What is the need for enacting an anti-sacrilege law?

Even the ‘saffron terror’ famous PC has publicly denounced the move of the congress government of Punjab!

The irony is that while the existing IPC laws would land those insulting a god or Prophet would land them in jail, the proposed one would land you in prison for life for burning or defacing a holy book.

The Punjab Cabinet has decided to introduce in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) a new Section (295AA) which states, “Whoever causes injury, damage or sacrilege to Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Srimad Bhagwad Gita, Holy Quran and Holy Bible with the intention to hurt the religious feelings of the people, shall be punishable with imprisonment for life.”

One wonders why this extraordinary penalty is necessary when, throughout India, Section 295A of the IPC already provides for imprisonment up to three years for “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings”. Now, damage to holy books can attract a mandatory life sentence in Punjab, while other insults can attract up to three years.

Optimism in India’s growth

Modi has given optimism, enterprise and resilience to Indians through his 3 disruptive reforming measures namely, Demonetization, GST and IBC.

It forced discipline into the working of the economy. People have been nudged to pay tax and repay commercial loans. It is also true that pressure on large loan-defaulters consequent to IBC, has increased very much and 12 largest of them are facing full force of law.

Demonetization is held by most intellectuals to be a monumental failure: But, Indians with unaccounted cash, it now transpires, held their nerve and found more and more innovative ways to either deposit the cash in banks or exchange old notes for new notes. But, the cash deposits now have addresses and identities and their subsequent movements are all traceable since they happened within the banking networks. Rs. 23942 crores have already been seized by Income Tax authorities. At the same time, India’s tax departments, armed with new big data analytics and artificial intelligence software, is managing to track money movements far better than ever before. The new software has definitely made a difference in the way income tax systems work, and demonetization and GST have undoubtedly brought in more people into the tax fold.

Both demonetization and GST, while intended to make people follow rules, came at the expense of growth in that the economy slowed down from 7.11% in 16-17 to 6.74% in 17-18. It had slowed down to 5.7% for the 3 months before GST was to come into effect. If the tax structure is going to change in less than 3 months, any business would slow down and wait. But, once the new rules of GST came into effect, people got back to business immediately and there was a steady raise in GDP growth thereafter and now in the 1st quarter of 18-19, it touched 8.2%.

India is now the 6th largest economy in the world on GDP basis and 3rd largest on purchasing power parity. It should become 5th largest on GDP basis, next year. British parliamentarians are even questioning the aid programme to india as it is poised to overtake Great Britain’s GDP!!

Forget about the politics behind who is responsible for this scenario….it is to be accepted that Modi’s disruption has steadied the ailing Indian economy – any honest leadership can push it to enviable heights from now on….world is keenly watching the raise of PHOENIX…….

Kerala flood havoc and Sanghi’s helping hand

Noted film producer Ali Akbar in his Facebook post writes moving tribute to silent, selfless Sewa Bharati volunteers – ‘Cowdung Sanghis’“

“Some of you who read this may think I write this because I am a BJP man. But many don’t know I was a complete Communist four years ago. But then also I have seen the Sangh’s silent service. When Poonthura riots took place, when my Muslim neighbours deserted the place, it was Sangh cadres who protected my life. Till then I also considered them to be my enemies. Later, when I was putting up in Sasthamangalam, they continued to extend their helping hand, even after realizing that I was a Communist. They never showed any discrimination. Ever since I became close to the Sangh, I got several opportunities to take part in their programmes. I never knew that so much work is being carried out under the banner of the Sangh. For instance, no one knows there is an organisation called Sakshama working for the blind. I have never seen so many orphanages. Without any publicity they all work like a well-oiled machine,” recalls Akbar.

He adds, “What provoked me to pen this down were a few ‘memorable’ scenes in channel reports which showed ‘armies of DYFI men’ alighting buses and ministers inaugurating cleaning work by pouring water… Till yesterday Sewa Bharati workers were cleaning everything including toilets silently…no BJP leader inaugurated their drive… neither did the media discuss it. In the last phase, when DYFI men come in buses, it floods news programmes…now there will be a celebration of selfies… and there will be prime time news bulletins.”

When he asked them, “why don’t you publicise”, the reply was, “This is our duty and dharma. That is not something to be publicized”.

India no longer has the poor country tag

Just for a moment, See in the backdrop the clamour to grab the aids even before it is confirmed, Some of Britain’s MPs from the ruling Conservative party on Monday questioned the UK government’s financial assistance programme for India, which will involve 52 million pounds for 2018-19 and 46 million pounds for 2019-20.

Tory MP David Davies has gone record said India did not “want or need” UK aid and that “in effect we are sponsoring an Indian moon launch”. In reference to India’s 95. 4 million-pound “splurge” on lunar probe Chandrayaan-2, which is expected to be launched later this year, other Tory MPs also attacked the financial assistance ear-marked for India.

They are raising their opposition to spending money in a country that has not only got its own space programme but is developing its own overseas aid programme.

