Indian Interests

[RoyG]

And then after that some other person belonging to gandhi clan will take over?

[devesh]

dynasty's time is limited. I don't think anybody in the country has missed the fact that Rahul is a total inept. in spite of their best efforts to mask it, it is an open secret that Rahul has none of the charisma or will that his father, grandmother, and great-grandfather had.

[RamaY]

Let
D – Is a root system
B – Is materialistic derivative of D
A – Inverse derivative of D
C – Political derivative of A
K – Religious derivative of C
J – Socio-Political derivative of A
S – Political derivative of K
E – Economic derivative of S
L – Social derivative of E

I is defined as a integrative of S-E-L and is being sold as “optimization of D”

Note: Each system is a multi-dimensional non-linear equation with some of the dimensions being Individual, spiritual, environmental, Social, economic, psychological and so on...

[Rony]

How to Bring Down a Nation

If you were intent on bringing down a powerful rival whose philosophy, as originally founded, was strong, independent and entirely opposite from your own—a country that you would not want to confront militarily—how would you go about it? The answer is simple; orchestrate the society’s destruction from within.

Although possibly taking longer than a military victory and requiring great patience, the damage would be just as effective if not more so. When you destroy from within, you do it by using that country’s own people, no blood is spilled in combat and the physical infrastructure is left intact.

In any country, there are but a few key areas that determine how the citizens mature, live, and develop their beliefs. These are the focal points that must be attacked. In his book, On War, Clausewitz referred to this concept of identifying and then focusing on select points as attacking the center of gravity.

The center of gravity is that key element, if controlled or destroyed, would most hurt your opponent and is the critical factor in achieving your objective. In this case, when taking control of or destroying a country from within, the key is to attack and control the mind of the inhabitants—you must shape the way people view life and the values upon which their life is based. Shape the mind and you control their direction. Control their direction and you can lead them down a pathway to hell.

The centers of gravity I would shape in orchestrating a country’s downfall from within are its perception of truth, its future generations, the political philosophy, its sense of nationalism and of course, the economy.


To shape truth, control the media: Most people absorb what they know about life from the major media centers these days. The media paints the picture for all to see. If that picture is constantly distorted, lies become accepted as truth, i.e. tell enough lies repeatedly and soon those lies are accepted as fact. Spin and concoct, distort and influence using the public platforms such as television, radio and print and you can influence, sway and control the mind of the vast majority of its population in any area you choose. This subversive influence includes pitting one group against another in order to foment internal discord as well as ridiculing, discrediting and challenging moral principles and national values in order to destroy any hint of a strong spiritual foundation or allegiance to a unique national culture. This is a much easier task if many in your target audience have become lazy, ill-educated, ill-informed, unthinking and apathetic.


To shape future generations, control the schools: Incrementally indoctrinate the children with principles that are sympathetic to your philosophy. Make future generations weak in mind, body and spirit. Avoid teaching children the basic facts about their own history, constitution or rights. Teach them that natural aggression is wrong and docile submission is right. Teach them that any basis of a moral foundation, like the principles of religion, is a weakness to be avoided in the name of freedom and also redefine the concept of patriotism to support your views. Teach them to cast off old values and traditions in the interest and name of sensitivity—after all, we wouldn’t want to offend anyone with our old fashioned or traditional beliefs now would we? And guns, guns are wicked, dangerous, and socially unacceptable—an evil that must be eradicated from society—for the good of the children of course.


To shape the political philosophy, infiltrate the government: Whenever and wherever possible place those sympathetic to your philosophy into office at all levels—the higher, the better—so they can sway the direction of the country within every function of government, promising solutions, handouts and benefits for all. In such a way you can tilt legislation toward incrementally increasing the control of and dependency on government—a government that you are shaping. Concurrently, if you can pack the courts with appointed judges who will not hold you accountable to the law and its constitution, you can act with virtual impunity. Infiltration at the highest levels can also be employed to weaken the military through budget cuts, unwarranted restrictions and over commitment, degrading both force morale and effectiveness. A country without a strong military is like a bull without horns or a tiger without claws—defenseless and vulnerable.


To shape the sense of nationalism, dilute the culture and the language: A strong society has at its foundation a unique culture and a common language. Simply put, it is the culture and language which ultimately defines and unites a nation. If you can manipulate these two critical elements through legislative action and social pressure, you can weaken the foundation of any country. How? Introduce and eventually force the acceptance of a multi-cultural concept and refuse to accept a common tongue as the official language. In short, prevent cultural assimilation and undermine any sense of nationalism. Encourage and orchestrate a mosaic society rather than a melting pot and you will eventually mortally wound the national fabric.

