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New directors with new touch capture the scene

2011-11-27T10:14:00.000+05:30

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Kerala films: New Directions

Amid many crises in the Malayalam film industry, there are silver clouds on the “silver” screen. An energetic batch of new generation directors is busy giving Malayalam cinema a new direction. In 2010, more than 40 per cent of the films (37 out of 89) were directed by fresh, young directors, and the trend continues in 2011 also.

Vysakh, Thomson, Mamas, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Martin Prakkatt and Mohan Raghavan are some of the names to reckon with. “They try to break the ‘over-used’ pattern of the Malayalam films. They are tech savvy, have a grasp over world cinema and their approach is modern. This reflects in the content of their films,” says Rafeeq Ahamed, state award winner film lyricist and poet.

In both the commercial and the parallel cinema realms, the new entrants have embossed their mark. Mega stars like Mammootty, Mohanlal and super star Dileep are willing to work with them. The Mammotty starrer Pokkiriraja, directed by Vysakh, became a super hit in 2010. The blockbusters such as Karyasthan, Malarvadi Arts Club, Pappy Appachaa, and Best Actor were also the ventures of the new entrants. It will not be wrong to say that Dileep, after a series of flops, succeeded in re-capturing his status and market value through the films of new directors Thomson (Karyasthan) and Mamas (Pappy Appachaa).

The new directors made a drastic change in theme and the structure of the films. The old concepts of family stories gave way to new generation relationships and alienation of the city life. Chithrasoothram, the experimental film that was invited to many international film festivals, was directed by Vipin Vijay, a new face in the industry.

But the new entrants face some challenges also. It’s not easy for them to get screens since the cinema hall owners want to play safe most of the times and would go for only the so-called ‘hit makers’. “Most of the newcomers find it difficult to survive. Some commercially successful thrillers which are praised for novelty are just weak imitations of some well-known foreign movies,” says young director Varghese Antony.

Nevertheless, the commercial success of their films has convinced the theatre owners and they are now ready to accommodate their films too. The advent of multiplexes has also helped.

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An attempt at restoring the lost biodiversity of Delhi

2011-11-24T11:12:00.000+05:30

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New Delhi ecology: Restoring lost glory

If you are interested in seeing how the Yamuna banks were like a few hundred years ago or what species of birds were found in Delhi, just visit Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP) at Wazirabad in Delhi.

Many varieties of plants that have already become extinct from Delhi can be seen here. One such examples is Asthma Bel plant that is no longer found in the city. However, one can see it at the park. There are many varieties of plants which are found at 8000 ft, but have been brought to YBP. The seven-year-old biodiversity park now harbours a wide range of ecosystems of river basin which support more than 1200 plant species. These include finest wetlands besides a unique butterfly conservatory, a conservatory of fruit yielding plants, grasslands, tropical moist and dry deciduous forest communities, Acacia woodlands and a herbal garden.

Birds that have either become extinct from Delhi or are rare, such as Red Crested Pochard or ‘Lalsar’, can also be seen at the park. Faiyaz Khudsar, wildlife biologist and scientist-in-charge of Yamuna Biodiversity Park shares with TSI, “Coming of Lalsar at the park is not a common event. This bird indicates how effective and functional the ecosystem of the wetland is. It shows that the energy flow in the wetland is proper. This is very important for scientists like us. At present there are more than 3000 migratory birds at the park.”

The creation of wetlands serves three important purposes. Firstly, it adds to the diversity of habitats. Secondly, it performs the much-needed ecological functions of water purification, groundwater recharge, and storage of rainwater. And thirdly, it provides the soil for raising the ground level to avoid flooding in the post-monsoon period so that the development of terrestrial ecosystems and plant communities can go ahead unhindered.

Creating the park, however, has not been an easy task. The salt content in the soil was very high and it was a daunting task for the scientists to recreate the proper ecosystem of the wetland. Biologists used more than 160 varieties of grass to convert it into functional ecosystem. “When we got these 157 acres of land we understood that our task was not going to be easy,” says Khudsar.

In the second phase of the project 300 acres more land would be developed. After that it will be habitat of Sarus Crane and Pelicans. At present only one-third of the park is open for the visitors. Such kind of parks is very important from the point of view of urban biodiversity.

Long ago, the Yamuna riverbed was full of biodiversity. It ranged from the foothills of Shivalik mountain to Aravalli hills in the north. However, the biodiversity was lost due to rapid urbanisation. But a little of it has been recreated in the YBP.

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RGV’s ‘zero-budget’ film plan does not impress many

2011-11-21T12:33:00.002+05:30

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Andhra pradesh entertainment: Much ado about nothing

Ram Gopal Varma aka RGV had been a trend setter in Tollywood with his debut film “Siva” (1989). He called the shots in the Telugu film industry— called Tollywood — before he moved to Mumbai. Some film critics had called his advent a renaissance in Tollywood which is considered to be the second biggest industry after Bollywood with annual investment of Rs. 400 crores.

Recently, Ram Gopal Varma’s announcement of making a “zero-budget” film created a little flutter among the movie buffs. “When low budget or zero budget films are referred to, Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy flashes in the mind. I thought Ram Gopal Varma is also venturing to produce a life-snap to comply with his artistic urge,” well-known film critic S.V. Challa told The Sunday Indian.

Notwithstanding the fact that of late Ram Gopal Varma has succeeded in only churning out mediocre films with little substance which have utterly failed to impress even the average movie-goers let alone the critics, Challa feels that RGV is indeed a master filmmaker and that if he pursues serious cinema, it would be an intellectual treat and visual feast to the Telugu audience.

But contrary to the expectations, Varma announced the name of his zero-budget film to be “Dhongala Mutha” (A gang of thieves). According to him, it is another (read run-of-the-mill) “highly entertaining” action thriller and it should be completed in just five days.

However, not many people are impressed with Varma’s announcement and perceive it as just RGV’s marketing trick. “RGV is making much ado about nothing and it is his another trick to create sensation. When big stars like Ravi Teja, Chaarme, Laxmi Manchu, Brahmanandam are the main cast, how can it be termed a zero-budget film?” wondered an office-bearer of the Indian Documentary Producers Association, on condition of anonymity, while talking to TSI.

Though he has weak linkage with Telugu land, noted film maker Shyam Benegal produced ‘Amaravathi Kathalu,’ famous short-stories in Telugu literature. “But how can one expect similar kind of literary depiction from mediocre and semi-literate RGV, who, for sure, has not even heard of literary giants including Gurazada Apparao, Gudipati Venkata Chalam, Viswanatha Satyanarayana,” he added.

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Young Tibetans in exile are educated, unemployed and fast running out of patience.

2011-10-10T11:12:00.001+05:30

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Saurabh Kumar Shahi visits McLeodganj to check out the simmering powder keg that threatens the Dalai Lama's 'middle path'

The first thing that strikes you in McLeodganj is the absence of anarchy. Nattily dressed Tibetan youth go about their work. There is no apparent abject poverty, no running open drains. Why then were we looking for McLeodganj in the first place? Well, simply because it is the foremost phenomenon that defines a refugee settlement. I have seen scores of refugee camps of all types and sizes all over the world — Palestinians, Kashmiris, Bangaldeshi Biharis, Chakmas, Rohingyas and what not. There are of course a few similarities among these camps. However if there is one commonality: anarchy. But unlike them, McLeodganj does not fester. Or at least does not appear to fester. But does that mean all is well? We'll see.

Sometime in 2005, on a chilly Tibetan night, Jamyang and his best friend entered Lhasa after days of journeying from Ngari province. They were desperate to get to Dharamsala. Meeting the Dalai Lama was the only motive in their life. Jamyang and his friend covered the inhospitable terrain in 48 days and reached Nepal. A week later they were in Dharamsala to see their beloved spiritual leader. They were promptly enrolled in the classes and their spiritual and worldly studies began.

Half a decade on, sitting in a roadside tea joint near Bhagsu temple, Jamyang remembers the arduous journey that almost took his life. He has all the time in the world for me. He dropped out of school months ago and now lives by his wits. Jobs are extremely hard to come by in the absence of local language proficiency and a defined skill-set. And he can't go back to Tibet. For all practical purposes, he is stuck here.

Does he buy Dalai Lama's "middle path" solution? Yes, but only when he is sober enough. With Manali hash easy to find, chances of his being sober have diminished drastically. As it transpires, Mcleodganj too festers. You just need to scratch a tad.

A cursory survey is enough to reveal that the majority of the population here is made up of youth. With the advent of education, the birth rate has gone down drastically. But still the youth outnumber all other age segments quite easily. Literacy is close to 80 per cent and unemployment is 75 per cent. The place is a veritable powder keg. But it has not exploded. It appears that the Dalai Lama's "middle path" still has many takers. But does that mean that the movement will continue to be as it is? No. We have new voices.

Karma Yeshi, an MP in the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile who also runs the Voice of Tibet radio station, is one such voice. He abhors pity and speaks his mind too often for the comfort of others. "There is a lack of guidance as far as the job market is concerned. Only rallies won’t do." He suggests several ways to change the movement. Many of these are reasonable. "Do we have a single Tibetan expert here who has done higher studies in Chinese diplomacy or UN diplomacy? None. How do we expect to have our voices heard? Where is the intellectual capital?" he asks.

People like Yeshi and others worry about the future of the movement. While Tibetans idolise and revere the Dalai Lama, many worry that they have come to bank far too intemperately on the 75-year-old leader. They fear that his eventual death would profoundly hurt the cause of the Tibetans in exile. "The institution of the Dalai Lama is one of Tibet's big strengths," says monk Lobsang Chonzin. "At the same time, it's our weakness because all of us are dependent on him." What would happen to the movement when the Dalai Lama passes away?

Tibetans in exile widely anticipate that when the fourteenth Dalai Lama dies, the Chinese will push their own reincarnation. They see the instance of the Panchen Lama, Tibet's second highest-ranking religious name, as a prologue. In 1995, the Dalai Lama accepted a six-year-old boy in Tibet as the successor to the 10th Panchen Lama, who died in 1989. China confined the boy and chose another in his place. The Dalai Lama's choice and his family have not been seen since. The Dalai Lama's death will thus lead to two centres of power. The movement in its present form will end up losing its meaning.

When the Dalai Lama fled Tibet, he was accompanied by about 100,000 of Tibetans, most of whom did not doubt his determination to engage in a non-violent crusade. A few Tibetans took part in a guerrilla operation backed by the CIA until financial support dried up and they were booted out of Nepal in 1974.

Most Tibetan exiles today still revere the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader but a section wants a more radical approach to be adopted. The latter group is turning increasingly vocal. Young Tibetan exiles — most of whom were born outside their homeland — openly vent their impatience with the Dalai Lama’s "middle way".

But this movement will need much more than enthusiasm to sustain it. And that is where Tsewang Rigzin and his Tibetan Youth Congress come in. The Tibetan Youth Congress, which was started in the early 1970s and claims close to 40,000 active members today, has suggested violence in the past, argues for hunger strikes and other forms of protestation not condoned by the Dalai Lama and reserves the right to use force in the future.

"We want to look at things that his Holiness has enforced, his policy called the Middle Way, and it's been in place for the last almost three decades now. There has been little interaction. We had dialogues with Chinese officials. But the bottomline is that nothing has come out of all this. We need to change that," says Rigzin, dressed in a primly cut suit. He advocates outright independence for Tibet.

Critics maintain that these groups play into the hands of the Chinese government but the radicals respond that Tibetans have little to lose. But how has it affected the relationship with the locals with whom they had little or no interaction for fear of getting assimilated? The Tibetan refugees live in relative isolation to conserve their distinct religion and culture.

Lately, they have been facing a degree of subterranean hostility, because local people have developed a certain antipathy. The demographic and cultural wallop of refugees has led to a sense of vulnerability among the indigenous populace here.

The strain could be seen everywhere. As one local restaurateur told me on seeing my camera and Dictaphone, "Purane log sab wadiya thhey. Ab nawe munde to kattar hain..." (The oldies were gentlemen, these new kids are fundamentalists.)

But the question is, are the Chinese feeling the heat? Oh yes. The Tibet protest prior to the Beijing Olympics caught them by surprise. Also, the global support that the movement got rattled them to the core. They came back with the iron hand, something they cannot afford to employ for too long in a globalised world.

"We have used Facebook and Twitter as our weapon. The potential of these sites is unlimited. It is so easy to connect with Tibetans these days. Our call for protest suddenly has a world audience," beams Rigzin. But will the ministry of external affairs like their involvement. It has tolerated the Dalai Lama because some way or other he has toed its official position of 'One China'. A reckless youth movement can slip out of its hands and might prove to be a headache. But Rigzin is not concerned. "Our slogan is 'Free Tibet, Safe India'. After all it was after the annexation of Tibet that the Chinese managed to invade India," argues Rigzin. Clearly, he knows how to play. If you believe him, he has had his share of successes too.

Rigzin and his group have started interacting with Non Resident Chinese and indulge in healthy debates. "Initially it is very difficult to break them. But slowly, they have started to see reason," he quips. This has helped enhance his optimism. Quiz him about taking on an emerging superpower and Rigzin comes across as an eternal optimist. He believes that China will get democratised one day and a democratic China will be more accommodating of Tibetan aspirations.

But difficult times lie ahead. After the Dalai Lama, the unanimous world support will waver. Many organisations and individuals who support the Dalai Lama's peaceful struggle might find Rigzin's methods too unorthodox. And, as it happens with many causes, the two wings of the movement — fundamentalist and pacifist — will begin to work at cross-purposes. It would be interesting to see how Rigzin takes his movement out of this dichotomy.

He also needs to take the movement out of the hands of the foreign flock that who merely pays lip service to the cause. People who really care are quietly doing their bit. There is no sight as revolting as an Israeli army conscript fresh from his barracks and high on Manali hashish, speaking about "oppression" and "human rights violations". Trust me.

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The sandy villages of Rajasthan were the battleground for Aruna Roy’s crusade for the Right to Information Act.

2011-10-07T10:09:00.000+05:30

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Anil Sharma tells the story of a little woman’s big work

Undulating sand dunes, camels returning home against the setting sun, women in bright ghagra-odhni traversing the desert with vessels of water balanced on their heads, dancers wriggling in the exquisite Kalbeliya dance and the haunting strains of the sarangi and algoze travelling miles through the dark nights. These are some of the picturesque images that the mind conjures at the very mention of the sandy state of Rajasthan. Behind these picture postcard images, however, is the story of a hardy people struggling against geographical odds and a feudal past.

Every desert has its share of oasis and its human embodiment can well be found in Aruna Roy, the petite silver-haired woman of substance who worked hard for the enactment of the Right to Information Act in 2005. Roy, who received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership was recently described as one of the 50 most illustrious women of the modern India, is well known among the common people of the state. There are many who still recall the first jan sunwai, (public hearing) was held at Kot Kirana village in Rajsamand on December 1994. When the jan sunwai began at 9 am, the sarpanch, ward members and government officials, who were all invited, were conspicuously absent. Shankar Singh, Roy's associate in a long and intense struggle, wielded the microphone. With puppets in hands, he started singing: ‘I don’t want Campa Cola, neither pizza, Coca Cola nor liquor, I only seek accounts’. It set the mood. Villagers began to congregate. And then Roy came forward and began the post-mortem of work done using government funds. This was the first step towards the Right to Information Act. Living as the poor lived and eating as the poor ate, Aruna and her comrades began assisting villagers to assert themselves against the local power structures.

She made a choice to be a social activist when she had power and prestige for the asking. Born in Chennai and raised in Delhi, Aruna had joined the IAS in 1968 and after serving as a bureaucrat for six years, she took the first train from Delhi to join her one time classmate and husband Sanjit "Bunker" Roy at Tilonia in Rajasthan where he had set up the Social Welfare Research Centre (SWRC) and started working there with the villagers. Her experience at SWRC convinced her that poor people must be the agents of their own economic and social improvement and, moreover, that political action is fundamental to their success.

In late 80s Aruna and Shankar Singh founded the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana (MKSS), when she found that people, particularly the rural folk, did not know about their rights and the idea of right to information was born. Using traditional forms of protest such as hunger strikes and sit-ins, MKSS-led villagers insisted that local people hired for state projects be paid the legal minimum wage. They held open-air public hearings at which official records of state development projects were exposed to the scrutiny of the intended beneficiaries. Shocking revelations followed: of toilets, schoolhouses, and health clinics recorded as paid for but never constructed; of improvements to wells, irrigation canals, and roads that remained noticeably unimproved; of famine and drought relief services never rendered; and of wages paid to workers who have been dead for many years.

Information was the key to every success: bills, vouchers, employment rolls. People have the right to audit their leaders, was what Roy said. Thus, its campaign of public hearings also became a campaign for transparency in government. "Our money, our records," chanted villagers. Why don’t villages develop despite panchayats getting sufficient funds? Where does this fund go? Who eats it up? Aruna Roy and her friends were posing these simple questions to villagers. This was the time when the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had famously said the 1 rupee that the Centre sends becomes 15 paisa by the time it reaches villages. Where do the remaining 85 paisa go to?

Aruna, finally achievied her target of making the RTI an Act in 2005 and today her action point is to demystify the Right to Information Act for the layman. Much before her achievement on the RTI front, she was honoured with the Magasaysay award in 2000. Aruna decided to use the award money of US $ 50,000 to set up a trust to support the process of democratic struggles. It was her spirit and the commitment to the task that forced the Union government to recognise that people have a right to information.

"She organised a number of campaign educating the masses on their right to information and has been stressing that the government cannot distance itself from the people and should provide all the information relating to the government’s working. Now a common man can obtain the information by filing an application. The Right to Information Act is the biggest gift to the people and Aruna is trying to make people know what is RTI and how to get the information through this Act" says Nikhil Dey, her long-time associate.

"The right to information will not only help control corruption and the arbitrary exercise of power – it will also merge with and strengthen the aspirations of people for participatory democracy. The adopted process of implementation is not smooth and there is apathy of the bureaucrats in answering the questions raised by the applicant. However, it must be understood that this legislation will only be effectively used over time," says Roy, a crusader who does not believe in resting on her laurels.

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Superstructure loses intellectual base

2011-10-04T11:03:00.000+05:30

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Chandrasekhar Bhattacharjee talks to intellectuals from Kolkata who have been opposing the ruling Left Front right from the Singur-Nandigram days and tries to find out if they are veering towards the right

Professor Walden Bello, a fellow of the Transnational Institute and professor of sociology at the University of the Philippines Diliman, made a pertinent remark two years back on the dilemma of the public intellectual of today. It is especially valid when it comes to the Left circle of intellectuals in India. “The tension between truth and politics becomes greatest when the public intellectual is part of a political organisation. What happens when the demands of truth and the demands of the organisation begin to diverge? This has been the greatest fear of intellectuals of the left, for, as I said, our moral or political side is very demanding. In the interests of the bigger battle against the right, against reaction, and against imperialism, it is a very great temptation to ignore, rationalise and defend abuses committed by our side and close ranks.” Bello, president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, said this at his speech at the 49th Annual Convention of the San Francisco-based Outstanding Public Scholar Award Panel, International Studies Association.

Bello’s words help us understand the clear divide among the Left towards the official Marxist parties, the CPI(M) in particular. The disillusionment about what is still the largest Leftist entity in the parliamentary arena was evident during the Kolkata Film Festival in 2007 when Argentine film maker Fernando Ezequiel 'Pino' Solanas said that he would never come again to the Film Festival of Kolkata. It was in November when the so-called ‘Operation Sunrise’ was on in Nandigram and a section of film-makers and theatre personalities such as Aparna Sen, Shaonli Mitra, Bibhas Chakraborty, Kaushik Sen, etc. boycotted the festival and came out in protest. Artistes and cultural activists, who went to demonstrate outside Nandan, the festival venue, were manhandled and arrested. Solanas was kept from watching TV news, daily newspapers were not delivered to his hotel room and even his movement was restricted. The chagrin was against the chief minister and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, projected as a cultural cognoscenti not only by CPI(M) but its allies as well.

The issue raises a controversy as to whether the dissenters are shifting towards the right? Bibhas Chakraborty, a leading light of the theatre movement in Bengal, contests this perception: “Who says we are turning against the Left? We are not. Our criticism is against a party that is pseudo-Left. And I won’t say this is something new in the global sphere. It happens at a time when several intellectuals all over the globe are brainstorming over the theory and practice of official Marxism and raising big questions. The authoritarian trend in the erstwhile socialist countries and even in China today is a fact of life. The protest from intellectuals and artists is a natural reaction.

