India’s performance in the recently concluded millennium Olympics was pathetic to say the least. Not that we were expecting a big haul of medals but because of the fact that a country with more than 1 billion population could manage a single bronze medal only. India’s position in the medal tally is a poor 74 out of 81 medal winning countries. The fact that barring few exceptions majority of our competitors could not advance beyond the preliminary stage adds insult to injury, where as many tiny countries with few lacs of population figure in the medal tally much ahead of us. The following table speaks volumes about India’s poor performance. (This is only indicative and not exhaustive).
Sl. No
Particulars
India’s Position
No. of Contestants
Remarks
1
4 x 100 Mtrs relay heats for Men
7
8
Britain reached last due to some fauxpas in baton change
2
4 x 100 Mtrs relay heats for women
6
6
Overall position 23 out of 24
3
4 x 400 Mtrs relay heats for Men
5
6
Due to disqualification of Algeria
4
4 x 400 Mtrs relay heats for women
5
6
Reached 5th place due to some brilliant running by Beenamol
5
Javelin throw for women
(Gurmeet Kaur)
32
35
According to a comprehensive statistical study conducted by Australian Statistical Bureau taking all parameters into account Viz.; size of the country, population, number of participants etc etc, Bahamas will be at the top and India’s position is at the rock bottom ie; 199 out of 199 participants. Can there be a greater humiliation than this?. China which has started taking part in International sports barely 2-3 decades ago, have emerged as a leading sports nation of the world. It is not a matter of a few medals but the goodwill and prestige of the country which is at stake. Indians with their dismal performance has become a laughing stock at international arena. Inspite of such pathetic performance by the Indian contingent, majority of the IOC Governing body was re-elected unanimously. A classic example of rewarding inefficiency and incompetence. Can this happen in any other country, other than India?. Let us make an introspection of the maladies afflicting Indian sports.
While Indian sportsmen are physically weak compared to their foreign counterparts, their mental faculty is also far below par. It is the mental faculty, which becomes the crucial factor between the winner and loser. This is amply demonstrated by the fact that while we defeat formidable teams in inconsequential matches, we struggle even against mediocre teams in crucial matches. In football or hockey if our team trails by two or three goals our defeat is almost certain. Similarly in cricket if two or three top order batsman are out for paltry score, we normally see a parade of the remaining batsmen. Only on very few occasions we saw a resurgence of Indian team against all odds.
Our sports administrators and organistions often lament about the lack of funds and facilities for the poor standard of sports in the country. It is not the lack of funds or facilities, which stands in the way of our progress but the lack of dedication, sincerity, killer instinct and team spirit. Delhi which is having one of the best sports facilities in the country has not produced any sports person of international standard for the last several years where as African countries ridden in poverty has produced sportsmen of world standard. Countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon, Bahamas etc performed creditably well in the Olympics. Even in India many sports persons belong to poor families and they come from remote villages of the country where there are absolutely no sports facilities. P.T.Usha, I.M.Vijayan, Harikrishna and Bula Choudhary were born in poor families.
After the independence barring few exceptions whatever little progress India has made, are all due to individual efforts whether it is Ramanathan Krishnan, Leander Paes, Milkha Singh, Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, Michel Ferriera, Geet Sethi, Viswanathan Anand, P.T.Usha or Harikrishna. This clearly shows that no tangible results have been achieved by the large amount of money spent by the Government and other allied organisation for the development of sports in the country. Even the criteria of development is ridiculous as Associations’ annual report indicates the amount spent on sports compared to previous year instead of Indicating the achievement in physical terms. It appears that our achievement in sports is inversely proportional to the amount spent on sports.
Indians were pioneers in many sports like Hockey Archery etc. We were the undisputed champions in Hockey for many years. In Archery, even today no other country has produced archers of the stature of Dronacharya, Arjuna Karna, Ekalavya etc. We were also a force to reckon with in many sports like Volleyball, Basketball etc. at least in the Asian circuit. We were the undisputed kings of Hockey for several years. In spite of the fact that Hockey is our National game, Government and people’s interest in this once popular sport is dwindling. On many occasions national level hockey matches are played in front of empty galleries despite the fact that admission is free. TV mania and our continued failure have made many games unpopular.
One of the rarest things seen in India is national pride. When the government owned and controlled agencies do not avail the rare opportunities of awakening national pride what to talk of the common man? In the Junior world hockey championship tournament held at Milton Keynes (England) During October 1997 Indian team reached upto the final. On the way to the final we dethroned defending champions Germany. Even in the final we lost the medal by a whisker mainly due to some bad umpiring decisions. However, millions of hockey fans all over the country were denied the excitement of the glorious, thrilling and pulsating moments of the game thanks to the apathy and callous attitude of the Doordarshan authorities. It was after long time India played in the final of a world championship. Our 1980 Olympic Hockey Gold medal triumph is worth only 12 carat because Hockey giants like Pakistan, Germany, Australia, Holland England etc did not participate in the Olympics. Watching the national team playing in the final of a world championship will at least momentarily help to create a sense of patriotism and feeling of Indianness in a country otherwise divided over caste, creed, region, religion, language etc. This is not an isolated event and there are instances galore.
India has no dearth of sports talents. There are innumerable examples to prove this point. During October 1996 a small boy from a remote Andhra village Harikrishna won the world sub junior (under 10) chess championship. Tata Football Academy a team of teenagers from Jamshedpur whose average age is around 18 years coached by Habib, a veteran footballer of yesteryears always pose a big challenge to other big clubs of the country. TFA boys were a bunch of enterprising, energetic and enthusiastic youngsters. Their speed, ball control, dribbling etc are superb. The fact that a top football club like Mohun Bagan had to sweat it out for the entire duration of the 1997 DCM Football Final is an eloquent testimony of the caliber of TFA boys. During February 1998 Rourkela Municipal College team comprising mostly adivasi boys from Orissa won the Nehru SAIL champion’s hockey tournament defeating Australian University in the final. Australia is a formidable power in the world hockey and they are having an enviable record of achievements in the international hockey. Therefore, a victory over an Australian team is not a mean achievement. All the above instances and many more conclusively prove that there is no dearth of sports talent in the country. A pertinent point to be noted in the above examples is that in all the three cases players involved are teenagers. While our junior players are more sincere and dedicated, senior players play more politics in and out of the field.
We are having good football coaches like Habib, P.K.Banerji, Chattunni, Nayeemuddin, Sukhvinder Singh etc. However, inspite of having good coaches in the country, we engage foreign coaches who are themselves failures in their own country by paying fabulous fees, which is many times more than the fees paid to their Indian counterparts. Indian football reached its nadir during the stewardship of Rustom Akramov, a Russian coach. He committed the biggest blunder by asking Joe Paul Anchery to play in the defence. Anchery is a lethal striker and even now he has the temptation to overlap and assume the role of a forward. However, for us Indians, foreigner’s words are like priest’s sermons and we meekly accepted the blunder.
Lacks of recognition, ingratitude, humiliation, insult, insinuation etc are not new to Indian sports. P.T.Usha one of India’s foremost athlete and one of the best athletes of Asia used to stay in the Nehru stadium hutment during her training/ competition in Delhi. Daily allowance of our national hockey players who are expected to uphold the prestige of the country in the International competition is a paltry sum which is not even sufficient for two square meals, what to talk of nutritious meals. Harikrishna’s winning of the world sub-junior chess championship did not attract much media attention. While we eulogise some sports persons , treat them as demigods , shower them with awards, rewards, medals and money it was rather unfortunate that a child prodigy could not get his due. He could participate in the world championship with the money donated by his well wishers and villagers. India’s veteran goalkeeper Subbaiah was not included for the 1998 world hockey championship. A person who was selected “Man of the match” twice less than two months ago in our test series with Pakistan was suddenly found to be out of form- a novel discovery by IHF selectors. Though the ostensible reason for sidelining Subbaiah was ‘out of form’ the actual reason appears to be his taking up the legitimate demands of players with the IHF authorities. Similarly some senior players who played a stellar role in regaining the Hockey Gold medal at 1998 Asian Games were unceremoniously removed immediately after the games. Do the federation expect that our players should behave like cowards and slaves? How can we expect giant killers and world beaters from meek and coward sports persons?
Our selection and training procedure also leave much to be desired. It is the connection, which is the main hidden criterion for selection relegating quality and merit to the background. Regionalism and group factors also play and important role in the selection process. It is alleged that even our veteran players pull strings to include their favourites in the Indian eleven with utter disregards to quality or merit. No wonder, we induct local lads in predominant positions while playing at Bangalore, Mumbai or Mohali and they turned out to be superflops. We should realise that our ultimate aim is to win the match and medal and not to give a chance to the son of the soil.
We select our team just few days prior to the start of the International event, where as advanced sports countries announce their teams months ahead of the competition and give them much needed combined match practice. In team games team sprit and rapport between the players are of paramount importance, more than individual brilliance. Due to the absence or inadequacy of the combined match practice, we find the maximum mispasses from the Indian team and often they make a mockery of the game. We hire and fire coaches like casual labour. We should learn from the great epic Mahabharat as to how great coaches (Gurus) like Dronacharya were revered and respected even by their adversaries. Frequent change of coaches and consequent change of strategies makes our players a confused lot.
The fundamental difference between India and other sports powers is that while they create formidable team with ordinary players, India makes mediocre team with talented players. There is abundance of sports talent in the country. Our sports administrators should come out of their air-conditioned rooms in big cities and search for hidden talent. Our adivasi boys are excellent archers and our fishermen can bring medals in swimming if they are trained and guided properly. A martial art form of Kerala –Kalaripayattu is similar to fencing and exponents of this art can bring medals in fencing. Our corporate giants who spend crores of rupees for advertisement can adopt few sports persons in selected disciplines and give them intensive training. Let us make a concerted effort to win few medals at least in the next Olympics at Athens. Few years ago, India was to force to reckon with in Wrestling. That was primarily due to the untiring and dedicated efforts of a single individual, the grand old man of Indian wrestling-Guru Hanuman. Most of our wrestling stalwarts and medal winners were his disciples. Indian wrestling standard gradually declined after his death. If one individual can make so much impact on sports, our jumbo-sized organisations and giant companies can do much more. Indian Olympic association should concentrate on a few disciplines where we have a fair chance of winning medal instead of sending a huge contingent like a package tour. A country, which represents 1/6th of the world population or the biggest populated country in the world (by that time we may overtake China in terms of population) should not continuously face the humiliation and ignominy for our poor performance in international sports.
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
Vanishing Values
Vanishing Values
E M ADITHYAN
Indian has a glorious past and a great civilisation embedded with all virtues which was once the envy of people the world over. However today even our highly educated youngsters are not much aware of our own culture and traditions. The Swadeshi movement, which was propagated during the independence struggle, has evaporated and the shadow of colonialism still hangs over our head. Consequently, we condemn our own virtues and blindly follow the western culture. Let us make an introspection of our vanishing values.
Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages and one the richest languages of the world. Some of our most outstanding epics and Upanishads are written in this language. Some people may say that Kalidasa has not won any literary award but the fact remains that he is the greatest writer India has ever produced. Our successive governments whether at centre or states did not make any serious attempt to promote this glorious language. Today, there are more Sanskrit scholars from Germany and France than from India. If we had promoted Sanskrit with right earnestness, we could have bridged the language barrier and cemented the friendship and fraternity among people of different regions.
We are least bothered about our own language and culture and even a student of literature is blissfully unaware of the happenings in other regional languages. While our highly qualified people take pride in talking about Spanish or French literature, they are totally ignorant about Indian literature. It is appreciable to have a universal out-look but it should not be by sidestepping the language of our own country.
India has one of the finest systems of medicine in Ayurveda. No doubt, it takes protracted treatment to cure an illness but many of the diseases once cured will not occur during one’s lifetime. It has neither any side effects nor it is slow poisoning. While in Allopathic the symptoms of the disease are suppressed by anti-biotic, in Ayurvedic system the disease is rooted out gradually. Even our Government and Public Sector Organisations give step-motherly treatment to Ayurveda. While the Allopathic treatment is reimbursed in full there are many restrictions on the reimbursement of Ayurvedic treatment. Is it because Ayurvedic system is completely indigenous and does not make a drain on the precious foreign exchange of the country? Still we believe in Allopathic only and many of the drugs, which are banned in other countries, are freely sold in India. Adulterated medicines and out of date medicines are also sold with almost total impunity, as the conviction process in India is abysmally slow and cumbersome.
Indian music, classical dance and folk dances are praised the world over. Our renowned artists perform in the prestigious auditoriums of the capital of India in half empty halls, despite the fact that admission is free. One of the greatest classical dance dramas – Kathakali – was on the verge of extinction a few dances back. It was due to the dedicated efforts of the great poet Vallathol that we could salvage this great art form. He took art to the various parts of the globe and only when foreigners started showering praises, we realised the beauty of this art. Do we always need somebody- nay foreigners to educate us about the greatness of our own art and culture?
Our filmmakers particularly from West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka have produced some of the finest movies equating world class standards. However, even Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan or Girish kasaravally finds it difficult to get a theatre to show their film for a Sunday morning show in the capital of India.
We are pioneers in many of the martial arts and sports like Archery, Hockey etc. Even today, no other country in the world has produced archers of the stature of Dronacharya, Arjuna, Karna, Ekalavya etc. However, today, we do not even qualify in the Olympics or world championship. We taught the whole world how to play Hockey and we were the undisputed kings for several decades. However, today we are fighting a battle for survival. Even our sports enthusiasts who listen to Cricket commentary from morning till evening have no time and interest to know what is happening in the field of Hockey.
Our traditional way of living and daily routine has lots of scientific base-whether it is taking early morning bath, Surya Namaskar, meditation, Pranayam or Yoga. No wonder people who live in traditional style are hale and hearty even in their eighties, whereas others who live with fast food and Multivitamin tablets are prone to disease at the slightest provocation.
It is high time we should make a self-introspection of our dwindling culture, traditions, values, ethics, morals etc. Let us not make a mad rush towards westernisation. Even in the craze for foreign and western, we have not understood and adapted their good qualities like discipline, punctuality, team spirit, cleanliness, competitiveness, quality consciousness etc. We have learned to imitate only their bad qualities. Let us make a judicious blend of our past glories and present technological achievements to bring peace, tranquility and prosperity to our great land of sages, scholars and social reformers.
_____________________________________________
E M ADITHYAN
Indian has a glorious past and a great civilisation embedded with all virtues which was once the envy of people the world over. However today even our highly educated youngsters are not much aware of our own culture and traditions. The Swadeshi movement, which was propagated during the independence struggle, has evaporated and the shadow of colonialism still hangs over our head. Consequently, we condemn our own virtues and blindly follow the western culture. Let us make an introspection of our vanishing values.
Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages and one the richest languages of the world. Some of our most outstanding epics and Upanishads are written in this language. Some people may say that Kalidasa has not won any literary award but the fact remains that he is the greatest writer India has ever produced. Our successive governments whether at centre or states did not make any serious attempt to promote this glorious language. Today, there are more Sanskrit scholars from Germany and France than from India. If we had promoted Sanskrit with right earnestness, we could have bridged the language barrier and cemented the friendship and fraternity among people of different regions.
We are least bothered about our own language and culture and even a student of literature is blissfully unaware of the happenings in other regional languages. While our highly qualified people take pride in talking about Spanish or French literature, they are totally ignorant about Indian literature. It is appreciable to have a universal out-look but it should not be by sidestepping the language of our own country.
