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A (very big) war on the horizon

Sunday, July 12, 2009
In the opinion of Bharat Verma, Editor of the Indian Defence Review:

China will attack India by 2012 to divert the attention of its own people from "unprecedented"
internal dissent, growing unemployment and financial problems that are threatening the hold of Communists in that country.

"China will launch an attack on India before 2012. There are multiple reasons for a desperate Beijing to teach India the final lesson, thereby ensuring Chinese supremacy in Asia in this century".

More here.

I would hope that the two do not come to blows, but I would be in India's corner for this one (I'm sure they are very grateful for my support). Conventional warfare between the two - presumably with the Aksai Chin and the McMahon line at issue - would look to be a bit one-sided, with India vastly outarmed. Should things go nuclear, the Chinese also have the advantage.

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posted by Croydonian

Wonders will never cease....

Friday, May 22, 2009
From The Times of India. Note the screamer at the end of the opening sentence:



I am not making this up.

I wonder whether it will be chairs or tables next.

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posted by Croydonian

The trouble with celebs seeking office

Monday, May 11, 2009


This rather elegant Indian lady is Jaya Prada, currently an MP for Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. She represents the Samajwadi Party, which terms itself a Democratic Socialist party (What is it with luvvies and the Left?). She has, however, had a falling out with her party leader, Azam Khan, although quite why remains a mystery. However, she would seem to make a habit of spats with leaders as she fell out with the leader of the Telegu Dasam party too, prompting a switch in allegiance:

"Jayaprada...alleged that (Khan and supporters) have released her CDs and posters just to scandalise her image.

"I am yet to see the content of the CDs but the posters released by them are very bad in taste, damaging my reputation. I am approaching the Election Commission to check this sort of campaigning," she said".


A bit of googling has not turned up anything particularly scandalous, although those who like that sort of thing can view her doing a high-pitched song and dance routine with a bloke in a shellsuit here.

What this all puts me in mind of is the mischief that Brown could have at Glenda Jackson's expense. And if readers do not know to what I refer, the truth is out there...

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posted by Croydonian

Financial disclosure for politicians, Indian style

Monday, April 06, 2009
Care of what appears to be a legal requirement for running for office, Sonia Gandhi's personal finances have been laid quite extraordinarily bare:

"Congress president Sonia Gandhi has assets worth around Rs 1.38 crore but has no car or house in her name in the country...The UPA chairperson has Rs 75,000 in cash and deposit of over Rs 28.61 lakh in UCO bank, according to the affidavit filed by her before the district electoral officer".

I make Rs 1.38 crore a shade under £186,000. A lakh is 100,000 and a crore ten million

And the detail:

"The UPA chairperson has Rs 75,000 in cash and deposit of over Rs 28.61 lakh in UCO bank, according to the affidavit filed by her before the district electoral officer.

She also has investments of Rs 20 lakh in mutual funds and holds RBI bonds worth Rs 12 lakhs besides 10 shares of Maruti technical services private limited and 500 shares of Western India Tanneries Limited.

Gandhi has invested Rs 1.99 lakh in National Saving Scheme and has a deposit of Rs 24.88 lakh in personal provident fund (PPF).

The Congress president has jewellery worth Rs 11.08 lakh besides 88 kg of silver ware worth Rs 18.37 lakh.

Gandhi owns agricultural land worth Rs 2.19 lakhs in Sultanpur and Deramandi villages".

How many of our MPs would be prepared to reveal that much?

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posted by Croydonian

What did the British ever do for us?

Saturday, November 15, 2008
An extract from an article by an Indian writer in the Hindustan Times:

"The British Raj made us conscious of being Indian. We were Punjabis, Awadhis, Biharis, Bengalis, Oriyas Andhras, Tamils, Malayalis, Maharashtrians, Rajputs — also Hindu, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. We remained all these but also became Indians. All of us had one passport — Indian.

The British built us telegraph, connected our cities by roads, railways, laid networks of canals, dams to produce hydro-electricity. They started the process of industrialisation. They also introduced democratic institutions like municipalities, states and Central legislatures. During the British rule, there was more respect for the law. There were fewer riots, bandhs, and gheraos; blocking roads and rail traffic, burning buses and trains. Smashing of cars etc. was little heard of. There was less corruption. Rarely did English officers indulge in bribery. Now it is rare to find an honest, civil servant who can’t be bribed. Ask any Indian of my generation and he will confirm that life and property were safer in British times than in India today.

