Voice from the roof top

LOSING THINGS

2007-04-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

I have lost many things over the years. First time I lost a 25 paise coin. It was given to buy two seers of salt. One seer cost 10 paise. I had put the coin in the bag. My mother had told me several times not to lose the coin. So after every few steps I opened the bag and looked. During one such attempt I lost the coin and could not locate it.

I lost my degree certificate. It was a Sunday, 31/7/1994. I had gone for an interview. I had put a file in a bag. I held the degree certificate in a paper cylinder. I had walked to the place of interview and while returning I realised the certificate was missing. I went back searching on the way but could not find it.

I lost my Bank of Baroda cheque book and that resulted in not being able to close the account.

I lost my Manipal Finance Corporation FDRs. The loss is more than Rs.25,000/-. Manipal Finance Corporation is also avoiding payments to people who have FDRs.

I lost my spectacles four times. Third time was on 18/2/2007 and the loss was Rs.1,000/-.
Sometimes I forget to collect change. Once while buying a railway pass worth Rs.88/- I gave a Rs.100/- note and forgot to collect change. Fourth time was on 27/3/2007. After getting down at Vasai Road Station I came out and was standing in queue for autorickshaw. My spectacles were in my bag. There was one SMS. I took out the spectacles to read it. It was a routine SMS from BSNL welcoming me. I put the spectacles in the left pocket of my trousers. I got down at Shreeji Tower at Evershine City and bought bread. It was around 8.25 p.m. After coming out and walking a few steps I realized my spectacles were missing. I went back where I got down. The autorickshaw was not there. I reached home at 8.34 p.m. After a few minutes it occurred tome that the autorickshaw may be in queue waiting for passengers to go to Vasai Road Station. I went there and asked some autorickshaw drivers and saw the autorickshaws there. I could not find the spectacles. Losing spectacles after one month was a bad experience.

Apart from losing and forgetting, at times my things were stolen. In local trains my money was stolen several times, passes at least twice, mobile once and bag once. The

The loss of mobile cost of Rs.8,275/- besides the effort in storing the numbers. That was on 19/2/2004. The cost of losing the bag on 31/5/2004 was around Rs.500/-. It included the cost of may bag, my tiffin box with spoon and Rs.200/- I had paid for a set Xerox copies of purchase agreement of my flat. Mobile and bag were stolen in first class compartment.

Sometimes coins fall from my hands and land up in gutters. Thrice torches fell from my hand in toilets and disappeared.

Sometimes I keep something at a place and the next instant I don’t find it there. Once while arranging my papers I could not find National Savings Certificates.

I wonder why and how such things happen to me. Can someone enlighten me?

THOUGHTS ON 25/1/2007

2007-01-25T01:45:00.000-08:00

Tamil Nadu has demanded a new Constitution for India. The reason is wrong. They want to preserve 69% reservation in educational institutions. Many amendments to Constitutions were wrong.

Jayalalitha could not contest elections and could not be chief minister because the lower court had found her guilty. Navjot Singh Sidhu is found guilty by High Court. Supreme Court has stayed the sentence and conviction and praised him for resigning. Navjot Singh Sidhu wants to contest the election to be MP of Amritsar, the seat that became vacant due to his resignation. Elections cost lot of money and time. Those who resign should not be allowed to contest the seat again for the remainder of the term. Sonia Gandhi and Chandrashekhara Rao had done it. The persons who resign should be made to reimburse the expenses on elections. No candidate should be allowed to contest two seats at one time. Once elected as MP or MLA the person should not be able to hold any other office for the duration of the term except President or Vice President of India or Governor of an Indian State.

KBC is a good programme. All who give correct answers must be given a chance.

At one time there was one sports channel, Prime Sports, which later became Star Sports. Then came ESPN. These two channels were rivals for some time. Then they joined together. Then came Ten Sports followed by Sahara One which got telecast rights for a cricket series and Zee Sports. Neo Sports was the next entrant. Somewhere came DD Sports, owned by the Government of India.

Private Sports channels may begin as free to air channels but soon become pay channels. Every time a new sporting event comes up if a new channel gets telecast rights it becomes difficult for people. They have to pay for existing channels which become useless and have to pay additional amount for a new channel. Now there is CAS in four cities and DTH is spreading to many places. If people make their choices wisely TV channels cannot take them for granted. The channels that become useless must be dumped. If people don’t demand live telecasts then the channel that holds the rights will be the loser.

Delayed telecast of seven minutes will not make much difference.

Laws against bigamy must be stringent. Monogamy should be the rule for all people. Having a second wife must be punishable with imprisonment. Whether the wife, who becomes first wife later, consents or not is immaterial. If the wife is unable to conceive and the husband wants a child there should be divorce. This also raises the question about women who knowingly become second or subsequent wives. Many such women are rich and famous.

There can not be temporary marriage. What goes for temporary marriage among Shias of Iran and Iraq is a cover for concubinage or prostitution.

Germany’s population declined for fifth year in succession in 2006. Population is declining in most countries of Europe. Germany does not grant citizenship to non-Germans. USA’s growth in population is mainly due to immigration.

THOUGHTS ON 20/1/2006

2007-01-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

If something is offensive TV channels should not show it. Sometimes TV channels give publicity to clips they say are offensive. IBN 7 showed a clip of which it said insulted Gandhi. More people came to know about the clip. The Government of India issued a notice to IBN 7 and the channel had to apologise.

There are demands for ban of various types of films but no demand to ban a film that glorifies tax evasion, bribery and smuggling.

Use of Internet for destroying someone’s reputation should be punished.

Affairs, break-ups, engagements and marriages of actors and actresses are not news that deserve telecast on news channels as headlines. They can be shown in entertainment or film sections.

Advertisements of food items, toilet articles, stationery, jewellery and cosmetics should be banned.

Indians should not attach importance to Oscars. Getting Oscar award does not mean that film is great. Some films that got best foreign film award are not better than some of our Hindi films. It the idea is to get publicity and market the producers should dub or sub-title their films and distribute in other countries. However song and dance sequences do not make sense to many foreigners.

Racism should not be confused with dislike for someone’s food or making fun of accent.

It is ridiculous to ban the wearing of a crucifix in a school as a health and safety issue. This happened in England.

There should be a change in the process of selection of Indian cricket team. First the team should be selected. Then the captain should be selected out of the players selected. Those who are not fit or out of form should not be selected. Captain should be for a series. After every series there should be fresh selection.

There should be no Special Economic Zones. Governments should not be acquiring land for private enterprises. Why should some places have tax concessions? Let the whole country be Special Economic Zone and have tax concessions.

China has tested anti-satellite missile. It is a warning to USA. USA did not want such tests to be banned. Now it is concerned.

Full details of Nithari killings are not available. We may have to wait for the trial to begin to know who all are guilty and of what crimes.

THE END OF SADDAM HUSSEIN

2007-01-10T04:17:00.000-08:00

Saddam Hussein was hanged at around 6.00 a.m. (8.30 a.m. IST) on 30/12/2006. He was sentenced to death for killing of 148 people in Dujail in 1982 by lower court on 5/11/2006, two days before American elections. He filed an appeal. His appeal was rejected on 26/12/2006 and he was to be hanged by 25/1/2007. He was hanged within four days, on Id-ul-Adha.

Iraq, under US occupation, did what George Bush wanted. The trial was not fair. It was not telecast live. It was not open. Three defence lawyers were killed. Presiding judge was changed.

When Iran-Iraq was going on Arab countries and USA sided with Iraq. When Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait in 1990 many Arab countries joined USA lead coalition. The decline of USSR as superpower and development of night vision technology caused additional difficulties for Iraq. Iraq was bombarded. Civilian facilities were destroyed.

USA has supported many dictators and toppled democratically elected governments. It tried to topple Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela. It supports Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan.

USA invaded Iraq in 2003. UN and NATO did not approve it. Pope John Paul II, Archbishop of Canterbury and Catholic Bishops of USA opposed it. Many countries were opposed to it. In USA many people opposed the war. The people Saddam Hussein trusted most betrayed him in April 2003 and Baghdad fell.

The Americans were disinformed about reasons for 2003 Iraq war and many got brainwashed. Saddam Hussein was accused of having weapons of mass destruction. He was accused of 11/9/2001 attacks on USA though he was not a friend of Osama Bin Laden. USA had propped up Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan against USSR. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Colin Powell who made a presentation to UN justifying war later said the details were wrong.

Under Saddam Hussein Iraq was a secular state. After his downfall Muslim fundamentalists became powerful. Life became difficult for Christians and moderate Muslims.

Crimes committed by Saddam Hussein are no match for the crimes committed by Americans in Iraq in 1991 and 2003 onwards. Who will punish them? The Presidents, Generals, pilots, marines and others involved are guilty of many crimes.

The war in Iraq was for getting contracts to American companies like Halliburton. While Iraqis suffered greatly USA is not free from suffering either. The number of US servicemen killed in Iraq is now more than 3000. How many more American soldiers have to die before USA withdraws from Iraq?

After the downfall of Saddam Hussein the situation turned worse in Iraq. Saddam Hussein was captured in December 2003. He was humiliated in many ways. Pictures of doctors examining him and while in prison in underwear made it to TV and newspapers. He was charged with many crimes and found guilty in Dujail case.

Civil war is going on in Iraq. Soon it will be split into three or more parts. The Americans wants to divide Iraq and rule it.

What some people call victor’s justice is victor’s vengeance or invader’s injustice. After World War II the Germans and the Japanese were punished. No one from USA, UK, USSR, France and other countries on their side was punished. The crimes committed by Allies were more than that of Axis powers but they were not publicised.

The crimes committed by Americans at Abu Ghraib and other places show the face of the aggressor. A few soldiers were punished. People at the top who knew it and allowed were not punished.

Saddam Hussein was not a saint. His brother-in-law and sons-in-law died in strange circumstances. He was not faithful to his wife. Like other dictators he was ruthless.

The testimony of some witnesses was doubtful. About one witness Saddam Hussein said he could not have been born at that time.

Once Saddam Hussein was overthrown he was not a force to reckon with. After his capture he could not carry on the fight. His sons and a grandson died in a gun battle. He wanted to be shot as he thought himself to be a military man. That wish was not granted.

2006 THE YEAR THAT WAS

2007-01-03T21:31:00.000-08:00

The year 2006 was witness to many events. Some of them were unprecedented. I mention some events.

Publishing of cartoons about Mohammed in a Danish newspaper caused riots in many countries. Newspapers in some countries reprinted the cartoons. No newspaper in India reprinted them. TV channels did not show them in full. Danish flags were burnt.

Sania Mirza’s rank slipped to 70. In 2005 it had gone up to 31.

Pope Benedict XVI’s quotation of a Byzantine Emperor in his Regensburg speech caused protests. The pope apologized for the hurt it caused. His tour to Turkey was in jeopardy. It took place. The pope prayed at Blue Mosque.

There was train blasts in Bombay on 11/7/2006.

Pluto was declared a dwarf planet on 24/8/2006. Later its name was changed.

Montenegro separated from Serbia. Serbia became a landlocked country.

India lost the Test Series against Pakistan and won ODI series. The series against England ended in a draw as India were all out for 100 in the second innings of the last Test. India after winning the first ODI against West Indies lost the next four. It won the Test Series 1-0. This victory on West Indies soil was achieved after 35 years. India lost the subsequent ODI series. In Champions Trophy it did not reach the semi finals. India won the first Test against S. Africa in S. Africa for the first time. Irfan Pathan was sent back for poor form during the series, a first in Indian cricket. His batting was the best in the team. He was used as a batsman several times. He had opened the innings. Suddenly team management wanted him to take wickets and that only was considered. Form of Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer was worse than him. They were not sent back after losing the second Test.

The judgment in Bombay Bomb Blasts Case 1993 was delivered in instalments. It began on 10/9/2006 and ended on 4/12/2006. Many of the convicts are out on bail. Quantum of the punishment is to be decided.

The trial court judgment in Jessica Lall case acquitting the guilty shocked the nation. There was demand for reinvestigation and retrial. This also brought into focus Priyadarshini Mattoo case where the judge had acquitted Santosh Singh of rape and murder even though he knew he had committed the cirme. Delhi High Court awarded death sentence to Santosh Singh and life sentence to Manu Sharma.

Nepal ceased to be a Hindu Kingdom. King became a figurehead.

The pope gave up the title `Patriarch of the West’.

Military took over in Fiji.
Share Warne became the first player to take 700 Test wickets.

Alexander Litvienko died of polonium poisoning.

Saddam Hussein was hanged on 30/12/2006.

SUGGESTIONS TO SIXTH PAY COMMISSION

2006-12-10T23:11:00.000-08:00

The Government of India has solicited people’s suggestions/ comments regarding pay scale to civil servants to be decided by Sixth Central Pay Commission. It is in the form of a questionnaire. People have to answer the questions. The questionnaire can be downloaded from http://india.gov.in/govt/paycommission.php and answers can be sent to sixth.cpc@nic.in. My answers are as below:

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Comparison with public/private sectors

1.1 Should there be any comparison/parity between pay scales and perquisites in Government and the public/private sector?
No.
1.2 Is it possible to quantify all other benefits, excluding pay, derived by employees in Government and the public and private sectors from security of tenure, promotional avenues, retirement packages, housing and other invisibles? In view of these benefits, can there be any fair comparison between the salaries available in the government vis-à-vis the salaries in the private sector?
Public sector jobs have security. Promotions and increments are regular. Private sector jobs do not have pension. There should be no comparison.
1.3 In order to ensure a fair comparison based on principles of equity and social justice, would it not also be appropriate to take into account the economic conditions of large sections of the community that are less privileged than Government employees and many of whom live below the poverty line?
Employment should be based on merit. Principles of equity and social justice are irrelevant.

2. International comparisons

2.1 Some countries have raised civil service pay scales almost to levels prevalent in the private sector on the hypothesis that a well-paid bureaucracy is likely to be honest and diligent. To what extent would such a hypothesis be valid and how far would such a course of action be desirable?
Public Sector employees do not have the disadvantages of Private
Sector. If they want such scales they should be ready for ‘hire and fire’.

3. Impact on other organizations

3.1 Salary structure in the Central and State Governments is broadly similar. The recommendations of the Pay Commission are likely to lead to similar demands from employees of State Governments, municipal bodies, panchayati raj institutions & autonomous institutions

Their paying capacity is considerably limited. To what extent should this factor be considered in devising a reasonable remuneration package for Central Government employees?
This factor should not be considered.

4. Salaries

4.1 How should we determine the salary to be paid to a Secretary in the Central Government? Please suggest an appropriate basic pay for a Secretary? Can appointment to this post be made on a contractual basis where salaries and tenure are linked to the performance in terms of achieving defined targets?
Retain 5th pay commission scale. Appointment to this post be made on a contractual basis. USA does not have fixed tenure for top officers. They do not have something like IAS. Secretary need not be a bureaucrat.
4.2 What should be the reasonable ratio between the minimum and the maximum of a pay scale?
Minimum should be one fourth of the maximum. Maximum salary is when the person retires. Minimum should be the starting scale. If the person’s salary begins with Rs.10,000/- when he joins, when he retires after full years of service it should not be more than Rs.40,000/-.
4.3 Is it necessary to persist with a pre-determined minimum-maximum ratio on ideological considerations? Or is it more important to ensure efficient administration by preventing flight of outstanding talent from Government?
It is not necessary to persist with a pre-determined minimum-maximum ratio on ideological considerations. On practical considerations the ratio should be maintained. There are many reasons why outstanding talent flees government.

5. Relativities

5.1 Employees in the Secretariat and analogous establishments are entitled to higher pay scales than the corresponding field functionaries. This was supposed to compensate them for the loss of certain facilities available to them in field assignments and the extra effort required for decision-making at the policy level. Are these factors valid even today particularly in the context of decentralization and devolution of administrative powers? Is this discrimination between field and secretariat functionaries even justified today?
The factors are not valid today. Discrimination is not justified.

6. Group-A Services

6.1 Is there a case for a Unified Civil Service, merging therein all Central (both technical and non-technical) and All India Services, allowing vertical and horizontal movement ? Or should there be two distinct
streams, one embracing all the technical services and the other for non-technical services?
Civil Service should be abolished. Suitable candidates must be taken after interviews. They should be graduates and when they join at lower level should not be more than 24 years old.
6.2 Do you feel that the pattern of pay scales for all Group A Services should be redesignated so as to attract candidates of the requisite caliber? Keeping in view some of the compensation packages being offered to fresh professionals by the private sector, what emoluments would you suggest for an entrant to a Group-A Service in Government?
No need to redesignate. Private Sector has ups and downs. When there are downs public sector employees don’t talk of reduction in salaries.

