all salute your dedication, determination and courage

You are one of the greatest things to have happened in this Internet Age.

Words fail me to hail you. All I can say is that you are simply great

You will always remain a darling for the global civil society, I assure you mate.

Giving Due Space To Each Other – A Key Constituent Of A Successful Married Life

2010-12-06T04:46:00.001-08:00

Must a person force his/her spouse to take interest in something simply because he/she takes interest in it? No. Never.

A husband must not force his wife to take interest in software, simply because he himself is interested about it. Yes, he may try to generate relevant interest in her, but should appreciate it if she keeps showing her lack of interest.

Similarly, a wife must not force her husband to take interest in Western Classical music simply because she herself is passionate about it. Again, she may try to generate relevant interest in him, but should appreciate it if he keeps showing his lack of interest.

In fact, this mutual respect for each other’s liking and disliking should be maintained even at the “micro level”. For example, while spending a Sunday evening at home, the wife may watch a TV programme that she is fond of. But she must not insist her husband to watch the same when he is more interested to spend the time by reading a thriller. Similarly, the husband may watch a sports channel on TV if he loves watching it in his spare time. But he must not insist his wife to join him, when she is eager to play her piano.

Let us not forget that a key constituent of successful married life is giving due space to each other. In plain speak, it means giving your husband/wife the opportunity to just remain himself/herself, free of any compulsion to change so that he/she can “gel” with the spouse. A person should always remember that his/her spouse is married to him/her, and not to his/her hobbies/interests. And therefore the spouse does not have any compulsion to take interest in the latter.

Dear Facebook, I Am So Indebted To You

2010-12-04T00:30:00.001-08:00

You help me to find out all my long lost good friends

The people who many years back used to occupy in my life such a prominent place.

You help me keep touch with my beloved friends, cousins and relatives

We keep ourselves updated about our respective lives with so much comfort and ease.

You help me find out wonderful new friends, who share my hobbies and interests

Whether it is blogging, poem writing, reading or chess.

Trust me dear, I love you so much as I am really so indebted to you

I hope you will soon become more interesting after having features that are new.

An Appeal To The Delhi Metro Rail Authority

2010-11-15T04:24:00.000-08:00

Dear Sir,

I am a regular commuter of the Delhi Metro Rail services, and I must say that I find it to be a manna from the heaven for the Delhites. Every person from Delhi (and other parts of NCR) will unhesitatingly admit how his or her life has become significantly easier with the introduction of Delhi Metro service. The commencement of Delhi Metro service simply marks a golden chapter in the public transport infrastructure of the National Capital Region.

However, certain issues have already started raising their heads. And while these issues are not that serious in nature, nevertheless I will love you to take not of them and address the same, lest they turn serious in the future.

Some issues created by the commuters

Male passengers are often being found to occupy seats meant for ladies, even when a lady is found standing. I do not think it is a good excuse to occupy a lady’s seat that there is a separate bogey for women.

The rule of not playing music inside the train is not being followed by some passengers, which is creating problems in hearing the announcements on the forthcoming station.

Some passengers are having things like coke and snacks inside the train, even through it is prohibited. It is mainly observed during the evening (when people are going back home from office). And it is mainly being done by, well, female passengers (I am so sorry if I hurt any lady by highlighting this).

Passengers are often being found to be sitting on the floor of the train, even though it is not permitted.

Some lacunae on the part of the Delhi Metro Rail people

Sometimes the announcements on forthcoming station are not there, leaving passengers confused about the station the train is going to enter next. And what is worse is that sometimes there is wrong announcement about the forthcoming station, thus making it more confusing for the passengers.

Sometimes the train gets stuck up in a station, or in the area adjacent to it. And it remains in that condition for at least 5-7 minutes, and sometimes even for more time. It is very irritating especially in the morning, when people are going to office and naturally every moment is valuable.

Sometimes I have found that the CISG personnel are not that serious about checking a passenger if he is a regular face in that station. This is a bit scary, as terrorists may try to use this as an opportunity.

So these are the problems that I wanted to share with you. I am a die-hard admirer of Delhi Metro Rail, and will love it to be impeccable and perfect. This explains why I shared these problems with you, as I felt that it would help you to make Delhi Metro Rail service more perfect, something that you also want.

Regards

Raja Basu

Noida

The Key To Language Preservation - Speak It In A Liberal Way

2010-11-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

The rapid globalization has resulted in an all-pervasive spread (or intrusion) of the English language. And it is a common knowledge that it has threatened the survival of a number of languages in the world. (However, the languages that are getting extinct or are on the verge of extinction are actually victims of inadequate speakers, and not of the “invasion” of the English language).

So how to address this situation?

Well, an ordinary person as I am, I have decided to show the audacity of presenting some suggestions.

I feel there is a very simple solution for the problem – the native speakers of a language should keep speaking the language in a liberal way.

Now, what do I mean by speaking a language in a liberal way? Well, it means speaking the language without getting too much conscious about its purity and sanctity. Rather you should accept the ground reality, and speak the language by borrowing certain terms and words from the global language, i.e. English.

Let us be practical. Evolution is part and parcel of every aspect of human civilization, and human language is no exception. Your love for your language is understandable. But if you follow a puritan attitude, and try to speak the language without any touch of the modern world, then that will be more threatening for the survival of your language. Because if a language (or for that matter any form of socio-cultural expression) tries to deny evolution by remaining stagnant, then its very survival gets threatened. Because stagnancy is in direct conflict with survival. A language has only two choices - either to evolve and grow, or to die a gradual death. There is no room for the third choice, i.e. maintenance of a so-called purity (read stagnancy).

And why should you feel that borrowing words from the English language will reduce the sanctity of your language? Rather it will further enrich your language. I can give the examples of three languages of India, all of which are known to be rich (actually all Indian languages are rich). These three languages are Hindi, Urdu and Bengali. Significantly, all these languages have borrowed a huge number of words from various other languages. In fact, Urdu itself was born as an amalgamation of seven languages. As a native speaker of Bengali I know how proud we are about our mother language. But incidentally the Bengali that we speak today is embellished with a number of words from Portuguese, Arabian, Persian, Hindi, Urdu, English and many other languages. The so-called pure Bengali that was spoken by our forefathers is long extinct. But we do not feel that by borrowing words from other languages we have reduced the sanctity of our language. Nor we have any embarrassment about it. Rather we feel that the “intrusion” of non-Bengali words into our language has further enriched our already rich language, and has also made it sustainable.

And yes, we modern Bengalis use many new English words/terms/expressions which our predecessors would not use even just 30-40 years back, like “globalization”, “global warming”, “Information Technology”, and so on. And in general the use of English words while speaking in Bengali has increased a lot. But this practice has neither threatened the survival of our language nor has reduced its sanctity. If we would refuse to include these modern words and terms in our language, then it would have reduced the expressive quality of Bengali. We would find it difficult to express ourselves in our mother language, and would be forced to resort to other languages completely. And it is in this case that the survival of our mother language would have been threatened. And why has the use of English words increased? Well, it is a direct result of globalization, which we can not avoid.

In fact, English itself has always been open to change, and has borrowed a lot from other languages, starting from Latin and Sanskrit to French, German, Hindi, and so on (the list is actually endless). And it is actually this that has made that language so rich and expressive. English would not have become the global lingua franca if its native speakers still tried to speak it in the way it was spoken during the days when England was called Albion. Why, today’s English is so different from even the way it was spoken at the time of William Shakespeare.

So my friends, let us take pride in our respective mother languages, and speak the same with pride and passion. At the same time let us not have any flawed sense of pride, which will make us too much puritan about our language. Let us be open to change, and let us make our language both sustainable and further enriched by freely borrowing from the English language. It will not reduce the status of our language in comparison to that of English. Because English itself is indebted to many of our languages.

Shed your flawed idea of lingual purity, and be open to words and expressions from English (and other languages). That will not only ensure the survival of your beautiful mother language, but will also make it more rich, more lively and more vibrant.

“Most Of The People In North-East India Are Muslims”

2010-11-06T05:38:00.001-07:00

It was around 9 am today, i.e. 6th November 2010. I had boarded Delhi Metro from the AIIMS metro station (up to which I had come by bus from my Noida home). I was about to get down at the Sikanderpur station in Gurgaon, from where my office at Phase-V in the Udyog Vihar locality is easily accessible by auto.

Being the next day of Deewali, the train was much less crowded in comparison to the other days, and I soon got a seat. Just beside me were sitting two men in their early 40s. They were constantly chatting, touching various topics. It was basically one person who was making “expert” remarks on various issues, while the other person was nodding approvingly with a smile on his lips.

After having discussions on various topics, such as the Indian media, economy, etc., they ultimately picked up a discussion on the various Indian communities and their characteristics.

I had got engrossed in the compilation of O’Henry short stories that I was carrying (I usually carry a book or magazine while traveling in metro rail), when a certain remark made by the “expert” guy drew my attention.

“Most of the people in North-East India are Muslims, especially in Assam”.

I was really “impressed” with the man’s “knowledge” about the various Indian communities, and I was sure that I would get to hear more of such “gems” from him. So I got more attentive to their discussion, while keeping my eyes on my book. And then, after some more discussions on the various ethnic communities of India, came this one –

“Bengalis and Biharis are the topmost scoundrels (he used a Hindi word which I cannot use) of all the Indian communities. You will find them everywhere”.

I was all ears, when suddenly the “expert” got a call from somebody at his cell. And before he was through with his long conversation, the Sikanderpur station arrived, forcing me to get down. What an abrupt end for an interesting experience.

India Should Take Up “Roots Tourism” Seriously

2010-11-01T00:34:00.001-07:00

With a huge Indian Diaspora across a number of countries in the world, India has a golden opportunity to reap rich harvest from “Roots Tourism”.

