The aftereffects of the wave

Abusing others with ostentatious remarks has gone fishing from the media. The outbound language is tracing the path like a boomerang and unable to hold the Boomerang, or, not knowing how to handle it, is playing havoc, and the reacting leaders are either shown the door, or, are being reined in, or, reprimanded sternly.

Some call it retrospect, some introspection, some review, and yet some reinventing and rejuvenating the party; but, I call it the aftereffects of a severe storm that pervaded India for more than a year. As the new small plants are uprooted in a thunderous hailstorm so have been several parties in the just concluded elections. Some are sulking; some are frowning; some are licking their wounds; some are calling meetings after meetings to give solace to each other; but, everyone of them is dying for an issue which will bring all the decimated and severely wounded parties back to the media glare.

The HRD minister's qualification issue, article 370 and several other issues may be seen as an effort to divert the new government's attention from the core issues India is facing now--by the bruised leaders. After all, such behavior is expected from those who have lost their ground--devoid of their lifesaving bread and butter.

Those whose space in the political arena have been snatched, or those who have been maimed, or those who have been bundled to single digit number of seats in the Lower House in the Parliament should understand it clearly that the new generation is now sizable and are conscious enough to differentiate between the opportunists and the deliverables, and the faster they will mend their ways of a constructive politics, the quicker will their recovery; otherwise they may start counting their days for an unceremonious egress from the Indian politics; or, the only option left to them will be--coalesce--which has already made its presence felt in Bihar: but, until when such blending will sustain is to be seen. The ephemeral 'Third Front' is still fresh in our mind and what happened to it is not a rocket science.

Thankfully, the new PM has been a ground worker, and is well aware of the designs the opportunists and the silver spooned play. So, let's treat the hiccups in opposition camp as mere entertainment material for the news media; and hope that Mr Modi and his team will certainly deliver at a brisk pace, because he knows that the timely delivery on all fronts will not only erase some regional parties from the national scene,but will give his party a decisive edge over others and a possibility of faring well in the states also, which will go to the hustings shortly; and no doubt Uttar Pradesh needs an urgent and decisive attention.

Careful steps are the need of the hour

So, the change has occurred at last in Indian politics; NDA government is back with a bang. The record breaking performance of the BJP in the general election--first time full majority by any non-congress party--was welcomed by much awe from all quarters; and its performance has left it dumbfounded itself.

But, the real test for the new government has started from the day one. Given full mandate by the people,  great expectations now lies on its shoulders. The new government will have to deliver timely on several issues--the issues which has given it such a landslide victory; inflation, graft and apathy--despite a lot of edge giving Bills by the previous government[sic]. The new government will have to deliver on several fronts simultaneously and with a sublime pace.

Prioritising the government's intentions should be taken care of carefully. Those parties which were decimated in the general elections are licking their wounds and are sulking. So, they will be vying for any slackness of the new government very eagerly; for, it will give them new grounds to reinvent themselves. But, cleaning the government of the ills remains the Augean stable for the new government.

The eternal cougher, the arrogant politicians, the feigning secularists, the opportunists and the thugs, all have been maimed this time; and there will be no leg pulling. The triumvirate of the dames have their role cut this time; and only mustering the majority in the Upper House(the Rajya Sabha) in case of policy making remains an Achilles heels for the new government; but, the NDA does have some astute strategists who can and will muster the majority as and when the need demands.

Thankfully, the new premiere has a proven record of delivering in governance; and neglecting the disruptions and brouhaha by the opposition parties--which is none in the parliament this time--the new government should pace its steps on pussyfooting but with a great pace. Then only the motif of change will be meaningfully and effectually materialised. The economy, foreign policy, relations with the neighbours, job creation, and inflation; all have set their hopeful eyes on the new government. Let's hope that everything will have its good times ahead barring the cougher and the blabber.

