Happy Republic Day

Chavan does a U Turn

A day after the state cabinet mandated knowledge of Marathi and state domicile for a taxi driver’s licence, a move that smacked of the anti-migrant agenda of the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), chief minister Ashok Chavan moved into damage control mode. The U-turn, however, came after vociferous protests from United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies and a rap on the knuckles from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. “The emphasis on local language was as per norms. I don’t mean local language has to be Marathi. It also means Gujarati and Hindi,” said a visibly upset Chavan. - DNA, 21 January 2010

Idiots!

While the stars the director of '3 Idiots' maintain the film is only loosely based on Five Point Someone, writer Chetan Bhagat insists the movie shares its plot with his book, apart from some 'Bollywoodisation'! - The Times of India, 29 Dec 2009. Read article here.

.pOINT_bLANK IS BACK!

New Year resolution :). I hope you enjoy the cartoons. I have also started working on a caricature series on India called Verry India. Would love to hear your feedback. Thank you!

Never Say Live

The NSA (National Security Advisor) said there was a need to effectively deal with organisations like SIMI and Bajrang Dal "because then there are many copycat organisations ... Several micro units of the same kind may come up." He claimed "SIMI and Bajrang Dal are not two sides of the same coin, but both of them are dangerous." - PTI, 12 October 2008.

Indian Response to Terrorism

Home minister Mr Shivraj Patil was today under intense pressure to quit his post coming under attack from within the UPA coalition and the Opposition amidst growing concern within the Congress party itself over his handling of internal security. The all-round attack on Patil in the wake of serial blasts in Delhi on Saturday that claimed 24 lives came as Congress president Mrs Sonia Gandhi called a meeting of senior leaders to discuss the internal security situation in which Mr Patil was significantly not present. – The Statesman, 15 September 2008.

Chuck De India

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) suspended the national hockey federation on Monday after a television show accused the federation's secretary of corruption. The IOA's executive council made its move after the nation was rocked by a show which last week alleged that hockey secretary K.Jothikumaran had accepted money from undercover reporters to select a particular player. The hockey federation was already under fire after the men's team, eight-time former gold medallists, were eliminated from the 2008 competition in Beijing, marking the first time they will miss the Olympics since sending the first team in 1928. - Reuters, 28 April 2008

Soaring Food Prices

A sharp rise in food prices has developed into a global crisis, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday. Ban urged leaders of the international community to sit down together on an "urgent basis" to discuss how to improve economic distribution systems and promote the production of agricultural products. - The Associated Press, 25 April 08

Food Wise

Google Cloud Computing

Tibet Steals (Lime)Light Off Beijing Olympics

Oh & btw - just read this today... :)

The (Indian) government was on Tuesday claiming to have made adequate security arrangements to ensure that the Olympic torch relay in the Capital on April 17 was not disrupted, but Tibetan protesters took the security personnel by surprise by taking out their own ‘protest torch relay’ on Rajpath. The protesters were stopped by the police and placed under arrest. Delhi Police PRO Rajan Bhagat said that 27 Tibetan protesters, including 12 women, were arrested by the Tilak Marg police under preventive sections and will be produced before a city court on Wednesday. - The Times of India, 16 April 2008

Microsoft Pursues Yahoo

Nuclear Deal: Can't Make Up Our Mind

Under pressure from the Left parties to make clear whether the Indo-US nuclear deal is on or off, government on Monday said the operationalisation of the deal will take place in accordance with the UPA-Left committee's findings. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee made this clear after a meeting between leaders of the Left parties and the UPA coalition formed to go into the concerns of the allies on the nuclear deal. The minister announced that the committee would meet again on November 16. - The Times Of India, 22 October 2007

Surprise Surprise - Al Gore Wins Nobel

New Delhi Blues

A speeding Blueline bus mows down a group of people crossing a road in South Delhi, killing five women and a man (Updated: and a child). Eight others, including some who were crossing the road, were injured when the bus ran into a crowd while trying to overtake a stationary Delhi Transport Corp (DTC) bus from the wrong side at Aali Goan, near Badarpur. Sunday's accident takes the number of people killed by the rampaging Blueline buses in the capital this year to 93.- Hindustan Times, 7 October 2007

YanGOONS

A relentless crackdown on Myanmar's pro-democracy activists showed no sign of easing with the junta announcing on Sunday that 78 more people have been detained in spite of global outrage and new sanctions. The latest arrests, reported by the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper, brought to nearly 1,000 the number of people the military regime acknowledges holding in detention centers. In addition, it says 135 Buddhist monks remain in custody. - The Times Of India, 7 October 2007

You can go to Amnesty.org to voice your concern.

Judiciary Bullying

Mid Day, a Delhi tabloid, ran a series of stories in May which said Y.K. Sabharwal, until recently the most powerful man in the Indian judiciary, had used his office to benefit his sons' businesses, among other allegations. Last week, Delhi High Court sentenced two editors who reported the stories, the paper's publisher and a cartoonist to four months in jail for criminal contempt of court, although they were released on bail while they appeal. - Reuters India, 28 September 2007

Ram Setu Fiasco

"It was a classic case of how the government was casual and careless in dealing with such sensitive issues which hurt the sentiments of crores of people," Venkaiah Naidu said. In a damage control exercise, the government suspended two officers of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and withdrew the controversial affidavit on Lord Ram, the BJP leader said, adding that the extent of damage would be known when Congress party goes to the people.
The image of both Central and state governments has taken a severe beating because of the way the government has been handling sensitive issues like Ram Setu, Indo-US deal and farmers problems. - The Hindu, 16 September 2007

President Who??!!

But when was the last time you were presented with a complete unknown as your next president? Kalam, Zail Singh, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, V.V. Giri, Sanjeeva Reddy were all people you had seen long enough in public life, so you were unlikely to discover any surprises about them. This is where the Congress went wrong with Pratibha Patil. The Congress’s guilt is not so much about who they chose for the job as it is about how it trivialised that job, to begin with. - Shekhar Gupta, Indian Express, 30 June 2007

Terrorism Backfires in Pakistan

Altogether 102 people have died in the operation, including 10 Army officers, a Ranger and 91 civilians according to a report in the Dawn which quoted the interior minister Mr Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao. The admission came two days after President Pervez Musharraf hinted in a televised address to the nation, that some women and children had died in the fierce clash which turned the capital into a battleground. - The Statesman, 14 July 2007