Critical Mass Ride - Bangalore

Critical Mass - Bangalore

All you people out there with any kind of cycle...doodhwala cycles,
newspaperwalla cycles, mtb's, road bikes,
with and without gearwallas (and walis), with and without helmets...
here's calling all of you to bring along your cycles and join in the
first ever Critical Mass ride in Bangalore
spread the word and join the bandwagon....
Let's make it happen guys!!!!

The intention is to ride in a single line (i.e one cyclist behind the other)
and draw attention to the fact there there are people who cycle on the roads
and that other people using the road should know about us and provide us
equal opportunity to use the roads.
Just a simple peaceful ride!
Be there and lets have fun and make a statement!

Those who are interested to participate please turn up at the start point by 6.30pm.

Start : Lalbagh West Gate
End: To be decided
Time : 6:30 pm.
Date : 28.11.08 (last Friday of the month)

We cycle in a single file
No breaking red lights
No cussing
No arguing with motorists
Just a quiet ride. And it'll be fun.

A little background about Critical Mass.

All over the world, The Critical Mass (CM)
is done on the last friday of the month..
Even though its a working day, the idea is to spread the message in
a live form to a large commuter base. If it were to be on a weekend
it would simply be a weekend leisure ride. CM helps in recognizing
the importance of respect that cyclists who commute daily deserve.

The first Critical Mass event was organised on September 25,
1992 in San Francisco, USA.
Over the years, citizens of 300-odd cities across the world have
embraced the concept. It is known by different names, such as
bike-lifting, corking and mass-up, in various cities.
Some Critical Mass events across the world have participants
not only on cycles, but also on skateboards and wheelchairs.
India is still not convinced about promoting cycling as a means of
transport but Amsterdam (Netherlands), New York, San Francisco,
Chicago, Portland (in USA), London (UK) and Paris (France)
boast of a flourishing bicycle culture

Btw, Even Delhi is having a CM on the same day
http://www.cyclists.in/events/delhi-critical-mass-on-28th

http://www.delhicriticalmass.in/how_to_start_Index.htm

Human Chain Protest 22nd June 2008, 11.00 am, Agara Lake, Kormangala, Bangalore

Join the Human Chain on Sunday, 22nd June 2008, 11.00 am at Agara Lake (Kormangala).

This is to protect and save our lakes from privatization, which will ruin our water bodies and exploit them for commercial interests.

Most people think "There'll be thousands of people there, it does not matter if I don't go". Unfortunately, most people's protest does not extend beyond their armchair, and you'll find that your presence does make a huge difference.

So please do take part yourself, and forward this to as many people as you can.

Every person counts.

For details on why we are doing this, see the petition below.

www.ipetitions.com/petition/blorelakes/


16th June 08

To:

Dr. Dilip Kumar, IFS
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests
Karnataka State Forest Department
Aranya Bhavan
Bangalore – 560003

Dear Sir,

We are aware that the Honorable High Court of Karnataka has directed you to file a status report with regard to status of lakes in Bangalore that are being privatised.

The undersigned wish to express their deepest concern over the ongoing efforts of the Government of Karnataka through the agency of the Lake Development Authority (LDA) to privatise lakes in Bangalore, and hand them over to private profit making bodies. Already four prime water bodies - Agara Lake, Hebbal Lake, Vengaiah Kere and Nagawara Lakes have been already been leased out by LDA. As per the lease agreements signed between the LDA and the private entities, these lakes have been handed over on lease of 15 years, subsequently extendable, ostensibly for development of the lakes.

Such development involves introduction of restaurants, kiosks, boating, water sports, jetty etc, as it has already been seen in the case of the Nagawara Lake by Lumbini Gardens Pvt Ltd, and by M/s Par – C Systems in the case of Vengaih Kere. We are deeply distressed by this development as we find this unethical and counter to the objective of environment conservation and maintenance of lakes as our public commons. The kind of activities that have been allowed distance visitors from nature, and feed into a consumerist culture that we could well do without.

Incidentally, these lakes were comprehensively de-silted, restored and rehabilitated by grants from the Norwegian Government under the Indo-Norwegian Project and the National Lake Conservation Programme of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. As a result these lakes are fantastic water bodies and excellent habitats for birds - both migrating and local. In addition they support a wide diversity of flora and fauna, and support the livelihoods of tens of fishing families.

Over time, these lakes have been intensively used by all local residents and the general public for various purposes. While Agara is being used for walking, jogging and recreational purposes, Hebbal Lake has been used for customary and traditional occupations like fishing, grazing and irrigation. In addition, birdwatchers have been visiting these wetland habitats regularly documenting the excellent diversity of migratroy waterfowl. All these lakes, and Hebbal in particular, have been the subject of numerous scholars and researchers studying wetlands, birds, aquatic life and so on. Hebbal Lake has infact been repeatedly proposed for conservation as a bird refuge, and its watershed as a Regional Park (per the Lakshman Rau Committee Report – 1988).

These water bodies are also critical open spaces for children of surrounding neighbourhoods whose sensibilities towards nature and its dynamics are also awakened by the easy access to such open spaces.

We sincerely believe that it is an unnecessary and damaging investment to now lease out these very lakes for advancing commercial interests. Besides being illegal this will take away our public commons and our natural heritage and will only benefit a few commercial entities. This loss will be dear and felt by present and future generations.

Keeping all this in view, we urge you to recommend to the Honorable High Court of Karnataka that the programme of lake privatisation must be abandoned. We strongly feel that lakes must be maintained as our common heritage, their maintenance undertaken with the cooperation of local communities and no activity inconsistent with the traditional and specific use of the water bodies should be allowed now or in the future.

