Home Blog Page 543

Trust Trump’s track record on truth to keep Modi in good stead

Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
-
0
Trust Trump’s track record on truth to keep Modi in good stead

The Nation Wants To Know and rightly so.

Whether Narendar Damordas Modi requested Donald J Trump to ‘mediate’ on the K Word viz. Kashmir. The opposition is up in arms. The Minister for External Affairs Mr. S. Jayashankar has denied it. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has joined in to refute it. Trump’s claim has surfaced during the recent visit of Imran Khan the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Washington. Pakistan is gleefully watching the discomfiture of the Modi administration.

Is there a likelihood of truth in what POTUS has stated? For that, we should not test the veracity of statements of Narendra Modi. But that of the pronouncements of Donald J Trump. But why? Is it not sacrilegious and blasphemous to even examine the ‘truth’ of Trump’s statement. He is the leader of the free world. US of A is the most powerful nation in the world. And he has publicly said so. To the hearing of the Media .Then, where is the doubt that he said what he meant and he said what he must have heard Modi say.

There is therefore reason to conclude that Narendra Modi may have, in one of his weaker moments, while claiming to be the 56 inch leader he was, requested Trump to offer his services to mediate on the Kashmir issue. But was he so naive? Can one easily and plainly accept Trump’s claim? What is Trump’s track record as President of America since Jan, 20, 2017, inauguration day? Or his track record as self proclaimed billionaire real estate mogul, headquartered in aptly named Trump Towers in New York?

Truth to tell, New York Times is a revered institution the world over. NYT began its innings in 1851 and ‘running and running stronger now thanks to the chaotic Presidency of Donald J. Trump’, as its famous author and correspondent Thomas Friedman puts it. #NYT may have campaigned against Trump, editorially at that. But their journalistic standing is impeccable. NYT’s pedigree is reflected in the 127 Pulitzer Prizes (tallest in the field of journalism), highest among all comers.

It is but very rarely NYT has used the expression ‘lie’ openly. It has always been ‘stretched the truth’, ‘verbal inexactitude’, ‘tested the limits of veracity,’ and so on. For the editors strongly believed that ‘Lie did not belong to the American political lexicon at the highest levels’. Political editor Carolyn Ryan expounded on when that word gets clearance for use. Her definition of a lie is “when there’s a deliberate attempt to deceive— when someone knowingly fails to tell the truth.” NYT thought “that no matter the divisive debates between the Democrats and the Republicans, they had little use for this one expression ‘lie’, until Donald J Trump happened”.

One does not need to go searching for Trump’s lies. Wikipedia carries a Chapter – Veracity of Statements by Donald Trump – Donald Trump has made many false or misleading statements, including thousands during his presidency. Commentators and fact-checkers have described the rate of his falsehoods as unprecedented in politics, and they have become a distinctive part of both his business and political identity. He has a pattern of making controversial statements and then denies having done so. By June 2019 many news organizations had started describing some of Trump’s falsehoods as lies.

New York Times has a team devoted to Factchecking and identifying the ‘lies of Donald Trump’ and at last count it is over 5217 during his Presidency. It is said that “if his lies as Trump realtor were counted, he would trump everyone else and breast the tape all alone for Wisden’s World records’ prize’. Who does not know the birther lie he unleashed from nowhere that Barack Obama was not born in the US, in 2011. Until, in 2018, he quietly one day, as President, claimed that ‘he may not be right after all’.

As Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post says, “It would be a wasteful and futile exercise to record the number of lies this man has uttered as President. Instead, it may be wise to record his truthful statement: that would be easy.” So, let’s get real with the Trump alluding to ‘request’ of Narendra Modi to him to ‘mediate’ on Kashmir. It is unreal and does nothing more than adding to the NYT list of lies.

BJP is ‘nationalist’. That is the accusation and charge. They are ‘too strong and unyielding’ on Kashmir for it is ‘part of their agenda to repeal Art.370 and 35-A giving special status to Kashmir. No one disputes this premise. Add the BJP/Modi/Shah combine’s resolve to arm the armed forces to teeth in the battle to trump the terrorists. And then the response to Pulwama via Balakot which the Lutyens and Khan Market Log suggested was the tipping point, when it mattered for Modi’s triumphant return. It has been BJP’s recorded stand that it was Jawaharlal Nehru who goofed up on Kashmir and needlessly ‘internationalised it to UN’ and it took some doing for India to let it become bilateral.

In this backdrop, Modi can least be expected to seek mediation. And that too from Trump with his proclivities and shenanigan a day routine. On the other hand, it is obvious that the Trump’s so called claim deserves to be called by its true name, keeping in with his pedigree and character of the indelible genre.

Author is practising advocate in the Madras High Court

Abrogation of 35A on the horizon?

Kartikey Gaur
-
0
Abrogation of 35A on the horizon?

The State of Jammu and Kashmir remains on the edge, as the Central Government has approved the deployment of over 10000 additional troops in Kashmir. This includes 50 companies of CRPF, 10 companies of BSF, 30 of SSB and 10 of ITBP. The reason mentioned for this additional deployment is strengthening of Counter Insurgency Grid and maintaining Law and Order Situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The winds of change have been strong in Kashmir ever since Amit Shah took over as the Home Minister, considered tougher and more aggressive than his predecessor, he was expected to make key changes to BJP’s Kashmir policy.

Additional troops deployment

What is interesting to note is that this additional deployment of troops comes just a day after a visit to the state by Ajit Doval the National Security Advisor, where he purportedly met top security and intelligence officials and reviewed the security situation in the state. There has been an increasingly high deployment of troops in the state in the recent months. About 400 companies of armed forces (approximately 40000 troops) have already been deployed for the 46-day Amarnath Yatra. The Amarnath Yatra culminates on 15th of August and rumours are running wild that the Central Government is keen to abrogate Article 35A of the Indian Constitution.

Article 35A Empowers the Jammu and Kashmir state’s legislature to define “permanent residents” of the state and provide special rights and privileges to those permanent residents. Article 35A proscribes non-permanent residents from permanently settling in the state, buying immovable property, acquiring land, applying for government jobs, any kind of scholarships and aids and other public welfare projects. However, it hadn’t passed the test of parliament, rather it was added to the constitution through a Presidential Order, The Constitution (Applications to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 1954 – issued by the President of India on 14 May 1954. The Apex Court of India is already hearing a number of petitions which seek to declare Article 35A unconstitutional. There were a barrage of tweets by major political players in Kashmir, condemning the move and calling for demilitarization.

Rajnath Singh was cautious in treading the Kashmir issue but Amit Shah is seen as being more adventurous with handling Kashmir. Amit Shah has been much more rigid and uncompromising towards Kashmir, the crackdown on separatist leaders started in February by the NIA and major separatist leaders including Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah, Shahidul Islam and Masrat Alam Bhat continue to be incarcerated. Charge sheet has been filed by the NIA in relations to the Terror Funding Case under which several top separatist leaders have been sent to Jail. The Separatist apparatus in Jammu and Kashmir continues to remain in shambles as most of their leadership has been languishing in Jails since the last few months. Jamaat-e-Islami, a pro Pakistan leaning socio-political and religious organisation was banned as well under anti-terror laws as it was accused of having close relations with militant outfits.

