Caste Census

Amitabh Bachchan does not believe in caste. This from a person who was under fire for certain ceremonies performed when his son was getting married. So he believes in Hindu rituals but not the concept of caste. I have nothing against the man for anything that he has said or done. But I do have something else to say. 

It is an undoubted fact that caste is very important in India. The only way we can let go of it is to spread more education. Even then, I am doubtful whether it will completely go away. I personally do not have hangups. The same can be said of many people I know. But this is not the case with many others in India. Some stick to it so as to not displease their families. So whatever may be the reasons, it is a prominent thing. Something which started out just as a means of classification of employment has today become very rigid. Everyone remembers Arjun Singh and his reservation for OBCs which kicked up a huge storm in the not-so-distant past.

The reservation percentages were based on some estimates. By keeping reservation you are already discriminating between people on the basis of caste (though some may call it positive discrimination). So why not just go in for a census and decide once and for all what percentage of the population is exactly "backward"? If it is more than the estimated figure, well, the politicians have all the more reason to make merry by increasing reservation. If it is not, well, I still doubt that the percentage of reservation will ever go down. So my final point? Just do it.

"We did not play to our potential"

MSD seems to be on his way to becoming a master at stating the obvious. I confess that I did not watch the T20 match, but I was expecting India to get knocked out. My doubt is whether we have been having too much cricket and endorsements for our players, and I mean both of them.

There was an article in The Hindu today on the Pakistani team (which I did not read once again, I very rarely read a sports article). In the same column there was an ad for Orient PSPO fans, endorsed by, who else but MSD? There is a mall right beside where I stay. One of the stores has a cutout of Dhoni posing and an expansion of MSD as My Style Destination. Is cricket being lost in all of this? Our endorsements are probably small compared to what sportsmen do/get abroad (which I still maintain is lunatic), but I think we pamper our cricketers too much.

Deferred Accelerated Revenue Receipt Every Year, are you kidding me?

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has defended the telecom minister's actions in awarding 2G spectrum to operators in 2008 as per an article in the ET. I do not understand the term but I am assuming that it means increasing revenues that will accrue in the future. When awarding carbon credits there is something called a baseline criterion. Please correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I know this means that there should be emission reductions in excess of what would have been there anyway had the CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) or JI (Joint Implementation) project not been implemented. Only then are carbon credits given. 

If I may take an analogue, revenue will accrue to the government irrespective of whether or not spectrum was auctioned. So the argument of the DoT does not seem to hold water. They also talk about India being a different market where profits in the telecom sector are of secondary concern. All of this is beside the point that giving away spectrum at such low prices was not something that should have been done. The DMK is steadfast in its defence of its MP. The point is whether or not he deserves to be.

Also, what is Jairam Ramesh thinking? Does he even remember 1962? I am not asking ourselves to be demonized by the past, but look at the situation! China is Pakistan's "all-weather friend". It is developing has developed a fighter in coordination with Pakistan. It is accused hacking into computers worldwide, with or without government approval. What was the minister thinking badmouthing his own government in a foreign nation? He says the Home and Defence ministries are being paranoid. These are the ones who are expected to know the security situation, not an environment minister. Does he know about Chinese listening posts on Myanmar's Coco Islands just off the Andamans? So will this turn out to be another Tharoor saga?

Politicians and Sports?

Suresh Kalmadi says politicians should run sports. If I may be allowed to say so, seriously, you are joking, Mr Kalmadi! I mentioned this guy in a previous post also. I believe he has been around since the time I remember hearing about the Indian Olympics Association. How exactly has he achieved this? Is what he is doing a lifetime job?

Our sporting prowess is well known. There are occasional glimmers of hope who die down after some time. Some give shocks (at least till they clarify) like Sania Mirza. So would it not be a better to create a body of sportsmen with either a sportsman or an eminent person or a civil servant to take care of all our sports? Anyone but politicians!

In an interesting event an Indian American is heading the prosecution of Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistan-origin man who is accused of planting a bomb at Times Square in New York. Another India-Pakistan battle in the offing?

Evil Facebook?

Facebook has been increasingly coming under criticism for user privacy or rather the lack of it. Read this for further details.

A Few Observations

I was going through the matrimonial section of India Today. Before any conclusions are drawn let me clarify that I had time to kill and had read the rest of the magazine. So anyway, one thing that was clear was that the brides want professionally qualified grooms. One or two asked for post graduates specifically. Today there are many instances when a woman says no to a man (this is normal in a proposal but probably less so in an arranged setup :P). One of the reasons why people opt for a post graduate degree/diploma is that there are just too many graduates out there. Probably in the coming days it will also be to be able to marry the right girl!

The opposition in the Parliament is vociferously demanding that A Raja has to resign for his alleged role in the 2G spectrum allocation "scam". I am just curious to find out whether someone has asked for a legal investigation. If the minister has indeed received kickbacks he must pretty happy from a financial point of view. So he stands to lose more if there is a proper investigation than if he is just dismissed (please don't say duh!). If he is dismissed it will only be a matter of time before he is back. People and political parties especially have very short memories. Anybody remember the BJP asking for the removal of a certain "tainted" minister who they later joined hands with to come to power?

Patriotic Bookies!

Betting is illegal in India. This does not people from indulging in it, whether in their own apartment complexes or in large scale betting rackets. However, Indian bookies have refused to place bets on Ajmal Kasab, y0u-know-who. Read this article for more. A Sanksrit sloka comes to mind.

yukti yuktam vacho graahyam baalaadapi sukaadapi
yukti heenam vachstyaajyam vruddhadapi sukaadapi

It basically means that something which is good can be learnt from a child or a parrot. But something which is not should not be learned even from an (experienced world-wise) old man or from Suka Maharshi himself.