AN INCIDENT

On a dark night while returning home, i finally got a bus after waiting for half an hour.I felt a sigh of relief after grabbing a seat in the crowded DTC bus and sat on it. The journey was routine - the same bus route, the same bus stands and the same crowd- albeit with different faces.

The journey was going on smoothly,  i was sitting comfortably on my seat thanking my stars and  listening to songs . As the bus reached the half way mark, a Blind Sardar got into the bus and came near me. He asked or rather ordered me by poking his stick to vacate the seat. I looked around and shook my head in disbelief.

I grudgingly left my seat for him and stood beside the burly blind Sardar feeling sorry for myself, I was standing beside him when after few minutes I saw that the blind Sardar's phone started to buzz, he had received an SMS, and to my utter surprise he picked the phone and started smiling after reading it.

I was too shocked to say anything to him, he remained in the same bus for another 15 minutes and then left.

NEWSCHANNEL IN A NUTSHELL

Private TV news broadcasting happened in India only in the early 2000. With an explosion of several news channels, it has quiet frankly changed the way journalism is

Perceived in this country. Being a visual and 24*7 medium, the demands and skills required by it are quiet different from the print medium. Initially, various prominent print

Journalists joined TV and gave their expertise and knowledge to it, but gradually, it has

been found out that this is a completely different monster altogether. And to tame this

beast, a completely different set of people with different set of aptitude and expertise are

required.

Luckily, I joined a news channel i.e. NEWS-X, as an intern and worked there for six

months continuously. Upon working there, I realized that in this visual medium few

factors stand out quiet distinctly.

1. chain of communication

 2.    timing

CHAIN OF COMMUNICATION

By the term chain of communication means the thread through which a particular

incident which happens somewhere, reaches to its ultimate destination i.e. TV set.

Several people are involved in a single news report, and perhaps hundreds in a single

one hour daily show. The chain of communication requires constant vigil and

authentication of  sources. When several set of people work in tandem with each

other not exactly knowing what the other set of people are doing to the information

forwarded by them, a sense of intrigue does creep in, which could mothball into

confusion and ultimately, communication breakdown.

I Personally experienced this problem while working in different departments in the

channel. When I was working there as a producer, I used to wonder what these

reporters would be doing after their 2 minutes live. And when I actually reached at

the reporting destination, I started to wonder, why the hell these news room people

sitting in AC rooms always dictate to us- what to do and what not.

One department always feels shortchanged by the other. For 50 days I was in the field

with the reporters and camerapersons and developed a ‘’we feeling’’ and started to

think myself as a part of them. They also accepted me as a part of their community i.e

outdoor. But, the situation got complicated when I was transferred to the guest

Coordination department, where, I had to guide and sometimes order the same set of

journalists and camerapersons. This, situation quiet frankly put me in a spot of bother

several times. One day I remember my boss Rahul shiv shanker told me to fix three

big congress ministers for a simchat. The bigger the minister, the more illusive he

becomes . Upon seeing my sorry situation he hinted me to take the help of the congress reporter, who happened to be my erstwhile senior colleague as well. I called him and asked to arrange three cong ministers for a fake live. Since that day we haven’t  spoken with each other.

These are the several incidents when due to communication gap, situation gets murky.

If you are not constantly in touch with someone, the other person starts to visualize

things in his or her own manner, perception gets precedence over what you

actually are. Your last encounter becomes the tool to judge you. No matter how hard

you try to start afresh, how you are perceived by the other people always tries to pull

you back.

TIMING

The second most important component of TV as a medium is timing. When I said

timing, it doesn’t mean  that the job should be done in the minimum of time but, it

should be done when it should be done. There are days when nothing substantial

happens in the country, this makes us  feel that we can relax for a while, but all of a

sudden an explosion happens and the Newsroom goes into a Tailspin, our body which had by then became accustomed to relaxation and comfort doesn't always rise to the occasion . All of a sudden

you are required to do an equal amount of job which perhaps you might not have

done in the entire week.

And at the end, I just want to say that to become successful in the television medium,

a person has to be keen observer of the latest development around his/her

surrounding. Excellent communication happens when your interpersonal relationship

with all your colleagues are great. Being a very subjective medium, no matter how

great on paper, on your head or in reality you might be, unless your colleagues don’t

think likewise, you are just a non functional entity. To be able to deal with the various

egos of several people is a big asset to have.

REFLECTIONS ON THE ‘COMPULSION OF REFLECTIONS’

Writing on our own self, even for the purpose of compiling your reflective thoughts and experiences is a dicey and uncharted territory, at least for me. Life is an unknown entity, and compulsorily jotting down every week’s experiences is like predicting beforehand that your life will every week throw up new things worth writing.

I enjoy every moment of my life, but it doesn’t mean that I have to learn something from it. Do we learn after getting drunk? Or do we learn something after playing a game of card, or by sleeping in the open, in front of the magnificent president’s house? No -never, we just enjoy it, and marvel at the beauty of the moment. That’s what I have been doing in my internship period, enjoying my life at Vijay chowk, outside the parliament’s premise. As far as learning part is concerned it is taking its own care. I think if you want to learn something, it’s very important to enjoy the process of it, unless we do it, the learning would be regimented and shallow.

