Enemy Within-Corruption in governance

[Pranav]

For a detailed expose on this issue see - http://aamaadmiparty.org/PolKhol/Ambani.aspx

Some how that link does not work any more , is it caught in litigation ?

It could be that the link was broken in the process of revamping the website. The documents are still available at http://internal.aamaadmiparty.org/PolKhol/Ambani.aspx

[Pranav]

AgustaWestland case -

India can now lay claim to a mountainous pile of files

But the Presiding Judge is having none of that. After a brief private chat with the defence in chambers he retains none of their arguments. This is a significant victory for India, which can now lay claim to the mountainous pile of files (120 in all) that contain the evidence. Hundreds of hours of wiretaps, e-mails, sms messages, bank account details, tax returns and reams of recorded testimony from Guido Haschke, Lorenzo Borgogni, the initial whistle blower and at least a dozen others.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/i ... epage=true

Let us see if we find out who the "family" is.

[Pranav]

Some good details re Coalgate -

PM's boys nixed ex-coal secy over auction ordinance back in 2004!

PC Parakh, widely considered the whistleblower of Coalgate, tells Governance Now how it all stacked up, and that he regrets even comptroller & auditor general Vinod Rai missed the resultant machinations that perpetuated massive loot of taxpayer’s money

http://governancenow.com/news/regular-s ... -back-2004

[Pranav]

The diabetes mega scam MSM won’t talk about

K. JAVEED NAYEEM writes: Last week, a relative called me up when I was in the middle of my practice to ask me if I knew that the anti-diabetic drug I had been treating his wife with had been banned by the Indian government, according to a newspaper report he was reading.

Surprised that I had no wind of this development from the two morning dailies I had just finished reading, I switched to the online edition of his newspaper to discover that what he had informed me was indeed true.

***

Our country with a conservatively estimated population of over a hundred crore now has a population of about ten crore diabetics.

If you are stunned by this figure I am not surprised as it certainly appears very huge. But with the incidence of diabetes, conservatively estimated again, to be between seven and nine per cent of the population, that is exactly what it translates to.

Now, at least 30 per cent of these ten crore diabetics are being treated or would have been treated sometime sooner or later in their lives with a drug called Pioglitazone which is one of the very potent anti-diabetic drugs available almost all over the world in any doctor’s armamentarium.

This is the drug that was being used as the last resort when all else failed to control the disease, before recommending Insulin injections which most patients understandably dread, both because of the pain and the cost.

This was a drug that had some very unique beneficial properties, the most important one being its ability to reduce the development of insulin resistance in the body. It was therefore a very good add-on drug that would also help in reducing the dose of insulin required to bring the blood sugar levels down.

This drug was also capable of reducing the levels of Triglyceride, one of the bad Cholesterols in the blood that can increase the risk of heart attacks. But like almost every other drug this drug too was said to be potentially capable of sometimes causing some serious side effects which notably were almost unheard of in Indian patients.

I have been treating almost a third of my diabetic patients with it over the past 12 years of its existence in India and I have never come across even a single patient who developed any of the serious side effects.

And, I have never come across any of my fellow doctors, including exclusive diabetologists who have encountered them in their practices.

Most importantly, it was also a drug that was indigenously manufactured and therefore cheaply available across the length and breadth of the country and this perhaps was what sounded its death knell in our poor nation.

***

Just a few years ago there appeared on the medical horizon a new class of drugs called the Gliptins, developed and manufactured overseas, by seething rich pharma giants under strong and strict patents.

They were touted as the miracle molecules that could revolutionise the treatment of diabetes by obviating the need to use insulin and were hastily thrust, at an astronomical cost, into almost all the third-world countries, including India which could ill afford them.

Imagine even a well-to-do diabetic patient having to take tablets costing around forty to forty five rupees every day, life-long.

How many Indians can afford this kind of treatment for themselves when there are many other things to do for the rest of their family members with their hard-earned money?

Most importantly, despite aggressive marketing these newer drugs simply failed to even make a tiny dent in the management of diabetes because they simply failed to live up to what was expected of them by way of their efficacy.

So all those who stood to lose heavily after breeding and backing the wrong horses had to quickly do something to rein in their losses.

***

There is a sentence in Wilbur Smith’s novel of the same name that says, ‘When the lion feeds, someone has to die’. And so the first victim that had to die to keep the powerful Gliptin lion alive was Rosiglitazone, a sibling of Pioglitazone.

It was accused of first degree murder, quickly tried, convicted and summarily executed although more than a hundred other more lethal drugs still rule the roost here, flying across sales counters, without doctors’ prescriptions.

Close upon the heels of this macabre victory the honourable ‘Brutuses’ turned their daggers on the present victim citing its banishment from France and Germany, although it is still very much in use in almost the whole world, including the United States, Canada, Japan and the rest of Europe.

In fact it is still the tenth largest selling drug in the United States.

Now in our country, with Pioglitazone gone, the Gliptins, which have failed to do anything impressive, will be the only option for diabetics who desperately try to avoid embarking on Insulin. And, this is where all those who peddle them will stand to gain their billions from their clever act.

***

So investing just a few millions in ‘buying’ the help of someone in our health ministry only amounts to offering the crumbs that fall off their plates onto the dining table.

Perhaps the makers and marketers of the different kinds of Insulins too are abettors of this heinous crime as patients who do not benefit from Gliptins now have no other option than to start them.

Today, it is a matter of pride that Indian doctors are among the most respected and trusted all over the world. With their academic excellence and clinical skills they have made a tremendous impact on the healthcare front and are much sought after both by patients and research foundations.

We have some of the best professional societies for conducting research on almost all the major diseases well within our country.

Yet, without seeking the opinion of any of these bodies and without as much as a debate or discussion among the many excellent academic fora that we have in our country for the study of Diabetes and with just a stroke of the bureaucratic pen, someone, somewhere, sitting in the ivory towers of administration in New Delhi and who does not know the A, B or C of pharmacology or medical practice has signed the death warrant that is bound to spell doom for at least three crore Indian lives.

It is an act that will amount to being the biggest genocide in history if only we have the far-sighted vision to foresee it. And if we do not have this vision, it will be a tragedy that will most likely go unnoticed because it is not going to happen at once like the Bhopal gas disaster to make a noticeable impact, unfolding silently like a Biblical pestilence only over the next few decades.

Diabetic patients who cannot afford the Gliptins, the prices of which have shown no signs of coming down and which cannot do much good even if made affordable, simply cannot keep their disease under control.

