Sports Diary 2008

I was dying to post this blog but for the result of the 2nd test between South Africa and Australia prevented from doing so.The year has marked the end of Australian domination in the world cricket. Captain Ricky Ponting would be the most worried man going into 2009. While the omens were already there as the year started with the controversies galore surrounding Border-Gavaskar trophy with Symmonds and Harbhajan in the epicenter. The issue almost divided the world cricket into factions, but the BCCI  was able to salvage justice for Harbhajan Singh after justice Hansen cleared him off all the charges including that of racism as claimed by Australians.

^{The test match victory at Perth following this whole episode gave Indian team a new boost and more than one reason to smile. India recorded one of their most amazing Test triumphs overseas when they beat Australia by 72 runs in the thrilling third cricket Test to snap the champion team's record 16-match winning streak at Perth.} 

Set 413 to win a world record 17th Test in succession, 

the Australians were dismissed for 340 to allow the spirited visitors to reduce the margin to 2-1 in the four match series with one full day to spare. Not many ha

d given the Indians any hope at the WACA, regarded as the fastest pitch in the world, but Anil Kumble and his men came out firing on all cylinders.

 Then again India beat Australia 2-0 in the home series in which innumerable records were broken and India saw its finest players bidding adieu. Sachin Tendulkar became the highest run getter in the history of test cricket by surpassing Brian Lara’s world record. Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble retired form the international cricket after giving so many wonderful moments to the cricket fans in India and the worldwide.

Indian cricket scaled the ever new heights in the year 2008. Virender sehwag scored one double and one triple hundred in the year 2008 and Gambhir and Laxman scored double tons in the same innings in Delhi test against Australia. 4 Indian batsmen scoring more than 1000 runs in the calendar year is itself a testimony to the fact that India was arguably the best test team in 2008. India’s win over England after being pushed to the walls for 4 days gave some very emotional moments to the whole India, as the victory which came from the bat of the Mumbai batsman was quite necessary to heal the peoples’ sentiments which were disturbed by the terrorist attack on Mumbai. The year 2008 also saw the inaugural edition of the much anticipated Indian premier league, There was cricket but with that there were whole lot of other things as well to attract people to cricket stadiums which include loud music, splendid fireworks and cheer girls, which changed the definition of cricket, forever. Shane Warne led his side Rajasthan royals to win the inaugural IPL tournament. 

The year 2008 would be etched in thehistory of sports for more than one reason. The year 2008 witnessed the most expensive summer Olympics being organized by China in Beijing. A total of an estimated US$42 billion were spent on the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, making it the most expensive games ever; the British Olympic

 Association has announced that no more than US$19 billion will be spent on the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, while the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics cost US$7 billion and US$15 billion respectively. “One world one dream” slogan of the Beijing Olympics though proved to be futile for Tibetan protesters who tried to disrupt the torch relay throughout the world. (Some say that the Olympics had no more meaning after the torch was switched off in France in the midst of the relay).

But the 29^th edition of the Olympics would be in the memory of people not only because of the controversies but for the some phenomenon performances. Michael ‘phenomenon’ Phelps became the first

man in the history of the modern games to win 8 Olympic gold medals ( 7 of them in the world record times) surpassing the record of Mark Spitz of 7 golds in Munich Olympics way back in 1972. Usain ‘lightning’ bolt made a clean sweep winning 100 m with a record time of 9.69 seconds in a race dubbed by Michael Johnson as ‘the greatest 100 m performance in the history of an event’, and became the first sprinter since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win the three sprint events in a single Olympiad: 100m, 200m and 4X100m relay.

India won its first individual gold as Abhinav Bindra shot the gold in 10m air rifle.Some unexpected medals; courtesy Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar put India at the 50^th place in the Olympics tally, somewhat respectable position in juxtaposition with previous Olympics. Also special mention of Saina Nehwal and Akhil Kumar who defeated world top seeds in the badminton and boxing resp. and showed great promise for the future. Sania Mirza however struggled throughout the year.

China ended the American domination by winning 51 gold medals and topping the Olympiad charts for the first time, though some controversies marred the Chinese celebration as there were reports of some members of Chinese athletics of being under age. The US ‘Redeem team’ won the basketball title back, which it lost in Athens in 2004.

As the defending Olympics champions, South Korea defended the title with only one remaining archer from the previous games, Park sung Hyun winner of two gold medals, thus extending their winning streak over 6 Olympics and 20 years.

