CANDID MINDS

200th Birthday of Charles Dickens

2012-02-07T13:07:00.001+05:30

Today is the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens, the greatest novelist in English literature. He tirelessly wrote all his life and created some of the most famous characters in literature including Ebenezer Scrooge, the Fagin, Samuel Pickwick, Oliver Twist, Wilkins Micawber and many more. Global celebrations are being planned on the occasion of the great writer’s 200th birthday and wreaths would be laid on the author’s grave in the Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey. A 24 hours ‘readathon’ will take place in many countries where reading of Dickens’ books will mark the occasion. Charles Dickens remains and would remain as a source of inspiration for millions of readers all over the world. His legacy will remain as long as there is English literature.

When I am Emotional, I Write

2012-02-02T22:45:00.005+05:30

To get lost in a deluge of emotions and to get settled down in a black hole of profound solitude, blessedly oblivious of the multitude of brighter things unfolding around, is a quality that even the angels in the heaven and the beasts in the earth are envious of the humans, for the human mind in such a state of supreme existence is capable of doing greater things, which in its customary state it may not be capable of achieving. I, being a writer, am one of the most emotional human beings to have ever lived in this world, a truth which I am quite proud to declare to this world, for I dare say there is nothing to be ashamed of being emotional, contrary to what this world foolishly believes. When I am emotional, I write.

A writer, who is usually known for his ability to analyse human emotions and to instil such emotions inside those people about whom he writes, real and imaginary, is always almost a man of many emotions himself. Being with a stupidly emotional heart is a matter of great benefit to a writer, for with it he gets umpteen numbers of occasions to prosper in a plethora of human sentiments - good, bad and the ugly - as his heart is prone to many ludicrous numbers of mood swings, which if he is in a mental atmosphere of creativity would result in writings that have the mark of literary brilliance. When I am emotional, I write.

When I am immersed in that finest emotion of happiness, I would float in its mirth and would hear, like many poets in the past, the skylarks sing, the honey bees murmur, the wind whistling and I would see the daffodils and many other flowers of its kind fluttering and dancing in the breeze. When my mind is gay, merry thoughts of the past would come out of the oblivion, as the bright sun would come out of the veil of the dark clouds, and I would sing, Blue skies of yore, In my remembrances, Still, thick and alive, Like my nursery rhymes. When I am emotional, I write.

When I am deeply drenched in despair, perchance the strongest of all emotions, my mind will wander to many queer places, conjure many farcical ideas, imagine things that have escaped the minds of far greater imaginative people than I, think about the many sacrifices I have made, real and presumed, bask in the glory of such assumed sacrifices and sometimes with a bit of moisture in my eyes I would make me convinced that I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears. As I despise being swept away in those strong currents of despair, I would amass all the courage I could and would ignite the flame of hope inside me believing If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?; and would write with audacity, Cold winters won’t make me shiver, Am a leaf, floating lonely in the river. When I am emotional, I write.

Moral indignation on an injustice done to me, to those of my own or to the society as a whole brings in the emotion of anger in me and My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, or else my heart concealing it will break. When my soul gets burnt by the emotion of anger, the vilest of all emotions, I would seethe fire and would pin down the subject of my aversion and anger with sharp words intended to arouse the same feelings in my readers. In a fit of annoyance I would rant and rue on the moral turpitude of those perpetrators of injustice, boast boorishly on my moral supremacy over them and would write, Four years is a long time, For their lewd relationship, To blossom into passionate love, And in these last four years, When they’ve stooped from bad to worse, I’ve risen from bad to great. When I am emotional, I write.

The ability of the human spirit to march ahead of mediocre human existence in a struggle to attain those horizons of exceptional existence is often strengthened by passionate emotions. A human mind is a goldmine of superior abilities, of finer talents and sometimes, of immaculate genius. So be emotional, be proud of it, declare it to the world and make use of your emotional brilliance to fire up your imagination and creativity. When I am emotional, I write.

India Losing Down Under, Should We Axe the seniors?

2012-01-12T12:55:00.005+05:30

Third test of the India-Australia series Down Under will begin tomorrow and India has got its task cut out on the bouncier tracks of WACA, Perth. Already reeling under humiliating defeats in earlier tests at Melbourne and at Sydney Indian team is under extreme criticism from former players, cricket pundits as well as ordinary cricket lovers. There could be some omissions and additions in the team for the third test. There are already talks that Virat Kohli, who failed miserably in the last four innings, would be replaced by Rohit Sharma, who would be playing his debut test match if that happens. There are also talks about axing the senior players, particularly VVS Laxman and this piece explains why this writer thinks it is a bad idea.

Fact of the matter remains that things haven’t changed much all these days in Indian cricket – the team is a group of lions only at home, in away matches they are often blown away by the opposition; Indian batting collapses the moment Sachin Tendulkar gets out (Indian cricket enthusiasts still keep our habit of switching off our television sets when Sachin goes back to the pavilion, for we believe nothing else remains to be seen other than a batting collapse); even on swinging conditions Indian fast bowlers won’t be able to swing the ball, when the opposition bowlers frequently swing the ball and beat Indian bats and take outside edges; Indian batsmen find life difficult at swinging and bouncy tracks and get out cheaply (an SMS joke about this goes something like “Indian batsmen are like faithful husbands, they perform only at home”); Indian captains get into the defensive mindset quite easily and will keep defensive field. When this remains the state of affairs, axing the seniors doesn’t seem to be the magic bullet that would solve all the problems that have inflicted the Indian team.

The argument that is being put forward by those who call for axing of the seniors is that most of them have well passed their expiry date in the game and therefore it is important to get the youngsters in the team in their place. And they also come up with statistics to show that the senior batsmen in the team – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman – have been in very poor form in the last 8-10 test matches that India played. When some of those arguments are not untrue we need to also look at the performance of the youngsters in the team. If we take the last 6 overseas matches that India lost – four in England and two in Australia – we can see that all Indian batsmen, irrespective of whether they are seniors or juniors, have failed miserably. In England if the senior Rahul Dravid was the only batsman who batted well, in Australia, in the last two tests it is the senior Sachin Tendulkar who has batted well, with an average of 56.50. In both these places the so called junior batsmen in the team fared rather miserably, mainly because of their lack of proper batting technique in the swinging and bouncing foreign tracks. We have already seen the southpaws Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina finding it difficult against the short ball. And Virat Kohli was not able to make any mark in the six tests he has played up to now - when the situation demands the batsman to come really forward to the front foot to the well pitched-up swinging ball, he is not able to do that well enough. His forward movement to the front foot is limited and in the process he ends up putting his left leg right in front of the stumps, which resulted in him getting out LBW two times in last 4 innings in Australia. When there is such a big gap in the batting techniques of the youngsters in the team is it wise to put them in the line of fire directly in a foreign pitch? Let them play some tests at home, get more experience, tighten up their batting technique and then play at foreign pitches. Even Sachin Tendulkar, a young batting prodigy he was, played his debut match in Pakistan, a track that is more or less similar to Indian tracks.

If about dropping VVS Laxman from the team, was it long back that we were lavishing praises on him in the way he batted with the tail enders and brought victory to his team once against Australia and once against Sri Lanka? Though it is true that we can’t think about past performances and can’t carry a non-performing batsman for long, we must give some more chances to VVS on account of his batting prowess that he has been showing for all these years, particularly against the Aussies. As a supporting argument for keeping VVS for some more time in the team this writer would like to bring in the example of Ricky Ponting. His century at Sydney was his first in the last 17 innings. What would have happened had the Australian management dropped Ponting because he was not performing up to his standards in the last 17 innings?

When it is true that the main reason for India’s poor performance in Australia is that the batsmen are not playing well, all blame can’t be put on them alone. The bowling of Indian fast bowlers at Sydney was nothing but awful. When the Aussie bowlers were able to derive bounce and seam from the pitch as well as swing in the air, Indian bowlers found it difficult even to put the ball in the right line and length, not to mention bounce, seam or swing. Making good use of such un-inspiring and bland bowling attack against them, the Aussie batsmen made merry and piled on runs. Michael Clarke hit an unbeaten triple hundred where as Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey made big hundreds. It remains to be seen how they are going to bowl in a seamer friendly track at Perth. There is every possibility that they would get carried away by the bite in the pitch and would overdo the bouncers thereby giving many chances for the Aussie batsmen, who have played all their lives in such bouncier tracks, to rock back to the back foot and hit pulls and hooks as and when they wish. Indian bowlers should use their head more and should bowl many full pitched deliveries and make the Aussie batsmen play around their off stump in what they call the ‘corridor of uncertainty’. They can always use the bouncer as the surprise delivery, but overdoing it (which is what we have seen all these years whenever Indian bowlers ball in bouncier tracks) won’t help them in any way.

Now it would be good for the Indian team that is playing Down Under if there are no further talks of dropping players midway. Now that they are there playing a cricket series in a foreign country let us support them and hope that they would click in the coming tests. Good time for such discussions would be after the tour is over and the team come back home. It won’t be a bad idea to include Rohit Sharma in the final eleven in the place of relatively new Virat Kohli. However it defies logic if there is talk about inserting the debutant Rohit Sharma in the place of the veteran VVS Laxman midway of such a high profile away series. Axing the seniors is not what we need for an improved performance but better application of the cricketing skills by the team – bowlers and batsmen alike.

Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-31T10:46:00.002+05:30

It is time to welcome a new year and this writer wishes all the readers of this blog a very happy and prosperous year ahead. Let the year 2012 bring in new hopes of peace, safety and tranquility all over the world.

End Chauvinism and Double Standard on Mullaperiyar

2011-12-18T15:56:00.008+05:30

Those regular readers of this Candid Minds blog, who personally don’t know this writer may be worried on his safety, for in his last essay Build New Dam at Mullaperiyar or We’re Dead he spoke about his fear of being washed away by the deluge if Mullaperiyar dam collapses. If that was the case then this piece should assure them that this writer is still alive as Mullaperiyar hasn’t collapsed yet, but the danger of such a catastrophe is also still alive as no permanent solution for the issue has been found yet.

Before continuing with this essay this writer wants to put things in the right perspective and hence would say in unequivocal terms that he is not against the Tamilians as a whole, for he has many friends, sisters and brothers who are Tamilians, who have been bestowing on him affection of the supreme kind, which he is sure, thanking of no measure would adequately compensate. However Tamil politicians, from Vaiko to Stalin, from Jayalalithaa to Karunanidhi are all whipping up passion of the Tamil people to revolt against Malayalees on what they consider as unrealistic and unwarranted call of Malayalees for a new dam at Mullaperiyar. Voltaire would be laughing in his grave for most of the Tamil politicians are proving him to be right again. It was Voltaire in the 18th century who famously said ‘common sense is not so common’ and Tamil politicians defies common sense when they say that the Mullaperiyar dam, which was declared to have a life of just 50 years when it was made, is safe even after 116 years of functioning. They are giving the example of Kallanai, Grand Anicut dam that was made in the 2nd century to show that not all old dams are unsafe. However they are not considering the fact that Kallanai was made of using unhewn stone, while Mullaperiyar with lime surkhi which will weather down with time. Moreover comparing the Kallanai dam which is located only 5.4 m from River basin to 53.6 m high Mullaperiyar dam located at 881 m above see level is not reasonable but foolish. One would have to believe that there was some sort of conspiracy in making a lease agreement for 999 years for a dam that had just 50 years of declared life time.

In a classic example of double standards Tamil politicians are making a huge cry at Tamil Nadu against Koodankulam Nuclear Plant, which has been constructed using the latest technology that could even withstand a tsunami and all safety measures taken to prevent radiation. In order to prove their claim that Mullaperiyar dam is safe, Tamil politicians show studies conducted by various educational and technical institutions around the country that say the dam is safe. If we use the same logic they should approve of the safety of the Koodankulam nuclear plant which has been tested safe by many technical institutions in India and abroad. Should Tamilians need approval from any one more than APJ Abdul Kalam, the great Indian scientist who has said in more than one occasion that the Koodankulam plant is safe and there need be no concern on its safety? However Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa made a statement yesterday that said Koodankulam plant should be approved only after removing the “concerns of the people.” Let us not go to the merits of the arguments of the nuclear plant supporters or its detractors as that is not the purpose of this essay. But there could not be different standards for the Tamilians and for Keralites. As Jayalalithaa wants to remove the concerns of the people of Tamil Nadu before approving the nuclear plant, let her accept that she and her people need to remove the concerns of the Keralites before going against the construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar.

It is understandable when a trivial regional political party like the MDMK under the leadership of Vaiko whip up chauvinistic sentiments to earn political points. However when the state committee of a national party like Indian National Congress speak on chauvinistic lines it shows how bad the political environment around Mullaperiyar has become and that was what happened yesterday at the meeting organised by Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. To make matters worse, in that meeting P Chidambaram (PC as he is popularly known among scribes), Home Minister of India made the ludicrous statement yesterday that he is sure that the Supreme Court decision on Mullaperiyar would come in favour of the wishes of the Tamil people. It is a matter of grave irresponsibility to see a Cabinet Minister in the central government stooping so low. In contrast take the case of AK Antony, the Defence Minister of India, who hails from Kerala and how gentlemanly a stand he has taken in this issue, where he hasn’t taken any position in favour of Kerala but is working for finding an amicable solution to the issue. In a federal democratic system it is incumbent upon Union ministers to take a nationalistic stance in matters regarding conflict between two states. It is difficult to believe that a politician like Chidambaram, who is not only known for his high intelligence but also known for his disdain for anyone who falls below his intelligence quotient, would make a mistake by making such a statement. It is sure that he has taken a very wise position to influence the court’s decision in favour of Tamil Nadu. Moreover PC is now surrounded by many problems including the 2G scam issue and this seems to be his shrewd plan to get the support of the Tamil people if he is fired from the Cabinet on the issue, so that he can claim that he has fallen victim for his support of the Tamil cause in Mullaperiyar issue and thus gain martyrdom. PC’s allegation that political parties in Kerala have kicked up the dam row keeping an eye on the by-poll from Piravom constituency shows his political depravity. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should show courage (though it is not his wont to show courage) to kick out such senseless ministers from his Cabinet.

A few stray incidents of violence against Tamilians in Kerala had been reported earlier, but now things are coming to normalcy in Kerala as the state government took some rapid actions to stop such vandalism by a minority. At the same time, violence against Malayalees is on the rise in Tamil Nadu. In Chennai, Coimbaore and Tanjavur many shops of Malayalees have been attacked; in Gudalor a Kerala bound bus was set ablaze by attackers after asking passengers to alight, to name a few incidents. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and opposition leader VS Achuthananthan have written letters to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa to take steps to stop violence against Malayalees.

It is imperative for the Central Government to step in immediately and find an amicable political solution to the Mullaperiyar issue. Kerala has made the promise umpteen number of times that it is not against giving water to Tamil Nadu and even after building a new dam it is ready to give Tamil Nadu the same amount of water that it is drawing now. Kerala CM Oommen Chandy made the statement that Kerala’s stance is ‘water for Tamil Nadu, safety for Kerala.’ But Tamil Nadu CM, Jayalalithaa’s arrogance and intransigence have made it impossible for the central government to call upon both states for a discussion to find a solution to the issue. If the central government doesn’t have the political will to compel a state to come for discussion to solve an inter-state dispute, it is better for it to resign and go to exile.

I humbly appeal to the people of Tamil Nadu, our brothers and sisters, to not believe the misinformation propagated by the chauvinistic politicians and media of Tamil Nadu. (In Facebook I saw a Tamil brother saying that all the villages near the Mullaperiyar dam are above the water level of the dam and in the event of dam collapse water won’t flow upwards and therefore there is no need to panic in Kerala and all these are false propagation of political parties in Kerala; he can’t be blamed, may be that is how is being misinformed and made to believe.) We Malayalees are not against giving water to Tamil Nadu as many people there are made to believe by the unscrupulous politicians. We are ready to give water to your state in as much quantity as you are drawing now and what we want is only the safety to the life and property of the millions of people in our state living downstream the Mullaperiyar dam.

Build New Dam at Mullaperiyar or We’re Dead

2011-11-29T11:22:00.002+05:30

Right now this writer is sinking; sinking in messages, discussions and appeals from all over the world from Malayalees on the subject matter of Mullaperiyar dam and the hazards it poses to four districts in Kerala – Idukki, Ernakulam, Kottayam and Alapuzha. The dilapidated dam that was built in 1895 holds 15 TMC of water. When the dam was built it was said that the life span of the dam was just 50 years and now it is more than 115 years. The dam can’t withstand an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 in ritcher scale and it compromises the safety of about 3 million people living downstream. If a new dam is not built sooner this writer would also sink in the deluge that would inundate central Kerala.

Kerala’s neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu which makes use of the water in the Mullaperiyar dam for irrigating their four districts is against Kerala building a new dam as they fear that they would lose control of the dam and hence the water. The water sharing agreement on the Mullaperiyar was signed during the British rule for 999 years. It defies common sense why an agreement for 999 years was signed for a dam that had a life span of just 50 years. When the British left India and we got independence in 1947 all agreements between princely states became void and hence the Mullaperiyar agreement also got void. But in 1970s Kerala government magnanimously re-entered into an agreement with Tamil Nadu for water sharing as farmers in that state were reeling because of lack of water for irrigation. Tamil Nadu uses the water from Mullaperiyar for agricultural purposes and for generation of electricity and accrues a profit of about 1200 crores a year and gives Kerala a meagre 30 lakhs as rent. Even now Kerala agrees that it will not reduce the amount of water given to Tamil Nadu even after building a new dam, but Tamil Nadu is obstinate that they will not allow a new dam. As the matter is pending before the Supreme Court and because of the clauses in the water sharing agreement Kerala is not able to build a new dam without the approval of Tamil Nadu. But growing indignation from the people of Kerala has forced Kerala government to look for legal loopholes in the agreement to build a new dam.

If Mullaperiyar dam gets demolished as a result of an earthquake the water from the dam will reach the Idukki dam, which is situated just 36 kilometres away, in 45 minutes time. Idukki dam has a capacity of holding 70 TMC water and 79% of it is already filled. Hence it won’t be able to hold the water coming from Mullaperiyar and it would also collapse leading to a flood of enormous magnitude which would wash away four districts of Kerala. The people in these four districts of Kerala are living in perpetual danger as a water bomb is hanging above their heads. It is estimated that if the dam collapses the destruction it would cause would be 180 times as severe as the destruction caused by the atom bomb in Hiroshima.

All over the four districts in Kerala everywhere people are discussing about the dangers of the dam collapse and thinking about saving themselves and their loved ones if and when such a calamity occurs. Tamil Nadu shows scientific studies done by some experts which show that there is no danger to the Mullaperiyar dam and is saying that politicians and people in Kerala are foolishly panicking for something that is not going to happen. But they are oblivious or pretending to be oblivious of the grave danger that the dam holds as a result of the weathering down of the lime surkhi mortar used to build the dam. The increasing number of tremors in the dam region recently has added to the danger to the dam.

The time to act is now and if the Central Government won’t take immediate steps to find an amicable solution to this dam row we are on to something extremely terrible. If Tamil Nadu government doesn’t agree to a new dam to be built by Kerala they will have to take the responsibility of 3 million lives that would be lost when the dam collapses. There is no time to wait and the people of Kerala are up in arms in a bid to save their own lives. The catastrophe of a dam collapse can happen anytime and this could well be this writer’s last essay. We, the people of Kerala, are not against our brothers and sisters in Tamil Nadu, but no one can stop us from fighting for our lives and fight we will.

The Folly of Celebrating Contempt of Court

2011-11-17T23:04:00.002+05:30

MV Jayarajan, a leader of the CPI (M) who was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment by Kerala High Court for contempt of court is out on bail and he was given a rousing welcome by the party cadre and leaders. When the High Court ordered to put Mr. Jayarajan behind the bars without giving him bail or time to appeal against the verdict, legal experts pointed out that it is against principles of natural justice as in Indian legal system bail is the rule, jail is the exception. There is no doubt that the verdict of the Supreme Court in quashing High Court order and granting bail to Mr. Jayarajan is a victory for the CPI (M); however to celebrate the release on bail of a person convicted of contempt of court is an absolute folly which has no place in a democracy like India.

It must be noted that the Supreme Court of India has only upheld Mr. Jayarajan’s right to bail and hasn’t given any verdict on the charges of contempt of court. The celebration on account of his release on bail was made in a magnificent fashion as if he was acquitted of all charges. It is for the leaders of the party to think how morally or politically correct it is for a political party working in Indian democracy to do such a thing. In a democracy it is quite true that political parties carry the greatest worth as they directly represent the people. But it is incumbent upon all political parties and their leaders and activists to respect other democratic institutions, particularly the court. By no stretch of imagination is it a matter of pride for political parties to celebrate the deeds of someone who has been convicted of contempt of court. In the past, during pre-independence period, it was certainly a matter of pride as the courts were illegitimate institutions governed by laws and rules made by the British, who were unlawful occupiers of our country. However in present day courts are democratic institutions established under the constitution of India and any denunciation of such courts is the denunciation of democracy, denunciation of the constitution.

Having said that this writer is not at all making an impression that democratic courts are above criticism, but one should maintain certain level of decency in the choice of words in such criticisms. Mr. Jayarajan crossed all boundaries of decency when he used the Malayalam word “shumbhan” (that roughly translates to fool) to describe judges of the court. He made further mockery of the Indian judicial system when he unsuccessfully made arguments by bringing Malayalam and Sanskrit professors from colleges to establish that the word didn’t mean fool but have some positive meaning.

Politicians are supposed to be the role models, watching and emulating whom the younger generations of a country would become ideal citizens. However the standards set by present generation of politicians is so poor that it is always better for the young people not to make them their role models. Politicians cutting across party lines use such bad and terrible words in their criticism of their opponents that it is honourable not to speak about it. Kerala, a state that prides itself of far better social indicators and education in comparison to other states in India, has been greatly ashamed by the recent conduct of politicians - of UDF as well as LDF - who have used foul language and did uncivilised deeds in the legislature and outside. If they don’t mend their ways sooner, Keralites would lose the trust in them and that would not be a good sign for the state of democracy in Kerala.

Certainly the CPI (M) has set a very bad example in democratic India by celebrating the release of a leader who has been convicted for contempt of court. By doing that the party has sent a message to the civil society that contempt of court is not a crime but a matter of great pride and glory which anyone and everyone can follow and gain appreciation of the crowd. Had it been so that MV Jayarajan had accepted his mistake or the court found that all allegations against him on matters of contempt of court were void, it would have been fine to bestow on him such lavish praise; but incidentally it is not the case. Freedom of speech and expression that Indian constitution grants us comes with reasonable restrictions. Therefore the claim that what Mr. Jayarajan did was upholding that freedom holds no water. This writer wants to point out that getting behind the bars for contempt of a constitutional institution is a matter of shame and disgrace and not pride, if anyone holds such a view.

It is precisely true that politicians epitomise all the vices that human ingenuity could invent, a fact proven time and time again by the politicians of all hues in Kerala. Some sort of shock treatment from the people is needed for these politicians to understand their mistakes and blunders. Whenever anyone criticise the politicians for being unscrupulous they would make a huge cry saying that such opinaions and criticisms would belittle the whole tribe of politicians in the eyes of people which would be inimical to the existence of democracy in the country. But they themselves often use harsh words to criticise the judicial system in the country knowing very well that rubbishing courts is as inimical to democracy as is belittling politicians, as they claim. Politicians in our country often behave as spoilt brats and are incorrigible to a great extend and the day that they would have a rude awakening is not any far off as people have reached their threshold of patience.

What Should the World Offer to its 7 Billion Population

2011-11-03T11:22:00.004+05:30

The global population has reached the dubious number of 7 billion according to some UN estimates. This news has raised alarm bells among many population experts as they see this as a matter of concern, for the natural resources that would support this bludgeoning population is shrinking at an alarming pace. If radical and drastic measures are not taken immediately this perilous situation would run out of control. World leaders at the forthcoming G20 meet at Cannes would brainstorm on finding solutions that would kick-start actions for sustainable development in the world.

The force of the 7 billion population is gathering steam as is evident from the various instances of street protests that we see around in the different countries of the world. The realisation about the superiority of democracy over other forms of government is driving people to fight against the autocrats who had usurped power from them through unscrupulous means. The defeat of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt or Muammar Gadhafi in Libya is a sign of this growing people’s power. The lesson we have learnt is that whenever people tend to have trust deficit on their rulers they will get out on to the streets and can bring down powerful rulers.

The Census Bureau estimates show that about 255 people are born every minute whereas about 106 people die per minute. With the advancement of science and technology and the subsequent improvement in health facilities around the world life expectancy of people has increased. High quality health care provided by welfare governments in the various countries of the world has accounted for such an improvement in human life. Even then there are millions of people around the world who die every minute because they don’t get access to good health care facilities. With population increase every government has this additional responsibility to make sure that the whole population get the health care benefits offered by them. Insofar as the plight of the millions of poor people of the world is concerned, there is much left to be done.

Growing economic uncertainty in the world, coupled with market volatility and increasing inequality result in losing trust of the people on their leaders as well as the public institutions. In many countries people believe that the government works for the rich and often forget the poor. The bailing out of big banks by governments when they were in financial trouble because of their poor management of finances has caused much indignation among people. The moral force behind movements like ‘Occupy Wall Street’ comes from such public fury. Governments around the world have got their task cut out, for unless and until they stop this growing tide of people’s legitimate discontent, they are sure to perish.

