[Assam] From Outlook India

[umesh sharma]

C-da,
   
  I was just being sarcastic - trying to learn from u.
   
  I may add that last Sunday I was with a group outside Indian embassy in DC - shouting slogals and held a candlelight vigil - to protest against the spate of about 150,000 farmers' suicides in India over the past decade. A farmer from Tamil Nadu was with us. We later submitted a memorandum to embassy officials. Most farmers are dying in Maharashtra - from where Sharad Pawar -the current Agriculture minister (and former Maharashtra state Chief Minister) hails from.
   
  Umesh

Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
        You missed the whole idea here Umesh.
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  At 8:59 PM +0000 12/15/06, umesh sharma wrote:
  multi-tasking!!      it seems Indians are picking up this latest western fad:-)     Umesh

Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
  Enjoyed this piece by Rajinder Puri. He says it like it oughta be. :-).

cm



Bull's Eye

RAJINDER PURI

Versatility is a great attribute. It creates men for all seasons.
India has many versatile men. Take K.P.S. Gill. He is hailed as the
nation's foremost expert on terrorist insurgency. He is advisor to
the Chhattisgarh state for fighting terrorism. Chhattisgarh is the
heart of Maoist activity. With a third of the districts of rural
India under Maoist control, terrorist insurgency poses a huge threat.
But this 24-hour responsibility does not prevent the versatile Gill
from pursuing his other passion: hockey.

Though president of IHF, one isn't sure if Gill ever held a hockey
stick except when clobbering someone on the head. But one cant
question his passion. Alas, he loves hockey too well, but not too
wisely. After he took over, India's hockey team has slid down to
last-but-one in world rankings. Meanwhile, terrorist insurgency
escalates unchecked.

Consider another versatile genius, Sharad Pawar. He is among India's
shrewdest politicians. He is the agriculture minister. He must look
after farmers. Farmers, unfortunately, are committing suicide in
hundreds across the nation due to debt. Pawar's hands are full, but
not so full as to prevent him from grabbing a cricket bat. Using his
formidable political skills, Pawar got elected as the BCCI president.
It was a magnificent achievement. The BCCI chief is not ranked as
high as the president of India. But he is considerably richer.
Cricket has become a lucrative commercial pursuit. Indeed, one is
unsure whether Pawar's passion is aroused by the game or by its
riches.

Unfortunately, as Indian cricket grows richer, its quality tends to
become poorer. After Pawar's ascendancy it has sunk to its lowest
ebb. However, until now neither cricketers nor cricket fans have
committed suicide. One is sure Pawar will prevent them from
undergoing the fate that befell the unfortunate farmers who were
beyond his help. Cricket, after all, is a priority issue. It feeds
entertainment to the entire nation.

Or does it? Last week, an NDTV-Hindi opinion poll discovered that 96
per cent thought the national attention paid to cricket was
ridiculous and insane. Only four per cent justified cricket's
equation with religion. But this was a Hindi TV channel. Does its
audience matter? An opinion poll in an English channel would give us
a correct picture-- such as was projected by our honourable MPs.
Cutting across parties they demanded the expulsion of our cricket
team's coach, Greg Chappell.

Foreigners, quit our cricket! Inquilab zindabad!

_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
assam at assamnet.org
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
  


Umesh Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park,
(Washington D.C. Metro Region)
MD 20740

1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
website: www.gse.harvard.edu/iep
                      
---------------------------------
    Try the all-new Yahoo! Mail . "The New Version is radically easier to use" – The Wall Street Journal  




Umesh Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, 
(Washington D.C. Metro Region)
MD 20740 

1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
website: www.gse.harvard.edu/iep
 		
---------------------------------
 Inbox full of spam? Get leading spam protection and 1GB storage with All New Yahoo! Mail.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.assamnet.org/pipermail/assam-assamnet.org/attachments/20061215/e97c1d52/attachment.htm>