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Remonetisation: Solving the Currency Conundrum

J Thiyagarajan
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Remonetisation: Solving the Currency Conundrum

There could hardly be anyone in the country today who is not aware about the demonetization of the old Rs.1000 and Rs.500 notes. Its effect could perhaps have been easily managed by a smaller set of the Indian population who could quickly switch over to alternate means of paying for their transactions but those who were used to transacting only with cash were severely affected. Either way the lingering question in everybody’s mind is how long more it will take to overcome the currency crisis and will the government be able to successfully remonetize without having to wait too long after the 50 day deadline is over on 30th December 2016. Well, read on to get the answer to this most intriguing question!

As per an RTI query, RBI had 247 crores of Rs.2000 notes in stock as on 8th November 2016 which were printed exclusively in the 2 RBI presses at Salboni in West Bengal and Mysuru in Karnataka under Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (BRBNMPL). Given the stated combined capacity of 4 crore notes per day, it would have taken around 62 days to print this quantity. This helps us conclude that the printing of the Rs.2000 notes which has Dr. Urjit Patel’s signature should have been started within a day or two of him assuming charge on 4th September.

Out of the 247 crore Rs. 2000 notes that were available before the announcement of demonetization, only 170 crore have been issued to the public till 10th December as per RBI’s notification on 13th December. It is safe to assume that BRBNMPL would have continued to print these notes till the end of November. Hence till the month end, they would have printed another 96 crore notes over 24 days taking the total to 343 crore notes, the exact number to replace the 685.8 crore Rs.1000 notes issued to public. If the RBI was not keen to replace full value of Rs.1000 notes, printing of Rs.2000 notes would have ended much earlier. It appears that they worked under normal shifts during November.

In the meanwhile, the 2 presses in Nashik and Dewas under Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL), which were earlier printing Rs.100 and smaller denominations were switched over to printing new Rs.500 notes exclusively, in view of the emergency situation caused by the non-availability of these notes vital for handing the currency shortage. As per claims, they started with a combined capacity of just 90 lakhs notes per day and in that also some quality issues surfaced. It means that in 17-18 days starting 9th November till 27th November, about 15-16 crore Rs.500 notes would have been printed. This could indirectly be confirmed, the figure of 15.6 notes issued till 29th November as stated in Rajya Sabha by the Minister of State for Finance Mr.Arjun Ram Meghwal. Here it is important to note that Mr.Jagdis Godse, the Secretary of CNP-ISP Workers’ Union has claimed that their employees have been working non-stop, including holidays, since the announcement of demonetization.

Further, around the end of November the quality issues seem to have been addressed and they have managed to increase the daily printing of Rs.500 notes to at least 1.5 crore notes and at the same time have been printing smaller denomination notes also. This should have been possible by employing 3 shifts per days and technical tweaks. This means an addition of around 32-35 crore notes over 21 days starting from 28th November till 18th December.

Going forward, as per SPMCIL, they manage to increase the output of Rs.500 notes to 2.2 crore notes per day by 23rd December and further to 2.65 cores by 27th December. Making some assumptions, this leads us to a figure of 32 core additional Rs.500 notes till the last day of December 2016 taking the total of these notes to 82 crores or 4.7% of the cancelled notes of the same denomination. No detail of issue of notes of higher denomination has been made available by RBI for the days after 19th December.

There are three other interesting possibilities to be considered:

  1. One can assume that the 2 units in Salboni and Mysuru were also pressed into printing Rs.500 notes exclusively from 1st December onwards. Also they were learnt to have extended the shift to 12 hours for 2 weeks between 14-27th in Salboni. A conservative estimate would give us about 120 crore additional notes.
  2. As per RBI’s notification on 21st December, they had issued 2,040 crore notes of Rs.100, Rs.50, Rs.20 and Rs.10 till 19th December. The stated capacity for the Nasik and Dewas units were around 1.1 notes per day for these denominations. It implies that RBI had most of these in stock on the day of announcing the demonetization. Alternatively, they could have released the soiled notes that they had kept aside for destruction. Also extrapolating the information available their total value would not exceed Rs.1,16,000 crores in all.
  3. The same notification states that till 19th December, 220 crore notes of higher denominations were issued. Assuming that no more Rs.500 note was issued after 29th November (total issued 15.6 crores), RBI should have issued 204.4 crore notes of Rs.2000 till 19th December taking the total value of the higher denomination notes to a maximum of Rs.4,16,600 crores. Hence there would be an unexplained shortfall of Rs.60,000 crores in the total value Rs.5,92,613 cores of all denominations issued, as mentioned in this notification.

