Recently, I've had quiet a few instances where the power of marketing came up. It is marketing not in the true corporate sense, but it still has to do with selling a product, an image.
I was watching this show on the History Channel about the hidden messages in the US Dollar bill. There is all this talk about hidden messages of the Freemasons, about how they are planning a new world order etc. However, another point that somebody mentioned on the show was that the seal of the United States is one of the most recognizable American symbols in the world. Many are probably aware of the front of the seal. which consists of a Bald Eagle behind a shield and holding an olive branch with its right claw and 13 arrows with its left claw.
And it got me thinking about how countries can influence other nations and people, its through the media. For example, that gentleman on the show mentioned that one of America's most recognizable symbols are the McDonald's arches and Coca Cola. People the world over drink Coca Cola and Pepsi, have probably eaten at some American fast food chain and almost certainly watched American tv and movies, and listened to their music. This soft power generation goes a long way in influencing people and winning friends.
In this context, one might say that India has great potential soft power that it projects to many parts of the world. The flag bearer of this charge is probably the Bollywood film industry, with their movies being watched in all parts of the world as well, especially the developing nations.
In addition, India has a great asset in its overseas population, which for the most part, has been a successful group of people who still love their motherland and look for ways of giving back.
Similarly, buildings are great symbols of a nation. The Empire State building and the WTC Twin towers had been symbols of American economy and capitalism. Malaysia built the beautiful Petronas Towers that projected its new ambitions and drive to be a modern country. Of course, when it comes to construction, the world is in awe of China, and what they have done with their cities. Brand new, massive masterplans incorporating huge, lavish buildings spanning all their cities. While I don't agree with how they do it, the point I am trying to make is that I think the Chinese have realized the importance of putting forward a face of modernization and business, because it goes without saying, if you have money in your pocket, you can do anything you like, including crushing protesting villagers, executing thousands of prisoners, but as long as you can make cheap consumer products for the developed world, you are good to go. What has India got to show for its new economy? Nothing really. The world still recognizes us by the Taj Mahal, and if they were asked to mention one monument that modern India has created, I don't think anyone would be able to. Heck even I can't name one.
An example of how India's governments and institutions don't have a freaking clue as to how image projection works, take the case of domestic cricket. While the BCCI will make millions with its India games, our domestic cricket is languishing despite having a very high quality of play and professionalism. Not that a change isn't being attempted. The Indian economy ad blitzes at all world economic forums certainly created a buzz, and the Ministry of Tourism's 'Incredible India' campaign seems to be doing well too. Well, and in sports they attempted to start the Premier Hockey League, replete with uniform sales and tv coverage.
So here is my take on this lack of India's politician's interests in projecting a positive India - they basically don't care. Most politicians in India are like rats, they like working in the dark. Too much good India buzz with ruin their infrastructure to rape and plunder this country behind everyone's back, and any change to this status quo is certainly bad news for them.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Quality Television
On Monday, a new television channel was launched in India, a channel that will take us into the heart and lives of our beloved politicians and telecast their sojourns on the Parliament floor.
Named 'Lok Sabha TV' or LSTV, it will broadcast live proceedings of the Lower House of the Indian Parliament. This is just one, but the main, aspect of the channel's bouquet of offerings. In addition, according to their ad in the newspapers, "LSTV brings you:
* Value added programming including "Know Your MP", "Review By The Chair", "The Issue of The Week", "Village Voice" etc.
* Cultural programmes such as music and dance, plays especially staged for LSTV, fortnightly film and more....
* Programmes on our national heritage and culture."
So thats the quality television line-up we have for you citizens of India. Now we can see our politicians BS on live TV! Like they say, you can't beat technology. Now we will get to hear our Home Minister about how our 'misguided youth' are busy killing innocent citizens but we should not do anything about it because they are only kids.
Now we will get to see our dear Education Minister tell the nation about why we should destroy our higher education sector so that the Con'gress can maintain its grasp on power and if things turn out right, maybe Her Majesty can make him her next Prime Minister.
We will get to see the collective Congress leadership sprawl at the feet of Her Majesty and profusely express their love and admiration for her. Oh, and also dilligently pass the Office of Profit Bill so that Her Majesty can be protected from the boomerang which turned back to hit her instead of her opposition. Tsk tsk, so much work, so little time.
This is the logo of the new television channel. The motto is "Asato Maa Sadgamaya", which in English means, "take me from lies to the truth". This is the hope I have from this channel too. With increased focus on the working of a politician, there will be more discretion and responsibility shown by the politician. Perhaps they will realize that with potentially lakhs of us watching them, maybe its time they cut out the bull shit and actually make sense.
Its not that Parlimentary proceedings have never been broadcast before. The main channel of Doordarshan always relayed the live proceedings of the Zero Hour, but thats just one hour of quality tv, and its Zero Hour, where real issues and the current bills are not the main topics of discussion.
The channel has already been soft launched since May 10, and is a brain child of our speaker, Shri Somnath Chatterjee, one of the stalwarts who would have lost his job if it was not for the Office of Profit Bill to be brought into the house.
This channel is only for the Lower House, so what about the Rajya Sabha? Hey, I want to see the Rajya Sabha too, because as Unny from the Indian Express says, "They must telecast Rajya Sabha too. We miss Jaya Bachchan’s last laugh."
New channel to bring Lok Sabha closer to people
While public broadcaster Doordarshan will continue to telecast the Rajya Sabha's proceedings, the new channel, called Lok Sabha Television (LSTV), aims to show people how their representatives function.
'We are striving to meet the people's right to view proceedings,' said the channel's chief executive Bhaskar Ghose, who is also the media advisor to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.
Parliament's lower house meets for a total of about 90 days a year. 'How we keep the channel going for the remaining 270-odd days is a huge challenge,' he said.
'To meet that, we will go beyond the proceedings - to the streets to get the public reaction, to the constituencies of the members to see how parliament is perceived and how funds allotted are utilised,' Ghose told IANS.
The channel would not confine itself to parliamentary proceedings, but also tackle current affairs, take up current issues in and outside parliament and carry out analysis. 'We will go well beyond the proceedings,' he said.
LSTV would be a bilingual channel - using English and Hindi in its bulletins and commentaries.
While BBC telecasts the proceedings of the British parliament and C-Span, a consortium of cable operators report the US Congress, senate and the meetings of its various committees, India's new initiative is billed as arguably the world's only non-partisan channel that is not owned or funded by the government.
A result of Chatterjee's efforts, the channel would be, in a sense, a kind of birthday gift to the Lok Sabha speaker who turns 77 Tuesday.Chatterjee is the custodian of the channel, which is funded by the Lok Sabha secretariat.Some advertising revenue could also be generated if public sector enterprises take up sponsorships on the channel, Ghose said.
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The interesting piece of news is that the channel is not funded by the government, funded instead by the Lok Sabha secretariat, but at the same time one will have to be very skeptical of the channel being non-partisan. Successive governments of India, like most governments everywhere in the world, increasingly try to bring their bias and agendas into media programmings, and for a government as given to agendas as the Con'gress, I highly doubt this channel will be without its influence.
But its a start, and yes, let the circus begin, now with its own dedicated 24X7 channel.
Named 'Lok Sabha TV' or LSTV, it will broadcast live proceedings of the Lower House of the Indian Parliament. This is just one, but the main, aspect of the channel's bouquet of offerings. In addition, according to their ad in the newspapers, "LSTV brings you:
* Value added programming including "Know Your MP", "Review By The Chair", "The Issue of The Week", "Village Voice" etc.
* Cultural programmes such as music and dance, plays especially staged for LSTV, fortnightly film and more....
* Programmes on our national heritage and culture."
So thats the quality television line-up we have for you citizens of India. Now we can see our politicians BS on live TV! Like they say, you can't beat technology. Now we will get to hear our Home Minister about how our 'misguided youth' are busy killing innocent citizens but we should not do anything about it because they are only kids.
Now we will get to see our dear Education Minister tell the nation about why we should destroy our higher education sector so that the Con'gress can maintain its grasp on power and if things turn out right, maybe Her Majesty can make him her next Prime Minister.
We will get to see the collective Congress leadership sprawl at the feet of Her Majesty and profusely express their love and admiration for her. Oh, and also dilligently pass the Office of Profit Bill so that Her Majesty can be protected from the boomerang which turned back to hit her instead of her opposition. Tsk tsk, so much work, so little time.
This is the logo of the new television channel. The motto is "Asato Maa Sadgamaya", which in English means, "take me from lies to the truth". This is the hope I have from this channel too. With increased focus on the working of a politician, there will be more discretion and responsibility shown by the politician. Perhaps they will realize that with potentially lakhs of us watching them, maybe its time they cut out the bull shit and actually make sense.
Its not that Parlimentary proceedings have never been broadcast before. The main channel of Doordarshan always relayed the live proceedings of the Zero Hour, but thats just one hour of quality tv, and its Zero Hour, where real issues and the current bills are not the main topics of discussion.
The channel has already been soft launched since May 10, and is a brain child of our speaker, Shri Somnath Chatterjee, one of the stalwarts who would have lost his job if it was not for the Office of Profit Bill to be brought into the house.
This channel is only for the Lower House, so what about the Rajya Sabha? Hey, I want to see the Rajya Sabha too, because as Unny from the Indian Express says, "They must telecast Rajya Sabha too. We miss Jaya Bachchan’s last laugh."
New channel to bring Lok Sabha closer to people
While public broadcaster Doordarshan will continue to telecast the Rajya Sabha's proceedings, the new channel, called Lok Sabha Television (LSTV), aims to show people how their representatives function.
'We are striving to meet the people's right to view proceedings,' said the channel's chief executive Bhaskar Ghose, who is also the media advisor to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.
Parliament's lower house meets for a total of about 90 days a year. 'How we keep the channel going for the remaining 270-odd days is a huge challenge,' he said.
'To meet that, we will go beyond the proceedings - to the streets to get the public reaction, to the constituencies of the members to see how parliament is perceived and how funds allotted are utilised,' Ghose told IANS.
The channel would not confine itself to parliamentary proceedings, but also tackle current affairs, take up current issues in and outside parliament and carry out analysis. 'We will go well beyond the proceedings,' he said.
LSTV would be a bilingual channel - using English and Hindi in its bulletins and commentaries.
While BBC telecasts the proceedings of the British parliament and C-Span, a consortium of cable operators report the US Congress, senate and the meetings of its various committees, India's new initiative is billed as arguably the world's only non-partisan channel that is not owned or funded by the government.
A result of Chatterjee's efforts, the channel would be, in a sense, a kind of birthday gift to the Lok Sabha speaker who turns 77 Tuesday.Chatterjee is the custodian of the channel, which is funded by the Lok Sabha secretariat.Some advertising revenue could also be generated if public sector enterprises take up sponsorships on the channel, Ghose said.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The interesting piece of news is that the channel is not funded by the government, funded instead by the Lok Sabha secretariat, but at the same time one will have to be very skeptical of the channel being non-partisan. Successive governments of India, like most governments everywhere in the world, increasingly try to bring their bias and agendas into media programmings, and for a government as given to agendas as the Con'gress, I highly doubt this channel will be without its influence.
But its a start, and yes, let the circus begin, now with its own dedicated 24X7 channel.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Still working against the nation
I think i've made this point before, and i'll make it again: politicians are loathe to take decisions that will strengthen the foundations of this nation because it will unsettle their own power and influence over the country. The dumb decision to block websites and blogs by the Government was as ham-headed as it can get, and it again showed that the politicians of India have no brain to thrive in a new world and a new economy.
But then again, looking at the first line, it could also imply that politicians of India know what's going on, but do not want to do the right thing. The other thing is the sneakiness with which these monkeys have subverted the system, and when the media and the common man have raised their objections, the government fully insists that there is nothing to argue about and that its a done deal.
A few days ago, I learnt that there is a Union Social Justice ministry when they said that the castes of the SC/ST bureaucrats should be dropped from their profiles when their names are circulated for appointment in departments and ministries at the center. According to the honorable Minister, a very old worker in the Gandhi household, Meira Kumar, there will be a danger of social bias coming into play.
I found is surprising that they say this, because this is exactly the kind of bias that her cohorts are trying to bring into India's higher education sector and the private sector. As far as I know, the private sector has, for the most part, always focusing on merit to hire, and now the illustrious Con'gress wants to change all that. I have said it before and i'll say it again, I firmly believe that now this country needs economic equality just as much as it needs religious and caste equality. The sad fact is that our baboons of netas have managed to fuck up the latter already, and are now trying to mess up the former.
This UPA government, like i said, has no plan for the country. The cabinet ministers work at their own whims and on their own agendas. There is no communication among them, and they have been unable to put together a single coherent policy together. Most of the economic liberalization policies of today are heavily dosed with the Common Minimum Programme, and thus for every step forward, the government takes 4/5th step backwards. Today's government is running on two incentives: do not piss off the commies, and do not let the BJP get any mileage from any tragedy.
Arjun Singh is a man on a mission, and I do not know what the mission is, but I do know it is not in the interests of this country's development. A fellow forumer on Skyscraper City posted this piece of news which filled me with even more loathing for the government. A few years ago, the netas sitting in the Parliament had passed a law that made the right to basic education a fundamental right. There is a lot that goes into making that a reality, and the government was working on the draft of a bill that would have laid down the guidelines and rules with which we could turn this dream of universal education into a reality. Instead of implementing it, apparently the government has decided to shift the responsibility onto the states. I understand their action though, subverting the rule of law and lying spineless and gutless on the ground in the face of national threats is really hard work.
According to the Telegraph of Kolkata, even the Commie allies did not know that the government had done this, which is surprising, considering the commies have had a butt hanging in every decision that the Con'gress led UPA has been taking. Anyways, heres the story.
Education bill buried
Four years after education was made a fundamental right, the Centre has quietly junked a planned bill aimed to make the right a reality with even key allies not aware of the move.
CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury recently expressed surprise when he was told the government had passed the buck to the states. “We don’t know about this. Education is a priority area for us,” Yechury said.
The bill was to provide for free and compulsory education to all children between 6 and 14. Last month, the human resource development ministry dropped plans to table it in Parliament and, instead, sent a diluted version to the states, asking them to adopt it.
The states are reluctant for two reasons. One, not all of them have elementary education on their main agenda. Two, unlike the junked bill that bound the Centre to foot the entire bill for implementing the provisions, the latest version provides for a 50:50 split.
The non-government People’s Campaign for Common School System has threatened to hit the streets in protest, hoping the political parties, too, would respond inside and outside Parliament.
It was the NDA government that had paved the way for the education bill by getting the 86th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which makes education a fundamental right, through Parliament.
The HRD ministry, then headed by Murli Manohar Joshi, had drawn up an enabling bill to implement the right, but the Vajpayee government lost the May 2004 elections and the bill remained on paper.
The UPA government set up the Central Advisory Board of Education (Cabe), which revised the bill and sent it to a committee headed by Union minister Kapil Sibal for further consideration.
But the Planning Commission and the finance ministry dealt a death blow to the planned bill, pleading lack of funds.
The model bill sent to the states does away with many of the stringent provisions of the Cabe version, such as punishment for those who hire child workers and prevent them from going to school. It also ignores Cabe-suggested norms for hiring of schoolteachers to improve education quality.
Had the Centre got the bill passed in Parliament, it still could not have forced the states to adopt it since education is on the concurrent list. But it would have given the fundamental right some legal teeth.
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Lack of funds is cited has the reason for many of the plans which the government says it cannot implement. I understand that, since it has been the case for ever since I can remember, but if somebody high up there really had some common sense, wouldn't it the case for allowing more private enterprise in the country so that the government could focus on the social sector instead? Its so funny that while the UPA government keeps saying how committed they are to the social sector, all their time is spent on trying to control private enterprise, and in most of the cases, our fundamental rights.
