Quick notes: Cleaner India, Coal toll...

• Modi Vows Cleaner India, but No Clear Path to Get There: Environmentalists point to a mounting assault on environmental protections meant to check pollution, prevent unfair land-grabbing and establish legal rights for tribal communities to oversee the land they live on.



• Coal kills Indians: Coal-based pollution kills about 115,000 Indians annually, including 10,000 children below age 5, at a healthcare cost of about $4.6 bn.



• Holding Your Breath in India: Delhi is quietly suffering from a dire pediatric respiratory crisis, with a recent study showing that nearly half of the city’s 4.4 million schoolchildren have irreversible lung damage from the poisonous air.



• Osteoporosis: Drugs Aren't the Answer, Study Finds



• Junk science for junk media: From India to Australia, news organizations shared findings -- "Eating chocolate  can even help you LOSE weight!" The problem? The study they were based on was pure junk. And the person behind it, John Bohannon, would be the first to tell you that.



• Vanya Shivashankar and Gokul Venkatachalam: National Spelling Bee Crowns Co-Champs For Second Straight Year



• How to wear dhoti Vrindavan style:

Quick notes: Heat wave, Manasarovar water...

• 2000 heat-wave deaths: “The number of heat wave days may go up from about 5 to between 30 and 40 every year.” Night-time temperatures are rising too. (..experiencing this first hand lately..) Additionally, owing to the rising temperatures, UV rays emerging as a serious menace for people’s health. ...Not one Namo tweet on heat-wave toll!



• Petition: Stop the Bottling of Mansarovar Lake water in Tibet



• Ethical Eating: The Plants (and Animals) Are Watching Us



• UPA-3: NDA’s environmental clearance record not significantly different from UPA’s (Swachh Bharat notwithstanding).



• Guess who?

Sheepish DM from one of #India's most corrupt journalists asking me about Pranab Mukherjee's interview to the #Swedish newspaper. #G37

— Chitra Subramaniam (@chitraSD) May 28, 2015




• Penprick

Fwd: Two stalwarts in the field of social reform

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Savarkar.org Team <admin@savarkar.org>
Date: Thu, 28 May 2015 08:16
Subject: Two stalwarts in the field of social reform
To: <rajeev@stanfordalumni.org>

Today, 28 May is the birth anniversary of Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (28 May 1883- 26 February 1966). The nation is also observing the 1 Like   Tweet   Today, 28 May is the birth anniversary of Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (28 May 1883- 26 February 1966). The nation is also observing the 125th birth anniversary year of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (14 April 1891-06 December 1956). These two contemporaries shared several similarities. Both hailed from Maharashtra and finally settled in the Dadar area of Mumbai. Both enrolled for the Bar course at Gray's Inn, London. Both were social reformers and scholars. In particular, they belonged to a rare breed of leaders who had studied Islam thoroughly. Both were prolific writers and journalists. Savarkar's mouthpieces were 'Shraddhanand', 'Balwant' and 'Hindu' weeklies. Ambedkar had his 'Mooknayak' and 'Bahishkrit Bharat' fortnightlies as also the 'Janata' journal later named as 'Prabuddha Bharat'. Both had sharp differences with Gandhi. Neither ever joined the Congress and historically faced opposition from that party. In spite of these similarities, both admittedly had their differences. Savarkar was a Brahmin by birth though he never cared about his caste. Ambedkar was a Mahar Hindu by birth and died a Buddhist. Savarkar was a fiery political revolutionary. Ambedkar did not take part in anti-British politics though he fought for the political and social emancipation of the Dalits. Incidentally, Savarkar used the word 'Poorvasprushya' (ex-untouchables) while Ambedkar used the word 'Dalit' to designate those who suffered the indignity of untouchability. Savarkar considered Manusmriti and other religious texts as man-made historical documents that reflected the social and cultural milieu of their times, fit to be studied but never adhered to in the present day. Ambedkar rejected the orthodox Hindu texts and in fact symbolically burned the Manusmriti, an act criticized by Savarkar who was against any type of book-burning. Savarkar was one of the few leaders who whole-heartedly declared support to Ambedkar's Mahad Satyagraha and the Kalaram Temple Satyagraha for temple-entry to ex-untouchables. In fact, Savarkar's followers worked hard for the success of the Mahad Satyagraha with Dr. Narayanrao Savarkar himself taking the lead. Savarkar fiercely opposed the Partition of India while Ambedkar justified it in his 'Thoughts on Pakistan'. Savarkar remained a political pariah even after Independence and suffered imprisonment twice in independent India. Ambedkar became independent India's first Law Minister and later Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, charged by the Constituent Assembly to write India's new Constitution. Ambedkar reputedly worked within his limits as Law Minister to secure Savarkar's release in the Gandhi Murder Case. Savarkar criticized Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism and debunked his view that Buddhism was free of superstition. Savarkar's Six Glorious Epochs was essentially a rejoinder to Ambedkar's pronouncement that the history of Hindus was one of shameful defeat. Savarkar and Ambedkar differed on many issues but that did not diminish the profound respect they had for each other. When Savarkar invited Ambedkar to inaugurate the Patit Pavan Temple in Ratnagiri in 1929, Ambedkar declined the invitation due to previous engagements. He however wrote to Savarkar, "I however wish to take this opportunity of conveying to you my appreciation of the work you are doing in the field of social reform. If the untouchables are to be part and parcel of the Hindu society, then it is not enough to remove untouchability; for that matter you must destroy chaturvarnya. I am glad that you are one of the very few who have realised this." Offering his hearty felicitations to Ambedkar on his Golden Jubilee, Savarkar observed, "I heartily join you all in offering my felicitations to Dr. BR Ambedkar on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee. His personality, erudition and capacity to lead and organize would have by themselves marked him out as an outstanding asset to our nation. But in addition to that, the inestimable services he has rendered to our motherland in trying to stamp out untouchability and the results he has achieved in instilling a manly spirit of self-confidence in millions of the depressed classes constitute an abiding patriotic as well as humanitarian achievement. The very fact of the birth of such a towering personality among the so-called untouchable castes could not but liberate their souls from self-depression and animate them to challenge the super-arrogative claims of the so-called touchables. My own persistent efforts for the last thirty years or so on my own lines to uproot untouchability and the response I had been receiving throughout India on the part of the Hindus of all castes, touchables and untouchables, convince me that untouchability, at any rate in the public sphere and the civic life of our nation, is bound to be swept away within a couple of decades whether it is found amongst the untouchables, castes themselves in relation to each other and this uprooting of untouchability is bound to contribute inevitably to the solidarity and strength of the Pan-Hindu cause even if some may not be aiming at this ultimate effect. That is why I appreciate the Herculean efforts of Dr. Ambedkar to raise the depressed classes to the level of full citizenship and am confident that even his occasional anti-Hindu utterances and attitude cannot but lead ultimately to the strengthening of the Hindu Sanghatan movement. With great admiration for the man and his work I wish Dr. Ambedkar a long, healthy and eventful life" (15 April 1942) We offer our respectful homage to both Veer Savarkar and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Veer Savarkar. Regards, Team savarkar.org   ©2015 savarkar.org | Pune, India. Web Version   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company

