AAP, how will Gram Sabhas get back the looted wealth stashed in tax havens? -- Kalavai Venkat

December 27, 2013, 1:05 am

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AAP’s Gram Sabha

BY KALAVAI VENKAT / IN COMMENTARY / DECEMBER 27, 2013

Congratulations Arvind Kejriwal on staking your claim to form the government in Delhi. I admire your much needed fight against corruption. I hope you will walk the talk. In 2011, EXIM scams alone totaled US $ 85 billion. Corruption of such magnitude impedes growth and hurts large sections of society.

Money meant for infrastructure development is instead diverted to secret Swiss bank accounts of politicians and businessmen. So, even if you partially succeed in your campaign against corruption, you would’ve rendered a yeomen service. You have mobilized the educated, young, urban middle-class in a commendable manner and your advocacies resonate with them. This necessitates a reasonable examination of your stated policies. Flawed policies would set back and harm society as much as corruption does.

In your book Swaraj, you have passionately argued for gram sabha (i.e., village assembly) as the panacea for many ills of society. I will include mohalla sabha, ward committees and other local forms of governments under this category.I will paraphrase your advocacies (see pp. 32-33, 41, 67 of Kejriwal’s book Swaraj):

1. If the state or central government wants to acquire village land for any development initiative then they must negotiate with the gram sabha, which would be empowered to derail the initiative. The water sources that fall within the boundaries of a village will automatically be treated as the property of the village. No decision such as building a dam should be taken without the consent of the gram sabha.
2. The gram sabha would directly hire government school teachers without depending on a central agency. Teachers would be required to report to the gram sabha, which would also monitor their performance.
3. Government hospitals would report to the gram sabha, which would monitor the supply of medicines. In the event of shortage, the gram sabha would procure medicines directly from the market using funds allocated to the gram sabha by the state government.
4. Gram sabhas would be empowered to impose and collect local taxes.

Do these advocacies benefit society or is gram sabha a regressive idea? Let us evaluate.

India’s growth has been unplanned and lopsided. Infrastructure, energy supply, and logistics network that would facilitate the transport of goods and hence spur economic growth is lacking in most parts of India. A sizeable section of Indians lives under conditions of abject poverty. Alleviating poverty and ushering in prosperity would require building such infrastructure as roads and dams. This in turn would necessitate acquiring land.

If the government is forced to negotiate with individual gram sabhas, each gram sabha can hold it to ransom by demanding exorbitant compensation and delaying the infrastructure projects. Imagine building a highway, railway track, or irrigation canal that crisscrosses the country. A village made up of insular people can derail or delay the entire project if its gram sabha is empowered to destroy. This not only hurts the economic prospects of that particular village but of many others as well.

Besides, it is arbitrary to claim that villagers own natural resources such as land and water. Villagers didn’t create those resources. Those were naturally formed. Historically, all humans have been immigrants and everyone should have the humility to see oneself as a tourist and not as the eternal owner of a place.

Not only the present generation but future generations too own the resources of a place. Therefore, natural resources should be managed in such a manner as to benefit the present and future generations. Most villagers lack the foresight and knowledge to evaluate whether a nuclear plant, airport, or highway would benefit them and their progeny. They resist infrastructure-building initiatives out of either ignorance or greed.

So, it is unethical and irresponsible to let villagers be the arbiters of important infrastructure-building initiatives because any implementation delay aggravates poverty and contributes to suffering. Instead, such initiatives should be centrally driven. India needs a long-term infrastructure plan. The state should acquire natural resources through a central legislation to deliver the plan without entering into any negotiations with the villagers. The state should fairly and transparently compensate the villagers for the natural resources acquired according to a standard, non-negotiable compensation model to spur sustainable economic growth.

We live in an increasingly complex world. The solutions to the problems we face such as fighting cancer, controlling inflation, etc., necessitate increasing the threshold of knowledge across all levels of society. Such an endeavor begins with laying the foundations of knowledge at schools. However, this cannot be left to the mercy of individual schools, teachers, or communities.

What if the gram sabha decides in favor of madrassa education or against the teaching of biological evolution and sex education at schools? What if the gram sabha persecutes teachers who inculcate knowledge of science in the minds of children because such inculcation threatens religious beliefs? Who benefits by respecting such local choices?

In the interests of society, educational standards and curriculum should be decided by a central authority. A cure for cancer, algorithms for digital data compression, or eradication of vectors using gene modification techniques doesn’t happen in a void. These are the natural outcomes of a systemic pursuit where visionaries understand what inputs to education would produce paradigm-shifting outputs.

As a corollary, this would necessitate having a centralized panel of distinguished scientists and economists decide school curriculum. Analytics tools and standardized tests should be used to monitor the progress of students and evaluate teachers. It is irresponsible to leave such important initiatives to the whims and fancies of the gram sabha.

Well run government schools should be the primary source of education in any civilized society. They enable the poorer sections of society to acquire education and thus increase the threshold of knowledge in society. Unfortunately, government-run schools are among the least accountable institutions in India. Their standards are so pathetic that even the poorest are forced to pay exorbitant fees to study in private schools or to remain functionally illiterate. Most of the private schools are themselves mediocre and only thrive because of the perennial shortage of supply. As a result, most Indian children lack access to quality school education.

AAP’s plan to strengthen and add more government-run schools is commendable. However, the plan to let gram sabhas recruit teachers to address shortages of supply would rather aggravate the problem than fix it. Most Indian teachers, in government-run and private schools, are substandard and unfit to guide students in the pursuit of knowledge. Increasing the quantity of such teachers would only compound mediocrity.

Besides, neither brick-and-mortar schools nor flesh-and-blood teachers of acceptable quality can be mobilized in the foreseeable future to fulfill demand. Instead, a serious plan to overhaul the system should evaluate inducting something like Khan Academy as the primary mode of teaching with teachers acting as facilitators.This would allow children to acquire world-class education. Such a measure would entail a centralized control rather than let gram sabhas make education-related decisions.

The plan to let gram sabhas be the final arbiters on how to prioritize the spending of tax money on healthcare is well-intentioned but foolhardy. A gram sabha may decide in favor of spending precious and limited tax money on procuring medicines for respiratory illnesses. However, this would be money ill-spent if such illnesses are the result of environmental pollution. In that case, a reactive response wouldn’t prevent the recurrence of the illness.

Society should rather spend the limited tax money on curtailing pollution to eliminate the cause of respiratory illnesses than on inefficient reactionary measures.This would require a centralized arbiter.Such an arbiter would take a comprehensive and futuristic view of healthcare responses and prioritize how the tax money should be allocated to various projects. For example, it may benefit society to spend precious tax money on preventing cancer and the spread of carcinogens than to spend on seasonal flu medication. Only a centralized authority comprising of distinguished scientists, public health experts, and economists would be capable of deciding on such priorities. It is irresponsible to leave such decisions to the whims and fancies of the gram sabha.

Should the gram sabha levy local taxes? In the US, cities levy property taxes and spend it on public (i.e., government-run) schools. So, in principle, a gram sabha can levy tax provided they also have a rigorous long-term plan to encumber any spending against a strategic initiative. For example, if the tax is collected to build a sports infrastructure, it can only be spent on it. Otherwise, local governments would be tempted to spend the tax money on populist measures to the long-term detriment of society. Kejriwal, you’re eager to let the gram sabha collect taxes but do not inform us what your plans to encumber the spending are. So, it is hard for one to determine that this policy advocacy would be beneficial.

India’s cities as well as villages have been laid waste to. Law and order is terrible, corruption is endemic, and infrastructure is pathetic. City-dwellers spend hours commuting just a few kilometers because the public transportation is terrible and the roads are awful. Villagers are stuck in a medieval lifestyle with limited access to good healthcare or diverse educational or employment opportunities. A significant section of India continues to live under abject poverty. A large section of society continues to subsist on outmoded agrarian forms of production and even essential farm produces like fruits and vegetables are in short supply. In contrast, developed nations have adopted a diversified economic portfolio.

The way out of this mess would require a complete overhaul of India’s villages and cities. Eventually, traditional modes of livelihood should be abandoned and new economic mores embraced. Indians will have to eventually abandon village and localized economies and embrace an urban economy. If we don’t come up with a courageous central plan to rebuild our cities and villages and put extensive infrastructure in place, Indians’ lifestyle would continue to degrade exponentially.

One has to define a central mandate and acquire land and other natural resources to build infrastructure to achieve that end. Every nuclear plant, airport, or highway delayed adversely impacts the quality of life of the common man. Every Indian should aspire for diverse economic opportunities, comfortable transportation, and clean air and energy so that he or she could enjoy an evening’s sunset from the balcony of one’s high-rise urban apartment, read Lawrence Krauss or Jayanta Bha??a, indulge in an altered perception of reality resulting from a healthy combination of pot and Bismillah Khan’s rendition, and make love to the dear one as the Venus traverses the night sky.

Gram sabhas would be an obstacle to Indians’ progress toward that desired state.

http://centreright.in/2013/12/aaps-gram-sabha/#.Ur1BbNIW0nh

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Subhash Kak: the renaissance man -- Usha Akella

December 27, 2013, 1:10 am

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USHA AKELLA

December 21, 2013

The Renaissance man

Special ArrangementAuthor and man of many interests. Subhash Kak

Subhash Kak, professor of computer science, poet and Indic scholar, on his myriad interests.

Subhash Kak is Regents Professor of Computer Science at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. He has written six books of verse in English and Hindi and another 14 on a wide variety of subjects, including history of science and art. He was the anchor of Raga Unveiled, a four-hour documentary on Hindustani music. His books of poetry are The Conductor of the Dead, The London Bridge(Writers Workshop, Kolkata), The Secrets of Ishbar (Vitasta), The Chinar Garden (Blue Sparrow), Eka Taal Ek Darpana (Raka Prakashan), and Mitti Ka Anuraag (Alakananda). Excerpts from an interview:

You have been described as a Renaissance man. As an India scholar, what period in Indian History would be comparable with the term?

I think the term “Renaissance” is most apt for the last 200 years of Indian history, the period of its engagement with Europe, and a period of grave danger to its very existence. To serve as a profitable colony of Britain, India had to be mastered and refashioned in the image of Europe. The British Empire set in motion forces that destroyed most traditional institutions, but these forces also compelled Indians to question themselves and go back to the essential roots of her culture.

The destruction of Indian institutions took place as much by neglect as by design. Until the late 18th century, India was as prosperous as Europe. But after the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th century (by which time Britain controlled Indian banking and other institutions), British factories were able to produce goods with which old methods of production could not compete. This suited Britain because India became the destination for its goods and since no comparable investments were made in Indian factories, India slipped further and further behind Britain. In the 200 years of British rule, Indian share of world economy dropped from 25 per cent to about two per cent, leading to unprecedented impoverishment of the country. The spread of misery was slow and relentless so that new generations did not even associate it with the British Raj, which was thanked for bringing the railways and telegraph to the country.

Mathematics, Cryptography, Indic Studies, mythology, neural networks, astronomy, poetry… how do the many meet?

Many years ago the British novelist C.P. Snow spoke of two cultures — the sciences and the humanities — which have their own mutually incomprehensible languages. Personally, I don’t agree. I think the creative impulse is the same in all fields. Each of these subjects is a collection of stories, with its own vocabulary and standards of style. Once one has mastered these elements, one is creative if one is able to see familiar things in new ways. And as far as aesthetics is concerned, there is a marvellous 1000-year-old Indian theory of it called dhvani, according to which the best way to communicate new insights is through hint, example and suggestion.

I am curious to know where you have found an overlap between Science and Vedic Religion/Philosophy.

The essence of the Vedas is a narrative on who the experiencing self is. Ordinary science informs us of the relationships between objects and also their transformations. But the Vedas say that this ordinary science leaves out the self who observes these objects. The Vedas speak of two kinds of sciences: the lower (rational and linguistic), and higher (transcendental).

What sparked your interest in Indic Studies?

I think it was triggered by an essay by a Western linguist who claimed that Panini’s 2400-year old grammar of Sanskrit had anticipated the abstract form of the modern computer. In his autobiography, the great physicist Erwin Schrödinger, one of the creators of quantum mechanics, credited the Upanishads with the key idea of quantum mechanics, that reality at the deepest level is a superposition of mutually exclusive attributes.

When I was young, my father had spoken to me about Panini but I did not pay any attention. When I began a systematic study of Indian texts, the journey took me to not only to mathematics and astronomy but also to texts on art and architecture, philosophy and Puranic encyclopedias, music and literature. India, given its very ancient history, has had many cycles of decay and renaissance. The later flowerings had their unique insights and accomplishments. For example, Rajendra Chola and his successors created some of the greatest wonders of art and architecture in India and Southeast Asia at about the same time as the great Vaishnava acharyas wrote their philosophical texts. The period of the Vijayanagara Empire was coeval with Kerala’s great achievement in mathematics and astronomy.

Your view is that the Indian way is harmony and the perception of spirit or consciousness preceding material reality. How do you understand the present reality of Indian society as it is now?

As at any other time, India is precariously balanced between the horrific and the sublime. Many Indians have become “mimic men,” to use one of V.S. Naipaul’s memorable phrases. There is uncritical copying of West and excess, but on the other hand, there is increasing spiritual yearning.

In some sense, your most popular work is the book you co-authored with David Frawley. How did it come about?

In the early 1990s our family was on a driving tour through the Western states and we were surprised to hear of Hanuman temple run by Americans in Taos in New Mexico. We visited the place next day; it was like an ashram and met many idealistic young people there. There, somebody told us of David and his work in the Vedas. When I returned to Baton Rouge, Louisiana I wrote to him and soon we established a fruitful dialogue. I had discovered a long-lost astronomy of the Vedic period, which had important implications for the understanding of the earliest history of India, and I thought it would be good for us to write a popular book on the subject. David then recruited Georg Feuerstein (who sadly died last year), one of the world’s foremost scholars of yoga, to join as a co-author.

In your essay ‘Rituals, Masks and Sacrifice’, you state that word-bound religions do not encourage mythology.

Mythology is coded narrative used to describe paradoxical and transcendent aspects of reality. Word-bound religions do not admit to such paradoxes. While they speak of transcendence, it only occurs on the Day of Judgment. Knowledge is the goal of life according to the Indian religions; in word-bound religions, living within religious laws is central for which there is reward as everlasting life in paradise.

Reading through the poems in The Secrets of Ishbar, I was overwhelmed by the sense that your poems seek beauty or intuitively grasp beauty.

Beauty takes us to a space that is ineffable, a place of secrets. Sometimes when explaining beauty we speak of symmetry as an element, but there is much to it that is beyond form and words. There is a saying in Sanskrit that looking fresh and new each time is the sign of beauty. We cannot define beauty but we recognise it from signs. The challenge for the poet is to capture the dhvani of beauty. This idea of dhvani was developed by Anandavardhana and Abhinavagupta who argued that behind each word and phrase are associations and evocations that one must pause on to arrive at the sentiment or rasa of the poem. That is why the best writings can be read at so many different levels.

Do you see yourself as a Kashmiri poet in particular?

Kashmir has had a great and old tradition of mystical poetry, much of it in the style of bhakti poetry where one speaks of the separation from Krishna or the unnamed beloved. The intertwining of romantic love with mystical yearning is sometimes called lol, a hallmark of Kashmiri poetry. But Kashmiri creativity also finds expression in simple, iconic forms, and contemplative music. Historians believe that the meditative discipline of dhyāna went from Kashmir to China (where it was called chan) and eventually becoming Zen in Japan. I mention this as I am an admirer of Zen poetry and haiku. So it is hard to say if my work belongs to the Kashmiri canon. I think my sensibility has an austere edge and I have sought simplicity.

