Thursday, December 31, 2015

Tsunami of 2004 on the India's Eastern Coast. (11th anniversary on Saturday, Dec.26, 2015)


Nearly 7000 people were either dead or washed off in Tsunami on the East coast of India during the last week of 2004. Many children became orphans and took shelter under the patronage of NGOs and the Church. One is moved by the way they remember their kith and kin and observe silence or take part in procession arranged for the occasion by the well wishers and kind hearted souls in our midst in towns like Nagapattinam, Tuticorin, Nagarcoil in Tamil Nadu state. 

The value and the pain of suffering is known only to those who really underwent such an experience in real life! We tend to question the wisdom and dispensation of Mother Nature in this regard.

As a former civil servant I hold my head in shame when I read the news as follows: 
" Pattas for fisherfolk, permanent homes for the tsunami-affected, removal encroachment s in the coastal regulation zone and inclusion in the ST list are demands that fishermen have been asking for a long time".  

- which individual or a leader/official is going to find a solution to this issue and how soon?

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Sunday, December 20, 2015

Tourism

Almost all the countries in the developed world have specialised in promoting tourism as one of their important activities in economic development. About 80 to 90 per cent of the families in the developed world devote time and money to visit places of tourist importance once in a year religiously. People want to be mobile and keep enjoying other parts of the country or other parts of the world. Knowing the trend the developers of tourism have created such an  infrastructure that the tourists look for. 


Reliable and convenient Mode of transport, decent accommodation, clean and regular upkeep of places and buildings, monuments and sites are the requisite  facilities demanded or expected by the tourists. The developed nations have very much improved and maintained these standards in a planned and successful manner. A visit to these countries would reveal this fact beyond any doubt. 



A two-week tour of Scandinavian countries, namely, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Stockholm and Finland by the undersigned in August 2013 has brought to light the following features substantially:



1) All the modes of transport - flight, train, tram, bus, ferry - are comfortable in terms of space, toilets (public convenience), food and beverages etc. especially the toilets are well kept and maintained.



2) All the structures and buildings housing museums and the like are artistically created and maintained to world standards.



3) All types of literature about the tourist places are printed in glossy papers and kept for distribution to the visitors free of cost in any numbers at many counters.



4) Properly trained and employed guides are available wherever the tourists want them at the requisite locations.



The economies of these countries like USA and other countries in Europe, Singapore and  Malaysia in Asia have done very well to attract tourists and sell their USPs in a proper way.

There is hardly a tourist place where there is no toilet attached. 


On the contrary such facilities hardly exist in tourist spots of India. We have a long way to  go and establish world class infrastructure to compete with others and market our culture and heritage in a big way.



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Monday, December 7, 2015

An awful but wonderful experience (5.42 PM, Chennai December 2, 2015)




Raining cats and dogs since the evening of November 30, 2015 and the level of water flow
kept rising slowly to some 8 feet high near the inter-junction of First and Eleventh  avenues ( 100 ft. and 120 ft. roads respectively) at Ashok Nagar in South Chennai (11th Avenue running parallel to Adayar river at a distance of 200 ft). Water started receding only on the night of of December  3, 2015.

Both the avenues suffered a lot on the ground floor of almost all the residential and shopping complexes. Unfortunately there was no prior announcement regarding the possibility of rising water level due to excess flood waters expected from the upper regions of Adayar  river. Some preventive measures could have been easily taken by the residents. Administration - both civil, namely, municipal corporation as well as police establishment was nowhere visible and seen for about 24 hours. We could see some uniformed NDRF personnel on a rescue boat making rounds on first avenue for the first time around 8.00 PM on Wednesday-Thursday (2 -  3 December)  intervening night whom I requested to ensure patrolling in the vicinity during night hours in view of possible looting and theft in darkness.

As a citizen I felt the absence of communication between the administration / government and the people affected for quite some time. In the absence of electric power, phone,  Internet connectivity and T.V the affected families and individuals were not knowing what to do and how to communicate with the authorities. A sensible administration could have established contact with the flood victims through the radio network or through messengers with loud-speakers from time to time. Only 104.8 Hertz. FM radio was trying to establish contacts with the marooned people and passing on information constantly from December 2 onwards. Hats off to this group of youngsters who were innovative and consistent in their work and help to the citizens.

Even in the days of British rule the administration knew how to communicate with the people through beating of drums in different pockets of human settlements at constant intervals. When all modern communication gadgets failed they could have resorted to this traditional means at least or through radio, the most effective mode of communication in such an emergency situation. No Minister including Chief Minister, no municipal Councillors including Mayor, neither the Municipal Commissioner nor the Police Commissioner came live on this medium to be in contact with the people. Only after December 4, 2015 the police vehicles were seen announcing and correcting the rumours of a breach on the banks of Sembarambakkam lake on the western side of the city. People started panicking and leaving the city for their homes in Andhra Pradesh and South & West Tamil Nadu by whatever means available by road - bus and vans in the absence of trains and aircrafts.

I presume thing were better in other parts of the city near the rivers and water courses during heavy rains and floods. Army, Navy and Air Force as well as NDRF came to the rescue of Chennai citizens. NGOs and self motivated individuals and volunteers were more active and dedicated than the expected government servants from the initial beginning. Volunteers did a good job.


(Concluding this write up at 7.30 AM on December 6, after getting the typing gadget recharged from a different locality where the power supply has been resumed)
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Sunday, November 29, 2015

Subsidy Budget.


The union budget for the current year had allocated Rs.72968.56 crore for fertiliser subsidy out of which Rs 38200 crore was earmarked for domestic urea. 

The question arises as to how much budget has been allocated for research on finding a substitute for urea as a fertiliser for the crops in India. 

Nitrogen fixation is what is being attempted through urea application. That should be tried and achieved with an alternative product or process by a relentless team of scientists in India over a period of time. 

It is worth the trouble looking to the huge sums of money being spent as subsidy every year.

