Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Should LoC be made the border?

Should LoC be made the border?

The critical issue between India and Pakistan is Kashmir and unless the mistrust built over time is resolved amicably, everything else will just be a lip service. The last 50 years of endless discussions skirting around the issues has produced nothing but wars and terrorism. The need of the hour is to take concrete steps to reach a breakthrough by changing the playing field and the rules of the game. For a successfully growing Indian economy last thing we want is another futile war with Pakistan

which will push back our economy again by decades.

We are yet to fix Pakistan on negotiating table to give up its preference for terrorism. In the absence of an international border, Pakistan always gets away in the pretext of providing 'moral' support to 'freedom fighters' of a troubled territory. Indian diplomacy therefore is unable to book Pakistan's misdoings as act of war. An international border will leave Pakistan no such hiding stone and it will never risk a direct war by crossing ‘international border’. This will go a long way in reducing infiltration and subsequently restoring peace in Kashmir.

It makes huge political, economical and diplomatic sense for India to freeze LOC as the international border. We never had the piece of land called POK anywhere except on our map and ego. We are spending billions everyday to fight sponsored terrorism. We haven’t cornered Pakistan in international forums. We always seem to be reacting to Pakistani adventures. We need to break this routine and redefining international border would be first step of success.

Of course in accepting LOC as the international border there are issues like accrediting POK as part of Pakistan but this would be a very good carrot to beat Pakistan on the negotiating table. We can not only clinch a hard bargain from Pakistan in lieu of POK but also better address the root cause of terrorism by giving the people of Kashmir a chance to benefit from shining Indian economy.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Free Markets!

500 year old Jaipur Donkey Fair

This proves that India is well versed with knowledge of free market system since long. If we can trade even donkeys in the market then why the left over donkeys (our esteemed politicians from Left parties) impede the way to new Indian revolution. Its revolution for free markets... free from dirty politics, free from restrictions. Free market can achieve for India what in all these years politicians failed to do (I am make a wild assumption here that they genuinely intended to improve India) .

Why 1/4 of Indians in India are below poverty line while 1/4 of Indians in US and UK are among the richest? Probably there were no donkeys there to stop them!

Sunday, October 01, 2006

December 13

Protests continue over Afzal sentence

Afzal had very noble intentions of benefiting India by getting rid of some of the most unwanted people on the land who have restrained India and its progress. Had his hired men would have succeeded in their design, India would had climbed much higher on Corruption Perception Index. Nobody should be given death sentence for trying to reduce corruption.

But Afzal should be hanged for his plot killed brave soldiers of India who tried to protect epitome of Indian democracy. Afzal plotted to strike democracy of India and capital punishment is too little for such act of terrorism. The same punishment should also be given to anyone and everyone on either side of the border who was involved in any plot of terrorism on Indian soil or against any Indian in the whole world.

We don't mind if anyone knocks off the rotten politicians who have caused misery to people of India but a person would be out of his mind to even think of any evil against India or brave Indian soldiers. Such persons should be preemptively smoked out.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Bluffmaster!

Sabse bada rupaiya!

Abhishek Bachchan tried hard to become Bluffmaster but the Oscar goes to musharraf. All of harping is only to sell few copies of his book. Seems like a simple plan to collect retirement fund because as history suggests that he would have to leave pakistan as soon as he gives up the power in the elections which he promised soon! So write some tabloid type crap with fancy publicity involving who's who of the world, make millions and live happily ever after! Such a simple plan involving "4 units" of bluff and a "landslide" windfall.

I think musharraf would have already instructed isi to print all the copies in the Quetta currency press to supply everything free of cost to India. Better do it because anyway Indians are not going to pay musharraf any royalty for this bundle of rotten junk!


Don't worry about pakistan, it is anyway soon going to be in stone age... US bombing won't be necessary. Thanks to French connection to put spanner in your efforts to extort US aid in name of 'dead' osama!

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Bush, musharraf & Kargil

What's common between Bush and musharraf ?

Both are paranoid and dream about things which never exists. Bush dreamt WMD in Iraq and bombed it to no limits while musharraf dreamt of India attacking pakistan in 1999 and sent his army to Kargil.

But why not Bush is holding musharraf as a Kargil war criminal and sending him to a trial the way it is happening for Saddam Hussein. In Iraq there has been no evidence found for WMD but musharraf is confessing in his biography the fact that he sent his 5 army units to assist terror groups in infiltrating Kargil.

Surprisingly musharraf claims Kargil war to be pakistani army's landmark victory. Yeah... Surely best ever! as pakistani army was in best ever position at start of any previous war, but obviously the end result was same as all other previous wars! Numerous unfortunate pakistani soldiers were "landmarked" on Indian soil. How coward would be the army who even refuses to accepted bodies of its slain soldiers! And musharraf calls this victory! Buzz off... Limit your definition of victory to occasional cricket and hockey.. There is no other way pakistan can win anything else from India.

And winning hearts as musharraf said sometime back... Well India had enough heartburn after trusting pakistan. Its time India stop treating pakistan like a spoiled street kid and takes the task of actually 'reforming' it. The way Bush did in Iraq! Isn't that the best way Mr. Bush or are you thinking of doing it yourself to meet your dear friend Osama?

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Brand IIT, quota raj & David Fagiano

Brand IIT can coexist with quota raj : David Fagiano

With due respect Mr. Fagiano, your argument that IIT's are second to none in the country and hence the brand name will not be diluted because of quota raj is flawed.

IITs are not competing with any Indian tech school for their existence. They belong to stature of Ivy league and when we talk of brand dilution its with respect to Ivy league and not with respect to some unknown institute of Tamil Nadu who offers close to 80% reservation. Please let me know if MIT or CMU or Stanford or any one for that matter gives admit on bases of merit or something else?

Extending your logic Mr. Fagiano, when you were COO at Dale Carnegie, did you recruited a person on his merit or because his forefathers has faced discrimination in US. Its very competitive out here making it survival of fittest. We definitely appreciate your concern about the so called socially backwards of India, but the solution is not enrolling them into IITs but it would be making them eligible to get into IITs themselves. A person with crutches will never be able to run!

Monday, September 18, 2006

Outsourcing!

Made in pak: Fake Indian currency

An RBI panel quoted that Indian economy had fake currencies worth Rs 1,69,000 crore till 2000 and pakistan is working overtime to supply more. ISI is helping counterfeits source security paper from same foreign suppliers and than distribute that in India through smugglers and D company network. Since the fake notes are so look alike of real ones, its difficult to detect them by the real ones.

