God is Great

Mumbai Marathon 2010

2010-01-26T13:29:00.000+05:30

17th Jan, 2010

Members of Indian Family Foundation IFF and CRFW participated in Mumbai Marathon. Though it was tiring but believe me it was so much of fun. People from all walks of life participated in Marathon with and they all were excited to be part of Marathon.

It was a memorable day and it is a goodp platform in terms of creating awareness for the cause... We participated in Dream Run... and people running in Marathon (Dream Run) stopped to read our placards... "Husband is not an ATM Machine", "Maa, Don't poison my mind against Papa, it really hurts me" and "Options for Indian males - Be Henpecke or Hancuffed".. .

they stopped.. clicked the pictures.. some groups were pointing to our banners and placards and were seen discussing.. . Media , Radio persons were approaching us... there were other NGOs and Groups who were running for different causes...

all and all it was good first time experience.. ... next time we should have more participants coming from all over india...

anyways below is the link of pics uploaded:

http://picasaweb.google.com/send2jaspreet/MumbaiMarathon

International Men's Day Bike Rally and Dharna

2010-01-26T13:15:00.001+05:30

19th November 2009 Mumbai.

"Indian male - hapless animal"; "women empowered men unpowered"; "husband not an ATM machine", "options for Indian male - be henpecked or handcuffed"... these are some of the messages flashed on placards by members of various organisations who had gathered at Azad Maidan on the occasion of International Men's Day on Thursday, to raise their voice against the perceived harassment of men at the hands of the Indian judicial system.

Members of the Indian Family Foundation (IFF), Protect Indian Family Foundation, Child's Right and Family welfare and the Save Indian Family Movement held a dharna to create awareness about the problems faced by men. A bike rally was also held, with many members from Pune participating.

The men particularly targeted section 498A, which they said is often misused by women to get husbands arrested for harassment. They shouted slogans against the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the misuse of the Domestic Violence Act, and demanded a separate ministry for men.

According to Bunty Jain, founder member, IFF, "Most cases where section 498A is invoked turn out to be false. Baseless allegations are made against men to extort money from them, and the law and the police support women, without making complete inquiries. The laws are wife-centric, not even woman-centric, because the husband's mother or sister is not taken into account," he said.

Jain, who calls himself a victim, had to pay a large sum of money to his wife as alimony and is now fighting the domestic violence case that his wife filed against him. "The Domestic Violence Act should be made gender-neutral," he said.

Rakesh Jaiswal, who was also part of the dharna, feels that the time has now come for men to fight for gender parity. His wife, who left him two years ago, slapped a section 498A dowry harassment case against him and demanded a huge sum as alimony." She earns about Rs2.5 lakh per annum, but I still have to pay her alimony. How is this fair?" he asked.

Another major concern is child custody, as the men feel it is always tougher for the father to be able to get custody of children. Many women were also part of dharna, most of them the mothers of "harassed" husbands. Borivli resident Kamal Kapadia, 59, claimed that her daughter-in-law made 23 allegations against her, all of them false.

Some of the moments captured in the digital format :-)

Click on below link, for more pictures of the event:

http://picasaweb.google.com/send2jaspreet/BikeRallyMensDay2009

You are Invited on Men’s Day 19th Nov 2009

2009-11-05T11:15:00.007+05:30

PIFF (Protect Indian Family Foundation) and IFF (Indian Family Foundation) are celebrating International Mens Day on 19th November 2009 at Azad Maidan (11 A.M to 4 P.M). An awareness vehicle rally, consisting of about 50 motorcycles and four wheelers, starting from Mulund will be converging at Azad Maidan by 12.30 pm.

We are part of the Save Indian Family Movement. This movement was initiated by victims of law who were falsely accused or threatened of law misuse, done with a view to take undue advantage, when a male family member’s marriage fails due to some other reason other than the false criminal accusation.

Male plight have always been the butt of jokes or cartoons and have never been taken seriously as their suffering is taken for granted or ignored. On this mens day we would like to pay tribute to the undisputable hard working taxpayer, Men, who pays approximately 82% taxes to the Government of India. Legal atrocities on us has been termed as “Legal Terrorism” by Supreme Court and recently the government has advised not to rush for Arrests of the Innocent Family of the Groom, as gross misuse of cruel Marriage laws has been observed years together.

We would like to call for your Unconditional and Overwhelming support in demanding a basic constitutional infrastructure and machinery for Men and his family members.

Calling the government attention for Introducing a Ministry for Men regarding welfare of mens and related issues.
Introducing a suo motu (By Default) punishment in the IPC for misuse of any law(especially laws concerned with families) irrespective of gender.
Creating Machinery for Men to get his serious grievances recorded as crime against men and thus allow generating statistics for men to help understand his plight better.
Identify his emotional needs as a father and allow a shared parenting during marital dispute.
Protect the Mother and Sister and other relatives of Husband during marital dispute.

We are only against the misuse of any law on any innocent. We are not against any strata of the society. We are for protection of a vulnerable section in the society. We believe that law should treat everyone equal without blindly favoring / opposing any group.

We look forward for your support and participation in making this International Men’s day a great success.

RSVP.
Public Relations Officer
- Indian Family Foundation & Protect Indian Family Foundation (Mumbai)
9769770498 / 9930889008 / 9224335577
info@protectindianfamily.org help@iff-ngo.org

Supported by:
Save Indian Family Foundation Bangaluru, Chattisgarh,
Save Family Foundation Delhi,
Hridaya Kolkatta,
Pati Parivar Kalyan Samiti Lucknow,
Save Family Welfare System Indore,
All India Forgotten Women Hyderabad,
Mothers And Sisters Initiative Delhi,
All India Mother In Law Protection Forum Nagpur.
Gender Human Rights Society Delhi,
Child Rights and Famliy Welfare Mumbai,
Bhavya Foundation Moradabad,
Childs Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting Bangaluru.
Sahana Hyderabad,
Rakshak Foundation USA,
498a.org USA,
Mynation.net (Middle East),
Indiya Kudumba Pathukappu Iyakkam Chennai,
Family India Lifeline Kochi,
All India Men’s Welfare Association Bangaluru.

www.protectindianfamily.org
www.iff-ngo.org
www.savefamily.org
www.498a.org
www.saveindianfamily.org
www.ghrs.in
www.crisp-india.org
www.bhavyafoundation.org
www.aifw.info
www.sahanaindia.org
www.mynation.net
www.aimpf.org
http://www.antidowry.org

Indian Family Foundation (IFF) Launched

2009-10-28T18:33:00.004+05:30

Name of the Group: Indian Family Foundation

Formed on: 26th October 2009

Contingents: Common people who are threatened or falsely implicated of Wife law misuse.

Least Common Factor: Harassed Husbands and Family Members

Highest Common Factor: the spirit of fighting back for their constitutional rights inspite of Rejection, Ignominy and underdog status, due to Imbalanced Law.

Aim: To be the change that they wish to see the world

Observations: Were asked to prove their innocence by the police, Indian law and Now by some journalists at the press conference.

Our Answer: “We are sadly presumed Guilty till proven Innocent, as you are proving our point, since this is highly unconstitutional and government is pretending sleep, Where do we go? Where do we ring the bell?”

We are innocent and we will not give up, we are here to stay.

Its me in the pic... a question yet unanswered

Sandeep Kedia on the left and Jinesh in the centre with Meena Muthaji proving a point

The growing family of Harrassed Families

Hunks who refused to be Henpecked or Handcuffed

Our Demands:
- Have Ministry for Welfare for Men

- Time to review: Debug the loopholes by making the definition of all Wife centric laws neutral in other words change the word Wife to Spouse or atleast make it women centric (where the mother and sister of husband are protected), Else introduce 498B for males.

- We are not against any law what we are against is the misuse, Introduce a section that keeps a check on misuse of laws and punishes the misuser suo moto.

- Make Alimony laws more practical by aiding the estranged wife on doing courses that make her self dependent, let husband sponsor the course.

- Make Adultery Law Gender Neutral.

We are available on following numbers: (Voluntary Helplines; limited hour operation)

Mumbai Helpline: 9224335577
Jai: 9819551972
Chirag: 9833673457
Gokul: 9821414336
Shyam: 9820509438
Jinesh: 9820241589

MySelf: 9867619277

Press Release for Mumbai Press Conference

2009-10-25T21:46:00.002+05:30

Press Release for Indian Family Foundation on 26^th October 2009

Hum Kahan Bell Bajayen???

The Indian Family Foundation, Mumbai, is an initiative by victims of gender biased law. We intend to promote the cause of Gender Equality and Family Harmony, and take up the cause of grief-stricken families who are victimized by the misuse of laws like the Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), Section 125 CrPC, Child Custody laws etc., to name just a few.

There is urgent need to replace and amend the PWDVA and such laws. What is wrong with the PWDVA and similar gender-based laws? The PWDVA was passed by legislature and came into force on 26th Oct 2006. While the name of the Act itself suggests noble intentions like protection and welfare of women, the act itself is hardly helpful to needy women. On the other hand there is plenty of evidence that it is being misused by unscrupulous women, which has led to complete hijack of the Indian Family System by external vested interests by the components of legal machinery.

No data has ever been provided to justify unconstitutional laws like PWDVA and the cruel, unusual procedures therein. PWDVA is reduced to a wife centric law rather than a woman centric law as it neglects domestic violence against the mother-in-law by the daughter-in-law and further it also neglects domestic violence against children, Sr. Citizens and male members of the family.

To prove the point, there have been plenty of cases where respondents have been a woman in the PWDVA. Thus nullifying the very protection i.e. intended for the woman.

Further, to widen the perspective of actual domestic violence atrocities on male that surpasses the statistics vs. women is simply ignored as inspite of several NGOs raising voices for protection of man and his family members have been turned on a blind eye and deaf ear. To prove our point we have the statistics of male suicides vs. female suicides.

The suicide rates of Indian men are consistently double of that of women, according to NCRB statistics. In 2007, over 56000 Married Men committed suicide compared to 30000 Married Women as published by National Crime Records Bureau. As per 2006 data, out of every 100 suicides there are 63 males and 37 females. Out of every 100 males 45 are married and out of every 100 females only 25 are married.

However due to lack of media attention on male suicides, the society fails to consider how emotional, economic, psychological, and physical violence affects and scars the men and boys in their homes. Men are expected to protect, provide for their families, and yet take it on the chin any form of emotional abuse without complaining.

We demand equality in real sense and thus we propose solutions that would create balance and remove the imbalance that is found in the family laws. We vehemently suggest formation of Ministry of Men’s Welfare as it would take care of the very originator and contributor of the Tax to the Government. And re-draft the acts and laws in a neutral perspective by replacing the word Wife to Spouse. We also propose a suo-moto punishment for all those involved in the misuse of the law that wastes the national time and money as it involves State machinery that ultimately fights a false case against the innocent Husbands.

We want the facility of recording complaints of the aggrieved Husbands and their family members as cognizable offences. Thus helps the system to understand the real picture through the statistics generated which otherwise as on date does not exist.

While we talk of gender equality the law should stop treating Husbands as ATM machines and rather encourage the woman to be self sustained.

Laws like 497 of adultery should be dealt with more sincerity and should be made gender neutral. For example, any woman who seduces a man into few instances of consensual sex can claim reliefs under PWDVA from him. She has same rights under this legislation as the wife of twenty years of a man.

The propaganda machinery of government, aid agencies, and women organisations are only focused on ‘violence’ against married women in their matrimonial homes. All men, children, and women relatives of husbands are completely ignored. This leads to lack of emotional, family, society, and legal/judicial support for men which lead to higher suicide rates among them.

The PWDVA violates the principles of natural justice and violates basic civil rights of the accused men, and increasingly accused women. Men are robbed of their communication channel and are subjected to unconstitutional processes just to satisfy the anger and ego of the complainant woman which is a violation of the fundamental rights granted under Articles 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution. In most of the cases the complainant lady is fulfilling her illegitimate wishes legally.

It is a well-known fact from several studies that children that grow in a fatherless home have much higher chances of future crime, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, and emotional imbalance. But the proponents of PWDVA and such legislation unabashedly proclaim the right of a woman to take her children away from father's home and father's care. False and ridiculous allegations of child abuse and cruelty are routinely used in PWDVA applications to deny fathers any access to their children.

Remember domestic and social harmony will prevail only when women and men are ensured their equal, rightful and honorable place within and outside the home. In addition, when we ensure true gender equality under the law, litigations will be reduced, legal terrorism and extortion through misuse of the law will be eliminated and our human and financial resources can be employed for the betterment of the society and the country.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

2009-10-02T14:01:00.003+05:30

October is “Domestic Violence Awareness Month”.

India is observing “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” for the first time this year to make it an International event for all men’s rights and fathers’ rights groups across the world.

Please visit the following blogs for more info:

http://dvawareness-india.blogspot.com/

http://dvawarenessindia.blogspot.com/

http://uchalla.wordpress.com

An Abusive Story

2009-09-23T17:35:00.004+05:30

Lord Buddha was sitting under a banyan tree. One day, a furious man came to him and started abusing him.

The man thought that Buddha would reciprocate in the same manner, but to his utter surprise, there was not the slightest change in the expression on his face.

Now, the man became more furious. He hurled more and more abuses at Buddha. However, Buddha was completely unmoved. Actually there was a look of compassion on his face. Ultimately the man was tired of abusing him. He asked, "I have been abusing you like anything, but why are you not angry at all?

Lord Buddha calmly replied, "My dear brother, I have not accepted a single abuse from you."
"But you heard all of them, didn't you?" The man argued half-heartedly.

Buddha said, "I do not need the abuses, so man should I even hear them?"

Now the man was even more puzzled. He could not understand the calm reply from Buddha.
Looking at his disturbed face, Buddha further explained, "All those abuses remain with you."

"It cannot be possible. I have hurled all of them at you," the man persisted.

Buddha calmly repeated his reply, "But I have not accepted even a single abuse from you! Dear brother, suppose you give some coins to somebody, and if he does not accept them, with whom will those coins remain?"

The man replied, "If I have given the coins and they are not needed by anyone, then naturally they would remain with me."

With a meaningful smile on his face, Buddha said, "Now you are right. The same has happened with your abuses. You came here and hurled abuses at me, but I have not accepted a single abuse from you. Hence, all those abuses remain with you only. So there is no reason to be angry with you."

The man remained speechless. He was ashamed of his behavior and begged for Buddha's forgiveness.

~ Author Unknown

-----------------------------------

When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.
- Catherine Ponder

India mothers-in-law fight abuse

2009-09-07T17:25:00.003+05:30

A group of Indian mothers-in-law have come together to fight the harassment they claim to endure at the hands of their daughters-in-law.

Fifty women have joined the All India Mothers-in-law Protection Forum (AIMPF), launched in Bangalore city.

A spokeswoman told the BBC that while there were 15 laws to protect the younger generation, there was nothing to protect mothers-in-law from abuse.

India's National Commission for Women has acknowledged the problem.

It says that cases against in-laws are often registered by brides who are protected by strict anti-dowry laws.

But a number of the accusations turn out to be false.

'As vamps'
"The mother-in-law is portrayed as a villain in our society," says Neena Thuliya, coordinator of AIMPF.

"In television serials, films and the media, we are shown as vamps. It's an age-old belief that the mother-in-law physically assaults and mentally tortures the daughter-in-law."

The AIMPF recently did a survey in Bangalore studying cases of abuse and torture filed against the mother-in-law.

Mrs Thuliya says that of the nearly 50 cases they researched, all turned out to be false allegations.

Dowries are often paid by bride's families in India
"There was a time when the daughter-in-law had to live with so many restrictions, but now the time has changed. Today's daughter-in-law is free and works outside the home. It's the old mother-in-law who now faces abuse at the hands of the daughter-in-law," Mrs Thuliya says.

"In tele-serials we are the villains, in real life we are the victims," she adds.

Mrs Thuliya says elderly women are sometimes thrown out of their homes by their daughters-in-law.

The forum, she says, will hold meetings every Sunday and will devise strategies to provide support to "harassed mothers-in-law".

The AIMPF says it will also campaign against the demonisation of the mother-in-law in popular culture.

For centuries, in many Indian families, daughters-in-law have been harassed for bringing in "inadequate dowry" - a South Asian tradition where the bride's parents give cash, jewellery and gifts to the groom's family.

The Indian government outlawed giving and accepting dowries in 1961, but the practice continues and even today few arranged marriages take place without an exchange of dowry.
Campaigners say the system has led to the abuse of young brides, making them vulnerable to domestic violence.

Every year, hundreds of women are scalded or even burned alive by their in-laws.
In the past few years, India has introduced several strict laws to protect new brides from abuse and torture.

But it is being accepted by the authorities that the laws are being increasingly misused by young women to harass their in-laws or settle scores.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8241275.stm

The Tact Of Tact

2009-09-01T11:03:00.002+05:30

Different presentations affect our reactions, communications and interactions with others. It's our presentation that counts.

Two people may be trying to get across the same idea, but they may do it in
completely different ways. One presentation may have negative overtones, carry with it a whole range of negative emotions, and incite negative reactions, whereas the other may be just the opposite. Almost without exception, the one who does it in a kind, considerate way will have the greater success.

Positive presentation makes people feel good, it makes them feel cared for, it makes them feel that you like and respect and have confidence in them, and that nearly always wins their cooperation.

If people feel that you care, that's what will matter most to them and go the farthest in strengthening your relationship. Let friendship and trust come through.

Actually, the words we say are not always as important as how we say them. Sometimes we do need to point out problems or say things that we know will be difficult for the other person to accept, and even be direct in doing so. But people can overlook our being frank if they see that we sincerely care about them.
Even if we fail to say exactly the right thing in exactly the right way, if people feel that you care, that's what will matter most to them and go the farthest in strengthening your relationship. Let friendship and trust come through.

Part of mastering the Art of Presentation is to try a little tact.

