This blog is mainly to make my published articles and other opinions on contemporary and contentious issues - national and international - accessible to a wider readership in addition to readers of the papers/journals etc wherever they are published, for their reading pleasure, reactions and comments.
Technically it's Boxing Day today as I am recording this Blog, and Christmas Day is just over.
It was lovely to talk to some of you over telephone, to hear from some more of you on email or otherwise, exchanging greetings and warm wishes of love and sentiments and Christmas cheer. As u know, I am in Connecticut for Christmas with the children - so Indira & Manish and Sonal & Keith too join me in reciprocating and wishing y'all and each one of you once again, the Blessings of Christmas with the best compliments of the season, and a very happy new year of 2010 that's round the corner...
It is amazing how members of a rather large family that we are now, have found pockets of warmth and togetherness among manageable groups of immediate loved ones to celebrate as each found fit, the Birth of Jesus our Lord -- Sarah & Daniel with Sonnu at my children's mother's in Morpeth; Bullubai and Bavoji with Sunil and family and Malu, at Maria's with her lovely family in New Jersey; Leela and her family celebrating with others of close and extended family in Dubai; Allan, Nimmi and chidren blessed to be at St Peter's to watch the Pope being knocked down by a woman devotee in distant Rome - while Adele alone with Aunt May in West Port; Meera Ted and Sheila(?) in Grand Rapids with Rohan & Wafa and two little ones - Sabina & Maya; Marissa and Pedro with Carl at his parents' in Minneapolis; Manu & Penny in Muscat, with their children scattered in Seattle, Miami and Manhattan (not sure whether or not they were able to group together for a Christmas togetherness); Nalini and Shalini with their broods together or otherwise in Canada; etc etc.
My heart goes out with prayers too to some among us whom circumstances ordained not to have found the warmth and togetherness with immediate loved ones this season warrants (as is at times my own state some year or the other). I hope even so the New Born Babe of Bethlehem reached out to each in His own way to make it a wonderful Christmas to cherish.
After Mass yesterday, Manish treated us to an eight course celebration lunch at a Spanish Restaurant that bends over backwards to treat him like royalty - a Christmas lunch which included as many different wines to go with the particular and different meal course. The ambience and the amazing luncheon experience made up for my otherwise preferred home meal, I must admit. It took us (including the rather large sized Keith with an expectedly larger appetite than the rest of us), literally four hours to finish the various amazing courses -- that included caviar, to scallop and octopus, to salmon, shrimp and crab, to exotic salads with crispy caramalised walnut and no less crispy bacon on goat-cheese, black olives & mushroom and what have you... to duck breast and lamb chop! .....I could go on and on and still forget mention of many and some more! At the end of it all we had to beg Mario and his team of dedicated-to-our-table waiters to stop or else be prepared to roll us out in wheel barrows to the car!
The rest of the day was spent opening up an array of interesting presents (the chidren unnecessarily spent on getting me - a new laptop(netbook), an antique-in-design swiss watch, a new Panasonic Lumix digital camera with a 2GB SDcard, a sexy new stripe-checked red scarf to cover my rather vulnerable neck and throat etc). The expected gaeity with commensurate hilarity accompanied the frenzied tearing-open of presents, the parading.... and. clicking of the camera shutters for capturing appropriate and inapropriate memories in pictures; all the while the sound of traditional and modern Carols playing in the background, finally followed by movie watching - for the last of which in the end I had no stamina left; that's when I had to crash out and call it a day - don't ask me at what time, for I really wouldn't know.
I hope all you guys reading this had a wonderfull Christmas too. God Bless..
For the hotch potch known as Haggis Let the Scotsman yearn or yell For the taste of Yorkshire pudding Let the English family dwell. For the famed Tandoori Chicken That Punjabis praise like hell But for us Mangies and Goans There's nothing like SORPOTEL !
From the big wigs in Colaba To the small fry in Cavel From the growing tribes in Bandra To the remnants in Parel From the lovely girls in Glaxo To the boys in Burma Shell There's no Mang-Goan whose mouth won't water When you talk of SORPOTEL !
And Oh! for Christmas dinner Don't you think it would be swell If by some freak of fortune Or by some magic spell We could, as they have in Goa A bottle of the cajel And toddy leavened sannas To go with SORPOTEL !
And from good ol' Kolkata, Please let me add some thoughts, Of hing-aer kachouris, and tea in chatty-pots. A perfect combination, I'm sure you'd remember well, But for that sit-down dinner, It's got to be SORPOTEL !
Now the anglo-bras will swear, by smelly balichow, And butt curry from Chulias, (You know, the innards of the cow.) But they get all stoned and dreamy when they get that heady smell, of toddy-drunken sannas and steaming SORPOTEL !
And every bloke from Cal, Will talk of kati roll. Of puchkas, dalpuri and nehari, And sometimes maachaer jhol. Panthey Kowswey jhalfrezee and pepper water Oh I love them as well, But if we have to go to the polls I VOTE FOR SORPOTEL !
There's a lot of scare and concern in the air over the pandemic spread of the Swine-Flu all over. TV channels are contributing seriously in spreading this infectious fear - and often also carry confusing advice and instructions on how to prevent it. It is not yet clear though, how the common man can distinguish between a common attack of influenza and the H1N1 Swine Flu without panic-ing and rushing to expose him/herself to the expensive and elusive test to identify the virus attack on them. In the circumstances, the only answer is prevention. Here are some basic precautions that can be taken using household items - the normal spices and root condiments available in every kitchen at home:
Prevention of Swine flu using household products
These tips for Scientific prevention of Swine flu using household products will prove useful: 1. Inhale clove oil for one second 2. Chew 1 clove a day. 3. Eat raw garlic, onion, ginger. 4. Drink hot milk with 2 gm of turmeric. 5. Consume plenty of vitamin C fruits. 6. Use 'Nilgiri oil' on handkerchiefs. 7. Wash-scrub your hands more than five times a day. Use disinfectant soap.