Viswanathan Anand has had a phenomenal 2008 and his biggest moment of the year came when he retained the world championship title defeating the challenger Vladimir Kramnik. The match took place at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn, Germany between 14 October and 29 October 2008.

The tennis court in 2008 saw the rise and the fall of some stars. Australian open defending champion and no.1 seed Roger Federer failed to make the mark in 2008 as he could not even manage to enter the finals after suffering a loss at the hands of 

Novak Djokovic who ultimately won 

the Australian open. Again in French open Rafael Nadal defeated ‘fedex’ in straight sets, while Ana Ivanovic lifted the women’s title. Rafael Nadal defeated five-time consecutive Wimbledon champion, Roger Federer in five sets to win his first Wimbledon title and fifth Grand Slam championship. It was the longest championship match in Wimbledon history with play lasting four hours and 48 minutes, and with two rain delays. The event stretched over seven hours ending just before nightfall. It marked the first time Federer lost a Grand Slam championship match other than the French Open. Williams sisters won the last two grand slams of the year with Venus bagging Wimbledon and Serena lifting US open title.

Spain was the European football champions with David Villa being the best player of the tournament, however the biggest spectacle was setup in Moscow when Manchester united  and Chelsea went head to head in the champions league. 

The match went through various roller coasters with Man united prevailing over Roman Abrahamovich’s Chelsea in the penalty shoot outs.

In August 2008,

Jeev milkha Singh achieved the highest ranking for an Indian in any major event at the 2008 PGA Championship in Oakland Hills, finishing at T-9, making him arguably India's best golfer ever.

Singh finished the 2008 European Tour season ranked 12th on the Order of Merit, and after winning the Barclays Singapore Open won his second Order of Merit title on the Asian Tour .

Lewis Hamilton topped the charts of the F1points table of drivers’ championship beating Felipe Massa by just 1 point, while Ferrari won the constructors’ championship. Also this was the first time that an Indian team, force One was participating in the 2008 season with Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fiscichella as the drivers for the team, however no miracles happened as Force One along with both drivers ended the season with 0 points.

The year has been great for the sports but there were some amazing facts in the sports, like Pakistan did not play a single test match in the whole year. This was the last time that baseball and softball were played as Olympic sports. The two have been scrapped from the program of the 2012 London Olympics.

After 1936 it was the first time that a country other than the United States or the Soviet Union has led the medal count. Pakistan was the most populous country not to win an Olympic medal (164 million residents, sixth-largest nation in the world), whereas Iceland was the least populous country to win an Olympic medal.

 

 

Compiled and written by: Abhay Mittal [ Pagal Guy]

abymittal@gmail.com

Photos: Beijing Olympics official website

Outlook India .com

Someone stop this..

Jammu has been burning for almost 5 weeks now but there has been no signs of government getting out of its deep slumber.





The mass movement in Jammu spearheaded by Amaranth Sangharsh Samiti has catched the attention of domestic media ever since the whole episode started but now even the international media has started reporting the disturbance in the belittled part of Jammu and Kashmir with BBC covering and reporting the daily happenings.



This has been the classic example of government’s indolence with Prime minister Manmohan Singh calling an all party meet almost after a month with millions of rupees worth property has already been incinerated ,on 6 august to address and solve the issue.



The government at the centre was acting like Nero and the government in the state was resorting to preposterous decision one after the other and waiting for the word of wisdom from the bosses in Delhi after they get free from the job of winning the vote of (dis)trust.



This all began with government’s order of demanding the immediate revocation of the government order cancelling the transfer of 40 hectares of land to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board. The land was meant for creating temporary facilities for pilgrims who trek to the Amarnath shrine every year, braving inclement weather and jihadi attacks.



The land transfer order was revoked after The All-Parties Hurriyat Conference spread three canards: First, the transfer amounted to alienation of 'Kashmiri land'; second, it would lead to intrusion of 'Hindu culture' in Muslim Kashmir; and, third, it would cause ecological damage.
The PDP, sensing an opportunity to revive its pro-separatist -- if not brazenly pro-kashmiri image in the run-up to the assembly election in Jammu & Kashmir, joined the protest and subsequently withdrew from the coalition government. To his credit, CM Azad stood firm and refused to budge from his government's decision, till N Vohra took as Governor, replacing Lieutenant General S K Sinha (retd).



Vohra, in his capacity as ex-officio chairman of the SASB, wrote a letter to Azad, confiscating the land and also offering to relinquish the board's task of organising the annual yatra, thus making the pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine subordinate to the hapless government’s arrangements.
For all his efforts to appease a particular community in kashmir by ‘returning’ the land that had been allotted for Hindu pilgrims, proved to be a pig in the poke as Vohra was unable to save the Congress-PDP government. The PDP pulled out from the ruling alliance on June 28; on July 1, Azad, obviously under mounting pressure from his party bosses in Delhi, reversed the earlier decision.



