Why does Google want to keep changing its designs on us?!!!
Every few months when we get accustomed to a certain way of emailing or blogging, there comes a revision that it decides to term an "improvement" and it is all but unleashed on us. We have no choice.
Its new compose experience is a nightmare and pray, why was it needed??
I clicked on it by mistake and got stuck for a couple of days. Then, there was a feverish struggle to figure out how to get the old style back. Google doesnt help you with that at all. They have sneaked in the return to the old format in a place you would hardly seek it.
And now, this silly blogging page. Once you login, you dont know where to begin and what to do. It's so dammnnn user-unfriendly.

The reason I visited this blog after aeons is that I saw a movie I shouldn't have.  This piece of mine should be titled, "Why you shouldnt watch Special 26".
I watched it because I loved Neeraj Pandey's first outing, 'A Wednesday'. The plot was punchy, dialogues crisp, his filmmaking style different and individualistic yet easy without trying to hit you with it a la Ram Gopal Varma. And, above all, I loved Naseeruddin Shah. He carried the movie on his shoulders. Each time I see the movie on TV, I am hooked and watch it like the first time.
I realised that Special 26 -- what's with these names? They are so uninspired I wouldnt watch anything called A Wednesday or Special 26 but the first was a fluke and the second was viewed for the man behind the camera -  may not be the same. So I had no unrealistic expectations from Pandey just that it should be smart and sassy.
But the film faltered on all counts.
The direction was limp. The camera panned on every step walked by a character, every turn of the wheel by the driver, every alley and turn taken by every character. It is a painfully long movie for the kind of story it tells and can safely be cropped by an hour.
Now, for the story. The story is full of holes. The finer points of the plot are never fleshed out. How does Akshay Kumar and his gang of crooks work up to the next heist would be the most gripping part of the telling but that is never told. You are directly delivered to the execution of the plot and even there, there are problems.

It is odd to see these gang members, who actually rake in crores in every loot, live like daily wage earners.  The two junior members travel by buses and rickshaws,and live in rundown homes in lower class neighbourhoods. Anupam Kher has a middle class lifestyle. Akshay Kumar travels in style but doesnt have the swank of a rich thief.
Where does all the money go? For a moment, I thought -- and actually hoped because I was getting hugely disappointing with the rendition on screen, that that would be the twist in the tale at the end, that these guys will be shown to be doing a social duty by fleecing the black money hoarders and giving it all to charity.But that never happened. And it remained a gaping hole in the story, among others.

The twist in the tale itself is interesting but once it sinks in, you wonder why the person needed to carry out the charade  in the first place. There are other holes: how the fake CBI team's special recruitment drive is carried out in a five-star hotel and the gang doesnt half-expect the CBI to walk in and demand an explanation. Or anybody else to bust the fellows.

The songs are a huge bore, eminently avoidable, as is Kajal Aggarwal with her blank expressions, unchalked role and needless romance. The lead pair (she is there in just 3.5 scenes) look like they wont click if they were the last surviving man and woman on earth. Kajal looks too young, too earnest and too simple to match Akshay's 50-plus creases, lack of passion and flambuoyance.

There's more to say but I think I left it at the multiplex. Pandey  should take a very long break before venturing into another.

My real crib is for the critics who have obligingly given him a high scoring, even Anupama Chopra. The dishonesty is startling. Surely, they know better?

This piece is a must read. It says it all and it says it well. At least someone, even if a mere Indian and not the government, is saying it like it is.
 -S


Kunal Verma


After the Kargil War, I was filming the eight Pakistani prisoners who
had been captured by us in the Dras and Batalik Sectors. The Army PROs
had told the POWs that I was from the Red Cross or some such bullshit
in the hope that they would talk on camera. The first thing I did with
each of them was to tell them that I was from no such organization. I
also told them point blank that their country was denying that their
Army had been a part of the infiltration and their best chance of
returning to Pakistan was to talk turkey and tell the truth or
languish in our jails for years.

The fear of God and the fact that they would never see their families
again worked and they began to talk – all eight of them. As ordinary
soldiers they didn’t know too much, but what they said was detailed
and clearly established how their regular units had moved into
position masquerading as ‘mujahideen’.

The visuals of those men, some with bandages on their eyes, was
flashed on virtually every television channel and within a week the
eight POWs were flown back to Pakistan. That footage is still with me,
and the verbal evidence of the POWs blows whatever fig leaf of cover
the Pakistani establishment ever had.

Kargil was not a one off thing.

The same thing had happened in Jammu and Kashmir in 1948. From day one
the Government of Pakistan had gone blue in the face repeating ad
nauseam that their Army was not involved. Their entire case in the
United Nations was based on that one big lie which we could never
convincingly expose, despite the fact that Western journalists had
splashed photographs of the active involvement of the Pakistan Armed
Forces.

For my book, 'The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why' I found some
of these images fairly easily, yet no one on the Indian side felt the
need to aggressively nail this great big lie. Years later, when
Pakistani officers began to publish their own stories, we still did
nothing to counter this propaganda.

As a nation, we are pathetic when it comes to remembering our history
or honouring the brave men who died defending this country –
sixty-five years on and our political leadership grudges them even a
National War Memorial!

Not surprising then that October 1947 in Baramula has all but been
forgotten, when the tribal lashkar pulled out and raped virtually
every woman and girl in the town; or for that matter forgotten the
chilling words when Skardu fell and the Pakistani field commander
wired back “All Sikhs killed and women raped” or words to that affect.

In 1965 they did it again, and then again in 1971, even when the
Pakistan Army was fighting for its survival in Bangladesh, they
tortured and mutilated our boys.

22 Rajput at Madhumati had two men stripped naked and dragged through
the streets behind jeeps while others were tied to trees and their
eyes were gouged out!

The Indian Government’s response was predictable – 22 Rajput was
pulled out of the Eastern Theatre.

The Pakistan Army which had behaved in the most barbaric manner
possible with the people of Bangladesh were then protected by us from
the Mukti Bahini and 93,000 POWs were sent back by a preening Indian
Government while some of our own boys even today are reportedly
languishing in their jails. Not one of the Pakistani soldiers was
tried for war crimes.

Our Parliament is attacked and Mumbai is held hostage by ‘non-state
actors’, Kashmir has been on fire for thirty years thanks to our
hostile friends across the border and all we do is sanctimoniously
talk of CBMs and signing Track 2 ‘deals’ where we want to talk of
demilitarization of Siachen based on some ridiculous sentimental
hogwash of being brothers who have been separated at birth! We want to
play cricket and hold hands and sing songs and write articles about
‘Aman ki Aasha’. Sure, there’s nothing wrong in building people to
people contacts and keeping dialogue open, but surely it must be on
our terms.

And now this! Pakistani soldiers behead our boys and we wring our
hands in collective anguish. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH US?

We’ve brought this upon ourselves! We can’t protect our women, we
can’t look after our farmers, or our soldiers – either on the borders
or in Chattisgarh – we can’t take a damn step any more without being
surrounded with the stench of corruption. As a people we have failed
and the Government of India, which is us, have failed the country as
we squabble at every level.

Every institution is today under attack – be it the Army, the Police
or the Judiciary. We watch as our Parliamentarians make monkeys of
themselves in the highest edifices of democracy and then go scuttling
into their homes behind a barricade of police protection and barbed
wire when our children take to the streets. Just imagine what would
have happened if the President of India had walked down the Raisina
Hill slope and embraced the anguished youth and shared their concern.
All we got was lip service. And water canons and a few lathi charges.