As concerned individuals, we are keen to assist the Government of Karnataka and its agencies in any intervention that will ensure the protection and sustenance of our lakes systems.

A BRIDGE TOO FAR ........

A BRIDGE TOO FAR ........

The Lord surveyed the Ram Setu and said "Hanuman, how diligently and strenuously you and your vanara sena had built this bridge several centuries back. It is remarkable that it has withstood the ravages of the climatic and geographical changes over centuries. It is indeed an amazing feat especially considering the fact that a bridge at Hyderabad built by Gammon using latest technology collapsed the other day even before they could stick the posters on its pillars."

Hanuman with all humility spoke "Jai Sri Ram, it is all because of your grace. We just scribbled your name on the bricks and threw them in the sea and they held. No steel from TISCON or cement from Ambuja or ACC was ever used. But Lord, why rake up the old issue now."

Ram spoke "Well, Hanuman some people down there want to demolish the bridge and construct a canal. The contract involves lot of money and lot of money will be made. They will make money on demolition and make more money on construction. "

Hanuman humbly bowed down and said "Why not we go down and present our case" Ram said "Times have changed since we were down there. They will ask us to submit age proof and we don't have either a birth certificate or school leaving certificate. We traveled mainly on foot and some times in bullock carts and so we don't have a driving license either. As far as the address proof is concerned the fact that I was born at Ayodhya is itself under litigation for over half a century, If I go in a traditional attire with bow and arrow, the ordinary folks may recognize me but Arjun Singh may take me to be some tribal and, at the most, offer a seat at IIT under the reserved category. Also, a God cannot walk in dressed in a three-piece suit and
announce his arrival. It would make even the devotees suspicious. So it is dilemma so to say."

"I can vouch for you by saying that I personally built the bridge."

"My dear, Anjani putra, it will not work. They will ask you to produce the lay-out plan, the project details, including financial outlay and how the project cost was met and the completion certificate. Nothing is accepted without documentary evidence in India. You may cough but unless a doctor certifies it, you have no cough. A pensioner may present himself personally but the authorities do not take it as proof. He has to produce a life-certificate to prove that he is alive. It is that complicated."

"Lord can't understand these historians. Over the years you have given darshan once every hundred years to saints like Surdas, Tulsidas, Saint Thyagaraja, Jayadeva, Bhadrachala Ramdas and even Sant Tukaram and still they disbelieve your existence and say Ramayana is a myth. The only option, I see, is to re-enact Ramayana on earth and set the government records straight once for all."

Lord smiled "It isn't that easy today. Ravan is apprehensive that he may look like a saint in front of Karunanidhi. I also spoke to his mama Mareecha, who appeared as a golden deer to tempt Sita maiyya when I was in the forest and he said that he won't take a chance of stepping on earth as long as Salman Khan is around."


This is another forwarded e-mail that I felt I must share..

Andaman Trunk Road & Jarawas

Date:10/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mag/2007/06/10/stories/2007061050090100.htm

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Magazine

Trouble down this road Trouble down this road

MEENA GUPTA

The Andaman Trunk Road, a boon for settlers on the island, could be the death-knell for the Jarawas. But little is being done to protect the Stone Age tribe from contact with the 21st century.

THE deprivation of a name, the loss of a homeland, the extinction of a tribe — this seems to be the ominous progression of one of the oldest extant hunter-gatherer tribes in India, indeed, possibly, in the whole world. ‘Ang’ is what they call themselves, but the world knows them as the Jarawa, the Palaeolithic tribe that lives deep in the jungles of the Andaman Islands.

The word ‘Jarawa’, in the language of the Great Andamanese (another Stone Age tribe of the Andamans) means ‘the stranger’ or ‘the outsider’. To the Andamanese, the Jarawa were outsiders; a different people, albeit of the same Negrito stock and inhabiting the same islands. It is unfortunate that this name — rather than Ang meaning ‘humans’, which the Jarawa use for themselves — should become the name by which we know them.

Total isolation

The Jarawa are one of the five Stone Age tribes of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which have lived in almost total isolation in the dense tropical forests of the islands, and have survived virtually unchanged up to modern times. They are hunter-gatherers, who do not practise even rudimentary agriculture, wear no clothes, shun contact with outsiders, and are fiercely independent. Their physical appearance — dark, almost ebony skin, closely curled woolly hair, and negrito features — are quite distinct from the population that originates from the Indian mainland and mark them as a race apart.

Because of their small numbers (240 persons as per the 2001 census, 317 persons as reported by the Andaman administration in 2007) and their being nomadic deep forest dwellers, they are virtually unknown as a community to the rest of India and are only a name even to the inhabitants of the islands.

The plight of the Jarawa has, in recent years, generated a lot of interest because of an almost sudden change in their behaviour in the late 1990s — from avoiding all contact with the outsider to actively seeking such contact. This change, which began in 1997, has heightened their vulnerability and threatened their way of life.

The single activity that has had the most significant, and adverse, impact on the lives of the Jarawa is the construction of the Andaman Trunk Road. Running in a south-north direction from Port Blair, the administrative headquarters in South Andaman to Maya Bunder in the north, the ATR was started in 1958 with the very laudable intention of linking Port Blair with the several settlements scattered in the middle and north of the Andaman Islands.

These settlements, which consisted entirely of people who migrated from the mainland (refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan, other people who had migrated in search of better opportunities, descendants of convicts and jailors brought by the British) were either consciously established by the administration or, more rarely, had sprung up on their own.

