Cynical Indian

Do we have a plan to deal with the Maoists?

2010-04-08T13:44:00.003+05:30

For a long time we have been hearing that the Maoists are actually poor tribals who are being deprived of their rightful stake in the country's development process and have taken to armed uprising to revolt against the state.

For a long time our honourable politicians have been saying that these Naxals are our countrymen and hence use of the armed forces against them is out of question.

I've also been hearing that Mr. Chidambaram's Operation Greenhunt is actually an excuse to get the insurgents out of the area so that the major mining companies (some of them foreign) can start their mining operations.

We've had people like Ms. Arundhati Roy talk about the Naxals as "Gandhians with guns"

During the recent Lok Sabha elections Ms. Roy also made a statement that "The next time you see a news anchor haranguing a guest, ‘Why don’t Maoists stand for elections?’, do SMS this reply, ‘Because they can’t afford your rates.’ "

Well, who arms these Naxals? Where do they get money for this? If they can get money for the AK-47s and IEDs, can't they stand for elections and pay the advertising rates?

Why do they have to extort innocent and poor villagers, whom they claim to represent?

Why do they have to kill? Now? Why can't they come to the negotiating table, as Mr. Chidambaram has been calling them for quite some time now.

The Indian Express in an editorial nails it thus.

//... after Tuesday’s well-planned Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district that left 76 security personnel dead in the worst single Naxal attack to date, the notes of discord being struck in certain political quarters are counterproductive. These seek to take the argument back to a point long left behind, one to which the Indian state cannot afford to return. Should the operations be scaled down? No. Because that would immediately cede territory recently recovered from Naxals back to them, precluding all chances of ending the insurgency. Should “provocative language” against Maoists be dropped? Here’s a counter-question: whence the idea that those who massacre 76 men after trapping them, those who for years have kidnapped and butchered civilians and policemen, blown up stations, roads, bridges, schools, burnt peasants’ crops, who have reiterated countless times their unwillingness to compromise till the state is destroyed — whence the idea that these people care about the softness or harshness of words?//

I concede these people may have been poorly treated. But taking up arms against a democratically elected government is not the way forward. Found this in a blog post which perfectly echoes my thoughts.

//While glorying Maoists, Ms. Roy says that they have gotten tribals organized and have won victories like getting a better price for kendu leaves. However it should be noted that poor and exploited people in other parts of the country did not need guns and terrorists to get organized. They formed cooperatives like Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (Amul) and changed their futures peacefully. So community organization, as Ms. Roy hints, does not need Maoists. As a matter of fact, Maoists prevent aid and assistance from reaching those that need it (being a kind of mafia themselves) and the perpetuation of the Maoist movement, as strategized by its handlers who are anything but tribals, depends critically on people being angry at the government. Hence lack of real development, as done by the government, serves them well because then they can show themselves to be an alternative.//

Go ahead, click on that link above and read the whole post.

What's the way ahead?

B Raman (Additional Secretary (retired), Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, New Delhi [ Images ] and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. He is also associated with the Chennai Centre For China Studies) comes up with a plan

Colonel Anil Athale (retd) talks about the military option.

Whatever we do, this is not the time to take a step back. This is a civil war. Some hard decisions have to be taken and all political parties have to be united. It is very gratifying to note that the BJP has promised full support. Other parties like the ones headed by Shibu Soren and his ilk have to come together.

'From Sampurna Swaraj to Sampurna Azadi : The Unfinished Agenda' by Prof. C K Prahlad.

2010-01-18T10:31:00.002+05:30

I came across this brilliant piece delivered by Prof. C K Prahlad at the seventh Nani A. Palkivala Memorial lecture recently.

From Sampurna Swaraj to Sampurna Azadi:

The Unfinished Agenda

C.K. Prahalad

Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor,

Ross School of Business

The University of Michigan

Seventh Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Lecture

January 14, 2010

From Sampurna Swaraj to Sampurna Azadi:

The Unfinished Agenda

C.K. Prahalad

Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor,

Ross School of Business

The University of Michigan

It is a great honor and privilege to be asked to deliver the 7^th. Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial lecture. I approach it with great humility. As one who does not have an intellectual grounding in political science or legal doctrine, I am an unlikely candidate to do justice to the work and memory of Mr. Palkhivala. However, I was persuaded by both Mr. Y.H. Malegam and Mr. Deepak Parekh to accept this considerable task. So here I am.

I have a simple agenda. Mr. Palkhivala will always be known as one who fought to preserve the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. He reminded us that the parliament is a creature of the constitution and not the master of it, and therefore, the parliament does not have the authority to change the basic structure of the constitution. His work preserved the institutional framework that guarantees freedom for all people. “We the People” and not “We the Parliament” continue to be the guiding light of the country. All Indians are indebted to him for this contribution.

However, the reality of India of 2010 is a far cry from the guiding principles set forth in the constitution. Every constitutional principle is violated on a massive scale across the country. I have no illusions about the challenges of ensuring that our ideals are reflected in the actual conduct of daily life. But our history and our future as a nation demand no less. And in order to achieve these aims and challenge entrenched behavior and expectations, I don’t think new laws or even better enforcement alone are the answer. We must realize that achieving social justice in a complex polity such as India requires socio- political and administrative innovations. We have to “reimagine politics and governance” as it is practiced in India. We have to address the issues before us – corruption, separatism and inequality by working to change the circumstances that create them.

I need to look no further than India’s struggle for independence to know that this country is more than capable of conceiving and executing massive social innovations. Confronting military might with non - violent resistance – Satyagraha- was the epitome of a socio-political innovation. Similarly, social justice in India today cannot be achieved through exhortation or minor band-aids to an administrative structure created 100 years ago for colonial administration. India needs and deserves a massive dose of fundamental innovations in how it is governed. Indians must step forward and accept their responsibility to innovate. The changes that I am proposing today are far more modest than those delivered to us by prior generations. But where they fought to create a nation, we must innovate today because nothing less than our survival as one nation is at stake.

No other society in the world has tried to change a system as large and complex. What India needs are not best practices from somewhere outside India or even within India. India needs Next Practices. India must have the courage to chart its own path. I plan to discuss this extraordinary opportunity for fundamental innovations in governance in India in three parts.

Part 1: The Basic Structure of the Constitution and its Violation in Practice

This will provide us a baseline understanding of the extent of deterioration in the realization of the basic guarantees in the constitution that we face and therefore the urgency for innovations in governance

Part 2: The Choices Open to India

India can continue to stay on course. I believe India is at an “inflection point”. The Naxalite insurgency is just the tip of the iceberg. India must choose the path of change and innovation, as difficult as it might be.

Part 3: Creating a Shared Vision

We must have a point of view of the India we want to create and how to convert the principles enshrined in the constitution into reality. I would like to call this reality Sampurna Azadi. The basic structure of the constitution guarantees Sampurna Swaraj. We have to work hard to guarantee Sampurna Azadi. I will outline some innovations that can help in the process of arresting the rapid deterioration in governance and move toward realizing social justice in a short period of time.

Part 1

Basic Structure of the Constitution in Practice

The essential architecture of the constitution is based on five guiding principals: (a) rule of law, (b) democracy, (c) secularism, (d) federalism and (e) judicial review [i]. These basic building blocks are accepted in principle. However, the political and administrative systems, in essence, have increasingly rendered them ineffective. It is important to recognize the difference, as Amartya Sen points out, between Niiti and Nyaaya. Niiti, refers to the institutional propriety and behavioral correctness and Nyaaya, the realized justice in practice [ii]. Maturation as a democracy, one would expect, would strengthen these building blocks of the constitution and improve access to justice in practice. The concept of social justice is also a moving target. As Indians get better educated, better connected, and better able to understand their rights, they also become more sensitive to injustices. Aspirations are outstripping reality. India may have eliminated many of the worst forms of discrimination rampant during the early twentieth century. However, there is now a greater recognition of injustice. Let us look at some data.

Rule of Law

India’s commitment to the rule of law during the last fifty years is unflattering. There has been a lot of debate recently on the delays in dispensing justice. There are more than 30 million cases pending in Indian courts. There are 53,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court, 4 million in high courts and over 27 million in subordinate courts. There has been a significant increase in pending cases – as much as 130% for the Supreme Court during the period 2000-2009. Over 25% of cases in the high courts have been pending for over 10 years. Given these delays, it is difficult to understand why over 23% of Supreme Court, 26% for High court and 18% of the subordinate court positions that have been approved have remained unfilled. India’s judge to population ratio is also very low at about 12.5 per million people compared to 104 per million in the United States [iii]. The Law Commission as early as 1987 recommended that the ratio be raised from 10.5 to 50 immediately and to about 100 by 2000. A Parliamentary Standing Committee reinforced this recommendation in 2002 [iv]. While there is a significant backlog, the number of new cases filed is still registering an upward climb. The increasing load of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is adding to the problem. Is this a measure of Indians’ unshakable belief in the rule of law? Or do delays create the incentive to file more cases? The problem or poor management of the judicial system is well known and well researched. The solutions are also well known. Why then this apathy?

Corruption in the judicial and police system is also endemic. To start with it is estimated that over 70% of prisoners in Indian jails are under-trials. Even senior high court judges are seen as corrupt. The corruption in police is also well documented.

India rates very poorly in a study by the Transparency International [v]. Over 77 % of the Indians believe that the system is very corrupt. That is a very high number. It puts India in the same company as Pakistan and Bangladesh. More importantly, one in 3 who have had any contact with the police or the judiciary said that they had to pay a bribe. This is a gross violation of the building blocks of the constitution. The implications of this level of corruption are two fold.

a. It ensures that the citizens are denied their basic right guaranteed by the constitution. It is also an implicit tax on the poor. Getting access to what is their right -be it a ration card or a birth certificate -should not cost anything. But it does in reality. Corruption is so pervasive it touches all citizens.

b. Secondly, corruption and the subversion of the rule of law have a significant influence on the economic development of the country. Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister and Mr. Pranabh Mukerjee, the Finance Minister have openly acknowledged the impact of corruption on development. The estimates are as much as 1-2 % of the GDP [vi]

Violation of the rule of law subverts the basic “transaction governance capacity” of the country or its ability to enforce explicit and implicit contracts between citizens and citizens and institutions, including the government. A shift in political ideology, i.e. market based systems in contrast to central planning and socialism is not enough. The capacity for transaction governance is crucial. Consider India and China as of 1995.[vii]. While China was in the process of trying to change the opaque and idiosyncratic process of contract enforcement in the country as a way to facilitate foreign direct investment, India was regressing. From a great start in 1947, the transaction governance capacity significantly regressed in India. The political process has systematically compromised the freedom of institutions- judiciary, the executive branch, the police, businesses and the media. It is time for this trend to be arrested and the trajectory changed.

Democracy

India can justly be proud of its record as a democracy. Over 60 years, India has held national elections over 15 times. More than 700 million people are eligible to vote and about 70% go to the polls. The Election Commission has remained independent. During 2004 and 2009 elections the polling was totally electronic which significantly reduced the opportunity for vote tampering. However, coalition politics creates its own dynamic in governance. It creates alliances without principles. The first coalition government in 1977 was formed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi that was a combination of The Indian National Congress (Indira), the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Communist Party of India, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, the Indian Union Muslim League, the Kerala Congress Revolutionary Socialist Party and two independents. She was defeated in the elections that year and Mr. Morarji Desai of the Janata Dal formed a government of five opposition parties. In 1996 when the government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee lasted only 13 days, a new attempt was made to form a government called the United Front under Mr. Deve Gowda, a 14 party coalition. In 1997, Inder Kumar Gujral formed a 16 party United Front Coalition. This pattern of coalitions of convenience continues both at the center and in many of the States.

Fragmentation of the polity at the national and state levels extracts its own price. Public policy does not necessarily reflect the will of the majority. Small groups can have a disproportionate influence. Economic reforms can be held hostage by a very small minority. It is also difficult for the government to discipline and hold accountable ministers who recognize their power to destabilize the government. In an interesting twist, coalition governments have in reality turned public policy in India to reflect the “will of the minority”- the few who control the swing votes.”

The demand for divisions of states such as Telengana, Gurkhaland or Bodoland is yet another example of fragmentation. There is an argument for smaller states to improve governance. However, in a climate of identity politics, there is also a danger. Dr. Ambedkar was very prescient. In his speech introducing the constitution he had this to say.

“Will history repeat itself? It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. This anxiety is deepened by the realization of the fact that in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds we are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds. Will Indians place the country above their creed or will they place their creed above country? I do not know. But this much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost for ever…”.

Coalition politics is proving that his anxiety was appropriate. Block voting on the basis of castes and local identity politics may continue to render coalition politics a reality. The media has coined even a new term “coalition math”. Consider the coalition process in Jharkhand in 2010. The alliances have no logic except to form a government with Mr. Shibu Soren as Chief Minister out of a “hung parliament”. However, the improved mandate of the Congress Party in the most recent election (2009) provides hope that unprincipled coalitions of convenience may become a passing phase in the march of Indian democracy.

Secularism

Secularism is an age-old tradition in India. Secularism never meant discarding religion. In India, it meant that the state will be “equidistant” from all religions, but each one is free to practice his or her religion without any interference from the state. Emperor Ashoka recognized this more than 2,200 years ago. In his edicts his beliefs about religions are well documented.

“All religions should reside everywhere, for all of them desire self-control and purity of heart."

Rock Edict Nb7 (S. Dhammika)

"Contact (between religions) is good. One should listen to and respect the doctrines professed by others. Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, desires that all should be well-learned in the good doctrines of other religions."

Rock Edict Nb12 (S. Dhammika)

Similarly, Akbar in 1590 recognized that India is too complex to be governed without secularism. He married into Hindu royal families, made Rajputs his generals and most importantly ensured that throughout his kingdom there was religious tolerance. He said that the “duty of the state included making sure that no man should be interfered with on account of his religion, and anyone was to be allowed to go over to any religion he pleased””[viii]. These are the traditions that we have to live by. The framers of the Indian Constitution recognized the essential nature of secularism in India. It is not the negation of religion but equal treatment of all religions under the law.

Sectarian violence, sporadic as well as large -scale violence, has been happening with disturbing frequency during the last thirty years. The Sikh riots (1984), Ayodhya and the Babri Mosque (1992), Godhra and Ahmedabad riots (2002) were significant blots on Indian character. More disturbing is the increasing incidents of religious conflicts that do not get public attention. For example, during 1989-90, more than 390,000 Kashmiri Pandits left the valley under threat of death [ix]. The anti-Christian violence is also spreading. Between 1964-96, there were 38 reported cases. In 1998, there were 90 and over the years it is more than 100 incidents per year. Be it the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir, the Hindi heartland, or Gujarat, the tensions between religious and caste groups are palpable.

Given India’s composition, Indians must learn to live together. The reality is that the politics of ‘group rights’ may be leading the country in the opposite direction- to further fragmentation. At the birth of the republic in 1950, the government reserved 22.5% of government jobs and seats in educational institutions for Scheduled Castes (Dalits) and Scheduled Tribes (Adivasis). The Kaka Kalelkar Commission identified 2,399 castes in its 1953 report. In the Mandal Commission Report, the number had gone up to 3,743. By 2005, it stood at 4,418. The proliferation of the number of castes and those classified as other backward classes (OBC) is an indication of the wide-spread scramble to access sources of economic power - education and jobs. In some states such as Tamil Nadu, 69% of the seats in institutions of higher learning are reserved

It is increasingly clear that merely increasing the reservation quotas will not deliver the desired results. While reservations may be a necessity to correct the legacy of social injustices the current trajectory suggests that the polity in India can get further fragmented. As elections and policies further reinforce this fragmentation, secularism is likely to suffer.

There is a structural shift in India that may slow down this process of continuous fragmentation. It is expected that over the next 20 years as much as 300-350 million people will migrate from villages to the cities. Cities connect the poor to the benefits of commerce; better access to services compared to the village and more weight on skills than caste backgrounds.

Federalism

The State and Central government relationships are evolving [x]. The tense relationships between the states and the Center in defining their respective orbits of influence, especially when the parties (and coalitions) in power do not agree can lead to interesting dynamics. For example, during the decade of 1950-59, State governments were dismissed using Article 356 six times. During the following decades the numbers escalated rapidly. For example, during the decade of the 60s state governments were dismissed 11 times, 7 of which happened during 1967-69. In the 70s, it was done 40 times, nine of which was in 1977. It came down in 1980s to 22 and to15 in 1990s. Five out of the 15 incidents of President’s rule during the 1990s, was in the North East. As the Center weakened with coalition governments and the as the regional parties became dominant in many States, the ability to override the power of at the State level diminished as well. If the first phase of relationships between the Center and the States was defined by a strong national party in power at the center in many states, coalition politics represents the second phase of the emerging, if implicit dialogue. Coalition politics may have rendered the excesses of the 1970s a thing of the past.

