Let there be happy 2011 with more and more exposure of corruption and wrong-doing

Evil act will always be there so far as human beings sans the quintessence of dharma, neethi and nyaya survive in this world.

Even during the epitome of good governance by certain kings and emperors, evil had prevailed in one form or the other.

The ilk of Prof Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes will do extensive research and invent new forms of wickedness and treachery, particularly as technology is improving by the day. These things cannot be wiped out, but of course controlled, if there is a will to do so.

In the murky goings-on, the silver lining during 2010 was that there has been considerable exposure through print, television and internet channels. There can be many examples such as Niira Radia tape and Adarsh Housing Society scams, land scams in Karnataka, alleged irregularities done by kin of a former Chief Justice of India, bank fraud and what not.

The lord of it all was WikiLeaks, whether some people like it or not. There can be argument that some of these were selective leaks. But then there should be efforts by all concerned for exposure of other misdeeds as well.

New tools are there in finding out the darkest deeds done by evil forces in any nook and cranny of the world. But there should be a will to publicise them.

The people have been a little empowered with the prevalence of Right to Information, though there are efforts to weaken the system. One should be grateful to Sonia Gandhi for saying a firm no against pleas for barring several information from the public domain. Mind you, there were people in the government wanting to stifle the provisions.

The weapon for neethi and nyaya, that way dharma, would be the opportunity to expose misdeeds. Let 2011 be not lagging behind any way in this respect.

The ilk of Niira Radia, coporate honchos, political and religious leaders and now judges

The ilk of Niira Radia can cajole not only corporate honchos, but politicians of all hues and contribute to religious institutions like Pejawar Mutt of Udipi by cornering the support of the all-poweful in politics.

If she can put all of them under her thumbs, one should imagine the ever-ready type of journalists, some of whom live like Ek Din Ka Sultan (Sultan for a Day). Make hay while the Sun shines, that is the motto of several of them.

We have only heard about the conversations Niira Radia had with many mighty men and some women. This should not be a selective leak, for there could be numerous other Niira Radias in many other realms. When all those conversations come to the fore , the people would have a bellyful of laughter. For we know that nothing will happen after many rounds of probes and after. Still there is thrill in this sort of revelations.

I sometimes think about a scenario. The world survives because there are a few persons of integrity on the precious planet which itself is going to the dogs. Such people are considered good-for-nothing by pleasure seeking revelers. Let them scoff at the straight and truthful people. Afterall, these days people should be learning as to how to eat lesser and lesser, walk as much and cut on vehicular journey, for life style diseases like diabetes are making preys of human beings everywhere.
Still, lust for everything by the majority is eating into the very fabric of humanity. How long will it continue like that?

Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has started vetting the 2 G spectrum scam with Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai appearing before the panel and giving clarifications. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh himself has offered to appear before the panel. BJP, and some other parties like CPM are against it, for they want a JPC and their stir would lose vigour if the PM has already appeared before the PAC.

Now comes another shot. Former Chief Justice of India K.G.Balakrishnan’s kin have been accused of amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. Former Supreme Court judge V.R.Krishna Iyer has sought a judicial probe. It seems things are moving murkier.

The common man is baffled.

Discriminatory provision for appointment of college teachers withdrawn

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Government has seen reason and withdrawn the controversial directive regarding appointment of college teachers, for the present setting the standards straight for colleges run by minorities and non-minorities.

The earlier directive had put the colleges run by minorities and non-minorities in different categories. The minorities could select two of the subject experts from a panel of five being approved by the Vice-Chancellor. That would give leverage for the minority managements to have their own subject experts to some extent.

But in the case of non-minorities, the Vice-Chancellor would give two subject experts unilaterally, with the managements not having a choice.

This provision was astutely objected to by non-minority managements, particularly the Nair Service Society.

And the objection of the NSS had its grain of reason, for all the colleges had entered into an agreement with the State government, called direct payment agreement, in 1972 in which the mode of appointment was specifically included.

Any violation from the terms contained in the direct payment agreement, and that too with discrimination, could have been a shattering situation in the higher education sector.

Even with regard to changing terms and conditions for appointment of college teachers, much emphasis is there in the direct payment agreement, which cannot be tinkered with easily.

Yes, Endosulfan victims need rehabilitation and specialized treatment

No doubt, National Human Rights Commission chairman and former Chief Justice of India K.G.Balakrishnan, after visiting various places in Kasaragod district, has observed that specialist hospitals should be set up to take care of the victims of Endosulfan.
A special package should be set up for the rehabilitation and treatment of victims, particularly children.

There should be more palliative care centres to look after the ailing victims.
Justice Balakrishnan also observed that he would impress upon the Agriculture Ministry and the Environment Ministry of the pernicious consequences of use of Endosulfan.

One comment made earlier by noted writer M.T.Vasudevan Nair is noteworthy. He could not stand visiting Endosulfan victims due to the sheer bizarre nature of the deformities suffered by them as impact of Endosulfan use.

We have the responsibililty to safeguard the interests of all, and as Endosulfan and its varieties have adversely impacted human beings to a bizarre level, there should be no hesitation in taking action for the welfare of the people.

Will Karunanidhi condone the CBI raids on his clan?

Congress Party can say it wants to project the image that it does not condone corruption. The government has taken steps in various scams including Commonwealth Games, Adarsh Housing Society, 2 G Spectrum allocation and the like.

Now the CBI, which is being directed by the Supreme Court, is increasing the momentum of raids. And that includes the premises of those close to the DMK. The NGO with which Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi is associated has not been spared. Karunanidhi’s third wife Rajathiamma’s auditor has been raided. Kanimozhi is Karunanidhi’s daughter through Rajathiamma.

If sentimentality is to be reckoned, Karunanidhi should be rattled by these developments.

It is a fact, DMK cannot pull on its government in Tamil Nadu without the support of Congress MLAs in Tamil Nadu and the UPA II Government needs the support of 18 DMK MPs. In extreme case, the UPA II Government may survive with alternative support from other sources even if DMK pulls out of the coalition. The pull-out would harm DMK more than it would cause problems for the Congress. And Karunanidhi’s archrival Jayalalithaa is looking for an opportunity to squeeze through and form an alliance with the Congress.

It is amusing to think about the bland statement given out by the DMK earlier that it was amenable to a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2 G spectrum allotment scam. Was it thinking that a CBI probe could be averted this way? But the CBI has been probing the issue on the basis of comments made by the Supreme Court. Therefore, even if a JPC probe was launched, the CBI investigation would have continued.

It seems the DMK and not the Congress which is in dire straits now.

Mani is impatient, he wants more seats, wants Congress to conclude seat sharing job early

Things are becoming clear, with Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M.Mani calling for early exercise of seat sharing for the Assembly elections in Kerala.

Assembly elections should be completed by May next year and there are no indications of an early poll. The Election Commission of India itself had said there was no need for advancing the elections in Kerala.

The paradoxical situation this time is that the LDF, after having many of its constituent partners leaving the bandwagon, may not have any problem in seat sharing.
But that is not the case with the Congress-led UDF, which is severely struggling with opulence of front partners. Congress Party has not said that the portion of the Kerala Congress led by P.J.Joseph which had fused into the Kerala Congress led by K.M.Mani was part of the front.

There has been stiff opposition from the Idukki district unit of the Congress in drafting the Joseph group.

Now Mani has made it clear in a channel interview that P.J.Joseph would contest the ensuing elections, no one need entertain any doubt about it. More than that, Mani is expecting more parties to come into his fold. There was an attempt earlier for the unification of the Kerala Congress factions. Now Kerala Congress Balakrishna Pillai faction and Kerala Congress T.M.Jacob factions are keeping out. Maybe, these factions would have re-thinking. Afterall, the motive of all the factions is to have the maximum number of seats in the Assembly.

Now Mani is impatient to get assurances from the Congress Party, for he would not be game for giving in, with a small number of seats for his strengthened party.

The paradox of security and precautionary checks

The world has not been remaining the same after 9/11/2001 attacks in the US by terrorists. And America has since transformed itself into a scared and nervous power. Everywhere suspicion is lurking and they would have a check on all possible and impossible objects.

In spite of all the inspection, cross-checking, physical verification , surveillanace and so-called careful observation of everything suspicious, the world is not a safe place for human beings.

The overzealousness with which Meera Shankar, India’s ambassador to the US, was frisked and patted down by a security agent the other day looks, prima facie, ridiculous. The ambassador was wearing a sari on December 4 at the Jackson-Evess international airport in Mississippi as she was to board a flight to Baltimore after attending the Mississippi state university programme.

Perhaps, the security agents thought that an ambassador may be wearing a suit and not a sari. Ridiculous thinking, indeed, since there were officers concerned with her as she was at the airport and they had pointed out that she was India’s ambassador to the US. Was it not possible for the airport security personnel to get the bona fides of the Indian ambassador quickly?

