Politicians as New Zamindars

The title mentioned above was the heading of an editorial in Times of India today January 26, 2013. 'Having abolished the zamindari system long ago, our netas (leaders) have with aplomb assumed the role of the new landed gentry as if to the manor born'.

The politicians have accumulated wealth and assets worth a few crores of rupees out of politicking over the years. In fact politics has become an earning profession for several individuals with the least investment in money terms. Chief Minister of West Bengal has started demanding the CPM party and its leaders to surrender their landed properties so that her government's deficit can be reduced considerably.

Christians celebrating Pongal

Hats off to the efforts of Fr. Gnana Prakasam, the Diocess Member of Virdhunagar District and the Divisional Head of Holy Ignatius Church near Virdhunagar Municipal Office and his team of Catholics who took the initiative and arranged the celebration of Pongal festival in the premises of the church. They arranged special prayers as well as the cultural activities on this occasion to exhibit religious harmony and brotherhood, seeking adequate rainfall and ensuring equality among the people in the vicinity.

One has to really admire and appreciate this initiative and approach for creating harmony among the communities living in those areas.

Over half of China's people now live in urban areas

For a nation whose culture and society have been shaped over millennia by its rice-farming traditions, and whose ruling party rose to power in 1949 by mobilizing its traditional peasantry, China has just passed a remarkable milestone: its city-dwellers now outnumber its rural residents. New data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that of China’s 1.35 billion people, 51.3% lived in urban areas at the end of 2011. In 1980 less than a fifth of China’s population lived in cities, a smaller proportion than in India. What a transformation?

Over the next ten years the government remained wary of free movement, even as it made its peace with free enterprise. Touting a policy of “leaving the land but not the villages, entering the factories but not cities”, it sought industrialization without urbanization, only to discover that it could not have one without the other. Even now, its ratio of city-dwellers is, if anything, low for an economy at its stage of development. America reached the 50% mark before 1920. Britain passed it in the 19th century. Go further back, however, and China’s cities dazzled the world. It is likely that one thousand years ago, the Song Dynasty capital of Kaifeng was the world’s most populous city. Marco Polo, who visited China in the 13th century, claimed that Hangzhou was “the most splendid city in the world” with 13,000 bridges—although later estimates suggest the true number was 347. In other words it could mean the report was either based on hearsay or wild guess. How Kaifeng could be the most splendid city unless the writer-traveler had personally seen at least a dozen of similar other cities in the world. It could be an exaggerated statement on seeing a tolerably well built and populated city unlike the ones he had seen earlier to this.

The point to be noted here is however the fact that China is growing faster on the same lines than other players on the globe and mesmerizing one and all undoubtedly.

A matter of deep satisfaction is that the state of Tamil Nadu in India has achieved 51% urban population as per 2011 Census. Urbanisation has, on the other hand, its own disadvantages in Indian context at the moment.

 

(Jan 18th 2012, 15:09 by The Economist online)

Initiatives of school girls

Four school-going girls from Thane near Mumbai have devised one particular footwear which can operate small devices with 5 volt current and cause a shock to the party in front. At the same time the alarm bell in the hand bag or wallet would start ringing and sending alarm signals to the select-few mobile phones indicating the location of the user for the rescue in danger.

This device is in addition to the pepper-spray and the chilly powder the women can carry when they are alone or at the receiving end from the male attackers. This innovation should receive the attention of the elders and the government for mass production and sale to the girls/women so that molestation, rape and gang-rape can be tackled by themselves in defence.

Free and Misuse of Guns

Radcliff Hatton (45) a black man became angry with his wife, lost temper and rushed to the beauty parlor on October 21, 2012 where she was working and shot down three women and injured four others before committing suicide in Brookfield area of Milwaukie town in Wisconsin Province of U.S.A.

In USA the gun acquisition and its usage is very simple and liberal. As things are unfolding in the last couple of months the citizens indulge in shooting spree killing several people freely and madly. The point is how to correct this malady? Probably the acquisition of arms should be controlled by licenses from concerned authorities

China on the March

Many of the holy spots associated with Lord Shiva are located on the Tibetan territory under the occupation of China. The famous ‘Mansarovar Lake’ is located in the centre of Tibet including the spots like ‘Yamdwar’ & ‘Astapath’. One entry into these places is through Kathmandu – Kodari – Khasa Port (Lee Ping) China border.

