tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67774236809143995812024-03-05T18:06:07.499+05:30Views & Reviews : A PoVPolitics, News Articles, Technology, Cinema...and other mysteries of life!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-81464530104484062672016-10-13T02:00:00.000+05:302016-10-13T02:00:14.435+05:30Philips's shoddy, shabby, pathetic service in Bihar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Dear Philips People,
This is probably my 8th-9th mail to you without eliciting any conclusive response from your side. Last time, I went almost two months without television. And it took you one and half month to decide if the problem can be rectified or not. And then it was replaced after much hassle. What amuses me is you people had no information for one and half month if you have spare parts in stock or not. A global conglomerate Philips works in such a shoddy way is surprising. The model was replaced on whims, and no new warranty card or information etc was provided, despite repeated reminders and calls to the local in-charge, technician.
The model since replaced after almost two months developed snag again, such is the trustworthiness of Philips brand now. And then I finally put up a complaint on 25th September. And I wanted the model to be replaced altogether. Without paying any heed, a 'technician' was sent a couple of days later. 'Technician' was neither dressed in a professional way, nor had any identity card to establish that, neither did he provide with any receipt. I believe your team here in Bihar, at least, lacks professionalism entirely. Neither his communication means suggested that he was some professional. Allowing him inside house, letting him open and take away parts was a matter of leap of faith for me. Your local Philips team amuses, surprises, shocks me to the core.
Moreover, today is 12th October. It has been more than 15 days. This is the second time in less than an year with Philips that it has taken this long. And less than six months for a newly replaced TV. In between, I received a mail which provided me with the contact detail of Rohit Kumar, supposedly in-charge of Bihar & Jharkhand. I called him a couple of times. On 6th October, after my repeated plea that it should be rectified at earliest, he assures me about it in next two days. It doesn't happen. I called him again today and reminded him of his promise. A complete unprofessional he is, his response matched the same. He told me that his engineer has taken sick. When I told him, I pay and buy a product and expect service for it, and no excuse. And it is not a matter of my concern if someone is sick or not. He in a very rude manner told me, '<i>Insaaniyat aapke andar ek dam nahi hai</i>', which, when translated means. 'You are devoid of humanity'. Now this is beyond ignoble, disgusting and completely lacks professional attitude. Kindly make him aware about a few professional ethics. A customer pays for products and services, and he expects that. Secondly, what is shocking is that Philips has recruited a single technician for entire state of Bihar, for servicing 13 crore population, and if that technician takes ill then people of entire province be on mercy!
<b>Philips fails on many account. Mainly,
A. Poor quality of product. Philips has lost its sheen on the account, for which it used to be known: Quality. Two television going kaput within few weeks, sadly, is a testimony to the fact.
B. Pathetic, shoddy, shabby service. Imagine yourself opening up your door to a person in un-presentable condition, dressed shabbily in colourful dresses, telling you that he is an authorized technician. You ask for identity card, there is none. You still allow him inside house, he converses in a very dismissive and tangential way, completely devoid of any resemblance of professionalism. He opens your television, and tells you a few part are faulty, and he needs to carry it. He opens away those parts, and you ask for some receipt, because you aren't sure about him being a technician, even if you were sure, he should give you some documents as guarantee. But no, he doesn't have any. What if he is a thief who is doing a recce of your home, after following you from mall, when you were talking on phone with customer support of Philips?
Funny part is Philips intend to sell its product in a market of 13 crore people, but decides to hire just one technician for entire state, or maybe capital city. And if he is ill, and by chance you called them up, and insisted on your appliance being serviced, be ready to hear maxims like, "You are completely devoid of humanity, cannot you see that person is ill?" Ohh well, it was your mistake since beginning to have complained, or purchased their product. Another funny part, Philips sells its product here, but keeps the spare part in another metropolitan city. In days of single day delivery across India, it takes them 15-45 days to send a requisition, know about availability, source them. Snail pace, is a bit too futuristic for Philips India, and Bihar team in particular.
They eat up on your warranty duration, and sit duck about it, feel cool about it, if you insist on quality service, they will sermonise you on humanity. That is Philips Bihar team for you! </b>
I would as well request Reliance Digital, to stop stocking such shoddy products with unprofessional support team. They are a respected chain, and they should stop stocking products which they sell in certain market, but do not have any support ecosystem. Reliance Digital should only store Philips product in those town where they have service.
I want either refund of entire television along with compensation for lack of TV for more than two months, and mental agony they have caused me. I cannot be expected to bear with a shoddy product, and diminished two months of warranty or the refund of entire television along with compensation for lack of TV for more than two months, and mental agony they have caused me. Either/Or sentence prior to the current line wasn't a typo, it was written with the same intention. Pim Pressman, and Leaondro Mazzoni must take note, I expect an apology from the local Philips team for the rude and crude behaviour. Nothing less than this would suffice.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-27318020147038661312015-07-26T15:47:00.001+05:302015-07-26T15:47:37.163+05:30Centrally Planned Inequality<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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THE spectrum of regional inequalities in India is a very wide one. Punjab and Bihar with per capita incomes of Rs 25,048 and Rs 5,466 respectively represent the two ends of the wide spectrum. Though this might even have been the case historically, a cursory study of state GDP’s in the decades after independence reveals that the width of the spectrum has only widened. In 1965, Punjab’s per capita income was Rs 562, 1.7 times that of Bihar’s Rs 332. In 2001, Punjab’s per capita income grew 45 times over to Rs 25,048 and is now almost five times that of Bihar. In contrast, Bihar’s per capita grew by just 16 times to Rs 5,466. During the same period the national per capita grew from Rs 490 to Rs 16,707 or by 34 times. Quite clearly Bihar has been growing at a much slower pace than the rest of the country. It would seem that rather than ensuring greater equality, five decades of central planning has actually resulted in greater inequality between the states in particular and regions in general.
Compounding this extremely unhappy situation is the fact that the intra-state inequality too is much greater in Bihar than in Punjab. The Gini coefficient for Punjab is 0.29 while that of Bihar is 0.318.1 The Gini coefficient, a measure of the inequality of income distribution, fixes inequality on a scale of zero to one. Thus in a society where everyone receives the same income the Gini will be 0.0, while if one person were to get everything, the Gini would be 1.0. In other words, the higher the Gini, the greater the inequality. The movement of the Gini tells us about the kind of society a country has. In Cuba the Gini moved down from 0.55 in 1953 to 0.22 in 1986, while in the USA it rose from 0.35 in the 1970s to 0.40 now. Most European countries get Gini’s around 0.30 while most African countries have Gini’s in excess of 0.45. So we should not be surprised that Bihar’s Gini is so much worse than Punjab’s.
Sustained high economic growth leads to greater equalization, and economic growth, in India at least, is a direct outcome of public investment. That Punjab grew faster than Bihar because of higher public investment can be easily discerned by analyzing the size of the five year plans. In the first plan the outlay for Punjab was Rs 124 crore entailing a per capita expenditure of Rs 136.26, whereas it was Rs 104.4 crore and Rs 26.98 respectively for Bihar. The 10th plan envisaged an outlay of Rs 18657 crore for the now much truncated Punjab with a per capita expenditure of Rs 7684.1, whereas the comparable figure for a truncated Bihar was Rs 21000 crore, translating into Rs 2536.23 per capita.
Higher public investment in a state also has other long-term effects. For instance higher investment resulting in greater tax collections gives rise to an ever-increasing entitlement to central funds. In this manner the original injustice leads to perennial flow of ‘entitled’ funds.
Since its inception in March 1950, the main thrust of the Planning Commission has been to ‘formulate a plan for the most effective and balanced utilization of the country’s resources; and to define the stages, on a determination of priorities, in which the plan should be carried out and propose the allocation of resources for the due completion of each stage.’2
From the beginning India’s economy has been vigorously planned and continues to be so even after the so-called liberalization in 1992. The growth in the size of every plan is indicative of their pivotal role in shaping the economic destiny of India. The first five year plan (1951-56) had an outlay of Rs 1,960 crore while the GNP in 1951 was Rs 9,506 crore. The 10th five year plan (2002-07) in contrast has grown to Rs 15,92,300 crore while the GNP in 2002 was Rs 22,30,372 crore. Thus while GNP has grown 235 times over, plan outlays have grown more than 835 times. During the same period, per capita income has risen from Rs 275 in 1951 to Rs 16, 707 in 2002, or by about 61 times.
One very obvious inference is that the state has been the main engine of economic growth in India and the Planning Commission, as it sets priorities and apportions resources, is the driver of this engine. It is undeniable that there has been growth and Indian society has undergone a substantial transformation in the past five decades. A good part of the credit for this must accrue to the Planning Commission that so minutely plotted the path of growth and change. Having said that, it also follows that what happened as a result of the skewed priorities of the plans must also be ascribed to it.
Though the achievement of a greater equity between people and regions in India was not explicitly stated in the Constitution, the very notions of a socialistic society and democracy implies a determined thrust towards just that. Unfortunately, from all available data, it is obvious that this did not happen. In fact the divisions between regions and people only deepened, a fact detailed in many studies. So why did this not become a political issue? Is it that our leaders do not care? Or that they do not know? Or is it that the people in general do not care? Whatever be the reasons, we have over time come to accept certain stereotypes, such as the relative prosperity of the Punjab is due to the hard-working and innovative peasant, while the poverty of Bihar is due to the deep divisions in its society, corruption and lawlessness. Like most generalizations these too are seriously flawed.
Clearly Punjab prospered as India made huge investments in the state. These investments were often at the cost of other regions. Take the year 1955. In this year the total national outlay for irrigation was Rs 29,106.30 lakh. Of this Punjab got Rs 10,952.10 lakh or 37.62%. In contrast Bihar got only Rs 1,323.30 lakh, which is only 4.54% of the irrigation outlay. The Bhakra Nangal dam, one of Jawaharlal Nehru’s grandest temples of modern India, planned at an outlay of Rs 7,750 lakh, alone irrigates 14.41 lakh hectares. Even after excluding this from Punjab’s irrigation plan, we see that its outlay is almost 2.5 times that of Bihar.
Punjab has 50.36 lakh ha. of land and of this 42.88 lakh ha. is arable. Of this arable land 89.72% or 38.47 lakh ha. is irrigated. Looking at it in another way, 76.38% of all land in Punjab is irrigated, much of it owing to the munificence of the Government of India.
In contrast only 40.86% or 71 lakh ha of Bihar’s total area of 173.80 lakh ha is under cultivation. Of this cultivated area only 36.42 lakh ha or 51.30% is irrigated. Thus Bihar which is almost 3.5 times larger than Punjab has less irrigated land than Punjab. Even after accommodating for the difference in terrains in both states, the sheer difference in the quantum and percentage of irrigated acreage, the direct result of public spending on irrigation in Punjab, is telling. It is not without some irony that having benefited at the cost of other states, Punjab today denies any water to the neighbouring states.
As argued earlier, Punjab got much more than Bihar in each of the five year plans. There is no need to stress that the bulk of plan funds are provided by the Government of India. This is well known. But what goes unnoticed are other less obvious benefits. For instance, almost 50% of the foodgrains procurement by the FCI is from Punjab, which means about half the food subsidy of Rs 25,160 crore too flows into the hands of Punjab’s farmers. Likewise, since Punjab consumes 8.01% of the total fertilizers, it also benefited by Rs 1,060.85 crore on this account alone. Since subsidies only escalate, it is likely that in the years to come Punjab will get even more of them.
But what is more lucrative and perhaps the most unfair of the benefits that Punjab garners for itself at the cost of others is in cornering over a third of all positions in the Indian armed forces. Detailed statistics are not easily available, and military officials are understandably cagey about revealing details of a state-wise breakdown of military recruitment. The argument that some sub-nationalities are martial races and make better soldiers than others has been more than amply proven to be false by the battlefield showings of the other regiments of the Indian Army. Besides, it must also not be forgotten that the East India Company subjugated the entire Punjab with troops mostly drawn from present day UP and Bihar, who in turn were subjugated by troops drawn from southern India.
The skew towards recruitment from Punjab is best illustrated by the fact that the Indian Army derives two infantry regiments – the Sikh and Punjab – with about 40 battalions from the Punjab. In contrast the Indian Army has one Bihar Regiment with about 20 battalions. The skew does not end here. The Sikh and Punjab regiments consist mostly of troops recruited from the plains and foothills of Punjab, while the Bihar regiment draws its soldiers from Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern UP and abutting areas of MP and Chhattisgarh. Most of the non-infantry units also heavily draw recruits from Punjab. The Armoured Corps, for instance, is said to be almost 50% from Punjab.
An important point for us to consider is that the wage bill of India’s armed forces, 1.18 million strong at last count, in 2000-2001 was Rs 44,233.67 crore and Punjab got at least Rs 14,745 crore of it.3 There are currently 18,01,145 ex-servicemen in India. In addition we have 3,72,179 widows receiving pensions. The total pension bill of the armed forces was Rs 11,000 crore (est.) in 2003. In the past six years alone this amount has grown from Rs 4,947.42 crore to Rs 11,000 crore. This means in the past seven years at least Rs 22,000 crore of the Rs 65,000 crore paid by way of pensions has flowed into Punjab on this account.
In contrast Bihar gets a negligible amount in terms of both wages and pensions. It is Kerala which is often described as a money order economy. But facts seem to suggest that it is Punjab that better fits this description. With such subsidies and fund flows, both deserved and undeserved, it is little wonder that Punjab is doing better than others and much better than Bihar.
In recent years there has emerged a new trend of ranking states ostensibly on the basis of performance by magazines and other publications. Since they command considerable resources and are politically influential, such awards are public occasions with constitutional functionaries like the President of India lending a stamp of official confirmation of authenticity to the awards. Punjab does well in getting these awards. Two years ago the best administered state award given annually by the widely circulated India Today newsmagazine was presented to Punjab’s former chief minister, incidentally just a year before the people of Punjab ignominiously turned him out of power. It only proves that you can’t fool all the people all the time.
As we have seen in the case of Punjab and Bihar, unequal public spending has created an unequal economic situation. But this does not automatically establish that Punjab is better administered, as these publications would like us to believe. Punjab’s financial position is not much better than that of Bihar. Probably the best measure of how well a state is being administered is to look at its debt service ratio. Punjab is no better than Bihar in this regard.
Clearly both states are living beyond their means, but Bihar is doing better on this account with much smaller revenue expenditure to revenue gap. In 2002-03 this gap for Bihar was Rs 1,517 crore, whereas it was Rs 3,018 crore for Punjab. Both states have almost the same revenue levels. Bihar has a superior record than Punjab when it comes to the proportion of disbursements out of capital budgets.
If one has to go by the charges made by the present chief minister of Punjab against his immediate predecessor, and what the previous chief minister said about the present incumbent, corruption in Punjab is a much more serious problem. The sums involved at the top leadership level are quite astounding. There is no evidence to suggest that the incidence of subordinate corruption is lower in Punjab than Bihar. Clearly being better off does not make a state better run, especially when doing better just means getting more from the Government of India than size, needs and merit warrant.
The relationship between human development rankings and per capita income is an obvious one. Thus, generally speaking, the higher the per capita income, the higher is the human development ranking. While these rankings have not changed in any substantial way since 1981, the big change was in Tamil Nadu, which leapt from seventh place in the HDR to third place between 1981 and 1991. It stayed that way till 2001. Tamil Nadu also had the best economic growth during this period. In the decade 1991-2001, Tamil Nadu’s per capita income grew by 378% while that of Punjab grew by 306%.
TABLE I
How much more did Punjab get and how much less did Bihar get?
I
II
I
II
Five year plan
Actual plan allocation to Punjab
Projected plan allocation on basis of national average
Gap between I and II
Actual plan allocation to Bihar
Projected plan allocation on basis of national average
Gap between I and II
First FYP 1951-56
Punjab:
Actual plan allocation to Punjab: 124.00
Projected plan allocation on basis of national average: 52.71
Diff: 71.29
Bihar:
Actual plan allocation: 104.00
Projected plan allocation on basis of national average: 423.22
(-)318.82
Second FYP 1956-61
PUNJAB
Actual plan allocation:1263.00
Projected plan allocation on basis of national average:110.37
Diff: +1152.63
BIHAR
Actual plan allocation: 194.20
projected:465.40
(-)271.2
Third FYP 1961-66
PUNJAB
Actual plan allocation 231.40
Projected: 189.53
Diff: +41.86
Bihar
APA: 337.04
Projected: 793.08
(-)456.04
Fourth FYP 1969-74
PUNJAB
Actual:293.60
Projected:371.60
(-)78.04
Bihar
Actual:531.28
Projected:1703.61
(-)1172.33
Fifth FYP 1974-79
PUNJAB:
Actual:220.80
Projected:655.84
(-)434.97
BIHAR
Actual:368.67
Projected:2732.92
(-)2364.25
Sixth FYP 1980-85
PUNJAB:
1957.00
2492.91
(-)535.91
BIHAR
3225.00
10374.40
(-)7149.40
Seventh FYP 1985-90
PUNJAB
3285.00
4108.92
(-)823.92
BIHAR
5100.00
18777.12
(-)13677.10
Eighth FYP 1992-97
PUNJAB
6570.00
4373.63
2196.37
BIHAR
13000.00
18609.38
(-)5609.38
Ninth FYP 1997-02
PUNJAB
11500.00
8288.61
3211.39
BIHAR
16680.00
36850.72
(-)20170-70
Tenth FYP 2002-07
PUNJAB
18657.00
13715.51
4941.49
BIHAR
21000.00
46972.25
(-)25972.30
TOTAL
PUNJAB
44101.80
34359.63
Diff: Gain of 9742.19cr more than they should have
Bihar
60540.59
137702.10
Loss of (-)77161.50 than what should have been given
During this entire period political power in Tamil Nadu alternated between the two Dravidian parties, each with similarly quaint notions of good governance, probity in public life, and personal ethics. The point here is that the calibre and even character quotient of political and bureaucratic leadership does not vary much from state to state, yet some do better than others. Much of this has to do with public investment. To say some of our sub-nationalities are intrinsically better than others in qualitative terms is both unscientific and intellectually offensive. To make out that some deserve more than others is just as pernicious.
The accompanying table, derived from the documents of the Planning Commission, answers the question. It shows how Punjab consistently got more than the national per capita average and how Bihar progressively got less in each plan. When these amounts are totted up they are quite huge. Even without factoring the benefits due to the Bhakra Nangal project and border roads and canal networks, Punjab got Rs 9742.19 crore more, and Bihar got a huge Rs 77,161.50 crore less. Given this money it is likely that Bihar would have fared better. It will be worthwhile to recall that in 1952, Paul Henson Appleby, the well-known scholar, after a detailed study of public administration systems in the various states, concluded that Bihar had the best run government in India. We can now only speculate on the possibilities that might have been had the good government got requisite financial support.
It is this Rs 77,000 crore hurdle Bihar must vault over first, if it is to catch up with the rest of India. If we factor the last fifty years and the cost of human misery inflicted as a result of this neglect, the real cost will be truly astronomical!
-Mohan Gurusamy. Original article has been taken from here : http://www.india-seminar.com/2007/580/580_mohan_guruswamy.htm
Footnotes:
1. Macroscan (August 2003): ‘Per Capita Income Growth in the States of India’, www.macroscan.org
2. Rediff.com Business Desk (19 July 2004): What does the Planning Commission do?
3. Kendriya Sainik Board, Ministry of Defence, GOI.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-29068232987267545002015-07-26T12:01:00.000+05:302015-07-26T12:01:18.558+05:30Economic Strangulation of Bihar since Independence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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THE ECONOMIC STRANGULATION OF BIHAR!
The Prime Minister yesterday announced a Rs.50,000 crores package for Bihar. Just as he announced a Rs.100,000 crores package for J&K on July 12. The first question one must ask is why twice as much for J&K than over India's most poor and backward state? Bihar has a population of over 103 million andJ&K has a population of 12.5 million.
This is not a new story. Bihar has been systematically exploited by denying it its rightful and deserved share of central funds from the First Plan.
That Bihar is India's poorest and most backward state is undeniable. The facts speak for themselves. But what makes its situation truly unique is that Bihar is the only state in India where the incidence of poverty is uniformly at the highest level (46-70%) in all the sub-regions. The annual real per capita income of Bihar of Rs. 3650 is about a third of the national average of Rs.11, 625. Bihar is also the only Indian state where the majority of the population - 52.47% - is illiterate.
