** Varun Gandhi & NSA **

Varun Gandhi has been booked under National Security Act (NSA) for his inflammatory speech during one of the election rallies. I am not going to discuss the rights and wrongs of Varun Gandhi's speech. I am only surprised at the fact as to why certain blatantly harsher and inflammatory speeches by persons like Madhani are NOT considered as a security threat to nation !! Oops - why do I keep forgetting that terrorists like Madhani can speak anything and get away from this land because he speaks for muslims and is not a pro-hindu !!!???

** I WILL NOT VOTE FOR CONGRESS **

If you are following Indian elections- 2009 - did you come to know about the Congress manifesto?? If they win this elections, they have proposed to implement reservation in private sector too. That one reason is enough for me, not to talk about their promise for a separate quota for Muslims as well, to NOT to vote for Congress in this forthcoming elections.

We started with 18% quota on the whole and we all know where we stand now. The quota system is going to stay on for ever - thanks to the cheap and cunning politicians that we have. Quota - more than helping the downtrodden - is only helping the politicians to divide and exploit people. We have more caste based parties now than what we had in 1947 !! Congress, Mulayam, Mayawati, Laloo - everyone and ALL of them mastered the art of manipulating the votes based on caste. Please think before you vote to any one of them - because, you are only entrusting the life of our next generation into their hands. So, am I saying that other parties are not thriving on caste based politics?? Yes, everyone is - but not as worse as all the above. So, let us atleast try to delay the inevitable, if we cant avoid it. Well, I am NOT going to vote for Congress or any of the parties that support Congress in this elections.

** The IPL punch **

The congress government tried its best to scuttle the second edition of IPL . It has been discussed enough in the media that not the elections, but IPL being headed by a BJP man, Lalit Modi is the prime reason for refusing security cover to the tournament. The Centre and all the Congress governed States were the first of the block to refuse security cover to the matches. I am not a big admirer of Lalit Modi, but I am greatly impressed by the punch that he delivered to the government by simply taking the IPL matches out of India. Elections are important - but that does not mean that the Govt does nothing other than conducting the elections.

** Airtel CEO sells his entire stocks !! **

Airtel CEO, Mr Manoj Kohli, has sold his entire stock holdings with Airtel (123,000 shares) in open market (today - 11 Mar 2009). Another Satyam ??

** India & Chief Election Commissioner **

President, Prathiba Patil, as expected and as recommended by the Ministry of Law - has turned down the recommendations of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Mr Gopalswami for sacking Navin Chawla. Navin Chawla will now go on to take the post of CEC from Apr/20 this year when Mr Gopalswami retires. Navin Chawla is a stooge of Congress party. Some of the accusations against him are very serious and still he his going to take over the coveted position. The accused and the judge are on the same side of the fence here. Navin Chawla is a puppet of the Congress party and the Congress headed Government went into and decided on allegations against him. Isn't this strange??? (Well, not if you are not an Indian or used to Indian politics and ways). Navin chawla was deliberately and very planted in to the Election Commission by the Congress party and they will be immensely benefitted by his taking over the reigns of the Election Commission. Satyameva Jayadhe (honesty triumphs) can NEVER be true in this land of Gandhi. Jai Hind.

** India, Slumdog Millionaire & Oscar **

I saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Having seen a few Oscar winning movies, Slumdog Millionaire, I feel, was definitely not upto that standard. AR Rahman's music was good and there can be no second opinion on that. But, Slumdog Millionaire, as a movie was a good one - certainly NOT the BEST.

We, over the past few days, have heard a lot of accusations on how Indian poverty is being sold abroad. Having seen the movie, I would say that there is not a single scene which is grossly misleading or inappropriate or being falsely depcited. Poverty, violence, beggar mafia - its all very much present and rampant in India. Those who bad mouth about the way India is being depcited in the film, should realise that it is the actual state that India is in. We can not just see the rosy side of India alone and turn blind eye towards the state a large proportion of Indian population lives in. Abject poverty and mindless caste-ridden violence have all been and are going to be part and parcel of India. Above all, the situation is getting worser and worser and ALL our political parties are only adding fuel to the fire. To finish up this write up, Slumdog Millionaire is a good movie (not the best) and the way India has been depicted in the movie is not far away from the reality/truth. Not to forget, to this movie has opened up a lot of avenues for Indian cinema technicians and artists.

** DMK Govt's achievements **

Yesterday, there were full page advertisements in all leading New papers listing the achievements of the present DMK government, thus far. Free TV, Rice for Re.1/-, cheap loans (where it is not written off), free electricity (whenever supplied ;) ), free gas connection and stove... the list went on and on listing all about the freebies.