7. Professional personnel

7.1 Should there be a higher compensation package for scientists in certain specialized streams/departments like Department of Space, Department of Atomic Energy? If so, what should be the reasonable package in their case?
It is not known how much they are paid. So no comments. However Government should not employ scientists on large scale. When satellites fail there is loss of lot of money. We should find alternatives for Atomic Energy. Blasts in nuclear reactors are dangerous and consequences last for decades.

8. Classification of posts

8.1 Presently, civilian posts in the Central Government are classified into four Groups (‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ & ‘D’) with reference to their scales of pay. The Fifth Central Pay Commission had recommended their reclassification into Executive, Supervisory, Supporting and Auxiliary Staff. Would you suggest any changes in the existing classification or should the classification recommended by Fifth Central Pay Commission be adopted with/without modifications?
Reclassification is cosmetic. It does not serve any purpose. It is like calling call centre employees customer care executives.

9. Restructuring of Group ‘C’ & ‘D’ posts

9.1 Should all lower Group ‘C’ functionaries in the Secretariat be replaced by multi-functional Executive Assistants, who would be graduates and well versed in office work, secretarial skills and use of modern office equipment including computers? Should Similar arrangements can be evolved for Group ‘C’ posts in other organisations of Government?
Yes.
9.2 Should a similar regrouping of Group D staff into fewer categories capable of performing diverse functions also be carried out?
Yes.

10. Pay Scales

10.1 How should a pay scale be structured? What is a reasonable ratio between the minimum and maximum of a pay scale?
Pay Scale should be consolidated and should not have Basic, DA and HRA divisions and PF and ESIC deductions. Minimum should be one fourth of the maximum. Maximum salary is when the person retires. Minimum should be the starting scale. If the person’s salary begins with Rs.10,000/- when he joins, when he retires after full years of service it should not be more than Rs.40,000/-.

10.2 The successive Pay Commissions have progressively reduced the number of distinct pay scales. The number of scales has therefore come down from more than 500 scales at the time of the Second Central Pay Commission to 51 scales before Fifth Central Pay Commission, which was brought down to 33 scales by the Fifth Central Pay Commission. The reduction in the number of pay scales brings in attendant problems like the promotion and the feeder grades coming to lie in the same pay scale, etc. Do you feel whether the existing number of pay scales should be retained or increased or decreased or whether the same should be replaced by a running pay scale?

11. Increments

11.1 What should be the criteria for determining the rates and frequency of increments in respect of different scales of pay? Should these bear a uniform or varying relationship with the minima and/or maxima of the scales?
Increment should be after completion of each year of service. It should be 10% of starting salary.

12. Revision of pay scales

12.1 Is there any need to revise the pay scales periodically especially when 100% neutralization for inflation is available in form of dearness allowance?
No need to revise the pay scales periodically.
12.2 How should pay be fixed in the revised pay scales? Should there be a point-to-point fixation? If not, please suggest a method by which it can be ensured that senior personnel are not placed at a disadvantage vis-à-vis their juniors and due weightage is given for the longer service rendered by the former.

13. Compensatory Allowances

13.1 Is City Compensatory Allowance a sufficient compensation for the problems of a large city? If DA and HRA provide full neutralization, do you think CCA should continue? Is there a need for changing the basis of classification of cities and the rates of CCA? If so, please suggest the revised basis and rates.
If DA and HRA provide full neutralization, CCA should not continue.

14. Pay and perquisites for Armed Forces

14.1 What should be the basis for determination of pay scales for Armed Forces Personnel? What percentage weightage should be assigned to (i) parity with civil services, (ii) comparison with private sector, (iii) special and hazardous nature of duties, (iv) short career span and (v) restricted rights?
There is no comparison of Armed Forces Personnel with other services. Armed Forces Personnel are required to defend the country. They can kill and get killed.
14.2 How should the pay of a soldier, sailor and airman be determined? How should it relate to the minimum wage in Government and the pay of a constable in paramilitary or internal security forces?
The pay of a soldier, sailor and airman should be determined according to the nature of duties. It should not relate to the minimum wage in Government and the pay of a constable in paramilitary or internal security forces. The number of soldiers needs to be reduced. Soldiers should have armours, helmets, visors, gloves, pads etc that are bullet proof.

15. Abolition of feudalism

15.1 Should all vestiges of feudalism in the country like huge residential bungalows sprawling over several acres, large number of servants’ quarters, retinues of personal staff, bungalow peons, use of uniformed personnel as batmen or on unnecessary security or ceremonial duties etc. be abolished? Please make concrete suggestions.
Yes. Officers and higher ranked civil servants must be provided flats. In places where flats can not be provided. single houses can be provided, but no servants, peons etc. The bungalows can be sold and Government can make lot of money.

16. Specific proposals

16.1 In what manner can Central Government organizations functioning be improved to make them more professional, citizen-friendly and delivery oriented?
Automation and computerization will improve the functioning of Central Government organizations.
16.2 Please outline specific proposals, which could result in:

(i) Reduction and redeployment of staff,
(ii) Reduction of paper work,
(iii) Better work environment,
(iv) Economy in expenditure,
(v) Professionalisation of services,
(vi) Reduction in litigation on service matters,
(vii) Better delivery of service by government agencies to their users.

Automation and computerization will result in the above. There should be disciplinary action against civil servants who are not doing their duty.

17. New concepts

17.1 Do you think the concepts of contractual appointment, part-time work, flexible job description, flexi time etc. need to be introduced in Government to change the environment, provide more jobs and impart flexibility to the working conditions of employees?
Contractual appointment can be tried. Government offices should have fixed time and there can not be flexi time.
17.2 For improving punctuality/introducing new concepts like flexi time, should biometric entry/exit be introduced?
Yes.
17.3 What steps should be taken to ensure that scientists, doctors, engineers and other professionals with sophisticated education and skills are retained in their specialized fields in Government? Should they be appointed on contract with a higher status and initial pay, advance increments, better service conditions, etc.?
The performance of professionals in many fields in pathetic. After many years of effort and thousands of crores of rupees our Defence Forces do not have Light Combat Aircraft, Main Battle Tank and suitable missiles. Institutions like Defence Research and Development Organization must be wound up.
17.4 Should there be lateral movement from Government to non-Government jobs and vice versa? If so, in which sphere(s) and to what extent ?
No.

17.5 It has been suggested that existing Government employees should be encouraged to shift to employment on contract for specified periods in return for a substantially higher remuneration package. Would you agree?
No.

18. Performance Appraisal

18.1 In what way should be present system of performance appraisal be changed? Should be ACR be an open document?
The ACR should be shown to the person about whom it is written.
18.2 How far has the introduction of self-assessment helped in the process of appraisal?
Self-assessment is of no use.
18.3 Should appraisal be done for an entire team instead of for individuals?
No.
18.4 In what manner can Government employees be made personally accountable for their acts of omission or commission, without any special safeguards? Would you recommend any amendments to Article 311 of the Constitution, Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 17 and 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and various rules relating to conduct of Government servants and disciplinary proceedings?
`Interest of the security of the State’ should not be a reason for not holding an inquiry.

19. Holidays

19.1 Kindly comment on the appropriateness of adopting a five-day week in Government offices when other sectors follow a six day week. Please also state whether the number of Gazetted holidays in Government offices should be reduced? Please also comment on the appropriateness of declaring Gazetted holidays for all major religious festivals.
Government offices must follow a six day week. Number of Gazetted holidays should not be more than 12 per year. Gandhi Jayanti and Ambedkar Jayanti should not be holidays. Total number of holidays including earned/privilege leave, sick leave, casual leave, Gazetted holidays and restricted holidays should not be more than 60 days per year.
19.2 What do you think is the state of work ethics and punctuality in Government offices? Kindly suggest ways of improving these.
Those who do not do the work must be punished. There must be punch card system for punctuality.

VIOLENT PROTESTS

2006-12-03T21:32:00.000-08:00

India witnesses protests at various times at different places. Some of them are violent and result in death and injury to people and damage to property. In a democracy people have a right to protest peacefully. There is no right to cause hardships and damage property.

On 30/11/2006 Deccan Queen was burnt. One local train was burnt. Many buses were damaged. The protests in Maharashtra were against the desecration of a statue of Ambedkar in Kanpur.

Riots can be contained soon if the police are impartial and are allowed to do their job. Sometimes police take sides. Sometimes there is political interference. A few times police do their job there are inquiry commissions. Competent and dutiful persons are punished with suspension and transfer.

Those who stop, burn, destroy and damage trains, buses, cars, trucks and other vehicles must be made to pay for the loss they cause. The cost of damage must include the cost of the vehicle and loss caused due to inability to work. Those who destroy and loot houses, shops etc must pay for their acts. Those who commit murder must be put to death.

Sometimes protests take the form of riots. Rarely a person is punished for the crimes committed during riots. 1984 Delhi riots, 1992-93 Bombay riots and 2002 Gujarat riots are examples of these.

Bandhs are imposed on people. After Bombay High Court fined Shiv Sena and BJP Rs.20 lakhs each they have officially not called any bandh. When Meenatai Thackeray’s statue was desecrated on 9/7/2006 there was unofficial bandh from Shiv Sena.

A beginning must be made. Guilty must be punished.

CASTE SYSTEM IS A CANCER

2006-11-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

Caste system is a cancer. It needs to be got rid of. It has damaged Hindu community. With spread of education and urbanization caste system should have disappeared. Reservations based on caste kept the caste identity going.

It was wrong to have reservations. The constitution of India proposed reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for 10 years. They would have lapsed on 26/10/1960. They have been extended every ten years. Many other castes got reservations as socially and educationally backward classes due to an amendment to the Constitution.

Hinduism is the only religion to have caste system. Reservations to Scheduled Castes should have been confined to Hindus. They were extended to Sikhs and later on to Buddhists. Now there is a demand to include Muslims.

There are attempts to introduce reservations in places, which were so far exempt from reservations like IIMs, IITs, security forces and judiciary. This should be resisted. Some want to introduce reservations in private sector. Private sector people should reject the proposal.

Hindus thought in caste terms rather than as Indians. For people of many castes it did not matter who ruled. This facilitated aggressors who conquered India. Arabs, Turks and Mughals conquered Indian territories. Later British conquered India with the help of Indians. Even during the heyday of British Empire the number of British in India was not more than 2,00,000. This included women and children. British India included Burma, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Penang, Singapore and Aden.

Caste system should be abolished. Otherwise it will fragment all communities in India and destroy the country.

THOUGHTS ON 24/11/2006

2006-11-23T23:07:00.000-08:00

Christianity and Islam do not have caste system. Christians and Muslims who practise caste system go against their religions. In Christianity all are children of God. In Islam all are slaves of God.

India should not interfere in Sri Lanka. LTTE wants independent Tamil Eelam. Sri Lanka is opposed to it. No compromise is possible. Peace efforts are bound to fail. Humanitarian crisis is not the reason for interference. It is for the UN to interfere.

The situation in Iraq is getting worse by the day. The earlier the US led forces get out the better for them.

Barbara Bush’s purse and mobile phone were stolen in a restaurant in Buenos Aires in spite of the presence of secret service agents. What type of security the agents provide?

India were all out for 91 in 29.1 overs against S. Africa in Durban ODI and lost by 157 runs. Our batting is not good enough.

Pope Benedict XVI referred to St. Thomas as Apostle and not Apostle of India. He said St. Thomas preached Christianity in Western India. This has created a stir in Kerala where many Christians claim they are descendants of people who were converted by St. Thomas.

The resurgence of Taliban raises several questions. What was NATO doing? How Taliban got support in Pakistan? Why democracy has not become strong in Afghanistan?

In Bombay accidents take place and people who sleep on pavements die or get injured. Driving without observing speed limits and traffic rules can result in death and injury. Drunken driving is dangerous. Law regarding permits for drinking is not enforced. Legal age for drinking is 25 or 26 and it should not reduced. Pavements are not for sleeping. Contractors should not bring labourers from distant places and put them on pavements. Bombay Archdiocese should let law take its course. Getting involved in cases will divert its energies from its missions.

REPEAL TELEVISION NETWORKS (REGULATION) ACT 1995

2006-11-09T00:35:00.000-08:00

Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 must be repealed. The Act makes it an offence to air `A’ certified films. The implications of the Act are felt now. The Act is oppressive and reminds of Taliban regime.

Since the end of August 2006 there is no telecast of HBO and Star Movies in Bombay and suburbs and decoders of these channels were seized by Bombay Police. There was not much to watch in those channels as they cut scenes. Sometimes the film did not make sense due to editing. Gia on HBO and Unfaithful on Star Movies are examples.

Adult films without cuts, darkening, morphing or alteration must be allowed on free to air channels between 11.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m. and on pay channels at any time.

Those who do not like adult films are free not to watch them.

FIVE POINTS

2006-11-01T03:34:00.000-08:00

USA and judicial encroachment

Judiciary is USA is going beyond its powers and encroaching powers of legislature. Massachusetts Supreme Court allowed gay marriages. The Supreme Court of New Jersey has ordered the Legislature of the state to amend laws within six months to allow same sex marriages. This is crossing the limit.

Many gay marriages that have taken place will end in divorce. It remains to be seen how courts will deal with disputes. USA Constitutions should have an article that states marriage is a union of a man and a woman for mutual love and procreation and education of children.

USA should have retirement age for Federal and State Supreme Court judges. There should be a provision for removal of judges by two-thirds majority of Legislature.

USA judges who dealt with Terry Schiavo case are responsible for the death of Terry Schiavo. Her right to life was violated. It was judicial murder. The self styled human rights groups who make lot of noise when murderers get death penalty were silent when Terry Schiavo was started to death.

Corrupt judges were there in all ages. Jesus spoke of such a judge in one of his parables. The story of Susannah mentioned two corrupt judges who threatened women and had sex with them. Susannah did not yield to their demand. She would have been put to death but for the intervention of Daniel. Protestant Bibles do not have this chapter as they consider it apocrypha.

USA and housing demand

Housing demand in USA has decreased and is the lowest in 35 years. It is the immigrants who were driving up the demand. Illegal immigrants outnumbered legal immigrants. Many entered as legal immigrants and stayed beyond the stipulated period. Other illegal immigrants entered USA illegally.

Crackdown on illegal immigrants stemmed their arrival. This resulted in decline in housing demand and of economy. There will be job losses for Americans and less value for existing homes. This will have a cascading effect on economies of other countries. Immigrants had a major role in the growth of US economy.

The birth rate of US local population is below replacement level. Decline in population leads to decline in economy. Australia, Singapore, Japan, Singapore, France, Germany, Italy and some other countries want to increase their population.

If USA wants its economy to grow or remain stable it has two options. First is to encourage couples to have more children. Second is to allow more immigrants. The present limit of 20,000 persons per country needs to be relaxed. This has to be 10,00,000 for Mexico, 5,00,000 for Brazil and 1,00,000 for other Latin American countries, India and China. Then there will be more demand for housing in USA.

TV viewing

TV viewing since the end of September has become more dull. There was crackdown on cable operators. Telecast of HBO and Star Movies stopped. Not that they were interesting. They cut scenes and sometimes it became difficult to understand the film. Telecast of English films on cable channels stopped. Zee Studio carries the disclaimer that movies are suitably modified for family viewing which means scenes are cut. FTV’s midnight hot turned cold.

History channel shows jumbo movies on Saturdays and Sundays which have more fiction than fact. It seems some scenes are cut. On week days it is mostly repetition of what is shown before.

CNN has coverage of Iraq on a daily basis. For two Saturdays NDTV 24x7 did not have Big Fight. I do not know whether it is dropped.

How dance competitions become news defies imagination. Besides there is lot of rigging and manipulation in these competitions. One choreographer bought 200 SIM cards and distributed to persons known to her for voting for the pair she trained. Three of these were used by a man to send lewd messages to his wife who complained to the police and this matter came to light.

There is lot of coverage of films in news bulletins. This should be shown in a separate section for entertainment.

In spite of reduction in TV viewing cable operator continues to charge Rs.275/- p.m.

Islam and veil

There is a controversy about Muslim women wearing veil. Does banning of veil mean curtailing freedom of religion? There is no obligation for Muslim women to cover their faces. In the firm Nikah, which deals with divorce in Islam, no woman covers her face.

If a Muslim woman is in a profession that requires showing her face she has to do it or lose the job. A British Muslim teacher was sacked for covering face in the classroom.

A Muslim woman covering her face and sitting at home or moving around among her family members does not create a problem. A Muslim woman who is a teacher covering her face creates a problem. Jack Straw is right in refusing to talk to anyone who covers her face.