By all means, take all precautionary measures, but not this ridiculously. Even as this sort of checking is going on, terrorists are having a field day all over the world. Even the US itself is looking askance at the terrorism links in certain areas for parochial interests.

The hardcore of US policies, strategies and actions have been laid bare by WikiLeaks and the mighty power could not stall the incursion into its inner security. When the innermost parts of its security apparatus has been sneaked into, this sort of undesirable frisking on a woman ambassador has taken place.

Ethics, social mores given a go-by; Wallowing in the mess may lead to chaos

Parents of some of the people who managed to obtain fraudulent appointments in government service in Kerala have recounted before news channels the ease with which the process was adhered to, something like people getting a visa for a job in the Gulf.

A girl who has obtained the black job has sought to be made an approver in the horrendous fraud case. Then what about her own two brothers who also secured the vitiated job? The father speaks as though someone else simply led them into this process.

Others may also have their arguments like the as-of-now prime accused promising to disclose the whole details of the fraud at an opportune time. Reports say the key operators have already run for cover and they may be seeking a way-out through the rigmarole of the legal system.

If what is coming out as rectification measures is correct, like vetting all government appointments during the last 10 years, the truth should come out, without covering up the fraud. Still Revenue Minister K.P.Rajendran and others have no reason for cheer.

One may dismiss the argument if it is pointed out that the society has become vicious, with a lot of the members of the society immune to any kind of conscious prick.

Ethics, morality and fair practices have gone down the drains, with the media truthfully citing the instance of the successful venture of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, a 24-year-old man, who did not mind letting down those who had given him money for setting up the venture. When the company was registered, it was done in his name only, leaving out the others who had been promised that they would be in the picture.

Such examples of people getting rich and turning successful through undesirable means may beguile the minds of the young who may also want to traverse the same route.
The US is troubled by the revelations through WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange is being proceeded against for other reasons, sex offences. That is natural reaction and there is nothing unusual about it. The revelations would be informative to the people, but then if Julian Assange has extraneous reasons to give out the complete revelation, definitely that should be explored.

Mankind is now living in an ethical conundrum and people are looking askance at social mores. If this attitude continues, there would be a time when chaos would set in and there would be no seriousness to any kind of offence.

Very bad example of democratic exercise

Parliament has been disrupted for the 17th consecutive day during its ongoing winter session.

Who is taunting whom to make a point? The ruling front as well as the Opposition front has won the situation in clamouring for a point of its own regarding the joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2 G spectrum allocation scam.

The ruling front is taking solace from the fact that it has accepted the demand of the Opposition to sack A.Raja, the minister concerned. The Opposition is not satisfied, for it insists on JPC, and perhaps may want the scalp of the Prime Minister afterwards. No harm in making demands one after the other, for that is the wont of the Opposition anywhere.

However, what is the point in prolonging the sham of a show in Parliament every day, some demanding JPC and others rejecting it?

By now it should be clear to the Opposition that the Congress Party is not amenable to a JPC, for if it had inclination to order one, it would have done so days ago.

Will someone suggest to the ruling and Opposition fronts not to befool the people, common people, majority of them poor and less educated. The tall arguments of either may befit the middle classes and upper middle classes, most of them relishing the studied lectures of sophistication, which may be good fodder for situations like the cliff-hanger decision making time in our higher courts.

The ordinary people may not be amused by all these tactics and tantrums. They want action, results, good administration and way of life that would sustain them and their children.

There is no point in the present goings-on in Parliament. Will someone take the initiative and call it a day. Better adjourn sine die and relieve the anxiety of the people.

This fraud is unimaginable!!!

Simply forge documents of the public service commission and other necessary documents and happily join government service without even appearing for a selection test!!!
People were shocked to hear the news item about this massive fraud. There cannot be execution of this fraud without the complicity of many people at various realms.

Years ago, one had heard of one L.S.Asokan of Kerala University, an Assitant Registrar, simply issuing pre-degree marklists with the desired marks on making a payment. Apparently, he had apprised the beneficiaries that necessary changes were made in the original records of the university.

What a pity, this sort of fraud is taking place in the most literate state of Kerala!

Various media have reported confessions of certain people involved saying they were made to believe that the names of the fraudulent appointees were being included in the official list of the public service commission!!!

As many as three persons of one family have secured fraudulent appointments by paying Rs 23 lakh.The parent who paid the money himself appears to have been responsible for misappropriation of Rs 80,000 years ago while he was working as a postmaster.

All right, now that the fraud has come to light, approach the issue with the view that this is only the tip of the iceberg. All appointments made in various departments of various districts for at least a decade should be verified with the records of the public service commission.

No one should be spared. Also it should be ensured whether a powerful racket is working in the state to cheat the people and vitiate the bureaucracy.

Take heed: Endosulfan is capable of being highlighted as an election issue

No doubt, the fall-out of indiscriminate use of Endosulfan, the destructive pesticide, has been severe and inhuman. We have been listening to reports about the catastrophic effect on human beings. Noted writer M.T.Vasudevan Nair had said he was incapable of visiting victims with deformed bodies, and revolting scenes.
Satirist Chemmanam Chacko has joined forces with the group demanding setting up of a sanatorium for the victims.

World renowned agricultural scientist Dr M.S.Swaminathan had said human beings come first in consideration and harmful effects on them should cause ban on use of Endosulfan.

Likewise, almost all leaders, political, social and intellectual, have fallen in line with the demand for ban of Endosulfan.

The after-effects may have been different in other states and other regions, because of the difference in the soil conditions and lesser propensity for the pesticide to mix with running water, streams and the like. In other areas, the impact on human beings might not have been highlighted.

Anyway, in Kerala, the fall-out has been disastrous, which has not been initially taken into account by Prof K.V.Thomas when he read out a speech on behalf of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar at Kasaragod. Later, Prof Thomas saw reason considering the all-out opposition to the deleterious substance and he has become neutral in advice.

That a scientist who had endorsed the use of Endosulfan earlier is being pressed into service as chairman of a committee to look into the issue afresh has attracted widespread criticism.

In Kerala, the LDF could seize it as an opportunity to criticise the Congress Party, as it was Prof Thomas who initially made the opinion that no report had pinpointed the harmful nature of Endosulfan.

Luckily, the Congress Party in Kerala has supported the ban on Endosulfan. The State is on the threshold of Assembly election and the Congress Party , as well as the LDF, cannot antagonise the people.

The world has not withered away owing to info leakages

Everything is transparent before God Almighty, according to all Vedas and philosophies. Perhaps, WikiLeaks would prove to be a semblance of making things transparent before the world. Nothing can be hidden for long. That which is hidden in some corner of the house would be proclaimed from the roof-top, it is written.
Cynic would say the world would come to an end through the revelations. Nothing has happened after WikiLeaks exposed many things, which the US says, are not original but only comments or interpretations.

All the things which the US would have found it embarrassing to express to the world in public are coming into the people’s glare. Without looking into the legality or otherwise, one has to come to terms with the fact that the world has moved fast and nothing can be controlled the way it existed years ago.

When President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972, which was a sort of historic occasion for both the US and China as it paved the way for their elusive bonhomie, the Chinese people did not turn up at the airport or on roadside to wave at him. For the Chinese government suppressed the matter and the media were totally controlled. Maybe, for some more time China may continue to gag the media as it pleased, but how long? There may be changes all around the world and the Chinese people would also enjoy free expression of the mind and thought at some point of time in future. A Nobel Prize winner may be incarcerating in jail in China, but one cannot rule out changes taking place.

Likewise, Myanmar may also be a tightly closed society on account of the grip of the military junta over the people. Due to pressure now it has released democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Here in india a serious issue has been thrown up regarding right to privacy as sought to be enforced by people who had utilised their private talks (if talks on phone and otherwise can be considered private) to influence and meddle with public affairs, like appointment of ministers, cornering spectrum space and the like. Can private people expressing themselves to influence public affairs go under cover of this right to privacy? That should be the moot-question.

Exposure of evil in any way is not going to wreck the world, of course some people may be inconvenienced. But then selective leakage of such interferences, saving thousands of others elsewhere at the national, regional and state levels also does not conform to neethi and nyaya. Or is it that only a higher justice can take care of all these evil practices?

End this blood bath serial

Attacks on human beings would not solve any problem, instead these would only create more problems. It may be easy to unleash political attacks, for these can be easily arranged by those concerned as they have organized power. But what sort of problem solving could this be? Ultimately, these attacks would boomerang on the very same people who have launched them.

At one point or another there could be rift among votaries of the same political persuasion and finally there would be a spilling of beans by one or the other.
On Tuesday and Wednesday there were political bloodshed in Palakkad district. An RSS worker, Ratheesh, was done to death on a running bus. A CPM worker had got hack injuries on November 23. And the murder of Ratheesh was seen as revenge killing. Now at least three more CPM workers have been attacked severely and they are undergoing treatment in various hospitals.

