Proud to have my first-ever love…

Proud to be an Indian

Please cast your vote

After lot of advertisements shown in media and still going on, nation-wide campaigns started by bodies like Tata Industries and Times Of India, I feel quite small to make this request but after reading about just around 50% voting in metro cities like Mumbai and capital Delhi, I feel that perhaps my words might make some difference.

I have been driving everyone in my contact to cast their vote. It is once in five years when you get a chance to correct your mistake and to find what wrong went in the government you voted for, if you give your vote. Otherwise you loose your right to find wrongs in government if you don’t vote at all.

That’s what I believe.

Feels good that if not everyone, some got driven. I am going to my hometown to give my vote on this Wednesday.

In the end, I would request you to please go through this link to find more wisdom on whom to vote

PS: Little disappointment does occur when you know that even in politics, reservation is introduced from back-door and there are seats where candidates only from reserve castes can fight elections but that shouldn’t stop you from thinking about the big picture.

What we didn’t know was that this president wanted to stop war being fought physically by American soldiers but  wouldn’t hesitate from starting virtual wars which might destroy other countries, that this president imagined America as planet ignoring rest of the world, that this president didn’t want to stop but shift the Economy Crisis to other countries.

Obama has been giving hate speeches before he became new American President. He has started hate war “on papers” as an irresponsible president, against India and other countries where American companies outsourced their business.

Being an Indian, I was hurt by those hate speeches and wanted to post my grievance and protest here at my place. Not sure how many people enjoy those words of this man but for me he is the worst president that I have witnessed in my lifetime .

Here is the record of hate speeches delivered by US President Barack Obama with the timelines published in Times Business on May 06, 2009 –

It’s a tax code that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York — Obama, announcing a crackdown on tax loopholes on Monday

 

I understand that the challenges facing our economy have forced children in Raleigh and Boston to compete for those jobs with children in Bangalore and Beijing — Obama at a speech in North Carolina in June 2008

 

At a time when a child in Boston must compete with children in Beijing and B’lore, we need an army of you to become teachers and principals in schools that this nation cannot afford to give up on —Obama at a college commencement address in Connecticut in May 2008

This is the president giving birth to new hate terms like Bangalored and Obamination.

I like to read only those blogs by Indians who write it with Indian mindset and not from perspective of being a foreigner or I consider them as foreigner as such and don’t expect much dedicated Indian stuff from their blogs. And therefore, I had stopped/dropped reading Vantage point long back – a figure which had appeared as revolt figure for Indians at some point but then preferred to go out of this country…

The primary author of this blog is a person named Gaurav Sabnis whom I had been reading before he had made a larger than life decision in 2006 by leaving his org which asked him to change his principals. He preferred to leave his org than hiding the truth. That was good part, rather inspirational for many. Later came to know that he went out to pursue PhD and never returned after more than 2 years. Nor he could keep up with his writing style for Indians. So no more admiration from another fellow Indian for a guy who once appeared to be concerned about the future of this country. Also I don’t think that I would I be reading any IIM Alumni blogs in future, as this one was the last in that category.

It has been seen as an attempt by neighbor country to spoil image of India in front of world, prove India as one of the dangerous countries to be visited and in lieu of upcoming Commonwealth games, to divert the happening. It was really very low time for whole country, specially for the Mumbai residents. Must appreciate and commiserate their patience through this tough time and their attempt to rise once again. My whole consolation to those who got affected by this attack.

I wouldn’t blame Indian Intelligence which had already informed and spread the news about this attack few days in advance or the national security forces which played their part as good as they have been playing in past. Neither would I feel angry for task forces nor for the community who is integrated part of this country and is targeted for no reasons. But yes I want to condemn those politicians who played blame game, want to shout at those administrations who didn’t take appropriate preventive steps even after getting information beforehand and want to decry the governmental bodies who have never been able to take control of terrorism in so many years.

I was told about well written article by Mr. Milind Deora published in leading national daily Hindustan Times. For those who don’t know Milind, he is one bright GenNext Congress politician, Member of Parliament from South Mumbai and a volunteer member of many social campaigns and initiatives. Here are the excerpts –

Talk is cheap, lives are not

The last few days have been devastating for every Mumbaikar. All our hearts go out to those who have lost their dear ones. I’ve been awake since 8 a.m. on Wednesday, barring a few hours of interrupted sleep on Thursday and Friday nights, and have witnessed the most horrific yet moving events of my life.

Immediately after the news broke, my partymen and I prevented a mob outside Nariman House from becoming an easy target for a grenade attack, had a narrow escape when a seized police Toyota Qualis vehicle hurled grenades at the car we were in, assisted shattered relatives identify bodies of their family members, and helped government hospitals mobilise resources from other hospitals that weren’t as inundated with dead bodies.

We must never take for granted the efforts of Mumbai’s indispensable uniformed personnel: the police, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the National Security Guard (NSG), Army and marine commandos, firemen and the staff of hospitals and others, especially those who are martyrs.

