Outrageous judgement!!

The judgement today on the Delhi rape case was shocking, to say the least. Considering the severity of the crime, a paltry 3 year remand in a juvenile home seems to be a mockery of the Indian justice system. It is hard to imagine the trauma the victim's family must be going through, especially since it is alleged that the juvenile was the one who was the most horrific among all the rapists. This was something more than a rape, it was a monstrous crime which cannot be even imagined by a sane person. The doctors trying to rescue the girl had never seen such injuries before. The nation has never seen such a rape before. The outrage across the country was never seen before. But the laws continue to remain the same. If a person can get away with such a crime just because he is a juvenile, imagine what this judgement will do to future offenders. It will not only help juveniles to get away with crimes, it will also encourage hard core criminals to use juveniles to perform crimes for them. This is only going to increase the crime rate among the uneducated youth of this country and dims the hope for a bright, young and prosperous India. Laws have to be changed drastically and punishments have to be meted out faster. Juvenile age limit must be brought down to 15 or 16 and education must imparted for all children who cannot afford it. The recent Mumbai rape case shows that criminals are not bothered about the laws and they have no fear. The current Congress government seems to have no intention of bringing in these laws as they are more interested in introducing new bills to gather votes for the election next year. As an Indian, I sincerely hope, whichever government comes to power after the next election, takes up the initiative and does something more for the welfare of women in this country.

Financial Mess

Chidambaram, after taking over as the finance minister from Pranab Mukherjee, has announced a slew of measures to bring the economy back on track. While the intent may be appreciable, the task is easier said than done. Though the economic condition in India is not as grim as in other western countries, the situation is certainly precarious due to the global turmoil, especially in eurozone, and rising crude prices, and adding fuel to the fire is the below-average monsoon across many states in India. With such a range of factors playing havoc with the economy, it is indeed a tough task for the finance minister to turn the tide within a short span of time.

The government has attributed the marginal fall in WPI inflation to its fiscal and administrative policies. But the rupee still continues to hover around 55 to 56 level against the US dollar and this has sent the import costs sky rocketing. And in some cases the consumers have to bear the brunt leading to price rise and further inflation. The government in tandem with RBI have decided to put in place a number of steps to prevent the slide of rupee and all these focus on bringing investments back on track and also increase the cash flow into the country.

Boosting exports, regulation of tax laws, reducing the interest rates etc all have been aimed at reviving the growth and improving the investment climate in the country. Chidambaram has stated, "The slowdown in the growth of the economy is mainly on account of the slowdown in the industrial sector and lower growth registered in the agriculture sector" Well he has got that right and that should be his prime focus. Investments in the industrial sector has not made much headway in India in the recent past and 1 glaring example of this would be the recent comment made by richest person in UK, NRI Lakshmi Mittal "India remains a priority but not for investment. I'm not locating capital to India or China as I don t see things progressing there." Such a comment from one of the richest men in Britain would certainly send wrong signals to other prospective investors. Decision making and political compulsions are said to be the root causes for this. These things needs to be looked over and hard decisions have to be taken. Laws, which can attract new investments, have to be passed and these in turn would accelerate rapid job generation. Rating agencies such as Moody's and S & P have predicted low growth rates for India in the coming quarters on account of its poor GDP scores. Government inactivity is also seen as on of the catalysts for this and the manufacturing sector, which forms the core of the Indian economy, has been badly hit. Industrial output is reaching sluggish levels due to dried up investments. So the only way out of this mess would be to have a immediate look into how the output from agriculture and industry can be increased and sustained over a longer period of time.

Chidambaram would be well advised to chalk out a plan that serves to address the issues in these 2 sectors. India is a agriculture driven country and the backbone is agriculture. At the same time it is also a developing country and needs huge investments in the industrial sector. Population is growing exponentially and cities are becoming larger. Demand for water and electricity are reaching new highs and the number of graduates seeking employment have also grown by leaps and bounds. Subsidies for farmers and proper irrigation should be top priorities with the government. Farmer suicides which have been happening in recent times cut a very sorry figure for the nation and its high time the government wakes up to stop this. Loans to farmers need to be made cheaper and power supply should also be given free for desperate farmers. Agricultural scientists should be encouraged and supported to devise new and effective ways of farming and irrigation. The government needs to involve itself at all stages to ensure things move smoothly at all time. Reviving agriculture is they key to Indian economy's rise.

