Bring love back in our lives

In 2007 we have seen love loosing to hate, peace loosing to violence. We should stop and ponder. Are we going to allow this to continue or we should do something to reverse the trend?

If we want that in year 2008, love should emerge victorious over hate and peace over violence then we need to bring love back in to our lives. My friends wonder where the love has gone. I wonder too. Has love really gone out of our lives or it is still there within our hearts but has been covered by greed which brought hate and violence to the front? Whatever is the situaion we should re-discover love. Without love we cease to be human beings.

Every year people make new resolutions. I also do. Last year I made a resolution to develop positive attitude towards life and people. I succeeded to some extent. I continue with this resolution for year 2008 also.

This year I make a new resolution to bring love back in our lives. Let love be victorious on hate. Let peace be victorious on violence.

I have many wishes too (list is very long. Here are some):

No deaths under blue line buses.

No killings of senior citizens.

No child abuse.

No violence against women.

No road rage.

No police brutality on innocent citizens.

No expolitation of and discrimination against any citizen.

No terror killings.

Develop positive attitude.

No photos of ministers on public ads.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.

My New Year Resolution

I, Suresh Gupta, a proud citizen of India, adopt the following as my New Year resolution:
- That I shall work for continual improvement of day-to-day life of Indian citizens.
- That my relationship with all other Indians shall be on three levels – emotional, social and national.
- That on emotional level the relationship shall be based on the principles of humanity, as I am a human being and so all other Indians.
- That on social level the relationship shall be based on the principles of peaceful co-existence, as I am a part of the Great Indian Society and so all other Indians.
- That on national level the relationship shall be based on the principles of nationalism, as I am a citizen of Great Indian Nation and so all other Indians.
- That my behavior with all other Indians shall be guided by above principles.
- That my religion, my language, my life-style, my food habits etc., shall be my personal traits.
- That I shall consider religion, language, life-style, food habits etc., of all other Indians as their personal traits, and shall respect them.
- That all my personal traits shall support and strengthen above relationships.
- That based on above relationships, I shall work for creation of a class-less all-Indian society.
- That I do not have any copyright on this manifesto and all Indians are welcome to adopt it in full or part as their manifesto.

A new form of harassment!

What is happening on cola issue is nothing but a new form of harassment. Evetrybody involved in this debate is trying to force his or her views down the throats of customers. Let us see what Mr. Gurcharandas has to say about it:

"How to score a self-goal!

Truly, we are a wondrous land! In a country where two thirds of the children are undernourished, where 70 percent of the people cannot access safe sanitation and 65 infants die out of a thousand born, we are seriously debating the pesticide levels in a product that is probably the safest in the world from a pesticide perspective. Sadly, the controversy has created a scare in a nation which has among the lowest pesticide residues in its food chain. Indian diets contain roughly 18 percent of acceptable daily intake levels of pesticide versus Western diets which have 40 to 50 percent, according to international experts. The reason is that our diets are extensively vegetarian; and meat inherently has higher pesticide levels via the grains ingested by animals in the food chain.

If we are seriously concerned with pesticides in Indian diets, we ought to begin with tea. According to European norms (EU), tea contains 187,300 times the pesticide than water used in colas. If hypothetically our colas had exceeded allowable levels by thirty times, I could still drink 6200 glasses of cola and I would have less pesticide in my body than a cup of tea. The same goes for other foods. EU norms allow apples to have 154,120 times the pesticide than water; bananas to have 95,220 times; milk 7140 times. So, soft drinks are among the safest products we consume from the pesticide perspective. This doesn’t mean that our other foods are not safe. Nor is our food chain polluted—an unfortunate impression created by the media. It means that we do not live in an ideal world free of pests and pesticides.

I am generally a critic of our government, but in this case I give it credit. It has fixed water standards which are equal to the highest norms in the world. Since water in soft drinks conforms to these norms, it is probably safer to drink a Pepsi in Kerala than in Kentucky. The government is also now working on sugar norms and testing a protocol for finished soft drinks. In the end, governments understand that multinational companies have to maintain high standards because they have too much to lose. News travels quickly and a disaster in one country can harm a company’s image and sales around the world. Hence, the Indian government wants to do its own tests. The last time around government data showed six times lower pesticide levels than CSE’s tests.