As everybody knows, there is hardly any country without at least a moderate population of PIOs (People of Indian Origin). They are present in the USA, Canada, Europe, Caribbean Island countries (notably Trinidad &Tobago and Guyana), South East Asia (such as Singapore and Malaysia), African nations (like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, etc), Mauritius in the Indian Ocean region, Fiji in the South West Pacific region, and so on. And many of them have been staying there for various generations. This wide-spanning Diaspora provides India with a strong potential tourism market, and the Union Tourism Ministry may chalk out a specialized campaign to tap the same.

Personally I feel that the emphasis should be given on targeting the Indian origins in Mauritius, Fiji, Caribbean Island countries, African countries and South East Asia, with the PIOs in Europe, the USA and Canada being given somewhat less priority. Why?

Actually, the PIOs in the USA, Canada and Europe are usually the ones who have been there for at most two or three generations. They still have contacts with their relatives back in India, and occasionally visit their homeland. The concept of Roots Tourism will not be fascinating to them, as they do not feel themselves to be detouched from their ancestral roots in that sense.

But the PIOs of countries like Mauritius, Fiji, Caribbean Island countries, African countries and South East Asia are usually the ones who have been staying their for several generations, and have completely lost touch with their relatives back home. So they do not have any family ties that can encourage them to visit their original homeland. And the only way to enthuse them to visit India is to generate in them an emotional urge to visit their ancestral roots, something that the Roots Tourism concept is precisely aimed at.

I understand that the Bihar government has already launched a Roots Tourism campaign in countries like Mauritius and Fiji, where the PIOs mostly comprise Bihari origins. I do not know whether any other state government has launched any such initiative. Nor I am aware whether the Indian government has any such plan. If it does not, then I feel it will not be a bad idea to go for such a plan at the earliest.

The Innovative Family Definition By Ashok Chavan

2010-10-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

Politicians are known for saying anything that comes in their mind when they are desperate to come out of a fix. It is not uncommon to hear them making remarks that leave us, the mass, in peals of laughter.

But the recent remark of Mr. Ashok Chavan, the chief minister of Maharashtra (I do not know whether he will remain chief minister till the time you will be reading this) was something that left me completely dumbstruck.

Chavan was left red-faced with the leakage of this unpalatable news that his late mother-in-law’s name is there among the list of the illegal allottees of flats in the Adarsh Housing Society, i.e. those flats which were meant for war widows.

Desperate to wash his hands off, Chavan came up with an innovative definition of family. He simply said that a person’s mother-in-law cannot be counted among his relatives. He then went one step further, and categorically presented his own definition of a family. He said that in his view, a family comprises “the husband, the wife, and their children”.

It means, after a man gets married, even his parents do not remain parts of his family anymore, while the man himself remains their relative.

As per Chavan’s definition of a family, my parents ceased to be my relatives on 29th November 2009, i.e. the day I got married to Debyani. But, curiously, I very much remain their relative.

Really, what a definition, Sirji!

Delhi To Get Rid Of Its Traffic Blues – The Blueline Bus

2010-10-26T05:34:00.001-07:00

It is really heartening for every Delhite to know that his or her city is at last going to get rid of the nasty monster of the road – Delhi Blueline bus. The city government has decided to take these buses off the Delhi roads from December 14, 2010.

Infamous for the poor quality of transportation service that it offers, Delhi Blueline is also notorious for the high number of fatal accidents that it gets involved with every year. And people are really happy that with its withdrawal, now the Delhi roads will be much more safe, apart from witnessing much less traffic jam and road congestion.

Some people are worried that the withdrawal of Delhi Blueline buses will have a negative impact on the city’s public transport, as the public transport capacity now will be mush less. However, most Delhites feel that there is nothing to worry. The government will certainly increase the number of DTC buses to compensate the withdrawal of the Blueline buses. Moreover, the Delhi Metro service has had some significant expansions recently. So, at the end of the day, the withdrawal of the Delhi Blueline buses are not likely to create any serious impact.

In any case Delhites never loved to travel in Blueline buses. The service quality of Delhi Blueline buses was extremely poor, while the drivers and conductors were usually of rustic, rough and rude types. Instead of being of much help to Delhites, these buses were actually a headache for all, especially the ones who drive cars or two wheelers.

So it is actually a great relief for us that these buses are now going to be extinct. Nobody will miss them.

My Visit To Delhi’s Purana Qila – Some Suggestions For The Delhi Tourism Authority

2010-10-25T05:41:00.001-07:00

Day before yesterday (23rd October 2010) me and my wife Debyani made a visit to Purana Qila, one of the oldest forts in Delhi and one of the top tourist attractions of the city as far as heritage and/or historical tourist spots are concerned. Though both me and Debyani had been to this place before, that too for a couple of times, it was nevertheless as enjoyable and thrilling for us as it is for a first time visitor. After all, this time we visited the spot after a long time. And, moreover, it is always thrilling to visit such a spot no matter for how many times you may have visited it already. We were there for almost a couple of hours, explored the site like anything, and took a number of snaps.

Though well maintained, I think there are some rooms for development that the Delhi Tourism authority might pay some attention to.

No. 1 – The Archeological Survey of India Museum –

The museum of Archeological Survey of India located inside Purana Qila is very informative and resourceful. But it has a serious draw back. It does not have any generator, and so visitors are not allowed inside when there is a power cut, simply because they will not be able to see anything in the dark. I think it is something that the concerned authority should immediately try to address.

And also we found that though photography is prohibited inside the museum, the guards (who are very polite and decent) are not very careful or alert about it. In fact, when me and Debyani were there, we found that a group of youths were taking snaps of the artefacts that were on display. The guards did not notice it as they were at the entrance gate. It is only when Debyani (who never tolerates any such nonsense) went and informed them that they came inside and prevented the youths.

No. 2 – Presence of information boards –

Inside the Qila there are some structures about which tourists have no idea or information. I suppose in front of every structure there should be a board, giving at least some brief information about the structure.

No. 3 – Eunuchs or Hijra at the main entrance gate

There are eunuchs (Hijra) at the main entrance gate, who bother a lot the visiting tourists at the time of entering the site. I suppose they should be driven away at the earliest.

Nobel For Liu Xiaobo – Europe Has Shown Where It Is Ahead Of The USA

2010-10-11T06:04:00.000-07:00

China’s ruthlessly oppressive Communist government suffered a huge humiliation when its detained Human Rights activist Liu Xiaobo was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for 2010. While the award was a recognition for the gutsy fight put up by the respectable activist, it also came as a recognition for the cause that he is fighting for, i.e. a democratic life for the hapless Chinese people who find almost every aspect of their life being controlled by the ruling Communist Party.

Quite understandably the Chinese government had tried its best to ensure that the award ultimately did not come to Liu. It had even gone to the level of blackmailing Norway (it is a committee of Norwegian parliamentarians which selects the Nobel Peace Awardee) by implying that in case Liu is awarded the Prize, then it would adversely affect the trade relations between the two countries.

But by displaying a genuine Nordic fortitude, the Scandinavian Kingdom of Norway simply stuck to its guns, and ultimately ended up by handing over to Liu Xiaobo the award that he truly deserved. China’s nasty endeavour to advance its political cause through dirty blackmailing simply fell flat.

While apparently this incident reflects the strong sense of ethics and self-respect that underlines the national character of Norway, in reality it reflects the regional characteristic of the European continent as a whole (especially Western Europe).

No matter how many flaws they may have, a key quality of the West European nations is that they maintain a basic level of ethics and morality in their statecraft, in a stark contrast with the USA for which national interests come above all. If it were the USA in the place of Norway, and if it found that its commercial interests in China would be threatened if it gave the Nobel Peace Award to Liu, then it would have surely backed out. But as a Western European nation, Norway did not find its commercial interests to be more valuable than its national ethics, and went ahead with presenting the award to the person it thought to be the most suitable one for the same. It gave a damn to this fact that by presenting this ward to Liu it was getting in a conflict mode with an emerging economic as well as military superpower.

Europeans have many flaws that are not present in the USA. One glaring example of the same is the racist mindset, which is still so common among the Europeans while not being that common among the US people. But it is the presence of a basic ethics and righteousness in their politics that keeps the Western European nations ahead of the USA, at least in terms of political morality.

Faulty Bank Notes From ATM

2010-10-06T06:36:00.001-07:00

Other day I came to know about an interesting as well as a bit disturbing incident from one Mr. T.

While we were driving from R.K. Puram to Gurgaon in his white Santro (if I can remember the car model correctly), he told me that other day he had come across a somewhat shocking experience. He had drawn three bank notes of Rs. 500 denomination from a Gurgaon-based ATM of a reputable private bank (an Indian bank to be precise). Later he found all the three notes to be faulty, and he failed to use any of them. The net result was the loss of Rs. 1,500 (sorry for using the outdated symbol of the Indian rupee).

I asked him whether those notes were fake. He said that they were not exactly fake, but were so faulty that nobody accepted them. While I could not exactly follow what he was trying to say, I could manage to understand that those notes were at least not fresh notes but used ones.

And if we find that we are getting used notes from ATM, that alone is quite startling (even if the notes are otherwise OK and can be used).

So I felt that people must know about the incident, and so decided to share the same through this online medium.

Do not get me wrong. My intention is not to create panic. In fact I am myself not sure about exactly what was wrong with those notes. I just wanted to make people aware that such thing may happen, though it will certainly be a rare case.

The “Uncle” Obsession Of Delhi People

2010-10-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

A key characteristic of Delhites (I mean people of Delhi and its satellite towns like Noida) is their penchant for calling people “uncle”, even when they are calling people who are at most 10-15 years older than them.

Now I am in my mid-30s. I came to Delhi around 8 years back, and soon found myself to be an “uncle” for people in the age group of 18-30. I understand that I already looked much older thanks to my (then) bulky physique and baldness. Nevertheless, it was shocking to find how smartly people of even 30 years of age were calling me “uncle”.

