What would have Gandhi said on Ekta Yatra

I had mixed emotions regarding the proposed Ekta Yatra. I was pained to see Indians needing permission to hoist flag on our republic day. But yet something within me made me feel something was not right here. And that was the cause of confusion. To clear the emotions, I asked myself 'What would have Bapu, the father of nation, done on the occasion'? And the answer, or the search to it, cleared my doubts.

While I can't even imagine to think like Gandhi, I felt he would have gone ahead with the Ekta Yatra, and invited the other group to go ahead with their program. And this sounded attrocious even to a Gandhi admirer like me. Yet I thought further, and once again saluted the genius of Gandhi. I think the action would have achieved three objectives - it would have been a good PR, shown the moral high ground, and above all won hearts.

Imagine the positive PR. Here's the world's biggest democracy allowing its dissidents to express their views, and its allowing it not by the use of police, but through the common action of its citizens. The dissidents in Kashmir often complaint that they are not allowed to express their opinion, I am not sure if this would be the case after this.

Sure, if India wants it can have our tricolor unfurled in Lal Chowk by deploying the armed forces. And it can prevent any one from doing so, again by deploying the armed forces. But then is this the India that he dreamt of? Are decisions here to be taken by the brute force? My heart aches to imagine the plight of ordinary citizen of Kashmir today. The entire valley must have been turned into a battle field. Curfew, shoot at sight orders, section 144, all the usual weapons of the state. And for what, because some people want to hoist flag on a particular, and only on a particular piece of land. Damn it.

What moral right does the originator of this Yatra have to cause immense suffering to citizens of Kashmir.And therein lies the biggest weapon of Gandhi armory that this Yatra has missed. They can unfurl the flag, they can win argument, but this method can't win hearts. Let's remember Gandhi's weapon of not winning arguments, not winning armed battles, but of winning hearts. Perhaps India can better achieve its objectives if it were to win hearts in Kashmir. And allowing a section that is angry with us to speak their heart out would perhaps be a key part of our struggle. Is the flag more important than the piece where it is unfurled. An ordinary citizen can't celebrate, can't mourn, can't live its ordinary day to day life, because you want to unfurl your flag. Sure the police force is their to protect the people. But God forbid if someone dies in the event. Some groups will garner extra support. Its all for a larger cause, we will be told. But the words of Gandhi after Chaur Chaura echo in my ears, "tell this to the families of those who died".

To wrap up, and to again reiterate, I neither have the vision, nor the wisdom, to think like Gandhi. But if I ask myself if thinking as to how he would have acted, this is what I thought. And this removed the cobwebs of confusion. Think about it.

Bhopal Verdict

Again at the cost of gaoing against popular opinion, I don't think you can’t apply different yardsticks just because the accused is rich. We had an unfortunate air crash couple of days ago, no one asked the minister to be charged. This was a case of gross negligence, criminal negligence. But however hard it may sound, only negligence. And if it a negligence, our law has 2 years imprisonment, and a bail till the case is in motion. Even If you make negligence a tougher crime, it will apply to crimes committed afterwards, not retrospectively. This is the price that a civil society has to pay for being civil.

But at the same time we need to learn our lessons. For once we need to expedite our judicial processes. In this case there must have been atleast 2000 witnesses. 10 per day makes 200 days. Since lower courts are crowded, you can’t have more than 1 hearing a month. You can’t resolve in less than 20 years. This is what needs to change. Take all statements over net/post/telegram, publish in news papers. Allow a month to contest, a month for review. And you complete the proceedings in 6 months, rather than 20 years. This a again the duty of civil society for remaining civil.

We just can’t blame everything on our weak and defenseless system, but continuously find ways to improve. I do agree with having tougher laws for such negligent acts, but don’t agree with the witch hunting that is being applied as a bandage solution to the same.

Vote for Modi ???

I just read this in a rediff interview of Mr. Modi

'We had 45 lakh cases pending from 2003-2004, to which 65 lakh new cases were added, making it more than one crore pending cases. After our initiatives, there are only 20 lakh pending court cases. Now my target is that by 2010, when Gujarat will complete 50 years, we will make it no-pendency. Cases will be disposed of in the very year they are filed. '

'In Gujarat we have the Chiranjeevi scheme -- in this nation everyone from the poor man to the President is against maternal and infant mortality. My government has formulated the Chiranjeevi Yojana under which every below poverty line mother will have her childbirth in hospital, I have started this as a movement, and done partnerships with private doctors. From 40%, today we have 80% to 85% of the deliveries happening in hospitals, thus we have saved the lives of many poor mothers and children. But you are not interested in this. '

Can someone tell me if this is innacurate. Else my vote atleast once will go for this man. He might be evil incarnated, but these are desperate moves that India needed. We need safe kids, and we need speedy court trials. If this is not an eyewash, or statistics play (only people from Gujrat can verify), I salute this man for this achievement. We might desist some of his actions, but we should emulate some.Probably people should learn this from Modi.. No matter if you like him, or not. Rama did sent Lakshmana to learn from Ravana, Modi can't be all that bad.