Our state politicians have fallen into a trap. They think that by banning colas they have won cheap votes. People, however, will soon realise that they have been taken for a ride. Already the people of Kerala are questioning, how can you ban colas and allow the sale of liquor and cigarettes? Eventually, everyone has lost in this silly business. Our nation has been unfairly smeared for high pesticide in our food chain. Our exports of food products will lose the trust of international customers. Tourists will say, “If I can’t drink a safe cola, how can I eat anything in India?” Foreign investors will be reluctant to invest in a country which does not observe the rule of law in closing factories. All NGOs have got a bad name by these smear tactics. The environmental movement has been hurt. This is sad because we need a strong civil society to take on the real problems of India. Finally, media has been tarnished by its lack of application. We have truly scored a self-goal!"

Do you think that current debate is addressing these pertinent issues raised by Mr. Das in his article? My answer is no. Providing wrong or incomplete information makes it a new form of harassment of customers. And all, govt, PFA, BIS, cola manufacturers, CSE, other NGOs, medias, are involved in harassing the customer.

Do Not Block Information

Do Not Block Information

An article by Shekhar Singh, Convenor, National Campaign for People's Right to Information

"One would think that a report on the right to information by the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), coming out about a year after the Right to Information (RTI) Act was passed, would make recommendations to streng-then the Act.

However, a close look at the report recently submitted to the government reveals that at least three of the recommendations threaten to fundamentally undermine the RTI Act.

The first of these is the recommendation that a public information officer (PIO) should be allowed to refuse a request for information if that is manifestly frivolous or vexatious.

The ARC states that certain instances have been brought to their notice of requests that are mala fide and intimidate, harass and even humiliate officials.

However, the ARC neither gives any specific examples, nor does it go on to explain how the truth can be used for mala fide purposes (what-ever that might mean), or for intimidating, harassing or humiliating an officer.

The ARC lays down no criteria for determining what is manifestly frivolous and/or vexatious, perhaps because these terms are essentially subjective.

For instance, an officer who deals with millions of rupees, might find a dispute over Rs 10 of wages to be frivolous, but to a poor, daily-wage labourer these Rs 10 could represent two kilograms of wheat and the difference between her child living or dying.

The same is true of the term 'vexatious'. Any request questioning the judgment, the efficiency, the impartiality, the commitment or the integrity of a bureaucrat could be considered vexatious.
The right to ask vexatious questions is the essence of the RTI Act, and flows from the fundamental right of the public to question the public servant. If accepted, this recommended clause would lead to most applications being rejected as frivolous or vexatious.

The recommended automatic appeal to the information commission is no solution, for it would just add to the growing backlog of appeals pending before these commissions.

In the absence of penalties, there would be little incentive for PIOs to act responsibly. Besides, even if information commissions decentralise, as recommended by the ARC, the poor and the illiterate would find it difficult to attend hearings or send written submissions to support their applications.
The ARC also recommends that information can be denied if the work involved in processing the request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the public body.

As justification, ARC states that there may be cases where the efforts in compiling information may not be commensurate with the results achieved. Nowhere in the RTI Act is there any obligation on a public authority to compile information, or collect primary information.

The obligation is simply to provide information that is collected, or should have been collected. In fact, Section 7(9) of the RTI Act further clarifies that "An information shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority".

ARC surprisingly recommends that armed forces should be excluded from the purview of the RTI Act, because most of their functioning is already exempt on security grounds.

However, this is no reason why the rest of their functioning should not be brought under public scrutiny. Security agencies have many employees; they make decisions which impact the lives of people, affect the environment, spend public money, award contracts and make purchases.

Why should citizens be denied access to information about these matters? In fact, the blanket exemptions for all agencies currently listed under Schedule II should be withdrawn.

The exemptions provided in the RTI Act are adequate to safeguard national interest. Perhaps these faulty recommendations might never have been made if the ARC had functioned in a participatory and consultative manner.

