What's new?

What is new these days? I think there has been hell lot of corruption scams involving not only politicians and bureaucrats but also army and journalists. This is something new. Some army general is using his position to get whatever he wants, some journalists getting the ethics wrong (which incidentally they teach to others). I liked it. Even when I saw there is thousands of crore rupees wasted, first time I am seeing it is coming out.
We all know there is lot of black money in India. Corruption is unstoppable but at least I want to see corrupt people suffer. It is hard to punish A Raja for 2 G spectrum scam but he might become scapegoat of this scandal eventually. DMK and congress may loose next election. There image is not good anymore. Rahul Gandhi also has not helped them by saying Hindu extremism is dangerous than Islamic terrorism. He may be right or may be wrong but openly congress can not support him unequivocally. They will loose Hindu votes. They are still standing by him only because he is Rahul Gandhi. They distanced from Digvijay Singh when he said ATS police officer Karkare called him before he died in Mumbai attack and told him about threats from Hindu organizations. Why treat them differently? Digvijay is still in congress and congress has not chided him about his outburst. Which means congress is playing religion card quite well. Its quite possible that Digvijay got go ahead from congress hi-command about his comments on karkare. He and Rahul Gandhi seem to have very same views about lot of issues. He openly criticized our home minister for his policy against naxals. I think he forgot that inclusive progress of adivasis is not his (our home minister's) job. His job is to protect common man from naxals. Inclusive growth is the policy government should follow. Even after those actions he was not called by Sonia Gandhi to explain his actions. He must have had support of someone very powerful in congress. Its no coincidence that after some time Rahul Gandhi was in Orissa championing rights of adivasis. I do not understand. Why does Rahul Gandhi has to say that adivasis should have equal opportunities. He is the government he can get anything done. Even when he spoke at congress open meeting he repeated cliche about two Indias one poor and one rich. He talking more than doing something. He does hold a position in the cabinet. He not responsible for any major decisions that have been taken. If he is PM in waiting then first he should prove his worth by holding some responsibility and doing some efficient work. Instead he is running all over the country trying to attract people to congress sabhas. Why should I vote for congress when I do not know if Rahul Gandhi can perform or not.
Anyway my opinion does not matter. He might be PM by 2014 (which I really doubt because congress may not be able to get enough seats to form the government owing to their splendidly pathetic governance in last few months). So there might be some change something NEW by 2014. But its quite far.
So Indian cricket team again capitulated to South Africans but this is not new, its just old news with new team. Sometimes I wonder how did India become no 1 team in the world when India does not have bowlers capable of taking 20 wickets. I think MS Dhoni and Sachin really showed some character by counter attacking but it was too late. I think our team should take inspiration from MS who does not have technique to play that kind of fast bowling but still he doing better than others who have. I am really feeling sorry for Raina, I do not know if to criticize him or not. He has it in him to succeed at that level but there is something wrong. He looks low on confidence. I am hoping that captain can inspire our team in next match and India should make life tougher for africans. But that's not what no 1 team does. It wins. I want India not only to fight but to win. My good wishes with team India for next match.

Is use of Military force justified to subdue the Naxals?