Rabindranath Tagore warned against this in his Letter from Russia. Lenin sensed this before Tagore in his ending years. Mikhail Satrov’s play Blue Horse on the Red Grass, a day in Lenin's life set in 1921, is a vivid testimony of this.

Shaonli Mitra, one of the well-known stage artistes of Bengali theatre, is against the right-left dichotomy. She told TSI: “I don’t care about the Left or the Right. Our and my protest is always against injustice, oppression and trampling of freedom of expression. That is why we went to Singur, Nandigram and Lalgarh. That is why we braved the state’s autocratic threats and sided with the oppressed and poor people. We wrote to the chief minister thrice but he did not care to reply to our plea. But erstwhile Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi responded readily, gave us a patient hearing and assured us of conveying our resentment to the administration. Take the 26-day hunger strike by state Opposition leader Mamata Banerjee demanding return of land to unwilling farmers of Singur. We wrote to the chief minister and Mamata Banerjee, asking them to hold talks to try to break the deadlock. Kaushik Sen, Bratya Basu and I met with Mamata Banerjee to discuss the situation while the CM didn’t even care to reply to any of our letters. This attitude of the Left Front government and its captain has distanced those who are not involved in party politics. It’s not a question of who is Left or not." She adds, “People in the cultural field do not have a single way of assertion. There are several transitional layers.”

Chandan Sen is an eminent theatre personality of Bengal, who is a state committee member of the CPI and had once contested the Assembly election. He said, “Chilean President Salvador Allende regretted just before his death as to why the Left intellectuals did not help him by pointing out his failures or wrong steps. Of course, we pointed out the mistakes and wrong steps of our Left Front government but our suggestions went unheard. But we tried sincerely.” Sen had joined the massive rally of the civil society against the state and CPM-sponsored ‘Operation Sunrise’ in Nandigram on November 14, 2007, along with his like-minded comrades like Meghnad Bhattacharjee. Talking to TSI, he added, “I feel the intellectuals and the civil society’s response was justified. Their role is limited to just pointing out the wrongs. They did it and will continue to do so in future.” Shamik Bandopadhyay, another noted Left-minded intellectual of Bengal who is presently attached with JNU in Delhi, wrote an excellent piece in a vernacular publication by narrating the days of torture and execution of the greatest Russian theatre personality, Vsevolod Meyerhold, during Stalin's rule. The Left Front rule, at least in the last decade, has seen a spurt in injustice, oppression and trampling of freedom of expression, opposed even by Left intellectuals. One can remember the last minute intervention of Chinmohan Sehanabis, an intellectual leader of CPI, to thwart CPM's attempt to outlaw some of the novels of Samaresh Basu. “Had he not objected, the Left Front government could not take credit for organising the funeral procession of Samaresh Bose,” remarked poet Amitabha Dasgupta over a decade back. “Taslima Nasreen was thrown out of the city in a secret plot hatched by a section of CPM men, who triggered unprecedented violence in Kolkata,” said a leading poet of Bengal.

Mahasweta Devi is candid: “We cannot tolerate this. We will continue this even after the government changes.”

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Shahid Husain steals glimpses of the life in a taluka of the Sindh province in Pakistan that has considerable Hindu populace

2011-10-01T11:00:00.000+05:30

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The Lone Doctor

When Dr. Mohammad Shafi Memon graduated from Liaquat Medical College (LMC), Jamshoro, Sindh on August 10, 1967, his father Hamid Ali Memon, a hakeem by profession, summoned him to his room.

“My father asked me to perform ablution and come along with the Holy Qur'an,” recalls Dr. Shafi Memon. “He asked me to take oath on the Holy Qur'an never to take bribe, never issue a fake certificate in medico-legal cases, never charge money for performing post-mortem, always respect community elders and serve the inhabitants of Diplo,” Dr. Memon told TSI. His father is now dead. In the meanwhile, almost every doctor from Diplo has migrated to greener pastures. But Dr. Memon still remembers his oath. He is the lone doctor in Diplo taluka, in district Tharparkar and caters to more than 70 per cent of the patients in the area. His face glows and he looks much younger than his years as he narrates his story.

Memon says people hailing from the district headquarter Diplo have been traditionally well off. They were traders and businessmen. Amazingly, Diplo headquarter has 100 per cent literacy rate.

“Once a teacher in Diplo gave 110 marks out of 100 to a student,” Memon reminisces. “When asked how this could be possible, the teacher said that the student earned 100 marks on merit while he was given 10 marks out of admiration.”
He recalls that during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, almost every Muslim migrated from Diplo. “Only four Muslims stayed in Diplo but there was never a gap in prayer call from the local mosque,” he says. “There were only 1200 Rangers defending Diplo and an army major wrote me a letter that I should immediately leave Diplo,” he recalls. “During the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war everybody left Diplo.”

Memon recalls that the first person who acquired education in Diplo was Sain Haji Abu Talib, father of Professor Saleh Memon. Talib was the first teacher from Diplo and was paid five rupees a month as his salary. Today, about 200,000 people inhabit the taluka Diplo and about 70 per cent patients from the surrounding areas of its headquarter visit Memon when they are ill. “Tuberculosis is very common in Tharparkar,” says Memon. “People are also lacking in health education.”
After graduation, Memon got his first posting in district Sanghar in Sindh where he worked for about three years. His father passed away on Sept 24, 1971. In November that year Memon shifted to Diplo. After his retirement in Grade 20 from Taluka Hospital Diplo, he is serving patients in accordance with his father’s wish. He also treats women since all female doctors hailing from Diplo prefer to have relatively lucrative jobs outside Diplo.

“Prof Saleh Memon, who was also personal physician to President Ziaul Haq and the King of Saudia Arabia, was the first doctor from Diplo. He died two years ago,” says Memon.

During the month of Ramadan Memon write letters to all his acquaintances to collect donations. “Snake bite is very common in Tharparkar and I have never been short of anti-venom vaccine,” he says with a sense of pride.

“During the last 40 years I have performed only seven post-mortems, four pertaining to murder while three were suicide cases,” he says indicating extremely low crime rate in Tharparkar where 40 per cent population comprises of Hindus and schedule castes.

A visit to two villages in taluka Diplo was equally fascinating. Moolan, 35, a woman in Khari Bheel village in taluka Diplo, some 48 kilometre from Tharparkar’s district headquarter Mithi, has eight children. She works in the fields and makes handmade rillis (hand-made colourful bed sheets) at home besides doing embroidery work. “A new rilli costs me 1,000 rupees. I don’t sell them. I make them for my daughters’ dowry,” she says.

Her husband Anopo, 37, has acquired education till Intermediate from Diplo and is a bookkeeper at Union Council-based Poverty Reduction Programme. Interestingly he has been nominated for this job by women’s voluntary organisation called Sojhro. He is also involved in construction work as a contractor. The Poverty Reduction Programme is being run with the support of a non-governmental organisation, Thardeep Rural Support Programme (TRDP).

Anopo told TSI that eight out of the 70 families of the small village have availed a loan of 12,000 rupees each as their income generation activity and purchased goats.

“I availed a loan of 12,000 rupees and bought three goats. I am sure I will benefit from the deal. They will give birth to new ones and I will be able to give milk to my children,” says Seeji. She has already paid two installments of her loan.
TRDP through funding from Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund has installed solar panel in the village that has been a boon for the impoverished people. Freshwater is available in the village at a depth of 120 feet since it is near the coastal area.
Anopo’s daughter Teejan studies in grade II and goes to school all by herself that is about three kilometre away. “Give us a school, here” pleads Anopo.

Jey Ram, 27, a young man from Meghwar community lives in Bitri village, about 60 km from Tharparkar’s district headquarter, Mithi. He passed his high school examination from Naukot and Intermediate from Degree College Tando Jam. Unlike the Bheel community that migrates to barrage areas during drought and harvesting, people from the Meghwar community do not migrate.

“I worked for seven years in a garment factory in Karachi and earned about 7,000 rupees a month,” says Jey Ram. “Then I got a job at National Commission for Human Development in my village. Here I am paid 3,000 rupees but I enjoy living with my family. I make 800 rupees every month through stitching clothes. I also work in my field and look after my cattle. When there are rains I fetch 10,000 to 12,000 rupees in a season through my Guar and Bajra field,” says Ram.

“The problem of availability of fresh water has been solved,” he continues. “Thardeep has given us a hand pump and a well. We also have a rain water harvesting pond,” he says.

But many problems persist in the village. “The road is seven kilometre away from here. If a snake bites somebody, the person has to be carried on shoulders. There are lots of snake biting cases in our village,” says Kanoon, 40, who works in a field and is also involved in household chores such as cooking.

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Kerala health: Medical facilities in doldrums

2011-09-28T11:58:00.000+05:30

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Low awareness acts as the biggest bane

The health awareness in Malappuram district of Kerala is not at par with the rest of the state. The district, with a large Muslim population, is considered to be backward. Though the people in this district are generally well off, the district records a low rate of immunisation for new born babies in comparison with the other districts of the state. In fact, the statistics of immunisation in this district, which is one of the basic features of general health, match with those in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. This is because of the lack of health awareness in the rural areas of the district and the religious-archaic beliefs of the old generation. Although the government is spending crores of rupees annually on health in Malappuram, but still child deaths are reported from here due to the lack of proper immunisation. During the last two years, two children have died because of diphtheria and four each died of tetanus and measles in the district.

As such there are five super speciality private hospitals in the district and still people have to go to nearby districts because of heavy rush in these hospitals. That shows the health standard of the people here. Dr. K.H.H. Das, a senior pathologist, says about the trend in the district, “The general health awareness among the people is high here. They regularly come to hospitals for health check up. Mortality due to breast cancer, uterus cancer and other ailments has come down drastically because of the diseases' early detection. But this awareness is only among the urban population and that is a cause of concern.”

According to the child immunisation data collected in January 1996 by the Central Government, 52 per cent of children were fully vaccinated in Kerala and that was a national record. The data shows the percentage of non-vaccinated children has come down from 11 per cent to two per cent in the state in NFHS-2. During 2007-08, the immunisation rate in Malappuram was 38 per cent that went up to 57 per cent in 2009-10. But during the same period, the districts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Wynad and Trissur registered 100 per cent child immunisation. Siddique, a social worker, says that it is necessary to educate the elder people to get rid of their decades old misconceptions about child immunisation.

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Police catch top Maoists without exchange of fire

2011-09-25T10:55:00.001+05:30

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West bengal maoists: Big questions over ‘big catch’

The recent ‘big catch’ of the Kolkata Police, that is the arrest of four top ranking CPI (Maoist) leaders, comes with several questions.

The police have arrested CPI (Maoist) state secretary Sudip Chongdar alias Kanchan, state committee members Barun Sur alias Bidyut and Akhil Ghosh alias Ajay and Bimal Mallick alias Shankar. The police claim that the Maoists, including Kanchan, were arrested from the Maidan area of Kolkata in the wee hours of December 3. The police also arrested Maoist Kalpana Maity alias Anu, the wife of party’s state committee member Asim Mondal alias Akash.

The interesting thing is that the arrests were totally peaceful. The Maidan area remains very dark during the night and has lots of small and medium bushes. The proximity of the area with football grounds and Army Headquarters is another topographical advantage for the terrorists as they can easily hide behind the bushes in the dark. How the police traced the Maoists in such an area remains unanswered. Usually, top Maoist leaders move around with a few of their armed activists covering them. There are always two to three armed guards with every leader. However, in the case of the recent arrests, not a single bullet was fired from either side. People are finding it hard to believe that the Maoists did not fire a single shot when they were apprehended and just fell into the police net like ripe plums!

Another interesting aspect is that none of the arrested leaders is from tribal community or from the Junglemahal area. Kanchan is from Garbeta, the den of controversial CPI(M) leader and minister Sushanta Ghosh. Bidyut is a resident of another CPM stronghold Jangipara, presently represented by the Higher Education Minister of the state. Ajay is from Banshdroni of Kolkata itself and Shankar is from Sodepur in North 24-Parganas. Some of the insiders indicate that Kanchan was under the scanner on several issues including his anti-tribal approach. He reportedly ordered several Adivasis to be killed on the slightest suspicion of them being police informers or pro-CPM. “His activities have lessened the Maoists' influence among the Adivasis in the Junglemahal area,” said a source.

Kanchan, who become the state secretary in 2008 after the arrest of Himadri Basu Roy alias Soumen in 2008, started his political career as an SFI leader at Kamarpukur. His elder brothers are active members of CPM and one of them, Prof. Rabindra Chongdar, is a member of the CPI(M) West Midnapore district committee. However, people believe that the recent arrests may well be a case of surrender against several assurances.

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No proper irrigation and drainage facilities in place

2011-09-22T16:03:00.002+05:30

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Tamil nadu flood: Flood ravages Cauvery Delta

The heavy rains have once again caused flood in Tamil Nadu's Cauvery Delta region. This year round, the damage caused to the agricultural sector alone is in the tune of Rs. 1000 crore as thousands of acres of the cultivated land lie submerged. It may also result in steep shortage of rice in the near future.

This is a problem that haunts this region every year but the state government has not come up with a comprehensive solution to it so far. The flood is caused due to improper drainage and irrigation system. Sami. Natarajan, Thanjavur district secretary, Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, told TSI, “Rain water drainage system in the delta region is 150 years old and there is an immediate need to revamp it. Our requirement of water from the Cauvery is 250 TMC ft, but due to improper irrigation system 120 TMC ft of water flows unused into the sea every year.” He added that there are about 3,000 ponds in the delta region but they are either have been encroached upon or are not properly cleaned up at regular intervals. Thus the river water that should reach these ponds gets diverted to the agricultural lands. The total area of cultivated land in the delta region has also come down during the last few years. The Cauvery delta region consists of Trichy, Tanjore, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts and has three important rivers viz Cauvery and its tributaries Kollidam and Vennaru. But this region has very few dams, namely Kalanai in the east, Anaikarai in the west, and Mukkombu in the north. “More dams need to be constructed urgently in this region,” conceded Tamil Nadu Health Secretary V. K. Subburaj, who is assessing the quantum of damage caused by the flood, while talking to TSI. He informed that 12.5 lakh acres of the cultivated land has been affected by the flood.

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Medicine to drastically affect Dental seats

2011-07-09T14:43:00.002+05:30

The opening up of new medical colleges and the addition of seats in existing colleges may hit admissions to dentistry courses .

Last year 172 seats in dental colleges were vacant because of lower cutoffs for medical courses . And this year , with the increase of 450 seats , the officials of the joint admission committee for medical and para-medical courses (JACMPC ) fear that as many as 400 dental college seats could be wasted .

According to JACMPC officials , the reason for dental seats falling vacant was high fees. Moreover , dentistry had lost its shine as a career option , they said .

"Annual fees for a self-financed medical college is nearly Rs 3 lakh , while a self-financed dental college would charge over Rs 2 lakh a year . A student who can afford Rs 2 lakh will be willing to spend a lakh more for medicine ," an official said .

Officials say that the state has 2,405 seats for MBBS and 900 for bachelor of dental surgery . At least 4,857 students qualify for these 3,305 seats . Looking at initial trends , there is a possibility that because of the increase in medical seats , not many students would opt for dental courses .

The official said that of the 4,857 students , around 15% would seek admission only in government-run grant-in-aid colleges where fees are much lower . An official calculated that around 20% of students are from the middle-income group who cannot afford high fees and hence would opt for pharmacy or other para-medical courses where the fees are lower . In all , 11,746 students who cleared Class XII exams from the GSHEB had applied for admission in para-medical and medical courses .

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Exclusive opinion poll: State of the nation

2011-06-09T11:01:00.001+05:30

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Will your living standards improve in the next one year?

As far as the next Financial Year is concerned, respondents appear more optimistic. There is a drastic decrease in the number of people who have opted for the status quo option. This data has shifted to the “Can't Say” section, which indicates a level of indecision. Surprisingly, less and less people believe that things will deteriorate. This has to do with general “feel good” mood among consumers buoyed by predictions of strong growth by several agencies. The RBI as well as World Bank has predicted robust growth in the next Financial Year and maintain that it will continue in the coming years. Here too, like the previous question, respondents have shown greater optimism towards the latter part of the year. However, this has also led to increasing polarisation.

Have your living standards improved?

Most respondents believe that in 2010, their living standards have actually gone up. However, the ratings had gone down significantly in mid-2010, as well as the post monsoon months. This can be attributed to the sudden surge in inflation in these months. It has continued to increase till November. However, since the end of the year, as inflation was scaled down to around 10 per cent and below, the approval ratings have improved remarkably. However, the one noticeable factor has been the sudden jump in December in the number of those respondents who said that their conditions has actually deteriorated. This shift is visible in people who maintained the status quo in the earlier months. The possible explanation can be the sudden as well as the steep rise in commodity prices in the same month.

What are your views about today's India?

A majority of people believe that their lives and thecountry, both are growing. It essentially means that steps taken by the government in the social sector like introduction of flagship social welfare programmes, have started showing effects, and more people believe today that the trickling down in the economy is finally taking place. Not surprisingly, there is also a section of respondents who believe that neither their life nor the country as a whole, is improving. Their number surpasses those who believe that while the country is improving, their life is not. A possible explanation is that there still remains a section of society which has remained out of the ambit of the development cycle.

Who is most responsible for the ills?centre, state or local governments

People appear to be unhappy with their respective state governments, rather than the Centre. Thelocal government figures at the bottom. A possible explanation is that people appear to be closer to their respective state governments and have put the onus of development on them rather than the Central government which is comparatively more distant. This may sound a warning bell for regional outfits whom people appear to blame more for their problems. Also, law and order, policing and food supply, factors which directly impact daily life, come under the state list, thus making state governments more accountable. Defence and foreign affairs which come under the Centre do not affect a common man's life on a daily basis and hence the apathy. People also seem to have given local governments the benefit of doubt, considering they are not adequately empowered

What is the most important issue today?

What might sound like warning bells for theCongress is that respondents consider inflation and corruption as the two central issues affecting their lives. Since the Congress seems to have been cornered on these two issues, it faces the prospects of immediate reverses. Surprisingly, infrastructure, the sector which is top priority area as far as the government is concerned, is pegged as something that least affects peoples' lives. On the other hand, terrorism, BJP's main political plank, also has few takers. This phenomenon can also be attributed to the media blitz on corruption and inflation. Saturation media coverage sets the agenda and affect the mood of the electorate. The UPA government's social sector flagship programme NREGS seems to have impacted the lives of common people the most. Notwithstanding the UPA government's thrust on employment and infrastructure, these two critical issues figure at the bottom of peoples' priorities. The issue of corruption will also affect the BJP as one of its CMs is seen as corrupt and unlike the UPA, it has failed to get him to resign.

Which party is best suited to manage these issues?

In spite of receiving a hammering on inflation andcorruption, the Congress appears to have managed to hold on to its popular support. Their has been a marginal decline in its popularity. On the other hand, the BJP has managed to garner sizable votes since 2009 but it still falls short of the Congress. The Left parties' support has remained static. Clear beneficiaries include the regional outfits. With an increase of four per cent in approval ratings, these parties are expected to play a crucial role in the subsequent polls. The general explanation is that the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor is playing out and in spite of all of its drawbacks, people will back the Congress in the absence of a constructive and strong Opposition. The BJP may garner additional votes on account of anti-incumbency.

Who leads overall?

The approval rating of the NDA is marginally behind that of the UPA. The UPA seems to have lost support down the months. But considering that the Congress' approval rating has not gone down drastically, it would appear that respondents hold coalition partners and not the Congress responsible for the mess. On the other hand, the NDA's ratings have been propped up by coalition partners like Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who heads the NDA alliance in Bihar. Overall, the competition appears too close. However, this equation can change since there will be realignment of political forces as and when elections take place. However, it is very clear that DMK's loss of popularity will affect the UPA's performance. On the other hand, the NDA has been suffering from loss of partners and will try hard to woo a few.

Who is the most popular leader?

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and PrimeMinister Dr Manmohan Singh continue to enjoy huge popularity, recent corruption charges notwithstanding. Sonia Gandhi has more support than the PM himself. There has been a minor fluctuation in their popularity graph down the months though. On the other hand, the government seems to have lost considerable sheen and its approval ratings have gone down. It is also significant that the individual personalities of Sonia and the PM overshadow the performance of the government. Obliquely, it means that people hold the DMK and not Sonia or the PM responsible for the corruption. On the Opposition benches, L.K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj appear to enjoy almost similar levels of popularity but are clearly overshadowed by Sonia and the PM. Against all odds, Sushma has edged past Advani as the BJP's new face.

