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Democracy in India: 1947 to Present?

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Now that the MBA entrances are over, it’s time for the Group Discussions, Interviews and so the preparations are in full swing. When it comes to mock GDs, there are always those clichéd topics that never seem to get old and make the students feel like they’ve hit the jackpot.

One such evergreen topic relates to the success (or the lack thereof) of democracy in India. This seems to ignite such passion in the contestants that the best you can do is to hide under your chair to prevent being caught in the crossfire as they try to rip each other’s throats out. But the one emotion that seems to stand out in such a heated discussion is the absolutely loathsome outlook that they share for the politicians across the country.

While some argued that the numerous scams that pop up each day spelled the death of democracy, yet others argued that it wasn’t irreparably damaged and that effective policies could go a long way in helping it rise from the ashes. One gentleman vehemently argued that there was no antidote, for the system had completely failed. He went on to add that India should emulate the American bipartisan system of democracy and that he would rather migrate to the USA than live in India. There were a few who tried feebly to counter his arguments but were soon convinced by his arguments and nodded meekly as they were swayed by his ‘eloquence’.

Conclusion: We’re tired of such rampant corruption and lack of even a shred of morality in the political structure of this country. But we’re much too involved with our own lives to take a step forward and own up to our responsibility; to ever make an active contribution to cleaning up the mess that is politics for the fear of tarnishing our own image by mere association.

That right there, I believe, is the death of democracy; where the people have the freedom to make a choice but don’t want to exercise it. If we can’t forgo our own selfish interests, regardless of what they might be, and choose to curse from afar, then why do we expect the politicians to put national interest ahead of their own needs? Be the change you want to see, isn’t it?

 

Surya Rajappan
[email protected]

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India Hockey League – The Pakistan Controversy

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The Indian Hockey League found itself in the midst of a controversy due to its move of releasing the nine Hockey Players that had come from Pakistan, thereby denying them the opportunity to play in the Indian Hockey League 2013. Such a move has found its bedrock in the recent tension that has erupted on Indo Pak borders, due to yet another ceasefire violation by Pakistan, following mutilation of two Indian soldiers by the Pakistani soldiers.

Narinder Batra, the secretary General of Hockey India said,”All have approved this decision. The contract money for 2013 will be paid in full to the Pakistani players and HI stands are committed in guaranteeing the same.” The Secretary General also said that the franchisees that had the Pakistani players would be given time and opportunity to find replacements in their teams.

The Shiv sena had earlier threatened to vandalise the stadiums if the Pakistani players took to the stadiums and were allowed to play. However, the HI federation clearly maintains that their decision was not an impulsive reaction to the threats of an organization but a decision in which all top executive members sat down and discussed the intensity of the situation and the hurt sentiments of the nation.

This move of the HI federation has found both bouquets and brickbats. Aruna of Hindu college says, “Its absolutely the right thing to do. When Indian artists go to Pakistan, they are never treated with respect. Pakistan has no respect for India. Why should we be the meek cats always?”

However, Rishabh of Ramjas college says, “ Banning artists and sportspersons is not the solution. The problem exists because of a deep rooted hostility towards citizens of the other country. Such moves will only aggravate and perpetuate the hostility”.

The players who went back are: Fareed Ahmed, Imran Butt, Mahmood Rashid and Muhammad Tousiq (all Mumbai Magicians); Muhammad Rizwan Sr. and Muhammad Rizwan Jr. (Delhi Waveriders); Muhammad Irfan and Shafqat Rasool (Ranchi Rhinos); and Kashif.

Image source-topnews.in 

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DUB Speak

Why The Rapists Should Not Hang!

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The rape incident of a 23 year old student (Amanat, as the media has christened her) and the physical mutilation of both Amanat and her friend have once again exposed the underbelly of the nation’s capital. One among the many rapes to be reported in the city’s newspapers (three more reported from the city post this incident less than a week back!), this case was different only in the fact that it caught the imagination of the public. Social media was leveraged to spread the anger far and wide, public gatherings were organized all over the country and a lot of words were spoken.