As my age increased, it also resulted in the “expansion” of the age group of my “nephews”. Now I find even people apparently in their 40s (including the ones in late 40s) calling me “uncle”. And now I have stopped getting shocked, as now I am used to it.

But the other day I simply could not help getting shocked again. In fact I was dumbstruck.

I was traveling by Delhi Metro Rail, and was about to get down at the Rajib Chowk station. The train was crowded, and I had somehow managed some space to stand just in front of the gate. There were many other passengers standing there, with a gentleman leaning against the door. When the Rajib Chowk station was about to come, a passenger requested that gentleman to move a little, as he was about to get down at Rajib Chowk. The jolly looking gentleman readily agreed, when he noticed that I was also trying to approach the door. He immediately asked me, very politely, “Aapko bhi utarna hai, uncle”? (You will also get down, uncle?)

And how old was he? Well, a man with a number of grey hairs, he appeared to be at least in his early 50s.

Druidry – Emergence Of A New Religion

2010-10-03T07:56:00.001-07:00

On 2nd October 2010 the multi-religious human society witnessed the emergence, or official emergence, of yet another religion, viz. Druidry. On that day Britain gave official recognition to this ancient neo-pagan religion, and also decided to give charitable status to the same.

The decision was taken by Charity Commission for England and Wales, in response to a four years old application submitted by The Druid Network.

So what is Druidry? Well, it is a faith that its followers (called Druids) take on different forms of nature. The religion has its roots in Britain, Ireland and Western Europe.

In case one wants to know more about the religion, then he may visit the following link from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druid

Ayodhya Verdict – The Mature Reaction Of The Indian Muslims Is Really Commendable

2010-10-03T00:28:00.000-07:00

Apart from the Commonwealth Games, the other most talked about topic in India as of now is the historic Ayodhya Verdict. While a huge number of people have found the verdict to be an appropriate one, there are ones who hold different perceptions. And there is constant discussions and debates across the country on the merits of the judgment.

However, more than the verdict itself, what I have found to be much more significant is the maturity with which the Indian Muslim community has reacted to the verdict.

It is a well known fact that a number of Muslims feel the verdict to be discriminatory against them, though probably in reality it is not so (at least I am one of those who feel that the verdict is an appropriate one). But despite being somewhat disappointed, the Indian Muslims have not resorted to any sort of unpleasant means to express their displeasure, something that many people had anticipated. In fact, they have consciously stayed away and virtually ignored instigations from a couple of so-called community leaders (like the honourable Imam of Jama Masjid) and non-Muslim “sympathizers” of the Muslim community (like Mulayam Singh Yadav). Rather than falling prey to their instigations, the Indian Muslims across the social strata have made it very clear that they are more concerned about practical issues like education, job, electricity, water, etc.

In a nutshell, the Indian Muslims have proved that while they are passionate and proud of their beautiful religion, they have equal respect for the Judiciary of their beloved country, and they are ready to respect the latter’s view on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue even if they are not fully satisfied with the same.

My hearty congratulations to all my Muslim friends, brothers and sisters from each and every corner of our dear motherland.

Got Hit By A Car, Thanks To My Cell Phone

2010-10-01T00:36:00.001-07:00

Today (1st October 2010) morning I got hit by a car, while going to my office at Gurgaon. The cab I was traveling in had dropped me at a spot which was around 10 minutes walking distance from my office at Udyog Vihar, Phase-V in Gurgaon. I got hit while crossing a road, which had cars coming from both sides.

Thank got the car was not moving at a high speed, as it was not exactly a main road, and was also congested with traffic. I was back on my feet within seconds, and managed to reach my office myself. However, it could have been serious. I have got light injuries at my right arm and right hip, and both are paining a little. The bone at my right hand, a spot where I was hit, had started swelling. Thank god that swelling has stopped.

The driver is certainly to be blamed, as he came from the wrong side. The road is bifurcated into two one-ways, with traffic being one-sided in both the halves. While getting hit I was looking at the left side, from where the cars were coming, while that car came from the right side (which was the wrong side).

However, I cannot claim myself to be completely “innocent”. I also have to be blamed, at least to some extent. Why? Because I was talking over my cell phone while crossing the road. That made my mind to be distracted, and I was not adequately alert. If I were, then I would have certainly spotted the car even though it was coming from the wrong side. And could have averted even the little injury that I suffered.

Moral of the story – Please, for god’s sake, avoid using your cell phone while traveling. Even if that traveling does not mean driving a car, but just walking. After all, you are on the road, right?

If There Is A Plebiscite In Kashmir, Then…

2010-09-29T05:52:00.000-07:00

If there is a plebiscite in Kashmir, to check whether Kashmiris want to remain with India or want separation from that country, then…

There should also be plebiscites in the Balochistan and Sindh provinces of Pakistan, to check whether they want to remain with Pakistan or want separation from that country.

There should also be a plebiscite in Tibet, to check whether they want to remain under Chinese occupation or aspire for independence.

There should also be a plebiscite in the “Parbatya Chattagram” region of Bangladesh, to check whether they want to remain with Bangladesh or want separation from that country.

There should also be a plebiscite in the Northern Ireland and Scotland, to check whether they want to remain with the UK or want separation from that country.

There should also be a plebiscite in the Basque region of Spain, to check whether they want to remain with Spain or want separation from that country.

There should also be a plebiscite in the Bavarian province of Germany, to check whether they want to remain with Germany or want separation from that country.

There should also be a plebiscite in Chechnya, to check whether that region wants to remain a federal subject of Russia, or aspires for a full-fledged sovereignty.

There should also be a plebiscite in the Aceh region of Indonesia, to check whether they want to remain with Indonesia or want separation from that country.

There should also be plebiscites in the Kurdish dominated regions of Iran and Iraq, to check whether they want to remain with those countries or want separation from them.

And yes, one more thing I would like to add. There should also be a plebiscite in the so-called “Azad Kashmir”, to check whether they really feel themselves to be independent or whether they find themselves (and their puppet government) to be a pet dog of Pakistan.

Ecotourism – The Call Of The Day

2010-09-13T06:08:00.000-07:00

Ecotourism – A great way to use tourism for generating grassroots level employment

While also strengthening the conservation of the local culture, natural resources and environment.

Ecotourism – A fantastic tool to enhance an area’s economic development level

By strategically using the passion of people who love to travel.

Ecotourism – Which ensures that tourism does not destruct a spot’s socio-cultural and natural richness

But is rather channelized to further strengthen those jewels of that place.

Ecotourism – A concept that every government of the world should seriously consider

Make no mistake. Ecotourism (aka Sustainable or Responsible Tourism) is an effective means to make this world far better.

I Wish I Could Die

2010-09-13T00:36:00.001-07:00

I wish I could die, so that my problems would come to an end in no time
I desperately want to get rid of my pains and sufferings that seem to have reached their prime.

I wish I could die, as for me good time appears to be permanently elusive
And I am so frustrated that despite a constant effort I have failed to bring luck within my grip.

I wish I could die, as I can no more struggle with my misfortune
Which appears to be so scorching like the Sun of the mid noon.

I wish I could die, as all my hopes are lost, and all my dreams are shattered
It is such a harsh reality, coming to terms with which is so hard.

I wish I could die, as I am tired of waiting for a better future
And so now I seek a completely new life through a rebirth, which I hope to be at least a bit better.

Iran’s Suspension Of Stoning Of Sakineh Ashtiani – Respite For A Beleaguered Religion, viz. Islam

2010-09-10T06:16:00.000-07:00

It is a great news that the global outcry has ultimately forced Iran to suspend its ultra-barbaric plan to stone to death Ms. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman accused of adultery.

It is a great victory for the civilized society, against a bunch of insane people (the Iranian government and the clergy) who have turned their country into a medieval state with 21st century infrastructure.

I sincerely hope that the world will always come up with such a strong protest every time in future a conservative country has any such heinous scheme, be it in the case of Iran or any other country.

Hearty congratulations to Ms. Sakineh for this god send respite.

However, the actual respite was for Islam, the beleaguered religion which finds its hand soaked with the blood of thousands of innocent people thanks to the flawed sense of piety of some of its fanatical followers.

With the suspension of stoning of a helpless woman, Islam was saved from being soaked with at least few drops of more blood (though it is nothing in comparison to the sea of blood that the religion is already soaked with). The immortal soul of the Holy Prophet has heaved a sigh of relief, while feeling depressed and shocked with the madness of those people who claim to follow him, and end up maligning him to no end.

Persistent Attacks On The Shias – Intra-religious Fissures In Pakistan

2010-09-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

The persistent attacks on the Shia population in Pakistan are gradually taking an alarming shape. Every attack is resulting in the death of a number of people, thus forcing the Shias to wonder whether they are at all safe in that country.

But what is more worrying is that the Pakistan government does not seem to be serious enough in addressing the problem, thus protecting the Shias who have no less claim on that country than what their Sunni brothers have. After every attack the Pakistan government is coming up with virtually the same comment, which “strongly condemns” the attack and “promises to take actions”. But all of its actions seem to be ending in making comments, without that being followed by any concrete step. If the government had at all been serious in countering this menace, then of course these attacks would not have stopped overnight, but certainly would not have been so persistent as they are right now.

Actually the wide rift between the Sunni and Shia communities is a perennial problem of Pakistan (actually, it is a perennial problem of the global Muslim society as a whole). It is a feeling of mutual disliking and disrespect that is found even among the common Pakistanis who have no link with terrorism. It is only that the feeling is not that acute among them. But that does not mean that the feeling does not exist at all. It does. And this has resulted in the constant harassment of the minority Shia community in the hands of the Sunni majority, from the very birth of Pakistan.

