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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.