But Bihar has its bright spots also. Its infant mortality rate is 62 per 1000, which is below the national average of 66 per 1000. But what is interesting is that it is better than not just states like UP (83) and Orissa (91), but better than even states like AP and Haryana (both 66). Even in terms of life expectancy, the average Bihari male lives a year longer (63.6 yrs.) than the average Indian male (62.4 yrs) and the state's performance in increasing life spans has been better than most during the past three years. Bihar has 7.04 mn. hectares under agriculture and its yield of 1679 kgs. per hectare, while less than the national average of 1739 kgs. per hectare is better than that of six other states, which include some big agricultural states like Karnataka and Maharashtra. Despite this, in overall socio-economic terms, Bihar is quite clearly in a terrible shape.
As opposed to an All-India per capita developmental expenditure during the last three years of Rs.7935.00, Bihar's is less than half at Rs.3633.00. While development expenditure depends on a bunch of factors including a state's contribution to the national exchequer, no logic can explain away the per capita Tenth Plan size, which at Rs. 2533.80 is less than a third of that of states like Gujarat (Rs.9289.10), Karnataka (Rs.8260.00) and Punjab (Rs.7681.20).
Simple but sound economic logic tells us that when a region is falling behind, not just behind but well behind, it calls for a greater degree of investment in its progress and development. It is analogous to giving a weak or sick child in the family better nutrition and greater attention. Only in the animal kingdom do we see survival of the fittest with the weak and infirm neglected, deprived and even killed. But instead of this we see that Bihar is being systematically denied, let alone the additional assistance its economic and social condition deserves, but also what is its rightful due.
From the pitiful per capita investment in Bihar, it is obvious that the Central Government has been systematically starving Bihar out of funds. Quite obviously Bihar has also paid the price for being politically out of sync with the central government for long periods. The last one was for a dozen years from 1992 to 2004. For the last one year Bihar had a government in New Delhi that was supposed to be favorably disposed to the regime in Patna. Now it is out of sync again.
Quite clearly states that are in political sync do much better in terms of central assistance. Lets take a look at how Andhra Pradesh, a state that has stayed largely in political sync with New Delhi, has fared in the past few years. In terms of grants from the Central Government (2000 to 2005), Bihar fared poorly receiving only Rs. 10833.00 crores while AP got Rs. 15542.00 crores. Bihar has also been neglected as far as net loans from the center are concerned. It received just Rs.2849.60 as against Rs.6902.20 received by AP from 2000-02. It's only in terms of per capita share of central taxes do we see Bihar getting its due. This gross neglect by the central government is reflected in the low per capita central assistance (additional assistance, grants and net loans from the center) received by Bihar in 2001. While AP received Rs.625.60 per capita, Bihar got a paltry Rs.276.70.
The results of the economic strangulation of Bihar can be seen in the abysmally low investments possible in the state government's four major development thrusts. Bihar's per capita spending on Roads is Rs.44.60, which is just 38% of the national average, which is Rs.117.80. Similarly for Irrigation and Flood Control Bihar spends just Rs.104.40 on a per capita basis as opposed to the national average of Rs.199.20.
Now the question of how much did Bihar "forego"? If Bihar got just the All-India per capita average, it would have got Rs. 48,216.66 crores for the 10th Five Year Plan instead of the Rs.21,000.00 crores it has been allocated. This trend was established in the very first five-year plan and the cumulative shortfall now would be in excess of Rs. 80,000.00 crores. That’s a huge handicap now to surmount. Then it would have got Rs. 44,830 crores as credit from banks instead of the Rs. 5635.76 crores it actually got, if it were to get the benefit of the prevalent national credit/deposit ratio.
Similarly Bihar received a pittance from the financial institutions, a mere Rs.551.60 per capita, as opposed to the national average of Rs.4828.80 per capita. This could presumably be explained away by the fact that Bihar now witnesses hardly any industrial activity. But no excuses can be made for the low investment by NABARD. On a cumulative per capita basis (2000 to 2002) Bihar received just Rs.119.00 from NABARD as against Rs.164.80 by AP and Rs.306.30 by Punjab. It can be nobody's argument that there is no farming in Bihar. If the financial institutions were to invest in Bihar at the national per capita average, the state would have got Rs.40, 020.51 crores as investment instead of just Rs.4571.59 crores that it actually received.
Quite clearly Bihar is not only being denied its due share, but there is a flight of capital from Bihar, India's poorest and most backward state. This is a cruel paradox indeed. The cycle then becomes vicious. This capital finances economic activity in other regions, leading to a higher cycle of taxation and consequent injection of greater central government assistance there. If one used harsher language one can even say that Bihar is being systematically exploited, and destroyed by denying it its rightful share of central funds.
To even make a dent on the abysmal state that Bihar is now in, Bihar will need at least twice what it gets from the Centre, as of yesterday.
-Mohan Guruswamy, renowned scholar, financial expertAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-52747311337301652062012-11-20T00:25:00.000+05:302012-11-20T00:25:54.630+05:30Chhath Puja<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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छठ पर्व एवं उसके पीछे के कारण
छठ पर्व बिहार और उत्तरी उत्तर प्रदेश का महा पर्व माना जाता है ! इसके पीछे का नवीनतम इतिहास महाभारत में मिलता है, जब सूर्य पुत्र कर्ण नाभि तक गंगा नदी में भागलपुर के पास सूर्य की उपासना करते थे! छठ करने की विधि सब को पता होगी, या अनन्य जगह पर मिल जायेंगे! मैं इसके पीछे के इतिहास के बारे में अपनी जानकारी अनुसार प्रकाश डालने की कोशिश करूँगा. अगर कोई त्रुटी हो, तो निसंकोच मुझे सही करने का कष्ट करे!
क्युकी ये पर्व दीपावली के छठे दिन होता है, तो मैं थोडा सा दिवाली पे भी प्रकाश डालना चाहूँगा! वर्षा ऋतू के ख़त्म होते ही जो कित-पतंग-कीड़े इत्यादि जो की अनेक बीमारियों के कारण होते है, हमारे घर और वातावरण में अपना स्थान बना चुके होते है! मिटटी के दीये जिसमे घी या सरसों तेल होता है, जलाने की मान्यता है, धार्मिक कारण आप राम को माने और महाभारत के अंश को या कुछ और, वैज्ञानिक कारण ये जरुर है की सरसों तेल और घी के ये दिये जलने से कित-पतंगों का नाश होता है, और घी के उपयोग से वातावरण स्वछ होता है! खैर, अब तो चीन निर्मित विद्युत् दीप का समय है……इससे सिर्फ चीनियों को ही फायदा होता है, जो हमारे वातावरण के अनुकूल दिक्कते है उनका समाधान नहीं!
छठ का वर्णन रिग्वेद में भी मिलता है! इससे यह तो अवश्य पता चलता है की ये मौजूदा पर्वो में सबसे पौराणिक है, रिग्वेद से भी पूर्व से!! मकर सक्रांति की अलावा ये दूसरा पर्व है जिसमे सूर्य भगवांन की उपासना की जाती है! मकर सक्रांति उत्तरायण के समय होता है, वही सूर्य षष्टि(छठ) दक्षिणायन में होता है. सूर्य को एक तरह से हम धन्यवाद कर रहे होते है पृथ्वी पे पूरी सृष्टि बनाये रखने के लिए! एक छठ कार्तिक में मनाया जाता है, तो दूसरा कार्तिक में दिवाली के बाद! छठी शब्द षष्टि का प्राकृत भाषा रूप है! और ऐसा भी माना जाता है की छत हथ योग में मौजूद छः विधियों की वजह से अपना नाम पाता है! हथ योग सूर्य से उर्जा प्राप्त करने की विधि है! वेदों में उषा जिनको सूर्य की पत्नी माना गया है, उनको छठी के नाम से जाना जाता है! उषा सूर्य की पहली किरण होती है, और प्रत्युष सूर्य की आखरी किरण, और छठ पर्व में इन्हें ही अर्ग्य दिया जाता है! आप यूं भी समझ सकते है की उषा हमारे अन्दर एक नयी उर्जा के संचार का प्रेरक है!
विधि पे थोडा सा प्रकाश डालना चाहूँगा, शायद आपको आनंद आये!
नहाये-खाए : व्रती सामान्यत: गंगा जल से स्नान करने के बाद उसकी के जल को घर लाते है, अपने भोजन को पकाने के लिए! गंगा नदी और एवं उसके जल की खूबी तो आपका ज्ञात ही होता, जब भागीरथी अलकनंदा से मिलके गंगा बनती है तब तक उसके पास अनगिनत खनिज का भंडार आ चूका होता है हिमालय के पर्वतो से, और कई जड़ी-बूटी जो उस इलाके में पायी जाती है उसमे विलीन हो चुकी होती है…जब ये बिहार में आते है और अन्य नदी से मिलते है जैसे की कोसी, गंडक(ये नदिया भी हिमालय से नेपाल के राश्ते हमारे यहाँ आती है) तब ये पानी कितना पवित्र कितना लाभ दायक होता होगा, आप इसका तुलना भर कर सकते है(मैं मौजूदा परिपेक्ष में मौजूद प्रदुषण के प्रभाव के बारे में नहीं बात करूँगा)! और जो खाना बनाने की प्रथा है वो मिटटी की बर्तन में है, जिसमे खाने का शुद्ध स्वाद आता है(पीतल और चांदी के बर्तनों का अपना लाभकारी महत्व हैं, परन्तु इस स्थान पे शुद्धता बिना सघन खनिज के, इस बात पे जोड़ होता है)! लौकी चना और अरवा चावल खाने की प्रथा है! लौकी क्षीराशय होता है जिससे पेट में कब्ज़ नहीं होता उपवास के दौरान भी, चने की दाल अपने आप में संपूर्ण आहार होता है, और अरवा चावल उर्जा का स्त्रोत! और इस दिन सफाई पे विशेष ध्यान होता है ताकि आप स्वच्छ वातावरण में रहे!
खरना: इस दिन सूर्य ढलने तक उपवास रखना होता है, और व्रती खुद आटा पीस कर पूरी और खीर बनाते है! खीर में सिर्फ गुड का उपयोग होता है, चीनी का नहीं! शायद आपको पता हो, हर व्रत त्यौहार में सिर्फ गुड का उपयोग होता है….क्यूंकि चीनी बनाने के क्रम में जानवर के हड्डियों का प्रयोग चीनी बनाने के शुरुवाती दौर में होता था, शायद अब भी होता है!
सांझी अर्ग्य: त्यौहार में बनाये जाने वाले प्रसाद की तैयारी की जाती है, घर पे! स्वच्छता पे विशेष बल होता है! और शाम में डूबता सूर्य की आखरी किरण को अर्ग्य दिया जाता है! इस मौके पे व्रती सफ़ेद साड़ी/धोती जो हल्दी से रंगी जाते है इससे पहनाने की विधि होती थी! और छठ के गीत गए जाते है! पांच ईख के नीचे एक दिया रखा जाता है, पांच ईख सूचक होते है पंचतत्व का जिससे हमारा शरीर बना हुआ है!
पारुन्न; अगले दिन उषा को अर्ग्य देकर प्रसाद का वितरण किया जाता है!
धार्मिक रूप से देखे तो यह इकलौता व्रत है, जिसमे पुजारी की आवश्यकता नहीं होती! क्यों? आप अगर काफी अन्दर जाए तो आप इसका योग, यौगिक, एवं वैज्ञानिक वजह पायेंगे…..जनमानस तक पहुचने के लिए मेरे सोच से धर्म का तरीका अपनाया गया होगा! अब वैज्ञानिक तरीके जो मैंने कही कही पढ़े, संगृहीत कर देता हूँ आपके लिए….
Yogic viewpoint
There is also a yogic process of Chhath that may have been associated with the religious observance of Chhath puja. All the traditional rules of Chhath puja have also got some strong scientific reasons behind it & by following that maximum benefits can be gained.
The Yogic Philosophy of Chhath
According to yogic philosophy, the physical bodies of all the living organisms are highly sophisticated energy conducting channels. The solar bio-electricity starts flowing in the human body when it is exposed to solar radiations of specific wavelengths. Under particular physical and mental conditions, the absorption and conduction of this solar-bio-electricity increases. The processes and the rituals of the Chhath puja aim at preparing the body and the mind of the Vratti (devotee) for the process of cosmic solar energy infusion.[citation needed]
The scientific process similar to Chhath was used by the Rishis of yore for carrying out their austerities without any intake of solid or liquid diet. Using a process similar to the Chhath puja, they were able to absorb the energy needed for sustenance directly from the sun, instead of taking it indirectly through food and water.
The retina is a kind of photoelectric material, which emits subtle energy when exposed to light. Hence, very subtle electric energy starts flowing from the retina. This energy (photo-bio-electricity) is transmitted from the retina to the pineal gland by the optic nerves connecting the retina to the pineal gland, leading to its activation. The pineal gland is in close proximity with the pituitary and hypothalamus glands (together, three glands are called Triveni) due to which, the energy generated in this process starts impacting these glands. Consequently, the pranic activity becomes uniform, giving the Vratti good health and a calm mind.
Stages of Chhath (Conscious Photoenergization Process)
According to Yoga philosophy, the process of Chhath is divided into six stages of the Conscious Cosmic Solar Energy Infusion Technique (Conscious Photoenergization Process).[11]
Stage 1: Fasting and the discipline of cleanliness leads to detoxification of the body and mind. This stage prepares the body and mind of the Vratti (devotee) to receive the cosmic solar energy.
Stage 2: Standing in a water body with half the body (navel deep) in the water minimizes the leak of energy and helps the prana (psychic energy) to move up the sushumna (psychic channel in the spine).
Stage 3: Cosmic Solar Energy enters the Vratti’s pineal, pituitary and hypothalamus glands (Triveni complex) through the retina and optic nerves.
Stage 4: Activation of Triveni tri-glandular complex (pineal, pituitary and hypothalamus).
Stage 5: A kind of polarization happens in the spine, which results in the Vratti’s (devotee) gross and subtle bodies getting transformed into a cosmic powerhouse. This can also lead to the awakening of the latent psychic energy popularly known as the Kundalini Shakti.
Stage 6: The body of the Vratti (devotee) becomes a channel which conducts, recycles and transmits the energy into the entire universe.
Benefits of Chhath process
The Chhath process results in detoxification
The Chhath process stresses mental discipline. The discipline of mental purity is a result of this work. By employing a number of rituals, the vrattis focus on maintaining the cleanliness of the offerings and environment. Cleanliness is the most dominant thought that prevails in the minds of all the devotees during Chhath.
This has a great detoxification effect on the body and the mind as mental moods can result in biochemical changes. Now comes the physical detoxification. The fasting paves the way for detoxification at a material level.
Detoxification helps in regularizing the flow of prana and makes the person more energetic. The natural immune system of the body spends much of its energy in fighting the toxins present in the body. By using the detoxification methods such as pranayam, meditation, yoga and Chhath practices, the amount of toxins present in the body can be reduced to a great extent. Thus, with reduction in the amount of toxins, the expenditure of energy also reduces and you feel more energetic. It improves the appearance of the skin. The eyesight can improve and the ageing process of the body slows down.
Benefits of Chhath Puja
Photo-electro-chemical effect: physical benefits
The Chhath practice improves the immunity of the Vratti’s body.
Antiseptic effect: Safe radiation of sunlight can help cure fungal and bacterial infections of the skin.
Raktavardhak (increase in fighting power of blood): As a consequence of the practice of Chhath, the energy infused in the blood stream improves the performance of white blood cells.
The solar energy has a great influence on the glands, which results in balanced secretion of hormones.
Energy requirements are met by the solar energy directly. This will further detoxify the body.
Photo-electro-psychic effects: mental benefits
A state of creative calmness will prevail in the mind.
To a great extent, all negative responses have their origin in the disturbed flow of prana. With the pranic flow regularized, the duration and frequency of occurrences of anger, jealousy, and other negative emotions will be reduced.
With patient and sincere practice, the psychic powers like intuition, healing, and telepathy awaken. This depends on the concentration with which the practice is undertaken.
Daily sun meditation (Chhath process)
In the fast lifestyle of the present times, it may not be possible to follow the Chhath process very often. The detoxification can be undertaken through pranayam, yoga, meditation and Conscious Photoenergization Process known as Chhath Dhyan Sadhana (CDS).
Chhath Dhyan Sadhana (CDS): Conscious Photoenergization Process
Assume a comfortable position (standing or sitting) with back and spine straight. With eyes closed, face the Sun. Inhale completely, as slowly as possible. Do not strain in making the breathing slow. Maintain your comfort level. As you breath in, visualize (feelingly experience) the cosmic solar energy entering through your eyes and moving to the pineal gland through optic nerves and charging the pineal–pituitary–hypothalamus complex. Now, as you exhale, visualize the cosmic solar energy flowing down the pineal gland and spreading throughout your body with a revitalizing effect.
Thus, the process starts with inhalation and ends in exhalation. This constitutes one round. It is suggested to start with five rounds (two minutes), and increase it time permitting. On completion of the practice, thank the Sun for bestowing upon you the life giving solar energy. Thereafter, sit quietly for a minute, observing the good things in the environment around.
CDS should be practiced within one-hour window after sunrise or within one-hour window before sunset. Any person of any age can practice CDS. If you wish to practice CDS at any time other than sunrise or sunset, do not practice it in front of Sun. You can however, practice CDS in a room. Even a bed-ridden person can try and consciously draw in the solar energy while lying on the bed. With regular practice, he/she will notice an improvement in physical and mental health. For those who are not comfortable facing the sun, they can practice the technique in any room having proper ventilation. If you have time, you can also practice it twice a day. Do not hurry in increasing the number of rounds, as there are no shortcuts to success in this method. The nervous system of the body takes its own time in adapting and to be able to receive the energy.
Significance of emphasis on sunrise and Sunset periods
Only sunrise and sunset are the periods during which the majority of humans can safely obtain the solar energy directly from the Sun. However, there may be some exceptions. That is why, in Chhath puja, there is a tradition of offering Arghya to the Sun in late evening and in early morning. During these phases (one hour window after sunrise and before sunset), the ultraviolet radiation levels remain in safe limits.
