The year that was!!

This year belongs to the power of people, power of social networking, sports persons and in many ways it was a year of India.

Because of public pressure a lot of corrupt leaders had to go & Government was forced to start investigation for mega scams. It was the people who made Commonwealth Games a success. Without thousands of volunteers it wouldn't have been so successful after the corruption fiasco. At the end it was the people who also awarded some good leaders like 'Nitish' to set up a new trend in Indian politics.

It was a year where we also witnessed the power of social networking sites. A lot of businessmen, media persons and bureaucrats were caught red handedly in the bad game of lobbying & corruption. Be it Wikileakes, Radia tapes leakes or leaks of different secret Gov. reports, all exposed these Hippocratic false Icons.

Fighting corruption

Before we blame the political class and the bureaucracy for being corrupt, we must understand that it is we who make them corrupt. In a highly populated country like India, where corruption is deeply rooted, we must take steps to abate corruption, even if we cannot eliminate it.

If corruption has to be fought relentlessly, the first thing we must do is lead an incorruptible life. I got everything done without offering a bribe, though it was a tedious process. I got my electricity card, water supply and telephone connection, and my vehicle and driving licence transferred without bribing anyone. One should have the patience and moral courage to remain uncorrupted. We must lead by example.

Map of the Facebook world

A Facebook intern named Paul Butler has created a fascinating piece: amap of the world based only on Facebook friendships. There aren't any lines here from anything but Facebook accounts and their links to friends in other cities. Butler's methods:

Sachin & The Rest

In these situations I like Dravid and Laxman more than Sachin. I don't know y he was taking singles on first ball of every over??? I know, I can be stoned for this statement here in India. But the question remains; y was he giving strike to tail enders??? No doubt, Sachin is a great batsman, but many say he is not a player of big stage. He failed to perform on big occasions like world cup final, final innings/day of Important Test matches. More we remember the sad endings of his great innings be it 175 vs Aus in ODI, innigs vs Pak in tests, Man of the series in WC & this one being the latest.

Women's safety

Patriarchal attitude has been prevalent in India for ages. The caste system and patriarchy remain unchanged even in urban India. Our development is superficial. Men are afraid of women's progress and, therefore, subject them to humiliation. As a first step, society should accept gender equality. We should introduce the concept of equality in school curriculum. What is required is the urbanisation of social thought.

Given the alarming rise in the number of crimes against women in Delhi, the government should implement the existing laws strictly to rein in the perpetrators. If necessary, it should enact a new law providing for more stringent punishment.

Governments in major cities should also take the help of technology to restore order in public places. With the help of NGOs and the media, they should educate people on safety. Installation of CCTV cameras at parks and public places like roads and bus stops, well-lit streets and signboards showing routes and displaying emergency numbers at public places will also help.

Radia raids

I don't know why CBI raids yrs after a big scam comes to the knowledge of people or it is ordered for the investigation of a corrupt politician, bureaucrat, media person or a industrialist. nothing incriminating could be searched from offices and residences after a year. The recent example being Raja & Radia Raids. Another example is CWG & Suresh kalmadi, I don't know why CBI is waiting for to raid kalmai & even interrogate him?

Its raining scams

Ok it is a kind of season for scams, cwg, flats... Tape ...india shining,,india emerging...dont know what else. We are most likely to push 2G scam to the background if a couple of Hollywood stars are arranged to entertain us in TV. the memory of people is very short and week, every body has now forgotten Chara, Telgi, Tehlka, Boforce, Garland & the most recent CWG.

WikiLeaks issue

Trying to stifle and attack WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, at a time when jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize highlights the irony of double standards that are existent in the ‘free world.'

The charges against Julian Assange are surprising. As far as America is concerned, the WikiLeaks cable expose is one of the most embarrassing situations it has had to face in the recent past and has a fallout in international diplomatic circles. The credit goes to WikiLeaks and Mr. Assange for exposing the ugly face of hypocricy.

Radia tapes

With the continuing exposé of the Niira Radia tapes, a question keeps popping up in my mind: who do we, the people, believe now? First we trusted the politicians in whose hands we entrusted our future, then the industrial giants on whom we relied for growth and, finally, the media which we believed would tell us the good and bad happenings in and around our country. 