Besides security concerns demand that people are checked when necessary. If the face is covered the identity of the person is not known. A man can cover his face. In Bombay there were serial train blasts on the evening of 11/7/2006 and on 12/7/2006 one man was found wearing a burkha and talking on mobile phone. He was arrested. He said he was talking to his girlfriend. A terrorist could have got in and created havoc.

Blind imitation

Some journalists and newspapers have started to refer to fathers as Srs and sons as Jrs. In the West it is normal practice to give father’s name to eldest son and mother’s name to eldest daughter. Father is referred to as Sr and eldest son is referred to as Jr. If there are three generations of men with the same name, man of first generation is called I, man of second generation is II and man of third generation is III.

In India sons are not named after their fathers and hence it is incorrect to call father Sr and son Jr. Bal Thackeray is not Thackeray Sr and Uddhav Thackeray is not Thackeray Jr. Similarly Feroz Khan is not Khan Sr and Fardeen Khan is not Khan Jr.

ADOPTIONS

2006-10-27T01:52:00.000-07:00

My views about adoptions are as below:

Adoption is an act by which a person takes another person as his or her child. Various types of adoptions take place. Some are proper. Others are not proper.

In India legally Hindus can adopt. Muslims and Christians can not adopt. They can be guardians.

Who can adopt?

Married couples or adults who are advanced in age and do not have children or other descendants and are unable to have children can adopt. Any couple or person who has even one child should not adopt.

It is ridiculous for a man to adopt his grandson as son.

Who can be adopted?

Minor orphans can be adopted. Majors and relatives should not be adopted.

Hollywood actresses are making news for adoptions. Sometimes I wonder whether they make up for the abortions they had.

IMRANA GETS JUSTICE

2006-10-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

On 19/10/2006 District Court of Muzaffarnagar found Imrana’s father-in-law guilty of rape of Imrana and sentenced him to 10 years rigorous imprisonment. She was raped in June 2005. A fatwa from Deoband declared that since there was sexual relationship her father-in-law becomes her husband and her husband her son. Politicians were not ready to speak against the fatwa. Mulayam Singh Yadav, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, said mullas may have given the fatwa after thinking. Some said the fatwa is as per one school of Islamic jurisprudence out of four. Imrana’s villagers sided with her father-in-law. She left the village and returned to her maternal home. Some women’s organizations lent her support. She pursued her case. She won.

The punishment of 10 years rigorous imprisonment is not adequate. It should have been life imprisonment. He should not be let off before completion of his term.

There should be some law against such bizarre fatwas. Such people should be put behind bars. There should be tough action against panchayats which punish people for doing something legal like love marriage or inter-caste marriage.

REMOVAL OF RACKS

2006-10-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

Railways have started removal of racks from trains. This will cause inconvenience to commuters. Once in a way terrorists using racks for keeping bags containing bombs is not a proper reason for removal of racks. Terrorists can strike anytime anywhere and there is no protection against suicide bombers. Swift justice will deter other terrorists. If the trial takes several years terrorists lose fear. They can escape from jails or there can be hijackings or kidnappings for their release.

Local trains are crowded during peak hours and it is difficult even to stand. Holding luggage during that time makes it more difficult for people and will deprive space for some commuters. Or bags and briefcases will have to kept under seats.

Lot of police personnel are deployed at railways stations after the train blasts. This needs to be reduced. There is no point in checking the people who are leaving. People who enter are to be checked.

Readers can send their comments to vincentaugustinedsouza@gmail.com.

SHARMILA TAGORE AND FILMS

2006-09-11T01:42:00.000-07:00

Indian Express dt. 10/9/2006 carried a news item “Censor Board for `A+’ and `X’ rating, says no to porn films”. This was about Sharmila Tagore’s interview to Karan Thapar on CNN IBN. Censor Board was for `A+’ or `X’ rating said the first paragraph. It is not clear the rating is one or there are two ratings.

Sharmila Tagore was for new rating to permit explicit language or scenes. I suggest change of guidelines to allow such things in `A’ films. There is no need for another rating.

About permitting pornographic films she said, “No. I wouldn’t endorse that. I don’t think society or the Indian people are ready for it. There’s a cultural difference between India and rest of the world.”

I do not know where all pornographic films are allowed and under what conditions. In some parts of USA they are allowed. They are mostly boring. However the reason given for not allowing pornographic films is not right. By rest of the world Sharmila Tagore means the West. Culture in large parts of Asia and Africa is not much different from that of India. The difference between India and the West is of hypocricy. The number of DVDs of pornographic films sold is one indication of widespread viewing of them. Access of porn sites on Internet is another indication.

I welcome her proposal for allowing telecast of adult films on TV at certain times. She has said the adult films could be safely shown between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. She does not make any distinction beween free to air channels and pay channels. Free to air channels should be free to air adult films in full without any cuts, morphing, darkening or alteration between 11.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. and pay channels any time. Some countries allow adult films from 9 p.m. onwards. Besides cable TV there is DTH which will grow and CAS which will be mandatory in Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi by 31/12/2006. In Madras CAS became mandatory long back. It resulted in people not opting for pay channels. Consequently pay channels became free to air channels and people of Madras benefited. Those who opposed CAS in Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi caused a great loss to people. Shame on them.

THOUGHTS ON 8/9/2006

2006-09-08T04:03:00.000-07:00

Events in Jharkhand show once again why we need Presidential System. An independent member becoming the Chief Minister is a joke.

Haj subsidy should go and Muslims should be free to go on Haj by any airline. Air India’s air fare for Haj was Rs.32,000/- and pilgrims were required to pay Rs.12,000/-. Every pilgrim got a subsidy of Rs.20,000/-. Pilgrims should be free to travel by other airlines if they want. If they are able to travel for less than Rs.32,000/- it is better for them. There should be no subsidy for pilgrimages of any religion.

China has drought. India has floods. Barmer which had drought for six years had flood. London’s tempetature was higher than of Delhi.

Today (8/9/2006) (Eighth September 2006) is the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady. This feast is celebrated by Catholics in Mangalore. Schools have holidays. It used to be a harvest festival with vegetarian meals. Some families have made it non-vegetarian.

I receive many messages by E-Mail which are multiply forwarded. Two messages were so big that they went into spam. It takes a long time to go through the list of forwarders and reach the message.

TUESDAY THE 11TH TERRORISTS STRIKE

2006-08-18T00:24:00.000-07:00

On 11/9/2001 terrorists hijacked four aeroplanes in USA. Three were used as missiles. One crashed. Around 3000 people died. It was Tuesday.

On 11/3/2004 there were blasts in trains in Madrid. Around 200 people died. It was Tuesday.

On 11/7/2006 there were blasts in trains in Bombay. Around 200 people died. As per Indian Express the number is 187. It was Tuesday.

Tuesday the 11th seems to be the favourite for some terrorists. Who are they? Why Tuesday the 11th ? I have no answer. Can someone tell?

THOUGHTS ON INDIA’S 59TH INDEPENDENCE DAY

2006-08-13T22:38:00.000-07:00

This year on 15th August India completes 59 years of independence. We have achieved a lot in some fields and in some fields we have failed. We could have done better. To do better we need to change.

1) We should have Presidentail System of Government. Parliamentary System works when there is two party system. We have multi-party system and coalition governments which results in large cabinets and weak governments. Governments do not complete five year term. Presidentail System gives stability and the government need not worry about losing majority.
2) We should do away with socialism. In the last 15 years the country has become less socialistic. Whatever remains of socialism should be done away soon.
3) We should abolish the following:
a) The Council of States i.e., the Rajya Sabha
b) Legislative Councils
c) Planning Commission
d) Animal Wlelfare Board
e) Subsidies
f) Pension to MPs, MLAs and MLCs
g) Pension to freedom fighters. It is 59 years since independence and it is unlikely that any freedom fighter survives today. Many people have falsely claimed pension.
h) Reservations to SCs, STs, OBCs and such groups.
i) Reservations to women in panchayats and urban bodies.
j) Besides these there are many other things I want abolished.
4) We should move towards taxless system.
5) Population is not a problem. Money should not be spent on population control. Australia, Japan, Singapore, S. Korea and many European countries want to increase their population.
6) We should have Uniform Civil Code.
7) Persons having more than one spouse or those who have knowing married married persons should be disqualified from becoming MPs or MLAs.
8) Diu and Daman be merged with Gujarat. Dadra and Nagar Haveli be merged with Maharashtra or Gujarat.
9) Pondicherry and Karaikal be merged with Tamil Nadu, Mahe with Kerala and Yanam with Andhra Pradesh.
10) Chandigarh should be the capital of Punjab.
11) Delhi should be part and capital of Haryana
12) Right to Property should be a fundamental right.
13) Unnecessary organizations should be abolished.
14) There should be no condonation in delay against appeals. When courts give judgments they give time for appeal. Many times people appeal after that time is over and delays upto 100 and sometimes delays with longer duration are condoned. This should stop.
15) We should revert to names like Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Connaught Place, Connaught Circus, Victoria Terminus, Prince of Wales Museum, Warden Road etc.
16) Telecast of lottery should be banned.
17) Evershine City must be made the capital of India.
18) Glorification of crime and criminals should be forbidden.
19) Marrying while being marked and marrying a married persons knowingly should have punishment of at least 10 years imprisonment.
20) Conducting marriages of underage people should have punishment of at least 10 years imprisonment.
21) Inflation should be zero.
22) Rupee should be the strongest currency in the world. In 45 days it should be equal to USD, in 56 days to Euro, in 75 days to GBP and 152 days to Kuwaiti Dinar. Thereafter it will be the strongest currency in the world.
23) CBFC guidelines should be revised. Scenes of smoking should not be allowed. Scenes of nudity should be allowed without cuts, morphing, darkering or alteration in adult films. There should be no glorification of crime and criminals.
24) Free to air channels should be free to air adult films in full without any cuts, morphing, darkening or alteration between 11.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. and pay channels any time. If scenes of nudity and sex are cut from adult films they are `U’ films and there is no point in restricting them between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. It is ridiculous to say a film certified `A’ for exhibition in theatres needs a separate certificate for telecast. TV channels should be free to show any adult film.
25) There shall be no surrender to terrorists. Terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir got a boost after the “kidnapping” of Rubiya Sayeed. The country shamelessly surrendered and five terrorists were released for her release. Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was the Home Minister of India. Rubiya did not make any public statement. The country has a right to know what happened. Subsequent details that have emerged show that one mediator was hand in gloves with terrorists. The mediator and his associates should be charged with treason. The release also put pressure on the government at the time of Kandahar hijacking. “If five terrorists could be released for one, why not release three terrorists for 155?” was the argument. One of the released terrorists later on carried on the blast of & K Assembly building which resulted in 41 deaths. The deaths casued by the three terrorists are likely to many times more than 155. When any hijacked plane lands in India its tyres should be immediately punctured.
26) For every person murdered there should be death penalty After restricting death penalty to rarest of rare cases murderers started to kill openly. All those who were awarded life imprisonment and let off after some years must be rearrested and put in prison till death. Those who had killed two or more persons should be put to death.

When the above suggestions are implemented India will be a strong country. I hope we will achieve these within one year.

THOUGHTS ON 5/8/2006

2006-08-05T03:36:00.000-07:00

It is not right to extend censorship on TV. Some people find something offensive is not the reason to extend censorship. Kaanta Lagaa offended some people but people who liked it were much more. It topped the charts for six months. Some of the songs, which some people wanted, banned were very popular. In India too many people and institutions exercise censorship. CBFC should be the only authority. Once it certifies a film there should be no ban on it anywhere in the country. Somebody or the other finds something offensive and if everyone’s wish is taken into consideration no film could be made. Taliban had banned films and TV in Afghanistan. The duty of the state government is to uphold law and order. Suicide is a crime. If anyone commits suicide in protest against the showing of any film he is a criminal and does not deserve any sympathy. If any state government rewards any such person it goes against the constitution and should be dismissed.

The end of the world is a fascinating subject. Since the time of Christ people have wondered about the end. When a person dies the world ends for him or her. The sum of the matter is constant. Signs like war and earthquake can be applied to any age.

Election Commission had more than four months time to decide about disqualification cases. First it did nothing when the Parliament passed Office of Profit Bill. Second it did nothing when the President returned the bill for reconsideration of the Parliament. Meanwhile one Chief Election Commissioner retired and another person became Chief Election Commissioner. There must be some punishment for dereliction of duty even when the person ceases to hold office.

INDIAN ECONOMY

2006-08-02T03:21:00.000-07:00

I read about the booming economy of India. Sensex may have gone up. Salaries of some people may have doubled or trebled. For me it is not a happy situation. Three years have seen rise in prices.

2003 2006
Bread 8.00 10.00
Milk (half litre packet) 7.50 9.00
Bus fare (from EC to Vasai Road Station) 4.00 5.00
Auto fare (from EC to Vasai Road Station) 4.00 6.00
Cable subscription (p.m.) 200.00 275.00

Similarly prices of fruits and vegetables have gone up with seasonal variations.

My salary has not gone up in proportion to rising prices. When inflation is taken into account the increment at the most just covers up additional amount spent. In these three years my salary increased by 23%.

Transport is difficult. Quadruplication of tracks between Vasai Road and Borivali has not taken place. Quadruplication of tracks between Vasai Road and Virar was over in June 2004. Since then not even quadruplication of tracks between Vasai Road and Naigaum is over. At one time the 8.20 local leaving Vasai Road to Churchgate used to come at 8 o’clock. In March 2006 8.07 local to Borivali was introduced. After that 8.20 local comes after 8.07 local leaves, which is very often later than 8.06, and crowds grow bigger and difficult to get a seat. In the rush people fall. On 14.6.2006 when 8.20 local came the door was closed. I was standing at the platform. Someone fell before me. Another person fell on me. I had a fracture. It resulted in pain, I had to take leave and spend money on medicine. Though the fracture was not healed doctor said I could attend office and I resumed on 11/7/2006. I expect to be fit by 14/9/2006.

Many farmers have committed suicides. Announcing compensation for their families is neither right nor a solution. Suicide is a crime. Crime should not be rewarded. I read or heard somewhere on TV that suicides have increased because families get compensation.

Our country has imported wheat. What happened to 60 millions of foodgrains in godowns which we had some years back? How did such a huge stock disappear?

When sensex crashes there is lot of hue and cry though sensex has nothing to do economy. TV channels and newspapers cover it extensively. The coverage is out of proportion.

Indian economy will boom when prices remain stable, travel is easy. Now the economy of only some Indians booms.

CONDITIONAL ACCESS SYSTEM

2006-07-21T02:03:00.000-07:00

Conditional Access System (CAS) is a good thing. It should have been implemented in Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi and Madras in 2003. It was implemented in Madras. In other cities it was not implemented due to opposition from some people.

Pay channels take consumers for granted in cable system. After ESPN and Star Sports joined together they charge as they like. Whenever there is sports event a new channel bags the rights and they charge for telecast. For 2006 Football World Cup Ten Sports bagged the rights. For a cricket tour in 2006 Sahara Plus bagged the right and became pay channel. People have to pay whether they watch the channels or not.

In Madras consumers have benefited. After introduction of CAS people did not want pay channels. Pay channels became free to air channels. People had to pay less.

In other cities cable subscription charges have gone up. Did the people who opposed CAS want the consumers to benefit or owners of pay channels? In Evershine City charges went up from Rs.200/- to Rs.250/- to Rs.275/-. That is the experience of other places. Why people have to pay charges for the channels they do not want? Delhi High Court has ordered the implementation of CAS in Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi by 31/12/2006. In other parts of India it should be implemented by 31/12/2007.

Direct to Home (DTH) is there. It has not made much headway. Zee and DD have DTH. Star and some other networks do not have DTH.

There should be paper view option in CAS and DTH. People pay for the particular programmes they want to watch.

THOUGHTS ON 9/6/2006

2006-06-08T23:58:00.000-07:00

The Government of India proposes some changes in rape laws. They include having a woman judge, woman prosecutor and a woman police officer for rape cases. This may not help and be counter-productive. In Bombay, judge Laxmi Rao, a woman judge, punished a woman judge for rape for having sex with a minor though there is no provision for punishing a woman for rape, and let off men convicted of rape lightly. One was just sentenced to imprisonment till the sitting of the court on that day. There was an outcry against her judgments and she was transferred.

Sensex has come below 10000. Some months back when it reached 7000 some analysts had warned about the dangers. There was a debate on Big Fight on NDTV 24x7. One person said we have to be cautious. Another person was euphoric. He said it would reach 25000. Sensex crossed 12000 and was very close to 13000 and then the decline began. FIIs were responsible for the boom and the doom.

Blasphemy Law is not desirable. Christians sentenced to death in Pakistan.

