Find the Strength of Society!!!!!!!!!!!

Residential real estate in Mumbai's peripheral areas has witnessed quite a few newsworthy events but this one is special: the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) cut across political affiliations and passed a resolution that would allow developers to go ahead with construction of residential buildings, without the earlier prerequisite of non-agricultural (NA) status of the land. MBMC mayor, Narendra Mehta called it the 'coming together of common minds for the benefit of home seekers'. "There is a legal issue pending before the Mumbai high court, the subject matter of which deals with a legal pre-requisite for getting the NA clearance, required as per MBMC rules, at the stage when the developer commences construction (the CC stage). This created a situation where, in the past few months, most developers did not commence work," explained Mehta. The MBMC has now passed a resolution, making the NA necessary at the stage of obtaining the occupancy certificate (OC) i.e., when the building is ready for possession. Former president of the MBMC, Praful Patil, lauded the move saying, "The MBMC has shown that it is responsive to the concerns of home buyers." The resolution should re-start new construction activity which has been at a stand-still in Mira-Bhayandar, for some time now, said Atul Shah of the Goldstar Group. "If status quo had continued, Mira-Bhayandar would have run out of fresh stock of residential realty. Alternately, the issue pending before the high court, would have effectively added Rs 250 per sq ft to the cost of homes in any residential project launched after October last year," adds Shah. "In a sluggish market scenario, the last thing one would want is an extra levy of Rs 250 per sq ft," says developer, Suresh Kabra, who is an office bearer at the Builders' Association. "While waiting for the court's decision, developers got together and proactively sought an interim solution for this problem. Thankfully, our elected representatives supported the move, passing the resolution which makes the NA status necessary at the OC stage, instead of at the CC stage, as used to be the case," he said. Developer Mahendra Kothari said the solution, although interim, was a 'practical solution' to ensure that home seekers continue to regard Mira-Bhayandar as the ideal residential destination, at prices that were affordable. Terming it as a 'welcome' step, estate agent, Girish Gohil, added that the primary issue pending before the high court needed to be redressed at the earliest. Echoing this sentiment is mayor Mehta, who added that the new MBMC municipal commissioner was likely to seek an opinion from the state government's law and judiciary department with regards to whether he could implement the resolution passed by the MBMC. For the moment, however, unity among developers has led MBMC to create history of sorts - by cutting across party lines and passing a resolution that would make home seekers' task a bit easier.

Discovery of a NEW Shining INDIA

The year 2002 was a watershed in former radio presenter, war journalist and marketing professional René Seifert’s life. Seifert had to leave his job as director-entertainment for Lycos Europe after the dotcom bust and used his severance package to travel the world. “It was a great chance for me to see places like Thailand, Russia and Cuba,” reflects the 38-year old half-German, half-Croatian Seifert. After his whirlwind sabbatical, Seifert sat down and considered his options. Business was clearly the way to go. “India and Ireland were both emerging as global sourcing destinations, but I felt that the former had greater potential,” he says. In July 2003, Seifert came to India and met with officials from the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, apart from local lawyers and chartered accountants to do his homework. Convinced of his decision, he launched Level 360 the same year. “I soon realised that networking is of the essence in India, especially to get through all the bureaucracy. You have to know all the right people to get your work done - and some of the wrong ones too,” he chuckles. Seifert also recalls an interview with a candidate who had applied for a job, “In response to a question about his family, he just went on and on about them. I was taken aback, but soon realised that Indians put family above a lot of other things.” Level 360 initially tried to make money by selling low-cost gold and silver jewellery on EBay to customers in Germany and the UK. The jewellery was sourced from Canada and shipped to the buyers. But in November 2004, he realised this line wasn’t profitable enough. “I then looked around and wondered which of my skills and experiences I could best leverage,” Seifert says, adding, “I realised that a lot of German companies could benefit from the outsourcing wave, if only someone could connect them to software vendors in India.” It was an idea that clicked. Four years down the line, Level 360’s 12-member team works for 25 German clients spread across sectors such as Internet and Web solutions, retail, logistics and manufacturing and has annual revenues of around a million dollars. Unlike Seifert, Belgian Quentin Staes-Polet, CEO and cofounder of Mumbai-based Kreeda Games, was no stranger to India. As IBM’s former media and entertainment practice leader for Asia Pacific media and entertainment, Staes-Polet frequently travelled to India. “After joining IBM in 2001, I saw first-hand the emergence of telecom, broadband and mobile in India,” Staes-Polet remarks. Having realised that online gaming was picking up fast and also that there was no established player in the massive multiplayer online gaming (MMOG) space in India, the idea to start Kreeda came as a flash of inspiration to Staes-Polet. With Ramesh Anumukonda (now Kreeda’s chief gaming officer) and Robin Alter (Kreeda’s CTO), both former IBM consultants in tow, Staes-Polet started Kreeda in Mumbai in August 2006. “Between us, we had the technical skills like game creation, marketing and finance. We chose Mumbai, as it is the media and entertainment hub of the country,” he reveals. Staes-Polet used his contacts to obtain funding from two VCs, SoftBank China & India Holdings and IDG Ventures India. The two funds collectively hold under 50% stake in Kreeda. Kreeda’s first product was DanceMela, a multiplayer online dancing-cum-social networking game which was free for users. The original game was developed by a Chinese firm, 9You. Kreeda licensed the game from 9You, localised the content and characters and launched it in India. “We couldn’t develop the game ourselves, because that is a lengthy process that costs millions of dollars. Plus we don’t see that kind of talent here in India,” he says. Though a recent FICCI-KPMG study states that the gaming sector, led by online games, is growing at 33 % and is estimated to touch Rs 2740 crore by 2013, from Rs 650 crore in 2008, the market in India is still led by gaming over LAN networks in tiny cyber cafes. Rues Staes-Polet, “The biggest barrier is that the PCs here are generally old and slow. On top of that, the Internet bandwidth isnt conducive to large online games either. And when you have a hetereogenous target audience, that’s bound to affect usage too.” In the last two-and-a-half years, Kreeda has got about 100,000 registered users. However, the largest chunk of Kreeda’s revenues currently comes from lighter online games that they develop for foreign clients. However, if things pan out right, Kreeda plans to enter the mobile gaming space in some time. Brian Choudhary and Giuseppe Mozzillo met in 2004, while studying at the London School of Economics (LSE). When Choudhary learnt that Mozzillo’s extended family had been in the cheesemaking business in Italy for centuries, he wanted to visit his village to know more. “I saw how different cheeses were produced and the thought struck me that we could do this in India,” he says. Choudhary, with Indian and Serbian parents, had already seen quite a bit of India since his childhood. But though the duo was enthusiastic about the proposed venture, it wasn’t until 2008 that Exito Gourmet, their Panchkula-based company was born. “Both of us were working regular jobs for those three years—I, in New York and Giuseppe in Spain. During that time, Giuseppe met Jorge Tapia Chavero, a lawyer who also wanted to come on board. But in 2004, the laws on foreign direct investment in the food processing sector were unfavourable and we had to wait a while until they were eased by the Indian government,” Choudhary says. The Indian market was emerging slowly as awareness about different kinds of cheese grew. However, Indians are sensitive—and somewhat entrenched—in the views on milk products. “It was a risk,” Choudhary agrees, “But we still decided to go ahead.” In June 2008, the trio came to India and met Puneet Gupta, an Indian importer of cheese. Since he knew the Indian market well, Gupta joined Exito Gourmet as CEO. Choudhary himself handles the role of CFO. The total initial investment that went into the company was over Rs. 10 crores. One of the earliest issues was getting all the necessary permits. “You have all kinds of food production and industrial permits to get, and the process was a long one.” Recreating the flavour of authentic Italian cheese in India was also a challenge. “We put a big premium on the quality of milk we bought from our local suppliers,” Choudhary reveals. Producing approximately 20-30 tonnes of eight different kinds of cheese (annualised) at present, Exito Gourmet aims to produce around 100 tonnes a year soon. Their clients consist of five star hotels and restaurants. French airman Roger Langbour was posted at the French Embassy’s administrative wing in the seventies. But when he retired in 1975, he didn’t leave India. He married an Indian in 1981 and tried setting up a business of his own. By 1992, he had tried his hand at many different things, including handicraft exports, which didn’t work too well. “You have to have the feel for a business. If you don’t, then you shouldn’t do it,” he says. That’s when he decided what he wanted to do—sell organic poultry and vegetables to hotels in India. This was an area that was yet untapped. India had just started opening up and new affluence brought fresh demand. “I started at a small, crowded place behind Palam Airport in New Delhi. After starting, I went back to France for a while to learn new techniques of poultry farming and breeding at the famous Vendee farms,” he recalls. As an air force man, Langbour wasn’t equipped to be on a farm, but he learnt. He also improved his English in the meantime by going to the UK and learning the language. “When you want to do something on your own, you have to make the effort,” he adds. Langbour’s French Farm specialises in rearing Muscovy and Peking ducks, apart from quail, rainbow chicken, turkeys and pigs which go to leading five star hotels in the country as well as to expats, embassies and individual customers. Langbour bought his current 3-acre farm, which is beyond Manesar in the NCR in 1994. “I got the land along with Francis Wacziarg of Neemrana Hotels. I took three acres and he bought the other 4.5 acres of the total land I was offered,” he says. Looking back at his journey, Langbour says he really didn’t have to compete with anyone. “No one was doing what I was doing and so I had an advantage,” he says. But working with hotels, he says, is a difficult task. “They don’t pay on time, but they want the best possible quality at the lowest prices. And there is rampant corruption,” he explains. Nevertheless, his business has moved from just offering poultry and pigs to also growing organic vegetables, but that is only for private customers. French Farm’s turnover is now over Rs 1 crore. Chris Baker, 45, came to India from the UK five years ago to join an MNC real estate firm. Though he always harboured entrepreneurial ambitions, it was a sudden turn of fate that made him take the plunge. After quitting his job nine months ago, Baker found employment with a real estate consortium as senior vice president. However, the consortium is yet to start operations in the country. Baker, who lives in Bangalore with his wife, started bangalore buddy.com, late last year, just before the meltdown hit India. This site aims to be a one-stop shop for expat travellers, and has a dedicated team of writers who are carefully chosen to review and rate various places in town, like hotels, restaurants and weekend getaways. Bangalorebuddy claims to have around 1,500 registered users. Baker invested Rs 20 lakhs to get the team going and get the website started last year in November. The revenue is coming in from service providers, like hotel chains, who are paying to get listed on the site. However, the site had to reduce its prices after the downturn hit the hospitality sector. The registration fee is now at Rs. 20,000, down from Rs. 25,000. Baker is now looking for investments from VC funds. “Since we are already earning revenues, and growing at around 100%, I am optimistic of securing funding. We also plan to hire 160 people in the next two years.” The recession has not deterred Ema Trinidad, a US-settled native of the Philippines, from starting off a new antiageing clinic called S2 at Indiranagar in Bangalore. “The beauty business is recession-proof,” says Trinidad. Prior to starting her clinic five months ago, she was a global supplier for a US-based cosmetic product company. In the next two years, Trinidad plans to earn Rs 20 lakhs a month from this one centre alone, and is already seeing high-status women queuing up at her doors. Charging anywhere between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500 per sitting, S2 is targeting an elite audience with its first outlet. Two more outlets in Mumbai will start by 2010. For both Baker and Trinidad, the going has not been smooth. One of Baker’s biggest priorities was sending his son to study abroad. This, at a time when he was coping with the uncertainty surrounding his new job. For Ema, launching S2 slam-bang in the middle of recession and locating full time to Bangalore was a challenge. But they still persevere, for the Great Indian Dream is more powerful than perhaps we ourselves realise.