The underlying message of these protests – be it Anna Hazare or Ramdev
or Kejriwal or Sangeeta, Radhika, Madhulika, Meena or Jyoti is the
same, even if our screaming, sometimes hysterical media misses it! THE
PEOPLE ARE CRYING OUT FOR BETTER GOVERNANCE! Every scandal – be it the
CWG, 2G, 3G, Coalgate, Kodankulam or FDI, is a nail in our crumbling
wall.

When your intestines are bleeding, your women being raped, your
fishermen are being shot by drunk Italian Guards as sport, and all you
do is make shrill noises on TV, do you seriously expect the enemy
sitting beyond your gate to shake his head in sympathy or do you
expect him to hit you even harder.

If he takes away your heads, it anguishes us today. But as we have
regularly demonstrated, we will do nothing about it.

I have two simple suggestions:

The media must stop covering the Pakistan border. A complete news
black out on anything concerning the LOC. The Indian Army is more than
capable of making the people who did this heinous act pay. Just leave
the Army alone. It is their ghost and they will burry it at their time
of choosing.

Enforce a Naval economic blockade of Karachi until Dawood Ibrahim, the
perpetuators of the Mumbai Attack, and the Pakistani Army personnel
who beheaded our boys in 2011 in Kupwara and now in Mendhar are handed
over. There should be no compromise on this. The Indian Navy has had a
virtual son-in-law status since Independence and all the talk of a
blue water Navy now needs to be put to the test.

Choke Pakistan economically so that they hurt. Neither the Army nor
the IAF have the numerical superiority over Pakistan to conduct any
surgical retaliation strike. The Navy on the other hand, has a major
edge over the Pakistan Navy.

If the rest of the world, especially the US, has a problem with this,
tell them to go to hell and shut the door behind them!


Kunal Verma is the author of 'The Long Road to Siachen: The Question
Why and 'The Northeast Trilogy'.

A filmmaker, he has been professionally associated with the Armed
Forces for over two decades. His films include 'The Standard Bearers
(National Defence Academy)', 'The Making of a Warrior (Indian Military
Academy)', 'Salt of the Earth and Aakash Yodha (IAF)', 'The Naval
Dimension and Kashmir: Baramula to Kargil' among others.

The recently published 'Northeast Trilogy' documents the entire
Northeastern region of India

India Loses US$1.6 Billion in Black Money in 2010, Loses US$123 Bill

December 17, 2012
Clark Gascoigne, +1 202 293 0740 x222

WASHINGTON, DC – The Indian economy suffered US$1.6 billion in illicit financial outflows in 2010, capping-off a decade in which the world’s largest democracy experienced black money loses of US$123 billion, according to the latest report released today by Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based research and advocacy organization.

The GFI study, titled “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2001-2010,” ranks India as the decade’s 8th largest victim of illicit capital flight behind China, Mexico, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the Philippines, and Nigeria, respectively.

“While progress has been made in recent years, India continues to lose a large amount of wealth in illicit financial outflows,” said GFI Director Raymond Baker.  “Much focus has been paid in the media on recovering the Indian black money that has already been lost.  This focus is for naught as long as the Indian economy continues to hemorrhage illicit money.  Policymakers and commentators should make curtailing the ongoing outflow of money priority number one.”

“$123 billion is a massive amount of money for the Indian economy to lose,” said Dr.Dev Kar, GFI Lead Economist and co-author of the report.  “It has very real consequences for Indian citizens.  This is more than $100 billion dollars which could have been used to invest in education, healthcare, and upgrade the nation’s infrastructure.  Perhaps last summer’s electrical blackout would have been avoided if some of this money had remained in India and been used to invest in the nation’s power grid.”

Co-authored by Dr. Kar and GFI Economist Sarah Freitas, the study is GFI’s annual update on the amount of money flowing out of developing economies through crime, corruption and tax evasion, and it is the first of GFI’s reports to include data for the year 2010.

The report—the first by GFI to incorporate a new, more conservative, estimate of illicit financial flows—found that all developing and emerging economies suffered US$858.8 billion in illicit outflows in 2010, just below the all-time high of US$871.3 billion set in 2008—the year preceding the global financial crisis.

“Astronomical sums of dirty money continue to flow out of the developing world and into offshore tax havens and developed country banks,” noted Mr. Baker.  “Regardless of the methodology, it’s clear: developing economies are hemorrhaging more and more money at a time when rich and poor nations alike are struggling to spur economic growth. This report should be a wake-up call to world leaders that more must be done to address these harmful outflows.”

Methodology

As developing countries begin to loosen capital controls, the possibility exists that the methodology utilized in previous GFI reports—known as the World Bank Residual Plus Trade Mispricing method—could increasingly pick-up some licit capital flows.  The methodology introduced in this report— the Hot Money Narrow Plus Trade Mispricing method—ensures that all flow estimates are strictly illicit moving forward, but may omit some illicit financial flows detected in the previous methodology.

“The estimates provided by either methodology are still likely to be extremely conservative as they do not include trade mispricing in services, same-invoice trade mispricing, hawala transactions, and dealings conducted in bulk cash,” explained Dr. Kar, who previously served as a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund.  “This means that much of the proceeds of drug trafficking, human smuggling, and other criminal activities, which are often settled in cash, are not included in these estimates.”

Findings

The US$858.8 billion of illicit outflows lost to all developing countries in 2010 is a significant uptick from 2009, which saw developing nations lose US$776.0 billion under the new methodology.  The study estimates the developing world lost a total of US$5.86 trillion over the decade spanning 2001 through 2010.1

“This has enormous ramifications for the developing world,” explained Ms. Freitas, a co-author of the report.  “Poor countries lost nearly a trillion dollars that could have been used to develop economically, a trillion dollars that could have been used to pull people out of poverty and save lives.”

Dr. Kar and Ms. Freitas’ research tracks the amount of illegal capital flowing out of 150 different developing countries over the 10-year period from 2001 through 2010, and it ranks the countries by magnitude of illicit outflows. According to the report, the 20 biggest exporters of illicit financial flows over the decade are:

1. China ............ ......... .. $274 billion average ($2.74 trillion cumulative)
2. Mexico ............ ......... ......... ...... $47.6 billion avg. ($476 billion cum.)
3. Malaysia ............ ......... ......... .... $28.5 billion avg. ($285 billion cum.)
4. Saudi Arabia ............ ......... ....... $21.0 billion avg.  ($210 billion cum.)
5. Russia ............ ......... ......... ........ $15.2 billion avg. ($152 billion cum.)
6. Philippines ............ ......... ......... . $13.8 billion avg. ($138 billion cum.)
7. Nigeria ............ ......... ......... ....... $12.9 billion avg. ($129 billion cum.)
8. India ............ ......... ......... ......... . $12.3 billion avg. ($123 billion cum.)
9. Indonesia ............ ......... ......... ... $10.9 billion avg. ($109 billion cum.)
10. United Arab Emirates ............ ... $10.7 billion avg. ($107 billion cum.)
11. Iraq ............ ......... ......... ......... $10.6 billion avg. ($63.6 billion cum.)2
12. South Africa ............ ......... ....... $8.39 billion avg. ($83.9 billion cum.)
13. Thailand ............ ......... ......... .... $6.43 billion avg. ($64.3 billion cum.)
14. Costa Rica ............ ......... ......... . $6.37 billion avg. ($63.7 billion cum.)
15. Qatar ............ ......... ......... ........ $5.61 billion avg. ($56.1 billion cum.)
16. Serbia ............ ......... ......... ....... $5.14 billion avg. ($51.4 billion cum.)
17. Poland ............ ......... ......... ...... $4.08 billion avg. ($40.8 billion cum.)
18. Panama ............ ......... ......... .... $3.99 billion avg. ($39.9 billion cum.)
19. Venezuela ............ ......... ......... $3.79 billion avg. ($37.9 billion cum.)
20. Brunei ............ ......... ......... ....... $3.70 billion avg. ($37.0 billion cum.)

