Questions to ask before giving away prime real estate

GFI Executives at a Government Conference at Bombay

Recently the Maharashtra Government concluded an MoU with the Bahrain based Gulf Finance House, a leading Islamic Investment Bank, for the establishment of an EDZ. The project involves acquisition of 1600 acres of land along the Bombay-Pune expressway and developing infrastructure into four economic cities: energy, telecom, software and entertainment. These "cities" will then be presumably leased out to companies wishing to set up shop. The entire project cost is estimated at $10.28B and the project is expected to be completed in about 5 years.

Whatever is happening in the SEZ business, transparency is certainly not a key feature. Just like in the case of West Bengal, the details are very sketchy. While one need not get paranoid just because a company from an Islamic country is investing, there are some questions worth asking upfront to avoid headache later.

From the bank's website:

Established on 16 October 1999 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, GFH derives its strength from its commitment to the Islamic Sharia'a philosophy of wealth management and a well-defined and broad-based portfolio of investments spread across three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. With a paid up capital of US$ 239 million and an authorized capital of US$ 300 million, GFH has positioned itself at the cutting edge of the rapidly expanding international Islamic banking industry. During its seven years of operations, GFH has successfully launched projects and investments with an aggregate final value exceeding US$12 billion.

It must be noted that the Bank is a relatively puny player when compared to global banks. The bank has made no investment so far outside of the Gulf region. The bank has raised $630 so far for the project, the equity issue was oversubscribed and attracted wealthy investors from West Asia. The investment in the project will be almost equal to the bank's total investments since its inception.

It is not clear whether other investors were invited to bid for the project. This is prime land we are talking about and includes the area near the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport. While the Maharashtra government is thumping its chest by saying that it didn't have to invest anything in the project, they are certainly not counting the enormous administrative cost, the cost of the airport and ancilliary facilities etc. Most surprisingly, Maharashtra Government will have NO equity in the project.

It is worth asking if the Bank intends to impose restrictions for Sharia compliance. For instance, whether the bank will enforce a dress code on its employees that runs counter to the spirit of our constitution.

Meltdown on an Air Canada flight

Viewer discretion strongly advised. No details available.

12 Days to Christmas

Random entries from the itinerary book of Hon'ble President of the Secular Socialist Democratic Republic of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Nov 30 - Dec 12, 2007.

Dec 13: President Pratibha Patil on Thursday called for minimum housing facilities for workers engaged in construction of houses.

Dec 12: On Wednesday, The Nepali Army (NA) chief General Rookmangud Katawal received the honorary title of Indian Army’s General from Indian President Pratibha Patil at a function held in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday said that the proposed new airport being built at Amravati is not for her convenience, but is part of the Maharashtra State Government’s initiatives for the development of the Vidarbha region.

Dec 11:

Dec 10: President Pratibha Patil today called for empowerment of women and protection of their rights for a progressive and stable society. On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, Patil termed human dignity as the backbone of human rights.

Dec 9: All roads led to 10, Janpath, for Congress workers and party activists Sunday as they made a beeline to greet party chief Sonia Gandhi on her 61st birthday with good wishes, singing, dancing and laddoos. One of the first to greet the party president was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who drove to her house early in the morning. President Pratibha Patil sent in a bouquet with greetings.

Hun Sen, who arrived in India on Friday, was given a ceremonial reception on Saturday, which was followed by a meeting with India's Minister of External Affairs, Pranab Mukherjee, President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari.

Dec 8: The President Pratibha Patil today sought the creation of a network of non-governmental organisations which will create awareness among people about social issues."There should be a network of NGOs in society which should work towards creating awareness about social issues," she said addressing chairpersons of state social welfare boards.

Dec 7: Armed Forces Flag Day was observed today throughout the country. The day is observed to remember the sacrifices made by our gallant servicemen in defending the integrity of our motherland and salute the martyrs, honour the brave and express solidarity and support towards welfare of widows, children, disabled and sick ex-servicemen. On the occasion the Director General Resettlement (DGR) Maj Gen SG Chatterji went around pinning Armed Forces Flag on the President Smt Pratibha Patil, Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Defence Minister Shri AK Antony and the Service Chiefs.

Dec 6: President Pratibha Patil has appointed a woman officer to head the Central Railway (CR), the country's oldest and second largest zonal railway network headquartered here.

Dec 5: President Pratibha Patil has formally consented to the appointment of Mr. Graf as the first Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bangalore for Karnataka and Kerala.

President Pratibha Patil appointed A C Arumuga Perumal Adityan, P Murgesen, Sabapath Tamilvanan and M Jeyapaul as permanent judges of the Madras High Court, in the order of seniority, with effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.

Dec 4: The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday called on President Pratibha Patil here and discussed issues related to national and international importance.A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman said the meeting lasted for a little less than an hour during which the Prime Minister also briefed the President about his recent visit to Singapore and Uganda.

Dec 3: Calling for universalisation of education for specially abled children, President Pratibha Patil today said there is a need to train teachers who provide education to children with disabilities. "We have to provide the right kind of teaching-learning environment, material in accessible format and barrier-free schools (to specially abled)," Patil said while presenting national awards for the empowerment of persons with disabilities and realising postal stamp.

Dec 2: A Bahrain parliamentary delegation returned after a four-day visit to India yesterday, with a pledge to continue benefiting from the long experience of Indian democracy."The strength of Indo-Bahrain ties was reflected in the way we were welcomed by the Indian leaders, starting with President Pratibha Patil," Mr Al Dhahrani said.

Dec 1: The AGP today demanded the resignation of chief minister Tarun Gogoi for the Beltola carnage. AGP (Progressive) president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta met President Pratibha Patil and home minister Shivraj Patil in Delhi to seek central intervention.

Nov 30: Within hours of President Pratibha Patil giving her assent to the controversial AIIMS Amendment Bill, the health ministry late Friday replaced P. Venugopal as director and appointed T.D. Dogra in his place.

* * *

On December 13, 2001, five gunmen infiltrated the Parliament House in a car with Home Ministry and Parliament labels. Five policemen, a Parliament security guard, and a gardener were killed, and 18 others were injured.

The main accused Afzal, who was awarded a death sentence, awaits the President's decision on his mercy plea.

Visual Quiz: How are these objects related?

The card comes out

Who knew the bugger was such a crybaby? We thought where he comes from they burn down newspaper offices if they don't like what gets reported.

