Indian Interests

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 07 Jul 2013 03:56

After the exile

There is considerable speculation about Digvijaya Singh's next political move since in 2013, his 10-year, self-imposed "exile", when he gave up electoral politics after being defeated in the 2003 elections, is set to end. Singh reportedly is having second thoughts about contesting from his old parliamentary seat of Rajgarh. Sitting MP Narayan Singh is an OBC and Singh fears that if he replaces him as the Congress candidate, OBC voters might take offence. In fact, Singh is apprehensive that the BJP will make it a prestige issue to ensure his defeat from the region which was once part of his family's fiefdom. Recently, Singh has been making exploratory trips to the neighbouring Sagar constituency. Indore is another option. But some suspect that Singh may eventually opt out of the electoral fray altogether on the pretext that his son Jaivardhan, an MBA from Columbia University, will be standing from the family seat either for the Assembly or parliamentary elections.

Sitting on a file

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sat on the file for the appointment of the next foreign secretary for almost a week. In the meantime, the appointments of several other Government of India secretaries, including power, I&B and personnel, were cleared. Singh was rooting for India's ambassador to China S Jaishankar, but he was overruled by 10 Janpath, which backed Sujatha Singh, currently Ambassador to Germany, who was the senior-most of the IFS officers in the running for the post. Singh is the daughter of former IB director T V Rajeswar. Sudhir Vyas, another contender, was reportedly the choice of NSA Shiv Shankar Menon. Jaishankar, son of the late strategic affairs guru K Subrahmanyam, is likely to be appointed ambassador to the US when Nirupama Rao retires. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai is tipped to be the next high commissioner to the UK.

Nothing confidential

The National Archives serves very little purpose because the PMO and Ministry of External Affairs do not send their old documents to the archives. These two ministries keep their own records which are not open to public scrutiny. Citizens probably get more information from the government through the RTI than from the National Archives, which, despite its impressive facade, is a repository of very little historical data. A newspaper report last week suggesting that documents with vital information about the declaration of the Emergency in 1975, which were said to be missing, had been located in the National Archives was misleading. The proclamation by then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and the near identical draft sent to him by Indira Gandhi have always been part of the Archives' records and are also included in the Shah Commission report. What the National Archives files do not provide are the detailed minutes of the crucial Cabinet meetings during the Emergency. It does not include any Intelligence Bureau inputs on the basis of which Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency. In fact, there are almost no Cabinet meeting minutes, letters to Indira Gandhi or confidential government documents of the situation in the country for the 21 months of the Emergency. The six slim files for the period June 1975 to March 1977 contain such inconsequential information as triplicate copies of then home minister Brahmananda Reddy's speech to Parliament introducing Emergency provisions. There is nothing confidential about this and it is available from Parliament's archives.

Walk in park

American Secretary of State John Kerry has visited New Delhi many times but he complained to the organisers of his trips that all he ever gets to see is the American Embassy and Hyderabad House, where the official banquets are held. Kerry wanted to see some of the sights of Delhi. It was arranged for him to take a walk in Delhi's Lodhi Garden, though the muggy weather was a bit off-putting. However, his security detail nixed a trip to the nearby Khan Market shopping complex.

Intelligence inputs

Under pressure from the government, the CBI did not name IB Special Director Rajinder Kumar as an accused in its first chargesheet in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. Apart from IB director Asif Ibrahim, several former IB chiefs have written to the Prime Minister, questioning the propriety of the CBI in interrogating Rajinder Kumar. E S L Narasimhan, M K Narayanan and Shyamal Dutta, among others, are believed to have expressed fears that it would demoralise the IB and hamper its operational capabilities in the future. Former special director of the CBI D R Karthikeyan has also written a letter on the same issue.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 07 Jul 2013 04:27

ramana, what is the status of that project?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 07 Jul 2013 04:56

SaiK wrote:ramana, what is the status of that project?

IIRC, it was rejected and Khlased . Arunachalam was keen on creating online network with Universities, IIT and R&D centres in India with Server in Boston or Nyc with 100% financed by GOTUS.But there was no Google Chacha on scene that Time.

RajSingh · Post by **RajSingh** » 07 Jul 2013 08:04

I am not sure if this post belongs here or not. Admins please feel free to remove the post to other thread if needed.

I have heard forumers here talking about filing RTI and getting information. Here is a great way to do it. An online and free platform to file RTIs.

Its called http://youradhikar.com/ , try it out to file any RTIs that you would want to. Its extremely easy and intuitive to do so.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 07 Jul 2013 21:37

A Tale of Two Cows

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 08 Jul 2013 00:03

We Aren’t the World

Joe Henrich and his colleagues are shaking the foundations of psychology and economics—and hoping to change the way social scientists think about human behavior and culture.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 08 Jul 2013 02:54

UPA govt's FSB ordinance is similar to bread and circuses of the Romans.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 08 Jul 2013 03:21

Enter India's amazing world of frugal innovation
http://www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/fruga ... akes-india

(CNN) -- In 2001 a huge earthquake shook the state of Gujarat in India.
2,000 people were killed, 400,000 lost their homes, and countless more lost their businesses in the devastation.One young entrepreneur, Mansukhbhai Prajapati, lost everything, but found an innovative way to get back on his feet. Prajapati designed a low-cost clay fridge which required no electricity and continued to function in the event of major catastrophes or blackouts such as the one that devastated his village.Prajapati's invention is part of a growing trend in India that has become known as "frugal innovation" -- below-the-radar inventors across the country devising low-cost solutions to local problems, often borne of necessity, using bespoke technologies of their own creation.At the forefront of the frugal innovation movement is Professor Anil Gupta who, for the last 20 years, has been travelling across India in search of local inventors whose creativity has had a positive impact on rural poverty. In 1989, Gupta founded the Honey Bee Network, an organization that uncovers grassroots inventors, and helps bring their inventions to the world.Mansukhbhai Patel, a Gujerati farmer devised just such a product. Picking cotton in Gujarat is a manual task which, in the past, has frequently been undertaken by children. In a bid to reduce the work involved, Patel invented a cotton-stripping machine that can be operated by one person. Professor Gupta believes the invention has helped significantly reduce child labor in the region.Local honey salesman, Mohammed Saidullah, was forced to cross the swollen Ganges river for sell honey, but every trip came at a price -- the boat was expensive and paying the levy was driving him towards penury -- so he came up with novel solution.
Saidullah locked himself away for three days of solid design and construction. When he emerged he had constructed an amphibious bicycle, which would allow him to contend with the annual monsoon.
It looked like a regular bike, but had large retractable floats attached to the sides of each wheel. Saidullah's invention earned him a raft of awards including the National Innovation Foundation's lifetime achievement award. Yet in spite of the recognition, the inventor still lives in poverty.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 08 Jul 2013 07:52

Emergency Papers: As Indira talked polls, officials advised continuing Emergency

In what indicates the bureaucracy's reluctance to lift Emergency, internal government documents of 1977 reveal that the Ministry of Home Affairs had at least twice recommended continuing it. One of these recommendations came after then prime minister Indira Gandhi had already announced that the Lok Sabha elections would be held in March 1977.
Confidential documents pertaining to the period of Emergency from 1975-77 accessed by The Indian Express from the National Archives of India show that a Home Ministry committee comprising then "Joint Director (Intelligence Bureau) T V Rajeswar" as well as "AS (J) (most likely additional secretary, Justice)" and "Joint Secretary (Internal Security)" had emphasised that it was "administratively desirable" to continue the proclamation of Emergency.