Unlike Print, Television journalism, especially reporting doesn’t give you the luxury of time, preparation and choice. One has to make the best out of anything which comes his way. So, every day apart from the obvious president’s house and parliament building, some interesting and amazing people come on my way. For the last month or so I have been interacting with some senior television journalists and camerapersons, and actually living like a team/family.

Seeing them work and working along with them is a training which I couldn’t have gotten at any school or college. Being one of the most senior journalists of the channel they have an experience which doesn’t let them get perturbed, no matter what the situation is, for them it’s business as usual and there is always a better tomorrow. People are more concerned about what would be in lunch rather then what the prime minister is going to say in his speech.

Relatively young journalists see the world in a slightly different way . Every time they want to do something which could bring some change in the present situation, be it in their personal life, the news channel, or of the country at large. Their ideas may or may not pass the test of practicality, but they surely look very attractive, thought provoking and indeed gather some crowd. This exchange of experienced and new perspective balances the decisions which ultimately come out of their interactions.

Kulbhushan (Kullu paa ji) is a character without which the experience of vijay chowk would be incomplete; he is the senior most video journalist of our channel and has an influence which permeates throughout the vijay chowk, partly due to his huge frame and mostly because of his cool attitude. He doesn’t have to go anywhere for collecting any important bytes of important people as all the video journalists themselves come to him to transfer the bytes . He has a permanent place under a tree where he sets his unit and carries his job in the most sophisticated manner possible. Every sentence uttered by him becomes a legend.

Like one day on a hot afternoon, he said ‘’ the Sun should rise from the other direction’’ If he wants to drink vodka and a tea vendor passes him, he would simply make him run away by saying that ‘’this is not the right time to sell tea’’. Whatever suits him should be good for others as well.

These are some of the important people working for the same news channel in their different capacities. All of them are successful in their respected field.

Unlike, the image which they carry on camera, Political leaders are quiet chilled out and friendly to each other, you can spot two fierce rivals who were jostling for political space on camera , once off air doesn’t hesitate cracking jokes with each other. Most of the leaders without any official government posts come to vijay chowk to give lives, tic-tacs etc, and yes the post of Prime Minister is indeed very powerful and does wield its influence, if not in the cabinet, then at least on the road , through the so called ‘PM route’. It’s rare, when one sees the entire traffic being stopped at a distance of 500 meters, followed by the intense sound of siren which compels everyone to hold their breath for few minutes in anticipation, until the convoy gets disappeared in the thin air.

BLOG NO -36

In the fast evolving world and society, especially in an increasingly market driven India, more so in a globalised city like Delhi, the convergence of different spheres and thoughts often open a Pandora’s box of choices, which is enough to confuse even the most determined person as well. Lucky are those who find a way to get out of this maze, built inside the mind and in the outer world also.

Thankfully I got an opportunity to experience a unique course, where all the different spheres of media converged at one place. Where the people could experience first hand, what are the fields in which they feel the most comfortable at.

After the explosion of 24x7 news channels, the face of media is changing rapidly. In the western world, the traditional form of news i.e newspapers, is fast turning as a thing of the past itself. And to keep up pace with the changing world, most of the newspapers have turned digital in the form of online news.

Although, in India Newspaper industry is at its peak and growing at a robust pace. But, it is predicted that here also a time will come when newspapers would also become a relic of the past. To be able to deal with this situation it's important to equip yourself accordingly. Thanks to our online media teacher Ben, we got to know a lot about the distict style of online writing. The blog which I have been writing is solely due to the help and initiative taken by him.

Even the most uninitiated of classmates often say that the best thing which they got from this course is their Blog. Blog, is an online personal diary, which can be used to convey your thoughts and reflections to the other people and in turn get their responses in the form of remarks. One can use it to vent out one's frustration, or to offer the most ingenious solutions to the trickiest problems . Perhaps, students also like the fact that unlike Newspaper and Television Script writing ,here the rules and guidelines are not as rigid and formal.

STRUCTURE

‘’I like the Structure’’, ‘’focus more on the structure’’, ‘’you have the content but not the structure’’. These are some of the many instructions which we regularly receive from our esteemed writing professor. With due respect to his capabilities and dedication towards his students, I sometimes feel frustrated by his constant exhortations on the need to have a particular structure, and have started to wonder if the structure was all that is needed to judge anything. Yes anything and anyone, as that is what his criterion seems to be of judging almost anything.

Yesterday, while returning back with him on a metro train, we were chatting about anything which came across our way, when one of my friend spoke about his recent visit to Agra’s Taj Mahal, to which my professor said that '' Although, Taj is a great monument but he personally liked Delhi’s Red fort more, because, it has a certain structure''. I brushed this statement aside as his personal opinion and we moved further. I asked him about his most favorite city, to which his reply was ‘’I like big cities like New york, Paris and Los Angeles, in smaller cities I like London the most’’.

London,a small city. I quipped, ‘’are you talking about the same London which is the capital of Britain or some other American town’’? But indeed he was referring to London, the capital of Britain. Then i asked ‘’How come, London is a small city’’? ‘’He said because it looks small, its structure is not like New-York and Los Angeles’’.

