Topic : Placement or Joining : What matters the most???

A hot but sweet afternoon of 5^th April, 2007….. My music system (I belong to that category of jerks who buy a computer for this particular purpose) bringing my old house on the verge of collapsing…..I, busy with my “Hindu”…..suddenly my mobile rings…..its Varun…..he tells me I’m placed…..I tell him I’m not in a mood of fun…..he tells me he’s serious and the list has just been released…..he confirms once again…..I felt as if I’ve crossed “Satva Asmaan”….. Finally, I got a job…..thank God, thanks Varun…..I thanked him…..I went towards my grandpa and took his blessings…..I tell every family member present at that time…..A call to Dad….. Call from Mom…..sms’s to every close friend…..A call to my girl friend…..I felt as if I should stand on the nearest square to my house and tell everyone that I got placed…..My phone constantly ringing…..Calls on waiting…..My Nokia 3310 not able to cope up with the excessive messages and flashes a “Message memory full” message on my screen…..three hours pass in a flash…..A crowd of nearly 20-22 people into the verandah of my house…..I come out of the dressing room…..Looking ‘class’ in a brand new Spykar jeans…..But, Who cares for the new clothes??.....All they were waiting for, was me to come out….. 18,19,20,they stop at 21 bumps and kicks on my back…..”The Hugging Samaroh” starts…..I stop after numbering around 20…..The venue gets fixed…..Its a dhaba out of town…..Both wet and dry parties are sponsored by me…..I’m a dry guy(at least for the sake of articles)though…..We have a fantastic night…..different from every former night party…..I return back home at 12:30…..Nobody scolds me…..instead ,my uncle was a bit surprised on my early arrival…..I straightaway reach my bed and get lost into the world of dreams at night after having spent a day of my dreams….. Morning is exceptionally beautiful…..as never before…..I get up earliest, breaking all my previous records…..I reach the bus stop 20 min. before…..I was anxious to get into the bus…..first time ever…..Everyone was surprised to see me coming beforehand and waiting for the bus(Normally, opposite happened)…..finally the Bus arrives…..As I entered inside, a good amount of greetings and appraisals starts…..We reach college on time(first time I realized ,it took 45 min. to reach college from my stop)…..I entered the college building with a heroic walk…..shaking hands, hugging friends, accepting the fires…..Such days are different…..You expect every single guy from the college to greet you…..right from the Director to the watchman…..It is also a renowned fact that such days are also small, infact very small…..The college day comes to an end …..On my way back home, I was thinking of my evening appointment…..I was about to meet my girlfriend at her place itself…..You might be thinking…..’At her place’…..But hey guys, I’m placed…..As usual, I reach at her place with an accepted 15 min. delay…..Without wasting even a single min., I started narrating my placement story to her…..After some time, we come to the point and she tells her Mom and Kaku about my placement…..As expected, they are filled with happiness…..I stand up and touch their feet…..Blessings from some special people are very crucial, you see…..We talk for a while and I bid Goodbye…..Time doesn’t stop for anyone (as elders say)…..Days passed and the college got completed…..I became an Engineer….. Aha, Engineer!!!(This term holds a lot of importance in orthodox Indian families)…..sounds good na……..

Now starts one of the most difficult phases with respect to survival after placement…..Wait for Joining……checking mails regularly…..keeping in touch with orkut friends, seniors, colleagues and (usable) relatives…..looking towards every missed call with hope and fear that it might have been form the company…..Running for getting every demanded document(at the time of joining) completed…..you can’t afford any delays…..The company people don’t listen to excuses, you say to others…..One day you cruise through the process of regular mail checkup and are surprised to see a mail from your company…..your heart is filled with joy, happiness, anxiety and several similar feelings…..But, when you read it….. Joining has been delayed till March 2009…..Disappointment is the dominant feeling now…..After some days, you come across the news about global recession …..Big IT giants are hit badly…..Rumors start …..Some say they will delay the joining to later dates now…..Some people say one or two companies have sent sorry letter to the placed candidates…..Some say they are sacking the existing employees to cut their expenditures…...Market is in a bearish mood…..You don’t have any idea about your joining date…..Can’t say anything for confirmed too…..You start looking towards available options…..You have wasted 6 precious months…..and are tending towards getting your year wasted…..You can’t take admission into any PG courses now…..Search for Jobs???.....Forget about it…..Who needs freshers in a downward-going market…..Call centre…..They say they don’t keep engineers…..Our education stands tall in front of their offered jobs…..But what about our mental and financial status…..They say they can’t help…..Teaching???…..Oh, no, that seems to be a rather difficult but feasible option…..You are too messed up…..You want some rest…..You sit in front of your PC and start the songs……

Suddenly, a thought strikes you….. What if I would have not got placement???.....I would have taken admission to a PG course…..or I would have searched for a job…..possibly would have got it with some kind of a recommendation…..Or, I would have remained unemployed…..The worst case…..I might have been sitting in my house, doing nothing…..No, no, no, its good that atleast I have a job in my hands…..but, whats the use…..Still I don’t have a joining…..Can’t say anything about the joining date…..No information available anywhere…..Will they send me a sorry letter??......If we talk about the present situation…..I belong to a category of students who are placed without a joining date…..people who have offer letters but don’t know when they would be able to see the face of appointment letter…..Not doing anything…..Sitting idle at home…..that is, in a way, unemployed…..Same (worst) case which would have arisen if I would have remain unplaced…..So, can’t stop the monster of confusion getting over me and asking same question again and again………….

Placement or Joining : What matters the Most???

Topic: From Death to ‘DEATH’- A Black Wednesday

Fast moving locals, humans as soldiers, carelessly running vehicles, regular traffic jams, vada-pav stalls, longest queue in the world(for every single thing!!!!), late night parties and a completely exhausted ‘so-called’ Human Being back home. This is what we can call a brief overview of a Mumbaikar’s lifestyle. Life in Mumbai symbolizes ‘the most beautiful mechanized implementation of Human Energy’. This is a city which touches the extremes of type of survival. On the one hand, you find Head Quarters of HDFC, Bank of Baroda, Oriental Bank, BSE building and on the other hand, you find people trying to imitate “Life” in the best form possible for them. But inspite of all these things, they say “Life moves on”, which is the spirit of Mumbai.
But, on the 26th day of November, 2008, the city was surely finding it difficult to maintain that spirit. When Terrorists struck around 9:45 pm, simultaneously at CST station, Café Leopold, Nariman House, Hotel Taj and Hotel Oberoi (Trident). This was, according to Media, “the biggest terrorist attack in the history of our nation”. Before the Government could understand what happened, lots of people were killed and several others injured. Fortunately, Administration was quick to respond and the mishap ended after 60 hrs of hard-fought counter terrorism operation carried out by NSG, Army and local police collectively. If we look at the complete fallout thoroughly, what emerges out is an overall systemic failure of Intelligence agencies, Navy, Coast Guards, Local Police, administration and last but not the least, Indian Government.