The most stupefying part of the tragedy is that the people of Jammu has been let down by the government in the gravest manner possible. The land transfer order was revoked on July 1 after some relatively miniscule protests led by some leftist groups. But the majority of the population of the region,as it seems , has to do something more than lynching the cops or uprooting the rail tracks to make their voices heard or atleast make the government realize not to commit mistake of taking the people of Jammu,or belonging to a particular community, for that matter, for granted .

It is quite necessary to ask at this point of time that has the concept of secularism, in which India is proud of, has atlast failed? In reality the common man of India has always been secular. There has been no riots in J&K in so many decades despite being a muslim majority state. The Amarnath Yatris are looked after by muslim community in Baltal area of kashmir. It is just ths secessionist forces and shrewd political parties exploiting the sentiments of people and converting them into their so called vote banks. When someone talks about Hindu, he is called communal, an when someone talks about Muslim, he is called secular. Quite analogous is the case when someone from Congtress talks about Muslims, he is acclaimed as a secular, but when from BJP pleads for Hindus, he is stamped as a communal. But the fact is that the minorities has always been appeased in India by some political parties by providing all sorts of benefits like reservations in various government and non government organisations,in the guise of secularism, taking the majority for granted.

Years of neglect of Jammu by Kashmir has resulted in what we are seeing today. The people are frustrated and have at last found a platform to vent their pent up anger. The minority appeasement has always been the favorite trump card of congress party but with the people of Jammu almost impervious to their demand this time or perhaps for the first time, the minority appeasement could well prove to be a achilles heel to run up to the upcoming assembly elections.

The incidence has not only polarized the communities in the Jammu and Kashmir but has also given a chance to the right wing factions like VHP to strengthen their presence and ideology in the Jammu region, which alludes to an ominous premonition of the things about to happen in the near future.







Quite astonishingly the ongoing civil war has been not led by any political party, but just by a common cause as is evident from the fact that the mass movement has almost gone out of control of Amaranth Sangharsh Samiti’s hands with more and more people joining in like the doctors, nurses and medical staff of the governments’ hospitals.




Someone if not the government should be able to stop this bedlam before things deteriorate further with Kashmir being heaven and Jammu being inferno.

--Abhay Mittal--
abymittal@gmail.com

Jammu has been burning for almost 5 weeks now but there has been no signs of government getting out of its deep slumber. The mass movement in Jammu spearheaded by amaranth sangharsh samiti has catched the attention of domestic media ever since the whole episode started but now even the international media has started reporting the disturbance in the belittled part of jammu and Kashmir with BBC covering and reporting the daily happenings.
This has been the classic example of government’s indolence with prime minister manmohan singh calling an all party meet almost after a month with millions of rupees worth property has already been incinerated ,on 6 august to address and solve the issue.
The government at the centre was acting like Nero and the government in the state was resorting to preposterous decision one after the other and waiting for the word of wisdom from the bosses in delhi after they get free from the job of winning the vote of (dis)trust.
This all began with government’s order of demanding the immediate revocation of the government order cancelling the transfer of 43 hectares of land to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board. The land was meant for creating temporary facilities for pilgrims who trek to the Amarnath shrine every year, braving inclement weather and jihadi attacks.
The land transfer order was revoked after The All-Parties Hurriyat Conference spread three canards: First, the transfer amounted to alienation of 'Kashmiri land'; second, it would lead to intrusion of 'Hindu culture' in Muslim Kashmir; and, third, it would cause ecological damage.
The PDP, sensing an opportunity to revive its pro-separatist -- if not brazenly pro-kashmiri image in the run-up to the assembly election in Jammu & Kashmir, joined the protest and subsequently withdrew from the government. To his credit, Azad stood firm and refused to budge from his government's decision, till N N Vohra took over as governor, replacing Lieutenant General S K Sinha (retd).
Vohra, in his capacity as ex-officio chairman of the SASB, wrote a letter to Azad, returning the land and also offering to relinquish the board's task of organising the annual yatra, thus making the pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine subordinate to the hapless government’s arrangements.
For all his efforts to appease the protesters from a particular community in the Kashmir valley by 'returning' the land that had been allotted for Hindu pilgrims, proved to be a pig in the poke as Vohra was unable to save the Congress-PDP government। The PDP pulled out from the ruling alliance on June 28; on July 1, Azad, obviously under mounting pressure from his party bosses in Delhi, reversed the earlier decision.
The most stupefying part of the tragedy is that the people of jammu has been let down by the government in the gravest manner possible। The land transfer order was revoked on july 1 after some relatively miniscule protests led by some leftist groups. But the majority of the population of the region,as it seems , has to do something more than lynching the cops or uprooting the rail tracks to make their voices heard or atleast make the government realize not to commit mistake of taking the people of jammu for granted .