Why not we cash in on the opportunity presented by our beloved neighbor. He is supplying us currency free of cost. We could very well legitimize that currency as Indian economy by its sheer size would be able to absorb the entire capacity of pakistani press. Since the macro economics warns us about the dangers of monetization regime, we can tackle that situation by stopping printing ourselves.

What will the note press employees do if we stop printing the currency? Simple we get some developed country to outsource its note production to us. This way we will make twice profits. Save the cost of printing our own currency and gain more revenues by taking an outsourced printing job.

So when will we start minting money on pakistan's evil designs?

Sunday, September 10, 2006

India, pakistan and the Nuclear Missiles

Got the following email as a fwd. Its funny stuff and a good satire on Indian buereocracy!

During the Cold War, if USA launched a nuke-loaded missile,

Soviet satellites would inform the Soviet army in 3 seconds and in
less than 5 seconds Soviet counter-missiles would be on their way.

This was their scenario.................

But if there is a nuclear war between India and pakistan.

The Pakistan army decides to launch a nuke-missile towards India.

They don't need any permission from their government, and promptly
order the countdowns.

Indian technology is highly advanced.

In less than 8 seconds, Indian army detects the pak Countdown and
decides to launch a missile in retribution.

But they need permission from the Government of India.

They submit their request to the Indian President. The President
forwards it to the Cabinet.

The Prime Minister calls an emergency Lok Sabha session. The LS meets,
but due to several walkouts and severe protests by the opposition, it
gets adjourned and adjourned indefinitely.

The President asks for a quick decision.

In the mean time, the pak missile failed to take off due to technical
failure. Their attempts for a relaunch are still on.

Just then the Indian ruling party is reduced to a minority because a
party that was giving outside support withdraws it.

The President asks the PM to prove his majority within a week.

As the ruling party fails to win the confidence vote, a caretaker
government is installed.

The caretaker PM decides to permit the armed forces to launch a nuclear missile.

But the Election Commission says that a caretaker government can not
take such a decision because elections are at hand.

A Public Interest Litigation is filed in the Supreme Court alleging
misuse of power by the Election Commission.

The Supreme Court comes to the rescue of the PM, and says the acting PM is authorized to take this decision in view of the emergency facing
the nation.

Just then one of the Pak missiles successfully took off, but it fell
367 miles away from the target, on its own government building at 11.00AM.

Fortunately there were no casualties as no employee had reached the
office that early.

In any case, the nuclear core of the missile had detached somewhere in flight.

The Pakistan army is now trying to get better technologies from China and USA.

The Indian Government, taking no chances, decides to launch a nuclear
missile of its own, after convening an all-party meeting.

This time all the parties agree.

Its three months since the army had sought permission. But as
preparations begin, "pro-humanity", "anti-nuclear" activists come out
against the Government\'s decision.

Human chains are formed and Rasta rokos organised.

In California and Washington endless e-mails are sent to Indians like
Kalingaa and all of you, condemning the government and mentioning
"Please forward it to as many Indians as possible".

On the Pakistan side, the missiles kept malfunctioning. Some missiles
deviate from target due to technical failures or high-speed wind
blowing over Rajasthan.

Many of them land in the Indian Ocean killing some fishes.

A missile (smuggled from USA) is pressed into service.

Since the Pakistan army is unable to understand its software, it hits
its original destination: Russia .

Russia successfully intercepts the missile and in retaliation launches
a nuclear missile towards Islamabad.

The missile hits the target and creates havoc.

Pakistan cries for help. India expresses deep regrets for what has
happened and sends in a million dollars worth of Parle-G biscuits.

Thus India never gets to launch the missile.

pakistan never gets it right.

And

we live happily ever after!!!!...

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Ujjain!

Ujjain!

The city where Lord Krishna did his education in Sandipani ashram, Kalidas created literary master pieces and your sincerely did his schooling. The city is in National news for all the wrong reasons. Few ABVP "students" killed Prof on matter of college elections! What can be more shameful and disgraceful for the people of Ujjain.

It is a blackmark on people of Ujjain, who take pride of sending best students to best educational institutes around the country in a number vast disproportionate to its population. Be it IITs, IIM, ISB, AIIMS or any other top Indian or even International institute, Ujjain always had more than its share of representation. Today this incidence make the students from Ujjain humiliated and ashamed.

I am hopeful that people of Ujjain will take this seriously and would do whatever it takes to bring culprits to justice. It is sad that law enforcing agencies which were present at the incidence in the first place failed to stop the misfortune and now needs national media pressure to even take first small action. Please keep politics outside the college gates and prove that fabric of Indian law though is in bad shape but has not yet shambled. Its increasingly getting difficult to trust Indian government and its various agencies. It all happening wrong!

Sunday, August 27, 2006

No Arbitrage Principal

This is a fantasy to which my Thermo D Prof claimed that I violated the second law of thermodynamics. The linked news story talks about two Irish scientists who claim to find a way to generate electricity by a combination of magnets such that the system produces electricity almost 3 times of what was given in. This looks more like a betting game where I sure shot win 3 for every 1. That means I can earn 2 everytime for as long as I can ;)

Are you guys serious? I hope you are and sincerely wish you to make my fantasy come true. What power will this technology have to revolutionize the world.

But If I see along the subjects that I have studied till now, the theory is contradictory. Some Englishman said that there are no free lunches, Chemistry told that energy cannot be created or destroyed, Thermodynamics second law also stops me from decreasing the entropy of the universe by such wishful thinking and now latest my Fin Prof says that money cannot be made free i.e. For similar things I have to pay similar price else I can arbitrage and earn risk free money!

Good luck guys! Prove the world that you are not another set of Ramar Pillai who made petrol out of some shrubs.

Monday, July 31, 2006

Reuters UK: India and Pakistan set to resume peace talks

India and Pakistan set to resume peace talks | Reuters.co.uk

Wow after all those rhetoric and lip service to victims of mumbai blasts and all other similar terrorist attacks, Indian Govt seems to be back to what it is best at: appeasement!

Appease everyone who drags the country and impede anyone who is working to make India great. Appease enemy (peace talks!), appease vote bank (Caste based reservations!), appease criminals (thrash POTA!), appease politicians (Office of Profit Bill!), appease partymen(avenues of misusing taxpayers money!)...All in all politician's pocket filling exercise and another way to expand the pie of corruption.

It takes 71 days to start a business in India while only 48 days and half the money in communist China. Will Indian govt ever appease budding entrepreneurs who will be growth engines of the economy?

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Operation Vijay - Kargil War 1999

On occasion of anniversary of Operation Vijay, saluting the brave Indian heroes, 533 martyrs and thousands of other soldiers who fought bravely under inhospitable conditions to reclaim Indian strategic positions from the infiltrating enemy army disguised as terrorists.