First he wanted attention, so he got it. Now that he got the attention, he doesn't like what's being reported. So he does what he does best, plays the trump card that usually settles all debate in socialist India.

Caste angle in school shooting must be investigated

It is ironical that India's first incidence of high school shooting happened in a school with the name of "Euro International". That is not to suggest that Europe has any chance of catching up with the US in this regard.

The incident is indeed very tragic and had it not been for the Gujarat elections, we would already see the American gun control debate imported into India, just like anything and everything from the American liberal playbook is directly incorporated into the Indian political debate by our leading news channels, however absurd or irrelevant it might be.

Is this incident an outlier? Will we see a lot more of school shootouts? Common sense suggests otherwise. As a matter of fact, the best response to this incident would be to ignore it. Don't splash it on the media 24x7. High school bullying is a fact. If indeed high school bullying led to this, we will see some copycat action pretty soon.

At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, can we really ignore the caste angle of the shooting incident? Is it possible that the constant casteist rhetoric is taking a toll on young and impressionable minds?

As a side point it may be noted that the chairman of this so called elite school happens to be a Yadav, just like the chief perpetrator, the angst ridden young man who committed this fatal act of youthful folly. Whether or not these facts (access to school, socio-economic indicator, gun licenses) matter in the larger scheme of things is another issue altogether.

Hate us, call us names, but candle light vigils is not going to fix this, nor will bashing capitalism. Just like 60 years of intellectual overload hasn't fixed any of our country's problems.

The lyrical one

The living martyr
The living martyrs are awakening
And Kafirs world seem to be shaking
let us make jihad
move to the front line
to chop chop head off Kafir swine

How to behead
It's not as messy or as hard as some may think.
It's all about the flow of the wrist.
Sharpen the knife to its maximum.
And before you begin to cut the flesh,
Tilt the fool's head to its left.
Saw the knife back and forth.
No doubt that the punk will twitch and scream,
But ignore the donkey's ass,
And continue to slice back and forth.
You'll feel the knife hit the wind and food pipe.
But don't stop.
Continue with all your might.
About now you should feel the knife vibrate.
You can feel the warm heat being given off.
But this is due to the friction being caused.

Kafirs, your time will come soon,
and no one will save you from the doom!

Random facts

1. According to the Venezuelan central bank, the GINI coefficient of Venezuela has risen from 44.1 in 2000 to 48 in 2005.

2. Hugo Chavez recently lost the referendum on massive constitutional changes which would give him unlimited powers.

3. Chavez, Ahmedinejad, Buddhadeb and Castro are bum pals.

Vote secular for a return to Gandhian values

By now you must have heard that Tamil Nadu is Florida (minus Jeb Bush) while Gujarat is an extremely poor state. Also, not everyone in Gujarat has a 64" Plasma Television (a problem Congress plans to mitigate partially).There have been at a minimum half a dozen special reports on a "Vibrant Gujarat". When the host starts with - is Gujarat really a vibrant state? you have pretty much figured out what's coming.

Gujarat is apparently not shining as brightly as Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh. Yes! There are farmer suicides too! Now, don't go around asking for detailed stat. Please. It doesn't work that way.

In any case, just a few interesting reports:

In debt ridden Vidharbha, a 30-year-old woman, forced by her husband's suicide and extreme poverty, has replaced her bullock for ploughing her fields herself. It's a moving resemblance to the Hindi film Mother India, now played by Leelabai Devkar. Her 11-year-old daughter, ironically named Lakshmi, is sharing the burden. Leelabai's ageing father-in-law is guiding the plough behind them. [link]

Shankar Dabe Rao, a cotton farmer in Maharshtra's Buldhana District has been forced to fill in for one of his bullocks, which was washed away in the recent floods. The water took with it not just the bull, which was bought with borrowed money, but also Shankar's crops, his only source of income to re-pay the loan. And to break this cycle of ever increasing debt, Shankar says, he had no choice but to take the place of his bull and ask his 72-year-old father to help him plough the field. [link]

This is the hard reality of rural India, 10-year-olds replacing oxen to plough fields. The situation is so desperate that there is no dearth of human ploughs. In Sahpur village of Vaishali district, Bihar, small children are ploughing croplands belonging to Union Rural Development Minister, Raghubansh Prasad Singh. The man who supervises their job is the minister's younger brother, Raghuraj Prasad Singh. "If they fall ill, we will get them treated, but the work in these fields will be done by children only. If not these, then there will be others to take their place. But what is the solution to all this?" says Raghuraj. [link]

So, the Union Rural Development Minister's bro is asking for a solution to using 10-year olds as cattle. Think Mr. Modi may have an answer to that?

Sorry if we have annoyed you with boring details. We have more interesting stuff, so hang in there!

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra state administration is gearing up to develop the infrastructural facilities in Amravati, the hometown of President Pratibha Patil's husband.

"We expect that she may visit Amravati around five times a year and we are looking at strengthening the existing infrastructure, including airport and rail network, to facilitate her arrival and stay," Minister of State for Finance Sunil Deshmukh said. The existing airstrip at Amravati is 2,200 m whereas the length of the runway for her plane to land will be around 3,200 m," Deshmukh said.

Amravati in Vidarbha region is hometown of Patil's husband and former Mayor of the city, Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat. [link]

Of course, we can't simply let our first Citizen to not have world class facilities when she visits her Sasural, can we? Sure, there will be detractors.

"Vidarbha and Amravati has lakhs of families in deep distress. Over 3,000 families have been affected by farmer suicides. But the state government is not spending Rs 50 crore for food security but is ready to spend Rs 400 crore for a new airport. This is very unfortunate. We will talk to Pratibha tai and then take to the roads," Tiwari said.

Curiously though, from all accounts Amravati seems like a podunk with about 5 Lakh people. It is not like investors are scrambling to be there or anything like that. The place does not even have drainage facilities (Madam's husband was mayor), according to some folks. As a matter of fact, the place does seem to have an airport. Amravati is in fact only 3 hours away from the Nagpur airport.

As far as development goes, Solapur is a better candidate for infrastructure upgrade. More industrialized, higher population (8 Lakhs) and closer to Bombay. Also, you got to read this report about the Solapur airport to believe it!