I’m in no way saying that we should stop expecting our state and central governments to guarantee our safety. Intelligence gathering, especially when it relates to threats emanating from abroad, can’t happen effectively if we work in isolation. India is working towards building important global strategic partnerships that will give our intelligence establishment access to the best information. All this will soon give us an edge when it comes to filtering through information and acting upon it decisively. However, these global partnerships would be futile unless we free our security establishments from political interference and corruption.

When I visited The Oberoi Trident Hotel with its general manager and the Union Home Minister shortly after the encounter was over, the scenes were horrifying. I don’t wish to divulge graphic details but I can assure you that it was clear that the terrorists weren’t interested in negotiating with the government. They were cold-blooded murderers. I was very pleased to shake the hands of the NSG commandos who had fought in the encounter.

All this leads to the point that while we, Mumbai’s educated middle-class, must make ourselves heard, we must also study facts before appearing in TV debates, otherwise succumbing to the anchor’s sensationalism. We love to criticise Lalu Prasad, Shivraj Patil, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena campaign, and speak liberally about how terrorism has no religion. Yet on election day, why do we vote for parties keeping our own religion in mind?

Immediately after a terrorist attack, we point fingers at a particular community or country, but when those from the ATS, who died fighting for us, pointed closer to home, why did we refuse to listen to them? While one politician states that India needs a strong national anti-terror law (which already exists), another leader asks each state government to cooperate with the central government in creating a national investigating agency along the lines of America’s FBI.

Do we formulate our opinions regarding which option will benefit India on facts or on uninformed chatter? Sadly, we have allowed religion and politics to enter the terrorism debate. As a result, expecting politicians to put aside their differences and work out a solution requires that we change our old ways. If we can’t get over our prejudices and spruce up our own intelligence before participating in the rumours and politics of terrorism, how can we expect it from the establishment?

For years, we have been witnessing dance of militancy in Jammu & Kashmir, feeling heat of naxalites in eastern states, wistfully observing the southern trauma about anti-national movements but then we were just noticing. We did nothing to stop it until it reached to our metros, be it Bangalore, Delhi or Mumbai. Recent terrorist attacks have proved that the day isn’t far when terrorism will reach to our homes, no matter in which part of country we are residing. It is not just about one state or one region or religion and can never be stopped until we as one India, feel this pain and stand against it.

It is high time when India is being reported as one of the most dangerous places to visit when we, as a country, know that this nation has one of the most powerful forces in world. I would prefer to leave it as an open question to be answered…

I have witnessed the times, when

1. Cricket was played in every playground.
2. Computer was taken as magical instrument and Internet@64kbps as luxury.
3. Job Security came as guarantee with every employment.
4. Foreign Return was more like a noun.
5. Scooter was a vehicle of pride.
6. National TV (doordarshan) was favorite of whole nation.
7. Teachers were respected in society more than anyone else.
8. People preferred to stay back in India.
9. Movies were made purely for entertainment.
10. Unions in any company weren’t appreciated.

And still,

1. Politics is considered as game of corruption.
2. Power and water shortage persist.
3. Reservation is considered a right and honor.
4. Traffic and roads worsen everyday.
5. Bihar is flooded every year.
6. Railways general compartments are too crowded to breathe.
7. Terrorists are killing hundreds of innocents every months.
8. Hindi (national language) is forbidden to be taught in Tamilnadu.
9. Common man spends whole life in order to buy a two bedroom set.
10. Media is infant.

Now,

1. Smoking is banned at public places.
2. More people in every business loot than being honest.
3. More frustration than satisfaction is there at work places.
4. Those working in growing fields like Space, Telecommunications and Information Technology dream of nation as a developed one in next couple of years.
5. Real estate is a full-fledged business than a consulting.
6. Missionaries are converting poor and backward population all over the country at war level by luring them to money and reserved employment.
7. There are more MNCs than national companies.
8. Most of the children work far away from their parents.
9. Speaking in English is a thing of proud.
10. Drinking is social custom.

For those who can make it out, digest as well as understand…just a nod will work ( ), I saw my firm closing down, got unavoidable employment opportunity to become a US employee, visa stamped and then… I refused.

Remained on hunt for a suitable job (in other words jobless) for couple of weeks after resign, and then landed with best opportunity anyone could have after coming out of CashEdge.

CashEdge has closed it operations at Gurgaon. I managed to get couple of good offers and finally zeroed down at Chandigarh, also known as City Beautiful and presently residing at Mohali (neighboring city).

All these things happened in span of 4 months after my return from US in March. Managed to keep up with blogging for almost two months somehow but then, everything broke down with me for next two months.

So this is the summary of those two quiet months of my professional life as I am too … to describe it completely but pretty sure that it can explain my 60 day silence which looks quite small in front of turns I went through.

And there was this friend who was going through similar phases of life almost at the time and now resuming with life as I am. All the best to you too dear.

The news went like – 36% of scientists at NASA are Indians: Govt survey.

Of course, any Indian will get interested in reading more of this news after going through such interesting title and getting into detailed news, you get to know that there are 34% Indian employees at Microsoft and 17% at Intel. Voila what a feeling you get specially knowing that these all facts are provided by our own minister of state for HRD, D Purandeshwari in Rajya Sabha (Parliament House).