BSNL-disconnecting India

Do you own a BSNL landline in India ? Then you must have gone through the nasty and irritating  unwanted commercial calls. BSNL; once a leader in telecommunication saw a nosedive slump in its customer base in the first decade of the twenty first century; and after the invasion and penetration of mobile technology it is on a ventilator waiting for its certain death.

Thanks to INTERNET, which gave it a new life; and BSNL again is on a path of recovery. The cheap tariffs and impeccable pace, along with the customer care system is giving this 'Navratna' company a face-lift again.

But, there enters the commercial calls segment. This segment is so frustrating that if you will say no to the caller, or request him not to call you again they will threaten you of dire consequences. The BSNL database system is so easily accessible that they know your address and they threaten with your address and you are left only to fume on the BSNL data theft.

Although the government has enacted few laws to save the BSNL customers from these unwanted calls; but, untill the BSNl will stand to safeguard its database, it is nearly impossible. The BSNL telephone numbers are available at 3000 numbers per hundred rupees. Untill the moles in the BSNL--who indulge in selling the numbers for petty gains--are brought to book, BSNL can't give its customers a safe environment and peace of mind. Let's hope that this blog reaches to the persons in charge of decision making process of BSNL; and they take appropriate steps to lengthen the life, not shorten the death of BSNL landlines in India.

And the tranquility prevails

With the end of the campaigning for the last phase of the on-going election process; the long and tedious electioneering for the sixteenth Lok Sabha come to its fag end. The barbs, the miscues, the jabs, the interpretations and the misinterpretations all took a semicolon in all forms of media. And the  media specially TV seems imbued and exhausted in covering such a huge election process: the full stop being reserved for sixteenth May scenario.

All involved, barring the officials entrusted with carrying the last phase successfully, will be cooling their heels now. The political class will soon see infusion of fresh camaraderie all over India. But, the scene of serenity may take an ugly turn if no one gets a clear majority. And the hue and cry will again resurface with the jibes.

But, for the time being let's celebrate the peaceful and successful completion of the election process, and enjoy the tranquility and peace in and around ourselves. The government making process will begin after sixteenth of May, but the Sensex has announced something favorable by kissing the 23000 mark. Let's hope that the Sensex will quit its serial kisser image and move on to continuously moving path without vacillations; and Indian economy will follow suit.

The corroding pillar

The secret love affair of a senior leader ate up all the time and space in the media last week; the bomb blast in Chennai, Tamilnadu or the pogrom in Kokrajhar, Assam although found a minuscule mention in the fourth page of newspapers; the selfies and the barbs got ample time and space, news like the blast got little or no coverage on news networks; because there were no sponsors for these news, I think. The Center sponsored channels did their ritual routine job, and the devastating incidents came into light as a not-so-important event. Isn't it a live example and testimony to the fact that the fourth pillar of democracy has corroded up to a devastating degree in India? and is in need of a overhaul?

After the TV channels mushroomed in 1990s; it was feared then that in order to survive and do business, few will choose the sensationalizing route, few will squander from their path of proper and authentic information, few will mean only business, and few will commercialize this fourth and important pillar of democracy by degrees; but, few will stick to the basic fabric of news and broadcasting design. Today, this pillar of democracy is in dire situation, needing an essential and life-saving overhaul.

The breaking news scenario, where an incident of a little value is sensationalized like a hot cake; the scandals are given a fair treatment--a TRP raising legerdemain--but, a news of national importance finds no mention. Who is to blame for this paradigm-shift? The policy makers, the regulators, the viewers, or the owners? Isn't it a time to think about their proper regulation? where every channels are compelled to comply with the minimum decorum required to be categorized as a news channels?--failing which, they will be devalued or thrown out of the news broadcasters domain?

