Ashes Drama to Resume Tomorrow - Stage: Adelaide Oval

After the first part of the Ashes drama at Gabba, Brisbane, where all the protagonists played their parts well, all is set for the second part of it, this time the stage is Adelaide Oval and it starts tomorrow. High octane performance by the actors Michael Clarke, David Warner, Mitchell Johnson, James Anderson, George Bailey and others made sure that there was not a boring moment in the first test match. Mentally debilitated after the heavy loss in England, the Aussies were licking their wounds and were preparing well in anticipation for a pay back to the English. They walked the talk when they crushed England mercilessly and gave a tremendous blow to the confidence of the Englishmen.

Apart from a brilliant contest between bat and ball, there was utter chaos in the Brisbane test, with war or words between the players of the two teams often crossing the limits of gentlemanly behaviour. The now infamous “get ready for a broken f*****g arm” taunt from Michael Clarke to James Anderson was the tipping point of the whole controversy. If the Australian public has trained their guns on Stuart Broad (remember the banner at Gabba that said, “Stuart Broad, I know what you did last summer”, in reference to his refusal to walk after he nicked the ball while batting at Trent Bridge), the players have Anderson on their radar. It is sure that the sledged and bruised England will certainly seek vengeance and will come back hard at the Australians. A mouth watering contest is on the cards and the batsmen on both sides can expect a flurry of short pitched deliveries aimed at them from the fast bowlers of the other side.

Before the start of the test England has certain issues to sort out. First of all they will have to find a replacement at number 3 for Jonathan Trott who has left the team because of a stress related illness. There is every possibility that Joe Root will be promoted to that number as he is a much better player than to languish at number 5. If he was good enough to play as an opener in England, there is no reason why he should bat at number 5 in Australia. In that case there is a need to find a batsman at number 5. There is every chance that Root will be replaced at number 5 by his Yorkshire teammate, the Zimbabwe born, Gary Ballance, who would make his test debut. England also has some problems in the middle order as the charismatic Kevin Pietersen is terribly out of form. Though his good form will be just one innings away, England has been looking for that one innings for quite some time. The bad form of swashbuckling wicket keeper-batsman Matt Prior is another big worry for the visitors. If his dismissals in the first test are anything to go by, then he is completely out of sorts. English captain Alistair Cook, who is capable of making big test scores, isn’t completely in his brilliant self and his fellow opener Michael Carberry is a newbie, who is only trying to find his feet in the test arena. However the most important challenge for the English batsmen would be to negotiate the pace and bounce of Mitchell Johnson, who has vowed to continue with his short of length bowling approach.

In the bowling front too England has many things to worry about. The off spin of Graeme Swann had been one of the main reasons why England attained their supreme status in test match cricket. However he has been low on confidence recently and was not at his best in the Gabba test. In fact his offie counterpart in Australian team, Nathan Lyon had been a much better bowler in the last test. Swann gave lot of room for the Aussie left handers to swing their arms and received much lesser spin on the Gabba wicket than he usually gets. Stuart Broad was brilliant at Gabba and showed that he was not perturbed by the unruly crowd that was baying for his blood. But Anderson was not at his best and he was not able to swing the ball in Australia as he was in England and it should be a matter of worry for the English. A much greater worry is the absence of a third seamer who can support the new ball bowlers. Chris Tremlett was rather weak in the first test and hopefully England will replace him with Tim Bresnan.

However all is not lost for the visitors yet and they can overturn their fortunes if they can apply themselves. Cook could always play a captain’s knock anytime and his appetite for big runs, playing long innings, is well known. KP is a batsman who can turn it on anytime and if he gets into his hitting mood then he can blow away any attack. Ian bell had been the anchor around which other players batted in the summer edition of Ashes in England. The little Warwickshire right hander is a brilliant player who is capable of a long test match innings. Anderson, who had been the target of the Australians, particularly the Aussie captain, would be all fired up and on his day he is a handful with the swinging red cherry. The lanky Englishman Broad can trouble the Aussie batsmen with his steep bounce and could well be England’s answer to Mitchell Johnson.

All in all cricket enthusiasts are looking forward to seeing an awesome test match, where fire will be met with fire, bouncers with bouncers and words with words. The on-field umpires and the match referee will surely have a tough match on their hands. May the best team win.

How to Use “a” and “an”

We have learnt in our grammar classes that one should use the article “an” before words that start with vowels (a,e,i,o,u) and “a” before words that start with consonants (alphabets other than the vowels). But it is not as simple as it sounds. 

The grammar rule is that you use “a” before words that start with a consonant sound and “an” before words that start with a vowel sound. So it does not depend on how we write a word but on the way we say it.