Just imagine, how thrilled you will feel when you will be getting a similar mail with title – Be A Proud Indian with lot and lot of facts listed down in subject. One such mail I had received in year 2005 and along-with many facts, it contained lot of false data. Find the content of mail below with the link over Internet. And after about three years to that, our minister is presenting all those numbers as facts without checking their truthfulness. Three years is quite long time. Even if minister had figured out that it is 3 years old data, he might had refrained from sharing it but looks like he was in very much hurry to share them in defense of the country’s higher education system and the state of research.

I wouldn’t be getting into details about minister even knowing about him more than average but these are we Indians who select such leaders and should be ready to bear with such statements.

Here is the excerpt of news -

 

36% of scientists at NASA are Indians: Govt survey

NEW DELHI: If you thought that Global Indian Takeover was just a hollow cliche leaning on a few iconic successes like Pepsi’s Indra Nooyi, Citibank’s Vikram Pandit and steel world’s Lakshmi Mittal, there is a slew of statistics now to give it solid ballast.

The extent to which desis have made an impact in the US was reeled off in the Rajya Sabha — as many as 12% scientists and 38% doctors in the US are Indians, and in NASA, 36% or almost 4 out of 10 scientists are Indians.

If that’s not proof enough of Indian scientific and corporate prowess, digest this: 34% employees at Microsoft, 28% at IBM, 17% at Intel and 13% at Xerox are Indians.
And the House of Elders also heard some startling facts about a country that’s still stuck with a Third World tag — 20% of gold in the world is used by Indians and nine out of 10 diamonds used in the world are made in India.

The figures of Indian successes were given to the Rajya Sabha on Monday by D Purandeshwari, minister of state for HRD, in defence of the country’s higher education system and the state of research.
Purandeshwari said that although a lot needed to be done to encourage research, it was wrong to run down the country’s higher education system since most Indians who excelled abroad were products of Indian institutions.

He said there was no slackness in research and the number of PhD holders had gone up from 17,898 two years back to 18,730 last year.

It also raises the finger on our media, as how much reliable it is. A newspaper like Times Of India which boasts of being the most read English daily in India prints out such news without any pre-research and next day it publishes the outcome from junta and blames minister for all the confusion. Then I recall the quote from Die Hard 4.0 said by Matt Farrell that all the news are fabricated and shouldn’t be trusted.

You can see the heated responses of newspaper readers from all over the world over comments section of same news.

Here is the news printed by Times Of India next day declaring it as a hoax -

 

India rising in US: Govt falls victim to net hoax

WASHINGTON: It’s an Internet myth that has taken on a life of its own. No matter how often you slay this phony legend, it keeps popping up again like some hydra-headed beast.

But on Monday, the Indian government itself consecrated the oft-circulated fiction as fact in Parliament, possibly laying itself open to a breach of privilege. By relaying to Rajya Sabha members (as reported in The Times of India) a host of unsubstantiated and inflated figures about Indian professionals in US, the government also made a laughing stock of itself.

The figures provided by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Purandeshwari included claims that 38 per cent of doctors in US are Indians, as are 36 per cent of NASA scientists and 34 per cent of Microsoft employees.

There is no survey that establishes these numbers, and absent a government clarification, it appears that the figures come from a shop-worn Internet chain mail that has been in circulation for many years. Spam has finally found its way into the Indian parliament dressed up as fact.

Attempts by this correspondent over the years to authenticate the figures have shown that it is exaggerated, and even false. Both Microsoft and NASA say they don’t keep an ethnic headcount. While they acknowledge that a large number of their employees are of Indian origin, it is hardly in the 30-35 per cent range.

The story has attracted withering scrutiny and criticism on the Times of India’s website, with most readers across the world trashing it. "The minister should be hauled up by the house for breach of privilege of parliament (by presenting false information based on hearsay). We Indians are undoubtedly one of the most successful ethnic groups in USA, be it in Medicine, Engineering, Entrepreneurship. BUT, that does not translate to those ridiculous numbers that have been presented….this is a circulating e-mail hoax," wrote in Soumya from USA, who said he worked at the NASA facility in Ames, California, and the number was nowhere near what was mentioned in the figures given to Parliament.

"This minister (D.Purandeshwari, Minister of State for HRD)… should be held accountable for misleading the members of parliament and the citizens of India. This just shows how illiterate and mentally defunct the current Indian govt. is," wrote Anand from Melbourne.

Purandeshwari is not the first minister to use the dubious figures in a system where politicians depend heavily on their bureaucrats to furnish facts, figures, and speeches. Former home minister L.K.Advani used the same figures in a speech some years back on a visit to Washington DC.

Here is the original mail (with source) which I had received about three years back (news content in the end) -

Be A Proud Indian

FACTS TO MAKE EVERY Indian PROUD

Q. Who is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems?
A. Vinod Khosla

Q. Who is the creator of Pentium chip (needs no introduction as 90% of the
today’s computers run on it)?
A. Vinod Dahm

Q. Who is the third richest man on the world?
A. According to the latest report on Fortune Magazine, it is Aziz Premji,
who is the CEO of Wipro Industries. The Sultan of Brunei is at 6th
position now.

