LETTER FROM THE EDITORIAL TEAM

I S S U E July, 2008
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Simple Thoughts
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SIMPLE THOTS
THE NATIONS ONLY MONTHLY MAGAZINE RUN BY TECHIES

M any people in India want to make a change for better

tommorrow. Most of them are not happy with the current
politics, education, administration and judiciary. Some of
us just think...and think... few of us will do an effort. We are making
an effort to bring together all these men under one community. we
want to use this force to bring a substantial change in the governance
of india.
N E X T

We started our journey from the IT Sector, we tried to reach the like
minded guys, now we are heading towards students and people in
other occupations.

No Car Day Dear Readers,

w w w . s i m p
l How to rehabilitate beggars?
They were ubiquitous at market places, traffic
intersections and other busy spots. But suddenly
Chandigarh's beggars seem to have disappeared into
thin air - perhaps in a bid to avoid a rehabilitation
scheme! .....
l The Only Possible Solution to
Improve transport system.
l Is being yourself
so difficult?
l The plight of farmers and the suicides
u Why I Am An Atheist
u YUVASHAKTHI (POWER OF YOUTH)
u Simple Thots @ Education drive @
l e t h o t s . c o m Simple Thoughts invites all the students and like minded guys in
various other occupations to join us. Register to the website and start
posting your simple thoughts which can initiate the change in some
proportion.
We will try to implement your solutions in some capacity and will
publish the results of the successful effort in our website and
Magazine. Some of us are better at planning but bad at
implementing, some of us are not having enough time to actually
implement them. You can see your dream for change turning to
reality here.
We released an E- Magazine and also a demo hard copy on the name
"SIMPLE THOUGHTS". We are going to introduce this to students
and encourage them to post articles. we are also approaching
influential people in other fields.
Very soon in the month of july when we release our "SIMPLE
THOUGHTS" Magazine,we are planning to release two more
magazines on the same day.
The Young minds - A Magazine for the Simple Thoughts of Students
(60% content from students).
The Change - A Magazine for the Simple Thoughts of all Indians
(60% content from Non-IT People).

Yousufguda Government High School @ Simple Thoughts - A Magazine for the Simple Thoughts of IT
people of india (60% content from IT People).

Website Designing and Development If you haven't thought about the solutions of the problems you
Rajesh Varma witness in your day-day life, you can start thinking now in 3 easy
Magazine Designing steps:
Nagaraju & Rajesh Varma Step 1: What do you think are the problems of our country? Can you
Content list them?
By Step 2: What are the steps taken by the Government or the NGOs or
Simple Thoughts Team any other individuals to resolve these problems?
Do you think these solutions will work? Why are they not working?
Logon to www.simplethots.com Do you have any suggestions? Do you have the right solution?
Register For Free and Start Posting your
Step 3: Now you have identified the solution of the problem. Write
Articles. about the solution in detail to us at thoughts@simplethots.com
Monthly Prize for the
best Article - 2000/- Rs Send your concerns\suggestions to us at queries@simplethots.com
- Simple thots Team

SIMPLE THOUGHTS 1 JULY 2008


Is being yourself
so difficult?
-Neha Gautam
Human mind is the greatest creation of God. We can feel, think and
react at the same time. And in today's materialistic world where
everything is so artificial we generally pretend not to be ourselves.
As a result of which all these three actions are not in alignment with
each other. We just love flaunting about things and bragging about
being happy but, is it actually true?? Are we honest to ourselves???
People love to be self contended and feel proud about it. But it's
easier said than done. At the end of the day the basic fact to be
remembered is that man is a social animal and we need people
around us, some of them are those with whom we are happy and
some are there for the name sake. Still we need to be with them, that's
life. Life never goes the way we want it to go so there are a lot of
things that contradict with our feelings but still we have to go with it
as it's the need of the hour. But we need to be expressive and open
about our thoughts. It's just that we have thoughts in our mind but we
are either not ready to express it or are afraid of the consequences. We
come across things that really hurt us or disturb us but we are not
ready to confess. It just keeps on piling within us disturbing us to the
core. We get irritated out of it, get depressed, let the whole world
know about it but we are not ready to find a solution to it. We run for
help to all people around who are ready to sympathize but we always
tend to forget that all the answers to these questions lies within us.
It is just that we have time to talk about our problems to everyone
around. But we don't have time to stop for a while and talk to
ourselves. We have no time for ourselves .Is it the right thing to be
done???
By doing this we are simply killing our inner self. It's good to be
analytical, it's good to be practical but is it right to do so at the cost of
fooling your soul?? You should be free to speak your heart out. Free
flow of emotions from your heart to your mind makes your thoughts
pure and that's when you can breathe in the fresh air of happiness.
One should always have the courage to speak what is felt at heart and
accept what is done.
It is a common thing to be seen these days that people crave for
attention, crave for sympathy and they actually don't do it because
they are victimized by some incident or thoughts but it's just that they
enjoy it. They get some kind of positive energy when people are there
to listen to them and sympathize. But such people are actually
digging their own grave by doing so. For them the people around
them are the support system helping them to lead their lives. But they
don't understand that they are killing their self esteem and their
existence by doing so. It again boils down to the same point. Such
people neither speak their heart nor mind. They just love being a part
of the so called tragedy and crib about it rather than making a move to
make a change.
One person who can actually have an impact on your life or change
your life is none other than "yourself". The whole world can take
efforts to change you but it can only happen when you have the zeal
to change, to face the change and be a part of the change.
This is how one can be his very own true selves and be self satisfied
and happy in the true sense.
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
Life is all about…..
- Neha gautam
I am sitting near the window with a cup of coffee in my hand. It's
raining heavily. Even then the streets are busy. One can hear the cars
honking and people moving around with their umbrellas and
raincoats on. I remember at one point of time even I was the part of
this crowd running around, Running for success, running for
prosperity, just running as everyone around me was running. So,
even I had to run, I could not afford to stay behind the crowd. For me
running had become a normal phenomenon as I believed it to be the
key for success. I had a strong belief that today's struggle will lead to
a better future. Money was the key word for life. Got married but
could never become a husband, had kids but could never become a
father in true sense as I had no time for them.
Life is too short to be spent in family drama, if I do something
extraordinary I will be spoken of even when I am not there. This was
a strong belief ruling my mind and my heart. "Work hard and party
Harder" was the key mantra as these parties were the only way to
increase the social circle and enhance networking. With all the effort
and determination I excelled in the professional front, got a hike, got
promoted. But there was something still lacking. I never had time to
celebrate my success with my family. They were showered with all
the materialistic aspect of happiness but could never explore the true
meaning of it as it was lacking in the basic sense of belongingness.
Time passed by and with it my hunger for more and more got
aggravated. I was not satisfied. I was craving for something but didn't
know for what. Was striving hard to find it out, achieve it, own it but
was clueless.
Today when I look back at my life, I have almost achieved everything
in my life name, fame prosperity but there is no one to cherish it,
acknowledge it. I thought that I was the winner in my life but I didn't
realize that I achieved all this at the cost of the most valuable thing in
my life and that was my family. I lost my wife two years back, both
my children are settled abroad. I hardly get a call from them coz they
know that it doesn't make any difference to me. Today after six
months of my retirement when I have no one around I feel the pain,
the pain of loneliness, the pain of departure. I have people around me
but I don't have a family, I have all the temporal possessions today
but one thing that I don't have is eternal happiness.
This prosperity is of no use to me today as I have no one to cherish it
with me. In the hope of better tomorrow I never enjoyed today. And at
this point of time I have tears in my eyes coz I have no one to tell me
that they care for me. Today I want to cry, I want to plead my children
for the love and care that I never gave them. And today I know what
was that one thing I had always been craving for. It was my eternal
happiness; I did everything to find it out but never got an answer
because I never had time to sit back and think about myself.
I had a solution for almost everything but had no answer for my
search coz I never spoke to my self, never listened to my heart and
today I repent for it. I just have to say one thing, don't just lead your
life live it. Feelings, emotions and above all relations are the real
essence of life, explore it, love it, and cherish it. Money, name, fame
all these are the most important aspects of life but not the only
important aspects of life.
Enjoy every moment of your life with your loved ones who really
make a difference in your life. Breathe in the air that has a fragrance
of belongingness. Nurture your life with love, treasure it before it
gets too late and you have nothing left except for the salty tears.
2 JULY 2008

Traffic management is a big issue in a city like Hyderabad that's
constantly evolving, and the Traffic Police of the city come forward to
discuss the issue with those that are involved in it the most we, the
people! Conducted in five different venues on June 22, Sunday morning,
at one location in each of the five traffic divisions in the city, the sessions
emphasized the effectiveness of, and hence the need for, such “truly
democratic” sessions that involved the public and the concerned
government departments in an open discussion. With a brief introduction,
a PowerPoint presentation of action taken on problems brought forth in a
previous such session on March 16, brief intermittent comments, and
concluding remarks, and grievances enlisted by the people of this traffic
division, the discussion forum was essentially for the people, by the
people, and of the people! Apart from the Traffic Police, representatives
from Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and
Society for Employment Promotion & Training in Twin Cities
(SETWIN), and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)
were among the attendees; Cantonment Board Members participated in
Secunderabad Zone alone, where it is relevant. Having attended the
much-successful, near-three-hour long session in Traffic Division #5 of
Hyderabad (Jurisdictions of Old City, Sultan Bazar, Afzal Gunj,
Amberpet, Kacheguda, Osmania University, Nallakunta, Malakpet,
Chaderghat, Saidabad Police Stations). I have no doubt that the other
four sessions in the city were all more or less successful on the same
scale!
Traffic Management: Open House Discussion Forum
The agenda of the discussion forum was:
w Traffic jams - frequently occurring areas and solutions
Parking issues and solutions
w Suggestions for new one way routes in residential colonies
· Invitations to Volunteers and Traffic Wardens from among citizens
w Any other issues pertaining to Traffic
There were several problems specific to the localities covered by these
police station jurisdictions, but most of the discussions were quite
generic in nature and applied to everyone alike. After a couple of people
addressed the official attendees and poured out the problems with traffic
and related issues, a traffic inspector took over to give a PowerPoint
presentation about issues that were spoken of on March 16, when the
Traffic Police of Hyderabad had conducted a similar session in another
locality of the same Traffic Division. I was personally much impressed
by the presentation, which was written in English and was presented in
Telugu by the inspector! What's more, one slide each was dedicated to a
bulleted list of issues raised by an individual, along with the name of the
particular individual, and a corresponding list of action taken on the
issues ever since. I should admit that I was skeptical about the
seriousness of the session, and I was wondering how effectively it'd
achieve its intended purpose, but it was only until I witnessed the
presentation. After seeing the way each individual's grievances were
carefully written down and addressed, I was thoroughly confident that
such sessions are very important and effective too! An added assurance
came towards the end of the session, in the form of Additional
Commissioner of Police, Mr. V.S.K. Kaumudi, who came to witness the
session. Since there were five such sessions going on in five different
corners of the city, I did not in the least expect the Commissioner himself
to be going around to attend each of these sessions!
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
Additional C.P. Mr. Kaumudi addresses the public
Every individual spoke enthusiastically, while others waited patiently to
add more to the list of issues that concern nearly every one of us. I was
also impressed by the fact that the public came up with suggestions for
solutions and work-arounds to various problems, offers to volunteer to
help the government departments, and even suggestions for policy
changes! Some such issues brought out in the session, along with
suggested solutions are enlisted for public interest. See if these simple
thoughts can drive towards a betterment of traffic situation in your area.
Buses belonging to APSRTC and or SETWIN, both government
organizations, are accused of frequent violations at traffic signals and of
causing traffic jams at bus stops, where they stop right on the road
without using the bus bay, while other buses that reach the same stop
park alongside the first, instead of falling in a single file.
Absence of “passenger guides” at bus stops is also resulting in people
waiting right on the roads for buses than inside the intended shelters.
Overtaking from the right side of the road, commonly using the central
lane instead of the leftmost lane, and not letting two-wheelers overtake
them are among other problems that APSRTC was pointed at.
A request was also made to move bus stops farther away from crossroads
in an attempt to avoid traffic jams.
“So-called educated youth are causing most accidents and traffic havoc
in the city. Curb that right at colleges and other places where youth are
mostly seen”, points a youngster in his twenties. “Speed limits are
displayed on the left side of the road, while speeding vehicles move
nearer to the center of the road. Install the signboards on dividers where
possible”, he adds.
A Lok Satta activist, Dikshit, speaks at the forum
Another individual suggested community service as a penalty to traffic
violations, and insisted that students should be made to control traffic for
certain period each day right outside their educational institutions.
The public identified several roads in the traffic division on which there
were loose cables from poles, poles in the middle of the roads that were
recently widened, dividers that needed to be opened up to reduce on-road
time with shorter distances for U-turns, covered/uncovered manholes
that were either higher or lower than road level, traffic jams at flyovers
under construction, etc.
Other common grievances included provisions for subways and foot-
over bridges coupled with appropriate education to pedestrians instead
of them using up road space, giving pedestrians the right of the road at
zebra crossings and providing pelican signals at busy crossroads, traffic
diversions at homes of VIPs that cause traffic jams in narrower
residential roads, carrying oversize loads on two-wheelers, directing the
traffic into appropriate lanes, use of blinding high beams particularly by
3 JULY 2008

cars, adding more one-ways at peak hours in certain roads, etc.
Traffic police explained how “e-challans” are sent to
government and private vehicles violating traffic rules, even if
someone informs them over the phone, with a call to toll-free numbers
1072 or 1073, or to the Traffic Police Control Room 040-27852482.
An official reveals action on issues raised in March
In order to avoid traffic congestions at theaters and temples, the public
suggested that traffic constables should be posted at such busy locations
at prime time, to direct traffic appropriately and to drive away footpath
vendors, beggars and hogging auto rickshaws right at the entrance of
such spots.
Renting out space for private parking and/or encroached landscaping
was suggested as an “official arrangement” to avoid traffic jam-packs in
front of shopping centers, apartments, etc.
Though the session can be termed a success, it was also noted that better
publicity through announcements in residential areas a few days before
the meeting, tying banners at the venue, etc. would have brought in more
people to the venue. While an attendance of 150-200 people is
encouraging enough, let us also remember that the traffic division covers
substantial area of the city, and given the population density of an
approximate 18,000 people per sq. km., the traffic division houses at
least 50,000-1,00,000 people. Should we be happy that 150 among these
cared to attend? Of course, yes, because simple thoughts and individuals'
actions can bring a sea of a change soon! At the same time, the officials
may also note that the participating community was more or less on time
for the discussion but only a fraction of the officials were present at the
right time, and the session itself started more than an hour late, thereby
cutting into the extent of time that public were anticipating to talk.
Be a Change Maker, email to team@simplethots.com to join us
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
There are approximately 5 lakhs of software engineers in India.
Most of the Indian software engineers come from a middle
class society. Hence each software engineer is a direct
dependency for atleast 3 to 5 members of a family.
The current society is divided on basis of age old classes
divided by the ancestors, which is termed as caste by some
portugese of late and the term is quite a popular one now. So we
thought that as a software engineer community/caste, we will
unite ourselves as a force to reckon.
Most of the software engineers would have become doctors,
lawyers, policeman, politicians etc. But it is the software boom
and the middle class mentality, which suppressed or may be we
can say that it limited the student imagination to software field.
The Simple Thoughts magazine is for all those software
engineers and like minded people in other occupations, who
want to contribute in the growth of the nation by broadcasting
their thoughts on the current politics, sports, administration
and education etc. Most of you are over qualified to be a
software engineer and most of you also feel that you have
something more to do for the nation rather than paying tax, so
you can do it when you are meeting your fellow techie
interested in doing the same. We provide the platform for you
to broadcast your thoughts.
Other than your opinions and discussions on various topics, the
objective of the magazine is to promote and implement your
simple thoughts. We are expecting that the simple thoughts
given by you on various things can be started immediately in
some proportion, even though the results are long term based.
Register to www.simplethots.com
Post Articles - Share your “Thots”
4 JULY 2008