A word that seems out of place or is said at the wrong time or to the wrong person is often thought of as a lack of tact. The dictionary defines tact as "the ability to say and do the right things; skill in handling difficult situations or dealing with difficult people without giving offense; delicacy; diplomacy." Delicacy means "fineness of feeling for small differences." The word "tact" is taken from the Latin tactus, which means "touching."

So the art of having tact and saying the right things to people at the right time is really just to be sensitive to the way they feel, to have that personal touch that helps us to be aware of what might hurt their feelings and to avoid doing so.
How do we learn to be more tactful? Be more sensitive to people's feelings, and cultivate the habit of thinking twice before you speak.

What you say is important! How you say it is even more important!!!-- Cyrus Lentin

Shimla Declaration of the National Conference

2009-08-19T13:44:00.004+05:30

Introduction:

Save Indian Family (SIF) movement is a non-funded, self-supported movement and has been formed with a multi-dimensional strategy to form at least 100 NGOs all over India working in the area of Men Welfare. On the 15th of August 2009, 100 leaders from at least 25 NGOs representing 40,000 members participated in a 2 day National Conference in Shimla with a resolution of not to celebrate the Independence Day on August 15 this year.

Brief Background:

Leaders of the SIF movement feel that India is not an independent and a democratic country because men in general and married men in particular are being discriminated against to the point that their constitutional rights are being infringed and challenged especially those granted under Articles 14,15,20 and 21 of the Indian Constitution – the mother of all Indian laws.

Article 21 of the Constitution provides for Right to Liberty, however today one unverified complaint of mental and/or physical harassment from the wife under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code lands a man and his old parents, pregnant sister and minor children behind bars and his Right to Liberty is challenged as neither is any investigation being done to verify the tenacity of the complaint nor evidence is collected to corroborate the allegations.
Article 20 of the Constitution says that no person shall be tried twice for the same offence, however, in marital matters the man and his family face multiple litigations/prosecutions/trials for the same alleged cause of action under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, Domestic Violence Act, Section 125 CrPC (maintenance), Section 24 of the Hindu marriage Act, Divorce case, child custody case etc. These multiple and parallel litigations for same alleged offence clearly and blatantly violates Article 20 of the Indian Constitution.
Article 15 of the Constitution says that for the weaker sections of the society including women and children, the Govt. shall provide for Special Provisions to work for their welfare. Nowhere does it give the Govt. the liberty to formulate special, redundant and gender biased laws against the natural principles of Cardinal Justice. However, the laws mentioned above have been formulated and this practice is in violation of the Article 15 of the Constitution of India.
Article 14 of the Constitution provides for Right to Equality before law. However, in Domestic Violence Act, firstly men are not provided protection against domestic abuse from their wives and in-laws and secondly the complainant woman’s sole testimony is considered as evidence of violation of protection order enough to convict the man. Both these practices do not place men and women at equal footing before the law as men face severe discrimination and their Constitutional right under Article 14 is challenged.

Under such a scenario, the men’s rights NGOs under the aegis of the SIF movement have lost the significance of celebrating Independence Day as they feel India is not a democratic country but a fascist country where arbitrary arresting a particular section of the society is considered as social service. SIF Leaders feel celebrating Independence in a country, where the Constitutional Rights of men are not respected, is like insulting freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Chandrashekhar Azad, etc.

Major Concerns:

123,000 innocent women (mothers, sisters and other female relatives of men) have been arrested in the four years period (2004 – 2007) whereas even the so called “Barbaric British Govt.” arrested only 40,000 women in 40 years.
Every year on an average 55200 married men are committing suicides with the number shooting to 57593 for 2007 vis-à-vis 30000 married women as per National Crime Records Bureau. Whose life is in more danger? Is the pain of a mother/sister less when she loses a son/brother?
98% of dowry harassment cases filed against men have been found to be false and it is the wife’s family who has been extorting money from the man by treating them as FREE ATM MACHINE by threatening them with false allegations and dragging them into frivolous and malicious prosecution.
In the five years span (2001 – 2006) an estimated 13,00,000 men have lost their jobs – a vast majority of them due to frivolous and arbitrary arrests – whereas 14,00,000 women have gained employment. Who needs empowerment, men or women?
Men pay 82% of the taxes and more tax than women at the same salary level.

Action Points:

SIF declares Section 498A of the IPC and Domestic Violence Act as Unconstitutional and demands a National Level Committee be setup which would include SIF Leaders as well to investigate into the constitutionality of these laws.
Institute National Commission for men to study men’s issues and give recommendations to the Govt.
Form Men’s Welfare Ministry to address men’s issues.
Replace the word “Husband” and “Wife” with “Spouse” and “Man” and “Woman” with “Person".

Source: SIF Press Release

Join Save Indian Family Movement......

Hard times for software guys

2009-07-18T11:42:00.003+05:30

Source: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/jul/170709-Techies-Harrassed-Husbands-40-percent-Save-India-Family-Foundation-Bangalore.htm

About 40 per cent of harassed husbands in the city are techies, study finds

Techies earning fat salaries are the most harassed among Bangalore husbands.

A study carried out by Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), a city based NGO, reveals that software professionals make up about 40 per cent of the total number of harassed husbands.

Huge pay packets make techies soft targets, say members of the foundation who carried out the study over 15 months.

"The study is shocking," said Panduranga Katti, president of SIFF. "Software professionals getting huge benefits from companies is a known fact and wives are misusing this every day. In most cases, wives demand money and threaten to complain to the police."

The share

SIFF, which works to empower harassed husbands through its website and branches across the nation, studied about 1,100 cases in Bangalore from January 2008 to April 2009.

After the techies, came men with private businesses. They constituted 11.7 per cent of the cases. Husbands from administration and the military made up about 10 per cent of the cases.

Legal help for hassled hubbies

Men in government service, heavy engineering and management, and the finance sector made up 7.8, 7 and 6.3 per cent of the total cases respectively.

The study included professionals, who approached the NGO through the internet. While 73 per cent of the cases approached SIFF through its website http://www.indianfamily.org/, the rest approached them through friends.

Help

SIFF plans to empower harassed husbands by providing them with legal support based on court judgments.
"Besides legal help, we will empower husbands through sessions of basic strategies and tactics. This will be done step by step," said Virag Dhulia, member, SIFF.

What women want
This is how wives harass husbands, according to the study:
>>Demanding money and threatening to file police complaints
>>Wanting parents to be sent away from the house
>>Forcing the husband to buy property
>>Adultery

Relax norms for Sikhs in US Army: Lawmakers

2009-06-24T15:30:00.001+05:30

Three influential Congressmen have asked the US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to let Sikh American youths serve the US Army with their religious identity.

Three lawmakers, Carolyn Maloney, Rodney Frelinghuysen and Joseph Crowley, in a letter to Gates have strongly supported the two Sikh American youths who have challenged the Pentagon [ Images ] regulation, which prevent them in serving the US Army with their religious identity.

The lawmakers have asked the Defence Secretary to give full consideration to the soldiers' requests. They, in their letter, cited other Sikhs' service in the US Armed Forces and in its allies' militaries to support their argument that these men should be permitted to serve.

'Throughout our history, our nation's military has succeeded in training individuals from diverse backgrounds and communities to achieve one unifying goal: to protect and defend our nation.

'Providing Lieutenant (Tajdeep S Rattan) Rattan with a reasonable accommodation would simply be an additional chapter in this long history of military success,' wrote Congresswoman Maloney, and Congressman Crowley in a joint letter dated June 17 to Gates.

'I am urging you to give full consideration to this young American's request for a reasonable accommodation that will allow him to continue to serve our nation and to observe his religious faith,' said Congressman Frelinghuysen taking up the case of Captain Kamaljeet S Kalsi.

Both Kalsi and Rattan, were recruited as part of an Army program that pays for medical education in return for military service. At the time of their enrolment, military recruiters assured both men that their turbans and unshorn hair 'would not be a problem'.

Four years later, the Army has now told them that the recruiters' assurances were false and that they would have to forsake their religious practices. The two Sikh youths challenged the Pentagon regulation earlier this year.

A Pentagon official informed them that at the instance of the Defence Secretary, they were reviewing the current policy. The case of the two Sikh youths has also been taken up by the Sikh Coalition -- an advocacy group of the community.

Last week, American Sikh leaders, participating in a conference at the Library of Congress had asked lawmakers to facilitate Sikh youths serve the US Army with their identity.

On Tuesday, Sikh Coalition also announced to launch a campaign to have broader letter of support from Congress to Secretary Gates for these Sikh soldiers.

Weakness or Strength

2009-03-18T14:57:00.001+05:30

Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength.

Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

"Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

"No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grasp your left arm."

The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

~ Author Unknown

Peaceful Protest against Dowry Law Misuse

2009-02-10T12:17:00.001+05:30

To highlight the issues of the misuse of dowry and other gender laws such as IPC 498A, Dowry Prohibition Act (DP Act), Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), CrPC 125 (maintenance), Hindu marriage Act (HMA), and others, Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) a non-govermental organization is organizing a peaceful protest in Bangalore, India.

Here is what the organizer had to say in the press release:

Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), an NGO dedicated to promote the cause of Gender Equality and Family Harmony, is organizing a peaceful protest against the deteriorating Indian family culture due to rampant misuse of Section 498A IPC, Domestic Violence Act and the dowry laws. The protest will be held on the 14th February 2009 on M.G.Road in front of Mahatma Gandhi Statue from 10: 00 AM to 1 PM. Nearly 150 people from all walks of life like, Engineers, Doctors, Businessmen, Service class, Government Employees, Software Professionals, NRIs, Chartered Accountants, Finance Consultants to name a few will be joining us in our endeavor to raise voice against this spreading “Legal Terrorism”.

Read the complete press release here

2009-01-06T13:43:00.001+05:30

THE SPEAKING TREE

Why Some People Seem To Have All The Luck

Richard Wiseman

Why do some people have all the luck while others never get the breaks they deserve? I set out to examine luck, 10 years ago. Why are some people always in the right place at the right time, while others consistently experience ill fortune? I placed advertisements in national newspapers asking for people who felt consistently lucky or unlucky to contact me.

Hundreds of extraordinary men and women volunteered for my research and over the years have been interviewed by me I have monitored their lives and had them take part in experiments. The results reveal that although these people have almost no insight into the causes of their luck, their thoughts and behaviour are responsible for much of their good and bad fortune Take the case of seemingly chance opportunities. Lucky people consistently encounter such opportunities, whereas unlucky people do not.

I carried out a simple experiment to discover whether this was due to differences in their ability to spot such opportunities. I gave both lucky and unlucky people a newspaper, and asked them to look through it and tell me how many photographs were inside. I had secretly placed a large message
halfway through the newspaper saying: 'Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $50'.

This message took up half of the page and was written in type that was more than two inches high. It was staring everyone straight in the face, but the unlucky people tended to miss it and the lucky people tended to spot it.

Unlucky people are generally more tense than lucky people, and this anxiety disrupts their ability to notice the unexpected. As a result, they miss opportunities because they are too focused on looking
for something else. They go to parties intent on finding their perfect partner and so miss opportunities to make good friends. They look through newspapers determined to find certain types of job advertisements and miss other types of jobs.

Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is there rather than just what they are looking for. My research eventually revealed that lucky people generate good fortune via four principles. They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions
by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that trans forms bad luck into good.

I wondered towards the end of the work whether these principles could be used to create good luck. I asked a group of volunteers to spend a month carrying out exercises designed to help them think and behave like a lucky person Dramatic results! These exercises helped them spot chance opportunities, listen to their intuition expect to be lucky, and be more resilient to bad luck. One month later, the volunteers returned and described what had happened. The results were dramatic: 80 per cent of people were now happier, more satisfied with their lives and, perhaps most important of all, luckier

The lucky people had become even luckier and the unlucky had become lucky.
Finally, I had found the elusive "luck factors".
1. Listen to your gut instincts - they are normally right.
2. Be open to new experiences and breaking your normal routine.
3. Spend a few moments each day remembering things that went well
4. Visualize yourself being lucky before an important meeting or telephone call.

All the "luck factors" above actually point to a single factor - a positive attitude.

International Men’s day events in Mumbai

2008-11-17T16:37:00.002+05:30

We, Protect India n Family Foundation, are a part of global group of NGOs and local self-help groups ((wherever Indian-NRI families live) and responsible Indian citizens who are concerned about the future of Indian families and hence our future as a Nation by and large. Our network is made up of like minded persons and NGOs who have dedicated their souls in bringing back the 'meaning' and happiness of "Family", back to at least(for a start) Indian families.

For this result we are trying to work on different fronts including Child rights for shared parenting (as per the welfare of the child, keeping its development as prime in our minds). You could see the website of our sister NGO, CRISP(Children’s Right Initiative for Shared Parenting) www.crisp-india.org for more on this front.

The next avenue that we are exploring is to change the mindset of public in general and hence higher authorities including law-makers, that 'Man' is not always the tormentor, he actually deserves a hug many a times for his selfless efforts for the upkeep of his family and for his dedicated loyalty and hard work which he makes for this Nation of ours, as we all can witness.

Many a times a ‘Man’ is not only denied of this well deserved 'reward' of a simple hug, but he is also brandished as a cruel, in-humane and an insensitive partner/player(by default) in any social setting(let alone familial situations). This is why we see people taking sides even without bothering to 'verify the facts of the specific situation', this bias is shockingly evident in cases when a man is accused of indiscretions/cruelty made out towards a woman (women)- he sometimes bears the burnt of being a 'Man' per se- due to his image been "Stereotyped", almost as that of a typically insensitive “Animal”!, almost a perfect animal, which only thinks just about pleasures of various kinds, and then Food(may be TV too comes as a strong ingredient in this imagery of a stereotypically consumerist 'Man').

This scenario, as many of you also would acknowledge, is far from the reality with respect to even the 'average' man living in our present day society, and is hence detrimental for the upkeep of our time-tested family system, which is by far the single most important factor which is almost single-handedly supporting India and stopping it from plunging into the abyss of unfathomable anarchy, unrest and thence total destruction. And this is a shocking trend, which if left unchecked, could eventually gobble up the entire great Indian population clean, in no time at all.

As a net result, men are seen to be losing their rights, and even denied of their emotional needs, such as their need, and right, of being there for their children, especially when they need a father in their most sensitive & critical developmental years. Even lets, for a minute, forget a father's need to see these days of his kid, to be a part of these days and experience a bit of joy, which is one among the few life-forces which sustains life and enthusiasm in most of us as, work horses, err …. Men.

Even in this case too, forgetting a Man’s need to be his kids, considering just the rights and need of children to have a balanced development, the situation would point itself towards the need for having a caring father around, along with its mother around a child, for its proper development as a responsible citizen of this good earth!.

Children need both parents (as far as either parent is not insane, or proves negative in their net influence over children’s development and psyche) for shaping up to those wonderful people they can become with proper nurturing and love from both parents(who needs to put aside their differences, how much ever the degree of differences they have between two of them).

Men’s day events

Protect Indian Family Foundation(PIFF), NGO, Mumbai (Member of the Save Indian Family (SIF) Network), are planning a Bike and Car rally on 19th November, 2008 (Proposed Time: 2.30 to 4.30 pm ).

This event is a part of an important campaign by Protect Indian Family, Mumbai and its associate NGOs in Delhi, Bangalore, Lucknow, Nagpur, Kolkata, Hyderabad(who are all conducting similar such events in conjunction to International men’s day) and several other NGOs and Local groups under the aegis of Save Indian Family Foundation umbrella group.

Brief details of the Vehicle Rally

We expect around 60 bikes and 20 cars to participate. The objective of this Rally will be to bring Awareness about the misuse of laws concerning families (IPC 498a, Domestic Violence Act, etc.), which wrecking many families in India and abroad (wherever Indians live). This is also to commemorate the international Men’s day, which falls on November 19th.

Following this vehicle rally, at the culmination point(Bandra Family Court), we will be submitting a Memorandum of our demands and concerns to the Principle Judge, Mumbai Family Court, Bandra, along with other relevant authorities.

Contact Persons: P.R.Gokul- 9322156141, M.R.Gupta – 9869323538
Proposed Route
City Civil/Session Court (Mayo Road) to Bandra Family Court

(Roads planned: Starting from ; Opp. City Civil Court on Karamvir Bhaurao Patil

Marg (Mayo Road) – Woudby Road – Capital Cinema – Nagar Chowk – D.N. Road

– Crowford Market – L.T. Road – Mohamed Ali Road – Sir. J.J. Road – N.M. Joshi

Road (Delisle Road) – Gokhale Road (North) – Lady Jamshetji Road – Mahim

Causeway – Western Express Highway – Kala Nagar – B.K.C. Family Court)

This event is being planned by Protect Indian Family (www.protectindianfamily.org), Mumbai, NGO-Member of Save Indian Family (www.saveindianfamily.org) & SIF’s Media Flagship- SIF Times (www.siftimes.com)

We hope that these efforts will go a long way in bringing back the tranquility at home, since charity begins at Home. And since home is the fountainhead of life force, lets nurture the tranquility in Indian families, to ultimately pave way for a stronger Nation. Looking forward to your cooperation and active participation.

Save Indian Family (SIF) is a strong team of dedicated families comprising of victims of "misuse of 498a and other Gender biased Women-Protection laws like Dowry Prohibition Act, Domestic Violence Act, etc.", including NRIs, Senior citizens who campaign and create awareness about gross injustice and abuse that happen in Indian Legal system. SIF has over 30 NGOs and 50,000 families as its members across the globe.

Protect Indian Family Foundation (PIFF), Mumbai is a member NGO of the SIF network, based in Mumbai, looking after related issues for entire Maharashtra and beyond.