Q. Who is the founder and creator of Hotmail (Hotmail is world’s No.1 web
based email program)?
A. Sabeer Bhatia

Q. Who is the president of AT & T-Bell Labs (AT & T-Bell Labs is the
creator of program languages such as C, C++, Unix to name a few)?
A. Arun Netravalli

Q. Who is the GM of Hewlett Packard?
A. Rajiv Gupta

Q. Who is the new MTD (Microsoft Testing Director) of Windows 2000,
responsible to iron out all initial problems?
A. Sanjay Tejwrika

Q. Who are the Chief Executives of CitiBank, Mckensey & Stanchart?
A. Victor Menezes, Rajat Gupta, and Rana Talwar.

Q. We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America, even
faring better than the whites and the natives.

There are 3.22 millions of Indians in USA (1.5% of population). YET,
38% of doctors in USA are Indians.
12% scientists in USA are Indians.
36% of NASA scientists are Indians.
34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.
28% of IBM employees are Indians.
17% of INTEL scientists are Indians.
13% of XEROX employees are Indians.

Kaum ke khadim ki hai jageer Vande Mataram

Mulk ke hai vaaste akseem Vande Mataram

 

Zalimon ko hai udhar bandook apni par garoor

Hai idhar hum bekson ka teer Vande Mataram

 

Katl kar hum ko na katil tu hamare khoon se

Teg par ho jayega tehreer Vande Mataram

 

Fikr kya jallad ne gar katl kar bandhi kamar

Rok dega zor se shamsheer Vande Mataram

 

Zulm se gar kar diya khamosh mujhko dekhna

Bol Utthegi meri tasveer Vande Mataram

 

Sarzami England ki hil jayegi do roz mein

Gar dikhayegi kabhi taaseer Vande Mataram

 

Santri bhi muztarib hain jab ki har jhankar se

Bolti hai jail mein zanzeer Vande Mataram

- Vishvnath Sharma

(During my visit to War Memorial Museum, Red Fort)

Here is from original post and the one I used to whistle -

Chheen sakti hai nahin sarkar Vande Mataram
Ham garibon ke gale ka har Vande Mataram.

Sar chadon ke sar me chakkar, uss samay aate zaroor
Kaanon mein pahunchi jahan, jhankar ‘Vande Matarm’

Jail mein chakki ghaseete, bhooka se veh mar raha
Phir bhi veh keh raha, bezar Vande Mataram

Maut ke munh mein veh khada, keh raha jallad se
Ghomp do seene mein, talvar Vande Mataram

Doctron ne nabz dekhi, sir hila kar keh diya
Isse to ho gaya hai, Aazar Vande Mataram

Eid Holi aur, Shubh Raat se bhi sau guna
Hai hamara ladala, tyohar Vande Mataram

Zalimon Ka Zulm to, Kafoor sa ud jayega
Faisla hoga, sare darbar Vande Mataram

Chheen sakti hai nahin sarkar Vande Mataram
Ham garibon ke gale ka har Vande Mataram…

The government’s rationale (or rationalization) behind this is familiar and silly. Whenever the government wants to restrict freedom, it invokes security, and cops justify this move under the grounds of fighting terrorism. Well, firstly, at a practical level, the cops won’t have the manpower to scrutinize the massive volume of keystroke logs generated everyday, or to figure out what is terrorist code and what is teenage lingo. Secondly, at a moral level, it is simply wrong to deny people of their privacy in this manner.

Also another point raised in same article on the basis of similar news makes absolute sense -

…why should the cops not place TV cameras in hotel rooms or record every conversation in every taxi and train? After all, terrorists use hotels and public transport. Are you okay with that?

But you may also like to answer this question -

“The question we need to ask ourselves is whether a breach of privacy is more important or the security of the nation. I do not think the above question needs an answer,”…

 

As long as personal computers are not being monitored. If monitoring is restricted to public computers, it is in the interest of security,” said National Vice President, People Union for Civil Liberty.

In my view, the second way of monitoring by camera is much secure and efficient as compared to earlier one which will bring more insecurity for those already sensible nerds, even if it is in interest of nation.

Do you want to reduce already negligible Indian online population? – is my question.

And I felt justified of my statements made that day when today I got to read this news that shining young congress MP Sachin Pilot who at Page 2 was talking about great Indian Leaders of future and what qualities they should possess. On Page 17 of same newspaper, there was a news about same politician asking minorities to continue their struggle for reservation. Ah, these politicians. I wonder why Times Of India selects such bas***** as its flag-holders.

The old ones are like the way they were - selfish and cunning!

Honestly, none of today’s leaders (politicians / bureaucrats) have impressed me except Atal Bihari Vajpai and Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

It was good to see Times Of India going open source in its own way – no more login is required to read the newspaper. You just have to select the city-edition and newspaper will be in front of you!

In Punjab, if you dress like a religious lord, chances are that you will be criticized and so called fatwa could also be issued against you. After wearing attire of the worshiped figure of Sikh community, Guru Gobind Singh – tenth Sikh Guru, protests were made by community against the leader who also belongs to same Sikh community but is from different sector.

