Chance, One Chance and One More Chance Please..

Chance, One Chance and One More Chance Please..

 

While playing the last test match, we lost to England in cricket, and in that very match Sachin failed to garner runs due to his bad form. This became big news on every news channel. The channels were scrambling to give coverage of that one minute phone call made by Sachin to Sandeep Patil, the cricket selector. Next day in various newspapers the news of so called ‘pep talk’ of one minute was covered in detail. How Sachin offered to selectors that they can drop him if they thought he was not making enough runs for the country and how the selectors told him that there would be two more tests to be played, one at Kolkata and the last at Nagpur and he would be getting more chances to bring back his form and prove his game.

 

When this was going on I heard the news of how the parents were running pillar to post to hear atleast a “Sorry” from Pakistan for their barbaric act of killing Capt Saurabh Kalia and his jawans. Capt Saurabh Kalia was tortured and killed along with his other long range patrol Jawans by the Pakistani rangers just before the start of Kargil war.

 

For a second I thought that how many chances Sachin gets to prove if he fails in one or two test matches. If only Capt Saurabh Kalia and other jawans got another chance…

 

In the test match of life, if the ‘SELECTORS’ had given one chance, only one chance to Capt Kalia and other jawans, today they would have been alive, staying happily with their family. A slight mistake, a slight misjudgement on their part while on Long range Patrol and they were caught by Pakistani rangers. Next, while playing the match of life for the country they were out… dead …killed by rangers by torturing in the most inhuman barbaric way. How much the parents of Capt Kalia and others must have yearned for one chance … only one chance for their son, when they hear Sachin getting more chances to get his runs in the test matches.

RESIGNATIONS IN J & K

Terming sarpanch election as un Islamic, Lashkar e teyeba, Hizbul Mujahideens and Jaish e Muhammad through a pamphlet campaign brought a fatwa, asking Sarpanches in J & K to resign. The sarpanches did not give in to the threat until, Mohammad Shafi Teli, a panch was gunned down. Till date four sarpanches have been killed by militants in north Kashmir, Baramulla region. Latest killing was of Mohammad Shafi Teli, a panch, who was shot in Kreeri area on Sunday. Following this around 200 Sarpanches in the valley have put in resignations through paid advertisements in the local news papers. Each advertisement says that they are resigning due to personal reasons, and would no longer be associated with politics. These resignations are mostly in north Kashmir. Sarpanch elections were held last year after a gap of 30 years.

Earlier, posters were found plastered all over the busy market areas in many towns of north Kashmir, exhorting sarpanchs to resign from their posts or face dire consequences. These were from various militant outfits operating in Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir government has said it will strengthen the security measures for Sarpanches and panches in the state. Will this step enough for the well being? Enough for the democracy? Enough for our soverign nation and its state to meekly take some cosmetic action when the problem is somewhere else?

This problem is not local for the government at the center not to take any cognizance of such a happening. It has got national bearing. At this juncture stern action is required to be taken not only by state govt but actively assisted by central government. The message to the world should be such that democracy is firmly rooted in J&K. if the Central govt does not take rapid action, it will be seen as a weakeness and democracy would become a farce in J&K. Atleast this is what world will perceive. If neglected these separatist forces will become emboldened and their next move would be to target MLAs and MPs.

65th INDEPENDENCE DAY

We are going to celebrate 65^th Independence Day anniversary of our nation.

There is a Japanese saying

“Today should be better than yesterday and worst than tomorrow”

It applies to our nation in a sense that, our present should be better than past and worst than coming times. It means that our country should progress every passing year. The citizens and stakeholders in the country should be happy, and a sense of security and well being should prevail.

When I was in the school I used to stay in Dombivli. It is a small town on the outskirts of Mumbai in Thane district. We used to get almost 24 hrs of electricity barring some occasions. Water was never a problem. My school was just 10 minutes walk. Now after 20 years I am told that the same town has regular power cuts. Water is regulated and comes for couple of hours everyday. The roads and amenities are same but the population has increased four fold. Children have to travel for long by bus. Hardships of everyday life have risen because development has not kept pace and, the net effect is SCARCITY of basic amenities.

Advancement of technology if not put to use to enhance quality and reliability of basic amenities like drinking water, sanitation, electricity and living conditions, then mere feigning progress by showcasing advancement of technology in terms of different gadgets is of no use. There is serious buzz that government is thinking of giving free mobile telephones with free talk time to below poverty line (BPL) families. This is a classic example of lack of ground realities by the government. It seems government doesnt even know the primary rung of Maslow’s triangle.