The new debate in the Federal structure is exemplified by the demand for Telengana. There was almost 30 years of stability, with formation of new states such as Goa, Puducheery, Delhi, Sikhim, to the number of States in the Union. However, during 2000 three new states were carved out of UP, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh – Jharkand, Uttrakhand and Chhattisgarh. The Telengana issue is likely to trigger another difficult debate. What criteria should we use -governability and responsiveness of the government (based on size of the population), or deepening identity politics? Andhra Pradesh was split from the Madras Presidency and Gujarat from Maharashtra based on language. What should the new criteria be? Telengana and Andhra will still have the same language. This debate is likely to consume significant national attention and may herald the next phase of the evolving Federal- State relationships.

Judicial Review

Judicial Review is sacrosanct. As Mr. Sorabjee argued in his Palkhivala lecture of 2008, judicial activism is well and alive in India. He said:

“Quest for justice, especially social justice and relief of human suffering is the paramount motivation for judicial activism. And remember that the fundamental rights of our people will remain ornamental show pieces and become teasing illusions unless they are translated by activist judges into living realities and become meaningful at least to some downtrodden and exploited segments of Indian humanity.”

He concluded thus:

“ Judicial activism will certainly be a boon if there are sensible, sensitive and courageous judges who do not flinch from deciding against the government of the day, judges who are not swayed by popular praise or clamour, judges who do not make judicial restraint a pretext for self-abnegation, judges who exercise judicial power actively and vigourously, and without straying into forbidden fields. And I venture to say that, occasional judicial aberrations apart, India is one such country and I thank the Almighty for that and pray that their tribe may increase and judicial activism proves beneficial to “we the People of India”, and enables them to live a life of dignity and fully realize their human personality”[xi]

I wholeheartedly agree with his extremely well argued position.

Overall Scorecard

India has fared well overall. India during the last fifteen years has come out of hibernation. Even poorly governed states are making progress. Consider the growth rates during 2007 - 2008. Bihar grew at (13.8%), Jharkand ( 11.1%), and Orissa at (13.8%)[xii]. There is a lot to celebrate. While there is noteworthy progress, India is also regressing in many aspects of governance. The seeds of greatness and failure seem to coexist. While I have always been the optimist about India highlighting her opportunities and successes, today I plan to focus on the incipient dangers to India’s continuing success. There are obvious blemishes in the record in the practice of the principles enshrined in the constitution. The reasons for this are many. But the most important are the following in my opinion.

a. Converting a “shortage economy” into an opportunity for personal gain. A significant “rent seeking behavior” has developed at all levels of government, be it the legislative, executive or the judiciary. Corruption is pervasive and it gnaws at the very vitals of the rule of law. Most people take corruption as a “way of life” and do not believe that it can be solved in our lifetime. There is a sense of resignation and acceptance of the status quo. This corrosive influence, if not corrected in time, can make a mockery of the Indian Constitution and its basic architecture which Palkhivala so valiantly defended.

b. Political fragmentation and the focus on caste based “group rights” and coalition politics may become a divisive force challenging the ability of governments to do what is right. What is expedient and urgent will dominate what is right and important. We see it already.

c. Judicial activism may now be the basic protection against violations of the rights of “We the People” in practice, protecting them from both the transgressions of the legislative and the executive branches.

d. The basic question that we face is: What are the responsibilities of power?

Given this mixed score card how do we move forward. What should citizens be concerned about? How can they help change the trajectory?

Part 2:

Changing the Approach

We have to recognize that we are at cross roads. Already 170 districts in India (out of 560) are ungovernable. The Naxalite problem may be an indication of the corrosive influence of apathy, callousness, and denial of basic requirements of social justice, the rule of law, and access to opportunities such as education, healthcare and jobs.

The spread of Naxalite insurgency must be a cause for concern for all of us. The Prime Minister called this “the single biggest internal security challenge faced by our country”. The problem is essentially a result of over 50 years of callousness, corruption, and exploitation and the resultant violation of the basic rights of people. The ingredients that spread insurgency are clear. They are low or non-existent commitment to human development (education, health care, jobs) and high levels of corruption largely in the form of exploitation of land and a marginalization of the native peoples’ rights. It is no surprise that the Naxalite movement is the strongest in areas where the human development index is very low and corruption index is very high.

We have within us the ability to change this process of deterioration by making the administration and governance of India more transparent, less exploitative and more equitable. The problems of governance in India are not a case of a lack of resources. They are due to a lack of accountability and apathy on the part of leaders. For a radical change of the status quo we have to start by understanding the origins of rent seeking behavior in India. Why is there so much corruption? Is this an indication of national character or a result of the structures of governance that we have created? I believe that it is a structural problem. We can innovate our way out of it.

Supply – Demand Imbalance

In every country, supply-demand imbalances create opportunities for rent seeking. Consider India under the License-Raj. Many of us will remember the long lines for buying a telephone, a car and even a two-wheeler. Why? The demand far exceeded supply and there were artificial restrictions imposed on growth (supply) through licensing. The distortions of market mechanisms caused by the License Raj, forced and alternate market to evolve. Corruption became a substitute for the market. People in power, both politicians and bureaucrats recognized that they could arbitrage this supply-demand imbalance by charging a premium for privileged access. Today, with plentiful supply, there is no need to seek special favors to get a telephone, or a car or a motorbike. So the first reality of corruption in India, is that we must change the supply – demand imbalance as follows.

Domestic Supply + Imports > domestic demand

We can get rid of significant part of the corruption that exists.

A similar shortage exists in higher education. When the capacity was very restricted, every applicant had to either pay “capitation fees” or know someone of importance to get admission. Engineering schools are over built in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh has between 350-450 engineering schools (depending on which dataset you believe in) and more than 130, 000 – 140,000 seat capacity. That is 20% of the nation [xiii]. Now that there is excess capacity, the engineering schools are scrambling to get students. , Students and parents can now focus on quality and pick and choose in a fashion no different from scooters or telephones. The engineering schools are also diversifying their offerings to protect their investments by changing the product mix. Many are considering a shift to vocational training as well.

While Andhra Pradesh is awash with engineering education capacity, it is also useful to remember that this is a very asymmetric development. Four states- AP, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra – account for about 57.6% of the engineering seats. UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand taken together account for only 19% of the seats; less than Andhra Pradesh.

Of course in a system used to complex and opaque rules and the politicians’ or bureaucrats’ ability to interpret it, there exists a new opportunity to arbitrage. This is evident in the acquisition of land, getting environmental permits, mining concessions, or auctioning the mobile spectrum. There is the time value to money. Therefore delays are worth money. Similarly, access to scarce resources is monetizable. So creating a complex system that makes access difficult and not transparent is of value. This process permeates from the low level corruption such as in accessing land records, getting a caste certificate (critical to get access to admissions to schools), or ration cards (a form of ID for a host of access points for government initiated programs), to large scale corruption such as approvals for SEZs (special export zones) or accessing the 3G spectrum.

Asymmetric Access to Opportunities

Inequality of opportunities is a major contributor to corruption and distortions in the role of social institutions. For example, in the absence of equality of access to educational opportunities, especially K-12, it is not difficult to come to the conclusion that access to jobs must be based on criteria other than merit. More importantly, only the well to do and those in urban areas get access to learn English, a prerequisite for admissions to elite colleges and well paying jobs. It is no surprise that parents, both poor and rich, are clamoring for an English education for their children. English has overtaken Hindi as the desired medium of instruction in India. Politicians who supported local language as the basis for instruction, and some still do, have to recognize that the bottom up revolution in India is about getting access to good quality education that will provide access to job opportunities. People want universal access for good quality education and at the political level the fight is for privileged access with little or no focus on quality. Caste based reservations have become the norm. Every group and politician wants to fight for minority rights. This is a direct and logical consequence of the failure to come to terms with “inequality of opportunities”. Too much of the national focus is on “inequality of incomes” but not the root cause, which is inequality of opportunity. It is not surprising that politicians focus on group rights as a way of mediating the problems through caste based reservations.

Campaign Financing:

The 2009 Lok Sabha elections is reported to have cost the country about Rs. 10,000 crores. Of this Rs 1,300 crores was spent by the Election Commission and Rs. 700 crores by the Central and State governments for photo identity cards, electronic polling machines etc [xiv]. Political parties and individual candidates spent Rs. 8,000crores. This is about Rs. 15. 5Crores/constituency. Just the Lok Sabha election cost the country over Rs. 8,000 crores in private spending. If we include the cost of elections in the states and in major metros, the overall private spending in India, in elections, could easily exceed Rs. 25,000 crores. I cannot but assume that private funding of elections of this magnitude is predicated on making an appropriate return. Given the risky nature of the investment in elections, politicians as venture capitalists, we can assume will not settle for a less than a ten- fold return. The cost to the country in corruption can exceed Rs. 250,000 crores. The economic and developmental impact of this level of corruption is even harder to estimate.

This drain on the country due to corruption gets worse with time. Corruption increases the private spending capacity. The cost of elections to the Lok Sabha has systematically gone up. It was estimated at Rs 2,200 crores in 1996, Rs 3,200 crores in 1998, Rs. 4,500 crores in 2004 and Rs. 10,000 crores in 2009. There has been a three -fold increase in 10 years. A similar pattern may apply to State and local elections as well. This vicious cycle of corruption leading to more corruption is a reality. No one is exempt from this process. Every party and all candidates understand this reality. Corruption, in an interesting way funds and supports the electoral process while subverting the rule of law and the basic social justice that the government of “We the People” is supposed to uphold.

These are systemic problems. The system, which created the structure of entitlements, arbitrage opportunities and supply demand imbalances, and election campaigns that foster corruption, is unlikely to change it. There is a significant vested interest in maintaining the status quo. We need to break through the system and innovate.

Part 3:

Innovations for Social Justice

We need to start with the root causes if we have to considerably reduce the imperfections in the system. They relate to a few key areas.

a. Reduce the Asymmetry of Information: Poverty is a result of asymmetry of information. A farmer does not know the prices of vegetables in the city but the middleman knows. This allows the middlemen to hold subsistence farmers hostage. The experiment that ITC eChoupal represents is illustrative of the power of information [xv]. The farmers can now check the prices and can decide when to sell and at what price. The role of the middlemen and that of the Mandi has been transformed. The farmer can get the right price, can enforce contracts and can be connected to the regional and national markets. Isolation, ignorance and dependence can be removed rather easily. The rapid diffusion of the cell phone in India, in this context, is a welcome development. All Indians can have access to information when they want it. Similarly, increasing access and transparency can have a significant effect on governance. The Right to Information Act is a great start. But making governance visible and therefore accountable is critical. Democracy requires its citizens to be well informed and therefore able to exercise their rights diligently. This is an ongoing process.

b. Reduce the Number of Points of Interpretation of Laws: The more opportunities for interpretation, regardless of whether laws are vague, citizens lack information or citizens do not believe that they will get access to justice in a reasonable amount of time, the greater the opportunity for arbitrage and corruption. Making core processes that touch a large number of citizens such as access to subsidies, implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, access to land records, tax records, or tax refunds, standardized and routine is a prerequisite.

c. Increased Accountability: Forced ranking of the performance of the bureaucrats, politicians, and the judiciary on implementation of key initiatives is critical. Consider for example, ranking of all high court justices on the number of cases disposed (productivity), quality of judgments (verdicts reversed in a higher court), ageing of cases pending before a judge, time it takes to provide the judgment after the arguments are complete and number of adjournments granted (measures of delays) would be appropriate. I am sure we can think of simple and clear measures of accountability for almost all functions of the government. Measurement of performance is not enough. There must be clear consequences for poor performance.

Key Initiatives

A Perspective on Indianness:

Radical Innovations start with a point of view. What has been lost during the last 50 years in India is a view of Indianness. What does it mean to be an Indian? What rights are all Indians entitled to? What do we believe in collectively? What will we defend with our blood? What informs our domestic and foreign policy? We had a point of view during the freedom struggle. For example, Gandhiji taught us three important lessons in this regard.

1.) Indianness meant non - violent struggle.

2.) It meant total engagement of all – rich-poor, rural- urban, men and women. The unifying symbol of resistance was the Charka. It was more than a simple device. He wrote in Young India in 1925

“The message of the spinning wheel is much greater than its circumference. Its message is one of simplicity, service to mankind, living as not to hurt others, creating an indissoluble bond between the rich and the poor, capital and labour, the prince and the peasant. The larger message is naturally for all”.

3) Finally, Indianness meant inclusion of all religions in the broad struggle. Ishwar or Allah is all your name was the refrain.

Jawaharlal Nehru built on this foundation. In his oft -quoted speech on August 15, 1947 he laid out obligations of all Indians and the meaning of Indianness.

“…The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavor? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman….

…We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action…”

All democracies need to remind themselves periodically of who they are and what they stand for, especially in difficult times. Roosevelt, in his address to the 77^th Congress, in 1941, had this to say about the United States.

“….Certainly this is no time for any of us to stop thinking about the social and economic problems which are the root cause of the social revolution which is today a supreme factor in the world. For there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy.

The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:

- Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.

- Jobs for those who can work.

- Security for those who need it.

- The ending of special privilege for the few.

- The preservation of civil liberties for all.

- The enjoyment -- the enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.

These are the simple, the basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations…..”

Just as Roosevelt reminded Americans of the basic promise that America makes to all its citizens and what it means to be American, it is also time that Indian leaders to restate the unique identity and the obligations of Indians to each other. Sixty years later, we have no one to remind us of what Indianness means any more. Very few would articulate it as well as Jawaharlal Nehru did or practice it so vigorously as Gandhiji did. More importantly, most Indians do not have a sense of the extraordinary scope and scale of the social experiment they are an integral part of. By mutual consent and through collective action, India has the potential to be a beacon of hope for the whole world. India can match the grandeur of the accomplishments of the United States in creating a system that Abraham Lincoln so aptly described as the “government of the people, by the people and for the people”. But a sense of Indianness is a prerequisite to accomplish this goal. We have to focus on the very “non-negotiables” of what it means to be an Indian. This must be the starting point for moving forward.

Universal ID: The building block of Social Justice

Indians traditionally use multiple identification systems ranging from passports, Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) for income tax, Voter Identity Cards to register and vote in elections, ration cards, Below Poverty line (BPL) cards and a host of others. Each one of these identification cards are architected differently and none is universally accepted. The government-citizen interface as a result is rendered unnecessarily complex. The multiplicity of identity cards also renders the provision of services be it the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or subsidized rations difficult to monitor. The intended beneficiaries rarely get the full benefits due to them. Leakages in the system are hard to detect, much less control.

The need for a tamper proof, single ID that allows all government-citizen relationships to be managed effectively is obvious. This can provide access to services and transparency in how those services are delivered. A universal ID card would reduce the chances of corruption as the role of intermediaries, be they local politicians and bureaucrats who come in between the government’s intentions and the citizen are partially dis-intermediated. Needless to say that this is a massive job whether technically, politically or socially. The task is not in just issuing identity cards that are tamper-proof but in managing the massive database that this entails. The challenge is in architecting a unique system that is low cost that allows for multiple current applications and is flexible enough to accommodate new applications as it evolves. Further, India will be the first country to issue a single Id on such a scale in the age of mobile phones and ubiquitous connectivity. The opportunity for innovations in architecting the system, in deploying it, and in effectively dis-intermediating layers of bureaucracy between the citizen and government- is immense. The government of India must be congratulated in taking this first step- providing a unique identity to every Indian regardless of religion or economic class. This can also be the first step in focusing on the rights of an individual and not just the rights of a group. That is why I believe that the Universal ID is the basic building block of the social justice that the framers of the constitution had in mind.

Focus on Massive Education: Eradicating Opportunity Inequality

India will remain unequal as long as its citizens do not have equal opportunities for a good education. After 60 years of independence, India still has one of the largest illiterate populations in the world. 35 % of India is illiterate according to the 2001 census. That is more than 300 million people. This represents a population nearly as large as the entire population of India at the time of independence or the population of the entire United States today. It is clear that India has failed in its educational mission. More worrying is that half of the children in Class V cannot do simple two digit division problems (ASER 2008). Nor is there sign that things are changing fast. The reading and math scores reported in ASER have not changed measurably over the last four years.

This failure is not about adequate resources. Most children now have access to a primary school within walking distance. Most schools have teachers. However teachers often do not show up (MHRD estimates that only 70% attendance by teachers in rural schools) and even when they show up, they only teach about half the time. Abstenteism is rampant. In Jharkand it is 42% followed by Bihar at 37% and UP at 23%[xvi]. The differences between states are disturbing. Kerala with 90% plus literacy and Bihar with less than 45%. Similarly, gender inequalities are staggering. Only 45 % of women are literate compared to 75% men. Poor literacy is also associated with states where the population of Dalits and tribals are significant. This is clearly a failure of the public delivery system. Moreover, there are 17 ministries in the center focused on some form of educational initiatives whether it pertains to specific skills or basic education. Further, education is a state subject. So the ability to enforce common standards is low. This situation calls for a radical innovation.