Films certified by CBFC should not be banned. Scenes should not be cut in adult films shown on television.

Rahul is an independent candidate for Rajya Sabha supported by the BJP. They wanted Rahul Mahajan. That did not happen. They support Rahul Bajaj. The name is same though the surname is different.

Marriage is a union of a man and a woman. Judges in USA have crossed their limits in allowing same sex marriages and then striking down laws that define marriage as a union of a man and a woman. USA should have retirement age for judges. In Terry Schiavo case members of Congress assembled on a Sunday and passed a law to save her life. Yet first one judge and then other judges did not allow her to live. It was murder. The judges who did not allow her to live must be tried for murder and sentenced to death.

WISDEN CRICKETER’S ALMANAC 2006

2006-06-03T01:25:00.000-07:00

I want to buy a copy of Wisden Cricketer’s Almanac 2006. It is for my brother in Dubai. On New Year’s Day he told me to buy Wisen Almanac 2005 or 2006. I asked some people in my office. One person told there was a book fair at Cross Maidan. That evening I went there. At one stall one woman said the book was available. She gave me their card. Next afternoon I rang up. She told me Wisden Almanac 2005 is available. Wisden Almanac 2006 will be available in15 to 20 days. I decided to wait.

After about 45 days I rang up. I was told the book was available. Then I was told it would arrive that day. After two days the reply was the same.

Somewhere around April 14 there was a news item on TV that Wisden Cricketer’s Almanac 2006 has been released. After that I tried several book shops but it was not available anywhere.

If you know where it is available in Bombay please let me know.

My E-Mail Ids:

vincentaugustined@yahoo.com
vincentaugustinedsouza@gmail.com

Thank you.

EVERSHINE CITY AS THE CAPITAL OF INDIA

2006-05-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

Evershine City is the right place to be the capital of India. It is one mile away on the eastern side from Vasai Road railway station. It takes 25 minutes by train from Borivali to Vasai Road.

Delhi was not always the capital of India. Pataliputra was the capital of Magadha Empire. No dynasty ruled from Delhi for a long time. From 1206 to 1526 Slave, Khilji, Tughlak and Lodhi dynasties ruled from Delhi. Babur founded the Mughal Empire in 1526. Humayun succeeded in 1530. Sher Khan defeated him in 1540. Humayun returned in1555 and died in 1556. Akbar tried Fatehpur Sikri as capital and later made Agra the capital of Mughal Empire. Shah Jahan made Delhi his capital. He was overthrown in 1558 and spent last eight years of his life as a prisoner in Agra Fort. The Muhal Empire disintegrated after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. The British Empire in India began with Calcutta as its capital. Simla was the summer capital. Freedom Movement in Bengal made the British to shift their capital to Delhi. The announcement was made in 1911. New Delhi was built. The Governor General shifted to Delhi in 1931. In 1932 Aden was separated from India. In 1937 Burma was separated from India. In 1947 British rule in India came to an end and Pakistan was separated from India.

Today India faces separatist movements in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura. Naxals hold sway over large parts of territories in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Making Evershine City the capital of India can reverse the trend of disingration. The bungalows and flats of MPs in Delhi can be sold for large sums and flats in Evershine City can be acquired for comparatively low sums. The Government will make lot of money. During winter there is fog in Delhi and flight and train schedules are affected. Headquarters of many Central Government institutions are in Bombay.

JURY SYSTEM

2006-05-18T01:57:00.000-07:00

Zaccharias Moussavi trial shows how one juror can make the system ineffective. The juror opposed death penalty and did not assign any reason. Hence Zaccharias Moussavi was sentenced to life.

There is one film in which Demi Moore acts the role of a juror. A criminal is on trial. William Baldwin acts the role of an associate of the criminal. William Baldwin befriends Demi Moore and later threatens her in taking the side of the criminal. Demi Moore wants to opt out of the jury. She approached the judge. The judge tells her he had warned her and whatever she has to say has to be in the presence of defence and prosecution lawyers. Demi Moore is not ready for that. She follows instructions of Alec Baldwin. She is asked to carry a devise which enables William Baldwin to hear jury deliberations. Demi Moore convinces most of her colleagues that the criminal is innocent and the criminal is acquitted.

Zaccharias Moussavi case also may have suffered due to the juror who was threatened.

Rodney King episode shocked USA and led to riots. Blacks could not believe that the found the policemen who hit Rodney King not guilty. Later some blacks who hit a white man in a similar manner were aquitted by jury.

It is good to discard jury system. If USA, UK and other countries want to continue with the jury system the rules must change.

The jury decision should be by majority. It need not be by unanimity even if the punishment is death penalty. If the jury can not decide, the judge should decide.

The jurors should be free to decide as per law. They should not be restricted. In Rodney King case the jurors were asked to identify which act of the police was excessive force. Breaking down the act into 56 parts and asking which part was excessive force was wrong.

To be a juror for several days the person has to be rich or self-employed or unemployed or must take leave from job. One who has to attend to his business or work regularly can not be a juror.

In one case, murder of child of Eappen couple, jury reached the decision that Louise Brown was guilty of second degree murder. BBC threw objectivity to the wind and sided with Louise Brown stating she could not have committed the murder. They did not know how difficult it is to control a crying baby. Judge overruled jury and Louise Brown was allowed to walk free.

ASSUMPTIONS OF TITLES

2006-05-15T02:05:00.000-07:00

For a long time monarchy was universal. Over the last 250 years many countries have abolished monarchy and the titles of monarchs are not used.

This year Pope Benedict XVI gave up the title of Patriach of the West. Annuario Pontificio 2006 did not mention it. I had written to the Pope to assume it again but the Pope has not done so.

I assume the following titles:

1) King of Konkan
2) Patriarch of the West
3) Czar of Russia. Russia includes territories under Czars.
4) Kaiser of Germany.
5) Emperor of India, China, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Mexico and Austria. India includes territories that were part of Mauryan and Mughal Empires, British India and princely states.
6) High King of Ireland
7) King of Portugal, Italy, Iceland, Poland, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Lybia, Brazil and other countries. Other countries include all countries without monarchy. If a country has monarchy now and it is abolished in future the title of King of that country will be added to the list.

MINORITY STATUS

2006-05-11T23:58:00.000-07:00

Jains are a minority. Recognising them as a minority by the Government of India is right. In India Hindus are a majority. Jains are not Hindus. Muslims, Christians, Siks, Buddhists and Parsis are recognized as minorities. Jains, Jews, Bahais and others who are not Hindus and are not recognized as minorities should be recognized as minorities.

Status of a community as majority or minority has nothing to do with citizenship.

The right to establish and administer educational institutions is given to religious and linguistic minorities.

Minorities are counted statewise. In six states Hindus are a minority.

Hindus who do not speak the majority language of a state are entitled to this right in that state.

Ramakrishna Mission claimed to a minority and won the case in High Court. It is not easy for any community which is considered to be Hindu to claim and prove that it is not Hindu and hence a minority. If they succeed they are on solid ground.

If all are able to establish and administer educational institutions there will not be clamour for minority status. Ramakrishna Mission was supposed to be Hindu Missionary Movement. For the benefit of establishing and administering educational institutions as per their choice they opted for minority status. Now with reservations in private educational institutions many may opt for minority status.

PERILS AND PROFITS OF PLAGIARISM

2006-04-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

Kaavya Viswanathan plagiariased from a novel and got caught. She did not apologise or express regrets. She said it was accidental and unintentional. Her book is taken off the shelves in USA and India. But she made headlines for four days on TV and newspapers. At 19 very few achieve that.

Many Indians plagiarise from novels, films and songs. Few get caught. They copy from English to Indian languages. Very few from the West know Indian languages. They do not read books in Indian languages, watch Indian films or listen to Indian songs. Kaavya copied from English to English and got caught. If she had copied from English to Tamil she would have got away.

Most of the Hindi films copy from English films. I give below names of some English films and Hindi films which have copied from them.

1) French Kiss – Pyar tho hona hi thaa
2) Indecent Proposal – Sauda
3) It can happen to you – Bade Dilwala
4) The Wedding Singer – Kahin pyar na ho jaye
5) The silence of the lambs – Sangharsh
6) Unfaithful – Murder
7) Unlawful entry - Fareb

Many in the USA plagiarise. They are caught soon because language is the same.

Many novels in Indian languages that have copied from English novels are brought to the notice of publishers. They do not make headlines for four days.

Plagiarists may think bad publicity is good publicity. They may be happy that they made news. If they are not caught they make money. If they are caught they have publicity. They win both ways.

LETTER TO POPE BENEDICT XVI

2006-04-20T04:46:00.000-07:00

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Your Holiness,

This is my first communication to you. I hope you are in good health. I have a few suggestions to make.

1) The number of banns to be read before marriage is reduced to two. I wish it to be restored to three. The banns should be read during all masses on Sundays and not just one mass.

2) Sunday obligation should be for attending masses on Sunday only. Concession given for attending masses on Saturday evenings should be discontinued.

3) There shall be no marriage by proxy. Marriage shall not be kept secret once it takes place.

4) One territory, one rite, one jurisdiction shall be followed. At present where there are territories with two or more rites new rites shall not be allowed.

5) Night masses for Christmas, New Year and Easter shall not begin before midnight. Easter vigil shall not begin before 11.00 p.m. on Holy Saturday or later if the number of readings is less than nine.

6) In Breviary one day shall have one evening prayer. Presently Sundays and some Feast days have two evening prayers and Saturdays and some days do not have evening prayers. This is illogical.

7) There have been too many scandals involving priests. In USA priests had sex with boys. Time has come to have married clergy. If you do not desire do allow priests to marry, permanent deacons can be ordained priests.

8) Dress code for cardinals and bishops that existed before 1969 should be restored.

9) Your Holiness should have coronation with tiara.

10) No appointment of cardinals till the number comes down to 120 and then allowing all cardinals to vote. At present out of 120 cardinals eligible to vote 60 are from Europe. Latin America, especially Brazil, should have more cardinals.

11) Assuming again the title of “Patriarch of the West”. Giving up the title held for 15 centuries makes many of us sad and it does not serve any purpose. On the contrary it offends Orthodox Patriarchs.

That is all for now.

Yours respectfully,

Vincent Augustine D’Souza

ABOLISH RESERVATIONS

2006-04-15T01:13:00.000-07:00

The Government of India wants to introduce reservations for OBCs (Other Backward Classes) in Central Universities, IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management), IITs Indian Institutes of Technology) and such other institutions. Together with 15% reservations for SCs (Scheduled Castes) and 7.5% reservations for STs (Scheduled Tribes) these 27% reservations will cover 49.5% of total seats.

Reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs in legislatures, government jobs and government educational institutions are wrong. They should not have been there in the first place. What began for 10 years and should have been over on 26/1/2006 has continued to the present millennium.

No political party has shown the courage to oppose reservations. Nobody wants to lose votes. They are mistaken. Not opposing wrong will not gain or retain votes.

Those who justify reservations give examples of people who have succeeded because of reservations and could not have done well without them. For every person who succeded because of reservations there is another person who was unjustly deprived of this success because of reservations.

Supreme Court has held that seats of SC/ST/OBC candidates who quality on merit can not be adjusted against reserved seats. If SC/ST/OBC candidates get 50.5% seats on merit they will get 49.5% seats on reservations and candidates of general category will have no seat.

Suppression in the past is no reason for reservations. The law gives equal rights to all.

When justice is diluted by calling it social justice it becomes injustice.

If SCs/STs/OBCs feel they are unable to secure enough seats on merit in government institutions they can have institutions for their communities which will have 100% reservations. Leaders like Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Arjun Singh can build institutions for OBCs, Ram Vilas Paswan for SCs and tribal leaders for STs.

Even the Supreme Court order that reservations should not exceed 50% has been violated by Tamil Nadu which has got 69% reservations. The Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of appointments or posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993 (Tamil Nadu Act 45 of 1994) was put in Ninth Schedule of the Constitution which was meant for laws regarding property and bars judicial review.

In some institutions seats are few and candidates are many. A general category candidate with 100% marks may not get a seat while an SC/ST/OBC candidate with 45% marks will get.

Over 3,00,000 students appeared for IIT-JEE for 4,935 seats on 9/4/2006. Reservations will drastically reduce the chances of general category candidates.

It is good that 400 OBC students from Poona who had to gain by reservations have opposed them and have started a signature campaign. Such spirit is rare and gives hope that fairness will prevail.

TEST OF JUSTICE

2006-04-07T04:29:00.000-07:00

The conviction of Sunil More after eleven months and a few days of rape at Marine Drive has restored confidence in people that justice will be done. After Jessica Lall murder case when all the accused were aquitted there was cynicism about open and shut cases. The rich and the powerful got away. Sunil More was neither rich nor powerful. He was a constable. Though the judgment was delivered within one year the trial was not as fast as in Rajasthan courts where rapists were convicted within 20 days of the crime.

Rajasthan judicial system will be tested when the judgment in the case of rape of German tourist by the son of Orissa DGP is delivered. The criminal is using all means to prevent conviction. One witness has backed off. The victim was receiving SMSes and phone calls from criminal’s side. If the criminal is convicted Rajasthan and India will send the message that nobody can escape justice.

OFFICE OF PROFIT

2006-03-25T22:24:00.000-08:00

Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

Madan Mohan Shukla of Congress went after Jaya Bhaduri and got her disqualified as MP for holding chairpersonship of UP Film Development Council which was an office of profit. This opened floodgates for similar petitions. Most prominent petition was against Sonia Gandhi. The effort to bring an ordinance and declare chairmanship of National Advisory Council as not an office was leaked to the press. NDA leaders met President against the ordinance. Sonia Gandhi resigned as MP and chairperson of National Advisory Council. The disqualification of Jaya Bhaduri boomeranged on Congress.

There are petitions against many MPs and MLAs and more are on the way. Congress, BJP and CPI(M) are affected by this. More parties may face trouble.

Sonia Gandhi has been against Samajwadi Party though it was BJP that was opposed to her becoming Prime Minister. Sushma Swaraj and Uma Bharti had led the opposition against her. Now Uma Bharti is out of BJP. Sonia Gandhi should have concentrated on BJP.

Neither bill nor ordinance should be brought to expand the list which mentions which are not offices of profit. The guidelines about office of profit are clear and exceptions made over the years should be revoked.

VISIT OF DANISH PRIME MINISTER

2006-03-18T22:12:00.000-08:00

The Government of India has told the Danish Prime Minister that it is not the optimal time to visit India due to cartoon controversy. The Danish Prime Minister should have been allowed to visit India. Most of the protests regarding cartoon controversy were over by the time George Bush left India. The protests this time would have been less. Left would not have joined protests.

Denmark and other countries also can behave similarly towards India. External Affairs are guided by reciprocity. It will not be pleasant if any country asks our Prime Minister to postpone his visit because of protests.

COMMENTS ABOUT BUDGET 2006

2006-03-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Mid-day Meal Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission, Total Sanitation Campaign, National Rural Health Mission, Integrated Child Development Services, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission should be scrapped.

National Social Assistance Programme

Old people should be taken care of by their families or charitable organizations.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
Minorities

Maulana Azad Educational Foundation should be run by private individuals. This will save Rs.200 crore.

35. I propose to contribute Rs.16.47 crore to strengthen the equity base of the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation. In line with the Prime Minister’s announcement on August 15, 2005, the Corporation will intensify its efforts to reach out to artisans and weavers living in urban and peri-urban centres, especially in districts with concentration of minorities.

Whar are peri-urban centres? Are these semi-urban centres?

Promotion of Urdu Language

The State should not promote any language. Urdu is the official language of Jammu & Kashmir & Pakistan. Urdu speakers are spread over several states. Many Urdu speaking parents send their children to English medium schools. Promotion of any language must be left to its speakers and those who like it.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme

The scheme of depositing Rs.3,00 in the name of the girl child who passes the VIII Standard Examination and enrols in a secondary school who would be entitled to withdraw it on reaching 18 years of age should be scrapped.

Public Sector Enterprises

No spending by Government on restructuring Public Sector Enterprises.

Leave developing India as a hub for the gems and jewellery industry to private enterprise.

For years exports were exempt from Income Tax. Diamond merchants made lot of money. Bharat Shat.

AGRICULTURE

Irrigation – dams

Farm Credit – how will it be done? What about NPAs?

Do not set up Special Purpose Tea Fund.

Textiles – Why money for Technology Upgradation Fund? Textile manufacturers are rich.

Jute, Handlooms.

Food Processing Industry

Scrap to scheme to create a separate window with a corpus of Rs.1,000 crore for refinancing loans to the sector.

Petroleum, Chemicals and Petro-chemicals

Leave it to private sector.