For a complete ranking of average annual illicit financial outflows by country, please refer to Table 2 of the report’s appendix on page 36, or download the rankings by average annual illicit outflows here  [PDF | 51 KB].

Also revealed are the top exporters of illegal capital in 2010, which were:

1. China ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ..... $420.36 billion
2. Malaysia ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... .. $64.38 billion
3. Mexico ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... .... $51.17 billion
4. Russia ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ...... $43.64 billion
5. Saudi Arabia ............ ......... ......... ......... ..... $38.30 billion
6. Iraq........ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ..... $22.21 billion
7. Nigeria ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... .... $19.66 billion
8. Costa Rica........ ......... ......... ......... ......... ..... $17.51 billion
9. Philippines ............ ......... ......... ......... ........ $16.62 billion
10. Thailand.... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .. $12.37 billion
11. Qatar ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ....... $12.36 billion
12. Poland ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ..... $10.46 billion
13. Sudan ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ....... $8.58 billion
14. United Arab Emirates ............ ......... ......... .. $7.60 billion
15. Ethiopia ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ..... $5.64 billion
16. Panama ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ..... $5.34 billion
17. Indonesia ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... .. $5.21 billion
18. Dominican Republic ............ ......... ......... ..... $5.03 billion
19. Trinidad and Tobago ............ ......... ......... .... $4.33 billion
20. Brazil ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... $4.29 billion

An alphabetical listing of illicit financial outflows is available for each country in Table 9 on pg. 62 of the report. You can also download the alphabetical listing of illicit financial flows data for each country here [ PDF | 64 KB].

Previous Country-Specific Report on India

A November 2010 GFI report, “The Drivers and Dynamics of Illicit Financial Flows from India: 1948-2008,” found that the Indian economy lost $462 billion to illicit financial outflows from 1948 through 2008. Authored by Dr. Kar, the report measured India’s underground economy as 50 percent of GDP, with cumulative illicit outflows accounting for an increasing share of the total underground economy.

Possible Solutions

Global Financial Integrity advocates that world leaders increase the transparency in the international financial system as a means to curtail the illicit flow of money highlighted by Dr. Kar and Ms. Freitas’ research.  Policies advocated by GFI include:

* Addressing the problems posed by anonymous shell companies, foundations, and trusts by requiring confirmation of beneficial ownership in all banking and securities accounts, and demanding that information on the true, human owner of all corporations, trusts, and foundations be disclosed upon formation and be available to law enforcement;
* Reforming customs and trade protocols to detect and curtail trade mispricing;
* Requiring the country-by- country reporting of sales, profits and taxes paid by multinational corporations;
* Requiring the automatic cross-border exchange of tax information on personal and business accounts;
* Harmonizing predicate offenses under anti-money laundering laws across all Financial Action Task Force cooperating countries; and
* Ensuring that the anti-money laundering regulations already on the books are strongly enforced.

Funding

Funding for the new report, “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2001-2010,” was generously provided by the Ford Foundation.

A friend Abha Singh, lawyer and activist, lays down a journalist's rights and privileges vis-a-vis her sources in black and white:
As per section 13 of the Press Council Act, 1978, Norms for Journalistic Ethics are required to be promulgated by the Press Council of India. The force of law of such Norms is apparent from the legal provision quoted below:

“Relevant part of Section 13(2) of the Press Council Act, 1978:
The Council may, in furtherance of its objects, perform the following functions, namely :
...
(b) to build up a code of conduct for newspapers, news agencies and journalists in accordance with high professional standards;” (Emphasis supplied).

Pursuant to the statutory provisions mentioned above, the Press Council of India has promulgated Norms for Journalistic Conduct, 2005. That being so, the said Norms have got a statutory force of law and the same comes within the definition of ‘law’ contained in Article 13 of the Constitution of India.

It is to be noted further that section 14 of the Press Council Act, 1978, provides for punishment to the person who violates this statutory Norms of Journalistic Conduct, and the punishment provided for is to “warn, admonish or censure” the concerned journalist.

It is further seen that as per Clause 27 of the Norms of Journalistic Conduct, 2005 issued under section 13 of the Press Council Act, 1978, it has been provided that “if information is received from a confidential source, the confidence should be respected.”

It is thus seen that the statutory rules framed under the provisions of Press Council Act, 1978, bans revealing of the names of sources. In case a person reveals the name of a source he would be committing an offence punishable under section 14 of the Press Council Act, 1978. Needless to add that this act shall be classified as a ‘criminal offence’ under the definition of ‘offence’ contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

In sum, since revealing the name of a source is a criminal offence hence the police cannot compel a journalist to reveal the name of the source and thereby commit a crime.

WHAT JOURNALISTS SHOULD DO WHEN THE POLICE OR ANY OTHER INVESTIGATING AGENCY ASKS FOR THE JOURNALIST TO REVEAL HIS SOURCE?

If the police or any other investigating agency calls for revealing the name of source, then the concerned journalist should clearly inform that to reveal the name of source would be a criminal offence under section 14 of the Press Council Act, 1978, and hence the same cannot be revealed. The police should also be told that since they are compelling the journalist to commit and offence, that would amount to the police committing an offence of abetment by the police under section 109 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and that would also be an offence under section 166 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, since the police are required to abide by the conduct rules of behaving in a manner which is not unbecoming of a public servant and that their act can cause professional injury to the journalist.

If still the police insists then they could be hauled up before the Press Council of India or Human Rights Commission or before the senior officer of police and finally even a Writ Petition could be filed in the High Court.

Police can also be told that the police themselves do not reveal the name of their sources even though there is no law with the police on this. If that is so, then how can police compel a journalist to reveal the name of his source when they are a step above, since there is a law which does not permit to reveal name of the source of a journalist.

As an additional measure, a complaint for departmental action also needs to be lodged before the superior officers of police against those police officers who compel journalists to reveal the name of their sources.

TAILPIECE:

While the aforesaid provisions of law do exist, but at the same time it is necessary for the law to be made more specific on this and just as the communication between a husband and wife (section 122 Indian Evidence Act, 1872) or an advocate and his client (section 126 Indian Evidence Act, 1872) are considered to be confidential, the communication made by a journalist with his source also has to be made similarly confidential by making requisite amendments in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

I am just back from a meditation camp at an ashram. It was an enlightening and lightening experience during which I realised commitment is the name of the game. Here is a lowdown:

Participants for this five-day course are required to report a day early during which they are allotted their room numbers, given course literature and briefed about the schedules and terms.

The rooms are allotted just before dinner time which is 5.30 pm but one is allowed to shift anytime thereafter. However,  no sooner is the allotment made, there is a flurry of activity. Gone are the blissed-out expressions, measured walk and reined-in demeanour. People are scrambling to their old rooms, packing their bags on cycle trolleys and circumambulating half or full way across the ashram to find their allotted rooms, all this after the gong for dinner has gone.

Where’s the fire, I ask. But who’s listening? The place is in motion with wheels, feet and baggage trolleys being yanked over sand and concrete with a purpose to answer.  Everyone seems keen to begin her spiritual journey as early as possible. This enthusiasm runs deep. 

To understand how deep, a basic introduction to the course is imperative. Participants are handed out forms that contain the schedule: five one-hour meditations, two to three hours of discourse by the Guru, 45 minutes of introspection, and the regular reading that takes up another hour. And since you are mandated to report a minimum of five minutes before time, that amounts to over nine hours of your day spent on your spiritual enrichment. The last meditation ends at 9 pm and the first starts at 5.15 am.

