India: Internet Bus Project

Kudos to Google for doing this:

Today, we launched the Internet Bus Project, an initiative designed to showcase the benefits of the Internet to the people across the cities of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Over the last few years, we've been witnessing a steady growth in Internet adoption, but we wanted to do more to directly engage the offline population of India. So we're hitting the road over the next month and a half to demonstrate how the Internet can make everyday tasks simple with tools like Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps and more.

To learn more about the project and get updates from the road, visit the Google India Blog or the Internet Bus Project website.

TN "buy"-election in Thirumangalam

I always envy the kinda local-blogging that Publia does and wanted to something even remotely close. So here goes.

There's a by-election going on in my home town, Thirumangalam, in Tamil Nadu. And as the blog title indicates, it has turned into a "buy"-election - it's actually a competition to see who has the most money to buy people's votes. Various reports indicate up to 1,000 rupees (~$20) are being paid for per vote by who else, the ruling party, the DMK. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

There are 26 candidates on the ballot but it's actually a three-way battle between Ms. Latha Adhiyaman from DMK, Mr. T. Dhanapandian from DMDK and Mr. M. Muthuramalingam from AIADMK. And it's not a coincidence that all of the major party candidates hail from the same caste which may not dominate the region in terms of numbers but do so in terms of vocal and "physical" strength. While I don't (and I'm sure most of the residents of the town don't either) know enough about the candidates themselves and since the parties are treating this by-election as some kinda state-wide referendum and an indicator of the upcoming General Election for the Central Government, the stakes have been raised several times and the small town is literally turned upside town with daily clashes between parties, violence and arrests. It's probably too much to ask the police to keep the law and order in a town of 50,000.

For those who are familiar with TN politics, it's not news that the politics there is dominated by corrupt and criminal elements from alternating rulers DMK and AIADMK. But I'm hoping the new-found enthusiasm of citizen involvement in the government and public affairs after the recent mumbai attacks brushes off on this remote sleepy town in southern TN. While I'm hopeful, am also realistic. When parties drop envelopes stuffed with a thousand rupees in your house at night even if you don't want it, you are kinda put into a tough spot. But I say - take the money and vote for the candidate of your choice anyway.

It'd be interesting to see if DMDK headed by actor Vijayakanth comes out ahead as he's quite popular around that region. All this attention on Thirumangalam hasn't really brought any improvements to the town - it's still the same town that I grew up in 15 years ago.

Pakistan's Five Step Program: Step 4

Remember the "Five Step Program" that I was talking about when Mumbai Attacks happened? All parties involved (India, Pakistan & the US) are following the steps to the dot until now. Now we seem to be in Step 4:

Pakistan Moves Troops Away From Afghan Border 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan began moving thousands of troops away from the Afghan border toward India on Friday amid tensions following the Mumbai attacks, intelligence officials said.
The move represents a sharp escalation in the stand off between the nuclear-armed neighbors and stands to weaken Pakistan's U.S.-backed campaign against al-Qaida and Taliban close to Afghanistan.

It's so easily predictable like a bad Bollywood movie. As I said then, the only step that's of any question is the reaction of the incoming Obama administration to the puppetry from Pakistan.

Mumbai Attacks: No more live coverage of terrorist attacks

It was about time that the television networks realized they are neither helping those who are trying to help rescue the people from an ongoing violence/terrorist attack, nor helping those who are watching these live on TV. So it was heartwarming to see them come to this self-rule:

With visual media coming under attack for its coverage of Mumbai terror attacks, the News Broadcasters Association on Thursday came out with guidelines that insisted on no live coverage of armed and communal violence.

The guidelines also banned the broadcasters from providing information on security operations.

The NBA's self-regulatory guidelines also said that no information about hostage situations and rescue operations should be provided.

The guidelines further said media should avoid live contact with victims and security personnel during crises and stressed that no live reporting that provides publicity to the terrorists should be made.