The most important aspect which propel the citizens to progress is a fair, robust and workable system. Not only should the system be fair it should be perceived by the people that it is fair. People are not much affected or bothered by economic disparity but get disheartened by seeing unfair means getting rewarded. Unfair means has a cascading effect of decaying the system further. No person can be happy in an unfair system. People can live with economic disparity. People can live with mediocrity. People can live with hardships. People can wait. People don’t want subsidy. People don’t want reservations. What they long for is fair system. Choose a system and stick to the system without intervening it.

"When you know that in order to produce, you need to obtain
permission from men who produce nothing,

When you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods,
but in favors,

When you see that men get rich more easily by graft rather than by work,

And

When your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them
against you,

YOU KNOW THAT YOUR SOCIETY IS DOOMED."

Ayn Rand

The sense of security and well being comes only when the system is fair and everyone knows that what they get is what they deserve. Important aspects of a fair system are

 Abide by the ten rules of RASHTRAVRAT.

To make a society caste free and corruption free.

To deliver fast and timely justice.

Teach next generation, the importance of sticking to rules.

We must not forget that our actions have direct bearing on our Nations prestige.

Undertake RASHTRAVRAT.

Assam is burning.

For last one month, State of Assam is burning. Many have died in the violence. Hundreds are injured and thousands are in the relief camps.

Who are the perpetrators of this crime? There are lakhs and lakhs of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam, who for vote bank politics have been given shelter with requisite ration cards and also electoral ID cards. These immigrants are making the life of native residents insecure and terrorising them to no end. If this act of terrorism is not curtailed effectively the same history of mass exodus of Kashmiri pundits repeat in this part of the country. Here the native Assamese and Bodo's will be targeted and they will exit from their land.

If the indication of population density of the regions are heeded then, Bangladesh in next fifty yrs would have population density of more than 1500 per sq Km (presently it is 1069 per sq Km) compared to about 600 per sq Km of that of India! The pressure of this population density of Bangladesh is enough for us to sit up and ponder. Add to it the issue of global warming and reports of 20% land of Bangladesh getting inundated by sea waters and there by creating more pressure. This gives a figure of approximately four crores.


To add to that on Saturday there was this huge premediated planned crowd garnered by Raza Academy, where provocative speeches were given to provoke the crowd (all muslims) and they were openly supporting illegal Bangladeshi immigrant muslims. Media also gave a very controlled (which normally they dont show when Baba Ramdev or Sadhvi Rutambhara speaks) coverage as if nothing has happened. In fact now it is obvious that the crowd and the riots were preplanned with all the wherewithal available with them. the pelting of stones, the burning of national property and the killings of police men were all predecided so that major riots erupt.

The media should cover objectively the real perpetrators of this crime. Where are the likes of Teesta Setalvad and other harbingers of human rights now? They are always active when state of Gujarat is concerned. Here in Assam it seems they are not bothered. Is it because it would raise inconvenient questions about Bangladeshi immigrants, or is it because it would raise inefficient handling of the situation by CM of Assam?

http://rashtrarpan.blogspot.in/2010/12/bane-of-population.html

An effort wasted, an opportunity missed.

Anna has disbanded his team and has started to build up new party. Like all the religions, to start with, every political party have a noble agenda of nation building. In order to achieve that, it has to come to power, to come to power it has to become popular and catch the imagination of the electorate. In doing so it gets distracted from its aim and only winnable candidates are chosen. These are not leaders but managers of parliamentary seats. Once ‘these’ managers are elected, they start managing their constituencies instead of leading their constituencies. Managing means doing all sorts of things to be in power. Power corrupts. Unless we have a charismatic leader who can influence the electorate and make them understand the national goal, the decay will not stop. It requires a statesman, a visionary and a person with aura and charisma.

What Anna is doing by creating a new political outfit, is trying to split the votes. Which in itself is fore bearing of a hung unstable parliament. Unstability gives birth to more corruption. Instead, at the national level he should have chosen least bad from all the available bads or atleast become a rallying leader to create a front of already established like minded parties. It requires charisma which Anna lacks. In any case even if by floating a new party he will not come to power in its first general election, nor will he have any say in formulating policies for giving a corruption free government. What he will ensure is creating a toothless lokpal bill as he won’t have enough members to influence the bill.

The anti corruption fast was an effort wasted, an opportunity missed.

 

FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

• Lot of questions are being raised on the ongoing hunger strike for introduction of JANA LOKPAL BILL – Prominent among them are as follows :-

(a) By introduction of JANALOKPAL BILL or any other lokpal bill the corruption will not end in India.

