MUMBAI TARGETED AGAIN-WHY WE ALWAYS ARE ON DEFENSIVE?

We are being considered as a state with a soft underbelly but why!

The need of the hour is that we need not only to present a united face to the terrorism or but really feel united and change our basic attitude to this menace. We need to feel for others, we need to feel for fellow Indians on the street. we need to be careful of our immediate surroundings,we need to be vigilant about what others who are close to us in street are doing or acting, we need to watch others more carefully than we are doing now a days. This attitude is that we are very happy if we have a non interfering attitude.We need to remember that discreet interference and observation will save us and others . No longer we can say "what to me' or 'What to us if he is doing this?' We need to be nosy given the present scenario of global terrorism especially the people who live in Metros and big cities where it is known fact that a neighbour generally does not know his neighbour. In modern terrorism environment this fashion statement that I am non interfering kind will not work. We need to help our int agencies by giving them all kind of inputs. It will be better to be embarrassed once a while suspecting a terrorist action rather than be the target of one such crime against our very being.It is time heads must roll at the bureaucratic level where the intelligence failure has occurred mere politics on statements on who said what will not work. Some Leaders like Mr Rahul Gandhi have spoken plain truth and candidly . What is wrong when he says 1% terror plans will get through if the terrorists have the intent despite our best efforts at security and active surveillance. It is reality check time for us as a nation. We must remember a lone assassin got through to President of USA Mr Reagan despite their best efforts on security and so did 9/11 perpetrators.

As it is the policing strength and citizen numbers to be protected ratio is far below the expected levels . To sort out this gap one suggestion is that we need to focus on the civil society or common citizen participation to fill this gap. We all must become soldiers for our nation to safeguard national interests which are being undermined by such inimical forces with their cowardly actions. Active citizens with a little training in surveillance can keep an eye on the terrorist elements which will make their immediate residence and work environs safe and make things extremely difficult for the terrorists to carry out their nefarious designs.

We as nation need to carry out overt operations to destroy capabilities and carry out covert operations to nail and destroy the perpetrators or ready in stock terrorists. An active sate is always feared as compared to a nation which hands over the terrorists in exchange of hostages. The special forces with full national support must take out certain elements detrimental to our interests where they might be. We also need to bring in some laws quickly to sort out delays in our law dispensing procedures especially those dealing with terror related crimes

Our enemies are targeting us because we are having a very parochial approach to things dealing with our security because we are divided on religion , political,language and caste lines. Time is here and now to reassert the spirit of ONE INDIA- all others issues are below NATIONAL SECURITY AND HONOUR

POLICE ACTION AGAINST BABA RAMDEV’S SATYAGRAHA : GOVT GOT SCARED AFTER SUCCESS OF ANNA HAZARE’S SATYA GRAHA

The government has shown its ineptitude in dealing with the SATYAGRAHA - the main weapon with which we have claimed from roof tops that we have won our freedom. On one hand government rushed in to meet Baba Ramdev and on the other hand has shown inflexible attitude by breaking up his Satyagraha. Heavens would not have fallen if it would have continued for a few days more.

At least it has started the process of sorting out Corruption from black money angle. We can be assured by the actions of the government that it is concerned about common citizen's voice on issues.It is not merely because it wants to do it willingly  but  the world environment has undergone a sea change with internet and TV - now all people centric agitations have a Jasmine revolution scent and Middle East smell in them. That perhaps is the main reason and describes the actions taken by the government to deal with  such agitations like sit in's and satyagrahas. Never before has a government be it UPA or NDA  moved with such alacrity as it has while dealing with the Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev SATYAGRAHAS. We must  thank people of Tunisia,Egypt and Yemen who actually followed Mahatma Gandhi's method  of SATYAGRAHA and showed to us  that it still works.

It was astute political wisdom to deal with the agitation in its nascent stage but what went wrong -Was it  small egos of big persons, mere one up man ship or more deep rooted motives and maneuvers’  which are not fathomable to  civil society  at large?

 It is a very good sign  that  there  is willingness to move forward on difficult and thorny issues. It has brought on the national centre stage  as well in the national consciousness such  issues which were hitherto fore were put on back burner due to deliberate efforts, apathy or mere political suitability.

But by this police action  government has undone whatever good will it had earned by sitting across the table with Anna’s supporters. It should have moved ahead, kept the talks on, should have not stood on prestige and power, should have shown sagacity and wisdom. Politics sometimes demands restraint and use of force against own citizens is a bad ingredient of any recipe to deal with agitations in a democracy.

This is not the end!  UPA  government by this police action has just bought a few days respite or maybe we say it is a lull before the proverbial storm.  Mean while Take Care! Stay truthful! Jai Ho!