What a let down!!

The ICC World T20 Super 8 match between India and Australia was hyped as the "grand final" before the final but instead, ended up being the "grand shame" for the men in blue. In an embarassing display for the ODI world champions, their much famed batting line up struggled against the Aussie pace battery and crumbled against some really hostile fast bowling. The Australian bowlers must be really commended for their display on the sluggish Sri Lankan pitches and managed to beat the Indians with pace, accuracy and bounce. Their superior athleticism also came to the fore, which was evident the way Gambhir was run out "football" style by Cummins. After restricitng India to a below par score, the men from down under simply mauled the hapless Indian bowlers all over the park. Much was expected from the Indian spinners but the Aussie openers W & W (Watson and Warner) with plenty of experience playing them in the IPL, just used their knowledge and skills to decimate the spin trio of Ashwin, Chawla and Harbhajan. The opening partnership of 133 in 13.3 overs was the highest ever in a world T20  and it was a very well deserved Man of the match award for Shane Watson who top scored with 72 off 42 balls and also picked 3 wickets. He also holds the record for the highest number of MoM awards to T20s.

So whats next for India? They now find themselves in a do-die situation which seems to be the norm for the Indian team nowadays. They are anything but convincing in the shorter version of the game and their opponents seem to have got the better of them ever since their dramatic victory in the 2007 World T20. In what would  be a shocker for Indian fans, they are yet to beat a test playing nation in the Super 8's stage ever since 2007. And coming back to this year's edition, things dont look too promising as they have to face their arch nemesis, Pakistan, who are looking red hot at the moment in a must win clash. Current form points to Pakistan as the clear favourites but India-Pak matches in world cups have always provided entertainment and Pakistan would desperately want to break the record of never beating India at a world event. And for India, winning this much awaited clash may not be enough to go through to the next stage. They must also win their final Super 8 match against the powerful South Africans if they want to avoid the NRR calculations. Their current NRR is too low and the lowest in Group 2 and they will find the going tough if their progress is going to be dictated by the NRR.

India have done it in the past and have won 2 cups, the recent ODI triumph in 2011 and the world T20 in 2007. Most of the players who played these 2 tournaments are still playing in the current eleven and they know what it takes to hold the cup in their hands. Hope they start implementing it from today's clash with Pakistan.

Om Sri Maha Ganapataye Namaha

Today, Sep 19th 2012, is being celebrated as Ganesh Chathurthi, the birthday of Lord Ganesha all over the country. He is the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati and is the elder brother of Lord Karthikeya. This Hindu God is one of the most popular dieties in Indian folklore and culture. He is worshipped in human form with the head of an elephant and is known by many names, such as Ganapati, Vinayaka, Vigneshvara and Pillayar. He is considered to be the remover of obstacles and is also considered to be a very fantastic scribe with a high level of wisdom. It is through his writings that Mahabarata narrated by Vyas, became so popular and is among the finest pieces of Hindu literature. Thus, it is of no surprise that he is also worshipped as the god of learning, knowledge and wealth. He is invoked before starting any new venture such as a new business, writing a book etc and there is hardly any Hindu house without his picture adoring the walls.

The significance of his physical form has some very interesting points to ponder. They are briefly described below.

Ganesha's head denotes wisdom and his trunk teaches us to be efficient and adaptable at all times. In his upper right hand Ganesha holds a goad, which helps him propel mankind forward on the eternal path and remove obstacles from the way. The rope in Ganesha's left hand is supposed to help surmount all difficulties and reach your goal. The broken tusk in Ganesha's lower right hand is beleived to have been used as a pen for writing the Mahabarata, and is a symbol of sacrifice in search of knowledge and wisdom. The rosary in his other hand goads all devotees to continuosly pursue knowledge. The sweet (laddoo) in his trunk indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the Atman. His large ears indicates that he is always ready to listen to us. The snake around his waist represents energy in all forms and the mouse at his foot is his humble mount.

The Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana are the main scriptures for the devotees of the Lord. The Ganesha Purana talks about four incarnations of the lord, such as Mahotkata, Mayuresvara, Dhumraketu and Gajanana (see pic below).

There are 8 incarnations according to the Mudgala Purana (i.e.) Vakratunda, Ekadanta, Mahodara, Gajavaktra, Lambodara, Vikata, Vighnaraja and Dhumravarna. (see pic below)

Both these Puranas consider Ganesha to represent the ultimate reality of being.

The devotees of Ganesha are known as 'Ganapatyas' and I am proud to be one among them.

Wish you a very very Happy birthday Vinayaka !!

A Bold and Outrageous move !!

With the government showing no sign of initiating any reforms in recent times, the move to allow FDI in retail and aviation, very well knowing its consequences in the political circles, must be hailed as a bold move. Manmohan seems to have gotten that "animal" instinct as some claim, and it is high time he got some.  51 percent in multi-brand retail, 100 percent in single brand retail and 49 percent in civil aviation is what the doctor has prescribed. This is a very positive step in boosting the sliding economy but not all states are on the same page as the Centre. They claim that FDI in retail would lead to large scale unemployment and destroy the livelihood of small traders, and eventually the already distressed farmers. U.P, Tamilnadu, West Bengal etc are some of the states who have taken a hard stance against FDI in retail. There is a widespread opinion that the Congress led UPA government has done this out of pressure from global investors but they are going to be facing an even greater pressure from within, from allies such as TMC led by Mamta Banerjee. They have threatened to withdraw support to the government and the next few days will tell us if it is really going to happen.

Adding to the woes of the aam aadmi, was another shocker from the government, raising the price of diesel by a massive Rs.5 a litre and restricting the supply of subsidised LPG cylinders for domestic purposes to 6 a year. This has led to outrage throughout the country as every burden is being passed on to the common man and no steps are being taken to weed out corruption. The interests and welfare of the public do not seem to be in the agenda of the scam-tainted government and they are resorting to drastic measures to revive the sagging economy. There seems to be no end to this ever rising price rise and the lack of a proper leadership results in erratic decisions being taken. The finance minister, P Chidambaram has indicated that there is not going to be any roll back in the decisions taken and the government does not feel threatened by its allies. Much was expected from the RBI in terms of rate cut but it flattered to deceive on account of high inflation, but neverttheless termed the government's decision as a "significant achievement". The fuel price rise is almost sure to raise the inflation further in the short term, but bring in some greater capital inflows over the long term, it said. Looks like there isnt going to be any relief for the common man anytime soon.


 

Monsoon session washed away !

The monsoon session of Parliament this year has lived up to its name. Its been a wash out, and the rains which revived in the month of August has nothing to do with it. The coalgate scam, which has rocked the nation, has rocked the nation's top governing body as well. When the session started on August 8, there was some hope of major reforms coming through, such as a strong Lokpal, but what started with the violence in Assam just continued with the 1.86 lac crores coal scam, Sri Lankan Tamil's issue and ended up with SC/ST quota issue over promotions in government offices. As a result Parliament functioning continued to be stalled and never recovered from there.

 

The main issue of contention was the opposition's demand for the resignation of the ever silent prime minister. The PM had remarked that his silence was golden but the opposition demanded answers from him. The coal ministry which was under him when the coal block allocation was done for free , had cost the country's Exchequer thousands of crores, as alleged. Congress defended themselves saying there can be no loss when the coal still had not been mined out but it was very poorly received. They issued a challenge to the opposition to a debate in Parliament but all that people witnessed were shouting, huffing and puffing and even came to blows being exchanged. The government tried to wiggle out of a corner by introducing the SC/ST Quota Bill for job promotions and move the focus else where. This, however did not deter the opposition and they stood adamant at their earlier stand.