The primary starting point is to focus on methods that can remedy this situation in a very short period of time. I suggested in my vision for India@ 75 that the first step is to educate 500 million Indian in world -class skills [xvii]. This assumes 100% literacy and a quality of primary and secondary education that can lead to the development of monetizable skills or access to college education. The idea of 500 million people to be educated in skills has been accepted and was part of the President’s address to the Parliament in 2009. This means that the preconditions for innovation in education can now be defined.

Objective Implication

Inclusion affordable and accessible

500 million unprecedented scale

10 years + sense of urgency

World Class rigorous with global benchmarks

Monetizable relevant to industry

Fungible mix of theory and practical skills

Inclusion will require that we not only focus on cost but delivery to remote areas. Access to education in rural India may be as critical as cost of delivery. Scale and urgency are obvious. We have a demographic volcano ready to erupt if young people do not acquire the skills that will enable them find reasonable jobs. Forcing global standards will allow Indian skills become marketable anywhere in the world. Finally, it must be fungible. We should ensure that we provide enough theory (e.g. physics, chemistry, math and language) to enable students to move up skill levels (e.g. take college courses and become engineers) or to shift skill clusters (e.g. hospitality to programming). Needless to say, we need to learn to harmonize these objectives in developing detailed plans for implementation.

Such a massive program of education is unprecedented and will need the most creative approach to content development, delivery and assessment of progress. The ubiquitous connectivity allows us a new approach to improving the quality of student engagement in learning. We will have to move away from a total dependence on teacher and school centric delivery mode. Why can’t a student in rural Bihar get access to the best teacher in physics in the country? Why can’t she or he download a lecture, a problem set and work with their peers to learn? Why can’t learning be modularized? Why can’t a student test herself against her cohorts not just in her village but also in the district or the nation? All this is possible today. The technology is available.

Delivering on innovations of this scale requires a coordinated effort. Does India need a Central Skills Development Authority that brings together diverse initiatives as in the Universal ID project? Human dignity and self-esteem comes from being educated, being skilled and well prepared for employment. India cannot deliver on this goal unless we make basic approach to universal education and skill development a focused effort, which is clear, unambiguous, and non-negotiable.

Focus on Citizen Centric Governance:

As a democracy, Indians can choose their leaders. In this sense it a government of “We the People”. However, the governance of India is very institution centric. What citizens encounter are an unresponsive and corrupt police, bureaucracy, politicians and judiciary. The power clearly rests with the institutions. This power asymmetry between citizens and the institutions of government is not peculiarly Indian. It is just far more pronounced in India. How do we rebalance the power between the institution and the citizen? How do we make institutions responsive? This too requires innovations.

The first step is a review of the laws that govern the day-to-day lives of citizens. Most of the laws in India have a colonial past. The Indian Telegraph Act of 1855 governs all the telecommunications and broadcasting regulations in India. The Indian Penal Code is from 1860. Indian Contract Act was enacted in 1872. The Official Secrets Act is from 1923. The Banking Regulation Act is from 1949. Needless to say, the acts have been amended and interpreted many times. The sheer architecture of these laws reflects a different context and social system of the country. This makes it difficult to apply the law to new situations not even imagined when the laws were written. What to preserve of the past and what to discard is a decision that is critical to move toward a more citizen centric governance.

Former Prime Minister Vajpayee, in his second term, promised to rewrite the laws. It was a stalled process. We need to renew the process. A subset of laws, if not all of them, need a fresh look and must be architected to suit today’s needs and rendered simple, easy to understand and capable of being reduced to few clear rules that require very little interpretation. If not, they should be scraped. This is the first step towards e-governance.

As India gets educated and as well connected Indians depend more on their cell phones and laptops for work and information, e-governance can become a way for citizens to interact with their government. Initiatives in e-governance in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have demonstrated that people are willing to accept the electronic alternative as long as it is easy to use. The use of Universal ID, universal education and ubiquitous connectivity can collectively make e-governance a reality.

E-governance combined with the Right to Information Act, allows individual citizens to evaluate the performance of the politicians who represent them and the bureaucrats who manage the institutions of government. Scorecards are easy to overlay on databases that e-governance creates allowing for the monitoring of delays or violations of rules. Transparency and accountability are easier to safeguard in such a system.

Strengthen Local Management

India is too complex to be governed centrally. That said, we must have non-negotiable national standards regarding laws, the rules of engagement of government with citizens, obligations of Indians to each other and a collective view of Indianness. We must be focused on the rights of individuals and individual identity, providing equal opportunities and creating a transparent system of government. At the same time we must be sensitive to and responsive to local context. The task in Kerala in education is different from Bihar. The law and order situation in Ranchi is different from Mysore. We must be nationally integrated and locally responsive simultaneously.

Local management has a long history in India. The Panchayat has a long history going back to the Vedas. While in the Northern part of India, it was rendered somewhat ineffective during the Moghul rule, in the South it flourished. The Chola kings, especially the great Raja Raja Chola made a clear distinction between central management of his kingdom and local responsiveness. The principles of revenue management and audit were centrally managed. However, local groups had significant authority to manage locally. An excellent example is the management of water and the building of lakes and water allocation and conservation. The king got involved in laying out principles but was locally administered based on local conditions while maintaining common standards across his empire.

Panchayati Raj was not an uncontested topic during the framing of the constitution. While Gandhiji was for it, Dr. Ambedkar opposed it. Ambedkar saw the village as a source of oppression. Multiple commissions have studied the pros and cons of this problem, notably Balwantrai Mehta Commission (1957), K. Santhanam (1963), Ashok Mehta (1978), V.K. Rao (1985), LM Singhvi (1986) and finally the 73rd Constitutional Amendment under Prime Minsiter Narasimha Rao in 1992. It envisaged Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads. More than 3 million people are elected to the local panchayats in India today. This is probably the largest exercise of democracy in the world. However, being a state subject, the freedom enjoyed by the panchayats, resources available to them and the ability to initiate projects that are locally responsive varies a great deal between states.

We must recognize that state governments that are unwilling to yield power to local authorities do distort the spirit of local governance. Similarly, local governance without national standards cannot lead to uniformity in the provision of individual rights and social justice.

Panchayati Raj in reality has not been an unmixed blessing. In some parts of the country, the worry that Dr. Ambedkar expressed has come true. Panchayati Raj can be manipulated to enforce a caste- based management of the village. This distortion often reflects the regional variations in the progress India has made over the last 50 years.

The Role of the Media

Surprisingly, the media seems to have accepted the pattern of corruption, the dysfunctional consequences of coalition politics, religious discord or judicial delays. No political party is held accountable for the extraordinary expenditures during elections and the show of “money power”. Public accountability is seldom enforced. Yes, even in this permissive atmosphere individual excesses may make the news. For example, it is estimated that 50% mining operations in Orissa operate without permission. The weigh- bridges are unmanned or do not work. More than 15, 000 trucks ply the roads with ore. This scale of corruption seemed to have escaped media attention till recently. More importantly, who are accountable for collusion of this magnitude?

The only bright spot in this process is the role of a few brave civil society organizations that work tirelessly to expose the misuse of power. They do make a difference but they alone without the support of the populace as a whole and the media in particular cannot sustain the pressure to change the system.

Conclusion

India is at an interesting crossroad. It must choose. The path to progress needs significant innovations and a discarding the old and acceptance of the new. Many of the innovation initiatives are at least partially underway. Many of the challenges that I have spoken about today are well known and well researched. The solutions are also clear. What India lacks is the will to face up to the challenges.

We cannot continue down the same path. If we look at the success stories of India’s recent history – in the IT and outsourcing sectors especially, the lesson is fairly clear. Individuals who are educated and given the right training have made a disproportionate impact on economic growth and have created opportunities where governments alone could not. They have also given all Indians a sense of pride in their identity and increased the respect with which this country is viewed internationally. This is not just a reality in urban India. The role of the farmers trained and empowered have transformed their lives and the way they are able to interface with the rest of the world as we see in work done by ITC e Choupal, Amul, Jaipur Rugs and in many Self Help Groups around the country. It is all about empowering individuals, providing them capabilities and allowing them to exercise their choices. I expect this trend to grow dramatically with the proliferation of the cell phone and connectivity.

I do not want to focus on the success story in a particular industry or in a particular locale. I view this as reinforcement of the idea that when we focus on individual rights and meritocracy, we are better able to achieve collective goals. When we try to focus on groups, we are essentially accountable to no one. After fifty years of focus on group rights our gains have been too modest and too slow. Gandhiji succeeded because he understood how to combine individual dignity and collective action. Bottom up revolution in India must start with individuals, their capabilities, their empowerment, their dignity and their ability to live their lives and realize their dreams. I realize the magnitude of the challenges that this refocus of our efforts demands. But we have started this journey. The Universal id, the focus on literacy and skill development, e-governance, and local management with national standards are all building blocks of a society that focuses on improving individuals and as a result contributes to the collective progress. We have to accept this reality or resign ourselves to slow and uneven progress – and ultimately, a society with deep divisions and injustice.

I think a first step is to stop thinking and speaking about the “masses”. I dare say that we may find ourselves better able to cope with whatever challenges we face when we can articulate a course of action for individuals to take. Whenever we have done that, Indians have a risen to the challenge. They have always made the country proud. It wasn’t long ago that the rich and poor united and sacrificed for the common good. Imagine if we can motivate more of our citizens to act so bravely and selflessly toward a common purpose. Imagine, too, that we can reduce the burden of corruption by even half – through a combination of better policy and swift consequences. Many of India’s goals begin to seem more attainable.

The crisis in India is a crisis of leadership. There is no one who is willing to articulate a view of India and Indianness with clarity and force so that the country can come together and make the sacrifices needed to build a new India that the framers of the constitution imagined. Indians are ready to be led again. India is the largest single experiment in democracy and social justice the world has ever seen. Leaders in India, in fact all Indians, have to ask themselves “what will be the judgment of history? What will be our legacy”? I also believe that people want to be heard more than anything else. They hunger for opportunity more than handouts. I draw inspiration from Mother Theresa’s words: When I look at the masses, I feel I cannot do anything. When I look at individuals, I know I have to do something. “ India has more people waiting to be led than any other place on earth. It is time to act and act decisively.

[i]References and End Notes:

Soli Sorabjee: Judicial Activism; Boon or Bane? Fifth Nani A. Palkivala Memorial Lecture, Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust, 2008

[ii] Amartya Sen: The Idea of Justice, Penguin Books, 2009

[iii] Rohit Kumar: Vital Statistics, PRS Legislative Research, August 26, 2009. The Supreme Court also collects this data and the numbers are very comparable. Supreme Court reports that UP alone accounts for 23.6% of the pending cases in the High court.

[iv] The same issues were discussed in the Twenty Seventh Report on Action Taken Replies on Law’s Delays: Arrears in Courts, April 2008

[v] Transparency International Annual Report, 2007

[vi] Pranabh Mukerjee

[vii] C.K. Prahalad: Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Lecture, 1995

[viii] Amartya Sen: The idea of Justice, Penguin Books, 2009

[ix] Resoultion # 344, introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone at the 2nd Session, 109^th Congress of the United Stats House of Representatives, Feb 15, 2006

[x] See Sarkaria Commission Report

[xi] Soli J. Sorabjee: Judicial Activism; Boon or Bane? Fifth Nani A. Palkhivala Lecture, published by the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust, 2008

[xii] The Economic Survey of India, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Central Statistical Organization

[xiii] All India Council for Technical Education, 2006

[xiv] Center for Media Studies, CMS Transparency review, December 2008, www.cmsindia.org, New Delhi

[xv] C.K. Prahalad: The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid; Eradicating Poverty through Profits, Fifth Year edition, Wharton Business publishing, 2009

[xvi] World Bank Report: Teacher Absenteism in India: A snapshot, 2004

[xvii] C.K. Prahalad: India @75, Speech delivered in New York, September, 2007

India is a saving and investing economy

2010-01-15T14:32:00.005+05:30

Indian express has an excellent article on the latest CMIE survey.

Some key points:

Indians spend 25% of income on food, 1.5% on health, 1.4% on EMIs
Over 26 per cent of households described themselves as borrower households, of these over 70 per cent borrowed from friends/relatives/moneylenders and just over 25 per cent from banks.

There are several others, please take some time to read this.

However, the key for me is

The national household savings rate is a very healthy 40.41%. There are interesting variations among states. Delhi and Maharashtra are high savings states (47.72 per cent and 49.72 per cent savings rates, respectively, higher than the national average), while Bengal and Andhra Pradesh (27.45 % and 22.03%) are significantly low savings states.

Nearly 59 per cent of households in India are investing households, according to CMIE data.

If an average household saves 40% of its earnings and 59% of these households invest money, then our economy is in good shape.

Before I end, could not this information be presented in a tabular format? Would have been simpler to understand and occupied far less space.

Where are the leaders that we seek?

2010-01-15T13:45:00.003+05:30

Its a common complaint that today's India does not have leaders of stature with vision and integrity. With India poised delicately at the cross roads from where it could either grow into a huge economy with visions of leading the world or derail from its tracks of progress and forever be hyphenated with its neighbour and allow China to leap ahead. It is at this time that we need people who can work - with lots of sacrifices - to take India ahead.

During the freedom struggle, we had several leaders who worked with only one goal - Freedom - in mind. We need another struggle now. Where are they?

Unfortunately, as this article indicates, we only seem to have venture capitalists as our leaders. Invest obscene amounts of money to get elected and, if elected, try get as much returns as you can. Corruption costs us over Rs. 2.5 lakh crores! And this is just during the state and national elections.

WTF news: Religious discrimination : India second

2009-12-22T13:42:00.002+05:30

Today's Times of India carried this article on religious discrimination

The study titled `Global Restrictions on Religion' took into account the situation in as many as 198 countries, North Korea being the only notable exception, to derive the conclusion. India was just below Iraq and well above countries like Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan when it came to social hostility in the country. Pakistan is at the third place right below India.

The study, which claims to cover 99.5% of the world population, deals with restrictions imposed on religion not just by social groups and individuals but also by the government. Even in the case of government induced restrictions, India fares badly with its position in the top 40 countries out of the 198 mentioned.

I find this very hard to believe. WTF, indeed.

Pakistan incursions at the border.

2009-12-22T13:32:00.002+05:30

The Indian express reports:

BSF foiled major infiltration bids by militants to cross into Indian territory as Pakistani troops fired at two forward posts in the Samba sector in the wee hours on Tuesday, in the fifth case of ceasefire violation within a week.

The same article also says

There have been 28 incidents of such ceasefire violations till November 25 by Pakistan along the Line of Control.
During the last four years there have been 129 incidents of ground ceasefire and 43 air space violations by Pakistan.

Why is the Indian government not raising this issue with Pakistan?

With the Defence minister A K Antony stating that India has withdrawn 30,000 troops from Kashmir, wouldn't such incursions prompt the ministry to rush back troops? Is the think tank across the border so stupid?

Yet another investigating agency

2009-12-10T11:49:00.002+05:30

The National Investigating Agency (NIA), formed in 2008 to deal with pan-India crimes and concentrating mainly on terror-related cases, has filed its first chargesheet in the state against six persons accused of procuring and supplying counterfeit currency for terrorist activities. The agency now awaits the setting up of a special court to conduct the trial, which is expected next month.

The NIA has now filed a 1000 page chargesheet and, as per this article, is now awaiting the setting up of a special court!

The more some things change, the more it remains the same!

"Cost of living" index replaces "calorie intake" index to calculate India's poor

2009-12-10T11:42:00.003+05:30

A committee headed by economist Suresh Tendulkar critically examined the old “Dandekar-Rath” poverty-line formula, drawn up in 1971. That formula looked exclusively at the calorie content of an Indian’s diet; and, if it was lower than 2250 calories per person per day (an arbitrary figure), placed that person below the poverty line. Remember: this was before the green revolution, well before liberalisation. The committee recommended scrapping the focus on calorie intake alone; it should be replaced, according to the report, by a cost-of-living index that took into account other expenditure.

The number of poor people in India in 2004-2005 were 27.5% by the calorie intake calculation. Now that figure has been revised to 37.2%. And that is good news.

Ms. Clinton acknowledges Pak as a training centre for terrorists?

2009-12-10T11:40:00.002+05:30

"We know that much of the training and the direction for terrorists comes from Pakistan and the border area with Afghanistan," Clinton told reporters at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.

"One of the reasons why President Obama made the decision which he announced last week with respect to our strategy going forward is because we continue to see a syndicate of terrorism that al-Qaida is, in effect, the head of that is not only an aspirational or ideological head, but providing funding and training and equipping and operational direction to a number of terrorist groups," Clinton said.

"And therefore, we will remain very vigilant at home," she said.

Clinton also expressed concern over "a series of arrests". However, the article only mentions Headley. Who are the others?

