Mahatma Gandhi Remembered: Sid Harth

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/gandhi-jayanti-birth-anniversary-mahatma-gan=
dhiji

Gandhi Jayanti: Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhiji
by jjenet | October 1, 2009 at 11:35 pm

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Videos
Mahatma Gandhi's unseen interview given before indepence

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sourced by jjenet

Photos
Mahatma Gandhiji | Photo 02

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Today is Gandhi Jayanti, celebrated as the birth anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhiji popularly known as the Father of the Nation. Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi is officially honored in India as the Father of the
Nation and so 2nd Ocober, every year is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti,
a national holiday, and the International Day of Non-Violence
worldwide. This day is marked by prayer services and tributes all over
India, especially at Raj Ghat, Gandhi2s memorial in New Delhi where he
was cremated.

He was the chief leader of India in its independence movement. He is
known for his invaluable contribution in India's freedom struggle. His
principles of truth, non-violence, peace and honesty are still
remembered today. Mahatma Gandhi's contribution towards bringing peace
and non-violence to this world is unparalleled.

His tireless endeavor to make people understand the basic happiness of
life is to be happy with whatever you have, thus showing the only way
to save the world. His teachings must be promoted to resolve current
conflicts, avoid violence, find peaceful solutions and to make our
world a better place to live. It is his philosophy and morals of life,
which will make keep alive in our minds forever.

Gandhi Jayanti (1869-1948)

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of peace and
the father of the nation was born on 2 October 1869 at Porbandar in
Gujarat. In his autobiography My experiments with Truth Gandhi recalls
that his childhood and teen age years were characterised by education
in a local school, marriage to Kasturba at the age of 13 and an
intrinsic love for 1truth2 and 1duty2.

At the age of the eighteen, he went to England to study law. In 1891,
Gandhi returned to India and set up practice at Rajkot. In 1893, he
received an offer from an Indian firm in South Africa. With his two
minor sons and Kasturba, he went to South Africa at the age of twenty-
four. Colonial and racial discrimination showed its ugly colours in
the famous train incident, when he was thrown off the compartment
meant for the 1Sahibs2. During his more than two decades of stay in
South Africa, Gandhi protested against the discriminating treatment
that was meted out to Indians. He protested against the Asiatic
(Black) Act and the Transvaal Immigration Act and started his non-
violent civil disobedience movement. A satyagrahis camp known as the
Tolstoy Farm was established at Lawley, 21 miles from Johannesburg, on
30 May 1910, in order to shelter the satyagrahis and their families.
The South African Government had to heed to the voice of reason and in
1914 repealed most of the obnoxious acts against the Indians. The
weekly Indian Opinion (1903) became Gandhiji chief organ of education
and propaganda.

Gandhi returned to India in 1915. After an interrupted stay in
Santiniketan in February-March, 1915, Gandhi collected his companions
of Phoenix and established the Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad city.
This was shifted in June 1917 to the banks of the Sabarmati. This
Ashram became platform for carrying out his cherished social reforms
prime among which were Harijan welfare rehabilitation of lepers and
self-reliance through weaving Khadi.

Between 1917 and 1918 Gandhi participated in two peasant movements in
Champaran (Bihar) and Kaira (Gujarat) and in the labour dispute in
Ahmedabad itself. World War I ended on 11 November 1918; Gandhi
protested against the Rowlatt Bills and founded the Satyagraha Sabha
(28 February 1919). The end of the World war also saw the
dismemberment of the Khilafat (Caliphate). This hurt the Indian
Muslims deeply. Gandhi was approached for counsel; and in a meeting of
the All India Khilafat Conference on 24 November 1919, he proposed
that India should respond by non-violent non-cooperation.

For Gandhi 1Non-violence2 and truth were two inalienable virtues. He
summed up the entire philosophy of his life as: "The only virtue I
want to claim is truth and non-violence. I lay no claim to super human
powers: I want none".

