Friday, October 19, 2012
Digvijaya Singh's letter to Arvind Kejriwal, calling him megalomaniac
Dear Shri Arvind,
We first met during a seminar at Berkeley University in San Francisco and I was quite impressed by your commitment to the cause of RTI. You had worked quite closely with Ms. Aruna Roy, who was instrumental in fighting for the cause of RTI in India.
Though we lost touch, but I did follow what you had been doing.
We met again when you, along with Swami Agnivesh, approached me with a request to invite Congress President for a Conference on RTI. You were all praise for Mrs. Sonia Gandhi whose political will ensured RTI Act that became a reality in India. I am aware that how fiercely the Establishment opposed this Act, but she stood her ground and had it passed in the Parliament.
Then, you wanted to meet her and had requested me to propose your name for inclusion in the NAC. I did propose your name, but failed. She took Aruna Roy, who was your Guru.
A strong Lokpal was the next main item on the Agenda of Congress President. She had publicly declared her intent at the AICC Session at Burari in December 2010. She entrusted this task to NAC members Aruna Roy and Harshmandar and directed them to draft a strong Lokpal Bill.
I feel this was the time when you made up your mind to upstage NAC by bringing in Anna Hazare and force the Government to engage you in drafting the Lokpal Bill.
Your draft, if accepted in totality, would have made the Jan Lokpal as the most Powerful Man in our successful and functional Democracy, without being accountable to anyone.
You could have waited for the draft being prepared by your Guru Aruna Roy and then suggested amendments, which could have been discussed by all political parties to enable an acceptable draft to emerge and get adopted.
You are aware of the fractured structure of the Parliament and do realize that any legislation in this Parliament can be passed with a consensus only. But you forced Anna to take the route of "my way or the highway", and tried to steamroll the political process to meet only your own whims. When YP Singh (Retd IPS), your former colleague in civil society movement, called you a Hitler, I could see the streak in you.
My opinion about you of a well meaning crusader of public issues has now changed to a "self serving ambitious megalomaniac with scant regard for democracy".
You couldn't get along with Aruna Roy, who was your Guru in RTI movement. Then you parted ways with Kiran Bedi and now, also with Anna, whom you used as a front to give your ambitions a touch of respectability.
I am very happy you have chosen to form a political party and have decided to fight elections. In a Democracy, this is the only way to deliver in Public Life.
I have been in politics for more than 40 years, starting as a President of my small Municipality to becoming Chief Minister of then the largest State in India.
I have held positions where I could have made Billions, but have practiced Probity in my public life and therefore placed my list of assets and the assets of my Ministers every year on the table of the House in my tenure as Chief Minister of MP. Incidentally, the BJP Government, who succeeded me, discontinued this practice.
I have hauled all those who have made charges of corruption against me to the Court and they haven't been able to substantiate any charge against me in the Court.
Recently, I saw your interview in Economic Times about what would you like to do if you ever came to power. You listed following priorities - Decentralisation, Empowerment of the People, Gram Swarajya and Right to Recall.
Please ask your Gurus of Civil Society Anna Hazare, SC Behar and Dr. BD Sharma if I didn't do all that as Chief Minister of MP.
In fact, while doing all this, I was only following the core policy of Congress Party since the days of Mahatma Gandhi. Interestingly, you yourself had mentioned in your ET interview about the contribution of Sh. Rajeev Gandhi in strengthening and empowering the people of India through Panchayati Raj. Needless to mention that Universal Franchise, Freedom of Speech, Free Media, Secularism, Equality of all castes & creeds, Abolition of Untouchability, Panchayati Raj, Reservation to Women in Local Bodies, Right to Information Act have all been the ideas promoted and implemented by the Congress Party.
Therefore, my only advise to you as a senior politician is to "first practice, then preach".
Lately, I have been seeing you asking questions to people against whom you are making allegations. Therefore, I also have certain questions to ask to you. Would you answer them or dismiss them all in the manner my uncomfortable questionsto Sangh, Anna and Ramdev have been dismissed?
I would be sending the questions to you tomorrow.
