The audacious Chinese leadership got a tight slap with His Holiness Dalai Lama’s smooth visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the unarguably Indian state that China considers to be a part of its own.
China found its strong pressure on India to be completely futile with the latter strongly defying the pressure and allowing the revered Tibetan leader to visit this majestic region in north-eastarn India.
To top it, standing on the soil of Arunachal Pradesh Dalai Lama described the state to be an integral part of India, and also slammed China for its “hard line”.
Hope China has understood that India is not the pushover that it had thought it to be.
The 1962 war is a distant past, China. Stop being obsessed with that success, and try to move on. Today’s India a strong country, a country simply not ready to tolerate your high-handedness. Got it dude?
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Promoting India Abroad As A Favoured Tourist Destination – Customized Marketing Is The Key
Other day I was reading the interview of a top Indian bureaucrat. The gentleman – let him call Mr. X – has been a top official with the Central Tourism Ministry under Government of India (GOI), has been involved with the famous “Incredible India” campaign, and is considered to be a top destination marketing expert of the country.
During the interview Mr. X has said something that is very significant. We all Indians take pride in the diverse tourist attractions of India, such as mountains, jungles, sea and desert. It is the presence of so many natural features that has made India such a colourful tourist destination.
However, Mr X has said that it is this multifaceted “destination personality” of India that has made it so difficult to promote India abroad as a tourist destination. And why is India’s multifaceted personality – resulting from her diversity – a problem in promoting the country as a favoured tourist destination? Because it makes it difficult to make a proper “branding” of India. You will fail to decide how you will brand India – as a country of mountains, jungles, sea beaches, or anything else. Collective promotion of all the features robs every feature of its due glaze, making it look much less insignificant and attractive than actually what it is. The target audience comes to know about all the features present in this land, and fails to notice the speciality of any of them.
I understand what Mr. X has said. It is true. Whenever we think of a country, there is a certain geographical feature that comes in our mind, such as snow clad mountains in the case of Switzerland, savannah and wild beasts when we think of Kenya, blue ocean and golden sea beaches when we think of Mauritius or Caribbean Islands, and so on. But just try to think of India, and soooooo many features come into your mind, leaving you both thrilled and confused. (The irony of having too many?)
Well, my humble self has a small suggestion, and I feel that the Tourism Ministry already has this idea in its mind.
Since the plentiness of India’s geographical features is creating a branding problem, then why do not we go for “customized branding” in the context of the country where we are promoting our motherland?
For example, when we are trying to promote India in Switzerland, then it is stupid to talk about the beautiful snow-clad mountains that we have, because that will understandably fail to woo the Swiss people. So we should tell them about precisely all those features that they do not have – the desert of Rajasthan, the golden beaches of Goa and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, etc. Similarly, while promoting India in Mauritius and Caribbean Islands it is meaningless to talk about the golden beaches of Goa and Andaman, but highlighting our mountains and jungles (with rich wildlife) will be a great idea. And again, trying to woo the people from countries like Kenya and Tanzania through our jungles and wildlife will be a foolish plan, but they can be enthused to visit our land by talking about the mountains and sea beaches (yes, these countries have beautiful Kilimanjaro, but they will always find visiting Himalayas a good idea).
We can make customized promotion in terms of our “soft assets”, as well. For example, Buddhism is so popular in some countries like Japan, Thailand and Sri Lanka. We can promote India in these countries (the Tourism Ministry is already doing it) by promoting those Indian spots that have strong links with that religion. This will certainly draw a number of tourists from these countries, and that is already happening actually.
I think the Tourism Ministry has already taken some steps in line with customized marketing. It is only that they have to take the concept more seriously.
During the interview Mr. X has said something that is very significant. We all Indians take pride in the diverse tourist attractions of India, such as mountains, jungles, sea and desert. It is the presence of so many natural features that has made India such a colourful tourist destination.
However, Mr X has said that it is this multifaceted “destination personality” of India that has made it so difficult to promote India abroad as a tourist destination. And why is India’s multifaceted personality – resulting from her diversity – a problem in promoting the country as a favoured tourist destination? Because it makes it difficult to make a proper “branding” of India. You will fail to decide how you will brand India – as a country of mountains, jungles, sea beaches, or anything else. Collective promotion of all the features robs every feature of its due glaze, making it look much less insignificant and attractive than actually what it is. The target audience comes to know about all the features present in this land, and fails to notice the speciality of any of them.