All those who cannot afford Insulin injections or accept the pain and inconvenience of embarking on them will stand to lose.

Elderly patients who stay alone and who do not have the dexterity to inject themselves and who could have kept the disease under control for many more years with oral tablets of Pioglitazone will be the most helpless losers.

And, to top it all, uncontrolled diabetes is a disease with unimaginable morbidity and the highest mortality, all of which is easily avoidable with proper management.

Despite the grim scenario that is set to unfold, all is not lost yet and I still see hope for all the hopeless if a few professional bodies seek a legal remedy from the Supreme Court against this ban which certainly smells of a mega-scam and demand a rethink, taking all pros and cons into consideration.

We can at least retain the drug with a stipulation that it should be used very judiciously only in those patients who are not at risk of its side effects.

But with the Gliptin and Insulin lobby being very strong, perhaps tomorrow itself you may find the media abuzz with write-ups and blogs calling my kind of writing ill-informed and amateurish.

Well paid ghost writers can certainly write a more effective charge-sheet than what an unpaid doctor like me can do and I may naturally be no match for them. But the truth needs to be told in the interests of all those who stand to lose.

The millions of patients who will lose their lives due to their reluctance to buy the expensive medicines that will help them live just a wee bit longer, while their loved ones die of hunger.

Or, the loved ones who will live on, after losing much, much before their time, the ones who nourished and nurtured them.

(K. Javeed Nayeem is a practising physician who writes a weekly column in Star of Mysore, where this piece originally appeared)

[Pranav]

From the Journalist who did the Salman Khurshid handicapped people's aid scam expose -

[Pranav]

Billionaire compounder held in Jaipur

The accused, Mahesh Chand Sharma, has been involved in cases of extortion, targeting nursing colleges and promising them various approvals from INC, New Delhi.

JAIPUR: In one of its biggest catches, the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Sunday arrested a compounder at SMS hospital here, who was also doubling as an advisor at Indian Nursing Council (INC) and seized properties worth crores of rupees.

The accused, Mahesh Chand Sharma, has been involved in cases of extortion, targeting nursing colleges and promising them various approvals from INC, New Delhi, since he joined it in 2007. Sharma owns a hospital, a resort and a farm house worth crores, among several other properties in Jaipur.

The arrest exposed high-level corruption in the INC since Sharma was recently "promoted" to an adviser's position in the organization. After being arrested, Sharma mentioned that INC's president T Dileep Kumar was also involved in corruption.

After catching Sharma red-handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a nursing college director at a private hospital in Shipra Path owned by the former, the ACB raided his bungalow — spread over 800 square yards — in Vidhyut Nagar. Properties and companies worth over Rs 200 crore were found to be in the names of Sharma and his wife. The properties include partnership over 25 nursing colleges, ownership of RAG Hospital in Mansarovar, a resort in Jamwaramgarh and several houses in Jaipur.

Officials said that it is only an initial assessment and the value of property owned by him might go up. Some of the lockers found in his name or his family members' name will be opened on Monday.

What left the agency investigators shocked is his reported confession in which Sharma categorically said that he was taking bribes on behalf of INC's president, T Dileep Kumar.

DG, ACB, Ajit Singh told TOI that while Sharma and a private individual Rajendra Saini, who worked for the compounder have been arrested, the INC president's name will be included in the FIR after "evaluation of evidence against him" and detailed investigation.
Officials said that every nursing college in the state had to pay bribes to Sharma for getting every INC approval for accreditation, including new courses, increase or decrease in seats, etc. Sharma used to "threaten" the nursing colleges with sudden inspections by INC teams.

Following Sharma's arrest, some colleges in Udaipur, Ajmer and Pali and six others in Jaipur were being searched. Some other colleges were sealed by the agency for further investigation.

According to ACB officials, Mahesh Chand Sharma, who became a compounder in 1983, was nominated as a member of INC by the state government in 2007. He became an advisor in INC in May this year. He had sought voluntary retirement from his post as compounder in February last year. However, he was yet to get approval for the same from the government. An ACB official said that he has been absent from duty for a long time.

Sharma's extortion racket was exposed when one Ramesh Chand Sharma, who runs a private college in Mansarovar, approached the ACB recently, complaining that the compounder was demanding Rs 5 lakh from him to facilitate approval from INC for some new nursing courses.

The ACB laid a trap and caught Sharma and Rajendra Saini from RAG Hospital, while taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh.

"By the time the chargesheet will be filed, we will gather evidence in the case and will include the INC president's name after evaluating them," said the officer. Sharma was produced in a court that sent him to five-day police custody.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 850699.cms

[Pranav]

Has some data on AugustaWestland wheeler dealers -

Choppergate kingpin’s UK home on sale - http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-news ... -sale.html

[Pranav]

FYI present CM of Uttarakhand Vijay Bahuguna had previously been a Judge in Mumbai High Court. He had resigned and fled from that post under a cloud of corruption charges.

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/166213 ... f-congress
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijay_Bahuguna

[member_23692]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecch ... r=yahootix

Coup D'Etat In Egypt: Military Removes President Morsi And Suspends The Constitution

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has been effectively overthrown by the military on Wednesday. In a statement by Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the armed forces explained that President Morsi had ignored calls of the people, and the armed forces for reconciliation, and that it was suspending the constitution and calling for early elections. Massive crowds gathered in Tahrir Square reveled in jubilation, while doubts remain over what the Muslim Brotherhood’s supporters, who back deposed President Morsi, will do.

The move was preceded by the mass mobilization of armed vehicles around Cairo, particularly to areas of high concentration of people. Reports indicated military forces were mobilized to areas where many had gathered in support of Morsi, such as Cairo University.


Crude Oil Breaks $100 Amid Rumors Of A Military Coup Against Egyptian President Morsi
Agustino Fontevecchia


Egypt's Waning Influence
Stratfor
Contributor

Tools Of Victory: The Tech That Helped Turkish Protesters Save Taksim Square
Alex Konrad
Forbes Staff
In his televised statement, General Fattah al-Sisi noted the armed forces were adhering to their civil responsibility and not looking to move power. Flanked by opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei and the Coptic Pope, the General unveiled their road map which included suspending the constitution, putting the chief justice in charge, calling for early elections, setting up an interim technocrat government, and forming a committee to amend the constitution.