Ironically, for most of the players in this field, their prerogative and protocol runs supreme, and making profit is their primary goal. Regulation of these channels was taken few years back by the central agency, but the guild of News and Broadcasting Association is so strong that it thrashes every effort of taming them. Today, they make and destroy a personality, party and even a government instantly by the simple trick of character assassination. After every news, they take a commercial breaks. Who will tell these actors, saviour and guards of democracy that they are corroding at a much greater pace; and its time now to think of their role in society seriously. Then only the necessary protection from corrosion will be taken, and those who have fallen astray will come back to their defined routes. But, for this to happen and materialize a stern policy is the need of the hour and those showing non-adherence to it, face severe penalties. Thank God! there are few players in this field, due to whom this important pillar of democracy survives, and are respite for the viewers.

Love's labour lost

The social media once again spilled the beans; and an audacious declaration by an Indian politician about his liaison--the love affairs are termed so throughout the world--followed. He must be applauded for the declaration.

From the last ten years he was tearing every opponent and obeying the diktat of a women power earnestly. He was dethroned in his state by the same women power; and at the verge of being pushed to the fence in national politics; the women power has came to his rescue again. The new acquired power will be more enjoyable; as, the ex-officio power carries a lot of weight with it, and has a lot of troubles with it also. But, the feel of this new power--the power of being loved in mid-sixties by a women in mid-thirties carries a lot of weight on his personality and masculinity. As his party is en-route to a rout, it is a better option to cherish the moments with his fiancée in seclusion.

He had made furore with his feral remarks in the past; not long ago he had said a youth leader of his party a hundred percent juicy material. The misinterpretation of his remark by the media was alleged then. But, in India it is said that you can not hide your secret love for long; and if you are a public figure, any news of your affair will spread by leaps and bounds. As that statement against a women youth leader stands testified now, so is his characters.

Interestingly, the love affairs are touted as illicit the world over--by the envied people--till are manifested in a marriage. When the marriage of the bachelor vice president of his party should have taken the center-stage, the blabbing genius of his party is hogging the limelight. What an irony! The man tipped to lead his party in the years to come, is devoid of the PM's chair as well as the groom's. And if the leaders like the sexagenarians will keep taking away the brides this way, the bachelor VP is left only to rue of a lost opportunity. For what? is not a rocket science, and off-course is a matter of my next blog; but, for the time being, let's congratulate the romancing couple for a bright future ahead.

P.S.- Cool Honeymoon in the offing!--was the heading of this blog before publishing, then the recent malapropism of this word by a Baba--and his plight thereafter--came to my mind and I thought this one to be more sober.The man mentioned in the post hails from the state of Madhya Pradesh, where Khajuraho is a city famous for the depiction of the art of making love and sex in the monuments, hence the title.

Is it a 'Democracy' or an 'Abusocracy'?

The leaders hurling uncontrolled barbs against each other; the EC's whip loosing its sheen; making mockery of the people in the name of democracy:  where the Indian politics is going right now? The leaders may have ushered India into a better place in the planet to live; but, that expectation is subdued by degrees by their dirty jibes; and the game is becoming dirtier by each passing day.

To be or not to be part of the party whose leaders are showing such an acumen--in abusing their adversaries; is a pertinent question now. Not to mention the small-time leaders, the MIT educated, the Oxford educated, JNU educated and the local university educated; or, the non-educated all are using the same language. Will they make a difference?--undoubtedly it is a doubt.

Everyone is busy baking his bread, according to his taste or his/her families. The nation has taken the backstage. Very few leaders are talking about their vision of taking India to a newer heights, at the moment. And those who are on the verge of a whitewash are a laughing lot themselves. By using abusive languages, their education, values, and every other things are open to all; and standing disrobed of their veils.

The last Moughal kotwaal's (the police chief's) family is using the language, it had never used before. And the prospect of leading India again will be lessened further by degrees, if they remain indulging themselves in playing such jibes.