Your poems tend to peak in the closing lines. What is your personal prosody and perception of form versus content in a poem?

To the extent that a poem is a thing, it has to have a form where the pieces fit together. This is what I try to do in the closing lines of the poem by bringing the elements that are seemingly in opposition and tie them together.

Is exile a necessary condition of poetry?

Yes, exile is necessary for poetry. Exile provides distance and you see places in ways that you never suspected when you were around them. Familiarity throws a curtain over things and exile, with its accompanying suffering, is essential for one to be able to really see. For me and many other Kashmiris, it has been a physical exile from the valley of our forefathers but, for other poets, it may not be a physical exile but a separation and a tearing apart.

What is particularly American and particularly Indian in your poetry?

I believe we live in the global village and it is very difficult to separate different cultural influences in any individual. I am sure my American life has shaped me in a thousand different ways that gets reflected in my writings. On the other hand, my Indian modes of thought (samskaras) are very deep.

Poets that inspire you…

I have found inspiration from poets of diverse cultures in English translations and in originals in Hindi, Urdu, Kashmiri, and Sanskrit. Some names that pop up are Lalla, Hafiz, Rumi, Mirabai, Ghalib, Yeats, Eliot, Cummings, Neruda.

What is the place of philosophy in poetry, if it holds one?

The structure that we give to our works is informed by a philosophy of which we may not be consciously aware. In my view, the purpose of poetry is to communicate deep truths that are not accessible to ordinary narrative. Poetry is a powerful vehicle of dhvani as is music.

Does the scientist in you restrict the poet in you or enrich it?

The scientist in me enriches my poetry. If the poet must find a unique voice, mine is different from most others because my experience has not only literature but also a big dose of science in it.

I want to touch specifically upon the Prajna Sutras because I think you've achieved something quite out of the ordinary in that collection. As a contemporary Indian poet you bring philosophy back to the realm of poetry and the notion of poetry as revealed literature. Comment.

I agree that the Prajna Sutras are special for they go to the heart of the poetic impulse and they do so in a way that is uniquely Indian. Indian writing is often shallow not only because it is imitative but because it plays on the stereotypes familiar to the Western reader for it is written for that audience. Indian writing will become world class only when it finds its own dhvani.

The sutras are paradoxical in the sense they state the insufficiency of language to state reality; it can only be suggested. Is poetry inadequate in the final analysis as it operates through language mostly as a medium?

Poetry will be limited in its linguistic content but, unlike other literature, it has the capacity to evoke rasa, and take the reader to the place of mystery.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/the-renaissance-man/article5478590.ece

History of Ancient India (Vols. 1-5) Dilip K Chakrabarti & Makkhan Lal (eds.): Price & Ordering details

December 27, 2013, 4:54 am

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I consider this a landmark event in the history of Independent India. 

Hopefully, this should help promote further researches into the many facets of Indian civilization, while countering the motivated manipulations and distortions peddled over the last 200+ years in the name of pseudo-scholarship.

The 11 volumes should be cherished and debated in every household, every school, every library by ardent students, researchers and admirers of the Indian civilization.

Such acclaim will be a true tribute to the editors -- Profs. Dilip K Chakrabarti & Makkhal Lal -- and to Vivekananda International Foundation for the most welcome, long-overdue initiative since India's independence from the colonial subjugation in 1947 CE. 

Kalyanaraman


Price and ordering details:

Published by: Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi
Co-published & Distributed by: Aryan Books International, Pooja Apartments, 4B Ansari Road, New Delhi 110001 Tel. 2328 7589, 2325 5799 Fax 91 11 2327 0385

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Price details (Rs.) HARDBACKPaperback

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      price           price (Valid till
                   31 January 2014)

Vol I        4,500  3,000                1,200
Vol II        7,500  5,0001,500
Vol III5,500 3,6001,200
Vol IV4,200 2,8001,200
Vol V4,950 3,3001,200

Set of 5 vols26,650 16,0005,000

*Postage extra
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An overview of the first 5 vols. out of 11:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/194042081/History-of-Ancient-India-Info

History of Ancient India_Info

See also: 

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/12/book-release-history-of-ancient-india.html 

Book release: History of Ancient India (Chakrabarti, Dilip K. & Makkhan Lal eds.) 

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/12/historic-announcement-release-of-first.html 

Historic announcement: Release of first 5 volumes of History of Ancient India (Chakrabarti, Dilip K. & Makkhan Lal eds.): Dec.23, 2013 VIF, Delhi

Satyameva Jayate: Truth alone triumphs -- Narendra Modi

December 27, 2013, 5:03 am

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Satyameva Jayate: Truth Alone Triumphs

Narendra Modi

Dec 27, 2013

My dear sisters and brothers,

The law of nature is that Truth alone triumphs – Satyameva Jayate. Our judiciary having spoken, I felt it important to share my inner thoughts and feelings with the nation at large.

The end brings back memories of the beginning. The devastating earthquake of 2001 had plunged Gujarat into the gloom of death, destruction and sheer helplessness. Hundreds of lives were lost. Lakhs were rendered homeless. Entire livelihoods were destroyed. In such traumatic times of unimaginable suffering, I was given the responsibility to soothe and rebuild. And we had whole heartedly plunged ourselves into the challenge at hand.

Within a mere five months however, the mindless violence of 2002 had dealt us another unexpected blow. Innocents were killed. Families rendered helpless. Property built through years of toil destroyed. Still struggling to get back on its feet from the natural devastation, this was a crippling blow to an already shattered and hurting Gujarat.

I was shaken to the core. ‘Grief’, ‘Sadness’, ‘Misery’, ‘Pain’, ‘Anguish’, ‘Agony’ – mere words could not capture the absolute emptiness one felt on witnessing such inhumanity.

On one side was the pain of the victims of the earthquake, and on the other the pain of the victims of the riots. In decisively confronting this great turmoil, I had to single-mindedly focus all the strength given to me by the almighty, on the task of peace, justice and rehabilitation; burying the pain and agony I was personally wracked with.

During those challenging times, I often recollected the wisdom in our scriptures; explaining how those sitting in positions of power did not have the right to share their own pain and anguish. They had to suffer it in solitude. I lived through the same,experiencing this anguish in searingly sharp intensity. In fact, whenever I remember those agonizing days, I have only one earnest prayer to God. That never again should such cruelly unfortunate days come in the lives of any other person, society, state or nation.

This is the first time I am sharing the harrowing ordeal I had gone through in those days at a personal level.

However, it was from these very built up emotions that I had appealed to the people of Gujarat on the day of the Godhra train burning itself; fervently urging for peace and restraint to ensure lives of innocents were not put at risk. I had repeatedly reiterated the same principles in my daily interactions with the media in those fateful days of February-March 2002 as well; publically underlining the political will as well as moral responsibility of the government to ensure peace, deliver justice and punish all guilty of violence. You will also find these deep emotions in my recent words at my Sadbhavana fasts, where I had emphasized how such deplorable incidents did not behove a civilized society and had pained me deeply.

In fact, my emphasis has always been on developing and emphasizing a spirit of unity; with the now widely used concept of ‘my 5 crore Gujarati brothers and sisters’ having crystallised right at the beginning of my tenure as CM itself from this very space.

However, as if all the suffering was not enough, I was also accused of the death and misery of my own loved ones, my Gujarati brothers and sisters. Can you imagine the inner turmoil and shock of being blamed for the very events that have shattered you!

For so many years, they incessantly kept up their attack, leaving no stone unturned. What pained even more was that in their overzealousness to hit at me for their narrow personal and political ends, they ended up maligning my entire state and country. This heartlessly kept reopening the wounds that we were sincerely trying to heal. It ironically also delayed the very justice that these people claimed to be fighting for. Maybe they did not realize how much suffering they were adding to an already pained people.

Gujarat however had decided its own path. We chose peace over violence. We chose unity over divisiveness. We chose goodwill over hatred. This was not easy, but we were determined to commit for the long haul. From a life of daily uncertainty and fear; my Gujarat transformed into one of Shanti, Ekta and Sadbhavana. I stand a satisfied and reassured man today. And for this, I credit each and every Gujarati.

The Gujarat Government had responded to the violence more swiftly and decisively than ever done before in any previous riots in the country. Yesterday’s judgement culminated a process of unprecedented scrutiny closely monitored by the highest court of the land, the Honourable Supreme Court of India. Gujarat’s 12 years of trial by the fire have finally drawn to an end. I feel liberated and at peace.

I am truly grateful to all those who stood by me in these trying times; seeing through the facade of lies and deceit. With this cloud of misinformation firmly dispelled, I will now also hope that the many others out there trying to understand and connect with the real Narendra Modi would feel more empowered to do so.

Those who derive satisfaction by perpetuating pain in others will probably not stop their tirade against me. I do not expect them to. But, I pray in all humility, that they at least now stop irresponsibly maligning the 6 crore people of Gujarat.

Emerging from this journey of pain and agony; I pray to God that no bitterness seeps into my heart. I sincerely do not see this judgement as a personal victory or defeat, and urge all – my friends and especially my opponents – to not do so as well. I was driven by this same principle at the time of the Honourable Supreme Court’s 2011 judgement on this matter. I fasted 37 days for Sadbhavana, choosing to translate the positive judgement into constructive action, reinforcing Unity and Sadbhavana in society at large.

I am deeply convinced that the future of any society, state or country lies in harmony. This is the only foundation on which progress and prosperity can be built. Therefore, I urge one and all to join hands in working towards the same, ensuring smiles on each and every face.

Once again, Satyameva Jayate!

Vande Mataram!

Narendra Modi

http://www.narendramodi.in/index.php

http://www.narendramodi.in/satyameva-jayate-truth-alone-triumphs/

• BN JhalaDecember 27, 2013Dear Mr. Chief Minister, Thank you so much for sharing this. It means a lot to all those who until now has opposed you and a lot more to all those who always have believed in you. My best wishes and prayers are with you. Thank you for being there, it means a lot for motherland. We need you now as a Prime Minister, soon. – B. N. Jhala – Toronto – Canada
• Arthraj ShahDecember 27, 2013we were with you;we are with you; we will with you.
• impankajmaniDecember 27, 2013सत्य परेशान हो सकता है पराजित नहीं ।प्रभु आपको असीम शक्ति और बल दे।सत्यमेवजयते
• Kautilya PanchalDecember 27, 2013Congratulations Narendra Modi Saheb,
  
  At last justice has come on true side.
  As you, Bhagvat Gita says “Satyamev Jayate”. 
  Congress and other party have made lots of meaning of your silence. But I had always trust of your innocence Sir. 
  Once in Valsad, you were addressing people, I met you on road with my family and I had anticipated the same at that time. Actually, there is no need to anticipate the Truth because atlast the only Truth which wins. That is what your silence was speaking and nobody was understanding but… 
  We all are appreciating you as clear visionary and non-corrupt-able person. May GOD bless you. Jai Ma Bharti.
  
  from
  KAUTILYA PANCHAL
  kautilyapanchal@rediffmail.com
  09819383006
  
  on 27.12.2013 from Mumbai.
• SaundiDDecember 27, 2013NaMo Sir..
  I’m a gr8 admirer of u..I’m sure d youth & people of our country love your way to serve.
  We all knows-U r d only Superstar of Present Indian Politics.You r a 
  Solitaire (Diamond)which we could get from #GujaratRiot2002 & after that 
  Development Agenda.We salute u Sir.
• Sivakumar RamasamyDecember 27, 2013sir congrats, you are the one to lead india to a new era.I would like to quote a tamil saying ‘DHARMATHIN VAZHVUTHANAI SUDU KAVVUM MARUPADIYUM DHARMAME VELLUM ‘. It means dharma and truth will be always face the empty black demon shadows of vice and mean, but at last only the truth and dharma will win.

$4500 question (fill your curses here) -- Charu Sudan Kasturi

December 27, 2013, 5:01 pm

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$4500 question (fill your curses here) CHARU SUDAN KASTURI Devyani Khobragade New Delhi, Dec. 27: The brightest minds of the foreign policy establishment in India and the US can be trusted to find a way out of the nanny mess and ensure that Devyani Khobragade’s “full diplomatic immunity” that preceded her arrest is not undermined. But countless Indians are still trying to figure out one question: did the super-smart Americans misread the figure of $4,500 in the visa form of the housekeeper, Sangeeta Richard, as her salary while it was that of the Indian diplomat? The issue goes to the heart of a key section of the US visa application that tens of thousands of Indians travelling to America for work fill each year. The Telegraph tries to find out what happened, given incessant form-filling is a national sport that few Indians can avoid playing if they want to be part of the system. What is this $4,500 all about? Indian diplomat Devyani’s arrest was ordered by Manhattan’s US attorney Preet Bharara on the basis of investigations by Mark Smith, a special agent with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the US state department. Smith had accused Devyani of claiming in Sangeeta’s DS-160 — the US visa application form — that the nanny would receive a monthly salary of $4,500 (Rs 2.35 lakh at last year’s exchange rate) when she paid her only Rs 30,000 (about $560). But earlier this week, Devyani’s lawyer Daniel Arshack told the Associated Press that Smith had “erroneously and disastrously” mistaken the Indian diplomat’s base salary of $4,500 for what she intended to pay Sangeeta. “It’s incredibly unsexy kind of information, but it does go right to the heart of what this is about,” Arshack was quoted as saying. Indian officials backed up Arshack’s claim, pointing to a screenshot of a document that shows some details of Sangeeta’s visa application form for a temporary work visa. What does the document show? The Indian officials have pointed to the second sentence in the introduction: “Provide the following information concerning your employer”. At the bottom of the screen shot — after boxes for name, address and phone number — comes a field that says: “Enter monthly income in USD.” (See chart) Since the top of the page mentions “your employer”, the monthly income must refer to that of the employer, according to the Indian officials. Under this interpretation, Devyani’s salary of $4,500, not that of Sangeeta, was punched in, they said. The Americans goofed up, right? Not necessarily. Not if you go by what the US has said in frequently asked questions on a website and what several others familiar with the visa application process say. The website of the US embassy in Japan — one of many publicly available resources detailing how to fill in the DS-160 and accessed by this correspondent in New Delhi — explains that the “monthly salary” question must be responded to by filling in the “fee in US dollars which will be paid by the US employer”. (See chart) “The sponsor’s details are sought in a different part of the form,” said Pratima Bhardwaj of Delhi Visas and Consultancy Services, a firm that helps individuals, families and companies navigate the visa application process for multiple countries. This is rarely a source of confusion, US officials assert, because most applicants intend to work with companies or organisations. From India, most temporary work visa applicants fill in the names of IT companies they work for — firms that earn revenue and profits and usually keep quarterly or annual figures, but certainly no “monthly income” that a visa applicant is expected to fill in, US officials said. “Can you imagine if someone is applying for the temporary work visa to work for, say Google? Could he or she imagine that we would expect him to fill in Google’s monthly income?” a US official asked. Couldn’t the Americans have kept it simple? Good question. A simple “the employee’s monthly salary” would have been most helpful, instead of an open-ended “monthly income” which is not the same as “salary”. Many Indians who get stuck at the column “relationship” in forms, trying to figure out whose relationship — a son’s to his father or the father’s to his son — will empathise with Devyani’s plight. But wasn’t it Sangeeta’s form? Why is Devyani in the dock? The US visa application asks whether the applicant has sought assistance in filling in the form. Sangeeta’s form mentions Devyani, and the IP address of the computer used to file the form matches that of the Indian diplomat, according to US officials. Could it have been an honest mistake? Yes, if Devyani did assist Sangeeta in filling in the form, the diplomat could have genuinely been confused by the wording of the visa application form. But a mistake is no legal defence. What are Indian officials saying? Indian officials are pointing to the apparent violation of international immunity norms by the US to argue that the case against Devyani will not hold and should have been handled differently. “Even if she made a mistake, it’s clear that it’s a confusing form and that this is not an open-and-shut case, as the US violation of her diplomatic immunity shows,” a senior Indian official said. “It could have all been resolved and clarified had they just approached us instead of rushing ahead and arresting Devyani.” What are US officials saying? Unofficially, American officials concede that some sections of the DS-160, like many forms, may appear confusing. But Devyani, as a diplomat at the ministry of external affairs, should have clarified any doubts while filling up her nanny’s form. What do other applicants do? Applicants for the varying kinds of temporary work visas — for skilled, agricultural, household and other employment — fill in the monthly salary that is also shown in the supporting documents they bring with them, for their visa interviews. The supporting document — usually a contract or equivalent statement — in Devyani’s and Sangeeta’s case suggested that the diplomat would pay the nanny $1,560 a month. Shouldn’t the US embassy official have spotted the discrepancy? Yes, the US embassy official who interviewed Sangeeta should have spotted the discrepancy between the $1,560 Devyani promised in the contract and the $4,500 shown in the DS-160. But the fault of the official doesn’t minimise the charge against Devyani. Isn’t the US making a big deal out of what could have been an honest error? It’s not only about a possible error in the DS-160. Even if the state department had misread Sangeeta’s visa application form, as Devyani’s lawyer has claimed, she would still need to explain the $1,000 gap between the wages she promised in her contract ($1,560) with the nanny and what was actually paid ($560). Indian officials say the salary of Rs 30,000 ($560) a month was determined in a second contract that Sangeeta had herself sought to help her unemployed husband Philip who lived in New Delhi. But the Americans say they will go by what is in the visa form. What about the food, lodging and other expenses of Sangeeta that Devyani paid for? Devyani’s family says she bore the entire cost for Sangeeta’s food, stay and phone bills, and the nanny enjoyed the same medical benefits and care available to Indian diplomats. She was also entitled to one fully paid trip back home during her stint in the US. Sangeeta also received occasional cash — at times with receipts. The Indian officials have said these benefits should be monetised and counted along with the Rs 30,000 a month to calculate Sangeeta’s true salary. They say it will then cross $1,560 a month. But the complaint filed by agent Smith points out that in March 2011, the state department decided against allowing lodging, medical care, insurance or travel to be deducted from the salary promised on visa applications in calculating the amount to be paid. In April 2012, the state department started barring even the cost of food from being deducted from the promised salary. By the time Devyani and Sangeeta reached New York in November 2012, it was no longer legal for the diplomat to claim that these benefits were a part of the $1,560. What is the lesson for me who is not backed by either the might of the Indian or American governments? Do your homework as thoroughly as possible when you go to a foreign country. Speak to as many people as possible who are in the same profession as you and live there. Don’t take anything for granted, don’t take short cuts and don’t think that you can always cut corners. “Connections” need not work, or by the time they kick in, you may have already been strip-searched. When in doubt, check. Never assume or presume. If you still want to go to the US, get in touch with the helplines at the embassy in Delhi or consulates in Calcutta, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai. The numbers are on their websites. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131228/jsp/frontpage/story_17728436.jsp#.Ur4hG9IW0ng