Help-line Numbers:
Mumbai: 9869323538(M.R.Gupta), 9224335577, 9322156141(Rotating lines)
Delhi: 9810611534
Kolkata: 9830151555
Chennai: 9884607376
Hyderabad: 09848280354
Bangalore: 9845143724

Pune: 9923056460
More help-lines at: http://mynation.net/contact-us & http://www.savefamily.org/index.php?Itemid=65&option=com_content

Supported by :
www.saveindianfamily.org
www.mynation.net
www.savefamily.org
www.asha-kiran.org
www.sahanaindia.org
www.ghrs.in
www.forgottenwomen.org
www.protectindianfamily.org
www.mensday.in
www.antidowry.org
www.498a.org

Thanks
Protect Indian Family Foundation, Maharashtra
Mumbai Contacts: +91 9869323538, 9224335577, 9322156141,
Email: help@protectindianfamily.org | Web: www.protectindianfamily.org

Black March, on the 2nd Anniversary of Domestic Violence Act, Sunday, 26th October 2008

2008-10-25T16:36:00.005+05:30

A “ Black March”, on the 2nd Anniversary of Domestic Violence Act, Sunday, 26th October 2008 - near Charni Road Chowpatti(Birla Kreeda Kendra to Wilson College), Mumbai, on 26th October 2008 from 5.00 pm to 7:00 pm. Please find the press release of this event and a 'memo to media' attached in this email.

This 'Black March' is an awareness(the general public and authorities need to know and acknowledge that no one is immune to this dangerous trend) cum protest event against the gender-biased and misuse-prone women-protection laws, especially the newly introduced Domestic Violence Act(Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act- ie. PWDVA) on its 2nd Anniversary date

The DV act came into force on 26th October 2006, and it was indeed a black day for Indian families, since it was one more nail in the coffin of the institution called marriage, due to its bias and propensity to be misused.

If the government really wanted domestic violence in families to be addressed, why didn't they make it gender-neutral like in other countries where such laws exist(especially in USA, which is the model/inspiration of DV Act in India. Right now a man cannot get relief under DV Act even if he is tormented in a family/domestic relation).

DV Act is just one law which is breaking Indian families because of their wrongful/fraudulent misuse by unscrupulous wives/her advisors. The other laws which are being misused are IPC 498a, Dowry Prohibition Act. For example , in case of IPC 498a there is only 2% conviction as per CSR study report, but all arrests are without investigation or evidence, just on the basis of an unverified complaint by a wife!. 1.2 lakh women have been arrested in the last 4 years alone, apart from over 1000 children and 18,000 senior citizens and a total of 5.34 lakh persons! have been arrested and traumatized by wrongful litigations for an average of 8 years!.

Families disintegrate without any chance of reconciliation when these kind of skewed family-breaking laws are misused, and that’s the same reason why we are protesting against them and spreading awareness to generate public opinion against these anti-family, harmony-wrecking, misuse-prone and draconic laws

Save Indian Family' activists' hold national meet

2008-10-01T17:36:00.002+05:30

The 'Save Indian Family' activists' national meet to discuss strategies to intensify the campaign against misuse of gender biased laws, turned out to be more than strategy discussion full of fun and banter, followed by an awards function.

IT WAS the enigmatic ambience of Goa and the serene silence, decorated with the soothing sea waves of the beach that sparked the mood for the national meet of Goa for the 60 odd leaders and activists of the ’Save Indian Family’ campaign. Having had assembled for their proposed national meet, as reported by leading national dailies viz The Times of India, Deccan Chronicle to name a few, to discuss strategies to intensify their campaign against the misuse of gender biased laws, the meet turned out to be more than just strategy discussion as the event started with fun and banter followed by an awards function.

After introduction by the key members, the individual Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) working and sharing concerns with the Save Indian Family Foundation that had sent their representatives came forward to discuss their strengths and weaknesses. Those present were from

Save Indian Foundation, Bangalore and Nagpur,
Indiya Kudumba Pathukappu Iyakkam Chennai,
Save Family Foundation and MyNation Foundation Delhi,
Pati Pariwar Kalyan Samiti, Lucknow,
Protect Indian Family, Mumbai,
Sahana, Hyderabad,
Bharat Bachao Sangathan, Kolkata and
Children’s Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (CRISP), Bangalore.

The NGOs as mentioned above and in the order presented their individual strengths and weaknesses. This discussion worked as the first step towards consolidation of strategies and brainstorming of steps to strengthen the movement in general. Newly upcoming Chattisgarh NGO had also sent its wishes and message via the representative of the Nagpur NGO.

Kumar Jahgirdar, the president of CRISP, discussed the vision and mission of CRISP and a collective goal was set to achieve regional expansion of CRISP in to new geographies. Members from national chapters expressed their solidarity and support by filling in the membership forms for CRISP. The event also marked the launch of the website of CRISP by the name of Crisp-India.

The discussion was followed by splitting the members present into five separate task groups of five -- seven members each on an average. Each of the task group was assigned a topic and was given 90 minutes to come up with a comprehensive strategy to be implemented in the concerned area of development. The areas of development were,

1. How to expand into new geographies and how to retain and grow the existing chapters?
2. Effective counselling techniques for newly joined victims who face abuse and approach the NGOs.
3. Effective lobbying techniques with the authorities and create the desired level of visibility for the Save Indian Family movement.
4. Calendar of events for the next one year.
5. More and potential areas of research.

After the stipulated time, the individual task groups came up with ideas/strategies in their respective areas and also the challenges currently faced in that area. The same were discussed, noted and the activists will be working on improvement of these areas to strengthen the movement and make the cause more audible and visible.

With so much of brainstorming happening since morning, the need for the day was a break, which came as a surprise event in the form of an award function mainly aimed to act as a motivating tonic to identify key contributions, both individual and group. Five categories of awards were designed and various nominations were identified and the final awards were compiled by a jury formed of the senior most leaders of the movement. The categories of nominations were:

Lifetime achievement award – This award went to the oldest member of the movement who has been a victim and has been raising voice against this misuse in the Internet since the past nine years.
Best chapter award – This award went to the Nagpur NGO, which has emerged as the fastest growing chapter by utilising all the knowledge that is available and converted the same in to an executable plan and achieved some wonderful results in a very short span of time.

Most outstanding contribution – This award went to the vociferous fighter of the Save Indian Family Campaign, which has written the bible for the victims of the abuse in the form of the “498a Survival Kit.”

Best fight back strategy – This award went to the commando, who was instrumental in getting justice to one of those unfortunate 56,000 married men who commit suicide. This relates back to the suicide by Pushkar Singh of Lucknow being unable to bear the torture of a false case against him of dowry harassment by his wife and in- laws. Inspite of the suicide note left behind, clearly accusing his wife and in-laws of his suicide, as the authorities were restraining themselves in taking action, our commando mobilised and motivated 35 members from Delhi and UP to raise voice against the grave injustice and ensure restoration of faith in the criminal justice system.

Influencing the authorities - This award went to our legal stalwarts team, the Chennai NGO for being successfully instrumental in bringing to task 11 police officers ranging from a head constable, right up to the dy comm of police for negligence of duty and violation of human rights principles. They have been summoned by the National Human Rights Commission. Normally such a huge number of officers are summoned in case of communal riots. But this is the first time that in an individual case does one get to see such an attempt to repair miscarriage of justice.
Having, thus, completed the awards ceremony, the team headed towards dinner and happy hours of informal mingling and experience sharing and further discussions of improvement areas and finally parted for the day.

The second day of the meet was more of a culmination than a continuation, which started with rejuvenation and ended with celebration on the end of a successful meet. It has been decided that the annual meet continue for reviewing the strategies and identifying rooms of improvement.

National Meet of SIF activist on 27th-28th Sept at Goa to Stop the Legal Terrorism in India

2008-09-24T13:59:00.002+05:30

Activists of the Save Indian Family campaign are meeting from all over India in Goa this weekend (27-28th Sept) to intensify agitation for amendment of dowry laws and domestic violence laws. Their demands are that dowry laws be made bailable and non-cognizable and domestic violence laws to be made gender neutral in larger interest of the society.

The spate of actions taken by the radical feminists in sidelining the moderates and wreaking havoc on innocent people in the name of Women Empowerment has already done a lot of damage to the Women Empowerment movement and its credibility. Save Indian Family Foundation does not want further deterioration of the society and hence hopes that the Govt. will do well by taking the above demands into consideration and not buckle under the pressure of radical feminists. It is high time that the media takes cudgels in presenting to the Society the bitter truth about radical feminists who
are calling the shots.

It is to be noted that the Govt. made several laws to tackle dowry menace. It all started in 1961, with the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Then Section 498A, Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) in 1983 and the very recent Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, passed in 2006. Quintessentially all of the above three try to achieve the same objective and unfortunately enough none is successful so far as now, these radical feminists want some more laws as they continue to ignore the extravagant marriages and inaction of dowry prohibition officers in curbing the dowry menace.

It is to be noted that Women's organizations have got and are still getting millions of dollars from the Govt. and from International agencies to implement stringent anti-male, laws ultra-vires the Indian Constitution for fighting against dowry. And now that they have got used to it, if the dowry menace is eliminated with proper implementation of the existing laws, then they will not get the funds and attention. So, they go soft on dowry exchange during marriages and yet cry for more laws so that men and their families can be harassed and money can be extorted from them.
It is worthwhile to be noted here that nowadays, women do not hesitate in filing 4-5 civil and criminal lawsuits for the same allegations on their husbands, blatantly and out rightly violating Article 20 of the Indian Constitution which clearly says that no person can be tried / punished twice for the same offense. The cases filed include lawsuits under Dowry Prohibition Act, then another under section 498A of the IPC. Then one more under Domestic Violence Act and one more under maintenance and so on and so forth.

But now Indian men have learned to fight and are giving stiff resistance to such wild practices and will continue to do so till the laws are not amended and the perpetrators of this misuse, aptly termed by the Honorable Supreme Court of India as Legal Terrorism, are not brought to task. It is interesting to note that in India, terrorists and hooligans are roaming freely and the Govt. does not want to bring back TADA / POTA but the same Govt. continues with arbitrary arrests of the 1,20,000 women in last 4 years without any trial or investigation and the same is also justified by radical feminist organizations. Such practices can only be ridiculed at best and termed as grave mockery by the Govt. taking potshots at the people's
patience.

Save Indian Family Foundation regrets to mention that in spite of nationwide awareness campaigns launched by it since the last three years and bringing this to the notice of the Govt. about the rampant misuse, still if the Govt. continues to ignore, the people will have no choice but to take the law in their own hands losing complete faith on the law of the land.

It is so pathetic that the Govt. is funding radical feminist organizations, which are no way different from any radical fundamentalist organizations so far as their intolerance is concerned as it is evident from the silence of these radicals on the arrests of 1,20,000 women.

It is also a sad reality that the government is completely ignoring the suicides of Indian men to the tune of close to 80,000 a year with married men forming a sizeable chunk of it to the tune of 56,000 (on average) a year.

*We wonder whose life is in more danger in the country: Men or Women.*

· As per the National Crime Records Bureau data of *2005*:

o Married Men Suicides = *52000* vs. Married Women Suicides = *28000*

· As per the National Crime Records Bureau data of *2006*:

o Married Men Suicides = *55452* vs. Married Women Suicides = *29869*

· For a wife, even adultery is not a crime (it is a rewarding option and free money earning business for the whole life), but for a husband even an allegation of *"**Name-calling**"* is a crime and not only the man, but his mother/sister/age-old father can also be put behind the bars for this 'crime' under IPC 498A or DV act.

The Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), Dr. Girija Vyas had enough time to take steps to eradicate the social evil called dowry exchange. Although the NCW has proposed multiple laws but sadly enough none are ever implemented in true spirit. If the dowry practice still exists, then it is a complete failure of the NCW and Girija Vyas and for that Save Indian Family Foundation demands resignation of Dr. Vyas and closure of the NCW.

More recently we had a very unfortunate judgment from the Honorable Supreme Court as well, wherein the Supreme Court granted apology to a husband who accepted taking dowry. When the law has clearly laid down that both giving and taking dowry is a crime, why were the criminals not punished and let go off with an apology? Does this not mean that the law of the land has no meaning and has been only enacted to terrorize innocent citizens and extort their hard earned money from them?

*With an ending note Save Indian Family Foundation likes to remind the civil society as well of its duty to raise voice against the injustice going on under the barb and paradoxical veil of Women Empowerment and to the Govt. to make family an issue in the coming elections. And that these laws need to be replaced by some more benign, sensible, gender-neutral legislation that may ensure women their rightful, honorable place at home and abroad, while at the same time not forgetting the rights of the men.*

*For more details contact : 9342853272/9845143274/9810611534*

------------------------------

*Review Gender Biased LAW to Promote Family Harmony and Stop Legal Terrorism*

- *Proposed Domestic Harmony Act , 2005 ( For review)

- *NCW's recommendations to address "unnatural deaths" of married women
are Unreasonable

- *Maintenance for live-in partner? or Legal Extrotion?

- *Woman throws acid on husband-Kolkata -Cities-The Times of India

- *NCW'S False/fabricated Claim exposed regarding 70% women denied
maintance on alleged adultrity ground in CRPc125.

- *STOP Women Sexual Harassment!!

Women - the greatest mystery

2008-09-05T14:46:00.001+05:30

**Girl' is the only thing about which brain uses maximum resource but comes
with no output.*

Rahul was waiting for his love ...
"30 minutes late!!" his brain shouted at him, "Last time you were 5 mins
late and she had literally gobbled u up ... remember??"

"Yeah yeah", he said to his brain, "You know her ... all moody and stuff
.... Oh there she is"

"Scold her OK?" his brain adviced.

"OK I will try"

Sweet Ramya comes with the cutest smile and says "I'm sorry honey ... I was
shopping for shoes ... totally forgot about you"

"What if you had said that line buddy?" shouted his brain ... "she would
have had a nervous breakdown"

Rahul ignored his brain ... "Its OK honey ... it's only half an hour ...
no problem"

She smiled once again... held his hand and asked "Hope you remember what
occasion is today"

"OMG!!!" thought Rahul ....

"Brain ... search database for reminders, anniversaries, silly
anniversaries, birthdays and birthdays of people I don't care about"

Brain got into action ... he started delegating work to different parts ...
parallel processing .. Multiple search .......... complete memory scan.

Ramya stared at Rahul.... "Hello!! u have been staring at me for 2 minutes
now ... u OK?"

"Huh!!!" he said, "Oh ... nothing's wrong ... was lost in thought"

"No records found", said the brain ...

"Damn!!" thought Rahul

"So what say ... how do we celebrate this day?" she asked.

Rahul is all confused ... "Ask her ...dumbo?" Said the brain

"OK OK ...stop pushing me"

"Honey ... U know my lousy memory ... I guess I can't recall what today
is"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she shouted ... and started crying.

"How could you forget!!? ..... It's my doggy's birthday"

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A moment of silence.

His entire brain staff was laughing at him.

Rahul was dumbfounded.
"What the hell am I supposed to do know?" he asked his brain.

"Damage control sequence initialized ... don't worry our specialist will
comeback with the perfect line to make everything all right"

"Better do it fast ...Brainy"

The brain was working at 90% capacity.... gathering and analyzing all data
on 'How to handle women?'

Finally an answer was computed and communicated to Rahul.

He looked up to her, and said "Of Course I remember your doggy's bday ...
how can I forget that sweet mutt's special day"

She looked up with utter surprise...
"HUH!!!!!!! ....... Doggy is the name of my cat you jerk"

She stood up angrily and left.
Rahul and his brain were left there clueless....

"Ah! Screw u guys... I'm going home", said his brain and left.

Call to end discrimination against men

2007-11-19T23:09:00.000+05:30

Claiming men perform some of the riskiest jobs and that the government collects 82 per cent of its tax revenue from them, a men's organisation today demanded a ministry dedicated to the welfare and protection of their gender.

Aggrieved at what they say is discrimination against them, a group of men under the aegis of Save Family Foundation celebrated the International Men's Day today and wanted that a ministry be set up for their welfare and protection against verbal, emotional, economic, physical and sexual abuse at home and at work place.

The Foundation submitted a memorandum to this effect to President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

"All laws meant for the protection of women in India are gender biased. It is high time that a ministry for men's welfare should be set up in India," Swaroop Sarkar, coordinator of the Foundation, said.

"As per data of Crime Bureau of India more than 72,000 men commit suicide every year. Suicides by married men are higher than those by married women. Indian men have no legal protection," Sarkar added.

Interestingly, the foundation claims that increasing number of men are losing employment and more women are entering the job market, defying their "traditional" role within the family and society.

"Nevertheless, society is refusing to free men of their traditional duties of protecting and providing for women, children and the aged," it said.

Source : PTI

Did you ever get such program notice in your company?

2007-10-07T21:22:00.000+05:30

.
To: All Employees
From: The program of SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING (S.H.I.T.)
Date: TODAY
Re: S.H.I.T.

In order to assure the highest levels of quality work and productivity from employees, it will be our policy to keep all employees well trained through our program of SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING ( S.H.I.T.).

We are trying to give our employees more S.H.I.T . than anyone else. If you feel that you do not receive your share of S.H.I.T., please see your supervisor. You will be immediately placed at the top of the S.H.I.T. list, and our supervisors are especially skilled at seeing that you get all the S.H.I.T. you can handle.

Employees who don't take their S.H.I.T. Seriously will be placed in DEPARTMENTAL EMPLOYEE EVALUATION PROGRAMS ( D.E.E.P.S.H.I.T.).

Those who fail to take D.E.E.P.S.H.I.T. seriously will have to go to EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE TRAINING (E.A.T.S.H.I.T.).

Since our supervisors took S.H.I.T. before they were promoted, they don't have to take S.H.I.T. Anymore, and are all full of S.H.I.T. already. If you too are full of S.H.I.T., you may be interested in a job teaching others.

We can add your name to our BASIC UNDERSTANDING LIST of LEADERS (B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T.).

Thank you,

BOSS IN GENERAL, SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING
(B.I.G.S.H.I.T.)

Chak De India......

2007-09-30T17:29:00.000+05:30

India - "Ist" Twenty20 World Champion

Heartly Congratulations for the young and energetic Indian Cricket Team for winning the inaugural Twenty20 cricket World Cup after a thrilling five-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the final in Johannesburg on Monday 24 September, 2007.