Without caring to know the facts, he demoted one of the biggest cities of the world to a small city. I agree, London has a certain architecture which makes it more accessible and well connected, which gives an impression that it’s a small city, but the fact is London is as big as Paris if not NewYork.

These are some of the examples when too much of focus on structure makes you miss the real picture. His emphasis on structure is so intense that it seems to be bordering to obsession. But isn’t the society has also turned up just like that. More than the product, it’s the way you package your product that sells more. Gone are the days when movies used to revolve around a good script backed by strong acting and direction skills. Today, the way you market your movies through songs and dazzling sets often end up pulling the audience, at least for the initial couple of days, and these two days more than make up the entire production cost of the movie. But, does that mean the movie was great?

Same is the problem with media as well. From, being a mirror to the society, newspapers and news channels have become the dressing table of it, where the reader comes to make him happy and trendy. Can this momentary happiness be a substitute to the actual situation of this country, which the newspapers try to bury under the middle pages?

Coming back to our highly respected professor, on one occasion while teaching history of media he touched upon the subject of Iraq war. During the Iraq war how the Whitehouse packaged the myth about WMDs in a manner that the American public started into believing as if it was indeed a crusade.

 I guess structure of a product more so in a creative work is indeed important. But, too much of emphasis on structure at the cost of content could jeopardized the whole product.

INDIA RISING BUT WHERE ?

Yesterday I saw the movie ‘’Peepli live’’. I somehow got interested in the subject, where the director through the
 use of humor takes potshots at media, government and the social system of the country.The movie portrays the theme of farmers committing suicide in the rural areas of India, while the government and media are being busy in painting the whole world in the India rising slogans.

 In reality what is rising is the number of people who are committing suicides due to the burden of ever increasing debt, and the number of poor and malnourished children who go to bed (if they have any) without food. Forget about the rural hinterland, even in the capital itself there are thousands of homeless people who have nothing to protect themselves from the harsh chilly winters. Winter is not a one off phenomenon, it comes every year, still the government has done little to shield them from the cold winds of North India. The few and far between night shelters which the government  has opened are insufficient to take care of every homeless person. Why can’t the government take this problem with the same seriousness which it showed during the last stage of commonwealth games preparation?

In a Blog article written by Mr Riaz Haq ‘’ Peepli Live’’ destroys Indian Myths. The same issue has been explored. I agree with the writer's claim  that India is  doing  badly as far as uplifting its people from the margins of poverty is concerned. The policy of  making the country rich first and then distribute the wealth among the masses is taking more time than accepted. Although, I am not totally against the market driven trickle down approach, but, knowing the delivery system or the infamously inefficient bureaucracy of our country, I tend to feel that India will  remain an unequal society.

Unless and until there are some revolutionary steps taken in the functioning of the government, I don’t see any real difference which this India growth story can make in the life of the 40% poor’s of our country. For them surely the rise of India is just a myth.

MEDIA IN A MARKET DEMOCRACY

Today I met a seasoned journalist who has spent a considerable portion of his life in the print as well in the broadcasting media. As our topic of discussion veered towards the condition of print media in India , I got surprised to know  how 'Times of India' the biggest English daily of our country manages its business.

It is basically the TOI (TIMES OF INDIA) which is responsible for making newspapers sexy and attractive; it  is this paper which brought the page 3 and other soft news like stock market on the front page and gave more importance to the advertisement. The smart marketing moves that Sameer Jain the owner of TOI took turned out to be legendary. Almost all newspapers followed the model of TOI, and increased their readership through cutting prices and increasing the number of pages.

Initially, I felt very happy that due to these marketing moves a lot more readers can afford to read newspapers, as the TOI was full of soft and glamorous news with glossy layout which attracted the young college going generation also. I was thanking Mr. Samir Jain for changing the way people see newspapers, until I came across an article by Mr.Riyaj huq in his blog, Huq’s Musings. Titled "Rulers and Media Manufacturing Consent in India"    after reading it ,I realized that the content of the media post liberalization has actually changed for the worse. News has been commoditized and the readers are being treated as consumers.

In the pursuit of becoming beautiful and attractive, the media has somehow banished the concrete and more important real news to the middle pages. Even the readers themselves don’t want to see the reality any more, and remain in the make believe world of India rising, India the next superpower and various dazzling but illusionary India centric things. This tendency of the public has resulted in the leaders getting off the hook easily on matters which require intense public scrutiny. This dichotomy of newspaper readers were shown during a Pew global survey where 85% Indians who got surveyed were satisfied by the government’s performance. And a country where 7000 people die every day because of hunger, still feel that terrorism is its biggest threat.

After seeing these figures and facts the qoutes of Naom Chomskey seem apt “Propaganda is to democracy what violence is to totalitarianism.” 

Rather than being a watch dog, Media seems to have become a loyal dog of the government and the Market.

