About Maoists and Indian State

Two differing scenarios:

1. Pukistan sends its army to fight terrorists in its western areas of Waziristan etc. They are Pukistan citizens. They have even been bred and armed by Pukistan establishment. But they are destabilizing the state and are a threat to its integrity and existence and so its army is sent to fight to eliminate them. Pretty obvious and logical, correct!

2. India faces threats from Maoists. Which are also its citizens, Which are a threat to India's integrity and existence and are bent upon destabiliazing the country. But we debate whether the helicopters which would rescue the dead and wounded security forces personnel could retaliate if they are attacked.
Yes Chidambram is talking tough. Yes Shivraj Patil has been sent away rightly. But still there is a hesitation.

Sure there are a lot of sympathisers in the Indian establishment questioning the use of force, but so is the case in Pukistan.

Why does Pukistan more decisive in this and India is not?

Water on Moon by Chandrayan - 1 mission

Amazing achievement.
Proud that an Indian mission has resulted in this discovery.
Provides motivation to do our work even better.

Snub to Indian media by Cricket team in SA

Wonderful. Especially the reader's comments following the article.
Team India continues to snub media

If the media continues to cultivate people as demi gods and glorify them after every success, small or big, and the next day vilify them after just one failure, then this is treatment that they definitely should be getting.

As it is, the Indian media has become even less credible.

Another Indian Press gaffe

So the first 'Duranto' run completed from Sealdah to Delhi.

Times of India reported that Duranto was delayed by 50 minutes. Link
Dainik Jagran that Duranto was before . (No link available but was it in the newspaper).

So much for our fourth estate's credibility.

Swine Flu aka H1N1

So the media created hype and panic around Swine flu (I will say the word Swine and if am politically incorrect then so be it) is finally subsiding and people are getting back to reasonable levels of behavior.

Isnt that wierd in a coountry where one does not thinktwice before behaving and driving dangerously.

Or crossing the expressway on foot between high speed and heavy traffic, even though a zebra crossing / subway / over-bridge may be just 10 metres away.

Or riding a bike on a very busy and dangerous highway without helmet.

Or ramming one's bike between two trucks on a highway trying to overtake

And there is such a great deal of panic over a 'flu' !!!!!

Isnt it wierd that in a country where the total number of deaths due to TB would be much more than those because of 'Swine flu'.

Maybe because Swine flu is a disease of the rich or affluent as that class is the most affected (travel abroad, bring it back, afffect the social circle of the class) and that is why media is putting so much 'attention' to it whereas TB is a disease of the poor and so they just dont care.

I have actually stopped watching any news channel for the past month now. It is getting ridiculuos now.

And lets accept it. Indian media is extremely irresponsible and untrustworthy. Next time there is any 'Scoop' or a 'Sting' ... have your doubts.

Re: Why did India fall behind West

So I got a response to this which said "Industrial Revolution". The main question is what made Industrial Revolution happen in the West before it did in India even though India was not far behind in terms of technology (Tipu Sultan's army invented rockets).

Well to me the main point of inflection was invention of the Printing Press which enabled thoughts, ideas and learnings to be duplicated and replicated far and wide whereas in India learning and knowledge passing was oral. This meant that in India one had to be close to a learned person to be able to develop intellect. Moreover because things were not written down or recorded, they kept getting lost throughout. Human mind does have its limitations.

In the West one the printing press got developed and replication of knowledge became easy, that would have spawned creating people far and wide to build on the available knowledge. There are intelligent, creative and hard-working people everywhere.

The internet is doing the same now and that is enabling India to start catching up.

Thats my thought. Ideas / comments?

Why did India fall behind West

Getting to the blog after a long while.

So lets hear the thoughts... Till 1700s India was ahead of the west in terms of economy, GDP etc. What according to you was the primary reason why India started falling behind the West?

Lets hear.

Our crashing out chances from T20 World Cup

At least 20 runs were lost during the phase when Dhoni was trying to just concentrate on taking singles.
Hey this is T20 mahi. And you became captain for your ability to make big scores 'faaassst'. And now it is your batting basically which lost us those 20 runs.
Also, need to get RP in to play in place of Ishant who just is not getting into the wicket taking scheme. We needed wickets and Rohit and Raina did not even bowl a single over. Dunno what is going on in Dhoni's mind.
But yes of course it is very easy to criticise when all plans and strategies fall apart and very easy to applaud the 'genius' when all of it just works.
So for the fans and the Indian media, it is extremely important to keep up their support for 'OUR' team and not go overboard (as they usually do) in their criticism if we do not make it to the semis (which looks really likely now) especially seeing our dismal run rate. Lets hope that this 'bump' is taken in the right spirit by all for charting out a better future.