Sustainable growth and development should be the slogan of the welfare states around the world. For improving the lives of people and to lift them from the pits of abject poverty it is essential for governments to increase welfare spending on infrastructure development. However many governments struck by financial troubles are looking for fiscal austerity, which results in reduced government spending. This would automatically result in reduced developmental activities which would pull down countries further down to economic instability. Governments must continue investing on developmental policies and programmes including women and children’s health, agricultural growth as well as gender equality.

Women and young people are taking to the streets and asking for economic and political improvements in their life. They constitute two-thirds of the world population and governments around the world can no longer exist without hearing their voices and demands. Even some Islamic countries are making amendments in their constitutions to give greater representation of women in the political arena. Their involvement in many recent pro-democracy movements in the world is worth mentioning. The world recognised the growing involvement of women in the societal improvement of many populations by naming three women for this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace.

7 billion is a mere number but the human lives that it signifies are our hope for the future. Now is the time for making the hard choices and with wisdom, foresight and commitment we can start on the path of sustainable growth and development. We have squandered many such opportunities in the past but let us not waste anymore, for it is now or never.

Join Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon

2011-10-27T10:00:00.006+05:30

(For Amnesty International)

Around the world many governments incarcerate human rights defenders by closing them behind the bars, where they are tortured and their lives put in jeopardy - their crime, they spoke against state sponsored human rights abuses.

Your words have got enormous power and can bring the spotlight on to the dark chambers where these human rights defenders are being tortured. Your letters of support and solidarity can bring in hope in these forgotten 'prisoners of conscience'. Join with me and hundreds of thousands of people around the world in marking International Human Rights Day on 10 December by taking part in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon, the world’s largest human rights event. Through our letters, post cards and more we take action to demand human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled around the world and show our solidarity to those who suffer human rights abuses as well as to those human rights defenders who are languishing in state prisons around the world.

Join Amnesty International’s Write-a-thon by going to the following link and by pledging your letters and your support. You can find all information and resources in that page.

Join Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon

December 3-11 are the key dates for writing the letters, but feel free to start earlier or later. Let us come together and save lives and protect human rights around the world.

Myanmar: Political prisoners must be freed - Amnesty International

2011-10-19T08:59:00.002+05:30

(Amnesty International Appeal)

On the third anniversary of the violent crackdown on the “Saffron Revolution”, Amnesty International calls on the Myanmar government to immediately and unconditionally free all political prisoners arrested for their peaceful activism.

The Myanmar authorities continue to imprison over 2,200 political prisoners—more than double the number held before the August 2007 protests against sharp fuel and commodity price rises.

“While the international community, including Myanmar’s ASEAN neighbours, has been calling for free, fair and inclusive elections there, the plight of thousands of political prisoners has been overlooked,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar Researcher.

Amnesty International believes the vast majority of those held are prisoners of conscience who are being punished merely for peacefully exercising their rights to free expression, assembly and association.

The Myanmar government will hold its first elections in 20 years on 7 November 2010 against a backdrop of political repression and systematic violence. Under Electoral Laws enacted in March 2010, no political prisoner can take part in the elections or hold membership in any political party.

International attention in recent months has focused on the power-play between the military and the government’s proxy parties on the one hand; and the armed ethnic minority groups, the National League for Democracy, and a small number of new opposition parties on the other.

“The long-standing problem of political imprisonment in Myanmar remains very much at the heart of the political impasse in the country”, said Benjamin Zawacki. “These prisoners constitute a significant part of the political opposition”.

In the largest show of public discontent against the military government in Myanmar since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, tens of thousands of protesters—led by Buddhist monks—took to the streets in August and September 2007, demanding economic and political reforms.

The peaceful country-wide demonstrations were violently put down by the authorities in late September 2007. At least 31 (and possibly more than a hundred) people were killed—with many more injured and at least 74 disappeared—and thousands detained.

The brutal crackdown provoked international condemnation, including an unprecedented expression of revulsion and demands for change from the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Yet even as Myanmar prepares for its first elections in two decades, as part of what it calls a “Roadmap to Democracy”, it continues to repress political opposition.

“It beggars belief that the government can attempt to burnish its democratic credentials by holding elections, while it also holds more than 2,200 political prisoners behind bars and out of sight of the campaigns and polls”, said Benjamin Zawacki . “The international community should point out to Myanmar that these practices cannot be reconciled under any genuine Roadmap to Democracy”.

Political prisoners in Myanmar are held in deplorable conditions

Many of those who took part in the Saffron Revolution, such as labour rights campaigner Su Su Nway, monk leader and activist U Gambira, and 88 Generation Student group members Min Ko Naing, Htay Kywe, Mie Mie, Ko Mya Aye and Zaw Htet Ko Ko, are in poor health. In the past two years, at least 238 political prisoners have been moved to extremely remote prisons, restricting their access to relatives, lawyers and medical care. Reports of torture and other ill-treatment are rife. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been denied access to prisons in Myanmar since late 2005.

“On this third anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, Amnesty International calls on world leaders to demand that the Myanmar government free all political prisoners at once, and ensure human rights protection throughout the elections period and beyond”, said Benjamin Zawacki.

Visit the following URL and add your name to this petition calling on the Chairman of the newly-established Myanmar National Human Rights Commission to press the President of Myanmar to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience.

http://amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/Myanmar-must-release-all-prisoners-of-conscience

Meet the Nobel Laureates 2011

2011-10-12T10:04:00.006+05:30

The Nobel Prize for the year 2011 in the field of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace and Economic Sciences was announced recently. Just a note on who those Nobel laureates are and their contributions in their respective fields that made them the winners.

Nobel for Physics: Nobel Prize for Physics for the year 2011 was shared by Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt and Adam G. Reiss for their discovery that the universe is expanding at an ever-accelerating rate. They made the discovery based on their studies on distant supernovae or the exploding stars.

Nobel for Chemistry: Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman won the 2011 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of ‘quasicrystals’, a mosaic-like chemical structure that scientist earlier thought would not be possible. Contrary to what was earlier thought that atoms were packed in crystals in symmetrical patterns, Prof. Shechman showed that atoms in a crystal could be packed in a pattern that could not be repeated.

Nobel for Physiology or Medicine: Three scientists shared the Nobel for Physiology or Medicine for the year 2011 for their discoveries about the immune system that opened new avenues for the treatment and prevention of many infectious diseases as well as cancer. One half of the Nobel would be shared by Bruce A. Beutler and Jules A. Hoffman for their discovery concerning the activation of innate immunity and the other half by Ralph M. Steinman for his discovery of the dendritic cells and its role in adaptive immunity.

Nobel for Literature: Tomas Transtromer bagged the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature. According to the Nobel Committee the Swedish poet was awarded the Nobel because through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality.

Nobel for Peace: The 2011 Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded jointly to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee bagged the coveted prize for organising women for ending the long war in Liberia and Tawakkul Karman for her leading part in the struggle for women’s right, democracy and peace in Yemen.

Nobel for Economic Science: Thomas J. Sargent and Christopher A. Sims won the Nobel Prize for Economics for developing methods to answer questions regarding the causal relationship between economic policy and different macroeconomic variables such as GDP, inflation, employment and investment.

Source: Official website of the Nobel Prize and The Hindu newspaper

10 Years of Afghan War

2011-10-07T16:01:00.010+05:30

Today on 7th October 2011 it is 10 long years since the start of the Afghan War initiated by the United States and now under the aegis of NATO. The United States is at their longest war in the history, longer that the Vietnam War and the number of American causalities has reached around 1,800. Add to this the millions of Afghans who lost their life in this destructive war and a million others who have become physically incapacitated. The most terrible news is that we are not any near to an end to this war and the NATO apparently has no genuine strategy at their hands for the withdrawal of the troops from the Afghan soil.

One of the biggest mistakes done by the United States when they started the war was that they entered into war in a country about which they didn’t had any in-depth knowledge. The socio-cultural fabric of Afghanistan was quite different from what had been understood by the United States. As the retired US army general Stanley McChrystal remarked recently the United States began the Afghan war with a “frighteningly simplistic” view of the country. A war that was started by the US with the popular support of the American public on account of their outrage after the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda has disintegrated into an unpopular war in the United States mainly because of the high causality of the war and the financial burden on the exchequer. Barack Obama during his campaign trail promised troop withdrawal as one of the main items of his presidential agenda. But he has failed miserably to keep up with his promise and the Afghan War is being considered as one of the main failures of his foreign policy. The killing of the al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden seems to be the only noteworthy result of the Afghan War for the United States.

In this 10th year of the Afghan War one must analyse what changes have been brought about in the country as a result of this long war. The Taliban that was in power in Afghanistan was heavily influenced by the Deobandi fundamentalism and enforced one of the strictest interpretations of Sharia law, which came under heavy criticism from the various Muslim scholars all over the world, particularly for their treatment of women. With the fall of the Taliban there have been vast improvements in the living condition of women. There has been reduction in the discrimination against women and greater access to education and health care. In Afghanistan many laws were enacted that gave equal status for men and women and set apart a quarter of parliamentary seats for the women. There has been improvement in the condition of human rights in the country, yet corruption and mismanagement have put many of these improvements in jeopardy. The new Afghan government has fallen well short of expectation and is not able to improve the sense of security among the people of Afghanistan.

Though the Taliban is out of power they still exist in many pockets of Afghanistan and find many hiding places in Pakistan. From these centres they are still fighting the NATO troops and killing common Afghans in large numbers. Suicide attacks have increased manifold and are putting Afghan lives in danger. The outrageous suicide attack by Taliban that killed peace negotiator Burrhanuddin Rabbani shows the murderous ability that the Taliban still holds. Afghan authorities blame Pakistan for harbouring the deadly Taliban commanders in different places in that country. It is commonly believed by many international security experts that the plot for killing Rabbani was hatched in Quetta, Pakistan, which is considered as the headquarters of the Taliban in Pakistan with the support of the Pakistani spy agency, the Inter Service Intelligence or the ISI.

One of the most important facts that the United States and the NATO have now recognised and realised is that the Afghans largely resent the existence of foreign troops in their soil. Many Afghans have taken to the streets demanding the immediate withdrawal of the foreign troops from Afghanistan. They protest against the continuous existence of foreign troops and condemned the killing of the civilians. At the same time many Afghans believe that once the foreign troops leave the country the Taliban would come back to power and establish their cruel and oppressive government in the country. The trust of the Afghans on the Afghan police and army that are driven by corruption, illiteracy and drug use is quite minimal and many believe that they will not able to fight against the battle-hardened Taliban forces for long.

Anyways the United States and NATO are planning for a phased exit from Afghanistan with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen claiming that the overall security situation in Afghanistan has improved and that the Afghan forces have taken lead in maintaining security in seven provinces and districts in Afghanistan. US President Barack Obama announced this year his plan to withdraw 10,000 US troops by year end and another 23,000 more by next summer.

10 years, without any doubt, is a very long time for a war to continue and therefore it is imperative for the United States and the NATO to strategise to leave Afghanistan after giving the responsibility for security to the Afghan troops. The later it becomes the graver would be the causality of the war, not to mention the increase in the enormous financial resources that should be committed for the war.

What have we Achieved from the Hartals?

2011-09-22T11:26:00.004+05:30

It has been more than one month since this blog has been updated as this writer has been busy with some personal preoccupations. However the recent hartals in Kerala (one in his city of Thiruvananthapuram and the other all over the state) and the subsequent violence have left this writer with no other option but to hit the online world with an essay damning hartals and the violence associated with it. The essay wants to put a question to all those who support violent hartals on what they have achieved from it.

Contrary to those supporters of violent hartals who claim that those who criticise hartals are chamchas of the UPA government and are in support of the petrol price rise, this writer wants to say that it is not so and we, those who damn violent hartals, are equally outraged as the supporters of hartals at the anti-people stand of the UPA government in increasing the price of petrol which is intended to help the private fuel distributors. We are also for protesting against this injustice to the people of India but we don’t believe in violence in any such protests. As this writer had already pointed out in another essay, hartals were used during India’s independence struggle by the non-violent freedom fighters as a successful form of protest as in those days the produce of various economic activities in India used to go to the United Kingdom. Therefore when you protest using hartals, by not working on that day and by closing down your shops, you were preventing the United Kingdom from getting the benefits of the economic activity. So that made sense. But when you use the same form of protest now against our own Indian government, you should know that you are hampering your own prosperity as the produce of economic activities doesn’t go to any other country but to your own country.

Statistics has shown that the state lost around 200 crores as a result of the hartals including 5.5 crore loss for KSRTC. Hartal supporters damaged many state vehicles and other state properties and it must be remembered that the state would use tax payers’ money to purchase new vehicles and rebuild those damaged state properties. As if the burden of increased petrol prices is not enough, these hartals have put an additional monetary load on the millions of poor people of our state. In the mindless violence that the hartal supporters unleash, there have often been occasions of individuals getting hurt. A poor man who drives KSRTC buses to make both ends meet was severely hurt during one of the stone pelting incidents that happened in the recent hartal at Thiruvananthapuram. Private vehicles are not left alone by hartal supporters either and they often threaten those who venture outside for urgent errands. It is a general rule in the political circle of the state that a hartal could be considered successful only if people are blocked from travelling freely in the state and therefore the hartal supporters will do whatever is possible to make sure that it happens. They will create blockades on the road, threaten people and even attack them to achieve this and after the hartal ends the political leaders would make tall claims in the media that the hartal had been a success and people had acquiesced with their hartal which was evident from the fact that there had been no significant traffic on the road. Quite laughable indeed!

Now the question that needs to be re-asked is what have we achieved from the hartals? The petrol price remains as high as it was earlier and the central government has no intention to reduce it. The state government of Kerala decided to forego the additional revenue which it would have got from the price rise. And how much that is? 70 paise, which means you would save only Rs. 7 on filling 10 litres of petrol; a savings of Rs. 7 in Rs. 690 (Kochi price). So when you are sure that hartals won’t result in any concrete change and you are protesting for the sake of protest, is it not sensible to find a less violent form of protest than hartal? If your intention is just to show your protest, you could have sit in for a fast for a day, you could have gone for a peaceful demonstration in front of the Secretariat or district headquarters or conducted a seminar against petrol price hike. Whenever people speak against hartals those who support it challenge them to come up with a more effective alternative to hartal (as if hartal is a very effective one). That is for the politicians to discover and promote, that is their responsibility and that is for what we Indians elect them and call them leaders. However this much is true, contrary to what a leftist leader in the state said, many things can be achieved by peaceful protest as was shown by Anna Hazare’s peaceful protest for Janlokpal bill. For the many flaws it had, Anna Hazare’s protest was a mass protest that got significant support from the different walks of life.

It is high time politicians understand that there is no place for violence in the Indian society. Being people who have seen and learnt how Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful sathyagraha decimated the arrogance of mighty English and achieved independence for the country, we Indians can never be cajoled by the evanescent strength of violence. All those political ideologies that are based on the supremacy of armed struggle and violence would certainly sink into the oblivion of Indian history sooner rather than later.

What we need is a new law that would put all the responsibility of monetary loss to the state and personal attacks on the people on a hartal day to the party and its leaders who call for it. As of now no one can be held responsible for the damages and this encourages political parties to call for hartals as and when they fancy. Politicians who oppose such a law often come up with the argument that the opposition parties may commit a crime on a hartal day to defame them and put the blame on the party that has called for the hartal. But that is the risk that they take on calling for a hartal and a party should call for a hartal only after taking into consideration such a turn of event. Having said this much, this writer holds no such hopes for a law of that kind to come up in our Parliament, for laws are created by these politicians only (rightists, leftists and the centrists) who are still very much convinced about the possibility of gaining political points out of a hartal. We Indians are destined to such a poor fate of falling prey to the treacherous intentions of these unscrupulous politicians all our lives.

The Lokpal Turmoil

2011-08-18T23:21:00.006+05:30

The Lokpal bill issue has once again become the talk of the nation with every nook and corner of the nation brimming with discussions, opinions, arguments and deliberations on the subject. The government’s repressive action of arresting Anna Hazare and his team when they were organising a peaceful protest has united the country against the government. It is an irony that the party of the Mahatma has jailed someone who has been fighting a non-violent struggle against a deeply flawed system. The array of people from various social and educational backgrounds joining Anna’s protest shows that this is a real people’s movement and not a movement of the select few as the government wants to portray.

It is altogether a different issue whether everyone in this country, this writer included, acquiesce with Team Anna’s demand that the Lokpal bill that they submitted should be introduced and reviewed by the Parliament. But it must be reiterated that the right to assembly and hold peaceful demonstrations is the birth right of every Indian guaranteed by the constitution and any violation of this right by the authorities should be protested. It is true that introducing bills and making laws are the prerogative of the Parliament and any effort to sabotage this system will have grave consequences for the future of the democracy in the country. In this regard the government’s argument is quite right, but at the same time democracy not only means making laws by the people’s representatives in the Parliament but also the right of every individual to protest peacefully, to build up public opinion on various matters affecting her/his life and to tell the people’s representatives what they like and dislike by making their opinions clear through public discourse.

The opposition parties in India are acting against the government in this issue too but not because of their moral position on it. They too don’t seem to be of the view that the ideas expressed by Team Anna, which consists of many legal and administrative luminaries known for their personal integrity and legal knowledge, should also be discussed in the Parliament. All the parties are of the view that all discussions and ideas of the Lokpal bill should come only from the elected representatives in the Parliament. Most parties are dismissive of the role played by Team Anna in bringing suggestions on Lokpal bill for the government to consider and they constantly preach about the pre-eminence of elected representative of the Parliament in making the Lokpal bill. But it would be good if these parties acknowledge the fact that the laymen, the ‘aam aadmi’, have lost confidence in the politicians, their elected representatives, in checking corruption in the country and are therefore forced to come out on to the streets in support of the anti-graft crusaders in Team Anna. Instead of blaming Anna Hazare and the scores of people supporting him, the political parties should introspect and try to find out and rectify the reasons that have prompted people to take to the streets for a corruption bill with teeth.

The way in which the Congress party has come up with allegations against Anna Hazare – that he is himself corrupt and that he has the backing of the United States – shows how ugly and farcical a national political party can become when confronted by a man with enormous popular support. The allegation that someone is backed by the United States is one that has been made infamous by the Communists in our country whenever they were challenged by the people’s force. By toeing the same line the Congress party in the country appears to look stupid and has become a laughing stock. By attacking Anna Hazare’s non-violent, peaceful protests the Congress party has disgraced itself to the ranks of the British authoritarian government of the pre-independence period when it used to launch scathing attacks on Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent struggles.

As in Tahrir Square in Egypt, where pro-democracy activists assembled against the oppressive government of Hosni Mubarak, people from all walks of life gathered at JP Park in Delhi in support of Anna Hazare. Contrary to government propaganda that only white-collared employees or only the upper strata of the society was present in the gathering, farmers, rickshaw pullers as well as housewives and even school students participated in the protests. The use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter in sending across the message and gathering people at places of protest was also a feature of this people’s movement as in the pro-democracy movement in Egypt.

As the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley said, the popular support that Anna Hazare got for his anti-graft movement should act as a wake up call for the government, which is not at all sincere about checking the growth of corruption in the public sphere. They should understand that it is not Anna Hazare who is trying to destroy the democratic ethos of our nations but the unscrupulous politicians who are bereft of any democratic values or ideals, becoming disillusioned of whom the common people get to the streets to support crusaders like Anna. At the same time, all political parties should know that finally the soul and morality of the young generation of India are showing some signs of revival and it would be difficult for the politicians to exist until and unless they remain accountable to the people they represent.

On This Independence Day - Re-publishing My Article

2011-08-15T17:34:00.000+05:30

The article “Setting Priorities on the 60th Birthday” was published four years back, 17 August 2007, on some of the areas in which India should focus in order to become a super power it aspires to become in the future. Few things have changed in the last four years and therefore this same article has got a lot of significance in this day too.

On this occasion of another Independence Day I am re-publishing my article “Setting Priorities on the 60th Birthday”. Please click on the title of the article in the above sentence or click on the below mentioned link to find the article.

http://candidminds.blogspot.com/2007/08/setting-priorities-on-60th-birthday.html

UPA 2 - The Curious Case of the Most Incorrupt Heading the Most Corrupt

2011-07-28T11:21:00.003+05:30

More skeletons are tumbling out of the cupboard of UPA-2. Corruption charges like never before have dented the image of the coalition. As if the corruption charges that have already come out are not enough, new ones are getting out from the darkness of obscurity to the light of public discourse. It has already received the name of being the most corrupt government in the history of independent India. However the most curious thing about this dubious distinction of this government is that it is headed by a man, Dr. Manmohan Singh, known for his personal integrity; a man on whom even the most valiant opposition politician may think a million times before pointing an accusing finger of even a minor wrongdoing or dereliction of duty.

The reputation of the UPA 2 is so much besmirched with corruption scams that people have lost count of it and adding to it, each single day new scams are coming out causing nightmares for the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Commonwealth games scam, Adarsh flat scam, corruption in 2G spectrum allocation, corruption in the allocation of S Band, reneging on the promises made on a strong Lokpal bill and the fickleness of the government in taking actions on bringing back black money stashed away in Swiss banks etc. have all made this government a laughing stock. As a result of these corruption charges, the government has failed to gather enough courage to go ahead with governance and is not confident enough to take bold initiatives that could result in the economic and societal development of the country.

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has become only the shadow of the man who took bold initiatives in the early 1990s to liberalise the economy and bring in fresh lease of life to a sinking Indian economy. He was bold in his decision making and brought in fresh changes in the way business was done in the country. From the dark ages of ‘licence raj’ India got into a very energetic and vibrant globalised business system. By thwarting all opposition made by the leftists in the country, who could only oppose his ideas but could not bring any alternative for wealth creation and was only able to come up with economic ideas that could only help in 'equitable distribution of poverty', Manmohan Singh brought in economic reforms. However now he is rather silent – either he is hand-tied or he has no courage left in him to bring about big changes in the Indian economy and hence the economy is struggling. Statistics show that foreign direct investment declined by 25% in 2010-11 compared to previous year. Domestic investment is also in the decline and many Indian companies are looking to investment opportunities abroad. Because of the recent scams government machinery has become so ridiculously risk averse that it is not ready to make investment and hence government spending has become minimal. Inflation is rising to dangerous level and Reserve Bank is making all efforts to control it by changing the bank rates, but from the government’s side no fiscal policy measures have been declared to tame the inflation.

If Dr. Manmohan Singh and his government become so timid and cowardly in their governance then India is in for a big trouble in the near future. Lot of work remains to be done in the various sectors of the economy. The government needs to make more investments in the agricultural sector to improve the storage and transport, so that we can avoid a situation where grains are rotting at a place when thousands are dying out of poverty in various parts of the country. We need to speed up building roads and increase investment in other infrastructural projects like power sector. There is an urgent need to spend money by the government but checks should be made more stringent to make sure that corruption becomes the exception and not the rule (wiping out corruption completely in a democratic system like ours is a difficult task indeed). Investigation on the corruption charges should be done scrupulously but it must not turn into a witch-hunt of the honest.

One of the most honest politicians of our times, Dr. Manmohan Singh has certainly got his task cut out. But it is very important for him to make sure that his government doesn’t go down in the dustbin of Indian history. It would certainly be a sad thing, a certain deviation from the maxim of natural justice, if the most incorrupt politician, the architect of India’s economic reforms program, is remembered only as the head of the most corrupt government in the history of the country.

Ask India to Help Stop the Bloodshed in Syria

2011-07-22T10:19:00.004+05:30

(Amnesty International Appeal)

It has been over four months since the beginning of largely peaceful protests in Syria calling for political reform and for the Syrian President to step down. The Syrian authorities’ response to their people’s demands has so far been brutal.

According to Amnesty International’s research, the human rights violations committed by the Syrian security forces and army since mass protests began in mid-March include unlawful killings and torture. They appear to have been committed as part of a widespread - as well as systematic - attack on the civilian population and, in some cases, to amount to crimes against humanity.

That is why Amnesty International has called on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC), to impose an arms embargo and to freeze the assets abroad of the Syrian President and his senior associates.

So far the UN Security Council has been silent on Syria – failing to take action to help protect peaceful dissent in the country.

Some members of the Council have introduced a resolution on Syria which could be a first step towards a referral to the ICC. However, voting on the resolution is currently blocked by six other members. We believe that, three of those six, Brazil, South Africa and India, could be persuaded to change their position with sufficient international pressure.

Brazil, South Africa and India aspire to become permanent members of the UN Security Council and, as such, we believe that they have an increasing responsibility to try to bring an end to the violent crackdown in Syria. Please sign this petition to help ensure that Brazil, South Africa and India do not shy away from their responsibilities. As an Indian you need to pressure your government to change its position. Sign here to let the government hear your voice.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/ask-brazil-south-africa-and-india-to-help-stop-the-bloodshed-in-syria

Take Action Now

Send an email to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, South Africa and India urging them to join other members of the UN Security Council in supporting the current draft resolution on Syria and calling on the Syrian authorities to help bring an end to the violent crackdown in the country.

Dear Ministers,

I am writing to urge you, as representatives of the governments of Brazil, South Africa and India, to support the current draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria and thereby to join other members of the Council in calling on the Syrian government to stop the use of tanks, snipers and torture to suppress peaceful dissent.