THE LAST OLIGARCHS

In the latest batch of wiki leaks revelations, a lot of fears of the public have come true. Pakistan is indeed an oligarchy run by few with the help of foreign assistance. Reflecting upon the blog ‘’Haq’s Musings’’ which I have been following, I guess Pakistan is truly a defunct schizophrenic oligarchy running on the fuel of American aid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy

 Here, the select few who rule the nation, always remain in a state of fear about the other set of people whom they have just toppled to grab the power. Every leader has a series of conspiracy scandals behind him. Every one suspects the other so much that the most trusted person on whom a Pakistani politician can rely upon is the U.S. Ambassador in Islamabad. If  a politician wants to share his deepest secrets, he invariably runs to the U.S Ambassador and shares with him.The role of U.S mission is so deep that if someone wants to become the Prime Minister of the country he has to seek the blessings of the U.S Ambassador.

Although, it would be foolish to say that a country like Pakistan is in the control of the U.S, but indeed a majority of decisions which the political dispensation in Islamabad takes does have an American Imprint on them.

Pakistan being an extremely schizophrenic and disparate country has other considerable robust pillars of power as well, which time and again pull the strings according to their mood and likings. To find a common thread among these disparate pillars  would be difficult but one thing over which these oligarchs do strike a common ground is Kashmir and their hatred or rather Jealousy towards India. By doing this they somehow take the focus away from the more basic and pressing issues like food, employment and house.

The common people of Pakistan should take lessons from these Wiki Leaks and try to find out the real problems of their country. By lulling the consciousness of the ordinary Pakistani through the use of religion and an imaginary enemy called India, these rulers of Pakistan with a feudal mindsets have made a fool out of their public by condemming them into living in a feudal world.

2022 FIFA’s World Cup at Qatar, But Why?

Qatar has been chosen as the host for the 2022 football world cup. I am not against a relatively new country hosting the football world cup, But why only Qatar? What is so special about this country which puts it ahead of the pack of heavy weights like the U.S.A, Australia and South Korea.?

Qatar is an extremely small country with a population of only 1.6 million. Apart from having one of the biggest oil and gas reserves of the world it has nothing to offer in terms of boosting the global appeal of the sport. According to the latest FIFA ranking The Qatar national team is at a lowly 113^th position. I am still clueless about why it got the nod ahead of other more deserving nations to host the world’s greatest sporting extravaganza?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/8176966/Qatars-hosting-of-the-2022-World-Cup-finals-is-Fifas-most-dangerous-move-yet.html

Holding a major sporting event like football world cup has a multiplier effect in the overall economy of the host nation. It lifts the overall sentiment towards its economy; the investment that goes into making the required infrastructure for the particular event becomes a sort of legacy for many years to come. We saw something like that during the 2010 Delhi commonwealth games. The infrastructure which was made for the games has been in use for the rest of the people as well.
http://www.commonwealth2010.in/new-delhi-games-village-2010.htm

The fact that hosting a major sporting event is just not about sports makes the decision of FIFA that more questionable.

http://www.commonwealth2010.in/new-delhi-games-village-2010.htm

ENGLISH CAPITAL

Do you know English? If No then Delhi is not the right place to live for you.

Probably I was too harsh to write that statement. Delhi being the capital of the country is a sort of microcosm of India, where a variety of languages are being spoken. Although, Hindi is the widely spoken language, but English has always been the language of aspiration, social mobility and status symbol here.
http://www.languageinindia.com/may2003/annika.html

From the language of elites and the upper strata of society, English is also becoming a functional and preferred language for business and trade , thanks to the mushrooming of IT and ITES companies in the capital.

But, recently the need of having English language skills was felt most prominently by the personnel of Delhi police. During the commonwealth games several foreign tourists complained about their inability to communicate effectively with the police
. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Commonwealth-Games-Pricey-English-training-but-cops-at-loss-for-words/articleshow/6527106.cms


This particular problem took another level when in the dhaula kuan rape case, the friend of the victim who was accompanying her during that ill-fated night, revealed that she had immediately tried to inform the police about the incident. But, due to the inability of the police to understand English no action could be taken in time.

The victim and her friend both from the northeast states of India don’t know Hindi. This situation has further raised the question about the various divisions in our country. Even after 63 years of independence we don’t know in which language should we all converse. Although, Hindi is the official national language of our country, not every Indian understands it, let alone speaks. In the south every state has its own culture and language. They consider the need of communicating in Hindi as unnecessary and a propaganda of the North.

English is emerging as a dominant language of trade and business albeit in the select metros only. Large parts of India still don't know English language. Moreover; the local politicians and culture groups are against the use of English, as it threatens to uproot the local and traditional culture. Although, the fact remains that those people who are well versed in English language have a considerable advantage over others in terms of employment and job opportunities. Should we follow the examples of European countries, Russia and Japan in promoting one language? Or in our own unique manner wear the batch of diversity on our sleeves and proudly say that India can accommodate any dichotomy and contradictions with ease.

Can English like the British raj unite us again as a country? This is a question whose answer is hidden in the layers of future.

SUV's (Socially Useless Vehicles)

At a time when the whole world is trying to forge a consensus to cut the global greenhouse gas emissions to a significant level, the criticism of diesel guzzling SUVs(Sports Utility Vehicle) by Jairam Ramesh, Union Environment Minister of India looks a step in the right direction. He has even said that these expensive luxury vehicles should pay the full price of diesel rather than the subsidized one.