[अंग्रेजी में दिए गए पाठ्य के स्त्रोत योग्श्री ओमकार की पुस्तक]
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-21679874917662285332012-09-05T06:13:00.001+05:302012-09-05T06:19:28.463+05:30Mr. Belly(Bihar) grow your feet to walk, and Mr. Feet(Maha) kindly manage your own food!<p>I was born in Bihar, spent my childhood in Nagaland, Assam, West Bengal. I spent my teenage days in Bihar, and after that in Maharashtra, UP, Delhi! Am based in Delhi since then! I have very fond memories of the NE states, culinary memories of WB, scenic memories of Maharashtra, green memories of UP, and am living in Delhi. Delhi has around 50% of population from UP, 12% of people from Haryana, 10% from Bihar, around 6% from Rajasthan, while PUNJAB, WB, and MP people comprise 10%, and the rest 10% from other states. And this city gives me a feel of cosmopolitan city, in truest nature! Whenever anyone asks me if I am a Bihari or Assamese, my reply is Indian! Because I feel attached to my country the most! <br><br><br><b></b> <h3><font face="Amienne"><b><font face="Biondi">Backdrop:</font></b> </font></h3> <p><b></b>On August 11th, 2012 few Muslim youths in Mumbai took to vandalism, desecrated 'Amar Jawan' memorial of which pictures were taken by media, to protest against atrocities on Rongiya Muslims in Myanmar. Many policeman were hurt in the riots that ensued, while attempting to stop them. No doubt it was one of the dastardly acts being committed by fundamentalist, and their brainwashed hogs. And what Maharashtra Police did was commendable, infact, they should not have had allowed them for protest itself. India is not Myanmar, and neither should there be any vandalism on account of anything happening in that country. One of the person involved, <i>Abdul Qadir Mohammed Younus Ansari</i>, in desecrating Amar Jawan memorial was found in Indo-Nepal bordering Sitamarhi district in Bihar. Maharashtra Police went and arrested him from there, and brought him to Mumbai. Chief secretary of Bihar then writes a letter to the DGP of Mumbai Police asking Maharashtra Police to follow protocol, else a legal action could be initiated next time it happens. Now what is the protocol? If and when, if any state police has to go and arrest criminal from other state they have to inform their counterpart, in that state. So that, police of other state have information about the alleged criminal. This comes in handy when alleged criminal make hue and cry of being kidnapped in public, and police, who then resort to manhandling the other state police. Secondly, if any family member or any other person complains about missing of the alleged criminal, action can be taken accordingly. However, since this was a national issue of a person harming national property, state could have overlooked, instead of talking about legal action. On its part, Maharashtra government could have completed the protocol later. <p> <h3><font face="Biondi">Aftermath:</font> </h3> <p>Raj Thackerey, the chief of MNS, and nephew of Bal Thackerey terms all Biharis in Maharashtra as infiltrators. And warn that all Biharis would be sent back. Nitish Kumar, the CM of Bihar, calls him no better than an insane person, and in process forgets nationalism. Uddhav Thackerey talks of giving permits to Bihari for entering in Maharastra. Social media is abuzz with people being divided on the issue. Some supporting Thackerey, and a few supporting freedom of Bihar. While the rest advocating and suggesting that Bihar should start working for its development, and stop living off Marathi people's resources. And how Biharis are being a drain on the resources of that state! <p><br> <i><strong>The very idea of India is under grave threat from all quarters. </strong></i>Congress seems to be busy making its hay by doing nothing against Raj Thackerey, and thus dreaming of Hindu and Marathi votes being split between Shiv Sena, BJP and MNS, so that it can make its victory easy. This is how petty we have got. Repeated lies becomes a truth, and this is what seems to have happened to people who keep on hearing Raj Thackerey and getting fascinated with the idea of Maharashtra for Marathi. Few people have even went to the extent of saying because of the culprit of Amar Jawan vandal that Biharis are criminal. By that standard who are Dawood Ibrahim, Gawli, Chhota Sakeel etc, who have declared perpetual war on India! Are they sage? Common both are criminals, has got to do nothing at all with being a part of state. But I would want to present certain fact for such brow beating people, who seem to be hell bent on dividing India, and most importantly Indians. </p> <p> </p> <p><b>TALKING OF MAHARASTRA and BOMBAY<br><br></b> During British rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency. In 1937, the Bombay Presidency became a province of British India. After Indian independence in 1947, many former princely states, including the Gujarat states and the Deccan states, were merged with the former Bombay province, which was renamed the State of Bombay. The State of Bombay was significantly enlarged on November 1, 1956, expanding eastward to incorporate the Marathi-speaking Marathwada region of Hyderabad State, the Marathi-speaking Vidarbha region of southern Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarati-speaking Saurashtra and Kutch. The southernmost, Kannada-speaking portion of the state became part of the new linguistic state of Karnataka (then, Mysore State). The Bombay state was being referred to by the local inhabitants as Maha Dwibhashi Rajya, literally, the great bilingual state. The state was home to both Marathi and Gujarati linguistic movements, both seeking to create separate linguistic states. The Mahagujarat movement in Gujarat was led by Shri Indubhai Yagnik (popularly known as Indu Chacha). On May 1, 1960, after a movement for a separate Marathi state turned violent, the State of Bombay was partitioned into the States of Gujarat and Maharashtra. (source~ wikipedia) </p> <p>When it comes to Bombay, on what basis Marathis talk of ownership? Bombay was basically a land of fishermen, and not Marathi ones. So who owns Bombay? Raj Thackerey who comes from Vidharba of Madhya Pradesh? Or a person from Punjab, Bihar? And what does the word cosmopolitan mean, when we are referring to Bombay as Cosmopolitan? Just for Marathis? Or just for Gujaratis, who really made Bombay what it is today? Or Bihari and UP'ite who contributed in every infrastructure building in Bombay? I hear now people voicing that Biharis are a huge drain on the resources of Mumbai! Ohh, really?</p> <p> So, the Britishers shouldn't have had given birth to India, but Bombay Presidency, Bihar, United Province, Central Province etc etc. Because as per few, there is nothing which binds us, we are a liability on each other! But wait....tell me a few things! </p> <ul> <li>Isn't Udhav's call to let in Biharis in Mumbai only against permits preposterous? If this was applied it would spell the disintegration of India as a nation. Udhav too is playing to the gallery to reassure his vote bank. The irony is that Mumbai as a city owes a debt to the British. Having received 7 islands inhabited only by fishermen, as a dowry from the Portuguese to Charles II of England, the British built "Bombay" and demonstrated the ability to make it the urbs prima of their Indian empire.The development of Mumbai is due to the hard work and entrepreneurship of a multitude of people from all parts of India. It is pertinent that the earliest settlers in the British city were Parsees, Memons and others from Gujarat. The Armenians too were among the earlier ones. The Maharashtrians even from neighbouring Pune or Konkan came later chiefly to work in the mills. To now demand that this melting pot and throughly cosmopolitan city should impose on curbs on North Indians is churlish. </li> <li>Imagine India as your body, Stomach as Bihar, and Mumbai as legs. If you gain a potbelly, is the belly taking away resources of feet, as it can only walk with a smaller belly? Why have I compared Mumbai with feet? World over, across countries, only those cities become the Economical hub which are by the sea! There might be a few aberration esp in land locked countries, but otherwise it holds true! And it is so to encourage trade between different countries, and making the area more prosperous. In the process, the area utilizes resources of other states, people of other states, assimilates culture of other states and thus reflect a cosmopolitan character. And this is so the case with countries and cities across the globe! Most importantly, the manufacturing hubs are located near the shore, thus making the original inhabitants feel the tangible asset. But they tend to forget a number of things. That being near the saline sea, they do not have much fertile soil, and thus depend on other areas for the basic necessity like food! And raw materials as well are transported from other states. </li></ul> <p>In this scenario, if one has read the primary school geography well, they might be able to locate the hub of mineral resources. Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh. Ironical, that these have become the poorest state in current times. Those shouting about using up resources should think about it. States like Bihar has one of the most fertile soil in the country, had lots of mineral resources, could set up factories over there. IT could just transport the final product to Nava Sheva port, or Mazgaon dock for export! <strong>But why didn't it happen?</strong> </p> <p>Because the founders of modern Bharat thought of all round development of the country! And they brought in a policy called '<strong>Freight Equalisation Policy'</strong>! Bihar was one of worst victims of certain policies pursued by the government of India after Independence such as the freight equalisation policy and refugee rehabilitation policy. As Minister of Commerce & Industry and Iron & Steel, T.T Krishnamachari took the decision in 1956 to equalise the prices of iron,steel, aluminium, copper, coal etc all over the country and thus neutralised the locational advantage of Bihar and other eastern States. Moreover, freight rate on cotton and oil seeds were not equalised which caused considerable harm to the industries of Bihar related to these products Introduction of freight equalisation policy (1956) was meant to favour other States and discriminate against Bihar and the whole eastern region. Therefore, <em>Bihar had to carry the legacy of being at the service for other States and for the rest of India and the drain of wealth from Bihar continued till date.</em> This was not the case in the pre-independence era when Tatas, Dalmias and others too come and set up industries in these states and <em>most of the engineering industry was set in Bihar</em>. Dalmia Nagar, Rohtas, Jamshedpur, Hatia, Dhanbad, Monghyr were one of the most industrialized towns across India. But freight Equalisation Policy, and constant step-motherly treatment by Union Government caused Bihar's downfall! It took a big blow when JP led movement threw out Indira Gandhi for a shortwhile. She took revenge from Bihar in a dastardly way by halting all projects, and allocating less funds in central assistance. Dalmia Nagar from being the most industrialized town once in India turned into a ghost town! And where did these factories relocate to? Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Chennai! So what do you expect the people from those states to do? </p> <p> </p> <p><b><font face="Biondi">SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITION</font></b> </p> <p>Every year Bihar is ravaged by massive floods because of the rivers entering through Nepal, and severe drought all at the same time. 20 districts are suffering because of flood, and the rest are starving because of drought. Imagine the plight of farmer who invest his entire year, all money into farming. At the end of it, his house is inundated with flood waters from another country, his crops gone, livestocks gone, and with no other skill what do you expect him to do? Go to any cosmopolitan town because industries have been moved out of your state by repulsive and biased policies, and since your state is land locked there won't be much industrialisation either way, nature has punished you as well, and you have to act as a man and take care of your family. So go and take up any menial job you get, live in any tiny shack you get, defecate by the road, drink from the pipeline passing by, but think about your family! <em><strong>One more interesting fact, Bihar is not being provided coal linkage for electricity generation, despite letting every industry take it to the shore based state.</strong></em> Ironical! Read about it people! Read, instead of diving the country based on decisive politics. </p> <p>Irony of the state were already too many to deal with, but added up are the politicians. Be it media hungry Laloo, or media Savvy Nitish. They both have played politics. One by demonstrating his idiocy, and another demonstrating otherwise, but being worse. Nitish has no spine to counter likes of Raj, and take on horns with center. If he wanted he could have arm twisted for coal linkage, forced Mamta not to abandon the Railway projects initiated by Laloo because of his petty politics. He could have sat down with center on issue of proper dam and barrage, and asked them to take on Nepal. But yes, meanwhile........Lets do, what Britishers did. Divide and Rule. Ideally when a guest reaches a host's home he acclimatises to their condition, but why should Biharis acclimatise? They are Bihari first, Indian later! Why should Marathis budge, even if Bombay is not theirs, they are Marathis first, Indian later! We talk about Indians as having no right to live in Kashmir as legitimate people, think what are we doing amongst ourselves.Maharashtra returns all the iron it has, all the industries based on iron and minerals like automobile, cement, aluminium, pipes to BIMARU states. Return even the water pipes, sewer pipes, ceramic tiles, jewellery etc to all the respective states it came from. Stop eating Paav, and wheat based item...you are eating up MP's resources. All Indians should stop having tea, and let only Bengal and Assam enjoy it. Only Karnatka can enjoy coffee and Kerala its spices. All Biharis should stop wearing clothes which are not manufactured in their state. Bengalis should stop eating fish coming from Orissa. We all should stop smoking tobacco because it comes from WB. Apples are only meant from HP &JK. I mean should we really stop using each other resources? If feet has to walk, develop the feet so that it can generate its food! Grow a leg, Mr. belly to walk!<br><br><br><br>Think why India was great once! <br><br><iframe height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jBXlvEkZZp4" frameborder="0" width="640" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-86763230048471425142012-08-29T23:19:00.000+05:302012-08-29T23:19:43.720+05:30SC Judgement order on Kasab - 26/11<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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IANS news network: The Supreme Court Wednesday upheld the death sentence of Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving Pakistani terrorist behind the 26/11 Mumbai strike that claimed 166 lives.
"We are constrained to hold that the death penalty is the only sentence that can given in the circumstances of the case," the apex court bench of Justices Aftab Alam and C.K. Prasad said.
Kasab, one of the 10 Pakistanis who sneaked into Mumbai on the night of Nov 26, 2008 for a terror siege of the city that ended on Nov 29 afternoon, had moved the apex court challenging the death sentence by a trial court, which was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.
The court rejected Kasab's contention that the Mumbai terror attack was a war against the government of India and not against the Indian state or its people.
The court said the government of India was only the elected organ of the state and the repository of the sovereign powers.
Having said this, the court added: "Primary and foremost offence by the accused (Kasab) was waging war against India."
The high court had upheld Kasab's death penalty Feb 21, 2011.
Kasab was sent to the gallows by a Mumbai trial court May 6, 2010. Besides other charges, he was convicted for waging war against the nation.
An apex court had reserved the verdict on the conclusion of arguments that spread over nearly three months, starting Jan 31.
Kasab and his nine associates who had sailed from Karachi reached Mumbai after they hijacked private Indian ship M.B. Kuber and killed its navigator Amar Chand Solanki.
Here is the link to SC judgement, per se, verbatim. It also blasts media channel for live coverage.
<a title="View SC Judgement on Kasab on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/104298998/SC-Judgement-on-Kasab" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">SC Judgement on Kasab</a> <object id="doc_4066" name="doc_4066" height="600" width="100%" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline:none;" > <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=104298998&access_key=key-294k2o5uw2x7tlecv2s9&page=1&viewMode=scroll"> <embed id="doc_4066" name="doc_4066" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=104298998&access_key=key-294k2o5uw2x7tlecv2s9&page=1&viewMode=scroll" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="600" width="100%" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed> </object>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-73494128928835996552012-08-29T16:21:00.001+05:302012-08-29T16:21:40.025+05:30NDTV's biased reporting.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Is there any difference between the word, 'let off' and 'acquitted'?
Dictionary says let off means "To permit someone to disembark/to let go off without punishment".
And, acquitted means 'To Establish someone's innocence'. But for a few channels like NDTV, who are selective in reporting, both the word has one meaning but not to be interchanged in reporting, perhaps. Having said that, no violence is good. Hindu or Muslim, none should be killed. And who is a Hindu and who is a Muslim? For me all Indians are Sanatan Dharmi, who follow the Sanatan way of life! Muslims however preach and pray to different god. Sanatan Dharm emphasized on prayer of all forms of life, be it a plant or cow dung, or anything which helped in sustaining life.
Nevertheless, talking about media channel like NDTV, and their reporting on Godhra. Here is a preview:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJd_jq2dmRK-Rzl8_V68wVjuCjBBT0oCddJGCVOQdsVLzAQIyqxEQkxVvTRMY3p3GVnce017xx8NEs54lULDkYgce8-Y_E-5-akHG9vSrtQFcCZ12FyBpeXvRNJxUIkTZlAkfdM8r_nU/s1600/Capture1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="299" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJd_jq2dmRK-Rzl8_V68wVjuCjBBT0oCddJGCVOQdsVLzAQIyqxEQkxVvTRMY3p3GVnce017xx8NEs54lULDkYgce8-Y_E-5-akHG9vSrtQFcCZ12FyBpeXvRNJxUIkTZlAkfdM8r_nU/s400/Capture1.JPG" /></a></div>
Here is the link to the page: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/gujarat-riots-32-convicted-29-let-off-in-naroda-patiya-case-260317
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2y4QjFwrPtGqgMpy0lAezwHkHYE0-Q9iXU5ZzQyommwb296fjyzeE_BqB2QtzJ8cMtvkWL1od2hfeuXintfrWVzlc6aivFlofP5v1nEFbgfQe6TvOp0uWU1U1TxtNbZnOoTieWUC-Hpk/s1600/capture2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="363" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2y4QjFwrPtGqgMpy0lAezwHkHYE0-Q9iXU5ZzQyommwb296fjyzeE_BqB2QtzJ8cMtvkWL1od2hfeuXintfrWVzlc6aivFlofP5v1nEFbgfQe6TvOp0uWU1U1TxtNbZnOoTieWUC-Hpk/s400/capture2.JPG" /></a></div>
Here is the link to this page: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/godhra-verdict-31-convicted-63-acquitted-86991
Ideally, Media is supposed to act unbiased towards any community, religion, party, and is just supposed to report the incidents as and when happened. But news channels of today have become view presenters. Today itself, the Supreme Court has inquired about Radia Tapes, and what has center done about it! I appeal to all media channels to present the news in an unbiased manner.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-26721143007683627932012-08-28T22:22:00.000+05:302012-08-28T22:22:09.334+05:30कहा से चले थे.....कहा आ पहुंचे?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Nehru began his speech on freedom of India, with an alien language, alien constitution, alien system, alien bureaucracy which were not inherent part of India. However no one might want to raise a finger on his credibility, even though he was the chief architect of division of India-Pakistan! Had he ceded to demands of Jinnah, who was a far more secular leader, Iqbal wouldn't have been able to persuade Jinnah for division. Jinnah himself was a Shi'ite, had married a Hindu, used to drink, and was by no means a hard-liner. Nevertheless, We can be assured that his intentions were right, not harping on his personal traits, or wishes. This video has inflated our chest on many occasions, just thinking of the independence we got!
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And 65 years down the line, we have the progeny of the same gentleman who chews chewing gum sitting in parliament, inciting her partymen to not allow the Parliament to function. And this when, her party was caught on all fronts neck deep in corruption.
As a popular magazine once said, Sonia's poodle, Manmohan Singh refuses to answer the question by opposition saying, "सवालो की आबरू संभालना भी जरुरी है". What amazes me is, to answer him in his shayraana andaaz, "देश की इज्जत सरे आम लूट रही है, और आप सवालो की आबरू संभाले बैठे है".
Lets see the video of this great lady, who made 'sacrifices' for this country!
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I am quite sure had Azaad, Bose, Bhagat, Bismil and innumerable personalities who laid down their lives, could see future, they would have had abandoned their pursuit.
We are living in a age, where drinking water, sewer, garbage, medicines, education is an issue. All the basic facilities are missing in one part or another.
Seriously, the gods must be with us because we are still running the country despite such bureaucrats, politicians, people!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-72215947981894007952012-08-28T21:05:00.000+05:302012-08-28T21:05:11.567+05:30Sonia Gandhi’s health can’t be a state secret. It’s not about privacy - FIRSTPOST<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There are only questions, and no answers so far, on Sonia Gandhi’s illness that required a surgery.
One, how can the nation’s most powerful political leader, virtual chief executive of the ruling party, not let us know that there was something for us to be concerned about?
Two, how is it that when so many people knew about it—her immediate family, close political advisors, doctors and hospital staff, and personal attendants—the media never got a whiff of it? And if it did, why did it choose to keep so quiet about it?
Three, is news about the illness or medical condition of the people who run our country a state secret? When the main reason for keeping a PM out of Lokpal is that the top executive should not be distracted by nitpicking concerns, is it legitimate to have our No. 1 political leader being unfit through illness?
Four, what makes us—as a people—particularly afraid to learn the truth about our leaders’ medical condition, whether it is politicians or businessmen? Are we happier living in a state of denial?
Five, why is it that even when we do know something now, there is a strange reluctance to reveal the full truth. A Congress party statement merely said: “Sonia Gandhi has been recently diagnosed with a medical condition that requires surgery. On advice from her doctors, she has travelled abroad and is likely to be away for two to three weeks.”
That’s it? At a time when the newspapers are already speculating that the operation is over, we are merely told by the party that she left for the US. For God’s sake, she is not away on vacation that she needs this privacy. What if she had actually been the PM? Would she just have left the country with Rahul without telling anyone?
There is something clearly wrong with us – and it’s not about Sonia Gandhi. A similar thing happened when Manmohan Singh’s angioplasty suddenly surfaced as a problem in January 2009. We came to know about Singh’s coronary bypass and previous heart problems of the 1990s only in 2009.
Even when Singh went under the scalpel, the party in power made no effort to clarify the chain of command by appointing a caretaker PM. What if Pakistan had launched another Kargil that day? Would a de facto No. 2—Pranab Mukherjee —have sufficed without the formal authority of a PM? Or would we have spent the first day of war electing a leader?
The same thing happened with Atal Bihari Vajpayee. A few months after losing his premiership in 2004, he took mysteriously ill and nobody—not the party, not the people—knew anything about it. Whoever knew chose to keep quiet.
To say that he is anyway not PM now is no excuse for silence. What if the same illness was dogging him when he was PM? What if we had a chief executive who was not fully fit, or worse, had moments of mental disability or some other debilitating affliction? What if this had been the case even when we were fighting Kargil?
In the US, the health of the president is not a matter of private concern. Every candidate makes it a point to declare his fitness, especially if he is a bit older and, thus, more likely to be susceptible to some form of disability or disease. In fact, US candidates go out of their way to show they are fighting fit by getting themselves filmed jogging or playing strenuous games.
When he was a candidate for the presidency in 2008, John McCain produced volumes of medical records to show he was fit. The records showed that he had a healthy heart and had cancerous melanomas removed four times.
It is, of course, easy to dismiss non-disclosure of illness as a privacy issue. This is what the Congress party is claiming today, having been stunned by Thursday’s announcement. But this argument does not wash. The health of the head of the country’s political formation is not a private matter. Her party, her government, her country have to know if something is wrong, and what it is.
And it’s not about politicians alone. Employees and shareholders need to know if their chief executives are fit to perform. The case of Steve Jobs is instructive. Everyone knows what Jobs’ value is to Apple – which is why the company allowed him a six-month leave of absence three times to allow him to fight his ailment. Andy Grove, the iconic former boss of Intel, wrote volumes about his fight with cancer. He didn’t keep quiet.