BJP has observed a hartal in the relevant areas under Palakkad and Malampuzha Assembly constituencies. A stretch of road in the area was blocked for some time.
Hope peace would return to the area after an all-party meet convened by the district collector. All political shades should be able to operate among people.

Where is the demarcation line? Cannot all details of scribes’ involvement in politically murky affairs be published?

Things are taking a serious turn with Kuldip Nayar preparing to approach the Press Council of India about journalists’ involvement in string pulling for appointment of particular persons as minister and helping out 2G spectrum allotment scam offenders.

Simultaneously Ratan Tata is moving the Supreme Court, as per channel reports, trying to put a stop to further publication of telephonic talks between scribes and political leaders and the like.

If there is no scurrilous and sexually explicit or other incendiary content in it, what is the harm in publishing the telephone conversation details?

Now the US Government is dumb struck by Wikileaks, still it apparently is not gagging the move to publish content. The US government is only alerting those concerned with the leak exercise that things may go wrong.

Our democracy is also developing fast and there should not be a full-stop to opening up. Leaks about conversations of Radia, Barkha Dutt, or Vir Sanghvi are not enough. If there are conversations and involvement of others, let the full content come out. Let the people know, for these are not private affairs of individuals, but these are affairs of the state and therefore it is of concern to the people.

Bihar had never been governed well, Nitish had given a semblance of good governance and he has won

Times are changing. The Yadav magic is not shining anymore in Bihar. Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party had to bite the dust in the Assembly elections in Bihar, where Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal(U) and ally BJP are coming back to power. He would be sworn in Chief Minister on Friday.

One could see the good governance of Nitish Kumar at the Centre as Railway Minister. He had strengthened the kitty of the railways where a separate security fund was created for maintenance and renovation of old infrastructure.

When Lalu Prasad Yadav became the Railway Minister he presented himself as a great minister pointing to the robust financial health of the railways. In fact, he had scrapped the security fund which was merged with the general fund. Congress Party had to just look askance at the gaffe of Lalu for coalition compulsions.

Anyway Nitish Kumar had shown his mettle. And now he ruled Bihar with confidence and conviction. Lalu Yadav had earlier trumpeted that his people are poor, they don’t need good roads for vehicles to ply on . When floods ravaged the state, he had said people would welcome it as they could easily catch fish and eat it.

Such wide-mouthing would not carry the day always. If the Nitish Kumar way of development is continued, the state may go in for better times.

Congress has no efficient local leaders there. And so it could not reap better results.

Will it be a setback for BJP’s grandstanding?

The latest speak about BJP’s Karnataka Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa refusing to kowtow to the central leadership’s inclination for him to quit. In New Delhi, where he landed for consultations and meetings rather late, he made it clear that he would not resign over the land scam imbroglio.

He also said that no one had told him to call it a day. It was at a time when the BJP wanted to take the moral high ground in Parliament over its stance on the 2 G spectrum allocation scandal rocking Parliament and tweaking the ears of the Congress Party for its inaction, not to mention the Supreme Court’s demand for an affidavit regarding the Prime Minister’s alleged procrastination. The PMO has denied any instance of inaction, all the same the government was put at unease.

Now the BJP should be in trouble if Yeddyurappa finally refuses to fall in line. Usually, in such political situations, the people concerned take a so-called brave stand to strike some sort of a rapprochement regarding successors and a quiet exit, without much encumbrances falling on them subsequently.

Let us see whether Yeddy’s would also be such a game.

Great positions manned by morally puny figures

We cannot say the corruption, slush and sleaze, no doubt potboiler stuff, are the offshoot of systemic failure. In fact, there is no system failure, the problem is with the persons sitting in responsible positions and doing things without an iota of conscience prick. Moral, ethical dimensions do not deter them to do any underhand dealings.

2G spectrum allocation scam, CWG muddle, Adarsh Housing Society misdeeds, landscam in Karnataka – these have all come out, how many more are yet to be discovered- no doubt, are a symbolism of man’s minds going mean for petty gains.

Two three flats, a few acres of land, a few crores of rupees and the like should be peanut for a Union Minister, Chief Minister and the like. Media specialists functioning as agents for the corrupt have not come out fully. A lot of them are steeped in evil practices for gains. Those among the media who want to pursue an ethical line are not allowed to do so by the evil section straddling senior positons. Such worthies do not deserve any respect. Those who had to bow out on account of the machinations of this type of malevolent actors need not be worried. They may have lost something in the eyes of those seeking worldly pleasures, but their mental framework, the sheer will-power to stand up against evil within the system are all shining like anything. They don’t wither away.

In democratic system, at least a tip of the iceberg of corruption gets unravelled. In totalitarian systems, nothing comes out until the system itself perishes.

Those couched in top positions should have sufficient results kept in their kitty at the end of the day for them to be happy about. What we see around us are not happy things, but the worst kind of evil.

We have embraced capitalism, but where is the social security network?

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has stressed the need for "institutions and mechanisms that can deliver effectively our promise of livelihood security, the right to education, to employment, to food, to shelter."

This should be pursued in right earnest. He has made a caveat. These things cannot be done from the top. These should have top priority at the state level. No point of difference with him regarding the priority for all-round development.

But I have always been insisting on one thing about social security in the serious sense now that we have opened up our economy, markets, gone in for liberalization, globalization etc in tune with the norms of capitalism.

Where is our social security network as obtaining in capitalistic countries. There should have been a hue and cry from the political parties for institutionalizing a federalized social security department catering to the people who are jobless and incomeless.

Countries like the UK are going in for slashing the benefits for those taking unduly advantage of the welfare network. Mind you incomeless people are given as much as 850 pounds a week for their survival in many forms.

Here we have allowed big companies and corporates to reap rich harvest from the opened up market and economy. Parallel work for setting up effective social security network has not even begun. One may say Mahatma Gandhi job scheme is there. That is not the sort of social security scheme running successfully in capitalist countries.

One can say the economy is robust, growth is forward and the like. But we are backward in the matter of taking care of the incomeless people. There should be a social security network as a federal scheme taking care of all the people of all states, to be taken care of by a single department.

Is it possible to simply ask Tecom to butt out?

Smart City project in Kochi has been much touted for creating a lot of jobs in the IT sector benefiting the educated unemployed in the state. After four and a half years of its stone-laying, the project has not moved an inch forward. No doubt, political interference has stalled the project.

It was the previous government led by Congress leader Oommen Chandy that had mooted the project. The subsequent V.S.Achuthanandan government has not been amenable to some of the provisions of the agreement entered into between executing company, Tecom, and the government.

Achuthanandan government may have scored a point by saying that it was not giving over the existing IT park for free. But then was it forced to give freehold rights to Tecom? The government says there was no such provision, but Tecom insists on freehold rights of 28 acres, that is 12 per cent of the total extent of 236 acres. Oommen Chandy says there was no word, freehold, in the previous agreement.

Legal stalwarts should have been retained before signing the agreement. International companies dod that, but Kerala leaders limit legal advice to the one being given to it by the politically submissive lawyers. That will not do when it comes to issues that come up in the international arena.

Now, if Tecom is asked to butt out, will it sit idle? It will go before international legal fora for sufficient compensation. Adjudication, if any, would also entail huge compensatory provisions. Political oral blitzkrieg would not deter international companies from fleecing their pound of flesh.

Now it is the turn for Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi

Muthuvel Karunanidhi’s children are lucky like the father. Their turn would come on a platter. Now that A. Raja’s fate as a Union Minister appears to be sealed, judging from the turmoil in Parliament, stiff opposition from political rivals and comments from the Supreme Court, who could be the successor to him in the Union Ministry?

No doubt, it would be none other than the poet-writer MP Kanimozhi. Earlier, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha. And she has been doing a fine job in Delhi, positively championing the cause of DMK and her family.

It has been only because the DMK’s support was indispensable for the Congress-led UPA II Government at the Centre that Raja remained in the ministry in spite of strong opposition arising from the 2 G spectrum scam. Coalition compulsions have been holding the fort for him so far as his mentor Karunanidhi stood with him.

Now whatever may be said about it otherwise, archrival J.Jayalalithaa’s missive offering unconditional support to the UPA II Government if Raja is ousted may prove to be a big pressure against him.

Kanimozhi’s days of reckoning are ready in Delhi, it seems

Fresh air of freedom for Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar

Definitely, Myanmar is a peculiar country where democracy has no sway. Everything is decided by the military junta. For the last 30 years at least there has been constant and continuing struggle for freedom and democratic exercise for the people, mostly led by a single woman leader- Aung San Suu Kyi.

Her party had won the election years ago, but the military dictators did not allow her to take over the reign. Instead she was put in house arrest, a euphemism for imprisonment. She was leading her life like this for 15 years.