There is a huge hype in the media over Vijay Diwas being observed today. I am a bit confused!!!!! Did we really win the Kargil war? To the best of my knowledge and belief, after the 1962 Chinese aggression, Kargil was the biggest ever debacle in independent India - plastered as such by the very same media, and everyone, around the days of the event ten years ago! I do not recall anyone ever calling it a victory, then or later, other than some meek effort a couple of years ago on the part of interested political parties to observe what was rightfully a day of Remembrance for our fallen heroes, by hypocritically dubbing Vijay Diwas. Kargil needs to be observed for the massacre our troops suffered, for the lives of young soldiers and officers sacrificed - picked up like sitting ducks by the Pakis from the heights of Kargil that they had captured and commanded. Kargil should be remembered, to shame those be it leaders or those in authority responsible for leading our innocent lambs to their slaughter!!! As Maloy Dhar candidly stated in the Big Fight yesterday, Kargil was a total failure on all fronts - and failure on the part every agency concerned - be it the army, the intelligence services, or other... And from what was bandied around in the media and all knowledgeable circles then, it is not our forces that pushed the Pakis behind the Line of Control, but it was the diplomatic pressure exerted on them by the Americans that forced them to go behind the LoC. Why are we such hypocrites? Will someone more knowledgeable on this and privy to more facts in the matter - from among the illustrious mailing list here condescend to correct me if I am wrong, and educate me further on this...?
Margaret Alva has been appointed Governor of Uttarkand.
She is the first ever Mangalorean to be elevated to the gubernatorial post.
Congratulations, Margaret!
Margaret Alva (born April 14, 1942) is a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and was the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee. As General Secretary of India's oldest political party, Margaret was a close adviser to the Party president Sonia Gandhi. She faced controversy though following her allegations on the functioning of the Congress party pertaining to the Cash for votes scandal - and was removed from her position. Her appointment as Governor is a clear indication of the Party's intention to rehabilitate her.
A former five-term member of the Indian parliament from 1974 to 2004, she had also been appointed as advisor to the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training, a body set up to improve the standards of legislative functions in the National Parliament and State Assemblies. She has spearheaded four major legislative amendments passed by the Indian parliament involving women's rights, marriage laws, equal remuneration and the reservation of quotas for women in local politics. Ms. Alva helped draft the blueprint for policies ensuring the empowerment of women, which has been adopted by India's central and state governments. In 2003, she was honored by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa for playing an important role in garnering support for the people of South Africa during their struggle for freedom and against apartheid. Ms. Alva is a former Minister of Human Resource Development under the government of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, which was responsible for harnessing and promoting the potential of India's massive population. A lawyer by profession, she was conferred an honorary doctorate in literature by the University of Mysore, Karnataka, India.She is the founder President of NGO 'Karuna'.
Personal life: Born to Pascal A. Nazareth and Elizabeth Nazareth in Mangalore, Margaret moved to Bangalore to pursue her studies - graduating with a BA, B.L., Hon. Doctorate at Bangalore's Mt. Carmel College and Government Law College. She chose to start her professional career as an advocate. She married Niranjan Alva on the 24 May 1964, with whom she has one daughter and three sons.
Key Positions Held: 1972-73 - Convener, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Women's Front
1974-80 - Member, Rajya Sabha; Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of External Affairs
1975-76 - Convener, Congress Parliamentary Party; Member, Committee on Information and Broadcasting
1975-76 - Member, Executive, Congress Parliamentary Party
1975-77 - Joint Secretary, All India Congress Committee
1978-80 - General Secretary, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), Karnataka
1980-86 - Member, Rajya Sabha (2nd term); Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of External Affairs
1983-85 - Member, Panel of Vice-Chairmen, Rajya Sabha
1983-88 - National Convener, Mahila Congress
1984-85 - Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs; Member, Committee on Public Undertakings
1985-89 - Minister of State, Youth Affairs, Sports, Women and Child Development in the Ministry of Human Resource Development
1986-92 - Member, Rajya Sabha (3rd term)
1990-91 - Chairman, Committee on Papers Laid on the Table, Rajya Sabha
1991 - Minister of State, Personnel, Public Grievances and
1992-98 - Member, Rajya Sabha (4th term)
1993-95 - Deputy Chief Whip, Congress Party, Rajya Sabha
1993-96 - Minister of State, Personnel, Public Grievances/Pensions with additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs
1996-97 - Member, Committee on External Affairs
1996-98 - Member, Committee on Public Accounts; Member, Committee on Ministry of Information/Broadcasting
1999 - Elected to 13th Lok Sabha; Panel of Chairmen
1999-00 - Member, Committee on Transport and Tourism; Member, House Committee; Member, General Purposes Committee
2000-01 - Chairman, Committee on the Empowerment of Women
2000- - Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Tourism
Positions held:
Member, All India Congress Committee
1972-73 Convener, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Women's Front
1974-80 Member, Rajya Sabha Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of External Affairs
1975-76 Convenor, Congress Parliamentary Party Member, Committee on Information and Broadcasting Member, Executive, Congress Parliamentary Party
1975-77 Joint Secretary, All India Congress Committee
1978-80 General Secretary, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), Karnataka
