The Dangerous Dragon

We always keep talking about our western neighbors as a threat to our security. The terrorist activities going on across the border are a major concern for us. Series of bomb blasts across major cities have resulted in us being focused to defeat these forces. Interesting to note however that the larger threat is coming from China. The reason I feel it is so because of the fact that the communist country poses a larger threat to India’s progress. There is no reason to equate the terrorism threat from Pakistan with it but still I mentioned it to highlight this existing perception which exists among many people in our country. There are people who view this threat as more of a challenge posed by China which we should take boldly and move forward to achieve our targets. I call it a threat because the movement on their side does not indicate that they don’t have anything against us.

China’s long standing understanding with our arch rivals clearly indicate that she wants to keep us engaged defending our borders against extremists. It has continuously given military aid and has never come out in support of India. During the recent nuclear deal, china wanted to veto against us getting nuclear fuel from nuclear suppliers group. That was a clear indication of how desperate they were to stop us taking this big step. Arunachal Pradesh has always been a disputed region between the countries. China is continuously building its border infrastructure near to these areas. Why would they spend so much money on a region which does not contribute anything to their economic power? It’s been a quiet affair and the Indian establishment has at last started to react to it. In a recent development the Indian air force decided to set up a new base in the north east. It also plans to improve upon the existing ones. The BRO is speeding up the process to improve the road conditions near to the Chinese border. A few high profile ex defense personals have come out and talked about China openly. All these have resulted in a barrage of attacks on us from the Chinese media. It is often believed that the Chinese government often speaks its mind through these national mouthpieces. These media reports virtually threaten India with dire consequences if it tries to take on the mighty dragon. It showcases the superior economic power, the gap existing between the two countries etc.

So the point I am trying to make here is we face a multi pronged challenge from China. Industry, growth, infrastructure and most importantly defense. Pakistan will continue to be an enigma for us but it is China which poses a sustained long term threat.

The Sea Bridge!

The Bandra-Worli sea link is all set to open. Some of the details I was going through on the net related to the materials, time, labour which were put into place for the creation of this engineering marvel. Congrats to all involved in this project

Lets get started Mr.Prime Minister !

The elections are over and we are already getting indications of what a stable government led comprehensively by one national party can achieve. Already the bells indicating change are ringing. It is expected that the new government will concentrate on taking our infrastructure growth to the new level. Huge investments are expected in this field. In addition the disinvestment drive will pick up. The economy needs a kick especially after the recession. It is projected that India’s growth rate will surpass China in the next financial year. All these news are quite encouraging for India Inc.

What is fascinating to see is the kind of change this government is trying to bring about in areas related to our society, education etc. Education minister Kapil Sibbal has already come out with some path breaking suggestions like scrapping the board exams of class 10 & 12. He wants a single entrance exam to ease pressure on students. Certain critics will term it as a decision which will make more news and less impact. It can be proved wrong if these decisions are just a part of the overall objective of improving our education system. The next step I would presume is to increase the number of high quality institutes which will ease the competition to get into the best colleges. The idea should be 1) To generate more number of highly qualified talents from school level who get a complete education. Please not education and academics are entirely different things. Academics is just a small part of Education. 2) Increase the number of seats and number of good quality colleges. Make the cream thicker and try to accommodate every bit of it.

The other decision which the government is contemplating is to abolish the law which criminalizes homosexuality. I feel if this decision is taken, we will take a huge step forward as a liberal society. Lets face the fact, there are people who have such a sexual orientation and its for us to recognize them and let them live a normal life. Imagine being alienated from the society on account of something which is legal in many other countries. Being the largest democracy, it is for us to lead the way for the rest.

I am bullish on our growth in the coming few years. We have apt people governing us. Let’s hope for the best.

We Lost a Legend

1958-2009

One of the best ever Music artist to grace the stage. He is a legend.

RIP Jackson.

United India - Still Some way to go.

We always take pride in saying that ours is a country where the unique trait of Unity in Diversity is present. We are culturally different and yet we can all identify ourselves as Indians. It is indeed true that there remains a bond, so strong that it helps the country united. I am a bit circumspect on this issue though. I don’t think our diversified cultural identity helps us to become a nation as strong as we should be given our geo political position and the delicate nature of the region surrounding us.

If we have a closer look at what we are facing, surely we will have something bigger than butterflies in our stomach. Maybe a dragon fly! On a serious note let us jot down the threats which loom over our heads. A) The North East region of our country has always been a battlefield of some sorts. So many people have lost their lives over the years. There are many extremist outfits operating in this region, ULFA being the biggest amongst them. What has been their demand? They want a liberated Assam (A self autonomous region). Similarly we have other groups operating from Nagaland, Mizoram etc. B) The Jammu & Kashmir problem is no news to us. It is a problem which already is in the limelight since we achieved independence. I need not write too much about it. Key point to note again is Pakistan’s stance that Kashmiris want a separate identity. They have their own ethnic uniqueness. A lot of times even we have contemplated giving Kashmir an autonomous identity. C) The Maoists across the country is yet another problem which we are facing and it seems to grow with each passing day. Again the reason for all these violence is their alleged ill treatment by the India government. D) Down south we have an entirely different kind of problem and this I think needs some long term care and attention. There is this uncomfortable feeling of ‘We’ being different from ‘Them’. To put it candidly, we term it as North Indians and South Indians. I don’t think we can continue on this path any longer. True, we are different in many ways but its time the feeling of oneness needs to be instilled amongst the masses. Don’t get me wrong here, I don’t mean to say that we are not united but there have been so many instances where it has been observed that people have tried to create differences.