To shape the economy, spend, spend, spend and tax, tax, tax: A country with a strong economy is financially independent and its people unlikely to look toward the government for much of anything. If free people don’t depend on their government, that government has limited sway over them. By legislating large sums from the public treasury you accomplish two important goals. First you create dependents of the public and private business that are now subject to conditions, rules and regulations you dictate. Secondly, you are putting that country into unsustainable debt, reducing the value of the currency while undermining its economy. And of course, to support all this spending, you now make the case that the people must “invest” in all these government provided “benefits” so you tax them relentlessly stealing money from their pockets and independence from their lives. Eventually, if you tax and spend enough, you financially oppress the people to the point of serfdom and overload their economic structure to the point of collapse.

Through patient manipulation and clever coordination of these few centers of gravity, you can, in time, weave the downfall of even the most powerful nation, using its own citizens and systems to orchestrate the destruction.


The irony is that in just a few generations, the indoctrinated masses will be convinced this trail which has been shaped for them is truly the enlightened path for mankind and they will unwittingly look forward to the trip! You have thus taken control of a powerful rival without firing a shot or spilling a drop of blood.

[Hari Seldon]

dynasty's time is limited. I don't think anybody in the country has missed the fact that Rahul is a total inept. in spite of their best efforts to mask it, it is an open secret that Rahul has none of the charisma or will that his father, grandmother, and great-grandfather had.

Would you say the same after the recent by poll results in AP? Corruption, megalomania, anti-nationalism, EJism etc are A-Ok in our hallowed land, apparently. So how can Pappu be denied his time on the throne?

[Atri]

And then after that some other person belonging to gandhi clan will take over?

After that kurukshetra onlee saar.....

I agree.. Meera kumari for president, PG for PM.. Naari shakti of india unleashed... Vande mataram..

[partha]

duh...Meira Kumari it seems whose only claim to fame is being the daughter of former defense minister of India, Babu Jagjivan Ram.
Meanwhile NDA (whatever is left of it) seems to be playing its cards carefully. They have deferred naming their candidate for president. Their candidate is Kalam but they have not explicitly said so lest the secular parties like SP, Trinamool withdraw their support to communal party's candidate Kalam

[rkirankr]

duh...Meira Kumari it seems whose only claim to fame is being the daughter of former defense minister of India, Babu Jagjivan Ram.
Meanwhile NDA (whatever is left of it) seems to be playing its cards carefully. They have deferred naming their candidate for president. Their candidate is Kalam but they have not explicitly said so lest the secular parties like SP, Trinamool withdraw their support to communal party's candidate Kalam

I think they should defer it till after the election as they have no influence in getting their candidate selected

Or better propose Advani's name for President, one less headache for them , if it all he gets elected.

[Atri]

can we find a dalit muslim woman candidate for president???

[partha]

can we find a dalit muslim woman candidate for president???

How about a woman with dalit father, christian mother, who got converted to Islam because she thinks Islam is secular and socialist in nature. Perfect. If her grand father was a communist then bonus points. And grand mother a Nehru loyalist.

[Atri]

see. now we are talking like fellas from CWC... All it needs is to shed inhibitions and think out of the box (or rather, start thinking like other members are thinking and then one is on the curve, instead of jumping ahead..)

Once we accept this is bazar and auction, it becomes easier to understand.. the dukaan which gives best "sale offer" along with other incentives, wins.. Be it AP by polls, OR presidential polls..

[Dilbu]

can we find a dalit muslim woman candidate for president???

How about a woman with dalit father, christian mother, who got converted to Islam because she thinks Islam is secular and socialist in nature. Perfect. If her grand father was a communist then bonus points. And grand mother a Nehru loyalist.

You forgot green card. Her immediate family, let us say children, should have green card and should have married some one with shady videsi political connections, prefereably a paki.

[Atri]

Presidential candidate from Maharashtra.. The old man from MDH masala advertisement..

[Aditya_V]

Looks like things have gotten so bad , even the media has expose some of Clown princes stupidity. This is just the TIp of the iceberg. They probably have enough info on the dynasty to really send thier reputation to Pakistan of things go really bad.

Boy ‘killed’ by cops in Tappal and mourned by Rahul Gandhi is back home

[brihaspati]

Bji,

How will the appointment of PG get us one step closer to the finals?

