Reflections

The past few days since December 16th have been full of the normal public up in protest against the horrendous attack on Nirbhay. This was a reflection of the public's disgust with the police forces as well as the Government. People from all walks of life came together again to protest. And yet again, the inefficiencies of the police and the inadequacies of the political class were brutally exposed. This activism is indeed welcome, and will put some pressure on the Government to get its act together.  The disgust in the people with both the police as well as the political class has been apparent for quite some time now; yet, there has been little discernible change. It is reminiscent of the physics law of inertia, wherein an object remains in its current state unless there is some outside stimulus. Now imagine our society as an object moving on a line, and these protests as stimulus to change. Currently, our society is moving along a defined direction at a defined speed. Then...

This post is in memory of "Nirbhay" who was brutalised and murdered - shaking a stoid, careless nation to the core of its existance. Rest In Peace is all I can wish you.... Fact No 1: Tinted Glasses were banned by the Supreme Court in 27th April 2012 in response to a Public Interest Litigation, which explicitly stated the risk of sexual assault in its submission to the court Fact No 1A: The apex court said it could not impose a total ban on use of tinted glass and interpreted rule 94 and 100 of the Motor Vehicle Act which forbids covering of the glass beyond the permissible limit. “In face of the language of the Rule, we cannot grant the petitioner the relief prayed for, that there should be 100 per cent VLT. This Court cannot issue directions that vehicles should have glasses with 100 per cent VLT.” Fact No 2: Nirbhay was assaulted in a bus with tinted glasses - dark tinted glasses Fact No 3: The bus was moving in the city in contravention of the rules, and was not...

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/suparna-karmakar-fdi-in-retail-is-much-ado-about-nothing/496750/ Date: 25th December It gladdens the heart to see optimism and good sense beginning to prevail over this non-issue; the latest article on this matter has yet again revisited, and added to, earlier papers on this topic, which is worth a mention. " Research on impact of retail sector regulations by the author for a CUTS international report on Competition and Regulation in India, 2011 revealed that: (a) Globally, in densely populated countries like India (with consequent higher real estate prices), small-store formats thrive, and even flourish in the face of the competition from big-box retail; (b) On the other hand, the introduction of foreign competition forced manufacturers to cut costs in their supply chains and small stores become more efficient, and provide more serious competition to large-store formats and centralised operation that the multinational retai...

The images above tell a story... a story that the political and bureaucratic class in India is ignoring, and has been ignoring for quite some time now. The images above are the protests against the brutality against a single citizen & the official neglect, non-performance and apathy that was a contributory factor as well as the initial response to the outrage. These protests are being attended by the very same much-maligned I-Me-Myself Indian citizen for a person they do not know and are not related to; for a system that does not exist and for a security they do no feel . The Indian is known for the chaltaa hai attitude over the years, for the lack of community feeling.... Well, everyone would do well to take a look at the images above. Or of the images during the Anna Hazare protests...  Where is the famous careless Indian citizen? Where is his lack of community feeling? I cant spot him/her (so...

The Hindu : News / National : HC slams Delhi Police for report on gang rape case : 'via Blog this' "The hearing commenced with the court posing a query as to why the report was “evasive” about the details of the police officers who were on patrolling duty during the time when the girl was sexually assaulted and beaten for about 40 minutes in a moving bus on Sunday night." "“Nobody is safe,” the court had said noting that such incidents repeatedly happen in the city. It had asked the police how the bus, having tinted glasses, kept plying on busy roads for 40 minutes and the sexual assault remained undetected." " A bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar went by the limits prescribed in the MV Act and said anything beyond the visual light transmission (VLT) limit of 70% for the front and rear windshields and 50% for the side windows would be punishable. The decision came on a PIL filed by Avis...