News goes like -

Clashes between two sects in Bhatinda and Dera chief asks followers to maintain calm

 

 

Members of the Nihang sect clashed with supporters of Dera Sachcha Sauda after their leader wore an attire similar to that of Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru in a baptising ceremony two days ago.

 

Nihang Sikhs protested the move and burnt effigies of the Dera Sachcha Sauda leader Sant Ram Rahim.

 

 

Trouble had been brewing between supporters of the Dera Sachcha Sauda and the Nihang Singh sect after an effigy of Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim was burnt by members of the Nihang Singh sect and Sikhs in Bathinda on Monday.

 

Five people were injured in Monday’s clashes and the tension seems to be spreading, with minor clashes reported from Ludhiana.

Sikh demonstrators at the gate of Patna Saheb Gurudwara

There has also been strong protest at political level that India’s home minister had to assure that legal action will be taken as it has hurt the sentiments of Sikhs.

I was also thinking about Hindu religion where they themselves dress others to look like the worshiped figures in order to spread the religious teachings during the public concerts/exhibitions (e.g. the festivals like Deepawali/Dussehra) but then this religion has its own drawbacks. In my belief, a religion should be flexible enough to deal with controversies.

There is also a strong possibility of political connection with this happening rather a mishap which is described as follows in news -

Punjab on the edge, CM calls meet

 

The Dera Sacha Sauda has mass following in the Malwa region of Punjab in places like Bathinda and Patiala, and during the recent assembly elections in Punjab, the Dera had issued a edict to its followers to vote for the Congress.

 

As a result, the Shiromani Akali Dal suffered a setback in the Malwa region.
Analysts say that the ongoing violence in the state could be a ploy by the Akalis to regain their ‘Panthic’ credentials in the region.

I wonder, why some religions are so stringent that sometimes you fear of being a part of them! Religions are made for peace. They are made to protect your people and not to kill them. What would you say about a religion in which people fight and die, they kill their own broters and own countrymen? It applies to almost every religion existing today . Religions are no more for tranquility but are made to be taken for proving themselves supreme and most influencing. I hate damn politics, but then, I hate girls too…mmmmm sometime…there are somethings in this world which you don’t like but then, you can’t live without them . Sometimes evil becomes your necessity .

Don’t forget to notice the error message at the top-left corner and the SITE Coming Soon label at bottom. The only working link points to other website about the rating system which is also, still under construction .

Even this un-official website of BCCI looks much better than that.

Long live Indian Cricket and the fans!

The post selected as winner really deserves to be the best because it is about a revolution – a revolution in root cause of every development – education. It beautifully imitates the need for educated people. Ramakrishna refers to the 40.93% of uneducated adult population according to Indian Census 2001 and combines the concept of viral marketing in taking the challenge of educating the Indian population in his post titled – Innovation in education (you will need to sign up in order to view the post).

He proceeds with mentioning that it is this large uneducated population which takes part into voting process and electing the politicians. How can one expect them to be an “informed and well considered choice in electing its government”?

“When the electorate is capable of making informed choices, the country will surely gallop. ”

In his post, he elaborate the need and idea for implementation of viral education in following way -

We have all heard of or witnessed viral marketing. Why can’t there be a viral education concept in India? Can’t educating responsibility be cast on all educated people? Albeit voluntarily? Remember military conscription? Something on similar lines (but only voluntary) can be implemented in India too, to spread primary and secondary education among the larger populace. A la PPP models, a CGP (Citizen Government Partnership) model can be put in place, wherein the educated India shoulders (and loves it!) part of the responsibility of educating the uneducated India. A portion of the funds that are earmarked for education every year can be deployed for paying such education volunteers. The volunteers would take up the responsibility of educating a few other people and show results – by way of ensuring that their students pass/acquire the targeted qualification at the end of their learning process. The volunteers can be anybody – educated unemployed, employed people, educated housewives etc. The volunteers would be paid money by the government and in case they are employed people, policy prescriptions can give due recognition to their contribution and encouragement.

The people in comments have declined the hope of receiving political help especially when politicians are enjoying the power provided by this uneducated population and that Kerala has also achieved almost 100% of education without much political assistance. I agree with them to much extent. All that needed is for one educated person to be committed to educate at least one uneducated person. There is need for such volunteer groups and NGOs in the country which can take up such initiatives.

PS: No I didn’t participate, after all I am a working professional .

How can Agriculture and Industry grow together,

not one at the cost of the other?

Interesting answers from people…straight strikes. Sometimes such politicians make me think,

How do we select them as our leaders?

1. The pak-b’desh problem had language as one of the issues – google it.
2. The Singhalese-Tamil problem in SL has its roots in language
3. Periyar called for a separate country for Tamils in 1937/38 as a voice against the imposition of Hindi.
4. There were major riots against such imposition in 1965in TN.
5. The name Tamil Nadu was selected by Anna durai after coming to power in 1967 as a symbolic way of saying that TN is “Tamil country” and NOT for Hindi imposition.

Directly picked out from one of the comments over one such heated discussions posted by the same person.