1980-86 Member, Rajya Sabha (2nd term) Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of External Affairs
1983-85 Member, Panel of Vice-Chairmen, Rajya Sabha
1983-88 National Convener, Mahila Congress
1984-85 Union Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs Member, Committee on Public Undertakings
1985-89 Union Minister of State, Youth Affairs, Sports, Women and Child Development in the Ministry of Human Resource Development
1986-92 Member, Rajya Sabha (3rd term) 1990-91 Chairman, Committee on Papers Laid on the Table, Rajya Sabha Member, Executive, Congress Parliamentary Party
1991 Union Minister of State, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions 1992-98 Member, Rajya Sabha (4th term)
1993-95 Deputy Chief Whip, Congress Party, Rajya Sabha 1993-96 Union Minister of State, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions with additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs 1996-97 Member, Committee on External Affairs
1996-98 Member, Committee on Public Accounts Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
1999 Elected to 13th Lok Sabha Member, Panel of Chairmen
1999-2000 Member, Committee on Transport and Tourism Member, House Committee Member, General Purposes Committee
2000-2001 Chairman, Committee on the Empowerment of Women
2000-2004 Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Tourism
Literary Artistic & Scientific Accomplishments Course in oil painting, interior decoration and Ikebana
Awards, Honors and Achievements Best All Round Student, Mt. Carmel College, 1961;
Conferred, The Hon. Degree of Doctorate of Literature by the University of Mysore, 1989
Mahila Siromani Award, 1991
Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award, 1991; and
Dr. T.M.A. Pai Foundation Outstanding Konkani Award, 1991;
President of Delhi Y.W.C.A., 1975-78; Delhi Foundation of Deaf Women, 1975-82; and World Women Parliamentarians for Peace, 1986-88 and
Chairperson of: (i) Foreign Students' Welfare Committee of Indian Council of Cultural Relations, 1982-84; (ii) SAARC Technical Committee on Women, 1985-86; and (iii) UN Expert Group meeting on Women in Decision making, Vienna, 1987 General Secretary - All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF), 1961; Joint Secretary, Government Law College Students Union, 1963-64.
Membership i) Indian Committee for International Women's Year, 1975
ii) Indian Delegation to U.N. Conference for International Women's Year at Mexico, 1975;
(iii) Indian Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, 1976 and 1998
iv) Central Youth Advisory Board, 1976-77
v) National Children's Board, 1977-78
vi) National Adult Education Board, 1978-79;
(vii) National Committee on Child Labour, 1979
vii) Governing Council of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, 1982-84
viii) Bar Council of India Panel of Eminent Persons for Asia and the Pacific for HRD (ESCAP)
ix) Governing Council of SID, Rome; and
x) Commonwealth Observer Group for Elections in Camaroon;
xi) daughter-in-law of late Joachim Alva and Violet Alva, freedom fighters and the first couple in the Indian Parliament;
xii) elected to IPU Co-ordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians, 2000.;
xiii) Spokesperson, Congress Parliamentary Party
Unique Achievements Doctorate of Literature by the University of Mysore, 1989
UN Expert Group meeting on Women in Decision-making, Vienna, 1987
National Committee on Child Labor, 1979
Commonwealth Observer Group for Elections in Cameroon
I am all with Union Minister Jairam Ramesh when he tells parliament "not to Ban Plastic Bags" Just because the agencies concerned - local bodies like the MCD - have failed to put together their act for suitably dealing with and disposing off plastic bags and other plastics related garbage... it doesn't mean the government has to rush headlong into banning the million odd uses of plastics. It is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater - the need of the hour is to find the correct ways and means to prevent environmental degradation due to incorrect and improper disposal of the plastic materials from which the highly useful bags are made, and not to blindly ban all plastic bags itself. So I am happy that Environment minister Jairam Ramesh told Lok Sabha that PLASTIC BAGS should not be banned. Months earlier the Delhi government had banned plastic bags in the city Almost all Himalayan states have also banned use of plastic bags. In states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand heavy fine is imposed on citizens using plastic bags and people are advised to use paper or jute bags. I wonder if anyone in authority is aware how difficult it is for the public to get suitable or convenient jute bags, or for that matter to use paper bags instead, that are viable! I am glad the environment minister told parliament that banning plastic bags results in more cutting of trees as people are forced to switch to paper bags, a by-product of wood. How is it that everyone has forgotten that plastic bags were introduced about 25 years ago to save Indian forests by reducing consumption of paper. While replying to a question on efficacy of plastic bags, Jairam Ramesh told his fellow MPs that banning plastic bags is a extreme step. “Most states have banned plastic bags because municipal bodies had failed to deal with them,” the minister said. He further said plastic bags with certain minimum thickness are not bad for environment, a view echoed by the plastic bag industry. “Only recycled or coloured plastic bags are bad for environment and human health,” he said. The minister also said bio-degradable plastic bags are available in the market and its cost is very high. I am not sure that is the answer though!
A truly inspiring and touching story ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
A mother's struggles in life finally pay off! This is a reflection on the kind of life some women in India have to endure just because they gave birth to a girl child; And see what one such mother has achieved today…..
A touching story indeed.....
Story from
Neera Chopra lived through abuse, poverty and some tough choices to make her once-unwanted girl child, Pooja Chopra, the Pantaloons Femina Miss India.
"I don’t know where to begin... they were terrible times. My husband was well-placed, but the marriage had begun to sink almost as soon as it began. Like most women do, I tried to work against all the odds .
