Attitude...To Reflect & Act

The difference in poor and rich, developed and developing countries is not the age of the country.
This is shown by countries like India & Egypt that are more than 2000 years old and are still poor.
On the other hand Canada, New Zealand, & Australia which were inexpressive 150 years ago, are developed and rich today.

The difference between poor and rich, developed and developing countries does not lie in its availability of natural resources.
Japan has limited territory, 80% of which is mountainous and thus inadequate for agriculture or cattle raising, but it is one of the strongest world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw materials from the whole world and and exporting manufactured products.
Switzerland does not plant cocoa, but has the world's best chocolates. In its little territory it raises animals and plants for four months a year. Hardly enough but they still produce the best dairy products. It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world's strongest safe.

Executives from developed countries that deal with their counterparts in developing countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference.

Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.
So.....What is the difference then??

The difference is the attitude of people framed along the years by the education & culture.
On analyzing the behavior of people in the rich & developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives:
1) Ethics
2) Integrity
3) Responsibility
4) Respect to laws & rules
5) Respect to the right of other citizens
6) Work loving
7) Strive for saving & investment
8) Will of super action
9) Punctuality

In the developing countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life.
We are where we are today is because of our lack of will to comply with and teach these functional principles of developed societies.

p.s.:- The aforesaid is not my creation, I got it as a forward in 2006 and as I chanced upon it again, thought it was one of those few which was worth mentioning.

Have another close look at the 9 points stated above. We all can say with certainty that we have done atleast one thing or have had atleast one incident today itself, which goes against one or more or the points mentioned above. Either littering the road or breaking a traffic light or bribing a havaldar, going late to a meeting or simply living with the "Chalta hai attitude".

Its high time that we all realise that we need to pick ourselves up and carry along the rest of us.
Quite commonly known are the proverbs "Charity begins at home" and also "every single drop makes the ocean". I guess we should all, one day, just one for starters, try following these basic principles.

I will leave you with the following video, that I found on youtube. Its an advertisement by Times of India. And once you see the ad, it might seem quite cliche, but it does drive home a point. Click the following link:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smnTG-QS6tg.


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The Real "Rule 49-O" & What is it exactly....The correct interpretaion

Recently, as well as on quite a few occasions in the past, every time our leaders failed in their responsibilities, a string of forward emails used to go through all of ours inbox. This forward is with regard to Rule49-O which allegedly states the power of "Negative Voting". This interpretation is Grossly Wrong and misconceived.

For those of you who have not received this forward, I am sure you shortly will, until then for your convenience I hereinbelow reproduce the same:-

Did you know that there is a system in our constitution, as per the 1969 act, in section "49-O" that a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey the presiding election officer that he doesn't want to vote anyone!
Why should you go and say "I VOTE NOBODY"... because, in a ward, if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that particular ward has received "49-O" votes more than 123, then that polling will be canceled and will have to be re-polled. Not only that, but the candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot con test the re-polling, since people had already expressed their decision on them.



However there has been a slip between the cup and the lip. There is a Rule 49-O, which exists under The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 (Click here for the Rules. You will find the rule on page 27). This Rules states the following:-

"49-O. Elector deciding not to vote.—If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form 17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark."

This Rule simply states that the Voter has an option of not giving his or her vote to anybody. It just allows the person to register/record that he or she has voted and that vote has not gone to anyone. This per se does not have the effect of "Negative Voting" so to speak. This does not amount to cancelling the candidature or removing the contestant from the ballot and bar him or her to stand for the position again.

There are two flaws that come into play at this juncture:-
1) The Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, states that the vote of every individual is to be confidential and noone has to come to know for whom is he or she voting or not voting. However Rule 49-O is in direct conflict with this Act as in case you decide not to vote, you will have to inform the presiding election officer about the same and accordingly get him or her self registered.
2) Though you might, just might, end up finding this option of voting on paper ballots, the same is not true for the electronic system of voting. There is no such option on the EVM system, thus your vote or no vote would end up being public.