Mining scam: Shah Commission of inquiry

December 27, 2013, 5:17 pm

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Shah Commission of Inquiry

- Extension of tenure of the Commission from 17.7.2013 to 16.10.2013   - Extension of the Term of Justice M B Shah Commission of Inquiry till 16-7-2013 - Extension of the Term of Justice M B Shah Commission of Inquiry - Action taken report - Summary - Table of contents - Interim report Part - I - Interim report Part - II - Shah Commission Report on Goa Part-I- Shah Commission Report on Goa Part-II - Action Taken Report http://mines.nic.in/index.aspx?level=1&lid=673&lang=1

IM thrives in 9 UP districts, but aims to hit all India: NIA -- Rakesh Singh

December 28, 2013, 12:44 am

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IM THRIVES IN 9 UP DISTRICTS, BUT AIMS TO HIT ALL INDIA: NIA

Thursday, 26 December 2013 | Rakesh K Singh | New Delhi

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An NIA dossier on Indian Mujahideen says the outfit has been thriving and engaging in subversive activities in nine districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra, Faizabad, Bahraich, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri and Azamgarh.

The outfit also has a strong presence in Azamgarh that has been a breeding ground for SIMI and IM activities over the years, says the 276-page dossier. The report adds that the outfit also has “good” presence in Rampur, Moradabad and Saharanpur.

For Gujarat, the document says, “The State has been more a target for SIMI-IM than a hub for the groups, with most men blamed for the 2008 blasts belonging to other States.”

The report also says there are inputs that IM is likely to target DRDO offices, defence establishments like Mazgaon dock, naval dockyard, ONGC plant at Uran, economic and aviation sectors among others.

According to the report, the banned Students Islamic Movement of India and its offshoot Indian Mujahideen has a national presence with strong bases in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra (Aurangabad, Malegaon, Pune, Jalgaon and Thane), Andhra Pradesh and Assam.

Kerala also has major presence of SIMI with its cadres having links with Lashkar-e-Tayyeba. In the State, SIMI operated under the cover of some 12 front organisations. Kondotty in Malappuram district has emerged as a hotbed of SIMI activities. Prominent SIMI operators from the State are CAM Basheer, an aeronautical engineer and a former national president of the outfit. He has been operating from Saudi Arabia and funding SIMI and IM operations.

North Bihar districts of Darbhanga, Samastipur, Araria and Madhubani, which were earlier used by terrorist outfit as transit routes for escaping into Nepal, have now become the new recruiting centres of IM.

The mushrooming of madrasas propagating the Ahle Hadis and Deobandi brands of puritan Islam in these districts have created a fertile ground for the growth of fundamentalism and jehadi thinking, the report said.

Among key missing operatives from Maharashtra are Abdus Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer, Amin alias Raja, Ayub Shaikh, Abdul Shakoor Khan, alias Irfan, and Abu Rashid.

Since the ban on SIMI in 2001, over 180 SIMI activists have been arrested from Madhya Pradesh. Before the ban, SIMI activities were confined to Indore, Ujjain, Khandwa and Bhopal but have now spread to Burhanpur, Guna, Neemuch and Shajapur.

“SIMI has been a vital part of LeT's plans for destabilisation of India. Groups of SIMI sympathisers exist in several places in the Gulf States. Jamayyatul Ansar, an organisation of SIMI activists comprising expatriate Indian Muslims, is reportedly active in Saudi Arabia and is suspected of channelling funds to SIMI,” says the report.

Several Islamist fundamentalist organisations in India like Kerala-based National Democratic Front and Islamic Youth Centre and Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kzhagam (TMMK) in Tamil Nadu are allegedly controlled by former SIMI cadres, the report further said.

On funding of SIMI and IM, the report said the outfit is securing “generous” financial assistance from the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), Riyadh, and also from the International Islamic Federation of Students Organisations (IIFSO) in Kuwait. The Chicago-based Consultative Committee of Indian Muslims is also reported to have supported SIMI morally and financially. Zakat (donation) by devotees and the money collected from the sale of goatskin offered at mosques during celebration of Bakr-Eid are also major sources of funding for the banned outfit.

SIMI has floated a number of front organisations like Kutubul Islamia (Karnataka), Juhapura Youth Federation (Gujarat) and Students Welfare Trust (Delhi) to collect funds and carry out other activities like taking care of the cadres and circulating seditious literature.

SIMI is also using Tahrik Tahaffuz-e-Ehyaa-e-Ummat and Tehrik-Talaba-e-Arabia as cover organisations.

The report also lists the possible locations of key SIMI-IM fugitives -- including Riyaz Bhatkal (Pakistan), Amir Reza Khan (Pakistan), Iqbal Bhatkal (Sharjah), Mohsin Chaudhary alias Ali (Pakistan), Maksood (Pakistan), Dr Shahnawaj (Pakistan/Sharjah, Abu Rashid (Sharjah), Khalis (Sharjah) and Bada Sajid (Sharjah).

http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/im-thrives-in-9-up-districts--but-aims-to-hit-all-india-nia.html

India & US: Mars and Venus -- MD Nalapat

December 28, 2013, 1:10 am

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India & US: Mars and Venus

Geopolitical notes from India

M D Nalapat

Saturday, December 28, 2013 - India’s version of the Washington “Beltway” (the location where those who make policy reside and work) is even smaller in size and number than its North American counterpart. Having continued the British colonial system of centralized government, successors to Empire have ensured that not more than a few dozen individuals decide on mattersrelating to foreign and defense policy or national security.

During the period (1947-64) when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister, he decided all major aspects of national policy. In economics, he emasculated the private sector in India, aware that inthe past, they had backed his rival Vallabbhai Patel over him. Indeed, during the days before Independence, almost all leaders of the Congress Party, barring Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and of course Mahatma Gandhi, wanted Patel rather than Nehru to be free India’s first PM. 

However, Mahatma Gandhi’s views were as decisive in the Congress Party of the 1930s and 1940s as Sonia Gandhi’s are today, with the result that Patel had to be content with being the second-in-command, a role that proved increasingly distasteful and which contributed to his death in 1950 of a heart attack. Although there were still a few leaders such as Rajendra Prasad who stood up to Nehru, by 1955 the diminutive Kashmiri had become the master of both the party as well as the government If during the Nehru period, foreign policy was dictated by one man, during Indira Gandhi’s time in office (1966-77 and 1980-84), it was decided by a handful of individuals, all members of the pandit community of Kashmir. These were P N Haksar, D P Dhar and R N Kao, the last being the chief of RAW. 

The three would suggest policy options to Indira Gandhi, who would then adopt one of them. Later, during the time when P V Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister (1992-96), officials in the Ministry of External Affairs were given a greater role in policy formulation, although the last wordremained with Rao and the small, informal group of advisers with whom he periodically met, usually singly. It was during this time that full diplomatic ties got established with Israel. After the collapse of the USSR, Rao was seeking a similar alliance of convenience with Washington, andalthough some within the Ministry of External Affairs opposed the move, the PM’s informal thinktank calculated that giving recognition to Israel would make the Clinton administration less insistent on the two hot button issues of nuclear capability and Kashmir, a wish that never materialized. The Clinton administration was hostile to a partnership with India, except on terms which would have been political suicide for Rao, which were giving up of nuclear deterrent through signing Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear power and accommodating Islamabad on Kashmir.

The policy process followed by Narasimha Rao, of asking officials in the Ministry of External Affairs to prepare a first draft of policy and then getting the same vetted by the PM’s informal thinktank is being followed to this day Manmohan Singh is passionate about the US, the country where one of his two (very accomplished) dauighters has settled down. So deep is this feeling that the Obama administration obviously calculated that a calculated insult such as the arrest and mistreatment of a foreign service official would only be met with a routine expression of protest. According to those tracking developments, it was a mid-level lady official in the US embassy in Delhi who for the past nine months “has been on the Sunita David case”.

Mrs David is the maid whom Deputy Consul-General Devyani Khobragade ( a 39-year old official with a good record) is alleged to have underpaid. Up and down the line at both the State Department as well as the US embassy in Delhi, those officers of a similar activist bent (and who are known as Hillary’s flock, because of their ideological closeness to the former Secretary of State) worked overtime to “punish” Ms Khobragade for “underpaying” Mrs Richards, going to the extent of spiriting away her family to the US with not even a glance from Indian intelligence agencies, whose counter-spy capabilities against the US and its NATO partners is almost zero in the Manmohan era. 

According to the doctrine accepted by those working in the Manmohan Singh government, the US can never do anything wrong, even by accident. Ever since the matter of the maid and the diplomat surfaced in the media, US envoy to India Nancy Powell has been briefing friendly envoys informally about the incident. She has placed her full weight behind those who arrested Ms Khobragade and who spirited the maid’s family off to their new life in the US. 

Indeed, in her interaction with friendly diplomats,she has explicitly accused the Government of India of “human trafficking”, according to those who move in same social circles as the US ambassador to India. Down the line,the Hillary flock have been active in justifying the arrest and strip- searching of a senior Indian diplomat officially accredited to the US government. This has created outrage within the Ministry of external Affairs where the usual effort is less to cashier the US than to ensure that a son or daughter gets a scholarship to study in that country. For more than a day,the Maqnmohan Singh government kept to the script predicted by US diplomats, and contented itself with a few noises of protest. 

However, public anger grew at the insulting treatment given to a lady diplomat at the hands of US marshals, and this combined with a near-revolt in the Ministry of External Affairs to force the Prime Minister’s hand. In 1998,during the time when Atal Behari Vajpayee was PM, the US embassy in Delhi had unilaterally and without asking for permission from Indian authorities put up concrete road blocks in front of its embassy, besides sealing off an entire road running parallel to the embassy walls. Then National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra was as accomodative of the US as Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, so this somewhat high-handed action was condoned. It was only a few weeks ago that these barricades were removed, in a sign that India would not accept any extra-territorial rights by the US to unilaterally take decisions the way Washington would in an occupied country, such as Iraq till very recently and Afghanistan to the present. 

For the present, US diplomats in Delhi are being treated exactly the way Indian diplomats are in the US, which is a significant change from the past. Unless Devyani Khobragade is freed from the legal clutches of Preet Bharara, the US attorney who joined hands with the Hillary flock in the State Department to punish the diplomat by arresting her, it can never be business as usual between India and the US. However, given that the Obama administration treats India with contempt, and is dominated by remnants from the Clinton period, such a walking away frompolice action is unlikely. 

When last heard,Ambassador Powell was still fuming to all those within earshot of “dastardly crime of human trafficking” that has been committed by Indian diplomats. It looks as though Delhi will have to await a new administration in 2016 (assuming that it will not be headed by Hillary Clinton) before once again picking up the thread of strategic engagement with the US. It is a measure of the insensitivity of Team Obama to Indian sensitivities that even the worm - which is the best way to describe the Manmohan Singh approach to Washington - has been forced to turn away from endless conciliation to a tiny show of temper .

—The writer is Vice-Chair, Manipal Advanced Research Group, UNESCO Peace Chair & Professor of Geopolitics, Manipal University, Haryana State, India.

http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=228295#.Ur5YosGLj-4.gmail

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Ancient city discovered beneath Biblical-era ruins in Israel. Century-long excavations at Gezer.

December 28, 2013, 5:32 am

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Ancient city discovered beneath Biblical-era ruins in Israel

By Tia Ghose

Digging History

Published November 19, 2013

LiveScience

Burned ruins and fired mudbrick collapse, as well as smashed pottery, reveal the late Bronze Age destruction at the city. On the left is the room where several pottery vessels, a scarab of Amenhotep III, a cache of cylinder seals ... (SAMUEL WOLFF, TEL GEZER EXCAVATIONS)

Archaeologists have unearthed traces of a previously unknown, 14th-century Canaanite city buried underneath the ruins of another city in Israel.

The traces include an Egyptian amulet of Amenhotep III and several pottery vessels from the Late Bronze Age unearthed at the site of Gezer, an ancient Canaanite city.

Gezer was once a major center that sat at the crossroads of trade routes between Asia and Africa, said Steven Ortiz, a co-director of the site's excavations and a biblical scholar at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

The remains of the ancient city suggest the site was used for even longer than previously known. [The Holy Land: 7 Amazing Archaeological Finds]

Biblical cityThe ancient city of Gezer has been an important site since the Bronze Age, because it sat along the Way of the Sea, or the Via Maris, an ancient trade route that connected Egypt, Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia.