The group, set up to "examine the steps necessary for holding general elections in the light of the proclamation of Emergency", submitted its first report on January 4, 1977, in which it recommended that the "proclamation of Emergency could continue but certain relaxations may be made in the rigours of Emergency to create the proper environment for holding free and fair elections".

A few days later, announcing elections for March, Mrs Gandhi did relax certain Emergency restrictions, including non-enforcement of press censorship, release of political detainees held under MISA (the Maintenance of Internal Security Act) and "lifting of all prohibitory orders on public meetings and permitting normal political activity for electioneering purposes", among others.

However, Mrs Gandhi then directed the Home Ministry to re-examine the question of whether to revoke or further relax Emergency, "in the light of certain political developments". Following this, the Home Ministry group submitted another report dated February 3, 1977, which concluded that "it was administratively desirable to continue the proclamation of Emergency and the relaxations already announced were sufficient to create appropriate conditions for free and fair elections".

The committee clarified, however, that its recommendation was purely from an administrative point of view and the final decision should be taken after considering "the political implications of continuance of Emergency and its effect on the electorate".

The issue was again deliberated upon nine days later, on February 12, following political developments which made it "necessary to have a fresh look at the issue". "The matter was discussed in detail by the Home Secretary with the DIB (director, Intelligence Bureau), JS(IS) and JD IB (Rajeswar) on 12th February and it was desired that JS(IS) and JD IB may examine this question further in the light of the discussions held and submit a note after comprehensively considering all aspects of the question," the Home Ministry document says.

The group discussed the issue again. Factors that favoured continuing with Emergency included the fear of a law and order problem if detainees of banned organisations were released following the revocation, as well as the likelihood of a "wide gap between the statement of opposition leaders", who had been talking about abjuring violence, and the "activities of party cadres", as elections gained momentum. It also said the "sudden release" of a large number of anti-social elements detained under MISA could create a law and order problem, particularly during elections. The group further felt that continuation of Emergency may have a "healthy psychological effect".

However, again, the group accepted that continuance of Emergency could become a "political liability to some extent". "The question for consideration, therefore, was whether the administrative grounds enumerated by the group in support of continuance of Emergency are so strong as to outweigh the political risks involved in continuing the state-quo".

The Home Ministry committee also sought to look at ways of reducing administrative difficulties to make the revocation of Emergency "administratively possible without serious risk of disturbance to law and order".

The group also discussed the emergence of Emergency as one of the main election issues. The Home Ministry, in its subsequent internal notes, admitted that the Opposition's campaign had managed to present it as a choice between "democracy and dictatorship".

In its final conclusion (the date is not mentioned), the group appeared to be inching towards recommending revoking Emergency saying the consequences of this could be taken care of. "We are of the considered view that the consequences flowing from the revocation of Emergency can be taken care of by appropriate administrative action and the wholesale release of members of banned organisations can be prevented by appropriate timing of revocation at least till the elections are over. Considering that this has become the major election issue and is being fully exploited by opposition parties, it is for consideration whether the proclamation of Emergency under article 352 dated 3rd December, 1971 (during the India-Pakistan war), and 25th June, 1975, may be revoked."

Emergency was finally lifted on March 21, 1977, around a month after these recommendations of the Home Ministry committee.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 08 Jul 2013 21:45

Above article clearly shows that govt officials who are the enforcers wanted the Emergency to continue.

That worthy was appointed by UPA as Governor of UP and his daughter is now appointed as MEA secy!!!!

Such are the rewards for loyalty.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 09 Jul 2013 06:39

Emergency Papers: To free the press or not to: the Indira govt debate

The Indira Gandhi government feared Emergency and its various aspects, including the controversial family planning programme, would see the government "severely criticised" if press censorship was lifted in the run-up to the March 1977 Lok Sabha elections. At the same time, it observed that continuing censorship would give the opposition a "handle to propagate that elections are not free and fair", besides inviting international criticism for the government, according to home ministry documents accessed by The Indian Express from the National Archives.

A document dated January 18, 1977, signed by the ministry's joint secretary (internal security) following deliberations among senior officials, has details of both sides of the argument. "The question of lifting press censorship has wide ramifications and all its pros and cons need to be considered carefully before a decision in the matter is taken," it says.

One of the main arguments placed in favour of lifting censorship was how the opposition might consider it a "major impediment to their election campaign" if there was any restriction on reporting their views, including criticism of political issues such as Emergency, suspension of fundamental rights and "alleged coercion in the family planning programme". "The continuance of censorship could become an excuse for the opposition to boycott the elections and to attempt to undermine its credibility in the eyes of the people and the world at large," the document reads.

Against these arguments, the ministry emphasised "obvious dangers" in withdrawing censorship. It feared the "circumstances leading to the proclamation of emergency and all the actions taken thereafter would become significant matter for review in the press and the government is likely to be severely criticised on some of these issues". It also felt the "alleged" coercion and pressure in the family planning campaign would be published "prominently and possibly very exaggerated versions given about them".

There was also a fear that the press would write on aspects of Emergency such as suspension of fundamental rights, arrest of political detenus and "misuse of emergency powers". Besides, the government felt it would be "incongruous" if, while Emergency continued, its criticism was allowed in the press and outside.

The ministry proposed considering a middle path. It suggested letting censorship orders remain in force but issuing executive instructions not to enforce them. It added, however, that this was unlikely to be acceptable to either the press or opposition parties. A second alternative it proposed was revoking some orders while retaining others in respect of "controversial items".

No decision was, however, recommended in this document, which said it was a "delicate and complex" issue that needed to be discussed in detail with the minister for information and broadcasting. Emergency was eventually revoked on March 21.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 10 Jul 2013 07:02

Azam forms panel to study Sachar report progress

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 10 Jul 2013 14:09

Rubbish being spouted by some Indian channels and gaining steam elsewhere:

When Indian doctors took Wasim Akram's wife away from him

Indian Doctors Blamed for Death of Wasim Akram's Wife Huma

Clearly 17 doctors in Lahore were suspended for negligence leading to multiple organ failure. The air ambulance was on the way to Singapore when it had to be diverted to Chennai after Huma Akram developed severe complications within the flight. She died in Apollo.

All this info is easily available on the internet. I never read anything about incompetency on the Apollo doctors' parts regarding this. Shame on whoever is spinning this the wrong way.

ISLAMABAD: Doctors blamed for the death of Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram’s wife have been suspended and had their practice licences cancelled, the health ministry announced on Thursday.

Huma Akram, 42, died due to multiple organ failure in India on October 25 this year after she was airlifted to Chennai when her condition worsened in a hospital in Pakistan’s eastern city Lahore.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had ordered an inquiry after former Pakistan cricket captain Wasim complained that poor medical facilities and negligence at the National Hospital and the Doctor's Hospital in Lahore led to his wife’s death.

‘The licences of 17 doctors have been cancelled over negligence in the treatment of Wasim’s wife Huma,’ the ministry announced in a statement after a meeting of the National Assembly standing committee on health.

Wasim told the committee the National Hospital charged 16.8 million rupees (200,000 dollars) for treatment and other charges to airlift the patient.