1926 was declared by Gandhi to be his year of silence. His famous
march to Dandi in March 1930 started a countrywide movement to violate
the Salt-Law. Gandhi was arrested on 4 May 1930, and the Government
struck hard to crush the movement, but failed. So Gandhi was set free
on 26 January 1931; and following a pact between him and the British
Viceroy, Lord Irwin (5 March 1931), he was prevailed upon to represent
the Congress at the second Round Table Conference in London. Gandhi
was completely disillusioned with the attitude of the British, which
had renewed its policy of ruthless repression. As a result the Civil
Disobedience Movement was resumed in January 1932.

Gandhi was in prison when the Communal Award was announced in August
1932, providing for the introduction of separate electorate for the
Depressed Classes. He opposed this attempt to divide the Hindu
community and threatened to fast unto death to prevent it. He started
his fast on 20 September 1932. It created consternation in the
country, but the situation was saved by the conclusion of the Poona
Pact, which provided for special reservation of seats for the
Depressed Classes in legislatures, but under joint electorate.

On 8 May 1933 he announced a fast for 21 days for the Harijan cause.
After coming out of prison Gandhi devoted himself exclusively to the
cause of the 1Harijans2. The weekly Harijan now took the place of the
Young India, which had served the national cause from 1919 to 1932.
After 1934 Gandhi settled down in Sevagram near Wardha to form a new
Centre for his enlarged Constructive Programme, which included Basic
Education (1937), designed to bring about the universalisation of
education.

In 1942, his 1Quit India" slogan was to serve as the final signal to
British dominion in India. The partition of India and Pakistan came as
a personal shock to Gandhi. When the nation was rejoicing independence
(1947), Gandhi went to Naokhali to ameliorate the conditions of the
communal riot victims. On 30 January 1948, Gandhi was assassinated in
New Delhi.

The man of the century had the courage of heart and spirit of the
unafraid. His life and teaching reflect the values of this country and
the values of humanity. He had been a beacon light to an army of
freedom fighters who practised non-violence in world and deed.

Source: http://www.rrtd.nic.in

A small message he conveyed to us through this meaningful hymn.

'Vaishnav Jan Toh Tene Kahiye' is a very popular Hindi bhajan which
was Mahatma Gandhi's favorite. It was composed by the Gujarati Poet-
Saint Narsinh Mehta from Gujarat in the 15th century.

A god like man is one,
Who feels another's pain,
Who shares another's sorrow,
And pride does disdain.

Who regards himself as the lowliest of the low,
Speaks not a word of evil against any one,
One who keeps himself steadfast in words, body and mind,
Blessed is the mother who gives birth to such a son.

Who looks upon everyone as his equal and has renounced lust,
And who honors women like he honors his mother,
Whose tongue knows not the taste of falsehood till his last breath,
Nor covets another's wordly goods.

He does not desire wordly things,
For he treads the path of renunciation,
Ever on his lips is Rama's holy name,
All places of pilgrimage are within him.

One who is not greedy and deceitful,
And has conquered lust and anger,
Through such a man Saint Narsaiyan has a godly vision,
Generations to come, of such a man, will attain salvation.

Noted Indian author and columnist Khushwant Singh had, in a column
written for The Hindustan Times, published his English rendering of
Bapu Gandhi's favorite hymn (bhajan) 'Vaishnav Jan Toh Tene Kahiye'

Comments (2)

0 reply

Paschen
at 02:42 on October 2nd, 2009

A remarkable man and certainly a model that our World leaders and each
of us would do well to follow.

0 reply

57danesller0127
at 05:16 on October 2nd, 2009

Mahatma Gandhi, A great leader... believed in non-violence and
simplicity, His simple attire became a subject of great contemplation
and ridicule in western nations...