Ugly pakistani ambitions lead to Kargil War in 1999. When will it get enlightenment to work on its own development. How can a nation buy weapons when people are dying of hunger and diseases. pakistan should better worry about its own future!

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Never trust the US on Pakistan

Never trust the US on Pakistan
July 21, 2006, B Raman

Mr. Raman given the India's inability to turn uncle Sam's fascination away from pakistan, what do you think can India do to solve its problem. We don't need a certificate from uncle Sam to solve our problems. Uncle Sam provides cover up for all the pakistan's misdeed and doesn't believe us when we say so. So what should we do?

Why can't we play bigger game and make a peg on Uncle Sam's credibility itself. Why not we get evidence to prove that ISI is supported by US State Dept to facilitate terrorism in India. Why not we expose uncle Sam in world community when he sponsors terrorism in India. There are many countries in world who don't like uncle Sam as big daddy of the world and would come to our side in toppling USA from its current leader position. It will benefit us as uncle Sam would loose credibility for its war against terrorism as just a selfish agenda and secondary he will be too busy in tiding up its own affair which will give us space to put our act together in dealing with pakistan.

Any better ideas RAW/IB ?

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Israeli jets bomb Beirut Airport

"Jerusalem: Israel bombed and shelled southern Lebanon and sent ground troops over the border for the first time in six years Wednesday after Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers."

The difference between India and Israel is so stark. A terrorist organization captures 2 soldiers of Israel's army to trade for prisoner swap and Israel has gone all out on war against the sponsoring country.

"Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the Hezbollah raid an '“act of war' by Lebanon and threatened ''very, very, very painful'' retaliation."

On the other hand, in India, a terrorist organizatio sponsored by world famous terrorist exporter country comes in and blows apart hundreds of innocent civilians. The Indian govt now underquotes the casualty to save some compensation money and Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh issues a statement asking Indian citizens to remain clam. It seems like govt is asking people to forget the trauma so that even govt can forget the same. What did the govt did to the culprits of the 1993 Mumbai blasts till now?

Mr Singh, the country expects results now. The patience is on the way of giving out. We do not expect you to wage war with pakistan, but we do expect Indian govt to shoulder the responsibility of protecting people and punishing the rogue agents, hiding anywhere in the world.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

India will win war against terror: PM

Mr. Prime Minister

Nation needs more than sympathy and speech from you. We are not a nation which can go on suffering at the hands of terrorists without countering it. We need to show them our capability in handling their designs. In fact we need to put those 'merchants of death' to rest.

Mr. PM, India demands more from you. We need commitment from the government and want to see the culprits being booked. Put the best forces, diplomats, experts to task and show the people of India that you are capable of doing it. Saying is no more enough!!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Serial Blasts in Mumbai











The Serial Blasts in Mumbai !!!

A bloody act of cowardliness.............

The powerful serial bombs ripped apart mumbai western local railway trains and station killing many innocent people. Who is responsible for it? Will they be ever brought to justice?

Is this an Indian intelligence failure or success of pakistan sponsored terrorism? What should India do to end the misery of the innocent people who keep suffering to such act of terrorism? Do we have enough ability to punish the criminals of the country even if they are hiding in any country of the world? When will this all end?

What is the solution? .. But first will someone tell the near ones of those getting killed by such acts as to what the problem is?

I believe the problem is simple. Indian govt is not tough enough to fix such cowards who keep playing with Indian lives. We allow them to spring up in safe heavens of pakistan and then 'invite' them to carry on evil on Indian soil and then give them safe passage to return back and try something even worse the next time!

How should we deal with this given today's world don't allow (or we perceive that US will attack us if we try to eliminate their biggest and beloved arms customer) us to attack pakistan and liquidate terrorism for once and ever! Do we have any other solution?

I think we do! We need to be tough in our dealings. Each and every such rouge should be punished and that too by setting an example to deter his followers. We should use our intelligence to kill such bastards in their own safe homes. I believe our intelligence is competent enough to eliminate such rogues in their own homes. It sounds politically incorrect to say but this is the way everyone works. Ask CIA or Mosad if you doubt! But ya.. All this under the smiling face of diplomacy by feigning ignorance "who me??" the way pakistan has been doing for so long. I think the time has come for us to beat them at their own game and on their own turf. When Israel can missile the head quarters of Hamas on kidnapping their one solder, how much more blood do we need to see before we respond?

When George Bush can wage war on terrorism without any concrete evidence of WMD, whom are we waiting for? We did put up all our military when terrorists reached the gates of parliament, but that wasn't enough! Are our politicians waiting for the day when terrorists actually enter into the parliament? Or are they already in?

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Shiv Sainiks burn down tourist bus

Shiv Sainiks burn down tourist bus

Grow up Mr. Thackeray, Joshi & Co. If a statue is desecrated then you should consecrated it back and not going about to desecrate the city.

In the current scene, you should rather rename your party to 'Atankwadi party' from Shiv Sena! You are doing nothing worthy to uphold the name. At least do not spoil the name of a God!!

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Stay strong, stay inspired

Chetan Bhagat in this article suggests some good tips on how to grab Media Attention and hence ignite masses to win this War for Merit!

Stay strong, stay inspired


by
Chetan Bhagat May 30, 2006

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article against reservations and sent it to a trusted journalist friend (TJF). The article was in the form of an open letter to the prime minister. TJF replied that even though the article sounded heartfelt and the arguments were valid, she could not use it. The reason, she said, was simple. She told me a lot of what I was saying had already been said. The case for merit, equality, Indian competitiveness was already out in the open. Her newspaper would not repeat the same argument again.

I took her point and withdrew the article. However, it struck me that in many situations, the media will not cover something relevant just because well, it is not entertaining enough.

I had a call with another senior journalist friend (yes, I have journalists as friends -- I have no life, I know). We discussed the reservation issue -- on how it was practically more relevant to middle class Indians than any other issue. While the issue does get coverage, it has not ignited minds and galvanised the middle class. Somehow the issue is not getting as forceful a treatment. Fanaa's ban in Gujarat attracted far more media space for instance.

"The reason quite simply is the lack of a dramatic event. Ten years back, kids were burning themselves. Nothing of that sort is happening now. And the media is so immune now, to get them interested young people need to do more", was what she told me.

I am not here to do moral posturing. And I do respect her opinion. So I will not go into the "Media these days" rant. I will only take some lessons from a senior person in the media and try to give some tips to the activists to make sure their protests are more effective. After all, the point of making a noise is to be heard. And to be heard, one doesn't have to burn himself -- that is foolish and a one-time flash in the pan. If you want to do an effective protest, learn from the past masters -- and who better than Mahatma Gandhi.

