MOBILE: BOON OR BANE

One of the most important inventions that have changed human life dramatically over the last few years is the advent of mobile among the general public. And its difficult to say whether it has made life simpler or tougher. Last few years have seen widespread networking of mobile in all over the world and especially in our country India. Everybody can be found possessing a mobile in his hand be it young or old. Its not that whoever is having mobile requires it for some work but they just have one.

Mobiles have been useful to many but to many others its just a status symbol. Over the years there have been various studies on it and it has been found that continuous use of mobiles for long hours can have hearing problem. There is also a chance that as in mobiles electro-magnetic waves are used and long exposure to them can lead to tumors and cancer. Mobiles have also led to far reaching consequences. Genetic mutations can be caused by the electro-magnetic waves and these may affect generations to come with some form of deformities.

The heat that gets generated from the mobiles is also not good for health as constant use of mobiles for long hours heats up the mobiles and since they are being kept in constant contact with human body organ, they cause damage to the organs. Mobiles have caused hearing problems among people. Constant exposure to mobiles causes heart, lungs, kidney related problems. Even brain tumor can be caused by them. And high incidence of brain tumor is also a reason for this.

The anxiety among the people has also increased. If you go somewhere and after reaching there don’t call then tension people in house gets tensed. It wasn’t the case few years ago. Mobile is a necessity and has to be used but addiction to mobiles can destroy our human life.

ARE THE DAYS OF CPM NEARING TO END

Few people would have thought that the rule of about 40 years would be nearing to such a disgraceful exit. Though its still not exit but still it’s the path of exit. Well I am talking of the CPM’s rule in West Bengal. People used to say that CPM could never be removed from Writer’s Building. They somehow had mastery in the science of winning elections and coming back to power again and again. No force whatsoever was able to dislodge them from West Bengal.

But things have changed dramatically over the last few months. CPM has suffered greatly from the mass movements in Nandigram and Singur where a chemical plant and a TATA motors factory were to be set up. But due to pressure from local people with the support from Trinamool Congress and other environmental activists, the project could not be implemented. TATA had to shift its factory to Gujarat. Due to this the general response of the public towards CPM suffered. And the affects were very much visible in the last Lok Sabha elections and the recent by-elections to a few of the assembly seats. The CPM went blank. So it can easily be speculated that the days of CPM in West Bengal are closing up.

DEN OF MILITANCY IN NORTHEAST

Terrorism in North-East has its roots in North-East but it gets its nutrients from the neighbouring countries. There is a wide network of cross border terrorism prevailing in North-East, especially in Assam. All the major terrorist groups have their bases set up in different countries from where they operate. The in action of the government of those countries have also supported their cause and escalated India’s headache. All most all the terrorist groups have their bases in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Bhutan, etc.

United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has its training camps in Bangladesh, Myanmar, etc. Most of their leaders also stay in other countries. The recent arrest of its two leaders namely Sasha Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika along the Bangladesh border has further proved it. Even N.D.F.B. and NSCN also have their training camps in others countries.

The main reasons for them setting up training camps and bases in those countries is the apathy shown by those countries in helping India solve its problem, rather they somehow sponsor terrorism. Recently the change of Government in Bangladesh has led to some change in the general mood in Bangladesh establishment. The present government has shown some interest in flushing out terrorist from its soil. The earlier they do it, the better it is for them also. Other countries have sometimes launched military action against them occupying their soil but the intensity is very low and also rare.

These countries do not understand that the ones they are helping or supporting now, one day will affect their security and sovereignty. Our government should pressurize them so that these countries start taking action. We can hope that good sense prevail on them.

DEMOCRACY IN MAHARASHTRA

Well Maharashtra assembly was recently in news not for the reason that a new assembly was formed after the recent elections but for a very different cause which must make all of our head bend with shame. An M.L.A. bitting another M.L.A. inside the very hall, in front of other M.L.A.s and also the speaker. What a scene it might have been... That shows the democracy of our country. The ones whom we send as our representatives to the Vidhan Sabhas and Lok Sabha are themselves involved in fighting. How will they make policies and laws for general people???? They should first make laws for them.

The reason for all the furore that happened is that an M.L.A. was taking oath in Hindi. According to some M.L.A.s of a particular party, he is supposed to take oath in only Marathi as it is Maharashtra Assembly. What a wish from some M.L.A.s... Where in our constitution is that written that an M.L.A. has to take oath in the language of the state in which he is elected??? Our so called respected representatives are supposed to abide by the constitution of India but they are a step ahead, they are changing the constitution. This is the first incident of its kind in India.

Now, I want to attract attention to something else. This is that the M.L.A.s who created all these problems were themselves talking to mediapersons in Hindi. Have they forgotten their stand??? Or they themselves are someone from North India. Why could not they keep up their word??? The most important thing that comes out of the whole incident is the M.L.A.s wanted to earn some cheap publicity and it was more of a publicity stunt. Our aam jaanta should look into that...