Finals is all that I am waiting for. Otherwise have to bear with mama's favourite boy, before the inevitable pressure for the sistah to take over. As long as she is not tried out - INC chamchas in desh and long term political investors from forrin in the bizness called dynasty - will clamour that, we have hope yet, one person remains to be tried out. Even if she fails of course a repeat of Vilaval raaga could be played out no doubt. The tiny tots are a-upcoming too.

But still it would be a very long gap and regency under a queen dowager then. Forrin investors will need surer thrones to keep their interests intact. That gap creates the opportunity.

[member_20317]

can we find a dalit muslim woman candidate for president???

How about a woman with dalit father, christian mother, who got converted to Islam because she thinks Islam is secular and socialist in nature. Perfect. If her grand father was a communist then bonus points. And grand mother a Nehru loyalist.

And she herself can be a Les_ian with a P_n_s. After all alternative lifestyle should also get represented.

Personal qualities be damned.

[member_20317]

Ok I Prophecy to thee.

The son shall never be the king, the daughter shall live happy with the gig_lo.
The chamchas will have a field day and this day be marked with burning of the holy horse dung.

[chetak]

{quote="ShauryaT"}Has B Raman lost it? He is calling for Priyanka Gandhi to take over the country!!

ShauryaT, now you know what we feel in the Siachen thread. (peace peace kidding wonlee) {/quote}

In this I agree with BR. He is talking sense for the first time in a long long time. I am all for PG. That will jump ahead one step closer to the finals. Otherwise two more duds. Why not go for the final dud quickly!

Forgive the old codger his transgressions. Apparently he has cancer and is obviously preparing his legacy by cosying up to what he thinks are the powers that be.

My Live-In Companion

I never feel depressed because my cancer and I have learnt to live and sleep with each other.
B. RAMAN

I will be 76 on August 14. On October 24, it will be three years since the metastasised cancer in my urinary tract was detected and the hormonal therapy ( total androgen blocade) started.

[chaanakya]

can we find a dalit muslim woman candidate for president???

Nazma Heptullah??

[Atri]

can we find a dalit muslim woman candidate for president???

Nazma Heptullah??

Yes. But isn't she very close to D4 lobby of bjp?

[chaanakya]

^^ The problem is INC would go all out against her even though She has the credentials. Muslims by definition are secular except those who are in BJP or praise such leaders. They would be traitors to the cause and would have to be hounded out. See what happened to Vastanavi of Deoband. INC are closet jihadis and cant tolerate muslim association with "hindutva forces" as it would threaten their very own existence and put into question their own secular credentials.

[Prem]

http://www.businessinsider.com/indian-b ... now-2012-6

See What These Indian Billionaires Looked Like Before They Made—Or Inherited—Their Fortunes


Today, as captains of industry, they're the most recognized faces in the country. But what did they look like then, when they were younger, emerging business titans? Here's a look at some of India's richest men, then and nowRatan Tatal
Kumar Mangalam Birla
A clean-cut Birla is now the sixth richest Indian, and helms a $35 billion multinational
Mukesh & Anil Ambani
Vijay Mallya

Indian Billionaires’ Holiday Hotspots
http://luxpresso.com/photogallery-indul ... spots/5387

[nawabs]

Aamir Khan to address Parliament over medical issues

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/aami ... 01321.html

A Parliamentary panel has invited actor Aamir Khan, who exposed malpractices in the medical sector on his Satyamev Jayate TV show, for an interaction on the issue. He will address the Parliament on Thursday morning. His team will accompany him.

Rajya Sabha MP Shanta Kumar of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who heads the parliamentary standing committee on commerce, has invited the actor to share the knowledge they gained while researching the episode.

Aamir's spokesperson confirmed that he will be there on Thursday morning to interact with the panel. This will make him the first non-MP actor to be invited to address Parliament.

[abhishek_sharma]

Views from the Right

PRESIDENTIAL POLL

While RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently backed A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s candidature for the post of president, the Sangh Parivar’s journals have given little importance to the presidential elections while the BJP-led NDA remains divided on its next course of action.

The RSS weekly Panchjanya used the presidential elections as a backdrop to attack the Congress president. The Organiser gave prominence to an article criticising Sonia Gandhi, the “Congress high command”. Incidentally, both pieces made personal attacks against Gandhi.

While the Organiser, in an article titled ‘UPA and unmitigated disaster for India: undermining India, Sonia style’, attacked Sonia Gandhi, a Panchjanya editorial — ‘Rahul Gandhi ke liye bichhayi Sonia ne bisat’ (Sonia sets the chess board for Rahul Gandhi) — contended that Kalam’s role in spiking her alleged “prime ministerial ambitions” after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections still “rankles” Gandhi, which is why she wants a president who will “set aside all democratic norms” to facilitate her son Rahul Gandhi’s “coronation” after a fractured verdict in 2014.