General Fattah al-Sisi suggested President Morsi hadn’t paid attention to the military’s repeated attempts to get him to push for reconciliation. After meeting with opposition and religious leaders, the armed forces chose to remove Morsi from power.

Finally, Egypt’s military chief urged the people to steer away from violence, but gave an ominous threat: we will stand up firmly and strictly to any act that stands against the rule of law, he said, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood and other pro-Morsi supporters who have gathered en masse.

According to Stratfor, top members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Wasat party had been banned from leaving the country, including President Morsi, and Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohamed Badie and his deputy, Khairat al-Shater.

Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, hasn’t made an appearance on Wednesday. Morsi had responded defiantly on Tuesday to the military, urging them to remove a 48-hour ultimatum that had been placed for achieving national reconciliation, in his last public appearance.

Markets in the U.S. were already closed by the time of the announcement, ahead of the July 4 holiday. While stocks had rallied on initial rumors of the coup, crude oil, which broke the $100 mark for the first time since April 2012, began to trend down around 3:00 PM in New York, and was trading at 1.6%. The Market Vectors Egypt had rallied sharply, closing the day up 4.3%.

So there are weaknesses (the other word that is normally used in this context gets censored, I dont know why, it starts with a C and then h and then i, n, k and S) in the Islamist armor. Who would have thought ? One of the rare defeat for the Islamists. Is it a mere setback in the overall forward march through history or will this be a strategic defeat ? That will depend on how the enemies of Islamists act, particularly India. If India and Indians look at these events and get re-energized and re-invigorated and allow themselves to be uplifted in new hope, then they should and must "behead" the monster-head of corruption in our midst (not just government corruption, but the root of all corruption - which lies deep inside the everyday person's soul and which then manifests itself glaringly among the rules classes).

I say to all Indians. Wake up ! It is not all as hopeless against the Islamists as previously thought. Rid of the corruption from within each of us and we can make this Islamist loss in Egypt a begining of a series of defeats for them, which will ultimately break their backs. If we dont rise (as is quite likely by our track record), the Islamists will take this setback in their stride and keep on marching. We Indians, including the ones on this forum, will continue to mock, deride, laugh and heap contempt at the PAkis, as we keep losing ground to them and also our soldiers heads to their barbarity.

I also say, let us take a book from the Islamist playbook. Let us try vigilante justice for once. Catch the corrupt amongst us, starting with the highest level politician and/or bureaucrat we can get a hold of, give him some "Syrian rebel" treatment in public and then behead them, again in public..........real slow.

[Murugan]

Railway bribery scam: Phone transcripts raise question on Bansal’s role

http://www.firstpost.com/india/railway- ... 33767.html

[Philip]

What's with the Kerala "solar" scam that threatens to dethrone Oomen Chandy?

[IndraD]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/usrm ... ly17361899

SC stays judgement against Lalu Yadav

1990 case of fraud , this chara ghotala! now those cattles must have also died. still case is lingering and going on. i think, lalu will also...............and even mr judge will go.............. but there will be no result. this is called judiciary of india. be a minister once, than you and your family have immunity forever

a comment

[Pranav]

x-post from NaMo thread -

Chitra Subramaniam on the recently demised Quattrochi -

It is because of who Q was that George Fernandes, India’s Minister of Defence during the NDA regime, told me that he had been told by National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra “not to touch the Bofors file” – because of instructions from former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and deputy Prime Minister LK Advani. It is no secret that Vaypayee and Advani were very accommodating about Q and his friends in New Delhi. How else can one explain why the NDA government, in power from 1998 to 2004, couldn’t arrest Q?

http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/07/the- ... avy-train/

[Pranav]

Some developments in Coalgate -

18 May 2013 -

Arrested coalgate probe head alleges plot against him

Senior CBI officer Vivek Dutt, who headed the coalgate scam probe team, and three others were on Friday sent to three days in the agency’s custody by a Delhi court for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs. 7 lakh from a businessman to favour him in a land dispute case....

Mr. Dutt, however, claimed innocence and alleged a conspiracy has been hatched to keep him out of the Supreme Court-monitored coalgate probe team.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a ... 727709.ece

23 May 2013 -

CBI fails to present proof against Vivek Dutt - http://www.millenniumpost.in/NewsContent.aspx?NID=28706

17 July 2013 -

Coalgate: Apex court allows CBI to remove Vivek Dutt from probe team

The Supreme Court today allowed the CBI to remove tainted SP Vivek Dutt from its Coalgate probe team.

However, it turned down CBI’s plea to shift DIG Ravi Kant, probing coal block allocations between 2006 and 2009.

It said: “We may consider CBI’s plea for expanding the probe team as the scope of investigation has widened significantly.”

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/new ... 923880.ece

[ramana]

How can tthe officer be tainted when CBI itself failed to provide proof of the allegations against him?

Is the court also retarded aka p-secular?

[member_23692]

Lakshmi Mittal pulls out of planned Rs. 50K crore steel project in Orissa due to inordinate delays after South Korean Major POSO pulls out of a similar project in Karnataka for similar reasons

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/busi ... 124669.cms

This is yet another demonstration of the rent collecting mentality of our politicians and babudom. The Indian States and jurisdictions ape other countries, states and jurisdictions by having lavish Investor Meets for all and sundry to show how investor friendly their States are. There is a lot of fanfare and media coverage for these "Investor Meets" and tall claims are made. MOUs of literally trillions of dollars are signed and the Chief Minister and other ministers have their photographs splashed in the newspapers with celebrity business tycoons from world over. Once these business groups are snared in, then starts the real negotiations on settling the "rent" to be paid to everyone up and down the line, right from the ruling party, the Chief Minister, other ministers, babudom, opposition party leaders and even the local clerical staff. The weapon used as a bargaining chip in these negotiations is "Delay, Delay and more Delay, on one bureaucratic pretext or another". Finally, either there is a settlement or there is not. In either case, the country loses. At least if there is a settlement, economy gets some boost and some jobs get created.

Looks like in the above two cases, like many others, there was no "settlement on rent".

It is unfortunate that the Islamists as always are using their torture and cannibalistic tactics on the wrong people. They should come to India and "feast" on our politicians and babus. A few "slow slices" on the neck in public, and the others will all fall in line.