DALAI LAMA: VISIT TO TAWANG

Dalai Lama, the revered spiritual leader of the Buddhists is on a 7 day tour of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. He has come to this place after 6 long years. He is respected all over, so his visit has attracted great heights of joy and enthusiasm among the local people who have gathered to just have a glimpse of this spiritual leader. He has been meeting people and blessing them and showing no signs of tiredness. The greatness of the person can just be realized that he is keeping the media at a distance and not allowing to come near to him.

But its not that his visit has not attracted any sort of controversy. China was dead against the visit of this Tibetian spiritual leader. They regard Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed territory and were against his visit. They asked Indian government in New Delhi to not allow him to visit this holy place of Buddhists, which is baseless. Their demand of Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh as disputed territory are ridiculous and also baseless. Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh have been India's land and it will remain so. There is no question about it. China has always been in some sort of intention of creating disturbances in India by supporting extremist elements or by their unusual demands. They are also helping Pakistan in creating disturbances in India.

India has every right to decide whom to allow and whom not allow in its territory. There is no need of any external suggestion or demand in it. They should rather be concerned about themselves. Instead of trying to maintain peace with its neighbour's, they are always in loggerheads. They have been making ridiculous demands from time immemorial. India should not put ears to all these. To them everything is disputed. Sikkim , Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, etc. and many others whatever they wish from time to time regard as controversial and disputed.

THE MAOIST BATTLE

The menace of Maoist is not new to the people of this country. Every year hundreds of policemen and civilians die because of the attacks by the Maoists. A large part of the country is under the influence of Maoist. They are trying to maintain their own separate government. Over the last few years the numbers of districts that are under the influence of Maoists have increased. There are many states which are worst affected by them namely Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand. Apart from these states, there are other states which are also affected.

The Maoists claim to be a revolutionary group. But actually they are far from being a revolutionary group. Their main weapon is violence and killing of innocent lives. They mainly started their movement among the landless people but later on speard it to other spheres also. They stay in the jungles where military action becomes difficult. They consider themselves to be communists but what they are doing does not synchronize with the ideology of communism. The last few months have seen a sharp rise in the activities of these Maoists. There have been killings of innocent people and attacks on police personnel.

The incident at Lalgarh took the whole country by surprise as they declared a zone to be free, such is their influence. The Union Home Ministry had to immediately bring in battalions of security forces so that the area can be liberated from the Maoists. A long battle happened between the two sides. The security forces could ultimately enter into Lalgarh but still incidents of violence are reported from these places. The recent death of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. R. Reddy in a chopper crash is also being speculated as work of them only. Most recently they stopped Rajdhani Express for more than 5 hours demanding the release of their leader Chatradhar Mahato leading to a near hijack of the Express.

The main reasons for our Police forces in tackling them are our men in khakis are ill equipped. Where as these outfits are equipped with modern arms and ammunitions, our forces still have pre-independence guns. Also proper strategy is lacking among the forces. Moreover root cause of the problem has to be solved to bring the Maoists problem to an end for good.

NOBEL PRIZE FOR OBAMA

Every year Nobel prizes are declared and this year was no exception to it. Among all the Nobel prizes, the Nobel Prize for Peace is the most prestigious one though I in no way want demean the Nobel prizes on other subjects. So this year when it was declared, it called for mixed reactions from different quarters. Mr. Barack Obama, the present President of USA is choosen for this prestigious award. Nine months into office, is it justified to choose him as the one. There are divergent views on it. The most important factor for Nobel Prize should be how much substantial work the concerned person or organization has done to make this world a better place to live in. When I say nine months into office, I do not mean that a person on being the President for nine months can’t get this prize. But what I tried to emphasize is that in these nine months how much has he really done. And that is the big question. I don’t think anybody can say that he has done a great work in this field to bag this Prize. He may be trying to bring about peace but that too is questionable considering that they are yet to find a clear cut solution of both Iraq and Afghanistan. He may have met Arab country leaders and spoke on how to maintain peace but there is a long way to go and I think it can’t be a consideration for this coveted Prize.

Could not the Nobel committee find a person who is more appropriate for it at the present moment. Or the job of President of USA in itself is enough to get this Prize. Its irony or disgusting that that our very own Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi was not conferred with this prize. He was nominated three times but could not get even once though his stature, even today after 60 years of his death, is such that Nobel Prize is not at all required to recognize his works. It’s the bad luck of Nobel Prize that it could not have Mahatma Gandhi in its list. So I hope everybody will be of this opinion that the list will always miss him and it can never be complete. Perhaps by not choosing him, the Nobel committee might have done a great favour as his name will not stand along with few unworthy recipients like this year’s one.

My request to the committee that selects people for the prizes is that they should be more justified in their selection. As their action may one day lead to the demeaning of the status of Nobel Prize.

Then also my heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Obama that he succeeds in his endeavour and he justifies the Nobel committee in their selection of him as the one.

Last but not the least we all Indians should be proud that this year’s list of Nobel Prize winners has an Indian origin person in it. Mr. Venkataraman Ramakrishnan has won it for Chemistry. We hope that in future there will be many more Indians in this coveted list.