While the Panchjanya editorial was written when the UPA meeting to decide upon Pranab Mukherjee’s candidature was still happening, the editorial highlights the crucial role of the next president in the formation of next government after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Kashmir and quotas

Even in the midst of the tussle over the presidential election, the Sangh Parivar weeklies have written about the minority sub-quota and the interlocutor’s report on Jammu and Kashmir, indicating their fierce opposition to both. The Panchjanya has a front page article regarding the Supreme Court’s refusal to stay the Andhra high court’s verdict striking down the 4.5 per cent minority sub-quota. Calling the SC’s refusal a “slap” on the face of the government, the article reports that VHP leader Praveen Togadia demanded that the government tender an apology for instituting a sub-quota in the name of religion. The Organiser also prominently displayed Togadia’s demand in its latest issue.

The Organiser also reported RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s assertion that the interlocutor’s report on J&K “spoke the language of the anti-national elements active in Kashmir for decades”.

ON THE RADAR

Barely three months into his tenure as the youngest chief minister of the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son Akhilesh Yadav appears to have attracted the attention of the Sangh Parivar.

A special report in the Organiser has faulted Akhilesh for his alleged “overdrive on (the) communal agenda”. The article cites two of Akhilesh’s moves — hosting a dinner for Imam-e-Haram Sheikh Khalid Bin Ali al Ghamdi of the Ka’aba and his decision to seek a fresh report on the accused in the Lucknow and Faizabad court blasts in 2007 — as major developments that have reinforced the Sangh Parivar’s assessment of his supposedly communal agenda.

Compiled by Ravish Tiwari

[shyamd]

Shyam Saran: A season of missed opportunities

In foreign affairs, reform and the Kashmir Valley, New Delhi is ignoring chances for long-term advantage
Shyam Saran / Jun 20, 2012, 00:37 IST
Since at least the middle of 2011, the global geopolitical environment has been changing in a direction unusually favourable to the pursuit of India’s interests.

Let’s take our adversaries first. For more than half a century, Pakistan has relied on its alliances with the United States and China to underpin its anti-India strategy. Today, the US-Pakistan alliance is crumbling under the weight of its own contradictions. From a non-Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) ally, Pakistan is today a non-ally on the way to becoming an adversary that needs to be contained. China continues to value Pakistan as a proxy power to constrain India. However, the internal turmoil in Pakistan and the growing threat of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan into China’s Xinjiang province are putting limits on the China-Pakistan alliance. A new situation has developed in our region, creating significant space for India vis-à-vis both Pakistan and China. It also strengthens the convergence between India and the US, whose calculations are no longer conditioned by Pakistani sensitivities.


There are gains on the China front too. Thanks to the aggressive posture adopted by China towards Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries over the past year, there has been a strong countervailing reaction in the region. The US has taken advantage of growing anxiety over Chinese intentions by announcing its decision to reinforce its military deployments in this theatre. The uncertainties clouding the planned leadership transition in Beijing are inhibiting Chinese room for manoeuvre. China’s growth is slowing down, while its openness to foreign investment is being narrowed by its increasing demands for preferential technology transfer as a condition for market access. Add to this the stubborn persistence of ethnic unrest and violence in both Xinjiang and Tibet, and it becomes easy to see why China is on the defensive. This may be a temporary phase but there is no doubt that China’s pressure against India has eased. It is making an effort to present a more benign face to India, emphasising the points of convergence rather than divergence between the two nations. China is convinced that the US is building a containment ring around it, and so it hopes to wean India away from becoming a part of this.
The other side of the picture is the interest that the US, Japan, Australia and Southeast Asian countries have conveyed in an increased economic and security presence of India in the Indo-Pacific region, to balance China’s dominating profile. Rarely in the past have we witnessed an influential group of countries openly expressing a stake in India’s success and its enhanced power projection. This is a significant opening for India in a strategically critical region. This must be leveraged to our advantage even while avoiding a confrontation with China. I believe India has the diplomatic finesse to play this game with the skill and subtlety it demands.

This window of opportunity may close very quickly once the global and regional situation alters in the wake of political changes both in Beijing and Washington, as also in response to the direction the ongoing global financial and economic crisis may take. The trick lies in using a short-term opening to put in place long-term assets. Thus, even if – and when – the prevailing situation changes in a negative direction, a transformed ground reality should give India some enduring advantage.