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Tuesday, November 17, 2015


Mankind's ultimate source of energy!

It is none other than solar energy that is going to be the ultimate and the lasting source of energy to the mankind till the destruction of Mother Earth in the indefinite future.

Well the human beings have discovered and developed different sources of energy as they  made progress in livelihood and place of work. Wood, coal, vegetable oils, petroleum products, nuclear etc. were in the line of succession to meet their basic and commercial needs over a period of time. Renewable sources of energy have now become the order of the day. 

Now the topmost source namely the solar energy is picking up speed all over the globe. Some developed countries like USA and Germany have been very successful in generation and exploitation of solar energy. 

Like others India too should waste no time in exploiting this source looking to the vast potential available to its almost all the geographical locations during major part of the year.

Luckily after a seven-year-long wait , Aditya, India's first dedicated scientific mission to study the Sun is likely to get a go-ahead from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) this week. The ambitious solar mission will study the sun's outer most layers -- the corona and the chromosphere -- to collect data about coronal mass ejection and more, which will also yield information for space weather prediction. A solid and timely action on the part of Government of India!

Any amount of research in this direction is bound to be commercially useful and viable in the long run to this country and to the planet earth.

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Vizag siblings serve up a real treat for google doodle!


P.Karthik, a class III student from Vizag in Andhra Pradesh and the son of a school driver, won the Doodle for Google-2015 national-level competition.

His elder sister Ramya of class IV student won Group II competition.

Karthik's Doodle is about a machine that shows how non-biodegradable plastic can be converted into organic manure using solar energy. 

What a contribution by the kid at this age!
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Monday, November 16, 2015

Edison, the great scientist.


Thomas Alva Edison, who was an unparalleled achiever in the scientific world so far, could have only six months of schooling in all. He worked some 18 hours a day and made some 1093 discoveries in his life. The biggest discovery was electric bulb and telegraph for the mankind. Electric bulb he could make only after about thousand efforts and attempts. Similarly after some ten years of hard work he discovered the battery to store electricity.

We salute that genius and intellectual scientist who enabled the human welfare immensely.

Had he been born in India after independence, he would have been bestowed with a memorial by converting his official residence into a memorial at government expense and awarded with Bharat Ratna!
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Wednesday, November 11, 2015


"80-year-old tries in vain to meet PM" written by Mehboob Jeelani

A biological father (Abdul Ahad Rah) in his 80-years of age and a resident of Srinagar has been unable to meet his two sons who were picked up by police from their Khatmandu, Nepal leather workshop in 2000 for their alleged role in the hijacking of an Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 in December 1999.

A police enquiry 2001 found the elder brother having links with a militant outfit in the early 1990s in Srinagar while the younger one was given a clean chit. But the father hasn't seen, nor heard anything about them for the last 15 years despite representing to officials from Tahsildar to Home Secretary and pleading before the human rights organisations.

The PM Narendra Modi was 90 meters away on the podium delivering a speech for the State of Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar on November 7,2015 though the old man with the photos of his sons and a bunch of documents reached the first row of audience by breaching security  cordon with a view to attracting the attention of PM and proving the innocence of his sons. 

A PM who is accessible to more than 10 million people on Twitter / facebook accounts is not reachable by such helpless citizens in this country. It means the grievance redressal system has not been perfected yet. 

Alas! The old man will die sooner or later without seeng his sons. Who is to blame? The entire system of governance since independence? It is immaterial who becomes the PM or CM in this country.

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Sunday, November 8, 2015

In India unemployment rate still high


India's unemployment rate grew from 6.8 per cent in 2001 to 9.6 per cent in 2011  based on official census data.

Among literates, unemployment rates were higher among the better qualified, highest of all among the 7.2 million people with a technical diploma or certificate other than a degree. Kerala had India's highest graduate unemployment rate at over 30 per cent as of 2011.

What is the remedy for such a development? Close down 50 per cent of technical institutes and colleges or do a manpower planning as I have been advocating for the last three decades?

Neither the Niti Ayog (erstwhile Planning Commission at Delhi), nor the state planning commissions / boards are prepared to undertake a serious home work in this regard. Even if they have done a modicum of such an effort individually, nothing concrete appears in the field facilitating the utilisation of the national resources judiciously and engaging the workforce in the avenues where they are needed most.
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Wealth therapists to help super rich


Being in the top 1% can be lonely, plus there’s the guilt. But now help is at hand

Imagine, for a moment, that you are a member of the super-rich, one of the fabled one per cent, that exclusive club that has more money than the rest of us put together: The 99% languish beneath you in perpetual soft-focused toil and struggle, and life is good, right? Wrong. In 2015, you, hypothetical moneybags, have been bestowed with a conscience, and your bank balance is starting to feel like a burden. Your condition even has its own name now: wealth fatigue syndrome. And there are an increasing number of specialist therapists on hand to help, and from whom you will receive what you likely won’t from the rest of society: a sympathetic ear. “The media’s idea of the one per cent is people go out all the time and party, and keep spending,” says Jamie Traeger-Muney, founder of the Wealth Legacy Group which aims to help the wealthy “lead a rich life”. “But my clients have more sense of conflict over their wealth. They feel lucky, yes, but they also have unique problems to deal with, and my work is to make them feel more comfortable with their status, to help them see what positive changes they can make in their lives.”
But as Jamie Traeger-Muney says, the rich are people, too. “Therapy is just a way to provide a place for them to have a talk to help them figure things out. And at the end of the day, we all deserve that, right?” 

Friday, November 6, 2015

Ailing Punjab!


It is an irony that a hardworking race like Sikhs in Punjab should be seen as wanting in their approach and thoughts!

Farmers are struggling. Religious heads are warring with each other. A decade old terrorism has not led to a permanent peace and harmony in that society. Punjab politics is no exemplary specimen for others to follow. Dynastic rule (Senior Badal has some five members of his family in the state cabinet including his son as deputy chief minister and daughter-in-law in the central cabinet) is showing its ugly head in all-pervasive manner!! Bharat Mata would have tears in her eyes because such a thing wouldn't have happened even in colonial rule of the British before 1947.