A message for every Indian from Dr. Abdul Kalam
Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our
achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing
success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-
sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such Achievements
but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.
I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the
day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place.
The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the
picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his
desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that
everyone woke up to.
The glory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the
newspaper, buried among other news. In India we only read about death,
sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another
question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We
want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.
Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that
Self-respect comes with self-reliance?
I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me
for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want
to live in a developed India. For her, you and I will have to build this
developed India. You must proclaim India is not an under-developed
nation; it is a highly developed nation.
Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.
Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is
yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,
The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS. Give
him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your
International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the
roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as
they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard Road
(equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8
PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if
you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of
your status identity...
In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to
eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out
without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an
employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a
month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'
YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington
and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know
who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage
pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand.
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use
examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston??? We are still
talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign
system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw
papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If
you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why
cannot you be the same here in India?
Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of
Bombay, Mr. Tinaikar, had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are
walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,'
he said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the
authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the
officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the
pressure in his bowels?
In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job.
Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to
the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do
everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect
the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking
garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray
piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide
clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of
bathrooms.
We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and
toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to
the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to
women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room
protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the
whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego
my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?
What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our
neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the
government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us
actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves
along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at
countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work
miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country
and run away.
Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in
their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure
we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take
the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to
be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is
out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system.
Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great
deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing
J.F.Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....
'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE
DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER
WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'
Let's do what India needs from us.
Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalaam
5 JULY 2008

THE PLIGHT OF FARMERS AND THE SUICIDES
It is 2050 AD. We are in a history class. A student is asking his
teacher,"Sir, where did these people called farmers live? What natural
disaster made them extinct?”
It is not exaggeration, but a sad reflection of the state of affairs today in
the country. The situation will be no different if the govt continues to
neglect farmers. Every govt comes to power announcing grand plans to
help farmers and bail them out of the worst crisis that is plaguing
agriculture in the country. What is the ground reality though? Farmer
suicides continue unabated and productivity goes down each year.
Let us take the case of andhra pradesh where farmer and weaver suicides
have become a trivial issue. I was watching the story of a farmer suicide
recently. The wife of this farmer says, "even though we all decided to die,
my husband stopped us and drank he pesticide himself. He was dying
because atleast me and my children can have a better life with the
compensation". He is dying to give the remaining family a new lease of
life.
The YS Rajasekhara Reddy led Congress government came to power in
Andhra Pradesh in 2004.Their trump card in the election was the farmer
who believed in their promise of a farmer friendly government. Three
years down the lane, nothing has changed in his world, he remains
helpless and hungry. The suicides continue unabated and unfortunately
the numbers do not seem to come down.
The government claims that the suicides have come down and that
deaths that are occurring are Non-Genuine. The government announced
Compensation schemes only seem to be the tool for the people with a
political clout; otherwise it is just not within the reach of a farmer to
obtain his compensation naturally. He either does not have the money to
bribe for it or he just does not have any more patience to pursue it that
ending another life seems easier.
And all the so-called genuine and non -genuine suicides cannot be
reduced to a decade long favorite cause of drought. The reasons many
and linkages innumerable. Agricultural and Finance systems seem to be
virtually non-existent. Prices have pushed most inputs beyond the reach
of the small farmer. The move from food crops to cash crops proved fatal.
In some cases, the shift was towards high-outlay, water-guzzling crops
such as sugar cane. All this, in an era of huge power tariff hikes. Most
households have incredible levels of debt. Many had failed to gain the
credit needed at the start of this season (one reason driving the latest
suicides). All have seen crop failure for two or more years. Almost every
one of them had made distress sales of land or cattle or both in the past
few years. Most had changed crops in recent years. All of them had spent
unbelievable sums in their search for water. Mainly sinking borrowed
money in bore wells. All were selling their produce to creditors of some
sort at well below market price.
The situation looks grave. The government numbers on suicides seem
just a formality and far from reality. The government even came up with
a theory which says that the farmers have decided to kill themselves, so
that their family will get the compensation."That the victims gave up
after years of trying to cope with a situation made impossible by others
beyond their control. After seven or more years of being crushed,
defeated and ruined. People did not wake up one morning and say: Hey,
the government has changed. I think I'll take my life today. Theirs was a
heart-breaking, ultimate protest against a society that showed no concern
for them. It would be right to haul up the new Government if it fails to
give the state a fundamental directional change. About the cruelest thing
being said, though, is that people are taking their lives to `gain' from the
compensation. What a contradiction in terms. Lose your life and gain
from it."
Shri Sharad Pawar cursorily reads out the figures in Parliament and
defends wheat imports from Australia and the "acceptable levels of
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pesticides" in what Indians drink and what mother's milk contains. But
apart from the cursory reading of the suicide figures, there is still no
attempt to come to grips with the issue of undeclared farm exit policy of
Congress. Suicide figures are just figures to be read out in the Parliament.
They hide the faces and the stories, of the farmers and the families of the
suicidal farmers. The US Secretary of Agriculture also, deems it fit and
appropriate, to compare the suicides of Indian farmers with the much
smaller number of farmer suicides in United States, in the Indian capital,
amongst the friends of Indian commerce federations, while trying to
drum up support for the re-energized WTO and supposedly, still a Doha
Round. Though of course, Europe and America look at Doha Round only
as an attempt to revive WTO, and in reality, have more significant and
pressing issues they would like discussed under the umbrella of WTO.
Ask the suicidal Indian farmers, if they are optimistic to the same degree,
about the success of Doha Round, and you are greeted with blank stares.
They are already facing Doha on a daily basis in their homes. That some
people are getting ready to foist one more Doha, this time done better,
hardly elates the Indian farmers.
What is shocking, is not just the lack of infrastructure but the lack of will
totally. Whether the government machinery is trying come up with help
for distressed farmers or causing them distress is a question.
There was a need for a detailed analysis of the trends and the numbers
that the govt puts out.
I filed an RTI petition on 02-12-2006 with 'Revenue Department, Andhra
Pradesh Secretariat' and asked them to provide detailed information on
Farmer suicides including the number of genuine and non-genuine
suicides. Some wise man rightly said, "Andhra Pradesh has a new
government. But it also has its old bureaucracy. One that acts just as it did
for years. With striking lack of concern on the farmers' suicides. So the
proper count of their number and nature is proving chaotic. Many
affected households have been recorded wrongly or not at all. But if that
was to be expected of the state machinery, whatever happened to the
panchayats? "
The Department remained mum to all my questions giving a summary of
numbers that was already out in the public. This was to mislead me and
to obfuscate the facts. I ran around from pillar to post for 3 months. Even
then, I was only to be rejected and softly threatened. I then appealed to
the state Information Commission. After a hearing in the state
commission which finally ordered that the information be sent to me as
soon as possible. After six months, I received a reply of about 600 pages.
The information only confirmed what I believed all along and that the
Government was trying to hide numbers and project as if the situation is
fast improving.
My worst fears came true that night. No of genuine Suicides according to
the reply were 723 and number of non-genuine 888 in just 10 districts of
Andhra Pradesh in the 2.5 years rule of the new government. What could
possibly be the reason for so many suicides of farmers and still be
declared non-genuine. How can the number of non-genuine suicides be
much more than the number of genuine suicides? I took it upon myself to
find out. So I randomly choose to meet families of the farmers who had
killed themselves and find out for myself. In most cases, I found out that
the committee that declared the suicide genuine or not never even visited
the family. Even if a farmer falls ill and borrows money for medical
expenses only because he has no other source of Livelihood, that debt is
not considered. The death will be counted as Non Genuine
It was just not the numbers that had lied but the entire process itself. In
order to keep the suicides under a particular mark, all the other suicides
are conveniently put under non-genuine bracket. Compensation and
Relief were announced in the state for the grieving farmer with great
publicity but it is simply beyond comprehension on how the government
6 JULY 2008

takes two years to grant compensation to the farmers family, time good
enough for the entire family to kill themselves because of debts and
hunger. And the rationale behind some farmers not getting compensation
after it has been officially granted two years back and others receiving
money as early as in two months needed to be investigated. It could be far
from a mere coincidence. So, I took it upon myself and toured 3 districts
in Andhra Pradesh and randomly choose families.
These are some of the key findings of the analysis and the visits;
1. The Number of Non genuine cases far out numbered the genuine
cases in most of the districts in the last 3 years.
2. The reasons given for treating the suicide as non genuine were
absurd (such as debts for health, education and sometimes the land
not being in the name of who is tilling the land)
3. There was unreasonable delay in the distribution of relief. It
increased with time though the suicides came down according to
the Government.
4. The Institutionalised credit facility is still a mirage
5. There is rampant corruption in the distribution of relief.
6. Most of the times, the committee is not even visiting the village and
the investigation process itself is flawed.
7. The one time settlement as given Under GO Ms 421 is not
happening.
8. The other provisions as spelt out in the GO Ms 421 are not being
provided.
I toured 3 districts of telangana a and captured some stories on video
I have prepared research documents on the situation and even made
corrective suggestions. Perhaps not as an expert by designation but as
somebody who is committed to the cause of machinery sitting on a
potential explosion and then it might just be a little too late. I found out
that a deceased farmer's Family has to wait for about 8 months on an
average to get the compensation. 85% of the farmer's debts are with
Moneylenders. Banks are nowhere to be seen. For 60 farmers in
Mahabubnagar district alone, it took over ONE year to give the relief
fund, out of which 18 farmers got it after 1 1/2 Year and 5 farmers got it
only after 2 years. Average percentage of money owed by farmer to
private Money lender Vs nationalized bank and cooperatives is 85% to
15%.
I am advocating corrective measures like :
w Implementing the various money-lending Acts that already exist to
prevent the alienation of the farmers land-holding.
w To make the crop Insurance Scheme more farmer friendly, with
lower premia and less red-tape
w Renewal of the land's biodiversity to ensure the health of land and
enable the farmer to cope with market ups and downs
w Better health facilities in the locality since expenditure on health
has been one of the most important financial drain in the village
w Better education facilities at school level in the villages to enable
better coping with a more technologically oriented agriculture
w Quality checks on agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers and
pesticides to prevent cheating of the farmer by unscrupulous
suppliers of industrial inputs for agriculture
w Reliable agricultural advisories for farmers on farm related
practises
w Better access to markets for agricultural produce to get higher rates
for farm produce
Unless we take charge of the situation now ,
I am not quite sure of a Solution.
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
Agriculture in India Vs US
There is a heaven and hell difference between the living styles of farmers
in USA and India. Very small percentage of population in America
depends on agriculture unlike in India. This is because very few people
are required to produce agricultural, horticultural, fishing and dairy and
animal husbandry work in America. The reason is that these activities are
managed by large scale operations with the most advanced technology,
equipment and research support. Naturally, the productivity of American
farmers is many times to that of Indian farmers. Given the high
productivity of a farmer, the farmers earn quite a lot unlike in India where
most farmers are poor, illiterate, operate small farms, cannot apply high
technology associated with commercial farming. Since American
farmers are rich and agricultural labor is subject to high minimum wages
prevailing in US (as compared to about $2 a day, American minimum
wage is above $6 an hour), their life styles are different. They have good
houses, ride automobiles, have electricity, fridge, TV etc at home. Have
access to medical AND HEALTHCARE AS ARE AVAILABLE TO
URBAN AND CITY DWELLERS. FARMING FAMILIES ALSO
HAVE ACCESS TO BEST EDUCATION. Employment
In 1870, half of the US population was employed in agriculture. As of
2006, less than 1% of the population is directly employed in agriculture.
In 2004, of the 145 million employed workers in the US, 834,000 of them
held jobs as agricultural workers. 83% of these jobs were as farm
workers. The median hourly income as of May 2004 was $7.70 for farm
workers planting, growing and harvesting crops, and $8.31 for farm
workers tending to animals.
Now some data about American Agriculture: U.S. agriculture has a high
yield relative to other countries. The yield was (in 2004):
Corn for grain, average of 160.4 bushels harvested per acre (10.07 t/ha)
Soybean for beans, average of 42.5 bushels harvested per acre (2.86 t/ha)
Wheat, average of 43.2 bushels harvested per acre (2.91 t/ha, was 44.2
bu/ac or 2.97 t/ha in 2003)
The major livestock industries in the United States are:
S Dairy Cattle S Beef Cattle S Swine (also called hogs or pigs)
S Poultry S Sheep
Inventories in the United States at the end of 1997 were:
S 403,000,000 chickens S 99,500,000 cattle S 59,900,000 hogs
S 7,600,000 sheep
Goats, horses, turkeys and bees are also raised, though in lesser
quantities. Inventory data is not as readily available as for the major
industries. For the three major goat-producing states (AZ, NM, and TX)
there were 1,200,000 goats at the end of 2002. There were 5,300,000
horses in the United States at the end of 1998. There were 2,500,000
colonies of bees at the end of 2002.
Nine common types include:
Cash Grains includes corn, soybeans and other grains (wheat, oats,
barley, sorghum), dry edible beans and peas, and rice.
S Tobacco S Cotton
Other Field Crops includes peanuts, potatoes, sunflowers, sweet
potatoes, sugarcane, broomcorn, popcorn, sugar beets, mint, hops, seed
crops, hay, silage, forage, etc. Tobacco and cotton can be included here if
not in their own separate category.
High Value Crops includes fruits, vegetables, melons, tree nuts,
greenhouse and nursery crops, and horticultural specialties. \
S Cattle S Hogs S Dairy S Poultry and Eggs S Governance
Agriculture is both a federal and a local responsibility with the United
States Department of Agriculture being the federal department
responsible. Agriculture is an extremely powerful interest group in
American politics and has been since the founding of the USA.
7 JULY 2008