India has one of the finest systems of medicine in Ayurveda. No doubt, it takes protracted treatment to cure an illness but many of the diseases once cured will not occur during one’s lifetime. It has neither any side effects nor it is slow poisoning. While in Allopathic the symptoms of the disease are suppressed by anti-biotic, in Ayurvedic system the disease is rooted out gradually. Even our Government and Public Sector Organisations give step-motherly treatment to Ayurveda. While the Allopathic treatment is reimbursed in full there are many restrictions on the reimbursement of Ayurvedic treatment. Is it because Ayurvedic system is completely indigenous and does not make a drain on the precious foreign exchange of the country? Still we believe in Allopathic only and many of the drugs, which are banned in other countries, are freely sold in India. Adulterated medicines and out of date medicines are also sold with almost total impunity, as the conviction process in India is abysmally slow and cumbersome.
Indian music, classical dance and folk dances are praised the world over. Our renowned artists perform in the prestigious auditoriums of the capital of India in half empty halls, despite the fact that admission is free. One of the greatest classical dance dramas – Kathakali – was on the verge of extinction a few dances back. It was due to the dedicated efforts of the great poet Vallathol that we could salvage this great art form. He took art to the various parts of the globe and only when foreigners started showering praises, we realised the beauty of this art. Do we always need somebody- nay foreigners to educate us about the greatness of our own art and culture?
Our filmmakers particularly from West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka have produced some of the finest movies equating world class standards. However, even Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan or Girish kasaravally finds it difficult to get a theatre to show their film for a Sunday morning show in the capital of India.
We are pioneers in many of the martial arts and sports like Archery, Hockey etc. Even today, no other country in the world has produced archers of the stature of Dronacharya, Arjuna, Karna, Ekalavya etc. However, today, we do not even qualify in the Olympics or world championship. We taught the whole world how to play Hockey and we were the undisputed kings for several decades. However, today we are fighting a battle for survival. Even our sports enthusiasts who listen to Cricket commentary from morning till evening have no time and interest to know what is happening in the field of Hockey.
Our traditional way of living and daily routine has lots of scientific base-whether it is taking early morning bath, Surya Namaskar, meditation, Pranayam or Yoga. No wonder people who live in traditional style are hale and hearty even in their eighties, whereas others who live with fast food and Multivitamin tablets are prone to disease at the slightest provocation.
It is high time we should make a self-introspection of our dwindling culture, traditions, values, ethics, morals etc. Let us not make a mad rush towards westernisation. Even in the craze for foreign and western, we have not understood and adapted their good qualities like discipline, punctuality, team spirit, cleanliness, competitiveness, quality consciousness etc. We have learned to imitate only their bad qualities. Let us make a judicious blend of our past glories and present technological achievements to bring peace, tranquility and prosperity to our great land of sages, scholars and social reformers.
_____________________________________________
Need for a new System
NEED FOR A NEW SYSTEM
BY. E.M.ADITHYAN
Political scenario in India has undergone a metamorphosis during the last few years. Politics, which was considered a saga of social service in the pre-independence period, has become a lucrative business for earning quick returns. Corruption and criminalisation have made politics a synonym of all dirty tricks and a profession unfit for men of principles. Over the years an impression has been created, that a person who is unfit to serve the community through any other profession (viz. Scientist, Doctor, Engineer, Bureaucrat, Accountant, Businessmen etc.) could, however become a ‘successful’ politician. Politicians who join hands with the criminals and anti-social elements with the ulterior motive of annihilating their adversaries often fall prey to their own misdeeds, as on many occasions their actions boomerang.
With the multiplicity of political parties based on regional, casteist, communal, linguistic and parochial considerations and the fast eroding base of national parties, hung assemblies/parliament and coalition set-up has become the order of the day. Even the national parties are adopting the idea of ‘Marriage of convenience’ to boost their electoral prospects in different regions with utter disregard to their principles and ideologies. Common man is losing interest in the election process, as they don’t find much difference among the alternatives. Even the popular verdict is not a true index of the mandate of the masses as on many occasions it is due to the negative voting to defeat the party in power. It is ironical that in the largest democracy of the world politicians enjoying the mandate of miniscule section of the masses are holding exalted positions in the Government. Split and the division in the parties are caused not because of ideological differences but due to personal prejudices. Our political parties appear to have unknowingly adopted a slogan “Growing to split and splitting to grow”.
Coalition Governments formed with the internal and external support of the parties having heterogeneous and divergent views with the common minimum programme of clinging to power will not make a stable set-up. The threat of withdrawing support to coalition always hangs as a “Damocles’ Sword” over the head of the Government. Decisions are taken under extraneous and narrow considerations and in the process national interest will become the biggest casualty.
Under the circumstances, it will be worthwhile to consider a new system of Government i.e. formation of an all party Government. Under this system, all the elected representatives will form an Electoral College and they elect the Prime Minister/Chief Minister and other Ministers by secret ballot. A person who has been elected as a Minister should be precluded from holding any party position. Since the cabinet collectively takes major decisions and policy matters and as the powers, duties and responsibilities of Ministers are defined, there should not be any cause for confrontation or confusion. In order to maintain the stability of the ministry, the practice of moving no-confidence motions shall be restricted to remove only a Minster, Ministers or the Prime Minister/Chief Minister. Ministers will also be free from the pulls and pressures of their political bosses as only a majority within the composite structure can remove them.
This system of governance is already prevailing in several organizations where the members elect the managing committee who in turn elects the office bearers. It is hoped that all the political parties will ponder over this issue and arrive at a consensus in the larger national interest and if necessary amend the constitution for formation of a stable Government, which is sinequo-non for the progress of the country. A truly National Government like this only can save the country from disintegration and anarchy. Otherwise India will become a permanent stage for enacting petty political dramas.
BY. E.M.ADITHYAN
Political scenario in India has undergone a metamorphosis during the last few years. Politics, which was considered a saga of social service in the pre-independence period, has become a lucrative business for earning quick returns. Corruption and criminalisation have made politics a synonym of all dirty tricks and a profession unfit for men of principles. Over the years an impression has been created, that a person who is unfit to serve the community through any other profession (viz. Scientist, Doctor, Engineer, Bureaucrat, Accountant, Businessmen etc.) could, however become a ‘successful’ politician. Politicians who join hands with the criminals and anti-social elements with the ulterior motive of annihilating their adversaries often fall prey to their own misdeeds, as on many occasions their actions boomerang.
With the multiplicity of political parties based on regional, casteist, communal, linguistic and parochial considerations and the fast eroding base of national parties, hung assemblies/parliament and coalition set-up has become the order of the day. Even the national parties are adopting the idea of ‘Marriage of convenience’ to boost their electoral prospects in different regions with utter disregard to their principles and ideologies. Common man is losing interest in the election process, as they don’t find much difference among the alternatives. Even the popular verdict is not a true index of the mandate of the masses as on many occasions it is due to the negative voting to defeat the party in power. It is ironical that in the largest democracy of the world politicians enjoying the mandate of miniscule section of the masses are holding exalted positions in the Government. Split and the division in the parties are caused not because of ideological differences but due to personal prejudices. Our political parties appear to have unknowingly adopted a slogan “Growing to split and splitting to grow”.
Coalition Governments formed with the internal and external support of the parties having heterogeneous and divergent views with the common minimum programme of clinging to power will not make a stable set-up. The threat of withdrawing support to coalition always hangs as a “Damocles’ Sword” over the head of the Government. Decisions are taken under extraneous and narrow considerations and in the process national interest will become the biggest casualty.
Under the circumstances, it will be worthwhile to consider a new system of Government i.e. formation of an all party Government. Under this system, all the elected representatives will form an Electoral College and they elect the Prime Minister/Chief Minister and other Ministers by secret ballot. A person who has been elected as a Minister should be precluded from holding any party position. Since the cabinet collectively takes major decisions and policy matters and as the powers, duties and responsibilities of Ministers are defined, there should not be any cause for confrontation or confusion. In order to maintain the stability of the ministry, the practice of moving no-confidence motions shall be restricted to remove only a Minster, Ministers or the Prime Minister/Chief Minister. Ministers will also be free from the pulls and pressures of their political bosses as only a majority within the composite structure can remove them.
This system of governance is already prevailing in several organizations where the members elect the managing committee who in turn elects the office bearers. It is hoped that all the political parties will ponder over this issue and arrive at a consensus in the larger national interest and if necessary amend the constitution for formation of a stable Government, which is sinequo-non for the progress of the country. A truly National Government like this only can save the country from disintegration and anarchy. Otherwise India will become a permanent stage for enacting petty political dramas.
Mind Your Language
Mind Your Language
…Before others do it for you says E.M.Adithyan
The Staff working in the offices of senior executives love to flaunt the little English that they know. The results may be disastrous but they never do give up.
One day in the absence of the Private Secretary, a peon was occupying his seat. The phone rang. “Can I talk to General Manager?” asked the caller. The peon knows that the GM was not in his seat and therefore replied, “Sir, he is no more.” There was a stunned silence. After the initial shock, the caller suggested that the GM may be around some where. The peon went to look for the GM and found he had just left the office. He came back and replied, “Sir, he was here sometime back but just now he passed away.”
Once a security guard allowed one of his relatives inside the factory. The relative stayed there overnight and died in the factory premises. The Security Officer sent a report to the Corporate Office which read as follows: “Mr. Dharampal allowed his relative to stay inside the factory and his relative died on the same night with out taking permission.”
There’s also the case of the senior officer who was fed up with the spate of phone calls he received everyday. He told his new PA that such calls need not be transferred to him. As for persistent visitors who claimed they had come all the way from Mumbai or Chennai just to discuss something urgent with him, the officer said they could be politely told, “Sorry sir, everybody says that.” During the day the Boss’s wife called many times but the PA did not put through the call to the Boss. Infuriated, she stormed into the office and was just about to enter her husband’s cabin when the PA stopped her, “Sorry madam, Boss is very busy, you can’t go inside.” The lady shouted, “It is very urgent and besides, I am his wife.” Retorted the PA “Sorry madam, everybody says that.”
But why poke fun at the lower level staff alone. Many senior officials make awful gaffes too. Here’s an instance: an employee had gone to meet a senior officer. He opened the door a little and peeped in. Said the officer in a patronising tone. “Why are you outstanding? Please income.”
Then there are these interesting replies picked up from interviews:
For the post of Accountant:
Q: What is the difference between single entry and double entry?
A: If you multiply the single entry by two, it will become a double entry.
For the post of Material Control Officer:
Q: Can you define material?
A: Anything, which is not immaterial, is material.
For the post of PA
Q: What is the difference between AGM(PA) and PA to AGM?
A: Practically no difference. In one case PA is prefixed and in the other it is suffixed.
For the post of Medical Officer.
Q: What is the difference between hospitalisation and hospitality?
A: Post hospitalisation treatment is hospitality.
Then there was this extraordinary reply to an advertisement for the post of graduate stenographer: “Eventhough, I am not a graduate, my English is far better than the so- called bachelors. Inaccuracy in typing is unknown to me. My speed in shorthand is fantastic.”
…Before others do it for you says E.M.Adithyan
The Staff working in the offices of senior executives love to flaunt the little English that they know. The results may be disastrous but they never do give up.
One day in the absence of the Private Secretary, a peon was occupying his seat. The phone rang. “Can I talk to General Manager?” asked the caller. The peon knows that the GM was not in his seat and therefore replied, “Sir, he is no more.” There was a stunned silence. After the initial shock, the caller suggested that the GM may be around some where. The peon went to look for the GM and found he had just left the office. He came back and replied, “Sir, he was here sometime back but just now he passed away.”
Once a security guard allowed one of his relatives inside the factory. The relative stayed there overnight and died in the factory premises. The Security Officer sent a report to the Corporate Office which read as follows: “Mr. Dharampal allowed his relative to stay inside the factory and his relative died on the same night with out taking permission.”
There’s also the case of the senior officer who was fed up with the spate of phone calls he received everyday. He told his new PA that such calls need not be transferred to him. As for persistent visitors who claimed they had come all the way from Mumbai or Chennai just to discuss something urgent with him, the officer said they could be politely told, “Sorry sir, everybody says that.” During the day the Boss’s wife called many times but the PA did not put through the call to the Boss. Infuriated, she stormed into the office and was just about to enter her husband’s cabin when the PA stopped her, “Sorry madam, Boss is very busy, you can’t go inside.” The lady shouted, “It is very urgent and besides, I am his wife.” Retorted the PA “Sorry madam, everybody says that.”
But why poke fun at the lower level staff alone. Many senior officials make awful gaffes too. Here’s an instance: an employee had gone to meet a senior officer. He opened the door a little and peeped in. Said the officer in a patronising tone. “Why are you outstanding? Please income.”
Then there are these interesting replies picked up from interviews:
For the post of Accountant:
Q: What is the difference between single entry and double entry?
A: If you multiply the single entry by two, it will become a double entry.
For the post of Material Control Officer:
Q: Can you define material?
A: Anything, which is not immaterial, is material.
For the post of PA
Q: What is the difference between AGM(PA) and PA to AGM?
A: Practically no difference. In one case PA is prefixed and in the other it is suffixed.
For the post of Medical Officer.
Q: What is the difference between hospitalisation and hospitality?
A: Post hospitalisation treatment is hospitality.
Then there was this extraordinary reply to an advertisement for the post of graduate stenographer: “Eventhough, I am not a graduate, my English is far better than the so- called bachelors. Inaccuracy in typing is unknown to me. My speed in shorthand is fantastic.”
Illusion & Reality
IIIusion and Reality
E.M.Adithyan
The crime prevention detection and prosecution process in India is abysmally low. This coupled with half hearted approaches of the law enforcement authorities and innumerable loopholes in the legal system ensures that only a negligible percentage of the accused are convicted. It is paradoxical that in a country having plethora of laws, degree of lawlessness is also the highest. According to agency reports only six percent of the accused are convicted in India. This percentage will further make a nosedive considering the fact that many crimes are not reported and many others, which are reported, and many are not recorded by the law enforcement agencies. There is a popular joke that whereas American and Scotland Yard police catch the culprit within hours of committing the crime, Indian police is well aware of the impending crime hours before is being committed. No wonder the crime rate whether it is robbery, dacoity, murder, bride burning or gang rape – are increasing at an alarming rate.
The concept of Equality before law enchained in our Constitution has become a myth as dispensation of justice is different between the haves and havenots, mighty and weak, rich and poor, seasoned criminals and ignorant unabiders of law. While thousands of under-trials (who know how many of them are innocent?) are languishing in various jails for years people who committed heinous crimes and amassed ill-gotten wealth are freely moving in the society with almost total impunity. Time and again we confirm the popular perception that law is like a cobweb where the weak and poor are trapped in and the rich and mighty breaks it.
After the independence our planners have visualised and India of self-reliance, self-dependence and growth coupled with social justice. However even after 53 years of independence we are more and more dependent on foreign countries for our survival. Under the pretext of liberalisation we invented multi-nationals to invade India and today we depend on them even for cool drinks and potato wafers. We believe in screw-driver technology and heavily depend on foreign countries for all the requirements of critical items, whether they are used in the manufacture (nay-assembly) of sophisticated equipments or consumer durables. India has become an ocean of poverty with few islands of prosperity. Over dependence on any country will slowly leads to slavery. We have to learn a lot from our neighbouring country, ie:China.
We make tall claims from terrace tops about our achievements in terms of quality and quantity. In the name of development, we have systematically strangulated our culture, tradition, ethics, value system, flora and fauna and ecology. While we have won awards, rewards, medals, recognition, ISI and ISO certificates, the actual quality has come down in many spheres. People talks proudly of their clock purchased 50 years ago still showing accurate time, whereas an automatic watch purchased two years ago running fast five minutes per day and a 20 year old mixer is giving uninterrupted service, whereas an ISI marked mixer is giving frequent troubles. Are we not fooling ourselves with manipulated facts and figures and window dressing?.
The tragedy in India is that there is a wide gap between what we preach and what we practice. This is further compounded by contradictions like a scoundrel giving sermons about morality, a criminal talking about social justice and a corrupt politician preaching probity in public life.
