Reservation policy

Hindu society is sectionalised into different castes with each caste having its own customs and traditions and some unique feature. But, over the years this diversity has been turned into a vertical divide with some castes treating themselves as superior and privileged and the others considered as undeserving. To counter this deprivation of opportunities and equal status, the Policy of Reservations was propounded with reservations in education and jobs. The purpose is to bring greater equality in the society by removing the economic and social barriers.
But, the policy which was initially envisioned for a period of 10 years has been extended again and again. This clearly shows that the policy hasn’t yielded the desired results as it has had to be extended and the end goal is still out of sight. Only a section of the reserved class has taken advantage of the reservation policy with large numbers still deprived. Some people have taken advantage over 2-3 generations while many have not been benefited at all. Also there are large numbers of people outside the SC/STs who are poor and downtrodden- upper castes included. A survey by the Government of Karnataka in one of the districts in 1971 found that the Brahmins were the poorest and most illiterate of all.
One more problem with the policy is the apparent lack of stress on quality. Exclusively reserving a seat in an institution may deprive a much more deserving candidate than getting it. Also, it is a human tendency to become complacent when he knows that only this much is sufficient and no more is needed. The issue of gap in the opportunities available in urban/semi-urban and rural areas is a major roadblock in ensuring social justice. Though the challenge is to provide equal opportunities to everyone despite ones caste, there is a fear of reverse discrimination. Caste identities are becoming more pronounced and attaining political/electoral overtones, where nothing also and only caste matters.
Thus, the society is getting more fragmented. Instead on fighting on one piece of bread, we must try and earn more bread and in the process ensure that everybody gets a piece of it. Opportunities must be provided to everybody, but the reward should be given according to the hard work put in and merit. The challenge is to wipe out the caste antagonism and create a just society which lives in harmony and no underneath friction. Instead of reservation on caste lines, we can have special support for students who have been incapacitated by adverse economic and social conditions.

Disclaimer: The views expresses are not meant to hurt anybody but rather are an attempt to write down my feeling and opinions about the topic. The whole passage was written in 23 mins and thus is not a true representation of my mind.

Concise press statement on Sachin's record

Tendulkar has hit his 35th test century and broken the world record of yet another Indian protégé- Gavaskar. This feat is just a reminder and the accolades a small recognition of his talents and contribution to Indian cricket.
Tendulkar’s career graph has been flat with consistently good performances under all conditions. He has also been compared to the best ever and here is where I would like to make my dissenting voice heard. Sachin has tended to fail on critical occasions e.g. WC 1999 Super six match against Australia. Though he is a match winner, he hasn’t performed feats like Lara- the 153* in a final score of 313-9 to win the Test against Australia in 1999. Also, Lara raises his game according to the occasion- Australian tour of West Indies in 1999, first match of WC 2003 against South Africa, his first Test century 277 against Australia at Sydney are among the numerous such occasions. Sachin’s one day performance has overshadowed his Test batting which requires more patience, stamina and application of the basics and thus Sachin has remained the king of One day cricket but there are others in the Test arena.
So, at this moment of jubilation we Indians should not compare him with anybody as he is a genre in himself and every great man has qualities which make him unique. We should learn to acknowledge talent outside India and not become sycophants.
Did you know that Sachin has been awarded by the Dept of Income tax for paying the largest tax and he runs orphanages for children donating both time and money? Thus we must also celebrate his off the field heroics and hope that India gets such world beaters in as many different fields as possible.

A Notice

I want to improve my writing skills and especially learn writing an essay(short term plan) with the XAT coming up. So treat my further posts as effort towards that and all literary critics are welcome. Don't couter my arguments suggest me better ways of writing and ommissions. Co-operation welcomed

Some news clippings

Rai's murder seems to have ended the last gang rivalry prevailing in the area, and the underworld has become unipolar.
Samajwadi Party MLA Atiq Ahmed is now left in control from Kanpur to Allahabad, while the area from around Allahabad, Varanasi and on to Ballia is Ansari's domain.
RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin holds fort from Ballia to Siwan in Bihar.
The three are in close nexus, sharing information, shooters, and forming a drug and gun-running ring.

source:www.ndtv.com
what is the home minister doing? Probably Raosaheb Ramrao should be sent tellimg him that these dons run dance bars there.