To end it all, it seems the blog ban is over. I suppose the brainless invertebrates didn't realize there would be so many internet users in the country who would have something to say on the matter. But props to them all, because the media frenzy it generated probably made the netas realize that maybe subversion of our basic rights is not the right way to grasp onto power. Because as much as the politicians don't like it, most people of India do have eyes, and do have a common sense to see the obvious.
But then again, looking at the first line, it could also imply that politicians of India know what's going on, but do not want to do the right thing. The other thing is the sneakiness with which these monkeys have subverted the system, and when the media and the common man have raised their objections, the government fully insists that there is nothing to argue about and that its a done deal.
A few days ago, I learnt that there is a Union Social Justice ministry when they said that the castes of the SC/ST bureaucrats should be dropped from their profiles when their names are circulated for appointment in departments and ministries at the center. According to the honorable Minister, a very old worker in the Gandhi household, Meira Kumar, there will be a danger of social bias coming into play.
I found is surprising that they say this, because this is exactly the kind of bias that her cohorts are trying to bring into India's higher education sector and the private sector. As far as I know, the private sector has, for the most part, always focusing on merit to hire, and now the illustrious Con'gress wants to change all that. I have said it before and i'll say it again, I firmly believe that now this country needs economic equality just as much as it needs religious and caste equality. The sad fact is that our baboons of netas have managed to fuck up the latter already, and are now trying to mess up the former.
This UPA government, like i said, has no plan for the country. The cabinet ministers work at their own whims and on their own agendas. There is no communication among them, and they have been unable to put together a single coherent policy together. Most of the economic liberalization policies of today are heavily dosed with the Common Minimum Programme, and thus for every step forward, the government takes 4/5th step backwards. Today's government is running on two incentives: do not piss off the commies, and do not let the BJP get any mileage from any tragedy.
Arjun Singh is a man on a mission, and I do not know what the mission is, but I do know it is not in the interests of this country's development. A fellow forumer on Skyscraper City posted this piece of news which filled me with even more loathing for the government. A few years ago, the netas sitting in the Parliament had passed a law that made the right to basic education a fundamental right. There is a lot that goes into making that a reality, and the government was working on the draft of a bill that would have laid down the guidelines and rules with which we could turn this dream of universal education into a reality. Instead of implementing it, apparently the government has decided to shift the responsibility onto the states. I understand their action though, subverting the rule of law and lying spineless and gutless on the ground in the face of national threats is really hard work.
According to the Telegraph of Kolkata, even the Commie allies did not know that the government had done this, which is surprising, considering the commies have had a butt hanging in every decision that the Con'gress led UPA has been taking. Anyways, heres the story.
Education bill buried
Four years after education was made a fundamental right, the Centre has quietly junked a planned bill aimed to make the right a reality with even key allies not aware of the move.
CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury recently expressed surprise when he was told the government had passed the buck to the states. “We don’t know about this. Education is a priority area for us,” Yechury said.
The bill was to provide for free and compulsory education to all children between 6 and 14. Last month, the human resource development ministry dropped plans to table it in Parliament and, instead, sent a diluted version to the states, asking them to adopt it.
The states are reluctant for two reasons. One, not all of them have elementary education on their main agenda. Two, unlike the junked bill that bound the Centre to foot the entire bill for implementing the provisions, the latest version provides for a 50:50 split.
The non-government People’s Campaign for Common School System has threatened to hit the streets in protest, hoping the political parties, too, would respond inside and outside Parliament.
It was the NDA government that had paved the way for the education bill by getting the 86th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which makes education a fundamental right, through Parliament.
The HRD ministry, then headed by Murli Manohar Joshi, had drawn up an enabling bill to implement the right, but the Vajpayee government lost the May 2004 elections and the bill remained on paper.
The UPA government set up the Central Advisory Board of Education (Cabe), which revised the bill and sent it to a committee headed by Union minister Kapil Sibal for further consideration.
But the Planning Commission and the finance ministry dealt a death blow to the planned bill, pleading lack of funds.
The model bill sent to the states does away with many of the stringent provisions of the Cabe version, such as punishment for those who hire child workers and prevent them from going to school. It also ignores Cabe-suggested norms for hiring of schoolteachers to improve education quality.
Had the Centre got the bill passed in Parliament, it still could not have forced the states to adopt it since education is on the concurrent list. But it would have given the fundamental right some legal teeth.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lack of funds is cited has the reason for many of the plans which the government says it cannot implement. I understand that, since it has been the case for ever since I can remember, but if somebody high up there really had some common sense, wouldn't it the case for allowing more private enterprise in the country so that the government could focus on the social sector instead? Its so funny that while the UPA government keeps saying how committed they are to the social sector, all their time is spent on trying to control private enterprise, and in most of the cases, our fundamental rights.
To end it all, it seems the blog ban is over. I suppose the brainless invertebrates didn't realize there would be so many internet users in the country who would have something to say on the matter. But props to them all, because the media frenzy it generated probably made the netas realize that maybe subversion of our basic rights is not the right way to grasp onto power. Because as much as the politicians don't like it, most people of India do have eyes, and do have a common sense to see the obvious.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
the joke that the UPA has become
After the Mumbai blasts, it seems the government has fired duds on practically all fronts, at the local level, the national level, and now the international level.
The pusillianimity of the government was obvious when none of the three most important people responsible for internal security, the PM, the Home Minister and the National Security Advisor, were unwilling to take names and take a firm stand on the tragedy. More than anything, the people of Mumbai, as resolute and spirited as they were, were angry and wanted to see results.
I believe I have talked about the UPA's reluctance to accept the fact that home grown terrorism is a reality, and while the initial clues pointed to SIMI, the blame shifted to their lords and masters in Pakistan. However, whats embarrassing for the government, and insulting to the common citizen, is that the government has come a cropper in finding any evidence linking Pakistan to it. In fact, other than firing in the dark in all directions, I don't think this government has achieved anything concrete.
One would think that after such a horrendous tragedy and with world sympathy on its side, India would be able to get the world to see its side of terrorism, but like every other department, this government has failed miserably in diplomacy too. Other than the usual "we condemn the blasts and stand by India.." words, India has been able to do nothing at the recent G-8 summit in Russia. I believe the Prime Minister should not have gone at all, since it was only a week after the blasts, but he chose to go, probably in the hope of earning some diplomatic points, but I believe the reason he went was to escape the criticism at home.
Its unfortunate that such a brilliant individual as the PM is controlled by a woman who could have changed the face of this country with her power and influence, but who instead chooses to cling to power with all the shenanigans that she is able to muster up. Its unfortunate that the PM has to rule over a cabinet that has no coordination, and dozens of personal agendas, and a no common vision.
Either the Government has no idea how to run a country, or they are willing to go to any lengths, including jeopardizing our sovereignty, to secure the muslim votes for the next elections. Their war is not with poverty, hunger, terrorism, but their war is with their political rivals in UP and the BJP. While Mulayam and Congress have absolutely no concern for anything else but the vote of the UP Muslim, UPA's first concern on the national level is that no matter what happens, BJP should not get political mileage out of any tragedy.
Anyways, the governments of India after PV Narasimha Rao never really had any balls, and Pakistan knows it, the terrorists they support know it, and the home-grown terrorists who have thrived in this conducive environment know it. Oh, did I mention the gentle pat on the wrists when the Government cancelled secretary level talks between India and Pak? Oh I am sure that must have hurt.
Peace process intact as India, Pak hold border talks
Despite a bad patch in relations between the governments of the two countries since last week's bomb blasts in Mumbai, Indian and Pakistani officials met on Wednesday to discuss ways to beef up border security and combat smuggling.
The talks between the border security officials at the Wagah border check post came days after India postponed a meeting of foreign secretaries due this week in New Delhi to review progress in a peace process begun over 2 years ago.
Border security consultations take place every three months, and are not part of the "composite dialogue" -- negotiations on a range of political disputes including the core issue of Kashmir.
Although there has been no breakthrough yet in investigations into the Mumbai attacks, the suspicions have fallen on Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Pakistan has condemned the Mumbai blasts and President Pervez Musharraf has warned any stalling in the peace process was what the "terrorists" wanted.
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As for India's stance internationally, well, they had no idea what they were doing anyways.
No takers for Govt's Pak-hand theory
More than a week since terror ripped Mumbai apart, India's inability to produce concrete evidence against Pakistan has rendered its attempts to trap the usual suspect rather feeble. While Pakistan is widely accepted as the fountainhead of terror in the subcontinent, India has been roundly ticked off by the US for not gathering enough proof against its neighbour on the Mumbai blasts.
That Islamabad has been the gainer in this round is evident in the unequivocal praise heaped on Pakistan by the Americans for its fight against terror. This, along with a rather general "condemnation" from the G-8, instead of a decisive rap on Pakistan's knuckles, has fed the impression that India's may be a case of cry wolf after all.
Islamabad has turned the occasion to its diplomatic advantage to impress upon the international community that Pakistan is a bogey raised by the Indian leadership to cover up the failure of its security agencies to nab the real home-grown terrorists residing in the very heart of Mumbai.
A chastened Manmohan Singh on his return from St Petersburg on Tuesday, therefore, said, "I have always believed the destiny of the people of South Asia are closely inter-linked," and that "Both our countries need peace and stability."
This is a significant humbling since the Prime Minister's public posturing in Mumbai last Friday, where, in a rather delayed reaction, he had warned Pakistan that "If the acts of terrorism are not controlled, it is exceedingly difficult for any Government to carry forward what may be called as normalisation and peace process." He had also said, "We are certain that these terror modules are instigated, inspired and supported by elements across the border."
Eventually the G-8 leaders only threw in their lot with India because "terrorism ... constitutes a threat to each of our country, as well as to international peace and security."
Meanwhile, in a stern rebuff, a middle-level officer in the Bush Administration suggested India should rely on hard evidence before pointing fingers. "I know there's a lot of speculation out there now.... But I think we need to be led by the evidence before we start trying to draw conclusions and make policy pronouncements on it," US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said.
Gloating over this commendation, Pakistan Foreign Minister Mahmud Kasuri said, "The US, European Union and other leading countries are not so stupid as to pay public compliments if they think Pakistan is actually running (terrorist) training camps albeit not for Afghanistan but Kashmir, because in the ultimate analysis, it all gets linked."
Lack of proof against Pakistan in the Mumbai case has therefore left the Prime Minister with weak formulations phrases like the dialogue process has "suffered," and that we should "reflect on our relations with Pakistan."
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So look at it this way, the UPA is unwilling to accept that anything is wrong with the country. The people are angry so they needed to do something. After much deliberation and many conflicting statements from its fragmented leadership, they say Pakistan did it, but since they have managed to destroy our internal security and intelligence apparatus, they were unable to produce evidence, and Prime Minister went to Russia for support, and didnt get any.
And since there is nothing wrong with the country, and accusing some Indians of being traitors is just a ploy by the BJP because they hate Muslims. Right? So there is no harm in mollycoddling with the enemy. Mulayam's doing it, BJP's doing it, so why not the UPA?
Cong, NCP wooing SIMI cadres
The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in power in Maharashtra have been actively wooing SIMI's former members with an eye on the town's 35 per cent Muslim population. Even when the local police periodically rounds them up following incidents like the recent Mumbai bomb blasts.
Thanks to the efforts of these political parties, Javed Qureshi, a prominent SIMI activist from here, has even managed two terms as Councillor in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation. Qureshi represented the Congress as councillor from 2001 after the ban on SIMI. He switched loyalties to the NCP last year after being denied a ticket in order to retain his seat.
According to Qureshi(41), he left SIMI when he turned 30 as per the organisation's rules. However, he did not entirely severe his links with the organisation. A member of a prominent business family here, Qureshi played a major role in organising SIMI's Ikhwana Conference in 1999. Fiery speeches by speakers at the conference denouncing the Babri Masjid provoked the 5,000 or so attendees to clash with police.
The A.D. Mane Commission of Inquiry set up to probe the lathi charge came up with startling information about the speeches made at the conference. The Maharashtra Government sat on the report till September 2001 when in the aftermath of the attack on New York's World Trade Centre, SIMI activists here openly expressed support for Osama bin Laden.
Qureshi is unapologetic about the support for bin Laden as well. “They (SIMI activists) said Osama is our brother in a manner that all Muslims are brothers,” says Qureshi.
The pusillianimity of the government was obvious when none of the three most important people responsible for internal security, the PM, the Home Minister and the National Security Advisor, were unwilling to take names and take a firm stand on the tragedy. More than anything, the people of Mumbai, as resolute and spirited as they were, were angry and wanted to see results.
I believe I have talked about the UPA's reluctance to accept the fact that home grown terrorism is a reality, and while the initial clues pointed to SIMI, the blame shifted to their lords and masters in Pakistan. However, whats embarrassing for the government, and insulting to the common citizen, is that the government has come a cropper in finding any evidence linking Pakistan to it. In fact, other than firing in the dark in all directions, I don't think this government has achieved anything concrete.
One would think that after such a horrendous tragedy and with world sympathy on its side, India would be able to get the world to see its side of terrorism, but like every other department, this government has failed miserably in diplomacy too. Other than the usual "we condemn the blasts and stand by India.." words, India has been able to do nothing at the recent G-8 summit in Russia. I believe the Prime Minister should not have gone at all, since it was only a week after the blasts, but he chose to go, probably in the hope of earning some diplomatic points, but I believe the reason he went was to escape the criticism at home.
Its unfortunate that such a brilliant individual as the PM is controlled by a woman who could have changed the face of this country with her power and influence, but who instead chooses to cling to power with all the shenanigans that she is able to muster up. Its unfortunate that the PM has to rule over a cabinet that has no coordination, and dozens of personal agendas, and a no common vision.
Either the Government has no idea how to run a country, or they are willing to go to any lengths, including jeopardizing our sovereignty, to secure the muslim votes for the next elections. Their war is not with poverty, hunger, terrorism, but their war is with their political rivals in UP and the BJP. While Mulayam and Congress have absolutely no concern for anything else but the vote of the UP Muslim, UPA's first concern on the national level is that no matter what happens, BJP should not get political mileage out of any tragedy.
Anyways, the governments of India after PV Narasimha Rao never really had any balls, and Pakistan knows it, the terrorists they support know it, and the home-grown terrorists who have thrived in this conducive environment know it. Oh, did I mention the gentle pat on the wrists when the Government cancelled secretary level talks between India and Pak? Oh I am sure that must have hurt.
Peace process intact as India, Pak hold border talks
Despite a bad patch in relations between the governments of the two countries since last week's bomb blasts in Mumbai, Indian and Pakistani officials met on Wednesday to discuss ways to beef up border security and combat smuggling.
The talks between the border security officials at the Wagah border check post came days after India postponed a meeting of foreign secretaries due this week in New Delhi to review progress in a peace process begun over 2 years ago.
Border security consultations take place every three months, and are not part of the "composite dialogue" -- negotiations on a range of political disputes including the core issue of Kashmir.
Although there has been no breakthrough yet in investigations into the Mumbai attacks, the suspicions have fallen on Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Pakistan has condemned the Mumbai blasts and President Pervez Musharraf has warned any stalling in the peace process was what the "terrorists" wanted.
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As for India's stance internationally, well, they had no idea what they were doing anyways.
No takers for Govt's Pak-hand theory
More than a week since terror ripped Mumbai apart, India's inability to produce concrete evidence against Pakistan has rendered its attempts to trap the usual suspect rather feeble. While Pakistan is widely accepted as the fountainhead of terror in the subcontinent, India has been roundly ticked off by the US for not gathering enough proof against its neighbour on the Mumbai blasts.
That Islamabad has been the gainer in this round is evident in the unequivocal praise heaped on Pakistan by the Americans for its fight against terror. This, along with a rather general "condemnation" from the G-8, instead of a decisive rap on Pakistan's knuckles, has fed the impression that India's may be a case of cry wolf after all.