Established at great human and financial cost, they are now flourishing habitations, with the people conscious and vociferous about their rights. Before the construction of the Andaman Trunk Road, these habitations were connected to Port Blair (and to the mainland) only by sea routes. With the completion of the ATR (an endeavour that took approximately 40 years), a direct and unimaginably convenient land link was established between the settlements and Port Blair.

The trouble was that the ATR sliced right through territory that was, until then, the exclusive and undisturbed preserve of the Stone Age, hunter-gatherer Jarawa tribe. In fact it was because this territory was, by and large, undisturbed that the Jarawa had been able to survive with their way of life almost unchanged over centuries. The incursion into their territory, through the means of the ATR, exposed them to modern civilisation and its baneful influences like tobacco, alcohol, unfamiliar foods and diseases against which they had no immunity, which could together take them to the brink of extinction. What was a boon for the settlers, therefore, could very easily sound the death knell for the Jarawa.

Alarm bells about the impact of the ATR on the Jarawa should have started ringing long ago. When the road first started, sensibilities about the environment and human rights and the different rights of tribals were low. Therefore creating a road through someone else’s homeland, destroying virgin forests was not a matter of great concern.

Opposition

But over the 40 years or so it took to construct the ATR, consciousness of environmental issues and human rights has grown by leaps and bounds. However when the rights of a tiny group of people clashes with those of a much larger one, it is usually the more clamorous and stronger voice that is heard. And that is what has happened in the case of the ATR.

There was certainly no dearth of opposition from the Jarawa. Starting with the killing of the labourers building the road, to shooting with bow and arrows at buses and other vehicles when they started to ply on the road, the Jarawa made their objection to the violation of their homeland and space quite clear. That the administration continued with their efforts could be seen as an act of valour and determination in the face of odds or callousness and insensitivity towards the rights of weaker people depending on the point of view.

The Jarawa became the subject of a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Calcutta High Court in the 1990s with the High Court issuing an order to frame a policy for the Jarawa. The Jarawa Policy was prepared as a consequence, in consultation with a number of experts, and was adopted on December 21, 2004.

The Jarawa Policy dwells not inconsiderably on the ATR and its impact on the Jarawa. It recommends, among other things, that the traffic on the road be restricted to essential purposes (which have been specified) and allowed to move only during restricted hours and in convoys. It repeatedly stresses that all manner of interaction between the Jarawa and the travellers, particularly tourists, be prevented. Very importantly, the policy talks of encouraging and strengthening facilities for travel by boat and ship. The policy also talks of removing encroachments in the Jarawa territory on priority basis, and ensuring that no such encroachment of non-tribals take place.

No implementation

In the two and a half years since the Jarawa policy has come into being, little has been done to implement its recommendations, particularly the more difficult ones. In defence of the administration, it must be pointed out that the inaction was not, perhaps, deliberate. The Jarawa policy was adopted on December 21, 2004. Just five days later, on December 26, the devastating tsunami struck the islands. The Jarawa were not affected by the tsunami, so the administration, whose entire attention got diverted to the affected areas, had little time to think of the Jarawa, apart from verifying that they had not suffered any loss.

The Jarawa policy has thus remained, by and large unimplemented. No attempt has been made to explore alternate sea routes to link the places that the ATR goes to. Little effort has been made to curtail the number of vehicles plying on the road. The average number of vehicles plying on the ATR annually shows a steep increase from 17,179 in 2001 to 35,798 in 2006. The number is poised to exceed 40,000 in 2007.

Convoys of vehicles leave eight times a day from Jirkatang and Middle Strait — the two opposite ends of the portion of the ATR that runs through the Jarawa reserve — with an average of 120 vehicles per day. And despite explicit stipulations of no contact with the Jarawa, vehicles conveniently break down or stop on one pretext or the other on the portion of the road inside the Jarawa reserve to allow tourists to see and sometimes interact with the Jarawa.

The subject of the Jarawa was again studied by a sub-group of experts and officials, set up in January, 2006 by the National Advisory Council, to examine inter alia institutional arrangements for protecting the Jarawa and to suggest various measures to ensure greater protection. By January 2006, the Jarawa policy adopted in December 2004 had not had a fair chance at implementation. Just a year had passed, and the tsunami and its aftermath had grabbed all attention and resources. The sub-group studied various aspects including the notified Jarawa policy and its implementation and made several recommendations.

Regarding the ATR, it has suggested that the portion that runs through the Jarawa reserve eventually be closed, after alternate arrangements for transportation by sea or air were put in place. This means a further delay since very little action has been taken to explore other arrangements. Unless a firm decision to close the ATR (i.e. the portion inside the Jarawa reserve) is taken, the administration will continue to drag its feet on alternate routes.

Other alternatives

Despite the Supreme Court having taken such a decision in 2002, the administration has filed a review petition, which is yet to be finalised. It is easily forgotten that before the completion of the ATR (which is fairly recent), sea routes were the only alternative.

Even today, for all other islands, e.g. Car Nicobar, Havelock, Great Nicobar, other islands of the Nicobar group, Little Andaman and many others, transportation is only by boat or ship and, very occasionally, by helicopter. Therefore the people living in North and Middle Andaman can hardly claim that they will be specially inconvenienced.

Almost all the officials who work or have worked closely with the Jarawa, whether of the Andaman administration or the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti, a registered society set up to look after matters relating to primitive tribes, privately aver that closure of the ATR is essential to reduce contact with the Jarawa and protect them from abrupt induction into the 21st century.

However, other officials strongly claim that closure of the ATR, even a portion of it, is impossible since it is a lifeline for the northern settlements. The attitude of these latter officials is understandable, but unsupportable, if one keeps the future of the Jarawa in mind.