We were somewhat astonished at this develoment. While we do agree that our Prez needs an exclusive personal airport, the whole plan of Rs. 400 crores seemed like an overkill. A careful recap of the presidential election and a light bulb went on. The thing is, there are still some skeletons in our Madam President's family closet that can stumble out during these election times and cause unnecessary hassles and indigination. Rs. 400 crore worth of work can do wonders to the motivation of supporters. Heck, forget motivation, for that kinda money, half of Amravati will swear in front of the supreme court that all those things were vicious Hindutva lies.

We just hope someone takes an inventory of the Rashtrapati Bhavan silverware before it's too late.

Saving the best bit for the last

At the time of writing, the lead story on the award (best Congress mouthpiece two years in a row) winning CNN-IBN website reports a certain film by one Subhradeep Chakraborty. Now, the question is, what merits a lead story? Was the film released today? The incident in question is over 3-years old, an allegedly fake encounter killing that happened on June 15, 2004. Now here is the timeline:

June 12, 2004: Girl from poor family skips out of her Mumbai residence, stating that "she was meeting friends", "she was going for an interview" in the various versions.

June 15, 2004: Girl dead in an Indica car in Ahmedabad. Co-passenger - one Mr. Pranesh Kumar Pillai alias Javed Gulam Sheikh (businessman from Bombay) and two Pakistani citizens.

Sometime in 2004: Indian media reports that an LeT website claims that Ishrat Jahan was a member of their outfit. Counter reports claim that the website is fake and put up by Gujarat police. Yet another counter report: website more than two years old, hence it is out of question of being a Gujarat police plant.

12 May, 2007: The alleged LeT website issues an apology that the author had been sick and hence did not have time to correct the mistaken story of the alleged link of the slain girl with LeT. Also issues disclaimer - the site has no link with LeT. Blames Indian media of sensationalism. As far as apologies go, it sure took a long time, but as they say, better late than never.

Between 2004 and 2007, various dates: Modi bashing, Hindu baiting, secular indignation, minority anger, editorials.

But - no mention of rape - SO FAR.

10 December, 2007 (day before Gujarat state assembly election): CNN-IBN lead story claims that Ishrat Jahan's sister claimed that Ishrat had been "shot between her legs", which indicates she must have been raped.

We don't know what the truth is. A girl from Bombay ending up with a man with two names and two Pakistanis in the same car in Ahmedabad is pretty strange. The thing is, India is being overwhelmed by an unprecedented media blitzkrieg. While the law caps election expenditures, it is clear that we have seen nothing like the amount of money and manpower being poured in these elections. Of course the indirect campaign by the media and NGOs does not count. There is something about rape that stirs up primal emotions like no other. During the Sikh insurgency there was this story making rounds of a 16-year old girl having been "interrogated" in a police station all night long. Apparently it is being claimed that Sohrabuddin's wife Kausar Bi had been raped before being killed, although her body was found to have been burnt. The various accounts of the Godhra incident has a tea stall owner's daughter pulled into the compartment, an 18-year old passenger being abducted by Kar Sevaks etc. Even Sonia Gandhi claimed on her campaign trail that incidents of rape are on the rise in Gujarat. Now, three years later, we discover, just the day before Gujarat elections that a 19-year old girl who was shot more than 3-years ago had also been raped. As if fake encounter killings aren't bad enough by themselves.

Malaysia: Where they have first claim on resources

A typical Hindu Temple in Malaysia

US congress-appointed panel has called for Malaysia to do more to protect sacred places and bring an end to alleged discrimination faced by the country's religious minorities. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom cited the destruction of Hindu temples as a particular cause for concern and urged the Bush administration to raise the matter with Malaysia's government.

The commission's comments follow a protest last month by thousands of ethnic Indians against what they say are discriminatory policies by the Malaysian government in favour of the majority ethnic Malays. The protest in Kuala Lumpur was broken up by police using tear gas and water cannon and several protest organisers have been arrested.

The Hindu Rights Action Task Force, the group which organised the rally, says an average of one Hindu temple is being demolished every three weeks. (Source: Al Jazeera)

Sir, would you like some Nasi Lemak with that secularism?

Updated Stats

Graphic: Percentage of time party in power since independence

India Human Development Index Rank: 128 (out of 177) and falling.

Once again Gujarat is to blame.

Previous

Let's talk after Afzal is pardoned

So we have come full circle in the paradigm of social justice. Ramadoss the junior wants to send Doctors to rural areas. Doctors dig in their heels. Ramadoss the senior smirks. How come beneficiaries of reservation do not want to give it back to the society? Well, tough luck oldie.

The scheme that was supposed to foster equality is actually creating a whole new set of differential expectations. So beware.

In terms of speed to market, Ramadoss the junior created a record of sorts. From tabling the bill to signing into law of the land by our political president, the provision for 65-year age limit for AIIMS directors spent merely a couple of days in not so suspended animation.

1. Ramadoss tables bill.
2. MPs say aye.
3. Prez signs bill.
4. Venugopal ousted.
5. New director appointed.

All within a week. What's the big deal? Well, just the selection part usually takes days if not weeks or months.

But we digress. The point is, social justice is paramount, either way you look at it. Ordinary people or aam aadmi if you like, do not get Z-class security. It is not funny when shrapnel hits you in the stomach. Say you are eating chat with your family at a popular joint:

You: I don't feel so good in my stomach.
Family Member 1: Must be indigestion. Just take an antacid pill when we get home.
Family Member 2: Run!
You: Wait for me while I pick up my intestines!

We can't say if Afzal is guilty. In fact, we are betting on innocent. So many intellectuals couldn't possibly be wrong.

So, why not pardon this poor man? All it takes is a signature (step 3). Our Prez can casually sign it while watching Chak De with Shah Rukh Khan. Yet Afzal must spend an indeterminate amount of time incarcerated, hanging in limbo (not that hanging you fools). Can you let this monstrous violation of human rights take place right before your eyes and talk about "social justice"?

Two places

India slips two places to a rank of 128 on the UN Human Development Index. This does not come as a surprise - we are used to such numbers and statistics shoved at our faces. We have come to expect India to win barely one or two medals at the Olympics every four years. A fiery editorial castigating us for our greed shows up on almost every newspaper every other day.