And hats off to the new team India Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. There cannot be a better start as a Captain of Indian Cricket team. First assignment Twenty20 world cup as captain and winning the cup without seniors players in the team. No words... all praises to Dhoni and its team.... :-)

There can't be a better Twenty20 world cup, which saw the home side (South Africa) winning the very first match of the tournament by chasing more than 200 on the score board.

Bangladesh beating West Indies and Australia deafeated by Zimbabwe reminded us the World Cup (50 overs) held earlier in the year. Australia moved on to the next stage, but West Indies were not so lucky.

India vs. Pakistan - First Twenty20 encounter...
Heart beats of all Indians were increased when the match between India and Scotland was abandoned due to rain. And to reach to the next stage (Super 8), India had to beat its arch-rival Pakistan. Memories of early exit of Pakistan and India in the World Cup were re-surfaced.

It was a match, which will be remembered for years, not because India beat Pakistan in yet another world cup match but the way India won the match. It was first ever bowl-out match in the cricket history. India batting first could manage to score only a small total which Pakistan team was able to match with... yeah the match was a tie and according to new rule of Twenty20, five bowlers from each team will bowl one ball and whoever hits the stumps most will be declared winner.

Everyone seems tensed and was excited too as it was first time in history that such kind of thing was happening in Cricket. Dhoni's tactics of using only spinners (including non-regular bowlers like Robin Uthappa) paid of as the Pakistan bowlers could not hit the stump even once and from India, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and Robin Uthappa was on target and the match was awarded to India. For records India has won the match :-)

Super 8
India lost first and last time in Twenty20 World Cup final and it was the only time when Indians were to chase the score and they failed to do that against New Zealand. To reach to the semi-finals, India had to win both of its matches against England and South Africa. And Indian Cricket team did it in style. The heroes of these wins were Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma.

First, Yuvraj Singh played a knock of his life scoring 50 in 12 balls including 6 sixes of six balls of 19th over bowled by England seamer Stuart Broad. He also became the first to achieve this and his 50 runs are the fastest in Twenty20 game.

Rohit Sharma looked fantastic in all the matches he played. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands and looked great while batting. He was also awarded Man of the Match for his match winning 50 against South Africa.

Semifinal - India vs. Australia
A match which will be remembered for the aggression shown by Indian batsmen and bowlers particularly Sreesanth and Yuvraj Singh. Though Sreesanth was fined for being over aggressive after taking Mathew Hayden's wicket, India won this match in style by beating the World Champions.

Highlights of the match was stunning knock by Yuvraj Singh scoring 70 of 30 balls and great balling performance by R.P. Singh and Sreesanth. And hats off to the Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni whose patience paid of at the end. He used his bowlers so tactically that even World Champions had no answer to that.

Oh yes... the match was played in Durban but it felt like match is being played in India.. Indian flags moving all over and stadium was full Indian Fans. Even Ricky Ponting said that he was feeling like in India :-)

Final - The Last battle - India vs. Pakistan
In a match that saw fortunes fluctuate till the dying moments, the young Indian team scored 157 for 5 and then held its nerve to bowl out Pakistan for 152 with just 3 balls to spare. It was India's first World cup win since winning the Prudential World Cup in 1983. It was an incredible display by the Indians who relied on superb team work to not only maintain their all-win record against their bitter foes in World Cup matches but also complete a series of giant-killing acts in the blaze glory.

the big guns like Yuvraj Singh [Images] and Mahendra Singh Dhoni failed to click and it was Gautam Gambhir who slammed 54balls 75 and Rohit Sharma scoring an unbeaten 30 runs to help India putting a decent total on the score board.

The large flag-waving gathering of Indians at the Wanderers burst into celebration when Sreesanth caught the dangerous Misbah-ul Haq off Joginder Sharma to bring an end to Pakistan's challenge. The contest seemed to go out of India's hands in the 17th over when Misbah hitted Harbhajan Singh for 3 sixes, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni's band of young warriors roared back in great style to come out trumps and claim the winners' purse of US $49,000.

Irfan Pathan was named the Man of the Match. Pakistan s' Shahid Afridi was named Man of the Series.

Celebrations
Celebrations started soon after Sreesanth took the catch. News channel showing homes of our heroes where people have gathered to congratualte tha family. The atmosphere at the Wanderers was electified by the Indians, Team members taking a round of the ground, Indian flags all over, team members dancing to the music. It was such a pleasing moment.

It didn't end here. More celebration were awaiting team India at home in Mumbai...

Oblivious of the pouring rain, fans have lined the 30km route from the international airport in Sahar to the Wankhede Stadium, where the team was felicitated.

And in tribute to the dancing fans, the team members shrugged off their jet lag and the elements, climbed to the top of an open bus fronted by a photograph of a triumphant captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni [Images] and the words VIJAY RATH, and danced in response to the dancing fans.

Traffic on the route is at a standstill, and no one seems to mind -- the mood is one of total celebration, and the younger among the fans have begun running alongside the team bus, dancing and, whenever their heroes show signs of standing still, egging them on to dance again.

Yuvraj and Sreesanth [Images] have established themselves as the cheerleaders, dancing non-stop on the roof of the bus, and exhorting the fans lining the roads to applaud, to dance, to celebrate. The bus is travelling at a little over walking pace along Mumbai roads, trailing the contingent of fans running alongside, and the media in two buses following the team bus.

Cellphones are ubiquitous -- everyone holds his or her phone overhead, hoping to snag the perfect shot.

The cavalcade of 50-odd police motorcycles preceding the team bus has moved a good five kms ahead of the team bus, and as they pass, even they get a cheer.

And as expected, there was money pouring into the pockets of teams members. Rs. 80 Lakh for each team member, Rs.1 crore for Yuvraj Singh and a brand new Porsche for hitting six sixes and a Mercedez to R.P. Singh. There was prizes announced by state Govt. to the local heroes.

I hope India continue the winning spirit and a great luck to Dhoni for leading the Indian cricket team...

at last... Chak De India

Too good

2007-09-19T20:00:00.000+05:30

One day Laloo was travelling by his car. He was going to a village for
campaigning . Suddenly a piglet came before the car. The driver could'nt
hit the brake at the right time and unfortunately the baby pig was killed
in the accident.

At the sight Laloo was deeply moved and felt very upset He called the
driver and said,"Jiska e suuar hai hum usko compensesan dena chahta hoon.
Usko dhundke lav ".

At his words the driver went to the nearest village and came back after
some time with a tilak on his forehead, garlands around his neck and lots
of money in his hands!!!

Laloo was surprised .. He asked ,"Hum tumko kaha tha ke uss aadmi ko laiye
, aur tum aise wapas aaye ho! baat kya hai?"

At this the driver replied " I told them about the incident . Hearing it
they were rejoiced , put tilak and garlands on me, then danced for some
time and gave this money."

Laloo then asked him "Aap unko eg-jectly kaa bole?"

The driver replied : "Main bola, mein Laloo Prasad ka driver hoon. Maine
suaar ke bachhe ko mar dala hai......... ."

I wanted to change the world

2007-09-11T20:38:00.001+05:30

...
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world."

Author unknown..

Chak de India

2007-09-09T21:02:00.000+05:30

After a bad day of Indian Cricket (nothing new), its time for our national sport Indian Hockey to cheer up the Indians....

In cricket crazy country, Indian Hockey is one of the neglected child but they are in the news and more so for good reasons :-)

They have won the Asia Cup final by beating Korea 7-2 and is the only team in the tournament which is unbeatable. Well, it is hard to believe but its true and the credit goes to the hard work done by the young and energetic team. It was nice to see the team work and the way they played in the tournament.

Let's hope that they continue this form and win the Olympic final also. This win will definitely helps in making the game more popular and more young people will join it.

We must provide infrastructure and other benefits for other sports and to players so that more and more people take them seriously.

For Indian Hockey team, the real heroes.... "CHAK DE... India"

Lords of Indian Cricket failed at Lords

2007-09-08T18:40:00.000+05:30

Indian batting flopped once again in a crucial match. Lord of indian cricket "Trimurty" - Ganguly, Sachin and Dravid, could not contribute in the final crucial match.

It was pleasant to watch indian openers coming to bat after winning the toss. Yet it was disheartening to see Saurav Dada finding it difficult to play short balls (once again). And after riding on its luck, Dada played a short to slip fielder (seems like doing some catching practice).

After Dada's departure, all eyes were on the talented Gambhir and he fell for superb fielding. Responsibility to stablise Indian scoreboard was on Sachin and Rahul Dravid. But, Umpire Aleem Dar has a surprise for the Indian captain aka The Wall and for the batting Mastero. Rahul Dravid and Sachin both were given out caught behind when the ball didn't touch the bat. It was pity to see the faces of our two heroes and there was hardly anybody can do other than filling pity.

Anyways, there comes the hero of famous chase of 325 in Lords Yuvraj Singh and another hero of last match Robin Uthappa. But soon both of them fell for cheap shots, again doing simple catching practice to England fielders.

Dhoni tried to hold the fort at one end and he was the last one to fell. At the end Indian scorebroad reads 187-10 (47.3 overs).

Waiting for Indian bowlers to fire all cylinders to English batsmen and show them what they deserve or else.....

Oh.. yes there was some drama in the match again.. and that was bound to happen. It seems England players can't live without the controversies in the match.

Pastor's A.s.s

2007-09-05T18:32:00.000+05:30

A pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.

The pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the race again, and it won again.

The local newspaper read:
'PASTOR'S A.S.S OUT FRONT'

The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.

The next day, the local newspaper headline read:
'BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S A.S.S'

This was too much for the bishop so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey.
The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.

The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day:
'NUN HAS BEST A.S.S IN TOWN'

The bishop fainted. He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, so she sold it to a farmer for $10.

The next day the paper read:
'NUN SELLS HER A.S.S FOR $10'

As a last resort the bishop ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.

The next day the headlines read:
'NUN ANNOUNCES...HER A.S.S IS WILD AND FREE'

The bishop was buried the next day....

The moral of the story is...being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery ...and even shorten your life.

So be yourself and enjoy life.....

You'll be a lot happier and live longer

Men cry equality on women’s day

2007-08-26T21:14:00.000+05:30

August 26 is Women’s Equality Day. And this time it will see men crying for equal rights on the streets.

Hundreds of “harassed” husbands, including IIT and IIM grads, engineers, doctors, lawyers and NRIs, will gather at Jantar Mantar on Sunday as part of the countrywide protest against dowry harassment and the more recent domestic violence laws. "We are all victims of these biased laws,” says Swarup Sarkar of Save Indian Family Foundation, the organiser.

Men argue that these laws have exposed them to harassment at the hands of their wives. “A woman simply has to utter ‘dowry harassment’ and everybody she names is promptly put behind bars without any evidence, investigation or witness,” says NS Das, a product of IIT Delhi and IIM-A, who is now fighting dowry charges.

"Guilty until proven innocent — that’s the gist of Section 498A of the IPC, the dowry harassment law," says another IITian Ved Prakash.

Terming the protest a "malicious propaganda", Ranjana Kumari, director of Centre for Social Research, says, "Section 498A is the only provision under the dowry law that allows a woman to save her life. Other sections come into force after the woman is killed."

Walk in the sky.... from your home

2007-08-24T09:46:00.000+05:30

Many people like to just sit outside at night and gaze up into the heavens. Picking out the constellations or just wondering about what else is out there, it's something that most of us have done. Well now, thanks to an update to Google Earth, you don't even have to leave your room to check out the sky.

"Today, I'm excited to announce we are launching Sky in Google Earth," said Google Earth Product Manager, Lior Ron. "You can now explore the universe from the comfort of your chair. Zoom in to distant galaxies hundreds of millions of light years away, explore the constellations, see the planets in motion, witness a supernova explosion; it's like having a giant, virtual telescope at your command -- your own personal planetarium!"

A Sky button on the toolbar will enable you to switch from Earth to Sky mode where you can view 100 million stars and 200 million galaxies. If you begin your Google Earth session with the your current coordinates, you'll be able to see the sky just as it is right above you.

If you'd like to get a good idea of just what kinds of cool things you can find, there are plenty of of examples over at the Google Earth Gallery.

The Ant & The Grasshopper..

2007-08-17T19:16:00.000+05:30

Ant & Grasshopper

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs, dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

Modern Version

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.

Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.

Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticizes the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) .

Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter.

Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services.

The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes,it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it 'A Triumph of Justice'.

Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.

CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '

Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly

Many Years Later...

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley …

100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India ...

As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the Grasshoppers, India is still a developing country…!!!

Dear Friend

2007-08-06T21:07:00.000+05:30

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when s/he discovers that someone else believes in her/him and is willing to trust her/him with friendship."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

People who love you, people who you love back, people who will always be there for you, through the good times and the bad, they make you happy when you are sad, they are angels that have yet to earn their wings, they are your dear friends.

Legal or Logical?

2007-07-31T17:55:00.000+05:30

After having failed his exam in "Logistics and Organization", a student goes and confronts his lecturer about it.

Student: "Sir, do you really understand anything about the subject?"

Professor: "Surely I must. Otherwise I would not be a professor!"

Student: "Great, well then I would like to ask you a question. If you can give me the correct answer, I will accept my mark as is and go. If you however do not know the answer, I want you give me an "A" for the exam. "

Professor: "Okay, it's a deal. So what is the question?"

Student: "What is legal, but not logical, logical, but not legal, and neither logical, nor legal?"

Even after some long and hard consideration, the professor cannot give the student an answer, and therefore changes his exam mark into an "A", as agreed.

Afterwards, the professor calls on his best student and asks him the same question.
He immediately answers: "Sir, you are 63 years old and married to a 35 year old woman, which is legal, but not logical. Your wife has a 25 year old lover, which is logical, but not legal. The fact that you have given your wife's lover an "A", although he really should have failed, is neither legal, nor logical."

The Truth

2007-07-21T18:43:00.000+05:30

At school, a boy is told by a classmate that most adults are hiding at least one dark secret, and that this makes it very easy to blackmail them by saying, I know the whole truth -- even when you don't know anything.

The boy decides to go home and try it out. As he is greeted by his mother at the front door he says, I know the whole truth. His mother quickly hands him $20 and says, Just don't tell your father.

Quite pleased, the boy waits for his father to get home from work, and greets him with, I know the whole truth. The father promptly hands him $40 and says, Please don't say a word to your mother.

Very pleased, the boy is on his way to school the next day, when he sees the mailman at his front door. The boy greets him by saying, I know the whole truth. The mailman drops the mail, opens his arms and says, Then come give your FATHER a big hug.

The Meaning of Peace

2007-07-17T14:50:00.000+05:30

There was once a king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried.

The king looked at all the pictures, but there were only two that he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was perfect mirror for the peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The second picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in which lightening played. Down the side of the
mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush mother bird had built her nest.... a perfect picture of peace.

Which of the pictures won the prize?

The king chose the second picture.

Do you know why?

"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things
and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

iShare a.k.a Desi YouTube, is here....

2007-07-15T13:38:00.000+05:30

Rediff.com, one of India's leading online portals, recently launched iShare a.k.a. Desi YouTube, which enables a user to share music, videos or exchange profiles along with other features.

With broadband becoming affordable and social networking taking off in India, iShare will provide users a context to connect and enjoy a more comprehensive multimedia entertainment experience on the Internet.

Rediff.com has also tied-up with Zee TV with a view to reach out to the TV audience and launched an initiative to enable the aspiring singers to showcase their talent and be a part of Zee's 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' contest by uploading their videos and audio files on iShare.

The best thing is that this new platform comes with a utility tool, which can be installed on the PCs and upload multiple files from various sources like mobile phones, digicam, camcorders and mp3 players, ipods etc..

I tried my hands on it. Although looks cud be more appealing but its really fast and user friendly. What r u waiting for..? Here it goes..

Secret Of Success

2007-07-13T10:20:00.000+05:30

Sir, " What is the secret of your success?" a reporter asked a bank
President.

"Two words."

"And, Sir, what are they?"

"Right decisions."

"And how do you make right decisions?"

"One word.'

"And, sir, What is that?"

"Experience. "

"And how do you get Experience?"

"Two words"

"And, Sir, what are they?"

"Wrong decisions ."

"Apne to apne hote hain" - Power of three deols

2007-07-02T00:00:00.000+05:30

It was not a usual morning, there was heavy down pour and the water can be seen on the road. We postponed our day's work and planned to watch Apne in the Fame Adlabs, Malad.

We reached there on time and there was hardly anybody for the movies in morning shows (10 am), may be because of heavy rain. We were 10-15 inside the theatre for Apne, seems like we were watching some special screening :-)

Finally, the wait is over to watch Dharmendra along with Sunny and Bobby. Dharmendra's performance was so powerful that others around him look really small. Dharmendra's actually made his character live and never looked like he is acting (he was so natural).

Dharmendra is the central force of ‘Apne’. Without him the movie would lose its soul. It is both surprising and pleasing to see Dharmendra deliver a powerhouse performance

The movie starts slowly and the story started building up. APNE is rich in emotions and a number of sequences, especially those between Dharmendra and Sunny, are electrifying. Also, the boxing matches [Chris Anderson] are pulse-pounding and you clench your fists tightly due to the tension that's depicted on screen.

Having seen the film, it is clear why it is the best flick to cast Dharmendra and his two sons (Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol) together. The reason is its story and the three main characters in it. There is no doubt that the three Deols drew a lot from their personal lives into their performances in the film. That is why the emotions and the kinship show on the big screen, too.

APNE is a movie you can watch with your entire family including your eldest member of the family to the youngest one.

The only thing in which movie lacked behind is its Music and why did all the songs are sang by Himesh himself?

After a long time we got to watch a movie like this. Director, Anil Sharma, has done brilliant job as well.

How to Surf Anonymous?

2007-06-28T00:15:00.000+05:30

Many times we arrive at a situation when we need to surf anonymous. Anonymous surfing hides our identity. It also helps in keeping Hackers away as it hides your actual IP Address.

So how can we actually surf anonymous. There are number of sites and softwares available which mask your IP with a fake one.

