Dear Facebook, No ullu banaoing

Facebook wanted to create a autocratic control on online content in India. On what people can use the internet for. A stronghold on the free voice. A control that it could then use at a later date to create financial benefits as well as political influence.

First it tried to dupe the Indian public with internet.org. Public immediately created a strong opposition. Then it tried to repackage it as Free Basics. someone must have told them that Indians will accept anything that is free, even if poison. It also put in large scale advertising. Then tried to influence TRAI using underhand methods of fooling unsuspecting facebook users into sending template messages to TRAI.

The Free Basics campaign was also a Trojan horse of the telecom companies who first started charging higher internet data rates for use of Whatsapp/Viber/Skype and other VOIP services to increase their profits but had to back down due to public outrage. It was a backdoor attempt to fool the public into accepting their profiteering tactics.

Free Basics implied differential pricing, the end of Net Neutrality and the start of oligopolic domination of few service providers who would charge differential prices for data usage and effectively control what people may or may not access on the net.

This plan of profiteering and attempt to establish control over public access was very nicely wrapped in the garb of providing free “basic” access to the poor. If they really wanted to provide real benefits to the poor, they could easily have offered the BPL card holders free mobile connections and defined amount of free internet data without restriction for the sites accessed. The amount of money spent in the advertising campaign for Free Basics could have been utilised for this purpose. But trying to provide benefit to the poor was never the real objective, only the stated one.

However, despite all backhand methods, people of India again proved that they are not so easily fooled. The largest democracy of the world has again spoken as one and made itself heard. TRAI has now given clear decision prohibiting differential pricing of data, with provision for penalty.

The Indian public has collectively and emphatically told facebook - "No ullu banaoing, no ullu banaoing"

Are you from the Sachin Generation?

Were you a toddler/kid in the late 70's? Are you nearing 40 now?

Then you belong to a generation that grew up at a time when the radio was still popular and TV was only of one channel and needed an antenna on the roof to work. You have experienced Doordarshan before leaping to the riches of satellite. You have seen Shah Rukh Khan as a young fauji and as a confused son of a circus owner on TV before he became King Khan of the silver screen.  You knew of life when mouse only referred to a four legged pest  but was quick to embrace the wonders of technology, of the PC and the Internet,. You have started with black and white TV but reached the colour TV age before you passed out of college. You belonged to a time when mobile phone did not exist, but today carry two mobiles in your pocket. You remember when an STD call costed Rs.48 a minute and there were long queues outside STD booths at 11 PM.

When you were young you were told that Hockey is the National sports of the Country and were given a hockey stick.

Then one fine night of 1983 everything changed. One indomitable Jat who was supposed to lead the bowling attack made unbeaten 175 runs with his bat and after a few more nights, you jumped up and down with your family members as the same Kapil Dev Nikanj took the Cricket World Cup in his hands at Lords.

Suddenly the whole of India dreamt of only cricket. The hockey stick was taken from your hand and was replaced  by a bat and a ball. As you tried to master the new game, there was news of a young protege from Mumbai, who was then chosen to be a part of the India team going to Pakistan in 1989, all at the age of 16 years and few months. He was brutally battered by one of the deadliest pace attack of the time and showed his class as he continued to bat even after being hit on the nose by an Imran Khan bouncer. Then came that 20 over exhibition match at Peshawar (possibly the first ever 20-20 India ever played). And in one over, with 27 runs, the young boy destroyed the dreaded wizard of leg-spin of the time, Abdul Qadir and proved that he has really arrived.

As you moved through the ups and downs of  your life, through high school, college, ragging, girl-friend or lack of them, job applications, work problems, marriage, children, every time you felt down and out, all you had to do was switch on the TV and watch that person take on every single bowling attack in the world and every single batting record in the world and make short work of them.

But the GOD of cricket, the Man from your generation, has finally retired from ODIs. Time time would soon come when he would retire from the Test variety as well.

As for every single man of his generation, its time for realisation that they are growing old, and time is running out.

Wishing every Indian on 63rd Republic Day

My father was 17 when India got Independence. One could say he is one of the few still around who were there on 15th Aug 1947 to fully understand the meaning of getting Independence. 