Best wishes,
(DIGVIJAYA SINGH)
(Source: NDTV, 19 Oct 2012; http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/full-text-digvijaya-singh-calls-arvind-kejriwal-megalomaniac-in-letter-282040?h_related_also_see)
We first met during a seminar at Berkeley University in San Francisco and I was quite impressed by your commitment to the cause of RTI. You had worked quite closely with Ms. Aruna Roy, who was instrumental in fighting for the cause of RTI in India.
Though we lost touch, but I did follow what you had been doing.
We met again when you, along with Swami Agnivesh, approached me with a request to invite Congress President for a Conference on RTI. You were all praise for Mrs. Sonia Gandhi whose political will ensured RTI Act that became a reality in India. I am aware that how fiercely the Establishment opposed this Act, but she stood her ground and had it passed in the Parliament.
Then, you wanted to meet her and had requested me to propose your name for inclusion in the NAC. I did propose your name, but failed. She took Aruna Roy, who was your Guru.
A strong Lokpal was the next main item on the Agenda of Congress President. She had publicly declared her intent at the AICC Session at Burari in December 2010. She entrusted this task to NAC members Aruna Roy and Harshmandar and directed them to draft a strong Lokpal Bill.
I feel this was the time when you made up your mind to upstage NAC by bringing in Anna Hazare and force the Government to engage you in drafting the Lokpal Bill.
Your draft, if accepted in totality, would have made the Jan Lokpal as the most Powerful Man in our successful and functional Democracy, without being accountable to anyone.
You could have waited for the draft being prepared by your Guru Aruna Roy and then suggested amendments, which could have been discussed by all political parties to enable an acceptable draft to emerge and get adopted.
You are aware of the fractured structure of the Parliament and do realize that any legislation in this Parliament can be passed with a consensus only. But you forced Anna to take the route of "my way or the highway", and tried to steamroll the political process to meet only your own whims. When YP Singh (Retd IPS), your former colleague in civil society movement, called you a Hitler, I could see the streak in you.
My opinion about you of a well meaning crusader of public issues has now changed to a "self serving ambitious megalomaniac with scant regard for democracy".
You couldn't get along with Aruna Roy, who was your Guru in RTI movement. Then you parted ways with Kiran Bedi and now, also with Anna, whom you used as a front to give your ambitions a touch of respectability.
I am very happy you have chosen to form a political party and have decided to fight elections. In a Democracy, this is the only way to deliver in Public Life.
I have been in politics for more than 40 years, starting as a President of my small Municipality to becoming Chief Minister of then the largest State in India.
I have held positions where I could have made Billions, but have practiced Probity in my public life and therefore placed my list of assets and the assets of my Ministers every year on the table of the House in my tenure as Chief Minister of MP. Incidentally, the BJP Government, who succeeded me, discontinued this practice.
I have hauled all those who have made charges of corruption against me to the Court and they haven't been able to substantiate any charge against me in the Court.
Recently, I saw your interview in Economic Times about what would you like to do if you ever came to power. You listed following priorities - Decentralisation, Empowerment of the People, Gram Swarajya and Right to Recall.
Please ask your Gurus of Civil Society Anna Hazare, SC Behar and Dr. BD Sharma if I didn't do all that as Chief Minister of MP.
In fact, while doing all this, I was only following the core policy of Congress Party since the days of Mahatma Gandhi. Interestingly, you yourself had mentioned in your ET interview about the contribution of Sh. Rajeev Gandhi in strengthening and empowering the people of India through Panchayati Raj. Needless to mention that Universal Franchise, Freedom of Speech, Free Media, Secularism, Equality of all castes & creeds, Abolition of Untouchability, Panchayati Raj, Reservation to Women in Local Bodies, Right to Information Act have all been the ideas promoted and implemented by the Congress Party.
Therefore, my only advise to you as a senior politician is to "first practice, then preach".
Lately, I have been seeing you asking questions to people against whom you are making allegations. Therefore, I also have certain questions to ask to you. Would you answer them or dismiss them all in the manner my uncomfortable questionsto Sangh, Anna and Ramdev have been dismissed?
I would be sending the questions to you tomorrow.
Best wishes,
(DIGVIJAYA SINGH)
(Source: NDTV, 19 Oct 2012; http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/full-text-digvijaya-singh-calls-arvind-kejriwal-megalomaniac-in-letter-282040?h_related_also_see)
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Mother and daughter killed in witch hunt
Daspur Oct. 17: Three women, including a mother and a daughter, were beaten to death yesterday after being branded witches by villagers in West Midnapore, in what some said was the fallout of Trinamul-CPM rivalry.