Her term of incarceration should have ended in 2009, but the same was extended for the act of someone swimming into her place of residence. Now she has been released. Will the junta allow her to take up democratic campaign and propaganda? The whole world has been putting pressure on the military regime to release her. At least now, it has obliged, but will it tolerate a different voice?

In apartheid –ridden South Africa, Nelson Mandela was put in prison for decades, and it was solitary confinement and doing the work of blasting rocks. At last he had to be released. The world rejoiced at that.

Cloistered Myanmar should not be allowed to continue with military dictatorship, not allowing dissent. The world is too large with different opinions elsewhere and Myanmar cannot be militarily autocratic. Human kind cannot go on praising the rulers, and that too the military variety.

Indian citizens should consider it their great blessing to have a democratic republic where the people can voice any kind of assertions. Sometimes people go overboard and speak about things bordering on maybe sedition. Still, we are a tolerant nation.
Let all people of all the world enjoy a breath of fresh air of freedom and equity. Let Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Myanmar enjoy freedom.

Jayalalithaa is striking a cordial note with Sonia Gandhi

Refurbishing her ambitions to corner a plum place at the national politics, AIADMK chief of Tamil Nadu, J.Jayalalithaam has offered the cake to the Congress Party. She would support the Congress-led UPA II Government at the Centre, provided Minister for Communications, A.Raja of the DMK, struggling with the 2 G spectrum allocation scam, is jettisoned from the Dr Manmohan Singh Ministry.

She has also made it clear that issues with Sonia Gandhi were a thing of the past. She knows it too well that without entering the heart of Sonia Gandhi, her voyage seeking fresh pastures would prove futile.

The Comptroller and Auditor General, in his report, had stated that as much as Rs 1.76 lakh crore was lost to the national exchequer owing to the shabby way in which the 2 G spectrum was allocated to private entities.
The Supreme Court had also made unsavoury references to the continuance of Raja in the ministry in spite of the allegations.

The surprise announcement of Jayalalithaa, through select media, could not have been at a more opportune time when Parliament is embroiled in continued turmoil over Raja’s irregularities and other issues. No one had approached her seeking support and the Congress has been guarded in its reaction. It just noted Jayalalithaa’s feelings and left it at that saying as of now its ally is the DMK, her bête noire.
She has only nine MPs when the ruling dispensation at the Centre would need the support of at least 18 MPs, if the DMK pulls out of the coalition. She would say she has the number in her kitty, offered by her allies. No doubt, all of them would fleece a pound of flesh from the fresh move.

The impact of the swift turn-around could be gauged from the fact that DMK chief M.Karunanidhi has decided to look into the report of the CAG. His daughter Kanimozhi, MP, has rushed to meet senior leader Pranab Mukherjee of the Congress Party, who is an efficient trouble-shooter.

In a way, things have started moving at the politicalscape in New Delhi as well. Congress had shown the way by taking action against Ashok Chavan and Suresh Kalmadi who were enmeshed in Adarsh Housing Society and Commonwealth Games scams. Coalition compulsions had deterred it from taking suo motu action, but has left it to the DMK to follow suit.

Certain nations not happy with Obama’s concurrence for India’s membership

The latest is that Germany and Japan have expressed their dissatisfaction over US President Obama’s approval of India getting a permanent membership in the UN Security Council.

These and some other countries have been angling for a slot in the Security Council. The world has transformed much after the end of World War II when the contours of the Security Council were drawn.

The winners, the US, UK, Russia (formerly Soviet Union),France and China, have been automatically chosen to be the permanent members of the Security Council. The present China was not there as such. It was Kuomintang China, which was replaced later by China. India was approached by the great powers to become a member before China was admitted. India had suggested that China of Mao Tse Tung should be admitted to the Security Council.

Now the very same China is dilly-dallying over India’s representation proposal. That is the fate of history. Opportunities should be grabbed without looking into the ethics of posts being got, according to opportunists, not only in the international arena, but even in personal life. Still there is a charisma and enthusiasm about being broadminded and following ethics and moral principles. Not many can follow the diktat of ethics.

Now the Communists, including Prakash Karat and A.B. Bardhan have expressed their opposition to the ties being broadened between India and the US. Maybe it is true, India should have to bear more liabilities when it would get the membership in the reformed UN Security Council. There should be a price being paid for every accretion.

Correct yourself, even if you are Obama

Comparisons are odious, if one attempts to do that between the elections in the US and those in Kerala. The parties are different, the cultures are diametrically opposite, the ways of life are not linear.

Still there can be some sort of a general reference. Obama had romped home to victory as the US President, the first African-American one in the history of that great nation, on the plank of ‘change’.

People overwhelmingly supported him. Two years down the lane, people have felt that ‘change’ for the better is not that on the way. His party, the Democratic Party, has got majority in the Senate, though in a reduced way, but rival, Republican Party, has gained 50 per cent majority in the House of Representatives, which is the lower house of the Congress.

That means Obama cannot get his legislations passed in the House of Representatives without the support of the Republican Party. For sure, the American people would see to it that on policy matters the parties may join together and work for the betterment of the people who are now seeped in a situation of rising unemployment and weak economy.

What about the Communists-led LDF in Kerala, India, where they got a drubbing in the local administration bodies elections. The LDF may have done something in the ruling realms. But the people were not enamoured. In a democracy, the people have to feel the affability of the administrators.

It is here that many operators in the political and administrative arenas have failed. The people should be respected. When we refer to people, they are vast and variegated. You cannot call them names, cannot humiliate them, on the contrary they should feel that the government is with them.

No section of the people can be ignored and they should not be termed as abominable. If there are criminals among them, action should be taken against such elements in accordance with the provisions of the law of the land. Others should be roped in for good governance.

Mind you, people should not be laughed at for their faith or non-faith.
The LDF may have opportunities to launch a diatribe against the UDF during the 2011-2016 period when the players in the UDF may not be able to cater to the interests of all the sections clinging on with it.

Party can arraign him, but was it possible for VS to justify the lottery fraud?

Reports speak about CPM leadership putting the blame squarely on Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan for the debacle in the election to the local bodies in Kerala, maybe citing the single reason that he opposed the stance taken by strong forces in the party in the lottery issue.

He was blamed earlier for the body blow received by the party in the Lok Sabha elections on account of his stance in the SNC Lavalin issue. The party was dealing with the issue legally and politically when VS had taken stern stance.

Forget about Lavalin and all that, but in the lottery fiasco, could it have been possible for VS to justify the forces which were supporting draw of lotteries which were dubbed fishy? Transparency has been totally lacking in the running of outside lotteries in Kerala. Those supporting this sort of lotteries were basing their arguments on the situation that the Central law was standing in the way of taking action against spurious lotteries.

At the same time, some legal pundits have pointed out that there are provisions in the Central Act itself empowering the states to take action against erring lotteries. Recently, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee himself had said that the states have the power to deal with faulty operators.

Therefore, could it be possible for a Chief Minister to support erring people. Everyone knows that such lotteries do not have transparency and that they were taking advantage of gullible poor people on a large scale.

Lo, 50 per cent women are being positioned in our local bodies, polls under way

Mullappally Ramachandran may say people cannot vote fearlessly in Kerala, India. State Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan may pooh-pooh the allegation of the Union Minister. No doubt, people can understand a little bit of politicking.

However, the beauty of it all in Kerala is that 2.50 crore people are exercising their franchise for electing the leadership of various local bodies. This is for the first time that the local bodies would have 50 per cent women representing the people. In other states, such a scenario cannot be dreamed as of now.

The polling has already begun on Saturday (October 23) in seven districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargod districts. In the other seven districts-Idukki, Kottayam, Alapuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram- polling would be held on October 25.

Brisk polling has been registered in the Malabar area of the State. There are 978 grama panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 60 municipalities and five city corporations in the state. Of the 60 municipalitiesm, election is being held only in 59 municipalities as the term of the Mattannur municipality will expire only in 2011. Of the 21,612 total wards, women will don the leadership positions in half of them.

Paper ballots are being used in all panchayats and electronic voting machines in municipalities and corporations.

As many as 8,000 EVMs are being used in the municipalities and corporations. There are 40,000 polling booths and 2.6 lakh polling officials.

Gandhiji’s gram swaraj may be eluding the nation, garbage clearance may be the worst problem for the people and no one is taking care of the issue for a solution on a permanent basis, still the people have a prominent role in all areas of the realm through local bodies.

Let us not miss the woods for the trees, in the lottery fiasco

A lot of hot discussions are going on about the lottery fiasco in Kerala, which is running the state lottery without any hitch.

The problem is with regard to outside lotteries that have been fleecing the gullible poor man for a long time now.

Those who seek action against the erring lotteries are drawing attention to the well-run Kerala lottery which is transparent and the outside lotteries, particularly the Bhutan and Sikkim varieties.

No one in the state would have any doubt about the hanky panky in the outside lottery. The affairs are not transparent. No one knows who all got the prizes. Neither is the way the lottery is being run.