Islamabad has turned the occasion to its diplomatic advantage to impress upon the international community that Pakistan is a bogey raised by the Indian leadership to cover up the failure of its security agencies to nab the real home-grown terrorists residing in the very heart of Mumbai.
A chastened Manmohan Singh on his return from St Petersburg on Tuesday, therefore, said, "I have always believed the destiny of the people of South Asia are closely inter-linked," and that "Both our countries need peace and stability."
This is a significant humbling since the Prime Minister's public posturing in Mumbai last Friday, where, in a rather delayed reaction, he had warned Pakistan that "If the acts of terrorism are not controlled, it is exceedingly difficult for any Government to carry forward what may be called as normalisation and peace process." He had also said, "We are certain that these terror modules are instigated, inspired and supported by elements across the border."
Eventually the G-8 leaders only threw in their lot with India because "terrorism ... constitutes a threat to each of our country, as well as to international peace and security."
Meanwhile, in a stern rebuff, a middle-level officer in the Bush Administration suggested India should rely on hard evidence before pointing fingers. "I know there's a lot of speculation out there now.... But I think we need to be led by the evidence before we start trying to draw conclusions and make policy pronouncements on it," US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said.
Gloating over this commendation, Pakistan Foreign Minister Mahmud Kasuri said, "The US, European Union and other leading countries are not so stupid as to pay public compliments if they think Pakistan is actually running (terrorist) training camps albeit not for Afghanistan but Kashmir, because in the ultimate analysis, it all gets linked."
Lack of proof against Pakistan in the Mumbai case has therefore left the Prime Minister with weak formulations phrases like the dialogue process has "suffered," and that we should "reflect on our relations with Pakistan."
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So look at it this way, the UPA is unwilling to accept that anything is wrong with the country. The people are angry so they needed to do something. After much deliberation and many conflicting statements from its fragmented leadership, they say Pakistan did it, but since they have managed to destroy our internal security and intelligence apparatus, they were unable to produce evidence, and Prime Minister went to Russia for support, and didnt get any.
And since there is nothing wrong with the country, and accusing some Indians of being traitors is just a ploy by the BJP because they hate Muslims. Right? So there is no harm in mollycoddling with the enemy. Mulayam's doing it, BJP's doing it, so why not the UPA?
Cong, NCP wooing SIMI cadres
The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in power in Maharashtra have been actively wooing SIMI's former members with an eye on the town's 35 per cent Muslim population. Even when the local police periodically rounds them up following incidents like the recent Mumbai bomb blasts.
Thanks to the efforts of these political parties, Javed Qureshi, a prominent SIMI activist from here, has even managed two terms as Councillor in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation. Qureshi represented the Congress as councillor from 2001 after the ban on SIMI. He switched loyalties to the NCP last year after being denied a ticket in order to retain his seat.
According to Qureshi(41), he left SIMI when he turned 30 as per the organisation's rules. However, he did not entirely severe his links with the organisation. A member of a prominent business family here, Qureshi played a major role in organising SIMI's Ikhwana Conference in 1999. Fiery speeches by speakers at the conference denouncing the Babri Masjid provoked the 5,000 or so attendees to clash with police.
The A.D. Mane Commission of Inquiry set up to probe the lathi charge came up with startling information about the speeches made at the conference. The Maharashtra Government sat on the report till September 2001 when in the aftermath of the attack on New York's World Trade Centre, SIMI activists here openly expressed support for Osama bin Laden.
Qureshi is unapologetic about the support for bin Laden as well. “They (SIMI activists) said Osama is our brother in a manner that all Muslims are brothers,” says Qureshi.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
UPA getting closer to authoritarianism
A few weeks ago, the Times of India reported that it had access to certain papers that showed that the UPA government was planning to bring about a bill that would give it absolute powers to deal with the various media channels in the country, including complete take over of their infrastructure during times of war.
At first I dismissed the story with the assumption that its Times of India and they usually jump the gun on a lot of issues. I assumed it is one of their half-researched, sensationalist stories. I think that story was published in a couple of other newspapers as well later, and then there was a news that the various media houses were gathering together to oppose such a bill.
Today, I came across this article about the government's directive to various Internet Service Providers in India to block certain blog sites, including the biggest of them all, www.blogger.com. Incidentally, that is the blogsite I am currently writing in, and the fact that many in India will not be able to read what I am writing is beginning to get under my skin.
Have you noticed a trend in the way the UPA is functioning? Of course, keeping aside the fact that they are gutless and spineless and cheering for the nation's enemies, they are slowly moving towards a more socialist and authoritarian regime?
Sure one will point out examples of the new SEZ laws and the opening of the real estate and everything, but at the same time this one facet of the economy has been heavily diluted by their extreme socialist tendencies in the others. The Common Minimum Programme, as a commentator in Bloomberg.com said, has fizzled into a free-for-all gift fest with the government without a clue as to how the scheme will be bankrolled. Of course, the biggest shocker came when the entire disinvestment process was put on hold because some regional party wanted the money for itself and appease the angry government employees.
Why India Must Sell Only Troubled State Assets: Andy Mukherjee
Economic policy making in India was the casualty last week as the government lost a battle that it shouldn't even have been fighting.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh capitulated to pressure from coalition partners when he scrapped a June 22 Cabinet committee decision to sell 10 percent stakes in two state-owned companies.
Investors would have taken these sales as a sign that Singh's Congress Party government, hamstrung as it is by the obduracy of its coalition partners and Marxist allies, not to mention by the left-leaning sensibilities of its own supreme leader, Sonia Gandhi, still has some room to maneuver.
Now that Singh has blinked, investors are left in no doubt about how much real authority he has.
It was self-defeating. The Common Minimum Program of May 2004, the agenda agreed on by the government and its allies, states that, ``generally, profit-making companies will not be privatized.'' Both National Aluminium and Neyveli Lignite make money.
Singh's government has been far less practical. Its noble mission of ``economic reforms with a human face,'' which was supposed to offer a contrast to the laissez-faire approach of its predecessor, has degenerated into a please-all strategy of announcing all types of government-spending programs with little thought spared for raising commensurate resources.
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In addition, we know the Government's two pet projects are bringing the caste system into our education system and into our private sector. Instead of trying to get rid of this society of its class heirarchies, from now on our best universities and best companies will ask a prospective employee his/her caste first, and qualifications later.
And now comes this shocker that the government is also trying to control our airwaves. One might say that the government just undertook a successful selloff of many FM frequencies, but what is the point when you have a bloody bureaucrat snooping on every fucking word you say, making sure that you are not critical of the government. Jeez, I knew we wanted to emulate China, but not this way! This blocking of internet media has convinced me that the Congress does not give two hoots about anything but protecting its grip on power. This article is by another blogger, Shivam Vij.
Are Internet Service Providers blocking blogs?
Bloggers in India are getting together to protest against the sudden blocking of popular Google-owned blog-hosting site Blogger by some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Spectranet, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Reliance Powersurfer, Airtel Broadband and Sify.
On July 15, Mridula Dwivedi, a teacher of management studies in Gurgaon first discovered that visiting any blogspot blog -- such as, say Mumbai Help -- returned the message, 'Site Blocked!' Her ISP, Spectranet, confirmed they had blocked some sites based on government directives.
J Grewal, Spectranet's Delhi representative at the National Internet exchange of India, told this reporter that, on July 15, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had sent ISPs a list of sites to be blocked. R H Sharma, senior engineer with MTNL, said the list ran into some 22 pages.
Now, several bloggers have organised themselves into a Bloggers' Collective and are planning to file a Right To Information application to obtain the list.
Anil Saxena of Spectranet confirmed that the list sent by the DoT contained names of particular blogs, but added that Blogspot as a whole had not been blocked. This is contrary to the experience of customers like Dwivedi, who are still unable to view sites hosted on Blogspot, in addition to those on Typepad and Yahoo!'s Geocities. "The list is confidential and I can't make it public," said Saxena.
Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, a body called the Computer Emergency Response Team, or CERT-IN, was created along the lines of similar authorities the world over. Although its main task is in the domain of Internet security, it also oversees Internet censorship under a clause that seeks to ensure 'balanced flow of information.' Any government department seeking a block on any web site has to approach CERT-IN, which then instructs the DoT to block the site after confirming the authenticity of the complaint.
"Such sites may be blocked within the provisions of the Fundamental Right to free speech and expression, granted in India's Constitution," said cyber-law expert Praveen Dalal, adding, "If, however, the blocking is arbitrary, unreasonable and unfair, it would be in violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India."
The trouble is bloggers don't even know which sites the DoT wants blocked. To make matters worse, ISPs seem to be blocking entire domains on which these blogs are hosted.
However, CERT-IN's Director, Dr Gulshan Rai, said he was unaware of the problem and would not be able to respond "off-hand". In a telephone interview, he told this reporter, "Somebody must have blocked some sites. What is your problem?"
Bloggers certainly think of it as a problem though, and are all set to react.
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So here is how this pusillanimous, and devious, government will work. It will not fight your enemies, those looking to hurt you and kill you, but it will try to take away your liberties, it will try to take away your self-respect, and will be bent on reducing you to just member of a divided society to be exploited at will.
At first I dismissed the story with the assumption that its Times of India and they usually jump the gun on a lot of issues. I assumed it is one of their half-researched, sensationalist stories. I think that story was published in a couple of other newspapers as well later, and then there was a news that the various media houses were gathering together to oppose such a bill.
Today, I came across this article about the government's directive to various Internet Service Providers in India to block certain blog sites, including the biggest of them all, www.blogger.com. Incidentally, that is the blogsite I am currently writing in, and the fact that many in India will not be able to read what I am writing is beginning to get under my skin.
Have you noticed a trend in the way the UPA is functioning? Of course, keeping aside the fact that they are gutless and spineless and cheering for the nation's enemies, they are slowly moving towards a more socialist and authoritarian regime?
Sure one will point out examples of the new SEZ laws and the opening of the real estate and everything, but at the same time this one facet of the economy has been heavily diluted by their extreme socialist tendencies in the others. The Common Minimum Programme, as a commentator in Bloomberg.com said, has fizzled into a free-for-all gift fest with the government without a clue as to how the scheme will be bankrolled. Of course, the biggest shocker came when the entire disinvestment process was put on hold because some regional party wanted the money for itself and appease the angry government employees.
Why India Must Sell Only Troubled State Assets: Andy Mukherjee
Economic policy making in India was the casualty last week as the government lost a battle that it shouldn't even have been fighting.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh capitulated to pressure from coalition partners when he scrapped a June 22 Cabinet committee decision to sell 10 percent stakes in two state-owned companies.
Investors would have taken these sales as a sign that Singh's Congress Party government, hamstrung as it is by the obduracy of its coalition partners and Marxist allies, not to mention by the left-leaning sensibilities of its own supreme leader, Sonia Gandhi, still has some room to maneuver.
Now that Singh has blinked, investors are left in no doubt about how much real authority he has.
It was self-defeating. The Common Minimum Program of May 2004, the agenda agreed on by the government and its allies, states that, ``generally, profit-making companies will not be privatized.'' Both National Aluminium and Neyveli Lignite make money.
Singh's government has been far less practical. Its noble mission of ``economic reforms with a human face,'' which was supposed to offer a contrast to the laissez-faire approach of its predecessor, has degenerated into a please-all strategy of announcing all types of government-spending programs with little thought spared for raising commensurate resources.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, we know the Government's two pet projects are bringing the caste system into our education system and into our private sector. Instead of trying to get rid of this society of its class heirarchies, from now on our best universities and best companies will ask a prospective employee his/her caste first, and qualifications later.
And now comes this shocker that the government is also trying to control our airwaves. One might say that the government just undertook a successful selloff of many FM frequencies, but what is the point when you have a bloody bureaucrat snooping on every fucking word you say, making sure that you are not critical of the government. Jeez, I knew we wanted to emulate China, but not this way! This blocking of internet media has convinced me that the Congress does not give two hoots about anything but protecting its grip on power. This article is by another blogger, Shivam Vij.
Are Internet Service Providers blocking blogs?
Bloggers in India are getting together to protest against the sudden blocking of popular Google-owned blog-hosting site Blogger by some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Spectranet, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Reliance Powersurfer, Airtel Broadband and Sify.
On July 15, Mridula Dwivedi, a teacher of management studies in Gurgaon first discovered that visiting any blogspot blog -- such as, say Mumbai Help -- returned the message, 'Site Blocked!' Her ISP, Spectranet, confirmed they had blocked some sites based on government directives.
J Grewal, Spectranet's Delhi representative at the National Internet exchange of India, told this reporter that, on July 15, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had sent ISPs a list of sites to be blocked. R H Sharma, senior engineer with MTNL, said the list ran into some 22 pages.
Now, several bloggers have organised themselves into a Bloggers' Collective and are planning to file a Right To Information application to obtain the list.
Anil Saxena of Spectranet confirmed that the list sent by the DoT contained names of particular blogs, but added that Blogspot as a whole had not been blocked. This is contrary to the experience of customers like Dwivedi, who are still unable to view sites hosted on Blogspot, in addition to those on Typepad and Yahoo!'s Geocities. "The list is confidential and I can't make it public," said Saxena.
Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, a body called the Computer Emergency Response Team, or CERT-IN, was created along the lines of similar authorities the world over. Although its main task is in the domain of Internet security, it also oversees Internet censorship under a clause that seeks to ensure 'balanced flow of information.' Any government department seeking a block on any web site has to approach CERT-IN, which then instructs the DoT to block the site after confirming the authenticity of the complaint.
"Such sites may be blocked within the provisions of the Fundamental Right to free speech and expression, granted in India's Constitution," said cyber-law expert Praveen Dalal, adding, "If, however, the blocking is arbitrary, unreasonable and unfair, it would be in violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India."
The trouble is bloggers don't even know which sites the DoT wants blocked. To make matters worse, ISPs seem to be blocking entire domains on which these blogs are hosted.
However, CERT-IN's Director, Dr Gulshan Rai, said he was unaware of the problem and would not be able to respond "off-hand". In a telephone interview, he told this reporter, "Somebody must have blocked some sites. What is your problem?"
Bloggers certainly think of it as a problem though, and are all set to react.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So here is how this pusillanimous, and devious, government will work. It will not fight your enemies, those looking to hurt you and kill you, but it will try to take away your liberties, it will try to take away your self-respect, and will be bent on reducing you to just member of a divided society to be exploited at will.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Impotency and Indian Government go together
The Government of India is the most pusillanimous, impotent group of people you will ever come across, ever. I know this is a big statement, and I will give you about 3 seconds to let it settle down.
Ha ha, I'm only joking ya! When did we ever doubt their spinelessness? In fact, it is tragedies like these that reinforce my firm belief that the Government of India can be bullied into almost anything. There is a reason why we are taken for granted, its because our governments command no respect.
Look at this picture below. It is a picture of India presenting Pakistan a check of $25 million for the earthquake victims. The ever courteous Pakistan of course said thanks. In fact, they gave a 7 bomb salute to the Indian gesture, and our smug politicians are wondering if they can ever find friends as good as Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Look at the happiness, the love. Oh my goodness, I wish the people of Mumbai and Srinagar see this so they have some warm feelings in their hearts in their time of tragedy. In fact, the people of Kashmir were further rewarded for India's generosity when some terrorist scum gunned down a Hindu family, including an 8 year old girl.
Enough of the sarcasm though. All it does is get my blood boiling and I've been doing that a lot lately. How can anybody justify the murders of children that these animals indulge in? Alright, that is their prerogative, but our prerogative should have been to eliminate such filth from the planet, and yet I see our government just sit there and do nothing. These traitors got rid of the POTA outright. Okay, so POTA had some problems, but its a legislation, and they could have bettered it, amended it, but whatever selfish reason they did it for, for their sake I hope they achieved it.