What do you see Rahul gandhi as?

The scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty is credited with turning around the party's image in the Hindi heartland and making it more youth-centric. Equally at ease in a Dalit hamlet in Uttar Pradesh as well as a reputed Delhi college, the Congress' Prince charming has surely left a lasting impression on the minds of his countrymen as is evident from this poll.

Who do you think is responsible for price rise?

The Central government has been held widely responsible but more people have still held black marketing and hoarding as the principal reason. Rising prices of essential goods including foodstuff and fuel has hit both low and middle income groups. It is widely believed that the Union agriculture ministry and the state governments did not play any proactive role to alleviate people's hardship. The Opposition BJP has also accused the Prime Minister of turning a blind eye to the problem for the sake of coalition politics.

In spite of the price rise blot, the Congress won. Why?

The overwhelming opinion seems to be the Opposition's lack of trustworthiness and its failure to turn this into a major election issue. A sizeable percentage also believes that it was not just the Congress' fault.

What is the reason behind the failure of BJP in acting as a good Opposition Party?

The BJP prospects have been marred by internal squabbling. Nitin Gadkari has been brought in to unify the party's rank and file but he is widely perceived to be the RSS' man in the party. It is yet to recover from the shock of the LS polls.

Are you satisfied with the performance of your Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh? How would you rate Dr Singh's performance?

The economist seems to be going from strength to strength. The soft-spoken, mild-mannered Sikh gentleman has a picture-perfect clean image. Though perceived to be pro-reforms, he has maintained a balance between sweeping economic reforms and populist, pro-poor measures. Not the proverbial Indian politician, Dr Singh keeps away from party matters as far as possible and concentrates on running the government. Having faced a lot of flak for his non-interference in the manner in which the Union agriculture ministry has handled the price rise issue, his government has been crucially undecisive about ways to tackle the growing Maoist influence. However, a weak Opposition has been God-sent for this man of few words.

Satisfied with the performance of Sushma Swaraj?

The current Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha has failed to take the Congress to task in the Lower House. Factionalism within the party as well as a lack of charisma on part of the tallest leaders have made Swaraj's task harder. She will need to make a deep impression if the BJP's image and future poll prospects are to brighten.

Satisfied with the performance of NDA Chief L.K. Advani?

The BJP's Man of Iron, the former Deputy Prime Minister and one of the talismans of the Ram Mandir movement seems to have lost all steam. BJP insiders have repeatedly blamed him for failing to re-invent the BJP's image in the post-Mandir agitation political scenario. While his role is now more symbolic, the party patriarch has also had major differences with the various outfits of the Sangh Parivar.

Satisfied with the performance of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi?

The lady from Italy has proved to be the BJP's ultimate nemesis. By maintaining a dignified distance from running the government and by astute handling of allies and party members, the UPA supremo has approval ratings double than that of L.K. Advani. Never in the forefront, she has been ably assisted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee among others.

Are you satisfied with the performance of the sitting MP of your area?

Do you agree with incorporation of caste in THE census ?

Apparently trying to play it safe for the time being and buy some time, the UPA government, towards the end of May 2010, deferred a decision on inclusion of caste in Census but the Cabinet is overwhelmingly in support of the inclusion with the exceptions of Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma and MS Gill. Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has been entrusted to lead a group of ministers who will thrash out the modalities of enumerating caste in the ongoing decennial Census operations.

BJP has alleged that Congress is using CBI against its political rivals. Do you agree with this?

The CBI has turned into the Congress Bureau of Investigation, allege Opposition leaders. They say the CBI is making little headway on the bomb blast cases but is feverishly probing into disproportionate asset cases against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati. Even the Left is miffed about enquiries in Kerala.

What are your views about Today’s India?

While most respondents from the middle and higher
income groups climb India's rocket growth curve, people from lower income groups, specially in the rural parts, have been hard done in by inflation and crop failure. Well, India is not really shining, it seems.

Performance of the Central Government?

The UPA does not have much to rejoice. Most people feel its performance has been average. The numbers of people who feel it has fared well and poor are pretty much the same. If the government does not take the price rise issue seriously and take steps to control inflation, the public opinion may change drastically.

There are many problems facing our country today. The Most Important issue : First Choice

Most of the respondents feel that terror strikes, rising unemployment, escalating prices, lack of facilities and basic infrastructure and, of course, the perennial problem of corruption need to be tackled. Surprisingly the Maoist problem found no takers. Even the education system drew minimal flak.

In last one year your living standard

The urban middle class and higher income group people thought their living standard has improved. This can, of course, be attributed to higher consumer spending and a good growth rate rather than generation of jobs or rise in salaries.

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Beware of the Left hook

2011-06-04T10:42:00.000+05:30

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journalist based in Kolkata

It was eventually a convergence of their mutual interests that helped seal the seat alliance between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal. Both sides appreciate the seminal importance of the West Bengal Assembly election. The outcome of the 2011 polls in Bengal and Kerala would have national significance. For the TMC, a defeat at the hustings would raise questions about its very survival.

Congress insiders maintain that these elections would influence the trend of national politics in the years ahead, assuming that the ruling Left Front is defeated. The opening shots of the bitter battle between the Congress and the CPI(M) in particular were fired by the latter. Led by party general secretary Prakash Karat, the CPI(M) withdrew its support to UPA-I on the Indo-US nuclear deal and sought to defeat it in a Lok Sabha vote. The rest is history.

Congress leaders acknowledge that party president Sonia Gandhi, who along with the Prime Minister, walked the extra mile to retain Left support for the UPA, has not forgotten the snub. For both, marginalising the CPI(M) is priority number one — a task which the disastrous outcome of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls for the Left made easier for them.

Despite game efforts made by the CPI(M)' suave man– for-all-seasons Sitaram Yechury and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who made occasional soothing noises about the Congress, there has been no softening in the hard stance adopted by the ruling Congress. Unlike in the past, Bengal has not been accommodated much in its acute self-made financial crisis by Delhi of late. Even if defeating the CPI(M) involves tolerating the whimsical and populist ways of the TMC's leader, on land acquisition, price rise or its ambivalence on Maoists, so be it.

Once the Left is cut to size, its very existence would be open to question. Winning consistently in West Bengal is the bedrock that supports and sustains the CPI(M). Already marginalised at the Centre, the CPI(M) now struggles to survive in the one state which helps it maintain its identity. Its power to dictate terms to ruling formations in Delhi is in question.

This would spawn a rightist shift in national politics, post May 2011. The weakened Left would be forced to rediscover its lost relevance. Its dependence on secular, democratic parties like the Congress would increase. The late S.A. Dange's arguments favouring closer ties with secular democratic forces led by the Congress would then come true.

As for the TMC, its urgency to win is more acute than that of the Congress. Although the TMC runs the railway ministry, its increasing mass following from Darjeeling to Digha remains the foundation of its present national eminence and power, something that had served the CPI(M) earlier.

For the CPI(M), the unfolding political script in West Bengal carries an element of déjà vu. In 1977, what had helped the Left Front to come to power was the total consolidation of all parties and forces, right or left, on a pro-democracy anti-emergency platform, against the Congress. And in 2011, it is a similar consolidation of forces, from the Maoists to the Matuas, that confronts the ruling Left on an anti-CPI(M) agenda. Already, this has ensured a 3 to 8 per cent anti-Left vote swing in different parts of West Bengal since 2009.

CPI(M) leader Gautam Deb talks about only 11,00,000 votes separating the Left Front from the Congress-TMC vote bank in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls (the latter polled 1.96 crore votes, the Left 1.85 crore). This means, the Left Front needs to win back only 10 votes in each of the state's 56,000-plus polling booths.

Simple? Time will tell. But what of the nearly 50,00,000 new voters enrolled for the Assembly polls, mostly youths with no evocative memories of Vietnam, Che or the Emergency? The struggle to win back the hearts and minds of the disillusioned is harder than Gautam Deb lets on.

However, the Left is fighting back hard, doing its best to regroup. And it is a travesty of truth to say that in 34 years the Left Front had ”done nothing for the state”. The state's administration functioned fairly well until the early 1990s. Older voters remember that quite clearly. The fight is not easy for either side. For all their determination and unity of purpose, the Congress-TMC alliance will court their own peril if they underestimate the power of the Left to hit back.

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Sucker Punch: A fantastic tragedy

2011-05-31T12:33:00.000+05:30

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A sucker with no punch

It’s only once in a while that a person comes across a love-it or hate-it film. And when one does face the inevitable, the choice is pitifully simple – you only have two poles to choose from. Predictably so, in most of these precarious cases, one pole dominates the other. Like in this case for instance, the film personifies the first word of its title, while clearly lacking the later.

You would be forgiven if you presume Zack Snyder (Director) refers to his teenage journals before conceiving a script. Sucker Punch makes too much noise without a hint of tune. The characters he builds and the world around them are from his teen-hood imagination too. Take for instance Baby Doll, a 20-year-old girl who is unjustly institutionalised by her evil father.

Baby Doll (Emily Browning) quite literally has every facet of imagination. She retreats to a fantasy world where her virginity is going to be sold in five days. The trauma opens a new chapter in her mind, which takes her to Japan where she meets a wise man who puts her on a treasure hunt quest. The film is full of such tragedies.

Crystal balls are being stolen from a dragon’s throat, knives, lighters and what not. Baby Doll and her band of hookers even time-travel to a robot-filled city to disarm a bomb!!

Or maybe Snyder knows exactly what he is doing. High-graphic wannabe action-fantasy films may just make you some money.

After all 300 made half a billion!

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Left Front partners in West Bengal, who once scoffed at the dynasty at the helm of the Congress party

2011-05-28T10:27:00.000+05:30

have handed out poll tickets to many with the 'right' bloodlines and connections

Let us hark back to the dear departed Leftist patriarch Jyoti Basu. He had pejoratively referred to Sonia Gandhi as “oie mohila (that woman)” when the lady became a primary member of the Indian National Congress. The then West Bengal chief minister was echoing the feelings of the Left towards the brazen brand of “dynastic politics” indulged in by India's grand old party.

Cut to 2011. The leftists seem to have taken a leaf of the Congress' well-worn book. On its list of candidates for the coming West Bengal Assembly polls are many individuals who owe their prominence primarily to their blood ties. In fact, in the recent by-election in the Belgachia East constitutency, the CPM nominated Ramala Chakrabarty to fill the seat left vacant since the death of her husband, minister and controversial state secretariat member Subhash Chakraborty.

In the upcoming state election, the CPM has fielded Fuad Halim, a young physician, from Ballygunge constituency. His father, Hashim Abdul Halim, is still the Speaker of the State Assembly but he has decided to retire from active politics on the grounds of failing health. Fuad is being portrayed as a ‘social worker’ by CPM leaders.

“He (Fuad) has been nominated only because Halim sahib is his father. We talk so much about the need to bring an end to the dynastic rule of the Nehru-Gandhi family in the Congress, but it seems we are also doing much the same,” a young CPM leader from Ballygunge said on condition of anonymity after the Left Front chairperson Biman Bose announced his name. “Fuad Halim isn’t a social worker. He runs his own business. This is proof that merit is being superseded by the right connections,” he added.

A scrutiny of the Left candidates’ list throws up other names that have the “right connections”. Soumendranath Bera, son of former CPM MLA Dr Bishnu Bera, has been re-nominated to contest from the Purshura constituency of Hooghly district. Soumendranath is a minister in the present state government.

The sitting MLA of Mahisadal, Tamalika Panda Seth (CPM), is the better half of former MP of Tamluk and kingpin of the Nandigram episode, Laxman Seth. She has got her nomination again though Laxman’s efforts to also get himself nominated were nipped in the bud by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

However, Palash Das, the son of powerful CPM leader Dinendra Bhusan Das alias Mona Master, the party’s district secretariat member, has managed to secure a ticket from Bidhannagar. But despite the support of his resourceful father, the going will be tough for him because he is up against present Trinamool Congress MLA Sujit Basu.

Basu is a political heavyweight who defeated Ramala Chakraborty in the Belgachia by-election, negating what observers had described as a sympathy wave in the latter's favour.

Similarly, Satyasebi Kar got his nomination from Ashok Nagar, the constituency that his father, Nani Kar, represnted several times. There is obvious disaffection in the party ranks. “Satyasebi has no right to lead the party here. He is just Nanida’s son. We wonder why several serious and youthful party leaders were ignored,” quipped a middle-aged CPM member and teacher in a local school.

The CPM has also chosen former party MLA Ratan Pakhira’s spouse, Chhabi Pakhira, to contest from Ghatal, West Midnapur and Shantanu Bora, the son of former MLA Badan Bora, to represent Indus (ST) of Bankura.

Ranu Roy Chowdhury (maiden surname Majumdar) of the CPM will contest from Asansol South. She is the wife of ex-CPM MLA of Asansol Gautam Roy Chowdhury, who was also the mayor of Asansol Municipal Corporation.

The CPM's partners in the Left Front are no different. All-India Forward Bloc (AIFB) has re-nominated Udayan Guha from Dinhata. He is the son of the late West Bengal minister Kamal Guha. He contested first when Kamalbabu passed away.

Former food and civil supplies minister of the Left Front government Kalimuddin Shams’s son, Mainuddin Shams (AIFB), is contesting from Kolkata Port. He lost the Kabitirtha seat to the Congress in the last state election.

Ramjan Ali was a senior leader of AIFB and was murdered in the MLA Hostel in the 1990s. His son, Ali Imran Ramz, contested the Goalpokhar byelection when the seat fell vacant after Deepa Dasmunshi got herself elected to Parliament. He is contesting from Chakulia in the same district this time as Goalpokhar has been eliminated after delimitation.

His uncle and former minister, Hafiz Alam Sairani, also represented the seat after Ramjan’s murder. “It seems they have made the seat a personal property” lamented a CPM man, who was also an aspirant for the new seat, Chakulia.

CPI, which was hitherto considered to be ‘unaffected by dynastic principles’, has gone ahead and nominated Tarit Chakraborty to contest from the Sonarpur South seat. Though his father Haridhan Chakraborty was never an MLA or MP, he was a legend of the Tebhaga days. During those days of the underground resistance, he was known as Jiban da to his followers and wielded considerable clout in political circles.

The noted music director of Hindi films, Salil Chowdhury once admitted that “I was picked up by Jiban da while I was a student. At that time I was a poet and used to play the flute. Jiban da inspired me to try mu hand at composing mass songs.”

“You have found only a dozen names from a total of 294 candidates nominated by the Left. Don’t you think the number is negligible? But I agree that this does represent a trend of sorts. If we adopt the ways of the Congress, we end up losing the right to criticise them,” said a senior CPM leader and member of the Calcutta District Committee of the party.

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Barney’s version: Funny, romantic & thoughtful with some brilliant acting

2011-05-24T12:21:00.001+05:30

IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism

Cigars, booze and heartbreaks…

To show a person’s entire life story and not allow it to become boring, takes some effort. Roping in Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman makes the effort
considerably less.

Based on Mordecai Richler’s novel of the same name, Barney’s Version is a delightfully amusing film, which shows the life story of Barney Panofsky, who is arguably the chirpier, politically incorrect, and infinitely funnier version of each one of us.

Throughout the beautifully directed film, we see Barney’s bluntness getting him into quite some trouble, and when a man has to marry thrice and fall in love with another woman on one of his wedding nights; one can begin to see the extent of it.

However, the many heart-tugging moments in the film such as his second wife committing suicide, and his best friend Boogie falling into the lake during a drunken scuffle, brings a different perspective to the film: one of introspection. It makes one think that whatever decisions we take today, there will come a time, when we will look back at them and the best we will be able to do is smile.

The final half of the film is bittersweet as Miriam, Barney’s third wife leaves him over his infidelity, just as Barney starts showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease. The film becomes more sensitive as we feel for Barney and see him trying to make his marriages and his life work. When the film ends, one cannot help but think that even though Barney had many flaws and blemishes, he was in the end trying his level best to be a good man. Isn’t that something we are all trying to do?

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ORISSA PRIMARY EDUCATION: 'Bookless' in Orissa

2011-04-30T10:51:00.000+05:30

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

Textbooks of many subjects haven't yet reached the schools

A conflict between the business interests of a group of entrepreneurs and the government policy has rendered lakhs of government school students 'bookless', if that is the term to be used. The half-yearly exams are almost there and the students are still to see how their textbooks look like, let alone reading them.

Ashok Sahu, a student of 6th standard of the Capital High School, Bhubaneswar, is still awaiting his Sanskrit textbook though new session had begun in April. Sasmita Priyadarshini of Rajabagicha High School of Cuttack is also awaiting her English textbook. If the situation in the state capital Bhubaneswar and the commercial capital Cuttack is such, then one can imagine what it could be like in remote areas such as Malkangiri or Kandhamal, which are 500 to 700 kilometers away from the seat of administration.

'We haven't yet received all textbooks and are managing with the old ones. Here five to six students share one book,' informs a student of Mudikunda Primary School at Phulbani town. The students of other small towns and villages of the district are also facing the same problems. Though there is a requirement of 7 lakh books, only 1.5 lakh have reached the schools.

Situation is not very different in the coastal district of Balasore, which is one of the highly literate districts of the state. Here, the total textbook requirement is around 4 lakh and only 1.3 lakh have reached the schools. The students studying in classes II, IV and VI are the worst affected as the syllabi of these classes have changed this year. So, they can't use the old textbooks. The inordinate delay in printing and distribution of textbooks, which has adversely affected the study in schools all across the state this year, is an outcome of a legal row between the Text Book Press (TBP) and Orissa Printers and Binders Federation (OPBF). Normally, the TBP prints and distributes around 2.5 crore books every year. As per government norms, if the cost of production and distribution exceeds Rs.5 crore, a national tender has to be floated. This year the total requirement was 2.64 crore books and its estimated cost exceeded Rs.6 crore. So, the Department of School and Mass Education floated a national tender,' said a senior officer of the press. The OPBF that had been assisting in printing textbooks previously, filed a petition in the Orissa High Court which ordered a stay on the process and finally cancelled the national tender on May 19 and ordered that the work be given to state small-scale industries. At last, text book printing and distribution work started in the last week of May, after a delay of two months. The department claims that about 2.10 crore textbooks (the total requirement is 2.64 crore) will be supplied soon.Pratap Jena, Minister of School and Mass Education assures, 'Some legal problems caused the delay and they would be taken care of from the next academic session.'

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WEST BENGAL HIGHER EDUCATION: No takers for engineering seats

2011-04-26T10:49:00.000+05:30

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Those at the helm are clueless as to how to lure the students

Sitting in his Salt-lake office, the Chairman of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board, Sidhartha Dutta, is not at all enjoying the situation. Not only him, actually the whole Board seems to be in a melancholic mood ' students are simply not applying to engineering colleges in this eastern state; 6,026 seats are currently vacant. A third round of counselling was slated between August 29-31 to fill up the vacant seats in the engineering colleges. That, too, is over now. The situation remains the same. West Bengal, unfortunately, leads the nation with respect to this ignominious figure of vacant engineering seats. The last year's slow down hang-over might have exacerbated the situation, but a solution is clearly not in sight. Terming it a nationwide phenomenon, Dutta is gives his reasoning: 'Nationally, about 45 lakh students appear for the school-leaving examinations every year. Of these, about 4.5 lakh are from the science stream which is about 10 per cent of the total. Out of these, about four lakh pass the examination. But there are five lakh engineering seats in the country.' In Dutta's view, it's a pure case of a demand and supply gap, with supply being much over the actual demand.

Talking to TSI, Dhritiman Chowdhury, a first year computer science student from Durgapur points out, 'Actually, there is almost a complete saturation in the IT and engineering fields. So today's youth are not at all willing to go for engineering. Their interest is rather growing towards basic science. Since the job prospects are dwindling, not many students are game for engineering these days.'