Now that’s an alarming story. Each participant, who lives alone in the room and is required to stay maun throughout the course,  speaks loudly through their alarm clocks with clockwork precision. First, the ashram gong goes off at the stroke of 4.30 am; in the next second, you hear the rent of the shrill alarm next door. In the next five minutes, ten assorted alarms peal one after another, each tearing to be ahead of the other. One of them, about two doors away from mine, is assertive and loud, like a siren, and intended not to wake you up but to make you jump out of your skin.

As I yawn and stretch in the dark, an enormous row begins outside. Buckets are being slammed under the hot water tap (we have one along each corridor) located right outside my room. The tap takes great pleasure in gushing raucously during dawn but goes silent in the day. Doors are being banged and shut in a coordinated fashion right up to 5.10 am when all movement ceases. That’s only because, as I said, we are to report for all meditations five minutes early.

Actually, all we have to really do at that hour is wake up, freshen up and walk to the venue. All of this should take a maximum of 10 minutes, not 40. Even as I muse in half-sleep why the world has so many masochists under one roof who won’t sleep, I see visions in white outside my window and hear the clickety clack of sticks. Before you get ideas, they are the participants dressed in the preferred ashram colour, making their way to the air-conditioned hall past my window, some with a walking stick.

I rub my eyes. They cant possibly be reporting half an hour early! But there is no doubt they are. The first day, it rattled me because seeing them made me fidget and end up in the cold hall 15 minutes before time. The second day, I did the same and groaned. The third day, I wisened up and reported only 10 minutes early. I had smartened up.

In fact, I set my alarm each day optimistically for 4.50 am in the hope that as the world awakes, I will sleep to my freedom till it buzzes. None of that helped, of course. The ashram gong, the siren and the sundry alarm clocks that seemed to charge in all directions made sure I stayed sharp bright and early at 4.30 am. Each day, I would sigh, shake my head, look longingly at the clock and put off my alarm before it rang.

In between two meditations, the minimum gap is half an hour during which you scramble to your room for a minute and return. Powdering your nose in this interval is of little use. First, there isn’t enough time and second, nobody is looking at you. They are tanked up on the yonder. So I decide not to bother pressing my clothes as it made no difference whatsoever, apart from eating into my endangered sleep time. I consoled myself that in the rare event any of my fans sneak up on me, making way past layers of barricades to the course area, and find me looking less than ravishing, they will anyway not recognise me in creased kurtas, baggy pajamas matched with baggy eyes, and cotton dupattas pulled over severely tied hair to show my elementary face and an other-worldly attitude.

Back to the interval story. As I said, I discovered that even this margin was not really necessary as the movement to the hall for every single session began half an hour before. For five days, I struggled to understand why anybody on earth would want to spend close to 12 hours of the day holed up in a hall when they need to spend nine anyway.

Agitated that I was spending more time on my co-participants’ than on my own internal journey, I decided bitterly that they were doing extra time for a better bargain with God. 
 

We were told that if we wanted anything, we were to write on stapled chits of paper thoughtfully provided beforehand. Our demands are met by the seniormost persons in the organisations who volunteer their services as our counsellors, guides, and wish-granters. These eight souls, who had completed their spiritual search, serve as the Guru’s many arms.

Some more about these angelic mediators. They sent us mixed signals by molly-cuddling us with excessive attention while keeping a hawk eye on our trespasses. At the dining hall, they would position themselves right at the back but very visibly so that we get the message and behaved through the meal. Only after we eat would they cheerfully get up and serve themselves.

These aides worked really hard. Each day, we were to submit a report card to them that had to have a lengthy description of every single ingredient of the day – how we did each of the five meditation sessions, how we found the Guru’s three-hour discourse, how we conducted our introspection, how we indulged our negative and positive emotions throughout the day. The few minutes I got in my room were spent grudgingly writing these memoirs.

As, for me, each day and each meditation session mirrored the other, I had no option but to find creative ways to describe my inability to meditate. The Guru’s aides would then go through these copious notes and make comments. With four of them handling 63 participants’s accounts, each aide had to pore over 15 progress reports each morning at the crack of dawn but somehow didn’t seemed to mind the ordeal.

The aides carried a whip. Each morning, they would mercilessly write out a public circular titled, “The dignitaries who were caught napping in the morning session,’’ listing those of us who dared to nod off for a split second under their penetrating supervision. Gratifyingly, I never made it to that list.

That’s because I shuffled endlessly during all sessions as I am not used to sitting on the floor. Out of a sense of awkwardness at the idea of sitting on chairs primarily occupied by the elderly or at least 50-plus, I would cross my long legs on the mat mutinously in the ambitious hope that they would stay. But in two minutes or less, I would be leaning forward, shifting one leg, then tucking another beneath it and so on.

At the end of some sessions, I would find myself facing the back of the hall instead of the front. Our supervisors figured that someone who thrusts forward and backward and sideways all the time cannot be asleep.

To be fair, nobody slept all through. At the most, a few would slip into an involuntary snooze for a minute or two which should happen naturally when you sleep all of two-and-half winks every day. Even as I sniggered every morning at the names, I would secretly marvel how I never slept through meditation and decided that it was the first positive sign that I was well suited for the rigours of this course.

Amazing piece. Not mine and dont know the author, Came on mail. Needs to be preserved for posterity.

The scientific explanation for visiting temple regularly

There are hundreds of temples all over India in different size, shape and locations but not all of them are considered to be in the Vedic way.

Generally, the temples are located in a place where earth's magnetic waves pass through. In simple terms, these temples are located strategically at a place where the positive energy is abundantly available from the magnetic wave distribution of north/ south pole thrust.

Because of its location, where high magnetic values are available, the Main Idol is placed in the center, and also because they place a copper plate written with some Vedic scripts, which is buried, beneath the Main Idol's placement known as "Garbhagriha" or Moolasthan, the copper absorbs the earths magnetic waves and radiates to the surroundings. Thus a person who regularly visits a temple and makes clockwise pradakshina of the Main Idol's placement, automatically receives the beamed magnetic waves which get absorbed by his body. This is very slow and a regular visit will make him absorb more energy, known as positive energy. In addition, the Sanctum Sanctorum is completely enclosed on three sides. The effect of all energies is very high in here. The lamp that is lit radiates the heat and light energy.

The ringing of the bells and the chanting of prayers gives sound energy. The fragrance from the flowers, the burning of camphor give out chemical energy. The effect of all these energies is activated by the positive energy that comes out of the idol. This is in addition to the north/south pole magnetic energy that is absorbed by the copper plate and utensils that are kept in the Moolasthan.

The water used for the Pooja is mixed with Cardamom, Benzoine, Holy Basil (Tulsi), Clove, etc is the "Theertham". This water becomes more energized because it receives the positive-ness of all these energies combined. When persons go to the temple for Deepaaraadhana, and when the doors open up, the positive energy gushes out onto the persons who are there. The water that is sprinkled onto the people passes on the energy to all. That is the reason why, men are not allowed to wear shirts to the temple and ladies have to wear more ornaments because it is through these jewels (metal) that positive energy is absorbed in ladies. It is proved that Theertham is a very good blood purifier, as it is highly energized.

In addition, temples offer holy water (about three spoons). This water is mainly a source of magneto therapy as they place the copper water vessel at the Garbhagriha. It also contains cardamom, clove, saffron, etc to add taste and Tulsi (holy Basil) leaves are put into the water to increase its medicinal value! The clove essence protects one from tooth decay, the saffron & Tulsi leave essence protects one from common cold and cough, cardamom and benzoine known as Pachha Karpuram, acts as a mouth refreshing agents. This way, one's health too is protected, by regularly visiting Temples !