Therefore it is simple enough when it is

• a cat
• a game
• a human being
• a very tall man
• a pot

and

• an apple
• an extremely good sound
• an interesting snap
• an old man
• an umbrella

However things get complicated when words that start with vowels are spelled with consonant sounds and words that start with consonants are spelled with vowel sounds. Here we have to judge whether to use “a” or “an” on the basis of the sound.

So when a word starts with a vowel letter but spelled with consonant sound you should use "a" as in

• a user (sounds as 'yoo-zer')
• a European (sounds as 'you-ro-pe-an')
• a one-day conference (sounds as 'won-day')

Similarly when a word starts with a consonant letter but spelled with vowel sound you should use "an" as in

• an honest lady (sounds as 'on-est')
• an hour (sounds as 'our')
• an FDI enterprise (sounds as 'eff-dee-eye')

Hope this helps.

Greedy BCCI Has Tarnished Image of a Great Man and a Great Game

Had it been not for the enormous passion with which we Indians adore the game of cricket, BCCI would have been an organisation that is observing its 15th odd death anniversary by now. But because we are passionate followers of cricket we mostly only glance over and often easily forget the many audacious misdemeanours of BCCI, bringing the game into disrepute and tarnishing the image of very many great servants of the game. 

The recent decision of the BCCI to bring in a two match home series against West Indies by cutting short the South African away series with the intention of having Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th test in Mumbai is an attempt to fill in its coffers by cashing on the Tendulkar mania in the country. By taking such a unilateral decision BCCI has prevented the cricket lovers the joy of watching a mouth watering contest between India and South Africa. Such a decision has also given a chance to the Tendulkar bashers to claim that BCCI has given him an easy opponent on his request to play against in his 200th test. Any observer of the game who has had the privilege of watching the game of Sachin Tendulkar all these years would certainly dismiss it as a ridiculous assumption, but this is enough to tarnish some image of the great man. It is a known fact that the financial power of BCCI, which it uses at its will every time, has been the result of the heightened popularity of the game in India after Sachin Tendulkar almost single-handedly put India as a force to reckon with in world cricket. When BCCI, not to mention Indian cricket, owes so much to the great man, at least it can resist from doing anything that would put blemish on the image of the great man.

Nothing like an Ashes test match, they say; any cricket match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan would be quite exciting as well and there had been some very competitive cricket whenever India and Australia met in test matches. However a long test match series between the top ranked test team South Africa and the top ranked one day team, the defending world champions India, would be equally exhilarating to behold. Many have the opinion that the present team is the strongest ever in the history of Indian cricket. A test series against the Proteas at their home would be a perfect stage for the present Indian team to test their skills and evaluate by themselves how strong or weak they are. How the likes of Dhoni, Dhawan, Pujara, Jadeja and others would fare against the fiery Dale Steyn’s pace, bounce and swing is something the whole cricketing world wants to see. Future generations would judge the present Indian team on the basis of how they play the South Africans at their den.

By curtailing the length of the test series the BCCI has curtailed such a magnificent opportunity for the players as well as the enthusiasts. It is quite obvious that BCCI is not focussed on improving the game in India or the development of the players’ skills, but only on making more money and thereby amassing more wealth and gaining more financial clout in the cricketing world. By unilaterally reneging on the promise made to Cricket South Africa on a longer test series, BCCI has also showed once again to the world what a nauseating bully it is. At home the BCCI bosses work like autocratic rulers preventing any attempt by the government to bring in transparency in its affairs and internationally they act like rogue states, insensitive to the aspirations of other cricketing nations and dismissive of the generally accepted norms of international conduct.

When IPL spot fixing scam was revealed to the world, there were allegations that some of the BCCI officials have also coalesced with the spot fixing agents. There was huge public anger against the BCCI officials and public opinion was hugely in favour of bringing in more transparency and governmental control into the working of BCCI. But as time went on all those protests died down and we got back to where we started. It is imperative that someone takes this responsibility and rein in the BCCI, otherwise its greed and avarice will tarnish the image of the game in India, the same way its recent action has somewhat tarnished the image of the greatest Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar. 

We, the citizens in the Republic of Sachin, strongly and unequivocally condemn BCCI’s decision to curtail the test series between India and South Africa and the resultant dishonour it has brought to the image of Sachin and the image of India as a cricketing nation. When it is about Sachin Tendulkar, Cape Town would be the same as Mumbai and his 200th test match appearance, indeed a historic moment, will be celebrated with the same enthusiasm by his millions of fans, wherever in the world that may happen.

A Trivandrumite Prays to Those Who Have Come to Lay a Siege on Secretariat

Dear brothers and sisters,

You have come from many parts of Kerala to lay siege on government Secretariat, for you think the Chief Minister of Kerala should resign and should face judicial enquiry on account of his alleged involvement in the Solar scam. To you all, the brave soldiers of the LDF, this writer, being a Trivandrumite, has a special prayer to make. 