Years of neglect of Jammu by Kashmir has resulted in what we are seeing today. The people are frustrated and have at last found a platform to vent their pent up anger. The minority appeasement has always been the favorite trump card of congress party but with the people of jammu almost impervious to their demand this time or perhaps for the first time, the minority appeasement could well prove to be a achilles heel to run up to the upcoming assembly elections.

The incidence has not only polarized the communities in the jammu and Kashmir but has also given a chance to the right wing factions like VHP to strengthen their presence and ideology in the jammu region, which alludes to an ominous premonition of the things about to happen in the near future। Quite astonishingly the ongoing civil war has been not led by any political party, but just by a common cause as is evident from the fact that the mass movement has almost gone out of control of amaranth sangharsh samiti’s hands with more and more people joining in like the doctors, nurses and medical staff of the governments’ hospitals।

Someone if not the government should be able to stop this bedlam before things deteriorate further with Kashmir being heaven and Jammu being inferno।

India is not 63 years old, but it has been feeling more young and virile than ever before. India rising and the feel good factor may have not worked for some political parties but no one could ignore or gainsay the fact that it was this campaign that spurred the confidence and invigorated the hoi polloi of India. Whether it’s the anti quota scheme of things or Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case protests, the youth is actively indulged in a pro active approach which has made India gate a new symbol of the people’s democracy and the people’s movement. A sense of fearlessness and confidence has been instilled in the pulsating youth of young India.



What is in this youth that make him stand for the justice in the society in the day under the beating sun and thronging the discotheques in the night? The youth here consider education as a worship and people here would skip their meals to send thier kids to schools. The youth of India has been known for its reverence for the elderly but when it comes to his rights and muzzling his speech; he leaves no stone unturned to deliver a befitting reply to the system. This audacity hasn’t come overnight. Post 1991, India has always been on the path of growth; making giant leaps towards the utopia of prosperity, and making it sure that the fruits of the growth are shared uniformally across all sections of the society. A meek Indian has been transformed into assertive and a devouring individual.


Since then India has surprised everyone with its success odyssey in the last decade and a half. India has leapfrogged into a new era where the internet and mobile phones have revolutionized the Indian consumers and corporations. The ever expanding horizons of thinking and imagination are the new trademarks of the global Indian businesses. 30 years back, moving to US was a done thing for IITians and MBAs from IIMs. But the scenario has changed drastically. What really lies in the future? The fact is incontrovertible that India would land in the company of developed nations by 2020. She would infact take over some of European economies like Italy, Germany and Spain and would further move to become the world’s third largest economy by 2040 and second largest by 2050.


There are presently 700 million people under the age of 35, more than twice the population of United States. Today there are 100 million mobile users and more than 70 million internet users in India. With Indians buying nearly 1 million computers every year and computer education an essential part of education, they are becoming intimately familiar with the medium and associated technologies. But it is just the tip of the massive iceberg.
The filing of the tax returns of Americans have been outsourced to India, the education of the American children have been outsourced to India, their legal expertise have been outsourced to India, and their surgeries have too been outsourced to India. So that wont be stretching it too far too say that India is truly becoming the world’s global service centre and Indian economy has been shifting gears from “developing economy” to “rapid developing economy

But how does India feel today? Thomas Freidman, renowned columnist of the New York Times and the author of ‘The World Is Flat’ explains this immaculately.
According to him if one really wants to experience how India is feeling today, one should take a bottle of champagne and shake it for one hour and then take off its cork. You surely won’t like to come in the way of cork. Would you? According to him the 21st century belongs to India. It has been the aspirations and hopes of millions and millions of Indians for the past 60 years that would now thrust the whole world into mystique.For him, INDIA is a MIRACLE.


There are 2 faces of India-one trying to straining at the leash, trying to spring forth to realize all the expectations that the world has shown upon us, the other India is still in leash.


