Happy Independence Day to my US visitors!!! Long Live Independence of humanity

Tomorrow is the fourth of July, the Independence Day of United States of America so first of all my wishes to all my US vistors.  I have posted the Star Spangled Banner below as a mark of respect for the great leaders who made United States of America what it is today.  

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:

'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,

A home and a country should leave us no more!

Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Though I can't relate to United States history very much as I do to United Kingdom (after all they colonized us for more then 100 years!) but I can relate very well to the aspirations of American people.   I was brought up on a steady diet of  books like Uncle Tom's Cabin, Huckleburry Finn and the story of the Mayflower which gave a vision of a independent state where you can chase your dreams and then live peacefully to cherish them.

Every individual from the north pole to the south pole dreams of a very happy and blissful life for himself and his family but not many get to fulfil the dreams.  The Americas was described as the 'New World' by Columbus and his countrymen and rightly so!  Because it is there, where millions of people aspire to go if they want to live a life they cherish.  Years ago or rather generations ago, the US Civil War taught the world the true meaning of slavery and black and white and yet as of today we find the world mired in the cesspool of ethnic classification and cleansing as the latest issue of Time magazine shows us.     As the world civilisational order gets older and older we are becoming more and more intolerant as more and more nations fight it out to find/alter/add their own individuality among the league of nations.  The more you read into it, the more you feel that the United Nations has become a redundant body with no real powers and a new world order is the necessity of the day.  

Though the 4th of July celebrations may be slightly muted on account of the Boston Marathon Bombings, but I wish that all countries unite like the United States of America in the common aim of bringing safe and secure place to its citizens so that they can laugh, play and breathe the same air without fearing about anything.  No distinctions should be there between caste, creed, gender or sexual orientation.  People should be able to pursue the dream of their life with rightful earnest and live happily ever after to cherish for what they have worked so hard.  Can we change? Yes We Can!

Happy Independence Day

Morsi's War : Mohamed Morsi going down and taking Egypt with him?

Egypt has erupted again and brutally.  As I am typing this article, Morsi has been barred from leaving the country.  As the world prepares itself for the Independence Day of United States of America, we see one of the oldest civilisations slowing going down the pit.  

Egypt as we all know is one of the ancient civilisations.  Over the years from  1952 it was ruled with a iron hand first by Gamel  Abdel Nasser.  It was known as Nasser's Egypt during the time he ruled but it prospered under the iron grip of its Army and Nasser.   After Nasser, Anwar Sadat came to power and shifted his allegiance from US to the USSR of cold war era.  He had opted for USSR due to the continuous aid and  back channel help US gave to Israel in the United Nations General Assembly.   

He rule extended for over a decade and through out his rule he spend maximum time fighting with Israel.  In 1977, Israel and Egypt ended their differences and signed a peace pact.  But Anwar's days were numbered.  In 1981 he was assassinated by a military soldier.  

After Sadat, Hosni Mubarak came to power and rode it strong till 2011. And then it began, the Arab Spring.    The revolution bugle had been sounded in neighbouring Tunisia  and slowly and surely the revolution song had reached the ears of ordinary Egyptians who cared more about Egypt then Mubarak.    They gathered at Tahrir Square and began their demonstrations which were rather peaceful as the Egyptian military took a semi neutral stance.  Mubarak was toppled and people started celebrating the victory with marches and fireworks.  But is was too soon to assume that everything was peaceful.  

Elections happened and Morsi from Islamic Brotherhood was elected with huge majority riding on the wave of change.  But the first thing Morsi did was to expunge the military diktat of dissolving the law makers and making them ministers again.  When the courts overruled his decree, he came out with another decree overruling the courts powers and orders.  

This started the revolution ball rolling again.  El Baradei from secular Constitution Party tweeted that "Morsi today usurped all state powers & appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh"  People took to street again and protest were more fierce then the 2011 ones.

A new power centre emerged.  The Egyption Army which had maintained a slightly indifferent approach to Mubaraks regime took the Morsi decrees as a blot on its uniform.  And now they are a logger heads.  The Army has given Morsi until tonight to absolve himself of the Prime Ministership but Morsi is diffident.   Such is the glue of power.   The people who elected him want him out of office now but he seems to be worse then Mubarak.  Where is he taking Egypt, to hell?

As I have written above, a coup seems imminent in Egypt and hopefully the Army will hand over the reins of power to a democratically elected government like it did the last time.  My only hope is that the next leader doesn't try to become a 'Pharoah' of Egypt.  What is really needs is a good leadership at the helm for at least 15 years to make a smooth transition to true democracy.  As and when the divisive politics will enter the Egyptian leadership there will be another Tahrir Square waiting to happen.

PS Morsi has met his fate and Egypt stands liberated today, but is it really liberated?

The Glory days of Cricket!!! will they ever come back? I don't think so!

With the IPL match fixing at its full glory and news of people betting millions on the outcome of a particular over may have its repercussions and many may be jailed (or maybe not).  But the sole casualty of the whole mess is the game of Cricket.  

Cricket is (or was) a beautiful game which required all the skills of every human skill.  In Football you have to just kick in and make goals, in Boxing you have to smash you opponents jawbone, inversely in Chess you have to out think your opponents moves.  But Cricket requires all of these attitudes.  You have to be fit and agile, you have to a aggressive chap.  And above all you have to out think the opponents.  