Of what use is a God who can walk on water to us who drown in the flood?

2009-11-06T19:01:00.001+05:30

Prem writes a superb article on the Sachin Tendulkar enigma.

Personally, there have been too many times when I've witnessed the Sachin magic fall just short of ensuring a team win. I know its not fair to blame Sachin when he comes with such a brilliant innings. But increasingly, it becomes so despairing that a majestic innings from the Sachin blade leaves the other batsmen in so much awe that they forget to do their bit.

In the last match (Ind Vs Aus at Hyderabad), Sachin scored 175 out of 141 deliveries. The other 9 players scored 157 out of 146. Not bad. Why then, did India still fall short by an agonising 3 runs?

I wasn't able to watch the majority of the match. When I switched on the TV, Ravindra Jadeja was walking in at the fall of Harbhajan's wicket. I noticed that though Jadeja was doing his bit, he was keeping Sachin off strike. I realised then this was going to be dangerous. I've generally felt that (my own observation, don't have stats to back this) Sachin generally loses his wicket, when he has been off strike for a couple of overs. Especially, after a marathon innings. And that's exactly what happened.

Qadir suspects match-fixers in Pakistan team- Hindustan Times

2009-08-04T16:44:00.001+05:30

via hindustantimes.com

Matchfixing come to haunt again? With Pak, I guess you can never be sure.

Posted via web from Anand's posterous

The 'paper' schools of Madhya Pradesh

2009-07-31T15:53:00.001+05:30

At Biliya Primary School in Shajapur, there is a long single room where two teachers teach students between Standard I and V. "We have lined up Standard III students in one row. We dedicate half-an-hour to them. Then we move on to Standard II students. We allot 30 exclusive minutes to each standard," said Amita Joshi, a teacher at the school.

With schools like these, what will the 'Right to Education' bill achieve?

Posted via web from Anand's posterous

Ensure places of worships not built on streets: SC to govt

2009-07-31T15:37:00.001+05:30

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to ensure that no place of worship is constructed in public places.
The apex court asked Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium to file an affidavit in this regard within four weeks.

via ndtv.com

Brilliant! Hope the centre implements this in true spirit.

Posted via web from Anand's posterous

Rich given NREGA job cards in Bihar

2009-07-30T18:19:00.001+05:30

It can possibly happen only in Bihar. The names of rich including chartered accountant, government employees, shopkeeper of Public Distribution System and even dead have been allotted job cards and they have drawn money as wages under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in the state.
None other than the Bihar Rural Development Minister Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha admitted this in the state assembly in a reply to an Independent Member of Legislative Assembly Kishor Kumar Munna, who brought this to his notice.

via news.rediff.com

Why is Bihar always in the news for all the wrong reasons?

Posted via web from Anand's posterous

Sarah Palin's resignation letter - edited

2009-07-30T14:58:00.001+05:30

Sigh!

Link via IndiaUncut

Posted via email from Anand's posterous

Different punishment for male and female raggers?

2009-07-30T14:32:00.001+05:30

Male students were fined Rs. 50,000 each, expelled from the hostel for 15 days, and barred from attending lectures for 15 days.

Female students were fined Rs. 50,000 each and expelled from the hostel (duration not known)

Female students had their scholarships withdrawn.
Males students had criminal cases filed against them.

The article says the male students were from BHU, while the female students were at IIT, Allahabad.

Is it too much to expect uniform punishment?

Posted via email from Anand's posterous

Can you be greedy and good?: Rediff.com news

2009-07-29T18:16:00.001+05:30

via news.rediff.com

Harvard MBAs will now take an oath to uphold ethical principals! Will they now revoke the degrees of all the MBAs who passed out before?

Posted via web from Anand's posterous

MP's have time to debate TV shows!

2009-07-29T15:11:00.001+05:30

Today, we have a strange situation where some Members of Parliament, elected by some of us, are telling us what to watch and what not to.

These, by the way, belong to the same set of people many of whose colleagues are murderers, rapists, child-molesters and bribe-takers. These are the same people who belong to a club which, when it meets, engages in slanging and shouting. This doesn’t either help in nation-building or, for that matter, law-making.

Their ire is directed at a television reality show, Sach Ka Saamna on Star TV. The fact that in the Budget session, which should be discussing fiscal allocations and deficit management, MPs have both time and wisdom to rake this up as an issue, reflects how facetious politics has become. The fact that in today’s economic climate they are happier discussing late-night television shows than day-chilling facts about unemployment and hunger deaths is a proof of the seriousness with which they go about their business

I'm worried. They decide what shows should be beamed. They decide what sites stay on the Internet. They decide what dress we should wear. They decide what festivals we celebrate. Makes me wonder as yet another anniversary is approaching, 'Did my country really get independence that day in mid August, 62 years back?'.

Click here for the full article.

Posted via email from Anand's posterous

"Bloodbath" in SL

2009-05-14T11:41:00.000+05:30

“Bloodbath. That’s the expression the United Nations has used to describe the killing of over 100 children over the weekend inside a narrow strip of land in northeastern Sri Lanka, where the Tamil Tigers are still holding thousands of civilians hostage.”

Water Disaster

2009-05-08T12:37:00.001+05:30

Received this via email from Gauri which I thought needed to be shared with all.

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=djw9697_19cdrgkgdd

Rahu Ketu to blame for Varun Gandi's predicament?

2009-04-24T17:51:00.001+05:30

“Why did a courteous, poem-penning, educated young man threaten to tear the secular fabric of a country that his great grandfather and grandmother have so diligently woven into a united whole? Did he get carried away by his debut political address? Ganesha says it's the diabolical Rahu-Ketu effect that fanned the embers in Varun's brain.”

If you want to know more, do click here.

Link via “It’s Not Varun Gandhi’s Fault”

Death due to lifestyle disease more likely than any other reason

2009-04-24T11:58:00.003+05:30

“The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that death from diabetes and heart disease alone costs India about $210 billion every year, and it is expected to increase to $335 billion in the next decade.

So the average person is more likely to die from a lifestyle disease then from an automobile accident, or infectious disease such as pneumonia.”

The above information is lost somewhere in this debate on veg v/s non-veg debate.

“Maoist victory”

2009-04-24T11:51:00.001+05:30

“The West Bengal government’s decision to relocate 40 polling booths near Lalgarh in West Midnapore district — as per the demands of the People’s Committee against Police Atrocities, supposedly backed by the Maoists — has the obvious advantages of allowing elections to be held in the troubled area as well as keeping the tribals happy by precluding police presence near their homes. But the compromise worked out by the state government, the Election Commission and the People’s Committee is also the official acknowledgement of the extent of administrative failure.”

An editorial in the Indian Express claims “Maoist victory”

Economic aid to Pak linked to its "ability to confront extremism"

2009-04-24T11:37:00.003+05:30

“Stating that the rapid expansion of the Taliban in Pakistan is very "disturbing", the US on Friday said the Obama Administration's proposed economic aid to Islamabad would be directly linked to its "ability to confront extremism.”

“While announcing the new Af-Pak policy last month, Obama had said that Pakistan should no longer expect blank checks from the US and thatIslamabad would be made accountable for the money it would receive from the US.”

The US administration is clearly worried about the developments in Af-Pak, as perthis article.

Update: It's the terrorism, stupid; not India: US message to Pak, vide this article.

Crisis in SL

2009-04-24T11:36:00.000+05:30

“Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday that both LTTE and Sri Lanka were not paying heed to India's request to end hostilities but felt Colombo was "more at fault" as it thought military solution could end the strife.”

"It is not against the Union Government or Congress. It is for stopping the hostilities there in that country." He said it was wrong to say that the Union Government did not take any steps to stop the hostilities in the island. Read the whole article here.

With Tamil Nadu on the boil over loss of Tamil lives in the Sri Lankan fighting and political parties calling for either a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities, the Government decided tonight to send National Security Advisor M K Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon as early as tomorrow to Colombo to convey Indian concerns, as per this article

And in an editorial, “Nonetheless, strong words streamed in. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee echoed many of his counterparts around the world, including from the United States, when he pointed to the LTTEa’s barbaric practice of holding civilians hostage and also called on the Sri Lankan government to honour its responsibilities to its citizens.’

Shiv Sena getting tech-savvy!

2009-04-14T15:56:00.000+05:30

“The over four-decade old saffron outfit, founded by Bal Thackeray, is reaching voters through telephony, internet, mobile SMS and also plans a full-fledged studio to help meet needs of the electronic media.

The Sena has started a toll-free number 1800222772 on which people can register their grievances to the party over phone. Their complaints would be recorded and addressed by the party leaders.”

Shiv Sena is embracing the new technologies in order to get closer to the Gen Next vote bank. Do I hear anyone tell me that all this is western influence and against our ‘Hindutva’ culture?

I miss you, Sir APJ Kalam!

2009-04-13T13:00:00.001+05:30

“

Don’t you think every citizen has a responsibility? I believe a person who has been educated, has a responsibility towards his nation. That is why I used to say every individual should be a good member of a family. Every individual has to be a good member of the society. Every individual has to be a good member of the nation. Every educated individual should be a good member of the planet earth. The question is how to make the individual into a good member? Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home there is order in the nation. When there is order in the nation there is peace in the world. Who will give us that righteousness in the heart? Our parents, our teachers in a spiritual environment.

”

India’s 11^th President, A.P.J Abdul Kalam, speaks about his ideas, his vision for the country and the youth.

O! How much do we miss you, Sir?

The BJP's " extraordinarily irresponsible" in Kandhamal

2009-04-13T12:46:00.001+05:30

“

Their relief camps are shutting down and they have to return to houses that are, in large part, still burnt-out. They’re mostly without election ID cards and quite some distance from the towns where they’re registered. Where responsible politics would heal these wounds, the local — and, unfortunately, the national-level BJP as well — has taken on the task of pushing things in the other direction. Yet another step backward for the BJP in this campaign.”

From an editorial in The Indian Express

Samajwadi Party wants to phase out machinery and substitute humans

2009-04-13T12:42:00.000+05:30

“

Among things that the Samajwadi Party officially opposes are fancy English education, computers, farm machinery, stock-trading, and shopping malls. If this stuff is seriously meant, it reveals the SP’s intellectual vacuity and disconnect with the outside world. If it is a text merely meant to rally the faithful (with no bearing on actual governance), it is shocking in its condescension to the people.

Mulayam Singh’s plan involves phasing out computers wherever human labour can be substituted — a plank that even the Left has left behind, because of its patent absurdity. Warming over a centuries-old man versus machine debate, the manifesto also pushes for some prelapsarian past where farmers would directly cultivate the land. India’s biggest global advantage has been its IT-competent, English-speaking population — a segment that more and more young people openly aspire to — and the SP’s manifesto essentially promises to send his imagined constituency spinning away from that orbit.

“

More at http://www.indianexpress.com/news/translate-this/446139/

An interview with JK Dutt who commanded the anti-terrorist operations in Mumbai on 26/11

2009-04-13T12:39:00.001+05:30

Shekhar Gupta in an excellent two part discussion with J K Dutt, former Director General of the National Security Guard, under whose command the siege (Mumbai Terror Attacks at the Taj, Oberoi and Nariman House on 26^th Nov 2008) “was brought to a logical conclusion and a bloody one. “

The first part is here and the second part is here.

Please read both the parts in full.

HC verdicts "obeyed more in breach than in compliance"

2009-04-13T12:28:00.002+05:30

The Delhi High Court, through various public interest litigations (PILs), has issued several orders over the last few years that intended to make sweeping changes in the Capital. The issues ranged from monkey menace to the stray cattle problem, saving the Yamuna to nursery admissions, and subways beneath the India Gate hexagon to Blueline accidents. All decisions, however, exist on paper only, after taking up valuable time of the already overburdened court. The judges’ verdicts have been “obeyed more in breach than in compliance”, Justice R S Thakur had once described the trend

KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL lists some of the cases

" When the NDA was ruling at the Centre, they had sent Lord Rama for 'vanvaas' "

2009-04-13T12:25:00.000+05:30

“

"When the NDA was ruling at the Centre, they had sent Lord Rama for 'vanvaas' (exile). Now they have again raised the issue of constructing a Ram Temple at Ayodhya," the Union Agriculture Minister said at a gathering here.

”

Sharad Pawar, while campaigning for the Cong-NCP candidates from Dhule, Dindori (ST) and Nashik parliamentary constituencies.

To be fair to the NDA, the allies during the time the NDA was in power ensured that the mandir would not be built. But it does seem that the mandir issue is dusted and presented only during election time. If the mandir is built, then the BJP would lose an election issue, won’t it?

"EC asks parties to behave"

2009-04-13T12:19:00.001+05:30

The Commission underscored that it expects that “all political parties, their leaders, workers and supporters as well as their candidates shall scrupulously observe the Model Code of Conduct in letter and spirit”.

And that “it sincerely hopes that they will be guided by the advice of the Honourable Supreme Court of India in conducting their electoral campaigns and set high standards of electoral morality.”

“Violations of the Model Code of Conduct and, in several instances, the law of the land, seem to be turning into something of a trend, which if unchecked, is bound to seriously damage the election process and set a deplorable precedent for future elections,” the Commission warned.

The entire article is here.

"Congress stands for nothing, BJP stands for something pernicious"

2009-04-13T11:57:00.001+05:30

"...the Congress stands for nothing, while the BJP stands for something pernicious. The BJP has, in its DNA, the politics of divisiveness. It is true that the Congress has also played such politics, but out of convenience, not belief. That makes their acts no less heinous, but, in my eyes at least, it makes them slightly less dangerous because there is less chance of things going wrong, of a repeat of 1984 or 2002.

And ya, it burns me up that I need to decide who I support on the basis of who is less dangerous. That totally sucks, but such it is, so there we go."

That's Amit Gupta at talking about what Tytler and Sajjan tell him about the Congress party

Mallika Sarabhai has some questions

2009-04-09T15:51:00.000+05:30

“

After visits in and around the Gandhinagar constituency, my list of "Why?" keeps increasing every day...
- Why is there no PHC in Jalund village?
- Why is there no ST service in Moti Adraj?
- Why are there no toilets in Borij?
- Why has a tank in Ghatlodia - that is said to have cost Rs. 60 lakhs- never had a drop of water?
- Why are there only 32 polling booths for 2 lakh people in Juhapura?
- Why are there no gutters in Borisana?
- Why is NREGA not applicable in Sonawada?
- Why do villagers in Gokulpura have to walk a 15 km circuitous route when a 3 km road could ease their transport problems?

Why?
It would be too simple to answer all these questions with "Its because the local authorities are inefficient". Of course, there is a certain level of inefficiency that is only too obvious to those who talk to villagers around Gandhinagar. But the answer to these questions goes beyond issues of the local authorites being inefficient, to asystem that is inherently flawed. A system that once aware of such inefficiency can choose not to address them!

“

Mallika Sarabhai, independent candidate from Gandhinagar, thinks its time for a new leadership that revels in taking new risks and making new mistakes. Her blog is here.

Jarnail Singh a Panthic hero?

2009-04-09T11:32:00.002+05:30

A report in the ToI says,

“Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee likened Jarnail Singh to a Panthic hero and offered him a job in case he lost the one he has now. It also offered to bear his legal expenses if he's booked and need to fight his case. “

As per the Indian Express, The govt has also asked CBI “Why clean chit to Tytler, why no copy to us?”

“Spurred by concerns raised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, CBI director Ashwani Kumar was asked to provide the facts of the case and the report that his agency submitted to Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate last Thursday giving a clean chit to Tytler. The case comes up for hearing tomorrow.

Sources said Kumar is learnt to have told the government that since it had been asked by the court in December 2007 to file an investigation report after questioning Jasbir Singh, it was duty bound to submit it “only” to the court.”

The ToI also reports that

“The fate of Congress leader Jagdish Tytler's nomination from Delhi North-East is hanging by a slender thread. With the "shoe throwing" protest by journalist Jarnail Singh triggering sharp reaction among Sikhs, Congress leadership is seriously considering to dump Tytler to secure its prospects in Punjab”

My post on the shoe throwing incident is here.

Amar, Azam and Mulayam

2009-04-08T13:31:00.001+05:30

Alka Pande & Ravish Tiwari in the Indian Express give the low down on the Amar and Azam saga.

Behenji for PM?

2009-04-08T13:21:00.000+05:30

“As I see it, the two most probable candidates for Prime Minister are Mayawati and Rahul Gandhi. If Mayawati manages to win over 50 Lok Sabha seats she could be unstoppable. Fifty is not too difficult a target when one considers that Mayawati's home state of Uttar Pradesh has 80 parliamentary seats and all other parties and alliances in UP, even the uneasy SP- Congress coalition, seem to be on a much weaker wicket.”

Coomi Kapoor provides a “A guide on probable, possible, and not impossible Prime Ministerial candidates”

I’m scared. Very scared.