Government aid includes research into crop types and regional
suitability as well as many kinds of subsidies, some price supports and
loan programs. U.S. farmers are not subject to production quotas and
some laws are different for farms compared to other workplaces.
Labor laws prohibiting children in other workplaces provide some
exemptions for children working on farms with complete exemptions for
children working on their family's farm. Children can also gain permits
from vocational training schools or the 4-H club which allow them to do
jobs they would otherwise not be permitted to do.
A large part of the U.S. farm workforce is made up of migrant and
seasonal workers, many of them recent immigrants from Latin America
or aliens working under work permits. Additional laws apply to these
workers and their housing which is often provided by the farmer.
A farmer's life, no matter in what country is easy. The main difference
between these two countries is that USA is a developed country with a
GDP per capita of $45000, while India only has $3000. There is more
help in America with machinery; while the farmers in India rely on lower
class people to do some of their field work. Then when it comes time to
sell, American farmers usually have a better outcome, as compared to
India based on value and competition. In addition, the weather in these
two countries differs as well.
In my opinion,
Key Long Term Objectives
w To create a forum of experts who will be able to provide technical
and market information services to the farming community,
private and public sector organizations involved in the food and
agricultural sector.
w To identify motivated agricultural graduates and provide
training and project services to enable creation and sustainable
working of agribusiness clinics.
w To enroll a large number of professionals working actively in the
sector and enable them with information and consulting services
to add value to their enterprise.
w To source information on technology and markets and provide it
to the farmers through agribusiness clinics.
w To expand the usage of ICT by participants in the agricultural
sector particularly the small and marginal farmers.
w To promote and consider measures for the promotion and
advancement of the trade, export, sale and consumption of
agricultural and allied products manufactured in rural India.
w To build new linkages for marketing of agriculture produce by
helping disintermediation of trade channels to benefit farmers.
w Developing online/offline information dissemination channels
to reach the target groups.
w To conduct studies and action research projects on post harvest
technologies and marketing of agriculture produce.
Short Term Milestones
w Create a city/ center wise network of functional experts. These
experts will be classified according to their domain
specialization, eg. Horticulture, vermiculture, pathology,
entomology, etc. We estimate the population of experts to be of
the order of 5,000 and we target to have at least 25% on our panel
within 2 years.
w Enroll at least 150,000 Agribusiness professionals as associates
within 5 years. The professionals can be unemployed graduates,
progressive farmers, manufacturers, service providers, buyers
and customers of agricultural products and services.
w Help set up and manage agribusiness clinics by providing
training, course content, know-how and managerial inputs. This
will also include helping entrepreneurs to arrange finance and
launch services.
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
w Provide consulting and educational services to the participants.
The participants will be able to use the forum to submit their
Request for Proposals (RFPs) and the panel of experts will then
respond with specific proposals. ISAP will act as the facilitator
that will bring the service users and service providers together.
w Enter into strategic alliances with information service providers
to source market information. How IT changed the lives of rural
youth
How IT changed the lives of rural youth
When we reach his home in Kandukur village in Andhra Pradesh, 21-
year- old Nukathoti Kondaiah serves us bottled mineral water, freshly
cut fruit and cold drinks in plastic cups. That may not seem such a big
deal but earlier in the day Kondaiah had trudged a couple of hours in
the sweltering heat to the nearest grocery store to buy these
luxuries. Next month he will begin work with Wipro as a
trainee in its software department, taking his mentally-challenged
mother with him for treatment.
We talk under the shade of a banyan tree surrounded by a crowd of
villagers who treat Kondaiah like a celebrity. An eight-year-old
fidgeting with the photographer's camera says he'd like to be Kondaiah
when he grows up. The odds couldn't have been less in his favour when
the teenager's father died young, followed as suddenly by the deaths
of his siblings. "She went mad," he says of his mother's ill-health,
"I'm her only hope." Life wasn't kind to the family. "My parents
earned Rs 40-50 a day as coolies at a farm," he says. On his father's
death, he moved in with his uncle, also a coolie. "I ran errands along
with my studies to earn some money," he recalls.
The family's annual income was Rs 12,000, but Kondaiah's job at Wipro
will fetch him a package of Rs 3.5 lakh. "It's the beginning of a
beautiful dream," he smiles, "I can't wait to join." He will leave
behind his uncle and the one-room house that measured all of 80 steps
when I walked around it. And a prayer for the Jawahar Knowledge
Centre (JKC), an initiative of the Andhra Pradesh government which, in
2005, began to pick up enterprising students from rural backgrounds to
offer them training in IT hardware, software and networking. Set up as
labs with high-end computers and software systems in rural colleges in
Andhra Pradesh, these centres are especially attractive because they
offer on-campus recruitment.
In a country where education is still considered a matter of good
fortune, the concept of JKCs with campus recruitments by renowned IT
companies is an unimaginable hope for youngsters from the lowest
rungs of the economic ladder. In his matchbox sized house in Nellore's
slum area, Prasad Chintala hugs his mother who washes utensils and
clothes in people's homes for a living; his father is a rickshaw puller. "My
parents are illiterate but my mother wanted to educate me. She would
enquire about private schools from homes where she worked and
supported my education," Chintala tells us.
The 100-sq ft, one-room house is simultaneously bedroom, study,
dressing room and puja room for all three of them. Chintala's clothes
occupy one shelf, right next to his books; his parents' clothes are
bundled in an old trunk. "My mother got me new clothes but wore
second- hand sarees herself," Chintala says, itching to earn his first
salary so he can buy her a new kanjeevaram. The 21-year-old
engineering student whose family income is Rs 14,000 per annum, will
be able to afford it when he joins Infosys next month on an annual
package of Rs 3.5 lakh.
"He's my only strength, my only wealth," his mother tells us, "I was
willing to do anything to educate him." His father recalls the
neighbourhood rickshaw pullers scoffing at them for wasting their hard-
earned money on his education. "Today they praise us for our efforts,"
he says, while Chintala's brother-in-law, a pest control worker at a
local cinema hall, frowns at our conversation. "If my parents could,
8 JULY 2008

they would have educated my sister too," Chintala says. "I know being
a male child I was lucky." He may have been the butt of jokes among
the members in his extended family but no one's laughing as he heads
for Infosys and life in the big city now.
Far away from Nellore, in Mumbai's Thane area, Srinivas Maggidi has
been working with TCS as a software engineer for a year.
He shares his apartment with boys from Andhra Pradesh, none of whom
know that his father was a coalmine worker and his mother a daily wage
labourer in paddy fields. "I don't like talking about my background,"
he smiles wryly. Like Chintala and Kondaiah, he was lucky to be born
into a family determined to educate him and his younger brother
despite crippling financial constraints. "When I earned my engineering
degree, my father asked, 'Can I call you an engineer now?'" he says.
But that joy was short-lived: he waited six long months before landing
a job. "Those were terrible times for my parents. They were under
heavy debt because of our education," Maggidi says, recalling how his
father would gasp for breath and writhe in pain that raced up his
knees and legs after nine-hour shifts at a coal mine. "I remember
crying, I was so angry we didn't have money," he wipes away tears. By
the time Maggidi was able to stand on his own feet, his father had
lost the ability to walk forever. And though he wanted to be an
aeronautical engineer, Maggidi shifted to software when TCS offered
him a placement. With an annual package of Rs 3 lakh, Maggidi is now
educating his sibling. As the youngest member of a team creating a
multi-crore project for cellular phone service providers, he keeps Rs
4,500 for himself, transferring the rest of his monthly allowance to
his parents' savings account.
"I like the opportunities that Mumbai offers but there are times when
I fail to convince my friends I can't afford to watch movies or party
on weekends," he says. It's the reason he works overtime in his office
with just a 15-minute lunch break in the canteen. "I was initially
intimidated by people in my organisation, their confidence, the way
they spoke English," he smiles briefly, "but I'm learning to cope."
His own parents' limited exposure makes it difficult for him to
explain his working environment to them, as a result of which he
sometimes feels alienated both from his colleagues as well as his
immediate family.
It's a sentiment shared by Sunil Kumar Reddy, a poor farmer's son, who
has been working for two years with Computer Associates in Hyderabad.
"There are times I'm too busy to take my parents' calls and yes, I do
feel the need to have my own space, my own independence. But I have to
constantly remind myself that I'm in this position, earning Rs 5 lakh
per annum, only because of my parents," he says. Kanuparthi, the
village in Andhra Pradesh where he was born, is still to get a bus
service, but Reddy says the big city has changed him in many ways. "I
buy clothes, watch films, I enjoy myself." He will marry in August;
his fiancee works with an IT company in Chennai. He admits it's
ironical that though his sisters weren't educated beyond the 10th
grade, he was unwilling personally to marry anyone who was not a
working professional like him. "I feel guilty my sisters couldn't
study because of me," he sighs, but says he'd like to help educate his
sisters' children, and would himself like to have a daughter.
In Nellore again, we meet Sridhar, who is set to migrate to Hyderabad.
Sridhar's life came to a standstill when his bus conductor father died
in an accident. Within months of that, his sister committed suicide.
His mother took to working as a domestic help, supported by her
husband's meagre pension, while he hoped for scholarships to keep his
education going. "The day I got the offer letter from Satyam [Get
Quote], I saw my mother smile after years," Sridhar says. He's ready
to shift to the state capital, not least because he needs to clear
debts worth Rs 2 lakh very quickly. "I'm taking my mother with me," he
says, holding her protectively.
His friend Hemachand too will be migrating to Hyderabad as a computer
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
engineer for Satyam on an annual package of Rs 3 lakh, and says he
wants to take his grandfather on a holiday. Hemachand's father
succumbed to mental instability when he incurred losses in a business
venture. "There was no money in the house and it was my grandfather
whose pension saw us through those times," he says.
Sometimes stories are difficult to end. For unlikely heroes like
Chintala, Maggidi, Reddy, Shridhar, Kondaiah and Hemachand, their
journey into a world we take for granted has just begun. Their
families' annual incomes cover probably the cost of one meal, or a
couple of trips to the beauty parlour, barely a fraction of the cost
of a break from work for many of us. Their stories, therefore, need to
be told; need to be heard. Their journey has just begun. How could we
possibly call it the end?
Role of Youth in the Socio - Political
Transformation of the Country.
Satyendra Dubey, Manjunath Shanmugham, Lalit Mehta and the list
goes on. Thousands of unsung heroes are sacrificing their lives for what
they believe is their duty to better this nation.
Do these 3 names sound familiar? Do they ring any bells? May be the 3rd
name is a little unfamiliar. Here was a young man in his mid thirties. He
had a degree from one of the prestigious engineering colleges in the
country. Yet he chose to work for something that was very dear to his
heart. Lalit Mehta, a 36-year-old- member of the Right to Food and Right
to Work campaigns in Jharkhand, was brutally murdered on 14th May
2008.
Mehta had been working in palamu (one of the poorest districts in India)
for more than 15 years. His work was widely appreciated. However, he
was fearless in exposing corruption and exploitation, and often came in
the way of vested interests.
He is gone. But his virtues remain and are like guiding lights to all of us.
He was a young man like any of us. He had dreams, dreams of having a
better nation for himself and his future generations, to see a more
egalitarian country, to work for what he believed was his duty. In fact all
three of them show us the path, the path of righteousness, fearlessness
and the tenacity to stand up against injustice and corruption.
Why do we need youth to standup today? Is this country any different
from yester years? Where is it headed?
30% of the population in this country is living largely independent of
Government and politics. So much that the parties or the governments do
not affect their lives. They don't generally vote. They crib about the govts
and politics. They don't stand up and question.
The other 70% are struggling for 2 square meals a day even after 60 years
of independence. They are depending on government for their lives and
livelihoods. Ironically, they are the ones who vote.
It is regrettable that only the country's poor and low-income groups
exercise their franchise, while the middle and upper class segments,
secure in their comforts, display a marked indifference towards elections.
The younger generation could ill-afford to insulate themselves from
politics.
Are the 70% in a position to stand up and fight? Whose responsibility is
it to lead this struggle? We have to stand up and take lead. Fight for them
and also for us.
Friends, it is time we stand up and get counted. We need more of Lalits.
We need more Suryams of Rudraveena (a very popular national award
winning telugu Movie)
The Time is Ripe:
50% of population below 25 and 66% is below 35 years of age. With the
changing economy and increased opportunities, youth has conquered
9 JULY 2008