The answer comes to my mind is that NO. Some say we can use limited Air force i.e. for reconnaissance but will it help. To use the Air force effectively for reconnaissance will require lot of communication between Air force and our paramilitary forces fighting on the ground. It has been observed lot of times that even Army and Air force do not have good communication. In the Kargil war even the infiltration by terrorists was not spotted by the Satellites but our intelligence agencies had the information and it was not properly coordinated to know the intentions of the terrorists.
So will Airforce make the lot of difference in the dense forests? Some analysts have already given example of Andhra Pradesh which successfully handled the Naxals. They created police force named GreyHounds which chased the Naxals gathered intelligence information and won the trust of locals with some projects government took to create employment. Why not follow this Model. It does not have to replicated exactly some changes can always be made according to the situation. But using Army is not the option at all. Because Army will cause more headache than solution. In the North East Indian Army is the ruler by the special amendment in the constitution (Armed forces special power act). Its like martial law where Military can arrest any person on the suspicion of having link to the terrorist organization. But it has not helped to improve the situation. Why ?? The reason is same people there feel alienated from India sometimes even they do not call themselves Indian. Thats the same case with adivasis. They are not absorbed in the society and using Military on them will only result in attracting their fury because Military uses force very brutally. There have been naked march by Women in the Assam because many Jawans raped women to get the information or to create the terror (so that no one would go to the other side) or sometimes out of anger. But it has not worked and it should not happen on the Bengal or Orissa.
Bringing Army in the Naxal hit areas will be the biggest folly. It will only give Naxals reason to incite the Adivasis. Laready they have reason because according to them paramilitary forces misuse their power. Do not give them anymore reason. If Andhra has done it any state can do it. Even Maharashtra has done in the past. I think our Home Minister needs some time to handle the Naxals his way. But some elements in the government are not letting him to do the work. He is arrogant but you need people like him to do the work like this. He did well against Islamic Terrorists. So he is capable of doing this job. Also there is another reason why Maoists seems to have free reign in the Bengal because of the sympathy of the Leftist government and Mamata who wants the power is using Maoists as the way to get the votes of Adivasis. So politics is making police force incapable of acting against Maoists. Bengal is the only state who has rejected the offer by Central Government to allows police of the other states to chase the Naxals in their state. Actually it was good proposal where Bengal police would have been able to chase maoists in Orissa and vice versa. But internal politics is hampering the action against the maoists.
The Maoist problem is grave danger to the Nation and has be dealt immediately before it goes out of hand. I only hope god give these politicians some common sense to not to play to with the future of the nation.

India Unbound

India Unbound is the name of the book I read last semester. It is written by a person who was president of a multinational company P & G in the 1980s when India was in socialist era. Frustration of working in the era when Government did everything to stop private firms from working is visible. Gurucharan Das author of this book is very intelligent man. He has Philosophy degree from Harvard and has immense knowledge of economic and foreign policies of India since independence.
He has exactly depicted what was the difference between working now and in his time. What difference globalization has made? Is it good or bad for India. Where did the economic policies of India went wrong? He says Pandit Nehru was not wrong when he went for socialism instead of free market economy but he says Indira Gandhi must have known better. She should have realized that socialism is not doing any good so economic policies has to be changed. But she did not she instead went ahead with more rigorous restrains. Rajiv Gandhi did try to liberalize but he could not do it and finally the job was done by Narsingh Rao and his FM Manmohan Singh. But he says that they did it out of compulsion and not because they had vision. It is very interesting point. According to him liberalization stopped after 1994 by then India had come out of economic calamity. India did survive and India owes it to Mr Rao and Mr Singh. But he asks difficult question. Dr Manmohan Singh was the Chairman of Reserve Bank in 1985, he knew policies were wrong but still he did not do anything. He asks why an man who now known as man who liberalized India did not do anything when he was in the position to do it. India has produced world class economists and brightest minds but non of them saw what was happening to this country. None of them raised voice. Our UPSC is very difficult exam and the brains who pass them are brightest in the country but none of them saw what was happening. None of them saw our Public Enterprises were not making profit but were a unnecessary load to the Government. Instead of creating jobs it in reality decreased the job opportunities. They were inefficient and marred by corruption and labour politics. Instead stopping these things our bright administrators continued the policy with their heart. Indira Gandhi started programme of Garibi Hatao but it was Amiri hatao. Birla family helped Gandhi and Nehru financially in the independence movement but late they were prosecuted in the parliment because it was perceived as profit making and labour exploiting corporation. So Aditya Birla expanded his business but not in India. He became legendary businessman but could not contribute to the Indian industry lot because he was not allowed to do so. Bajaj scooter had the waiting line of more than two years which means after you book the scooter you will get the scooter after two years. That was insane but Bajaj did not have license to produce more scooters even though it could and even though there was demand. Author asks right question, why does government gets to decide what people should buy and peole should not unless and untill it is harmful to himself.
In his book he also explained the psychology of the Indians. He gives example of war between Puru and Alexander. Puru only lost that war because of bad management, miscommunication and distrust of his infantry. According to author this pure Indian mentality to not trust somebody below you and mis communication. He also explains very interesting economy of India since 19th century. I particularly liked his assessment of the two leading political parties in India Congress and BJP. Congress has sycophantic culture while BJP has good organization its extremist views is a problem. He also mentions experience of his studies in US which is also quite interesting. Overall the book is very readable and Interesting and I will suggest this book to anyone who wants to know about liberalization in simple words of successful manager in the Socialist India.

