Ghost Lines (part II) ....

continued from Ghost Lines (part I) ....

I pick up 2 lines from the last part to begin with this one - "The Government is not the problem, the attitude is. By incorporating a Lokpal, will that attitude be resolved?"

Many have succumbed willingly or unwillingly to the lure of money across different political parties, societies and organizations; to the greed born out of selfishness and hence it is not a disease characterized by only one of the parties, but a problem at large. This problem has been bred over the decades and is not out of the blue that we are witnessing it - it was just the case that it was a mere ghost to us till now and many skeletons are dropping out of these cupboards. If there is a problem there has to be a reason for it and only by addressing the reason can it be solved.

Ghost Lines (part I) ....

It has been a week since my exams have ended; from 26^th, it is back to the battlefield amidst the challenging and wonderful MBA subjects which are teaching me so much as I go along. The issue over the Lokpal is the headline news these days; and try as I might of disregarding the entire chaos and uselessness surrounding the issue, it keeps on reminding me of a topic which I have had in my mind since long. It makes me ponder over the connection I have observed between the Lokpal and the Education system of the country (reminded time and again when I see the condition of the 10th/12th kids or the numerous articles I read over the internet where many psychiatrists literally plead with folded hands to the parents and adults at large to protect their children against the rat race); It makes me think over where we are heading and reminds me what I had said in my blog Awakening the Ombudsman - I was unsure about how effective the sole implementation of the Lokpal will be and how those who wield the power would allow it to function; 8 months from that post - and if I was unsure then, I have become downright against it now. Now, I see it as a threat to the sovereign state of the future. Lokpal, whether that of the civil society or the Government is a grave threat for the country. I am going to break this blog into 3 parts :

Part I will contain the answer to why my attitude has changed from "unsure" to "against" highlighting as to why the Lokpal is NOT THE LONG TERM SOLUTION for the system. I was skeptical then about the Lokpal and the developments since then make me doubt the very foundation of the purpose of Lokpal.

The next two parts would deal with what I have not seen anyone tackling as the major solution in the long term. I have seen comments and opinions about the Lokpal, but solutions - I have not; so these parts would be my attempt to do that!

Part II will speak on the "ghost" link - the link between the Lokpal and the Education in India; it will be my attempt to flash a torch light in the dark corridors in a bid that I pass on what I have learnt from my readings and experiences/understanding.

Part III will finish this series culminating into my idea of "the solution" with an outline as to what "we" can do about it in the short as well as long term and manning the lines like dedicated soldiers !!

Part I --

Retail : a Past Re-Tale....

A chilly atmosphere in Nasik as I write this blog; I was hoping to just check my mail and go to sleep with a blanket over my head as I enjoy the best few hours among the 24 available (and believe me that Nasik in winter is the best place 2 sleep @ night - tucked up in a blanket, warm and snug!) My plans were delayed as I read the news about the day's events. One report awakened the part in me which was asleep and helping switch off other systems too - not Harvinder Singh's brave act (that was due since long, the volcano is spitting fire) but the Cabinet approval for 51% FDI in Multi-Brand Retail is what caught my attention; and its deep economic repercussions as I see it are unpleasant. Readers might remember that I had posted about FDI in the Media Sector in my blog Media's Masters.... ; I continue in the same vein to reinforce my statement as to how this last move is another attack on our nation by Sonia Gandhi and her minions.

Air "The Tare" Tel (part II)....

continued from Air "The Tare" Tel (part I)....

I was initially going to discontinue my current AirTel connection with immediate effect and in the meantime draft an official letter to AirTel to put it to their notice to free me of any liability of any SIM card registered and used in my name less I am dragged into any complications in the future; but the latest developments of the day (where my father also was told of a name-number mismatch) changed this outlook. My thought process took a different direction altogether - I suspected that I am just being lied to, i.e. the prepaid Airtel number which I have been using, always was and is registered in my name upon submission of required documents 4 years back but it is being conveyed to me by the CCEs that it is not.

Air "The Tare" Tel (part I)....

Past 10 days have been highly eventful; not just because of Diwali that had me grounded because of exams the very next day of the break, but I have had one of the greatest experiences in life. I have been introduced to manipulation techniques unknown to me; cheating at a level which can shock us all and the degree of dishonesty that business empires can showcase for money. (though this is what we discover, the tip of the iceberg always applies to such scenarios!) AirTel has made me wiser than I was a few days back and this is one journey worth sharing so that the losses I have incurred and the deceit I have faced can be avoided in atleast few other cases and the process of unmasking AirTel's mass cheating campaign can be furthered.

The Norm of Normalcy....