The land of warriors has of late given birth to a worthless and hapless community   unfortunately?

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Thursday, November 5, 2015

SC to hear Bagrodia plea on November 30


The Supreme Court on Monday, November 2, 2015 agreed to hear on November 30 a plea made by former Union Minister (Junior Minister to Dr Manmohan Singh in the Coal ministry for a year in 2008-09) Santosh Bagrodia for parity with former Prime Minster for stay of criminal proceedings against him in a coal block allocation case. The plea was raised on his behalf by a senior advocate K.K. Venugopal.

The CBI on its part opposed such a move saying that the legal provisions challenged by both of them ( former PM and his former Junior Minister in the same ministry) were different. It is for the court to interpret and give a judgment. 

As a common man one would wish to add that impartiality should be shown to everyone equally with no discrimination. Criminality committed by anyone should be dealt with as such with no double standards and doubtful interpretation in the interest of natural justice. Similarly politicians in such high positions taking and making major decisions should not be treated lightly while his senior civil servants are being taken to task for obeying the orders of the ministers. It leads to a ridiculous situation certainly destroying the rule of law.

Let us see how the Apex Court is going to guide the executives of this country in the days to come!
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Monday, October 12, 2015

Ageing of a person


As the person grows in age, his organs too start showing their diminishing utility and vitality in sharp contrast to their role in his/ her 20s and 30s.

Nature takes its toll uniformly without any discrimination.
Young friends better recognise the importance of their sense organs and limbs, enjoy life as per the need and purse without fail lest you regret later!
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Saturday, October 10, 2015

Spanish priest, in Mumbai since 1948, wants to die an Indian.


A Spanish Jesuit priest, Fr.Federico Sopena Gusi who will turn 90 next March , has a strong desire " to die as an Indian citizen on Indian soil" influenced by the poet Kabir. Although he lost his left leg 20 years ago in a road accident he continued to serve the poor and downtrodden esp. Katkari tribals in Raigad district of Maharashtra. He is trying to get Indian citizenship from Bandra district collector in the suburb of Mumbai with the help of a social activist from Pen taluk of Raigad district.

A missionary from Spain staying in India for more than 60 years wants to make India his home during his last days. What a sacrifice and service to the humanity - unheard and unreported by the media and unnoticed by the rulers of the day till now. Only such individuals uphold the dignity of human beings and repay the heavenly debt to The Lord of the Universe by selfless service like some of the great souls who lived and died on this planet. One would wish more of such individuals from various religious groups should come forward and help the poor and downtrodden in a big way on our soil.

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Friday, October 9, 2015

"Babu-led Model Won't Work"


by Manoj Joshi in TOI on October 9, 2015

He talks about the need for the positive and aggressive role of politicians-ministers in effecting reforms in the economy and governance instead of supporting the usual style of bureaucrats in maintaining the status quo.

One should no doubt agree with this suggestion in general although a bit hard in achieving such a goal in entirety. The politicians have a weakness in believing the committed loyalty of some babus and acting on their advice blindly to the detriment of national and public interest invariably - an unfortunate development during and after the days of Indira Gandhi as PM  of India.

Centralisation of power in PMO  and CMOs is not necessarily a favourable development. What is wrong in decentralisation of actual powers to other elected ministers in the cabinet and taking them to task in case of deliberate mistakes and blunders. PMO is bound to suffer from omissions and commissions knowingly or unknowingly. Better to have a lean secretariat for PM and CMs in the days to come. 

One is afraid, the PMO is still not effective in ensuring follow up action on the promises and commitments made by the PM so far!
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Monday, September 7, 2015

Kerala's secret shame!


2011 census shows there were 23183 married girls below 15 in the state of Kerala, known for the highest literacy in this country. Literacy level has unfortunately no impact on social evils like child marriage. We can imagine what will be the position in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh etc.
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Sunday, September 6, 2015

Poor milk producers at the receiving end?


The Tamil Nadu Milk Producers' Welfare Association has urged the state government to take steps to include milk in the daily menu at noon meal centres and anganwadis (covering 70 lakh children) to ensure the procurement of excess milk produced by farmers. If the proposal is approved, the procurement would go up from 30 lakh litres per day to 50 lakh litres.

The hike of Rs five per litre in the procurement price of milk in November last year attracted more farmers to milk production. Five lakh members of the milk cooperative societies are unable to sell the milk. Hence the attempt to sell the cows in other states. 

It seems there is no coordination between different departments in the state. Neither ministers nor the concerned officials including the state planning commission are in a position to foresee the demand and supply of milk as a result of more number of families taking to white revolution as a means of earning or source of additional income to the households. Imagination and hard work is missing!

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P.C Vs Pranab


PC blames Pranab's stimulus package for UPA's 2014 rout. 
(Sunday Times of India, March 8,  2015)

"My government was punished in 2014 after we spent money in 2009 as part of a stimulus package. Due to this, we had to violate fiscal consolidation norms. Inflation hit 14 percent and rupee lost its value. People rejected our government and we lost" - P. Chidamabaram, Former Finance Minister.

Both the leaders are from Congress party and the one successor-finance minister finds fault with his predecessor. Both were part of the same cabinet headed by an economist Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. All the three were responsible for the collective decision taken by the cabinet. It is unfair on the part of P.C to question his predecessor, now the President of India. 

Inflation in this country is beyond the policy and practice of every government which ruled this nation so far. Well, similarly losing 2014 election by the congress party is not only due to inflation as being argued by P.C. The latter himself committed a blunder by not following the recommendation of the last Central Pay Commission in reducing the staff of GOI by around one third with the result the inflation was duly caused and aggravated by such a move on the eve of Lok Sabha elections and P.C is mostly responsible. 