Contribution to the New Economy

The contraction in industrial production in January by 0.5% is comforting for the simple reason that it is not as bad as was expected, and capital goods production has rebounded sharply. Disaggregated numbers still look ugly as a general weakening is evident across the board. Production of processed food, having the third highest weight in the index of industrial production (IIP), has contracted a massive 16% in January. And the slowdown appears to have widened with only five sectors reporting positive growth in January against seven in December. Transport equipment and parts, a lead indicator of commercial activity, production fell over 13% in January. Yet, the latest industrial growth numbers hold out hope. As economic slowdown deepens in the emerging markets, industrial activity in India has hovered around the levels seen last year. Even the 2% contraction for December has been revised to a better looking negative growth of only 0.6%. The feared double digit drops in manufacturing, seen in other emerging economies, has not manifested yet in India, though exports are contracting at a fast pace. The strong 15.4% growth in capital durables, though off a low base, should nullify fear over a precipitous decline in new investments. The positive growth in consumer goods after three consecutive months of contraction is also a welcome sign. This resilience at lower levels gives the hope that once the sentiment improves, there could be sharp revival in industrial activity. The stock market, too, appears to have taken the marginal contraction in its stride and rallied near 2% on positive global cues.The burgeoning debt-financed government expenditure would support consumption, though there is a case for prioritising expenditure. The only fear is that such borrowing could crowd out private borrowers. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) can cushion it to the extent it can lower the cash reserve requirement, still at a fairly high 5% of banks’ net demand and time liabilities. The government and the Reserve Bank will have to find ways to ensure that credit needs are met when the economy starts to recover. Much of the decline in consumption appears to be sentiment driven rather than a decline in real incomes. Sentiment, as we know, can change very quickly. How much worse can it get is the question uppermost on most minds. Well, if punditry from multilaterals like the International Monetary Fund is any guide, there is no immediate solace at hand. After holding out the prospect of the global economy scraping through with 0.5% growth this calendar year, the Fund now expects growth to dip below zero. An absolute decline in global GDP, for the first time since World War II, is bad news. For emerging markets like India, whose fortunes are inextricably linked to global growth, with a large number of poor and no safety net, the Fund’s prognosis is doubly disquieting. Except to the extent the Fund’s managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn terms the present slowdown the ‘Great Recession’ not the Great Depression, there is reason to hope we might still escape a repeat of the 1930s experience.There are a number of reasons for this. One, world leaders and central banks have been far more proactive than during the Great Depression. We’ve seen country after country announce huge stimulus packages. Two, there is growing realisation that co-ordinated policy action, at least by the bigger powers, can alone save the day. So despite all the posturing about raising protective barriers and rise of economic nationalism, chances are we will not see a return to protectionist trade practices on a large scale. Three, the Fund itself is likely to see a sharp increase in its resources. The US administration has called for a tripling of ‘IMF firepower’. So, with a little luck, the immediate global resource crunch might be resolved. True, we might not see the rootand-branch reform of the global financial architecture we’d hoped for. But US treasury secretary Tim Geithner has already admitted, “lots of things that did not seem realistic in the past are not just realistic but compelling,” so hopefully we will see a less imbalanced global economic order in the not-too-distant future. For now, given how protracted serious reform of the international financial architecture will be, the G20 should use the opportunity of its forthcoming April 2 meeting to get the world economy out of its present comatose state and then address long-term imbalances.

Do we ready for a financial crackover?/

The Indian investor is now left wondering whether it is time to call a market bottom anytime soon or if 2009 will be a repeat of the miserable 2008. The year till date has not been particularly encouraging for equity investors with the sensex down about 14% and the mid and small cap indices by a steeper 20% or thereabouts. In addition, the rupee is down another 6% year to date and the foreign institutional investor has continued the selling spree with around $2 billion of net sales in 2009 till date following the $13 billion of sales in 2008. Expert opinion appears divided between a potential market rebound and an imminent crash. It is, therefore, worth trying to make some sense out of the mayhem that may help guide investors to make informed decisions. Though the market has been correcting since January 2008, the December 2008 quarter was the first quarter since the turn of the millennium that the sensex companies have shown a significant near 20% de-growth in earnings. Even this earnings de-growth was buoyed by a robust performance by the financial sector that accounted for just under a third of the sensex profits and a 22% earnings growth. It is well known that falling interest rates and consequently high investment profits among banks contributed to a disproportionately large portion of the December 2008 quarter profits. This is unlikely to be repeated over the next few quarters because interest rates are possibly close to bottoming out after last week’s repo cut by the Reserve Bank of India. Moreover, public sector banks are unlikely to be earning a margin over their marginal costs on the flavour of the season — mortgage lending at “directed” rates — even without considering potential delinquencies. The spectre of nonperforming loans looms large on the banking system with a slowing economy despite being deftly postponed by creative “restructuring”. With the economic slowdown gaining momentum and possibly getting deeper and wider on the back of a worsening global environment, the outlook on corporate earnings cannot be anything but gloomy. From an earnings growth projection in the mid to high teens a few months ago, analysts are settling down to earnings de-growth in FY09 and FY10. Viewed against this background, even at near 8,000 levels for the sensex, it is difficult to make the case for a compelling buy on India. The marked deterioration in government finances over the last few months has resulted in the budgeted market borrowing of some $60 billion in FY10 and this can only rise further because of a slowing economy and subsequent cuts in excise and service tax. With this level of borrowing, the dalliance with low interest rates cannot last long. At about half the expected deposit accretion in the banking system and twice the statutory liquidity ratio, government borrowing of this magnitude will inevitably lead to choking of credit to the private sector in addition to bidding up interest rates. Given the abysmal returns that the government earns on its investments and the well documented mega leakages in its spending programmes, crowding out private sector investments has the potential to structurally dilute India’s competitive positioning in the world over the medium term. WITH the solvency of the big global banks in doubt, the appetite for emerging market risk in the international markets is almost non-existent. Despite near zero interest rates in the developed economies, the global financial system continues to be in a state of utter disarray. In a recent report, the International Monetary Fund has forecast a stupendous 92% drop in private capital flows into Asia. Against this background, banking on foreign portfolio inflows to give a leg up to the Indian equity market is futile. Viewed through the prism of the critical factors that influence equity markets — earnings growth, valuation, interest rates and liquidity — and given the earnings de-growth projections of corporate India and the consequent issues on market valuation, the potential firming of interest rates in the next few months and the dim prospects of capital inflows it is not surprising that the market is in a state of stupor. The policy vacuum for the next three months in view of the federal elections, especially in the context of continuing global meltdown is certainly adding to the all pervading negative sentiment. While the gunslingers in the market remain hyperactive, investors would do well to ignore the daily noise of incessant movement in stock prices and work towards enjoying the symphony of longterm value creation. They are indeed best suited to do this because having invested their own savings they are not under any pressure of monthly performance or benchmark and peer comparison like professional fund managers. Subjecting available information to a rigorous analysis and identifying companies that can survive the economic slowdown and grow their business and cash flows can indeed be rewarding in the medium term, more so because of the current rock bottom valuations of several investment worthy companies. It is important to realise that the stock market reflects price and not value. The market price represents the meeting point between the most motivated seller of some shares of a company and the keen buyer willing to part with his money to buy these shares. Given that the shares that are exchanged represent a small portion of the company’s share capital, the price at which the transaction has been put through does not affect most investors in the company and the true worth of the company is not really at play. This explains why the price paid for a share in a company acquisition is generally quite different from the market price. To sum up, though the near-term outlook for the market is not rosy, this phase too shall pass. Beyond the current bear market, the economic growth potential of the Indian economy is certainly not in doubt. While the market can correct a bit more in the short term, the intelligent investor should identify companies that can survive the current downturn and generate good returns when the tide turns over the next few quarters.