Putting all these things together, we get these conservative figures (in crores):

Denomination of Bank notes Printed till 31st December 2016 Issued till 19 December 2016 Available for distribution from 20-Dec till 31-Dec
Number Cr Value Rs. Cr Number Cr Value Rs. Cr Number Cr Value Rs. Cr
Rs.2000    343.00   6,86,000     204.40  4,08,800    138.60  2,77,200
Rs.500   200.00   1,00,000        15.60        7,800    184.40     92,200
Rs.100 & below 2,040.00   1,16,000

The above figures make us conclude that RBI would be in a position to replace the banned notes to the tune of around 9,00,000 crores by the end of December 2016, which would make 58.4% of Rs.15,44,050 crores which is the total value of banned notes issued to the public. Clearly, the replacement of banned Rs500 is not happening by an equivalent replacement but by adding a substantial quantity of notes of smaller denominations.

It will look like RBI has a huge gap of 41.5% to bridge. But what if the RBI never wanted to close this gap fully? Interesting isn’t it? Well, chances are RBI will reach its target not very long from now, belying the expectation of a failure of the demonetization exercise by those who are opposing it!

ईमानदार की अफीम

Abhishek Sachan
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ईमानदार की अफीम

लोग बोलते हैं कि demonetization का असर नहीं हुआ, तो आप गैर जरूरी चीजों की बिक्री देख लीजिये, आज ब्लैक वाले कैश नहीं होने के कारण भोग-विलास के सामान नहीं खरीद पा रहे हैं, महंगे मोबाइल की बिक्री आधी रह गयी है। मार्केटिंग की झोंक से बिकने वाले उत्पाद मार खा रहे हैं और ये सबूत है कि चोर-रईस आज सकपकाए हुए हैं, यदि इन लोगों ने पुरानी लाइफस्टाइल अपनाई तो पकड़ मे आ जाएंगे, क्योंकि कार्ड निकालने पड़ेंगे, चेक देने पड़ेंगे और यहाँ सरकार की रेडार पकड़ लेगी। वहीं सैलरी वाला या ईमानदार-रईस खुशी-खुशी ऑनलाइन या कार्ड से मोबाइल आदि खरीद रहा है, उसने इकॉनमी सम्हाली हुई है।

कुछ-एक रिसर्च है जिसमें भारत की 50-60% इकॉनमी को ब्लैक मनी आधारित माना गया है। सवाल ये है कि 60% इकॉनमी अगर बदमाशों के हाथ थी तो 40% को क्या था कि वो टैक्स भरते रहे? आखिर ईमानदारी का चस्का क्यों था? खैर, कारण चाहे भगवान हो या ईमान हो, मन ही मन ये 40% आज खुश है। जितनी बार लाइन लगेगा उतनी बार इसका सीना चौड़ा होगा। ईमानदार आदमी को त्याग मे भी बड़ा संतोष मिलता है, और संतोष पाकर ईमानदार हाइ हो जाता है। संतोष ईमानदार की अफीम है, और वो मोदी जी ने 8 नवंबर से भर भर के बांटी है।

भले ही ईमानदार के पास एक भी न्यूज़ चैनल नहीं है, इसके पास अमर्त्य सेन जैसे एकोनोमिस्ट नहीं हैं। इसका कोई नेता या पार्टी नहीं है लेकिन इसको ये नोट बदलने का कार्यक्र्म जच गया है। आम जनता को कैश का गोरखधंधा बताने के लिए कोई रॉकेट साइन्स नहीं मांगता है। आम जनता सब जानता है, लेकिन आम ईमानदार जनता को इज्जत मांगता है। जिंदगी भर जो ईमानदारी का उलाहना सुना उसका हिसाब बराबर होना मांगता है। और विमुद्रीकरण ने आज हिसाब करके दिया है। ईमानदार व्यापारी की बिक्री बढ़ी है, ईमानदार के खाली खाते मे लोग आकर पैसा डाल रहे हैं और वो भरपूर इतरा रहा है, लेकिन संतोष वाला चस्का है इसलिए एहसानपूर्वक खाते मे पैसा डलवा भी रहा है।