It is apparent they are thinking not of the Jarawa but of the other inhabitants. For these inhabitants, other alternatives are, or can be, made available. For the Jarawa, who virtually have their backs against the wall, there is no alternative, and time is fast running out.

© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu

My Calcutta - Circa 1945

These pics came to me in a forwarded mail. I couldn't help but share them. Its remarkable how the city has changed over the years, and yet, not changed at all over all these years. I can still recognise the buildings at first glance. They are still there! Wherever, I could reconise them, I have added my notes in brackets.

Calcutta traffic officer at major city intersection. His "sandwich board" carried the order to "STOP" or to "GO" depending on which way he faced. He also used hand and arm signals to enforce the sign. His cap was brilliant red and his jacket and pants were white. Leggings were tan. He stood on the cut-down steel drum, a real figure of authority, 1945.
[The backdrop is what I believe is Raj Bhavan, the residence of the Governor of West Bengal. The uniform has undergone minor changes but the white uniform and the black shoulder harness is still very much in existence minus the leggings. They are black and half the length they used to be.]



Traffic on Hooghly River bridge from Calcutta to Howrah Station, 1945.
[Now you wont get to see such traffic, or the lack of it, on Hooghly Bridge unless on a Bandh day.]



Streetside stall on Bentinck Street, downtown area of Calcutta, 1945



Heart of Calcutta's business district, 1945. This was the home of Whiteaway and Laidlaw, an excellent department store. It carried well-made British clothing and accessories along with the best of available Indian merchandise. It was the Times Square of Calcutta on Chowringee Road.
[The huge white building you see is now what houses the HQ of Life Insurance Corporation of India. The building was in a severely dilapidated state when I left Calcutta in 2001 and almost ready to fall down when the Government started renovation work. You could see trees and shrubs growing out if its old crumbling walls]



Busy Calcutta Street scene, 1945.
[The Esplanade or Dharamtala as its called in Calcutta. The building on the left is called The Statesman House, office of a major newspaper of Calcutta. I have been inside it a few times as part of the school team for their weekly publication called Voices. It is fairly well maintained inside and outside, unlike the LIC building. The one on the right is the Mosque.]



Tram terminal at the Esplanade, Chowringhee Road, downtown Calcutta, 1944.



Calcutta street scene, 1944.



Nimatalla gufat entrance. Hooghly River, Calcutta, 1944.




American combat veterans boarding troopship in Calcutta harbor for trip home after end of WWII, fall 1945. Trip required almost three months, including stop at Ceylon. Route was up through Suez Canal, the Med. Sea and across Atlantic. These images made with cheap camera, so not as sharp as could be desired, but they are authentic.


[News of Mahatma Gandhi's death hits the news and people throng the streets of Calcutta, 1948. The newspaper held by the man is The Statesman.]

Before the whining drowns it out, listen to the new India

This is an article by Arun Shourie that I had read a couple of years back. I chanced to browse a site which contained a link to this article, and I felt like I should have it on my blog. This makes for very interesting reading if you take pride in India and has some lesser known facts about our economy.

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Twenty to twenty-five years ago, even 10 years ago, few of us had heard of Information Technology. Today, exports from this industry are worth $10 billion — that is, over Rs 45,000 crore a year. That figure is 20 per cent of our total exports.

In spite of the fact that each of the markets to which we supply IT software and solutions has been in the trough of recession for years, IT exports have grown by 26 per cent this year.

Infosys had not even been born 25 years ago. Wipro was a company selling vegetable oil. Indeed, other than the ‘‘Tata’’ in Tata Consultancy Services, there is scarcely a name in the IT industry that was known then.

And guess what the average age is in the industry? Just 26 and a half! These 26/ 27-year-olds have changed the world’s perception of India. It’s not just a country of snake-charmers, it’s a country against which protectionist walls have to be erected. Of course, we can also charm snakes.

And not just, to pluck a phrase of Malcolm Muggeridge, snakes in snakes’ clothing!

And these 26-year-olds are changing India’s perception also of itself: that India can; that, therefore, we should face the world with confidence.

That is the situation in activity after activity. We lament the fact that, while we are ahead in software, we have lost out to China in IT hardware. That is true — as of the moment. We shooed away firms like Motorola when they approached us in the early 1990s for facilities to set up manufacturing operations in India. China welcomed them, it wooed them, it created every conceivable facility for hardware firms from Japan, of course, but also from Taiwan, a country at which 400 of its missiles are aimed. It has thereby leapt ahead.

But the game is hardly over. That world-class hardware can be produced in India is evident. How many of us would have heard of Moser-Baer? Located in unprepossessing Noida, it is the world’s third largest optical media manufacturer, and the lowest-cost producer of CD-Recorders. Its exports are close to Rs 1,000 crore.

The firm sells data-storage products to seven of the world’s top 10 CD-R producers. And it produces them so efficiently that, to shield themselves, European competitors had to file an anti-dumping case to stop and penalise its exports to Europe. Moser-Baer fought on its own. And won.

A firm most of us have not heard of. A firm that is manufacturing products at the cutting edge of technology. A firm exporting Rs 1,000 crore of products that require the utmost precision and technological sophistication. A firm that European firms fear.

And equally important — the very international fora that our ideologues shout are instruments of exploitation hold against European firms, and in favour of this Indian firm.

There is more. Moser-Baer has acquired Capco Luxembourg, a firm that owns 49 per cent of a Netherlands-based CD-R distributor. And it has set up Glyphics Media Inc. in the United States—for markets in North and South America. And here we are being made to shiver at the thought that foreign firms are about to swallow us!

Heard of Tandon Electronics? Its exports of electronic hardware are close to Rs 4,000 crore!