This is evidently a far cry from the days when engineering used to be a coveted course with parents ready to dole out lakhs to ensure their progenies join the stream. In the social context, this is a plus and a minus too. The plus: availability of vacant seats ensures that all those who're interested get the programme of their choice. The minus: if jobs are anyway not available, what use is doing a course at all? What is required is for the West Bengal Board to immediately undertake a comprehensive state-wide research report to find out the actual reasons such a situation has occurred; and if the reasoning is jobs, to advise the government appropriately. Not that the government would do anything ' but the least they should 'not' do is to close down or scrap the vacant seats and courses. It's better to have the problem of plenty than to suffer penurious illiteracy

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ASSAM POLITICS: Mahanta to lead the Opposition

2011-04-23T10:47:00.000+05:30

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The former chief minister's elevation raises hopes in AGP

After a dismal showing in the 2001 and 2006 Assembly elections, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) ' the main opposition party in the Assam Assembly' is eager to regain its lost popularity ahead of the coming elections next year. After the Prafulla Kumar Mahanta led Asom Gana Prishad (Progressive)'s unification with the AGP last year, it's now time to show more goodwill gestures. So, AGP's Chandra Mohan Patowary decided to vacate the post of Leader of the Legislative Party of AGP to make way for Mahanta. Patowary in August had announced that he wanted to devote more time to organise the party and announced his unwillingness to carry on as the Leader of Opposition. The AGP's legislative party met on September 4 to elect Mahanta as their leader. After taking over as the Leader of Opposition, Mahanta told TSI that he would try his level best to implement party's agenda and would place sensitive issues of the state on the appropriate platform.

The AGP had first grabbed the power in 1985 in the aftermath of the historic Assam Agitation. It came to power again in 1996, but lost. popularity as a section of people felt that the AGP governments led by PK Mahanta had failed to implement the Assam Accord. Some of the leaders accused Mahanta of not doing much to execute the Accord and he was removed from the party leadership. Mahanta then formed a new party called the Asom Gana Parishad (P). Reacting on the development, AGP general secretary Atul Bora said that the party would gain from the latest development. 'The AGP MLAs have elected Mahanta as their leader. This will definitely help the party,' he said, adding that positive outcomes have already been noticed during the 'janasanyug yatra' launched by the party earlier this month.

On the other hand, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) has lodged their protest against the development by showing him black flags.

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OBAMA RATING: Obama's sliding popularity is causing alarm to Democrats

2011-04-19T10:42:00.001+05:30

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

Plummeting rating

President Barack Obama's popularity has nose-dived consistently from the time he took office ' consequently, his Democratic Party is heading for a major defeat in the upcoming mid-term polls scheduled in November! The reason ' a series of failed initiatives, policy fiascos, and poor communication with the electorates. His healthcare policy has bombed, his handling of economy is disapproved, his job approval ratings are plunging and his inability to control poverty is faulted.

It is said history repeats itself! It has happened time and again in American politics that the victorious party in the Presidential Election has lost the next mid-term poll! It happened to Ronald Reagan in 1982 and Bill Clinton in 1995 among others. However, this cannot be the only reason for the debacle of Barack Obama, with whom there is a sense of disillusionment among his supporters, who are perplexed to find little deliverance after all the tall promises he made during his election campaign. One of the biggest debacles in his domestic policy has been his healthcare reforms, which has pulled down the ratings. And worrying unemployment figures continue to pull it down further. A recent study by Gallup disclosed that Obama's approval had plummeted to 47 per cent in April this year, from 64 per cent in February 2009. In August 2010, the same was 41 per cent. Even the ardent Obama supporters are turning their backs on him. But fortunately for Obama, 83 per cent Democrats still commend his performance ' though this figure has dropped from 88 per cent in February last year. Republican support for Obama is only 14 per cent in August, down from 41 per cent in February 2009. The Democratic Party's approval rating is only 41 per cent positive, the lowest in Gallup's 18-year experience in measuring.

In spite of these ground realities, Obama's detachment is startling. Instead of taking head on the issues of economy, jobs and healthcare, he is pre-occupied with non-consequential issues of immigration policy, Islamic society, and the mosque near the site of 9/11 catastrophe! Notwithstanding this, what could be the final nail in the coffin is the census of poverty ratio of 2009 that is supposed to be released in the near future. The forecast says that a poverty increase from 13.2 per cent to 15 per cent is a good enough reason for the disheartened electorate to vote against the Democrats. If the projected figure turns out to be correct, it will establish the fact that one-seventh of America's population (which is 45 million) is poor! This is the largest increase of poverty in the history of United States beating the previous high of 13 per cent in 1980. Even though there could be a setback in the November polls, Obama can hope that his policies will be eventually appreciated by the electorates in the run up to the Presidential Election in 2012, if he decides to contest.

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STRIKE IRRATIONAL: Why can't esma be enforced

2011-04-15T15:36:00.001+05:30

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

Govt. should enforce ESMA strongly to stop essential services strikes

If one flips back the pages of history, it would not take much time to gauge that the concept of strikes was developed to bring in political change in a country. With time, the whole motive of strike metamorphosed from bring political change to propagation of individual's (or of a small community's) interests, sidelining the bigger picture. Talking about India, strikes here have become a more common phenomenon. Initially, these were used by workers to protest against the industries and to call for collective bargaining sessions. Today, even the most educated classes of society, who at large are not at the bottom of the pyramid, resort to strikes.

Recently, more than 50 people lost their lives across the state of Rajasthan after 1,200 doctors and medical practitioners went on strike for three days. This was in spite of knowing the fact that a large population of patients rely on these medical colleges and hospitals for treatment. On the same lines, in June 2010, thousands of patients' medical treatment suffered because of a day-long strike at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi. It has been seen that every time it comes to strikes, by and large the common man suffers the most. Airlines are another industry in frequent touch with strikes. So is the legal fraternity. In April and May this year, lawyers across Uttar Pradesh went on strike and didn't allow the judiciary to function in the state. Juxtapose the fact that India already has piles of cases pending, another nonworking and unproductive day would add to the pressure and woes. Same can be iterated for strikes called by oil company employee and bank employees, which straight away hits the economy and the market and lives of many daily wage workers.

Talking in numbers, statistics compiled by the Union Government's Labour Bureau reveals that the number of workers affected by strikes has risen from 570,000 in 2007 to 930,000 in 2009. A day long general strike causes a loss of around Rs 13,000 crore to the country. In countries like France, certain categories of public transport workers, if on strike can be prosecuted. Same goes for railroad employees in the US. Even in few of the US states, teachers are banned from calling strikes.

India too has its ESMA, the Essential Services Maintenance Act, using which the government can break the back of any strike. Although the government does invoke this act from time to time (the recent truckers' strike is a key example), it stops short of enforcing the act to its fullest. The recent AIIMS strike is a crying example. Doctors are covered under ESMA and cannot strike work. Period. However, in the AIIMS strike, and in many such similar strikes, the government ' which could set an example ' failed to do so. Even ESMA can enforce a fine of only Rs.200 per individual, though a jail term of 6 months can also be enforced. We say, either impose ESMA to its fullest, or update its powers to become practicable!

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120 IAF pilots have perished in crashes

2011-03-26T10:41:00.000+05:30

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On August 8, while the nation's political top brass and citizens in general were involved in an animated debate on the future of Commonwealth Games 2010, far away from the national capital in India's boondocks, a young pilot was on a routine sortie on his MiG-21 fighter jet. The exercise was designed to make him battle ready. But minutes after take-off, the Indian Air Force (IAF) jet, also known as Bahadur (Brave), met with an accident. The pilot lost control and the aircraft crashed on a paddy field, some 25 km from the town of Tezpur in Assam.

Had this accident taken place in any western country, it would have been a poignant Page One story. But in India, the Tezpur report was buried in the inner pages of the national dailies. The pilot was lucky to survive the accident. But there are many who have perished in such accidents. The September 2009 MiG-21 crash in Punjab's Muktsar district claimed pilot Lt. Manu Akhori who was unable to eject on time. The list of such accidents is getting longer with each passing day.

Some 39 fighter aircraft and choppers of the IAF and the Navy have crashed in the past three years. This comes up to almost a crash a month. The IAF lost 13 qualified pilots in air crashes from 2007 to 2010. Defence minister A. K. Antony told Parliament recently, 'Thirty-nine aircraft including MiG series, Sukhoi aircraft and helicopters have been lost in air crashes during the last three financial years from 2007-08 to August 11 this year.'

Over the past decade, some 290 non-combat accidents have taken place in which 120 rookie and trained pilots of the IAF have died. Most of the casualties have been involved with the Soviet MiG-21 series. That doesn't mean that the highly-rated Jaguars and Sukhoi aircraft are safe. They too have their own victims. The monetary loss from these accidents has been well over Rs 12 billion (US$258 million). Besides, it creates a number problem for the IAF as these expensive aircraft are not available off the shelf.

Antony said that of the fighters that went down, 13 were of the aging MiG-21 series, six of MiG-27 series and two aircraft of the MiG-29 series. The latest Sukhoi 30-MKI was also lost. Moreover, Mi-8 choppers and two of the Mi-17 series choppers have also crashed. The list includes one Jaguar, one Kiran and one MiG-23.

Each IAF aircraft accident is investigated through a court of inquiry and remedial measures are taken to check their recurrence, claimed Antony. Above all, assistance is taken from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), both indigenous and foreign, to overcome the technical defects of the aircraft.

This is not for the first time that such assurances have been delivered. Following frequent crashes in 2003, the then defence minister George Fernandes had held a meeting at the air headquarters in New Delhi and said the government would 'get to the root of the problem'. But even after seven years, the problem continues to persist and these accidents continue to claim lives of young pilots. The Indian public and the families who lost their loved ones in the accidents know nothing about these accidents. Most of the time the defence officials are tight-lipped over this issue in the name of "classified security information". It would be erroneous to say that the government has done nothing. Over the year, numerous meetings have been held and committees formed to looked into the causes of the crashes. Besides, some recommendations have also been made. The most famous of these was the Committee of Fighter Aircraft Accidents in 1997. Former president APJ Abdul Kalam, who was then scientific adviser to the defence minister, headed it.

The committee recommended modernisation of test equipment and better information networking between the ministry and the labs. Besides, it also wanted transfer of design information on critical fighter jet parts. Even after 13 years of the recommendations, the debate rages about how to minimise the number of IAF crashes.

Each new accident brings back attention on the IAF that is under intense pressure to address these accidents. It is faced with uncomfortable questions: Why are these crashes not stopping? What steps has the IAF taken to combat such catastrophes? Why are officers' lives being risked? Is the government serious about the lives of pilots? Till now, the IAF and the government have taken the stand that these accidents are results of human error, technical defects and bird hits. The La Fontaine Committee, that was set up for an in-depth study into the accident pattern and the entire training process, found out a significant correlation between training and accidents. Air Chief Marshal Dennis La Fontaine had found maintenance failure, bird hits and pilot error to be the main causes for these crashes.

Air Marshal A.K. Singh, who retired as Commander in-Chief of the Western Air Command and was also DG, Inspection and Safety, told TSI there was a great difference between military aviation and civil aviation and that things needed to be seen in the right perspective. He said: 'We don't fly to travel and since the aircraft is a highly complex machine, everything cannot be just controlled. Of course the ideal would be no crashes but that can never happen.'

The aging MiG series that constitute the bulk of India's combat fleet have, of course, suffered the most. Out of the 793 single-engined MiG-21s inducted into IAF since 1963, over 330 have been lost in accidents. The problem has been compounded by shoddy maintenance, poor quality control of spares and inadequate training. As for the possible steps to bring the accidents down, Air Chief Marshal S. P. Tyagi calls it a continuous process. He said: 'It requires continuous and focused work for it involves not just keeping the air space clear of birds or maintenance of the aircraft. But it needs an investment into the machine and the man, for the machine needs to be state-of-the-art and the man flying it should be in a high motivation. Hence, it is a continuous process.' However, the families whose children have been killed in these accidents, are worried and want the IAF and the government to act on this issue soon. Of late. the IAF has acquired Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs) and flight simulators that will help lower the MiG-21 accident rate. In 1985 the La Fontaine committee recommended the acquisition of AJT to help reduce pilot error. It was decided in 1986 that 66 AJTs will be bought but it was only incorporated in February 2008 that is after 22 years. Had it come on time, it would have saved many lives and around 200 aircraft that got lost in accidents. Now AJT will help make the transition from subsonic to supersonic smooth. Also, pilots will acquire all the requisite skill and training for safety purpose. Now, pilots graduate straight to supersonic fighter jets from subsonic Kiran trainers.

A senior IAF officer, on the condition of anonymity, said the rate of accident has come down not because of the changes made in the system but for modernisation and changes in certain tactics. Earlier, pilots used to fly at low levels, giving them minimum time to bail out in case of any untoward incident. However, now they have been instructed to go for high-level flying to avoid accidents. Besides, IAF is also planning to end its dependence on the MiG series and other old fighter jets because there has been a realisation that they are outdated and are no longer fit for active training and combat purposes.

These accidents have taken a terrible toll on India's air superiority. Now Pakistan has caught up with India. Currently India is operating with just 31 squadrons. It will achieve its required and sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons by 2020. Till then, the IAF has to bank on its given strength. The loss of a fighter jet means a huge setback for the country and a loss of face for the IAF that is on the threshold of modernisation and expansion.

The IAF should provide better treatment to the families of the fallen pilots. Former British Prime Minister Gorden Brown apologised to the families of the soldiers who died in Afghanistan. A similar step from the government and the IAF will give some solace to the bereaved.

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Adivasi Wwomen, once safe in Left-ruled Bengal, are now sitting ducks for marauding mobs

2011-03-22T10:53:00.002+05:30

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It isn't honour killing in the sense that one would associate with the Khap panchayats of northern India. Nonetheless, it is certainly about killing the honour of poor Adivasi girls who dare to fall in love with boys from other communities. These girls from Bengal have, in recent months, faced the ignominy of being paraded naked through the lanes of their villages. At least four such cases have been flashed by daily newspapers within a few days of this month. These incidents occurred a few months back.

Villagers were aware of the crimes but nobody reported the cases to the police or the civil administration. Even the heads of the village panchayats opted for inaction. One of these Adivasi girls is now living in police custody. The panchayat pradhans, who are responsible for reporting such cases to the police, chose not to do so for reasons best known to them. And now, after being questioned by a visiting team of the West Bengal Women's Commission, they are seeking refuge behind lame excuses. The role of the police is also under the scanner.

The first case, which shocked civil society, happened a few months back. A young girl, aged 17 according to police, was subjected to inhuman torture and molestation. As her life was under threat, she was forced to do the bidding of the marauding mob.

Over a thousand Adivasi youths stripped her at Bartala village and paraded her naked through a stretch of about 8 km. Throughout, the mob kept molesting girl. By the end of the ordeal, her body was badly bruised, police sources confirmed. 'Some of the youths even bit her,' a member of the Women's Commission said. It was only three months later that the police came to know of this atrocity. Some journalists who stumbled upon MMS clips of the incident lodged a complaint. Some local youths who were part of the mob, recorded the harried girl on their mobile phones and mailed these clips to their friends. A journalist, who doesn't want to be named, brought that clip to the police. Only then did the police swing into action. They rescued the girl and brought her to a government-run home at the sub-division headquarters. Later, six persons were arrested.

According to the district administration, the tribal girl was targeted because she was in love with a Muslim boy, the manager of a local stone quarry. The girl, Anita Hansda (name changed), was a labourer in the same quarry. The villagers, who kept mum before the Women's Commission members, say the girl and the boy, Chandan Ali, were warned several times. But they paid no heed.

While the Women's Commission delegation was at Rampurhat, two more women from Nimpahadi village of Mohammadbazar block came to complain about torture and molestation. According to the chairperson of the Women's Commission, one was a divorcee, the other unmarried. 'They went to work in a quarry on June 23. When they were on their way back, two young male co-workers from another community offered them a lift on their bikes and dropped them near a jungle of the village.' The women complained, 'Villagers kept us captive at the anganwadi centre for the night. The next day, they forced us to walk naked through the village.' According to the district superintendent of police, Humayun Kabir, 'The police registered an FIR on June 28 against nine persons. They surrendered at the district court in Siuri and are now on bail.' Another similar crime, which was committed a few months earlier, was also reported from Mohammadbazar block. Interestingly, the panchayat pradhans of all the villages belong to the CPM. The pradhan of Bartala village, Mangal Baskey, told the Women's Commission, 'I was not at home on the day the minor girl was assaulted. I came to know later. But the situation was not conducive to lodging a complaint with the police.'

With regard to the case in Nimpahadi, Sachin Dhyangar, CPM district committee member from Mohammadbazar, said, 'The police were informed about these two women's confinement on June 23 night itself on the party's behalf. But they did nothing.' Mohammadbazar MLA Dhiren Bagdi (CPM) said, 'The lackadaisical police investigation helped the accused in Nimpahadi get bail.'

Panchami and Mohammadbazar are known for their stone quarries. Most of these are on illegally grabbed tribal land. Pollution levels are high here. Many lost their lives in quarry blasts triggered with substandard dynamites and explosives.

Adivasis of the area, under the leadership of Adivasi Gaonta, revolted in May and boycotted the quarries. Attacks by the quarry owners followed. The tribals hit back. In these violent incidents, five people lost their lives. Evenntually, even the state government had to accept that most of the quarries here were illegal.

A few weeks back, a delegation of the Gaonta met the state chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, at Writers' Building. The CM then visited the area. Yet, the quarries could not be reopened due to lack of licenses and legal documents. And this impasse has a connection with the attacks on tribal women.

Gaonta sources, as well as a section of CPM followers, allege that the attacks on Adivasi girls have been instigated by quarry owners to create fear and confusion in the minds of the tribals.

A Gaonta leader explained, 'Though nobody is allowed to buy Adivasi land, quarry owners have had their eyes on these tracts for about a decade. They would initially employ Adivasi girls, mostly minors, and taking advantage of their poverty, sexually abuse them. Later, the managers and suppliers of the quarries, mostly Muslims, developed relationships with the girls and married them.'

In several cases, these girls were made to undergo a surgery to prevent motherhood. After marriage, they inherited a part of the tribal land and then forced to sell or lease it out. Says CPM activist Mangal Kisku: 'Adivasis are a close-knit community. Since our Charka revolt (the move to prevent the functioning of the quarries) the people's resolve not to part with any more Adivasi land has been strengthened. And therein lies the catch. The stooges of the quarry owners would once get away with unjust means, but not anymore. It isn't possible to browbeat the tribals anymore.'

According to Gaonta leader Rabin Soren, the Adivasis are now on their toes and always ready to rush wherever a tribal girl is subjected to molestation. "But we were prevented by the local political leadership and administration from doing so," he says.

Women's Commission member Sarbani Bhattacharjee asks: Why did the police keep mum for so long? If the panchayat pradhan can be show caused for dereliction of duty, why shouldn't the officers-in-charge of the police station face similar action?' The role of local CPM leaders is certainly suspect. Why didn't they bring the heinous incidents to the CM's notice when he visited the area? No excuse can exonerate them.

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The flip side of the India growth story

2011-03-18T10:43:00.000+05:30

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A once well-off family of farmers that owned 200 bighas of land on Delhi's outskirts today relies on a rickety rickshaw for daily bread and deliverance.

The 55-year-old ferries people up and down the five-km stretch between Anand Vihar, east Delhi and Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad for a living. This has been his lot in life for several decades. But before a state-mandated acquisition of land for industrial development robbed them of their resources, the Raghavs were well-to-do wheat farmers. Today, the area where their ancestral 200-bigha farmland once stood has turned into a site of frenzied urban expansion. This part of Ghaziabad is flanked by the residential colonies of Vasundhara and Vaishali on one side and the Sahibabad Industrial Area Site 4 on the other.

The area is dotted with cavernous shopping malls that deliver retail nirvana to a population flush with cash. It also has numerous residential skyscrapers occupied by representatives of a burgeoning, upwardly mobile middle class, swanky business parks that house the nation's top companies, luxury hotels and an array of thriving industrial units.

That's one part of the India growth story that we always hear ' and applaud. Jagdish's story is the flip side. It is a story of loss, deprivation and despair. He is a flesh-and-blood throwback to the fictional Shambhu, the small farmer that Balraj Sahni played in Bimal Roy's 1953 classic, Do Bigha Zameen.

Nearly six decades on, two bighas have given way to 200, and the rural moneylender of yore has been replaced by a complex network of urban exploiters. But like Shambhu, who migrated to the big city to earn the money he needed to reclaim his land from a merciless zamindar, Jagdish has been reduced to pulling a rickshaw in an uncaring urban jungle. He toils day in and day out in and around the very area where his family was once counted among the wealthiest peasants.

Jagdish can barely conceal his anger and frustration as news filters in about the agitation by farmers in Aligarh and elsewhere against the acquisition of land for the under-construction Yamuna Expressway. They are demanding the same quantum of compensation that was paid to farmers in Noida and Greater Noida. 'If only my forefathers had launched a similar agitation, I probably wouldn't have been a rickshaw-puller,' he says.