It is important to keep the channel of communication alive; I do realise that. The visit of a diplomat from Pakistan as a step was welcome, that is also acceptable. Even the Lord Krishna went for peace when all was obviously lost in peace terms, that is also true. It is further very much a fact that India and Pakistan at least for now are not interested in war.  But that does not give anyone the right to walk into my home and insult not only me, but even those members of my family - Like Lt Kalia - who are no longer alive. First off, it shows that the guest is an idiot, evil, uncultured and totally untrustworthy. Sure we knew that beforehand, but this serves to prove to the world what swines reside on our north west border. The comparison of 26/11 with Babri and Samjhauta prove that Pakistan is only interested in fomenting trouble; a person on a peace mission does not make inflammatory statements.These comments were not in bad taste; they seem to have been made with malice i...

Land Of The Seven Rivers: A Brief History Of India's Geography By Sanjeev Sanyal Sanjeev Sanyal is an Indian Ecnomist, an alumni of Delhi University and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholor. He is currently Deutshe Bank's global strategist This book is the latest in the series of books on Indian History that have literally exploded onto the national  scene in the past few years. However, there the similarity ends. While most of the others can be classified as scholarly treatises, or a few can be classified as incomplete and / or biased; this one is neither scholarly nor is it incomplete. It is a fun book, great to read, and stunningly fast in its pace - especially considering its chosen topic. It proceeds almost like a novel, and is delightfully fast. Yet, it does not stray too much from established history and in general gives a superb picture of the chosen topic The chosen topic is also different, as can be readily seen from its title. Instead of tracing ...

How do you review a book that simply cannot be reviewed, or passed judgement upon? How do you review a book that is evocative of such a harrowing period in our nation's history? How do you review a book that transports you into the corridoors of the Taj during those terrifying days? How do you review a book that offers a ringside view of the horror? How do you review a book that deals with such an emotionally overpowering, close-to-the-heart topic?  You cant. At least, I cant. I cant pass judgement on the writing, on the contents, on the language, on the phraseology... perhaps, these words are the best that can be used to describe this book. It leaves you speechless, and numbed. You are just unable to react in any way whatsoever, and are forced to turn page after page after terrifying page.  I finished this book in one sitting flat between Chinchpokli to Kalyan on a local train, and trust me I almost forgot to get down at Kalyan... I even remember vividly that I was...

Ajai Shukla: Making the Tejas fly : 'via Blog this' http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ajai-shukla-makingtejas-fly/495170/ " Ask any of the 20-odd Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilots who have flown the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and they will all swear that it is a great fighter to fly. It handles beautifully, screams along at Mach 1.6 (2,000 kilometres per hour) and fires the full range of air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry. With 2,000 test flights under its belt, it has already proven that it can fly and fight better than most fighters on the IAF inventory. It is vastly superior to the MiG-21, and is not too far behind the Mirage 2000.Yet the IAF is cool towards the Tejas. It is desperate for more fighters — against an assessed requirement of 42 fighter squadrons, the IAF has 34 squadrons today, which will fall to 26 in 2017 if the Rafale is not inducted by then. But the IAF chooses to live with this dangerous shortfall rather than inducting...

Book 1 of the Century Trilogy, by Ken Follett Category: Historical Fiction In the Century Trilogy, the author has attempted to explain how the modern world came about, and exactly what were the seminal events that lead to the fall of the world order of the earlier century, eventually leading to the demise of colonialism and the emergence of the modern world order. The series deals with ground level changes - tectonic changes, as it turned out - and how all of these came together in shaping the world as we know it today. The narrative is blunt, and many a person will be rubbed the wrong way; but it is uncomfortably accurate. The book leaves no major question unanswered, eventually leading to a deep understanding of the history of that time. The single aspect that takes this above the ordinary is that both the new-age and the old (outdated and amoral) viewpoints are explained without value judgements. This is a series that everyone must read, as it leaves a deep impression on ...

