'IBM is legacy, Infosys is the future'
What IP has Infosys created? And, what is the value in creating shiny glass buildings in a tropical country where it is hot and power cuts are frequent and an on campus golf course in a country where you can't get water for basic needs.
India police detail role of militants in attacks - Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune
Reports from police investigating the latest Bombay blasts indicate one of the ringleaders was a muslim software engineer who until recently was working for a large multi-national. Now, this is not the first time that folks involved in terror/ anit-social activities have come from such a background. But, often this is not the background that is associated with terror, especially in India.
The story always is - the person felt marginalized, did not have access to opportunities, was in a financially weak situation etc...It is almost as if with all such conditions it was "natural" for them to go and blow up innocent people. And, so what does the government do - offer more handouts to the marginalized communities around election time.
Now, it is clear that there are factors other than economics or revenge at work. The only way I can explain this is - religion. These people feel that their religion is better than others and so everyone should either join me or die.
The DH Imam wasted no time in absolving LeT and blamed it on the hindu radicals. He claims he has information to that effect. And, he continues "We were rulers here for 800 years. Inshaallah, we shall return to power here once again". This guy is not some fringe radical. He is the religious head of one of the biggest mosques in India and is a well known religious leader. And, this is not the first time he has indulged in such statements.
It is time for the so called "secular" indians and political parties to determine if they want to be an Islamic nation. And, have no doubts this won't be the second coming of the Mughal dynasty.
I guess what we need is not new anti-terror laws like TADA, POTA etc... We need a law that make any attack on the secular nature of the nation a crime. That way we can throw the hindu radicals, muslim radicals and prostelizing missionaries all behind bars.
PS: Why is that many Islamic radical groups have words "democratic", "freedom" etc... in their names?
Desis are great about going to town about "achievements" of other desis or even folks who are vaguely desis. It is either that or an outright attack on the person without much background research.
So, it was not surprising to see desis go gaga over Kavya Viswanath of plagarism fame. And, poor Kavya did not realize that writing a book is not like high school or college papers where one generally gets away wit some "borrowing". As soon as the news came out the desis dropped her.
Then, they jumped on the spelling bee/ geography bee bandwagon. It is quite possible that some of these kids have never been to India and they are certainly not part of the Indian education system. But, that does not stop us from gushing about their acheivements. I never understood the obsession with spelling contests. I mean, the purpose of communication is to keep it simple and convey the meaning. So, why would you waste your time memorizing the spelling for painfully complex words that you are almost certain never to use.
Why can't we celebrate real achievements in moderation. And, criticize in moderation.
I have colleague - a Russian Jew who after reading some Leon Uris books started talking about "my people" and "my land" even though he has never been to Israel. So, last week I had to ask him what he thought about the happenings in the Middle East. He said, "We are kicking some butts." To which I replied, "But, you are kicking the wrong butts." He was surprised by this comment. He did not know the details - who Hezbollah was? why Israel was bombing Lebanon? And, how (if any) were the Lebanese involved in this.
He is not alone. There are a number of people here in the US who feel Israel is right to bomb the heck out of Lebanon. They point out that their neighbors don't indulge in terrorist acts. So, if the neighbor indulges in terrorist acts you can bomb the heck out. Very simplistic. US, Iran and Syria are probably having fun watching the Hezbollah and Isreal fight a war on their behalf.
Lets change the scenario. We have a drug problem fuelled by drug peddlers from the south. Assume that these guys pick two of the DEA agents and hold them for ransom or even kill them. Are we justified in bombing Mexico City, if that is where the heads of these drug rings live?
And, what do think the reaction would be if this happens. Do you think the people slipping across the boder will be looking for work or something more sinister. You raze my home I am coming after you.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Tension among Mumbai's Muslims
According to this BBC report the Muslims in Bombay are feeling the heat. I do feel sorry for them. But, the slience of the Indian muslim leadership on the blasts is deafening.