...and I am Sid Harth

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/foreign-memorabilia-commemorates-swadeshi-ga=
ndhi

"Foreign" Memorabilia Commemorates Swadeshi Gandhi
Share: by Mritunjay | October 1, 2009 at 01:00 pm

78 views | 8 Recommendations | 6 comments

Photos
Foreign Memorabilia Commemorates Swadeshi Gandhi

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As the world remembers Mahatma Gandhi on his 140th birth anniversary
today Mont Blanc GMBH decided to pay its homage to the Mahatma in its
own unique way. The premium pen manufacturer decided to launch a
limited edition pen valued at INR 11,80,950 (USD 24,763) this week.
The company announced that it will release just 241 pieces of this pen
to coincide with the number of miles Gandhi walked to protest the levy
of tax on salt by British in 1930.

As the nation which is projected as one of the major economic forces
of the 21st century still grapples with basic problems like health,
education and security launch of a luxury pen making Mahatma a sort of
3brand-ambassador4 is not going down well with many people. Amit Modi
the Secretary of Sabarmati ashram which Gandhi started said, "If he
(Gandhi) had seen this, he would have thrown it away, I cannot imagine
why anybody has done this." Gandhi was a fierce supporter of locally
produced goods (Swadeshi) and used bare essentials I his life. It can
only be called an irony that to commemorate the birthday of the
Mahatma a luxury brand was launched. India2s per capita GDP is pegged
at INR 38, 084.

The pens are hand-made, adorned with Gandhi's signature and a saffron-
colored opal. They come with an eight-meter (26-foot) golden thread
that can be wound around the pen to invoke the spindle Gandhi used to
weave plain cotton cloth each day. Mont Blanc operates 16 boutiques
across India and said that the initial response was overwhelming in
the country where the demand for luxury brands has started to peak up.

While all the discussions are on, Oliver Goessler, Mont Blanc's
regional director for India, Africa and the Middle East, said that
it2s all been done with good intentions and a share of all the sales
proceedings go to charity. Goessler also noted that Mont Blanc Chief
Executive Lutz Bethge, on Tuesday handed over a check for 0 100, 000
(USD1,45,666) to Gandhi's great grandson, Tushar Gandhi, for a
foundation that works to improve child nutrition and education. He
also announced that the foundation will get an additional INR 10, 000
to 50, 000 (USD210 - 1,050) for every piece of pen that gets sold. The
pen manufacturer also announced launching an economy version of 3,000
roller ball and fountain pens priced at INR 1,52,850 - 1,73,690
(USD3,205 - USD3,642) has also been launched.

Though the firm may feel good about the economy version being
3accessible4 with over 450 Million Indians still earning less than INR
75 (USD 1.5) per day it2s anybody2s guess how affordable it is for an
average Indian.

The nation also payes homage to ex-Prime Minister Late Lal Bahadur
Shastri on his birthday today.

Comments (6)

1 reply

65a211423
at 13:27 on October 1st, 2009


I am reluctant to comment as an American because here not many famous
people are spared being marketed including those who are alive or
dead. I understand the concern of Ghandi's memory being trivialized
by selling pens to an elite class while so many Indians live below the
poverty line.

Here we can commermorate Ghandi's memory in remembering the powerful
impact he had in the U.S. by influencing the use of civil disobedience
in the causes for minorities and women. Perhaps they should use the
pens to write about the values and deeds of his life. He changed the
world, and that is his great gift and legacy.

0 reply

Mritunjay
at 15:00 on October 1st, 2009


a211423 I completely agree to your point and hope that today when
people are still dying of hunger and starvation around the world, we
will caring people who spare thought for the needy. Gandhi was more
than a man he was an ideology.


0 reply

65a211423
at 15:14 on October 1st, 2009

Gandhi was more than a man he was an ideology.

I echo your words.

0 reply

Mritunjay
at 17:32 on October 1st, 2009

Update:

Now an Indian Court has issued notices to the Indian Union Govt., Mont
Blanc International GmBH and other respondents in wake of a writ
petition filed by Dijo Kappen, managing trustee of the Centre for
Consumer Education at Pala in Kottayam, Kerala, India.