My in-laws insisted everything would be alright if I had a son. My first child was a daughter, and that didn’t do me any good... but I couldn’t walk out. I had lost my father, my brother was in a not-so-senior position in Bata. I didn’t want to be a burden on my family and continued to live in my marital home in Kolkata.
I looked after my mother-inlaw, who was suffering from cancer, and while bathing her, I would tell myself she would bless me and put things right.
I don’t know how I tolerated it all. The least a man can do, if he must philander, is to not flaunt his women in his wife’s face. Then began the manhandling. I still wanted my marriage to survive. I was a pure vegetarian and learnt to cook non-vegetarian delicacies thinking it would please him.
Then, I was pregnant again. When Pooja was eight months in my womb, my husband brought a girl to the house and announced he would marry her. I thought of killing myself. I hung on the slight hope that if the baby was a boy, my marriage could be saved.
When Pooja was born a girl, for three days, nobody came to the hospital. There was a squadron leader’s wife on the opposite bed, who was kind enough to give me baby clothes for Pooja to wear. When she was 20 days old, I had to make a choice. I left the house with my girls ‘ Pooja and Shubra, who was seven then. I haven’t seen my husband since. I promised myself, even if we had just one roti, we would share it, but together.
I began life in Mumbai with the support of my mother, brother, who was by then married. It wasn’t the ideal situation, especially when he had children ‘ space, money, everything was short. I began work at the Taj Colaba and got my own place. How did I manage’ Truth be told, I would put a chatai on the floor, leave two glasses of milk and some food, and bolt the door from outside before going to work. I would leave the key with the neighbours and tell the kids to shout out to them when it was time to leave for school.
Their tiny hands would do homework on their own, feed themselves on days that I worked late. My elder daughter Shubhra would make Pooja do her corrections. .. This is how they grew up. At a birthday party, Pooja would not eat her piece of cake, but pack it and bring it home to share with her sister. When Shubhra started working, she would skip lunch and pack a chicken sandwich that she would slip in her sister’s lunchbox the next day.
I used to pray, ‘God, punish me for my karma, but not my innocent little kids. Please let me provide them the basics.’ I used to struggle for shoes, socks, uniforms. I was living in Bangur Nagar, Goregaon. Pooja would walk four bus stops down to the St Thomas Academy. Then, too little to cross the road, she would ask a passerby to help her. I had to save the bus money to be able to put some milk in their bodies.
Life began to change when I got a job for Rs 6,000 at the then Goa Penta. Mr Chhabra, the owner, and his wife, were kind enough to provide a loan for me. I sent my daughters to my sister’s house in Pune, with my mother as support. I spent four years working in Goa while I saved to buy a small one-bedroom house in Pune (where the family still lives). I would work 16-18 hours a day, not even taking weekly offs to accumulate leave and visit my daughters three or four times a year.
Once I bought my house and found a job in Pune, life began to settle. I worked in Hotel Blue Diamond for a year and then finally joined Mainland China ‘ which changed my life. The consideration of the team and management brought me the stability to bring them up, despite late hours and the travelling a hotelier must do.
Shubhra got a job in Hotel Blue Diamond, being the youngest employee there while still in college, and managed to finish her Masters in commerce and her BBM. Today, she is married to a sweet Catholic boy who is in the Merchant Navy and has a sweet daughter.
I continue to finish my day job and come home and take tuitions, as I have done for all these years. I also do all my household chores myself.
Through the years, Shubhra has been my anchor and Pooja, the rock. Pooja’s tiny hands have wiped away my tears when I broke down. She has stood up for me, when I couldn’t speak for myself. Academically brilliant, she participated in all extra-curricular activities. When she needed high heels to model in, she did odd shows and bought them for herself.
When I saw Pooja give her speech on TV, I knew it came from her heart. I could see the twinkle in her eye. And I thought to myself as she won ‘My God, this is my little girl.’ God was trying to tell me something.
Today, I’ve no regrets. I believe every cloud has a silver lining. As a mother, I’ve done nothing great.
‘I won due to my mother’s karma’
Pantaloons Femina Miss India Pooja Chopra’s mother promised ‘One day, this girl will make me proud’.
Pooja speaks on fulfilling that promise: When I was 20 days old, my mother was asked to make a choice. It was either me ‘a girl child, or her husband’ -… She chose me. As she walked out she turned around and told her husband, ‘One day, this girl will make me proud’. That day has come. Her husband went on to marry a woman who gave him two sons. Today, as I stand here a Miss India, I don’t even know if my father knows that it is me, his daughter, who has set out to conquer the world, a crown on my head. Our lives have not been easy, least so for my mother. Financially, emotionally, she struggled to stay afloat, to keep her job and yet allow us to be the best that we could be. I was given only one condition when I started modeling ‘my grades wouldn’t drop’.
All the girls in the pageant worked hard, but my edge was my mother’s sacrifice, her karma. Today, when people call to congratulate me, it’s not me they pay tribute to, but to her life and her struggle. She’s the true Woman of Substance. She is my light, my mentor, my driving force. My win was merely God’s way of compensating her!
----sent in by Dr M.C.J.Pereira: Muscat: 26 June 2009
Retired Justice David Annoussamy shared with me his analysis of the last elections to the 15th Lok Sabha:
Lessons from the 15th Lok Sabha elections
Money for votes Though there was tangible progress in many respects in the electoral process, distribution of money to voters continued unabated. Candidates were alert enough to take care of inflation and increased the rate accordingly. In order to curtail that disparaging practice, it is necessary to analyse its causes and effects.
