Tilak taraju aur talwar, inko maro joote char

In 1984 kanshi Ram founded the BSP as a party so as to represent the Dalits and Chandawati Devi was one of the key people in the new organization. 2001 Kanshi Ram named her as his successor.

 Chandawati Devis first election campaign happened to be from the Kairana Lok Sabha seat in the Muzaffarnagar district in 1984, and then again for the Lok Sabha seats of Bijnor in 1985 and Haridwar in 1989. Although she did not win, the electoral experience led to considerable groundwork over the next five years, and in 1989, the party won 9% of the popular vote, and 13 seats in 1989, and 11 in 1991.

 Because the Dalits are widely-spread over the state, Kanshi Ram and Chandawati then adopted a policy of attracting other groups, which continues today. As we know that India most population live in village and they are generally from backword areas. Chandawati Devi has this support for this election.

 There are two main factors by which it can be said that she can become next prime minister of India. First she is a woman and second is she is a dalit woman.

 Now if you are wondering who the hell is Chandawati Devi she is Kumari Mayawati. Now the above facts of her becoming the PM may be pretty hard for us “The Educated Class” to digest. But as rightly put by Jagoore.com we did not bother to “Jaago” all this while.

 So what do we do?

 First cry out foul about her and have our opinions out in blogs or in the media (even I am doing so), but as Rakhi Sawant puts in even negative publicity is publicity. Secondly and the most recent trend demand professionals to stand as politicians and a few have obliged us too.

 So that though brought about a banker, a dancer a former U.N. under-secretary general a pioneer in low cost airlines and others to come up with a united thought process.

 The main battle in the polls from April 16 to May 13 this year, as in years past, is between the centre-left ruling Congress and the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. A loose alliance of smaller regional parties has formed a Third Front, as well.

 Meera Sanyal, the country head of ABN Amro Bank, is not aligning with any of them. She will contest from South Mumbai, an upmarket locality and the main business district, as an independent candidate.

 That thought is echoed also by Mallika Sarabhai, a reputed dancer, who is contesting as an independent in Gandhinagar in Gujarat state, taking on BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani.

 Shashi Tharoor, a writer and former U.N. under-secretary general, will be rolling up his sleeves to contest as Congress candidate from Thiruvananthapuram in Left-ruled Kerala state.

 Captain Gopinath too would stand from South Bangalore contesting against heavyweights from congress and BJP.

 So all of the above have taken the right step forward and have also made it clear that this time the middle class would have to bring about change by going out and voting on Election Day. But there is a small hurdle. Jaagore pointed out the “Saap” who were politicians with criminal backgrounds. But what about the bigger one? The one that would make a man sleep late as Election Day is after all a HOLIDAY. The one that would tell him   after he is awake, the joys of watching the election unfold with Pranoy Roy over lunch rather jostle in the crowd for hours under the sun to vote.  Who would change our ATTITUDE?? Ab Undar Ke Is KAALI BANDAR Ko Koun Marega ?Will it be the pleas by Meera Sanyal or would it be TAAQ with their “Shut up and Vote”? This question however remains largely unanswered.

 Now say we do go out and vote. Ab Hum Jaag Bhi Gaye Aur Auroo Ko Jagaa Bhi Diye. The question that would follow is how many votes would these so called “independents” get. We are all aware of the abysmal record of votes got by individuals. Would the sheer number of votes got by them make any CHANGE?? Or would the just split a few votes and all we would get after AWAKENING & VOTING is another “UPA”, “NDA” or probably this time a THRID FRONT.

 Hopefully that is not the case but so it be would it ring the death bells for the “Independents” or would we give them another chance? Well don’t quite have an answer to that, the answer would lie in the next round of elections. The wait won’t be long though we know this one is fractured.

 So till them - CHAI PEEYO AUR VOTE KARO.

 

 

Behind all the glitter and glamour of Aero India - 2009

"6 hours in the blistering heat..perched on top of a chair with two friends..stuck in a sea of cameras, lenses and photographic equipment that I have never seen in action before….armed with my own SLR…. hoping to catch some good pics….beating the dreaded traffic back home….Dead tired but satisfied after watching a good air show…."