Powers to the National Investigation Agency were extensively increased by the newly amended Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The Jammu and Kashmir Bank has also been facing increased scrutiny with cases of insurance fraud, unlawful appointments, diversion of loans amounting to 1000 crores and links to terror funding are cropping up, the Bank’s chairman Parvez Ahmed has been removed and in place new appointments like R.K. Chibber and A.K. Mishra have been done to the top board of the bank. Furthermore, there have been increasing talks about delimitation of seats in Jammu and Kashmir, this is being done to end the political hegemony of Kashmir valley in the State, high number of seats in Kashmir has ensured that Kashmiri political parties continue to dominate the state leading to the side-lining of Jammu and Ladakh region.

Though it is highly unlikely that any major decision would be taken before the 15th of August, as the government seeks to protect the Amarnath Yatra.  The scrapping of Articles 370 and 35A were the key poll planks of the BJP in its Kashmir policy, this is in consonance with its ideological parent, the RSS which has repeatedly demanded the removal of both these articles for the better integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India. Though it is difficult to comment on the situation, something is definitely afoot, and the situation should become clearer in the coming days.

Why agricultural income is tax free in India without any limit

RAJEEV GUPTA
-
0
Why agricultural income is tax free in India without any limit

Agricultural income earned by a taxpayer in India is exempt under Section 10(1) of the Income Tax Act,1961. What is more shocking and surprising is that this so called agricultural income is tax free without any limit. You can have unlimited amount of agricultural income without paying even a single rupee towards income tax.

While income tax is levied on all types of incomes from all the persons, why Government is not imposing any income tax on agricultural income, is a million dollar question. Some people are under the wrong impression that our Government is very considerate and sympathetic towards the farmers community and do not want to impose income tax on agricultural income of farmers. However, this is completely untrue. Had it been the intention of the Government to provide the relief to farmers by not subjecting them to income tax, it could have been done by fixing a threshold for tax free agricultural income. If some type of income is made completely tax free without any limit, it clearly means that the farmers are not the real beneficiaries of this tax exemption and there is a larger conspiracy for providing this exemption of unlimited amount, by making a provision for the same in the Income Tax Act.

You will be surprised to note that no political party, irrespective of its ideology, never wants to bring the agricultural income into the tax net. You must have witnessed that when Bills relating to increase of salaries and allowances are introduced in the parliament or assemblies, these bills are instantly passed unanimously, with all political parties happily supporting the same. This very same principle applies to total tax exemption of Agricultural Income. Since all the politicians (irrespective of their political ideology) are the real beneficiaries of this unlimited tax exemption, they are happily enjoying it. Agricultural Income is being used as a tool to convert black money into white money for the last 70 years. Most of the politicians and the persons patronised by these politicians are misusing the “Agricultural Income” route for conversion of their black money into white money.

Income Tax Department and the officers sitting in the income tax department are fully aware of this misuse of tax exemption on agricultural income but they prefer to remain silent on this “tax anarchy”, due to political reasons. If some honest officer tries to scrutinize the tax exemption on agricultural income, then entire political system begins to harass him and the officer concerned is persecuted, suspended and even dismissed from the service.

Recently Central Government has compulsorily retired 27 senior officers from various Government Departments including Income Tax, Customs & Excise Departments. Out of these 27 officers, one senior officer was investigating the agricultural income tax exemption misuse by a former finance minister in the previous Government. There are several detailed videos of this officer available on the social media, wherein the officer is explaining how the former finance minister of the previous Governments was misusing the agricultural income tax exemption to convert his black money into white money. Since the officer concerned has now been sacked, it can be safely presumed that the investigation being carried out by that officer has also died its natural death.

Before presentation of the Union Budget every year, Government invites suggestions from all stakeholders to give their suggestions for the Budget. For the last 20 years, I am giving this suggestion to Government every year that Agricultural Income should be brought into tax net. If the intention of the Government is to provide tax relief to farmers, then that can be provided by prescribing a threshold exemption limit for the agricultural income. But why any Government will accept any such suggestions, when their own interests are at stake.

Do we need a new coach?

bapiraju3
-
0
Do we need a new coach?

The world cup is done and dusted. As Indian fans we were disappointed. The controversies surrounding the final are in their last gasps. And the Indian Cricket team is getting ready for their tour to West Indies. Amidst all this the BCCI has announced an extension of 45 days for the present coaching staff while formally advertising for those jobs. Amongst these came the interview of Anshuman Gaekwad, who was appointed by the CoA to shortlist candidates for the position of Head coach and the support staff, where he practically says Ravi Shastri is prime candidate for the job and they are not looking beyond him for head coach.

I vividly remember the great Australian teams of the 1990’s. Opponents were literally quaking in their boots at the prospect of facing them. As an Indian fan I always wished for a day when we could boast of a team like that. The Ganguly-Wright era heralded a new chapter in the annals of Indian cricket history. Then came Dhoni with his magnificent twirl of the wrists in the death and his cerebral understanding of a one day game. With him you knew he was a great one day captain but was limited by his thinking and was exposed in the Test arena. But slowly we knew we were getting there. Then the advent of the Kohli era in tandem with the another master thinker and legend, Anil Kumble also saw the increase in our fast bowling stocks, the spin stocks and as always our batting stocks. We Indians also started excelling in fielding becoming one of the best fielding sides. Finally, we thought we could dream to be one of the Greatest Teams. The feared West Indies and Australian teams of the yore could be us, the fantasy every Indian fan passionate about cricket and this team, was salivating at the prospect of.

Then disaster struck. Kohli had a public falling out with the coach Anil Kumble and he resigned. We fans were a bit worried and hesitant and then in walked Ravi Shastri. Describing himself as the no nonsense man and the man, who wanted to take this Indian team to dizzy heights. He promised a lot and talked even more, stating that this Indian team was the best ever. He quickly became the darling of Kohli and had his own support staff too. Then we fans thought nothing to worry. Here is a man with a clear game plan and excellent rapport with the captain. This Indian team is bound to be the greatest by the end of the World Cup 2019 was every fans sincere hope. Did we reach that status?

Before we look for new candidates, one should also objectively analyse the performance of the coaching staff. Let’s start with the head coach, Ravi Shastri. He came in promising a lot. Although we are the No. 01 Test team and No. 02 ODI team, did the man with the big mouth actually deliver? We failed to win the test series in SA and remember SL won in SA. We lost to England. We won against a severely depleted Australia, which was the least we could do. We once again failed to go past the Semi-finals of the World Cup in spite of promising much. The middle order is still unstable. The selection of MSD and his unfathomable role in the ODI set up speaks volumes about the kind of muddled thinking.