One India says give me a chance let me prove myself, the other India says first prove yourself and may be then you have a chance.
One India lives in the optimism of our hearts, the other India lurks in the skepticism of our minds.
One India wants ,the other India hopes.
One India leads, the other India follows.
These conversions are on the rise. Slowly and slowly more and more people are moving quietly to the confident Indian side, without the world looking at it. This is new India which doesn’t boycott the foreign goods but buys the companies which make them instead. This is a new, pulsating and dynamic India.
History rarely gives a signal about its intentions, but this is the moment when history is taking a turn-this is that moment when history is turning a page. For over half a century now, we have stumbled, ran, corrupted, and sprung, fallen, rolled over but always stood again.
For one India there is a tiny little voice at the back of its head, looking down the bottom of ravine inhesitantly, the other India looks up in the sky and say it is the time to fly.

I am poised,I am rising, I am coming,I am unstoppable ......and its My turn now.
I am India.

Why is that...?

Why is that, you don’t always get what you expect?

Why is that, when you expect you get nothing?

Why is that, when you don’t, you get plenty?

Why is that, when you hate someone but can’t forget him?

Why is that, when you love someone and have to let her go by?

Why is that, we love a stranger so dearly?

Why is that, we proclaim oh…I love you the most in this world?

Why is that, still you are just another guy?

Why is that, we seldom realize that someone loves us?

Why is that, at one point we imagine how our life would be with her?

Why is that, at the other point, we try to be stoic?

Why is that, you have a lot to say deep inside?

Why is that, you have nothing to utter outside?

Why is that, when we know we not gonna get it, still?

Why is that, we reach out for it and fall over?

May be, some gains were to be made out of pain…
That is Why.

50% Reservation 100% Politics

RESERVATION INVESTIGATED

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld 27 per cent reservations for Other Backward Castes (OBC) students in higher educational institutions like the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

Candidates falling in the ‘creamy layer’ though would not be eligible for the quota.

The creamy layer concept was first introduced by the Supreme Court in the Mandal judgment delivered in November 1992 to indicate an elite group among the Other Backward Classes.
The court had in 1992 asked the government to exclude the `creamy layer' from the purview of quotas to ensure that only the neediest among the OBCs benefited by reservation.
As per the principles laid down in the Mandal judgment, the children of constitutional functionaries including the President, judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, members of the Union Public Service Commission, Groups A and B or Class I or II officers of the All-India Central and State services and children of public sector employees are excluded from reservation.

Persons/Sections Excluded from Reservation which constitute Creamy Layer of the Society:

Sons and daughter(s) of

(a) President of India;

(b) Vice-President of India;

(c) Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts;

(d) Chairman and Members of UPSC and of the State Public Service Commission; Chief Election Commissioner; Comptroller and Auditor-General of India;

(e) Persons holding constitutional positions of like nature.

II. Service CategorySon(s) and daughter(s) of:

(a) parents, both of whom are Class I officers;

(b) parents, either of whom is a Class I officer;

(c) parents, both of whom are Class I officers, but one of them dies or suffers permanent incapacitation;

(d) parents, either of whom is a Class I officer and such parents dies or suffers permanent incapacitation and before such death or such incapacitation has had the benefit of employment in any International Organisation like UN, IMF, World bank, etc., for a period of not less than 5 years;

(e) parents, both of whom are Class I officers die or suffer permanent incapacitation and before such death or such incapacitation of the both either of them has had the benefit of employment in any International Organisation like UN, IMF, World Bank, etc. for a period of not less than 5 years;

B. Group B/Class II Officers of the Central and State Services (Direct Recruitment)Son(s) and daughter(s) of:

(a) parents, both of whom are Class II officers;

(b) parents of whom only the husband is a Class II officer and he gets into Class I at the age of 40 or earlier;

(c) parents, both of whom are Class II officers and one of them dies or suffers permanent incapacitation and either one of them has had the benefit of employment in any International Organisation UN, IMF, World Bank, etc., for a period of not less than 5 years before such death or permanent incapacitation;

(d) parents of whom the husband is a Class I officer (direct recruitment or pre-forty promoted) and the wife is a Class II officer and the wife dies; or suffers permanent incapacitation; and

(e) Parents, of whom the wife is a Class I officer (Direct Recruit or pre-forty promoted) and the husband is a Class II officer and the husband dies or suffers permanent incapacitation;

C. Employees in Public Sector Undertakings, etc. The criteria enumerated in A and B above in this category will apply mutatis mutandis to officers holding equivalent or comparable posts in PSUs, Banks, Insurance Organisations, Universities, etc., and also to equivalent or comparable posts and positions under private employment, pending the evaluation of the posts on equivalent or comparable basis in these institutions, the criteria specified in Category VI below will apply to the officers in these Institutions.