I remember the days of John Mc'Enroe and Jimmy Connors when the game of Lawn Tennis was just as beautiful.  The rallies would last hours and each one would try to out think the other. There were these silken volleys and lobs.  If a player hit an Ace it would be a monumental even in the set.  But with time power play seems to have eaten the game of Lawn Tennis as it has eaten up the game of Cricket.

My earliest memories were of 1983 World Cup when we got to watch the matches in colour thanks to Asian Games held in India a year earlier.  When the game of Zimbabwe versus India, due to lack of communications, we were quick to blame Doordarshan for missing such a important match.  It was only later learnt that the BBC staff had gone on strike and till date the footage of that match is not available.  Alas can't enjoy Kapil's 175 not out for any money in the world.

The Cricket in the olden days was about planning, strategy and out doing the opposition in 5 days.  Captains tried different techniques from body line to under arm bowling to win the matches.  The only brute man in the entire history of cricket was Sir Vivian Richards.  He was lethal and brutal and the combination of the two meant misery for opposition.

Those days even draws were worth watching.  I remember Courtney Walsh and Jeff Dujon fighting it out for almost 3 hours in England.  Each and every ball was like a do or die for the West Indies and ultimately they survived to win a draw.    The other match featuring Walsh was 1991 series versus Australia where he partnered with Brian Lara to give West Indies a magnificent win.  The five bowls that he faced from Jason Gillespe were nerve wrenching whether or not you were a West Indies supporter.

Watch that video here courtesy MoodySports

Then there is always the epic innings from our very own Very Very Special Laxman and Rahul 'The Wall' Dravid in Kolkata in 2001.  This match not only won us the match but exorcised many demons troubling the Indian team at that time.  It took patience to watch the elegant defence and silky strokes from both the batsmen.  I can go on and on with these beautiful pieces from history of cricket.

But alas! those days are gone and now cricket has become just a power play game with brawn leading the way.  A test match finishes off in 3 to 4 days and draws seem to be unheard of now a days.  While it keeps the audience happy and the cash registers ringing, the true fans of cricket lament the death of cricket.   There are many arguments about the death of genuine cricket.  Some say 1 day internationals and T20 cricket is to blame while others say the crass commercialization of the sport is to blame.  Who ever is to be blamed, the casualty has been the beautiful game of Cricket.

The cricket now a days about playing to the gallery.

Remembering our founding fathers and national hero's; the Government way of wasting money

143 Crores  that was the amount spent by the UPA-II Government on the advertisements on  birth and death anniversaries of our Founding Fathers and National Heros!!!  

This money which has 7 zeros added to 143 amounts to $ 26 million and belongs to the honest and responsible taxpayers of India.  The money is used to take out full page ads in the national newspapers and regional ones (which of course are pro UPA).  

And the ads displayed often also show a pro-Congress bias with the exception of Bapu, our Father of the Nation.   But that is not the reason why I am writing this article.    Today when I opened the morning newspapers, there was an ad from Government of Maharashtra for inauguration of 1423 cement check dams titled "Turning Crisis into Opportunity..."  The total cost of the completed phase one incidentally equalled to 143 crores.  Same as the amount of ad spend by the Central Government!!!

Whole of India and Maharashtrians know of the terrible drought that has engulfed Maharashtra.  The experts believe this is the worst drought to have hit Maharashtra in decades. Building the dams would assure that this kind of tragedy is not repeated.  You may have already read about the mass suicides from the region of Vidarbha due to poverty.  The main reason for poverty is scant rainfall and inadequate irrigation facilities.  

My reasoning is simple, if the money spent on advertisements on our Founding Fathers and National Heros was spent on these kind of projects, the people of India would be far more happier and the tax payers, whose money is spent on the ads, wouldn't have a thing to complain.  

The second thing I want to point out that the literacy rate of India is around 74 percent.  Which means the 94 billion out of 125 billion Indians are literate. If they are literate then what is the need of informing them about any birthdays or anniversaries.  And for the   31 billion illiterates, the advertisements are of no use as they can neither read nor understand the advertisements.  

I know there are purists out there who argue that we should remember our National Heros but I would argue that spending the above money in some social cause with the name of the national hero would be a rather better way of creating a memorial for times eternal.  This money can be used to develop the naxal prone area(which we all know is naxal prone due to lack of basic infrastructure and rights), or for educating the Indians under Right to Education Act, or for food security under the Food Security Act.  

If nothing else can be done with the money, why not open a fund for the dead soldiers fighting for us on the borders or internally against terrorism or the CPRF Jawans who are killed by naxals.  I am sure the 143 crores will be sufficient for supporting the families of all the valiant martyrs killed in the past few years, protecting our country.

And this is just the national ad spend incurred by the Central Government, the state governments have their own agenda on ad spend.  Mayawati Behen used to come up with two page ads in Mumbai leading newspapers advertising her proud achievements.  I often wondered how advertising in Mumbai about the progress (or elephants statues) in Uttar Pradesh would benefit her or her Government.  Akhilesh seems to have followed her footsteps by giving out ads of his laptops to UP students scheme, printed in Mumbai.  Again the gist of the advertisement is not understood, if he is giving out laptops to the students, its a welcome  and a progressive move, but advertising the same in Mumbai, is a Mumbaikar eligible for the laptops?  No! So, why place these ads in  Mumbai newspapers.  I am at loss to understand the logic!!!

Maybe the Governments have their own logic but I am sure Bapu must be crawling in his grave on such wasteful expenditure.