In photographs, Mahatma Gandhi is a frail, saintly figure. However, what is often ignored is his magical ability to make a point and attract attention. He had no advertising budgets or PR managers. There were very few media outlets then. And he had only one, constant -- freedom. Yet, he dominated media space for decades and ultimately won. There is no reason why we cannot learn a few tips from him, some of which I list below. And you can get these checked by any media professional; they would tend to agree that this is a way to get yourself heard.

1. Keep a visual -- This is vital in today's multimedia world. Newspapers need to be colourful to compete with television, and a television is not a television without a visual. Gandhi kept a visual -- salt march (everyone remembers the scooping of salt), burning British made clothes, operating the charkha and more. Placards are boring. Do something else -- a huge bonfire, human chains -- be creative, make it easier for NDTV. They will come, I promise.

2. Emotions more than Reason -- Whenever activists talk to the media, always keep emotions in the forefront. Brooding anger, tears, banging fists is far more interesting than statistics on caste based demographics. Tell people what you think about the issue -- you are on the editorial page. Tell people what you feel about the issue -- you are on the front page.

3. Intentions more than Action -- This is a trick most used by our politicians even today. In reality, actions alone matter. However, our politicians keep saying 'our intention is to lift the backward castes', and they almost sound reasonable. Of course, the actions only divide the country and kill merit -- but they hide in the garb of purported good intentions. Protestors can do the same. They may be blocking traffic -- but harp on the intentions: 'But this is for Saraswati mata -- knowledge should decide'. (Think about it -- the politicians will be scared to take on Saraswati mata or if you mix any religious sentiment in your favour). Alongside, attack the other party's intentions -- 'they are only doing reservations for selfish political gain' (which is probably true).

4. Don't hurt yourself -- Burning yourself or even hunger strikes are very dangerous tools. There is no guarantee they will be effective. If they don't work, you will be seen as weak. Gandhi used a hunger strike rarely, and only after he had decades of experience.

5. Find a simple, interesting slogan -- Gandhi always had a simple slogan. It gives two benefits -- one it makes it easier to pass through word of mouth with minimal distortion. Secondly, it fits into the limited headline space in newspapers. In media terms, this is called 'the hook'. The reservation movement has no slogan yet. Find one. My suggestions: "No suck-up politics" OR "India on Merit only"

The above points are important to make your cause heard. Ignore them and the world will ignore you. Play them right and the media is on your side. Trust me; the reservation issue has bothered a lot of people in the media too.

I personally feel very strongly against reservations, and I wish the agitators all the best. I give the above tips as my small contribution towards tackling this monumental issue that will take effort from all of us. I am writing this article for an online site so that you can forward it to all friends who feel the same about reservations.

You are standing up for fairness, God will be with you. Stay strong, stay inspired.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Advani on quota: Don't harm merit

BJP looks like is confused over which way to go on issue of reservation. It makes "vote bank" sense to remain silent but what about the party ideology?

Surprisingly the ideology master of BJP - the RSS which otherwise have something to say on every issue under the sun has suddenly disappeared from the entire canvas.

Well let me take the effort of reminding BJP how to look about it. These guys used to talk a lot about Article 370 or Uniform Civil Code. What these "beliefs" have to do on the issue of reservation? Well on a deeper level it all looks connected to me. Article 370 talks about "reserving" special state status of Kashmir while Uniform Civil Code is positioned against unequal treatment to various sections of the society.

I am sure that this silence of BJP will hurt it as its traditional stronghold of the Urban 'elites' in the cow belt are the ones directly opposed to the reservation and also BJP is failing to carry the responsibility of the opposition, to carry the voice of the people to the deaf ears of the government.

Hence, we all know that all this political parties has only one agenda, how to be in power and therefore how to secure vote banks. India needs a break from all these selfish parties who makes loud claims but actually are the greatest threat to nation. Get lost BJP, Get lost Congress, and get lost all the left, DMK, AIDMK, TDP, BSP, SP,JD, SS, RSS, and all such rubbish acronyms.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Nehru's View on Reservation!

The following newspaper article dated June 27, 1967 clearly puts forth the views of Jawaharlal Nehru on reservation. Wake up Arjun Singh!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Mission Moon

A slightly modified version of a email fwd:

Manmohan Singh to Bush - We are sending Indians to the moon next year.
Bush - Wow! How Many?
Manmohan Singh - 100
27 - OBC
25 - SC
20 - ST
5 - Handicapped
5 - Sports Persons
5 - Terrorist Affected
5 - Kashmiri Migrants
8 - Politicians (Ministers without portfolios)

Astronauts should keep faith in the government to protect the legitimate interests of scientific community and their lunar aspirations.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

The price of reservation

by Prof P. V. Indiresan Monday, May 15, 2006 in The Hindu Business Line

Usually, media memory is short. Most stories are forgotten at the end of the day; few last a week. Unusually, interest in the reservation controversy has not died down even after two months. Evidently, this controversy touches a raw nerve; people cannot get over their hurt easily.

Considering the degree of interest in the topic, there is surprisingly few hard facts known about the issue. IITs have had reservation for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Tribes for over 30 years. There is no public information of how the beneficiaries have fared, or how well they have performed in the profession compared to regular students, or compared to SC/ST students from other less prestigious colleges.

Tamil Nadu experience


Tamil Nadu has the longest experience with reservation. With almost 80 per cent admissions and posts reserved, it has the most extensive application of that device. The Tamil Nadu experience can be described both as a success and as a failure. It is a success because backward castes have wrested the leadership — both in the academic and administrative spheres — apart from acquiring total command of the political space. Not only have the backward castes taken command, they have also made Tamil Nadu one of the most successful States.

Reservation in Tamil Nadu can also be declared as a failure on two counts: Even after three-quarters of a century, the backward castes are unwilling to compete openly. There are third, even fourth generation beneficiaries of reservation who are unable to get over their dependence on the handicaps reservation provides for them. It appears, reservation is a crutch, not a remedy.

The success of backward castes in Tamil Nadu appears to be partly due to emigration of upper castes: There are few Brahmins, Mudaliars, Naidus, Pillais or Chettiars to contend with; quite a few have migrated out of the State. There is no analysis how far the loss of so much human capital has hurt (or helped) the State.

Yet, it would be incorrect to conclude that backward castes can never stand up to competition. Once again, we have no hard data to rely on. However, anecdotal evidence points to the view that competent persons among the backward castes never flaunt their caste badge; they want to be known and respected for what they achieve — they stand tall. On the other hand, weaker but ambitious persons make their caste a fetish. They make noise louder and frequently; they get noticed more often.