So far the UN Security Council has remained silent on the situation in Syria. This is despite reports of widespread human rights violations across the country and Amnesty International’s assessment that crimes against humanity are being committed by the Syrian security forces and army in their crackdown on dissent.

As key players in the international arena and members of the UN Security Council, Brazil, South Africa and India have the possibility and we believe the responsibility to change this.

I appeal to you and your governments to show leadership and to use your international influence to help stop the bloodshed in Syria and ensure accountability for abuses committed there.

Yours sincerely,

Brazil:

Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Minister of Foreign Affairs

ministro.estado@itamaraty.gov.br

South Africa:

Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Co-operation

Email: minister@foreign.gov.za

India:

S M Krishna, Minister of External Affairs

E-mail: eam@mea.gov.in

India’s Tour of England 2011

2011-07-20T11:23:00.003+05:30

It is all set for the 2000th test match in the history of the great game of cricket tomorrow and it is to be the home of cricket, Lord’s Cricket Ground that is going to be the venue for the match. The England team would be challenging the number one ranked test team in the world, India in what is going to be the 100th test match between the two countries. India will play 4 tests, 5 one dayers, a one-off T20 game in England and four tour matches, of which one match against Somerset has already been played.

The anticipation of Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international hundred is one certain factor that is going to spice up the first test at Lord’s. Many essays and articles have already been written on this factor. Not only Indians, but also the whole world is waiting for that moment. What a great occasion it would be if the great man can hit his 100th hundred in the home of cricket, a place where he hasn’t got any hundred till now and his highest score is a meagre 37. As is always the case, the British media is flooding with essays on Tendulkar’s greatness, memoirs of him by his former colleagues in Yorkshire and his former opponents from the English team, tips and advices for the English bowlers on how to minimise the threat of Tendulkar and so on.

Though the impact of Sachin Tendulkar’s imminent 100th hundred is going to be quite big in this series, it is not the only thing that people are looking forward to. This series is where the number one ranked team in the world is being challenged by a team that is biting on its heels to become the number one. England has had a great couple of seasons of test match cricket at home and away, the most important one being their Ashes win down under in 2010-2011. There are a lot of high impact players in the team including Kevin Pietersen, Alistair Cook, Ian Bell, James Anderson, Graeme Swann and the captain Andrew Strauss himself. There are also some Englishmen, who have made great progress in the recent years including Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan, Eoin Morgan and Jonathan Trott. There are lot of Indian players too who are ready to make an impact in the series. The great wall of India Rahul Dravid, the very very special Laxman, captain cool MSD, pace ace Zaheer Khan, the irascible yet highly talented Gautam Gambhir and the lanky Ishant Sharma are some of them.

The series would also be an occasion for some mouth watering duels between players of both sides. The cricket enthusiasts are looking forward to see the one-on-one between Andrew Strauss and Zaheer Khan, Alistair Cook and Ishant Sharma and Graeme Swann against the big three of Indian batting Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. There would also be face offs between Eoin Morgan and Suresh Raina to judge who is the better No.6 batman among the two and also between the captains MS Dhoni and Andrew Strauss on their tactical moves as captains.

The series between India and England would also be the 100th match as head coach for Duncan Fletcher, the first coach to achieve that. The Zimbabwean who has been instrumental in making the English team a strong outfit will have the curious responsibility of strategising their downfall in this series. It would be interesting to see how he is going to handle this enormous onus.

This 16th tour of India to England is one great occasion to revive the losing magic of test match cricket. As this is the second part of English summer, there won’t be a lot of moisture in the pitches and the prediction is that it is going to be a batting paradise for the batsmen of both sides. When that is the case, much would depend on how well the bowlers on both sides bowl to the opponent batsmen. England would be trying to use the pace and bounce of the pitch to their advantage and would be looking to put the Indian batsmen to the backfoot, both literally and figuratively, by bowling short. They are already speaking about how Chris Tremlett can bowl short and put the Indian batsmen on to the defensive. But unlike in the past India also has got excellent pacers in the team including the lanky pacer Ishant Sharma who can extract bounce on any surface with his height and high arm action.

The entire cricketing world is closely watching this series and if England can win the series with a margin of 2 tests they would knock down India from the top position and become the No.1 test team in the world. So there is a lot at stake for both teams in this series and we are surely going to witness a hard fought series in the English grounds this summer.

A Former Student Looks Back at Students’ Strikes

2011-07-05T10:55:00.008+05:30

Once again this writer got caught up amidst the huge march of the student’s wing of the major leftist party in Thiruvananthapuram. Well, it was after eight long years that it happened, for after graduating out of college, this writer never had such a misfortune. A shop keeper in front of the Government Secretariat told this writer to flee the place as soon as possible as there was a great chance for this march to turn ugly and get violent. But with the experience of being a student in the earlier-famous-now-notorious University College for three eventful years, where students’ marches and violent protests were only daily affairs, this writer told the shop keeper that he need not worry as it was sure that the march won’t turn violent. As the march had a very large number of girl students it was sure that the leaders of the march were not looking for a violent event but a peaceful one and had there been an intention for a violent protest, they wouldn’t have had this many girls in the march. Yes, this writer would dare to make a controversial statement that almost all violent students’ protests are well thought out and planned, not spontaneous as these political leaders want us to believe.

Of the three years that this writer studied in University College, the first thing that he (and his co-students) did every day on entering the college campus was to look for the union leader; not because of any particular affection for the man, but to see if he is in the traditional mundu or in western trousers. If he is in the traditional dress, then it is an indication that there is a strike planned on that particular day (you know, these so-called politicians excel in these sort of treacherous ways of making people believe that they are important people by coming in traditional guise). After about one or two years in the college, you will start gaining that sixth sense of sniffing out from the air the probability of a march turning violent, hours before that march actually start, for by then you will be able to decipher from the surroundings of the college and the demeanour of the leaders and major activists what they are planning to do. Once you comprehend from the above mentioned factors that the protest would turn violent, the first thing you need to do was turn back, go out of the gate of the college, and take the first bus to your home. This is the only reason why you won’t find many final years students in a protest march.

The process that the leaders of these college union follow to gather students for the marches would appear rather preposterous when you take into account what the general public is made to believe by these people. When the public see large number of students marching in unison behind the “able” leadership of the union chairman or any other such trivial bloke, they tend to believe that this students’ political party has got such a huge following and all those students empathise with the issue on which the march is being held. However, the truth lies somewhere else. From personal experience this writer can say that most of these students are threatened or bullied into participating by the activists of the party and 99% of them wouldn’t know for what they are protesting for. Though in hindsight it appears rather cowardly, this writer still remembers how he and his friends fearfully hid in the darkness of the department library to save themselves from the clutches of activists who came searching for students hiding in that place.

In another similar occasion this writer was not able to hide anywhere and the party activists got hold him and ordered him to go for the march. Another one gave a party flag in his hands and instructed him to shout their party slogan. In that college, while students are preparing for a march, this party flag is an interesting thing, for once it reaches a person’s hand no one else would agree to take it in their hands. So this writer was all at sea thinking what to do with it? If it is in his hands he will have to carry it and go along with the march till Secretariat, where violence is almost a surety; but no one else is ready to accept it from his hands either. Then this writer gathered all his courage and placed the flag in one of the corners of the college building and tried to escape from the place. But once he got to the gate, he was again “captured” and was directed to join the march. Then we were made to march to Secretariat, the place of violent protests, under the watchful eyes of the activists, like sheep to the slaughter.

As the march approach the Secretariat it often happens in a students strike that the activists who would be walking at the back end of the march would start to feel such a curious sense of great enthusiasm that they will start running to reach the front end of the march, shouting with all sorts of weird and hostile sounds. This writer is inclined to believe that these activists rush to reach the front end of the march lest only those activists at the front end get beaten up by police, get injured, get caught in the camera of news channels, get instant fame and get appreciation and sympathy from the party leaders, which is a short cut to get into the higher echelons of the party. However, in this rushing up of activists from the back end of the march to the front end lies the chance for the ordinary students to escape from the march. On the way from University College to Secretariat there is a church and on that particular day, when this writer was caught up in the march, there was some wedding function going on. He and his friends stealthily entered the crowd in the wedding function and escaped from the march that turned violent once it reached Secretariat.

Now this is the truth behind students’ strike that we always see in our state, which more often than not, turn violent. The striking students would not leave any stone unturned to make sure that the police beat them up. They would try to jump over the barricade, would push the police, would call them names, would throw stones at them and would even fling petrol bombs at them. Though the police would try to maintain peace even when pushed to their limit, they would ultimately fall into the trap of the strikers and would use sticks to disperse the crowd – even the policemen are human. Then the politicians would make all sorts of hue and cry in the street and in the legislative assembly claiming that ‘innocent’ students are being targeted by the police and that no one should think that they can douse the fire in the striking protesters through violence.

It is high time that the conscience of the public rise against such devilish attempts by the politicians to gain political points at the expense of the lives of innocent students. The unscrupulous politicians exploit the youthful passion of the teenagers for their benefit, putting the careers, lives and future of the students at enormous risk. These deceitful politicians hold neither good moral values in their hearts nor any compassion for the innocent students. It is imperative that civil society show them their rightful place, which is in the dustbin of history.

Two Years Since I Met Up with an Accident

2011-06-30T08:20:00.004+05:30

I remember it as if it happened only yesterday. But it was this day, two years back that I met up with an accident. On that rainy night on 30 June 2009, I was heading back to my room in my bike after a day of hectic work in the office. Then suddenly a villainous dog with sinister designs in its mind jumped across my bike, I applied the brakes and skidded off the road; the dog was saved, I wasn’t.

On this occasion I republish my article 'The Peculiar Living – Life of a Temporarily Handicapped Man', which was written immediately after getting back to normalcy after the accident. Please click on the title of the article in the above sentence or click on the below mentioned link to find the article.

http://candidminds.blogspot.com/2009/09/peculiar-living-life-of-temporarily.html

Assembly Elections 2011 – Results and Implications

2011-06-10T11:39:00.010+05:30

The result of the 2011 Assembly elections came on 10 May, exactly one month back. One month is a good enough time for emotions to settle down and for better judgement to take control of politics-savvy minds. With such a perceived improvement in our judgement we can analyse the result of the Assembly Elections.

The April-May 2011 round of the assembly elections in the four states and one Union Territory had mixed results for all major parties in India, except BJP. Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam as well as Puducherry went for polls and in all places, except Assam, anti-incumbency factor played a major role in bringing down the ruling coalitions. However in Assam, the Congress ministry retained power and its leader Tarun Gogoi returned for a third consecutive time as Chief Minister. In Puducherry, ruling Congress suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of ex-Congress leader NR. Rangasamy led All India NR Congress (AINRC). In Kerala the UDF under the leadership of Congress has come to power with Oommen Chandy as the Chief Minister. In the 140 member Kerala assembly, UDF got a wafer thin majority of 72 seats, while the LDF under the leadership of CPI (M), which was the incumbent government, got 68 seats. In Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK decimated the DMK and snatched a landslide victory by ambushing the ruling front headed by DMK. AIADMK led Front, which has CPI (M), CPI and Vijayakant’s DMDK got 195 seats in the 234 member TN assembly. In a much awaited election result, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress demolished the left’s dilapidated fortress in West Bengal. In the 294 seats West Bengal Assembly, Trinamool led front got 227 seats and the combined left got only 67 seats.

One of the most important outcomes of this election is that the national parties have lost their prominence in these states and that many regional parties have gained a lot of seats as well as majority vote share. Congress, the CPI (M) and the BJP fared miserably in the election. Congress was able to win in Kerala by the skin of their teeth and they lost in Puducherry, got only few seats in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Already reeling under scores of corruption charges in the centre, the Congress party has gone down further back after the election results. In both Kerala and West Bengal the Congress party is under the mercy of their allies. In Kerala, though Congress is the major partner, it is particularly vulnerable to the pressures of their allies, the Muslim League and the Kerala Congress (M). At the same time, Congress is the minor partner in West Bengal, where Trinamool Congress has achieved a major victory. Congress is besieged with a lot of problems in the national level as well as in the regional level in most states. Corruption charges, lack of leadership and the problem of rebels are holding Congress back from regaining its lost position. Though the Congress is trying its best to come out of the cloud of corruption charges by taking legal actions against politicians like Suresh Kalmadi, A Raja and Kanimozhi, it doesn’t seems to be completely honest about dealing with corruption. The way in which the party is dragging its feet on the Lokpal issue and the fascist way in which it has responded to the fast conducted by Baba Ramdev, where police swooped on the protesters assembled at Baba Ramdev’s protest meeting, show the moral penury in which the Indian National Congress finds itself in. The party doesn’t seem to be interested to involve in political discourse, which is quite imperative in a working democracy.

The condition of the CPI (M) and the leftists at large has become pathetic after the elections. The Communist cadre had always been extremely proud of their great record in the West Bengal Assembly. In what turned out to be a historic election, the CPI (M) led Left front was swept out of power after a record seven consecutive terms in office. The left has mainly itself to blame for this result. The traditional left has always been arrogant and thought they were always right and looked at others with absolute disdain. They were never comfortable with criticisms and almost always responded to criticism with arrogance, which sometimes led to violent attacks on the critics. Intolerance, which has been the hallmark of many Communist regimes in the world (regimes of Stalin in Russia and Mao in China, being best examples), has led to an alienation of the party from the wishes and ideas of the people. They often forget that constructive criticism is important for the growth of any organised system and any absence of such criticism, or the intolerance towards criticism, will make an organised system morbid. To think that one is always right is not only foolish but is a prescription for disaster, as the left has found out in West Bengal. Though the CPI (M) was able to gain some lost ground in Kerala as a result of VS Achuthanandan’s perceived action against corruption, they were not able to regain power in the state (it is a matter of argument whether VS was against corruption as a social malady or was trying to gain some political points as he was acting only against corruption committed by his opponents, but stayed disgracefully mum on those done by his own party men). The left parties, particularly the CPI (M), have to do a serious introspection to find out the reasons for their defeat in Kerala and West Bengal. They have to see whether their failure has been in the organisational level or in the leadership level. They should also reassess their political priorities in the changing political and social landscape of the country. It is also important to be more responsive to the needs of the people and to not get struck up in their theoretical dogma. However the most important thing to do for the party, if it has to regain its lost position in the country, is to rein in the thuggish and violent party cadre who are always inclined to violence and hostility.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition in the country, is languishing in the oblivion of political India and in this assembly election they had no real role to play. However they have now an opportune time to lash out at the government in the centre, which is weighed down by many corruption charges. But instead of taking the lead in the agitations against the corrupt government, they are trying to support people like Baba Ramdev who has got no political ideals or democratic convictions. After the retirement of the legendary Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP was unable to bring an inspirational leader to guide it. Now that the Babri Masjid issue is not appealing to their support base, the BJP is trying to find out some other issues, but is failing miserably to come up with any.

Assembly Elections 2011 has made a lot of changes in the political landscape of the country. It must be seen what changes are going to happen in the country as the result of this elections. The new governments in the states have already started to make changes in the way in which the erstwhile governments were working. At the same time, as citizens of India we must ask ourselves whether we have matured enough as a political class after the elections. From the periphery it looks as if there had been a massive vote against political cynicism and superfluous populism.

Help protect children in Jammu and Kashmir

2011-06-07T09:00:00.005+05:30

(Amnesty International Appeal)

When teenage boys turn 16 in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in India they suddenly face a new threat. If they get arrested, they are treated as adults while according to international law only those above 18 should be.

Raheel Khursheed, who recently joined an Amnesty International Twitter campaign to demand the release of a teenager said, “The government has to decide whether the approach of talking to these young people should be humane or whether they want to go down as a government that uses legal brutality.”

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Juvenile Justice Act (JKJJA) teenage boys above 16 are adults and the government routinely locks them up in adult prisons in harsh conditions. There is a real need for reform in the area of juvenile justice and this has been recognised by the J&K Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah himself.

By signing this petition you can ensure that Omar Abdullah keeps his word. We will deliver your signatures to him ahead of the monsoon session of the J&K Assembly in September.

Join Amnesty International's campaign to make the adult age 18 so that the JKJJA becomes compatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Please go to the following URL and sign in the online petition.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/node/24915

(Image Copyright: Owais Zargar)

50 Years of Amnesty International

2011-05-28T09:31:00.004+05:30

On 28 May 2011 Amnesty International marks its 50th anniversary - 50 years of uninhibited fight against injustice and repression. It was way back in 1961 that a British lawyer Peter Benenson, enraged by a newspaper report of two Portuguese students from Coimbra being sentenced to seven years in prison for raising their glasses in a toast to freedom, started this movement for freedom and justice. From that humble beginning Amnesty International has grown into a global movement of more than 3 million supporters as well as members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories.

Though it is true that the human rights situation around the world has undergone a sea change in these 50 years, for which Amnesty International can certainly take some credit, there still exist a lot of human rights issues left to be solved. The 50th anniversary of Amnesty International comes at a time when there are a lot of changes happening in the human rights landscape as is evident from the way in which people of Middle East and North Africa are fighting against oppression and tyranny. It has become imperative that we remain committed to strengthening the global human rights movement.

Amnesty International is committed to protect freedom of expression, abolish the death penalty, defend rights of women and girls, demand international justice, stop corporate abuse and end oppression and injustice. For achieving these goals Amnesty International is in need of the help of each and every one of you. Change is possible and international solidarity on human rights is what we need to accomplish that.

50th Anniversary of Amnesty International is accompanied by a new drive – “Be one more, ask one more, act once more” – that urges everyone, including three million members of Amnesty International, to encourage at least one person to take action for human rights. On this account I implore all my readers to join with Amnesty International in its campaign against human rights violations and make a difference in the lives of millions of people around the world who are reeling under oppression, discrimination and violence.

Source: Official website of Amnesty International

A Night at a Railway Waiting Room

2011-05-16T22:31:00.008+05:30

Our Indian Railways is a great thing. For, apart from our parents and teachers, if there is someone who has a genuine and keen interest in providing opportunities and creating circumstances for us to improve our inherent skills, it is Indian Railways. It scarcely commits the capital mistake of running trains on time and thus provides all its travellers ample time to indulge in their interests and sharpen their skills – those who like to read can read, those who like to write can write, those who like to draw can draw, those who like to observe can observe and so on. I am one in the last category, those who like to observe, and a railway waiting room is the best place to pursue such a vocation, if ever there is one.

On a Friday night, while I was indulging in my favourite occupation of observation at a waiting room of a railway station, my eyes got hooked on to a tall, lean, fair lady in her early twenties. Not only my eyes, but the eyes of all humanity that had the chance to assemble there at the waiting room at that point of time, were fixed on her. Children, men, women, all were staring at her as if staring at an animal in a zoo, for she had a queer, if not weird, look about her. She was in a pink dress that revealed more than it concealed, though leaving something for the imagination of the beholders as well. Strings were dangling from all parts of her dress with beads attached to their ends, which made some noise every time she cringed, crouched or bent. She had a metal ring fixed on her nose, the sort of ring that women used to wear on their ears in the past - in those good old days when women where unambiguously women - which appeared to have made her feel elevated to the ranks of Indian tennis superstar Sania Mirza (though I used the word ‘elevated’, now I wonder whether the position Mrs. Shoaib Malik is now in would be a called an elevated position by men of wisdom). Her white, transparent duppatta slipped from her shoulder as often as was logically possible for a cloth of its kind to slip, and as many times she put it back to its place that many times it slipped off and fell down. If you thought that the constant slipping of the duppatta and the difficulty of putting it back to its place had caused her some discomfort or annoyance, it must be noted that she seemed to belong to a rare tribe of humankind for whom such human emotions occurred not when a trivial thing like slipping of a piece of cloth occurred, but when things of much greater gravity, like railway announcements that declared the arrivals of other trains than the one in which she had to travel, happened.

Even when such fascinating things, as a pretty lady with revelation as her prime goal, constantly seize the attention of a young mind as mine, there are certain things that would usurp your attention and turn it towards them. The unsolicited DJs, people with loud music in their mobile phones, as is often seen in places where we normally travel ‘cattle-class’ (guess Shashi Tharoor hasn’t got any trademark protection on the usage of the word), are some of that kind who’ve this disgusting habit of making others listen to what they like. You would invariably find Bollywood songs of the 1990s in their song collection, which they would play in loud sound inflicting serious harm on others like me, who are involved in much more important and significant occupations like observing people.

While I was rather immersed in such mixed observations, I was suddenly woken up from my trance by the sound of some furious thing. Startled by such a bizarre sound I turned back and found out that it was no one but the lady, the keeper of the latrine, who was the object of such a commotion. I have often noticed that this lady, who is about two-score years old, has this awful penchant of spewing insolent remarks at anyone and everyone frequenting the waiting room. Every time you ask her something you could be sure that she will answer you with some rude words. This time around it was some poor girl who was the victim of her abuse; the girl’s crime – she had only 10 rupee note with her and not the exact change to pay for the use of the latrine. In between, when the lady resorted to a light doze, a couple of young children went inside the latrine, splashed their boots, came out and went off with stealthily footsteps without paying, while not forgetting to make some faces in front of the sleeping lady in absolute merriment. Then suddenly the lady woke up and resumed her denunciation of one and all – of a kid hither, of a lady thither and of an old man yonder.

Amidst all these chaos and delightful distractions, there dwelled a couple, a pair of a beautiful girl and a handsome young man, obviously lovers, hand in hand, glancing together with great interest on to a personal diary, most probably of the girl, in which she might have added the day by day account of their love story. The girl was entirely leaning on to the boy as if saying to the world that he was her ultimate support, both literally and metaphorically. While her one hand was in the young man’s hand, the other one was on his shoulder, busy at the business of pinching his ears often and laughing heartily at it – altogether, a great romantic spectacle indeed. Her eyes, though were looking on to the diary, frequently wandered and every such time they ended up eventually at the lady in the pink dress and in each one of these occasions there was jealousy in her eyes and curse on her lips. Her lover, the handsome young man, though appeared to be rather enthusiastic in reading the diary, occasionally threw glances at the lady in the pink dress as well, without his girlfriend knowing it, until he noticed me observing him staring at that lady. Now his attention turned on to me and he had a look of abhorrence at me probably thinking what a boring person I would be to languish in such a monotonous waiting room on a cold night without a girlfriend leaning on my shoulder or calling me on my phone.

By that time it was well past midnight and most passengers in the waiting room had either slept or were in the threshold of a deep slumber when another announcement came and all lent their ears to it. And there it was – the announcement that my train would arrive within a short time, of course late by two and a half hours. We all were happy – the lady in the pink dress, the unsolicited DJ and me, for it was our train; the lover couple, for it was not their train (yes, what a blissful thing Indian Railways is for the romantic hearts). I got up, took my bag, dusted it off, put it on to my shoulders and started walking when the handsome young man whispered something on to his girlfriend’s ears and they both gazed at me. Then I paused, thought for second, looked back and gave them a rise smile as if wishing them that their train would never come.

Osama's Death – Significance and Symbolism

2011-05-03T08:44:00.006+05:30

I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure. - Mark Twain

On 1 May 2011, at about 11.30pm PST, US President Barack Obama gave a rare address to the nation, where he declared that Osama bin Laden, US’ worst enemy since 11 September 2001, has been declared dead. There was great jubilation in different parts of the United States – in front of the White House, at Ground Zero, at Times Square and in the streets of the different US cities. Osama was killed by a precision strike by US Navy Seals, a highly trained and sophisticated team of US combatants, in a 40 minutes operation in Abbottabad, a city in Pakistan that is just two hour drive away from the capital Islamabad.

Barack Obama in his now historic address declared “justice has been done” and seemed to be rather relieved at the fact. At the same time he was quick to add that the US’ war is not against Islam and called Osama ‘a killer of Muslims’. Now what is the significance that the killing has on the world affairs or the international community’s fight against terrorism? Experts believe that the killing of Osama is more about symbolism than significance. Had he been killed within about 3 or 4 years after the 9/11 attacks it would have been a significant event. But Osama bin Laden doesn’t have a great following among radical Muslims around the world now. Today we don’t see t-shirts with Osama’s picture being sold anywhere in the world and Osama has almost receded to oblivion and obscurity. Other than some video messages that he came up with occasionally, he was not involved in any serious propaganda or action against the so called “enemies of Islam”. As Osama was able to escape from the clutches of the US, even after the deadly attack against him by the US forces in the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan, there was a belief among the terrorists that they can escape even from the military might of the US. This gave them a sort of added confidence in pursuing bigger terrorists strike in the different parts of the world. But now that Osama is killed it would have become clear to terrorists that they can create mayhem in the world only at their own peril.

It must be said that the end of Osama bin Laden doesn’t mean the end of al-Qaeda, as it is more of a loose network than a structured organisation to be affected by the death of their leader, unlike say, LTTE that was entirely under the control of Velupillai Prabhakaran. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian born No.2 of the al-Qaeda would most probably take the charge of the organisation. There are also many affiliates of al-Qaeda around the world who act more like a franchisee of the deadly organisation. Though organisations like al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in North Africa are inspired by Osama, they are believed to be largely independent of him. There are chances that such organisations would project Osama's death as martyrdom and organise various attacks all over the world. The US buried Osama’s body in the sea as they were afraid that his burial site might become a place of “pilgrimage” to his devotees and a rallying point from where to launch more attacks on the world. Countries around the world are beefing up their security as they foresee a reprisal from the al-Qaeda network.