Yet, there is something disconcerting about this. In 2004 we were told that India was not shining. In fact, India was stinking. Poverty was rampant, so was social inequity. Then they came back with their schemes and plans. We made feeble protests. We were called names. They claimed that they would fix India once and for all. Bridge the rural-urban divide, make our society more equitable, provide better opportunities for the needy. Social justice became our mantra.

But in 2007 India slips in Human Development Index ranking. Two places.

Communists on the moon

More here.

Freedom to bend over

Stewardess hopefuls for the upcoming Beijing '08 Olympics
practice properly bending over. Among numerous other
measures to beautify the city: no fat or bald Taxi drivers allowed.

So Nandigram happened and then Taslima happened too. We raised our eyebrows and went back to our business - knowing fully well that some sort of rational explanation will surely be provided by our intellectuals. Then the commie brigade issued a statement of sorts. Apparently one of them subsequently withdrew her signature from the statement. Since then, they issued a clarification to the original statement. This is very confusing and over dramatic, so much fuss when they can simply issue a statement: we are left and you are wrong.

Meanwhile, CNN-IBN hosted many shows on the Taslima Nasreen fiasco. They called the riotous mob at Calcutta and elsewhere that were demanding Taslima's scalp: religious "right wingers". Alliance opportunity for BJP? In these shows, they invited a host of politicians who almost unanimously agreed that Taslima Nasreen must be thrown out of the country.

We also had the privilege having no less than the Goddess herself on Devil's Advocate. Talk about missed opportunities - Karan Thapar didn't ask any question related to freedom of expression in communist regimes. We don't blame him, Thapar looked positively flabbergasted by the rambling, incoherent mutterings of Roy.

Arundhati Roy: Well, neither. She does not have any choices. She is just like a person who has now got the protection of the mafia which is the state in some way. She has nowhere to go. She has no protection. She just has to blunder her way through this kind of humiliation and I really feel for her.

Karan Thapar: You used an interesting phrase. You said she has to blunder her way through this humiliation. Was withdrawing those three pages, admittedly under pressure, a blunder?

Arundhati Roy: I don’t know.

* * *

Karan Thapar: So you're saying that given the fact that many people are vulnerable, freedom of speech for them should have no caveats, it should be absolute and that’s their only protection?

Arundhati Roy: I think so because if you look at the facts, you have outfits like VHP or the Bajrang Dal or the CD that the BJP produced during the UP elections, you see that they do what they want to do. The powerful always do what they want to do. It is the powerless and the vulnerable that need free speech.

* * *

Karan Thapar: Let me quote to you some of the things that she said, not from Dwikhandito, but from an interview she gave to Anthony McIntyre, The Blanket in 2006. She says, [...] To me that sounds as if it goes perhaps beyond a simple critique and into deliberate provocation.

Arundhati Roy: It sounds like Donald Rumsfeld or some Christian fundamentalist.

* * *

Karan Thapar: Aren't you evading my point? You’re questioning what is meant by modernity and education but you and I know that the levels of sophistication in terms of being able to handle offence to your religion or criticism of your God vary hugely.

Arundhati Roy: What I am saying is that level of sophistication is far better in rural areas than urban areas.

Karan Thapar: You mean that rural Indians are better able to take criticism of Ram or Allah?

Arundhati Roy: If you look at the kind of riots in rural and urban areas, you’ll see that, historically.

* * *

Karan Thapar: So you really do believe, when you use phrases like the deep state that there was a conspiracy, even though we don’t fully understand it, to deflect attention from Nandigram to Taslima and to perhaps put her in a position where under pressure she was forced to leave and the government didn’t actually have to physically throw her out?

Arundhati Roy: I wouldn't use the word conspiracy [...] No one ever gets to the bottom of anything. It is always like, who benefits, why did this happen now. I would like to know, why it happened now.

We would very much like to know too, but so far the interview provided few clues, except there were some hints that BJP or Donald Rumsfeld may be involved.

Karan Thapar: [...] Now you're saying that there was almost Machiavellian intent, not a conspiracy but a Machiavellian intent behind the way they have played this game out?

Arundhati Roy: You are making it sound like I have a very deep insight.

Karan Thapar: No, you have a deep distrust and a huge suspicion.

Arundhati Roy: That's true [...]

So far, she managed to avoid any references to a certain religion. For that we had to wait a little longer.

Arundhati Roy: [...] Sure it's tough to take the kind of things she said about Islam but she should be put in her place, intellectually and otherwise. Not like this where she will become a martyr to somebody else.

To get the stunning insight we have come to expect from Madame, we had to wait till the very end of the interview. So, it became a punchline of sort:

Karan Thapar: What's your advice to Taslima Nasreen?

Arundhati Roy: I really don't have any advice. I feel very bad for her because, let me say this, her’s is actually the tragedy of displacement. Once, she has been displaced from her home. She has no rights.

There you have it folks! It is a problem of displacement. Doesn't ring a bell? Narmada Dam? Diaplaced people? Get it?

* * * Standing Ovation * * *

No Ghoonghat! Wow!

Public Service Announcement

If you are a Gujarat based BPL (below poverty line) person and reading this blog, please be advised that should Congress win the assembly elections, you will get a free color TV so that you can watch on CNN-IBN why you should have voted for them in the first place.

That is all.

All about Malaysia

You will be happy to know that obscenity charges against this singer have been dropped by the Malaysian moral police. You couldn't really fault Malaysian authorities when in our own backyard artists like Khushboo are continuously hounded.

Yet, there is a sign that conservatism is on the rise in Malaysia.

In August, pop star Gwen Stefani was told to dress "modestly" for a concert after the National Union of Malaysia Muslim Students protested on the grounds that she would bring an "American hegemonic background," said the group's president, Hilmi Ramli. Last month, singer Beyonce Knowles canceled her Nov. 1 debut concert in Malaysia. [..]

Authorities have required Malaysian rock stars to cut their hair or forfeit the opportunity to appear on TV or radio, and frequently remind Malaysians of the consequences for openly addressing "sensitive" issues such as race and religion. In 2005, the standards were extended to foreign performers, who were required to be covered from shoulder to knees and prohibited from hugging or kissing fellow artists or audience members, jumping or shouting, cursing, or exchanging objects with the audience.

"They have to dress decently ... and behave in a manner appropriate in Malaysia," said Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim. [link]

Student groups are very active supporters of these measures. As Rushdie said in his book Midnight's Children, it is funny that in these cultures students actually clamor for more control!