The public rage since then has turned wild. On day 1 the large protest marches ran over the security barricades at the Home Minister’s residence. On day three, it escalated to Raisina Hill. Any person mildly active on Facebook could tell you what the country wanted – for the accused to be hanged to death! Or if given a choice, people would have them castrated, bobbitized, flogged and publicly stoned to death.

Lots and lots of young, educated Indians wish exactly that for the accused. And I write, hoping to provide a balanced perspective to the entire episode that has gripped this nation. I write to point out the most obvious legal hurdles in granting a death sentence to the accused.

At the outset, I agree that the incident this time around was gruesome. And it deserves a stringent punishment. But I disagree with the few who say that an example should be made out of these culprits. I disagree because I fail to see how this act is any more gruesome than that landlord who raped a minor, or the father and stepfather who alternately raped their daughter. All of this in the past week. Also, it is a statistically proven fact that making murders an offence worthy of capital punishment has not in the slightest affected their rates. Legal opinion is divided on how effective a change in law would be for tackling incidents of rape.

As the law in India stands today, rapes are bailable. And they never warrant a capital punishment. There is a loud clamour for changing these ‘archaic’ laws and there are reasons why the legislators haven’s sprung into action yet.

A grossly under-reported fact is that rape laws (much like dowry laws) are amongst the most misused laws in India. Section 114A of the Indian Evidence Act states “when sexual intercourse by the accused is proved and the question is whether it was without the consent of the woman alleged to have been raped and she states in her evidence before the Court that she did not consent, the Court shall presume that she did not consent” which in simpler words means that if a male has sex with female, she can file a rape case against him even if the act was consensual. The wordings of the laws have been often misused (or so is popular opinion, the law itself stands). The most common scenario would be one where the woman wishes to marry her lover post coitus and upon refusal, files a case of rape against him. The Supreme Court made the matter slightly more complicated by passing an order that ‘sex with the promise of marriage amounts to rape’.

Now picture this- a hot blooded India demands a change in laws, making rape non-bailable and worthy of capital punishment. The law is misused, even if by a minority (though the numbers are debatable) leading to the chargesheet being filed against an innocent. The person is slapped with a non-bailable arrest warrant and suffers in jail, at the mercy of our over-burdened, and hence slow, judicial process. The capital punishment clause can mean that the innocent could face a severe penalty for no fault of his bacause the wordings of 114A make it almost impossible to prove innocence.

We must not forget that the fundamentals of justice stress more that an innocent man should not hang rather than making all the guilty suffer. Hence, innocent until proven guilty! This is where it becomes so important that we treat laws with utmost care. Each word in an amendment must be carefully scrutinized for what it implies and what loopholes it leaves behind. It is all very well for the masses to shout “Hang the rapist” but it would be wiser for the educated to analyse why our laws say what they do.

Also, there is a fine line between empowering women and decapitating men. Though we feel the need to bring women up to par, it does not mean it shall be at the cost of men. The idea is not to tilt the scales, it is to balance it!

I would like to end by stating that I am not a law student and am not aware of the details behind all of India’s laws. However, my article is based on statements from the Indian Penal Code available on the internet and I assumed it to be wholesome. My intent behind this article was to bring a sense of sanity to this whole outrage that the nation feels. We must continue our fight against rapists, make our streets safer, give women their rights, and all that while not not getting emotionally blinded.

Arnav Das
[email protected] 

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DUB Speak

The iTunes Store Has Arrived

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“Now you can shop at the world’s No.1 music store. Which means you can browse and buy songs, albums and films anytime you want.” This is the proclamation that the Apple website makes to inform us all that the iTunes store is now accessible in India. Thereafter the site just brags a little, typical Apple eh? The good, rather great news is that now we all can shop for music, movies etc. right from our desktops. But then again, this news is sweet symphony only to those of us who aren’t acquainted with torrent or steer clear of downloading illegal content, I’m trying very hard not to crack wise on this part of the audience.