It is heartening to note that while the pillars of democratic institutions start crumbling, judiciary has taken a lead role in upholding the rule of law. This country has given birth to great luminaries and social reformers like Gautam Buddha, Swami Vivekananda, Sankaracharya, Gandhiji etc.
Let us come out from the shackles of our illusory world, restore the old values, bring back the past glory, make development in the true sense and spirit, to make this country prosperous- both materially and morally.
E.M.Adithyan
The crime prevention detection and prosecution process in India is abysmally low. This coupled with half hearted approaches of the law enforcement authorities and innumerable loopholes in the legal system ensures that only a negligible percentage of the accused are convicted. It is paradoxical that in a country having plethora of laws, degree of lawlessness is also the highest. According to agency reports only six percent of the accused are convicted in India. This percentage will further make a nosedive considering the fact that many crimes are not reported and many others, which are reported, and many are not recorded by the law enforcement agencies. There is a popular joke that whereas American and Scotland Yard police catch the culprit within hours of committing the crime, Indian police is well aware of the impending crime hours before is being committed. No wonder the crime rate whether it is robbery, dacoity, murder, bride burning or gang rape – are increasing at an alarming rate.
The concept of Equality before law enchained in our Constitution has become a myth as dispensation of justice is different between the haves and havenots, mighty and weak, rich and poor, seasoned criminals and ignorant unabiders of law. While thousands of under-trials (who know how many of them are innocent?) are languishing in various jails for years people who committed heinous crimes and amassed ill-gotten wealth are freely moving in the society with almost total impunity. Time and again we confirm the popular perception that law is like a cobweb where the weak and poor are trapped in and the rich and mighty breaks it.
After the independence our planners have visualised and India of self-reliance, self-dependence and growth coupled with social justice. However even after 53 years of independence we are more and more dependent on foreign countries for our survival. Under the pretext of liberalisation we invented multi-nationals to invade India and today we depend on them even for cool drinks and potato wafers. We believe in screw-driver technology and heavily depend on foreign countries for all the requirements of critical items, whether they are used in the manufacture (nay-assembly) of sophisticated equipments or consumer durables. India has become an ocean of poverty with few islands of prosperity. Over dependence on any country will slowly leads to slavery. We have to learn a lot from our neighbouring country, ie:China.
We make tall claims from terrace tops about our achievements in terms of quality and quantity. In the name of development, we have systematically strangulated our culture, tradition, ethics, value system, flora and fauna and ecology. While we have won awards, rewards, medals, recognition, ISI and ISO certificates, the actual quality has come down in many spheres. People talks proudly of their clock purchased 50 years ago still showing accurate time, whereas an automatic watch purchased two years ago running fast five minutes per day and a 20 year old mixer is giving uninterrupted service, whereas an ISI marked mixer is giving frequent troubles. Are we not fooling ourselves with manipulated facts and figures and window dressing?.
The tragedy in India is that there is a wide gap between what we preach and what we practice. This is further compounded by contradictions like a scoundrel giving sermons about morality, a criminal talking about social justice and a corrupt politician preaching probity in public life.
It is heartening to note that while the pillars of democratic institutions start crumbling, judiciary has taken a lead role in upholding the rule of law. This country has given birth to great luminaries and social reformers like Gautam Buddha, Swami Vivekananda, Sankaracharya, Gandhiji etc.
Let us come out from the shackles of our illusory world, restore the old values, bring back the past glory, make development in the true sense and spirit, to make this country prosperous- both materially and morally.
Come, Cook & Eat
Come, Cook and Eat.
Ignorance of the fundamentals of cooking will lead to a plethora of problems-Says E.M.ADITHYAN.
Whether cooking is an art or science is a debatable point. However, I feel that cooking is not only an art or science but also a conglomeration of all conceivable topics. There is an element of Economics, Law, History and Literature in cooking. For simplicity sake, let us call it an art. It is an art, which is difficult to master as its boundaries are infinite. No wonder, no university has introduced doctorate for cooking technology for fear of countless claimants propounding new formulas, theories and inventions. This write up is a tribute to all great cooks (crooks also) all over the Globe.
Once my spouse left for her parent’s house in Kerala leaving me alone. From next day onwards my routine underwent a sea change. After partially doing the homework, there was little time left for cooking. I took one glass of preboiled milk and two slices for my breakfast. Next day I prepared uncooked food for my breakfast-tomato slice with sugar sprinkled on it. On the following day again I managed without cooking-with-ripe mangoes and grated coconuts. With the uncooked food, it was virtually semi starvation as these can serve only as supplements to a meal and not as a substitute. A new Economic theory was emerging that there can be starvation without poverty, famine and inflation.
Since these short cut methods could not continue for long, I bought a book on cooking. After going through the book I found that it would not serve my purpose as the quantity of many items is mentioned ‘as required’. How does a person who knows nothing about cooking quantify the item as required? Further, a fresher will confront with several crises but there was no chapter on crisis management.
On the fourth day fine morning I got an idea, and accordingly I made an open offer to my friends and colleagues.
“Come, Cook and Eat”
My colleagues include unhomely men (opposite of homely women), pure bachelors and married bachelors. (In fact all are basically bachelors of various disciplines-Arts, Science, Commerce, Humanities, Engineering etc). Though I was expecting a lukewarm response, to my great surprise the response was overwhelming. I had to allot suitable dates for the applicants. In view of the over subscription, the basis of allotment was finalised without consulting any stock exchange.
On the first day it was the turn of Mr. Arora. (I allotted the dates strictly as per alphabetical order, though I could have made allotment according to my sweet will). He offered to prepare mouth watering Punjabi dishes. He gave me long list of raw materials. I had to visit several shops to get the desired items. He assumed the role of a super chef and all the ancillary duties I had to perform. I had to even fabricate super chef’s uniform by knitting Lungies and Dhoties.
Next day my guest was a Bengali Brahmin, Mr. Banerji. He gave me a preprinted list (computerised) to procure the items. Almost 50 percent of the items were new (compared to yesterday). Procurement of raw materials again took a long time. Incidentally Mr. Banerji once introduced me to his friend as his ‘Ghost’ This procedure continued for a week. I found that my cash balance was fast depleting and kitchen space had become insufficient to store extra raw materials. By this time the scheme had become popular in the office and was one of the talking points at tea. One day, I overheard that some of the so-called Superchefs who adorned my kitchen were novices. They never got an opportunity to try their experiments at their own houses because their wives knew that they would make a mockery of the cooking. For them, it was a God sent opportunity to make my kitchen an experimental theater by lavishly using the ingredients and other infrastructural facilities. I did not purchase an additional kitchen rack, since it would have further increased my cost and overheads.
During all these days none of my colleagues including those who occasionally visited my house to enjoy South Indian items like Idli, Dosa, Vada, Sambar, etc did not invite me for dinner. Then only I realised the meaning of the old adage “Those who get sumptuous meal at home only are welcome as guests”.
After one week I prepared a cost statement, which revealed that the direct material cost alone, was sufficient to have dinner at a 5 star hotel. Therefore, I decided to call it a day and short closed my offer. Fortunately, the affected people (my colleagues only) did not take recourse to legal action for the violation of the contract and claim damages!
Moral: - Cooking-theory and practice should be an integral part of school curriculum.
Ignorance of the fundamentals of cooking will lead to a plethora of problems-Says E.M.ADITHYAN.
Whether cooking is an art or science is a debatable point. However, I feel that cooking is not only an art or science but also a conglomeration of all conceivable topics. There is an element of Economics, Law, History and Literature in cooking. For simplicity sake, let us call it an art. It is an art, which is difficult to master as its boundaries are infinite. No wonder, no university has introduced doctorate for cooking technology for fear of countless claimants propounding new formulas, theories and inventions. This write up is a tribute to all great cooks (crooks also) all over the Globe.
Once my spouse left for her parent’s house in Kerala leaving me alone. From next day onwards my routine underwent a sea change. After partially doing the homework, there was little time left for cooking. I took one glass of preboiled milk and two slices for my breakfast. Next day I prepared uncooked food for my breakfast-tomato slice with sugar sprinkled on it. On the following day again I managed without cooking-with-ripe mangoes and grated coconuts. With the uncooked food, it was virtually semi starvation as these can serve only as supplements to a meal and not as a substitute. A new Economic theory was emerging that there can be starvation without poverty, famine and inflation.
Since these short cut methods could not continue for long, I bought a book on cooking. After going through the book I found that it would not serve my purpose as the quantity of many items is mentioned ‘as required’. How does a person who knows nothing about cooking quantify the item as required? Further, a fresher will confront with several crises but there was no chapter on crisis management.
On the fourth day fine morning I got an idea, and accordingly I made an open offer to my friends and colleagues.
“Come, Cook and Eat”
My colleagues include unhomely men (opposite of homely women), pure bachelors and married bachelors. (In fact all are basically bachelors of various disciplines-Arts, Science, Commerce, Humanities, Engineering etc). Though I was expecting a lukewarm response, to my great surprise the response was overwhelming. I had to allot suitable dates for the applicants. In view of the over subscription, the basis of allotment was finalised without consulting any stock exchange.
On the first day it was the turn of Mr. Arora. (I allotted the dates strictly as per alphabetical order, though I could have made allotment according to my sweet will). He offered to prepare mouth watering Punjabi dishes. He gave me long list of raw materials. I had to visit several shops to get the desired items. He assumed the role of a super chef and all the ancillary duties I had to perform. I had to even fabricate super chef’s uniform by knitting Lungies and Dhoties.
Next day my guest was a Bengali Brahmin, Mr. Banerji. He gave me a preprinted list (computerised) to procure the items. Almost 50 percent of the items were new (compared to yesterday). Procurement of raw materials again took a long time. Incidentally Mr. Banerji once introduced me to his friend as his ‘Ghost’ This procedure continued for a week. I found that my cash balance was fast depleting and kitchen space had become insufficient to store extra raw materials. By this time the scheme had become popular in the office and was one of the talking points at tea. One day, I overheard that some of the so-called Superchefs who adorned my kitchen were novices. They never got an opportunity to try their experiments at their own houses because their wives knew that they would make a mockery of the cooking. For them, it was a God sent opportunity to make my kitchen an experimental theater by lavishly using the ingredients and other infrastructural facilities. I did not purchase an additional kitchen rack, since it would have further increased my cost and overheads.
During all these days none of my colleagues including those who occasionally visited my house to enjoy South Indian items like Idli, Dosa, Vada, Sambar, etc did not invite me for dinner. Then only I realised the meaning of the old adage “Those who get sumptuous meal at home only are welcome as guests”.
After one week I prepared a cost statement, which revealed that the direct material cost alone, was sufficient to have dinner at a 5 star hotel. Therefore, I decided to call it a day and short closed my offer. Fortunately, the affected people (my colleagues only) did not take recourse to legal action for the violation of the contract and claim damages!
Moral: - Cooking-theory and practice should be an integral part of school curriculum.
Holi & (Un) Holy News
Holi and (Un) Holy News
By E M Adithyan
21st Century News
Education- An international crime college with headquarters at Ghaziabad will be opening shortly. Courses offered.
a) 6 months part time course in pick pocketing
b) Postgraduate Diploma in Bank robbery.
c) One year full time course in kidnapping.
2) Training Programmes:
a) 3 months specialised coaching in flattery. Faculty consists of serving and retired `Chamchas' from Government Industry and Public Sector who reached the top of the ladder through sheer `Chamchagiri' only.
PS: Special concession for Government and Public Sector Employees
b) Cooking, theory and practice for non-canteen staff.
(3) Inventions:
Computerized two-wheelers programmed to visit 100 places. Simply sit and switch on the scooter and dial the desired number (1 to 100) and it will take you to the destination. Computerised bullock-carts will be introduced after one year.
b) Electromechanical computer. No data entry is required. For eg: - just put the medical bill through the mouth and the cheque will be ready within seconds.
(4) New Century Bonanza:
Lord Brahma has issued an office order exempting Mahanagars (Mahanaraks) having a population of more than one crore from the gravity of earth. Builders can now construct houses 20000 feet above ground level in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkota after getting their plan and estimate approved by "Bogus Consultants and Architects" - the approved agency.
Indigenisation:
By the turn of the century, India will 100% Indigenise highly sophisticated food materials like Potato Chips, Masala Dosa and Aalu Parantha.
6) Matrimonial:
Matrimonial alliance is invited from unemployed youth below 30 years of age, for a 45 year old girl working in a managerial position in a multinational company. The boy need not be employed but should be well versed in cooking and other household activities
Marriage Invitation
Note: Invitees, who have no time to wait for the Barat or Dinner, can collect their coupons from the Reception. These coupons will be valid in all the outlets of Haldiram, Bikanervala, Sagar Ratna and Sharavana Bhavan upto 31st December. Coupons are transferable.
Entertainment
Zero Television will be introducing their new channel "Crime" on 1st April. Channel will show programmes on Robbery, Dacoity, Murder, Scams, Scandals, rape etc. Channel promises live telecast to the extent possible
(1) Inappropriate Names/Misnomers:
"Mulayam" Singh Tyagi, Abdul "Sharif", "Mamata"Gupta, Jaya "Lalitha".
b) PUBLIC SCHOOL-
Schools run by private parties with the Motive of making profit is called Public Schools.
c) Unparliamentary-
Unparliamentary should be the synonym of decent language in view of the type of language used in parliament.
d) CONFIDENTIAL-
It the authorities want that the message should reach all, the circular is marked confidential.
OPPOSITION-
Their duty is to oppose everything proposed by the other party.
(2) Appropriate Names:
a) Few years ago, a Plane hijacker was shot dead by security forces at the Jalandhar Airport. His name was `Museebat Singh'
b) Sometimes ago, a Plane with 370 passengers on board was hijected by a lone Sri Lankan national with a toy pistol.
His name is Eka Nayaka.
Sports
Indian Olympic Association made a request to International Olympic Committee to include India in the backward category and gave 50% concession because India is perhaps the only country where people agitate to include them in backward class. If the request is acceded Indian Athletes have to run only half distance which will substantially improve our medal prospects in future Olympics
Government initiatives.
In an all party meeting convened to discuss about national issues following decisions were taken.
1. In view of the popular demand to fix retirement sage for elected representatives, it was decided that Retirement age be fixed at 95 with a provision to extend it for another 5 years with the approval of the concerned politician. Politicians upto the age of 65 years can continue to be members/office bearers of the youth wing of the party.
2. As per the report of Transparency\y International, India's position is very low. In order to improve the transparency, it was decided that from 1st April onwards, transparent clothes will be issued to employees of Govt and Public Sector who are provided with uniform. Government will make an appeal to all other employees and general public to use transparent clothes to make India at the top of Transparency International list.
3. In order to reduce corruption in the country, it was decided to exclude elected representatives and members of the Central and State committees of all registered political parties from them purview of Prevention of Corruption Act. On the same analogy, manufactures and traders will be excluded from the purview of Prevention of Adulteration Act
4. In view of the increasing number of accidents by Blue line buses, meeting directed the Delhi Government to change the name of Blue line buses to Yellow line buses. Members blasted the Government for not following the footsteps of their predecessors in this matter which earlier changed the name of Red line buses to blue line buses.
5. Meeting expressed concern that even after 60 years of misrule, crores of people are living below poverty line,. Meeting suggested that poverty be redrawn so that crores of people who were hitherto below the poverty line will cone above the poverty line by the stroke of a pen
Politicians patted themselves on their back for the fantastic ideas which enabled them to solve the problem which was continuing for decades
.
E M Adithyan
11th March 2009
Elangalloor Mana
P.O. Edapal-679 576
Kerala
By E M Adithyan
21st Century News
Education- An international crime college with headquarters at Ghaziabad will be opening shortly. Courses offered.
a) 6 months part time course in pick pocketing
b) Postgraduate Diploma in Bank robbery.
c) One year full time course in kidnapping.