Interestingly, the recommendations of the one consultation that the ARC reportedly orga-nised at Bhopal in December 2005 have been totally ignored.

The Bhopal meet recommended that the RTI Act should not be amended, and exemptions do not need rationalisation. Nevertheless, the ARC went ahead and did the contrary. "

How to kill an autonomous institution!!

UPA Government - habitual negative thinker

UPA government has developed an expertise in negative thinking. The latest is the govt bid to muzzle media. All parties across the board have slammed the proposed broadcast bill which seeks to arm civil and police officials with such powers which remind people of emergency days. But I&B minister is justifying this bill. It makes me remember that during those black days emergency was touted as 'Anushashan Parv".

POLITICS OF HONOURING POLITICIANS

Indian politicians never think positive. But if you see their actions you will find lot of positive thinking in the form of benefitting themselves.

I am very happy that Indian politicians are not lagging behind in the area of honouring themselves. Mulayam Singh has taken a lead in hounouring those politicians who were arrested during emergency. Congress should immediately honour those politicians who supported emergency.

Politicians should also honour criminal politicians and political criminals as they have, from time to time, provided logistic support to their parties in the hour of need. These great people have eliminated any difference between a criminal and a politician. An important step in the direction of creating a groupless society.

Wipe out opponents - not good English Smt. Sonia!!

Smt. Sonia Gandhi has asked her party workers to wipe out opponents. I was a bit shocked when I read this headline in TOI. A thought process started. With what mindset a person will use this language? Smt. Sonia has made this statement in connection with state assembly polls in UP, slated early next year.

Is election a battle which can be won only when all opponents are wiped out? Is winning an election is the end of the battle, the ultimate aim of a person or a political party? My answers to all such questions is a big NO. Election is not a battle. It is a process thorough which people elect their representatives. It is nothing more than a process. After he election, these peoples' representatives are required to privide good governance on the affairs of our country. Good governance is a governance which is effective, efficient and transparent. In such governing the principle of 'all-inclusive' is adopted. No body is excluded.

Then how the chairperson of a political party has talked in terms of wiping out the opponents? It is a negative mindset which looks upon the people as mere voters and subjects and not as people who have elected them their representatives. Smt. Sonia's statement is in a very bad taste. It instigates party workers to treat elections as a battle which has to be won and to win it all opponents are to be wiped out. It is certainly not good English. She could have said it in a better way by using some good words.

Rule or Govern Mr. Vajpayee!!

Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee has asked his partymen to learn from left how to get re-elected. The purpose of re-election for him is to rule. In this context he said, "People praised our work but did not renew their mandate to rule."

I don't agree with you Mr. Vajpayee that the purpose of getting elected and then re-elected is to rule. First, getting re-elected is not the end but means to achieve the end, which is providing good governance. Second, people elect their representatives and not their rulers. Third, people want their representatives to collectively govern the affairs of the nation in an effective, efficient and transparent manner.

The art to getting re-elected is not aping the left but providing better governance. The unfortunate part here is that majority of people and parties, left or right or middle, ask people to cast a negative vote against their opponent. If you think that BJP asked for a positive vote then I would say that it was asked in a negative manner. This negative aspect of BJP electioneering had hurt the people in some manner and result was the defeat of BJP.

It is further unfortunate that BJP has not been able to draw right lessons from its defeat. With this negative mindset, Mr. Bajpayee, BJP will never get re-elected.

Unethical tax regime

Taxes are required to develop and govern a country. But imposing taxes with a negative mind set to somehow fill up state coffers is unethical. This is what UPA government at center had been doing after coming to power. FM and his team has been working overtime to find new ways to cut honest tax payers' pocket. More and more innovative scheme are being implemented to increase the discomfort factor for individual tax payers. Adding insult to injury, it continues to call the new complex form for filing IT returns as 'saral'.

Through this form the government is intruding into the households of people. Now individuals will have to provide extensive information on monthly expenses. To balance the income and expenditure a housewife will need extensive training in accountancy.

What this government is up to - steep fuel price rise, OBC quota, 'saral' made 'complex'? Why government is being vindictive on the society and the people? Is this the governance with a human face? Kyon 'aam aadmi ki sarkar' ban rahi hai 'aam aadmi ki dushman'?