The city was ruled over many centuries by Canaanites, Egyptians and Assyrians, and Biblical accounts from roughly the 10th century describe an Egyptian pharaoh giving the city to King Solomon as a wedding gift after marrying his daughter.

"It's always changed hands throughout history," Ortiz told LiveScience.

The site has been excavated for a century, and most of the excavations so far date to the the 10th through eighth centuries B.C. Gezer also holds some of the largest underground water tunnels of antiquity, which were likely used to keep the water supply safe during sieges.

But earlier this summer, Ortiz and his colleague Samuel Wolff of the Israel Antiquities Authority noticed traces of an even more ancient city from centuries before King Solomon's time. Among the layers was a section that dated to about the 14th century B.C., containing a scarab, or beetle, amulet from King Amenhotep III, the grandfather of King Tut. They also found shards of Philistine pottery.

During that period, the ancient site was probably a Canaanite city that was under Egyptian influence.

The findings are consistent with what scholars suspected of the site, said Andrew Vaughn, a biblical scholar and executive director of the American Schools of Oriental Research, who was not involved in the study.

"It's not surprising that a city that was of importance in the biblical kingdoms of Israel and Judah would have an older history and would have played an important political and military role prior to that time," Vaughn told LiveScience. "If you didn't control Gezer, you didn't control the east-west trade route."

But once the location of that major road moved during the Roman period, the city waned in importance. It was later conquered and destroyed, but never fully rebuilt.

"Just like today when you have a ghost town where you move the train and that city goes out of use," Ortiz said.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/11/19/ancient-city-discovered-beneath-biblical-era-ruins-in-israel/

"We have great faculty who are not just great at teaching archaeology and teaching the Bible, but they are great archaeologists." Cameron Coyle, 2013 Field Archaeologist

http://www.telgezer.com/

Gezer Excavations Uncover Previously Unknown Canaanite City

Archaeologists discover a Late Bronze Age occupation layer destroyed by fire

Robin Ngo   •  10/28/2013

Beneath these Iron Age walls at Gezer lies a recently discovered Late Bronze Age city that had been destroyed by fire. Photo courtesy Samuel Wolff.

Archaeologists excavating the famous ancient city of Gezer in Israel discovered a new occupation layer constituting a previously unknown Late Bronze Age city at the site. During the summer 2013 excavation season, the Tel Gezer team, led by codirectors Dr. Steven Ortiz of the Tandy Institute for Archaeology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Dr. Samuel Wolff of the Israel Antiquities Authority, found pottery vessels, a cache of cylinder seals and an Egyptian scarab with a cartouche of Amenhotep III. The finds demonstrate that the residents of this 14th-century B.C.E. city were Canaanites with strong ties with Egypt. During the Late Bronze Age, Gezer and other cities in the southern Levant were under the reign of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. Hebrew University professor Tallay Ornan told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that Gezer’s destruction by conflagration in the Late Bronze Age “either represents an Egyptian campaign to subdue Gezer, or local Canaanites attacking an Egyptian stronghold at Gezer.”
 

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Sift through the archaeology and history of ancient Israel and get a view of its Biblically-significant sites through an archaeologist’s lens in the free eBook Israel: An Archaeological Journey.
 

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According to the Bible, Gezer, which had been captured by an Egyptian pharaoh, was given to the Israelite king Solomon as a wedding gift when he married the pharaoh’s daughter (1 Kings 9:15–16). In the Biblical account, Solomon was said to have built walls around Gezer as well as Jerusalem, Hazor and Megiddo. A century of excavations conducted at Gezer constitute one of the largest excavation projects in Israel, one that is critical to developing an understanding of the nature and chronology of the United Monarchy.

Read more about the recently discovered Late Bronze Age city at Gezer in Haaretz

Visit the excavation’s website.

Learn More about Gezer in Bible History Daily

Cave Found at Bottom of Gezer Water Tunnel

Bilingual Boundary Stone Discovered at Tel Gezer

What’s the Oldest Hebrew Inscription?: A Reply to Christopher Rollston

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/gezer-excavations-uncover-previously-unknown-canaanite-city/

Hidden secret of Gezer: A pre-Solomonic city beneath the ruins

A summer dig unexpectedly reveals remains of an unknown city beneath the known Canaanite one.

By Ran Shapira| Oct. 24, 2013 | 2:54 PM |

Several pottery vessels, a cache of cylinder seals, and a large scarab with the cartouche of King Amenhotep III attest to the existence of a previously unknown Canaanite city in the land of Israel, archaeologists say. Where was it hiding? Underneath another Canaanite city – the famous ruins of Gezer.

The scarab and other artifacts were found this summer at a level dating from the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE) in ancient Gezer, a major Canaanite city located along the strategic coastal highway between Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The first signs that there was an unknown city lurking there were found by Dr. Steven Ortiz of the Tandy Institute for Archaeology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Dr. Samuel Wolff of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who have directed the excavations at Gezer for six seasons. They believe the hidden city was destroyed during the Egyptian 18th Dynasty's rule over the southern Levant, and the new Gezer was built on top of it.

Amenhotep III, by the way, was the father of the heretic King Akhenaten and also grandfather to Tutankhamun, whose fabulous tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon.

Enter Reshef, the Canaanite war god

In the late Bronze Age, circa 1,400 BCE, Gezer, then the capital city in the region, was burned to the ground. Possibly it was another victim of the incessant internecine warfare between the Canaanite cities at the time, as described so evocatively in the well-known Tell el-Amarna correspondence.

It was while digging into the remains of this known devastation that the momentous discoveries were made.

The inhabitants of the proto-Gezer of 1,400 BCE were clearly Canaanites, said Ortiz. But artifacts found at the site indicate strong ties with Egypt.

For instance, there is the small cylinder seal found at the site, just 2.5cm in height, bearing a rare image of the Canaanite god Reshef subduing his enemies.

Identification of the ruins with the biblical city of Gezer rely among other things on inscriptions found there: 'Boundary of Gezer'Wikimedia Commons

Reshef, a central god in the Canaanite pantheon, was – inter alia – in charge of diseases, plagues and conflagrations. In the seal he is portrayed shooting an arrow from a big bow towards about ten rivals depicted in states of submission and fall.

Worship of Reshef was common in the New Kingdom of Egypt period, says Ornan – and the cylinder seal from Gezer shows clear Egyptian influence. The miniature depiction of the god is done in the style of the awe-inspiring Egyptian embossments that show triumphs of the pharaohs.

“The question is whether the Late Bronze Age Gezerites were supporters, or subjects, of the Egyptian 18th Dynasty," says says Prof. Tallay Ornan of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University. "We know that during the 14th century BCE, the king of Gezer was responsible for various conflicts within the region. The Late Bronze Age destruction either represents an Egyptian campaign to subdue Gezer, or local Canaanites attacking an Egyptian stronghold at Gezer."

That's not a support system, that's a city

Gezer lies between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The archaeological team, some 80 staff and students from the U.S., Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Russia, Korea, and Hong Kong were removing a wall dating from later - the 10th century BCE, known as the Iron IIA period – and discerned a yet earlier city wall.

They had vaguely known the wall was there, but had thought it was a subterranean support system for the later Iron Age wall, Ortiz explains. “It became evident that our original interpretation was wrong," he says. The lower wall had been built as much as 200 years earlier; the 10th century CE wall had been built on top of it after the city's destruction by fire.

This earlier wall was one meter thick, and had several rooms attached to it. These rooms were filled with rubble nearly a meter in height, from catastrophic destruction. These earlier remains included shards from Canaanite storage jars, Philistine pottery and other items. A fragment of a Philistine figurine was also found.

Since Gezer was Canaanite, says Ortiz, the Philistine pottery either represents trade relations or a group of Philistines living among the Canaanites.

A city as dowry

As for the Egyptian influence, according to the biblical account, Gezer was conquered by an Egyptian pharaoh and was later given to Solomon as a wedding gift when the Israelite king married the pharaoh’s daughter.

Solomon is also recorded in the biblical account as having built walls around Gezer, as he did at Jerusalem, Hazor, and Megiddo, all sites currently under excavation. Excavations at Gezer have been regarded as a key to understanding and resolving the debate among biblical scholars and archaeologists regarding the appropriate chronology of events and ruling Israelite and Judahite kings.

Gezer is also famous for its massive ancient water-tunnel system, which is also currently under excavation. Last summer Dr. Tsvika Tsuk, chief archaeologist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, said the water system at Gezer was the largest Canaanite water system found in the country. It includes a large entrance carved in bedrock. From there, a 50-meter tunnel runs at a 39-degree slope. The tunnel is 7 meters tall and 4 meters wide.

Tsuk and his colleagues, Jim Parker, Daniel Warner, and Dennis Cole of the Old Testament and Archaeology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, believe the water system was built in the Middle Bronze Age IIB (1750-1550 BCE). But it fell out of use around 1,300 BCE, based on pottery found at the end of last season’s work.

http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-1.554228

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ien7Si0RYKw Uploaded on Oct 19, 2008

Visit Tel Gezer on the edge of the Shephelah in Ancient Judah. The city Pharaoh gave to king Solomon as a wedding present. For more information and photos 

In the mood for reason -- Dola Mitra. युक्ति हीने विचारे तु धर्म हानिः प्रजायते NUJS is not living up to its logo.

December 28, 2013, 7:07 am

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≪ Previous: Ancient city discovered beneath Biblical-era ruins in Israel. Century-long excavations at Gezer.

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Deliberation without reasoning, is detrimental to dharma. NUJS has acted in emotion, not based on reason.

MAGAZINE | DEC 30, 2013 Justice Ganguly arriving at the WBHRC in Calcutta, December 18 WEST BENGAL: JUSTICE GANGULY In The Mood For Reason The knives out to carve Justice Ganguly are meeting resistance and argument DOLA MITRA The interview was not to be. “Justice Ganguly is usually extremely punctual...,” a senior colleague of A.K. Ganguly, the chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission, tells us. We are at WBHRC’s Calcutta Office. It’s 1:30 pm. We had an appointment with Justice Ganguly at 11:30 am. “His life has changed after the allegations were made.... Every day he has to wade through hundreds of protestors demanding his resignation as he enters office. The media is hounding him. Today a group of women was brandishing shoes, brooms and shouting slogans.... And press photographers were there, ready to capture his exasperated expression. We dissuaded him from coming in. He feels extremely heckled.” Indeed, Justice Ganguly has been in the eye of a storm ever since his name was made public as the retired Supreme Court Judge who a law intern accused anonymously in an online blog of sexually harassing her in a hotel room in New Delhi on the night of December 24, 2012. Since then, angry voices demanding punishment for him and justice for the victim have been pouring forth. And politicians, the press, the general public and legal professionals such as additional solicitor general Indira Jaising have all spoken out. When we spoke to Justice Ganguly on his mobile, he was still at his home. “I cannot meet you today,” he said. He sounded exhausted. In Calcutta, among those to most vociferously bay for his blood is the ruling party, Trinamool Congress. From CM Mamata Banerjee, who wrote to the president demanding that action be initiated to sack him as WBHRC chairman, to TMC MPs Derek O’Brien and Kalyan Bandyopadhyay. Speaking to Outlook, Bandyopadhyay, himself an advocate, said, “It is a matter of shame that the head of a body like the WBHRC stands accused in such a heinous crime. This is why we are demanding that he immediately step down.” In an open letter addressed to Justice Ganguly, TMC general secretary Mahua Moitro urged him thus: “For the last time, Sir, resign!” Many voices have been demanding punishment for Justice Ganguly. Leading the charge is the Trinamool. But then, the brickbats tell only one side of the story. In recent weeks, many voices of support for him too have emerged. Among them are members of the CPI(M), who see in the TMC demand for Justice Ganguly’s resignation “a political expediency”. While careful not to dismiss the allegations by the law intern, the CPI(M)’s Mohammed Selim told Outlook that the TMC may be targeting Ganguly, as the WBHRC under him urged the state government to compensate victims of alleged human rights violations (see In A Negative Frame,Outlook, Dec 16). Furthermore, on December 18, even as the protests raged against Justice Ganguly throughout the city, Calcutta High Court lawyers took out a rally in support of the besieged former SC justice. The reasons for extending their support were varied. Lawyer and former Calcutta mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said, “If people in high offices are forced to resign at every complaint made against them, who will work? It will set a bad precedence if Justice Ganguly is coerced to resign by such character assassination.” While it could be debated why persons in high office should not be made to step down if they stand accused of committing a crime such as sexual assault, legal experts argue that such resignations were dependant on various factors. (See box). Most ‘supporters’ of Justice Ganguly claim that they are not dismissing the allegations, but merely demanding that he be judged according to the laws of the land. “My position is very clear,” said former speaker Somnath Chatterjee. “I am not for once saying that the allegations against him are false. What I am saying is that we don’t know what exactly has happened until he has been tried in a court of law.... Until he is proven guilty, he is innocent.... Only the conviction of a court of law can remove him,” Chatterjee explained. There have also been protests in Cal­cutta demanding the resignation of the VC of Visva Bharati University, Sushanta Dutta Gupta, after a recent RTI report rev­ealed that he was appointed even after being accused in 2005 of sexual harassment by a woman colleague when he was director of Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences. 1/D-101 DEC 21, 2013 01:54 PM Selective Hyperreporting, by the Antimale Media, with the Intent to Negatively stereotype males in General ( S.H.A.M.I.N.G ) MISOGYNIST CHENNAI, INDIA  PERMALINK  |   LIKE (6)  |   DISLIKE (3)  |   REPORT ABUSE 2/D-230 DEC 21, 2013 08:00 PM “Turning of the Weaker Sex into Freaker Sex, no wonder would send the expecting couples for Sex-Determination for Girl Child.” RAJNEESH BATRA NEW DELHI, INDIA  PERMALINK  |   LIKE (2)  |   DISLIKE (3)  |   REPORT ABUSE 3/D-4 DEC 26, 2013 01:27 AM Now Ganguly is talking in legal terms , since he cant refuse the allegations made against him . This is what people with power do when complaints filed against them. SC which condemns and questions every one strongly had washed off their hands by simply saying "He is not an SC employee ".  If SC comittee feels that they have evidence , they should have filed complaint against him . My Company guidelines states that "if any harassment takes place against a worker by another colleague whether it is inside premises or outside while doing work , it will be considered as harassment @ work place and necessary action will be taken  KAILASH CHENNAI, INDIA  PERMALINK  |   LIKE (0)  |   DISLIKE (2)  |   REPORT ABUSE http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?288927 MAGAZINE | DEC 30, 2013 INTERVIEW ‘SC Panel’s Finding Can’t Be Treated As A Conviction’ Former Lok Sabha Speaker lashed out at those demanding Justice Ganguly’s resignation OUTLOOK Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, in an interview to Outlook, lashed out at those demanding Justice Ganguly’s resignation as Chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. You are among those to have stood by Justice A.K. Ganguly and his decision not to step down as chairman of WBHRC. Why should he step down? There is a legal procedure which has to be followed if the chairman of the Human Rights Commission has to be removed or made to resign. Section 23 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1992 makes it mandatory for any demand for the removal of the concerned person be supported by evidence that he has either been convicted or received punishment in a criminal case before he can  be removed or be made to resign. As far as Justice Ganguly’s case is concerned, he has not even been tried in a court of law. There is not even an investigation into his case by a legitimate legal authority. But a three-member panel comprising two Supreme Court chief justices have established prima facie that “an act of unwelcome verbal/non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature had been committed” by Justice A.K. Ganguly. With all due respect, I am not sure how the so-called findings of a panel can be treated as a conviction of a person’s guilty. The panel has merely made an observation based on its members’ interaction or interrogation of the two parties concerned. However, this cannot take the place of an actual trial by a court of law. This matter is being dealt with in the most absurd manner. The man is being pronounced guilty by a public trial. But legal authorities too have made demands for his removal. Yes, that is precisely what is more shocking. It’s not even just the public or the media. But experts in the field of law too are lending their voice to this disturbing new trend of popular trial. They should know better. Lawyers? Such as additional solicitor general Indira Jaising, for instance? I will not name anyone but yes, some very prominent legal authorities, well-versed in the laws of the land. But when a person in a position of power is accused of a crime such as sexual harassment, is it not the expected norm for him to step down? There is a difference betw­een, say, people in positions of power who can influence investigation and those who cannot. That is the principle behind this practice. But what power does the chairman of a human rights commission have to influence investigation? None at all. He neither controls the police nor the courts nor any other investigating body. What about arrests? Tarun Tejpal has been taken to jail after allegations of sexual harassment were made against him. There is a huge difference between the two cases. Tarun Tejpal had admitted to (a sexual liaison) whether by consent or otherwise, but Justice Ganguly has categorically denied any overture or misconduct on his part. In the earlier case, a police case had been filed. In this case, not even an FIR has been registered. 1/D-130 DEC 21, 2013 03:00 PM There is a concept known as "moral certainty" where the probability of an occurence having taken place is so high that action can be taken without there being absolute proof. Justice AK Ganguly as Chairman of a body concerned with human rights violations which includes cases of sexual misconduct against women should treat the Supreme Court panel's finding that there is a prima facie case against him as being one based on moral certainty and step down on his own from the WBHRC. RAMESH RAMACHANDRA BANGALORE, INDIA  PERMALINK  |   LIKE (0)  |   DISLIKE (4)  |   REPORT ABUSE 2/D-131 DEC 21, 2013 03:03 PM "an act of unwelcome verbal/non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature " ...CANNOT remain the prerogative of vengeful feminists to decide on what constitutes 'unwelcome'. Laws to severely punish females who make false 'accusations' must be passed. Punishment should include social rehabilitation, to sensitise them to male needs too. MISOGYNIST CHENNAI, INDIA  PERMALINK  |   LIKE (4)  |   DISLIKE (0)  |   REPORT ABUSE 3/D-65 DEC 25, 2013 05:11 PM Somnath's lending shoulders to Ganguly, who is facing the allegations of sexual advancement is shocking. We do not know why should the former speaker, also a reputed lawyer, view the prima face findings of the panel of SC  as not worth a hoot. He also defends the defiance of Ganguly to step down as the former believes that HRC chairman may not influence the legal proceedings, thus throwing into winds the tenets of morality.  ow could a legal luminary, irrespective of the  high his office he holds, defy to submit the cherished conventions?  The inevitable scepticism one is tempted to attach the lenience behind such provincial affinity is unhealthy. Should we pity about the once renowned  legal acumen of Somnath, which retrieved the benefits to LIC employees' impounded during emergency? Had the tenure  of the office of Speaker held twice, (of course, the later one defying the decisions of CPM) transformed him to the present state?             C.CHANDRASEKARAN MADURAI, INDIA  PERMALINK  |   LIKE (1)  |   DISLIKE (0)  |   REPORT ABUSE 4/D-8 DEC 26, 2013 02:04 AM I have lost my hope on you sir  KAILASH CHENNAI, INDIA  PERMALINK  |   LIKE (0)  |   DISLIKE (0)  |   REPORT ABUSE http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?288928