You have come in large numbers and this great city has welcomed you all with enormous goodwill as it had welcomed many a human being from time immemorial. For most of you this city will be a stranger; a place where you have come for a few days after which you will go back to your cities and villages, leaving behind things that you have brought from your home, but would no longer be of any use to you. You have come in vast numbers and it’s a known fact that your political parties have not been able to arrange all facilities for you. But this writer, for the love of his beloved city, prays to you all to keep the city as clean as possible all along your stay in Trivandrum. 

Like most of you, neither the man you want to dethrone, nor the one who have called upon all of you to dethrone him, considers this city his home. But for us, who had the privilege to have born and brought up in this city, who have the pleasure to call this city his/her home, the city of Trivandrum is our soul and heart. This is the city where our parents were born or this is the place they decided later to call their home. This is the city where we were born, this is the city through the pavements of which we took our baby steps and learnt to walk, guided by our parents. This is the city that taught us to dream; this is the city from which we learnt to read and write and gathered our knowledge. This is the city that taught us life and this is the city that taught us to win emphatically and to lose gracefully. This is the city that gave us a lot of friends and brothers and sisters; this is the city that gave us our teachers, who have guided us all through our life. This is the city, though the streets and roads of which we walked alongside our boyfriends and girlfriends, hand in hand, dreaming about a future of togetherness. This is the same city through which we walked around with tears in our eyes thinking about our lost love. This is the city which sowed in us seeds of great thoughts and ideas and this is the city where we learnt how to agree to disagree. This is the city, whose every nook and corner are so familiar to us that we will traverse them as if we are traversing inside our home. This is the same city with many great landmarks that have a proud past and a rich history, about which when we were young our parents had told us with enormous pride and we listened with innocent enthusiasm. This is the city where our fathers have died and where we hope to die one day.

When the government calls in the military and orders them to fire, it is the heart of the city that gets hurt; it is the hearts of those who love this city that bleed. When you throw stones on to the buildings of this city, it is not the glasses that get shattered, it is the hopes and aspirations of the Trivandrumites that get shattered. So this writer, on behalf of his other fellow Trivandrumites, requests you to keep the city as clean as possible, as safe as possible and as destruction-free as possible, for this city may be a temporary shelter for you, but this city is our heart and soul and each and every inch of this city is quite beloved to us.

With lots of prayers,

Your brother.

The Ashes – Australia in SOS Mode

The third Investec Ashes test will start today at Old Trafford, Manchester. There has never been such a weak Australian cricket team in recent living memory. This team is a far cry from those days of Australian glory when their 11 member team consisted of Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Waugh twins, Martyn, Gilchrist, Warne, Lee, Gillespie and McGrath. 2-0 down already and looking down the barrel with the struggling batting side even before the start of the third test, the Aussie coach Darren Lehmann has given the SOS call and has invited his former team mate Shane Warne to help his boys with the mental side of the game. 

The main cause for the recent slump in form for the Australian cricket team is their poor batting performance. With the exception of Captain Michael Clarke there is no one in the team who could be called world class; and even he is struggling with his form. Shane Watson, the burly all rounder, seems all lost with his batting form. Three out of four times he was out LBW in identical fashion to the seamers. Each of these times he planted his left foot down the pitch and got into a tangle when he tried to play around it. There seems to be no end to his woes if he doesn’t find a way out of this technical flaw which has suddenly crept into his batting. His opening partner Chris Rogers has got his task cut out as well. At Lords, which is a home ground for him as he has been playing for Middlesex in the English county cricket since 2011, he was not able to make an impression. When in the first innings he missed a full toss from Swann and was out LBW, in the second innings he missed to read a straight one from the same bowler and was out bowled. Usman Khawaja, who replaced another struggling batsman Ed Cowan, was able to get some good runs in the second innings of the Lords test and he will be looking forward to carry his good performance to the third test. Phil Hughes is a talented batsman and always appears quite confident against the pace bowlers, but against the turning ball he is not quite as good. Steven Smith is a confident cricketer, but his ability to play a long innings that is required in test matches seems doubtful. Brad Haddin is a fighter as he showed in his second innings batting at Trent Bridge, where he took the team almost to a famous win.

Australian bowling headed by the never-tiring Peter Siddle is nowhere near those Warne-McGrath times. James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc are talented bowlers but lacked consistency in the matches they played. Ryan Harris made a good comeback in the Lords test and he will have to give Siddle a good company if the Aussies have to come back into the series. Though Ashton Agar had a dream debut with the bat, where he scored 98 runs at Trent Bridge, his bowling leaves much to be desired. 