Profit Bill is not fine Mr. PM

PM has told the President that Profit Bill is fine. I do not know what was President's reaction to this but I say that this bill is not fine. It is an unethical decision and how an unethical decision can be fine.

It is a decision taken by those who were affected by the existing law. They were violating the law of the land and when confronted with this grave violation they misused the power and changed the law. THIS MAKES IT UNEHICAL.

The law has been made effective with retrospective effect therby legalizing all criminal violations. THIS MAKES IT UNETHICAL.

Parliament and its members (who have forgetten that they are peoples' representatives) are seen as role models by the people. Such unethical behaviour of their representatives has embarassed the people.

I feel ashamed of the MP elected from my constituency.

Ignore positive suggestions - UPA Style of governance

President has returned the office-of-profit bill to parliament for reconsideration. While returning the billPresident has made positive suggestions:
a) Parliament must draft comprehensive criteria that are fair and reasonable and can be universally applied.
b)There should be no adhoc approach in judging an office of profit. THe bill should be based on a proper and settled interpretation of office of profit as stated in Article 112 and other constitutional provisions.

President is also worried about propriety of applying law with retrospective effect.

President's action suggests that he has seen into the evil designs of politicians to make a law to benefit themselves. The government move was unethical.

Much more unethical is the stand of the government to sent back the bill to president in its original form. Any progressive government will re-consider the suggestions made and concerns expressed by the president. But being progressove is only a printed letter 'P' in UPA.

Magic of positive thinking

Congratulate Rashmi Taneja

For those who do not know, Rashmi Taneja is a girl blind since birth. She has secured 88.2% marks in the commerce stream of class XII of CBSE. It is a remarkable story of human spirit overcoming formidable odds. It proves that if a person has a positive thinking then he or she can achieve anything. See how positive her attitude is which has been displayed by her while preparing and appearing in the exam. This is the magic of positive thinking.

She did not use a writer (she was entitled for), as she did not want to “depend on somebody else entirely You never know what the person is writing”. She used a normal typewriter. She was also entitled to an hour’s extra time. But she did not use it for any paper other than accounts. When asked why not, she said because “It should be a level playing field”.

I do not know her personally but I am proud of her. Are not you?

Tourism sector warns Govt against quota

Indian Association of Tour Operators has warned the government that medical tourism, that is now growing at the rate of 30% and slated to emerge as a $2 milliom-dollor industry, will be severely affected if it encouraged quota system. Extending full support to the students protesting against quota, IATO president Subhash Goyal urged the President of India not to succumb to pressure by the UPA government in issuing an ordinance to introduce quota system through the back door.

PM should not make immature appeal

Doctors and students protesting against the proposed caste-based quota in institutions of higher learning have rejected the appeal made by PM to call off their agitation. They have instead called for nationwide blackout for 15 minutes on Monday evening. They have asked all citizens to switch off their TV sets and lights between 8 and 8.15 PM on Monday.

The appeal was totally immature and in all probability meant to be rejected. Let us see what one AIIMS doctor said “While giving an impression that they are for negotiations on one hand, the government is planning to break the back of our movement by threatening to terminate contracts”. This dual policy is one of the reasons, which has forced the protestors to harden their stand. Another reason is that PM had nothing concrete to offer. The seat increase lollipop is nothing but a dirty gimmick against the demands of the protesters. PM had not addressed any of their demands in his appeal – rollback of proposed OBC quotas, review of existing reservation policy by a non-political committee and a concrete statement by the PM on the issue of reservation.

Now before making an appeal for calling off the agitation PM should have something to show about his sincerity, transparency and governance with a human face.

Queen reoccupies the throne

Mrs. Sonia Gandhi resigned her LS seat. Her party called it a sacrifice. I was confused as to how it can be called sacrifice as she, in reply to a question, said that she will again fight from Raibareli and win and come back to LS. Her body language was clearly showing her defiant and aggressive reaction, and giving a clear message that she had given up LS seat under pressure and compelling circumstances. Such action can never be called a sacrifice.