Can India wear mask as a ‘poor’ nation with a begging bowl on one hand and launch spaceships with the other: Especially from a country whose GDP it is going to overtake shortly?

On Friday, Addressing a fundraiser event in the Fargo city of North Dakota, he accused the World Trade Organization (WTO) of allowing China to become a “great economic power”. He wants to stop the subsidies that growing economies like India and China have been receiving as he wants the US, which he considers as a “developing nation”, to grow faster than anybody.

He said that they call themselves developing nations and “under that category they get subsidies. We have to pay them money. This whole thing is crazy, but we’re going to stop it. We’re going to stop it. We have stopped it”.

Not not long ago British MPs were cribbing over their aid program to a country that ‘it is planning its manned lunar mission’.

Doesn’t it feel good when some ‘filthy rich’ is jealous of your economic progress? With US and China are we on equal terms in their own assessment (though Lutyens would be uncomfortable to agree)?

Would you still carry begging bowls?

Nuclear waste disposal facility in war prone zone?

A passing mention of a canal, purportedly being constructed to cut off Qatar from Saudi Arabia, with a part of it expected to be used for hosting nuclear waste facility, shivers the spines. Could there be such facilities in a tension zone prone for armed conflicts?

The tension with Qatar spills into its isolation from Saudi Arabia culminating in a creation of a canal that may ensure cutting off trade. This highlights the accusation of its supporting terrorism and being too close to Riyadh’s arch rival, Iran – charges Doha denies.

It is reported that the canal would stretch some 60 kilometers (37 miles) along the Qatari border and measure around 200 meters (650 feet) in width. The cost of the project is expected to reach up to 2.8 billion riyals (€645 million, $750 million).

Would the watch dog IAEA do something about it?

Cows and GDP

A slugfest in the social media on complex economic statistics such as GDP and GDP growth (which till now has been the realm of pundits) and not on ‘burning’ issues like cows (freedom to eat what I want), is a huge progress for the nation.

The focus of the Modi government so far has been on tax reforms primarily but without loosing sight on growth. Both demonetisation and GST, while intended to make people follow rules, came at the expense of growth.

It is something like a street full of illegal food hawkers. They may do brisk business. If you suddenly apply rules and ask them to get proper licences, the overall business may slow down a bit for a while, isn’t it? On that basis, the growth that’s lower by 0.7% (7.3% vs 8% of 10 years of MMS) is not that bad.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley has gone on to say that UPA’s growth was also higher due to indiscriminate lending by PSU banks. These banks threw money at bad projects, which delivered growth as the money was spent, with the zooming real estate, showing a raise in GDP, but didn’t really yield any returns. This may have some truth in it, although it isn’t clear if such indiscriminate lending has stopped!

But despite its limitations and haters, GDP and GDP growth are extremely important measures whether we understand the highly technical aspect of statistics (of lower base effects) or not, It is at least almost as important as cows…

Aircel maxis scam

The CBI has finally filed the charge sheet that the Congressman “dishonestly” didn’t raise any objections when the proposal was put up to him mentioning the ‘par value’ of the investment, despite knowing that, that was the only proposal where the phrase ‘par value’ was used. The agency alleged that the FIPB officials and P Chidambaram ‘deliberately suppressed’ the total investment figure.

To avoid being sent to the cabinet committee, the value of the foreign investment proposal was pegged down to 180 crores arrived at based on par value of the shares instead of market value! The actual investment is more than 3000 crores which is way beyond the approval limits of the committee headed by the FM which is only 600 crores! Is it not clear that this approach was conceived only to hoodwink during a scrutiny, if at all there is one, with malafide intentions!

Can a person of the ‘intelligence’ and experience (both legal and ministerial) of PC, feign ignorance’ of such a gross deviation in a major proposal being put up to him for approval? Did he worry that he might have to share the crumbs with many more if it goes to the next level of clearance?

Can he camouflage the misdemeanour with a defence that the proposal was put up for his approval after due scrutiny by the competent officials of his ministry? Would it be too difficult for his son to influence them even without their boss giving a visible signal?

The obvious deviations legally are:

This par value approach is unique unlike other similar proposals being put up and the firms related to him has recd more than a crore after the approval was received in many instalments…wafer thin arguments, as it may seem, isn’t it?

In another case in which PC has not been included in the charge sheet but his son has been arrested, indirani Mukerjee has confided to the investigating authorities, that hush money has indeed been paid to Karthi, as advised by PC, in his foreign accounts, to riggle out of a dubious foreign investment proposal.

“I was not aware” – was the typical reply of Chidambaram when cornered with son Karti’s firms getting around two lakh dollars from Maxis. Chidambaram many times lied that he was not aware of son’s business operations. To the questions, on violation of the FIPB and Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) norms, Chidambaram repeatedly said that he just signed files vetted by officers. It is learnt that many officers have given statements to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED that they were forced to sign on all files as per the wishes of then Finance Minister Chidambaram in 2006.