The Old Trafford pitch will aid the spin bowlers in turning the ball as the days progress. To make use of this turning track, England has already recalled left arm spinner Monty Panesar. Australia could follow suit and can include Nathan Lyon, their front line spinner into the team. The off spinner is widely considered as the best spinner in Australia today and it would be foolish not to make use of him when he is already in the squad. As Pattinson is out of the Ashes with an injury, Australia can always play two spinners in the final eleven. With so many right handers in the England team it would not be a bad idea to continue with the left arm spin of the young Agar.

Extraordinary times require extraordinary decisions and these are extraordinary times for Australian cricket. It would be an inspired decision if Australia calls back David Warner, who has been out because of his rude off field behaviour. If bad off field behaviour could be the reason for not taking a good player in, then the great Ricky Ponting wouldn’t have been picked in the Australia team at all. If Steven Smith, who is down with a back injury, is not able to attain match fitness today then Australia will be able to accommodate Warner in the team without dropping Rogers. If that is the case then the two southpaws will open the innings and Shane Watson could come at number 6 in the place of Steve Smith. As mentioned earlier, as all top order batsmen of England, except Alistair Cook, are right handers, Michael Clarke can always decide to roll his arm over. He is a formidable left arm spinner and with the ball turning away from the right handers, he could be a handful in the turning Old Trafford pitch.

If Ashes has to live up to its name, then Australia has to come back strong and offer a good fight against the English. But it won’t be that easy against a formidable English side in their top form. In a turning track at Old Trafford it would not be a lot of fun to face the spin duo of Swann and Panesar. James Anderson, England’s highest wicket taker in tests would be looking forward to swing the red cherry both ways in his home ground. If the Aussies pull up their act together and fight hard it would be an interesting third test in the Ashes, otherwise it will slip into one of those boring, lopsided affairs similar to what we witnessed at Lords ten days back.

Subject-Verb Agreement in English

We know the basic principle that singular subjects need singular verbs and plural subjects need plural verbs. Therefore we know,

• My book is new & my books are new.
• My sister reads novels & my sisters read novels.

However all subject-verb agreement principles are not that easy. We will deal with that topic here.

Indefinite pronouns like anyone, everyone, everybody, someone, no one are always singular and they need singular verbs.

•  Someone has left his book here.
• Everyone associated with the project is proud about its successful completion.
• Everybody is here. (Everybody certainly feels like more than one person and hence we may tend to use plural verb, but it is actually singular and hence requires a singular verb)

The subject each is always singular and hence will require a singular verb.

• Each of the employees is responsible for the successful completion of the project.

The verb that follows pronouns such as some and all is determined by whether the pronoun is referring to something COUNTABLE or not. Countable subjects need plural verb and uncountable subjects need singular verb.

• Some of my books are old.
• Some of the grain was ruined by the flood.

(Books are countable hence a plural verb, while grain is not countable hence a singular verb)

None is generally considered singular, but it can also be used as plural pronoun.

• None of the representatives is honest OR none of the representatives are honest.

With fractional and decimal expressions, the verb will be determined by what is being measured – is it COUNTABLE or not.

• Two-fifths of the grain is ruined. (Grain is not countable, hence singular verb)
• One-half of the employees were trustworthy. (Employees is countable, hence a plural verb)

When either and neither appear as a subject alone (without or and nor) they are considered singular, though the subject seems to be two things.

• Neither of these answers appears to be satisfactory.
• My company will offer me extra pay or will allow me to take a compensatory day off. Either is fine with me.

However when either and neither act as correlative conjunctions (that is when they combine two subjects), the subject that is CLOSER TO THE VERB determines whether to use singular or plural form of a verb.

• Neither the principal nor the teachers are at fault (the plural subject teachers is close to the verb, so the plural verb are)
• Neither the teachers nor the principal is at fault (the singular subject principal is close to the verb so the singular verb is)
• Either the members or the leader has to take the responsibility.
• Either the leader or the members have to take the responsibility.

At times many modifiers may come between a subject and its verb, but they must not confuse the agreement between the subject and its verb. For example,

• The leader, though he has not been successful in completing many projects and has not been the favourite of most of the team members, is still in charge of the project.

If your sentence combines a positive subject and a negative subject and one is singular, the other is plural, the verb must agree to the positive subject.

• The teachers of the department but not the principal have decided not to teach on a hartal day.
• It is the speaker, not his words, that has provoked the listeners.

In Response to Sreesanth’s Mother’s Article in Mathrubhumi Daily

There is nothing in this world greater than a Mother. Therefore when this writer read cricketer Sreesanth’s mother’s article in Mathrubhumi Daily on the innocence of her son, he didn’t feel it to be anything curious. She has only done that which all mothers will do for their devoted sons, though many of her arguments in support of her son are shallow and tedious - but let’s speak about it another day. What this writer finds ridiculous is how a newspaper like Mathrubhumi decided to give space to such an article which could only be considered as an attempt of the newspaper to cash in on the mindset of those readers with similar mindsets of the audience of those tears extracting, soap serials. 