Ages and ages have gone by since I last posted on August 4th; I have had a near fatal bike accident resulting into scratched arms and an exposed palm; Had my engineering result declared and have had to call up the office 'n' times to 'request' them to correct the printing mistake of my birth-date on the transfer certificate for the 3rd time in my life (all of my last 3 colleges had entered my birth-date as 14th Feb, Why! Valentine and me have no connection what-so-ever! 4th is a good date!); then have had a demanding MBA class schedule with amazing teachers dissipating knowledge not only on Finance, Marketing and HR but also on inter-personal skills, psychology and spirituality; have had a brand new laptop with fingerprint recognition enabling me to now go for the full-monty in forgeting passwords without worrying about them and saving my already pathetic memory from strain! Last but not the least, I have exams from tomorrow; and balance sheets are testing me and my class-mates' abilities to withstand pressure and frustration. In the midst of it all, I decide to come back to something which is my virtual home, something which makes time flow like quick-sand, something known as Livin' Free....

Media's Masters....

At the back of my mind, since a very long time, I have had certain doubts about how the news travels around in the nation. Who actually pulls the strings and controls the media in our nation. Its been nearly 6-8 odd months (it pains me that it has taken me so much time to present such an important topic but I guess it happens for a reason!) of researching, thinking, going through blogs, opinions and journals etc; now I feel I can put forth my opinions about an untamed power's masters, the power which was once an abode of righteousness, which once proved that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword, but has now become the most powerful monster of pseudo-secularism : Media.

Guilty and Proud....

Innocent .........
What does innocent mean?

1) Free from evil or guilt or sin
2) Lacking intent or capacity to injure
3) Lacking sense or awareness

The above 3 meanings can be used to define "innocent" and I request the reader to think over the definitions till I get back to it.

In the aftermath of the recent Mumbai blasts, there has been a lot of activity going on among the youth on social networking sites. I have seen swear words ranted against the terrorists and the Government alike, cruel punishments suggested, "protest" marches signaled, blame games played and later I see a dead silence coming. This blog is not to condemn anyone or to agitate or to "offer sympathy" but to go on record over the internet as words of Chaitanya Godbole, were I to be killed in the next blast or a shooting maybe or rather in any form death greets me.

Bhaag Bose DK, Bhaag....

Aye mere watan ke logon, jara aankh mai bhar lo paani....

jo shaheed hue hai unki, yaad karo qurbani....

Yes, these beautiful words do bring tears to my eyes and especially when I have been immersed for nearly 5 hours as I write, in the subject which culminated into the composition of this poem. During these 5 hours, I have been going through a lot of data from the Sino-Indian conflict of 1962 to the death of former CM of Arunachal Pradesh Dorjee Khandu between 30th April 2011 to 4th May 2011. Though the war occurred so many years before my birth, the texts I have come across and the images I have seen make me imagine I was right there in those sub-freezing temperatures and can imagine what must have been going through the hearts of the first Indian soldiers at war at a check-post outnumbered 20:1. It is not the details of the war which I want to go through in this blog whose roots probably lay at the Simla Accord of 1914, but it is China's latest step in the form of Khandu's death that I wish to stress upon.

Escaping the Matrix (part II) ....

Continued from Escaping the Matrix (part I) ....

In this 2nd part of the blog, I present my views about the concept of the Matrix as I understand it. Please go through part I before continuing. For readers who have not seen the movies - I have presented a short summary of the Trilogy in part I.

"The freedom we are looking for is the freedom to be ourselves, to express ourselves. But if we look at our lives, we will see that most of the time we do things just to please others. The worst part is that most of us are not aware that we are not free."

Don Miguel Ruiz

I believe that there is a same undercurrent in this life of ours as has been depicted in the movies. Now, instead of a giant Matrix seen in the movie, I believe all of us are plugged into cascading matrices with differing levels of power. The matrices differ not only in the power but also on the grounds of influence and intensity.

Escaping the Matrix (part I) ....

It has been over a month since I last blogged @ Livin' Free. Nikhil had it to himself and I am glad he came out with his story and hope it appealed to all of you, my friends. My last semester exams have ended and I have nothing much to do than watch movies, play games, read stuff, eat and most importantly sleep like a lion!
I sincerely apologize to the most hardcore movie buffs for the next sentence - I saw The Matrix Trilogy (The Matrix, Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions) yesterday; hats off to the Wachowski Brothers and the entire crew who have created this Masterpiece. In the trilogy too, like most times, I have found something I can learn from and hence would be sharing it on the blog. Though, improbable it might be but for those who have not yet viewed the movies (people like my father who are still on the 'dark side' regarding the matter just as I was 2 days back!), I will request you to acquire them first and go through it before continuing further as that will help me reach up to you better.

Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart V

Continued from Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart IV....

This would be the concluding section of my blog Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart - something all of us have to decide.
An Appeal to the nation :

There are many things that have happened and are happening inside the state. To put down everything, I will end up writing a series of books with several volumes! I have tried to summarize data which was possible to.

Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart IV

Continued from Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart III

After narrating the story till the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley and pondering over the question of our return, today in the 4th section I present to you the inside story of PoK and why India or Pakistan / why not!

PoK- The Inside story

I would now like to share one reality that majority of people are not aware of.

In its early stages of terrorism (1980's), PoK was made the base for training for arms & ammunitions. Muslim youths, with the help of local govt and some corrupted officials of Indian army, were sent to PoK. Today it is the centre of terrorism. Why?

Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart III

Continued from Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart II ....

The story of Kashmir continues to section III in which I will narrate the journey of Kashmiri Pandits as regards to the dispute and the uncertainty of our return to the valley.

Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) in 1990 -

The hatred among Muslims towards Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir grew more and more during 1980's and finally led to the rise of millitancy. Many Muslim youth were being distracted and were shown the path of millitancy as to be Holy war (Jehad), even in Madrassas - their teaching schools. Youths were sent to PoK to be trained in the art of war. The terrorist organisations like LeT, HuJI and JeM grew more in numbers and started committing attrocities on the population of Kashmir, especially Hindus (KPs). The militancy started in the form of threatening messages from loudspeakers in Masjids, every time Namaz was offered, asking the KPs to leave the valley in order to remain alive. This was followed by

Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart II

Continued from Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart I ....

After presenting the background of the Kashmir dispute in section I, I will explain the implementation of Article 370 in this blog - its effects and contribution to the story of Kashmir.

Article 370 : The Masked Tyrant

On October 26, 1947, Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Kashmir, signed the Instrument of Accession of Kashmir to the Dominion of India. Under this Instrument, he surrendered the jurisdiction of three subjects - Defence, External Affairs and Communications to the Central Government. Lord Mountbatten, presumably with the knowledge and consent of Pt. Nehru, unwisely insisted that the final decision of the accession would be ratified by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir.

Was it not a blunder committed by Nehru to follow Lord Mountbatten blindly?

Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart I

After 68 blogs in 367 days, a journey which started on 14th May 2010, I have a chance to convey something which I was waiting ardently for - someone else posting @ Livin' Free - barring the opening para, the entire blog has been written by my close friend, my room mate for 3 years - Nikhil Bhan. He is a resident of Jammu & Kashmir; having grown up in a potential dynamite, a simmering volcano of hatred and power since so many years - bursting occasionally to demolish anything within its reach and damaging countless lives till date, he knows much more of Jammu and Kashmir than any of us.

Demo - Demographics....

I was about to sleep off for today but my sight fell on an interesting headline as I was about to close my browser. "Geronimo EKIA" - the 2 words cheered most since 2nd May made me search places to find out articles, opinions and blogs of different people, news channels and countries. A blog titled From India to Dinia : Pakistan to Pakasia (courtesy: Islamabad Times) aroused the "irritating" patriot that I am! I am sure that the first event to occur after reading the above mentioned title was you, the reader, being intrigued by it just as I was. After going through it and the references that I searched about, my sleep was KIA'ed !!

Japanese Jikogisei....

This letter written by a Vietnamese immigrant Ha Minh Thanh working in Fukushima as a policeman to a friend in Vietnam , was posted on New America Media on March 19th. It is a testimonial to the strength of the Japanese spirit and an interesting slice of life near the epicenter of Japan's crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It was translated by NAM editor Andrew Lam, author of "East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres." Shanghai Daily condensed it.

Awakening the Ombudsman....

A few days back as I was patiently awaiting the start of the Mumbai vs Delhi IPL match, I noticed a message from the operator which read "Celebrate India's Victory against Corruption"
It referred to Anna Hazare's fast upto death against the irregularities in the Lokpal Bill and the autonomy of the Government regarding the same. It was indeed heartening to observe many a youth like you and me, support the fast and what it symbolized in any way possible. Some joined Anna at the Jantar Mantar or some observed similar fasts in their own cities while some other conveyed their support through the social network or other media. Now, is this really happening? If it is, is it enough? or once again "something" is premature?

Power without Responsibility....

Wow! What a victory 2 days back!!
Great character displayed by the Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Men in Blue to win the Cricket World Cup 2011! Since the loss to South Africa in the group stage, Dhoni was abused and criticized like never before but the man with his frankness, his fearlessness and with his huge reservoir of self belief overcame all that was thrown at him and defied pressure to inspire the Team to its greatest tournament victory ever. Being an ardent cricket lover, I have followed the world cup keenly; in fact like most of you, have not missed a single ball of India’s matches after the group stages. What has intrigued me the most are the reactions and responses to this journey throughout the World Cup right from the loss against South Africa to the Final victory against Sri Lanka at Mumbai. There are a few questions which arose in my mind and I find them worth sharing as they reflect human psychology.

Reading Jasmine....