 "I am not knocking the growth of the automotive industry but those who want to use diesel cars must pay the full market price for the fuel. Why should they get subsidized fuel meant for farmers?" he saidI vehemently support his outbursts against these cars. These SUV’s are infamous for being fuel guzzlers. In a poor country like India, with an acute problem of pollution and traffic congestion, a cheaper diesel further incentivizes the customers to continue with their private vehicles and discourages the government’s efforts to lure them towards the public mode of transport. The subsidy provided to different types of fuels is specifically meant for the rural and agriculture sector of our country. An upper or upper middle class person has no right to pay the same price for diesel as a farmer does. The government should seriously think of revising the diesel prices and make an effort to specifically target those strata of population which really needs that subsidy.

The auto manufacturers should also see the larger picture and try to invest more in the technology which makes their vehicles more fuel efficient. SUVs are clearly an anomaly and should be discouraged both by the consumers and producers.

"We need to move to a system which looks at rewarding or incentivise those companies that actually promote the objective of sustainable development, that promote energy conservation, water conservation and protection and preservation of natural resources.’’ Jairam ramesh said.

DELHI'S UNDER- BELLY

In a gruesome repeat of the 2005 dhaula kuan rape case, another girl was raped in a moving three wheeler by four-five men. Significantly, the important common thing in both the cases is not the secluded location of a big flyover near dhaula kuan, but the origin of both the victims from the north east region of India. Why is this happening again? Although, Delhi is termed as a rape capital by many people but, in Delhi also the girls who come from northeastern states are being specifically targeted more often.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/no-arrests-so-far-in-bpo-employee-gangrape-case_100465038.html

Emile Durkheim the famous sociologist from France had said’’ crime is a social fact and social facts are ways of feeling, thinking and acting commonly spread among the people, external to individual and exercising a constraint upon him”.

Targeting of northeastern Indian girls has become a fact now.  The main reason of this trend is the perception of the common Delhi males that these girls are open minded, and hence easily available. They being slightly different in their looks give them an outsider’s tag which makes them more tempting and relatively easier to target. The overall aggressive culture of the city, coupled with the coexistence of two worlds, entirely different and opposite to each other, make the capital a horrible place to live for women.

On the one hand, Delhi is emerging as a 21^st century’s modern cosmopolitan city with all the glitz and glamour of a western capital and the work force with its modern outlook to match . On the other hand, the old world’s parochial and chauvinistic male dominated north Indian feudal mentality is also very much present here. When the old world sees the brightness of the new world, it tries to suppress it, through dominance and force. Rape is just a manifestation of the desperation of that loosing old world.

Quality liberal education with right moral lessons from parents will go a long way in the making of a child into a good and responsible citizen.

TENTACLES OF CORRUPTION - REACHED MEDIA

Media is one of the four pillars of a democracy. By being a link between the government and public, it not only works as a watchdog, but mirrors the demands and perceptions of the society as well. However, Indian media these days in a mad rush to increase its TRPs is increasingly forgetting its responsibility and commitment towards impartiality and truth.

In a recent development, it has been found out that the editor of  a prominent News channel was not only acting as a mediator between the government and corporate lobbyists, but also trying to negotiate for a ministerial berth for an M.P(member of parliament) who later turned out to be the ringleader of the biggest scam of independent India.Barkha dutt, the editor in chief of NDTV was caught on tape negotiating with a corporate lobbyist Nira Radia about getting A.Raja a ministerial berth.

When the journalists who are suppose to be the guardians of the people’s interests and ethics themselves indulge in corrupt practices, the future of a developing country looks rather bleak. But still we can't blame the medium and kill the messenger. As this is the medium i.e media itself which brought this anomaly infront of us.

http://go4quiz.com/vincent/2010/india/nira-radia-tapes/

KARL MARX IN INDIA

India has always been a country of multiple realities. Different geographical conditions created different cultures, languages and ways of living. With independence, we started to celebrate these differences and felt proud to be the owner of a culture which is so diverse.

With time and learning we have somehow bridged the divide of geographical distances through the idea of a unifying notion called India; but, a deeper and steeper economic divide is still staring in front of us. This inequality of income is fast making India a country of extremes. On the one hand we have one of the richest people of the world living a sheltered and privileged life; on the other a huge chunk of population i.e. 38% still lives in abject poverty comparable to the sub-Saharan African countries. The funny thing about this is the fact that in a city like Mumbai one can actually see both sets of people living side by side. Antillia, the residential building of Reliance Chief Mukesh Ambani built at a cost of over $1billion has a monthly electricity bill of 70lakh, not too far from it is the world’s second biggest slum where at an area of 175 hectares over 1miilion people live in pathetic conditions.   

When the swings of the stock market, where hardly 4 percent of the Indian population is listed make the government more concerned than the suicide of 4,453 farmers from a particular region, then surely the priorities of the government are misplaced. After the liberalization of Indian economy in early 1990, the government policies have systematically supported the private capital to play the dominant role in the economy. Although, this has bore fruits and a considerable portion of population has been able to extricate itself from the tentacles of poverty, a large proportion of population is still poor. About one third of the total poor people of the world live here. Why?