Softwares
Softwares generally sets your machine's IP address to fake one. So your actual IP is hidden while surfing the net. Problem with these softwares is that they limit you to one IP address and there is no possibility of chaning that IP address.

Proxies
Another way is to use the concept of proxies. In simple terms, Proxy is a middle man which takes a request from you send it to the target server, gets the response and send it back to you. So your IP address will not be visible to the world but of Proxy Server.

You may face problems like some scripting error or may be pages of few sites not coming up. But I guess this is acceptable as compare to the benefits given by Free Anonymous Surfing.

Following are the few sites, which provide anonymous surfing:

http://www.anonymization.org/
http://www.proxyindex.com/
http://www.anonymizer.com/
http://www.the-cloak.com/anonymous-surfing-home.html
http://proxify.com/

Rupee rise to affect IT firms' profitability: Nasscom

2007-06-25T23:59:00.000+05:30

Software industry association Nasscom today said profitability of IT companies will be affected by the recent rupee appreciation and needs to be checked in time.
"Its is a case of too much too quick. An 8-9 per cent rise in the value of rupee is definitely a cause of concern. The impact will be felt on the bottomline of IT firms," Nasscom Chairman Kiran Karnik said here.

The topline, however, would continue to be strong since margins are still higher, he added.

The rupee has appreciated about 8 per cent against dollar this year.

Karnik said the industry is ready for small appreciation like 1-2 per cent in the rupee but the kind of increase witnessed in the last few months is certainly very harmful for small IT companies.

Asked if this would anyway affect the overall growth guidance, he said Nasscom is yet to release its growth guidance for 2007-08 and "we hope dollar would stabilise to a higher level in the near future."

(Source: PTI News)

Rains lash Karnataka, Maharashtra, toll rises to over 130

2007-06-24T22:46:00.000+05:30

Torrential rains today lashed Karnataka and Maharashtra, throwing life out of gear while the situation improved in worst-hit Andhra Pradesh and Kerala even as the toll in these states mounted to over 130.

Mumbai and its neighbouring areas bore the brunt of the monsoon's fury, which claimed five lives since yesterday. The weather office said "heavy to very heavy" rains and gusty winds would continue to hit the metropolis. Several flights from Mumbai were delayed and rail traffic disrupted.

The monsoon continued to lash Karnataka, claiming six more lives and taking the toll in rain-related incidents in the state to 39.

A partially demolished building collapsed at Grant Road in south Mumbai last evening, killing two persons, while three persons died in two wall collapses today. In Nasik, two persons died after being struck by lightning while another died when a wall collapsed on him.

Sikh groups begin march for Dera chief's arrest

2007-06-24T14:47:00.000+05:30

Ignoring an appeal by SGPC to defer their march, several Sikh organisations today took out a procession, demanding arrest of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, charged with hurting religious sentiments of the community.

The Sikhs under the aegis of Khalsa Action Committee began the march here from the historic Gurdwara Zafar Nama, Dina Sahib to Damdami Sahib in Bathinda's Talwandi Sabo as tight security arrangements were made along its route.

The procession would pass through Salabatpura which houses the largest Dera of Sacha Sauda in Punjab.

Earlier, the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbhandhak Committee chief Avtar Singh had appealed to the organisers to defer their proposed march till tomorrow. But the Khalsa Action Committee - comprising leaders of various Sikh religious groups - decided to go ahead with its programme.

Those leading the march, including Jasbir Singh Rode, Daljit Singh Bittu, co-convenor of the Committee and Bhai Mohkam Singh, spokesman of Damdami Taksal, have appealed to the participants to maintain peace and not to raise any kind of slogans.

The protestors were scheduled to pass through Kangar, Salabatpura, Bhai Roopa, Rampura Phul, Mandi Kalan and Ram Nagar before reaching Talwandi Sabo, a temporal seat of the Sikhs.

(Source: PTI News)

"Enough is enough": President Kalam

2007-06-23T17:08:00.000+05:30

President A P J Abdul Kalam today said he decided against running for a second term as he did not want to be "party" to a political process and damage the name of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

"In five years time in Rashtrapati Bhavan we have all worked for transforming it into a people's bhavan. Rashtrapati Bhavan has become a people's bhavan today. I believe it should be an example for the nation. It should not get degenerated. That is why I said enough is enough," he said in an interaction with PTI journalists at its headquarters here.

(Source: PTI News)

Conditional warrant against Dera chief

2007-06-21T12:24:00.000+05:30

A court in Bhatinda has issued a conditional arrest warrant against Dera Sacha Sauda leader Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim for allegedly offending Sikh religious sentiments.

This means the Dera chief can be arrested, but only if the punjab government gives permission.

'We will act according to the procedures. All the procedures of arrest will be duly followed,' said Major Sardar Singh, lawyer, prosecution.

Meanwhile, the Dera sect has reportedly sent a fresh apology letter to the Akal Takht Sahib or the Sikh religious leadership.

Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal on Tuesday had welcomed Sikh Sangat leaders who marched from Fatehgarh to Chandigarh to highlight their demand.

Meanwhile, security at the Dera headquaters at Sirsa is reportedly being increased.

BCCI announces gradation list

2007-06-17T01:15:00.000+05:30

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced new gradation list of players for retainership on Saturday.

Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan have been demoted to Grade B from Grade A whereas Mahendra S Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh promoted to Grade A from Grade B.

Can you donate this 1 Rupee?

2007-06-15T12:15:00.000+05:30

This message was forwarded to me by a friend. An excellent response by a true Sardar:

"Hello friends!! Well, jayant , my friend, told me the following incident which I wish to share with you. It has had a deep impact on my thinking.

In the diwali vacation, Jayant and his couple of friends had gone to Delhi.
They rented a taxi for local sight-seeing. The driver was an old Sardar, and boys being boys, Jayant and his pals began cracking Sardarji jokes, just to insinuate the old man.
But to their surprise, the fellow remained unperturbed.

At the end of the sight-seeing, they paid up the hire-charges. The Sardar returned the change. Moreover, he gave each one of them one rupee extra and said, (in Hindi, of course),

"Son, since morning you have been telling Sardarji jokes. I listened to them all and let me tell you, some of them were in a very bad taste. Still, I don't mind coz I know that you are young blood and are yet to see the world. But I have just one request. Here I am giving you one rupee each. Give it to the first Sardar beggar that you come across in this city."

Jayant continued," That one rupee coin is still with me. I couldn't find a single Sardar begging on the streets of Delhi."

Friends, we all love sardar jokes. But the fact of matter is that Sikhs are one of the most prosperous and diversified communities in the world. The secret behind their universal success, according to me, is their willingness to do any job with utmost dedication. A Sardar will drive a truck or set up a roadside garage or a dhaba, but he will never beg on the streets.

Finally Monsoon reached Mumbai :-)

2007-06-14T19:50:00.001+05:30

From last couple of months Mumbaikars are fighting with the heat with a hope of Monsoon reaching in time. But more worrying is the fact that like previous year, the construction works on road are still underway and looks far from completing.

Every year, Mumbaikar satisfy himself saying that next year it will be better. And just before the monsoon, a fine morning he finds people digging the road. There are people who have learnt to live with that but there are still true Mumbaikars who really worry for the city and want to make it Clean and Green Amchi Mumbai.

One question, every Mumbaikar wants to ask is why BMC or other authorities start reparing the roads just before the start of monsoon?

God was so kind in giving us a warning a week before the monsoon, but instead of completing the work, it is getting delayed.

God bless Mumbai and let's hope and pray that this time we don't face water logging problem.

Team India Does Not Need A Coach, Says New Manager Chandu Borde

2007-06-14T19:41:00.000+05:30

India’s new cricket manager and former captain Chandu Borde feels the present team does not need a coach.

The 72-year-old Borde believes that India already has a bowling coach in Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach in Robin Singh and that players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and also Mahendra Singh Dhoni don't require any coaching as such.

“We can have dialogue with them and discuss the strategy and that will help Indian cricket. I am quite confident that these youngsters and the experienced one will combine very well and my job will be to combine and motivate them," Borde was quoted as saying to Cricketnext.com.

Experts feels that BCCI has played the right stroke by appointing Borde, the former selection committee chairman, as the best stop-gap arrangement after Graham Ford refused to take up the Indian job.

Good Idea Sir, coaching is not going to help the players in anyways so why waste so much of money, by paying to coach and in the coach selection meetings.

And the money can be distributed between the players and the BCCI members.

If Manager thinks like this then God bless Indian Cricket

South African Graham Ford Wants To Reconsider Coaching India If The BCCI Invites Him Again

2007-06-14T19:36:00.000+05:30

The Graham Ford tale has once again taken another U-turn. In a new twist, South African Ford on Wednesday disclosed that he might reconsider taking up the India coaching job if the BCCI decides to invite him again.

Reports indicated on Wednesday that Ford had not completely ruled out coaching India but did not want to take a decision in haste. So, then what he wants... making fun of BCCI who is already under fire because of his refusal to take up the job.

He said that the BCCI did not give him enough time to decide on the matter, and he had to take all aspects into consideration before taking on the job, zeecric.com reported. So, how much time he wants, hopefully not after the next world cup ;-)

Graham Ford was quick to point out that with two tough tours of India – Ireland and England coming up, he did not want to mar his reputation by just getting 15 preparatory days before the team’s departure. He can take 15 years, still you will not find any improvement if the BCCI continue working in same way.

Ford on his present stance, said that he was watching and waiting. He could also take a U-turn on the issue. He can also go to Ireland and England to watch Indian cricket live (did I say only as spectator)... ;-)

A tight slap to BCCI by Graham Ford

2007-06-14T19:33:00.000+05:30

Former India cricketer Kirti Azad has termed the recent snubbing of India coaching job by South African Graham Ford as a slap on the Board of Control for Cricket India.

"The way the wiseacres went about the coach’s selection was bizarre to say the least. The Board did not do its homework on Ford. The working committee should have asked him to talk to his present employer (Kent) prior to making the announcement. The entire turn of events smacks of the BCCI’s incompetence," Azad was quoted as saying to cricketnext.com.

Azad said BCCI has always been a laughing stock in world cricket.

Meanwhile, former India coach Madan Lal said that BCCI erred in not nominating more candidates for the position.

“Dav Whatmore could have been called for a presentation along with five other candidates. We would have had more options," Lal added.

Although Ford's separation from his employers Kent was thought to be a mere formality by the BCCI it found out that it wasn’t to be after board’s secretary Niranjan Shah said: "It has been cleared. Ford wants to speak to Kent and he will inform us in the next 24 hours."

Ex-opener Chetan Chauhan said the BCCI had "made a mistake" as they should have confirmed Ford's availability before inviting him for the interview.

Former India captain and coach Ajit Wadekar blamed the Board for the embarrassing situation.
"I think we have made ourselves a laughing stock. Without getting to know his availability, what he has in mind, or whether he wanted to accept it or not. We should have checked all that," said Wadekar.

"We should have checked it up before we took the decision. We should have given him time before announcing his appointment immediately. We should have given him a couple of days to think it over. I think that's how generally we do it," he said.

And if BCCI knew that after Ford’s selection, he needs to speak with Kent and has given 24 hours time then why the announcement has been done in such a hurry.

World’s richest Cricket Body is working in a very unprofessional way.

Working committee to meet on Tuesday
With Kent-based South African Graham Ford declining to take up India coaching job, the BCCI has found itself in a big dilemma.

Stunned by Ford’s disclosure on turning down the offer to coach India on Kent’s website on Monday, the BCCI's Working Committee now meets in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the Ford fiasco.

It now seems that BCCI will have to start the process of selecting a new coach all over again.
At a press conference, the BCCI treasurer, Mr Srinivasan while reacting to Ford’s refusal, said: "Mr Ford had informed the BCCI's Working Committee that it was only a matter of informing us as to when he would be able to join. Therefore the Board announced that they had selected him."

Graham Ford refused to take up the challenge of coaching Team India

Earlier, the Indian cricket board on Monday received a major set back after South African Graham Ford declined to coach the Indian team just two days after he was appointed to take up the job.
Although Ford had gone back to Kent to seek permission from the county where he is the director of cricketer, his last minute stance to decline the offer has certainly taken the BCCI by a big surprise.

Ford's current employers Kent County Cricket Cricket Club wrote on their official website that their Director of Cricket had rejected the offer to take up the toughest job in world cricket.
"I am very grateful to the Club for allowing me to go to India to find out more about the job of coaching the Indian Team. I have had a chance to reflect on the offer made by the BCCI and their urgency to fill the vacant position," Ford stated in a letter to Kent.

"After careful consideration, I have decided to continue my work here at Kent. This has been a really difficult decision. I am honoured that India have shown such interest in my capabilities, but feel that this is the right decision for me and my family," Ford added, wishing to continue working with the English county side.

Graham Johnson, Kent’s Chairman of Cricket was happy to have retained Ford's services.
"This is really great news for Kent cricket. We are delighted Graham has decided to stay with us. I would like to say how much we appreciate the way Graham has handled the last few days," Johnson said.

When the BCCI decided to name a new coach there were just two candidates for the post with South Africa Ford and former England off-spinner John Emburey being the incumbents.

Brainstorming Process

2007-06-10T23:12:00.000+05:30

Brainstorming with a group of people is a powerful technique. Brainstorming creates new ideas, solves problems, motivates and develops teams. Brainstorming motivates because it involves members of a team in bigger management issues, and it gets a team working together. However, brainstorming is not simply a random activity. Brainstorming needs to be structured and it follows brainstorming rules. The brainstorming process is described below, for which you will need a flip-chart or alternative. This is crucial as Brainstorming needs to involve the team, which means that everyone must be able to see what's happening. Brainstorming places a significant burden on the facilitator to manage the process, people's involvement and sensitivities, and then to manage the follow up actions. Use Brainstorming well and you will see excellent results in improving the organization, performance, and developing the team.

Note: Advanced 'Kaleidoscope Brainstorming' technique is discussed in the later part of this document.

Brainstorming Process

Following are the conventional brainstorming process principles:

* Define and agree the objective.
* Brainstorm ideas and suggestions having agreed a time limit.
* Categorise/condense/combine/refine.
* Assess/analyse effects or results.
* Prioritise options/rank list as appropriate.
* Agree action and timescale.
* Control and monitor follow-up.

Following will explain the above processes in detail:

Plan and agree the brainstorming aim

Ensure everyone participating in the brainstorm session understands and agrees the aim of the session (eg, to formulate a new job description for a customer services clerk; to formulate a series of new promotional activities for the next trading year; to suggest ways of improving cooperation between the sales and service departments; to identify costs saving opportunities that will not reduce performance or morale, etc). Keep the brainstorming objective simple. Allocate a time limit. This will enable you to keep the random brainstorming activity under control and on track.

Manage the actual brainstorming activity

Brainstorming enables people to suggest ideas at random. Job of facilitator is to encourage everyone to participate, to dismiss nothing, and to prevent others from pouring scorn on the wilder suggestions (some of the best ideas are initially the daftest ones - added to which people won't participate if their suggestions are criticised). During the random collection of ideas the facilitator must record every suggestion on the flip-chart. Sticky tape can be used to hang the sheets around the walls. At the end of the time limit or when ideas have been exhausted, use different coloured pens to categorise, group, connect and link the random ideas.

Condense and refine the ideas by making new headings or lists. Facilitator can diplomatically combine or include the weaker ideas within other themes to avoid dismissing or rejecting contributions (remember brainstorming is about team building and motivation too - you don't want it to have the reverse effect on some people). With the group, assess, evaluate and analyse the effects and validity of the ideas or the list. Develop and prioritise the ideas into a more finished list or set of actions or options.

Implement the actions agreed from the brainstorming

Agree what the next actions will be. Agree a timescale, who's responsible. After the session circulate notes, monitor and give feedback. It's crucial to develop a clear and positive outcome, so that people feel their effort and contribution was worthwhile. When people see that their efforts have resulted in action and change, they will be motivated and keen to help again.

Below are various tools and models which can be used within the brainstorming process, to build and create a context for brainstorming, and a framework for brainstorming actions. When using any of these tools or models within the brainstorming process, select models appropriate to the group, and the desired development and outcomes for the brainstorming session:

SWOT analysis - for assessing the strength of a company, department, proposition or idea.

PEST analysis - for measuring the attractiveness and potential of a market.

The McKinsey Seven-S's - criteria for a successful company.

Adizes corporate life-cycle model - phases of company development

Delegation model - successful task delegation and staff development through delegation

Tuckman's group development model - forming, storming, norming, performing

Kolb's learning styles - for training the trainers, coaching the coaches, and management development

Leadership attributes - for developing leadership among managers

Negotiation process - for sales and commercial staff and optimising on profitable outcomes and customer relationships

Cherie Carter-Scott's rules of life - behaviour and attitude development and soft skills development

The Four Agreements - behaviour and attitude development and soft skills development

Kaleidoscope Brainstorming Process

Kaleidoscope brainstorming process is advance brainstorming technique for problem-solving, team-building and creative process is also called 'Silent Brainstorming' - developed by Dr KRS Murthy of Nisvara Inc, and the contribution of this model is gratefully acknowledged. Dr Murthy also refers to the brainstorming technique as 'Multiple Mind Conferencing'. Kaleidoscope Brainstorming, Dr Murthy suggests, not only produces vastly more ideas than conventional brainstorming, but also acts at a deep level to build teams and harmonious work groups.

As with the basic brainstorming process the facilitator has a big responsibility to manage the activity, people's involvement and sensitivities, and then to manage the follow up actions. Use Brainstorming well and you will see excellent results in improving the organization, performance, and developing the team. It is useful to review the Johari Window concept and Johari model diagram while studying the Kaleidoscope Brainstorming technique, and when using the process. This is because much of the value of this concept lies in developing awareness of self, others, and what others think of themselves.

Kaleidoscope brainstorming technique

Have you attended any brain storming sessions in your life? The sessions are normally run by a facilitator, who introduces the purpose of the session to the participants, explains the ground rules and coordinates the process. A note taker or scribe may be used to document all the ideas generated in the session. Generally, the session is open to any ideas. Important guideline is that no idea is too simple, stupid or wild.