Safar Saathi

SafarSaathi is a Web2.0 service that I think would be useful for desi folks. It's for people whose elderly parents are traveling alone and might need company en route. I'm sure you or someone you know has been in this situation. It's available for both domestic (india) & international travel.


It sounds like a simple idea but it could really come in handy for us folks living abroad. 


(thanks, Peter )

Mumbai Attacks: Five-Step Program

Step 1: Barack Obama, the incoming President, warns Pakistan that it cannot and will not be allowed to divert the US government aid to be used as means to beefing up military on Pakistan's eastern border. And if Pakistan failed to act on intelligence about terrorists inside Pakistan, US would launch attacks against those inside Pakistan.

Step 2: Fearing Step 1, elements inside Pakistan's military and ISI (note: I didn't say government) instructs its minions and militant elements to launch attacks inside India to ratchet up tension between the nuclear powers.

Step 3: India reacts just as advertised, by demanding action from Pakistan to quash those terrorist cells to which Pakistan government says 'Show us the proof'. Tensions are high inside India for action (read: attack terrorists wherever they may be).

Step 4: Stating Step 4 as a reason, Pakistan starts to move its troops from fighting Taliban from its western border to its eastern border to prevent "a non-existing" threat from India.

Step 5: Step 4 forces US government to tone down its allegations and demands for aid in return for pre-Step 1 "status-quo". Obama administration's hands are tied down even before it has taken reigns.

Collateral Damage: 200 or so innocent mumbaikars and numerous others who were either injured in Step 2.

I believe we are in Step 3 on this five-step process. The only question that remains is whether Obama administration goes through Step 5 as has the previous US governments or does it stand up and refuse to be cowed down again. We shall see.

Mumbai Attacks: Draft Manifesto

Draft Manifesto

Interesting manifesto apparently drafted by Rahul Mehra, a Supreme Court lawyer and Prem Panicker. Although I'm not sure I agree with it about not voting and not paying taxes - it still nevertheless offers great and stern and immediate things our government must do. Extreme times require extreme measures and this is one and I endorse it.

(via, Dina in twitter)

Mumbai Attacks: How I Feel

Can't express my anger and angst any better than Jon Stewart and John Oliver do in the video below:



I'll have more thoughts on this later.

Do we have what it takes?

I didn't know how to react initially to the serial bomb blasts that struck Bangalore a few days ago, followed by even more deadly attacks on Ahmedabad yesterday. My reaction was that of an 'Oh Shoot, another serial bomb blast on another city in India'. See, we Indians are "trained" (read: used to) to treat these things as not earth-shattering but something that's inevitable and part and parcel of "life". While I was shocked it happened not as shocked as I was on say, 9/11.

And there in lies the problem of Terrorism in India. Let's recount the terrorist attacks in India since 9/11:

• October 1, 2001 - Terrorists attack Jammu-Kashmir assembly complex, killing about 35.
• December 13, 2001 - Attack on the parliament complex in New Delhi, 7 deaths.
• September 24, 2002 - Terrorists attack the Akshardham temple in Gujarat, killing 31.
• March 13, 2003 - A terrorist bomb attack on a commuter train in Mumbai kills 11 people.
• May 14, 2003 - Terrorists attack an army camp near Jammu, killing more than 30, including women and children.
• August 25, 2003 - Simultaneous car bombs in Mumbai kill about 52.
• August 15, 2004 - Bomb explodes in Assam, killing 16 people, mostly school children.
• July 5, 2005 - Shri Ram Janmabhoomi attack in Ayodhya
• October 29, 2005 - Three powerful serial blasts in New Delhi at different places just two days before Hindu festival Deepawali^[23]. About 70 people died in this incident.
• March 7, 2006 - At least 21 people killed in three synchronized terrorist attacks in Varanasi in Shri Sankatmochan Mandir and Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station.
• July 11, 2006 - At least 200 people killed in a series of 7 train bombing during the evening rush hour near Mumbai.
• September 8, 2006 - at least 37 people killed and 125 injured in a series of bomb blasts in the vicinity of a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra
• May 18, 2007 - at least 13 people were killed, including 4 killed by the Indian police in the rioting that followed, in the bombing at Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad that took place during the Friday prayers.
• August 25, 2007 - at least 42 people were killed in two blasts in Hyderabad's Lumbini park and a restaurant. The police reportedly managed to find and defuse another bomb in the same area.
• May 13, 2008 - at least 63 were killed in 9 bomb blasts along 6 areas in Jaipur.
• July 25, 2008 - at least 2 were killed and 20 injured in 8 low intensity bomb blasts in Bangalore.
• July 26, 2008 - at least 29 were killed and over 110 injured in 17 serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad.

