The mystery of 49-O

Since the terror attacks, there is a flood of mails cursing the politicians, need for change and asking people to use Rule 49-O of ‘The Conduct of Election Rules’. There seems to be loads of myths associated with this rule. Even the websites on the net are providing wrong information (Check THIS and THIS) let alone social networking forums. This post is just to break a few myths associated with Rule 49-O.


49-O is not an article of Indian Constitution. Its one of the Rule of ‘The Conduct of election Rules .


Under this rule, you can visit the polling booth, identify yourself to the presiding officer at the booth and then inform him that you do not intend to vote anybody. Please note that in the process your identity will be revealed which is against the essence of Secret Ballot. This is just a way to indicate that you voted (So your vote cannot be misused) but not in favor of any candidate. Your vote would be a part of official counting numbers but it won’t have any impact on the outcome of the results.


Under no conditions there would be any re polling or cancellation of elections.


A few sites suggests if the no. of ‘ voted nobody’ is greater than the winning margin then the election would be declared void and there will be re-polling. Some even suggests that these candidates cannot be a part of re election process. These are baseless statements.

Cheers.

Terrorist Attack...2

Indian media is terming the recent terror attacks in Mumbai as 'India's 9/11'. I agree, it was. Hundreds were killed at WTC and large number of people were injured. Same happened at Taj, Oberoi and Nariman house. But let me assure you that the similarity will end there. Don’t fool yourself thinking that there will be preventive measures or stringent actions against terrorist outfits as done by America. Political eyewash has already started. RR Patil has resigned, Shivraj Patil has been shown the door and Vilasrao Deshmukh has followed the suit.

This was not the first time when the ‘new age terror’ struck India nor it will be the last. Not so long ago, we have witnessed attack on the Parliament (which was also termed as attack on Indian soul or something), blasts in Jaipur, Bombay local trail serial blasts, operation B.A.D just to name a few. Every time we saw the rhetoric of politicians, blame game from the ones in opposition, promises of strong actions against terrorism and appeal to remain calm to the people of India in the hour of crisis. Needless to say, nothing concrete happens.

The problem lies elsewhere. These terrorists are not interested in killing a certain number of people. They make bold statements. That your parliament is vulnerable. That the life line of Mumbai can be cut. That the premier cities of India can be made to bleed at will with well planned serial blasts. Even they now know how soft we are on terror. Afzal Guru is a glaring example. What will come out of this Taj/Oberoi investigation? May be it will throw some names and a few arrests. What will we do with them when we cannot hang Afzal Guru even after Supreme Court ruling is a big question.

It’s been a decade since we are asking for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Not sure how much we are going to add there when we have bigger security issues at home.

Much has been made of Mumbai’s undying spirit and its ability to bounce back. In this very spirit of Mumbai, politicians used to take shade in. For me, it’s not the spirit; it’s the hunger, the need to work for millions of Mumbaikars who cannot afford to sit back for a day or two as it would mean empty stomach at the end of the day. Is there any option left to the common man other than going to work and start doing the routine? This time even that spirit was broken. Mumbai didn’t bounce back for 4 days.

Whenever there are talks of national security, only two parties participate, Congress & BJP. Rest like NCP, SP, BSP, DMK, TDP, ABC, KBC, KKHH, HAHK goes into hibernation as if it’s not their headache. They come out of their hiding only when its time to form a coalition. In few days time, general elections will stare these political parties and all will get busy in deciding candidates, election rallies and India Shining campaigns. They will do what they can do best, Talks and Promises. As far as this media is concerned, somebody will fall into a bore well soon and they will be on their way to capture the ‘news of national importance’.

As for us, nothing will change.

Terrorist Attack...

TERRORIST ATTACK—Civilians Dead—Policemen Dead—ISI—Lashkar-e tayaaba—Pakistan is a terrorist state—Prime Minister’s appeal for calm—Long face of Home Minister--Urgent Cabinet Meeting—Emergency meeting on Security—Opposition attacks Government for being too soft—Chants of ‘Bring POTA’ --Tight security at all places – Police arrests 6 suspects—Charge sheet/Court cases….

TERRORIST ATTACK AGAIN! —Civilians Dead—Policemen Dead—ISI—Lashkar-e tayaaba—Pakistan is a terrorist state—Prime Minister’s appeal for calm—Long face of Home Minister--Urgent Cabinet Meeting—Emergency meeting on Security—Opposition attacks Government for being too soft—Chants of ‘Bring POTA’ --Tight security at all places – Police arrests 6 suspects—Charge sheet/Court cases….

The transition

Who doesn't get fascinated by the rags to riches stories? Stories of guys who made it big against all odds or those who rose from their humble background to become the Whos Who of their field.