(b) The hunger strike is unconstitutional as it is a direct challenge to the elected members and the parliament. THIS HUNGER STRIKE IS SHEER BLACKMAIL.

(c) The provisions of JANALOKPAL BILL are impractical and autocratic.

(d) It takes time for introduction of any bill in parliament because of procedural issues.

• Let us take each apprehension and deliberate on it:-

(a) By introduction of JANALOKPAL BILL or any other lokpal bill the corruption will not end in India. Agreed that it is just one of the ways to have a check on institutionalized corruption and to have an effective deterrent on potential corrupt head of the institutions. It is not a miracle potion or medicine that will end corruption. Even if it makes little impact it is welcome because that little impact will bring down the scale of corruption by a notch at least. Let us start in the right direction. There is other very important fall out of this JANA LOKPAL MOVEMENT. This movement has started creating awareness amongst the next generation, youngsters and children that corruption is not good. To give and take bribe is wrong. The sensitivities towards taking and giving bribes were otherwise becoming blunt in the new generation. The new generation started thinking that it is COOL to take and give a bribe. In fact it started becoming a management mantra. The ethics were lost while achieving various yearly financial and self advancement targets. Even the middle class in their zest in scaling the ladder of success resorted to these management techniques of giving and taking bribes. Slowly the mindset of the society was getting changed and we started becoming numb and did not see any wrong in giving and taking bribe. It started becoming an accepted norm in the civil society. We started thinking that taking and giving bribe is not a sin but a smart act. The person who was averse to taking and giving bribes was considered as idiot and unfit to live in a progressive society. People started forgetting that a true person earns money on his skill, talent, strength and not by selling his integrity and self respect. One cannot be priced and purchased for a few thousand rupees by an unscrupulous character. One cannot stand up and tell our own family and our self that it is I, who have sold the self and family respect for a pittance. Remember there is always a greedy family behind a corrupt person. One cannot say that “he forced me, or they forced me” because; ultimately the decision is ours to succumb. Those who are corrupt and resort to corrupt practices are antinationals and should be treated as traitors. Anna Hazare’s fast has made the young generation aware of this fact. It has also made the corrupt people aware that mere awareness of they being corrupt robs them of the strength to bulldoze and go in for more corruption. At least for next few years the established norms and ethics will get a rejuvenation, till another ANNA HAZARE phenomenon happens.

(b) The hunger strike is unconstitutional as it is a direct challenge to the elected members and the parliament. THIS HUNGER STRIKE IS SHEER BLACKMAIL. In the parliamentary democracy, WE THE PEOPLE comes first. The will of the people comes first. This Govt did not see any wrong when the known separatists, Hurriayat leader Mr Syed Ali Shah Geelani addressed this “Convention on Kashmir – Azadi: The only way” organised by the Committee for the Release of Political prisoners (CRPP). (Refer ‘The Hindu’ News Paper of 22 Oct 10) where in Arundhati Roy and Varavara Rao expressed their solidarity with Kashmiri seperatists who were ranting the chorus on self determination. This, prior arranged seminar was conducted in a five star hotel. The Govt of the day and the Home minister did not find any thing odd in this brazen act of seperatists, but found a threat to parliament when Anna Hazare an ex army man wanted to take along everybody to say NO TO CORRUPTION. In reality the popular perception of the society is, this Govt is WEAK, ARROGANT and SHAMELESS. The Govt thinks that if Anna Hazare’s fast is allowed it will become a precedent for future BLACKMAIL. What this Govt is insensitive about is the popular feeling of the citizens of this country to address the menace of brazen institutionalized corruption as was displayed by the shameless ministers who indulged in 2G, CWG scam, Hassan Ali issue and stashing of thousands of crores in foreign safe havens.

(c) The provisions of JANALOKPAL BILL are impractical and autocratic. If so let the bill be tabled in the parliament. Let the members debate and then introduce the safeguards. By doing this we the people would be able to see which members of parliament are serious in rooting out corruption and which members are against it. For anti terror a strong bill like TADA is required. Likewise when it comes to rooting out corruption at high places strong bill like JANALOKPAL is necessary.

(d) It takes time for introduction of any bill in parliament because of procedural issues. Procedures are there. Procedures will always be there. I remember this bill was first introduced in 1977 by Janata Govt and then went on in a circle for last forty years. Eight times it has been under Parliamentary Standing Committee. If our law makers can’t take a decision for forty years then it shows pathetic ineffectiveness of themselves at the least or proves their not so sincere intentions of fighting corruption at high places at the most. So when procedural time line is given as an excuse of delaying the process of LOKPAL BILL I would suggest let President of India promulgate the LOKPAL ORDINANCE immediately so that it comes into force and then parliament and Govt would automatically get six months to ponder and enact it in the two houses.