Though to be honest, I am still in doubt, but the idea exists.

What I am looknig for in election manifesto's

Before anything, I remind myself of Lohia's ' Zinda quamein panch saal intezaar nahi kartein' (living societies don't wait 5 years). Similarly, I don't think any party, or individual serious to make a difference should wait for elections to declare its intentions. Yet if they do, I think these are the social/political issues we need to handle

1. Female infanticide has to stop. Hang those who practice this for cold blooded murder
2. Caste system can exist. But untouchability HAS to stop. And no profession should be sole preserve of any caste
3. Reservation mechanism (the current nonsense in name of reservation has to be stop. While reservation is needed, no one should know why the other one is in. After all failing to promote equality is failure of government and society, not individual)
4. Strong police force and intelligence network. Every policeman should have bullet proof vests. We need more women in police force policing society
5. Stopping harassment of ANY community based on action of individuals.
6. Better infrastructure in terms of roads and trains that allow commando force to reach any part in 45 minutes. Red lights to be allowed only on police vehicles, ambulance and fire brigade. And these people should have right to shoot any vehicle that stops them in the way
7. Destroying terror network in Bangladesh and Nepal. Show the world that any one who messes with any Indian will not be tolerated. And show your strength on weak ones first. Do not allow these countries to have armies.
8. Strong presence in Afghanistan. Wrap Pakistan from both sides.
9. Destroying terror network in Pakistan
10. Ram Temple construction/ resolution of the issue

We perhaps need someone who looks to the future.. Any comments any one...

Threats to hinduism

I believe the biggest threat to hinduism (and India) is our chalta hain attitude. Please refer to the latest Jodhpur accident. We have thousands of people in a narrow lane, yet there are no emergency exits any whereAnd go to of our temples, and the scene is the same. I went to Balaji, and trust me, it is another disaster waiting to happen. You have thousands people again without any emergency exit. The priests, or the guards literally push people after they had the darshan. Same trouble exists in Vaishav Devi, Kashi Vishwanath, any other temple. Its a miracle that accidents are not happening.

Even after accident, people are being carried out by hand. No stretchers, nothing. Have we ever thought how many people die after accidents as a result of careless, make it callous, attitude. But we do not complaint because of our chalta hain. We often commend that US had no terrorists activities after 9/11. But did we ever notice that 9/11 had very less people dying via stampede. We don't need terrorists to kill our people. This attitude is doing enough on that front.
Another issue - people often blame Islam, or missionaries over declining hindu ratios in states. But I have another question. But will our shankracharya EVER allow a lower caste to feed him. Have we ever seen any of traditional religious teachers doing anything on untouchability. If you keep on ignoring a huge class of people for generations, why will they not convert. Was this not the reason why we asked British to leave. Why should these peole not leave?

Let us start cleaning ourselves from inside first. If a person is sick then the first priority is to have a strong immune system. Let us work on our immune system first. Let us work on untouchabilty in our lives, our families, our temple, our marriages first. Let us attack on our chaltaa hain attitude first. Let us ensure that our houses have fire enxtenguishers, our offices have them. Let us ensure our cops have bullet proof vests. Once this all is done, we would have won defeated 90% of threats.

Taking the GMAT

With regards to preparation, I would say the first step is taking an appointment. Without it, you can't study. Or at least people like me can't. For over 3 years I had been planning for GMAT preparation, purchased books, been there done that, but nothing worked. Then one day took appointment. Kept three months for preparation and that is when it all started.

I started with basic books. Thompson's GMAT preparation in 30 days and Kaplan's. Honestly speaking Thompson's is not respected highly, but it is a good book. Especially for math. It has formulas and everything in a neat format. And it ensures that you study at least something daily. Kaplan, as we all know, is the bible kind of for GMAT. But I differ and would come to this later. I also purchased one year subscription for 800GMAT score. It costs something around 25$ and is worth it. So my strategy at this stage was straight, I would read the day’s material from Thompson's and practice in 800GMATscore (http://www.800score.com).

Also I gave Kaplan's test in between, and was pretty disappointed with scores. I guess practicing with Kaplan test's here is a big advantage. You get low scores, and realize you have to work hard.

After completing these I moved on to the official guide. Again it has no parallel in terms of practice material. But I feel it lacks in terms of those TOUGH questions. I feel most of the questions here are mid range kind of. But it is important to be thorough with all of the questions here. And all the math formulae.

Having completed these and with 45 days approx remaining, I purchased GMAT official paper tests. I purchased two of those. Each has 3 tests. I gave them with all honesty, using timers and all. This helped in two ways, building stamina and pinpointing weak areas. And the biggest weak area was SENTENCE CORRECTION. I am writing this in a hurry, and I guess you guys can interpret, my natural writing...