[Prem Kumar]

x-post from NaMo thread -

Chitra Subramaniam on the recently demised Quattrochi -

It is because of who Q was that George Fernandes, India’s Minister of Defence during the NDA regime, told me that he had been told by National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra “not to touch the Bofors file” – because of instructions from former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and deputy Prime Minister LK Advani. It is no secret that Vaypayee and Advani were very accommodating about Q and his friends in New Delhi. How else can one explain why the NDA government, in power from 1998 to 2004, couldn’t arrest Q?

http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/07/the- ... avy-train/

Subramaniam Swamy has, in a YouTube talk, claimed that Sonia has some big time dirt on Vajpayee and that's why the NDA didnt go after the first family during its term.

Sad, if true. I suspect it is true.

[Pranav]

MP: Funds meant to feed poor children being diverted to private firms

Bhopal: Against the backdrop of the Bihar mid day meal tragedy, a CNN-IBN investigation has revealed how the Madhya Pradesh government diverted funds meant to feed poor children to private companies by forging documents and registering fake companies.

Deepu of Shivpuri and Kabir from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Budhni Assembly constituency are suffering from severe malnutrition and are among the 52 per cent of the 80 lakh malnourished children who live in rural areas. CNN-IBN has learnt that they are victims of a Rs 500 crore bureaucrat-businessmen nexus.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mp-funds-mea ... 3-236.html

[Philip]

Imminent crisis.

The govt. has just happily announced that the gas goose that was laying the golden eggs for the Indian power sector,gas field KG D-6,has suddenly run dry! This stunning announcement will have massive repercussions upon power projects depending upon this gas,foreign funding,banks that have lent money to the power sector,et al.It is going to have a severe effect on power generation and a crisis is almost upon our hands.

Who is to blame? The GOI is blaming the contractor (no guesses as to which mega-corporate is involved!),who is demanding a huge hike in rates from next year.

RIL must get lower gas price till shortfall is delivered: FinMin
http://www.thehindu.com/business/Indust ... 901652.ece

After having approved a doubling of the existing gas price to $8.4 per mmbtu on June 28, the Finance Ministry has woken up to the fact that private gas producers like Reliance Industries Ltd are likely to reap windfall gains from the new pricing formula.

In a formal note, the ministry has now asked the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to take appropriate steps to ensure that the Mukesh Ambani-owned RIL receives only the old price until such time it delivers the shortfall it was contractually obliged to supply from its KG D6 field but failed to, citing ‘technical difficulties.’

The Finance Ministry note appends two media reports, including The Hindu’s editorial of June 29 (‘A very reliable formula’), which proposed a number of measures to keep Reliance’s windfall gains in check.

Referring to the price for gas from the KG D6 block, the July 5 note of the ministry’s Department of Expenditure, endorses verbatim several of The Hindu’s suggestions: ``Once RIL overcomes the ‘technical difficulty’ of producing gas at the KG D6 field, the government must ensure the company delivers the shortfall it still owes at the old price of $4.2 rather than getting the benefit of the new price.’’

RIL is presently producing 14 mmscmd of gas from its KG D6 field against the contracted production of 80 mmscmd for the current year, adversely impacting power, fertilizer, LPG, piped natural gas and other industrial sectors.

The Finance Ministry has also backed the editorial’s suggestion that there be a cap under the new pricing formula: “It cannot be that gas producers will reap unlimited gains in the case of an upswing in global prices; any upside has to be capped,” its note states. “The government must also subject gas producers to closer regulation, especially on the aspects of cost recovery and technical parameters related to production,” it adds.

Citing the important recommendation of the Rangarajan Committee – of moving to a revenue sharing agreement with gas producers – the Finance Ministry asks the Petroleum Ministry to work in this direction.

In addition, the ministry, with the approval of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, has told the Petroleum Ministry that the ongoing issues with RIL – which will benefit the most from the new $8.4 per mmbtu price – over cost recovery and penalties for not meeting contracted output levels need to be taken to their logical conclusion.

The government and RIL are locked in arbitration proceedings over the issue. The Petroleum Ministry has been hit by allegations that it was trying to derail the arbitration proceedings against RIL by deliberately going slow on the issue of cost recovery and penalty proceedings. The Petroleum Ministry had slapped a $1.1 billion cost recovery notice on RIL for its failure to complete the works programme and fulfil the contracted quantity of gas production in the KG D6 field during 2011-12 against which RIL had gone into arbitration proceedings.

Setting the agenda for the Petroleum Ministry, the Finance Ministry has asked the former to urgently furnish a copy of its Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) in respect of blocks/fields from which natural gas is being produced through private contractors; field wise information on the steps taken by the Management Committee (MC) to supervise the issues related to technical parameters of various fields and cost recovery. In respect of the KG D6 field, it has sought year wise information on the production targets set out in annual plans approved by MC while allowing investment approvals (including investments approved till date vis-à-vis output promised/delivered in lieu thereof).

The CCEA, during its June 28 meeting, had approved doubling of gas prices from the present rate of $4.2 mmbtu. However, a few days later, the Petroleum Ministry came out with a gas guidelines note stating that the Rangarajan formula would be followed for gas pricing from April 2014.

Keywords: finance ministry, gas pricing policy, UPA-II, Rangarajan committee recommendations, Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, RIL

[ramana]

I think the mid-day meal tragedy in Chaapra, Bihar is a very clear case of how corruption is all pervasise and has high cost to people's lives.

Here is Bloomberg:
link

.......
Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, has been admonished by the Supreme Court for its management of the school meal program. In 2010, the latest data available, the central government set aside $80 million for food and $73 million to pay for cooking materials, including the construction of hygienic sheds and water supplies. The state government managed to spend only $30 million of that, the planning commission report found.

Primary school children were to receive 450 calories of food, enriched with 12 grams of protein, while secondary school children were to receive 700 calories, enriched with 20 grams of protein. Weekly menus were set to vary between vegetables, kidney beans, lentils, rice and a local cereal called daliya.

Rotting Food

By 2008, the program was underperforming, the comptroller and auditor general of India found. Only 10 percent of the sheds required for hygienic cooking were constructed by March 2008, three years after the program was meant to have universal coverage, and a third of schools lacked clean drinking water. In a survey of 20 schools, $1.5 million was found to be missing, showing the process to be “fraught with the risk of fraud and misappropriation.”

At least 563 metric tons of food rotted before it reached children in 136 schools that were surveyed, out of some 35,000 schools in the state.

Foreshadowing yesterday’s tragedy, the report also found that not a single cooked meal had been examined by a medical officer since the program’s debut. The food should be taste-tested by at least two adults before being served to children, and the grain must be free of pests and insecticide, according to a program document.