US' Pak Policy

US' Pakistan Policy is nothing but to treat Pakistan as a kitchen. And their interest is only to cook in the kitchen, not to clean it after cooking gets over. Pakistan's future doesn't interest them, they are only concerned about their benefits. The day their interest won't be their in Pakistan, they will dump it. There won't be any support to them. But the present policy of US towards Pakistan creating problems for India for they in one hand talking about against terrorism but on the other hand they are providing military aids to Pakistan, which Pakistan is using in terror activities against India.

Though US try to talk tough with Pakistan but they ultimately go in Pakistan's way only. Pakistan provides US a military base in South-East Asia through which they can have a better control over this part of the continent. US is nothing but acting as a modern imperialist country. US is using Pakistan for its fight against Taliban in Afghanistan

Lalu comments on Varun

Lalu's comment on Varun is totally an immature statement. It does not reflect his stature in Indian politics. What is more important is the statement that he used against Varun Gandhi. It is nothing less than what Varun is supposed to have said. So if Varun can be locked in jail under NSA then why not Lalu. The husband-wife duo have started making inflammatory speeches. The other day Rabri Devi was in the headlines for using slang language.

Is this what a minister in the Central government comment??? The prime minister should look into the matter and think whether Lalu ji is fit to be in the council of ministers. How could he say of using bull dozer against Varun and taking law into his hands. Is this for what he is aspiring to be the Prime minister of India??? I think India would be better placed without him as P.M., who even could not rule his state properly and putting his undeserving wife in the chair of chief minister when he himself could not continue...

A SHOE WORTH IT........

What a shoe it was....... The journalist throwing shoe at Mr. P. Chidambaram( the honourable home minister of India) has been the spice of the story for all news channels and print media. There are different opinions on this issue as to whether the act was right or wrong. And its complicated to come out with a clear cut view that it is justified or not justified. Before we say anything we need to understand the anger which led Mr. Jarnail to take this perversive step. If one sees that justice not provided even after 25 years gone, then how come a person sit back and take the decision lightly. He perhaps had no other way but to do this.

He is a journalist and he could have used words in place of shoe. But above all he is a human being. He has got his due sentiments and feelings which are above his profession. And we can't blame him for all this. If a person implicated in mass conspiracy is set free and allowed to contest elections then there is bound to be reactions like that. And the reaction this has been in the form of that journalist. Some day it might be some other person. So unless we stop criminalising our politics, I hope there would be more such incidents. His act may not be justified by law but then the other day Mr. Jaswant Singh rightly said 'Law is an Ass'.

Court rejects Sanjay and Pappu from Contesting LS

The rejection by court of Sanjat Dutt's and Pappu Yadav's plea to allow them to contest elections came as a no surprise. The judicial machinery of India is still something that people of India should be proud of. These are perhaps the first steps in the right direction to stop criminalisation of the Parliament. How can sentenced in Arms Act and another to life imprisonment for involvemrnt in a murder case guide the country and represent it in the global forum.

The criminals because of their influence in the people and the fear psycosis that they create get elected to the parliament. Rather it can be said that people in general are forced to vote for them for the fear of getting some bad treatment from the goons fed by those criminals.

Sanjay Dutt is a good actor so he should devote more time in acting and producing good films than coming to politics. We all like his movies and would love to watch him in movies and not in the dias of political parties.

SUPREME COURT decision on Varun

I may be a lay man in the matters of law but even then also it seems to me that the imposition of National Security act to Varun Gandhi was totally unwanted for. It seems to me a conspiracy by the U.P. government to defame the name of Varun. How come a person by uttering few words which he himself is denying also not proved in the court be implicated in NSA. I think even if he would have made the speech, the NSA is not all required. There have been many more aggresive and hate speeches made earlier that have not been loked into. But suddenly the Election Commission and the government has become too active.

Supreme Court's decision today to issue notice to the U.P. government and the district magistrate of Pilibhit is a right move. It will make sure that government and administration in particular don't make decisions in haste and favouring the ones who are ruling. Lawyers and Politicians across party lines are saying that it wasn't at all required. But the government to achieve some brownie points over their rivals imposed it so that it becomes a political issue.
Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah was also against imposing of such.

Varun Gandhi may have said something that is against a particular community but then it is still not proved. The E.C. also showed too much haste in it by advising B.J.P. not to field him as a candidate. Even E.C. didn't meet personally to him. The decision and advice was pronounced just on the basis of a video which may have been doctored as varun is saying. If he is found giulty then he should definitely not be fielded but otherwise why not...

View towards Politics

We have a general view that Politics is bad and politicians make it even worse. We general public are always in the blame game that politicians don't do anything. They are the ones who are leading our country to disaster. But if we ask ourselves how much have we helped in that disaster... We will find that we in same way and as much as responsible for that. Don't we elect our leaders??? We definitely do. We elect the same person again and again even though that person has hardly done anything. Then who is to blamed, its us. Can't we find 500 good people who can feel the pulse of people from the population of more than 110 crores. We are lured by the profile of a candidate and not on the activities. If we have been good then how come criminals get elected to the Parliament. We do say we don't want criminals but while voting it comes out to be completely different.

