MERA BHARAT MAHAAN

I remember reading this piece, written by a Pakistani journalist about India a couple of yrs back, but its so good and flattering for all Indians that I want to save it for posterity on my blog for myself and all other readers of this blog. I received it on email from a friend o mine Sudhir Jha recently. Here it is:

 

Here's what is happening in India: 

The two Ambani brothers can buy 100 percent of every company listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and would still be left with $30 billion to spare. The four richest Indians can buy up all goods and services produced over a year by 169 million Pakistanis and still be left with $60 billion to spare. The four richest Indians are now richer than the forty richest Chinese.

 In November, Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex flirted with 20,000 points. As a consequence, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries became a $100 billion company (the entire KSE is capitalized at $65 billion). Mukesh owns 48 percent of Reliance. 

In November, comes Neeta's birthday. Neeta turned forty-four three weeks ago. Look what she got from her husband as her birthday present:

A sixty-million dollar jet with a custom fitted master bedroom, bathroom with mood lighting, a sky bar, entertainment cabins, satellite television, wireless communication and a separate cabin with game consoles. Neeta is Mukesh Ambani's wife, and Mukesh is not India's richest but the second richest. 

Mukesh is now building his new home, Residence Antillia (after a mythical, phantom island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean). At a cost of $1 billion this would be the most expensive home on the face of the planet. At 173 meters tall Mukesh's new family residence, for a family of six, will be the equivalent of a 60-storeyed building. The first six floors are reserved for parking. The seventh floor is for car servicing and maintenance. The eighth floor houses a mini-theatre. Then there's a health club, a gym and a swimming pool. Two floors are  reserved for Ambani family's guests. Four floors above the guest floors are family floors all with a superb view of the Arabian Sea. On top of everything are three helipads. A staff of 600 is expected to care for the family and their family home. 

In 2004, India became the 3rd most attractive foreign direct investment destination. Pakistan wasn't even in the top 25 countries. In 2004, the United Nations, the representative body of 192 sovereign member states, had requested the Election Commission of India to assist the UN in the holding elections in Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah and Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan. Why the Election Commission of India and not the Election Commission of Pakistan? After all, Islamabad is closer to Kabul than is Delhi.

Imagine, 12 percent of all American scientists are of Indian origin; 38 percent of doctors in America are Indian; 36 percent of NASA scientists are Indians; 34 percent of Microsoft employees are Indians; and 28 percent of IBM employees are Indians. 

For the record: Sabeer Bhatia created and founded Hotmail. Sun Microsystems was founded by Vinod Khosla. The Intel Pentium processor, that runs 90 percent of all computers, was fathered by Vinod Dham. Rajiv Gupta co-invented Hewlett Packard's E-speak project. Four out of ten Silicon Valley start-ups are run by Indians. Bolly wood produces 800 movies per year and s ix Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World titles over the past 10 years.

 For the record: Azim Premji, the richest Muslim entrepreneur on the face of the planet, was born in Bombay and now lives in Bangalore, India now has more than three dozen billionaires; Pakistan has none (not a single dollar billionaire). 

The other amazing aspect is the rapid pace at which India is creating wealth. In 2002, Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh and Anil Ambani's father, left his two sons a fortune worth $2.8 billion. In 2007, their combined wealth stood at $94 billion. On 29 October 2007, as a result of the stock market rally and the appreciation of the Indian rupee, Mukesh became the richest person in the world, with net worth climbing to US$63.2 billion (Bill Gates, the richest American, stands at around $56 billion). Indians and Pakistanis have the same Y-chromosome haplogroup. We have the same genetic sequence and the same genetic marker (namely: M124). We have the sam e DNA molecule, the same DNA sequence. Our culture, our traditions and our cuisine are all the same. We watch the same movies and sing the same songs. What is it that Indians have and we don't?

 INDIANS ELECT THEIR LEADERS

 By Dr Farrukh Saleem

12/9/2007

N.B: The authenticity of all the above facts have not been verified. Some of the facts sound a bit far fetched to me.