Occasionally, I come across a news report in DNA or such right-thinking papers about a poor child denied admission in a school in spite of the Right to Education Act. Equally rarely, I chance upon a report about a poor patient asked for money in spite of his admission under the Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayi Arogya Yojana  of the Maharashtra government.

But neither of these incidents create a single ripple in the media. The English media in particular works in an insular fashion. It is very clear about its priorities and they dont include the poor. Its readers come from educated families and they are necessarily unpoor. Period. If 70 per cent of the Indian population is poor, the Indian English media will blank them out because they dont read that paper and therefore, their concerns dont count. There are certain understood and accepted norms of coverage:

An accident involving a slum dweller will make it the front page only if the person causing the accident is from the middle or upper class. If the victim is a young person from an upper class family, the papers will have it as a lead or second lead. The farmer comes into news only if and when a union (not state) minister visits him or a relief package is announced at the chief minister's level. 


The old are almost in the same doghouse. They can die on the roads, get battered by two-wheelers or gets killed in hospitals. If they dont pull the pursestrings, they can be stepped past.


The two policies- the RTE act and the health scheme-are meant for the poor,. But there is no way to tell if they are working. Reporters are simply not interested. Most private hospitals are unwilling to be a part of the health scheme (naturally named after the only Gandhi who has done something for the country, apart from Indira Gandhi) but they wont be harassed for their version of story as they would had they refused to admit a VIP patient.

If the media is so patently and shamelessly unfair,  what's the hope for the common man?

Here is an email I'd received some time ago. It is in circulation for a while. Though I havent confirmed its veracity, it's still interesting:

Meeting with H.N. Srinivas - Senior Executive Vice President, Taj Group of Hotels

Last evening, I had a dinner meeting with HNS in Goa (I was there for a National Institute of Personnel Management conference – as a speaker).

He narrated the 26th November 2008 terror attack on Taj Mumbai and there were some important points.

A. Terrorist entry



1. They entered from the Leopold Colaba hotel entrance and also from the northern entrance – spraying indiscriminate bullets on the Taj security personnel and guests in general.

2. Though Taj had a reasonable security – they were surely not equipped to deal with terrorists who were spraying 6 bullets per trigger.

3. The strategy of the terrorists was to throw chunks of RDX in an open area that will explode and burn – creating chaos so that the guests and staff run helter skelter so that the terrorists could kill them. The idea was to create maximum casualties.

4. There were several critical gatherings and functions happening in the hotel on that day – a Bohra wedding, global meet of Unilever CEOs and Board members and 2 other corporate meetings were being held in the hotel – besides the usual crowd.

5. The firing and chaos began at about 8.30 p.m. and the staff including employees on casual and contract basis displayed exemplary presence of mind, courage and sacrifice to protect the guests who were in various halls and conference rooms.

B. Stories of Staff Heroics

1. A young lady guest relation executive with the HLL gathering stopped any of the members going out and volunteered 3 times to go out and get stuff such as ice cubes for whiskey of the guests when the situation outside the hall was very explosives and she could have been easily the target of the bullets

2. Thomas George a captain escorted 54 guests from a backdoor staircase and when he was going down last he was shot by the terrorists

3. There were 500 emails from various guests narrating heroics of the staff and thanking them for saving their lives

4. In a subsequent function, Ratan Tata broke down in full public view and sobbed saying – “the company belongs to these people”. The wife of Thomas George who laid his life saving others said, she and the kids were proud of the man and that she did not know that for 25 years she lived with a man who was so courageous and brave

5. The episode happened on 26th November, a significant part of the hotel was burnt down and destroyed – the hotel was re-opened on 21st December and all the employees of the hotel were paraded in front of the guests

6. It was clearly a saga of extra-ordinary heroics by ordinary people for their organisation and in a way for their country. The sense of duty and service was unprecedented

7. The young lady who protected and looked after the HLL guests was a management trainee and we often speak of juniority and seniority in the organisation. She had no instructions from any supervisor to do what she did

a. She took just 3 minutes to rescue the entire team through the kitchen

b. Cars were organised outside the hotel as per seniority of the members

c. In the peak of the crisis, she stepped out and got the right wine glass for the guest

8. People who exhibited courage included janitors, waiters, directors, artisans and captains – all level of people

C. The Tata Gesture

1. All category of employees including those who had completed even 1 day as casuals were treated on duty during the time the hotel was closed

2. Relief and assistance to all those who were injured and killed

3. The relief and assistance was extended to all those who died at the railway station, surroundings including the “Pav-Bhaji” vendor and the pan shop owners

4. During the time the hotel was closed, the salaries were sent my money order

5. A psychiatric cell was established in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences to counsel those who needed such help

6. The thoughts and anxieties going on people’s mind was constantly tracked and where needed psychological help provided

7. Employee outreach centers were opened where all help, food, water, sanitation, first aid and counseling was provided. 1600 employees were covered by this facility

8. Every employee was assigned to one mentor and it was that person’s responsibility to act as a “single window” clearance for any help that the person required

9. Ratan Tata personally visited the families of all the 80 employees who in some manner – either through injury or getting killed – were affected.

10. The dependents of the employees were flown from outside Mumbai to Mumbai and taken care off in terms of ensuring mental assurance and peace. They were all accommodated in Hotel President for 3 weeks

11. Ratan Tata himself asked the families and dependents – as to what they wanted him to do.

12. In a record time of 20 days, a new trust was created by the Tatas for the purpose of relief of employees.

13. What is unique is that even the other people, the railway employees, the police staff, the pedestrians who had nothing to do with Tatas were covered by compensation. Each one of them was provided subsistence allowance of Rs. 10K per month for all these people for 6 months.

14. A 4 year old granddaughter of a vendor got 4 bullets in her and only one was removed in the Government hospital. She was taken to Bombay hospital and several lacs were spent by the Tatas on her to fully recover her

15. New hand carts were provided to several vendors who lost their carts

16. Tata will take responsibility of life education of 46 children of the victims of the terror

17. This was the most trying period in the life of the organisation. Senior managers including Ratan Tata were visiting funeral to funeral over the 3 days that were most horrible

18. The settlement for every deceased member ranged from Rs. 36 to 85 lacs in addition to the following benefits:

a. Full last salary for life for the family and dependents

b. Complete responsibility of education of children and dependents – anywhere in the world

c. Full Medical facility for the whole family and dependents for rest of their life

d. All loans and advances were waived off – irrespective of the amount

e. Counselor for life for each person

D. Epilogue

1. How was such passion created among the employees? How and why did they behave the way they did?

2. The organisation is clear that it is not something that someone can take credit for. It is not some training and development that created such behaviour. If someone suggests that – everyone laughs

3. It has to do with the DNA of the organisation, with the way Tata culture exists and above all with the situation that prevailed that time. The organisation has always been telling that customers and guests are #1 priority

4. The hotel business was started by Jamshedji Tata when he was insulted in one of the British hotels and not allowed to stay there.

5. He created several institutions which later became icons of progress, culture and modernity. IISc is one such institute. He was told by the rulers that time that he can acquire land for IISc to the extent he could fence the same. He could afford fencing only 400 acres.

6. When the HR function hesitatingly made a very rich proposal to Ratan – he said – do you think we are doing enough?

7. The whole approach was that the organisation would spend several hundred crore in re-building the property – why not spend equally on the employees who gave their life?