Lara gungan

Off late my friend has been irritating me by criticising Lara. So Varun a detailed analysis will come out by next year. My reading, writing, poetic, researching all such skills will come out of the project. Actually I wanted to carry out a career analysis of Lara and u have given me the extra reason.Remember, I have never compared Lara with Sachin- u were the first to bring in his name.
Till that time enjoy this pic. One thing Varun I will chose u even in front of her( got the message?) though it would be a very difficult choice. I am calling truce with u-stop Lara bashing.

Should Lara suffer the same fate as Waugh and Taylor?

Mat I NO Runs HS1 HS2 HS3 Ave 100 50 ducks

10 19 0 1035 196 176 153 54.47 4 2 2
15 26 1 1732 400* 196 176 69.28 6 3 2
20 36 1 2087 400* 196 176 59.62 7 5 4
25 45 2 2815 400* 209 202 65.46 10 6 4
40 71 2 4482 400* 221 209 64.95 15 14 5

Well the above are the statistics of Lara. One can easily read the pattern. In a team whose batsmen who don't even average 40 Lara is performing consistently. He has also retired from one-dayers to prolong his Test career. And don't forget his mentoring of Sarwan and Bravo, the latter attributed his century ar Brisbane to Lara's advice.

The celebrations

Dancing to the tune Singer Varun

Few weeks ago Varun was singing:
Gela Gela Lara Gela Gela
Now he back to singing the same tune with a different lyrics.
Gela gela gela gela gela
Ball boundary la gela gela gela.

The first image shows Lara struggling, the second taking the pains of the effort and the third shows his subdues celebration and humble acknowledgement to the overwhelmed crowd.

I will finish off with this quote from cricinfo
"Poor umpiring decisions have been a major reason for his difficulties as the series was lost in two matches, but Lara did not complain and set about rectifying his personal situation with an innings most geniuses wouldn't have bothered with."

Post election drama

There was rioting in the BJP office in Patna because Modi was made deputy CM instead of Chaubey or Yadav. Now few years back the BJP could declare itself a party with a difference. But then what can one expect given that the BJP president is going to step down just now at the age of 79. The challenge in Bihar is performance that is visible. This is going to be difficult- more thatn anything else there needs to be attitudinal change and this could be termed as easy as it might be classified difficult.
Lets hope the tag of cultural heartland of India becomes its economic heartland as well.

Lot is being said about the Right to Information Act and how it will change the way in which governance is carried out. But I was just wondering y weren't ppl od Maharashtra informed enough that the state had a similar act before the central act was enacted. Maybe the government employees will far more used to the act.
I would also like to write about the tribal Act but not now- too tensed with the exams.

Electoral Tamasha

It is hilarious to know that the Shiv Sena candidate from Malvan couldn't even save his deposit. This is what happens to a party which ridicule's popular leaders. The popular leaders may not be good, but they win u elections. There is a message for BJP in this- Uma Bharti must be treated with more respect.
Udhav Thackray has alledged rigging in Malvan and he not even as graceful as Laloo to accept defeat. Its time the reins of Shiv Sena are handed to Raj. He is the person who can enthuse some life into the dormant Sena.

Now to Bihar. It has been a major victory for NDA. SOme factors that contributed to their victory-
1. upper caste votes
2. Most backward caste votes
3. Muslim votes for JDU (at least thet didn't vote aggressively against the BJP)
4. General discontent with RJD:Laloo lost heavily in the Muslim-Yadav belt.
There is one thing the BJP can do. Tow the Hindu line but don't antagonise the Muslims and make them vote against you- exactly what Sudheendra Kulkarni said. The BJP can get votes from the common Muslim.

Reservation for Muslims in IITs and IIMs

Is there anybody out there who can tell me how to officially convert to Islam so that I can benefit from the proposal to reserve seats for Muslims. This year the change is not going to occur, but if I don't get through CAT, I want to make sure that by the next time I appear for CAT, I am a Muslim on paper.
Comments appreciated.

testing times

I have to do the OOAD submission in 2 days and have just started with it. whenver I sit with paper and pen in front of me, I just can't think anything up. This subject is driving me to the edge os my senses. A couple of years before had I faced this subject I would have definitely had a nervous break down, but 3 years in SPCE and that too electrical and I have learnt to do things however difficult they are.
The other day Varun put up a nice pic and I am still mesmerized by this gal Namitha. So I did some google for her and got hold of a few stunning pics. She is damn beatiful man.