2) Training Programmes:
a) 3 months specialised coaching in flattery. Faculty consists of serving and retired `Chamchas' from Government Industry and Public Sector who reached the top of the ladder through sheer `Chamchagiri' only.
PS: Special concession for Government and Public Sector Employees
b) Cooking, theory and practice for non-canteen staff.
(3) Inventions:
Computerized two-wheelers programmed to visit 100 places. Simply sit and switch on the scooter and dial the desired number (1 to 100) and it will take you to the destination. Computerised bullock-carts will be introduced after one year.
b) Electromechanical computer. No data entry is required. For eg: - just put the medical bill through the mouth and the cheque will be ready within seconds.
(4) New Century Bonanza:
Lord Brahma has issued an office order exempting Mahanagars (Mahanaraks) having a population of more than one crore from the gravity of earth. Builders can now construct houses 20000 feet above ground level in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkota after getting their plan and estimate approved by "Bogus Consultants and Architects" - the approved agency.
Indigenisation:
By the turn of the century, India will 100% Indigenise highly sophisticated food materials like Potato Chips, Masala Dosa and Aalu Parantha.
6) Matrimonial:
Matrimonial alliance is invited from unemployed youth below 30 years of age, for a 45 year old girl working in a managerial position in a multinational company. The boy need not be employed but should be well versed in cooking and other household activities
Marriage Invitation
Note: Invitees, who have no time to wait for the Barat or Dinner, can collect their coupons from the Reception. These coupons will be valid in all the outlets of Haldiram, Bikanervala, Sagar Ratna and Sharavana Bhavan upto 31st December. Coupons are transferable.
Entertainment
Zero Television will be introducing their new channel "Crime" on 1st April. Channel will show programmes on Robbery, Dacoity, Murder, Scams, Scandals, rape etc. Channel promises live telecast to the extent possible
(1) Inappropriate Names/Misnomers:
"Mulayam" Singh Tyagi, Abdul "Sharif", "Mamata"Gupta, Jaya "Lalitha".
b) PUBLIC SCHOOL-
Schools run by private parties with the Motive of making profit is called Public Schools.
c) Unparliamentary-
Unparliamentary should be the synonym of decent language in view of the type of language used in parliament.
d) CONFIDENTIAL-
It the authorities want that the message should reach all, the circular is marked confidential.
OPPOSITION-
Their duty is to oppose everything proposed by the other party.
(2) Appropriate Names:
a) Few years ago, a Plane hijacker was shot dead by security forces at the Jalandhar Airport. His name was `Museebat Singh'
b) Sometimes ago, a Plane with 370 passengers on board was hijected by a lone Sri Lankan national with a toy pistol.
His name is Eka Nayaka.
Sports
Indian Olympic Association made a request to International Olympic Committee to include India in the backward category and gave 50% concession because India is perhaps the only country where people agitate to include them in backward class. If the request is acceded Indian Athletes have to run only half distance which will substantially improve our medal prospects in future Olympics
Government initiatives.
In an all party meeting convened to discuss about national issues following decisions were taken.
1. In view of the popular demand to fix retirement sage for elected representatives, it was decided that Retirement age be fixed at 95 with a provision to extend it for another 5 years with the approval of the concerned politician. Politicians upto the age of 65 years can continue to be members/office bearers of the youth wing of the party.
2. As per the report of Transparency\y International, India's position is very low. In order to improve the transparency, it was decided that from 1st April onwards, transparent clothes will be issued to employees of Govt and Public Sector who are provided with uniform. Government will make an appeal to all other employees and general public to use transparent clothes to make India at the top of Transparency International list.
3. In order to reduce corruption in the country, it was decided to exclude elected representatives and members of the Central and State committees of all registered political parties from them purview of Prevention of Corruption Act. On the same analogy, manufactures and traders will be excluded from the purview of Prevention of Adulteration Act
4. In view of the increasing number of accidents by Blue line buses, meeting directed the Delhi Government to change the name of Blue line buses to Yellow line buses. Members blasted the Government for not following the footsteps of their predecessors in this matter which earlier changed the name of Red line buses to blue line buses.
5. Meeting expressed concern that even after 60 years of misrule, crores of people are living below poverty line,. Meeting suggested that poverty be redrawn so that crores of people who were hitherto below the poverty line will cone above the poverty line by the stroke of a pen
Politicians patted themselves on their back for the fantastic ideas which enabled them to solve the problem which was continuing for decades
.
E M Adithyan
11th March 2009
Elangalloor Mana
P.O. Edapal-679 576
Kerala
Resume
E.M.ADITHYAN 86-C POCKET-B.
DILSHAD GARDEN.
DELHI-110 095.
Tel. No. 011-2211 4817
9871278233
RESUME
I am a freelance writer contributing letters, articles, humorous write-ups, stories etc to several English, Hindi and Malayalam Newspapers and periodicals on a wide range of topics. My letters have appeared almost all the leading English News Papers and periodicals like The Hindustan Times, Times Of India, Hindu, Asian Age, Indian Express, New Indian Express, Statesman, Telegraph, Mail Today, Deccan Herald, Deccan Chronicle, North East Times, Assam Tribune, Pioneer, National Herald, MP Chronicle, Lokmat Times, Hitavada, Free Press Journal, Tribune, Kashmir Times, B&P Observer, Shillong Times, Economic times, Business Standard, Financial Express, Business World, Week, Sports Star, Time Magazine etc. Almost all the topics on which I have written are issues of National importance. Most of my letters are on independent topics and not rejoinders to articles or editorials. Surfing on the Internet with search “E M Adithyan” will surface some of the letters/articles and reports about Adithyan.
I have written letters/ articles on subjects starting with all the alphabets. (A to Z). Several times my letters were published in the Box as the most important letter of the day in all the editions of the Newspapers. Some of my letters have crossed the 8 digit mark i.e.; they were published in more than one crore copies. On many occasions, the entire space for the 'Letter to Editor' column was devoted for E M Adithyan. In an extra ordinary case two of my letters were published in The Free Press Journal on the same day. Even though I have written about many controversial topics, I have not come across any dissenting views about my write-up. I can reproduce verbatim many letters written even years ago.
Apart from the above, my letters/ articles have appeared in other language papers and periodicals like Nav Bharat Times, Hindustan, Rashtriya Sahara, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, Nai Dunia, Rajasthan Patrika, Aaj, Dainik Bhaskar, Ranchi Express (Hindi) MathruBhoomi, Malayala Manorama, Malayalam Varika, Manorajyam, Deshabhimani, Keraleeyam, Akshrakoottu, Northern Malayalam, Pranavam, Vyavasaya Keralam, (Malayalam) Ananda Vikatan (Tamil), Ee Nadu (Telugu) Lokmat (Marathi) etc in addition to several souvenirs.
I am a permanent invitee of some prestigious institutions like India International Centre, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Sahitya Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parishad, Indira Gandhi Centre for Art & Culture, International Centre for Kathakali etc for their seminars, symposiums, lectures, workshops, meet the author, cultural programmes, film shows etc.
I am having a collection of letters from a galaxy of eminent individuals and institutions like Mr. K.R. Narayanan, Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr.Dario Fo, (Nobel laurite) Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch, Justice V R Krishna Iyer, Mr. N.A. Palkhivala, Mr. E.M.S. Namboodiripad, A K Antony, Secretary to British Prime Minister, Dr M S Swaminathan, Mr. Jacques ROGGE (President IOC) Mr. T.N. Seshan, Mr. N. Vittal, Dr.Karan Singh, Secretary to the President of SriLanka, Mr. Ratan Tata, Mr. G Madhavan Nair, Sister Nirmala, N R Narayana Murthy, Kuldip Nayar, Mr. Bimal Jalan, Justice Ranganath Mishra, President FIFA, Mr. Amitabh Bachhan, E Sreedharan, Dr. Kiran Bedi, Mr. Khushwant Singh, Mr. Khainar, Mr. H.D.Shourie, British High Commission, Time Magazine, India Today, Penguin Books, Orient longman, etc. Many of the letters are not mere acknowledgements but profound appreciation of my activities.
April 6, 2009 E.M.ADITHYAN
DILSHAD GARDEN.
DELHI-110 095.
Tel. No. 011-2211 4817
9871278233
RESUME
I am a freelance writer contributing letters, articles, humorous write-ups, stories etc to several English, Hindi and Malayalam Newspapers and periodicals on a wide range of topics. My letters have appeared almost all the leading English News Papers and periodicals like The Hindustan Times, Times Of India, Hindu, Asian Age, Indian Express, New Indian Express, Statesman, Telegraph, Mail Today, Deccan Herald, Deccan Chronicle, North East Times, Assam Tribune, Pioneer, National Herald, MP Chronicle, Lokmat Times, Hitavada, Free Press Journal, Tribune, Kashmir Times, B&P Observer, Shillong Times, Economic times, Business Standard, Financial Express, Business World, Week, Sports Star, Time Magazine etc. Almost all the topics on which I have written are issues of National importance. Most of my letters are on independent topics and not rejoinders to articles or editorials. Surfing on the Internet with search “E M Adithyan” will surface some of the letters/articles and reports about Adithyan.
I have written letters/ articles on subjects starting with all the alphabets. (A to Z). Several times my letters were published in the Box as the most important letter of the day in all the editions of the Newspapers. Some of my letters have crossed the 8 digit mark i.e.; they were published in more than one crore copies. On many occasions, the entire space for the 'Letter to Editor' column was devoted for E M Adithyan. In an extra ordinary case two of my letters were published in The Free Press Journal on the same day. Even though I have written about many controversial topics, I have not come across any dissenting views about my write-up. I can reproduce verbatim many letters written even years ago.
Apart from the above, my letters/ articles have appeared in other language papers and periodicals like Nav Bharat Times, Hindustan, Rashtriya Sahara, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, Nai Dunia, Rajasthan Patrika, Aaj, Dainik Bhaskar, Ranchi Express (Hindi) MathruBhoomi, Malayala Manorama, Malayalam Varika, Manorajyam, Deshabhimani, Keraleeyam, Akshrakoottu, Northern Malayalam, Pranavam, Vyavasaya Keralam, (Malayalam) Ananda Vikatan (Tamil), Ee Nadu (Telugu) Lokmat (Marathi) etc in addition to several souvenirs.
I am a permanent invitee of some prestigious institutions like India International Centre, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Sahitya Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parishad, Indira Gandhi Centre for Art & Culture, International Centre for Kathakali etc for their seminars, symposiums, lectures, workshops, meet the author, cultural programmes, film shows etc.
I am having a collection of letters from a galaxy of eminent individuals and institutions like Mr. K.R. Narayanan, Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr.Dario Fo, (Nobel laurite) Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch, Justice V R Krishna Iyer, Mr. N.A. Palkhivala, Mr. E.M.S. Namboodiripad, A K Antony, Secretary to British Prime Minister, Dr M S Swaminathan, Mr. Jacques ROGGE (President IOC) Mr. T.N. Seshan, Mr. N. Vittal, Dr.Karan Singh, Secretary to the President of SriLanka, Mr. Ratan Tata, Mr. G Madhavan Nair, Sister Nirmala, N R Narayana Murthy, Kuldip Nayar, Mr. Bimal Jalan, Justice Ranganath Mishra, President FIFA, Mr. Amitabh Bachhan, E Sreedharan, Dr. Kiran Bedi, Mr. Khushwant Singh, Mr. Khainar, Mr. H.D.Shourie, British High Commission, Time Magazine, India Today, Penguin Books, Orient longman, etc. Many of the letters are not mere acknowledgements but profound appreciation of my activities.
April 6, 2009 E.M.ADITHYAN
Variety is his Forte
Variety is His Forte
E. M. Adithyan, a resident of Dilshad Garden is a freelance writer with a wide range of interest. His writings reflect a high degree of involvement with national affairs through his timely contribution to public debate. He has the unique distinction of writing letters on topics starting with all the alphabets. (A to Z). He has written on such diverse topics like Democratic Reforms, India’s Missile Programme, Olympic Debacle, Art of Appeasing, Code of Conduct for Politicians, Concentration of Economic Power, Jail Reforms, Swadeshi Movement, VIP Security, Protection of Convict's Child, Beauty Contest etc. Even in sports he has written on less popular items like Archery, Chess, Athletics etc.
His letters have appeared in almost all the leading English News papers of India like The Hindustan Times, Times Of India, Hindu, Indian Express, New Indian Express, Statesman, Telegraph, Deccan Herald, Deccan Chronicle, North East Times, Assam Tribune, Pioneer, National Herald, Central Chronicle, Lokmat Times, Hitavada, Shillong Times, Free Press Journal, Tribune, Kashmir Times, B&P Observer, Economic times, Business Standard, Financial Express and other periodicals like Business World, Week, Sports Star Time Magazine etc. Many of his letters translated by his friends and colleagues have appeared in leading Hindi Newspapers like Nav Bharat Times, Hindustan, Rashtriya Sahara, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, Nai Dunia, Rajasthan Patrika, Aaj, Dainik Bhaskar, Ranchi Express etc. He has contributed letters/articles in leading Malayalam publications like Mathrubhumi, Malayala Manorama, Malayalam Varika, Manorajyam, Deshabhimani etc. Translated versions of his articles have appeared in some Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali Newspapers also. Besides letters, he contributes articles and humorous write ups, stories etc which have appeared in leading newspapers in addition to several souvenirs.
Adithyan feels that early morning (3 to 5 a.m) is the most ideal time for writing in majority of the cases he completes the writing in one sitting. He has an amazing capacity to reproduce verbatim many of his letters/articles written even years ago. “This is nothing but a God Gift, as I can’t even remember the telephone numbers of my close friends and relatives.” He says.
The writer is having a collection of letters from a galaxy of eminent individuals and institutions like Mr. K.R. Narayanan, Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr.Dario Fo, (Nobel laurite) Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch, Mr. N.A. Palkhivala, Mr. E.M.S. Namboodiripad, Secretary to British Prime Minister, Mr. Jacques ROGGE Mr. T.N. Seshan, Mr. N. Vittal, Dr.Karan Singh, Secretary to the President of SriLanka, Mr. Ratan Tata, Sister Nirmala, Mr. Bimal Jalan, Justice Ranganath Mishra, President FIFA, Mr. Amitabh Bachhan, E Sreedharan, Dr. Kiran Bedi, Mr. Khushwant Singh, Mr. Khainar, Mr. H.D.Shourie, British High Commission, Time Magazine, India Today, Penguin Books, Orient Longman, etc. Many of the letters are not mere acknowledgements but profound appreciation of his activities.
Secretary to British Prime Minister Tony Blair once wrote. “Mr.Blair has asked that your letter be passed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which has particular responsibility for the matter, you rise so that, they too are aware of your views.” Nani Palkhivala eminent Jurist has commented about his article titled “Reform the Legal System” that “Your articles are well thought of and well worded”. Sister Nirmala Head of Missionaries of Charity Calcutta feels pleasure to know that “… there are people like you, who spend their lives for the cause of justice, love and compassion.” In his letter dated 31st August 2001, Dr. Jacques ROGGE President of the International Olympic Committee wrote.
“….I would like to congratulate you on the excellent article you have written entitled “What Ails Indian Sports?” and take this opportunity to thank you for your keen interest in Olympic Movement.”
Most of the letters written by Mr. Adithyan are on independent topics and not rejoinders to articles or editorials. Some of his letters have crossed 8 digit mark i.e.; they were published in more than 1 crore copies. He is planning to publish a book of his selected letters under the caption “A to Z letters “with sub title - A Common Man’s Concern about the Issues Confronting the Nation. He also plans to get his articles/Humorous write-ups translated in foreign languages like French, German, Japanese, Portuguese etc because he has got encouraging response from various quarters. Plans are afoot to create a website for Adithyan
Adithyan is a permanent invitee of many prestigious institutions like India International Centre, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Sahitya Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parishad, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts etc for their Seminars, Symposiums, Lectures, Cultural Programmes etc.