As explained above, these are my opinions, you may differ but do post in your comments on the infructuous expenditure by our beloved and elected Governments.

Vijay Prabhu

LPG subsidy directly to bank account will start from 1st June, 18 districts to start with, whole country to follow soon!

Remember my tutorial for downloading Aadhaar Card.  In the post I had reported at that time,  that the authorities will soon be moving towards a structure where all the LPG subsidies you are entitled to, will be directly paid into your Aadhaar Card linked bank account.  Now the Government is planning to implement the same in a rightful earnest.  

The authorities are going to start the scheme from June 1, 2013 with 18 districts namely Anantpur, Chittoor, East Godavari, Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy in Andhra Pradesh; Diu in Daman and Diu; North Goa; Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Una in Himachal Pradesh; Tumkur in Karnataka; Pathanamthitta and Wayand in Kerala; Wardha in Maharasthra; Pondicherry; SBS Nagar/Nawanshahar in Punjab and East Nimar (Khandwa) and Harda in Madhya Pradesh.

And from 1st July, 2013, it will be implemented in Mandi and Mysore districts of Karnataka.  The rest of the country is to follow soon in a phased manner.

So if you have not yet heard about this, or linked you Aadhar Card to your bank account you can head over to your branch and do it now.  State Bank of India had advertised a few days back about the fact and invited its customers to link the Aadhar Card to their bank accounts.  

If you are a HP LPG customer and want to know more about linking your Aadhaar Card to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) visit my blog here, wherein the hyperlinks about login to linking are provided.  These links were provided by HPCL itself to me.

Another question many of my friends, readers and colleagues ask? why this additional work or 'Jhanjhat'.  Did you know that around 20 % of LPG cylinders which belonged to you, genuine users, were sold in the black market by operators.  Their modus operandi was simple and straight forward.  They would study your usage pattern and develop a way to assign a cylinder in your name and sell it in black market.

If you required 1 cylinder every month, they would book 2 in your name, deliver 1 to your address and sell the second one at a neat and handsome profit of around 200%.  Even right now after the price rise and restrictions on the LPG cylinders per year,  the residential cylinders are available in black market at Rs.1200.00 and the commercial ones @ Rs.1900.00 (this is the rate in Mumbai).  

So one fine day when all the LPG connections through out the country are linked to a central data base viz UIDAI authority through Aadhaar Card, and the subsidy is directly paid to the users, the leakage and pilferage will stop because everything will be online and no paper money is exchanged.  

Join the Aadhaar revolution, support the Government in its efforts to weed out the black marketeers who themselves are reason for high prices of LPG.

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments please do so in the comment box and I will answer them promptly.

Vijay Prabhu

IPL (Indian Premier League), betting, easy money, spot fixing, match throwing and youngsters playing the game.

image courtesy newsfeederr.blogspot.com

As I had already pointed out with an article at the beginning of the IPL season VI with a heading of  "Indian Premier League, the odds, the schedule and my favourite for this year".  It seems naive that the authorities don't know that IPL is a milking cow for the betting mafia,   it seems that even a kid on the block knows that the IPL is a betting machine but only the BCCI, the IPL organisers and the Police are unaware of the heavy hand of (or turn an blind eye to) betting syndicates in the IPL matches.  Now out of the blue, 3 cricketers, S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested by the Delhi Police on charges of Spot Fixing.   As usual the Indian media circus wants their heads and some even want the IPL to be banned.  How much are they responsible for the whole mess? 

It is fair to hold the young ones guilty?   As all of India knows that the IPL is a cash rich tournament with millions officially changing hands over the player fees, the TV rights, the Internet rights and other pharnaphelia that comes with it like the Cheergirls, the after IPL parties and the Fashion shows, the award nites etc.

Now, if you take out the few players who form the crux of each team, that is the established players and international players. We will work out the simple equation :  The seasoned players who have played for India and are playing for India know the trappings of the fame and the game.  If you take these chaps out you are left with pretty young cricketers playing for each of the franchise.  There are total of approximately 50 players including the playing eleven in each squad.  The IPL VI consists of 9 teams that make a total of 450 players.  In each team there are foreign players, players playing currently for India and veterans.  These players constitute up to approximately 100 players out the total 450 players.  

This leaves us 350 players, who have never played for India and will never be able to play for India for whatever reasons.  Many of these players are taken from the under 19 and under 21 sides of the particular area.  Which means that before IPL they have never faced such a gigantic arena, earned any of the filthy money nor have they seen such insane amount of money being thrown across each game.  They have never been to the parties where the high and mighty  along with the Page 3 regulars visit.  The liquor and the drugs flow throughout the night with much ease.    There is all a man wishes for in his life, money, fame, liquor, drugs, girls and much much more and these boys, remember are only in their teens

In this scenario, a teen, who is only about 19 years of age, who has never seen such extravagant amount of money or fame before and will probably never get to see it again, is most likely to fall for the trappings of the betting syndicate.  The boy who is not mature enough to understand right from wrong, will easily fall prey to easy money, when he sees that everybody is making hay when the sun is shining.  

Ditto for the older guys like Sreesanth, Chandila etc.  They are anyways too old to make a comeback and even their position in the respective teams of IPL for next year is questionable.  So, is it not wise for them to make some quick bucks while there is a chance.  They may have not get a second chance in life any time.