The hands of the armed forces are tied. True, the army has been investing in high tech equipment to beat the terrorists, but imagine what a strike deep in their camps in our occupied land in Pakistan or in Bangladesh would do. I know these countries would go crying to China at the drop of a hat and I can't understand why our netas are so bloody scared.
Now I present lots of diplospeak by our PM. The tragedy of this government is that Sonia does not let MMS rule even though she made him PM. His cabinet still answers to her, and the rotten apples are still around because they are under her protection. If an ally is unhappy, mostly for the most selfish and foolish reasons, Her Majesty will make sure our progress and security are compromised so the Congress can still lead over this group of thugs.
Hopefully the anger of the people is strong enough this time to make the Government do something.
Peace process frozen till Pak acts on terror: PM
After visiting a blast-rattled Mumbai and meeting some of the victims, who are still recuperating at different hospitals, the Prime Minister declared that the peace process will now remain frozen "till Islamabad starts acting on its assurance to crack down on the terrorist elements in its soil."
"Pakistan has given us this assurance that its territory will not be used for any activity against India. That assurance has to be fulfilled before the peace process moves forward," he said, adding: "The 11/7 blasts are bound to affect relations with Pakistan. In the face of such events happening, it becomes very difficult to maintain normal relations with that country."
He unequivocally announced that the terrorists behind Tuesday's serial blasts in Mumbai were 'supported by elements across the border'. "Without the support from elements across the border, the terrorists would not have been able to carry out strikes with such an effect," he told a press conference.
"No stone will be left unturned" in ensuring that terrorism is eliminated, the Prime Minister declared. He said steps like installation of sophisticated surveillance gadgets at vital installations and high profile establishments would be taken.
Asked about the failure of the intelligence machinery in the runup to the 7/11 blasts, the Prime Minister said: "We had macro-level information. But it was not clear. We have to upgrade our intelligence inputs."
Ha ha, I'm only joking ya! When did we ever doubt their spinelessness? In fact, it is tragedies like these that reinforce my firm belief that the Government of India can be bullied into almost anything. There is a reason why we are taken for granted, its because our governments command no respect.
Look at this picture below. It is a picture of India presenting Pakistan a check of $25 million for the earthquake victims. The ever courteous Pakistan of course said thanks. In fact, they gave a 7 bomb salute to the Indian gesture, and our smug politicians are wondering if they can ever find friends as good as Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Look at the happiness, the love. Oh my goodness, I wish the people of Mumbai and Srinagar see this so they have some warm feelings in their hearts in their time of tragedy. In fact, the people of Kashmir were further rewarded for India's generosity when some terrorist scum gunned down a Hindu family, including an 8 year old girl.
Enough of the sarcasm though. All it does is get my blood boiling and I've been doing that a lot lately. How can anybody justify the murders of children that these animals indulge in? Alright, that is their prerogative, but our prerogative should have been to eliminate such filth from the planet, and yet I see our government just sit there and do nothing. These traitors got rid of the POTA outright. Okay, so POTA had some problems, but its a legislation, and they could have bettered it, amended it, but whatever selfish reason they did it for, for their sake I hope they achieved it.
The hands of the armed forces are tied. True, the army has been investing in high tech equipment to beat the terrorists, but imagine what a strike deep in their camps in our occupied land in Pakistan or in Bangladesh would do. I know these countries would go crying to China at the drop of a hat and I can't understand why our netas are so bloody scared.
Now I present lots of diplospeak by our PM. The tragedy of this government is that Sonia does not let MMS rule even though she made him PM. His cabinet still answers to her, and the rotten apples are still around because they are under her protection. If an ally is unhappy, mostly for the most selfish and foolish reasons, Her Majesty will make sure our progress and security are compromised so the Congress can still lead over this group of thugs.
Hopefully the anger of the people is strong enough this time to make the Government do something.
Peace process frozen till Pak acts on terror: PM
After visiting a blast-rattled Mumbai and meeting some of the victims, who are still recuperating at different hospitals, the Prime Minister declared that the peace process will now remain frozen "till Islamabad starts acting on its assurance to crack down on the terrorist elements in its soil."
"Pakistan has given us this assurance that its territory will not be used for any activity against India. That assurance has to be fulfilled before the peace process moves forward," he said, adding: "The 11/7 blasts are bound to affect relations with Pakistan. In the face of such events happening, it becomes very difficult to maintain normal relations with that country."
He unequivocally announced that the terrorists behind Tuesday's serial blasts in Mumbai were 'supported by elements across the border'. "Without the support from elements across the border, the terrorists would not have been able to carry out strikes with such an effect," he told a press conference.
"No stone will be left unturned" in ensuring that terrorism is eliminated, the Prime Minister declared. He said steps like installation of sophisticated surveillance gadgets at vital installations and high profile establishments would be taken.
Asked about the failure of the intelligence machinery in the runup to the 7/11 blasts, the Prime Minister said: "We had macro-level information. But it was not clear. We have to upgrade our intelligence inputs."
Thursday, July 13, 2006
The gravity of the matter
Mumbai and Srinagar suffered on a dark day in our history. Now begins the finger pointing, and a politically correct response from the pusillanimous government.
Most of the suspicion has been towards the Student Islamic Movement of India, or SIMI. SIMI is a banned organization, but according to media sources, the movement has only been growing. The organization's stronghold is Uttar Pradesh, where, for some strange political motive, they are very well connected to the local political leadership, and very well protected as well.
Like I have said before, Mulayam and the Con'gress are fighting for the same thing, control of Uttar Pradesh, and this is one big reason why both these entities have put their personal gain before the sovereignty of the nation.
Our absolutely clueless Home Minister still refuses to take the names of the organizations and individuals behind this, but would rather talk about our boys who have gone astray. While the country is rotting from within, our political masters still refuse to believe that fact.
SIMI side effect: Mulayam guards 7/11 suspect outfit
A couple of days after the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was suspected to be involved in Mumbai blasts, the Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday came out in strong defence of the organisation saying it was not a terrorist outfit.
"The role of SIMI is under investigation in connection with the Mumbai blasts, but it would be improper to call it as a 'terrorist organisation'," Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said.
Mulayam was simply reiterating what he had told the Centre in June 2005.
"There may be some with dubious distinction in SIMI, but it is wrong to dub the whole organisation as terrorist," senior UP minister and Samajwadi Party general secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav said.
Mulayam has always protected the unlawful body despite the fact that his own intelligence and security agencies have hinted at the fact that SIMI might be involved in the Shramjeevi Express blasts that took place soon after the attack on the disputed site in Ayodhaya and more recently, the Varanasi blasts.
He added that his government had no evidence that SIMI was active in his state and that it was too early to say whether SIMI had any role to play in the 7/11 Mumbai blasts.
Shivpal Singh Yadav alleged previous governments in UP had misused SIMI's name to target some politicians, and termed such measures highly condemnable.
"Even my name alongwith some other SP leaders was framed in the SIMI list," he said.
"We are extremely critical of the Mumbai incident, but at the same time stand against the propoganada against SIMI," he said.
Interestingly, UP had opposed the Centre's ban notice on SIMI sent to the state government on May 22, arguing the organisation was not involved in any activities and neither had it (UP) received any complaint against SIMI.
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And this is an organization that has been banned by the center. Is this ridiculous or what? I hope the people of UP are not as blind to not see the absolute brazenness with which Mulayam and his cohorts are destroying their nation.
The problem is not just SIMI. The problem is that the politicians think that by appeasing the Islamic anti-national elements, they are also appealing the mindset of Indian muslims. This is the biggest farce if there ever was. By doing so, they are implying that Indian Muslims do not love their country as much, they are implying that the Indian Muslims do not owe their allegiences to the flag. This is disrespectful and this is a farce that our minorities need to see through.
The other problem is our reluctance to deal with our neighbors. Bangladesh is becoming a second Pakistan, and soon, it might launch full scale wars on India from its soil, not faught by its soldiers of course, but by terrorists that are trained and supported by its government. Hmm, if Bangladesh had to turn into this fundamentalist, closed and India-hating state less than 40 years after its inception, why did it break free from its parent at all?
then we have this announcement:
Al Qaeda announces presence in J&K
The Al Qaeda terrorist outfit was launched in Jammu and Kashmir with its spokesman making the announcement in a telephone statement to a local news agency, Current News Service.
As per the bulletin issued by the news agency, Abu Hadeed, who claimed to be the spokesman of the outfit said, "The world will soon be made abreast of its aims and objectives."
The spokesman told CNS that Al Qaeda Jammu and Kashmir chief Abu Abdur Rahman Ansari has "expressed happiness over the Mumbai serial blasts and appreciated those who carried out these attacks."
"The Mumbai attacks were a reaction to the oppression in India of minorities in general and Muslims in particular," Hadeed told CNS on phone.
"Today we have laid the foundation of the outfit in Jammu and Kashmir. We will soon make our stand and objectives known to the world," he told the news agency.
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I dont have much to write, except calling the people of the nation to wake up and see through this politician's plot to compromise our security and brotherhood for their personal gains. Their gutless character is a threat to us all.
Most of the suspicion has been towards the Student Islamic Movement of India, or SIMI. SIMI is a banned organization, but according to media sources, the movement has only been growing. The organization's stronghold is Uttar Pradesh, where, for some strange political motive, they are very well connected to the local political leadership, and very well protected as well.
Like I have said before, Mulayam and the Con'gress are fighting for the same thing, control of Uttar Pradesh, and this is one big reason why both these entities have put their personal gain before the sovereignty of the nation.
Our absolutely clueless Home Minister still refuses to take the names of the organizations and individuals behind this, but would rather talk about our boys who have gone astray. While the country is rotting from within, our political masters still refuse to believe that fact.
SIMI side effect: Mulayam guards 7/11 suspect outfit
A couple of days after the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was suspected to be involved in Mumbai blasts, the Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday came out in strong defence of the organisation saying it was not a terrorist outfit.
"The role of SIMI is under investigation in connection with the Mumbai blasts, but it would be improper to call it as a 'terrorist organisation'," Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said.
Mulayam was simply reiterating what he had told the Centre in June 2005.
"There may be some with dubious distinction in SIMI, but it is wrong to dub the whole organisation as terrorist," senior UP minister and Samajwadi Party general secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav said.
Mulayam has always protected the unlawful body despite the fact that his own intelligence and security agencies have hinted at the fact that SIMI might be involved in the Shramjeevi Express blasts that took place soon after the attack on the disputed site in Ayodhaya and more recently, the Varanasi blasts.
He added that his government had no evidence that SIMI was active in his state and that it was too early to say whether SIMI had any role to play in the 7/11 Mumbai blasts.
Shivpal Singh Yadav alleged previous governments in UP had misused SIMI's name to target some politicians, and termed such measures highly condemnable.
"Even my name alongwith some other SP leaders was framed in the SIMI list," he said.
"We are extremely critical of the Mumbai incident, but at the same time stand against the propoganada against SIMI," he said.
Interestingly, UP had opposed the Centre's ban notice on SIMI sent to the state government on May 22, arguing the organisation was not involved in any activities and neither had it (UP) received any complaint against SIMI.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
And this is an organization that has been banned by the center. Is this ridiculous or what? I hope the people of UP are not as blind to not see the absolute brazenness with which Mulayam and his cohorts are destroying their nation.
The problem is not just SIMI. The problem is that the politicians think that by appeasing the Islamic anti-national elements, they are also appealing the mindset of Indian muslims. This is the biggest farce if there ever was. By doing so, they are implying that Indian Muslims do not love their country as much, they are implying that the Indian Muslims do not owe their allegiences to the flag. This is disrespectful and this is a farce that our minorities need to see through.
The other problem is our reluctance to deal with our neighbors. Bangladesh is becoming a second Pakistan, and soon, it might launch full scale wars on India from its soil, not faught by its soldiers of course, but by terrorists that are trained and supported by its government. Hmm, if Bangladesh had to turn into this fundamentalist, closed and India-hating state less than 40 years after its inception, why did it break free from its parent at all?
then we have this announcement:
Al Qaeda announces presence in J&K
The Al Qaeda terrorist outfit was launched in Jammu and Kashmir with its spokesman making the announcement in a telephone statement to a local news agency, Current News Service.
As per the bulletin issued by the news agency, Abu Hadeed, who claimed to be the spokesman of the outfit said, "The world will soon be made abreast of its aims and objectives."
The spokesman told CNS that Al Qaeda Jammu and Kashmir chief Abu Abdur Rahman Ansari has "expressed happiness over the Mumbai serial blasts and appreciated those who carried out these attacks."
"The Mumbai attacks were a reaction to the oppression in India of minorities in general and Muslims in particular," Hadeed told CNS on phone.
"Today we have laid the foundation of the outfit in Jammu and Kashmir. We will soon make our stand and objectives known to the world," he told the news agency.
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I dont have much to write, except calling the people of the nation to wake up and see through this politician's plot to compromise our security and brotherhood for their personal gains. Their gutless character is a threat to us all.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Mumbai suffers again
Yesterday was a black day for Mumbai, Srinagar, for India, and for peace. Tourists were attacked in Srinagar by terrorists with hand grenades, and at least 8 deaths have been reported.
In Mumbai, terrorists blew up the western suburban commuter rail line, killing close to 200 people. The Home Secretary, V N Duggal, has said we must maintain calm and India must not derail the peace process.
Her Majesty the Queen rushed to Mumbai, and the government did what it does best in times of tragedy; promise compensation to the dead and wounded.
India's resilience has been tested time and time again, and the unity and brotherhood shown by the man on the street has always been able to overcome these adversities. Not so when you speak of the Indian politicians. This species is probably the most gutless species that God has created on the face of this earth.
This whole nation is filled with anguish, anger and frustration at this moment, but for most of us, we also realize that this government will not do anything about it. They will shed crocodile tears, speak gently, and forget about it. After all, India's relations with China and Pakistan are much more important than the lives of a few hundred Indians.
All the forums I am a member of have filled pages after pages of frustrated forumers who know all these promises of a fitting reply that these monkeys make will come to nothing. They never have.
Rajinder Puri makes some connections with the mess that the government has created in Kashmir.
Have terrorists declared war on India?
Consider the broad facts. A series of terrorist blasts occurred in Mumbai and Kashmir on the same day. More than half a dozen innocents died in Kashmir. The Mumbai blasts claimed over a hundred victims. The victims in Kashmir were mostly, if not, exclusively tourists. At the critical time in Mumbai ~ peak hour on the suburban rail network ~ the mobile phone system was jammed.
And yet the Union home secretary was quoted as having said that there was no connection between the terror in Kashmir and in Mumbai. How does he know? Was such synchronised terror pure coincidence?
The Union home minister said that Mrs Sonia Gandhi had been informed. It’s good that the Central government did not forget its priorities. The Kashmir government spokesman said that the terrorist blasts had been planned to divert attention from the PoK elections. Was any great attention being paid to those polls?
On November 2, 2005, this columnist wrote in The Statesman: “Just four days before Ghulam Nabi Azad takes over as chief minister, serial bomb blasts in a major terrorist attack have killed scores of shoppers in Delhi markets. Was this the work of terrorists ranged against the Indo-Pak peace talks? If so, why now, and why in Delhi? Is this attack a message to Kashmiris: ‘See? India could not tolerate a Kashmir-based government. Delhi must directly rule Kashmir. So forget autonomy. Fight for separation. Now onward our attacks will be focused on India, not Kashmir!’”
Could this be the start of something much bigger? In other words, not terrorism in Kashmir but a full-fledged terrorist war against India? If so, the elements that back the so-called jihadis are making their final, desperate attempt. And they might get much more than they bargained for. The consequences of this action could end up altering the map of South Asia.----------------------------------------------------------
Fuck this jaunt man. The PM is supposed to address this nation, and I dont know what he will say, but i do not what he will not say. He will not say that we will fight, he will refrain from taking the names of the Pak Army because he does not want to derail the peace process and other such bullshit. Tomorrow it will be life as usual, and we will get on with our lives like ants in a colony. The politicians will get back to subverting the system and devising ways to further divide this country and how to share the spoils of their joint plunder.