The fresh set of leaked Radia tapes is a reconfirmation of the conspiratorial role played by the captains of industry through their agents and lobbyists to influence the government. But for the leakage of the tapes, the cosy media-corporate relationship would have remained under wraps. Society would have continued to believe that the elite classes have achieved what they have by rendering service to the nation. The Supreme Court should take cognisance of the disclosures while dealing with Ratan Tata's plea to protect his privacy.

The Top Scams in India

This is the season of scams and the biggest ever corruption cases in India have been unearthed more recently. So, we decided to dig deep to see which scams were the biggest and most damaging to the country and its citizens alike.

In our daily life, most of us must have been a witness to or a victim of the corruption thriving in some or the other part of the country. It could be in the form of a taxi-driver manipulating the meter to jack-up the reading or a government officer taking bribery to promptly transfer your file to the next department or even yourself offering bribe to a traffic police on breaking a signal.

An average Indian citizen is hard working and diligent, but it is the people in charge of the system (The Babu’s) or with whom the power lays, that act as a cancer spreading the venom, slowing down progress and what all not. But, somewhere down the line, we ourselves are responsible for allowing and being taken for a ride by these people, aren’t we?

However, it is during a multi-thousand crore scam, that a tax-payer actually realizes the heartburn of being cheated from his valued contribution of funds towards the development and well-being of the nation. But, that’s what a scam, be it big or small, means – the act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme or action.

The public has a right to know

Thanks to WikiLeaks and ‘Radiagate,' a significant treasure trove of classified or privately held information with the potential to affect the lives of millions of people has been brought into the public domain.both provide a much-needed glimpse into the real world — especially the real and often illegitimate interests that lie hidden behind the diplomatic niceties, political correctness, and corporate PR that dominate international and domestic messaging.The leaks we have seen and those that are yet to come are unlikely to alter any of fundamental balances.


We learn, for example, that America frets over not just what Beijing or Moscow thinks or does on a crucial question like Iran. Ankara and Berlin are also seen as potentially dissonant hothouses. American helplessness is writ large in the cables we have seen from Kabul and Islamabad. We know, for example, that Washington was worried that radioactive material in nuclear power stations in Pakistan could fall into the hands of terrorists but that Pakistani authorities refused to give the United States access to a research reactor for fear that local media coverage of the removal of highly enriched uranium would fuel public suspicions about an American takeover of Pakistani nuclear weapons.


 So also is the news that the U.S. is seeking to spy on senior United Nations officials. Apart from a Hillary Clinton cable referring to India, Japan, Germany, and Brazil as “self-appointed front-runners” for a permanent seat in an expanded U.N. Security Council and a cable from Ankara confirming that Turkey kept India out of a regional meeting on Afghanistan in deference to Pakistani sensitivities, there is little in the disclosures so far to discomfit New Delhi. But when the 3,000-odd dispatches sent by the U.S. Embassy in India are published over the next 48 hours, it is possible that some or many feathers will end up ruffled.


The Niira Radia tapes have only confirmed what we have known all along about dubious links among corporate giants, mediapersons and politicians. That policies are influenced by various interests and subjective decisions are made by the government has always been evident. What comes as a rude shock is the existence of a well-entrenched system that has perfected the art of enforcing subjective decisions. Mediapersons can no longer take the moral high ground while anchoring issues of national importance.

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farmers from Jalgaon travelling to Boston and speaking at Harvard University

The report of two farmers from Jalgaon travelling to Boston and speaking at Harvard University's Business School on drip irrigation was moving. I congratulate The Media on giving coverage to the farmers, Hemchandra Patil and Rajendra Patil. Ordinary people like them indeed contribute a lot towards the flow of knowledge. However I wish it could have been the lead story in the front page, which need not always belong to politicians. Can't an ordinary citizen, too, get some prime space in the media?

It is now clear that Indian farmers too are capable of doing something innovative and constructive in the field of agriculture. The presentation by the farmers from Maharashtra is a classic example of the fact that knowledge is universal and can originate from any part of the world. We should honour Hemchandra Patil and Rajendra Patil as we honour sportspersons who bring laurels to the country in internationals events.

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Bihar Election 2010

After five years Nitish Kumar has grown bigger and bigger.There was no other option in front of people of Bihar.So Nitish got the "crown" and the 'rule" in absence of any option with the help of some development slogan.