Employed as Manager(Finance) of Central Research Laboratory, Bharat Electronics Mr. Adithyan is happily married and having two daughters. His daughters have performed classical dances at various stages and got accolades from art lovers. His elder daughter Anupama has also directed/choreographed dances for some socio cultural organisations like “Gayathri”, “Drishya” etc. Her poems appeared in "poetry.com"-the International Library of Poetry. His second daughter Ambily is doing B Tech Bio Technology from Kerala and she has represented her School/College in various programmes like Dance, Debate, Quiz, Paper presentation etc. She has actively participated in the public debate conducted by popular newspaper The Hindu
“My mission is to create a mass awakening about injustice and social evils with a view to fulfil our dream of an egalitarian society.” He says. His ambition is to see his write ups published in all the leading newspapers in all the major languages of the world. He is planning to enter into the Guinness Book of World Records for writing on a wide variety of topics and getting it published in a large number of newspapers of different languages. Adithyan dreams of an ideal world free from evils- A World of peace, happiness, prosperity & tranquility and development coupled with social justice. Let us hope that Adithyan's dream will become reality one day.
E. M. Adithyan, a resident of Dilshad Garden is a freelance writer with a wide range of interest. His writings reflect a high degree of involvement with national affairs through his timely contribution to public debate. He has the unique distinction of writing letters on topics starting with all the alphabets. (A to Z). He has written on such diverse topics like Democratic Reforms, India’s Missile Programme, Olympic Debacle, Art of Appeasing, Code of Conduct for Politicians, Concentration of Economic Power, Jail Reforms, Swadeshi Movement, VIP Security, Protection of Convict's Child, Beauty Contest etc. Even in sports he has written on less popular items like Archery, Chess, Athletics etc.
His letters have appeared in almost all the leading English News papers of India like The Hindustan Times, Times Of India, Hindu, Indian Express, New Indian Express, Statesman, Telegraph, Deccan Herald, Deccan Chronicle, North East Times, Assam Tribune, Pioneer, National Herald, Central Chronicle, Lokmat Times, Hitavada, Shillong Times, Free Press Journal, Tribune, Kashmir Times, B&P Observer, Economic times, Business Standard, Financial Express and other periodicals like Business World, Week, Sports Star Time Magazine etc. Many of his letters translated by his friends and colleagues have appeared in leading Hindi Newspapers like Nav Bharat Times, Hindustan, Rashtriya Sahara, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, Nai Dunia, Rajasthan Patrika, Aaj, Dainik Bhaskar, Ranchi Express etc. He has contributed letters/articles in leading Malayalam publications like Mathrubhumi, Malayala Manorama, Malayalam Varika, Manorajyam, Deshabhimani etc. Translated versions of his articles have appeared in some Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali Newspapers also. Besides letters, he contributes articles and humorous write ups, stories etc which have appeared in leading newspapers in addition to several souvenirs.
Adithyan feels that early morning (3 to 5 a.m) is the most ideal time for writing in majority of the cases he completes the writing in one sitting. He has an amazing capacity to reproduce verbatim many of his letters/articles written even years ago. “This is nothing but a God Gift, as I can’t even remember the telephone numbers of my close friends and relatives.” He says.
The writer is having a collection of letters from a galaxy of eminent individuals and institutions like Mr. K.R. Narayanan, Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr.Dario Fo, (Nobel laurite) Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch, Mr. N.A. Palkhivala, Mr. E.M.S. Namboodiripad, Secretary to British Prime Minister, Mr. Jacques ROGGE Mr. T.N. Seshan, Mr. N. Vittal, Dr.Karan Singh, Secretary to the President of SriLanka, Mr. Ratan Tata, Sister Nirmala, Mr. Bimal Jalan, Justice Ranganath Mishra, President FIFA, Mr. Amitabh Bachhan, E Sreedharan, Dr. Kiran Bedi, Mr. Khushwant Singh, Mr. Khainar, Mr. H.D.Shourie, British High Commission, Time Magazine, India Today, Penguin Books, Orient Longman, etc. Many of the letters are not mere acknowledgements but profound appreciation of his activities.
Secretary to British Prime Minister Tony Blair once wrote. “Mr.Blair has asked that your letter be passed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which has particular responsibility for the matter, you rise so that, they too are aware of your views.” Nani Palkhivala eminent Jurist has commented about his article titled “Reform the Legal System” that “Your articles are well thought of and well worded”. Sister Nirmala Head of Missionaries of Charity Calcutta feels pleasure to know that “… there are people like you, who spend their lives for the cause of justice, love and compassion.” In his letter dated 31st August 2001, Dr. Jacques ROGGE President of the International Olympic Committee wrote.
“….I would like to congratulate you on the excellent article you have written entitled “What Ails Indian Sports?” and take this opportunity to thank you for your keen interest in Olympic Movement.”
Most of the letters written by Mr. Adithyan are on independent topics and not rejoinders to articles or editorials. Some of his letters have crossed 8 digit mark i.e.; they were published in more than 1 crore copies. He is planning to publish a book of his selected letters under the caption “A to Z letters “with sub title - A Common Man’s Concern about the Issues Confronting the Nation. He also plans to get his articles/Humorous write-ups translated in foreign languages like French, German, Japanese, Portuguese etc because he has got encouraging response from various quarters. Plans are afoot to create a website for Adithyan
Adithyan is a permanent invitee of many prestigious institutions like India International Centre, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Sahitya Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parishad, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts etc for their Seminars, Symposiums, Lectures, Cultural Programmes etc.
Employed as Manager(Finance) of Central Research Laboratory, Bharat Electronics Mr. Adithyan is happily married and having two daughters. His daughters have performed classical dances at various stages and got accolades from art lovers. His elder daughter Anupama has also directed/choreographed dances for some socio cultural organisations like “Gayathri”, “Drishya” etc. Her poems appeared in "poetry.com"-the International Library of Poetry. His second daughter Ambily is doing B Tech Bio Technology from Kerala and she has represented her School/College in various programmes like Dance, Debate, Quiz, Paper presentation etc. She has actively participated in the public debate conducted by popular newspaper The Hindu
“My mission is to create a mass awakening about injustice and social evils with a view to fulfil our dream of an egalitarian society.” He says. His ambition is to see his write ups published in all the leading newspapers in all the major languages of the world. He is planning to enter into the Guinness Book of World Records for writing on a wide variety of topics and getting it published in a large number of newspapers of different languages. Adithyan dreams of an ideal world free from evils- A World of peace, happiness, prosperity & tranquility and development coupled with social justice. Let us hope that Adithyan's dream will become reality one day.
Other's Comments
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT ADITHYAN
· I would like to congratulate you for the well written article “What’s wrong with our sports?” and thank you for the interest and support of the Olympic movement.
Juan Antonio Samaranch – President, International Olympic Committee.
· I appreciate your initiative of focusing on social issues. My blessings and best wishes are with you for your creative endeavours.
Dr. Man Mohan Singh
· It gives me great pleasure to know that there are people like you, who spend their lives for the cause of justice, love and compassion.
Sister Nirmala-Head of Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta
· Your articles are well thought out and well worded.
Nani A.Palkhivala- Eminent Jurist.
· Mr. Blair has asked that your letter be passed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which has particular responsibility for the matter, you raise so that, they too are aware of your views.
Secretary to British Prime Minister.
· Congratulations on your article, which is encouraging also for the future of football in India.
Andrin Cooper-For and on behalf of President FIFA.
· Thank you very much for your beautiful letter.
Dario Fo-Winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Literature.
· I am impressed with your versatile talents and excellent journalistic multi-lingual output. We need courageous, convinced and humanist writers like you. So I wish you did pursue your socially priceless and valetudinarian work for the survival of our democratic society.
Justice (Retd) V R Krishna Iyer
· I was very pleased to read your comments in the newspapers on the recent success of TATA Football Academy.
Ratan N.Tata-Chairman of TATA Companies.
· I must compliment you on your activities to awaken the conscience of the country. Your “Republic Day Thoughts” are indeed relevant and so essential for ordinary citizens to practice
E Sreedharan-Managing Director Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
· Your work sounds fascinating
Orient Longman.
· You and your work are in my prayer
Sister Nirmala-Head of Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta
· I heartily congratulate you on your unique feat, wherein you are making efforts to contribute on a variety of topics reaching out to a large number of readers across the length and breadth of the country
G Madhavan Nair-Chairman ISRO
· I would like to congratulate you on the excellent article you have written entitled “What Ails Indian Sports?” and take this opportunity to thank you for your keen interest in the Olympic Movement
Dr. Jacques ROGGE- President International Olympic Committee
· I find you have a wide interest and also you are in a unique way expressing your ideas and sentiments. I am sure, you will continue to be an alert citizen of the country and contribute in your own way for the development country by crusading against injustice and social evils.
N. Vittal- Central Vigilance Commissioner
· I wish you all the best in your endeavour and wish the book a big success
N R Narayana Murthy
· Your comments were circulated among several Editors for their information and consideration. We hope that you will continue to write to TIME Magazine whenever the news or our reporting of it particularly interests you.
TIME Magazine.
· I am glad that you are taking such keen interest in public life.
Nani A.Palkhivala.
· Thank you for your letter to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, congratulating him on his election victory. It was very much appreciated.
British High Commission.
· I am touched by your kind thought.
Nani A.Palkhivala.
· I have to convey my appreciation for the concern shown by you in connection with national maladies.
G.R.Khairnar-Human Rights activist and crusader against corruption.
· Undoubtedly your work reflects a high degree of involvement with national and international affairs and your timely contribution to public debate.
Penguin Books.
· Thank you for your nice letter. I appreciate your concern with regard to injustice and social evils in the society at large
Ratan N Tata
· I would like to congratulate you for the well written article “What’s wrong with our sports?” and thank you for the interest and support of the Olympic movement.
Juan Antonio Samaranch – President, International Olympic Committee.
· I appreciate your initiative of focusing on social issues. My blessings and best wishes are with you for your creative endeavours.
Dr. Man Mohan Singh
· It gives me great pleasure to know that there are people like you, who spend their lives for the cause of justice, love and compassion.
Sister Nirmala-Head of Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta
· Your articles are well thought out and well worded.
Nani A.Palkhivala- Eminent Jurist.
· Mr. Blair has asked that your letter be passed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which has particular responsibility for the matter, you raise so that, they too are aware of your views.
Secretary to British Prime Minister.
· Congratulations on your article, which is encouraging also for the future of football in India.
Andrin Cooper-For and on behalf of President FIFA.
· Thank you very much for your beautiful letter.
Dario Fo-Winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Literature.
· I am impressed with your versatile talents and excellent journalistic multi-lingual output. We need courageous, convinced and humanist writers like you. So I wish you did pursue your socially priceless and valetudinarian work for the survival of our democratic society.
Justice (Retd) V R Krishna Iyer
· I was very pleased to read your comments in the newspapers on the recent success of TATA Football Academy.
Ratan N.Tata-Chairman of TATA Companies.
· I must compliment you on your activities to awaken the conscience of the country. Your “Republic Day Thoughts” are indeed relevant and so essential for ordinary citizens to practice
E Sreedharan-Managing Director Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
· Your work sounds fascinating
Orient Longman.
· You and your work are in my prayer
Sister Nirmala-Head of Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta
· I heartily congratulate you on your unique feat, wherein you are making efforts to contribute on a variety of topics reaching out to a large number of readers across the length and breadth of the country
G Madhavan Nair-Chairman ISRO
· I would like to congratulate you on the excellent article you have written entitled “What Ails Indian Sports?” and take this opportunity to thank you for your keen interest in the Olympic Movement
Dr. Jacques ROGGE- President International Olympic Committee
· I find you have a wide interest and also you are in a unique way expressing your ideas and sentiments. I am sure, you will continue to be an alert citizen of the country and contribute in your own way for the development country by crusading against injustice and social evils.
N. Vittal- Central Vigilance Commissioner
· I wish you all the best in your endeavour and wish the book a big success
N R Narayana Murthy
· Your comments were circulated among several Editors for their information and consideration. We hope that you will continue to write to TIME Magazine whenever the news or our reporting of it particularly interests you.
TIME Magazine.
· I am glad that you are taking such keen interest in public life.
Nani A.Palkhivala.
· Thank you for your letter to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, congratulating him on his election victory. It was very much appreciated.
British High Commission.
· I am touched by your kind thought.
Nani A.Palkhivala.
· I have to convey my appreciation for the concern shown by you in connection with national maladies.
G.R.Khairnar-Human Rights activist and crusader against corruption.
· Undoubtedly your work reflects a high degree of involvement with national and international affairs and your timely contribution to public debate.
Penguin Books.
· Thank you for your nice letter. I appreciate your concern with regard to injustice and social evils in the society at large
Ratan N Tata
List of Selected Published work Hindi & Malayalam
List of Selected Letters/ Articles/Stories Published in Hindi and Malayalam
A. HINDI
1. Aaap Bhara Jug Ka Bhara
2. Aithihasic Nirnay
3. Arabpatiyo Ki Badhotri
4. Asamgat Nirdesh
5. Avyavastha Badaneyvala Faisala
5. Baadh Hi Kheth Ko Kha Rahi Hai
6. Badal Jayegi Tasvir
7. Bali Ka Bakra Doondne ki Aadat
8. Bura na mano Holi Hai
8. Chaploose se savdhan
9. Dasada ki oor
10. Dr. Kalam Tuje Salam
11. Dop ka Kalang
12. Ek Gauravpoorn yug ka antya
13. Gunavata ki Talash
14. Kanoon Lagoo Karne ki Sarahaniy Pahal
15. Kanoon Padhati ka saraleekaran
16. Khelon me kshetravad
17. Khiladiyon ke Saath Anyay
18. Loktantra ki Jeet
19. Lokatantrik Sudhar
20 Mahilavom par Hatyachar
21. Metro Rail Ke Nirman Main Gatirodh
22 Milavat hi Milavat
23 Mother Teresa ko Shradhanjali
24 Nau Jawanon Ne Khel me Umidemn Jagayi
25 Nayi vyavastha ki Zaroorat
26 Netaon ko Naitik Shiksha Mile
27 Padma Puraskar
28 Patri se utri Rail Sewa
29 Prachanna Pratibhaye
30 Prashasanik Sudhar
31 Rashtriya Samman ka Abhav
32 Sansadon ke liye Prashishan
33 Sarvajanik Kshetru ke hid me
34 Shaktisali ka katle aam
35 Swatantr our Neetipoornu Chunav
36 Sthayi Samadhan ki Zaroorat
37 Swadeshi Aandolan
38 Vijayan Dashak ka Sarvottam Khiladi
39 Vikas Banam Naitikta
40 Vishista Vyakthiyon ki suraksha
41 Wazirabad Durghatna
B. MALAYALAM
1 (A) Vishista Vyaktikalkkulla Suraksha Sannaham
2 (A) Swatantravum (A) Neetipoornavumaya
3 Atikayanmarude Pathanam..
4 Avasarochitam
5 Azhimatiyude Kootharangu
6 Bandh-Oru Kroora Vinodam
7 Bharat Ratna Award
8 Bhojana Salayile Chilauv Churukkal
9 CBI Dairykkurippukal
10 Chila Apriya Satyamgal
11 Colayum Arogya Prasnamgalum
12 Deshabhimanatinte Abhavam
13 Ettavum Valiya Aadaranjali
14 Indian Kayika Lokatinte Adhapadanam
15 Indraprasthan Mahashcharyam
16 Itarsi
17 Janapratinidhikalkku perumattachhattavum ..
18 Kai Vittu Pokunna Seelangal
19 Kayika Lokam Engottu?
20 Kalanju Kulicha Kadam
21 Keralam-Vairudhyangalude Nadu
22 Keralathinte Karutha Muthu
23 Kheshtra Sandarshanathinulla Vastradharam
24 Lajjavaham
25 Loka Malayali Sammelanam
26 Mithyayum Yadharthyavum
27 Mooshika Charitam
28 Nashtapettu kondirikkunna Moolyangal
29 Olinju Kidakkunna Kayika Pratibhakal
30 Oru Guruvayoorappa Bhaktante Vilapamgal
31 Oru Puthiya Samvidhanathinte Anivaryata
32 Oru Suvarna Kalaghatatinte Antyam
33 Padma Award
34 Pamolin Bahishkarikkanam
35 Sastra Lokathinu Angeeram
36 Punyaham Talichal matram shudhamavilla
37 Shata Koteeswaranmar
38 Studi Padhakar
39 Swathanthrethinte Bakkipathram
40 Varuvin Pachakam Cheyyuuin, Kazhikkuvin
List of Selected Published works in English
1.