Number of people killed in Terrorist attacks in India since 9/11: 601
Number of people killed in Terrorist attacks in US since 9/11: 0

Wonder why? The answer lies with how everyone treats these attacks. We, that's right, we, treat them as a law and order issue, whereas here in the US it is treated as a National Security issue. I think that the only way these attacks can be stopped is to have a fundamental change in how we, the citizens, the politicians, the law enforcement and the government treat these attacks. So here are my suggestions on I think we need to do to tackle this grave national security issue:

1. Establish a single nodal agency/department National Counter Terrorism Cell (NCTC) which would be responsible for the collection and dissemination of Intelligence information from and to all the law enforcement agencies in the country.
2. Pass a comprehensive law (not, POTA, which was primarily used by politicians to put their personal enemies in jail) that gives more powers to the above mentioned NCTC in wiretapping, conducting searches etc, a la Patriot Act in US but with proper provisions for obtaining warrants from a judge before conducting any of these searches/wiretapping.
3. And for the life of me, I cant understand why the local police and its commissioner should jump to conclusions two days after a terrorist attack. They should all just shut up and ask the 24/7 news channels to go cover what Amitabh, Aish & Abhishek are upto. There has to be a single person giving updates on the investigation to the whole country, preferably from the above mentioned NCTC.
4. And finally establish a National Counter Terrorism Tips Phone Number (How about 300?) where any citizen can call (or even SMS) any suspected activities that they encounter. Who best to keep a vigil on the coutry than its citizens? This call/SMS must be automatically routed to the local Police Station which should keep a record on each call (whether its relavant/irrelevant) and investiage/act on the tip right away.
5. Oh one more thing: Educate and inform the public about what they should do in case of a terrorist attack. A lot of people get injured in the chaos that follows an attack. Crowd Control and Crime Scene Preservation should be of utmost importance. And of course, find and prosecute those who spread rumors following a terrorist attack, which are spreading like wildfire in the country now.
   

The terrorists have declared war on India and its citizens and it's about time that we, as citizens, and government take them on. The question is do we have what it takes to do that?

Update: Looks like the Home Ministry is already thinking along these lines. That's good. Let's see if anything comes out of it.

What the Fish?

That's what Shah Rukh Khan keeps saying in Om Shanti Om. I caught two-third of the movie this past weekend (why'd I catch only the two-thirds of the movie is left to your imagination).

The movie definitely has its 'What the Fish?' moments like when our star suddenly becomes "reincarnated" and "reborn" into another 'Om'. How he pulls that off is beyond me. But the movie shines on occasions.

Vishal-Shekhar has done an amazing job with the Music. I love the songs - Ajab Si, sung by K. K. and Jag Soona Soona Lage by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Richa Sharma. They both are probably the best melodies I have heard all year from Bollywood. Very well sung and very well scored. I love them and cant stop listening to them. Girls would go ga-ga over Dard-E-Disco and that six-pack abs of SRK. But the most visually appealing song has gotta be Deewangi Deewangi where you have something like 30 Bollywood stars dancing - somehow it feels rich and nostalgic watching Kajol, Karishma & Rekha with SRK.

The movie also has great sets by Sabu Cyril and nice camera work by V. Manikandan. Of course, SRK overacts and Deepika is just there to provide 'color' and Farah Khan is obviously, Farah Khan.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie (or what I saw of it) and love the songs and the music.

