Docs decide to return gold medals

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From expressindia.com

Press Trust of India
Posted online: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 0934 hours IST
Updated: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 1109 hours IST

Anti-Quota Agitation Indore, May 30: Agitating city doctors, protesting the Centre's move to implement 27 per cent quota for OBCs in institutions of higher learning, have decided to return their gold medals to President APJ Abdul Kalam.

Altogether 128 doctors of Indore, who were awarded gold medals for their excellence in various subjects during their studies have decided to return their medals to the President in protest against reservation, Madhya Pradesh Junior Doctors Association (JDA) General Secretary Dr Anand Rai said.

He said he had "requested an appointment" with the President, adding that the medicos were returning the medals because the doctors felt they were of no use to them under the quota regime.

Meanwhile, striking medicos polished shoes at the Regal Square in protest even as their relay hunger strike on the issue entered 10th day.

The great Siachen sellout

This Govt is bent upon destroying the nation !! India never had any intentions of occupying other's territory. Why does India need to pull out of Siachen ? If the neighbor doesn't have enough man-power or resources to maintain its position, let him pull out. He can be well assured that India would not try to cut a misadventure which the neighbor is known for doing all the time.

Why do Mr Singh the PM and the security advisor are hell bent to solve other's problem ? This is utter non-sense.

Please read the column by Dr Subhash Kapila on rediff.com. He also pointed out how Nehru gave away Aksai Chin and hid the fact for nearly 8 years:

"Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, oblivious to the crucial strategic significance of Aksai Chin (North Ladakh), gifted it away to China, a Himalayan blunder that India still rues. Nehru hid the fact of the Chinese annexation of Indian territory for nearly eight years, and later justified the loss by describing Aksai Chin as a desolate area where not a blade of grass grew."

Who did he think he was - landlord of India ? Is India his own for donating to others ? Later his daughter, Indira the PM did her part when she donated an island (Katchatheevu) to Srilanka. The Indian Congress will only be happy to continue this legacy.

There is another interesting quote from his book by Nixon:

The pages of history are littered with the ruins of countries that were indifferent to erosion of the balance of power. Losses on the periphery where a country's interests appear marginal, never seem to merit a response or warrant a confrontation with the enemy. But small losses add up. Expansionist powers thrive on picking up loose geopolitical change. When it comes, it usually takes place under the worst possible circumstances for those on the defensive.'

--Former US President Richard M Nixon, quoted in my book India's Defence Policies and Strategic Thought, A Comparative Analysis, to highlight how Indian policies ignored the balance of power concept, and how India was inclined to marginalise its far flung peripheries.



Links to the articles:
Don't sell out Siachen - Part 1
Can Pakistan be trusted? - Part 2

Quota: Centre to offer 54% more seats

Wow, how innovative !!

Let's do the math:

Before "non-sense": (It was already a non-sense :)
100 seats : 77 general, 23 SC/ST

With the original non-sense:
100 seats : 50 general, 27 OBC, 23 SC/ST

With this new non-sense:
154 seats: 77 general, 42 OBC, 35 SC/ST

Here again, there is no benefit or gain to the students in general category. But look at the gain in the no. of seats in the reserved category. It would've been welcome if the Govt. had proposed something like this:

154 seats: 104 general, 27 OBC, 23 SC/ST
This would make more sense (a better non-sense)

Now the question is: Where is Mr Singh the PM going to get the additional 10000 crore ? Is there any innovative tax schemes in the FM's sleeve like the one which wiped off trillion rupees from the Indian stock markets in a week ?

Interestingly this quota issue has become a talk of not only the nation, but the entire world because of the high visibility India has in the international arena. It will be just a matter of time, before all the MNCs pack their bags off to other countries which follow equality in principle and practice.

Are Brahmins the Dalits of today?

Francois Gautier's column in rediff.com.

Of-course yes, they're the most oppressed community in India today. First they can't get seats in the colleges and then no jobs in the Govt sector. So the only option available for them is in the private sector. But even here, this Govt. is bent upon introducing reservations.... they will soon be refugees in their own country !!!

Now we can expect the reverse brain drain stopping and all the MNCs packing their bags to China or other countries where there is no mockery of democracy !!

Two members quit the Knowledge Commission

What's the point in setting up a knowledge commission Mr PM if you don't listen to them ?

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From Rediff:
May 22, 2006 18:40 IST

In an embarassment to the government embroiled in the row over reservations, two leading members of the National National Knowledge Commission resigned on Monday, protesting quotas in central educational institutions.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Andre Beteille said they had quit the Commission, which was set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Its views on reservation had recently come under attack from Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh.