It is, therefore, a great pity that precisely when unprecedented opportunities beckon, India finds itself preoccupied with domestic political and economic crises, which are largely self-inflicted. The failure to pursue second-generation economic reforms is a case in point. The political establishment in Delhi has become risk-averse. It believes that further steps towards economic liberalisation and eliminating long-standing distortionary policies, such as administrative pricing of resources, will be damaging to its electoral prospects. This is a costly misjudgement, which misses entirely the enormous social and economic changes that are taking place in India. There is an aspirational India out there, one that values empowerment over entitlement. Thus, in the remotest corner of India and even among the poorest families, there is a pervasive and compelling demand for their children to be educated. The young Indian in semi-urban and urban India wants more, not less, globalisation. He or she wants a share in the prosperity that globalisation has spawned rather than to turn the clock back to pre-liberalisation faux socialism. One sees insistent demand for accountability in governance, but this is less about acts of commission than about acts of omission and avoidance of decision-making. India is full of creative and talented innovators and yet both in the public- and private-sector procurement policies there is insistence on proven technologies, which, by definition, are obsolete. Innovators are right to demand recognition and reward. Political leaders and parties that acknowledge and respond to the aspirations of this changing India are the ones likely to succeed at the hustings, not those that still believe in the efficacy of one-off handouts at election time. Some political leaders at the state level have understood this and have successfully bucked the anti-incumbency trend.

The sense of stasis on economic policy is mirrored in the failure to use a favourable external environment to tackle long-standing domestic issues. Thanks to Pakistan’s preoccupation with its own internal problems, its compulsion to keep its eastern front relatively tranquil and, most importantly, the virtual evaporation of any pro-Pakistani sentiment in the Kashmir Valley, the time is ripe to take bold initiatives, not conditioned by overweening security imperatives, for a credible and enduring political settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir issue. The Valley is quiescent at present, but, as in the past, this breeds complacency rather than a sense of political opportunity to tackle the issue from a point of advantage and confidence.

The India story is still one full of hope and promise. There is latent energy and power that is struggling to find expression. Aspirational India has already cast its vote in favour of the politics of empowerment against the politics of entitlement. This holds true for both domestic and external policies. Will the political class see the writing on the wall before it’s too late?

The writer, a former foreign secretary, is currently chairman of RIS and a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi

[brihaspati]

The politicians at Delhi are not fools. They are survivors. So when a Pranav Mukherjee goes after something that scares multinationals - he is acting according to his political instinct that says that the "India" story as taken up by financiers, investment-dogmatists, external-flow-ensurers, is the story of a small portion of the neo-elite.

The politicians cozy arrangements, even with that neo-elite - and the very survival of continued profitability of personal wealth accumulation of all those neo-elite who benefit by being allowed the chance to take a cut from the pure process of circulation - depends on the continued political supremacy of the politicians who facilitate this.

If the politicians are shaky on "reforms", they are so because - the benefits of this clamouring of "investments, oh more investments, oh more funds flow from gelf, or china, or the western slush funds that flow and float far far from the shores of their origins" are not reaching the vast majority of people. There is growing resentment in a variety of groups at the lower end.

This is a warning, if that is how it is taken - I don't care really. The Delhi sultanate is hedging for its own survival.

[abhishek_sharma]

From the Urdu Press

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Commenting on the scenario before the presidential election, Rashtriya Sahara (June 17) writes; “now that the picture is clear, issues that can affect politics after the presidential election deserve attention... the NDA has become meaningless. So long as there was suspense that Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee were opposing the UPA candidate, there was the possibility of a role for the NDA. But Yadav’s support has the NDA dumbfounded. The NDA has become a lifeless political organ.”

On the “statesmanship” of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the editor of the daily Inquilab, Shakeel Shamsi, wrote on June 19: “the decision of Kalam (to keep away from the contest) is based on great wisdom and statesmanship. He would have been reduced to a mere vessel of Banerjee, without any vegetable [sic]. However, we wonder why the RSS and BJP are so insistent on Kalam? Has love for Muslims awakened in their hearts? Or are these preparations to make the ex-president a sacrificial goat merely to show the Congress down?”

In an oblique criticism of P.A. Sangma, Siasat on June 10 writes: “those doing politics in the name of Dalits, minorities, tribals or women should not play with a constitutional position. The president of a democratic country, should, with regard to the Constitution, be respectable”.