Lalu booked in two cases, arrested in a third

2009-04-08T11:40:00.000+05:30

“While the Kishanganj administration booked him for his verbal attack on BJP leader Varun Gandhi, the second FIR was filed at Garhwa town in Jharkhand over his chopper skipping the helipad and landing at the venue of his rally. His arrest came in a similar offence - landing his helicopter at the venue of his meet in 2005 - but he was released on bail.”

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Lalu-booked-in-two-cases-arrested/articleshow/4369272.cms

Election update 8th April 2009

2009-04-08T11:27:00.001+05:30

1. “Promises, more promises and no mention of any local problems daunting the biggest parliamentary constituency in Karnataka, Chithradurga. This is how one could sum up the brief 20 minute address of the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, Lal Krishna Advani at Chithradurga on Tuesday.”

From http://specials.rediff.com/news/2009/apr/07slid1-advani-rally-in-chitradurga.htm

2. LJP releases manifesto, favours creation of smaller states

"The party believes that for better administration and development of neglected regions, formation of smaller states is necessary," party chief Ramvilas Paswan said, while releasing the party manifesto here.

“The LJP also promised to provide reservations to women and OBCs in government jobs and the judiciary for which 50 per cent ceiling imposed by the Supreme Court would be removed through appropriate legislation.”

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4370300.cms

3. RJD releases poll manifesto

“The RJD poll manifesto is a mix of the UPA government's claims -- rural employment for at least 100 days at Rs 100 per day, strengthening of the Right to Information Act besides the populist move of providing rice at Rs 2 per kg and wheat at Rs 1.5 per kg to BPL families. It also promised to amend laws to treat and deal with terrorism and communal forces. RJD also promised to amend the Constitution to provide for 10 per cent reservation for poor members of upper castes. It promised land reforms and encouragement to small-scale industries in the country.”

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/RJD-releases-poll-manifesto/articleshow/4363277.cms

4. TDP releases poll manifesto

“Ensuring economic, food and health security would be top on the agenda of TDP if voted to power in this month's poll," TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu said while releasing the manifesto at the NTR Trust Bhavan here.
On Telangana, the TDP leader said they would take all required legal and political steps for creation of a separate state.”

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4349622.cms

Facebook site hacked again!

2009-04-07T18:14:00.002+05:30

The "Consortium of Loose, Forward and Pubgoing women" group on facebook has been hacked so many times, I wonder whether Facebook has any security worth the name. A quick search through google confirms that so many sites have been hacked with such regularity, its a surprise Facebook is not doing anything about it.

At this rate, Facebook will soon a lot of such groups leave and join other SNS forums. Another quick search (whatever would we do without Google) confirms that Orkut accounts have also been hacked.

Any tips on how to prevent facebook groups from being hacked, please leave your tips and suggestions in the comments section

Nitish rules out sharing dais with Modi. And 100% Bihari, says Suman.

2009-04-07T16:45:00.001+05:30

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ruled out sharing stage with his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi during the campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls. "Not at all. Why should I?" Kumar said when asked if he would share a dais with Modi. Check this article for full details.

" I am not a hardcore politician. I know what not to do in this field so I won't give anybody a chance to pull my leg. I want to change the image of cine stars who become ' Eid ka chand' after winning the election', says Shekhar Suman. In the same article, he asserts “I am 100% Bihari”

AIADMK, CPI(M) reach seat-sharing agreement

2009-04-07T15:56:00.000+05:30

“Besides the two currently held constituencies, Kanyakumari (earlier Nagercoil) and Madurai, the CPI(M) will contest from the Coimbatore constituency.”

“The AIADMK is continuing talks with the MDMK, the only ally with which it is yet to reach an understanding on sharing of seats.”

The article also claims that “The talks between the two parties were prolonged because the CPI(M) insisted on the Tirupur constituency. It, however, agreed to settle for Coimbatore.”

38,670 people went missing from the national capital in the past three years!

2009-04-07T15:41:00.000+05:30

“The largest number of people who went missing from the capital during the period were above 18 years accounting for 19,709, including 8,369 women. Out of this, 1,534 missing people are yet to be traced.”

That’s more than 35 people who go missing each day!

And 15% of the missing people are yet to be traced!

If this is Delhi, wonder what the national figures are.

5 questions for Mr. Lal Krishna Advani

2009-04-07T14:35:00.002+05:30

Mallika Sarabhai has five questions for L K Advani today as “he has been our (Gandhinagar) MP for the last 20 years"."My first question is how many and what kind of questions have you raised in the Lok Sabha about Gandhinagar in the last five years," Mallika asked Advani. She wanted to know what efforts were made by him towards opportunities for education and livelihood generation in the rural areas of Gandhinagar constituency. She asked why he had not spoken out against violence and atrocities against women in Gujarat and specifically in Gandhinagar. She demanded to know that despite being MP fo this constituency, why have Advani not shown any concern towards local issues of the constituency as well as the state. Raising question about MPLADs scheme she asked "have you used your funds under MPLADs scheme to benefit the deprived and underprivileged in your constituency?"

From : Mallika Sarabhai invites Advani for open debate

Candidates and their websites.

2009-04-07T14:19:00.004+05:30

I will try and post candidate's websites in this link. Some of our candidates in the LS 2009 elections have really hit the IT bandwagon
Mr.Krishna Byregowda's(Bangalore South) has his own website and you can even join his community forum to show your support.

Hat Tip : Lavanya Hebbale Anand

Ms. Meera Sanyal (Independent candidate from Mumbai South) has her own website

Nafisa Ali switches from Congress to SP

2009-04-07T14:02:00.002+05:30

(Nafisa) Ali has her own plans to enhance Lucknow, which includes developing it as an IT hub and a tourist destination besides improving health care and sewage facilities. "I also want to build the Nargis Dutt cancer hospital in Lucknow and help Sanjay realise his dream", the SP candidate said vide an article here.

In the same article she also says ""Amar Singh's forthright approach is what I liked the most. Initially I was to be the Congress candidate from Lucknow and when I asked Singh if he would support me even if I was a rival candidate he suggested I join the SP instead."

Incidentally she was fielded by the Congress in the last LS elections from Kolkata and had lost.

Laloo is not impressed by Varun

2009-04-07T13:53:00.002+05:30

"Yadi main home minister hota, uske chhati par roller chala deta"

Laloo mentioned this after the filing of nomination by RJD candidate and Union minister Taslimuddin for Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat.

The full article is available here.

Looks like the above has also invited the ire of the the Kishanganj district administration which has filed its complaint against Lalu Prasad at the Kishanganj police station in the morning, police said. As per the report here.

Mayawati at an election rally in Gurgaon and Faridabad

2009-04-07T13:39:00.002+05:30

"Jab woh satta mein nahin the, unke chacha bhatija desh chala rahe the"

Behejni addressing a rally in Gurgaon or Faridabad (the article is not clear about the location where she made the above remark).

'' We have brought the deprived Muslims under the reservation category. We will bring all other castes and even Dalit Christians , who have been neglected and deprived by the 'capitalist' governments, under this umbrella,'' she said, reading out from a prepared speech.

The BSP chief also spelt out her plan to introduce reservations across several services, including judiciary, if the party was voted to power. '' We believe in delivering what we promise to people. Don't go by the manifestoes of Congress and BJP. You never got cheap food, you did not get jobs. They could not do anything when they were in power ,'' she appealed to the crowd.

After saying all the above, she said she can't comment on the issue of the water supply from the Agra Canal as "there is a model code of conduct in place,''. However, Mayawati assured the crowd she would find a solution once the election was over.

Angry scribe flings shoe at Chidambaram

2009-04-07T13:26:00.003+05:30

Looks like this kind of protest has really caught on. An Indian scribe apparently infuriated at the clean chit given to Jagdish Tytler over his role during the 1984 Delhi riots has resorted to this sort of protest.

Watch this space for more details.

Update : Later, speaking with CNN-IBN, Jarnail Singh said he did not regret his action. "How can he (Chidambaram) happy when one community faces injustice? They were stopping me from talking. I don't think I have done the right thing but the issue called for it". From http://ibnlive.in.com/news/journalist-throws-shoe-at-chidambaram/89666-3.html

election Lok Sabha 2009 and facebook

2009-04-07T13:14:00.000+05:30

I had been posting several election related news on a discussion thread on The Consortium of Loose, Forward and Pub going women, but this particular forum has been subject to several attempts to bring it down. It seems that some people are not really happy with this concept.

In an attempt to provide election related information to those interested, I will be posting the same info on this blog too. Readers are encouraged to comment on the same. Treat this as a test post as I'm trying to post this directly from my email client.

Email campaign to protest attacks on women in Karnataka

2009-03-06T15:54:00.001+05:30

There's a group of Facebook called "A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women", which was formed when Muthalik and his goons going by the name of Shri Ram Sene assaulted women in a pub, as it was against "Indian culture". This consortium first started a campaign to send "Pink Chaddis" which caught the fancy of several people and had a resounding success. Today, I guess there are more than 54,000 members of this Facebook group. Some days back - after inaction from the police department and concerned ministries even after several attacks on women in Bangalore and Mangalore – there was a fresh campaign to send emails to the Home Minister and the Police Departments. Sadly, the response to this campaign has been very poor.

Concerned citizens are urged to send emails or letters to the respective departments. The addresses are mentioned in the blog as well as on the Facebook discussion forum, "Email campaign". The Facebook forum also has some draft emails which can be personalised and utilised. The draft letter and the addresses of the concerned departments are also available here at Shakti Bose's blog. Make sure you send a cc of all the emails to mahilabharati@yahoo.com, to enable the consortium to keep track of the emails.

Mumbai - 26th November 2008

2008-12-14T21:22:00.000+05:30

I wanted to write about this, but didn't know how to start. Found a badge on indiabloggers.in which I've used here.

Thanks to Homer for the badge.

No water for upper castes in UP

2008-06-24T13:01:00.000+05:30

Now that Mayavati is in power, thanks to the massive Dalit votes, water is not a problem at all for the lower castes. But the upper castes now have to travel to a well outside their village to fill cans of water. In a few years, an upper caste leader is going to demand water reservations for them for past atrocities. Will this reservation politics never end?

Question on Arushi in an exam

2008-06-24T13:00:00.000+05:30

I'm impressed. The education system is keeping itself up to date. During my engineering days, we had changes in syllabus once in every 10 years or so, making most the things that we learnt to be highly irrelevant.

Question on Arushi in an exam

2008-06-24T11:15:00.000+05:30

No water for upper castes in UP

2008-06-24T11:12:00.000+05:30

'Perhaps that day was for me only' - Kapil Dev

2008-06-21T11:34:00.001+05:30

I can still remember that day! 25th June 1983. And I relived those moments while reading this interview.

For those of you who were either not born or too young to have watched this on TV, suffice to say a 23 year old captain of the Indian team lifted the World Cup against the mighty WI on a green top, against impossible odds! After humbling England in the semi final. And after beating WI and Australia once during the league matches. And if you are amongst those who could never understand the fanatic following that cricket warrants in this country, then please ignore. This mail is not for you.

Kapil’s incredible innings of 175 not out against Zimbabwe at the 1983 world cup with India tottering at 9/4 and later 17/5 was the stuff of folk lore. It was the highest ODI innings for a long long time. And the occasion and the circumstances of that innings must rank it as the best ODI innings ever.

The semi final win against England and the finals threw an entire nation into celebration mode. BCCI at that time had to raise money to felicitate the heroes and they requested Lata Mangeshkar for a concert which was used to raise money to felicitate the Indian cricket team! How times have changed since then. That singular WC win fired the imaginations of millions of Indians and Indian Cricket was never the same again.

Balwinder Singh Sandhu’s delivery to get rid of Gordon Greenidge, Kapil’s magnificent catch to get rid of Viv Richards, Srikkanth’s electric batting against Garner, Marshall and Holding are some of the images which will be forever etched in my brain.

Sandeep Patil’s brilliant unbeaten innings of 50 plus runs in the semi final against England was another innings which has never got the credit that it deserved. Sure Yashpal Sharma and Jimmy Amarnath were there for a long time, but it was Sandeep Patil who scored those runs in quick time, dealing chiefly in boundaries.

Catch the interview on Times Now, at 1830 IST on June 21, and 1430 IST and 2030 IST June 22.

And as the interviewer mentions at the end of the above interview, thanks Kapil for giving us India’s greatest cricketing moment. Thank you very much!

Govt bans mobile towers in schools & hospitals

2008-06-11T18:10:00.001+05:30

Never expected the govt of India to come out with something which is actually beneficial to the common man.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2008/jun/11tower.htm

Now, what about towers already erected on school and hospital buildings? And in residential areas? Especially if the Welfare Association there objects to it now? Play grounds will also be out of the question since children frequent it. Govt buildings and commercial complexes seem to be the only places left now for these towers.

Solar powered bra!

2008-05-15T11:49:00.001+05:30

Rediff has this report of the solar powered bra at the following link.

http://in.rediff.com/money/2008/may/14look.htm

As Amit Verma says in his blog,

So if you boys ever spot a chica wearing one of these, walk up to her, rest your palm on her device and say: “Is this a solar panel or am I turning you on?”

Damn, that is so bad I feel like slapping myself.

Quitting Drink?

2008-05-14T14:01:00.001+05:30

While going through previous posts of the Calumnist, I found this post which I reproduce in full.

Quitting drink

It’s a mad, bad world, as any man who’s ever tried to quit drinking or smoking will tell you. Everyone looks at you differently the day you announce your intention to turn over a good, new leaf. Friends check your temperature, ask you if you’re having a hangover, and offer you cigarettes and coffee with worried looks on their faces. Some enquire whether you plan to become a monk. Your sex life will run dry, they tell you, so you just as well might.

An air of gloom pervades your entire social life.

Your descent into solitary confinement begins soon after. “Hi, we’re going out for a drink”, colleagues will tell you. So maybe you go and sip orange juice while everyone else has a great time. The only satisfaction you can get out of that is by telling everyone the next day how hilariously silly they drank themselves. It’ll go like this: “Ha, ha you were so piss drunk you thought the pot was your ex-boyfriend – and you, you wanted to go up the wall because you thought you’re Spiderman!” And then they’ll never call you again unless they need a driver.

The professional losses are no less than the personal. Try inviting business contacts over for a tea party. They’ll thank you profusely, say how good tea is for health, and erase your number from their phones. There might be a few discreet enquiries about your religious beliefs and sexual orientation, for purely professional reasons of course.
The trauma of all this social rejection can seriously damage the psyche. As a consequence, you could become a drug addict.

Even those of ultra-strong mental construction, who escape such a fate, must come to terms with their newly found free time. Since evenings will always be free, they will have to take up something healthier than television to kill time. Joining some strange cargo cult and spending the evenings prostrating before pictures of the only superhero currently more powerful than Spiderman might be a good idea. I refer to the friendly hood, Taxman, who is reportedly slinging webs even Spidey can’t escape.

Women who quit smoke and drink somehow seem to get a better deal. They still get invited everywhere, and get free orange juice and sympathy because they’re such good girls. Men, those hypocritical ding-a-lings, suddenly want to take them home to mama after years of trying to just take them home.

There might be some common fringe benefits for born-again teetotalers of both sexes. Lower credit card bills are guaranteed. The money previously spent in bars can now be spent in salad bars. The beer belly could well recede, especially after the distinction between morning and night becomes clear.

Days and nights would obviously seem to stretch longer as well. If, after all the sacrifice and heartache, you still don’t live any longer, you’ll at least feel like you did.

Having considered all the pros and cons, my plan is to quit drink, but to leave a loophole in the law (Safety valve feature to prevent drug addiction). Even teetotalers are allowed to drink fruit juices. And wine is but a special sort of grape juice, after all, isn’t it?

Well, now I know what to say the next time someone asks me to quit drinks. :-)

What we don't say!

2008-05-14T13:44:00.001+05:30

The Calumnist in his excellent blog "What we don't say" mentions that newspapers are pushing stories about farmer deaths and Floods in the east to obscurity because we - the readers - do not want to read about it.

"So, yes, the Indian media does largely reflect only the concerns of the upper and middle classes. After all, they are the 'customers', the people who buy papers and magazines, and the goods advertised in them and on TV. No one's really digging for the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid yet.
That's why papers tend to push away drought and flood and farmer suicide stories to the inside pages, where they are reduced to briefs, space permitting. TV usually doesn't bother at all - there's IPL now, and other masala. Besides, it costs more to run a TV channel. You need more advertisement revenues. No advertiser really wants to pay top rupee for space on a channel about bhookha-nanga (hungry-naked) people. It's just not cool enough.
This is only the half of it, and it should be of concern to us all. However, what's never spoken about is the more insidious omissions that advertising money forces upon the media."

Also, in the same post he writes,

"The cost of production of a day's newspaper is never less than 6 rupees for any of the major papers in any major city in India. The papers are sold for half that price or less. The accumulated losses have to be compensated somewhere, and a profit generated. The more the copies sold, the more the losses to be recovered.
That money comes from advertisements. So dear reader, when you pay a pittance for your paper, please know that you are pushing news media to economise on the truth."