HAVE YOU TAKEN A RASHTRAVRAT?

IF NOT READ MORE ABOUT IT IN

 

http://rashtravrat.blogspot.com/2010/05/rashtravrat.html

CASE STUDY OF A ROAD

Everyday I go to my office on a bicycle. The road I take is from Old Madras road near Metro depot towards Bagmane Tech Park from Sudaganta Pallya, touching Mallesh pallya, winding through Vignan nagar and finally leading to old airport road near Helicopter Division. A distance of around 7 kms. While riding a cycle, I get lot of time to observe the road and the life associated with it as I am not preoccupied in finding my place on the road like other four wheeler drivers! Speed of cycle also gives time to ponder about the surroundings. I decided to do a case study of the road which I take everyday and do a feasibility check for scope of improvement so that the road users would have a better experience while driving on the road. This was to be achieved by reducing bottle necks, reduce the filth and increase the effective width of the road.

This particular road has garbage dumped at places where there is road turning or on the sides of the roads where there are vacant spaces. A total of 21 garbage points. There is not a single garbage collecting vat, build or placed apart from two which were found small and inadequate. People throw the garbage at these points. In fact over the years these points have evolved and emerged as the most suitable garbage throwing points and BBMP could use this ready piece of information to place suitable garbage vats at these vantage points, so that the garbage is contained in the vat and not get strewn every where on the road and the surroundings.

The garbage clearing trucks come at the exact time when all others are rushing for their offices. The garbage truck waits on the main road and scavengers manually put the filth in the truck. BBMP could afford the automatic mechanical vats, which could be fork lifted and taken to the garbage disposal grounds preferably in the night. All these services must be pressed into service when people are asleep and roads are empty. This is how it is done elsewhere in foreign countries.

Stray dogs and cattle surround the garbage increasing the inconvenience of the people moving on the road.

The roads are laid but the sides and kerbs are not done up properly. This causes the road shoulders to go unused and dangerous for the car and two wheeler drivers.

In fact the effective width of the road in many cases reduces by half due to parking, undone and unkempt shoulders and the trees protruding on the road. The effective width is reduced by the following irritants:-

• The trees should be either on the footpath if available and well trimmed. In many cases the trees are planted such that the trunk is on the road after the foot path. The expance or droop of the branches meddles with the traffic and in some cases interferes with the telephone and electric wires across the road.

• Buildings under construction. The building plan is such that it occupies every each of the plot or land without any open or free space. When under construction the construction materials are strewen on the main road which makes the road users thereby reducing the effective road width.

• Public and Goods carriers parked overnight which occupy sides of the roads further reducing the effective width of the road.

• Accumulated silt where the road meets the footpath and inadequate storm water outlets add to the misery during the rains.

• The electric poles are not relocated with the widening of roads, hindering the smooth flow of the traffic.

The quality of the tarring of the road is so bad that one has to be constantly on the vigil of the surface of the road rather than who is front of the vehicle, less the vehicle tyre goes deep into the valley like pit or suddenly sees a mountain like huge speed breaker.

It is not that the BBMP authorities don’t now how to go about setting the things right as I could see the last stretch from Aeronautical Development Authority (ADA) towards the old airport road, where the effective width of the road is equal to the width of the road because of the neatly maintained and silt free shoulders. The road is neatly done up where it meets the footpath. The road is marked and the road surface is comparatively of better quality. Still there are no garbage vats here also. An involved local corporater can prod, nag and get the work done from BBMP.

If the following tips are employed by BBMP this road can become a model road. The success of this road can then be repleted for any road in Bangalore and if BBMP selects and does one road per month then in five years time most of the roads in bangalore would become pleasant and presentable.

Tips for BBMP to ensure better and presentable roads:-

• Place vats at the garbage points. Pick the garbage in the night.

• Bring down the stray dog and cattle menace.

• Try to make effective width equal to the actual width of the road as explained in this case study.

• Mark the roads properly. Remember people have inherent respect for anything written, printed or marked. The first reaction is to follow the instructions. People would think twice to jump the marked line.

• Make overnight parking of the public carriers and goods carriers, not in the city but outside the city.

• For GOD’s sake don’t work in compartments. Have coordination between deferent departments.