Category: India

Many Indias

Posted on by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

Rahul Gandhi has spoken of two Indias, one rich and one poor. Two things are to be said about that.

First, his party in general and his family in particular is mainly responsible for the poverty in India. Congress has ruled India for most of the time since independence. Rahul Gandhi’s great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister in 1947-1964, his grandmother Indira Gandhi was prime minister in 1966-1967 and 1980-84, his father Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister in 1984-1989 and his mother Sonia Gandhi controls the government since May 2004. The policy of socialism and nationalisations followed by Congress kept the country backward.

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Colours of terror

Posted on by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

Chidambaram spoke of saffron terror. Some joined issue by saying terror has no colour.

However one describes terror by a particular group there are people who object to the nomenclature. Some speak of Jehadi/Islamic/Islamist terror. Some speak of Hindu/ Hindutva/ Saffron terror. Some speak of Maoist/Naxal/Red terror. There was Khalistani terror. There is terror in Kashmir and North-East India. There is Marathi terror which has forced multiplex owners to show Marathi films at prime time at reduced rates.
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BJP and Shiv Sena wanted tough line against terror and Afzal Guru hanged. Nitin Gadkari had asked why there is delay in hanging Afzal Guru, is he a son-in-law of Congress? UPA government recommended rejection of Afzal Guru’s mercy petition over two months back. Pratibha Patil has not rejected of Afzal Guru’s mercy petition. Why are BJP and Shiv Sena quiet? Is Shiv Sena quiet because Pratibha Patil is a Marathi Manoos?

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ICC and Pakistan

Posted on by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

ICC suspended Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir on 3/10/2010. Pakistan’s High Commissioner in London Wajid Shamsul Hasan said Indian bookies had framed Pakistani cricketers and blamed Sharad Pawar for suspension. Mohammad Asif’s former girlfriend Veena Malik had blamed Indian photographer Dheeraj Dixit for involvement in match-fixing.

Some Pakistanis see conspiracy in the sting operation by News of the World. They should see Pakistan’s record of inexplicable losses over the years. There have been inquires, sometimes action taken against players for sometime, but most of the times players were back in the team. In 1999 Pakistan lost to Bangladesh in World Cup and Wasim Akram said “We are happy to lose to our brothers.”

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Death of Lucas Tete

Posted on by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

On 2/9/2010 TV channels reported that Maoists had murdered Abhay Prasad Yadav. On 3/9/2010 the body of the dead person was identified as that of Lucas Tete.

Bihar’s police had an encounter with Maoists on 29/8/2010 which resulted in the death of eight policemen and capture of four policemen by Maoists. It is not known how they were captured. Perhaps they ran out ammunition. Perhaps they got separated from their colleagues. Perhaps someone betrayed them. Policemen fighting gunbattles should have protective gear from head to soles. They should have bulletproof helmet, visor, armour, trousers and shoes.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is responsible for Lucas Tete’s death. He did not join central government and governments of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal in fight against Maoists. He did not order police operations against Maoists in Bihar. He spoke of development. He did not want speedy trial of Maoists in jail.

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Match fixing and spot fixing

Posted on by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

Pakistani cricketers are in news for match-fixing and spot-fixing. That should not surprise. The way Pakistan had lost some matches was an indication that something was wrong.

Pakistanis have been caught but it is foolish to say only Pakistanis were involved in match-fixing and spot-fixing. Many matches involving different countries raise questions and sometimes the role of umpires needs to be probed. What is passed off as umpiring error could be match-fixing. It could have been going on since the last millennium.

When Sachin Tendulkar was to lead the Indian team to Australia one BCCI official predicted that India would lose the Test series 0-3 and that series witnessed many umpiring errors and India lost the series 0-3.

When Anil Kumble was captain and India toured Sri Lanka there was decision review system. The decisions went in favour of Sri Lankans though TV replays showed that Sri Lankan batsmen who were correctly ruled out by field umpires were ruled not out by the umpire on decision review system. After that series India did not want decision review system. Recently in an ODI Dharmasena’s three decisions were against India. Some felt India should have opted for decision review system. They were naive. All three decisions after review would have been against India.

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EVM theft

Posted on by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

Hari Prasad, managing director of NetIndia Pvt. Ltd. and technical co-ordinator of Verifiability, Transparency and Accountability (VeTA) was arrested for EVM theft on 21/8/2010. VeTA claims to be a citizens’ forum that deals with election. GVL Narasimha Rao is the president of VeTA.

Some people have raised doubts about EVMs. When people lose elections they find it difficult to accept their defeat. Chandrababu Naidu and many losers question the reliability of EVMs.

Some had gone to courts against EVMs but they could not prove anything against EVMs. Madras High Court held EVMs to be national pride.

GVL Narasimha Rao was an independent psephologist and many of his predictions came true. Then he became an employee of BJP in an indirect way and his predictions for 2009 Lok Sabha elections proved wrong. Most exit polls had predicted Congress getting more seats than BJP. GVL Narasimha Rao had predicted BJP victory.

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Bureaucrats and freebies

Posted on by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

Bureaucrats decide what freebies they should get when they are in service and after retirement. This leads to unjustified entitlements.

Air India survives on bail out money. Civil Aviation Ministry’s decision to grant free ticket upgrades and security passes and access to VIP lounges to former secretaries and their family members is an unjustified decision. The argument that it is a justifiable privilege considering the contribution made by secretaries is hollow. Secretaries are paid for their job and get pension after retirement. They did not do any favour or charity. Considering that Air India survives on bail out money if there is any contribution by secretaries it is in ruining the airline and turning airline’s profit into loss. It is another question whether our airports should have VIP lounges. In a democracy when all are equal how can anyone be a VIP? . . .

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Google and Map of India

Posted on by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

The government has told Google that its version of map of India is not correct and remove all such maps. When there are territorial disputes between countries, maps become controversial.

Parts of Jammu & Kashmir are under Pakistani and Chinese occupations. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as its territory and protests when Indian ministers or Dalai Lama go there. Google follows three maps policy. In India its India map shows India as the government wants it. In China its map shows Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin and parts of Uttarakhand as part of China. Its world map shows Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and parts of Uttarakhand and disputed territories.

Many publications and sites show maps as they are. When showing Jammu & Kashmir some show the Line of Control, territory under Pakistan and territory under China. It is no use blaming publications, sites or TV channels for showing reality.

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Government and Imams

Posted on by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

On 21/8/2010 in Lok Sabha there was a demand from Laloo Prasad Yadav and some MPs that the government pay salaries to imams of government-aided mosques on the basis of Supreme Court verdict in 1993. It is not known how this verdict came about. Laloo Prasad Yadav did not raise the issue when he was Railway Minister and member of UPA. Bihar elections are coming near and that may be the reason for raising the issue.

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The world is not enough for MPs

Posted on by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

The cabinet decided to increase MPs’ salaries from Rs.16,000/- to Rs.50,000/- p.m. and double some allowances. Many MPs want more. They want Rs.80,000/- p.m. Very few MPs like Gurudas Dasgupta have opposed pay hike for MPs. He said MPs are not employees and those who can not afford should not become MPs.

The decision to increase MPs’ salaries from Rs.16,000/- to Rs.50,000/- p.m. was itself unjustified. They get many allowances and when everything is considered they are well paid.

If MPs want Rs.80,000/- p.m. because Government Secretaries get Rs.80,000/- p.m. there should be compulsory retirement for MPs when they become 60 years old. In a previous article I had written about MPs’ salaries.

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