My View Counts

Stop Minority (non-Hindu) Quota

2012-01-12T05:16:00.001-08:00

This is a very good decision which has exposed Congress for it was indulging in such vote bank politics.

Next, we should repeal Minority Quota in all states, forever, because it is against the spirits of our constitution.

EC halts minorities sub-quota in five poll-bound States

The Election Commission on Wednesday ordered the Union Ministry of Personnel not to give effect to the December 22, 2011 office memorandum, providing a 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities within the 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes in Central government jobs and educational institutions, in the five poll-bound States.

The direction will be applicable until after the completion of the Assembly election process in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur.

The EC took into account the fact that the decision on sub-quota was announced by the Centre on December 22, before the model code came into force, i.e. on December 24, when the poll schedule was announced.

The EC said it was brought to its notice that the order had been issued in violation of the model code, and that it took the decision to ensure a free and fair poll.

Sources in the EC drew attention to the Sections in the model code relating to parties, candidates and the State/Central governments. Para 1(3): There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes.

Many parties, particularly the BJP, had strongly opposed the Cabinet decision and said the announcement was made as an inducement to Muslims, who are in sizable numbers in Uttar Pradesh.

Minority Quota

2011-12-27T22:52:00.000-08:00

Our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said the following:

He warned that “no entity should be created inconsistent with our Constitutional framework and charged with onerous executive responsibilities without any accountability... Let us not create something that will destroy all that we cherish...all in the name of combating corruption. Let us remember that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Lokpal-Bill-UPA-wins-one-loses-one/892877/

But this leaf from his speech was on his opposition of bringing CBI under Lokpal...

If you read his statements again, thinking about the communal (Muslim) reservations inside Lokpal, you would agree that on the same grounds, communal quota should have never been passed by the parliament.

Indian constitution doesn't allow reservations on the basis of one's faith. But our government has not only decided to make 50% quota for some castes and for minority religions, they have also announced 4.5% reservations for minorities (Muslims and Christians), on the basis of their faith! In my opinion, this is completely against our constitution, and all of us should oppose this. So far I see only BJP has been opposing this, but I think the responsibility is on each one of us.

Say no to communal politics in the name of Lokpal! Say no to minority quota!

Indian Express Scared by Congress!

2011-12-22T22:24:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, the Indian Express used to bear the torch of brave journalism. Now it seems they are scared by the Congress Party and Kapil Sibal who advocate all websites to screen comments and messages and to stop criticism of Congress party and Sonia/Rahul Gandhi. I just tried to post a comment, on a news item related to the introduction of communal quota in Lokpal, and the Express website didn’t allow me to do so!

A shocking realization!

Communal Quota in Lokpal

2011-12-22T15:08:00.000-08:00

Today, a history has been created in the Indian Parliament. The ruling Congress party led UPA govt introduced a Lokpal Bill which has provision for communal reservations for minorities (read Muslims and Christians). Do remember that the constitution of India doesn't allow providing for such a communal quota. But the Congress party has still gone for it, in order to signal to its Muslim Vote-banks, that the party will go to any extent to appease them!

--
Lokpal Bill is in, jury is out

“We are disappointed,” said Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, and listed two objections. She said the provision for “not less than 50 per cent” reservation for SCs, STs, OBCs, women and minorities in the proposed nine-member Lokpal body — including the chairman — violated the Supreme Court ruling keeping the cap on 50 per cent.

The move for a religion-based reservation was “patently unconstitutional,” she said. She said the portion dealing with state Lokayuktas struck at the federal structure because it was done under Section 253, which made it mandatory for states.

The Congress leadership, which initially had the minority reservation provision included in the draft bill, had changed its mind late last night. The provision was brought back following pressure from its allies. The party leadership was aware of the lack of constitutional backing for the move but the game was to go in for it, send a signal to its Muslim constituency and leave it to the BJP to oppose the move. If the court struck down the minority reservation provision, then so be it.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/LokpalBillisinjuryisout/891120/
--

This has happened just after the crown-prince or yuvaraj Rahul Gandhi has made tours of UP promising Muslims of a communal quota for them.

It reminds me of how the Late Rajiv Gandhi tried to appease Muslims mullahs by playing around with women's rights (Shah Bano case). And what followed was deconstruction of Babri structure, the so called (deserted) mosque. It led to communal violence all across India and the politics in India took a new turn.

In our opinion, Congress party which is headed by Sonia Gandhi, a Roman Catholic is playing with fire by inserting illegal and unconstitutional communal quota just for political gains. It can boomerang into a long term instability and communal disharmony.

Another aspect of this political move is that it has exposed Congress for its communal agenda. So far the party has been labeling the BJP of being communal, while it was Congress which has been doing minority politics. Minority Politics is Communal Politics, by definition! So by such a selfish and shortsighted move which is against the spirit of our constitution, Congress has established itself as a party with Communal Agenda.

Whole of India is shocked and sad at this turn of events. Hindus may not express their anger, but such a move to provide communal quota in Lokpal is clearly seen as one of minority-appeasing political gimmick.

Let us all be aware of the politically motivated communal bills. Let us all oppose such a bill which divides people into Hindus and Muslims. India's strength is its unity and our politicians try to divide us in the name of caste and religion. Let all of us, in one voice, oppose the Communal Lokpal Bill!