Kaleidoscope advance brainstorming techniques are applicable to any subject or situation, and any type of forum where people can work as a group, including internet-based conferencing and communications. This is a new approach to the brainstorming process, including different variations as to its use.
Dr Murthy regards 'Kaleidoscope Brainstorming' (KBS) or Multiple Mind Conferencing (MMC) as a "...Romantic interplay between silence and interaction.... a heavenly marriage of thesis and antithesis…"

The process makes efficient use of silence and communication, which are interleaved in the brainstorming session. The various degrees and modes of silence and communication effectively use as 'tools' in the Kaleidoscope brainstorming approach. Notably the power of silence is used to supplement the communications-oriented parts of the session.

The technique may seem 'anti-thematic' at the first glance. However, the intention is to make the brainstorming process more 'holistic', by exploiting the different modes and degrees of silence, absence of communication and a variety of communication and interaction.

1. Initial ideas generation brainstorming session

The session should start with a facilitator detailing the process steps used for the particular session. The session is conducted in a normal fashion with the participants speaking out their ideas in a round robin or random fashion for an agreed period. The facilitator can use any normal brainstorming format for this session. It is a good idea to use a format that is comfortable for the facilitator and the participants.

2. Silent brainstorming session

The silent brainstorming session stage requires all team members or participants to stop talking, and to think of ideas, but not speak out. The facilitator can ring a bell or use another method to indicate the start and end of this part of the exercise. Ideas are to written down by each brainstorming participant. In addition, the participants must guess the ideas that others may be thinking and writing down. Ideally participants should guess the ideas of the other participants for each person, one after the other. For example, if the participants are A, B, C, D, E, F and G, then A would not only write his or her ideas, but also afterwards guess what B, C, D, E, F, and G may have as their ideas. Participants should do this using deep thinking, and base their guesses on the manner that other participants answered during the first speaking part of the session. Participants should be encouraged to think how each of the other participants' minds are working - to empathise, to 'put themselves in the other person's shoes' - as a method of guessing as intuitively and accurately as possible. 'Think how the other person will be thinking' is the sort of guidance that the facilitator can give.

At this stage what's happening is that each participant is coming up with ideas from their own perspective of how each of the other participants is thinking. All participants work on this stage of the session at the same time. You can imagine the multiplicity of ideas and perspectives that this stage produces.

Each participant should logically end up with a list of ideas alongside, or below, the names of each participant, including themselves. After a reasonable period, when it is clear that participants have completed their lists, the facilitator can ring the bell again, indicating the end of the silent brainstorming stage.

3. Presentation of brainstorming ideas session

In this session, each of the delegates reads out or shows their own ideas and also their best guesses of the ideas for others. The presentation made by A would look like the following:

Ideas generated by A
Guess of ideas of B
Guess of ideas of C
Guess of ideas of D
Guess of ideas of E
Guess of ideas of F
Guess of ideas of G

During A's presentation, others simply listen. In turn each delegate gives a similar presentation. It is best if there is no discussion during the presentations. The facilitator should encourage delegates to make notes which people can raise later.

4. Discussion of brainstorming ideas session

The presentations are followed by a detailed discussion session. In this session, the participants may discuss why and how they guessed about others. Each participant can also comment on the guesses of the other participants, and validate or clarify. The highlights and conclusions resulting from discussion should be noted by the facilitator or an appointed 'scribe'. The individual participants can be encouraged also make their own notes, which might for example contain their mental models and appropriate revisions of the creative thinking process of others. In this sense the activity helps open hidden areas of awareness (self and others), which in turn promotes better understanding, relationships, communications, team-building and co-operation.

5. Further silent and speaking sessions - the kaleidoscope effect

Further sessions can repeat and extend the silent session so that participants increase the depth and complexity of their thinking still more. Specifically participants should now think about and guess how other delegates are thinking about the ideas of others. This again is done silently, together. Each delegate will be thinking in deeper levels about each of the other participant's thinking. These complexities of thinking result, for example:

A is thinking and noting down of any of his/her own new ideas
A is also (as in stage 4) thinking afresh about and noting down any thoughts as to what B, C, D, E, F and G are thinking.

And, A is now additionally thinking of what B is thinking of A, C, D, E, F and G, plus what C is thinking of A, B, D, E, F and G, and so on.

Obviously the exercise at this stage has expanded massively. From a simple individual brainstorming activity involving say seven people and seven sets of personal ideas (seven perspectives), the session has expanded to entail seven people each considering six other people's thoughts about the ideas of six other people's ideas (that's 242 perspectives!).

Clearly it is not reasonable to expect delegates to formulate 242 lists, so it is useful to place certain limits on people's activities, which can include for example:

* Allowing delegates to leave blanks against certain delegates names.
* Limiting the number of ideas required to be guessed for each delegate
* Stating a maximum number of perspectives
* Allocating responsibility to each delegate to think about certain named delegates
* And in any event giving a time limit for each stage of the activity

As with any team building or team working activity, the facilitator needs to be able to assess progress and to adapt, adjust and give clarifying or steadying guidelines during the activity to maintain the group's focus and effectiveness.

At the fifth stage, all participants will in their own way be thinking in a highly complex fashion. The participants mind are acting as mirrors creating multiple reflections of each other, rather like the few small objects inside a kaleidoscope creating wonderful arrays and patterns.

It is easy to imagine how using this process the number of ideas generated are many times more than when using normal brainstorming techniques.

Dr Murthy reports that typically after a number of Kaleidoscope Brainstorming sessions a group experience an 'asymptotic approximation of their thinking process'. (Asymptotic refers to the 'asymptotic' effect whereby two or more things increasingly converge as if to become joined and together, but never actually join or become one). He says this is enabled by successive convergence and cross-fertilization among a group or team of each members thinking process, thoughts and ideas. He adds interestingly that groups ultimately do not need to be talking to each other for their minds to be conferencing with each other. In fact, they can be as far geographically apart as they need to be for their routine life, but still efficiently conferencing and in tune with each other.

Dr Murthy adds: "The most important aspect is the discipline developed by the silent brainstorming paradigm. Regular teams or 'virtual' teams can be brought together to practice this technique. It is a good idea for the team members to branch out and form new groups with new members to extend the practice. It is also a good idea to have new members or visitors to the Kaleidoscope Brainstorming team inducted routinely. Diversity of backgrounds is the key to freshness of ideas. True diversity in gender, age, ethnic background, educational levels, race, and personality types will ensure Brainstorming teams and activities are kept as fertile as possible. It is like any ecological system. Stability of a Kaleidoscope Brainstorming team ecology is good, but as well, aberrations and perturbations can guarantee long-term growth."

Delhi High Court wants law to change with time and shed gender bias

2007-06-06T18:12:00.000+05:30

Harish V. Nair (for Hindustan Times) - June 5, 2007

Should women be punished for adultery?

THE DELHI High Court has reopened the old debate on whether women should also be punished for adultery.

At present a married woman involved in an illicit relationship cannot be prosecuted by her husband for adultery since the law sees her as 'victim'. Her lover can, and is seen as the sole perpetrator of the crime. The maximum punishment for adultery is five years imprisonment.

While quashing a case of adultery for lack of evidence, Justice A.K. Sikri on Monday observed that society had changed a great deal since Lord Macaulay drafted his penal code for the country in 1837 - which became the basis of the Indian Penal Code. The strict segregation of the sexes at the time, including the purdah system, made voluntary adultery for women almost impossible.

It was the fourth report of the Law Commission that clearly said adultery was a crime committed only by men. Women were excluded because they were, "already living in humiliating and oppressive conditions within the family".

That women should also be charged in adultery cases was first recommended by the 42nd report of the Law Commission. The report of the Justice V.S. Malimath committee on criminal law reform in 2003
said the same.

Another view has been expressed by the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the Madhav Menon panel's draft National Policy on Criminal Justice. Both have said that adultery should not be treated as a crime at all, and Section 497 of the IPC, which relates to it, should be scrapped.

"We have yet to see how Parliament reacts to the recommendations and whether Section 497 is retained and offending women are also included thereby enlarging the scope of this section or the legislature goes to the other extreme by abrogating the section altogether," said Justice Sikri.

Justice Malimath told HT: "There is no reason for not meting out similar treatment to the wife who has sexual intercourse with anybody other than the husband."

But NCW Chairperson Girija Vyas was firmly against punishing women for adultery. "The woman is the victim all the time," she said. "During court cases, husbands often level false charges against wives. This is mostly seen when the question of granting maintenance to the wife arises following a divorce."

harish.nair@hindustantimes.com

Message from Akal Takht Sahib

2007-05-30T21:06:00.000+05:30

All Sikhs to come and join the peaceful protest starting from Gurudwara Fategarh Sahib at 10am tommorrow i.e. 31st May, 07 and ending at Gurudwara Sri Jyoti Swarup Sahib, Fatehgarh. All Participants must recite “Satnam Waheguru” and no display of arms.

Meeting at Akal Takht Sahib on Dera Apology

2007-05-29T13:02:00.000+05:30

The five high priests (Jathedars) of five Takhts, will meet later on Tuesday at Akal Takht Sahib, the highest sikh religious body, in Amritsar to consider the apology sent to them by the Dera Sacha Sauda.

The Dera sent a signed letter of apology to the highest Sikh religious body, the Akal Takht Sahib on Monday evening. The letter is signed by the Vice President of Dera Sacha Sauda.

Dera felt sorry to Guru Gobind Singh Ji

2007-05-27T20:44:00.000+05:30

The criticism Dera faced on the apology row over imitating Guru Gobind Singh Ji has taken a new turn when Sect Chief released a press note late in the evening stating that, Sect Chief can not even dare to dream of levelling Guru Gobind Singh Ji. we have already expressed regrets upon the events But the incidents happened in Punjab and for the sake of peace in Punjab and in interest of public we feel sorry before Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

This is a press note for press to gain people support and convey the message that Sect is serious to solve the issue, but in actual its nothing more than playing with the words and public emotions.

This is not even addressed to Akaal Takhat Sahib, So the acceptance of the apology is doubtful.

As reported earlier, this was clear that Dera chief will not apologize directly to Sikhs or Akal Takhat Sahib because this will be seen as a loss to them.

Anyways, they are apologizing to Guru Gobind Singh ji and Guru ji is always kind. I think this should ease the tension and bring peace in Punjab.

Rest is wait and watch.

Zee News - Interview with Swami Agnivesh and Mohkam Singh of Damdami Taksal

2007-05-27T00:15:00.000+05:30

Zee News - interview with Swami Agnivesh and Mohkam Singh from Damdami Taksal on Dera issue as the deadline of vacating the Deras, is ending in few hours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycg3M2M610s
(Part 1 of 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzEHWcNTNHc
(Part 2 of 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moKk17lx8Hw
(Part 3 of 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVWtYsaaoWI
(Part 4 of 4)

Swami Agnivesh on Dera Issue

2007-05-26T22:50:00.001+05:30

Swami Agnivesh in an interview with Zee News mentioned that they received a draft note (apology note) from the Dera and they have sent it back to Dera with some suggestion in the Draft. And he is still waiting for the final draft from the Dera which he will take to Akal Takht Sahib to ease the tension on the issue.

In his interview with various channels, Swami Agnivesh mentioned that Dera Chief is ready for the apology but he is caught in his own web and continued saying that Dr. Aditya and other followers are not allowing this to happen. There seems some politics on this issue within the Dera.

When Zee News reporter again tried to put political reason behind the issue, Swami Agnivesh replied that it is not a political issue, he continued saying that all the people in Punjab Sikhs or Hindus etc. belonging to any party are standing together on this issue hence no question of politics. And even he and other religious leaders feel the same and that Dera must apologise to Sikhs.

He was also surprised on Dera's part on entire issue. In an interview with Janmat reporter (two days back), where Dr. Aditya was also called upon, he asked Dr. Aditya about the delay in releasing the apology note.

Everyone seems to be tensed on the issue as deadline of 27 May, 07 to vacate all the Deras from Punjab, is ending in few hours.

Swami Agnivesh with other religious leaders to meet Akal Takht Jathedar after their meeting with Dera head

2007-05-24T17:59:00.000+05:30

Swami Agnivesh was likely to meet the Jathedar yesterday following his talks with dera head Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh on 22nd May. However, he did not arrive in Amritsar yesterday. “We have been told that they wanted to come here. They are welcome, this house of the Almighty is open for all,” said Jathedar Vedanti.

He said options for talks should always remain open, apology from the dera head would “definitely ease prevailing tension” and might pave way for amicable religious solution.

Swami Agnivesh, who is a well-known social activist working for the inter-religious and inter-faith dialogues, had claimed a breakthrough in the stand-off after meeting the dera head.

Though he claimed that mutually acceptable solution would soon be worked out, instead of coming to the Holy City, the committee members left for Delhi.

Meanwhile, though peaceniks are making efforts to iron out differences, the Swami emerged as a major interlocutor. Though he has not disclosed whether the Dera chief had agreed to apologise, there was likelihood that he would bring some good tidings.

In a TV interview, Swami Agnivesh was looking positive. He had went to meet Dera head along with other religious leader. They all had a long discussion with the Dera head and their committee members. And according to him, Dera was supposed to release another press note and it is believed that this time they will apologise without playing with the words, to ease the tension.

When asked about when was the Swami expected, the Jathedar said as committee members had not made any direct contact with them at the Takht’s secretariat or the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), they were unaware of their coming to the city so far.

There were, meanwhile, reports that the Swami, along with some other members of other religious communities, might arrive here in the evening.

NDTV Talk Show - Storm within Sikhism (6 Parts)

2007-05-21T02:00:00.000+05:30

(Part 1 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi8F_vMWjqA

(Part 2 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNK8XgRbets

(Part 3 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2pRrcyYn-U

(Part 4 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wndFdZCKAOw

(Part 5 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrlISD05TGk

(Part 6 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuWx4O6nLm4

Dera Baba exposed by IBN7

2007-05-21T00:24:00.000+05:30

Letter of Sadhvi (lady from dera) where she has talked about the sex exploitation .......

Jhootha Dera and its Baba

2007-05-20T23:59:00.000+05:30

The baba lives in an 18-acre stronghold within the mini-township. When he emerges, he moves around in regal style surrounded by his bodyguards.

In 2001, Rajinder, a follower, fell-out with the leader and sometime later he was murdered at his hometown in Kurukshetra. Two Dera members are accused in this murder case.

Then a year later, Ram Chander Chatrapati, a local journalist, printed a letter that had allegations of sexual abuse by an anonymous woman against the Dera chief.

Chatrapati was shot dead at his home. Three Dera followers were arrested in the case, two of which were held at the murder site.

''The people from the Dera had threatened my father and then one day he was shot dead,'' said Anshul, Son of Ram Chander Chatrapati.

Now all these cases are being investigated by the CBI .

''We've said everything we had to and we won't say anything now,'' said Dr Aditya Arora, Spokesman, Dera Sacha Sauda.

Controversies notwithstanding, the baba's clout has grown.

The Dera's appeal is to largely to the marginalized and backward sections the Dalits - a potent political force which the Dera chief successfully tested in February.

In the Punjab elections in 2007, he asked his followers to vote for the Congress, something that helped the party improve its tally in the southern area known as Malwa.

The Dera chief's son is married to the daughter of a Congress MLA. But it's not clear whether the chief will be playing a more prominent role.

For now, peace-negotiators have told him to lie low.

(Source: NDTV)

Akal Takhat Sahib Verdict

2007-05-20T20:21:00.000+05:30

Akal Takhat Sahib refused REGRET Plea . It called it as foul trap / drama ( Dera Head never felt sorry till now, he just twisting situation)

Few of the brief points of Akal Takhat Sahib Hukam (verdict) is:

a) Complete Punjab bandh on 22nd May, 2007
b) All dera's to be closed in Punjab till 27th May, 2007
c) CBI should complete enquiry against baba by May end.
d) Next Akal Takhat Sahib meet is on 31st May to take next action

Sikhs supporting Akal Takhat Sahib edict with loud jaikara's.

Amritsar Meeting - Part 2

2007-05-20T17:41:00.000+05:30

CID personal caught with revolver in Akal Takht Sahib meeting....

He talks of Shunning Moh, Maya but drives Flashy Cars and Wears Fancy clothes - That's Dera Sacha Sauda's Head, Gurmeet Ram Rahim

2007-05-20T15:34:00.000+05:30

(Source: Mumbai Mirror - 20th May 2007)

Dera Baba Regrets over the issue

2007-05-20T08:48:00.000+05:30

After creating so much of tension, Dera Baba regrets for the entire issue. Is it acceptable? If he calls himself Saint and Insaan then why is he having so much of ego? He could have said that ... "I apologise to Sikh Sangat if my act has hurt them in anyways".

Please read the other posts to know about the entire issue:

http://jaspreetsingh.blogspot.com/2007/05/why-sikhs-are-angry.html
http://jaspreetsingh.blogspot.com/2007/05/dera-jhuta-sauda-know-them.html

or visit this site:

http://akalpurakhkifauj.googlepages.com/eyeopener-derasachasuada

IBN 7 - Face to Face

2007-05-19T21:21:00.000+05:30

Part 1 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l0-Y02LO2k

Part 2 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LtszbslEY4

Part 3 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjiU1K1t2go

Part 4 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMZbtiPOZak

Part 5 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3jzk7qgLS0

Part 6 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcPt3rM216M

Interview of Dera Spokesperson

2007-05-18T22:58:00.000+05:30

In the interview he is asking about the issue to reporter, this is the issue... http://jaspreetsingh.blogspot.com/2007/05/why-sikhs-are-angry.html

Dera Jhuta Sauda - Know them..

2007-05-18T18:42:00.000+05:30

I think people here dont know the reality of DERA SACHA SAUDA. This would give them some idea.

I will like to tell all members what I saw & heard on TV.