I understand what Mr. X has said. It is true. Whenever we think of a country, there is a certain geographical feature that comes in our mind, such as snow clad mountains in the case of Switzerland, savannah and wild beasts when we think of Kenya, blue ocean and golden sea beaches when we think of Mauritius or Caribbean Islands, and so on. But just try to think of India, and soooooo many features come into your mind, leaving you both thrilled and confused. (The irony of having too many?)
Well, my humble self has a small suggestion, and I feel that the Tourism Ministry already has this idea in its mind.
Since the plentiness of India’s geographical features is creating a branding problem, then why do not we go for “customized branding” in the context of the country where we are promoting our motherland?
For example, when we are trying to promote India in Switzerland, then it is stupid to talk about the beautiful snow-clad mountains that we have, because that will understandably fail to woo the Swiss people. So we should tell them about precisely all those features that they do not have – the desert of Rajasthan, the golden beaches of Goa and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, etc. Similarly, while promoting India in Mauritius and Caribbean Islands it is meaningless to talk about the golden beaches of Goa and Andaman, but highlighting our mountains and jungles (with rich wildlife) will be a great idea. And again, trying to woo the people from countries like Kenya and Tanzania through our jungles and wildlife will be a foolish plan, but they can be enthused to visit our land by talking about the mountains and sea beaches (yes, these countries have beautiful Kilimanjaro, but they will always find visiting Himalayas a good idea).
We can make customized promotion in terms of our “soft assets”, as well. For example, Buddhism is so popular in some countries like Japan, Thailand and Sri Lanka. We can promote India in these countries (the Tourism Ministry is already doing it) by promoting those Indian spots that have strong links with that religion. This will certainly draw a number of tourists from these countries, and that is already happening actually.
I think the Tourism Ministry has already taken some steps in line with customized marketing. It is only that they have to take the concept more seriously.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saudi Court Orders 60 Lashings For Female Saudi Scribe
A Saudi Arabian court has ordered 60 lashings for Ms. Rozanna al-Yami, a female journalist of the ultra-conservative Islamic country. And what is her offence? Well, she was involved with ‘Bold Red Line’, a TV programme where a Saudi man publicly talked about sex, and even showed some sex toys.
Ms. Rozanna al-Yami was allegedly involved in the preparation of the programme, and also handled internet advertising of the segment.
We all understand how shocking and outrageous the conservative Saudi society has found the programme to be. And the Saudi judiciary probably cannot be blamed for handing out punishments to the man (named Mazen Abdul-Jawad) and Ms. Rozanna al-Yami.
But was there no way to punish them in a decent and civilized manner, something that would have been in tune with the 21st century? Is the barbaric practice of lashing the only way out to maintain the so called social, cultural and religious purity of the famous Middle-East kingdom?
When will the Saudi judiciary and (more importantly) the Saudi government realize the necessity to evolve with time?
The Saudi King Abdullah is well-advised to learn few lessons from his Jordanian counterpart (and also his namesake) King Abdullah II about how to drive a conservative Islamic country towards modernity, instead of retaining the ridiculous status quo that is preventing his beautiful kingdom from flourishing into a genuinely respectable place that the modern world can identify itself with.
Ms. Rozanna al-Yami was allegedly involved in the preparation of the programme, and also handled internet advertising of the segment.
We all understand how shocking and outrageous the conservative Saudi society has found the programme to be. And the Saudi judiciary probably cannot be blamed for handing out punishments to the man (named Mazen Abdul-Jawad) and Ms. Rozanna al-Yami.
But was there no way to punish them in a decent and civilized manner, something that would have been in tune with the 21st century? Is the barbaric practice of lashing the only way out to maintain the so called social, cultural and religious purity of the famous Middle-East kingdom?
When will the Saudi judiciary and (more importantly) the Saudi government realize the necessity to evolve with time?
The Saudi King Abdullah is well-advised to learn few lessons from his Jordanian counterpart (and also his namesake) King Abdullah II about how to drive a conservative Islamic country towards modernity, instead of retaining the ridiculous status quo that is preventing his beautiful kingdom from flourishing into a genuinely respectable place that the modern world can identify itself with.