Above from a Paki site.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 11 Jul 2013 05:07

‘IB had no role in imposing Emergency’

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 11 Jul 2013 05:09

View from the Right

The plot thickens

The CBI chargesheet in the Ishrat Jahan case prompted the Sangh Parivar to challenge the agency's claims that the encounter was fake. Both Sangh Parivar weeklies have published cover stories and editorials on the issue, criticising the UPA government. The Organiser's cover story highlighted two central government inputs — from the IB and NIA — that mentioned Ishrat Jahan's terror affiliations, as allegedly discovered through the David Headley probe. The BJP has always maintained that the IB conveyed intelligence findings, regarding a terror threat to Narendra Modi, to the Gujarat government during the UPA regime at the Centre. However, the communication published by the Organiser reveals that the IB had in fact provided the input to the state government on April 22, 2004, a month before the UPA came to power. "The encounter case is the first instance in the history of independent India where the IB has been implicated. The morale of the investigation officers will be dented... There is hope that these loopholes will be addressed during the court proceedings and the case will be eventually treated as a 'terrorist activity' case", an editorial in the Organiser argues. An editorial in Panchjanya echoes these sentiments, with both editorials stressing that the terror antecedents of Ishrat have been ignored by the CBI.

Wheeling dealing

The Sangh Parivar alleged that the Jet-Etihad deal is another scam engineered by the UPA. The Organiser and Panchjanya have published articles that describe the deal as another example of how "rules are openly flouted by ministers and crony capitalism is widespread". The weeklies further charge Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh with having "conveniently sidestepped the larger issue of morality and ethics". The articles also assert that "this government patronage has... significantly raised Jet Airways's valuation" through the "agreement on 37,000 seats, which was signed within six hours of Jet-Etihad announcing their agreement".

"It will be naive for anyone to believe that the two deals did not have anything to do with each other, or that Jet-Etihad were not privy to the decision in advance, and that it was a mere coincidence that the two announcements came within hours of each other", allege the articles. It further demands that "the entire issue relating to the deal be scrutinised, and the deal relating to grant of seats annulled to protect national interest".

Conspiracy theory

The disaster in Uttarakhand and subsequent response from various segments continues to get extensive coverage in both journals of the Sangh Parivar. Both carried interviews with RSS Sah Sarakaryavah (joint general secretary) Krishna Gopal, who visited the affected regions and provided direction to the RSS's and its affiliated organisations' relief work. The weeklies highlighted the RSS's relief work alongside that of the army, and have deplored the reaction of the state and central governments. An article in Panchjanya blames the media for the criticism of Narendra Modi's rescue operations. The article faults the BJP for maintaining silence for the first three days after a media house re-christened Modi as "Rambo", for failing to catch on that "it was not to raise the profile of Modi, but to make him a subject of ridicule". The article claims that the said media organisation was under the "Congress's stranglehold" and that the party uses it to create controversy against its adversaries.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 11 Jul 2013 20:01

abhishek_sharma wrote:‘IB had no role in imposing Emergency’

The Intelligence Bureau had no role in imposing the Emergency, which came as a "surprise" to it, according to former Intelligence Bureau chief T V Rajeswar.

The Indira Gandhi-led government imposed Emergency on June 25, 1975, which was finally lifted on March 21, 1977. Rajeswar was the Joint Director, IB, during the period.

"The IB had no role in imposing the Emergency whatsoever and was not at all consulted. It was a surprise to the IB," Rajeswar told The Indian Express, adding that the IB may have recommended otherwise had it been consulted before the imposition of Emergency.

According to him, the IB used to send weekly reports to the Prime Minister and Home Minister on various aspects related to the Emergency every Friday, besides sending daily reports. "At the end of six months after the imposition of Emergency, in January 1976, the IB recommended to call off the Emergency, release all prisoners, and go in for elections in March 1976. It would have been probably the best time to have acted accordingly. But most persons, including Indira Gandhi, were feeling so happy and contended with the Emergency's aftermath that they were not prepared to consider any such recommendation at that stage," Rajeswar said.

He said that the IB had reviewed the situation and recommended to the government again in June 1976 to announce elections for September/ October that year, after releasing all political prisoners on the anniversary of the Emergency.

"The IB undertook a review and I prepared an exhaustive note after getting feedback from everyone of the states and union territories on the Emergency excesses, people's reactions and possible steps to reverse the Emergency process... The IB's assessment recommended that the negative aspects of the Emergency such as indiscriminate enforcement of family planning measures, indiscriminate arrests... the opposition on the part of intelligentsia as well as the press, and the trend of economic deterioration necessitated a review of the Emergency. It was felt that the opposition was as yet in disarray and it would be a good step to take them by surprise by announcing elections in September/ October, 1976," he quoted from his forthcoming memoir.

However, he said, the suggestion was opposed by "some sycophants in the Congress", though some "influential senior" bureaucrats supported the IB's assessment. "Indira Gandhi was inclined to go with the IB's view but in the end it was Sanjay Gandhi who had the decisive say and overruled it," he said.

According to Rajeswar, the IB made no further recommendations to the government on the issue and every body was taken aback when Indira announced polls for March 1977.

Rajeswar denied being part of any committee set up by the Home Ministry in 1977 to look into steps needed for holding polls in March 1977. The Indian Express had reported on July 8 that a panel including Rajeswar had twice recommended continuing with the Emergency, saying it was "administratively desirable" to do so. The report was based on confidential Home Ministry documents pertaining to the period accessed from the National Archives of India.

This man is typical sychophant police officer who alwyas kept the Gandhi family interests above the nation and was rewarded amply for his loyalty many times. Even today his daughter was made Foreign Secy invoking the seniority rule as another reward.

Is he disputing the National Archives records? Are they fake?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 11 Jul 2013 20:38

Arjun wrote:India, secularism and Islam

Tend to agree with the author's views re the Arab Spring.

India, secularism and Islam

Pramit Pal Choudhari

A remarkable number of India’s intelligentsia were privately unhappy when the Arab spring broke out. Not because they had any love for the likes of Hosni Mubarak and his ilk.

But they feared that the democratic revolution would do little more than pave the way for Islamist groups to rule much of the Arab world.

This was repeated when the West intervened militarily in Libya and when the civil war broke out in Syria. Many Indians grumbled that secular leaders were being tossed out and the gate being opened to fundamentalist parties.

{The reality is they were afiard that US would launch its own color revolution on India. The fear that the bonhomie is fake and the US harbors ill will towards India especially since FSU collpased. The recent disclosures of Snowden et al justify the fears and suspicion.}

The contrast with the United States could not be greater. US officialdom has broadly agreed that their traditional policy of “he may be a ********, but he’s our ********” is now passe.

The US willingness to let stability trump democracy took a body hit with 9/11. Clearly backing dictators and sultans without question was backfiring. Al Qaeda was a direct consequence of the US’s support for the Saudi monarchy and the Mubarak regime.

The neoconservative argument was that US security now required that democratic regimes be introduced into the Arab world to wipe out al Qaeda’s recruitment base.

The neocons were US liberals who had defected to the Republicans, so it was no surprise that a Democratic administration has largely held to this same theory.

{Err, stability still trumps everyhting else for the US. Especially after the 2008 economic collapse and the huge budget deficits, it has to trun inwards and rebuild and hence stability trumps even more than ever before. They are willing to cut and run from Af-Pak completely and let TSP run the palce under the stability rubric.}

India, on the other hand, puts secularism in a separate, elevated class of desirable outcomes. This reflects a concern about the contamination that the winds of fundamentalism could have on India’s domestic Muslim population.

{This is the biggest mistake of the Indian intellectual to see the Indian Muslim as separate and different. Indian Muslims are Indian and chose to be Indian. Unfortunately, Indian elite epsecially the DIE, see them as an extension of Pakistan inside India and tailor their policies from that point of view.}

He may be a ********, but he’s a secular ********. New Delhi has been baffled by the US’s willingness to let someone like Mubarak go down the tubes given his stalwart repression of the Islamic rightwing.