For those who love cricket

If you have not been following this... you better coz there is hardly anything as good as this currently in the world of cricket. Well Prince of Patiala in his full flow comes close... but not exactly :-) Love to know your comments (and hear your laughter over phone is you would care to call me to gossip on this)
http://fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com/

Yes - Aussies out!

After a looong looong time... really a looong time India team start a world championship as the favorites.
And after a looooong looooong time.... really looooong looooong time the Aussie sissies start a tournament NOT as favorites.
They tried to argue and speculate that they should be considered among the favorites, but that was not to be and they are KICKED nay BUTT-ed out in the first round itself.
I am delighted. Server those arrogant arses well. Hope they learn some humility and sportsmanship now.
It seemed Auussies did not want to win as much as they want India to lose. Same seems to be the case with Pukistan.
Lets see what happens.

On Kapil Sibal

On a Times Now program after the elections and before the cabinet announcement Kapil Sibal was participating. He clearly mentioned that due to his sons being lawyers, it would be unbecoming of him being appointed law minister (MK, please take note).
He also mentioned something else which I would like to share.
When asked by Arnab for what is he in politics when he had such a wonderful and high earning practice, his response was something like this:
"There is no end to how much money one can want and one can continue to run after it. But I believe that I have made enough money with my practice. Both my children are well settled. My wife is still working so that is another source of income for the family. And I wanted to do something for the country so I decided to take the plunge into politics. Fortunately the electorate has put me into the parliament for two successive terms so I seem to be doing the right thing."
This does not exactly capture what and how he said it, but if someone saw it, this was straight and honest talk. I did not have any tilt for or against Kapil Sibal. But after that I have begun to be hopeful that he would deliver in his stint as HRD minister. Hopefully the education system will get a boost now that a competent man like him is there.

Back after a long while

So here I am back after a long break. Not that I did not have anything to right, rather it is more like I was not able to get time.

The little one is becoming cuter and active day by day hence demands for time from her. Sister is going to get married and will be leaving us in about three weeks from now. And office work is becoming more and more challenging, not so much in terms of challenge of work overload, rather it has become more of thinking and insight and managing people and not just technology, which has its own challenges.

IPL 2 is over with its share of excitement. Due to the reasons mentioned above, except for the final, I was not able to watch any single match fully. It was either one team's batting or another's.
But it was great, especially seeing the bowlers, especially the spinners holding their own.

It was also proved once and for all that Sachin Tendulkar can never be a good captain, nor can Yuvaraj, though his team to me seemed the most flamboyant in the way they play. Something of the captain rubbing off.

Now it is to the T20 world cup, where though Indian team looks formidable, I have my doubts due to the continuous cricket. Apart from fatigue, I believe this would affect the hunger for success as well for some of them, which I feel was the biggest reason for the triumph last time around.

Thank God we have a stable government for the next term, a lot more stable than the previous one and apart from the Indian electorate, Team Congress also needs to be congratulated. Brand Rahul is beginning to be felt. They also need to be congratulated for the way MK's tantrums were handled. Now it is the time to deliver.
The Indian electorate does seem to be voting with intelligence in the past one year, considering the recent assembly elections and this parliamentary election. Is this a maturing of the electorate who are willing to look beyond those who merely flaunt caste, regional and religious affiliations and linkages to try to get to power? I do hope so looking at the way the CMs who delivered were brought back in power in the assembly elections and the results of the parliamentary elections. Though these still are really early times.
Some ministerialdecisions are good. Keeping messrs Arjun Singh, Antulay, Bharadwaj etc out of the cabinet is great.
But some are purely from political compulsions. For example no one can expect Mamta Banerjee to be a better railway minister than Lalu.
For Bengal it is a case of either the Devil (Left, inspite of Buddhaeb) or the deep sea (Mamta). Both seem incompetent. Though finally the Left's audacious use of violence throughout Bengal to stay in power seems to have met its match as well as Karat's ego bubble has been pricked.

On Advani, well any sensible Indian would never have believed ever that Advani would become a Prime Minister. And this dream of his is dead.