Nevertheless this is monumental news, as there were a good amount of rumours that Apple was running for exit from India a few years back. We must also bear in mind that it took the company decades to bring the iTunes Store to India even though the company had made its appearance long back. In a conference call with investors and analysts on July 24, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he loved India but there was little business opportunity in the country to sell the company’s products. India had influenced Steve Jobs in many ways and still India stayed hungry and foolish for the iTunes store for a very long time.

Enough of the gripes and grumbles look at the bright side; we can download Dabangg 2, Talaash and other sound tracks side by side with Taylor Swift and Bob Marley songs! Angry Birds, AC/DC and A R Rahman all on the same portal, guys it is the Pandora’s Box of entertainment!

So Yellow Submarine, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Rolling in the Deep and Fevicol Se all under the same roof, is this a sign of the impending apocalypse?

Anugrah Gopinath

[email protected]

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Why Homosexuality in India is Still A Taboo

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World renowned Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev claims to have a “cure” for the “disease” called “homosexuality”. He has discovered some asanas or body postures that can make the diseased person “normal” again.

It is sometimes hard for me to believe that I’m living in the 21st century. That, in the century that is characterized by technological advancements, globalization and liberal thinking, most people still prefer to reside in the stone age and refuse to come out of their shell, or den, in this case.

Homosexuality is said to be a condition of body and mind, wherein one is attracted to members of the same sex. It is as natural and normal as the transformation of a caterpillar to a fluttering butterfly. But the majority of narrow minds in the Indian Diaspora make it very difficult to establish homosexuality as an accepted form of existence. The problem lies in the Indian family ethos. Advertisements on AIDS and condoms on TV are hurriedly changed, met with awkward silences and glowering eyes of parents. Thus open talking about homosexuality of the child is unthinkable. The child finds it very hard to put forth his points, confide in his parents in such a discouraging atmosphere. In rare cases, when people muster up courage and openly declare their homosexuality, they are met with vivid expressions of horror, disbelief, in -acceptance, guilt and shame (in the same order). The fear of stigmatization is a constant reminder of the pitfalls that may follow. This is a major reason why most families choose not to support their children and force them into marriages and seek all sorts of “treatments”, not caring about wants of the child, thus pushing him/her into an abysm of despair.

Another problematic area is workplace. Homosexuals are more often than not ridiculed at, discriminated against, paid less compared to their counterparts and are never incorporated into the wider social group. Gay couples and marriages are laughed off as unnatural and they are subjected to worldly prejudices, escalating to discrimination. In fact, in many serials, Gay mannerisms are introduced to add the necessary spice and humor.

But, as they say, change is inevitable, and slowly but surely, people are changing their attitude towards this topic. Landmark legislation was the reading down of section 377 of the IPC that criminalized homosexual activities, and now the Indian legal system recognizes gay affiliations. Gay parades now feature annually Delhi Calendar. They have played and continued to play a major role in emancipation of the LGBT community and in spreading ethical awareness about the very same. Several organizations, like the NAZ FOUNDATION, have vehemently supported this cause and have subsequently made admirable efforts to improve the current, prevailing situation. And thus, comes back my realization, that I live in the 21st century and not the Stone Age.

A society is judged by the people who live in it. We all must broaden our horizons, break away from age old myths and embrace a more progressive and happier tomorrow.

Image credits: Firstpost 

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Campus Central

Aung San Suu Kyi felicitated at LSR

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For someone who has had to endure as much as Burmese pro-Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for such an extended period of time, it is no less than fascinating that she still retains a youthful charm, made even more potent accompanied now by an ethereal aura. One would imagine that the unrelenting crackdown on their cause, the innumerable attempts at their life, the taxing period of house arrest and the pain of separation from their loved ones would be adequate to crush anyone’s spirit. But like a phoenix that rises from the ashes, she has risen again, with a renewed vigour towards the realization of her cause for democracy for her people. This was something that was visible to all this morning, at her alma mater, Lady Shri Ram College.