Indian Security Outlook:-

It was one of the most surprising as well as shameful revelations made by the investigating agencies that terrorists took the sea route from Karachi, arranged for arms and ammunitions in the way, hijacked one Indian ship, traveled for some 3-4 hours in Indian waters( which was supposed to be surveyed regularly by Navy), landed at Budhwar Park, a stone’s throw from the base of western navy and minutes away from state police head quarters, escaped all other possible sources of information and attacked the Financial capital of India.
The path traversed by the terrorists reveal the loopholes in our system, infact security system. This shows not just the failure of one or two institutions, but a chain of non-performed and non-implemented actions of various organizations.

Intelligence Agencies:-

Established in 1968, RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), is today one of the biggest employers, collecting intelligence form abroad about threats to India and its strategic interests. Indications that RAW passed on credible information to the Secretariat of national Security Adviser, M.K. Narayanan are worrying. It was made available through various intercepts that this time the terrorists are gonna take sea routes and probably would target luxurious hotels or similar easy-to-hit establishments.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB), the oldest intelligence agency in the world, collects every kind of information about threat to India’s internal security. IB reports, too, suggest that information was passed on to the administration about a likely terror attack in Mumbai. Considering the fact that the claims of RAW, IB and other intelligence agencies are true and correct, the needle of responsibility(about lack of accountability), points towards the lethargy of our administration in not acting on the sensitive information passed on by the concerned agencies.

Inefficient Administration:-

I t is one of the known and understandable fact that it is not possible to act on every single information, as it may prove to be a false alarm. But if we talk about a city which has been hit severely on previous other occasions too and if two of the top agencies are sending alarming signals, than, according to me, it becomes the duty of the administration to urgently look into the matter and do the needful. If we assume for the time being that intelligence agencies have failed miserably in alerting the administration, than too, navy, coast guards and local police are responsible for letting happen one of the worst terror attacks on our country. If we talk about the call of duty, it’s the state marine police’s responsibility to patrol upto 5 nautical miles from the shore. The coast guard’s job is to survey upto 200 nautical miles and the blue water area beyond that belongs to navy. Budhwar Park, where the terrorists landed is minutes away from state police H.Q. and finally as they (Taj and Oberoi) are the top hotels in India, their is ample amount of security arrangement in these hotels. Inspite of the fact that we had these security arrangements in place, terrorists were able to penetrate all the five spheres of our security cordon and enter right into the heart of Mumbai with guns, explosives, grenades and enough material required for their survival. If any two or more of these institutions would have performed their duty accordingly, we would have prohibited the “9/11 of India”.

Salute to NSG, Army and all the Martyrs:-

It is not at all surprising why the whole nation is saluting NSG and Army Commandos. They accomplished, what seemed to be, one of the most difficult operations in the history of India, since they had to free the hostages on the one hand and kill the terrorists on the other. But hats off to these “sons of Bharat Mata”, who executed the plan successfully in the next-to-death 60 hrs fight with the terrorists.
In addition to many NSG and Army Commandos, we also lost three of the Mumbai police’s top cops; ATS-Chief Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte died in action with the war on terror. Mr. Narendra Modi, C.M. of Gujarat announced Rs 1 Crore for every administrative casualty. To everyone’s surprise, wife of Mr. Karkare, turned down the reward given by Mr. Modi.

Indian Media Coverage:-

Within minutes of the reports of this terrorist attack getting public, a great crowd of TV journalists began gathering up near all the three targeted spots. It was, no doubt, one of the most brave and courageous live coverage of a terrorist attack. Journalists brought home almost every aspect of the attack and counter terrorism operations being carried out near Taj, Oberoi and Nariman House. But, in their run up to maximize the TRP ratings and increase the channel’s viewer community, TV journalists even broadcasted the most vital details of the operation being carried out. These details, obviously helped terrorists reorganize and modify their plan of action accordingly. In the counter argument, Mr. Sardesai of NDTV said, “It is really absurd and stupid of us to think that such modern terrorists would be using our channels to direct their plans.” In response I would like to ask a question to Mr. Sardesai, in particular and media, in general that don’t you think that the terrorists who came from Karachi to Mumbai by sea accurately navigating the state-of-the-art GPS gadgets, the terrorists who stayed in touch using satellite phones, the terrorists who used GPS maps to chart entry and escape routes and who possessed a complete GPS map of South Mumbai, will obviously be in some or the other technology to gain the information from TV reports? Don’t you think the terrorists who can carry such a complex endeavor will surely be accessing the information broadcasted by TV channels, which was of immediate use to them? We should always remember that Terrorists are immoral creatures with deadly approach. The most important task which a terrorist has to perform is of causing destruction, devastation and creating chaos. To fulfill this ever urgent objective, he will use any means possible or accessible. Let us not make their task easy. It is good to have faith on their intelligence, but please, let us not consider them to be fools.
There have been speculations from several quarters in the administration and media also, that some kind of a restraint mechanism should be put in place regarding the media coverage in the time of such sensitive issues.

The Aftermath:-

As it happens always after such disasters, statements, resignations, questions, protests and many more similar outbursts in the same line….. I was filled with grief when I heard “No one would be spared” speech by Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. It was very sad to look at, that one of our neighbors attacks us again and again and our P.M. uses “Neighboring Country” instead of “Pakistan”, despite of the fact that we have more than required evidences about Pakistani involvement in the recent attacks.
Some people suggest that war with Pakistan is the only available solution to this ever-increasing problem. But, as we all know very well, a war takes the economic health of a country 10-15 years downwards. As we also know that in the process of completing the Mumbai operation, many of our brave officers and policemen have lost their lives. According to me, loss of life is the consequence which is only borne by the solder’s family members. Many innocent civilians were also killed. A war would be just another step towards increasing this destruction of life and this time, we would be responsible completely for every life we lost. Instead, we should learn from US, UK, Canada, Russia and several other countries about the counter terrorism strategies, they implemented and hence were successful in avoiding the future terrorist attacks.
As soon as the dust started to settle down, a flurry of resignations starting from Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Deputy C.M. of Maharashtra R.R. Patil to Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh started to be pouring in the democratic basket. But, will these resignations be able to pay for the loss of life which the innocent civilians and the security personnel had to bear in order to be victimized by these attacks?

Life: This is what matters the Most???

Official figures suggest that around 200 people were killed and more than 300 injured in the 26/11 attack on Mumbai. Some questions worth asking would be:
Who would claim the responsibility of this Loss of Life??
Who will feed those families who have lost the lone bread-earner of the family??
Who will take care of those little children who have lost both the parents in this tragedy??
Who will help those who lost one or more of the body parts in the firing??
And above all, who would help the victims, their families and the city to be ‘back on track’??
These questions are disturbing. But, none of the untouched persons like us can feel the emotional and sentimental loss which, the attacks have caused to those involved. The announcement of money packages to the injured and dead is only going to help them financially, but the sorrow of losing a loved one is what the packages could not heal anytime.

On behalf of all the martyrs, the security personnel and the brave mumbaikars who faced yet another dastardly act of insane cowardice by some inhuman demons, we, being the citizens of India, can only say this,

“Sarforoshi ki tammanna ab hamare dil mai hain
Dekhna hai Zor kitna bazue katil mai hain.”

Topic : Happy Teacher's Day. Is it happier anymore????

Dedicated to Pate Tai.......The Teacher who taught me the meaning of 'TEACHER'..................