The Malayalam media, both print and TV, should take a big responsibility in spoiling a great bowling talent like Sreesanth. The unwanted and extensive coverage that they gave to Sreesanth’s on field and off field antics spun him out of equilibrium. His parents and other family member were equally interested in appearing frequently in the media that they also turned out to be a popularity-seeking family of a popularity-seeking man. The images of Sreesanth’s mother coming out of the Puja muri (room for worship) were flashed across all channels when India won the T20 World Cup in 2007. There were even commentaries that were almost on the lines that India won the title because of his mother’s prayers and not because of the on field performance of the Indian team in Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. 

Sachin Tendulkar is the most famous man in Indian cricket; MS Dhoni is the most popular player in the present day Indian cricket. How many times have you seen articles written by mothers of these famous men about their sons? Tendulkar has been famously protective about his family and has always tried to shield them from the media. MSD’s family has always been media shy and has always tried not to comment anything publicly about their world famous family member.

It takes enormous strength of character to fend off media glare and concentrate on your work. The media will try to extract everything out of you when you are in the height of your popularity, will take you to ludicrous heights with their promotional sway and will even try to pull your family into it. If you fall for it then you are sure to collapse one day and get battered, and may even pass that threshold from where there will be no chance of a come back. Personal discipline, moral courage and strong family values are what it takes to survive the media onslaught.

Though the paparazzi culture hasn’t invaded Indian media completely yet, some attributes of it have started to appear. Therefore it is not only these famous men (and women), but their families too who should guard against this villainous media. Sreesanth and his family have fallen into this trap many times; they will do well not to fall yet another time. Till such wisdom come to him and his family can we readers just stop romanticising and feeding on such cheap emotions?

Credibility Crisis Rocks the Great Game

As this writer has been preoccupied with some official tasks he has not been writing any essay in his blog for the past two months. However the credibility crisis that is rocking the game he loves the most has left him with no other choice but to express his views through his blog. It is a sad state of affairs that some unscrupulous players have brought disrepute to the great game by their personal greed and avarice.

It appears that this has been the chance that many detractors of the game of cricket were looking for to come down heavily on the game. They are out with their knives and attacking the game with opinions that call for a ban on IPL or even a ban on the game of cricket as a whole. It is a shame that three players, who were made famous by the game, have been instrumental in bringing ignominy to the gentlemen's game.

In cricket, as in any other profession, nothing can substitute personal integrity and discipline in defining how successful a person could ever become. We have many an example in cricket, where the lack of the previously mentioned qualities has become the undoing of a player. Therefore, when news of the spot-fixing scandal was breaking on news channels, with the images of its three protagonists flashing on television screens, there was a sense of déjà vu for all of us. 

Yes, there was a sense that we have seen it before, we are seeing it now and we will see it again in the future. That BCCI didn’t take strong enough actions against players who were found guilty on spot-fixing allegation last season of IPL has resulted in the repetition of the crime in this season too. Many in the country doubt that the bosses of BCCI are not very much interested in protecting and enhancing the image of the game but in utilising the popularity of the game in filling their coffers and in usurping greater power. It is high time that the government take steps to flush out all those in BCCI who are not cricketers. As of now, the committee is dominated by businessmen and politicians, some of whom haven’t even played galli cricket. What good can anyone expect from these men to cricket in India? 

Being a commercial heavyweight, India, and as an extension the BCCI, wields enormous power in international cricket. We have seen many occasions where the BCCI had resorted to arm twisting tactics to bring the international cricket under its control and to make the ICC change rules and laws in accordance with its whims and fancies. Because of this there is a general discontent against BCCI among many cricket associations around the world. They are surely going to use this opportunity to slam the BCCI for its lack of transparency and its inability in preventing corruption and fixing cases.

This writer had the privileged opportunity to read Gulu Ezekiel’s biography of Sachin Tendulkar, Sachin. The various instances depicted in the book of the love for the game, personal integrity, commitment and patriotism of the Master Batsman had given goose bumps to him. The way in which he overcame not only fearsome opponent bowlers and lack of talent in his team but also treachery and betrayal of some of his team mates, is a matter of pride for every citizen of this great nation. Much like Tendulkar, other players of his generation like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman are also men of great personal uprightness and commitment. It defies human understanding how players who have had chances to share dressing room with such legends can stoop this low and cheat their own teams for a few bucks.

This is not the time to cry over the lowering standards of integrity of the players and do nothing. It is imperative for the BCCI and all the franchisees of the IPL to provide all assistance to the Delhi Police and the Mumbai Police in their investigations on the spot-fixing scandal. If the players are found guilty then they should be given immaculate punishment which would act as a deterrent to future players from indulging in fixing matches. The scandal that has come to the fore appears only to be a tip of the iceberg. It is very important to go deep to the roots of this issue and identify the places where the rot has happened. If the whole system is flawed, it should be corrected as soon as possible before people’s mistrust on this great game would put its future to jeopardy. 