The fact that Osama was hiding in a sprawling campus in Abottabad city of Pakistan, some 800 metres away from a military training camp and not in any remote places, has become an embarrassment to the Pakistan government and the military. At a time when US-Pakistan relationship is at a crossroad, this fact would become a new thorn in their relationship. It is really hard to believe that the Pakistan intelligence was unaware of such a high profile terrorist hiding in the country. Pakistan authorities have much to answer as to whether they have ignored what was going under their nose, or worse, did they collude with Osama in providing him a safe haven in the country. It is very much clear that the US did not have any trust on the Pakistani authorities as was clear from the fact that they didn’t inform the Pakistan authorities about the attack on Osama. Anyways Pakistan government has distanced itself from the attack and called it an entirely US operation as they are afraid of any backlash that might happen in their own country. Senators of the opposition benches as well as the leadership of many mainstream religious and religio-political parties in Pakistan called the killing of Osama a direct attack on the sovereignty of Pakistan as foreign forces entered Pakistan’s territory and killed Osama without even informing the Pakistan authorities. At the same time, the fact that Osama was found hiding in Pakistan has vindicated India’s long time claim that Pakistan is supporting global terrorism.

There is no doubt that the killing of Osama bin Laden will be a massive boost to Barack Obama as he is preparing himself for the Presidential election in 2012. It would surely create a lot of turbulence in the Republican camp as they themselves are struggling for focus. Obama would certainly use the killing of Osama as a major weapon against GOP’s criticism that he is ineffective in the foreign policy front. Many of his conservative foes including Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani are lavishing praises on the President. It should be seen for how long Obama’s triumph over Osama would influence people’s minds. Though the killing of Osama would enhance Barack Obama’s chances in the Presidential elections he has to do more in the domestic front where joblessness, a slow recovery from the economic slump and high gasoline prices have made people agitated against his Presidency.

At the same time is quite heartening to see that the youth in the Arab world is not influenced by malicious propaganda of the terrorists but is embracing democracy, as is evident from what we have seen in Egypt, Tunisia or Libya. The young people of the world must draw inspiration from Anna Hazares and Wael Ghonims (the Google executive who used social media in organising revolt against Hosni Mubarak in Egypt) and not Osamas.

While the killing of Osama bin Laden, a deadly terrorist, is a triumph to the world community, it must be noted that our struggle against terrorists and radicals hasn’t ended. There is a larger challenge for the global community and that is to completely dismantle and destroy al-Qaeda affiliates and other such terrorist organisations all over the world. We have to be more alert and vigilant against the terrorists who have no moral base or human character.

Ban Endosulfan – Save Generations

2011-04-24T23:08:00.000+05:30

Profit motive is the driving force of free market economy. However profit motive should not be the preferred choice if there is a trade off between making profit and saving the lives of human beings. The Indian government is doing the unthinkable by preferring profit motive over the lives of its citizens in the subject of banning Endosulfan as government companies are in the forefront of producing the pesticide. When the whole world is shouting in one voice to ban the dangerous pesticide, Indian Government is trying to sabotage all efforts by the international community by voting against banning Endosulfan. The Stockholm Convention meet in Geneva on 25 April will discuss a global ban on the deadly pesticide.

India made a shocking decision by taking stand against the ban at the Sixth Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the convention that recommended the ban last year. At present 81 countries of the world have either banned or decided to phase out Endosulfan while 27 countries are still using the pesticide. India exports about 50% of its production of Endosulfan and hence the manufacturers are pressing the Union Government to act against banning the dangerous pesticide. The Government of India feigns as if it is oblivious of the grave dangers that Endosulfan creates. Studies have shown that Endosulfan causes more than 150 diseases and abnormalities, many of them severe in nature. Many health surveys done in Kasaragod district of Kerala have identified more than 4000 victims in the district alone, and their number is growing.

Several studies done in various parts of the world have shown that it can adversely affect human development. The exposure to Endosulfan delays sexual maturity among boys and interferes with sex hormone synthesis. Pregnant women who are exposed to the pesticide during the first eight weeks are several times more likely to give birth with children with autism. Endosulfan will contaminate ground water and will remain in the environment for years on end, causing danger to several generations. The fate of several affected people in the state bears testimony to the serious implications of the continuous use of the pesticide.

It has become extremely difficult to comprehend why the India Government is acting against the ban on Endosulfan. This will make one wonder whether the bosses of the government are colluding with the pesticides lobby to make sure that there is no global ban on Endosulfan. The indifference and callousness of the government on the plight of those poor people affected with the harmful effects of Endosulfan is outrageous. We should press on the Indian Government to support the global ban on Endosulfan in the Stockholm Convention. If the government fails to do so we should all get ready to a final revolution against this apathetic government and make them heed to the voice of the people.

Dear UN Secretary-General, Tell Us What You Know about Sri Lanka

2011-04-18T12:53:00.003+05:30

(For Amnesty International)

Dear UNSG Ban Ki-Moon,

First of all let me thank you for taking the important decision to set up a Panel of Experts to advise your office on accountability issues in Sri Lanka. When the war between the LTTE and Government forces in Sri Lanka ended there was a glimmer of hope for the Tamil people of the northern parts of the country. However such hopes were shattered when it came to the fore that war crimes and gross human rights violations were committed against the victims of the civil war by both the government forces and the LTTE.

Almost two years after the end of the conflict the true extent of the violations remains hidden and justice is being denied. The Panel of Experts must have the support of the international community to perform its work towards ensuring accountability and delivering justice to the victims. It is therefore imperative for the United Nations to make the report public. Amnesty International has called for the United Nations to conduct an independent investigation in response to the compelling evidence of human rights violation committed against the victims of the war. It is particularly important as the government obstructed independent monitoring and reporting in the latter stages of the conflict.

We urge you to fulfil your commitment to accountability issues in Sri Lanka.

Please make the UN Panel report, scheduled for handover to your office on 13 April, public without delay.

Yours Sincerely,
Aravind Ramesh

Where do we have a refuge?

2011-04-07T12:41:00.005+05:30

Cricket which unites us is over; now elections, which divide us, are on. Kerala goes for the State Assembly elections on 13 April. This election, like many elections held before, asks us a question that is quite difficult to find an answer to – are we destined only to elect the one that is less evil than the other? The Left Democratic Front (LDF) under the leadership of CPI (M) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) under the leadership of Indian National Congress are the two main fronts competing in the election. BJP is also contesting in the elections, but is of only an academic interest as the party has failed to win even a single seat in the 140 seats State Assembly till now. There is little to choose between the LDF and the UDF as both fronts have failed in meeting the aspirations of the people of Kerala all these 55 years since the formation of the state. So the capital question in the face of the Keralites is - who would we vote for?

The UPA government at the centre, under the leadership of Congress, is steeped in corruption and not to be left far behind the UDF in Kerala is also doing all that it could to catch up with the UPA in the practice of corruption. A barrage of corruption charges has come up against the leaders of the UDF. Balakrishna Pilla, the leader of Kerala Congress (B), one constituent party of the UDF, is already in the jail on corruption charges in the Idamalayar graft case. There are also corruption charges levied against Oommen Chandy, the leader of the opposition and TM Jacob, leader of the Kerala Congress (Jacob) party (only charges, but not proven yet). To make things worse there are charges against one of the leaders of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), another party in the UDF, Kunhalikutty on the icecream parlour sexual exploitation case. Lots of other corruption cases against various leaders of the UDF are also sub judice in the various courts in the country. At the same time Sonia Gandhi who made an appearance in Kerala for the election campaign made a frivolous comment that the LDF government in Kerala is consumed by corruption, as if her government at the centre is devoid of any corruption.

If the name of UDF is tantamount to corruption, LDF and the party that leads it, CPI (M) is synonymous with arrogance, intolerance and callousness. The way in which they use force and violence to decimate their rivals in the northern parts of Kerala is vile and contemptible. It was only recently that the news editor of Asianet Shahjahan manhandled, beaten and then threatened by P Jayarajan, District Secretary of CPI (M) in Kannur for bringing up an issue that the party hates to discuss (this writer had himself received threats on criticising the party and he expect to receive more threat as a result of this essay). Many leaders from the LDF are facing different types of corruption charges in the country. CPI (M) party state secretary is facing trial in the SNC Lavalin graft case (trial is going on, he is not proven guilty yet); another leader MV Jayarajan is facing the trial for defaming the court as he called the judges of the Supreme Court ‘fools’. VS Achuthanandan, considered by the majority in the state as an upright leader, has recently come under serious criticisms on various corruption charges against his son, Arun Kumar. He is also criticised for not doing enough on the corruption charges against his party Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, when he himself had written a letter with proofs to the party General Secretary, Prakash Karat on what he think were serious charges against Mr. Vijayan. VS was once hailed as the saviour of women under many physical and mental assaults in Kerala. His image as one who stands for women was reassured when he took up the case against IUML leader Kunhalikutty on the icecream parlour case. But this image received a serious blow because of his recent derogatory comments against many women political personalities in the state, not any less on his recent comment on his rival Mrs. Lathika Subhash in his assembly constituency. He is also criticised for not doing enough on the molestation charges against one of his party colleagues P. Sasi, where the police hasn’t even registered a case against him hitherto.

Politicians epitomise all the vices that human ingenuity could invent. Many of the words and deeds of LDF leaders prove this point beyond any doubt. When the court took cognisance of the fact that CPI (M) leader MV Jayarajan defamed court by calling judges as ‘fools’, he came up with the ridiculous answer that the Malayalam word he used to criticise judges, “shumbhan” or fool has another meaning ‘the one who shines” and that is the meaning that he meant when he used the word. When molestation charges against P Sasi came up, the party said that the party committee is enquiring the matter and would take actions against him if found guilty, as if this is not a criminal case, but some party matter. Then LDF came up with the announcement that Rs.2 per kg rice will be given to every family in Kerala after the Election Commission declared the code of conduct for the elections, when such announcements are not allowed. When election commission took notice of this, LDF argued that the announcement was a not a new one but had this in their budget for the year 2011-2012. But on perusing the budget proposal one could find that though the announcement was made, there was no money allocated in the budget for the purpose, which shows that the LDF government was not sincere about implementing it, but was just an election stunt.

BJP has not tasted any success in the state till now and it is highly unlikely that they will break the jinx this time around. In the matter of corruption or callousness, the BJP is not better than the UDF or the LDF. BJP governments at Karnataka and Gujarat are good examples of how BJP would behave once in power. BJP government that had once ruled India at the centre had their share of corruption cases as well.

As there is little difference between the different parties and fronts in the state, it would be prudent for the people to look at the individuals who are standing for the election and vote. In this regard too this writer is again under great confusion as the two individuals standing in the election at his constituency are K Muraleedharan for UDF and Cherian Philip for the LDF. Both persons are not known for their integrity or honesty. Both have jettisoned their parties once and have gone against their ideology only for personal gains. K Muraleedharan once left Congress, created another party called Democratic Indira Congress (DIC), merged into NCP and then joined LDF. Now he has done a volte face and re-joined the Congress and is standing as the candidate for the UDF. Cherian Philip, once a firebrand Congress leader, abandoned his party many years ago and joined the LDF for personal gains. That would mean that there is nothing much to choose between the two.

Now this is the impasse that we face. There is not a genuine, honest and sincere political front to vote for. Both fronts are interested only in trading charges against each other and to make ludicrous claims, not to mention their inherent interest in corruption. They both strongly believe that people are donkeys and genuinely think that people are malleable and hence can be made fool by making false promises. Both want power, but don’t want to take the responsibility of making lives of common people better. Both are corrupt and are insensitive at best, inimical at worst, to the needs of the people. Now that this is the truth about our state, the question to ask at this election, like even in ordinary times is, where do we have a refuge?

Dhoni’s Daredevils Do a Kapil’s Devils

2011-04-05T12:42:00.004+05:30

Oh yes, India is the ICC Cricket World Champions 2011. It took more than a couple of days for this fact to sink in to this writer’s mind. But it is true and the euphoria that this country is witnessing after Dhoni’s Daredevils defeated Sri Lanka in the final hasn’t calmed down yet. When Kapil’s Devils defeated the mighty West Indies at Old Blighty in 1983 to win the world cup for the first time, Dhoni’s Daredevils did a Kapil’s Devils and won it defeating the Sri Lankans at home in Mumbai.

‘Do it for Sachin’ was the overwhelming theme of this world cup in India. This was the great Sachin Tendulkar’s sixth world cup and a title win was perhaps the only thing missing in his otherwise phenomenal resume. There were many opinions expressed by the so called experts, particularly from England and Australia, that such a theme would divert the attention of the players from the real goal, which is to win the world cup. One of Australia’s world cup winning captains Steve Waugh was the main proponent of such an opinion. Now that it has become clear that such opinions are expressed by people who are absolutely oblivious of the mental make up of the Indians. We are people who are mainly guided by emotional aspirations and most of our desires are often aimed at bringing happiness to our beloveds. It was magnificently expressed by the Indian team when they shouldered Tendulkar and did a victory lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the final win. All players unequivocally stated that they dedicate this win to their great team mate and made clear that they did this for Sachin Tendulkar.

Though he failed to fire in the final match Sachin Tendulkar was at his best in the whole tournament where he scored an aggregate of 482 runs, second only to Tilakaratne Dilshan who made 500. Being a senior in the team he has given all the support and encouragement for all his junior team members which have become evident from the responses of his team mates. It was his long term ambition to win the world cup and the whole nation as well as the cricketing fraternity is rejoicing at his world cup win. Now that he has won the world cup questions have risen on whether he is contemplating to quit from the limited overs cricket for longevity in his test career. Tendulkar has clarified that he is not going to quit now from limited overs cricket and said that he is enjoying playing more now after winning the world cup. The Tendulkar fans in the country, who consider him as a cricketing God, just don’t want the great man to retire from any form of cricket and are eagerly waiting to see him in IPL and then to score his 100th hundred in the international cricket at his next national duty. Now it is not the time to talk about his retirement but is a time to celebrate the great man’s achievements and his world cup triumph.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an inspirational captain and he proved it again by winning the ICC Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar has called him the best captain he has played under and all his team mates are lavishing praises on him. MSD made all the right decisions and in the final played a captain’s knock when the team was in dire need of an excellent batting display. He was criticised by all, including this writer, for his poor form with the bat in the tournament. But in the final he made the great decision to come at number 5 and played a magnificent role in the win by hitting a match winning 91 off 79 balls. With one master stroke the ‘captain courageous’ has silenced all his critics by winning the Man of the Match award in the world cup final.

If there is one unsung hero in this Indian world cup win then that is the Indian coach Gary Kirsten. During his playing days the southpaw was one of the finest batsmen who played with grit, courage and intent. As a coach he was one who liked to help his players silently without creating much fuss about his role, a welcome change from his predecessor Greg Chappell who was arrogant, fussy and even officious at times. The respect and affection with which the Indian players, including the great Sachin Tendulkar, speak about him show how great an inspiration he has been in this world cup win. The victory lap by the Indian players by carrying ‘Guru' Gary on their shoulders was a fitting and deserving show of gratitude. It is pretty sad to know that Gary Kirsten is leaving the team and returning to South Africa where he has a young family to take care of. In the annals of Indian cricketing history the name of Gary Kirsten will be written in golden scripts.

All the players in the team played their roles well in the Indian World Cup win. The names of Yuvraj Singh, the Man of the Series, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh deserve special mention. It was a complete team effort by the Indian players and they have made a name in the history of Indian cricket. I would like to congratulate the Indian team for this great show.

Congrats Team India – 2011 ICC World Cup Champions

2011-04-02T23:46:00.003+05:30

A big congrats to the India team for winning the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. It was a great match that showed the real strength of Indian batting. The team won the World Cup for the great man Sachin Tendulkar. Its time to celebrate – HURRAY WE WON !!!

(Image Courtesy: AP)

India-Australia Clash in the World Cup Knockout Round

2011-03-23T11:06:00.003+05:30

Cricket World Cup 2011 is reaching its finishing point and India finds itself in the knockout stages as it is all set to face Australia in the second quarter final on Thursday. There would not be any difference in opinion that the match between India and Aussies would be a tough one for both teams. When Australia is the reigning world champion with three consecutive titles, India is a force to reckon with, particularly in the sub continent conditions.

Both India and Australia were once defeated in the league stage – India was defeated by South Africa and Australia was defeated by Pakistan. In one of the most intriguing cricket matches, South Africa defeated India by 3 wickets with 2 balls remaining. At the same time Pakistan was able to defeat Australia in the league match there by breaking the 34 match winning streak of the Aussies in the world cups (they were last defeated by Pakistan itself in one of the league matches in the 1999 world cup). So it is sure that both these teams would not leave any stone unturned for winning the match. Moreover, whoever loses the match would be out of the tournament.

There is no doubt that India should tighten up their bowling if it has to put a formidable challenge to the Australians. It is true that the batting unit of the Aussies is not as strong as in the earlier three occasions when they had heavy weights like the Waugh brothers, Gilchrist, Hayden and the likes. But still the Aussies can back a punch with their batting with batsmen like Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Watson and Haddin. India’s biggest problem with its bowling is that only Zaheer Khan is in good form. Ace bowler Harbhajan Singh is not at his best and bowlers like Piyush Chawla, Sreesanth and Ashish Nehra have been wavered in their bowling. At the same time the inclusion of R. Ashwin has brought some much needed quality to the Indian bowling. It is to be seen whether Dhoni would include another bowler in the place of Yusuf Pathan in the final eleven against Australia. An attacking option in Chawla or Sreesanth is surely a choice. The Aussies were not finding it easy against Chawla in the warm-up match and Sreesanth has always been one of Australia’s arch foes. Anyways Yusuf Pathan hasn’t been in good form throughout the series and it is almost sure that the Aussie bowlers will try to bounce him out because of his apparent inability to play the short pitched deliveries. It is to be seen how he would play them if he is included in the final eleven. Munaf Patel is not a incisive bowler particularly when bowling in the death overs. So it wouldn’t be a bad thing to include the attacking option of the leggie, Chawla in Munaf’s place. It is almost sure that the track at Motera, Ahmedabad would be a slow one that would help the spinners. Therefore it would be a good option to include three frontline spinners in Harbhajan, Chawla and Ashwin. If by any chance Chawla fails to perform we could always turn to Yuvraj for his slow left arm spin.

Indian batting is not in a good shape either. There were many opinions expressed stating that India has got the best batting line-up among all teams in this world cup. But in the matches against South Africa and West Indies, the flaws in the Indian batting line-up came to the fore. Still much of the Indian batting depends on the great man, Sachin Tendulkar. Playing in probably his last world cup Tendulkar would be looking to make a large impact in the match against his most favourite rival, Australia. Much expectation also rests on the swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag and his fiery batting prowess. It would surely be an exciting contest between bat and ball when the likes of Sachin, Sehwag and Yuvraj come against Lee, Johnson and Tait. Dhoni has to be at his proactive best if India has to win Thursday’s match and it has to be seen with what combination he will play this very important match. It would be good for India if MS Dhoni wins the toss and elects to bat first because if India is batting second a score of even 240 would be hard to chase against the Aussies. In such a case it would also be difficult for the Aussies to bat second in a slow turning track, which is expected at Motera.

The match between India and Australia is going to be the last world cup match for either Sachin Tendulkar or Ricky Ponting, two of the game’s greatest batsmen. Therefore both will be quite keen to make their presence felt in this critical showdown. While one man is known for his impeccable integrity, the other is known for the lack of it. Ponting has the dubious distinction of being a dishonest captain whose on-field and off-field actions have often come under criticisms not any less in this world cup.

Anyways let us keep our fingers crossed for the ultimate showdown between two top teams in world cricket. In all probability it is going to be an interesting match with a nail biting finish. Let the best team win.

India: Jammu and Kashmir detentions used to keep people ‘out of circulation’

2011-03-21T22:27:00.000+05:30

(For Amnesty International)

On 21 March 2011, Amnesty International will launch a new report revealing how administrative detention in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir is being used to detain people for years at a time, without trial, depriving them of basic human rights otherwise provided under Indian law.

A Lawless Law: Detentions under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, documents how authorities are using the Public Safety Act to secure the long-term detention of political activists, suspected members or supporters of armed groups and a range of other individuals against whom there is insufficient evidence for a trial or conviction to ‘keep them out of circulation’.

It is the first report by Amnesty International about Jammu and Kashmir since 2000.

After the Japanese Nuclear Disaster

2011-03-16T11:01:00.005+05:30

As if the chaos caused by the powerful earthquake and the subsequent tsunami isn’t enough, Japan faces a serious calamity after the explosions in the four nuclear reactors at Fukushima nuclear plant. Scientists and workers at the nuclear plant were tirelessly working to contain the nuclear radiations emitted to the atmosphere when the new fire at reactor four resulted in the rising of the radiation level in the atmosphere. Such a rise is dangerous for those workers at the nuclear plant and hence the Japanese government has withdrawn all workers from the plant. Many countries, including India, are dependent upon nuclear reactors for power generations and therefore it is important for all to know more about nuclear radiations and its harmful effects.

The Japanese are well aware of the dangers of the nuclear radiations after falling prey to the atom bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War. However they have very few natural resources and therefore decided to go for nuclear power to supply a third of its energy needs. They have more than 50 commercially operating nuclear reactors and many are built in seismically dangerous environment, where the threat of earthquakes is more. Though most of the nuclear reactors are built after taking this factor into consideration, the enormous power of the earthquake and tsunami has toppled all security measures that were put in place. Shutting down a nuclear plant is as complex a process as the nuclear fission process that generates power. Therefore it seems that it would take a long time before the nuclear radiation emission to the atmosphere is brought under control and stopped. The government has asked people not to panic and has given them guidance on how to avoid getting affected with the radiation. BBC is giving an extensive coverage of the issue and you can find a lot of information about the nuclear disaster at Fukushima from the following URL.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12732015

India has got many nuclear power plants as well and the nuclear calamity in Japan would be a time that should take our attention to the security of those plants. Indian nuclear scientists have repeatedly said that all our nuclear reactors are safe and we have nothing to worry about if a similar environmental disaster as in Japan happens in India. At the same time Indian nuclear agencies have promised to revisit the security measures at all atomic plants. It is quite important for the common people to know more about the dangers of nuclear radiations, about how to avoid it and about how to get treated if ever exposed to it. The following resource from BBC gives a good account on this regard.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12722435

The nuclear disaster in Japan has raised alarm bells in many countries. China, South Korea and the United States, Japan’s neighbours, have increased their security level to fend off radiation threat from Japan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that all seven nuclear plants built before 1980 would be closed down for now as safety checks are conducted. Switzerland announced that it would freeze all plans to build or replace nuclear power plants and Austria called for new stress tests on nuclear plants across Europe. India has decided to adopt radiation checks at ports and airports and on all food imports from Japan. In Russia President Vladimir Putin has ordered a review on all nuclear plants.

Inarguably, one of the most important outcomes of the Japanese nuclear crisis is that it has re-ignited the anti-nuclear debate around the world. It is extremely important for the global community to have an impassioned debate on the pros and cons of nuclear power before we move forward with nuclear power projects.

Image: The No:3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant at Minamisoma is seen burning after the blast

SSLC Exams – Re-Publishing My 3 Year Old Blog Post

2011-03-14T13:46:00.001+05:30

In our state of Kerala the SSLC exams (class 10 exams) start today. On the occasion I am re-publishing one of my blog posts on the exams, “SSLC Exams – Why This Much Fuzz About It”, that was written 3 years back.

Please click on the title of the article in the above sentence or click on the below mentioned link to find the article.

http://candidminds.blogspot.com/2008/03/sslc-exams-why-this-much-of-fuss-about.html

International Women's Day - Celebrating 100 Years

2011-03-08T10:08:00.005+05:30

I’ve often wondered why only very few poets, novelists and story-writers have written about their mothers. With such a queer cogitation, I sat up to write a ballad on my mother when I found out that my vocabulary is modest, my imagination rather inferior and my creativity mediocre. It seemed to me that all the words in this world, even if used in their most effective manner, can hardly conjure the true meaning and essence of a mother’s love.

Respect for women should come from this miracle called mother’s love, for in every woman, even in a girl as little as five years, we can find this expression of motherhood. With such a magnificent thought let us celebrate the centenary International Women’s Day today. It is a day where you could express your gratitude to all women who have influenced your life – mother, sisters, wives, friends, colleagues and even mere acquaintances. I am using this occasion to thank all my sisters, friends and colleagues of the fairer gender, my sincere gratitude for all the support and affection you all have given me. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

(Image Courtesy: United Nations ESCAP)

Middle East and North Africa: Stop Supply of Arms Used in Protest Killings

2011-03-03T22:56:00.002+05:30

(Amnesty International Appeal)

Libya has witnessed horrific levels of violence in the last few days. Hundreds of innocent people have died, among them protesters who were peacefully demanding basic political and human rights reform.

Across the Middle East and North Africa region, people have taken to the streets in their thousands to demand change. In far too many cases, they have been met with bullets, shotguns, grenade launchers, riot guns, electro-shock batons, armoured vehicles and police trucks.

A number of states from around the world have supplied arms to these countries. Wouldn’t it help to have a treaty that would stop arms from getting into the hands of those who will use them to commit human rights violations?

You can do something to make this happen.

At the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty negotiations in March, Amnesty International will call on governments to push for a treaty that is strong enough to prevent the horrors now taking place in Libya from taking place in other countries in the future.

