kasmenon

CAA : Points to ponder What we saw last one week or so was a spontaneous outburst of student protests across the nation against the CAA , particularly against the perceived intention behind this initiative by the BJP /RSS government. None of the political parties , both the opposition and the ruling one , had anticipated it. A large number of Muslim students were out too in the street as the act pointedly keeps out that community, possibly in violation of the secular values of our constitution. Some felt that itself was proof of antinationalisim! One of the pillars of democracy, the SC , which has time to urgently hear cases of important individuals , has no time to look at the legality of the act and delays it conveniently. The major political dispensations were focused on their vote banks so they too underestimated the apprehension among the people. The govt wanting to live upto its misplaced and self bestowed attribute of a tough and efficient one, let loose the police on ...

ISRO : ANOTHER STEP FORWARD. SCIENTIFIC QUEST MORE IMP THAN HYPE The facts: India did land a aircraft on the moon in 2008 ( Chandrayan 1) . Insignia of our flag is already there.  Thus, this feat was already achieved. Chyn2 took the effort to another degree or several degrees higher. Higher payload, heavier engine, orbiter, lander and rover in tow. The key capability to be tested was   : 1.Detaching the lander from the orbiter and then reducing orbiter speed from 70000 km/ hr to nil on touch down 2 Manage a soft landing ( so that it does not crash on the surface) by delicately firing main engines of lander 3. Rover detaching and its man oeuvres The first was done. Second went awry. Maybe improper firing of engine or one of them did not fire. The most optimistic possibility is that it’s only a com failure and the lander is intact. There will be conspiracy theories too. Of foreign powers interfering with telemetry or communication. For once Pakis will not be blame...

THE BUDGET (A short story) It was budget day evening. Aslam bhai was relaxing in his favorite  chair and contemplating the budget. His wife Archanaben, in her early thirties, was engrossed in watching her favourite serial on TV. Their two kids were intermittently studying as well as chatting on the mobile. It was pouring outside and the only sound, other than of the lady on TV threatening her in-laws, was the sweet sound of rain. It so seemed that the sound of rain was the only element, in an Indian home, that had not changed! It was all fine till the kids whispered something to each other, ran to their mother and the three was seen discussing animatedly. They then got up and hurried towards Aslambhai. Archanabhen , with a serious frown on her face, eyes intense but with a sweet voice asked of her husband " Are sunte ho, the family is finding our needs increasing. Will you tell us how you plan to manage these expectations". Silence. The complexities of the balan...

AN ENCOUNTER WITH COUNT DRACULA The experience of boarding of the ATR aircraft of Serbian Airways at the  Belgrade airport reminded one of the confusion that prevails in a small Indian  airport. However, the flight left quickly enough and the efficient cabin crew helped us kill time with a shot of Rakia bar and a pack of peanuts. We landed in Bucharest , Romania, in about an hour and 20 minutes and managed to exit the airport after paying a fortune to the cabbie. The traffic in the city crawled but our patience  exhausted faster and after exchanging few expletives between the five of us , more to give vent to our frustration , we reached our hotel.  As you grow older you get naughtier , so they say. We too felt that and so decided to visit the old city for a sting of club hopping. Well!, the place kept us spellbound for over four hours with streets of wayside restaurants serving some not so likable( for a vege) food  , faboulous music  ,...

DOCTORS AND VIOLENCE  People restoring to violence is now becoming common place. In most walks of life. The medical field is no exception. We need to look at the problem holistically.  Restoring to violence is obviously condemnable . No two opinions about it. However, we all know the situation in hospitals. The whole system including the administrators, nurses, doctors and technicians     is not patient  friendly. Either they are over worked, not sufficiently skilled or negligent . The degree varies between corporate hospitals and govt ones but is definitely  present. Add to this the problem of " profit motive resulting in fleecing"   or corruption and  inferior products. The instances where medical education has been severely compromised only adds fuel to the already deficient system. Net result is that a certain percent of patients receive poor treatment and/ or incur  excess expenditure. Most of the times this sit...

The Spell of Modi: Its the right time to look at this phenomenon , well in time before election. Lets first take note of an interesting event. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Saturday adopted a resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, condemning the “atrocities and human rights violations” in the state, The Indian Express  and many newspapers and channels reported. This came a day after India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj urged the organisation to come together to fight the global menace of terrorism and extremism. While there is a debate going on about the veracity of the claims made in Indian media, through leaked information , ostensibly, by sources within government , about the Air strikes inside POK and the damages induced there, the above is an undisputed fact.  The OIC managed to get legitimacy by having the Indian FM addressing them. However , they ignored what she said . Thy instead spoke about and recoganised  Indian atrocities in Kash...