Senseless Politics over IPL by Jayalalithaa's Government

The governing council of the IPL has decided against fielding Sri Lankan players in the IPL matches in Chennai after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa barred the Lankans from the state. By playing bad politics using the Tamil card Jayalalithaa is trying to gain brownie points is a fact that anyone could easily comprehend. When it is true that terrible crimes have been committed against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sri Lankan armed forces and the government, it makes no sense in barring the Sri Lankan players from playing IPL in Chennai as they are coming in their individual capacities as professional cricketers and not as representatives of the Sri Lankan government.

There is no doubt that India as a country should take tough stand against Sri Lanka and should make the Lankan government investigate war crimes. But barring Sri Lankans from playing sports in India shows poor political imagination. When the DMK has scored a point on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue by pulling out of UPA, Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK was in the lookout for an opening and chose to use IPL as an opportunity to draw level with their political rivals.

Had the Sri Lankan players were coming over to India as the representatives of the government, there would have been more sense in protesting against them. But these players are, like other ordinary people in Sri Lanka, absolutely blameless in the alleged pogrom against the Lankan Tamils. All our anger should be channelled against the Sri Lankan government who is allegedly involved in the grave human rights violation and genocide in Sri Lanka and not on ordinary people of Sri Lanka. If the public opinion in Tamil Nadu is against ordinary Sri Lankans too, it is the responsibility of the government as well as that of the political parties to put things straight and persuade people by making them aware of the facts. If a government functions based on what it claims to be “public opinion”, which could be factually and morally wrong, then it would not be able to govern with any sense of purpose.

If Tamil Nadu is not able to provide security to the Sri Lankans or if the government thinks it is wrong to allow Lankans to play in the state, then the right line of action for the IPL to take would have been to move all the matches out of Chennai. However such an action would have caused logistical deadlocks and hence the IPL governing council has decided to ask IPL franchisees not to field any Lankan players in matches that would be held in Chennai.

If we continue to change our policies and actions based on mob sentiments, it would not be long when our country would descent into chaos and disorder. It is a matter of great shame that we as a country are often threatened and intimidated by mob violence and immoral and flawed public opinion.

A Budget Focussed on Fiscal Deficit

The Union Budget 2013-14 has come at a time when the fiscal deficit is spiralling almost out of control. So it was imperative for the government to take steps to reduce the fiscal deficit, tame inflation, increase the growth rate and at the same time bring out populist economic measures in view of the impending general elections in 2014. The onus was on the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to come out with a balanced budget that would take care of these various needs.

Experience of the countries in the Euro zone, like Greece, has shown that failing to control the worsening fiscal deficit would spell dooms to a country. Therefore the Finance Minister had no other option left with him but to take measures in the financial year 2013-14 to reduce government expenditure, while simultaneously taking steps to increase revenue collection. With a view to increase the revenue the FM has proposed a one year surcharge of 10% as tax on the super-rich of the country. The super-rich are defined as those who would earn more than 1 crore per annum, all 42,800 of them. He has also proposed increased import duty for luxury items like SUVs, luxury bikes and cars, imported yachts and motorboats, mobile phones priced more than Rs.2000, cigarettes, sale of immovable property, home and flats with a carpet area of 2,000 sq ft or more or of a value of Rs 1 crore. Though there is no revision of the tax exemption slabs, he has proposed to provide a tax break of Rs.2000 to individual tax payers with a taxable income of up to Rs.5 lakh. This would come as a benefit to about 1.8 crore tax payers who are reeling under increased pressure of inflation. Similarly, first time buyers of affordable homes will get an additional deduction in interest of Rs. 1 lakh for home loans up to Rs. 25 lakh. 

It must be noted that the step taken for fiscal consolidation, reduction in government spending, will negatively affect many social sector activities. There have been cuts in many important sectors that directly affect the livelihood and welfare of the people in the country. Irrigation, flood control, science and technology, industries and minerals, rural development and even agriculture have seen massive cutbacks in government spending. The worst of them all is the reduction in fuel subsidy. With the global fuel prices going up continuously, such a cut in fuel subsidy would mean continuous increase in petrol and diesel prices, which would in turn worsen inflationary pressure on the economy. It is also surprising to see that there has been no increase in budgetary allocation to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the flag ship programme of the UPA-2. Reduction of government spending in various infrastructure development schemes also shows that this is a budget that is focussed on short term gains and not on long term gain development of the nation.

However the budget also has many incentives for private investments in the field of infrastructure development, like institutional measures to do away with the bottlenecks in project approvals, plans for new industrial corridors, ports, expansion of domestic production of coal, which would ease thermal power generation issues etc. 