" Abe wo Patel ko kuch aata nahi hai... Kya pata kya soch ke usko maths padhane ke liye rakha hai?" One boy screamed.

"Aur wo Tiwari, bhaisaahab pehle apni language to sudhar lein...phir padhana....Gaaowala!!" Another replied.

" Bhaiya... Wo Awasthi to masha allah hai.... usko thukne se fursat mile to woh padhaye..." Third one cracked a joke and all ended laughing their heart out.

This was a scene, when I was standing in one of the Indore's most reputed schools.
Teacher's day has just gone by. It always does. Once in a year. What's new about that? We always purchase gifts for the teachers, greet them, touch their feet, take their blessings, come back home, and start our regular routine, filled with criticism, right from the very next day. A question which knocks at the thinking window of my head is; what is the cause of this drastic change in the situation?? Is this situation pointing towards the so called generation gap in the 21st century kids and our granpa's "Hamara Samay" time?? Or, have we, ourselves created the dominant loopholes in the education system of our country rendering to this "Student-Teacher" divide, producing, in turn, a defunct method of overall teaching and training of the next generation scholars?

Date with the data:

Inspite of India having 817 thousand primary and upper schools, 42 million children(6-14 yrs.) do not attend school. Only 47% children enrolled in class one, reach class eight. And only about seven children complete high school for every hundred in class one. For all categories of schools, India has over 60 lac teachers, for about 12 lac educational institutions. Close to 70% of these teachers, work with the elementary years of schooling, then too, 19% primary schools are single teacher schools. Nearly 300 million people are illiterate, 1 lac inhabited villages do not have facilities for primary schooling. Despite of this situation, we are creating talent which threatens the American monopoly of international (Human Brain) market.

Teaching Methodologies employed:

Right from the old days, many teachers have formed this misconception of "Laaton ke bhoot baaton se nahi maante." They believe in threatening the kids with the traditional 30 cm wooden scale for every work to be accomplished. This kind of teachers need to realize the fact, that their primary operational practice, doesnt deserve to be opted even for secondary or tertiary options. Kids are just like the wet soil, as the old people used to say, you can give whatever shape you want; to this bunch of soil. Only you need to have the correct mould. So, instead of focussing on the final shape, teachers should concentrate on the mould. One of the schools in Indore, has adopted a superb method called, LBF, i.e. Learn By Fun. Through this method, they train the kids, using fun as the centre-cherry of the cake of learning. Kids look for cherry, and in the process, learn what teachers desire for. It is one of the excellent methods, which will definitely lead to modern age students.


Innovation and Role of the Media :

Innovative thinking is one of the most important footsteps on the path of educative reforms. Media can play very crucial role in this complete procedure. Films like, "Taare Zameen Par" will surely help us, in having a hitherto unnoticed part to be observed, interpreted and implemented in the correct direction. We need to provide a wide acceptance and appraisals to the methods like LBF and others which introduce innovation, in our orthodox system of teaching.


Government and National Organizations :

The most vital role in this complete overhaul of the system would be played by our government. In countries like China, UK, Canada, including smaller ones like Singapore and Scandinavia, educationists regularly visit national goals, in education to establish leading institutions that nurture schools, as learning organizations. In many states of India, Including M.P., Bihar and Rajasthan, new teachers are not recruited and nor are we looking towards creating the positions. Presently, we follow three standards in our country- State board, C.B.S.E., & I.C.S.E. The situation in many states has got so bad, that people are ashamed of getting enrolled their kids in the state board recognised institutes. For the same reason, the schools are competing each other for CBSE affiliations. In the bull run for getting the affiliation certificate, the focus of the school administration regarding teaching practices takes a downturn. Both the state and central govts. should look in this matter seriously, and make the necessary amendments. Indian govt has been involved in various measures, in past too. The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) was launched in India in 1975 by ISRO and NASA using the satellite ATS-6. The project was supported by international organizations like UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP and telecasted educational programs through 400 villages. SITE had a significant and substantial impact. In the similar fashion, on 21st September 2004, ISRO launched EDUSAT, a satellite dedicated to education. EDUSAT covers the entire country providing connectivity to schools, colleges, institutions of higher learning and supports non-formal education. This is a way Govt. of India is providing resistance to the problems in education system. But only one solution to so many problems will not be sufficient. True, EDUSAT will help and resolve many of our problems, but the problems on ground still stand tall.
Internet has emerged as the boon for our system. Users among teachers and student communities are increasing gradually. World wide web and internet related services, can be used to their best possible extent by our Govt. Last but not the least, we need to stop brain-drain, from the profession of the teaching.


Profession of Teaching :

One of our teachers, Mr. Vishal Mehta, once asked, in a class of 110 students, about their aims. And, to his surprise, he found one in 110 guys, who desired to opt for teaching as a profession. He told us, the circumstances have worsened from 50% at his time to less than one percent today. The students of India, infact bright students, have removed teaching from their preferred list of options for a career. Lower wages, lesser glamour, decreasing social status, lesser exposure and entangled boundaries are several reasons of students getting away from the profession of teaching. This told, one can easily understand the reasons for increasing divide among the student fraternity and decreasing quality of the students.


Education System- In a need of reforms :

Indian Educational System, presently, is in an urgent need of complete structural reformation. We should immediately stop the blame game from one part of our governance to another. Good education, or infact, proper education is not one-man or one-organization's task. A deep attachment will be needed and unending dedication demanded, to bring this ever important objective to the door of accomplishment. Everyone, starting from the Ministry of Education to officials involved to principals and lastly to the most important- teachers, a devotion for change will be required to put in place the corrective measures. We have a lot of tasks from improving the administration, management, to providing "The Teacher" a respectable social status, which will,in turn, attract the attention of our talented youngsters and bring revolutionary changes in the teaching pattern with their arrival.

According to me, education is the birth right of every child. Let us see, how much time we take to lift our younger ones from tea stalls and carpentry shops to some of the better places to work in this world

Topic: Agrarian Crisis: Are we concerned enough???

Chhaganlal Verma, one of the classmates of my father, at the time of M.Sc., completed his P.G. with respectable aggregate. Inspite of the fact, that he was offered a lucrative job in a reputed company, he was forced to join his family profession, i.e. farming. After more than two decades of this decision, he feels sorry now, for not providing a resistance.

This is not the case of Mr. Verma, or any other farmer doing a rethinking. But, it corresponds to the paradigm shift in the way to look towards one of the most prosperous and regenerating areas of our country's development, i.e. Agriculture. As former Prime Minister of India, Mr. Lal Bahadur Shastri, rightly pointed out the importance of a Farmer and a Soldier, in his famous quote, "Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisaan" indicating that these two sections are the pillars of India. And now, with suiciding farmers, degrading soil fertility, rising grain prices, a vital need of import creeping in, and a bad distribution system in place, we are facing one of the worst crisis historically. Agrarian Crisis and Food Security have emerged as the biggest failures in the UPA govt's report card.