Police said all three belonged to the same family and were CPM supporters. The bodies of Phumani Singh, 72; her daughter Titli, 42; and Titli’s sister-in-law Sambari, 40, were buried on the banks of the Kansai in Debra. Two of their distant relatives — Budhu Singh and Mongla Singh — are missing since yesterday.
District superintendent of police Sunil Chowdhury said seven persons have been arrested.
According to some youths in Dubrajpur, the three women were being threatened by local Trinamul workers with dire consequences if they didn’t defect to their party.
Youth Trinamul president of Narajole Tarun Maity denied the allegation. “Last night’s incident happened because of their long-standing dispute with the villagers who believed the three were witches. It has nothing to do with Trinamul,” he said.
A farmer said some villagers had been telling people that the trio were responsible for several deaths in the area in the past few weeks. “They were telling people the women were witches and it was because of their evil spell that men and animals in the area were dying,” he said.
The youth named one Thaba Singh as leading the group.
According to another villager, the mother and daughter were taken to a salishi in the house of Trinamul leader Bablu Singh last evening. Titli’s husband, he added, had gone to an adjoining village to watch a football match and her 16-year-old son was held by some villagers. The third lady was taken to another village.
“Bablu asked the women to pay Rs 60,000. When they pleaded helplessness, around 20 villagers started beating them up with sticks. I didn’t dare raise an alarm,” he added.
Bablu refused comment.
(Source: TT, 18 Oct 2012; http://www.telegraphindia.com/1121018/jsp/bengal/story_16103655.jsp#.UIBCrW93bp8)
RULED BY A TAINTED LOT
| Sumanta Sen, The Telegraph, October 18 , 2012 |
The former prime minister, Indira Gandhi, had created a stir when she had said that corruption is a part of life. How true were her words. Today, corruption is not just a part of life but it has also taken over the entire system. So much so that the general tendency is to laugh when those in authority express concern at the situation and promise to undertake measures to tackle the affliction.
The latest to do so has been the prime minster, Manmohan Singh. He has done so at a time when almost every other day serious allegations are being hurled against the high and mighty. While expressing his concern, the prime minister should have taken the reality into account. He should have known that his government is not in a position to do anything to clear the mess. He and his ministers are dependent for their survival on two political parties whose leaders would have had the law knocking on their doors to probe charges against them if this was any other country.
While expressing his concern, the prime minister spoke of the need to take another look at the existing laws. Again, he should have known that there is no dearth of laws in this country. All that is needed is the will to go ahead and take the bull by the horn. But it is unlikely that his party will allow him to tell the accused that while he is thankful for their support in Parliament, they should not expect the government not to act in the interest of probity in public life.
Meanwhile, the nation is being made to witness the sickening spectacle of blackmail. The Congress is also part of the game. It has played the two major parties in Uttar Pradesh against each other for long in the hope that such a strategy would help it regain its lost ground. Little did it realize that a day will come when it will need both these parties in the nation’s capital. Of the two political outfits, the Bahujan Samaj Party seems to be exploiting the situation the most.
Give and take
A suggestion of an inquiry into the BSP chief’s alleged disproportionate assets brought the threat that she might withdraw support to the government. Then came the announcement that the party had left the decision to her. It is no secret that in all matters it is she who takes decisions. So what was new about the announcement? What was left unsaid was that the threat had worked, and that she had been told to rest easy. The Samajwadi Party’s volte-face during the presidential election has also been attributed to behind-the-scene parleys.
The quid pro quo from the Congress, of course, takes different forms. Together with the assurance of inaction by the investigating agencies, there have been open bonanzas like the bumper financial aid to the state and the decision to make Agra the venue of a mega corporate world event. The Congress is desperate to ensure that UPA II lasts its full term. Hence, many more such instances of threats and pressure tactics may be seen in the days to come.