Read more posts from the Calumnist at his blog.

What's a soft target?

2008-05-14T12:45:00.001+05:30

Found an excerpt from B Raman's book on Terrorism: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow being published by Lancer Publishers towards the end of May 2008 explaining about soft targets.

Makes an interesting read. In a vast country like India, close interaction between the various law and order machinery is essential. However, this is hardly the case in India. And it seems states are resisting the attempt to form a single agency to investigate and prevent terror acts all over the country. Our ministers are more concerned about wielding authority than to form an effective agency to combat terrorism. Sad.

Jaipur blasts and IPL

2008-05-14T12:18:00.001+05:30

The Jaipur blasts have to be condemned in the strongest possible manner. There can be no excuse or reason for taking innocent lives. No religion in the world can sanction such acts of terror. No cause in the world can justify such acts.

In this hour of grief I express my solitude with the beautiful people of the great city, Jaipur. My city, Mumbai, has also witnessed a fair amount of such terror activities. In each of the occassions, Mumbaikars (or Bombayites as we were known at that time) reacted splendidly. I can think of the first serial blast in 1992 or 1993, when the blood banks started issuing statements after 2 hours of the Bomb Blasts requesting people that the blood banks were full and there was no need for any more blood. Every time, some disaster struck Bombay or Mumbai, we did not succumb to it and those unaffected refused to be terrorised and continued with their lives.

We should not be cowed down by terror. I urge all residents of Jaipur to come out on the streets and show the wicked, impotent and headed-for-hell (where they will be greeted by 72 frustated and sexually starved gorillas) terrorists that we will not bow down to them.

The Jaipur Franchise in the ongoing IPL tournament has done very well so far in the tournament. Lalit Modi has announced that matches in Jaipur will go on as scheduled. When I heard of it the first time, I thought it was veru callous and unkind of Lalit Modi to say something like that. But now I realise that the tournament should go on. We need to show those terrorist outfits that such acts of terror will not keep us indoors in fear of our lives. All further IPL matches should be played by players wearing black arm bands and all IPL matches in Jaipur should start after a 2 minute silence in memory of the blasts victims.

The Indian government has been accused too often of being a "soft" state. During the last blasts in local trains in Mumbai and again during the blasts in Hyderabad, I was hoping that the govt. would start acting tough. But now I think its too much to expect from the Indian government, especially in the wake of elections in the next 10-12 months.

Its for us Indians to stand up in solidarity and repel these terrorists. Instead of relying on state organisations to provide us security, we should start being responsible for our own safety. Do be vigilant and on the look out for suspicious people. All unattended baggage should be reported immediately to the concerned authorities. If we are not concerned about our own safety, we can hardly accuse the government of not heeding our security.

Harbhajan v/s Sreesanth

2008-04-28T14:54:00.000+05:30

Finally, the two enfant terribles of Indian cricket came face-to-face. The Sikh from Punjab allegedly slapped the malayali boy. The cameras didn't catch the alleged slap; they could only capture the malayali crying.

Both these players shared a dressing room in the past and will definitely be sharing a dressing room in the future. So, what caused this fracas?

Its time BCCI started being tough. BCCI proved its muscle when it held the Australian Cricket Board to ransom during the Procter-Symonds-Bhajji tamasha. This time also, it has to flex its muscles. If Bhajji did slap Sreesanth, then Bhajii should be banned from the IPL. However, despite the hype, IPL is domestic tournament. BCCI should also ban Bhajji for 3 Tests / 5 ODIs or whatever the maximum punishment is for bringing the game into disrepute. Cricinfo, in one of its column, suggests that Bhajji cannot be punished twice (by the IPL and BCCI) for the same crime. However, in the interests of the game, Harbhajan should get the max punishment. Ban him for 10 games in the IPL (effectively ruling him out for the remainder of the tournament) as well as a ban by BCCI for international matches as per the ICC rulebook. Moreover, the franchise owner should not only not pay Harbhajan any amount of the $ 800,000 that was bid; but Harbhajan should be asked to pay a penalty for getting out the tournament in this manner, when his team needed him the most.

However, Harbhajan wouldn't have done whatever he is alleged to do without provocation. Sreesanth should also be taken to task for needlessly abusing and giving an earful to the batsmen. Sreesanth should be reprimanded / fined and given a 3 match IPL suspension and a 1 Test / 3 ODI suspension for his behaviour. We desperately need to ask Sreesanth to concentrate on bowling to the exclusion of everything else. If BCCI doesn't act now, it will be sending a wrong message to the rest of the team and to the millions of children who are keen to emulate these stars. Its these future generation of cricketers who needed to be given a clear message.

In the interests of the game, both these players need to be given the strictest punishment possible.

No more dinner dates? Can we have a breakfast date, please?

2008-04-21T16:49:00.001+05:30

Morning sex has so many virtues, so we need to make sure that our partner stays in bed after dinner till breakfast the next day!

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/mar/11sex.htm

Before you start jumping and visualising (and planning for) hot steamy sex everyday morning to be served along with breakfast, make sure you don't miss the last line!

"However, the researchers have also warned that having sex more than three times a week can have a negative impact on our immune system thus lowering its resistance."

Ah! Well!

Caste equations in Karnataka

2008-04-21T16:41:00.001+05:30

An article from The Rediff.com about the caste factor in Karnataka

The Lingayats and the Vokkaligas have been dominant in Karnataka since time immemorial and the tussle for power between these two communities is no secret. Karnataka has till date had five chief ministers from the Vokkaliga community, and six have been Lingayats. There were three CMs from the backward classes while Brahmins managed to hold the top spot in Karnataka twice. These statistics clearly show the dominance of both the Vokkaligas and Lingayats in Karnataka.

It is now evident that it these two communities will tip the scales once again in the forthcoming assembly elections. The Vokkaligas, who comprise 15 per cent of the 5 crore-odd population of Karnataka, are spread mainly across Bangalore, Mandya, Hassan, Mysore, Kolar and Chikamagalur. The Lingayats comprise 17 per cent of the population of Karnataka and are dominant in the central and northern parts of Karnataka.

The Dalits in Karnataka comprise 23 per cent of the population, Kurubas 8 per cent while the Muslims make up 10 per cent. The rest of the population comprises Christians and others.

Though the Dalits outnumber the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, it is the two communities that matter in the state's politics.

Over a period of time, it has been noticed that the Vokkaligas and the Lingayats vote for a leader and not a party. So if a chief ministerial candidate is from their community, they will vote for that person's party.

Moreover, there is a fear among both communities that the other will try and outsmart them. Hence a constant tussle between the two castes to ensure that their leader gets the top spot.

Sad day, when the caste of the leader decides which party you support as opposed to the ideologies of the party. Read the full article at http://in.rediff.com/news/2008/apr/21spec.htm

The IPL tamasha will be a hit!

2008-04-21T16:11:00.001+05:30

Snatched a few overs from two of the IPL matches in the first two days. I reckon the IPL is going to be a hit.

I was one of the many that were hoping that the IPL would be a damp dud. We preferred the Tests to the limited overs variety and didn't see how a 20 over tamasha can display the best that cricket has to offer. However, I think I'm being gradually converted. Just as the ODIs made the tests very interesting, maybe the T/20s would make the ODIs also very interesting.

Some quick points I noted.

1. Ishant Sharma is a class act. His bowling in both the matches of Kolkota KnightRiders was top drawer stuff. We need to handle him with care and ensure he is not lost to injury or ego clashes

2. Robin Uthappa seems to be a 2 stroke wonder. The hoick over midwicket and the scoop over fine leg. And he seems to be more keen on playing the scoop rather than any other shot.

3. Brendon McCullum's innings showed what good batsmen can do. Sure, there were some top edges and miscued shots which 10 years back would have ended the innings - here these shots sailed over the fence.

4. None of the Indians (except Ishant) have fired so far. Its been the foreigners who are livening up the domestic tournament.

5. Ponting and Ishant celebrating Dravid's wicket was a gem. Just two months ago, this would have been impossible to imagine. Will we also have Symmo and Bhajji celebrating together? Unfortunately, both are in separate teams.

Anil Kumble with 600+ wickets and still counting

2008-02-07T16:03:00.001+05:30

I watched an interview of Anil Kumble some time back where he said that he would like his son to be a batsman, instead of a bowler. Coming from someone who is the 3rd highest Test wicket taker in the World and India's best match winner, that is quite an indictment of the way cricket is run and followed in this country.

Going by the old rule of each wicket equalling 20 runs (in my humble opnion, a wicket is much more valuable. Simply because if we were to play using pen and paper, 20 runs per wicket equals 200 runs per innings, which we know is not enough to win a Test), 600 wickets equals 12000 Test runs. And just contrast the mass affection, hysteria, awards, endorsements, etc. that a batsman with 12000 Test runs in the same team gets. The BCCI needs to wake up and look into this malaise at the earliest. For if Anil Kumble doesn't want his son to be a bowler, then God help our future bowlers.

Mumbai's Traffic faster than the fastest Snail!

2008-02-06T17:51:00.000+05:30

Came across this excellently written satire in today's (6th Feb 2008) edition of DNA. However, couldn't find the same in the online version.

Mercifully, Amit Verma's blog had a link to this article

What has the Sethu Samudram canal project got to do with Indian culture?

2007-12-10T11:54:00.001+05:30

As per http://in.rediff.com/news/2007/dec/10rss.htm

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has said it will not allow the Centre to go ahead with the Sethusamudram ship canal project as it posed a "challenge" to Indian culture.

"The RSS is not prepared to make any compromise on the Centre's move to implement the project as it would be a clear instance of grave injustice to the majority people of India," RSS leader K S Sudarshan said inaugurating two-day regional meeting of the outfit in Kasargod in Kerala

I wonder, what has the canal project got to do with the nation's culture?

Islam’s Silent Moderates

2007-12-10T10:58:00.000+05:30

The WTF news item of the week. A great way to start a
Monday!  Islam's Silent Moderates! 

As the article rightly states,

"If moderate Muslims believe there should be no compassion shown to the girl from Qatif, then what exactly makes them so moderate?

When a "moderate" Muslim's sense of compassion and conscience collides with matters prescribed by Allah, he should choose compassion. Unless that happens much more widely, a moderate Islam will remain wishful thinking."

 Link via Where's the Moderate Muslim?

Scavenging, a spiritual experience for Dalits: Modi

2007-11-27T16:18:00.000+05:30

Really, to what depths can our politicians plunge?

Narendra Modi in his yet-to-be-released book, "Karmayog", says, ""At
some point in time somebody must have got enlightenment in scavenging.
They must have thought that it is their duty to work for the happiness
of the entire society and the Gods."

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/scavenging-a-spiritual-experience-for-dalits-modi/53024-3.html

I'm speechless. Words fail me.

Regards,

Anand Chakrapani

Man gambles wife!

2007-11-27T12:09:00.001+05:30

Check this link!

Man gambles wife in Bihar village

As if this was not disgusting enough, check the last para in the above story:

"In another incident, a married woman gambled herself in a game of dice during Durga Puja festivities in a village in Banka district. The victor took her home. Two days later fellow villagers intervened and took the woman back to her husband's house."

Banka district seems to have liberated women. I mean, isn't this is a classic case of "liberated" women who gamble themselves. And that too, during the Durga Puja, when we celebrate and worship goddesses.

Link via Amit Gupta

Anti terrorism cartoons from the middle east

2007-11-21T16:01:00.001+05:30

Check this link!

http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA39807

Not a bad thing at all!

Anil Kumble get recognition at last

2007-11-21T15:38:00.001+05:30

This post has taken its own sweet time in coming. In the interim, we lost an ODI series against Australia and won an ODI series against Pakistan. We managed to drop Dravid through an entire ODI series. Unthinkable, even a couple of months back.

In quick succession, two stalwarts of the Indian cricket team, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar have refused captaincy. Surely, there is more to this than what meets the eye. Though we are all aware of numerous manipulations and machinations that go behind closed doors in the corridors of BCCI, the news that two of the greatest Indian batsmen of the past two decades have refused captaincy merits more attention. Add to the fact that Ford and Emburey both were not interested in the offer of the coach of the Indian team, and you know there is something rotten there. And its stinking. Remarkably, no one has chose to comment about the same.

Anil Kumble - one of the greatest cricketers India has ever produced and the architect of most Indian wins - gets the captaincy be default. And like he has always done, he has taken this responsibility also without a murmur. No celebrations, no interviews, no fireworks. Just "Thank you". That it has taken 17 years for him to get this recognition (he was already being described as the best captain India never had) and that it has come in the fag end of his career doesn't take anything away.

Personally, I'm more worried about his past few performances. He hasn't been the force that he was. He was largely ineffective in the series in England, he wasn't among the wickets during the WI and SA tour earlier and he failed to get wickets by the buckets in the 2 Ranji trophy matches played so far. Maybe, the captaincy has come to him at a wrong time. But it would be foolish to write him off. 6th and 7th standard text books have a chapter on him called "True Grit" Grit could well be his middle name.

While there have been many calls to include Yuvraj in the Test team in place of Saurav or Laxman, Kumble believes that Yuvraj will have to wait for his turn. So effectively, he has already announced his batsmen for the 1st Test. With Sreesanth and RP Singh getting injured, the trick now is to get some fit bowlers on the park. Kumble's innings as Test captain begins tomorrow. We already know his mettle and grit. Tomorrow, he will be readying himself for another challenge. A challenge that eminent players like Dravid and Tendulkar declined. And if the past is any indication, Kumble will give it his best shot.

All the best!

Analysis of the various logos used in the 2008 presidential elections in the US

2007-11-21T13:01:00.000+05:30

Came across this link. Have fun!

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/11/18/opinion/20071118_OPART_index.html?partner=delicious&exprod=delicious

I'm also using this as a test to post directly thtough e-mail. Will check the results later in the day.

clash in Siliguri

2007-09-29T12:24:00.000+05:30

Mobs in Siliguri went on rampage damaging shops and buses protesting against a remark a RJ made in New Delhi against the current Indian Idol.

Wow! A remark made by a RJ (I don't know what the remark was, but going by the way RJs speak in Mumbai, must have been some take on Gorkhas) in Delhi has potential to disrupt life and stop an ambulance carrying a patient in Siliguri.

Talk about global village.

Here's the link:
http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2007/sep/28idol.htm

The Indian Idol, Prashant has come out with a statement urging restraint from his fans. Hope better sense prevails.

Mercifully, none of the news portals and news papers have carried the actual remark. Looks like the media does have some good sense, after all.

Twenty/20 World Cup

2007-09-12T10:54:00.000+05:30

There have only been 16 T/20 international matches played so far and we already have a World Cup! I feel its a bit premature to have a World Cup for T/20 matches so soon. There needs to be more domestic tournaments and international matches before organising a World Cup.

The Indian team (the BCCI one) comes to this World Cup with only 1 international match so far and it would be foolish for anyone to expect a good performance from them, especially after the disastrous World Cup. There are some fresh faces out there, the seniors are not playing and I would like to see if this improves our fielding and catching.

Going by the Chris Gayle innings yesterday (and the SA response), its all about big hitting and athletic fielding. No one was keen on running between the wickets. And with all the big hits clearing the boundaries easily, I really don't know what the fitter, leaner and more athletic fielders can also do. Every batsman was going for broke and the single or a double as a means of contributing to the score was not even thought of. Looks like leaving out SRT and SG might be a big mistake, for they can clear the ropes consistently and with ease. And with bowlers being there just for slaughter and flat tracks, SRT and SG would - probably - have hit their groove which would have meant good news for the ODI series later.

However, this might just be the opportunity for Sehwag, Yuvraj, Uthappa and Dhoni to go bang-bang. I would like Sehwag-Uthappa to open, followed by Yuvraj, Dhoni, Karthik and Gambhir. I'm not sure about the big hitting capabilities of players like Rohit Sharma and Joginder, if they can hit them hard and long, I would prefer them over Gambhir and Karthik. Pollock's and Ntini's mauling yesterday (Ntini bowled only 2 overs) proved that we really do not need specialist bowlers. Batsmen who can bowl are good enough at this level.

Irfan, Joginder, Sehwag, Yuvraj (not withstanding the 5 sixes in an over), Yusuf Pathan can be our bowlers. Sreesanth is too much of a lottery; so is Agarkar. I would play RP because a decent 2 over initial spell can be worth its weight in gold. My team would probably be

Sehwag
Uthappa
Yuvraj
Dhoni
Yusuf Pathan
Gautam Gambhir
Irfan Pathan
Karthik
Rohit Sharma (can he bowl?)
Joginder Sharma
R P Singh

Harbhajan can get us a few quick runs, he can be drafted as a specialist slow bowler in place of Rohit Sharma. I would be tempted to play Chawla in that position, but whatever little batting opportunities he has got has not convinced me of his batting skills. If one of the Pathans is having a bad tournament with the ball, then I would look at getting Chawla/Bhajji in.