Of course, none of this really concerns us and according to some, shouldn't concern us. Alas, if only everyone accepted this dictum of national boundaries and statehood vs. identity. We have a situation where if a butterfly flutters its wings anywhere, we get into trouble. There is a pattern and predictability to these things, for instance, all the bloggers protesting against the crackdown on ethnic Hindus are actually ethnic Chinese.

Yeah, okay, calling the economic and social hardships of Malaysian Indian society an "ethnic cleansing" isn't exactly the smartest thing in the world you could do, because 1) no one will take you seriously, and 2) it only offers the Government free ammunition. (Re: Tian Chua.) Also, the people of Darfur would like to have a word with you. It was an outrageous statement, and the Hindraf leaders can't possibly be stupid enough to believe it.

But at the same time... it worked, didn't it? Hindraf's been around since, what, May? Now, I haven't been in Malaysia since February, but I seriously doubt most people even heard of Hindraf. (I did, but never heard from them again.) They were about as effective as, well, a Malaysian opposition, really. [link]

Before coming to the ethnic cleansing claims, one more from the same blogger:

Everyone's dodging the real issue, of course: that Indians have been fucked around more than any other race in Malaysian history. Don't give me that nonsense about how other races have it bad too - no one has it as bad as the Malaysian Indians. It's not even up for debate. The Malays have the bumi thing going for them. The Chinese have the business world practically locked up. (Yes, I'm generalising here. Doesn't make it less true.) What do the Indians have? They don't even have opportunities. (Again, generalising, but you get the idea by now.) So let's not pretend that "we're all suffering equally". [emphasis in original]

However, none of this is surprising or new. It is hardly surprising that only the ethnic Chinese will support the Hindus in Malaysia, just as it isn't surprising that the Chinese will not have too much problems in Malaysia. First of all, ethnic Chinese people control all the powerful and economically advanced states in the region - China, Hong Kong, Taiwan. If Malays mess with Chinese they will get their ass kicked all over South China Sea. What is important is how strongly the Malaysian Government reacted to the allegations of ethnic cleansing:

In a statement reflective of the growing tension in Malaysia over ethnic clashes, the country’s Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on Sunday offered to resign if the allegation of ethnic cleansing of Indian Tamils was proved. Outraged at the allegations levelled against his government by a local Hindu group, Badawi said the statements were aimed at dividing Malaysia. "I rarely get angry but this time I am very angry and this is something I cannot accept," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times. [link]

This is merely the PR front, action is being taken behind the scenes as well. The Government has ordered the detention of Hindraf leaders. Contrast this with the allegations of genocide in India and the reaction of our people friendly Government.

Whether we can support Hindraf or not, we should be thankful to them for forcing an objective evaluation of terms such as genocide, pogrom etc., which are being thrown around too casually for far too long.

Sagarika Begum's folly

Every time they recover from tough political situations and go back to their usual routine of H-bashing, our liberal intellectuals get another one thrown at their teeth. Since encashable incidents are hard to come by, they have to manufacture different types of shows, TV programs, seminars etc. to keep old issues alive.

The Taslima Nasreen issue has opened up like a bad boil too painful to be ignored but not yet ripe enough to be squeezed. Like most other issues, the intellectuals have taken a compare and contrast approach to this. Of course the control incident in this case is that of M F Hussain, the lecherous dude and a potential stalker of film star Madhuri Dixit (he bought all the tickets at a theatre for a show of Aaja Nachle in UAE - almost reason enough to keep him away).

Now, there are several ways to deal with the Taslima fiasco. We understand the political leanings and compulsions of CNN-IBN. They could simply report it as news, without resorting to analysis. That would be an honorable escape. They could even report it and as a footnote mention the fascist threat to Hussain - thus maintaining a semblance of neutrality.

Instead, CNN-IBN, spearheaded by their star reporter Sagarika Ghose, has embarked on a campaign of bizarre rationalization of the issue. It is quite obvious that Sagarika Ghose is way out of her depth and knowledge of the issue she is dealing with. To rationalize something, you gotta have a sound knowledge of it. She does vaguely understand the dangers of treading too far:

Can a religious tradition, which is as great and magnificent as Islam be damaged by something written by a writer? Whether it's the Danish cartoons or this Taslima case, can they really damage a centuries-old religion? [link]

Quite obviously the participants went round and round instead of answering her. Perhaps Mr. Owaisi has the answer to her in this video. Watch the last portion, Owaisi not only rejects Taslima's withdrawal of certain pages from her book, but confidently suggests that Taslima will surely make mischief in future as well.

Sagarika has obstinately refused to call a spade a spade. Contrast this with the unambiguous and intense criticism meted out to other parties. BJP has been excoriated for no uncertain terms in the past. As a matter of fact, most reports of Taslima coverage starts with BJP bashing. For instance, BJP capitalizing on Taslima controversy etc. Is that really the central issue here? Also to be noted, a complete insulation of Congress from all these controversies.

She also hosted a chat with readers. Here are some of her comments from the chat (strangely titled The issue isn't Taslima, the issue is freedom, raising deep metaphysical questions):

Freedom of expression does have its limits and the limits are generally laid down by the Indian Constitution when it comes to public actions and speeches but when it comes to art, I believe that freedom is absolute.

As Nehru said, freedom is indivisible. (Ed. If the dude believed in it, he certainly didn't practice it - several books critical of Nehru were banned and still remain banned).

Taslima the individual is not that important, but what she represents IS of great importance. (Ed. Ayn Rand fans will have something to say about this)

A number of Muslims have spoken out on the need for her to stay in India: there are many liberal and moderate Muslims who oppose the fundamentalist forces within their own community very strongly. (Ed. Example please?)

Protests against artists are all politically organised. If you went to an exhibition and saw a painting of a nude Saraswati, what would you do? Immediately lead a morcha against the artist and start screaming for his murder? No, right? (Ed. Could an equivalent rhetorical question about other religions be asked by the host?)

Husain does not just face legal cases: many groups have issued death threats on him, said they want to gouge out his eyes and behead him. I wish such anger was reserved for the corrupt and the criminal, not directed at those who harmlessly paint pictures or write books. (Ed. Encounter killing? Hmmm)

I think religion only becomes stronger is artists are free to question it in whatever way they want.