Ordinary folks used to purchase tickets in bulk, thinking that they would get Rs 5,000 each for the last three digits or so. If one gets a Rs 5,000 winning once, he would go on buying lottery tickets in bulk. The reality is that the people are not aware of the venue where the draw is conducted or whether the first and bumper prizes are given at all.

The blame game has been going on in Kerala as to who should take action against the erring lotteries. Now it is time for the authorities to clear up the mess. No one should be allowed to run spurious lotteries. The people should know where the draw is conducted and who are all getting the sprizes.

The authorities cannot hoodwink the people anymore.

Who said India is down in the dumps in the Commonwealth Games?

Overall performance of Indian sportspersons in the Delhi Commonwealth Games has been scintillating. The last event was the crown of all other events when Saina Nehwal won the gold in the badminton women’s singles.

And this gold has contributed to India finishing second in the medal haul in the Delhi CWG. India bagged 38 gold and altogether 101 medals.

Without this win, India would have been relegated to the back with a third position. Now England has been placed on the third slot.

India is traditionally a slow starter. In the case of Saina also she had lost the first set. But she rallied to grab the second and third sets.

Even in organising the event, the country has been abysmally slow and had suffered a lot in the international media about shoddy arrangements. But in the end everything had been placed all right.

But one thing should be sure, when India haggles for holding the Olympic Games, this lethargy should be nipped in the bud.

Everyone who should be impartial is partial in Karnataka

The drama of a trust vote in Karnataka is over and BJP’s B.S.Yeddyurappa Government has been saved by the skin at the intervention of Speaker K.G.Bopaiah. By a simple voice vote, claiming the support of 106 members, apparently the government secured trust vote, maybe in a tainted way.

The Speaker early morning disqualified 11 rebel BJP MLAs and five independents. They were not allowed to enter the precincts of the Assembly. Some of the independents had barged in but they were restrained by security people, including the police. What a shame, the police had to be called in at the sacred precincts of the Assembly.

Does the Speaker has the power to disqualify independents at all? Can disqualification proceedings commence before the members defy the party whip?
Governor H.R.Bharadwaj had issued an advisory to the Speaker to allow all the members to participate in the trust vote. But that advice was not taken kindly by the Speaker.

Now the dissidents are planning to move the court against the tainted trust vote.
Meanwhile, the BJP has called for the recall of the Governor who is allegedly pro-Congress.

In Karnataka, the political situation is quite confusing.

Yeddyurappa the most opposed CM from within the ranks

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa has stood steadfast as of now amidst domineering opposition. His government has been rattled from Day One by rebels from his own party.

It stands as a black mark for the BJP which had cobbled up a government in the Southern States for the first time. But then everyone is fated. Yeddy’s fate has so far been secure in spite of nagging worries on all days.

This time too he feels the problem would solve itself and he would prove his majority on the floor of the House on October 11. His hope against hope is that the rebels would come back. How, no one knows. He may be banking on the central leadership of the BJP to save his face. If Yeddy goes, the party withers away in Karnataka. That feeling may incite even his opponents among the central leadership to somehow save his fate.

Deve Gowda’s party had indirectly facilitated the success of Yeddy earlier. That party had ditched Yeddy at the crucial time, after receiving its support for more than two years. Now Janata Dal is trying to cobble up a government with the support of the Congress and independents.

Politics is like that, and anything can happen.

What had happened to Mani Shankar Aiyyar?

Well-read, well-experienced Mani Shankar Aiyyar has been the single most outspoken person against India hosting the Commonwealth Games. The diatribes were without offering an escape route of give and take.

He may have reasons for the grievous criticism he thought fit to lavish on the organizers. He had put up a proposal earlier when he was in charge of sports affairs to set up sports facilities in each village, costing crores of rupees. And the next day he was divested of the sports portfolio.

Aiyyar has said the country should have made preparations for years together after setting up facilities all over the country. There is a point in his argument, but his criticism has gone overboard.

Good that Aiyyar thought it fit to be out of the country when the Delhi Commonwealth Games are being played out.

India’s system is a peculiar one, with a lot of corruption, lethargy, babudom and nobody taking responsibility. Still it would out-manoeuvre all obstacles and put the best in place.

India is on the verge of playing out as a developed country even as nearly half of the 1.2 billion population is not living a decent life of income and facilities.
Mani Shankar Aiyyar’s criticism was a little too much. Wasn’t it?

Let Mandir-Masjid co-exist, let peace rule Ayodhya and elsewhere

The Ayodhya verdict by the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court should ultimately pave the way for co-existence of a Mandir and Masjid at the place held sacred by both communities.

For years we have been concerned about the fate of this issue and have been anxious about the fall-out of any one-sided initiative. Now after about 60 years of legal wrangling, at least the High Court come to a conclusion, which allows a Mandir and Masjid to come about in the plot concerned.

The parties concerned can definitely approach the Supreme Court and seek final conclusion. In fact, that step should be pursued since the problem has not been settled outside the court. If it is a court solution, let it have the seal of approval of the apex court as well, whatever be the outcome.
Hair-splitting arguments apart, the nation seeks resolution of the issue amicably through court or otherwise.

Now that a legal decision has come which allows sharing of the property by both communities, there is scope for India as a nation to face the facts boldly and resolve the most contentious issue.

The scope would enable the people to leapfrog into ambitious growth and development. The people should feel that they are now unbound by the debilitating issue.
 

The question is whether the Ayodhya verdict can be delivered

The moot-question is whether the Ayodhya verdict on the Ramajanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue can be delivered. The crucial problem has arisen on account of the fact that one of the judges of the three-member bench at Lucknow of the Allahabad High Court is slated to retire from service on September 30.

If the verdict is stayed beyond his retirement date, the whole exercise of determining the title of the disputed site would have to be decided afresh by going into all the aspects from the very beginning.

It seems people have been concerned about the stay granted by the Supreme Court on the issuance of the verdict by the Lucknow bench thinking that the apex court would not determine the issue before September 30.

To me that seems far-fetched. The Supreme Court which has decided to look into the question on September 28 can settle the issue on that day itself and if not possible the next day. This would enable the Lucknow bench to deliver the verdict on time.

If political parties decide to remain unruffled, the verdict on the title suit would not cause much damnation. In India, the political plank is the strongest. They can make or mar the very edifice of the society. Let the political stalwarts decide to rest the issue with the courts. The decision of the Lucknow bench is not the final answer. The disputing agents can appeal before the Supreme Court and can have threadbare arguments.

The most important aspect for Indians should be maintenance of peace and tranquility. In a world beset with umpteen and variegated problems, this should not batter India and its edifice.

Do everything to salvage Delhi CWG

When the opening ceremony is fast approaching, the Commonwealth Games preparations in Delhi are under strident criticism. In a diversified democratic country like India, decisions on anything are often delayed, execution further delayed, if not done. We are loquacious about everything, but not in the matter of implementation.

The government which had fought hard to fetch the rights for CWG in Delhi definitely should evince that keenness to provide proper facilities. We have heard that the participating countries were offered one lakh dollars each and all expenses of the visiting teams would be met by India. We had got seven years to make preparations. Still last-minute arrangements are not completed. It was expected that everything should have been got ready six months ago.

Various countries have complained about the sub-standard nature of facilities. Moreover, many countries are not sure about the security being provided in India.
To make matters worse, the overbridge near the stadium has collapsed. Sure, something has gone amiss.

And terrorists have contributed to creating some sort of panic. Still, the government is firm we would hold the Games come what may.

Withdrawal of a few sportspersons may not have a killer effect, all the same the sheen may have been shorn off.

Even at the last minute, something could be done for the smooth conduct of the Games.

Develop three-dimensional reporting for the print medium

By O.J.George

Surf the internet for views on the print medium and its survival and future. No one is prepared to vouch for bright prospects for the newsprint product in the world of new developments in communication and dissemination. Definitely, these forecasts have relevance, mostly in the developed world.

However, it could be a universal truth that wherever vernacular papers cater to the cultural, social and religious ethos and when people are living in a community as inter-locked as in Kerala, readers would wait for the newspaper boy early morning.

There can be no cessation of interest in the matter, even as we have heard the main points of the same news items the previous day in numerous channels criss-crossing the state.

This does not mean that the newspapers should not change in their treatment of ingredients being dished out to the readers. There is no point in continuing to display news items in the five Ws and one H mode. Newspapers should find a way-out and give a product which would be something different and more analytical and appreciative.

The very concept of writing for newspapers should undergo a sea-change, for which the scribes have to be properly trained. But where is the training and where are the youngsters queuing up for a print medium job?

Mainstream Malayalam newspapers have started putting in more effort to include more stories of their own, other than the hard news items available and which cannot be spiked.

There were times of yore when front pages contained only classified advertisements. We have come a long way. Chronological reporting was the order of the day at one time. Minute-by-minute, blow by blow accounts of incidents and events were being reported accurately, disregarding the most important aspect of what transpired at the venue.