literally everything. But there remains a sector where we are still a
minority and we shun away from talking about it. It is nothing but
politics. Most of you will easily understand when you answer the
following 2 questions.
1. How many of you have done charity? (Donating, going to
orphanages, old age homes, helping people in need etc)
2. How many of you think of politics and even nurture a dream of
changing it? And how many of you know what right to information is?
"The Institute of Politics found that college students are engaged in their
community, even if they are not involved in political activities. Nearly 66
percent volunteered recently in their community and more than 40
percent volunteered at least a few times per month, while fewer than 10
percent volunteered on a political campaign. Moreover, 85 percent of
students believed volunteerism is an effective form of public service to
solve problems on both local and national level (Institute of Politics
2002).”
You can see it for yourselves. We all do charity. We all want to change the
things. But sadly for most of us, it stops at charity.
Gandhiji used to say,I asked you (young man) to go to villages and bury
yourself there. Only feeling will be of no use just like steam which by
itself is of no account, unless it is kept under proper control-when it
becomes a mighty force. I ask you wounded soul of India." This is a
paragraph from “A call to Youth” written by Gandhi has given to the
youth of this country in the process of social transformation.
It should not stop at charity. We should be change agents, Catalysts in the
socio political transformation of this country. We should think of the root
cause and try to address the same. We need a revolution - a political
revolution where youth takes center stage.
Is doing charity a selfless thing? In my view, we are all selfish. We are all
selfish about having a better world for ourselves. A better country to
livein.
What is our role and why youth??
- As Vivekananda said,
Supreme value of youth period is incalculable and indescribable. Youth
life is the most precious life. Youth is the best time. The way in which
you utilize this period will decide the nature of coming years that lie
ahead of you. “
Vivekananda would say "Give me 100 energetic young men and I shall
transform India",
Such was his belief in the young minds and Young people. When
Probably the greatest Youth icon says that youth only can transform this
country, I think we should stand up and take note.
Youth was the prime actor in the process of socio-political
transformation from the undemocratic, irrational, fragmented,
hierarchical structure to the democratic, rational, united structure based
on equality which Gandhi envisaged for independent India.
Now, what do we do and how can we contribute and take part?
First and foremost, go and register as a voter. Get your identity cards. Go
out and vote. Know the value of using your franchise. Elect judiciously.
What is Politics? What does Politics mean to you?
Is politics about winning elections the wrong way? Is it about using
money and muscle power? Is it about corruption? May be 90% of us stop
here and think of politics as this dirty Game.
It has to be understood that politics is not just running the government,
but also problem solving, taking charge of the issues that plague the
country in general. It is like any other job. You have deliverables,
deadlines and outcomes. It is also like any other business where you rate
your success on the profits. The only difference here is your success is
rated on the social aspects of it. Based on how many lives are changed for
better, how many people are better off etc.
SIMPLE THOUGHTS 10
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
Unfortunately the representation of youth in the parliament and law
making bodies is minimal. A mere 6.6% of the loksabha MPs of the
fourteenth loksabha are below 35 (that comes to a mere 36 out of 545)
where as the percentage of population below 35 is 66%. The story will be
no different in the assembly.
The word politician envisages an old, tired and worn-out individual but,
in general, we hardly think of youngsters as politicians. Many of us
regard politics as "quicksand" where if one gets in, will never be able to
come out. Due to this wrong notion, politics is definitely not one among
the diverse career options chosen by the youngsters. Why is it so? Have
we taken for granted that the politics of our country will never change? Is
the only aim of young men and women to settle down in life through a
well-paid job and a happy married life? Well, many of us portray youth as
`cool, young and happening' but we fail to realize the potential and
capacity of the young blood in reforming our age-old politics.
As such, a prudent reason for the youth not entering politics is the
misrepresentation of the youth as `cool, young and happening' and
entering into politics or even discussing it is considered as a waste of
time. A very less number actually possess a voter identification card and
even lesser number actually go to vote, all of which results in a degraded
majority and a wrong party on power. And then, with a frown on their
face, the same youngsters moan," Our country will never change".
Ironically, the media too feels so and concentrates more on presenting
what the youngsters are `interested in' and accordingly, their interest
does not lie in the "Indo-US nuclear deal" or Assembly elections and
apparently, lies more in Salman-Aishwarya break up or Tom Cruise's
forthcoming movie. That is one of the important reasons why Page-
Three journalism sells like hot cakes. We need to change out priorities.
If doyens like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru hadn't had the
vision of a free India, we would still have been bonded slaves of the
British. The strenuous efforts of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and many such
young freedom fighters of our country have brought us the freedom,
which we are enjoying today. But the political leaders are enjoying this
freedom a little too much and we, the people are disastrously affected. It
is us, the youth, the future citizens of the country, who can make the
difference. As the new Airtel ad puts it " One act of defiance-- can spark a
revolution".
We have to start somewhere. Lets start today. Because time would never
return. Lets realize that the time is ours. Understand politics. Take it as
you would take any other subject. Understand the deficiencies, learn to
question wrongs and you will have done a great favour.
Start working on smaller issues. Some issue that is close to your heart.
Learn to question. Learn to findout the rootcause and also the remedy. It
can be anything from traffic problems, roads, water, rations and anything
and everything. Appreciate the struggles of people.
I would like to end by quoting swami Vivekananda
“Rouse yourselves, therefore, or life is short. There are greater works to
be done than aspiring to become lawyers and picking quarrels and such
things. A far greater work is this sacrifice of yourselves for the benefit of
your race, for the welfare of humanity.
Young men, my hope is in you. Will you respond to the call of your nation?
Each one of you has a glorious future if you dare believe me. Have a
tremendous faith in yourselves, like the faith I had when I was a child,
and which I am working out now. Have that faith, each one of you, in
yourself--that eternal power is lodged in every soul--and you will revive
the whole of the country”
What type of democracy is better for a nation like ours? Our president
and the PM are never directly elected by us. Our votes sometimes go
waste if the candidate we vote loses. This is the intersting topic that
JULY 2008
 COVER THOT EDUCATION

Education is essential, a majority of people agree. “Education is uncovering the truth that's already in the human mind”, said Swami Vivekananda.
What does that mean? That everyone of us is educated but that we need to realize it first, and then try to “uncover the truth”. In this process, one should
realize the subtle differences between words like “education”, “literacy”, and “knowledge”. While literacy refers to the ability to read and write, it
does not guarantee any realization of Truth; knowledge refers to knowing things, but that's a stage that comes after realization! The gap between the
two words is bridged by “education”. You read, write, comprehend, and understand, and finally know, but the discretion of good and bad is the
application of knowledge, and that's what education essentially is!
Indian society may boast of an ever-increasing percentage of literates. However, we need to realize that for India to develop, we need to produce not
mere literates but educated individuals! Majority of individuals in our circles have at least a Bachelors degree, but how many of us are really
educated?! As “educated” folks, the least we need to do is identify that education is not something that we learn in schools and colleges! Our
household, family, friends, and the society at large all these teach us each day of our life, and there are books and other resources all over the place.
Education is a purely interactive process: sometimes you interact with your inner self, and such introspection helps you discover things that you never
realized that you knew!
Ancient Indian education system that produced great scholars and offered numerous degree programs thousands of years ago in the then-famous
universities at Takshasila and Nalanda. Numerous political attacks weakened us in the medieval era, and we may thus have had other priorities than
produce scholars. With the advent of British era, we were in such a position to not even resist a new education system that was designed to make us
mere yes-men! Creative arts and skills became “hobbies”, and “caste” lost its real meaning and merely became a tag of discrimination. There are no
kings or warriors today, but we still call them Kshatriyas. Brahmins today are not all priests, and all merchants are not Vysyas either the converse is
true too and so on. This social discrimination worsened the situation further, and created fissures among our people. Interdependence of people lost
itself to independence and dependence, and Community got dubbed as caste, quite a misnomer! Today, most of us do not seem to realize that society is
a conglomeration of communities that coexist and depend on each other! In the urge created by identity crisis of some sort, people today are losing,
albeit unknowingly, their essential identity as “human beings”!
What makes us different from animals? The ability to speak, of course, and the ability to think! We also essentially differ from our close
“relatives”, chimpanzees, in at least one other way: Education! All animals, including humans, learn struggle for existence and survival
of the fittest makes them all learn, or they get crushed by Nature sooner or later. But, some scientists state that only humans have the
ability to pass on knowledge to others peers and next generations and we thus do not start our “learning curve” at zero anymore! This
passing on of knowledge, of course, is a part of education! In other words, if we cannot learn from or teach others, we are not justifying
our existence as human beings! In today's cut-throat competitive world, how keen are we to imbibe, inculcate, or impart knowledge in
others, and how obedient are we to learn things from superiors, peers or subordinates? An adage puts it aptly: an individual who lacks
education is a (strange) animal!
So, what is education? How do we simply teach it at schools or colleges or even in our own homes? How does one know that education is
successfully imparted? Unfortunate it may seem, but fortunately really, there are no answers to these questions! Education is one's own
quest of truth that cannot be carried out or chauffeured by someone else! Sure, teachers, parents …literally everyone in the society, and
the society itself everyone and everything in this society has the right and duty to take part in this essential process of life, but all these
are only pointers. Needless to say, this is a continuous process all through one's life. Profound or philosophical it may seem that's what it
is really but that's something we all do already: only, we should realize that we do! Pursuits in life are all at an individual level; education
is just one of them! And, we hope Simple Thots is one such resource, and caution that it is just one of infinite such resources!

SIMPLE THOUGHTS 11 JULY 2008

 COVER THOT EDUCATION

Simple Thots @ Education drive @ Yousufguda

Government High School @ 10:45
It's not a regular drowsy...sleepy saturday morning for us. We felt quite energetic, eyes filled with passion, legs eager to make a move to the world of
change that we desire, we were 3 in number. We were confident about the change we are going to make today. We entered the school at around 9 'o
clock, we spoke with the primary school teacher regarding our interest in taking classes to the children.

Information on Yousufguda Public School:

l The school runs in shift system, 1st 5th standard from morning 7:30 to 12:30.
l Mid-day meal program starts at around 11:45
l The school infrastructure is good and is located at the yousufguda junction, which is a very easy place to be located and well connected.

“School needs some more teachers, the strength of the teachers is very less compared to the 1000 odd students studying in the class”.

We were waiting for our friends to join us, Finally 20 of us grouped in a class room.
We did some initial preparations to know our individual approach towards the students, so that we can learn the good things from each other. There
were some very useful conversations.

This was our Simple Agenda (We had some chocolates as gifts and carried few charts with us)

We implemented all the events as per the planning but the teachers had their individual approach on implementing them. The timings that were
mentioned were not maintained because of circumstances.

List of events:
Exercise on teaching them the pleasure of making friends
We will begin the day by introducing us…
My name is Rajesh… I work as an engineer
What do u know about engineer…what will an engineer do
I like writing songs…listening songs…playing cricket..

SIMPLE THOUGHTS 12 JULY 2008

 COVER THOT EDUCATION

How many of u like them… same pinch for all the similar tastes……
How many friends …u have to tell the count and their names…. The one with maximum friends in class a special chocolate..
10 mins to go across the class… introduce u r self to as many as u can… know their names.. if u don't remember … write them… one who makes more
friends win a special prize.
So by 10-45 … u know children… children know u…
Now a small session on a topic
Topic will be decided depending on the class addressed.
Ex Digestive System… we will take lot of photo copies… print outs… given to groups of children.

Session will be for 30 mins

11 - 15

Learning in a group is encouraged here…

We asked them to draw pictures and text about - what they like and dislike at home and school? What they want to be in future and how they are going
to serve the society?
They have to collectively do it.
They will tell us why they liked it…
By 11 50 the task is completed
12 12 : 15
Some songs and dances by children
By 12 30 they go for lunch
1:30 (Story telling …)
We tell them a story that we frame … with some questions on moral behaviour following it.
It will be for 20 mins
2:00
Now students frame stories….every student tells a story for 1 min…other friend follows it for another 1 min.
After 5 mins…the better story formed wins prize
2:30
Again a session on one of the topics
Indian Geography or Mathematics or History
3 3:15 Good bye to students
(We will take their experiences about the day… what they liked in the day… what they remembered)