This, it might be argued, is realpolitik and should not be faulted. But then why adopt a high moral tone? Why speak of corruption as a curse that must be fought? Since the Congress swears by Indira Gandhi, it should not forget that she, at least, had never shed crocodile tears. She knew what the reality was and made no effort to change it. The present prime minister finds himself burdened with the image of being someone without the wherewithal to clear the Augean stables. He would do well to accept this reality and not express concern over an issue that has become a non-issue for the aam admi. He should also draw comfort from the fact that his opponents are no better.
|
Sunlight reaching the ground has decreased across India over the past three decades
The Telegraph, Kolkata, 18 Oct 2012
New Delhi, Oct. 17: If you feel your days are not so bright any more, it could be because even sunlight has joined the ranks of industrialists, lampooners and dissenters who appear to be shunning Calcutta.
Sunlight reaching the ground has decreased across India over the past three decades, but Calcutta appears to have suffered the sharpest dip among 12 cities.
Scientists have documented a steady decline in the solar radiation reaching the ground across the country, a trend they say contrasts with brighter days observed since 1990 across western Europe, North America and parts of China.
The researchers at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, examining long-term trends in solar radiation through a series of studies, have observed declines in both bright sunshine hours and overall brightness in several cities.
One IITM study suggests that Calcutta’s days are now on average about 14 per cent less bright now than they were in the early-1970s, while the solar radiation near the ground in New Delhi has reduced by about 12 per cent during that period.
Scientists say the implications of these changes are still unclear but decreased sunlight has the potential to exacerbate vitamin D deficiency, increase the risk of allergies, pull down crop yields, and alter the hydrological cycle through reduced evaporation.
Endocrinologists say reduced sunlight hours could have implications for populations already deficient in vitamin D. “We already have indications of widespread vitamin D deficiency in Calcutta and other cities in India,” said Satinath Mukhopadhyay, an endocrinologist at the Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER) hospital, Calcutta.
A study of a sample of healthy persons accompanying patients visiting the IPGMER hospital, Mukhopadhyay said, indicates that up to 70 per cent of the population may have some level of vitamin D deficiency.
Some medical studies suggest that sunlight, through vitamin D, can protect children from childhood asthma, while others have hinted at a role for this key vitamin in fighting infections such as tuberculosis.
“Of course, sunlight exposure doesn’t depend exclusively on the amount of solar radiation on the ground, it also depends greatly on occupations and behaviour,” an endocrinologist said.
An analysis of 35 years of near-ground solar radiation data collected from 12 cities suggests that the duration of bright sunshine hours has on average reduced by 12 minutes per decade between 1971 and 2005. Vishakhapatnam on the east coast has shown the most significant loss of bright sunshine hours -- nearly 30 minutes per decade during that period.
“What we’re seeing is not alarming but it isn’t something we can ignore,” said Govindan Pandithurai, an atmospheric physicist at the IITM who is among scientists tracking trends in solar radiation.
Researchers believe a combination of changes in cloud cover, cloud properties and tiny particles of dust, soot, and salts in the atmosphere -- collectively called aerosols -- have contributed to the reduced sunlight.
“But we still need to understand exactly how these components affect sunlight, and which of them is contributing the most at which locations,” Pandithurai told The Telegraph.
The Indian observations are consistent with climate charts generated by the Asian Turfgrass Centre in Thailand that suggest that Calcutta, among 52 cities worldwide, had the second lowest hours of sunlight in September, after Doula in Cameroon.
At the IITM, another atmospheric scientist, B. Padma Kumari, is currently exploring how the observed reduced solar radiation might affect the hydrological cycle over the subcontinent.
“Evaporation over continental India shows a significant decreasing trend -- as would be expected under the trend of decreased solar radiation,” Kumari said.
Agricultural scientists alerted by these studies have launched their own observations to determine whether reduced sunlight hours might in any way influence crop yields, mainly in the Indo-Gangetic plains.
“Any impact on crops will depend on the phase of plant growth during which sunlight is reduced,” said Vadlamudi Uma Maheshwar Rao, director of the All India Co-ordinated Project on Agricultural Meteorology, Hyderabad.
Rao and his colleagues have established 22 sunlight measuring instruments in agricultural universities in different states for daily solar radiation data to correlate sunlight with the growth phase of different cultivated crops.
Sections of atmospheric scientists say human activities such as fossil fuel emissions, biomass burning, and construction can contribute to the load of aerosols in the atmosphere that can obstruct sunlight.