Consider the visibility of capable students in the job market. They know what they want. They get selected promptly and vanish from the scene after no more than one or two job interviews. The least competitive ones are unsure of where they can succeed. They try again and again only to be rejected. They are noticeable everywhere. Particularly when they wear the caste badge, they will be shortlisted even when not well qualified.

Fooled by noise


With competent students appearing but few times, the less competent ones appearing frequently, the latter appear to be far larger in numbers than they actually are. Logically, the proportion of competent backward castes must be several times higher than what they appear to be in selection committees. That is like the case of a farmer who ruefully remarked after promising to supply a thousand frogs "the noise sure fooled me!"

There is yet another reason why backward students under-perform. As a natural corollary of the Reservation Principle, teaching posts have been reserved on caste basis. That is a cardinal error. What poor students need most are the best teachers available, not the least qualified. Dr Sowell, a distinguished professor from Stanford, was once asked on his visit to Madras (as it was then) whether he would prefer Black teachers to teach Black students (Prof Sowell is Black.) His answer was, "I do not care whether the teacher is White, Black or Blue; I want the best!"

Quality teaching, the key


Unfortunately, this basic principle has been discarded by our policymakers, who have grossly under-estimated the importance of teaching quality. In the process, they have run down state-run schools. In the past fifty years, the population of Chennai has increased almost ten times. Yet, many schools run by the City Corporation have been closed for "want of students". In truth, it cannot be that the students, but the quality of teachers selected that was found wanting.

It is a recorded fact that discipline among school teachers has come down. Across the country, half the time teachers are not attending to class work at all. It is a fact that most students in Delhi's Corporation schools cannot do simple arithmetic — multiply two-digit numbers — even after five years of education. Yet, as one NIIT experiment has shown, given a chance, they can pick up computer skills on their own.

In the prevailing ethos of reservation, a person can get the benefits of reservation without making any payment in return. That contravenes a natural law that is colloquially described as "there is no free lunch". In engineering, such systems are known as "perpetual-motion" machines, machines that run forever without any input. For every transaction, there has to be entries on both sides of the ledger. A price has to be paid for the gains made by reservation. There is no escape from that law. Then, what is the price the beneficiaries of reservation pay for the benefit they get? One price they have paid is lowered quality of education in state-run schools, inferior opportunities to learn; in consequence, endemic poverty too. Is that price worth paying?

As one correspondent has pointed out, reservation is like declaring a boundary scored in a cricket game as a six if hit by a backward caste player. Such artificial boost appears beneficial. It may not be. As one SC student remarked: "I won a degree in the IIT but lost my self-image." How many students would have done better with their lives if they had been exposed to what they can master, instead of being subjected to a difficult drill for which they were not trained, we do not know.

How far has the Reservation Policy has helped the poor, has reduced the rich-poor gap? The average family income of SC students in IIM Ahmedabad is twice that of the others. Is that an exception, or is it true of other institutions too? That is the problem: We have no data on which to base reasoned decisions. Our political masters are unwilling to generate much needed information on this issue, nor or they willing to consider any alternative. At the same time, they have acquired the power to declare as constitutionally illegal any institution that operates on a caste-free basis.

Friend or foe?


Is everyone who promotes reservation a friend of the backward castes? Is everyone who questions reservation at university level an enemy of backward castes?

Who hurts backward castes more: Those who deny good school education or those who want well-run schools?

A proposal to identify and give special education to talented backward caste students has been before the government for over 25 years, and still finds no support. Strange are the ways of our democracy, of government of some people, by some people for themselves.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Knowledge Commission not above the Constitution - Arjun Singh

Arjun Singh said that the National Knowledge Commission is not above the Constitution and added that he was not willing to talk to them.

Yeah.. knowledge is not above the constitution but it is lying somewhere out of India in NASA, or Silicon Valley or London or Singapore.

Why do we need knowledge to run the country. We can work very well with reservations or temples or our God like politicians. Why do we need people with IQ of 150? Why can't India not do same by six people each of IQ 25. Anyway one out of six person in the world is an Indian.

"We are not a banana republic," he said.

Excellent! We are indeed not a banana republic. Looks like Arjun Singh did in fact went to school. But if we are not banana republic then why are this god-damned politicians trying so hard to make us one.

Why are these politicians not afraid of fragmenting the country on basis of merit. Don't they realize that the merit will concentrate on the other side and kick all of this politicians really hard. Who will save these politicians if god-forbids a time come when "unreserved-deserved" burnt with mandal turns into terrorists.

Arjun Singh its still time to make the corrections and return back to work for India Shinning. A India Whining is not your mission. The 'D' in your HRD ministry is for Development and not Damaging.

and Mr Prime Minister, I think its time for you to say "Arjun Singh, you are fired"!

Monday, April 10, 2006

Enemy at the Gates

50% Reservation in premier institutes like IITs and IIMs. Apart from the damage it does to the repute and quality of the institutes and the lower half of the class, there is a bigger danger for the other 50% also.

The intense competition to squeeze in one of this institute will glorify the entrance exam so much as to demand unrealistic efforts from the students. It will create a big burn out risk as getting into these institutes would become the success rather than way to success. This burn out will affect the quality of the institutes which are already concerned by the coaching class generation and trying for reforms in exams to limit the coaching institutes.

But such an vote bank appeasement action will lead to higher and more intense competition and hence greater reliance to coaching classes. And once a student comes through, he would be delighted and on cloud 9. He might be so frustrated by investing 2-3 yrs of his life into the jee/cat so that he might not feel to study anymore once in there and his motivation to study will be affected. Hence in effect we screwed up the bottom 50% and the top 50% is burnt out! What do we expect now?

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Should IIT/IIM quotas be increased to 49.5%?

by Prof. P V Indiresan, Former director, IIT Madras

The move by the group of ministers to impose 49.5% reservation in IITs and IIMs is sad news as much for the backward castes as it is for the institutions concerned.

For decades, reservation has been used as a substitute for genuine development. With this new move, politicians will have one more excuse to neglect the welfare of the communities they claim to support.

If reservation had been the antidote for backwardness, after 50 years or more of its use, it should have become unnecessary. The fact that people want even more of it means that reservation is not a remedy, but an addiction.

Ideally, the solution is to provide good instruction for all from the pre-primary stage itself. If that is deemed impractical, at least after the primary stage, a couple of hundred poor, backward caste children per district should get vouchers to enable them to study in top schools.

Those additional years of good education will empower them to stand on their own feet, to gain admission in prestigious institutions with dignity and not by force.

What the group of ministers has decreed is that no institution should be caste-free, that the meritorious cannot have any rights whatever and they cannot have any place of their own under the Indian sun.

This move turns the idea of morality upside down: Poor children of forward castes are deemed punishable for no reason other than their parentage; rich backward caste children are deemed worthy of patronage for no reason other than that they enjoy overwhelming power.