Out of the 49 muslim seats in Bihar; NDA wins 36. CON party gets 1. A big change in the Indian Politics. Nitish Kumar finally proves that what people want is development and progress...not some silly divisiveness and casteism...way to go! Also Congress' bankrupt dynastic politics has been ruthlessly exposed in Bihar' Couldn't agree more.

I don't know if it is the "Golden Age" of Bihar or not, but it's definitely the Golden Age of BJP-JDU government. Clearly schools and colleges will have to be at the centre of the next 5 years in Bihar. Education,water,sanitation,girl empowerment & employment should be given due care.

all Politicians shud now get d message what works-sincere attmpt at anticorruption & Development always wins:)Hereafter, jokes will be about the Lalus and the Congress and not about Bihar :)

Black money trail: 'India drained of Rs 20 lakh crore during 1948-2008

Given the rampant looting of public funds in our country, it is hardly surprising that money amounting to half-a-trillion dollars has illegally flowed out of the country since 1948.This money is indeed the product of corruption, bribery, kickbacks, criminal activities and tax evasions, as pointed out by the Global Financial Integrity.


The government has not demonstrated any great urgency to go after the crooks and bring back at least part of the money. While international collaboration is urgently called for to check cross-border flow of black money, national governments must do their part by reforming domestic laws and strengthening enforcement.


 It is alarming to note that a substantial chunk of GDP, which could have been used for paying our external debts, alleviating poverty and developing our economy, has been stashed away in foreign countries.


Was not the country given to understand time and again, by our India Shining brigade, that the extermination of the licence raj regulatory mechanisms and reduction of taxes for the rich would eliminate the parallel economy by dis-incentivising tax evasion? Why has the magic theory of lesser-the-taxes-higher-the-taxpayer-compliance worked in the reverse direction?

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Adarsh Society

Apparently India has fallen victim to a scam by Adarsh Society One thing is for sure... Adarsh Society scam is definitely going to cloud cwg corruption sensation. We are being habituated to it every new day , anew scam.

Cwg corruption  then  Adarsh Society scam, so many scams , we could have a dedicated corruptions news channel ICN. Everyone seems to have forgotten Cwg corruption, thanks to Adarsh Society scam. New heroes makes you forget the immortals of the past. Adarsh Society has done same for the Cwg.

Kalmadi at CWGames and now AshokChavan in Adarshsociety scam. What's common in the two??? Congress. If all the politicians involved in the Adarsh Society scam leave office; Maharastra will be completely devoid of congresswallahs!

What exactly is meant by 'offer to resign'?  Have never quite understood that! can media do this country a favor- people in these Scam should not be let off, please take this to the finish..!!

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CWG SCAM

A scam involving hundreds of crores of rupees is reported to have taken place. After alleged irregularities in the telecom sector auctions, the next big thing seems to be the Commonwealth Games scam. The people of India are accustomed to corruption. They will soon forget this new one as they have more important things to attend to in everyday life.

The ordering of an enquiry into the corruption charges brings to mind two proverbs — digging a well after the fire has happened and digging the hill to find the rat.

What is the use of ordering an enquiry when misuse has already taken place? Further, it is a fact that not a single pie can be recovered after this probe.

The guilty must be punished irrespective of the party or the post that he or she occupies. Now the elite say the Games have changed the image of India but are the people bereft of intelligence to believe that just by conducting a grand event India has changed its image in the west? We will remain “labelled” in the eyes of the west as long as the poor and underprivileged are not lifted out of their poverty. Our leaders should focus on pro-poor and pro-people policies rather than on such high-profile events which eat at the taxpayer's hard-earned money.

Before we could begin to bask in the glory of 101 medals that we have won, we are once again in the news for all the wrong reasons. Vigilance organisations have now been roped in to start another type of cleaning operations. Will the guilty be punished?

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Bhopal Gas tragedy

Amnesty International was all right when it said the verdict on the Bhopal gas tragedy is “too little, too late“.

“These are historic convictions, but it is too little, too late. Twenty-five years is an unacceptable length of time for the survivors of the disaster and the families of the dead to have waited for a criminal trial to reach a conclusion,” was the first reactions.

Twenty-five years after the worst industrial disaster in world history which claimed over 15,000 lives, a Bhopal court convicted eight people including former Union Carbide India chairman Keshub Mahindra in the Bhopal Gas tragedy case.