Help us show world governments that thousands of people like you support this. Stop arms from getting into the wrong hands.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/middle-east-and-north-africa-stop-supply-arms-used-protest-killings

How Farcical is Umpire Decision Review System?

2011-03-02T11:02:00.011+05:30

There would not be a second opinion that the world cup league match between India and England at Bangalore Chinnaswamy Stadium which ended up in a tie was one of the most intriguing one day matches ever. Though the Indians got to a mammoth total of 338 runs, thanks to the brilliant innings by Sachin Tendulkar, England was able to tie the match because of the great innings played by their skipper Andrew Strauss. Strauss was ably supported by Ian Bell who was lucky enough to survive a close LBW shout which was referred to the third umpire under the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) after on field umpire Billy Bowden gave it not out.

It is inarguable that the life that Ian Bell got was instrumental in the England equalling the score that India made. The decision taken by Billy Bowden after the opinion he got from the third umpire based on the UDRS has come under severe criticism from several quarters, not any less by the Indian captain MS Dhoni. The aggrieved Indian Captain called the incident ‘adulteration of technology’.

In the UDRS three main factors are considered for leg before wicket (LBW) decisions – whether the ball pitched in line, whether the impact of the ball hitting the batsman is in line and whether the ball is hitting the wicket. In the Ian Bell issue, the ball bowled by Yuvraj Singh pitched slightly outside the off stump, which is not an issue here as Yuvraj, a left arm bowler was bowling to a right handed batsman in Bell and the ball was not turning away but was going straight. The impact of the ball hitting the batsman was in line and the replays showed that the ball was going straight and hitting the stumps. On seeing the replay in the big screen in the ground all where convinced that the batsman was out. Even the batsman started walking when the on field umpire Billy Bowden gave the batsman not out and called the batsman back. Everyone was surprised including the batsman and there was chaos in the stadium as the spectators watched the replays in the big screen and thought the batsman was out.

Now the reason for giving it not out even after all three factors coming good in this incident was that when the ball hit the batsman he was more than 2.5 meters away from the wicket and hence the umpire gave the benefit of the doubt to the batsman. It is said that the technology is not sure about how the ball would behave if the distance between the point of impact and the wicket is more that 2.5 meters. (It is preposterous to believe that the ball would behave any differently in the last 2.5 metres it has to travel.) In the ICC rule on UDRS about LBW decisions the statement on the 2.5 metres factor is as follows,

In instances where the evidence shows that the ball would have hit the stumps within the demarcated area as set out above but that the point of impact is greater than 250 cm (2.5metres) from the stumps, the third umpire shall notify the on-field umpire of:

The distance from the wickets to the point of impact with the batsman
The approximate distance from point of pitching to point of impact
Where the ball is predicted to hit the stumps.

In such a case, the on-field umpire shall have regard to the normal cricketing principles concerning the level of certainty in making his decision as to whether to change his decision.

Of course it is true that many umpires are inclined to give not out if the ball hits the batsman on his pads when he is well forward as the umpire won’t be sure whether the ball will go ahead and hit the wicket. However the technology is used here to help umpires judge whether the ball will hit the stumps or not, which in this case was confirmed by the replay. When that is the case there is no reason not to give out in this case. There had been many occasions where umpires had given batsmen out when they were good distance down the ground but they were sure that the ball would hit the stumps. When India toured Sri Lanka last decade there had an occasion where umpire Dave Orchard of South Africa gave Sourav Ganguly out when he came down the track and padded away Muralitharan. The ball hit Ganguly when he was well down the pitch but the umpire was sure that the ball will go straight and hit the wicket. This is just one example and there were many such occasions in world cricket.

The argument is that if even this technology used in UDRS is inconclusive in determining whether the batsman is out or not then there is no need to use it. Here also we have used human judgement to arrive at a decision (in this case the judgement of umpire Billy Bowden). It was the case before the introduction of the UDRS – it was human judgement of the umpire that was used to arrive at a decision in LBW. While that is the case then why should we use technology if we are not able to rely completely on it and have to again count on human judgement in taking decisions?

It must be noted that the ICC is not well prepared with the UDRS. Even the players were not aware of the rules, which was evident from the comments made by Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell and MS Dhoni after the match. When the great Sachin Tendulkar made his reservations on the UDRS and said that it should not be used in matches, many people, including this writer, were highly critical of the man. However now all the reservations that Tendulkar made on UDRS appear to be true and now the cricketing fraternity should debate on whether to continue with the system. As of now it appears to be rather farcical to use the Umpire Decision Review System in such a big tournament as the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Will Libya’s Gaddafi Do a Hosni Mubarak?

2011-02-24T11:05:00.004+05:30

Drawing inspiration from the successful and popular uprisings against autocratic rulers in Tunisia and Egypt, people in Libya have also taken to the street against the four decade old parochial rule of Muammar Gaddafi. But unlike Zine al-Abidine of Tunisia or Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Gaddafi has overtly declared his intention of violent crackdown of the peaceful protests. Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya is already under the control of the protesters and they are, slowly but surely, firming their grip on the capital city of Tripoli.

Gaddafi has approved the violent use of force to crackdown the protests for democratic reforms. On his state address on Libyan state TV on 22 February, Gaddafi vowed to fight the uprising to the last drop of his blood. He accused the demonstrators of being hardened fundamentalists and called them the “followers of bin Laden and Zawahiri”. Taking a dig at the United States, he said that because of the protests Libya has become vulnerable to the simultaneous attack by al-Qaeda and the US. In his speech, Gaddafi appealed to the tribal leaders to back him as he has done tremendous amount for them. Gaddafi also called on his supporters to get to the streets and face the protestors. In the speech Gaddafi appeared in no mood to relinquish his power and seemed determined to clutch to it with hook or by crook.

Reports suggest that Gaddafi has unleashed numerous mercenary forces to attack his own people in a desperate attempt to hold on to the power. There are persistent claims from the people of Libya that they have come across mercenaries from different nations including Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Mali, Sudan and even from Asia and Eastern Europe. Though the military of Libya is loyal to Gaddafi many army men have defected to the other side and are working hand in glove with the pro-democratic protesters. It is only natural that many of those Libyan military men find it difficult to point their guns against their own people. Gaddafi was quick to realise that most of the Libyan army men would be reluctant to attack the Libyan protesters and therefore he has used his monetary power to get foreign mercenaries to work for him. Human Rights Watch believes that the overall death toll from the attack of the state on the protesters in all of five Libyan cities may have reached more than 300 since February 17. At the same time many other people knowledgeable of the ground scenario say that the death toll may have reached beyond 1000.

International pressure is mounting on Gaddafi to stop his violent crack down on the protesters. Arab League has suspended Libya from its membership and the United Nations has condemned the violence and appealed for an immediate end and to hold accountable all responsible for the violence. The European Union warned Libya that it would be forced to take further measure against the country if the violent crackdown of the peaceful protesters continues. The President of United States, Barack Obama has condemned the attack on the protesters and called this violent act of Gaddafi as outrageous. At the same time Indian Government is making plans to evacuate Indians from the troubled country as situation gets worsened day by day. New Delhi is rushing to increase the number of staff in Tripoli to make arrangements for the evacuation of about 18,000 Indians living in Libya, of which 12,000 is in Tripoli. Human rights organisations are also concerned with the growing human rights violations in the country and on the violent crackdown on the protesters. All rights organisations are appealing to the countries of the world to firm up their opposition to the Gaddafi regime’s violent crackdown.

Experts believe that the days of the Gaddafi regime are numbered and it is only to be seen for how many more days Gaddafi would stick on to the power using his violent crackdown on the pro-democracy protesters. International pressure is mounting and many members of his regime have already resigned as a protest to his violent crackdown. It is to be seen whether Muammar Gaddafi will do a Hosni Mubarak and renounce his power and flee or whether he will fight till his last drop of blood, as he has vowed.

Cricket World Cup 2011 is Right Here at Our Doorsteps

2011-02-17T11:14:00.003+05:30

Simple is beautiful; there is great beauty in simplicity. However there is a kind of queer beauty in complexity as well. Cricket is a favourite game for many because of their appreciation for this strange beauty of complexity. The tenth edition of the Cricket World Cup starts today with the inauguration ceremony at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh. First match of the World Cup will be played between co-hosts India and Bangladesh on 19th February, Saturday.

Cricket is one of the most complex among all games, with the ground in which a game happens, the direction in which the wind blows, the percentage of humidity in the atmosphere, the cloud covering in the sky and even the frequency with which the viewers move in the stands affect the result of the game. Most naïve fans of the game are even oblivious that there are 10 ways in which a batsman can get out. Even some of the ardent followers of the game haven’t heard of dismissals like handling the ball (Steve Waugh and Michael Vaughan had the misfortune of this type of dismissal against India in test matches), obstructing the field (Inzamam-ul-Haq was once out in this fashion against India in an ODI match) and hitting the ball twice etc. So complex, yet so beautiful is the gentleman’s game Cricket.

The 2011 Cricket World Cup edition is one of the few editions of world cup where it is impossible to predict the champion with any degree of certainty. After many editions this is one World Cup where the once mighty Australians are not the favourite of the bookies or the experts. If recent form is anything to go by, the Aussies are not in the best shape when it comes to winning matches. After the retirement of greats like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist, the Australians are not able to find replacements for them. Ricky Ponting is a perfect example of what they generally say in cricket, ‘a captain is as good as his team’. When compared to the previous captains like Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor, Ricky Ponting falls awfully short on being an inspiration or a model. He is hailed as the greatest Australian batsman since Sir Don Bradman, yet when it comes to captaincy he is not at all comparable with the previous captains.

India, Sri Lanka and South Africa are widely considered to be the teams that are very much capable of winning this edition of the cricket World Cup. With a young side, the Indian team under skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is quite capable of wining the title as well. It is also the final World Cup of the great man Sachin Tendulkar. Already the theme ‘Win it for Sachin’ echoes everywhere in India. A World Cup is the only title that is missing in the otherwise perfect resume of Sachin Tendulkar. It goes without saying that lot will depend on this great man if India has to win the World Cup. The Lankans are a force to reckon with, particularly in the sub continent conditions. They play most of their matches in their home ground and under the captaincy of Kumar Sangakara they are a team that can beat any side on a day. South Africa, as always, is a team that has the ability to the win the world title. It is to be seen whether they would be able to jettison their tag of ‘chokers’ finally and win the world cup after many lost opportunities. Pakistan, a cricket team known for their unpredictability, is another team that could make a surprise and win the world cup. Many predict that Bangladesh would be the dark horse in this world cup as well. Other major teams like England, New Zealand and the West Indies would also make all possible efforts to make a mark in this World Cup.

The whole world is in cricket fever and for the next 43 days there will be absolute cricketing action spread across 13 venues in three countries – India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. ‘Kapil’s Devils’ won the world cup for India in 1983 and hopefully ‘Dhoni’s Dare Devils’ can do it again for our country in 2011. Let us keep our fingers crossed.

People’s Moment in Egypt

2011-02-15T11:28:00.003+05:30

The successful ouster of the tyrannical Hosni Mubarak from his 30 year old rule in Egypt would remain as one of the most important events of this century. The fact that it was made possible by people’s power adds to its importance. The pro-democracy activists of Egypt used modern online tools like the Facebook and Twitter to come together and waged a mostly peaceful uprising against the dictator Mubarak. It is certainly people’s moment in Egypt as after 18 days of unrelenting struggle, brave Egyptians attained their long cherished freedom.

Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak assumed the presidency in 1981 following the assassination of the then President Anwar El Sadat. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force. He is mostly seen as a pro-west leader and has generally been known for his support of Israel. Hosni Mubarak significantly presided over the Camp David accord, which contained a series of agreements between Egypt and Israel. At the same time most people in Egypt do not accept the Camp David agreement and generally accuse Mubarak for the installation of the accord. Mubarak continued with his reign of the country using highly rigged general elections in the country. Elections were held once in every 6 years and in all these elections Mubarak used the state machinery to turn the popular votes in his favour. During his reign state corruption was extremely high and it led to the imprisonment of many young activist and political opposition without trial. Egypt has been under perpetual Emergency Law rule since 1967 and under the law constitutional rights of the people were suspended, police powers were extended and censorship was legalised. Citizen’s efforts towards achieving freedom of speech and expression were thwarted using iron hand. All these factors lead to popular discontent and people took to the streets after gaining encouragement from the Tunisian uprising.

The role of online social media in the success of the Egyptian revolution is commendable. Facebook and Twitter were effectively used by the activists to organise people for the cause. It could be safely said that the revolution was started online, as accepted by Wael Ghonim, Marketing Manager, Middle East at Google Inc. He is one who started a Facebook page for convincing the masses about the need for an uprising and is credited with helping millions of Egyptians feel emboldened to take to the streets to bring down 30 years of autocratic rule by Hosni Mubarak. During the victory march by the protestors after Mubarak announced his resignation, many people carried banners and posters that read ‘Thank you Facebook’ in Arabic and English. The wide use of social media sites by the protesters in Egypt has raised alarm bells in China, where both Facebook and Twitter are blocked.

The Egyptian revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak drew inspiration from the Tunisian revolution that resulted in the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Similarly all other autocracies in the Middle East are under threat of people’s movement as in Tunisia and Egypt. Governments in other Middle East countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and Jordan are petrified at the probability of similar popular uprisings against them.

Though Hosni Mubarak gave up his presidency and fled to Sharm el-Sheikh, all of Egypt’s problems haven’t disappeared yet. The Supreme Military Council has taken over from Hosni Mubarak and they have made it clear that they have no intention of holding on to the power and will only oversee the peaceful transition of power to democratic forces of the country. The people’s movement has to remain vigilant till the governance of the country gets into the hands of the democratic players. Hopefully such a transition of power from autocracy to democracy would happen in a peaceful way. There is little doubt that the people’s revolution in Egypt would remain in the annals of history as one of the greatest movements for freedom. It is equally true that a violent storm of democracy is sweeping across Middle East and only time will tell how many more despotic governments are going to get uprooted in its rage.

A Question Mark on Our Collective Conscience

2011-02-08T10:11:00.004+05:30

The fate of the lady who was brutally assaulted and raped after falling down from the train near Vallathol Nagar railway station, Kerala and who succumbed to her head injuries last Sunday puts a question mark on our collective conscience. The brutal action of the criminal, the neglect and passivity of the passengers in the train and the irresponsibility of the railway authorities are all despicable to the core. The whole incident shows how immoral and unkind our society and its people have become.

Anyone who frequently travels in a train would know how big a nuisance and security threat the travelling mendicants and beggars have become. In all our journeys we could see a plethora of them with all sorts of ingenious begging tricks and begging tools. They travel without travel ticket or any other valid documents and this makes it extremely difficult to track them and prosecute them for any crimes that they commit. Neither the railways nor the state authorities are known to take any honest legal actions against such people and therefore they feel rather fearless in continuing with their unlawful occupation. One such spurious traveller, who is physically handicapped, and undoubtedly morally afflicted, is behind this savagery assault and rape on the young lady. The heartless and merciless way in which the girl was attacked bears evidence to the unsound and dangerous moral nature of the culprit. It must be said that the culprit deserves no mercy from the society or our legal system and he should be given a model punishment that would prevent anyone in the future from the reiteration of such barbarism.

The brutality of the culprit is only rivalled by the indolence and inaction of the passengers in the train where the incident happened. On seeing that one lady had fallen down from the train, one traveller had urged others to pull the chain and stop the train, but they all turned a deaf ear to him. Had they heard him and stopped the train the life of the lady could have been saved. But it was not to be and they continued with their journey. It was one perfect example of how our society has declined in its morality and magnanimity. We have all become restricted to ourselves and our families and the woes and troubles of others are nothing to us but an annoying nuisance. One can’t help but get dismayed by such callousness and insensitivity of our society.

It is high time we raise our voice against the irresponsibility of the Indian Railways. We know that the public sector giant is making enormous profit out of its travellers. Yet they fall awfully short of implementing security systems in the train and in the railway stations. Travelling in a train has become a fearful thing for the people, particularly ladies who are often insulted and attacked inside train compartments. The Railway Protection Force or the state police (arguments are still going on about on whom the real responsibility of train security lies in) should take immediate steps to rein-in anti-social elements. In addition to punishing culprits who attack women, the law enforcement agencies should step up their intelligence gathering mechanism as well.

The pathetic fate of the lady who came under the attack would prick the individual conscience of every single one of us as well as the collective conscience of our society. Her tragic end would raise fear among all of us whose mothers, sisters, wives, friends or colleagues travel in Indian trains. Let this young lady, who was a beloved daughter to a mother and a beloved sister to a brother, lead us to a moral awakening. Let us take a pledge that from here onwards we would not let a person’s call for help leave unattended. At the same time, a murderous man’s merciless bestiality on a poor, innocent young lady makes me ashamed on being a member of the masculine gender.

Amnesty International Representative Detained in Cairo

2011-02-03T22:50:00.002+05:30

(Published for Amnesty International)

3 February 2011

An Amnesty International representative has been detained by police in Cairo after the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre was taken over by military police this morning.

The Amnesty International member of staff was taken, along with Ahmed Seif Al Islam, Khaled Ali, a delegate from Human Rights Watch and others, to an unknown location in Cairo. Amnesty International does not know their current whereabouts.

“We call for the immediate and safe release of our colleagues and others with them who should be able to monitor the human rights situation in Egypt at this crucial time without fear of harassment or detention,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

A number of other activists are still being held in the Centre.

BJP’s Flag Hoisting Drama

2011-01-25T11:09:00.005+05:30

In one classic example of ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’, BJP is all set to hoist India’s national flag in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir on 26 January, Republic day. You don’t need to be a highly intelligent person to discern that hoisting the Indian flag in Kashmir now would jeopardise the fragile peace and tranquillity prevailing in the state. The J&K government in consultation with the Central Government has rightly stopped the BJP leaders from entering the state for their 'Ekta Yatra' (a misnomer in itself, for one could hardly understand how such a divisive act would create ekta or unity). They were not allowed to deplane and were sent back to Punjab.

The BJP, without any concrete ideology other than Hindutva, has often resorted to such divisive measures to gain popularity. The move to hoist the Indian flag in Srinagar shows the party's ideological penury and has politically alienated the party. Even their allies in the NDA have distanced themselves from the BJP. Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav have rightly pointed out that BJP’s move to hoist Indian flag in Srinagar and to gain political mileage out of it is inherently flawed and would only help in ruining peace and normality in the state. When there are lot of other issues that need serious attention from the main opposition party of the country, they are squandering their time and effort in such trivial subjects. The ruling UPA is mired in a lot of controversies, including corruption and financial impropriety. At such a situation the onus is on the main opposition BJP to show some sense of responsibility in countering widespread corruption in the government.

Patriotism, Samuel Johnson once said, is the last refuge of a scoundrel. BJP and its Sangh Parivar elements have often used the garb of patriotism to cause chaos and disorder in the country. Their present move to hoist the Indian flag in Srinagar claiming that they are doing it because of their patriotism is another such move to scuttle the peace movements in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. BJP claims that they are doing this against the separatists of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and all those who oppose them in this subject are unpatriotic. By saying so they are following George W. Bush’s now infamous ‘you are either with us or against us’ theory. It is high time for our political discourse to move away from such divisive theories and concentrate more on logical reasoning. Let us set the record straight that all of us are patriots, though our opinions on national security or national development may be different and at loggerheads.

After Atal Bihari Vaypayee stepped down as the undisputed leader of BJP, they have failed to find a new leader capable of arousing respect among political opponents and the people. Leaders like LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley fall awfully short of people’s expectations. In such a situation it is only natural for the BJP to resort to such desperate efforts to gain some political significance. However as a responsible political party, we expect lot more maturity from BJP. For the sake of peace and security in the volatile state of Jammu and Kashmir, BJP should immediately step back from their intention to hoist the national flag in the state on the Republic Day. True patriotism lies not in hoisting the national flag at place, but in making efforts to bring in peace and development in a country and in doing everything possible towards the achievement of this goal. Let us hope that better sense would prevail sooner rather then later.

Release Prisoner of Conscience, Binayak Sen

2011-01-21T09:15:00.003+05:30

(For Amnesty International)

Few legal cases in our country have caused this much of an international outrage as has the arrest and subsequent sentence given to Binayak Sen, one of India’s leading human rights activists. On 24 December 2010, Dr. Binayak Sen, a pioneering medical doctor, was sentenced to life imprisonment after an unfair trial. His fault - public criticism of the Chhattisgarh police and the government for killing local adivasis and not armed Maoists, as claimed by the Police.

Dr. Binayak Sen has lived in Chhattisgarh since 1991 and has been involved in running rural community health projects. He also set up a hospital funded and run by mineworkers and works at his rural health clinic. All was well as long as he was confined to his work among the rural folk. But Dr. Sen was a vocal critic of the Salwa Judum, the militia group supported by the Chhattisgarh government, which was involved in widespread human rights violations against the members of the local community. This has infuriated the government and it has used politically motivated charges against him to put him behind the bars. The lower courts repeatedly rejected bail to Dr. Sen until May 2009, when the Supreme Court finally ordered his release. However again in 24 December 2010 Dr. Sen was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of sedition and conspiracy against the state after an unfair trial.

One should read the story of Dr. Binayak Sen’s unfair trial and sentence together with the attack on Salman Taseer and his subsequent death in Pakistan. Both are results of growing intolerance in our society; if the former is state’s intolerance towards freedom of speech and expression, the latter is an example of religious intolerance. His imprisonment is stopping Dr. Sen from continuing with his human rights activism and with his health work in the rural area. The severe sentence of life imprisonment handed down to Binayak Sen will set a dangerous precedence in India of state authorities seeking harsh sentences against outspoken human rights defenders across the country. If that becomes the order of the day there is a greater threat of India’s democracy falling into dire straits and India becoming a failed state.

Amnesty International has reopened his case file and is campaigning for his release as it believes that Binayak Sen is a prisoner of conscience. Rights organisations, intellectuals and around 2,000 doctors from all around the world have signed petitions demanding Dr. Sen’s release. The Home Minister of India Mr. P. Chidambaram has said that he will discuss the issue with the Chhattisgarh authorities, but so far no concrete steps have been taken. It is quite imperative to send an urgent appeal to the Indian authorities to make sure that all charges against him are dropped and he is released immediately. Please use the below mentioned link to send your appeal.

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=398

Mobile Number Portability in India from Today

2011-01-20T10:05:00.003+05:30

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is the service by which you can migrate from one mobile operator to another without changing your mobile number. For example, you can opt for Vodafone service from your Airtel number or vice-versa. MNP is becoming operational pan-India from today, 20 January 2011.

Some important facts about Mobile Number Portability.

For porting your mobile number, first you’ve to get your unique porting code (UPC) from your existing service provider. For this you’ve to SMS PORT Your Mobile Number to 1900.

Your existing operator will send you the 8 digit alpha-numeric UPC from the number 1901 as an SMS (the UPC will be valid only for 24 hours).

Then you need to approach the new service provider you want to migrate to with this UPC and relevant documents required for starting a new connection.

After consulting with your existing operator, the new operator will move your number within 4 days (maximum).

Porting charge is a maximum of Rs.19.

Till the porting process is over you can use the service of the existing operator.

The date and time of the completion of the porting process will be intimated to you through SMS.

Your number will remain dead for about 2 hours just before the porting gets completed. But this downtime of 2 hours would be between 10PM and 5AM IST, so that there is less inconvenience to you.

After this time you can use your new Sim card and you will start getting the services of your new operator.

Once you use MNP service to change your operator, you can use it a second time only after 90 days.

During porting, you will lose your remaining balance talk-time amount in the case of pre-paid connections.

You can use MNP service only within a telecom circle.

You can also migrate from your post-paid connection to a new pre-paid connection. But this is possible only after you clear all pending dues with your current operator.

You can migrate from CDMA connection to GSM connection and vice versa. However your existing mobile phone will be rendered useless if you opt to migrate from CDMA to GSM.

As there is cut-throat competition in the telecom sector in India you can expect to receive freebies from your new operator once you use MNP service. Make the MNP decision after a thorough contemplation and choose your new telecom operator wisely.

A New Decade has Dawned

2011-01-18T11:24:00.003+05:30

The new decade has dawned and with it has come new hopes and new aspirations for all of us. This blog has always tried to endorse and encourage optimism among its readers. But as we know, all is not that sound and rosy in our world. There are lot of works to be done this decade in our efforts to bring down poverty considerably, to bring in sustainable development and to create a new world order that is based on peace and tranquillity and not on war and bloodshed. Some issues are pleading for our immediate attention.

Millennium Development Goals – Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted a global action plan to end poverty by the year 2015. We have only 4 more years to make good our promises made to the poor people in this world. An analysis of the goals achieved hitherto reveals that we are awfully short of attaining the goals by 2015. International organisations, government, research organisations, foundations, private sector and the civil society must kick start an honest drive to achieve the MDGs.

Climate change – The issue of climate change got a lot of attention in the last decade; or we could say that it was in the last decade that a significant global attention fell on this grave crisis. Climate change summits in Copenhagen and Cancun, in 2009 and 2010 respectively, saw world leaders contemplating on the steps needed to avert the huge risks of climate change on humanity. It must be ruefully held that very little has been agreed upon in the summits to counter perilous effects of climate change. Floods that hit Australia, Brazil and Sri Lanka recently are examples of the sort of havoc that climate change can create around the world. It is imperative for us to take immediate actions to avoid the harmful effects of climate change.