Ironically, it is India's destiny that even after sixty seven years of Independence, such things are happening at the moment. Is it the twilight of democracy or the dawn of a new era?  The era of leading and teaching the world how to be a role model; it had done long long ago once. To those leaders who are playing boisterously with the Indian tradition; my earnest request is--don't make the largest democracy in the world an 'Abusocracy'. For, then, the whole world will be laughing at you and your nation, which, off course, is happening right now.So, please behave yourself.

Baba's Tounge-aasan

The latest verbal attack on  Mr RaGa by Mr Ramdev Baba--as he was lovingly called when teaching yoga in India and abroad--can not be termed inadvertent. In whatever way; it must be deplored fiercely. He must be aware of the term honeymoon, otherwise he may not have used it. And by seeking a quick apology, he not only has invited ridicule, but, has given ample proof of the the plight of democracy in India also. Which stance is this Mr Ramdev? Are you not indulging yourself in Bhogashan? Helicopters; retinues; lucullan  parties; and every other thing which departs your way of living from that of a saint--a 'Baba'; what you will term all of these?

When you were a yoga teacher, your manners were somewhat respectful; but, after foraying into business, the once a connoisseur of Yoga, is now turning himself to be a curse in politics; but is heading a two thousand Crore conglomerate now: and his manners and behavior has changed abruptly: now he bleeds hypocrisy, and every other adjectives which should be added to adorn a charlatan. He is no more a once highly respected teacher; but, a teacher-turned-politician on a mission to save his business. His every move is not only aimed at rescuing his business from the clutches of ED or IT; but, also to make a sound pitch where his business will flourish unabated and undisturbed.

From ancient times, the term Baba has had acted as an adjective as well as a noun to describe a person who has given up all worldly pleasures to serve the society; or, to promote the righteous thoughts in humans; or, to spend his whole time in the devotion of the Almighty: but, in the modern age, the people like him are misusing it for personal gains. Otherwise, he may have given a lot of schools and hospitals in and around Haridwar, or anywhere else; but, no, the profit and balance sheets of his companies are his sole area of interests.

Unfortunately, people like him will continue exploiting the religion for personal gains; until, the people posing full faith in them come out of the dogma and conviction around the term 'Baba'. He must be taught, how to behave socially, respectably, and accountably. By giving such statements, and caught in a conniving dialogue with a leader in Madhya Pradesh--when microphones recorded and relayed all--unmasked his nefarious designs suitably. His own guru remains untraceable after ten years. Let's hope that he is nabbed and stopped on time from further maligning his religion and his followers.

Wave, Shave, and the Naive

And the outgoing Prime Minister has spoken at last. He says that he can't see any wave. No NaMo effect is anywhere in India. Isn't it like fooling oneself? Sir, you were also unable to see--or detect--the level of corruption in your government; non-deliverance on critical issues, unable to tame the inflation; and unable in everything else--except the Nuke deal, the FDI, and a plethora of freebies for the poor--and , everything else eluded your eyes. And after ten years at the helm, you are still unable to see the wave, it is due to your newly developed shortsightedness; or in an apothegm, the repercussions of getting old.

Never ever in India, such an urge was felt for a change; and in NaMo, Indians have started believing that change is sure to happen this time. And they are supporting his cause willfully and enthisistically. The surge in voting percentage can be seen as a testimony to the existence of this wave.

Every thing will be blown this time; the ineptitude of your government to redress the people's woos is very fresh and so deeply engraved in people's mind that defying the caste and creed, they are welcoming this face of change.

The blabbing of the masquerading crusader, in the name of corruption, will also get a suitable reply this time. Does he see corruption in the name of Modi or BJP only ? And by defeating him, does he thinks that he will uproot this menace for ever? Why he has not fielded a strong candidate against Mrs Sonia Gandhi? He floated his party to decimate Congress, but now he is playing politics with the sentiments of those who supported him in his once seeming noble cause. His designs will be unmasked this time, is for sure. Wearing the Gandhi cap he made fool of the people in Delhi, and this time he is wearing the Muslim's cap to fool them. Leaders like him--with such an indecisiveness and restiveness--should be punished siutably and brought to book for misleading the people on false promises. As he delivered nothing in delhi, he will deliver nothing on national level also.