WELCOME MEASURE

The recent circular issued by the Union home ministry to all state governments asking them to appoint at least one Muslim inspector or sub-inspector of police in areas with large Muslim population has been generally welcomed. Siasat on July 12 writes: “with God’s grace, following the instruction by the Union home ministry, appointments will be made to ensure posting of Muslim police officials in Muslim-minority areas. The written order will result in the employment of thousands of Muslim inspectors and sub-inspectors... state governments have been asked to report to the Centre on this matter by the end of June. The appointment of Muslim officials would help in preventing communal acts of oppression and strengthen Muslim confidence that they will not be subjected to excesses.”

Rashtriya Sahara in its editorial on June 9 was more cautious. “This instruction appears wonderful, and it can be used to get a positive message across to the common Muslim. But analysed deeply, the implementation of only one of the many Sachar Committee recommendations can have negative effects. A bigger question is if state governments are bound to accept any instructions of this type from the Centre, as law and order are state issues.”

Sacking the Pak PM

Hailing the decision of the Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifying Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Inquilab writes on June 20: “it is true that the court had ordered him to start new cases against his political master. It is also true that by not acting on this order he was guilty of contempt of court. Having served a symbolic sentence for contempt of court, if Gilani considers himself oppressed, rather than a criminal, it is his guilt (that is to blame).”

Rashtriya Sahara on June 21, has described the judgment as a “political earthquake”. It finds it ironic that “Gilani has been punished for protecting (Pakistan President) Asif Ali Zardari’s crimes.” The paper does see a positive side to the verdict: “it will now be understood in Pakistan that confronting the judiciary will invite great difficulty.”

Mehdi Hasan RIP

Amongst the innumerable tributes to ghazal king Mehdi Hasan, a newspaper on June 19 has quoted the “Emperor of emotions — Dilip Kumar” on the late Hasan, the “Emperor of ghazals”. The paper quotes him as saying that “he (Hasan) had the power to unite every section of society with his magical voice... I can recall his silken voice as if it was just yesterday.”

Compiled by Seema Chishti

[Prem]

DRDO-designed biotoilets to boost sanitation drive

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 365514.cms

NEW DELHI: When Union rural development Jairam Ramesh put a reality check on the euphoria over missile tests by lamenting "India can launch Agni, but not provide toilets to its women", little did he know that defence research body DRDO would be at his door with a biotoilet. The rural development ministry is set to press biotoilets in its sanitation campaign, a move which would, besides providing proper toilets to rural folks, take the scheme's objective from ending open defecation to waste management. The DRDO-designed toilets run on the technology that breaks down the waste into odourless solid and liquid, making drainage redundant. If the claim stands true, it may turn new rural toilets into urban drainage systems that don't require handling human waste. Presently, they are more for privacy, despite the claim of hygiene. The new system would also deal a big blow to the dehumanizing practice of manual scavenging that the government is set to clampdown upon by drafting a stringent law replacing the archaic one. Ramesh said, "Biotoilets can do to rural sanitation what Agni has done to external defence of the country." The research body held a meeting with the minister to introduce him to the new technology and desired it be adopted in the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) that funds construction of toilets in rural households. The two government arms would sign a MoU, which would pledge Rs 400 crore for bio-toilets under TSC. It has been estimated that one toilet, which includes construction of a biodigester, would cost around Rs 15, 000. The Centre plans to launch bio-toilets in 1,000 gram panchayats. "We would saturate them," Ramesh said. The big launch is on account of DRDO's claim that it has tested them in high altitudes and deserts for armed forces.

[Altair]

Breaking news; Major Fire inside Home Ministry in North block.
Details awaited.

[Hari Seldon]

^^^ AAh, PC taking inspiration from mantralaya episode perhaps... jai ho jai ho indeed... and we still have UPA defenders on BRF...

[RamaY]

^ Next in line

North Block
South Block
PMO office
RP Bhavan
10 Janapath

Nothing to worry about it. In a way, this nation needs to rebuild its capital (perhaps somewhere south)

[ramana]

Sumit Ganguly, William Thompson - Asian Rivalries: Conflict, Escalation, and Limitations on Two-level Games
Published: 2011-08-17 | ISBN: 0804775966, 0804775958 || 272 pages |


The most typical treatment of international relations is to conceive it as a battle between two antagonistic states volleying back and forth. In reality, interstate relations are often at least two-level games in which decision-makers operate not only in an international environment but also in a competitive domestic context.