Those who breathe casteism declare themselves to be secular; those who plead for quality education are condemned as communal. It is indeed a repetition of the story of the wolf and the lamb.

IITs and IIMs that have been free of communal canker all their lives will now become breeding ground for the worst form of casteism.

Just at the time the country is about to take off economically, and take its due place in the world, this move will destroy the institutions that have contributed most for that progress. Their demise is not the true tragedy; that the nation should be forced to kill the goose that lays golden eggs is the real tragedy.

Words will not defeat this blatant misuse of power; action is needed. Right-thinking persons should demonstrate that a good school education for the deprived, and not reservation, is the real remedy. I will give half my pension to do so. I call on others to contribute what they can.

Friday, March 31, 2006

Sikkim to become another Switzerland'

Sikkim to become another Switzerland

Sikkim.. Wow what a place. I visited there in 2001 and was deeply exalted with the landscape there. I found it even better than what I saw in Kashmir when I went there in 2000. But since I went to both place in different seasons, a comparison would be unfair and unnecessary.

But what made me feel Sikkim better than Kashmir ? Probably one of the reason is that since I went to Kashmir just after the Kargil war, I was frightened to my guts. And in that insecurity complex, I did not interacted much with locals there and preferred to stay always in eyesight of BSF or army's patrol. Also as out tour guide told me that as an environmental effect of Kargil war, the snowfall was less and at places it even had a black snowfall.

Anyway.. Coming to Sikkim, wonderful people, and since the place is not very commercially (wrt tourist) developed, the locals treated us more like guests rather than commercial opportunity. Also the most beautiful sight was the houses of locals. They were build on hilly terrain and ever house had a cute window with curtains. Probably that's their way to keep their house warm but that was awesome to see.

The ride from gangtok to Tsangu lake was a true delight. Since it was also the way to Nathula mountain Pass which is our border with China, there were many military camps scattered on the way in between the green clad mountains. Also there was fresh snowfall the night before, which augmented the beauty. And was the Tsangu lake. What treat was it, the last surrounded by two hills, one fully snow clad and other fully green. The sun was the architect of this colorful landscape.

Other than it there were lot of Buddhist monasteries adding spirituality in the mountains. It provided a inner clam when in one of the monastery with lots of flags written with some religious script.


Sikkim is my favorite place on earth among all I have seen. Let me check out the Lord Of the Rings mountains of New Zealand and the Swiss Alps and I will update my list.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Tendulkar booed out at homeground

Tendulkar booed out at homeground

Does it mean the end of Sachin Tendulkar ?

He is the only one who has to make the choice or go down in history through the painful Ganguly street.

We have all seen Sachin as (6+4)Dulkar but he is no more that and he should acknowledge it. When the lion is old and loose his teeth, what he do ? Wait for death or make a glory for fighting it? I would choose second. What would Sachin choose?

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Times of Mind - Open The Borders

Times of Mind - Open The Borders

I very much agree with views of Subroto Bagchi that India should open its borders for talented people from neighboring countries. Apart from supplying a good talent, this step will work more towards making India as a regional power. Our neighbors would be lured to be a part of our success story rather than envy it and try to sabotage it.

Though critics may talk about Indians who are un-employed and foreign nationals taking away their jobs, but I think this fears are not profound with reality. Actually there is a big shortage of talented people in IT / ITES sector and this change would be welcomed by whole Indian industry. Also a confluence of regional talent would do more good for our industry to climb up the global value chain.

Another opposition to this idea may come from the argument that we would be raising competition for ourselves as the foreign nationals will return back to their countries and start out on their own taking away our business. Well this is a fact of life. Why do we crib to US to increase their visa quotas. But I think competition is always beneficial to bring out best in us. And such a productive competition should be very much encouraged than a arms or nuclear weapons race. Its a race to top and not to bottom.

Any fears on national security to allow professionals from neighboring countries should not be great concern as there are already a large number of illegal occupants. Those are the people who stay in India with no official record while professionals would be coming in with proven credentials which could be easily verified and checked. Also the professionals would themselves be careful so as to not brush up on the wrong side of the Indian laws. It would be in better interest of national security to curb illegal immigrants and welcome legitimate and talented ones.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Outsourcing the Big Kahuna

WorldNetDaily: Outsourcing the Big Kahuna

Wow it was fun reading. Do read the link. It is an article by Craige McMillan (No not the New Zealand cricketer!). He is advocating to outsource least efficient and most expensive American Industry, "Government". He seems quite amused by the idea of 1/8th of cost which outsourcing to India offer. He says that since India has culturally sensitive bureaucracy so the government can be outsourced easily. Beyond government he also wants to outsource military because India has nukes and also the internal revenue service because India can get him away with only 1/8 of his present tax.

Good going Mr. McMillan, I am sure Indians will exceed your expectations for efficiently running your "outsourced" government. But just do not ask us credentials of running our own government.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Best Bakery: 1-yr jail term for Zaheera

I don't know why seeing this news remind me of the the Sidney Sheldon's novel "If Tomorrow Comes", where the lead character gets onto wrong side of bigger politics and gets advised that she will be acquitted if she confess a crime which she has not done. This trap gets her into the jail.

Even a Hindi movie has been made on same lines. It was Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan movie "Ek Hasina Thi". Both in movie and novel, our heroine gets even with the culprits by taking "kanoon in her own hands", but that was fiction.

What is truth?

Thursday, March 02, 2006

India, US seal N-deal: Has Delhi given away a lot?

India, US seal N-deal: Has Delhi given away a lot?

Lets see it objectively:

what's it is all about?
- All Indian current and future "civilian" nuclear plants will now be put under permanent international safeguards
- In return, US assures India of uninterrupted supply of nuclear fuel
- The world market will be accessible to India for nuclear fuel once it joins the loop
- India will be free to continue its nuclear programme - be it development of new reactors of military programme
- 14 of India's 22 reactors will now come under international scanner

Now what is that India gain's?
- Costs of uranium will go down.
- Deal will open the door to nuclear power suppliers from Russia and France to set up plants in India
- These countries will take back the spent fuel (greenpeace pay attn)
- India can get international nuclear technology for its reactors

What will India giveup?
-- All these facilities will be open to inspections by the IAEA
- India won't be allowed to trade in military part of nuclear sphere

Now analyses time:-

No sensible person can deny the benefits from what India is gaining. At a time when India has huge power shortage which is also mother of all infrastructure related crisis, nuclear power is welcome. We can put a safe bet on India's future with nuclear power. No doubt that it is risky proposition in terms of hazards or environmental issues, but I firmly believe these are problems which have solution. The solution are easy if we put our brains in engineering our reactors well and when we are disciplined on usage, waste disposal and in general safety and security. It a small price to feed, grow and prosper nearly 1.1 billion Indians.