At this point it would be pertinent to draw our attention to the proposal which was placed before before our Government in 2001 and 2004 it reads as follows:-
(Click here to view the said proposal made by the Election Commission of India, you will find it on page 15)
"NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL VOTING The Commission has received proposals from a very large number of individuals and organizations that there should be a provision enabling a voter to reject all the candidates in the constituency if he does not find them suitable. In the voting using the conventional ballot paper and ballot boxes, an elector can drop the ballot paper without marking his vote against any of the candidates, if he chooses so. However, in the voting using the Electronic Voting Machines, such a facility is not available to the voter. Although, Rule 49 O of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 provides that an elector may refuse to vote after he has been identified and necessary entries made in the Register of Electors and the marked copy of the electoral roll, the secrecy of voting is not protected here inasmuch as the polling officials and the polling agents in the polling station get to know about the decision of such a voter. The Commission recommends that the law should be amended to specifically provide for negative / neutral voting. For this purpose, Rules 22 and 49B of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 may be suitably amended adding a proviso that in the ballot paper and the particulars on the ballot unit, in the column relating to names of candidates, after the entry relating to the last candidate, there shall be a column None of the above, to enable a voter to reject all the candidates, if he chooses so. Such a proposal was earlier made by the Commission in 2001 (vide letter dated 10.12.2001). (A petition by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties seeking such a provision filed at the time of the recent general elections is pending before the Honble Supreme Court)"

In view of the above, if I may shed some light, there is no provision for disqualifying a candidate and barring him from standing for the position in the future.
Futher on, using the language used in our forwards, I would like to say:- Spread the word around let people know about this clarification and the least that can be done is make the Government approve the aforesaid proposal which has been lying idle since 2001.

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Unity......(in Diversity????)

We all have heard the phrase....Unity in Diversity. And we take immense pride in it. But at times I wonder if we are really united. We are one Country, but that is only Geographically.

With a country having 28 states and 7 union territories, different cultures, different languages and dialects, different religions, castes, sub-castes, it is difficult to be truly united. Cultures, ideology, way of thinking, temperaments are bound to clash. It is difficult to not have internal problems. And therefore at times I believe these differences, on some level, pull us down and comes in our way of progress. It makes it a difficult job for anyone in the governing position to keep all sides happy.

And worse is that these are the differences which are exploited by our leaders for gaining political mileage. It is absolutely okay for people to have political differences, but in a country like us, with the leaders that we have, differences that start out as being just political, run deep down to divide us.

However recently in a rally in Mumbai, the scenerio was quite different. Look closely at the picture below (click to enlarge).















This is the first time ever, that I have seen, people coming out and voicing their opinions so vehemently. The unique part of this rally is that, people portrayed their agitation against leaders of almost every major political party and not just against one.

We might not be united in any other way, but this is the kind of unity which, if continued, would take us a long way.

This is the start, and also about time, that we send a message to our politicians, that we are in charge, that we are checking, that you are on the chair because it is WE who have empowered you with one.

No longer can we be consumed with our petty differences. No longer can can every individual be concerned with things that matter or is of significance only to him. It is time that we take a panoramic view, it is time that we look into each and every aspect that concerns us as a nation.

We need to voice are opinion and not against one party or not because the we believe in the political philosophy of one particular party and not the other. We need to voice it against any party in power, any leader which we have put there to make the decisions for us. Further this voice has to be critical, one that makes them accountable for their actions, and not one which is merely voiced to ridicule or pull a party down.

Whether for terrorism, or just roads, working of the government offices or water and electricity issues....it is time to tell them ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Hopefully the unity that we have achieved in the wake of the attacks, does not, as the time passes, go into slumber.















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Indian and Pakistani Media - They have TOTALLY LOST IT

It seems India TV is running out of stories to report. Check out the following video. This is actually being reported when Mumbai was under Attack.