इस मामले को थोड़ा संगठन शास्त्र से भी समझिए। अबकी बार मोदी जी ने एक कार्यक्रम देकर आदमी से भाषणबाजी या पान के गल्ले पर बकर-भंजन के अलावा लाइन मे लगने का जमीनी काम भी करवा दिया है, इसलिए अब ये इंसान केवल प्रशंसक नहीं रह गया, अब ये आदमी कार्यकर्ता हो गया है। अब ये आदमी ईमानदारी कि धुन मे मोदी के लिए चुनाव लड़ेगा। भले भाजपा के कुछ नेता उनकी लुटिया डूबने की वजह से गरम-ठंडे हो रहे हों। आज मोदी जी का वोट बैंक 28% से ऊपर आ गया है, 40% कि ओर बढ़ गया है।

इसलिए ईमानदारों से निवेदन है कि कृपया आज के हालत पर गंभीरता से भिड़े रहें, लाइन मे लगे हुए अपने भाई को कोई बेवकूफ न बना ले जाए। जब तक हम cashless नहीं हो जाते, तब तक कि लंबी लड़ाई पूरे असलहे से लड़ना है, किसी भी कारण से नहीं रुकना है। नशा उतरने न पाये।

A toast to all my fellow Indians

prasanu202
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A toast to all my fellow Indians

The fifty days since the announcement of Demonetization was made, are nearly up. Since then we have had economists of every hue weighing in on the pros and cons and possible outcomes; politicians, mostly opposing the move, have agitated on the streets and blocked Parliament and the media has been busy chasing every morbid story that can even remotely be linked to the noteban.

But what of the ordinary Indians who have actually borne the brunt of the ban? About a fortnight ago, a Twitter poll asked which group of Indians was most irritating. I had unhesitatingly clicked on the ‘Indians in general’ option. And it’s true; we might just be the most irritating race in the world. We are loud, opiniated, argumentative and venal. We have neither civic sense nor respect for public spaces littering, spitting and peeing in public without any qualms. The less said about our traffic sense or rather lack of it, the better. We’d rather bribe our way or trade on our connections to get out of waiting our turn or paying a fine. And on a grim note, we remain deeply divided along regional, caste and religious lines.

I could go on and on. But the post-ban scenario has stood many of my notions on their head! For days on end, the same people have stood stoically in serpentine lines in a way that would put even the phlegmatic British, inured to queuing up, to shame. People who resorted to riots and arson at the slightest rumour of affront to religion or caste have staunchly resisted attempts by politicians to stir trouble by claiming victimhood. Our sense of humour and creativity has come to the fore; we have been kept entertained by an endless stream of jokes, cartoons and WhatsApp forwards. My personal favourite is the spoof on the famous Gabbar Singh dialogue ‘kitne aadmi the?’ from Sholay. And, of course, it has once again shown us the power of Indian ‘jugaad’. We have managed to carry on with the help of credit/IOUs/barter and what have you apart from the conventional credit/debit cards & mobile wallets. We have taken our fellow Indians on trust, believing that they will redeem their debts once the situation normalises. And who could have imagined the ease with which we seem to have leaped over the Digital chasm to the land of ‘less cash’ nirvana?

It has been amazing to see everyone from our autowala, sabziwala and chaatwala to Dada-Dadi, Chacha-Chachi and even chunnu- munnu and our Shantabai & Baburao take to digital payments like ducks to water. Various Govt agencies/NGOs, political leaders, bureaucrats, corporates and samaritans have taken the initiative to spread the gospel of less cash with missionary zeal. One can’t also forget the near super human contribution of our banking staff and Treasury and our law enforcement agencies. And all those responsible for getting our cash from the presses to our banks/ATMs. Yes, there have been the ungodly few among us who have tried to cheat the system but they are the exception that prove the rule. It has made me proud that when it comes to matters of National interest we can and do rise above our petty differences and personal hardships and contribute as one people. It has also been an eye opener for me that an overwhelming number of Indians would rather be honest. We only need simple, easy to comply with laws which are seen to be fairly applied to all and leaders who lead by example.