Suu, as she was lovingly called during her college days studying Political Science here, arrived at the college for an emotional ‘homecoming’ just past 9.30 am. Accompanied by Hon’ble Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor and several other dignatories including former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, she was greeted by current students of the college sporting traditional Burmese skirts or longyis, staff as well as her former teachers, as she made her way through a packed college auditorium up the stage for the commencement of her felicitation ceremony. After welcome addresses by the Principal, Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath, the Chairperson Mr. Arun Bharat Ram and Dr. Shashi Tharoor, the Nobel laureate renowned for her intransigent fight for democracy, was honoured by the distinguished panel.

Perhaps the most riveting of the moments was her stirring unrehearsed speech, in which she reached out to ‘her girls’, and all young people at large. She acknowledged the support she always received from the institution, even in times when she had little contact with the outside world and remarked, “… My faith in the oneness of human aspirations is justified.” She further touched upon the “emotional connection” she had with the people of India, and thanked them for their support through trying times. “I feel myself partly a citizen of India”, she said. Addressing young political aspirants, she warned against “unprincipled politics”, urging them to never compromise on their principles if they were to enter the political arena. She concluded by asking for continuing support in the last few steps that Burma had left towards democracy, effectively consolidating all the hearts she had already conquered.

 

Tanya Dua
[email protected] 

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India v/s England – A Preview

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India’s 2011 tour of England was quite a chastening experience for Dhoni’s men. India failed to register even a single victory, losing the 4-match test series, the 5-match ODI series and the 1-match T-20 series 4-0, 3-0 and 1-0 respectively. It’s hardly surprising then that England’s tour of India is being billed as the ‘revenge’ series. The 3 month long tour includes 4 test matches, 2 T-20 matches and 5 ODI matches.

The series promises to be intense and the war of words has already commenced. India’s decision to not include regular spinners in the India A team for the warm up game with England did not please former English captain Michael Vaughan who took to Twitter to decry India’s ‘pathetic tactics’. He alleged that in order to keep the English batting line up from getting accustomed to spin,India deliberately avoided playing spinners. Sunil Gavaskar countered Vaughan’s diatribe stating that the composition  of India’s team is solely the prerogative of the Indian selectors and is none of Vaughan’s business.

Test Series

The 4-match test series commenced today,the 15th of November.

England

Kevin Pieterson returns to the English squad for the first time after his infamous row with ECB. Alastair Cook captains the English side. A lot will depend on Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, the primary spinning options for England. England’s batting order will be suspect against the Indian spinners given its relative inexperience. Kevin Pieterson is England’s most valuable player going into the series.

India

Tendulkar has struggled to find form recently which has led to plenty of debate on whether he should retire. If he fails to impress against England, it might well be time for the great man to retire. Another senior player, Zaheer Khan has flattered to deceive lately and India would be expecting an improved showing from him. Meanwhile, Yuvraj Singh faces a fight to prove his fitness. Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha are expected to excel in spinner friendly conditions and could hold the key as far as India is concerned.

Series prediction: 3-0
India will prove too strong for the visitors. Spin will be the difference.

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Arts & Culture

Top 5 Books Banned In India

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The Indian government has always made pretentious claims about idealism and socialism, yet goes on banning books – a distortion of the freedom of expression – to claim their supremacy. About 20 books are officially banned in India currently, and imports of many others are denied by the customs department.

But are the bans really worth it? With greater permissiveness and social freedom, uncensored copies of the book are anyway floating freely on internet.

Indian writers and economists have said much harsher things. Yet, in all these years nobody has bothered to take them into consideration. Analysts from Reporters Without Borders rank India 131st in the world in terms in their Press Freedom Index, falling from 80th just 11 years earlier. Here are top 5 books that are censored in India.

 

1) The Satanic Verses

Amongst the oldest, yet youngest controversy as is evident from incidences of Jaipur literature festival. India was the first Country to ban the Book following the hostile response from the Muslims all over the Globe. He has been in a hiding for over a decade. Fatwa was imposed on Rushdie by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini for demeaning Islam. Rushdie had to live in hiding for nearly a decade.