He has a piece of advice for the Aligarh farmers, who, he believes, will also end up as rickshaw-pullers or daily wage workers one day. 'The compensation that they receive today will be gone in 10 to 20 years. They, too, will face a plight similar to ours. My son and I pull hired rickshaws. We don't have the means to buy our own rickshaws,' he says. 'Who gave the government the right to snatch our land and hand it over to builders and the wealthy? I often feel like setting these factories on fire',' Jagdish's voice trails off even as his hands begin to tremble. He is seething with rage, but he is, quite palpably, completely helpless.

As flashy SUVs, sedans and hatchbacks zip in and out of the group housing societies and shopping malls of Ghaziabad, the manually pulled rickshaws are forever weaving their way around and through the chaotic traffic. Life hangs by a string here.

It is a tough calling, but those of Jagdish's ilk have no choice. Rickshaw-pullers in this part of the National Capital Region (NCR) are predominantly farmers who have lost their agricultural land to the urban and industrial development wave. Some are from nearby villages, others from neighboring states.

Shopping malls dominate the Ghaziabad-Sahibabad skyline. Galaxy is one of the many that have come up here in the past few years. It is behind Galaxy Mall that Jagdish lives in his ancestral home in Karkar model village. Galaxy is an imposing new structure. Jagdish's 60-yard dwelling is a cramped and crumbling semblance of a home. As a teenager, Jagdish lived in a house that had verandahs running all around it. The residence was almost as big as Galaxy Mall. In a span of 35 years, it has shrunk into a little cubbyhole that forms part of a squalid shantytown.

Around 35 years ago, the state government, citing 'public interest', notified and acquired the land that the Raghav family owned. The Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation carved several plots out of the land and allotted them to industrialists. Jagdish says, 'The land is worth millions of rupees today. It was snatched from us. We got peanuts by way of compensation.'

He shows us a glass factory. It stands on his land. The factory supplies bottles to wine and beer manufacturers. 'I did get a job in this factory after much effort, but lost it within a month. I have been a rickshaw-puller since,' Jagdish reveals.

He continues: 'In the 1980s, we were paid one rupee ten paise per sq meter for our land. Today one sq meter costs lakhs of rupees. Had the government left some of the land for us, our children would have owned factories here.'

Jagdish has three unemployed sons. The eldest, 35-year-old Raju, is married and pulls a rickshaw to run his family. His other two sons, Dilip and Pradeep, cannot even think of marriage. They are unemployed and their future seems bleak. So they do not want to add to the burden of the poverty-stricken family.

Jagdish, however, managed to marry off his three daughters. 'I borrowed for their weddings. I have a debt of over Rs 1lakh. Every month I pay Rs 4000 as interest on the loan,' he says.

Says Dilip: 'The factory owners do not even let us venture near ancestral land. Getting a job is one of these units is out of the question.' The youngest of the male siblings, Pradeep, explains why the locals are shunned by the factory owners. 'They feel that we could spell trouble if we unite and oppose the exploitation we are subjected to. So they prefer people from other states. Outsiders are more amenable to control and accept any salary and terms that are offered to them.' Jagdish's wife, Rajeshwari, was employed in a garment factory. Five years ago, the unit relocated from Sahibabad to Gurgaon. Rajeshwari hasn't found another job. In the 1970s, the UP government, in furtherance of the Nehruvian model of industrial development, sought to create a climate for rapid growth in this area. On the Delhi-Ghaziabad border, as elsewhere in the country, farmers were sacrificed at the altar of economic progress. Between 1969 and 1978, the state government took 1495 acres from six villages for Sahibabad Industrial Area Site 4.

Large tracts of agricultural land were acquired in Karkar model village as well. Initially, land acquisition was necessitated by the need to set up new industrial units. In the 1990s, post-economic liberalisation, all the remaining farm areas were mopped up for the construction of residential blocks.

Chailu Singh Raghav, 80, still remembers the day when bulldozers rumbled into his village and crushed the wheat crop. The illiterate villagers could not quite comprehend what was happening. They were too shell-shocked to react.

Chailu Singh says, 'The government acquired around 160 bigha. We haven't received any compensation till date. In 1979 the government gave us an interim grant of Rs 1100 per bigha. Now that amount is being passed off as our compensation. We have been cheated. So we are fighting a legal battle ever since.'

Many erstwhile farmers of Karkar model village are in the same soup. This village of 10,000 people is now just another urban slum. About 50,000 migrant workers reside here in small rooms rented out by farmers who need to supplement their income.

The locals here are mostly Thakurs who once lorded over acres of land. Many of them are today daily wage workers. Some have opened small groceries, vegetable kiosks and sweetmeat shops.

Others like 62-year-old Gyan Chand Raghav have become carpenters. He once had 12 acres of land. He says, 'The government betrayed us. They never gave us our compensation. By the time we realised what the intentions of the government were, it was too late.'

In 1992, Gyan Chand reveals, the local people launched a movement and staged a dharna at the district magistrate's office. They sought justice. What they got was imprisonment.'

The youth constitute half of Karkar's population. Most of the 5,000 young people here are unemployed and work as daily wagers. There is strong discontent among this generation of deprived farmers. That is why the villagers did not celebrate Independence Day this year.

Sushil Raghav, a young journalist who spearheads the ongoing fight for justice for the Karkar farmers, says: 'What freedom? Our land was taken away. There are no employment opportunities here. The government treats us like slaves.'

Two and a half years ago, a Land Reforms Council was constituted under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into the grievances of farmers around the country. The council has not met even once to date. Social activist Medha Patkar, says: "Land acquisition laws are in need of sweeping changes. We have submitted a draft to Mrs Gandhi and she has forwarded it to the Union Cabinet." Moreover, the parliamentary standing committee of the Union rural development ministry has recommended the introduction of a new Act to replace the one formulated by the British. But there has been no significant forward movement in this regard.

No wonder resentment runs deep among the youth of Karkar. 'We gave our land. In return we were neither given any alternative plot nor a job,' says Sushil. The Land Acquisition Act of 1894 clearly provides that if land is taken from a farmer for setting up a factory, at least one member of the affected family will be absorbed by the new industrial establishment. 'This law,' says Sushil, "also provides for rehabilitation of the farmers. But that provision has remained on paper. We don't have jobs, no compensation and no hope of rehabilitation.'

Youngsters of Karkar not only want government jobs but also ten per cent of the land they surrendered. Their land was acquired ostensibly to bolster industrial growth and, by extension, employment opportunities. But the only people who have benefitted are big-time builders and wealthy entrepreneurs. The rapid mushrooming of factories has led to environmental degradation. Locals allege that many residents have died of cancer in the area in recent years.

Sushil says: "Our land was acquired for industries. But now officials and industrialists are changing the land use and constructing malls, multiplexes and five-star hotels. On my plot, a five-star hotel and shopping complex have been constructed. When I registered my objection, the administration told me if the purpose of acquiring the land was not served, I would get my plot back at the price at which it was originally acquired.'

If land acquired for industries is used for the construction of a commercial property, it is mandatory to change the land use. It is a long-drawn process. An advertisement has to be published in a daily asking the public whether they have any objections regarding the matter.

Sushil says, 'Usually there are no advertisements. When I filed an RTI plea, I received no reply for 11 months. But it probably alerted the administration. Some advertisements regarding land use were inserted in English newspapers. Farmers here cannot read English.

The villagers have lodged a protest against this ruse.'

Karkar is only one of thousands of Indian villages that have been left behind, if not completely crushed, by the wheels of industrial development. As India shines bright, the world of these hapless farmers plunges deeper and deeper into darkness. Jagdish Raghav and his rickety rickshaw can only go round in circles. There does not seem to be a way out of this morass.

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The Bald Eagle and the Arabian Mirage

2011-03-14T11:27:00.000+05:30

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As America shapes its Iranian discourse on the flawed logic of Arab's Persian mistrust, Tehran has the last laugh on the Arab streets

Peter the Great, the Tsar of Russia, used to take on Sweden quite frequently, during the days of latter's dominion in Scandinavia, and used to get thrashed every now and then. During one of those hundreds of defeats, he is purported to have said to his gloomy general: 'Be not concerned! Eventually the Swedes are going to teach us how to fight.' And that is what happened. Peter managed to stop the Swedes' Eastward march by learning the tricks of the trade from the Swedes themselves.

The 2010 Arab Public Opinion Poll by Zogby International and Maryland University says the same about Iran. After being whacked by the US all these years in propaganda warfare, the Iranians seem to have learnt the tricks and have successfully applied them on the US itself.

This magazine for quite a long time has maintained that the policy debates and discourses about Iran in the US are warped by a number of 'myths' and 'misinformation'. This misinformation mainly concerns the functioning of the regime, its domestic and foreign policies, its outreach and its power'both hard and soft. Among these scores of misinformation, the most significant one that has been driving the Tehran discourse in Washington is through strenuous diplomatic exploit, the US can isolate the Islamic Republic of Iran, both regionally and globally. And how do Americans believe that they can achieve this? The entire gameplan to isolate Iran in the Gulf is based on a proposition that since Iran has a deep-rooted Persian identity and that it adheres to Shiite Islam unlike many of the countries in the region, it will always be viewed with mistrust, if not outright resentment, by West Asia's mostly Sunni Arab populace. The poll suggests that these assumptions are just that - assumptions. Not only is this unchallenged but is, in fact, diametrically opposite to what Arab street thinks.

The Iranian discourse was propelled by the proposition that this supposed mistrust and antagonism against Iran in the region can be played up to convince Arabs that a nuclear-armed Iran is more dangerous than the obviously nuclear-armed Israel.

'The suggestion that the US has a staid and tactically dynamic alternative to isolate Iran in its region is, evidently, not new ' it is mirrored in efforts by the Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama administrations to build a regional federation to 'contain' Iran, encompassing 'moderate' Sunni Arab nations along with Israel. But this conception has gained a larger toehold of late, beside claims of 'rumblings' that fresh sanctions have started to kindle domestic political strain on the Iranian regime,' says Jim Lobe, a Washington-based Iran analyst. 'But these efforts are yet to see the light of day primarily because they are based on deeply flawed assumptions.'

Shibley Telhami released the results of his 2010 Arab Public Opinion Poll, conducted annually with Zogby International. One must also keep in mind that Telhami holds the Anwar Sadat Chair at the University of Maryland and is a non-resident fellow at the Saban Centre for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. So it is very clear that he can be anything but a 'pro-Iranian' voice. The results can barely be reassuring for those who would like to deem that the Islamic Republic is becoming alienated from its regional neighbours and that Arabs are all set to be on their feet alongside Israelis to shore up military exploits by Israel or the US against Iranian nuclear mark.

Among the respondents, a bulk ' 57 per cent ' thinks that Iran's nuclear programme is intended at developing nuclear weapons. Nonetheless, an even larger preponderance of these exclusively Arab respondents ' 77 per cent ' perceives that Iran has the right to follow its nuclear programme; only 20 per cent consent that Iran should be stressed by the global community to discontinue the programme. The figure for the support is up from 53 per cent in 2009.

Ironically, in Egypt and Morocco, two of the Arab countries whom the West perceives as strongly anti-Iran, vast majorities among those who deem that Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at achieving nuclear weapons capability ' 81 per cent and 84 per cent respectively consider that Iran is within its sovereign right to do so. Even in Wahabi Saudi Arabia, around half of the population wants Iran to develop such weapons and consider that act rightful.

However, the most extraordinary conclusion in this year's poll is that 57 per cent of the respondents consider that Iran's attainment of nuclear weapons would be a positive and constructive outcome for the region, whilst merely 21 per cent deem this to be a negative outcome.

This strengthens this magazine's estimation that however much a few Sunni Arab privileged ' and they are not many frankly ' might wish to witness Iran being 'cut down to size', there is extremely diminutive popular support for conflict with the Iranian regime on the Arab alleys.

It appears Washington has been building its perceptions about things based on the views of Arab diplomats and so-called experts who have been widely out-of-sync with opinion on the streets. Leave alone buying their argument on Iran.

Asked to rank the two nations that pose the principal threat to the Arab world, 88 per cent of the voters named Israel and 77 per cent named the US ' the top two scorers on this query, by orders of enormity over any other nation on the globe. Contrary to that, merely 10 per cent Arabs think Iran to be a bigger threat than both these countries. And just to put it in perspective, these polls were not conducted in Syria, Iraq, Qatar and among Gazans and other Palestinians living under Israeli occupation'the groups who are supposed to be pro-Iranian and staunchly anti-American.

And if that was not enough, when asked to name the world leader that they approve of the most, 12 per cent of the Arab respondents named Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It makes him the third most admired leader in the Arab world'after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. 'Arab perceptions of the US are shaped principally through the prism of the Arab-Israeli question. And Arab perceptions of Iran are truly the function of perceptions of the US and projection for harmony in the Middle East,' says Hillary Mann Leveret, an ex-US official and an Iran watcher based in Washington DC, while talking to TSI.

It reflects that Arabs have shifted from their wait-and-see approach toward the incumbent president and the support for Iran is being perceived as a manifestation of that resentment and frustration.

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Sergey Prokofiev to Anonymous

2011-01-30T10:53:00.001+05:30

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Born in Sontsovka, Ukraine, Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev is considered one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. He was also an accomplished pianist and conductor. Like other great composers he mastered a wide range of musical genres, including symphonies, concerti, film music, operas, ballets, and program pieces. At the time, his works were considered both ultra-modern and innovative. In the following anonymous letter, Sergey talks about a girl, who caught his fancy, and her repeated request to create an Assyrian music.

January 24, 1909

Dear Friend,

I saw Glagoleva again on Thursday. She greeted me with the words: 'You're just the person I'm looking for!' What it is about, and it seems to be urgent, is that she has a dancing partner of some kind with whom she wants to perform an Assyrian dance in Assyrian costume, and there is accordingly a need for some Assyrian music to dance to. Hence her appeal to me as a knowledgeable and competent person in such matters.

I said she would have perfectly fine Assyrian music if she could just get hold of an old frying pan, and that would fit the bill quite satisfactorily, but she objected reasonably enough that the Assyrians featured a lute or something of the sort in their music. Could I not dig up some Assyrian motif and then write some music based on it? I explained that just a motif on its own would not be much use since it would need some harmony to go with it, and the Assyrians evidently lacking any concept of harmony, one would have to cobble together some conventional Oriental harmonies. So would it not be easier to get hold of some music that already existed? I made enquiries of a Sacchetti student who happened to be passing (say what you like, but Sacchetti does have a first-class knowledge of the history of music) and he pointed us in the direction of Empress of Saba, which we found straight away in the Conservatoire library. I started to play it and picked out a few places while Glagoleva listened. We soon alighted on the Processional March in the first act, which sent Glagoleva into raptures both about the music and about my playing of it'sight-reading, if you please, and so beautifully! It was exactly what she needed, and of course nobody but me would do to accompany her. I declined. Glagoleva started to plead, politely making sure she had my first name and patronymic and so on correct. After all, we would only need four rehearsals of an hour and a half each, over in Petersburgskaya Storona! I was inexorable. 'Cross my heart and hope to die, I have a chess congress starting in a few days!'

'Well, please come on Sunday. That way the three of us'you, I and my partner'can at least work out how and what we are going to dance!'

I remained unmoved, enjoying the sensation of resisting this beautiful girl whose slightest whim was obeyed by all at a wave of her hand. 'I suffer from chronic allergies that give me a cold in the head and I am forbidden to go anywhere near Petersburgskaya Storona. Come to the lesson on Monday, I'll be there as well, and bring your partner along. We'll be able to sort something out then!'

Glagoleva consented, and that was how it was left between us.

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WEST ASIA DISAGREEMENT: The Gulf within

2011-01-27T09:50:00.001+05:30

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Contrary to Neocon narrative, GCC remains divided over its relations with Iran, says Saurabh Kumar Shahi

The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, is in the eye of a storm for the observations he made vis-a-vis Iran. Comments carried by major news outlets of the world suggested that al-Otaiba confessed to a tacit support for an American military adventure on Iranian nuclear targets.

'I think it's a cost-benefit analysis. I think despite the large amount of trade we do with Iran, which is close to $12 billion, there will be consequences, there will be backlash and there will be problems with people protesting and rioting and very unhappy that there is an outside force attacking a Muslim country; that is going to happen no matter what. If you are asking me, 'Am I willing to live with that versus living with a nuclear Iran', my answer is still the same: We cannot live with a nuclear Iran. I am willing to absorb what takes place at the expense of the security of the UAE,' al-Otaiba was reported to have said.

The comment has renewed the focus on the attitude of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries towards the Iranian nuclear issue. Looking at the direction of debate in Washington, there are fair chances that al-Otaiba's comments will be used by neoconservative reporters and lobbyists to push their case. Essentially, his comments will be considered as sort of endorsement to the AIPAC's grossly misguided line: that Iran is a potential threat to all US allies, not just Israel and that the region's Arab autocracies and monarchies are deeply apprehensive of the 'potential threat' of Iran rather than the Palestinian issue. It will essentially mean that AIPAC will be able to convince the administration that containing Iran is a good proposition not only for Israel but for America's Arab allies as well.

Under the circumstances, it is essential to counter such line of thought that seems to be deliberately misrepresenting that attitude of GCC vis-a-vis US-Iranian confrontation. The line taken by Neocons are too simplistic and suggest that they consider GCC to be a monolith. The reality is pretty different. In fact, attitudes of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia, the constituents of GCC, with regards to Iranian issue is singularly complex and, more often then none, conflicting too. Talking to TSI, Jasim Husain Ali, A Bahraini analyst of GCC affairs said, 'The actions of Saudi Arabia and the UAE toward Iran threaten further divisions within the GCC, thereby further undermining prospects for attaining genuine regional integration. For their parts, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait seem determined to maintain normal neighbourly ties with Iran. Also, Bahrain is said to be close to signing a deal allowing for the import of Iranian gas for its industries.'

So, it is pretty evident that the narrative is not that linear as AIPAC and Neocons would like us to believe. Also, it is very surprising that although UAE and Saudi Arabia have a list of differences over the role of GCC, they appear pretty joint-at-the-hip on one issue'making antagonistic gestures towards Iran. Therefore, it is much more than a coincidence that within weeks, The Times, in one of its report alleged covert Saudi assistance to Israel for a prospective military strike against Iran. Just a week later, the UAE seems to have spearheaded the campaign against Iranian business interests under the guise of implementing UNSC Resolution 1929.

While Saudi's Wahhabi influenced monarchy's motive is well documented, it's UAE that is acting hawkish lately. Very shortly, these nations will find themselves at crossroads. Because if they insist on maintaining the US status quo, whereas many emerging regional powers are resisting, these monarchies might get slighted by the rising eastern alliances of Syria, Iran, Hezbollah and Turkey. And if they do otherwise, the Neocons in Washington may well seek other means to make them fall in line' for example regime change by covert means.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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2011-01-24T14:40:00.002+05:30

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While I was in Alexandria with my old friends Zulekha and Yousuf, I received a phone call from Dr. Ehtesham, an American-Pakistani retired Orthopaedic surgeon to come to Dallas (Texas) to attend the 3-day alumni convention of APPNA. He said he had to read a paper on Pakistani media there but since I was here, he will drop out so that I may read the paper instead. I didn't say anything. Ehtesham didn't mention who would bear the travelling cost.

After a week or so, he called me again and said since I had not responded, APPNA has arranged Tarek Fateh instead to speak on media. 'Bhool gaye the kya?' (Did you forget?).

I said it's OK if they have selected Tarek, although I had written a 2,000-word story on Pakistan's print media a couple of years ago for the Press Institute of India. But I did not have a copy of the same in the US.

In the meanwhile, my old friend from National Students Federation (NSF) and author of Chasing the Mirage Tarek Fatah called and said I should come to Dallas. He is a Canadian national now. He booked my ticket from there immediately through American Airlines.

I decided to go. I reached the airport 10 minutes late. I got a boarding card and was then through security clearance. I was satisfied that after getting a boarding card I won't miss the flight. It would wait for me. But the American Airlines flight departed on time. However, the staff was kind enough to book me on another flight that was departing at 10 am. I made a call to Zulekha and told her to inform Tarek that I will be coming by another flight.

Tarek was waiting for me at the Dallas airport. We embraced each other and then shifted to the hotel.

Tarek Fatah was General Secretary of left-wing National Students Federation (NSF) in our university days while I was a Central Committee member. It was Tarek who suggested that I should take admission in B.Sc (Honours) in 1969 since Nayyar Aziz Mazoodi (who later became principal of Sindh Medical College in Karachi and passed away a couple of years ago) was leaving since he had completed his Masters and I had to make a unit in that department. It was also Tarek who inculcated in me the habit of reading International Affairs, Moscow News and New Times.