The bastards in Congress and the successive governments before that have fully managed to destroy India's internal intelligence resources. Today, the police are too busy pandering to the whims of politicians, standing guard outside their homes, and servicing the demands of their political parties.
The bloody Shiv Sena, the great sons (of bitches) of Maharashtra, were busy raping the city for two days before this tragedy because somebody threw some mud on the bust of Bal Thackrey's dead wife. So the Shiv Sena was busy threatening the police with consequences if the culprits werent caught in 24 hours and all that huffing and puffing. Bastards of the first degree they are. I wonder what it will take for them to channel their resources of destruction and lawlessness towards actually fighting the enemies of the state? Hmm, good question, and my answer is probably nothing. I have already written about what Indian political activism is good for, and its definitely not good for using it to fight for the country.
The less i speak of our clueless Home Minister the better.
"Where is the home minister?"
That was what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked as soon as he landed in Delhi, cutting short his visit to Kolkata after news of the serial blasts in Srinagar and Mumbai shattered the nation.
His anguish was obvious.
Not only has the intelligence apparatus failed, but the home ministry too was caught unawares.
National Security Advisor M K Narayanan now has a lot of explaining to do.
And when Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy said he had no intelligence about the possibility of such an attack, he didn't help Narayanan's case much.
Though Narayanan's increasing involvement in foreign policy and strategic issues may have taken a toll on the attention that he has been paying to internal security, his detractors are expected to step up pressure on him.
If Narayanan's position is not enviable, observers feel Dr Singh's situation is even worse.
Many political analysts agree that the blasts have reminded the nation of the March 12, 1993 blasts and hurt the national consciousness deeply.
They say that while people may not be asking questions right away about who is behind the blasts, there is some frustration that things haven't changed or improved since 1993.
The fact that India has not seen any improvement in curbing terrorism will not escape public scrutiny, they feel.
The ball now lies in the prime minister's court.
Mumbai will wait and watch how he convinces them and the rest of India that he is capable of steering the nation clear of fear and insecurity.
Even if Dr Singh -- already accused of being a 'weak' prime minister -- attempts to show his government's resolve in fighting terror, he will find himself in a Catch-22 situation. Being a pacifist, he cannot entertain war-mongers. Nor does he have the aura or the gift of the gab to wriggle out of the situation, a la his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
But that does not take away from the fact that half his Cabinet behaves like misguided missiles about which he is unable to do anything.
During such tough times, any sign of support from Congress party president Sonia Gandhi would have boosted the prime minister's spirits and improved the government's image. But Sonia's focus seems to be only on the aam adami and the Congress' electoral prospects.
The Congress party is no better.
Whenever Congress leaders have been questioned about the sloppy manner in which the affairs of the nation are being handled, they throw back the same argument: "The prime minister is on his first and last term. He will sit at home once this government goes. But Soniaji has the responsibility to get votes. How can she allow an economist PM to have his way?"
It is no secret that there is a growing distance between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Singh. A former Cabinet secretary who met the prime minister recently told rediff.com, "Sonia Gandhi is the bankable face in the party. The media is unduly, and sometime foolishly, ignoring the fact that besides the Gandhi family, there is nothing to write home about the Congress. The prime minister is also aware of his weakness and we have to witness the internal dynamics between the two leaders."
The party has realised that the blasts will have a bearing both among voters and within the establishment. In this light, it will be interesting to see what strategy the party adopts for next year's assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sonia Gandhi and her posse of white livered goons will face the music someday, inshallah. Till we learn to vote better and actually demand good governance from these people, we will get filth for choosing filth. What does the Gandhi family want to rule on? A country that is torn apart from the outside and the inside? Come on Mrs. Gandhi, I thought at least you would see the bigger picture. You disappoint me.
In Mumbai, terrorists blew up the western suburban commuter rail line, killing close to 200 people. The Home Secretary, V N Duggal, has said we must maintain calm and India must not derail the peace process.
Her Majesty the Queen rushed to Mumbai, and the government did what it does best in times of tragedy; promise compensation to the dead and wounded.
India's resilience has been tested time and time again, and the unity and brotherhood shown by the man on the street has always been able to overcome these adversities. Not so when you speak of the Indian politicians. This species is probably the most gutless species that God has created on the face of this earth.
This whole nation is filled with anguish, anger and frustration at this moment, but for most of us, we also realize that this government will not do anything about it. They will shed crocodile tears, speak gently, and forget about it. After all, India's relations with China and Pakistan are much more important than the lives of a few hundred Indians.
All the forums I am a member of have filled pages after pages of frustrated forumers who know all these promises of a fitting reply that these monkeys make will come to nothing. They never have.
Rajinder Puri makes some connections with the mess that the government has created in Kashmir.
Have terrorists declared war on India?
Consider the broad facts. A series of terrorist blasts occurred in Mumbai and Kashmir on the same day. More than half a dozen innocents died in Kashmir. The Mumbai blasts claimed over a hundred victims. The victims in Kashmir were mostly, if not, exclusively tourists. At the critical time in Mumbai ~ peak hour on the suburban rail network ~ the mobile phone system was jammed.
And yet the Union home secretary was quoted as having said that there was no connection between the terror in Kashmir and in Mumbai. How does he know? Was such synchronised terror pure coincidence?
The Union home minister said that Mrs Sonia Gandhi had been informed. It’s good that the Central government did not forget its priorities. The Kashmir government spokesman said that the terrorist blasts had been planned to divert attention from the PoK elections. Was any great attention being paid to those polls?
On November 2, 2005, this columnist wrote in The Statesman: “Just four days before Ghulam Nabi Azad takes over as chief minister, serial bomb blasts in a major terrorist attack have killed scores of shoppers in Delhi markets. Was this the work of terrorists ranged against the Indo-Pak peace talks? If so, why now, and why in Delhi? Is this attack a message to Kashmiris: ‘See? India could not tolerate a Kashmir-based government. Delhi must directly rule Kashmir. So forget autonomy. Fight for separation. Now onward our attacks will be focused on India, not Kashmir!’”
Could this be the start of something much bigger? In other words, not terrorism in Kashmir but a full-fledged terrorist war against India? If so, the elements that back the so-called jihadis are making their final, desperate attempt. And they might get much more than they bargained for. The consequences of this action could end up altering the map of South Asia.----------------------------------------------------------
Fuck this jaunt man. The PM is supposed to address this nation, and I dont know what he will say, but i do not what he will not say. He will not say that we will fight, he will refrain from taking the names of the Pak Army because he does not want to derail the peace process and other such bullshit. Tomorrow it will be life as usual, and we will get on with our lives like ants in a colony. The politicians will get back to subverting the system and devising ways to further divide this country and how to share the spoils of their joint plunder.
The bastards in Congress and the successive governments before that have fully managed to destroy India's internal intelligence resources. Today, the police are too busy pandering to the whims of politicians, standing guard outside their homes, and servicing the demands of their political parties.
The bloody Shiv Sena, the great sons (of bitches) of Maharashtra, were busy raping the city for two days before this tragedy because somebody threw some mud on the bust of Bal Thackrey's dead wife. So the Shiv Sena was busy threatening the police with consequences if the culprits werent caught in 24 hours and all that huffing and puffing. Bastards of the first degree they are. I wonder what it will take for them to channel their resources of destruction and lawlessness towards actually fighting the enemies of the state? Hmm, good question, and my answer is probably nothing. I have already written about what Indian political activism is good for, and its definitely not good for using it to fight for the country.
The less i speak of our clueless Home Minister the better.
"Where is the home minister?"
That was what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked as soon as he landed in Delhi, cutting short his visit to Kolkata after news of the serial blasts in Srinagar and Mumbai shattered the nation.
His anguish was obvious.
Not only has the intelligence apparatus failed, but the home ministry too was caught unawares.
National Security Advisor M K Narayanan now has a lot of explaining to do.
And when Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy said he had no intelligence about the possibility of such an attack, he didn't help Narayanan's case much.
Though Narayanan's increasing involvement in foreign policy and strategic issues may have taken a toll on the attention that he has been paying to internal security, his detractors are expected to step up pressure on him.
If Narayanan's position is not enviable, observers feel Dr Singh's situation is even worse.
Many political analysts agree that the blasts have reminded the nation of the March 12, 1993 blasts and hurt the national consciousness deeply.
They say that while people may not be asking questions right away about who is behind the blasts, there is some frustration that things haven't changed or improved since 1993.
The fact that India has not seen any improvement in curbing terrorism will not escape public scrutiny, they feel.
The ball now lies in the prime minister's court.
Mumbai will wait and watch how he convinces them and the rest of India that he is capable of steering the nation clear of fear and insecurity.
Even if Dr Singh -- already accused of being a 'weak' prime minister -- attempts to show his government's resolve in fighting terror, he will find himself in a Catch-22 situation. Being a pacifist, he cannot entertain war-mongers. Nor does he have the aura or the gift of the gab to wriggle out of the situation, a la his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
But that does not take away from the fact that half his Cabinet behaves like misguided missiles about which he is unable to do anything.
During such tough times, any sign of support from Congress party president Sonia Gandhi would have boosted the prime minister's spirits and improved the government's image. But Sonia's focus seems to be only on the aam adami and the Congress' electoral prospects.
The Congress party is no better.
Whenever Congress leaders have been questioned about the sloppy manner in which the affairs of the nation are being handled, they throw back the same argument: "The prime minister is on his first and last term. He will sit at home once this government goes. But Soniaji has the responsibility to get votes. How can she allow an economist PM to have his way?"
It is no secret that there is a growing distance between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Singh. A former Cabinet secretary who met the prime minister recently told rediff.com, "Sonia Gandhi is the bankable face in the party. The media is unduly, and sometime foolishly, ignoring the fact that besides the Gandhi family, there is nothing to write home about the Congress. The prime minister is also aware of his weakness and we have to witness the internal dynamics between the two leaders."
The party has realised that the blasts will have a bearing both among voters and within the establishment. In this light, it will be interesting to see what strategy the party adopts for next year's assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sonia Gandhi and her posse of white livered goons will face the music someday, inshallah. Till we learn to vote better and actually demand good governance from these people, we will get filth for choosing filth. What does the Gandhi family want to rule on? A country that is torn apart from the outside and the inside? Come on Mrs. Gandhi, I thought at least you would see the bigger picture. You disappoint me.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Two shocks in a week: Agni III & GSLV F-02
So the last few days have been big for the Indian scientific establishment. Remember the Agni III that the Government was so reluctant to allow the DRDO to test because it didn't want to jeopardize our seemingly good relations with our neighbors? Well, something changed in this time period and Agni III was finally tested, but unfortunately, the first test was unsuccessful.
Then a few days later ISRO launched India's heaviest yet satellite, the INSAT 4C, from its GSLV family of rockets at the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota, and unfortunately, the rocket erupted into a ball of flames shortly after take off. This was ISRO's first unsuccessful launch in more than a decade. ISRO has had 12 successful launches before this failure, although some newspapers have put the number at 11 successful launches. The point is that everyone took successful launches by ISRO for granted, and now that we have had an unsuccessful launch, everyone's baying for ISRO's blood.
Its funny to see the number of ignorant people on the internet, and its tragi-comic to see that most of that group who are asking for limits on ISRO's future funding and research are Indian. If they only knew better.
Being a culture that is steeped in heirarchies and the importance of one's society around it, I think we suffer from a strong case of the "Log Kya Kahenge" Syndrome. In Hindi, it means, 'what will people say?' I think Indian entrepreneurship was never really able to take off for most of last century for precisely this reason, that many people were afraid of failures, and that the society came down hard on people who tried new things. Globalization and an open economy changed many of those mindsets, and it is encouraging to see enterprising young men and women springing up in every city and town. How that relates to this discussion is because of the apparent anguish that many Indians have about what the rest of the world will say with two unsuccessful attempts.
Another ignorant view that many have is that somehow cutting funds from India's defence and space research will mean more funds for India's education and healthcare sectors. Ahh pure bull. Today, the USA is where it is, i.e at the top of the world, because they are not shy to experiment. The sign of a great country is the one that learns from its mistakes, and it would really serve our interests well if our national media and bleeding hearts, or social activists, wouldn't be so fucking critical all the time. India's high quality science research should, in fact, be made autonomous, an ever continuing process that is immune from a dirty neta's shenanigans, so this country can focus on its education and healthcare.
what went wrong with the GSLV launch? Let me post one of the better scientific journalists of India's report:
GSLV crashes into Bay of Bengal
SRIHARIKOTA (Andhra Pradesh): The launch of the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle, GSLV-F02, ended in failure when it crashed into the Bay of Bengal about 60 seconds after take-off at 5.38 p.m. on Monday.
The Range Safety Officer at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here pressed the "destruct" button to prevent debris from falling on land and injuring people. The vehicle was destroyed after its trajectory went beyond the normal limits.
The GSLV-F02, 49 metres high and weighing 414 tonnes, was to have put in orbit communication satellite INSAT-4C.
G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, told reporters that the failure was "one of the rarest phenomena." The problem developed during the first stage. Pressure in one of the four strap-on motors dropped to zero; "that means, it [the motor] was not developing thrust." Though the other three strap-on motors performed well, control of the vehicle became an issue.
The ISRO chief repeatedly stressed that the failure was not due to any design flaw. "This event took place after lift-off."
The lift-off, first set to take place at 4.38 p.m., was delayed by an hour as a safety valve in one of the pumps did not reseal when the third stage of the vehicle was being filled with cryogenic propellants. A team was sent to repair it.
After 40 seconds of lift-off, there was a divergence of 10 degrees of angular error in the trajectory of the vehicle. Four degrees of angular error is the normal limit.
Mr. Nair said the ISRO would go through the data available from the flight. "We will pinpoint the failure. We will take corrective action. Within a year, we will have the GSLV up again."
He denied that the mission failed because the vehicle was carrying the heaviest satellite ever by an ISRO vehicle so far. The weight of satellites had been gradually stepped up, but the three previous flights were successful.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
And what went wrong with the AGNI III? Lets find out...
DRDO will go ahead with more tests despite failure of Agni-III
"An exhausitve analysis of the missile test launch telemitry data is being conducted by scientists to point out whether the flaw was in design, manufacture or assembly of the country's 3,500 kms range missile", highly placed DRDO sources said here.
"It is apparent that the separation of the first and second stage did not occur which led to the missile going haywire from target and plunging into the sea, far short of its intended target", they said.
"The telemitry data report on the causes of failure would be tabulated and submitted to Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee within two days and later action taken on it", DRDO sources said.
"But, we mean to go ahead with more tests after analysing the data. DRDO sources said pointing out "It was our first experiment with such a long range missile and in the next few days, we will analyse faults in order to rectify them." They said the entire data of the testing of the missile from its launch to a snag developing in the second stage was being analysed and "we are confident of pinpointing it".
Prior to the launch of the missile, DRDO scientists had carried out cold-bed trials of critical components and sub-systems of missile and this would enable pinpointing of the snag.
"We have some more new technologies in Agni III. We have been testing them one by one during May and June", the sources said.
He said that DRDO was no stranger to solid fuel technology as many of the earlier Agni range missiles were totally solid fuel. "I am sure that telemitry analysis of the test launch would give clues to the organisation to rectify the faults".
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the time when most of the media and its pseudo-intellectuals are busy writing the obituaries for ISRO, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks of reason and that nobody is immune from failure. I only wish the media would stop making such a big deal out of it. There is only one thing to these episodes; find out what went wrong, rectify 'em, and test again. Repeat the cycle and induct them when you are sure they are working fine.
And maybe ISRO and DRDO should be selective in the information they provide to the media, because the media doesnt know what to do with it. I think missile tests and space launches the world over are secret stuff, and the media is allowed in only selectively. We have been too generous.