I also consulted Oxford dictionary. It says that sacrifice is the act of giving up something valued for the sake of something more important and worthy. Now when she said that she will again fight for LS seat then how her act of resigning becomes a sacrifice? Now she has againg fought the election and is back in LS for the same post which she resigned. At least now it become clear that her resignation from LS seat was not a sacrifice but a political decision.

She is entitled to take any decision she likes, but is is unethical to tout such political decisions as sacrifice. It is an insult to the people of this country who respect Lord Buddha for his sacrifice. If prince Sidhdhartha had returned to occupy the throne then his act would not have been called a sacrifice and people would not have respected him. In this case the queen has reoccupied the throne and does not deserve any respect for this act which is wrongly being touted as sacrifice.

Law breakers make laws - it is unethical

It is unethical. Law breakers making laws for themselves. MPs amd MLAs make laws for their disqualifuication in the event of holding offices of profit. MPs or MLAs know the law of disqualification when they assume a office of profit, but they ignore the law and violate it. When the violation becomes public they talk of changing the law so that their law violation becomes legal. These MPs and MLAs represent the people of India. Has any one of them tried to find out what people think about their move to change the law? Then there are some who wish to be seen as role models for the society. Is this the moral they want to set examples of and want people to follow?

Delhi government and UPA government at the center are talking of changing the existing law to make legal their illegal occupation of office of profit. It is being claimed that all political parties are backing their move. Rather feeling ashamed of their misconduct they are seen on TV talking about it as they are going to do a great service to Indian society and nation. What happened to the sacrifice congress chief made by resigning her LS seat? What will happen to the disqualification of Jaya Bachchan? What will happen to the observations SC has made while rejecting her appeal against the disqualification?

If congress MPs and MLas have any respect for their leader they should all resign and seek re-election. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi should not accept any office of profit after getting re-elected to LS. If she accpets any office, which has been made office of no-profit by the proposed illegal amendment, then it will be a mockery of the sacrifice she has made.]

The only amendment needed to this law should be to include every office in the disqualification list. These politicians claim that they have joined politics to serve the people. It is time they act according to their claim. Stop self-service and start public-service.

Loosing sight of the issue....

The issue is development of disadvantaged, those Indians who have been denied resources and exposure for and to their development. It is not a new issue. For last more than a decade India is facing this issue. Successive governments and political parties have succeeded in loosing sight of the issue. No body seem to be interested in solving the issue. Every body seem to be interested in taking benefit from the issue by taking only short term measures. These short term measures have divided the society in to various classes and groups. A very small percentage of targeted beneficiaries have been benefited. These benficiaries have formed their own group and worked for and succeeded in keeping all benefits of these measures to themselves. They have worked to retain the benefits to their future generations and have prevented new people joining the beneficiary club.

A very ineffective tool in the form of reservation has been used as short-term measure to solve age-old problems. No body is ready to learn lessons from implementation of reservation measures in last fifty plus years. Both pro-reservationists and anti-reservationists still looking at the problem as a new problem. More and more classes and groups are emerging making claims on reservation benefits. A problem which should have been solved much earlier has been converted in to a permanent problem.

It is unfortunate that Prime minister Manmohan Singh is also searching for short term measures. His search for a balancing act has proved that he sees this problem as a major conflict between pro and anti-reservationists. For political convenience he wants to take some short-term measures and postpone the problem to future. Every time it has happened. Manmohan Singh is also on the same path.

Increasing seats and/or by introducing quota for upper castes is no permanent solution to the problem. We must first identify it as a common problem of all humans and not restricted to various compartments, such as, SC, ST, OBCs, muslims, woman and...... This is essential or else this time also an opportunity would be lost and the issue will be pushed in future after taking some short-term measures.

Let us see what President does..........

Students have met President A P J Abdul Kalam on the issue of reservation. Giving a patient hearing to the 21 point agenda presented to him by the students, the President assured them that he would "look in to the matter" and would take up the issue with the appropriate authorities. Student brought to his notive among other points, how the fundamental right to education should be same for all, that investment in primary education has been a failure, pros and cons of second Mandal report.

I will be all eyes and ears to what President says and does in this matter.