Democracy is not only about casting votes. It is about abiding by certain values: values of social equality, artistic freedom, engagement in civil society, and participating in public life. Sitting secluded in our own homes, trapped by suspicions about everybody is not democratic behaviour. (Ed. Must she spoil it all by throwing in such plebeian stuff with alarming regularity?)

The best Sagarika can hope for is for the issue to tide over so that she can go back to Gujarat election covering. She can rationalize or right-size the issue in her mind and feel justified in her political belief, but her rationalizations will not be acceptable to those they are targeted at.

Aaja Nachle! Wait!

Aaja Nachle, which is supposed to be Madhuri Dixit's comeback vehicle etc. etc., has been banned in UP by the Mayawati Government. A nationwide ban is in the works, although there is a possibility of a compromise, a la Taslima Nasreen. All this because of a single allegedly casteist line in the movie's title song.

As far as we could tell, the offensive line was this:

Mohale mein kaise mara mar hai
Bole mochi bhi khud ko sonar hai

The lyrics are as atrocious as the transcript from where we got the above. A loose translation:

There is hullabaloo in the neighborhood
The cobbler is claiming to be a goldsmith

This is somewhat surprising, it would be a stretch to call the line casteist. Traditionally a lot of leather workers could be Dalits (since caste Hindus would not have anything to do with leather), but a large percentage are also Muslims and sometimes MBCs. In any case, the reference here is to the vocation and not to the caste - one of the sad facts of the complexities in the caste system.

Needless to say, the media is calling it Mayawati's ban, but there is more to it. As we have mentioned several times before, the establishment is trying their level best to destroy Mayawati's stronghold on Dalits. The common line of attack is to hold her to a fictitious standard of Ambedkarism, i.e. pure dogma. For instance, while covering the Gujarat riots, a CNN-IBN program showed a Dalit MLA praising Modi. The reporter concluded that by supporting Modi the MLA was letting Ambedkar down!

The second line of attack is to create numerous law and order problems. SP has staged N-number of protests in UP, reducing the state to a permanent state of anarchy. Even the recent blasts are suspect, the only blasts in which a domestic group claimed responsibility. Mayawati responded to this by chastising the IPS officers very strongly.

Rumor has it that the Samajwadi Party with the sponsorship of Congress is causing all these troubles. A certain vote bank is acting as facilitators.

The movie ban is a third line of attack. Mayawati's strength is also her biggest vulnerability, she must of necessity show the largest bleeding heart for reasons of political expediency. As you can see above, to pick out that line from a noisy Bollywood caper requires some doing. The issue was first brought to light by the Indian Justice party - a known collaborator of Congress. Mayawati was appraised of the situation and she stayed neutral, asking her advisers to watch the movie and pass a verdict. When the verdict came out as guilty, her hand was forced.

The ban shows Mayawati in somewhat poor light while staving off some pressure from the Taslima Nasreen controversy. A grand strategic maneuver, if there was any.

One of Samajwadi Party's innumerable protests
in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This is
supposed to be a secular protest by pensioners.

This gotta be a first

Angry Congress workers on Wednesday smashed window panes and broke furniture at the party office for the second consecutive day after a former city mayor was denied a ticket to contest the Assembly elections. Supporters of Himmat Singh Patel also tore posters of Congress leaders at the Gujarat house, city office of the state Pradesh Congress Committee here, party sources claimed.

They said Patel had sought a ticket from Rakhiyal seat. Earlier in the day, Congress workers owing allegiance to two other leaders were involved in a scuffle at the Ahmedabad Collectorate where they had gone to file nominations. Even on Tuesday, supporters of Congress leaders who were denied party tickets had smashed few window panes and wooden panels at Gujarat House. [link]

They wrecked their own party office! Reminds you of street dogs fighting over a bone.

Mr. Karunanidhi! How ironical!

It took a lot of courage for the Indian diaspora in Malaysia take to the streets in such large numbers. Perhaps their true condition led them to this desperation.

Malay police used tear gas and water cannons on a 10,000 strong rally on Sunday. Over 200 ethnic Indians were detained for their protest, demanding equal rights. Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmed Badawi warned that he may invoke a security law, allowing indefinite detention without trial to halt street demonstrations.

But a Tamil minister in Malaysia has called the protests a farce. Samy Vellu, The President of the Malaysian Indian Congress denied he was out of touch with the increasingly agitated Indians in Malaysia. "They are just levelling unfounded excuses in order to popularise themselves. I considered them. They are not fighting for the Indians. They are fighting to create a problem,” said Vellu. [link]

It does not look likely that this incident will have any significant impact on Malaysian politics.

Interestingly, the protesters were not demanding special rights or even quotas. As a matter of fact, they were just calling for an end to discrimination and scaling down of some of the privileges enjoyed by the ethnic Malay-Muslim majority.

Karunanidhi made a feeble protest and an appeal to the PM. He didn't write a poem though. We recommend a very fine book for Mr. Karunanidhi, written by Amitabh Ghosh. To paraphrase an immortal line from the book: Minority love is not transitive. One may love his minorities, without his love being reciprocated elsewhere. Just a few months ago Mr. Karunanidhi had announced a 3.5% hard quota for the relatively affluent ethnic Muslim community in Tamil Nadu.

The most bizarre part

November 25th is the designated international day for the elimination of violence against women. For some reason, not much was heard from our intellectuals, who usually celebrate such auspicious moments such as international puppy day, international save whale day etc.

You may also have come across this piece of news, which incidentally didn't find a lot of space in Indian newspapers. Well, with due sympathies to the victim, this is what struck us most about the incident:

Last year a 19-year-old woman in the eastern town of Qatif appealed against a sentence of 90 lashes for the crime of khulwa (seclusion) with a man who was not related to her. Her lawyer argued that meeting a former friend in a shopping-centre car park, to retrieve a photo of herself that she feared would upset her fiancé, was scarcely so grave an offence. Moreover, this “crime” was far outweighed by the fact that the two friends had been interrupted by seven youths, who abducted them at knife-point and allegedly gang-raped both of them, repeatedly. [from The Economist]

The newspaper does not say whether all the seven perps took a fancy on the man too or only some of them. Please note that certain types of sexual orientation is punishable by death in those countries. The seven men have been sentenced to prison terms. The conclusion is extremely disturbing.