Freedom of choice

There are very many horrible miseries in life. One may suffer from physical pain, mental agony, tragedy, nature's wrath etc. On a particulat evening when I was coming home from the college, I was standing at Andheri Railway station PF 1. The trains usually come every 3-4 mins and so one has to hardly wait for one. But then it was around 7.15 pm and ther trains at this time are very crowded and come at a frequency of 10 mins. But then there are also trains to go to kandivli from PF-4(they are ususlly emptier). So I thought lets check up if there is a train from PF-4.What I learnt was this-There is train coming on PF-4 in 1 min and to PF-1 in another 1min. I was faced with the situation as to which train do I catch? which train would be less crowded and would give me a pleasanter journey. The decision making was the most painful (that was the day of our project presentation aur alreadyshot baitha tha).
Now I am faced with another choice THE ELECTIVE. After the OOAD experience, I am really worried. Going by my career goals (management) Project management is a good subject. But, is it a subject of which I would like to give a paper? (theoretical). The teaching methodology of PG kuch ras nahi aai, but then IIMS would be something like this only except that they would be strict and demanding. Again what would a subject like FACTS teach me? Am I going to use the subject matter in my future life?
Most of the OOAD guys are apprehensive and have the feeling that we would be inviting trouble by taking the subject.
I would be learning PM in a B-school, if I ever get into one. And I don't know how much practical applications I will learn from the elective.

And that is y I say no tragedy or situation is as bad as the one in which u are left alone to make a choice and then bear responsibility for it.
the most painful is the freedom to choose

Security of an Indian citizen

The news media has been crying joarse about the Delhi serial blasts showing scenes from the roadside and hospitals and government offices....
What we need to do is understand the implication of such blasts. Till a decade ago, militancy was faced only in J&K, but now it is a national phenomenon-Ayodhya, Akshardham, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and the list continues. India is getting engulfed in the grip of Islamic terrorism. But what are we doing-reserving seats for the minorities in government institutions. A fool can also understand that the Jehad against Hindustan is to subjugate and control it and not merely to ensure what a minority rightly deserves. The rights and freedom of especially the minorities is wel guarded by the constitution and special bodies have been set up to ensure this. So claiming that Muslims are ill-treated (treated as secondary citizens is totally baseless.)

Today the situation is such that any Indian citizen cannot dare to venture out of house without thinking of the possibility of a bomb blast.
The other dimension of the security scenario is the Naxalite violence wihch has engulfed the heart of the Indian geographic territory. Everyday we have news reports of violence in Chhastisgard, Gadchirauli, Andhra, Jharkhand etc. The Indian state needs to ensure the safety od every citizen and the terrorists and the naxalites need to be dealt with severely and without any mercy.

On the contrary, what signals are we getting? Ceasefire with NAGA militants, unconditional talks with ULFA and Naxalites in Andhra.(The Naxalite problem is getting worse with the Maoists coming in.) Let alone this, Bangladesi rifles some office barer comes to New Delhi and accuses the hand of India behind the 493 bomb blasts that occured in Bangladesh recently. (Imagine, this country owes its esistence to India). India does nothing. There are repots of the Assam militants shifting base from Bhutan to Bangladesh and the ISI running dozeens of camps near the Indian border in Bangladesi territory. What is India doing about it? Bangladesh is neither a nuclear power nor can its army sustain an attack from India.

I didn't want to talk about this in this post, but then as I amin the mood for it...
I was reading a bit about the history of ASSAM. Today some 6 districts are Muslim majority and another 5-6 are on a verge of becoming one:with percentages of 35, 40, 49, 46 etc. During the partition, Jinnah demanded that Assam be a part of Pakistan. There has been mass migration of Bangladeshi Muslims in to Assam from the thirties.
There has been a statement by one Bangladeshi Prime minister that Bangladesh is economically viable only of Assam is clubbed with it. We need to wake up to these realities if well crafted, intentional plan to change the demography of India and usurp her territory by the Islamists.
The situatoin is becoming similar in West Bengal with the Muslim population in the border districts showing tremendous increase. Also if u are aware, Muslims constitute some 25-30 percent of Mumbai. rest of Maharastra just 8 percent.

Havoc

The last week has been some kind of a bad dream. We are going nowhere with our project. SP had a blast. The submissions including OOAD CAPS and all coming at the same time:very very frustrating. But then hard times bring in opportunities and the wise cease on the slightest scent of opportunity, so I plan to do the same.
But then then going is tough and so I(and you) need a nasha and here it is. Spot the thing every man is trying to find in a girl.