Terrorism – As anyone would approve, terrorism is going to be one of the most important issues that the world would face this decade. Terrorism of various colours causing havoc around the world. A paradigm shift in which we view terrorism happened last decade with the September 11 attacks on the United States by terrorists under al-Qaeda. It was also in the last decade that the LTTE in Sri Lanka was exterminated from the island nation. This decade the world community has its task cut out as Osama bin Laden is still at large; all efforts to capture him resulted in fiasco. At the same time terrorism is on the rise in all parts of the world, none as immense as in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Countries like Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Israel, Indonesia, Sudan, and many more countries are facing problems of terrorism or armed struggle. It would take a concerted effort from all countries to wipe off terrorism from the face of the world.

Intolerance – Intolerance of various kinds, religious intolerance in particular, is of grave concern in today’s world. As in the last decade, in this decade also we would have to face it and counter with all our might. The latest manifestation of religious intolerance was in Pakistan, where the liberal and secular leader of the Pakistan People’s Party and Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was shot dead by his own security guard. Reason, he spoke against and stood against the archaic blasphemy law in Pakistan. Intolerance of the state towards people who criticise its action is on the rise all over the world, including India. The arrest and detention of Dr. Binayak Sen in India is a perfect example of state’s intolerance. Many Communists countries are also notorious for their intolerance. China’s indifference towards those who criticise the government’s human rights violations is a perfect example of that. Intolerance is inimical to freedom of speech and expression. In the new decade we need to take all actions to protect freedom of speech and expression and to curtail intolerance in all forms, otherwise democracy, hence human freedom would be in peril.

Nuclear tussle – The alleged efforts by Iran and North Korea to make nuclear warheads have created bewilderment in the west, particularly the United States. The US put pressure on the United Nations to place sanctions on both countries. It has created two divergent fronts in the UN, those who support the sanctions and those who oppose it. In the new decade the international community has to take efforts to find solution to this problem.

Peace processes – In the new decade its imperative for the world community to accelerate peace process in West Asia and find solution to the Palestinian problem. The Gaza strip is an open prison for the Palestinians and Israel has put a lot of sanctions in Gaza. As a result the people in Gaza are in dire straits and are in need of medicines and food. Peace efforts by different countries as well as the United Nations haven’t brought any palpable difference to the West Asian crisis. Let it be this decade that would stay in history as the decade that has found a solution for this serious crisis. Kashmir issue also calls for immediate action and there is a need to move forward with the peace process on the issue.

There are lot of other issues and concerns we have to face in this decade and what has been written about in the former paragraphs are only a sample of it. We need to put in our brains and minds together to solve all issues of this world. Let us hope that this decade would predominantly be one of peace and tranquillity all over the world.

Lane Traffic to be Implemented in Kochi

2011-01-13T10:43:00.002+05:30

In a bid to reduce the occurrences of road accidents, Kerala Government is implementing lane traffic system in Kochi. In an experimental basis the system started working in the 16 km stretch Edappally-Aroor NH 47 bypass from yesterday, 12 January 2011. The system would be extended to other city roads once reasonable degree of lane adherence is attained on the NH.

As a driver of a two-wheeler or a four-wheeler you should not randomly switch from one lane to another. Before moving to another lane you should make sure that no vehicle is speeding towards you from behind and should switch on the indicator very well in advance. Motorists should not zig-zag through the traffic, should not drive through the middle of the road cutting the white lines, should not block free-left turns and lanes reserved for vehicles awaiting the right turn at junctions, should not jump red lights at junctions, should not use high beams and should avoid indiscriminate honking. Bus, trucks and other heavy, slow moving vehicles should always keep to the left lane on highways. All vehicles should wait in a queue at traffic signals and traffic bottlenecks.

People who violate the lane traffic rules would have to pay a penalty ranging from Rs.100 to Rs.2000, or would have to face jail terms ranging from 6 months to 2 years based on the severity of the violation. So while you drive, make sure that you are following all traffic rules.

Happy driving.

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-01T19:23:00.002+05:30

I wish all my readers a very happy and prosperous New Year 2011. This is the start of a new decade and let us hope that this decade would predominantly be one of peace and tranquility all over the world.

Human Rights Day 2010

2010-12-10T08:30:00.004+05:30

Today, 10 December is Universal Human Rights Day. In the year 1948, on this day the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which is a milestone document in the history of human rights. This year’s human rights day is dedicated to human rights defenders, courageous men and women, who strive to protect their own rights and the rights of others; who are determined to make rights real in people’s lives.

To mark the Human Rights Day, Amnesty International, the premier international human rights organisations, has organised ‘Write a Letter Marathon’ (Writeathon) to write letters and take action online to demand that the rights of individuals are respected, protected and fulfilled. Hundred of thousands of people all over the world join in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights event to show solidarity with those suffering human rights violations and to bring in real changes in their lives.

You can also join in this event by writing letters and taking action online, through a simple process. Click on the below mentioned URL and go to the ‘Appeals for action’ section in the page. There you can see details about various human rights defenders and others who are facing human rights violations in their countries. Go to the individual cases, find the details, read the letter and then sign in your name and press the send button. If you wish you can send letters on all the cases mentioned in the page.

www.amnesty.org/en/individuals-at-risk

Let us take part in this international event and put in our humble efforts in this global movement to bring in justice to all whose rights are being violated, because human rights violation in any part of the world is a human rights violation in your life and my life.

Source: Official websites of the United Nations and Amnesty International

Today, 1 December, is World AIDS Day 2010

2010-12-01T10:25:00.001+05:30

1 December is observed as World AIDS Day to draw together people all around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and to express international solidarity in the face of this serious pandemic. The observance of this day provides an opportunity for governments, organisations and individuals to spread awareness about the pandemic and to encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in high prevalence countries and around the world.

According to the 2008 figures released by World Health Organisation (WHO) there are 33.4 million people living with HIV. The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is “Universal Access and Human Rights”. One of the most important things required to wipe off the threat of HIV/AIDS from the face of the world is the universal access to antiretroviral drugs to all those who are affected with this dreaded disease. The international community should also uphold the spirit of fundamental human rights shared by all and guard against human rights violations on people affected with HIV/AIDS.

Source: Official websites of the World Health Organisation and the United Nations

Remembering 26/11

2010-11-26T15:51:00.002+05:30

(Republishing an earlier post)

Today is the anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai attacks, where ten terrorists from Pakistan ventured into the shores of Mumbai and wreaked havoc. 172 people lost their lives and 293 got injured. The panic it created in the minds of Indians was beyond these numbers; but we as a nation responded courageously, the security forces swung into action and killed 9 terrorists and captured one alive. The assault lasted for long 72 hours, where the whole country was dreadfully watching the television to know the events as they unfolded.

The terrorists went on a killing spree at Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Cama Hospital, Leopold Café, the Nariman house, the Oberoi-Trident Hotel and the Taj Mahal Hotel. People from the security forces and laymen died in the attack, but only after giving a good fight back. The bravery shown by ordinary people, including the staff of the Taj and Oberoi hotels is part of the folklore now. Brave men in uniform, with scant regard for their own lives, went on to take on the terrorists and defeated them. Some of these brave men lost their lives while doing their duty and we salute them for their courage and bravery. The courage shown by ordinary Mumbaikars is in itself a matter that deserves huge accolades.

When we Indians are observing the first anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, the Pakistani anti-terror court has indicted seven men - Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi (the operations commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, LeT), Abdul Wajid alias Zarar Shah, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Mazhar Iqbal alias Abu al Qama, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus – for the attack. All these men have pleaded not guilty for the crime. The court proceedings are expected to go on for some months, if not years. In the meantime, the court proceedings against Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured live by India is also moving on in a slow manner.

Though there were a lot of knee-jerk reactions from people in India, including some political parties, the Indian government showed restraint and didn’t go on for a war with Pakistan. It was a sensible thing to do because had India gone out for a war with Pakistan we would have done exactly what the terrorists wanted from the attack on Mumbai - the destabilising of the region. At the same time the Indian government has been on the offensive ever since using the diplomatic channels by pressurising Pakistan to bring to justice those responsible for the attack on Mumbai. As of now, no credible actions have been taken by the Pakistani government as is expected because of the overt and covert support that the Pakistani ISI has been giving to the terrorists to launch attacks against India.

Since the Mumbai attack last year, there have been no more attacks of that scale till now. But is this a matter for complacency or is it just a lull before the next major strike that the terrorists are planning, we don’t know. But what we know is that we have to beef up the security apparatus in the country. A step in the right place was immediately taken by the government by removing the incompetent minister Shivraj Patil from the Home Ministry and posting the ever-competent P Chidambaram to the post. The no-nonsense attitude of PC has already started to show some results and he is working over time for making sure that the security services in the country are ready to face another eventuality. But he has warned the country that we are still vulnerable to terrorist attacks and therefore has to work ever so faster to close all gaps that are there in the security system of the country. Not only the central government, but also the state governments, public and private organisations as well as ordinary citizens need to be alert and should do everything possible within their realm to increase the security systems in the country.

People in Mumbai were killed by the terrorists irrespective of their religion, race, caste, creed, nationality, gender or the states from which they were coming. Indians from different parts of the country came out in support of the Mumbaikars during their time of grief. NSG commandos from north India came to Mumbai and rescued the city from the clutches of the terrorist and the Mumbaikars gave a great reception to the NSG commandoes after the operation was over. This sense of strong nationality should have opened the eyes of regional chauvinists like the Shiv Sena of Bal Thackeray and the Maharashtra Nava Nirman Sena (MNS) of Raj Thackeray, but unfortunately it hasn’t. Instead they still go ahead with their narrow regionalism and it is up to the people of Mumbai and Maharshtra to teach them a lesson by voting both these parties out of reckoning.

Mumbai is not only the major trade centre in India but also a place that is an avenue for all those who pursue their personal and professional dreams. Mumbai has always been a resilient city and the resilience of the Mumbaikars was made all the more evident by the opening of the Leopold Café only after two days of the Mumbai attacks. And what more, people thronged Leopold Café in such large number to show their support on the opening day that the café had to be closed earlier than normal time on that day as it was not able to meet the demand of the large number of customers. With such show of solidarity the Mumbaikars were telling the terrorist that they may be able to shock them but can’t beat them. On this day, I join in the grief of the bereaved, salute those brave men who lost their lives saving the city and country’s pride and show solidarity with the people of Mumbai.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2010

2010-11-25T10:27:00.001+05:30

Women all over the word face violence in different forms in their houses, in their workplaces, in their neighbourhoods and its needless to say that such violence against the gentler gender has no place in a civilised world.

The United Nations observes 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to spread the word that violence against women and girls has no place in any society and impunity for perpetrators must no longer be tolerated. Violence against women is an obstacle to the universal achievement of equality, development and peace and is a violation of the fundamental human rights and freedom of women.

On this international day the United Nations urges governments, civil society, corporate sector and individuals to take responsibility to eradicate violence against women and girls.

Source: Official website of the United Nations

Urgent Action - Child Held Without Charge or Trial in India

2010-11-21T13:42:00.003+05:30

(Amnesty International Appeal)

Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh, a child aged 14, has been detained without charge or trial by the Jammu and Kashmir authorities in India since 21 April 2010. Following meetings with the state authorities, Amnesty International believes that a burst of public campaigning at this stage could lead to his release.

Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh was arrested on 9 April 2010. He is alleged to have been part of a large mob which pelted police and security forces with stones during ongoing protests against the state in Srinagar, the capital of the northern Jammu and Kashmir state. He was released on bail after eight days in custody but was again detained without charge or trial on 21 April.

Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh’s family was not informed that he was detained but came to know of it by chance when a local resident saw him in a police vehicle, being taken to a jail in another town.

Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh was initially held at Udhampur Jail and is now held at Kot Bhalwal Jail at Jammu. Both are regular prisons without any special facilities for detaining children. Prison conditions in Jammu are harsh and the provision of health care is limited.

The police claim that Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh is 19 years old. His family members told Amnesty International that Mushtaq was born in 1996 and is therefore only 14 years old. Prison records are reported to also confirm that Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh is indeed a child.

His case was raised by Amnesty International in meetings with the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and the State Human Rights Commission. Despite their assurances that they would look into the case, Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh continues to remain in detention.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English or your own language:

Demanding that the state authorities immediately end the detention without charge or trial of Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh;

Urging that if charged with a recognizable criminal offence, Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh be treated in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and held and tried in special facilities for children;

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 28 DECEMBER 2010 TO:

Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir
Omar Abdullah
Civil Secretariat
Government of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu – 180 001
Fax: +91 191 2546466
Salutation: Dear Chief Minister

And copies to:
Minister of Home Affairs
P Chidambaram
North Block, Central Secretariat
New Delhi – 110 001
Fax: + 91 11 23094221
Email: hm@nic.in

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Additional Information

Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh is detained under the J&K Public Safety Act – a law that allows the state authorities to detain persons for up to two years without any judicial review of the allegations against them. Repeat detentions are also commonly ordered.

At least 322 people are reported to have been detained without trial under the provisions of the Public Safety Act in J&K in 2010 alone. A number of them, reportedly including some more children, have been detained on similar grounds of stone pelting and rioting during various protests against the Indian government throughout the summer of 2010.

UA: 239/10 Index: ASA 20/032/2010 Issue Date: 16 November 2010

Today, 16 November is International Day of Tolerance

2010-11-16T10:00:00.001+05:30

We are living in a world where intolerance in its worst form manifested as violence against people of opposite gender, of different races and religion, of different colour, of different nationality and of different political views is becoming omnipresent. Therefore it has become imperative for the world to guard against such a big threat as intolerance. It is with this grand idea that UNESCO is observing 16 November as the International Day of Tolerance.

Tolerance for ideas and opinions different from that of ours is one of the basic foundations on which democracy rests. What we see all over the world, particularly in India, is that there is intolerance among political parties on people that differ from their own beliefs and opinions. For the successful functioning of democracy we need to imbibe the spirit of tolerance. Such tolerance to opposing ideas and opinions is necessary to inspire freedom of thought and expression, which is a prerequisite for economic and social development.

We Indians, on virtue of being born in the land of the Mahatma, have the moral responsibility to take the leadership in preaching and practising tolerance. Let this be the day we re-commit ourselves to this great universal value.

World Science Day for Peace and Development

2010-11-10T09:52:00.002+05:30

The importance of science lies in its utility as a vehicle for human development. History has shown that science can contribute to peace and development as well as result in destruction and chaos. It is up to the human beings to decide how to use it – for the betterment of human life or for the detriment of it. World Science Day for Peace and Development (WSDPD) is observed every year on 10 November by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to spotlight the contribution made by science in achieving sustainable development and enhancing the prospects of peace.

WSDPD was established by UNESCO in the year 2001 as an occasion to remind its mandate and commitment on Science. The objectives of WSDPD are the following.

To strengthen public awareness on the role of science for peaceful and sustainable societies
To promote national and international solidarity for a shared science between countries
To renew national and international commitment for the use of science for the benefit of societies
To draw attention to the challenges faced by science and raise support for the scientific endeavour

Source: Official website of UNESCO

Obama in India

2010-11-03T11:01:00.004+05:30

There is a palpable sense of excitement all over the media and in the political circles in India and the reason is the imminent visit of American President Barack Obama that would commence on 6th November from Mumbai, where he is going to land in his Air Force One. Though both his predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton had visited India, Obama is the first US President who is visiting India in the first half of the first term as President.

Barack Hussein Obama is embarking on his first visit to India, the homeland of one of his idols, Mahatma Gandhi. Obama’s India visit has a four point agenda – partnering and investing in India’s rise as an economic and strategic powerhouse, restraining China’s domination in Asia and in the world, boosting US business in various fields including nuclear commerce and in associating with India in the affairs in Afghanistan and Africa.

A rising China is a threat for both India and the US as the near autocracy in Chinese government makes it a very dangerous country. Aggressive China has a very dubious record when it comes to its relationship with India. Both countries don’t trust each other and they always had border issues. The issues with the stapled visas that China gave to Indians from Kashmir and the Tibetan autonomy factor are major thorns in the relationship between the two countries (on the stapled visa issue it must be noted here that it is high time India reciprocate in the same way by giving stapled visa to the Tibetans and to the Uighur Chinese from the Xinjiang autonomous region of China). Therefore it is quite important for India to be wary of China’s growth in the region, especially when China is trying to indulge in the dubious development activities in many of India’s neighbour countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. China is one of Unites States’ most important creditors and this fact is a dangerous proposition as far as the US is concerned. Though officially India and the US are not accepting that they want to curb China’s growth, it is too obvious that both countries are suspicious of China’s aggressive economic and strategic intentions. Therefore the US would believe that it is strategically important for them to help India in its rise. The high importance that the US gives to its relationship with India can be clearly seen from the fact that Manmohan Singh was the first leader of a state invited by Barack Obama after becoming the President of the United States.

Boosting US business is another important agenda of this Obama visit. It can be safely assumed at this point of time that Obama will definitely sign a defence deal with India. The area of nuclear commerce is another business opportunity that Obama would be looking to grab. After the Indo-US nuclear deal it is time for both countries to move ahead in the field of nuclear commerce. The outsourcing industry in India would be closely monitoring Obama’s state visit in India as there have been some voices of aversion from him on the outsourcing question. It is quite clear that he is against US companies shipping jobs to India and thinks that it is a major reason why unemployment rate is rather high in the US. But it must be seen how much protectionism he would bring in his country’s international trade and how it would affect Indian industry, particularly the software sector.

With this visit, Barack Obama would also be looking at partnering with India in Afghanistan and in Africa. It is a known fact the US is badly caught up in Afghanistan’s political and security mire at this point of time. Obama would be looking forward to get India’s assurance in its greater involvement in Afghanistan’s development and in making that country more secure. Economic and social development of African countries is another matter where Obama would be looking to get more assistance from India. With its strong ties with many African countries, India can play a positive role in the development of various countries in the black continent. India through its association in IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) is already involved in the assistance of African countries in their development.

It would be prudent for India to not expect much from Obama’s state visit. At the time of writing of this piece the counting of the votes in US election for the Senate and House of Representatives is going on. Results that have come up hitherto show that the Republicans would capture the House of Representatives, but would fall short of capturing the Senate. It would mean that there would be lot of domestic pressure on Obama to do more to save the country from the higher risks of unemployment and to better the economy that is reeling after the global economic slowdown. For the rest of his two years as President his time would be more absorbed by these domestic matters than the international affairs. However he would be keen to call back all US troops from Afghanistan before his first term ends in 2012.

Whatever may be the economic and strategic results of Obama’s state visit to India, one thing is sure that we are certain to hear a great speech from this inspiring, prolific orator when he addresses the joint session of the Parliament on 8th November. It must be seen whether the leftists in India would be present in this joint session of Parliament. Their inherent dislike for America and American Presidents are well known and they are sure to protest if India inks any defence deal with the United States during Obama’s visit. They have the history of protesting to all Indo-US alliances – may it be the nuclear deal or the combined military exercises (at the same time they made no protests when India did military exercise with Communist China).

Barack Obama’s Presidential visit to India in his first term shows India’s growing clout in international politics. India’s membership in the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member after 19 years is a major achievement that it could use for getting the support of all permanent members of the UN Security Council in its quest to become a permanent member with veto power. Indian strategic community would do well if it uses Obama’s visit to get his country’s support for the same.

India: Chhattisgarh authorities must immediately release Prisoner of Conscience Kartam Joga

2010-11-02T20:58:00.003+05:30

(Amnesty International Public Statement)

AI Index: ASA20/031/2010
1 November 2010

Amnesty International has been closely following the case of Kartam Joga, an adivasi (Indigenous) political activist who has been imprisoned in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. 40-year-old Kartam Joga has been in Dantewada district jail since 14 September 2010.

Amnesty International considers Kartam Joga to be a Prisoner of Conscience and that the charges brought against him are politically motivated and a pretext to detain him on account of his political activism which has never involved the use or advocacy of violence. The organization believes that the authorities in Chhattisgarh decided to imprison and charge him in response to the Supreme Court criticism.

The organization believes that the real reason for Kartam Joga’s imprisonment is his peaceful political activities as an activist of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and an elected member of a local self-government body and his defence of human rights of adivasi communities.

In 2007 he had participated in petitioning India’s Supreme Court regarding human rights violations in Chhattisgargh and impunity for security forces and Salwa Judum, widely held to be a state-supported militia who were involved in operations against the armed Maoists in the Bastar region of the state since 2005.

The charges against him include collaborating with the Maoists in ambushing and killing 76 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel on 6 April 2010, murdering a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Budhram Sodi in May 2010, killing the father of a special police officer attached to the CRPF in August 2010, and ambushing a truck and killing four persons on 7 December 2009.

Kartam Joga’s arrest and the bringing of these charges came after India’s Supreme Court, on 31 August 2010, criticized the Chhattisgarh government for being “wholly vague and indefinite” while replying to several questions raised by two petitions filed three years ago seeking an end to impunity and violations by the Salwa Judum and the security forces engaged in operations against the armed Maoists in Chhattisgarh since 2005. The first of the two petitions had been filed by Kartam Joga and two other CPI activists, and the second, by sociologist Nandini Sundar, historian Ramachandra Guha, and E.A.S. Sarma, a former civil servant.

The charges against him and his imprisonment are another glaring example of how the authorities in Chhattisgarh target those who have sought to consistently defend the human rights of the adivasi communities since 2005.

Two other human rights defenders in Chhattisgarh – medical doctor Dr Binayak Sen and cinematographer TG Ajay – spent two years since 2007 and three months in 2008 respectively in jail on charges of collaborating with the Maoists before they were released on bail. In May 2009, another human rights defender Himanshu Kumar, and some staff of his organization, Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, which continued to document the violations and abuses against the adivasi communities, had to flee the Bastar area after persistent harassment by the police and district authorities.

Kartam Joga underwent medical treatment and an operation for injuries he received when he was attacked by members of the Salwa Judum’s militia in 2005. Since then, he has been in the forefront of documenting and exposing human rights abuses against adivasis, including more than 500 unlawful killings and instances of sexual assault, rape and burning down of adivasi hamlets and houses and the displacement of more than 30,000 adivasis during the conflict in Chhattisgarh since 2005.

Acting on the petitions filed by Kartam Joga and others, the Supreme Court, in April 2008, directed India’s National Human Rights Commission to ascertain the veracity of the allegations; eight months later, an NHRC report confirmed some of the allegations and said there was a need for further investigation into the complaints of violence perpetrated by the Salwa Judum, the security forces and Maoists. Three months later, the Supreme Court asked the Chhattisgarh authorities to list the measures it had taken to disband the Salwa Judum militia, register and investigate complaints of violent acts during the conflict, and compensate and rehabilitate the victims.

The Supreme Court has now asked the Chhattisgarh government to file a comprehensive affidavit in response to the allegations made in the petitions. In On a specific point made by the petitioners that the Salwa Judum militiamen were acting as part of a new organization, Dandakaranya Shanti Sangharsh Samiti, the state authorities have claimed that the Salwa Judum “no longer exists” and that the investigations into its violence were hampered by difficult terrain, inaccessibility of villages, inclement weather and hostility from the Maoists. A further hearing in the case is due on 18 November.

ENDS/

Public Document

International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK www.amnesty.org

Psychological Impact of Television and Computer Time on Children

2010-10-21T11:19:00.002+05:30

It is often the case that children of this generation spend most of their time in front of television or computer. Children as young as even one year have a general inclination these days to spend most of their time in front of these electronic instruments. A study conducted by the University of Bristol on the psychological impact of computer and television time on children revealed the following facts.

Children who spend more than two hours a day at a computer or watching television are more likely than others to have psychological problems, regardless of how much physical exercise they got
60% higher risk of psychological problems for children who spend more viewing time than children who clocked up fewer viewing hours
Healthy children might be at greater risk of developing psychological problems if they increased their viewing time
Though there is no evidence that sitting in front of a screen actually causes mental health problems
Those who watched most TV as toddlers performed worse at school and consumed more junk food
Limiting how long children spend in front of a screen to no more than two hours a day is advisable

Australia and the US have adopted guidelines that advise parents to restrict the viewing time of children under two to no more than two hours a day. Find a detailed account at the following URL.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/oct/11/children-computer-television-psychological-problems

Let our children spend more time interacting with people around them, let them play in their surroundings, let them speak to the birds and flowers, let them enjoy their time with colours and music, let them listen to stories, let them read, let them observe, let them discover, let them dream, let them learn the lessons of creative thinking and let them imbibe the spirit of humanity and humaneness. Let our kids – all smart boys and cute girls – grow up as intelligent, compassionate and conscientious gentlemen and ladies.

Indian Government Should Ensure Torture Law Meets International Standards

2010-10-18T22:18:00.002+05:30

(Public statement of Amnesty International)

14 October 2010

Amnesty International has urged the Indian government to help end the routine torture of those held by police and prison authorities by ensuring the new Prevention of Torture Bill in India, 2010 meets international standards before adopting it.

The Bill, which is expected to be considered by the Select Committee of the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) of the Indian Parliament on 17 October, will address many forms of torture routinely employed by Indian police and prison officials. The Bill was passed by the Lower house (Lok Sabha) on 6 May 2010.

"If India is serious about its aspiration to be a regional and global power, it needs to address the issue of torture and ensure that the human rights of those it arrests and detains are protected," said Madhu Malhotra, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Deputy Programme Director.