Then again there was transformation by giving the most important news point first and presenting the news story in an inverted pyramid structure. Still, there was great importance given to stenographic reporting. The coverage given to a political leader could be adjudged best if everything from A to Z he had said was carried.

Later, more involvement of the scribe in the content of what was being reported came into being. Developing the story from points jotted down and giving a tilt or twist had become quintessential.
Now these criteria would not suffice anymore for the print medium, which should develop a three-dimensional style incorporating the five Ws and one H as embedded points in an analytical piece on what transpired. The impact story would have more takers among readers, for, otherwise there would be nothing new for them.

Newspaper managements know how to sustain themselves and thrive. That is whey the media-mix has come into being. Many of the newspapers have their own channels which attract combined ad income for the channel as well as their print entity. Those who don’t have their own channels are apparently training themselves to launch one too soon. Others may perhaps have tie-ups.

Morever, the newspapers have their own internet editions through which they justify currency in news dispensation.

Change is, therefore, a must for the print medium, with which they would survive, particularly the vernacular variety with strong societal connections. However, even with all sorts of changes put in, it a moot-questionw whether the best talents can be attracted to the print medium any more. One cannot showcase clichés like ‘remuneration would not be a problem, remuneration package would be the best in the industry’ anymore.

Those gloating in the profession as of now need not be in glee, for the times are as precarious as any danger that might shove them off the hook.

The great democratic exercise at the grass-roots level

Kerala has again become politically vibrant with the announcement of election schedule for the local bodies, which are slated for October 23 and 25. Results would be announced on October 27. The new leadership would be in place on November 1. Mind you, that is the States Reorganisation Day, and is marked as Keralappiravi.

We may speak about political overplay, corruption that dominates various echelons etc, but the very fact that we can conduct elections even at the village level is something of a great achievement compared to many other states.

This time women get 50 per cent of the seats and they have been allotted panchayats, municipalities and corporations where the fair sex would have presiding seats.
Mahatma Gandhi had visualised gram panchayats sans political affiliations. But that cannot be in a state like Kerala which has an overdose of politics. We have seen panchayat regimes changing hands as even one or two persons defect to the other side.

With all these proclivities, let us welcome the great democratic exercise and hope for the best for better development, social awareness, continuing and leapfrogging education, avenues for all for bigtime opportunities in the job sector and what not.
Democracy may be reckoned as something of a cacophony and babble, perceiving certain evil tendencies. But that is definitely the best practice and holding elections every five years speak well of our system to this extent. Remember we had times when panchayat elections could not be held for even 13 years.

Stray thoughts about worldly ways

We have been somewhat okay when substantial parts of the developed world were flapping their hands in recession. And this included the US and the UK.

Countries like India, China etc were having a good time amidst the woes of the West. Did anyone think about the systemic problems?

In developed countries, the governments have to dole out a huge amount to take care of welfare measures.

A lot of families go on living on welfare payments as they don’t have jobs. For them, it is not essential that jobs are there for the asking, for the welfare schemes and cash payments for various activities would be sufficient for a decent living in their own currencies.

Compare this to the situation in countries like India where the economy was thrown open wide, but the governments have not announced parallel measures like the ones existing in capitalist countries for total welfare.

We have announced manual labour jobs for up to 100 days a year at Rs 65 or so, may be Rs 100 in certain states. Even this has not been implemented in full. Still, to the extent the project was implemented in certain states, this was something like a boon.
Compare the situation to the opening up of the economy for two G, three G etc, oil sector, and anything for certain people to mint money, that is in unimaginable proportions.

Our billionaires are not prepared to give anything substantially to charity, even as US billionaires are simply giving away 50 per cent of their earnings.

In the welfare states of the developed world, since they lacked cash during the heaviest recession, the banks in the countries did not mind laundering 352 billion dollars of drug money. The drug cartels, flush with funds, did not mind pumping in this much of money to the economy through banks. They were benefited because of money laundering as their black became white money.

Where can a line be drawn about ethics and morality in dealings?

Unending processes of medical admission

It is a pity that we can’t make a sustainable process for ensuring medical admission in government and private medical colleges in Kerala.
The problem gets vitiated as private medical colleges want to collect hefty fee. The government may say the fee levied by private medical managements is Rs 5.50 lakh and Rs five lakh deposit.

But the grapevine has it that to get medical admission in the management quota would entail up to Rs 50 lakh. I heard someone asking a person involved in private management admission about the hefty fee. The reference was about Rs 20 lakh. Cool came the reply. There is no vacant seat for the next three years. All these seats are filled in advance. Don’t make a mistake, fee payment has also been made in advance. Maybe, most of these seats would be cornered by NRIs.

I always used to wonder why should private institutions charge exhorbitant fee? Many of the managements can easily muster crores of rupees by donation from philanthropists and run these medical colleges charging ordinary fee from competent students.

Why can’t Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Tata and all start medical colleges and IITs at ordinary rates of fee using part of their income? In the US, all billionaires are donating half of their earnings to charities.

After all, an educated and well-equipped India would be a noble thing.

Sell yourself, not this ridiculously

Popular persons promoting various goods and services should be very careful in promotional advertisements. Because of their acceptance in society, particularly among the youth and lower tier of the crown and glory of all creations who are not much of a thinking class, what the hero or heroine thinks, acts and promotes is mimicked.

No doubt, mimicry has gained more acceptance than other basics in the world of make-belief. If we dwell deeply on the goings-on in society, one should recognize the fact that commoners always want someone to lead them.

Suppose those who lead others fall in the category of misleaders, society would have to bear the pangs. The latest report about popular actor Jagathy Sreekumar refusing to do any more promotional advertisements for Sikkim, Bhutan lotteries is relevant in this regard.

The pit-falls into which the gullible public plunge have been unraveled these days in popular dailies. Though belatedly, Jagathy Sreekumar has decided to call it a day

Anand Sharma not game for revoking the rubber decision

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has categorically made it clear that the slash in import duty for rubber cannot be withdrawn.

Various MPs from Kerala have been after him seeking some favour to save their skin. No MP can justify the reduced import duty. That is why they are doggedly after some authority to get the order revoked.

On Wednesday also the MPs surrounded the Commerce Minister and wanted him to do something.

But the Minister was vehement in his justification of the decision saying the import duty was cut on the advice of an expert committee.
Earlier, there were reports that Rubber Board had wanted no reduction in the import duty.

The decision in question is that for import of one lakh tonnes of natural rubber at 7.50 per cent. Earlier, the import duty was 20 per cent.

Anand Sharma has maintained that the import of one lakh tonnes would not have serious impact in the market.

However, the rubber growers are concerned about the decision which may mar their prospects. Now natural rubber is fetching more for them in the internal market compared to the prices ruling in the international market.

Can’t we do something without any controversy?

Would it be possible to do any good deed without creating a controversy? The instant case refers to the confusion created by someone with regard to conferment of an honorary doctorate on Viswanathan Anand, India’s own chess emperor of the world.
Hyderabad University, which is a Central varsity, wanted to honour Viswanathan Anand and another with a doctorate.

But the extra-curious officials raised a question whether Viswanathan Anand was an Indian, as he has been living in Spain for quite some time.
Cannot an Indian live some time in another country? Was there any doubt about Viswanathan Anand being an Indian when he used to bring laurels for the country in the chess field?

Things are apparently ridiculous, as one ponders over the issue. Thankfully Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal reacted quickly and set the doubts at rest and apologised to Viswanathan Anand and wanted him to accept the honour.
For the present he may not be able to receive it as he is preoccupied with his various championships. Let us hope he would receive the title and receive the honour.

MPs’ salary hike and other things

There can be not much of a dispute regarding the need for our MPs to lead a decent life. No one wants our MPs to lead a miserable life. There are unconfirmed reports about a lot of persons or agencies offering a helping hand to our Parliamentarians one way or the other.

No doubt, a salary of Rs 16,000 per month is too measly. Now that has been raised to Rs 50,000 per month. Fair enough, but their allowances have been raised only to Rs 20,000 from Rs 14,000 per month.

MPs’ minimum pension has been raised from Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000 per month.
In fact, the Lok Sabha has been adjourned over the division in this regard. Some MPs want a hike in pay of up to 500 per cent.

There are other sumptuary provisions like air travel tickets, free train tickets, phone call charges, office expenses and what not. More than that, all MPs are members of several parliamentary committees. Attendance of these committees will fetch them a lot of money.

There may be objections to the pay hike, even though there is merit in the argument that the MPs’ economic life should be wholesome.

The Constitution of India is framed by “We the people of India” and so MPs themselves can decide on their pay hike. “We the people of India” phrase largely denotes MPs even though it was originally intended to mean all the literate and illiterate human beings of India.