6 lessons that ISRO can teach
ISRO is symptomatic of most government-owned and -driven projects -- progress in fits and starts, starved budgets, talent shortages and even spectacular flameouts. Not to mention international sanctions.
Yet, its ability to pull through all of this is noteworthy. As I write, the much-awaited Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) launch on Monday evening at Sriharikota has been a failure. This is a setback and a costly one at that. And yet, chances are, ISRO can be trusted to pull back. For the following reasons:
Learning from failure: ISRO has plodded on, only occasionally in the public eye, though, since it was set up in 1969. It turns out that every story of failure is a story of success. Scientists driving the projects, as one former ISRO employee recalled, were never hounded with departmental enquiries if projects failed. Nor are they today.
One of President A P J Abdul Kalam's oft-narrated tales is the one about when then chairman Satish Dhawan had put him in charge of the first satellite launch vehicle project (SLV) 3 in 1973. The SLV-3, with the Rohini satellite, was launched in 1979, but crashed into the Bay of Bengal five minutes later.
At the press conference that followed, Kalam discovered, to his shock, that Dhawan took all the blame for the disaster, despite the SLV 3 being Kalam's baby. A year later, the SLV-3 was launched successfully. And it was time to face the nation once again. Kalam was stunned again -- because this time Dhawan gave him all the credit. Kalam today says this is one piece of education 'which won't come from any university.'
Motivation and peer review: ISRO has a system of peer review and engagement that many private sector companies would find difficult to emulate. Credit for this is attributed mostly to Dhawan. Indeed, while Vikram Sarabhai is the founder of ISRO and the man who injected idealism and fervour into the organisation, Dhawan is remembered, among other things, for bringing in professionalism and processes, and an environment of openness, unheard of at that time.
Self-confidence: Whether it was Kasturirangan or now the current Chairman G Madhavan Nair, ask them where they want to be and the answer is 'on top of the world', and not 'we are trying to catch up, we will work hard.' The body language is of infectious confidence, not the usual bureaucratic arrogance one usually associates with government officials in power.
Take the China threat: While the manufacturing industry is apprehensive, ISRO maintains that India is far ahead in the space race. Despite China launching an astronaut into space, the view in Sriharikota is that India could match it if it desired. 'Our launch capabilities are as good as theirs,' Nair is on record saying.
Budgets and resources: This is a perennial problem with most Indian government organisations. ISRO has turned adversity into an advantage. Years of scavenging have made it the lowest-cost satellite launcher in the world, 35 per cent lower, on average. The Moon Mission (Chandrayaan I) is pegged in the region of Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.50 billion), the average two-year, cost over-run for most government infrastructure projects.
Mission focus: Perhaps, it's the nature of the business. All energies, teams and minds are focused on a single deadline.
Karnik says it's this discrepancy that bothers him most. Why can't we complete an expressway in time, or an airport, when we are executing with such efficiency and focus elsewhere? If ISRO can deliver, why can't the rest, he asks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Setbacks, yes, but a failure for Indian science? Only if we cannot learn from our mistakes.
Then a few days later ISRO launched India's heaviest yet satellite, the INSAT 4C, from its GSLV family of rockets at the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota, and unfortunately, the rocket erupted into a ball of flames shortly after take off. This was ISRO's first unsuccessful launch in more than a decade. ISRO has had 12 successful launches before this failure, although some newspapers have put the number at 11 successful launches. The point is that everyone took successful launches by ISRO for granted, and now that we have had an unsuccessful launch, everyone's baying for ISRO's blood.
Its funny to see the number of ignorant people on the internet, and its tragi-comic to see that most of that group who are asking for limits on ISRO's future funding and research are Indian. If they only knew better.
Being a culture that is steeped in heirarchies and the importance of one's society around it, I think we suffer from a strong case of the "Log Kya Kahenge" Syndrome. In Hindi, it means, 'what will people say?' I think Indian entrepreneurship was never really able to take off for most of last century for precisely this reason, that many people were afraid of failures, and that the society came down hard on people who tried new things. Globalization and an open economy changed many of those mindsets, and it is encouraging to see enterprising young men and women springing up in every city and town. How that relates to this discussion is because of the apparent anguish that many Indians have about what the rest of the world will say with two unsuccessful attempts.
Another ignorant view that many have is that somehow cutting funds from India's defence and space research will mean more funds for India's education and healthcare sectors. Ahh pure bull. Today, the USA is where it is, i.e at the top of the world, because they are not shy to experiment. The sign of a great country is the one that learns from its mistakes, and it would really serve our interests well if our national media and bleeding hearts, or social activists, wouldn't be so fucking critical all the time. India's high quality science research should, in fact, be made autonomous, an ever continuing process that is immune from a dirty neta's shenanigans, so this country can focus on its education and healthcare.
what went wrong with the GSLV launch? Let me post one of the better scientific journalists of India's report:
GSLV crashes into Bay of Bengal
SRIHARIKOTA (Andhra Pradesh): The launch of the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle, GSLV-F02, ended in failure when it crashed into the Bay of Bengal about 60 seconds after take-off at 5.38 p.m. on Monday.
The Range Safety Officer at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here pressed the "destruct" button to prevent debris from falling on land and injuring people. The vehicle was destroyed after its trajectory went beyond the normal limits.
The GSLV-F02, 49 metres high and weighing 414 tonnes, was to have put in orbit communication satellite INSAT-4C.
G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, told reporters that the failure was "one of the rarest phenomena." The problem developed during the first stage. Pressure in one of the four strap-on motors dropped to zero; "that means, it [the motor] was not developing thrust." Though the other three strap-on motors performed well, control of the vehicle became an issue.
The ISRO chief repeatedly stressed that the failure was not due to any design flaw. "This event took place after lift-off."
The lift-off, first set to take place at 4.38 p.m., was delayed by an hour as a safety valve in one of the pumps did not reseal when the third stage of the vehicle was being filled with cryogenic propellants. A team was sent to repair it.
After 40 seconds of lift-off, there was a divergence of 10 degrees of angular error in the trajectory of the vehicle. Four degrees of angular error is the normal limit.
Mr. Nair said the ISRO would go through the data available from the flight. "We will pinpoint the failure. We will take corrective action. Within a year, we will have the GSLV up again."
He denied that the mission failed because the vehicle was carrying the heaviest satellite ever by an ISRO vehicle so far. The weight of satellites had been gradually stepped up, but the three previous flights were successful.
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And what went wrong with the AGNI III? Lets find out...
DRDO will go ahead with more tests despite failure of Agni-III
"An exhausitve analysis of the missile test launch telemitry data is being conducted by scientists to point out whether the flaw was in design, manufacture or assembly of the country's 3,500 kms range missile", highly placed DRDO sources said here.
"It is apparent that the separation of the first and second stage did not occur which led to the missile going haywire from target and plunging into the sea, far short of its intended target", they said.
"The telemitry data report on the causes of failure would be tabulated and submitted to Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee within two days and later action taken on it", DRDO sources said.
"But, we mean to go ahead with more tests after analysing the data. DRDO sources said pointing out "It was our first experiment with such a long range missile and in the next few days, we will analyse faults in order to rectify them." They said the entire data of the testing of the missile from its launch to a snag developing in the second stage was being analysed and "we are confident of pinpointing it".
Prior to the launch of the missile, DRDO scientists had carried out cold-bed trials of critical components and sub-systems of missile and this would enable pinpointing of the snag.
"We have some more new technologies in Agni III. We have been testing them one by one during May and June", the sources said.
He said that DRDO was no stranger to solid fuel technology as many of the earlier Agni range missiles were totally solid fuel. "I am sure that telemitry analysis of the test launch would give clues to the organisation to rectify the faults".
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In the time when most of the media and its pseudo-intellectuals are busy writing the obituaries for ISRO, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks of reason and that nobody is immune from failure. I only wish the media would stop making such a big deal out of it. There is only one thing to these episodes; find out what went wrong, rectify 'em, and test again. Repeat the cycle and induct them when you are sure they are working fine.
And maybe ISRO and DRDO should be selective in the information they provide to the media, because the media doesnt know what to do with it. I think missile tests and space launches the world over are secret stuff, and the media is allowed in only selectively. We have been too generous.
6 lessons that ISRO can teach
ISRO is symptomatic of most government-owned and -driven projects -- progress in fits and starts, starved budgets, talent shortages and even spectacular flameouts. Not to mention international sanctions.
Yet, its ability to pull through all of this is noteworthy. As I write, the much-awaited Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) launch on Monday evening at Sriharikota has been a failure. This is a setback and a costly one at that. And yet, chances are, ISRO can be trusted to pull back. For the following reasons:
Learning from failure: ISRO has plodded on, only occasionally in the public eye, though, since it was set up in 1969. It turns out that every story of failure is a story of success. Scientists driving the projects, as one former ISRO employee recalled, were never hounded with departmental enquiries if projects failed. Nor are they today.
One of President A P J Abdul Kalam's oft-narrated tales is the one about when then chairman Satish Dhawan had put him in charge of the first satellite launch vehicle project (SLV) 3 in 1973. The SLV-3, with the Rohini satellite, was launched in 1979, but crashed into the Bay of Bengal five minutes later.
At the press conference that followed, Kalam discovered, to his shock, that Dhawan took all the blame for the disaster, despite the SLV 3 being Kalam's baby. A year later, the SLV-3 was launched successfully. And it was time to face the nation once again. Kalam was stunned again -- because this time Dhawan gave him all the credit. Kalam today says this is one piece of education 'which won't come from any university.'
Motivation and peer review: ISRO has a system of peer review and engagement that many private sector companies would find difficult to emulate. Credit for this is attributed mostly to Dhawan. Indeed, while Vikram Sarabhai is the founder of ISRO and the man who injected idealism and fervour into the organisation, Dhawan is remembered, among other things, for bringing in professionalism and processes, and an environment of openness, unheard of at that time.
Self-confidence: Whether it was Kasturirangan or now the current Chairman G Madhavan Nair, ask them where they want to be and the answer is 'on top of the world', and not 'we are trying to catch up, we will work hard.' The body language is of infectious confidence, not the usual bureaucratic arrogance one usually associates with government officials in power.
Take the China threat: While the manufacturing industry is apprehensive, ISRO maintains that India is far ahead in the space race. Despite China launching an astronaut into space, the view in Sriharikota is that India could match it if it desired. 'Our launch capabilities are as good as theirs,' Nair is on record saying.
Budgets and resources: This is a perennial problem with most Indian government organisations. ISRO has turned adversity into an advantage. Years of scavenging have made it the lowest-cost satellite launcher in the world, 35 per cent lower, on average. The Moon Mission (Chandrayaan I) is pegged in the region of Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.50 billion), the average two-year, cost over-run for most government infrastructure projects.
Mission focus: Perhaps, it's the nature of the business. All energies, teams and minds are focused on a single deadline.
Karnik says it's this discrepancy that bothers him most. Why can't we complete an expressway in time, or an airport, when we are executing with such efficiency and focus elsewhere? If ISRO can deliver, why can't the rest, he asks.
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Setbacks, yes, but a failure for Indian science? Only if we cannot learn from our mistakes.
Monday, July 10, 2006
the courts vs. the Government, again
Never in my recent memory have I seen the government at the center and the courts, including the Supreme and the state High Courts, go against each other as I have seen during this current regime. To my naked eye, it seems that the only wall that stands between the government and its absolute power over the country.
The President has been able to form a wall too, to an extent, but that is the post of the President, and the constitution has not been designed to give that post any powers against a democratically elected government. Had Dr. Ambedkar and the rest of our forefathers seen the sub-standard generations of politicians we have been producing ever since, I am sure they would have liked to provide more powers to that post. I am sure they would have cried to see the way our current 'elected representatives' have exploited this country and made a mockery of this entire process we called democracy. And the sad thing is that I am still blaming them when I along with the rest of the country should be blaming myself for actually putting them there.
Earlier this month I had written about the Government's attempt to take a hold of the autonomous AIIMS. They did this by putting the health minister and his cronies in high places, and then they removed the Director, Dr. P Venugopal. Apparently someone remembered that last they heard, AIIMS was still an autonomous institution, and the High Court of Delhi has stopped the removal of Dr. Venugopal.
Meanwhile, the doctors at AIIMS had continued on their protests, thus affecting the hospital's ability to treat its patients. I think i've been seeing a lot of that lately. The government does something, and the doctors sit on their asses to protest, and some innocent, sick person dies in the aftermath. I can't say I know the solution to the problem, but I can see the irony in this. Indians are best when they fight with themselves, otherwise they'll be peaceniks for the rest of the world. Look at the way India behaves with its crappy neighbors like Bangladesh and Pakistan, look at the way its politicians cower in front of China and others, but when it comes to inflicting harm on our own people, we are professional grade.
Recently a bust of Bal Thackrey's dead wife was vadalized, and true to their terroristic mindset, the Shiv Sena did what it does best, beat Mumbai to a pulp. Burning buses, shutting down shops, beating people, yes, the trademarks of a Shiv Sena protests, they were all there. I'm mentioning this here because I think it would be sacrilageous of me to even imagine that if all these fundoos and hypocrites actually got together and tried to make Mumbai a better place, or better still, actually used their violence to hunt down the dons of the underworld that have the city in their grip. Nah, I think that would be setting my hopes too high. Indian political activism is only made for one thing; to cower the government into taking a decision in their favor and keeping the common man scared and inconvenienced. Okay, if we have to stay in the country, then how about taking on the naxals and other forces that have so infested our internal organs that its scary? Nah, I think that is asking for too much too. Lets just stick to burning buses, stopping the railways and beating each other up.
Coming back to the AIIMS story, a report said even the PM and Her Majesty were upset at the Doctor for supporting student protests against the quota plan by the government. Of course they should be, after all you need guts to take a stand on issues, and when you know the Congress bends over backwards to keep its allied parties humored, then it seems pretty easy to arm-twist them into doing whatever you want them to do, ably demonstrated by M. Karunanidhi.
Manmohan, Sonia have been upset with Venugopal
Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss may have earned the wrath of the medical community with his sacking of one of India's best heart surgeons as head of the country's prestigious AIIMS hospital, but the powers that be were unhappy with his handling of the medicos' strike over the quotas issue.
Congress leaders swear that both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party president Sonia Gandhi were "very upset" over All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director P. Venugopal's perceived attempts to encourage the 14-day strike over a month ago against caste-based quotas in institutions of higher education.
Political analysts and party sources insist that Manmohan Singh was maintaining silence over the ouster of Venguopal from the AIIMS due to his unwillingness to interfere in a cabinet minister's decision.
In this particular case, any veto by Manmohan Singh would have also led to taking on an ally, the PMK, which while holding just six seats in parliament has a close relationship with Tamil Nadu's ruling party DMK.
Political analysts, however, did ascribe coalition pressures as one of the key reasons the prime minister has remained silent, publicly at least, in the battle between Ramadoss and Venugopal, leading to the latter's unceremonious sacking on Wednesday.
Said N. Bhaskara Rao, a political observer: "The prime minister seems to be thinking: 'Why should I burn my fingers? Let the Supreme Court decide.'
"After Thursday's developments (when the DMK threatened to pull out of government over New Delhi's decision to offload its shares in two state-owned companies), he is not likely to take any steps that may disturb the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)," Rao said. "It's petty politics against national interest."
"These Congress leaders feel that it is the AIADMK, PMK, MDMK and a few smaller parties that are their natural allies in Tamil Nadu, and not the DMK," said one Congress leader.
"So why should the Congress leadership support a (hospital) official at the cost of a natural ally?"
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So there you have the answer. Why should the government support a Hospital official when it has its own ass to watch out for. Screw you nation, we'd rather stay in power instead.
Delhi HC stays Venugopal's dismissal; doctors to resume work
Bringing the three-day AIIMS high drama to a close for now, the Delhi High Court has stayed the dismissal of the institute's director P Venugopal. The court has also asked the AIIMS governing body to explain within two weeks why the director was dismissed.