Wanted: Decent Tamil Movie Directors

Now, I know Kollywood has been going through a rough patch lately but after watching Azhagiya Tamil Magan over the weekend, I think it is in desperate need of decent directors. Now, I didn't say "good" directors because that's asking too much. We'd just take "decent" directors who can provide good movies that dont suck so bad.

Whenever I go watch a Tamil movie, I "switch" to a very low expectation mode - with a limited budget and a star such as Vijay, there's bound to be some masala value in the movie. But ATM was unbearable. I literally predicted what the next scene was gonna to be before it happened. There was no logic to the movie. Both Vijay and Shreya acted poorly to say the least. Rediff review was right on.

I went to the Movie for two reasons -- first of all, I liked the songs by AR Rahman and was hoping to see them in action - they were butchered. My favorite song of the movie - Nee Marilyn Monroe - had some item girl who was overweight - not Shreya who was the second reason I went to the movie for. And, I was thoroughly disappointed on both fronts. And what's with overt references to Shakeela and her movies? The movie was so bad that I was happy that I could leave before the climax for other reasons.

With Mani Ratnam and Priyadarshan fully dedicating themselves to Bollywood, Shankar who's expected to make the move to Bollywood with Robot, Jeeva who unfortunately passed away and with 3B's (K. Balachander, Bharathiraja and Balu Mahendra) in retirement, we are left to only look forward to movies by a select few - Gautham Menon, Vasanth and that's it. Don't tell me S.J. Suriya and Silambarasan are also directors. I meant "decent" directors.

Kollywood is in desperate need of decent directors.

India has the Fourth Fastest Super Computer in the world

In the recently published list of Top 10 Super Computers in the world, which I stumbled upon by accident, India has entered the Top 5 for the first time ever with a system developed by Tata's Computational Research Laboratories (CRL).

I have never heard of this venture CRL before this and I was curious to find out what they do. It was founded and led by Dr. Narendra Karmarkar who's known for his Karmarkar's Algorithm. But apparently Dr. Karmarkar had a falling out with the Tatas and has since dropped out of this venture. From the article, it looks like while the Professor wanted to apply the High Performance Computing (HPC) based Super Computers to solve real world issues in India, Tatas were purely interested in it as a profit making venture. Doesn't surprise me one bit. Tatas are and will always be profit-minded and have no place for "technology for people".

While it's gratifying to know that India has the potential and smarts to develop a Super Computer that can compete the best of the world, it also shows the problems inventors and technology entrepreneurs face and will face -- lack of investment.

It'd be interesting to see where Dr. Karmarkar eventually ends up or if he even starts his own company. I, for one, am hoping that he finds a new and a better Venture Capitalist who'd help him start his company in India.

Dasavatharam

It's a still from the upcoming Tamil movie, Dasavatharam, starring Kamal Hassan. While the movie looks promising, I have just one question: How'd he lose all that weight?

Where is India's Leadership?

It's not enough just to portray ourselves as an "emerging superpower" in the region (Case in point: Apparently India was widely applauded for its efforts during the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 for going to aid the neighboring countries).

But India should not just talk the talk - they need to walk the walk as well.

Take the ongoing uprising that's been going on for decades in Burma (which the military government has renamed it to Myanmar) for example. They have been oppressing basic human rights and any sort of opposition by brutally punishing those who raise a voice against them. Yet India not only continues to ignore these atrocities but also provides Burma with billions of dollars worth of trade.

The recent uprising by Buddhist monks in Myanmar has attracted worldwide condemnations and even sanctions by the US government. Yet there's not even a single press release or a statement supporting the protests.

Where are our esteemed politicians? Oh wait, they are debating if Rama was real or not.

Update:

Looks like India's leadership has woken up from its deep sleep to say that "India is concerned at and is closely monitoring the Myanmar situation. It is our hope that all sides will resolve their issues peacefully through dialogue. India has always believed that Myanmar’s process of political reform and national reconciliation should be more inclusive and broad-based".