There can be much disparity with regard to pensions for ordinary mortals. There are lakhs of workers under the Employees Provident Fund scheme who receive a monthly pension of roughly Rs 500 per month.

There is a wide chasm existing in this regard. Forget about the plight of ordinary people toiling to fetch a livelihood, fighting between below the poverty line and above the poverty line, standing on the fringes of the demarcating line.
Judges, MPs, officials, workers and pensioners definitely deserve salubrious salaries or allowances. Corporate growth and empowerment of the moneyed class alone should not be the only factors of the economy. All the poor people should be roped in and offered a helping hand. Mind you, we don’t have a welfare scheme as existing in capitalist economies, even though we have opened up our economy.

Films reflecting dimensions of real life experiences lacking in current presentations

Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan has rightly observed films should reflect lives and then only there would be progress in the industry.

Malayalam films these days are apparently violence-prone, in the sense even the goody-goody super hero indulges in feats of violence one way or other transcending human frailties. These lack sensibility in the real sense.

I heard a comment by Sathyan Anthikad on television that a super hero’s films started receiving less public acclaim only because his characters had turned super human.
Films are telecast every day, most of whom are projecting super human heroes, that is ordinary heroes accomplishing impossible feats.

It would appear real if they don roles of superman, batman and the like because people expect super human feats from such characters.

Even the ageing actors who have talents in the most accomplished realms have a lot to contribute in a realistic way. Either they are taking up roles of characters transcending reality or they are being conferred with such roles by others to suit their convenience. That way the audience are the loosers, for these actors have the talent to act in other realistic roles fitting their age and experience but such contributions are lacking.

If the present state of affairs continues , there would be disadvantages all around, to the film buffs, the industry and the actors themselves.

Sad news items, what is happening to this world?

Monday morning opened up with the sad news of the train tragedy in West Bengal in which over 50 people were killed and hundreds injured. This could have happened because of human error, it is presumed. Ordinary people are the butt of tragedies caused by absent minds, possibly.

On Sunday, near Tiruvalla, in Kerala, a whole family was enjoying the boon of a new car for them. The father was driving the new vehicle, his two daughters were in the car which was being taken out in reverse gear to go to church. The mother was behind, closing the gate. The car lost control and it plunged into the ferocious river, killing the two girls. The father attempted suicide, but still alive, the mother is shell-shocked. What could explain this phenomenon?

The other day, a woman was killed by her paramour who was accosted through missed calls from mobile phone. The paramour killed the woman, took away her ornaments and later he was nabbed. All these things happened when the husband was around, he was sleeping in the next room. Initially the police seemed to have suspected him.
To tag these things along, there was a girl who was driving a two-wheeler in an inebriated condition, hitting several targets in an uncontrolled fashion. Whoever chided her received choicest abuses from her. Cannot a girl take liquor, cannot a girl ride a two-wheeler, in an inebriated condition, she seemed to have asked.
Where are we heading for?

Thank God, there would be further talks between India and Pakistan

Pak Foreign Minister Qureshi wants India to simply solve the Kashmir problem by agreeing to whatever that country wants, it seems.

From media reports Qureshi has always been seen as a hawk and, therefore, it has been characteristic of him to draw parallel between India’s Home Secretary G.K.Pillai and terrorist Hafiz Saeed.

Somehow it has come convenient to him to expect that India would offer the moon, in spite of Pak terrorists indulging in a killing-spree in Mumbai. One of the killers is in Indian custody!!!

Qureshi says he was willing for anything, but India was intransigent and External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna was taking orders from New Delhi.

Where else should Krishna take orders from? And as for Qureshi, will the Government of Pakistan, let alone the numerous terrorist organizations, heed to Qureshi, if he offers something?

Qureshi’s public outbursts might have been meant to appease the home audience, including terrorist outfits which do not want any solution to core issues. They can thrive only in disputes.

India should not be disillusioned by such outbursts, for there is no predictability for whatever is happening in Pakistan.

This neighbour cannot be replaced at all and, therefore, all avenues of living with it should be probed and peace secured through continued dialogue.

Sure strides in the international economic arena

No doubt, India is going ahead with sure strides in the economic sphere, the latest indication being the decision to fix a numerical symbol for the rupee.
Dollar, pound, euro and yen have numerical symbols which are recognized the world over. Now that India is considered an emerging economic power in the years to come, it is only proper that we have gone in for an official symbol.

The government has made it clear that it would become functional in two years, for the symbol has to be etched in various instrumentalities.

Running parallel to the strides, the government should ensure adequate measures to take care of the have-nots in the country. Ultimately, all should fall in the mainstream of development. Of course, the government is keen on it. One indication is the government’s concern to provide educational loans to the needy students so that they would acquire good education and contribute to the development of self and the nation.

Similarly, all sorts of assistance should be provided for food security, and proper housing.

See, the tendency of big companies is to milk the people, for example the reluctance of the petroleum companies to reduce the price of petroleum products. They have only got the power, and they are using the power the wrong way. Are they concerned about the plight of the common people?

What a shame, a drunken patient kills another patient!!!

Morning’s bugle was about the killing of a weak patient by a drunken patient in the closed ward of the General Hospital, Ernakulam, on Wednesday.

Three more patients were injured in the attack by the liquor addict. It is learnt that the attacker was simply beating others with a stick.

The fellow appears to have been suffering from withdrawal syndrome. He wants liquor at any cost. What can other poor patients do to the demands of this fellow?
Definitely, confining the violent person with others was a mistake. Maybe, there was no separate block for treating addicts.

With escalating instances of violence unleashed by drug and liquor addicts, there is a crying need for setting up separate de-addiction centres at government expense. The government which gets a lot of revenue from sale of liquor should set apart sufficient funds for the purpose.

Drugs and liquor are available at joints everywhere in the state. In the days to come, the state would be forced to face violence from addicts of all kinds.

There should be no hurry to arrest Madani

India is notorious for being very slow in dispensation of justice because of the rigmarole involved in the legal procedures and the mounting number of cases in courts. Also we have the tradition of not condemning anybody without proper proof. More than that, every effort is being made to see that the other party should be convinced that he could get justice.

On that score, there should be no hurry in arresting PDP leader Abdul Naser Madani. The leader and his acolytes should not entertain the feeling that justice was denied.
Therefore, the police can wait until Madani exhausts all avenues of legal procedures.
Personally, I don’t think the Karnataka police would hastily arrest him. For that would be found to be expeditious disposal in the wrong way. Our administrators are shrewd enough not to step into foolish situations.

After all, if proof is proof that would be there even after going through a little more of court procedures.

All have to go through the drill of Fate, howsoever high and mighty they may be

Alexander the Great, who conquered all the-then known worlds, had died of a common cold!!!The futility of conquests could be best exemplified by the ordinary death of the great personality.

Southern Naval Chief of Staff Rear-Admiral Jamval, apparently, has died of an accidental self-shot wound. Things are beyond one’s imagination.

The other day a doctor succumbed to his fever infection after treatment for more than a fortnight in hospital. Could his life have been saved?

All sorts of viruses, physical and mental, are creeping into the lives of the people. That may be why mankind, disregarding the unworthiness of attacking others for some gains, or sometimes for no gains than egoism, goes on assaulting others. In fact, one man’s freedom ends at arms length of the other.

Would anyone care to leave the fellow beings to his freedom?

I have seen a lot of worthies holding crucial positions going mean, leading rotten selfish lives, some for a regular supply of bottles of the inebriating kind. People say we have to compromise and be with the mainstream.
But there should be the freedom for a man to remain as he is even as he allows others to have their way of life.

Pawar’s ICC presidentship is prime moment for the PM to reshuffle Cabinet

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has got a golden opportunity to reshuffle his Cabinet without his taking an initiative.

In the Cabinet system of government, it is the prerogative of the Prime Minister to select his Cabinet colleagues. That is true, of course, in a general way. But in a coalition set-up, many considerations creep in with regard to Cabinet formation and consequent tinkering with it.

And Dr Manmohan Singh has been giving prompt ear to Congress President Sonia Gandhi in such matters. And it should be like that only, although political rivals may scoff at the idea.

Now Nationalist Congress leader Sharad Pawar himself has approached the Prime Minister to ease him of some of his Ministerial burdens, now that he has another onerous duty to perform as the president of the ICC. Already there have been allegations that Pawar may not be able to devote full attention to the duties enjoined on him as ICC chief as he is burdened with serious Cabinet responsibilities.
It is generally believed that the PM may go in for some sort of changes in the Cabinet, may be easing out some, making changes in the portfolios of a few and adding new ones to the bandwagon.

Issues like price rise, hike in prices of petroleum products and the like haranguing him, the PM has an opportunity to stem the rot.

For political parties calling for a hartal or bandh is easy; it is nothing but arm-chair politics

The nation is witnessing the worst form of bandh and hartal on Monday, for the Left parties and the BJP have called for the bandh the same day. Although the parties have organised the agitation separately, the people are bearing the brunt of its cumulative effect.