I’m not an economist so I can’t hazard a guess as to what will be the effect of demonetization on our economy. There are the other obvious effects like bringing down the drug trade, trafficking, terrorism, Maoism and counterfeiting. But apart from those, it has bound us all in a moral endeavour to forge for ourselves a more transparent, fair and equitable system.

I therefore propose a toast, “Here’s to all my fellow Indians and the success of demonetization”.

How a Jan-Dhan account changed the life of an ISB Graduate

Ashish
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How a Jan-Dhan account changed the life of an ISB Graduate

Sitting in plush AC class rooms, living off luxurious apartments on campus and then subsequently working from swanky offices in big Corporates or self-owned companies, the ‘elite’ of our country, represented in this case by a graduate from ISB (Indian School of Business), is as far removed from reality of a Mamooli-Aadmi as the sky is from earth (not using ‘Aam-Aadmi’ as I find the term abused beyond redemption). Yet, it would not stop this elite from waxing eloquent on the problems of the poor living in distant villages or writing consulting papers on rural economy or perhaps even drafting critical public policy documents for the rural folk.

Please do not ponder much on the ISB grad in question – it’s me. And let me make a confession here – ‘ISB,’ has been added in here only to help gather more attention and more ‘eye-balls.’ Who would read a post from a nobody called Ashish, otherwise. Also, ISB can easily be replaced with any premier institution of India- IIT, IIM and others.

Having worked in my family business, I was never as far removed from reality as many of my other class mates were. However, I too still lived in an urban cocoon of my own. And this, I came to realize only after I started an industrial unit in a rural area and came face to face with rural life.

Looking at the difficulty faced by the labourers working in my unit (most of them come from UP & Orissa) in transferring money back home, I got Bank Accounts opened for them in a nearby bank, way back in 2014 when PM Modi was running the Jan Dhan Yojana. Life, or at least money transfers, would become easy for them, or so I thought.

The very next day of opening the bank accounts, my main foreman Ranjeet, an extremely intelligent & skilled worksman, came running to me – scared as hell.  “What wrong have I done done Sir (Saahab, humau kachu kiye hai kya)?” he asked showing an SMS he received from the bank. The SMS by itself was a simple Welcome message that any bank sends out on opening of an account but it was in English, a language which was beyond comprehension for this ‘Mamooli – Aadmi.’ Awe of the entire banking system exaggerated by a foreign language was such that a simple SMS scared the wits out of this otherwise reasonable and very balanced man. The ‘Urban Cocoon’ or, should I say, the ‘Urban English Cocoon’ in which I lived, broke open in that one moment.

In that one moment, I realized the injustice that we as a nation have been perpetrating on the ‘Mamooli Aadmi’ for all these years. 70 years after Independence from the ‘Angrez,’ we are still not able to give a person the right to go on with his life’s mundane, daily transactions without ‘Angrezi.’ Think about it, would you be comfortable to receive your phone bill, electricity bill, water bill, bank statement, judicial proceedings etc. all in a language you do not understand in your native country? What makes it worse is that we, the so called ‘educated’ elite, do not even see this as a problem that needs correction. On the contrary, we castigate the mamooli aadmi for not having the aptitude to learn English.

I, myself for instance, never employed even a security guard if he couldn’t write in English. However, after this incident, life changed. Language was no longer a barrier. My security guards started writing the ‘inward/ outward register’ in their native language Telugu and my foremen started writing the ‘production-logs’ in their native language Hindi (See attached pictures). Two years since then, Ranjeet, the security guards and most other workers continue to work with me. But now they work free of the inferiority complex, of not knowing an alien language and work with more confidence, zeal, motivation & loyalty. A simple change in the language of work brought about much greater peace, prosperity and happiness both for me and my workers.

I now wonder how much more prosperous and developed our nation would be if only it could get rid of this inferiority complex of not knowing English, from the hearts and minds of the mamooli aadmi and also similarly rid of the Superiority complex, of knowing English, form the mind, body and soul of the ‘Khaas (Elite) Aadmi / Aurat.’