Aero India 2009 kicked off in the Garden City on February 11, 2009, with firms from 25 countries showcasing their hardware in a quest for the supposed multi-billion dollar contracts that the Indian military is going to hand out in the years ahead. Defense Minister AK Anthony was on site, claiming confidently that there was no question of scaling down the defense budget in times of economic recession. He’s right. There’s no question about it, because scaling down the defense budget is already a foregone conclusion. The fact that a country with the third largest armed forces in the world and a GDP growth of 7.1% amidst global economic downturn would peg its defense budget at a beggarly 1.98% of GDP is a colossal embarrassment. Compare that against China’s defense budget (4.7% of GDP), or even that of Pakistan’s (4.5%), whose revenue consists almost exclusively of dole money from the US, China and Saudi Arabia.

Worse, an inefficient defense procurement mechanism has resulted in a dearth of military hardware and parts.  The procurement bottleneck notwithstanding, this biennial aero-drama in Bangalore continues unabated, with many firms eying that lucrative $9 billion, 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) deal intended to replace the Indian Air Force (IAF) backbone MiG-21 “Flying Coffin” aircraft. The only problem being that the Defense Ministry has harped on about this proposed phase-out since 1998. American firms Boeing and Lockheed flaunted their F/A-18s and F-16s respectively in the hopes of hitting the motherload, while Russia rolled out the MiG-35 “Fulcrum-F”. France and Sweden threw their lot into the race with the Dassault Rafale and JAS-39, respectively. However, 11 years, 3 administrations, and 5 defense ministers later, India is still to decide on the vendor, much less enter into price and/or technical negotiations with anyone. Meanwhile, our air force faces critical shortages, most noticeable in the sharp reduction of the number of squadrons from 39.5 to about 30 within a span of seven years.

IAF also faces a shortage of advanced jet trainers (AJTs), with only about 20 of the expected 35 Hawk AJTs being currently operational. The most pressing shortage that can’t be outsourced to foreign service firms is in trained pilots — the headcount is currently 400 below par. About the only (relative) success story has been the (almost) on-time delivery of Israeli Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) last month. 

In conclusion, while the Surya Kiran’s aerobatics may light up the skies of Bangalore with mesmerizing tinges of saffron, white and green, this platform is meaningless if the Defense Ministry isn’t willing to commit to an overhaul of its procurement mechanism, maintain a well trained and motivated yoke of pilots, and put its money where its mouth is with regard to defense budget allocation.

Some sample images are provided hopefully you like them.

JAI HIND !!!

Rhiming Along

The last time Iron Maiden played I was busy doing finance assignments owing to my MBA. To rub it in I had a friend of mine who doesn’t really talk much going on about it.

Amongst all the “wasted years” Maiden did turn up again and even though the F 16’s and the Mig 29;s beckoned from a distant Jakkur the feeling of complete intoxication coming from the brilliance of Steve Harris and company could not be missed. So loaded on beer and meat we arrived at the venue. There was a huge “Q” trying to hide “grass” in their undies but my problems were different.  Armed with my brand new SLR I suddenly realized cameras were a strict no. But I did manage to sneak it in owing to the huge bundle of whatever I carry in my bag.

 

We were greeted by some pretty sad music notably Lauren Harris and Brandon Ashley but luckily they were done by 7 30. Maiden started around 8 and one by one they belted out their timeless classics. But as hard they did come at, there was something missing. They were no doubt great and I will not have words to describe their performance, but something was missing. The feeling was like having bottled beer when you have been promised a pitcher. They did charge but it wasn’t quite like the LIGHT BRIGADE

Feeling’s aside the whole show was quite brilliant. We rhimed along with them for every song not just the staples and very fortunate enough to have them perform Phantom of the Opera and hey we got to see ED.

 Some may feel that it is time enough we moved on to other bands but for me the number of the beast has not yet arrived.

 They say it is after all just rock n roll but we all love it.