Come, Let's Lead China to Freedom

China recently appeared keen on averting a replay of last year’s Tibetan unrest that nearly wrecked the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising on March 10 this year, it poured extra troops into Tibet to quell any disturbance. Since mid-January, security preparations sanitised the region of pro-Dalai Lama activists and kept out foreigners for fear of violent incidents attracting global spotlight. Internet and mobile text-messaging services have been blocked between March 10 and May 1 for “network improvement”.Monasteries have faced shutdowns and monks, subjected to ‘patriotic education’, have been monitored. On the eve of the anniversary, President Hu Jintao promised to build a “Great Wall” against Tibetan separatism while foreign minister Yang Jiechi warned other countries not to allow their territories to be used by the Dalai Lama for anti-China activities. Yet reports of monks defying orders have filtered out, especially from the Qinghai and Sichuan provinces. But the anniversary went off peacefully in Lhasa amid China’s heightened measures. Tibetans in exile staged symbolic protests and called on the “Indian people to free Tibet”. The Dalai Lama made unusually strong comments about his anguish at failing to realise a half-century-old struggle for Tibet’s independence. He accused Beijing of turning Tibet into “hell on Earth” through periods of martial law and hard-line policies. But he also reiterated the demand for “meaningful autonomy” within the framework of the Chinese constitution. Beijing too did not react to the event with a show of force. Refuting his criticism as “lies”, China extolled its own achievements in freeing Tibetans from supposed slavery. It declared March 28, marking the fall of the Dalai Lama regime in 1959, ‘Serfs’ Liberation Day’. Both sides perhaps saw reason for avoiding mutually counterproductive confrontation. The Tibetan cause has received the world’s attention but China has successfully resisted scrutiny by maintaining a seemingly nonnegotiable Tibet policy. If anything, explosive anger on the part of Tibetans has merely risked triggering aggrieved nationalism in China. Last year, Beijing was able to whip up public emotions at a time the Dalai Lama — finding growing support among the Chinese intelligentsia — linked his struggle with democracy’s advent in China and his ‘unshaken faith’ in the Chinese people. But 2008’s events damaged China equally. A huge country with the world’s largest population and en route to becoming an economic superpower was made to look paranoid and helpless when protesters the world over threatened to mar its Olympics showcase. China’s achievements appeared to lack credibility in
the international community’s eyes. The Chinese perhaps now recognise the soft power the Dalai Lama represents, which can impact negatively on China’s image. Beijing in the past followed a dual approach to the Dalai Lama, engaging him through talks but also accusing him of plotting bloody riots. Intermittent dialogue lost steam after the Olympics, with China rejecting a constitutional provision for the Dalai Lama’s sway over Tibet via what it called “disguised independence”. While Tibetan interlocutors faced condescension and admonishments about riots in Tibet, the talks helped Beijing sidetrack international scrutiny. The Dalai Lama came under intense pressure from younger Tibetans to abandon his mild creed in favour of a more proactive stance. When Beijing warned him to rein in his young followers, they told him to break off talks. Squeezed from both sides, he threatened to retire from political life. But in a special conclave in Dharamsala last November, the majority reaffirmed their allegiance to his non-violent approach. His retirement was ruled out but so were talks until Beijing showed seriousness. There is no visible sign of change in Beijing’s waiting-game strategy: waiting for the Dalai Lama to pass away so it can install a pliable replacement. The focus is shifting to the contested issue of succession. For the Dalai Lama, the choice, though involving a mystical process, is becoming clear. He had stoked a debate in 2007 over breaking his born-again rule and opting for a democratically elected successor through a referendum before his death. It is not clear if his recent statements are linked to a divine call or political expediency aimed at thwarting China’s control. The 73-year-old leader’s poor health last year compelled his followers to seriously think about a leadership change. It would be difficult to enforce an arrangement not involving the notion of reincarnation. But several campaigns favour passing the mantle to the controversial 17th Karmapa who has Beijing’s blessings apart from the Dalai Lama’s recognition. Succession is a complex issue under the Tibetan hierarchical system. It could mean the collapse of the Gelukpa’s supremacy which, in turn, would fuel dissensions along sectarian lines, resulting in a final victory for China. Tibet could figure prominently on the Obama administration’s radar. The US may call for a multilateral approach to ending the imbroglio. For India, Tibet will always cause some anxiety. Last year, New Delhi was both criticised for bending over backwards to please China as well as patted for its realpolitik. With economic issues driving India’s China policy, Tibet is unlikely to assume much significance though it is linked to critical security issues. It is not inconceivable that Beijing may at some stage pressure New Delhi to dismantle Dharamsala. India needs a more sophisticated policy that goes beyond simply curbing the Dalai Lama’s activities.