Dishing out freebies - do you call that achievement?? The Govt has done NOTHING to earn money. All the DMK govt has done so far is to dole out exchequer's money in a callous manner - in the name of freebies. Handing over Rs.2000/- to EVERY family in Tamil Nadu after the heavy rains last season is the icing on the cake. I saw people who own car and bungalows receive the money (if they do not collect, some body will swindle it anyway on their behalf). Latest mockery is to give a golden ring to ALL the babies that are born and being named in TAMIL !!

I do not know where and when will all this madness. At this rate, the deficit is going to get wider and wider and one day, this Govt will be in a position where it will not be able to pay monthly salary to the Govt employees (it was almost at that stage when this DMK govt completed its tenure last time, only to be revived later by Jayalalitha when she succeeded as Chief Minister).

Well... what matters to Mr Karunanidhi and his family is that they are getting richer and richer through deals, omissions and commissions !! So, who cares for the welfare of the State?? Does anybody ??

** Cricket - India & New Zealand (2009) **

At the time of writing this, India has already lost two T20 matches and hence the series 0-2. We have five one day matches and 3 tests to play. While I dont want to take a call in the Test series, all my instincts say that New Zealand will win atleast 3 of the one day matches and hence the series.

** Indians and Oscars **

I have never watched the Academy awards ceremony before - but, this time (2009), I was glued to TV to watch AR Rahman win two Oscar awards. It was really a proud moment. Indians winning awards in international arena is always a great feeling that leaves you proud and happy. AR Rahman, Resul Pookutty and Gulzaar made us proud with their award winning performances. Having said that, I do feel that AR Rahman has given even greater and memorable scores than what he has scored for the Slumdog Millionaire; but all those happened to be in Indian (language) movies and hence he missed out on getting Oscars. Right?

** Anarchy **

What should have been nipped in the bud is now grown up into a huge monstrous and poisonous tree. When one or two people were shouting on pitch of their voice, the Govt kept silent and infact encouraged them for cheap political benefits. The Govts inaction has encouraged a lot more to jump into the fray. I am talking about the voice raised over the support of LTTE (in the disguise of supporting Sri Lankan Tamils). The State, Tamil nadu has become a lawless state. The State Govt is totally ineptitude in solving the issue and the Central Govt is a silent and mute spectator in this case. LTTE is a poisonous organisation, to which we have already lost one of our prominent leader, Rajiv Gandhi. The DMK Govt was ruling the state when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE in Tamil Nadu and again, the same DMK Govt is in power when once again the LTTE has roped in a lot of politicians to voice their support for the organisation. Karunanidhi has no time for the State and is content in solving his own domestic problems centered around his sons and daughters. The creaming on the cake was the High Court incident where lawyers and police faught a pitched battle on the Sri Lankan issue. Without getting into who is right and who was wrong - what do you call a set of people who pelt stones on police, burn down police vehicles and who burn down a police station ??? Well, in Tamil Nadu, you have the right to call them as "Lawyers". Surprisingly, the police folks are being widely criticised for resorting tough action. How do you handle hooliganism?? By Ahimsa??

Crores and crores of rupees were swindled in the Telecom deal by a DMK Minister. The Central Govt (read Congress) does nothing !! LTTE has started spreading its wings in Tamil Nadu once again and the Central Govt remains a mute spectator. These are just two incidents which highlights the total inefficiency of the Central Govt (Congress). Not to talk about the worst possible way the Govt handled so many other issues - starting from the Amarnath land row to the soft glove treatment of terrorists. Today DMK and Congress have become two pillars that wholly support corruption, nepotism and inefficiency. To save India and hence corrupt ridden states like TN, both these Govt should go. We have no other alternative.

** January 2009 **

This is the first posting of mine for the blog this year. Well, I have reasons for abstaining from blogging for the past 30 days !! I decided to take the Sun Solaris Certification exam this year and had my exams scheduled for Jan/27. I was seriously preparing for the exams and I have cleared the first paper (hooray!!). Now, I need to prepare and appear for the second paper and then I would be a SCSA (Sun Certified Solaris Administrator). Well, lets hope that I get to finish it and get the certification soon.

There were quite a few things that happened in the past 30 days which are of immense importance to India as a nation and hence, a mention in this blog becomes inevitable.