Confusion, Confusion & Confusion.....

I am confused. I don't know what to make out of it. SC is hearing issues related to enchoachment on public land. In Delhi SC is pulling up every government agency including Delhi and Central government on not taking desired action to remove enchraochments on public land for residential and commercial purposes, even a minor unauthorised addition in an authorised house. But in Baroda SC puts a halt on removal of unauthorised religious structures on public land. What does it mean? People can enchroach on public land, build a religious structure, start living in it, and start earning money out of prayers and offerings and local adminstration will not be allowed to remove it. But people can not enchroach to build a house or a shop.

Why this discrimination in a secular country? Why Central government's appeal is allowed? Is it that both government and SC respect the measure of nuisance value of the protesters. More nuisance value more soaps. Or this stand is only for Gujrat under Modi?

Provide ethical governance - Petition to PM

To: The Prime Minister of India

Subject: - Provide ethical governance

Ethics in governance needs no justification. An ethical person is a good human being. In personal life, it is ethical thoughts, behaviour and governance of self. In organizations, it is extended to ethical governance of others’ matters also. It is not automatic. It needs constant attention and nurturing.

We want every department of India to be an ethical organization. We want all the people to be committed to doing the right thing because it is what we, as human beings, should do. Each one of us should have a personal commitment for ethical governance. We should be willing to be held accountable to our commitments.

Each organization is a pyramid. Ethical governance should start from the top. Leadership should be supportive and positive, and should establish examples of self-discipline and self-enforcement. Such ethical governance will flow down to the grass-root level and cover the entire organization.

As PM of India, we expect leadership action from you to create healthy and safe ethical climates in the all the departments in the country’s governance. There should be no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. There should be no excuses of any kind, no compromise on integrity, and no conflict of interest. Governance should be mindful of the context, the expectations of the people, and the available options when faced with issues.

We expect from all:
a) to be ethically awake to what is happening in the country and its larger social environment
b) to have a capacity to reflect on such issues in terms of ethics and values
c) to have a capacity to act on these issues in terms of ethics and values
d) to be able to live values in everything said and done.

The core of Indian ethical governance should be ethical decision making - should consists of: actions, which reflect good intentions, good means and expected good results, and actions, which reflect a healthy balance of obeying laws, consequences, care of others and good values.

Your leadership should responsibly exercise moral voice and seek cooperative solutions.

Your government should acknowledge obligations for social responsibility, which should be demonstrated by balancing economic or operational viability, protecting the environment, strengthening ethics and sustainable development.

Your government should believe in accountability for its decisions and actions. Its governance should be active in strengthening the ethical climate in the country, organizational accountability which fosters transparency, reporting and a willingness to be held accountable to public and natuinal expectations.

This petition is not against any person. The issue here is "ethical governance" not person(s).

I would request all the people who have the same say towards this issue to sign this petition and take up radical steps towards the betterment of this nation through ethical governance.

(visit to sign the petition - http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Suresh/)

Violance in schools

Violance in schools is increasing every day. Today's newspapers carry the tale of a girl student, Dimpy Mitra, who was killed in a fall from third floor of Father Agnel School. Another story relates to Chandan Bhagat, a student of class XII at Raisina Public School, who was allegedly beaten up by the Principal with a rod. Whatever may be the reasons, whoever may be at fault, the result is death in one case and injury in the other. Are these schools, "nurseries of peace", as educational institutions have been viewed in the position paper of the National Curriculum Framework 2005. The paper has categorically stated "The school atmosphere must be kept free from violance of every kind, This includes ... violance disguised as discipline".

Who will correct this inhuman situation in schools? Arjun Singh, HRD minister? No, he is too busy in pushing 27 % reservation for OBC students in IITs, IIMs and universities. Mr.Man Mohan Singh? No, he is too busy in keeping his criminal colleagues in the cabinet together to prevent BJP coming to power.

Restricting right to vote!!

Constitution of my country gives me right to vote to elect my representative to State Assemblies and Parliament. But in my constituency my right to vote has been restricted. Under the negative instrument of reservation, my constituency has been reserved for SC candidates. This has restricted my choice. With this reservation, I have to elect a representative from SC community only. This is wrong. I want my right back.