SIMPLE THOUGHTS 13 JULY 2008

COVER THOT EDUCATION

Can we do this on a
Regular Basis

SIMPLE THOUGHTS 14 JULY 2008

 COVER THOT
We started our classes at 10:45 for 1 5th class and at 1:30 we
started classes for 9th and 10th class.
(First session: 10:45 12:00 and Second Session 1:30 5:00)
What Children say…
What we like in school…
- We like the teachers, they teach us well
What we don't like in the school...
- In our school …sanitation facilities are not proper...primary
school chidren r spoiling the toilets
- We want some more teachers in our school
- There is lot of garbage in the school…we don't like it
- Lot of sound pollution outside…which comes into the class
room.
- There is lot of disturbance it the school...we don't like it.
- There are no benches for 6th class children... we don't like it.
- Lack of drinking water facilities.
- We dont like the child labour system in schools...kindly do
something for this...
- I dont like that teacher bcoz she sleeps in the school.
- I like playing games.
What we like in home...
- My brothers make lot of noise and i like it
- Our home is small...so we live close 2 each other
- i like my father ...bcoz he never quarrels with anyone..he never
smokes...he never drinks
- eating and watching TV
What we don't like at home...
- There are many people quarelling in our house surroudings.
- My father drinks a lot and comes to home.
- cleaning utensils after eating food
- My father is a trouble to me ( a 9th class girl says so)
- There is not much cleanliness in the home and the
surroundings...we dont like it
- quarrel between mother and father
What can be developed in school..
- We need some more teachers in the school
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
EDUCATION
- If there are computers in the school ..it wud b gud
- We advise our 6th class students who r having english medium
to score more marks than the private schools, we are little bit
unhappy of not knowing english but we r confident about
learning.
What do u want to do for the society..
- We will discuss about the good and bad in the society and will
make a better society
- I want to help old people
- Everyone shud b educated...i will educate the people on the
values of education
- I wanna bcome doctor and serve the poor…the confidence i
inject thru my words in the patient cures the disease 50%
- We need to help others in need... we need to help the physically
disabled
what wud u like to bcome..
- I wanna b a engineer but my parents are not interested
- I want to be a social teacher in our school
- I want to become a doctor and serve the nation
- bank manager,police officer, singer, beauty parlour, teacher,
lawyer ... we want to become
- I want to become a teacher and the same time i want to become a
singer and dancer
- I WILL be a doctor and make people aware of various medicines
available...many people are suffering bcoz of lack of information
- I want to become a police office..i dont say everyone in
department are gud...there is gud and bad...i dont say i will do
good to the nation...i will atleast make an effort that i can do some
good in my street
little wishes..
All my class mates shud reach pinnacle in their life
If i am a collector...if there is a child labour anywhere...i will
bring them to school and punish the people.
i will see that there is enough water for farmers...if there is any
illegal liqour ..i will punish them...i will tell all that
everyone is equal...i will see that government help reaches all
15 JULY 2008
 Courtesy@http://yannone.blogspot.com
by Ken School and Before leaving India, Barun escorted me to the old fort town of Kesroli in Rajasthan province, just outside
New Delhi, where we had an amazing experience witnessing the difference between private and government country schools.
The story makes a beautiful statement about the dedication of students, teachers, and parents dedicated to a better life in a country that is
in a state of rapid transformation.
From a hilltop fort in Kesroli we noticed classes being held on the rooftop of a nearby building. When I started waving to the students,
the kids noticed and started waving back. That's when we got the idea of stopping in for a visit.
We were warmly received by this private school's teacher and her class of students.
The man who owned the school taught the younger kids and hired the woman to teach the older kidsa total of about 50 students.
Each student paid a tuition of about a dollar (US) a month for a full schedule of classes which included social studies, mathematics,
science, English, Hindi, and Sanskrit. So the total income shared by these two teachers amounted to about $50 US per month.
These vibrant students were planning all sorts of careers as doctors, businessmen, teachers, scientists, cricketeers, etc. The teachers
strongly encouraged them to seek higher education and professional careers.
Next we decided to visit a government school. Barun and I were met by the Headmaster, under the watchful eyes of his ultimate
Headmasters, Nehru and Gandhi.
The students were in well-ordered lines, stamping in unison and saluting to our visit. There are about 400 enrolled, though a large
number were out in the fields this day, helping with the harvest.
The students are offered facilities, free tuition, and a free meal for lunch. There are 10 teachers, sometimes with classes as large as 150
students.

SIMPLE THOUGHTS 16 JULY 2008

 SIMPLE THOUGHTS

Teachers are civil-service employees, each paid about $200 US per month. So the pay for 10 teachers is $2000 US per month. Thus,
each teacher is paid four times as much as a teacher in the private school we visited.
Teachers in the government schools are rotated to a new school every two or three years, and in addition to teaching duties are often
required to conduct ballot and census-counting duties throughout the countryside.
When asked what these students' plans were for higher education, we were told by the teachers that none of them would go on for any
education beyond elementary school. We were told that class enrollments drop dramatically after the first couple years of schooling.
So why would parents in a very poor community pay money for their kids to go to private schools when the government schools were
free? In a paper published by Barun's Liberty Institute in New Delhi, James Tooley provided some interesting insight: "When
researchers called unannounced . . . only in 53 per cent of the schools was there any 'teaching activity' going on. ... In fully 33%, the
head teacher was absent." Tooley says the same was true of private schools that operated on government grants.
But the unaided private schools were a sharp contrast in vitality and learning. Indeed, Tooley found that these private school students,
when unaided by any government funding, showed test scores in reading and math that were twice the levels of students in the
government schools or in the government-aided private schools. He concluded that the significant difference was in the accountability
of owners and teachers to paying customers.
Barun Mitra commented to me, "The teacher in the private school was more keen on ensuring that his students went to high school, and
further. Another interesting point about the private school was that for grade 7 and 8, the school fee was $2 US. But with around $50 US,
net income, the owner was still willing to offer free tuition or discounts to students who could not really pay. The owner felt that these
children were his neighbours." Tooley observed that virtually anyone could afford the tuition, from rickshaw pullers to fruit sellers, yet
up to 20% of the school spaces were held for those who couldn't pay even that much.
My heart went out to these dedicated private-school teachers, students, and parents. I have their address and plan to make contact again.
Imagine what they might do with a laptop! In the meantime, they taught me a lot about the future of India, a country that is in rapid
transformation and growing rapidly because of private initiative.

SIMPLE THOUGHTS 17 JULY 2008

 Why I Am An Atheist
A new question has cropped up. Is it due to vanity that I do not
believe in the existence of an omnipotent, omnipresent and
omniscient God? I had never imagined that I would ever have
to confront such a question. But conversation with some
friends has given me, a hint that certain of my friends, if I am
not claiming too much in thinking them to be so-are inclined to
conclude from the brief contact they have had with me, that it
was too much on my part to deny the existence of God and that
there was a certain amount of vanity that actuated my disbelief.
Well, the problem is a serious one. I do not boast to be quite
above these human traits. I am a man and nothing more. None
can claim to be more. I also have this weakness in me. Vanity
does form a part of my nature. Amongst my comrades I was
called an autocrat. Even my friend Mr. B.K. Dutt sometimes
called me so. On certain occasions I was decried as a despot.
Some friends do complain and very seriously too that I
involuntarily thrust my opinions upon others and get my
proposals accepted. That this is true up to a certain extent, I do
not deny. This may amount to egotism. There is vanity in me in
as much as our cult as opposed to other popular creeds is
concerned. But that is not personal. It may be, it is only
legitimate pride in our cult and does not amount to vanity.
Vanity or to be more precise "Ahankar" is the excess of undue
pride in one's self. Whether it is such an undue pride that has led
me to atheism or whether it is after very careful study of the
subject and after much consideration that I have come to
disbelieve in God, is a question that I, intend to discuss here.
Because our forefathers had set up a faith in some supreme,
being-the Al mighty God- therefore any man who dares to
challenge the validity of that faith, or the very existence of that
supreme being, he shall have to be called an apostate, a
renegade. If his arguments are too sound to be refuted by
counter-arguments and spirit too strong to be cowed down by
the threat of misfortunes that may befall him by the wrath of the
Almighty-he shall be decried as vainglorious, his spirit to be
denominated as vanity. Then why to waste time in this vain
discussion? Why try to argue out the whole thing? This
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
question is coming before the public for the first time, and is
being handled in this matter of fact way for the first time, hence
this lengthy discussion.
As for the first question, I think I have cleared that it is not
vanity that has led me to atheism. My way of argument has
proved to be convincing or not, that is to be judged by my
readers, not me. I know in the present, circumstances my faith
in God would have made my life easier, my burden lighter and
my disbelief in Him has turned all the circumstances too dry
and the situation may assume too harsh a shape. A little bit of
mysticism can make it poetical. But I, do not want the help of
any intoxication to meet my fate. I am a realist. I have been
trying to overpower the instinct in me by the help of reason. I
have not always been successful in achieving this end. But
man's duty is to try and endeavour, success depends upon
chance and environments.
As for the second question that if it was not vanity, then there
ought to be some reason to disbelieve the old and still
prevailing faith of the existence of God. Yes; I come to that now
Reason there is. According to. me, any man who has got some
reasoning power at his command always tries to reason out his
environments. Where direct proofs are lacking philosophy
occupies the important place. As I have already stated, a certain
revolutionary friend used to say that Philosophy is the outcome
of human weakness. When our ancestors had leisure enough to
try to solve out the mystery of this world, its past, present and
the future, its whys and wherefores, they having been terribly
short of direct proofs, everybody tried to solve the problem in
his own way. Hence we find the wide dufferences in the
fundamentals of various religious creeds, which some times
assume very antagonistic and conflicting shapes. Not only the
Oriental and Occidental philosophies differ, there are
differences even amongst various schools of thoughts in each
hemisphere. Amongst Oriental religions, the Moslem faith is
not at all compatible with Hindu faith. In India alone Buddhism
and Jainism are sometimes quite separate from Brahmanism, in
18 JULY 2008

which there are again conflicting faiths as Arya Samaj and Sanatan
Dharma. Charwak is still another independent thinker of the past
ages. He challenged the authority of God in the old times. All these
creeds differ from each other on the fundamental question., and
everybody considers himself to be on the right. There lies the
misfortune. Instead of using the experiments and expressions of
the ancient Savants and thinkers as a basis for our future struggle
against ignorance and to try to find out a solution to this mysterious
problem, we lethargical as we have proved to be raise the hue and
cry of faith, unflinching and unwavering faith to their versions and
thus are guilty of stagnation in human progress.
Any man who stands for progress has to criticise, disbelieve and
challenge every item of the old faith. Item by item he has to reason
out every nook and corner of the prevailing faith. If after
considerable reasoning one is led to believe in any theory or
philosphy, his faith is welcomed. His reasoning can be mistaken,
wrong, misled and sometimes fallacious. But he is liable to
correction because reason is the guiding star of his life. But mere
faith and blind faith is dangerous: it dulls the brain, and makes a
man reactionary. A man who claims to be a realist has to challenge
the whole of the ancient faith. If it does not stand the onslaught of
reason it crumbles down. Then the first thing for him is to shatter
the whole down and clear a space for the erection of a new
philosophy. This is the negative side. After it begins the positive
work in which sometimes some material of the old faith may be
used for the purpose of reconstruction. As far as I am concerned,
let me admit at the very outset that I have not been able to study
much on this point. I had a great desire to study the Oriental
Philosophy but I could not get any chance or opportunity to do the
same. But so far as the negative study is under discussion, I think I
am convinced to the extent of questioning the soundness of the old
faith. I have been convinced as to non-existence of a conscious
supreme being who is guiding and directing the movements of
nature. We believe in nature and the whole progressive movement
aims at the domination of man over nature for his service. There is
no conscious power behind it to direct. This is what our philosophy
is.
I ask why your omnipotent God, does not stop every man when he
is committing any sin or offence ? He can do it quite easily. Why
did he not kill war lords or kill the fury of war in them and thus
avoid the catastrophe hurled down on the head of humanity by the
Great War? Why does he not just produce a certain sentiment in the
mind of the British people to liberate India? Why does he not
infuse the althuistic enthusiasm in the hearts of all capitalists to
forgo their rights of personal possessions of means of production
and thus redeem the whole labouring community-nay the whole
human society from the bondage of Capitalism. You want to
reason out the practicability of socialist theory, I leave it for your
almighty to enforce it. People recognize the merits of socialism in
as much as the general welfare is concerned. They oppose it under
the pretext of its being impracticable. Let the Almighty step in and
arrange everything in an orderly fashion. Now don't try to advance
round about arguments, they are out of order. Let me tell you,
British rule is here not because God wills it but because they
possess power and we do not dare to oppose them. Not that it is
with the help of God that they are keeping us under their subjection
but it is with the help of guns and rifles, bomb and bullets, police
and millitia and our apathy that they are successfully committing
the most deplorable sin against society- the outrageous
exploitation of one nation by another. Where is God ? What is he
doing ? Is he enjoying all I these woes of human race ? A Nero; A
change (changez): Down with him :
Do you ask me how I explain the origin of this world and origion of
man ? Alright I tell you. Charles Darwin has tried to throw some
light on the subject. Study him. Read Soham Swam's
"Commonsense". It shall answer your question to some extent.
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
ARTICLES
This is a phenomenon of nature. The accidental mixture of
different substances in the shape of nebulace produced this earth.
When ? Consult history. The same process produced animals and
in the long run man. Read Darwin's 'Origin of Species'. And all the
later progress is due to man's constant conflict with nature and his
efforts to override it. This is the briefest possible explanation of
this phenomenon.
Your other argument may be just to ask why a child is born blind or
lame if not due to his deeds committed in the previous birth ? This
problem has been explained away by biologists as a more
biological phenomenon. According to them the whole burden rests
upon the shoulders of the parents who may be conscious or
ignorant of their own deeds led to mutilation of the child previous
to its birth.
Naturally you may ask another question-though it is quite childish
in essence. If no God existed, how did the people come to believe
in him? My answer is clear and brief. As they came to believe in
ghosts, and evil spirits; the only difference is that belief in God is
almost universal and the philosophy well developed. Unlike
certain of the radicals I would not attribute its origin to the
ingenuity of the exploiters who wanted to keep the people under
their subjection by preaching the existence of a supreme being and
then claiming an authority and sanction from him for their
privileged positions. Though I do not differ with them on the
essential point that all faiths, religions, creeds and such other
institutions became in turn the mere supporters of the tyrannical
and exploiting institutions, men and classes. Rebellion against
king is always a sin according to every religion.
As regards the origin of God my own idea is that having realized
the limitations of man, his weaknesses and shortcoming having
been taken into consideration, God was brought into imaginary
existence to encourage man to face boldly all the trying
circumstances, to meet all dangers manfully and to check and
restrain his outbursts in prosperity and affluence. God both with
his private laws and parental generosity was imagined and painted
in greater details. He was to serve as a deterrent factor when his
fury and private laws were discussed so that man may not become
a danger to society. He was to serve as a father, mother, sister and
brother, friend and helpers when his parental qualifications were
to be explained. So that when man be in great distress having been
betrayed and deserted by all friends he may find consolation in the
idea that an ever true friend was still there to help him, to support
him and that He was almighty and could do anything. Really that
was useful to the society in the primitive age. The idea of God is
helpful to man in distress.
Society has to fight out this belief as well as was fought the idol
worship and the narrow conception of religon. Similarly, when
man tries to stand on his own legs, and become a realist he shall
have to throw the faith aside, and to face manfully all the distress,
trouble, in which the circumstances may throw him. That is
exactly my state of affairs. It is not my vanity, my friends. It is my
mode of thinking that has made me an atheist. I don't know
whether in my case belief in God and offering of daily prayers
which I consider to be most selfish and degraded act on the part of
man, whether these prayers can prove to be helpful or they shall
make my case worse still. I have read of atheists facing all troubles
quite boldly, so am I trying to stand like a man with an erect head to
the last; even on the gallows.
Let us see how I carry on : one friend asked me to pray. When
informed of my atheism, he said, "During your last days you will
begin to believe". I said, No, dear Sir, it shall not be. I will think
that to be an act of degradation and demoralization on my part. For
selfish motives I am not going to pray. Readers and friends, "Is this
vanity"? If it is, I stand for it.
19 JULY 2008