Before independence he saw, as a young boy, Netaji - then only known as Subhas Chandra Bose, along with Rash Behari Bose, delivering powerful address to a large group of people. When I was a young boy, he told the story and recalled the power and the force that came out from their words. Today after nearly 65 years, my father often gets confused/irritated at the present India, for him it has again become almost an alien country. Possibly somewhere in the way, we have lost track of what independence really means and are more content with decorative pomp and show on 15th August and 26th January.

But still, wishing all Indians all over the world, on the occasion of the 63rd Republic Day.

GOODBYE Mr. Sreedharan - THANK YOU for making Delhi a better place

When I came to Delhi 12 years back, I faced a city more air-polluted than good old Kolkata and with public transport that was nothing less than adventure sports. If you did not have a personal vehicle you were doomed.

I was told that things are going to change because the Metro is going to come soon. I was also told that the same man who was in charge of in charge for implementation, planning and design of Kolkata metro in the 70's was CMD DMRC. So given the time it took for the metro back home, I was sceptic to say the least.

But in the last 10 years I saw the public transport system of Delhi change dramatically for the better in front of my eyes as DMRC added one destination after another. Today one can easily reach from Ghaziabad to Gurgaon in 90 min through public transport, something not even possible in a dream few years back.

The success of DMRC rests with the ability to learn from the mistakes made 40 years back at Kolkata during the initial phases of Kolkata metro and ensuring that they are not repeated. And for that we must salute the metro-man, for there are very few who remembers the mistakes they commit. And even fewer who learns from them. (of course even fewer get the chance and the physical ability to work upto the age of 79 to draw on all accumulated experience)

GOODBYE Mr. Sreedharan. Time for some well deserved rest after working for nearly 60 years. THANK YOU for making Delhi a better place for the common man.

Much a do about Lokpal Bill

The last few weeks have been dominated by the Jan Lokpal Bill. It started with news reports of Indians having the largest number of Swiss Bank Accounts. Then Baba Ramdev tried to get political foothold on the ground of ant corruption. But even before he could make much out of it the Anna Hazare group came forward and took the centre stage and snatched the issue out of his hands .

To salvage his political agenda Baba Ramdev staged a show at Ramlila Maidan. Once faced with police force he showed his true nature by donning female cloths and flying back to his mountain hideout. Then when the Income Tax department started asking questions about his various companies and financial empire, he quietly went into get away after caught by police for jumping a red light or riding a two wheeler without helmet.to the silent mode. Seems his financial transactions were not so clean after all. But at the same time the midnight police action made people remember the dark ages of emergency.

There was also a minor controversy on whether dancing to the tune of patriotic songs at Rajghat by Susma Swaraj was inappropriate or not.

Under pressure the Govt. agreed to create a joint committee. They must have thought that like everything else that gets drowned in a committee, even this would get a decent burial. And also possibly because they had very little faith on the Civil Society to come up with a workable bill. But the Civil Society members were determined. They were also people who are or had been part of the same official machinery that they now so vociferously claim to be corrupt. One an ex super-cop. One an ex IRS officer and two noted lawyers. The result was two alternative format of Lokpal bills.

And then all hell broke loose.

Anna declared his intention to go on a fast. The official machinery showed itself in poor light by first allowing him a place to fast and then withdrawing permission. They also tired to pull a Ramdev on Anna by trying to prove him corrupt. But unlike Ramdev, Anna has no business ventures to protect. So the move backfired with the public coming strongly behind Anna. Even those who were earlier neutral now stood behind him on the plea of democratic rights.

Finally good sense prevailed within the Govt and they realised that the issue could pull down the Govt itself. So now the parliament has taken a decision to consider "some" of the demands and Anna has taken the symbolic glass of juice - from a steel glass. Public is gong all gaga in all major cites.

The media had a field day covering the events and their TRP went off the chart. Of course the most thankful group would be MS Dhoni and has boys as their shameful surrender of the four tests and the crown of the top Cricketing country to the British never made it to the top story.

But the question is will the Lokpal Bill stop corruption? in all probability - no.