2) The Great Soul

Joseph Lelyveld, the Pulitzer Prize winner and former executive editor of The New York Times penned a biography, “The Great Soul”, inspired by Gandhi’s life in India and South Africa. The reviews claimed that the book exposed Gandhi’s sexual life and bigoted views. Reacting to it, the book was called for a ban in Gujarat, Gandhi’s hometown has. But imposition of nationwide ban was abjured, citing Lelyveld’s clarification. Still book is not let inside India by customs department.

3) Nine Hours to Rama

Nine Hours to Rama written by historian Wolpert, a professor at University of California. This book is a fictional account of last day of Gandhiji’s lije and focuses on how Nathuram Godse planned Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. It got banned because it exposed the poor security provided to Gandhi, and hinted at possible incompetence and conspiracy.

4) Lady Chatterley’s Lover

“Lady Chatterley’s Lover” by D.H. Lawrence was considered as obscene because it was an account of a women’s illegitimate relationship with her Gardner. It has depiction of sex and politics gave rise to controversies and was unanimously banned in India and Britain (though Britain lifted up the ban). But the ban is not followed as it should be and you can find books in some stored. The court said that the court does not protect those who take delight in “sexual pleasures and erotic writings”.

5) The Polyester Prince

Australian journalist Hamish McDonald wrote this account of Ambani’s rise in 1998, which remained unavailable in India, partly because of concerns that Ambani would sue if the book got released. The books asserted that many of the rules and regulations were turned down to serve his purpose.  An updated version” Ambani and Sons”, was written down which is available in book stores.

 

 

 

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iPhone 5- You Like it, But Should You Buy it?

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Low and behold! The iphone 5 is finally here, a device that’s thinner, lighter, faster and taller than its predecessor.
“This is the biggest thing to happen to iPhone since the iPhone,” said Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller. But is it really worth a buy? Let’s find out.

Firstly here are some significant and interesting features worth noting:

  1. Taller, thinner, and a metal back

The iPhone 5 features a 4-inch display (i.e. it’s larger than the iPhone 4S) and an aluminum and glass body that weighs 112 g and is 7.6 mm thick, making it 20 percent lighter and 18 percent thinner than the iPhone 4S. Touch sensors are now built into the display itself, which makes it 30 percent thinner as a result and less prone to glare.

The phones will be two toned, coming in either black and slate or white and silver. Apple iPhone 4S was given a glass back which got cracked by accidental falls frequently. Fortunately Apple has learnt their lesson from iPhone 4S and has provided a metal back this time, which is sure to play in their favor as far as durability of the body is concerned.

You won’t have to scroll that much because the larger screen will allow a fifth row of icons .On the down side most of the applications you have will not utilize all the space on the screen and will show black borders on the top and bottom of the application. The fate of this extra space will be decided by the application developers, whether to provide the customers with a better application experience or exploit the space by advertisements.

     2.     LTE (Long Term Evolution) and carriers

The iPhone 5 will run on 4G LTE networks. That’s in addition to the current support for GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, and HSPA data networks. iPhone 5 has an inbuilt dynamic antenna which allows you to switch among these networks smoothly. The 4G connection will double the speed internet browsing and downloading content.

Taking in account the Indian disputes over 3G, it might take some time before the 4G internet service is started in India. In the absence of a suitable 4G connection the network will run on 3G connection and HSPA data network

      3.     A faster chip (A6 Chip)

The iPhone 5 is also powered by a faster A6 processor. According to Apple’s specialists, users will see Web pages load 2.1 times faster, and the Music app with songs will load 1.9 times faster. Combining both the 4G LTE and A6 chip the entire iPhone’s operating speed and internet speed is bound to impress many iphone4S users.

     4.     Battery life and Audio

Phone calls (the reason we bought phones for once upon a time) will be better and have three microphones and a noise-canceling earpiece, in addition to Apple’s new “wideband” audio that promises to deliver more natural sounding voice. Apple claims a longer batter backup with 8 hours of 3G talk time, 8 hours of 3G browsing, 8 hours of LTE browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours of video playback, 40 hours of music playback, and 225 hours of standby time.