“My faith in the midday meal program is broken,” said Mohar Saha, the father of second-grader Chitu Kumar, one of the 27 surviving children in the Patna hospital. “I don’t want to live in doubt by continuing to give my children school food.”

Graft, Mismanagement

India needs programs such as the midday meals and other publicly funded food aid programs, according to economists Jean Dreze and Nobel Prize-winner Amartya Sen. Both have cautioned against mismanagement and corruption.

Graft has plagued all three of India’s major food aid programs. A Bloomberg News investigation last year showed how $14.5 billion in food meant for the poor was stolen from a rationing system and sold on the black market.

Rapid economic growth hasn’t dented malnourishment rates, and more people than ever don’t consume government-recommended minimums. Some 900 million Indians hover just above starvation but below well-nourished, according to the latest data available, up from 472 million in 1983.

For children, things have barely improved. India has the highest percentage of malnourished children in the world except for East Timor, according to the 2012 annual Global Hunger Index. In the 2005 National Family Health Survey, when India last weighed, measured and counted its children for signs of hunger, it found 46 percent -- 31 million -- weighed too little for their ages, almost an entire Canada of malnourished under-3-year-olds. In 1999, that number was 47 percent.

‘Can’t Cry’

In Saran district, where the school was, food is scarce. A World Food Program assessment of the state found that the district ranked second to last in food production per acre.

Once he is treated, 11-year-old Abhishek Yadav will return there. The government has promised 200,000 rupees ($3,400) to families that lost a child. It has said nothing about the children who fell ill.

Abhishek remembers his hands and legs shaking, being too scared to speak, vomiting. He remembers waking up in the hospital. And he remembers that he lost a friend that lunch hour.

“I want to cry,” he says. “But I can’t.”

Series of reports from all over he country:

http://www.firstpost.com/india/live-wil ... 61969.html


Mid Day Meal program in jeopardy due to public angerand NGOs participation

.The future of the Mid Day Meal (MDM) which has been instrumental in the success of the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), bringing children to school, looks threatened. After 25 students died in Chappra, Bihar on eating contaminated Mid Day Meal (MDM) served in their government school on Tuesday, public anger against the MDM is high in the state and angry parents are demanding scrapping of the MDM.

In Tamil Nadu today, 105 girl students fell ill after consuming the MDM. The MDM which is a Central flagship scheme feeds 106.8 million children in 1.21 million schools across the country.

It is ironic that a scheme that lists “community participation” as the “key to the successful implementation” is now being perceived suspiciously. While 90% of the children (approximately ten million) under this scheme are fed through the school based kitchens, ten% are catered to by NGOs and trusts. Some of these trusts that have contracts in several states include the Banglore based Akshya Patra, Hyderbad based Nandi Foundation, Delhi based Ekta Shakti Foundation among others.

Government speak

A senior Central government official who did not wish to be named explained that as per the guidelines of the MDM, NGOs are barred from serving meals in rural areas. Hot cooked meals are to be prepared in school kitchens through Self Help Groups or locals employed by School Management Committees. It is only in urban areas where space is a constraint that outside NGOs can be roped in.

“But we find that state governments who are responsible for implementing the scheme are increasingly giving out contracts to NGOs. Employing of contractors is a 100% violation of the guidelines of the Mid Day Meal scheme especially in rural areas,” said the official.

The UP government has contracted both the rural and urban areas in the districts of Lucknow, Kannauj, Varanasi and Mathura to the Akshya Patra Foundation. More than half the schools that serve MDMs in Gujarat and Rajasthan are served by the Nandi Foundation and Akshya Patra.

The HRD ministry has announced, tad later in the day one might say, the setting up of a monitoring committee to look into the quality of food supplied. As the official explains, the reason behind the better implementation of the scheme in southern states for instance, is large scale community participation.

“Parents and village elders through School Management Committees should be periodically testing and monitoring the quality of food being served, cooked, checking on hygienic conditions, etc.” In most states, the periodic reviews that are mandatory seldom take place. That apart the government and the Central monitoring mechanisms have also been lax. Repeated incidents of children falling ill due to dead rats, lizards in the ,meals etc. have been reported with alarming frequency across the country with no reaction from the authorities.

MDM costs

At present both the Centre and the state chip in with funds in the ratio of 75:25. While Rs 3.49 is given per child in Primary classes per meal per day, it is Rs five for Upper Primary children. These figures although, seem wholly inadequate, are a vast improvement from the Rs 1.68 that was paid as late as 2009 for feeding children in Primary classes.

NGO speak

Ekta Shakti Foundation which provides Mid Day Meals in 250 schools in Delhi and in across 1300 schools in Bihar rejects the government claim of providing adequate funding. The NGO is head by Anil Aggarwal of Aggarwal’s and now Shree Maakhan brand.

Patanjali Shukla from the Foundation says, “We get about only 50% of the costs that we incur per meal per child. We spend about 7 rupees as pulses, refined oil cannot be met through the government’s three rupees. We have centralized kitchens and the rest of the costs we have bear on our own.” Other NGOs seek donations to meet the shortfall.

Ekta Foundation states that unable to contend with the public anger in Bihar where MDM is being seen as “poison food” the NGO is on the verge of pulling out from four districts of Begusarai, Gaya, Vaishali, Nalanda and Patna.

The tragedy that occurred in Bihar on Tuesday took place in a makeshift kitchen of thye state government school that was functioning in a community hall where the kitchen was being operated by school authorities.

So blaming NGOs as was done by the unnamed Central govt official was red herring.
The problem is much larger with no follow-up by Central govt nor accountability from State govt which are supposed to implement.
Add to that venality of school prinicipals procuring supplies from their own relatives.
Storing pesticides along with food supplies.
And worst storing cooking oil in used ppesticide containers. How was this done?

[chaanakya]

RailGate transcripts coming up on TimesNow by Arnab in few minutes.

[Prem Kumar]

Ramana: corruption is a symptom. We have become a country of people without a moral fiber. That's what is worrisome for the long term future.

[ramana]

Ramana: corruption is a symptom. We have become a country of people without a moral fiber. That's what is worrisome for the long term future.

When the top is scamming, the little people think their take is harmless. Chaapra, Bihar showed how corruption kills and is not harmelss as it is touted to be.

[Philip]

Yes,like a fish,the India state is "rotting from the head".When "corruption King",Man Mohan Singh and his merrie men of the UPA loot and scoot to their heart's content,without fear of retribution,from the coal scam onwards,the babus below them who are their lackeys and bag men,also make merry and the entire "food chain" right down to the clerks and watchmen!