Small and Medium Enterprises

No increase in corpus

Cluster Development

Leave it to private sector.

Tourism – leave it to private sector. No concession. Car import scam.

Telecommunication

Leave it to private sector. Let people in villages pay full charges.

Allow private sector in generation, transmission and distribution of power. Scrap five ultra mega projects.

Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana

Let everyone pay full amount. Stop thefts.

Privatise Coal India Ltd.

Maritime Development

Leave it to private sector

Banking, Insurance and Pensions

Recovery of NPAs must be done.

Indian Institue of Science and Universities should be self-financing. No need for grants at anniversaries. (Calcutta, Bombay and Madras) 50

Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 100

Let 400 ITIS recover money from students.

Backward Regions Grant Fund

Do not allocate Rs.5000 crore.

No special assistance to Jammu & Kashmir.

Cut down the size of the army. Technlogy is important.

To call the events of 1857 First War of Indian Independence is exaggeration. Let people contribute.

Hand over Gandhian Instutions to Gandhians and don’t spend money on Kuttiyattam, Vedic chanting and Ramlila.

Recover loans from states.

Abolish subsidies.

Wind up Planning Commission. Cut down Non-Plan expenditure.

There should be no Revenue Deficit and Fiscal Deficit. There should be Revenue Surplus and Fiscal Surplus.

PART B

Tax proposals

Reduction in customs duties is welcome.

There should be no concessional rates for Export Oriented Units. For many years income from export was exempt from Income Tax. Exporters whose income was crores of rupees did not have to pay Income Tax while an ordinary person with a few thousands of rupees of income had to pay Income Tax. Diamond exporter Bharat Shah could book Wankhede Stadium for the reception of his daughter’s wedding.

Increase in customs duties to protect vanaspati or any other industry is not fair. Our industry needs to be competitive. Other countries can increase customs duties on our products to protect their goods.

Reduction of excise duty from 16 to 8% on dosa and idli mixers can help Chidambaram.

“Domestic manufacturers have sought re-imposition of excise duty at 12 per cent in order to enable them to take CENVAT credit as well as to face competition from imports. I propose to accept the request. Since the 12 per cent excise duty will be eligible for full input tax credit, there should not be any impact on price.”

The excise duty on computers should not have been increased. Domestic manufacturers will benefit. Buyers may have to pay a higher price.

I do not know who is using set top boxes and for what purpose?

It is good to remove exemptions on excise and customs tariffs.

Lawyers should be covered under Service Tax even though Chidambaram feels they do not render any service. He and his wife are lawyers.

Increase in Service Tax should be avoided and it should be brought down from 10% to 9%.

Rates of personal income tax for all should be same. Income tax exemption limit is Rs.1,00,000/- except for women which is Rs.1,25,000/- and senior citizens Rs.1,50,000/-. The exemption limit for all should be Rs.1,50,000/-. Mostly men are the sole earning members and senior citizens do not have to take care of children.

The effect of taxing anonymous or pseudonymous donations to wholly charitable institutions at the highest marginal rate will be known after one year.

“171. Last year, I introduced two new taxes. The Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) has turned out to be a boon, not for the modest revenues it brought which was never its purpose, but for the remarkable trails that it has helped establish. To cite just one example, huge cash withdrawals in a bank branch in Chandni Chowk, noticed through the BCTT, led the Department of Income Tax to three entities which were carrying on the business of purchasing demand drafts from traders at a discount and helping the traders to avoid both sales tax and income tax. These entities would deposit the demand drafts in their own accounts and withdraw the cash. In a period of 18 months, they had laundered Rs.1,500 crore. BCTT has also helped the Department to detect bogus bills, accommodation entries, artificial loss claims and dummy firms. I propose to continue the BCTT for some more time until the AIR system is able to capture all significant financial transactions.”

It is wrong to pay tax for withdrawing one’s money from bank. Some years ago there was a provision that all banking transactions of Rs.50,000/- and above had to be reported to Income Tax Department. From that Income Tax Department could have found out about tax evasion. Why was that not done?

States have VAT. Why they have to be compensated when Central Sales Tax is phased out?

There are subsidies not mentioned in the budget. They should go. Haj subsidy should go. Government money should not be spent on pilgrimages and other religious practices.

Government should not spend money on cultural institutions. Dance, Drama, Music, literature etc should be promoted by private individuals and institutions.

BUSH VISIT

2006-03-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

President George Bush visited India and nuclear deal was signed. There were protests against the visit. Our government had invited him. It was not proper to protest.

Bush has nothing to do with Danish cartoons. Protests in that regard were targeted wrongly.

Whether the nuclear deal is good for India is debatable. It needs to be ratified by US Senate before it comes into force.

THOUGHTS ON 26/2/2006

2006-02-25T22:33:00.000-08:00

Railway budget was good as there was no increase in fairs.

There is outrage at acquittal of criminals in Jessica Lall murder case. TV channels should not call the lawyers of the accused. Boycott of criminals and associates will send a strong signal to them. Re-investigation and re-trial are necessary. A brave constable was enough to get Sushil Sharma convicted. In Jessica Lall case three people did not have the courage to speak.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee owes an explanation to the nation to the saying of Hindujas that he said to them “We were unfair to you”.

The situation in Iraq is getting worse by the day.

Democracy is Philippines is not stable.

Benedict XVI has appointed 15 cardinals. I do not know whether anyone is above 80. Those who are above 80 should not be appointed cardinals as they do not have the right to vote in a conclave.

THOUGHTS ON 19/2/2006

2006-02-18T22:29:00.000-08:00

UP Minister for Minority Welfare Yaqoob Qureshi should be arrested and prosecuted for announcing Rs.51 crore award for beheading of Danish editor. Giving a contract for a murder is a crime. The Governor should dismiss him immediately. Otherwise President should intervene.

The first session of a year of Lok Sabha has to be addressed by the President and t he first session of a year of Legislative Assembly has to be addressed by the Governor. A session of a year has to end on December 31 and can not be extended to another year. Violations of this constitutional provision have taken place. Should not take place in future.

Hunting and agriculture are older than prostitution. Prostitution should not be confused with sex.

Dancing nude is not a sin. It is not adultery or fornication. Pondicherry should not be called sin city because of nude dances.

LETTER TO SHAILAJA BAJPAI

2006-02-11T22:51:00.000-08:00

This is in reference to your column on 6/2/2006.

FTV is telecast from Hong Kong. 9.30 p.m. IST is midnight at Hong Kong. I expected you to know that.

Midnight hot is a good programme. I watch it. It is good that it appears it at 9.30 p.m. It is a visual delight to watch models making a clean breast. Do not write against it. So far there is no controversy about it. Please do not start one. There is no compulsion to you or anyone to watch it. May be some women do not like midnight hot because there is nothing in it for them. Let those who are happy to watch it continue to do so.

Your column appeared on 6/2/2006. Till then midnight hot showed female models. That night male models were shown for some time. May be women do not like midnight hot because there is nothing in it for them.

You and many others have problems with female nudity. You do not have problems with male nudity. There is no criticism of telecast of men in underwears or men in full frontal nudity. In 2001 Naga sadhus in full frontal nudity were shown on DD. There was no criticism. Criticising women for nudity and not criticising men for nudity is double standards and sexual discrimination.

Indian Express dated 11/2/2006 has an interview of a female student of Aligarh Muslim University who was threatened and harassed by some fellow students for wearing jeans. Those students need to be arrested. Will you come out in defence of the female student?

Some years back someone went to Bombay High Court to stop the telecast of FTV. His contention was that bare breasted women were against Indian culture and people watch TV programmes with family members. The Judges reminded him that tribal women in India are bare breasted and they live with family members.

Once you wrote that Star Gold shows soft porn after midnight. I watched Star Gold after midnight and was disappointed.

There are serious issues that confront women in India that make TV headlines. Imrana’s father-in-law rapes her and a fatwa is issued that her husband becomes her son. Gudiya’s is happily married and expecting her child. Her first husband suddenly appears and she is told to go to her first husband. She is not asked to choose between the two. Even if her second marriage was illegal or invalid she could have divorced her first marriage and continued to live with here second husband but that option was not given to her.

There are films I like. It will be nice if you write in favour of their full and uncensored telecast. Some of them are given below. Ignore the dates in bracket.

China Moon
Coca Cola Kid
Sirens
Unlawful entry
Wild Orchid
Excalibur
Catherine
Eyes of a stranger
Poodle Springs
Fist of fury
Pretty woman
Titanic
Jude
Last Emotion
Striptease (27/9/2002)
Death Wish 5 (2/11/2002)
Class (5/11/2002)
Hit the Dutchman (11/11/2002)
FX 2 ((15/11/2002)
Double Impact (18/11/2002)
To kill for (26/11/2002)
Italian Movie (2/12/2002)
Surviving Picasso (7/12/2002)
Hot Bubblegum (9/12/2002)
Teachers (20/12/2002)
No way out (23/12/2002)
Infinity (20/1/2003)
The woman in red (11/2/2003)
The Bounty (27/2/2003)
Cool Change (3/3/2003)
Fatal Beauty (10/3/2003)
Monkey Shine (1/4/2003)
Inferno (7/4/2003)
True Blood (14/6/2003)
Save me (30/6/2003)
Incognito (18/7/2003)
Norma Jean & Marilyn (21/7/2003)
Appetite (25/7/2003)
Terminator (7/8/2003)
Police Academy (21/8/2003)
Police Academy 2, 3, 4, 5 (22/8/2003)
The base 2
Out of sight (10/1/2003)
Body of evidence (24/2/2003)
Top gun (20/3/2003)
The other side of midnight (11/7/2003)
Coyote ugly (16/8/2003)
Rosemary’s baby (4/9/2003)
Black Magic Woman (6/9/2003)
Midnight Heat
Whispers in the dark
Dying young (9/12/2002)
Striking distance (30/12/2002)
Red letters (6/5/2003)
When Harry met Sally (26/5/2003)
Mr. Wonderful (12/6/2003)
Mission Impossible 2 (10/7/2003)
The Hunted (5/8/2003)
Erin Brokovich (5/8/2003)
American Beauty (11/8/2003)
Sea of love (14/8/2003)
Coyote ugly (16/8/2003)
Zebra lounge (16/8/2003)
Jackie Brown (18/8/2003)
The Prophecy II (18/8/2003)
Love and rage (19/8/2003)
Dark Angel (21/8/2003)
Bare witness (30/8/2003)
Everyone says I love you (1/9/2003)
Black Magic Woman (6/9/2003)
Separate ways (9/9/2003)
Meet Joe Black (12/9/2003)
Johnny skidmarks (16/9/2003)
Cruel intentions (16/9/2003)
Bridget Jones’s Diary (16/9/2003)
Miami Blues (17/9/2003)
Stealing Beauty (18/9/2003)
The fourth protocol (20/9/2003)
Indiscreet (20/9/2003)
No man’s land (28/9/2003)
Double jeopardy (28/9/2003)
Breathless (7/10/2003)
Female perversions (14/10/2003)
Angel of destruction (18/10/2003)
Miracle Beach (3/11/2003)
Sweet November (19/11/2003)
Gattaca (4/12/2003)
Double cross (6/12/2003)
Vanilla sky (10/1/2004)
Sexual predator (10/1/2004)
Shredder (10/1/2004)
Money train (14/1/2004)
Strangers (14/1/2004)
Dead on (29/1/2004)
Diabolique (29/1/2004)
The mask of Zorro (29/1/2004)
Fatal attraction (29/1/2004)
Hunting (3/2/2004)
Acts of love (8/4/2004)
Praise (8/4/2004)
Insomnia (8/4/2004)
Reason to Die (17/4/2004)
The killer inside (17/4/2004)
Hot target (15/6/2004)
Gangs of New York (1/8/2005)

Thank you.

CARTOON CONTROVERSY

2006-02-11T22:44:00.000-08:00

Cartoons are meant to convey a message in a funny way, which may not be pleasing to some. Cartoon depicting Mohammed as terrorist caused widespread anger among Muslims. Muslims had a right to protest and boycott products. Setting fire to embassies and consulates and calling for murder of persons is unacceptable.

Saudi Arabia, Libya and Syria have recalled ambassadors from Denmark. Will they recall ambassadors from every country where these cartoons appeared? What will Iran do?

BBC and CNN did not show the cartoons. Christopher Hutchins (Higgins?) was offended at censorship.

Is it clash of civilizations? Have Muslim extremists hijacked the protests?

GOD TV once showed the cartoons clearly. Next time they were not clear. In his interview with Pat Robertson on 9/2/2006, Thomas Spencer, author of “Politically incorrect guide to Islam” said Mohammed was a man of war and violence. Out of the 78 battles he fought 77 were battles of offence. He got the poets opposed to him killed.

An Iranian newspaper has called for cartoons on holocaust. Denmark is not a Jewish country. Israel is not involved in this controversy. What connects cartoons to Israel is not clear except that it suits Iran.

The issue would not have been so volatile except for an Imam from Denmark who went to the Middle East and provoked people there. Demonstrations in Syria and Iran had state sponsorship.

Indian Government and Congress Party should not get involved in this controversy even though some Muslims demand recall of Indian Ambassador in Denmark and condemnation of cartoons by the Government of India and Sonia Gandhi, President of the Congress Party. This issue has nothing to do with India. Bowing to some Muslims whose followers are limited confers on them larger than life image and creates problems. In Egypt there were no widespread protests due to sinking of Al Salaam in which many people lost their lives.

ADULT FILMS

2006-02-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

When Star Movies began it showed adult movies at any time without any cuts, computer graphic coverage, darkening or alteration.

At one time ZeeMGM used to show adult movies mostly without any cuts, computer graphic coverage, darkening or alteration especially at 11.00 p.m. on Saturday nights. I want to see adult movies without any cuts, computer graphic coverage, darkening or alteration between 11.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m. on free to air channels and at any time on pay channels.

Broadcasters should not worry about any PIL. Bombay High Court has held cable operators responsible for the content. In other parts of India there is no restriction. If anyone has e-mail id of Information & Broadcasting Ministry send it to me. I will write to them.

If scenes are cut from adult movies they can be shown any time.

I have given below names of movies I want to see uncensored. Ignore the dates in brackets.

China Moon
Coca Cola Kid
Sirens
Unlawful entry
Wild Orchid
Excalibur
Catherine
Eyes of a stranger
Poodle Springs
Fist of fury
Pretty woman
Titanic
Jude
Last Emotion
Striptease (27/9/2002)
Death Wish 5 (2/11/2002)
Class (5/11/2002)
Hit the Dutchman (11/11/2002)
FX 2 ((15/11/2002)
Double Impact (18/11/2002)
To kill for (26/11/2002)
Italian Movie (2/12/2002)
Surviving Picasso (7/12/2002)
Hot Bubblegum (9/12/2002)
Teachers (20/12/2002)
No way out (23/12/2002)
Infinity (20/1/2003)
The woman in red (11/2/2003)
The Bounty (27/2/2003)
Cool Change (3/3/2003)
Fatal Beauty (10/3/2003)
Monkey Shine (1/4/2003)
Inferno (7/4/2003)
True Blood (14/6/2003)
Save me (30/6/2003)
Incognito (18/7/2003)
Norma Jean & Marilyn (21/7/2003)
Appetite (25/7/2003)
Terminator (7/8/2003)
Police Academy (21/8/2003)
Police Academy 2, 3, 4, 5 (22/8/2003)
The base 2
Out of sight (10/1/2003)
Body of evidence (24/2/2003)
Top gun (20/3/2003)
The other side of midnight (11/7/2003)
Coyote ugly (16/8/2003)
Rosemary’s baby (4/9/2003)
Black Magic Woman (6/9/2003)
Midnight Heat
Whispers in the dark
Dying young (9/12/2002)
Striking distance (30/12/2002)
Red letters (6/5/2003)
When Harry met Sally (26/5/2003)
Mr. Wonderful (12/6/2003)
Mission Impossible 2 (10/7/2003)
The Hunted (5/8/2003)
Erin Brokovich (5/8/2003)
American Beauty (11/8/2003)
Sea of love (14/8/2003)
Coyote ugly (16/8/2003)
Zebra lounge (16/8/2003)
Jackie Brown (18/8/2003)
The Prophecy II (18/8/2003)
Love and rage (19/8/2003)
Dark Angel (21/8/2003)
Bare witness (30/8/2003)
Everyone says I love you (1/9/2003)
Black Magic Woman (6/9/2003)
Separate ways (9/9/2003)
Meet Joe Black (12/9/2003)
Johnny skidmarks (16/9/2003)
Cruel intentions (16/9/2003)
Bridget Jones’s Diary (16/9/2003)
Miami Blues (17/9/2003)
Stealing Beauty (18/9/2003)
The fourth protocol (20/9/2003)
Indiscreet (20/9/2003)
No man’s land (28/9/2003)
Double jeopardy (28/9/2003)
Breathless (7/10/2003)
Female perversions (14/10/2003)
Angel of destruction (18/10/2003)
Miracle Beach (3/11/2003)
Sweet November (19/11/2003)
Gattaca (4/12/2003)
Double cross (6/12/2003)
Vanilla sky (10/1/2004)
Sexual predator (10/1/2004)
Shredder (10/1/2004)
Money train (14/1/2004)
Strangers (14/1/2004)
Dead on (29/1/2004)
Diabolique (29/1/2004)
The mask of Zorro (29/1/2004)
Fatal attraction (29/1/2004)
Hunting (3/2/2004)
Acts of love (8/4/2004)
Praise (8/4/2004)
Insomnia (8/4/2004)
Reason to Die (17/4/2004)
The killer inside (17/4/2004)
Hot target (15/6/2004)
Gangs of New York (1/8/2005)

BUDGET 2006

2006-02-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

I expect the following in budget 2006:

The budget shall be a surplus budget.