So if you search for truth, it is not the Sreesanths of the world who are to blame but the BCCI and the IPL management which has created a Frankenstein in our midst because of the Government policies.    It is the Government who is playing a hide and seek with the betting mafia by not legalizing the betting in India.

India along with Pakistan are known to have a huge population of betting public.  If these guys don't have any source to legally bet on the games it is but natural, that a parallel form of authority takes over to fill in the vacuum.  The authority to fill the vacuum is the betting mafia.  The mafia keeps everybody happy including the authorities, the players and who so ever questions them because they are making truckloads of money.  They don't mind throwing a few crores here and there to fix or spot fix the matches.  The returns are always 100 times their investments.  

It is a well know fact that the "Matka" is alive and kicking because of help it gets from the authorities.  It is also well know fact that the dry days (days when liquor is prohibited) are actual bonus days for the policemen to make a few extra bucks. 

IF this all has to stop, the Government has to make betting legal and  enforce some kind of taxation on it so that it can contribute something to the exchequer and the development of the country.  But believe me some people want the current situation to continue so more and more hapless and naive cricketers fall prey to the trappings of the IPL.  

Every time we have a scandal we cry over split milk instead of arriving at a reasonable long term solution for the problem.

Vijay Prabhu

Hoorah the Hand wins the race from the Lotus, Congress to form Government in Karnataka

The Congress today managed to secure a comfortable majority over the ruling BJP in the state elections held for Karnataka.  At the time of writing this article Congress had won 118 seats with leads in 3 taking the total to 121.  The BJP and the JDS are tied in the 2nd place at 40 each(lead + wins).  The question in minds of many Indians is how did Congress manage to win the state polls in Karnataka.  With all the 2G,3G, Coal Gate, etc scams how did the Congress leadership find the winning combination.  The answer is not hard to find out.

Over the years, the voting for the General Elections and the State Elections have shown a distinct difference in terms of voters preferences.  For the General Elections, the voters from the cities to the remotest places go with the national agenda like Security, Terrorism, Corruption, Economic policy, Nationalist planks, Governments stability, etc.  But for the State elections the electorate general prefer to vote in a party who they look upon will save their state and take on the path of progress.  

I had visited Karnataka in the month of Feb, 2013 and the first things I noticed that there was absolutely no work being done by the state government for any thing.  The roads were bad, there was no electricity for 2 sometimes 3 days.  The general administration looked asleep for the whole period since Yeddy was ousted from the CM's chair.  When I enquired with the local people, they only had very choice swear words for the incumbent government of led by Jagdish Shettar.  Their main grouse was the electricity, water and roads.  And all the Shettar government had failed on three counts.    Then there were lot of security issues with the bombings in Bangalore etc which led to further downfall of the Shettar government.  

When I was researching for this article I came across a statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.  

 "The people of the country know what is what and they will reject the BJP ideology as the result in Karnataka shows."

I am afraid the Congress election managers have got the result read into, completely wrong.  The win was not for ideology as the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have stated in the the news.  It is a loss for bad governance by BJP.   Only the Finance Minister P.Chidambaram seems to read the situation correctly.  Finance Minister P Chidambaram promised that there will be a stable, progressive and hardworking government in the state for next five years.  And PC is right, this is what the people of Karnataka want.

A very very bad governance which the poor people the Karnataka had to suffer 5 years ultimately resulted in BJP being the door.  Ever since Yeddy was removed from the CMs chair, there has been no developmental work in Karnataka, people who require basic things like electricity, water and roads have waited and waited for 5 years so they can elect somebody who will give them just that.

One of the major mistakes from the BJP election team was not to gauge the mood of the people of Karnataka, because what I learnt from my week long visit, they could already have known.

I guess they already knew it, that is why BJP is hesitant to force the election issue in Loksabha.  It is very well known fact that the Congress is in minority and BJP alongwith the other parties can force a no confidence motion easily but, for the above reason which probably the BJP managers know, they are not sure about the general mood of the public.   

Anyways, the early general elections question has been put off  for now so the Indian public. 

Please write in your and share your views about the Congress win and BJP loss in Karnataka.

Vijay Prabhu

Welcome to the Republic of Scamia, not long ago called the Republic of India

My fellow citizens, it is time for us to change the name of our country to Republic of Scamia (or Scamistan in Hindustani).   We have been no good as Republic of India (Hindustan or Bharatvarsh which ever you prefer) for we have failed as a state to live on the principles of honesty, truth, equality and justice.  However over the years, we are developing very fast as a nation of scheming, money laundering, unscrupulous and corrupt citizens of the world with the political leaders falling over each other to reach the goal of most corrupt.   We are soon going to overtake Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan as the worlds most corrupt country.  This is a time to rejoice and actually is a matter of joy and celebration.  So to celebrate this occasion of becoming the most corrupt country in the world, I place before you Citizens of India, a new name for our country :

REPUBLIC OF SCAMIA

With the new name we will have a new constitution which will make all scams, cheatings, money laundering and illegal hoardings of goods and food grains legal.  In fact the rich and super rich now won't have to go to the snobby bankers of Switzerland, Lichenstein, Cayman Islands, St.Kitts and Nevis, Grand Turk and Caicos Islands etc. to launder their money, for money laundering will be made legal in Scamia.   Not only money laundering will be made legal, it will form a part of our constitution and we shall strive to take over the No.1 place to launder money from these Tax havens by 2020.  