      5.      Camera

It comes with a spiffier camera, front and back facing cameras have each been upgraded (they’ll be 720p and 1080p, respectively) and users will be able to take much larger photos thanks to the new Panorama feature. There also a new image signaling mechanism within the A6 chip, which will bring spatial noise reduction and a “smart filter” that, produces better low-light performance and captures photos faster. Finally, there’s a built-in panorama mode that stitches shots together for one large 28-megapixel photo.

      6.     Lightning Power connector

The traditional 30-pin power connector has been replaced with much smaller one called Lightning is in. According to Apple, lightning is only 20 percent the size of the previous one. That means your iPod and iPad chargers won’t be charging your phone anymore. The various audio partners of apple which include BOSE will be coming up with new devices which will be compatible with the new connector.

Pricing for the different configurations is as follows: $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB. It will be launched in India at sometime in early November this year. Also, note that the price of the iPhone 5 16 GB is same as the price of iPhone 4S 16 GB .For those who were hoping to buy a buy an iPhone 4S should definitely wait for the launch of iPhone 5 in India .

The Verdict: Should you buy it ?

Yes, the iPhone5 is definitely worth buying but unfortunately without a decent 4G connection it will not be performing at its maximum potential. The new design will adversely affect the view of the old applications and upcoming applications which should be solved in a few months. But the increase in battery life and the A6 chip alone make this iPhone a must buy.

 

Pinakita Gupta & Arjun Khosla
[email protected] ; [email protected] 

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Arts & Culture

Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan

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Historically, we are all aware of the partition of 1947, the splitting of India and Pakistan, a violent episode that led to the death of millions of people and the displacement of ten million people from their homes. Some of us may have even heard our grandparents talking about the tragic events of that summer.

What Khushwant Singh does in his book, Train to Pakistan, is that he narrates the incident with a story around a small, remote village on the border of India and Pakistan where Muslims and Sikhs resided together in peace for many years.  Relatively unaffected by the politic scenario of the country at the time, the villagers had only heard of the gruesome crimes committed on Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs by each other.

Mano Majra is a village were the villagers plan their day’s activities in accordance to the timing of the train that stops at the station nearby. As the reader plods through the novel, this train station turns out to play a crucial role in shaping the climax of the plot. The violence is unleashed early on with the death of the money lender, Lala Ram Lal at the hands of village goons. Shortly afterwards, the badmash  Juggut Singh and a social worker from Britain visiting the village, Iqbal are accused of the murder and rounded up by the police.  Juggut, or Juggu as he’s referred to, is infamous throughout the village but has been wrongly accused of the crime. Iqbal is a cynical and well educated babu sahib who often voices his thoughts about the flaws in the system and the mentality of the villagers.

While they are still in lock-up, an unscheduled train stops at Mano Majra, full of bodies of dead Sikhs. This train from Pakistan is the first gory event that stems from the Partition that the villagers witness themselves, having hitherto merely heard storied of murder, rape and abduction before. After this incident, mistrust, anger and sorrow divide the otherwise friendly villagers with the Muslims deciding it best to leave for Pakistan.  Tension mounts as the Sikhs plan to retaliate by killing off all Muslims in a train to Pakistan, which was also carrying the villagers they’d lived with for many years. Once released, both Iqbal and Juggu are presented with the same opportunity of saving many lives and preventing more bloodshed. Juggu makes for an unlikely hero at the end when he risks all to save the passengers on the train, including Nooran, the girl he loved.

Khushwant Singh narrates the incidents and creates the characters in excruciating detail, thus allowing the reader to visualise. He captures the transition of behaviour and attitude in the characters in a life like manner. The characters, Hukum Chand, the magistrate in particular, are often posed with moral dilemmas and conflicting thoughts. Rather than focusing on the political events, he looks at how they affected common people at the grass root level. He doesn’t condemn any side but rather holds all parties equally responsible for the Partition and the terror it created. Train to Pakistan is a book many have recommended but I had never actually gotten down to reading it. I regret having picked it up so late, for though it is fictional, this book catches human emotions of fear, anger and brutality in a simple yet chilling manner.

 

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