Friday, October 23, 2009
This Is Too Much, China
The audacity of the Chinese government is simply crossing all limits. India is already disturbed with China’s constant claim (a ridiculous one) that the picturesque north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh belongs to her. There is also a constant pressure from China to disown His Holiness Dalai Lama, the highly revered Tibetan leader whom India was pleased to grant political refuge after he fled from Tibet to escape Chinese oppression.
Now one of the latest nuisances caused by China is to show Kashmir as an independent country outside India. The journalists who are visiting Tibet are being given media handouts by the Chinese government, which mention Tibet as a piece of land bordered by India, Nepal, Myanmar and Kashmir. The clear implication – Kashmir is a land independent of Indian jurisdiction.
I will strongly suggest the Indian government to publish maps showing Tibet as an independent country outside China. (In fact, this is actually the truth, as forced colonization of a sovereign country by another one does not make the former a part of the latter). Let also our government recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country, something that India refrained from doing to retain cordial diplomatic relations with China.
An aggressive stance is the only way to deal with the “rogue leadership” of China, a leadership that traces its origin to a rogue statesman – Mao Zedong.
Now one of the latest nuisances caused by China is to show Kashmir as an independent country outside India. The journalists who are visiting Tibet are being given media handouts by the Chinese government, which mention Tibet as a piece of land bordered by India, Nepal, Myanmar and Kashmir. The clear implication – Kashmir is a land independent of Indian jurisdiction.
I will strongly suggest the Indian government to publish maps showing Tibet as an independent country outside China. (In fact, this is actually the truth, as forced colonization of a sovereign country by another one does not make the former a part of the latter). Let also our government recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country, something that India refrained from doing to retain cordial diplomatic relations with China.
An aggressive stance is the only way to deal with the “rogue leadership” of China, a leadership that traces its origin to a rogue statesman – Mao Zedong.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
When Sobriety Turns Into Misbehaviour
Yes, it may sound like a paradox. But no matter how much self-contradictory it may appear, this is a concrete fact. Too much sobriety can sometimes get counter-productive, thereby resulting in misbehaviour.
Actually when you are too much sober, you get extremely conscious about each and every word that you speak, and also about each and every movement and action (like walking, sitting, etc.) that you come up with. You start maintaining a strict control on your words and also gestures and body expressions while interacting with somebody. This makes you sound very cold and indifferent to the other person, thus making you look somewhat proud.
The “sobriety maniacs” must remember that being reserved and soft-spoken does not mean being rudely cold to other people. You certainly have the right to talk less, but that does not mean that you will not talk at all. Please talk to people (OK, talk less if you wish), interact with them, and exchange a little pleasantries. Otherwise you will prove yourself to be impolite.
In a nutshell, if you are too sober in your demeanour, then in a bid to prove yourself sober you are actually proving yourself to be unsocial and uncultured. And that is certainly one of the greatest ironies of your life.
Actually when you are too much sober, you get extremely conscious about each and every word that you speak, and also about each and every movement and action (like walking, sitting, etc.) that you come up with. You start maintaining a strict control on your words and also gestures and body expressions while interacting with somebody. This makes you sound very cold and indifferent to the other person, thus making you look somewhat proud.
The “sobriety maniacs” must remember that being reserved and soft-spoken does not mean being rudely cold to other people. You certainly have the right to talk less, but that does not mean that you will not talk at all. Please talk to people (OK, talk less if you wish), interact with them, and exchange a little pleasantries. Otherwise you will prove yourself to be impolite.
In a nutshell, if you are too sober in your demeanour, then in a bid to prove yourself sober you are actually proving yourself to be unsocial and uncultured. And that is certainly one of the greatest ironies of your life.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Uprooting And Annihilation – The Only Way To Counter The Maoists
The Maoist problem is gradually turning into a serious menace for India. And before it turns into a grave threat for our country, the government must nip the disease in the bud.
Instead of following a mainly reactive line of action (which it is seemingly following right now), the government must immediately espouse a proactive line of action. It should come down heavily on the rebels, crushing them in the way a mighty elephant tramples a helpless man lost in the jungle.
We must remember that Maoists are mindless people left completely brainwashed by their leaders. The only truth for them in this world is the order from the top brass, which they carry out without any question. In that sense they are no different from the foot soldiers of the Taliban. And so the only way to deal with them is extreme savageness.