Tarek was angry that nobody was there to receive us. It was a huge event where as many as 4,000 American physicians of Pakistani origin were participating besides top scientists, intellectuals etc.

Tarek called Dr Shazia, an American family physician of Pakistani origin, women's and human rights activist and a writer. She came immediately and showed us our room. Me and Tarek were given the same room to stay.

It was a huge carnival like meeting where families of the physicians had also been invited. An election was also being conducted. I was inspired by Dr Shazia's enthusiasm and asked her to suggest somebody whom I could interview but he/she should not be a veteran. She proposed that I can interviewed her. I agreed.

I was happy to be among so many people but was looking for friends from Dow Medical College, Karachi where I used to go almost daily during my student life and had many friends. Ultimately I found some of them. Though it was memorable, I felt the expenditure was lavish.

I came back to Alexandria after three days and then went to Richmond, capital of Virginia, to interview Dr Shazia. Interestingly she also requested me for an interview which I readily agreed to. She wanted that stuff for her YouTube thing. From there I returned to Alexandria on Sunday afternoon.

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INDIA ACCOUNTABILITY: Babudom under threat

2010-12-28T16:55:00.002+05:30

IIPM Prof Rajita Chaudhuri: The New Age Woman

eSLA is an initiative praiseworthy, the fear is in its implementation

Accountability and transparency in government offices are still a distant dream. The burden and cost of it can be easily gauged in every departments. Almost every day every one of us faces the brunt of bureaucracy and bears the burden of inefficiency in life, be it issuing a ration card or voter card or driving license. Unfortunately, nothing much has been achieved so far on this front.

However, things are expected to improve, especially in Delhi. People of Delhi are finally going to experience some relief and expect accountability from government officials. The Delhi government, being inspired by buzz words like accountability and transparency has planned to launch its online eSLA (Service Level Agreement) programme by next week. Service Level Agreement means the company takes the sole responsibility of customer service and quality. This ambitious project, if "properly" implemented, will benefit the common people in many ways. It will help people to know where the files are stuck with which officials and how long it will further take to clear. As per the plan, the transport department, the food & supplies department, trade & taxes, office of the divisional commissioner, MCD, NDMC and the office of the chief electoral commissioner will be covered by the eSLA. Moreover, government officials will be fined for delay in meeting the deadlines in issuing documents. For example, the maximum deadlines of the services like issuing ration cards, permanent license, election I-card, caste certificate etc. are 45 days, within one day, one month, 21 days respectively. If officials fail to meet the deadlines, they will be fined from Rs10 to Rs 200 depending on positions in the respective departments.

Well, it is definitely a big step undertaken and can become a milestone. It has many other reasons to be relevant. It will help, first of all, to generate relevant data. The exact figure of ration cards or election I-card issued or number of children born or people die every month in Delhi every day is not known. It is always an average figure that is revealed. But with eSLA, the exact figures would be registered. The entire system would become automated, transparent and thus systematic. There are some technical difficulties and there will always be, but its importance and application is of utmost importance especially for a nation like ours which is suffering severely from corruption. The same should be adopted nationwide. There were speculations over the feasibility of RTI, it is doing wonders today. The Right To Education Act and The Right To Food Security Act are underway. Enough laws and policies are undertaken. Commitment from our polity is questionable and will always be so. Thus, it is becoming all the more important now to have more of such policies. Are we not right?

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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An exclusive TSI-CVoter Opinion Poll on politics and governance

2010-12-14T13:02:00.003+05:30

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What do you see Rahul Gandhi as?

The scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty is credited with turning around the party's image in the Hindi heartland and making it more youth-centric. Equally at ease in a Dalit hamlet in Uttar Pradesh as well as a reputed Delhi college, the Congress' Prince charming has surely left a lasting impression on the minds of his countrymen as is evident from this poll.

Who do you think is responsible for price rise?

The Central government has been held widely responsible but more people have still held black marketing and hoarding as the principal reason. Rising prices of essential goods including foodstuff and fuel has hit both low and middle income groups. It is widely believed that the Union agriculture ministry and the state governments did not play any proactive role to alleviate people's hardship. The Opposition BJP has also accused the Prime Minister of turning a blind eye to the problem for the sake of coalition politics. In spite of the price rise blot, the Congress won. Why?

The overwhelming opinion seems to be the Opposition's lack of trustworthiness and its failure to turn this into a major election issue. A sizeable percentage also believes that it was not just the Congress' fault.

What is the reason behind the failure of BJP in acting as a good Opposition Party?

The BJP prospects have been marred by internal squabbling. Nitin Gadkari has been brought in to unify the party's rank and file but he is widely perceived to be the RSS' man in the party. It is yet to recover from the shock of the LS polls.

Are you satisfied with the performance of your Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh? How would you rate Dr Singh's performance?

The economist seems to be going from strength to strength. The soft-spoken, mild-mannered Sikh gentleman has a picture-perfect clean image. Though perceived to be pro-reforms, he has maintained a balance between sweeping economic reforms and populist, pro-poor measures. Not the proverbial Indian politician, Dr Singh keeps away from party matters as far as possible and concentrates on running the government. Having faced a lot of flak for his non-interference in the manner in which the Union agriculture ministry has handled the price rise issue, his government has been crucially undecisive about ways to tackle the growing Maoist influence. However, a weak Opposition has been God-sent for this man of few words.

Satisfied with the performance of Sushma Swaraj?

The current Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha has failed to take the Congress to task in the Lower House. Factionalism within the party as well as a lack of charisma on part of the tallest leaders have made Swaraj's task harder. She will need to make a deep impression if the BJP's image and future poll prospects are to brighten.

Satisfied with the performance of NDA Chief L.K. Advani?

The BJP's Man of Iron, the former Deputy Prime Minister and one of the talismans of the Ram Mandir movement seems to have lost all steam. BJP insiders have repeatedly blamed him for failing to re-invent the BJP's image in the post-Mandir agitation political scenario. While his role is now more symbolic, the party patriarch has also had major differences with the various outfits of the Sangh Parivar.

Satisfied with the performance of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi?

The lady from Italy has proved to be the BJP's ultimate nemesis. By maintaining a dignified distance from running the government and by astute handling of allies and party members, the UPA supremo has approval ratings double than that of L.K. Advani. Never in the forefront, she has been ably assisted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee among others. Are you satisfied with the performance of the sitting MP of your area?

Do you agree with incorporation of caste in the census ?

Apparently trying to play it safe for the time being and buy some time, the UPA government, towards the end of May 2010, deferred a decision on inclusion of caste in Census but the Cabinet is overwhelmingly in support of the inclusion with the exceptions of Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma and MS Gill. Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has been entrusted to lead a group of ministers who will thrash out the modalities of enumerating caste in the ongoing decennial Census operations. BJP has alleged that Congress is using CBI against its political rivals. Do you agree with this?

The CBI has turned into the Congress Bureau of Investigation, allege Opposition leaders. They say the CBI is making little headway on the bomb blast cases but is feverishly probing into disproportionate asset cases against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati. Even the Left is miffed about enquiries in Kerala. What are your views about Today's India?

While most respondents from the middle and higher income groups climb India's rocket growth curve, people from lower income groups, specially in the rural parts, have been hard done in by inflation and crop failure. Well, India is not really shining, it seems. Performance of the Central Government?

The UPA does not have much to rejoice. Most people feel its performance has been average. The numbers of people who feel it has fared well and poor are pretty much the same. If the government does not take the price rise issue seriously and take steps to control inflation, the public opinion may change drastically. There are many problems facing our country today. The Most Important issue : First Choice

Most of the respondents feel that terror strikes, rising unemployment, escalating prices, lack of facilites and basic infrastructure and, of course, the perennial problem of corruption need to be tackled. Surprisingly the Maoist problem found no takers. Even the education system drew minimal flak. In last one year your living standard

The urban middle class and higher income group people thought their living standard has improved. This can, of course, be attributed to higher consumer spending and a good growth rate rather than generation of jobs or rise in salaries.

Mood of the Nation

Cong holds ground in season of doubt

The TSI-C VOTER survey on Mood of the Nation surprisingly augurs well for the Congress party and the UPA-II dispensation that it leads. No body would have thought of this outcome considering the ever-increasing price burden put on people and the ever-growing Maoist influence in various states of the country. What perhaps has not been surprising is the dismal perception about the main Opposition BJP. It seems the Saffron party is failing its responsibility of acting as a credible counterweight to the Congress or so feel the respondents.

The face of the country, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, has had a thumbs up from the respondents with 45 per cent calling his performance good and 33 per cent average as against only 18 per cent rating him poor. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about current Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj with 34 per cent people terming her work as poor, 31 per cent average and only 20 per cent good. NDA supremo and once-talismanic L.K.Advani seems down in the pits with 44 per cent respondents calling his performance poor as against 29 per cent average and only 18 per cent terming his work good. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has got favourable response too, with 46 per cent marking her performance good and 29 per cent average as against 20 per cent calling her work poor. About 53 per cent of the respondents feel that Congress scion Rahul Gandhi should be made the Prime Minister and 43 per cent say he is a ray of hope for Indian politics.

The current Central government has fared well according to 30 per cent of the respondents where as 42 per cent termed its performance average with 26 per cent saying it is poor. The feel good factor, however, abandons the Congress when people vent their opinion on price rise. Most, at 33 per cent, hold the black market responsible while 30 per cent say the Centre is responsible. State governments have nearly been absolved of their responsibilities for the same. About 15 per cent of the people surveyed say that the Congress fared well in the Lok Sabha elections in spite of the price rise as people did not trust the Opposition. Another 16 per cent say the Congress alone is not responsible for the rising prices while 9 per cent say the Opposition failed to turn price rise into a raging election issue.

Most people (41 per cent) feel that internal politics of BJP is responsible for its failure to act as a good Opposition party while 19 per cent blamed lack of coordination between other Opposition parties for the mess.

On inclusion of the contentious caste category in Census, public opinion is evenly divided for and against. The survey throws up curious statistics on people's awareness about different bills discussed in Parliament. Where as 37 per cent are aware of the names of a few bills tabled in Parliament, only six per cent are aware of the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill. Only three per cent of the respondents were familiar with the Prevention of Torture Bill. Methodology

The Mood of the Nation opinion poll has been carried out with a national representative sample of 8,721 randomly selected respondents. The survey was done with CVoter's specially designed Computer Assisted Telephonic Interviews (CATI) process across 180 Lok Sabha seats. The survey was conducted in April-May 2010. The data received has been weighted to India's Census profile. Margin of error is plus or minus 3 per cent. As part of our Mood of the Nation initiative, CVoter is now keeping weekly track of the pulse of the people and what India's rural and urban masses are thinking and feeling about local and national governance. This is being facilitated by CVoter's Weekly Omnibus wherein our researchers quiz voters for their perception about the performance of the country's political leaders. They also keep a tab on the contemporary issues that matter to the masses. We hope that the initiative will not just help voters make their voices heard but will also hopefully serve as a weekly reminder to the nation's political bosses about the immediate and long-term needs and ambitions of the voters who brought them to power in the first place. SCORE: 0=Worst & 10=Best

-6.58

Are you satisfied with the performance of the Central government? How would you rate the current government's performance?

6.39

Are you satisfied with the performance of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh? How would you rate his performance?

5.13

Are you satisfied with the performance of the Leader of Opposition, Sushma Swaraj? How would you rate her work?

6.59

Are you satisfied with the performance of the UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi? How would you rate her work?

4.73

Are you satisfied with the performance of NDA Chief L.K.Advani? How would you rate the leader's performance?

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Nipped in the bud

2010-11-30T12:10:00.002+05:30

Prof Rajita Chaudhuri on 'THEY ARE COMING TO GET YOU – NOT ALIENS SILLY'

Arrested for alleged complicity in the Lajpat Nagar blasts when he was just 16, Syed Muhammad Maqbool Shah was acquitted when he was 30. Haroon Reshi spends time with him and brings out a moving picture of gross human rights violation.

Nipped in the bud After 14 long years of imprisonment, Syed Muhammad Maqbool Shah (now 30) finds it difficult to resume his life at the same pace and with the same passion as he could have done nearly one and a half decades back.

In early 1996, he had just passed his 11th standard examination from the Gandhi Memorial College in Srinagar when he planned a visit to Delhi where his two elder brothers stayed in connection with their (Kashmir Art) business.

The 16-year-old boy was full of joy as he left his home in the Lal Bazar area of Srinagar in April 1996. It was his first tour outside Kashmir. He could have never imagined that he would not be able to see his family for the coming 14 years.

Maqbool's journey out of Kashmir proved to be a horrible turning point in his life. A few days after he arrived in Delhi, a bomb blast ripped through the Lajpat Nagar market in south Delhi, killing 13 people and injuring 38.

Soon after the incident, the Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested 10 accused from different parts of the country. Maqbool was among them. Nine of the arrested people, including a woman, hailed from Kashmir. Mohammad Naushad, the sole exception, was from Delhi. Maqbool, the youngest of the accused, was initially kept in the juvenile jail of Tihar for a couple of years and was later shifted to the main prison.

On April 8, 2010, a Delhi court convicted 6 of the 10 accused and acquitted four others, including Maqbool.

Mohammad Ali Bhatt, Mirza Nissar (both from Srinagar) and Mohammad Naushad were sentenced to death and three others, including the woman, were held guilty under the Explosive Substances Act and the Arms Act to face a maximum punishment of seven years' imprisonment.
Maqbool is now trying to resume his normal life but he is still shaken, physically as well as mentally. His happiness at rejoining his family has been overshadowed by the pain of losing his father and sister during the period he was in prison. Before entering his Srinagar home on April 11, Maqbool went to the cemetery to pay his respects to his father Syed Muhammad Shah and sister Hadeesa Bano. He embraced the graves and broke into tears.

Everyone else was in tears too. His father died a year after his arrest while his 24-year-old sister passed away a month after she had visited him at Tihar. Family members say that both the father and his daughter were traumatised by Maqbool's arrest. When Maqbool returned home, the first thing he noticed was a huge walnut tree in the middle of the lawn. The tree was planted by his father a few years before Maqbool's arrest. 'I was stunned to see a huge tree with fruits as it was very small when I had seen it last time,' Maqbool tells TSI. 'Every thing has changed here. It is like a new world for me,' he adds.

These days, youngsters at home, are teaching him how to operate a mobile phone as there were no mobile phones in Kashmir (due to security reasons) when Maqbool had left home 14 years back.

'There was only one landline in this whole area at that time and now every person is having a mobile phone in his pocket,' he exclaims.

'I have learnt how to receive a call. I can also play a game. Now I am learning how to find contact numbers from the phone memory,' he says.

Maqbool is excited in a similar way about the 'money machine'. One of his childhood friends took him to an ATM to show him how it worked.

'The money machine is really a miraculous thing. I will certainly open an account in the bank once I get some money so that I too can use this cash-dispensing machine,' says Maqbool. Maqbool is also taken aback by the spiralling price rise that has affected the Valley. 'Every thing is so costly,' he says. He was surprised when a salon owner charged him Rs 45 for a shave and a hair cut.

'I used to pay only Rs 15 in those days. Now they charge more than triple. It is really worrisome,' he tells TSI.

Maqbool is also amazed by the maddening traffic on the roads. He says, 'It seems every one here owns a car. Every road is full of vehicles. We used to play cricket even on the link roads of the Lal Bazar but now they too remain full of vehicles.'

These days Maqbool is invited for lunch and dinner by his relatives and friends. But he hardly recognises many of them. 'Those who were small kids at that time have grown up and I find it difficult to recognise them,' he says.

Maqbool feels that 'Kashmir has changed, developed and progressed over the past 14 years.' However he is sorrowful over the condition of his own home. 'My brothers were businessmen. They would collect papermache products from craftsmen in Kashmir and sell them to Delhi shopkeepers. But now they have lost all that business. Now my brothers are themselves working as craftsmen. Poverty becomes evident once one visits my home. Every one around has grown rich but my family has lost every thing due to this unfortunate occurrence,' says Maqbool.

'We closed down our business in Delhi as the police had seized all our business documents and bill books. We had some savings at that time but we lost it too, fighting for justice in courts,' adds Maqbool's brother Syed Hassan Shah.

'They have ruined us by imprisoning my innocent son for 14 years. How could they think that a child was involved in such a big crime? I have lost my husband and daughter due to this,' 75-year-old Zoona Begum, Maqbool's mother, tells TSI.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) has urged the government to compensate Maqbool for gross violation of human rights.

CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat recently demanded in the Rajya Sabha that Maqbool should be 'adequately compensated" for the injustice he has faced.

'The Centre should intervene and give him a job to ensure a secure life. He has been a victim of a totally flawed investigation and we cannot shrug it off as collateral damage. We should rehabilitate him in order to send the right message to the people of Jammu and Kashmir,' Brinda said in Parliament.

'The society and the country owed compensation to Sayeed Maqbool Shah for gross violation of human rights,' she added. The demand by a Rajya Sabha member has raised Maqbool's hopes.

He says, 'I hope they (Central Government) will pay attention to this demand. It is the moral responsibility of the government to provide me with all the facilities that I need to lead a respectable life. And, it is the very least I am asking for. I am not asking for justice because I know they can not deliver. the same.'

'They detained me illegally, charged me with serious crimes and imprisoned me for 14 long years. Now they themselves accept that I was not guilty and they have released me. But I want to ask them that who will give me my 14 years back? Can they return me my youth? Can they bring back my educational career? Most of all can they bring my father and sister back,' asks a visibly annoyed Maqbool.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Fighting floods, inviting funds

2010-11-18T15:56:00.002+05:30

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B S Yeddyurappa, the first BJP chief minister in south India, will complete two years in the office on May 30. busy organising the much hyped Global Investors’ Meet to be held in June, he claims it would throw open new avenues of development in the state. Some would agree, others not. B S NarayanaSwamy grills the CM on issues political and social exclusively for TSI

You’ve been in office for two years. Are you satisfied with the work done by your government so far?

A person should not be satisfied with the results at any point. Because once you are satisfied, you are likely to stop working hard. We have done a lot of work in the last two years, but a lot more remains to be done in the coming years.

Your government is going to spend hundreds of crores of rupees on the two-day Global Investors Meet (GIM) next month in Bangalore. How feasible is the move to invite huge investments when the state is facing a severe power crunch?

Some brainless people are spreading the rumour that we are spending Rs 1000 crore on GIM. Actually, the expenditure is not even Rs 100 crore. As for the power crisis, I would like to inform you that the government is not going to provide power to every new industry. Many industries would generate power for themselves and would perhaps give the surplus to us. There’s no need to worry.

I am sure that in terms of the overall development of the state, the GIM will become a milestone. We are expecting to attract huge investments—about four lakh crore rupees, to be precise—in a number of areas such as infrastructure, micro and small enterprises, tourism, education, power and health. We are focussing on development in both rural and industrial sectors and simultaneously to generate employment. Many global industrial giants are participating in the event.

It’s being said that the government is more interested in global investment than in rehabilitating lakhs of people displaced by last year’s massive flood?

During the last two-three decades, more than 350 villages have been repeatedly ravaged by floods. But previous governments did not care to make any arrangements for the rehabilitation of those affected. Last year’s flood was of unprecedented magnitude. Now they (the Opposition) are accusing us of not paying attention to this matter. But the fact is that my government is keen to rehabilitate flood-affected people, and we have already done a lot for them. We have distributed the compensation money and have allotted dwelling units to the affected. We are planning to allot around 10,000 more houses this month. It was delayed due to the model code of conduct for the gram panchayat elections. We have acquired around 5000 acres of land to build more dwelling units for the affected. The process for laying power lines and providing drinking water is on. Why, even union home minister Mr. P. Chidambaram appreciated our efforts and speedy work towards rehabilitation.

According to a recent study jointly conducted by FICCI and KAF (Konrad Adenauer Foundation), 42 per cent of the investors are not happy with conditions in the state. They say starting a business here is difficult…

As compared to the neighbouring states, Karnataka has far better conditions and infrastructure for investment. Perhaps the only difficulty is the power supply. But we have already taken steps to generate sufficient power. I hope Karnataka would be self-sufficient in the power sector very soon. The Opposition says that the power crisis is not as much about production as it is about distribution? Is it true?

They make these accusations to hide their own mistakes committed during their rule. The power leakage during distribution has come down by 25 per cent in our regime.