Negative thinking is an aberration

I have always wondered why people think in a negative manner. Sometime people, seen as role models, also do negative thinking. PM's veiled caveat to the Confedration of Indian Industry (CII) that if the private sector does not accept caste-based job reservations it might have them thrust down its throat by executive fiat. Are we living in a democracy or a dictatorship Mr. PM? Such negative thinking on the part of PM puts him in the category of those politicians who see everything from their vested personal interests and dirty vote-bank politics. There should be some difference between Manmohan Singh and Lalu or Paswan or Arjun and their likes.

Thank God some people think positive

SC commented - "Ours is a secular country. Every community is supposed to behave in a civilized manner". The occasion was the hearing of joint petition of Nizama Bai and her husband Sheikh Ser Mohammad, who uttered 'talaq' in an inebriated condition. Both husband and wife want to live together. But religious leaders are forcing them to live separately as husband has given talaq to the wife, even if it was in an inebriated condition. As per their interpretation of religion these two people can not live together as husband and wife. So they went to court for relief.

SC told the couple that they can live together - "You have a right to live together". To religious leaders and other negative-thinking people of muslim community SC cautioned, "Community should not be allowed to behave in such a manner".

POLICY OF EXCLUSIVNESS

India, as a nation, has adopted a policy of exclusiveness. Though no body will agree that such a policy exists, every citizen, political group, NGO and the government is working for its achievement.

Aa an example, after independence our country adopted a policy of reservation of seats in educational institutions for some select groups for a specified period. With time, politicians discovered the potential of this policy to create new and maintain their existing vote banks. More groups were identified. Many education bills were brought in Parliament to extend the reservation to more groups. Some new education bills are pending. First SCs and STs, then OBCs, then BPL families and any other category specific to a state, such as religious minorities.

I believe that the founding fathers of Indian Constitution had in their mind the concept of inclusiveness of the entire people in national mainstream. But the opportunist politicians have turned this initiative into the instrument of exclusiveness. Today Indian society has more groups than it had on the day of independence, and all these groups are fighting with each other. The negative implications of reservation policy - social, legal, administrative, financial and demographic - are there for everybody to see. But vested interests have undermined the national interests and have turned a blind eye on the realities.

The intent behind reservation was a noble intent but it was not reflected in the mindset of those who made schemes and supervised their implementation. The intent is still valid but needs proper corrections. The mindset has to change. The policy of reservation should be replaced by the policy of empowerment. It should be need based and should not be limited to select groups. It should be open to all disadvantaged people. The proposal of corporates to offer scholarships to disadvantaged people is a welcome step and should be encouraged. Government should not force the private business to follow its ill-thoughtout reservation policy.

India needs a movement of inclusiveness of all and exclusiveness for none.

Memory is too short!!

More than 100 people lost their life in Merrut fire. For few days all newspaper columns and TV news slots were full of this tragedy. Then everybody forgot it and started talking about blasts in Jama Masjid and Srinagar. Politicians visited Merrut and then disappeared. They were doing their duty, and now to attend to elections in five states. Administration underplayed the number of those who died. They were doing their duty. When will we learn? When we will become human beings?

Who is the third General Dyer in Rang De Basanti?

British government could produce only one General Dyer in its more than two hundred years rule over India. But government of Indians, in its just 50 years of rule over India has produced many General Dyers. Profile of such two General Dyers can be seen in Rang De Basanti.

One General Dyer is Raksha Mantri who orders lathi charge on peaceful people, including women and children, who assembled at India Gate to mourn the death of an Air Force officer and to protest the behaviour of Raksha Mantri. Other General Dyer's voice is heard when he orders that he will not like to see any survivors when security forces charged AIR office where some students were present. The face of this General Dyer could not be seen. Who is this General Dyer? I think about him and many faces emerge before my eyes. Any one could have been this General Dyer.

Don't you agree my countrymen?

Misplaced belief, making fool of self!!