It is estimated that 60% of candidates’ expenses go to the distribution of money. Of course this item of expenditure is not entered in the accounts submitted by the candidate to the Election Commission. Losing candidates do not challenge the result on this count, because in such an action they cannot ask for being declared themselves elected, since they are guilty of the same malpractice. Its degrading effect is far from being realised by citizens. Even middle class people receive money without compunction and even claim it if there is omission. Why to refuse money when it comes by itself to the doorstep, is their motto?
A few who happen to have some scruple justify their conduct saying that, after all, the candidate has got that money not by hard work but through illicit means. As far as the candidate is concerned, he who aspires to lead the country does not feel sorry for resorting to this shameful practice. He rather thinks that he is relieved from his obligation towards the elector who has accepted the price for his vote.
Thus democracy is killed in the cradle. Each candidate knows pretty well that the money distributed will not necessarily result in a vote in his favour. However if opts singly to give up the practice he is sure of losing the election. So candidates have landed in an awkward situation from which it is not possible for them to wriggle out by themselves. Money distribution is a cancerous growth in the election process, which requires a surgical solution.
In fact, candidates selected by big parties do not mind distributing money. From the returns in the nomination forms, millionaires are aplenty in the House; they have been given ticket by their party on the basis of their fortune. Thus Parliament attracts more and more business minded people.
So there is no lack of management talent. But there are less and less professors, lawyers, human rights activists, social workers and likeminded groups who would be able to infuse a sense of human values in the debates and trigger interest in long term measures.
So distribution of money has the unexpected deleterious consequence of bringing down the quality of the performance of the House. With this malpractice well anchored, candidates have come to consider the election process as an investment opportunity meant to give handsome returns. Thus corruption germinates at the very inception of the scheme of governance. It would be difficult to keep it under check when it blossoms in daily government transactions. So it is highly imperative to eliminate money distribution, if the country is to be free from the evil of corruption. With the use of the media, citizens should be awakened and made to realise that the dole they receive is not worth surrendering their right to monitor the action of their representatives and that a better management of public affairs will yield better returns for them.
The effect of this civic education will necessarily be slow; it is however worth to be undertaken; it will back up the stern steps the Election Commission, which is wedded to cleanse the election process, may take. Parties may be asked to put in the top of their manifesto something like” This party will not distribute money to the electors”. The nomination form may contain an affidavit by the candidate that he will not directly or indirectly distribute money to voters. Candidates may be made aware that detection of a single case will entail immediate disqualification. It may also be made clear that even after proclamation of results, if a report is received and if the enquiry after due notice proves a single case of recourse to this malpractice, the elected candidate may be disqualified. The task of the Election Commission would be made easy and fully efficient if we give up our first-past-the post system of election. That system is indeed feeding this corrupt practice. In a system of proportional representation there will not be so much of inclination to distribute money, because the candidate will not benefit directly and necessarily by the same.
Representativeness of the 15 th Lok Sabha Much has been said about the outcome of the last elections. Most of the comments have taken as their basis the number of seats secured by the parties. In the present electoral system that is only an epiphenomenon. It is relevant only to determine the majority in the House. What gives the exact picture of the political landscape is the percentage of votes secured by parties. The figures appearing in the following table are quite eloquent in that respect.
Parties
Number of seats secured
Percentage of seats secured
Percentage of votes obtained
No of seats proportional to votes
Congress
206
37,93
28,52
155
BJP
116
21,36
18,83
102
Other parties
221
40,69
52,65
286
The two big parties have secured more seats than the votes obtained by them would warrant, to the detriment of “Other parties”. Such is the mischievous effect of our rudimentary electoral system. If the ”Other parties” which have obtained more votes than the Congress and the BJP put together had formed a united front they would have secured enough seats to form the government. As they failed to do so, the Congress has formed quite easily the government on the foot of the seats secured by it and its allies, with the help of other parties which lent support. But that government is rather fragile; allied and supporting parties may severe ties at any time, if that suits their interest.
Comparing the percentages of votes obtained and of the seats secured by the “Other parties” one may realise that the Parliament is deprived of the benefit of the opinion of 12% of the population. So a decision adopted by the majority of the Parliament and the government issued therefrom is deemed to have got only the backing of 44% de la population. If it is not accepted by the rest of the population, the government will encounter difficulties in implementing its decisions. Strikes and acts of revolts will hinder its action; several of its policy decisions except those granting sops may remain a dead letter. The inefficacy of government is inherent in the present electoral system. The future of the country is thereby jeopardized.
One argument in favour of the first-past-the post system is that it creates a personal link between the candidate and the electors. Such a link is conspicuously absent in Lok Sabha elections. That is indeed impracticable since the number of voters in each constituency is of the range of 13 crores. So votes are practically for the party like in the proportional system. Only the value given to votes is twisted in the present system; thus 12% of the population remains unrepresented and that much of the rest of the population is overrepresented.
Another argument in favour of the present system is that it is conducive to the emergence of the majority. That is possible in a country with a two party tradition. In India the results of the Lok Sabha elections in the course of the last twenty years go to show that the present system is unable to yield invariably a majority. On the eve of each election the apprehension of a hung assembly is expressed by the Press. Governance has been possible only with coalitions, for which the present system is not necessary.
Thus the present system which offers only its disadvantages without any of its selling points in the Lok Sabha elections deserves to be replaced by the proportional representation. Money will have less play; the campaign will be less tense; the electoral period may be considerably reduced; the vote will be more on issues than on persons; each party will get representation in conformity to votes obtained by it; the campaign will provide more opportunity to the political class and the electorate to think on political options on major problems.