The reasons lie in the policies which the government has taken post liberalization. Journalist and the Rural Affairs editor for The Hindu, P Sainath describes in his reports on the rural economy in India,

“ the level of inequality has risen to extraordinary levels, when at the same time hunger in India has reached its highest level in decades. He als points out that rural economiy across the country has collapsed, or on the verge of being collapsed due to the neo-liberal policies of the government of India since the 1990’s. The human cost of the liberalisation has been very high. The huge wave of farm suicides in Indian rural population from 1997 to 2007 totalled close to 200,000, according to official statistics’’.

‘’Although, India has always been an economically unequal country, after 1990 the level of inequality has grown significantly’’, Arup chanda West bengal bureau chief News-X.

 According to Gini coefficient, which measures the income inequality in a country, the level of inequality in India has grown significantly after 1990. With a Gini coefficient of 32.5 in 1990-to 38 in 2000, India is one of the most economically unequal countries in the world. Although, the Economy has grown steadily over the last two decades, its growth has been uneven.

According to Payal Malik , assistant professor of Macro Economics, PGDAV college, DU. ‘’Between 1999 and 2008, the annualized growth rates for Gujarat (8.8%), Haryana (8.7%), or Delhi (7.4%) were much higher than for Bihar (5.1%), Uttar Pradesh (4.4%), or Madhya Pradesh (3.5%). Poverty rates in rural Orissa (43%) and rural Bihar (41%) are among the world's most extreme. ‘’

This poverty seems more acute considering the fact that the relative poverty has increased. If everyone is poor, poverty seems to be a natural way of living, but all of a sudden if a select few get rich, the rest will always question and raise voices.

This is a situation which is developing in certain parts of India. The red corridor or the 220 Naxal infested districts of India are an example where due to the apathy of government functionaries and their collusion with the rapacious industrialists to loot out the natural resources, people have started doling out justice through their own hands. Not only are they angry with the policies of the government, but, they are angry with the whole system and ideology itself, which the government follows.

Although Capitalism has done wonders to the western world but in Indian context where the social and economic division of society is so deep, it is slightly immature to assume that the private capital with an 8-9% growth rate will solve the ills of our country. Capitalism relies too much on the cyclical nature of demand and supply of the market and restricts the role of government. Market has a tendency to compare and exclude. For the sake of making a just and equitable society, the tilt of the government has to be towards the society in general, the tendency to give preferential treatment to a particular sector or region could create anomalies which would be very difficult to resolve.  

INDIA WAS SATISFIED

President Obama’s recent visit to India is being seen as another milestone in the long journey of friendship between the two countries. Although, U S and India being the two largest democracies of the world should have been natural partners in the global arena very long ago, but, because of different models of governance and geographical distance they took very long to come close.

It’s only in the 2000, during President Bill Clinton’s visit to India that the two countries came close to each other. This relationship was further strengthened by President George Bush’s memorable visit in 2006, when he signed the Civil Nuclear Agreement Treaty with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Although, not as significant as the previous two, but this visit of Obama has been seen as a reaffirmation of the faith, which the U S imposes on its latest friend.

Obama’s backing of India’s bid for the permanent membership at the U.N’s Security Council and terming Kashmir as an internal matter of India, are some of the positives which have been received positively by the Indian political class
http://www.modernghana.com/news/226274/1/mps-hail-obama-visit.html

 Apart from these significant announcements, the symbolic visit of Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel and meeting with the families of those who lost their lives in the 26/11 terrorist attack have struck a right chord with the common man also. The visit of Mumbai has also been significant for the simple reason that the U S wants to have a stronger trade and economic ties with India, Mumbai being the financial capital, it was no surprise that President Obama touched down here first before flying over to the capital.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/obama-visit-ends-a-win-win-for-both-sides-65164

GODDESS OF BIG CONTROVERSIES--ARUNDHATY ROY

Arundhaty roy is a booker prize winning author, and a known social activist with a tilt towards the left. Knowing her penchant of taking cudgels against a government, which she thinks to be alligned towards the bourgeoisie, I was not surprised by her recent comments on kashmir's independence.


When I was in Kashmir.. what broke my heart on the street of Srinagar was when people say "Nanga Bhukha Hindustan, Jaan se Pyara Pakistan" and I said no because "Nanga Bhukha Hindustan" is with you, and if you are fighting for a just society the you must align yourself with powers and here are people who have fought their lives opposing Indian state....You have to look beyond stone pelting and how the state is using people. ...You have to know your enemy and you have to be able to respond by aligning tactically, intelligently, locally or internationally


Although, I was definitely surprised by the amount of coverage that the Indian press gave to her remarks and the reaction of the main opposition party. BJP, the main opposition party is basically demanding to frame her under anti sedition charges, which i think is totally uncalled for and not quiet possible.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley had said that '
'the country was stunned that a group of separatists had got together to hold a seminar to promote sedition under the nose of the government. He said that in a democracy, the right to secede cannot be accepted in the garb of right to free speech.''