Minuted by Dileep Ranjekar

The new JEE formula is tough on the students:

 http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/report_why-cet-compromise-is-not-such-a-good-thing_1709756

There is this little woebegone puppy who hovers around our garden all day. Let's call her UN, for under-nourished. She must be about four months old but looks half her age.  Her siblings are also street dogs, naturally, and are skinny, but have grown well. This girl has remained diminutive and has such a lost face that your heart goes out to her.
She is perpetually made fun of and harassed by her stronger siblings and her mother, far from protecting her, had not even fed her adequately. When UN was younger, her mother would freak at her sight and run away each time she approached her for a feed. UN has no friends and moves around reedy and miserable. To add to the pathos, she has a skin infection that looks like blisters on her slight, white frame. I suspect her eyes are a bit diseased too. They look padded and tiny, with strange spots around them.
 Yesterday, I was unlocking my door when I saw her rush out of the stairwell in fright. When I cooed to her, she cocked her ears and looked mournfully at me. Next thing, she ran a mile. She is scared of every movement around her and stays eternally poised in a flight response. Whenever I try to pay any attention to her, she freaks and tears off to safer territory.
And yes, she barks. You should hear her. She sounds like two rusting machines scratching each other. She screeches dutifully very morning when our milkman is dropping milk at the door. In her mind, that's an attempt at theft. But she barks with the full intention of running away at the first sight of the milkman turning in her direction.
Her alleged barks are her tribute to the canine quality of loyalty. If she isnt unfaithful to her creed, she knows guarding the nearest block comes with the territory.
Many times, I wonder if I should take her in. The first stumbling block is how to, when she flees at sight. The second is who will look after her all day, especially toilet-train her. I have no time nor the inclination, all my compassion notwithstanding.
And then, I think of her fate. Right from birth, UN has faced discrimination and rejection. All for no fault of hers. She was given a fragile body that doesnt grow or protect her; a mother who shunned her; siblings who harass and a neighbourhood, that represents the world at large, which is eagerly awaiting her disappearance.
What is this about? Karma? If yes, what happens after this birth? She has had no opportunity in this birth to do any good or bad. How will her next birth be? I'm told karma works in complex ways and her next birth will not be dictated merely by this one, nor is this one governed entirely by the last. Fair enough.
Now, how does it work? Lets say there are five siblings in a family. They come together due to a past birth during which they were connected and fond of one another. Now, how is it that each one of them was connected to the other in the same X past birth and all other actions and karma matched so brilliantly so as to propel them to be born in the same family in this birth. How is it that apart from their fondness for one another, they also accumulated like karma to be entitled to the same type of upbringing, parents, relatives, education, etc.?  How did their geographical karma - called naamkarma - match too?  
This is probably the most elementary illustration of my problem with karma. I can go on like this. Each time I get a new neighbour, I am to understand that my karma was entwined with hers. But why would it coincide with her landing in the same neighbourhood? How did she also collect the same karma that she needs to to be in that space? Ditto with every other situation.
I am told my arguments are too simplistic and, some tell me, naive. Maybe so. I have argued endlessly with karma believers to the most subtle point from where I come back unconvinced. There are so many things we dont understand about this world. In fact, we understand barely 1 per cent or so. The real world is not what is given to the naked eye or the dumb human brain.
To my simple mind, we are governed by the energies around us. Our thoughts are energies, our feelings are energies, our bodies radiate energy too. All the subtle levels of existence delineated in Hindu philosophy - the mind, ego, intellect, radiate energy. Our breath gives out and takes in energy. It is the vortex of this energy which circumscribes our experiences and defines our destiny. Negative bhaav creates a channel of negativity around us; positive thinking keeps our body healthy.But it isnt only our internal energies that affect us. We are greatly influenced by energies released by others-- positive and negative. That's why you feel sapped when you deal with a negative person.
There is this journalist I know who was extremely negative, not so much in her dealings with others but in her mind. She was extremely particular about being on everyone's right side and keeping everyone in good humour. Even though I was neutral about her because she did not matter to me, I could never understand why I felt so negative around her. I would feel compelled to crib about others when she was around. I would also have negative things happening to me when I was sitting near her. And strangely, I would feel this urge to be away from her as if to protect myself. I never understood any of this, until another friend who had virtually no interaction with her told me, vehemently and full of feeling, one day, "This sounds biased but she is so black. Black as in full of negativity. I feel repulsed and scared if she is around even though we never interact." Later, when I came to know how obsessed she was with me because of her inner frustration or whatever reason, I understood why I heard warning bells inside my head telling me to stay away from her.
Sometimes, a person may not be negative towards you but will suffuse the air with such negativity that you want to scream. It is possible to variegate the air around anybody you want with a little focus and the right mantras, which are nothing but sound energies. Tantriks work, and they work on this scientific principle- that energies can be changed, channelled and coloured. You cannot block negative energy coming your way the same way that you cannot stop positive energy coming your way.
The only thing we can do is to avoid the negative ones as much as possible and counter them with our inner energy with as much force as we can muster. All battles dont require a battlefield.


  

Bear a female and let her live to bear with it? My column in DNA:

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/comment_no-country-for-women-young-old-or-unborn_1701151

This is written by an RTI activist and says the whole story about so-called honest bureaucrats. I have asked many officers about Ratnakar Gaikwad's shocking statement before the Adarsh Commission that  he did not pay any heed to a senior naval officer's letter raising security concerns, because, hold your breath, security was not his concern as MMRDA commissioner!!!

This brilliant exposition lays out the plot. Must read.

11 June 2012, Mumbai: This isn’t about Ratnakar Gaikwad, who was sworn in as Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra last Friday in the teeth of widespread opposition from RTI activists. This is about the decision-making environment in Mantralaya, MMRDA and many other government offices. It is about how government documents are nowadays like burqas, concealing the real decision-making process and often making the RTI process infructuous. Ratnakar Gaikwad’s correspondence with a chief of Western Naval Command shows how, when he was head of MMRDA, he did not even reply for over 60 days. And then, when he did reply, our new Chief Information Commissioner casually flung aside a plea for basic information by a top naval officer placed three levels below the President of India, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces. This article is about the real nature of government decision-making, and about how CM Prithviraj Chavan has strategically positioned Ratnakar Gaikwad in the Information Commission to ensure that the burqas of Mantralaya and MMRDA are not lifted by RTI activists.

Accountable and transparent governance demands that every decision must be properly minuted and documented. To maintain system integrity in the administration, every decision must leave clear footprints on paper. But are ministers and bureaucrats leaving an official paper trail? No.

DECISION-MAKING IS NOT REVEALED IN DOCUMENTS AND FILE-NOTINGS. Often, decisions made in unofficial ways are clothed in post-facto justifications that are written down to create a semblance of legitimacy. This creates a “black administration” or parallel administration in Maharashtra. (Yes, this is happening in other states and Govt. of India also.)

TEN METHODS OF “BLACK” DECISION-MAKING:

1)       POLITICAL PARTY BOSSES, GODFATHERS & OTHER DECISION-MAKERS decide selections, permissions, award of major contracts, land allotments etc. Decisions of ministers are actually the decisions of their party bosses, and bureaucrats’ decisions are proxy-decisions of political godfathers who are not connected to the concerned department. Can any RTI activist get minutes of meetings held in the political party offices, or in the air-conditioned cars of party bosses while driving between venues? The answer is: No. Even if the agenda and minutes are kept in party offices, these are outside the purview of the RTI Act.