NUJS has decided to disassociate itself from Ganguly till he is exonerated of all charges

Pursuant to the demand made by the faculties of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences [NUJS] the Vice-Chancellor P Iswara Bhat has assured them that the University has dissociated itself from Justice (retd) A.K. Ganguly, who was a honorary Professor at NUJS

“… the University has already dissociated from him (Justice Ganguly) . He will be distanced from the NUJS in whatever activities in future until the EC (Executive Council) decides the issue finally,” he told

He assured the faculties that an “official communication will also be issued from the side of the NUJS to this effect at the earliest.”

“I want to make it categorical that NUJS has zero tolerance for sexual harassment and its politicisation. We are committed to uphold the value of women’s dignity. We disapprove politicisation and trivialisation”. He told

Earlier Twelve Professors of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences [NUJS] today issued a statement demanding an immediate action against Justice Ganguly, who is alleged to have sexually assaulted a former student of the University, while she was doing her internship with him.

The full text of the statement as published in the NUJS blog is here

STATEMENT OF NUJS FACULTY MEMBERS

On the 6th of November, 2013, Ms. Stella James, one of our former students wrote a blog post highlighting the conflicting range of emotions that she underwent in the aftermath of sexual harassment at the hands of a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. Subsequent to this, the Chief Justice of India constituted a Committee (SCC) to look into the charges leveled by her. SCC found that Stella’s statements “prima facie discloses an act of unwelcome behaviour (unwelcome verbal/non-verbal conduct of sexual nature)”. After this, key portions from Stella’s affidavit outlining the horrific incident was disclosed to a newspaper by a high ranking law officer of the country. Further, press reports indicate that the Attorney General of India has opined to the Union Home Ministry that “[…] [it] is a fit case for action and there is enough evidence to proceed against the former Supreme Court judge”.

Considering the nature of allegations, and noting that Stella was a student, and the former judge was an honorary professor of NUJS at the time of incident, we feel that the latter’s continued association with our institution undermines the ideals of NUJS, an institution that has always strived to teach and foster justice, including gender justice. We believe that the position of a Professor is that of trust, and requires that such person be above reproach, especially above allegations of misbehaviour with students, particularly when such allegations have been found to have prima facie merit by a high level committee. Given that the former judge continues to remain an honorary professor at NUJS, we request the NUJS administration to take immediate steps to see to it that necessary action is initiated against the former judge.

We acknowledge the position taken by the Vice Chancellor, as reported in the media, about placing the matter of institution’s continued association with the former judge in the next Executive Council meeting. However in light of the findings of SCC and Supreme Court’s direction in Vishaka requiring the employer to take steps affirmatively, we call upon the NUJS administration including the Executive Council, the body responsible for appointments, to appropriately address this matter with utmost urgency. Till he is exonerated from all the charges leveled by Stella, the University should, at the very least, dissociate itself from him. We must clarify here that we respect the right of the former judge and all other parties to pursue appropriate legal remedies and defend themselves as per due process of law.

We also note with concern the unwarranted statements from several quarters attributing political motives to Stella’s blog posts and deposition. We are particularly appalled at the insinuation by the retired judge that Stella is a political pawn and strongly condemn this character assassination. We also condemn all other statements that attempt to politicize the issue. Such statements are deeply disrespectful to Stella and trivialize her experience. These insinuations are also symptomatic of the manner in which issues of gender and power are turned into partisan political contests and we call upon all to resist such attempts.

1. Shamnad Basheer, MHRD Chaired Professor of IP Law, NUJS

2. Saurabh Bhattacharjee, Assistant Professor, NUJS

3. Anirban Chakraborty, Assistant Professor, NUJS [On Leave]

4. Lovely Dasgupta, Assistant Professor, NUJS

5. Ruchira Goswami, Assistant Professor, NUJS

6. Daniel Mathew, Assistant Professor, NUJS

7. Nandan Nawn, Assistant Professor, NUJS

8. Arup Kumar Poddar, Associate Professor, NUJS

9. Tilottama Raychaudhuri, Assistant Professor, NUJS

10. Shameek Sen, Assistant Professor, NUJS

11. N.S. Sreenivasulu, Associate Professor, NUJS

12. TVGNS Sudhakar, Associate Professor, NUJS

http://www.livelaw.in/nujs-has-decided-to-disassociate-itself-from-ganguly-till-he-is-exonerated-of-all-charges/

AAP link with Rahul G exposed: Dr. Subramanian Swamy

January 2, 2014, 12:02 am

≫ Next: Kashinath Bagwade, the personal discipline Guru -- NaMo (Jyotipunj)

≪ Previous: In the mood for reason -- Dola Mitra. युक्ति हीने विचारे तु धर्म हानिः प्रजायते NUJS is not living up to its logo.

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http://youtu.be/vanJcgf9CGc 

Published on Dec 31, 2013

In one shot, Dr. Subramanian Swamy exposes both arvind kejriwal & yogendra yadav on CNN IBN debate with Yadav.
Yogendra Yadav has earlier worked as a political advisor to Rahul Gandhi according to:
Dr.Swamy - https://twitter.com/Swamy39/status/41...
Madhu Kishwar.- https://twitter.com/madhukishwar/stat...
DNA article from 2009 - http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-...

Is AAP created as per Congress strategy??

Read this important article from Dr.Gautam Sen who taught international political economy at the London School of Economics:
"Stopping Modi at all costs" -http://www.indiafacts.co.in/stopping-...

Kashinath Bagwade, the personal discipline Guru -- NaMo (Jyotipunj)

January 2, 2014, 1:47 am

≫ Next: Why India's brick kiln workers 'live like slaves' -- Humphrey Hawksley

≪ Previous: AAP link with Rahul G exposed: Dr. Subramanian Swamy

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Modi’s mentors: Kashinath Bagwade, the personal discipline guru

by Aakar Patel January 2, 2014 Editor's note: Narendra Modi has revealed his inspirations in a work he wrote after he became chief minister in 2001. The book, written in Gujarati, is called Jyotipunj. In this chapter from his book of short biographies, being translated for the first time, Narendra Modi profiles the man who offered him lessons in personal discipline, disaster management and administration.

The most ordinary man will have something extraordinary about him. Circumstance and opportunity sometimes have a part in this, and sometimes an individual takes hammer and chisel to himself and sculpts his character. India's youth were seething with nationalist sentiment before independence. Those generations had the opportunity to do something for their country, and they did.

In those times, in Maharashtra's Satara district is a little village called Wai. Here in an ordinary family was born Kashinath Bagwade. His heart burned with desire to do something for his nation, and he turned to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

With his brothers, he came to Nadiad's New Shorrock mill for a job. Here, he joined the Kheda agitation for independence. The seed the RSS had planted in him flowered in Gujarat. Kashinathji was a matriculate, but he was not limited by that. He was also untouched by things as his dislocation from a little village to a town like Nadiad, and by any thoughts of what he should do for himself. His family had expectations of his helping them out on the economic front, but his attention was elsewhere.

]Narendra Modi (far left) with Eknath Ranade, Kanti Vyas and Kashinath Bagwade. Image from book.

In 1945, he quit his job, and his home and decided to unite Hindu society against slavery. Kashinathji became a Pracharak. He began his work in Kheda and learnt Gujarati in a short time. His qualities, his simplicity and his hard work compensated for his lack of a degree. Very soon, he had control over the task at hand in Kheda as Pracharak.

For many years Gujarat, particularly Kutch, was considered to be a 'punishment posting'. But Kashinathji's success in Kheda ensured he was given charge of Kutch. Before independence, sometimes one had to reach Kutch by sea, but this was no problem for him. He soon understood the intricacies, special characteristics and granularities of Kutch.

Till today, the first generation of Kutch's Swayamsevaks don't tire of talking about Kashinathji's walking and cycling tours, and his ability to keep working without food. Today's generations will find such things fantastic, but they are true. The development of the RSS in Gujarat happened through two incidents.

In both of them, Kashinathji was involved. In the RSS, we are often taught that it's one hour for the Shakha and 23 hours for the nation and society. Something now happened for this to be demonstrated to society. In 1956, an earthquake hit Kutch's Anjar area. Pandit Nehru himself rushed to help. In that period, through Kashnathji's efforts, the Sangh had only just begun to become effective there organisationally. It wasn't capacious enough to manage the disaster. But the desire outstripped the capacity.

Kashinathji began to work for the rehabilitation of those affected. There was a vast gap to be bridged between those who needed assistance and those who could give it. For a large part of the Congress, this was a photo opportunity more than anything else. Kashinathji scrambled the Swayamsevaks into action. Armed with three or four days' food, some bedding and clothing and essentials, they reached Kutch. Without taking anything from society and without straining the affected area's resources, they helped those in need. Soon, even the government had to rely on Kashinathji and his team for real information of the situation.

Those politicians who came to be photographed, at first would scowl at the sight of khaki-shorts-wearing Swayamsevaks. But they also were dependent on them. In particular, those who were displaced from Sindh at Partition and ran into this second disaster were helped by the RSS.
After the war against China, Kashinathji was put in charge of Mehsana, near Ahmedabad. Under his supervision, the RSS developed there rapidly. Even today, in all of Gujarat, the RSS is most prominent in Mehsana and this is because of Kashinathji's efforts.

He was a slight figure physically, but never tired of taking his cycle and setting off on roads, whether paved or not. He was an incredible administrator, and this showed in the way he lived. Everything - information, prioritisation of tasks, arrangements - was always at hand with him. He was seriously disciplined. He was up and ready by 4 or 4:30 am. He sat with 50 postcards and began his day. Before dawn, he would try to deliver these to the villages, each with different instructions for different Karyakartas.

His writing was clear and precise, always, despite being so prolific. His manner of using words did not alter. This way, over 30 years, of writing lakhs of postcards would be in the running for a record today! The second incident I write of happened after the formation the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in 1964. The religious outlook of Gujaratis ensured that the VHP made rapid inroads here. The first national gathering of the VHP happened in Siddhpur. Guruji Golwalkar, the Shankaracharya and other saints and mahants assembled in Gujarat for the first time.

Thousand of these saints and lakhs of citizens participated at this incredible event. In 1971-72, Kashinathji was managing the gathering. It was no ordinary task - each saint is an institution. Each with different traditions, rules and regulations governing his life. To manage this, and to do it with respect and efficiently and on time, is not easy. On the other hand were lakhs of devotees, whose needs also had to be cared for. All of this Kashinathji did brilliantly, establishing new benchmarks.

More than four decades Kashinathji spent thus - with great discipline and hardship on RSS work and without care for his personal life. This resulted in a painful end. His health deteriorated, but he did not liked being asked about it. As his end came, he was pained not by his body so much as the thought that he could not do much for his nation any longer.

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/modis-mentors-kashinath-bagwade-the-personal-discipline-guru-1319367.html

Why India's brick kiln workers 'live like slaves' -- Humphrey Hawksley

January 2, 2014, 2:10 am

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2 January 2014 Last updated at 00:42 GMT

Tens of thousands of families travel, mostly from the state of Orissa, to work in the brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh

Many women and children work at the kilns for '12-18 hours a day', say activists

Many children fall ill after working in the kilns

Why India's brick kiln workers 'live like slaves'
By Humphrey HawksleyBBC News, Andhra Pradesh

Just outside of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, by country roads in a flat green landscape, smoke rises off huge furnaces.

The heat hardens mud clay into the bricks that are making modern India.

Close by the air is acrid with coal soot, catching in the throat.

Like a scene from a long-gone age, men and women walk in single file up and down steps as if climbing a pyramid. They strain under a load, balanced in yoke-like hods, to deliver freshly-moulded bricks to the furnace.

Down below, knee deep in water, their clothes ragged, workers hack at clay in a wet pit to make mix into mud.

"The work is hard standing in the water, lifting the bricks," says Gurdha Maji, 35, as he packs mud into a brick mould and levels it off.

"We make 1,500 bricks a day. Only after six months will we get released."

'Against the law'

Nearby, there is a mound of coal. Woman and children squat at the edge. Most are barefoot. With ungloved fingers a woman holds down a piece of coal and smashes it with a hammer. Two children, barely four years old, their faces smeared black, break coal by hitting pieces against each other.

"All of this is against the law," says Aeshalla Krishna, a labour activist with the human rights group Prayas.