What she said in her remarks has been said by many separatists and  kashmiri people before. But, it doesn't mean that all of a sudden they become more right, just because a noted author has joined their bandwagon of azadi(freedom )for kashmir. It is the most complex and equally dangerous political problem of the world. Unless and untill there is a substantive change in the stance of the three nuclear powers locked in this region, not much can be hoped from these rallyies and slogan shoutings. However, human rights violition is a grave concern and every person on this planet should raise his or her voice against it. Apart from tortures, harrasement and physical punishments by the security forces ,pelting stones towards them is also a violation of the fundamental right of expression.

A FIGHT WITHIN--TENTACLES OF CORRUPTION EVERYWHERE

                              

India is known to be the next superpower in the making. But, somehow, it hasn't yet been able to achieve its true potential. Apart from other socio economic factors, corruption is the single biggest reason for the underachievement of the largest democracy in the world.


Like a Hydra headed monster, the tentacles of corruption have reached almost every sphere of society. From a peon to the minister, every bolt in the government machinery seems to be tinged with corruption.  Of late, we have been witnessing the poison of corruption spreading to the hitherto clean and disciplined armed forces as well. Starting from the irregularity in the supply and quality of coffins for the martyers of kargil war, to the selling of high altitude equipments and ration in the open market, some members of the higher ranks of the 1.13 million strong Indian army seem to be competiting with their civilians counterparts in bureaucracy, in terms of swelling their bank accounts. This trend of revealation of corruption cases involving defence officials have taken a whole new height when certain officials were found to be involved in major real estate scams involving several crores.


http://www.zeenews.com/news665183.html

This new trend is potentially dangerous for the health of our country, for the simple reason that defence personnel are known to be the role models for the general people . Moreover, if senior officers are found to be indulged in corrupt practices , the ground soldiers who are fighting for their motherland in the border areas will surely feel cheated and demoralised.


http://facttruth.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/officers%E2%80%99-corruption-shattered-indian-army-confidence/

LETS LEARN MANDARIN

In the latest list of the world's most powerful person, Hu Zintao the President of the Republic of China has pipped U.S President Barack Obama as the most powerful person on the planet. This is the latest in a series of events, where the world is seeing significant events making China as an able alternate to America, economically as well as politically.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Hu-Jintao-pips-Obama-to-become-most-powerful-person-Forbes/articleshow/6869841.cms


After becoming the second biggest economy of the world, China is also the biggest country for auto sales.
Although, the fall of Obama from his top position is more of a personal fall than that of America as a nation , as he is still the undisputed leader of the world's most powerful army, and it doesn't make the U.S second to China in terms of importance and preeminence. However, these are the signs of the time to come. Perhaps, we are already living in that transitory period where the global dominance of America is about to come to an end. Will the world move from a unipolar to a bipolar or multipolar world is a question which will be answered in the near future. In the meanwhile, apart from English looks like we have to learn the Mandarin also.

RUNNING WITH THE HARE AND HUNTING WITH THE HOUNDS

“Terrorism” is the most dangerous man made challenge in front of the world these days. Among a plethora of forms, Islamic Terrorism has perhaps overtaken all the other ones, in terms of sheer visibility and the magnitude of fear that it instills in the common people’s mind, especially after September 11, 2001.

America being the latest victim of IslamicTerrorism has been crying hoarse over it to the entire world, and using every available resources at its disposal to make itself as insular from terrorism as possible. In this frenzy to overcome the phobia of terrorism, America has destroyed two countries Iraq and Afghanistan till date, and has been pumping in billions of dollars in aid money to a country which it considers to be the front ally in the war against terrorism.

http://sify.com/news/pak-using-us-aid-for-war-against-india-obama-news-national-jegxgAbbadh.html

Ally against terrorism, did somebody just mentioned Pakistan as an ally against terrorism? A country whose ex dictator has openly said to the world that he has used terrorism as a state policy to make the neighboring country yield is considered as an ally by  the Washington. In a candid interview with German magazine Der Spiegel Pakistan's Ex President General Pervej Musharraff said “They (underground militant groups to fight against India in Kashmir) were indeed formed,”

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,721110,00.html

Perhaps America is doling out F-16 fighters and billions of dollars of generous aid to Pakistan to specifically target the Taliban or bad Taliban to be precise and Laden’s infamous Al- Qaida network only.  I guess, India being a big emerging economy should also cough up the same amount of ransom to safeguard its interests, so that apart from Al Qaida and Taliban, Pakistan army turns their guns towards the holier Lashkar and Jaish ones too. Yes, perhaps that will work, like in the early 90’s Uncle Sam funded the then notorious Gulbuddin Hekmatyar against the soviet invasion.

“U.S. government financial support for the Afghan Islamic militants was substantial. Aid to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan Mujahedeen leader and founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami radical Islamic militant faction, alone amounted "by the most conservative estimates" to $600 million. Hekmatyar "worked closely" with Osama bin Laden in early 1990s.^[63] In addition to hundreds of millions of dollars of American aid, Hekmatyar also received the lion's share of aid from the Saudis.^[64] There is evidence that the CIA supported Hekmatyar's drug trade activities by giving him immunity for his opium trafficking that financed operation of his militant faction”

In this Shakespearean drama it’s very difficult to find out who is running with the hare and who is hunting with the hounds.