If there is one definite conclusion that can be drawn from the above facts, it is that Ravi Shastri has underperformed as a head coach. This team is strong enough by itself to achieve what it did without a head coach. The role of the head coach was to bring in the thinking to the table. If anything right from the start of the test Series in SA, this team’s selection process has befuddled experts in the game and it kept repeating itself over the course of the World Cup, till it spilled over into selections of standbys for injured players.

This team really doesn’t need a Ravi Shastri as much as I guess Kohli needs him. One thing that I have failed to understand is the relationship between the coach and the captain. Does the coach come in with his own style of thinking or does the coach be a yes man? As a player you sometimes get your head bloated with your own achievements that there needs to be someone, who ensures that doesn’t happen. So a coach can’t be a yes man!

And here is wherein the irony lies. Anil Kumble was a beloved player and an astute thinker of the game. He understood the dynamics and the hard work required to succeed. He is a legend of this game, who did not let his own limitations stop him from being the best. This is not to say Ravi Shastri is any less. But when it comes to a person more suited to the role of a coach it is Anil Kumble. But since the captain was not comfortable, in walked a person more known for his way with words rather than actual gameplan. The middle order uncertainty in spite of the never ending search speaks volumes about the ability of the man, who came in to replace the legend. The test series losses not withstanding, the grandstanding after these losses was even more pitiable. And finally inspite of all these blunders that ensured that the National team did not achieve it’s full potential there seems to be no feeling of underachievement and that is frightening!

The other coaches in the big staff have their own mistakes to own upto including the batting coach Sanjay Bangar, whose job it was to identify the middle order core. May be he did and may be the yes man vetoed it. We can only guess and imagine. But if this Indian team has to be truly judged by it’s performance since Ravi Shastri took over, then one should say they have just stagnated and disappointed. Much was expected and none delivered.

So do we need a new Coach? We do if we truly want to be the best. Because King Kohli for all his greatness definitely needs someone, who can be the thinker especially with MSD also not being far away from retirement. The way players lost confidence under the present regime is an indication of the wayward thinking and that is not something we expect from our team. We want our team to be the best and by that we mean the best. We don’t want to settle for grandstanding words and meek deeds. Ask Rahane, Pujara, Rayudu, Rahul etal, all players who were given the most raw deals during this present regime.

So as a fan, who loves my team and is passionate about the game, I sincerely hope that Kohli realises that his ego should not be detrimental to his leading the team and let’s go of people who cannot contribute to the welfare and benefit of the team. Sentiment for self cannot be accepted in a team sport and hopefully the next four years sparks the dream of all the fans of this magnificent team as it reaches new heights and scales the tallest peaks of excellence. Anything is better than the muddled thinking and utter stagnation of wonderful resources that has been the hallmark of this present regime.

We have Bumrah, Shami, Umesh.. We have Bhuvi, Ishant, Siraj…. We have Kohli, Pujara, Rohit….. We have Shaw, Mayank, Rahul, Pant, Gill, Iyer, Pandey…. We have Ashwin, Jadeja, Chahal, Kuldeep…. We have Pandya, Shankar….. We also have MSD….. We have a batting coach, bowling coach, fielding coach, conditioning coach, massuer, video analyst……..

What we clearly lacked was man who could think and act like a coach! We had a yes man and that is what happens when a yes man is made the head coach. Talent is wasted, while Words are big. Resources are nullified making Results look ridiculous.

So don’t we need a new head coach?

Pakistan’s way to war, peace, and diplomacy

Opindia
-
0
Pakistan’s way to war, peace, and diplomacy

A village was once visited by a magician. The magician took some powder and threw it into the village well, declaring all those who drink from the well will go mad. There were only two wells in the village. One for the people of the village and another in the king’s palace. Sooner most couldn’t hold their thirst and on drinking from the well went mad. Only the king and his few loyal ones remained sane. The king’s palace was surrounded by people, even his troops drank from the same well. The mob wanted the king’s head. Someone suggested, the only way which remains is to run to the well outside and drink from it. The king and his fellow men and women did the same. All went crazy, they had an orgy that night. Every one thanked God for giving sense to their King. Pakistan is that village.

Pakistan’s purpose of war is not to secure itself, but to prove it has the ability to hurt India. It rejoices in its capability to attack and cowers into pretending nice when threatened with consequences. But, peace is temporary, it is necessary perfidy to avoid or manage the blowback. Any possibility of course correction is impossible. The criminality is cheered because it has religious sanction. Not just religion is used to justify attacks, it is an obligation and motivation for it. Peace, itself means differently. It is the victim’s silence to perpetrator’s actions. To understand Pakistan’s diplomacy, it is important to understand what Pakistan deals with.

Pakistan’s main dealing is security. It undermines other’s security by risking its own. It has so far managed to avoid the consequences of its adventures. Pakistan even benefits from it. If there was no war against the Soviets in Afghanistan and no war on terror, its coffers would have remained empty. Any deals it does with another country is a deal with security. Right from its start, Pakistan was willing to be an anchor point for the west. Now, it is happy to be a Chinese colony, the only thing that remains constant is its enmity towards India.

Recent comments by Trump on Kashmir, declaration of Balochistan Liberation Army as a terror group, and differences between the US representative to Afghanistan and Afghan Government tells of the United States failure in understanding Pakistan and perhaps its lack of will and intent too. These developments appear to be part of the deal for its exit from Afghanistan. But, it is India’s naiveness to not have a long term plan in action against Pakistan, which allows Pakistan to recuperate time and again after the ad-hoc retributions from our side.

A nearby threat that seems to be emerging is through Al-Qaeda. Zawahiri, who lives possibly under Pakistan’s intelligence agency’s protection, threatened India and in the same video message also called Pakistan’s ISI unreliable and secular. No one has ever called ISI secular, this addition is to provide plausible deniability to Pakistan for an attack on India by Al-Qaeda as a front. It is important that we don’t fall into the trap of joint investigations and be ready to give a compelling reply to Pakistan for its misadventure.

Republished from my personal blog – https://wp.me/p9eFgc-n1

हिंदुत्व भावनाओं का अधिपतन -क्या यह प्रारब्ध है या निजकर्म

भरत का भारत
-
0
हिंदुत्व भावनाओं का अधिपतन -क्या यह प्रारब्ध है या निजकर्म

प्रस्तावना- हज़ारो वर्षो से सनातन भारतीय सभ्यता विदेशी व देशी अब्रहंनताओ से प्रताड़ित व कुंठित रही है। कालांतर के पश्यात कोई तथाकथित आज़ादी के उपरांत ऐसी सरकार आयी जिसने हिंदुत्व पर चर्चा करना स्वीकार किया और पिछले बीते एक माह से #moblynching #secularism के नाम पर जो भेदभावपूर्ण राजनीति हो रही है ये उसका ही एक प्रकरण है! वैसे तो पिछले १४०० वर्षों में लाखों मंदिर तोड़े गए, कुछ प्रशिद्ध मंदिर पुनस्थापित किये गए कुछ पर आज मस्जिद या दरगाह है और कुछ इतिहास के धूलित लेखों में विसर्जित हो गए।

पहला प्रकरण– अल्लीपुर उत्तर प्रदेश का जहाँ मंदिर को १५ महीनों में दूसरी बार तोड़ दिया गया।

प्रश्न -क्या मस्जिद या चर्च के टूटने पर भी सरकार व प्रशाशन, मीडिया द्धारा यही शुष्क प्रतिक्रियाएं देता ?