The Changing Scenario:-
In 1960-70s, India was predominantly driven by agriculture and related sectors. When we were faced up to some bourgeoning population problems with reducing food grain production, we countered in beautifully with a Green Revolution. Similarly, the problems related to milk, milk products and dairy co-operatives was resolved by the White Revolution. India is a rapidly industrializing and modernizing society. But still, with 60-70% population involved in agriculture and almost everyone dependent on it, India can never overlook the so-called backbone area of its economy. M.S. Swaminathan, chairman of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation and father of India's green revolution warns, "An agriculture emergency is developing not only in India, but globally. Agriculture is gradually emerging out as the riskiest profession in the world." Considering the fact that per capita availability of food grains has dropped 15% to 440 grams a day in the past 15 years, this statement of Mr. Swaminathan looks quite appropriate. There was a time a few decades ago, when India and China used to be equivalent in terms of agri-produce. But today, while India produces about 2617 kg of wheat per hectares, China with its superb agri policies and proper reforms grows more than 4450 kg per hectare. Few years back, the country used to have a food grain surplus and was one of the major exporters to other countries. Today, it has to import food grain for fulfilling the domestic demand. While central farm subsidies have jumped from Rs. 2450 cr. in 1990-91 to Rs. 31,545 cr, it has still not helped in creating lasting assets for irrigation or soil upgradation. Pronab Sen, India's chief statistician correctly asks, "It may be true that there is enough production to meet domestic demand, but do we have enough supply to meet this extended demand?"

Less accessibility: -
One of the major problems pertaining to the present agrarian crisis is 'Debt'. According to the govt., 1,36,324 farmers have committed suicides in India from 1997 to 2005 due to indebtedness. Co-operative institutions & banks charge 9% annual interest on farm loans. On the other hand, despite of charging 36% interest per annum, moneylenders thrive and account for roughly 75% of the loans disbursed. As per the National Sample Survey, 59th Round, 2004-05, 51.4% of farmer households in the country did not access credit either from institutional or non-institutional sources. We talk of Banking reforms and a liberalizing economy, but what is the use of all this, if the people who need it urgently can't access it, whenever they want, to suit their needs. As one of the educated farmer from Punjab says,"It is easier to tap money lenders for a quick loan. If I try to access the facilities of bank, going through a bank agent, I will get only Rs 85000-90000 if a Rs 1 Lakh loan is sanctioned." Reserve Bank, under the instructions from UPA govt., formed a committee to examine these issues, which suggested the setting up of Accredited Loan Providers (ALP). It means legitimizing those moneylenders who take loan from banks and offer them to poor farmers at high interest rates. Instead of implementing this proposal, govt. should strengthen co-operative institutions and rural banks to make them readily accessible to farmers.

PDS and MSP factor: -
PDS i.e. Public Distribution System is the complete channel through which the agri-produce reaches the end consumer, in accordance to the government. The PDS itself has been attacked for the leakage, cost of delivery and diversion of supplies to open market. To counteract on these problems, alternatives like food stamps have been suggested. But, with the monitoring of PDS arising as a problem, their is no reliability of food stamps and other options working accordingly. "Instead, a dual price system should be followed," says Mr. Chand,"Keeping one price level that encourages farmers to produce the volume needed to meet the country's requirement and another that makes food affordable for economically-weaker sections."
MSP or Minimum Support Price, on the other hand, is the amount fixed by the government to procure food grain supply and distribution. The concept of MSP is farmer-oriented and the idea of PDS is consumer-oriented. It may be the most important cause that PDS prices have not been raised since April 2000, whereas the MSP and open market prices for wheat and rice have increased by over 50%.
Now, considering the PDS and MSP factor, a transparent monitoring and feedback mechanism must be implemented in order to avail both the farmers and the consumers, the proper benefit, of the actual produce.

Soil Degradation:-
Farming is not a young child in India's economic school. It is, indeed, the principal of the school. Ever since our fore fathers and their fore fathers started farming, we have been using same soil to grow our crops. Not even once, we paid attention towards letting the soil relax. This thought may seem absurd, but our soil, infact cultivable soil, is generating the best-possible output in least-favorable conditions. It lacks some vital nutrients responsible for increasing the yield of our farmers. According to Prof. Swaminathan,"There are 14 different nutrients required by the soil, but our policies have favored only Nitrogen. We need soil testing laboratories, which would issue a soil health card to every farmer". Besides concentrating on Soil aspects, we would also look towards other crucial points worth working, including post-harvest technology, threshing etc.

Government Policies:-
According to United Nations, across the world, an area of fertile soil equal to the size of Ukraine is lost every year because of drought, deforestation and climate instability. Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen has said in his book,” Famines occur not necessarily due to food shortages, but also due to social and economic factors such as declining wages, unemployment, rising food prices and a poor food-production system". If we look from India's perspective, all of these things can be controlled if proper govt. policies are put in place. The programmes like NREGS will prove effective only if their is appropriate monitoring of the channel through which the jobs are being provided to rural people. The schemes like Annapurna and Antyodaya will bear fruits consistently only if continuous supply is maintained. The agri-sector is still largely dependent on rains and so; Monsoon becomes the most important decider of the output generated. In this condition, Irrigation is the sole option remaining to be used in order to increase crop production. The ground water table has gone down, farmers now need to use more electricity to draw the water. The fact that only 40% of our total cultivable area is covered by irrigation generates serious threats. Govt. needs to sort out the problem of irrigating the fields and illuminating the urban houses. It needs to take some imperative steps in the direction of bringing the reforms into the Agriculture sector.

Proposed Solutions: -
Unlike fast growing IT or Financial sector, Agriculture doesn't have quick-fix solutions. It’s not the case of borrowing $200 billion from any other bank and getting rid of all the problems. Changes ought to be made, but they would take place gradually. Agri-sector demands endless patience, micro-level planning & an integrated approach to combat the problems of soil degradation, water management etc.
The first and most important solution suggested is "Contract Farming". One of the good examples of Contract Farming is Pepsi Co. deal with Punjab Agro that yielded better results. A farming done on the same land, in the same time, by the same farmer yields different results when performed with corporate sponsorship. In this case, farmer needs to do two things: grow the crop demanded by the company and provide the crop in the specified time limit with the amount fixed beforehand. The implementation of Contract Farming is quite tedious, but can be done with a little amount of co-operation and understanding between the two parties.
Secondly, "Organic Farming" is the keyword to long-term success in agri-market. Organic agriculture practice involves preservation of natural bio-diversity and effective management of biological and natural resources to improve farm productivity. The organic foods market is growing rapidly in U.S., Europe and Japan accounting for $26 billion and it is the focus of only a small group of farmers in India. However, exporting organic food is just like eating iron-cookies. There is a need to meet 61 standards & complete the cumbersome third-party certification process. But, organic cultivation, which accounts for 26 million hectares worldwide, has a huge potential that can be unleashed by India, which accounts for only 2.5 million hectares.
Thirdly, there should be a channel from farmer's gate to user's plate, which has been absent & prevented the farmer from accessing new-age technologies, infrastructure and practices. Integrated Agro Food Parks (IAFP) would be trying to generate the channel with the help of Rural Transformation Centers (RTC). The Research institute will provide seeds to RTCs. The RTCs will forward seeds, credit, finance and other necessary things to farmers. It will also enable farmers to get better market linkages, exposure, learning and earning. However, the most important point is that this project will have to survive without any Govt. funding.