And these people don’t even refrain from saying that -

As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, Tamil is the majority language so its good to know it. If a Tamil, moves out of TN, he should learn the local language of the region and not Hindi. Till then, a mixture of English and a few words can keep him alive in another state. Making Hindi compulsory in TN for the few who travel outside TN is absurd. What is the percentage of Tamils traveling outside TN?

In such case,

• As far as Punjab is concerned, Punjabi is the majority language so its good to know it
• As far as Gujarat is concerned, Gujarati is the majority language so its good to know it
• As far as Manipur is concerned, Manipuri is the majority language so its good to know it
• As far as Karnataka is concerned, Kannada is the majority language so its good to know it

And the list goes on .

But as far as India is concerned, HINDI is the only language, say it is necessary for National Integrity or otherwise.

The guy is quite sure that not much Tamilians go out of the state . These are such few people in every country which ignite the riots, fuel terrorism and malign the image of their location even when most of the other people from such regions are completely innocent.

And they also try their best to make out different meanings from the constitutional clauses which mention Hindi as “Official Language” instead of “National Language“…huh. Someday, they will say that our National anthem is not the one in Hindi Language .

God save people with such mentalities!

There was another post about travel in Tamilnadu Express and discussion over same subject, by one of the guys commented out there. I loved reading it and I hope you will also, if you managed to read through whole post .

FYI, here is the Indian constitutional clause mentioned above -

PART XVII

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

CHAPTER I.- LANGUAGE OF THE UNION

 

343. Official language of the Union.

 

(1) The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals.

(2)Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), for a period of fifteen years from the commencement of this Constitution, the English language shall continue to be used for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used immediately before such commencement: Provided that the President may, during the said period, by order_306 authorise the use of the Hindi language in addition to the English language and of the Devanagari form of numerals in addition to the international form of Indian numerals for any of the official purposes of the Union.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in this article, Parliament may by law provide for the use, after the said period of fifteen years, of-

(a) the English language, or

(b) the Devanagari form of numerals, for such purposes as may be specified in the law.

Because an Indian in his blog is saying that only 35-40% of India speak/read Hindi without any reference or facts. Of course, he belongs to a part of India where Hindi is not preferred at all – neither as language nor as national symbol. He is from Chennai. With all due respect to the region and language, it made me go fury over his statement where he asks if Google assume that all Indians know Hindi. And according me, Google should assume.

It is really shame on part of an Indian who doesn’t want Google to present Hindi interface to Indians given the scenario of countries like China, Japan and European countries which prefer their national languages over English. I support him when he says -

Google could display an info box asking the user whether he wants the results to be displayed in a regional language

But when he present wrong facts about India without any proof, any Indian can go angry over such countryman. He should be thankful to be in India and not some place where Kareem belonged to. If he still wants to maintain his statement about the percentage mentioned by him, I would like him to visit other states of India specially the North part of India where he can find each and every Indian knowing/speaking/reading their national language – Hindi.

Here is someone talking with NRIs and letting an average NRI know about what he thinks about him. This post is meant for those who say – India Sucks, as one who commented, points out.

He starts with -

You leave me speechless at times. Your concern for your homeland and patriotism gives me goose bumps. You are forever obsessed with anything and everything Indian –  cricket, bollywood, kollywood, corrupt politicians, carnatic music, and everything else which one would associate with the word INDIA. 

Nice start with nice bumps. When he mentions Kollywood, that means, he is from somewhere around Tamilnadu. Then he mentions -

…if a kid gets lost in an Indian city even for a moment, for you that’s a sufficient enough evidence to conclude India is unsafe for children…Every third post in your blog would be about the lack of discipline in Indian roads, the corrupt political system, the unscrupulous bureaucracy, the snail’s pace functioning of government departments etc.

Now here, I completely agree with him. He is so true when he mentions about the blog posts of an average NRI. They don’t write but they put out the grief they were living with in India and an average Indian feels more volcanic than ashamed while reading their blogs. An Indian wouldn’t like to call that NRI, an Indian.

Why don’t you try to do something about the subtle racial discrimination you experience day in and day out, especially if you are in Europe?

I would say because they are too coward (I found this word right for those who speak too bad about their motherland) to talk about a place they live in. when they were India, they were happy to live here until they shifted to developed nations.

Why don’t you work towards eradicating the gun culture in your US of A. 

And he says,

If you still find India is getting on to your nerves, please stay where you are. I mean why get into a country which is run by criminals and where the citizens are third rate when you have your place secure in paradise aka USA?

The official website of INDIAN RAILWAY CATERING AND TOURISM CORPORATION [ A Govt. of India Enterprise ] is completely hopeless. From nowhere, it appears to be a country website. Almost everyone who has visited this website and tried using it for online ticket booking would be knowing how hassling it is to get one single ticket booked from this website.

First of all, from layman’s point of view, you never know, when you will be shown an error message on website, washing all your hard-work and time spent in the process of booking a ticket. Here is the usual error message which will be coming to every user of this website who is using latest version of Internet Explorer i.e. IE 7. First of all, you go to plan my travel screen, enter Source and Destination stations along-with the Class and select e-ticket option. A list of trains is displayed to you and you select a desired train. Then you proceed to ext screen where you enter personal details and the identity card details. When you click on the Go button to go to the third screen, Internet Explorer shows you an error message saying that The security certificate presented by this website was not issued by a trusted certificate authority. Here is the screenshot -

So a government website hasn’t even a proper security certificate which means any novice hacker can hack this website!