Somehow, I find myself glued to such stories. I love autobiographies. Most of them tread this line. It fascinates me when I read about one Naresh Goyal who started as a cashier travel agent and now owns the biggest private sector airlines. I love the story of Lance Armstrong who battled his cancer, went through the rigours of chemeotherapy and then set the sporting scene ablaze with 7 Tour de France victories. The Dhirubhai Ambanis, the Oberois and the Kushalpals. List is endless.

A certain Christopher Gardener who once struggled in life so badly that he was left to sleep in public toilets along with his infant son but later became owner of one of the the best known stock broking firm. We love to watch a Hrithik Roshan winning mountain peaks in Kargil not because he was brave but because of what he became from what he was showed in the second reel of the movie.

All this blabbering because I just watched an interview of Milkha Singh on CNN IBN. The guy who till now , for me, was a headline who lost bronze in Rome Olympics by a whisker and whom I used to rate behind only Bishan Singh Bedi wen it comes to giving illogical views in media. This interview changed all that.

Cheers!

Congrats Preity Zinta and 'his' team

Thanks to Harbhajan now there is a controversy regarding Zinta's gender!

Money Talks!

IPL is a roaring success.

Players who are used to temperatures of 20 and 25 degrees are now lining up to play in the killing heat of Apr-May

Now no player would complain about 'too much cricket' and 'burnout' issues.

And now articles like this would become extinct!!

Money Talks!

Cheers!!

PS: Look, who's blogging!

Olympic Saga

Unprecedented and Bizzare are two of many terms being used for the security arrangements that are in place for the Olympic torch run. All this for a 2.5 Kms stretch.

And they say politics and games are two separate issues!

Few days back, my friend Abhay pointed me to an article by Vir Sanghvi where he logically discussed why Politics and Games cannot be (and never were) separated.

Here is the excerpt:

South Africa was prevented from participating in the 1964 Olympics after India and other non-aligned nations threatened a boycott. The South Africans were only allowed back in 1992, when apartheid was being dismantled. In 1976, nearly all African nations, not content with a ban on South Africa and Rhodesia, boycotted the Olympics because New Zealand was taking part. New Zealand’s crime was that it had allowed its rugby team to tour South Africa. Rugby is not an Olympic sport, but that wasn’t the point. The Africans said that any country which engaged with South Africa would be shunned.

This is not a position peculiar to the non-aligned movement. The 1958 Olympics were boycotted by some European countries because the USSR was taking part. The Europeans were protesting the invasion of Hungary. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared that the US would boycott the Moscow Olympics to protest the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and 80 other countries followed suit. In 1984, the Soviets retaliated by boycotting the Los Angeles Olympics.

The Chinese themselves are no slouches when it comes to boycotting the Olympics. In 1976, they threatened to boycott the Montreal Games if Taiwan was allowed to compete as the Republic of China. (The Canadians threw the Taiwanese out.) In 1980, the Chinese joined the boycott of the Moscow Olympics.


Somehow I find myself unable to associate myself emotionally or in any why with the symbolic gestures like carrying an Olympic torch or for that matter something like this! Why not just go ahead with the opening ceremony and get on with the games? Why doing this merry-go-round in so many countries and attaching so much pride and honour in carrying the torch? This pride and honour is another issue which is beyond my head. The 70 odd guys who are supposed to carry the torch on 17th April in New Delhi are the prominent personalities of their fields and are already honourable. Its only them who are taking pride and feeling honoured and not the common man (Ask those guys who will be virtually locked between 1pm and 6pm inside the buildings where they are employed just because their building happens to face Rajpath!)

Anyways! Life goes on...

Will Power!

So, how would you feel if your followers put up your statue while you are still alive? Probably the question is too hypothetical for most of us to answer. For some, it wont be. Ask Mayawati!

Amit Varma,on his blog,runs a series "Where your taxes go?" The series features the most absurd ways where the exchequers money is being wasted. Mayawati unveiling her statues alongside Kanshiram's would surely rank among the top if Amit decides to feature this one.

And here is the reason behind this deed.

"In his will, Kanshiramji stated that ‘Mayawati is my true follower, her statues shall also be installed,” she said while inaugurating the statues at the Rs 500-crore Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal.

Notice the eye-popping 500 crores!

Can somebody file an RTI to make Kanshiram's will public? I fear what all Kanshiram left in it for all of us!

Cheers!

Quote of the day

"...you work in an Indian giant or an MNC, your company is as good as your immediate boss"

-- Overheard while standing in queue at the bus stop.

Cheers!

Discovery!

Heard this song from the movie RACE and fell instantaneously in love with this simple but melodious song sung beautifully by Atif Aslam. Thanks Pritam.



Then I stumbled on this one. Congratulations Pritam for another discovery!!



Cheers!!

Manoos Vs Marathi Manoos-2

I was in grade 9 and we used to have a history teacher, Mishra Maa'm. One day,while discussing the concept of British India and Princely states, she digressed a little and exclaimed, "Just look, we have a 'rashtra' within 'rashtra' and that too 'maha'rashtra! " Thackreys are known to take this too seriously. What Raj Thackery is saying now has been the bread and butter statement of the senior one, Bal Thackery since the formation of Shiv Sena in 1966.