Interestingly, the third front is conniving to forge a opportunist coalition this time also; and their pussyfooting must be seen as a desperation to grab the power at any cost. They will also be subdued by degrees this time; as the wave has now transformed itself into a tempest; a violent storm of change. And let's hope that India does witnesses this change this time for the sake of its survival in every field.; and the NDA coalition does gets a majority with their current partners only; otherwise, the leg-pullers will be in action once again. So, this election will be remembered for the 'Wave', Congress's close 'Shave'; and the coughing 'Naive'.

Voting over; inflation recover

When my city was to vote, the local consumer price index defied its national trend, and every commodity was at an awesomely low price. Vegetables were low, edible oil, rice, wheat and few other goods were showing--or were being sold at a low price, to woo the voters, I can't say--a downtrend in the prices.The situation really looked rife for a glimpse of good times yet to come: in an absolute synchrony with the ads being shown on TV and other media of an euphoric times ahead.

The voting in my city was reported at sixty five percent--a rise of nearly fifteen percent from the last elections: the rise being claimed to be the initiative of the Steel company, the Government, and several others.

After a week of the elections, the commodities, which were once showing a downtrend, are now pacing ahead of the national index; and thus casting a shadow on the euphoric atmosphere prevailing in India now. Is it an omen or a sign of adversity yet to come?

Thankfully, this time, the man tipped to be the Prime Minister of India, hails from a poor family; and he knows about the woes of the paupers very well. Let's hope that he starts taking the steps right from the word go, to curb all the menaces of the biggest democracy in the world. And he reverses the downtrend in economy; and creates new jobs; and manacles the corrupts; and creates a communal harmonious atmosphere, all at such a pace so as to silence his critics and make this decade really an euphoric and blissful one: the last decade was lost to corruption, which we all are ruing.

Let's hope that his alliance, not his party, gains absolute majority in the lower house; for, in case the latter happens, India may see the real diktat in him; and we may again see the reversal of the old times, when Congress party was in absolute majority, yet it failed to deliver at a pace which was expected of it.

At least you hold your horses Mr Modi

Using the filthy language or vitiating the atmosphere have become a common trend in India during elections. Several leaders have been whipped by the Election Commission of India(ECI) for breaking the norms, but to no avail. The hate mongers are on their way to leave the atmosphere vicious. For some leaders, using these jives can be understood; it may be their sheer desperation to decipher the Namo wave;  but, for some it may act as a spoilsports. And, if it is coming from a potential source then it does carry weight.

From one week or so, the PM-in-waiting(assuming that he does not meets the patriarch's fate of waiting, and waiting and still waiting) has increased his personal attack on the out going government, manifold. Now in every rally, he is teasing the Congress chairperson along-with his son. Does he thinks that using personal remarks against someone garners votes, and makes the atmosphere euphoric? If he thinks so, he is marring his own persona. Tomorrow, when he becomes Prime Minister, and the neighbours mis-behave, will he taunt them; and will the teasing land India in good weathers? Its time now to think. Does India wants a women-teaser? or a suave man like Mr Nehru or Atalji? I have heard the latter few times and there was no such black comedy in his speeches; yet, he is admired by all for his oratorial excellence.

BJP is on a path of a grand comeback to power at the centre, and no party seems to challenge it. So, its time now, for Mr Modi and his team, to mend their ways, to stop the personal attacks, to rebuild their persona, and to speak out the steps he will take to counter various issues, India is facing now. As the manifestos are out, there is no fear of it being stolen or copied. Go straight Mr Modi ! don't falter and fool Indians, you have a lot of work to do, and at a brisk pace. India has witnessed the fallout of a ' King of Good times' lately, and it does not wish to see another bigmouth to follow the suit.

