Human Chain in Allahabad

Terrorism is the annihilation of anything that is liberal, democratic and humane by creating euphoria for fear based on an ideological goal. It is the tour de force which is corrupting the living mind. Today everyone is looking around with askance. We have transformed from a society that was progressing to a society that is degrading.

The human mind is vulnerable as it is pulled in a thousand directions. A terrorist is exploiting this vulnerability for his own benefits. Those benefits may be individual or pertaining to a certain section of society. But no religion or ideology given by any learned man would justify killing innocent for making your voice felt. If your opinion or angst is justifiable then you don't have to detonate a bomb to see a change.

This human chain is to remove that vulnerability from our heads which has spread like wildfire and can now be seen everywhere. Just a little overhauling to remove the rust from the insides of our souls.

This human chain is to give a message to the world that the student community in Allahabad is awake on these issues and our voice does matter.

Come, Be the part of this human chain...1st february 2009...@ 10:00 A.M....Civil Lines Allahabad.

Farewell to George W. Bush

I hereby say farewell to George W. Bush, who I believe in his own right has been a great leader. I don't say "great leader" because I want to justify some of the decisions he took. He, in his term, has made some horrendous mistakes. I say "great leader" because of his ability to push tough decisions. I say "great leader" because of his ability to get those people along with him, who were his most vehement opposers. I say "great leader" because of the sheer charisma with which he speaks and implements decisions.

President Bush was greeted by the 9/11 attacks when his term began. Thats when he stood up to the occasion and vowed to crush Al Qaida and Osama Bin Laden. The sheer determination by which the rescue work was carried out was a reflection of the American attitude. There has not been a single act of terrorism in America henceforth.

The Iraq war began before Bush renominated himself for the next election. At that time Americans didn't know that the intelligence report regarding weapons of mass destruction was wrong and the fact that America didn't have any post war solutions in Iraq. It was George W. Bush's charisma which got him re-elected. Americans felt safe in his leadership. But then, everything went wrong, and now there are talks of Bush being the worst president of the United States of America.

Every policy or economic decision Bush took was frowned at. Inspite of that he was able to push them and get them passed by the senate. Be it a huge cut in taxes, increased spending on education and the legendary Nuclear Deal with India. On his way out of the office, Bush was faced with perhaps the biggest economic challenge of America; the credit crisis. By this time, the people of America and the senate thought there is nothing that Bush could do right. His bailout plan of $700bn was outrightly rejected. I don't know what Bush does to push his plans, but a week hence the senate was by his side and the bailout was passed.

The tenure of Bush saw some of the toughest times for America. The terrorist attacks of 2001, the two wars after that, the hurricane Katrina and the Credit Crisis were the features of the last 8 years. George W. Bush in his farewell speech put what I was thinking very aptly, "You may not agree with some tough decisions I have had to make, but I hope you can agree that I was willing to make tough decisions."

The motor of the world is kept running by people like Bush. The ability to make difficult choices and implementing them is what is required by more leaders and entrepreneurs to take humanity to new heights. At least we don't need people who can only talk, who only have opinions after everything has happened. Someones got to make things happen first.

The Shift

There has always been a shift of power. The medieval times saw India contributing 50% of the worlds GDP. The power then shifted to Europe and then USA. What people predict isn't always true. The USSR was a major force to reckon with in the 1980's when suddenly it collapsed and was done with. It was then that the world started predicting a Japanese regime in the 21st century. At that same time, who would have thought a country marred by a communist regime would be the most likely candidate to be ruling the 21st century.

Yes, I'm talking about China. If China goes on to win the medals race in the ongoing Beijing Olympics, it will be a symbolic shift of the global power. Just like the "Fall of the Berlin wall" was a symbolic beginning of the world of globalization, this medals race may well be a symbol of sorts.

You may ask where India lies in the scheme of things. Well. I'm unsure as of now. There are things which India needs to sort out. I would love to see India in the thick of things in the 21st century. Great nations are built on great ambitions. Its for the people to know what their ambitions are. The poor are in no position to dream big. Until and unless, the poor get to see with their eyes what real development looks like, there will not be a passion for growth that is required.

But who knows, the shifting of power has always been uncertain. Nobody knew a company called Microsoft could overtake giants like IBM in the 1980's. After that certainly nobody thought Google will think of doing the same. India may well do it too. This independence day lets set our ambitions high and great. In line with the country's goals in this globalized world.

Wishing you a great future.

The N-Deal

I am currently studying in Allahabad. A place where there is minimum 3 hours of power cut everyday (remember I said minimum). And I'm told other places in Uttar Pradesh are worse. I am originally from West Bengal where certain villages haven't seen electricity (thank God I come from the capital Kolkata). The governments of these states know the importance of power (I'm sure they do). Yet they are marred so much in their political acts and turmoil that they (BSP and CPM) are the principle oppositions of the Nuclear Deal. That is why the Lok Sabha (our lower house of parliament) continues to hog more limelight than anything important in our country.

Its a shame how the opposition (left and right) have vituperated our PM. Dr Manmohan Singh lets not forget is a master economist. His economic reforms in the year 1991 is as big a landmark in Indian history as was the fall of the Berlin Wall. His decisions along with India's chief missile scientist APJ Abdul Kalam would surely be in the interests of the country. Atleast more so than people like Prakash Karat whose achievements include only indulging in cheap politics.

The government winning the trust vote has been really gratifying. Not just due to the fact that India is saved from a political turmoil but also because its been such a slap to CPM's ideology. No nation can be powerful without uninterrupted power. Even if there is a risk involved with the deal, I'll go by what our PM and former President have to claim and not by what CPM and other opposition parties claim.

Here come the scorching summers

The time to dread afternoons has come. The G-Talk status messages are already telling about the trend with stuff like "Feelin like a fish in a fryin pan . . .", "The heats killlinnn mee. . . Somebody help" and more.

The 2:30 class is something that has become a 'once in a blue moon' thing. And when you have to go, literally all the body parts fail to respond. Walking 10 minutes to the class with the blazing sun pricking your skin certainly seem more than an hour. And the problem is 'its just april'.

I didn't mention anything about the power cuts as yet. Living without even a fan from 10 - 1 is like living in a casting enclosure with heat penetrating into your body.

The best part however is the pallette of fruits and beverages that come with the summer. Having tarbooj and lemon water, grapes, sugarcane juice, banana n chocolate shakes, lassi n dunno what more.

But yes, as yet another status message correctly stated "Sleepy days are here again !!!".

Lovliest Trip

The so called 'off season' wasn't really one when we sneaked a cameo trip to Nainital this January. All one could think in the end was "How could this be an off season ?". But people follow people (read sheep follow sheep). That is why people end up flocking these places in summer.

Among the many, I'll list the 3 best memories of this wonderful trip.

1. Deciding 2 hours before departure that maybe I can chill (literally, coz the temperatures dipped to as low as -5 degrees) at Nainital.
2. Sleeping in every possible stance in a string of busses through a string of small towns.
3. Horse riding @ 5000 feet on the mountains on the worst and thinnest roads. And yes, with a lot of faith on the horse coz one wrong step would have taken us 5000 ft in 5 seconds.
4. The best ever . . . Playing and tumbling for hours like a kid with snow everywhere.

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