This is nothing new, unusual and cruel punishment of rape victims keep getting reported from that part of the globe quite frequently. Our Government is in fact seriously contemplating enacting a law, barring uneducated women below 30 from emigrating to those countries. A sad fact for our collective conscience that we can not provide meaningful employment to so many aspiring people. Maybe socialism will work someday, who knows. We remain hopeful.

Didn't see it coming, did you?

Quota politics does it again and again and again .....

Opinion Poll: Should Sagarika Ghose be asked to leave India?

No, this is not a poser, this is a serious and sincere question. A lot of people hate Sagarika Ghose (for the record, we don't). There is a bonafide Sagarika Ghose hate group on Orkut. So, whether you are allowed to stay in the country becomes a matter of public opinion?

Yeah, yeah, we know. She is a citizen and Taslima is not. But since when did citizenship become an issue anyway? We have MPs whose citizenship is suspect. We also have ..... well, never mind.

You could argue that the opinion poll is merely an open minded discussion. Sorry, no dice. Would you have an opinion poll on the validity of female infanticide? How about Sati? Being a mainstream channel, CNN-IBN can not conduct an opinion poll which borders on contempt of the constitution, leave aside basic humanity and decorum. Taslima Nasreen (unlike millions of her fellow countrymen), is a legally permitted resident of India. You simply can not question her stay, till the time the Government voids her visa.

Welfare of the family

Security Risk?

An apartment in Bombay sells for Rs. 34 crores. A socialist sheds tears. Articles and editorials follow. The usual stuff, in a country where hundreds of millions go hungry, this is outrageous. Must enact more laws. The long hand of social justice must reach out. The Government knows best. The Government, the only one, most merciful.

Recently, a 2,000-odd-square-foot flat in Mumbai sold for a reportedly record-breaking Rs 34 crore to a private individual. Almost at the same time, the Congress party headquarters in New Delhi were shifted from Akbar Road to a plot, on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, the market value of which is some Rs 100 crore but which was handed over to the Congress for Rs 2 crore.

The different pricing mechanisms used in each case, Mumbai and New Delhi (the first based on free market forces, the second on state patronage), exemplifies the huge difference, the deep chasm between the private citizens of this country and any element of the sarkar that we have elected to govern us. [link]

As we noted before, the mammaries of the welfare state never failed to squirt milk in the right direction. For every law, there are five hundred exceptions (just like our constitution is basically a series of amendments, no rules - just exceptions). These exceptions direct the process of social justice with better precision than NASA's spacecrafts.

Generals might rule the roost across the border but here they are steadily getting downgraded. Robert Vadra may figure on the list of VIPs exempt from security checks at airports but the army, navy and IAF chiefs are simply not considered important enough to be granted this privilege. "(But) ministry of civil aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security have stated that according exemption to service chiefs will lead to similar demands from some other authorities," added Antony. The minister's answer, of course, left the armed forces disappointed. "It's ridiculous. This means the people entrusted with the security of the nation, the service chiefs, cannot be trusted," said a senior officer. [link]

The Secular Party's election symbol then

The Secular Party's election symbol, now

Industrialization in West Bengal: Nandigram and beyond

Have you heard of Mahabharat Motors? How about the Xenitis Group of companies? Amar brand of PCs and peripherals? Arjun brand motorcycles, Xpression range of bikes? Well, these are the new age industrial entities coming up in West Bengal, based on the SEZ model. Among these, only the Amar PCs and peripherals are in production, with a revenue of several hundred crores. The rest are in planning phase.

Mahabharat motors has a Chinese partner, Zongshen, while Xenitis will tie up with Guangzhou Motors to produce the Xpression range of motorbikes. An interesting diversification for a PC manufacturer in the latter case.

But the common thread in all these cases (apart from the Communist Government of West Bengal, of course), is the Indonesian conglomerate - Salim Group. Salim group seems to have an insatiable appetite for land.

Surely there is nothing wrong with this, maybe we are just too paranoid. But just the above scenario gives us very uneasy feelings. This feeling is compounded by the astonishing claims by secular intellectuals in the aftermath of the Nandigram fiasco.

So, let's put this into perspective, as comrade Brinda Karat would say.

A shady Muslim company from an Islamic theocratic nation
+
Mostly Muslim victims of land grab
+
Communist cadres of unknown religion
= Soft Hindutva.

Meanwhile, comrade Mrs. Karat spun a very interesting theory in her Devil's advocate interview. According to her, before the cadres recaptured Nandigram, about 3,500 people (mostly Muslims and Dalits) had been driven out by the Maoists. Apparently these are still living in camps. Where did these people come from? Before January this year, Nandigram was a nice quaint little village, no reports of any faction planning to evict any other group. As soon as the SEZ was announced, there were huge protests. Then the first round of violence happened in March. Buddha backtracked and said there would not be an SEZ any more. November saw the second flare up.

Something does not add up here. It is quite likely that the commies have propped up illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in order to add a moral spin to their tale.

The King and the Commie

Watch the Spanish King put the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to his place in what must be one the most ironical moments in world politics. Hugo kept on interrupting the Spanish Prime Minister, rather rudely, and insisted on calling the previous Spanish leader a fascist. The Spanish PM retorted by saying that Azner had been elected by a democratic process. But the boorish Hugo just wouldn't let go, until the Spanish king asked him to shut up. Watch Chavez sulk like a grounded school kid.

Meanwhile Hugo is showing all signs of turning out to be a fascist-communist leader. He is hell bent on turning Venezuela into a banana republic. A massive constitutional amendment is on the cards. This issue has already led to violent protests in Venezuela and brutal Police action against students.

When he is not hyperventilating against the capitalistic evil forces, Hugo Chavez is seen in the company of such illustrious world leaders such as Ahmedinejad of Iran and Fidel Castro of Cuba. Hugo is a serious threat to world stability.

Rain rain go away, little Ahmed wants to play

Massive cyclone claims thousands in Bnagladesh. Vulnerable parts of India were mercifully spared. Once again, like the great Bihar/Bangladesh floods, completely ignored by media. Other important events such as the coronation of India's crown prince is going on.

Okasa? WTF?

A mysterious man called Okasa, clean incidentless apprehension of alleged perps and their immediate confession about "foreign" hand. Add three identical green towel wrapped heads in the video. A real kidnapping or hoax?