Mother Teresa A Fraud? So said Christopher Hitchens

2011-12-17T04:37:00.000-08:00

Noted British author and journalist Christopher Hitchens passed away after waging a long battle with cancer.

Hitchens had long been a foe of organized religion and its leading lights; when the late Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa in 2003, Hitchens dismissed her as a “fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud.” He called the late Jerry Falwell an “ugly little charlatan,” saying “it’s a pity there isn’t a hell for him to go to.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/christopher-hitchens-atheism-was-a-gift-to-believers/2011/12/16/gIQA2CD3yO_story.html

In 2009, atheist Christopher Hitchens appeared on Dennis Miller’s Internet radio show condemning Mother Teresa where he said: “The woman was a fanatic and a fundamentalist and a fraud, and millions of people are much worse off because of her life, and it’s a shame there is no hell for your bitch to go to.”

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/WOR-TOP-christopher-hitchens-the-man-who-called-mother-theresa-a-fraud-passes-away-2644720.html?HT4=

On Anna and on Cutting Culprits’ Hands

2011-12-10T03:19:00.000-08:00

The recent fast by Anna Hazare against political corruption and to bring Jan Lokpal Bill resulted in thousands of people coming on the streets and showing their support to the agitation. The agitation, which Anna called “Satyagrah”, was successful in touching the hearts and the minds of our nation. Almost no one remained untouched with the debate going on – how long we should tolerate our corrupt politicians? The answer was unanimous – “not anymore!” Though we are still not sure if the Lokpal Bill in Anna Hazare’s version will ultimately be tabled and passed by parliament or not, it is not left to doubt whether the Satyagrah was a success. In a country where “Chalta hai” attitude was celebrated in popular conversations, this Satyagrah shook us all and gave the optimists more fodder for the future. Due to all that has happened so far, I believe that Anna Hazare’s movement has been very successful.

After the success of the Bring-Lokpal-Bill, many people couldn’t digest the fact that the agitation was a pure success. Therefore they tended to look for other clues to somehow prove that Anna Hazare was wrong. The fact that the entire government machinery guided by corrupt politicians was trying hard to look for any loose ends of Anna Team only encouraged them and provided more leads. One popular aspect came in the form of some interview where Anna Hazare pitched for severe punishment for corrupt politicians and officials. Here is a paragraph, which anti-Anna internet users have often used:

“You say that those who are corrupt should be hanged, is that not against Gandhian principles?” Anna answers, again in Hindi, “That is why I have said that, today, in many things, along with Gandhi we have to look towards Shivaji. [Unclear] Patel committed a mistake, and Shivaji had the man’s hands cut off. This policy of Chhatrapati, in many ways, we have to think about. Hundred per cent non-violence is not possible. Sometimes, even this has to be done, and that is why I have been saying that these people should be hanged…”

The anti-Anna people who quoted this made it a point to prove that Anna wants to cut off people’s hands, and hence he is not worthy of our respect given that his methods are violent. But after reading the above transcript, I think the conclusion that "he wants to cut off people's hands" is absurd. The question asked was why he favors "hanging the corrupt" and he gave example of Shivaji where he cut off the hands of culprits. It was an example, analogy, to make a case for strong punishment (including hanging) for those who do corruption. From this, if one concludes that "Anna Hazare wants to cut off people's hands" the conclusion is a logical absurdity!

Secondly, the anti-Anna people would mention Anna Hazare’s methods where there were public whipping of drunkards and addicts to make them get rid of their habit.

I support harsh punishment for politicians who do large-scale corruption. I am sure majority of Indians would also support it. Corrupt politicians can sell our country and all we can do to them is to keep watching impotently for 5 years defeat them in elections – I think this is not enough.

There are people who are against capital punishment for corrupt politicians and government staff, saying that their crime is only “financial” in nature and hence should not be given that severe a punishment. Then there are some, who are against capital punishment in principle, calling it “medieval thinking”! We do hang people as part of legal punishment, don't we? Is it "medieval thinking?"

I read his three consecutive sentences: "This policy of Chhatrapati, in many ways, we have to think about. Hundred per cent non-violence is not possible. Sometimes, even this has to be done, and that is why I have been saying that these people should be hanged". See, the conclusion is "these people should be hanged". He didn't ponder much on "cutting off hands" but made that as example in the middle of his statements to make a case for "hanging the corrupt". Also, we can't be sure about which sentences the journo decided to exclude and which to include.

For capital punishment for corrupt; let us be clear that their crime is never a financial corruption alone, but always moral and psychological corruption also. I would support capital punishment for the perpetrators of large scale corruption until we have capital punishment for any other type of crime. Until we believe on this rule, "Law should punish the violators" - which has very wide application in all aspects of life, I see no reason why we should say that white-collar criminals are better than plain robbers who loot households at gunpoint. Killing people physically is bad, but how do these become not-bad: financial scandal resulting in people losing their jobs, going bankrupt, old people in family/women/children going on the streets unprotected as a result.

I don't call large scale corruption as purely "economic" crime. Otherwise I would say robbers looting me at gunpoint are also doing purely economic crime. I think we have very fixed opinion on what is civilized and what is not and I would love more firsthand inquiry to be done on each of our beliefs and assumptions.