Out of the proposed 30 bills, only four bills where passed during this monsoon session, which included the Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill and the AIIMS Amendment Bill. Of 15 bills listed for introduction, just five were actually inducted. The Lok Sabha functioned for just 24 hours out of the scheduled 108 hours and the Rajya Sabha was no better at 26 out of 90 hours. At a time when the country's economy is faltering and internal security has taken a beating, these types of actions by the country's MPs are completely uncalled for and shows their real intent of gaining political mileage. They do not seem to care for the nation and its people and have interest only in propagating their personal agenda. The general public must realise this and refrain from voting for these corrupt people in the next general elections.

Indian hockey - an topsy turvy ride

Indian hockey in recent times, has come no where near the golden run it enjoyed in the pre independence days. Most of us hear or read about the Indian hockey team's dismal performances of late but many of us do not know the extent of success which Indian hockey witnessed and their mind boggling achievements in the period from 1928 - 1956. As a tribute to that golden period, I would like to list down some facts regarding our national game which should bring a sense of pride for all sports loving Indians.

1. India won 6 consecutive gold medals in the Olympics in the period 1928-1956 which is considered as the golden era of Indian hockey.

2. In this period, India played 24 matches, won all 24, scored 178 goals against 7 goals conceded.

3. Indian has won a total of 8 Olympic gold medals for hockey, the other 2 being in 1964 at Tokyo and 1980 in Moscow.

4. India's goal keeper Richard James Allen did not concede a single goal at the 1928 Olympics. In 3 Olympic events from 1928 to 1936, he conceded only 3 goals.


5. The 24-1 drubbing of USA in the 1932 Olympics was and is the highest victory margin in international hockey history. Roop Singh scored 10 goals in that match, which is a record.

6. India defeated Germany 8-1 in the finals of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, with Hitler in attendance. With India leading 6-0, Hitler stormed out of the arena midway in disgust and then some German players indulged in violent tactics to stop the Indian juggernaut. Dhyan Chand was injured in the process but still India managed to win the match comfortably 8-1 and claim their 3rd Olympic gold.

7. A statue has been erected at Vienna in honor of the great Dhyan Chand, which shows him with 4 hands and 4 bats, symbolizing that no one with 2 hands can play the way he did!

8. In 1948, India played with a new look team as the country went through a partition post independence and some of the star players migrated to the other side of the border and played for Pakistan. Nevertheless, the result was the same and India stormed into the finals and defeated England 4-0 to win yet another gold medal.

9. The medal haul did not stop and India won its 5th consecutive gold at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. The win was special for Chinnadorai Desamuthu as he became the youngest gold medal winner at the age of 19.

10. The story was no different for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and India won its 6th gold medal. It was a sweet victory as it vanquished its arch rival, Pakistan in the final. However the Rome Olympics in 1960 saw a reverse in fortunes, as Pakistan defeated India and stopped the golden march of the Indian team.

11. The 2 arch rivals met for the 3rd consecutive time at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo where India prevailed oer Pakistan and regained the championship.

12. India displayed a below par performance in the 1976 Olympics at Montreal and had to return empty  handed. It however managed to get into winning ways again and won the gold medal at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. 

After all these historic performances, India saw a big decline in performance and of late has been faring very poorly. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, for the first time in history, India didnt even qualify for the tournament. In 2012 they managed to qualify but had a disastrous time in London as they lost all their matches and was left languishing at the bottom of the standings.

Rapid steps need to be taken to arrest this slide further and the entire hockey administration needs to be cleaned up from the roots. Ex players can fit into these roles which would augur well for the sport and improve the standards to what is required to compete at the international level. State of the art equipment must be brought in to instill supreme fitness to the players and this must start right at the domestic level. Above all, the players must be motivated enough to gather the will and determination to play to win and not play just to play.