The places visited by me on the way are: Zhang Mu, Nyalam, Prayong, Tanga, Dor Ching etc. The highway linking these places is newly-constructed in two lanes to international standards. One could enjoy a beautiful drive all along with patches of greenery – cultivation including green-house structures. Water flowing from the hills has been properly tapped and used for crops. Mining activities are also seen on the way here and there – Power tillers being used both for tilling and transporting.

Large tracts of barren hills and valleys are waiting for settlement of Tibetans and Chinese citizens in the next one decade or so. Tourism is likely to flourish - mostly religious tourism. Pilgrims spend a few thousands of rupees from all over India to visit these sites - Mount Kailash is supposed to be the abode of Bholenath attracting thousands of pilgrims year after year.

As of now except a few groups arranged by Uttarakhand Government, others are all arranged and managed by Travel agents and individuals on the basis of their past experience. Indian private agents arrange such trips with the help of their counterparts in Kathmandu, Lhasa and China (Beijing). A little more or less than one hundred thousand rupees are spent by each individual pilgrim for a tour of 10 – 12 days in all. Standard of accommodation arranged in Kathmandu and other towns is tolerable and worth the money parted with. But the stay in mud houses with open toilet system – 3 to 10 persons in each room / hall is pathetic, unhygienic and far from satisfactory. Exploitation and black mailing of agents in Kathmandu and Lhasa continue to harass the tour leaders from India.

There is no proper and systematic guidance, briefing and coverage of promised places and for prayers with puja materials collected and carried with lot of care by the pilgrims.

Sex and the V.I.P

The latest casualty linked to sex-based misconduct on the part of a VIP is the Head of American Intelligence David Patrias who resigned the other day under moral pressure. The US President Barack Obama accepted it although many an official in the administration felt bad looking to his ability and contribution to US military as its head and the Chief of US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for quite some time. His own regret over the illegal relationship developed with Paula Bradwel, a researcher from Harvard University writing on the General’s life during his stay in Afghanistan was conveyed through an e-mail to the people concerned. He felt ashamed of his own conduct – a man having married life of 37 years with a lady and being the head of an organization at the national level. One should admire his step after all. There are many other individuals in public life who care little about such affairs till they are literally pushed off from their positions.

However a moot point to be raised and discussed here is why should people occupying very high positions in life and exhibiting extraordinary qualities and high achievers fall a pray to such passions and become an easy victim to female beauties like some saints and celebrities in the past. Probably such individuals are not satisfied with one female in their life and likely to develop relationship with a female companion in their weak moments at their work places. It is human weakness and a necessity at some points of time in their life. How do you explain otherwise the strength of a harem in a King’s palace being discussed in history books or the modern leaders of public life practicing polygamy with impunity even now in certain places?

The Sun, the Life-giver

Among the stars in the sky the Sun appears to be the biggest in size because it happens to be the closest star to the earth. It is about 15 crore (150 Million) KMs away from the earth. Its diameter is 1.39 million KMs whereas it is only 12,756 KMs in the case of earth. In other words the sun is about 1.3 million times bigger in size compared to earth. But it weighs only 0.3 million times of earth. Sun’s rays take only 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach the earth.

The sun and its family of planets take 24 years to make a round of the Milky Way. The central point of the sun has a temperature of nearly 15 million degrees centigrade, while on its surface it is varying between 9000 and 5000 degrees centigrade in four layers. The fourth one called ‘Corona’ not only supports the earth by providing light but also becoming the basis of all the sources of energy to the life systems on earth.

Poverty in China

Chinese leaders esp. the new office-bearers who are to take over as Chinese President and Prime Minister in March, 2013 (Lee Hechiyang and Jee Chinping) are on a round of their country to have first-hand knowledge about the economic conditions of the downtrodden. It is worrying them that they still have some 20 crore people living below the poverty-line. Although this figure has come down from 50 crores some 30 years ago, they are still contemplating as to how to eliminate poverty from their nation by 2030 AD.

They are making serious attempts to set up industrial units in such backward areas to push up employment opportunities and thereby improve their earning power in the days to come. They are also tightening their administrative machinery to work with honesty and deliver the goods as planned from the above. It is also alarming that millionaires are increasing while the poor are becoming poorer.- a development defying their preferred goals.