Dr. Subramanian Swamy and Harvard’s decision to stop his university course

2011-12-08T05:37:00.000-08:00

Today, news says Harvard University has decided to stop the course Dr. Subramanian Swamy was taking at the university. Surprisingly, the decision has been linked to one of Dr. Swamy’s articles published in the Indian newspaper DNA where he had opined hardly against Islamic terrorism and had asked Indian Hindus to wake up the realities growing in their bylines. Here is an extract of the news:

Swamy preaches tolerance after Harvard drops him

Hindustan Times; New York, December 08, 2011

Harvard University has dumped former union minister and Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy from its 2012 summer school faculty after protests from teachers and students over an allegedly anti-Muslim opinion article Swamy wrote for an Indian newspaper earlier this year.

"Harvard has established a principal that the person teaching there is accountable to whatever he writes elsewhere is a not good for them," Swamy said reacting to the university's action. Only dangerous thing Harvard has done is to make their professors responsible for what they write anywhere in the world, he added.

"Harvard has been inviting me over the years to teach. It is upto Harvard to decide what to do," Swamy said. So can India take action against Harvard professors who teach in India and criticise Hindu fanatism, he asked.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Americas/Swamy-preaches-tolerance-after-Harvard-drops-him/Article1-779323.aspx

Dr. Subramanian Swamy is a great man. In my opinion, all that he is doing is benefiting our motherland India in some way or the other. His views which ask us to strengthen our internal and external security environment are justified. His views against part of Indian Muslim community which are more loyal to outside forces than to India are provocative but still right in their own ways.

Harvard is free to call whomever to teach and others can accept it or reject it. Harvard professors should not be judged by their views expressed in their articles or literature. It is unfortunate that the university's decision is seen with respect to the article; as a matter of fact Harvard had supported Dr. Swamy's right of speech and views in the event of immediate protests after his article.

Since Islamic people are more universally populated than Hindus and liberals, it is not surprising that they put their views and opinions more strongly than Hindu Indians.

I think if Harvard's decision should be taken as a proof of something, it is the proof of Islamic networking working across the globe to protest anyone who has an opinion different than theirs.

OBC creamy layer ceiling raised to Rs 12 Lakh per annum!!!

2011-11-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

Indian democracy becomes a joke when we talk about equality of all castes and religions. What our politicians actually practice is "vote bank politics". Any group, be it a caste, religion, or gang, can demand and get anything and everything, if they are united and ready to "vote en mass" for or against any political party or leader. Caste based reservations, or popularly called Quota, are an example of this.

Caste based reservations were devised to benefit the poor. The rich, no matter belonging to which caste, are always protected in this world which runs on money. But just like the rich among all castes are basically "rich by caste" - they are another group altogether, their lobbying has resulted in a lot of manipulation of original policies to benefit the rich at the cost of the poor. Creamy layer was a system devised to counter this practice.

Creamy layer system was created to pull out the rich and powerful people among the reserved castes, so that the actually deserving candidates who were very poor, could benefit. So far the limit was Rs 4.5 Lakh per annum, which itself was very high given the socio-economic condition prevailing in India. But now, our super efficient government (check which political party is in power) has raised this limit to Rs 12 Lakh p.a. in metro cities and Rs 9 Lakh p.a. in non-metros!

Here is the news:

OBC creamy layer ceiling raised

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/obc-creamy-layer-ceiling-raised/articleshow/10762780.cms

Another shocking reality is the timing of this decision. While the nation is busy fighting corruption and media highlight is on other issues, from the backdoor they have passed this rule thereby benefiting the rich and powerful among the OBC castes!

In my opinion, caste-based reservations are totally against our democracy and it mocks the principles of equality which our constitution assures to provide. I believe any right minded Indian would oppose the systems like discrimination based on castes, which indeed this Quota system is!

Long live our democracy! Let us remove all caste-based reservations and schemes! Let the poor come up and prosper!

The Monk who sold his Ferrari

2011-11-17T06:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a very interesting article which tells the story of Rasanath Das, an ex-investment banker turned Hindu monk.

Rasanath, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), did his MBA from Cornell University and was working as an investment banker when the hidden facts about our life awoke him and made him to self-reflect.

You can read the whole article here:

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/17/idINIndia-60582120111117?feedType=RSS&feedName=globalCoverage2&google_editors_picks=true

I think what Rasanath did was very real and an inspiration for all of us. This world is not just about making lots of money, marrying, taking up material challenges and then dying with leaving lots of money for kids. Life is more than all this... And unless we think about what our life is about, we shall never get higher than the corporate "rat race".

Organized Conversion by Christian Missionaries

2011-06-01T01:11:00.000-07:00

Just read the following article and can't contain my happiness. I believe organized religious conversion out of Hinduism should be legally banned in India. Individual conversions are personal choices and should be left out. But the manner in which Christian / Catholic missionaries have been spreading their propaganda funded by foreign money/donations, it is shameful if our democratic govt should not stop it.

Conversion not a constitutional right: SC judge

Satya Prakash,Hindustan Times

New Delhi, February 27, 2011

Maintaining that there was no constitutional right to convert a person from one religion to another, justice P Sathasivan of the Supreme Court on Saturday said the right to propagate one’s religion was not an unrestricted right. Delivering the third Dr LM Singhvi Memorial Lecture on “Secularism and rule of law in India,” justice Sathasivam said the state has a right to pass laws restricting conversions if such activities created public disorder.