So to put it together, we can see how delicate the country’s security situation is. If we add to it the external threats our worries gets compounded. The interesting point to note in all these threats is the demand for separate identities, autonomous regions etc. Is this the unity in diversity we are talking of? In fact the truth is a majority of the threats which looms or which have already taken place is because of the lack of unity amongst the people. It is the lack of identifying ourselves first as Indians and then keep our regional interests in mind. If we can take our national pride to the next level and stand against all anti national elements we ourselves can solve a lot of these threats. An urgent need is to put our regional aspirations to the back burner and concentrate on building a stronger country. The government on its part needs to do a lot. Give equal aids to every region of the country; provide education, health, jobs to the underprivileged. A holistic approach and an inclusive growth is the need of the hour. As Indians its time for us to realize the importance of being Indians.

Note: Image taken from maplecroft

Roger 'The Legend' Federer

When Rafael Nadal was beaten by Robin Soderling ending his unbeaten run at Roland Garros, everyone thought that perhaps this is the chance for Roger Federer to ultimately win that elusive 14th Grand Slam. It was perhaps a tribute from the Spaniard to the Swiss master which allowed him to claim that eagerly awaited French open title which was missing in Federer’s trophy cabinet.
When the moment came, the champion grasped it and ultimately managed to put himself into the echelons of tennis folklore. He was a legend before winning it, now he has proved it with the numbers too(14 Grand Slams).
The match was one sided and Soderling didn’t show any of his trademark power play which he used so effectively to dispose off Nadal. Perhaphs the credit goes to Federer as in the entire match he kept the ball low and quickly realized that hitting a ball which is coming at a greater height makes it easier for Soderling to play his attacking brand of tennis. As the World no 2 went past his opponent with exquisite back hands and immaculate drop shots the crowd looked in awe and appreciated the great man’s touch. The presentation ceremony of any grand slams is always special and it was no different here. The presence of Andre agassi made it even more spectacular. Tears of joy from the champ combined with an emotional national anthem made it a historic moment. Roger Federer is a true champion and it is only for us to see how much more he can win from this point. He will surely be challenged by Rafael Nadal. Next up is Wimbeldon and the swiss maestro is well and truly the favorite.

IPL Story so far!!

The IPL is into its 2nd week and we have seen a lot of big hitting, cheerleaders and amazing crowds coupled with the presence of the bollywood’s bench who are currently pursuing their cricketing interests in the absence of any good projects in their own domain.

The Deccan chargers are looking like they are indeed charged up this season and certainly looks a different outfit under Gily. Delhi dare devils have found a new hero in A B De villieers who in my opinion is in the form of his life. Dhoni’s brigade is finding it hard to regain last years form. Barring Mat Hayden, the rest seems to be too much distracted by Rajni’s films. The Mumbai Indians have Sachin Tendulkar and I dare not say anything negative about them. It seems the Royals of Rajasthan is finding it hard to get inspired by their talismanic captain Shane Warne.

That leaves us with the 3 Rain specialist teams of the tournament. These are the teams who have practiced how to win when its rains. They are just falling short but even a point is not bad a result given the tough playing conditions. King’s XI seems to have started to practice when the sun is out and as a result won its last game. What about RCB and KKR? I have never seen Shah rukh so much serious in any of his “Serious” roles. It really means a lot to him. The advertisements, the merchandising, you name it and he has delivered. The standards he has set are amazing but Bhooka Naan(Term used to describe Buchanan by various bloggers) has spoiled his party by first talking about 4 captains and then naming McCullum as the leader of the Korbo,Lorbo,Jeetbo Naaaa brigade. What on earth was he thinking by keeping dada away from the captaincy job? Should not criticize them further, I support this team. Forever KKR.

The Bangalore team is not doing any better. In KP they have a captain without a Cap but what’s happening to Uthappa? He seems to have forgotten how to bat. Can u imagine he was keeping Boucher out from the starting XI? What a mess Vijay Mallya is in. This acquisition is not proving sweet for the Liquor Baron.

The Dance Of Democracy

Yet another Lok Sabha election on the horizon and we are witness to another dance of democracy. With regional parties increasingly playing an important role in deciding who the prime minister will be it has become very crucial for the two largest central parties (Congress and BJP) to forge alliance at state level. The left front with a different ideology and with a good 2004 election result is giving the UPA and NDA a run for their money.

My analysis about the current political situation is the people of this country want a change of guard at the centre. Price rise, soft action against Terrorist attack, Congress’s usual minority favoring political card are all the important factors against the government. Recent defeats in Assembly elections in Karnataka, Chattisgarh are also crucial indicators.