Another example of intra religious fissure in Pakistan is that of the feeling of hostility towards the people of Ahmadiyya community. In fact Ahmadiyyas face an ultra shocking discrimination in Pakistan. To begin with, Pakistan does not even recognize them as Muslims, and it is the world’s only country where Ahmadiyyas have been officially declared to be non-Muslims. And these poor people are deprived of various rights, such as worshipping in a non- Ahmadiyya mosque, chanting Namaz, publicly quoting from the Holy Quran and even publishing their religious materials. In a nutshell, they are simply not permitted to practice anything that a pious Muslim aspires to do. In fact, the condition of Ahmadiyyas is so bad in Pakistan that even prominent personalities from that community do not dare to admit in public that they are Ahmadiyyas. Case in point is Mr. Shaukat Aziz, a former prime minister of Pakistan, and a respected one for that matter.

If this can be the condition of the “intra-religious minorities” from the Muslim community itself, then I shudder to think what can be the condition of the genuine religious minorities, such as Hindus, Christians, etc. Probably Karachi is the only place in the entire Pakistan where Hindus can lead a life of peace and dignity.

Why I Decided To Be A Blogger

2010-09-04T06:28:00.001-07:00

I decided to be a blogger, as I wanted to transform my thoughts into a voice
I decided to be a blogger, as I wanted a platform to express my opinion on various topics of my choice.

I decided to be a blogger, as I wanted to share with the world my feelings and perceptions about a number of things
Which range from the US presidential election to global warming.

I decided to be a blogger, as I wanted to be a part of the global civil society
Which comprises thinking people from across the world, ranging from the USA to Haiti.

Today I am so proud that I am a small player in the global blogosphere
It is a status so thrilling to me, a status that I consider to be so dear.

Shame On You, Pastor Terry Jones

2010-08-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

“Terribly shocked” is a term that at best faintly describes my feeling when I came to know about this insane named Terry Jones, and his heinous plan to burn The Quran to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the infamous 9/11.

Does the man know what he is saying? Does he have any idea about what a tremendous communal tension can erupt from such an extremely irresponsible as well as despicable act?

9/11 was one of the most unfortunate and contemptible acts in the history of human civilization. The entire world sympathizes with the bereaved families of the 9/11 victims, and we all pray to God that He makes the perpetrators of that act (i.e. Osama bin Laden and his followers) pay dearly for what they did.

But does that mean that we will contempt that act by burning The Quran, which is the cornerstone of Islam? If we stoop to such an act, then what difference is there between us and Osama bin Laden and his aides?

Mr. Pastor, in the enthusiasm to contempt Laden’s utterly shameful 9/11 attack you have confused the entire Muslim community with the elements like Laden, while ironically the sane Muslims despise these fanatics to the same extent as sane people from other religions do.

By instigating people to burn The Holy Quran, you have actually brought yourself down to the level of that same Osama bin Laden whose act you have tried to contempt. Do you realize that?

Shame on you, Pastor Terry Jones. You are an unworthy follower of that great Jesus Christ who did not carry any malice even against the ones who crucified Him.

Please stop calling yourself a Pastor. Please stop humiliating the great religion of Christianity.

Necessity of “Categorization” Of Terrorism

2010-08-29T00:46:00.000-07:00

Many people find it utterly unacceptable to make any “categorization” of terrorism. They say that terrorism can not and should not be categorized on the basis of religion, community, ethnicity, etc. This is because a terrorist is never a representative of any community, religion, ethnicity, or any other such entity.

It is very common to come across objections from the liberal minded Muslim ladies and gentlemen on the use of terms like “Islamic terrorism”, “Islamic terrorists”, etc. I have also come across people who object to the use of terms like “Kashmiri terrorists” and “Tamil terrorists” (i.e. the LTTE people). And now India’s enterprising Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram is being criticized across the political circle for his “Saffron Terror” remark.

Well, I have due respect for people who dislike such religious or communal or ethnic categorization of terrorism. But I think such categorization is necessary? Why? Well, let me explain my view.

We must remember that when a government (or a group of governments or an international body like UNSC) fights against a group of terrorists, it broadly pursues two agenda.

The first agenda is purely based on guns and bullets, aimed at countering the disruptive acts of the terrorists and reducing their manpower as much as possible, thus reducing their power to create mayhem.

The other agenda is based on identifying the “root cause” that is behind the birth of that particular group of terrorists, and addressing that issue through political and ideological means, which entails strategic use of negotiations and dialogues.

This identification and addressing of the “root cause” of terrorism is very crucial. If the government simply focuses on the killing of the terrorists, then the problem will never be solved. The “root cause” will keep giving births to terrorists, with the movement never getting short of manpower no matter how regularly the government guns down the terrorists. On the other hand if the government successfully identifies the “root cause” (poverty, feeling communal or ethnic alienation, etc., then it will be able to address the very source of the problem.

And this identification of the root cause is not possible if we do not make appropriate categorization of terrorism and terrorists. If we perceive all acts of terrorism in the same colour, thus generalizing all terrorist groups as bunches of misguided people involved in heinous activities, then it will be a “Himalayan” blunder. Every terrorist group works with a certain objective that is unique to it, and in that way one terrorist group is different from another one in the same way chalk is different from cheese. Yes, sometimes the objective of one terrorist group is found to be similar to that of another terrorist group. For example, the Bodo, Khalistani and Kashmiri terrorists have the same objective - the “liberation” of a certain region from India. But even then there is an element of dissimilarity. While the Bodo movement is purely based on ethnic sentiment, the Khalistan movement has a mixture of both ethnic and religious sentiment. And the Kashmiri movement is purely a religious issue, sometimes unsuccessfully projected by its supporters as a fight to establish ethnic self-identity of Kashmiri people. Therefore, the government can not handle the Kashmiri separatists in the same way it has handled Khalistan separatists, though the character of both the movements is apparently the same. At the same time, while the ways to handle the Khalistani separatists and Bodo separatists can probably be almost the same, there will nevertheless be some elements of difference in the approach.

Again, while both Kashmiri and Al-Qaeda terrorists are “Islamic” terrorists, there is a difference between their objectives. The Kashmiri terrorists want “liberation” of a certain region from India, not out of any ethnic pride, but simply out of religious consciousness. The Al-Qaeda terrorists are also working out of misplaced religious consciousness and pride, but their objective is not confined to liberating one “Muslim” area from the so-called domination of a “non-Muslim” area. They are rather determined to spread Islam across the world, making it the only ruling religion of the planet. So while we have to handle the issue of misplaced religious sentiment while countering both the groups of terrorists, the ways to handle them will certainly differ given the difference in the “quantum” of their objectives.

So we can find that terrorist groups differ from one another in terms of their objectives, even when the characters of the objectives appear to be the same. Some thrive out of ethnic sentiment, some out of religious consciousness, while some have other “causes”. And, significantly, it is not that the “root causes” of terrorist groups are always unacceptable. And when a terrorist group has a genuine grievance, then that group and its demands must be handled in a different way.

So, at the end of the day, probably we must accept that categorization of terrorists is important. We have to remember that when the government or other such entities pronounce terms like “Islamic terrorism”, “Saffron terrorism”, “Tamil terrorism” or “Red terrorism”, they actually refer to the basic characteristic of a particular group of terrorists, without any objective to generalize the members of a particular religious/ethnic community or supporters of a certain political ideology.

Subtle Racial Implication In KBC Ad

2010-08-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

All of you might not agree with me, and I do not want to impose my perception on anybody. However, I feel that there is a subtle racial implication in one of the Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) ads that are now being aired on TV.

The ad that I am referring to shows that an old and retired gentleman has come to a government office, where he is having some argument with a lady government officer, Ms. Sushma. During the course of the argument the old gentleman out of frustration says that he is not sure whether Ms. Sushma even knows who the writer of the Indian Constitution is. Enraged, Ms Sushma, who apparently does not know the name of the writer of the Constitution, makes fun of the issue and mocks at the gentlemen, instead of feeling ashamed of her ignorance. Eventually she is joined by two of her male colleagues, Mr. Jha and Mr. Sinha.

However, later one day Ms. Sushma gets an opportunity to face Mr. Amitabh Bachchan in the KBC hot seat, where she is asked the same question by Big B. And now she regrets the fact that she does not know the answer.

The ad is undoubtedly interesting and enjoyable. But it has a certain characteristic which I could not feel exactly comfortable about.

In the ad all the three “negative characters” – Ms. Sushma, Mr. Jha and Mr. Sinha are shown to be speaking with a strong “Bihari” accent. In fact, the surnames Jha and Sinha are well known Bihari surnames. And so this idea has been very clearly given that all these three people are Biharis.

And this is something I feel the creators of the ad should have avoided. Projecting members of a certain community as unscrupulous government officers is certainly not a very acceptable idea. It would have been still OK if only one of those three characters was shown as a Bihari. But the creators of the ad projected all of the three persons as Biharis, which clearly proves that they wanted to cash in on the so-called poor image of the Biharis in the rest of India.

It might so happen that it took place unconsciously, with the creators of the ad having no clear objective to poke fun at the Bihari community. Nevertheless, it has somewhat diluted the appeal of the ad which is otherwise well conceptualized and brilliantly presented.

The CWG Mess – Kalmadi Must Be Expelled From The Parliament

2010-08-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

I think by this time it has become quite clear to everybody that the Delhi Commonwealth Games is going to be a huge disgrace for India. No matter how much optimist one may be, even he can not dare to hope that everything will be OK at this eleventh hour, thus ultimately resulting in a proper and successful handling of the Games. There is not the ghost of a doubt that the nation is going to experience a huge humiliation, a terrible loss of face in front of the entire world. And the hapless Indian mass is in fact mentally prepared for the same, already.

Yes, we cannot avoid the mess and chaos that are going to take place during the Games. But certainly we can punish the culprits. And that is something must be done by the Indian government. Immediately after the Games the government must initiate a detailed investigation, aimed at identifying all the culprits. The investigation agency (whether it is CBI or something else) must be let to do its work independently, without any political pressure. And after the culprits are identified, they must be awarded strictest punishments.