I counted three Bollywood muslims who voiced concerns regards the blast - Aamir Khan, Javed Akthar and Shabana Azmi. But, where is that DH Imam of Juma Masjid who shouts off his mouth other times.
Other day I heard a report on NPR about a silent majority in Pakistan who want the "Islamic" oridnances introduced by Zia repelled. I thought hard and long about "silent majority". It is an oxymoron. They say "he who is afraid to ask questions is ashamed of learning". And, if you are silent about your convictions you are ashamed of it. My guess is there are situations when they find the current situation and laws to be advantageous to them.
But, Pakistan is not the only place with "silent majority". India has a number of "silent majority". They are "secular", "class-less", "oppose dowry" and feel aghast about female infanticide. The truth is they are happy with the current the situation. And, a "silent majority" of Indian muslims condemn the blasts.
Hezbollah abducts two Israeli soldier. Israel gets all worked up. Bush says Syria and Iran are supporting the Hezbollah. So, why is Israel bombing Lebanon? Is it because Hezbollah operates out of South Lebanon.
By same twisted logic GWB should have bombed Florida. After all the 9/11 terrorists operated out of there. And, before that they were in Saudi Arabia.
Maybe, the hypothesis that children who were molested when young have a greater tendency to be molesters themselves applies to nations, too.
I bet Israel does not feel too good about taking on Syria or Iran directly. Or, conduct a covert operation to get the Hezbollah leadership.
PS: GWB was heard saying they should get to Syria....
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Analysis: Peace process under threat?
The BBC analysis of Manmohan Singh's rhetoric is quite right. It is not the job of the Pakistani government to protect the Indian citizens. I am sure that they like the Indian government would be happy of the miscreants chose the neighbour as their target. And, given their religious beliefs may even feel obligated to look the other way. But, even the "holier than thou", "secular" India has done its bit of supporting miscreants like LTTE.
The fact remains that Indian government failed to protect its citizens. And, it is evident that these blasts like others could not have been orchestrated without sympathetic elements in the Indian society. Let us go after these sympathetic elements, show them no mercy. And, take an effort to understand why they are sympathetic. Hopefully, our politicians will realize that "unity in diversity" is all bullshit and only way to build a truly "secular" nation is by separating state from religion, not by creating separate laws and provisions for every religion, sect, caste and creed.
Took this picture in SFO over the July 4th weekend. It is a Bajaj scooter. It is almost serendipity when you find stuff like this or the billboard touting Mahindra tractor in rural Pennsylvania. 
Enough is enough!
A few days after Katrina hit New Orleans and flattened it, I got an email from India comparing how different (of course, better) the indian response to Bombay monsoons was compared to the US government response to Katrina. One word - gloating. And, without knowing the full story.
Monsoon rains in Mumbai are a regular feature and so is the flooding. But, a category 4 hurricane like Katrina is not a regular feature. Yes, the US government failed the citizens of New Orleans. But, they have done a great job of ensuring no repeat of 9/11. Can the Indian government say that. Bomb blasts have become an annual feature in Mumbai. Maybe, they should go back to the old name - Bomb-ay.
Of course, I am trivializing the issue. The fact is Mumbai has very little chance. For that matter, whole of India has very little chance without taking decisive steps.
Instead, every time there is a bomb blast in India we have an all too predictable routine that goes somewhat like this
1. Blame it on the terrorists
2. Call the press and tell them you see the hand of LeT, ISI etc... Do this before you have any suspects.
3. Prime Minister addresses the nation, and the leaders visit the city
4. Liberals tell you that this is not time to blame anyone. And, religious zealots blame each other for what happened.
5. Terrorist/ Intelligence "experts" appear out of the wood work pouting their expertise
6. Media pays homage to the "spirit of the city and its people".
A few more weeks everything is forgotten, nothing is acted upon, Dawood Ibrahim goes watching cricket in Sharjah, Imam of Juma Masjid tells the government not to mess with you know who, the Sena jokers wag their fingers back.