Lara ala... Lara gela

After observing lara in the Super Series one day games a notion in my mind for some days has got a concretised. See his attitude on the field, its like he is some big hury. He doesn't give himself any time to settle down and get his eye in. He starts with his strokeplay as soon as he arrives at the crease and plays some senseless shots which are categorized as awesome but only when he is in form (at the crease for large enough time). He just gets out playing those big drives so early in his innings.
What I feel is that, Lara's time in one days is over and he no longer has the attitude and temperament for this form of the game. He should concentrate all his efforts on the Tests where he is an angel and it is for Test cricket that he is born.

Back to . . .

I am back after a long and irritating week where my net was down.
Varun has written a lot of pleasant things about me and I am very embarassed. I am not as intelligent and edifying as he has suggested. I am a person capable of doing everything, I can be with all types of people, so no tabooing. About the "principles" things that varun has said, yes I fervently believe in them, but if sometime later I think that the chains with which I have restricted my Kurukshetra have no meaning, I discard them shamelessly and without any guilt or any other reservation. One has to accept if he was wrong and correct and adapt. I make new rules for me and YES, I do believe in people but I am not afraid to kick them in the face if they do the same thing to me WITHOUT any provocation from me. As to the fact that it was me whose actions started the confrontation, then I like to quickly diffuse the tension because I think fighting is sheer waste of energy.

The great SPtrical debate

We people have been debating amongst ourselves on many topics viz. Hindutva, Hindu society, reservations etc. The feeling I get is this- we don't listen to each other(basically all of us are poor listeners), we are not sensitive to each others views adn the debate of late is on the verge of transforming itself into an altercation.
Since we are not going to accept what the other says and not going to change even an iota, lets stop the topic at least for the time being. We can better invest our energies in the OOAD dance (and studies).

musings

Today was a routine day with some sleep, some studies, some chatting, some quarelling, but no masti (net was down).
Life is hell with all these studies, can't complete even 10% of the target for the day. Have been programming for hours and have been only able to have a long chat with save, bhute and ONE ybusformation program(function).
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Heard that some Muslim organisations have threatened Sania Mirza over her on-court attire. I would openly invite her to come to the Hindu fold, there are no restrictions on the individual, and he/she is free to do anything. Even atheists are permitted, so she can still read Namaz 5 times a day and call herself Hindu. Atleast she would be saved fron the fundamentalists.(actually leaving Islam deserves a punishment which is instant death, but then maybe the Indian constitution will come to her rescue.)
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"Hutch Telecom Reportedly Helping Christian Fundraising Drive in India"
This news item has appeared on the RSS website (go and read it if interested)
It says that Hutch provided the adresses of its customers to WorldVision (a christian organisation) and the latter had been sending letters requesting to sponsor a child with his education.
I confirm this because I received such a letter. The letter doesn;t mention that it is a christian Organisation. I was saved as a few days back I had received a similar letter from CRY but it mentioned that it is christian organisation.
So people awake and resist "harping of souls" by the missionaries.

management??????

I am planning to get into a good management institute and get a MBA degree. So I go and buy the CAT bulletin-where do I have to go? DADAR;imagine:no counter available in the 6 million odd populated Mumbai suburbs FINE. Then the shocker, vital pages containing the instructions to fill the forms is missing (not printed).Imagine the IIMS are the top management institutes in India.
Next I want to buy the forms fr XAT, guess where do I go:DADAR, now what? The forms are over. Now this is the performance from the management institutes thenselves:what will happen of India? The Government sector is the only hope, I have never seen any government office worse than this. Even our Rekha Madam is better, though she is rude atleast she does the work and that true completely and properly.
But maybe these institutes and their chairmen (one of whose photos is uploaded) teach us to manage and live in dreams and never come out of them.

Today a full paltan came to my house for ganpati and we had a good time(though patya got a bit bored as we were behaving like stupid idiot dogs out in the streets in the wee hours of the night).
It ws soothing to know that I have such good friends (some of them are very unwanted though like our very own newly christened Gholap). I hope he doesn't read this. Well, its sad that bhise can't come because of his injury and my heart goes out to him and I do sincerely hope that he gets well soon.

A Humble Beginning

This is my first post and I hope people will read my blog intermittently (to see the pics atleast). Today has been a boring day though I did the CAPS practical for just 10 mins and got the attendance( that was fun). Had kind words from Varun which really made me happy. Signing off without writing anything major as this is just a test message.