There was a time when the Khalistan movement by some misguided Sikhs had created huge troubles for our country, leaving the government of the day terribly disturbed. However, after sucking the nation’s blood for few years, that movement ultimately came to an end. And that happened simply because of the ruthless way the problem was handled by K.P.S. Gill, one of the best counter-terrorism geniuses that our country has ever produced.
I had once read an interview of Mr. Gill, where he had discussed a certain aspect of his style of function while countering the Khalistan movement. And I really liked it. He said that he believed in “Uprooting and Annihilation” of the terrorists. He said that he preferred to kill a terrorist on the spot, rather than catching him alive and bringing him to the court of law. Because the court would not punish a terrorist if there were not enough evidence against him, and would leave him free. And he would resume his heinous activities with new enthusiasm.
I feel this is the policy that the government of India must embrace – just killing the bastards on the spot instead of involving legal institutions in the process. Yes, such a suggestion may appear to be a bit harsh. And it will definitely appear to be very offensive to the human rights enthusiasts and other intellectuals of the country, who are always obsessed with the concept of “civilized society”. But can they honestly deny this fact that savageness is the only way to deal with the savages whom we call Maoists? Moreover, is there at all any need to bother about the opinions of all these pseudo-intellectuals? These hypocrites take out huge processions and call press conferences when there is a single instance of a custodial death of an alleged terrorist, or something like that. But they never bother to visit the family of an innocent person who has been gunned down by the terrorists. And you will also never find them to express their condolences to the families of the police and security personnel killed in encounters with the terrorists. So there is absolutely no need to bother about what these so-called intellectuals feel or think. For them their “intellectual image” is more important than the law and order situation of their motherland, and let us just ignore them for good.
Brutality is the only medicine meant for the Maoist scoundrels, who have proved themselves to be nasty demons under the garb of human beings. Let us pounce on them in the same way they pounce on innocent people, and chop them off into thousand pieces.
Instead of following a mainly reactive line of action (which it is seemingly following right now), the government must immediately espouse a proactive line of action. It should come down heavily on the rebels, crushing them in the way a mighty elephant tramples a helpless man lost in the jungle.
We must remember that Maoists are mindless people left completely brainwashed by their leaders. The only truth for them in this world is the order from the top brass, which they carry out without any question. In that sense they are no different from the foot soldiers of the Taliban. And so the only way to deal with them is extreme savageness.
There was a time when the Khalistan movement by some misguided Sikhs had created huge troubles for our country, leaving the government of the day terribly disturbed. However, after sucking the nation’s blood for few years, that movement ultimately came to an end. And that happened simply because of the ruthless way the problem was handled by K.P.S. Gill, one of the best counter-terrorism geniuses that our country has ever produced.
I had once read an interview of Mr. Gill, where he had discussed a certain aspect of his style of function while countering the Khalistan movement. And I really liked it. He said that he believed in “Uprooting and Annihilation” of the terrorists. He said that he preferred to kill a terrorist on the spot, rather than catching him alive and bringing him to the court of law. Because the court would not punish a terrorist if there were not enough evidence against him, and would leave him free. And he would resume his heinous activities with new enthusiasm.
I feel this is the policy that the government of India must embrace – just killing the bastards on the spot instead of involving legal institutions in the process. Yes, such a suggestion may appear to be a bit harsh. And it will definitely appear to be very offensive to the human rights enthusiasts and other intellectuals of the country, who are always obsessed with the concept of “civilized society”. But can they honestly deny this fact that savageness is the only way to deal with the savages whom we call Maoists? Moreover, is there at all any need to bother about the opinions of all these pseudo-intellectuals? These hypocrites take out huge processions and call press conferences when there is a single instance of a custodial death of an alleged terrorist, or something like that. But they never bother to visit the family of an innocent person who has been gunned down by the terrorists. And you will also never find them to express their condolences to the families of the police and security personnel killed in encounters with the terrorists. So there is absolutely no need to bother about what these so-called intellectuals feel or think. For them their “intellectual image” is more important than the law and order situation of their motherland, and let us just ignore them for good.