"This is against the minimum wage act of 1948, the bonded labour act of 1976, the interstate migrant workers act of 1979. Child labour. Sexual harassment. Physical abuse. It's all happening. Every day."

The bricks are used to build offices, factories and call centres, the cityscapes of a booming economic miracle, and more and more, these buildings are used by multi-national companies with a global reach.

Yet, Mr Krishna says he doesn't know of any bricks made under working conditions that would be acceptable under international standards.

The six-month season is now beginning when tens of thousands of families travel, mostly from the state of Orissa to work in the brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh.

Among many reports of abuses, labour contractors last week were accused of cutting off the hands of two workers who tried to leave their jobs.

The brick kilns we visited comprised the most poverty-wracked communities of India.

Children were everywhere. There was no safety equipment. Stories of illness, withheld wages and other issues were common place.

"They work 12 to 18 hours a day, pregnant women, children, adolescent girls," says Mr Krishna. "Their diet is poor. There is no good water. They live like slaves."

The situation has been like this for decades, if not centuries. Until recently, it was widely accepted as something that would improve slowly time. Campaigners say there's been little sense of urgency.

But in 2011, the United Nations and the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) combined forces to introduce new guidelines for multinational companies operating in countries like India.

These companies now have a direct responsibility to check on human rights abuses anywhere in their supply chains.

'Game changer'

"It's a real game changer," says Tyler Gillard, the OECD's legal adviser.

"Any alleged abuses of human rights associated with the production of materials such as bricks and directly linked to a company's operations, products or services is a serious issue."

Britain has set up a National Contact Point for alleged abuses and this year made changes to its Companies Act to require companies to include human rights issues in their annual reports, from 1 October.

"We would expect any member to take very seriously the evidence of human rights abuses that are related to their business whether directly or indirectly," says Peter McAllister, director of Ethical Trading Initiative whose members include multinationals.

And an international alliance of trade unions, Union Solidarity International, is launching a campaign - Blood Bricks - with the aim of forcing companies to carry out checks.

'Epidemic'

"The scale of forced and child labour in the brick kilns of India is of epidemic proportions," says UK Andrew Brady. "Simply put cheap bricks means cheap office buildings on the back of blood bricks and slave labour."

The Indian government insists it is on top the issue, providing housing, clean water and schools in the kilns around Hyderabad.

"The labour market is very conducive for multinationals," says Dr A Ashok, labour commissioner for Andhra Pradesh.

"We have taken action against brick kiln owners who have tried to exploit workers. There is no bonded labour and the minimum wage is paid. If there are some pockets here and there, they need to be rectified."

In squalid mud hut that's used for accommodation, we find Madhiri Mallik. She's five years old. The only clothing she wears is a pair of shorts.

Mr Krishna discovers that she came from the state of Orissa with her parents, Gurubhol and Amar, and her two year old brother, Vishnu.

Mr Krishna crouches down to check her eyes. "She is suffering from an eye problem because of the smoke. See how the eye is white. The haemoglobin is very low. She has a headache from the smoking bricks and her stomach is bad because of the water."

Regardless of what governments or human rights activists say, under the new trade guidelines it is up to each company to establish facts on the ground.

If they find cases in their supply chains like little Madhiri, they must take steps to try to help her.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25556965

The hardships of life as a brick kiln worker in Pakistan

17 December 2012 Last updated at 16:32 GMTHelp

Many Pakistanis work all day in dangerous conditions making and firing bricks in kilns for as little as 200 rupees ($2; £1.30) per day.

Despite government assurances that laws are in place to guarantee worker pay and conditions, labourers say that the realities of life at the kilns suggest otherwise.

BBC Urdu's Shahzad Malik reports.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20629480 (Video)

Fake secularism -- Ravinar

January 2, 2014, 2:22 am

≫ Next: AAP Delhi water formula full of leaks -- Vivek Khitan, Money Life. Weakest sections ignored -- Arun Jaitley.

≪ Previous: Why India's brick kiln workers 'live like slaves' -- Humphrey Hawksley

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2014

Prologue: 2014 - Good Vs Evil

(This is a Maxipost)

In this opener for 2014 we will just go through some of what was posted on these pages in the past and see how much still remains relevant. Current flavour in the media is, of course, their infatuation with the AAP party in Delhi. Child gets a new toy and is unwilling to let go of it for days. At the same time, ask the child to throw or give off some old ones it will flatly refuse. That’s our media too. While the MSM is currently infatuated with AAP it is only because their masters, the Congress party, have been down.  It’s another election year and an important one. 2014 is not merely about which party but which path and ideology India will choose for the road ahead. We have been in a conflict for most of our 66 years of Independence. Privately we are a democracy but govt-wise we have largely been communists. Bengal managed to evict the CPM but it’s not as if the replacement is any different. The TMC too is another party with Commie ideology. The roots of a failed system have been installed by the one who firmly believed “socialism” was the only way ahead for India. It just so happens that the thin line between socialism and communism disappears fast. Here’s an excerpt from my post “Commie Media's Anti-Hindu Poison - Part 4”:

“The Aim of Socialism: I am convinced that the only key to the solution of the world’s problems and of India’s problems lies in socialism… Socialism is, however, something even more than an economic doctrine; it is a philosophy of life… I see no way of ending the poverty, the vast unemployment, the degradation and the subjection of the Indian people except through socialism. That involves vast and revolutionary changes in our political and social structure, the ending of vested interests in land and industry, as well as the feudal and autocratic Indian States system. That means the ending of private property, except in a restricted sense, and the replacement of the present profit system by a higher ideal of co-operative service… In short, it means a new civilisation, radically different from the present capitalist order. Some glimpse we can have of this new civilisation in the territories of the U.S.S.R… If the future is full of hope it is largely because of Soviet Russia… and I am convinced that, if some world catastrophe does not intervene, this new civilisation will spread to other lands and put an end to the wars and conflicts which capitalism feeds”.

That was Jawaharlal Nehru in 1936. That is also Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the 21st century. That is also Arvind Kejriwal and Yogendra Yadav in 2013. The only unfortunate change (for these people) is that catastrophe did visit USSR and it doesn’t exist anymore. And by catastrophe I don’t mean wars. That was catastrophe of poverty, hunger, lack of medical facilities, lack of opportunities, widespread corruption, political murders and a general decay. The Congress and newbie AAP continues to believe that same system is the solution to the problems it created. Corrupt and failed systems and parties find a willing partner in the news media. The Goebbels will keep telling you AAP is the greatest miracle to happen to Delhi and is likely to storm India. It is not prudence or logic; it is their desperate hope. This is a collage of that ideology:

  

We can add some more. USSR failed, Nehru failed, Indira failed. Poverty and other problems we started out with are still with us. The last five years of the Congress-UPA have been the worst for India by every measure. Just add terrorism to the concoction. It is a severe failure of another Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi that the media doesn’t dare to talk about. Puppets like Manmohan Singh or P. Chidambaram may share the blame but the fountain of failure is indeed SoniaG. She knows it and the Congress knows and the MSM knows and even Sagarika’s Uncle knows it. That being the case, the Congress is a master at building fences. Here’s my little piece on it from ‘Desperate measures – 9: Building fences”:

“It is necessary to flank and protect the queen as I have written over a year ago. Nothing that is happening is accidental. The fences were built long back but are only being erected in instalments. The fences are being erected out of the real fears of Sonia. The FSBs and MNREGs may bankrupt the country. Our security may take a back seat but under no circumstances is Sonia or Congress willing to sit in the Opposition again. They will follow the old CNN-IBN tagline: “Whatever it takes” to kill the devil that haunts them in the form of Modi. If the media finds time after all this you might get a peep into Coalgate, Black Money or Inflation, but it’s pretty unlikely. In the meantime you might want to figure out what the next “fence” will be and where it will be erected”.

Arvind Kejriwal may spend the rest of his life denying he and AAP are Congress stooges but I doubt anyone is going to buy it. AAP is just another “fence” for the Congress. The Congis know too well they’re going to do badly at the elections this year. They need a “fence” to fight the biggest enemy: BJP and, particularly, Narendra Modi. They have media channels like CNN-IBN, NDTV and their group outlets and also the India Today group to campaign for them. How AAP wants to combat corruption can be measured by the fact the states they have targeted for contesting LS elections are Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP and Tamil Nadu. All of these are “Congress-mukt” states. The only other state chosen by them is Haryana, being a Delhi neighbour and AK’s home-state. To put it bluntly, AAP is a bench-warmer till the LS elections and based on outcomes of those elections will see which way to jump.   

As with AAP the media too has slowly blacked out any mention of Congress corruption. So much so that the MSM and AAP would have you believe that BJP is more corrupt than Congress. I have strongly emphasised that the MSM is now a resort for scoundrels; a place where the dogs of society howl the loudest in protection of Congress. A serious crime investigation will expose the corruption in each and every major media outlet. An investigation into the assets of some of the media celebs will reveal even more. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has started an inquiry into the functioning of the fraudulent Tehelka group of Tarun Tejpal. There is no reason to believe the others are any different. Time will tell.

There is not a single institution that hasn’t been destroyed or bankrupted by the Congress in the last 10 years. Even PSUs and banks have been destroyed with worthless crony loans. Bad loans are their highest at the moment and you don’t have to wonder where all this money has gone. Some of it to the likes of the “king of good times”, some to the slaves in media and the rest just disappeared. I wrote in May 2013 that for India to progress Congress must die. It is not just the party but the Communist ideology which has failed all across the world and in India must die too. Here’s an excerpt:

“In the name of fake secularism the Congress party and its supporters have divided the nation through religious reservations and privileges. Every policy of the party smacks of vote-bank politics and nothing more... Rahul Gandhi campaigns in Karnataka and talks about corruption. With what face does this non-performer talk about corruption? His own personal integrity or commitment to public work is suspect going by his poor attendance and participation in parliament. The same goes for the PM who promises a corruption-free state in his insipid campaigns. All of this, while they represent the most corrupt party in the entire democratic world! What does it say about the slavery of Congress and its supporters who still live a life of slavery to one family which is protected like a royal household? Sonia Gandhi enjoys all the trappings of a queen without the slightest responsibility or accountability for any deeds of the govt or her party”.

RahulG still talks about corruption and claims Congress is the biggest fighter of corruption in the country. You can’t blame the man for lack of humour. How brazenly the party lies can be seen in the latest hoarding in Delhi over the Lokpal bill. His party projects this muddle-mouth as their PM candidate. You can estimate what would happen to the country if he were to ever become PM. And all the time this ‘Congotri of corruption’ that loots the country claims to stand for the poor, the downtrodden and farmers. Here’s a note left by a farmer killing himself (from NDTV April 2012):

But none of these matter to Congress or to SoniaG. This party has a one-point agenda: how to win elections and grab power no matter what it takes. In the process they will use and misuse all the powers of the state against their opponents. That’s why Congress and their crony MSM trashes and abuses Narendra Modi. He is the real fear of Sonia and the Delhi-Durbar media. Here’s an excerpt:

“The only ideology of the Congress is “Gandhi” as someone said. The only other ideology is how to gain and remain in power at any cost. The economy, economics and all other such considerations are secondary. The media keeps asking if RahulG will stand up and fight Narendra Modi. This is their fake wet dream. RahulG can’t even fight small-time politicians let alone a giant. The meteoric rise of Modi threatens SoniaG and this is probably her greatest fear. All the filthy language that Congress politicians use for Modi is used on her behalf. Her self-preservation is more important than any issue for the Congress. Without her the Congress is just a Sibal. If the Congress spokies are so agitated at the rise and elevation of Modi as the party campaign Chairman it is a reflection of the fears of Sonia Gandhi. The Congress political fortunes have been on a downswing and the one person who threatens their power the most is the one most discussed and vilified in the media. These are the fears of Sonia Gandhi manifested in the media’s poor discourse”.

The MSM that howls day and night in hatred for Modi suddenly woke up December end to talk about Muzaffarnagar. I estimate this was an advance notice secretly given to them about RahulG’s visit to the town and victims’ camps. Promptly, all the parrots in the media were talking Muzaffarnagar. Rajdeep and Sagarika even rushed to Muzaffarnagar for a curtain raiser. Oh yes, Sagarika was smart enough to do her whole show in “Hindi”. Wonder what she was eyeing, eh? But there’s another sinister near black-out that should tell you how Anti-Hindu the MSM is. Their hatred for RSS/BJP and Modi extends to anything that moves in saffron. These pics tell a story:

For years Sadhvi Pragya was jailed without sufficient evidence and denied bail. Nobody made any noise in the media. This same media screams itself hoarse when Muslims are arrested on terror-suspicion. On December 27, 2013 NIA was reported to be dropping the case against her. This important news went without a single debate or discussion on any news channel. Being Anti-Hindu pays for the media. The kicking and screaming over theShankaracharya being accused of murder went on for months. The media had already declared him a murderer and criminal. When a court found him innocent it hardly found a passing mention. I don’t vouch for the hours they screamed as shown in the pic but it does reflect the severe prejudice against Hindus by channels like NDTV and CNN-IBN who appear to be the most communal in their slanted discourse. Some suspect it’s because the editors of these channels aren’t Hindus themselves and others suspect funding from vicious sources.

Communists, Socialists and Fascists have managed to fool people since the 19th century. It grew worse in the 20th century and it also died in most major countries of the world, except in India. Even the Chinese are now Commies only nominally. I sometimes talk about Evita(Eva Duarte de Peron) whose rags to riches story is still worshipped in Argentina (read here). She could be your Sonia Gandhi or Arvind Kejriwal or Mamata Banerjee or any other Amma.Che Guevara, a Commie guerrilla warrior, is also worshiped all over. I’m sharing a video in which I have slightly modified AK’s singing at his swearing-in ceremony to a commentary at the election of Juan Peron as President of Argentina in 1946 with the much adored Evita by his side. Then her appeal to Argentinos as her end nears after she had mostly lived a life of luxury and failed to deliver on her promises. The final part of the video contains what “Che” actually thinks of Evita (This Che is an imaginary Che Guevara as a narrator and not the real one). Video 7.15 mins:

Quite like the announcer, Kejriwal likes to tell everyone “we are all CMs now, we are all ministers now”. Communists like to glorify poverty. They make it so romantic and respectable that even movies used to glorify poverty. People should love the poor but hate poverty. For Commie misrule to survive it is important to keep people uneducated, poor and misinformed. This is the Congress trick that is followed by all its offshoots like SP, JDU, NCP etc. and lately AAP. Evita, unfortunately, died at young age of 33 (and she wasn't evil). Since those days, in the 1940s, Argentina has been through turmoil, trauma, anarchy, violence, military rule and even a war (Falklands 1982). It now enjoys some stability. Closer home, it took Bengal 34 years to get rid of the sickness called CPM. Delhi was already infected, it just became worse. India stands at the crossroads of Communism and Democracy, of honourable livelihood, freedom and fraudulent scam-ridden freebies. A victory for the Commies in 2014 will result in enduring loot, corruption and anarchy. It’s not a mere contest between political parties. It’s a contest between Good and Evil.

A Happy New Year to all…

Posted by Ravinar at 1/01/2014 05:30:00 AM 

http://www.mediacrooks.com/2014/01/prologue-2014-good-vs-evil.html?m=1#.UsU9JtIW0nh

AAP Delhi water formula full of leaks -- Vivek Khitan, Money Life. Weakest sections ignored -- Arun Jaitley.

January 2, 2014, 6:51 am

≫ Next: Kalinga Nagar Paradip waterway. SoniaG UPA, announce National Water Grid incldg National Water Ways

≪ Previous: Fake secularism -- Ravinar

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Is AAP Delhi water formula full of leaks?