III. Armed forces including Paramilitary Forces (Persons holding civil posts are not included). Son(s) and daughter(s) of parents either or both of whom is or are in the rank of Colonel and above in the Army and to equivalent posts in the Navy and the Air Force and the Paramilitary Forces;

IV. Professional class and those engaged in Trade and Industry.(i) Persons engaged in profession as a doctor,lawyer, chartered accountant, income tax consultant, financial or management consultant, dental surgeon, engineer, architect, computer specialist, film artists and other film professional, author, playwright, sports person, sports professional, media professional or any other vocations of like status.

V. Property OwnersAlso, son(s) and daughter(s) of persons belonging to a family (father, mother and minor children) which owns:(a) only irrigated land which is equal to or more than 85% of the statutory ceiling area, or(b) both irrigated and unirrigated land,


The decision of the Union government to provide for the 27% reservation to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in higher educational institutions including elite institutions like IIT’s and IIM’s , has received a severe criticism as the sordid move caused a widespread consternation among the millions of aspiring and talented youth of the country। They are feeling as if they have been disowned by their own state. The very fact that the move to provide 27 % reservation to OBCs is based on an obsolete data which was collected nearly 7 decades earlier [the last census on the basis of castes was done in 1930s], means that government is trying to use the data which is 70 years old for formulating a policy for the next 35 years of the 21st century.






It was quite normal to see that the anti – quota protests received a plethora of support whether it is from the IMA, alumni and current students of IIT’s and IIM’s and the India INC. The student’s movement against the quota proposal under the banner “Youth for Equality” got an overwhelming support and the myriad followers
who openly expressed the dissatisfaction over the decision as it, according to them would not do our country any good.

Perhaps the basic dilemma to ponder over is “would reservations provide for social justice, as it is claimed to be? “Give it to those who deserve it in the real sense”, should be the punch line for the policy. There has been the provision for the reservations in other countries as well. The reservations are provided to Malays in Malaysia and to Negroes in US, so nobody could actually rule out the role and relevance of reservations in uplifting the oppressed.

But in fact, it has widened the gaps and created a ridge quite difficult to surpass, between various classes. Prior to the entire episode, neither anyone ever thought of his cast nor did anyone ask his freinds’. But now the spirit of the casteism is ominously swooping upon all other sentiments. If the reservations did not prove to be beneficial for the afflicted and the underprivileged section of the society even after 60 years of independence, then there is either something wrong in the policy or its implementation.






Youth has the right to know why they are being punished for the deeds of their forefathers and how long they would have to face the sentence. The reservations were put in place for the 10 years after the independence by the drafting committee but those 10 years have not been quite over yet, as it seems, and there is no chance either in near future.

There are some remedies also in the offing for giving the chance to the underprivileged to join the mainstream. Proper primary education , free coaching and tuitions and letting the OBCs compete with others at par, which would not only provide a fair chance to all but also preclude their own self esteem from getting being hampered. The comprehensive solutions would at least provide some respite in between the strife and would enable to bury the hatchet and lower down the tempo of communal skepticism.




Just as there is a universal immunization against polio, the proper primary education would be performing the same act against the imminent reservation। But what our government trying to do is perhaps “let the oppressed classes have polio and then provide them with the crutches of reservation.”



India is on the verge of a virtual take off to land in the company of some big players of the global economy.

The government ,as it seems has jumped into the murky waters and swooping to a hasty conclusion could lead to the de-mobilization of the talented youth, ready to conquer the world.
The prime reason of disappointment is that merit certificate has taken a place second to the caste certificate.

Feedback-- Abhay Mittal

abymittal@gmail.com

नज़र नजाने हमें लगी किसकी ..

पूछा किसी ने मेरे बारे में ,
तो आज ये ख़याल आया


नज़र नजाने हमें लगी किसकी ,
ना जाने हम कब बदल गए
पूछता है कोई हमसे ये हुआ क्या है ,
बताने में अब अल्फाज़ कम पड़ गए


दिल की बात कहते हैं कैसे
ये हमें मालूम नहीं था
अदा थी उसमें पर ,
हम में कोई अंदाज़ नही था


प्यार है कितना ये तुमसे
कह पाया नहीं हूँ ,
पर जब से गए हो मुझे तनहा कर के ..
सच कहूँ ….मैं ठीक से मुस्कुराया नहीं हूँ …

A HOLY PRAYAAS..