Brutality is the only medicine meant for the Maoist scoundrels, who have proved themselves to be nasty demons under the garb of human beings. Let us pounce on them in the same way they pounce on innocent people, and chop them off into thousand pieces.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Public Hooliganism In India In The Name Of Democracy
How long will we keep tolerating public hooliganism in the name of democracy? Isn’t it high time we understood that it is a disease that should simply be wiped out?
Just the other day a huge group of so-called “common people” created mayhem in the Hathras station, by putting five bogies of the Mahananda Express into fire. And the reason for their ire? Well, they were upset with the fact that a number of important trains do not stop at Hathras station. OK, there might have been some validity in their grievance. And in that case they had 100 per cent right to express their grievance. But was putting the bogies into fire the only way to display their displeasure?
It was by god’s grace that all the passengers escaped unhurt. But there was strong possibility of casualties, that too in huge numbers. The people who orchestrated that heinous attack must realize (provided they have brain) that by coming up with such a shameful act they actually humiliated their own grievance, which was probably a valid one.
India is a democratic country, and people always have the right to protest against any government decision or policy that they disagree with. But that protest must be in accordance with the norms of the civilized society. We must remember that our Constitution has given us the right to express our displeasure, and not the right to stoop to the level of hooliganism.
Before we could digest the Hathras incident, there came the incident of MNS high-handedness against newly released movie “Wake Up Sid”. And what is their complaint against this nice movie starring the two talented young bloods of Bollywood - Ranbir Kapoor and Kankona Sen Sharma? That in the movie the city Mumbai has been referred to as Bombay. Really, what a huge offense. What a terrible attack on the “Marathi sentiment”. No wonder, the dedicated MNS workers – the self-styled custodians of Marathi Manoos – immediately plunged into action by disrupting the screening of the movie. And eventually the producer, a film personality of the stature of Karan Johor, had to kowtow before them, “apologizing” for the “grave offense” that he has committed.
It is high time that we became strict of all these nonsense in the name of democracy and freedom of expression. 60 years have passed. India is no more a young democracy. Now it must learn how to behave like a matured democracy.
Finally, a message for Raj Thakre. Raj, please stop all your hooliganism in the name of safeguarding the so-called Marathi Manoos. The Marathi community is an educated and cultured community, which has produced so many respected personalities. Hooligans like you and your followers cannot be their true representatives. So please stop embarrassing them.
Just the other day a huge group of so-called “common people” created mayhem in the Hathras station, by putting five bogies of the Mahananda Express into fire. And the reason for their ire? Well, they were upset with the fact that a number of important trains do not stop at Hathras station. OK, there might have been some validity in their grievance. And in that case they had 100 per cent right to express their grievance. But was putting the bogies into fire the only way to display their displeasure?
It was by god’s grace that all the passengers escaped unhurt. But there was strong possibility of casualties, that too in huge numbers. The people who orchestrated that heinous attack must realize (provided they have brain) that by coming up with such a shameful act they actually humiliated their own grievance, which was probably a valid one.
India is a democratic country, and people always have the right to protest against any government decision or policy that they disagree with. But that protest must be in accordance with the norms of the civilized society. We must remember that our Constitution has given us the right to express our displeasure, and not the right to stoop to the level of hooliganism.
Before we could digest the Hathras incident, there came the incident of MNS high-handedness against newly released movie “Wake Up Sid”. And what is their complaint against this nice movie starring the two talented young bloods of Bollywood - Ranbir Kapoor and Kankona Sen Sharma? That in the movie the city Mumbai has been referred to as Bombay. Really, what a huge offense. What a terrible attack on the “Marathi sentiment”. No wonder, the dedicated MNS workers – the self-styled custodians of Marathi Manoos – immediately plunged into action by disrupting the screening of the movie. And eventually the producer, a film personality of the stature of Karan Johor, had to kowtow before them, “apologizing” for the “grave offense” that he has committed.
It is high time that we became strict of all these nonsense in the name of democracy and freedom of expression. 60 years have passed. India is no more a young democracy. Now it must learn how to behave like a matured democracy.
Finally, a message for Raj Thakre. Raj, please stop all your hooliganism in the name of safeguarding the so-called Marathi Manoos. The Marathi community is an educated and cultured community, which has produced so many respected personalities. Hooligans like you and your followers cannot be their true representatives. So please stop embarrassing them.
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