“But we’re not ready yet to quantify the contribution from aerosols to the reduced sunlight,” said Vijay Soni, a scientist at the India Meteorological Department, New Delhi.
Calcutta’s diffuse radiation --sunlight reflected by particles in the atmosphere -- shows a tiny decline by 0.4 per cent per decade. If the solar radiation reduction was because of aerosols, Soni said, the diffused light should have increased.
“On the other hand, Jodhpur has seen a 3.6 per cent radiation decline per decade, but it is not an industrialised city,” Soni said. “Changes in dust load from the Thar desert are likely to be contributing to Jodhpur’s loss of sunlight.”
Kumari said a similar “dimming” trend observed across North America and western Europe during the 1980s appears to have reversed since the early-1990s. “This has been attributed to pollution control measures,” she said.
But scientists believe the properties of clouds and their interaction with aerosols in the tropical regions might be different from those in the northern latitudes. That, Pandithurai said, might also explain the contrast between India and those locations.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Malaysia’s Stunning Green Diamond Building Wins Southeast Asia Energy Prize
The Diamond Building (Bangunan Berlian in Malay), so named for its unique shape, is topped with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, which generate about 10 percent of the building’s energy. Rainwater harvesting systems save about 70 to 80 percent of water usage. The Diamond Building’s inverted pyramid configuration allows more roof space for solar panels and more ground space for greenery. The centerpiece of the building is a large central atrium designed to admit and regulate daylighting using “an automatic roller-blind system responsive to the intensity as well as the angle of the incident sunlight,” according to the Energy Commission.
According to Allan Koay, writing for The Star, the Diamond Building was designed by NR Architect of Kuala Lumpur, with Thai architect Dr. Soontorn Boonyatikam serving as principal for the project. IEN Consultants of Kuala Lumpur provided sustainable design consulting and engineering services.
IEN says that the building “is self-shading for direct solar radiation,” with facades and an atrium “optimized to direct diffuse daylight into the building.” The group says that “The crown of the atrium has spectrally selective glazing and a dynamic shading system balanced so that cool daylight is admitted to the atrium in response to outdoor lighting conditions.” The building’s integrated cooling system utilizes coils embedded in the concrete floor slabs that keep floor and ceiling temperatures between 19 and 21 degrees Celsius.
ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is an international body made up of ten countries in Southeast Asia. The ASEAN Centre for Energy, sponsor of the energy awards program, is an intergovernmental cooperative organization representing the ASEAN nations, established to initiate collective projects focused around energy. The Energy Commission of Malaysia is the country’s energy regulatory body located in the city of Putrajaya, the seat of Malaysia’s federal government.
Read more: Malaysia’s Stunning Green Diamond Building Wins Southeast Asia Energy Prize Energy Commission of Malaysia Diamond Building by NR Architect – Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building
Friday, October 12, 2012
Nobel Peace for EU
OSLO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its historic role in uniting the continent in an award meant as a morale boost for the bloc as it struggles to resolve its debt crisis.
The EU has been a key in transforming Europe “from a continent of wars to a continent of peace,” Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said in announcing the award in Oslo.
“This is a message to Europe to do everything they can to secure what they've achieved and move forward,” Jagland said, saying it was a reminder of what would be lost “if the union is allowed to collapse”.
He praised the 27-nation EU for rebuilding after World War Two and for its role in spreading stability after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.
The prize, worth $1.2 million, will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10. The decision by the five-member panel, led by Jagland who is also Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, was unanimous.
The EU won from a field of 231 candidates including Russian dissidents and religious leaders working for Muslim-Christian reconciliation.
But the EU is mired in crisis with strains on the euro, the common currency shared by 17 nations. The prize was a surprise given the EU's current woes.
And many Norwegians are bitterly opposed to the EU, seeing it as a threat to the sovereignty of nation states. “I find this absurd,” the leader of Norway's anti-EU membership organisation Heming Olaussen told NRK.
“In Latin America and other parts of the world they will view this quite differently than they will from Brussels. The union is a trade bloc that contributes to keeping many countries in poverty.”
Norway, the home of the peace prize, has voted “no” twice to joining the EU, in 1972 and 1994. The country has prospered outside the EU, partly thanks to huge oil and gas resources.
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