VIVEK KHAITAN  02/01/2014 11:10 AM

The people of Delhi may be in for a rude shock, following the new water pricing formula of AAP. They may have to shell-out 2-3 times more. Where meters are faulty, cost will be even higher

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has delivered on its electoral promise of providing 700 litres of free water per day per household even before they have proven their majority in the legislature. However, putting aside questions of political morality, no analysis of probable impact of this move on households and on fiscal health of the government, has been released by AAP so far. How genuine is the promise of free water? Could it be that the water bills are set to actually rise for a large number of people?

AAP claims to have pioneered the concept of “lifeline water” in India by promising minimum quantity of water required for survival. But how does the economics of water work in practice in Delhi as against what has been claimed conceptually?  How does it impact household budgets? What probable behavioural changes could be expected from different sections of Delhi population because of this measure? Is it a subsidy for the poor or the middle class? Here is the reality.

There are three major components of water charge that is billed to domestic consumers (Category 1) in Delhi. (There are two more categories of consumers, residential with mixed commercial use (Category 1A) and commercial and industrial use (Category II) but we have kept them out of our analysis as subsidy is not applicable to them.)

• • Metered water consumption: Divided into four slabs with progressively higher rates
• • Sewerage maintenance charges: Levied at 60% of price for metered water consumption
• • Fixed service charges: Levied based on slab under which your metered water consumption falls
   

There are two more components -- water cess charge and meter rent of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) which is negligible and hence not considered in this analysis.
The four slabs with progressively higher rates for each slab for both metered water consumption and fixed service charge are given in Table 1.1

Table 1.1

Consumption  per month	Old Rates	Fixed charges
1-10 KL	2.42	60.50
10-20 KL	3.63	121.00
20-30 KL	18.15	181.50
30-above KL	30.25	242.00

1 KL = 1,000 litres

Now, the AAP government has made consumption within first two slabs free of cost and increased rates for both metered water consumption and fixed service charge by 10% as per this ET report. Additionally, consumption beyond 20 KL in a month would be chargeable in full and it is implied in this report that such calculation would be on the basis of higher slab rates. The new rate brought in force by AAP is given in Table 1.2

Table 1.2

Consumption  per month	New Rates	Fixed charges
1-10 KL	0	0
10-20 KL	0	0
20-30 KL	19.97	199.65
30-above KL	33.28	266.20

    1 KL = 1,000 litres

So, how does water billing change at different consumption points for Delhi households? Below is the table (Table 1.3) and graph (Graph 1.1) for comparison. Also, DJB claims to incur a cost of Rs28 per KL including sewerage maintenance cost for supplying water.

Table 1.3

S No	Consumption per month (In KL)	Billing Amount (Old Rate)	Billing Amount (New Rate)	Additional burden due to new rates	Increase in Billing
1	10	99	-	(99)
2	15	189	-	(189)
3	20	218	-	(218)
4	21	308	871	563	183%
5	22	337	903	566	168%
6	23	366	935	569	155%
7	24	395	967	572	145%
8	25	424	999	575	136%
9	26	453	1,031	578	128%
10	27	482	1,063	581	120%
11	28	511	1,095	583	114%
12	29	540	1,127	586	109%
13	30	569	1,159	589	104%
14	31	678	1,278	600	88%
15	35	872	1,491	620	71%
16	40	1,114	1,758	644	58%
17	45	1,356	2,024	668	49%
18	50	1,598	2,290	692	43%
19	55	1,840	2,557	716	39%
20	60	2,082	2,823	741	36%

What are the conclusions from this chart?

1. Earlier there was a gradual increase in prices as you consume more. Now, there is a steep incline at 21 KL consumption due to a massive combined effect of free water till 20 KL, higher applicable slabs and increase in rates above 20 KL
2. Marginal rate for consumption even slightly above 20 KL per month is severely high compared to earlier rates, an incredible Rs871 against Rs308 earlier!
3. Consumers in the 20-30 KL slab get the worst deal and would have to pay 200%-300% times more!
4. Against principles of fairness, cost for higher category consumers (>30 KL per month) will be less steeper as their bills would go up by 30%-80%

Faulty Meters
Apart from the steep hike, there is an additional problem of fast meters that many in Delhi complain about. We have monitored our meter for past three days and found it to be running faster by 25%-40% (showing a gain of 1.25 to 1.4 KL for filling a water tank of 1,000 litre). Any evidence for such faulty meters is largely anecdotal and a systematic study is required to establish it as a fact. However, complaints of fast-running faulty meter are widespread. If we assume it to be a factor, then actual consumption would have to be limited to less than 500 litres per day to take advantage of new tariff structure. Suspicion about faulty meters will get combined with incentive to stay below the punitive consumption threshold. This will force consumers into adopting means that are totally against the principle and philosophy of AAP. Talk of unintended consequences!

Over the course of the next few months, all this will get clearer to Delhi citizens. How will it impact the different consumer classes and what impact it may have on their behaviour?

1. The middle class in Delhi, who have placed high hopes on AAP due to its clean image, would be in for a rude shock. Any additional gain they expected may not be realised and they may actually have to shell-out 2-3 times more.
2. Those who can limit their consumption to 20 KL per month do not pay anything and get the best deal. However, if they fail to do so in even one billing cycle, their entire gains would be wiped out and they may have to shell-out some additional money (DJB seems to be settling into a 3-month billing cycle so we have assumed four bills in a year) due to steep incline at 21 KL consumption level. A lower-income category household of up to 5 persons can be expected to limit their consumption within the free water limit and gain from this scenario. However, excess consumption due to extraneous factors (festival consumption, water coolers use in summers, temporary increase in household number due to guests) in even one billing cycle would prove very costly.
3. DJB allows households to install their own meters which can be sourced from certified manufacturers. But all kinds of water meters are available in the market which can be easily registered with DJB. Of course, it’s entirely possible that model citizens of Delhi would display exemplary behaviour and actually get down to learning about water conservation! And in the case of deviation, the gargantuan bureaucracy planned by AAP that goes by the name of Jan Lokpal would be at hand to take care of the enforcement problem! 
4. Even assuming that 40%-50% households would be able to limit their consumption and gain from new tariff structure, their gains would be Rs218 per month at the most. However, it does not bear out that such gains are so substantial even for lowest income category that it has become a calling card for AAP. The minimum wage in Delhi for unskilled category is Rs8,086 per month and Rs218 per month for water was a sensible tariff to charge.

As far as fiscal health of DJB is concerned, in the earlier tariff structure, DJB was giving a subsidy of Rs17-18 per KL up to 20 KL per month consumption and was recovering full cost for consumption between 20-30 KL and making a profit of ~40% on consumption beyond 30 KL. In the new tariff structure, DJB would be providing subsidy of Rs28 per KL up to 20 KL per month consumption and would not be able to recover any part of the cost, but would make profit of  ~30% for consumption between 20-30 KL and super-profit of ~50% for consumption beyond 30 KL. Additionally, rate increase is expected across-the-board so billing for other two categories of consumers would also be higher so it may be possible that the new tariff structure actually bring additional revenues to DJB. (The ET report suggests that DJB officials expect a subsidy of Rs160 crore annually. However, this is not clear as household data for water consumption in Delhi is not available in public domain)

This policy definitely does not address concerns like water for all, assured supply, good quality, developing long-term sources as Delhi ‘imports’ 80% of its water from other states, cleaning river Yamuna, dual supply lines for potable and non-potable water, metering all connections, tackling tanker mafia, reducing distribution losses for long-term sustainable water availability and supply. Instead, AAP has taken the easy route to gain political mileage. Strangely, price of water was hardly an issue in Delhi (price of electricity was definitely an electoral issue). This move is of a piece whereby a supposed benefit has been provided to half of Delhi which was not asked for but would create a legacy that may be replicated elsewhere and would be difficult to eradicate in near future.

Another calling card of AAP, which has generated even more interest and debate, is their promise to reduce electricity rates by 50%. Given that electricity pricing, unlike water pricing, is not entirely in the hands of the Government of Delhi, AAP may want to replicate the same model for new power tariff structure as well. However, sensitivity to electricity bills is quite high in Delhi and any such move to cross-subsidise part of the population may have negative consequences

New water tariff structure has been approved for the period Jan-Mar 2014. The bills, therefore, would start hitting households in the month of April and would provide quite a shock just in time for parliamentary elections and a possible re-election in Delhi. AAP would be well-advised to re-think the tariff structure and at least continue with the earlier rates for 0-10 KL and 10-20 KL slabs for billing of consumption beyond 20 KL. Otherwise, the most vociferous backers of AAP, the middle class and young, may not be available to vote for AAP six months down the line.

(Vivek Khaitan is an MBA from IIM Calcutta and is working as a management consultant for past five years in New Delhi)

http://www.moneylife.in/article/is-aap-delhi-water-formula-full-of-leaks/35822.html?utm_source=PoweRelayEDM&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=Subscriber%2383541&utm_campaign=Today%27s%20Exclusives

Delhi Government's Water Subsidy01 Jan, 2014

From the desk of Arun Jaitley

Subsidies are an unquantified amount given to unidentifiable section of people.  Through subsidies  a government does not cut down  the rates or the cost.  It maintains the existing rates and tariffs.  It only  uses the tax payers money  to subsidize  a section.  The more you subsidize  the more you will have to eventually raise the taxes.  Through subsidization a government  thinks of the short term gains.  It leaves a debt for tomorrow.  A subsidy may prove counter productive for the more vulnerable sections.  Take the illustration  of the scheme  to subsidize  water for those consuming less than 20 kilo litre of water through a metered system.  Subsidies make the health of the supply organizations vulnerable.  The real challenge is that those outside the water supply system must be connected to it.  Laying down pipelines in every locality, installation of taps in every house can only be provided by a healthy board and not a financially vulnerable DJB.  The water subsidy has completely ignored the weakest section of Delhi.  The poorest of the Delhi have been kept out of the water subsidy scheme.  Localities without a pipeline, households without a tap, households without a meter, households with  defective meters are not entitled to any subsidy. Households in the NDMC area, particularly of those lesser paid employees, households in Delhi Cantonment area have all been  kept out of the water subsidy.   This subsidy ignores the  weakest and includes a small layer of people  with metered consumption. 

                   Delhi has about 18 lakh water connections.  Of these 8.5 lakh have functional meters.  About 5 lakh meters are non functional or defective.  The rest are un-metered.  A very large number of jhuggis in Delhi have  no water connection and are not covered by the free water scheme.  They are reliant only on tankers.  A very large number of unauthorized colonies  have no  pipelines and are yet to be covered by laying of water pipelines.  There are no individual house connections and hence they are outside the purview of the free water scheme. Many of the cooperative housing societies  have bulk connections,  Individual flats  are not metered.  They too  cannot obtain free water.  Some of Delhi’s middle class whose connections are metered and who keep  their consumption below 20 Kilo litres i.e. 666 litres per day alone are entitled to the free water scheme.  Those whose consumption  exceeds the 20 kilo litres mark would be charged for the entire consumption with a hike of 10% in tariff.  Delhi thus gets divided into four categories.  The first is those  who have no taps or pipeline connections.  They are outside the scheme.  Those with defective or no meters would also be outside the scheme  and paying for water.  It is only those with functional meters and consuming below 20 kilo litres per month who get the benefit.  The others with functional meters who consume above 20 kilo litres would pay 10% extra.  The scope of the benefit has narrowed down to  just some of the households falling in one of the above four categories.  And this category is not the most vulnerable section.

Read in Hindi:http://bit.ly/1g2n73Q

http://www.arunjaitley.com/en/my-opinion-inside.php?id=285&mode=Read&icatId=7

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Kalinga Nagar Paradip waterway. SoniaG UPA, announce National Water Grid incldg National Water Ways

January 2, 2014, 7:59 am

≫ Next: Abolish Service, Income Taxes. Change Petro-economics -- BJP Vision Document

≪ Previous: AAP Delhi water formula full of leaks -- Vivek Khitan, Money Life. Weakest sections ignored -- Arun Jaitley.

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Inland waterway hope for state - 205-km stretch to link Kalinga Nagar to Dhamra and Paradip ports

SUBRAT DAS

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 1: The proposed national waterway project has moved a step forward with the Inland Waterways Authority of India, state government and two state ports agreeing to develop a 205-km stretch of river course from Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur to Dhamra and Paradip ports. The project is aimed to widen and deepen the Brahmani river and the Mahanadi delta system to facilitate movement of 1,000-tonne cargo-capacity vessels between mineral rich north Odisha to Dhamra and Paradip ports. The project is estimated to cost Rs 700 crore. The Inland Waterways Authority of India will widen the river course and build bridges and barrages. The state government will provide the required land. The two ports, apart from financing the project, will create logistics for shipment of goods from their respective areas. The four stakeholders will have equity participation of Rs 200 crore and the remaining Rs 500 crore will come through term loan. Earlier, the waterways authority had prepared a detailed project for 588-km waterway project consisting of Talcher-Dhamra stretch of the Brahmani river, Geonkhali-Charbatia stretch of now-defunct British-era East Coast Canal, Charbatia-Dhamra stretch of the Matai river and Mangalagadi stretch of the Mahanadi delta system. In 2008, the project, estimated at Rs 4,953 crore, could not take off due to paucity of funds. The Centre had also tried to explore possibility of executing the project through public-private partnership. There were talks with the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank for funding. But nothing concrete materialised. “The project has now gained momentum with the state government and Paradip and Dhamra ports showing interest for equity participation. At last, they have understood the importance of water transport, which is cheaper and environment-friendly,” said an inland waterways official. State’s commerce and transport secretary G. Mathi Vathanan said: “In the first phase, the 205-km stretch, identified as viable, will be developed through the joint venture.” The decision to have a joint venture was taken at a meeting called by chief secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra and was attended by vice-chairperson of the inland waterways authority Jayashree Mukherjee, Paradip Port Trust chairman Sudhanshu Sekhar Mishra and Dhamra port CEO S.K. Mohapatra. Cargo to the tune of 2.5 million metric tonnes is projected to be transported through the waterway a year. There is a huge cargo potential for the waterway as the coal and other minerals would be fed to the six steel plants at Kalinga Nagar. The inland waterways authority has asked the Water and Power Consultancy Services to update its detailed project report for the 205-km stretch. The earlier project was designed to handle 500-tonne vessels. But, it needed be redesigned keeping in view viable economy size vessels with at least 1,000-tonne capacity, sources said. Once the project report is prepared, the authorities will approach the ministry of environment and forests and the Odisha State Pollution Control Board for environmental clearance, said an official. Chairman of the Paradip Port Trust Sudhanshu Sekhar Mishra said: “We are happy that the project is coming up. We are taking steps for development of the jetties in our  port.” http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140102/jsp/frontpage/story_17735203.jsp#.UsWHB9IW0ng National waterway-1 Allahabad–Haldia stretch of the Ganges–Bhagirathi–Hooghly river of total length 1620 km was declared as National Waterway-1 (NW-1) in the year 1986. National Waterway no. 1 (NW-1) National Waterway-2 Sadiya–Dhubri stretch of the Brahmaputra river of total length 891 km was declared as National Waterway-2 (NW-2) in the year 1988. National Waterway no. 2 (NW-2) National Waterway-3 Kollam–Kottapuram stretch of West Coast Canal and Champakara and Udyogmandal canals of total length 205 km was declared as National Waterway-3 (NW-3) in the year 1993. National Waterway no. 3 (NW-3) National Waterway- 4 Kakinada–Pondicherry stretch of canals and Kaluvelly tank, Bhadrachalam–Rajahmundry stretch of River Godavari and Wazirabad–Vijayawada stretch of River Krishna of total length 1095 km was declared as National Waterway-4 (NW-4) in the year 2008. National Waterways no 4 (NW 4) National Waterway-5 Talcher–Dhamra stretch of rivers, Geonkhali–Charbatia stretch of East Coast Canal, Charbatia–Dhamra stretch of Matai river and Mahanadi delta rivers of total length 620 km was declared as National Waterway-5 (NW-5) in the year 2008. National Waterways no 5 (NW 5) National Waterway-6[edit] Lakhipur-Bhanga stretch of 121 km of the Barak River is the 6th waterway. It will result in unified development of the waterways for shipping and navigation and transportation of cargo to the North Eastern Region particularly in the states of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. It was accepted as National Waterway in January 2013 by Union Cabinet.[7] See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/08/soniag-upa-internlink-rivers-of-india.html http://www.rites.com/rites-journal-July-2010/PDF/Dr.K.G.S.Sarma.pdf http://www.rites.com/rites-journal-2010/PDF/sriraman.pdf http://mdoner.gov.in/content/development-potential-waterways National Waterways no 6 (NW 6)

Abolish Service, Income Taxes. Change Petro-economics -- BJP Vision Document

January 2, 2014, 4:47 pm

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BJP PLANS TO ABOLISH INCOME TAX

Friday, 03 January 2014 | Kumar Uttam | New Delhi

If voted to power, may also do away with Service Tax to woo middle class

The abolition of Income Tax and Service Tax may figure prominently on the agenda of the BJP for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The party feels that this could be a major step to woo the middle class — its traditional support base — which deserted it last time in 2009 and voted for the Congress.