{Wrong comparison. Brings in memories of the invaders and forced conversions. Indian Muslims are not what is being said. They are legitimate citizens of India. On the other hand most DIE are secular ********!!!}

For some time, India also fretted that groups like the Muslim Brotherhood had long supported, rhetorically, the Kashmir separatist movement.

That, at least, has been laid to rest: Egypt’s ex-president and Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed Morsi came to India and showed that, once in power, the Ikhwan could care less about that issue.

{Wrong reasons to fret. Muslim Brotherhood is not the same as KSA Ikhwan. MB is concerned with restoring Egypt's primacy in the Arab world with Islam as the banner. KSA is interested in spreading the Wahabi cult and facilitate the takeover of political Islam by Wahabi adherents. So lets not call ropes as snakes.}

Americans say that “real security” lies in allowing the Arabs to have democracy, going through the painful and often violent learning process that new democracies often have to undergo. Secularism is desirable but a secondary priority.

More to the point, secularism imposed through coercion has a limited shelf life — eventually the dictatorship will fall and a backlash against secularism will occur. They point to Russia: after 60 years of a godless state rule, only 13% of the population today is atheistic — just a few percentage points away form the same figure for the US.

{Wrong understanding of secularism. Secularism is the removal of religion from political space. What has atheists got to do with it? And Russians took up Communism as a cloak to traverse the huge turbulence of the transition from feudalism to modernism. The French massacred their royalty and plunged Europe in the Napoleonic Wars. the Russians turned inwards and force marched the society on to Modernity and dropped cloak when they found it a hinderance.}

Too many in India’s strategic community don’t buy this. They prefer secularism today by any means to possible secularism under democratic credentials later on. It’s simply a case of a bird in hand is worth more than two in the bush.

{Again wrong understanding of secularism and a fake version of suppressing Hindu aspiratioins to appease minorities fearing a repeat of Partition. If Arab govts get representative govts which reflect their peoples aspirations they will behave a normal nation states. They do not have to be secualr or dictatorshisp or monarchies or absolutists.}

But this shortens New Delhi’s strategic horizon when it comes to the Arab world and West Asia in general. Keep Saddam Hussein in power — he’s awful but he’s secular. Stick to Bashir al Assad — clearly undemocratic, but at least he keeps the Islamicists at bay.

[Wrong glasses. By being a dictator who suppressess all political dissent he yields space to Islamists who can use the guise of religion to operate. Others can't and they will be in jail}

It doesn’t matter too much now. India’s Arab policy is really a Persian Gulf policy and that is one part of the Arab world that is pretty resistant to democracy. New Delhi treats the Levant and even North Africa as being at the outer limits of his sphere of interest, let alone influence.

{Wrong horizons. The Levant is the "outer abroad" of India. Events in Levant will influence the "inner abroad" and so on. Similarly in the East it is Laos and Vietnam that are the sphere of interest.}

But at some point the nature of democracy and secularism — two facets of the broader concept of liberal society — needs to be part of a policy debate between the US and India.

{The idea of secularism in Europe came about to cloak the role of the Church in the daily life of the Europeans and to allow them to absorb the new learning from the East and improve on it. Now Christianity in Europe is in decline and hence there is little to no need for Secularsim. In fact due to the shock of 9/11 and the financial collapse as a result of the global wars on Arab based Islamist terrorism, it is even more likely that the different church groups will coalese and the secular curtain/cloak will be lifted.}

At present, India sees secularism as more important than the mere business of wielding ballots.

{Is India Congress and its hangers-on only? So far Secularism has been only to get elected. The minorities in India stay impoverished and are treated as separate and unequal. How is that democratic? Is there cognitive dissonance working here?}

The US, in my view, has developed a more strategic sense of this whole business, accepting that democracy promotion, however messy it will be in implementation, is the best means to inoculate Muslim societies against extremism and eventually make them adopt some form of secularism.

{Muslim societies will not adopt secularism as they will cease to be Muslim societies. Prosperity and developing a stake in their well being would be better incentive. This can be by settilng the Kabila and strike roots and stop looking at new ghazawas under Western tutelage. After WWII the West has been exhorting the Muslims to Look East and stop the historic ghosts of Westward expansion.}

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 11 Jul 2013 21:23

Great and informative comments!

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 11 Jul 2013 23:06

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/ ... rs_by_2017

India to overtake U.S. on number of developers by 2017
India's size and youth are seen as the driving forces behind the expansion

Computerworld - The U.S. may be the global center of the IT universe, but India will exceed the U.S. in the number of software developers by 2017, a new report notes.
There are about 18.2 million software developers worldwide, a number that is due to rise to 26.4 million by 2019, a 45% increase, says Evans Data Corp. in its latest Global Developer Population and Demographic Study.Today, the U.S. leads the world in software developers, with about 3.6 million. India has about 2.75 million. But by 2018, India will have 5.2 million developers, a nearly 90% increase, versus 4.5 million in the U.S., a 25% increase though that period, Evans Data projects.
India's software development growth rate is attributed, in part, to its population size, 1.2 billion, and relative youth, with about half the population under 25 years of age, and economic growth.India's services firms hire, in many cases, thousands of new employees each quarter. Consequently, IT and software work is seen as clear path to the middle class for many of the nation's young.For instance, in one quarter this year, Tata Consultancy Servicesadded more than 17,000 employees, gross, bringing its total headcount to 263,600. In the same quarter of 2010, the company had about 150,000 workers.Its real GDP growth has been about 8% over the last decade, but there are signs that growth rate may fall and that could lead to adjustment in the projections, the report said.
In 2011, Evans Data projected that India would surpass the U.S. in software developers by 2015. Janel Garvin, the CEO of Evans, told Computerworld that in 2011, in the midst of the recession, the firm had a lower forecast for U.S. growth than it current does."At that point India's growth was not as effected by the recession so the projection was that India would surpass US earlier," Garvin said. "Since that time there have been improvements in the U.S. and we've adjusted the growth projection accordingly in this latest study.""These are projections and represent the best data we can find, but they are still mathematical projections into the future, and the future is never certain," she said.What is clear is the history and the rate growth among India's fast growing IT services firms. Even firms like IBM have more workers in India than in the U.S.Over the next couple of decades, India will add about 110 million workers to its labor force, more than the U.S., China, Russia and Japan combined, says Goldman Sachs.In 2018, China will have about 1.9 million programmers, and Russia about 1.3 million, Evans Data projects.NASSCOM, India's IT industry group, expects IT exports to grow between 12 and 14% next year, driven by "anything-as-a-service," smart computing, which connects systems with physical infrastructure, and growth in the SMB market, among other sectors.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 11 Jul 2013 23:26

Musings on banks of the Huangpu: Admiral Arun Prakash

China succeeded in every aspect of socio-economic endeavour where India has failed.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 11 Jul 2013 23:43

Most likely by 2019 both Willy and Ombaba will move to India and become software company leaders!

The rerport is worng. The growth rate is due to the high IQ population getting access to computer resources. Software is a thinking process.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 11 Jul 2013 23:51

abhishek_sharma wrote:Musings on banks of the Huangpu: Admiral Arun Prakash

China succeeded in every aspect of socio-economic endeavour where India has failed.

lament of true nationalist.

Now why did this happen?

We did not dismantle the East India Comapany structures. Nor did we transform them. The laws are still based on 1865 Indian Penal Code.
So essentially the govt and the adminstration is not nationalist nor even statist. They look on India as a colony to be exploited for themselves.