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Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Small and Sincere Steps with Requisite Results - 5

Collector Sagar
A reading of medieval India esp. Moghul history is quite interesting from the point of view of uniting India, developing gigantic structures with good architecture and everlasting features. Known for systematic arrangement of land records and revenue collection to support the army and general administration of the kingdom, the Moghuls had ruled this nation for about two hundred years. In between a famous ruler named Sher Shah from Suri dynasty happened to snatch power from Humayun , the second ruler in Moghul  dynasty and ruled north India for about four years only, before Akbar the Great regained the kingdom after defeating Sher Shah in a decisive battle. Sher Shah, a shining star in between was known for his extraordinary capacity in effecting reforms in administration, army etc. I am fascinated by his rule, style and skills in administering the territory under his control. Sasaaram was his capital. Sagar sounding like Sasaram became my headquarters of administration both as collector and commissioner for about five years and two months in the State of Madhya Pradesh.

I joined as collector Sagar on June 13, 1979. I did it on 13th deliberately to prove that number 13 was not an unlucky one at least in my case. Some of my seniors in the  neighbouring small districts were waiting for a bigger charge with a special pay of about Rs.200 extra, but I got a bigger district little early, thanks to the correct evaluation of the then head of the government, namely, the chief minister Mr.Virendra Saklecha on the ability and commitment of the officers posted as collectors in the districts.

Camp approach in district administration was my favourite idea. I drew inspiration from the British officers who made regular and systematic tours in the interior pockets of the districts to solve the problems of peasants and villagers, and to ensure land revenue collection, maintenance of law and order, correction of land records etc. Rural India was my preferred destination for systematic and result-oriented hard work  while in government service. I believed in sincere and genuine touring of rural pockets under my charge wherever I was posted. Sagar provided me a golden opportunity to test my skills as an administrator and give immense amount of job satisfaction for which I truly joined Indian Administrative Service.

Apart from ensuring punctual attendance in the collector's office from my side and disposing of files emanating from various sections of the office by sitting late in the night hours and early hours of the morning not only on working days but during holidays too. All the Demi-official letters and the dak addressed to me by name as the collector were opened by me or in my presence so that the persons requiring my personal attention would fail not in their attempt but get the desired action at the earliest from my desk.

Access to the general public esp. from the lower strata of society whether urban or rural was my immediate concern. A specific time was allocated every day in HQrs for hearing public grievances without fail. Any one could walk into my court or the chamber during that hour/ hours without the interference of the peon on duty at the entrance. As and when possible the petitions were received, perused personally and action taken in their presence by calling the concerned officers or the staff on that very day or at a subsequent date finally. Even outside this timing any villager could come to my residence at any time and meet me for any emergency work or talk to me over phone from anywhere in the district.

All the meetings of different types to be presided over by the collector were scheduled and conducted on Wednesdays only so that I could focus on the district revenue and magisterial court on Tuesdays. Thursdays and Fridays were exclusively kept for the touring in different Tahsils and Development Blocks of the district.

Interior touring was planned well in advance and two sets of three tents in each were moved from place to place so that the collector could stay for one night and two days ensuring two camps minimum in the corners of each revenue inspector circle (21 circles in the district). An article titled "Camp Approach in District administration" was written by me and got published in the quarterly journal of Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi in June 1983 which illustrates the type of work transacted during such camps in the interest of villagers and farmers of the district. The said article is reproduced below for perusal.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

A cheetah in action



Jamaica's Usain Bolt recorded his status as arguably the best sprinter of all time on Thursday. He now has won 11 of the last 12 individual World and Olympic sprint titles.

The peerless Jamaican has retained his world 200 meters crown in Beijing on Thursday, August 27, 2015 where he clocked an electrifying time of 19.55 seconds with a jaw dropping display at the Bird's Next stadium.

Wow, a great legend doing well consistently. Hats off to this hero on the track events. One would wish our players too study this man closely for achieving such performance as an athlete of fame for India.
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Thursday, July 30, 2015

Monsoon rains lashing North India


 Unexpectedly monsoon this time has ensured copious rains in many states like Rajasthan, Gujarat (including the dry belt of Kutchh area), Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Orissa, Delhi, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh despite the late arrival. Farmers are happy while the people living in low lying areas are facing the hardship. Well a natural act is not bound to help everyone equally in its benevolence. 

We the Indians have still not learnt the wisdom and will power to harvest the rain water scientifically and economically like some other countries in Asia. What an enormous quantity of water we are losing! 
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Sunday, July 26, 2015

"Make in Chhattisgarh" - not in good shape?


'Make in Chhattisgarh' - not in good shape.

Industrial body ASSOCHAM has severely castigated the investment environment in the state of Chhattisgarh in its report on 'impact of delay in investment implementation in C.G' and has called for urgent steps for clearing impediments thar are driving investors away.

Reasons for serious cost overruns:

Delay in land acquisition,
Lack of clearances( both environment and non-environment),
Fund constraints,
Poor promotor interest,
Unfavourable market conditions,
Dearth of skilled labour,
Poor supply of fuel / feedstock / raw material,
Law and order problems.

151 projects with investment worth almost Rs 3.00 lakh crore have remained nonstarter, which  is about 55 percent of the total outstanding investments worth Rs 5.6 lakh crore attracted by Chhattisgarh from various domestic and foreign sources both in public and private sectors.

It is of worthy mention that TOI on April 8 this year has reported how MOUs signed during Global Investors Meet are nonstarters and 90 percent have failed to take off in Chhattisgarh.

ASSOCHAM national Secretary General D.S.Rawat said, among the projects stuck in Chhattisgarh as of FY 2014-15, electricity sector had maximum share of 52 per cent, followed by manufacturing (38 percent), mining (6 percent), non financial services (3.5 percent), construction and real estate (0.2 percent) and irrigation (0.2 percent).

In severe criticism of government's policy makers, the report says that they have failed to garner a bigger role in exploiting state's true potential. Its contribution to Indian economy has remained at just 1.6 per cent in 2013-14 as it was in 2004-05 as well.