"Many of the recent announcements made by your government with respect to higher education leads me to the conclusion that my continuation on the Commission will serve no useful purpose," Mehta said, in a resignation letter addressed to the prime minister.

When contacted by PTI, Beteille, a professor emeritus of sociology, said, "I have submitted by resignation this morning."

Mehta and Beteille were among the six members who opposed reservation proposals at a meeting of the commission in Bangalore recently.

The 104th Constitution Amendment Bill is dangerous

Subhash Kak's column in rediff on the constitution amendment bill passed in December. Very few people like Mr Kak vehemently opposed the passing the bill. Media has failed to highlight the repercussions of such a dangerous bill to the Indian Society. Not many are even aware of such a bill.

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From Rediff.com:

The supposedly liberal values that are the driving force behind politics in India -- especially of the United Progressive Alliance government -- are shrinking the public space for autonomy and free association.

The road to hell and to serfdom is paved with good intentions and great slogans. The 104th Constitution Amendment Bill, passed almost unanimously, ostensibly to help the underprivileged, will end up effectively bringing under the control of the government bureaucracy a major portion of the private education sector.

Rather than open more schools and increase the investment in education, the government wants to micromanage private schools.

Educational institutions, whether they receive aid from the government or not, so long as they are supposedly run by those who belong to the 'majority,' will have to set aside half of the seats for people from certain communities.

Watching over their shoulders will be the Big Brother, and one presumes if the ethnic background of students does not satisfy the bureaucrats, the schools would be shut down!

This is an assault on the principles of private initiative and voluntary association. The government is insisting that association even in the privacy of one's own property is disallowed unless this association includes members of certain groups.

This Amendment also contravenes one of the founding principles of any democracy, that all citizens be treated on the same basis. It creates two classes of citizens: minority and non-minority. The right of voluntary association is maintained for the minority, and denied to the non-minority.

The famous poem by Martin Niemöller (1892-1984) about accumulation of State power by the targeting of specific groups one at a time captures the slippery slope of the law very well:

First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Amendment 104 should be seen as further march of a polity that has nationalized temples, taking away the right of free religious expression. It requires legislators to vote as the leader commands, under pain of expulsion if they refuse.

The liberals and leftists in the Indian polity, who have pushed this constitutional amendment, are in the mold of the 19th century liberals like John Stuart Mill, who spoke of tolerance and the rule of law, but were ardent supporters of European colonization. Mill believed that India like other 'barbarous' nations had 'not got beyond the period during which it is likely to be to their benefit that they should be conquered and held in subjection by foreigners.'

The liberals' embrace of universal human liberty contained a Eurocentric and potentially racist view of what society should be like, and communism was born out of this impulse. It is a strange irony that the only ones holding on to this Eurocentric program are the Indian Marxists and liberals.

There is no space for libertarians in Indian polity: no one speaks for the rights to privacy and voluntary association. But guarantee of such privacy is essential in the development of a knowledge society that is to be internationally competitive. Both the Left and the Right have used euphemisms such as 'social control' to increase the power of the State.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Indian political system seems to be becoming more and more like the mansabdar system of the Mughals. Then the emperor granted revenue rights to a mansabdar in exchange for promises of soldiers in war-time. Now the leader grants tickets and money to run for political office in exchange for unconditional support later. The mansab was both revocable and non-hereditary exactly like the parliament seat now.

This is the only explanation why there was no real opposition to the passage of the Amendment in both the Lok and Rajya Sabhas, why no one brought up Constitutional questions related to individual freedom and privacy.

If there is a law that needs to be resisted, it is this one.

Subhash Kak
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Aamir Khan's interview to the BBC

If he had a little intelligence, he would have looked at the background of this whole Vadodara issue before making some crappy comments or slamming a state Govt in the media.

As many as 42 temples were demolished in the Municipal authority's demolition drive. This didn't trigger any violence. Removal of encroachments happen all over the world and Even if not encroaching, Govts take over properties for infrastructure development.

Same thing applies to his support to the Medha patkar's NBA movement which is totally anti-development.

And has he ever bothered to slam the Azad Governement in Kashmir over the recent killing of 32 Hindus or the genocide that's going on for the past decade ?

You have the luxury of the freedom to question this great nation that provides the freedom. Please don't exploit the freedom by uttering such non-sense comments in the media without doing your homework.

No relook, ball in PM's court: Arjun

Some things never change !! And he is not happy with the national knowledge commission as well. Who else will he listen to ?

Passing legislation in the parliament doesn't mean that it's what the people wanted. When people protest, you must listen to them and make amends.

'Excessive force used against agitating students'

Atleast there is an official admission of excessive force being used against the students. There is not a word yet from Delhi administration yet on the police action against the students on Friday.