China succeeded in every aspect of socio-economic endeavour where India has failed

An Indian, standing on the embankment of the Huangpu river, as he gazes at the impressive Shanghai skyline, is assailed by an assortment of unfamiliar emotions. The first is one of admiration for the Chinese; our Asian brethren who emerged from foreign invasion, a world war and sanguinary internecine conflict to attain nationhood, two years after India, to find themselves in thrall to harsh totalitarian rule. It was only after the passing of Chairman Mao that a pragmatic, new leadership adopted free market practices and opened up China to the world. The result, to all outward appearances, is a modern, prosperous nation, knocking impatiently on the doors of the first world.

The second emotion is dismay that China succeeded in every aspect of socio-economic endeavour where India has either failed or is running in the same place. On a recent visit, I walked through residential areas in Shanghai, Wuxi and Suzhou, away from high-rise concrete, stainless steel and glass condominiums to observe the lifestyle of the common Chinese. The lower-middle classes reside in complexes and colonies much like our own: flats built cheek by jowl with hawkers vending vegetables on rickshaws and small neighbourhood shops dispensing tea and snacks.

And yet there were significant differences which spoke of a quality of life alien to us. The smooth, unbroken and tree-lined pavements are used freely by pedestrians and cyclists. One saw neither open drains nor piles of garbage; nor did one encounter stray animals or need to navigate past their excreta while walking. One came, frequently, upon uniformed sanitary workers conscientiously picking up litter and depositing it in motorised rickshaws. Absence of construction debris, plentiful garbage bins, public toilets, fire-hydrants and enclosed electric transformers spoke of an omnipresent civic authority which not just functioned but also enforced civic rules and laws; something sadly absent in India.

Traffic flowed freely on narrow but well-maintained roads, uncluttered by hawkers or parked vehicles, which are confined to designated areas. Low noise levels were attributable to all two and three-wheelers being battery-powered on legal mandate. My search for slums or pavement-dwellers was fruitless, either because they were absent or astutely camouflaged. Part of the explanation lay in the fact that every construction site — and there were hundreds — had a multistorey pre-fabricated accommodation complex for workers and families, with attached kitchens and crèches.

Smaller cities like Suzhou have an ‘old quarter’ and people continue to live in tiny congested houses on cobbled streets lined with ancient canals. Once again, high standards of sanitation and hygiene have enabled the residents to not only live healthy lives but also earn a living by catering for tourists in sidewalk cafeterias by the canal-banks. No expense was spared to provide for the Chinese citizen aesthetically designed and well-maintained public amenities like parks, libraries, museums, theatres and opera houses in every city, something unheard of in independent India.

One could go on in the same vein but this is not meant to be a paean to China. In fact, I would readily yield to the superior knowledge of {India's}China experts who know of the deep flaws in China’s social, political and economic systems, and who predict an impending implosion due to ethnic fault-lines and economic disparities.

Instead, let me speak of the most overpowering emotion an Indian experiences on a visit to China; a silent rage against India’s rulers, for having failed the nation so badly. Not only do we lag decades behind China in most fields, but nothing that our political leaders say or do gives an iota of hope for the future. Sixty-six years after independence, India’s enduring slums, its growing urban decay and rural poverty, its dysfunctional public services and increasing indifference to mounting garbage and pollution problems speak volumes of the motivations, priorities and capabilities of its leadership, political and bureaucratic.

Of the 51 government ministries that run our country, one looks after ‘Planning’ and another, ‘Programme Implementation’. We are painfully aware that most of the government’s plans and programmes either do not fructify or end up in corruption scandals. Conceding that the levels of political venality and corruption in China and India are equal, the Chinese have, at least, ensured that project planning and execution, as well as administrative functions proceed unhindered, and the people’s quality of life is continuously improving.

If the farcical functioning of Parliament is a pointer, it becomes obvious that our leadership is so deeply preoccupied with the politics of survival that it has abdicated all responsibility for the functioning of ministries and departments; with the malaise infecting state administrations down to zilla and panchayat levels. The insecure politician clearly imagines he has found a panacea by handing over much of his responsibilities to the bureaucracy. In their turn, the all-India administrative and police services have not just failed to perform their tasks honestly and effectively, but having been entrusted with a vast spectrum of vital responsibilities extending from municipalities, to airlines, and industrial enterprises to intelligence services and national security, have consistently let the nation down.

Notwithstanding its burgeoning population and GDP, India is steadily losing ground to China in every index of development and progress, largely due to poor governance. Anna Hazare, Kejriwal and Naxalites are all sending messages; is the politico-bureaucratic establishment listening?

(The writer is a former Chief of the Naval Staff. Email: [email protected])

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 12 Jul 2013 03:24

Op-ed in Pioneer....

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/ ... mport.html

A gesture of great import
Friday, 12 July 2013 | Anuradha Dutt | in Oped

Muslims in north India have taken the lead in banning the slaughter of cows for food

A radical change seems to be sweeping the northern cow belt, serving to erode somewhat Muslims' isolation on the contentious issue of cow slaughter. Two parallel developments, in Haryana's Kheri Kalan and Uttar Pradesh's Mathura, testify to the minority community's growing receptiveness to the long-standing demand to thwart cattle trafficking and illegal slaughter. Mathura's Muslims resolved last month that they would not let cows be killed. An anti-cow slaughter convention was organised at Islamia Inter College, with rustling and butchering of cows being blamed on outsiders. This reflects a wider trend among Muslims to support a deeply emotive Hindu cause.

They are not alone in their sympathies. Some eunuchs at Kosi Kalan in Mathura district have pooled their resources, time and efforts to run a gaushala that harbours hundreds of cattle including buffaloes. The chief eunuch Sakhibai, a robust 80-year-old animal lover, set up the shelter about seven years ago. She is assisted by 15-20 eunuchs, kinnar, in raising funds. They tend the cattle, a few dogs, cats and exotic birds with love and care, having found a worthwhile purpose in life. The rewarding work of goseva has relieved the tedium of existence, hitherto restricted to extorting money from shopkeepers, traders and locals. The parched wasteland inhabited by people of their ilk is now sprinkled by the waters of devotion. They have graduated into Lord Krishna's sakhis, companions. A few Muslims also participate sincerely in this mission of cow protection.

Association with cattle, Brajbhumi's most beloved animals, thus sanctifies these lives. The Muslims involved in tending cows condemn incidents of cattle trafficking and slaughter. It is a repugnant prospect. The process of Hinduisation is evident in their disclaimers about eating any kind of non-vegetarian food. The kinnar too recoil from the thought. They are happy to subsist on cow milk, ghee and vegetables. It is the soil of Brajbhumi clearly that has inculcated such attitudes. Sakhibai, the kinnar leader, sells cow milk to augment income. There is none of the criminalisation that in the popular view has sullied kinnars' image.

Cutting across to Kheri Kalan in Faridabad mandal, the edifying spectacle of a large number of Muslims helping run a goshala vindicates the founder's vision. Managing trustee NP Thareja, Human Care Charitable Trust, took the remarkable initiative to try and stop cattle smuggling in an area, notorious for the illicit trade in stolen cattle. Nearby Mewat is a hub of such smuggling. Mooting a plan to reverse old attitudes and opening up an income avenue for wretchedly poor Muslims, whom politicians remember only before elections, he raised funds to build a concrete abode for a large joint family on their plot of land; constructed a goshala, whose milk is sold; and showered further largesse by adding a free primary school for over 500 village children.

The work that the local authorities should have undertaken was accomplished through individual initiative. A people, long accustomed to eking out a frugal living through hard manual labour, now found themselves tending cattle and new-born calves, and learning the nitty-gritty of running a goshala. They sold surplus milk and started preparing ghee. Their nascent regard for bovine bred animosity towards the phenomenon of cattle smuggling.