With a new name, we should also have a new currency.  Over the years we have found out that Havala transactions are more accountable than our accounts.  In fact the name Havala grants a degree of respectability to the currency, that is why I propose the new currency of Scamia shall be named as Havala. The symbol of Havala will H.  Havala(H) will overtake US Dollar as the worlds preferred currency by the year 2020, by virtue of being the money of choice for smuggling, money laundering and price manipulating of the shares in the share markets.    Leaders of other corrupt countries will invest in Havala(H) to gain maximum benefits from the fact that it will be No.1 currency in 2020.  This in turn will be win win situation for us as we will hoard and launder money at our will and fancy.  1 Havala(H) shall be equal to 100 Hafta.  Hafta as we know is legal tender in many cities today.  It is a gratification given to the Police and other authorities to turn a blind eye to the illegal business being carried out.  Therefore it is most natural that our sub currency should be named Hafta.

Next on the agenda is the leaders and the public servants.  Only those who prove to be corrupt and have a brain for devising the best methods to take bribe money will be eligible for high posts.  The ones who are most corrupt will be the cabinet ministers.  The less corrupt ones will be named Secretaries etc.  Those less corrupt then them, will be the normal workers for the Government of Scamia   Corruption will be the only criteria for selection of candidates for working in the Government of Scamia    And the Prime Minister will be the one who can tells us convincingly that there are  diamonds in the coal mines in Niyamgiri in Odisha and  oil from the vast Rann of Kutch and sell these to our country men at the highest rate in Havala

With the constitution comes reservations.  I propose that the jobs and seats in colleges be reserved as follows :

Those taking bribes from odinary people like the Traffic police, municipalty, police etc. : 10 %

Those taking bribes from business men : 30 %

Those dealing in coal, 2G, 3G and other G's to follow : 50 %

Rest of reservation will be only for those who take kickbacks in dollars. 

Keeping the constitution in mind, the police and the lower rung bureaucrats, technocrats will be appointed on basis of auctions.  Right from constables to the highest post will be put to auctions.  Those bidding in offshore dollars will be given the highest preference over local Havala(H) bidders.  This will ensure that Havala(H) gains preference over dollar in the international market.

Banking is the mainstay of any nation.  Over the years our banks have failed to launder money on the scale of the masterful Swiss banks.  We will therefore invite the choicest Swiss bankers to Scamia to run our banks for a period of 5 years.  After that, we will learn to launder money ourselves.

We will procure our defence requirements from the likes of Adnan Khashoggi, Dale Stoffel, Dr.Moosa Bin Samsher, Samuel Cummings, Fares Mana'a, Sarkhis Soghanailan(I believe some of their ilk are still free and running the business even more profitably), the Uzbek, Siberian or the Russian Mafia.  Our nuclear requirements can be met by North Korea, Ukrainian Mafia and Iran.  We will enter into Free Trade Pact with Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Ethiopia, Columbia(provided FARC gets into power), Spain (provided ETA gets into power) and Cuba.

We can import oil from Venezuela and Iran, in return we can hurl abuses at USA whenever they want and impose trade and economic sanctions against USA if they so desire(remember Havala(H) will be number one currency).

This is the gist of the new Republic.  If you have any more suggestions, kindly post in your recommendations.  But be sure that they deal with corruptions, scams, money laundering etc.  Honest and truthful views are not allowed and will be view seriously by the Republic of Scamia.

Vijay Prabhu

(This is my take on the current events taking place in India, my country).  If you like my views click on the link to know more!

Chinese rape, Chinese checkers or just plain vanilla imperialism from China

There is a saying in hindi "Haathi ke daat dikhane ke aur hote hai, khaane ke aur" which essentially means that a elephant shows different teeth(tusks) and eats with different teeth.  This saying is apt in respect of the Peoples Republic of China.  What they tell seems to be far different from what they do.

For years after saying that it is not interested in any hegemonistic virtues, the old civilisation is finally showing its true colours.  Earlier in 2012 it was after the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands which are actually in the no mans land in the East China Sea.  Historically these islands were uninhabitated but of late due to discovery of oil the Chinese have started their imperialist land grabbing.  The Japan which also lays claim to the island started of by sending its Navy and in the later parts of the year by cutting of diplomatic relations with China.

The imperialist powers that rule China have now turned their eyes northwards towards the gigantic Himalayan plains.  As per recent reports its troops are squatting 19 km into the Indian territory.  This is the new age hegemonistic and imperial rulers of the Peoples Republic of China which deem insurgency to be a fit weapon. 

The areas which have been encroached upon are ice and glacier laden areas with no use for human habitat but the question remains why is China interested in these land parcels even after it has said that it does not have any hegemonistic tendencies.

This is the bitter truth of today's world, become your chief economic partner and f*** your a** from behind.  This is what China did to Japan and now this is what China is doing to India and this is what it will do to the US(in respect of North Korea) when the time comes.  It is known to the world that the mad cap leader of North Korea survives because of Chinese help and aid.  Every so often whenever the North Koreans need for money or aid in form of food grains, it starts rattling the war cry with the help of its toy nukes.  As always the US, Japan and the South Korea surrender meekly to this great black mail and give aid and food grains to the North Koreans which then keeps quite for next couple of years like a faithful pup. Why does North Korea succeed in its amoral ventures.  Because of the Chinese help, China is the main trading partner of all the three nations in question and they can't seem to make enemies out of the Chinese.