Let me give you two examples heard just today.A head of a school told me that they had a visit from the local Ed. dept. minors.Rs. 2000 was demanded upfront before talking,a further 5000 after 5 minutes...all for nothing,plus a demand for another 50,000 rs. to go to the Dept. higher up as they "needed to settle some bills",with a warning that "he had a lot of powers".This apart from the usual demand at admission time for seats ad nauseum which are allegedly sold for lakhs per seat.Now multiply that a few thousand times in each state and you can see the amt. involved.

Another individual involved in real estate told me that he had paid off over 1.5 cr. to sundry babus and local politicos,for a few paltry acres of land in the suburbs already notified for housing,as if he didn't oblige them he wouldn't get his licence to build.This does not include the cost of each unit that will be another hand out per approval!

India has become one vast extortion enterprise led by the central govt.,which legally and illegally loots the common citizen.PC is literally "scalping" the poor taxpayer,with one tax after another.This morning,he bemoaned the fact that people didn't understand why "service tax" was neccessary! The revolution is already with us in the rrual areas in the form of the Naxal/Maoists,who must be delirious with joy at Nitesh's mid-day "murder" in Bihar. After this latest tragedy involving the poorest and most innocent of the poor,young children callously sent to their death by the negligence of serving a poisoned meal,with evidence of fake numbers of school kitchens built,the people's anger is increasing by the day and now spilling onto the streets.

Mamta's goons shrieking openly to "burn the houses" of their electoral rivals..and being obeyed,is on the verge of turning Bengal into a bloodbath.She is completely indifferent to any criticism of her regime's ruthlessness and goondaism and is well on the way to becoming India's female version of Pol Pot.By her standards,the TN supremo,J.Jayalalitha appears to have the manners of a Girl Guide and Mayawathi a mere "pretender" to the throne of fascism.

So "solar scam" Oomen Chandy survives in Kerala..nay simply refuses to budge despite the overwhelming evidence that he and some of his colleagues are heavily involved ,and can rightly ask why,when his scam-more salacious than monetary,involves a few dozen paltry crores,while the amounts looted under the nose of his dear leader and his cabinet,amounts to lakhs of thousands of crores,so much that it is difficult to quantify the loot,hundreds upon hundreds of billions allegedly ,which is why the Indian economy and rupee are in deep sh*t and going down the tube.

[ramana]

And PC wants Western investors to invest in India and wants to open up to attract investment!

[Jarita]

x-post from NaMo thread -

Chitra Subramaniam on the recently demised Quattrochi -


http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/07/the- ... avy-train/

Subramaniam Swamy has, in a YouTube talk, claimed that Sonia has some big time dirt on Vajpayee and that's why the NDA didnt go after the first family during its term.

Sad, if true. I suspect it is true.[/quote]


I heard that certain folks around Vajpayee had ideological sympathies with Sonia. Perhaps!

[Pranav]

India has become one vast extortion enterprise led by the central govt

True. But the mafia boss is not the "central govt" but Maino & her foreign backers.

[ramana]

If you do a root cause analysis of the Chaapra, Bihar deaths of 23 children and adult its is clear the problem was the storage of cooking oil in an insecticide container. How did this happen will reveal if it was callous negligence or conspiracy?

Along side there are numerous ills being revealed:
- Lack of monitoring of the mid-day meals facilities by all the funding agencies
- Lack of hygienic storage and pests in the food supplies in the schools
- Callous disregard for cooking process which allows lizards in the cooked food
- Corruption all along from Center->State->Local->school principals
- Rotten food supplied by vendors
- Insufficient use of grants by State governments from Central disbursements
- Country wide pervasive issue. Since the Chaapra incident numerous instances of substandard food and cases of children falling sick has turned up.
Only disturbing thing is this new or was going on all the time like the gang rape which started getting coverage in media?

[ramana]

Finally the govt is trying to do Root Cause Analysis:

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=804382

File-PTI Photo
Mid-Day Meal Horror: Probe Report Blames Principal
Chhapra (Bihar) | Jul 19, 2013


A high-level inquiry set up by the Bihar government to probe the midday meal tragedy, which claimed the lives of 23 school children in Saran district, has blamed the principal for it.

Official sources said on condition of anonymity that the report blamed Meena Devi, the principal of the government primary school, Dharmasati Gandaman.

"The principal mismanaged affairs of the school," the sources quoting the report said.

On Tuesday, the day of the incident, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had entrusted the responsibility of the inquiry on the district commissioner and deputy inspector general of police of Saran Range.

The two senior officers visited the village and talked to a cross section of the people there.

Meanwhile, the principal and her grocer husband were still absconding.

"Police are conducting searches and have also spoken to relatives of the principal and her husband Arjun Rai, but they are yet to be arrested," Saran SP Sujit Kumar said.

The police have been deployed at Meena Devi's house, the SP said.

An FIR has been filed against the principal.

The principal had purchased the cooking oil, suspected to be contaminated with insecticide, from her husband's shop.

Meanwhile, Saran District Magistrate Abhijit Sinha said there was no report of any fresh death.

He said though the mid-day meal was being provided to students as usual in the majority of the schools, they were not eating it out of fear.
Emerging story. Watch this space for updates as more details come in

So why was the oil stored in a pesticide container at the shop?

Was it the next available container at the shop to sell small quantities of oil?

Maybe that was the problem?

[Pranav]

How corruption and lack of infrastructure are at the root of Indian poverty -

--------------------------------------------
No country for businessmen
Forget FDI,even Indian businessmen are looking to invest abroad

Some of the conversations I have had with businessmen in the last few days have been illuminating. The first was with someone who has interests in the chemicals business. In May 2011, he had approached the Thai government to set up a polyester film plant in that country. By October, the land was allotted to him - the coveted corner plot - with not just a road but even water and power connections and a sewage line. The irony was that he was used to the Indian pace, and hence had not bothered to place the order for the machinery - he hadn't imagined that all the permissions would come through so quickly. Any delay in the project was because of this India hangover. More to the point, he said, at Rs 55 to a dollar, it was 10 per cent more economical for him to produce in Thailand, ship to India and sell here. At Rs 60 to a dollar, the price works out to more or less the same. This person, mind you, is a fourth-generation entrepreneur. His forefathers had built a great manufacturing empire in India. But he is no mood to put any further money in India. India's loss is Thailand's gain.