LIST OF SELECTED LETTERS/ARTICLES/STORIES PUBLISHED IN VARIOUS ENGLISH NEWS PAPERS/PERIODICALS.
A Football Wizard
2. Accountability
3. Administrative Reforms
4. Adulteration all the way
5. All the VIP’s Men
6. All party Government
7. An Exercise in Futility
8. Art of Appeasing
9. Art of Cabinet Making
10. Atrocities against Women
11. Bharat Ratna Award
12. Beauty Contest
13. Bio Robots for Mars
14. Cabinet Reshuffle
15. CBI Unfettered
16. Celebrating Failures
17. Code of Conduct for Politicians
18. Colonisers & Property Dealers
19. Come, Cook and Eat
20. Concentration of Economic Power
21. Corruption- A Way of Life
22. Cost Cutting in Canteen
23. Coterie Culture
24. Credibility of the Press
25. Damage to Culture
26. DD- The Spoilt Sport
27. Death Penalty
28. Development sans Morality
29. Democratic Reforms
30. Don’t Play with Provident Fund
31. Dope Scandal
32. Dr.Kalam and India’s Missile Programme
33. Dussehra effigies
34. Election Reforms
35. Eliminating the Cause
36. Exodus of Talent
37. Find Lasting Solution
38. Football Telecast
39. For him Politics was a Mission and not...
40. For whom the Train Runs
41. Free and (Un)fair election
42. Goodwill in Politics
43. Guidelines for Civilian Awards
44. Hats off to Habib and his Boys
45. Hockey Triumph
46. Holi and (Un) Holy News
47. Homage to Mother Teresa
48. Ills of Democracy
49. Illusion and Reality
50. In the Larger Interest of the Nation
51. Indians too can excel at Sports
52. Indian Billionaires
53. Irrational Revision
54. Irrational Directive
55. It is Teamwork that counts
56. Jail Reforms
57. Justice for all
58. Kerala Drama
59. Lack of National Pride
60. Laudable Judgment
61. Long Distance Travel
62. Malayalam Cinema
63. Media Bias
64. Metro Rail Impasse
65. Missing by a whisker
66. Murder of a Mouse
67. Murdering Democracy
68. Need for a New System
69. Neo Colonialism
70. Nothing Official
71. Olympic Debacle
72. Opposition- A Misnomer
73. Padma Awards
74. Painful introspection
75. Pampered Ministers
76. Passing the Buck
77. Pay Commission Report
78. Politics of Pique
79. Protection to Convicts Child
80. Punjab Problem
81. Quest for Quality
82. R&D Imperative
83. Reform the Legal System
84. Regionalism in Sports
85. Republic day Thoughts
86. Reservation Issue
87. Sanskrit Education
88. School Rackets
89. Searching for Scapegoats
90. Self serving M.Ps.
91. Shining Glory
92. Shoddy Treatment
93. Solving Problems by Ignoring them
94. Sons of the Soil
95. Status Symbol
96. Sycophancy and Flattery
97. Swadeshi Movement
98. Talented Players, Mediocre Team
99. The Long March
100. The System is malafide
101. Tiger without Teeth
102. Traveller’s Woes
103. Travesty of Facts
104. Tryst with Dynasty
105. Un-earthling rural talent
106. Unfair Fair Hike
107. Un-rewarded talent
108. Unsung Under 10 Chess Champ
109. Vanishing Values
110. Veerappan’s gimmicks
111. Victory of Democracy
112. VIP Security
113. Waival of Loans
114. Well done TFA
115. What’s Wrong with our Sports?
116. X- Rated Investigation
117. Yes Minister
118. Z (H) ero Politicians
LIST OF SELECTED LETTERS/ARTICLES/STORIES PUBLISHED IN VARIOUS ENGLISH NEWS PAPERS/PERIODICALS.
A Football Wizard
2. Accountability
3. Administrative Reforms
4. Adulteration all the way
5. All the VIP’s Men
6. All party Government
7. An Exercise in Futility
8. Art of Appeasing
9. Art of Cabinet Making
10. Atrocities against Women
11. Bharat Ratna Award
12. Beauty Contest
13. Bio Robots for Mars
14. Cabinet Reshuffle
15. CBI Unfettered
16. Celebrating Failures
17. Code of Conduct for Politicians
18. Colonisers & Property Dealers
19. Come, Cook and Eat
20. Concentration of Economic Power
21. Corruption- A Way of Life
22. Cost Cutting in Canteen
23. Coterie Culture
24. Credibility of the Press
25. Damage to Culture
26. DD- The Spoilt Sport
27. Death Penalty
28. Development sans Morality
29. Democratic Reforms
30. Don’t Play with Provident Fund
31. Dope Scandal
32. Dr.Kalam and India’s Missile Programme
33. Dussehra effigies
34. Election Reforms
35. Eliminating the Cause
36. Exodus of Talent
37. Find Lasting Solution
38. Football Telecast
39. For him Politics was a Mission and not...
40. For whom the Train Runs
41. Free and (Un)fair election
42. Goodwill in Politics
43. Guidelines for Civilian Awards
44. Hats off to Habib and his Boys
45. Hockey Triumph
46. Holi and (Un) Holy News
47. Homage to Mother Teresa
48. Ills of Democracy
49. Illusion and Reality
50. In the Larger Interest of the Nation
51. Indians too can excel at Sports
52. Indian Billionaires
53. Irrational Revision
54. Irrational Directive
55. It is Teamwork that counts
56. Jail Reforms
57. Justice for all
58. Kerala Drama
59. Lack of National Pride
60. Laudable Judgment
61. Long Distance Travel
62. Malayalam Cinema
63. Media Bias
64. Metro Rail Impasse
65. Missing by a whisker
66. Murder of a Mouse
67. Murdering Democracy
68. Need for a New System
69. Neo Colonialism
70. Nothing Official
71. Olympic Debacle
72. Opposition- A Misnomer
73. Padma Awards
74. Painful introspection
75. Pampered Ministers
76. Passing the Buck
77. Pay Commission Report
78. Politics of Pique
79. Protection to Convicts Child
80. Punjab Problem
81. Quest for Quality
82. R&D Imperative
83. Reform the Legal System
84. Regionalism in Sports
85. Republic day Thoughts
86. Reservation Issue
87. Sanskrit Education
88. School Rackets
89. Searching for Scapegoats
90. Self serving M.Ps.
91. Shining Glory
92. Shoddy Treatment
93. Solving Problems by Ignoring them
94. Sons of the Soil
95. Status Symbol
96. Sycophancy and Flattery
97. Swadeshi Movement
98. Talented Players, Mediocre Team
99. The Long March
100. The System is malafide
101. Tiger without Teeth
102. Traveller’s Woes
103. Travesty of Facts
104. Tryst with Dynasty
105. Un-earthling rural talent
106. Unfair Fair Hike
107. Un-rewarded talent
108. Unsung Under 10 Chess Champ
109. Vanishing Values
110. Veerappan’s gimmicks
111. Victory of Democracy
112. VIP Security
113. Waival of Loans
114. Well done TFA
115. What’s Wrong with our Sports?
116. X- Rated Investigation
117. Yes Minister
118. Z (H) ero Politicians
Excerpts from Articles
EXCERPTS FROM THE LETTERS/ARTICLES OF E.M.ADITHYAN
1. A country which has failed to provide even basic amenities like potable drinking water, shelter two square meals a day and primary education to a large segment of its population even after 50 years of independence can ill-afford such colossal expenditure of crores of rupees for the protection of its self proclaimed patriots.
2. A central minister is the representative of the whole country and why should we think that a minister who belongs to U.P. or Bihar would not be able to see the interest of the people of other states say Kerala or Assam?
3. After spending enormous amounts from the Public exchequer and protracted proceedings, the much-awaited Commission Report many times looks as if a mountain has delivered a mouse.
4. After our pathetic performance in any international competition we start searching for scapegoats...
5. Ambiguity is the hallmark of the Indian Legal system. Where the Law is expected to be elaborate, it is silent and where the issue is immaterial, explanation is elaborate.
6. An idea has been mooted by some political parties to exclude MPs and MLAs from the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The proposal is likely to get the approval all major political parties because Indian political parties are having an enviable record of joining hands forgetting their ideological differences on matters of mutual interest and issues of National importance.
7. As a doyen of the film industry and a versatile artist, you have created some immortal characters on the silver screen. Being a trendsetter in the Indian cinema you have the enviable record of adding some new dimensions in the art of acting.
8. At a time when human virtues like love, compassion, sacrifice, honesty, integrity, morality etc, are fast eroding, the very mention of mothers name give solace and succour to the vast multitudes of people throughout the globe.
9. ......because the political history of post-independent India is replete with instances of fostering dynastic rule on the gullible public and our elected representatives meekly accepted these political novices without any murmur.
10. Common man has come to the conclusion that getting a backward class certificate is the most lucrative degree one can posses these days.
11. Crisis is often created and the person creating the crisis becomes the center of attraction overnight. Politicians are in the forefront of creating crisis for achieving their personal ambitions and to gain media publicity.
12. Even in India many top sports-persons belong to poor families and they come from remote villages of the country where there are absolutely no sports facilities.
13. Even the criteria of achievement is ridiculous as the Association's Annual Report indicate the amount of money spent on sports compared to previous year instead of indicating the achievement in physical terms.
14. Every country gives a scintillating display when the match is played on their home soil in front of the home crowd except perhaps India.
15. Government cannot control Dengue or for that matter any other epidemic by releasing big advertisements in leading newspapers almost everyday.
16. Her services to the humanity especially to the desolate, destitute, downtrodden and under privileged sections of the society is unparalleled in the history of mankind.
17. Hero worship and blind support create a sense of feeling among the leaders that they are infallible and unassailable which is not in their party's or country's interest.
18. History is a mute spectator to the fact that sycophants and flatters were largely responsible for misguiding their leaders, which has eventually lead to their downfall. Inspite of this sycophancy and flattery flourished in this country and of late it has created an impression in the minds of public that these are essential pre-requisites for achieving something.
19. However, millions of Hockey fans all over the country were denied the excitement of the glorious, thrilling and pulsating moments of the game-thanks to the apathy and callous attitude of the Doordarshan authorities.
20. In fact some political parties appear to have adopted a slogan "Growing to split and splitting to grow". Unfortunately principles, ideologies, philosophy etc appear alien to Indian politics.
21. It is hoped that CEC will come out with more and more innovative measures to discipline the recalcitrant politicians and thereby strengthening the democratic edifice of the nation.
22. Newspapers and periodicals, which have played a pivotal role during the freedom struggle, have of late become tools in the hands of politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. Investigative journalism and unbiased reporting gave way for distorted news and prejudicial views.
23. No wonder we induct local lads in predominant positions while playing at Bangalore, Mumbai or Mohali and they turned out to be superflops. We should realise that our ultimate aim is to win match and medal and not to give a chance to the son of the soil.
24. Or is it because both these tournaments were held at places far away from the corridors of power?
25. Otherwise New Delhi will become a stage for enacting petty political dramas as was witnessed during 1977.
26. Our sports administers, it appears are unable or unwilling to unearth talent from remote areas of the country.
27. Our State Sponsored sports bodies and self styled sports administrators are too busy in settling their scores and they have little time to think about the development of sports in the country.
28. People had hoped that many of the mosquitoes would leave to their heavenly abode during the Diwali fire and fumes. But can we afford to celebrate Diwali daily to eradicate mosquitoes?
29. Politicians who joined hands with criminals and anti-social elements with the ulterior motive of annihilating their adversaries often fell prey to their own misdeeds as on many occasions their actions boomeranged.
30. Status of women in the country can not be improved by sanctioning a compulsory weekly holiday or reservation of 30% of seats in parliament and state legislators for them if they remain puppets in the hands of their sponsors.
31. Sycophancy is perhaps the second oldest profession in the world and one of the few areas where Indians have excelled.
32. The tragedy in India is that there is a wide gap between what we preach and what we practice. This is further compounded by contradictions like a scoundrel giving sermons about morality, a criminal talking about social justice and corrupt politician preaching probity in public life.
33. The coterie revolving round the leaders feed distorted news and biased information to them in the form of sugar coated capsules.
34. The word opposition is a misnomer. It creates an impression in the minds of public that its function is to oppose everything proposed by the ruling party.
35. The democratic systems of the country have been systematically strangulated with utter disregard for rules, regulations, procedures and norms. Still we boast of being the greatest democracy of the world.
36. The feeling of Regionalism and Casteism is so rampant in some areas of the country that even if Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru or Sardar Vallabhai Patel comes out of their heavenly abode and contest election for an Assembly seat from a place dominated by a particular caste, they may stand to lose their deposit.
37. The invasion of foreign satellite channels and private TV operators have already done considerable damage to our culture and any further action in this direction will have devastating effect.
38. The protagonist of Reservation Policy does not seem to realise that this policy has of late become counterproductive because reservation creates a sense of complacency leading to inefficiency. This irrational and illogical policy is largely responsible for the gradual erosion of efficiency especially in our government offices.
39. The startling revelation made by a former Union Home Minister on some sensitive matters and his subsequent somersault is a standing testimony to the sordid state of affairs in the political echelons of the society.
40. The suggestion of FICCI to set aside a portion of the PF money for investment in capital market is fraught with dangerous consequences. It will open the floodgates for unscrupulous elements to siphon off the money by investing in the companies floated by their kith and kin.
41. There is a popular joke that while the American and Scotlandyard Police catch the culprit within hours of committing the crime, Indian Police is well aware of the impending crime hours before it is being committed.
42. This speaks volumes about the standard of our products and the extent to which adulteration has become widespread in the country.
43. Thus, while US and other developed countries reap the fruits of our scientific and technical skill, India remains way behind advanced countries inspite of having abundant talent in the country. But who cares?
44. We are already having a plethora of political parties and emergence of a new party will only add chaos to confusion. Creation of a new party is not a panacea for Punjab problem. After all, some body from among the present politicians will head the new party. Thus it will be nothing but old wine in new bottle.
45. We Indians lead the way in many fields like population growth, pollution, road accidents, robbery, dacoity, murder, bride burning, scams, scandals and last but not least corruption.
46. While the violence unleashed by the anti-social elements in the wake of anti-reservation stir with a view to fishing in troubled waters should be condemned in unequivocal terms, there is an element of the outburst of the suppressed feelings of the majority community – who have been the victims of the Reservation Policy - which can not be overlooked.
47. While most of the politicians shed crocodile tears for the suppressed, oppressed and depressed class of society, nobody has hitherto shown the sagacity to repose confidence in a handicapped or underprivileged person.
48. While we eulogise some sportsman, treat them as demi-gods and shower them with heaps of awards, rewards, gifts and money, it was unfortunate that a child prodigy could not get the due rewards and recognition.