Way to show leadership, huh?

We won

Alexander Joe/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

In another nail-biting finish, just as I had predicted, the boys lead by Dhoni have won the Inaugaural Twenty20 World Cup and we are now the World Champions of the most exciting version of Cricket. Take that, Australia!

The game itself was as exciting as the entire series, and that's for someone who can't watch it on TV. I followed the indian innings until Dhoni got out and left for work. At work, when I checked the score, Pakistan was 53-3 in about 5 overs but were on a healthy run-rate. And I decided, its better that I don't follow as Indians play well when I dont follow them (I know, its a stupid superstition but any small thing that could help India win was needed - something that was echoed and followed by Deepak). So I checked again in 15 minutes and the match was poised for a cliffhanger. Irfan Pathan was excellent and got some crucial wickets. Misbah-Ul-Haq was the last man standing, needing 13 from the last over, bowled by none other than Joginder Sharma.

wd,0,6,W - thats how it went. I immediately got a call from my girlfriend and my mom who confirmed what I had seen. I shouted and couldn't stop shouting - and I'm at work, remember? - people here thought I have lost it. :)

Anyways, it's a great day for India and a great day for Dhoni and his boys. Go India!

Could this be happening?

Whether one likes it or not, being Indian makes you want to watch the National Sports that is Cricket. I had grown detached from the game years ago when the whole match fixing scandal broke out which included some of my favorite players (Ajay Jadeja, Mohammad Azharuddin etc).

Even after being detached, I paid about $50 along with a bunch of friends to watch India play Australia in the 2003 World Cup Finals. And we know what happened then. Their performance in the just concluded World Cup in West Indies was, quite unsurprisingly not shocking. The team selection has long become a game of regional politics (How Ajit Agarkar keeps getting selected is beyond me). When there's huge sums of money involved, any sports will attract attention from the wrong groups of people (read: politicians, gangs, gamblers, etc), unless and otherwise its closely regulated and managed like the NFL in the US. So the teams are usually selected by a bunch of "Selectors" who lobby for players from their region without taking into account their performances and fitness.

Anyways, it looks like they, for once they decided to do away with that and load the team with a bunch of fresh talent and reward players who played well for the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. Look what happened. Even though India had just played one Twenty20 game before coming into the World Cup, they have surprised everyone, including themselves. And the fact that the team is led by an unassuming young man named Dhoni, who represents the players who dont play in big markets (read: Mumbai) and somehow got into the team and has just impressed everyone.

So, India beat Pakistan in a bowl-out; they beat England in a do-or-die game and then they beat and eliminated South Africa in another do-or-die game. Then they beat the World Champions Australia in the Semi finals. If you look at who has starred in all these victories, it wont surprise you - it's the youngsters: Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh, S Sreesanth, Joginder Sharma. None of the old guns (Sachin, Sourav & Dravid) were in the team.

Now, its perfectly setup. The final against our arch rivals Pakistan on Monday, September 22. I have a vague feeling that they would win it - they are riding a wave and sweeping the series. This reminds me of the last team of misfits, youngsters, unproven captain that won the 1983 World Cup. Could this team be a re-incarnation of that team?

Rama is Rama

I dunno if you have been following the ongoing controversy in India about the "Ram Sethu" bridge - which is officially known as 'Adam's Bridge'. Adam's Bridge for those who don't know what it is - is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of India (according to Wikipedia).

Reports after reports have confirmed that the "bridge like structure" is not man-made but was created by natural phenomena. And Archaeological Society of India (ASI) said so in its affidavit filed in Supreme Court - Hold, on there... How does a case like this which deals with the ever so important question of "whether or not we can destroy Rama's bridge" end up in Supreme Court? So, what's next? Will Supreme Court take on a case which deals with the purity of Sita? Doesn't our Supreme Court have better things to do or better cases to take on?