As FIPB Chairman, the Finance Minister Chidambaram had power to approve only foreign investments up to Rs.600 crores those days. Approvals of over Rs.600 crores value have to be sent to the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs (CCEA), where he was the Chairman. The Aircel-Maxis approval was above Rs.3500 crores and Chidambaram did not send the files to CCEA. The reasons cited for his not sending it to the CCEA, is believed to be that the Home Ministry was also part of CCEA in Telecom affairs and as Maxis’s shareholder Saudi Telecom is a partner of Pakistan Telecom, the Home Ministry won’t approve the deal.

Later the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found that though the illegal approval was for Rs.3600 crores, the actual money that came from Maxis to Aircel was more than Rs.4800 crores! This exposed a gap of more than Rs.1200 crores. Karti’s controversial firm Advantage Consulting and Chess Management also got money from Maxis and the ED has already attached more than Rs.1.16 crores worth of bank deposits belonging to him.

When he was asked to come again, Chidambaram trotted out several excuses. Finally, the agency asked him to appear again by the end of June for further questioning.

Is it clear that the mind need not be as white as the clothes one wears? Unfortunately, dishonesty is always very difficult to be established in a court of law and is always a subject prone to the interpretations based on the tint of the glasses you wear! The statue of justice has anyway closed her eyes to avoid seeing all these long time back..!!

There would be no wonder if PC goes scot free, if at all a verdict is pronounced in OUR LIFETIME…

Don’t get carried away by what ‘white skin’ says

‘Coconut oil is a poison’ says a Harvard professor!

Not long ago, I saw a video (Dr B M Hegde) depicting coconut oil as a wonder remedy for most of the perils of our health including that of infants. There were examples from Ayurvedic treatment… you go nuts if you start listening to what all you hear! Don’t go by eyes and ears: but experience…

The experience of time tested concoction of generations of Keralites can never be disproved by any amount of ‘scientific ‘ researches!

And believe me, not all what white skin says can be believed…

Will Air India go KFA way?

Is government mulling closing down the maharajah? Steps in the direction of revival has not yielded an iota Of return so far: specialist directors Deveshwar and Birla in the board could not wave their magic wands; No sane private entrepreneur would buy this white elephant with all the liabilities bleeding the enterprise profusely; the packages were awfully unprofessional! Even then the trade unions and the opposition parties cried foul! Even those responsible for this predicament shamelessly raised their voices! Govt did not have the spine to put an attractive offer to get competitive bids; they were in fact loaded in such a way that the proposed sell out could not attract any bidders at all! NDA failed in its mission for a turn around or disinvestment….

Now, Govt funds are not forthcoming even for day to day operations! MoF points fingers in the direction of PM; PMO will now be blamed if salaries are not paid – who bothers if the carrier does not operate and is not viable..

One can think of writing off the debt, if the carrier shows at least some operating profits; but it seems to be nowhere in sight. There is no good reason to nurture this sick baby other than sentimental!

What is in store for the severely battered enterprise? Whether whirling vortex to the dark abyss has already begun? Are they planning a slow painful death for the national carrier instead of euthanasia?

Will Air India go KFA way?

Christian cause and Carnatic musicians

While supporting the cause of a few musicians releasing music albums praising Jesus by altering popular Thyagaraja Krithis, Krishna ridicules the Carnatic Rasikas as ‘ignorant fools in the guise of Carnatic rasikas’! He has vowed to sing songs on Jesus and Allah on regular basis; He is not doing on his own devotion or to bolster the mind of the listener, but with vengeance, hatred and ego at heart.

Mahanadi Shobhana in her posting in FB has rightly rebuked him thus: ‘You seem to think that you have a carte blanche when you sing for other religions; To bring religious harmony, why can’t you propagate a Thyagaraja Kirthana or a Tulsi Das Bhajan singing the praise of Rama in a church or a mosque?’

T M Krishna is never shy of expressing his hatred to belittle a community; In one of his speeches (on November 24, 2017 organised by Manthan and the Hyderabad Book Trust in Hyderabad) on Carnatic legend MS Subbulakshmi, he has reportedly asserted that the legendary had to transform herself into the ideal brahmin woman to receive wider acceptance; He also reportedly asked if MS would have been as adored, if she was dark-skinned and dressed differently. He himself knows that there is no truth in that as her melodies received standing ovation even across the shores? Is he not blatantly arrogant in erroneously mixing up religion with music to bolster his skewed views?

Had there been copyrights on these krithis, would he have been able to alter as he and his cohorts wish to do? They are free to compose on their own and sing wherever they want! Obviously there are ulterior propaganda motives and there is much more than that meets the eye!

Another arrogant writes in ‘The Hindu’ that with the dwindling audience in the kutchery season, this is a welcome diversification to increase the popularity of Carnatic music: he ridicules that there are more connoisseurs for the delicious snacks in the Sabha canteens than in the auditorium during ‘Season’…. Atrocious comment …isn’t it?

The minority appeasement virus has now inflicted the musicians from the politicians; they are over-zealous to appease without any remorse of hurting hindu sentiments. In this modern liberal world ‘one is free to follow one’s own heart and pursue the free will’ even at the expense of neighbour’s annoyance!!!