Even the smallest of political parties can organise a hartal or bandh easily. A few workers can forcibly close shops, trade establishments, stop buses and taxis from plying services.

Now-a-days, even force need not be exerted, for the people themselves choose to remain indoors for fear of violence. No one is prepared to take risks, and it should be like that only. Why should the people walk into trouble, for no noble cause?

Actually, if the political parties, whichever these may be, should have taken out foot processions in each corner of the country to protest against the hike in price and to apprise the people of the ill effects. For making this a success a lot of ground work is needed, participation of the grass-roots level work is essential.

For calling for a bandh, nothing of the sort is needed, actually no effort is enjoined.

This sort of agitation is nothing but arm-chair politics, the leaders can gloat over it and the people should bear it.

Congress leadership may be in a dilemma over whom to promote, son or daughter

Senior Congress leader K.Karunakaran has fired another salvo against the present organisational elections of the party in Kerala. He does not approve of the ‘farce’. Someone is trying to corner the party. Whether the cornering is done by Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala or either one severally has not been clarified.

Karunakaran would meet the High Command once again and then decide about the future course of action. That means there may be one more visit of the veteran to Delhi to call on Sonia Gandhi.

Karunakaran has said it in black and white. But suppose the party reveals all the developments, it may be causing confusion.

These days his son, K.Muraleedharan, and daughter, Padmaja, have been in different camps. Karunakaran wants plum posts for both. But apparently, Padmaja is not amenable to offering much to Muraleedharan.

And Padmaja has grown to lead a coterie of her own. What can the party do in the circumstances? Maybe, take both the children and give them their due.

How are we going to deal with these Maoists?

Twenty-six CRPF hawans were killed in the Maoists’ attack in Narayanpur in Chhattishargh the other day. There may be various explanations regarding the massive toll of the paramilitary force personnel. But nothing would save the lives of the security people.

One may say the jawans were trying to defuse a mine when the explosion occurred. The explanation may centre on nothing being basically wrong with the tactic to deal with the dreaded extremists.

There can be no gentle way of dealing with those who kill the security forces. In April, 76 CRPF jawans were done to death by the Maoists. On Wednesday, seven jawans were injured in a mine blast in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh.

A lot of threadbare discussions have been held to deal with the extremists who get support from the local people as well as from outside. There is trepidation to deploy the Army to quell the Maoists. Maybe, the Army could be the last weapon, the Brahmastra.

Even otherwise, the Central and State governments should be able to devise ways in which people would be able to live peaceful lives. The state of under-development should also be solved along with measures to dismantle the Maoist infrastructure.

World should appreciate India’s tolerance towards Pakistan; India, Pak cannot afford war

In spite of direct attacks in the core of India like the one on Parliament and the other in Mumbai, the world had felt relieved that India had not declared a war on Pakistan.

A war between two nuclear powers cannot be limited. And when there is nothing unfair in war, one cannot imagine what would be the consequences.

A nuclear war, normally, will not limit itself to the areas of the direct enemies. The result could be a world war. Anyone can perceive the danger.

Now India and Pakistan are trying to find some thread to pursue the composite dialogue. Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan, Nirupama Rao and Salman Bashir, have commenced talks to find ways by which the ties could be normalized. At present the state of affairs is not normal.

Players in Pakistan, whether state-supported or non-state ones, are able to create considerable trouble in India, for which they garner support from at least some elements in India. Otherwise, attacks against Parliament and in Mumbai could not have been arranged in such blatant manner. Let humanity be grateful that a nuclear war between the two nations had not ensued.

Now it would be wiser on the part of both countries to be realistic and take up positions that would ease tensions.

The art of being loquacious using a few words

Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan was at his best in expressing intended information with the help of a few words during the Cabinet briefing on Wednesday.

About IG Tomin Thachankary interacting with those connected with extremism in the Gulf, he said the Union Government has sent a letter to the Chief Secretary in this regard and they will give proper reply.

He won’t explain more about it. Why should he clarify anything more? Everything is cocooned in one golden sentence. That Tomin Thachankary had discussions with those who have links with extremist elements, the Union Government has sought a report from the State Government and the latter would take prompt action is very clear in his observation.

Some things are said the less would be better has been proved correct.

BJP-Nitish war hotting up in Bihar

By O.J.George

Bihar is a boiling cauldron now, because of the turf war between BJP and Janata Dal (United).Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been the poster boy of JD(U) even as the party has been running a government with the BJP as an alliance partner.

The BJP seems to have sensed advantage by roping in controversial Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, to make a roller coaster ride of Bihar. And Narendra Modi copiously distributed posters with himself and Nitish Kumar in bonhomie.
Going by the developments afterwards, Nitish Kumar became furious and he does not want to have any truck with Narendra Modi.

Nitish did not ask anybody but returned the Rs five crore donated by Gujarat as assistance to be given for the Kosi flood victims.
BJP has not taken this rude gesture kindly. BJP’s state leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushilkumar Modi retorted by calling off the joint campaign tour to be undertaken along with Nitish.

The rhetoric would be nothing short of rancor in the coming days. Mind you, Assembly elections in Bihar would be held this year.

Apparently, Nitish wants to go it alone, but the BJP does not care less.

Corporate growth could be wholesome, but agricultural growth is dismal

Share sales, IT sector expansion, strides in science and technology etc may be comfy in the country, but the lot of the farmers are not that cosy. In fact, the farmers have not gained much in wealth creation for themselves.

When we are skyrocketing in space age applications, back on the land, the tillers and the sowers are trying to inch forward in their life realms.

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has underscored the need for doubling the agricultural growth rate at the earliest.

Delivering a lecture at the G B Pant University in Uttarkhand, he spoke about the urgent need to provide more investments in the farm sector, boost productivity and make the ryots' lives livable, if not prosperous.

In recent years, there have been thousands of cases of farmers’ suicide. Perhaps, there might have been slight improvement in the situation.

But one should ponder over the dichotomy between the rich enriching themselves at one go on account of the measures launched by the government, and the farmers and the poor not being able to catch up with the all-round developments otherwise. If they wallow in misery and penury for years together, one cannot call the country a welfare state even if it achieves gloriously in other sectors.

MNCs, global and national, may be going on a development-spree, the nation may be brimming with wealth, but if the downtrodden are not looked after well, there would be nothing to gloat about on becoming aristocratic in other spheres. The main plank is the farming sector and the farmers constitute the mainstream.

The economy has been thrown open to the money seekers at one go, and they readily flourish, but welfare measures have not kept up pace with the prevailing welfare set-up available in other open economies.

How many days will we celebrate the Anderson thing and then forget about it, pursuing another story?

Media hype is ephemeral, and it seems there is no dogged pursuing of an issue to its natural ending. This happens to be because public memory is short. And people forget about even the bitterest thing after a while, for there are other issues cropping up by the day.

Now no one speaks about Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar, after the eloquent poor guy has been shown the door. It seems IPL anti-hero Lalit Modi may also escape hype coverage and he may escape.

After the Warren Anderson issue became active following the court verdict, Sharad Pawar’s alleged family involvement in the IPL deal seems to be left to oblivion.
All these years we have not been touching upon the fact that the criminal case against Indian managers of Union Carbide has been whittled down by the Supreme Court itself and that consequently, the trial court could not go beyond giving a maximum sentence of two years’ jail term.

No one had challenged the verdict of the Supreme Court. And all these years when the case against the Indian managers of the company has been going on, the fact about Warren Anderson absconding has not been hyped. He has not even been declared a proclaimed offender.

Will the production of Warren Anderson in court provide succour to the millions of victims of Bhopal gas tragedy? While we may pursue the issue of getting hold of Warren Anderson, let everything be done to alleviate the sufferings of the victims.

Inhouse plot executed with precision, Karanavar’s murder exposed a heinous mind

Karanavar’s murder, an inhouse plot executed with heinous motive of a woman who dons the role of his daughter-in-law, to enjoy life to the brim at all costs, had hogged headlines everywhere.

It seems this woman, a mother herself, was not happy with the marital ties she had, a knot with a man who is not quite well.

With the wealth and concomitant luxury available at the expense of father-in-law Karanavar who had toiled hard in the US to save the money, she was spoiling herself in cahoot with criminal elements in carnal pleasures.

Now where has she landed up after planning the bloody deed? In Central Prison, for life. Several lives have been put in jeopardy by the machinations of the gang involved.

It is intriguing to note that the incident occurred at Cheriyanad which is a panchayat notified as litigation controlled. But it has also been the native place of infamous Sukumara Kurup, who is absconding for decades together for doing away with the life of film representative Chacko for encashing insurance benefits.
But then, areas do not have any speciality with regard to crimes or absence of them. Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace is now-a-days the haven of criminals, it has been reported.

Life of luxury, pleasures, sleaze, corruption, criminal acts attracting the youth is really dangerous.