Turnover through Religion

Religion has been raising human consciousness for centuries. Whatever man is now, whatever little consciousness he has, the whole credit goes to religion. Politics has been a curse, a calamity; and whatever is ugly in humanity, politics is responsible for. But the problem is that politics has power; religion has only love, peace and the experience of the divine. Politics can easily interfere with religion; and it has been interfering all along, to such an extent that it has destroyed many religious values which are absolutely necessary for the survival of humanity and life on this earth. Religion has no mundane power like nuclear weapons and atom bombs and guns; its dimension is totally different. Religion is not a will to power; religion is a search for truth. And the very search makes the religious man humble, simple, innocent. Politics has all the destructive weapons — religion is absolutely vulnerable. Politics has no heart — religion is pure heart. It is just like a beautiful rose flower: its beauty, poetry, its dance give life meaning and significance. Politics is like a stone, dead, but the stone can destroy the flower and the flower has no defence. Politics is aggressive. Religion cannot be allowed to be dominated by stupid politicians. The situation is as if sick people are trying to dominate physicians, directing what they should and should not do. Accept it — sick people are in the majority, but that does not mean that the physician should be dominated by the majority. The physician can heal wounds, can cure the sicknesses of humanity. Religion is the physician. Politicians have managed to create enough destructive power to destroy all life; and they are piling up more and more nuclear weapons. Politicians could take lessons from religion for unless politicians have something of religiousness, there is no future for humanity. Yes, i understand that politics and religion should be separate in the sense that religion is higher. And the politician is in need of psychological and spiritual treatment. In ancient India, the king would go to religious people for advice... Kings used to touch the feet of those who had realised themselves, because even their blessing can transform you. Politics is functional; it is utilitarian. But it has no way of transforming man into higher consciousness. Religion should have a higher status, and religious people should be listened to. Parliament should continually invite religious people to give them some ideas on how to solve the problems of the country, because they themselves seem to be absolutely impotent in solving anything. Problems keep growing. The ego of the politician wants nobody to be higher than him. But whether you want it or not, the religious person is higher than you. You cannot bring transformation into people’s consciousness — he can. Religion is a star in the sky and the politicians are creatures crawling on the earth. Without question, they are separate. But politicians should remember that they are functioning in mundane matters. And that is not the true goal of humanity. Religious people are making every effort to raise humanity — its consciousness, its love, its compassion — to a point where wars become impossible, where politicians cannot deceive people, where their lies and their promises can be exposed. This is not interfering with politics — this is simply protecting the people from the exploitation of politicians. The separation is already there. The contrast couldn’t be more striking. On the one hand, the Pakistani government readily acceded to a truce with the Taliban in Swat, allowing the state’s authority to wither in the face of organised banditry from the Taliban. Islamabad also responded to a compelling body of evidence linking 26/11 to terrorists on Pakistani soil with a mix of legalese and dilatoriness. But on the other hand, the government has cracked down swiftly on lawyers and opposition activists intent on taking out a ‘long march’ to Islamabad. It has placed hundreds of them under arrest and banned any gathering of more than four people in Punjab and Sind. To be sure, Nawaz Sharif and other opposition leaders have been addressing rallies calling for a ‘revolution’ to dethrone President Asif Zardari. But Zardari’s tactics suggest uncomfortable parallels with Pervez Musharraf, who accumulated extraordinary powers around the presidency when he held the post. Presidential powers such as the ability to sack parliament are unconscionable in a parliamentary system and lead to systemic weakness and instability in Pakistan’s political institutions. Zardari promised to rescind those powers but hasn’t delivered. His government’s order banning rallies will also invite comparison with Musharraf ’s imposition of emergency in 2007. New Delhi has no leverage, whatsoever, in Pakistan. But the world, at large, must stand behind a return to constitutional and democratic processes in Pakistan. Although there are strong rumours of an army coup General Kayani, the current army chief, has stayed out of politics so far and may not be too keen to return as another Musharraf avatar so soon after Musharraf flamed out. In case he is keen, he must be severely discouraged from that line of thinking. The world must also stop trying to pick winners in Pakistan. Sharif has poor relations with the army as well as with western powers. The US, in particular, sees Sharif as suspiciously close to the Islamist parties. But the Swat surrender is evidence Zardari hasn’t been strong either in terms of taking on fundamentalists. Anyone who comes to and retains power through a democratic process, on the other hand, would have to be accountable for public welfare, which provides the international community with enough pressure points to work with that person. Sharif, at this point, seems more popular than any other leader in Pakistan. But policy cannot be person-specific. It shouldn’t give the impression of playing favourites but engage whoever comes out on top through a constitutional process.

Wat's the color of Terrirism? White/ Black?

After 9/11 George W Bush promised his people that he would protect them and he did. Many would say that his men dug Saddam Hussain out of his grave and killed him again for vested interests, he finished countries altogether in search of Ladin but sent a message across to the whole world, loud and clear 'You cannot attack United States of America' since then fortunately America has not faced any terror attack. The President kept his word and Americans are living fearlessly.


Our Prime Minister can neither save others nor his own people. Politicians like Shivraj Patil, R R Patil and Vilasrao Deshmukh have redefined the word promise. 'Promise' in their dictionary means: Say anything that comes to your mind to make people happy and then forget about it.


The list of the cities attacked in India is endless-- Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Malegaon, Bangalore, Ahemdabad and all of Kashmir. But the recent attack in Mumbai taught us the real meaning of the word Terror. All I can say is THEY HAVE GUTS!


Earlier terrorists used to plant bombs and vanish into the crowds. But this time they proved that they have no fear. They were on a killing spree till the last minute out in the open. I would not even like to share the horrid stories that I have heard from some survivors.


Their guts have changed the way we live in this city. I came home after two days of round the clock terror coverage and the first thing I did was check my house. Yes for the first time I was scared, I don't know when and how will this fear go.


What about the people who have lost their loved ones -- how will they sleep peacefully? Will the survivors ever get this horrid experience out of their system? How will one look at the Oberoi and the Taj after this?


I was outside the Oberoi on the first night when terrorists were inside the hotel killing innocent people. I interviewed some people who had narrowly escaped and they said that there were at least 15 terrorists inside. From these 15, 3 or 4 were gunned down but where did the rest of the terrorists go?


If I take a boat and go out with my friends into the sea I will be caught within minutes. How did the terrorists dock at our shores, that too with so much ammunition? If I try and take one pistol with me inside Taj or Oberoi I will be caught at the gate, how did the terrorists take ten AK56 guns and grenades inside? I don't think all this is possible without significant help from within the city.


I don't even know who will answer these questions. Don't think anyone will. Some say that peace protests and candle march is no solution but what can people do, it's just a way of showing that they care. It may not have any kind of constructive output but If they could I am sure they would belt the politicians outside Taj but they can't.


Now we know calls were made to Pakistan from the mobile phones of the terrorists but now what are we doing about it? We know not just Dawood Ibrahim but Anees and Tiger Memon are living a lavish life in Pakistan, so what's our administration doing about it? The fact is if my country was as powerful as America and if our president was Bush then they would have the same fate as Saddam Hussain. Though I don't think what George W Bush did was right but at least he is better than our leaders who are doing nothing! For the longest time I hated George W Bush, his thoughts and theories but is our Prime Minster doing any better by not protecting his own people. We fear which city will be attacked next and how?


Ratan Tata can give this country the best hotel but sadly the government cannot guarantee if you will walk alive from there. Many can afford a stay in these hotels but there is no guarantee if you will live till the end of your stay however long that may be. Ratan Tata can try to make sure each of us in this country owns a car but some states can't give him the land to manufacture it in and the government can't give you good roads to drive it on. What can the government give us then?


Paying tax is in this country is like Neki Kar Darya Me Daal -- pay tax but don't expect any returns. It's nice to see that at least some politicians have lost their jobs and the next lot coming is aware that they can't behave like them.


I have a journalist friend is Kashmir who used to tell me stories of how at times they have to duck bullets outside their homes and I used to be amazed because in Mumbai I didn't even know what a gunshot sounded like. Yesterday he called me and said now there is not much difference between our lives.


Don't want to end on a happy note like I usually do because for now there is no reason to be happy. I am angry and I would like everyone to know that!

Will IT lead a Movment in LIFE?

IT industry is indeed a boon in India. It pays youwell and if you are moderately lucky you will end up doing no work, but earninghandful. The IT companies have created a compensation trend that otherindustries are finding tough to adapt to. Today it is like ‘If you wannalead a comfortable life with no physical strain- get in to any softwarecompany’.

THE 2 KIND OF PPL IN IT INDUSTRY ARE:-

free-riding people:

He lands up in training which is of no relevance to him (atleast to hisunderstanding- Its just a formality) and after that gets on to work. His lifedepends on the project and the manager.(infact I can say with projectmanager).they get closer with the team by going to as many treats as possible.Birthdays, engagement treats, appraisal treats, if no reason then (‘India wins cricket match’) treat (though nowadays we dont get a chance to haveone such) and there they spend hours and Come back and feel to sleep like a crocodile. If thecompany also provides a dormitory- no problem. Else adjust to the inconvineancein the seat and sleep. Wake your PL up before 5, as he has to go home andyou - answer the mails and get ready. Its already too late by 6. In somecompanies,my friends used to go for a movie show at 6 PM on a monday morning.ifsomeday ur client or ur PL ask to do a module then u they do it with full ofbugs.to fight with a bug is the best time pass.atlast it will go to otherperson automatically(assigned). This is the life of a free rider.

Now to the life of a slogger:

After the training - you are toldabout the project and your work with much hype. You dont get complete informationfrom one person. You need to gather it in bits and pieces from manypeople. Suddenly when u go for doubts people become extremely busy oratleast they want to become busy. Finally you set your foot in theproject and get on with the work. There will be an age old framework for theproject and it is sacrosanct and iron clad. You talk for hours to urself infront of ur monitor ,together about an alternative- but hear the response. ‘Itworks till date. No risk. Follow the herd’. OK ! no probs.

Come in the morning. If you are a good planner, list the To-do activities.See the problem and fit it in the framework you know. If you cant fit - changethe problem(best solution to any problem is to change the problem…). Butframework must be same. Not an inch deviation is advisable. Keep informing yourPL about your progress. Even if you send the same mail again it does notmatter. You must recognise him/her. thats it. If you have your client who canreach you in your mobile, your happiness is screwed. He will call u when youare in rest room or when u r in bed or when you are driving. If the time is 9PM, he will ask why are you leaving early. Are u not feeling well? ‘Customersare Gods’. So curse the real god and say ‘Ya. am a bit hungry ‘

Whats appaling is - the room for creativity and willingness to change is notthere in many companies.

If you are a master in something.its sign of a problem. Its time to shift to something you are not good at. Whatthis life does is that it saps your creative thinking. You arecomfortable in the “comfort-zone” and are happy with what you are.

Where is it leading us ? nowhere !

India is Calling YOU Back to HOME!