प्रश्न -क्या हिंदुत्व सिर्फ वोट मांगते समय बहुसंख्यक समाज को भावनात्मक एकता को प्रदर्शित कराना है या सच में संबेदनशीलता का परिचय है?

दूसरा प्रकरण– अलीगढ़ यहाँ मुस्लिम व हिंन्दु घनत्व हमेशा से ही विवादास्तमक रहा है। प्रायः भारत के अनन्य क्षेत्रों में अलग अलग जगहों पर नमाज़ पढ़ने को लेकर विवाद बनते रहे है ,परंतु जब हर मंगलबार को हनुमान चालीसा का पाठ प्रारंभ हुआ तो धीरे -धीरे आलोचनाओं का दौर शुरू हुआ और जिलाधिकारी ने दोनों ही पछों पर प्रतिबंद लगा दिया जो की सत्यता सही निर्णय था। परंतु बस-स्टैंड के पास स्थापित हनुमान जी की मूर्ति का यू हीं टूटना मुस्लिम समुदाय की तीख़ी प्रतक्रिया थी।

प्रश्न -क्यों सार्वजनिक स्थानों पर पहले ही नमाज़ पढ़ने को प्रतिबन्धित नहीं किया गया?

प्रश्न -क्या उस मूर्ति में प्राणस्थापना नहीं थी?

प्रश्न– क्या नयी मूर्ति स्थापित होने से अधार्मिक कार्य धार्मिक हो जायेगा?

उपसंहार– हज़ारो वर्षो से वैदिक सभ्यता,भारतीयता का जो उपहास व निम्नस्तरीयता का जो भाव विदेशी आक्रांताओ द्धारा प्रचलित रहा है वो आज भी जीवित है, तर्क, आलोचना, टिप्पड़ियाँ, कुंठा से ना हमारा भूतकाल पुनः राम राज्य बन जायेगा ना ही हम भारतियों की व्यथा को शांत कर पायेगा। मुख्य समस्या जो जड़ में शताब्दियों से वीजित है वो हम स्वयं है? बिना एकता बिना आदर्शों के बिना स्वाभिमान के बिना निष्काम भावना के बिना राष्ट्रप्रेम के बिना यथार्थ का अनुभव किये बिना भविष्य का चिंतन किये! हमारा अष्तित्व ऐसे ही हमे शर्मसार व स्वयं पतन के मार्ग पर दिशानिर्देशित करता रहेगा।

Cryptocurrency – Will internet of money die a silent death in India?

wutdata
-
0
Cryptocurrency – Will internet of money die a silent death in India?

The DEA released a draft bill on 22nd July, 2019 proposing to ban any form of private cryptocurrencies. This bill shocked all people involved in trading cryptocurrencies, blockchain developers and many more. This wasn’t expected by the community even after repeated warning from RBI and other institutions. The community had a high hope that the committee formed will understand their perspective, amid recently concluded G20 Summit where all 37 members of G20 including India jointly agreed to regulate (NOT ban) the cryptocurrencies.

What is Blockchain/Distributed Ledger Technology?

Blockchain is another term for database where you can store records just like MySQL, NoSQL etc. The only difference, Blockchain is decentralized and can be maintained by anyone (unlike specific person/company)  participating in the network.

What is Cryptocurrency and can it be really banned?

What is Cryptocurrency? We will talk here about the most popular cryptocurrency;

Bitcoin: Bitcoin is a new kind of money that is decentralized, censorship resistant and uses blockchain to maintain all records. Remember torrents, where there is no central server and each peers can share the file if they want and anyone on the network can download it. Bitcoin works in almost the same way and that’s what decentralized mean. When someone sends bitcoin, there are people running nodes on network who validate these transactions. These participants are called miners and they receive fees in form of a virtual currency called Bitcoin.
NOTE: There is no central authority like banks to verify the transaction.

Besides, fixed amount of Bitcoin is created when these miners solve a complex mathematical problem, and that’s how Bitcoin is created.

The miners pay for electricity to keep their nodes running and from there only, Bitcoin gets it’s value. The network is protected from any type of attacks by these miners. The best thing is anyone can be miner and run their own node. It doesn’t matter which country you are from. You just need three things to run a node: Electricity, Internet and Mining Equipment(s) [PCs, mining rigs or even Laptop].

So its Peer To Peer (P2P), how effective the ban will be?

As its evident there is no central authority, so imposing ban on Bitcoin is next to impossible. Its free, open source software that can be run by anyone which makes it impossible to take down Bitcoin network. For bringing it down, one have to bring down the entire Internet. China tried to ban it but failed. Study show that up to 60% of mining hash rates is from China.

A ban can NEVER be effective on P2P network. The most anyone can do is to induce fear among people. But as the price of Bitcoin keeps increasing, the fear among people will be short lived and they will be back again due to rising monetary value.

Bitcoin is used in money laundering, terrorism and all sort of illegal activities?

Before answering that let me tell you, Bitcoin can be traded just like stocks/forex. People  trade bitcoin on exchanges. The price is determined by these people trading and it varies from exchange to exchange.

To answer the above: Unfortunately YES . The best bet is to regulate via these Centralized Exchanges. In India most of these exchanges, follow extensive KYC and AML and can share the transactions with authorities. Given the public nature of blockchain, these activities are easily traceable.
FACT: Cash still is most prevalent and untraceable form of money used in illegal activities.

Cryptocurrency has no use case. It isn’t used anywhere.

It’s a common misconception. Many companies are using it

  1. Microsoft: You can use Bitcoin to buy games
  2. Whole Foods Market (Amazon subsidiary): Accepts Bitcoin as payment
  3. Cash App: Founded by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey
  4. Travelbybit.com: Purchase air tickets or book hotels with BTC, LTC or BNB
    …
    and this list goes on increasing exponentially daily

Is Bitcoin a Ponzi?

As per Investopedia: A Ponzi Scheme is a fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors.

Remember, Bitcoin never promises any return because its a software. The price keeps fluctuating due to speculation among traders just like other markets (though with more volatility). As everyone is in-charge of the network, any person who promises return is just duping you. So categorizing it as Ponzi Scheme is not correct. If it would have been Ponzi none of the above mentioned companies would be using it.