Buddha 1, Buddha 2

When the Taliban destroyed two Buddhist statues in Afghanistan in the spring of 2001, there was an international outcry. But similar incidents are now occurring in northwest Pakistan, where radical Islamists recently blew up a sculpture of Buddha in broad daylight. [link]

The cracks were more prominent in the state's socio-intellectual conscience. Bengal's intelligentsia, which has always been a Left bastion, hit the streets and compared Bhattacharjee to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

“People were peacefully protesting when they were fired at by the CPM cadres. An 11-year-old boy was shot in his head. He’s okay now but he can't go home since his home in ashes,” renowned director-actress Aparna Sen said. [link]

When a nation of freeloaders meets credit culture....

... the result sometimes is not pretty.

Meet the media's latest flogging horse: ICICI bank!

So, the story goes as follows. An honest to God hardworking individual took out a personal car loan. He paid 26 installments, all on time. Then it happened. His financial situation took a turn for the worse. He defaulted on two payments. Just two! Imagine that! All hell broke loose. His car got repossessed and sold.

If you asked the man on the street, nine out of ten times you would hear choice expletives about the bank. Turn the question on its head and ask the same man, how would he like to get defaulted on a loan from him? Chances are he will give you a funny look. How dare you!

Granted that these financial institutions are sometimes using questionable tactics to recover loans. It is also true that even the Police are sometimes hand in glove with the banks, thus grossly abusing their power. However, it is alarming how no one is raising a basic question. Can a bank morally expect its loans to be paid on time? The answer should be a resounding yes.

Yet the media is exploiting popular sentiments by projecting images of money lenders who operate in the unorganized sector. The "victims" of ICICI bank are nothing like the hapless rural debtors who have no choice. Usually these are urban area folks who could not manage their finances well. Quite frequently these people are scam artists or live way beyond their means.

There are three reasons why this is happening. First and foremost, India is hardly an isolated example of financial institutions using goondas to recover loans. Consumers in emerging economies simply do not have enough credit history. There have been credit card crisis in almost all emerging countries - South Korea, Taiwan - you name it. All these countries have resorted to strong arm tactics and perhaps still do. Secondly, silly Government regulations and lack of infrastructure prevents financial institutes from recovering money using legal means. If a bank were to fight out every case of loan default in an Indian court of law, it might as well pack up and leave. Third and perhaps most significant for India, banks are obligated to make politically mandated non-performing loans to certain vote banks. This puts pressure on banks to increase their recovery rates in areas where they can. After all, personal finance remains a cut-throat business. As a side point, lack of infrastructure and institutional support actually prevents these banks to reach out to rural customers, the type who easily fall prey to loan sharks.

In a nation weaned on entitlement for generations, banks like ICICI seem like an ocean, free for the dipping by one and all. People tend to consider bank loan defaults like a victimless crime. If you enjoy a good or service, you got to pay for it. If your future finances are not reasonably secure, you could always take out a loan default insurance. Better still, take the public transport, while you work out a way to make more mullah.

Of course there is a far more sinister side to all this hoopla about ICICI bank while various money lenders in the country continue to use inhuman methods to recoup their loans, such as slavery, bondage etc. A brief look at the history of ICICI bank reveals that this is a professionally run institution, meaning it is not managed by a family. This bank has emerged as the top commercial bank in the country. As a matter of fact, ICICI bank has quite a few women in their top leadership. However, the success of the bank may prove to be its downfall. The political establishment is beginning to discover ways to seek rent from this new windfall. The media is just acting as cheerleaders to a process by which the fortunes of this institution will finally fall into the hands of the only kind of business that survives in socialist India, namely a family run conglomerate.

Meet Achmed

Besieged

Mass exodus as CPM men lay villages to waste

Pioneer report from battle zone Nandigram

Hungry men, women and children, rendered homeless after CPI(M) cadre began to shoot and bomb their way into Nandigram this week, wailed in despair as the early winter fog lifted on Thursday morning. Having escaped the Marxist marauders with noting more than their lives, they cowered pitiably under whatever shelter they had found. Many were not so lucky: They have been spending the past many nights on the open sodden grounds of the local BMT High School.

Hundreds continued to arrive in an unending queue of vehicles of all sorts -- caught in a mass exodus, the likes of which this part of the country has probably not witnessed since the days of Partition.

Wives and children bade tearful farewells to husbands and fathers rushing back to the 'frontline' to take up positions against the invading CPI(M) cadre. A few km away, armed Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) members, who have been resisting acquisition of farmland since January, prepared for the last stand.

According to the Tehelka types, this is not truth. This doesn't merit frothy editorials or collective sighs at the demise of democracy.

' As it were I'd never had anything to do with the Congress'

Sure. All of a sudden senior Congress leaders, business bosses and controversial artists can't seem to get enough of Tehelka.

[All images linked directly from various Tehelka offshoots: Tehelka Foundation, Tehelka Art for Freedom Auction, Tehelka Critical Futures, Tehelka Edu Summit, Summit of the Powerless and various other mumbo jumbo. There is more, check out these websites.]

Incredible Bihar

Red Alert: India's Big Communist Threat

The communists are not content with making a mockery of an elected Government. The hypocrites won't even take it to the polls. Unelected members of the party have gatecrashed into the constitutional process.

Recently Mr. Karat came out with their global agenda. Read coverage by Offstumped and Sandeepweb.

This is about time the issue gets its due attention. Quite clearly the communists have no intention to respect the constitution. Communism rejects the idea of democratically elected Governments. We amended our constitution once and added socialism to our already long moniker. Perhaps another amendment is in order, just in case the commies manage to usurp power.

Even if they do come to power, what exactly do we get back in bargain? Do they even have a road map (aside from sending India back to medieval ages)? West Bengal has one of the worst PDS systems. Kerala ranks high in certain social indicators but the reasons could be very different. Recently there was a spate of farmer migration from Kerala to Karnataka.

Some people believe that the communists are above corruption. Well, think again.

AHMEDABAD: Ending days of politicking and speculation, Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad finally got its new director on Friday. Samir Barua, who is a professor at the institute, will succeed Bakul Dholakia.

Fifty-seven-year-old Barua, who will be the first alumnus of the premier B-school to become its director, pipped a number of candidates to the post. The race had hotted up with talks of Barua, who is the son-in-law of CPI strongman A B Bardhan, pitted against another high profile candidate, advisor to Union finance minister Parthasarthy Shome. [link]