Unless we change the system, the system won't get changed. We need to develop awareness among ourselves. Its time for all of us to make a concerted effort in this regard. We the young generation who comprise of the maximum percentage of population of the country can definitely change if we want to. If we make a pledge that from this elections we will try to elect that person who is the able and justified of all the candidates then the day won't be far enough when we can also boast of having such persons in our Parliament who are there for us and ready hear and discuss all our issues.

Fuss over Varun Gandhi

The whole Varun Gandhi episode is making Politics even more dirtier. What irritates me most is not whether Varun said so or not but too much of discussion or fuss is made over the issue. Our politicians need a topic to discuss. In spite of talking so much on this issue, if they discussed some issues related to development of the country then there wouldn't have been so many farmer suicides.

Let the law of the land ke its due action. If he is found guilty he should be sentenced appropriately bt before that we should we waste our time in discussing this matter. There is court to judge and perhaps we all have faith on it that it will pronounce the right judgement.

The is too not helping the cause. They have some news o increase their TRP and so they are also indulging politicians in this battle of words. Everyday in some news channel or the other there can be found discussion going on in this matter. They just call few politicians from different party folds, who have no other work but to give bytes to these channels, and make them fight over that.

Off track

Well today I am relieved a bit. I hope I will be free for few days. With the college fest also there I think this week will be one filled with fun. This is our last college fest before we leave. Last week I also got my offer letter from the company which recruited me. So it has been a good few days for me though a bit busy due to project presentation and all. But what is giving a thought to me is that whether all the good leading to something seriously bad. One never knows when it may turn 180 degree.

Regarding politics which is quite a favourite topic for me, the hot topic now in all over India is Varun Gandhi's court arrest. It is rightly said that one week is a long duration in politics. From nowhere he has suddenly become a house hold name. In politics people like to be involved in controversies. One or two court arrests and a few FIRs are rather must to be in politics. It doesn't matter to them how much they have done for their constituency from which they have been elected.

Think about others

There is something special in getting that for which you wait a lot... Its the anticipation and excitement that kills you but on getting one just gets over joyed... These are human elements. One can't get away from them and those who can, they are great. There is a saying in Bhagavad Gita that tells to do ones work without expecting for result. But it seems gone are those days, gone are those thoughts. There is hardly people possessing such values. Every body has become so much result oriented that these preachings have become almost irrelevant to most people. But there are some who still treasure those values. And they are ones who will be the torch bearers for this world. We are often subjected to petty considerations and don't get the time to think about the greater cause and welfare of the people en mass. But we forget that by thinking about ourselves only we are not doing any good to us. Because ultimately the lives of other people will affect us at some point of time, we can't be proof to that. Like everyday we are spoiling the environment for our benefit but is it really benefit us, rather we are converting Earth as a store house of all waste products. Similarly in all respects it will hurt us in the long run.

Election scenario

Its been a hectic two weeks for me...as I had exams and now the presentations....so hardly getting any time to write blogs....
The scene of elections in India is really hotting up... Every where there is blame game... One party is blaming the other. The alliances are breaking up. The battle between the two most important prime ministerial candidates is also rising with Dr, Manmohan Singh also opening up and giving replies to Mr. L. K. Advani. The process for first phase of elections have already started. Recently L. K. Advani came to our constituency, he took up the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants which many parties are fearing to take up fearing the minority vote-bank. Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are changing the demography of Northeast. Though government accepting that there are illegal immigrants, they are not ready to take any action against them for they fear that it might hampertheir vote in the elections. For that reason B.J.P. must be given due credit, for they are the only party opening raising the issue.

Who ever forms the next government should definitly raise this issue in the parliament.....otherwise it would be too late to do anything...

//For my hectic schedule I am keeping the post small...but I would definitly try to post more regularly....//

What's that Third Front...

Whenever I hear about Third Front or United Front, it comes to me all the history notes that I had studied during my school days about World Wars where different countries opened up different fronts to stop the march of other countries. At least there it was for a good reason to protect the countrymen from the enemies. But in our country a front is created to take India to sluggery. These few people who can't get along with any party thus form a third front. They have so many Prime Minister aspirants that its number exceeds the number of parties in the front. They themselves admit that they won't have the support to form a government on their own but they want to become king maker. These king makers are nothing but the ones who stabilise government and hamper in proper decision making of a government.

Once they name it United They irony of the fact is that before every elections they form such fronts and after every elections they break up thus keeping general public in an illusion.Front, on the other occasion they say it to be Third Front. To me its all the same. The parties that could not get into a good bargain with any of the two major National Parties, start talking of all these fronts. This is a conglomeration of all the political parties that have hardly done much for the country apart from forming Governments once or twice in their respective states.

My question is: What happens all these fronts after the elections and where do they disappear????? Politics is nothing but a game where politicians consider only their individual interests... Give them a ministerial berth and they will forget all their ideologies, pre poll alliances, manifestos, etc. with the help of which they have won won a few of the seats. So in politics crocodiles are better placed than the humans.