...

The British did not divide us to rule, as is often alleged by nationalist historians. Maulana Mohammed Ali was right in holding ‘We divide and they rule.” The British did not break up India when they left, they did their best to keep it together. It was our leaders who split it as they failed to get on with each other. The British left the country with good graces. They did not have to be pushed out as other European colonists like the French, Dutch & Portuguese. That is why many Indians have nostalgic memories of the Raj".


Interesting, no?

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posted by Croydonian

Misleading headline o' the day

Thursday, November 13, 2008
From The Times of India:

"Brown clouds making Asian cities 'dimmer': UN report"

That's one more thing to blame the wretched man for.

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posted by Croydonian

Purnell's next move?

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
What with class war and messing around with business being les plats du jour for the goverment at the moment, maybe Purnell will be taking tips from his Indian counterpart:

"[ Labour Minister Oscar] Fernandes had said "simmering discontent" among workers might be the reason behind the killing of Italy-based company Graziano CEO L K Chaudhury at his Greater Noida office. (as noted a day or so back)

He had also said there were disparities in the wages of permanent employees and contract workers and felt that workers should not be pushed so hard that they resort to whatever has happened in Noida".

He's since apologised and claimed he was 'misunderstood'. Yeah, right.

C'mon James, it will play well with the activists, and you've already lost the C-Suite vote.

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posted by Croydonian

A word of warning to the management of Lloyds-TSB

Monday, September 22, 2008
Watch out for disgruntled Scots and Tykes when wrapping up the HBOS takeover:

"The [Gradiano] Chief Executive Officer ...was on Monday beaten to death by a group of dismissed employees inside office premises after a meeting called to resolve dispute between them and the management failed". Source

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posted by Croydonian

Now *that's* a manifesto

Monday, September 15, 2008
"Indians Jews who have migrated to Israel over the years are for the first time attempting to try their luck at the hustings. They have launched a political party -Shivtei Israel (Yachad), in this southern Israeli city to contest the forthcoming municipal elections. They aim to win votes by focusing on issues related to the community, including a demand for a proper cricket ground for its youngsters". Source

Israel dropped into the European third division after losing to Croatia last year, so perhaps those Indians who have made aliyah will be doing their bit to raise the standard of the game.

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posted by Croydonian

A warrior nation

Monday, September 01, 2008
From the Sydney Morning Herald:

"Spectators at a Sikh sports tournament in California pummelled two gunmen in the crowd with cricket bats and field hockey sticks after the pair fatally shot a man and injured another. The brazen shootings happened...as the victims were watching athletic events at the Sacramento Sikh Society Sports Complex...The assault prompted several nearby spectators to turn on the gunmen with sports equipment at hand. One of the assailants got away while the other was beaten and held by spectators until deputies arrived".

One might note that Singh means 'lion'. Not a people to be trifled with, and good for all concerned vis a vis the armed response to the gunmen.

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posted by Croydonian

Further great lawsuits of our time

Friday, August 22, 2008
Or they do things differently in India.

Faced with a dispute between two companies owned by the feuding Ambani brothers, the doubtless fatigued beak suggested this:

“Why can’t the brothers go back to the mother and discuss it?”

Perhaps they will sent to the naughty step. Pa Ambani will not be available to administer the switch as he bought the farm some six years ago. Ma A looks fierce.

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posted by Croydonian

'Pakistanis in greater understanding of democracy than Indians' shocker.

Monday, July 21, 2008
From Worldopinion.org:

"Suppose the majority of Kashmiris...want Kashmir to be an independent state. In that case, would you regard an independent Kashmir as desirable, acceptable, tolerable or unacceptable?"

India - 13%/24%/14% (51% positive), 35% unacceptable. And 14% could not express an opinion..

Pakistan - 21/32/13 (66% positive), 11% unacceptable. And 23% found the question just way too difficult.

Can't say I have especially strong views on Kashmir, but were I living in Kashmir, I would rather be ruled from New Delhi than entrust myself to the tender mercies of Islamabad.