Firstly the Satyam scam. Satyam story goes on to show how one man’s greed can take down the whole nation – and it cannot be better explained than this episode. Ramalinga Raju has let down his nation, his employees and his family. The big question mark on the whole episode is on the Auditing and the Auditors. Auditing – done over the past few years on Satyam has become a laughing stuff. Auditors are supposed to find the frauds being committed by their Patrons !! They are being paid by the same organization/persons against whom they are supposed to find faults. This client/patron hierarchy/chain becomes too compromising and undermines the whole “Audit” concept. Ultimately, Auditors lead their patrons on a path where they are being professionally aided and helped to do a perfect crime and safely (well, mostly) get away from law. When it comes to the question of very big and reputed firms – Auditors never would try to cross the lines for they would lose a lucrative Patron. This is what has happened in Satyam’s case. We urgently need to address this arrangement. Having said that, whatever we try to do – “திருடனாய் பார்த்து திருந்தாவிட்டால் திருட்டை ஒழிக்க முடியாது" (unless thieves mend their methods,thievery cannot be stopped ). More than any thing else, its time India, as a nation, start planning on building moral values!! Its down the drain and is at its cheapest elements at this point of time in this competitive society!!

Talking about the society takes me to the next topic – “Slumdog Billionaire”. AR Rahman winning the Golden Globe award and being nominated for Oscars definitely makes us all proud. But, I personally feel that he has scored a lot of even better and wonderful tunes than what he has won this award for (the song “Jai Ho”). Not scoring for English movies before could be the only reason that has stopped him from getting such awards before. Well, lets hope he gets lot of such awards and make us all proud.

The discussion on “Slumdog Billionaire” cannot end here as we also hear a lot of criticism about the movie – about selling Indian poverty abroad. While I have not seen the movie so far, my present opinion is that poverty, robbery, terrorism, etc., all exist in India in large scale. We cannot develop an ostrich approach to the whole issue. Don’t we have slums with abject living conditions? Don’t we have brothels where women are forced into prostitution? Havent we heard about kids being kidnapped by beggar mafia?? More than 50% of our people are still uneducated and are below poverty line. Why should we cry hoarse when such things are filmed?? Anyway, I reserve my comments about the film for the time being.

Another important topic is Sri Lanka / LTTE / Tamils / TN Politicians. I whole heartedly welcome the debacle of LTTE. LTTE is a terrorist organization. An organization that can break bunds and hold people as human shields cannot be a charity organization and we have had a lot of facts and stats to prove on what sort of organization LTTE is. LTTE has killed lot of Sri Lankan Tamilians. People like Karuna, who were once top leaders of LTTE speak volumes and volumes of the atrocities committed and is being committed by LTTE. Unfortunately, in India, we don’t have enough and powerful law like POTA to put people who support LTTE in jail (as was done to Vai Ko). Even more unfortunate is that we have a party (DMK) that has a poor record of handling miscreants and terrorists in power. Isn’t it time that we learn from countries like Sri Lanka the methods and means to curb terrorists and implement the same strategy in dealing with Kashmir terrorists?

Talking about terrorism and Sri Lanka leads me the topic of Israel. I am of the view that Hamas is a terrorist organization and it instigated Israel to attach the Gaza strip. Only countries like India will tolerate terrorists attacks !!

Unfortunately lot of civilians - hapless people, kids, old aged were all caught in the cross-fire and have been killed. Such loses can never be compensated by any means. My heart goes to all those families. Having said that, this should make the terrorists realize their folly and I do not vouch to the argument that Govts should stop attacking terrorists. Terrorists organization like Hamas, Al Qaida and LTTE have to be given a sever blow and they should be erased of the face of this universe. The world should speak in one voice against TERRORISM without giving any creed/religion color to it.

My final topic of this posting will be on local politics (Tamil Nadu). The comments of Election Commissioner on Thirumangalam bye-election is worth noting. He has said that Tamil Nadu fares worse than Bihar when it comes to election offences and violence. People who know about Bihar elections would realize the severity of such a statement. All the recent elections that were conducted in TN (especially after Karunanidhi came to power) have been severely rigged to the worst possible extent – as has been never seen before in TN. We already have a situation where educated and decent people stay away from politics. With more such elections – our fate for good future as a nation will permanently be sealed for the worst. “Rule of Law” will soon be replaced by “Goonda Raj” ! “Politics in India” has become a synonym of “Rowdyism”.

** Happy New Year : 2009 **

There are quite a lot of people who touched my life in the year 2008 and helped me in becoming a better person. I thank everyone of them ... Thanks, Thanks and Thanks a Lot.

I wish you and all your family members a very very happy, prosperous and a healthy New Year. May God Bless you with success & joy.

புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்.