The governing body, headed by Union Health Minister A Ramadoss, had sacked Dr Venugopal on Tuesday for violating rule 9 of the conduct rule that prohibits government servants from criticizing the government in the media. On Wednesday, the leading cardiac surgeon moved the High Court against the termination order, pleading that his five-year term could not be cut short thus. The court has directed that there will be no action taken against Dr Venugopal till it is hearing the matter.
As news of the High Court stay became known, jubilant striking doctors indicated that they would go back to work. AIIMS doctors, faculty and medical students have been on strike ever since Venugopal was handed his termination letter.
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My goodness, it is no wonder that the US and India decided to get into a nuclear deal at this juncture. Both their governments have so much in common! They both try to cling to power, undermine the power of other democratic institutions, and basically do whatever they want.
Parliamentary committee deplores move to sack Venugopal
The move to sack AIIMS Director P Venugopal drew sharp reaction at a meeting of a Parliamentary Committee which deplored the action and several members attacked the style of functioning of Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.
JD(U) leader Digvijay Singh even recalled that the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had once said among people who needed to be respected in the country include Venugopal, a renowned cardiologist.
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So much so that in its offensive, the center has called Dr. Venugopal a miserable failure. Funny when this man has more qualifications than half of the cabinet of the Government of India. Now it seems set to go to the Supreme Court, there it will drag on, in the meantime, the UPA might bring in yet some more laws to strengthen its own position, and this story will drag on....
The President has been able to form a wall too, to an extent, but that is the post of the President, and the constitution has not been designed to give that post any powers against a democratically elected government. Had Dr. Ambedkar and the rest of our forefathers seen the sub-standard generations of politicians we have been producing ever since, I am sure they would have liked to provide more powers to that post. I am sure they would have cried to see the way our current 'elected representatives' have exploited this country and made a mockery of this entire process we called democracy. And the sad thing is that I am still blaming them when I along with the rest of the country should be blaming myself for actually putting them there.
Earlier this month I had written about the Government's attempt to take a hold of the autonomous AIIMS. They did this by putting the health minister and his cronies in high places, and then they removed the Director, Dr. P Venugopal. Apparently someone remembered that last they heard, AIIMS was still an autonomous institution, and the High Court of Delhi has stopped the removal of Dr. Venugopal.
Meanwhile, the doctors at AIIMS had continued on their protests, thus affecting the hospital's ability to treat its patients. I think i've been seeing a lot of that lately. The government does something, and the doctors sit on their asses to protest, and some innocent, sick person dies in the aftermath. I can't say I know the solution to the problem, but I can see the irony in this. Indians are best when they fight with themselves, otherwise they'll be peaceniks for the rest of the world. Look at the way India behaves with its crappy neighbors like Bangladesh and Pakistan, look at the way its politicians cower in front of China and others, but when it comes to inflicting harm on our own people, we are professional grade.
Recently a bust of Bal Thackrey's dead wife was vadalized, and true to their terroristic mindset, the Shiv Sena did what it does best, beat Mumbai to a pulp. Burning buses, shutting down shops, beating people, yes, the trademarks of a Shiv Sena protests, they were all there. I'm mentioning this here because I think it would be sacrilageous of me to even imagine that if all these fundoos and hypocrites actually got together and tried to make Mumbai a better place, or better still, actually used their violence to hunt down the dons of the underworld that have the city in their grip. Nah, I think that would be setting my hopes too high. Indian political activism is only made for one thing; to cower the government into taking a decision in their favor and keeping the common man scared and inconvenienced. Okay, if we have to stay in the country, then how about taking on the naxals and other forces that have so infested our internal organs that its scary? Nah, I think that is asking for too much too. Lets just stick to burning buses, stopping the railways and beating each other up.
Coming back to the AIIMS story, a report said even the PM and Her Majesty were upset at the Doctor for supporting student protests against the quota plan by the government. Of course they should be, after all you need guts to take a stand on issues, and when you know the Congress bends over backwards to keep its allied parties humored, then it seems pretty easy to arm-twist them into doing whatever you want them to do, ably demonstrated by M. Karunanidhi.
Manmohan, Sonia have been upset with Venugopal
Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss may have earned the wrath of the medical community with his sacking of one of India's best heart surgeons as head of the country's prestigious AIIMS hospital, but the powers that be were unhappy with his handling of the medicos' strike over the quotas issue.
Congress leaders swear that both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party president Sonia Gandhi were "very upset" over All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director P. Venugopal's perceived attempts to encourage the 14-day strike over a month ago against caste-based quotas in institutions of higher education.
Political analysts and party sources insist that Manmohan Singh was maintaining silence over the ouster of Venguopal from the AIIMS due to his unwillingness to interfere in a cabinet minister's decision.
In this particular case, any veto by Manmohan Singh would have also led to taking on an ally, the PMK, which while holding just six seats in parliament has a close relationship with Tamil Nadu's ruling party DMK.
Political analysts, however, did ascribe coalition pressures as one of the key reasons the prime minister has remained silent, publicly at least, in the battle between Ramadoss and Venugopal, leading to the latter's unceremonious sacking on Wednesday.
Said N. Bhaskara Rao, a political observer: "The prime minister seems to be thinking: 'Why should I burn my fingers? Let the Supreme Court decide.'
"After Thursday's developments (when the DMK threatened to pull out of government over New Delhi's decision to offload its shares in two state-owned companies), he is not likely to take any steps that may disturb the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)," Rao said. "It's petty politics against national interest."
"These Congress leaders feel that it is the AIADMK, PMK, MDMK and a few smaller parties that are their natural allies in Tamil Nadu, and not the DMK," said one Congress leader.
"So why should the Congress leadership support a (hospital) official at the cost of a natural ally?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So there you have the answer. Why should the government support a Hospital official when it has its own ass to watch out for. Screw you nation, we'd rather stay in power instead.
Delhi HC stays Venugopal's dismissal; doctors to resume work
Bringing the three-day AIIMS high drama to a close for now, the Delhi High Court has stayed the dismissal of the institute's director P Venugopal. The court has also asked the AIIMS governing body to explain within two weeks why the director was dismissed.
The governing body, headed by Union Health Minister A Ramadoss, had sacked Dr Venugopal on Tuesday for violating rule 9 of the conduct rule that prohibits government servants from criticizing the government in the media. On Wednesday, the leading cardiac surgeon moved the High Court against the termination order, pleading that his five-year term could not be cut short thus. The court has directed that there will be no action taken against Dr Venugopal till it is hearing the matter.
As news of the High Court stay became known, jubilant striking doctors indicated that they would go back to work. AIIMS doctors, faculty and medical students have been on strike ever since Venugopal was handed his termination letter.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
My goodness, it is no wonder that the US and India decided to get into a nuclear deal at this juncture. Both their governments have so much in common! They both try to cling to power, undermine the power of other democratic institutions, and basically do whatever they want.
Parliamentary committee deplores move to sack Venugopal
The move to sack AIIMS Director P Venugopal drew sharp reaction at a meeting of a Parliamentary Committee which deplored the action and several members attacked the style of functioning of Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.
JD(U) leader Digvijay Singh even recalled that the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had once said among people who needed to be respected in the country include Venugopal, a renowned cardiologist.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
So much so that in its offensive, the center has called Dr. Venugopal a miserable failure. Funny when this man has more qualifications than half of the cabinet of the Government of India. Now it seems set to go to the Supreme Court, there it will drag on, in the meantime, the UPA might bring in yet some more laws to strengthen its own position, and this story will drag on....
Friday, July 07, 2006
Poor disinvestment
When the DMK came into power in Tamil Nadu, they did so riding on the many illogical promises they made during the campaign. They promised free TV's, cheaper grain, and lots of other free stuff, oh, including free electricity.
Then the DMK formed the government, and the question arose, how are we going to accomplish all these things with our limited money? I don't know the solutions they came up with for most of their promises, but I think they are planning to set up a TV factory in the state to build television sets to be distributed to the poor. All this is just to give everyone the idea of what kind of a mentality the DMK, much like most of India's regional parties, possesses.
So yesterday I heard the news that the Prime Minister had halted the entire disinvestment process that was underway, barring some. Why? Because the DMK which we spoke of is also a part of the United Progressive Alliance, and they threatened to pull out of the center if the Government decided to sell off the Neyvali Lignite Corporation, which is based in Tamil Nadu. The Commies, ever willing to stall any economic liberalization, readily aligned themselves with DMK.
So how much was the government planning to disinvest in NLC? Not 100, not 50 but a mere 10%! If a mere 10% disinvestment can light such a big fire under these peanut brained politicians, imagine if India indeed undertook economic liberalization at a much greater pace to replicate the Chinese success. This is the exact reason this is not happening, because all PSU's are full of unions, aligned with this party or the other, and because they have always worked in the luxury of an almost permanent job guarantee and almost never having to put in a really hard day's work, anything that would have changed this status quo would be seen as against their immediate interests.
The government is meant for running the affairs of the country, and not running its companies. While the government was needed to provide the stilts on which this country could grow in the middle of last century, it is now pretty obvious that India does not need those stilts as much as it needed then. The private sector is growing by leaps and bounds, and the Government, or rather the numerous small minded politicians should look at this as a welcome step in the country's growth, but unfortunately, it is now more about protecting their turfs.
So disinvestment brings the better business practices of the private sector, and it brings money to the government, but if that means a few disgruntled and incompetent employees, then you can be sure its red flags in the mind of the politician. You see, 99% of India's politicians can't see the big picture. They have never been required to do so, and they never will.
Farewell Disinvestment
Prime Minister Manomohan Singh on Tuesday put on hold all selloff decisions and proposals after Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK supremo M Karunanidhi threatened to withdraw his party’s support to the UPA government over its decision to divest 10% in Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC). The reversal has come barely a fortnight after the Cabinet decided to sell 10% stake in NLC and Nalco, putting a question mark on other reform initiatives.
Although a terse statement issued by the PM’s media adviser did not say it in as many words, senior government officials confirmed to FE that even the ongoing process of disinvesting 10% stake in Power Finance Corporation and 15% in NMDC would now be halted.
While sale of stakes in these four PSUs — PFC, NMDC, NALCO and NLC — were cleared by the Cabinet, the government was considering divestment in a host of other PSUs including Coal India Ltd, BSNL, Concor and Shipping Corportion of India.
Withdrawal of support by the DMK, which has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha, would not have led to the government’s collapse, but given the pro-active support the Left parties (with 60 MPs) extended to the DMK move, the Prime Minister obviously thought he could ill- afford a risk.
This is the second major setback to the UPA government’s disinvestment process. Last year, it had virtually abandoned the decision to divest 10% stake in BHEL, as the Left parties protested and also pulled out of the UPA-Left coordination committee.
------------------------------------------------------------
Local politicians couldn't give two hoots about the economy, and if the stock exchanges welcome the move by going into the red, what do they care? Similarly, India's flip-flops on its liberalization will not go down with the rest of the world. If India is aiming to be a global economy, it should act like one. India has been very unpredictable in its entire disinvestment process, much thanks to coalition politics. Newspapers from all over the world now report India's economic news, and this latest u-turn by the Government of India has not gone unnoticed. Why should any company invest in a country where its own Government can't control its ranks, let alone trying to manage an entire nation.
As for the CPI, I don't want to give any of my blogspace to these monkeys. They are a nuisance and hinderance to our progress and the earlier the people realize this, the better it is. As for the Queen of India, I hope she is repaid in kind for mollycoddling with all these sub-standard people to secure the Congress's hold on power.
India baulks at big sell-off
PROSPECTS for Indian economic reform dimmed on Thursday as the Congress party-led coalition Government bowed to pressure from a junior partner and cancelled recently announced plans for a number of privatisations.
The National Common Minimum Program, the policy blueprint for the UPA that was agreed in May 2004, ruled out the sale of majority stakes in navaratnas - profitable national champions. However, it appeared to leave the Government scope to divest minority stakes.
Political analysts said the reversal of a cabinet decision would further weaken Mr Singh, who - in spite of being hailed as the father of economic reforms in the early 1990s - has struggled to set a direction as Prime Minister since May 2004.
"The Prime Minister is not the man to impress his will on the Government," said Mahesh Rangarajan, a political scientist in New Delhi. "He's a brilliant scholar and incorruptible man, but is simply not schooled in realpolitik."
Just over two years into the Government's term, the Congress party leadership, guided by Sonia Gandhi, has suffered a loss of nerve in recent months and has been forced on to the defensive by the rising price of essential commodities such as pulses.
"Generally, Indian governments only have a window of about two years in which to get things done before they start backing off from tough decisions, but with this Government it's started even earlier," said Mr Rangarajan.
Then the DMK formed the government, and the question arose, how are we going to accomplish all these things with our limited money? I don't know the solutions they came up with for most of their promises, but I think they are planning to set up a TV factory in the state to build television sets to be distributed to the poor. All this is just to give everyone the idea of what kind of a mentality the DMK, much like most of India's regional parties, possesses.
So yesterday I heard the news that the Prime Minister had halted the entire disinvestment process that was underway, barring some. Why? Because the DMK which we spoke of is also a part of the United Progressive Alliance, and they threatened to pull out of the center if the Government decided to sell off the Neyvali Lignite Corporation, which is based in Tamil Nadu. The Commies, ever willing to stall any economic liberalization, readily aligned themselves with DMK.
So how much was the government planning to disinvest in NLC? Not 100, not 50 but a mere 10%! If a mere 10% disinvestment can light such a big fire under these peanut brained politicians, imagine if India indeed undertook economic liberalization at a much greater pace to replicate the Chinese success. This is the exact reason this is not happening, because all PSU's are full of unions, aligned with this party or the other, and because they have always worked in the luxury of an almost permanent job guarantee and almost never having to put in a really hard day's work, anything that would have changed this status quo would be seen as against their immediate interests.
The government is meant for running the affairs of the country, and not running its companies. While the government was needed to provide the stilts on which this country could grow in the middle of last century, it is now pretty obvious that India does not need those stilts as much as it needed then. The private sector is growing by leaps and bounds, and the Government, or rather the numerous small minded politicians should look at this as a welcome step in the country's growth, but unfortunately, it is now more about protecting their turfs.
So disinvestment brings the better business practices of the private sector, and it brings money to the government, but if that means a few disgruntled and incompetent employees, then you can be sure its red flags in the mind of the politician. You see, 99% of India's politicians can't see the big picture. They have never been required to do so, and they never will.
Farewell Disinvestment
Prime Minister Manomohan Singh on Tuesday put on hold all selloff decisions and proposals after Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK supremo M Karunanidhi threatened to withdraw his party’s support to the UPA government over its decision to divest 10% in Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC). The reversal has come barely a fortnight after the Cabinet decided to sell 10% stake in NLC and Nalco, putting a question mark on other reform initiatives.
Although a terse statement issued by the PM’s media adviser did not say it in as many words, senior government officials confirmed to FE that even the ongoing process of disinvesting 10% stake in Power Finance Corporation and 15% in NMDC would now be halted.
While sale of stakes in these four PSUs — PFC, NMDC, NALCO and NLC — were cleared by the Cabinet, the government was considering divestment in a host of other PSUs including Coal India Ltd, BSNL, Concor and Shipping Corportion of India.
Withdrawal of support by the DMK, which has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha, would not have led to the government’s collapse, but given the pro-active support the Left parties (with 60 MPs) extended to the DMK move, the Prime Minister obviously thought he could ill- afford a risk.
This is the second major setback to the UPA government’s disinvestment process. Last year, it had virtually abandoned the decision to divest 10% stake in BHEL, as the Left parties protested and also pulled out of the UPA-Left coordination committee.