Elsewhere, a rather foolish 35% of Pakistanis think that kicking off a war to annexe Kashmir is a great idea.

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posted by Croydonian

Sensitive reporting, Indian style

Saturday, July 05, 2008
An un-manipulated (bar font size) screen grab from the Hindustan Times:


As ever, click for legibility, but the headline 'Indian expat hangs himself in Kuwait' is accompanied by a clip art picture of a man with his head in a noose. Nice...

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posted by Croydonian

Out of the mouths of academics...

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Professor M.L. Gupta of Punjab Engineering College, quoted at the Commonwealth Secretariat site:

"Most people are poor because they do not have money".

I bet his lectures and tutorials are popular.

I have a large collection of obvious lurking in a cupboard, and I am hoping the professor will come round and point it out for me.

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posted by Croydonian

Erm, not quite

Monday, January 21, 2008
An extract from a report in The Times of India on Broon's Indian junket:

"Complimenting India on its test victory over Australia, Brown shed his normally grave countenance. "I congratulate India on a famous victory - beating an Australian side who have won their last 16 games and doing so away from home." England's long cricketing feud with Australia clearly fuelled Brown's enthusiasm for India's historic win.

I wish I could believe that the hack penned that with tongue firmly wedged in cheek, but I fear not. I have not seen the Australian press getting worked up about the comment.

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posted by Croydonian

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"

Thursday, November 22, 2007
Livingstone today:

"Let me make myself absolutely clear - I am firmly opposed to this expansion of Heathrow Airport as it runs contrary to all the growing evidence we now have on the impact of aviation on climate change"

And yesterday, on his Indian junket:

"The Mayor opened the new office as part of his official week-long visit to India entitled “London-India: Partners in Globalisation”, to promote London as a destination for business, tourism, studying and creative industries and to strengthen relationships between London and India".

Perhaps the Indian business people, tourists, students etc will arrive by mule train.

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posted by Croydonian

Great excuses for not serving one's country

Saturday, October 13, 2007
Actor Shah Rukh Khan is not tempted to enter Indian politics because he reckons he is "too selfish, too materialistic and capitalistic kind of a person to join politics. Second, I am too good looking". Source

Good job our pols rarely allow the latter consideration to get in the way.

(Cue obligatory recitation of 'Politics is show business for ugly people')

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posted by Croydonian

The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God?

Tuesday, August 28, 2007
...'to the north of Khatmandu'.

Possibly, as an Indian politician has just declared that "Some of our neighbours are jealous of India's progress and they keep hatching conspiracies to disrupt harmony in the country". Source.

Perhaps we should count our blessings in that the Quai d'Orsay and the Irish Foreign Affairs office appear to judge we are not worth the effort.

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posted by Croydonian

Canada being less than culturally sensitive

Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Not really the place I would expect this sort of thing to happen, but folk with the surnames of Singh or Kaur cannot emigrate to Our Lady of the Snows unless they change their surnames.

Rather than this being a Canadian exercise in Sikh bashing, the rationale is explained by a spokesbod thus: "I believe the thinking behind it in this case is because it is so common. [With] the sheer numbers of applicants that have those as their surnames, it's just a matter for numbers and for processing in that visa office".

One might note that the use of those surnames by Sikhs is not a mere passing fancy: "In 1699, the Sikhs adopted the name "Singh" due to the wishes of Guru Gobind Singh. Every Sikh male bears the name Singh, whilst the female equivalent is 'Kaur', meaning 'princess'". Source

I think our Sikh friends have every right to be less than chuffed about this, and if a google.ca search is anything to go by, there are an awful lot more Smiths, Joneses etc showing up there than Singhs.

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posted by Croydonian

Brushed with greatness

Friday, July 06, 2007
I always find it more than a little laughable when the media gets horribly excited about 'the first Briton to' climb a mountain or to copy some absolute achieved by another. (I feel the same way about 'the first woman' to etc etc but that is another story).

Anyway, the Indian press has taken that template just a little further: all hail Wing Cdr Rahul Monga, who is the first Indian to fly solo across the Bering Strait. I'm not making this up. At the time of writing this is the third lead at The Times of India's site.

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posted by Croydonian