Security Guard, now writing in Telugu
Ranjeet writing Petty Cash Account in Hindi

Secularization: Need of the hour for Indian Society

Nithesh S
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Secularization: Need of the hour for Indian Society

“The term secularization implies that what was previously regarded as religious is now ceasing to be such, and it also implies that a process of differentiation which results in the various aspects of society, economic, political, legal and moral, becoming increasingly discrete in relation to each other. The distinction between Church and State, and the Indian concept of secular state, both assume the existence of such differentiation”

~ M N Srinivas (Noted Sociologist)

Secularization is a term that could make many jump out of their seats and scream. It  would attract even more attention if it is attached to the Muslim community in India due to the ‘secular’ nature of media discourse. Hence , I provide the definition of this term from the sociological perspective to clear the doubts of the reader as early as possible in this article.

Social media censure/criticism of  Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami by orthodox Muslims for ‘allowing’ his wife to wear an elegant dress instead of a veil should awaken conscience of liberal Muslims and Hindus alike. This nonsensical imposition of religious ‘morals’ on an individual is not just a random event. It is the symptom of medieval mindset that has been sustained and encouraged actively or passively by the forces that want to isolate Muslims from the mainstream.

This is not different from a ban of the hijab in some of the European countries like France. Invasion of the public or the state in matters related to the individual must be condemned no matter where we stand on other issues. Instead of occupying paternalistic attitude in the imposition or ban of the veil for Muslim women, men (politicians and clergy in particular) must stand aside and let them take the decision themselves.

The tendency of Hindu society to control women  was not very different. However, due to the forces of secularization, it has reduced to a large extent in urban India. In southern states of India, the rural scene is also changing at a rapid pace. Another passage from Mr. Srinivas’s book is relevant at this juncture.

“The sharp rise in the age of marriage of Brahmin girls enabled them to take advantage of opportunities for higher education  and this resulted in a breach of crucial locus of ritual and purity- the kitchen. Traditionally, a young Brahmin girl worked in and around the kitchen with her mother until her marriage was consummate and she joined her affines. All that was required of her was the knowledge of cooking and other domestic chores, the rituals that girls were expected to perform, and respect for and obedience to her parents- in- law and husband and others elders in the household. Education changed the outlook of girls and gave them new ideas and aspirations.”

This book was written in 1960s, a time when modernity and secularization was restricted to upper class urban India. The spirit of secularization has spread to small towns and villages as well in the internet age. There was a time when people in Hindu families were debating whether girls need education. Now, the debate is no longer there. Not educating the girl child is now considered ‘taboo’ in urban India.

Earlier, elders were reluctant to allow women to take up jobs. Now the resistance is negligible and rare in most parts of India. The contribution from women in Hindu families is now common and considered normal. In urban families it is almost a necessity. This is not just restricted to the Brahmin community but almost all Hindu families in the 21st Century. The contribution of women outside the kitchen has been immense.

Instead of giving a stronger voice to the progressive Muslims in India, the media has given more attention to the regressive ones. This has in fact slowed down the pace of secularization and forced progressive Muslims to become mute spectators to the dominant narrative. The infamous fatwa against Sania Mirza wearing a skirt during Tennis matches is a case in point. The following excerpt from her book ‘Ace Against Odds’, Sania writes:

“It is, of course, possible to rake up a controversy by asking a cleric a leading question and then presenting his “opinion” in a manner that would provoke a public reaction. If a scholar were to be asked whether he thought my tennis clothing was un-Islamic, I do not see how a conservative, religious man could have answered the question in the negative in the light of the teachings of the religion.

In a similar vein, if a scholar of religion were asked whether it was permissible for a Muslim man to watch a film on television in which a woman dances to music, I am sure he would have to give the verdict that it was un-Islamic. But, again, most importantly, this would not imply that he had issued a fatwa against the lives of all Muslim men who admired a heroine in a film and that he was going to kill them if they went against his edict!

The person who thought it important to raise a question on what he possibly knew was a contentious issue, could have chosen not to highlight the cleric’s response in his story. Instead, he went to town with it. Had he bothered to understand the true meaning of the word “fatwa” and shown the maturity to write with a little bit of sensitivity, I personally believe I would have been spared the burden of living under the stigma of a misunderstood fatwa for a major part of my career.“

Need of the hour for this country is secularization. I hope that politicians and people in media further the cause of secularization rather that play the card of  minority or majority appeasement. Secularization is not just about ‘less religion.’ It is the vehicle that would takes us closer to a rational and progressive society.