I like Blockchain but I don’t like cryptocurrencies!!

It’s a misinformation created by few media persons with half baked knowledge.
The simple answer is NO. The long answer is: As soon as the network is controlled by few entities/companies, it becomes a database. A database which is open, but can be manipulated by any of these entities as per their will. So Blockchain without cryptocurrency is like Internet without websites, a body without soul.

Recently Facebook announced to launch their cryptocurrency called Libra. But is it really a cryptocurrency? The answer is NO and the reason is simple that the nodes are controlled by Facebook and few other companies, making it centralized digital currency and not cryptocurrency.

Recommended: Watch this hearing from US senate, Watch this TEDx talk

Is there any way to regulate it? It might create a parallel economy.

Many countries including USA, Japan, South Korea, countries from all over Europe and many more have already started regulating (NOT banning) it. Remember the Winklevoss twins from The Social Media. They are the forefront faces in helping the government for regulating cryptocurrencies. They are running their own fully regulated licensed exchange: Gemini.

Earlier, all Indian exchanges have proposed ways to deal with all these problems that exist in cryptocurrencies. It seems it was not considered by the committee.

NO, It won’t create a parallel economy if it is treated as tradable asset.

I still don’t trust these cryptocurrencies and want them banned?

Bitcoin is an innovative form of money. Until it evolves, it should be treated as an asset instead of currency. Banning will lead to:

  1. Loss of jobs: Both traders and developers will lose jobs. Many people left their jobs to work in this area.
  2. Push India behind other countries in innovation: All developed countries are embracing it. Banning will push India behind in innovating this new technology.
  3. Loss of income from tax: Traders and exchanges pay huge amount in tax which will be lost.
  4. Increase illegal usage: People will find other untraceable ways to deal in cryptocurrencies which will increase its illegal usage. Whatever the usage, it will become 100% illegal and impossible to trace.
  5. Increase brain-drain: Many developers have already left India and raised millions of  dollars for their projects and many will keep doing so if there is not a friendly regulation environment.

All cryptocurrency enthusiasts are eyeing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring positive regulation as he has repeated many times about its potential. Banning will not work and is a short term solution. It will push India away from innovation and trying new things. We need to become leaders in this space and set an example for other countries.

Lastly, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are here to stay. It’s too big to be killed by anyone.

Lastly, do watch this TEDx

Disclaimer: This article is not an Investment advice. While money makes cryptocurrencies sexy, there is a lot of risk involved if you don’t understand the technology. First understand, then research and if you yourself are satisfied,then only put your money in this. No one becomes millionaire in a day. Avoid scammers. Stay safe and appreciate the technology.

मोदी जी से ईर्ष्या की पत्र राजनीति

Sandeep Uniyal
-
0
मोदी जी से ईर्ष्या की पत्र राजनीति

मई 2014 को भारत के इतिहास में एक अध्याय जुड़ा। भारतीय जनता पार्टी की विजय ने राजनीति के समीकरण बदल दिए। एक चाय बेचने वाले ने अपने परिश्रम व लग्न से वर्षों से विभाजनकारी नीतियों के पर्याय बन चुके अपने विरोधी राजनीतिक दलों को हरा दिया। दो सांसदों से पूर्ण बहुमत की यात्रा को पूर्ण किया व इसे और आगे बढ़ाया। नरेंद्र मोदी जी ने साबित किया कि यदि इरादे अटल हो तो आप ऊंचाइयों को छू सकते हैं और भारतवासियों के लिए मोदी जी की विजय गौरव का विषय है।

एक गरीब परिवार में जन्मा व्यक्ति अपने परिश्रम व लग्न से राष्ट्र प्रमुख बन गया। ये प्रेरणादायक है व हर परिश्रम करने वाले नागरिक के लिए हर्ष का विषय है। किन्तु मोदी जी के प्रधानमंत्री बनते ही अचानक एक बहुत ही भारी शब्द “असहिष्णुता” प्रचलित हुआ। अचानक से पूरे राष्ट्र में होने वाली घटनाओं को धर्म, जाति और न जाने कितने ही विभाजनकारी दृष्टिकोण से देखा जाने लगा। एक ऐसा बुद्धिजीवी वर्ग जिनकी बुद्धि ऐसे उच्च शिखर तक पहुँच गयी कि अचानक पुरस्कार लौटाने की प्रथा प्रारम्भ हो गयी। मुख्य धारा का मीडिया चीखने चिल्लाने लगा। अचानक से इस देश के हिंदुओं को कठघरे में खड़ा करने की होड़ लग गयी। जांच के नतीजों की परवाह किये बिना बस किसी भी प्रकार से हिंदुओं को असहिष्णु घोषित किया जाए। इसके प्रयास किये जाने लगे। क्या कभी इन तथाकथित बुद्धिजीवियों ने सोचा है कि आम नागरिक पर इसका क्या प्रभाव पड़ता है? आम नागरिक जो अपने सपनों को सच करने के लिए संघर्ष में जुटा रहता है। अपने परिवार की जरूरतों को पूरा करने के लिए दिन रात परिश्रम करता है। अचानक एक सुबह उसका सामना इतने बड़े भारी शब्द “असहिष्णुता” से हो जाता है।

जिसका सही से उच्चारण करना भी उसके लिए संघर्ष है और इस बार “लिंचिंग” शब्द से परिचय करवाया गया। राष्ट्र के कुछ प्रतिष्ठित व अर्बन नक्सल नागरिक राजनीतिक सम्बन्धों के चलते राष्ट्र को बौद्धिक विभाजन की ओर ले जाने का नीच कार्य कर रहे हैं। क्या उनका दायित्व नहीं बनता कि राष्ट्र की अखंडता बनी रहे। हर घटना को विभाजन के तराजू में न तौले। स्वार्थ में अंधे ये नागरिक केवल एक वर्ग के लिए ही घड़याली आँसू बहाते है और उस वर्ग के विकास में इनका योगदान नगण्य है।

अभी हाल ही में 49 प्रतिष्ठित नागरिकों ने मोदी जी को पत्र लिखा। किन्तु ये पत्र तब क्यों नहीं लिखा गया जब बंगाल व केरल में राजनीति के लिए निर्मम हत्याएं हो रही थी। जब अपने ही राष्ट्र में हिन्दू शरणार्थी बन गए। जब गैर बीजेपी शासित राज्यों में लिंचिंग की घटनाएं होती है व जब किसी घटना में हिन्दू पीड़ित होते हैं। आख़िर घटनाओं पर तुष्टिकरण क्यों? क्यों स्वार्थ के तराजू पर तौला जाता है? या स्वार्थ ने इन्हें गिद्ध बना दिया जो घटनाओं की ताक में रहते हैं और स्वार्थ में नोचते हैं।