In a bid to assuage the general discontent in the minds of the youth in the country after many assaults on women, there have been many measures proposed for providing better security and better living conditions to the women. The ‘Nirbhaya’ fund of Rs. 1 crore for improving the safety of women is a welcome step. A scheme for addressing the issue of maternal and child malnutrition for the 100 poorest districts in the country is another important step. Proposal for setting up of a Women’s bank exclusively for women in the country is another important proposal in the right direction. The bank is proposed to lend mainly to women and women-run businesses. The bank, which would be under the public sector, would employ mainly women and would do a great service for the empowerment and the financial inclusion of the women folk.

The Finance Minister has failed in many fronts vis-a-vis the budget. Import of gold, one of the main reasons for the unhealthy increase in current account deficit, should have been checked by increasing the import duty on the yellow metal. All mobile phones that are priced above Rs. 2000 cannot be considered as luxury items. Most smart phones cost more than that and the increase in import duty of such mobile phone could only help those traders in the grey market. There have been no major proposals to improve the investment climate in the country.

Union Budget 2013-14 at a glance for the layman's interest.

Items that would be costlier

• Mobile handsets above Rs.2000
• SUVs, luxury bikes, luxury cars, imported yachts and motor boats
• Dining at AC restaurants
• Staying at luxury hotels
• Cigarettes
• Sale of immovable property above 50 lakhs (sale of plots, house, flats etc.)
• Home/flats with a carpet area of 2,000 sq ft or more or of a value of Rs 1 crore
• Marbles for flooring
• Silver ornaments
• Silk clothes produced using imported raw materials
• Set top boxes
• Parking fees

Items that would be cheaper

• Branded apparels 
• Precious stones 
• Carpets and other textile floor coverings 
• Branded Non-Allopathic medicines 
• Environment-friendly vehicles, like electric and hybrid vehicles
• Leather goods including footwear 
• Books on vocational courses 
• Lower Securities Transaction Tax on mutual funds

Other important facts

• No change in income tax slabs
• Raised duty-free limit on imported jewellery to Rs 50,000 in the case of a male passenger and Rs 100,000 in the case of a female passenger
• Person taking home loan for the first time to get tax cut of Rs. 1 lakh
• At least one LIC office and one public sector insurance company in all towns with more than 10000 people
• India's first all-women public sector bank to be set up
• “Nirbhaya Fund” for women’s safety in memory of the Delhi brave heart with Rs.1000 crore corpus will support initiatives by the government and NGOs working towards protecting the dignity and ensuring safety of women.
• Reduction in fuel subsidies, which may further increase fuel prices

Source: The Hindu, India Today, The Economic Times

Only Want to Show Your Protest? Please Find Some New Ways

For two days people in India were under a siege, unable to go out of their homes and do their jobs, unable to go out to meet their friends, unable to eat out, unable to go for a movie, all in the name of a general strike called by the trade unions in the country. The general strike on February 20 and 21 that was called by the Central trade unions and backed by all non-Congress parties, held the whole country to a standstill. Now that the general strike that was observed for 48 hours is over let us ask the question what have we gained from the general strike? As this writer had written in one of his previous essays, what have we achieved from the hartals?

The general strike was called for as a protest against rising petrol and diesel prices, rising inflation, for increasing the minimum wages of workers to Rs.10000, for putting pressure on the government to create more jobs etc. It is anyone’s guess that even after the strike none of these demands is going to be heard by the government. So when the intention is only to show our protest, can’t we find some new ways of doing it rather than going for archaic practices like complete shutdown of a country? 

It is a shame that workers unions in our country, which have a great tradition and history, are unable to change with the times. There is no doubt that it is high time they find some new ways of protesting that would not hit at the economic well being of the country. It is an irony that workers who are protesting against government policies that are weakening the economy are further putting pressure on the same weak economy by complete shutdown of the country. If we go by the numbers put forwarded by ASSOCHAM, Indian economy has lost Rs. 26000 crores as a result of this 48 hours strike. 

As is the case with all strikes in our state of Kerala, in the last 48 hours too, people who were going to their work places were threatened by the supporters of the strike. We also saw in the media that passengers were intimidated and in some cases manhandled by protesters. Even this writer was stopped by the protesters and was sternly told to return to his home or face the “consequences”. It is another matter of irony that workers unions that were formed to protect the jobs of the people and to create a favourable environment for work are themselves stopping workers from going to work.

Laws should be made and strictly enforced to make sure that strike supporters are not vandalising public and private property. If at all any sort of vandalism happens, those who are calling the strike should be held accountable for the damages. But such a law must be created by our law makers, the politicians. Therefore there is no hope for such a law to come into force. Unscrupulous politicians and party workers of all parties think that it is their birth right to cause destruction of public and private property on a strike or a hartal day. Such a situation should change or otherwise a time is not far when ordinary people fed up with such violence during strikes and hartals would take to the streets and physically confront those who indulge in it. If such a day comes, it would not be good for our country and its people.