Dollar salaries and international postings are no longer the flavour at Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). Even as the final placement season is on in full swing, ‘desi’ offers have emerged as the hot favourite.
Collapse of the Wall Street and global investment banks —who were big campus recruiters—is the major reason. Also, global recession has made Indian placements look more secure. Mismatch in locational preferences whenever global postings have been offered, is another.
Last year, the talk was all about the eight figure salaries offered by investment banks with London, New York postings. This year, the scene is dramatically changed. IIMs said a few students have rejected lucrative international offers in favour of local jobs. An IIM-Kozhikode student said, “People with similar offers, one international and one local, opted for the latter. About seven students rejected global offers.’’
While foreign investment banks didn’t come, a few domestic investment banks visited the campus. “This year the offers made by the investment banks are 50% less compared to last year,’’ a student said, adding that there’s drastic decline in number of offers made so far. A fact corroborated by Prof Sushil Kumar, chairman (placements) IIML, who said, “The placement will continue till March 12-13. But what we are noticing this time is the individual requirement from companies has gone down drastically.’’
At IIM-Calcutta some students have said ‘No’ to international offers. An IIMC student said one of the reasons could be the US government’s decision to ask companies who are beneficiaries of the bailout to hire US citizens.
External Relations Secretary of IIM Calcutta, Paul Savio, said some students have rejected international pre-placement offers due to the curbs on H1B visas proposed by the US government and in a few other cases due to differing location preferences. The international offers were made by banking and consulting sectors. Last year there were 70 international offers.
However, it isn’t as if all international offers are being rejected. At at IIM-Bangalore only one has said ‘No’ so far while in IIM-Lucknow, no foreign offer has yet been rejected. The IIM insiders feels that in the present scenario students are being extra cautious about international offers with strict due diligence being conducted on the prospective company. All’s not lost. “The offers made at IIMs are mostly by big MNCs with strong global presence so there is job security for students,’’ a faculty member said.

Just an appology sufficient to put off the Fire of Terirrism?

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, currently on a state visit to Nepal, strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore and asserted that terrorism should be countered with firm resolve worldwide in all its forms and manifestations.

Mr. Rajapaksa has cut short his visit to Nepal by a day and is returning to Colombo.

A statement released by the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry here said Mr. Rajapaksa responded to a telephone call from Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani in Kathmandu. In the course of the conversation, the Pakistani leaders apologised to the people and the government of Sri Lanka for the harm caused to some members of the cricket team in the terrorist attack.

Mr. Rajapaksa told the Pakistani leaders that he was sending Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama to Islamabad immediately to attend to matters pertaining to the incident. Mr. Rajapaksa also instructed the state-owned SriLankan Airlines to send a special aircraft to Lahore to facilitate the return of the cricket team.

As per officials here, the plane took off from Katuynayaka International Airport in the evening on Tuesday and it was expected to return in the early hours of Wednesday with the cricket team.

The news of the attack came as a shock to the people of Sri Lanka which is reeling under war and has witnessed several terrorist attacks in the course of the 25-year-old ethnic conflict. The first two hours were particularly tense for the citizens of the cricket-loving island nation. However, once it became clear that all players are safe there was a sense of relief.

Members of the opposition in Parliament questioned the wisdom of the President in sending the cricket team to Pakistan; particularly when teams from other countries had refused to travel there on grounds of security.

Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge told Parliament the tour was finalised after assurances from the Pakistani government that the team members would be provided security on par with a head of state. He said Pakistan had stood by the nation in similar situations in the past.

The statement from the Foreign Ministry quoted the Pakistani leaders as telling Mr. Rajapaksa that Islamabad was determined to combat terrorism and would work with the international community and Sri Lanka to defeat terrorism.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona was in touch with his counterpart in Islamabad and the High Commissioner-designate of Sri Lanka to Pakistan Jayalath Weerakkody had been directed to proceed to Lahore to assist the team.

Dr. Kohona told the media that the Lahore attack would not affect relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. He also emphasised commitment from the cricketing world to make certain the presence of Pakistan as a major player in the game.

Praising the Pakistani forces for securing the safety of the cricketers, Dr. Kohona recalled the solidarity shown by Pakistan and India towards the island nation during the 1996 cricket world cup when Sri Lanka was “blacklisted as an unsafe destination by foreign propagandists”.

Asked on the possible involvement of the LTTE in the Lahore attack, he said: “We have to wait until Pakistan conclude initial investigations before drawing speculations”. He said the LTTE had links with extremist terrorist organisations in the troubled borders of the South Asian region.

Terirrism Have no Color!!!!!!!!!!

Despite an early statement by the Governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province, Salman Taseer, that “the same people who carried out the Mumbai attacks are behind the attack in Lahore,” India is emerging as a prime suspect in the eyes of many Pakistanis.

In the hours following the Lahore attack, some in Pakistan’s influential electronic media said on air they did not want to mirror the finger-pointing by the Indian media following the Mumbai attacks.

Even so, many discussions on several television channels with talking heads and politicians, both elected and un-elected, centred on speculation that Indian intelligence agencies were responsible for the brazen commando-style attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team as a revenge against the Mumbai attacks.

Rehman Malik, who heads the Interior Ministry, only talked of a “foreign hand,” refusing to name the country.

But at least two elected representatives of the Pakistan People’s Party — Riaz Raja, a member of the Punjab provincial Assembly and Nabeel Gabol, who is in the National Assembly — openly accused India for the attack.

Jamat-i-Islami leader Qazi Hussain also accused Indian intelligence agencies of planning and carrying out the attack.

Commentators are also not entirely ruling out the possibility of Pakistani militant groups hitting out against the state, with some bringing up the possibility that it could even be a retaliation for the action the government took against the Punjab-based Laskhar-e-Taiba following the Mumbai attack.

But the Indian angle came up in different ways. In an apparent effort to link India with the attack, Geo Television played a clip of Congress president Sonia Gandhi saying at a public meeting that Pakistan should not mistake India’s desire for peace as a sign of its weakness, and that India was capable of giving a “fitting response.”

Lt. Gen. (retd.) Hamid Gul, a former head of the Inter-services Intelligence, told one TV channel that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, cornered by the army in Sri Lanka, had carried it out at the behest of India’s Research and Analysis Wing.

By Tuesday evening, rumours were doing the rounds that the weapons found at the site of the attack bore Indian markings. They persisted despite Mr. Malik’s remarks that only a forensic analysis would reveal the origins of the weapons.

Meanwhile, the Sharif brothers, disqualified from elected office, and their PML(N) government ousted in the Punjab province only last Wednesday, had the satisfaction of blaming “Governor Raj” for the security lapses that led to the attack.

The former Chief Minister, Shabaz Sharif, told a press conference in Lahore that instead of concentrating on providing the best security to the Sri Lankan team, Governor Salman Taseer had been holding meetings “to discuss strategies for horse-trading” to enable the PPP to form the next government in the province.

He expressed the PML(N)’s determination to go ahead with its participation in a “long march” called by lawyers next week to press President Asif Ali Zardari to restore deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary.

Terirrism Can Be Jestified?

Pakistan was grappling on Tuesday with the shock and implications of an audacious Mumbai-style terrorist attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in the heart of Lahore, carried out by a dozen men armed with guns, grenades and rockets.

The team was fortunate to escape with injuries to five players. But the attack, on a moving convoy of vehicles taking the cricketers from their hotel to the Gaddafi Stadium, left eight persons dead, including six policemen in the escort team. Earlier reports put the death toll at seven.

Rehman Malik, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry head, said a “foreign hand” was behind the attack. Police said 10 to 12 men, some wearing masks, were involved in the attack which bore some chilling similarities to the November 26-29, 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Footage, captured by a television channel, showed three armed young men carrying rucksacks on their backs and running athletically while they shot at the convoy as it made its way around Liberty Chowk, a well-known commercial district of Lahore, around 8.40 a.m.

One of the attackers was wearing the typically Paksitani salwar-kameez, while two others were dressed in jackets, jeans and white shoes that looked like sneakers.

None of the attackers was killed in what the police described as “a 25-minute exchange of fire” between them and the convoy’s police escort.

The government hailed the bravery of the policemen who lost their lives, but there was widespread public criticism that none of the attackers was caught, even though they had no getaway vehicle and appeared to have just run away.

The escaping attackers are said to have ditched some of their bags from which police said they recovered large quantities of weapons and ammunition. Unconfirmed reports said that armed men hijacked a car a few hundred metres from the site of the attack.

Mr. Malik, speaking to journalists outside the National Assembly in the capital, said he did “not rule out a foreign hand.” Using a more definite language later in the interaction, he said, “There is a foreign hand.” But he declined to name the country, and rejected reports that some of the weapons found by the police carried Indian markings.