Why I won’t watch Dangal

manasdoon
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Why I won’t watch Dangal

First of all I am a great admirer of Amir Khan as an “Actor” and the key word is “Actor”. He has indeed charmed us since times knows when. I remember saving my pocket-money only to buy a sailor hat that he popularized in ‘Dil Hai ke Manta Nahin’ but again i was a kid then. Later we got charmed by ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ and we mesmerized its dialogues when we should have been mesmerizing our science formulas. As time passed I learned to distinguish between a Reel Life Vs Real Life.

As a nation we are very forgiving and sometimes fail to distinguish between real and reel life actors on silver screen. That probably is explained by high number of silver screen artiste in politics.

Personally I admire Amir’s choice of subject as always. I am sure that Mr. Perfectionist would have given his all in this movie and thanks to him for bringing the story of Mahaveer Phogat. Our nation is graveyard of many more stories like these either of success or struggle and I hope many more stories like these find their way to a medium from where their fellow citizens can know about it. Where I am not convinced is, should a purely commercial activity be seen as an act of redemption which would make someone sacrosanct? His views in real life came into light during Narmada agitation. While many slam the present gov or its supporters for calling out others anti-national etc., Mr Khan himself called the present prime minister most “unpatriotic” very loosely. (Ref: Walk the talk with Shekhar Gupta). Now this is a hypocrisy when you want to reserve the right to call someone “unpatriotic” only to yourself.

But again we live in strange times, where truth is stranger than fiction. We live in times where a silver screen actress Pallavi Joshi has to appear and explain the benefits of Goods and Service Tax while an ex revenue officer who is sitting chief minister gives out movie reviews! Lastly Mr. Khan in future just in case your better half feels a bit anxious, ask her to raise her right hand, close her eyes, take a deep breath, place it on her heart and chant “all is well, all is well”.

Munna Bhai H1b calls USCIS customer care for help

The Mocking Bird
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Munna Bhai H1b calls USCIS customer care for help

Munna Bhai stuck in H1b for decades calls USCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283:

USCIS Customer Care: How may I help you? Please state your name and immigration status?

Munna Bhai: I am experiencing crushing labour issues. My name is Munna Bhai H1B for last 10 years.

USCIS Customer Care: Bhai, You need to dial 911 immediately. Do you want me to transfer.

Munna Bhai: You never get it? This is a work force labour issue I am calling about.

USCIS Customer care: My bad, please go ahead.

Munna Bhai: Let me explain you from beginning.. H1b, country quota for annual Green cards, no country quota for H1b visa,90% H1b goes to India (2 billion people).. stuck in indentured servitude.

USCIS Customer care: Oh I see. You called the wrong person. I am just for customer care. Please reach out to Mr. Kevin Cummins.

Munna Bhai: You are the right person. I am your customer and have a genuine concern. Higher levels are in bed with lobby groups. You really seem to be nice and caring. Sometimes, if there is a heavy rain and if I don’t have an umbrella, I stand under the trees. Can you do what you can?

USCIS Customer Care: Oh my gauche. Please go ahead.

Munna Bhai: See, I have made my best fights so far. Did my part for HR3012, HR213, 100k White House petitions, protested in front of White House. Now, I am getting tired and don’t believe anything is going to work because the opponents I face are numerous times wealthier and stronger than I am. Figured out I will try one last option of calling USCIS customer care.

USCIS Customer Care: Oh Dear, sorry about your situation. I will try my best to help you. What is the problem again and how do you think I can help?

Munna Bhai: Let me explain you from beginning. H1b, country quota for annual Green cards, no country quota for H1b visa, 90% H1b goes to India (2 billion people) stuck in. My mom doesn’t want me to come back, she cares for me. My wife wants me to go back to India, not sure if she cares for me, my kid wants me to be here.. I am going thru mid life crisis. oops sorry, I am going through crushing labour issue, work force related USCIS created and ignored labour issue.

USCIS Customer Care: Got that part. Thanks for clarifying again.What can I do to help you.

Munna Bhai: H1bs waiting for GC are ballooning and may soon cross a million at 10% rate increase.There is a crisis. You guys have to match the 7% person country quota on Green cards to the H1bs being issued. My calculation is, if you apply the 7% country quota of Green cards on H1B, India would have got, 975 instead of 45000 H1Bs it got for 2015.