India, right from the ancient times, has been famous for its bio-diversity and multiple kinds of farming. Agriculture has been the feather of the Taj of the Mother India. It is quite difficult to assess the agrarian crisis precisely. We should remember that we have small and marginal farmers living in pathetic conditions. They don't have enough to feed their families, not enough clothes on their bodies and no means to educate their children. Their tired, despairing eyes know more about the murky situation of agrarian crisis than statistics can ever show. Government should take the crucial measures urgently to provide them with the minimum requirements of Roti and Kapada in order to strengthen them for the Future.

Dedicated to my all Engineering Friends:-

Topic: Pal…………….Yaad Aayenge Ye Pal
“Are, make it fast guys, Tiwari Sir is coming” Patwari yelled at the top of his voice.
People in the class acted as if everyone was prepared for the Go. We started gathering near the back door, everyone pushing the other and as soon as Tiwari Sir entered the class from the so-called Faculty’s door, Chauhan gave a strong push to the mob from behind and everyone got rid of one more lecture of GRT and ran as if they were freed from a jail.
“Abe Ooo, Canteen chal rahe hai” Gaurav demanded & everyone followed his instructions better than they did for Mr. Tiwari.
The present population of 60 was slashed to 15 by this move of Computer Science.
We people entered the Canteen as if we have just won a Gold Medal in Olympics. Comp. Sc. received a warm welcome from Mechanical with Gander, Kanishk & John spearheading their “Padhai-Chodo-Aandolan”.
We had only completed 40 minutes of superb fun when a phone call from Lokesh to Ekta informed us that the next lecture is of Prashant Sir. As no one wanted to miss the lecture of “Annadata”, we rushed towards the college building. Luckily, Prashant Sir has not arrived in the class. Mr. Prashant Lakkadawala, the Head of Department, Computer Science, arrived with that giant feel & announced before we could settle down,”I am going to take the attendance from Tiwari Sir”.
“OoHhh Noo” everyone said.
Prashant Sir signaled us to take our seats and started the attendance.
“Roll No.1………….Yes sir, Roll No. 2………..Present Sir, Roll No. 3………….Present sir……..
Roll No. 4…….” Sir took a pause.
“Yes Sir” I said.
“Amey, your attendance is very less, I am warning you, I would not be able to help you if you don’t become regular” He warned me.
“Yes Sir, I will be regular from tomorrow” I said.
Everyone laughed & Sir continued with the attendance.

People were ready with their Lunch Boxes. As soon as Sir finished and went out of the class, the students opened the Lunch Boxes for Lunch Period No. 1. Boxes were opened and the guy who brought the Box was only allowed to take the beautiful fragrance of the Food. It looked like the people present their have not seen food from several decades. Last three benches appeared to be “Haldi-Ghati ka Maidan” after the War-for-Food was completed. ’Tanker’ was one of the most brave fighter of our Army and always made sure that he won. Everyone ran now towards the water-cooler & War-for –food has now turned into a War-for-Water.
We went into the class for yet another boring lecture. But, we had our resources to make the lecture both, interesting and sustainable. We passed two attendance sheets on to the different sides of the class. Shilpi Madam got the two sheets & was surprised to read the name written as “Shahrukh Khan” in the place of Roll No. 1. Abhishek was really fuming at that time. Somehow, the day ended & we headed towards our respective buses.
As usual, I came after four days to the college & I was not knowing about any assignments submission. I went to Kapoor, the most busy guy in these days, to confirm about the subjects and pages. I seeked help from Megha and Avani, the topper Jodi, but they were also busy. I decided to bunk the next three lectures and collected a good number of friends to support me in this venture.
I returned after three lectures and was delighted to see people gathering around ’Chomu’ for a ‘Samuhik Bhandara’. I am quite sure he would at least have got 18 kicks on his butt and will surely cry due to pain in the night. ”Pandey” was caught by people laughing and hitting Chomu hard & now it was the time for Pandey to have the Dose. He resisted but 17:1 is a strong ratio. It was a solid Bhandara & he ended 5+Chomu’s score.
Suddenly, one of the most frightening characters of our college, Mr. P. K. Dubey, Principal of Pharmacy, came their and caught us Red-handed. He shouts like he will break the walls and their windows. I have heard people saying, “Jab Dubey Ji Aate hai to Dharati Kapti hai, Aasman Phat jaata hai aur Bachcho ka to Kya kahe Bhaiyaa.” A case was filed against the entire Comp. Sc. Branch & we were suspended for one week.
“That’s Great Yaar” Punarvasu said, “Main Ghar ho Aaungi”.
“Thank you, though we tried our level best, but we were not able to extend it from one week”, Mantresh said proudly.
Everyone was quite excited and jubilant about the unexpected one week holiday and everybody has had different plans about their holiday.

The Comp. Sc. Branch gathered after one week.
“Kaisi Biti Chuuttiyaa”, Shilpa asked.
“Bas Bit Gayi”. Pagare replied.
“Apna to bhai Dosto ke bina man hi nahi lagata hai” Akshat spoke his heart out.
“Ha yaar, Mujhe to aisa laga 7 din hi jyada ho gaye”. Pallavi responded.
“Attention everyone, I have a great idea. Why don’t we form an organization specially for Comp. Sc. People only.” Bansal asked.
“Ya, ya let’s do it”. Everyone replied in chorus.
A confidential meeting was setup in ED hall & we secretly named our organization as P.A.C.E. i. e. Paramount Association of Computer Engineers. We planned a party at “Chaukhi Dhani” and unveiled the organization their itself. Everyone enjoyed very much and after some moths P.A.C.E. was closed unofficially due to lack of attention and efforts. We people used to say,”P.A.C.E. ka to shraddh manalo”sarcastically and everyone knew it was a big setback in the history of Comp. Sc. branch.
Sports week was approaching and two guys can be seen running here and there for just arranging one Inter-College Volleyball Tournament. Saurabh and Varun were working relentlessly back and forth the Director’s office for last two days. Somehow, the consensus was reached and Volley ball tournament was arranged. Vivek came out of Director’s office and shouted, “Kya halat hai yaar, Volley ball ka Ha bol diya aur Inter-branch Football ka Mana kar diya. Kya System hai.”
I was busy convincing Sonam about her and Anshul’s affair, one of my daily activity, and Sonam with that same defensive dialogue, “Hum sirf achche Dost hai, tu faltu baat mat kar yaar” was trying to provide some resistance. I was surprised to see Sidd sitting with Sonal and laughing. I, at once understood that he is trying his part, but I knew Sonal would surely refuse. I was happy to see the “Shaant” party of our class comprising of Kislay, Wasule, Prateek, Prakhar and Richie entering the class and doing Masti. Rajshri Ma’m entered the class and DBMS was on a roll. Halfway to the lecture, Lakhan asked Seema,”Kuch Samajh mai Aa bhi raha hai tujhe??”.
“Tujhse to achcha hi aa raha hai”Seema replied.