On the other hand, looking at what India might has to give up the most concern that people are having is having an IAEA watchdog on our reactors. Mind you we already have them on 6 of the proposed 14. We will still have 8 marked as military including fast breeders. The concern is that our nuclear capability will be capped.
We already have some nuclear capability and if govt is to be believed then we will have sufficient strike back capability to meet our current "demands" from China, Pak etc.

Infact I do not think as a nation any of these would ever dare to launch nuclear war as a nuclear war has only losers and no winners. What must concern us is that the nukes of Pak are open for sale to terrorists. It is that shop which we need to shut as that is the most realistic threat to us in current scenario. And the only diplomatic way to do that would be to show it ourselves and get Pak do it too. It will ensure that our capability is not capped because practically we would have increased our capability by relatively decreasing our "enemy's" capability.

India not being able to trade in military nuclear area looks irrelevant to me as Dr. A Q Khan who was born in Bhopal has already moved his shop to Pakistan. We have got no more nuke traders. Add to that our brilliant scientist are confident that we have got a good deal by ensuring perennial supply of cheaper uranium.

In conclusion, I do not think that New Delhi has given away something big unless there is no conspiracy theory behind and what we are seeing is more or less truth.

I would extend this blog with this White House link India Civil Nuclear Cooperation: Responding to Critics. This information very much supports my assumptions and analysis .

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Beating around the Bush!

Hey Leftists,

You guys have lost your credibility by protesting everything under the sun. It now seems that you do not protest for genuine things but only for attracting attention. What will you achieve by so called "democratic" protest of Bush? In the first place are you guys democratic? And secondly all the people for whom it matters and are in a position to decide are dominantly pro US in their economic and political orientation. They don't care about you. Why are you wasting precious time of poor people who could otherwise work and earn or instead go to some school to prepare for this capitalist world.

As it goes, communism makes people equally poor while capitalism unequally rich. If not a Rolls Royce, let a comman man drive a maruti.

As a African story goes:
Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up and knows that it will have to outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.
And, every morning in Africa a lion wakes up and knows that it will have to outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
So, in Africa, it doesn't matter if you are the lion or the gazelle. When that sun comes up, you had better be running.

So people understand this, all the wards of these communists are in US of A (not then USSR or China mind you) and they have sufficient money to live happily. Then why are you not seeing them using you to gain their political mileage. India can do without these perennial protesters.. Get some novelty in your protests. At least people would be amused if not inspired by your ideas.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Rang De Basanti


wow great movie. Really inspiring and touching venture. I knew two kinds of movies, one where people came out screeming and other where people walked home silently. Then I saw Rang de Basanti. I am sure people would have walked out inspired.

Its among the rare movie which links practicality with idealism.
The best thing that I liked about the movie that it shows the gen-X is a positive light. I do not know from where this perception of irresponsible youth have caught up with Indian national thought process. Being myself a member of this generation, I feel that we are no less responsible for India's fate than any other generation. In-fact I believe it is fortunate for us and India that we have more dreams than memories about India.

All of us would have only heared about India being golden bird but would havenever believed it. We came up watching doordarshan claiming Mera Bharat Mahan but would have never believed it. But I feel the times are changing. There are many more people who are working towards actually making mera Bharat Mahan. and Indian gen-X is forerunners in it. I can sense a lot more optimism in Indian economy.
Coming to Movie, what was the best shot. I think it was the one when our foreign actress speaks out her first phrase in hindi ;-) I was stunned then and could not control myself laughing for more than 5 minutes.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

mahaMastakabisheka.com


Yes the Jain ceremony of head anointing which happens once in 12 years goes dot com this year.
To give the background of the event:

The 57 feet, thousand and twenty five year old monolithic statue of Lord Gommateshwara, also popularly known as Bahubali, at Shravanabelagola is the tallest in the world. As the Mahamasthakabhisheka begins, consecrated water is sprinkled onto the participants by devotees carrying 1008 specially prepared vessels. The statue is then bathed and anointed with libations such as milk, sugarcane juice, and saffron paste, and sprinkled with powders of sandalwood, turmeric, and vermilion. Offerings are made of petals, gold and silver coins, and precious stones.

After 1993, this event took place in 2006, from February 4th to 19th. The grand opening of Mahamasthakabhisheka festival was done by President of India APJ Abul Kalam on 22nd January 2006. Instead of limiting the abhishek ritual to a day, like all earlier times, the state government and the Sri Digambara Jain Mutt Trust held it for nine days. "We want more pilgrims to experience it. One hundred and eight selected pilgrims will pour the kalasas on the first day, 504 on the second and 1,008 on each of the remaining seven days," the Digamabara Jain Mutt seer Charukeerthi Bhattaraka said.

More details are available on the official website and there is always google.

Now coming to the point. The reason I am writing this blog is that during my two day long visit (see picturtes) to the place, one thing constantly made me think and re-think. I felt that Lord Gomteshwar's mahamastakabhishek was made available only to people who paid a well defined "ransom". See the kalash link for details of this.

A man doing his job honestly, living a true Jain life but poor was very much uninvited. I had an opportunity to experience this stark difference myself. On 18th Feb Saturday, first day of my visit, I went in as a poor man. I was not allowed to step on to the hill (Indragiri) on which the idol is located. The ceremony time was from morning 8 to afternoon 3. All the poor people were required to stand in hot sun or climb a smaller hill (Chandragiri) opposite to the main hill from which one can see the head of the idol but it required a very good eye sight. Poor were allowed to step on the main hill only after 3 PM till 8PM and thankfully till 10PM on Saturday else the poor me would have been disappointed. The great crowd because of religious appeal of the mega event, ensured that each person need about 3 hours to reach to the idol and that too for less than two minutes before you will be pushed out to the downhill way. In between there were enough places to get humiliated in the crowd similar to a Mumbai's local train during rush hours were one would be almost crushed. The patrolling police too made sure that all the people use only half portion of climbing stairs which rest was kept reserved for themselves or some VIP.

I was fortunate enough to get darshan on Saturday night. Finally a poor me got a consolation darshan to cherish.