 

 

     

DIVIDE TO RULE

Our history books blame the brits for having used the policy of Divide and Rule. The country has been independent for more than 60 years now, and what have our rulers been practicing?

In independent India on the other hand it is a case of Divide to Rule. The current election campaign has exposed the rot in Indian politics. We had Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit breathing fire against Muslims, the acquittal of the 1984 riots accused politicians, Tytler and Sajjan Kumar on election eve. There is hardly a political party in fact which has not used caste, creed, religion etc to divide the voters. All this just to ensure that the votes of a particular caste or community don’t get divided.

INDIA STILL A DEVELOPING COUNTRY : HERE IS WHY

An Old Story:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

 Indian Version:

 The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.

 The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

 Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

 NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

 The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

 Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.

 Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.

 Mayawati states this as `injustice' done on Minorities.

 Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.

 The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) .

 Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for 'Bengal Bandh' in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

 CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.

 Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named the 'Grasshopper Rath'.

 Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter.

 Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services.

 The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes,it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

 Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'.

 Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.

 CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '

 Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

  
 

Many years later....

  
 

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley,

 100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India,

 ......AND

 As a result of losing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the grasshoppers,

.

India is still a developing country…!!!

Courtesy: Basudev Mitra 

NEXT GEN CAR

Take a look at a few snaps of the next generation cars.

N
No Steering wheel. Cool eh! I am sure our children will love these cars. Like Video games.

Courtesy: Col(Retd)Basudev Mitra

A TRUELY WIN – WIN STORY

I have been on a sabbatical for quite a while now. Only excuse I can offer for it is that I have a lot of other things on my mind. But this morning I received this story from a good friend of mine Basudeb Mitra. I have to share it with all the readers for it is appealing, motivating and touching at the same time.

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do; where is the natural order of things in my son?' The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?'

Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

 

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first base man's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball. The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitchers intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-base man's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay; run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

Have a Shay day.

Pakistan and China: A Fraying Friendship?

The news of China and the Jamaat e Islami having signed a formal agreement, which should have all Indians worried, almost coincides with another piece in Time, parts of which should be music to our ears. Certain salient paragraphs are reproduced below.

However, with Pakistan's security situation growing increasingly volatile and economic conditions turning dire, there may be a turn in tide between these once intimate friends (China and Pakistan). "The situation is much different now than once upon a time," says William Kirby, T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies at Harvard University. "India has emerged as a much more powerful force in the region and Pakistan has not succeeded in the way that hopeful and loyal supporters had once imagined. It is now one of the great security risks in the region."(Emphasis mine)

Instead of increasing assistance to its old ally, Beijing has apparently been keeping a distance from Islamabad. During Zardari's visit in October, the Chinese snubbed the Pakistani President's request for a full-blown economic bailout. 

"The cooperation we saw during the Musharraf era just isn't there anymore," says Sayem Ali, an economist with Standard Chartered Bank in Karachi. "China would rather develop better relations with India and the U.S., which is not great news for Pakistan because it has always relied on China's help."   

We are now looking at a situation where China and India are on their way to becoming global powers(Emphasis mine) and Pakistan is really in a position of endemic crisis," says Kirby. "China can longer afford to make any unconditional guarantees — particularly where Pakistan is concerned.  

Pakistan’s ceasefire agreement with the Taliban in SWAT valley is certain to raise eyebrows globally. In all probability, the full import of this development has not sunk in fully across global powers. Neither is the Taliban likely to be satisfied with its control of the SWAT in NW Pakistan. The agreement would surely have come as a huge shot in the arm to them and it’s only a matter of time before they start looking to expand their influence to other parts of Pakistan. And that for Pakistan would be a step towards Anarchy, which surely is neither in India’s or the world’s interest.

Isn’t it about time the UN woke up from its somnolent inactivity towards Pakistan and intervened?

There was never a better time for India to seek to improve relations with the Red Giant. In times to come, China is sure to be a force to reckon with both economically and militarily. Unfortunately for us, with elections round the corner, our leaders are way too busy trying to woo their vote banks.

Hope this opportunity does not pass us by.