More than all that, the proportional system will provide to all shades of public opinion an opportunity of expression inside the Parliament and be thus conducive to more inclusive solutions acceptable to a large chunk of the population. There will be less room for vociferations and troubles in the street. Parties at the crossroads When we purport to assess the strength of parties the first idea which occurs to the mind is to compare their performance with that in the previous election in terms of votes secured. That is shown in the following table:
Parties
2004
2009
Difference
Congress
24.42
28.52
+4.1
BJP
22.29
18.83
-3.46
Other parties
53.29
52.65
-0.64
The « Other parties » get a slightly lower share of votes; they have however obtained more votes than the two big parties put together, like in the last elections. The decline of BJP is noticeable. The Congress has benefitted from the loss of both the other contenders. In order to ascertain the real import of these variations it is necessary to proceed to a State level analysis. Congress registered loss to the extent of 7,6% in Orissa and 6,3% in Himachal Pradesh. It could make up these and minor losses in other States and emerge globally with flying colours on account of substantial gains in some other States. It gained as much as 11% in Punjab, 8% in Kerala, and about 6% in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. The BJP on its side gained 5,3% in Himachal Pradesh and 4,9% in Karnataka; it registered big losses in Rajasthan(12, 4%), Uttarkhand (7%), Assam(6,7%) Delhi and Jarkhand (5,5%) Haryana(5,1%)and minor losses in all other States. So both parties had gains and losses. The loss of one of these parties did not result necessarily in gain for the other. Some regional parties had also their share of loss and gain. When the big losses and gains are probed it appears that they are mainly due to local and accidental factors which will not occur again. When the result of those factors is removed it remains that the Congress has improved its performance across the country, though not to the extent appearing in the table of global results. The systematic studies on the determinants of this outcome have revealed three important causes. The first cause is the proneness of the electorate to restore the existing government which has acquired a sort of legitimacy and to avoid the risk of change unless the incumbent has proved unworthy. The second cause consists of the popularity gained by the outgoing government thanks to the substantial rise of salaries and pensions of government servants, to some social measures in favour of poor classes, to a feeling of rise of standard of living by the middle class on account of economic growth and also to the personality of Man Mohan Singh. The third cause of preference deserves to hold the attention. Some partisans of BJP declared themselves favourable to the Congress at the helm of affairs at the level of the Union. The ability of a segment of the electorate to spot one party which is good for the State and another one which is preferable for Union affairs discloses high level of political maturity. The emergence of this subtle behaviour is perhaps due to the higher percentage of literate people in the electorate and the new delimitation of constituencies on the basis of 2001 census which gave the urban population its due weight. The role of these two factors is going to increase in the subsequent elections. What lessons could the parties draw from the increasing perspicacity of the electorate? The Congress which obtained only 28,52% of votes, if it wants to regain its importance of yester years, has to offer long term solutions to the fundamental problems facing the country, which it has been evading all along. If it rests content with just administering the country with a paternalist outlook, it will put itself again in the rear gear. The BJP got a comfortable majority at a time when people were fed up with Congress administration. If it wants to become a nationalist party capable to offer an alternative to the Congress, it will have to shed unequivocally its religious garb and opt for a cultural complexion. Then, minor parties will not hesitate to ally with it since by so doing they will not be mortgaging their secular character. The “Other parties” which obtained 52, 65% of votes constitute a far more important group but an heterogeneous one. There is no likelihood of all of them emerging as a single block. But a large chunk may still find a common programme worth working for and an undisputed leader symbolising that ideal. If this does not materialise, they are doomed to remain in the opposition for ever or to seek a small space under the aegis of a big party in order to get a bit of power, without being able to ever achieve the purpose of their coming into existence. The election campaign One of the indicators of the democratic level of a country is the content of its electoral campaign. In the campaign during the past elections there were one unwarranted thing occupying much space and one important thing missing. The first item consists of personal attacks on candidates or the party leaders. Even top leaders indulged in uttering niceties against their opponents. This brings honour neither to the country nor to them. What was missing was the reference to fundamental problems facing the country and having a bearing on the future of the country, namely the Kashmir problem; corruption in all ranks of the government apparatus; the distorted distribution of powers between the Union and the States; the inadequate sharing of the revenue between the Union and the States; the rapid growth of population in the northern part of India ; the large scale illiteracy prevailing there; the pitiable level of research and higher education ; the crying need of electoral reforms ; the assessment and eventual reorientation of the reservation policy; the preventive detention by administrative orders covering up the inefficacy of the criminal justice administration etc... Some of these items are taboos; no party wants to raise them lest they should lose votes. Regarding some others, the political class has no long term vision to realise their importance and to ponder over them. There is an evident dearth of thought among the parties except in respect of ways and means to seize power and keep it. If any of those fundamental points happen to be raised by some quarters, the party in power appoints a commission to go into the problem; its recommendations lie dormant. If at all any portion thereof is implemented, that is on account of the personal preference of some leaders, without any public debate and people’s mandate. There is complete abdication of the political class on those fundamental problems. What is more surprising is the paucity of contribution by the political science departments of Universities Their task is to generate fresh ideas, to trigger debates in the Press and induce the political class to cogitate on those points in order to ultimately express their conclusions in the electoral campaign and get a public mandate. Let us turn now to the actual content of the last campaign. It covered two kinds of items. One consisted of matters of daily concern to people, like water, food, medical care, electricity, access routes, housing, employment, etc... Much insistence was made on these items and rightly so. But since almost all parties have made similar promises the vote will depend on the confidence they inspire by their past performances. Promises on these items should not be made light-heartedly because failures will appear glaringly. The second kind of items in the campaign consisted of some matters of general importance other than the fundamental problems listed above. Parties have listed them in their manifestoes. Though there was a great amount of similarity between them, there was sufficient difference to distinguish the policy orientation of the respective parties. Unfortunately manifestoes are gone through only by a fringe of the population. Parties did not bother to elaborate on those items in their oral campaign either in meetings or through media, presuming perhaps that they may not appeal to the average citizen. Political minds failed to realise that elections are the best occasion for a dialogue between the electors and their representatives. They are of course right in listening to the electors on their felt needs. At the same time they have the obligation to enlighten the people on the problems of general importance confronting the country, which otherwise will not be perceived by the people. A large section of the electorate is now ripe to listen to such discourse. The campaign has to become a two-way traffic. That will enable the candidates to get a clearer and richer idea on the problems in hand and also prepare people to accept policies which would require some sacrifices from them in the immediate future. This mode of policy making is possible now with the political awakening of the people.