The Chinese have always had an eye for the Indian territories be it the Kashmir or the Arunachal Pradesh.  They have always denied the freedom to the Tibet since they usurped it and named it Tibetan Autonomous Region(TAR) to please the people of Tibet.  In reality, they have slowly and steadily started settling the Han Chinese into the Tibet and in few years to come the Tibetans will be a minority in their own land.    

What makes it even worse, is the Indian leadership or the lack of it it.  We Indians lack a good leader, we lack a good foreign policy and we lack good decision making.  The only leader with outstanding leadership we had was Mrs.Indira Gandhi, despite her emergency decision, she was the only leader who could answer the Chinese with a tit for tat policy.

But the leadership in place today has neither the will nor the whim to stop the Chinese affront.  In fact the leadership does not have a majority in the parliament and hence it is more worried about the elections looming ahead.  But rest assured if the government doesn't take any action soon, the Indian public are known to be unforgiving when it comes to the national pride.  We Indians tend to unite when the going gets tough and when our national honour is in question.  Surely the bosses in New Delhi know of this.

Mr.Narendra Modi, the PM in waiting should come out with a draft plan to deal with the Chinese insurgency and put it in public domain.  This will not only help him win credibility but also give the Chinese a earful.  Because at least they will know that some one is capable of taking them down.

What do you readers feel, should we take the Chinese insurgency lying down or should we face it, kindly write in your comments regarding the same.  If you like my views visit this page to read more.

Vijay Prabhu

Hosting a dinner party at home, a guide to give you essential tips for getting started

Image courtesy shopping.kitchensofindia.com

There is nothing more beautiful than inviting your friends over for a good dinner party so you can enjoy their company and good food.  Be it inviting your boss and his family because you need a promotion or you want to make friends with your uptight colleague.  However throwing a good dinner party is a very messed up idea if you don't go through it in a proper way.  Need help getting started on hosting your a dinner party?  Read on for my tips and share some of your own! Let's party.

1. Always go with your regional dishes.  That is if you are a Punjabi, go for punjabi food, if you are Marathi go for marathi food.  Remember, your friends know you for what you are so, it will be easier for you to go with the tried and tasted food.  Your friends will also enjoy a different cuisine from what they usually have, assuming your friends are not from your own region(a boss never is).

2. Use trusted, make-ahead recipes you've already made at least once.  You can get best ingredients from Kitchens of India here.  They have a mix of every make ahead recipes of almost all regions of India.  Visit their site to get a informed view of various recipes available.

3. Never try out a new dish on the day of the party.  Try out a exotic recipe only when you are alone in the private.  A hashed recipe at a dinner party will doom your party and tarnish your reputation.  

4. I am advising you to go with make-ahead dishes because they reheat well and the more important thing is you wont be slaving away in the kitchen when your dinner party is in a full swing.  This way you wont miss socializing and sharing the latest gossip in the town and your guests wont feel insulted.

5. Fix the ambience in advance.  The ambience of the party is a very important thing.  If you are throwing an outdoor party, remember to order the chairs and fans.  If the party is indoors, start the airconditioner two hours in advance.  If you are having a cocktail party keep the drinks ready with beer in the refrigerator.   Don't go for a themed party till you have become accustomed to throwing parties.   

6.  Have the crockery, cutleries, plates and bowls in place.  If you want the flashy kind of dinner plates like the crystal or bone china ones, no need to purchase them.  They are available on rent, just google it or ask one of your friends who throws parties for the address.  This is much cheaper then buying a entire set.  

7.  Same with housekeeping staff.  Do engage the housekeeping staff for this particular day on rental.  This will help you in clearing the after party mess(its always a pain).  Another advantage of renting housekeeping staff is they are trained in party manners and liveried which always creates a good impression with your guests.

8.  Keep the dessert ready.  Remember a good party is remembered by the last item of the day.  The people who visit you wont remember the fancy Scotch you poured them, the fancy dish you service them but a good dessert will always be remembered.  After all the sweets and ice-cream sober up even the most die hard alcoholics.

9. Always keep the telephone number of the nearest hotel serving good food ready.  This helps in case of calamities like food vessel falling, food going bad or even when you get more guest then expected.

10.  There is nothing to write here.  Just have a good party.  Remember the best way to a man's heart is through is stomach so a good party to your boss will help get you that promotion you so desperately seek.

Vijay Prabhu

Whose money is it anyway? A perspective into the shrouded workings of ONGC Videsh Ltd.

No doubt, readers may have heard the name of ONGC Videsh Ltd., the sister company of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.  It was set up in 1989 to be a procuring agency for India's gas needs by buying up oil fields around the world.  The company has right now purchased up to 14 Projects in 16 countries.  The company was actually set up to be based on the mighty Chinese Oil Co's like CNOOC, CNPC and Sinopec.  However over the years with big ticket investments from the TAX PAYERS money, the company has been involved in oil exploration in the Myanmar, Russia, Vietnam, Iraq,  Syria,  Libya, Nigeria, Sudan and South Sudan,| Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela and Kazakhstan.  

The figures that OVL is investing are not reported or divulged to the tax paying public who are funding these projects.  We only get to hear once in a while that OVL has invested $5 billion in so and so field, OVL has invested $2 billion in so and so field.  What really is not easy to digest is that despite of being in oil exploration business the Company doesn't have any information on the exact amount of investment it made using our money or the quantity of oil produced by it.  As of today, we still hear that 80 to 85 % of our oil needs are to be imported from the oil producing companies.  