USCIS Customer Care: How did you arrive at that number?How will that solve your problem.

Munna Bhai: Ratios and proportions, school math. This stops the pressure on Green card wait which was increasing every year by 10%. Results in lesser indentured servitude folks and lesser displacement of American workers. And this is perfectly within the rights of USCIS with a valid reason. Now you see, this problem of country quota faced by me, is not just mine to solve. Let the Giants like Tech Industry, USCoC, AILA, USCIS (missed fees and budget cuts?) deal with it. So, I can worry about just my “Life is not fair stuff like everybody else”

USCIS Customer Care: I made a note of all you said and will bring it up in our team discussions with our supervisor. Please note down the case reference number as…

Munna Bhai: Thanks. Well, you may receive 1000s of calls soon from all over the country from folks like me going through labour pain. I will follow up on my case soon or open a new ticket if not resolved.

USCIS Customer Care: Beg your pardon?

Did this abusive journalist do a ‘fake interview’ while with Hindustan Times?

Hitesh Patel
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Did this abusive journalist do a ‘fake interview’ while with Hindustan Times?

Twitter user Swati Chaturvedi is known as an abusive troll, though the mainstream media is trying to project her as an author and a journalist. The abusive language of Swati is known widely to anyone who has spent at least a few days on Twitter. See the tweets in the following image for example:


Not only she is an abusive troll, she writes imaginary news reports without caring for facts and gets published by stupid websites like ScoopWhoop, which is best known for publishing stupid articles that sound like “Six reasons your underwear is not red”.

But since she hates Narendra Modi and abuses BJP supporters on the social media, the mainstream media has been promoting her. Latest being her book, which is a hilarious attempt to malign BJP supporters on Twitter as abusive trolls.

An abusive troll writing about abusive trolling is pathetic in itself, but now her colourful past as a journlaist is coming to the fore on Twitter.

It is being alleged that Swati, then working as a journalist with the Hindustan Times group, had published an imaginary interview of the then Defence Minister George Fernandes sometime in the year 2001.

After the interview was published in the newspaper, Mr. Fernandes is supposed to have called up Shobhana Bhartia, the Chairperson of the media group who hails from a family loyal to the Congress party, and told her that he never talked to anyone named Swati.

Journalist Mohan Sinha, after talking to a Hindustan Times employee, claimed on Twitter that the journalist-turned-abusive-troll had indeed faked the interview:

A Twitter user Shreshtha Sharma claimed that after the complaint by George Fernandes, Hindustan Times conducted an internal inquiry and Swati Chaturvedi was fired from her job as she had faked the interview:

These are serious allegations and warrant inquiry and clarifications. What makes the matter even more complex is Swati claiming recently on Twitter that Fernandes talked to her about the 2002 riots. How can someone talk about 2002 riots in 2001? Was she talking about another interview?

At this time, nothing can be said with certainty whether the interview was faked or whether the above allegations are wrong. All of us now know that journalists creating fake stories is not ruled out. A Firstpost journalist Tarik Anwar was been asked by a court to be prosecuted for faking an interview.

But important to note is that Firstpost never announced publicly that they had fired Tarik Anwar. This fact came to light only after the court asked for prosecution. Tarik Anwar had got a job with the Times Group after Firstpost fired him.

Therefore it is well possible that Swati Chaturvedi was also fired by Hindustan Times but her journalistic career was not impacted. She became a journalist with another media house, and later became an abusive troll on Twitter. And it is also possible that Swati did a legitimate interview.

However, commentators on Twitter pointed to facts like Hindustan Times not archiving her interview. If it was a legitimate interview, why should the media house not archive it? Does it hint that the media house had withdrawn the interview because it was fake? Others asked Swati to produce the audio tape of the interview if it was real, but she has not provided any proof by the time I wrote this report.

Swati can’t be expected to provide any tapes because even if the interview was real, the tapes will be the property of Hindustan Times and not personal property of Swati Chaturvedi.

Thus Hindustan Times must clarify if it has the tape. If it has, why has it not published the interview online in its digital archives? Or whether the interview was indeed faked and a disciplinary action was taken against the journalist. A simple detail about the duration for which Swati was working with them can also help in this case.

Hindustan Times must do it because people should know the truth of kind of journalism that has been practised by journalists all these years. Rumours on either sides must be laid to rest.