Anyways, the very opportunistic Advaniji of the "how-can-i-rekindle-hinduism-so-that-i-can-get-reelected" fame couldn't be happier. He jumped on it like a hungry man. He set off his minions at RSS and its hundred other such wings to loot, protest and strike. What could the poor Congress government do? Why, ofcourse - backtrack the statement and "clarify" (as if this needs clarification) that "Lord Rama is an integral part of Indian culture and ethos and cannot be a matter of debate or subject matter of litigation in court"

And the esteemed Union Law Minister goes on to say (and I kid you not) "The existence of Rama cannot be doubted. As Himalaya is Himalaya, Ganga is Ganga, Rama is Rama. It is a question of faith. There is no requirement of any proof to establish the existence based on faith." [Emphasis, mine]. Well, that settles that. I'm just waiting for the day when our Law minister would say "Law is Law and it can not be disputed in a court".

This controversy has so many such idiosyncrasies, I dunno where to start. The infamous Sethusamudram Project has been in the plans for literally hundred years - yes, that's right - hundred years. It has finally been kicked off and things like these hinder the project. The amount of jobs and economic development this canal would generate for the coastal residents is huge and our politicians are more interested in scoring brownie points as to "who's hurt" by what.

Shame on us for electing such politicians!

Supreme Court says No to Caste Based Reservation System

My views about caste based reservations aren't favorable. Even though the common sense explanation points to the fact that caste based reservation has not worked to achieve its primary goal of providing education and jobs to economically deprived lot of the country.

I have been following Indian Supreme Court's rulings closely only for the last few years and it is probably the only institution in India that's free of corruption, independent thinking and free from political pressure. It literally legislates for the state of Delhi, where it has issued several binding rulings which include the famous pollution control regulations, the infamous sealing drive etc.

The most recent ruling is on the ever-sensitive caste-based reservations. Here's a quote from the Supreme Court ruling:

The concept of creamy layer can not prima facie be considered to be irrelevant. It has also to be noted that nowhere else in the world do castes, classes or communities queue up for the sake of gaining backward status.Nowhere else in the world is there competition to assert backwardness and then to claim we are more backward than you. This truth was recognised as unhappy and disturbing situation and such situation was noted by this court as a stark reality in Indira Sawhney case (Supra).

This Outlook India article puts it more eloquently:

The Supreme Court stays implementation of the 27% OBC quota policy and asks the government not to divide the country because of its "vote bank" and to "determine who are the socially and economically backward"

Emphasis mine. I couldn't have said it better. It's both heart whelming and reassuring to see that atleast one branch of government realizes what a ploy the caste based reservations has become.

I believe caste based reservations is the root cause of most of the problems in India. Because of caste based reservations, political parties tend to pander those "backward classes" for the sake of votes. And it creates this mentality of living on a "welfare state" for those people on these backward classes where they just perform "just to qualify" under these alloted seats (whether it be students or be it government employees). Hence you have a lot of incompetent people taking up government jobs and they become complacent and start taking bribes. Hitherto, the corruption in government. Election becomes jockeying for votes between castes and political parties choose candidates from the majority caste in that constituency so as to appeal the "caste sensitive" voters.

If we abolish the caste based reservation system and put in a reservation system for economically backward, it would do a world of good. I hope this Supreme Court ruling starts this wave of new political reform in this long battle. I yearn for a day where Indians don't have to fill in their "caste" in any application form.

Cricket Crazy

Nowhere else but in India, you'd find people who are not just passionate but downright crazy about Cricket. This new ad for the upcoming Cricket World Cup by Nike captures that emotion perfectly:

Caught Ticketless

I am a little bit shocked not at this story but at how unsurprising I am on reading it. I have seen this happen in person where other "friends" (read: entourage) of politicians have traveled on trains without tickets and all that a Train Conductor could do was to watch. This quote is gold:

Our correspondent says that they repeatedly pointed out to the ticket inspector from East Central Railways that they had been put on the train personally by the station master at Haripur.

They said that there was "no need" for them to carry tickets.

Shiv Prasad Choudhary and his wife are the parents of former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, who is the wife of Mr Prasad.