IT IS TIME TO START THE GREAT INDIAN VILLAGE CRICKET LEAGUE

AFTER THE WELL DESERVED CRICKET  WORLD CUP VICTORY one thing is very clear It is  pay back time for  this  rich game and its governing body . We as a nation have to build an opinion to broad base the game and make it more popular. In the process  BCCI  has to make  sure that they form clusters in villages and remotest areas  to promote the game so as to provide  opportunities to not so lucky but gifted and hard working  rural Indians. A time has come to have a  RURAL league. Why not have  INDIAN PREMIER  VILLAGE LEAGUE - IPVL. It will help build /promote the game, its infrastructure and its grass root  base. Time has  also come on basis of its popularity  to promote it in areas where lower class and lower middle class  will have access to world class cricketing infrastructure. Till so far NIS has been teaching cricket and giving diplomas - time is now here for the BCCI to open three to five   Coaching Educational Institutes  in different  zones to provide the necessary coaching personnel which will be required for the games promotion in India and later import to the non cricketing but cash rich world. 

BCCI  having earnings running into crores because of the games huge popularity  needs to share the spoils with its poor cousins from the team sports. BCCI needs  to provide funds for other not so cash rich sport like soccer and hockey – if the BCCI does not heed then the government must first nudge them into this  CS(S)R read CORPORATE SOCIAL CUM SPORTS RESPONSIBILITY but if need  be  later ensure compliance to have a balanced growth of these team sports. It will not only  provide India's burgeoning population a culture of sports, health  well being through physical training but at the same time ensure that we come up in world standards in other sports as well.

WHAT TO DO WHEN SELECTORS OF CIVIL SERVANTS BECOME CORRUPT ?

This is high time that we brought the required transparency into our system of selecting people who are to deliver  administration  to the public. They are the ones who are at  the cutting edge of all kind of public services be it executive or judicial.
Presently the system is actually selecting bidders from amongst the   eligible candidates who pay the highest  bid rather than  being the most competent out of the lot as only those who are willing to pay substantial amounts as bribes or very well connected get the nod while the rest keep quite accepting it as their fate and only a minuscule minority challenge the established system via judiciary but these also receive a verdict when half of their useful  life and age is spent waiting for a favourable  judicial verdict or response.

Now what has to be done to stem the rot. The aim should be to immediately change the procedure to reduce subjectivity, have an expert /technical committee evaluate a candidate separately and have them interview  the candidate for minimum 10 to 15 minutes to at least gauge/ evaluate the candidate properly and not give a short shrift to the procedure with only one or two members attending and that too spending two to five minutes on an average on the interview process. Video graph and let the video record be part of public domain for RTI seekers. Then let the PPSC members interview the same candidate and take out an average of both because we now know that PPSC is not doing the assigned job properly hence the need to intervene immediately. Let the competent stand up and be counted and stop the incompetent not be herded through the back door.
Time has also come to have a re look and change the method of selecting the selectors i.e. the members and the Chairman. The nomination is not the correct way to go about of appointing persons to such posts. When you have a search committee to select a VC of a university than what stops us from a similar procedure to select the members of the commission  from amongst the public. Mind you there are competent people who are on the margins of our society waiting to participate in honest functioning of such public institutions. They may not hang around the powers that be.

HOW CALLOUS WE ARE : ONLY A CHILD'S DEATH WAKES UP LUDHIANA MC TO ITS DUTIES

Reaction is all very very INDIAN -Why a child's death wakes  and shakes us  all including media to reality of things? Why  THE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION  -LUDHIANA  DID NOT WAKE UP EARLIER TO COORDINATE  WITH THE COMPANY CONSTRUCTING THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY ?
 What difference  is there in the way we  carry on construction activities  and the way people who are safety conscious do the same construction activities? Are we really bothered about these small issues like a missing manhole cover - till it takes away a precious life?
 After all in India in many cities there will be manhole covers missing by default. The society has  also to take some blame.  It is  indeed ironic that  WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH FUNDS TO REPLACE  THE STOLEN MANHOLE COVERS. What is a man hole cover cost .................... It is too sad to reflect on  the cost  of a man hole cover versus human life’s value equation . MC has to set its house in order and provide replacements come what may because  the consequences of such small missing things   result in loss of precious human lives.

All the above is the sorry picture of the way things are. But now let us take look on the brighter side too. There is progress - flyovers ,six lane roads , railway over bridges but at the same time we need is to take care of small innocuous things and built safely, maintain cleanliness. Do not always expect the govt authorities to do things which they overlookor are slow to do or are reluctant to do because of various types of shortages,excuses.reasons and may be because of sheer laziness. All we need to do is that we as conscientious citizens is to go to these authorities to ask them to do things, offer voluntary help , take some time out of our otherwise busy schedules (as we do for attending Marriages, Bhogs and Akhand Paths),voluntarily  donate or participate to offset the shortage of labour work force or to provide transport or offer voluntary resolution of all issues which hinder execution. This is indeed the citizen participation  when authorities have all the other resources but small glitches stop their execution  so as to wake them up from their deep slumber . If we participate in this manner  we actually play our true role in DEMOCRATIC INDIA : REMEMBER DEMOCRACY IS -OF,BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE! JAI HO!