2)      STICKY-NOTES IN FILED DOCUMENTS AND LITTLE PAPER CHITS do not remain in the file, but are discarded in the rubbish after the message is communicated. Meetings and decisions happen at several venues around Mumbai and also Nagpur e.g. Mantralaya and New Administration Building at Nariman Point, MCGM headquarters in Fort, MMRDA headquarters at Bandra, Chief Minister’s bungalow and Sahyadri Guest House at Malabar Hill, and at similar venues in Nagpur. Can any RTI activist ever get access to all the chits of paper that are swept out in the rubbish? If an activist gets them, can he make sense of them? And if he makes sense, can he get such chits admitted as evidence by a law-enforcement agency or a court of law? Next to impossible.

3)      SMALL NOTEBOOKS OF STENOGRAPHERS & SECRETARIES who sit beside ministers etc. contain scribbled shorthand messages. Notebooks are not official government stationery, and much of the government staff is on contract – here today, gone tomorrow. Quite often, big businessmen who are trying to get their work done at Mantralaya are told to be in touch with the PAs rather than the ministers and bureaucrats. Has any RTI activist got access to such notepads? Can he? Very difficult. But that is often the only place where key decisions are noted.

4)      EMAILS, SMS, MMS & PHONE CALLS go between ministers, bureaucrats, government officials, leading businessmen and celebrity fixers (more about this later). Although some landlines and mobiles are paid for by the government, important calls are made on private lines. For instance, if CM Prithviraj Chavan communicates with Anil Ambani on a mobile phone that is registered in the name of his daughter, can you get the call records using RTI? No. Ideally, every communication of ministers and bureaucrats – whether formal or personal – must be recorded. But the reality is that maximum communications are unrecorded and unavailable for scrutiny. Although the RTI Act defines electronic exchange of data and communication as “information”, one is yet to meet a single RTI activist who got access to electronic communications between ministers, bureaucrats and stakeholders like companies engaged in PPP projects. As a rule, gov.in email ids are dead-letter-boxes; ministers and government officials use gmail or yahoo addresses. RTI activists are not asking for call-records, SMSes, recordings of telephone conversations and emails.

5)      MEETINGS IN CORRIDORS, CARS etc have no appointments, no agenda, no minutes and no records. A small number of these may be revealed by security cameras. Has any RTI activist got the CDs of security camera footage that shows, say, Sharad Pawar and IRB Infrastructure Developers as they get into a car together? Unlikely. Even if one gets the security camera CD, what will it prove? Because it will have no audio.

6)      ON FLIGHTS AND IN HOTELS ABROAD OR IN INDIA, our decision-makers have lengthy discussions without anybody monitoring them. Such meetings happen in Dubai, Mauritius, Malaysia or on the sidelines of IPL matches in India. People like Vijay Mallya, Mukesh Ambani and Subrata Roy Sahara or their trusted representatives participate in them. Is any RTI activist tracking the meetings that our ministers and bureaucrats have during their Indian tours, leave alone foreign tours? No.

7)      HARD DISKS OF COMPUTERS & LAPTOPS used by ministers and bureaucrats, and their assistants contain lots of information. They may be messaging and emailing with special NIC software that is encrypted. Has any RTI activist asked for a full copy of all the computer drives of, say, the Maharashtra’s Revenue Minister’s office? No. Even CAG doesn’t look at computers.

8)      PERSONAL MESSENGERS including peons, junior staff, political party-workers, Mantralaya-frequenters, journalists like Barkha Dutt, Vir Sanghvi and fixers like Neera Radia -- form the communication channel between political bosses and private entities. Some visitors are recorded in gate registers that may be accessed under RTI, but not all. Peons, junior staff, drivers, cops etc. slip in and out of offices, often unrecorded and unnoticed.

9)      FAMILY MEMBERS of ministers and bureaucrats are not all leading private or professional lives. Some are active participants in decision-making. Bribes are given through family members and their trusts; a favourite route is for them to purchase properties at a low price and then sell them back at a higher price, and pocket crores within a couple of years, during which the bribe-giver and bribe-taker are bound together in a relationship. Sons and daughters are awarded lucrative business contracts or seats on company board of directors. As family members are not under RTI, the meetings that they hold are difficult to track.

10)  CRICKET BODIES are being used by Sharad Pawar and Vilasrao Deshmukh to control government decisions and deliver money to foreign bank accounts, especially in tax haven countries. Politics, government, cricket and money mix freely at BCCI (Board of Control of Cricket in India) and MCA (Maharashtra Cricket Association). Cricket celebrities, including veterans like Sunil Gavaskar, travel to Dubai, Mauritius, South Africa and tax-haven countries many times a year. They meet with foreign companies that are part of mega-sized Public Private Partnership projects (PPP) such as Mumbai International Airport Limited. Cricket celebrities visit corporate offices like Sahara India and Kingfisher, as well as various government offices, without coming under a scanner. They are couriers for both money and decisions that are made elsewhere. Corporate money flows through BCCI and MCA without questions being raised, and these organizations are kept out of the scope of Right to Information. IPL (Indian Premier League) celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Shilpa Shetty are also part of this circuit. [Note: If this sounds like a far-fetched theory, ask why political heavyweights like Sharad Pawar and Vilasrao Deshmukh invest so much of their effort to head these sporting bodies!]

Given this background of toxic decision-making in Maharashtra government, take another look at Ratnakar Gaikwad’s communications with Western Naval Command, which relates to Adarsh building. Download this file: http://tinyurl.com/Adarsh-OC-Ratnakar-Gaikwad-red

This PDF file contains three letters:

• The first two pages are a plea for information from Western Naval Command to Chief Secretary, Municipal Commissioner and Principal Secretary of Urban Development Department (UDD) on 25 June 2010.
• The third page is a covering letter from UDD, forwarding Western Naval Command’s letter to (then) MMRDA Chief Ratnakar Gaikwad on 30 August 2010.
• The last page is Ratnakar Gaikwad’s amazing reply to Western Naval Command on 29 September 2010.

HOW GAIKWAD DENIED INFORMATION TO NAVY CHIEF

ON 25 JUNE 2010, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command (FOCIC WNC), wrote to Maharashtra’s Chief Secretary, Municipal Commissioner of Greater Mumbai and Principal Secretary of Urban Development Department. It was a reminder, as a similar letter had been written on 8 June 2010. (Bear in mind, FOCIC WNC is a very high office, third in line from President of India, who is Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. While MMRDA is in charge of planning for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Western Naval Command is in charge of coastal security of four states, namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka.)

This letter raised “serious concern with regard to the construction of a building by a private housing society in the vicinity of defense installations at Colaba Defence Station, Mumbai, and the necessity for screening of the allottees from the security point of view”. Mentioning the increased threat perception post 26/11 and asking for the list of allottees, FOCIC WNC said, “It is of the utmost urgency from the point of view of security… that necessary directives under Section 154 of the MRTP Act 1966 be immediately issued by the Government of Maharashtra to the Planning Authority not to grant any Occupation Certificate, partial or otherwise whatsoever, to the said building/society, which is in the vicinity of the WNC Defence installations /Colaba Defence Station till the desired information is provided by them, and vetted by this Headquarters. You are requested to kindly take action on the aforesaid, failing which HQ WNC would be constrained to take legal recourse to legal proceedings.”

Bear in mind, Western Naval Command did not ask the government to refuse OC to Adarsh; they only asked for issue of OC after the information about Adarsh allottees was provided to them, vetted by them and approved by them. It was a reasonable demand. It is a matter of national shame that FOCIC WNC wrote, “…all efforts to procure the requisite information from the Deputy Registrar “A” Ward, Registrar of Societies, Mumbai, and also from the Housing Society itself, failed as neither of them forwarded the desired information as per the format forwarded to them.”