Calendar year shall be Financial Year. Budget 2006 shall be for April – December 2006.

There shall be uniformity in tax rates. Income tax exemption limit is Rs.1,00,000/- except for women which is Rs.1,25,000/- and senior citizens Rs.1,50,000/-. The exemption limit for all should be Rs.1,50,000/-. Mostly men are the sole earning members and senior citizens do not have to take care of children.

Lot of money that is collected through taxes and spent on various schemes does not help the people. There is swindling and corruption. The country will be better of without these schemes. Taxes also lead to corruption. This has to be avoided. The Finance Minister shall announce the following:

Income Tax will be reduced by 1% per year and after 30 years there will be no Income Tax.

Service Tax will be reduced by 1% per year and after 10 years there will be no Service Tax.

Other taxes will be reduced gradually.

Subsidies will be abolished.

Employment Guarantee Scheme will be wound up.

MPLADS will be abolished.

There will be constitutional amendment to abolish Profession Tax.

Mid-day meal scheme will be scrapped.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Human Resource Development implement a number of schemes. They will come to an end.

Backward Regions Grant Fund will come to an end.

There will be no special economic packages for Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir and the North Eastern Region or any other State or region.

The Rural Infrastructure Development Fund will come to an end.

The UPA Government will not do anythinge:

• to bring an additional one crore hectares under assured irrigation;

• to connect all villages that have a population of 1000 (or 500 in hilly/tribal areas) with a
road;

• to construct 60 lakh additional houses for the poor;

• to provide drinking water to the remaining 74,000 habitations that are uncovered;

• to reach electricity to the remaining 1,25,000 villages and offer electricity connection
to 2.3 crore households; and

• to give telephone connectivity to the remaining 66,822 villages.

‘Bharat Nirman’ will be scrapped.

Government will not provide equity support.

National Horticulture Mission will come to an end.

A Knowledge Centre in Every Village is the job of villagers.

“Promotion of SSI Schemes” will come to an end.

Indira Awas Yojana will come to an end.

National Urban Renewal Mission will come to an end.

Education cess will come to an end.

Cash withdrawal tax will come to an end.

Financial Institutions will unload their holdings. It is not the business of the government to keep up stock markets.

NATIONAL AWARDS

2006-01-28T22:57:00.000-08:00

Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushana, Padma Bhushana and Padma Shree are national awards conferred by the Government of India. They are not titles. The Constitution of India forbids conferring of titles by the Government of India. They are not meant to be added before names.

They are announced at the time of Republic Day. Sometimes Bharat Ratna award is announced at other times. Many times there is fight for awards. Some people feel they should have got it.

Bharat Ratna has been devalued over the years. Janata Dal led National Front Government started to confer it on persons dead long back. Other Governments continued it. United Front Government after its fall conferred it on six persons in three months. Those who excel in art by playing musical instruments or singing songs can be given other awards. Conferring Bharat Ratna on them has devalued it. It should be only for people who have rendered service at national level or done something of national importance.

The President of India and the Union Council of Ministers must note the abuse of national awards by adding them to names and take appropriate steps to stop it.

PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM

2006-01-21T21:59:00.000-08:00

Events in Karnataka have once again shown the fragility of Parliamentary System. It is high time we followed Presidential System. The President and Governors shall have executive powers. They shall hold office for five years unless they die, resign or removed through impeachment. The President and Vice President shall continue to be elected as they are. Members of Legislative Assemblies shall elect the Governors. The President and Governors shall have veto power, which can be overturned by Parliament or Legislative Assemblies by two third majorities. The Governors shall have the power to appoint High Court Judges. The removal of High Court Judges shall be by Legislative Assemblies.

FILM CENSORSHIP

2006-01-14T22:40:00.000-08:00

Rang De Basanti has faced problems with censorship. There is Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC). Since the film dealt with MIG-21s CBFC referred it to three chiefs of Defence and Defence Minister. The three chiefs did not suggest cuts though they were unhappy about the roll call of pilots at the end to whom the film was dedicated. MIG-21s are known as flying coffins. They felt it will demoralise people who would like to join Air Force. Then came the controversy of No Objection Certificate (NOC) by Animal Welfare Board. First the Board issued an NOC and later withdrew it. Now we understand one scene will be cut and NOC will be issued.

Apart from CBFC no body else should have any role in film censorship. Any law that allows Animal Welfare Board or any body else should be repealed or a new law should be brought in force that will allow CBFC as the only authority as censor.

Besides, there is no need for Animal Welfare Board. The Board should be wound up and money spent on it can be better used.

CBFC issues three certificates for public viewing. `A’ for Adults only, `U’ for Unrestricted public viewing and `U/A’ for children viewing films under parental guidance. Some countries don’t have censorship. They have rating. Some are as below:

G – General viewing
PG – Parental Guidance
12 – Suitable only for viewers of 12 years and above
15 – Suitable only for viewers of 15 years and above
18 – Suitable only for viewers of 18 years and above
R – Restricted. (Similar to PG)
NC 17 – Not for children below 17.

Sometimes, producers to please someone have cut films cleared by CBFC. Once one family viewed a film and after its clearance the film was released in theatres. If producers are afraid of someone there is not much others can do.

Whatever is certified as `A’ should be allowed to be shown on TV at appropriate times without further cuts. There should be no separate certificates for TV and theatres.

Telephone tapping

2006-01-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

Telephone tapping of Amar Singh's telephones has created lost of heat. Congress is hostile to Samajwadi Party but it needs Left Front's support to survive. Left Front is associated with Samajwadi Party. It is doubtful whether 80 lakh rupees were spent for tapping Amar Singh's phones. The next few weeks will bring out more details.

GOOD BYE 2005 WELCOME 2006

2005-12-31T22:28:00.000-08:00

The year 2005 is over. For Many it was a year of joy, peace, fulfillment and success. For many it did not make a difference. For others it was a year of sorrow, disappointment and disaster. Many who were alive when 2005 are no more with us. Many who were not there are with us.

WISH YOU A VERY BRIGHT, HAPPY, PROSPEROUS, PEACEFUL & JOYOUS NEW YEAR 2006. MAY ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE PROVIDED THEY DO NOT CLASH WITH MINE.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

2005-12-24T22:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas is a time to celebrate. It is the feast of joy, peace and happiness. Many people are today unable to celebrate. Christ did not have place in the inn. Today many people in Delhi and Ulhasnagar have lost their homes. Innocent people are punished. Guilty are free. They have the gall to ask for more bribes not to demolish.

Last year on 26th December tsunami struck and many people are still suffering. They are unable to celebrate.

The peace of Christ is not the peace of graveyard. I hope to have midnight masses all over India. Current exemption upto midnight is not enough. It has to be upto 2.00 a.m.

May all the shelterless find home. May the wounds be healed. May everyone who is good, right and just, be filled with joy, peace and happiness.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Feliz navidad

Feliz Natal

UNJUST DEMOLITIONS

2005-12-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

Many buildings in Ulhasnagar and Delhi are being demolished as they were illegally built. In some of these buildings people were living for 25 years. Builders and civic officials were responsible for their constructions. They got money. People who bought are suffering. Innocent people are punished. The buyers had paid stamp duty and registration charges. They have paid property tax. Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief minister of Maharashtra, says he is helpless as High Court has ordered it. The Government of Maharashtra can bring out an ordinance and regularise these. This is not done. The Government of India wants to amend the constitution to allow for reservations in private educational institutions. It is not doing anything for the people of Delhi.

Guilty must be punished. Builders and civic officials are guilty. The people who bought the flats must get back their money. Property tax shall be refunded to them. After that the buildings may be demolished.

Bombay High Court, while being strict on Ulhasnagar demolitions, has allowed illegal hutments in Matheran and Mahabaleshwar to stay. This defies logic.

WAR CRIMES

2005-12-11T04:29:00.000-08:00

After World War II there were trials for war crimes and many were punished. None belonging to victors were punished. All belonged to vanquished. Not that soldiers of USA, UK, USSR, France and other countries who were their allies did not commit any war crime. USSR soldiers raped two million German women. Australian soldiers raped women in Bombay. Atrocities committed by allied soldiers were not less than that of axis soldiers. Dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were greatest war crimes for which everyone from President of USA to the pilots who dropped atom bombs should have been punished. That did not happen.

Presently some from countries like Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia are facing trial for war crimes. Nobody is tried for war crimes committed by USA in Iraq.

CBN NEWS AND GOD TV

2005-12-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

CBN News used to appear on GOD TV at 10.00 p.m. Indian Standard Time. Now it appears at 11.00 p.m. On some days it does not appear. I do not know why.

CBN stands for Christian Broadcasting Network. I do not know to which denomination the owner belongs. It appears he is not a Catholic.

Recently I noticed many things unchristian about this channel. Pat Robertson's call for Hugo Sanchez's assassination was criminal. Many times the channel meddles in politics. It justifies Iraq War. More than 2,000 American marines have died. Secular character of Iraq is destroyed. Fundamentalist Muslims dominate. The channel mostly sides with Republicans.

CBN News can do better. If it gets out of politics it can have wider appeal. It has done well to fight perversities like gay marraiges. It should not confuse Christianity with America's interests, fair or unfair.

JESUS CHRIST DID NOT SHOW THE OTHER CHEEK

2005-11-27T03:11:00.000-08:00

Some Christians say they are opposed to death penalty because they are Christians. There is nothing is Christianity that is against death penalty. Jesus did not preach against death penalty. Throughout centuries many persons were burnt at stakes for heresy. The church declared crusades.

Jesus spoke of forgiveness. He spoke of showing the other cheek when one is struck on one cheek. But he did not show the other cheek when he was struck during the trial by Jewish leaders. He said "If I have said something wrong, show me where I am wrong. If I am right, why do you strike me?"

At the temple Jesus got angry and whipped the merchants. He did not reply when asked what authority he had to do it. He asked a counter question.

Jesus spoke of casting millstones around the necks of people who cause little ones to sin and throwing them into the sea.

Let not opposition to death penalty be linked to Christianity

MIDNIGHT MASSES

2005-11-27T03:01:00.000-08:00

Christians have traditionally had midnight masses for Christmas, New Year and Easter. Some years back the Supreme Court of India banned use of loudspeakers in open spaces between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. The Central Government passed a law permitting such use on 15 days in a year to be decided by State Governments. When the Supreme Court judgment came many churches held those masses at 8.30 p.m. of the previous day. Christians should fight for their right for midnight masses. Those 15 days can be increased to 18 days. Or midnight masses can be held within churches with use of loudspeakers.

MINISTERS WITHOUT PORTFOLIOS

2005-11-19T22:09:00.000-08:00

Natwar Singh is minister without portfolio. Manmohan Singh holds External Affairs Portfolio. Previously too there were ministers without portfolios at certain times. Mamata Banerjee was minister without portfolio for some time. Dinesh Singh and Jaffer Sharief were ministers without portfolios when they did not resign. At the time of Nehru there were some ministers without portfolios.

It is meaningless to have ministers without portfolios. They do not do any work as ministers and are entitled to benefits due to ministers. Most of the times they are made ministers or allowed to continue as ministers due to political compulsions. This has to stop. Taxpayers' money should not be wasted on them.

EXTRADITION CONDITIONS

2005-11-12T21:58:00.000-08:00

Abu Salem is in India extradited by Portugal on conditions that he would not be given death penalty and imprisonment would not be more than 25 years. TADA court judge told CBI that there could not be conditional appearance before court. It is the government of India that gave the undertaking accepting the conditions.

India should not have agreed to those conditions. TADA court is not bound by the undertaking. Abu Salem if found guilty will be sentenced as the court deems suitable. If the court sentences him to death or life imprisonment the government is likely to exercise power of president to pardon and commute sentences. When Abu Salem's trial will begin and when final judgment will be delivered can not be said at this time.

What happens to other accused in similar cases? They do not have the advantage of extradition conditions. India should not give any undertaking to other countries about punishment to criminals. They must be made to extraidite without conditions.

However the record of punishing people brought under extradition treaties does not inspire confidence. Most of them have been acquitted.

HOLIDAYS

2005-11-05T21:17:00.000-08:00

India is a country of people belonging to many religions. All the major religions have their religious holidays. Sometimes these holidays come together and combined with Saturdays and Sundays they stretch to three or more days.

India should have only two public holidays Republic Day and Independence Day. Government employees have too many holidays. Those who need to take leave on a particular day to celebrate a feast or mourn can take casual leave. Gandhi Jayanti and Ambedkar Jayanti should not be holidays. Some religious holidays are needed by less than 1% of the people.

Parliament should not have a holiday when it convenes because a member died when it was not in session.

BRAIN AND HEART

2005-11-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

Contemporary medical science believes brain is the seat of the person. A person who is brain dead is declared dead and other living organs are transplanted. Many times people who had heart transplantations had change of personality. They even remember some things which happened to brain dead person. This raises question about declaring a person whose heart beats but brain is dead as dead. What if contemporary medical science is wrong? Now life can be prolonged with artificial hearts. If we can have artificial brains and make brain dead persons live how wonderful it will be?

At one time doctors believed blood letting will bring down temperature and cure fever. Many times blood letting brought down temperature to such levels that the patients died. Many theories and practices have been proved wrong. Medical scientists must re-examine their theories about brain and death.

RAPE

2005-11-02T05:32:00.000-08:00

National Council for Women (NCW) has recommended the replace the word "rape" with sexual assault in various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC). Women activists said the word "rape" was derogatory to women. Two of their recommendations are as follows:

1) The definition of rape should be widened and not be restricted to vaginal penetration. Oral and anal penetration, or even body contact, should be considered "sexual assault."

2) Buying sexual favours (from sex workers) should also be considered sexual assault.

I oppose them on following grounds:

1) The word "rape" should be maintained as it is and shall continue to mean vaginal penetration as vaginal penetration can result in pregnancy and oral and anal penetration do not result in pregnancy. Rape is a serious crime. It is not derogatory to women. It is derogatory for the rapists. Replacing "rape" with "sexual assault" and clubbing together with other crimes will dilute the seriousness of rape.

2) When sexual favours are bought there is no assault.

NCW should stop demanding change in terminology. Calling a "widow" "wife of late so and so" or calling a "prostitute" "commercial sex workers" does not result in betterment. There is nothing derogatory about being a widow.

DEATH PENALTY II

2005-11-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

Wrong is wrong even if said by a Chief Justice. Justice Brennan of Supreme Court of USA was wrong when in 1981 he said "I believe that a majority of the Supreme Court will one day accept that when the State punishes with death, it denies the humanity and dignity of the victim."

Let us not talk of reforming criminals. When murderers are not punished with death many people who would not have committed murder commit murder.

In 1980 the Supreme Court in the Bachchan Singh vs State of Punjab case set the standard of death penalty being awarded in the "rarest of rare" cases. After that murders became open. Court, lock up, hospital, railway station and other places full of people would not deter criminals.

Since independence 55 persons were hanged for murder. This number is insignificant considering the number of people murdered which does not include murders passed off as accidents, suicides and natural deaths.

There are many who want death penalty for rape more so when committed by policemen.

There should be Presidential accountability. K. R. Narayan kept 12 mercy petitions pending. This is dereliction of duty. He should be deprived of pension and other benefits due as Ex-President.

Many escape death penalty does not mean those who are sentenced should be let off. Being poorest of the poor or Dalit does not mean the murderer should be treated differently.

Let us examine some of the mercy petitions pending:

1) Three persons in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. These people belonged to a gang which killed many people including Rajiv Gandhi.

