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.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Europe Is Considering A Nuclear-Free Future – A Welcome Thought
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
What is ENGLISH?
E = Expressive
N = Necessary
G = Global Harmony Facilitator
L = Lovable
I = Internationally Understood
S = Sweet
H = Hearty
N = Necessary
G = Global Harmony Facilitator
L = Lovable
I = Internationally Understood
S = Sweet
H = Hearty
Monday, March 14, 2011
Fight Back, “The Land Of The Rising Sun”
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).
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).
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Pilots With Forged Certificates/Documents Should Be Charged With Attempt To Culpable Homicide
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.
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.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Pakistan’s Stupid Demand To Involve A Third Party In Kashmir Dialogue
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”.
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”.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
ULFA Peace Talks – A Significant Step Towards Stability In Assam
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.
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.
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