At a moment’s notice, my friends Amit Mitra of FICCI and Tarun Das of CII send me particulars of firm after firm, in sector after sector, that has broken new ground. A sample:

* Fifteen of the world’s major automobile manufacturers are now obtaining components from Indian firms.

* Just last year, exports of auto-components were $375 million. This year they are close to $1.5 billion. Estimates indicate they will reach $15 billion within six to seven years.

* Hero Honda is now the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world—with an output of 17 lakh motorcycles a year.

* One lakh Indica cars of the Tatas are to be marketed in Europe by Rover, one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious auto-manufacturers under its — that is, Rover’s — brand name.

* Bharat Forge has the world’s largest single-location forging facility — of 1.2 lakh tonnes per annum. Its client list includes Toyota, Honda, Volvo, Cummins, Daimler Chrysler. It has been chosen as a supplier of small forging parts for Toyota’s global transmission parts’ sourcing hub in Bangalore.

* Asian Paints has production facilities in 22 countries spread across five continents. It has recently acquired Berger International, which gives it access to 11 countries, and SCIB Chemical SAE in Egypt. Asian Paints is the market leader in 11 of the 22 countries in which it is present, including India.

* Hindustan Inks has the world’s largest single stream, fully integrated ink plant, of 1 lakh tonnes per annum capacity, at Vapi, Gujarat. It has a manufacturing plant and a 100 per cent subsidiary in the US. It has another 100 per cent subsidiary in Austria.

* For two years running, General Motors has awarded Sundaram Clayton its ‘Best Supplier Award’; the volumes it sources out of India are growing every year.

* Ford has presented the ‘Gold World Excellence Award’ to Cooper Tyres.

* Essel Propack is the world’s largest laminated tube manufacturer. It has a manufacturing presence in 11 countries including China, a global manufacturing share of 25 per cent, and caters to all of P&G’s laminated tube requirements in the US, and 40 per cent of Unilever’s.

* Aston Martin, one of the world’s most expensive car brands, has contracted prototyping its latest luxury sports car to an India-based designer. This would be the cheapest car to roll out of Aston Martin’s stable.

* Maruti has been the preferred supplier of small cars under the Suzuki brand for Europe. Suzuki has now decided to make India its manufacturing, export and research hub outside Japan.

* Hyundai Motors India is about to become the parent Hyundai Motors Corporation’s global small car hub. In 2003, HMC will source 25,000 Santros from HMI’s plant in India. By 2010 HMI is targeted to supply half a million cars to HMC.

It was only in 1999 that HMI got its first outsourcing contract and already, in 2003, 20 per cent of its sales will be what it supplies as an outsourcing hub. It is exporting cars to Indonesia, Algeria, Morocco, Columbia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

* Ford India got its first outsourcing contract in 2000. Within 3 years outsourcing accounts for 35 per cent of its sales. Ford India supplies to Mexico, Brazil and China. The parent Ford is sourcing close to $40 million worth of components from India, and plans to increase these in the coming years.

Ford India is already the sole manufacturing and supply base for Ikon cars and components. These are being exported to Mexico, China and Africa.

* Toyota Kirloskar Motors chose India over competitive destinations like Philippines and China for setting up a new project to source transmissions as this option proved more economical.

* Europe’s leading tractor maker, Renault, has chosen International Tractors (ITL) as its sole global sourcing hub for 40 to 85 horsepower tractors.

* Tyco Electronics India bagged its first outsourcing contract in 1998-99. So successful has it been that components and products others have contracted from it already account for 50 per cent of its total sales. It supplies to the parent, Tyco Europe.

* TISCO is today the lowest cost producer of hot-rolled steel in the world.

* TVS Motor Company has been awarded the coveted Deming Prize for Total Quality Management. Many of the largest of organisations, even American ones—like GE—have not managed that recognition yet!

India’s pharmaceutical industry has come to be feared as much as its infotech industry. It is already worth $ 6.5 billion and it has been growing at 8-10 per cent a year. It’s the fourth largest pharmaceutical industry in terms of volumes and 13th in value. Its exports have crossed $2 billion, and have increased by 30 per cent in the past five years. India is among the top five manufacturers of bulk drugs.

Even more telling is another figure. We are always being frightened, ‘‘Multinational drug companies are about to takeover.’’ In 1971 the share of these MNCs in the Indian market was 75 per cent. Today it’s 35 per cent!

There’s another feature we should bear in mind: India’s strengths are becoming evident across the technology spectrum:

* We are among the three countries in the world that have built supercomputers on their own, the US and Japan being the other two: two months ago, the fourth generation PARAM super-computer was inaugurated in Bangalore.

* We are among six countries in the world that launch satellites. We launch some of our own satellites of course; we have launched satellites for others too, among them such countries as Germany and Belgium. We have the largest set of remote sensing satellites. Our INSAT system is also among the world’s largest domestic satellite communication systems.

At the other end:

* India is one of the world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing centres. CLSA estimates nine of every 10 stones sold in the world pass through India.

* Trade of Indian medicinal plants has crossed Rs 4,000 crore.

Here is proof positive that liberalisation has indeed worked. ‘‘By opening the economy before giving it a chance to become competitive, we have thrown our industry to the wolves,’’ it used to be said. Quite the contrary. The success in exports, in fields such as IT in which competition is fierce, in which technological change is fast as lightning, success in auto-components, in pharmaceuticals shows that our industry has fought back, it has become competitive.

Remember all that shouting about Chinese batteries a year ago? ‘‘Markets are closing down, thousands are being thrown out of their meagre businesses, factory after factory has shut down.’’ That was the shouting just a few months ago.