But in India? Shareholders and the public knew little about Dhirubhai Ambani’s health till the end. Everybody could see he was not in great health when he appeared at the company’s annual general meeting, but nobody said anything about it. The press, which went into paroxysms of anger when confronted with his barely-legal initiatives, was completely mum about his illness.
Aditya Birla’s fight against cancer was known only to close family members almost till the very end.
Today, it is quite apparent that Ratan Tata has his share of medical problems. But do the shareholders of the country’s biggest business house know anything about his medical problems?
The problem of keeping health a secret is clearly an Indian affliction. We try to keep the truth away from all till it is impossible to hide it, and this is what we should be concerned about in a modern democracy. When you know, you can be better prepared.
But can there be good reasons for powerful people to keep their state of health hidden?
A case in point is Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s health just before partition. We know now that he was dying even as he was getting his Pakistan. But would Indian leaders have played the game differently if they had known that? Maybe, it could have changed the course of history?
But the chances are when you head a movement, it is not the individual that matters, but the mood. It is highly unlikely that even if Jinnah had died before freedom, and Congress leaders knew about it, the course of history would have changed. This was proved when Jinnah died. The country lurched even more to the right. In fact, the probability is that Jinnah was our best hope of avoiding partition – and we blew it.
Business leaders, like Jobs or Ambani, fret that telling shareholders the whole truth can be injurious to share prices. Moreover, it could lead to speculation about who will succeed the big boss, and make the second line of managers edgy about the future.
This is certainly true, but is that not the case even in an Infosys, where we know a Narayana Murthy is going to retire? In any case, has speculation about Jobs’ health not affected the price?
These are uncertainties and transitions that cannot be avoided. Getting to know something enables us to mentally prepare for a succession or the future. Not knowing can lead to shocks that we can do without.
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/politics/sonia-gandhis-health-cant-be-a-state-secret-its-not-about-privacy-54738.htmlAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-7355647522574674392012-08-28T17:50:00.000+05:302012-08-28T17:51:56.388+05:30Should we not make him the PM?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A true visionary par excellence! Watch him speak, and his visions. No doubt he deserves to be the head of this country! Loved his speech!
I was in my secondary school, when Gujarat Riots happened! I hardly knew of him, and thought him to be an extremist. But now I know, he is an extremist in development. Paid Media has shown us to hate him! Watch the entire speech!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-1139693457787448282012-08-24T00:36:00.000+05:302012-08-24T00:36:08.636+05:30Social Media proposed guidelines by the Government of India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a title="View Social Media Framework and Guidelines on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/103719908/Social-Media-Framework-and-Guidelines" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Social Media Framework and Guidelines</a> <object id="doc_86773" name="doc_86773" height="600" width="100%" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline:none;" > <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=103719908&access_key=key-nb5dr7nhnvbcs7keb4c&page=1&viewMode=book"> <embed id="doc_86773" name="doc_86773" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=103719908&access_key=key-nb5dr7nhnvbcs7keb4c&page=1&viewMode=book" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="600" width="100%" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed> </object>
This is the government proposed guideline on the social media regulation. Having gone through this and current blocking of the Twitter handles, Facebook and Youtube links makes me laugh at the government.
5lakh Assamese gets displaced, Violence in Mumbai damaging public property, NEastern fleeing all parts of country back
And government has the solution of blocking twitter, and facebook and imposing 5sms/day limit. What has happened to Government of India? Why is it acting like the Big Brother of Orwell's 1984? Its appalling to say the least!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-80910521033820207512012-08-24T00:13:00.000+05:302012-08-24T00:15:00.904+05:30GOI BLOCKS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This is the letter to ISP by GoI banning all the pages purportedly promoting 'hatred'. I am a follower of the few on the list mentioned, on twitter. I do not agree with Govt's point of view.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?msid=15618036Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-79948962686085795112012-08-08T17:42:00.000+05:302012-08-08T17:42:08.337+05:30LK Advani:Illegitimate Government Speech<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a title="View L K Advani's 8th August 2012 Speech in Lok Sabha on Assam-Bangladeshi Illegal Immigrants on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/102344529/L-K-Advani-s-8th-August-2012-Speech-in-Lok-Sabha-on-Assam-Bangladeshi-Illegal-Immigrants" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">L K Advani's 8th August 2012 Speech in Lok Sabha on Assam-Bangladeshi Illegal Immigrants</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/102344529/content?start_page=1&view_mode=slideshow&access_key=key-1z2vog9rtko7iyos01m0" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="0.772727272727273" scrolling="no" id="doc_99142" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-80213348216115477322012-08-05T15:32:00.000+05:302012-08-05T15:32:08.684+05:30Water Kit to run Cars, courtesy Pakistan 'scientist' -PAK Watch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Charlatans, quacks and scammers in Pakistan are not a new phenomenon. Witch doctors, black magic practitioners, and herbal healers have long been a part of society, offering ways to cure a disease, get revenge on your mother-in-law or to improve sexual prowess.
These days, however, classical physics is being brutally murdered on television in Pakistan, in front of millions, even if only a few of them care about Science. The laws of conservation of energy, the laws of thermodynamics, basic human intelligence and rationality have been brought to the guillotine. The sentence was carried out by a team of ‘engineers’ from Khairpur, talk show hosts, their production teams and unscientifically leaning ‘renowned scientists’ brought as expert commentators.
‘Engineer’ Agha Waqar and his team have invented the magic pill which will solve all the world’s – but first Pakistan’s energy problems. Lo, and behold, the ‘water kit’! It has already got the nod of approval from a few ministers, a ‘report’ of some sort is due in two weeks on it and the heads of the Pakistan Council of Scientific; and Industrial Research and Pakistan Science Foundation are believers too.
The ‘Engineer’ behind the revolution has already told us that like any patriot, he has refused huge monetary ‘offers’ from various countries (names thrown in for greater effect at times), that he has come to the public without securing any patent because he wants to use it for public good, that he surely feels threatened by the global oil and gas lobby, that he can modify that ‘water kit’ for use on all things (yes, railway engines included) and that revolution is ready to be commercialised. No peer reviewed journals, no scientific method – it works.
Ludicrous Claims
The ‘Engineer’ claimed the following about his revolutionary ‘water kit’:
● An ordinary car cover a distance of 40km on a single liter of water
● An ordinary motorcycle cover a distance of 150km on a single liter of water
● A 1kVA generator can be run for upto 2 hours using a single liter of water (thereby producing, at ordinary power factors, ~1.5kW-h of energy)
Various conflicting claims made in between on three TV shows ranged from:
● The ‘water kit’ can be used on any kind of water
● Distilled or bottled water should be used
● Electrolysis is done using the car battery
● Electrolysis is done using a separate battery that can be recharged by the car’s alternator
● Electrolysis takes up anywhere between 1 per cent to very little of the battery’s peak amperage and does not drain the battery
● Electrolysis takes half the power that an ordinary car stereo takes
● Electrodes used are capacitors separated by a dielectric
● The ‘bubbler’ controls flow of gases
● The modified ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) burns ‘HHO’
● The hydrogen produced from electrolysis can be stored and is produced at a rate good enough that constant production is not necessary and hence battery drain not an issue
● The gas mixture used in the engine is called ‘HHO’ and is more efficient as a fuel than anything known to mankind
● The combustion of hydrogen is twice as heat efficient as high octane gasoline and the car can reach a top speed twice that it would on gasoline
● The car can reach it’s top speed on ‘water kit’ and is not held back like CNG
The cost of this revolution: Around Rs. 40,000 for a passenger car. He did not forget to mention that he had to take loans of around Rs 15 million to ‘develop’ the ‘water kit’.
As much as the ‘Engineer’ believed in his device, I believe most certainly that visible stupidity and the quackest of quack science do not necessitate rebuttals. If anyone were to suggest that he or she had found a radical cure to cancer or AIDS: the use of four strong punches on the affected portion with knuckles covered in rice paper, it would not require a scientific rebuttal. The Law of Conservation of Energy really cannot be challenged by a water filter with electrodes attached to a rubber tube. But since the ‘magar gaari toh chalti hai’ argument was being made again and again on TV, it seems like this does require some form of rebuttal.
Here are some quick comments on some of the claims made:
● Can you run an internal combustion engine on hydrogen? Yes, you can modify an existing one to do so.
● Can you run a car on hydrogen? Yes, you can. Hydrogen powered cars are even commercially produced now. But they are mostly hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and not hydrogen ICE vehicles.
● Can you run a car on hydrogen produced from electrolysis? Yes, you can. You can produce hydrogen from electrolysis and you can use it in an ICE to power a vehicle.
● Is it efficient? Hell, no. Electrolysis is an extremely energy intensive process. Numerous efforts have been to radically improve the efficiency, but huge barriers remain.
As should be known to anyone with secondary school knowledge of chemistry, distilled water is not really conductive. Distilled water in fact has a conductivity of 1,000 to 10,000 times less than tap water. Also, electrodes are supposed to be good conductors, highly conductive metals. I have no idea where capacitors came from. Moreover, you will not find the term ‘HHO’ being used for a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gases, or the term ‘brown gas’ being used for it outside quack circles. It is used exclusively by the water-fuel, HHO mileage enhancer crowd. Just google the terms and you’ll see hundreds of ‘water kit’ likes and mileage enhancement attachments being sold by quacks all across the globe.
The central idea is to use electrolysis to produce Hydrogen to fuel the car, and hence the entire process is dependent on the efficiency of electrolysis. As should be known to anyone with middle school scientific knowledge, you cannot just break down water into components and get energy from combustion to reform them without any loss of energy. What was most amazing was that, the ‘Engineer’ was not just claiming 100 per cent efficiency, but reiterating that he was able to get ‘extra energy’ from the system (hidden in a secret vault by the water molecule and released only to those who believe in the power of the ‘water kit’?).
Energy from the magical pill
There are around 55.56 moles of water in one liter. A liter of water – 55.56 moles of H20 – would produce 55.56 moles of H2 and 55.56/2 moles of O2 during electrolysis. The energy released when water is reformed is 286 kJ/mol (aka the enthalpy of combustion) – assuming liquid water and not steam, which it would be in an engine, thereby reducing energy produced even further as 241 kJ/mol for that). For 55.56 moles, this means 15,890 kJ of energy is released.
When hydrogen (or ‘HHO’ as the ‘Engineer’ claimed) is spent in the engine – reforming H2O in the process, energy is released in the combustion process (covalent bonds are formed as atoms approach each other, lowering energy).
A car consuming 100 horsepower would require 100*745.7 Joules/second of energy. So a 100HP car would require 74570 Joules/second or 74.5 kJ/second of energy to power it. From our earlier figures, the energy from one liter of water could power a 100HP car for – given a 100 per cent efficiency electrolytic conversion and combustion – for a total of 213 seconds, or just about 3 minutes and 31 seconds. Not for 40km. I have ignored the altogether important requirements for minimum gas flow rate into the engine. These things simply cannot feed hungry engines with the amount of hydrogen required to run them. That is why hydrogen cars use liquid hydrogen filled from a filling station like gasoline, and not produce hydrogen from water inside a car. Also, water is an incompressible fluid (not perfectly, but very minimal compressibility). You can’t just store a large amount of it in a small tank.
I would at this moment like to state that even now I am not confident that car was still solely running on hydrogen produced from electrolysis. The math just does not add up. Surely the 0.75 liter bottle of war loaded into the ‘water kit’ could not have powered the car for the drives it took on TV. Or maybe there was residual hydrogen in the ‘tube’ that was lying in the back seat of the car.
After wasting energy on breaking down water into Hydrogen and Oxygen you could possibly – in real world and not the make-belief world of ‘water kit’ – power your car from a liter of water for maybe about half a minute. I would take even that figure with a huge pinch of salt. And remember, the battery will have to be recharged for the energy spent in electrolysis.
To break down liquid water into it’s components using electrolysis requires 237.2 kJ/mol in the form of electricity and 48.6 kJ/mol in the form of added heat. For a liter of water, this would require 131,79 kJ from electric power plus added heat (again, 100 per cent efficiency). This means 3.66 kW-h of electricity (cost of electricity from the grid in Pakistan is ~ Rs 9/kW-h these days for comparison). A 12V, 50A-h battery can only manage 600W-h or 0.6kW-h, not 3.66kW-h in anyway.
A hint of caution: Use of pure Oxygen in an ICE is itself dangerous, as Oxygen being highly reactive can fire up low ignition temperature lubricants and other materials deposited in the pathway. Enriched oxygen can increase efficiency by a small factor on itself in ICEs and ICEs for hydrogen use an air mixture.
‘Engineer’ Waqar’s “trade secret” as he said on TV was being able to produce an amount of Hydrogen necessary to run an engine from water which nobody had done before as they had not done their calculations (paraphrasing translation of his words on Dunya TV’s ‘Kyun’). With ‘extra energy’.
Towards the second appearance on Hamid Mir’s show, a head-shaking and visibly angry (at the public promotion of scientific illiteracy) Dr. Ata explained to the show’s host and guests that hydrogen is commercially produced mostly from natural gas (through the process of hydrocarbon steam reforming) and only a very small percentage is produced from the electrolysis of water (this method is 3 to 10 times more expensive than steam reforming). Upon hearing this, the ‘Engineer’ first laid upon Dr. Ata a revelation that the chemical formula of water is H2O (Nobel Prize in Chemistry!), and before he could give us more gems, the host interrupted because this was a ‘technical behis’ (technical argument). If a scientific argument wasn’t the whole point of the show, then you’d wonder what it was?
Unscientific Scientists
The saddest part of the saga is not that the production teams from television channels were fooled or holier than thou talk show hosts were fooled or that even a few politicians were fooled but that the Chairman of the country’s biggest scientific research organisation sat there and had brought a few Google search results not to say that the idea is ludicrous and basic Physics shouldn’t be made fun of on television like this but to say that the idea was not but new and it has already been done (the water powered car scam is decades old with numerous fraudsters sent behind bars for financial fraud in various countries).
But it wasn’t just the PCSIR Chairman. The ‘water kit’ was earlier presented to the country’s apex scientific research funding organisation – Pakistan Science Foundation – and somehow it got a seal of approval from them. It is to get ‘support’ from the public kitty as well. As per ‘Engineer’ Waqar (on Dunya TV), he apparently gave a presentation to the PAEC (Why?). The PAEC has had Jinn energy experts before. A presentation was given at the Pakistan Engineering Council as well, where apparently no objections were raised on the cruelty shown towards basic Physics.
Then there was the Mohsin-e-Pakistan, who vociferously supported the idea on television, suggested it was practical, even when the ‘Engineer’ was busy telling us that the laws of thermodynamics can be altered and that experimentation precedes theory always. The Mohsin-e-Pakistan was asked for his opinion because he’s a ‘renowned scientist’. Not that he’s more renown for proliferation of centrifuges, he’s actually a metallurgist and not a nuclear physicist like he’s usually mentioned in the media.
All this while, poor Dr Ata-ur-Rehman (himself of HAARP conspiracy fame though) could be seen helplessly trying to talk sense into the host but his efforts were in vain. The host believed – most vehemently – that he was giving necessary coverage to a magic pill required to solve all problems.
On another show, Samar Mubarikmand (of one terawatts from Thar Coal fame – notwithstanding money already spent on UCG without much results) was supportive of the idea and seemed enthusiastic about it, just suggesting that there are safety concerns, but not feasibility ones. The Chairman of the PSF addressed a press conference with the ‘Engineer’ who wants to sue Dr. Ata for defamation. Even the military sent two officials to meet Agha Waqar (‘Water Kit’ powered Al-Khalid?). There aren’t enough tears in the world that can be shed on such a state of science, and the respect for it. Meanwhile, Hamid Mir, Arshad Sharif and Talat Hussain had become free energy suppression conspiracy theory activists and perpetual motion machine believers.
Radical ‘Water Kit’ Science
The only logical conclusion of the ‘water fuel’ saga can be that nuclear fusion takes place inside the engine, thereby producing the missing energy required to run a car from an on-board water tank using electrolysis. With that, ‘Engineer’ Waqar & Co. would have proven cold fusion as well.
When I was a kid, the national daily Nawa-e-Waqt ran a story in it’s Sunday magazine that an ‘inventor’ from Faisalabad had designed a car that ran on – not water, not air – but kashish-e-saqqal. Yes, a car that ran on gravity! To this day, I wonder if the said car just rolled downhill.
As Abdus Salam’s tombstone is edited by a District Magistrate’s orders and his existence removed from collective memory, we can celebrate ‘Engineer’ Waqar Ahmed who has done something more important than contributing immensely to the standard model of particle physics: destroyed the laws of thermodynamics and the law of conservation of energy.
The good thing is science doesn’t need protection from Pakistani scammers, junk inventors and rabid media. It is evidence based. It involves rigorous testing. It is replicable. It does not work on ‘chalti to hai’ arguments and hyperventilating appeals made from talk show hosts.
As the world discusses the economics of a hydrogen economy, how to store and transport it safely, and how to use it effectively, Pakistan is busy with the ‘water kit’. Meanwhile in India, a string theorist just landed the newly inaugurated Yuri Milner Fundamental Physics Prize. The prize money? $3 million. Ashoke Sen can buy a couple million ‘water kits’ from that. But surely, he’s wiser than that.
The writer would like to be known as a professional skeptic.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-50565664907015626932012-08-05T15:22:00.000+05:302012-08-05T15:22:45.628+05:30They do not have a word for ‘ghairat’ in English -Pakistan Watch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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“They do not have a word for ‘ghairat’ in English,” said Khadim. He paused, looked at his audience and asked: “Do you know why?”
Without waiting for a response, he added: “Because they do not have ‘ghairat’ in the West.” His remarks, as he had expected, pleased this audience of South Asian Muslims, Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. “Not true,” said Farhan, one of the few liberals in the crowd. “They do have a word for ‘ghairat,’ honour.”
“Incorrect,” declared Khadim, “honour is a very light word. It does not have the intensity of ‘ghairat.’”
Many in the audience understood this ‘intensity’ well. They had grown-up daughters. And every time their daughters went out, in jeans or shalwar-kameez, they felt this intensity. The intensity increases, if the jeans are a bit too tight or the headscarves do not cover the head properly.
Farhan had so far been very patient. It was the ‘barsi’ or the annual prayer meeting for someone who had died last year. It was a solemn occasion, where conservatives outnumber others. He did not want a confrontation with them. Whenever they lose an argument, they go to his father who forces Farhan to apologise to “your elders.”
But he could hold no more. He looked around and found a copy of the day’s newspaper. He opened a page, holding it above his head and said:
“Look, this is your ‘ghairat’ and this is what you do when this intensity gets out of control.” And he started reading the caption under a picture:
“This is a June 19, 2012, file photo of Iftikhar Ahmed, the father of murdered teen-ager Shafilea Ahmed. A British court found that Iftikhar and his wife Farzana Ahmed suffocated their 17-year-old daughter, Shafilea, in 2003, because she was seeing boys and had refused to accept an arranged marriage. Both parents are originally from Pakistan.
“During the trial, Shafilea’s sister Alesha told the jury that her parents pushed Shafilea onto the couch and she heard her mother say ‘just finish it here’ as they forced a plastic bag into the girl’s mouth.”
(On Friday Aug. 3, 2012, the court found the parents guilty of murdering their teenage daughter in a so-called honour killing.)
Farhan stopped, waiting for the words to sink in, and said: “If this is ‘ghairat,’ thank God people in the West do not have this ‘ghairat.’ They only have honour.”
“Enough. Sit down,” shouted one of the elders at Farhan. “Who invited this brat to this religious gathering?” Nobody answered him, although they all knew why Farhan was invited.
Unlike most in the audience, Farhan had learned the Holy Quran from an Arab teacher. He recited it faster than others and pronounced every word correctly. He also had a sweet voice. So he was always invited to such places.
And his parents made sure that he went to all such gatherings, sometimes against his will.
This was the last Friday before Ramazan. They finished the recital, said the evening prayers and were waiting for the meal when the argument started.
They usually served kebabs and rasmalais at such dinners and Farhan loved both. But the argument upset him, so he walked out, got into his car and drove away.
Once outside, he realised he did not want to go home yet. So he drove to a nearby shisha bar.