It was holi as usual once again..another year..another holi
Something was knocking deep inside…hey!! Wasup?? Wat r the holi plans…….i peeped inside….and the reply came back…nay man..nothing special this time around too…floundering on the roads..chasing some slicky gals..and then a visit to FUN CITY or YORKS like other holies.
t was a week ago when one mah frens ,Puneet came to me and proposed to do something special on this holi.

Finally a Visit to PRAYAAS ,a school for mentally challenged kids was organized . we took along with ourselves BDAY caps..though iot was holi but the caps helped to create the atmosphere to build up the spirit…peepnis—the small honk sound producing gadget ;), created the euphoria that we were almost the part of those special kids…{I remember last time I bought that peepni was when I was in 5th standard and my dad took me to the dussehra ground for watching the spectacle of burning of effigies of evils…so thanks.. hey u kids…..u gave my childhood back to me :) }

holi famous Gujjias were distributed among the kids and the staff of PRAYAAS along with 5 STARS chocolates and bananas…..it was more looking like a bday party rather than a HOLI celebration. Indeed it was a special occasion … Special for me and special for all of us…more than those kids of PRAYAAS..coz m not sure whether we made a difference in their lives,,but they have certainly made a difference to our lives…by making this holi one of the most memorable one.

We went there to make this holi special for them but I realized that perhaps they have something to offer to us…a gap filling in our busy lives by understanding these special and lovely kids..and a pause to realize that there are people around us who need us and who need our affection and love more than nothing else!

Celebrating holi with GOD’s own children was an experience of its own kind….wish u cud be there folks..!! :)

People who visited PRAYAAS- Abhay (Me ofcourse), Nipun, Deepika, Puneet,Sonia,Shweta,Shivam,Rohini,Ashima,Madhur, Deepak,Avneet,Anubhav, Sanam,Saurabh,Shubham,Amrit,Ankit, Ankur,Ravi and my apologies to all those whom I have forget to mention.


THANKS TO THE KIDS AND THE STAFF AT PRAYAAS FOR GRANTING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO US! LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE OCCASIONS LIKE THIS!

Bezuba ab hum hain…

Ekpal koste hain khud ko
Anjaane mein tujhe yeh kya keh diya

Doosre pal sochte hain
Ki Kabul kar “haan , chahte hain tumhe” apne dil ka raaz khol diya


Khayalo mey to bas tum hi thi,
Tumhare khyalo mein koi aur tha

Gilaa karte to kya karte
Kisiki wafaa par na kisi ka zor tha


Jo tha mere man mein use chhudayaa sabne milkar
Kabhi sochte hain kya gunah kiya unse bolkar

Kehne ko to aur bohat kuch tha
Par bezuba ab hum hain unse chand lafz bolkar..

कुछ खोने को है ...

आए थे यहाँ सब अनजान ,
आलम ये है की आज तुझमें मेरी और मुझमें बस्ती है तेरी जान .
आए थे यहाँ खाली हाथ आज कुछ होने को है
लगता है डर क्यूकि कुछ खोने को है


देखा करते थे कॉलेज में जिनको
अब यादों में हे याद करेंगे और भूलने न देंगे कभी उनको
मिलना चाहते हैं पर बहाने कम हैं
लगता है डर क्यूकि कुछ खोने को है



तुम्हारे बिना ये कॉलेज की बातें अधूरी सी
तुम्हारे बिना ये कॉलेज की यादें अधूरी सी
उनसब पलों में तुम हो पर वो पल सोने को हैं
लगता है डर क्यूकि कुछ खोने को है


और हर साँस है सहमी हुई सी धड़कन को एक डर
तुम्हारे जाने के बाद कैसे कटेगा ज़िंदगी का ये सफर
ये पल भी अब जाने को है
इसलिए लगता है डर क्यूकि कुछ खोने को है ….!

Feelings are too many...

Thoughts are too many,few of them take shape
Feelings are toomany, few of them get expressed

I'm tired of being what the world want me to be
because i have decided what i would be

I know I may end up failing
But then thats not going to get my dreams bailing

Thats not hoping against the hope
but then if it is , then hoping against the hope is worth for...

Happy Valentines Day..!

Cricket- A White Man’s Game ?