Where are those batteries from China? Yes, trade with China has grown—by 104% in the past year. But according to figures of the Chinese Government, in the first five months of 2003, India has amassed a surplus in its trade with China, a surplus of close to half a billion dollars.

And China is just an instance. Exports as a whole, and in the face of an unrelenting recession in the West, have grown by 19 per cent in the year. In a word, what committees upon committees with their piles of recommendations would not have achieved, being actually exposed to actual competition has.

Our foreign exchange reserves are at an all-time high—$82 billion. We have announced that we will not be taking aid from a string of countries.

* We are giving aid to 10 or 11 countries.
* We are pre-paying our debt.
*We have just ‘‘loaned’’ $300 million to the IMF!

How distant the days when we used to wait anxiously for the announcement about what the Aid India Club meeting in Paris had decided to give us.

But there is the other side—equally telling. Why is it that so few among us know even the elementary facts about these successes? Why is it that so much of public, specifically political, discourse, when it is not whining is just wailing?

Reservation - 6

Here is a humourous article on reservation. If you read it carefully, you'll realize that reservation doesn't actually help the OBCs. It just makes them more dependent and handicapped.

Some Unreserved Thoughts on Reservation

I cant understand why there is a hue and cry over the latest reservation move. Our extremely aged and revered leader Arjunji has got such a bright idea. One must appreciate that it is very, very difficult to get bright ideas, in the advanced geriatric age group. Indeed, first of all, we should applaud him for his great SACRIFICE. Just like his leader, Soniaji, who has innumerable sacrifices to her credit, he has sacrificed the pleasures of old age and playing with great-grandchildren, in order to take up the profitless burden of ministership. And now he has hit upon this idea which will make him IMMORTAL! How can we grudge that; after all, if he misses this bus, I can't see many, many buses in the remaining life-span. Mr. VP Singh attained immortality by this route. He had an opportunity to become famous for other worthy deeds, but he wisely chose Mandalisation. How can we refuse Arjunji the same opportunity?

After all, what's wrong with reservation? If unreserved people feel squeezed out, and they start protesting (so uncivilized and undemocratic!), then, simply increase the total number of seats. Let there be 500 students in every classroom! Let India be a shining example to the world of mass higher education. If there is no physical space in the classroom, the reserved candidates of course must have the privilege of not attending classes. A certificate that a person was alive throughout the academic session should be enough to acquire the degree. Some stupid people suggest that the government should have taken positive steps for the upliftment of the downtrodden, rather than sedate and handicap them with quotas. The backward should have been given high class school education at govt cost. All deserving backward students should be given freeships, scholarships and very liberal financial aid, in order to promote progress, etc. What nonsense! If the backward people had progressed, who would have elected the current crop of our leaders? The backward are the backbone of Indian democracy. They have to be preserved and nurtured in their pristine state, in order to maintain the down-to-earth (or lower) quality of our leadership. Indeed, it is the pride of Indian Democracy! The quality of people who get elected to the legislatures and Parliament, and the colourful way in which they debate weighty issues, its fantastic! In short, backwardness is an institution which must be preserved and protected, and reservation is best obvious tool to achieve this goal.

Some other unintelligent, probably uneducated people, like Mr. Sam Pitroda suggested that the whole policy of reservation needs a rethink, and there are better things to be done than dishing out quotas. They say that our founding fathers including Shri Ambedkar had mooted reservations as a temporary, time-bound arrangement to square up things and now it has outlived its projected life span. What nonsense. I am sure that Babasaheb's spirit communicates daily with Arjunji and all other leaders in their dreams and hallucinations and has clearly told them that reservation was supposed to be a permanent feature, and the quota was supposed to be increased progressively by 5% every year after independence. As soon as the figure exceeds 100%, we must insist on reservations in neighbouring countries. Some neighbours of mine on the left side of our house suggested that if we want to indulge in trade with USA, we must force them to accept reservations, and apply them to visa permits also. Such are the noble thoughts. May the numbers and the varieties of the backward ever go on increasing, and may backwardness never face the hreat of extinction.

Some of my Doctor friends are wondering why Arjunji is after Medical and Engineering seats. Doctors earn nothing compared to the labour they put in.The real earning is with filmstars, cricketers, sportsmen, TV and fashionindustry. If Arjunji is really interested in the welfare of the reserved, he should not force them into becoming doctors. They'll probably curse him. He should impose hefty quotas in all films, TV serials, all sports. I am told that the Coach of the Indian cricket team is paid very, very well. It should forthwith be declared a reserved post. Quotas in such areas only will give the reserved access to the real treasures of India. At the moment, politics is the only real avenue for them.

One last thought. Why are we worrying soooo much? Solutions for all the problems of India are safely and lovingly locked away in the infinite, ocean-like benevolent mind of the most pity-full, most loving and ever self-sacrificing patron Goddess of the Indian Nation, the most holy and noble Soniaji! Why should we worry when she is around? It is only a matter of Mahurat. The astrologers are waiting for the right alignment of the planets. At the right time, Arjunji, Manmohanji and other such saints have to march to the Heavenly residence, prostrate themselves before the Almighty Goddess, and beseech her to utter the Golden Words. And when She Speaketh, Voila! Mama Mia! The problem will vanish into thin air! There will be dancing and rejoicing in the Central Hall, and everyone will live happily thereafter!

Disclaimer
The above is a figment of imagination. Any character resembling any person living, dying, or dead, must be a divine co-incidence, totally unintended, and un-engineered.

Source: Forwarded Email.

I am not against OBCs, I am against reservation.

Reservation - 5 .... Congress will pay

I am not against OBCs, I am against reservation.

Reservation (Not A) Joke - 4

The following is reportedly a copy of the post on IIT Kharagpur's bulletin board.