So many P.M.s

Yesterday every news channel was airing the news that Mayawati has considered herself to be the best and the only alternative to Dr. Manmohan Singh. Its not only Mayawati but there are many others who have already shown their interest for the chair of P.M. My opinion is not about Mayawati or anybody in particular. Its the greatest gift as well as curse to Indian democracy that anybody willing can hold any post though he or she may or may not have the required credentials. India needs such a P.M., who can march India to new heights, solve all the economic crisis that is prevailing, uplift the condition of farmers, provide better basic amenities to the people and parallely put India into the global forum and take an active part in the global decision making. We can't think of a prime minister who wins on the basis of caste based politics. If I have to say my opinion then I see only a few leaders who can lead India namely Dr. Manmohan Singh, L.K. Advani, Pranab Mukherjee(a person India must see as a P.M.), and among the young leaders mainly P. Chidambaram, Sushma Swaraj and there may be few others. Its not bad to think of becoming prime minister but saying one should introspect as to whether he or she would be a good match to the prestige and dignity attached to the post. Its definitely not a child's play job. A decision may affect crores of people. And we perhaps don't require a prime minister to remain within the shackles of caste or any other matter as it may be. So my friends while voting its a duty of ours to think and then vote the right person as each one of our vote will count and we should make it count.

Who is ‘I’???

• ‘I’ has got universality in it. Nothing is left outside of ‘I’.

• The narrow mindedness in us converts ‘I’ into just an individual.

• ‘I’ is the reason for all the happiness in this world. We try to make ourselves happy thus in a way making the whole world happy.

• ‘I’ is also the reason for all the sadness in this world. The selfishness in us makes destroys happiness around.

• ‘I’ is the root cause for all the development.

• ‘I’ is also the cause for poverty prevailing here as I only think of me and leave my brethren to suffer.

• ‘I’ is the source for all corruption and bribery.

• It’s the ‘I’ that leads us to war.

• The moment we give up ‘I’ and adopt ‘We’, we conquest the whole universe.

• The ego attached to ‘I’ leads us to become losers.

• And above all it’s just another vowel of the English alphabet.

‘I’ can lead us to extremes of anything. It affects us in more bad ways than good. Think on it and decide as to how much ‘I’ is destroying us. The ‘I’ in me always tries to keep me separate from others. The moment we conquer and control the ‘I’ present in all of us, we will free ourselves from all narrow mindedness and prejudices.

Triumph of GOOD over EVIL

Holi takes me to the memories that I have playing it along with my friends in my locality. In the morning we all used to go out taking along with us different types of colours. We used to visit every house in the locality putting ‘gulal’ to one & all in the locality. There were some who used hide from us and our intention used to pour more ‘gulal’ and other colours on them. They were our main targets. Touching the feet of the elders and then they providing sweets, it was all really wonderful. At the end we used to become a gang of 20-25 boys and a few girls also. But with the passing of years all these things have become a distant thought. Everybody is preoccupied with his or her work. Nobody gets time for all these. These have become secondary to all.

Holi is a universal festival. It knows no religion, no community and no political boundaries. It is celebrated in many countries with the same enthusiasm and fervor. It’s a day when everybody is treated equal; there is no high class and low class and all plays holi together. For a day everybody forgets their sorrows and tries to float on the happiness of the occasion of holi. It rejuvenates to start things afresh. It’s a festival that converts enemies to friends.

According to mythology ‘Holi’ marks the victory of good over the evil. As it goes, it is said that on this day ‘Holika’, a devil got burnt thus relieving all the people. So in this happiness everybody was enjoying with colours and sweets. And from then onwards holi is played on that day.

Similarly, a situation or a day has come wherein we need to reclaim the motive of holi and do away with all the evils in the society. Its high time for all of us we make a concerted effort to remove all sorts of hindrances that is blocking the development of our country and this world. We need to make it a better and peaceful place to live in.

Party system

Another Election, another hung Parliament,is this what we want....

With the General Elections in India approaching, a question that may arise in every Indian's mind is what type of party system do we require??? A two party system or the multi party system, that is there in India at present. We can all remember the phase 1996-99, when we were forced to three General Elections. This is a waste of tax-payers money. In spite of using it for development purpose, it has to be used for meeting election expenses. This amounts to crores of rupees. And this time it is estimated the money that is to be spent will be more than the money spent in America's Presidential elections. Anybody can imagine now the amount. And who can give the assurance that again there won't be hung Parliament. Ultimately its the common man who suffers due to the rise in prices caused by elections.

Now, if we get into the implications of two party & multi party system in case of India then we will find that both have their pros & cons. A two party system brings more stability to to the government. Government can take tough decisions for the welfare of the people. It also don't have to look after its allies for the support. But India being a diverse country(one of its kind in the whole world), with two party system all the sections and communities of people may not get proper representation. Some sections may not get proper forum to express their views.

Whereas a multi party system leads to instability. There may not be a single party that gets a clear cut majority as we often see this happening in our country. A government can't complete its full term. But here anybody willing to form a party & contest elections can do that. All the regions, communities & ideologies have their party. People have more choices to vote.

This debate has been continuing and will continue as and when there will be a problem of hung parliament or assembly. Our policy makers need to discuss it at the appropriate level so that some solution may crop up.