2) Veerappan's juniors. These four were part of a gang headed by Veerappan which killed 122 people. Veerappan had escaped from prison. In 2000 he kidnapped Raj Kumar and Karnataka was ready to surrender to him. Supreme Court prevented it. Later Veerappan got ransom. Figures vary from Rs.20 crore to Rs.40 crore. Later an ex-minister was killed.

3) Punjab terrorists. These four killed 17 people including a seven year old child in 1991 near Amritsar.

The damage done by the above mentioned and similar murderers is immense.

The people opposed to death penalty twist statistics to show that murders have gone down after abolition of death penalty. Rajinder Sachar wrote in Times of India dt. 26/10/2005 "In Canada, the homicide rate declined after the abolition of death penalty in 1976. In 2000, there were 542 homicides in Canada, 16 less than in 1998 and 159 less than in 1975 (a year prior to the abolition of capital punishment). There is difference between murder and homicide. Will Rajinder Sachar give the figure for murders in 1985 including 329 killed in Kanishka bombing? The murderers had planned to blow up another plane carrying more than 500 passengers and crew(520 or 521) which landed before scheduled time and the people were saved.

If the President feels it is a matter of conscience he should quit.

Chief Justice Ramesh Chandra Lahoti on 31/10/2005, his last day in office, justifying death penalty and referring to Delhi blasts on 29/10/2005, said "What other penalty would suit perpetrators of such brutal acts? What other penalty is called for if the crime is proved beyond reasonable doubt? What happens is that, we forget the past. We see only the face of the accused, who is before us and his family. We forget the victims and their families."

Let there be death penalty for every murder.

DEATH PENALTY

2005-11-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam's actions have reopened the debate about death penalty. Very often a vociferous minority dominates a silent majority. This should not be allowed to happen. Punishment should be proportionate to crime and death penalty is suitable punishment for murder, attempted murder, character assassination and acid throwing.

Abolitionists put forward following arguments:

1) Fallibility of human nature. What if there is a mistake?
2) Irrevocability
3) Life is God given and no State has a right to deprive another person of his life.
4) Human nature is capable of reformation.
5) Life imprisonment is a greater punishment than death penalty.

Counter arguments:

1) What if there is no mistake. In that case will abolitionists accept death penalty. If punishment can not be given because of chances of mistake then we have to close down courts. Nobody can be prosecuted. Reversal of judgments by appellate courts is used to justify the abolition. As things stand Supreme Court is the final court.

2) A person murdered cannot be brought back to life. Murderer needs to be put to death.

3) Atheists do not accept God's acceptance. Abolitionists forget that murderer has taken life. If someone commits murder he has no right to live.

4) Whether the murderer reforms later on and does good things is immaterial. Crime needs punishment.

5) This is a poor joke. Life is dear to murderers. Nothing terrifies them more than death penalty. People who escape from prison can commit more murders. Remember Veerappan.

In India some more arguments are used for abolition.

1) It has been abolished in many countries.

2) Some countries are wary of extradition treaties with India given that death penalty is legal here.

Counter arguments:

1) India is not a small country like many of them. We are not to follow what others do but do what is right. USA, China and many other countries have death penalty. The list of countries with death penalty is impressive. China has death penalty for corruption. Many countries have death penalty for drug trafficing.

2) We must be firm in our resolve to punish criminals as per our law. USA put pressure on Switzerland to change its secrecy laws in banking to prevent money laundering by criminals.

Article 72 gives the President "power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions." This has to be exercised only with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. Even if the President had power to pardon by himself he should not pardon or commute those found guilty by the Supreme Court and whose mercy petitions are pending.

Also only one mercy petition should be allowed. Repeated mercy petitions should be disallowed. Once the mercy petition is disallowed the person should be hanged at the earliest.

Someone reaching 75 is not a reason for pardon. People above 75 can be used for murder. Whether he returns to life of crime is immaterial. Let there be no talk of turning liabilities into assets. We are not talking about a balance sheet of a company. Allowing death row convicts to spend the rest of their lives with their family members is height of injustice.

The Union Government shall stand firm and put pressure on the President to reject all mercy petitions at once. There is no question of any blame on the President. Supreme Court awards death penalty in rarest of rare cases.

It is ridiculous to say that "In the world of today there are fewer and fewer men condemned to death for murder and more and more for political views." Will Fali S. Nariman give the names of those condemned for murder and those for political views. Murderers with political views do not have special rights.

(To be continued)

INCULTURATION

2005-10-30T04:03:00.000-08:00

NDTV 24X7 in its Mumbai Live on 26/10/2005 at 10.30 p.m. had news and discussion about inculturation. Srinivasan Jain was the anchor. Fr. Anthony Charanghat of Bombay Archdiocese, Fr. Dominic Emmanuel of Delhi Archdiocese and Swami Agnivesh took part in the discussion. Three persons outside a church were interviewed. Two were Christians. They did not want change. Third was a Hindu. He goes to church for novenas. He did not want arati in the church. Anthony and Dominic were in favour of inculturation. Agnivesh was not in favour of inculturation. He said Hinduism of today is a degenerate form of Vedic religion. Arati has no meaning.

Dominic said these are not Hindu customs. These are Indian customs. Tribals are not Hindus.

Culture and religion are different fields. Religion is the field of the clergy. The talk of inculturation keeps coming back and there is nothing new in it. What are local customs? How something anti-Christian can be adapted in the name of inculturation? In Christianity all are equal. There is no caste system. Adaptation of caste system is wrong.

Hindu festivals can not be celebrated by the church by giving it different meaning. Diwali celebrates return of Rama to Ayodhya.

If the intention is to please Hindus who are opposed to Christians and conversions it is naive. They will never be happy. Sonia Gandhi gave up whatever practice of Christianity she had at the time of marriage. After Rajiv Gandhi's entry into politics she gave up western ways. Yet her rivals continue to call her a Christians and foreigner and oppose her becoming Prime Minister of India. The same people want double citizenship to foreigners of Indian origin who are predominantly Hindu. RSS branches outside India are known as Hindu Swayamsevak Sanghs.

India imitates West. Bollywood imitates Hollywood. Indian culture is chaging. In which world votaries of inculturation living?

What about Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians, Jews, Bahais and others?

Reading of Indian Anaphora and non-Biblical scriptures during mass was banned in 1975.

Dominic said Pope Benedict XVI spoke of dialogue. Dialogue does not mean imitation. Dialogue is for spreading Christianity.

Let Catholic Church retain its present practices and not imitate Hindus.

(Last week I was unsuccessful in posting the article on Names and Surnames)

NAMES AND SURNAMES - VI

2005-10-22T22:49:00.000-07:00

Surnames

a) Bengali

1) Banerjee (Bandopadhyaya)
2) Chatterjee (Chattopadhyaya)
3) Ganguly (Chattopadhyaya)
4) Mukherjee (Mukhyopadhyaya)
5) Basu
6) Mazumdar
7) Das
8) Bhattacharya
9) Chakraborty
10)Dutt

b) Sindhi

1) Keswani
2) Lalwani
3) Vaswani
4) Tejwani
5) Khubchandani
6) Mulchandani
7) Bajaj
8) Bhutto
9) Zardari
10)Jethmalani

NAMES AND SURNMAMES - V

2005-10-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

So far the names and surnames were mostly English. Now onwards there will be other names and surnames too. Irish surnames that begin with O' or Fitz or Scottish surnames that begin with Mc will be excluded. O' means son of. I do not know the meaning of Fitz or Mc. Indian surnames that end in walla or its variants will be excluded.

Male Names

a) Parsi

1) Birjees
2) Burjor
3) Cyrus (Xerxes)
4) Darius
5) Hoshang
6) Khushroo
7) Mehernosh
8) Nariosang
9) Noshir
10) Jamshed

Female Names

a) English

1) Audrey
2) Evelyn

b) Greek

1) Eudocia
2) Penelope
3) Pulcheria
4) Rhea

c) Parsi

1) Anahita
2) Bapsi
3) Hutoxi
4) Kainaz
5) Dinaz
6) Delnaz
7) Hoofarish
8) Shernaz

Surnames

a) English

1) Bacon
2) Barrymore
3) Baldwin
4) Barnes
5) Bedser
6) Bowles
7) Cunningham
8) Chance
9) Crabtree
10) Defoe
11) Hoover
12) Hornby
13) Hamilton
14) Hepburn
15) Hunter
16) Linkletter
17) Patton
18) Perry
19) Plunkett
20) Priestley
21) Patch
22) Paxton
23) Ambursley
24) Amanpour
25) Milton
26) Newton
27) Bannister

b) French

1) Diderot
2) Rouseeau
3) Montesquieu
4) Dumas
5) Chirac
6) Marlaux
7) Lefebvre
8) Bardot

c) German

1) Becker
2) Graf
3) Kohl
4) Shroeder
5) Merkel
6) Hitler
7) Hess
8) Ratzinger
9) Beckenbauer
10) Rommel
11) Goebbels
12) Schumacher
13) Kant
14) Hegel
15) Nietzsche
16) Leibnitz

d) Irish

1) Dwyer
2) Kennedy
3) Fearon
4) Manning
5) Roche
6) Toner
7) Banville

e) Italian

1) Baggio
2) Rossi
3) Roncalli
4) Pertini
5) Perini
6) Cavadini
7) Pagani
8) Moro
9) Mussolini
10)Sarto
11)Bennelli
12)Berlusconi
13)Galtieri
14)Pavarotti

f) Scottish

1) Connery
2) Knox

g) Surnames of Konkani-speaking Christians. Predominantly of Portuguese origin.

1) D'Souza
2) Pais
3) Sequeira
4) Noronha
5) D'Silva
6) D'Costa
7) D'Almeida
8) D'Lima
9) D'Sa
10)D'Abreo
11)Correa
12)Colaco
13)Coelho
14)Monteiro
15)Lewis
16)Monis
17)Lobo
18)Mascarenhas
19)Pereira
20)Rego
21)Rodrigues
22)Castelino
23)Quadras
24)Mendonca
25)Fernandes
26)Braganza

h) Parsi

1) Antia
2) Godrej
3) Dastur
4) Bhabha
5) Ghista
6) Tata
7) Wadia
8) Manekshaw
9) Sidhwa

i) Tulu

1) Devadiga
2) Kotian
3) Poojary
4) Bangera
5) Thingalaya
6) Salian
7) Shetty
8) Markal
9) Rai
10)Suvarna

j) Spanish

1) Cabanach
2) Mendiburu
3) Gil
4) Banderas
5) Lopez
6) Gomez
7) Sanchez
8) Vicario

k) Marathi

1) Bhosle
2) Chorge
3) Pawar
4) Powar
5) Patil
6) Gole
7) Godbole
8) Deshmukh
9) Deshpande
10)Phadnavis
11)Kulkarni
12)Chavan
13)Berde
14)Gokhale
15)Tilak
16)Sawant
17)Date
18)Mate
19)Nene

l) Hindi

1) Bachchan
2) Dube
3) Chaube
4) Pandey
5) Sharma
6) Varma
7) Srivastava
Readers can send their comments to vincentaugustinedsouza@gmail.com

THOUGHTS ON 10/10/2005

2005-10-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

(The series Names and Surnames is skipped this week.)

Supreme Court has held the dissolution of Bihar Assembly as unconstitutional and yet has not ordered the restoration of the Assembly. It should have ordered the restoration. Even now it can do so. Election process for Bihar Assembly is going on but no polling has taken place. Supreme Court should have held daily hearing and announced the judgement soon. Justice delayed is justice denied.

To avoid hung assemblies Lok Sabhas we should switch over to Presidential System.

Ban on smoking on screen should have come to effect on 2/10/2005. Smoking is injurious to health of persons who smoke and do not smoke. If a man is sitting next to his pregnant wife and smoke even the foetus get affected. Smoking pollutes the atmosphere. The Constitution of India gurantees freedom of life and liberty. Smoking is against this right and against environment. Freedom of speech and expression can not override freedom of life and liberty. PIL against ban on smoking on screen should be thrown out with costs and the petitioners should be fined heavily.

Supreme Court has held that life imprisonment is for life. All those who were released after 20 years, 14 years or even a period less than 14 years must be rearrested and made to undergo rigorous imprisonment till death.

Supreme Court has relaxed ban on noise after 10.00 p.m. Midnight masses for Christmas, New Year and Easter should be allowed. Ban is effective only in big cities. In small cities and villages it has no meaning.

I liked Shekhar Gupta's article in Indian Express on 9/10/2005. Subsidies many times do not benefit poor and lead to corruption, black markeing etc. However privatisation of Delhi's power supply was a mess. Only distribition was privatised. Generation and transmission were not. Competition was not allowed. If full privatisation was allowed then consumers would have benefitted.

NAMES AND SURNAMES - IV

2005-10-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

The surname Young got repeated in the second list. I regret the error.

Third list

Male Names

1) Eric
2) Harold
3) James
4) Kenneth
5) Neville
6) Roger
7) Valerian

Female names

1) Adela
2) Amy
3) Agatha
4) Karen

Surnames

1) Atherton
2) Ashe
3) Bond
4) Boon
5) Brown
6) Bligh
7) Best
8) Bailey
9) Baker
10) Buchanan
11) Border
12) Benaud
13) Boswell
14) Boyd
15) Boyce
16) Bentinck
17) Churchill
18) Cook
19) Curzon
20) Clooney
21) Coolidge
22) Chappell
23) Crowe
24) Croft
25) Drake
26) Downing
27) Dowling
28) Darwin
29) Davis
30) Evert
31) Fleming
32) Ford
33) Fry
34) Griffith
35) Good
36) Garfield
37) Grant
38) Hutton
39) Hewitt
40) Hewlett
41) Hall
42) Heath
43) Hemingway
44) Inverarity
45) Jardine
46) Kitchener
47) Lincoln
48) Locke
49) Laver
50) Lindwall
51) May
52) Mill
53) Morley
54) Minto
55) Marsh
56) Orchard
57) Ormond
58) Pitt
59) Packard
60) Porter
61) Procter
62) Pollock
63) Quest
64) Regan
65) Rowe
66) Rafter
67) Rolls
68) Royce
69) Smith
70) Strong
71) Straw
72) Taylor
73) Taft
74) Todd
75) Tripp
76) Wood
77) Willis
78) Worrell
79) Walcott
80) Weekes
81) Warne
82) Yardley
83) Huxley
84) Hawn
85) Hayden
86) Hoon
87) Humphrey
88) Howe
89) Hawke
90) Hitchcock
91) Hayworth
92) Marlowe
93) Woosley
94) Wesley

NAMES AND SURNAMES - III

2005-09-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

Surnames derived by adding s or son to names are not included in the list e.g., Roberts, Robertson.

Second List

Male Names

1) Adolf
2) Arthur
3) Albert
4) Alfred
5) Bruce
6) Bernard
7) Benedict
8) Charles
9) David
10) Edmund
11) Frederick
12) Joseph
13) Patrick
14) Ronald
15) Raymond
16) Titus
17) Vitus

Female Names

1) Amanda
2) Beatrice
3) Catherine
4) Celine
5) Cynthia
6) Emiliana
7) Joan
8) Magdalene
9) Oprah
10) Rita

Surnames

1) Blair
2) Booth
3) Boycott
4) Cowdrey
5) Clinton
6) Clive
7) Carter
8) Cartwright
9) Flintoff
10) Gatting
11) Gower
12) Howard
13) Irving
14) Moore
15) Monroe
16) Norris
17) Old
18) Young
19) Armstrong
20) Fletcher
21) Greig
22) Brearly
23) Snow
24) Illingworth
25) Luckhurst
26) Edrich

Readers can sent their comments to vincentaugustinedsouza@gmail.com

NAMES AND SURNAMES - II

2005-09-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

First list

Male Names

1) Augustine
2) Bonaventure
3) Christopher
4) Denis
5) Edward
6) Francis
7) Gregory
8) Joaquim
9) Kevin
10) Lancelot
11) Maxim
12) Peter
13) Robert
14) Stephen
15) Vincent
16) Walter

Female Names

1) Agnes
2) Blesilla
3) Clara
4) Diana
5) Flavia
6) Grace
7) Hilda
8) Ivy
9) Jane
10) Linda
11) Mary
12) Nancy
13) Ophelia
14) Pepita
15) Stephanie
16) Violet
17) Zeta

Surnames

1) Archer
2) Bush
3) Close
4) Dexter
5) Flint
6) Gooch
7) Hayden
8) Lambert
9) More
10) Parker
11) Quested
12) Reagan
13) Stone
14) Titmus
15) Wallace
16) Young

Readers can send their comments to vincentaugustinedsouza@gmail.com

NAMES AND SURNAMES - I

2005-09-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

Names play an important role in our lives. Most of the people have surnames though many communities do not have surnames. I want to prepare a list of male names, female names and surnames. Males shall not have female names and vice versa. Surnames shall not be kept as names. Names of countries such as England, Holland and Ireland shall not be surnames.