------------------------------------------------------------
Local politicians couldn't give two hoots about the economy, and if the stock exchanges welcome the move by going into the red, what do they care? Similarly, India's flip-flops on its liberalization will not go down with the rest of the world. If India is aiming to be a global economy, it should act like one. India has been very unpredictable in its entire disinvestment process, much thanks to coalition politics. Newspapers from all over the world now report India's economic news, and this latest u-turn by the Government of India has not gone unnoticed. Why should any company invest in a country where its own Government can't control its ranks, let alone trying to manage an entire nation.
As for the CPI, I don't want to give any of my blogspace to these monkeys. They are a nuisance and hinderance to our progress and the earlier the people realize this, the better it is. As for the Queen of India, I hope she is repaid in kind for mollycoddling with all these sub-standard people to secure the Congress's hold on power.
India baulks at big sell-off
PROSPECTS for Indian economic reform dimmed on Thursday as the Congress party-led coalition Government bowed to pressure from a junior partner and cancelled recently announced plans for a number of privatisations.
The National Common Minimum Program, the policy blueprint for the UPA that was agreed in May 2004, ruled out the sale of majority stakes in navaratnas - profitable national champions. However, it appeared to leave the Government scope to divest minority stakes.
Political analysts said the reversal of a cabinet decision would further weaken Mr Singh, who - in spite of being hailed as the father of economic reforms in the early 1990s - has struggled to set a direction as Prime Minister since May 2004.
"The Prime Minister is not the man to impress his will on the Government," said Mahesh Rangarajan, a political scientist in New Delhi. "He's a brilliant scholar and incorruptible man, but is simply not schooled in realpolitik."
Just over two years into the Government's term, the Congress party leadership, guided by Sonia Gandhi, has suffered a loss of nerve in recent months and has been forced on to the defensive by the rising price of essential commodities such as pulses.
"Generally, Indian governments only have a window of about two years in which to get things done before they start backing off from tough decisions, but with this Government it's started even earlier," said Mr Rangarajan.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Mmm.......power, says the Con'gress
It seems the traitors in the country are having a field day. The country already knows that the Congress party only believes in one thing, utter and complete control of the state, and that their taste for power, or rather, absolute power, remained sharp. If you notice the way things are taking place in the country, the bastards are playing a two-pronged game. With Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram, Montek et al, they are trying to bring liberalization into the economy. They are trying to bring progress with a human face (whatever that means), but being a political party that is steeped in nepotism and a very selfish attitude, they must have something in return. And how must the country repay the politicians for the job that they are doing? By giving up on our freedom, on our fundamental rights, and our rights to an equal and just society.
First things first, why do the politicians in this country think they are doing us a favor when they do something good? Isn't it their job to try to do the best for the country anyways? Before I continue asking myself these almost rhetorical questions, let me shake myself and bring myself back to reality. I am in India. I am in a unique state with such vibrant people who have tasted success in the world for the first time in our independent history and are aching for more, but at the same time I am in the state with leaders, if we can call them that, who have such rotted senses that they can only think of themselves before anything else, a class which has tried to subvert this nation many times, and continues to try to do so.
Look at the legislation that the Queen's party is trying to bring in. Remember the Office of Profit Bill? Congress tried to play with fire, trying to disqualify rival politicians on charges of holding offices of profit, but the fire came back to burn them as well. So what does the Con'gress do? Simple, you bring about a legislation that exempts all the posts which are held by you and your allies from the 'office of profit' tag. And actually it works out in the favor of the Con'gress. After all, their esteemed Traitors Numero Uno, the bloody commies are in the same boat as them, and they are more than happy to help their fellow brothers out.
Then of course, is the Education bill that Arjun Singh, or rather, his boss, the Queen, is trying to pass. We all know what it is, and we all know where it is going. Apparently for the Congress it will be best for India to close its eyes and accept things as they are, because for a party so hungry for power, nothing that comes in its way can stop it. Oh, you are the common man you say? Sorry, your elected representatives forgot you existed decades ago. Now you are just a sheep in a herd who'se wool needs to be sheared every couple of years. It is a time-honored ritual, this shearing process, also called elections in different languages and cultures. It is when the sheep are fattened by false promises, tall claims, and crocodile tears. Once the sheep are happy and ready to shed this thing called the vote, the herders, or politicians in this case, move in and take all the wool they want. Once the sheep is without the wool, much like the people who take part in our 'Democratic' process, they aren't of much use to the politician, of course, till the sheep grow their wool back. This circle of life has been on for some decades now, and heck if I know we'll ever see a change.
Then today, I read that the illustrious Government of India has sacked the Director of one of India's finest institutions, All India Institute of Medical Sciences or AIIMS. Why did they fire Dr. P Venugopal? I am not certain about the details, but I believe it is because the Con'gress tried to replace the board of the institution with their own cronies and ministers and the good doctor opposed such an act of subversion by our masters. Oh fuck him I say. How dare he stand against the mighty wave of government oppression in the new century. Hey, everyone's doing it. Look at China, who have the key to how it all works; you make cheap goods for the world, and the world will let you oppress your own people. Its working great for them, it eases the time to clear villages and neighborhoods to build massive buildings and it certainly saves time in court.
Now that the world has finally started talking about India and China in the same breath, it is safe to say they are still miles ahead in the infrastructure. So that India too stands tall among the emerging nations of this world, the Government is keen that we match the development of China. And it is in this light that you see the Con'gress trying hard to look like the Communist part of China. The Government already has consultants in place for this venture, they are the big consultancy firm called the Chinese Puppets in India (Monkey), or the CPI (M).
AIIMS director Venugopal sacked
In a shocking development, the governing body of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) sacked its Director Dr P Venugopal. Although the decision was 'not unanimous', no voting took place before concluding Venugopal's services.
The three-hour-long meeting of a 17-member body of the institute passed the resolution for Venugopal's ouster despite three members expressing a voice dissent, said senior BJP leader V K Malhotra.
Malhotra termed the decision as 'controversial', adding "This was a draconian step and does not happen even in case of dictatorship or emergency."
Describing the development as "blackest and saddest" day, Malhotra said Ramadoss suddenly brought in a supplementary resolution seeking removal of Dr Venugopal.
Three of the members voiced their dissent over the ouster, he said. It was a humiliation to person of Venugopal's repute, Malhotra said and accused the UPA government of destroying the autonomy of the premier institution "brick-by-brick".
Dr venugopal would be given his salary for three months, however, his services would terminate immediately. Venugopal, who was asked to sit outside the meeting hall when the issue concerning him was being taken up for discussion, did not talk to the waiting reporters.
Health Ministry sources said the meeting discussed the conduct of Venugopal for going public on an issue, which could otherwise be discussed in the in-house forum available to him.
They stressed the director was asked to explain his conduct. The institute body also forwarded the decision to the Centre to initiate action against Venugopal for his conduct, which was "detrimental to the interest of the public", they said.
Meanwhile, the resident doctors and medical students of AIIMS have gone on strike and the emergency and casualty departments have shut down.
The governing/institute body had begun their meeting at Nirman Bhavan on Wednesday. This ‘extraordinary meeting’ was called by Ramadoss, who is also president of AIIMS, is seen as a means of removing Dr Venugopal. According to the AIIMS Act, 1956, the body can remove the director ‘in public interest’.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Delhi High Court had dismissed a PIL (by a social activist) seeking demarcation of clear powers between Union Health Minister A Ramadoss and Director of AIIMS. As a reaction to this, AIIMS’ students, resident doctors and faculty members had gone to court challenging the legality of the governing body and institute body.
Seven representatives from the institute signed the petition, filed by head of the neurosurgery department Dr Kale. It challenges the inclusion of the minister as well as Health Secretary P K Hota in the governing body. It says any such appointment is contrary to the autonomous character of AIIMS as envisaged under Section 4(E) of the institute.
The petition also challenges the selection of Dr Rajashekharan (a close relative of the Health Minister) as chairman of the selection committee. It seeks a direction to the Centre for constituting a high-level committee of eminent persons to manage the affairs of AIIMS to protect its ‘autonomous character’.
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Hmm, let me look at this fair process, so the governing body is headed by the Health minister, who made his close relative the chairman of the selection committee, and this fair body did not vote on the issue, but just handed out it's decision. Hats off to the Con'gress I say.
IMA slams Venugopal's removal, seeks intervention of President, PM
Describing the sacking of AIIMS Director P Venugopal as "a blatant slap on the face of the medical profession", the Indian Medical Association (IMA) today said the move was yet another instance of "tremendous political interference" in the functioning of the institute.
Seeking the intervention of the President and the Prime Minister in the matter, IMA President-elect Sanjeev Malik said, "It is a very, very unfortunate decision. It is a reflection that we are losing the autonomy of premier institutions and medical health services in the country.
Malik said, "The removal of Venugopal, a person who has brought glory to the country by conducting the first cardio transplant, and his being summarily dismissed in such a humiliating manner will be extremely demoralising for medical professionals of the country.
"I would only appeal to President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to personally intervene to ensure that the situation does not go out of control...It is a very, very sad day for the medical profession in India," he said.
-----------------------------------------------------------
A couple of doctors were against the Director for allowing some students to take part in the anti-reservation steer, and it being a pet project of the Congress, of course it won't go down well with our lords and masters. So, the people of India, like i said before, get back in your heard, pray that your herdsman feed you, and STOP QUESTIONING THE GOVERNMENT.
First things first, why do the politicians in this country think they are doing us a favor when they do something good? Isn't it their job to try to do the best for the country anyways? Before I continue asking myself these almost rhetorical questions, let me shake myself and bring myself back to reality. I am in India. I am in a unique state with such vibrant people who have tasted success in the world for the first time in our independent history and are aching for more, but at the same time I am in the state with leaders, if we can call them that, who have such rotted senses that they can only think of themselves before anything else, a class which has tried to subvert this nation many times, and continues to try to do so.
Look at the legislation that the Queen's party is trying to bring in. Remember the Office of Profit Bill? Congress tried to play with fire, trying to disqualify rival politicians on charges of holding offices of profit, but the fire came back to burn them as well. So what does the Con'gress do? Simple, you bring about a legislation that exempts all the posts which are held by you and your allies from the 'office of profit' tag. And actually it works out in the favor of the Con'gress. After all, their esteemed Traitors Numero Uno, the bloody commies are in the same boat as them, and they are more than happy to help their fellow brothers out.
Then of course, is the Education bill that Arjun Singh, or rather, his boss, the Queen, is trying to pass. We all know what it is, and we all know where it is going. Apparently for the Congress it will be best for India to close its eyes and accept things as they are, because for a party so hungry for power, nothing that comes in its way can stop it. Oh, you are the common man you say? Sorry, your elected representatives forgot you existed decades ago. Now you are just a sheep in a herd who'se wool needs to be sheared every couple of years. It is a time-honored ritual, this shearing process, also called elections in different languages and cultures. It is when the sheep are fattened by false promises, tall claims, and crocodile tears. Once the sheep are happy and ready to shed this thing called the vote, the herders, or politicians in this case, move in and take all the wool they want. Once the sheep is without the wool, much like the people who take part in our 'Democratic' process, they aren't of much use to the politician, of course, till the sheep grow their wool back. This circle of life has been on for some decades now, and heck if I know we'll ever see a change.
Then today, I read that the illustrious Government of India has sacked the Director of one of India's finest institutions, All India Institute of Medical Sciences or AIIMS. Why did they fire Dr. P Venugopal? I am not certain about the details, but I believe it is because the Con'gress tried to replace the board of the institution with their own cronies and ministers and the good doctor opposed such an act of subversion by our masters. Oh fuck him I say. How dare he stand against the mighty wave of government oppression in the new century. Hey, everyone's doing it. Look at China, who have the key to how it all works; you make cheap goods for the world, and the world will let you oppress your own people. Its working great for them, it eases the time to clear villages and neighborhoods to build massive buildings and it certainly saves time in court.
Now that the world has finally started talking about India and China in the same breath, it is safe to say they are still miles ahead in the infrastructure. So that India too stands tall among the emerging nations of this world, the Government is keen that we match the development of China. And it is in this light that you see the Con'gress trying hard to look like the Communist part of China. The Government already has consultants in place for this venture, they are the big consultancy firm called the Chinese Puppets in India (Monkey), or the CPI (M).
AIIMS director Venugopal sacked
In a shocking development, the governing body of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) sacked its Director Dr P Venugopal. Although the decision was 'not unanimous', no voting took place before concluding Venugopal's services.
The three-hour-long meeting of a 17-member body of the institute passed the resolution for Venugopal's ouster despite three members expressing a voice dissent, said senior BJP leader V K Malhotra.
Malhotra termed the decision as 'controversial', adding "This was a draconian step and does not happen even in case of dictatorship or emergency."
Describing the development as "blackest and saddest" day, Malhotra said Ramadoss suddenly brought in a supplementary resolution seeking removal of Dr Venugopal.
Three of the members voiced their dissent over the ouster, he said. It was a humiliation to person of Venugopal's repute, Malhotra said and accused the UPA government of destroying the autonomy of the premier institution "brick-by-brick".
Dr venugopal would be given his salary for three months, however, his services would terminate immediately. Venugopal, who was asked to sit outside the meeting hall when the issue concerning him was being taken up for discussion, did not talk to the waiting reporters.
Health Ministry sources said the meeting discussed the conduct of Venugopal for going public on an issue, which could otherwise be discussed in the in-house forum available to him.
They stressed the director was asked to explain his conduct. The institute body also forwarded the decision to the Centre to initiate action against Venugopal for his conduct, which was "detrimental to the interest of the public", they said.
Meanwhile, the resident doctors and medical students of AIIMS have gone on strike and the emergency and casualty departments have shut down.
The governing/institute body had begun their meeting at Nirman Bhavan on Wednesday. This ‘extraordinary meeting’ was called by Ramadoss, who is also president of AIIMS, is seen as a means of removing Dr Venugopal. According to the AIIMS Act, 1956, the body can remove the director ‘in public interest’.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Delhi High Court had dismissed a PIL (by a social activist) seeking demarcation of clear powers between Union Health Minister A Ramadoss and Director of AIIMS. As a reaction to this, AIIMS’ students, resident doctors and faculty members had gone to court challenging the legality of the governing body and institute body.
Seven representatives from the institute signed the petition, filed by head of the neurosurgery department Dr Kale. It challenges the inclusion of the minister as well as Health Secretary P K Hota in the governing body. It says any such appointment is contrary to the autonomous character of AIIMS as envisaged under Section 4(E) of the institute.
The petition also challenges the selection of Dr Rajashekharan (a close relative of the Health Minister) as chairman of the selection committee. It seeks a direction to the Centre for constituting a high-level committee of eminent persons to manage the affairs of AIIMS to protect its ‘autonomous character’.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hmm, let me look at this fair process, so the governing body is headed by the Health minister, who made his close relative the chairman of the selection committee, and this fair body did not vote on the issue, but just handed out it's decision. Hats off to the Con'gress I say.
IMA slams Venugopal's removal, seeks intervention of President, PM
Describing the sacking of AIIMS Director P Venugopal as "a blatant slap on the face of the medical profession", the Indian Medical Association (IMA) today said the move was yet another instance of "tremendous political interference" in the functioning of the institute.
Seeking the intervention of the President and the Prime Minister in the matter, IMA President-elect Sanjeev Malik said, "It is a very, very unfortunate decision. It is a reflection that we are losing the autonomy of premier institutions and medical health services in the country.
Malik said, "The removal of Venugopal, a person who has brought glory to the country by conducting the first cardio transplant, and his being summarily dismissed in such a humiliating manner will be extremely demoralising for medical professionals of the country.
"I would only appeal to President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to personally intervene to ensure that the situation does not go out of control...It is a very, very sad day for the medical profession in India," he said.
-----------------------------------------------------------
A couple of doctors were against the Director for allowing some students to take part in the anti-reservation steer, and it being a pet project of the Congress, of course it won't go down well with our lords and masters. So, the people of India, like i said before, get back in your heard, pray that your herdsman feed you, and STOP QUESTIONING THE GOVERNMENT.
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