49. With sheer speed, skill, stamina and sportsman spirit coupled with devotion, dedication and determination, your footballers reached the pinnacles of glory and in the process exploded the myth that it is the money power, which wins medals at the international competitions.
50. Your suggestion in naming a Stalwart-Sir Franz Beckenbavour to succeed you is surely aimed at stimulating the standard of soccer in the world, as there is no saturation point for sports.
51. Often, obnoxious proposals are made by various quarters to scuttle and strangulate the investigation process, and but for the Supreme Court intervention, the practice could have gone unabated.
52. On the other hand, if our politicians introduce quotas and reservation for different categories based on castes with an eye on vote bank, that will be the waterloo of Indian sports
53. In India law makers becomes law breakers and guardians of law becomes the breachers of law. Our moral standard has dipped to the lowest ebb that lawbreakers are considered as heroes and brave and law abiders are branded as fools and idiots.
54. Official estimate of the percentage of adulteration (10 to 12 %) appears far from the truth as common man finds it difficult to locate unadulterated items in the market.
55 Our value system is declining and human virtues like honesty, integrity, morality, compassion etc are confined to dictionaries. Making material progress has become the motto of life and man is measured by his wealth and not by his virtues. Economic progress without social justice is not sustainable and will have far reaching and disastrous consequences.
56 Way back in 1982, Doordarshan won plaudits from millions of sports lovers all over the globe for its spectacular telecast of the 9th Asian Games.
1. A country which has failed to provide even basic amenities like potable drinking water, shelter two square meals a day and primary education to a large segment of its population even after 50 years of independence can ill-afford such colossal expenditure of crores of rupees for the protection of its self proclaimed patriots.
2. A central minister is the representative of the whole country and why should we think that a minister who belongs to U.P. or Bihar would not be able to see the interest of the people of other states say Kerala or Assam?
3. After spending enormous amounts from the Public exchequer and protracted proceedings, the much-awaited Commission Report many times looks as if a mountain has delivered a mouse.
4. After our pathetic performance in any international competition we start searching for scapegoats...
5. Ambiguity is the hallmark of the Indian Legal system. Where the Law is expected to be elaborate, it is silent and where the issue is immaterial, explanation is elaborate.
6. An idea has been mooted by some political parties to exclude MPs and MLAs from the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The proposal is likely to get the approval all major political parties because Indian political parties are having an enviable record of joining hands forgetting their ideological differences on matters of mutual interest and issues of National importance.
7. As a doyen of the film industry and a versatile artist, you have created some immortal characters on the silver screen. Being a trendsetter in the Indian cinema you have the enviable record of adding some new dimensions in the art of acting.
8. At a time when human virtues like love, compassion, sacrifice, honesty, integrity, morality etc, are fast eroding, the very mention of mothers name give solace and succour to the vast multitudes of people throughout the globe.
9. ......because the political history of post-independent India is replete with instances of fostering dynastic rule on the gullible public and our elected representatives meekly accepted these political novices without any murmur.
10. Common man has come to the conclusion that getting a backward class certificate is the most lucrative degree one can posses these days.
11. Crisis is often created and the person creating the crisis becomes the center of attraction overnight. Politicians are in the forefront of creating crisis for achieving their personal ambitions and to gain media publicity.
12. Even in India many top sports-persons belong to poor families and they come from remote villages of the country where there are absolutely no sports facilities.
13. Even the criteria of achievement is ridiculous as the Association's Annual Report indicate the amount of money spent on sports compared to previous year instead of indicating the achievement in physical terms.
14. Every country gives a scintillating display when the match is played on their home soil in front of the home crowd except perhaps India.
15. Government cannot control Dengue or for that matter any other epidemic by releasing big advertisements in leading newspapers almost everyday.
16. Her services to the humanity especially to the desolate, destitute, downtrodden and under privileged sections of the society is unparalleled in the history of mankind.
17. Hero worship and blind support create a sense of feeling among the leaders that they are infallible and unassailable which is not in their party's or country's interest.
18. History is a mute spectator to the fact that sycophants and flatters were largely responsible for misguiding their leaders, which has eventually lead to their downfall. Inspite of this sycophancy and flattery flourished in this country and of late it has created an impression in the minds of public that these are essential pre-requisites for achieving something.
19. However, millions of Hockey fans all over the country were denied the excitement of the glorious, thrilling and pulsating moments of the game-thanks to the apathy and callous attitude of the Doordarshan authorities.
20. In fact some political parties appear to have adopted a slogan "Growing to split and splitting to grow". Unfortunately principles, ideologies, philosophy etc appear alien to Indian politics.
21. It is hoped that CEC will come out with more and more innovative measures to discipline the recalcitrant politicians and thereby strengthening the democratic edifice of the nation.
22. Newspapers and periodicals, which have played a pivotal role during the freedom struggle, have of late become tools in the hands of politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. Investigative journalism and unbiased reporting gave way for distorted news and prejudicial views.
23. No wonder we induct local lads in predominant positions while playing at Bangalore, Mumbai or Mohali and they turned out to be superflops. We should realise that our ultimate aim is to win match and medal and not to give a chance to the son of the soil.
24. Or is it because both these tournaments were held at places far away from the corridors of power?
25. Otherwise New Delhi will become a stage for enacting petty political dramas as was witnessed during 1977.
26. Our sports administers, it appears are unable or unwilling to unearth talent from remote areas of the country.
27. Our State Sponsored sports bodies and self styled sports administrators are too busy in settling their scores and they have little time to think about the development of sports in the country.
28. People had hoped that many of the mosquitoes would leave to their heavenly abode during the Diwali fire and fumes. But can we afford to celebrate Diwali daily to eradicate mosquitoes?
29. Politicians who joined hands with criminals and anti-social elements with the ulterior motive of annihilating their adversaries often fell prey to their own misdeeds as on many occasions their actions boomeranged.
30. Status of women in the country can not be improved by sanctioning a compulsory weekly holiday or reservation of 30% of seats in parliament and state legislators for them if they remain puppets in the hands of their sponsors.
31. Sycophancy is perhaps the second oldest profession in the world and one of the few areas where Indians have excelled.
32. The tragedy in India is that there is a wide gap between what we preach and what we practice. This is further compounded by contradictions like a scoundrel giving sermons about morality, a criminal talking about social justice and corrupt politician preaching probity in public life.
33. The coterie revolving round the leaders feed distorted news and biased information to them in the form of sugar coated capsules.
34. The word opposition is a misnomer. It creates an impression in the minds of public that its function is to oppose everything proposed by the ruling party.
35. The democratic systems of the country have been systematically strangulated with utter disregard for rules, regulations, procedures and norms. Still we boast of being the greatest democracy of the world.
36. The feeling of Regionalism and Casteism is so rampant in some areas of the country that even if Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru or Sardar Vallabhai Patel comes out of their heavenly abode and contest election for an Assembly seat from a place dominated by a particular caste, they may stand to lose their deposit.
37. The invasion of foreign satellite channels and private TV operators have already done considerable damage to our culture and any further action in this direction will have devastating effect.
38. The protagonist of Reservation Policy does not seem to realise that this policy has of late become counterproductive because reservation creates a sense of complacency leading to inefficiency. This irrational and illogical policy is largely responsible for the gradual erosion of efficiency especially in our government offices.
39. The startling revelation made by a former Union Home Minister on some sensitive matters and his subsequent somersault is a standing testimony to the sordid state of affairs in the political echelons of the society.
40. The suggestion of FICCI to set aside a portion of the PF money for investment in capital market is fraught with dangerous consequences. It will open the floodgates for unscrupulous elements to siphon off the money by investing in the companies floated by their kith and kin.
41. There is a popular joke that while the American and Scotlandyard Police catch the culprit within hours of committing the crime, Indian Police is well aware of the impending crime hours before it is being committed.
42. This speaks volumes about the standard of our products and the extent to which adulteration has become widespread in the country.
43. Thus, while US and other developed countries reap the fruits of our scientific and technical skill, India remains way behind advanced countries inspite of having abundant talent in the country. But who cares?
44. We are already having a plethora of political parties and emergence of a new party will only add chaos to confusion. Creation of a new party is not a panacea for Punjab problem. After all, some body from among the present politicians will head the new party. Thus it will be nothing but old wine in new bottle.
45. We Indians lead the way in many fields like population growth, pollution, road accidents, robbery, dacoity, murder, bride burning, scams, scandals and last but not least corruption.
46. While the violence unleashed by the anti-social elements in the wake of anti-reservation stir with a view to fishing in troubled waters should be condemned in unequivocal terms, there is an element of the outburst of the suppressed feelings of the majority community – who have been the victims of the Reservation Policy - which can not be overlooked.
47. While most of the politicians shed crocodile tears for the suppressed, oppressed and depressed class of society, nobody has hitherto shown the sagacity to repose confidence in a handicapped or underprivileged person.
48. While we eulogise some sportsman, treat them as demi-gods and shower them with heaps of awards, rewards, gifts and money, it was unfortunate that a child prodigy could not get the due rewards and recognition.
49. With sheer speed, skill, stamina and sportsman spirit coupled with devotion, dedication and determination, your footballers reached the pinnacles of glory and in the process exploded the myth that it is the money power, which wins medals at the international competitions.
50. Your suggestion in naming a Stalwart-Sir Franz Beckenbavour to succeed you is surely aimed at stimulating the standard of soccer in the world, as there is no saturation point for sports.
51. Often, obnoxious proposals are made by various quarters to scuttle and strangulate the investigation process, and but for the Supreme Court intervention, the practice could have gone unabated.
52. On the other hand, if our politicians introduce quotas and reservation for different categories based on castes with an eye on vote bank, that will be the waterloo of Indian sports
53. In India law makers becomes law breakers and guardians of law becomes the breachers of law. Our moral standard has dipped to the lowest ebb that lawbreakers are considered as heroes and brave and law abiders are branded as fools and idiots.
54. Official estimate of the percentage of adulteration (10 to 12 %) appears far from the truth as common man finds it difficult to locate unadulterated items in the market.
55 Our value system is declining and human virtues like honesty, integrity, morality, compassion etc are confined to dictionaries. Making material progress has become the motto of life and man is measured by his wealth and not by his virtues. Economic progress without social justice is not sustainable and will have far reaching and disastrous consequences.
56 Way back in 1982, Doordarshan won plaudits from millions of sports lovers all over the globe for its spectacular telecast of the 9th Asian Games.
Communicating wrongly
The ministry of communications & information technology, as well as the departments and undertakings under it, often give huge advertisements in national dailies.
While the spectacular progress made by the communications and IT sector is commendable, one wonders whe-ther the content of such advertisements are only meant to please the minister, rather than conveying the ministry’s achievements to the public.In the ads, the names of the dignitaries associated with various functions/programmes are prefixed with Thiru, Tmt, etc instead of the commonly used salutations like Mr/ Mrs/Shri/ Smt, etc. A majority of Indians do not understand the meaning of these Tamil words. Language is a medium of communication and it is inappropriate to use unfamiliar words from a different language. Excepting quotations duly subtitled, use of a regional language in major national dailies is in bad taste.It is paradoxical that the communications ministry, which is expected to be a trendsetter for effective communication, is setting a wrong precedent of bad communication.- EM Adithyan
While the spectacular progress made by the communications and IT sector is commendable, one wonders whe-ther the content of such advertisements are only meant to please the minister, rather than conveying the ministry’s achievements to the public.In the ads, the names of the dignitaries associated with various functions/programmes are prefixed with Thiru, Tmt, etc instead of the commonly used salutations like Mr/ Mrs/Shri/ Smt, etc. A majority of Indians do not understand the meaning of these Tamil words. Language is a medium of communication and it is inappropriate to use unfamiliar words from a different language. Excepting quotations duly subtitled, use of a regional language in major national dailies is in bad taste.It is paradoxical that the communications ministry, which is expected to be a trendsetter for effective communication, is setting a wrong precedent of bad communication.- EM Adithyan
DMRC Architect ignored
DMRC architect ignoredDear Editor,In recognition to their outstanding contribution in various fields, 121 persons were conferred the Padma Awards on the Republic Day. However there was a notable omission in the list of awardees. It is none other than the architect of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, and it's Chief Executive. Sreedharan.The Delhi Metro is an embodiment of efficiency, punctuality, reliability and excellence. If there is something in the national capital which is of global standards it will be in the forefront. It has played a pivotal role in improving the traffic system in Delhi thereby giving a facelift to the national capital and also has created a metro culture hitherto unknown.Even at the age of 75, Sreedharan works with such efficiency and enthusiasm which makes him a role model of managerial efficiency. Before taking up the stewardship of Delhi Metro he was instrumental in completing the Konkan Railway project. He was awarded the highest civilian award of the French Government, the Legion d'honour, in 2005 and received the Padma Shri in 2001. He deserves at least the Padma Vibhushan, if not Bharat Ratna. In a world where prominent personalities like Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy were not given Nobel prizes for peace and literature respectively, we can expect this.Nevertheless, I strongly feel that it was an inadvertent omission on the part of the authorities which will be rectified sooner than later. Whether Sreedharan gets awards and recognitions or not, crores of common men across the country will gratefully remember his outstanding contributions to the society.-E. M. Adithyan,Edapal, Kerala.
Billionaire's Club
Billionaires’ club Sir, ~ According to the latest report in Forbes, India has the largest number of billionaires in Asia. It may have surpassed Japan, but this is hardly a matter to rejoice over. The comparison must end with the number of billionaires. We tend to forget that in other spheres of life, Japan is far ahead of India. Creating billionaires and computing per capita income of the region/city is a classic example of the maxim “lies, damned lies and statistics”. The strength of a chain depends on the strength of its weakest link. On a parity of reasoning, the prosperity of the country depends on the economic status of the poor and backward. There is no point in creating a few islands of prosperity in an ocean of poverty. Barring exceptions like Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji, most of the billionaires lead an ostentatious lifestyle and spend very little on philanthropy. How many billionaires spend money for social, educational, charitable and humanitarian causes? How many educational institutions or hospitals have these billionaires built to provide free or concessional facilities to the poor and needy? How many billionaires come forward to sponsor sport activities other than cricket? Money is the sole criteria of development and status. ~ Yours, etc., EM Adithyan, Edapal (Kerala), 3 December.
Missing by a whisker
Place secure in pantheonSir—Another ODI century has once again eluded “master blaster” Sachin Tendulkar in the final match of the series against Pakistan played at Gwalior. However, the media and cricket fans are unduly perturbed. After all, the “little champion” already holds the world record for maximum number of ODI centuries. Though unfortunate, Tendulkar has created a record of sorts by getting out in the nervous 90s on seven occasions.Pole vault champion Sergei Bubka, who won six consecutive world championships from 1983 to 1997 and also beat his own record on 35 occasions, could win only a single Olympic gold. Similarly, Ron Clarke, the legendary Australian long distance runner, who was the world record holder in 5,000 m and 10,000 m and who created 17 world records, failed to win a single gold in the Olympics.After decades and centuries, future generation will not only remember Sachin for his spectacular and scintillating performances but also for his missing century after century narrowly. He is a genius and a class apart. EM Adithyan Edapal
Art of appeasing
The art of appeasing
Sir, - The government's decision to procure substandard paddy from Punjab farmers at the minimum support price is devoid of any rationale or logic. The plea that non-acceptance of the demand of the Punjab farmers will lead to revival of terrorism can be misconstrued as a tacit support to terrorism. Of late, governments both at the Centre and in the States are showing a dangerous tendency of bowing to pressure tactics and finding short-cut solutions to problems without realising the fact that it will sow the seeds of discontent leading to far- reaching and disastrous consequences. The government has already bowed to Haryana farmers' similar demands, virtually opening a Pandora's box. This will misguide the people who agitate for their legitimate demands to change their track to violent and disruptive methods.