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From expressindia.com:
Press Trust of India
Posted online: Sunday, May 14, 2006 at 1709 hours IST
Updated: Sunday, May 14, 2006 at 2111 hours IST

Mumbai, May 14: Maharashtra government has ordered an inquiry into the lathicharge on medical students who were protesting against the Centre’s proposal for reservation in institutions of higher learning.

Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy has been asked to conduct the probe and submit a report within a week, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said.

“From the visuals we have seen on TV screens, it looks like excessive force was used against the agitating students,” the Chief Minister said.
....

Quota protestors are cannon fodder

Is this the way to treat protesting students ? Ever heard of tear gas or water cannons used on protests by politicians even if violent ? Is it democracy or are we in a totalitarian regime ??




From Rediff:
Police lobbed tear gas shells and used water cannons to keep medical students, protesting the government's controversial reservation proposal in New Delhi on Friday, from moving towards the Prime Minister's Office in South Block.

The students then courted mass arrest and were subsequently taken away in police buses.

Over a 1,000 students, who took out the march from Lady Hardinge College with the aim of going to PMO to lodge their protest against the proposed move to hike quota in institutions of higher education, had reached the India Gate Lawns via Connaught Place when they encountered several police barricades in the Central district.

The Myth of Aryan Invasion of India

Great link - David Frawley on the myth of aryan invasion theory

Maintain the integrity of Indian education, , Mr Arjun Singh

As always, Subhash Kak doesn't mince words and is to the point.

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From his rediff column:
It is ironical that even as the Chinese have embarked on an ambitious plan to create 100 world-class universities, Arjun Singh is beginning to dismantle the IITs, IIMs, and AIIMS, India's symbols of excellence recognised all over the world, by means of caste-based quotas.

It is too easy to call Arjun Singh incompetent, as many have judged him. More likely, it is the case of cynical old men acting on cold political arithmetic. But such actions have unintended consequences.

....

What will it take, Mr Prime Minister?

Lalit Koul's column in rediff:

"The worst but most-repeated statement that the Government of India issues is: 'These killings will not affect the peace process with Pakistan."

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This is the key difference between the joint statements of Vajpayee/Parvez and Singh/Parvez.

India has sold its nuclear soul to the US

Rediff column by Brahma Chellaney:

Brahma Chellaney, a strategic affairs expert, is professor at the Centre for Policy Research. He was one of the authors of the nuclear doctrine submitted to the government for finalisation

Security fears over foreigners in AP port

Time and again, questions are raised if the current Govt had any clue of what national security is.

And what is the point in passing a right to information act, when the Govt can't answer a former seceretary of economic affairs. God help the poor who don't even know if such an act exists.

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From Deccan Chronicle:

New Delhi/Visakhapatnam, May 8: The exit of Dubai Ports World from the Gangavaram port project near the Eastern Naval Command’s headquarters at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and its replacement with another foreign company, the Malaysia-based Integrax Berhad, could still pose a threat to India’s interests, according to analysts who have held senior positions in the government.

A senior analyst said that Gangavaram was only 15 to 20 km from Vizag, which is the hub of India’s nuclear submarine activities. “(It is) therefore a sensitive area from our national security point of view,” he said.

SC refuses to stop dam work

And NBA leader expresses shock and anger towards both the center and the highest court of the nation. Am I the only person smelling contempt of the court here ??

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From The Hindu:

Expressing "shock" over the Supreme Court declining its plea to stop construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam till completion of rehabilitation, NBA on Monday vowed to "fight to the finish" for the affected people.

"The Court has forgotten its own commitments to the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal Award, both in letter and spirit, and also the Constitutional right to life. By not giving a decision on cash or land, the Court has failed to stop the massive corruption of crores, as reported by the CAG, and unjust betrayal of adivasis," NBA leader Medha Patkar told reporters here.

She also directed her anger at the Centre accusing it of "making a mockery of its role with regard to rehabilitation of the project affected families, especially adivasis."

"If this is the response by the System, we will have no alternative but to take it by its horns," she said.

"The Court's verdict is against the rights of the oustees who are protected by Article 21 of the Constitution. The verdict shows an anti-poor perspective," Patkar said.

She also expressed disagreement with the Court's justification for postponing the decision on the raising of the dam height on the ground of "disputed facts."

"When it became clear to every committee that visited the Valley before World Bank's, Union of India's to that of Members of Parliament that injustice was being imposed, and records and reports were flawed, the Court couldn't and didn't take the responsible task of investigation into the jumbling of not figures, but of families in thousands, nor a timely conclusion.

The Court has failed to correct the gross arbitrariness of the Executive.
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