And the investigators must have a special focus on the alleged “Chief Culprit”, the “flamboyant” Pune M.P. and “sports administrator” Mr. Suresh Kalmadi. And if it is found that the allegations against Mr. Kalmadi are true (of course he must be given due opportunity to defend himself), then he must be expelled from the Parliament at least for two terms (if not permanently). The CWG mess is going to be a national disgrace for India. And inflicting national disgrace on one’s motherland is one of the gravest crimes that can be committed by a citizen. And such a person has no right to be a lawmaker.

If the Congress party commits the blunder of shielding Mr. Kalmadi, then it will be a serious political blunder on its part. And I sincerely hope that it will not stoop so low.

Protection Mechanism For Whistleblowers – A Positive Development

2010-08-13T22:47:00.001-07:00

It was heartening to see some developments that promise at least an apparently secured environment for whistleblowers.

First, the Union Cabinet approved the “Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosure Bill, 2010”, which empowers the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to punish and penalize those who will reveal the identity of a whistleblower and will thus get the latter into troubles. The Bill is aimed at protecting whistleblowers from the Central, State and Public Sector employees, and entrusts the CVC with the responsibility of protecting the identity of those who will bring to the CVC’s notice the instances of misuse of government authority and funds.

Secondly, now there is news that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is mulling a proposal to make it mandatory to have a whistleblower mechanism in companies, i.e. a mechanism that will shield whistleblowers from victimization. As of now it is only optional for companies to have such a mechanism.

Personally I feel these are very significant developments. It is an open secret that the corporate world is very vulnerable to irregularities of various types, and practices that cannot be called fair. Under such circumstances, whistleblowers are likely to play a very significant role, and it is a must to ensure that they are able to share their findings/doubts without any hesitation.

“New/Social Media” – The Emerging Specialized Field Within The Communications Domain

2010-08-11T00:34:00.001-07:00

The “New Media” or “Social Media” tools, such as blog, Internet forums, social networking sites and YouTube have now become parts of the official communication tools practiced by various organizations. Well, this is known to everybody. But what some people may not be knowing is that New Media has started emerging as a specialized field within the Communication domain. Now it has become very common for organizations, both business organizations as well as non-profits, to have at least one dedicated employee (and sometimes a group of employees) in the Communications Department who is exclusively handling New or Social Media Communications. Yes, at the end of the day he is reporting to the overall head of the Communications Department (the VP, the Director or the DGM, or whatever). And it is most of the times the head of the department who takes the final decision on the New Media Communications, as it is in the cases of other P.R./communications activities like Media Relations, Government Relations, etc. But what I am trying to highlight is that now organizations have at least started having dedicated people meant exclusively for New/Social Media Communications.

And this clearly highlights the emergence of New/Social Media Communications as a specialized field within the domain of Public Relations/Communications. Quite naturally, I find many people bagging lucrative jobs with prestigious organizations simply by virtue of their experience in New/Social Media tools, while being virtually rookie in the fields of Media Relations, Government Relations, and other PR/Communications areas.

When I started my career in Public Relations/Communications around 10 years back, that time usually Media Relations was considered to be a specialized field in this domain. One of the first things that we learnt as rookies was how to prepare captivating “Press Releases”, how to “sell” them to the media (i.e. journalists) so that the latter covers those news, how to enthuse the media to attend a press conference or other press events, etc. Another specialized field was Event Management, which entailed the smooth and successful handling of various events (such as corporate events). This in fact led to the birth of a new field, i.e. Event Management, with event management companies raking their moolah by professionally handling corporate and other events of various types and nature, aimed at various sorts of target audiences ranging from tech maniacs to young students.

At the high level of Public Relations there was also the specialized field of Government Relations, which entailed dealing with the bureaucrats, policy makers, etc., usually on behalf of one’s organization. “Lobbying”, the controversial word, was a part of it.

There was also another specialized field. And that was preparation of corporate literatures and other materials, ranging from brochures, corporate websites, case studies, flyers, etc. In fact I eventually got involved with this field.

All these specialized communications fields are still there. But now they have another friend. And that is New/Social Media Communications. And it is increasingly thriving.

Are you a wannabe communications professional? And do you take interest in new/social media activities like blogging, YouTube, social networking sites (like Facebook), podcasting, etc? Well, then you may think of establishing yourself as a New Media Expert. It will be an enjoyable job for you, and most likely to be well-paid as well. And you can use this field to be associated with both business houses as well as non-profits (or for that matter any sort of organization), according to your personal interest and aptitude.

Kalash – The non-Muslim Tribe Of North-Western Pakistan

2010-08-05T05:43:00.000-07:00

Just today I came across an interesting Wikipedia piece on the Kalash people, an indigenous community residing in the Hindu Kush mountain range in the Chitral district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North Western Frontier Province) province of Pakistan.

I loved to read the small piece, which I found both interesting and enjoyable. It contained information about their language (i.e. Kalash language), customs, culture, religion, etc.

It was pretty interesting to read about their religion. First, the Kalash people are non-Muslims. More importantly, they are polytheists, just like the Hindus. And there is also a touch of Animism, as nature holds a significant place in their daily life.

In this context it may be mentioned that at least one Kalash god has a strong similarity with a Hindu god. That Kalash god is named Sajigor or Shura Verin. And the Hindu god with whom it has similarity is Indra, the king of gods in the Hindu Pantheon.

The cultural and religious identity of the Kalash people was facing threat due to forced conversions. But now the Pakistan government has taken measures to ensure that the purity of Kalash identity remains intact and untouched. And those measures are showing results. So let us not forget to say thanks to the Pakistan government for helping such an interesting indigenous community to retain their cultural sanctity.

United Nations Lends Strong Support For Right To Water

2010-08-05T01:10:00.000-07:00

It was a genuine pleasure to see United Nations declaring access to clean water and sanitation as a “Human Right”.

Nobody needs to be an expert or exceptionally rational to know how true it is. Potable water and sanitation are two quintessential components of human civilization. And it is extremely painful that even in the 21st century a huge number of people are deprived of these basic amenities. It is terribly unfortunate, shameful and horrifying, all at one go. It is a disgrace for the global civilization, which takes so much pride in its technological advancement.

Now let’s sincerely wish that all relevant organizations – starting from international bodies to local administrative units – will start addressing the issue with utmost sincerity, doing everything that comes within its range of authority and purview.

The Possible Hike In EMI On Bank Loans – My Question For The Indian Banking Fraternity

2010-07-28T05:39:00.001-07:00

With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiking the Repo Rate, there has naturally been a possibility of commercial banks hiking their rates of interest (i.e. EMI) for various categories of loans, including car loan and home loan.

Despite being a layman with little grasp of financial issues, I had no problem in understanding the direct relationship between a hike in Repo Rate and a hike in the rates of interest for the loans provided by banks. In fact it is an issue that anybody will find to be crystal clear.

However, there is something that I will like the banking sector mandarins to take note of.

If RBI has hiked the Repo Rate, then it has also hiked the Reverse Repo Rate, right? Therefore, at the end of the day the matter is back to the square one, with neither a gain nor a loss for banks.

And in that case, the banks should not hike their rates of interest for loans. Because if a hike in the Repo Rate has caused a “compulsion” for them, then at the same time a hike in the Reverse Repo Rate has caused a “dilution” of that “compulsion”.

Yes, am I wrong in my analysis?

I came to know that the hike in the Reverse Repo Rate might result in a hike in the interests offered by banks on fixed deposits. Well, I do not think that will be of much help. Because the income made from the interest on one’s fixed deposits is taxable, and the tax will increase with the increase in that income.

The middle class is more interested in a less taxing EMI. And therefore I will humbly request banks to try to retain the present rates of interest on the loans offered by them.

Yes, they are welcome to change it, if they reduce it (just kidding).

Should Tulu Be Made The Second Official Language Of Karnataka?

2010-07-23T06:04:00.001-07:00

I am not a native of Karnataka, and therefore probably do not have the right to make any remark on this issue.

However, on the basis of common sense I feel that the Tulu language should be made the second official language of Karnataka. The state has sizeable Tulu speakers, mainly concentrated in the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. And one key town of the state where the language has a prominent number of speakers is Mangalore. In a nutshell, the Tulu language does have a strong position in Karnataka. And therefore that position must be duly recognized by giving it the second official language status in the state.

The step will also help the Tuluva people in carving out a separate identity for themselves, in a stark contrast to the present situation where they are often confused with the Kannadigas. And this in turn will also stimulate the thriving and nourishment of the Tuluva culture (which includes the famous Udupi cuisine), which is right now probably a bit overwhelmed by the Kannadiga culture.

Key To Language Survival – Let’s Make One Another Feel Proud Of Our Native Tongues

2010-07-23T01:02:00.000-07:00

It is a common knowledge that many languages of the world are now facing existential threat. And the reason for the same is also well known. Actually the young speakers of many languages are now more into speaking English and/or other major languages, for both professional as well as social reasons. And this is naturally resulting in a reduction in the use of their mother languages, eventually resulting in a threat for their existence.

A host of international and national organizations and initiatives have been set up, which are trying their level best to ensure the survival of the “threatened” languages. Many non-profit organizations, groups and associations are also working hard on this issue. Opinion makers like educationists, litterateurs, etc. are also often found to deliver speeches aimed at motivating youths to speak their mother languages.

However, I have a simple formula. I do not know how much effective it will be. Nevertheless I will love to put it forward for the feedback and views of other people.

I suppose (and I know most of you will agree) that the best way to motivate a person to speak his native tongue is to make him feel proud of the same. However, a person might not be that motivated if his language is praised by another person from the same community, as the former might feel that the other guy is praising the language as it is his language as well.

But the picture might be very different if I find that a speaker of a different language is praising my language, and is also showing eagerness to know about the same. For example, I was always proud of my mother language Bengali. But my pride got a huge boost when, after settling down in Delhi, I came across a number of north Indians who kept praising the richness and sweetness of my language.