Given that interstate rivalries are responsible for a disproportionate share of discord in world politics, this book sets out to explain just how these two-level rivalries really work.
By reference to specific cases, specialists on Asian rivalries examine three related questions: what is the mix of internal (domestic politics) and external (interstate politics) stimuli in the dynamics of their rivalries; in what types of circumstances do domestic politics become the predominant influence on rivalry dynamics; when domestic politics become predominant, is their effect more likely to lead to the escalation or de-escalation of rivalry hostility? By pulling together the threads laid out by each contributor, the editors create a 'grounded theory' for interstate rivalries that breaks new ground in international relations theory.

India is one counntry where the challengers have domestic parties supporting them. TSP, US and PRC, all have lobbies cultivated and nurtured in India that intervene for their backers at crucial times.

[chaanakya]

Fires litting up everywhere in the wake of scams and approaching elections.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust
INC rule going Bust??

[Hari Seldon]

Like someone was saying on twitter, INC wants to temporarily make "We didn't start the fire..." our national anthem till 2014...

[Prem]

India Prepares for New Finance Minister .
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 30076.html

Among the top contenders to head the finance ministry are C. Rangarajan, chairman of the prime minister's economic-advisory panel, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an economist by training who was a key architect of India's liberalization policies in the early 1990s, also could choose to hold on to the finance portfolio himself. "We owe it to our country to take all the necessary decisions which would return the country to a high growth path," Mr. Singh said Sunday, speaking to reporters aboard his plane, Air India One.Some of the contenders for finance minister, such as Mr. Rangarajan and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, are regarded as brilliant economic minds, but since they aren't career politicians some industry analysts wonder if they could carry out the necessary arm-twisting of politicians to bring about reforms.Mr. Rangarajan, an economist, has a deep well of experience, having served more than 10 years as a deputy governor at the Reserve Bank of India. He has advocated fiscal reforms to narrow India's budget deficit and has pushed for overhaul of the country's costly fuel subsidies, as has Mr. Ahluwalia.Another leading candidate, Mr. Sharma, is an articulate proponent of reforms whose backers say he has done a decent job managing the commerce ministry and executing measures to fight a slowdown in exports. But critics say he wouldn't bring with him any large political support base

[Altair]

^^^ AAh, PC taking inspiration from mantralaya episode perhaps... jai ho jai ho indeed... and we still have UPA defenders on BRF...

There are short circuits and there are short circuits. These ones are the later!

[Aaryan]

X posting from another thread just for getting more eye ball and some responce..

Dear all,
Sometimes I feel that we all are honest, thoughtful , so patriotic just because all we do is sit in a comfortable office/home , do some surfing and then share that information or comment on that info. I don’t say its bad.. but can we do more? I personally find few posts and most of the persons who post them as persons of morals, ethics and super intelligence.. Can we make sure the information and its analysis that’s done here reaches to many more… Can we act as an strategic think tank.. Can we do something and make things happen rather than just watch them and comment on them… CAN WE BE THE VOICE WHICH CANNOT BE IGNORED ESILY..I have few things in mind.. will post them according to the feedback I get…

[Prem]

India slips to 4th place in Geopolitical Power Index
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/india ... 120626.htm

India [ Images ] has slipped to fourth place with an aggregate score of 64 in the second edition of the biannual Geopolitical Power Index (GPI)TM 2011 (H2), behind top-ranked United States (80 points on a maximum of 110) and second-placed China (72), a press release issued by the Global Intelligence Review stated on Tuesday. Britain (65) moves up a spot to third place with France [ Images ] (63) retaining fifth rank, it said.
GPI 2011 is a copyrighted dynamic index created by Global Intelligence Review, an independent Mumbai-based think tank headed by author and media publisher Minhaz Merchant. Using a proprietarily mathematical model to analyse 11 parameters ranging from economy and governance to military and innovation, GPI 2011 -- which is updated biannually in January (H1) and July (H2) -- measures both the ability and potential of the world's ten most important countries, dubbed the G10 , to project hard and soft power globally.
As the overall GPI 2011 (H2) ranking demonstrates, the US is still the world's most influential nation. Its surgical operations to eliminate top Al Qaeda [ Images ] terrorists including Osama bin Laden [ Images ] underscore Washington's ability to project hard power across geographies. India's global influence, however, the study concludes, has waned over the past six months on account of misgovernance and corruption. The country's GPI 2011 (H2) rank has also dipped from GPI 2011 (H1) due to the government's timid foreign-policy leadership and ineffective counter-terrorism strategy. In contrast, Britain and France continue to punch well above their geopolitical weight with proactive strategies in the Middle East and in global financial institutions such as the IMF. "To create this first-of-its-kind index of geopolitical strength, countries were selected on the basis of their global economic, military and cultural influence. They were then ranked on a scale of 0-10 across eleven key criteria which constitute the ingredients of geopolitical power. Each criterion is based on five quantitative and qualitative sub-parameters with statistical weightages. These 55 sub-parameters and sub-indices with their specific weightages were analysed drawing upon a range of databases and our proprietorial methodology," Merchant says.