India's win Against SA at Eden

India really did well against SA in the second test match. Bhajji came to party mishra picked up wickets at right time, Zaheer was as always accurate and causing trouvle and Sharma bowled with some energy.
All happened in one test and all bowlers performed well especially on the last day of the match when Zaheer got injured at crucial time and still other 3 bowlers bowled well to get India home. Mishra's ball which went very near to outside edge in last test match took edges this time and he really started collapse by taking Smith on his first ball of second innings. Zaheer as usual was accurate and bowled very well in first innings. Sharma actually rose to occasion when India almost had gave up because of 200 run partnership of Amla and Petersen he bowled lot bouncers at Amla which unsettled him and at last he tried something which he should not have and lost his wicket which triggered collapse of SA in first innings which brought India back into match. Bhajji bowled fine spell to take out three of SA's main batsmen.
Sehwag came with all guns blazing and tore apart SA attack. Gambhir looked set for big innings but unfortunately Sehwag ran him out but still Sachin, Laxman and Dhoni ensured that India bats only once. SA attack bowled well but when Steyn failed to generate any movement then other bowlers were not as effective as they were in Nagpur. Specially Paul Harris looked helpless against Sehwag and tried some negative tactics by bowling outside leg stump which received punishment from Umpires. Critics said that Harris had plan for Indians in first test in Ngapur but I think he could execute plan when India was under pressure of huge total and Steyn was looking ominous. He failed to take responsibility of taking wickets when faster bowlers failed to do so which only underrlined that rating him better than Indian spinners was mistake.
I think media should not criticize Team India heavily for one defeat. India gave good performances with ball and bat but failed in fielding department. This needs to be improved. Amal should have been taken on 46, he caused lot of trouble for India on last day and almost drew match single handedly. Thank god it did not happen else M Vijay would have mocked by media.But anyway kudos to Amla for his fine innings. The calm with which he played was unbelievable which even Ravi Shastri called superhuman. He is the biggest positive for SA from this series.
I am happy that India has won and hope that it will continue to perform well in future.Cheers to team India.

Good news Sena snubbed by public...

I want to laugh at Udhhav Thakre's face because he has been slapped by public. They were outsmarted by Maharashtra govt in Rahul episode where Sena could not even protest when he was wondering through local train. But Sena could say that Govt had played major role by stifling them and using brutal force.
But now what explanation does sena have for this fiasco. People were eager to watch MNIK and whole India watched people lining outside theaters for tickets. Shahrukh was unnecessarily made target by Sena who had no other issue to deal with. Public slapped Sena hard and now sena might have to search for some new scapegoat for their NATIONALIST agenda. Even BJP had deserted them on this issue. Sena was fighting alone and it clearly seems that their strength has dwindled after Raj Thakre left sena. Statistics show that in Mumbai and Thane part Sena and MNS got total of 43% votes 7 % more than what NCP and Congress had got but still they could win only 60 seats and which proved decisive.
I think Sena should start rebuilding which could take years before they make any force or should make peace with MNS (who by the way actually supported SRK on this issue) so that they could win elections in Maharashtra. But they are not taking any of the options. Anyway I am happy that Sena's politics failed appreciably and outrightly rejected by public.