So my simple formula to make people proud of their mother tongues is – let’s start learning at least a little about other peoples’ languages (of course as many as we can), and then discuss a few words on his language when we meet a speaker of a language which is not exactly a major language. This might make him feel proud of his language, eventually enthusing him to take more interest in the same.

I know that even if the scheme gathers any success, it will remain a very insignificant effort. But even an insignificant effort is an effort all the same. Right?

China’s Emergence As The World’s Top Aid Donor – Warning Bell For India?

2010-07-22T01:45:00.001-07:00

A significant international development, at least for India, is the steady rise of China as the world’s top aid donor.

On one hand the USA – a prominent source of international aid – is suffering from a weakening economy. On the other hand another key international aid donor Japan has decided to restraint its supply of aids to the developing world. This combined development has resulted in an ample room for China to establish itself as a top international aid donor, with the Asian and the African regions in its focus area. In fact, it has already become a key aid donor to the developing nations of the African continent.

While it is otherwise a great news to find the emergence of yet another country as a prominent international aid donor, it is probably not a pleasant development for India given the fact that the country in question is China. And the reason is very simple. Its newly achieved status as a key aid donor will enhance China’s political status as well, and it is taken for granted that it will use its enhanced political status and weight to serve its political objectives. This will in fact be quite an easy game for China, with the countries dependent on Chinese aids having a moral and/or obligatory compulsion to toe China’s political stands on international issues.

And this is likely to be a matter of concern for India, as China’s political objectives are not always at par with India’s interests. On the occasion of an Indo-China face-off, China may try to gather the support of those countries dependent on its aid, thereby exerting a strong international pressure on India. And the heat sometimes may be too much for India.

So what can be done? Well, there seems to be only one way out. India should try to convince the USA that a significant expansion in China’s sphere of international influence is not likely to be a very healthy development for “Uncle Sam”, as well. And therefore the USA must try to ensure that China does not manage to achieve the status of a top international aid donor, a status that the Chinese government is trying to achieve very hard.

But how will the USA do it? Well, let’s leave it to the US government itself. The US government is well known for handling such developments in the past, and is very much likely to chalk out a suitable plan to address this issue.

Let’s Not Confuse Globalization With Cultural Homogeneity

2010-07-18T07:37:00.001-07:00

Cultural Enrichment – When one culture learns something new from another culture, without losing its own characteristics.

Cultural Dilution – When one culture picks up new characteristics and practices from another culture, and loses its own characteristics in the process.

While Globalization has given us the opportunity to experience the first one, it has also made us vulnerable to the latter.

Now it is our responsibility to have a balanced approach towards Globalization, wherein we can successfully pick up the gems of other cultures that we come across, without losing the assets of our own culture.

On one hand we must not indulge in any flawed idea of cultural purity, therein tying to make futile attempts to “save” our culture from any sort of foreign influence. Rather we should have a proactive approach towards learning new things from other cultures.

However, on the other hand we must be able to retain our own cultural specialties, which help us have our own national identity in this multicultural world.

Let’s remember that Globalization stands for a harmonious and thriving co-existence of various cultures, and not a dull Cultural Homogeneity.

Sports Tourism In India – A Seemingly Undertapped Potential

2010-07-15T21:20:00.001-07:00

The Indian government has seemingly not made full utilization of the rich Sports Tourism potential that this country is fortunate to enjoy. Given the fact that India enjoys a highly rich geographical diversity, there is little wonder that we witness the practice of such a vast range of sports on our soil – ranging from skiing in the snow covered Himalayan regions to water sports like scuba diving and snorkeling in the coastal regions.

And this vast range of sports opportunities offers a great destination marketing proposition to the “Incredible India” campaigners, i.e. the mandarins of the Indian Tourism Ministry.

The Indian Tourism Ministry can use these sports facilities to lure a huge number of potential foreign tourists who are sports freak, and will love to practice their favourite games in an ideal locale. So the question is, does the Tourism Ministry promote and market these sports facilities properly among the potential target audience?

One can argue that these sports facilities are already well known among foreign tourists. After all, it is a common experience to find foreign tourists participating in skiing and trekking in Himachal Pradesh, scuba diving and snorkeling in Goa or Lakshwadeep, etc. Yes, it is true. But we must remember that most of these tourists come to India primarily for traveling, and avail these sports facilities on the sidelines of their travel (or as part of their travel). It is not that common to come across foreigners who have come down precisely to play these sports (though sometimes we ofcourse find foreigners to have come down for trekking, mountaineering, etc.).

Personally I feel that the Tourism Ministry should market these sports facilities very aggressively, with a special team having exclusive focus on this area. The Ministry should try to ensure that almost all foreign enthusiasts of relevant sports (skiing, scuba diving, snorkeling, etc.) not only come to know about these sports facilities, but also get enthused to come down to India simply to experience them.

For that the Ministry has to carefully craft very captivating marketing campaigns, which will unfailingly catch the fascination of the target audience. The Ministry should also be careful about marketing the right “product” to the right “potential customer”. For example, while marketing the skiing facilities in Himachal Pradesh, the Ministry can target the USA and the European countries, where people are known for their love for skiing. And while marketing water sports facilities like scuba diving and snorkeling, primary focus may be given on countries like Australia and New Zealand, where people are known to be passionate about water sports. It may be true that while marketing a geographical feature (such as mountains), our main focus should be on countries where people are not familiar with it (for example Singapore), and will therefore be thrilled to come to India to see the feature themselves. However, while marketing a sports facility we must focus mainly on the country where people are familiar with the sports, and can identify themselves with the same. In case they are not interested in the sports, they will not get enthused. (Just imagine marketing a gala Cricket Event in the USA).

Since Sports Tourism caters to a niche market, it is comparatively easier to formulate “cumulative” marketing and promotional campaigns covering a huge chunk of appropriate target audience at one go. For example, while marketing Goa-based scuba diving facilities in Australia, the Ministry can make a direct campaign at the scuba diving associations and organizations of Australia.

I suppose the Tourism Ministry should immediately form a special team exclusively focused on promoting and branding India as an ideal “Sports Destination”. And it should come up with various customized punch lines depending on the target audiences, such as “Himachal Pradesh – Your Ideal Skiing Destination” or “Goa – The Heaven of Scuba Diving”.

The “Ideal Utilization” Of Tourism Generated Revenue

2010-07-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

Tourism has the proven potential to usher in significant economic development for an area.

However, we can “tap” that potential only if we channelize the Tourism generated revenue in the appropriate manner. And unfortunately a gross problem with us is that most of us perceive Tourism just as a means to generate revenue, without bothering much about the “ideal utilization” of the revenue that has been generated.

We must remember that the revenue generated by the tourism activities in a place should ideally be utilized for the economic growth of the local people. Yes, that is the only way to translate the Tourism activities in a place into a strong economic development of the latter.

Fine. But how can we maximize the utilization of the revenue for the benefit of the local people?

Well, for that we have to ensure that the largest possible chunk of the revenue generated by Tourism goes to the hands of the local community.

Fine again. But how can we ensure that the local community gets the largest possible share of the revenue generated by the local Tourism activities?

Well, the flow of the Tourism-generated revenue to the local community is directly proportional to the involvement of the latter. In a simpler language, more the local people will be associated with the local Tourism activities, more will be their share in the revenue generated by those activities.

So if the government is serious about using Tourism as a means to uplift the economic condition of the local people in remote and/or underdeveloped areas, then it must craft the tourism infrastructure in those places in such a way that it has ample room for the involvement of the local people. In fact, involvement of the local community must be made one of the “thrust areas”, enjoying the same focus and importance as enjoyed by other key issues like building of roads and air/railway connections, setting up of hotels, formulation of marketing/promotion strategies, etc. It should be the government’s responsibility to identify each and every way to involve the local community, e.g.

• As employees in local hotels/restaurants (like in-house tourist guide of a hotel, waiter in a restaurant, etc.)
• As entrepreneurs, either selling commodities directly to tourists (like selling local handicrafts in the market) or playing vendors to other players who are directly interacting with tourists (like supplying food ingredients to local hotels/restaurants)

As of now, the success of a tourist spot is judged mainly (if not only) on the basis of the tourist inflow and the eventual revenue generation, i.e. how many tourists it has received in a specific period of time, and the revenue generated therein. Now the government should add another parameter, i.e. what percentage of the Tourism-generated revenue has been utilized for the economic upliftment of the local people. After all, what is the benefit of the revenue if the same is not utilized for the gains of the local people?

Now it is often found that the civil society (NGOs, intellectuals, etc.) keeps a track of the environmental-friendliness of a Tourism project, i.e. whether the project is causing any damage of any sort to the natural resources, etc., of that spot. It is time the civil society also got watchful about whether a successful Tourism project is resulting in appropriate economic gains for the local community, and questioned the government if that is not the case.

Tourism at a spot cannot flourish without the co-operation of the local people. And if they do not get proper “dividend” from the local Tourism business, then they will not only feel isolated from it but will also get hostile to the same. And for any business initiative (Tourism-related or otherwise) no threat can be graver than the hostility of the local people.

So the issue of “revenue sharing” is not only a question of ethics, but also of sustainability.

Palace Tourism In Rajasthan

2010-07-11T02:06:00.001-07:00

Other day I was reading in the newspaper about Liz Hurley’s plan to buy a “Haveli” in Rajasthan. And I was not surprised. The fascination of the “western world” for the old palaces of Rajasthan is well known, with the fascination itself stemming from their fascination for the seemingly fairy tales appeal of now non-existent Indian royalty. Actually this fascination for the Indian royals (of the yesteryear) is found not only in the “West’, but virtually in every other part of the world.

So I was just wondering whether we can cash in on this fascination, and thus boost tourism in Rajasthan? And the plan that I suggest is the initiation of a specialized “Palace Tourism” for foreign tourists.

Yes, I know that Palace Tourism is already there, wherein tourists are taken inside the ancient palaces and forts in Rajasthan (and also in other places like Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, etc.), and exposed to various traces and remnants (like clothes, utensils, etc.) of the memory of the royals who used to stay there.