You can click on Continue to this website (not recommended) in order to proceed but you never know, your bank account details will be with a hacker.

The Communication Failure error is quite popular with this website and keeps appearing now and then.

On the technical aspect, this website is using age old technologies and at any point of time, you can get error like this which I got sometime today -

 So they don’t have even the proper error messages on display.

Now, the most crucial part is when you make payment by logging in to your bank website and the money is deducted. After that, when you are redirected to the irctc website and all of sudden, you get error message – Page cannot be displayed. I come across this situation once in at least 3 times. You can’t do anything. Your money for ticket is gone and you didn’t get the ticket. After 4-5 days, your money is returned to your bank account after shredding out the transaction charges. I had explained the hidden charges in online IRCTC ticket booking in my other post.

So, this is our great Indian Railway Corporation (in native words) website which promises you a safe journey but not a good ticket booking experience .

‘Bhagat Singh, Rajguru referred as terrorists in ICSE textbook’

 

Freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev have been referred to as terrorists in a textbook of ICSE syllabus, the Maharashtra Legislative Council was informed on Tuesday.

 

Joshi said the chapter titled `Revival of terrorism’ in the 10th class book of ICSE referred the trio as terrorists.

 

The minister said the chapter would be expunged. Orders to the effect would be issued on Tuesday itself, he said.

I am not sure if the above action has been taken or not but the message also pointed out the pages of textbooks as follows –

Shame on this government !!! Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev have been referred as terrorists in an ICSE 6th standard class in social science subject text book at page number 64 & 65 in Mumbai…Jai Hind

It is really a disgrace to those martyrs who sacrificed their lives for our future.

Update (March 31, 2007): I visited a link over orkut which was pointing to this post. There was a member who questioned the authenticity of this post as the link to the online HT paper which is provided above is unavailable now and doesn’t open. There was some discussion over that thread until the doubter got the hard copy of same news from newspaper of same date and pasted the same text over the thread Also came across few anti-Indian disturbing communities while visiting orkut after long time – SIKH Nation !!!, I HATE INDIA AND WHAT ABOUT U? and Khalistan Punjabi n Sikhism . This nation is ours.

And all those other die-hard orkut users and cricket fans, do you know that Krish Srikkanth has become almost Google brand ambassador in India after starting a blog over blogger and creating a rather interesting profile over orkut? You can network with him by visiting his profile and other details provided by him over there. No I haven’t added him as my friend because I don’t accept anyone as friend until I don’t know that one well enough. I like him speaking about and promoting cricket but one thing that I dislike about him is that he talks about his 1983 triumph more than anything else. I am happy that veteran celebrities have started appearing online, although slowly.

India Poised is a campaign launched by Times Of India for India’s christening of 2007 as the ‘Year of India’ and the ensuing six-week long ‘India Poised’ campaign and promoted by Amitabh Bachchan. This is a kind of drive which has been initiated by Times Of India to make users contribute towards raising the issues about the problems in India and then, themselves, suggest the solutions. So in brief, we can call it a social network where users are the contributors as it says -

PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE

 The website lists down the Under Performing sectors, Star Sections, Problem Map (under construction), Best of Times : India’s most Memorable Moments, Day in life of India, Choose face of India (out of Amartya Sen, Amitabh Bachchan, Mahatma Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, NR Narayana Murthy and Sachin Tendulkar) as well as Games (about India’s history etc.) – all organized in different sections of website. This website is also linked to Indiatimes Blogs section for the latest hot topics. There is also a section named – People making a difference which is about the people raising their voice against the anarchy and

making a real difference to their societies.

This is first of its kind of initiative by TOI to bring users in front for raising their voice against system and then making those people who really makes difference, the heroes after Time Magazine has declared You, the users, Person Of The Year for year 2006.

You need to register if you want to contribute to the campaign like choosing the face of India etc. You are given a badge after you complete your registration. It is also emailed to you. Here is how my badge looks like -

Here is the campaign video in which Amitabh recites -

The text in the video/campaign goes like -

There are two Indians in this country.

 

One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the adjectives that the world has been showering recently upon us.

 

The other India is the leash.

 

One India says, give me a chance and I’ll prove myself .The other India says prove yourself first and maybe then you’ll have a chance.

 

One India lives in the optimism of our hearts. The other India lurks in the skepticism of our minds.

 

                  One India Wants. The Other India Hopes.

 

                  One India Leads .The Other India Follows.

 

But conversions are on the rise .With each passing day more and more people from the other India have been coming over to this side.

 

And quietly while the world is not looking, a pulsating, dynamic new India is emerging.

 

An India whose faith in success is far greater than its fear of failure.

 

An India that no longer boycotts foreign-made goods but buys out the companies that makes them instead.

 

History, they say, is a bad motorist .it rarely ever signals its intentions when it is taking a turn.

 

This is that rarely ever moment. History is turning a page.