Learn from Liberals, don’t boycott Dangal

varsha
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Learn from Liberals, don’t boycott Dangal

In November 2015, Aamir Khan made the famous “intolerance” remarks that need no recall. There was widespread outrage among normal Indians, who are not all ‘right wingers’ as the media would like to project. I was one of them, and wrote this blog to express my views. I fully supported the Snapdeal downgrade, and his removal as brand ambassador of famous brands including Tata Sky and Incredible India. I have also been highly critical of Aamir’s film, PK.

However, I went to watch Dangal, loved it, and would go once again. I keep coming across Whatsapp messages, tweets and Facebook statuses that ask people to boycott the film because, “Hey, have you forgotten what he said about his country back then?”

As far as I am concerned, I have not forgotten those remarks. If he repeats such remarks, I would once again contest them and protest against them democratically. But, what is the logic behind boycotting a progressive film that delves in some extremely pertinent issues we are facing as a society? It is also a beautiful story brought to life by some amazing performances, led by Aamir himself.

There is a difference between Aamir the person, and Aamir the actor. Don’t mistake one for the other. You do not have a personal enmity with Aamir. Fight him on issues, not as a person; certainly not unconditionally.

What can be a better example of the disastrous consequences of unconditional hatred than the case of Narendra Modi? An entire army of “Liberals” has made it its life’s mission to hate this person, even if it goes against the interest of its nation (read here). They see every move, every policy, every intent of his through this prism of unconditional hatred. Nobody gains anything out of it, and national interest loses out in the end. It is important to learn from this real life analogy (Why My Vote Will Go To Modi), and not fall in the trap of myopia and faux nationalism.

If love for the nation is what made you outrage against Aamir in November 2015, buy a ticket today and watch Dangal for that same love. Because, no nation can develop and evolve if it does not recognize, nurture, reward, and value its artistes, intelligentsia, sportspersons, and the likes for their good work. Besides that, it is not just Aamir’s film; there are other actors, and hundreds of people who are associated with the film. Their efforts needs to be applauded – in the interest of the nation.

Feminism is my pride, not a blot on my character!

srishtirajivsharma
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Feminism is my pride, not a blot on my character!

The Oxford Dictionary defines “Feminism” as “The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes”, which in simple words means, supporting women’s rights for absolute gender equality in the society.

I am lucky enough to be surrounded by liberal minded people who appreciate gender equality. But unfortunately there is still a scope in this world for a question like ‘Are you a feminist?’ I am confused about whether I should laugh at the stupidity of people using a word that they do not fully understand as a ready-made argument or be angry at the fact that they have used pro-equality ideology as a taint which we need to get rid of.

As if we are not already humiliated for being women, we are now being shamed for asking equal rights. Real progress! Every time I have an argument which concerns oppression of women I’m mocked by saying, “Arre yeh to feminist hai!” Now, what I fail to understand is why am I time and again abused and insulted for being a “feminist type”?

What’s wrong with being a feminist? How has it become a blot on my character? How has the vernacular translation of “feminist ” become a cuss word of the worst kind? Just because people have derived their own definitions for this word and because a lot many times this word has been misused by so called “liberal activists” for personal gains, does it mean the society will start justifying anti feminism! Shouldn’t gender equality come naturally to us? If a woman misuses eve teasing law, will we justify eve teasing?

If a women misuses dowry law, will we start appreciating this crass ritual from tomorrow? Then why this hatred for Feminists? If you dislike The Modern Feminist Movement (I’m not a fan either!) why not just oppose the ideas intellectually instead of humiliating every person who speaks up for women rights.

For all those briliantly stupid people let me say it in simple words. Don’t confuse FEMI-NAAZIS with true feminists! I don’t appreciate a man hitting a woman, but I will also never support a woman hitting a man as an act of aggression.

I judge a man speaking cuss words as much as I judge a woman using foul language.
I don’t ask for a ‘Ladies First” treatment. I ask for a “Ladies AND Gentlemen” treatment.
I will protest against a woman misusing a rape charge and I will also stand in every anti-sexual harassment protest.

Because what is wrong is wrong. Human is human.
I appreciate every chivalrous woman and every delicate man.
Yes! I am a PROUD FEMINIST and you’re a fool if you’re NOT.

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