Quoting from the SC’s 1977 verdict in Stainislaus vs State of Madhya Pradesh & Orissa, he said: “The right to propagate means the right to ‘transmit and spread one’s religion by an exposition of its tenets’. But…there is no constitutional right to convert a person from one religion to another, because this would impinge on the ‘freedom of conscience’ guaranteed to all the citizens of the country alike.”

The Supreme Court delineated the boundaries of the right to propagate in the context of state legislation prohibiting forcible conversions, said justice Sathasivam, who headed the bench, which made a controversial remark against religious conversions while upholding the conviction of Dara Singh in the Graham Staines murder case last month.

But the bench chose to modify it after several Christian organisations termed it uncalled for and demanded its withdrawal.

On state’s the right to pass legislation restricting conversions, justice Sathasivam, quoting from an SC verdict said: “the ‘public order’ provision of Article 25(1) of the Constitution has a ‘wide connotation’ and that the state could legislate conversions if they ‘created public disorder.”

While maintaining, “Secularism is the part of the basic structure of the Constitution,” he said the term ‘secular’ has not been defined, presumably because it is a very elastic term not capable of a precise definition and perhaps best left undefined.

He, however, said in Indian context secularism meant “Sarva Dharma Sambhav” ie tolerance for all religions, which springs from due deliberation for one’s own happiness and also for welfare of all beings.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/tabloid-news/newdelhi/Conversion-not-a-constitutional-right-SC-judge/Article1-667294.aspx

I hope this creates a better environment and consensus for our govt to be able to put a ban on the corrupt conversion activities with help of money or jobs.

Keralite Mafia or Nexus – Is there something hidden from the public?

2011-05-01T01:13:00.000-07:00

All governments keep some pretty little secrets which never come out in the public domain. These are sacred secrets. Those who try to infringe on these, are made to go in the oblivion without any news reports covering them. It is pretty common like this, in most parts of the world. But such schemes were never threatened in the way they are being made so thanks to the Wiki Leaks and one brave man called Julian Paul Assange.

Recently, WikiLeaks has made a very important revelation which raises the curtains from over the way govt of India works. Here is what the Telegraph India writes in its news title “CPM smirks at US pressure ‘leaks’”.

A cable the US embassy sent to Washington in 2005 described M.K. Narayanan’s appointment as national security adviser as an addition to the “Keralite mafia” in the PMO. Narayanan is now Bengal governor.

“Along with principal secretary T.K.A. Nair, Narayanan constitutes what is now a Keralite ‘mafia’ in the PMO,” the cable said.

It added: “In a bureaucratic culture dominated by north Indian Hindi speakers, this Keralite lock on the PM’s inner bureaucratic circle represents something of an anomaly, which could in the long term create new fault lines around the Prime Minister.”

The controversy over the appointment of chief vigilance commissioner P.J. Thomas, who too is from Kerala, has had many in government circles talking about how some of India’s top bureaucrats, particularly in the PMO, are from Kerala.

Among the Keralites in the PMO are current national security adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and additional secretary R. Gopalakrishnan. The other senior bureaucrats from the southern state include foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and home secretary G.K. Pillai.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110316/jsp/nation/story_13722264.jsp

Also read: Narayanan plays down Wikileaks revelations: ET http://tinyurl.com/6kgva5k and I've nothing to say: Narayanan: TheHindu: http://tinyurl.com/6b355vf

In a way these revelations are not new to the political analysts. It has long been observed how Keralites were given priority in key roles in governments. To some extent I think it was happening because of the very talent, skills and character which Keralites brought on the board. Even though it is a generalization, but Keralites are always appreciated for their professionalism, and unbiased nature on most of the politically sensitive issues, apart from being intelligent and headstrong. But things as it seems didn’t remain unadulterated for long. When you generalize or label one particular group with some quality, the worst among the lot take advantage of the labeling to get some selfish motives fulfilled. As it happened in the case of CVC Mr. Thomas, on which Dr. Singh relied without even slightest doubts, all leading to his own humiliation by the Supreme Court (also remember my blog post challenging Kerala IAS Association of supporting tainted CVC Mr. Thomas all as a display of regional chauvinism and bias). If people are granted critical positions on the basis of something other than pure merit, the system degrades.

So the the US embassy’s observations indeed hold water. In my opinion there is no doubt on that. But I am actually worried if India and Indian media would miss the case because of the provocative title given to the lot: “Keralite Mafia”. (Reminds me of ‘Italian’ Mafia). Even the true mafia doesn’t want to call them a mafia, and to call someone so is now almost politically incorrect. So if the embassy chose some other term to describe the phenomenon, may be a nexus, group, or whatever – it would have made a stronger case to shake the polit-circles. (But in personal communications, which never imagine to be made out in the open by WikiLeaks, we are bound to be ‘honest’ and choose whatever fits our thinking better.)

So all I want to say at this stage is: forget the provocative term “mafia”, and think over the pattern!