The OVL doesn't even have a website of its own and the only page it has on the ONGC website gives a broad view of the companies giant plans which are hard to digest in view of the fact that even after being in business for 22 years, why are we still importing so much oil.  The ONGC website states thus :

OVL has build up a sound Oil and Gas Reserve base since 2001. As on 1st April 2012, the remaining 1P and 2P reserves are 193.38 MMTOE (Oil 98.30 MMT, Gas 95.08 BCM) and 392.70 MMTOE (Oil 250.45 MMT, Gas 142.25 BCM) respectively in 9 countries.

If OVL is using our money, we the ordinary, tax paying citizens should know the exact amount it has invested and the exact amount of oil it is drilling and shipping to India.  What is a reserve of any use to India, if the oil is not being brought here to shield us against the vagaries and indecent fluctuations of the price of oil in the markest.  

But as per my research, the investments of OVL are shrouded in a big veil of secrecy with only certain facts being reported in the media.

My questions to the OVL are simple and should be in a public realm as we the tax payers should know the following.  How much of our money has been invested in the overseas fields.  How does OVL explain the investments in the following countries which I believe are violent and not good for doing business.  How has it improved our oil situation since 1989?

Myanmar : Civil unrest, Military Junta ruling the country

Iraq : Civil war

Syria : The dirtiest civil war and genocide against fellow citizens by the ruling elite

Libya : Civil war

Nigeria : Civil war

Sudan and South Sudan : Civil war and Taliban presence

How does the management explain investing our hard earned money in the above countries, whose future can not be guaranteed by the countries themselves, leave alone others. 

The only countries which are stable as of today are the Russia, Vietnam, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela and Kazakhstan but the investment made in these countries, too has never been made public nor there are any reports of the output the fields in these countries are giving.

I believe in the mantra of Government has no business to be in business and if it is indeed in a business, then the information of the investments it makes should be in the public realm.    This is the hard earned money which the tax payers pays to the government for secure living, after all.

Kindly write in about if you feel what I am saying is correct or otherwise.  If you want to read my views about the happenings in the world click here!

Vijay Prabhu

Shortcut to doubling your money, why Indians always fall prey to ponzi schemes which promise to make you a millionaire

I take it that every body of the 125 billion people of India wants to be a billionaire in quick time or else time and again why would people, especially the lower middle class fall prey to the various schemes offering to double or sometimes triple your money in six months or a year.  How can Indians believe that a person or an entity can pay them double or triple times the money they have invested when the banks and Government securities do not pay that much.  

Over the years I have watched my friends, relatives and neighbours fall prey to various schemes where they had invested their life's hard earned money in foolish schemes, with a hope of doubling their investment in the shortest period possible.  And 99 people out of 100 have lost money.  The 100th man is lucky because the schemers often pay one in 100 to prove that their scheme is worth investing and to garner faith among the thousands of idiots who will put their hard earned money in these schemers hands.

My heart goes out to the millions of investors of Saradha, who may have lost their life long earning in the schemes floated by Saradha only to realise that there is no gold at the end of the rainbow.  Time and again we here that somebody has lost his or her lifetime earnings in such schemes and yet none of us learn anything from it. This really saddens me.

In Mumbai in the 1990s, Mr.Sherekar wreaked havoc with the money of simple BEST drivers and conductors.  Sherekar promised to give double the investment in 6 months and in no time he had all the employees of BEST, their relatives and persons known to them, flocking his doors to invest their money.  As the beginning, as it happens with all ponzi schemes, Mr.Sherekar started paying double in six months.  A select few took the doubled amount and were lucky but most of them, then reinvested the doubled amount with Sherekar only to lose all their earnings.    This happened in front of my eyes and when I warned my friends, they took me to be a idiot for not investing money with Mr.Sherekar.  Alas! time proved I was right and they lost their money. 

The story keeps repeating, every now and then we here somebody losing money to some scam.  As it is we have more then enough scams and then to lose money in one of these is really heart wrenching.  As per Government figures, 87 companies have vanished after raising Rs.342.00 crores from ordinary people like you and me.  Rs.342.00 crores is hellua lot of money.   People may say that Government is not doing enough to catch these schemers, but what can the Government do if we Indians believe in chasing impossible dream of minting millions without any work.  Mind you these is the number of the crimes reported.   The number may be in at least 1000 crores if you add the unreported, next door schemes that are taking place even right now.

The most common system of Ponzi is multi-level Marketing.  In this set up the Ponzi of the Chief Cheater sets up a marketing company and tells you to buy some literature or goods to be sold and promises you that every referral (more often your relatives and friends) will bring you certain returns.  After that your referral will bring their referrals and ultimately you just have to sit at home and enjoy the earnings.  You may invest up to lakhs of Rupees for the first time and over time the Ponzi promises you returns in crores(it is always in crores).  You make a fool out yourself and invest in the scheme and then start searching for other fools, more often in your circle of friends or relatives.  After collecting the amount the Chief Cheater just vanishes and you blame the gods, your destiny, write off the loss and go on with your life.

Most of the time these MLM guys are well versed with human psyche and will brainwash you with very good presentations and with meetings with people who have already earned crores(these people are a party to the scheme).  They will tell you that ATTITUDE is 100 % (where a=1, b=2 etc. attitude comes to 100) and other extremely good stuff, show you dreams about the crores and within no time you are sold to the idea.  So sold that you are willing to cheat your friends and relatives and sell them the scheme.