"Jasmine Revolution" is a phrase which we all have been familiar with since the last few months. Most Arab countries have been ruled by dictators since the past few decades. The movement started in Tunisia against the 23 year rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali with mass protests against the curtailing of basic rights, dignity and freedom. The Tunisian revolution had great success and spunk which spilled over its boundaries to ignite its neighbours resulting in the ouster of the former Egyptian President of 30 years - Hosni Mubarak; and the ongoing protests in Libya against Muammar Gaddafi's 41 year rule. The same revolutionary attempt has again sparked in China. Such attempts have not been infrequent in China over the past half a century, but due to the fantastic emergency mechanisms of the communist elements of China, they have never succeeded. Just a small whisper of the word "Jasmine" and the Chinese establishment goes ballistic !!

Now, all the above cases have a common link.

A Carrot, an Egg or a Coffee Bean?

Into the month of March and as the World Cup action picks up with Ireland's upset of England a few days back and South Africa again going "chokers" to cave-in to a 6 run defeat against England today while chasing a small total of 171, a few important news might just be missed during the news scan. Today I want to highlight another courageous act of defiance and truth plus a technological progress by the Nation thanks to the DRDO. 

DRDO successfully fired a Missile Interceptor and achieved desired results off the coast of Orissa. A variant of the Prithvi II was intercepted successfully by the interceptor which was fired 5 minutes after the target missile. This test bolsters the nation's defence capabilities and is a shot in the arm for building a shield against foreign threats.

Now speaking of interceptors, one brave interceptor lost his life on March 2, 2011 in Jharkhand.

Tightened Screws....

A sharp drop in blog visits signaled the advent of the Exam season !! Less time on the internet (which is unfortunately interpreted as just a source of time-pass) and more time buried in books; drooping shoulders; dark and tired red eyes and an invisible phantom burden pressing on the back. Yes, we are indeed in the age of competition. The full force is felt in a nation like ours where population growth is disproportionate to the supply of quality education and infrastructure. So, instead of asking God for a stronger back to handle challenges we see our HRD ministry place a lighter load and we, the people, directly or indirectly support it by playing along.

I gather that a new concept of a co-coacher is taking roots. Take-up Teachers or Co-coachers are men who visit students one on one while they revise (read vomit) answers one after the other in the run-up to the board exams.

Courage Personified....

"Long time no See?!!" would be the most appropriate blog starter for today !!
Hoping all of you are doing well; enjoying life, its challenges and problems and racking up your brains to find up solutions or trying hard to realize "why" something happens. Well, "why" is something which has made its presence felt and persisted with its stay in my head more often than not in the past 20/30 days. I am sure I will be getting the answers if I look at the right places; while looking around for these places, like many times before, I have found something worth sharing and worth deriving inspiration from.

Fighting till Death....

We woke up on our 62nd Republic Day, 26th Jan 2011, to a sad news. I have been meaning to write this blog in its immediate aftermath but I have been down lately, disappointed by a few of my recent failures in life. But as we all know, that is how life is and I hope or rather believe that good things are on their way. As far as the news report is concerned, yes, I am talking of the barbaric murder of Additional District Collector of Malegaon, Yashwant Sonavane in Nashik District.

Personally I feel that the state of affairs today is what I will term as a Banana Republic.

Changing Guard....

As we near the Republic Day, tensions somehow, as always, are building up. By now, most of you would have heard about the BJP's Ekta Yatra to unfurl the Tricolour at Lal Chowk, Srinagar on 26th Jan and I believe every person who calls him/herself a child of this great country must be happy that finally someone in the political class are willing to demonstrate that they have guts !!

The fact that the ruling party and the Jammu & Kashmir Government have opposed it just affirms their fear that Bhaarat is changing.

The Real Coffee....

"Shrink Wrap" is a material made of polymer plastic film which shrinks or contracts upon itself when heat is applied to it. It is a wonderful metaphor which I encountered a few days back while reading the article The Shrink Wrapping of India in Times Crest.

We as a nation are crazy about anything which is Western. Western clothing, food, aesthetic styles, life and the list goes on and on. While there is nothing wrong about choosing the very best when it comes to buying comforts, it certainly is a problem when one is not detached from it and gives his/her mind to it. As Swami Vivekananda puts it, "Detachment from the material world is living in the midst of it all but not being influenced by it."

The Next Chapter....

What a 31st !!
A Cyberspace quest, a peaceful sleep, a beautiful dream and some great news the next morning !!
Happy New Year to all of you, my friends!
I wish that all of you strengthen the essence of excellence further and go on to discover much more about life and freedom !!

Firstly, Dalit Entrepreneurs would be attending a pre-budget meet in New Delhi on 3rd Jan 2011. In my blog Reloading Renaissance, I had spoken about the drive for excellence to be prevalent in all castes. I had said that the passion to succeed and the merit alone must be the decisive factors which lead to promoting independence and self belief. Guess what, this report certainly indicates it!