But what I am suggesting is a bit different. I suggest the government to launch an offer wherein a foreign couple (or a group of friends, a single person, etc.) can rent a Rajasthan palace for few days. The entire ambience inside the palace will be kept exactly in the way it was during the time of the royals, with the staff dressed in attires and uniforms of that time. And, most importantly, the tourists will be given the types of attires that royals used to wear. And, the staff will be dealing with them exactly in the way the royals would be treated by their servants, like doing “Kurnish”, etc. (Of course the staff must not be forced to do something which is against their self respect sense). And the old world royal touch should be there in terms of other matters, as well. For example, instead of using a bathroom comprising modern gadgets, the tourists can enjoy a bath that the former masters of that palace would enjoy (for example, the lady staff helping the lady tourists to have a bath in a tub full of rose water, exactly in a manner the queens used to take bath).

In a nutshell, I want to say that the tourists can be made to experience exactly the life that royals used to enjoy during their reign.

I feel that such a plan will be an instant hit for the foreign tourists, who still perceive India as a land of Kings and Queens, and carry huge fascination for the latter. It will be a great way to “utilize” their fascination, and enhance tourist influx in Rajasthan. Of course such a stay will be very costly. And in fact the government should target mainly the rich American and European tourists, who have both the money and the stomach for expenses.

I do not know whether any such plan has already been incorporated. And I also do not know whether everybody will appreciate this “Marketing and Promotion” plan. I just came up with a plan that struck my mind. And I appreciate an open feedback from everybody.

High Tourist Influx In The Corbett National Park – A Boon Or Bane?

2010-07-11T01:14:00.001-07:00

The high tourist influx in the Corbett National Park – which has the highest tiger density in India in terms of per square km. of forest area – has resulted in a sort of face-off between the Union Environment and Forest Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh and the state government of Uttarakhand (i.e. the state where the National Park is located).

Ramesh has requested the Uttarakhand government to restrain the inflow of tourist vehicles into the Park, as he feels that it is hampering the conservation of the Park’s tiger population. In the last year the Park reportedly witnessed the visit of more than 2 lakhs of tourists, with a daily average of around 400 tourists.

Ramesh has opined that the huge inflow of tourist vehicles has caused a huge air and noise pollution. And that in turn has resulted in a significant stress for the tigers. A key point made by Ramesh is that the noise pollution resulting from vehicular movements has adversely affected the breeding of the tigers of the Park.

However, the Uttarakhand government is in no mood to accept these observations. It has strongly claimed that the tourist influx has been kept within the permissible limits, and so no fresh restriction can be issued. The state government has also highlighted the fact the livelihoods of a huge chuck of the local population is dependent on the tourists, and putting a restraint on the tourist influx will also threaten the livelihood options of those locals.

What I feel, as a layman, is that the issue must be analyzed and evaluated purely from the sustainability angle, instead of letting any political face-off coming in the way.

Tourism is undoubtedly a crucial issue, as it ushers in a huge revenue for the government, thus enriching the latter’s coffer to a great extent. However, at the same time we can not wish away the issue of conservation. In fact, we must remember that negligence towards conservation can ultimately threaten the existence of the National Park itself, thus resulting in a threat for the very tourism business for which the conservation issue was ignored.

The Uttarakhand government has said that livelihoods of a huge chuck of the local population is dependent on tourist inflow, and that is one key reason why that inflow cannot be restrained. A good point indeed. But the state government must remember that if unrestrained tourist influx robs the Park of its tiger population (as it assumedly happened in the case of Sariska), then the tourists will stop coming here. And then it is that very livelihood of the local population that will be at stake, right?

Let me just give you an example in this respect. Suppose there is a milking cow at my home, which gives a substantial quantity of milk, thus addressing all the milk related requirements of my family. Now, shall I maintain some self-restraint while milking her every morning, so that my demand is fulfilled and the cow is also not forced to overdo herself? Or shall I squeeze her for so much milk everyday, that she ultimately falls ill and becomes permanently unable to give any milk at all? You will certainly want me to go for the first option, right? Similarly, our hunger for tourism-generated revenue must not “enthuse” us to squeeze a spot so much that it eventually runs out of the very “tourist attractions” that it is known for.

So I feel that the state and the central government should jointly set up an independent committee, comprising relevant technocrats including Eco-tourism experts. Let them conduct an independent study to decide whether the tourist inflow in any National Park (and not only in the Corbett) is within the permissible limit or more than that. Let them first make a list of all those sanctuaries and national parks which are witnessing significant tourist inflows, and then make the study. They can either evaluate the sanctuaries and parks one by one, or can study all of them simultaneously by dividing themselves into various teams.

There must be a balance in our approach to tourism and conservation, wherein we should appreciate the importance of both of them. And this balance of approach should be reflected in the ground management, wherein tourism should be allowed up to the level it does not threat conservation, and not beyond it. Basically the concept that I am referring to is “Sustainable Tourism” – a buzzword in today’s world.

And it is precisely the job of the Eco-tourism experts, i.e. maintaining the right balance between tourism and conservation. So it is they who are best qualified to oversee such issues, and not the political masters.

Dalai Lama – The Gritty Peace Lover

2010-07-06T08:57:00.001-07:00

Dalai Lama – the gritty peace lover, for whom “Peace” is not an excuse to avoid conflict and adversity

But a powerful tool to counter his adversaries with composure and dignity.

Dalai Lama – the embodiment of the pride and indomitable spirit of the great Tibetan race

A man who is so humble, and yet carries himself with elegance and grace.

Dalai Lama – the great apostle of love, harmony, compassion and humanity

An angel in the form of human being, who is here to guide us to the heavenly path of holiness and nobility.

(It is a humble ode to the great Tibetan leader on the auspicious occasion of his 75th birthday)

Diluting AFSPA Will Be A Blunder

2010-06-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

It is really alarming to see that the government of India is planning to modify (read dilute) the AFSPA or Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.

Everybody accepts that there have been some instances of misuse of this power by certain bad elements in the Army. And those scoundrels should be awarded the harshest possible punishments.

But under no circumstances it is acceptable that the government will modify the Act, thereby diluting the effectiveness of the same which in turn will have a highly adverse impact on the performance of the security personnel fighting day in and day out to keep our country safe from the fangs of bloody terrorists.

Almost every day a number of government officials of various ranks and posts are misusing various powers that they enjoy by the virtue of their ranks and posts. If the government decides to stop the misuse of governmental powers by diluting the powers themselves, then it will eventually dilute the executive capacity of the government itself.

The best way to ensure that no military officer misuses AFSPA is to award strong punishments to the offenders, which will discourage any officer from going for such an act in the future. Fake encounters is an alarming issue. But that does not mean that the government will dilute the AFSPA, thereby weakening our security personnel and giving the terrorists more power to harm us.

India’s “Palace On Wheels” Declared To Be The World’s 4th Best Luxury Train

2010-06-27T08:40:00.001-07:00

It was a moment of extreme pride, glory and honour for India’s rich hospitality legacy, when the country’s mind-blowing luxury train “Palace On Wheels” was declared to be the world’s 4th best luxury train by “Conde Nast”, the prominent global travel magazine.

Notably, the ranking was made not by a group of domain experts comprising only a handful of people. Rather, it was based on a voting made by the readers of the magazine. The magazine asked its readers to rank each of their favourite trains out of 100 points, and our beloved “Palace On Wheels” grabbed the prestigious 4th position by attaining 83.94 points.

And which were the first three? Well, they were the Venice Simplon-Orient Express (89.92 points), Eurostar (86.92 points) and Pride of Africa, Rovos Rail (84.25 points).

I hope everybody will agree that this Indian jewel in the casket of global luxury trains has been awarded an honour that it truly deserved.

We are really proud of you, “Palace On Wheels”. Congrats!

And a bagful of congrats to the first three rankers, as well.

What Type Of Tech-Savviness Is This?

2010-06-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

Other day I was going through a discussion on Apple i-Pad in the technology column of a top English daily. The discussion basically focused on a comparison between the Apple device and laptop, and sought to highlight certain drawbacks or inconveniences that one may have to face while using Apple i-Pad, but not while using laptop.

The column carried the comments made by some consumers having “first hand knowledge” of using Apple i-Pad. They all accepted certain inconveniences that the Apple device suffers from. However, a couple of them said that they would still go for that device, given the various features and attractions that it boasts, and which these consumers find so irresistible.

I was truly enjoying the column. Though I do not appreciate one getting too much obsessed with tech gadgets, I nevertheless appreciated the passion of those i-Pad users, who are using the gadget not out of any genuine need, but simply out of love for the gadget.

But then, while I was almost at the end of the column, I got this tremendous shock (sorry if I am overreacting). One of those consumers (who is a Web entrepreneur) said that he had already bought 4 Apple i-Pads during his last visit to the USA. One for himself, one for his 60 plus father. Fine. And the remaining two? Well, they are for his two sons. And their age? Now hold your breath. One of his sons is 5, while the other one is just 2 (and can barely read or write).

I was so shocked that I read the sentence twice, only to be sure that I read it right. And finally I was forced to digest this fact that it was indeed true.

There is no doubt that the gentleman has every right to decide what gift he will give to his kids, and we have no right to interfere in his personal matter.

But tell me, is it at all appropriate? Giving a gift of Rs. 30,000 each to kids of 5 and 2 years? Has the gentleman thought about the adverse impact that the gift will have on the boys?

First, they are getting habituated to using costly materials since their childhood, which is certainly not a healthy habit.

Worse, they are getting addicted to gadgets from this very early stage of life. They are getting this message that gadgets are part and parcel of modern human life, which will eventually make them so terribly obsessed with gadgets that they will be completely dependent on them. And it is a common knowledge that a lifestyle entailing an overt dependence on tech gadgets is not a very healthy lifestyle (or will it be so when those boys will be of my age?)