More than Error of Judgment

2011-04-01T01:13:00.000-07:00

Prime Ministers of India are perhaps the most erroneous among their peers. Errors, we define, by the admission of the culprits. Otherwise when one sits down to judge, right from the creation of this nation (separate Pakistan) to handling J&K crisis (article 370), or to what not – all would seem erroneous. So we had our first prime minister Nehru, one who led us in our freedom struggle with Gandhiji, making an error which he termed as “Himalayan Blunder”. Perhaps we Indians are so forgiving, or say meekly forgetful, that in our mind we never associate Nehru with his China policy even today. When we remember him, we remember a red rose in his suit and his Gandhi topi. Despite he costing us thousands of our brave men and acres of our soil which still today is in foreign control. Next in the line when Indira ji spilled blood (polluted one) inside a temple, it still was an error. Error of judgment? No, we shall keep this term for another PM. That was an error of horror. Or an error of ego. Doesn’t matter what tag it deserves, it resulted in hundreds of Sikhs massacred on the streets. Indira ji died too, but that was a death of a martyr. The innocent mothers, fathers and kids who were killed, were not worthy to be called martyrs; see, we won’t do error of judgment with them. Third in the line, the clean shaven Rajiv did an error too. Two innocent errors actually – of sending troops to kill our own children in Lanka and of entertaining some guests from his in-laws circles. “Q”uantum of error – but doesn’t count. After all we need heroes to worship, right? So Rajiv remains a hero despite his errors and their repercussions.

Now there were small PMs who don’t count – like N. Rao

Prime Ministers of India are perhaps the most erroneous among their peers. Errors, we define, by the admission of the culprits. Otherwise when one sits down to judge, right from the creation of this nation to what not – all would seem erroneous. So we had our first prime minister Nehru making an error which he termed as “Himalayan Blunder”. Next in the line when Indira ji made an error of a horror. An error of ego, to be precise. Doesn’t matter what tag it deserves, but it resulted in hundreds of Sikhs massacred on the streets. Third in the line, the clean shaven Rajiv did an error too. Two innocent errors actually – of sending troops to kill our own children in Lanka and of entertaining some guests from his in-laws circles. “Q”uantum of error – but doesn’t count. After all we need heroes to worship, right? So Rajiv remains a hero despite his errors and their repercussions. And all other small people – from LB Shastri to Narsimha Rao – were less of a hero no matter what they did. When we see such great error-makers along with their blunders and follies, our current PM’s self-touted “error of judgment” seems a petty one. It goes even without a flutter. But what if it was not an error?

What if it was not an error?

What if it was a well thought-out decision?

Who pays for it?

Dr. Singh has accepted his responsibility. But is that all he thinks we deserve?

Killing the Golden Goose the UPA Way

2011-03-08T01:12:00.000-08:00

Mahatma Gandhi said India lives in the villages. Whenever I visited my naani-ke-gaon, my mother would point to the fact that people in villages were honest and lived a more virtuous life than those in the cities. And as I grew up, I agreed with this notion. But it didn’t have to continue for long, as I saw. Each time when my government waived the farmers’ bank loans, it punished the honest and industrious farmers who had planned and cared to return back the loans they took. Such loan waivers, which matched the election schedules to create the right atmosphere for the UPA government to win, rewarded the lazy and corrupt farmers who would take bank loans and would fund their wrong habits instead of using the money to invest in their farm lands. Of course there were farmers who genuinely benefited from the loan waivers, but any other scheme which helped the poor or Below Poverty Line villagers would have helped them anyway. Farm loans waivers were an election gimmick.

I think now we are about to reap the results of our government’s gambles. As this report tells us:

All government banks are reporting an increase in their bad debts on farms loans ranging between 80% and 2000% in the first nine months of 2010-11. The net NPAs of all public sector banks till December 2010 increased by 70% compared to 46% in 2009-10.

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur reported the highest increase in non-performing assets (NPAs) on agriculture loans at 2,000% in April-December 2010. The increase in SBI’s bad loans has gone up by 80% compared to the bank’s total farm loan NPAs in the previous fiscal. Andhra Bank reported a 168% rise in NPA while in case of Allahabad Bank, it was more than 157% and for Corporation Bank, it was 205%. Bad farm loans of Bank of India increased by 100% in the current fiscal till December 2010.

Source: "Bad debts on farm loans pile up", 7 Mar 2011, TNN, http://m.economictimes.com/PDAET/articleshow/7644305.cms

Such high proportions of bad-loans would force the government to waive them again. (This culture of loan-waiving would make the rural banking system ineffective in the long term. People will take loans in order not to pay them off; and banks would be forced by govts to keep granting larger sums of loans to rural area. This is what I call “Killing the golden goose”). In most probability, PSBs would get their due in the form of government money. But ultimately from where does the subsidy come from? It comes from our tax-returns to the government! So in a way, we, the responsible citizens, are funding the corrupt practices happening in the hinterlands…

Given the plethora of scams and scandals which have enveloped the current UPA government, we would be deaf and dumb if we still believe its motives were honest. As the government indulges in large scale corruption, it is part of the same corruption to corrupt the uncorrupted among the citizens too. I see the use of farm loan wavers as an election gimmick to be doing the same to our farmers and to all of us…

The Congressi Tradition of Rewards

2011-02-08T01:10:00.000-08:00

Many of us were not happy when Congress had won the last state election in Maharashtra even after all had happened before, during and after 26/11. Terror attack was not a single issue, the issues ranged from farmers’ suicides to all round corruption. In the citizens cry after 26/11 attacks, the party only replaced the CM to show to the hapless public that it had acted against the ineffective CM. But Vilasrao was made a union minister, as if being rewarded for the inaction and corruption. Today, a Supreme Court judge had the guts to tell the truth to the whole world. I hope Congress supporters are reading this:

Vilasrao's cabinet post a shameless act: SC judge

TNN, Feb 7, 2011, 03.29am IST

Supreme Court Justice A K Ganguly has expressed dismay that the Centre allowed Union cabinet minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to continue "in full glory" despite being slammed by the SC barely two months ago for grossly abusing his power as Maharashtra chief minister to shield from criminal action a moneylender family which was squeezing debt ridden farmers of Vidarbha dry.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Why-is-Vilasrao-Deshmukh-still-a-minister/articleshow/7440199.cms

Any thing for the Prince?

2011-02-02T01:10:00.000-08:00

Wikileaks did a great harm to the image of Rahul Gandhi, the crown prince from “the dynasty” in India. He would never have imagined that his letter to the US Ambassador would be made public, where he said that Hindu extremism was a bigger threat to India than the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) or Islamic terrorism. The fact that he was saying all this not to any other elections but to a foreign nation like US of A, made the matter worse. The diplomatic and long term repercussions of his irresponsible communication, which many believe is Congressi propaganda against right wing parties, were to be immense. But such revelations also put a question mark on his ‘ability’ to become a Prime Minister of India, where 80% population is ‘non-minority’.

Watching the political scene from soon after these exposures/leaks, I can see another clear line shaping up. One ‘Swami’ Aseemanand has been caught and he is said to be making confessions to own up all possible terror attacks that happened in India, starting from his date of birth onwards. He is said to have made bombs to blast trains, all in rupees 25,000 each. And as main conspirators, he is naming dead persons. Remember that for the same Samjhauta express blasts, the SIMI had owned up responsibility. Official statement reads: “The Samjhauta blasts were carried out with the help of activists of SIMI with the help of Pakistani nationals who had come to the country from across the border.” - Safdar Nagori, chief of the SIMI Nagori faction. And now, out of heaven, a ‘Swami’ (this needs to be highlighted in order to put the blame on the larger Hindu organizations as a whole) appears, wearing all saffron clothes (this color is again very necessary to be captured in all journalists and news channels’ cameras), and he owns up the same Samjhauta express blasts! What is in the store for future? A confession that he was the real famed Spiderman about whom they made movies? Or that some more dead persons who wore saffron clothes and belonged to that Hindu organization at one time in their life had carried out each of the terror attacks and even all the anti-Sikh riots of 1984?

I feel there is something cooking up for pure political reasons. And I think “Prince” with his gloomy beard and foreign eyes is beginning to smile. Only, I do not wish the Queen with a long life; nor will I wish to see the Prince as the PM of the country I love and our freedom fighters died for.

Gujjar Quota: Jiski Lathi Uski Bhais

2011-01-07T01:09:00.000-08:00

I believe most of my friends think that Gujjars’ demand for caste-based reservations was wrong and their violent methods of protests which caused grave inconvenience to commuters for weeks should have been dealt with harsh rap. But, ultimately they have succeeded in what they wanted.

Gujjars start returning home from rail tracks

Jaipur, Jan 6 (IANS) Hundreds of Gujjars, squatting on railway tracks near Bayana in Bharatpur district for the past 17 days to press their demand for job quotas, have started packing their bags to return home after an agreement with the Rajasthan government.

The Gujjars were Wednesday assured five percent quota in government posts following several rounds of talks.

http://www.sify.com/news/gujjars-start-returning-home-from-rail-tracks-news-national-lbgnkkddhdh.html

I feel it’s a shame and cowardice for the world’s largest democracy to give up to the unjust demands of violent mobs. But when political power in India is shared between so few hands (or political leaders), we can expect more such situations to arise. Wonder where our discriminatory system of giving jobs and educations after looking at our castes and (non-Hindu) religions would take us to!

Bangladeshi Migrants - Hindus Vs Muslims

2011-01-04T01:08:00.000-08:00

This is where I completely hail BJP for standing up for the genuine rights of Hindus. I am happy to read this news and I hope government sees the point. I believe India indeed has a moral responsibility to accept all Hindus from either Pakistan or Bangladesh who have to flee from these countries due to religious discrimination. We created separate nations for Muslims, but we also need to think of the plight of the Hindus who suffered because of our decision.

Enrol Bangladeshi Hindus as voters: BJP

NEW DELHI, January 4, 2011

The Bharatiya Janata Party has no problem with Bangladeshi Hindus settled in Assam being put on the electoral rolls. Its objection was only to Bangladeshi Muslims, the party in-charge of political affairs in Assam Vijay Goel said here on Monday. In fact, he said “Bangladeshi Hindus must be put on the voters' lists.”

Mr. Goel led a BJP delegation to meet the Election Commission and submitted a memorandum asking the Commission to undertake a proper revision of rolls ahead of the Assembly election and ensure Bangladeshi Muslims – those who have come after 1971 – are taken off the rolls.

However, the memorandum emphasised: “India has a moral responsibility to accept all Hindus of Pakistan and Bangladesh who have been displaced due to discrimination and persecution on the grounds of religion. Therefore, all such displaced persons must be granted citizenship status.”