** Tamil Nadu (aka) Dharmashala **

It seems, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, MK Karunanidhi has decided to take the State's financial status to the worst ever seen by any Indian State !! He keeps inventing new freebie schemes. Free TV, Free Land, Rice for Re.1 - those were his elections promises. He did not stop with that and is continuing this madness throughout his present tenure as Chief Minister. His latest is the Rs.2000/- as flood relief to the people of Tamil Nadu !! Those who did not even see a drop of water during the heavy rain last month are going to take the free gift of Rs.2000/- for nothing. Mr. Karunanidhi, did not stop his "tamasha" with that and his latest announcement is the biggest joke - "The government will distribute ingredients required to make 'sweet pongal' (chakarai pongal) for free to the people for the forthcoming 'Pongal' festival !! My God !!! When will all this madness stop ???

** Voting **

In India, even if just 50% of the people vote in general elections, it is considered as a very high voting percentage !! Isnt that a pity?? We need to find a way out of this mess. That, in my view, can be achieved if we make voting 'online' and make it possible for the people to vote through SMS!! It is not something that is impossible. Estonia has made 'online' voting possible way back in 2001 and is introducing voting through cell phones for their forthcoming Presidential elections. If the Estonians can - Why not India? With very high cell-phone penetration in India, the possibility of online/SMS voting should be taken up - atleast for a technical feasbility study. If we can operate our bank accounts (which is more precious than voting!) online - then, why not 'voting'?? If our voting system goes online, I am sure, we will see a higher percentage of voting, lesser queues at polling booths, choice of NRIs to vote .... the list of advantages keeps growing !!! Isnt that wonderful??

** Value of Life ? **

In the past few days, two suicide incidents (amongst many) attracted my notice. A school going girl committed suicide as her bicycle was stolen (the bicycle was issued under the "Free bicycle to students" scheme by the Govt). In another incident, a lady took her own life for she lost Rs.500/- that her husband gave to her for safe custody !! I was overwhelmed with pity and thought on how so little means so much to a lot of people.

** False propoganda on Hindu Terrorism **

The so called secularists of India have, at last, very eagerly pounced on a rare opportunity (Malegaon Blasts) and have gone on to meticulously brand it as "Hindu" Terrorism. I am of the view that this one mistake by one or two individuals should NOT be equated to the violence that the Muslim terrorists perpetrate across the whole world. Unfortunately, this is India and this sort of pseudo secularism is what most of the political parties in India thrive on, as it sells very easily and also gets votes. What else do these political parties want ??

Well, I read a nice piece of article on the subject - I am producing the same below.

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The Hindu Rate Of Wrath

-By Francois Gautier

Is there such a thing as 'Hindu terrorism', as the arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur for the recent Malegaon blasts may tend to prove? Well, I guess I was asked to write this column because I am one of that rare breed of foreign correspondents-a lover of Hindus! A born Frenchman, Catholic-educated and non-Hindu, I do hope I'll be given some credit for my opinions, which are not the product of my parents' ideas, my education or my atavism, but garnered from 25 years of reporting in South Asia (for Le Journal de Geneve and Le Figaro). In the early 1980s, when I started freelancing in south India , doing photo features on kalaripayattu, the Ayyappa festival, or the Ayyanars, I slowly realised that the genius of this country lies in its Hindu ethos, in the true spirituality behind Hinduism. The average Hindu you meet in a million villages possesses this simple, innate spirituality and accepts your diversity, whether you are Christian or Muslim, Jain or Arab, French or Chinese. It is this Hinduness that makes the Indian Christian different from, say, a French Christian, or the Indian Muslim unlike a Saudi Muslim. I also learnt that Hindus not only believed that the divine could manifest itself at different times, under different names, using different scriptures (not to mention the wonderful avatar concept, the perfect answer to 21st century religious strife) but that they had also given refuge to persecuted minorities from across the world-Syrian Christians, Parsis, Jews, Armenians, and today, Tibetans. In 3,500 years of existence, Hindus have never militarily invaded another country, never tried to impose their religion on others by force or induced conversions. You cannot find anybody less fundamentalist than a Hindu in the world and it saddens me when I see the Indian and western press equating terrorist groups like SIMI, which blow up innocent civilians, with ordinary, angry Hindus who burn churches without killing anybody. We know also that most of these communal incidents often involve persons from the same groups-often Dalits and tribals-some of who have converted to Christianity and others not. However reprehensible the destruction of Babri Masjid, no Muslim was killed in the process; compare this to the 'vengeance' bombings of 1993 in Bombay , which wiped out hundreds of innocents, mostly Hindus. Yet the Babri Masjid destruction is often described by journalists as the more horrible act of the two. We also remember how Sharad Pawar, when he was chief minister of Maharashtra in 1993, lied about a bomb that was supposed to have gone off in a Muslim locality of Bombay . I have never been politically correct, but have always written what I have discovered while reporting. Let me then be straightforward about this so-called Hindu terror. Hindus, since the first Arab invasions, have been at the receiving end of terrorism, whether it was by Timur, who killed 1,00,000 Hindus in a single day in 1399, or by the Portuguese Inquisition which crucified Brahmins in Goa . Today, Hindus are still being targeted: there were one million Hindus in the Kashmir valley in 1900; only a few hundred remain, the rest having fled in terror. Blasts after blasts have killed hundreds of innocent Hindus all over India in the last four years. Hindus, the overwhelming majority community of this country, are being made fun of, are despised, are deprived of the most basic facilities for one of their most sacred pilgrimages in Amarnath while their government heavily sponsors the Haj. They see their brothers and sisters converted to Christianity through inducements and financial traps, see a harmless 84-year-old swami and a sadhvi brutally murdered. Their gods are blasphemed. So sometimes, enough is enough. At some point, after years or even centuries of submitting like sheep to slaughter, Hindus-whom the Mahatma once gently called cowards-erupt in uncontrolled fury. And it hurts badly. It happened in Gujarat . It happened in Jammu , then in Kandhamal, Mangalore, and Malegaon . It may happen again elsewhere. What should be understood is that this is a spontaneous revolution on the ground, by ordinary Hindus, without any planning from the political leadership. Therefore, the BJP, instead of acting embarrassed, should not disown those who choose other means to let their anguished voices be heard. There are about a billion Hindus, one in every six persons on this planet. They form one of the most successful, law-abiding and integrated communities in the world today. Can you call them terrorists?