Since Punjab farmers are very rich, compared to their counterparts in the rest of the country, they could have set a good precedent and exhibit excellent sportsman spirit by taking the loss (which is not due to any natural calamities) in their stride without burdening the public exchequer in the wider national interest. According to newspaper reports, substandard paddy was a result of premature harvesting for which they themselves have to blame. Why should a nation which is already under severe financial strain give undue benefit to the farmers when it does not have money to provide basic minimum facilities to people who lost everything in natural calamities?
Left parties reportedly supported the agitation by Punjab farmers. It is paradoxical that a party which claims to be saviour of the poor and downtrodden is espousing the cause of rich and mighty farmers.
Having decided to procure substantial quantity of substandard paddy from Punjab and Haryana farmers, it is a moot question as to how the paddy will be disposed of. Will the poor rice eating States be forced to lift the substandard rice for distribution through the public distribution system, thereby creating unrest and agitation?
E. M. Adithyan,
Edapal (Kerala)
Sir, - The government's decision to procure substandard paddy from Punjab farmers at the minimum support price is devoid of any rationale or logic. The plea that non-acceptance of the demand of the Punjab farmers will lead to revival of terrorism can be misconstrued as a tacit support to terrorism. Of late, governments both at the Centre and in the States are showing a dangerous tendency of bowing to pressure tactics and finding short-cut solutions to problems without realising the fact that it will sow the seeds of discontent leading to far- reaching and disastrous consequences. The government has already bowed to Haryana farmers' similar demands, virtually opening a Pandora's box. This will misguide the people who agitate for their legitimate demands to change their track to violent and disruptive methods.
Since Punjab farmers are very rich, compared to their counterparts in the rest of the country, they could have set a good precedent and exhibit excellent sportsman spirit by taking the loss (which is not due to any natural calamities) in their stride without burdening the public exchequer in the wider national interest. According to newspaper reports, substandard paddy was a result of premature harvesting for which they themselves have to blame. Why should a nation which is already under severe financial strain give undue benefit to the farmers when it does not have money to provide basic minimum facilities to people who lost everything in natural calamities?
Left parties reportedly supported the agitation by Punjab farmers. It is paradoxical that a party which claims to be saviour of the poor and downtrodden is espousing the cause of rich and mighty farmers.
Having decided to procure substantial quantity of substandard paddy from Punjab and Haryana farmers, it is a moot question as to how the paddy will be disposed of. Will the poor rice eating States be forced to lift the substandard rice for distribution through the public distribution system, thereby creating unrest and agitation?
E. M. Adithyan,
Edapal (Kerala)
Guideline for Civilian Awards
Guidelines for civilian awards
Sir,
Politicians have opened a Pandora's Box by recommending the names of their leaders for the highest civilian award of the country ie; Bharat Ratna. This has created a controversy by many people jumping into the bandwagon and recommending various names for the awards. The authorities have conveniently taken a shortcut by dispensing with the Bharat Ratna award this year. This is an escapist policy and not a panacea for the problem. We Indians have the uncanny knack of treating the symptom and not the disease. It is ironical that there have been no clear cut criteria or guidelines for selecting the awardees. Consequently the ruling party used to give this award for their henchmen and favourites. We Indians especially politicians and bureaucrats are consistently following a bad precedent of showing loyalty to the boss. It is high time we should make a change in this attitude and try to achieve organisational/Company/National objectives rather than appeasing their bosses
I suggest the following guidelines for Bharat Ratna and other Padma awards
1. Politicians and people who are directly involved in politics should be excluded from the purview of this award.
2. Sycophants, flatterers, leg pullers, back baiters, liars and people with crab mentality, ego etc should be automatically disqualified from consideration of award
3. Achieving personal glory should not be a consideration for the award unless it is matched with improving the country's image in the outside world
4. Canvassing or lobbying for the award by the candidate or his near/dear ones should be treated as a disqualification
5. Award should be given to living legends and should not be given posthumously
6. The jury of the Award should consist eminent personalities drawn from various fields like Art, Literature, Culture, Sports, Public Service, Science & Technology etc headed by an eminent serving or retired Supreme Court judge
7. People who have given outstanding contribution in any field can be considered for the award
8. In addition to outstanding achievements the candidates being considered for the award should have impeccable human virtues like honesty, integrity, patriotism, morality, sacrifice, selfless service etc
9. The candidate being considered for higher awards should be a true nationalist and should feel free from the clutches of caste, region, religion etc
10. The award winner should be a role model for others to emulate
11. Candidates being considered for the award should have pride as an Indian National and should be proud of Indian Culture, Civilization and traditions
12. People who have raised the image of the country by their outstanding deeds should be considered
13. Unsung heroes and those who got very less returns in material terms should get preference
14. Persons who have been honoured by International Institutions and Foreign countries should get due weightage
15. The awards should help to inspire others to follow the great deeds of the awardees
16. Award should be accompanied by a citation so that the common man understand and appreciate the reason and justification for giving award to the person
While minor deviations/dilutions can be done in some factors considering the weightage of other factors, no compromise in the criteria should be made for the highest award. It is better not to give award rather than giving award to an undeserving candidate.
Let us make these awards an instrument of national pride and not a cake for the petty politicians to fight. Let us also herald the beginning of a new era of the revival of the great Indian civilization and make this rich country of rich and abundant resources a true "Mahabharata" in letter and spirit.
The suggestions given are only indicative and not exhaustive. Government can consider formulating comprehensive policy so that in future awards are given to deserving candidates and not to the henchmen or yes-men of the party in power. This is essential to preserve the credibility and sanctity of the award and not to make a mockery of the awards.
Yours etc.,E M AdithyanVia e-mail
Corruption-a way of life
Corruption -a way of life
Sir,
We, Indians lead the fields in many fields like population growth, pollution, road accidents, robbery, dacoity, murder, bride burning and last but not least corruption. Corruption begins at the top and percolate downward to the lowest rung in the ladder. Corruption has a cancerous growth eating the vitals of our body politic and there is hardly any area free from corruption. For all these evils, we conveniently blame the system as if the system was designed, developed and supplied by the God. Occasionally we witness some nobility in the midst of this cesspool of corruption but those who stand against corrupt deeds are hounded, harassed and humiliated. The situation has become so bad that for the honest people it has become difficult to survive in this society. They are branded as fools who are unable to amass ill-gotten wealth. In fact, corruption has become a way of life today. We boast of having achieved all-round progress in all spheres of life after Independence but the sad state of affairs is that while we have made arithmetical progression in the positive aspects of life, we have made geometrical progression in the negative aspects of life. Unless some miracle happens for a mass awakening, the country will be doomed.
E M AdithyanVia e-mail
Movers& Shakers
28 February 1998
Movers & Shakers
Adithyan nominated for millennium medal
E M Adithyan, a freelance writer, has been nominated by the American Biographical Institute, North Carolina, USA, for the century's most notable medal -- The 2000 Millennium Medal of Honour.
Adithyan was earlier nominated for the `Man of the Year 1997' award by the same institute for his overall accomplishments and contributions to society.
The writer has contributed letters on a wide range of topics in almost all the leading English newspapers of India, besides several Hindi and Malayalam dailies and periodicals. He has the unique distinction of writing letters/articles on subjects starting from all the alphabets (A to Z). One of his articles on sports has achieved acclaim from a person no less than Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee.
Bharat Ratna Award
Bharat Ratna Award
Dear Editor,L.K Advani prime ministerial candidate of BJP has recommended Bharat Ratna award to doyen of Indian politics and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. And, Mayawati UP Chief Minister and leader of BSP has recommended that Bharat Ratna award be conferred on Late Kanshi Ram, founder of BSP. Earlier the highest civilian award was the prerogative of only politicians and an illusion was created in the minds of common man, especially the literate and semi-literate, that only politicians do public service. Few years ago, a welcome departure was made in this trend and people who have excelled in other fields viz. Dr. M.S. Subbulaxmi, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam etc. were conferred the highest civilian award of the country. Thus we displayed in unambiguous terms that we Indians too can recognizs and reward meritorious and outstanding service which has helped to enhance the image of the country in the eyes of the world. Barring few exceptions, most of our illustrious and legendary personalities were first rewarded by international institutes and foreign countries and only after that we started recognising their outstanding service.It is high time that we should make a change in our attitude and start recognising and rewarding talent, excellence, outstanding achievements and dedicated and meritorious service without waiting for the outside world to reward them first. This will herald the beginning of a new culture and a loud and clear message will be sent to the whole world that in India unsung heroes are a thing of the past.-E M Adithyan,Elangalloor Mana,P.O. Edapal-679 576, Kerala.
Dear Editor,L.K Advani prime ministerial candidate of BJP has recommended Bharat Ratna award to doyen of Indian politics and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. And, Mayawati UP Chief Minister and leader of BSP has recommended that Bharat Ratna award be conferred on Late Kanshi Ram, founder of BSP. Earlier the highest civilian award was the prerogative of only politicians and an illusion was created in the minds of common man, especially the literate and semi-literate, that only politicians do public service. Few years ago, a welcome departure was made in this trend and people who have excelled in other fields viz. Dr. M.S. Subbulaxmi, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam etc. were conferred the highest civilian award of the country. Thus we displayed in unambiguous terms that we Indians too can recognizs and reward meritorious and outstanding service which has helped to enhance the image of the country in the eyes of the world. Barring few exceptions, most of our illustrious and legendary personalities were first rewarded by international institutes and foreign countries and only after that we started recognising their outstanding service.It is high time that we should make a change in our attitude and start recognising and rewarding talent, excellence, outstanding achievements and dedicated and meritorious service without waiting for the outside world to reward them first. This will herald the beginning of a new culture and a loud and clear message will be sent to the whole world that in India unsung heroes are a thing of the past.-E M Adithyan,Elangalloor Mana,P.O. Edapal-679 576, Kerala.
India and Asian Games
India caught napping as Asian Games arrive
Dear Editor, Barely two weeks are left for the commencement of the Asian Games at Doha. While most of the countries have finalized their list of participants, India is yet to finalize it. As a result, athletes who are still undergoing training are not sure whether they would be part of the team. Such uncertainties, even at the last moment, would have an adverse effect on the performance of the players. We Indians have an uncanny knack of doing everything at the eleventh hour.Most of our sports organizations are headed either by politicians or by retired bureaucrats. Though the bodies they head have not shown an iota of improvement for decades they continue to hold their positions for years together. India is perhaps the only country where mediocrity and non-performance is rewarded!A few days ago some senior players of the Indian hockey team were unceremoniously removed. Adding insult to injury, the chief coach was told that his term would end after the Asiad. Was it necessary to make the announcement at this stage which would only demoralize the coach and the players? So long as veteran sports officials rule the roost our sports scenario would remain gloomy.There is no point in spending crores of rupees for organizing international sports events unless we are able to make some improvements in the standard of sports in the country. Otherwise a country which represents 1/6th of the world population would become a laughing stock in the eyes of tiny nations.Nevertheless let us fervently hope that our dedicated athletes would keep the Indian flag flying at Doha. Winning against heavy odds would always be sweet and millions of Indian sports lovers across the globe would salute our brave athletes.-
E.M. Adithyan,
Elangalloor Mana,Edapal, Kerala.
India;s Billionaires
India’s billionairesAccording to the latest report of The Forbes magazine, India has the largest number of billionaires in Asia. The euphoria created by the mass media on the rise of an Indian as the richest man in the world and the increase in the number of billionaires, is misplaced. The fact that India has more billionaires than Japan is not something to be particularly happy about. We are conveniently forgetting the fact that in all other walks of life, Japan is far ahead of India.
The prosperity of the country depends on the economic status of the poor and the backward. There is no point in creating a few islands of prosperity in an ocean of poverty. Barring exceptions like Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji, most of the billionaires lead an ostentatious lifestyle and spend very little on philanthropy. How many billionaires spend money on social, educational, charitable and humanitarian causes?
Over the years, the disparity between the haves and the have-nots have widened, which will have far-reaching social ramifications. In spite of the increase in income and wealth, the ultimate aim of peace, tranquility and happiness still eludes us. I earnestly appeal to the billionaires to set apart a part of their wealth to facilitate the all-round development of the country.EM Adithyan, Edapal Disappointing reviews
The prosperity of the country depends on the economic status of the poor and the backward. There is no point in creating a few islands of prosperity in an ocean of poverty. Barring exceptions like Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji, most of the billionaires lead an ostentatious lifestyle and spend very little on philanthropy. How many billionaires spend money on social, educational, charitable and humanitarian causes?
Over the years, the disparity between the haves and the have-nots have widened, which will have far-reaching social ramifications. In spite of the increase in income and wealth, the ultimate aim of peace, tranquility and happiness still eludes us. I earnestly appeal to the billionaires to set apart a part of their wealth to facilitate the all-round development of the country.EM Adithyan, Edapal Disappointing reviews
Democratic Reforms
Democratic reforms
THE Delhi High Court’s judgement directing the Election Commission to compulsorily provide information to the voters through the media about the criminal background of the candidates contesting parliamentary and assembly elections is laudable. The court has also directed the Election Commission to provide other information to the voter like assets possessed by the candidates and their dependent relatives, educational qualification of the candidates, whether the candidate is accused of any offence and any other information considered necessary by the commission to enable the voter to assess the suitability of the candidate.
It is ironical that in a country where even a candidate for the lowest paid government job has to furnish several particulars to assess the suitability of his candidature, candidates for parliamentary and assembly elections, who eventually become the law makers and thereby guide the destiny of the nation, do not require to give full particulars.
Voters have a right to know the credentials of the candidates and the High Court judgement has upheld this right.
The Election Commission should make a standard format giving all the relevant details, so that the voters can make a comparative study of the worth of different candidates and thus make a judicious choice.
E. M. ADITHYANEdapal (Kerala)
Sons of the Soil
State Pulse: Kerala: Sons of the soil
America is one of the most developed countries because they had opened the doors to the outside world. A cosmopolitan culture is developing all over the world when we are attempting to take backward march- EM Adithyan
Politicians have once again raked up the sons of the soil syndrome with the purported objective of helping their "statesmen" without realizing that it is a self defeatist attitude and detrimental to the interest of the state. With the liberalization and globalization and tremendous improvement in the transport and communication facilities, people have started moving in all directions in search of opportunities. Movement of people which was one way traffic till a few years ago has become two ways and multiple ways.
Within the country people migrated generally for employment and they have indeed played a pivotal role in the development of the place of their settlement. If people belonging to other States are removed from major cities in India, what would be left out can be left to wild imagination. Gulf countries have made tremendous progress during the last half-century due to the contributions made by people from other countries. America is one of the most developed countries because they had opened the doors to the outside world. A cosmopolitan culture is developing all over the world when we are attempting to take backward march.
Selfish and petty politicians who make provocative statements are doing it for political mileau and instant publicity. It is unfortunate that common man fell prey to their gimmicks and fight with their brethren whereas their political bosses remain in high security air-conditioned mansions unscathed. There is a popular joke that after the creation of universe, Lord Brahma told Lord Vishnu that there is a place called India where he has given all the resources. When Lord Vishnu asked, "Is it not unfair to give all the resources to one country?" Lord Brahma retorted "But see the type of politicians I sent there. They will spoil everything".
Last but not least, our Constitution gives us the right to live and work anywhere and equality before law irrespective of caste, creed, region, religion or language. Every elected member is expected to protect constitution, but how many of them are doing this is anybody's guess.
Democracy is meaningless if power is concentrated in few self-centered politicians. People should not be swayed away by the antics of politicians and made to swallow whatever their political bosses say. Any irrational, illogical, unethical or illegal directive from politicians should be dealt with the disdain they deserve. Ordinary workers belonging to all political parties and voters having affinity to any political party should get out from the shackles of their leaders and feel empowered to defeat the fissiparous tendencies of their self styled leaders for protecting our democratic system.
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