ELECTIONS, JUDGES ETC.

2005-09-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

Elections in India should be held on a single day. Bihar elections are held in four phases. First polling is on 18/10/2005 and last polling is on 19/11/2005. Paramilitary forces could have been used for maintenance of law and order. Election Commissioners want to extend their importance and do unjustified things. Reasons given for such a long duration are unjustified. If security forces can be moved from one place to another during different phases, so also booth capturers. Polling boxes need to be guarded for a long time and it is an avoidable expenditure.

CPI and RJD have criticized the long duration of Bihar elections. CPI’s objections are strange as it objected on the basis of Ramzan. Communism is against religion. Karl Marx said, “Religion is the opium of the masses”. Once Somnath Chatterjee had thrown an iftar party where no Muslim was present.

Sania Mirza reached where no Indian woman reached before; fourth round of US Open a grand slam event. Indian Express did not report her match with Maria Sharapova.

Judges in USA should have retirement age. Nomination of John Roberts, who was under consideration as Justice, as Chief Justice is not right. One of the serving Justices should have been nominated as Chief Justice.

The constitution of India does not give the power of amendment to the judges. The Judges of Supreme Court amended the constitution when they said that consultation with the Chief Justice meant consent and it should be with a college of five judges including Chief Justice and four other seniormost Justices.

Hurricane Katrina caused immense damage. Criminals added to the misery by loot, rape and murder. Calamities bring out various sides of persons ranging from best to worst.

Schemes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme cause lot of money and do not benefit people much. In Solapur a scam of Rs.9.1 crore has come to light and Maharashtra Government is trying to hush up the matter.

NO TO RESERVATIONS

2005-08-27T00:31:00.000-07:00

There shall be no reservations in legislatures. To argue that women are 50% of the population and are underrepresented in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies is wrong. Women are free to contest 100% seats and win. If they do not do so it is their wish. Many political parties have opposed reservation for women on various grounds like backward class women should have reservation within these reservations.

Women can become Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers on their on strength. Many are undisputed leaders of their parties.

Reservation in panchayats and municipalities has resulted in proxy rule.

Similarly reservations for SCs and STs should go.

All political parties must have the courage to say reservations in legislatures are wrong in principle.

Political parties should not try to nullify the judgment that abolishes reservations in private unaided colleges. Let not justice be diluted in the name of social justice. There are colleges by various communities including Dalits.

If politicians think pleasing people on the basis of community and sex will get them more votes they are mistaken. V. P. Singh when he was Prime Minister announced reservations for backward classes (52% of the population), conferred Bharat Ratna on B. R. Ambedkar as a representative of Dalits (15%) and declared Mohammed’s birthday a holiday to please Muslims (12%). He did not win the next elections.

Thoughts on 20/8/2005

2005-08-20T00:13:00.000-07:00

Today (20/8/2005) is Parsi New Year. Some years ago Indian Express had almanac section. In that it used to give dates according to three Parsi calendars. I suppose today is New Year according to the calendar followed by largest number of Parsis. I wish Parsis a Happy New Year.

Judge Laxmi Rao who allowed rapists to go free is transferred. That is not enough. She should be dismissed and made to undergo the punishment she did not impose on the rapists. On August 6 & 8 sentenced two men for seven years RI each and let them on probation. On August 12 only till the rising of the court. Maximum punishment is life imprisonment. So the punishment to her should be seven years + seven years + life imprisonment. Life imprisonment shall mean for life. The sentences shall run consecutively.

Laxmi Rao, perhaps for the first time in Indian history, convicted a woman of 35 years for five years RI for kidnapping a boy of 16 years and having sex with him. Indian Penal Code does not provide for women to be convicted for rape or illicit sex.

Government of India should not go for World Bank loans. We have 142 billion dollar foreign exchange reserves. Use them.

Speakers have been partial in deciding anti-defection cases. Shivraj Patil, Madhukar Chowdhury and many others have acted partially to suit their parties. Recently in Goa Speaker Francisco Sardinha disqualified Cortalim MLA Mathany Saldanha on a petition by Philip Neri Rodrigues who did not belong to the same party and who was disqualified by former Speaker Vishwas Satarkar. Mathany Saldanha was disqualified on 9/8/2005 and election for his seat was declared on 18/8/2005. Philip Neri Rodrigues was disqualified earlier but no election was declared for his Velim constituency. Election Commission has been unfair several times. In 1991 T. N. Seshan postponed Punjab Elections for 12 Punjab Lok Sabha by three months and three days as Congress was in a minority and it had not put up candidates for these seats. This allowed Congress to frame a new law that allowed cancellation of elections. T. N. Seshan and M. S. Gill later joined Congress. Speakers should not decide on anti-defections and there should be fixed dates for elections.

In KBC 2 on 19/8/2005 Amitabh Bachchan while introducing Preity Zinta’s cousin said “cousin brother” which is wrong. “Cousin” is correct. Similarly “cousin sister” is wrong.

Petroleum

2005-08-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

Petroleum prices have reached $67 per barrel. Government is worried about price hike. Let it increase the value of Rupee and make it Rs.40/- or less per dollar. We have 142 billion dollar reserves.

Church

2005-08-14T23:49:00.000-07:00

Church is a place for mass, prayers, preaching and sacraments. It is not a place for clapping, singing happy birthdays and happy feast days.

It is not a place for people who want to talk. Some keep talking non stop throughout the mass.

KBC 2

2005-08-14T23:43:00.000-07:00

Kaun Banega Crorepati 2 should give a chance to all who give correct answers. It is not fair that few people are randomly selected. People dial several times and when they do not get a call are disappointed and lose interest in the game show. TRPs go down. If KBC 2 reverts to previous method of selection and gives chance to all who give correct answers its popularity will remain intact. Telephone companies will also make lot of money first by single question round and those who answer correctly in the next round. I hope the organizers will consider my suggestion.

I felt sorry for Ekta Agarwal. She was doing will. Her four lifelines were intact. She mistook second runner up to mean the person who comes second. At first glance I too thought the same way but when Amitabh Bachchan mentioned lifelines I realized the mistake.

Konkan

2005-08-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

Fali S. Nariman wants Bombay to be a union territory. Jaya Bachchan supports him. Pramod Mahajan opposes him. I want Maharashtra to be divided into four states – Vidarbha, Marathawada, Western Maharashtra and Konkan. Bombay shall be part of Konkan. Konkani shall be the official language of Konkan. Goa may be added to Konkan.

Travesty of justice

2005-08-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

Two recent judgments in cases of rape have found the accused guilty yet there are not punished.

1) Parmaram Sharan (27) was found guilty of rape and kidnapping. He was convicted of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment but not to go to jail. He had to pay a compensation of Rs.50,000/- to the victim. “The court has given Sharan a probation of three years on personal bond of Rs.10,000 on the ground that he is the sole earning member of his family and he has dependents two young children and ailing parents.” said public prosecutor Lata Cheda. (Indian Express 9/8/2005)

2) Suresh Vanse (34) was accused of raping a 14 year old in 2002. There was no 10 years rigorous imprisonment for him. He was to pay compensation of Rs.50,000/- and imprisonment for one day i.e., till the rising of the court which meant till 5.00 p.m. The ground for non-punishment – He has a wife, four children and mother. (Indian Express 12/8/2005)

Laxmi Rao was the judge in both cases.

This is perversion of justice. It is immaterial whether the guilty person is the sole breadwinner of his family and has dependents. The only thing that matters is that a crime is committed. Money can not compensate for what a rape victim undergoes and Rs.50,000/- is a small amount. Besides members of rape victims family also suffer. Where is the provision for monetary compensation in Indian Penal Code? Public prosecutors must appeal against these verdicts. The Governor, the Chief Minister, the Law Minister and Advocate General of Maharashtra and the President, the Prime Minister, the Law Minister and Attorney General of India must act swiftly to nullify the damage done by these verdicts and also such judgments do not come in future.

It is good that some citizens have come forward to act against these judgments.

Some years ago KPS Gill was convicted of bottom slapping by a Sessions Court. He was to undergo imprisonment. He appealed and the High Court turned imprisonment into fine/compensation of Rs.2,00,000/-. Supreme Court upheld the High Court judgment. Why no imprisonment for KPS Gill?

In another case on 12/8/2005 Mohammed Yakub was acquitted of rape, as the victim did not want to pursue the case as she had got engaged. Mohammed Yakub had taken the then 15 year old girl on 25/12/1999. The mother of the girl had registered a police complaint and both were found after 4 days. It took 5 years, 7 months and 18 days for the case to come up and victim to be asked. Justice delayed and justice denied. Someone who raped a girl in a local train much after that was convicted. Was it because media pressure?

Sunil More is still not convicted. R. R. Patil, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister of Maharashtra should get him convicted him by 31/8/2005 or quit. One girl was murdered at Gateway of India in broad daylight. The murderer shall be sentenced to death.

Salaries of MPs

2005-08-14T00:31:00.000-07:00

Rajeev Shukla feels MPs have notional perks. (Indian Express DT. 6/8/2005) He wants their salaries to be increased and they should be allowed to hold offices of profit. There was a discussion about this in We the people on NDTV 24X7 on 7/8/2005. I agree with what Gurudas Dasgupta said on that day. He was opposed to increase. Other MPs who took part were Lalit Suri, Ashwini Kumar and Shahid Siddiqui. Shahid Siddique was opposed to increase. Lalit Suri was in favour of it. Ashwini Kumar was not opposed to increase.

Arguments for increase:

1) MPs draw a salary of Rs.12,000/-. It is less than that of secretaries.
2) They have to give gifts during weddings - Rs.501/- at one time.
3) They have to entertain people who come to their homes.

I am opposed to increase.

Arguments against increase:

1) Rs.12,000/- is not a small amount. At 48, and after 20 years of service I don't get that much. Let MPs not compare themselves to secretaries or other posts. Other posts have qualifications. MPs need not be qualified.
2) Giving gifts is their personal choice.
3) Everybody who comes to meet need not be offered tea. Besides, how much they spend on entertainment?
4) Rajeev Shukla does not mention constituency allowance, daily allowance of Rs.500/- while the Parliament is session and various other benefits.
5) MPs position is not a job. They are to represent people.

Besides MPs have got pensions for themselves when they are out of power. Even if a person is MP for one day he gets life term pension. Now they want to extend it to spouses and children. Pensions also should be abolished.

Rajeev Shukla wanted office of profit. He said there is not enough work when the Parliament is not in session. Shahid Siddiqui said 24 hours are not enough for the work.

Madhu Limaye got his salary as MP. Why his earnings from writings were mentioned as his only income?

People like N. G. Ranga are exception. Even though he had no private vehicle he could have taken Parliament bus. He preferred to walk.

What work MPs do? Many are absent. Many times there are disruptions. Several times bills are passed without quoram. President must take note of this. He has taken the oath to uphold the constitution.

There is misuse of MP Local Area Development Fund.

Expenses for educating the children were mentioned in the debate. Obviously they don't want to send their children to government schools. Who is responsible for the condition of government schools?

Dilip Cherian pointed out that MPs say their salary is not enough and living conditions are intoleable and yet when it is times for election there are ten people vying for one seat spending one crore rupees. There is a huge disconnect there.

People become MPs voluntarily. If they are not happy they can quit.

Rajeev Shukla was a television journalist. He knew politicians. He became member of BCCI and during a tour of India's cricket team he became manager depriving a cricketer his rightful chance.

Many MPs hold positions and sports bodies and deprive right persons their chance. Sharad Pawar deprived Ajit Wadekar his chance of becoming President of MCA.

Let not MPs whine about their salary and living conditions. You can not fool all the people all the time.

Rajeev Shukla, you can go back to television journalism.

Bombay on the brink

2005-08-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

Since 26/7/2005 Bombay has neven been the same again. Suburbs received 944 mm rain. Many areas were flooded. Most of the phones were dead. Electricity was cut off. Once again on 1/8/2005 and 2/8/2005 there were heavy rains, though not in the city. Train services are not yet normal. Many people have died of diseases. Hospitals are full. Whether it is leptospirosis or dengue is not clear. Stray dogs are said to be cause of spreading leptospirosis. There is a ban on killing stray dogs. What animal lovers have to say about this?

BAN

2005-07-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Ban on scenes of smoking

Ban on scenes of smoking is a good idea. Smoking is injurious to health. Artistic freedom does not mean what is injurious to health should be promoted or glorified. Where it is necessary to show scenes of smoking, like in films produced upto now, statutory warning should be shown.

Ban on glorification of crimes and criminals

Glorification of crimes and criminals should be forbidden. TV channels, newspapers and magazines should be banned from publishing or telecasting interviews of criminals wanted and absconding makes a mockery of the nation. It gives respectability to criminals.

Dress Code

Cardinal Ivan Dias, Archbishop of Bombay, has come out with a circular regarding dress code in churches which is a good thing. Some women oppose it saying it is discriminatory to women. One said if men get excited by looking at women they should be blind folded. I was amused.

What about a dress code for clergy, Your Eminence? Does the clergy wear ecclesiastical dress? Religious priests who do not have a particular dress are to wear the ecclesiastical dress of diocesan clergy? Is it followed? What about prelates? One of your auxiliaries (Agnelo Gracias?) at the time of consecration said his mitre belonged to so and so, his crozier belonged to so and so etc. I felt bad. Bishops, archbishops and cardinals have distinct dresses. Do you dress appropriately Your Eminence? Some years back a cardinal in Mexico was mistaken for a criminal and shot dead. I hope you do not end up like him Your Eminence.

Railways

Railways should continue with the current arrangement of three seats and one pole at the door. There should be more trains between Borivali and Virar. There should be one more train from Vasai Road to Churchgate between 7.56 a.m. and 8.11 a.m.

Cardinals

Cardinals above 80 should have the right to vote in conclaves which was the case till 1971. Till the number of cardinals comes down to 120 new cardinals should not be appointed. There should be one cardinal for one crore catholics. Italy is overrepresented. Brazil is underrepresented.

Rent

Bombay Rent Act freezing rent at 1940 level should be scrapped.

Various thoughts

2005-07-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

Justice

No innocent person shall be punished. No guilty person shall escape. Punishment shall be in proportion to the crime. Justice is not reform.

Death penalty is the proper punishment for murder. It shall be in every case. There are people who argue for life imprisonment for murder. They say it is more harsh than death penalty.

Arguments against life imprisonment for murder:

1) Life imprisonment is not more harsh than death penalty. Many people spend 14 or 20 years in jail and come out.

2) If life imprisonment is not more harsh than death penalty it is better to put the murderer to death.

3) Murderers escape from prison and kill more people. Remember Veerappan.

4) Some claim abolition of death penalty in countries like UK has resulted in murders coming down. This is hogwash. Remember Hannah Foster. After terrorist bombings in London UK will have to rethink on bringing back death penalty.

5) What about people who killed Mohandas Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi?

6) Death penalty not being mandatory has resulted in murders taking place openly.

7) It has resulted in encounters.

Law and Order in Maharashtra

The constable who raped a girl in a police post at Marine Drive on 21/4/2005 is yet to be convicted. Some days after that a German tourist was raped in Rajasthan. The criminals were convicted in May.

People who vandalise theatres are not dealt with. Film persons go to plead with the leader of political party.

When Legistature meets in Vidhan Bhavan the security arrangements are a nuisance to people who work around the area. The capital of Maharashtra shall be shifted to some remote place.

PI

The profession who filed a PIL has against adult films has got involved in Tuff Shoes case. Does she spend her money for court cases? How much time does she spend for preparation of classes?

Road dividers
from Eros to Petroleum House are a nuisance.

48

I will be 48 on 19/7/2005. Many of my wishes are unfulfilled. I am dejected, depressed, disappointed, dispirited, disgrunted and disillusioned. However I hope like Abraham Lincoln success will begin for me at 48. I remember the words in Pretty Woman: "Some dreams come true. Some don't. Keep on dreaming."

Uniform Civil Code

2005-07-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

India needs Uniform Civil Code. Law must prevail. Extra constitutional authorities shall not be allowed to exercise authority of state. All panchayat members who lynch people shall be hanged.

It is disgusting that Chief Minister of UP justified the fatwa in Imrana case. It is still more disgusting that All India Muslim Personal Law Board members saying that the rape did not take place.

Salman Khurshid has avoided taking a stand. Anand Sharma said Law and Constitution are there. CPI(M) came out with a strong reaction.