Official Pakistan pledged to hunt down the perpetrators and give them “exemplary punishment” and dubbed the attack the work of the “enemies of Pakistan-Sri Lanka friendship.” President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani spoke to Sri Lankan President Rajapakse.

Unofficial Pakistan, including its electronic media, was awash with speculative theories that Indian intelligence agencies were behind the attack. Talking heads on television blamed India’s Research and Analysis Wing.

Quoting unidentified sources, Geo Television said an intelligence report in January specifically warned against an Indian intelligence terror plot on the Sri Lankan cricket team.

But media analysts did not rule out that the Lashkar-e-Taiba may have retaliated against the crackdown on it in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. The possibility of the involvement of the embattled LTTE was also discussed. Sri Lankan diplomatic sources in Islamabad said this was unlikely.

The players were evacuated in a military helicopter from the ground where they were to play their second Test against Pakistan. They took pictures of themselves as they boarded the chopper that took them to the airport from where they flew to Colombo.

“Point scoring”

Pakistan said on Tuesday it “deeply regrets the spate of official statements from New Delhi” on the terror attack, saying it was “tantamount to political point scoring over a hugely tragic incident.”

A Foreign Office statement said terrorism was prevalent in all of South Asia, and in order to combat it, “serious, sustained and pragmatic cooperation” at the regional level was required. It recalled that last week’s SAARC Ministerial Council in Colombo had affirmed this view.

Should we Recyle the Economy?

They are a new-found vehicle for the government to rev up the ailing auto sector. Taking a cue from the finance ministry, public sector banks (PSBs) are now aggressively marketing car loans, which, hitherto, was the domain of private sector behemoths such as ICICI Bank and non-banking finance companies, who were forced to apply the brakes on such disbursals following a fear of delinquencies and slowing demand.
In the current economic dispensation, the auto loan segment has been identified as one of the worst-hit by the government, which has appealed to PSBs to perform a rescue act. Except for the State Bank (SBI), other PSBs were never comfortable in car loan financing.
It is largely because of their partial success in home loans — a retail segment which PSBs stayed away from until the late 1990s — that has perhaps given them the courage to seriously look at car loans.
However, the dynamics of car financing vary from that of a home loan. In case of a home loan where the asset — the house — against which the loan is extended, seldom sees a depreciation in its value; the hypothecated asset in case of an auto loan — the car — depreciates in its value from day one.
Consequently, while a bank can more than recover the loan amount in event of a home loan default, taking possession of the vehicle may not be that simple in the light of stringent recovery norms put in place by RBI, a fact discovered by private sector banks and NBFCs over the past few months.
“Against this backdrop, PSBs may find it difficult to analyse the loans if they don’t have the necessary expertise in this area of lending,” says Chiragra Chakrabarty, principal consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, adding, “This could lead to an adverse selection problem. Moreover, with the banking regulator coming down heavily on the recovery methods adopted by certain banks, there is a challenge for them (PSBs) of recovering loans.’’
Top PSB captains themselves admit that the dynamics of this market are entirely different. MV Nair, CMD, Union Bank of India, explains: “This market was, over the years, ruled by private banks and NBFCs. The dynamics of the market are different, and we are aware of the risk. So, we exercise caution at every level.”
“PSBs are traditionally not cut out for car financing business. But there is an opportunity for banks, such as ours, as the aggressive, private players are absent in this segment. A lot of space has been created,” says George Joseph, CMD, Syndicate Bank.
SBI has always been among the top few car financiers. Other PSBs are now latching on to the opportunity by signing up with automakers for financing deals. These include the likes of Andhra Bank, Central Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, UCO Bank and Union Bank.
In the auto loan segment, PSBs primarily focus at car and two-wheeler loans. Tenure for car loans range from 3-7 years. However, they operate differently from private banks. While private banks typically offer loans only up to 75-80% of the ex-showroom price of the vehicle, PSBs, led by SBI, offer up to 80-90% of the on-road price, which includes insurance and registration costs. This may be advantageous for a customer, but it adds to the risk for the bank.
There have also been instances of fraud in the car loan market. Senior bankers point out that the documentation of one out of four customers has been forged. Even if PSBs take the necessary safeguard action, other challenges remain — chief among them being an improvement in the pace at which loans are sanctioned. Leading dealers have indicated that while PSBs take around 8-15 days to clear a loan to the dealer, private banks do the job within a day or two.
PSBs claim to have streamlined their marketing force so that they can deal with customers at the dealers’ end itself to reduce the processing time. SBI, for one, now promises to sanction a loan in three days and deliver the cheque to the car dealer within five days. Still, they have a long way to go to match their private sector peers’ efficiency in this respect.
However, a senior SBI executive justifies the due diligence. “We don’t intend to be overly aggressive in the car loan segment. In the process, we tend to lose some business. We reject many a proposal because we try to ensure the quality of the asset,” says the executive.
In order to minimise the risk of auto loans turning bad, SBI and other PSBs will primarily focus on the salaried individual segment.
Apart from the dynamics of lending, PSBs will also have to contend with supply-demand issues. Car production has not picked up while the economic slowdown has affected consumer confidence. It will come as no surprise if people continue to go slow on borrowing.
This could be borne out by CLSA’s recent report in which the investment bank noted: “We expect the steepest fall in vehicle loans, with annual credit flow for this segment remaining stable over 2009-10 and its share falling to 5% of incremental lending.’’
So, while the government prods PSBs to help revive the sagging auto sector, it must be kept in mind that these lenders do not end up becoming like UTI, which in the past, met its nemesis trying to prop up the stock markets.

Should we need a Dramatic Change in Economy?

The Congress party’s decision to team up with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal for the coming general elections cannot fail to give the party a much-needed shot in the arm. The two parties together stand more than an even chance of wresting West Bengal away from the Left Front. In the 2006 state assembly elections the Congress-Trinamool alliance polled only 8.8% less than the Left Front. A shift in the vote of 5% will therefore suffice for it to win a majority of the seats. Since then, as recent panchayat elections have shown, the Trinamool Congress has grown rapidly in strength. This alliance could, therefore, decide who rules India three months from now.
But India would be the poorer if the Congress treats this merely as an alliance of convenience and does not absorb some of the political philosophy that underlies the Trinamool’s growing ascendancy. For, the Trinamool can help to revive something that the aged, and now manifestly elitist, Congress has demonstrably lost. This is a heart that beats for the poor.
This allegation may sound strange: hasn’t the Congress quadrupled the outlays on health education and rural development in the past five years? Hasn’t it started the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme? And hasn’t it launched targeted ‘missions’ to ensure that the money actually reaches the intended beneficiaries? The answer is that it has done all these things but has remained firmly elitist, nonetheless.
A close look at the programmes shows why all of them, without exception, are top-down, therefore paternalistic. They create no legally enforceable rights for the beneficiaries, place no reciprocal obligations upon them, and therefore do nothing to empower them. They remain what all such programmes have always been — handouts to the poor. Their purpose has remained quintessentially conservative — to preserve the ascendancy of the urban-industrial elite by keeping the poor in their place. Since all the power and rights have remained squarely in the hands of the fund-givers, it is no surprise that nine-tenths of it has continued to stick to their hands on the way down to the intended beneficiaries.
The Trinamool too started as a ‘standard’ , ‘paternalistic’ political party. But under the spur of recent developments in West Bengal it has developed into a different animal. Today, it is the only party that is fighting not just for benefits for the poor but for their rights; not just to secure just a few more scraps from the table but the right to sit at it. It has shown this in Singur and Nandigram, where it has doggedly maintained that land and cultivation rights cannot be taken away from owners without securing their explicit consent, and that mercilessly flailing police lathis falling on the backs of alleged troublemakers and Maoists, is not the way to secure it.
The Trinamool’s success in stopping the Tatas’ ‘nano’ car project was greeted with horror by organised industry and dismay by the government of West Bengal, which had gone out onto a limb to meet Tatas’ requirements. But in the long run far more good than harm is likely to come out of it, for the party has shown that despite India’s transformation into a market-dominated, free enterprise, economy that makes no pretense of socialism it is still possible for the poor to find champions within its democracy. From this it is but a small step to concluding that they can fight democratically to defend existing rights or to acquire new ones, and that they therefore have no need to resort to violence. This is precisely the faith that the poor have been losing during the past decade. The loss is reflected in the growing violence and rapid spread of Maoism in central India and the chronic insurrection in the Northeast.
THE onset of global recession has made what was still a threat in the future into an immediate one. Literally all and more of the growth of employment since the 1991 economic reforms has taken place in the unorganised sector. During the past decade this has grown at a healthy pace of more than 5% a year. But these new workers enjoy absolutely no protection against adversity. Having lost their moorings in the overpopulated, comparatively stagnant countryside they have flocked into the towns in search of work. The acceleration of growth since 1993 and the very high rates of the past five years, and the concentration of this growth in the towns shielded them from adversity, but that golden period has ended with terrifying suddenness.
The UPA government has been in denial for the best part of three months. It first claimed that India would get off very lightly from the global recession. But that fond belief was exploded a few days ago when the estimate of growth between October and December was slashed to 5.3%. Judging from what is happening elsewhere January to March could be even worse. The worst hit are the export industries, but as a recent searing expose in the Indian Express of the panic that is seizing the formerly thriving slum of Dharavi in Mumbai shows, the damage is spreading rapidly to domestic industry as well.
India’s policymakers have shielded themselves from blame because, unlike China, they do not collect data for the unorganised sector more than once every five years. But policymakers do not need detailed statistics to know what is happening to the economy, and the people know it. The UPA government has frittered away the best part of five months doing just a little too little, just a little too late. As a result the spread of recession and the fear that stops people from spending has always kept one step ahead of their reflationary policies. Even today, the Reserve Bank continues to drag its feet over lowering the cash reserve ratio and repo rates dramatically because it is more concerned with preventing a fall in the exchange rate than in saving jobs and growth. Unless it suffers a dramatic change of heart it is difficult to see how the UPA will prevent a political backlash from the sliding economy.