Though the predominantly Muslim butchers' lobby has bolstered the impression that rampant cattle smuggling and illicit slaughter is the handiwork of this community, Muslims are not invariably hostile to Hindu concerns. The Arab Mohammad bin Qasim in the 8th century AD issued an edict that banned cow slaughter in Sindh and Multan. The Mughals, even the zealot Aurangzeb, made some efforts to ban cow slaughter. In his Indian History, Part II, Wheeler quoted the late 13th century Venetian Marco Polo's Testimony, “In the entire country spreading from Cape Camorin to the Koromandal coast in the east...and from there the entire area up to the Bay of Bengal...no one except the Parihars (pariahs) ate beef or meat. All these people worship cows and bullocks. They do not slaughter any animal. Hence, if any traveller wishes to eat flesh of goats, he has to carry with him as servant a Syrian for doing the job of a butcher.”

The British began butchering of cattle for beef, bones and leather on a large scale. Livestock began to be diverted from farming and domestic purposes to slaughter houses. Robert Clive was instrumental in setting up the first abattoir in Calcutta in 1760. Wanton disregard for prevalent taboos triggered the sepoy rebellion in May 1857, with Hindu and Muslim soldiers in the Company's forces rising up against their superiors for compelling them to bite cartridges, rumoured to be greased with pig and cow fat. The cow belt in the north was the principal scene of the violent reprisal against White traders.

It is the cow belt again that seems to be heralding a change among Muslims, in their attitude to bovine, considered sacred by Hindus.

So that explains the drive of INC to set up slaughter houses and allow export of beef. Its their EIC heritage.
they need to show they are secular by setting up cow slaughter houses and claim to be modern.

Mani Shankar Aiyar "I eat beef" comes to mind. And the first act of the INC govt in Karanataka was to repeal the ban on cow slaughter as if its the most important thing to do.

member_23692 · Post by **member_23692** » 12 Jul 2013 04:35

ramana wrote:
abhishek_sharma wrote:Musings on banks of the Huangpu: Admiral Arun Prakash

China succeeded in every aspect of socio-economic endeavour where India has failed.

lament of true nationalist.

Now why did this happen?

We did not dismantle the East India Comapany structures. Nor did we transform them. The laws are still based on 1865 Indian Penal Code.
So essentially the govt and the adminstration is not nationalist nor even statist. They look on India as a colony to be exploited for themselves.

China succeeded in every aspect of socio-economic endeavour where India has failed

An Indian, standing on the embankment of the Huangpu river, as he gazes at the impressive Shanghai skyline, is assailed by an assortment of unfamiliar emotions. The first is one of admiration for the Chinese; our Asian brethren who emerged from foreign invasion, a world war and sanguinary internecine conflict to attain nationhood, two years after India, to find themselves in thrall to harsh totalitarian rule. It was only after the passing of Chairman Mao that a pragmatic, new leadership adopted free market practices and opened up China to the world. The result, to all outward appearances, is a modern, prosperous nation, knocking impatiently on the doors of the first world.

The second emotion is dismay that China succeeded in every aspect of socio-economic endeavour where India has either failed or is running in the same place. On a recent visit, I walked through residential areas in Shanghai, Wuxi and Suzhou, away from high-rise concrete, stainless steel and glass condominiums to observe the lifestyle of the common Chinese. The lower-middle classes reside in complexes and colonies much like our own: flats built cheek by jowl with hawkers vending vegetables on rickshaws and small neighbourhood shops dispensing tea and snacks.

And yet there were significant differences which spoke of a quality of life alien to us. The smooth, unbroken and tree-lined pavements are used freely by pedestrians and cyclists. One saw neither open drains nor piles of garbage; nor did one encounter stray animals or need to navigate past their excreta while walking. One came, frequently, upon uniformed sanitary workers conscientiously picking up litter and depositing it in motorised rickshaws. Absence of construction debris, plentiful garbage bins, public toilets, fire-hydrants and enclosed electric transformers spoke of an omnipresent civic authority which not just functioned but also enforced civic rules and laws; something sadly absent in India.

Traffic flowed freely on narrow but well-maintained roads, uncluttered by hawkers or parked vehicles, which are confined to designated areas. Low noise levels were attributable to all two and three-wheelers being battery-powered on legal mandate. My search for slums or pavement-dwellers was fruitless, either because they were absent or astutely camouflaged. Part of the explanation lay in the fact that every construction site — and there were hundreds — had a multistorey pre-fabricated accommodation complex for workers and families, with attached kitchens and crèches.

Smaller cities like Suzhou have an ‘old quarter’ and people continue to live in tiny congested houses on cobbled streets lined with ancient canals. Once again, high standards of sanitation and hygiene have enabled the residents to not only live healthy lives but also earn a living by catering for tourists in sidewalk cafeterias by the canal-banks. No expense was spared to provide for the Chinese citizen aesthetically designed and well-maintained public amenities like parks, libraries, museums, theatres and opera houses in every city, something unheard of in independent India.

One could go on in the same vein but this is not meant to be a paean to China. In fact, I would readily yield to the superior knowledge of {India's}China experts who know of the deep flaws in China’s social, political and economic systems, and who predict an impending implosion due to ethnic fault-lines and economic disparities.

Instead, let me speak of the most overpowering emotion an Indian experiences on a visit to China; a silent rage against India’s rulers, for having failed the nation so badly. Not only do we lag decades behind China in most fields, but nothing that our political leaders say or do gives an iota of hope for the future. Sixty-six years after independence, India’s enduring slums, its growing urban decay and rural poverty, its dysfunctional public services and increasing indifference to mounting garbage and pollution problems speak volumes of the motivations, priorities and capabilities of its leadership, political and bureaucratic.

Of the 51 government ministries that run our country, one looks after ‘Planning’ and another, ‘Programme Implementation’. We are painfully aware that most of the government’s plans and programmes either do not fructify or end up in corruption scandals. Conceding that the levels of political venality and corruption in China and India are equal, the Chinese have, at least, ensured that project planning and execution, as well as administrative functions proceed unhindered, and the people’s quality of life is continuously improving.

If the farcical functioning of Parliament is a pointer, it becomes obvious that our leadership is so deeply preoccupied with the politics of survival that it has abdicated all responsibility for the functioning of ministries and departments; with the malaise infecting state administrations down to zilla and panchayat levels. The insecure politician clearly imagines he has found a panacea by handing over much of his responsibilities to the bureaucracy. In their turn, the all-India administrative and police services have not just failed to perform their tasks honestly and effectively, but having been entrusted with a vast spectrum of vital responsibilities extending from municipalities, to airlines, and industrial enterprises to intelligence services and national security, have consistently let the nation down.

Notwithstanding its burgeoning population and GDP, India is steadily losing ground to China in every index of development and progress, largely due to poor governance. Anna Hazare, Kejriwal and Naxalites are all sending messages; is the politico-bureaucratic establishment listening?

(The writer is a former Chief of the Naval Staff. Email: [email protected])

What is the difference between what has been described in this article as criminal negligence and treason by successive Indian governments ? For it to be called treason, does it have to meet a higher bar ? If so, what higher bar ?

IF it is indeed treason, it is not treason by any one government but ALL governments of India, which means it is really the "system of governance" we have in place. If the "system of governance" we have in place commits treason consistently and nothing but treason and is not capable of doing anything other than treason, then what did the good admiral do to correct it when he did have the power to do something about it ? Perhaps, the good admiral did not know when he was in service that China was this far ahead. After all his knowledge was only as good as our intelligence services'. If he did know about this when he was in service, why did he not try to prevent treason or die trying ? Is that not what a soldier is supposed to do ? Or is a soldier always justified in hiding behind the bogus "the armed forces are always under civilian control, in our system" argument ? The same "treasonous" system, of course.