One way we can do that is allowing only the National parties to contest General Elections and not state elections whereas state elections to be contested by regional parties and they can't contest General Elections. In this way number of parties in the election fray will decrease.

Woman: A life not a day………

Today I was talking to a friend of mine over phone, I was just praising her or rather the whole women fraternity for some reason and in reply she asked me, am I doing that because today is woman’s day. And what she said is definitely thoughtful. I did not give notice to it at that time but later I realized, somehow she was telling the truth only. She was telling what it happens in reality. May be while I was saying I didn’t consider that.

Over the years we have seen the condition of women. Though our culture places them in high position but whether our society does the same is a question that needs to be answered. Over the ages we have been telling that women are the form of goddess, they are our mothers but when it comes to performing the same we falter. We hardly give their due respect and position in society. Our society always considers them to be an object or a material that is to be exploited from time to time. Though with modern education, we are saying all those stuffs about equality but still gender bias exist.
Still a girl child is not welcomed in most of the houses. Whenever a girl is born, her parents start thinking about her marriage and all the money that would be required during that. She is always thought to be someone else’s property. So general idea is that give her little education, make her know some house-hold works and get her married. The condition was such even hundred years back and the condition is same even today, may be a little improvement with relentless work of handful of reformers. But on general terms it’s still the same.

There are still cases of child marriage, sati ‘pratha’ which is the most inhuman and barbaric of all. Cases of female foetecide are still prevalent in India. And even the so called high class society is not away from that. The number of girl dropouts from schools and colleges is at an alarming high rate. Even though we have passed laws banning dowry decades ago, it is still widespread in most of the Indian societies. We do get cases of unnatural female deaths within months of their marriage. The number of rapes and other anti social acts on them is on an increase and every day after opening the newspaper the front page is full of such news.

So what we require today??? I definitely don’t think by allocating a day to them we have done enough. Participating in various lectures and meetings on that day and talking all the good things about women upliftment and emancipation will not solve the purpose. Doing nothing and forgetting them for the rest of the year, it’s not at all required. We have been hearing all these years about 33% reservations for women. But are we serious in that, if we would have been serious it should have been passed in the top most Panchayat of India since most of the parties are supporting it or at least the two largest national parties are supporting it. Then why there isn’t a law till now. It’s nothing but a vote bank politics. Our leaders are more interested in garnering votes than to do something for the welfare of the masses. They talk about consensus but I want to ask, do we require consensus to pass and make any other laws. Then, why in this case. Have women got their due share in the society?

My question to every body is that why do we dedicate a day for them? They don’t require a day but a life of equality, peace and happiness. They don’t require such people who say about them on this particular day and forget for the rest of the year. Work must be done at the lower level to see that every girl, every woman is getting equal justice and benefit from the society. if we can’t do that then after another hundred years the condition will be nothing but the same.

Recession: Engineer's Perspective

I don't know a damn about Economics, least of all RECESSION. But in the last one year, I have not counted, it would be innumerable times I have been asked about recession. People think that I, being a just to pass out engineer, will know everything about the term 'recession' and the repercussions that it has on the future of engineers like me. But no myself being from non-economics background, I have no information on that term which is affecting so many lives world wide. Of course, I can tell something about the miseries people are suffering because of it. Perhaps we Indians are lucky, we are affected in a lesser degree, but no doubt we have also fallen into its vicious trap.

Very recently, a cousin of mine who is an IT professional took a leave to marry but he was not sure whether after returning back the company will need him & more so if at all the company will exist. Every day thousands of employees are shown the door with either little or no compensation. Another incident happened with a passed out senior of our college, he was working in an MNC which is of good repute in our country(I don't want to name it) & was handed the pink slips even after having an experience of eight long years. Now, devastated to such an extent as to how he will pay back all the loans taken from banks to buy a car and a lavish flat that he came to a professor out here and requested to somehow manage a job of even five thousand bucks. He also has a family to sustain. All the major companies are into cost cutting efforts and the days of effluent and lavish spending and living are gone. Salaries are slashed in most of the companies. Gone are the days when people dreamt of earning in dollars and pounds by moving to the developed countries, as there is a growing trend in U.S. and Britain to offer jobs only to their countrymen in this situation of job losses & unemployment. And to me it sounds good also as I too won't like someone from another country eating away into jobs in my country.

Its not such that only the IT professionals are affected but it has taken into its sphere of influence all avenues of life starting from the petty daily labourers to the top level executives. The export business is the most affected. As India has the largest diamond cutting industry and the polished diamonds are then exported, the industry has to suffer heavy losses. Thousands of workers lost their jobs in those industries. You can understand the hardships they now have to face. perhaps semi-skilled workers in our country are the hardest hit.

Talking of all, how can we forget the ones who are to join the job market this year. They are the most unsecured of the lot. They don't have any experience to rely on for searching jobs. Even the companies that have offered jobs are trying to get away from them and these includes big names. Some though are not directly saying, they won't give offer letters but definitely joining dates are going to be delayed. The market that so recently was in upswing and felt there is a shortage of skilled workers has taken U turn. Companies used to hire professionals in advance so that whenever new project comes, they can be absorbed into them. No longer is the same case now. All the companies are taking a strategy of wait and see. Many job seekers have also changed their priorities as they no longer want to run after high salaried private jobs but settle into more stabilized government jobs.