While state government has been claiming to be working overtime for agriculture sector, which employs 75 per cent of state's work force, ASSOCHAM report states that Chhattisgarh paints a grim picture even here as agriculture growth in state had declined from 26 per cent in 2010-11 to less than 2 per cent in 2014-15.

(TOI, Friday, July 24, 2015)
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Monday, July 20, 2015

ISIS suicide attack


An ISIS suicide attack on Eid at a crowded market place in Iraq's eastern Diyala province has killed 115 people and injured 170 persons, including women and children, in one of the deadliest single attacks in the country in the past decade. The mostly Shiite victims were gathered to mark the end of Ramzan, which ended on Friday for Iraqi Shiites and a day earlier for Iraqi Sunny Muslims.

Is it the way to celebrate Eid by the members of the religion?
By killing their own people who belong to and practice the same religion in a different way?
Would Allah the Prophet forgive those who indulge in violence like this?

If they have no love and compassion for their own community people, would they be in a position to befriend and tolerate the people professing Hinduism, Christianity etc.?
Far from it!
Only a group of strong people from Islamic community can teach them brotherhood and tolerance. Or else they would fight among themselves and keep destroying the peace of other communities till they are wiped out of this planet one day.

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Saturday, July 18, 2015

Eid Mubarak Ho




The second largest population-group of India comes from Muslim community. Their popular festival namely Eid ul fitre is being celebrated today (July 18, 2015) all over the world including India.

Human beings have found ways and means to perpetually remember certain events connected with their respective religions and celebrate them annually without any break. They enable them to break from their routine work schedule, spend time & materials, visit the places of their worship, meet their relatives & friends and exchange sweets &  savouries befitting the occasion.

It is is only the fundamentalists of some religions who search for reasons and incite violence & create hatred amongst them. Every true Indian is expected to be cautious with such elements and prove to be worthy citizens of this benevolent country.

As an administrator ( the Commissioner of Sagar Division in Madhya Pradesh State during 1990-92) supervising the work of Collectors in Five Districts, I introduced a novel experiment for the first time in Sagar town by which I formed a team of all religious heads located there including influential political and community leaders to gather at a place designated by the Commissioner and visit the places of their worship like the Hindu temple, the main Mosque, the main Church, the main Gurdwara, the main Jain temple during their major festivals to create good understanding and cooperation among those communities. The idea was to play a positive and direct role by the state authorities in effecting good will among the people of the districts in the Sagar Revenue Division. It worked very well during my tenure. No idea what happened after I left the office.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2015

How does one derive pleasure and happiness?


By possessing sufficient wealth and income ensuring mundane and material comforts for making a decent and wholesome living.

By reducing, discarding or even sacrificing the unwanted and under utilised items and goods badly needed by the underprivileged sections of our society in the neighbourhood.

By utilising the time in such actions and avocations that result in job satisfaction, peace of mind & mental equilibrium.

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Thursday, July 9, 2015


Barefoot by Harsh Mander

"Dignified Alternative" (The Hindu, June 28,2015)

His point is: 'Far from being useless , the MNREGA helps the impoverished and resilient poor earn a decent living'

He refers to the statement of PM Modi on the floor of the Parliament on MNREGA being the living monument of the previous government's failures, condemning millions of impoverished people to survive by 'digging ditches' . He visited a site along with his group of activists to learn the actual condition prevailing in the field. They tried their hands as workers along with other labourers for a few hours and burnt their fingers for the first time in their life. One should appreciate their interest and venture in this regard.

Both the PM and Harsh team were wrong in their assessment and problem solving.

MNREGA was a temporary solution, sought by the UPA  government at the Centre to address the burning issue of unemployment prevailing in rural India, of course formulated and executed mostly on the basis of experience gained in EGS implemented earlier by state government of Maharashtra.

It suffered like any other scheme in the country: output not commensurate to the wages paid, old and disabled too participated like other labourers by giving attendance, village panchayat functionaries using their discretionary powers discriminatingly, effecting late payment etc, misuse of funds for ineligible expenses etc.

Actually speaking the allotment could have been used better for the development of uncultivable lands or on farming operations of land owners, after exhausting the implementation of community works like nistari tanks, kutchha approach roads, plantation or its maintenance etc. productively and solving the shortage of labour force in the countryside as was being badly felt and articulated with no results till recently unfortunately.

The same PM and his government is forced to continue the exercise and increase the number of working days from 100 to 150 days, with no alternative perhaps, as argued by Harsh Mander. If deprivation or impoverishment is to be met, then MNREGA is no solution. Some other social welfare measure would be the apt solution.

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Friday, June 26, 2015

IIMs in India. Any new Bill needed to improve its working?


Who will decide this question? IIMs themselves, other educationalists, politicians and babus?

Beheruz Nariman Sethna, a distinguished alumnus of IIT-Bombay and IIM-Ahmedabad and the first person of Indian origin to become President of a University in the US - a position held for 19 years, opines that "world class institutions are not built by politicians, but by those working within them and the proposed IIM Bill not only curbs the freedom of the 13 IIMs , but also dilutes their quality".(The Hindu, June 26,2015)

We better leave it to those who know better than us and hoard them to develop those  centres of excellence and get places in the first twenty of world ranking!
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H.C to rescue of nurse sacked before retirement.


Sadistic Pleasure of Officials in Government.

The devils are at work always deriving pleasure out of one's suffering and effecting discrimination on the eve of retirement.

M.C Gomathi Nayagi was appointed village health nurse on September 24,1986 and was to retire on June 30 last year after putting in 28 years of service. The Deputy Director of Health Services of Vellore district terminated her service on June 12 last, as she failed to pass SSLC - a necessary qualification for village health nurse and hence the petition before the High Court. Justice Hariparanthaman directed the state Health Secretary to invoke his power under Rule 48 of Tamil Nadu State and Subordinate Rules and relax the qualification rule within eight weeks as usually done in other cases.