एक कारण ये भी नज़र आता है कि इन्हें एक सामान्य परिवार के नागरिक का राष्ट्र प्रमुख बनना पच नहीं रहा। एक गरीब परिवार का बेटा पूरे विश्व में ख्याति प्राप्त कर रहा है व विश्व नेता बनने की ओर अग्रसर है। जब भी मोदी जी सफलता के नए आयाम छूते हैं तो इनकी छाती पर सांप लोटने लगते हैं। उस छटपटाहट में ये अपना मानसिक नियन्त्रण खोते जा रहे हैं।सरकार को घेरने के लिए मुद्दे न मिल पाने के कारण नए नए शब्द ख़ोज रहे है व आम नागरिकों को भ्रमित करने का असफ़ल प्रयास कर रहे हैं। नागरिकों को जागरूक होना होगा।

ये तथाकथित बुद्धिजीवी ऐसी घटनाओं की प्रतीक्षा में रहते हैं जिससे ये राष्ट्र की छवि धूमिल कर सके। ये एक एजेंडे के तहत कार्य करते हैं। नागरिकों को अपने दायित्व को समझना होगा व आवेश में कानून का उल्लंघन करने से बचना होगा। मैं राष्ट्र के प्रतिष्ठित राष्ट्रवादी नागरिकों से अपेक्षा करूंगा कि इस पुण्य भारतभूमि के प्रति अपने दायित्वों का निर्वाह करें व राष्ट्र में भय का वातावरण न बनने दे। आगे आकर नागरिकों में आपसी सामंजस्य व अखण्डता को सुदृढ़ करने का प्रयास करें। जिससे भ्रम की स्थिति फ़ैलाने वाले बौद्धिक आतंकवादियों को कड़ा उत्तर मिले।

आज 61 प्रतिष्ठित नागरिकों ने अपने दायित्व को निभाया व सार्वजनिक रूप से पत्र लिख नागरिकों को तथ्यों से अवगत कराया। ये अति सराहनीय कार्य है व सभी को राष्ट्र की छवि धूमिल करने के प्रयासों को विफ़ल करने में यथाशक्ति योगदान देना चाहिए।

Letter to the HRD minister

Abhijeeth
-
0
Letter to the HRD minister

Dear readers, appended below is my letter to the HRD minister based on review of the draft NEP.

Sharing it here for everyone to use and incorporate in their responses.

Thank you

Dear HRD Minister,

Many thanks for inviting comments on the draft National Education Policy (NEP). Please accept my sincere appreciation for compiling the draft, a humongous exercise in itself.

I have reviewed the NEP with two different lenses – first as a father of school-going kids who will be affected by the recommendations, and second as a medical doctor with a reasonable understanding of higher education in India, especially Medicine.

The draft NEP has a lot of positive recommendations and the drafting committee must be commended for their far-sighted approach – both vis a vis school education (freedom to choose curriculum, textbooks in local languages, approach to student evaluation and the general spirit favouring of a student-focused approach) and higher education (flexibility to pursue more than one stream, and proposals pertaining to MOOCs/SWAYAM, Indian languages, online access to journals, online digital repository for ODL content etc).

My comments and suggestions (appended below – separately for school and higher education) pertain to those parts of the draft NEP where I feel the recommendations may negatively impact the stated objectives of the NEP.

Best regards,

Abhijeeth

School Education

Parameter Summary – current draft position Comments / Suggestions
Right to Education (RTE) act The drafting committee has rightly highlighted that the implementation of RTE leaves a lot to be desired and overall the initial intent of providing school education for all has not been fulfilled using the RTE act. The main impediments vis a vis RTE are:

  • Onerous input criteria without taking into account ground realities
  • The financial burden due to RTE has resulted in closure of many ‘public-spirited’ private schools run by non-profit trusts
  • RTE is applicable only to Hindu private schools – thereby depriving Hindus of quality institutions to preserve and protect their culture. Depriving Hindu-schools of their admission autonomy goes against the NEP’s own principle of autonomy of institutions. As a corollary, the education scenario is distorted in favour of minority-run institutions
  • There is potential for misuse of RTE exemption by certain schools claiming minority status, while in reality their school is not primarily serving that minority group
 Despite recognizing these flaws, the draft proposes to extend RTE from 3-18 years of age (currently 6-14 years). This comes at a time when Hindu run schools are already under financial pressure that impact their viability. If more schools are shut down due to RTE, it will further restrict the availability of schools – and undermine ‘Education for All’. Therefore, I would urge the ministry to reconsider this proposal.

What I would also like to propose are suggestions that can address the issues plaguing RTE. This should help achieve India’s education goals while concurrently helping public-spirited private schools thrive – something that RTE in its current form does not facilitate.

  • Implement RTE equally across all schools irrespective of religious denomination, i.e., repeal Section 12(1)(c) criteria of 25%
  • If Section 12(1)(c) retained, then consider the following suggestions in descending order of priority
    • Retain RTE exemption to only minority institutions which primarily serve their minority groups
    • Dilute the percentage of RTE quota from the current 25% to a more reasonable figure – e.g. 5% or 10% to ensure financial viability of affected schools
    • Expedite reimbursement to schools and include non-tuition fee related items to the reimbursable amount. School should have the right to be exempted from RTE quota if reimbursement is not received for 3 years
    • Ensure private schools can be approached for admission only if a government school is not available nearby – an approach adopted by the Karnataka government
    • Instead of reimbursing fees to schools – reimburse school fees to the parents via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) such that schools are not exposed to the vagaries of volatility in income. The parent should, in turn, pay the full fees to the school
Syllabus, curriculum The draft acknowledges lacunae in current history-teaching, stating that – ‘basic historical facts are not currently taught in India – perhaps a remnant of an earlier colonial time’ Some greats in our history are over-represented, while others are not given commensurate importance. For e.g., there are minimal details on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Maharana Pratap, Maharaja Krishna Devaraya and the Vijayanagara Empire, Lachit Barphukan and the Ahoms, Raja Raja Chola and many others. Their description is typically more detailed in respective state curricula, and not in the national curriculum. The destiny of our country has been shaped as much by these great heroes as others – they too need to be given their rightful place in our school textbooks for future generations to know about
The draft recommends revision of the national curriculum framework, and also encourages that the curriculum should be designed with emphasis on local content and flavor Apart from these, the curriculum should change when new knowledge becomes available. For e.g. textbooks needs to be updated with recent archaeological findings in Rakhigarhi, Sanauli etc. that have helped overturn past notions of our history
Teacher Training The draft recommends shutting down existing (substandard) Teacher Education Institutions In lieu of shutting down existing institutes, one could consider selecting better-performing institutes and try to improve the quality of training imparted by these institutes
Appraisal: All heads of school complexes will be appraised by the BEO and DEO Please reconsider this – the BEO / DEO may not be qualified to evaluate the head of school complexes. A peer review system may be better suited for this kind of evaluation
School accreditation The draft recommends that the SMC and two peer schools must endorse the self-accreditation for it to be valid, after adequate due diligence Kindly add that the reviewing peer schools be continuously changed so that the possibility of a bias or malpractice is mitigated
Fees The draft recommends that the percentage fee increase permissible based on inflation, etc. will be decided by SSRA for every three year period To eliminate overbearing bureaucratic controls, the SSRA should not mandate fees. Financial autonomy is an important aspect of school autonomy. Giving government the authority to decide fee increases may eventually make private schools a victim of electoral populism.