Fwd: 7th article in SandHI series: "Everyday equations" by MD Srinivas (Indian mathematics)

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Michel Danino

This is the seventh article in the weekly SandHI series on Indian knowledge systems published by Financial Chronicle:

 

Everyday equations

By MD Srinivas

May 25, 2015

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/indian-knowledge-series/everyday-equations-188

 

Links to previous articles in the series — introductory article, ancient metallurgy, architecture, Ayurveda, ecological traditions, agriculture — can be found here:

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/sandhiseries

 

If you have enjoyed any of the articles in the series, please consider leaving a comment online; it will help the series attract notice. (You will find a comment box at the bottom of every article.)

 

Regards,

 

Michel

 

 

atanu dey writes an open letter to narendra modi

http://indiafacts.co.in/open-letter-to-prime-minister-narendra-modi-on-completing-a-year/

--

sent from samsung galaxy note3 neo, so please excuse brevity

rajeev firstpost piece on modi as leader, not manager

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/modione-big-change-india-leader-vision-can-buy-2263084.html

--

sent from samsung galaxy note3 neo, so please excuse brevity

Quick notes: Congress crony, Sodium-ion batteries...

• Swaminomics: Dhirubhai Ambani was a notorious Congress crony and master manipulator. It's somewhat ridiculous for his companies to be called BJP cronies by Rahul. Modi's black money bill has created such fear among businessmen that many plan to give up their Indian citizenship and go abroad to escape prosecution.



• SJM:  Scrap FDI in multi-brand retail



• Dr Anand Kamat: Indian surgeon  re-attaches British man's head to spine



• Faradion: E-bike with cheap sodium-ion batteries



• Air pollution may be hurting our brains: Pollutants Could Hinder Cognitive Function Through Smell



• Wise squat: Is the desi posture the best way to deal with loo trouble?



• Saraswati River:

Pak Bringing Taliban Back in Afghanistan

Pakistan is once again resuming its old strategy of bringing the Taliban to power in Afghanistan:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/25/world/asia/as-taliban-advance-afghanistan-reluctantly-recruits-militias.html

This is the same old strategy that resulted in the 9-11 attacks. Pakistan thinks that it can do better by first seizing the northern  part of Afghanistan this time.

Quick notes: Water demand, GDP obsession...

• India set to become water scarce country by 2025:  Water demand in the domestic and industrial sectors increasing substantially.



• Yesu, Marx Bhai, Bhai: Yechuri quotes from the Gospel of Luke to underline how "Lord Jesus" too had come "to send off the crushed into liberty".