 

For more than half a century ,our nation has sprung, stumbled ,run , fallen ,rolled over ,got up ,dusted herself and cantered ,sometimes lurched on .

 

But today as we begin our 60^th year as a free nation, the ride has brought us to the edge of times great precipice.

 

And one India – a tiny little voice at the back of the head – is looking down at the bottom of the ravine and hesitating.

 

The other India is looking up at the sky and saying, its time to fly…

 

Source: Times Of India

And according to other news making headlines,

Navjot Singh Sidhu today resigned from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a case of death in a road rage involving him 18 years ago.

I don’t know if he has been convicted rightly or not but he has given example of an Ideal Public Servant (IPS) who fights for the rights of one’s people. And the one who knows his moral duties. As per his statement in resignation quoted in news, he wrote –

“I always stood for truth and moral grounds and these principles which are above any office or power that I hold“.

I am proud that we have some IPSs in our country otherwise I am completely disappointed from UPA government’s ministers…like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Shibu Soren who are holding their ministries even after getting convicted in so many criminal cases.

In past also, Sidhu has been standing against the injustice despite the his position in party and the political pressure. I have been wathing his dareness in commentry, social front and his professional front and almost every cricket-lover in India knows, how did he performed in his career and the stands which made him call it a quit. He is a youth icon for lot of Indians specially when he came forward against reservation issue when no political party was going against it.

Well done, Mr. Sidhu. We are proud of you.

Here are the news excerpts -

Navjot Sidhu convicted in murder case

 

BJP MP and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu was on Friday convicted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for causing the death of a Patiala resident following a scuffle in 1988, overturning his acquittal by a lower court.

A division bench comprising Justices Mehtab Singh Gill and Baldev Singh found 43-year-old Sidhu guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and fixed December 6 for pronouncing the quantum of sentence.

Patiala district and session judge had acquitted Sidhu in September 1999 of the charge of causing death to Gurnam Singh following a scuffle. The Punjab government went to the High Court challenging the lower court verdict.

Sidhu, who was in Delhi when the judgement was pronounced, could face sentence upto life imprisonment. An FIR registered on December 27, 1988 alleged that Sidhu and Bhupinder Singh Sandhu hit Gurnam Singh after dragging him out his car.

BJP MP Navjot Sidhu resigns from LS

 

Hours after the Punjab and Haryana High Court convicted Sidhu, he drove to Parliament House and tendered his resignation to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

“In an 18-year-old case arising out of an alleged road rage, the honourable High Court has passed an adverse order against me holding me guilty. The High Court will hear my lawyers on Wednesday with regard to the quantum of punishment.

“Without resorting to technical arguments with regard to what the quantum of punishment will be and my right to challenge the judgement in appeal, I tender my resignation as member of Lok Sabha,” said Sidhu, who was elected from Amritsar in the 2004 general elections.

He said in the letter to the Speaker that he had always stood for truth and moral grounds and these principles “are above any office or power that I hold”.

When the House is in session, the Speaker’s decision on a member’s resignation is generally announced in the House.

CBI to seek death for Shibu Soren

 

 

With the Tis Hazari court in New Delhi all set to pronounce the sentence on Shibu Soren in the Sashi Nath Jha murder case on Thursday, the CBI will seek death penalty for Soren and his associate Nand Kishore Mehta.

 

The conviction of Soren and his subsequent resignation from the Union Cabinet will have far-reaching effects on the politics in the state.

Women make up 38% of HIV+ cases in India

 

• Over 5.7 million of the 8.6 million people living with HIV in Asia are from India
• Globally, more women than ever are living with HIV — 17.7 million, up 1 million from 2004
• In 2006, 2.9 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses
• In south and southeast Asia, there are 7.8 million HIV+ and there were 860,000 new infections in 2006
• Only one in eight of those wanting to be tested can be HIV+

But of course, there is no mean of promoting XXX Flavoured Condoms, with the catch-line “what is your flavour of the night”, especially in India. Ha.

I support Sharmila Tagore’s words in this respect – “It is not in my purview to ban the ad. But if it was, I would have done so immediately. The ad is being telecast during the Champions Trophy matches, which are watched by everybody, including children. Everybody is complaining, asking me how such an ad can be allowed to run.”

Cities with their rank in top 100 most populated cities of world -

3. Mumbai, India – 18,042,000

 

9. Calcutta, India – 12,900,000

 

14. Delhi, India – 11,680,000

31. Hyderabad, India – 6,833,000

 

32. Chennai, India – 6,639,000

 

39. Bangalore, India – 5,544,000

 

57. Almadabad, India – 4,154,000

 

77. Pune, India – 3,485,000

Now where is this city – Almadabad? Others are metros!

It must me Ahmedabad (and you know, still Google search for Almadabad + India gives 2240 results although that city doesn’t exist – all results are irrelevant. How can we trust Google search in such cases?). I can bet on that because the population of Ahmedabad is claimed to be about 5 million by government authorities and it isn’t in the list. Anyone who is still doubtful?

I surprise, how can such a reputed website can make such silly mistake in such an important census!

It costed me 30% of the price of ticket but then, Indian government can wait for me – as saying went.