Don’t you think it would have been better if the gentleman gifted his sons something like a book of puzzles or one containing maps and pictures of the different countries of the world, or a book on plants and animals, or a book of fairy tales, or a set of indoor games (like Scrabble or Chinese Checkers), or anything of that sort that should normally be presented to kids of that age? The highly costly Apple i-Pad was the only gift that he could thought about for those toddlers? Oh God!

What type of tech savviness is this? Probably I am not modern enough, but I feel that we must learn to differentiate between tech savviness and tech mania. Being passionate about something is a healthy habit, be it music, sports, books or tech gadgets. At the same time addiction to anything is highly unwelcome, be it movies, smoking, drugs or tech gadgets. Am I right?

Factual Error In “Concise Oxford English Dictionary”

2010-06-10T09:00:00.001-07:00

Recently I was going through the world famous “Concise Oxford English Dictionary”, 10th Edition (Revised), edited by Judy Pearsall, when I came across a factual error.

I found that in that book the word “Darjeeling” has been described as – “A high quality tea grown in the mountains of northern India”.

The fact is, the mountain where the world famous Darjeeling tea is grown is in eastern India. The exact place where the tea is grown is the mountain of Darjeeling (from where the tea has got its name). And this mountain of Darjeeling is located in the Indian state of West Bengal, in eastern India.

By the way, some people feel that Darjeeling is in North-East India. That information is also wrong.

I hope the “Concise Oxford English Dictionary” will rectify the mistake in the next edition.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy Verdict – A Stigma For The Indian Judiciary

2010-06-08T09:33:00.001-07:00

7th June 2010 will be remembered as a Black Day in the history of the Indian Judiciary. The laughably paltry punishment awarded to the accused is an ultra cruel joke that the honourable Indian judiciary has come up with, rubbing salt into the 25 years old wound of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims and their kin.

I do not know who or what is responsible for this shocking legal fiasco. It may be so that the damage was actually done when a Supreme Court Bench had diluted the charge against the Union Carbide India Limited management by declaring it as a case of causing death by negligence and not as a case of culpable homicide.

It may be so that actually it was CBI’s fault, as it failed to furnish enough evidence wherein the Court could have come up with a stronger verdict.

It may be so that the actual problem lied in the absence of a strong and effective Mass Disaster Law.

Well, I do not know what is the actual reason behind the Indian Judiciary’s failure in coming up with an appropriate verdict.

The only thing I know is that I am seriously frustrated that the law of my land could not award strong punishment to an MNC which caused the massacre of such a huge number of my fellow countrymen.

Wildlife Lovers Of India – Let’s Unite For The Elephant Reserve Of Hasdeo Arand In Chhattisgarh

2010-06-07T09:26:00.001-07:00

The Raman Singh Government of Chhattisgarh has shown extreme callousness towards the maintenance of the state’s forest and wildlife reserve, while showing more interest in raking up moolah by permitting indiscriminate mining activities in the state. And one extremely irresponsible act that it has come up with is averting the notification of an elephant reserve at Hasdeo Arand even after getting necessary permission from the Central Government. Ironically, it was the Chhattisgarh Government itself that had taken the initiative for notifying the said area as an elephant reserve.

As many of us already know that increasing mining in Jharkhand and Orissa has made a huge number of elephants to flee to the forests of Sarguja, Jashpur and Korba in Chhattisgarh. Now, in 2002 the Chhattisgarh Government sent a proposal to the Central Government seeking permission for notifying over 384 sqkm in Hasdeo Arand forests as an elephant reserve.

However, in 2006 the state government came to know about a coal block of 100 sqkm that falls within the area that it had planned to get notified as the elephant reserve. The Raman Singh government soon withdrew the proposal that it had sent to the Centre, and shrunk the reserve area by 100 sqkm.

Today it has been 4 years after the Central Government has cleared the proposal for getting that area notified as an elephant reserve. But the state government has been dragging its feet on it.

This is really ridiculous. The government is welcome to fatten its kitty by permitting corporate houses to conduct mining. After all, if there is no mining then how can we get necessary objects like steel, coal, etc.?

But mining at the cost of nation’s forest and wildlife reserve is simply unacceptable.

The wildlife activists of India must unite to prevent the Raman Singh government from fiddling with the forest and wildlife reserve of Chhattisgarh.

Global Survey Exposes India’s Pathetic Broadband Speed

2010-06-06T00:27:00.001-07:00

Well, this is really a very embarrassing news, especially for a country which takes huge pride in its excellence in the field of Information Technology (IT).

A global survey conducted by broadband statistics company Ookla has found that India is in the 133rd position in terms of download speed, thus being in the same league with highly backward countries (including countries of sub-Saharan Africa).

So what is the average download speed in India? Well, it is just 1.32mbps. Even Pakistan is in a better condition that ours, holding the 122nd position.

However, there is one consolation. Our other neighbours, like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh are behind us. What a relief, right?

By the way, the top position has been grabbed by South Korea. And the average download speed in that country? It is 32mbps.

Toyota Plans R&D Centre In India

2010-06-06T00:14:00.000-07:00

The Indian job market may get a strong boost from the Japanese car maker Toyota, in the form of an R&D centre. The auto major with a world wide business empire is mulling such a centre on the Indian soil. This good news has been revealed by Hiroshi Nakagawa, MD of Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM). He has said that the proposal is at the discussion stage.

If one such centre really comes up, then it will understandably create a huge number of jobs. So let us keep our fingers crossed that the plan materializes.

By the way, the auto major will also love to set up an engine plant in India, but only after its annual sales in this country reaches 200,000 units-plus.

AI Grounds Pilots For Hard Landing – A Highly Unjustified Decision

2010-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

The Air India authority has grounded two of its pilots for the hard landing of an Airbus A319. The two pilots were in charge of the Mumbai-Rajkot flight of 29th May, 2010, which made a landing of 1.9G (i.e. a hard landing) on the Rajkot runway. This resulted in some passengers complaining of discomfort and inconvenience. And following this, the Air India management decided to ground those pilots pending investigation.

Incidentally, this decision to ground the pilots over hard landing came just three days before Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked airlines not to judge the quality of a landing on the basis of whether it was a hard landing or a soft one.

Personally I feel that the decision to ground those two pilots is completely unjustified. It has already been proved that the Indian airlines’ over obsession with soft landing entails strong threat to passenger safety. It is this attitude of airlines that forces pilots to go for soft landing even when they know that it is risky. In fact, as everybody knows it by now, that one possible reason behind the Mangalore air crash was the pilot’s desperation to avoid hard landing even though it seemed to be the only way out.

In any case, DGCA has now recognized the fact that the quality of landing has nothing to do with whether it is a hard landing or a soft one. Therefore, the Air India management should withdraw its decision and reinstate the pilots with immediate effect.

And one suggestion for the air passengers – Please stay away from complaining when your flight makes a hard landing. Yes, it causes inconveniences. But you must realize that if the pilot has made a hard landing, then there must have been some reason behind it.

Hard landing may entail inconvenience. But soft landing entails lack of safety. And you will certainly prefer an inconvenient landing rather than a risky one, right?

Please remember that it is your complaint on the occasion of a hard landing that is compelling the airlines to force their pilots to go for soft landing even when it is risky. So, please behave a bit responsibly.

Manipur Government’s Remarkably Strong Handling Of Muivah’s Unacceptable Demand

2010-06-05T23:27:00.000-07:00

With a rare display of ruthlessness (something that is so rare in “democratic India”), the Manipur government has firmly resisted NSCN (IM) leader Thuingaleng Muivah’s demand to visit his native village Somdal, located in the Ukhrul district of Manipur. The Okram Ibobi Singh government of Manipur had rightly concluded that there was a possibility of serious disturbances if Mr. Muivah could manage to set foot in that Naga dominated region, and quite understandably refused to allow him to visit Somdal.

And I am genuinely happy that the Manipur government has managed to stick to its decision instead of buckling under the huge pressure that it has faced. Rather, the government is countering all those pressure tooth-and-nail, with sound determination.

Just look at the way the government is dealing with the hooligans of All Naga Students Association (Ansam). As a mark of “protest” against government’s decision not to allow Muivah to visit his native village, the Ansam activists have blocked National Highways 39 and 53 since 12th April, 2010 (though originally Ansam started the blockade to protest government’s decision to hold Autonomous District Council elections in the tribal-dominated hill districts). Quite understandably the blockade has caused serious trouble for the common people of the state, as they are suffering from a scarcity of all essential commodities (such as medicine and fuel) that enter the state through those highways.

But instead of showing any “soft approach’, the Manipur government has come down heavily on the Ansam activists. A couple of them have been arrested, though two of them were released after they promised to stay away from participating in the blockade. The tough talking Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai has also strongly asked Ansam to lift the 100 per cent illegal blockade, which has resulted in an unbearable economic crisis in the state, with only the common people being at the receiving end. Ansam is well advised to accept the state government’s invitation for talks, instead of continuing with that blockade or any other nuisance that will eventually invite troubles for itself.

Hopefully the “NRI” Naga leader has got a taste of a new India, where tolerance for hooliganism in the name of democratic rights is coming down to the zero level.

Britain Declines To Return Artifacts That It “Stole” From India

2010-06-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

Britain has rejected India’s appeal to return various invaluable artifacts (including the famous diamond Koh-i-Noor) that were carted away from the Indian soil during Britain’s colonial rule in this country. Notably, most of these artifacts were carted away illegally.

One of those artifacts that India was unfortunate to lose was the world famous “Koh-i-Noor” diamond, which today embellishes the crown of the British monarch.

Britain has said that the British Museum Act of 1963 prevents the national museums of that country from removing items from their collections, though there are exceptions for human remains and objects lost during the Nazi era.

OK, we respect the law of their land. But I have just a humble question for the cultured and erudite Britishers - Are they doing any justice to their national prestige and image by holding back the objects that their forefathers stole from India?

I leave it to the conscience of our British friends.