• Dirty Coal: 12,300 megawatts of coal power will shut down in the US in 2015, lots more to come



• GDP obsession: Of the 20 most polluted cities of the world, 13 are in India.



• No nation for children: Impaired lung growth in children, autism linked to maternal exposure, birth anamolies...







• Tata Nano GenX Easy Shift: The transmission allows you to crawl in first and reverse gears without having to work the throttle pedal. The combination of AMT and power steering makes the car an excellent companion for new drivers and city commuters alike.



• Subterranean Swamy: Almost ties the knot at wedding he's invited to bless

IAF Testing Highways for Jet Landings

The IAF has done test landings and takeoffs on the Yamuna Expressway using the Mirage fighter:



The ability to use existing civil infrastructure to reinforce military operations helps to provide redundancy and extra options for the Indian military.

US Challenges China's Island Build-up

The US is sending its military aircraft to fly through the airspace of new islands which China has artificially built in the South China Sea as its "unsinkable aircraft carriers"

Kejriwal's Itchy Antics

Arvind Kejriwal's intensifying confrontation with Delhi's Lieutenant Governor seems to be the latest iteration of his circus of anarchy. If this doesn't teach Delhi's laughingstock voters the value of voting prudently, nothing will. Now he seems to be clamouring for full statehood to Delhi, deploying his usual shrill theatrics as he charges at this latest windmill.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/delhi-ias-officers-leave-applications-kejriwal-najeeb-jung/1/439074.html

It may even be that Chief Minister Khujliwal is itching for a way to end his govt with President's Rule, allowing him to bow out while blaming the Centre. After all, 49 days have passed, and he may possibly be craving for a new gig. Bihar?

Quick notes: Kerala unions, Lethal breath...

• Dalit woman takes on Kerala Unions: “The unions were not able accept a woman auto-driver, that too a Dalit woman, doing the same job they do. Since then, they have been torturing me.”



• Lethal Breath: After respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, air pollution now shows a definitive link with strokes



• First Froth, Now Flames in a Lake: From Garden city, Bengaluru is now India's second most polluted.



• Toxic heart of South Delhi: “In the winter, you won’t see a single person in my shop. Even if the weather is fine, no one will come here to eat because they can’t breathe.” 



• IIT Delhi's air-pollution report: “Merely because you are IIT you can’t always be right”.



• Choking on cars: It was suggested that at the time of registration of a vehicle, the purchaser may be asked to provide proof of parking space and if the person fails to do so, a fee of Rs 5,000 per month can be charged from him/her for parking.

Fwd: 6th article in SandHI series: "A hand to the plough" by AV Balasubramanian

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michel Danino

This is the sixth article in the weekly SandHI series on Indian knowledge systems published by Financial Chronicle:

 

A hand to the plough

By AV Balasubramanian

May 18 2015

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/indian-knowledge-series/hand-plough-378

 

Links to previous articles in the series — introductory article, ancient metallurgy, architecture, Ayurveda, and ecological traditions — can be found here:

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/sandhiseries

 

If you have enjoyed any of the articles in the series, please consider leaving a comment online; it will help the series attract notice. (You will find a comment box at the bottom of every article.)

 

Regards,

 

Michel

 

 

--

sent from samsung galaxy note3 neo, so please excuse brevity

Fwd: TODAY at noon: A conversation with Civil Rights Activist Jibran Nasir moderated by Professor Shahzad Bashir

interesting that paks at stanford have 'pakistanis at stanford' association, whereas indians only have 'south asian' associations. the paks come to the 'south asia' associations to pick up indian girls, that's it.

so much for 'south asian' solidarity. total scam. all those idiot leftie secular indians eg FOIL and ASHA are basically agents of the ISI even if they don't know it. some of them are receiving money from fai type outfits with plausible deniability for the ISI (like "mary")

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sindu Singh

Pakistanis at Stanford (PAS) and Center for South Asia at Stanford (CSA) are honored to host civil rights activist, Mohammad Jibran Nasir for a conversation moderated by Dr. Shahzad Bashir, Professor Department of Religious Studies. The event is supported by Billie Achilles Fund and Bechtel International Center.

Venue - Bechtel International Center, 
584 Capistrano Way Stanford. 
Room: Bechtel Assembly Room
Date: May 18, 2015
Time: 12:00 p.m.
(Lunch will be served)

As a 28 year old lawyer, civil rights activist, and blogger, Jibran Nasir contested the 2013 general elections as an independent candidate from Karachi offering a secular manifesto which emphasized the paramount importance of countering religious intolerance and terrorism as Pakistan's top priorities. 

Jibran co-founded two social and relief outreach programs Pehla Qadam in 2010 and Hum Qadam in 2014, which have provided food relief to over 6000 internally displaced persons and flood affected families in Pakistan. He is also the co-founder of the advocacy collective, Pakistan for All, which advocates against hate speech, violation of human rights and censorship of media. Jibran is a regular writer on Express Tribune and Dawn.com and has hosted current affairs show on DawnNews Tv.