The BJP on the other hand seems to be the obvious alternative simply because of its tough stand against terrorism, its model governance in Gujarat and its clear projection of a leader in the form of L K Advani. However recent events like Jaitley-RajNath spat, the hate speech of Varun Gandhi and the broken alliance with BJD in Orissa has put a serious dent in BJP’s Delhi ambitions.

The turbulence in both these political camps has actually helped the Left Front to gather some major political leaders on its side. Mayawati and Chandrababu Naidu are the most notable among them. Shri Naveen patnaik (Orissa CM) has not ruled out a post poll alliance between BJD-Left Front. The US recession, the downside of capitalism and price rice are some of the major factors which the left finds it going its way. It is a fact that our economy is not is such a bad shape as compared to US because majority of our public sector organizations are still not privatized and the credit goes to the left parties. They are the ones who opposed violently against the raising of FDI in Insurance Industry.

Who is the most likely PM?

Lal Krishna Advani is the most likely PM of India post election. This is partly because the BJP unlike other political parties believe in projecting a leader for the people before they go to vote.
However I think Mayawati runs a very good chance of becoming the first dalit prime minister of our country. I say this because she is the major player in the 3rd front and there is a very good chance that the anti incumbency votes against BJP and Congress might well go to the 3rd Front. It would be interesting to see how things unfold post election but surely we are in for a great political tamasha.

IPL vs IPL

The Indian Political League is here and it’s giving the Indian Premier League a tough time. In its second season the domestic tournament with international magnitude is up against a big obstacle in the form of General Elections 2009. A lot of people are asking the credibility of our security system which is throwing in the towel and is refusing to accept the possibility of two events happening simultaneously. It is though well understood that the cricket league is of a huge scale and involves the security of lakhs of people.

What needs to be done at this juncture? Should the Home ministry assert its power and ask the BCCI to call off the IPL. Looking at the worse case scenario of a terrorist threat to cricketers and spectators, it certainly looks like the better option. God forbid if something untoward happens, the entire image of India has a safe place to play the game will be hurt. The world cup hosting will be in jeopardy.

The other way to look into the thing is to allow the tournament to go ahead and send this message loud and clear that we as a nation can withstand these tough times and can protect our own people as well as our guest. On top of everything no can give guarantee that if the IPL is postponed everything would go according to the ideal script.

The best way to go about it is to allow the cricket tournament to proceed without affecting the elections. It gives us (the common people) the chance to enjoy the thrills and frills of the action packed tournament once again. The intent of going ahead will clearly send the right message across to the world and it will in fact dent the spirits of those who want the subcontinent to be a war zone.

The Socially Responsible Company

What’s the idea of a socially responsible company? I often come across this term and it makes me to think that it is a unique characteristic to have and adds a lot to a company’s USP. After all everyone in the society will like to see such organizations who in addition to being an excellent service provider to its customers also make contributions back to the common people.
So that puts us (the common people) in a really nice position isn’t it? Government, whom we elect through the democratic process can do whatever little it can (Lets say at least 50% of the work it promises) and the rest will be taken care by these ‘Socially Responsible’ companies. So we end being served and all our aspirations and expectations are met.
A lot of companies (I don’t want to name them) have already started to make an impact through school programs, traffic congestion solutions, helping out NGO’s. But according to me they are not doing enough.
To begin with, I feel the social responsibility they talk about should be a self less service. I am afraid, its not. It does not take a nuclear scientist to see that the work they are doing is ultimately intended to create a better image in front of their potential customers. The idea is to be socially responsible in such a way which will enhance business proposition.
If business organizations had to walk the same path along with social responsibility then it would be a catastrophe for them. From the Indian perspective, a lot of IT companies have resulted in a population imbalance because of the huge influx of people to a particular city in the country. Had they realized the need to be socially responsible, they would have gone with the plan of diversifying their business centers long back thereby bringing social harmony, stability to even the backward regions. Obviously how on earth that can be possible if they were to make higher profit returns?
Take for example a certain Bangalore based IT company which takes pride of its role on its association with a certain society of physically challenged children. If we look deep into this role, we see that the society’s children have contributed hugely to the making of its identity during its inception. The company’s contribution in return has no where been in the same scale.
The point which I am trying to emphasize on is the fact that being socially responsible is about contributing to the society which will make a lasting impression for its growth in the future. It’s something like nurturing and planting a new seed rather than trying to water a branch of an already grown tree and then trying to advertise that.
Some examples of a socially responsible work which can be undertaken by organizations are:

1) Sponsoring a group of children from say class V to their bachelor degree. It should include their education expenditure as well as their meals during their stay at school. It should include one to one contact with each of them and their parents. Merely working with them for one month and leaving them after that won’t serve the purpose.
2) Nominating someone from the company who will directly be responsible for the immediate block, constituency where the office campus belongs and will be communication with the political leader in charge of the same.
3) Start forming small teams who would like to volunteer to go to any specific place in their city and promote a clean drive, plant trees.
4) During elections the company should encourage and help its employees to take active participation in voting.
5) Above all, there is a need for every organization to identify certain sets of value which distinctively identifies its immediate society.