Your government has repeatedly been accused of trying to protect some tainted ministers. The Opposition has been demanding their dismissal but you have not yielded so far?

It’s not the Opposition’s job to advise as to who should be in the cabinet and who should be thrown out. It’s the people, and not the Opposition, who decide who is tainted and who’s not. And the people have given their mandate to us. There is no tainted minister in my cabinet. The Opposition keeps levelling such accusation just for the sake of it.

What do you think of the Governor’s show-cause notice to your tourism minister G. Janardhana Reddy, seeking explanation on his alleged involvement in some illegal activities?

I don’t want to comment on this.

Experts have opined that the recently inaugurated Mysore airport has failed to meet international standards…

I have already made it clear that we will extend full support to the agencies concerned for putting in place the safety mechanisms in Mysore airport and the other proposed airports in Shimoga and Gulbarga. We have instructed that passenger safety should be given priority in the construction of these two airports.

Why has your promise of granting more power to the Lokayukta not materialised yet?

The issue will be discussed in the coming Legislative Assembly session. We will take a decision soon.

What’s your opinion on the UPA government’s proposed amendments to the RTI Act?

The central government should not take any decision in this regard in a hurry. It should allow for a national debate on the issue and then consider all shades of opinion before taking a final decision on the amendment to the RTI Act.

Which department in the state has been the best performer in your view?

I would not like to mention any particular department. All the departments are development-oriented though some departments need to initiate more reforms. I am glad to mention that in the rural development area, we are the number one state in the country. Also, Mysore is rated as the second best city in Indian in terms of sanitation and overall cleanliness.

Your government has seen many controversies during the two years of your rule. How do you feel regarding these imbroglios?

We have passed through many agni pareekshas (trials by fire) successfully in the last two years of my regime. We are confident that we will complete the remaining three years just as successfully.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Run after passion and not money, says Arindam Chaudhuri
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Social Networking Sites have become advertising shops

Consistency = brand recall

2010-09-27T12:26:00.004+05:30

What role does branding and advertising play in NGOs fund raising strategy?

Effective branding helps an NGO show how they are different from other organisations and reinforce their credibility. If a nonprofit looks like it threw together its logo, website, or other materials and sends inconsistent messages, the idea communicated to donors can be that the organisation isn’t buttoned up. I’m generally not a fan of advertising: it’s useful to change perceptions on an issue (for instance, why you shouldn’t drink and drive) but it’s not a cost-effective way for most nonprofits to increase their own fundraising or visibility. These days, social media seems to be a much more effective way to raise visibility – by having something meaningful to say. Staffing for social media and developing a clear strategy can be hard, but it’s definitely more cost-effective to implement.

How can they ensure brand recall? What strategies can be adopted to break through the clutter and ensure that people and authorities notice their efforts?
Being consistent is probably the best way to develop brand recall. Using the same logo, colour, style of images and messages over and over and over again helps ensure that donors and other audiences realise they are all coming from the same organisation. If I visit your website, read your newsletter, get invited to your event, hear your staff person speak – all those points of contact should reinforce the same ideas.

There are several celebrities that can be seen associated, both directly and indirectly, with some or the other NGO? Do such associations really help?

Whether a celebrity is helpful or not depends on a few variables. First, how committed is the celebrity to the cause? Are they willing to work to represent it accurately and thoughtfully? Secondly, is the celebrity appealing to the nonprofit’s target audience? The best use of a celebrity to advance a cause I’ve seen in recent years is Alicia Keys’ support for an organisation here in the US called Keep A Child Alive. She’s been a tireless advocate for their cause and has helped raise over a million dollars by asking her fans to text in a donation on their mobile phones at her concerts and television appearances.

There are cases where NGOs have been accused of misusing funds? Doesn’t it make the role of a genuine NGO difficult?
Yes, scandals in the nonprofit sector are rare but they can have deep impact because they make donors more wary of giving. In the US there are several charity watchdog groups that allow donors to see how a credible third-party assesses the organisation such as Charity Navigator or the Wise Giving Alliance. I encourage all nonprofits to be as transparent as possible about how they work with their donors.

Sarah Durham is the Founder of US-based Big Duck, a communication agency for non-profits, and the author of “Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications”

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Million dollars of investments in R&D in the name of innovation.

2010-08-11T11:57:00.002+05:30

Let’s begin with some real brand valuation figures here: The Millward Brown Optimor 2009 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings honours the Japanese Toyota as the number one global auto brand, with a brand value of $29.91 billion. The others that follow in the list are: BMW ($23.95 billion), Porsche ($17.47 billion), Mercedes ($15.50 billion), Honda ($14.57 billion), Nissan ($10.20 billion), Ford ($5.92 billion), Volkswagen ($5.84 billion) and Lexus ($4.55 billion). The Interbrand/BusinessWeek’s Annual Ranking of the Best Global Brands for 2009 shows that the top valued auto brands in the world are: Toyota ($31.33 billion), Mercedes-Benz ($23.86 billion), BMW ($21.67 billion), Honda ($17.80 billion), Ford ($7 billion), Volkswagen ($6.48 billion), Audi ($5.01 billion), Porsche ($4.23 billion), Ferrari ($3.52 billion) & Lexus ($3.15 billion). Two lists, one surprise – none of the names mentioned in the two much-revered lists given above (read as: the most valued auto brands in the world) feature amongst the top sellers of four-wheelers in the country. As per SIAM’s report, the top five sellers of four-wheelers in the country are – Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (with a market share of 47%), Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (16%), Tata Motors Ltd. (15%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (7%) and General Motors India (4%), clearly indicating that for starters, global brand equity amidst a plethora of brands in the Indian four-wheeler market means nothing more than just a number! Of course, if we talk about the luxury car-market in India, everyone knows that the products in this segment sell due to their prestige and brand values, as even Debashish Mitra, Head - Marketing & Sales, Mercedes-Benz India shares with us, “In luxury cars, the consumer has made his mind towards a particular brand before going in for the final purchase. Thus the brand in such a case makes a lot of sense.” But as far as the mass car market is concerned (the most critical segment, as far as the Indian market is concerned), the secret here is to realise that in order to have a best-selling brand in the Indian auto market, all you need to do is focus on marketing your vehicle well, which most necessarily needs to be a cost leader (and therefore competitively priced) with an engine that doesn’t catch fire!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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It all started here!

2010-06-30T15:14:00.001+05:30

25 years back, Nestle introduced its Maggi brand in India at a time when nobody used to eat noodles. Nestle had no idea that it was about to rewrite history, as Nestle went on to lay the foundations of the convenience food industry in India. Nestle managed to market Maggi brilliantly by promoting it as a convenience food brand. Maggi had a very clear-cut positioning as an instant noodles product and this was highlighted through the punch line ‘2 Minute Noodles.’ Critically, those were not just kids who were the daily consumers of Maggi, but even working couples with less time on their hands to cook food for themselves. With the launch of Maggi noodles, Nestle created an entirely new food category in the Indian packaged food market. Because of its first-mover advantage, supported by an aggressive marketing strategy, Nestle has successfully managed to retain its leadership in the instant noodles category over the years; a leadership that continues till today across segments (Nestle grew in India by 17% this year. Rs.4,000 crore plus is the expected turnover this FY). Nestle has followed this concept globally for diverse products. For example, Nestle is the largest canned pumpkin seller in the US, with around 90% market share.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years

TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com

IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
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IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)

GOTTA ADAPT TO BE ADEPT

2010-06-17T15:00:00.001+05:30

Kunal Lalani on why free-thinking, independent & flexible agencies are needed to quickly address the fast changing needs of brands today

Once upon a time there lived a king. He believed his kingdom was ‘his people’; who loved him, followed him, and were truly loyal to him. In fact, he knew that it was only because of his people and their faith in him that made him what he was. He had a highly learned team of people, who were supposed to know everything and who, with their worldly knowledge, were believed to speak only the gospel truth. They, as claimed, knew everything about people and how to keep them happy. And as long as the people were happy the king had his kingdom. The highly revered league was supposed to regularly update the king about his popularity and advise him on his future plans to maintain it. Everything was convenient and the advisory team with their old knowledge of the people behaviour continued to advise the king. All was well till the time that times changed. And with change came the crying need to find new and more lucrative territories to include in the kingdom (expand) and the need to fight other kings who were getting stronger (nimbler competition). The key need was to understand the change and act quickly.

The erudite advisors, although loyal and holding big resources in their hands, were neither fast nor flexible. They thought that the people in the new territories and the new world are still the same as the people in their old territory were. Alas! That was not true. The king finally understood the problem and hired a local man with the local knowledge of the people behaviour. The new man was quick to offer solutions. He was independent, fast, flexible, and knew how to adjust. He came with the power of knowing the finer nuances of the territory behaviour and helped the king win countless battles and expand his kingdom. The king was happy and decided to switch from the erstwhile big and slow advisors to the fast, efficient, highly flexible local man for his advisory role.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here

Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com

IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
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IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
Exclusive In chat with Society Magazine - Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

So what’s your value added service?!

2010-05-27T15:44:00.002+05:30

Although VAS adds to the revenue stream of telecom operators, it has not yet achieved mass adoption for most product offerings. And 3G too may not be able to make the situation any better, says Saket Agarwal, CEO, Spice Digital.

4Ps B&M: While the telecom sector has been virtually untouched by the ‘R’ word, how has it played out for a VAS company like Spice Digital?
SA: Although operators have continued to add subscribers but these subscribers are different from the ones acquired earlier in terms of their disposable incomes and usage pattern due to which revenues have been under tremendous pressure. As a VAS company, we help the operators to grow their overall revenue pie, but we are still a cost constraint to them. Additionally, there are many other external factors that have impacted our business. For instance, TRAI’s policy, which makes taking consent from subscribers before activating any service imperative.

4Ps B&M: Given the current situation where average revenue per user (ARPU) are falling, how is Spice Digital helping operators improve its ARPU?
SA: As a VAS company, we offer various kinds of services to our subscribers. However, we’ve realised that there is a skew in the consumer profile and consumers that are under served by mass media are far more willing to brace entertainment-based VAS. For instance, there are places in the country where we still do not have FM and people in these areas are more likely to subscribe to Mobile radio to listen to the latest Bollywood songs. So, we see a huge pent up demand in these set of users and the consumption levels for them are too on the higher side.

4Ps B&M: Are your products catering to the mass market?
SA: See, if we talk about mass adoption, then for any service to be termed as a blockbuster product, it should be subscribed by more than 5% of the total subscriber base. However, there are only two products that fit that bill – our flagship product mobile radio and the popular VAS Caller Ring Back Tone (CRBT). The other services are niche services which can be classified broadly as devotional services, mandi rate services or eduacational services where we offer services from the lowest common denominator. So, Angrezi Seekho is another flagship niche product that we have launched. To cater to a vast audience, most of our services are offered on the voice platform as it’s assumed that all those who have phone know how to make a call and are therefore well versed with the voice and can speak. So we have content that goes in multi language to suit the needs of a greater set of audience.

4Ps B&M: How will 3G change the rules of the game for Spice Digital?
SA: According to me, 3G will be another niche. Let’s look at it this way. There has been quite a while since GPRS was first introduced, but till date only 30% of the handsets in the market are GPRS-enabled leave alone customer having subscribed to it or not. It’s noteworthy that a typical GPRS handset starts at a price point of Rs.4,000 and this price barrier will be double for 3G. Although BSNL & MTNL have been offering 3G services for a while but there haven’t been much takers for the same. The point here is not about getting into technology but about affordability and I believe that 3G will initially receive a lukewarm response.

Surbhi Chawla

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here

Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com

IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎
IIPM Related Links
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
Exclusive In chat with Society Magazine - Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

AS UNIQUE AS IT GETS!

2010-05-07T17:42:00.003+05:30

Nandan Nilekani, Head, Unique Identification Authority of India

After doing his bit at the corporate level, Nandan Nilekani is now doing his bit as Minister of Cabinet rank. His mandate? To brand every Indian with a own unique identity. The task ahead is Herculean, but such is the level of confidence that India places in Nilekani that most believe, if anyone can do it, it is this man from Infosys! “Nandan is a wizard and has command over hardware and software. He is the only one who can deliver the goods,” believes political commentator, Zafar Agha.

As head of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), created with an initial outlay of $20 million, Nilekani must issue a unique identity number to 1.2 billion Indians. The move is aimed at strengthening the delivery of public services like banking, health, food distribution, et al. So what’s the key USP that makes this brand a best seller on the racks? Trust and reliability! Will Nilekani prove successful at making the first stage of 100 million identity cards over the next three years a possibility? Well, we’ve got three more years to answer that question; but for now, we vouch for the fact that this brand will continue selling... his unique blend of corporate excellence and social commitment give Nilekani all the ingredients to fill in the ‘performance’ gap for India’s political and bureaucratic ineptitude. Politicians better watch out!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

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IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)

Creativity? What’s that?!

2010-04-09T16:47:00.002+05:30

IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy

After reeling under slowdown for most part of the last one year, the Indian auto sector has a reason to rejoice as the recently passed festival season has been the best in terms of banking volumes since the slowdown struck. And to further encash on the frenzy, auto majors have announced a slew of launches in order to ensure adrenaline rush. So be it Chevrolet Cruze, refreshed Honda Civic or Indigo Manza, all are trying to create the desired waves in the industry. The up-coming period is crucial for the auto sector and great emphasis is being laid on advertising to enhance brand visibility. However, a quick look at the TVCs of auto companies gives a sense of deja vu as creatives of most of them are similar. Invariably, viewers get to see similar ads describing the features of the product and when it comes to brand building, creativity comes much later in the picture. Explains Ayyappan Raj, Business Director, McCann Erickson, “You can’t be much different in your approach while making an ad for auto as it also needs to explain the features of the product offering.” Take the case of Maruti’s Swift ad or Hero Honda’s Karizma ZMR ad – both undoubtedly create the desired excitement but are not clutter breaking by any means. But as Raj adds further, “The bottomline is that the ad should be able to get the initial desired volumes.” This makes it all the more imperative for the ad-frat to choose the conservative way.

Pawan Chabra

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

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Of hush hush moments...

2010-03-25T13:33:00.003+05:30

Exclusive In chat with Society Magazine - Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

Nandini Dias, COO, Lodestar Universal

4Ps: Which was the defining moment of your Nano success?
SS: The big high came when Ratan Tata publicly applauded our work at the time of Nano’s live launch. We delivered this campaign in adversity. The client did not want to spend the usual Rs.50-60 crore required in a normal car launch so we were on a tight budget. Even the time to implement was less as everything was hush hush until the last moment.

4Ps: How would you define Lodestar’s USP for clients?
ND: I like to believe that we are known for our strategy and innovation, as you see in the Nano campaign. A recent survey conducted among the top 200 clients in India has ranked us at the top in nine parameters.

4Ps: But you’ve lost some key clients over the last few years?
SS: Every business has its churn. The trick is to minimise that churn. We have contained ours at just 5-6% of total revenues. Agencies lose businesses because of three reasons – international alignments, consolidation or else because they’ve picked up some accounts in desperation and are being unable to service them properly. We’ve lost businesses over the last few years because of the first two reasons. We lost Mudra Garments as the Birla Group consolidated with Group M and Intel went because of a global re-alignment.

ND: Some clients also change agencies because of remuneration considerations. I however feel that such clients lose out on the learning and knowledge that your incumbent agency may have picked up over the partnership years. Clients lose out on that learning.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Don't trust the Indian Media!
IIPM exposes Career 360 and Mahesh Peri scam
IIPM - We will change your outlook : Career 360 and Mahesh Peri scam is exposed

IIPM Related Links
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Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You
B-schools expect higher rate of campus placements this year

Will Jet escape the turbulence?

2010-03-04T12:27:00.000+05:30

IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme

naresh goyal-owned jet Airways seems to be hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons for quite some time now. From pocketing consistent losses quarter after quarter to conceding its market leadership to Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines, Goyal is certainly having a tough time. Further, Jet Airways has rubbed its employees the wrong way once again by issuing pink slips to its pilots after the sacking fiasco that it was into last October. This proved to be the last straw on the camel’s back, as it led to three days of strike, which grounded the coveted services of the airline and disrupted many travelling plans. Moreover, even after almost a year the cost saving alliance with Kingfisher Airlines, the airline is yet to show any positive result. All this put together is surely hurting the current standing of this private aviator and of course the overall customer perception of the airline. Even the low cost players like IndiGo and SpiceJet are taking fast strides and becoming a threat to Jet’s current market share. So what should be the plan of action for Goyal to save grace in these trying times? Surely, it is high time for Goyal to avoid any further hiccups. “The key is to ensure that capacity remains in line with demand and high emphasis is given on providing consistent and quality services,” advices Hatim Broachwala, Aviation analyst, Khandwala Securities. Thus it is now or never for Jet Airways to hold on to its market standings.

Ratan Lal Bhagat

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM ISBE Programmes
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
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IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
B-schools expect higher rate of campus placements this year
IIPM B School : King Khan, Bollywood Badshah and Quiz Wiz — that’s Shah Rukh Khan for you

Stringer goes ‘Slim’mer

2010-02-22T15:14:00.000+05:30

IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme

Last few months, the markets had been rife with rumours that Sony would reduce the price of its PlayStation 3 from $399 to $299 and will launch a new trimmer model called PlayStation 3 Slim, which will hit the market on September 1, 2009. Finally, at the opening ceremony of the Gamescom Expo held in Cologne, Germany, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai took the wraps off the new console and announced that ‘Slim’ has the same features and functions as the old PS3, but it’s 33% smaller, 36% lighter, and comes with a 120GB hard drive. Losses from TV and video game businesses have already been a headache for its Chairman and CEO, Howard Stringer for the last four years. The PS3 is not doing as well as Sony had hoped while landing into this business. Since the day Sony and Nintendo released their consoles in November 2006, PS3 cumulative sales (23.8 million) have been less than half of the sales of Nintendo Wii (52.6 million). So the launch of PS3 Slim is not a no-brainer. The PS3 slim’s lower price tag and upgrades are an attempt to reclaim the ground lost to Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360. But analysts do not foresee a bright future of PS3 Slim, as it will cost to the company to market the product. Rob Enderle, President and technology analyst, Enderle Group says, “It is an improvement but it would cost them the market, so it has a very high risk”. He further says, “Games systems are all about games and the PS3 has lagged the Wii and the Xbox, PS3 Slim does not fix that”. In the coming months, Microsoft and Nintendo might lower their console prices making the PS3 Slim the most expensive for recession-hit shoppers. Secondly, while the ordinary high-definition Blue-ray DVD players cost little, who would prefer Sony? However, “Only if it is marketed right, it could provide a fourth quarter pop,” says Rob. So, it will be better if Sony jumps into the business of selling in-house games effectively (Sony profits mainly from selling games it develops in-house), otherwise it will sting Stringer again.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM ISBE Programmes
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You

IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
B-schools expect higher rate of campus placements this year
IIPM B School : King Khan, Bollywood Badshah and Quiz Wiz — that’s Shah Rukh Khan for you

LEGACY WITH TRUST

2010-02-17T11:26:00.000+05:30

IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme

Yashish Dahiya
CEO, Policybazaar.com
“Almost Every Indian has grown up looking at TATA trucks, TATA salt, and I am sure Indians know more about brand TATA than any other brand. However, besides size and omnipresence what TATA provides us is a vision. A Vision that says, ‘It’s possible’. It’s possible to be a visionary and succeed in an upright manner. It’s possible to carry old world values with new world dynamism. It’s possible to be an Indian company while growing globally. Brand TATA has been so much a part of every Indians life that a piece of all of us is definitely proud to see a truly Indian multinational poised to conquer the globe.”

Vaibhav Vohra
Director, DPD Continental
“One can not look at Modern India and forget the role that brand Tata played in its making. It’s not only a pioneer in many fields, but also plays a vital role in acting as India’s corporate ambassador in the Global market. Today it is one of the oldest brands that is still growing rapidly. It has also been ranked as most reputed than the likes of global giants such as Google, Microsoft, Coca Cola, etc. Brand Tata’s role in India’s economic development is highlighted by the fact that Tata group has become the first corporate entity in India to cross Rs.2 trillion market capitalization. It is indeed impossible to isolate growth of Indian economy without considering contribution of brand Tata to bring India to a platform where it competes with bigger and stronger economies.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Life never seemed less busy

2010-01-22T13:22:00.000+05:30

IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme

Sehgal of Nestor Pharmaceuticals also propounds how risk-taking is futile for Indian as he states, “The R&D which are required, involves a lot of cost. There was never much point in Indian manufacturers spending too much on R&D of their own when their new product discoveries could not be patent protected. R&D spending should now be ratcheted up – significantly and rapidly.” Merrily though, Indian pharmaceutical giants have no worries about it at all, and yet stand to earn a mindblowing $200 billion by 2014. God sent mercies for an ailing sector, really! Then there’s Ranbaxy, which has perhaps made the biggest proactive move amongst all in its cadre by pre-planning the first launch of the generic version of Pfizer’s lucrative drug Lipitor.