In the aftermath of the December 16, 2014 Peshawar Army Public School attack, Jibran has been leading the citizen's movement against terrorism, organizing and running two campaigns, #ReclaimYourMosques and #NeverForgetPK, in an effort to put pressure on the Government of Pakistan to start a crack down on banned militant outfits. As a result Jibran has faced an arrest and has been threatened by the Taliban. Moreover other banned militant outfits have falsely accused him of blasphemy and have even tried to implicate him in fabricated criminal cases as unsuccessful attempts to intimidate and silence him.

​

--++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==
southasia mailing list
southasia@lists.stanford.edu
https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/southasia

Saudis to Buy Nukes from Pak

US officials say that the Saudis have made a strategic decision to go ahead and buy nuclear weapons from Pakistan:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-officials-saudis-set-buy-nuclear-weapons-pakistan-1501733

So how much will Pak recieve from Saudi? What does it mean for the Non-Proliferation Treaty which the Saudis and their Iranian rivals are both signatories to?

Russia Enacts Law Requiring Terrorists' Families to Pay for Damages

Even in China, if the state executes you, then a bill is sent to your family for the bullet:

http://rt.com/politics/putin-law-relatives-terrorists-166/

I think that India should enact a similar laws, instead of offering compensation to terrorists and their families.

Security Expert Claims He Hacked Airliner's Computer In Flight

Computer security expert Chris Roberts claims to have used the in-flight entertainment system to hack into the computer onboard the airliner he was flying:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/05/16/chris-roberts-fbi-plane-hack-one-world-labs/27448335/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3084856/Security-researcher-admits-FBI-hacked-commercial-airline-s-entertainment-took-control-plane-making-climb-fly-sideways.html

http://aptn.ca/news/2015/05/15/hacker-told-f-b-made-plane-fly-sideways-cracking-entertainment-system/

If this is a real vulnerability, then airlines and manufacturers had better address the problem before terrorists try to do something serious.

Fwd: IndiaFacts Commissioned Analysis of mainstream media's coverage of temple attacks

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sandeep
Date: Mon, May 11, 2015 at 2:50 PM
Subject: IndiaFacts Commissioned Analysis of mainstream media's coverage of temple attacks
To:

Mainstream media reportage of temple attacks: Analysis

Of late there has been a spate of news reports, articles, panel discussions and editorials on attacks on Churches in India. Most of these reports etc have been consistent in blaming Hindu groups for these attacks. Equally, in an age of social media and free access to information, doubts have been raised both about the attacks and the veracity of these reports.

On the other side, there is almost no coverage, analysis, editorials, and TV shows on attacks on the places of worship of non-Abrahamic religions including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Could it be the case that there were no attacks at all on these places of worship?

IndiaFacts commissioned a study-cum-analysis of mainstream English media's coverage of attacks on Hindu places of worship. The findings are quite revealing.

To begin with, secularism is an article of faith for the Indian English mainstream media. With that in mind, and with coverage of temple attacks as the context, our analysis also examined three broad aspects:

• Does the Indian English mainstream media really practice the secularism it preaches?
• Is our mainstream English media being fair in its coverage?
• Is our mainstream English media making an attempt to narrow the focus to a particular set of incidents with the intention of creating a false narrative?

Methodology

The IndiaFacts team sourced news reports, articles, opeds, and TV shows mainly from the Internet, and print for good measure. These news sources were spread across the most popular and widely read newspapers, online news channels, and TV media.

Data was collected based on coverage related to attacks, thefts, vandalism, hate crimes, corruption, mis-governance, and land grab with respect to temples (where temples are generically defined as stated earlier: places of worship of non-Abrahamic faiths). Data was collected for a period of six months: between 01 October 2014 and 31 March 2015, which is a decent sample size to be considered as representative to arrive at reasonably accurate conclusions.

Preliminary Observations

Two preliminary, high-level observations stand out in our analysis:

• There were 145 incidents of attacks on temples during the stated period—that is, approximately,at least one temple was attacked every day (more precisely, 0.8 per day).
• A vast majority of them were Hindu temples, and a few were Jain, Buddhist and Sikh as well. For the sake of brevity and ease of presentation, they're generically grouped as Hindu temples and could be de-grouped as needed, on a case by case basis.

 Detailed Analysis

This geo-data map shows the spread of attacks on Hindu temples across India. A darker gradient of red represents states with the highest number of temple attacks. As is evident from the map, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh top the list, followed by Kerala, Telangana and Karnataka.

 

Figure 1: Tamil Nadu & Uttar Pradesh have the most attacks on temples, followed by Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana

Weekly Attacks

The following chart shows the number of attacks on Hindu temples every week for the six month duration of our study. In our study, we have considered Sunday as the starting day of the week and Saturday as the ending day.

The height of the bar represents the total number of temple attacks for that week. Attacks on Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist temples are differently colour-coded.

Note: October being the starting point of our study, the first week has only four days—1 October thru 4 October 2015.

