Where do we have a refuge?

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

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

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

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’

(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

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

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

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

(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?

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:

1. The distance from the wickets to the point of impact with the batsman
2. The approximate distance from point of pitching to point of impact
3. 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.