As an administrator I don't understand the logic behind the need for a direction from the high court without which our state administration won't act on its own without wasting the time and money of the aggrieved subordinate official and the time of the hon. Judge of high court. If passing of SSLC was so important, who had allowed the person to continue in service for so long and why can't recover the sums paid as salaries from the officials concerned so that such mistakes don't occur in future. Such a thought and action is never a possibility in our set up unfortunately.

When are we going to get  a fair and impartial administration in this country?

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Monday, June 22, 2015

Human population Up, Tree population Down!


Infrastructure development consumes and destroys tree population in hours whereas they grew in years and decades to maintain balance of environment and ensure controlled temperature and drinking water for human population.

Mindless annihilation of trees and forests takes place in the name of development but the replacement of such life-giving trees and forests is not guaranteed by the developers for years and decades. God give them sane advice!

A mundane example( The Hindu, June 22,2015) : Several old and massive Trees ( 50 to 80 years old ) were sacrificed for road widening on Dindigul-karur Main Road in Tamil Nadu State of Indian Union while environmentalists keep crying with no solutions!

Practical solution?
Take up widening by making one row of trees as the median without cutting them as far as possible!
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Saturday, June 6, 2015

Dalit families at the receiving end again.


Facing a social boycott from upper castes and fearing possible violence all 13 Dalit families of Ansurda village in Osmanabad  in Maharashtra have written to district collector Prashant Narnavre seeking rehabilitation near an urban area.

Upper caste youths have no patience or tolerance when Dalits celebrate the birth anniversary of their icon Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. Hence the clash and social boycott resulting in fear of attack. This is happening after 68 years of India's independence on the soil of Ambedkar!

One should pity such a situation happening in some parts of the country once in a while in spite of great leaders advocating harmony and comity among different communities and religious groups. Political leaders and state officials should strive for peaceful living of Dalits in their localities and habitations. Freedom of India has no meaning unless we learn to live together.

As a district collector in Sagar ( a predominantly Scheduled Caste Community people subject to untouchability) in Madhya Pradesh during 1979-82 I made it a point to visit interior areas, make night halts in pitched tents as a part of innovative approach in district  administration, stay for an hour or two in Dalit mohalla (colony), take a cup of tea in their hutment along with officials and non officials from higher castes like Sub Divisional Magistrate, Superintendent of Police, village Patel, Block Development Officer. This was to indicate to the villagers that district administration condemned untouchability and the Dalits    were a protected lot in the interior pockets of the district. 
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Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Change of guard in Nalanda Varsity


Thanks to Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalaam, the former President of India who initiated the move in 2005 for re-establishment of Nalanda University near the ruins of erstwhile and ancient Nalanda University. The Central Government has announced the appointment of former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, a recipient of Padma Bhushan for his contribution in the field of public affairs and currently a member of the governing body since its inception, as the new Chancellor of Nalanda University to succeed Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. It is a right decision of the Government of India.

Located at Rajgir in Bihar the university started the first academic session on September 1, 2014.

Let us see how it would develop as a centre of learning and earn a significant place at the global level befitting its original status.  

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Monday, June 1, 2015

One Rank One Pension


The implementation of this slogan for the retired military personnel, pending as a demand for three decades, by any government including the ruling BJP is not an easy task although it was one of the many promises strongly made by the party on the eve of polls.

It seems the political parties are in the habit of making all sorts of promises left and right without any home work whatsoever during the polls but twisting the palms soon after the victory for halfhearted  implementation.
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Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Will clean up Ganga in three years -- Uma


Union minister Uma Bharti asserted on December 14 that the Centre was committed to cleaning up Ganga within three years even as she voiced dismay over the extent of pollution after an inspection near Allahabad saying the people were getting only "effluents" and not "Ganga jal" from the river. The water Resources Minister said that she was looking forward to holding a meeting with the Uttar Pradesh government to discuss its plans as the state has to pay a key role in the efforts to cleanse the holy river.

Allahabad High Court is rightly concerned about the condition of the holiest river in India. Who is to blame for this condition? The elected governments? The permanent executives I.e bureaucrats including technocrats? 

One may be perhaps forced to reckon with a pitiable alibi at the end of the day looking to the preparations promised and the works executed / performed so far by the new central government! 

Monday, May 18, 2015

Life & Death on Maoists Land


Kasalpara villagers fear CRPF backlash

Pavan Dahat reports for the Hindu on December 4, 2014 that the locals claim the security forces have used force under the pretext of carrying out combing operations.
Blades Maya, a resident of Kasalpara village said, the jawans searched every house in her village and detained five men after Monday's encounter. The encounter was the second such incident in Kasalpara in the last ten days. Due to the advice of Maoists the village folk stayed in a corner of the village and escaped from the crossfire on November 21. Around 25 women met this reporter near a stream outside the village and expressed fears about their husbands' whereabouts. Another woman accused the CRPF of beating up many women from the village.

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Rahul Pandita: Hindu, Saturday December 13, 2014

"The CRPF is so ill-prepared to fight Maoists, it is a miracle its troops are not deserting en masse".
For 15 days , since November 15, more than 2000 troops from six battalions of the CRPF had been venturing out to conduct SADO- Search and Destroy Operations - in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district. The troops were asked to engage Maoists if they ever came in contact in the absence of any intelligence inputs with them. 

The local tribal population is fed up with the establishment/government inasmuch as they are left in the lurch to the mercy of the Maoists. "The government has not diagnosed the problem and is behaving rather like a quack", a CRPF officer said.

A CRPF soldier, undergoing treatment after December 1 episode in which 14 CRPF personnel were killed, said "One thing I tell you, it is better to be a Maoist in Chhattisgarh than be a CRPF jawan". 

Can we expect a solution to the Naxalite menace in Chhattisgarh or elsewhere in the country under these circumstances?