The petition alleges that the luxury pen which costs more than INR 13
Lakh is a derogation of national honor given the fact that Gandhi was
an idol of simplicity. A bench comprising of Chief Justice S.R.
Bannurmath and Justice A.K. Basheer at the Kerala High court issued
the notice.

- http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/02/stories/2009100261101000.htm

1 reply

Mritunjay
at 18:59 on October 1st, 2009

It's also nor widely known that on June 15, 2007, the United Nations
General Assembly declared October 2 (Mahatma Gandhi's birth
anniversary) as the International Day of Non-Violence.

The Mahatma's novel mode of mass mobilisation through non-violent
action brought down colonialism, strengthened the roots of popular
sovereignty, of civil, political and economic rights, and greatly
influenced many a freedom struggle and inspired leaders like Nelson
Mandela and Martin Luther King.

- Times of India

With terrorism and wars around the world non-violence seems to have
taken a backseat world over but the legacy of the Mahatma lives on.

0 reply

Vijit (not verified)
at 22:18 on October 1st, 2009

It's true that people forget what the man stood for while trying to
monetize every possible avenue. Even Gandhi's grandson recently was
crying hoarse when some of items belonging to Bapu were auctioned but
now that Mont Blanc has donated some money for his charity, he seems
to be OK with this pen issue.Height of hypocrisy!

...and I am Sid Harth

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/10/01/business-as-india-montblanc_69556=
26.html

Montblanc's $25,000 Gandhi pen sparks controversy
By ERIKA KINETZ , 10.01.09, 11:34 AM EDT

MUMBAI, India -- An incongruous billboard has appeared high above
Mumbai's slums: A thin Mohandas Gandhi, the ascetic father of India's
independence, sits wrapped in simple white cloth above the image of a
fat Montblanc pen.

German luxury penmaker Montblanc International GMBH launched a limited-
edition commemorative fountain pen in honor of Gandhi this week, just
in time for the 140th anniversary of the birth of the Mahatma - or
"Great Soul" - on Friday.

The price? 17,000 euros ($24,763).

The decision to turn a man who shunned foreign-made products and
pushed simple living to new extremes into a "brand ambassador" - as
one local Web site put it - for a global luxury goods maker has left
some Indians puzzled and others angry.

"If he had seen this, he would have thrown it away," Amit Modi,
secretary of the Sabarmati Ashram, which Gandhi opened 92 years ago,
fumed to the Financial Times. "I cannot imagine why anybody has done
this."

A curious blogger for India's Mint newspaper peered at the engraving
of Gandhi, bamboo stave in hand, in the pen's rhodium-plated nib and
asked: "Where, really, was Gandhi in all this?"

Not a great news but people should move on. I don't think anyone will
expect such things from a world's leading brand. Ayushi ww20B
w.ShaadiSpice.com

Comment On This StoryOliver Goessler, Montblanc's regional director
for India, Africa and the Middle East, says the answer is: Everywhere.

"Whatever brings Gandhi and his ideas back to mind can only be good,"
he said by phone from Hamburg, Germany.

Just 241 commemorative fountain pens will be sold - a nod to the
number of miles Gandhi walked in his famous 1930 "salt march," a mass
protest against salt taxes levied by the British that dealt an early
blow to their control over the subcontinent.

The pens are hand-made, adorned with Gandhi's signature and a saffron-
colored opal. They come with an eight-meter (26-foot) golden thread
that can be wound around the pen to invoke the spindle Gandhi used to
weave plain cotton cloth each day. The pens also come with a
commemorative booklet of inspiring Gandhi quotes.

"It's not an opulent pen. It's a writing instrument that's very pure,"
Goessler said.

Montblanc has 16 boutiques across India, but this is their first
product targeted at India's growing audience for luxury goods.
Goessler said he didn't have initial sales figures but that demand for
the pens in India has so far been "really spectacular."