....sent by Justice (Retd) David Annoussamy of Pondicherry: 25 June 2009
Attended last evening the book launch by Montek Singh Ahluwalia at Taj Mansingh - 0f Amitab Kant's book: Branding India: An Incredible Story - with Union Minister of State for Tourism, Selja, in the chair. Others on the dais were PM's Principal Secretary TKA Nair, Amit Agarwal of Harper Collins, and Arjun Sharma of WTTC. A very high profile event, with Amitab giving a synopsis of his Incredible Story on a Power Point Presentation - which itself was incredible. Not only has he been part of India's effort to boost Tourism in an effort to tap the huge potential, he has also been able to put all that story together in his book which in itself by no small a measure is a stupendous achievement.
Apart from every one of the Tourism industry - the types of erstwhile royalties of Rajastan like Gaj Singh of Jodhpur... to hoteliers, big-travel-honchos, to publishers of travel magazines, seniour bureaucrats and industrialists, the world and everyone you can think of... were there present - the glitterati, the culturati, the diplo-mightee, the artee-fartee and the partee-coterie, as well as the socialitee... it was an occasion for such like me to meet friends and for many others more adept at such - to brush shoulders with those they normally do not get a chance to brush shoulders with.
Talking of tourism, yes... India has made some progress in the past decade and more... But there are miles to go. I would assess what's achieved hitherto as just a drop in the ocean as compared to what could be and needs to be achieved.
Amitab has rightly listed high among priorities in the lists of concerns... "sanitation and cleanliness". Very pertinent. Why can't there be a national movement on this. To an extent there are examples how this has been done in this very country - in the aftermath of the early nineties plague, one Deputy Commissioner in Surat showed how his city could be cleaned. Why can't all our media put its act together to have a national crusade to educate our population on hygine and sanitation. Why is it that after 60+ years of Independence the whole of India is still one big open toilet? How is it that the country cannot stop defecating in the open? Is it because we love to expose our bottoms to every foreigner's camera and revel in presenting them with the golden deposits from our bottoms we leave behind in the open to fill the environment with highly welcoming(?) aromas and perfumery of an Indian brand? Branding India indeed!
Why is it that we have dead bodies rotting in the open polluting the holiest of our so called holy rivers? How is it that the entry point to every city in the country is so very un-welcoming with encroachments, unauthorised parking, congestion, stagnat waters, garbage and filth. Why the same scenario at every touristy or heritage site that makes it abhorring for any tourist to visit?
This, and this alone, is the prime priority. Unless and until we learn to discipline ourselves as regards these basics, branding India will just be as unwelcome and scorching as the branding by a burning red hot iron rod...
On a personal note, while not attempting to take the shine off Amitab's glory by any measure, I need to record here of the time around the mid/late-90s when I myself published articles in the Indian Express and elsewhere titled "Incredible India" and "The Wonder That Was India" which were pieces that put together some less known facts about the 'firsts' India had across the millennia of world/ and human history... What tremendous satisfaction for me then, to see the Incredible India campaign spear-headed by Amitab and his colleagues in the Tourism Ministries take off in the manner it has - so beautifully, ....to make such an impact world wide! (For those interested in my said writings, some of these articles are still floating around in cyberspace on the internet - as also in the archives of my these very blogs - if one takes pains to dig herein deep enough....)
John F Williams, a resident of Palam Vihar/ Gurgaon made an assessment as regards Gurgaon along 42 broad parameters for the best livable cities - and came up with the following findings:
i) Quality and quantum of water supply: Least
ii) Supply of Power/Gas for domestic and other uses: N/A
iii) Roads and Traffic management, Parking facilities, signage quality: Negligible
iv) Cycle tracks for the residents: Nil
v) Car pool: Nil
vi) Building codes and zoning laws: Not implemented
vii) Quality and sufficiency of local affordable timely Transport, walkways and escalators etc: Hardly
viii) National and International accessibility: Negligible
ix) Sanitation: Very -negligible
x) How much the city can save the scarce rain water through water harvesting techniques and storm water drains: Hardly
xi) Efficiency of solid waste management and scientific land refill: Nil
xii) The quality, vision and efficiency of Planning and Execution systems: Very negligible
xiii) Degree of Pollution and scientific arrangements for controlling the same: Very negligible
xiv) Street lighting and use of solar batteries/power saving devices: Nil
xvi) Kind of commercial activities in residential colonies: No check -in plenty
xvii) Security of residents/senior citizens/ women and efficiency of Neighbourhood Watch: Hardly
xviii) Arrangements for fire fighting: Very-negligible
xix) Quality and sufficiency of infrastructure and ratio of infrastructure to population: Hardly
xx) Management of floating population: No check
xxi) Capacity of the local government to run and maintain the township/city efficiently: Inefficient
xxii) Arrangement for land use and mechanism for avoidance of encroachment: No control
xxiii) Education – that no child till the age of 12 years goes beyond two kilometres for primary education by providing high quality primary education through local governments: Only on paper.