Amnesty International said the Bill must be amended to bring it in line with international standards, including limiting torture to practices causing physical suffering, keeping a six-month deadline for making complaints about torture and not annulling current provisions which allow law enforcement officials and security forces virtual immunity against prosecution for perpetrating torture and recommends solutions.

Torture in state detention is endemic in India, involving a range of practices including shackling, beatings and the administration of electric shocks. Disadvantaged and maginalized groups including women, Dalits, Adivasis and suspected members of armed opposition groups are those most commonly abused.

According to official reports, 127 people died in police custody in India in 2008-09, although the figure could be higher since several states failed to report such deaths.

Torture is also reportedly widespread in prisons. The National Human Rights Commission registered 1,596 complaints of torture of prisoners in 2008-09. The number of deaths due to torture is not routinely reported.

The vast majority of cases of torture inflicted on detained people in India are unlawful and punishable under current Indian law, however prosecutions are extremely rare.

Law enforcement personnel enjoy virtual immunity from prosecution for torture and other human rights abuses, and prosecutions remain sporadic and rare.

In "disturbed areas", such as Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern states where the Armed Forces Special Powers Act is in effect, Armed Forces personnel enjoy additional immunity protection and there is virtually no accountability for violations.

In 1996, the Indian Supreme Court issued specific guidelines to authorities safeguarding detainee's rights in all cases of arrest or detention, however they are seldom enforced.

There is also a lack of effective systems to independently monitor the conduct of the authorities with regards to torture and other forms of mistreatment.

The Prevention of Torture Bill in India, 2010 is meant to bring India closer in line with the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. India signed the Convention in 1997 but has yet to ratify it.

"The Indian government should adopt this Bill to help address key issues, but more needs to be done to ensure India is able to meet international conventions against torture," said Madhu Malhotra.

"The Indian government further needs to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture ensuring people are no longer mistreated while they are detained."

World Food Day and The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty - 16th & 17th October

2010-10-14T20:19:00.002+05:30

As long as there is hunger and poverty in at least some parts of this world, we human beings cannot claim to have achieved the dignity that we presume we are entitled to attain. There is no bigger misfortune than hunger; no bigger tragedy than poverty. Needless to say that poverty and hunger are interconnected and that may be why the United Nations observes World Food Day and the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on consecutive days – 16 October and 17 October respectively.

The theme of this year’s World Food Day is ‘United against hunger’ and it is chosen to recognise the efforts made in the fight against world hunger at regional, national and international levels. On this World Food Day, when there have never been so many hungry people in the world, we need to make a promise to work harder and work together to make sure that more food is produced in a more sustainable way and to see to it that the food reaches those who are in dire need of it.

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed ever since 1993 and this year’s theme is ‘Working together out of poverty’. It highlights the need for a truly global anti-poverty alliance, one in which both the developed and developing countries participate actively. The day aims at promoting awareness on the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries, particularly in developing countries.

Source: Official websites of the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organisation

Meet the Nobel Laureates 2010

2010-10-12T12:39:00.004+05:30

Nobel Prize for the year 2010 was announced recently. Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator and the inventor of the dynamite. He died on December 10, 1896 and based on his will the Nobel Foundation was formed. The Nobel prizes are international awards given in recognition of the cultural and scientific advances in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology (Medicine), Literature, Peace and Economics. Find some information about the Nobel Laureates of 2010.

Nobel for Medicine: Dr. Robert G. Edwards, the Father of the Test Tube Baby, received the Nobel Prize for his development of in vitro fertilization procedure which has so far led to the birth of around 4 million people.

Nobel for Physics: Nobel Prize for Physics 2010 shared by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, both of the University of Manchester for their groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene. It is a form of carbon that is not only the thinnest ever but also the strongest. Since it is practically transparent and a good conductor, it is suitable for producing transparent touch screens, light panels, and may be even solar cells.

Nobel for Chemistry: Chemistry Nobel Prize for American Richard F. Heck and Japanese researchers Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis. The award is given for finding new ways to bond carbon atoms together, methods now widely used to make medicines and in agriculture and electronics.

Nobel for Literature: Peruvian novelist and essayist Mario Vargas Llosa was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat. He is one of the most famous writers in the Spanish-speaking world who braved violence and political divisions in his homeland.

Nobel Prize for Peace: One of the most famous human rights activists of the world, the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded with the Nobel Prize for Peace for his non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China. The Nobel Committee, which announced the prize much to the annoyance of the Chinese government, said that it always believed that there is a close connection between human rights and peace and hence the award to Liu Xiaobo.

Nobel Prize for Economics: Nobel Prize for Economics 2010 awarded to Americans Peter Diamond and Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides, a British and Cypriot citizen, for analysis of how the job market is affected by regulation and economic policy. The laureates created mathematical models which provide the framework for studying how the job market works in the real world.

Source: Official websites of the Nobel Prize and the Associated Press (AP)

India must address forced evictions and other human rights abuses in Delhi during Commonwealth Games

2010-10-07T08:51:00.003+05:30

(Public statement of Amnesty International)

4 October 2010

The Commonwealth Games cannot be used as an excuse to forcibly evict seasonal vendors, street-based workers and beggars, Amnesty International said today.

Thousands of seasonal vendors and street-based workers are facing joblessness as the police prevent them from working on the streets during the Games. The majority of people who have been evicted are being placed in makeshift collective shelters with the residents complaining that these lacked water and sanitation and were not suitable for habitation.

This continues the trend of forced evictions of the poor and marginalized carried out by the local authorities in Delhi in the run up to the start of the Commonwealth Games on 3 October.

Amnesty International received information that the authorities carried out a series of forced evictions in Okhla and neighbouring areas and roads linking the city with its north-eastern parts on the banks of river Yamuna where the Games infrastructure including many stadia, flyovers and bridges were erected in the last few months.

Human rights organisations in India said 2,500 persons and 150-200 families were forcibly evicted from the suburban town of Gurgaon and central Delhi respectively during the last two weeks before the start of the Games.

Amnesty International is concerned that a high number of evictions during August and September appear to have been carried out without safeguards required under international law. In particular, there was no genuine consultation with the people who were evicted. They were not provided with adequate prior notice. The makeshift collective shelters that the authorities have provided, in several instances, do not meet requirements for adequacy of housing under international standards. Some people have not been provided with any alternative housing.

The Indian authorities have a duty to ensure that alternative housing is provided which complies with international standards. They must also provide effective remedies to all those who have been forcibly evicted.

Amnesty International therefore urges the Indian authorities to:

ensure that evictions are carried out only as a last resort, and only in full compliance with requirements under international human rights standards;
ensure that those who have been evicted are provided with adequate alternative housing and/or land to undertake their livelihoods as a matter of urgency;
ensure that any alternative housing that is provided complies with requirements for adequacy of housing, under international human rights standards; and
provide all victims of forced evictions with access to effective remedies.

Indian authorities must also address the growing number of labour rights abuses and violations of labour laws practised by various state agencies and private firms involved in construction activities, despite the efforts of a four-member committee appointed by a directive of the Delhi High Court to monitor such violations.1 These violations, documented by India’s human rights organizations, included irregular registration, denial of statutory minimum wages, equal payment of wages to women workers and statutory health benefits, poor safety standards leading to deaths of workers in accidents and occasional use of child labour.

1This committee was set up in February 2010 on a petition filed by Peoples Union of Democratic Rights (PUDR), Common Cause and Nirmaaz Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam. For a detailed list of violations, see PUDR report, Games the States Plays: A Follow–up Report on the volations of Workers’ Rights in Commonwealth Games Related Construction Sites, August 2010. The report holds the authorities responsible for failure to devise mechanisms for checking the abuses identified by the committee and taking action against the perpetrators.

Today, 1 October is the International Day of Older Persons

2010-10-01T07:12:00.003+05:30

The General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1 October as the International Day of Older Persons by resolution 45/106 in 14 December 1990. The theme this year is “Older persons and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals”.

Today there are around 600 million persons aged 60 years or above, one in every ten. This number would double by 2025 and would reach virtually 2 billion by 2050, vast majority of them in the developing world. It presents a major demographic challenge for the world and the day is observed to raise awareness on the impact of an ageing population on the world's future. In this fast paced world, older people will increasingly play a critical role through their volunteer work, helping the families with caring responsibilities, increasing their participation in the paid labour force and in transmitting experience and knowledge.

Such contributions to the society by older people can be ensured only if they can enjoy adequate levels of health, for which appropriate policies need to be in place. While governments worldwide have the responsibility to guarantee policy formulation for the purpose, it is up to us, the common folks of the present generation, to make sure that older people are cared for and are not abandoned at old age homes on account of our convenience.

Source: Official websites of the United Nations and the World Health Organisation

Myanmar: Political prisoners must be freed

2010-09-29T08:28:00.000+05:30

(Press statement of Amnesty International)

The Myanmar authorities continue to imprison over 2,200 political prisoners—more than double the number held before the August 2007 protests against sharp fuel and commodity price rises.

Yet even as Myanmar prepares for its first elections in two decades, as part of what it calls a “Roadmap to Democracy”, it continues to repress political opposition.

Political prisoners in Myanmar are held in deplorable conditions.

26 September to 2 October - Joy of Giving Week

2010-09-28T08:52:00.002+05:30

Is there any nobler human disposition than benevolence? Is there any better human emotion than compassion? Is there any greater service than the service to mankind? Religious texts teach us there isn’t any; and even if you are an atheist, with little belief in God, who rather believes in the materialistic interpretation of human life, there aren’t any hard evidences to prove the contrary to be true. The natural kindness of human nature manifests in its best form in giving what you could to those who are less privileged. The joy that one could derive from giving is no less than any other joy ever known to human minds. The “Joy of Giving Week” is an occasion for all of us to indulge in some sort of ‘giving’ to the less privileged of our society.

The Joy of Giving Week is a "festival of giving" that aims to bring together Indians all across the country and abroad through different acts of giving- money, time, skills or resources. The goal is to convert it into a fully publicly owned festival, just like Diwali, Holi or Thanksgiving, none of which are owned by anyone. The Week was launched in 2009 and will be held every year starting on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday, containing October 2 within.

This is an occasion for all us to indulge in some sort of charity, thereby giving back a portion of what we’ve received from our society. Individuals, colleges, schools, NGOs, media, groups and business organisations can take part in the event. This time around let us all contribute and make this world a better place to live in whatever small ways possible. Find more information about how to involve in the “Joy of Giving Week” from the website www.joyofgivingweek.ning.com.

Source: www.joyofgivingweek.ning.com

Today, 21st September is International Day of Peace

2010-09-21T12:49:00.002+05:30

Today, 21 September is the International Day of Peace or the World Peace Day. This day is dedicated to provide an opportunity for individuals, social groups, governments and organisations to practice acts that promote peace.

The United Nations observes International Day of Peace every year as a global call for ceasefire and non-violence. It is devoted to peace, or specifically the absence of war, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone. The theme of this year’s International Day of Peace is “Youth, Peace and Development”, which would mean that peace is equal to future. With the soaring incidences of war, violence and terrorist activities, the day has an immense significance in the current world scenario.

As youngsters the onus is on us to carry forward the spirit of peace. As Indians the moral responsibility rests on us to carry forward the idea of non-violence, the great ideal offered to this world by the Father of our Nation.

India: Authorities should investigate torture, sexual assault and illegal detention of adivasis in Chhattisgarh

2010-09-16T11:12:00.000+05:30

Sep 15 2010

The Indian authorities should order a prompt, impartial and independent investigation into reports of torture and ill-treatment, including rape and other sexual violence, against adivasis (indigenous people) illegally detained in Chhattisgarh, Amnesty International said today.

Adivasis from Pachangi and Aloor villages in Kanker district told Amnesty International that paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and the Chhattisgarh state police rounded up 40 adivasi men from their villages on 5 and 6 September, stripped them and beat them with sticks. Five men – Narsingh Kumra, Sukram Netam, Premsingh Potayi, Raju Ram and Bidde Potayi were reportedly raped with sticks and are still being treated at the Kanker government hospital.

These violations followed the 29 August ambush of a BSF-police patrol by members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in which three BSF personnel and two policemen were killed.

Seventeen people from the two villages were also detained– blindfolded, split into batches and taken to the BSF camp at Durgkondal in closed trucks. Amnesty International has been informed that at least two of those detained - Dhansu Khemra and Sarita Tulavi – were 16 year old girls while another four were women and girls between 16 and 20.

During their detention, security forces beat the detainees in an attempt to force them to confess that they were Maoists involved in the 29 August ambush. The interrogators gave electric shocks to at least 10 detainees and sexually assaulted two female detainees.

Villagers said that on the morning of 7 September the Kanker police released one female detainee Sunita, as she was suffering from malaria, and her father, Punnim Tulavi, a school-teacher, but then arrested two more men.

The five remaining female detainees were taken to a local court along with two of the adivasi men on 8 September, while the remaining ten male detainees were taken to court on 10 September. All of the adivasis were charged with involvement in the 29 August ambush by the banned Maoist armed group and are presently in Kanker and Jagdalpur prisons, after being denied bail.

Indian law requires that arrested persons be produced before a court within 24 hours of the arrest. In an attempt to circumvent this requirement, the police claimed the two groups of detainees were arrested only one day before their respective appearances in court.

Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including sexual violence, are prohibited in all circumstances, including war or other emergency under international law, and in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Geneva Conventions. India is also a signatory to the United Nations’ Convention Against Torture and the Indian Parliament is currently engaged in passing a new law against torture in accordance with the provisions of the Convention before its ratification.

Amnesty International calls upon the Indian authorities to:

Ensure a prompt, impartial, independent and effective investigation into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual assault, and the illegal detention of adivasis. Those suspected of involvement in the violations, including persons bearing command responsibility, should immediately be suspended from positions where they may repeat such offences, and brought to justice;

Award the victims of torture and other ill-treatment full reparations. In particular, immediately ensure that all victims of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual violence, are provided with proper medical care, both physical and psychological, by professionals trained and sensitised to treat such victims; and

Ensure that, if – as a measure of last resort – those under the age of 18 are kept in prison, they are held separately from adults and otherwise treated in accordance with India’s juvenile justice legislation and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which India is a state party.

Over the last five years, Chhattisgarh has witnessed an escalation of violence between the banned Maoists who claim to be fighting on behalf of the adivasis and India’s paramilitary forces. At least 600 people have been killed and some 30,000 adivasis continue to be displaced from their homes in the state.

(For Amnesty International, publishing a content provided by them)

Indian authorities must investigate online video of Kashmir detainee abuse

2010-09-14T09:55:00.003+05:30

Several people have been killed during recent protests in Kashmir

Photo: © AP GraphicsBank

13 September 2010

Amnesty International has urged Indian authorities to carry out an effective investigation into a video clip that appears to show detainees in Kashmir being stripped and humiliated by security forces.

The three-minute clip, described on social networking sites as "Kashmir’s Abu Ghraib video", apparently shows Jammu and Kashmir police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel herding at least four naked young men to a nearby police station.

"This behaviour is in clear violation of the universal and absolute right to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," said Donna Guest, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific programme.

The video, apparently recorded by one of the security personnel, has since been removed from social networking sites, including Facebook and YouTube, after the Jammu and Kashmir police reportedly began legal action against the publishers of what it termed a “baseless and malicious clip”.

It is unclear when the clip was recorded, although it was reportedly taken in the north-western town of Sopore.

The recorded conversation in Hindi-Urdu suggests that the security force personnel suspected the young men of being involved in throwing stones at the security forces, and that they had been caught after a long chase.

Amnesty International has consistently received reports of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees in various police stations and interrogation centres in Jammu and Kashmir. Such accounts have often included men being stripped naked and humiliated by security force personnel.

The Indian Parliament is currently debating new legislation criminalizing torture and the Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram has said the video will be investigated.
However, a statement by Jammu and Kashmir Police to local media indicated that a formal case had been registered against the clip's distributors.

“The approach of the local police raises serious concerns. Instead of investigating and identifying the perpetrators of the humiliating treatment, the police appear to be more concerned about who uploaded and circulated the video clip," said Donna Guest.

"The Indian and Jammu and Kashmir authorities must ensure that the content of the clip is subjected to an independent, impartial and effective investigation. Any officials who are suspected of offences involving human rights violations should be prosecuted in fair trials.”

(For Amnesty International, publishing a content provided by them)

Sign the online appeal by Sept 10th to deliver your signature to UN Summit

2010-09-02T10:11:00.007+05:30

Millions of people around the world live in abject poverty; around 1 billion people live in slums; more than half million women die each year from complications related to pregnancy and child birth – one every minute; people living in poverty are discriminated against,and their human rights violated by individuals, organised groups and by the state.

In the year 2000 countries around the world, under the aegis of the United Nations, agreed to eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to eradicate poverty by 2015. They are,

End poverty and hunger
Universal education
Gender equality
Child health
Maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS
Environmental sustainability
Global partnership

(Find more information about MDG at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/)

Now in the year 2010, just five years from the deadline, we are nowhere near making these goals a reality. This September 2010, world leaders will meet in the UN Millennium Development Goals Summit to accelerate the progress towards achieving MDG targets by 2015. Sign the online petition using the below mentioned URL and put across your voice and demand an increased focus on human rights protection as the solution to global poverty. Ace human rights organisation, Amnesty International will deliver your signature to MDG Summit Presidents.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/put-human-rights-heart-global-fight-against-poverty-1

Source: Official websites of the United Nations and Amnesty International

48th Anniversary of “I Have a Dream” Speech

2010-08-27T10:55:00.004+05:30

Tomorrow is the 48th anniversary of the monumental “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Regarded as one of the most famous speeches in the history of mankind, the speech was delivered on 28 August 1963 at Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Though Abraham Lincoln, through his “Emancipation Proclamation” in 1862-63, stopped the despicable practice of slavery, the coloured people of America were not given the civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr., the Mahatma Gandhi of the coloured people (Negroes) in the United States, led the non-violent struggle in bringing civil rights for them.

At the following URL you can listen to this great speech. Use the “Audio MP3 of the address” option, not the You Tube link, to listen to the speech. While listening to it you can also read the transcript of the speech given just beneath the audio option.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

If you are someone who aspires to make it big as an orator or at least wants to improve your public speaking skills, this is an excellent model to follow. The speech, widely hailed as a masterpiece of rhetoric, will help you learn how to use powerful words in your speech, how to modulate your voice to motivate the listeners and how to mix emotional expressions in inspiring people.

AmericanRhetoric.com is a good resource to find many great speeches including the first presidential address of Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the times of Great Depression (in Economics, depression is the worst form of recession), Lyndon Johnson’s “We shall overcome” speech, Barack Obama’s Cairo University speech, to name but a few.

Indian Government Says No to Vedanta Mining Project at Niyamgiri Hills, Orissa

2010-08-25T11:04:00.002+05:30

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has stalled the UK based Vedanta Resources’ bauxite mining project in Orissa’a Niyamgiri hills. The expert panel set by the MoEF found out that Vedanta blatantly violated forest and environmental laws in starting the project which would lead to environmental destruction and thus would adversely affect the livelihood of the Dongria Kondh tribals.

Many human rights organisations including Amnesty International and Survival International have been in the forefront in highlighting this human rights and environmental crisis. Many of the readers of this blog who read the blogpost Human Rights Violations in Orissa also supported this initiative by signing the online petition as well as sending the Amnesty International postcards to the Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh appealing him to look into the matter. Congratulations to all of those conscionable activists for their efforts in bringing in this outcome. I hope we will continue to utilise such opportunities in the future as well in being online activists for environmental and human rights concerns.

Find more information from the following URLs

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article591546.ece?homepage=true
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/aug/24/vedanta-mining-industry-india

Happy Onam to All My Readers

2010-08-23T09:00:00.002+05:30

I wish a very happy and prosperous Onam to all my readers, wherever you are in the world. Let this Onam bring all happiness to all of you and your families.

Randiv’s No-Ball Woes

2010-08-20T00:10:00.003+05:30

One of the most amazing characteristic features of human nature is its enduring proclivity towards controversies. The most recent controversy in cricket, with Virender Sehwag and Suraj Randiv as its main protagonists, proves this fact beyond any doubt. In a moment of folly, which might have become a life changing one later for him, Randiv deliberately bowled a no-ball to deny Sehwag a century in an ODI, which created havoc in the cricketing world.

A trivial incident that should have warranted only the minimal concern that triviality deserves has been blown out of proportion by many around us, not any less by our 24/7 visual media. TV hosts were pouncing at Randiv as hungry lions on a meek deer, so called cricket experts were furious at his unsporting demeanour and newspapers carried headlines that were tantamount to declaring Randiv a habitual offender of serious crimes. For those who have been following cricket for at least a couple of decades would find it quite obvious that this incident was an insignificant one when compared to other more blatant violations of the spirit of the game. Common sense should have prevailed on such an occasion but unfortunately even wise men sometimes get overwhelmed by emotions. Sehwag, a street smart cricketer, who normally takes such things lightly, was undoubtedly furious on being denied a certain century. Though in the first instance, immediately after the match, he was inclined to dismiss it as a trivial incident, at the press conference he came out with all guns blazing and lashed out at the rookie Lankan off spinner. He even accused that it was not the first time that Sri Lankan cricket team resorted to such unsporting tactics.

The Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakara and the team management were quick to come up with an apology. Randiv personally apologised to Sehwag and the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga called up the Indian team manager Ranjib Biswal to tender his apology on the incident. SLC also handed down one match suspension to Randiv and also decided to forfeit his match fee for the game. Tilakaratne Dilshan, who is accused to have coaxed Randiv into bowling a no-ball, will lose his match fee as well.

One can’t help but feel sad for the young man, Suraj Randiv, the offie hailed by many as a worthy successor to the great Muthiah Muraliadharan, as he got such a big blot on his character very early in his international career. It must be acknowledged that the cricketing world was rather harsh on its accusation of the young man. It was a matter that should have been handled in a defter manner than that was on view at this occasion. But it certainly was another occasion that reminded cricketers of their utmost responsibility of upholding the spirit of the great game of cricket - the gentleman’s game. Yet the greatest challenge for Suraj Randiv is to move forward leaving behind this incident and to excel in what he does well, which is bowling turning deliveries that mesmerise batsmen.

Amnesty International - Public Statement

2010-08-18T23:22:00.004+05:30

India: Authorities in Tamil Nadu must release five activists campaigning against torture and drop false charges against them

Authorities in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu must release five arrested human rights defenders, drop the false charges against them and hold the state police accountable for harassment and intimidation, Amnesty International said today.

The five human rights defenders - Bharathi Pillai, Niharga Priya, Sudha, Gnana Diraviam and Anandan – who were part of a human rights training programme conducted by People’s Watch, Madurai, were arrested on the night of 15 August on false charges. They had gone to Veeravanallur police station for a fact-finding exercise as part of the field training programme to inquire about the lack of investigation in the torture of a Dalit youth, Suresh, allegedly by a police officer there. Earlier, they were detained at the police station for six hours.

The five activists have been charged with section 170 of the Indian Penal Code (impersonating a public servant), section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his or her duty), section 416 (cheating by impersonation) and section 506 (criminal intimidation) and lodged in prison. The police also declared Henri Tiphagne, Director of People’s Watch, Madurai, as an “absconding offender” in the case. This was on the basis of a complaint from one of the police officials that the five activists, claiming to be public officials, had apparently tried to threaten them.

Fact-finding exercises are commonly held globally and in India, as a way of probing allegations of human rights violations and seeking accountability. There was no attempt by the fact-finding team to impersonate public officials and the team had informed the Veeravanallur police in advance about the purpose of its visit.

Amnesty International is concerned that the arrests and the filing of charges appear to be politically motivated, as a result of their work as defenders of human rights raising issues of torture and impunity. The police charges of impersonation against Henri Tiphagne and the five arrested human rights defenders appear to be an attempt to silence the victims of police torture by criminalizing a legitimate form of protest by human rights defenders.

Amnesty International calls on the Tamil Nadu government to:

drop the false charges against the six human rights defenders and immediately release the five persons.
hold the State police accountable for such harassment and intimidation and ensure an independent investigation into the allegations of torture by the police of the Dalit youth.

The Tamil Nadu authorities should also create an enabling environment and ensure respect for the rights of individuals in Tamil Nadu engaged in the peaceful promotion of respect for human rights, including the right to seek, obtain, receive and hold information about respect for human rights.

(For Amnesty International, publishing their public statement)

Abducted Indigenous Campaigners Released (Update on the Last Post)

2010-08-16T11:16:00.003+05:30

Lado Sikaka, a leader of the Dongria Kondh Indigenous communities in India, was released on 12 August, two days after being abducted. Sana Sikaka, another leader who was abducted at the same time, was released on 11 August.

Lado Sikaka has told local media that he and Sana Sikaka were stopped by some 12 armed plainclothes police officers, and two unidentified people in the Niyamgiri Hills in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, as they were travelling to Delhi with other activists to protest against a local bauxite mine. They abducted the two men in the van the activists had been travelling in, forcing Sana Sikaka out of the van at Bijepur town. However, they detained Lado Sikaka for another day and interrogated him at the District Intelligence Bureau office in the town of Rayagada. Lado Sikaka says that while he was there, he was beaten on his hands and legs, and interrogated about whether he had links with supporters of banned Maoist groups. and was involved in any violent incidents in the Niyamgiri Hills. He replied in the negative. However, his captors forced him to sign two blank pieces of paper, before taking him to the nearby town of Kalyansinghpur and releasing him there. He is currently walking back to Lakpaddar, the village where he lives, accompanied by several Dongria Kondh Indigenous people. The Rayagada district police superintendent has denied that Lado Sikaka and Sana Sikaka were detained by police.