He said the idea to commemorate Bapu ("Father"), as Gandhi is
affectionately known here, in a swish pen was born in India, not
Europe.

But, he added: "The name of Mahatma Gandhi, you have to be careful how
you use it. That's why we linked it to two different charity
initiatives."

On Tuesday, Montblanc chief executive Lutz Bethge handed over a check
for 100,000 euros ($145,666) to Gandhi's great grandson, Tushar
Gandhi, for a foundation that works to improve child nutrition and
education, Goessler said.

Earlier this year, Tushar protested the sale of his great-
grandfather's humble effects, including eyeglasses, worn sandals, and
simple brass bowl, saying it was "immoral."

The foundation will get an additional 10,000 to 50,000 rupees (($210
to $1,050) for each pen sold, Goessler said.

Montblanc also took the unprecedented step of launching more
affordable versions of the Gandhi pen.

"When we talk about Gandhi, there has to be an edition that's more
accessible," Goessler said.

The cheaper line of 3,000 roller ball and fountain pens retails for
2,200 to 2,500 euros ($3,205 to $3,642).

Even that is stratospherically out of reach for the vast majority of
Indians, many of whom have been left out of India's economic boom.
Over 450 million Indians struggle by on less than $1.25 a day.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

...and I am Sid Harth

http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/56612.htm

President Patil leads Gandhi Jayanti prayer meeting at Porbandar

October 2nd, 2009 SindhToday

Gandhinagar, Oct 2 (IANS) President Pratibha Patil Friday led a prayer
meeting to mark the 140th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in his
hometown Porbandar in Gujarat. A four-volume English translation of
the Mahatma2s biography was released at a function in the Sabarmati
Ashram at Ahmedabad.

The president, who is on a five-day visit to Gujarat, arrived Friday
morning by a special aircraft at Porbandar and led the prayer meeting
at Kirti Mandir in the port town.

She was accompanied by Chief Minister Narendra Modi. She also visited
the Arya Kanya Gurkul and Kasturbha Dham before leaving for Dwarka to
perform puja at the revered Dwarkadheesh temple.

The four-volume biography of the Mahatma was originally penned by
Narayan Desai, veteran Gandhian and son of the Mahatma2s secretary
Mahadev Desai, and chancellor of the Gujarat Vidyapith set up by the
apostle of peace and non-violence.

3Maru jivan ej mari vani4 (My life is my message), the four-volume
text went into multiple reprints within months of its release. The
English version, translated by Gandhi scholar and Ahmedabad-based
academic Tridip Suhrid, was released by social scientist Ashish Nandy
Friday in the presence of Narayan Desai.

The occasion also marked the launch of the third phase of the Science
Express, a specially designed 16-coach AC train from state capital
Gandhinagar. The train, essentially an audio-visual exhibition
primarily targeted at high school and college students, will cover 56
locations and travel 18,000 km in the next seven months.

Carrying 300 large format visual images, 150 video clips and multi-
media exhibits, it attempts to develop scientific temper and encourage
students to pursue careers in science. It also strives to take modern
research out of the lab and show how relevant science is to everyday
life.
[LM1]

...and I am Sid Harth

http://www.livemint.com/2009/10/01234701/A-century-of-Gandhian-economic.htm=
l

Posted: Thu, Oct 1 2009. 11:47 PM IST

A century of Gandhian economics

Those who continue to champion Gandhian economics insist that his
ideas bear relevance even--or especially--today, some compromises to
the modern era notwithstanding
Samanth Subramanian

New Delhi: A hundred Dussehras ago, over a celebratory dinner at a
London restaurant called Nazimuddin2s, Mahatma Gandhi sat and listened
to a speech from V.D. Savarkar, the star pupil in what he called 3the
Indian school of violence4. The echoes of that speech rang so
persistently in Gandhi2s ears that, when he sailed for South Africa a
few days later, he reacted by writing Hind Swaraj, a slim exposition
of his various philosophies, all of which would become immensely
familiar in India over the next four decades.