What a sham in planning and execution with unintelligent and halfhearted approach by even the extraordinary setup like CRPF?
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Saturday, May 16, 2015

Age is no bar for a talented man!


At 95, US man by name Peter Weber Jr has become the world's oldest pilot as reported by the Guinness World Record keepers. This California man has succeeded another US man from Colorado, Cole Kugel who flew in 2007 at the age of 105 and died the same year. 

What a feat achieved by the great men in USA, the land of origin of aeroplanes!

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Thursday, May 14, 2015

MOUs between China and India


India's P.M Mr Modi and Chinese President Mr.Xi, during this week, are meeting, talking and signing bilateral agreements and many MOUs for cooperation and collaboration in the fields of manufacturing, trading, education, culture, communication, science and technology, border disputes etc.

MOUs are formal documents exchanged on such occasions but the speed of their implementation on the ground is normally slow unfortunately in many cases depending on the priorities attached by both the parties to such agreements. 

Well one would expect tremendous resolve on the part of Modi to push through the given targets.

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Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Mockery of Higher Education


Editorial "Fraudulent Duplication" in The Hindu dated May 13, 2015 reaffirms my fear and apprehension that the parents and students are being duped merrily and mockingly by many of those individuals and organisations running professional colleges in the private sector. The extent of fraud is convincingly argued in the said editorial based on facts and figures found on the government websites. Whom are we to blame? We the Indians are next to none in cheating and befooling in almost all the spheres!
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Wednesday, May 6, 2015

A change for the better?


"Artists agitated over cultural policy shift" The Hindu May 6, 2015

More than 130 artists sign letter protesting govt's decision to remove people of eminence from cultural institutes - the news in brief.

It is not cultural  policy shift. It is only the change of guards in apex institutions so that a fresh and alternative approach can be ensured. Many a time such changes may usher in faster and better progress in the field. Of course sometimes we may lose the services of some dedicated souls too in the process. With that thought in mind if the new government effects transfer of many stereotyped and pseudo intellectuals from their posts there would be nothing wrong in it. Over a period of time some self-seeking and self-publishing often establishing their own friends and well wishers in positions of eminence is a known fact of life. I for one would strongly advocate the change of entrenched guards for the betterment of culture and society once in a decade or two.
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Sunday, April 26, 2015

Price of independence in Indian bureaucracy


Never seeking a favour out of the way for one's promotion etc.
Doing things which normally others venture not for fear of annoying or belittling the importance of immediate seniors or centre of power in the given arena or field of activity. Going out of the way to help others while their positions don't expect them to do.
Doing a job with little risk if it can help an individual or organisation in the process of one's work.
Doing a job with pleasure for deriving job satisfaction.
Aiming to introduce reforms in a system unlike ordinary individuals in a setup.

If one has the above mentioned attributes while in government service, he is bound to annoy automatically his superiors and get sidelined in course of time as he or she advances in career and reach the higher positions in the cadre. He might even be questioned for what he did in good faith and public interest and quietly kept aside when a person oriented towards and committed to the self interest of the political boss has to be accommodated and awarded with a promotion and good posting. This is indeed a price an official has to invariably pay for independence and impartial actions while discharging his duties.

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Lee Kuan Yew
A law student from Cambridge, otherwise born into the third generation middle class Chinese family in Singapore in 1923, had the opportunity to form the People's Action Party  in 1954 and win the elections in 1959. Lee became the Prime Minister. After an initial merger with Malaysia, Singapore parted the way after two years and started its forward march under his rule since 1960. 

In the next three decades he transformed a tiny and sleepy fisherman island into an economically powerful city nation. Now the per capita income in Singapore is around  U S. dollar 55000/. 

Reason for success:

Enterprising and dedicated leadership
Incorruptible and strict government
Control on freedom of speech and media
Single party rule for 3-4 decades with no opposition
People's cooperation with the government

Is it possible in India to repeat that system given the constitution of India, diversity in race, religion, language, culture, history, geography etc? Not really.

A disciplined democracy, with press freedom subordinated to national goals, pronounced and practised by selfless individuals at the apex level and supported by a bureaucracy committed to the Constitution of India and the socialistic pattern of Indian society alone can pave the way for transformation of India into a world class nation developed in all aspects.

Can the Modi's role and rule be expected to usher in such a transformation in India?

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Friday, April 24, 2015

AAP and a farmer in Jantar Mantar, Delhi


An AAP farmer Gajendra Singh from Rajasthan commits suicide in front of the entire ministry of Delhi Government with sufficient warning in advance - and Arvind, chief minister and the police official accusing each other of dereliction of duty on the spot. What a pity? The govt. of Delhi couldn't save the life of a sincere party worker -cum-farmer who attended the farmers rally arranged by the party!

Shame on the part of entire crowd watching the tamasha!,
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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Secretaries' report paints a grim picture of PM’s pet schemes

Expresses concern over shoddy implementation
(Hindustan Times, April 1, 2015)

The NDA government’s Jan Dhan Yojna might have recorded a sharp rise in new bank accounts but it faces several hurdles in its way to become an effective tool of financial inclusion.

Realty Check:
46 secretaries present report to the PM on their tour of first place of posting
29 secretaries said unemployment most pressing problem
28 secretaries said sanitation conditions deplorable
25 secretaries found no new industry in areas visited by them
19 secretaries found poor road/rail/aid connectivity
15 secretaries said abysmal condition of health services
15 bureaucrats pointed out deteriorating sex ratio

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Status of Executives at the grassroots


A down to earth practical approach  was adopted by PM Narendra Modi by sending top bureaucrats to the places where they initially started their career and worked 30-35 years ago to find out the status of implementation of schemes at the grassroots. A top-down goal fixation and target implementation is normally beset with many teething troubles due to varied assets and capacities enjoyed by the executives in the field. 