At this point I must thanks Hagrid. He advised me for Manhattan book. And it was definitely worth it. The book is nothing short of brilliant. And they give you six practice tests free, which are quite good ones in terms of toughness, so it is worth it.

I also purchased the Kaplan 800 series and some mini tests from Manhattan guys, and kept on using them in between.

Before concluding the learning part there is one area I would like to stress. Essays. They are important for two reasons. They can be strange, if you don't practice. And more importantly they are the first questions. So if they are not correct, you go into the whole test with a negative mood. And that hurts.

Now coming on to the actual test experience.

My test was scheduled for 10; I reached at 9:15, completed formalities and had started the test at 9:30. So you can start early. Better than feeding the butterflies in stomach...The essay questions were cool. I had 5 minutes to spare after the second one. And used that for a BIG advantage in math. I drew the number line of math on the grid and plotted some fractions, positive numbers, negative, roots etc. on the copy. This really helped me with two DS questions in math..:-)

There was one strange thing that I saw in Math. After two or three super tough questions, one absolute easy was thrown. Now hearing to all this CAT stuff, I thought I had blundered on last questions. But the score says otherwise. So God knows what they were. But I think one should not fret too much about toughness of questions and all that mumbo jumbo. Basically each answer has to right, as per your interpretation. I did guess in some questions, because they were out of my reach...

Now coming to things that I did WRONG in test. First, I was over cautious with timings. I had around 19 minutes remaining when I was at quest 37 in quant. Then I did even worst in analytical. 22 minutes in hand. This time should have been utilized in answering questions on which I guessed. I mean GMAT does not score marks on speed like Manteca does. So be cautious.

Some general tips before concluding. Wear comfortable cloths. Try giving at least one test at home with earplugs. It is strange having them in ear. And that was some disturbance when I was at Math and guy next door was typing his essay. Also remember that 10 minutes break is actually 8 minutes. Because the moment you leave computer, you call instructor to lock the computer. Then you leave room, have finger printing. Then you return to room, again finger printing, again unlocking. So just keep that in mind while practicing.

Last advice (sorry if I am preaching), give loads of practice tests. I gave around 25(6 from GMAT paper tests, 6 Manhattan, 6 800 score, 4 Kaplan, two official and one somewhere). I guess this helped most. Because it helps you get in the mood to think on all shortcuts and all. But don't give unrecognized tests. Because you have no way to realize whether your score is good or not.

This is shameful

Posting an HT article

http://hindustantimes.com/htsite/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=9f666c0f-04eb-441c-ba37-23ac8a6f4e1d

A freshly minted statue of Nathuram Godse that was to be formally unveiled on Wednesday has kicked up a row in a coastal Andhra Pradesh town.

Activists of Gandhi Mandali Abhibrudhi Committee protesting against the glorification of the Mahatma’s killer damaged the statue with axes and shovels and brought it down. They threatened to intensify the agitation if the statue was allowed to be installed.

“Tadepalligudem has played a great role during the freedom movement and a number of local youth went to jail inspired by Gandhiji`s call. Mahatma Gandhi spent a night in the town too. Installing the statue of Gandhiji`s killer in this town is an affront to the memory of hundreds of freedom fighters as well as their descendants,” said Appa Rao, adding that it is intended to cause ill will among people.But the man behind the statue, appropriately named Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, is unapologetic. He insists he has the right to go ahead with installing the statue. “I have made the statue with my own money and I am installing it in my own land, not in any public place. What objections do they have,” he asked.

Mukherjee, a lawyer, wanted to unveil the statue on Wednesday to commemorate Godse’s death anniversary. On Mukherjee’s complaint, police has booked a case and started investigations.

The act of Mr. Mukharjee.. Sad.. The act of so called Gandhians.. SHAMEFUL...

Had these people not demloished the statue this Mr. Mukharjee would have gone unnoticed. Now they have made him a news item. I am sure this is something Gandhi would have never approved off..

Let us imagine that the protestors would have followed Gandhiji here. And an ailing freedom fighter from the region, or any one from the region would have taken a fast unto death. The scene would have different. Mr. Mukharjee would have been object of shame for killing an old man . I am sure he would have been forced to remove the statue. Mission acomplished. Gandhi was a genius. When will some Gandhi followers understand that he was one of the best and williest politicians that we had.

Can someone please get me the address of Mr. Mukharjee. I am planning to send over a DD to him as compensation of his losses.

Though I did not distroyed his property, I feel ashamed to be a part of group that did. Request to others. If you think what was done to Mr. Mukharjee was wrong, let's make it right. What he did is now inconsequential. What has been done and what should be done is paramout.If we can pool in our sources and send a join compensation, that will save him the hassles of depositing money again and again. Else I plan to send him within a week or so.