Symbol of self-reliance: Mahatma Gandhi working on a (spinning wheel).
In 1924, Gandhi had said: 1What I object to is the craze for
machinery, not machinery as such.2 Dinodia

Among its ruminations on freedom and religion and passive resistance,
Hind Swaraj, which marks its centenary this November, contains
Gandhi2s ideas for economic prosperity 7or, to be more precise, for
the economic prosperity of India. They sound, in a 2009 that is even
more avowedly capitalist and materialistic than 1909, quaint or
impractical. But those who continue to champion Gandhian economics
insist that his ideas bear relevance even7or especially7today, some
compromises to the modern era notwithstanding.

Most notably to our 21st-century eyes, Hind Swaraj inveighs against
machinery7not with any caveats, but absolutely and bluntly, as if the
further development of the idea could come later.

3It is necessary to realize that machinery is bad,4 Gandhi wrote. 3We
shall then be able gradually to do away with it.4 On the subject of
railways, in particular, he was withering: 3Railways accentuate the
evil nature of man.4

But these thoughts of Gandhi2s, says Pulin Nayak, a professor at the
Delhi School of Economics, should not be examined in isolation.
3Gandhi was too intelligent to insist on no machinery at all,4 Nayak
says. 3What he wanted was for machinery to not displace labour.4 (And
indeed, to a question from a Shantiniketan student in 1924, Gandhi
would say: 3What I object to is the craze for machinery, not machinery
as such. The craze is for what they call labour-saving machinery. Men
go on 1saving labour2 till thousands are without work and thrown on
the open streets to die of starvation.4)

Nayak first 3seriously4 read Hind Swaraj eight years ago, although he
has been familiar with the precepts of Gandhian economics for far
longer. He is reluctant to call himself a Gandhian economist, although
he confesses that he agrees with much of what Gandhi says; where he
differs, oddly enough, is in Gandhi not being radical enough. 3He
never considered any major changes in the ownership of the means of
production itself,4 Nayak says. 3He believed that capitalists could go
on holding factories and assets.4

Hind Swaraj is not an easily actionable document, as the Bharatiya
Agro Industries Foundation (Baif) in Pune has found out. Baif, a non-
profit that nonetheless encourages farmers to be as profitable as
possible, is a deeply Gandhian organization; it was, in fact, started
by Gandhi2s disciple Manibhai Desai, deputed by the Mahatma in 1946 to
work with the rural residents of the area. But its president, Girish
Sohani, has found that Baif has had to adhere to the spirit, and not
to the letter, of Gandhi2s various dicta.

3No tool or machine has an intrinsic value; it2s the application of
the tool that counts,4 Sohani says. 3So, we use genetic technologies
to produce better cattle, but if it2s done to produce a terminator
gene in crops, then you2re taking the control out of millions of hands
into your own, so that your seeds are the ones that are always in
demand.4

Sohani is similarly pragmatic about the motive of profit, which can so
easily be transmuted into the motive of greed that Gandhi detested.
3We have to accept that the market is all-pervading, and that your
livelihood status depends on how much you can participate in the
market,4 he says. 3So, we need to help farmers negotiate better with
the market. It isn2t always practical to stick to the letter of
Gandhi2s prescriptions. It2s more important to understand the basic
principle.4

Hind Swaraj is also dismissive of that other great linchpin of the
modern economy, international trade, and its allied model of
competitive advantage. Scoffing at the need to import machine-made
pins, Gandhi wrote: 3As long as we cannot make pins without machinery
so long will we do without them.4 So, also for glassware and machine-
made cloth.