Have We to increase the Insurance Coverage?

THE terror attacks on the Sri Lankan cricketers will make cricket insurance more expensive in the Indian subcontinent. Risk perception for the entire Indian sub-continent — India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks.
An immediate impact is that franchise owners who were looking at reducing insurance coverage to cut costs will have to spend more on insurance. Franchisees have a stake in individual players and they cannot get back the money they have paid for players if they get benched after an injury. Many of the franchisees have been checking with their insurers whether they have adequate cover. In the case of the Lankan team, Sri Lanka Cricket (BCCI’s Lankan counterpart) buys the travel and personal accident cover for its players.
“People are more concerned. They are looking at whether franchisees have adequate cover under their present policies,” said Bhupesh Kumar who heads Aon Global Insurance Broker’s sports and entertainment business.
After IPL was formed last year the sport has become even more personality driven. Earlier the focus was on insuring the tournament and its broadcast rights. Now insurance cover for individual players has gained significance. After the initial round of player auctions, IPL franchisees bought personal accident cover for team members from a state-owned company with reinsurance support from the international market.
The risks involved are also putting off sponsors. Last month, the Sri Lankan team failed to find a sponsor to replace Dilmah which refused to renew its contract with the team. Although the blame was put on the ongoing recession, industry officials feel that it could be because of the increased risks. One corporate, which had sponsored the Indian team for a recent tournament, said that its contract had safeguards to ensure that its investment was protected if the event was cancelled.
“The war between the Lankan government and the LTTE, the Mumbai attacks, the Bangladesh attacks and now the direct attack on team members — given the current state of affairs reinsurance cover in the international markets will be very expensive or saddled with exclusions,” said an official with a private general insurance company.
In India, the IPL has already seen one event cancellation. Last year following the Mumbai terror attacks in November, the IPL Champions Trophy had to be called off.
According to the deal between the broadcasters and IPL, the broadcaster will cover interruption due to weather risks and IPL will buy protection for interruptions arising out of war along with terror insurance. Given that Sony and World Sports Group have paid $1 billion for IPL rights, the stakes are significant. Sony’s cover has been bought out of Singapore while IPL has to depend on local companies for support.

Are you ready for a Turn Back??

Cooking at home is in again. For Monnappa M U, who works with a BPO, every weekend was about exploring new lounges, restaurants and pubs. “But now I have realised the advantage of partying at home, with good food and liquor. It works out to be more economical,” he says. “A large peg of scotch (60ml) in a decent restaurant will cost you about Rs 400-Rs 600, whereas you can get a 1 litre bottle at Rs 1,200 (customs price) outside.”
As the downturn hits, people are finding the option of cooking at home — including for gatherings with friends — to be a flexible, economical and even a comfortable format. “And if the host is an accomplished cook, you would love to eat that food. You can also serve your guest with great imported wine, which at times is difficult to get at restaurants, without pinching your wallet,” says Kripal Amanna, managing editor of the magazine Food Lovers.
Vijay Narayan Rao, founder of boutique realty firm Opus India, has decided to surprise his friends Slomo and Kjell Sankvik, who are visiting from Oslo, with home-made dum biriyani and Bengali fish curry. “These friends are into travel operations and they visit Bangalore at least twice a year, and every time we take them to premium restaurants. This time they are here for three nights and we decided to cook for them at home,” says Rao.
For many, even the allure of eating out has worn off. All places are beginning to look the same. “It’s no longer easy to find the food you really like even in expensive restaurants. And most of the time, going all the way to a restaurant is a pain,” says Rao. He too points out that eating out is very expensive. “A meal for six in a fine-dining place will come to between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000. The same food can be cooked at home at half that cost,” he says.
When the list of invitees is long, some are even opting for cooks, which is more cost-effective than having the party being organized in a restaurant. Professional cook Ramraj Tiwari is booked on almost all weekends, cooking for house parties.
“The number of calls I get for house parties has increased in the last few months. I charge Rs 200 a day for 6 to 8 people and Rs 400 for 10 to 15,” says Tiwari, whose clientele mostly includes IT professionals.
For Priya Sathish, a marketing professional, cooking is a stress buster. “There’s nothing like inviting friends over and cooking for them. Anything that you can buy from a restaurant, you can also cook at home. My husband and I used to eat out twice or thrice a week. But we have cut that to once or twice a month. And cooking also keeps me connected to home,” says Sathish.
Internationally too, there’s a trend away from eating out. Foreign food magazines, which normally used to feature premium restaurants and exotic menu on their cover pages, have also begun featuring budget cooking. “Reflecting the bad economy, Gourmet, which usually writes about expensive restaurants and faraway travel, has added a feature about what to do with leftovers, and put a ham sandwich albeit a fancy one on its March cover. Food & Wine’s March issue includes an essay on buying the cheapest bottle on a wine list. Bon Appitit’s April cover trumpets a low-cost, bigflavour pizza party,” reports The New York Times.

Revealing the Extremity of Passion

It seems we shall be getting back Bapu’s spectacles, after all. Regrettably, retrieving the vision the Mahatma saw through those glasses is likely to prove far more difficult. An uproar was created in Parliament when it was revealed that a pair of Gandhiji’s iconic spectacles were to come up for public auction in New York. The glasses are the property of the greatgrandson of the last nawab of Junagadh, who in the 1930s was gifted the spectacles by Gandhiji. When the nawab, who after partition decamped to Pakistan, asked the Mahatma for inspiration, Bapu handed over his spectacles, saying “These gave me the vision to free India.”
Today, thanks in large part to the Mahatma’s vision, we are free of colonial rule. But are we free from the shackles of our own hypocrisy? When news of the New York auction broke, there was great outrage in India, with Gandhiji’s greatgrandson, Tushar Gandhi, describing it as a “grave insult” while reportedly putting together the estimated Rs 20 lakh he would need to bid successfully for his great-grandfather’s glasses.
In the event, however, an amicable settlement seems to have been reached and the Mahatma’s spectacles are going to be restored to India without having to go under the auctioneer’s hammer. A happy ending, except for a couple of embarrassing points. According to the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, it is not permissible for a private individual to either export or import an item of historical value. Enacted to prevent India losing its cultural heritage, this law has been known to backfire on itself, as it did when it prevented Vijay Mallya from bringing Tipu Sultan’s sword back from Britain to India.
Such legal niceties aside, there remains a major moral question mark about getting back Bapu’s glasses: Do we really deserve them? The brouhaha created over the Mahatma’s spectacles is of a piece with the cynical tokenism, the hypocritical lip service with which we treat the legacy of the Father of the Nation. We bow reverentially at the pedestal on which we have placed him while desecrating in public life every principle he stood for: from non-violence to austerity, from tolerance for all to a steadfast refusal to let the end — no matter how alluring — justify dubious means. The empty rhetoric of Gandhi-worship lives on; Gandhism as not just an abstract philosophy but as a way of everyday life is long dead and buried in the nation that claims him as its Father.
What would Bapu — who shunned pomp and ceremony as much as he did sycophancy and flattery — make of this storm in a spectacle case? What would he have said? Never mind my glasses and the pious sentiments you attach to them, which are both equally unimportant and irrelevant; what is relevant is that you try to live and act, day to day, even a little like i tried to teach you to do, live in and through the daily practice of honesty, humility and love for your neighbour.
Thanks to Munnabhai, at best what exists of Gandhism is Gandhigiri, a watered down, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People version of the original. Gandhigiri is not a rigorous and remorseless search for truth within oneself, in all one’s thoughts and actions; Gandhigiri is merely salesmanship with a saintly smile.
Coleridge remarked that ownership of a book ought to be determined not by the fact of purchase but that of appreciation: a book should rightly belong not to the person who buys it, but to the person best equipped to understand it. By this yardstick we in India don’t deserve Gandhiji’s glasses or any other memento of him.
Perhaps no one does in today’s world, Gandhism — the relentless pursuit of Gandhian truth — being far too demanding a vocation for us lesser mortals. If that’s the case, why make matters worse by getting into unseemly, and very un-Gandhian, squabbles over the Mahatma’s memorabilia. Never mind his glasses. At least let the poor soul’s memory rest in peace.That’s the least — or perhaps the most — that we can do for our lost Mahatma.