The share markets climbed rapidly as there were lots of foreign investments and when they felt they made enough profits, started withdrawing their money from the markets. The share markets ballooned and then busted. It is one of the primary reason for all that having now.

Now, when I am talking so much into the effects of recession in people's lives, how can I stop without saying its impact on me. And as all of you can see I have jumped into the blogosphere.

But the silver lining is that experts are of the opinion markets going to improve in the near future & it would be much more stable than it was. This is the only hope though may be against the hope. Then there is no other way out also.

Jinnah's secular speech & today's Pakistan

L.K.Advani was few years back in the midst of all sorts of controversy for terming the speech delivered by Jinnah on 11th August,1947 in the constituent assembly of Pakistan as a secular one. But anybody going through the speech available here has to say that it is indeed a speech required to guide a newly formed nation. It tries to do away with all the anomalies in the system. He categorically mentions about maintaining law & order, protecting all religious beliefs, eradiction of bribery & corruption, etc. He also says how black marketing is a crime & evil of nepotism.

He stressed the need to vanish all angularities among different religions and instead build a nation where there would be no division based on religious communities. He perhaps may have had a great vision for the newly formed country but does Pakistan achieved anything of these...
As we being neighbours of Pakistan, any developments taking place there is affecting us also. There is no denying the fact that the present state in which Pakistan stands today is a cause of concern for us. Pakistan has become a safe heaven for the terrorists and even the government is succumbing to them. It has become an insecured state with hardly any law & order.

The recent declaration of Islamic rule in a certain part of that country & killing of journalists & reporters out there is nothing but a great shame in the name of democracy, which itself had eluded Pakistani people with a long history of military coups. The terrorists are not sparing games & sports from their sphere of activities. The constant denial of the Pakistani government's support to all such sorts of activities further aggravates the situation.

Its high time for Pakistan to understand that it would no longer serve their purpose to be in a state of denial in whatever India says & asks for. They should stop the blame game and instead realise that terrorists are acting from their country only & supporting them would in turn make their cause even worse. Their not taking any action to evidences provided by the Indian government perhaps adds digs last nail to the coffin.

For India, its more of a cautious as well as aggressive approach that needs to be taken. India has been constantly & repeatedly asking for demolishing terror camps that have flourished in their land but all these have been into deaf ears. Pressure must be built on them to take necessary actions against the terrorists through proper diplomatic channel as war is not the ultimate solution.

Mockery of Exams

Its not something I want to say because I study in a professional college and it happens in our college or with me but anybody, anywhere in any professional college can relate to it.
Exam in a professional college is more of a mystery and its very difficult to resolve by outsiders.

Moreover to do good in exams it doesn't matter how well you have attended classes but how smartly you have studied the day before the exam. 90% of academic year or semester gets spent in all the nuisances, its only the previous day of exams that maximum of the students get to know properly the name of the subject, the prescribed books, what the teachers have taught, etc. Everybody can be seen running to the academic topper's room (who in all other cases may be losers and for the whole semester, he has not been given any attention but on that day he is in heavy demand) and collecting notes and also pleading them if they can take out little amount of time from their busy schedule of time and make them understand some topics so they can at least score pass marks.

But there is another group of people who collect notes as usual but then they don't study to understand but to know the topics in the notes & in which portion & after that they get busy in preparing the chits from which they will copy in the exams. To everybody's surprise also they get maximum questions common which even the toppers after burning midnight oil couldn't get.
Students in professional colleges study to learn something but to get jobs and while studying also they give more stress on those topics that are frequently asked by interviewers.

But the group of students who are in most advantageous position are the ones who have maintained good links with the teachers because they know performance in exams doesn't matter while evaluation in their cases. They are well aware that teachers will give good marks and grades whatever the case with their exams. And mind it their group strength is quite a sizeable one and among its rank some of the so called toppers are also counted. If possible they also collect the questions that are going to come in the exams as it happens often that some students are seen trying to solve those questions(ultimately they won't be able to solve without the help of others) which in the wildest of dreams also, no one can think that these questions will come in the question paper and these questions come.

The group that suffers the most are the ones who try to be honest and don't adopt any unfair means and definitely I don't want to count myself among them. They are actually the losers though in society they may be gainers.

And the funniest thing happens when after the exams & before declaration of results, the answer scripts are shown to the students(especially in institutions with deemed status), a situation of fish market like atmosphere erupts wherein maximum students, with a special mention of the 'chatua' publics, try to get their marks increased by the teachers. Those who can, are the ones benifitted the most & luckiest of all in the whole examination process.

PUB CULTURE: Is it necessary???

Today I would like to put something on all the moral policing that happened in Mangalore.