Again, Nayak offers the gentle reminder that these words were written
in 1909. 3Gandhi was never a person to close his mind, and if
confronted with the clear benefits of trade, I think he would have
accepted them,4 he says. 3But still, there is the view that the gains
of trade are skewed in favour of the already better-off, and that
further accentuates inequities. This was developed much later in the
work of Latin American economists.4

The biggest stroke of foresight in Hind Swaraj is what Nayak calls the
limitation of want7the notion that 3you don2t need 200 types of
toothpaste, you only need two or three or five.4 Rajni Bakshi, who
profiled 12 neo-Gandhians in her book Bapu Kuti, and whose birth-date
(coincidentally enough) is 2 October, identifies, in this limitation
of want, the ancestor of the modern, modish concept of sustainable
living.

3I watched a panel discussion a few years ago, and Anand Mahindra told
the panel the story of how, even back in the 1940s, Gandhi knew that
the planet could not sustain its entire population living the way the
West lived,4 Bakshi says. 3He knew so far in advance what is today a
no-brainer. If nothing else, the international red alert on climate
change is one incontrovertible piece of proof.4

Bakshi names a number of entrepreneurs shaped to varying degrees by
Gandhi2s thoughts on economics, among them Ela Bhatt and her Self-
Employed Women2s Association (Sewa) Bank, and Vijay Mahajan, founder
of the microfinance firm Basix.

Mahajan calls Hind Swaraj a 3very important book4: 3I had wanted to
plan a yatra across India in November, to celebrate its centenary. But
we called it off because we thought it would be too political.4

Bakshi2s ongoing dialogue with Mahajan, she says, involves questioning
the very way that money works in society, a point Nayak makes in a
different way.

3After Rawls (John Rawls, the American political and moral
philosopher), I think welfare economics has taken a course that forces
us to look at its ethical dimensions,4 Nayak says. 3A part of the
reason for the 2007 financial crash was just mindless greed.4 The
subsequent crisis was, in a way, validation of a principle that Gandhi
held dear, one that he began to develop in Hind Swaraj. Nayak phrases
it simply: 3You just cannot separate the ethics from the economics.4

...and I am Sid Harth

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/wealthofnations/archive/2009/10/02/singh-s-r=
ural-employment-programs-lead-to-inflation.aspx

Posted Friday, October 02, 2009 6:02 AM

Singh's Rural Employment Programs Lead to Inflation
Newsweek
By Jason Overdorf

Even as India's government pours $5 billion into a scheme to ease
rural unemployment, its plan may be contributing to an inflationary
spiral that's making the cost of living more burdensome for the
country's poor. According to a new report from the National Council of
Applied Economic Research, the rate of rural wage increases doubled to
nearly 8 percent after 2006, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
implemented his rural-employment guarantees. However, the rural poor
didn't benefit as much as expected, because the price of basic
commodities rose just as fast. Critics blame Singh's program for the
bout of inflation, while proponents argue that the total outlay
amounts to less than 1 percent of GDP--hardly enough to cause India's
inflation woes. Either way, the plight suggests that the rural poor
need not just more jobs but better ones. If they could produce more
with the same amount of labor, that would increase the amount of D
basic goods available and bring down prices. But there's another
sticking point: the government has amassed mammoth food reserves,
which critics say has created an artificial shortage--and higher
prices. Singh is Deager to help India's poor, but good will doesn't
guarantee good results.

...and I am Sid Harth

http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid48408

Mangalore: Gandhigiri of a new kind - Officials work on 2nd Oct

MANGALORE, October 3, 2009: Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi is
known to have worked 18 hours everyday for most of his life time. On
his birthday the district revenue officials in Mangalore paid a
befitting tribute to him by working on Oct 2 which is a general
holiday.

The decision came after the Deputy Commissioner Mr. V.Ponnuraj had
enthused them to do their bit to the nation by going an extra mile.
About 500 officials of all ranks including clerks, village
accountants, gram sahayaks, revenue inspectors, deputy tahsildars and
assistant commissioners consented to the proposal and were present at
their desks. But they did not just do their regular work, they took up
a little more special work on today and cleaned the record room of the
district office.