Should india go for a Presidential system of administration like Unites States
young people are debating now a days. In an era of coalition politics, this
assumes a greater importance. Simple thots has seen different young
people express their opinions. Here is what they say,
Chandra says,
“I personally feel that the presendential sytem is a boon. We will be
choosing the prime minister directly by casting our vote.
All the major parties should be announcing their heads well in advance.
The National parties are doing it right now, but the alliances can never
confirm us,who is going to lead us.
The personal interests of the parties will have less influence on the head
of the government when he is directly elected.Most of the times,the
national level parties will be contesting for it.Hence the national interest
will be safeguarded to some extent.
We dont want anymore sleeping minister or puppets in the hands of the
party heads,we want a right person with full commands to govern us.
I strongly feel that we shud go for Presidential system. India should
become United States of India and all the party heads (whether it is a
prime minister or a chief minister) should be eleceted by the people.
Otherwise political dramas like the one that happened in karnataka will
repeat again and again.
I think that "Presidential system of USA" is a must for a country like
india where the prominence of regional parties is increasing day to day.
We want a party to do governance for complete tenure of 5 years,Re-
elections are very costly and will create a delay in many projects.
Presidential system gives the leader a confidence on his postion,where as
teh current system is creating a fear in the mind of the ruler,because of
more coallations”
Ravishankar disagrees with Chandra and says,
“ I disagree with this thought. The other side always looks greener.
the complaint with this kind of ruling is the connectivity of governement
to ordinary citizen. when power is centralized there is a great scope for
corruption”
Saravanan seconds Chandra's thoughts by saying,
“I am not very good at Politics. I feel that it is a good choice to have
Presidential Way of voting is done. One more thing is that, there should
be a rule which makes sure that once a coalition is formed there should no
chance to leave it till 5 years. There should be no re-elections during this
time frame”
Roops also agrees with the thought,
“hey..u r right ...bt jus we thinking about this wont help...we need to work
on it also...bt I am scared our politicins wud never think on this ground ”
Ganesh says,
“I too like the idea
Just think if all the 800 parties in India compete for this post ok leave
what about the 11 coialations or just think about the 7-8 National parties
in India It will be a mess !!!
the first thing needed is to bring all these to 2 or 3 parties as public
representatives ... ”
Naveenchand takes the example of karnataka to support the presidential
form of Democracy,
“Take Karnataka. After the 2004 Assembly elections, the state had three
chief ministers from different parties in three and a half years. They
could not do anything worthwhile to address Bangalore's infrastructural
woes, which drive investors away. The new international airport is ready,
but the connectivity issue is yet to be resolved. The ambitious Bangalore-
Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project was bogged down by
personal animosity between JD(S) supreme H D Deve Gowda, who held
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DISCUSSIONS
considerable sway over the government, and BMIC Managing Director
Ashok Khenny. It was only after obtaining a favorable verdict from the
Supreme Court that Khenny could resume work on the project. The three
chief ministers(B S Yedyurappa was in power only for a week) did
nothing to resolve the festering river-water disputes with Tamil Nadu or
border disputes with Maharashtra.
Things underwent a dramatic change after Governor took over the
administration of the state. Work on major infrastructure projects like
Metro Rail and Expressway to new airport are taking place at a much fast
pace. Problems of people get resolved fast at the mass contact
programmes (janata darshan) of the Governor and his three Advisers.
Files move faster at the Vidhana Soudha. Well, why do we need
politicians to govern the state?”
Though there is an overwhelming majority which favours the
presidential form, both the systems have their merits and demerits. India
is a fairly successful democracy with 60 years of rich democratic
heritage. It is time we think of the negatives of the present system and try
rectifying them. Also to be looked at is the FPTP system of elections. The
term first past the post (abbreviated FPTP or FPP) was coined as an
analogy to horse racing, where the winner of the race is the first to pass a
particular point on the track (in this case a plurality of votes), after which
all other runners automatically and completely lose (that is, the payoff is
"winner-takes-all"). There is, however, no "post" that the winning
candidate must pass in order to win, as they are only required to receive
the largest number of votes in their favour. This sometimes results in the
alternative name "furthest past the post".
There is a need to review the FPTP system as the votes that losing
candidate gets go waste and do not count.
Indian Cricket Vs Remaining Sports
The favourite topic for television news debates is Cricket Vs Remaining
Sports. Specially when something like IPL has topped the TRP charts
leaving even the saas bahu soaps far behind. Hundreds of hours of air
time is spent on debating this. Is cricket the culprit? Is it killing other
sports? Or is it the other way round? Just that the other sports
administrators don't have it in them to market. Simple Thots started the
discussion on this topic and some very intersting points were raised
leaving the discussion without a winner.
One of them says
“We are against the IPL. The timing of IPL is not good, We don't want to
comment on the intentions.
Atleast a few sponsors would have come forward for the rescue of the
olympic team. Now that IPL came to picture,success or failure of IPL is
the cover story of magazines.
If we dont expect medals then how can we actually get them.Why doesn't
the media focus on the sports person participating in olympics a lot.
After all its a competetion played between hundreds of nations,whereas
the cricket is a game played by 10 odd countries.”
An other one disagrees saying
“Media cannot concentrate on each and every individual as there will be
close to 200 people going to olympics from India. And they(190 out of
200) themselves know that they cannot win a medal. Earlier we have
seen how Leander paes, karanam malleswari, rathore got recognisition.
Even PT Usha who dint win a medal also got the focus.
And coming to cricket people had lot of passion on the game and
obviously it will get the hype. No matter how many countries where
cricket is played but Cricket is the game where India produced stars”
Roops takes a diplomatic stand saying, “Well media concentrating on
olympics is not the criteria,,As said INDIANS know only more of
20 JULY 2008

CRICKET CRICKET n CRICKET ..they are not much interested in
other sports...they don’t want to have knowledge of other sports...I can
say only few of them wud be interested in knowing what is the status of
Indians during the olympics, but whereas u talk about cricket...they are
damn crazy bout that..u can see the televisions ON all the time anywhere
and everywhere..first its the individuals,,we the INDIANS..who should
have the zeal to encourage other sports also..then can we point it out on
the media capturing the events and bout winning medals...its not only
winnig always...loosing the game also teaches us lots and our Indians
have performed at real good times...So we are here to encourage them
anytime and everytime.”
The debate continues as to who is to blame for the state of other sports in
the country. But the one thing we can be sure about is that the
associations are again run like political organizations with politicians at
the helm. Unless this changes, its hard to see the road ahead for other
sports.
My College Days ....!
- Ravi.
Three years (2001 TO 2004)just passed by like the waves in the sea.
Some moments I still cherish for they are still afresh. There were lot of
thoughts, little money and big big dreams. As I walked in the corridor,
my heart started beating even faster. Any body could guess I was from
FIRST BATCH. Finally I was dropped in the classroom and sat next to a
girl. She was pretty, she smelled rose. I just closed my eyes and smelled
her more. Then I turned and saw more of girls. I was happy I was glad for
this was the best place I could have had. Lot of handshakes lot of stories,
lot of friends and very little study; it went on till Lunch. Now it was more
fun. In the canteen 20 of us, single cigarette for all of us. Two Samosas
and a chai that was what all of us had. Soon came the Next Year, or should
I say the time for ragging. All juniours were ragged in BUS and inside the
College, but still they were sportive all the time. It went on for a month
but it was all fun. We Came to FINAL Year & Sub Juniours Came..On the
fresher's day, we drank, smoked and danced We enjoyed while in the
class. Teased the lecturers, threw chalks. Ate chocolates, played games
and never listened. Bunked the classes went for movies. Sometimes
hanged in spencers other wise rested in Friends Rooms. There was little
money more of love.Then came the scary exams, the last minute notes,
the night outs, getting behind girls for their notes and finally waking up
just 20 minutes before the exam.Finally the results were out But nothing
changed on the academics side, Finally the placements came, and all of
got jobs. It was now the final day, all of us were in tears. We thought
would disappear our chit chats in the stair cases, our laughter in the
canteen, the bottle of wine, the small cigarette, the borrowing of money,
the late night talks, going for date and finally the circle of friends.
Today….there is money lots of it…there is a big bungalow…and lots of
cigarettes; But no friends. Friends I miss you all and my good old
College days.
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Readers comments on
“How to stop corruption” Article
Chandra_LP
Our education system should sow the seeds of honesty, sincererity,
regularity, loyalty, punctuality, respect towards Nation, National
Anthem, National Emblem, elders..etc in the minds of students from the
early ages only. They should not stop it just by saying, teachers also
should practice them and make the students to practice also. In each and
every class some lessons should be incorporated in the syllabus which
gives the essence of these things. Gifts or more marks should be given to
those who practice these things. So that students get mould to them and
get habituated. Students are the building blocks of the Nation. They are
the Future India so they should get much care and attention.
As blood in the in the body, corruption is also prevailing in each & every
part of the country. In the government, in the common peoples mind and
in every one. We can't blame a single department or a single committee &
community. Every one is responsible for this present situation. Now its
our responsibility to change the situation, transform it completely 'from
Corrupt India to Correct India'. Transformation should come from each
& every person. Don't think of immediate benefits think of future.
According to Kautilya Fish in the water and the Government servants
both are alike. As fish can't survive without drinking water similarly a
government servant cant live without taking bribe.
Incentives scheme is good to some extent. Whistle blowers program is
already there in the departments but it is not much in use (I feel so) due to
fear or may be any other reason.
Earlier in Tirupati only one line used to be there and every one used to go
in that only. Few staff of that temple used to take bribe and let them go in
different short-cut route. It was a corruption and we are calling the staff
was a corrupted men But what the Government did.. brought new
concept like special darshanam Rs.1000/- Rs.500/- Rs.100/- Rs. 50/-per
ticket. Don't u think this is corruption I will say definitely this is
corruption. Taking the advantage of the busy devotees Government or
TTD has thought this will give more income for them and planned to loot
the devotees.. Devotees those who have money are buying those tickets
and having the Sri Lord Venkateshwara darshanam without any
difficulty.
Pasricha
I think it was not the constable in the traffic police office who was
responsible for the corruption. Here comes a share from both of sides. If
the one is not willing to be corrupted, the other one can never.
Yes you are right that the time is money for you, you would have lost
more than 100 rs the time you bargain with those crooks. But it's we who
have to be in forefront to stop us and for us we have to pay more to stop it
rahter than becoming victim.
But think of the day when a Polica man comes to know and sets it as habit
that a educated person is not going to bribe instead is going to complain
certainly, he will definitly change his mind to be noble rather than
corrupted.
Hope this comment puts some positive energy and motivation to stand
against these things next time…
Phani
Start publishing photos in all the news papers with a special edition
related to these special crimes. Dont forget mentioning the details of the
people involved in. This kinda thing is going to bring a kinda fear in the
people to dare commit a crime (either corruption or any thing).Most of
the people involved in corruption are generally from big league.So they
shy for their pics in the local news papers and should fear of commiting
the same.
We already had so many national channels managed by DD network.
Start a new session in dealing with these criminal and post adds related to
21 JULY 2008