It also noted that Bengali-speaking Hindus settled in Assam were facing intimidation and harassment from governments and this issue should be dealt with urgently and they should be granted citizenship and voting rights.

The party also talked about the “high fertility rate” among the Bangladeshi Muslims settled in the State.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/article1030359.ece

2010 Varanasi Terror Blast

2010-12-31T01:04:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, we went to a specialty restaurant near Jama Masjid in Delhi. The restaurant was very close to the Masjid and we could see people on its stairs. Then I noticed something. There were big posters fixed on the walls of the Masjid, which said, “Kahin Hum Bhool Na Jayen (Let us not Forget) – Babri Masjid Demolition”. I remembered the day – it was one day before 6th of December. Those who would have erected the posters, would be feeling great about it – may be they would have raised charity to get the posters printed. And what would the posters achieve? Some hatred and some trouble – for all.

On that day, I wondered why not someone printed and erected posters and banners saying, “Kahin Hum Bhool Na Jayen (Let us not Forget) – Babar’s Ram Temple Demolition”. Since Babri Temple was constructed at the ruins of a Hindu Temple, it was an un-Islamic structure – as experts say. But those who want to spread hatred in the society – and claim to hold power among Indian Muslims - hardly care for “righteousness”. All they care about is their own sources of income. A lot would be coming from funds raised from Indian Muslims, and a lot more from across the border.

Today’s newspaper tells there was a Blast near a Hindu Temple in the holy city of Varanasi. It was carried out by Indian Muzahiddin to avenge deconstruction of controversial Babri building. A young child has died and dozens are injured. I am not surprised. If our government supports the ‘hatred mongers’ in erecting those avenging posters and banners – a sample of which I saw near Jama Masjid – we would get only such hateful and disastrous incidents in return. When all power in India lies in the hands of a lady which has no accountability, and the man holding responsibility has no real power; our future remains at stake.

Chidambaram is a Migrant too

2010-12-15T01:07:00.000-08:00

One of my colleagues tells his story from the childhood days. He was very bad in studies and when caught to some difficult question, he would become philosophical and would give vaguely thoughtful answers which even the teachers won’t be able to make solve. This strategy of his, worked. The confused teachers often asked him to sit down. I think our Home Minister has reached a stage in life where he is qualifying himself to be incapable of handling really demanding jobs. One can only infer this, if one hears from him his recent remarks:

Chidambaram blames migrants for crime in Delhi, Opposition hits back

TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES, Dec 13, 2010, 02.30pm IST

NEW DELHI: Union home minister P Chidambaram on Monday came under heavy fire by the opposition for blaming the spate of crimes in Delhi due to migrant population.

Stroking controversy, home minister Chidambaram said, "I condemn the heinous crime of rape. Migrants are behind such crimes in the capital." "Crime takes place because Delhi attracts a large number of migrants," said Chidambaram, whose ministry is responsible for law and order in the sprawling city of 14 million people.

Chidambaram was reacting after an 18-year-old girl was gangraped on Sunday in a moving car while 600-700 policemen, who were trying to locate the car went in vain. The policemen from the six police stations immediately launched roadblocks after her abduction but failed to save the modesty of the girl.

On the other hand, BJP leader Kirti Azad also criticized Chidambaram and said that Congress government has been trying to hide its failure and mistakes by blaming migrants. This was the fourth incident of abduction and gangrape in a span of one month. The rising incident of rapes in the capital have been raising serious question over the safety of women. Around 433 cases of rapes have been reported so far in this year in the capital. According to the statistics, Delhi witnessed one rape each day in the year 2010.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Chidambaram-blames-migrants-for-crime-in-Delhi-Opposition-hits-back/articleshow/7092575.cms#ixzz18GrwZntX

To find the ‘originals’ in Delhi – a place where almost entire population was butchered by Muslim invaders so many times in its history – is puzzling enough. And then to blame ‘migrants’, as if the ‘locals’ (so called) would never rape a girl – shows one’s own imprudent state of mind.

I think it is fine and doable to look at the demographic profile of criminals and make some observations (still, I wonder if Chidambaram could make a comment on ‘religion’ of a lot of criminals). But for a home minister of a country as diverse as ours, it is given that he would see the repercussions of his statements and judge appropriateness to audiences. This is why I strongly feel his statements were very wrong and even ‘evil’ in a sense. As the news arrives, the Thackerays from Maharashtra have expressed their ‘agreement’ over Chidambaram’s statements and went ahead with spreading their ‘divisive’ agendas.

In any case, if 700 policemen couldn’t stop a rape, as the case is in this one, I think Chidambaram’s plain ‘philosophical talk’ won’t save him or his government anyhow.

Creamy Layer Income Limit

2010-12-14T01:07:00.000-08:00

Caste Politics is perhaps the ugliest part of Indian democracy. Those leaders who claim to be supporting the weakest, often are those who grab their opportunities away, all in the name of political vote banks.