Days pass very swiftly and Examinations come again in Engineering very fast.
Manas called me and asked his favorite question,”Rajwada par milne ka kya Yog hai??”
“Mil lo, Hathi ko bhi bula le”. I confirmed.
An important meeting was arranged at Rajwada early in the morning at 2 A.M. to discuss everything from societal, political and personal topics except studies. One of the unexpected phone call from Varun’s home made sure the meeting terminates.
The Paper-Day is completely different from the normal days. Gaurav coined with Kosarwal, Varun talking to Shilpa and Bansal about their upcoming cheating tactics, Sidd studying somewhere in the jungle, Saraf pasted to Pritesh, Gupta searching for Pandya and Phadnis sitting with me and watching all this happen. At this time, no one is interested in stage-rockin mimicry of Ravindra, but all they strive for is those 35 marks. Only the papers change, but the tension on the face of Praniti and Khushboo is all the way same. Navita and Garima, exchanging the writing material and reconfirming the admit card. Kayoor and KK passed by me, hitting me and wishing me the best luck for the paper. I did the same to them and we went for the first paper carrying the same scenario till the last paper.
“Sem break Aayo re Aayo, zara masti pe fir se aa Jao”. Whatever we have been doing unofficially, we get the license to do the same officially. No one will tell us to study and we feel like that bird which has been in the cage from last 5 months and has obtained the Freedom.
New Semester opens up with the advent of Annual Functions at the doorstep. The teams of Comp. Sc. Branch win everything from Volleyball, Kho-kho, Chess, Carrom and secure top positions in all the literary activities including Debate and Extempore. We people attend a wonderful Annual Function full of skits like “35 point someone” and dances on the most difficult numbers. Swapnil and Kauri made the atmosphere vibrant and joyful with their fluid compering. Everyone just makes a mess during the dance nos. in the Balcony and it takes requests and warnings from the top officials of administration to restraint them. Each and every person dances with full enthusiasm leaving the “Teri-Branch-Meri-Branch” debate aside. Such events make you feel like a single entity i.e.”Swami Vivekananda College of Engineering”.
The most crucial time in the life of any Engineer, in particular and student, in general is when Results are out.
“Waise to 1 semester mai Result to 1 hi baar aata hai par Afwaah to 4-5 baar ud Jati hai”.


After a few weeks of Exam, any time a person is acknowledged about Results, he straightaway goes to http://www.rgtu.net/. Some people even save the link of the Result page in their Favorites to directly jump at the concerned page without wasting a second. And, for God’s sake, if there is any delay due to any related reason, in the opening of page, an Engineer would have travelled several times from Sky to Earth.
But Results are results. They have to be reveled one or the other day. Results come; some stay, some lack and some are left behind. But, I can say this confidently that this obstacle of Result has never and will never stand in the path of the journey of our friendship.

“It was charming morning of September 2004. I took the first step from my home to this college, I took the first step from schooling to College life, I took the first step on the path of an Engineer, I took the first step to become the part of “SVCE-Family”, I took the first step towards the evergreen lot of friends and last but not the least, I took the first step to become a better human being. Today, before graduating from this college, I would like to thank everyone from Administration to College staff, from Faculties to Lab-Assistants, from friends to girl friends. Guys, we are leaving the College and I’m quite sure you will miss these College Days. There would be no regular bunks, No “Samuhik Bhandaras”, No suspensions, No short-attendance list, No writing on T-shirts, No Annual Functions, No Raju Bhaiyaa, No Hathi, No Bhalu, No Dixit Sir, No Dubey sir to scold you. But, I am very sure that their would be one very important which will still sustain and that will be the Love and respect for this College in everyone’s Heart. We, as the first batch have seen the growth of this College and have been a part and parcel of its evolution since the beginning. I hope sincerely that our juniors do well and our College reaches new highs. Thank you”, I completed my mandatory farewell speech with the tears in my eyes and went straightaway to Varun for a badly-needed hug. Varun too started weeping and appreciated my words. In nearly two minutes, everyone from Sonam B. Jain to Kunal had tears in their eyes. Someone from the College requested the DJ to be played and the entire atmosphere was changed. Starting with “Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe” to “Nach Baliye”, a rocking DJ party started to mark the end of our Engineering era. We were dancing joyfully and clicking the photos enthusiastically as we knew very well that tomorrow we all would be heading towards our respective Destines………………….....”



“That story is Great, Bro, but why are you weeping??” My sister asked me.
“It’s just a bandwagon of Memories that prompted me. Anyways, as you demanded I have told to you the story of my Engineering days. Now, I think, you should go to sleep, othervise you would be late for tomorrow’s College. Dixit Sir doesn’t spare short attendance students. Ok, so Good Night Dear. Have Sweet Dreams.”
I wished Good Night to my sister and went to my cupboard and took out the Farewell Day photo and again went into the beautiful memories of those Golden Days……………..

Topic: The ‘Perspective’ Theory

Topic: The ‘Perspective’ Theory


Human beings are the most intelligent creatures on d Earth, and Human mind, undoubtedly, one of the most fascinating organs of this continuously evolving Human species. We, the Human beings, have consistently pushed the limits and proved “Survival Of The Fittest” proverb of the science. There are ‘n’ numbers of people in this world. Then what is the reason they think in ‘n*m’ number of ways. Probably, due to their different mind-sets, ethnicities, region, family background and many more things. But, again, the question arises, what is the basic reason of the difference in above mentioned things??

The most important reason of the difference of thought process of various individuals, broadly speaking, is their ‘Perspective’. According to me, ‘Perspective’ is the thing which draws the dividing line between eventual shaping up of the personalities of two different Human beings. If we look towards dictionary meaning of ‘Perspective’, it is, “Technique of depicting volumes and spatial relationships on a flat surface”. This definition leads us to an understanding that ‘Perspective’ is analyzing and interpreting the relationships or any other equally placed object in the light of rationalization.

According to me, ‘Perspective’ consists of three basic things; Point of view of an individual, State of mind at the time the point of view was developed and thirdly, rational orientation of the resulting conclusion. Whenever a particular person provides the input to the mind through any sensory impulses, he/she forms a point of view about that particular input. This view is not formed independently. It also incorporates the state of mind of the individual at the analysis time. This state of mind can completely change the point of view which would have developed independently. Thirdly, and most importantly, both of these things contribute to ‘Perspective’ formation of an individual only if the needed rational orientation is provided to the resulting conclusion generated by the intermingling of the first two points. Now, the stand which any individual takes/proposes to take would wholly and solely depend on the ‘Perspective’ of that particular person. Taking into account the topic of decision-making, any person will reach to the end result.

Money vs. Satisfaction:-

The Money vs. Satisfaction debate is one of the most beautiful examples of ‘Perspective’ theory. A person who has seen the depth of poverty in his entire life would surely be aiming at ‘Money’ as his aim. Here, Money becomes the core object of all round Satisfaction. Money, in this case, replaces Satisfaction and the person who is aiming at money will find exponential increase in satisfaction with rapid increase in money input. The ‘Perspective’ which such kind of an individual forms is where he sees Money tending towards Satisfaction and after some time merging the two completely separate entities to form “Monisfaction”. On the other hand, a person who has had all the comforts through his life and never had to strive for anything, always chooses the Satisfaction path. There are many people in this world who have every thing from cars, bungalows, good career, good family and many more things. Such people turn towards Satisfaction in their life. Although the condition where a particular person seeks Satisfaction comes normally after having earned lots of money. It is one of those situations where a human being continuously puts Money over Satisfaction, but again, a change in ‘Perspective’ towards life leads him to put Satisfaction over Money. This is a good case of change in ‘Perspective’ leading to the change in complete personality and approach to the life of an individual.