The second conversation was with a third-generation entrepreneur. He had made a large investment in a northern hill state. He didn't disclose the number but I guess it's close to Rs 300 crore. When I asked him if he wanted to upscale it, or make a similar investment elsewhere in the country, his answer was an unequivocal no. He too wants to invest abroad. Working in India, said the 20-something businessman, had caused him to "burn out". The incessant demands for bribes, non-existent infrastructure and the slow pace of decision making have sapped his patience.

More at http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 060_1.html

[chaanakya]

Bihar returned Rs 463 crore midday meal funds to Centre

NEW DELHI: The callousness couldn't be more glaring. Last year, in a surprising move, the Bihar government returned to the Centre almost Rs 500 crore meant to build midday meal kitchens and buy utensils to serve cooked meals. Worse, it sat on the money for over five years during which no one bothered to tender contracts or buy utensils.

In a twist of irony that may haunt the government, the lack of a hygienic and secure environment and clean utensils may have proved to be a key contributor to the death of at least 27 children in Chhapra in the deadly midday meal tragedy earlier this week. Over 20 children and a cook are still under treatment.

According to documents available with TOI, the director of the midday meal scheme of Bihar government returned Rs 462.78 crore to the Centre, unable to spend it. The money was allotted between 2006-'07 and 2009-'10, and probably lay idle in banks till early 2012. A senior official aware of the transaction said the refund by states to the Centre was very "unusual" and surprising in this particular case.

Sources suspect the state government decided to return the money to the Centre after auditors had raised a red flag over Bihar's practice of sitting on money, meant for various schemes, kept in fixed deposits and other banking instruments.

It is surprising how the entire amount lay idle from 2006 to 2010. It could be because of the complexity of doling out individual contracts for kitchens and utensils in hundreds of schools across the state. Or it may well be a case of usual government apathy.

Whatever it may have been, the state government showed great alacrity in returning Rs 462.78 crore to the Centre once the trend of funds meant for various schemes, such as mid-day meal and hospitals, being parked in banks became known.

The state government seems to have also had an lackadaisical approach towards spending in the education sector, according to details available of funds meant for other education schemes. A case in point: Rs 206.98 crore belonging to Bihar Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (BMSP) and Bihar State Education Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited was lying in bank accounts till as late as March 2012. The BMSP also had Rs 41.76 crore lying in other bank accounts. The BMSP (secondary wing) had Rs 85.75 crore lying idle in its accounts as of March 2012.

The shine of Nitish is wearing thin. RCA would indicate inability of the Govt to implement MMS ( Midday Meal Scheme) despite having fund with it. So it is not a question on Money but that of Good Governance. Corruption is just one factor, a Killer factor though, bad governance is equally a Killer factor. Citizens realise this sooner and demand bgood governance the better it would be for them else poorer of the lot would have to suffer first for the greed or apathy of few.

[JwalaMukhi]

http://m.rediff.com/news/column/the-gre ... 130716.htm
The great Indian rope trick and other illusions of progress

A more recent update is even more damning. Quoting the Asian Development Bank, The Economist of July 6, 2013 ('Widefare') points out that of all the welfare states in Asia, India’s is the worst-performing: it has neither depth nor breadth. That is, neither is the alleged welfare net reaching a large proportion of the people, nor is the per-person welfare amount high. Even Pakistan manages to give its welfare recipients more.

So this is the reality of the welfare State: yet another figment of your imagination.

I will close with a final illusion: that of toilets in trains. Even in higher-class compartments, if you use the stinking toilets, you will notice that there is no way you can clean your bottom with dignity. There is a chained mug and a faucet, thus giving you the idea that you can wash yourself. Much of the time, there is no water. The rest of the time, you are frustrated because the chain is just slightly too short -- there is no way you can wash yourself without twisting yourself into contortions, or without spilling soiled water all over the toilet floor.

The bureaucrat who specified the length of that chain -- just three inches too short -- is a perfect metaphor for India’s ruling classes. They have no interest in your welfare, only in giving you the frustrating impression that you can actually accomplish something, which of course you cannot.

As long as Indian babudom continues to follow the blueprint laid out by brits, there is no hope actually no intention for themselves to extricate from being the real executives of corruption and incompetency.

The babus conveniently hide behind politicos while being the worst perpetrators of endemic corruption and incompetency. Numerically babus outnumber politicos by a huge number. They have associations for everything from polo, to golf, to payscale negotations, but they won't have an association to do the right thing even when obvious misuse is asked of them.

Exhibit A: CBI is a good candidate to know why babucracy gets F- overall. Suddenly, them feign ignorance and powerless to face upto their real bosses (people of India) and have to cower in front of the politicos (at least that is what they claim), but in reality they are hand in glove with perpetuating corruption.

Even if politicos are corrupt, the real executives of corruption are babus and without their consent and willingness, there is no way such systematic deterioration of pillars of functioning (not just illusion of functional) democracy can occur. Things have come to a pass, that randomly selecting people of the street to man Administrative/judicial (executive branches) positions will probably yield better results than the conducting very selective exams to get the creme da la creme to only wallow in the illusion of picking the best.

India has much better capability than to believe this illusion of incompetency and corruption being passed off as the best it can do.

[chaanakya]

Forensic report confirms poisonous pesticide in Bihar midday meal

The Forensic Science Laboratory report found monocrotophos, an organophosphorous compound in the samples of oil from the container, food remains on the platter and mixture of rice with vegetables on Aluminium tasla (utensil), additional director general of police (HQ) Ravinder Kumar told reporters making the report public.

Monocrotophos

The pesticide is now out of patent, and is produced by at least 15 manufacturers, although Novartis still produces an estimated 40% of total annual production. Monocrotophos is also manufactured and exported by companies in India, China, Brazil and Argentina. In India, for example, DowElanco makes monocrotophos in a joint venture with the Indian company NOCIL.

India:-Restricted and banned for usage on vegetables in 2005. But largely and illegally used in India. India is the largest producer and consumer of monocrotophos.

[ramana]

Thanks. The key question is how did the oil come in the pesticide container is not being answered. For instance the chain of how the oil came from the shop to the school kitchen. Instead very detailed non-useful analysis is being announced to show thoroughness.

Mean time where are the principal and her shop keeper husband? They hold the answer to the above question.

The odd thing is the media is not interested in following this aspect.