the notorious crimes from the CBI and R&W directories.
Well…corruption is starting from the ministers office to the attender.
Each and every person passing a specific file is taking bribe and giving
bribe. This is not a simple issue like a weed in our backyard which can be
removed by just sprinkling the weed remover. Even though it works for
that season the new weed starts coming up from the remained roots. This
is how the corruption in India is.
Justifying the theory and how it works… Just consider a citizen who
wants to be a police officer(conista ble/SI/DSP/SP/ anything)for this he
writes the entrance exams and prepares well for the physical tests and in
the end was short of a few points. The other person who scores the same
or even less gets the job. The reason is the other person who is talented in
bribing and corrupting the officers. And in return to the bribed money he
starts taking bribes after signing into his post. this is a general and most
often happening .
Sivakumar
I think the more we stop human intervention by using the technology, the
more we can reduce the corruption. Even in case of traffic tickets, there
should be a system where if we give the ticket number and the details
(like in the above case, the insurance number and details) the system
should be in a position to validate and decide and collect the fine if there
is any. This is already implemented upto certain extent in some countries.
We can evaluate, enhance and adopt those systems.
Yogesh Gandhi
I will tell u an incident what happened to me.
My insurance was going to expire on 22nd May 08. The last valid day
was 22nd May. So I asked my friend to get it renewed on 19th May itself.
But I couldn't collect the new copy from him. On 23rd May I was
challaned by a traffic police, because I didn't had insurance with me. I
asked him, he said, you show the insurance in the traffic police office and
u will not be fined. I went there with insurance and showed it to them.
They said Rs. 100/- would be fined. I said for what? The police officer
said that I can't be fined, if i have the insurance of that date. But those
guys were not ready to listen. Moreover they were trying to irritate me by
saying that this job is done from 3 to 5. So, I paid them Rs. 100/- and
collected my RC.
This is a real problem in our system.
I didn't have so much time to mess with them just for Rs. 100/-.
So, I paid the amount, took my RC and came to my office.
Though I was feeling bad abt it.
Manikantan
People give money bcoz ,with their busy life they save the time ,if they
doesn't give money the employee don't work, he will lazily post pone it .I
am not supporting corruption but situation forces the person to give
money, so that the work will be done quickly.
The action should be taken on employees who ask money for doing
things. If he doesn't ask money for doing work the person won\'t give.
So who took money will be punished severely and who gave money get
penalty for encouraging the corruption.
Ram_Alavala
To stop the corruption there will be an ultimate solution first what is the
major place for getting more corrupted. If we try to automate it this can
be the corruption can be reduced. Think about the Atm m/c,offcourse
before ATM came into picture there is chance for corruption to move the
cheque or draft quickly to the next level. May be it is a small part,
offcourse a big change can be started with small things.
Mrinalini.Srivatsav
Though if we stop giving money the people seek bribe treat us very badly
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and as the power is in their hand. wen sme wrong is done to your peer
worker or labour we all get united to do a strike… but the same thing
doesn’t happen on the ground that we all belongs to a same mother
land…
First each and every person needs to be strong enough to stop corruption!
still India needs to travel so far to achieve this..But if the professionalism
m concept as we follow in the corporate atmosphere would have taught
to the Government employees wen they join it, the corruption rate may
reduce… hoping for the best
Gnanesh
Inspite of punishing the corrupted employees, corruption will still
continue. the best way to stop corruption can be done only if the public
stop giving money etc in order to get their work done. the most affected
victims of corruption are the poor.
Engineer/Doctor Is There
Another Scenic Route?
- courtesy@http://savekerala.blogspot.com
“So do you want to be an engineer or is it a doctor?” - a compulsory
question that is repeated in every social cross examination that you face
from age 8 to 18 in God's Own Country.
Parents in Kerala across socio-economic strata want the best for their
kids…sometimes even to the extent of this being an obsession. So the
logical conclusion is that they strongly believe engg/med is the best
possible career option for their kids. So here is an attempt to demystify
this… Starting with how this belief got so deep rooted into the Kerala
mindset and more importantly why it is not so in other states….
Reason 1: Ignorance: Most students in Kerala cities, from a very young
age itself are aware of the process of getting an admission into engg/med
and the specializations on offer. By the time they reach high school, they
would at least know about the companies that come for campus
placements (if your interest is in engg) or the well renowned institutions
that offer higher studies in various medical specialties. There are clearly
defined action plans starting from which coaching classes to attend, what
entrance books to read, infrastructure of various colleges and due dates
of various exams.
However, when it comes to pure sciences or arts/commerce the usual
modus operandi is to apply to several different courses in colleges close
to your house and join whichever comes through. Before, during or after
the 3 years of so called education no thought or effort is put in to frame a
future game plan. By which time, you are branded as a failure which
demotivates you even further.
We can change this situation if sufficient information is made available
not just in career guidance magazines which you lay your hands on when
it is too late…but during school years itself, on specific career paths and
steps needed to reach there. Come to think of it career options are much
more wider if you are not an engg/doc !!!
Reason 2: Infrastructure : The second thing we need to get in place is
good infrastructure a good library and internet connectivity. We always
seem to concentrate on good teachers and while I am not negating the
positive results of good teachers, I never had any during my engineering
years. We still managed fine because we had good alternate sources of
knowledge. So, while improving the quality and dedication of teachers is
a long term solution, more immediate answers could lie in alternate
sources of self-study about the subjects in your syllabus, guidelines on
future course of actions and in general to expand your knowledge base.
…which incidentally will also solve the age-old problem of 'our
intelligent students unable to clear competitive exams and interviews'
22 JULY 2008

Reason 3: Feeling of Self Worth: We need to create a feeling of
self-worth among students pursuing any stream of study. If you
are keen on what you want to achieve in life, and have a clearly defined
game plan for success, then you will not take to the streets to demonstrate
your strength. And this is what we should provide in terms of getting
achievers in various fields to speak in college forums, have discussion
groups for various competitive exams and so on. If every college
department has a fully functional career guidance and counseling centre
then we can address this issue to a large extent. We need to give every
student a vision of personal success.
Reason 4: Entry to Colleges: Most acclaimed institutes of study have a
'statement of purpose' essay as a key criterion for admission. We need to
bring that into our undergrad system as well. This will help students get
into courses for which they are passionate about and have an aptitude for.
And, more importantly, writing down a statement of purpose will enable
students themselves see clearly what they hope to gain by taking up that
course. But for this to work, we first need teachers who are passionate
about the subjects they teach and who have dedicated their lives for the
growth of the subject. Otherwise even this process can get hijacked by
people with vested interests.
Reason 5:Choices: The last thing I can think of is to increase the choices
at every level - choice of subjects at the plus two level, choice of
adequate research facilities, choice of different careers. This is a long
term solution and will take at least ten years to implement, but let's atleast
know what we want.
We want passionate teachers, good research facilities, and entrepreneurs
who will generate more jobs. Let's work towards these.
Inter-view (The inner view)
- Satesh
"The interviewer should just tell me the words he wants me to say and I'll
repeat them after him.”
(Andy Warhol, Holy Terror : Andy Warhol Close Up )
Isn't that so true. Now the interviews have indeed come a long way. Right
from the days wherein there would be 1 or 2 rounds of interviews to a
more linear but useful ways of selecting that right candidate. That
particular candidate who will be the face of the interviewing
organization is grilled in front of the interviewing panel.
Just when i thought of writing this article, i was just wondering of the
existence of interviews and needless to say it had been in existence from
our mythological era, where the students [shsishyas] were admitted into
the ashrams after their parents are interviewed, blah blah blah. Isnt that a
fact, albeit i knew only from those Mythological serial's which i have
seen in childhood. So interviews have become an integral part of our
lives. I guess it start even before we are born. The doctor starts
interviewing examining(whatever...) the lady about its pregnancy and
then refers to some consultant after careful examination of the candidate
in this case the patient , then so does it continue during schools, college
admissions, work, marriages etc etc etc. So you see it has been with us
throughout our life. In some situations you are unaware and confident
and sometime its just the opposite. Whereas in my case it still scares the
shit out of me whenever i bump across this word
But when we talk about interviews, lets get down to the most prominent
one i.e the interview for a Job. Well this is the one i am most scared about.
Though these interview styles have changed. Every organization has its
way of interviewing for diff organization roles. it can be Telephonic,
Video, Screening, Informational, Directive, Meandering, Stress,
Behavioral, Audition, Group, Tag-Team, Mealtime, Follow-up etc etc
and many more which are customized to the organization but have been
kept secret and why shouldnt they, it is their way of getting the best talent
out of the pool.So be it. Its always very difficult to get the right person for
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
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a right job , so it becomes absolutely necessary to have the right things in
place for a company to project it self in the market so that every candidate
becomes a prospect for the company. Gone are the days where the
companies were choosers , in today's competitive world the Candidate
are assumed to be choosers. So have the interview styles changed !!! by
asking the right questions and selecting the right candidate instantly. I
can still imagine that wouldnt be the case in our governmental
organizations. It still should take one quarter's time to select a candidate
after the job advt. I always wondered how big wigs like Ratan Tata,
Anand Mahindra, Mukesh Ambani etc etc, would they be interviewing
their fellows.
Previously the candidate use to look out for a sound company to work for,
and now its just the challenges and remuneration he is interested in.
Previously our seniors, parents used to settle down in a company for not
less than 15 to 20 years , whereas now if an employee stays for more than
3 to 4 years he is questioned by his peers, Whats wrong? :D Such is the
changing scenario of job environment.
I still remember some things haven't changed. I can still see people
coming with the forehead colored in red, yellow, white that marks the
blessings taken from the heavenly bodies, so has the ritual of have curd
and sugar before leaving the house.Still a common practice in this 21st
century.
One thing is for sure the dreadful word "INTERVIEW" has generated a
lot of employment directly, indirectly , be it in the form of Job portals,
executive search firms, self development tutors etc. Nevertheless the
roles of an HR agency has taken a phenomenal change from just
interviewing to taking care of the candidate right from the interview till
he leaves a company. The HR is in constant touch with the candidate and
according to me it is a sound idea, because they have been the front face
of the organization even before you were a part of. I always felt even
when we have a dedicated HR to every vertical or project it should
always cast itself as an independent body reporting to the top
management, this makes the managers fear and the employees friendly.
Well its beyond this article to say anything more on HR . So watch this
space.
Just to leave you on a lighter note
“I had a job interview at an insurance company once and the lady said
"Where do you see yourself in five years?" and i said "Celebrating the
fifth year anniversary of you asking me this question”
Mitch Hedberg quotes (American Comedian, 1968-2005)
"World's Shortest Exit Interview(You need to know the jargons very
well )”
MCMC
An Anonymous Frustrated Engineer
Guess the 2 Personaities
Email to guess@simplethots.com
23 JULY 2008
The Only Possible Solution to
Improve transport system.
-Mohd Suleman I think we can still improve the means of transportation with some
collective effort.

T
his is my first Article I am writing for "Simple thoughts".
The Transport system plays a very crucial role for running Think about encouraging private buses if the government says no
your life in any small or big city in India. The Most worst to the new buses but the private sector should be following some
Transport system can be seen on the roads of our metropolitan standards.
cities. The city like Delhi we can see heavy rush for the buses and There is a heavy rush for the buses and trains when the day starts for
trains when the day starts till the day ends, everyone is in a rush to the working men and when the day ends, everyone is in a rush to
catch their first bus or train, the crowd in the bus or train does not catch their first bus or train, the crowd in the bus or train doesn't
matter for them. matter for them.
The transport department of any city has not proved to be Let us do one thing…..say we have 10 buses from A to F.
successful till the date. If you go into the flashback, in Delhi riots
started between the transporters and state government. Several We did an analysis and found that most of the people start from A, B
people died just because of the seriously unattended agenda of and D
transport. And there has to be some kinds of guidelines for the Let us have 3 of the buses moving from A to F, B to F, D to F (they
public transporters as well as for the state level transport authorities. are non-stop buses in the cities during the peak hours)
This can be possible only if every individual start taking initiatives
and follow the proper guidelines to travel on the road in buses or Let us use the differences in the timing of corporate offices, schools
any public transport and make others to follow and motivate. Then and colleges to an advantage.
only state government can be able to work on the issue. Where in we can use the transport provided for schools to some of
We also can not forget or ignore the incident of one of the school the offices, this would also reduce the traffic problem.
bus drowned in the river. It was just because of the irresponsible Let us have some shift trains and shift buses because most of the
behavior of school department and the Bus owner. They people get down at some major stops.
overcrowded the buses just for the sake of money. The only If we are traveling more than 40 mins, I think we can change the bus
responsible for the incident was school department and also state or train and travel.
government was equally responsible.
I don't say that this is a very very easy thing to do but I can say one
The guidelines should not be restricted only to the bus driver or bus thing that its not that all difficult to be implemented.
owner. We are equally responsible as we have to make them follow
traffic rules seriously. There has to be a limit on the number of
passengers bus carrying to avoid over load or overcrowded buses.
If passengers are facing issues of lacking in the number of buses in
the city then Government should provide more buses to the city by
taking in mind which part of the city need more attention.
You will say that as number of vehicles is increasing in the city
government should not ply more buses. But this is not the solution
to avoid heavy traffic congestion. We can have a possible solution
to this is that who is having their own vehicle should start traveling
in the public transport it will ultimately solve the problem of traffic
congestion. As a result of this bus drivers or public transport might
be able to drive smoothly. So we need more buses on the roads.
We all should encourage private buses if the government says no to
the new buses and also motivate the private sector to follow some
standards. These standards or guidelines for the bus drivers and
also to bus owners should be set by the state government. The
government should also build up a team to keep track on the drivers
in the city as well as on the transport owners to make them
implement those guidelines.
-ST TEAM
As soon as we see the above images, our mind travels to the past
tense. Most of us remember our school days, college days, and job
hunting days.
But the transport in India is the same even today…The only excuse
government gives us all the time is the population is more and
more…even though the infrastructure and the transportation was
increased it balanced with the increase in population.

SIMPLE THOUGHTS 24 JULY 2008

 SIMPLE THOUGHTS

"Most of us travel in the weekends from Bangalore-

Hyderabad or Bangalore-Chennai.The private buses are
being priced according to the urgency of the
people,which is very unfair. Government buses are too
bad in shape.We think that being together can help us
in this aspect where we can dictate the standards of the
transportation.We encourage and extend our full
support to the best service provider”

YUVASHAKTHI (POWER OF YOUTH)

YUVASHAKTHI - for a developed INDIA
INDIA the SUPER POWER , a developed nation; these are the
honours that have eluded our great nation(of course the greatest
nation) in the times gone by. But this is going to change for sure .
We are ready to take on the world. Indian youth has to play an
important role in this quest.
****The U.S. may lead the world for a few years, CHINA for the
next few years, but for a long time in the future “INDIA” will lead
the world and surely the WORLD will be a happier place to live in
under “INDIA's” leadership---- an Englishman .
**** The WORLD owes a lot to the “INDIANS” , who taught us
how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery
could have been made---- Albert Einstein .
**** If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams
of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when
man began the dream of existence, it is “INDIA” ---- a Frenchman.
**** “INDIA” conquered and dominated China culturally for 20
centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her
border---- a Chinese.
and they go on , for the world has found a new icon in “INDIA”.
“INDIA” has started a new journey , a journey towards glory. The
nation is going to lead the world and will do so for centuries to come.
Tough times ahead. But we are ready for the challenge.
The very fact of our being “INDIAN” is a thing to celebrate. There
are so many things that we have to be proud of as “INDIANS”. Let's
celebrate its greatness.
Ø Algebra, trigonometry and calculus took their roots here.
Ø The pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose
Ø The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in
Saurashtra.
Ø Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented here.
Ø The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism,
and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
Ø The Temple of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's
largest
religious pilgrimage destination, larger than either Rome or Mecca,
with an average of 30,000 visitors every day giving donations to the
temple of 2.5 crore rupees daily.
Ø Grammar constitutes one of our greatest contributions to
Western philology.
Ø Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages.
Ø Varanasi is the oldest & continuously inhabited city in the world.
Ø India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
In the modern times
- “INDIA” is the world's largest & thriving Democracy.
- 38% of Doctors in America are “INDIANS”.
- 12% of Scientists in America are “INDIANS”.
- 36% of NASA employees are “INDIANS”.
- 34% of MICROSOFT employees are “INDIANS”.
- 28% of IBM employees are “INDIANS”.
- 17% of INTEL employees are “INDIANS”.
- We are the world's second largest horticultural producer.
- We are the world's largest producers of Fruits & Vegetables.
- The three-tier Panchayat Raj system in the states is the largest
one in the world.
- We have world's largest livestock population.
I feel the great advantage we have is that INDIA has the highest
youth power in the world. If used properly this can be our greatest
strength. Today some people are just happy and feel as if they r
doing something great if they talk about the situation of INDIA n
criticize all the wrong things going on. But how many of them r
trying to change this very picture. I was watching THE LEGEND
OF BHAGAT SINGH the other day. I could not stop tears from my
eyes. What is our contribution when compared to that of those great
people who fought for our freedom. We feel we r doing something
great in helping this paradise recover n gain its rightful place in the
world. We all should first abandon this notion n fix in our brains that
it is our fundamental duty to do this. Lets start off now guys for the
world is waiting for an idol to look up to , a nation ideal in all
aspects.
Lets make this our mission statement for a developed INDIA. As
far as I am concerned I think its payback time for us for this nation
has given us everything. Its time for us to pay back. And in one
statement I want to tell u guys “KISMAT WALLOH KO HI MILTA
HAI IS DHARTI PE PAIDA HONE KA MOUKA”. The smallest
of achievements by Indians can be our inspiration. Lets take the
Mumbai Dabbawallahs . They have overcome odds in making a
mark for themselves. Lets move on guys. Victory is not far off but
what it needs is our wholehearted commitment n the zeal to realize
our dreams.

