Is this the first time that a politician in India is convicted?
Also is it the first time that a celebrity(Sanjay Dutt a.k.a Munnabhai) has been convicted and will actually go to jail?
But he added: “I’ve not found him to be a terrorist or destructor.”
The actor’s lawyers then successfully applied for bail to be extended so he could attend to financial and other matters. Dutt has until 19 December to turn himself in to the authorities.
May be next in line is Salman Khan?
The Hindu reports
This gross under-presence of Muslims in virtually every sector is presaged by substantial inequalities in education. Muslim enrolment and retention rates at the primary and secondary levels are lower than the national average and this further magnifies existing inequalities at the college level as well as in the labour market. For virtually every socio-economic marker of well being, the Muslim is well below the national norm — not to speak of the level commensurate with her or his share of the national population — and the evidence suggests these inequalities are not decreasing over time.
This bleak statistical picture is rendered drearier still by new trends visible in many cities. Muslims, for example, find it extremely difficult to rent and buy property outside of “Muslim areas” in some metros. Apart from several journalists, I even know of one former Muslim Union Minister in Delhi whose Hindu colleagues had to intercede to find him a flat. In Mumbai, the situation is perhaps worse. Many Muslim businessmen have problems accessing credit, besides having to run the gamut of uncooperative officials who look upon them with suspicion at every turn. Even in politics, as Iqbal A. Ansari’s recent book, Political Representation of Muslims in India, 1952-2004, has shown, Muslims have consistently been under-represented in the Lok Sabha and all State Assemblies since Independence except Kerala. Only half as many Muslim MPs and MLAs get elected as one might expect based on their population share. In the absence of our political parties throwing up a large enough number of Muslim elected representatives, clerics and obscurantists are only too willing to step into the breach.
……
In India, the first task of the government must be to guarantee formal equality of opportunity by dealing firmly with discrimination in the labour, housing and credit markets as well as educational system. Without instituting a system of reservation — which would generate more political heat than tangible benefit for Muslims — the Government must send out a clear and unambiguous message that the social cohesiveness and future growth prospects of the country require government departments and private firms to encourage the recruitment of Muslims. But in order to generate substantive equality of opportunity and uproot inequality and exclusion from their roots, the government has to guarantee better access to education at every level for Muslims, Dalits, Tribals, and OBCs.
Link via Krish
cartoon link via Bhupinder Singh originally published in The Tribune.
Is the Muslim under represntation because of discrimination alone? What are the other reasons?
A woman was walking down the street when she was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked her for a couple of dollars for dinner.
The woman took out her bill fold, extracted ten dollars, and asked, “If I give you this money, will you buy some wine with it instead of dinner?”
“No, I had to stop drinking years ago,” the homeless woman replied.
“Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?” the woman asked.
“No, I don’t waste time shopping,” the homeless woman said.
“I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive.”
“Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?” the woman asked.
“Are you NUTS?” replied the homeless woman. “I haven’t had my hair done in 20 years!”
“Well,” said the woman, “I’m not going to give you the money. Instead, I’m going to take you out for dinner with my hubby and myself tonight.”
The homeless woman was astounded. “Won’t your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I’m dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.”
The woman replied, “That’s okay. It’s important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments, and wine.”
Sharique send this in email.
Dear Abby,
I’ve never written to you before, but I really need your advice on what could be a crucial decision. I’ve suspected for some time now that my wife has been cheating on me.
The usual signs… phone rings but if I answer, the caller hangs up. My wife has been going out with the girls a lot recently although when I ask their names she always says, “Just some friends from work, you don’t know them.”
I always stay awake to look out for her taxi coming home, but she always walks down the drive. Although I can hear a car driving off, as if she has gotten out of the car round the corner. Why? Maybe she wasn’t in a taxi? I once picked her cell phone up just to see what time it was and she went berserk and screamed that I should never touch her phone again and why was I checking up on her.
Anyway, I have never approached the subject with my wife. I think deep down I just didn’t want to know the truth, but last night she went out again and I decided to really check on her.
I decided I was going to park my Harley Davidson motorcycle next to the garage and then hide behind it so I could get a good view of the whole street when she came home. It was at that moment, crouching behind my Harley, that I noticed that the valve covers on my engine seemed to be leaking a little oil.
Is this something I can fix myself or should I take it back to the dealer?
Double Talk sent this via email. Thanks
Saw this in the Hindustan Times epaper.
The latest report by Transparency International (TI), the Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog, has a surprise. India ranks No. 70 on its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) out of 163 nations. It is a distinct improvement over last year, when India stood at No 88. For the first time, India has reversed its downward slide on the CPI, and a reason for this is probably the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
If not for RTI we might have still ranked the same
Vice-Admiral (retd) RH Tahiliani, president of TI-India, said the marginal improvement was welcome but there was a long road ahead. “Indians give Rs 21,000 crore every year as bribes,” he said.
He credited the RTI Act with bringing in more transparency in the government. “That was objective of the Act,” said OP Kejriwal, information commissioner in the Central Information Commission.
According to the CPI, India has the lowest perceived level of corruption among South Asian nations. Bangladesh, ranked 156, is the most corrupt, followed by Pakistan at 142 and Sri Lanka at 84.
21,000 crore of bribe is a huge amount. Knowing this would your answer to this question be any different?
I wonder is RTI the only reason or there are other reasons? Have we suddenly achieved higher morals? Is the new generation different than the old? Are they willing to fight longer?
Whatever the reason is, it is good to see this improvement.