Figure 2: Weekly attacks on temples.

Subsequent weeks follow the Sunday-Saturday scheme. 11 January 2015—31 January2015 appears to be the most peaceful period with only one attack per week.

Media coverage of temple attacks

The following graph shows the number of articles published by news media for the temple attacks shown for the six-month period. Although some of the reports were actually published a few days later, falling into the subsequent week, they were counted for the week on which the incident actually occurred. This would simplify the counting.

 

Figure 3: News reports covering temple attacks

Number of media reports on temple attacks increase or decrease corresponding to the attack incidents, indicating a correlation with Figure 2.

The 145 incidents of attack on temples were covered by 293 news articles from various publishers and media outlets—that is, there were an average of 2.02 news articles published per incident.

State-wise Analysis

The following graph shows the state-wise grouping of temple attacks, based on the actual location of the attacks.

Figure 4: State-wise temple attacks

Red indicates incidents that could have been prevented by ensuring good governance and law and order mechanisms,and blue indicates attacks due to breakdown of law and order/lack of security. Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh top the list followed closely by Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana. In other words, South India has witnessed the worst attacks on temples.

The next graph shows the number of news reports published related to these attacks in their respective states.

Figure 5: Media reports on state-wise attacks on temples.

Red indicates reports on temple attacks incidents that could have been prevented by good governance and blue indicates reports on incidents that needed effective law and order mechanisms.

Attacks on Temples and Churches: Comparison

The following graph shows a comparison between attacks on temples and attacks on churches for the period under consideration.

Figure 6: Comparison between temple attacks and church attacks.

Exactly four incidents of attacks on churches took place across India in the period under consideration.The overall picture that emerges is clear: there's a huge gap in the attacks against temples compared to Christian places of worship. In other words, temples are targeted more frequently whereas churches remain largely unmolested.

State-wise grouping of attacks on temples and churches

The following graph shows the state-wise grouping of the attacks on temples including the four attacks on Christian places of worship.

Figure 7: Attacks on Christian places of worship added to the state wise chart shown in Figure 4

Media Coverage Comparison

Upon including the reports published in the media about attacks on Christian places of worship into the graphs of respective states, we obtain the following graph.

Figure 8: Media reportage on temple and church attacks 

Upon including the attacks on Christian places of worship into the week-wise chart of media reportage on temple attacks, we arrive at the following graph.

Figure 9: Week-wise media reportage on temple and church attacks

Conclusions

• On an average,the English mainstream media reported about 46.25 news articles per incident of attack on Christian places of worship whereas it reported a mere 2.02 news articles per incident of attack on Hindu places of worship
• Further, the 46.25 reports per incident related to attacks on a Christian place of worship had approximately 80 oblique references to the BJP, Narendra Modi, parliament debate, elections, Ghar-Wapsi. However such oblique references were rarely found in reports related to attacks on temples.
• According to the concept of secularism as commonly defined and understood, the Indian English mainstream media should ensure that its reportage remains religion-neutral. Unfortunately, as our analysis shows,the 46:2 ratio of its reportage on attacks on places of worship of Christians to those of Hindus doesn't pass this religion-neutral test by any standards. Therefore, there is very little evidence to show that the mainstream English media is reporting news based on the spirit of secularism it claims it adheres to.
• The same ratio also shows that our mainstream English media is being significantly selective and therefore unfair in its coverage.
• Highlighting a very tiny number of incidents of Church attacks and giving it frequent and repeated coverage while downplaying the real fact of repeated attacks against temples (almost one temple attack per day), certainly lends itself to the conclusion that the media is indeed creating, shaping, and pushing a false narrative.

Based on such hard data, it is not entirely inaccurate to conclude that the Indian mainstream English media is behaving like the mouthpiece of select religious institutions.

Best Regards,
Sandeep B

--

sent from samsung galaxy note3 neo, so please excuse brevity

Fwd: Sino Indian ties need a long term perspective+Solving India China Border Dispute: One million Indians for a road+lots more

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sanjeev nayyar

1. Aamir n Jackie C to star in 'Kung Fu Yoga' 14/6/15 http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/aamir-jackie-to-star-in-kung-fu-yoga/article7206714.ece?homepage=true

 

My take – the Chinese are good at borrowing from the world, re-engineering locally and then branding it as their own. That is how they built their Telecom co's. Expect the same with Yoga. Centuries ago Indian Numerals became Arabic ones. First Christian Yoga and now Kung Fu Yoga.

 

2. Nepal quake and Gorka bond by ashok mehta 15/5/15 http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/general-ashok-mehta-on-nepal-quake-and-the-gorkha-bond/article7206655.ece?homepage=true

 

3. Solving India China Border Dispute: One million Indians for a road 14/5/15 by nicolas groffman http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/solving-the-sino-indian-border-dispute-one-million-indians-for-a-road/. GOOD READ.