“Still no news of the moon?” Razi, who runs this alcohol free shisha bar in a Washington suburb, asked as he saw Farhan.
“Not my problem,” said Farhan, who was still upset.
“It is my problem, though,” said Razi, also a Pakistani-American. “I need to know, to decide whether to have belly dance tonight.”
Around 10 pm, a friend called and told Razi their local mosque had announced that Ramazan starts tomorrow. “OK, there will be no belly dance tonight,” he said.
It was Friday night and the dancer was already there. Razi paid her $400 and sent her home. The dancer, Zebi, although nobody knew her real name, was also a Muslim, a Central Asian Muslim. “I am going to fast as well,” she said. Some believed her. Some did not.
“You wasted $400,” Farhan said to Razi.
“Yes, I cannot do this during Ramazan,” said Razi.
“Oh, I see. You are a Muslim too, right?” said Farhan, “As if Islam allows dancing on other nights.”
“It does not and that’s why I do not serve alcohol at my place. You see, this is America so we have to compromise on some issues.”
What Razi and thousands of others do in America is not a simple compromise. They modify their faith to suit their needs.
Selling alcohol is prohibited but some Muslims sell alcoholic beverages. They justify it by claiming that since they deal with an interest-based banking system, which is also forbidden, they can sell liquor too.
Others deal with the problems they face by drawing lines between what they would and would not do. For instance, most people will not eat pork but they will comfortably gulp down a bottle of beer or a glass of wine.
Some are so particular about halal or haram that they carefully read ingredients list every time they buy a chocolate or a packet of biscuits. But the same people do not mind having girlfriends or even bringing call girls with them.
One such man came home with a call girl and while he was in the bedroom, his friends cooked ‘karahi-gosht’ for him. When he came out, he asked: “Where did you get this meat from?” When told that the meat was from the common refrigerator, he said: “No, I cannot eat this. I know the meat was not halal.”
Razi tried to engage Farhan into a debate on what is allowed and what is forbidden during Ramazan, but Farhan was not interested.
“Not tonight,” he said, “I have had enough of religion for one night.”
“Why, what happened?” asked Razi.
Farhan explained and then said, “I am fed up with these FOBs (freshly off the boat). Why did they come here if they were so concerned about preserving their customs?”
Razi, a second generation American like Farhan, agreed. “I am also fed up these one-track uncles and aunts,” he said. “All they discuss is politics, religion or cricket.”
While they were talking, a customer came with a DVD of Afghan songs and asked Razi to play it. He did. The customer went inside the shisha room where a group of young men and women were waiting for him.
The women – all Muslims from Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Africa – started dancing. The men joined them.
“What will you do now?” asked Farhan with a big grin on his face.
“Nothing, this is America and here the customer is always right,” said Razi, eyeing the dancers with some interest.
As they were watching the amateur dancers, Farhan said he was hungry. Razi called a waiter from the halal restaurant next door.
“What is the Ramazan special, doctor sahib?” he asked the waiter.
“Partridges,” said the waiter, a physician who had twice failed the qualification in America and was now preparing for his third attempt.
“Wow, delicious,” said Razi, “bring two with nans.”
“You should tip this poor physician handsomely,” said Farhan.
“I always do but wait till he passes his exam and then he will be tipping us,” said Razi.
“Do you remember Dr. Nadir,” he asked.
“Yes, I do. Why?” asked Farhan.
“He used to live in a studio apartment before he passed his exam. Last week, he invited me to a dinner at his home. He lives in a palace now. His swimming pool is bigger than three of these shops put together,” said Razi.
“Yes, America is for the doctors,” said Farhan, a software engineer who earned a decent salary but nowhere near what a physician does.
The waiter brought three partridges. “Why three?” asked Razi. “Mr. Khan also wants to join you.” Khan owned the halal restaurant.
While they were eating, two middle-aged men came and said they wanted to talk to Razi separately. Razi took them to a corner, spoke with them for a few minutes and came back. The men went back to their car.
“What do they want?” asked Farhan.
“The same old story. One of them is a Pakistani and the other an Afghan. Their daughters are inside, dancing. They want me to send them home.”
“What did you say?” asked Khan.
“I told them I always checked their IDs and all the girls inside are above 21. So I cannot do anything but they started pleading, asking me to help them as a fellow Muslim. I asked them to wait in the car.”
Farhan finished his food. Then went to the shisha room and spoke to the women. Two of them came out with him, went to their fathers, spoke with them for few minutes, promised to return home soon and came back.
The men drove away.
“What did you say?” Razi asked one of the women.
“We told them we cannot go with them right now because if we do others will make fun of us. We will go soon,” she said. They stayed for another half an hour and then went home.
“This ended nicely,” said Khan. “Remember the other shisha bar, ‘Hookahwalas’? They had to close down because of the parent-children fights.”
“I learned from their mistakes,” said Razi. “First of all, I make sure that all my customers are adults. IDs are always checked.” Then he pointed at a police car, parked on the other side of the road. “And when I sense trouble, I call the cops.”
“I can see why they do that,” said Farhan whose anger had subsided and he was now feeling sorry for the parent-generation. “Poor devils, they had no choice. They came here because they wanted some prosperity, which they got. They were not ready for this huge cultural shock.”
Farhan was right. Most of their parents were from small villages, half-educated and were unable to understand the difference between working in Dubai and migrating to America.
“Why is their ‘ghairat’ always linked to women? Why not men? Nobody comes looking for their sons,” said Khan.
“They do, they worry about their sons too,” said Farhan thinking of his mother who often stays up at night, particularly during Ramazan, praying to God to make sure that her sons remained good Muslims.
Razi said that while the parents of his customers were upset with him for opening this shisha bar, they did not want him to close it down either. “They say that if you close, our daughters will go to other bars where they also serve alcohol.”
“I am sure those two poor souls must have been crying on their way home,” said Farhan.
“Yet, nothing justifies killing your daughter,” he added, thinking of the 17-year old girl killed by her parents in England. “No sympathy for murderers, even if they are parents.
They should be hanged,” he said.
“No, nothing justifies a murder, honour or no honour,” Razi agreed.
Khan, who was also a first generation immigrant, was too lost in thoughts to respond.
-Written by Anwar Iqbal, for Dawn, Pakistan.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-91993648546861992122012-08-05T15:09:00.000+05:302012-08-05T15:10:27.182+05:30A Vandalised Secular State<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This is the high court ruling in the matter of demolished mosque found near Subhash Park. A lot of Muslims had vandalized and closed the area, and demanded shifting of Metro, which would envisage hundreds of crores of rupees.
All this on the base of the fact that 'A Mosque' existed a centuries back. By that standard didn't temples exist before Mosques were carved out a little more earlier than that. And by the same standard, weren't all Muslims Sanatani a couple of centuries back. ANyways, have a look at high court ruling
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WP (C) No. 4323 of 2012 & Connected Matters Page 1 of 25
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Reserved on : 25.07.2012 % Date of decision : 30.07.2012 + WP (C) No. 4323 of 2012 COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION …PETITIONER - V E R S U S - GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI & ORS. ...RESPONDENTS + WP (C) No. 4432 of 2012 SS SAI BABA OM JEE @ SS OMJI & ORS. …PETITIONER - V E R S U S - SHOAIB IQBAL & ORS. ...RESPONDENTS + CONT. CAS. (C) No. 459 of 2012 COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION …PETITIONER - V E R S U S - K.S. MEHRA & ORS. ...RESPONDENTS + CONT. CAS. (C) No. 460 of 2012 SS SAI BABA OM JEE @ SS OMJI & ORS. …PETITIONERS - V E R S U S - SHOAIB IQBAL & ORS. ...RESPONDENTS
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Presence : Mr. Aman Lekhi, Sr. Adv. with Ms. Monica Arora, Mr. Varun Sinha, Mr. Vikas Gupta, Mr. B.S. Shukla and Mr. A. Gaur, Advocates for the petitioner. Baba Nand Kishore Misra and Sardar Ravi Ranjan Singh, Petitioner Nos. 2 and 3 in WP (C) No. 4432/2012 and Cont. Cas. (C) No. 460/2012. Mr. Pawan Sharma, Standing Counsel (Crl.) with Mr. Sahil Mongia, Advocate for GNCTD. Mr. A.D.N. Rao with Mr. Jayant Tripathi, Advocates for ASI. Mr. Ajay Arora with Mr. Kapil Dutta, Advocates for MCD. Mr. Kirti Uppal, Sr. Adv. with Mr. M.M. Kashyap, Adv. for the Applicant / Mr. Shoaib Iqbal. Mr. Atyab Siddiqui, Advocate for the Intervener. CORAM: HON‟BLE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY KISHAN KAUL HON‟BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJIV SHAKDHER BY THE COURT :
1. Religion is said to be the opium of the masses. It can be both a great unifying factor, but also disruptive of social peace where in the name of a religion, extreme postures are taken. It is the bounden-duty of all sane members of the society to ensure that the lives of general public are not affected by posturing on matters of religion. The common man, as it is, has his hands full making his two ends meet. The diversity in religion and culture of our country is, thus, to be treated as a unifying factor rather than disrupting peace. The three limbs of the system being Legislature, Executive and Judiciary, thus, have a duty to perform as enshrined under the Constitution of India, 1950 (for short, „the Constitution‟).
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2. We have entertained the present public interest litigation (for short, „PIL‟) on account of the grievance made regarding some unauthorized construction stated to be going on at Subhash Park facing Red Fort, which was likely to create an adverse law and order situation. We passed Orders on 20.07.2012 after calling upon the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (for short, „MCD‟) to apprise the Court about the situation prevailing at the site. The site in question had, in fact, been handed over to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (for short, „DMRC‟) some time ago for purposes of construction in respect of metro rail project. It appears that the DMRC washed its hands of the land in question diverting its path possibly because of the ground reality and in view of the apprehension of what actually came to transpire subsequently. There was apparently some communication gap insofar as the handing over site back to the MCD is concerned and the land remained unattended for some time. It is during this interregnum period that some digging at the site is stated to have been carried out and articles found, which were alleged to be of archeological significance.
3. The records produced before the Court show that various authorities passed on the buck to each other. The Archeological Survey of India (for short, „ASI‟) did not step in despite the request. Not only that as a sequitur to the discovery of these articles, even some local persons started raising construction,
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without obtaining any permission, on the land, which undisputedly belongs to the MCD. This construction apparently continued unabated despite intervention at the highest level as a meeting is stated to have been called by the Chief Minister of Delhi, which was attended by the Commissioner of Police, Director General of ASI and the Officers/officials from the Ministry of Urban Development. It may be added here that Subhash Park is stated to fall within the restricted zone of two protected sites, i.e., Sunehri Masjid and Red Fort and, thus, any construction in the said area required the permission from the National Monuments Authority (for short, „NMA‟). On 19.07.2012, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi even ordered the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the police authorities to stall the construction at the site. It, however, appears that intervention of the authorities only took place in pursuance to the Orders passed by this Court on 20.07.2012. In terms of the said Order, this Court opined that it was the ASI, which ought to take possession of the site to carry out necessary exercise and determine the significance of what is found at site. We took note of a letter of Mr. Shoaib Iqbal dated 13.06.2012 produced by the authorities wherein he himself had requested for intervention of the Chief Minister for handing over the site to the ASI; for excavation and re-building of what he claimed to be the Akbr-a-badi Masjid; and for stoppage of the work being carried out by the DMRC. We further opined that it was not proper for him or any other person to start construction over the site, but such a step had possibly arisen on account of lack of any timely action. The significance of the role of the ASI was also apparent from the
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communication dated 28.09.2007 addressed by the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (for short, „DUAC‟) to M/s. Pradeep Sachdeva on the issue of re-development of the area around Jama Masjid where the DUAC had requested that necessary archaeological excavation would be required by the ASI. The Court was informed that this claim started assuming communal overtone and there was hesitancy on the part of the authorities to intervene. We, thus, directed that there should be no further construction nor should the place be used for the purpose of any congregation whatsoever. The MCD was directed to cordon off the area with police assistance. We also expressed hope that the Government at the highest level would take steps to convene meetings of all the stakeholders to defuse the situation.
4. In pursuance to our Order dated 20.07.2012, a status report has been filed by the Additional Commissioner of Police, Central District, Delhi dated 24.07.2012. In terms of the report, adequate police force was mobilized for the next day for the MCD officials to cordon off the site and several meetings were held with Peace and Aman Committees, Nagrik Suraksha Smitis and respectable persons of the area to brief the community on the developments and neutralize any rumour mongering. The work of cordoning off the site was started on 21.07.2012 at 10.30 a.m. and is stated to have continued till 2.30 p.m. The items found at the site consisting of Holy Quran and other religious items used for offering Namaz, PA system, etc. were inventorised and the same was signed by a self-appointed Khadim stated to be person at site. The entire
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process was videographed and photographed. These inventorised goods are stated to have been shifted to a mosque after intervention and handed over to the Imam of Ferozshah Kotla Mosque. It has been stated that despite all the precautions, the atmosphere got surcharged on the arrival of the MCD and police officials at site and the arte-facts found at site claimed to have been excavated were taken possession of. There was some rioting and damaging of public as well as private property in the evening of 21.07.2012 when large groups wanted to enter the premises at site resulting in injuries to policemen and necessary action qua the same has been taken. We must note here with regret the endeavours of a few miscreants who by their hostile action tend to create a surcharged atmosphere and damage public and private property. It is high time that such a group is made accountable both in civil law and criminal law for their misconceived actions.
5. The positive development has been that the Lieutenant Governor held a meeting with all the stakeholders in the afternoon of 23.07.2012 to defuse the situation, which was attended by the representatives of the Delhi Government; police authorities; ASI; North Delhi Municipal Corporation; local MLA; Chairman, Wakf Board; Chairman, Delhi Minorities Committee; Shahi Imam of Fatehpur Masjid and the representatives of Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The Lieutenant Governor exhorted all the stakeholders to abide by the Orders of this Court and maintain peace and harmony and also urged the ASI to take up investigation of the site expeditiously. All present assured full co-operation and agreed not
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to issue provocative press statements, which would create public disharmony.
6. The status report, however, goes further to state that since it is the holy month of Ramzan, groups are moving in the area offering Namaz and attending Taravi in nearby mosque and, thus, any rumour regarding demolition of the recently built structure had the possibility of setting off the crowd in a mob frenzy. Such mobs were tactfully dispersed by the police officials deployed in the area.
7. We may notice that in the proceedings held on 25.07.2012, we have taken note of the assurance held by all the stakeholders to the Lieutenant Governor and have expressed our confidence that in view of pendency of the matter before this Court, there would be adherence to the assurance extended in the meeting convened by the Lieutenant Governor on 23.07.2012. While we appreciate this spirit of all the stakeholders, we hope that they would keep in mind the following words of wisdom of the father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi:
“The need of the moment is not one religion, but mutual respect and tolerance of the devotees of the different religions.” 8. A separate status report has been filed by the Deputy Commissioner, City Zone, North Delhi Municipal Corporation. The MCD states that it came to its notice that after the land was transferred to the DMRC on 11.04.2012, certain unauthorized activities were going on on the land, which needed to be stopped
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immediately and construction activity was detected on 17.07.2012 on the field staff of Horticulture Department going to the site when police was again requested to stop the unauthorized encroachment on the government land. The MCD also received a letter on 18.07.2012 from the ASI that the unauthorized construction falls within the regulated area of centrally protected monuments and the same cannot be undertaken without obtaining permission from the NMA / competent authority. In view thereof, even a public notice was given in leading newspapers in Delhi in the following terms :
“BE IT KNOWN TO ALL CONCERNED THAT ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA HAS INFORMED REGARDING ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES BEING CARRIED ON AT SUBHASH PARK, OPPOSITE RED FORT, DELHI IN AND AROUND PROTECTED MONUMENT OF RED FORT IN VIOLATION OF THE ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS ACT, 1958, RULES, 1959 AND THE ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS (AMENDMENT AND VALIDATION) ACT, 2010 ON THE PRETEXT OF EXPOSURE OF REMAINS OF AKBARABADI MOSQUE AT THE SITE. IT IS CLARIFIED THAT THE SAID LAND BELONGS TO NORTH DELHI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION AND ANY CONSTRUCTION OVER THE SAME IS LIABLE FOR ACTION UNDER DMC ACT, APART FROM ACTION UNDER THE SAID ACT. ALL THE CONCERNED ARE NOTIFIED THAT ANY PERSON FOUND INVOLVED IN RAISING CONSTRUCTION OVER THE SAID SITE SHALL BE PROSECUTED AS PER LAW.”
(emphasis supplied)
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9. In the latter part of the day, a letter was received from the DMRC to take back the land and in pursuance to a meeting held with the Secretary, Urban Development and the Delhi Police, a decision was taken to do so, but no police force was provided, though the officials of the MCD waited till 9.00 p.m. on 18.07.2012. Thus, possession was taken over on 19.07.2012 in the morning on „as is where is‟ basis and a letter was sent to the DCP (Central) to provide police force to maintain law and order at site. 10. The status report of the MCD also makes a reference to some local representatives of the area along with police force and the mob coming to the office of the Deputy Commissioner and pressurizing him to grant conditional approval for continuing the prayers till the decision was taken by the MCD. Such permission was, however, subsequently withdrawn in pursuance to the decision taken by the MCD, now NDMC.
11. The factum of the entire area being cordoned off has been noted in the report. The version of the police and the MCD (now NDMC), post-passing of our Order, is more or less identical. It is, however, stated that the ASI officials, who came to site, did not take possession of the two boxes containing the alleged articles found at site of broken pieces of pottery.
12. Since our Order dated 20.07.2012 also called upon the MCD to submit latest status report regarding Jama Masjid Re-
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development Plan, it has been stated that approval for the same was granted by the Standing Committee on 14.10.2009 vide Resolution No. 241. The DUAC accorded its approval on 30.07.2010 and the administrative approval for the preliminary estimate of Rs.145.43 crores was granted by the Corporation vide Resolution No. 629 dated 12.12.2011. However, Re-development Plan is stated not to have been executed for want of approval from the NMA and the ASI. But the case has been referred to the concerned authorities by the Town Planning Department of the MCD (now NDMC). The land in question falls within the land use of „park‟ and „upper level walk way‟. The MCD has emphasized the significance of a notice dated 19.07.2012 received by it on 24.07.2012 where directions have been issued by the ASI to remove the unauthorized construction, which had come up in the present case. Since the same is within the regulated area of the protected monuments, it has been categorically stated that the illegal construction existing at site is an encroachment on public land belonging to the MCD (now NDMC), which had come up without any prior permission / sanction and in gross violation of the land use apart from being within the regulated area of the protected monuments and, therefore, liable to be removed. The notice dated 19.07.2012 reads as under:
“F.No. DC/405/2012-M-(U/C)-259 Government of India, Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi Circle, Safdarjung Tomb, New Delhi – 110 003.
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Dated 19-7-2012 NOTICE WHEREAS it has been noticed that some unauthorized construction is coming up in the land of Municipal Corporation of Delhi at Subhash Park which fall in regulated area of centrally protected monument of Red Fort and Sunehri Masjid. Construction within the regulated area of a centrally protected monument without obtaining No Objection Certificate for the same from the competent authority is illegal under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010. WHEREAS as per the provision of Section 20B of the said Act, every area beginning at the protected limits of the concerned centrally protected monument, as the case may be, and existing upto a distance of 100 meters in all directions shall be prohibited area of the purpose of constructions and mining and further beyond 200 meters from the limit of prohibited area of declared as regulated area for the purpose of constructions/mining/repair/renovation/reconstruction /addition/alteration. Under Section 30(B) of the Act, whoever raises any construction in the regulated area without the permission of the competent authority or in contravention of the permission granted by the competent authority, shall be punishable with imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or with fine which may extent to one lakh rupees or with both. A copy of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010 is enclosed herewith for ready reference.