Came the Sunday, and I was the rich me who got privileged to participate in the ceremony thanks to the money I could "buy" a Kalash. It also offered me privilege to get accommodation for next three days after paying a fixed amount (remember it was the last day of ceremony and I wonder if those temporary things would even have still been around for next three days.) and free food. Food which a person who has not "bought" a kalash cannot get. Food which was not allowed to non-Jain people such as my taxi driver. Food which was being cook exclusively for few privileged "pure Jain" people but the preparation place had loads of potatoes (Jainism advice againt eating vegetable which grow below ground like potatoes, onion, carrot etc.). When I inquired about the presence of potatoes, I met a harsh yelling asking me not be to oversmart and claiming that it was for non-Jain people who are working to make this event happen. Was my driver not working for same reason?

anyway... When I went with a pass denoting me a privileged Kalash holder, I was surprized to see the pathway to hilltop which took me 3 hrs to climb on Saturday, took me only 10 minutes rate limited only by my speed. Why not, I "paid" for it. On the hilltop, I was offered a privilege seat to witness the whole ceremony right infront and experience a divine joy for which I actually went there. But I am thinking, why a poor man who might be a better Jain than me or most of people out there is standing out waiting for the ceremony to get over before he is allowed to climb the hill?

Friday, February 17, 2006

The World Is Flat

Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times "Foreign Affairs" columnist and author of "The World Is Flat

The World is Flat

A amazing book which gave me a perspective to why and how of the Flat world.

What was I doing when I came to know the world is flat? hmm.. Do I have an answer to this question?

let me try...

My first brush with one of the 10 flattener as Tom describes happened when I was waiting for my IIT-JEE result in summer of 1999. I remember to have visited a friends place who ran an computer training institute. I was impatient, as always I am, to know my JEE result. At that time my friend dialed up to the net and connected to www.yahoo.com to search website of IIT. It did not made sense to me then as the concept of internet seemed western while the name yahoo seemed kind of Hindi word!! I did had some exposure to computers then as I had learned some GW basic, logo and game of chess quite some time back, but this was altogether different. The first time I had ever used a computer was sometime in 1995-96 when I went to my uncle's place and played a game of chess on his machine. I specially went to his place some 100 miles off my town to see his computer. At that time it was just an amusing machine which had more of gaming utility. I was unaware of the potential it contained.

Well the JEE result came and I made it to IIT Madras chemical engineering. There in my first semester we had a course on Pascal which we heard was outdated and wasn't that appealing. But it gave a chance to go to computer center which has these green screen Unix-AIX IBM dumb terminals. I guess most of the learning came from peers just by mutual sharing and competing, hacking accounts or just getting sadistic pleasure of doing a remote kill -9 -1 on machines and logging people off unaware.

The internet was limited with only 2 terminals available in library which were always crowded. I remember getting up early on weekends to rush to library to get a hand on one of those terminals. It was at that time, sometime in August 1999 that I opened my first email account at www.hotmail.com only to forget the password the very next day. Those days the net was so slow that it used to take forever for even a page to show up.

Then we used to hear all around of Y2K problem and the big challenge it presented to the computing industry. It came and went mostly un-noticed in IIT campus but we saw that the jobs for our graduating seniors were great and everyone from computer science to civil engineering was joining a software company.

Suddenly as the millennium changed, there were computers all around the IIT and we all became expert users overnight. I do not recollect how this change happened so fast but it did happened for good. And thanks to a big donation from Mr Gururaj Deshpande that IITM suddenly went overdrive on computers and internet bandwidth. It made me a virtual global citizen which I am today for almost 20 hours in a day.

Then when it was the time for us to graduate, we came to know that dot com bubble has gone burst and many Indians are returning back from US after loosing their jobs. Our seniors who were placed with software companies got regret letters from them communicating their inability to offer them a job. Some companies even put their shutters down or disappeared entirely. It was a bad time and somehow the perception became that software companies are unstable and a risky proposition. Better find your branch jobs. Even the IT salaries took a big dip and it seemed that our seniors graduated with almost double average salaries. I find these trend even today in IIT campus where people do not have core software companies as their employer of choice. I feel companies like Infosys are also responsible for it to some extent as they offer a salary package almost one third of campus average and popularized the word tech-coolie.

Had I knew about these driving forces of the flat world or had Tom was not sleeping when the world went flat, I would have long back understood the issue and the opportunity that came hidden along. This book really helped to get it right for me now.

I now understand the actual drivers of this software (IT/ITES) boom in India. The opportunity it presents and excitement it carries.

It was indeed insightful to know the importance of 11/9/89 in the flat world. Else it was just a historical date! Actually I know most of these things as I saw them happening, but I was just a kid then unable to reason them out. And when I was able to reason them out while I was in IIT, these issues from current affairs had became history and our IITs do not teach history.

Anyway I feel very obliged to Tom for writing this what I feel is the best book among some 50 odd management/business related books that I have read till now. Thanks Tom.. I am really flattened.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Delhi in Davos: How India built its brand at the World Economic Forum - News

Delhi in Davos: How India built its brand at the World Economic Forum - News

Building a Delhi in Davos is easy. The real challenge would be to build a Davos in Delhi. We as a nation still need to cover a very long distance to reach the economic destination. What we see today in India as IT revolution is something we have not dearly achieved but luckily received. I do not intend to take away credit from people rightly deserving whatever India has achieved but my point is that India has a very long way to go. We are just at the tip of opportunity iceberg. The responsibility is on us to use it opportunity and earn ourselves respect from the world or turn our back to it and happily chant Mera Bharat Mahan.

As righly said in Movie Swadesh, Mera Bharat Mahan sirf kehne ya likhne se nahi hoga balki uske liye mehnat karne se hoga (India will not be a great nation by only saying or writing but by working for it)

I hope to see of govt fulfilling its commitment made at Davos. We are way behind in terms of Infrastructure. The "Doing Business" report points big gap in terms of Indian business agility.

Lets make a Davos in every part of India.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

My ISB Interview!

My ISB interview experience...
Location: ISB, Hyd
started about an hour late...
interview duration ~ 30 mins
There were some digressions to almost all questions based on my answers...
0) 50 word essay on marketing
1) Something abt me not on resume
2) (I have two big awards) 2 mins and explain each of them.. (one of the interviewer was actually taking note of time)
3) Why MBA? (differently asked...I don't remember exact words now )
4) One thing in my company's marketing which I would like to change
5) Market size of a Rs 50000 digital camera
6) 5 companies I would wish to employed with post isb
7) Something about being in Tennis Team of my college, Why not inter-IIT ?
8) More questions about my company and competition and general business environment
9) My questions to ISB
The interview went very professional and at no point I felt uncomfortable.. Now that I have secured an admit, it feels very good... In fact I feel it was among the best interviews I ever had..
Which was the worst ? hmm.. don't ask.. it was during my seventh sem in IITM.. I was not interested in that company so went completly blank.. The guy was looking at my gradecard and asked me what all couses did I registered for that sem.. and I bulbed :-) ha ha.. no surprize that I was not selected..