Penchant for procuring criminals for elections

I do not understand this fixation of Samajwadi Party to provide tickets to fight elections to people with criminal backgrounds.
Currently they have announced Sanjay Dutt as their candidate from Lucknow for the parliament elections this year. Now we all know the kind of background Sanjay Dutt has and his part in the Mumbai blasts and the subsequent multiple finger pointing with regard to his alleged relations with D company.
Why does Samajwadi Party consider him such a great choice? What has he done so far? What is his contribution towards and social cause?

In fact I remember reading some time back that they were also keen to offer M/S Abu Salem a ticket from Azamgarh. What exactly do they think that they are trying to do here?

Idiots in ShowBiz

Sajid Khan and Arun Lal... good for nothings in showbiz. The former is a useless compere but somehow still manages to keep on appearing in shows. Man he must have a lot of strings.
Arun lal, in each and every match he is comentating, he always puts his foot in his mouth. Even today, he is saying that the srilankans are not doing right by batting a little slowly and trying to save wickets even though they lost 3 very quick wickets. Now tell me, even if the run rate required goes upto 8.5 or 9, isnt getting 85 or so runs in the last 10 overs in a one-day match pretty much normal? Having 6-7 wickets in hand would definitely ensure that. And the batting power-play still to be opted which would up the scoring.
So in that sense the strategy is perfect. Arun Lal, maybe you are stupid or maybe you are getting just too old to understand cricket of this generation.

India's North-West

A comment from someone in office grabbed my attention.
"The NW area of India, Baluchistan, Afghanistan etc. has always been a source of trouble for her."

Think of it ... how very true. Right from the extremists in modern times, to raiders like babar, ghazni, ghauri and abdali, going right back to shakuni in mahabharat, who was from Kandhar and primarily responsible for the mahabharata war.

Is it India's fate till eternity?

How I feel, Substandard vests, batons vs AK 47

Right now I feel the same way as I felt during the Kargil war. The feeling is no different than that of India having been attacked and at war.
On top of that, just add the comments by politicians everyday. Yesterday RR Pateeel says that 'Small things like this in big cities happen". Yesterday he says that "Why should I resign?". Today he has resigned and says that "I am resigning because of my conscience".
Today Achutanandan (translating to child of an untouchable) says that "Had it not been for Sandeep, not even a og would have visited his house." A father who has lost his young son is being said this just because he did not like his son's martyrdom being politicised. What kind of people are governing our country!
Today I hear about deficient bulletproof vests being the reason for the death of Mr Karkare and several other policemen. http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/dec/01mumterror-were-the-bulletproof-vests-substandard.htm
The purchasing is done by the department headed by the joint commissioner of police (administration). Why is he still holding his office. Why is there a case of treason not slapped on him?
Today a TV channel played clips recorded by a mobile showing the Mumbai policemen fighting with the terror module at Girgaun - Chowpaty with a baton and a service revolver. Fighting two hard core militants who have received commando training for a year and who are armed with AK 47 and granades with what - One Service Revolver which is so old that it is unreliable and batons. Why isnt Mumbai Police better equipped and armed? What does the Police Commissioner have to say about this?

The whole brass needs to be rejigged. Is PC listening?

More comments on Mumbai Terror Attack

Shivraj Patil's resignation was default. Government should not expect to be seen as doing something by getting him to resign. It needs to do a lot more and needs to be also seen to be doing a lot more. No one from the government should be talking to any news channel in a loud or aggressive tone.
And vigilant Indians and press should ensure that an incompetent sycophantic fool like Shivraj is not given something like an ambassador or governor posting.
I believe thay Raj Thackray is finished unless he goes back to his chacha, who too not have a lot of steam left.
I believe that Advani and Rajnath did a crime by not being a part of the all-party meeting called by MMS. It is another matter altogether that there was nothing as such decided or announced in the meeting that required an all party consensus.
I believe that Maharashtra government leadership has also shown itself to be incompetent twice in quick succession. Once in their failure to handle the Raj Thackrey episode. And now in ignoring intelligence failures to the state again and again and again, in R R Patil saying 'Small things like these happen in big cities' and in Deshmukh taking along people like his actor son and Ram Gopal Verma for a 'disaster tourism' of the scenes of massacre and bloodbath. They too should be sacked now for first of all big blunders and secondly trivializing something as major as this.
Along with this political rolling, there are no bureaucratic rolling as such is happening. The IB head, home secy and national security advisor also need to be booted out.
Lets see what happens in the coming days.
What is still scary is one of the disclosures by the caught terrorist that 15 terrorists landed at Bombay. The current count of those accounted for is 10. What about the remaining 5?

Passing the buck again ... yeay yeay !