A reporter of INDIA Tv asked secreatery of Dr. Aditya, spokeperson of Dera : "When Dera says it is a religious & humanity movement why the Dera supported Congress in assembly election, why is Dera doing politics?"

you all will be surprised with the answer of Dr. Aditya which is exteremely insult of Hindus & Sikhs.

Dr. Aditya: "You tell me who had not done politics. Ram killed a person with the help of different species(Vanars) wasn't that politics? Krishan helped Arjun in Mahabharat wasn't that politics? Guru Gobind singh created his own army to fight mughals wasn't that politics? This is my answer to you question."

Dera Sachha Sauda, supremeo, Gurmeet Ram Raheem is a criminal. They have there headquarter in Sirsa(Haryana). So many criminal cases are filed against him which includes murders, rapes, extortism(Even a CBI inquiry is going on against him). He has Congress backing.

They are misleading so many Hindus & Sikhs and diverting both of them from their religions (Converting them to their self-made SACHA religion and making them so called INSAAN and we saw their insaaniyat on Monday when they were throwing stones and beating Punjab Police and Media persons in Bathinda).

(Source: an Indian)

Punjab happening - get the true picture

2007-05-18T18:15:00.000+05:30

1. This is not an issue of Akalis going for a revenge. Anyone in power would not ask for the trouble. This is a case of Sikh sentiments being hurt.

(News channels have repeatedly being saying that its a fight over faith between Dera and Akali Sikhs. This is totally false! It's a fight between "All Sikhs" and the Dera)

2. The instigation has deliberately been done by the Dera Baba who has tried to imitate the tenth Master of the Sikhs.

3. Its not just dress code, he has tried to play and mimic with the teachings of the Guru Sahib- instituting his own style amrit like
- he has 7 persons for his sharabat first and Guru Gobind Singh ji has panj pyare (5 beloved ones)
- he asked his followers to use "Insaan" with their names and everyone know that it was Guru Gobind Singh ji who asked Sikhs to use Singh (for males) and Kaur (for females) with their names.

and unfortunately just the way it happened in 1978 that led to operation bluestar and then 84 riots.

4. Anyone Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian who has slightest knowledge of Sikhism can easily make out the intentions behind the ads.

5. The Dera followers were aware of the instigation and were prepared for the Sikh reactions. within hours of Sikh Protest 12000 Dera followers came armed and created havoc in Bathinda. Most of them were armed with same size of lathis as reported by News Channel.

6. The congress behind these instigations and trouble is factually proven by photgraphs and videos, as almost 6 congress MLAs were part of the mob which created havoc in Bathinda.

7. Tolerance does not mean that you demean the prophets of any religion and then ask the people not to react. And mind it the reactions by Sikhs have been democratic and mostly peaceful.

8. There were 1.5 lakh Sikhs yesterday at Sabo ki Talvandi to protest against the Deras misendeavors. Has there been any violence or damage to public property? What more can be the tolerance?

9. It was Dera followers who opened fire to the crowd coming back from Talwandi Sabo. Their Dera is on the main road and they opened fire, killing 1 Sikh (Kamaljit Singh) and injuring several others. How come Dera followers got armed with guns and ammunition?

10. Dera followers distributing lathis (sticks) and collecting stones was shown in one of the news channel on Thursday evening.

11. There are hundreds of Deras running in Punjab and never ever the Sikhs harassed or protested against them. Yes unless these Deras have tried to deliberately play with Sikh sentiments.

12. I would request all to support Sikh sentiments and expose this Dera.

13. I would also request Sikh bretheren to not to play in the hands of politicians. Let us maintain our composure and peacefully protest against the Dera Head's misadventure.

Blast in Hyderabad mosque kills 5

2007-05-18T17:44:00.000+05:30

Five people were and 32 others injured when a powerful bomb exploded during Friday prayers at the historic Mecca mosque in the Charminar area of Hyderabad.

Two live bombs were also detected from the spot soon after the explosions and were defused.

Reports suggest the blast was caused by a crude bomb, perhaps activated by a cell phone, which exploded when thousands of people were gathered in the mosque for prayers.

A central forensic team has been sent to Hyderabad to help determine the cause of the blast.

The injured have been rushed to Osmania and other hospitals by the worshippers in whatever modes of transport they could arrange.

Following the blast, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have been put on high alert.

Angry outburst

The explosion created such a panic that those gathered for the prayers started running towards the exit gate of the mosque, said to be over 400-years-old and considered sacred by Muslims.

According to the police, the motive for the blast, which was caused by unsophisticated device, is still not clear.

A large posse of police personnel, who arrived on the scene, faced an angry crowd.

They pelted stones at the shops in the vicinity and the police, who resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd.

The crowds have cleared now and all shops have been are shut, the area looks like a fortess.

Close watch

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajshekhar Reddy, who is in Delhi, spoke to the DGP Basith and other senior state government officials to take stock of the situation.

Addressing the media, Reddy said the police was trying to bring the situation back to normal.

''When AP is going on forward march of progress, such incidents will hinder progress,'' he added.

Blaming anti-social elements, he pointed out that the blast was an intentional sabotage of the peace of the state. He has announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh for those killed and Rs 25,000 for those injured.

Home Minister Jana Reddy said that police reinforcements are being sent to the area and the situation will be brought under control.

The Centre is also keeping a close watch on the situation in Hyderabad.

The Union Home Ministry is in constant touch with the state government officials to monitor the situation.

(Source: NDTV)

Mumbai News

2007-05-18T13:15:00.000+05:30

Dera People Interviewed

2007-05-17T18:25:00.000+05:30

Sikhs in the video seems ready to drink Sharabat and put Insaan after their first name but they are not ready to take Amrit given by Guru Gobind Singh ji and become Singh....

News from Talwandi Sabo

2007-05-17T15:34:00.000+05:30

Protests in Punjab

2007-05-17T14:49:00.000+05:30

News from Merrut

2007-05-17T14:35:00.000+05:30

Brave Sikhs made 40 dacoits run away

2007-05-17T12:15:00.000+05:30

You might think this is a scene straight out of a Hindi film. While 40 dacoits are trying to break a window grill that would lead them into a bungalow, the 50-year-old house owner and his 25-year-old son hold on to it with all the power at their command; 25 minutes later, the onslaught of the thieves still on, the owner pulls out his final weapon of resistance -- the kirpan -- and threatens to kill. The sight of the kirpan so frightens the dacoits that they beat a quick retreat.

Belapur resident Sarabjeet Singh Bhullar and his son Baljeet fought off 40 dacoits for 25 minutes in this fashion on Tuesday morning and finally forced them to flee, Amar Jadhav, deputy commissioner of police (zone I), Navi Mumbai, said.

Police said the dacoits belonged to the same gang that has carried out a series of dacoities in Thane and Navi Mumbai in the last one month.

According to police, at around 3.30 am, Bhullar Sr and Jr, who live with six other family members — their wives and four children of Baljeet — in their 1,800 sq ft bungalow in Sector 8B, heard loud thuds from near the window close to their main door.

When they opened the window and looked out, they saw 40 men had entered their compound and were hurling huge stones at the window grill in an attempt to break it. Fearing the grill would give way, the father-son duo held on to it with all their might, while their wives began making frantic calls to the cops and their relatives.

“In order to stop this resistance, the dacoits began to target us. They hit us with bamboo sticks and stones,” Bhullar Sr said. While he was hit behind his left ear by a big stone, the son was struck on the head several times and on the knees. They still refused to budge.

The one thing that kept them going, Bhullar Jr said, was the thought of family. “We were sure that if the dacoits entered the home, they would kill us all. They seemed capable of doing anything,” he said.

The struggle continued for 25 minutes, police said, but the neighbours, woken by the sounds, did not help. Sensing that the thugs would not retreat, Bhullar Sr, bleeding and in considerable pain, drew out his kirpan and threatened to kill the dacoits if they did not go away. “I recited our holy prayer and drew out my kirpan. I was serious about going after them. I did not have an option, really,” he noted.

Almost unbelievably, the kirpan did the trick: the dacoits, looking scared, decided to retreat. Bhullar Sr now has nine stitches behind his ears and his son has bruises on his hands and knees.

Ramrao Wagh, commissioner of Navi Mumbai police said: “The Bhullars were very brave throughout the ordeal. But I wish the neighbours had also come out to help.”

The cops arrived soon after, but by that time the dacoits were out of sight.

The gang then went to Sector 8A, barged into the ground-floor homes of two families, and walked away with jewellery and cash. However, a police team, on the chase, managed to arrested two of the gang members: Ambadas Pawar, 40, and Deepak Pawar, 25.

One of the two houses robbed by the gang belonged to Kamlaben Mehta, 73. Mehta, who was at home with her daughter Manjula, 44, said more than 20 dacoits broke open the door of their home with a huge boulder and took away valuables.

Soon after, they broke open the neighbouring house, which belongs to her other daughter, Anita Bhatkar. The dacoits took away cash and valuables worth Rs 2 lakh from the two houses, police said.

(Source: Mumbai mirror)

Meetings held...

2007-05-16T13:38:00.000+05:30

(Source: Zee TV)

More news from Punjab

2007-05-16T13:29:00.000+05:30

(Source: India TV)

Burning Punjab

2007-05-15T18:22:00.000+05:30

On Monday May 14, members of the Nihang sect clashed with supporters of Dera Sachcha Sauda after their leader wore an attire similar to that of Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji, the tenth Sikh Guru in a baptising ceremony three days ago.

Pictures from Amritsar and Jammu.. .where people are out to protest against the incident...

In bhatinda the followers of so called "Sacha Sauda" rioting.. throwing stones... burning vehicles....

Protest against the incident has started in Bhopal and Patiala also.... ( more )

(Source: CNN-IBN)
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/05_2007/ad-angers-sect-followers-run-amok-in-punjab-40627.html

Bhatinda: A protest by followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, a Sikh religious sect, in Punjab turned violent in Bhatinda with the supporters of Dera head Baba Gurmeet Singh Ram Raheem torching a police jeep.

They were protesting the burning of the effigy of the Dera chief by the Akalis on Monday.

The trouble began after newspaper advertisements allegedly showed Baba Gurmeet Singh Ram Raheem attired like 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh and the Akalis protested the advertisements that also showed the Dera head distributing "amrit".

Tensions had been brewing between the ruling Akalis and Dera supporters ever since Dera supporters were told to vote for the Congress in the recent Assembly polls. The Congress had done well in the Malwa belt following the dictate.

The situation is also tense in Amritsar where the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex Sikh body, had a meeting but no decision has been taken by them.

Many expected them to come out with an edict that would have seen the Sikhs taken a confrontational stance against the Dera followers.

The Dera has massive support among Dalit Sikhs and played a major role in the 2005 Punjab Assembly polls.

BJP leaders like Navjot Singh Sidhu and Arun Jaitley had even approached the Dera head for his blessings so that he would withdraw an edict that his followers should vote for the Congress.

In fact in the Punjab polls, Congress had done well in the Malwa region which includes districts of Bhatinda, Ferozepur, Muktsar, Sangrur, Moga, Mansa where Dera has following and Congress recovered lost ground.

According to sources Dera had a trade-off with Congress during the polls to go slow on a murder case against Dera head of a journalist Chatrapati in 2002. Two persons suspected of killing him were found with a walkie-talkie which had Dera Sacha Sauda written on it.

Letter to "The Hindu"

2007-05-13T13:43:00.000+05:30

From

Vinayak
Tamil Nadu
India - 610001

To
The Editor
The Hindu,
859\860 Anna Salai,
Chennai - 600 002

Dear Editor

This has reference to your news item at
http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/12/stories/2007051219930300.htm on the DV act

Your news paper is known for accuracy in reporting and high standards.
Please do NOT associate your name with casual researchers who have NOT understood ground realities. Your news paper should NOT be misleading your readers.

The researcher in the above article claims "Delhiites continue to have misconceptions about the law" and goes on to state that people in Delhi are worried about the Misuse of DV [Domestic Violence Act] act

This researcher has drawn completely wrong conclusions while the public at large are right in concluding that Domestic Violence act is being and will be misused.

The Indian family is the bedrock of our traditions and continuity since vedic times. Since time immemorial our families have ensured the continuation of our scriptures and traditions. Vedas and prabhandhams and thirumarais and thiruvaimozi passed from father to son. Our culture passed from mother to daughter.

Rama was always revereared WITH Sita, Lakmana, Bharatha, Chatruguna and Hanuman.

All this being challenged by Ultra feminist and male hating agenda which has led to the gender biased, wife supporting legislation like the DV act

Even before the DV act was promulgated, section 498A of IPC was grossly misused

I am sure that eminent speakers like Cho N Ramaswamy, eminent Jurists like the Honbl. Shri Markandeya Katju, the Supreme court of India and others have spoken against the gross misuse of the Section 498A of IPC - also dubbed as false dwory cases

While false dowry cases are piling in court corridors, the DV act is another draconian law, which

- allows ONLY women to file complaints

- makes ONLY men punishable (by virtue of being defendants)

and completely ignores the fundamental righs guaranteed to all citizens, be it men, be it elderly parents of men or their siblings

[...there are many more anomalies in this hasty and shoddy piece of
legislation.....]

I urge you immediately remove such "snake oil" from your august pages and also publish a corrigendum immediately dis associating yourself from such spurious reports and self styled researches

Regards
Vinayak
May 13th 2007

Free Sharab (Alcohol) outside the Gurudwara (Sikh Shrine)

2007-04-26T20:10:00.000+05:30

Sharab (Alcohol) is freely distributed just like Chabeel, outside Baba Kahandas Gurudwara in Jalandhar, Punjab. People there believe that by distributing free wine they will get good jobs in abroad. It is disheartening to see the Sharab being freely distributed outside the Gurudwara when there is no place of Sharab in Sikhism and it is strictly prohibited.

When will people wake up? When will we follow the teachings of our Guru? What is SGPC doing?

Quote of the day!!!

2007-04-20T14:10:00.000+05:30

Never kill imagination - Encourage it to grow!

Year 2019 - Cricket World Cup news

2007-04-20T14:01:00.000+05:30

India failed to defeat Afghanistan in the world cup qualifier in the Asia -Pacific zone.

Coach sehwag said that he is not worried bcoz he has backing of selectors, captain and board and that they had won a close match against Papua new guinea just 2 yrs ago.

Rahul Dravid,the coach of new zealand team said that Sachin should now consider retiring gracefully and let his son take over the captaincy.

Mahender singh dhoni broke ajit agarkars record of most no of conecutive ducks in twenty 20.

Saurav ganguly, the coach of england feels that the boys need to control their emotions on the field.

The current leading man from bollywood bret lee advices ms dhoni to take upacting as well.

Minnows Pakistan beat Ireland in a close match...and thus they avanged their defeat in the 2007 WC against the then minnows ireland. Inzamam ul haq, who was the captain of the losing team and now the present coach said in a press interview that "Boys plays well, they try hard, inshallah we wins the world cup"

The police arrested 8 ppl for voilence after England and NZ match. Investigations revealed that these ppl were members of Dravid and Ganguly fan communities on Orkut which have 623241516 and 126542 members respectively.

The Indian cricket board led by president Lalu Prasad has called for an emergency meeting to discuss future course of action. Former players like Yuvraj Singh, Md Kaif,VVS Laxman and Kumble have been invited. Coach Sehwag and captain Tendulkar will present a report.

VVS Laxman today created a new controversy by saying that he expected a written apology from Lalu ji for including him in the category of former players. He said that he has improved his fielding and fitness and wants to play 2023 WC in Brazil.

Posted only for humor. No offences meant.

History of Baisakhi

2007-04-14T21:28:00.000+05:30

Vaisakhi (also known as Baisakhi) marks the Punjabi and Nepali New Year and the beginning of the harvest season in Punjab, India and Nepal.

Vaisakhi falls in the Nanakshahi calendar (neither in the Amantha- nor in the Purnimantha-calendar) on the first day of Vaisakh month and marks the sun entering Mesha Rasi (this fact is called Mesha Sankranti). Vaisakhi is therefore determined by the solar calendar. Baisakhi usually falls on April 13, and on April 14 once every thirty-six years, however it has now been agreed for Baisakhi to always fall on the 14th of April.

It occurs at the same time as the "Hindu/Vedic New Year" commemorated in different parts India as follows: Rongali Bihu in Assam, Naba Barsha (literally meaning "New" = "Nava" "Year"="Barsha") in Bengal, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, 'Pooram Vishu' in Kerala, and the Sinhala/Tamil new year festival in Sri Lanka.

The story of the foundation of the Khalsa started with the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur, the 9th Guru, who was publicly beheaded by Mughul rulers for protecting freedom of worship for Brahmins of Kashmir.

Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs founded the Khalsa (Community of the Pure) at the Baisakhi gathering in 1699, at Keshgarh Sahib near Anandpur. Guru Gobind Singh, had organised for followers from all over India to meet him at the Basakhi Fair in Anandpur.

Guru Gobind Singh emerged from a tent with a sword, and asked for volunteers to offer his life for his faith. A young Sikh volunteered, followed the Guru into a tent. Shortly after, the Guru reappeared alone with his sword covered with blood, and asked for a second volunteer. Another Sikh stepped forward and again the Guru took him into the tent, and re-appeared alone, his sword covered in more blood. This was repeated for a third, fourth and fifth volunteer. The crowd became very unnerved, as many believed that the Guru had killed the five Sikhs. He soon came out of the tent again, this time followed by all five Sikhs who were alive and well and dressed in turbans and other symbols that have since become symbols of Sikh identity. He called the five Sikhs the Panj Pyare - the beloved five.

Then the Guru put water in a bowl for sprinkling over the five in a simple initiation ceremony. He said prayers as he stirred the water with a short steel sword; symbolising the need for strength. The Guru's wife, Mata Sundri, then came forward and placed some sugar crystals into the holy water or amrit as a reminder that strength must always be balanced by sweetness of temperament. After completing his prayers, the Guru then sprinkled the amrit over the five.