Message:
They made me feel low.

I belong to OBC class. I am from a place where discrimination based on caste was very common. I grew hearing I am inferior because I am from back ward class. I had regretted in my childhood why was I born in backward class.

When my friends used to tease me on my caste my ma (mother) used to tell me only way to make you friends mouth shut is to study well and top in the class. I took this idea seriously and channelized my frustration towards my studies. There was a big change in me I started working very hard and transformed me from a poor performer of the class to the district 2nd topper of X exam 1996 supaul. After that performance also some of my racist friends disparaged my success by saying, I must have some connection with the govt of Bihar. Since the then cm of Bihar belongs to my caste. I was very disappointed not by the disparagement by my friends but by thinking why I belonged to my class.

Then I started preparing very hard to prove that my performance of X was genuine. I worked real hard and got through IIT JEE 2000. I got a place in B-Tech chemical engg at IIT KGP. I was apprehensive about-facing the same experience here also. But I was surprised when no body asked me my caste there. I was surprised from the environment there. No body really cared which cast I belonged to. No body at iit ever care from which religion or which cast one belongs to. Feeling of equality was for the first time felt by me there. I feel no place on the earth will be as secular and as racism free as iit

Slowly my feeling of inferiority because of my class started fading away. I started believing in equality of human. I started loving people not based on their cast but based on their ideas. I forgot all the discrimination. I feel proud of living in such a great environment. This place not only made me grow technically but also socially. I am real secular I dont only say it but also feel it.

But when one start feeling good about something in life god takes it away. Before this announcement of reservations I had started believing that India is growing not only economically but also socially.

I was feeling freedom from boundaries of caste and creed. But suddenly our leaders asked me to feel that I am a backward. They made me remember my childhood days. Now it has become difficult for me to feel same as I felt before this announcement.

I am really worried for my alma mater. I feel our leaders are going to spoil the haven on earth for their own benefit. I would like to suggest one thing if all the leaders will be sent to iits then only they can know the real meaning of secularism what they keep on trumpeting around. I will not mind if some of the seats of iit will be given to our leaders to make them understand the real meaning of secularism.

But now I am sure once they make reservations mandatory for admissions in institutes it will replace the equality with the hatred and discrimination.

I urge our leaders dont do this to us. Our generation has changed. Please dont separate us on the basis of our birth. Over which no one has any control. We have started believing in equality, hard work and dedication for success. Please dont break our faith.

It will really spoil the unity of our nation. Please let the new generation of India live in a world where ideas matter not the birth class.

I am not against OBCs, I am against reservation.

Reservation Jokes - 3

Life After 10 years (Effects of Reservation)

Sun is rising as usual in the east .I am standing here outside the school,waiting for my 10 yr kid. He studies in class 2. Only this year he could get admission into the school. For the last 5 yrs admissions were closed for thegeneral category students.

School bell rings. I can see a lot of happy children coming out of the gate, Iwaited for half an hour and my kid came at last after other children. General students are not allowed to cross the gate unless other OBC/SC/ST students havecrossed the gates.

OBC/SC/ST fathers drive away their children in classy cars. But I have to walkback home with my kid a 5km stretch. I lost my car some years back whenGovt. came with a rule that general people have to deposit a tax equal to costof their cars. Failing which I had to sell the car.

As far as buses are concerned, the seats in buses are reserved for OBC/SC/ST. So no place there also. After walking some 5km in scorching heat I finallyreached home.

It was Wednesday … shit no electricity. Every Mon, wed, Thu, sat is power cutin the houses of General category population So that SC/ST/OBC can beuplifted by providing them with every opportunity and in that considerationelectricity is an important factor.

Its 10:00 pm in night no electricity at home. It’s very hot inside the fourwalls of home .So I dare to step out in park with my wife and kid.

I seated myself with my family on a secluded bench in garden. It was hardly 5min. a guard came to us strolling in the park. He asked me what caste you belong to. I said with some hesitation. G..General. He asked me to pay a fineof Rs.200 and get out of the park. My Fault… The bench I was sitting on was meant for again the SC/ST/OBC . For their upliftment peace of mind is onessential things. So Government came with this decision to reserve benches forthem. Kudos to them…

Its early in the morning …the newspaperwala just knocked the door. I took the newspaper and started reading. Its independence day . I never used to forget this days some 20 yrs back. My kid hardly knows what 15th august is, because I never told him any stories of greatness of our country or anythingrelated to country. I don"t feel like telling him the failures after freedom.

On front page of newspaper, in a corner their is a news about a OBC member getting 6 months imprisonment in "BAL SUDHAR GRAHA" from a juvenile courtfor murdering and raping a six year old girl. Yes the rules have been amended, since the last 5 years. The Culprit was a 25 year old OBC, so age relaxation was provided for trial of crime. So he was taken to juvenile court, since there is an age relaxation for OBC/SC/ST.

About 11 am some one gave me the BAD news about demise of one of my neighborand friend Mr. Mehta. I went to his house for condolence next day, his body was lying there still rotting in the heat. I asked his son about the Cremation .His son told me "Many reserved category have died yesterday so we are not getting entry to cremation ground”. This rule is the latest from Government where the seats in cremation ground will be reserved for SC/ST/OBC for their upliftment.

Finally next day Mehta-ji was cremated could see sun setting through the Flames burning a liberated Body, liberated from caste and creed. I was surprised sun still sets in the west?

it was about 9 pm , I was about to sleep in my bed my son came to me with innocence in his eyes , inquisitively he asked me the question what is reservation? I asked him where you listened that he suddenly burst in tears… I asked him tokeep quite. But I could listen through his sobs "mujhe bhi reservation chahiye(I too want reservation)".