There are also some exceptions to both the stands. It could be the case that a poor person looks for satisfaction and not money. In that case, it can be said with quite surety that Money never formed a part of satisfaction in what we call as ‘Family Perspective’. The person, right from his childhood, would have not viewed Money as the ultimate purpose. In this case, the particular individual has adopted the point of view, state of mind and rationality through his family completely and the individual’s ‘Perspective’ is nothing but a mere reflection of his ‘Family Perspective’. Similarly, a person who is very rich and lived a life of luxury could also aim Money as his life’s objective. In this case, Satisfaction by some potential amount of money never formed the part of his ‘Family Perspective’ and as he has inherited that ‘Perspective’, he too, never Satisfaction as his highest purpose.

Narrow-minded vs. Broad-minded Approach:-

“That particular person is very Narrow-minded”. As people say to indicate some persons. According to me, the expansion of the area of thinking of anyone’s mind depends on the ‘Perspective’ which that particular person forms for his life. Narrow-minded people are closed individuals. Interlocked in the boundaries of their mind, their thinking and above all their ‘Perspective’, these people oppose liberalization and hence are generally not preferred for any Leadership tasks. It could be the case that their point of view and state of mind always remained at the negative extreme and hence they could not incorporate rational orientation ever into their thinking. In accordance to these facts, the ‘Perspective’ which they form for their life was never complete and therefore, they never open up towards the society.

Just opposite is the case with the so-called “Broad-minded people”. They never close themselves into the walls created by their mind. Their point of view and state of mind include great amount of adaptability and flexibility and hence the needed fuel of rational orientation is always available to run their mind-vehicle with sky-rocketing speeds in any direction. They also favor liberalization openly and that’s the reason they are rewarded with Leadership positions to excel their potential. In this case, the ‘Perspective’ formed is complete and so such individuals have higher affinity towards achieving greater public affection and support.

Love vs. Hate Feelings:-

“I Love You”. The three buzz words which could bring phenomenal changes in the life of two, sometimes three persons. ‘Love’ is also a reflection of the positive infinity of a feeling. Whenever you love a person, your point of view and state of mind are completely overtaken by the power of the feeling which drives your mind. Here is where rational orientation comes into picture to let you differentiate between infatuation and true love. The ‘Perspective’ which you form in this case leads you to break or make a particular relationship with any other person. The future of the relationship completely depends on the future of ‘Perspective’ formed.

Hatred, on the other hand, is a reflection of the negative infinity of a feeling. The state of mind, in which this negative point of view is formed is again governed by rational orientation. In this case, you need to understand the situation rationally if you want to develop a feeling of Hatred against any individual. Here, again, the future of the relationship depends upon the future of the ‘Perspective’ formed. There are also some cases where the feeling of Jealousy works like a spark to ignite the feeling of Hatred into any individual.

India-A Multi-Dimensional Picture

India, my country, your country and our country are the three most important ‘Perspectives’ to look towards this country. There are many people in our nation with the ‘Perspective’ or rather say, view point of ‘Your Country’. This includes the migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other foreign countries which consider India as a non-parent nation. The point of view of ‘Your Country’ combined with the state of mind at the time of migration, lead to the loss of rational orientation and this is the reason, the ‘Perspective’ formed by them doesn’t allow them to become part and parcel of this nation.

Secondly, some people consider India, or to be specific, some portions of India to be only ‘My Country’ and they want all the others to be thrown out of their territory. In this case, the point of view that migrants are causing harm to localites combined with the state of mind of personal profit disrupts the basic framework formation of rational orientation and therefore, the ‘Perspective’ formed by this type of countrymen only help in causing disrespect and hatred towards the members of other community and so destroying completely the structure of India.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the point of view of ‘Our Country’ is what is the need of the hour. The point of view of everyone’s nation spreads the message of secularism combined with the state of mind of Unity leads to a perfect rational orientation which, in turn, will lead India to the actual growth path. This ‘Perspective’ which is formed by combining the Secularism, Unity and Rationality will help us in providing a Democratic Government to the people securing their Sovereignty.


‘Perspective’, thus becomes the most demarcator of views, opinions, decisions and at the end, Conclusions. From Optimism to Pessimism, from Terrorism to Priestinism, from Success to Failure, from Tradition to Modernization, everything is governed by ‘Perspective’. There is only one vital point to be remembered

“Put things in Proper Perspective”

Topic: Are you a Son of the Soil??

Topic: Are you a “Son of the Soil”??
“We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens: Justice, Equality and Fraternity……………………..”
This is a part of the Preamble of the Constitution of India which is unique and self-explanatory. Taking this into account when you observe the recent issue of “Sons of the Soil” ignited by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) supremo Raj Thackeray, you will be well aware of how much we follow the sacred statement of the Preamble. When Raj Thackeray, separated from his uncle Bala Saheb Thackeray and laid the foundation of MNS, it looked like some sort of revival and innovation in Maharashtra’s political circle. But when he spearheaded a movement against North Indians in Maharashtra, in general and Mumbai, in particular, it became clear that he is on the path of his veteran uncle.(It must be noted that Bala Saheb Thackeray lead a movement against South Indians in his former years). It could be said that what both parties are suffering from is not just vicious parochialism, but it is a fear of change that is deep-rooted and is self-destructive.

One fear, as was expressed by MNS leader Raj Thackeray, is that the ‘invasion’ of Mumbai by outsiders will affect ‘Marathi’ culture, as if ’Marathi’ culture is weak and easily-dominated. As the Preamble of our Constitution shows, India is a multi-cultural, multi-linguistic and multi-dimensional society. We have Bengali, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Tamil, Marathi and several other cultures working like an individual rose in the preternatural bouquet of Indian culture. In the thirties, one could recognize Parsis, Gujratis and Maharashtrians from the dress they wore. What would Mr. Raj Thackeray say about Maharashtrian ladies of this era wearing Salwar-Kameez or Jeans?? In the 1930’s there was not a single ‘Udupi’ restaurant in Mumbai and few people had heard about ‘idli sambhar’ and ‘masala dosa’. Today, there is hardly any restaurant run by Maharashtrians providing a typical ‘Maharashtrian’ thali.

Presently, Bangalore is flourishing with a vast speed and could be called as Mumbai of the South. If Mumbai is called as the financial capital of India, than surely, we can call Bangalore as the scientific capital or IT capital of the country. Top Multi National Corporations (MNCs) of the country recruit people from various parts of the country including Maharashtra. Should Bangaloreans trigger a movement against non-Kannadigas and throw out people from other states?? The reason for Bangalore’s success has been this incredible flexibility and adaptability to other cultures. This implies for both Mumbai

and Bangalore that major part of their profits are fetched by the people who are not of the same ethnicity to which the state belongs. The only difference is Mumbai has Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, who are more concerned of “cultural security” and “separatism” than their state’s or country’s growth. Raj Thackeray looked ridiculous when he was critical about Amitabh Bachchan and wanted to know what Bachchan has done for Maharashtra. Raj must have not noticed what Bachchan has done for India as a whole, which is more than what all the Thackerays put together have done for the country.