The Daiichi Sankyo-owned company has scheduled the launch of the first version of Lipitor in November 2011. And this is where you need to raise that tip of your hat for the erstwhile CEO of Ranbaxy Malvinder Mohan Singh (MMS). Yes, he perhaps got the MMS clip long back, forecasted that an opportunistic situation would come to pass, and settled rows with Big Pharmas long before he was ousted from Ranbaxy. While speaking to 4Ps B&M, a market analyst (who tracks a competitor firm and requests anonymity) declared, “Many shareholders thought they got the better of bad luck by getting the better of Singh, but honestly speaking his agreement with Pfizer has the potential of delivering $2 billion in revenues and his deal with the UK-based doc, AstraZeneca, for the Nexium drug can ring home $1.4 billion in revenues for Ranbaxy. Who can embody such vision now? They gave up the long term for the short term!” But who really cares; Daiichi saw it when Ranbaxy’s shareholders couldn’t – it saw a strong generics player, a great presence of Ranbaxy in third world nations and a super low-cost producer of drugs! But who cares?

Then there are also other players like the Indian subsidiary of the €9.3-billion Dutch pharma company, DSM, which has taken pro-active measures to forge new tie-ups with quite a number of global pharma majors for supplying atorvastatin (which is the basic compound that is used to manufacture Lipitor). Worthy of mention, realising the future need for generic drug manufacturing, the company had already entered into a manufacturing agreement with India-based Arch Pharma in 2007. Today, astrovastatin is rolled out of Arch’s plant!

Another point to note for the Indian giants, if they are to really capitalise on making money from the generic models of the off-patent drugs is that they should focus on other markets besides India. Essentially, the five biggest markets for off-patent drugs by 2014 are Japan, Italy, France, Australia, US and Germany. Therefore, it is not just critical to make the most of this opportunity in the country, but also to ensure that geographical diversification and international tie-ups play their part in cracking this drug deal!

But will players like Sun Pharma stop at just making money from these “lost IPR” opportunities? Well, not really as Baldota states, “Investing in R&D and coming out with new formulae that can be filed for patents, or maybe even move beyond just generic drugs, depending on the strategic focus, both can be attractive opportunities...” On the optimistic side, Sehgal of Nestor Pharmaceuticals thumps, “The pharma companies should certainly explore opportunities beyond generics with foreign investors eagerly eyeing up India’s wealth of human resource and its massive domestic market…” Fortune favours the ‘proactive’ brave, isn’t it?

Finally I have an antidote to the popular saying ‘Health is Wealth’… for now folks, for the Indian pharma gang members, the drug deal code is - ‘Wealth is Health’; yeah!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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C’mon, be a sport Wendy!

2010-01-15T15:15:00.000+05:30

If there is one thing that Wendelin Wiedeking, German sports carmaker, Porsche’s CEO for 16 years would be remembered for after he steps down from his post, it will have to be his horrendous plan to acquire Volkswagen because of which Porsche is saddling with huge mountains of debt to the tune of $14 billion. Maybe this is why the supervisory board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE unanimously accepted the CEO’s resignation. Did we tell you that Wiedeking is also Germany’s best paid CEO! Had Porsche been an American company, Barack Obama would have definitely thrashed Wiedeking with his famous ‘Say on Pay’ bill! Coming back to Germany, it is believed that despite much controversy surrounding Porsche’s buyout of Volkswagen (that actually triggered the CEO exit), talks of merger may revive once again following Wiedeking’s exodus. But it ain’t as easy as it seems to be. Before the merger talks take any form, certain issues still need to addressed gingerly before the merger gets a green signal.

Interestingly, Wiedeking was the one who got Porsche back from the brink of bankruptcy in 1992. But his idiosyncratic attempts to acquire Europe’s largest automaker, Volkswagen has taken Porsche into deep realms of debt. In fact, the hostile takeover attempts by Porsche opened the doors to Ferdinand Piech, Volkswagen’s powerful Chairman and a part-owner of Porsche, to turn the tables on Porsche. Piech even went to the extent of convincing the company to take over Porsche on the condition that the sports carmaker will improve its finances first. There is no denying the fact that Porsche will have to test the rough waters carefully before going ahead with its decision as experts expect the desired merger to be driving the growth of Porsche for many more years to come.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Social media helping in brand advocacy?

2010-01-09T11:46:00.000+05:30

Ever wondered how active users of social networking sites can help enhance the equity of a brand? Anderson Analytics conducted an online survey in June with 5,000 demographically representative respondents to identify users’ likely interests, buying habits, media consumption, et al, and concluded that there are definite data-driven segments in the social networking site market, both for non-users and users. “Most of the marketers don’t understand the nature of social networking. They are responding with little thought or strategy and are wasting money as a result,” says Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst and President, Enderle Group. Marketers need to advertise where the likely customers are spending most of their time and target the ad so that it will be consumed in the context of their activities and find a way to capture metrics of the success so that they can improve upon it. Enderle further adds, “They first have to profile their customers and then design a program that works within the context of this media.” Take for instance Facebook. It has been observed that Facebook-users are non-youth and average in the level of interest shown in the site compared to Twitter and MySpace. LinkedIn, on the other hand has a more professional user base. These social networks can be used to create forums that encourage consumers to share their experiences with a brand. Not only will this increase brand awareness, but it will also lead to higher levels of word of mouth advertising and will increase brand advocacy.

Arun Kumar Roy

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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UNLEASHING THE POWER OF THREE

2009-10-21T11:51:00.000+05:30

HARPAL KARLCUT, CEO, CANARA HSBC ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE LIFE INSURANCE

To start operations in times of slowdown and quickly break into the top ten in the very first year of operations is indeed incredible. These guys can’t stop thanking their strong focus on bancassurance

You don’t just rise to be the numero uno within a year of operation do you? So why did we chose the Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance over other leading players (see chart) in the industry? Well, this new player’s performance has been exemplary, especially when the big bosses of the industry are facing a tough time. In just a year, this life insurer has climbed to the ninth position amongst India’s twenty one private life insurance players (in terms of market share on weighted premium income). Not only this, in April 2009, the company recorded its best sales performance over the previous month than any other private insurer. Guess that’s just one more reason to be counted as a success.

But, when listening to any success story, what strikes first is, how? For a conceptual product, which is actually sold rather than bought voluntarily by consumers, credit for the unprecedented response received by the company goes to its operations based on a bancassurance model, adequate capital, distribution capacity, strong distribution channel and innovative products. Certainly exclusive access to approximately 50 million potential customers and a pan India network of over 4,100 branches does give the insurer an ‘unfair advantage’ over some of its new peers. Explaining the success story, Harpal Karlcut, CEO, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company, says, “Our success is based on HSBC’s in-depth know-how of bancassurance, coupled with the distribution of Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce. Our performance has been delivered entirely by bancassurance.” What is evident is the fact that bancassurance has played a pivotal role in helping the new entrant break the clout of the biggies. The CEO agrees, “Each aspect of our business model has been tailored to bancassurance and the specific needs of each of the three shareholding banks; including products, promotion, training, operational support et al.” But the real success of a marketing strategy for an intangible product primarily depends on its execution and the insurer has taken due consideration of this fact too.

Success has many parameters and it seems this insurer has focused on each of them albeit more on bancassurance. But then, they should not forget this is just the beginning. To reach the top they have a long and winding road to cover. That’s when they’ll need a lot more than mere bancassurance to fulfil any leadership ambitions.

Gyanendra Kumar Kashyap

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Bringing a paradigm shift

2009-08-28T16:54:00.000+05:30

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Oberoi group redefined luxury benchmark with its hotels by offering unique experience that creatively combines unique locations, luxurious environs and the best of modern amenities with personalised warm service.

In 1996, PVR opened the first multiplex in the country thereby bringing about a major change in the cinema viewing experience for the Indian public with the provision of comfortable seating, state-of-the-art screens, projection systems and audio visual systems. It was able to command a price five times that of single screens, which was believed to be too heavy for the pockets of the customers. Today multiplex account for 60-70% of box office collections. Not only have they redefined movie experience, a spurt in the number of multiplexes in the country has changed the entire complexion of Indian films – their budgets, the way they are made and the audience they are made for.

The service sector in India is poised for high growth in the years to come. There are several untapped latent consumer needs, which present a big opportunity to expand the market by creating awareness among the consumers. We foresee that the above mentioned trends will continue into the future and we will witness new customers segments being targeted by new services, more evolved and efficient delivery, redefinition of benchmarks and experience and in some cases complete paradigm shifts too. Also low penetration of organised services, specially in the smaller cities in India, implies that there will be significant focus on them for reaching out to more customers.

The imperative for service sector companies is therefore to continuously look for ways to evolve, improve and raise the bar for others to follow. There are plenty of cross-learnings available across sectors for these companies to make use of. For instance, besides global retail leaders like Wal-mart who are expected to define industry benchmarks, the Indian retail sector has a lot to learn from the Quick Service Restaurant’s process driven operations. Education sector is also entering the stage of more professional management where it needs to enhance it and railways has a lot to learn in upgrading its customer experience from across other sectors.

Overall, different service sector players will learn from players within the industry as well as outside. This will further evolve the industry and help in redefining benchmarks.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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‘Desperate Guys’ not allowed inside, says this gang of girls!

2009-08-12T16:27:00.000+05:30

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Brand: Sunsilk
Agency: JWT

This one’s special as it made its mark with minimal support from traditional media. Sunsilk’s Gang of Girls was an online campaign that romped home. Sunsilk created an ‘only gals’ site with freedom to girl talk viz. beauty, hair secrets, makeover tips, blogging, boys, et al. The initiative became an instant success. By November 2006, about 200-250 million gals (Sunsilk’s target) had registered!

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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ALOK BHARADWAJ, SR. VP, CANON INDIA

2009-07-27T16:31:00.000+05:30

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1. Hutch’s ‘Happy to help’ad campaign
2. Surf Excel’s ‘Daag acche hain’ ad campaign
3. ‘A mobile for everyone’ campaign for Nokia 1100
4. HDFC Life Insurance’s ‘Sir utha ke jiyo’ campaign
5. Cadbury’s ‘Kucch meetha ho jaaye’ campaign

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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High on Kingfisher’s flight...

2009-07-21T13:01:00.000+05:30

IIPM, GURGAON

The beginning of FY’05 had liquor baron Vijay Mallya salivating at the prospect of ‘flying. So he launched his Kingfisher Airlines with an all-economy configuration and competitive pricing. The aim was to be India’s largest private airline both in capacity and market share by 2010. And despite all the problems it faced or losses it suffered, Mallya has successfully achieved his target. In January 2009, Kingfisher Airlines was standing tall as the numero uno private airlines with 27.6% market share leaving Jet Airways far behind with a mere 17.9% share. Not satisfied easily and bolstered by his domestic success, last year Mallya took Kingfisher Airlines to international skies. Drinking and driving don’t mix, they say. But we guess brewing (liquor) and flying do mix well. What say?

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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WHERE’S YOUR BRAND, DUDE?

2009-07-07T11:29:00.000+05:30

IIPM Global B-school

Trade pundits believe that to make their mark in the cat-eat-cat world of the world’s billion dollar fashion business, desi designers need to take some risks and evolve contemporary strategies. With a sharp growth in the world’s millionaire population, the days when luxury was still exclusive are nearly over. In India itself, despite the slowdown, dollar millionaires are growing by the day. Clearly, it’s time for crafted sophistication and exclusivity to give way to creating brands for the fast-growing premium segment of the market, mass-marketing and profit margins. The queen bee of Indian fashionistas, Ritu Kumar, who kicked off her show at the recently concluded Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WLIFW) with her new ready-to-wear, lesser priced collection, takes not a moment to agree. “We have to break the barrier that fashion is only for the rich and make it more affordable to the Indian market,” says the lady behind the 40-year-old House of Ritu Kumar, one of the oldest designer labels in the country.

Like Kumar, most India-born designers began launching prêt lines a few years ago to cash in on this growing market. Rohit Bal (Balance), Raghavendra Rathore (Inde Prêt), Kiran Uttam Ghosh (Kimono) and Rocky S (Rocky S Jeans) are among those that capitalised on the opportunity early and are still reaping the benefits. Many others, despite launching their prêt lines, have faltered in evolving simultaneous distribution reach and logistics paraphernalia. Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, for example, obtain over 85-90% of their sales via a network of departmental stores and shop-in-shop formats. In contrast, unable to stitch up deals with corporate retailers, many designers continue to sell only through their own niche couture outlets – which are limited in number and reach. “Brands like Prada and Hugo Boss became famous, not only because of their designs but also because they are supported by strong logistics & retail. In India, the retail revolution has just started,” says stylist Raghavendra Rathore.

Says designer Anita Dongre, “To appeal to buyers, you need to be unique in your offerings. To create a popular brand, you will have to figure out the budget suitable to the various target segments and create brands accordingly.” In tune with her logic, Anita too has created five brands of her own, of which ‘And’ is for the masses and ‘Timeless’ (priced at Rs.50,000 and above) is for the classes. Agrees the spokesperson for US-based Anthropologie, a buyer at WLIFW, “I feel you need to have a USP or specialisation to create a proper brand, I mean if I am here to buy something from the designers, I am looking at what unique collection he can offer to my store.” Anita’s strategy is reminiscent of the one followed by legendary designer Giorgio Armani (turnover of three billion euros today) almost two decades back and has paid off. Her organisation has been growing at 50% y-o-y. Even maverick designer Manish Arora has loaded his brand portfolio with diverse offerings across price points. Insiders say that Manish (along with Ashish Soni) has bagged maximum orders from global buyers in the WLIFW despite the slowdown. Read more

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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‘H’APPY ‘O’WNERS ‘N’EVER ‘D’RIVE ‘A’NYTHING (ELSE)

2009-06-17T14:51:00.000+05:30

The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School

It is true that technology has been considered a dramatic core competence of Honda over the ages. Somewhere early along the line, they brilliantly converted technology into deliverable customer value and became amongst the top auto sellers of the world. The third world for decades meant only two wheeler sales, given the lack of purchasing power. And with the Hero group ensuring that world class standards were beaten time and again in the motorcycle segment with the Hero Honda JV, Honda’s focus during its 14 years of India existence never really got on to how energetic could the passenger car segment be in India. Their JV with the Bharat Ram Charat Ram convert called Sriram Industrial Enterprises Ltd notwithstanding (Honda-SIEL), cars were sold by Honda in India only for presence and only to have “Success against all odds,” the initial philosophy of the legendary Fujisawa Honda when Honda entered the extremely negative looking United States market with their motorcycles.

And that has how it has been for Honda for most of the past few years, that is, until now. The economic slowdown has suddenly brought out the sales orientation of Honda like nobody’s business. An erstwhile lumbering Honda has seen a transformation that, though not incredible, is enough radical to surprise the Wilde out of Oscar. Take their Honda Civic hybrid shock marketing warfare tactic, for example. While the Honda Civic hybrid had just sold around 60 odd units since its launch in June 2008, a smashing limited time Rs.8 lakh discount offer for a week in November 2008 got them up by a smashing 235 units within a week itself. If that seems great, think about the fact that Honda is the only company in the car industry that changes product design not for ergonomics or for design efficiency, but purely to give customers exciting variety – their new Honda City and Accord designs included. Not surprisingly, on the JD Power India Sales Satisfaction Index Study, Honda ranks a close third! That’s a brilliant vindication of the fact that consumers perhaps are going more by the sales effort during these downturn times than by other factors.

Enough said about growth; experts now say that there is a strong belief among the experts that the Honda growth till now was just a small lull before the storm and worst is still to come for the Indian automotive sector. Well, perhaps they’ve not heard of Fujisawa yet. Instead of getting worried, Honda is in fact banking big on emerging markets like India to get out of the deepening global potholes. As the ex-CEO of Honda Motors Corporation, Takeo Fukui once said, “India has less risk than China. India has political transparency and a neutral sentiment towards Japan.” It seems that the company is taking Fukui’s statement very seriously as India is clearly now one of the priority markets on their charts.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Facebook’s new change in ‘terms of service’ is a real threat to sheer privacy of personal information!

2009-06-02T17:06:00.000+05:30

The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School

Bill Gates had once said: “The Internet will help achieve ‘friction free capitalism’ by putting buyer and seller in direct contact & providing more information to both about each other.” He was wrong, and Facebook (where the company he founded, Microsoft, bought a 1.5% stake at a whopping $240 million) proved him so! ‘More information’; but that special power has only been granted to the ‘seller’ for now...

Today, Facebook is doubling its base of users every month (as per Fortune), and while this may sound great to all at the company, this very swelling base (which is currently estimated to touch about 175 million) might just revolt in the latest development at the networking giant! And what’s the crime? Privacy! Apparently, Facebook intends to capitalise on the wealth of information it has about its users. On February 4, 2009, Facebook changed its ‘Terms of Services’ announcing its self-proclaimed proprietorship on ‘your total account content’, even if you deactivate/delete your currently existent Facebook account. And this is how the new policy reads: “You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content; ” not really great news for Facebook fans arond the world!

Very clearly activists around the world are interpreting that the changes in ‘terms and conditions’ means that the ‘change’ means that “anything you upload on Facebook can be used by Facebook in anyway it deems fit; forever, no matter what you do later...” There’s more – Facebook also reserves the right of user content usage for ‘promotional reasons’. As per Facebook: “By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant... to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt and distribute such User Content for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works...”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Doordarshan is too staid and boring... Yeah right, so what’s new?

2009-05-22T15:08:00.000+05:30

Ratan Lal Bhagat of 4Ps B&M screams out loud why we’re all Rip Van Winkles and why DD now has the top 10 prime time shows!!!

Does the mere mention of Krishi Darshan make you break out in teary-eyed nostalgia? Pardon our trite gluttonous presumptions, but if you’re one of those who still buy multiple rerun DVDs of extinct Doordarshan (DD, if you please) weeklies like Chitrahaar, or Chandrakanta, then this article is obviously not for you. But for all the others this side of Proxima Centauri, who truly believe – like I did before I started writing this article – that DD is as out of fashion a channel as Elton John’s atrocious dressing sense, may I kindly correct you dear gentlemen! As on date, as per TAM data, the top ten programmes watched “during Prime Time are from DD1 across all platforms.” And if that weren’t enough dope to send Cobain (god rest your soul Kurt) to eighth heaven, then eat this – DD1 now gets “the highest share even in the news time band among both Hindi and English news channels!!!” And that figure also holds in the cable and satellite platforms!

There! I said it! If you found the figures shocking and unbelievable, my advice is, take your time, as these figures don’t seem to be going away anywhere and cannot simply be wished away. DD’s fantastic rebirth seems to be more stunning than Bachchan’s in Don, and better in money terms too!

To its credit, DD – started a whopping 50 years ago in 1959 by the government – of course used to have great products ranging from the mass audience pulling Hum Log, Buniyaad, Nukkad, Fauji to the beyond legendary episodes of Ramayan and Mahabharat. These popular programmes, serials and mythological dramas did have millions glued to the channel in the eighties and even in the early nineties. The Indian audience of that era grew on the entertainment and information imparted by . But all these names faded into oblivion over time and DD seemed to be truly a thing of the past. DD, since the opening up of airwaves in 1992, evidently and slowly lost its presence and significance among the medley of sprawling general entertainment channels (GECs) across the nation; its first mover’s advantage clearly rendered useless by the entry of stalwart private channels like Star, Zee, Sony, NDTV etc.

Then what in heavens changed the equation where DD has again rocked the vogue yacht to rule again? “Reach! Reach! Reach! And of course, better viewership metrics and analysis by rating agencies,” argues Namita Chhetri, CEO, ICMR (Indian Council for Market Research). It’s astounding that currently, more than 90% of the Indian population receives DD terrestrially. Not many are aware that DD operates through as many as 30 channels – seven all India channels (DD National, DD News, DD Sports, DD Gyandarshan, DD Bharti, DD Rajya Sabha and DD Urdu), 11 regional languages satellite channels, 11 state networks and an international channel (DD India) available in 146 countries!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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