How can I convince him it’s no other toy in the market I can get for him?

He kept crying that night, claiming many of "his classmates have gotreservation". To make him quiet I said ok; ill buy you reservation at your next B"day.

HOPE he understands the bloody concept soon. Bye Bye India !!

Source: Email forward.

I am not against OBCs, I am against reservation.

Reservation Jokes - 2

A man is caught in a traffic jam, when suddenly someone taps on the window of his car. He lowers the window and asked what he wants.

The man says, "Arjun Singh is kidnapped and the ransom is 50 million dollars. If the ransom is not paid, the kidnappers have threatened to douse him with Petrol and set him on fire.

We are taking up a collection, do you wish to contribute?" The man in the car asks, "On an average what are people donating?"

The other man replies, "About 5 to 10 liters….!!

I am not against OBCs, I am against reservation.

Reservation Jokes - 1

Here are some Arjun Singh jokes to make you smile.

Qs 1. What is an Arjun Singh sale?
Ans. 49.5% off.

Qs 2. Which is Arjun Singh's favorite city?
Ans. Kota.

Qs 3. Why doesn't Arjun Singh have too many friends?
Ans. Because he is 'reserved' by nature.

Qs 4. Why did Arjun Singh learn Arabic?
Ans. So that he could read 'backwards'.

Qs 5. Arjun Singh was made the Law Minister. He zapped everyone by creating another Supreme Court. He called it the Supreme Tribunal. What was his logic?
Ans. For every SC, there should be an ST.

Qs 6. If Arjun Singh were to make a career in films, which job would he opt for?
Ans. Choosing the cast(e).

Qs 7. If Arjun Singh owned a movie theater, what would the Balcony be called?
Ans. Backward class.

Qs 8. If Arjun Singh were a historian, how would he divide Time?
Ans. AD, BC, and OBC.

I am not against OBCs, I am against reservation.

Now, the world too looks up to India- The Times of India

I came across this article about India and felt like blogging it. Feels really nice to know that the world is looking up to India.

The world views India's role more positively than it does the role of the US, China or Russia, according to a BBC poll of close to 40,000 people across 33 countries. What's more, unlike these other countries, India is seen positively even by people living in its own neighbourhood. Overall, about 35% of all the respondents saw India's role in global affairs as positive against 25% who said it was negative, a sizeable 41% having no opinion. There were only six countries in which India was perceived by a majority as playing a negative role. The list of these six countries is a rather unexpected one — Brazil, Argentina, Finland, France, Turkey and the Philippines. The only country with a majority negative view on India is Philippines (57%), while in the other five, the number of those who saw India’s role as negative was more than those who felt it was playing a positive role. Pakistan was not among the countries in which the poll was conducted, but 71% of Iranian respondents, 59% of those in Afghanistan, 49% in Sri Lanka and 39% in China viewed India’s role positively, given the fact that only 47% of Indian respondents were of the same view. These are among the results of a poll of 39,435 people conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan together with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland. The poll was conducted in 33 countries across the globe and the respondents were asked to give their opinion — positive, negative or neutral about India, China, Japan, US, Europe, Britain, France, Russia and Iran respectively. India also has reason to be pleased, as nine countries in which Islam is the major religion, only in Turkey does it get the thumbs down. In all the others, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania, India was viewed more positively than negatively. Not surprisingly, the US comes out worst apart from Iran. Not only is opinion overwhelmingly against it in its own backyard — Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina — it is seen as a negative influence in all of Europe except in Poland. Africa is the only continent on which it is by and large viewed positively, while in Asia, the US gets a mixed response. Even South Koreans and Australians are not too pleased with the US role in world affairs. Europe and Japan received the most enthusiastic endorsements from the respondents. There was in fact, not a single country which viewed Europe’s role as negative, whereas Japan was viewed unfavourably only by its immediate neighbours and long-time rivals South Korea and China. Like the US, Russia was disliked in neighbouring countries like Poland and Finland, though not in China. In fact, like the US, Russia could garner support for its role mainly from the African continent. China was viewed positively by most of Asia - barring South Korea - Latin America and Africa, but negatively on the whole by Europe, apart from Spain, and North America. Iran was easily the country seen as the one with the most negative role, with respondents in only five countries saying it had a positive role to play.

Source- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1400412.cms

Partition of India

This is the link to a site which I came across while browsing for topics related to India's partition with regards to Burma and Sri Lanka. Although it does not deal the the said topic, its related to the Partition of 1947, written by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and also available for download in PDF format. It makes for interesting reading if you like history. I have included the various parts and chapters of the book. You'll get an idea what all the book deals with.

http://www.ambedkar.org/pakistan/

PAKISTAN OR THE PARTITION OF INDIA - By Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

PART 1 : MUSLIM CASE FOR PAKISTAN
Chapter I : What does the league demand ?
Chapter II : A nation calling for a home
Chapter III : Escape from degradation

PART II - HINDU CASE AGAINST PAKISTAN
Chapter IV : Break-up of Unity
Chapter V : Weakening of the Defences
Chapter VI : Pakistan and communal peace

Part III - WHAT IF NOT PAKISTAN ?
Chapter VII : Hindu alternative to Pakistan
Chapter VIII : Muslim alternative to Pakistan
Chapter IX : Lessons from abroad

PART IV : PAKISTAN AND THE MALAISE
Chapter X : Social stagnation
Chapter XI : Communal aggression
Chapter XII : National frustration

PART V :
Chapter XIII : Must there be Pakistan
Chapter XIV : The problems of Pakistan
Chapter XV : Who can decide ?