Interestingly, leaders from every noticeable party has been whipped or tamed by the ECI for breaking the accepted norms and behaviour, and no party can boast of being decent during electioneering. But, concerning the pervading wave, it can be firmly stated that--if an Oxfordian, or a college dropout can use such languages, the tea seller then has every right to use it also--and it is in line of his bragging upbringing.

We have desired for a change, and is bound to happen, sooner than later. But, very few will accept a blabber or teaser to lead a nation--sans decency and decorum. So, hold your horses Mr Modi, you are not going to be a sarpanch, but, Prime-Minister of a nation.

Cyber Safety

Viruses, Spams, petty calls, phishing, vishing, hacking, worm attacks, cyber terrorism, credit card frauds, pornography, Trojan attack, IPR violations, email spoofing, email bombing, email spamming, flooding a computer resource with more request it can handle, forgery and, ultimately a system crash; are few of the threats which come inherently with the Internet connection now.

Internet has spread like wild fire since its invention. It has enhanced the effectiveness of humans and governments. The quickness in transferring data is what has given it such a huge success as a potent medium of communication. The documents and data available on any subject is so huge that it has added to the effectiveness of students, scientists, researchers and surfers dying for information also.

Then, there comes the black side of it. Several names have been cited in the beginning; which are more than enough to give headaches to its users; and its ramifications and repercussions has increased manifold. Suicides, murders, bullying etc.due to cyber crime is on a rise. And so, it is time now to equip yourself and your system to handle these threats properly. Although, there are a plethora of books and documents available on the subject, but, its time now to have a recap on the cyber safety module to tame this deadly monster.

In countries like India, where safety awareness from cyber crimes are very low, the need of a safe surfing practice should be inculcated among Internet users, and they must be kept posted about the various threats, and methods to thwart them. Few of the safety steps to safeguard your selves and your systems are:-

* Install a good anti-virus software(e.g. McAfee, Kaspesky, Quick Heal, Norton etc.) into your system and update it regularly. The freebies available on Internet do not give proper protection from a number of threats.

* Activate the firewall, and if possible activate the windows defender also.

* Do not respond to the spam e-mails. The banks never ask information via email.

* The security setting in the Anti-virus should be at maximum.

* Make friends on the social networking site you are familiar with; and never give your full information on these sites: fake identity can be made in your name and everyone in your friend-list will believe it: bullying and blackmailing will start thereafter.

*Edit and review the security setting in the social networking sites.

* Using virtual key boards in financial transactions on the Internet, minimises the threats of an account hack.

* Change your account password regularly; make passwords which are hard to guess. Using Upper cases lower cases and alpha numeric keys with numbers and special characters is the best option for making your password very strong. e.g. Delhi%123456.

*  Use the parental control in the anti-virus programs to protect your children from pornography, gaming and other such sites.

* Do not click on the links you do not believe.

* Use https:// in place of http and see a green signal on the address bar to ascertain yourself that it is not a fake site. It is secured hyper text terminal protocol.

* Block pop-up windows from your browsers. They may contain codes, which will pave the way for the hackers: they will steal information from your system without your knowledge.

* Use e-mail service of renowned providers, which come equipped with tracking the source or originator--luckily the 'Google' has it.

* In security setting in e-mails, use your mobile number as the password reset request medium. If you have already done it, fine; otherwise, do it immediately.

* Do not click on any suspecting ads, as they will ask you for approval to gain control of your account; and if you grant them the privilege, you are gone.

* If you fall prey to any of the vices of the cyber criminals, please report to police in your town. Every city now has a cyber cell.

* Know the cyber laws prevailing in your country. In India it is IT act 2000, IT amendment act 2008 etc. You can visit yourself and have a deeper insight into it by visiting -- http://deity.gov.in/content/cyber-laws.

These are few of the steps to safeguard yourself, your children and your system from various threats that come with the Internet. So, be alert and surf with caution. Happy surfing!