At a meeting here on Thursday to finalise its blueprint for major structural changes in the taxation regime, the party leaders agreed to do away with Income Tax and Service Tax. The decision would form part of the BJP’s Vision Document-2025, which is under preparation and is scheduled to be released before the Lok Sabha elections.

According to the Finance Minister’s Budget proposals for 2013-14, Income Tax is expected to be over Rs 2.47 lakh crore while Service Tax is estimated to be over 1.80 lakh crore.

Tax on income is the levy on the income of individuals, firms etc, other than companies. This head also includes other taxes, like education cess, surcharge and Securities Transaction Tax, which is levied on transaction in listed securities undertaken on stock exchanges and in units of mutual funds.

The party also plans to implement radical changes in “petro-economics” bringing taxation on petroleum products in India at par with international standards.

The BJP leaders claim once this is done, petrol and diesel prices in India would come down drastically. “The Vision Document committee felt that petroleum products were highly taxed in India and there was a need to rationalise this. There was a possibility that we could bring petrol prices in India in the range of Rs 40-50 per litre,” senior leaders claimed.

The proposal to abolish these two taxes was discussed at a meeting of top BJP leaders here at the residence of LK Advani. Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, party president Rajnath Singh, former chief Nitin Gadkari, former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and senior leader Subramanian Swamy were present in the meeting. 

“This has approval of prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The matter was brought to his notice a couple of days ago and he has given the go ahead,” a top BJP leader told The Pioneer.

A Pune-based institute is said to have done the study and recommended abolishing these taxes to the party’s vision document committee. While Gadkari heads the committee, Swamy is the convener of the panel.

The panel has pointed out that there were 15 other countries in the world, which do not impose taxes on income of individuals. It has cited certain studies, which show that among 180 countries, India is ranked at 138 in terms of tax administration.

There were certain apprehensions in the BJP camp about the “financial impact” of abolishing these taxes, but a consensus has been arrived at that it could be minimized by taking steps that would not pinch the aam aadmi much.

Party leaders feel a certain amount of the total loss on account of abolishing these taxes could be recovered through banking transaction taxes and a radical reform in the taxation regime. They feel, this step alone could mop up nearly Rs 40,000-crore.

The vision document of the party would suggest reforms in revenue collection methods by plugging leakages. It would also suggest more collection under heads like excise taxes.

The party is also mulling a series of reforms, if voted to power, in revenue collection and management of natural resources to mop up additional funds.

Panacea for tax woes

* The decision would form part of the BJP’s Vision Document-2025, which is under preparation and is scheduled to be released before the Lok Sabha elections

* According to the Finance Minister’s Budget proposals for 2013-14, Income Tax is expected to be over `2.47 lakh crore while Service Tax is estimated to be over 1.80 lakh crore

* Party leaders feel a certain amount of the total loss on account of abolishing these taxes could be recovered through banking transaction taxes and a radical reform in the taxation regime. They feel, this step alone could mop up nearly `40,000-crore

* The party also plans to implement radical changes in ‘petro-economics’ bringing taxation on petroleum products in India at par with international standards.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/bjp-plans-to-abolish-income-tax.html

Prima facie indictments. Who's the victim? Tyranny of India's justice system or playing politics?

January 2, 2014, 5:20 pm

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Ever since India attained Independence in 1947, India has been struggling to implement Roman jurisprudence with an alien Constitution framed on Government of India Act 1935 which suited the needs of a colonial regime.

The criminal and civil jurisprudence are essentially copies from the British practices.

In a social order, all laws should be in harmony with the traditions which have evolved over millennia. India has had the privilege of jurisprudence even for corporate entities called s'reni (guilds) a thousand years before Rome invented the Corporation. There were Hindu laws to enforce law and order right from the panchayat (janapada) level brilliantly and precisely documented in ancient law books called Dharma Sutra.

The basic foundation for administering the justice system (nyaaya) was a team of elders who were elected from within the community. A stellar example is the Uttaramerur Inscription of 12th century which prescribes the procedures for election -- using secret ballot -- of members of village committees to oversee social and civil works such as maintenance of roads, village tanks, temples. Juridprudence also extended to the laws and customs regulated by jaatis and s'renis as autonomous institutions, yet subject to overarching state power which had to be consistent with the local, institutional governance regulations.

These systems which had been built up from the janapada upward were desiccated by the centralised colonial systems of the British-ruled state. A sad legacy which is perpetuated in India's written Constitution.

It is time to direct the Law Commission to make a thorough review of the present systems of jurisprudence and the imperative of instituting a Uniform Civil Code to truly reflect a just polity assuring fair and equal treatment to all citizens.

Ganguly's case is NOT a fit case for reference to the Supreme Court for opinion. It is ridiculous that the SoniaG UPA government does not know what a prima facie indictment is.

Under the laws of evidence, a procedure has existed for millennia for lodging complaints and for investigating the complaints.

Any tom, dick and harry can raise his or her voice through the boisterous media and seek to receive attention on spurious, misguided or mischievous complaints. The justice system should not be strained looking for direction from the highest court of the land to go back on these time-tested procedures of gathering, and evaluating evidence by the police forces and ultimately by the courts of law.

Why is this procedure being circumvented instead of asking the complainant to lodge a complaint and allow the law to take its course? 

This perversion of jurisprudence has occurred because the State is increasingly being run by corporate interest groups. If a judge gives an adverse judgement against such interest groups as it happened in the case of the 2G scam investigations, the judge becomes a soft target for all types of innuendoes to discredit him or her.

This seems to have happened in the case of Stella James' complaint against AK Ganguly. 

Both should litigate the issue through the judicial processes instead of playing charade games through blogposts or the State playing its own political game making Presidential references.

This will only bring discredit to the rule of law in force in India and make it a banana republic chewing the cud of dirty politics and diverting public attention from issues of abhyudayam and measures of social welfare to bring India to the status she had in 0 CE at the turn of the millennium, accounting for over 25% of the World GDP.

Surely, there are many issues in jurisprudence which should get priority rather than the silly complaint involving semantics of sexual harassment, advances or improper conduct.

On another plane, State cannot be the regulator of improper conduct. There is a system of extended joint family which regulates personal conduct which is a reflection of the social mores governed by dharma. 

Justice Ganguly has suffered enough by the innuendos and prima facie indictments without applying the due process of law.

Enough Stop this charade, SoniaG UPA.

Kalyanaraman

Published: January 2, 2014 20:29 IST | Updated: January 3, 2014 01:36 IST

Ganguly issue: Cabinet clears Presidential Reference

J. Venkatesan

PTIChairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission Justice Ashok Ganguly arrives at his office in Kolkata on Thursday.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod for making a Presidential Reference to the Supreme Court for removal of Justice A.K. Ganguly as Chairperson of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission.

The process will be set in motion once the Reference under Article 143 is sent to the court for its advisory opinion. Under Article 143, the President may refer a dispute of any kind to the Supreme Court for its opinion and it may, after a hearing as it thinks fit, report to the President.

The Terms of Reference are: will the prima facie indictment by a three-judge probe panel that Justice Ganguly made ‘unwelcome sexual advances’ towards a law intern amount to proven misconduct? If the answer is ‘yes’, can it be a ground warranting his removal under Section 23 (1A) of the Protection of Human Rights Act?

Justice Ganguly has the option of resigning before the completion of the hearing. In that case, the Reference will become infructuous.

On receipt of the Presidential Reference, the court will hear the matter in open court, issue notice to Justice Ganguly, the law intern and the witnesses to be cited by her.

The court will issue notice to Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati and also to the Advocate-General of West Bengal government as it was on its complaint to the President the Reference is being made.

The President forwarded the complaint to the Union Home Ministry, which after obtaining Mr. Vahanvati’s opinion put up a Cabinet note for making the Reference.

‘No comment’

Our Staff Reporter reports from Kolkata:

Justice Ganguly said in Kolkata that he had no comment on the Cabinet decision. “I do not know anything, officially. I have nothing to comment,” he told The Hindu.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ganguly-issue-cabinet-clears-presidential-reference/article5530683.ece

The rise and rise of NaMo -- Naagesh Padmanaban

January 2, 2014, 5:53 pm

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The rise and rise of Narendra Modi

by Naagesh Padmanaban

on 03 Jan 2014

The electronic and print media in India have consistently projected a perverse and dismal image of the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, notwithstanding the fact that he has been unequivocally cleared of any wrongdoing by a special investigating team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court of India. Its findings have now been accepted by the metropolitan magistrate’s court in Ahmedabad on December 26, 2013.

In the midst of this polarization, manufactured by a very powerful section of the electronic and print media, a well informed and intelligent discussion has become next to impossible. Nevertheless, this writer wishes to highlight some key issues that have not been widely discussed by mainstream political pundits.

India is witness to a huge transformation that is sweeping the country as a result of three simultaneously occurring and evolving phenomena. This transformation will influence the future course of events in India and will in due course determine who the next prime minister will be, and also impact decisions beyond 2014.

Narendra Modi has fully understood these forces and has used them to his advantage. This has paid him handsome dividends already - as seen from the massive following that his rallies evoke, and the stunning success in the recently concluded regional elections (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and partially Delhi). These three forces are the peoples’ expectations to deliver on development, India’s ‘demographic dividend’, and the skillful deployment of technology and internet - specifically social media, in governance and mobilizing the people. Let us elaborate.

Many so called pundits have us believe that invoking development as an election plank is a new phenomenon. They accuse Narendra Modi of starting a new expectation cycle from the people on economic development. This is far from the truth. 

For six long decades, Nehruvian-socialist shibboleths have been peddled as the panacea for removing poverty. But keen observers have always been aware that political parties – all of them – have been guilty of keeping large sections of society poor and underprivileged. Their logic was that these sections were susceptible to enticements and could be won over with trinkets, gifts and cash disbursals that came in handy to win elections. This, arguably though, is one of the reasons why we find slums dwellers in every city across India. That this has become an uncontrollable eye-sore is another matter.

To cover up incompetent governance and rank corruption, they raised a host of phony issues engendering what Nehru would have called ‘fissiparous’ policies, such as appeasement politics that do not have real mass approval and ultimately end up against India’s interests. Today there is widespread anger and demand for governance from every section of society.  Narendra Modi has shown the courage to change the narrative from rigmarole sloganeering to execution and good governance at the grassroots. What Modi has done in Gujarat is not unique; he delivered what a reasonable leader in a democracy is expected to deliver and his government performed the duties expected of it. The time has come where anyone with a good record of governance can win the heart of India. This expectation has taken deep roots and the Gujarat chief minister has positioned himself at the right place at the right time to encash his good work.

Secondly, the Indian political class today mainly comprises a group of senior citizens desperately clinging to office and privilege. With over 65% of Indians below the age of 35, this gerontocracy has long lost its’ connect with people. Overwhelming incompetence and corruption have accentuated this disconnect. However, the youthful demographic segment has played a very significant role in independent India in rousing and influencing public opinion on a range of issues that have shaped the national discourse in recent times, from the gang-rape in Delhi in 2012, to exposing a media personality’s sexual indiscretions, to drumming up support for a transparent administration.

Narendra Modi has smartly influenced this segment by showcasing his record of governance in Gujarat and offering the ‘India First’ theme to transcend sectarian allegiances. The Gujarat government’s efficient delivery of basic service to the people of the state and the attendant transparency has attracted millions to his fold. From there on, he has shown superb leadership in keeping this burgeoning following by reporting to them at huge rallies the accomplishments in Gujarat and his dreams for India. This has captivated the under-35’s as well as larger sections of the middle class.

Thirdly, Modi is tech savvy and has not shied away from using IT to enable development. He has an overwhelming following on Twitter – over 3 million followers. His YouTube videos are a big hit. He is creatively engaging this group by crowd-sourcing new ideas for the 2014 election. The India272 website is an outstanding example where he has requested his fans to suggest campaign slogans, new ideas for development and electioneering. On the contrary, the UPA regime and other parties have not only not courted them, but angered them by censoring social media. Winning the hearts of this massive segment is the biggest win for Modi and his party.

Modi has definitely won the hearts of the people in his fight to capture Delhi. He is the hot favorite to become prime minister. However, it would be naïve to conclude that the battle is won. There are any number of inimical forces determined to keep him from taking charge of India. These are both internal and external forces that are working in tandem to stop him in his tracks. These forces will mount as many challenges as possible – legal, constitutional, political etc to block him. So his path to Delhi is not exactly a bed of roses and he is fully aware of it.

What is most heartening, however, is that he has awakened an India that was long suppressed and emasculated by a perverted political model that defied logic for over six decades. If the British divided and conquered India, the Nehruvian socialists perfected the art of appeasement to further splinter India. Both have greatly damaged the soul of India, but have not succeeded in destroying India. Narendra Modi will have his hands full in cleaning up the mess in 2014.

The author is a finance industry professional; he lives in Philadelphia

http://www.vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=3064

NaMo launches mobile application INDIA 272+

January 2, 2014, 6:01 pm

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HT correspondent, Hindustan Times
Ahmedabad, January 03, 2014

Modi launches mobile application called 'India272+'

In a bid to consolidate the mandate received in the recent state assembly elections and achieve the magic figure of 272 in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi launched a mobile application called 'India272+'. According to Modi's website, the application is available on the Google Play Store and can be downloaded for free by Android users.

The application, which was launched yesterday, seeks to take BJP's Mission 272+ to a wide range of volunteers across the country.

The mobile application enables volunteers to participate in open fora and share thoughts, ideas for upcoming speeches by Modi.

The application allows volunteers to share latest updates through social media including Facebook and Twitter as well as smartphone applications like WhatsApp.

"Launched India 272+ mobile app. the app will further empower volunteers to contribute easily, effectively and creatively," Modi tweeted.

While launching the mobile application, Modi expressed confidence that it would go a long way in not only strengthening the bond between existing volunteers, but would also draw more volunteers to the India272+ platform.

Modi welcomed the innovative use of technology in expanding the larger BJP family and seeking the contribution of the volunteers.

Earlier, a website India272.com was launched before the recent assembly polls in the five states.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news-feed/india/narendra-modi-launches-mobile-application-called-india272/article1-1168791.aspx