If I sound too harsh on the good admiral, I dont really mean to be. I am merely using him as a metaphor or a symbol for each one of us. What is our duty, as an ordinary citizen, if indeed what has been described above truly falls under the "treason" category ? And if it does not meet the high bar of treason, why not ?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 12 Jul 2013 04:35

PANDIT JASRAJ & ANUP JALOTA on Indian Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIa9T1MBGrI

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 13 Jul 2013 03:02

rsangram, Where did the Admiral say "criminal negligence and treason: in his article?

member_23692 · Post by **member_23692** » 13 Jul 2013 06:11

ramana wrote:rsangram, Where did the Admiral say "criminal negligence and treason: in his article?

No, it was incorrect in the way I expressed myself.

What I meant there was that he described it as criminal negligence and so what is the difference between criminal negligence and treason ?

Yes, even in the above, I am technically not correct. He did not "call" it criminal negligence, but did he not all but say it ? And if he all but called it criminal negligence, what is the difference between that and treason.

Ok, let me not even put words in the good admiral's mouth. Let us just say that he did not call it criminal negligence. So, is what he describes not ? And is what he describes not treason ? What according to you would the successive governments have had to have done more, to have it be called "criminal negligence" and treason ?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 13 Jul 2013 09:33

So you are chasing your own ghosts?

Why not say whats on your mind and let it make itself known.
If it is right it will find traction.

I was in half a mind to ban you for imputing some thing the war hero did not say.

member_23692 · Post by **member_23692** » 13 Jul 2013 16:52

ramana wrote:So you are chasing your own ghosts?

And you my friend, uncover a conspiracy behind every inadvertent mistake and/or badly formed sentence.

The matter would have ended with my admitting my mistake and you even chiding me a little bit for it. But your introduction of your favorite word, "ban", leaves me or any self respecting person no choice but to dwell on this matter just a little bit longer - with hopefully just this one more post.

Looks like proximity to Islamic nations has rubbed off a little of their "conspiracy theory" mindset on some of us too. In their case of course, it is a deliberate conspiracy to construct conspiracy theories. US perpetuated 9/11 on itself to malign the muslims. Hindus and Jews kill themselves to malign the muslims. Indian soldiers cut their own throats to malign the muslims. Videos of beheadings and atrocities are in actuality Hollywood productions. Hindus converted themselves to Islam and then formed Pakistan to malign muslims and on and on and on.

If I inadertently misrepresent what anyone says or say I even deliberately "conspire" to misrepresent the good Admiral, what is there to ban ? The mistake is there for all to see and I come off looking wrong or even a fool, if I persist on defending it and dont correct myself. I know banning is a policy you all follow on this forum, and it is entirely your perogative, but banning always confers a certain legitimacy to the person being banned, particularly when you trivialize bans. Why would you want to confer any modicum of legitimacy to a clear mistake I made.

In all seriousness though, I have this time, re-examined and re-read my post far more carefully and other than my putting words in the good Admiral's mouth, I completely standby the rest of my post above, ban or no ban.

Maybe if you re-examine why you were irked, could it be that it was the rest of my post and not my incorrect attribution to the good admiral, that made you uncomfortable ? In all fairness, it would make anyone who is part of the new Indian "elite" of today uncomfortable. How could it not ?
Is the tenor and the content of my post above and my other posts on this forum consistent with a person who needs to "hide" behind anything or anyone ?

And after all of that, really, I cant help but wonder and ask this question, isnt the good admiral all but calling our successive governments "treasonous" ? And if he is, is he not right on the money ?

As far as bans go, it would behoove us all to focus on banning the "treacherous and treasonous" governments and those that constitute them. This would be far more mature and meaningful than an impotent flex of banning each other and depleting ourselves in the process. A momentary "rise" may feel good momentarily like a hit of line of coke, but in the end everyone knows that doing that line is a sign of ill health and it is not worth weakening ourselves, no matter how ecstatic one feels after doing it.

member_23692 · Post by **member_23692** » 13 Jul 2013 21:23

^^^^^^^^^^^

In fact, I would like to use the good Admiral's article as a starting point of a new thread entitled "Does the Indian system of governance require a radical makeover", where we discuss like Plato did, all possible forms of governance, ranging from one extreme to the other, which would include, kingship, oligarchy, aristocracy, dictatorship, military rule, fascism, naziism, marxism, leninism, democracy, mobocracy, plutocracy and anything else and the many variations of these, to possibly come up with an ideal form of governance for US as Indians, which is rooted in our culture, relevant to our times and allow us to thrive in the future.

If after all the discussion in that thread, in the unlikely scenario that the forum does overwhelmingly lean one way towards a particular form of government, which is radically different from the one in place today, then it would beg the question, would'nt it, of how we get from "here" to "there" ?

Shall I do it ?

sunnyP · Post by **sunnyP** » 13 Jul 2013 21:52

Quattrocchi is dead.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/bofor ... eststories

Commiserations to Rajmata and the Gandhi parivar - they'll be mourning a friend today.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 14 Jul 2013 03:51

Coomi Kapoor's Column

Unwarranted action

A Kolkata police station had issued an arrest warrant against Aveek Sarkar, the chief editor of the Ananda Bazar Patrika group of publications, ostensibly because The Telegraph, its English daily, had reproduced a controversial tweet about a Pakistani cricketer. The Kolkata police cited the news item to charge the newspaper with instigating communal disharmony. It is believed the real reason was that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was furious with the ABP Group for criticising her government. Sarkar filed a writ petition before the Kolkata High Court, charging harassment. He has now obtained anticipatory bail. West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan, meanwhile, summoned the state chief secretary and chided him for allowing the government to indulge in acts of vendetta.

Temporary truce

The RSS has brokered a temporary truce between Narendra Modi and his rivals in the BJP. The seating arrangement at a recent meeting of the BJP's parliamentary party reflected the patch-up. L K Advani occupied the prime position, sitting next to Modi and party president Rajnath Singh. Last week Advani also came back pleased after a three-hour meeting with Mohan Bhagwat in Nagpur. Murli Manohar Joshi also met the RSS chief. The two men wanted to ensure they would be permitted to contest the next parliamentary election and not be debarred because of their age. The message sent out by the RSS was that while Modi would be projected as the prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 campaign, in the event of the BJP failing to get adequate numbers, the question of leadership could be re-opened to see who was best suited for cobbling together a majority in Parliament. This is a change from the RSS's position that Advani and Joshi should make way for younger people and should not contest at all. The RSS has figured out that an unhappy Advani can prove troublesome for the BJP.

A wedding in the CBI

AFTER the wedding of CBI Director Ranjit Sinha's daughter in Patna on July 13, the reception in Delhi on July 19 promises to be a grand affair. Prominent political leaders, as well as judges, journalists, advocates and contacts of senior CBI staff have been invited. Officials of the CBI are distributing invitation cards and also preparing the list of invitees.

Opposition within

Some of Jairam Ramesh's ministerial colleagues have nicknamed him leader of the opposition in the Cabinet. The Union Minister of Rural Development is quick to notice points of divergence between issues in Cabinet notes and the views of the AICC and UPA, as projected in the election manifesto. Ramesh has had differences with ministers such as P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Kamal Nath and, occasionally, even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Recently, Ramesh made it clear that he opposed taking the ordinance route on food security and pointed out that his own ministry was proposing to bring land reform measures as a Bill. The PM seems to have paid heed. Recently, he directed his ministers to keep in mind the AICC poll manifesto before preparing the Union Cabinet agenda.