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(The writer is the editor-in-chief of the Paris-based La Revue de l'Inde.)

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** Sabari Malai **

I am just back from Sabari-Malai, Kerala. This is the second year in succession that I have been on pilgrimage to Sabari Malai (swimmig alongside an elephant was a wonderful experience this time :) ) . Kerala, no doubt, is definitely a wonderful place - but, from what I saw, the State - on the whole - is designed for thin population. Poor (or nil?) Industries has spared (?) most of the State of its old and natural beauty (Should we rejoice this aspect ?) Tourism and Ports are the life lines of Kerala - if we discount Agriculture.

Well, getting back to our topic - Sabari Malai - every year, the crowd keeps increasing. It would probably be a guiness record for the number of people who visit this temple in the short span of around 60 days in Nov-Dec-Jan every year. While excellent crowd management methodologies are in place - the place grossly lacks accommodation and other public facilities. With the temple's revenue generation running into crores - what stops the trustees/Govt from providing superior public facilities is one of the many clueless question that you face in India.

** A Wednesday **

"A Wednesday" - a must watch Hindi film !! Great story, wonderful narration, great picturisation, classic dialogues and some wonderful acting makes this movie a power packed one. Nasruddin Shah and Anupam Kher have played their role to perfection. This is an interesting and racy movie from start to end without any stupid song or dance sequence (that are part and parcel of Indian movies). The movie, "A Wednesday", at the end not just leaves you satisfied but also makes you to think. Don't miss it !!

** Mumbai - unanswered questions !! **

Finally, the Govt claims that the terrorists have been flushed out of the Taj, Oberai and the Nariman House. But there are quite a few unanswered questions....

a) Were there just 10 terrorists - as the Govt claims - who were involved in this whole terror act ?? How many managed to escape ??

b) Why is Shivraj Patil being allowed to continue as Home Minister despite his repeated failures as Home Minister?

c) It is well documented that Dawood has used the sea route during the 1993 Bombay attack. What has the Govt done, in the past 15 years - to plug that loop hole??

d) Leave aside the intelligence report about the attack from sea - does the Govt need such a report to be prepared for such an eventuality??

e) When will the Govt learn to treat terrorists as terrorists - than concentrating on the religion that they belong to ?

f) How long are we going to suffer the Govt's total ineptitudeness in handling terrorrism ??

g) Will the Govt now STOP discussing the oil pipe line from Iran through Pakistan??

** Mayhem in Mumbai **

I was too busy for the past few days and had to stay away from blogging. On getting back - the Mumbai Mayhem takes precedence than anything else. Just 10 men has managed to hold our nation on hook for more than two days - thanks to the training that the Pak's ISI gave (I have no doubt on that) and to the spineless Govt that India has at the centre !! At first, I wish to register my deepest condolences to all the departed souls.

While a few brave lost their lives fighting the terrorists - in the next few days, we will be able to see and hear quite a lot of people queuing up to stake claims for what all the departed did !! Victory has so many fathers !! At this time, if the Govt ever cares to act, it should take some stern measures against terrorism - than shelling out empty promises. But - the big question is - Is our present Government capable of that ??