Latest in the series - multiple blasts at Srinagar and Delhi's historic Jama Masjid. Killing and injuring innocent people. These criminals are commiting unforgivable crime in the name of religion. No god will tolerate these killings. All human beings are His children. He expects only love from His children. How can He be pleased if one of His child kills another of His child?

The killers, under misplaced belief, think that God will be pleased by these murders. They are wrong. On the day of judgement they will be thrown in to hell. They are making fools of themselves. They, along with those who instigate them, are not Allah's children but shaitans.

People spreading hate in the name of their respective religion are enemies of humanity. They should be isolated by the people who want to live in peace with each other. People should immediately report to security agencies any suspicious character in their locality. Without help of local people terrorists can not operate and survive. Let each of us stop giving any direct or indirect support to the terrorists. It is our country. It is our society. It is our life. Let us protect us.

Think Positive

Out of entire creation only human beings have been favoured by the creator to think . So friends, think and think positive.

Can celebrities kill animals for joy and fun??

As a reaction to imprisonment of Salman Khan for killing a protected animal, a strange comment was made by actor Sunil Shetty. He said that "it looks like celebrities are being targeted'. What does he mean by 'being targeted'. Salman Khan has been found guilty by a court in Rajasthan of killing the animal. He killed it when he was there for shooting of his film. Does Sunil Shetty mean that all this is a drama like their films and nothing has happened?

I have always had a liking for Sunil Shetty but by giving this statement he has lowered his position as a celebrity and also as human being. A celebrity has more responsibility towards society and must lead by example. What Mr. Shetty is trying to convey here? I am of firm opinion that law is equal for all and those who kill for joy and fun should not go unpunished.

QUOTA FOR OBCs

Manmohan Singh's cabinet is about to clear a notification to increase reservation for OBCs in 20 central universities, the IITs and IIMs. The constitution has already been amended for this purpose and no political party is objecting. But India Incorporate is not amused. Let us see what few of them say:

IT czar N R Narayana Murthy has vehemently opposed this move. He says - "I am totally against the quota system in management schools. In my opinion, a better model would be to spend extra money in preparing youth for the selection process". So, India Incorporate should draw out a plan for giving scholarships to the deserving in the needy category.

DU pro-VC is also agitated on this move. He said that this way "one half of the country will be nurtured not on merit but on other considerations". If this quota is introduced, the meritorious students will be denied good education. Concern is being raised that this quota will force a rush to European and US universities. Will it be good for the country?

Narendra Jadhav, RBI Chief Economist, says “Caste does not define how intellectual a person is. Rather it difference in resources and exposure”. What is the solution - Provide them all necessary resources and exposure to bring then on an equal footing for selection process.

Santrupt Misra of Aditya Birla Group HRD says “The government, instead of taking shortcut, to offer them paper degrees minus competence, should focus their attention to better the primary and secondary education in the country… I will always look to merit and never ask for the caste”. Yes, seems to be the right solution.

If government goes with its plans and quota becomes a reality then what sort of social justice will be this? To socially lift some people politicians are ready to pull down other people.

Interestingly this quota issue has again presented a embarrassing situation for PM, Manmohan Singh. People are asking a question - "How could he, a liberaliser with strong support in premier educational institutions like IIMs and IITs, agree with the proposal to reserve half the seats on non-merit considerations?"

To protect his brand image (which has already lost its sheen)he is again taking recourse to his usual gambit to shrug off an uncomfortable decision by saying that he was not aware of it. Arjun Singh says that PM was consulted. Now, who is to be believed? Both are favourites of Sonia Gandhi and derive strength from her.

Spread love, not hate

Riots in Aligarh are a crime against God. God has created us to love and not to hate. Love is a human trait as it flows down from God to human beings. Hate is unnatural. So, fellow human beings, spread love and not hate.

India is a land of various faiths and festivals. If people of one faith start raising objections to celebration of festivals by the people of other faiths then the result will be similar objections when they celebrate their own festivals. Why can't people enjoy all festivals together?

Many precious human lives have been lost. Those who have indulged in these senseless killings have committed crime against God. They all will be punished by Him. There are people who tell them that God will be pleased if they kill people not believing in their God. Dear fello human beings, please don't be misled by these peiople. God will never be happy by these killings.