SIMPLE THOUGHTS 25 JULY 2008

 SIMPLE THOUGHTS

How to rehabilitate beggars?

Chandigarh officials left begging for beggars!
They were ubiquitous at market places, traffic intersections
and other busy spots. But suddenly Chandigarh's beggars seem
to have disappeared into thin air - perhaps in a bid to avoid a
rehabilitation scheme!
Desperate to launch a campaign to rid this 114-sq km city of
beggars and bring them into the mainstream, education
department officials recently started looking for them. But they
were able to trace just 40-odd beggars. The rest seemed to have
vanished.
Be it in the commercial centres of Sector 10, 11, 15, 17, 22, 35
child labour and bring the beggars and disadvantaged children
back to the mainstream,' said S.K. Setia, Chandigarh's director,
public instruction (schools), who is the SSA project director.
The city has a population of nearly 1.1 million residents, of
which over 300,000 live in slums.
Attempts in the past by city officials to make Chandigarh a
beggar-free city have failed. But the campaign has temporarily
made it free of beggars.
Under the SSA campaign, the beggars were to be rehabilitated
at specially created centres here where they would have been

and Mani Majra or at busy traffic intersections, the beggars are given vocational training to make them self-reliant. They were
nowhere to be found after the campaign under the Sarv Shiksha to be provided food, educational facilities, clothing and even a
Abhiyan (SSA) was launched by education officials earlier this
month.
'The beggars simply evaporated after word spread that city
officials were trying to trace them. We know that they must
have shifted their activities to the city's periphery for now but
that has hampered our campaign. They have left us begging for
beggars,' an education official told IANS.
Two inspectors, eight supervisors and several SSA
coordinators were put on the job for over 10 days this month to
trace beggars for the campaign.
Most beggars are believed to have shifted their operations to
the neighbouring towns of Panchkula and Mohali - both of
which are adjoining Chandigarh and form part of the tri-city.
'The campaign was started with the aim to stop begging and

SIMPLE THOUGHTS 26 JULY 2008


Incomparable Gift ! Change is inevitable
On 21st June i.e Saturday ST team went to one of the public schools in
Hyderabad .The objective was to spend and experience some time with
little kids in the school. Myself and two our ST member got the
opportunity to spare time with sweet little II standard kids. It was a
wonderful and amazing experience with those kids, I really learnt a lot
from them, I could see how they were helping each other, how they
were sharing their pencils and erasers. The love among those kids was
pure and true.
We started our interaction with our introduction then we asked little
kids to just introduce themselves. Then we gave them one small and
interesting puzzle to solve, you cannot imagine kids solved the puzzle
within no time , “Very Intelligent Kids “.Then I started collecting
puzzle sheet from kids then at my side slowly one little angel stands up
and says “This is for you” the moment was so incredible, she gifts a pen
to me and my friend.
The moment was so touching I could feel the tears in my eyes. She
didn't even think how she is going to write after gifting those pens. She
was so little I don't know what made her to gift them, may be she liked
our presence. But I could clearly see love and respect in her eyes.
Undoubtedly this is the best, incomparable gift I ever got from
somebody, in fact I am using the same pen to put my words on the paper,
and I feel really great using it. Actually in the classroom I could notice
most of the kids didn't even have pencils to write they were sharing
among each other, and pencils of some kids were so small that they just
attached cap of some pen at the end of pencil so that they can use their
small pencil as much as possible.
Looking at this you can understand the condition of kids,
how these innocent kids are facing problems in there daily life, even
affording a pencil is tough for their parents, many kids are sent to
school so that at least there mid day meal is assured here. These kids are
small but I feel they are more mature than any elder person because
they have very good sense of responsibility, when their parents are out
for work they very affectionately take care of their 5-6 months old
siblings. The kids are just GREAT!! .
Mother Teresa is right, more than money people
need love, affection and care. Some day take out some time and spend
some time with little kids, just show love and affection towards them,
they don't expect anything more than that, I am sure you will have a
wonderful experience which would be worth more than a million dollar.
hmmmm…actually it is incomparable.
Fine, we ended the session by giving
chocolates to all the kids, they were insisting us to visit again so we
promised them that we would be definitely spare time with them. Then
before leaving the class I also gifted a pen and chocolates to little angel.
I can still feel the divine smile of the kids.
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
SIMPLE THOUGHTS
Dear Readers,
Everybody says that change is inevitable, there is a difference
between tomorrow and today and nobody can stop it from
happening, India is doing well and nobody can stop us from
becoming a super power or a developed nation. Let me ask you
one question, “If India becomes a super power, would you like
India to be like USA. If not, then what does this super power
mean, explain us about it”.
India was a super power long time back. We were self sufficient,
in other words more than self sufficient, which was the reason
for other country men to travel thousands of miles to our land
for various business purposes. The situation is similar today,
once again the whole of world market looks at India. This time
the wealth our country possess is neither gold/diamonds nor
natural resources, it's a more valuable wealth i.e. (intellectual
labour). We have a lot of gratitude to the finance minister M.
Chidambaram, but when we hear him saying that he wants 80%
of India to be urbanized, I am sorry to say that we need to
reconsider our faith in him.
Last time we did a mistake, we were in slavery for over 200
years. If we do a mistake again by falling prey to the jobs on
offer in various multi national companies , leaving the service
of the mother land in the hands of undeserved. We will be under
the indirect rule of foreign policies, because we are not
producing anything. We will be indirect slaves to the various
countries, which will be exporting their products to us. We
don't say that we should produce everything, but we should not
be overwhelmed with the technology and the IT factor. Society
should be part of our family, this will retain India its glory.
If we start thinking about various things that the west learned
from us which we have forgotten, we get solutions to most of
our problems which they are not facing to a certain extent. We
can give you an example, education is an occupation oriented
programme for us, where the Guru decides the occupation for
his student based on his interest. We were not having any
certified programme, we learned the certification from them
and they learned the specialization from us. Now we find that
we know most of the things on paper and they know most of the
things in practical. Its time to make a change, let us do some
retrospection and see what our inner self asks us to do for the
humanity.
We are making an effort with a small volunteer team of us
named “Simple Thots”. We invite all the likeminded people to
join us, let us make a substantial change in the governance of
the nation.
Email us your solutions to various problems at
thoughts@simplethots.com.
Reach us, by sending an email to team@simplethots.com.
27 JULY 2008
 ed
iew
tV
os
M Men vs Women
Women - Multiple process
Women's brains designed to concentrate multiple task at a time.
Women can Watch a TV and
Men - Single Process
Men's brain designed to concentrate only one work at a time. Men can
not watch a TV and talking in phone same time. He stops the TV while
Talking. He can either watch TV or talk over phone or cook.
LANGUAGE
Women can easily learn many languages. Her brain set up. But can not
find the solutions to problems Men can not easily learn languages; he
can easily solve the problems.3 year old gal has three times higher
vocabulary than 3 year old boy.
ANALYTICAL SKILL
Men's brain has lot of space for handling the analytical process. So
easily he can analyze and find the solution for a process. He can design
(blue print) a map of a building easily.
If a complex map is viewed by women, she can not understand it. She
can not understand the details of the map easily. For her it is dump of
lines in a paper.
CAR DRIVING.
While driving a car, men's analytical spaces are used in his brain. He
can drive a car fastly. If he sees an object at long distance, immediately
his brain classifies the object (bus or van or car) direction and speed of
the object and driving accordingly. Where as women take a long time to
recognize the object direction/ speed. His single process mind stops the
audio in the car (if any), then concentrating only on the driving. You can
often watch, while men driving the car fastly, the women sit next to him
will shout, "GO SLOW" , "CARE FULL", "AAHHH", "OHH
GOD.."..Etc...
LIE
Many times, when men lie to women face to face, they got caught easily.
Her super natural brain observes the facial expression 70%, and the
body language 20% and the words comes from mouth 10%. So he is
easily caught while lying. Men's brain does not have this. Women
easily lie to men face to face. So guys, while lying to your girls, use
phone, or letter or close all the lights or cover your/her face with
blanket.
Don't lie face to face.
PROBLEM
End of day, if men have lot of problems, his brain clearly classifies the
SIMPLE THOUGHTS 28
EFG
problems and put into individual rooms of brain, the problems in
individual room of brain and finding the solution one by one. You can
see many guys looking on the sky's for a long times. If you disturb him,
he gets irritated.
End of Day, if women have lot of problems, her brain cannot classify
the problems. she wants someone to hear that. After telling everything
to a person she goes happily to bed. She does not worry abt the problem
solved or not.
WANTS
Men want status, success, solutions, big process... etc Women want
relationship, friends, family...etc...
UNHAPPY
if women unhappy with their relations, she can not concentrate on work.
If men unhappy with their work, he can not concentrate on the relations.
MAP
Men can easily locate the place in a complex map. His analytical brain
does this. While watching a cricket match in a stadium with full of
crowd, men can leave his seat to T shop and keeps everything in his
mind and comes back to his seat with out problems. He uses his
analytical skills space of brain.Women can't do this. They often lost
their way to their seat.
LIFE
Life is very easy to Men. One good job, one alcohol bottle is enough for
him.
Women want everything in life.
SPEECH
Women use indirect languages in speech.
Geetha asked Vijay, "vijay do you like to have a cup of coffee?"
T h i s m e a n s , G e e t h a r e a l l y w a n t a c u p o f c o ff e e .
In the morning......."Darling, do you think, will it be good to have an
Omlette for breakfast"
Men use direct language. "Geetha, I want to have a cup of coffee, Pls
stop the car when you see a coffee shop".In the morning...."Darling,
Can you please prepare an omelet for breakfast".
HANDLING EMOTION
Women talk a lot without thinking, if they are in emotion.
Men act a lot with out thinking. That's why many of prisoners are men
all over the world.
JULY 2008
 President is a puppet in
our constitution.
It doesn't make any difference
whoever is the president.
But he proved everyone wrong
“We should not allow the problems to defeat us”
Gandhi is the only person,
who can get us freedom.
He followed him as a child.
But his vision was “Total Independence”
He was confident that a determined
soul can make a difference.
“I am a man and all that effects
mankind concerns me”
Religion is this….Religion is that.
Religious heads speak good about
their methods by speaking bad
about other religions.
He was different, he used to
speak about his religion alone.
"I am the thread that runs
through all these pearls,"
and each pearl is a religion and
the creator is the thread
We are having numbers
from 1,2,3……..infinity
He thinks simple and says,
why can't we have a number
'0' for nothing
It changed the dimension of world education.
"VANDEMATARAM"
ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED
I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
The Mother!
Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter, sweet of speech,
The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss.
In the annals of history, these will remain the most effective 6 lines
that galvanized an entire nation,some 500 million people and shook
the British raj so much that they found ways and means to add
communal color to these lines and imposed a ban.
Today we are 100 years hence..fighting whether to sing those
lines..whether our religion would accept those lines…..adding
communal color to this….and happily letting the fundamentalists
have their say……
I will once again be called a communal after this…I am the least
worried for I believe some things are beyond religion..they
transcend all boundaries…they find their place in peoples
hearts…vandemataram is one such……
What is wrong if you equate nation with mother?…after all it is your
mother that is the very reason for your existence..what is wrong if
you call this nation BHARAT MATA?
You had no problem when you sing and dance to A R Rehman's
vandemataram….why is the problem now?
The congress has started its dirty politics again…BJP for its part is
adding to the politics….You will never let this nation grow out of
these narrow barriers…..
There are mullahs,imams issuing fatwas…..for what…if some
muslim sings,will he cease to be a muslim?
If there are issues with the song that it is about hindu deities..so be
it….i have no problems in reciting the gayantri mantra or a verse
from Quran if it symbolises nationalism…if it can galvanize an
entire nation…..
I am angry.. I am frustrated…I am fed up……but there are some
things that give you solace…..i will recite vandemataram in the peak
of my voice…till my voice breaks down….to remember those who
gave their lives for us…for us to live happily today with all our
comforts ....
VANDEMATARAM One word…one mantra…that is more
powerful than a nuclear bomb…remember those who gave their
lives for u…
Celebrate the spirit of freedom struggle…live in the moment…..
 FUNNY...
Call Letter After Clearing Cleared the Gotta go for Training days
from company the Aptitude test... interview too... training

Time to depart Allocated to work... work... More Work Yeah got Promotion...
projects work Now a Project Manager!

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