xxiv) Provision and adequacy of crèches: Only on paper
xxv) No patient goes beyond two kilometres for initial medical problem/check up by providing high quality primary medical facilities through local governments and beyond two kilometres on the specific recommendations of the qualified and registered doctor: No
xxvi) How the local government looks after the handicapped, poor and senior citizens: Hardly
xxvii) Quality of community life and the positive role of local government to ensure harmony amongst the residents: Hardly
xxviii) Vigilant citizens and their involvement in the local government affairs: Nil
xxix) Scope for the students to earn and study for higher education: Negligible
xxx) Greenery and plantation: Poor
xxxi) Quality of food management in public places: Very un-hygienic
xxxii) Dustbins in public places: Nil
xxxiii) Provision and Cleanliness of toilets in public places: Very poor
xxxiv) E-waste management: Nil
xxxv) Management of Social issues relating to beggars, abuse of children, crime etc: No
xxxvi) Stray dogs/cattle management: No check
xxxvii) Old age homes and their management: Very negligible
xxxviii) Control of noise pollution: No
xxxix) Children play grounds and quality of facilities for sportsmen for all recognised sports in the world: Below standard
xl) Social ethics and community life and living conditions for weaker section of society: Nil
xli) Cultural and other entertainment facilities and their adequacy: Hardly
Lighthouse Catholic Media presents: Fallen Fiction - The Truth About Angels & Demons http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.com/lighthouse/angels_and_demons.php
The movie, Angels & Demons was released to 3,500 theaters around the country on May 15 and now has grossed over $356 million.
So what’s the problem?
While being hailed as a masterful work of cinema, Angels & Demons grossly mischaracterizes the Catholic Church. This movie assaults the faith of millions and may damage the faith of those who know little about Catholic teaching and the Church's influence on Western history.
Wrapped in an exciting story of mystery and intrigue, Angels & Demons clearly seems to have an anti-Catholic agenda, that of portraying the Church to be a murderous institution bent on eliminating those who would foster scientific progress.
Lighthouse Catholic Media has teamed up with Matthew Arnold to set the record straight in a FREE DOWNLOAD audio presentation, Fallen Fiction - The Truth About Angels & Demons, for you, no strings attached.
Fallen Fiction - The Truth About Angels & Demons is a fantastic resource containing questions and answers that dispel the misguided claims made in the movie’s story.
Please forward this email to your friends and family. Let's set the record straight. It's up to all of us.
Your Friends in Christ, Lighthouse Catholic Media (a Not-For-Profit Corporation)
....sent in by Ronnie D'Souza: Bangalore/ India: 19 June 2009
Father's Day this year 2009, falls on Sunday, June 21. A day when millions of dads across the world will break into a smile and bask in the happy remembrances ensured by their off-springs.
Psychologists credit fathers for their genuine smiles on this day, and say that even though dads get less attention on Father's Day than moms do on Mother's Day, dads are more likely to be satisfied on their special date.
Mainly a US phenomenon, it is claimed the history of Father's Day dates back to 1909, in Spokane, Washington; when Sonora Smart Dodd listening to a Mother's Day sermon at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church was inspired to have a special day dedicated to her father, William Jackson Smart, who had brought her up and her siblings, single-handedly, after their mother died.
She realized her father's contribution and greatness and wanted to let him know how deeply she was touched by his sacrifices, courage, selflessness and love. To pay a tribute to her great dad, Sonora held the first Father's Day celebration on 19th of June 1910, on the birthday of her father - and so became the first to solicit the idea of having an official Father's Day observance. Unlike Mother's Day, which was readily accepted, Father's Day was apparently received with mockery and hilarity. Though the day was gaining attention, it was mostly for the wrong reasons. Jokes, satire, parody and derision were all that the day was commemorated for.
In 1913, a bill in accordance with making the day official was introduced. The idea was approved by US President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Later, in 1924, the idea gained further momentum as it was supported by President Calvin Coolidge. In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. However, it was thirty years later that a Joint Resolution of Congress gave recognition to Father's Day.
Another 16 years passed (sixty-two years after it was originally proposed) before President Richard Nixon established the third Sunday of June, as a permanent national observance day of Father's Day in 1972.
Historians seeking an ancient precedent for an official Father’s Day observance have come up with only one: The Romans, every February, honored fathers - but only those deceased.
The day was primarily nationalized in the honor of all good fathers, who contribute as much to the family as a mother, in their own ways. Another theory states that even before Dodd came into the picture, Dr. Robert Webb of West Virginia is believed to have conducted the first Father's Day service in 1908 at the Central Church of Fairmont. However, it was the colossal efforts of Dodd, which made it possible for the day to acquire national recognition. The white and red rose was made the official flowers for Father's Day celebration. While the white rose commemorated gratitude for a father, who was deceased, a red rose expressed thankfulness to one, who was living.
So on this Father's Day, a short note to let all you Fathers there... know that you are fondly remembered on the special day dedicated to you. As a father you have given the best to your children inculcating true values in them. May you receive the very best from your children. The best gift one can have is to be loved and you are indeed loved not only by your children and family members but by all you come in contact with. You are gifted. I wish all you fathers the very best on this day and may you be blessed immensely. Have a wonderful Father's Day on June 21st.