Recently I went to a friend's place & had a heated discussion with her regarding all the incidents that happened there. It is true all that happened may not be in the best interests of the country but to some extent it may have been required also. Now we see a great degree of diminishing moral character among Indians. And people accept it or not, to a great extent this whole pub culture is also responsible. I want to have some basic questions to all Indians:
Is it necessary for us to follow the pub culture???
Can't we be satisfied with our culture???
Why do we always run after what others do???
Isn't our culture great???
Don't we have enough ways to be happy in our culture???

With globalization, changing demography of the cities, pressure at the work place,etc. the pub culture has taken under its fold a large percent of urban population. People tend to spend whole night partying & dancing at pubs & discos, little do they care about their families at home leading to increase in family tensions. All these no doubt causing increase in the number of divorce, loneliness,etc.

Some people are of the opinion that physical assault to women wasn't good & its also not part of our culture. I also accept that its not part of our culture. Now, again I would like to ask whether all these incidents happened suddenly in a day, the answer would also definitely be NO. The Ram Sena & the Bajrang Dal have been asking and requesting people not to go to these places but all these were into deaf ears but now they did something in a stronger way everybody is saying about moral policing & that they are interfering into people's privacy & democracy. I don't think democracy says you get drunk in a pub. Our Indian culture respects women & regards them as a form of Goddess & mother and in no way defaming their position by beating them up or patronising pub culture is good.

We Indians have a very bad tendency of patronising anything that is being done in the west. We are not satisfied with ourselves.
So, my request to all is that stop being such & start admiring the greatness & beauty of INDIA & its culture. Doing that we will like every thing about India.

A letter to every Indian

A Letter to Every Indian - APJ

This a speech given by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India, in Hyderabad.I am putting it in this blog so that people may see it & think, & make required changes in their way of thinking...
"""Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements?We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?We are the first in milk production.We are number one in Remote sensing satellitesWe are the second largest producer of wheat.We are the second largest producer of rice.Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a g rana ry. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.
In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime... Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T.Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.
Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.
Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.YOU say that our laws are too old.YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke. The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination. YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore . Give him a name - 'YOURS'. Give him a face - 'YOURS'. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM .. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity... In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai . YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah.
YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand .
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?
Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay , Mr. Tinaikar, had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan .Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public.
When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England . When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing J. F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....
'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'
Lets do what India needs from us.

Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalam"""
Your comments would be highly appreciated....

So to all my dear friends its an honest appeal to all of you that instead of saying INDIA as a country of losers lets try to make INDIA better.

INDIA SHINING AT THE OSCARS.....

What a day for India, this 22nd day of February,2009(to us who are staying in India it was the morning of 23rd February),
would be written in Golden letters in the history of Indian cinema.
The Slumdog Millionaire, a movie depicting the lives of certain sections of people & the emotions attached to them won 8 Oscars out of a total of 10 nominations in 9 categories.
The movie is adapted from a novel which shows how a boy from slums of Mumbai
becomes a millionaire by answering all the questions(the answer to the questions happen to come to him in the form of certain incidents in life) in a quiz contest.

To Indians it was more of a special occasion because there were 3 individual Oscar winners from India for that movie.
Allah Rakha Rehman for Best Original song & Best Original Score.
Resul Pookutty for Best Sound Mixing.
A.R. Rehman is a genius & there are very few people who are born with such talents. He started his carreer at a very young age with Roja for which he won many awards. The songs of Roja still freshens & calms my mind. Every time I hear it, it seems to me a new song. The number of hit songs that Rehman gave is innumerable & each one of them is no less than the "Jai Ho" for which he won the Oscar.

I think this Oscar would remain more special because the story is based on a slum in the city of Mumbai, a city which very recently, a few months back was in the news for all the miseries & pain it had to suffer due to the terrorist attcks. So its a tribute to the people of Mumbai.

Now coming back to the Slumdog Millionaire, it was in the midst of controversy because some people were of the opinion that it showcased the slums of India. But to me what I feel that Slumdog Millionaire is a movie of human emotions, a universal love. It showed how a 'chai wallah' entered into 'Who wants to be a millionaire contest' for the only reason that the girl, whom he loves watches the show regularly & would love to see him on the show. To him winning the prize money is not at all important. The movie brings forward the human emotions in its most purest form.

So to all the critics of the movie I would like to say that instead wasting time on criticising it for unnecessary reasons, lets all enjoy this moment of glory that it has brought for us. Especially Indian film makers should start thinking as to why films produced by them on these similar Indian issues & emotions not able to bring same fame & recognition to them.

Regarding slums I would say that yes it has shown slums with all its dirth & filth as it exists. We should appreciate the fact that there is a movie that has put before us this & opened our eyes. Lets ask ourselves what have we done to make their life better?????? Have we done something to improve their living standard???? The answer would be a big "NO".

Rather we must grab this opportunity & do something in whatever way we can in uplifting their life so that their basic needs be fulfilled.

Last but definitely not the least, I would like to add that Slumdog phenomenon is not the only thing that has happened in the Oscars for India, India won another Oscar in the form of "SMILE PINKI" in the category of Best
Short Story Documentary based on the sufferings of a girl with cleft lips.

"""CHEERS TO THE SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE & SMILE PINKI"""