Agarkar, Chawla, Sreesanth either need to be consistently good bowlers or need to be better batsmen to fit into the T/20 scheme of things.

But knowing the BCCI's way of selecting teams, I would not surprised if Agarkar, Chawla and Harbhan play a lot of the matches. Let's see how the BCCI's team fares!

So much happening around

2007-09-11T15:30:00.000+05:30

Hi!

Its been some time since I logged on to this blog and so many things happened around us. Hyderabad blasts, a bridge (or flyover) collapsed in Hyderabad and a IAF trainer aircraft crashed killing both its pilots (again in Hyderabad). Wonder, if Hyderabad has some planetary configuration gone astray.

India wins the Asia cup and what scores they ran up. 16 goals, 20 goals, etc. Hats off to Joaquim Carvalho and his team for pulling this off. The IHF also announced prizes of Rs. 1,000 for every goal scored and a penalty of Rs. 2,000 for every goal conceded. While I need not even go into the stupidity and silliness of this announcement, it serves a good point to talk about the remuneration provided to the players. In an interview to DNA after the Asia Cup victory (http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1120724), Dhanraj Pillay talks about "paying some match fee" to the players. He also states that the coach "should also be paid". What The ****? IHF doesn't pay match fees to its players and the coach? No wonder our guys prefer to pick up cricket bats instead of hockey sticks!!!

Elsewhere, the T/20 World Cup is about to start and the Pakistan team is already in the news for the wrong reason. Shoaib has been sent back to Pakistan for hitting Asif with a bat and this time his threat of joining ICL may not work. Asif Iqbal (http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1120625) feels that PCB is waiting till Shoaib commits mass murder before it starts taking action.

India lost the Natwest trophy 4-3 and though its not a bad scoreline considering that we were 1-3 down, I feel the time has now come to start replacing the seniors. With Gambhir & Uthappa showing promise and temperament, maybe we need to give both of them a longer reign at the top of the order. Gambhir has this tendency to play with Fevicol applied on his feet, while Uthappa's batting may be better suited to T/20 game, but both of them have shown enough grit. With captain and selectors showing confidence in them, maybe they'll probably come out with flying colours!!! Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj, Karthik, Dhoni can make the rest of the lineup, with someone like Kaif or Raina or Sehwag or even a Ambatti Rayudu challenging these positions. Sachin, of course, still has some cricket left in him. I would like him to concentrate in the ODIs and concede his Test position to some other youngster though many would say that it has to be the other way round. Among the bowlers, Zaheer, Sreesanth, Munaf (if and only if completely fit), Chawla, Powar, R P Singh, Harbhajan and Irfan Pathan (assuming he regains his form) complete the head count. Choose 11 from these, depending on opposition, surface, playing conditions, etc.

For the Tests, Gambhir/Uthappa/Karthik would be the openers. Laxman coming in for Sachin or Sehwag and Anil Kumble coming in for Powar or Harbhajan completes the list of probables. Of course, there may be better talent in domestic cricket, and some new names may crop up in the T/20 tournament; some names like Manoj Tiwary and Rohit Sharma are still untried. But I believe the nucleus of the team would be from the above names.

Amul has been voted as Asia's leading brand. And if you are among those who have always looked forward to the Amul hoardings (related to the current hot topic) like myself, then do join in the celebrations.

We are like that only

2007-08-23T12:51:00.000+05:30

Came across this excellent blog. Enjoy.

http://kaimhanta.blogspot.com/2007/02/cup-runneth-over.html

What's new?

2007-08-23T11:57:00.000+05:30

I have a sense of deja vu as I write this. India lost the 1st one day at Southampton comprehensively. But then, aren't we late starters? Even in the Test series, we almost lost the 1st Test before dominating the rest of the series.

Dravid had mentioned - just after the team for the World Cup 2007 was selected - that we needed to do "smart" fielding, when asked whether the presence of seniors would have a deteriorating effect on our fielding. It came back to haunt us during the 1st ODI. Fielding was lacklustre, our bowling (barring Zaheer Khan) was pedestrian, running between the wickets was awful.

No wonder, the big 3 are not going to the T/20 World Cup in SA.

I don't see a place for Sachin, Saurav and Dravid in the ODI team. Never mind if they have scored more than 30,000 runs between them. The demands of the ODI game are such that we need 11 athletes. We convert ones into twos and twos into threes in the field, when we are batting we convert threes into twos and twos into ones. Unless we understand this, we are always going to be under achievers.

ICL v/s BCCI

2007-08-21T14:53:00.000+05:30

Some random thoughts on ICL for whatever they are worth:

ICL yesterday unveiled 45 odd Indian cricketers and announced the names of some Pakistani and South African cricketers. Of all the names mentioned, Mohammed Yousuf of Pakistan seems to be the only one who has some international cricket still left. But we'll talk of that later.

Considering the various threats handed out by the BCCI and considering that every cricketer's "dream" is to play for the country one day, its surprising that as many as 45 Indian domestic cricketers have aligned with ICL putting their careers in jeopardy. Going through the names Dinesh Mongia and Ambattu Rayadu are the two names who probably had some hopes of playing for India; I reckon others realised that they had no realistic chance of playing for India.

For ICL to succeed - and I'm one of those who want ICL to succeed for reasons I'll enumerate later - we need some more big names to join. I'm assuming that the current crop of 20-25 people who are on the fringes of selection for the Indian team will not join ICL at this stage. But, someone who has an international career at stake. Maybe, someone like Kaif, or Ashish Nehra, or Irfan Pathan. Cricketers who do not know whether they will ever be asked to play for the Indian team again, and are biding their time to see what position to take.

Viewership and sponsorship is what counts. I reckon there will be no shortage of sponsors; anything remotely connected to cricket attracts huge sponsorships and Zee Television will surely know a thing or two about selling commercial spots. Viewership is where ICL will get hit. We have seen empty stands for Tests and domestic cricket; its only the ODIs which get the spectators in droves. Even the Challenger series between India Sr, India A and India B teams were largely played in front of empty stands.

Here's where the international players come in. A McGrath, Warne, Klusner, Inzy or Chris Cairns can get the crowds in small centres. With the BCCI and all affiliated organisations controlling most of the cricket grounds, ICL may have to look at grounds with private organisations; IPCL grounds at Vadodara, Andheri Sports Complex at Mumbai; etc. Railways must be having their own grounds; so would large corporates like Tata's, Godrej's etc. A nice sponsorship deal should get the corporates interested. Laloo Prasad Yadav has already thrown his weight behind ICL and so has Jagmohan Dalmia. Surely, these two gentlemen would sway some people for giving out their grounds!

The Brabourne Stadium at Mumbai has been used for wedding receptions and other gala functions. Surely, a little cricket shouldn't harm them. Problem is that with the Wankhede stadium up for renovation, Brabourne must have been hopeful of getting a few matches from the BCCI.

ICL now has to be a little more responsible than what it had planned for. With BCCI acting tough and if these Indian cricketers have put paid to ever playing for India, then ICL needs to ensure that these players are taken care of. For this to happen, ICL has to organise cricket for 8-10 months in a year, invest in infrastructure, have proper trainers/coaches/medical staff, etc. This needs money; this needs sponsors; this needs viewership; this needs some more high profile players. ICL needs to be professionally managed; players need to know where they stand. If ICL can do all this, there is no reason why it cannot succeed. And if it succeeds, I see a day when ICL will take over the functioning of the BCCI. That will be the day when the "bravery" and "courage" of these 45 cricketers - as rightly acclaimed by Kapil Dev - will be immortalised.

Finally, BCCI has revoked the pension of Kapil, Madan Lal, Sandip Patil and Balwinder Singh Sandhu for aligning with ICL. Well, I thought pension was in recognition for services already rendered. I mean, if you retired from Mahindra & Mahindra for eg., and then were approached by Bajaj Auto for help / assistance in setting or running an automotive plant, then will your pension be liable to be cancelled by M & M?. No way. Then how can BCCI get away with this? Well, Mr Sharad Pawar and other functionaries of BCCI, please have a closer look at the names whose pensions have been scrapped. They were part of the team which brought the cricket World Cup home in 1983. Scrapping their pension? Just not cricket.

England India 2007 oval Post match Post series

2007-08-14T11:44:00.000+05:30

There are lot of views supporting and opposing Dravid's decision not to enforce the follow on, A round-up has been nicely done here.
http://blogs.cricinfo.com/surfer/archives/2007/08/dravid_makes_a.php

My view: The decision was correct. Dravid didn't trust his batsmen to chase 100+. Barbados with 120 to win still rankles. In Mumbai, we lost 5-6 wickets chasing 100 and at Trent Bridge in the same series, we lost 3 wickets chasing 73.

Kumble on a 5th day pitch was a mouth-watering prospect. Zaheer was suffering from some strain and hopefully would have been fully fit on a 5th day. SideBottom was injured and may - just may - have come on to bowl on the 5th day.

Finally, as Dravid mentioned, this was the first time all the bowlers had played 3 tests and only someone who played back-to-back tests would understand how tired his bowlers were.

All said and done, in my humble opinion, while the decision not to enforce the follow-on was justified, the batting crawl was appalling. We needed quick runs. Sure, at 11/3 we needed to consolidate. But as Ganguly proved there were runs for the taking. Even after Dravid left, Laxman and Dhoni were guilty of not trying to score quickly enough.

Anyway, a 1-0 series win over our past colonial masters on the eve of Independence day is great. Savour it. There are some issues that we need to work on. But I'll save them for later. For now, enjoy the rare series win.

Well done guys!

Eng India Day 5 preview Oval 2007

2007-08-13T14:02:00.000+05:30

Before I start, I would like to present Prem Panicker's views picked up from www.prempanicker.com which I reproduce below verbatim:

Thinking of lions

There’s a way to convert water into gold/

You take a big pot of water into the forest late in the evening; you build a fire and put the pot on to boil; and you sit there till the water has entirely evaporated.

You will be left with a pot of gold – provided that in the interim, you never once think of a lion.

Thinking of lions, thinking they are lying in wait for them, fearing those lions you can see in your mind, is what keeps you from trying for that pot of gold.

India, on the morning of the fourth day, could have gone for the pot of gold that a combination of luck (Rahul Dravid winning the toss and getting first use of very good batting conditions) and their collective batting skill had made possible. The team could have forced the follow-on; could have gone for the kill and looked to nail the series 2-0 – but inside of their heads, they could hear the roar of that lion; they feared it, took the easier way out and opted to bat again.

England at the time was staring down a very big barrel, but once its bowlers (an under-strength bowling attack, with Ryan Sidebottom) began using the conditions India had gifted them, the team got a second wind, and it was India that found itself with an unexpected fight on its hands.

Consider, for a moment, that lion India feared: Had England followed on, behind by 319 runs and with 170-odd overs left in the match, then what? An England already under the cosh would have had to struggle against a bowling lineup that has used swing very well, in cloudy, overcast conditions. How could England have won? By scoring say 519 runs, that is to say a lead of 200, in say 120, 130 overs, then bowling out India in the time that remained with an attack reduced to three bowlers and Paul Collingwood’s part-time offerings.

That is the lion India feared; you judge for yourself whether it was a flesh and blood danger or just an imaginary monster lurking in the minds of a team that is yet to fully believe in its ability to dominate, to win big.

There is an unintended irony in that decision to bat: throughout this series, it is the bowling that has performed prodigies, repeatedly putting a strong England batting lineup under the cosh. And yet, it is invariably the batting Rahul Dravid trusts more. That trust almost came unstuck yesterday, with three top order wickets tumbling and Dravid himself doing a passable imitation of a Madam Tussaud’s waxwork; only a superlative innings by Sourav Ganguly, some quality batting by VVS Laxman, and some edgy resistance by MS Dhoni saved the team’s blushes.

Ironically, India batted till the clouds had gone away, and the sun was blazing down again – and then put the opposition in.

India will still take this series 1-0 – but here was a chance to try for a 2-0 win, to draw level with England on the ICC points table, and climb into the joint second slot. Ah well.

It might sound churlish to harp on this aspect, at the tail end of a series in which India, almost torpedoed in the first Test, has come back remarkably well to outplay England over the next two Tests, in all departments of the game. Clearly, hard nosed pragmatism went into India’s decision to bat a second time—and when you consider that the larger prize is India’s first series win in 21 years on England’s soil; consider too that in the past this team has come heartbreakingly close to similar triumphs only to be robbed by circumstance or their own inabilities, you can understand where Dravid and his men are coming from. But that is the nature of the fan—like Oliver Twist, he is always left wanting more; in this case, more belligerence, more aggression, more willingness to play on the edge of possibility.

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While I agree with Prem's views about hard nosed pragmatism which went into India's decision not to enforce the follow on, I think the lions were not only in the head.

Prem mentions that scoring 519 in 130-140 overs and getting all the Indian wickets with around 200 to win in the remaining time with 3 bowlers and paul collingwood was far fetched. Well Prem, 120 to win at Barbados is still fresh in my mind with almost the same batting nucleus. Eve in Trent Bridge, we lost 3 wickets to get 73 runs. Zaheer had some strain and was probably not upto bowling. And Sidebottom may have come back to bowl after getting fit if we had given him one more day to recover.

That the move badly misfired by the cloud cover and 3 quick wickets is an entirely different matter.

It has been so long since we won a series overseas, and since we do not trust our batting to score even 100 batting last, I think it was a good decision.

Prem of course mentioned everything that could be said in his inimitable style that writing my review would be a travesty. So, I leave this post with that.

Chak de India - review

2007-08-12T08:08:00.000+05:30

Saw the movie last night and just enjoyed it. Its a must-see for every sports lover.

The story is about a disgraced hockey player coaching the women's team and leading them to the World Cup. Of course, its a Yash Chopra movie so you know the end very well. But the way the film has been told makes it very engrossing.

The first half takes some time to build - very understandably. There are too many characters and all of them manage to get just enough screen time. There are stories within stories - a family that doesn't want their daughter-in-law to behave like a Indian bahu and not go to the World cup; there is a line muttered which says these are Indian women and are not expected to be roaming in their knickers; there are - of course - references to cricket (there is a scene where a guy wants to join an ongoing fight with a cricket bat and Shah Rukh Khan stops him with a "If you are a guy, fight from the front. There are no Chhakkas in hockey." Wonder what that was all about) - but mercifully these substories do not distract you from the main story.

The second half is where the film really scores. Here's where the team plays. Superb photography, slick editing and great moves keeps your interest in. SRK is wonderfully understated.

There is no over-the-top acting and no melodrama. No heroines. No running-around-the-trees. No rain dance. And yes, its a sports film.

If you are a sports buff, then you got to watch it. There are some jarring moments (A coach doesn't select the captain; here SRK appoints the goal keeper as the captain. Also why is the coach always in blue jeans and white shirt? Isn't he supposed to be wearing the team colours?), but that would be nitpicking.

Is it based on a real life character? Read the interview of Mir Ranjan Negi in DNA Sport.Sunday dated 12th August 2007. I couldn't get the URL here.

Go ahead and enjoy the movie.

P.S. I loved the moment when SRK (as coach) tells the wannabe players, "I want players to play for the country first, then for the team. Aur uske baad, agar thodi bahut jaan bachi ho to apne liye." And a few reels later, he repeats the same lines.

Re: India's greatest Mathwinner

2007-08-11T16:07:00.001+05:30

Got this from the Telegraph, London.

"Kumble is a scrapper by nature, and the way he brought up his maiden Test hundred epitomised his commitment. Down the wicket to Kevin Pietersen, he was stranded as the ball was fired quicker and wider, but somehow managed to get a bottom edge through the keeper's legs for four. He scrambled up from his despairing dive back into crease to celebrate his achievement covered in dust.

He will not be shy either of getting his hands dirty over the weekend to force a famous Indian victory."

Apt. Very apt.

Eng India Test 3 Oval 2007 Day 3 Preview

2007-08-11T14:12:00.000+05:30

2 days of near perfect batting from India capped by an incredulous, scarcely believable maiden ton from Indian cricket's greatest matchwinner - Anil Kumble. This has merited a separate post by itself and hence I will restrict this to only the Test.

All the batsmen played for a greater team cause, and this was encouraging to see. Dhoni's pyrotechnics, Sachin deciding to wake out of his slumber in the quest for quick runs, Laxman dealing exclusively in boundaries at the start of the day, and of course capped by Anil Kumble's magnificient ton which was the icing on the cake.

India won a good toss and all the batsmen expressed their gratitude. Its difficult to gripe when the team is in such a good position, but I just couldn't understand Rahul Dravid's and Kumble's game plan. When Dhoni got out with the team score at 508, I thought Dravid will declare after 3-4 overs of throwing the bat around. But even after Kumble got his maiden ton, there was no declaration in sight. In fact, the sight of Sreesanth and Kumble blocking was baffling. Was Dravid looking to play till tomorrow morning, if possible?