NOW THEREFORE, you are directed to remove the said unauthorized construction within 15 days of
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the receipt of this notice failing which the same will be removed at your cost. sd/- Superintending Archaeologist The Deputy Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, City Zone, M.L. Underground Car Parking, Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi. … … … … … … … …” (emphasis supplied) 13. In the contours of the factual matrix set out hereinabove, we heard all the stakeholders. An application for intervention was filed on behalf of Mr. Shoaib Iqbal, MLA stating that he had been pursuing the cause of Akbr-a-badi Masjid since the last ten years and, thus, should be permitted to intervene. We heard Mr. Kirti Uppal, learned senior counsel on behalf of the said applicant. The said applicant also filed another application seeking directions not to remove anything from the site, allow Namaz prayers in the area, religious books, which had been brought to site, should not be touched and for the ASI to submit a report in a time-bound manner within three months. The police authorities have pointed out to us that the area does not fall within the constituency of the said applicant, namely, Mr. Shoaib Iqbal, MLA and this position has not been disputed. 14. A contempt petition bearing Cont. Cas. (C) No. 459/2012 has also been filed by one Vikas Gupta alleging that there had been
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violation of the Orders passed by this Court on 20.07.2012 qua both construction and congregation at site.
15. Another contempt petition bearing Cont. Cas. (C) No. 460/2012 has been filed by S.S. Sai Baba Om Jee, Baba Pandit Nand Kishore Mishra and Sardar Ravi Ranjan Singh of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha making the same kind of allegations and of sloganeering at site. Specific allegations have been made against Mr. S.A. Bukhari, Imam of Jama Masjid; Mr. Shoaib Iqbal, MLA and others. It has been alleged that goons are roaming free around the areas with a threat to the public at large. The same three persons have also filed another writ petition bearing WP (C) No. 4432/2012 in the nature of a PIL making a grievance of the unauthorized construction and use of the site for any congregation without obtaining any requisite permission. A number of allegations relate to the past disputes and conduct of Mr. S.A. Bukhari and are not confined to the site in question. It has been denied that there is any mosque at site. It has been stated that innocent public is being misled. Inaction is alleged on the part of the authorities in permitting the unauthorized construction. A claim is made that there are markings and symbols, which would show that the site was possibly a temple. These are the conflicting claims and need to be verified.
16. It would be relevant to refer to some of the provisions (Articles) of the Constitution, which read as under:
“25. Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion.–
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(1) Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion;
(2) Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the State from making any law
(a) regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice;
(b) providing for social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus. Explanation I. – The wearing and carrying of kirpans shall be deemed to be included in the profession of the Sikh religion. Explanation II. – In sub-clause (b) of clause, reference to Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jaina or Buddhist religion, and the reference to Hindu religious institutions shall be construed accordingly. 26. Freedom to manage religious affairs.– Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right (a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes; (b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion; (c) to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and (d) to administer such property in accordance with law.”
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17. A bare perusal of Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution makes it amply clear that they embody the principles of religious tolerance that have been basic features of the Indian Civilization. However, the provisions of both the Articles are subject to public order, morality and health, that is to say that no religious sect may carry on activities which may disturb morality or order in the State. Article 25 confers the right of freedom of conscience and right freely to practice and propagate religion on all individuals, but such a practice and propagation of religion shall not be the one which disturbs or endangers public order and might lead to a serious situation of disturbed law and order. 18. Article 25 does not confer by itself any right to property. It does not specifically deal with the rights of a religious denomination to own or acquire property.
19. Article 26 confers the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes. It, however, does not guarantee the freedom to establish and maintain them at a particular place or to make it immune from the acquisition. When Article 26 permits the acquisition, by the State, of lands belonging to religious or charitable institutions, then the public or any section of the public cannot take the law onto its own hands and build a structure on any land belonging to the government. The land in question is undisputedly a property of the MCD (now NDMC) and the persons, who built the structure at the site, are liable of the offence of „trespassing‟.
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20. Religion is certainly a matter of faith with individuals or communities and it is not necessarily theistic. Restrictions by the State upon free exercise of religion are permitted both under Articles 25 and 26 on the grounds of public order, morality and health. See The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras v. Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur Mutt, AIR 1954 SC 282.
21. No right in an organized society can be absolute. Enjoyment of one‟s rights must be consistent with the enjoyment of rights also by others. See Acharya Maharajshri etc. v. State of Gujarat, (1975) 1 SCC 11.
22. While the citizens of this country are free to profess, practice and propagate such religion, faith or belief as they choose; so far as the State is concerned, i.e., from the point of view of the State, the religion, faith or belief of a person is immaterial. To it, all are equal and all are entitled to be treated equally. The State has to be neutral in all cases. It cannot be biased or inclined towards any sect on such a scenario. At least, an elected member of the Assembly, who belongs to the ruling government and, thus, a part of the State, should not have resorted to illegal construction. The State has no religion. The State is bound to honor and to hold the scales even between all religions. It may not advance the cause of one religion to the detriment of another.
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23. Mr. Aman Lekhi, learned senior counsel emphasized that the matter should be viewed from a secular perspective and the verification must be done, but there cannot be a premium on unauthorized construction, which is alleged to have been done with a „motive‟. He, thus, canvassed for demolition of the structure and relied upon the observations made in paras 80 and 82 of the judgment of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in Dr. M. Ismail Faruqui and Others v. Union of India and Others, (1994) 6 SCC 360 at page 417 where mosque has been held to be subject to the provisions of the statutes of limitation and acquisition apart from the right of adverse possession. The acquisition of the site was upheld. The Supreme Court emphasized that the status of a mosque in the secular ethos of India under the Constitution is the same and equal to that of the place of worship of any other religion and it is neither more nor less. 24. To sum up the conflicting positions, which are taken by different stake-holders, we find that in the digging, some articles have been found. The claim of one community is that these are the remains of Akbr-a-badi Masjid and would prove that such a mosque existed. They want this Court to allow Namaz prayer in the area. Other group claims that there are marks and symbols which would show that site was possibly a temple. This group, thus, insists that there may be further excavations for this purpose. Even this group wants, in the meantime, to perform Puja and for this purpose they want to bring idols on this site. In
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this backdrop, the first question is the verification of the articles which have been found there from archaeological point of view by an expert body, namely, the ASI. Second question pertains to the interim arrangements, which are required during the period such an investigation is carried out. Third aspect pertains to the structure / unauthorized construction, which has already been carried out. We have heard the counsel for the parties on all these aspects. 25. We may notice that all the stakeholders are at ad idem on the issue that necessary excavation, verification and site analysis can be carried out only by the ASI with the assistance of technical expertise. Therefore, this positive attitude needs to be appreciated, which is even otherwise in tune with legal position. The ASI, being a scientific body, is appropriate body to which the land should be handed over in the present case. It is an expert body which can investigate as to the remains which are contended by the people. Being an autonomous body, it will be able to conduct a research free from any political pressure, bias or undue influence. The functions and responsibilities of the ASI as per the statute are:
“1. Protection of monuments and sites under AMASR Act, 1958; 2. Maintenance and conservation of centrally protected monuments, sites and remains of national importance; 3. Exploration and excavation of archaeological sites; 4. Scientific preservation of monuments and antiquarian remains;
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5. Architectural survey of monuments and buildings; 6. Development of epigraphical research, numismatic studies; 7. Registration and regulation of trade of antiquities under AAT Act, 1972; 8. Setting up of site museums; 9. Horticultural and environmental up gradation; 10. Publication of technical reports, guidebooks, etc.; 11. Institute of Archaeology for imparting training in archaeology and allied subjects; 12. Underwater archaeological operations.” 26. As to whether there was any mosque at site or not, the significance of what was found at site, etc. are all matters which only an expert body, i.e., ASI can determine. The basic role of the ASI, in the present case, is to ascertain as to whether the remains, which are supposed to be found are of any importance from archaeological point of view. The ASI is also to find thorough scientific expedition in the nearest possible realistic time-frame and ascertain whether there was ever an Akbr-a-badi Masjid or not. In addition to this, the ASI shall carry out this process in the adjoining area which is still unoccupied to ascertain whether there was any religious building or anything belonging to any other religion. 27. Thus, the ASI has to carry out the task at site. We may note that the learned counsel for the ASI, in fact, volunteered that steps were being taken to begin this process, but it may take some time. The ASI emphasized that there should be adequate
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protection at site from the police authorities so that they can carry out their task unhindered and any ingress and egress in the premises should not be permitted. Further, excavation may also become necessary.
28. Coming to the issue of construction, which has been carried out, we have already taken note of the submission of Mr. Lekhi. His plea for demolition of the structure was also supported by the petitioners in WP (C) No. 4432/2012 and the MCD (now NDMC). In this context, Mr. Kirti Uppal had submitted before us, in no uncertain terms, that rule of law should prevail and that he could not be heard to argue to the contrary. To which, the Bench had queried as to whether the application of rule of law would include bringing down a structure, which had come up at site overnight without due sanction of the authorities concerned. Mr. Kirti Uppal avoided a direct answer by submitting it is not for him to suggest whether or not the structure should be demolished. Alas! Such an approach shows that warring parties for their own narrow political motives are paying lip service to the fundamental edifice of our State, which is, the rule of law. We posed a pointed query to him as to whether there was any prior permission for construction. He conceded there was none! He also acknowledged that he could not seriously dispute the position that the construction, thus, made was unauthorized. Mr. Atyab Siddiqui, learned counsel for the intervener also sought permission of the Court for some group of persons to offer
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Namaz at the site. On the other hand, group of other religion wants to perform Puja at the same site. 29. We have no hesitation in saying that the endeavour to construct anything at site was misplaced as it was without any sanction / permission. If there were persons aggrieved by the inaction of the authorities including the ASI in carrying out excavation and site verification, the remedy was to approach the Court for appropriate directions and not to dig the site themselves or raise any construction on it. Such endeavour, in fact, impedes and endangers the exercise to be carried out by the ASI at site.
30. We may emphasize that even if by the end result of scientific expedition to be carried on by the ASI, it is established that during old times, a temple or a mosque once stood here, and it is to be treated as protected monument, the land will have to remain with the ASI, which is to see whether to build or not to build a monument, or to preserve it in its natural state, so as to open the place for public use, etc. For this reason also, both the stake-holders should stay off their hands and exclusive charge has to be with the ASI.
31. We would like to emphasize that religious colour may be attached to things, which are used to profess or practice a religion, like the holy Quran for Muslims, the Bhagwad Gita for Hindus and so on and so forth. But land is something, which belongs to the people as a whole, which, in turn, belongs to only one religion, i.e., public order, morality, health and welfare. It is rightly said by George
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Bernard Shaw, “There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it.” It must be noted that all religions stand for the welfare of one and all, and in a secular country like ours, there is no religion bigger than the other, all stand on an equal footing. Therefore, the matter is to be left to the wisdom of the ASI, depending upon the results of investigation as to the nature of use of this land. Of course, it would be subject to further directions of this Court, which can be given after hearing the parties.
32. The last aspect to be dealt with is the arrangement. We have already noted above that both the parties want to perform their rituals. In the given circumstances, that may not be appropriate when both sides have expressed their faith in the ASI and the matter is yet to be investigated and also when all the stake-holders have not only expressed their solidarity but given assurance to maintain peace and harmony, we are of the view that till the time the ASI comes with some concrete findings, restraint should be exercised by these stake-holders. It would facilitate smooth and unhindered progress in the task to be carried out by the ASI facilitating the ASI to complete the same speedily and in the shortest possible time. Thus, it is in the interest of peace and harmony that prayers are not allowed to be offered by any of the stake-holders. The decision will depend on the outcome of the result of investigation to be carried on by the ASI. It will also depend upon one fact, i.e., as to what use the ASI will put the site to. So, therefore, it would be premature on
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our part to give permission to offer Namaz by Muslims or perform Puja by Hindus as it may lead to serious problems later. 33. In the end, we must note that all the learned counsel for the parties requested that the work to be carried out by the ASI should be under the supervision of a retired Judge of this Court to give greater credence to the process and ensure timely conclusion / endeavour. However, we find no reason for issuance of such a direction at this stage. It is the ASI which has the technical expertise. The impartiality of the ASI is not in issue. We did impress upon the learned counsel that this Court intends to monitor the process so that the glitches, if any, are ironed out.
34. In view of the aforesaid factual matrix, we proceed to give the following directions:
(i) The ASI should begin its task in a right earnest with all technical assistance to verify the position at site as also qua the items discovered from the site, which they should take possession of. It will be open to the ASI to carry out further digging or any other activity at site as they deem appropriate for verifying the site position and respective claims.
(ii) The MCD (now NDMC) and the police authorities will render all assistance to ensure that the area is kept cordoned off for an unhindered access to the ASI to carry out its exercise and requisite security should be provided to prevent any untoward incidence.
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(iii) No congregation of any kind would be permitted at the site, which includes complete area cordoned off.
(iv) The directions passed by us on 20.07.2012 restraining any further construction on the site would continue till varied.
(v) The stand of the ASI is unequivocally reflected in its notice dated 19.07.2012 with which MCD (now NDMC) is, in fact, in agreement. The said two concerned authorities with the assistance of police should, thus, implement the statutory mandate without fail.
(vi) The police will maintain vigil so that law and order is maintained at site and unnecessary rumour mongering and endeavour to give communal overtone is prevented. All measures as are necessary to do so will be taken.
(vii) The police authorities will also make all endeavours to bring to book the miscreants who caused damage to public and private property, injured persons and attempted to create a communal incident at site post our Order dated 20.07.2012.
(viii) The Government at the highest level would continue its endeavour to ensure that all stakeholders adhere to their assurances given to the Lieutenant Governor and to this Court for maintaining peace and harmony.
(ix) The ASI will submit a status report to us in a sealed cover by the next date showing the progress made.
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35. List for directions on 11.10.2012. 36. We end with a fervent hope that better sense will prevail over one and all, who will let the ASI perform its task and not to seek to draw their own conclusions or give unnecessary communal overtone to the issue or take law onto their own hands, especially when this Court will be monitoring all aspects or the issues involved therein.
ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J. RAJIV SHAKDHER, J. JULY 30, 2012 madanAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-29925800221349322942012-07-17T20:34:00.000+05:302012-07-17T20:34:46.949+05:30Gang of Wasseypur<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Gangs of Wasseypur opens with two of my pet peeves: a voiceover, and an explanation of where we are and how we got there (it’s cinema, people, show me, don’t tell me!). But—and I’m not sure how he does this—director Anurag Kashyap uses these clunky props to pull off some of his best filmmaking yet, in a fantastic hour that situates us in Dhanbad, in Bihar’s (now Jharkhand’s) coal belt, the casual and systematic brutality of its mining industry, and the complicity of the state (both pre- and post-colonial) in all manner of oppression. Marking incident, place and time is Piyush Mishra’s gravelly voice, informing us that our special Purgatory is Wasseypur in the 1940s, south of Dhanbad, a Muslim-village locked in permanent struggle between the Qureshis (butchers by trade) and every other kind of Muslim. Shahid Khan (a Pathan; that is to say, emphatically not a Qureshi) won’t content himself with his position in the food chain below the Qureshis, and is exiled from Wasseypur to the coal fields of Dhanbad. Needless to say, things aren’t any better here. Kashyap showcases misery almost casually, with neither melodrama nor glee, almost as if he were a scientist showing us the many ways in which the strong might abuse the weak. The dramatic isn’t absent—the visual clichés of rain and mud are much used, but nevertheless manage to seem fresh—but it is drama as Mani Ratnam might see it, subdued, and seen from far away.
It all adds up to a fine balance between the narrative– Shahid is murdered by his master Ramadhir, and Shahid’s son, the boy Sardar, swears revenge—and the far more interesting backdrop of the savagery legitimated by the state, and how it intersects with older antagonisms. Kashyap’s film does not take the easy way out: there is no contrast here between the colonial state and its post-independence successor; nor is there any sense of an Eden sullied by contemporary “criminalization of politics”. Rather, Kashyap shows us a world where the imperatives of capital and resource extraction have always been inseparable from criminality and violence. Moreover, Wasseypur’s age-old antagonisms show that while criminality and violence are hardly the sole prerogative of the state, they are imbued with new vigour by the greater opportunities—political, financial, and in terms of armaments—on offer courtesy modern industrialization and the business of politics. Perhaps Kashyap will never top Black Friday or the ugly vigour of Gulaal’s first half, but the same density, the same weakness for process that we see in the former (and that would have made a good noir director of Kashyap) enrich the first few reels of Gangs of Wasseypur. It’s the sort of procedural patience—chopped in vignettes to make for better cinema, the lesson all post-Iruvar Indian directors need to learn—I wish Kashyap’s one-time mentor Ram Gopal Verma had displayed in Company. It’s the sort of thing that could have made for a superb season-long TV series. Unfortunately, Indian television has nothing to equal HBO; and the large canvas docu-drama is a difficult format to pull off on the big screen, even where the filmmaker is clear about what (s)he is trying to achieve.
Kashyap isn’t: at some point prior to the intermission, Sardar Khan, all grown up, takes centre stage. That obviously had to happen, but that also marks the point at which the film’s scope contracts, from representing a world to chronicling incidents. The latter are interesting enough—this film is never less than engaging—but are a far cry from the epic sweep promised by the film’s opening scenes, and by Piyush Mishra’s evocation early on of the Mahabharata.
Kashyap’s film is well-served by a strong cast, three among which are notable for elevating their roles beyond the script. Jaideep Ahlawat (who plays Shahid Khan) is the first of these, and anchors the film’s first hour, suggesting misery, dignity, and sheer cussedness with an impressive economy. I missed him when he was gone, largely because his son Sardar, as played by Manoj Bajpai, is not his equal. Bajpai is certainly in reliably fine form, but those familiar with his Hindi film work will not find him much tested here; as such, he is content to give us minor variations of what we’ve already seen him do on more than one occasion. That’s a good thing, but not as fresh an achievement as I’d thought Bajpai capable of. The second is Tigmanshu Dhulia, the Bollywood director making his acting debut as Ramadhir: in the character's first few scenes (played by a different actor), I feared Ramadhir might end up a stock villain, but something more wonderful lay in store for me. As the narrative flashes several years forward (and as his character moves several notches up the food chain, ending up a MLA), Ramadhir has mellowed, his fleshy roundness hovering between passivity and anger. Yet even the latter is tinged with weariness, finding violent expression against his own son: Ramadhir expects his enemies to try and thwart him; only the incompetence of those who serve him seems genuinely painful.
The third is Nawazuddin Siddiqui, playing Sardar’s second son Faizal. This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered his work—he was very good (albeit inconsistently so) in Kahaani—but I wasn’t expecting him to be one of the best things about the film, and much of the reason for anticipating Gangs of Wasseypur Part II in a few months’ time. Siddiqui is clearly from Irfan Khan’s school of acting, but minimalism is here married to a kind of impish persona that leavens Faizal’s seediness. The writers should have given Siddiqui more to work with (although, given the blandness that is the lot of Faizal’s elder brother Danish, perhaps he should be grateful), but even so, he is the best thing about the last third of the movie, as it wanders away from Sardar’s focus on Ramadhir and back to the tussle with the Qureshi’s that had initially exiled Shahid Khan from Wasseypur. Siddiqui has wonderful eyes: even if the boy Faizal hadn’t seen all that he’s seen, I would well believe that he sees something other than what’s there, right in front of his eyes. Perhaps not surprisingly, he is the only male character in the film to love cinema, channelling some of Amitabh Bachchan’s more wounded personae: never is cinema more simultaneously about what we can see, and what we cannot see (because it points to something off-screen), than in the figure of the star, especially one transcendent as Bachchan. There is something else out there, or perhaps under the surface—Faizal seems to know this in his best moments (as neither his father nor grandfather did), and whether that something else is the sordidness he caught a glimpse of when still a child; or whether it is the kind of pose Bachchan embodies; or whether it combines the two (the film he’s watching in the theatre is, after all, Trishul, another film featuring an abandoned mother and dreams of revenge; although Trishul is far more Freudian, in its claim that it is precisely the mother who is to be avenged, precisely one’s kin that must be defeated)—who can tell?
There are others: Piyush Mishra is woefully under-utilized here, but his voice-over is itself a character, and a far more memorable one than the embodied one periodically wandering across our screens. Richa Chaddha curses her way through Naghma Khatoon with aplomb, and is wonderfully natural; it isn’t her fault that, Mahie Gill in Dev D notwithstanding, Kashyap has never been a good director of women. Reemma Sen (the extra “m” is not a typo) seemed new-born to those of us familiar with her roles in Malamaal Weekly and Dhool: there isn’t much acting she’s called upon to do, but the film imbues her with real presence, by way of a gaze that lingers upon her alabaster skin, but doesn’t know what else to do with her. On the other hand, Pankaj Tripathi is a disappointment as Sultan, Sardar’s Qureshi bête noire—the character comes across as almost comically inept, surely not an effect Kashyap could have intended.