Difference between "few" and "a few" / "little" and "a little"

The usage of the words “few” and “a few” as well as “little” and “a little” has often confused many of us. Though they may appear simple and straight forward, many are not sure which one to use when.

First of all, “few” and “a few” are used with countable nouns. E.g.: few friends / a few friends, few books / a few books, etc.

Whereas, “little” and “a little” are used with uncountable nouns. E.g.: little time / a little time, little sugar / a little sugar, etc.

“A few” and “a little” express a positive idea; it means that something is present. For example, a statement such as “I have a few friends there” shows that the person making the statement has SOME friends there. The statement “I have a little time for exercise” shows that the person making the statement has SOME time for exercise.

“Few” and “little” express a negative idea; it means that something is largely absent. For example, a statement such as “I have few friends there” shows that the person making the statement has NO friends there. The statement “I have little time for exercise” shows that the person making the statement has NO time for exercise.

Hope this helps.

Therefore, on reading this post if you got some knowledge on the usage of few/a few and little/a little, you can say, “I got a little knowledge from this post” and if reading this post was a real waste of your time, you can very well say, “I got little knowledge from this post”.

So, what would you say?

Strike on Contributory Pension – Much Ado about Nothing

The strike organised by the teachers and employees groups associated with the opposition front LDF, which is underway in Kerala, against the introduction of contributory pension scheme to the government employees getting into government service after March 31, 2013 should have been avoided. As the new scheme is not going to affect anyone who is already in service, there are no logical justifications for this strike. If those who are striking are saying that they are striking for the future generations (future employees in the government service) then those arguments will not stand the test of the real facts, some of which will appear in this essay.

What is contributory pension? - As of now we follow a scheme of statutory pension in the state where the government employees on retirement will get a specific amount as pension based on certain criteria. According to the contributory pension scheme all employees who join the government service from April 1, 2013 will contribute every month 10% of their basic salary and dearness allowance each to a central government managed Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The state government will also contribute the same amount to the fund every month. When an employee retires he/she can withdraw 50% amount from the fund and based on an annuity scheme he/she will get pension from the rest of the amount. Thus the government and the employee will work together in providing his/her pension. 

Kerala is already a consumer state and at a time when we are facing acute shortage of fund for social welfare measures it is impractical to continue with the present method of pension scheme. To validate the above mentioned point, let us see the following economic figures. 

Annual revenue of the state for the financial year 2011-12 will come to 29197.09 crores. The salary and pension of government employees amount to 23536.68 crores, which is 80.61% of the annual revenue of the state. That means the government spent 80.61% of its revenue for the government employees, who is less than 5% of total population of the state. If we add interest payable by the state government, the amount required would be 29895.11 crores, which is 102.39% of annual revenue of the state. 

If we also add the contribution made by the central government, then the revenue of the state would become 39587.85 crores. Then the percentage of salary + pension will come down to 59.45% and the percentage of salary + pension + interest will come down to 75%, which is still quite high, leaving very less money in the hands of the state government to continue with its social welfare measures for the millions of poor people in the state. 

When the situation is already quite dismal, in the future, things will get more difficult and miserable. Future governments will have little money for the social welfare programmes and in the absence of money, government schools and colleges, government hospitals and other such social welfare organisations of the government will have to either reduce or completely stop their activities. Such a situation would be detrimental to even the existence of our state and is a sure recipe for violent upheavals. Any citizen with a little civic sense would understand that the government has decided on introducing contributory pension scheme taking into consideration the future of the state. 

One needs no great intelligence to comprehend that the ongoing strike is one with political intentions only. The striking political parties should know that when they come to the government, they will also face the same problem of lack of money for welfare measures if the present day government doesn’t adopt the contributory pension scheme now.

With their united strength the government employees have successfully thwarted the attempts of the government to bring in a system where the salary revision will be applied only once in ten years. Now they have salary revision every five years and they are also getting many other benefits as well. Even then, the quality of service that they provide for the common man has not improved at all. 

The laymen have no favourable opinion on the government employees and that being the case there is no way they are going to get a sympathetic hearing from the common man on their strike. The CPI (M) and other left parties are trying to give the strike a violent form by taking the strike to the streets by allowing their students and youth cadre to support the strike. The students and youth wing of the ruling Congress party are making things worse by confronting those striking employees in the street as well. It would be prudent if the government and the striking employees find some amicable solution to the present problem. As far as the future generations of the state are concerned, it is quite important that the strike fails and the contributory pension scheme prevails unless their future would be in jeopardy. 

Statistics: ‘Budget in Brief’ of Government of Kerala, available in public domain