The Record room which is over 210 years (formed in 1799) during the
time of Sir Thomas Munroe the first Deputy Commissioner of the Kanara
District, is now under a blanket of dust. The record room has
documents which belonged to the time when the district was formed. Due
to the moisture and dust many of the documents were in very bad shape
and they needed to be cleaned, recorded and preserved says Mr.
Ponnuraj.

The Gandhi Jayanthi special drive gave the district adminsitration an
additional work time of eight hours and they indexed over 13,000
files! According to the officials, however, there was no extra wages
to the officials but the district administration has made it sure that
they got afternoon lunch, evening tea and snacks!

Our Correspondent

...and I am Sid Harth

http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstypeDbroadcast&broadcastidD148333

Cong protest with a tribute to Gandhi

By Violet Pereira, Team Mangalorean - Mangalore

Mangalore October 2, 2009: The District Congress Committee today
staged a protest against the failure of BJP Government. The
protestors gathered at the District Congress office to pay their
respect to Mahatma Gandhi. Mr. Ramanath Rai, President of District
Congress Committee along with Mr. Vijay Kumar Shetty, Ex. MLA, Mr.
Ivan D'Souza Vice President of D.C.C, Mr. B. Jagannath Shetty, Mr. K.
Ibhrahim, Mr. C.A Bava, Mr. N. Padmanabha, Mr. Suresh Ballal and other
members paid a floral tribute to the father of nation.

Speaking on this occasion Mr. Ivan D'Souza said that the BJP ruled
government was total failure in the state on every front. He alleged
that funds sanctioned by the central government towards various
schemes were not properly utilized and the benefits were not reaching
to the poor people in rural areas. The state was still reeling under
power shortage even after BJP govt2s promises to restore 24 hours
power supply during monsoon, which has affected many industries,
students and farmers in the state, he said.

The protestors marched from DCC office to the townhall, where they
paid a floral tribute to Gandhi's statue. Addressing the protestors he
said that BJP Government has failed to implement various scheme
mentioned in the state budget. Criticizing the arrest of congress
leaders who protested against government2s failure recently, Mr Rai
said BJP was ruling 3Goonda Raaj4 in the state by beating up the
protestors, farmers and minorities in the name of law and order, where
as the government had totally failed to control the real 3goondas4
belonging to the fundamentalist groups, who had created havoc in the
state. He challenged the state government to come out with a
whitepaper on various schemes that were implemented in state and funds
received from the central government.

Vasanth Bangera said that when he was in the BJP Government,
Yeddyurappa had made many promises to the farmers in the state, but
after he took charge as a chief ministers, suicides by farmers in the
state has been on the rise like never before. Coming down heavily on
misusing the public money, Mr Bangera criticized the news papers
advertisements highlighting Yeddyurappa and Shobha Karandlaje's
photographs. Is it necessary to publish all such unwanted ads on news
papers? he questioned. 3The state government has been cheating the
people of Karnataka with false promises,4 he said adding that BJP
government has vitiated the atmosphere in Karnataka by creating fear
psychosis among the minorities and dividing people on religious lines.
Ever since BJP came to power in state, there has been no personal
freedom for common man, no progress and no development, Mr Bangera
alleged.

The protest continued till 2 p.m.

...and I am Sid Harth

At the kindest the chap (the Mahabandar of Porabandar) should be seen as a
very bad and ugly joke, ridiculous in an age where we shouild be using new
and marvellous technology to solve the world's problems and lead much
happier lives... That egomaniacal scoundrel had the chance to help get many
new and bright ideas from England, and have them implemented in India - but
as the learned judge who sentenced him said, he chose the foul and wrong
path.

Cheers to all, and let us forget that old perverted hypocrite and traitor,
who caused and through his miserable example is still causing untold harm
and misery to billions. By making our minds closed to new technology on the
one hand, and blindly continuing to follow and ape his Christian masters on
the other hand.

Arindam Banerjee.