Despite its abandonment of a sustained representation of a “system” shortly before the film’s half-way mark, Gangs of Wasseypur might nevertheless have made much of the more traditional pleasures of character and personality (the now-legendary American cable TV series The Wire managed both, and not simply because its serial format afforded more time; it was simply better written). That is where Scorsese’s Gangs of New York ended up: intellectually slight, but held together by Daniel Day-Lewis’ terrific Bill “The Butcher,” a tour de force that doesn’t address any critiques, but makes them seem beside the point. Kashyap’s film falls short. More specifically, while the screenplay’s avoidance of a narrative centred on a Bigtime Star like Daniel Day-Lewis is intellectually the right choice, in theory opening up the film to a host of characters (inherently a more plausible state of affairs if one is creating a world: no-one imagines himself in a character role in the film of his life), this doesn’t work so well in this script.
Most of the characters in Gangs of Wasseypur are under-written (writing credits are shared by Akhilesh Jaiswal, Anurag Kashyap, Sachin K. Ladia, and Syed Zeeshan Qadri), and not much more than the sum of their verbal tics. That meant that I found myself missing the charisma of an overweening Bill “The Butcher” in the ranks of the Qureshi qasaai, yet not having for consolation the wealth of more accessible personalities each character’s introduction had promised. In the absence of the requisite level of interiority, each character is thrown back onto the sort of lines designed to elicit titters from the audience. One housewife calls her husband a “randibaaz” (whore-monger); later on she gives him permission to pursue other women if he really needs to, but slops meat on his plate lest anyone cast aspersions on the sexual prowess of the family’s men—“baahar jaake beizzati mat karaana.” Cackling was much in evidence at my theatre at this and many other dialogues, and no-one, not even the greyer heads in the audience, seemed shocked by anything—if the potty mouth of Kashyap’s films was ever intended to jolt bourgeois complacency, that time is long past (the one exception: the silence in my theatre in the wake of Ramadhir’s wife’s instruction to her servant to use different dishes for the visiting Qureshis, presumably to avoid caste-pollution). Today, “bhosdee ke,” coded as it is by the social gulf that separates the characters on-screen from the audiences in the cinema halls, reinforces bourgeois complacency, which gets to be titillated and pat itself on the back for being edgy. The attempted rape of Salma Agha’s character in Kasam Paida Karne Waale Ki (watch Gangs of Wasseypur, you’ll see what I mean) never managed both of those.
It’s no defence to argue, as the film’s promoters tiresomely have, that the sort of earthy language used is authentic to the milieu represented in Gangs of Wasseypur. That defence certainly deflects criticism on the grounds that the dialogues are “too” dirty, vulgar, what-have-you—were anyone in the media making such a criticism. The defence sets up a straw man, in a context where the film and its modes of representation are being lionized in the media. Anurag Kashyap has, in short, won the day, and needs to stop pretending that he is still waging lonely struggles against legal censorship as well as bourgeois tyranny. I don’t mean to suggest that the dialogues are ineffective. Far from it: they are piquant, earthy, and go a long way toward etching a plausible world, one that is different from the worlds inhabited by the film’s viewers, and yet familiar enough to spark recognition. The problem is a different one, namely that this familiarity is forged by a kind of anthropological cliché: no character ever surprises us, none ever says anything we wouldn’t expect “them” to (several dialogues mouthed by women certainly are of the kind we wouldn’t expect “our women” to be uttering). In short, the dialogue here, used as it is as a marker of authenticity, can only function as such by underscoring the distinction between “us” and “them,” by diminishing any claims the film’s characters might have on our empathy. The theatrical otherness of the bhaiyyas on display here, in permanent hyper-violent pantomime, might be authentic to Dhanbad and Wasseypur, but it places those locales under an eclipse: these people may be laughed or marvelled at; the violence of the region may be decried (although, Bihar’s place in the contemporary urban Indian imagination, as the villainous foil to the modernity the metropolitans among us are busily forging, ensures that any head-shaking is just a wee bit too comfortable); but they cannot be loved, admired, or befriended. The dialogues function in much the same way as the dialogues assigned the stock South Indian characters in the masala movies of decades past: as glue, to ensure the types represented by these characters don’t move from their places in our imagination.
Much of the above isn’t an issue only where Gangs of Wasseypur is concerned, and I do believe some of these representational issues can be mitigated by deeper thought, and sustained labour, on the interiority of the characters. That work has not been done: we do not know how Sardar’s first wife Naghma feels, nor what makes his second wife Durga tick, nor even Ramadhir; we only hear their (more-or-less) salty tongues. Most unpardonable is Sardar Khan, denied any interiority beyond his desire for revenge against Ramadhir—as to the rest, he does and says things, seemingly devoid of any motivation: we can speculate that he helps rescue a young woman because he wants to stick it to the Qureshis, or that he agrees to Danish's marriage with a Qureshi girl because his son has prevailed on him, but nothing in the film either shows us these are likely motivations, or makes it an interesting line of inquiry. Sardar even goes years without ever seeing his eldest sons, and that just seems odd given how filial he otherwise is. One could go on and on.
Sneha Khanwalkar’s music belongs to the film, and the album works a lot better than I had initially given it credit for— “I am a hunter, she want to see my gun” features Kashyap at his funniest, as he inverts the conventions of Bollywood double entendre by setting this song’s low lyrics to a backdrop of… gun-running. No song-and-dance routines for Kashyap, but “Womaniya” effectively punctuates more than one look of longing in this film. But my favourite is the insanely cheerful, almost perverse, “Teri Keh Ke Loonga,” suitable ditty indeed for Sardar Khan, the sort of man you can see coming a mile away. Satyamshot commenter Arturo Belano had once made the point that Kashyap’s male protagonists, “weaned on grand mythic narratives … try and “will” their lives “to be like those narratives….” That is, “it has become standard for Kashyap to have these ironic constructions in his movies where he has these protagonists who are given these unoriginal macho energies to release on screen but the movie gradually shows up the gap between their self-images and the reality of the kind of effect their behaviour is having on those around [them].” The point is a shrewd one, even if Kashyap doesn’t always seem sensitive to the ironies (witness Sardar’s death scene in the film; although heavily refracted through Sergio Leone’s work, it is about as straight as any masala film from the 1980s might have been)—either way, the charm of “Teri Keh Ke Loonga” means, he doesn’t have to be in the know.
Rajeev Ravi’s lens is one of the heroes of this film, and if the interiors of mofussil residences in Hindi films have by now become generic, he may be forgiven: his shots of the coalfields recall grand Westerns and Kaala Pathar, and are nevertheless very much his own. The film has little scope for crowds, but my favourite is a shot contrasting those of Varanasi with the desolate external corridor that serves as the shot’s—and the shady arms dealer Yadav’s—vantage point. Ravi’s camera is generally indifferent to men, with the exception of Nawazuddin Siddiqui: that contrast between Varanasi’s crush and the languorous heat of the corridor is Siddiqui’s too, as the camera repeatedly finds him at once still and restless. And then there’s skin, or rather, Reemma Sen’s skin: her Durga seems clothed in moonlight.
The trace of masala is not incidental: Gangs of Wasseypur is unthinkable without the legacy of several Hindi films, most obviously Kaala Pathar (1979) (following on the heels of a mining disaster in Dhanbad in the 1970s); Trishul (1978); and Deewar (1975) (specifically, the betrayal of organized labor at the film’s outset), but, more subtly, of a whole universe of signification that makes sense only the context of masala. Kashyap is too knowing to try and dredge up the mythical heroes of years past, a mode that many in his urban audiences now sneer at, except in the context of tongue-in-cheek cinema; but doesn’t seem to have any other mode worked out. That which we care about the most in Gangs of Wasseypur—this character’s death; that one’s suffering; these people sold down the river—comes to us from the masala film (toned down for sure, more Ratnam’s Thalapathi than J.P. Dutta’s Ghulami), and Kashyap gives it to us un-ironically. The result is significant unevenness of tone, as Kashyap uses the post-ironic techniques and incongruous comedy of Sergio Leone and Tarantino while resorting to masala cues to draw the audience in. Those filmmakers recognized that the gesturality of the past had run its course, but since any alternative trope would itself be provisional, the director ought to double down on cinema that is about gesturality itself—the question of what Kashyap recognizes is not answered by this film, leading to the uncomfortable realization that the film isn’t really “about” anything (or, not about anything beyond the evocation of a milieu the writer has known well, a place that is one’s own).
If this is harsh, my defence is, Kashyap made me do it: the way the film begins, the well-written dialogues, the wealth of acting talent on display, mean that this is too good a film, has tackled too weighty a canvas, to be about nothing more than a grudge match. The film’s writers knew it too, which explains why the script starts out as it does. And although I’ll watch it again, I can’t help but feel they ought to have persisted.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-43223357297201431662012-07-17T20:26:00.000+05:302012-07-17T20:26:13.728+05:30Manmohan Singh - India's saviour or Sonia's poodle'?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Once credited with rescuing India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh now finds himself
accused of abject failure
Andrew Buncombe
Monday, 16 July 2012
He was hailed as the man who saved India. Twenty-one years ago, with the authorities in
Delhi obliged to fly 47 tonnes of gold to London to be secreted within the vaults of the
Bank of England as collateral for an emergency loan for food and fuel, Manmohan Singh,
then serving as finance minister, got to his feet in the country's parliament to deliver a
budget that broke, shatteringly, with the past.
"We shall make the future happen," said Mr Singh, announcing a series of liberalising
measures that cut away India's notorious red tape and ended the so-called Licence Raj.
"Let the whole world hear it loud and clear - India is now wide awake."
The reforms introduced on 24 July, 1991 - the privatisation of some government
companies, the reduction of import duties and the introduction of foreign investment - are
credited with sparking the economic regeneration of the country and improving the lives of
millions of people. In something of an air-brushing of history, Mr Singh received the lion's
share of the credit, while the role of the prime minister of the day, PV Narasimha Rao, was
omitted.
But two decades on, the quietly-spoken Mr Singh, who studied by candlelight in a small
village to secure a place at Oxford University and then the World Bank, finds himself
accused of abject failure. Critics from business say his reforming zeal has evaporated and
slowed the country's growth, while political opponents say he has overseen an
administration that has revealed itself to be mired in corruption. From within his ruling
Congress Party there are repeated, if oblique, demands for him to step aside ahead in
favour of his presumed successor, Rahul Gandhi.
Last week, in the latest insult heaped up the 79 year old premier, Time magazine, which
only in April placed him 19th in its list of 100 most influential world figures, splashed the
front cover of its Asia edition with a forlorn image of Mr Singh and the headline "The
Underachiever". "India is stalling," the magazine claimed. "To turn it around, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh must emerge from his private and political gloom."
Indians are not unique in being more sensitive to criticism from afar than that directed at
them domestically, but the magazine article hit a particularly tender nerve and the party's
representatives took to television studios to defend the prime minister. Manish Tewari, an
MP and spokesman for the Congress party, said the story had "deliberately" overlooked the
solid and concrete achievements of Mr Singh's two terms including consistent high growth
averaging more than eight per cent, a flow of foreign investment and a flurry of social
programmes. "Stories that break on Sunday evening…acquire a certain momentum of their
own," he said.
Meanwhile, the main opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with its eyes on
general election scheduled to be held by 2014, seized on the controversy. Spokesman Ravi
Shankar Prasad said: "We are clearly of the view that in terms of economic management,
inflation and our sense of direction, the government has failed. We did not need the
verification of a foreign journal."
In truth, the article contained nothing that was new but it refocused people's attention on
a man whose reputation is at risk of being permanently damaged. Along with his ministers,
Mr Singh, who first became prime minister in 2004 and is now in his second term, has
received increasing criticism from various quarters as the country's growth has slumped
from a soaring nine per cent in 2007-08 to a "mere" 5.3 per cent in the first three months
of this year, the lowest since 2003.
The administration has been accused of sitting on reforms that could bring in new foreign
direct investment (FDI), such as the opening of the food retail sector, and failing to create
a sufficiently stable investment, leading to a plunge in FDI of up to 38 per cent in the first
part of the year. A decision this spring by the then finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, to
allow retroactive taxation of companies was seen as particularly harmful. Last month, the
ratings agency Standard and Poor's threatened to downgrade India's investment category
and pondered whether it could become the first "fallen angel" of the so-called Bric nations.
Inflation is high and there is a trade deficit of around $13bn.
A Delhi-based business source who works with both Indian and international firms, said
India had slipped in the last couple of years from being a priority destination for any
foreign firm looking to expand its business, to one of several potential locations including
Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey. "It is still at the point where India can turn it around," said
the source, over a pot of Assam tea in the lobby of a hotel. "[But] there has been no
growth and no reforms but there is corruption and uncertainty."
Observers say one of Mr Singh's problems is that he has no genuine political power.
Rather, he owes his position to Sonia Gandhi, widow of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi,
mother of Rahul and Congress Party chairwoman, who to the delight of India's middleclass
selected him for that role when her party won a surprise victory in 2004. This has meant
he has sometimes been unable to even control his cabinet and his failure to more quickly
address the actions of a coalition minister, accused of defrauding the country up to $40bn
in a telecom licence scam, led to him being accused of further weakness.
Those who defend the prime minister say he is caught in a difficult position. Against a
challenging international climate, he has sought to continue his party's policies of reform
while also trying to provide for the country's poor, overseeing employment, education and
health programmes. They point out that for all the stories of "Shining India" that adorned
magazines such as Time during the first half of the decade, the country still has hundreds
of millions of people living in utter poverty. "The criticism of him in the media comes from
one section of society, the business community, which thinks it should be given
everything," said one former official who has worked closely with Mr Singh.
If anyone is to salvage Mr Singh's reputation in the two years he likely has remaining, it
can only be him. While he may unfairly have become the target for criticism of an entire
administration, it is he who needs to do something if he wants to secure a favourable
place in history. He says he intends to do so. As Foreign Policy magazine reported, on 27
June, a day after he handed himself the finance ministry portfolio following the resignation
of Mr Mukherjee, who is now the party's candidate for head of state, Mr Singh's official
Twitter feed claimed he intended to "revive the animal spirit in the country's economy".
The monsoon rains have finally arrived in Delhi, creating a sticky backdrop to this latest
political heat. In the cool interior of the red sandstone office on Raisina Hill, Mr Singh is
said to feel that the US magazine article was "unfair". Aides have declined to comment
directly on the controversy but a spokesman, Pankaj Pachauri, said the prime minister was
confident he could turn the situation around. "There is unanimity that for the inclusion of
India's poor in development, you have to have growth," he said. "How to achieve that
growth is the challenge."
The Path To Power
1982 Appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, holding the post until 1985. Later becomes the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of India.
1991 Elected to the upper house of parliament. Named Finance Minister by Prime Minister
PV Narasimha Rao.
1998 Leader of the opposition in the upper house of parliament while the Bharatiya
Janata Party holds office.
2004 The United Progressive Alliance coalition – formed after the 2004 elections and led
by the Congress party – nominates Dr Singh as Prime Minister.
_the Independent, UKAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-25779170759749898722012-07-16T04:51:00.000+05:302012-07-16T04:51:25.620+05:30From Pakistani Media- Coke Studio India Pakistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Coke Studio’s Indian mystery — resolved
By Rafay Mahmood
Published: July 12, 2012
The writer is a reporter with The Express Tribune’s Life and Style section
Mr Aakar Patel’s article of June 10, in this newspaper, “Coke Studio’s Indian mystery”, has highlighted a number of issues concerning the failure of “Coke Studio @ MTV” — the Indian version of the show. Being a Pakistani music journalist, I feel it is my duty to clear some misconceptions that he seemed to have regarding Pakistani music, “Coke Studio” and “Coke Studio @ MTV”.
Firstly, the reason for the lack of popularity of “Coke Studio @ MTV” compared with its Pakistani version is not a mystery. I believe that the Indian version can easily do better and the solution is simple: remove Leslie Lewis as the programme’s producer. I fail to understand why Mr Lewis was handed the reins of the programme when there are countless talented musicians in India that could have done a much better job.
Mr Patel discussed the Mekaal Hasan Band’s (MHB) music in some detail and I agree with him that the band’s music is great, but did it pioneer that genre of music in Pakistan? Certainly not. Who came up with the idea, which Mr Patel has described as “traditional Hindustani music made palatable for ears accustomed to listening to more popular music” is a question that is difficult to answer. I saw this happening years ago when Aamir Zaki introduced the now well-known Shafqat Amanat Ali, who did what the MHB does today, in an event that took place in the mid-1990s and whose coverage is present on Youtube.
Let us draw a fine line between what Mr Patel calls ‘traditional Indian music’ and what we call folk music, or to be specific, ‘Pakistani’ folk music. I believe that the most popular songs that have been featured in “Coke Studio” cannot be clubbed under the genre of traditional Indian music. Instead, they can safely be termed as contemporary takes on folk melodies. One might identify some shades of traditional Indian music in them but that is not the same as classifying them under that genre. In fact, in the case of a song like “Peere Pawande Saan”, which is a Sufi kalaam by Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, you cannot exactly do much in terms of giving it a “popular interpretation” as Mr Patel calls it because Bhittai’s kalaams can only be sung in specific surs, as instructed by the great mystic himself. It should also be noted that similar attempts at giving a contemporary touch to folk melodies have happened long before “Coke Studio” came on the scene — Mohammad Ali Shaiki and Allan Faqeer’s “Teray Ishq Main” instantly come to mind.
Mr Patel’s point about Pakistanis not willing to pay for music is certainly valid and quite sad. At the same time, I do not think that having a corporate entity like Coca Cola putting up some money for the Pakistani music industry’s benefit is a bad thing. But what depresses me is when a similar venture fails in culturally-rich India.
I feel that brilliant Indian musicians, even if they are given a chance to produce music for such a venture, won’t opt for it because this requires creating an entirely new formula of music, different from the usual Bollywood item numbers. By following pre-determined formulas, Indian musicians are depriving the Indian audience of enjoying diverse forms of music. This may not hurt the Indian music industry financially, but it does mean that the industry is far from a versatile and diverse one.
It is cruel to say this but it is true.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 13th, 2012.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-86014715010449804542012-07-16T04:40:00.000+05:302012-07-16T04:40:01.229+05:30From Pakistani Media<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A cocktail of voices from India and Pakistan
By Sher Khan
Published: July 15, 2012
Arif Lohar and Sahir Ali Bagga tell The Express Tribune about their collaboration on the Bollywood movie soundtrack. DESIGN: SAMRA AAMIR
LAHORE:
Bollywood flick Cocktail has released worldwide amidst a steadily growing build-up — while some of it can be explained by cast member Deepika Padukone’s trendy outfits (and that red bikini!), most of it owes to the soundtrack.
If the songs “Tum Hi Bandhu”and “Daaru Desi” have you tapping your feet, here’s something else that will make you smile: four Pakistani singers – Arif Lohar, Javed Bashir, Imran Aziz Mian and Sahir Ali Bagga – have contributed to the Cocktail soundtrack by giving it a new sound and feel. Arif Lohar, one of the biggest names in Punjabi folk music, tells The Express Tribune that the film has provided a bridge for singers and artists in India and Pakistan. Referring to his famous Punjabi track “Jugni”, Lohar says his track represents Pakistani music in a positive manner. “‘Jugni’ has had many versions,” said Lohar. “The situational context of ‘Jugni’ has been adapted in the past – even my father Alam Lohar had sung the song. But it can have different meanings.”
He added that the soundtrack is important in showcasing the growing stature of Bagga, a young musician with great talent. He also said the involvement of Pakistani singers shows that entertainers from both countries can gain popularity across borders.
Bagga’s entry into Bollywood has started out with a bang. With the launch of Cocktail, music critics in India have appreciated his song “Lutna”. Shedding light on the track, Bagga says it arises out of a sad and controversial situation in the movie that is filmed on Gautam, the character of Saif Ali Khan, and his girlfriends. He said that he wanted to take the modern situation but add a classical touch to it while keeping Pakistan in the loop as well by incorporating beats from the Punjabi-folk song Saiful Malook. “We have kept the Sufi touch to the music which I think represents Pakistan well,” adds Bagga.