The internal report in six pages consolidated and placed before the PM indicates that all is not well in the field despite encouraging aggregate numbers achieved and reported by the bankers at the apex level. No wonder in the last 10-20 years thousand and thousand crores of rupees budgeted, allocated and released from the Centre in the name of several schemes seem to have achieved comparatively little progress when the cost-benefit analysis is attempted and assembled at the end of the day.



Good beginning by the Centre under the leadership of a dynamic PM! But the aspirations and expectations for gainful employment and self employment to the crores of youths are certainly a daunting challenge to the PM and his government. The whole government - top to bottom - has to realise the magnitude, work out a strategy and strive hard to achieve the goals in a definite time-frame.



All the best to one and all in the arena!



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Friday, April 3, 2015

Good Friday



Lord Jesus was crucified this day some two millenniums ago, due to the unkindest act of his own follower. The son of God was treated like any other ordinary criminal and tortured, humiliated and hung from the top of a Cross.

The mankind hardly distinguishes good from bad things and persons. Mostly it realises its mistakes after the event and appreciates and adores the action of saviours after they leave this planet. Cruel but real it is in truth!

Utmost sacrifice for the sake of other human beings is the greatest benevolence left and taught to the humanity as long as it exists in this universe!!
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Second Phase of life.

Probably I am entering the second phase of an eventful life for sometime.
God be with me showing the right path to follow as usual!
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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

A scene near Dharakoh


Add caption

A scene near Dharakoh, a tiny railway station tucked into the valley of Satpura ranges in Madhya Pradesh State of Indian Union.  -- seen and photographed by me from a running Gondwana Express train passing through between Itarsi Junction and Betul Dt. HQrs around 6.40 AM on April 2, 2015.

Dharakoh is located in the thick of Satpura mountains. Three decades ago it was a dense forest while I was the district Collector and District magistrate (1977-79). There was a beautiful forest rest house on a hillock overlooking the railway station down below. During one of the week-ends I made a night halt in the rest house and inspected the forest area with forest officials.

Once a dacoity with murder took place on the train track between Darakoh and Muramjhiri railway stations. So the Superintendent of Police, Betul and I travelled on the inspection trolley of Railways and reached the spot for investigation.

I am pained to explain the way this forest range is preserved and protected these days. So pathetic and careless despite schemes and well intentioned forest officers.

A scene near Dharakoh

A scene near Dharakoh, a tiny railway station tucked into the valley of Satpura ranges in Madhya Pradesh State of Indian Union.  -- seen and photographed by me from a running Gondwana Express train passing through between Itarsi Junction and Betul Dt. HQrs around 6.40 AM on April 2, 2015.

Dharakoh is located in the thick of Satpura mountains. Three decades ago it was a dense forest while I was the district Collector and District magistrate (1977-79). There was a beautiful forest rest house on a hillock overlooking the railway station down below. During one of the week-ends I made a night halt in the rest house and inspected the forest area with forest officials.

Once a dacoity with murder took place on the train track between Darakoh and Muramjhiri railway stations. So the Superintendent of Police, Betul and I travelled on the inspection trolley of Railways and reached the spot for investigation.

I am pained to explain the way this forest range is preserved and protected these days. So pathetic and careless despite schemes and well intentioned forest officers.

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Monday, February 16, 2015


Hats off to the Delhi voters 

21st Century Delhi ( in early 20s) has shown its maturity and intelligence in decidedly voting for a new-born party, namely, AAP which of course campaigned with solid promises and convincing commitment for a better performance with speed and integrity even as sidelining the roaring statements of Lion Modi staking claims of all sorts including mudslinging of its leader Arvind Kejriwal in all possible ways. Luck or ill luck plays its part in full and much against one's will unfortunately. In May 2014 Modi was lucky and in February 2015 he is unlucky whereas Kejriwal has become lucky. Both will be judged by their performance and nothing else.

How and why Modi and Amit Shaw went enamoured by the self-published heroine of the uniformed services till a few years ago and parachuted her candidature for leading the BJP on the eve of elections. Poor turn out of the crowd in Ramlila grounds in a rally addressed by Modi  a few weeks ago perhaps convinced him of a need for confronting Kejriwal by a strong opponent of hers and hence the induction of Kiran Bedi at the last minute at the cost of veterans in the field. Despite a safe seat of Krishna Nagar constituency vacated by Dr Harsh Vardhan who won the seat five times consecutively failed to protect the C.M  candidature of Bedi. One is sure that the BJP cadre didn't work wholeheartedly for Bedi and her team. Northeastern voters settled in Delhi were treated like immigrants carelessly in the vision document of the party. No manifesto containing the demand for separate statehood for Delhi was not brought out like in the Lok Sabha Elections. Bedi developed cold feet when asked for an open public debate by the AAP leader Kejriwal. Modi's personal attacks on Kejriwal and his collection of donations from certain so called bogus firms exposed his electoral cheapness and gimmicks probably earned the voter sympathy for Kejriwal. The irresponsible utterances of Amit Shah on Black Money and stoic silence on the part of Modi on this issue also exposed their ordinariness in their commitment to the voters of Delhi. All this and more explains why and how Modi and Shah had to eat the humble pie at the election results of February 10, 2015. 

In the ultimate analysis Delhi results currently reveal the people' confidence in Kejriwal and not in Modi for the quick resolution of local and pressing issues.
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Saturday, January 24, 2015

Obama in India


A good omen for historical union of two great democracies in the world from Delhi's Rajpath on January 26, 2015.

It happens at a time when the American President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both known for persuasive oratory and coming from humble backgrounds before they became celebrities in their countries are continuing their friendship and exchanging notes. Obama is arriving as the chief guest of Republic Day Parade in Delhi on the invitation of Narendra Modi who was denied Visa by western powers for quite sometime. Hats off to this karmayogi Modi who reversed the trend through his sheer hard work. Obama got inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi in his political career and Modi,  a great admirer and follower of Gandhi, is determined to ensure economic and social development of India. A true successor of Gandhi from his own land viz. Gujarat!

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