Ever thought why this sudden spurt of statements and speeches about North Indians Vs Marathi Manoos? The answer lies in the identity crisis that MNS is facing not only in Maharashtra but even in Mumbai. With much fanfare Raj Thackery defected from Shiv Sena. This when Bal T. continued the great tradition of Indian politics by naming his little known and almost politically inactive/unknown (till that time) son Uddhav T as his successor and not the popular nephew Raj T. With no power and no mood to work at grass root level and with goons at various party positions, nothing happened for MNS. Many Shiv Sainiks who became part of MNS after the defection went back to the parent organisation in a matter of months and then the masses just accepted it as a small regional outfit somewhere between Congress, BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP. Subsequent By-elections told the same story. This marathi Manoos drama is just to make his presence felt by Raj T.

The basic ideology behind this call of 'North Indian's,Quit Maharashtra' call is so trash that even writing a blog on it seems like a waste of time. The notion that a particular city belongs to its natives and the people from other states or regions cannot work in that city is against the very essence of our Constitution and the concept of our national unity. Our Constitution has given the right to every citizen to work and earn living anywhere in the country. According to Mr Raj T, all North Indians should leave Maharashtra as they are eating up jobs of the native Marathis. Now, does that mean all Marathi Manoos all over the world leave their jobs and go back to Maharashtra as certainly they are also eating up somebody's job in their respective part of the world? Call Centres in Maharashtra should follow the same fate? In fact all those who are working abroad should be beaten and dragged on street (as MNS guys did to a few taxi drivers and street vendors) as they are taking jobs of natives? I am sorry Mr Raj, we live in a more civilised society.

And it would be interesting to see his dictum for the marathis who are settled in North India but are currently working in various IT companies in Mumbai/Pune? Do they need to go back too or will they get the benefit of doubt? Divide and Rule worked in 18th century but hopefully it wont work now. Even after spitting so much venom, Mumbai largely remained calm. Literate and employed people understand this gutter politics better but unfortunately these politicians, as always, underestimate common man's wisdom.


In a time when India is getting polarised with each passing day, where on the same page of a newspaper you can read mob lynching a person and Indra Nooyi being named among 10 best CEOs, nobody is ready to work to bring these two poles together. Not that anything is expected from outfits like MNS and Shiv Sena. They should stick to their basic principles namely tearing Valentine's day cards, digging cricket pitches and slapping the hapless taxi driver from UP.

Cheers!

Resemblance...

Have you ever noticed this stark resemblance between Irfan Pathan and Monica Seles!

Manoos Vs Marathi Manoos -1

Disturbing is NOT the fact that somebody named Raj Thackeray is making inflammatory speeches and doing the politics of regionalism, Thackeray's are known to do that since last 40 years.


Disturbing is the fact that State govt is taking ages to act and arrest him fearing that there will be clashes and vandalism by MNS sponsoerd goons!


Freedom of speech has so many shades!

Malai wala department

During his stint as a journalist, my brother decided to take state civil services entrance. After a back breaking preparation, clearing prelims, then mains and finally interview, he was through the process. Ready to serve the civilians as the name 'civil servants' suggests.

The entire process took a little more than two and a half years, thanks to the snail paced MP Public Service Commission. More wait followed as he waited for his posting. A round of process and procedures started. Finally after 7 months of final results, postings were out. He became Area Organizer in one of the district in Schedule Tribe Welfare Dept. A class II post. Now it’s anybody’s guess that such departments receive loads of grants from govt for the upliftment of this section of society.

Relatives came to know about his selection, posting and subsequently his departments and the reactions followed.

One was legendry " Malai wala department mila hai. Upar ki kamai bahut hoti hai wahan".

Though I was not present there and came to know about this incident only through my brother, I could imagine the expression on the face of a guy who spent his last three years as upright journalist.

Talk about pleasures of life!

Fresh Innings!

Looking at the last few posts made me realise that i have more or less not posted here since returning from my last visit to India. And now, after nearly 8 months, its time for another visit! Its been 16 months here among white babes! Quite a long time! Still, Bombabes are better ;-)


My flatmate is currently on a visit to India and I am all alone killing my time on this laptop and stock market analysis. This solitude made me realise that i enjoy spending time all alone more than with guys around me (I always had this doubt ;-) ) and considering that in all probability i will be a married guy in next two or three years, its a scary realisation.


I am almost out of touch as far as blogging is concerned and the effort that this post is taking is more or less equal to the struggle that Mcgrath used to do while in batting crease. I wonder i was an active blogger once! Almost every body from those days have stopped writing. Even the last man standing, Deepak, is not posting these days. In the last few days, met a few bloggers which rekindled my spirits. Lets see how this innings goes. Just hope future posts wont be as crap and as time consuming as this one.


So..This was just to start another innings.