Lado Sikaka and Sana Sikaka are both campaigning against a proposed bauxite mine in the Niyamgiri Hills. Research by Amnesty International indicates that the Niyamgiri bauxite mining project, which would be located on the Dongria Kondh's sacred sites, traditional lands and habitats, is likely to result in violations of their rights to water, food, health, work and other rights to protection of their culture and identity. The project is currently awaiting clearance from India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests.

(For Amnesty International)

Abducted Indigenous Campaigner Released

2010-08-13T08:42:00.002+05:30

Sana Sikaka, a leader of the Dongria Kondh indigenous communities who was abducted by gunmen on 9 August, has been released. Another leader is still being held.

Sana Sikaka, one of the Dongria Kondh indigenous community leaders in the eastern Indian state of Orissa who was abducted on the evening on 9 August, was released yesterday evening.

He has informed journalists that he and Lado Sikaka, pictured left, were stopped at Izrupa at the foothills of Niyamgiri as they were leaving with a group of activists in a van to catch a train to Delhi. About fifteen men in plain clothes, armed with automatic weapons, had parked their two vans nearby and were hiding in a forest. They surrounded Lado and Sana and said they were taking them. They intimidated the other activists, snatching their mobile phones and the van key and forced them to walk towards Lanjigarh, the nearest town. Then the plainclothesmen, along with Lado and Sana, walked to the vans and then made a long drive towards the neighbouring district of Rayagada, stopping at a few places en route. Yesterday evening, when they reached Bijepur town, they pushed Sana Sikaka out of the vehicle, forcing him to commence a long journey back to Niyamgiri. They appear to have taken Lado Sikaka to Rayagada town and detained him there.

Lado Sikaka and Sana Sikaka are both campaigning against a proposed bauxite mine in the Niyamgiri Hills in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. Research by Amnesty International indicates that the Niyamgiri bauxite mining project, which would be located on the Dongria Kondh's sacred sites, traditional lands and habitats, is likely to result in violations of their rights to water, food, health, work and other rights to protection of their culture and identity. The project is currently awaiting clearance from India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests.

(For Amnesty International, publishing a content provided by them)

9 August is International Day of the World's Indigenous People

2010-08-09T11:14:00.001+05:30

The United Nations celebrates 9 August every year as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. Indigenous people are tribal people (in India their nomenclature is “Adivasis”) who consider themselves distinct from societies of majority culture or the 'developed world', as we call it.

Some of the issues faced by the indigenous people the world over include cultural and linguistic preservation, land rights, ownership and exploitation of natural resources, political determination and autonomy, environmental degradation and incursion, poverty, health, and discrimination. Indiscriminate infrastructural development activities have caused havoc in the lives of the indigenous people as these activities often results in the degradation of their inhabited environment. Human rights violations are committed against them in many parts of the world and they are discriminated against in economic development as well.

By observing this day, the United Nations aims at strengthening international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as culture, education, health, human rights, the environment, and social and economic development.

Source: Official website of the United Nations and Wikipedia

Whistleblower Website Brings Embarrassment to the US and Pakistan Governments

2010-08-05T09:10:00.004+05:30

The release of thousands of classified military documents from the Afghanistan war on the Internet, mainly by the whistleblower website Wikileaks has brought embarrassment to the US and Pakistan Governments. The 91,000 classified documents about US military involvement in Afghanistan has opened a Pandora’s Box of sorts.

The leaked documents show that the US authorities are covertly of the strong belief that the Pakistan intelligence agencies are playing a double game – of helping the NATO forces to track down terrorists in South Waziristan and Swat, at the same time encouraging and even funding insurgents inside Afghanistan as ‘strategic assets’ against traditional foes. These documents and the facts in them have come as a major embarrassment for the Pakistan government, its military and the intelligence services. What has put the US government in a spot of bother is the revelation that many actions by the US military in Afghanistan amount prima facie to war crimes, where they have indiscriminately ambushed civilians all across the war ravaged country, at many occasions, unprovoked.

The classified documents suggest that the Pakistan military acted like a friend and a foe to the Afghan insurgents. There are reports that show that the Pakistan intelligence worked with the Al-Qaeda to plan attacks. However, experts believe that though the Afghan insurgents and Pakistan militants work together, directly linking the Al-Qaeda with the Pakistani intelligence agencies like the ISI is difficult. The reports also show that though there is a palpable sense of camaraderie between the US administration and the Pakistan military, behind the scenes there are occasions of confrontation between the two. At the same time, several US congressional officials complained that in spite of repeated requests over the years for information on Pakistan’s support to insurgent groups, they usually get vague and incomplete briefings from Pentagon and CIA. Accusations that Pakistan military and the intelligence agencies are working together with insurgents are always met with angry denials from Pakistan. They have always said that they have severed the relationship with Afghan insurgents years back. American officials believe that though ISI is a rigid organisation that doesn’t allow rogue activities of their members, the spy service’s “S Wing”, which operates against the Afghan government and India has broad autonomy for their operations.

The leaked military classified documents show details of the toll on Afghan civilians exacted by the coalition forces. The logs reveal 144 such incidents and they are mainly about the controversial air strikes by the coalition forces, which have already evoked criticism from the Afghan authorities. In addition to these deadly air strikes, the logs also show previously unknown incidents that appear to be the results of troops shooting unarmed drivers out of a determination to protect themselves from suicide bombers. They show bloody errors committed by the coalition forces including the day French troops attacked a bus full of children in 2008, wounding eight. The logs also show accounts of such ghastly incidents on how a US patrol gunned down about 15 passengers on a bus and how the Polish troops mortared a village in 2007 killing a wedding party in an apparent revenge attack. There are details of questionable shooting by British troops at civilians as well.

The leaking of the war documents has started showing its impact. Pakistan administration is facing a lot of questions on the involvement of their intelligence agencies in helping the Afghan insurgents and many countries have started putting more pressure on the Pakistan government to come clean on this issue. The criticism from the British Prime Minister David Cameron, when he recently visited India, is one good example for this increasing pressure on the Pakistan government by the international community. The American government is also under increased pressure because of the leaking of the classified military documents. It has also strengthened anti-war sentiments in the US. Whether this brave act of Wikileaks would bring any change to the present state of affairs is yet to be seen.

Tendulkar is the Most Capped Player in the History of Test Cricket

2010-08-03T10:54:00.001+05:30

I congratulate the Master, Sachin Tendulkar, for becoming the most capped player in the history of test match cricket. Sachin, playing his 169th test match today against Sri Lanka, has gone past Steve Waugh’s record of 168 test matches. India’s most popular sportsperson, Tendulkar is the highest run getter in test matches with 13,742 runs at an average of 56.08. He is also the front runner in number of hundreds in test matches with 48 tons. As a bowler, with his assorted spin, Sachin Tendulkar has 44 test scalps as well. The milestones man from India has once again given us an occasion to celebrate.

Human Rights Violation by Vedanta in Orissa

2010-07-23T21:20:00.003+05:30

All over the world indigenous people are facing grave threats to their existence from various developmental activities and climate change. As we approach another International Day of the World’s Indigenous People on 9th August, we are faced with another issue of similar hue in Orissa, India.

Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa is the dwelling place of the Dongria Kondh tribal, a group of indigenous people. The UK based Vedanta Resources Plc and its subsidiaries are planning bauxite mine and alumina refinery in their land, which would lead to environmental destruction and thus would adversely affect the livelihood of the Dongria Kondh tribal. People living in the area are already facing human rights violations to their water, health and pollution to their environment. Communities living in these parts of Orissa are already people who are excluded from the decision making process that affect their lives. Human rights groups allege that the Government of India, in agreement with Vedanta, gave approval for the mine and the refinery without free, prior and informed consent of the Dongria Kondh people living in the forest area of the Niyamgiri hills.

The findings of the report by the three-member official investigatory team of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), which was released on 12 March 2010, highlight the absence of any concrete studies on the impact of the mining on the lives of the Dongria Kondh people, who reside in Niyamgiri hills. The report also finds that “(the) disruption of the habitat and the way of life of this PTG [Primitive Tribal Group] cannot be remediated nor compensated, and may lead to the destruction of the Dongria Kondh as a PTG.” It also points out that the State Government never initiated any process to seek the informed consent of the Dongria Kondh people for the mining project, which is otherwise guaranteed by the Indian forests laws.

By upholding a complaint against Vedanta by Survival International, the British Government during September 2009 ruled that the company had failed to respect human rights of the Dongria Kondh people and said that an immediate change in the company’s behaviour was essential. The Church of England sold out its £3.8million shareholding in Vedanta and stated “We are not satisfied that Vedanta has shown, or is likely in future to show, the level of respect for human rights and local communities that we expect."

MoEF Minister of India, Jairam Ramesh has promised follow-up action on the findings of the investigative team. Amnesty International urges that the follow-up action on this regard has to include a full consultation with the local communities living in the Niyamgiri hills. The Government must make sure that the authorities and the company are not violating the human rights of the Dongria Kondh people living at the proposed mining site of Vedanta. Amnesty International demands that no expansion of the refinery and mining should go on until and unless all existing problems are resolved.

Please take a little time to sign the online petition that is to be sent to the Minister of Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh urging him to refuse clearance to the refinery expansion and take action to address the existing pollution caused by the Lanjigarh refinery and to enforce laws to prevent further pollution. Click on the following URL to sign the online petition.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/stop-mining-and-refinery-projects-devastating-communities-india

(For Amnesty International)

Amnesty International's Press Release Urging J&K Government to End Detention of Lawyers

2010-07-22T21:19:00.004+05:30

In the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India, the government has detained the leaders of Jammu and Kashmir High Court bar Association under the Public Safety Act (PSA). The act allows for detention up to two years without any charge or trial on the presumption that some harmful acts will be perpetrated against the state in the future. The President and the General Secretary of the Association have been detained since 7th and 18th July respectively. Amnesty International, through the press release given below, is calling on the Jammu and Kashmir authorities to end the preventive detention of the leaders.

Jammu and Kashmir authorities urged to end detention of lawyers

22 July 2010

The Jammu and Kashmir state government must immediately end the preventive detention of the leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.

Mian Abdul Qayoom, the President of the Bar Association and Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, its General Secretary, have been arbitrarily detained under the J&K Public Safety Act (PSA) since 7 July and 18 July 2010 respectively.

The vaguely formulated PSA allows for detentions of up to two years without charge or trial on the presumption that future acts harmful to the state may be committed.

"The detention of the Bar Association leaders appears to be an attempt to stifle legitimate and peaceful protest, as part of the ongoing crackdown by the authorities in parts of Kashmir," said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific Director at Amnesty International.

The grounds of detention prepared by the Srinagar District Magistrate relating to Mian Qayoom allege he is attempting to turn the Bar Association into "a secessionist outfit" indulging in "illegal activities".

Four previous criminal cases registered involving Mian Qayoom between October 2008 and June 2010 are also mentioned in the document which accuses him of instigating recent protests that have reportedly left at least 18 people dead.

"The state administration has resorted to preventive detention under the PSA, which subverts the judicial process," Zarifi said. "If the government has criminal charges to bring, it should do so in a properly constituted criminal trial where Mian Qayoom will have the protections afforded under the law, for instance, the ability to post bail."

The official grounds of detention against Mian Qayoom state that he is being detained for questioning the conduct of government security forces and for his political views.

Reports indicate the General Secretary of the Bar Association, Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, is being detained on similar grounds as well as for organizing public rallies seeking the release of Mian Qayoom.

"The arbitrary use of the PSA to detain government critics is yet another demonstration of why this law must be repealed," Zarifi said.

The Kashmir valley has witnessed mass public protests over the past several months, initially over the extrajudicial executions of three men at Machil, Baramulla district, and subsequently by killings of protesters by Central Reserve Police Force personnel.

At least 18 people, many of them teenagers, were allegedly killed during a crackdown on protests that began on 11 June 2010.

Amnesty International has previously demanded that the Indian authorities avoid excessive use of force and investigate all the deaths due to the shootings.

The State administration has also responded by placing a large number of people in preventive detention instead of charging and trying them – including those reportedly suspected of throwing stones at the police and others suspected of inciting violence by posting inflammatory material online.

A number of political leaders have also been recently detained including Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani, and his aides Mohammad Ashraf Sahrai, Ayaz Akbar, Mohammad Yousuf Mujahid and Zafar Akbar Bhat. Prominent Kashmiri leaders including Shabbir Shah and Nayeem Ahmed Khan also continue to remain in detention under the PSA.

(For Amnesty International)

Silencing Dissent in Sri Lanka – Freedom of Speech in Peril

2010-07-13T12:05:00.004+05:30

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all, Noam Chomsky once said. The basic premise in which democracy rests is the freedom of speech and expression and whenever it is in peril, democracy is in peril.

However, in many countries autocrats have usurped power and leave no stone unturned to make sure that they silence all forms of dissent. The civil war in Sri Lanka and the subsequent triumph of the government forces against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), supplemented by the enormous election victory, has made Mahinda Rajapakse government autocratic. Reporting truth, if that truth is against the government’s view, is often a hazardous proposition in Sri Lanka as journalists are killed, physically assaulted, maimed, abducted and harassed. Armed groups in the country are also known for their arm-twisting tactics against those journalists and human rights activists who dare to challenge them by exposing the truth.

The malicious statements of a democratically elected government against dissenting journalists and human rights activists would create a dangerous precedence that would harm the smooth working of the principles of democracy. Any group, political or otherwise, that has no regard to the freedom of speech and expression of people has no right to remain and work in a democracy, or for that matter, in a civilised world. In Sri Lanka, Rajapakse government’s malevolent responses against criticism have reduced their international legitimacy. The United Nations expert panel has decided to investigate the war crimes committed in the civil war. Demonstrations led by a minister in Sri Lanka against this expert panel show the overt hostility that the government has for the UN’s investigation.

The Sri Lankan civil war that ran from July 1983 to May 2009 witnessed incredible reduction in the freedom of press. The various governments in the country refused to recognise that the press and the common people had a right to information. As the intensity of internal strife increased, the noose on the neck of press freedom also got tightened. The press in Sri Lanka was allowed only to project the government’s version of events. They were always stopped from publishing the truth and from reporting the human rights abuses done by both the government forces and the armed men of the LTTE. January 2010 presidential election made the Rajapakse government more strong and they increased the clampdown on dissenters and opposition voices. Even famous newspapers and journalists were arrested, trade unionists harassed and web-based media intimidated.

India as a responsible neighbour and as an aspiring regional super power has an enormous onus to constructively engage in the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. President Mahinda Rajapakse recently came down to India and had discussion with the Indian government. The comments made by Rajapakse after the meetings show that his actions of silencing dissent and violating human rights got a tacit approval from Indian authorities. If that is the case, it must be noted that it is not the right view to take for a country which is the largest democracy in the world. We, as a country, have never been known for supporting any human rights abusers or governments that silence dissent. Indian government should take into account the emotions and opinions of ordinary Indians who have always given our support to freedom of speech and expression.

The Indian government and the citizens should voice our concerns against the human rights violation in Sri Lanka and against the forces that silence dissent in the country. We should also urge the United Nations to go on with the investigation of the expert panel on human rights violations in Sri Lanka, despite the protest from the Lankan government.

Please go to the below mentioned URL and the online petition of Amnesty International to call on the UN to investigate Sri Lanka Human Rights violations.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/call-un-investigate-sri-lanka-rights-violations

(For Amnesty International)

Amnesty International’s Press Release Urging Indian Authorities to Avoid Excessive Use of Force in Kashmir Valley

2010-07-07T12:04:00.004+05:30

As the law and order situation remains highly volatile in Jammu & Kashmir, another teenager was shot dead yesterday evening raising the death toll to 4 in the last 2 days. In such a situation it is imperative for the J&K government to make sure that human rights violations are not committed while trying to bring the violence under control. Amnesty International through its press release, which is given here, reminds the government that they have an obligation to protect the right to life in accordance with the international law.

India: Avoid excessive use of force, investigate killings in Kashmir valley

Authorities in India should avoid excessive use of force while dealing with demonstrators in the Kashmir valley, Amnesty International said today.

Over the last month, a total of 11 persons, at least eight of them children between 13 and 19 years old, were allegedly killed in shootings by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) paramilitary personnel stationed across the Kashmir valley, as protestors defied curfew regulations, held violent demonstrations and often clashed with the security personnel in Srinagar, Sopore and other towns which were put under curfew.

Amnesty International has learned that the state authorities have ordered probes into some of the killings during the demonstrations at Srinagar, Sopore and Anantnag. The organization is calling on Indian authorities to investigate all the killings and bring to justice the security personnel, as well as any protesters who have violated an internationally cognizable criminal provision, in trials conforming with international standards.

The authorities have blamed the armed Lashkar-e-Toiba and other Kashmiri separatist organisations for instigating the protestors to throw stones and engage in violence. At least 35 people sustained injuries during the demonstrations so far.

On 11 June, 17-year-old Tufail Ahmed Mattoo of Srinagar was killed, according to initial reports, by a teargas shell fired by the police at the protestors. However, later reports said he was shot in the head. On 19 June, a Srinagar court has directed the state police to investigate this killing and submit its report by 28 June.

On 20 June, as protests over the killing of Tufail Ahmed Mattoo turned violent, a 24-year-old carpet weaver of Srinagar, Rafiq Ahmed Bangroo, sustained serious head injuries and went into coma. He died on 19 June at the hospital. Some reports suggest that he was beaten by the CRPF personnel during the protests. The next day witnessed further protests over the death of Bangroo, as youths returning from his funeral attacked a CRPF post and attempted to set fire to a CRPF armoured vehicle. A 19-year-old relative of Bangroo, Javed Malla, was killed in the CRPF firing.

On 25 June, two teenaged children, Firdous Ahmad Kakroo and Shakeel Ahmad Ganai were killed as the CRPF personnel fired at demonstrators demanding the bodies of two armed guerrillas killed by the security forces near the Sopore town, 55 km from Srinagar. Eyewitnesses had reported that the demonstrators set fire to the CRPF commanding officer’s vehicle and attacked a security bunker. The authorities claimed that the two were armed guerrillas with close links with Lashkar-e-Toiba and the CRPF claimed that it had fired in self-defence.

Over the next two days, Sopore witnessed two more deaths – of 22-year-old Bilal Ahmed Wani and 17-year-old Tajamul Ahmad Bhat - as the CRPF personnel fired to quell protestors repeatedly defying curfew. On 28 June, demonstrators on the outskirts of Baramulla town clashed with the CRPF personnel after which another youth, Tariq Ahmed Rather was shot dead; the next day. The next day, three protestors, 15-year-old Ishfaq Ahmed Khanday, 17-year-old Imtiyaz Ahmed Itoo and 19-year-old Shujatul Islam – were shot dead in Anantnag district. While the initial reports said they were killed in firing by the CRPF, later reports suggested that they had been initially detained and then killed.

Amnesty International reminds the Indian authorities that they have an obligation to protect the right to life in accordance with international law. This includes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a state party, and standards such as the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, which state that firearms should be used only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.

A meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 29 June, directed the CRPF to exercise “maximum restraint and sensitivity” while assisting the state police in enforcing curfew regulations in the valley. Amnesty International is urging the Indian government to ensure implementation of its directives, and ensure protection of the right to life under international law.

Background

The latest round of protests over extrajudicial executions in Kashmir commenced in late May after the Jammu and Kashmir authorities exhumed the remains of three young men allegedly killed by the Indian security forces at Machil in Baramulla district after they had been promised jobs as casual labourers for the security personnel stationed near the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan. An inquiry is being conducted into the killings.

The protests also coincided with the commencement of the annual Hindu pilgrimage to Amarnath in the valley, heightening security concerns and the recent Indo-Pakistan meeting at Islamabad last week.

Related

India: Extrajudicial executions must be investigated and suspects prosecuted, AI Index: ASA 20/015/2010, 8 June 2010 http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA20/015/2010/en

(For Amnesty International)

To Hell With Hartals

2010-07-05T14:59:00.006+05:30

As I sit here to write about hartals, in Kerala we are having a second hartal within a time span of 10 days. Luckily, the left parties under the leadership of CPI (M) and the other opposition under BJP have decided to conduct their hartals (in other parts of India it is called Bharat Bandh) on the same day. The hartal is observed against the petroleum price hike announced by the Central government. While there is no doubt that the petroleum price hike is excessive and needs to be protested, troubling people in that name through hartals is bluntly outrageous.

One of my friends points out to me that hartals were used during India’s independence struggle by the non-violent freedom fighters. It was a successful form of protest as in those days the produce of various economic activities in India used to go to the United Kingdom. Therefore when you protest using hartals, by not working on that day and by closing down your shops, you are preventing the United Kingdom from getting the benefits of the economic activity. So that made sense. But when you use the same form of protest now against our own Indian government, you should know that you are hampering your own prosperity as the produce of economic activities doesn’t go to any other country but to your own country and thereby to you, every single individual in India. So that makes just one sense – nonsense.

While political parties call for hartals they will make promises that they will not resort to violence or force anyone to close down their shops or prevent people from travelling. But they always fail to keep their word and will engage in all sorts of violence to frighten people and to force them to stay at home or to shut down their shops. And, keeping their word has never been a characteristic feature of Indian politicians; in fact they thrive on making false promises and void assurances.

What would be most nauseating is the claim that these politicians would make afterwards that the hartal was a grand success and people have acquiesced with them and stayed at home, by not going to work. Whereas the truth would be that the activists of political parties threaten all those who have ventured outside to go to work with violence. We have often heard of people who have got injured due to attack from party miscreants during times of hartals. If people stay at home during hartals it is only because of they are afraid of getting hurt and not because they approve of the reason behind the hartal call.

In addition to the physical harm that they give to the people, public property is often damaged by the activists of the political parties during hartals. It is imperative that we make laws that make the political party that calls a hartal accountable for the public property damage and get back the amount from them. However often political parties say that the public property damage is not been done by them, but by their opponents to damage their reputation. There is no need for the authorities to heed to this as whoever does the damage, accountability rests with that party that calls for the hartal and it is the risk that they take. These sorts of laws must be made by the legislature, which would mean the political parties. So there are no realistic chances of such laws coming up as all political parties would be wary of such a law as it would make them accountable for the public property damage they do during hartals.

In Kerala, today we are having the second hartal on the same issue from the Left Front and Bharat bandh from NDA. It must be noted that the CPI (M) of Tripura has decided not to have a second hartal on the same issue as they thought it would cause discomfort for the people. But no such common sense prevailed here in Kerala as the Left Front meeting that discussed whether to have a second hartal on the same issue found out that it is necessary to have that. MK Pandhe, the Polit Bureau member of CPI (M), on asking about the second hartal in Kerala, said that people of Kerala are “capable” of having two hartals. His comment must be considered a disgrace by all Keralites, I included, because we have been silent all these years on being imposed with a hartal that all have started making fun of us believing that we’ll never voice our concerns against the hartals. Kerala Chief Minister, VS Achudanandan has said in State Legislature that he has no prick of conscience on imposing a second hartal on Malayalees on the same issue of petrol price hike. But again, conscience is not something we believe Indian politicians have, isn’t it?

And now about some facts. The decision of the Central government to increase the price of petroleum products is shocking. It is often said that alleged losses of petroleum companies on account of increasing international crude oil prices is not true and it is more about decrease in profit than actual loss. But more appalling is Central Governments decision to abandon Administered Price Mechanism (APM) of petroleum products in India. From here on prices of petroleum products in India would be determined by the market forces of demand and supply. That would mean that the price of petroleum products in India would skyrocket if international crude oil prices increase rapidly. From now on Government of India will not indulge in setting the prices of petroleum products and petroleum companies would be free to set prices based on their whims and fancies. In the year 1997, the United Front government under IK Gujral, which was supported from outside by CPI (M) and Congress, initiated moves to dismantle the APM. CPI (M) didn’t make any protest against it then. It was the BJP government in the year 2002 that decided to deregulate the oil sector by dismantling APM. That would mean that neither the CPI (M) nor the BJP has any moral right to protest against dismantling APM that had their support when they were in power at the centre.

In short, all parties are in support of dismantling APM and thereby causing more difficulties to the common man. But dishonest politicians, just to create more trouble for the common man, will keep on calling for hartals on issues that they have no honest political stand for. We common men have no friends among the politicians and we are left in the lurch to fend off ourselves from those who indulge in our livelihood. It is time for us to raise a common voice against hartals. Let us say – to hell with hartals.

One Year Since I Met Up With the Accident

2010-06-30T12:03:00.003+05:30

Today, 30th June 2010, marks the first anniversary of the first accident that I met up with in my life. It was on this same day one year back that an audacious dog’s mischief brought me down with my bike on a rainy night, while returning from work, causing my right hand to get injured.

One year since, I find myself quite healthy and my right hand working the same way as it was before the accident (well, almost). I thank God for this and also use this occasion to thank all of those wonderful people who helped me during those days of painful existence. Special thanks is due to my doctor and my physiotherapist. On this occasion I republish my article The Peculiar Living – Life of a Temporarily Handicapped Man, which was written immediately after getting back to normalcy after the accident. Please click on the title of the article in the above sentence or click on the below mentioned link to find the article.

http://candidminds.blogspot.com/2009/09/peculiar-living-life-of-temporarily.html