ON 30 AUGUST 2010, this letter was forwarded without written instructions to Ratnakar Gaikwad, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA. (See page 3 of PDF file.) Mantralaya (i.e. the Chief Secretary, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan or Principal Secretary UDD) could have replied directly to FOCIC WNC, or they could have issued directions to Ratnakar Gaikwad. But they did not, because they wanted Ratnakar Gaikwad to do a dirty job. (And yes, he did the dirty job and came out smelling like roses! God alone knows how many top people he shielded by doing this, and how many people owe him a debt of lifelong gratitude.)

ON 29 SEPTEMBER, Ratnakar Gaikwad delivered a killing stroke to Western Naval Command. Rendering the navy’s plea for information completely infructuous, Ratnakar Gaikwad stated in his letter that HE HAD ISSUED THE OC ON 16 SEPTEMBER i.e. 13 days earlier, despite having received their forwarded letters several times. The basis of this decision to give the OC unilaterally, without consulting the most important stakeholder i.e. Western Naval Command, was given as a letter written by the secretary of Adarsh Society. Let me repeat: The word of an ordinary building secretary – representing a very private interest – was Ratnakar Gaikwad’s justification for acting against the word of a defense chief, and denying him information about who was going to live in the building. Gaikwad’s letter went on to conclude that if the defense chief had any security concerns, he should now approach the police commissioner. 

In other words, go to hell. Desi bhasha mein bole toh: “Thenga! Security concerns gaye bhaad mein! Ja ukhaad le jo ukhaadna hai!”

TEXT OF GAIKWAD’S AMAZING REPLY TO NAVY CHIEF

“Sir, please refer to your above cited letters. In this regard, secretary of the society has written a letter to MMRDA in which it is stated that ‘It is reliably learnt that Naval Authorities have also written to your office regarding the antecedents of members of our Society. In this context, I would like to bring it on record for your kind information that the society consists of members from Army, Navy, Government of India Officers from IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS and other Government Officers. Our members are including Ex Chief of Naval Staff, Ex Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, two formal Chief of Army Staff and other senior officers from Army, Navy, Defence Estates etc. The Society also have Hon’ble Members of Parliament, State Assembly besides senior people who held position of Union / State Cabinet Ministers and Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly. It is also brought on the record that the land in question is State Government land allotted to the Society by the State Government and Membership have been approved by the Government of Maharashtra/Collector Mumbai according to the Government Resolution in force and antecedents of all the members have been verified and approved by the government prior to allotment of membership. In the light of above, any further verification of antecedents of members by the navy appears to be overstepping the right of propriety vested in the Government of Maharashtra and Collector Mumbai City, who have verified and approved the names.’ 

“IN VIEW OF THE ABOVE, IT IS FELT THAT AFTER COMPLETION OF THE BUILDING, BASIC ISSUES MAY NOT BE RAISED (emphasis supplied). If there is any reasonable apprehensive (sic) about the members of the society from the security point of view, you may refer the matter to the appropriate authority such as Commissioner of Police, Mumbai. MMRDA has issued the Occupancy Certificate to the Adarsh Society on 16/9/2010. 

Yours faithfully, Ratnakar Gaikwad, Metropolitan Commissioner.”

IS THIS HOW IT REALLY HAPPENED?

Is it likely that Metropolitan Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad – a seasoned bureaucrat and head of MMR’s planning authority -- dismissed the safety concerns of a high-ranking naval officer based on a letter from a mere building secretary? Was it his own decision as Metropolitan Commissioner to give Adarsh the OC? Why was he in such a hurry to give the OC that he actually gave it first, and then wrote a letter to the Navy chief giving a lame justification?

This amazing letter leads you to the conclusion that Ratnakar Gaikwad received orders by non-official channels. For his obedience and cleverness in providing a cover for the state government, he was later rewarded with the post of Chief Secretary. And now, to cover up the documents of Mantralaya and MMRDA, Ratnakar Gaikwad has been made the Chief Information Commissioner. Chief Information Commissioner is the only one who hears RTI second appeals relating to Mantralaya and MMRDA. Former Metropolitan Commissioner Suresh Joshi was also made the Chief Information Commissioner despite being severely hearing-impaired, and coincidentally, he too had played a role in Adarsh. (Not to mention suspended State Information Commissioner Ramanand Tiwari, a former UDD Secretary, who recently spent 60 days in CBI custody for his role in Adarsh.)

GAIKWAD’S KNOWLEDGE OF ADARSH CONSPIRACY VS. TOTAL INNOCENCE

Firstly, Ratnakar Gaikwad cannot deny his knowledge of the Adarsh conspiracy in Mantralaya, involving at least 7-8 top bureaucrats and numerous top politicians, including Chief Minister Ashol Chavan. Everybody knew; and as MMRDA chief, it was Ratnakar Gaikwad’s job to know. Adarsh had been 10 years in the making, and a red flag had been raised in newspaper reports as early as in 2003. Besides being  in the Indian Navy’s sensitive zone and in the Coastal Regulation Zone, MMRDA’s Development Plan had been modified to accommodate this 31-story building Coastal Regulation Zone. As MMRDa chief, it was Gaikwad’s job to have his ears to the ground and know everything there is to know about this building, including the security concerns, and the conspiracy and the cover-ups surrounding it. So Ratnakar Gaikwad cannot claim that he gave the Occupation Certificate innocently. Therefore, the letter that he wrote to Western Naval Command is completely disingenuous; it is a total cover-up.

Secondly, Gaikwad’s letter acknowledges that he had received forwards of the Navy chief’s letter on 28/7/2010, 1/9/2010 and 14/9/2010. Again, on 15/9/2010, he received a letter from the Navy directly addressed to him. Why did he not reply to all these letters until it was too late for the Navy to do anything about it, i.e. 29/9/2010, two weeks after he gave the OC to Adarsh? The gap between MMRDA receiving the first letter and its reply to the Navy was over 60 days. (The information that the Navy was requesting was never given by the Cooperatives Registrar, Chief Secretary, UDD, Municipal Commissioner, MMRDA; maybe they might have got it if they had filed an RTI application instead of writing letters!)

Finally, Ratnakar Gaikwad must have received phone calls from the Chief Secretary, Chief Minister, Municipal Commissioner, and Principal Secretary UDD soon after the Navy’s letter reached them on 8 June and 25 June 2010 – because it concerned issuing the occupation certificate, which was his turf. In fact, the letter must have been scanned and emailed to him. (The top brass must surely be emailing and phoning one another several times every week or even every day on an ongoing basis!) The Naval chief had threatened them with legal proceedings; would anybody take such a threat lightly? These people must have held many closed-door meetings that were not minuted or recorded.

There are surely dozens of emails, phone calls, SMSes and meetings that are not on record. So, Ratnakar Gaikwad was definitely not acting all alone in perfect innocence and good faith as he put the proverbial cherry – the occupancy certificate – on Adarsh building, the towering cake of deceit. But that is how they made it look.

And now Prithviraj Chavan and Ratnakar Gaikwad want us to believe that it was incidental that the post of Chief Information Commissioner in Maharashtra lay vacant for 10 months, while Gaikwad finished his term as Chief Secretary. They want us to believe that it was coincidence that the selection committee meeting was held three days after Gaikwad’s retirement from IAS. They want us to believe Ratnakar Gaikwad is the best man for the job.

Last but not least, they want us to believe that Chief SIC Ratnakar Gaikwad really cares about the rising pendency at Maharashtra State Information Commission, and that he will help the RTI applicant and the common man make this government transparent and accountable.

Prithviraj Sir, Ratnakar Sir, we are finding these things a little bit difficult to believe, no? When you will be giving appointment, Sir, for discussing all these things in the open? Lot of people are eagerly waiting, Sir.

Warm Regards,

Krishnaraj Rao