And, then the next one hits. And, the cycle repeats.
Why don't we try something different -
Accept we have a problem. There are people from all communities who are unhappy with the state and they don't seem to mind vandalizing state property or killing its citizens to make their point. Being nice to these folks is of no use.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Tamils dispute India mutiny date
So, there is a dispute about India's first war of Independence. The Tamil thambis feel it was 1806 when, according to the beeb, "...the British introduced a dress code for its mostly Indian soldiers which required them to remove caste-marks, earrings and beards."
And, the guys up north have been peddling 1857 as the first war. The reason in that case was sparked by the introduction of cartridges rumored to have been greased with pig or cow fat.
In both cases oppression by the British or freedom from them seem to have played very little, if any. And, there were no national interests at play. Or, maybe the narrow religious and caste interest are the national interests.
Anyway, here we are about good 150 years later still squabbling over this silly shit. Tell me how this affects the common man.
BBC NEWS | Technology | Man turns paper clip into house
Now, there is something crazy but nice about this story. Guy swaps paper clip for a house. Love it.
I have often thought about our tendency to blindly believe in something and call it a miracle, supernatural, divine or to blindly dismiss it because it cannot be explained. And, astrology is one of those subjects that fit in this. Some believe every word that an astrologer says and some disregard. I have had more than a cursory interest in astrology as my dad used to practice palmistry as a hobby and would visit astrologers every now and then.
Back in the early 90s Nadi Josiyam was a rage. It involves reading old palm leaves based on your thumb print. And, the text is interpreted by the astrologer. The premise behind the whole thing is that all our lives have been documented by some of the top Hindu saints (boy, they must have been one job less lot). And, I am not sure if it was ego or lack of a central repository these guys seem to have documented the same person. Anyway, my dad did take our thumb prints and get our past and future read and recorded (the astrologer recorded his interpretation on a tape).
The thing that blew me away was how the astrologer figured my name from my thumb print (a name like shikari shambu is not that easy ;) and a few questions like “does the name have an ‘s’ ” (bit like Jeopardy but without the prize money). And, how the near term predictions that the astrologer made came true. But, over years there are a number of predictions that he made that were not true.
While I have not been able to figure out how the astrologer was able to “read” my name from the thumb or predict the near term things I have created an analogy to explain the process. To me Nadi Josiyam is like asking someone to figure where I am going (my future) by just reading the map (thumbprint). The map has a number of roads, forks and turns. By asking questions and guesses the reader (the astrologer) is able to figure out the route (my past) I have taken to get here. And, since the road does not have a fork or turn for the next few miles (near term) he is able to predict immediate future. Of course, sometimes I feel it is also because we will it to happen. But, longer term is a different story. Based on the turns we take (decisions we make) we may be on a different road (different future) from what the astrologer read. Or, the astrologer reads only one of the many possibilities. Is this right? I don’t know. But, I think it is a cool analogy.
And, what about the palm leaves. Did these sages document every single human being? How did they account for population explosion etc…? Maybe, we are all “connected” like the Net of Indra.
School is out. And, I am out of school for good. At least, for now. I had hoped that it will provide me more time to update my blog. Call it post school paralysis (PSP) I have not done anything.
In mean time a lot has been happening w.r.t India. Shashi Tharoor is the Indian candidate for the UN Secretary General. LTTE offers almost an apology for killing Rajiv Gandhi as Sri Lanka is fast spiraling into yet another civil war. And, the controversial US-India nuclear deal is all set to go through.
I think Shashi Tharoor is a great guy and a good author. And, I don’t think there is anything wrong with his statement ‘I shall be an Indian Secretary General but not India's Secretary General.' Of course, this seem to pissed off the likes of TVR Shenoy, who like many believe that the person should push his nation’s interest and since UN like India follows a reservation system Tharoor does not stand a chance so should not be a candidate.
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