India's Loss to SA

India lost to SA in first test but why is everyone making so fuss about our bowling. Steyn put up a one of the best spells of his life but had he not done that India surely would have saved match despite their main Batsmen. I do not want to criticize bowlers because they have lot of experience and know what to do. Zaheer bowled well Ishant tried his best but now people have read him and playing him with plan to which he will find solution soon, Bhajji gave his best and I thought Mishra was very unlucky.
If people want better bowling attack just name replacement for these bowlers. Whom to draft in for Bhajji now if he is not performing well? Ojha? It wont help. Srisanth was not fit so who would have played for Ishant? Abhimanyu? or Tyagi?? So we had no option. Same bowlers performed excellently against Aussies in 2008-09. So even though India has weak bowling India can compensate it with good batting. But its India's bad luck with no Dravid and Laxman, Gautam failed in both innings. Sehwag and Sachin cannot win India test match. I think even Yuvi would not helped. I think one of Badri or Vijay should now replace Yuvi.I would prefer Badri because he can be very consistent and is mature to handle the pressure. Vijay is also good option and none of them should be judged by performance in this test because Badri was debuting and Vijay is still very new to international arena. Saha actually exceeded expectation but if everyone had thought that he would fail against SA then a bowler instead of him would have been a good option.Everything went wrong for team India this time and was a very embarrassing defeat on a turning pitch but I think this team will bounce back and has lot of character. Also dhoni needs to play positively which suits him and not useless time consuming bogging which suits Dravid. I still remember he took attack to Aussies in his first test as a captain and scored well against bouncing deliveries. Brett Lee looked ineffective then and looked like once his card of bouncing Dhoni failed he had no other plan for Dhoni. And because of that performance and spirited bowling by Zaheer and Ishant India won the test. It was same attack which lead to Kumble's retirement. India needs to take inspiration from that performance and I believe eden gardens is lucky for India and India has defeated SA on this ground 6 years ago where Bhajji bowled well.
My best wishes with team India.

Year 2009

Year 2009 has not been very great year. World faced the worst recession which is second to only 1929 depression. Everybody was scared and panicked. No one, not even very learned economists were able to predict the total loss due to recession and no one was sure when the world will come out of it. Some even predicted second slump because of the wrong plocies adapted by government but many economists do not believe it. Hopefully this will be good year financially.
Pakistan faced perhaps the worst years in decades as its economy has gone down so bad that even with aid it will take several years to come back to normal. They have accepted funding from US under all restriction which they would not have done few tears ago. They are facing so many terrorist attacks that even I pity them now. They have been unable to stop attacks. Attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team was them most shameful and embarrassing that country has faced in recent years. No ones knows who is running the country. President, prime minister, general or Terrorists. I thank god for I was not born into that country. Interestingly India did not face any major terrorist attack except blasts in Assam in november. I think credit should go Home Monister for his efficient work and reforms he has been bringing in India's internal security. I hope 2010 will also go in same way.
Bad news for environmentalists though that Copenhagen summit failed but still there are hopes. Hopefully something good will happen in 2010. Its the last year of the decade so witihn a year lot of people will start judging the decade, some have already started doing it.

Gattaca

I saw movie today named Gattaca. Its a science fiction movie. Its not a action thriller like other scifi movies but instead its a drama movie. Its very slow and sometimes boring but the concept behind it is very interesting. Very unique type of discrimination has been shown in movie, Genetic Discimination has been seen in movie, it means the people with better DNA are only allowed to do the responsible jobs. Others are given very less responsible jobs and also any couple can get a child as per their requirement means usinf technology they can remove lot of birth defects which will make child very much perfect. The movie is about a person whose DNA does not let him become a astronaught but by his determination he becomes one. Hero of this movie says he can stretch himself to any length to make his dream true that atlast by his will power he is able to defeat genetically superior one. Thats the theme I liked most about the movie. So I liked it eveb though its very slow and sometimes you do not want to continue but the struggle of the hero is worth watching and his perseverence, hardwork and will to succeed is worth watching. Hidden message of the movie is that you need much more than talent to succeed, you need passion, desire to succeed, will power, hard work and persevernce. Thats the thing I liked most about this movie. The people who made this movie actually gave some thought and its not some thoughtless action packed sci fi movie where protagonist can do anything and can kill anyone and achiev some monumental tasks. Even though its a very slow movie its worth watching.