One possible solution may be to allow both for-profit and not-for profit private schools. The latter may have reasonable financial autonomy for providing quality education
Under-represented groups (URGs) The draft recommends that URGs (e.g. SCs, STs, OBCs, Muslims, migrant communities, urban poor etc.) have SEZs where an increased amount will be spent to enhance infrastructure. The draft also mentions that teachers from URGs be posted mostly in those regions where their group population is higher so that they become role models for students of their community Such segregation along caste and religious lines has the potential to increase divisiveness. A better and non-divisive approach may be to rank areas based solely on their education indicators (rather than demographic parameters).

In principle, role models should be chosen irrespective of their identity (rather than caste or religion). To create a more inclusive society, we need role models who transcend the boundaries of caste and religion

Higher Education

Parameter Summary – current draft position Comments / Suggestions
Scholarships The draft proposes setting up a National scholarship fund for financial support to students In my experience as a medical student, the fund needs to earmark appropriate amounts to stipends also – since many students pursuing higher education either discontinue or are unable to pursue their education further due to the lack of adequate stipends
The draft recommends that 50% of students in each programme be given fee waivers (20% to have 100% waiver, 30% to have 25-100% waiver) Please reconsider – these appear to be highly prescriptive / bureaucratic recommendations. Each HEI should have the freedom to choose the proportion of students to which they provide fee waivers and the degree of waiver – based on their feasibility. The HEI could however, be asked to justify their criteria. Mandating criteria may also cause financial distress to paying students (who partly subsidise scholarship-eligible students)
Faculty The draft proposes utilizing the services of retired/close-to-retirement researchers as mentors Western experience suggests that the role of academia in terms of goal-directed research for meaningful real-world difference, may be overemphasized. Many scientific discoveries come out of the Industry. India needs to leapfrog the western approach – what we need is more research faculty with industrial experience – who would help in goal-directed education.

We should also consider opening faculty positions to NRIs, OCIs and people of Indian origin. Many Indic origin people are involved in cutting edge research outside India and have a good standing among peers internationally. Many also are enthusiastic in wanting to contribute to their home country – and form a ready resource waiting to be tapped into
Role of government / bureaucracy The draft proposes that the government needs to have a perspective to drive the research that will result in innovations that will facilitate economic growth While this is a well-intentioned move, would suggest that this is restricted to ‘development’, rather than ‘research’ – since generally at the stage of basic / applied research, it is difficult to evaluate whether the potential application may facilitate economic growth or not. Also, the review process should be primarily technical (i.e., minimal bureaucratic interference)
Health Education The draft proposes that the first 1-2 years of MBBS will be common for all science graduates, following which students would specialize into their respective stream. The draft also proposes ‘bridging’ across systems and lateral entry into MBBS for students from nursing, dental etc. Inadequate details have been presented. Medical education has one of the most prolonged durations of education before a professional gains proficiency in his/her specialty – more details are required before we effect a change in the way medical education is conducted
The draft proposes an exit examination at the end of 4 years of MBBS, that would also double-up as an entrance examination This should lessen the burden on the students, and reward consistent performers. However, eliminating entrance examination would exclude any possibility of second-chance for the students – instead, I would propose having a (normalized) weightage for MBBS performance, in addition to a weightage for entrance exam marks
Diploma courses such as the one being offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Mumbai, will be promoted produce sufficient numbers of intermediate specialists While diploma-holders can be used to fulfill health requirements – in principle, diploma should be considered an ad-hoc degree, with the opportunity for diploma-holders to increase their training and gain a MD/DNB qualification with experience
Vocational Education Offering majors and minors in vocations to both UG students Well intentioned move. However, there has to be a hierarchy if seats are limited. UG students should get to choose vocational as second preference after filling seats for students who intend to make the vocations as the source of their livelihood.

Given that vocational occupations are a huge employment generator, we should encourage manufacturing firms to set up vocational institutes and offer courses. These institutes should be in relatively close proximity to the manufacturing hubs, for ease of on-the-job training

 

The (in)significant fans

Anant Chetan
-
0
The (in)significant fans

[Disclaimer: If you are a fan of any player (playing or retired) and get offended if someone says something about him, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE.]

I thought adding a disclaimer is a good idea, especially after reading the comments on my previous article “Everything is not fine with Team India” which irked quite a few alleged cricket fans.

Few weeks ago, I read an article about Cricket Australia’s culture review. The reviewers highlighted two flaws and for the last few years are creating enormous pressure on the Cricket Board to get rid of them:

  • The board believes in “Win at all cost” principle, and second
  • The board does not consider fans as stakeholders in any way.

I am not interested in the first point mentioned. It could be one of the reason for the issues like ball tempering or excessive sledging by the Aussies, but is still debatable as the teams that do not have this culture are also found doing the same things. I am more interested in the second point mentioned; fans as the stakeholders. Considering fans as the stakeholders or giving them the right to say or influence a board’s decision is the worst thing a sports authority could do.  Indian Board has always listened to the fans if not directly then indirectly (commercial benefits). May be this is the reason why Australian Team has started to look more like Team India and has also started failing like team India.

Why considering fans as stakeholders is a bad idea could very well be explained by Team India’s current predicament.

As expected, the team India lost the world cup once again. And as expected the blame game to slaughter the scapegoat has also begun. Yes, scapegoat. They are not searching for the solution; they are searching for somebody they can afford to sacrifice. Can you guess who would he be? Let me help you with the guess work. If you arrange all the people involved in the game (players and team management) in a descending order based on the number of fans or followers they enjoy i.e. the one that has the highest number of followers or fans is at the top and the one who has the least number of followers or fans comes at the bottom of the table). Tada!! You got your man, the one or a few at the bottom of the list will be held accountable for the failures of the team.

As of now, the five selectors along with Sanjay Bangar (India’s assistant coach) are the front runners in this race. A lot of people are questioning the selectors now. Yes, the selections were poor, but are the selectors to be blamed for this? No, I don’t think so. They simply don’t have the stature to say ‘no’ to a player. Just imagine a scenario where any of the selectors calling Dhoni and saying “You are not in the team for the world cup”. How would that conversation go? What would happen? Dhoni’s fans would come on the streets, flood social media with a lot of things, unnecessary controversies would erupt. I don’t know about Dhoni but Selectors would  definitely be replaced. No body wants a chaos of that magnitude.