Caste based reservations in jobs and in schools and colleges was a very bad idea to start with. That is why it was planned to be applicable for a limited period of 10 years. But the corrupt politicians made the policy become an eternity – as they secured them strong vote banks from amongst beneficiary castes. The list of so called ‘lower’ castes was regularly enlarged in order to attract votes from maximum castes possible, and even those castes which took pride in being ‘upper’ are now fighting for a ‘lower’ tag. It is indeed a race towards the bottom. To ensure the politicians get patronage of maximum voters; they expanded the bracket of ‘Creamy Layer’ income limit. Therefore, today the poorest among the benefitting castes (from reservation policy) remain in oblivion while richest among the same benefitting castes (covered under quota) grab and swallow all the seats meant for the poor.

In a very welcome move the Supreme Court has allowed a petition which challenges this unfair raise in Creamy Layer income limit:

Creamy layer income: SC admits plea

TNN, Dec 13, 2010, 08.51pm IST

NEW DELHI: The SC on Monday admitted educationist P V Indiresan's petition challenging the legality of the UPA government's decision to raise the creamy layer income limit from Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 4.50 lakh per year for OBCs.

Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate K K Venugopal said that by this increase, the poor among OBCs would be pushed out of reservation benefits by the rich among the backward classes.

The government had defended the decision saying it was a reasonable increase despite many elected representatives demanding raising it to Rs 25 lakh.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Creamy-layer-income-SC-admits-plea/articleshow/7094417.cms#ixzz185NDq94Q

This is good news. I believed Creamy Layer limit has been hiked for political aspirations of corrupt leaders. It should be set at 1 Lakh maximum, otherwise the rich among the OBCs swallow the seats meant for really poor. Let us hope some sense prevails in the “mad rush to the bottom”.

Loss of making ‘Desh’

2010-12-14T01:05:00.000-08:00

In a very positive note, government of Bangladesh has decided to honor 226 Indians for their crucial support to the country during 1971 Liberation War. As this TOI news tells:

Bangladesh to honour 226 Indians for role in 1971 'Liberation War'

Bangladesh will honour some 500 foreigners, including 226 Indians, for their crucial support to the country's 1971 'Liberation War', as it marks the 40th Victory Day anniversary next year.

Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi would be conferred with a special honour for her "immense" support for Bangladesh's independence, officials earlier said.

Apart from the late Indian Prime Minister, then Indian army chief, Field Marshal S.H.F.J. Manekshaw and the army commander in India's eastern theatre, Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, figure in a list of eminent people to be honoured by Bangladesh.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Bangladesh-to-honour-226-Indians-for-role-in-1971-Liberation-War/articleshow/7100272.cms#ixzz18GcilMme

At the same time, I am horrified to read the concluding part of the article:

On March 26, 1971, Bangladesh - then East Pakistan - declared its independence from West Pakistan.

According to official figures, Pakistani troops, aided by local collaborators, killed an estimated 3 million people, raped about 200,000 women and forced millions more to leave their homes during the bloody nine-month guerrilla war.

Now this is shocking and completes the story of Division of India in 1947. I don’t know how many men and women would have died if there was no division of India, but certainly ‘a lot’ suffered due to it; be it in 1947, or 1971. All those who died or suffered, were sons and daughters of the same soil.

While sons and daughters of soil suffered in all three artificially created nations of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, interestingly, three dynasties grabbed power in the three respective nations, for decades. Nehru/Gandhi in India, Sheikh Hasina (daughter of BD's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) and Bhuttos in Pakistan, these are strong dynasties which have survived and thrived. Their tales are full of ups and downs, with some members of dynasties paying price by their lives. In any case, I think situations with less separate “Desh”s would have been better and bigger.

If the Name is Thomas

2010-12-04T01:03:00.000-08:00

It seems there can't be any demi-gods in "God's own Country" Kerala. In the proceedings of the 2G Scam case, the Supreme Court had made some serious doubts about continuance of Mr. PJ Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner. Here is what the court said,

"CBI is functioning under the CVC, at that time he (Thomas) was functioning as Telecom Secretary. It would be difficult for him to objectively monitor." "He had justified the actions which are being subject to scrutiny by this court and CBI. It would be difficult for him to objectively supervise." the bench observed. His appointment as the CVC is also in question as he is charged in a criminal case in Kerala.

http://tprone.com/p-j-thomas-central-vigilance-commissioner-set-to-resign-on-wednesday/

Now, in an interesting twist in the tale, the IAS officers association from Kerala has come out fully in the support of Mr. Thomas. I wonder if such kinds of verbal supports matters in the court of law?

Kerala IAS officers come out in defence of CVC

KOCHI, December 3, 2010

The 180-member IAS Officers Association of Kerala has come out in defence of the embattled Central Vigilance Commissioner P.J. Thomas who was Chief Secretary of Kerala before being made Telecom Secretary at the Centre. The association has issued a press statement questioning the targeting of Mr. Thomas in the 2G spectrum scandal ‘without ascertaining the facts.’ T. Balakrishnan, president of the association, told that IAS officers in the State were pained by the way Mr. Thomas was being harassed for no fault of his. He said every IAS officer in Kerala knew that Mr. Thomas, who served in Kerala for more than 35 years, was an honest and upright officer. He had an impeccable career record and was always above board.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article929299.ece

It is fine for individuals to think Mr. Thomas is either corrupt or honest. For associations too, it is fine to keep an opinion. But to make public statements in support of persons against whom the Supreme Court of India has passed doubtful comments and the person himself being in the midst of scam enquiries, I wonder what the Kerala IAS association wants to prove here, other than its regional-bias or favourism?