ISSUES AND CONCERNS

Friends The month began with Lokpal Bill and Baba Ramdev hogging the media limelight. In fact more than Lokpal Bill, the government appeared more worried about the Ramdev factor. That was how four ministers had gone to receive him or meet him at the airport itself. It was an unprecedented move. This importance that the UPA government at Delhi gave to Baba Ramdev was the one that led to all problems. Baba thought he can play difficult. As events unfolded, the fast that Baba Ramdev undertook ended in a fiasco he will never be able to repeat. Of course the share of the blame has to be shared equally by both sides. Yes the whole of India is privy to what happened from 2nd June to midnight of 5th June. Both sides exposed themselves to a complete lack of pragmatism. To begin with, the threat of fast by Baba Ramdev itself was wrong. Black money as an issue, it was, it is, and it will continue to be in the public domain for a long time. It is also very much true that this government led by Con...

ARE GOVERNORS SUPERFLUOUS IN INDIA? Frankly, kind of governors this country is saddled with, they are indeed not needed. But who are these governors anyway? It was the Crown of England, centuries ago, started the use of this word, ascribed to an official appointed by the Crown to manage a geographical area, more specifically called ‘a province’. This governor enjoyed enormous power and stature, along with immense prestige, perks and privileges. Free India borrowed this concept from the Government of India Act of 1935, enacted by the British Parliament. Article 155 of the Constitution lays down that ‘The governor of a state shall be appointed by the president by warrant under his hand and seal’. Article 156 provides ‘The governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the president”. But the practice has been that both appointment and dismissal of governor is based on the recommendation of the federal government at New Delhi and term is usually kept at 5 years, and normally the person...

GANG LEADER FOR A DAY The Hustler and the Hustled I spent a few days trying to track down J.T., but nobody knew where he was. I couldn’t wait any longer. So I went back to Robert Taylor and found C-Note in the parking lot. He and two other men were working on a car. “C-Note, please,” I begged, “What did I do? Tell me.” C-Note stood up and wiped the oil off a wrench. He motioned for the two other men to leave us alone. One of them gave me a nasty look and muttered something that sounded equally nasty, but I couldn’t quite make it out. “You need to learn to shut your mouth,” C-Note finally said. “Shut my mouth? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Don’t play with me. All that shit I told you. All them niggers I introduced you to. If you told me you were going to tell J.T., they were making that money, I wouldn’t have told you nothing.” My heart sank. I thought of my long debriefing with J.T. and Ms. Bailey. I had given them breakdowns on each hustler’s earnings: how much every one o...

The Right - Who's Prerogative it is ? Ravindra Shetty K The war against corruption waged by Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev is known to the whole world. However, some politicians for whom corruption is a way of life have been questioning the rights of the two in waging such a war. Their notion is that “ Anna Hazare is a social worker. His duty is to eradicate the evils in the society. There is the Parliament and the Parliamentarians to raise voice against corruption. It is the elected representatives who are to decide on the black money issue. There is no need for social workers to bother about this. Neither have they the right to do so.” Similar is the view of such politicians on Baba Ramdev’s agitation. According to their view point “Baba Ramdev is after all a Yoga Guru. He has business empire of Ayurveda. Why is he interested in correcting the bend in the government instead of bending his body and teaching Yoga?. Why has he intervened in politics instead of teaching Yoga,” they ques...

Why Mumbai cannot be Shanghai It is aptly said that “Stretch your legs according to the length of blanket” and “Cut your coat according to your cloth”. May it be home or vehicle or other possessions, proper and decent maintenance is as important as possessing them. For some people, pets are considered to be their proud possessions. Unless these possessions are decently maintained, they become public nuisance. Pollutions Galore: Mumbai is a city, drowned under load of dust pollution, air pollution, noise pollution or any damn pollution you name. Several open drains, human defecations in the open and poorly maintained public urinals and toilets are common sights in many areas in this Financial Capital of India. Common areas in the compound of a building are grabbed by the commercial interests. Footpaths are encroached by hawkers forcing the pedestrians to use roads. Bans on spitting and littering in public places, declaration of non-hawking zones, silence zones and other prohibitive meas...

Couple saves student from ending life Nagpur: A middle-aged Khare couple, who usually earn a few bucks by fishing out bodies of suicide victims from Gandhisagar lake prevented a standard XII student who was poised to jump into Gandhisagar lake soon after the HSC results. The rescued commerce student, Rupa (name changed) claimed that she had failed in two subjects and hence wanted to end her life. Police said that Rupa saw the result at 1 pm but did not inform her parents about it, and instead went directly to Gandhisagar lake. Surprisingly, even though the date of the HSC results had been declared advance, Ganeshpeth police had failed to put in place extra bandobast at the lake to prevent suicides. Luckily, Jagdish Khare, who is in his forties, was keeping a watch around the lake like he does everyday. According to police at around 2pm, an alert Khare spotted the girl sitting on the parapet of the lake crying incessantly. She was staring at the water and had removed her sandles, said K...