Corruption has reached the genetic level of the people of the country. More importantly if corruption is the root cause of all problems then the root cause of corruption are the people who are willing to offer bribes and entice people to become corrupt. Of all the people that were that were in Rajghat possibly every single one had offered money at least once to get away after caught by police for jumping a red light or riding a two wheeler without helmet.

Almost every single person of this country is guilty of either practising corruption or abetting corruption in one form or other by way of;

1. offering to get away after caught by police for jumping a red light or riding a two wheeler without helmet
2. offering money to jump queue
3. offering money to get admission of child into some educational institution or medical, engineering or management institute
4. offering money to get a job
5. hiding income while fling income tax or not fling tax returns at all
6. avoiding tax at the time of purchase of any tem by asking for a "kachcha" bill in place of proper invoice.

the list can go on and on.

Honestly is relative. There would always be conflict within a person between his wants and needs and his moral force to stay honest. But ultimately no one is God. And sooner or later his needs would prevail over his morals. So a person who remains honest when offered Rs. 1 lakh may not remain honest when offered Rs. 1 Crore.

The basic issue is that any anti-corruption bill will never be successful until it contains provisions to meet out strict punishment to the persons who offer bribes and entice people to become corrupt. In fact they should be dealt with stricter punishment as they are the root cause of corruption.

There is also the issue of giving too much power in the hand of one authority. Will the team Anna show that they also respect democracy by accepting the alternate views and incorporating them in the final draft?

And finally - If the need comes, who will lokpal the Lokpal?

A great day for Indian Cricket

For all Indians around the world, its dussera today -- the win of Rama over Ravana. 

28 years ago, 90% of India did not know that we had won the world cup. This time around, every Indian is celebrating the win. In 1983, as a sleepy eyed 8 year old, I jumped up and down in front of the Black and White TV as India won, not quite realising the historic nature of the moment. On 2nd of April 2011, this cynical 36 year old was again jumping up and down in front of the TV as the men in blue won again, fully aware of the historic nature of the moment and simultaneously transformed into the 8 year old of 1983.

Gambhir, Kohli, Yuvraj and MSD finally did win it for Sachin. Virat Kohli, what a great thing to say, "Sachin carried the nation for 21 years, the least we could do was carry him around the field". Zahir Khan redeemed himself this time round, putting behind the ghost of the disastrous first over of 2003 WC finals.

In the hindsight, Srilanka choosing Ranadiv over Mendis proved great for India. After all, Mendis was probably their best bowler this tournament. Also, do shed a tear for Murali. Poor guy got his team to WC final twice, only to see them lose both times. First time, his attempt was stalled by the Rain Gods, and this time, by the resilient team India, who showed that even without any major batting from the God, Sachin Tendulkar, and his main deciple, Virendra Sehwag, India can still win.

And K. Srikanth - Member, 1983 WC wining team and Chief Selector, 2011 WC wining team. Guess that makes him biggest expert in Indian cricket, at least for the next 4 years.

But I guess, the win of 1983 should still be rated higher. After all, it was at a time when the main sport of the Country was Hockey and the annual spending on cricket was less than the fees currently paid by BCCI to a player for a match.

Yes, Kapil will forever remain the ultimate hero, viewed as he was, through the eyes of a 8 year old, as he ran backwards for that historic catch. But Gambhir and Dhoni would come close second, as for once, they came out of the shadow of the person the world has come to recognise as the God of cricket.

At the same time, please remember Saurav Ganguly. History is never made in a day. Before Ganguly came, the selectors called all the shots. After Ganguly, the captain had the final words in team selection.Dhoni, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Harbhajan, Zahir, Gambhir; the core of this winning team were  all brought into the team and protected and nurtured by Saurav Ganguly. Ganguly also taught our players not to get down under pressure. Ganguly was responsible for the creating the ecosystem in which Dhoni presently functions. The journey for today's supremacy began 10 years back under Ganguly in Eden Gardens when Laxman showed the world that India can defeat the mighty Australia in their own game. The picture of bare chested Ganguly waving his shirt in Lords represents today's Cricket India.

All the same, its time to shout INDIAAA, INDIAAAA.