The Sydney test will be remembered for a long time as a model of how Australians play their cricket and would keep on highlighting the fact that Aussies value victory more than anything else. The former Somerset captain Peter Roebuck was furious and minced no words when he claimed that Australians were behaving like a pack of wild dogs in the in the ill famous Sydney test. The behavior that the most professional team [italics added] in the game of cricket leaves an ordinary fan with too much to think and complain about. The manner in which Ricky Ponting led his team in the Sydney test was distressing and embarrassing for many Australians. Frustrated by being awarded the template of Bhajji’s bunny by the Australian media and a surprise cameo by Harbhajan Singh with the bat in the first innings of Sydney test left Ponting with no other choice but to poke him with the racial discrimination charge. That further fomented and stirs up the already boiling pot.
The most bizarre episode was that Harbhajan Singh was handed over the suspension for 3 test matches for making racial slurs against Andrew Symonds on the testimony of fellow Australians Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and captain Ponting. That too when there was no audio video evidence available.


Cricket has always been regarded as the Gentleman’s game but the saddest part is that very few gentlemen play it today. The Indian skipper Anil Kumble hit the nail right on its head when he remarked that in Sydney there was just one team playing in the spirit of the game. Ricky wanted to win the 16th consecutive test at any cost and it seems both the umpires wanted him too!



Umpire Steve Bucknor was recklessly lifting his finger on every single occasion when Australians appealed while Indians were left begging for their chances. Perhaps it was not for the first time that the teams from sub continent have been made a special target. In 2001 there was a huge uproar of a similar kind when referee Mike Denniss handed over the suspension and hefty fines to 5 Indian players for excessive appealing while the little master Sachin Tendulkar was banned for ball tempering! If these can be termed as excessive appealing, what do you call South African captain Shaun Pollock’s non-stop appeal, like a man possessed, till he get decisions in his favor? Dennis the “menace’ turned a blind eye to that abominable act. But then, Pollock is a South African, and a white to boot. That made all the difference.


Quite similar is the case with the incomparable Glenn McGrath who realized very late in his career that he needed to change his grumpy and occasionally ugly on-field demeanour. "The times when I did blow up, I used to regret it afterwards," he said just before his retirement.


While players from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and England get away with disgusting deportment on the field, those from India (universally acclaimed as nicest of the lot), Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Kenya and West Indies get severely punished even when they appeal within the limits. If this is not un-regenerated racism, then, what is it?

No wonder, the outrageous decision evoked a sharp comment from former England cricketer and commentator Geoff Boycott that these people enjoy paid holidays, indulge in racism and show a complete lack of balance in their decisions


Australia toured India in 2001 and then Michael Slater created
quite a scene after claiming catch, which he took after one bounce. He haggled furiously with umpire S Venkatraghavan, and said vulgar words to a nonplussed Rahul Dravid. He got reprimanded only after Indian media raised a hue and cry.
Another victim of the racist rulings has been Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan, who was subjected to the ignominy of being dubbed a chucker. This time the ‘villain’ was Australian umpire Darrell Hair. It is to his credit that Murali, who enjoyed the solid support of his teammates, continues to annihilate the biggies of cricket with his magical spin bowling.



These worthies should do well to remember one thing. Players like Sachin Tendulkar(a player and man of unimpeachable integrity) and Muralitharan are made of sterner stuff. They are too good to be detracted or demoralized by such below-the-belt hits. Decency demands that scores are settled on the field, not off it. Is that too much to ask of these square pegs in round holes ? Until recently, it has not been the Indian way. Sachin Tendulkar always has been serene in the face of Australians' barbs, so they gave up sledging and gave him the silent treatment instead this time around.


But whatever standards are upheld in the Ponting backyard, there are plenty of Australian four-year-olds who have been sledging from the time they emerged from the womb. Australians often claim that they are not too aggressive, perhaps this is the only way they play their cricket, so why do they honk when someone stands and retorts in a similar manner, that’s a part of game!



Ever after India beat Australia comprehensively in the T20 WC in South Africa in September last year , there has been a tussle creeping between the two sides. This came to the forefront when Andrew Symonds made statement in the Indian press that he didn’t like the way the Indian team got reception after winning the T20 WC as if they are some rock stars. He further went on to add that Indians have beaten us just 1 test and a one dayer in the past 3 years, that’s too much to brag about. This came after Andrew Symonds said the Indians, who have had precious few triumphs with which to satisfy their cricket-mad public since the 1983 World Cup, lacked humility in their Twenty20 victory celebrations, a statement that itself did not scream graciousness.


The moment when ICC is trying to spread the game far and wide, anything like a charge of racism would seriously question its integrity.
That further raises a question in my mind- - it seems like the sub continent nations are allowed to play, but they are not allowed to win, just because cricket is a white man’s game?



Feedback—
Abhay Mittal
abymittal@gmail.com