The Shiv Sena built its base by targeting non-Maharashtrians: South Indians, Gujratis, Muslims and by injecting fear through strategic violence. Raj Thackeray is building his base on the same platform. The politics of fear and hate are easiest recourse for politicians with no other ideology. It is a well known fact that MNS, after its split form Shiv Sena, has not done anything which could provide significant national media attention. In accordance to this, the “Sons of the Soil” issue provided that substantial input fire which MNS needed urgently. This thought of MNS, that “if we can’t compete with (so- called) ‘outsiders’, throw them out in order to save our faces” is an utterly immature and capricious one. If this thought turns into a principle, than there will be no movement of people, no interaction between different communities, thus inviting the death of a Sovereign Socialist Secular country and in turn, the dream of One India One People.

If the dejected and defected theory of Shiv Sena and MNS of “Maharashtra only for Maharashtrians” is accepted then we will be destroying the very concept of India and leave a great country floundering. Not extrapolating and exaggerating the situation, but if MNS succeeds in its objectives than we would soon come to know about Maharashtrians been thrown out of North India to work and reside in their so-called parent state disturbing the political and strategic situation of the country and last but not the least affecting the Unity and Secularity of India as a whole. The complete issue of “Sons of the Soil” raises one basic question:

“Is this the passing phenomenon or will it alter the demographics of the State and the Financial Capital???”

Topic:Politics,Politicians and Nationalism

Topic: Politics, Politicians and Nationalism

26th January, 1950, a golden day in Indian history. The most important reason behind the celebration of Republic Day is enforcement of our Constitution. One of the pioneers of India, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, was the person who crafted our Constitution. Indian Constitution inculcates the pros of the Constitutions of different countries and develops the rules which are suitable to Indian conditions. Being a visionary leader, Ambedkar provided us with the best-suited mechanisms and rules in every field of its implementation. e.g. Politics, Legislature, Administration. A close watch on the present Indian political scenario reflects the truth of our current status.
'Politics', as defined by Frank J. Goodnow in his book' Politics and Administration', quotes, "Politics has o do with policies or expressions of the state will". Interpretation of this statement tells us that politics is making policies and executing them for the benefit of the state, or, in other words, people. This was taught us in the school days itself that Government is by the people, of the people and for the people. But, taking a single read in daily newspaper would help you in making the appropriate corrections to that childhood teaching. Our media is not full with the news of World Cup win or Sunita Williams now. Instead, it provides us with the acts of our cunning and cruel politicians raising the redundant and suppressing the important issues. The quest for power has spoiled the present administrative and general conditions. There are issues from 123 Nuclear agreement to Ramar Sethu hitting the front pages of all the important dailies and popular magazines representing the National situation.
It wonders me that how an important agreement like 123 Nuclear agreement is not able to get consensus. Congress led UPA Govt. is barred by a party which is not even inside the Govt. Left parties have consistently produced the obstacles for the smooth cruising of this agreement. Every one of us knows that 123 is an agreement with USA, one of the super powers in the world. And India, with rapidly increasing urban population is in a dying need of Energy, be it of any form. The top politicians of India who came into power by the people (as it looks) are not able to find an appropriate solution to this problem which is getting bigger day by day. Hyde act has been frightening us and Vienna Convention is sole discussion topic in American assemblies. Both the parties have been indulged in various types of parlays several times. But, as a matter of fact, out top politicians were unable to reach on common grounds. The success of '123'is of viral importance to both the countries, in general and India, in particular. This can not be said, that the agreement in its present America-specific structure is suitable for India, and can be accepted. But India should grab the opportunity by modifying the scaffold of the agreement.
H.D. Devegowda, one of the former prime ministers, is among the great ‘POLITICIANS’. Mind you, I am saying politician, not necessarily the correct politician. The way in which he and his son H.D. Kumaraswamy disturb the political situation of the Karnataka is worth watching. This is somewhat difficult for me to understand, that how a person who has been P.M. and a person who has been a C.M. change their decisions so frequently. If they can’t have one solid decision, about supporting which Govt., what these people would have done, when faced up by some crucial problems in their tenure. It is very hard to imagine about the modicum, of their important tasks being satisfactorily being completed in their term period.
15th August, 1947, is one of those days, which are not on the remembrance list. We remember this day i.e. independence day as our birthday, as our parents’ anniversary, and many other important dates. But I am surprised to pinnacle, when the message inbox of my cell phone, is overfluous, with the messages of my friends, on Valentine’s and Friendship day, but I get only a few messages on Independence and Republic day. Mahatma Gandhi said, “We are paying a huge cost in return for our independence.” We, in return, had to partition our nation into two separate entities. We people can’t even imagine the difficulties, faced by our politicians at that time. We had Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel, as Prime minister and Home minister to tackle the situation. We had Mahatma Gandhi who went into fast until death, only for the sake of ceasing the riots (which started after partition). But today, we have Nandi gram and Gujarat, and instead of knowing the measures taken by the CM’s, we are acknowledged (by our media at least) that the riots themselves were organized by our supreme leaders, not in the interest of nation, but whole and sole, in their cheap, subtle interests. WE had Sardar Patel, who didn’t sleep for several nights and also made the complete governmental machinery work for 24 hours, day and night, to provide us with a refined and magnificent state. Today, we have Devegowda, and several other politicians, who sleep in parliament itself, where, I think, they are expected to take some highly important decisions. On one hand, we had Bhagat Singh, and his comrades Rajguru and Sukhdev who went happily to death, for their ‘Bharat Maata’. On the other hand, today, we can’t even sentence Mohd. Afzal, a terrorist, who attacked our parliament and killed many security personnel; to death.
We ride on a wave of high growth and development with 9 percent GDP and 20,000+ sensex. But, according to United Nations Human Development Report (UNHDR), India ranks 128th in Human Development Index (HDI) list, two places down from its last position of 126. We are not lagging behind US, UK, China, Russia only, but we lag behind several small countries like Bolivia, Cuba and Guatemala, which have themselves faced many incidents in past which acted as a deterrence and retrograded them. We have more than 30 percent children underweight, at the time of birth and hold one of the top positions in number of malnourished children. Despite this auspicious growth, we have not been able to provide women-security. The molestation cases are proliferating rapidly and we are not able to deter them in our most secure city itself.
Politics is a bad game, as they say. But it is only up to us to give whatever structure we ought to provide it. Politicians consider victories in elections as their prime objective. Instead, they should try to walk on path of our veteran leaders and carry that same flamboyance to procure appropriate solutions to national problems. They should overtly or covertly work only in perpetual national interest. If they work for an intransigent and unbiased motive, only then we can see India moving on to the actual development path, as envisioned by Gandhiji and other prominent leaders. We, on our part, need to defy the insidiously managed souvenirs and acclimatize to bring Reality at a new dawn in India.