Even after the defeat his fans are coming with the questions like why was he was asked to play after DK and not at number 4 in the game against NZ. Maybe because even Dhoni knows that he is not a regular batsman and DK is. In the beginning of his career, he knew his role and nobody forced him to change anything. He was the best wicket keeper India or rather the world had ever seen, he can hit the stumps without looking at them, he can stop a late/lemon cuts just by extending his legs. He would come at around thirty fifth over and give a spectacular finish “the finisher”. That’s it. But he was never a regular batsman, he can never be. “You see the ball, you hit the ball” is not a batting technique, that is why Cricket Academies don’t teach helicopter shot, even though it is an awesome answer to Yorkers in death overs.

If you bowl a slightly over pitched ball outside off stump to a top order batsman he would drive it to the extra covers but a pinch hitter would slog it over mid on; the approach is entirely different. The over expectations of his fans to see him at number 4 forced the authorities to try him at number 4 in the different ODI series forcing him  to sideline his natural slogging game. He built his career on one specific style and was asked to change the style when he was in his 30s. The end result is right in front of you. His fans who didn’t have the ability to distinguish his strengths and weaknesses are the actual reason for his poor hitting performance.

I took Dhoni’s example because he is receiving the flak for his game these days. And he is not the only one, there are, were and will be, a lot of players like him, who would succumb to the expectations of the fans. You destroyed Irfan Pathan, didn’t you? It was you who wanted him to become an all rounder. An extremely fine bowler got lost in the journey of becoming an all rounder. You would be asking the very same questions for Jadeja and Pandya, they both are pinch hitters you misread them as batsmen. Yes, I know Jadeja scored 76 this time and Pandya scored 76 in Champions Trophy final which India lost. The point is “You see the ball, you hit the ball” hitters cannot control the innings. They are not even wicket tacking bowlers. They are playing only because of India’s undying all rounder fetish. Mediocre players, who got to play international cricket just because they could bat as well as bowl.

Same goes for the assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, he played some 20 games, that’s it. What tips is he going to give Indian Batsmen or Bowlers? He simply lacks the credentials. Nineties kids would have seen him play, he was the Hardik Pandya in Indian squad from 2001-2004. To his disadvantage, there was no IPL , coffee with Karan to make him popular.

It is quite simple, just put some “Yes Sir” at critical positions and run the business as you like. If things go wrong, put everything on him. easy peasy lemon squeezy !!!

BCCI in 2015 did one of the best things it could have ever done. It introduced a transparent application process for the post of selectors. There cannot be a person better than Sachin Tendulkar for judging the batsmen. He would have an eye for the details. But he never applied for the position moreover he along with Ganguly and Laxman moved out of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). Simply because they would have to let go of their IPL and Commentary positions as they fall under “conflict of interest” clause. Unfortunately fans chose a god who turned out to be more selfish than an average Indian. Where are all the so called biggies of Indian Cricket? Sitting in studios, making comments after the game? What happened to the give back to the country, we are for the team? Turns out it is easier said than done. That is why Rahul Dravid is different from all other larger than the life players. He mentored and coached the under 19 team and would now be the head for National Cricket Academy. This is how a talented player should give back to the society. But it is difficult, it needs time and patience, doling out cash is so easy.

Or may be the people like Sachin and Ganguly know, how they roughed up the selectors  and coaches when those people said things different to what people like Sachin and Ganguly wanted and that’s why they don’t go these confrontational but extremely important positions.

Ganguly threatened to pack his bags and come back to India in the middle of an ongoing series, just because Greg Chappell asked him to step down as a captain and focus more on his out of form batting. Sachin Tendulkar had problems with the coach because the coach wanted him to play down to order. Why would a technically sound player like Sachin have a problem playing at any specific number asked by his coach?  Before I give you the answer to this question, let me ask you another question. Why couldn’t Virat Kohli score as many runs as Rohit Sharma in this world cup? Simply because he got less time on the crease as most of the time Indian openers did well. If Sachin would have played at any other number instead of opening the innings, would he be able to create the records he is now associated with? Never!! He and some other players played to become the best in the world rather than to be a part of the best team in the world. Emails don’t leak by themselves, they are explicitly leaked to bring the information in public domain so as to exploit the fan power.

A coach or a selector with good credentials can become a threat to the star players in no time. 

Also read: What is India’s number 4 batsman conundrum?

If you look at the Ind Vs NZ game, only the things that fans would like to listen or could live with are being said. For instance India lost against NZ in the semi-finals because of failed batting. You could go in a lots of ifs and buts, if Rishabh Pant had not played that shot. If Dhoni came at number 4. If Shikhar Dhawan was not injured. India actually lost because of its incomplete bowling attack. After excellent first 10 overs, India literally did not have a wicket taking bowler. On the other hand once Trent Bolt and Matt Henry were done, Lockie Ferguson and Mitchelle Santner kept the same pressure with the ball. This is where India lost the game. 

NZ has the weakest batting out of the top four teams, both Eng and Aus in the league matches were able to stop Kiwis below 200;  at 186 and 157 respectively. India let them make 50-60 extra runs. I don’t know and don’t understand as to how and when the idea that you can win a cricket match  with only two Seamers come from. You can pick any recent world cup, India never plays with more than three Seamers, if one out of them has a bad day, India loses. If you don’t have wicket taking bowlers, it does not matter how deep your batting line up is, you will always fall short of runs. Two bowlers cannot bowl all fifty overs. Now, this time I would not name the players as to who should be removed, but add two more wicket taking bowlers. Because if I do name the players, their fans would get irked and call me names. And moreover, it is not that the team is winning world cups back to back with the current template. You could support bowlers for a change. If you keep doing the same thing the same way, over and over again, you would get the same results over and over again. Wouldn’t you?

The most unfortunate part for Indian Cricket is that from the superficial view it looks like Cricket is the most followed games. However, the sad truth is that it is the most abused sports in India. People follow cricket for any and every reason but for cricket. Be it stardom, glamour, after match parties, cheerleaders, entertainment, “Kohli says Ben-Stokes in a peculiar way“, or “Pandya aaj karke aaya hai” or “Ziva is super cute” etc. etc. People today are fans of  the cricketers but not the cricket. If they were, they would have been more interested in the techniques the player carries rather than the personality the player carries. And this is what worries me, losing a world cup does not change any of these. Stars would still remain the stars, paychecks  would stay the same, endorsements would still keep flowing in, “Kohli would still say Ben-Stokes”, “Pandya ab bhi karke aayega”, “Ziva would still be super cute”and fans would still be fans. But you now know as to why the fans should be considered insignificant by  the cricket board in India.

“Excessively commercialized era of cricket in India” is the reason for the defeat and not “45 minutes of bad cricket“. Every team has its bad moments and good moments, the only difference is that a good team recovers from its bad moments, however a weak team doesn’t. Moreover, if it was a display of good cricket, even the defeat would not sting that much.

Be a fan of cricket not cricketers, you are significant and your opinions matter!

Thanks for reading!

Also read:

1...542543544...889Page 543 of 889