Terirrism have no boubdary at all

That international cricketers can be attacked with assault rifles, grenades and rocket launchers on their way to playing a Test match in Lahore is a shocking indictment of the current security situation in Pakistan. While cricketers have been peripherally involved in terror incidents before, this is the first time a cricket team has been directly targeted. Six Sri Lankan players were injured, leading to the termination of the tour. Sport is not beyond politics at all, particularly politics of the unhinged kind.
Plans for South Asian countries to co-host the 2011 cricket World Cup are now in jeopardy. Pakistani venues are almost certainly ruled out. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka look iffy at the moment. The former has just suffered a bloody mutiny with possible political repercussions down the line, while the latter is embroiled in a messy civil war. That leaves just India. Although the Mumbai terrorists inflicted far greater havoc on 26/11 similarities have been observed in the modus operandi of terrorists in Mumbai and Lahore, leading to speculation that the Lashkar-e-Taiba was responsible for both. In which case, as India goes to the polls, election rallies could represent the next target of opportunity for terror. The problem, as US defence secretary Robert Gates has noted, is that any number of major terrorist networks have found a safe haven in Pakistan.
Unless that changes the world is threatened, with South Asia at the bleeding edge. Concerted pressure must be brought to bear on Pakistan by the international community to dismantle its terror networks. As the attacks on the bus carrying the Sri Lankan team show, Pakistan itself is paying a big price for harbouring them. It’s not only well on its way towards becoming a sports pariah, investors and tourists will largely shun it as well, making any prospects of economic rescue bleak unless it does something about those safe havens.
Instead of joining forces against the fundamentalist threat, the manner in which Pakistani politicians continue with their infighting is almost surreal. Asif Ali Zardari, on coming to power in a democratic election, has gone back on promises and done nothing to review the dictatorial powers that had accrued to the presidency in the Musharraf era, perhaps because he is president himself now. His government has also been party to a peace deal that, in effect, cedes power to the Taliban in Swat. Nawaz Sharif, as principal opposition leader, has been pandering to the dangerous myth that the fight against terror is America’s war, not Pakistan’s. Key players in Pakistan need to be persuaded that while democratic debate is fine, jockeying for political advantage by placing their country in peril isn’t.

The new face of terirrism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

visuals of heavily armed gunmen firing at the Sri Lankan team bus began to flash on TV screens, the government’s concern over similarities to the Mumbai strikes would be accentuated by the nightmare of a highprofile terror attack in India in the midst of an election.
The attacks might have made the terror threat to India a little more of a political issue going by home minister P Chidambaram’s suggestion that IPL be put off. His point about security being stretched during elections is valid enough, but it is not improbable that he might have pondered the political fallout of a terror strike.
Chidambaram would perhaps be correct in preferring caution over risk with the so far unwritten belief that sporting events are out of bounds due to fear of a popular backlash now breached. Just one incident on the lines of the Lahore attack could put paid to Congress’s claims that the government had shored its defences against the threat of terrorism.
Well-placed sources dealing with security said while the government had displayed some urgency since 26/11, measures taken were hardly foolproof. A deeper, more systemic reflection on internal security was yet to unfold. In fact, the decision to put on hold a maritime security advisory board and the appointment of a maritime security advisor suggested old turf fights had not been snuffed out.
In such a situation, the mega cricket blitz might become an obvious target for groups like Lashkare-Taiba which had sought out western victims during the 26/11 attacks. With the Pakistani establishment capitulating to jihadis on its own territory, there may be fewer checks on anti-India groups. In the event, US pressure on Pakistan would be no guarantee either.
Though BJP’s ham-handed attempt to reap a political dividend did not pay last November, another strike would see the saffron camp ramping up its rhetoric about UPA turning a blind eye to terror. BJP could be expected to ask what the government had done since the January 2004 anti-terror pledge former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had got out of Pervez Musharraf.
Since the 7/7 Mumbai train bombings, India’s efforts to get Pakistan to act against terrorism have not borne much fruit, with last year’s suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul signalling a fresh spiral. Some have argued that the obsession with the India-US nuclear deal and survival in Parliament took attention away from other concerns.

WOMEN besieged How to ensure they’re safe on the streets

Women have been pulled, punched and abused in front of a paralysed public in the heart of town over the last 10 days. It didn’t matter what you wore: salwar kameez or a spaghetti top. Random violence had made Bangalore ask urgently: ‘How do we combat this menace?’
The most practical and effective is a community-oriented response. Human rights o r g a n i z at i o n s, women’s organizations, student unions, teacher bodies, social organizations, lawyers’ coll e c t ive s like Alternative Law Forum should band with the police to offer a solution.
It can take the form of a common helpline which victims can call and quick response teams consisting of members of these outfits who arrive at the spot immediately to help. The helpline, activists suggest, can be linked to a police line who will also get the call simultaneously and rush to the spot.
Role of public
Most critical is the public response during and after the attack. A distressing aspect about the recent incidents has been the apathy of bystanders. Forget helping, they quickly quit the scene to avoid trouble. If the public were to help, the accused could be quickly caught and punished making women feel safer. Public can contact the police if the victim isn’t in a position to do so. If the offender escapes, details like the clothes worn, physical description and car or bike numbers can be noted down. According to advocate B N Jagdeesh, bystanders can also file FIRs. Recording the incident or the picture of the attacker on a camera phone can help with investigations.
What police can do
For starters, if they treat the victims with dignity and register their complaint promptly, it would be a big help. There have been instances when the cops have told women, “If you were dressed like this, no doubt you got into trouble.” Preventive measures would also help. “Just as some people are questioned to get to others in a robbery, the same strategy can be tried here to find out who the attackers are,” some activists suggest.
Self-defence/Seeking help
While self-defence tools like pepper spray, Swiss knives or even basic skills of karate and taekwondo can make women feel safer, the larger issue is to make women feel safe even without them in the city. Jasmeen Patheja who started the ‘blank noise’ movement believes that the first thing women should realize is that ‘they did not ask for it’; the way women dress or carry themselves cannot justify the act of men harassing them. “Not being embarrassed to call for help is the first self-defence move that a woman can take. There is usually a sense of fear and embarrassment. No one wants to talk about it openly,” she says.
Israeli self-defence?
“Be alert. Women’s gut instincts are very strong. Use it effectively. Use simple reflex actions, like putting up your hand when someone’s trying to slap. Kick his vulnerable areas like groin, knees, poke his eyes. Use your body weapons like legs and hands. Don’t slap as it can be stopped easily. Use handy weapons like mobiles, keys and pens. Be confident to fight and escape quickly,” says Krav Maga expert, Frank J.
Mentally alert
Sociologist and human rights activist, Sudha Sitaram says women should “be prepared on the mental plane, confident to make a move, talk to people around. The police have failed completely in these cases.” DG, home guards, Jija Madhavan Hari Singh says, “It will definitely help if women know techniques like karate and taekwondo but we have been hearing this for the past five years. It is time for the police or some civil organizations to take the lead and stop this.”
Legal options
FIR is the first step. It helps to go with a group of people to the police station. The victim or witnesses can file FIR with all the details they have. A copy of the FIR should be given to the complainant or informant by the police officer free of cost. Jagdeesh stresses that if the victim undergoes a medical examination after the attack, then the medical officer should be told in detail about the incident so that he can explain the wounds. This will help in the investigation.
If police don’t help
Take the compliant to the higher authorities. If even that doesn’t work, a writ of mandamus can be sought asking the court to direct the police. Under section 154 of CRPC any witness with information about the case can submit it to police. Women who are alone and not getting any help after the attack can call ‘Fearless Karnataka’ on 9448043941.
IF DRESS IS AN ISSUE WHY ARE SARI-CLAD WOMEN RAPED?
In most incidents assaulters have made an issue of ‘jeans or sleeveless dresses’. Sociologists dismiss dress as a debatable point. Women across the world are assaulted and raped irrespective of how they dress. “It’s rubbish, just an excuse to assault women. Why are rural and dalit women raped in large numbers? Is it because they wear jeans?” says sociologist, Sudha Sitaram. According to Professor of sociology, Asha Bajpai, even three-year-old children are raped. “I don’t think dress can ever be a reason. Women in saris and burqas are assaulted. We shouldn’t be getting into such debates,” she added.