PLEASE DON'T COME WITH EXTRA BAGGAGE

People have been migrating since centuries. They migrate due to several reasons; for economic reasons, to escape persecution, or for personal or sentimental reasons. But, the migration and resulted Multiculturism of the society that we are seeing in many western and asian cities today is primarily due to economic reasons, spurred by the phenomenon called ‘’Globalisation’’. 

However, of late, we are witnessing a wave of protectionism and to a certain extent  Xenophobic tendency in many western countries towards the immigrants from different cultures and society. Recently, in a speech ,German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed this fact that ''in Germany multiculturalism has failed''

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451

Migration by most of the people these days ,is primarily economic in nature. They migrate to the ''West'' or the ‘’Gulf countries’’ to earn more money ,as, due to Globalisation, skilled workers are much in demand in these countries.  While migrating, they must also bear in their mind that, where they are going is not their country. The citizens with whom they are going to interact are not suppose to know the nuances of their culture. So, if they want to gain the respect of the native inhabitants, it is but incumbent on the immigrants to respect the native culture and behave accordingly.

The tendency to roam in groups and gather themselves in Ghettos will ultimately defeat the very purpose of an open and multicultural society. It’s a truth that every body loves their culture more. Moreover ,it’s very difficult to change one’s original culture even if you are living in a different country, still, the onus is on the immigrants to learn the basic requirements to accommodate themselves in the new society. Learning the national language and obeying the rules of the law are the bare minimums. If you are so averse of these things, why migrate in the first place?

                               

EVERY DROP COUNTS

''Water is precious'' , ''water is limited''. After hearing these public service advertisements on national and private channels, we never imagined that one day we will receive these messages in the form of advices from our neighbouring country Pakistan. In an article written in a prominent Pakistan daily,  bollywood has been held responsible for the water scarcity of the World in a big way.

''Bollywood not only spends money like water on its films but prodigious waste of water is also a habit of Bollywood producers and directors," it said, noting in that current Salman Khan superhit "Dabangg", one scene which showed the heroine (Sonakshi Sinha) getting wet in the rain "used 180,000 litres of water, in another picture dealing with the 2007 floods in Mumbai used a whopping 3,600,000 litres of water for filming just one scene of the deluge, while the Shah Rukh Khan film 'My Name is Khan' used 2,400,000 litres of water''.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/104304/bollywood-responsible-worlds-water-woes.html The newspaper might be right in what it's saying ,but one can still blame it for being selective. As, a city like Delhi alone has about 8 million cars, even if each car uses 10 litres of water it comes around 80 million litres of water every day. These figures are of the national capital region alone.

It's been now accepted world wide that ''global warming'' is real. The direct effect of global warming will be on the polar iceblocks and several himalayan glaciers ,which are the source of many subcontinental rivers. Due to the increased global temperature these glaciers will soon run out of water, and that will be a disastreous situation for several river systems which are the life blood of the subcontinent.

This is not a doomsday prophecy  to grab eyeballs world wide ,but a real threat which has the potential to completely ruin our present way of living.

Present way of living, yes that itself is majorly responsible for this situation . The unrestrained use of water to quench the desire of millions and billions of people has led us to a situation where  the future generation will ask very tough questions from us. Earlier, a farmer used to water his field with rain’s water as and when the rain comes, today even in the absence of rain, the same field needs round the clock water in the form of ground water. This tendency of overusing ground water is also majorly responsible for the depletion of natural acquifers.
http://geology.com/press-release/northern-india-water-supply/

Time has arrived for not only the governments worldwide ,but all of us to sit back and devise a strategy, a new model of living, where we can eliminate the wastage of water.

TAMING THE DRAGON,PART-2

In a significant geopolitical move, India has finally accepted the overt and covert intentions of China to counter its rise in Asia and the world at large as ''real'' and ''imminent''. Recently Chief of army staff General VK Singh described China and Pakistan as “two major irritants” and advocated for augmentation of the country’s war capabilities.

” We cannot take chances; the (Chinese) intentions need to be looked at, along with this additional military capabilities that is coming up. It impacts the way we will task our army”

Before that, in a bold move intended to counter the “strings of pearl” strategy of China, highly placed government officials made it public, the fact that India will, in the near future increase its ties with ASEAN and other neighbouring countries, under its "look east policy".

http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/india/India-for-Asean-alliance-to-counter-aggressive-China/Article1-612589.aspx

 After the lukewarm response to the Washington backed “axis of democracy” strategy by Australia, to counter the rise of Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean. India has decided to walk the extra mile in building closer economic and military ties with Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, which have tense relations with China.

While, on the one hand China is courting SAARC countries aggressively with huge investments in Pakistan, Sri lanka and Nepal. It’s but natural for India to pay the Chinese dragon with the same coin. Although, no country wants or can afford a second cold war between the two most populous and fastest growing economies of the world. But, it’s a fact that to counter China, which is increasingly gaining military muscles due to the increased role and significance of its military i.e PLA in their internal politics, a proportionate counter balance in the form of India, Japan and South Korea is not only desirable, but also necessary.