'China does not claim all of Arunachal Pradesh but it does claim the 70 per cent of it that lies along the Northern border of Assam – and that includes Itanagar. China deliberately keeps India guessing as to its intentions, for example by such means as only selectively providing hydrological data and flood information on the River Brahmaputra to India⁴. A pattern does emerge in Chinese foreign affairs that shows a willingness to negotiate fairly with a country that is in a position of strength, and China's approach to negotiation typically involves the making of concessions by both sides. the ITBP was sanctioned Rs 2.6 billion for the period between 2012 and 2017, but the Home Ministry is yet to release this money.

Many in China seem unaware that Arunachal Pradesh is settled by an Indian population and continue to use the phrase "Take back"²² when discussing it, as if there is a downtrodden population there yearning to be Chinese. In this context, India's current strategy of economic development in Arunachal Pradesh, military reinforcement, and most importantly, development of an efficient logistical chain to the region, is one that will help Beijing face down the hawkish element in the PLA, as well as improving security for the Indian population in the region.

The demarcation process between India and China should mirror the carefully constructed solution to the Sino-Vietnamese border question.'

 

My take – Sooner then later China will get Pakistan involved in the border talks esp when they relate to J&K. China wants Akshai Chin and legal access Gilgit Baltisan.

 

4. Sino Indian ties need a long term perspective says Xi by Xinhua 15/5/15 http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/921833.shtml

 

5. Modi Xi meeting offers scope for regional partnership by swaran singh JNU prof 14/5/15 http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/921566.shtml

'The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in India reportedly instructed Amit Shah, president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to cancel a meeting with the Dalai Lama that was scheduled to take place during his May 2 visit to Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Tibetan "government-in-exile."

 

My take – Why do Indian leaders say something before elections and soon thereafter but get into a different mode as time passes by!

 

5. Decline of American clout by chinmaye gharekhan 15/5/15 http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/decline-of-american-clout/80459.html

 

6. Can Modi and Xi reset Indo China ties by col anil athale 15/5/15 http://www.rediff.com/news/column/modi-in-china-can-modi-and-xi-reset-sino-indian-ties/20150514.htm

 

Warm Regards
sanjeev nayyar
https://twitter.com/sanjeev1927
To unsubscribe write back

--

sent from samsung galaxy note3 neo, so please excuse brevity

Opposition Targets Farmers for Comeback Drive

Modi had better beware - the Congress and Left are trying to fan flames of discontent among farmers, in order to help themselves come back to power:

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/rural-storm-brewing-for-modi-govt-slow-in-handling-farm-crisis-2245600.html

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/for-modi-s-year-old-gover/1849330.html

Modi, BJP, and RSS had better devote a little more time to get a handle on this situation and come up with a response, otherwise the anti-reformist forces will use farmers as a base for launching an agitation wave to oppose reforms.

Fwd: Third party mediator and external Lokpal appointed to resolve AAP crisis

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Arvind Kumar"
Date: 15 May 2015 11:08
Subject: Third party mediator and external Lokpal appointed to resolve AAP crisis
To: "yogendra.yadav@gmail.com" <yogendra.yadav@gmail.com>, "Prashant Bhushan" <prashantbhush@gmail.com>, <lramdas@gmail.com>, <kumarvishvas@gmail.com>, <parivartanindia@gmail.com>, <msisodia@gmail.com>, <nba.medha@gmail.com>
Cc:

Dear Arvind Kejriwal, L Ramdas and other members and ex-members of AAP,

Arvind Kumar has been appointed* the EXTERNAL LOKPAL and third party mediator to resolve the conflict in the Aam Aadmi Party.

All of you who are part of AAP can tell me EVERYTHING. Don't feel diffident when you communicate with me. I can solve every problem for you. Each side is advised to lay down its charges against the other faction and I will give you a fair hearing and pass my judgment after careful consideration of the facts.

For a start, here are the summary of charges against members of one faction and one member of the other faction which will be heard by the Internet Court of Justice.

L Ramdas: The main charge is TREASON and weakening of the armed forces as the first nuclear powered submarine in the Indian Navy, INS Chakra, was decommissioned when the ACCUSED headed the Indian Navy. The ACCUSED is connected to the CIA affiliate Ford Foundation through his daughter who is also suspected of connections to the ISI as she is allegedly married to a Paki. Whether the weakening of the armed forces was a deliberate act due to the alleged ISI/CIA connections will be determined during the trial.

Medha Patkar: Accused of being an American agent controlled by the International Rivers Network (IRN). Evidence entered along with the charges include emails with the IRN which are available on the internet.

Yogendra Yadav: Accused of being a beneficiary of money given by the CIA affiliate Ford Foundation.

Prashant Bhushan: Accused of pushing the ISI and CIA agenda of breaking away Jammu and Kashmir from India.

Manish Sisodia: Accused of abetting the murder of a farmer. Accused of being a beneficiary of funds funneled into India by the CIA affiliate Ford Foundation.