He declared them to be the first members of a new community of equals, to be called the Khalsa, meaning "pure". These "saint soldiers" were to dedicate their lives to the service of others and the pursuit of justice for people of all faiths. The Panj Pyare were asked to wear five distinctive symbols of their new identity, The Five Ks.

The Guru gave the gift of bana, the distinctive Sikh clothing and headwear. He also offered five emblems of purity and courage. These symbols, worn by all baptized Sikhs of both sexes, are popularly known today as Five Ks: Kesh, unshorn hair; Kangha, the wooden comb; Karra, the iron (or steel) bracelet; Kirpan, the sword; and Kachera, the underwear. By being identifiable, no Sikh could never hide behind cowardice again.

Political tyranny was not the only circumstance that was lowering peoples' morale. Discriminatory class distinctions (--the Indian "caste" system--) promoted by Brahmins and Mullahs were also responsible for the peoples' sense of degradation. The Guru wanted to eliminate the anomalies caused by the caste system. The constitution of the Panj Pyare was the living example of his dream: both the high and low castes were amalgamated into one. Among the original Panj Pyare, there was one Khatri, shopkeeper; one Jat, farmer; one Chhimba, calico printer/tailor; one Ghumar, water-carrier; and one Nai, a barber. The Guru gave the surname of Singh (Lion) to every Sikh and also took the name for himself. From Guru Gobind Rai he became Guru Gobind Singh.

The Guru then knelt before the five and asked them to initiate him. Hence, the Khalsa became a community in which master and disciple were equal. He also pronounced that all Sikh women embody royalty, and gave them the surname Kaur (Princess). With the distinct Khalsa identity and consciousness of purity Guru Gobind Singh gave all Sikhs the opporunity to live lives of courage, sacrifice, and equality.

For Sikhs, this seasonal festival also has great importance as the founding of the Khalsa (Soldiers of the Timeless One) at Anandpur Sahib. The Khalsa played an important role in resistance against Mughal rule. For many centuries after that, the first male child of many Hindu families in Punjab was ordained as a Sikh in order for him to train and become a warrior and fight for the people. Other male children used to take care of the family, parents and the land.

Visit SikhiWiki for the complete history.

Mother killed her child

2007-04-13T12:09:00.001+05:30

A mother killed her child just because the little kid loved his Grand Mother more than his mother...

Religion

2007-04-10T16:30:00.000+05:30

The moment we talk of religion, the first question that comes to our mind is what is religion. Religion is something that gives peace to the mind.

The body has six senses. This sixth sense is religion or so to say awakening the sixth sense is religion. The Lord has given this sixth sense to all humans. It is inherent in every¬body. So, religion is inherent in everybody.

All senses in the body are sensations. One can only feel them. Similarly, this sixth sense is a sensation, a wavy sensa¬tion.

There are three ingredients in religion:

1. The mind.
2. The body soul.
3. The Supreme soul.

This sixth sense is a shuttle that shuttles between the mind, the body soul and the Supreme soul.

But, somehow, the mind has been enticed by the worldly desires and it cannot feel this sensation. Like, the light can¬not pass through a black wall, it being opaque.

Similarly, the sixth sense, that is inherent in the body, the mind cannot feel. The layer of dirt of worldly desires on the mind has created a veil of blackness and the sensation cannot pass through it.

When the veil of blackness is gone or even when it be¬comes thin, the mind awakens and feels this sixth sense by way of a wavy sensation.

Then, it recognizes the body soul. Then, it recognizes the Supreme soul.

Then, it gets immersed in the love of the Supreme soul and enjoys ecstasy or so to say peace. This happens while living only.

This is a divine secret. This is religion.

Nutshell: Religion is awakening the sixth sense and making it strong.

The endeavor is to recite the Lord's name with love by the tongue with attention of the mind towards the Lord.

Let us recite. O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, O Lord

Starting with at least five minutes a day.
(Source: BHAI VIR SINGH - Translated BY M.L.MONGIA)

Quote of the day!!!

2007-04-10T11:33:00.001+05:30

A successful business is the result of courageous decisions.

Rahul - a victim of misuse of 498a act

2007-04-07T11:47:00.000+05:30

Rahul's wife made a hattrick when she filled false 498A against her husband. In India it is becoming more of a fashion and to earn quick money, women are following this route which is called "legal terrorism" by SC

Quote of the Day!!!

2007-04-04T21:09:00.000+05:30

One of the best ways to reduce stress is to get organised

Quote of the day!!!

2007-04-01T20:32:00.002+05:30

If you believe in a principle, be firm and be prepared to stand up for it

Go, ask Chappell

2007-04-01T20:32:00.001+05:30

“Go, ask Chappell”, reply given by a senior player to a junior player during the world cup practice session when junior player asked for some tips.

According to Chappell, senior players were involved in grouping and were more concerned with their own position in the team rather than playing for the country.

After the disastrous World Cup tour, everyone is trying to find out the reason. And the blame game has been started by none other than team Guru Chappell himself. He has senior players in his radar and he is told to submit his report in next few days.

What if Chappell gives names of players like Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid, Zaheer and Harbhajan? Will BCCI publish this report? And there are reasons to believe that no action would be taken by BCCI.

Anil Kumble who has bid good bye to ODI cricket has set an example to other senior players. But are they willing to follow him. Retiring from cricket means no or less number of Ads with of course contract money could be reduced as well.

According to BCCI officials there is no replacement for the seniors. Don’t we have good players in our country of more than 1billion population where cricket is played in every corner? OR as cricket lovers blame that huge money is involved when it comes to senior players. Sponsors could be pressurizing (directly or indirectly) to make sure their sponsored player is part of the final eleven. Otherwise Sehwag could have never chosen for the World Cup.

There are enough reasons to believe that big politics at Management Level and at Team Level is involved which is not good at all for any Game.

God bless Cricket in India.

Kumble says Good Bye to ODI cricket - who is next?

2007-03-31T13:35:00.000+05:30

Anil Kumble, India's most successful leg spin bowler in one-day cricket and a perfect teamman, announced his retirement bringing the curtain down on his ODI career but making it clear he would be available for the Test matches.

"I wanted to go with the ball in my hand. It did not happen in the last World Cup. It feels a bit different to be a part of the team and not play. I was hurt at not being a part of the eleven but took it in my stride.

"I spoke to my colleagues and stayed on. This World Cup we had a good chance but unfortunately it did not go our way. Its time for me to end and pass the mantle to young players," said 37-year-old Kumble.

The expected announcement came a day after his return from the disastrous World Cup in the Caribbean. Despite his good performance in practice matches and against Bermuda (only official match he played in this world cup), he was not given the green card to play against Sri Lanka.

"It has been a one long journey that started in 1990. Today I formally announce my retirement from one-day cricket," Kumble told a press conference.

"I thought of giving up ODIs four years back. Actually right thoroughout my career I was fortunate enough to be a part of the team. It became a habit to be a part of the team," said Kumble, who has 337 ODI wickets from 271 one-dayers at an average of 30.89.

Kumble actually increased life of his Test career by few years or by few tests after retiring from ODI. His Test figure reads 547 wickets in 113 matches with an average of 28.65.

Kumble era is over, now who is next? - any taker

IT will make newspapers extinct, says Kamath

2007-03-30T19:13:00.000+05:30

Forecasting a gloomy future for the global newspaper industry, eminent journalist and Prasar Bharati Chairman M V Kamat today said newspapers might lose their relevance in the next one decade and even become extinct due to the explosion of Information Technology.

Already the circulation of newspapers, including the popular New York Times and The Washington Post, had gone down deeply while the London Times in the UK had now become a tabloid, he said at the inauguration of the three-day 'Print Congress-2007', an International Conference on 'Print and Media Technology', here.

He cautioned that even books would also become irrelevant as the number of book lovers was drastically coming down and a day would come where everything would be heard and nothing would be seen. "The IT may chanage your lifestyle in future so that you may not require paper... Just information and not knowledge," he added.

The conference is being organised by the Department of Printing and Media Engineering of Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT).

Gunther Keppler, the General Manager of Heidelberg India, who inaugurated the Congress while contradicting the views of Kamat, said the argument that IT would lead to be paperless offices had been found to be false. "We could find today more paper in the offices than before." He said that the application of know how of printing education would be decisive in the printing production investment projects. Training and education was most important in print media segment, he added.
(Source: PTI)

Supreme Court puts break on Quota Express - Right or Wrong?

2007-03-30T18:29:00.000+05:30

In a setback to pro-reservationists, the Supreme Court stayed the central law providing for 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in elite educational institutions like IITs and IIMs.

The Court held that the 1931 census could not be a determinative factor for identifying the OBCs for the purpose of providing reservation.

However, IIMs and IITs have decided to go by Centre's decision on quota issue.

All political parties have come together to raise their voice against the stay for the very simple reason of saving their vote bank. In a live interview with one of the News Channel one politician defended the quota reservation saying that there is no quota in the final exams hence whoever has the talent will passout and become Doctor or Engineer. Absolutely right, but what about those students who would be denied admission because the seat is reserved for so called OBCs.

We talk a lot about equality yet our law divides its own citizens based on their cast and creed. Is it ethical? Is n't the right time has come to stop all this nonsense? If political circle believes that OBC/SC/ST students could not compete with others then why not provide training to them and make them competent rather than just reserving seats for them.

OR at least spare institutes like IITs and IIMs from this quota virus.

Quote of the day

2007-03-30T10:57:00.000+05:30

"Never, Never, Never Quit. It's always better to fight and then lost rather than be loser without fighting at all"

IIMs and IITs to go by Centre's decision on quota issue

2007-03-29T22:59:00.000+05:30

Putting the ball in the HRD Ministry's court, IIMs and IITs today said they would go by the directive of the Government on providing 27 per cent reservation for other backward classes (OBCs).
These top institutions were reacting to the Supreme Court order staying the law extending 27 per cent reservation for OBCs.

"Now the Common Admission Test(CAT) Group will meet soon and decide regarding the OBC quota admission on the basis of the communication received" from the HRD Ministry, IIM- Ahmedabad Director Bakul Dholakia told reporters.

Voicing similar views, Directors of IIM-Kolkata and IIT- Kharagpur Shekhar Choudhury and S K Dubey respectively told PTI that they would go by the Centre's decision on the reservation issue.

IIT-Guwahati Director Gautam Barua said his institution would await the final verdict of the apex court to decide its future course of action.

The IIM-A had decided to increase the seats phasewise in a span of three years to complete the 27 per cent quota,. Dholakia said in Ahmedabad, noting that it wanted to increase this year six per cent seats in the first phase based on the order of the HRD ministry.

The IIMs will complete the admission process for this year by April 12, Dholakia added.

Sources in the IIM-A, however, said it would be impossible for the institute to implement the six per cent OBC quota in this academic year as the next hearing on the case will take place in the apex court in August and IIM-A will be completing the admission process by April 12.

This means that the admission procedure will done this year without the OBC quota, the sources said. (Source: PTI)

1984 Sikh mass murders - Finally some justice after a long wait of 22years

2007-03-29T22:46:00.000+05:30

Three people have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court for lynching three members of a Sikh family during the 1984 riots.

A fine of Rs 5,000 each was imposed on the convicts - Harprasad Bhardwaj, R P Tiwari and Jagdish Giri.

However, the court rejected the prosecution's contention that the offence fell under the 'rarest of the rare' category for which the three convicts should get death penalty.

"Rigorous life imprisonment would meet the ends of justice," said Additional Sessions Judge Rajender Kumar Shastri.

The three have been convicted for leading a mob on November 1-2 and attacking the house of complainant Harminder Kaur in 1984 in an East Delhi locality after anti-Sikh riots broke out.

As per the prosecution, Kaur's husband Niranjan Singh, a Head Constable with the Delhi Police, who was on duty at Shahdara Railway Station on November 1, 1984, was lynched and set ablaze by a mob led by the convicts.

Her 17-year-old son Gurpal Singh and son-in-law Mahender Singh were killed the next day by the accused.

Santa-Banta are not funny

2007-03-29T18:54:00.000+05:30

Santa-Banta jokes have been doing rounds for years now. But the Sikh community at the receiving end is anything but amused.

Some of the community members are demanding that the jokes be banned. “It's sheer humiliation. Think of the psychological impact such jokes have on a Sikh child,” says Businessman Jaswinder Singh Bajaj.

“We teach our children about our community, but when everyone else makes fun of it, they don't think much of it too,” says Preeti Bajaj.

People say laughter is the best medicine. But for the Sikh community laughter has turned into a bitter pill. In Mumbai, the Sikh community is enraged at joke booklets that are mocking at their community. “What are they trying to say with books like these? That we are jokers? How can we find it funny?” asks Swaranjit Singh Bajaj Vice-President, Sikh Media and Culture Watch.

Sick and tired of being made”butt of joke” members of the Sikh community are now saying the joke has gone too far. They have now approached the state's Minorities Commission with an appeal to ban such joke books.

“Their complaint is that such jokes that are going on for years now, cause them pain. There are fools in every community. We have written to the police commissioner and are awaiting action from them under Section 295 (A),” says Abraham Mathai Vice-Chairman, State Minorities Commission.

“I get very annoyed, I'm sick of it,” says one Sikh Avtar Singh.

The community says if no further action is taken, they will take their complaint to the courts.

Sikh organizations give memorandum to UN

2007-03-29T18:42:00.000+05:30

Amritsar, Mar 27 : Representatives of nearly 25 Sikh organizations from around the world gave a memorandum to the UN on various international Sikh issues in Geneva on Tuesday.

Nearly 200 members of the various Sikh organizations from 15 countries assembled at Langenthal to highlight the problem of religious freedom. The conference coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.

Talking to ANI from Switzerland, Harminder Singh, senior member of Sikh Foundation, said that though most of the Sikh affairs in India were taken care by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC), but as far as international Sikh issues were concerned, the SGPC had failed to take them up at international platform.

The representatives said that their demands include a request that the UN endorses International Code of Practice on Sikh articles of faith.

They said that Sikhs across the world were facing increasing difficulties regarding religious freedoms and their visible identity due to a lack of knowledge and ignorance.

The memorandum said that there was a need to properly protect the Sikh identity and articles of faith at work, in business and in public places.

Harminder Singh said that identity crises were one of the major issues for the Sikh living outside India. He lamented that SGPC also failed to resolve turban issue with the Government of France.

This was the first time that representatives of various Sikh organizations from different countries assembled on an international platform to not only discuss the Sikh issues, but also put forward their best efforts for resolving these issues, he added.

Besides Sikh representatives, senior members of various human right organizations also took part in the conference.

Presence of God in us as per distributed computing

2007-02-23T20:31:00.000+05:30

Prerequisites: It is assume that the reader of this article is aware of the basic networking terminology like Server, Terminal, LAN, Network ports, etc. and believe in God.

Purpose: To distribute the entire application into different inter-related components connected through common standard protocols (rules of communication). These components can be in a LAN (Local area Network) or WAN (Wide Area Network) but uses the same standard protocols and network ports.

Relation: For instance, If we were dumb terminals who have the basic processing functionality. And the server is waheguru ji (God).

Description: There are mainly two ways how the server is able to know the present status of the terminal.
1) The terminal keeps on sending a request of update to the server and thus sending its present status.
2) The server puts a small server-component in the terminal that has the rights to access whatever data is required by the server from the terminal.

Let us take the second scenario. Where, we being dumb terminals have given all rights to the server component (waheguru ji), which makes the server (waheguru ji) knows each and everything about us (terminal).

We being dumb terminals (so dumb), don’t know how to access the API (Application Programming Interface) of the server component to get information about the server and use its services.

If the terminal has a list of server API and has access to it then the terminal can take help of the server’s helper functions, services, etc and work more smoothly and in right direction. But, How!!

Guess what, the server is so advance and nicely designed that it has provided the terminals with its documentation (Guru), which can guide the terminal to use appropriate APIs in order for its smooth working.

The documentation is so nicely done that it also tells about the network ports (dasam duar), that the terminal needs to access for connecting to the server. It tells terminal about the adverse effects of giving system rights to other resources like maya (materialism, temptations), kaam (lust), krodh (anger), etc. It also tells about the exception handling techniques {Ardas (means: a request, a supplication, a prayer, a petition or an address to a superior authority), kirtan- prayer, etc} for handling any of the above exceptions to get back to a smoother processing. Also the routine maintenance programs (like daily nitnem-prayers, naam simran-Meditation, etc) for better management.

Conclusion: As everyone (especially Engineers) knows how important it is to have a proper documentation of every distributed component, also shows how important it is for terminals to follow the guidelines of the documentation and helper services given by the component.

If the above description makes sense, then this proves the following:
• Waheguru ji is present is each of us. As he knows everything about us.
.....o Manas ki jaat sabh ekeh pehechhan (Meaning: All humans are the same. As he resides in all of us and we all are blessed by the same Server)
.....o Aggey dekhai picchho dekhai, tujh teh kahaa chupaayae. (Meaning: We cannot hide anything thing from him, he knows everything about us)

• The importance of Guru in our life.
.....o Jeh sou chanda ugavey, suraj chareh hazaar, attey channan hondeya. Gur bin ghor andhaar (Asa-di-vaar. Meaning : The light from hundred moons and thousand suns means nothing without the light of the true Guru)
.....o To get the Gurprasad (The right method needed to meet and understand him) of mool mantra.

• Importance of true guide (Guru) in our life (Warning: As the component is public so the there would be countless version of server’s documentation. Make sure that you have the right version).
.....o Aisey gur ko bal bal jayiae, aap mukat mohey tarey (Meaning: I am sacrifice to the true Guru who has achieved the ultimate destiny and can also help me achieve it).
• This documentation is not a mere block of text and phrases, these are guidelines following which a terminal can get access and pass through the firewall of the Server.
.....o Log jaane ehh geet hai, Eh tou hai bhramm vichaar (Bhagat Kabeer das ji. Meaning: These are not mere songs for entertainment, but they are the description about the ultimate superior power God, that can help us understand him and prepare ourselves better, as per his will).
• And many more (Feel free to add your inputs).

Thanks to veer (brother) Gagandeep Singh ji for this excellent explanation