And after viewing this you have to click on this link to see Pakistani Media's conspiracy theory:-
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=Eij5o7XizIA



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The Dominoes Effect:- Loss of Duty, Loss of Sense.....Loss of Maturity

Our Politicians, Our Representatives are just AMAZING. They constantly outdo themselves.

The concept of "dominoes effect" is quite well known and on has previously been associated Cricket Team. However I believe they have are also capable of being associated with the dominoes. Permit me to explain.

Loss of Duty:- Apparently our Government was quite aware of the impending attacks.
1) The US Government on two occasions warned us about a potential sea attack and on one such occasion also mentioned that Taj could be one of the targets.
2) In early November, the Indian intelligence intercepted a call which conveyed to us that dangerous cargo had left Karachi with an intention to sneak into Indian waters.
3) One LET militant caught in early February stated that luxary hotels including Oberoi were potential targets.
4) The Comptroller General even stated that around 25-30 Crores were given to each state on west coast to patrol the waters but Maharashtra failed to do that. Further, more than half of the vessels assigned for this task were either not functioning or were not traceable. (I wonder where was the said amount put to use).

This is where the Dominoes start to fall. Loss of Duty by no heeding to intelligence coupled with failure to provide efficient forces at the state level, failure to equip our forces with adequate gear and ammunition.... all this led to the horrific 60 hour long disaster.


Loss of Senses:- Once our leaders failed in their duty and the debacle happened - blame game starts. Such callous acts on their part reflect nothing but gradual loss of their senses....mostly common sense.
1) Subsequent inquiry revealed that there was no airplane, in the first place, to fly the NSG to Mumbai and that they were actually debating which airplane to provide. Ultimately instead of getting a proper jet, which might have been quite fast, one of the old airplanes from Chandigarh was flown in. Not to mention this whole ordeal gave the perpetrators 10 hours to do their thing.
2) Though not a big deal, Mr. Deshmukh is seen moving around with film directors and his actor son.
3) But the GEM, the ICING ON THE CAKE, comes from noone else but State Home Minster R.R.Patil. And I quote " bade shahron mein aise ek adh hadse hote rahte hain. Woh 5,000 logon ko marne aye the lekin humne kitna kum nuksan hone diya" .
4) The FBI team flown in by the US Government (on a special airplane ofcourse) was actually DETAINED at the airport for not providing the list of items they brought with them. I mean come on, whats wrong with you?

.....DOMINOES CONTINUE TO FALL......

Loss of Maturity:- I do not know how this functions but as they loose their senses, maturity also withers away.
1) When asked to resign, R.R.Patil says, noone resigned when Akshardham, Bangalore or Delhi happened. Very Very Mature. Lives are at stake here, scores are dead and injured, top police officials have been killed and this is your best explanation for not resigning?
2) The CHERRY ON TOP is on resigning the man has the odacity to say that he did out of moral obligation. But turns out it took a phone call from Sharad Pawar, telling him to Get Out.
3) A very recent SIXER comes all the way from Kerela. Where the Chief Minister. The head of the state (as Governors are just defunct positions), on not being let into a martyr's house said "if it had not been (Major) Sandeep's house, not even a dog would have glanced that way". Is this how we appriciate a person who has laid down his life for us.
4) LASTLY, how can we forget the Shiv Sena. Mr. Thackeray has to have a word. He wants President's Rule in Maharashtra. Turns out, the grapes are sour in politics as well. Just because you cant govern the state does not mean noone else can. Where were your and Raj Thackery's men during this episode. Instead of breaking and burning property in your own state, you should have sent your men to fight the terrorist.
And thanks to Congress, an able President as Kalam was replaced with Prathibha Patil, who is harldy active and moreover has not said a word or shown her face since the attacks. What will the President's Rule change in the state?
I guess maturity was also too much to ask from your leaders.

Hence the dominoes theory. Loss of Duty.....Blame Game....Loss of Basic Senses....Loss of maturity.

But it is us who in fact is to be blamed for this mess.