Did the adverse media reaction when Dravid declared with Sachin at 194 playing on his mind? Or did he just go to sleep or was so jubilant after Kumble's ton that he forgot he had a decision to take regarding the declaration?

In the end, India got 8 overs to bowl at England. I would have liked at least another 7-8 more. For Dravid's sake and Kumble's sake and India's sake, I hope the Test doesn't end in a draw with the last English pair on the ground.

India's greatest matchwinner

2007-08-11T13:08:00.000+05:30

I was busy for the past two days and hence couldn't post anything for this test so far. Even today, I wasn't really inclined to spend some time on this blog as there has been other pressing work. But one my regular readers IM'ed me stating that he was looking forward to post his own comments and was disappointed that I hadn't posted anything. Thanks Agnel for the encouragement

Agnel always goes over the moon whenever someone from Karnataka does well. I'll never agree with the sentiment. An Indian is an Indian is an Indian. Nothing more. Nothing Less. But this post is about Indian cricket team's greatest matchwinner has been an decent gentlemanly unassuming bloke from the state that Agnel loves.

The media and the fans have all been crazy about our batsmen. Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, et al. But, there is no doubt in my mind that Anil Kumble has won more matches for India than all the above put together. Whenever India needed a wicket, whatever the conditions, whatever the state of the game, all Indian captains invariably turned towards Kumble. And he has rarely disappointed. Most times he has bowled long spells. Really long spells. And has not complained. Never. Not even once.

He doesn't have the turn of a Warne or a Murali. Some snigger and comment that he doesn't even spin the ball. There are a host of people who will tell you that he is a medium pacer. Sure, he is all of that. And some more.

But you can't argue with the numbers in the wickets column. 561 wickets in Tests and still counting. 337 wickets in ODIs. That's almost 900 International wickets in a career spanning 17 years. And the wickets have come against all teams. Top order, middle order, tail ender. All of them have succumbed.

He doesn't spin the ball? Sure. He is medium pace. Sure. You mean 900 times batsmen couldn't figure out a bowler who bowls medium pace and doesn't spin the ball? I'll have this bowler in my team any day rather than those who spin miles or those who bowl express pace. For make no mistake, Anil Kumble is a fighter. And a matchwinner. And keeps on coming and coming and coming at you.

Almost two decades of playing. And no controversies. No lewd SMSes. No accusations of "chucking". No ambitions of becoming a captain. Never indulged in groupism. He has always played fair, but played hard. There has been no better ambassador of cricket and India than this gentleman.

And in the twilight of his career, when he has announced his retirement from ODIs and is about to pass on the baton to a Piyush Chawla, Anil Kumble has achieved something that most top bowlers dream of. Warne and Murali couldn't do it. And that's a Test ton.

This Test Ton (at the Oval during India's tour of England in 2007 in the 3rd Test) is special. This is the only Indian century in the entire series. And it has probably come in the last Indian innings of the series (I don't think India will bat again). And it has come from someone at No. 8. And the Test Team for all the matches in this series had some heavy weights like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Saurav Ganguly. Yet, the lone centurion in this series has been Anil Kumble.

Let's all stand up and applaud this man. For he will not have the fans screaming. He will not have the media eating out his hands. But he has been Indian cricket's greatest servant. At the end of the day's play he said the celebrations will come only after India wins this Test. And there's still 3 more days to play. He has always put the team before himself.

I salute this guy. And may we have some more cricketers like him.

Eng v/s India, Trent Bridge 2007, Day 5 preview

2007-07-31T10:44:00.000+05:30

What a glorious day of cricket we had yesterday? Michael Vaughan's fine century was a treat to watch. Always in position, never troubled and in control.

He took the attack to Kumble early on, knowing that Kumble was the danger man. Kumble also didn't help his own cause by forgetting his radar in the dressing room, but Vaughan never allowed Kumble to settle into the rhythm that could have become deadly.

Sreesanth forgot he was playing international cricket today. Or maybe, he just borrowed a leaf from the Aussies. He saw he was not doing well, and thought he might just go ahead and rattle the English. I may be guessing, but it that's what Sreesanth thought, then he did well. A beamer (he did apologise instantaneously), but I wasn't convinced that it was completely unintentional. And that front foot no ball by more than a metre. Just one ball prior, he had bowled from behind the stumps. What a character? Indian cricket does need characters like him. It will also help if he can occasionally bowl like the way he did in SA.

I was also glad to see the younger ones celebrating. Dinesh Karthik and Dhoni were happy for each other and were celebrating together. Matt Prior to please watch the replays and keep quiet for the rest of the Indian innings tomorrow.

One thing I noticed since the Lords Test is that India have come back from a bad session. And they have come back in style. They did it again yesterday. A break, the second new ball and ZK was breathing fire. Saurav may have got some fire into the Indian team, and Rahul Dravid seems to have built some steel. Typical of his own batting stlye. Though his own captaincy skills leaves much to be desired, at least this team is fighting back. No dropping shoulders; no going through the motions. They are willing to stick it out and fight for each other. That's a good sign.

Another 60+ runs to win today with 10 wickets in hand. Hope the Indians don't come out thinking that the match is over. For the English are going to have one last shot and they will come at the Indians with everything that they've got. After all, had it not been for weather, they too would have won the previous Test.

England may be No 2 and India at no. 6 in the ICC Test rankings, but this series proved that these teams are evenly balanced. Which means, there is really nothing to differentiate between the teams ranked no 2 through no 6. Which is good for Test cricket. For, one of these teams need to take on Australia. Someone needs the firepower and the steel and the fire and the aggro to topple Australia. India has all of them; so does SA, Pak and England in different percentages. Its only a matter of time before one of these teams get it right.

Trent Bridge 2007 Eng V/s India Day 4 preview

2007-07-30T14:21:00.000+05:30

The Indian batsmen grunted and puffed and huffed their way to a decent lead of 280+ runs. In the end, the two decisions against Ganguly and Sachin will be talked about for ages.

For a team loaded with aging batting superstars, they really did well to reach that score. Sure, luck also played a major part, but you needed luck to make the most of the circumstances yesterday. To the batsmen's credit, they hung in there even when the going was tough.

Got to feel for Sidebottom. He bowled exceedingly well without due reward. He did get Dhoni out later in the day, but it was too less and too late.

We need someone to bowl like Sidebottom today. Keep pegging away from one end. Anil Kumble has done this for so many years now and he will be expected to bowl long spells. There are 3 left arm fast bowlers in this match and Anil Kumble should choose the end from where he can use the footmarks to his advantage.

Kumble will have to do the bulk of the bowling today. And the rest will have to support him by not giving away easy runs. An intriguing match and hopefully the rain should stay away.

England v/s India Trent Bridge 2007 1st days play

2007-07-28T12:22:00.000+05:30

After a very delayed start due to a poor outfield, play finally started 4 hours late. Indian bowlers were on the button. They bowled fast, got movement and hit the right lines and right lengths. Except for Sreesanth who was trying too hard, everybody did a decent job. In the 55 overs possible, England has already lost 7 wickets. But before we rejoice in this, my mind goes back to a test in Durban against the SA, which the current bowling coaches of both teams will remember well.

Venkatesh Prasad got 10 wickets in the match, 5 wickets in each innings. SA, batting first, were bowled out for 235 runs (Vekatesh Prasad got figures of 5/60) , India replied with 100 all out. In the 2nd essay, SA scored 259 all out (Venkatesh Prasad's figures read 5/93). India's chase of the target of 395 runs ended a score of 66 all out.

And that Indian batting lineup had Saurav, Sachin, Azhar and Dravid. The complete score card is available at http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63736.html

BTW, Alan Donald had figures of 5/40 and 4/14 in the above match.

So, let's keep the champagne for a little later.

Tribute to Dr Kalam

2007-07-27T14:57:00.001+05:30

This is from one of my dear friends and I reproduce his mail in full...

From: Asif Saifuddin Golwala

Email: asifgolwala@hotmail.com

Mobile: +97150 4508731 (Dubai)

Tribute to Sir A.P.J. Kalam. President of India 2002-2007.

Sir, you have re-written the glory of being the president of the largest democracy in the world; you have restored its lost significance which was considered merely a 'ceremonial post' by lending it credence and meaning through your humble character. In spite of your monumental achievements in the science's you have retained the humility expected exclusively to be residing in a man of god. Never have the children of our country looked upon any member of Indian politic as they have upon your majesty. Though I ask forgiveness to mention the word politic in your benign repertoire. Your name shall never be inscribed in gold nor shall you be stunted in a wax museum; for such banalities were never part of your persona and than; gold could perish and wax shall melt; but your name nonetheless, shall be etched in the minds of every child you bestowed your eyes upon and in every heart you touched with your benevolent actions. It is a great honour bestowed upon the future citizens of this country by you for you have decided to impart your understanding and education in the great universities of this land by being a teacher to those starving for knowledge. The institutions where you will teach shall have to be rechristened as temples of knowledge where you shall be the high priest and where you shall be the messiah of every god who has sought every mortal to be what you are! Amen!

We thank you for dedicating precious years of your life being our president and we thank you for reminding us that humility can be exercised at every level of society and we thank you for reminding us how inconsequential is material wealth without the wealth of knowledge, love and humanity.

Salute

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From an England Fan's point of view

2007-07-27T09:57:00.000+05:30

I had been wondering for the last couple of days about the English fan's reaction to the Lords Test 2007. Here's what I would have been thinking if I had brought the same emotions towards the English side as I have towards the Indian team

Day 1: 2 fifties and none could convert them into a century. Despite Andrew Strauss' let-off, we finished well behind thanks to the inability of our top batsmen to convert good starts into a really big one. BTW, Tremlett's inclusion ahead of Broad is baffling. Didn't Broad trouble the Indians in the tour game? With his confidence on a high, this was the right time to blood Broad.

Day 2: Pieterson and Collingwood are obviously overrated. Here, you had a nice cushion from where at least 500 was the minimum expected; our batting line-up just crumbled. Mercifully, our bowlers did a decent job and have got England back into the reckoning.

Day 3: A lead of almost 100; well it was time for our batsmen to rub it in. If the weather holds, and if our batsmen perform to their potential, we should have a good game in our hands.

Day 4: A target of 380 is a good 45-50 runs less than what was expected. But with time running out and the possibility of weather disrupting proceedings tomorrow, the English batsmen should have stepped on the accelerated in the first session itself; maybe after the first half-an-hour or 40 minutes. If weather has a say in the proceedings, our batsmen have just not given our bowlers sufficient time.

Day 5: Our team just didn't factor in the weather. The sight of Vaughan and Monty bowling in the end with the ball just 4-5 overs old was sickening. There was no need to take the new ball with Monty bowling so well. With the clouds looming, it was obvious that the new ball bowlers wouldn't get to bowl more than a couple of overs each. Despite this, Monty almost got the last mail, but the Indian batsman got the benefit of doubt.

Overall, its time KP buckled down and seriously considered his value to the team. KP's century yet again failed to win England this match. If KP has to be considered amongst the greatest batsmen along with other players of this era, he has to shoulder some more responsibility and take this England team to another plan. He has to start winning matches for his country.

:-) :-). Aren't the England team lucky they do not have fans / supporters like the Indians. In fact, one of the newspapers the next day proclaimed that the "England team were robbed of a deserving win.." by the weather and the umpires.

Hmmm.

Some uncomfortable questions

2007-07-25T13:30:00.000+05:30

The Lords test ended in a draw. Well, to be frank, India escaped with a draw. Indians from across the globe were doing the rain-dance and praying for rain. Lord Varun obliged.

Looking back at the test, it would be easy to say that Karthik's costly drop proved the difference. But that would put un-necessary blame on the young lad's door.

The blame has to be squarely laid on the seniors. The big 4 managed a high score of 40 in 2 innings. Juniors like Karthik, Jaffer and Dhoni put their hands up.

There was much talk about bowlers winning matches and that our bowlers need to take 20 wickets. Rookie bowlers Sreesanth and RP Singh bowled brilliantly in their first trip. Our bowlers got those 20 wickets for less than 575 runs.

Its high time we looked at the big 4 and started asking some questions. And its outrageous that some senior ex-cricketers recommend that at least some of these players should be around till the 2011 world cup. When the young guns are delivering and the big guns are silent, its better to go ahead with some more young guns. At least you are assured that these people have a stomach for a fight and will not go down tamely.

Hope the selectors are listening. I know its not easy to drop the seniors, there's lot of sponsorship money riding on them. Companies who have spent crores on these superstars wouls want to ensure that these players stay on the team and put in their token presence, so that they can squeeze maximum returns out of every advertising rupee that has been spent. But unless, we can take such touch decisions, I'm afraid Indian cricket will continue to be in the doldrums.

Interesting day ahead - Lords Test Eng v/s India 2007

2007-07-23T10:22:00.001+05:30

India needs less than 250 runs to get. England needs 7 wickets. A full day's play may be possible if weather doesn't play spoilsport.

India doesn't need to bother about the target. 25o runs / day is an at-par score for most teams in
Test Cricket, today. The main worry for India is that Rahul Dravid is already back in the hut. Sachin's wicket may not that much of a worry for Indian fans, as most people do not expect him to perform in crunch situations.

Sachin and Karthik were positive yesterday, and if they continue batting the same vein, we are in for a glorious day of cricket.

This Indian team has shown character in coming back from behind. Till now, it has been our bowlers who have been at the forefront of the fightback. Its time our much vaunted batting lineup, especially the big stars, show some character. Sachin and Rahul are already back in the pavilion. Its upto Saurav, Laxman (ironically, both need to prove a point or two to the selectors and the fans) and the two wicket keeper batsmen to join the party.

P.S. When critics were pointing to India's dismal win record as proof that Sachin needed to win some Tests for India, the "experts" were saying that its the bowlers who need to take 20 wickets; its the bowlers who win matches.

In South Africa, in West Indies and in Australia, our bowlers have consistently been taking the 20 wickets. Someone needs to urgently "wake up" at least now.

Game evenly poised at the end of Day 2 of Lords Test England v/s India

2007-07-21T14:57:00.000+05:30

Intriguing Test Match so far. After the butterflies were all laid to rest, after the storm passed over, after the ground was dried, the bowlers came with purpose and discipline. Once the new ball was taken, (one go0d decision by Rahul Dravid), R P Singh got the night watchman. Immediately, R P Singh was taken out of the attack (another good decision) and what fun Zaheer and Sreesanth had. Zaheer bowled the right line, while Sreesanth got the length & line right. The results were there for all to see. The difference between the lines & the lengths bowled on the 1st and 2nd days was so evident. Who is responsible for this? Did Rahul have a tough talk with all the bowlers? Or, was it Venkatesh Prasad (the bowling coach) who impressed upon the young bowlers the need to maintain a specific line and length in these conditions.

When the Indians came to bat, the English bowlers took a leaf from the Indian bowlers. They, being familiar with the home conditions, hit the right lengths straight away. Except for Tremlett, who was playing his 1st Test. Tremlett bowled well, and if he gets his length right, he will start asking a lot of questions. There is still a lot of bowling to do in this Test.

It looks like the teams are evenly balanced. Let's see who blinks first. Hopefully, Ganguly's injury yesterday is only minor and would not effect his batting.

India will bat last and the English have a bowler by the name of Monty Panesar. On a last day pitch, Monty will get turn off the bowler's foot marks. And except for Ganguly, none of the Indian batsmen, especially Tendulkar, have faced Left arm slow bowlers with any conviction. Remember Ashley Giles, Nicky Boje and many others.

3 more days to go, and we have a cracking test on our hands. Ganguly, Laxman and Dhoni can take the match away from the English; while Anderson, Sidebottom, Tremlett and Monty can do it for the British. The key for Indians will be to manage a lead of at least 50 runs and then bowl out the English for 250 or less. England on the other hand will look at getting the rest of the Indians cheap, maybe within 300, and then bat out the rest of today and a major portion of tomorrow and set India a target of 350 in 4 sessions.

Either way, its going to be fun. We may have a great finish on our hands.

Indian Cricket

2007-07-11T17:47:00.000+05:30

Hi!

This is my first blog and the first thing that comes to mind to write about is cricket. Indian cricket.

Over 4 days, India failed to force a win against Sussex. Wonder how they will fare against a full strength English Team. on the last day, they had 15 odd overs to get 3 wickets. And India had Sreesanth, R P Singh, Ranadeep Bose, Anil Kumble besides other part time bowlers. Couldn't prise out the 3 wickets. In fact Anil Kumble had 2 full overs at their no 11. No Luck.

I have a feeling we are going to be hugely disappointed by the end of this series. England are on a high after beating WI. Rahul has to bat as well as he batted the last time he was here. And others have to play as per their career averages. And that is going to be tough against the moving & seaming ball.

More on this later as the tour progresses.