The Indian and U.S. governments should take the next step by bringing the U.S.-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) to justice. UCC and its former chairman Warren Anderson, who is absconding since the tragedy, were charged in 1987 but both refused to face trial.

People who feel that the victims (of Bhopal gas tragedy) should have got justice earlier are right. It is a serious question. The system should be such that there is no delay in providing justice in such tragedies.

While the Indian employees have now been tried and convicted, the foreign accused has been able to evade justice simply by remaining abroad. This is totally unacceptable.

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Kasab & Mumbai verdict

Kasab should not be awarded the death sentence. It is not an adequate punishment for him. It is, in fact, a relief. He should be awarded life sentence — not for 12 years — but till his natural death. While a dead Kasab will be a martyr for other terrorists, a Kasab-in-jail will be a deterrent to would-be terrorists.

It is distressing to note that either the police or the prosecution messed up on two other accused. There are key questions that need to be asked here.

Did they apprehend the wrong persons? Did they know they had a weak case? If so, why was it pursued so vigorously? If not, what was the motive in keeping them in jail for so long? Did the prosecution warn the police of this weak case?

While the acquittal of the two Indians — Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed — may offer solace to those troubled by suggestions of a “home-grown” factor in the 26/11 attacks, the prosecution and Mumbai police stand shamed in the court. The judge has ruled that 20 of the 25 accused, including Pakistan's Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Abu Hamza, were involved in the conspiracy. The ends of justice will be met only if all of them are brought to justice.

The swiftness with which the sessions judge M.L. Tahaliyani completed the terror trial in 17 months is admirable. It is important that the tempo is kept up till the lone captured terrorist is given the punishment. The key conspirators, who are exporting terror to wage a war on India, should also be brought to justice.

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Currency garland

It was indeed shocking to read that BSP workers, who presented currency garlands to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and their party chief Mayawati on Monday and Wednesday, have decided to do so at all future programmes. Is it not an act of dishonour inflicted on our national currency? Ms Mayawati as well as her followers should realise that such activities will not, in any way, enhance the prominence of the leader. In fact, it will lead to a decline in the fame gained hitherto.

It is indeed shameful that in a country where thousands are starving, a political leader should embarrass us with such uncalled-for display of money. It is time our leaders grew up.

Uttar Pradesh, which could have progressed well, is among the most backward states, thanks to the lack of political will and indifferent leadership. Even a fraction of money used in the garlands presented to Ms Mayawati by BSP workers could have been used for better purposes. And the time utilised in planning and organising meaningless political rallies can be devoted to drawing up plans for better governance.

The BSP's act of offering a currency garland to its leader not once but twice is surprising. It reflects the current trend in politics. Is not a simple garland of flowers enough to show respect to a leader? What is the need for such vulgar display of wealth? The sight of a leader wearing a garland full of currency notes is an insult to the poor struggling for a square meal a day.

The RBI's clean note policy prohibits stitching of packets of currency notes by banks, disregarding the risks of pilferages, because the notes get mutilated and soiled before their intended lifetime. Political parties can escape from Income Tax rules on one pretext or the other. But how can they flout the RBI's direction?

Mumbai for Marathis??

The Shiv Sena’s ‘Mumbai for Marathis’ slogan is unacceptable and opposed to the spirit of nationhood. Mumbai has emerged the financial capital of India due to the combined efforts of Mumbaikars hailing from different parts of the country.

The BJP and the RSS have rightly called the Shiv Sena’s bluff. The Sena has, time and again, tried to incite tensions among different communities.

Whether it was by attacking north Indian workers, slapping Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, digging cricket pitches, passing diktats saying all taxi-drivers in Mumbai should speak Marathi, or saying Mumbai is for Marathis, it has reinforced its divisive agenda

Such elements are present in almost all countries but what is disturbing is that the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are mainstream political parties and form part of the largest democracy. Completing 60 years of becoming a republic has been a vital achievement for our country. Any attempt to deal a blow to this by forces of regionalism should be dealt with firmly.

At the same time the people from Bihar and U.P. should also think of developing their own state, working hard at their own lands and using their much praised talent for their own benefits same as South Indians did for Bangaluru and Hydrabad after Bal Thakre's hate speeches. then the day is not far away when Lakhnow, Patna, Banaras and Kanpur will also give them all happiness in search of which they go to Mumbai.