Only for the IAF

When Minister of State for Home R P N Singh flew to Chhattisgarh to attend the funeral of Congress leader Mahendra Karma, who was killed in the May 25 Maoist attack in the state's Jagdalpur district, he noticed that the IAF officers on board were wearing bullet-proof jackets and had other protective paraphernalia. When he enquired where his bullet-proof vest was, he was told that the vests were issued only to Air Force personnel.

Unnecessary delay

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team sent to probe the serial blasts at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya on January 7 began its investigations almost 24 hours after the blasts. The team led by IPS officer Vikas Vaibhav left Delhi by a Home Ministry aircraft, but had to return halfway because of bad weather. Later the team caught a commercial flight and could reach Patna only in the evening. The question is that since the weather conditions were known, why did the NIA not requisition an IAF plane in advance?

Early birds

There is a rivalry among party spokespersons over how much time each gets to be seen on TV channels. Among the BJP media cell members, two spokespersons are so anxious to be seen on TV that both of them have made it a practice to be dressed and ready by 9 am sharp waiting to give the first sound bite of the day.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 14 Jul 2013 08:45

I think you should.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 15 Jul 2013 08:45

As Mystery Illness Stalks Its Young, India Intensifies Search for a Killer
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/world ... .html?_r=0

MUZAFFARPUR, India — The children begin arriving every year in mid-May, brought to an overburdened hospital here in one of India’s most impoverished areas by their panic-stricken mothers. Seemingly healthy hours earlier, most have lapsed into a coma, punctuated by convulsions.Doctors work to calm the convulsions and keep the children hydrated, but then have to watch helplessly along with the anguished parents as a third of their young patients die, often within hours. Then, as suddenly as it started, the mysterious outbreak stops with the onset of the monsoon rains this month. No one knows why.The mud-and-bamboo huts in this part of India cradle more dying children than anywhere in the world, with diarrhea and malnutrition long ranking as the region’s great scourges. But now, this unknown killer is stalking the very young.Although public health statistics are unreliable here, the disease is believed to infect tens of thousands of people a year and kill thousands.All doctors know is that the illness is a form of brain swelling, or encephalitis, but that is a huge category, covering a wide spectrum of diseases. Doctors have tested for known causes of brain swelling, including meningitis and Japanese encephalitis, but the tests almost always come back negative. India’s top health officials say the disease, known officially as acute encephalitis syndrome, has them stumped.“This outbreak happens every year, and we have not been able to identify the cause or link even a single factor responsible,” Dr. L. S. Chauhan, the director of the National Center for Disease Control in India, said in an interview.Dr. Chauhan hopes to change that. With help from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, he started a program this year to train an elite cadre of disease sleuths, part of a recently organized Epidemic Intelligence Service in India that he hopes will eventually undertake the investigations of India’s estimated 1,500 epidemics.But the outbreak in Muzaffarpur is slowly spreading to neighboring areas, and Dr. Chauhan has thrown everything he can at it, assigning all seven of his trainees — each already an accomplished physician. Experts from the C.D.C. are advising them, and their work is being closely followed by concerned officials in the United States.The first reports of this mysterious illness date to 1995, when nearly 1,000 children were sickened and 300 died in Muzaffarpur’s three hospitals. Smaller epidemics have followed almost every year since.Officials say they do not know whether the illness began in 1995 or had simply gone unnoticed before. Not only has it spread to nearby areas, but researchers have also recently found similar cases in neighboring Nepal. Some outbreaks in India have gone unreported because officials suppressed any mention for fear of prompting panic or criticism.“India has a huge problem with encephalitis,” said Dr. Rajesh Pandey, one of the epidemiologists camped out in Muzaffarpur, “and it’s not something almost anyone knows about.”“This is a real mystery,” Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the C.D.C. director, said in a telephone interview. “We’re not sure we’ll be able to solve it, but at least we can unleash the best epidemiological tools we have to try to answer the question.”Dr. Chauhan’s team has been given a rustic guesthouse next to a hospital here. There is no air-conditioning, the beds sag and the electricity is fitful. But there is an urgency to the doctors’ work. They gather almost every night in a small dining room to update crude posters with information about each case and debate their theories. A new virus, an old bacteria, litchis, alcoholic tree sap, heat, pesticides, rats, bats and sand flies are among the suspected causes.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 18 Jul 2013 02:43

Urdu lovers honor Indian poet who died young

http://www.arabnews.com/news/458267

poetry collection in Urdu entitled “Shah Kar” by young poet Ashhar Nadeemi from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, was released at a ceremony organized by Tanzeem Hum Hindustani (THH), an Indian cultural and social organization in Riyadh. Nadeemi died recently.
Akhtarul Islam Siddiqui, president of the Middle East Non-Resident Indian Association, and Abdul Rahman Saleem, president of Hindustani Bazm-e-Urdu, were the guests of honor. Himayat Ali Khan, a poet from the Indian city of Aurangabad, was the special guest.Tanzeem President Mohammed Quaiser unveiled the book and shed light on poetry in its old and modern forms. He said Nadeemi excelled in all forms.Mir Liaquat Ali Hashmi, general secretary of THH, welcomed the audience and anchored the event. Anzer Ali recited some couplets from the book.Akhtarul Islam Siddiqui said Urdu speakers should act to protect their language because the new generation was not learning it.
“Urdu is a very sweet and impressive language, which has played a major role in India’s freedom struggle,” he said. He urged Urdu lovers to see their children are taught the language.Saleem reviewed the history of Urdu since its inception in the 11th century and Khan recited his poem on the dowry system.The THH announced a special “Tamgha-e-Adab 2013” honor posthumously for Nadeemi, which was received by his brother Anzar Ali.The ceremony began with a recitation from the Qur’an by Mohammed Wasiuddin Aslam.Mohammed Naqiuddin Akram presented the vote of thanks.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 18 Jul 2013 20:43

Advantage women: Amendment to marriage law makes divorce easier (Trust NDTV to call it Advantage women)

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/advan ... ier-393564

The other big change in the law is on inheritance. The amendment provides for sufficient compensation to a woman from her husband's ancestral property in case of divorce.

Also, in cases where the ancestral property could not be divided, the woman is now entitled to get sufficient compensation by calculating her husband's share in it. The woman's share will be determined by a court of law.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 18 Jul 2013 21:00

^^^

Nitpick.

Only Hindu laws need amending??

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 18 Jul 2013 21:23

^^^ The implications of this law are far reaching which is why I posted. It goes beyond Hindu laws, it will destroy capital.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 18 Jul 2013 21:34

And INC gets a free ride from somebody else's property. They now create two new vote banks:judges who get to decide what is the share (and hence their cut) and disgruntled women. Will lead to a lot of out of wedlock situations.

If the couple does not move a joint application, then the divorce is not sanctified

Idiot reporter and editor. Divorces are granted. Only maariages are sanctified!

Yes Chetak, mostly Hindus as those laws apply to Hindus only. And may be Christians.

During mid 80s there was a case where a Muslim woman (Shah Bano) sued for property rights and there was large hue and cry and RG govt exempted Muslims from those provisions.

I can understand acquired property being shared but what rights to ancestral property?

The reason for acquired property being split as the spouse has by being in the union contributed to the acquisiton of the property and hence deserves a half the share.

What is the spouse's contribution to the ancestral property?

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 18 Jul 2013 22:31

Govt is unable to ensure inheritance in ancestral property of daughters despite there being a law about it. Should divorced husband claim a share in that property?