Even before the encounter ends and full evidence is collected and collated, the Political Establishment started passing the buck and looking at scapegoats to diverge attention.

Its Pukistaan this time. Its the ISI this time they say. Thank God at least no one mentioned the retaliation for the Babri structure demolition 16 yrs ago or Gujarat carnage more than 5 yrs ago.

But no one from the government, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE is talking about the failures within and the need for restructuring revamping and sacking the people internally responsible for the lapse. It becomes easier to point fingers outside than within because that will make them work for the people of this country, something which they do not want to do.

By keeping Shivraj Patil hidden right through this and instead getting Minister of State for home (who also looks and sounds in the same league as Patil) and Pranab, their is definitely an acknowledgment regarding his incompetence, failures and the public's ire against him. Why they still continue to carry this sort of incompetence within themselves I cant fathom. Why they cannot simply turn around and sack him I cant fathom considering that they will not have any impact on their 'majority' in parliament because he is not from any coalition partner. Maybe he was again busy taking a shower and changing clothes and hence was late for the various media briefings and other public appearances. Or maybe he is covering in his hole, ashamed and embarrassed about himself and his existence.

We also need to other political parties to stop taking advantage and politicising this. Modi was rightly snubbed by Mr Karkare's widow who refused to meet him. Any party or politician who decides to politicise this needs to be asked that if you are so critical, please explain in exact terms what and how can this be handle and the changes that need to be made. Ask them to get specific and not to just rattle off vague statements.

Election in my area for Delhi Assembly is on 13th. I VOW to vote and also if I meet any candidate canvassing now I will demand to know the specific actions he or she has for the problems.

Messers MMS, Rahul, Sonia, Advani, Lalu - this is the right and actual time to lose sleep. This is the time to come up with a right strategy and action and come to public after the actions which are needed within the establishment.

Roll heads.
Reorganise security and intelligence structure.
Re write laws and penal codes for terrorist activitiess.
And for God's sake, complete the sentencing of Afzal Guru at least now damnit. He is becoming a liability for the govt day after day after day. Time to cut losses at least on that front.

THIS IS A WAR AND NEEDS TO BE TREATED AS SUCH.

Fab four NAY Fab five

There are farewells .... and then there are FAREWELLS.
How many of us remember Kapil Dev's farewell, or for that matter Sunil Gavaskar's farewell.
And how many will forget Anil Kumble's farewell!
What timing, what emotion, and what dignity. There were so many critics who were questioning his form, fitness and inclusion in the India team. Even they would have got a lump in their throats when the great cricketer bid good bye.
Yours truly was actually somewhere in the middle. I did believe (probably hope) for him to turn on his magic at THE Kotla. He did not and eventually India did miss one fully functional and effective spinner, (though Harbhajan's injury made the decision easier for the selectors) and maybe because of that the Aussies were able to fetch a draw (that and the atrocious fielding too).
But eventually it was appropriate that Anil Kumble's last test match over was delivered on the Kotla turf. The place where his reinstatement into the India team began after he was dropped in 1992 after his first series. It was here Kumble broke Delhi's back in the Irani trophy. And then of course a PERFECT 10 in a test innings at Kotla again. So this is his luckiest pitch and fortune conspired in making it his last test and announcing his retirement as well.
Sunil Gavaskar once asked a question about Anil Kumble because he is (was) always underrated. "How many runs are equal to 500 wickets - 15,000?" That talks about his contribution and greatness. If you combine Saurav's and Laxman's runs, they do not total 15,000. So one could argue that Kumble's contribution to Indian cricket was greater than both these gentleman combined!
Its high time our media stopped talking about the era of 'Fab Four' coming to an end. They have done enough injustice for very long by coining the term - 'Fab Four' which leaves out the very important fifth element of this resurgent era of Indian cricket - Anil Kumble.

Please, lets all refer to this era as the era of 'Fab Five' from now on. The four would not have been so effective had there not been the very important lone warrior who had the capability to run through the opposition line up. वो जिसका opposition को खौफ रहता था.

Singur and CPM

Within the economic (and hence national) tragedy of Singur the irony is not lost I believe to everyone.
The very people who have always worked to kill industrialization are now facing the same tactics being used against them, and are literally at their wits end.
I am sure Buddhadeb would be having recurring dreams of all the agitations he has participated and led in his lifetime to force industries to close down. I am sure he will now probably have some pangs of regret and apology for it.

Makes me smile and a gleam of satisfaction penetrates my heart with this. It great to see the villain finally get a taste of his own medicine and now accept that what he did is wrong.