Gentlemen of the jury, you will be asked to determine whether the accused are GUILTY of being CIA stooges or GUILTY of being ISI stooges. Until you determine their guilt, they will be presumed innocent.

As regards Accused #4, the jury is advised to consider the claim that he has already received suitable punishment in the form of a beating.

Notes

* This is a judicial appointment as he has been appointed by the Internet Court of Justice**.

** The Internet Court of Justice was founded by Arvind Kumar.

PS: Apart from key members of the Aam Aadmi Party, those on the email list include members of the public specially chosen to be members of the jury.

Fwd: L’Affaire SpiceJet, The Curious Case of SpiceJet Sale – Smell a Scam!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Vaidyanathan R"

http://rvaidya2000.com/2015/05/15/laffaire-spicejet-the-curious-case-of-spicejet-sale-smell-a-scam-2/

L'Affaire SpiceJet, The Curious Case of Spice Jet Sale – Smell a Scam!

May 15, 2015 ·    Prof R.Vaidyanathan

https://performancegurus.net/portfolio-items/laffaire-spicejet-the-curious-case-of-spicejet-sale-smell-a-scam/#prettyPhoto
Brief Background
Modi-Luft, which was launched as a collaboration between Indian Industrialist S K Modi and Lufthansa the German carrier in 1993, ceased operations in 1996. In 2004, Ajay Singh raised funds & restarted operations as SpiceJet following the low-cost model. Spice Jet leased 3 Boeing 737-800 aircraft and started operations. In 2005, the Airports Authority of India approved three overnight parking slots to SpiceJet, with two in Delhi and one in Mumbai. The first flight was flagged off by then Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Praful Patel. By 2008, it was India's second-largest low-cost carrier in terms of market share.
Kalanidhi Maran, the media baron based in South, acquired 37.7% stake in SpiceJet in June 2010. In 2012, SpiceJet suffered losses of over ₹390 million (approx. US$6 million) owing to increase in global crude prices. On 9 January 2012, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation reported that several airlines in India, including SpiceJet, have not maintained crucial data for the flight operations quality assurance or the FOQA.
The Bombay stock exchange announced that ever since June 2011, SpiceJet had been suffering losses. In 2012, Despite the losses, Kalanidhi Maran increased his stake in SpiceJet by investing ₹1billion (US$16 million) in the airline.
The airline returned to profitability at the end of the year. For a detailed time line of events, see the list below:

• In 2013, SpiceJet launched its first inter-line pact with Tiger Air in 2013. In July 2014, SpiceJet announced up to 50 per cent discounts due to competition.
• In December 2014, SpiceJet cancelled many domestic flights across the country. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued warning over non-payment of salaries and dues, while the airport operators moved to put the carrier on cash-and-carry mode, which means the airline could use the facilities of an airport only upon immediate payment.
• On December 17, all flights were grounded after oil companies refused to refuel its planes.
• In January 2015, the board of directors of SpiceJet transferred control of the airline to Ajay Singh, the founder of SpiceJet who as we saw earlier, used to run the airlines earlier. At this time Ajay Singh had 4.5% stake in the Airlines. Subsequently Kalanidhi Maran transfers SpiceJet stake to Ajay Singh via 'Scheme of Reconstruction and Revival for the takeover of ownership, management and control of SpiceJet Limited'.

The secretive process
But there are too many questions about this "bailout" or sale. SpiceJet is owned by the public and begs an important question – Can a public listed company be acquired without disclosing the acquisition scheme or the purchase price?
Three issues of public importance were kept secret –

• Scheme Details were not disclosed,
• Acquisition price not disclosed and
• Open Offer was exempted without valid reason.

Takeover Regulations clearly state that Exemptions From Open Offer 10 (1) (d) acquisition pursuant to a scheme (ii) of arrangement involving the target company as a transferor company or as a transferee company, or reconstruction of the target company, including amalgamation, merger or demerger, pursuant to an order of a court or a competent authority under any law or regulation, Indian or foreign:
It is extra-ordinary that the exemptions from open offer as well as non-disclosure of prices are making one feel about the emergence of a scam of massive magnitude which will haunt this government. Not only that the Form B and D filings made by both the Maran's and Ajay Singh where they speak of this off-market transaction in the column which asks for buy value, they have put the face value of shares and not the actual transaction price. In the filing made by Ajay Singh under regulation 10(6) of the substantial acquisition and takeover regulations, when asked to disclose the price at which the shares are proposed to be acquired, he said that in terms of the share sale and purchase agreement the consideration paid by the acquirer for the acquisition of these shares is confidential.
Confidentiality is being claimed for a mandatory public disclosure and it is atrocious to say the least. Both in letter and spirit it is not tenable. Let us be clear that this is a private transaction in a public company. It is not some private deal.
Every provision that requires disclosure needs to be met when the acquisition is close to 60 percent of a listed company. To begin with if there is an exemption being availed of at the minimum, the form says spell out the price. I think fundamentally whether the exemption is even available to them is questionable. SEBI has a lot to answer in this case –