In light of his success, Bagga remains optimistic about how his talent could be used in B-town. “It’s an honour to start out in a blockbuster film in comparison to a low quality one. This does not usually happen,” Bagga tells The Express Tribune at his Lahore-based SAB studio. He explains that he earned the opportunity after his success in collaborating with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, as well as the award he received at this year’s London South Asian Film Festival in which he won the best musical talent award for “Koi Dil Mai” from Tamanna.
No visas for these voices
The Cocktail team had planned an unplugged event in India where one would get to see the solidarity of Indian and Pakistani musicians. Unfortunately, the Pakistani singers could not obtain visas for India, and the music launch idea had to be scrapped. Talking about this controversy, Bagga says that creating music in India has become somewhat of an issue for Pakistani artists due to a local license that is a prerequisite. He says that singers like Atif Aslam, Shafqat Amanat Ali and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan have been recording outside of India due to legal requirements for artists recording within India.
But Bagga continues to be optimistic about the collaboration. “In music, there is no war,” he says, adding that Pakistani singers are versatile and hence, producers in India have more options when fusing with them.
Lohar feels that visa restriction has nothing to do with music and was “not a big deal”. “The issue was not from the Pakistan government, but every country makes their own rules. We should be more tolerant in these times because the masses want this [collaboration],” says Lohar.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 16th, 2012.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-12540947857258592472012-07-15T13:43:00.001+05:302012-07-15T13:43:35.919+05:30Operation No Namo<table style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, 'times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><tbody style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<tr style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><div id="content60" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 10px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><div id="content1" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><table class="contentpaneopen" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><tbody style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<tr style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="contentheading" style="border: 0px; color: #143c65; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 36px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;" width="100%">Congress plans sleaze campaign against Modi</td></tr>
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<tr style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 14px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="summary" style="border: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Operation No Namo plans to “blacken the personal image of Modi”, reduce the BJP to less than 90 seats and restrict the CM to his state in the 2014 general elections.</div></td></tr>
<tr style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border-top-color: rgb(221, 220, 213); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 2px 0px 0px; height: 3px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 200px;"></div></td></tr>
<tr style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="authorName" style="border: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">MADHAV NALAPAT</span><span class="camCase" style="border: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: arial; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: capitalize; vertical-align: baseline;"> New Delhi | 15th Jul</span></div></td></tr>
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<tr style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="createdate" style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" valign="top"></td></tr>
<tr style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" valign="top"><img src="http://www.sunday-guardian.com/images/content/N.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></td><td style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;" valign="top"><div style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 260px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.sunday-guardian.com//administrator/iupload/modi260_1342289289.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><div style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 260px;"><div class="imageCaption" style="border: 0px; color: #414042; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; line-height: 11px; margin-top: 2px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Narendra Modi waves at the crowd during the 135th Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad last month. PTI</div></div></div><div style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">arendra Modi is the target of a disinformation campaign run by a task force set up for the purpose in September 2011. This has been revealed by two of the Congress strategists involved in the initial phase of "Operation No Namo", which is designed to ensure that the Gujarat Chief Minister remains confined to his home state up to and during the 2014 parliamentary elections.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Operation No Namo" is designed to reduce the BJP's seat tally in Gujarat to lower than three figures, ideally less than 90. "Any tally below that would be seen as the defeat of Modi," the source claimed, adding that "such a result would ensure that he remain confined to Gujarat". Should the BJP tally fall to around 90, Congress strategists calculate that the push within the BJP to bring Modi to the Centre will lose momentum. "The Congress leadership wants to avoid Modi becoming the BJP's Prime Minister alternative in the next Lok Sabha elections, hence the effort at seeing that the Gujarat CM remain confined to his state", a source claimed. Op No Namo's political strategy follows the "Uttarakhand and Karnataka models, of developing contacts within the BJP so as to incentivise dissidents into acts of sabotage against their party's chances", on the principle that the most effective foes are those within a party.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Congress leaders in Gujarat are giving "logistical and other help to anti-Modi elements, including within the state BJP". Keshubhai Patel is seen as the best bet. "Should Keshubhai damage the BJP, at least 17 Assembly seats will be lost to the BJP. This will enable us to succeed in keeping his tally to about 90 seats," a Congress source claimed. A bare majority in the coming elections would make it much more difficult for Modi to spend more time outside Gujarat. Strategists point out that the BJP got only half the total votes polled in the 2007 Assembly elections, and that in 109 seats, the Congress came second to the winning BJP candidate. "Our operations over the past nine months have had a huge effect on Modi's image, which after all is the trump card of the BJP."</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">More controversially, Operation No Namo has also a component designed to "blacken the personal image of the CM". Congress strategists, despite considerable effort, have failed to come across corruption by Narendra Modi or his close relatives, all of whom live in modest circumstances. They are, therefore, turning to the personal. A key strategist claimed that "a secret task force is engaged in using modern technology to create CDs" that purport to show the Gujarat CM in a bad light. According to a source, "An NDA office-bearer from Punjab and a starlet from Tamil Nadu have been incentivised to supply affidavits about their contact with Narendra Modi." The source claims that "both the women have been given flats in Mumbai, while the NDA office-bearer has also been given property in Chandigarh and the starlet roles in two Tamil movies", to induce them to agree to digitally-created CDs being released. Those familiar with modern technology say that it is "relatively easy", given sophisticated equipment, "to create whatever digital images or voices as are needed". Similarly, computers can be hacked into so as to create records of surfing pornography on the net, or lewd messages can be sent from a designated computer (belonging to the target individual).</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Clearly, the Congress in Gujarat is taking its cue from Dirty Picture while working on strategies to reduce the BJP tally to 90 seats or less.</div></div></td></tr>
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</tbody></table><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-90558778086299233392012-07-15T13:36:00.001+05:302012-07-15T13:36:55.934+05:30Spent guns target Modi<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/408318/spent-guns-target-modi/#.UAJ53aAPlNc.blogger">Spent guns target Modi</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Aakar Patel at his idiotic best in the article.<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gujaratis have a name for leaders whose best days are behind them: ‘<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Futeli banduk</em>’ (guns already fired).</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Four such once-big guns have lined up to create trouble for Gujarat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The men comprise two former BJP chief ministers, Suresh Mehta and Keshubhai Patel, one former BJP home minister, Gordhan Jhadafiya, and the BJP’s undefeated six-term MP from Surat, Kashiram Rana. These days, Rana sits at home because he wasn’t given a ticket by Modi to contest, despite his record. The four men want a return to their days of glory, denied to them by Modi who has taken away their influence in the Gujarat BJP. <a href="http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-30/india/31899592_1_bjp-rebels-bjp-leaders-narendra-modi" style="border: 0px; color: #666699; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">They are now threatening to defeat him when the state votes later this year</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The question is: will these guns fire? The answer is: no. On their own they’re lacking in capacity. They tried the same thing in the last elections when they backed some rebel candidates. But they failed to affect Modi’s vote.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The reason is that Modi has dismantled the old BJP in Gujarat and built a structure that is loyal to him personally. So total is his control that every single city’s leadership owes its rise to him. Keshubhai, Mehta and a third former BJP man Shankarsinh Vaghela were all chief ministers at a time when the party contained many leaders. Now there is only one.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Unhappily for the old men, the voters have still remained with the BJP because in India, castes vote as a block. The BJP is kept in power in Gujarat through the votes of the state’s biggest and most powerful community, the peasant Patels, who are supporters of Hindutva.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is where the Congress has the opportunity to create some mischief. Two of the rebels — Keshubhai and Jhadafiya — are Patels and might be able to pull away enough votes from the community for the contest to be closer than it has been. As I said, they’ve tried this before and failed. The reason is that being out of power for ten years has depleted their resources. A little help from the Congress on this count might make them more effective than they are now. Congress should provide the ammunition for these spent guns. And by that is meant cash. More than half the money a candidate spends on elections in India is directly paid as inducement to voters (cash trumps caste).</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is an opportunistic thing to propose, but politics is allowed to be unprincipled in India and has always been. Already the Congress’ biggest Gujarat leader is a turncoat RSS man. This is former chief minister Shankarsinh Vaghela, who left the BJP after losing the chief minister’s job to Keshubhai.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There is no escaping it: parties must accept how Indians insist on voting. What is important, if one insists on being principled, is following a good policy once these parties come to power.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Another place the Congress should have been more pragmatic in, and, in fact, still can be, is Andhra Pradesh. There, a chief minister’s son, Jaganmohan Reddy, was not crowned after his father died because he’s not seen as being clean enough. He left the party, taking the entire caste of Reddys with him as recent by-elections have shown. There’s little gain and complete loss in the Congress trying to resist the pattern of Indian voting because of its principles.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gujarat is a two-party state and the contest has always been between the BJP and the Congress, with a few independents. The BJP has a little over 45 per cent of the vote locked. This leaves Congress with little space in which to operate. The rebels are spent, but experienced. Kashiram has been winning elections ever since Modi was wearing shorts (which, as a <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">swayamsevak</em>, I imagine he would have been wearing even in his 40s).</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', times-roman, serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The sorry truth is that these old men still want power. But it’s also true that they are seething for revenge. Congress should give it to them.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-63438740707104055932012-07-10T02:09:00.003+05:302012-07-10T02:09:55.646+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary
Directed by Marc Webb
Rating: ***
It’s the same old story. Of the guy for whom they wrote the song (and we sang along) “Spiderman Spiderman, does whatever a spider can; Spins a web, any size; Catches thieves just like flies.” The Amazing Spiderman, the fourth in the series, doesn’t take things forward. It takes us back: to Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), the high school geek and how he is bestowed with unforeseen powers and discovered himself and his larger purpose in life.
Yes, Peter is the same kid, raised by Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field). As we learn of his parents’ deaths in a car accident, we also meet Dr Curt Connors, who is carrying on Peter’s father’s work. Connors mutates into a lizard while trying to regrow a lost limb. It’s on sneaking into Connors’s secret lab that Peter has his tryst with the spider, giving him the ability to shoot webs from his palms and swing from one skyscraper to another, and becomes the crime-busting superhero who saves the world.
Yes, it’s that same old spiel about great power and greater responsibility, but director Marc Webb also romanticises the action man. Love is as important as action and SFX. Not surprising, since Webb gave us the charming relationship movie 500 Days of Summer. Webb’s Spidey is a nervous geek, a recluse who is bullied and can’t ask his girl, Gwen Stacy, out. Their delightful romantic encounters (minus that upside down kiss) are as important as the deadly combats with the lizard or the amazing flights across the city.
The Amazing Spiderman may not be as amazing as it “preclaims” itself to be, but it entertains and is fun while it lasts. It’s a different matter that the film does not quite sustain for long in the mind’s eye once its over. Garfield makes for a hyper, twitchy, callow Spidey. It’s Stone who is self-assured and sexy as the girl who turns him into an emotional wreck. But the one who impresses the most is Rhys Ifans, the Lizard, at once evil and tragic. And yes, we also have our own Irrfan Khan as the Lizard’s boss Dr Rathi. And what about him? Well, he came, he went. Only we, the Indians, noticed. Another turn like Anil Kapoor’s in Mission Impossible 4? Or is there more chalked out for him in the sequel?
High Fives
Bollywood
Teri Meri Kahaani
Gangs Of Wasseypur
Ferrari Ki Sawaari
Rowdy Rathore
Shanghai
Hollywood
Ted
Magic Mike
Brave
Madea’s Witness Protection
Madagascar 3
Pop
Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen)
Payphone (Maroon 5)
Somebody I Used To Know (Gotye)
What Makes... (One Direction)
Where Have You... (Rihanna)
Courtesy: BoxofficeIndia.comAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-87798235156023492952012-07-10T02:06:00.001+05:302012-07-10T02:06:57.050+05:30Don't Ruin your figure<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Not so long ago, Kishwar Desai’s debut, Witness the Night, won the Costa First Novel Award. The novel was about female foeticide and it drew much attention, especially in the West. The theme in this second novel by Desai is surrogate parenting, or the renting of one’s womb to carry the child of others.
The protagonist Simran Singh is a social worker of the cigarette-smoking, high-end variety who make spinsterhood fashionable. Simran is firmly against womb rentals. She comes across unsavoury examples in infertility clinics with alarming names like ‘Freedom’ and ‘Madonna and Child’. She meets Malti and Radhika and Preeti who are young surrogate mothers; Sonia, whose infertile husband forces her to have sex with his friend in order to conceive; and men with names like Pandey, Mehta, Sharma and Ganguly, all villains exploiting women towards the same end.
The novel strings together stories about couples desperate for babies, young women eager to rent their wombs for money, doctors engaged in the practice of ‘creating’ babies, fixers and customs officials who want a share of the booty when artificially fertilised embryos are transported from UK to India for safe-keeping inside an Indian womb. There is a sperm donor in London and a British couple longing for parenthood, but one fails to understand why they are included the way they are. They do not add weight to the story.
The womb of another woman is merely a rented room in which to park the valued foetus. While there are many cases of infertility where this can be justified, the rising tide of surrogacy is awash with examples of couples using it in order to avoid the unpleasant effects of a normal preganancy, to say nothing of a ruined figure.
A writer who starts with a theme and then hangs a story around its neck will land in trouble unless she is telling it from inside-out. By humanising the characters. Kishwar Desai has strong views about surrogacy. She has exposed certain truths about a well-oiled medical industry that has bypassed ethical issues to provide couples with a baby that is ‘biologically’ their own. But the shocking indifference of medical bodies like the Indian Medical Association and the Medical Council towards such corrupt, unethical practices is not mentioned.
The novel fails to navigate the difficult zones of disappointment, despair, social expectations and family values that envelop the issue of infertility. This lends a disappointing flatness to the story. The feisty protagonist goes all the way to London, posing as a woman in need of a sperm donor, god help her, but we do not feel any empathy towards her or any of the others.
The undoing of this work is the form chosen by the writer. The facts revealed here are much like journalistic reporting and so it could have worked as non-fiction. As a novel, it does not.
(Kavery Nambisan is a surgeon and novelist)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6777423680914399581.post-55970270054528671622012-07-10T02:04:00.004+05:302012-07-10T02:04:34.877+05:30Israel India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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DRIVING SOUTHEAST of Bikaner, Rajasthan, all that meets one’s eyes is the sand and shrubs. Vegetation is scarce, agriculture of any kind non-existent and the only green one can see are a few patches of grass in the sand. Two hours ahead, taking a left from the NH-65, on the road to Didwana, the dry brown landscape suddenly changes colour. Olive trees, around 14,000 of them spread across 30 hectares, dot the desert land. This is the Bakliya farms, one of seven such farms in Rajasthan, result of an Indo-Israeli agricultural venture.
Oily Green Mask
It started with Vasundhara Raje’s visit to Israel in 2006. The sight of an olive farm in a kibbutz in the Negev desert of southern Israel struck the former Rajasthan chief minister as something that could be replicated in her state. On her request, the Israel government agreed to help set up olive groves in Rajasthan, a hitherto failed experiment in India. The Israelis had developed a technology through intensive plantation and drip irrigation that allowed them to grow olive on arid land. Exactly what the then chief minister wanted for her dry state.
The Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Limited (ROCL) was set up as a public-private partnership with investments from the Rajasthan government and expertise from Indolive, an Israeli olive farming company and Pune-based irrigation equipment manufacturers, Finolex Plasson Industries. In the next six years, seven areas in the state were selected for growing seven varieties of the plant. Cuttings of high yield olive plants were imported from Israel. Drip irrigation, another Israeli invention and a common Indian practice now, was also used. Fertilisers, cutting techniques, soil testing — all the expertise came from Israel.
Kailash Kalwania, manager of the Bakliya farms, shows us around the olive groves. The flowering season is over, and small olives have started sprouting on the trees. “Of the seven varieties we planted, Barnea has been the most successful,” says Kailash. Jaipur-based Gideon Peleg, 68, the Israeli specialist in charge of the olive project in Rajasthan, adds that olive cultivation in the desert state has not been a cut-and-paste job. “It took us time to realise and understand what variety is best suited,” he says.
The results have been quite impressive. Of the seven districts where the olive experiment took place, four have done well. Buoyed by the success, the Rajasthan government has declared huge subsidies — 75 percent on plant cuttings, 3,000 per hectare on fertilisers and chemicals, and 90 percent on drip irrigation — to promote olive plantation in the state. An olive oil refinery is also coming up in Lukhransar, north of Bikaner. “Last year we made pickles out of the green olives but after the refinery is ready we will make olive oil,” says Sitaram Yadav, supervisor of the Lukhransar plantation.
The Rajasthan experiment has also given Israel the impetus to expand into other agriculture and horticulture segments across India. The first step has already been taken with the signing of the Agriculture Cooperation Agreement between the two countries in 2008. In December 2011, a three-year work plan was finalised between the Ministries of Agriculture of India and Israel, which included components like joint visits of agriculture experts, seminar and courses for farmers. The standout feature of the agreement is the Centres of Excellence for the set-up of “transfer of applied research and technologies to the farmers in various states across India”. The technologies to be transferred include irrigation, soil solarisation for disease control in plants, polyhouse farming, fertilisers, hybrid plants and seeds. While Israel has already entered into agreement with seven state governments to set up these centres, the most successful model has been Haryana.
Varun Bajaj, 35, from Rehor Parwala village, 30 km from Panchkula, is a beneficiary of this Indo-Israel agreement. Bajaj has been growing seedless cucumber since January 2012. A retailer by profession, he decided to grow vegetables after visiting the Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for vegetable in Ghauranda, Karnal. Impressed by the concept of protective agriculture, he approached an agriculture company to set up his farm on a turnkey basis. The first farm was set up on an area of 4,000 sq metres. Polyhouses were put in place for protective farming, drip lines and machines were set up. Bajaj got 90 percent rebate in installing drip irrigation, and 65 percent subsidy on polyhouse under the national horticulture mission and additional subsidy from the Haryana government. He has now added an additional 6,000 sq metres to his farm and supplies to retailers and the open market. “My farms have already produced 50,000 kg in just six months,” he says. It is not cucumber alone; the Gharaunda facility has seen a manifold rise in the yield of chilli, capsicum and tomato.
The Israeli experiment has found many takers besides Rajasthan. Haryana, Maharashtra and Bihar are all eager to adopt it
THE ISRAEL experiment has gone beyond vegetables. In Bhiwani district, Ramesh Tanwar has been growing kinnow on an area of six hectares with the help of the Centre of Excellence for Citrus Fruits in Sirsa. “The yield increased after we adopted various technologies from the centre,” he says. Haryana has also been trying to grow olive in the Sirsa centre, though it is still in the initial stages.
Tanwar and Bajaj’s farms are part of the 200 acres in Haryana that have already adopted technologies from the Indo-Israel Centres of Excellence. “The target now is 10,000 hectares in five years,” says Satyavir Singh, Director General, Horticulture, Haryana. The state government expects business worth $1 billion from the Israeli agro-technology. Each centre has been created on a seed money of Rs 6 crore invested by the state government. Three new centres for mango, flowers and an apiary have already been set up. Not content with areas confined to Centres of Excellence alone, the state is setting up 14 versions of such centres on a smaller scale in villages. “This will truly ensure that technology reaches the farmer,” says Arjun Singh Saini, additional director, horticulture in Haryana. To be set up at a cost of Rs 25 lakh by the government on farmers’ land and under their ownership, Saini calls it the public-private-farmer partnership.
The experiment doesn’t end with Rajasthan and Haryana. Maharashtra is already seeing results on mangoes. The latest state to have signed an agreement for such a centre is Bihar where the technology would be used for growing mango and citrus fruits.
Uri Rubinstein, Counsellor, International Cooperation, Science and Agriculture at the Embassy of Israel, New Delhi, says that Israeli technology in agriculture is not all about being hi-tech. He points out the concept of seedling as an example. “The centres offer seedlings grown in soilless medium,” he says. “This is a technology that ensures the plant survives unlike direct seed planting.”
Saini says there is a need for a second green revolution in India. “It is no more about basic agricultural produce,” he says. Rubinstein agrees: “Many of our needs are similar. Perhaps that’s why the Indian government decided to partner Israel under the National Horticulture Mission and not big countries like the US.”Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423106068748010412noreply@blogger.com0