It is we the people who made the first domino fall......by electing such people in the first place.






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Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

One of the questions from my previous post is answered. Shivraj Patil has quit. Desperate times do call for desperate measures. But such measures can have good or bad effect. The good obviously is the ouster of Mr. Patil, the bad being the entrance of Mr. Chidambaram as the Home Minister.

When the country is having a spate of terrorist attacks, not to mention coupled with internal disturbances in various parts of our nation, do we need a person who is making his debut at one of the most important positions in the cabinet. When our great (sarcasm intended) leaders are today contemplating a federal agency (something that had to be done a decade ago) and also mulling over more trained and equipped forces to fight terrorists, you putting a man in charge of this field who has no experience at all. I mean COME ON. Don't let one grave mistake lead to another.

I admit Mr. Chidambaram is a great minister - but that is in Economics and Finance and I will also give Commerce ministry to him, but not HOME. Do we not have any person who is more experienced to handle this position?


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God Bless

Light a Candle. Pay tribute to all that have given up their lives for the rest of us.

Mumbai Attacked

I use this platform not to criticize the government (as it is not going to make any difference to them) but use it hoping that some of the following questions would be answered:-

1) What is happening to our intelligence? Why they been sleeping?

2) Is the government going to do more than just “take up the issue with Islamabad”?

3) What is happening to the security at our borders? Is our country a park where such barbaric people can just walk in or sail in?

4) When would it be high time to have specialized units to deal with such situations in every major city so that times is not wasted in flying them in from Delhi?

5) Considering the kind of arms and ammunition used in today’s world, shouldn’t our police be much more equipped? (Are not the days of the ‘lathi’ long gone?)

6) When would it be high time to have adequate medical facilities to deal with casualties of such magnitude (Do the deceased and injured need to be carried by there hands and legs?)

7) Is it not high time for Shivraj Patil to show some dignity on his part and do all of us a favor by resigning?

God Bless all them who are not with us today, those who are missing, those who are fighting for their lives and our forces who risk their lives for us.

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Mumbai 26/11

Monsoons Here!!

For those who hate Summers, especially in Bombay and for those quite like my collegues, who after 31 years realise, "hey India is a hot country", relief is on its way. After months of heat and humidity and perspiration.....monsoons are arriving, fortunately earlier than expected. Not sure if after 26/7, it is as welcomed. But its here again and I experienced the trailor, a special premier, of what it would be like in the coming days. Yes it did rain, clouds did growl if not roar, lightening did escape from the clouds as if saying "hey I am here". For those who love the monsoons, its not good to go into the first shower, as the first rain brings down with it all the pollution in the air (so I have heard).....but its still the first rain.....and I did take a walk.....I did get wet......me and my Classic.

Happy Monsoons!!

Blogging Baby

Oh yes!!!! at last I am on it..... I am Blogging Baby!!

A few weeks ago, I suddenly had this bout to start blogging and I stumbled upon blogger.com. Guess what, all you need to start is a gmail account. So it seems easy doesnt it. You just log in with your gmail username and password and you are on. Well you see its not that simple. In order to start you need to give a name to your blog...which is no problemo. However the twist comes in giving a URL for your blog space i.e. the address people would type to get to your blog. As you need only the gmail account (which half of the universe seems to have), the said equal number of people are also on blogger.com. Thus u undergo excruciating pain coming up with a URL name. Its worse than naming kids. Atleast u can have two kids with the same name....but there cant be two URLs with the same name. I swear, it was a nightmare coming up with this URL bit, to the extent that I wasted two well deserved weekends (which are like birthdays as they seem to come only after a year) trying to come up with a name. Trust me its sooooo frustrating, so much so that I was driven to the brink of insanity. Typing a thousand names that come to your mind only to have "URL NOT AVAILABLE" slammed into your face. That is when I realised I need to save myself......need to avert insanity, and eureka!! I had it, there it was, right in front of me, I had found it...... and hence the address "defyinginsanity.blogsport.com."