[chaanakya]

There was some report that the shopkeeper was also keeping fertilizers and pesticides in his shop along with groceries. It was also shown on one of the TV Channel.Not seen anymore. Quality of food product is one issue. But this seems to be deliberate. Someone forced the cook to use the oil from pesticide can and also forced the kids to eat it as per interview of few kids shown on TV. I believe they were telling truth. Cook herself fell sick. She does not seem to be involved but the principal and her hubby are who are said to belong to RJD

Callousness of NiKu of JDU and possible complicity of RJD members in poisoning issue while both of them have donned sickular mantle makes them soft target esp when food bull is to be presented in the House. This will mean bad publicity during food bill passage. Congoons are not interested in rocking the boat and BJP is simply being inapt fearing they might have to share the blame of mus-governance in Bihar.

[chaanakya]

Principal forced kids to eat midday meal cooked in insecticide


Well Principal should be tried for multiple murder. But what other education dept officials and DM were doing by not inspecting the MMS kitchens and storage? Mr Sahi , who happens to be Education Minister from JDU in NiKuamma Ministry must also be tried for negligence leading to death , culpable homicide, along with those officials then only system would have some sense. One can not just play with lives of children who are placed under care of the system through MMS. Govt owes as much responsibility of failure as that wretched principal.

JDU and RJD have much to answer.

NEW DELHI: HRD ministry's senior official's spot report on the MDM tragedy in Gandamal village of Masrakh block in Saran district has blamed the school principal for the death of more than 20 children and pointed out systemic failure of the state government in monitoring the flagship programme.

The report — prepared after talking to parents and students — has also said there were serious problems with the storage of grains and other food items.

Ministry sources said it is likely that the cooking medium used for soyabean subzi was predominantly pesticide. "Earlier it was thought oil was put in a pesticide container. But it seems that the lady cook used pesticide," a source said. According to him, the subzi looked black and even smelt differently. "But the school principal insisted the cooking medium cannot be bad since it had come from her husband's shop. When students refused to eat, the principal scolded and forced them to eat," the source said. Worse, he said, when children started falling sick, the principal instead of reaching out for help, panicked and fled. "Crucial one and half to two hours were lost. Had these children been rushed to hospital immediately few lives could have been saved," he said, adding that the forensic report released on Saturday confirms unusually high level of pesticide content.

"It was the clear case of bad storage of food and cooking material. The kitchen itself is in a pitiable condition," he said.

The report also points out that the MDM apparatus in Bihar — especially the monitoring mechanism — does not follow the elaborate guidelines. School secretary R Bhattacharya told TOI, "Final view on the report has not been taken. We would send our comments to the state government very soon."

Meanwhile, HRD minister MM Pallam Raju said "collective responsibility" should be taken for the tragedy rather than indulge in blame game. He said the new committee to be headed by him would meet shortly and work towards strengthening the quality aspect of the MDM. "It is certain that we will be strengthening the mechanism towards implementing the scheme," he said. However, he said reports of the monitoring mechanism should be taken seriously by the state governments and immediate action be taken to rectify the problems. In case of Bihar he said the state government was aware that Saran was among the 12 poor performing districts.

[Austin]

How rampant bribery is corroding India's core

The Bribe Republic

[member_23692]

How rampant bribery is corroding India's core

The Bribe Republic

Totally agree.

And for those that feel that Indians can do no wrong, here is a cross post from another thread.

chaanakya wrote:
harbans wrote:
The solution to the Chinese nitpicking along the border is simple. Very simple. Derecognize Chinese aggression of Tibet. Claim Kailash Mansarover. Start to reverse the damage done by previous leaders. That message needs to be got through to a potential leader like NM. Obviously while doing all that keep the powder dry.

fully agree. We need to take offensive into their camp.


And what if after these lame announcements by the Government of India, the Chinese intrude even more or worse, embark on a "limited" punitive strike to punish India for its indiscretions. What if then they occupy and keep a fairly large chunk of our territory, a la aksai chin ? Just like 1962 ? Escalating a situation when India does not have the fire power to even defend itself, leave aside "taking the offensive into their camp" would be laughable, if it was not so dangerous. Remember, Nehru in 1962 ? After paying no attention to building up our defenses for years, one fine day, he just woke up and "commanded" the Indian Army to "drive the Chinese out of our territory". The situation today is worse than Nehru's days. Nehru merely neglected to build up our armed forces. Since him, over the last 50 years, we have systematically run down and hollowed out our defenses, mainly due to our internal corruption, which has in last twenty years or so resulted in corrupting of the top brass of the Army too. Besides massive corruption in the Army's procurement process, total apathy and even antipathy among most in our political class to build up our armed forces, over reliance on Russia, over emphasis on "indeginising" of defense production, lack of coherent defense posture and policies, lack of an overall integrated foreign, domestic and defense vision, shamelessness to the extreme, all have contributed to our "hollowed out" defense forces. As if, hollowed out defense forces are not bad enough, there has been no political will to defend our borders. The will has totally collapsed. This is all recent HISTORY. Now let us talk about the present and the future. The present is worse than the recent history I outlined above and the future portends to be even worse. Does anybody see any hopeful signs ? I don't. So, for the sake of argument, even if I agree with you that the Indian government should "derecognize Chinese aggression of Tibet..........", do you see any prospects of the Indian government doing that right now or in the forseeable future ?

I read in a thread elsewhere that Shiv has made a comeback and is upset by this self criticism. "The Chinese blame us and the we Indians blame ourselves too", he said. Well, ok, let us not blame ourselves for the state of affairs. Let us blame all our ills on the Chinese, the Pakis and of course, let us whip our favorite whipping boy again, it is all the West's fault - with massive conspiracies hatched against India everyday in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, but mainly London and Washington. Yep, Americans and the Brits are so obsessed with checking the (long predicted and long awaited) "inevitable rise" of India as an "inevitable super power", an economic giant, a billion people, that they have totally neglected and even colluded with their Islamic enemies to spend all their time plotting against India in all sorts of convoluted ways. Yeah, I "totally believe" that. Now, have I proven myself worthy of receiving a "certificate" of being a "good, dharmic, civilizational Indian", who sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil about our Godly and perfect Dharmic country made up of all Godlike individuals about whom how can anyone even think that they can be corrupt and idiotic.

[chaanakya]

^^A full blown whinefest with lot of use of monosyllable word 'if' . Could have been posted in that thread.

[ramana]

So now they are saying the pesticide was used instead of oil? Earlier the spin was it was oil in a pesticide container.

And how come the Bihar Police is unable to arrest the two absconders?

Are they under political protection?