Citizen Journalism

This is about citizen journaliin which is related to my previous topic .

Citizen journalism is a forum that citizens use  to express what happened at a particular place and also provide inputs like photos , audios and videos of what they captured at the spot where  something eventful had happened.

This sort of journalism places control in the hands of the "AAM AADMI" and lets the world know what is happening on the ground, or at least lets the world formulate its own opinion.

This would also aid in swift reaction times and will help people in networking.    

It makes use of the fast growing "WWW" which is the greatest invention or let us say development of our times.

In India with over a billion population and vis-�-vis a billion opinions this would help in getting the views from all parts of society. To aid in this we should enable the villages of India with cheap Internet. facilities.

Having said that I know that it is no easy task but would call for some intelligent investment form our representatives as a whole.

This Article is reproduced from my previous blog -

http://blogs.rediff.com/shaileshmangayil/ 

Rewriting History

I heard very recently from a very reliable Chinese source an interesting part of their history. The emperor of one of their prominent dynasties it seems destroyed all the accumulated literature and records of the dynasties before him thus laying waste the accumulated wealth of centuries.

Due to this despotic and ruthless act today many young Chinese don’t know their history , or atleast what transpired before the emperor in question
embarked on his history rewriting.

This brings me to India where we have a bad record of maintaining our history. This is quite sad as their is no other country in the world with such a diversity of art forms
and such a rich culture. As the phrase goes “You know where you are going only if you know where you are coming from”


This Article is reproduced from my previous blog -

http://blogs.rediff.com/shaileshmangayil/ 

Great Books Part I -Arms and The Man

"Arms and the Man" is a drama by G.B Shaw the doyen of English literature.

Now let me tell you the best thing about this is that it is a drama where the interaction between the different characters is brought out splendidly.

The drama brings out beautifully that looks and social standing are not the ingredients of true love. For two people to come together it is' more of a joining together of two souls. The joining together of the male and female power Yin and Yang or Shiva and Shakti.

The best thing about Shaw is all his dramas have an underlying social message but at the same time he doesn't get too preachy. He substitutes that with excellent comedy. I would call him one of the best comedian-dramatists after Oscar Wilde. His brand of comedy is not very in-the-face but very subtle. Most of the dialogues can make you roll over clutching your stomach and at the same time make you think.

Who can forgret Raina and Louka. The one character I love the most is the inimitable Captain Buntschli ; the character with both a heroic and comical side to him .Somehow

I always associate Captain Buntschli with Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind". Both seem to be similar in many ways.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes social satire. This drama pokes fun at the prevailing notions of heroism in the times in which George Bernard Shaw lived. I would always regard this book as a masterpiece of English literature.   

This Article is reproduced from my previous blog -

http://blogs.rediff.com/shaileshmangayil/

Great Books Part II - On the Beach

“On the Beach” by Neville Shute is one of the most haunting books I have read.
This is one book which has made me sad for days. And I think thats exactly what the author intended.
The book tells the story of some people in Australia who prepare for the after effects  of a nuclear war which took place somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere.(Its been years since I read the book and my memory is a bit hazy, so forgive me for that).
The story is so powerful that it will make you a staunch supporter of nuclear disaramament .
The greatness of Mr.Shute is that the ending of the story id done in a very great way.

This Article is reproduced from my previous blog -

http://blogs.rediff.com/shaileshmangayil/

Onam

Onam

Jan Lok Pal vs Government Draft of Bill

Recently Kiran Bedi tweeted a PDF which highlights the difference between Jan Lok Pal and the Government Draft of the Bill. There will be discussion in parliament regarding this tommorrow.

I am reproducing the link below of the PDF :

http://forum.lyricsmint.com/downloads/Difference-between-Jan%20Lokpal-and-Govt-Lokpal-lyricsmint-forum.pdf

With regards to this also saw a interview given by Kapil Sibal the Union HRD minister to Karan Thapar in Devil's Advocate on CNN-IBN. Kapil Sibal mentioned two key points of note regarding the government's reservations on Anna's bill. He said if the bill were expanded to all officers beyond class A officers and also to MP's and also to state level, it will be a huge beauracracy and needs to be considered if we need to freely give powers to such a behemoth. There is a significant difference in budget allocated by the two bills. Team Anna says not more than 0.25% of revenue. Governemt says it will be decided by Minister of Finance. I would give this point to Team Anna but it needs to be thoroughly discussed in parliament. I feel financial independence of Lok Pal is a must. Also Kapil's point on investing a huge behemoth with these powers needs to be discussed.

An important point to note is that the government has agreed to Lok Pal having an independent investigation agency all to itself ; whether this will be the CBI's corruption board or a totally new one needs to be discussed. Altogether this protest seems to have yielded positive results as the government i open to discussion.

Anna Hazare

I am reproducing a couple of links below which struck me as very intresting vis-a-vis Anna's protest going on now.

Some people say the changes which Anna is suggesting won't bring about a difference and that a Lok Pal body won't succeed in eliminating corruption.They say there should be a change in attitude in the Indian public and they should stop encouraging corruption.

The CNN New Delhi correspondent brought out a valid point in that Anna's supporters were largely from the urban middle class which is the community which is largely affected by corruption. I diagree ; the middle class in any nation is the class which normally drives the public opinion, but the outcome of this protest affects every class.

Also there were some valid points brought about by Prasoon Joshi, Shabana Azmi and Suhel Seth in the CNN-IBN debate chaired by Barkha Dutt. Suhel Seth said the protest shows the strength of the Indian democracy and augurs well even though it may not amount to much in the end.

Prasoon Joshi rightly siad that Anna if not for anything else has succeded in awakening the Indian youth and in mainstreaming the debate against corruption. Shabana Axmi pointed out that if the movement does not lead to anything eventful then it will be a let down on the youth who participated in this campaign. Prasoon had mentioned earlier that the youth is largely uncorrupted than the rest, and I will agree with him.

Away from these talking points is the comparison the Indian media is making between Tehreek Square and Jantar Mantar. I beg to differ . There is no similarity. Egypt is not a democracy and they fought for a democracy by overthrowing Mubarak. We are working within the ambit of a democracy against corruption. Our situation is better.

I am reproducing Home Minister Chidambaram's admirable speech in Parliament:

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/chidambaram-justifies-the-imposition-of-sec-144/208138

The Barkha Dutt "Buck Stops Here" discussion here:

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-buck-stops-here/annas-campaign-india-interrupted/208274

CNN Coverage:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/08/18/india.hazare.corruption.strike/index.html