[svinayak]

India slips to 4th place in Geopolitical Power Index
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/india ... 120626.htm

India's global influence, however, the study concludes, has waned over the past six months on account of misgovernance and corruption. They were then ranked on a scale of 0-10 across eleven key criteria which constitute the ingredients of geopolitical power. Each criterion is based on five quantitative and qualitative sub-parameters with statistical weightages. These 55 sub-parameters and sub-indices with their specific weightages were analysed drawing upon a range of databases and our proprietorial methodology," Merchant says.

This is wrong measure since soft power and influence dont matter.
It is about geo graphic location and advantages which will never change for a country.

[abhishek_sharma]

Views from the Right

Secular PM?

The “golden words” of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar setting the “secular” criterion for NDA’s next prime ministerial candidate has caught the attention of the Sangh Parivar weeklies, with Panchjanya questioning the demand in its editorial, while Organiser has published an article suggesting that the BJP “should not bother” about allies like Nitish Kumar.

The Panchjanya editorial, incidentally, does not mention Nitish at all but described secularism as a “political tool” first perfected by the Congress that got “many other political parties and their leaders” competing with each other to perfect the art. The article criticises the Congress and Mulayam Singh Yadav, but has avoided naming Nitish, despite the fact that the debate was initiated at the behest of the Bihar CM. The editorial questions if it would be wrong for India to have a PM and a government that is concerned about the interests of the majority Hindus, a point highlighted by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently.

But the article in Organiser names Nitish and calls his statement a “treacherous attempt” to “isolate” the BJP and RSS and suggests that the BJP not pander to the Bihar CM on the grounds that “presenting a liberal face for blunting Muslim opposition is a foolish idea”, while sticking to “its core ideology of non-appeasement” benefits the saffron party “immensely”. The article points to some electoral results — including Rajiv Gandhi’s 1984 election victory as an outcome of the “Hindu reaction to the killing of the then prime minister by Sikh extremists” among others — to justify its standpoint.

The demand for a secular leader is not just an anachronistic idea but a smokescreen for (the) pursuit of old-style votebank politics. (The) pursuit of such politics may be the pathological compulsion of some parties, but their appeal in contemporary politics is limited as even Muslims are realising the self-serving designs of political leaders,” the article claims, asserting that the “anti-Narendra Modi” campaign would “consolidate the Hindu votes in favour of the BJP” during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Presidential election

WHILE the “secular” PM demand seems to get priority over the presidential elections in the RSS journals, the issue of the election to the highest office of the country has the Organiser interested, with a special focus article that describes the BJP’s support to P.A. Sangma’s candidature as a “relief” to the “developments of... support for the Congress candidate”, Pranab Mukherjee.

The article claims that it was “mechinisation [sic] by the Congress” to “tighten the screws” on Mulayam Singh Yadav to fall in line in support of their presidential candidate. “That being the way (the) Congress has managed support from its allies and non-allies, the party thinks that the election of Pranab Mukherjee to the president’s office is a foregone conclusion,” it says, praising Mamata Banerjee for not playing ball with the Congress on this. It concludes the elections as a test of whether “the politics of money power, blackmail and insidious campaigns gain an upper hand against democratic principles”.

New Congress

BOTH journals have shown a special interest in reporting the recent Andhra Pradesh bypolls, where the YSR Congress decimated the ruling Congress by winning 15 of 18 assembly seats and the lone Lok Sabha seat in the election.

Articles in both Organiser and Panchjanya examine how the Congress lost its deposit in six seats, while the principal opposition lost its deposit in five. The articles look at other statistics to point out that the YSR Congress is now “elbowing out” the TDP in the state and conclude that “if the current swing in (YSR chief) Jagan Mohan (Reddy)’s favour continues unabated, the YSR Congress will soon replace the official Congress”.

Another article on the presidential polls in Organiser has lauded the YSR Congress chief Reddy by contrasting him with leaders like Mulayam and Mayawati in refusing to “play ball with Congress” on the presidential election so far, despite having been “embroiled in a series of CBI cases”.

Compiled by Ravish Tiwari