India awaits Malik with host of issues - The Times of India : 'via Blog this' Oh, sure. They would l-o-v-e to discuss all - repeat, all - issues in a fair, frank, honest, straightforward, decent, upright, righteous, moral, correct, upfront candid manner, We all know that. Oh, how well we know that! They are in fact quite keen to take forward their Indo-Pak agenda with unprecedented vigour. I can even surmise the to-do list of the visitors: Eat Parathas in Paratha Galli; enquire recipe. Threaten if not made available Eat Rossogullas from Calcutta; they already have recipes - so they think. So no recipe required Discuss what the story of Dabang - 2 will be Make fun of Indian Cricket Team in good humour, offer Coaching Expertise in a Nobel-Peace-Prize-Winning initiative Offer the honour of a cricket tour to India Visit Fatehpur Sikri Visit Malls in New Delhi Eh? What's that you say? 26/11? Dont remember. Now be a sport-  give a hint to us visitors wil...

BANQUET ON THE DEAD - BY SHARATH KOMARRAJU I can conclude this review in one line, which will be enough to stoke curiosity about the book. "It pays to experiment; experimentation reveals new vistas and experiences, new sources of joy". Meaning: if you avoid new authors, you might just miss out on some lovely reading! On a side note, it is heartening to see the flood of Indian writers emerge on the scene, especially as most of them are of a uniformly high calibre. Another person who belongs in this cadre is the current author Sharath Komarraju. Yes, he can improve; but what he has produced is by no means anything to sneeze at, as you can see for yourself in the review below The Characters Kauveramma : The Peice de resistance; the unfortunate victim Inspector Valmiki Nagarajan: Quintessential policeman, but with some redeeming points Hamid Pasha: Dogged, Intelligent, Reticent, Discerning These are the 3 principal characters in this whodunit; the others c...

What I have always thought to be the inherent bias in the west - and especially the US and the UK is finally confirmed in my mind and out in the open. Not that it is a surprise: most of us already suspected it. But some sensitivity from them was expected, given that their citizens perished as well. But no... the west has proven its total inability to rise above its own jaundiced, prejudiced and selfish world-views by this display of crass insensitivity. Thank you is all that comes to mind: for coming out into the open with what certainly seems to be bias. The media reports have left me speechless with rage... media reflects the views of its people; and the media reports speak for themselves!  As the firstpost notes : " The words we deploy reflect our latent  biases, and on occasions media megaphones lose their perspective, particularly when they operate on alien turf. Sometimes, it’s just a case of echoing the official political line of their home countries. The same Muj...

http://business-standard.com/india/news/shankar-sharma-american-idolatry-inus-legal-system/491834/ http://www.business-standard.com/491726/ In a 2-part series, the author has - very convincingly to me - ripped apart the Rajat Gupta case, and proven how he was victimised. The Author is the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of First Global. The Author makes a simple point and proves it: Rajat Gupta was an outsider. After reading it, and recalling Rajat Gupta behaviour throughout the case, (he submitted himself to the authorities, trusting the US Justice System which started the entire affair, his overall approach etc) I am convinced... excerpts are given below...  " Of the many things I don’t like about this Rajat Gupta affair, one is the Indian media’s sickeningly fawning portrayal of the American justice system as one that “doesn’t spare the rich and powerful, unlike ours where the well-connected get away”, and “how justice is dispensed speedily in the US”, and so ...

The latest in the Covert-One Series If the series copyright holders are not careful, the Covert One series franchise will be altered beyond all recognition... wish they were more careful towards the aspects of characterisation. The characters are common with the original series in only the name; rest all - their habits, personalities have changed beyond all recognition in this latest version of the series. For an ardent fan of the series, this is a little disappointing, to say the least. One looks forward to a Covert One novel for its unique combination of bio-hazard threats, combined with the tough but human Smith, the equally tough but hard-nosed Howell,  and the rebel Randi. All are missing in this novel. Sure, the names are there; but that is all. In a nutshell, that is my opinion of this novel.  This Novel differs from the series in almost every way; the series usually has a world hot-spot at its epicenter, with the action being based largely outsi...