• SEBI Act section 12A says a contrivance or a device to circumvent provision of the regulation is itself a violation. This is a classic case of contrivance and structured essentially to force fit within the exemption. This secret price is what is termed as a "dud" price in the market, grossly under-valued is supposedly by Goldman Sachs, a US based Consulting Company. The accounting procedure adopted as well as the process of price discovery –in the absence of open offer- is not known.
• The officials in Civil Aviation Ministry were also complicit in this process to enable the sale of nearly 60 per cent shares of Spice Jet at a secret and reportedly dud price of a Stock Exchange listed company, by underwriting the source of the Rs. 1,300 crores of infusion of funds by a defacto bankrupt Ajai Singh. The Ministry ought to have found out the source of the fund.

To quote legal expert Sunderesan from an interview in CNBC TV
"Here what is happening is, that a private owner of a public company gets an exit at an undisclosed price, terms not disclosed to the public shareholders, it would otherwise trigger an open offer, you call that takeover a scheme of takeover of management and ownership and reconstruction, call the Ministry of Civil Aviation a competent authority and then say this force fits within the exemption. In my view the letter of the law too is not met.
There are judgments where schemes approved by a court of law have been held to be a contrivance and an open offer has been forced which has been even upheld all the way in appellate processes. In that light to have a share purchase agreement masquerading as a scheme is extraordinary."
– Sundaresan
Further, on Jan 30th: Spicejet Board approves [BSE filing] 'To create, offer, issue and allot up to 3,750,000  non-convertible Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares of Rs.1,000 each to Mr. Kalanidhi Maran and / or Kal Airways Private Limited on preferential basis.' But even this needs shareholders' approval since preference shares are quasi-equity.
Marans and power of politics
SpiceJet is a fit case for quick action in shareholder interest because of the track record of the Marans. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked Dayanidhi Maran for diverting 323 high-speed phone lines to his home and connecting them through a dedicated underground cable to the SunTV network, to avoid paying fat telecom charges.
In August 2014, CBI also booked Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanithi on charges of receiving a bribe of Rs742 crore in the Aircel-Maxis case and of coercing entrepreneur C Sivasankaran to sell Aircel to Maxis.
The astute observer of the financial scene and its entire underbelly – Ms. Sucheta Dalal of Harshad Mehta scam buster fame- asks a pertinent question
"Finally, will Minister [Civil Aviation] Ashok Gajapati Raju tell us why the Rs600-crore bailout will not be a futile when SpiceJet's outstanding's are in excess of Rs2, 000 crore? What other steps has he taken to ensure that he is not asking banks, who have already lent over Rs1,500 crore to SpiceJet, to throw good money after bad, if the management fails to secure the long-term investment that it hopes to get?"
– Sucheta Dalal
But of course Marans are not the run of the mill business barons. They are the nephews of ex-Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.Karunanidhi who at one time announced the cabinet ministers' name and portfolio from his Chennai residence which was meekly accepted by UPA1 headed by the then Prime Mininster Manmohan Singh.
About Ajay Singh who is supposed to run the future show at SpiceJet, the less said the better. Ajay Singh is presumbaly Director of 40 or so companies. Some are allegedly bankrupt. Normally Ashish Singh, Shivani Singh, Anupriya Singh are the common Directors in his companies. Seems brother, sister in law and kids…their address of most companies are:
D-32, Kalinidy Colony,
New Delhi – 110065.
One great finding is that he also owned Allianz Infratech, which got two telecom licences and merged with Balwa's Swan Telecom in months… he is actively involved in telecom. He was very close to the then telecom minister Pramod Mahajan—who is no more.
So where are we today? SpiceJet is flying again and everyone involved is hoping that it will be "business as usual".
Recently RBI governor Raghuram Rajan in an important lecture in memory of Dr. Kurien, gave a brilliant analysis of the "crony capital' scenario:
"The firm and its many workers, as well as past bank loans, are the hostages in this game of chicken – the promoter threatens to run the enterprise into the ground unless the government, banks, and regulators make the concessions that are necessary to keep it alive. And if the enterprise regains health, the promoter retains all the upside, forgetting the help he got from the government or the banks – after all, banks should be happy they got some of their money back!
No wonder government ministers worry about a country where we have many sick companies but no "sick" promoters!"
Raghuram Rajan
This L'Affaire SpiceJet has all the spice to become the first known major scam of this NDA Government. It has all ingredients of violations of several sections of PCA/ FEMA/ PMLA/ IPC/ SEBI Act/ Companies act. The sooner Government wakes up and ACTS to comply with all these acts better for it. Otherwise the government will have egg on its face.
The author Prof. R Vaidyanathan is Professor of Finance at IIM-B. Views are personal.

  ____________________________________________   

  R.VAIDYANATHAN                                       

  PROFESSOR OF FINANCE                                           

 INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

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