Not so long ago, many lost their money in the SpeakAsia scandal,  Sanjeevani scandal and remember the host of the tree plantation companies which sprung up overnite to loot you with a dream of owning a tree and making you millionaire.  

A new type of scheme which caught my eye is that you invest a certain amount monthly with a jeweller for 11 months and they will give you 12 instalment from their pocket.  Sounds great but wait a minute there is a catch.  After completion of 12 months you get to purchase the jewellery in their shop (this lot is kept separate and you have to buy from it), it is more costly and it will have a diamond you don't need, and always be at least three times the amount you have saved.  So ultimately you are fooled by the ingenuity of the schemers and end up buying jewellery you don't need.

My only request to my fellow Indians is to be aware of one thing in life, there is no shortcut to success or life, the only ways to make obscene kind of money are to join bollywood or to make money in the Share market, currency or the commodities trade and here too only 1 in a million survive.  So why not live your own live as God willed it instead of chasing the unnecessary millions which will never be yours.

Remember you are as guilty as the ponzi, cheaters, scammers or what ever you call it if you are part of it.  Your guilt is your dream which makes you think you will mint millions without any sweat.

Please write in your experiences with the swindlers so that you can protect others from falling prey to this menace!  If you liked this article and want to check out my other Op Ed articles click here.

Vijay Prabhu

Are we secure medically as a nation, how does Modern Healthcare touch lives and are we aware of it?

India is a pretty young nation with having completed just 66 years of independence.  Considering the fact that USA and other developed nations are far more mature to us in practically everything from human rights to medical treatment, we are lucky to have these nations as our allies in medical field.  Because as we are growing you will find the day and age of us die of natural causes is way past us.  That 99 percent of Indians will die of some ailments is a simple truth.  Gone are the days when you died a natural death, if you look around you you will find that all around you there is some kind of sickness .  Added to that the pressure cooker style of life we live, where we start our day with immense stress to end our day with sleeping pills only adds to the requirement of a good medical infrastructure in India.  

However, if you step outside in the streets you will find that each and every hospital in India is now named as a "super speciality" "multi speciality" or even "super specialized multi hospital" when in reality they do not even have capable doctors or the facilities on their panel.  Frankly I do not know how they are certified or how they put their names thus.  

In this scenario, considering the hyper stress full life we live in, we should be aware of true and genuine good hospitals giving out best treatment in India.  It is true that India has developed medically leaps and bounds due to key reforms in the medical sector including opening up of the sector.   And along with the low fees being charged by Indian hospitals compared to the western facilities it make a good sense to get your and your near and dear ones treated here.

Even the Middle Eastern and Asians come to India for medical treatment given the expertise and low cost benefits they incur.  A Knee replacement operation cost comparision is given below

Country	UK sterling price including hospital and doctors’ fees	US dollar equivalent	Percentage saving on UK price
UK	£9,500	$16,625
Bulgaria	£2,784	$4,872	71%
Cyprus	£6,842	$11,974	28%
Estonia	£5,410	$9,468	43%
France	£7,300	$12,775	23%
Germany	£6,500	$11,375	32%
India	£3,602	$6,304	62%
Norway	£7,800	$13,650	18%
Panama	£6,152	$10,766	35%
Poland	£4,770	$8,348	50%
Portugal	£8,500	$14,875	12%
Slovakia	£9,546	$16,706	0%
Spain	£7,666	$13,416	19%
Thailand	£4,816	$8,428	49%
Tunisia	£3,600	$6,300	62%
Turkey	£4,100	$7,175	57%
Venezuela	£4,870	$8,523	49%

In this graph you will find that India, Bulgaria and Tunisia are cheaper by as much as 60 to 70 % over the UK price however the other issue is security.  India offers a very good, secure and world class facility along with easy travel norms.  So if so many foreigners are coming to India, why should Indians go out to seek medical treatment at three times the cost excluding the airfare and domicile charges.  It makes no sense.

The medical field in India has grown leaps and bounds since the entry of the corporations in the Hospice business.  Few can match the expertise and costs benefits that these good Indian hospitals give you.  Add to that they have the latest equipment and a very capable team of internationally acclaimed doctors.  So much so that even citizen of the US prefer to get their treatment done here.

Among the corporate hospitals, Apollo Hospital Group stands out.  With branches in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Madurai, Mysore, Vizag among other cities this group fast expanding group has spread out all over India.  With best medical facilities and corporate style transparent structure the group has already made a name for itself.  It even has international branches in Dhaka and Mauritius.  You can visit its website to know about details here.

The dream of a ideal, stress free life is just a dream in today's hyper polluted environment.  Therefore it is always healthy to know the best of the best medical facilities you have.  In many cases when a emergency occurs in a family, because we love the dear one who needs treatment, we tend to rush him or her to the nearby nursing home or hospital.  This has happened to me and it may have happened to you.  More often than not, you will find that the nursing home or hospital is not competent to handle the emergency and then you have to shift to a good hospital.  Therefore it is always useful to know about the best medical facilities along with the equipment and doctors they have so you can rest assured that your near and dear one is a good hands.

This are my views and your views may differ, please write in your comments on this article and help me help others.  If you are interested in Op-ed pages click here

Vijay Prabhu