There are many positives that Mr. Chiranjeevi offers that many other parties do not come even close to. For example, many years before deciding to become a politician, he had set up blood and eye donation centers. Utilizing the tremendous goodwill of his fans in this productive and positive way is certainly commendable.

Mr. Chiranjeevi also brings a few alternative ideas in comparison to the tired old ideas of the established parties. For example, he requested his fans to plant 1 crore trees as a gesture of celebrating his birthday. For too long, handicapped people in India have been neglected by many. Mr. Chiranjeevi has given due prominence to them by making a handicapped fan the first party member of the Praja Rajyam party. During the terrible ordeal of the ongoing terrorist attacks in Bombay, it was a refreshing sign to see him speak with a sane voice of coming together as one irrespective of party and agenda. That he offered to send blood from his blood banks and asked his fans in Bombay to donate blood to help the victims, does bring out the caring side of him.

Mr. Chiranjeevi has been setting the agenda which other parties have been trying to play catch-up and in many cases, eagerly co-opting them as their own. Highlighting the plight of the weavers in Siricilla, reviving the memory of Mahatma Jyothirao Phule, giving prominence to women and youngsters and acquiring land justly for Special Economic Zones (SEZs), are a few examples of this.

However, even though he has talked about his party focusing mostly on positive messages instead of retaliatory mudslinging, there are some within the Praja Rajyam party who have been unable to maintain that disciplined message. Mr. Chiranjeevi also has been making a lot of irresponsible promises during his recent speeches, quite akin to seasoned politicians promising the moon (and who have failed to deliver even a sliver).

There are other disturbing signs. Early on, supporters of the Praja Rajyam party founder were turning violent in response to criticism, forgetting the free speech guaranteed in our democracy. Some seasoned politicians joining him have raised questions about the effectiveness of the party in reducing corruption. In all fairness, Mr. Chiranjeevi has answered this during his Vizag tour by promising that they can do this because he will be setting a powerful example (“yadha raja, tadha praja” translating to “like king, so are his subjects”). That his party members participate in “dharnas”, which cause a lot of inconvenience to people, is unfortunate.

Maybe it is naïve, but it would have been truly game-changing if Mr. Chiranjeevi, instead of highlighting caste by promising large representation for backward castes, instead promised the same for poor people irrespective of their caste. Since he has promised to restore dignity to politics, it would behoove Mr. Chiranjeevi to ignore the taunts and the slander and instead maintain disciplined focus on his positive messages. Many of his ideas and ideals are already a departure from the filth of current day politics in India. People are intelligent enough to recognize that. He should continue setting the agenda instead of allowing others to drag him into distracting arguments. There are two interesting questions that remain:

• The Lok Satta party and the Praja Rajyam party have some overlapping agendas - corruption being the most important of them. Each can benefit from the other since the Lok Satta party does not seem to have the star power to make people listen and the Praja Rajyam party can only benefit from the clean image of the Lok Satta party. So why are the two not joining hands?
• When elections come, will the hundreds of thousands of people thronging to see and listen to Mr. Chiranjeevi vote for him?

Time will only tell. Until then, we wait expectantly, because there is a chance of bringing change to our society by a new generation of politics - politicians who actually care about our well-being.

One or two months back, there were serial bomb blasts in all of the prime cities and every day the number of people dead reported in the news would be anywhere between 20-200… or even more according to the mood of the terrorists. What would we do? I’ll tell you. Well… we always have dinner watching TV. So when we are having dinner, this news would be on the television… and as the headlines. So, we would see the news, the reporters talking about the incident, the near and dear ones of the victims crying their heart out, the ruling party sending out condolence messages and the opposition party blaming the ruling party. Hey… I almost forgot, there is one more aspect… finally all the political parties would blame the Islamic terrorist groups and they would be held responsible. Well… dinner is over. Now, its time to switch off the television. So, that is what we do. We just for a minute, think about the state of the country, heave a sigh and go to sleep. Anyways, there is nothing you can do.. right??? Yeah, right. So we do nothing. Next day, you have to get back to work. Your high paying job of working for your master across the sea is waiting. So go… no time for anything else. And you know?? Our memory really sucks.

Today, there has been an open firing in a railway station in Mumbai (the country’s economic capital and one of the largest and most lively cities)by a terrorist group.. and in that gun fire,… well… hmm…around 80 people or so they say, were killed. Its all over the news… not only because of this, but hundreds of people have been injured and held as hostages in the top most hotels in the city. So, it is pretty big news. Dinner time today was little long as this was little different from the bomb blasts. We haven’t yet got used to this type of attack. Maybe the terrorists got bored of the bomb attacks as that didn’t attract our attention anymore. But anyways, we also had a few bomb blasts in the city as a bonus. We were munching the food a little slowly and looking at the news. People were in agony, people were in anger and people were… well.. had every negative emotion you can think of. I am sitting in my room typing this out as my friends in the drawing room are watching the news. But I really don’t want to see it. Does it make you feel good to realize that you are in a country where you see a valiant protector in uniform giving his life while trying to save his country men from the open fire at the railway station and the corrupt politicians talk for hours and hours to decide if they could raise the salary of the cops and the army men by 0.000000005% …? Every one of us is proud of him and we are grateful to that man. But none of us even know his name. That is ok. But at least for a minute do we think what we as a nation are going to do to make his soul rest in peace?? Well… if we think of that, then obviously we will have to do something for the country and that would be really difficult… coz’ I have my job tomorrow. There is no time to think about the horrible security people have in this country, the corrupt people who rule us, the plight of the victims… We don’t even have time to think what will happen to any person in the country at any point of time.

I am unhappy with myself. We Indians lack solidarity. We lack commitment. We lack humanness. We do not have respect for life. We are a horrible lot. A voice in me says that I am talking crap, because I can do nothing. But I want to do SOMETHING.

Can I?

P.S : Just as I finish writing this, I can hear the channel in the drawing room being changed. Some rocking song is being played and all of them are engrossed in watching the talent show. Maybe it was their favourite star on television. So that’s ok… right???

Since the time of the Jaipur blasts, the newspapers started highlighting the names of the culprits who were involved in the crime but never did I hear a person showing his astonishment over the deteriorating mindset of the Indians. But the controversies always remained confined to a particular religion. A few days back, the finger was raised at the tenets of Islam and even the newspapers published debates on the mind sets of Muslims and now everyone's eyes have turned towards the teachings of Hinduism. I ask how one dare even call such culprits humans. Yes, they are not even human who dare to snatch the most precious gift of the almighty, a person's life.

Why don't we join our hands against terrorism instead of Islam or Hinduism? Yes, those people don't belong to any religion and the only thing they believe in or worship is terrorism. Why do we blame each other? A black sheep is present in every class so better the spot are washed rather than blackening the whole class.

Whether it's a Hindu or a Muslim, their crime shouldn't be divided on the basis of religion as both don't deserve to be included in any religion. They only follow the religion of division and their aim is to terrorize and divide the Indians.

The need of the day is to unite the Indians and not just any particular religion against the web of terrorism. Our mother is one then how can we be different. We share the same soil and follow the same education but why we don't retain the same when it comes to preserve and protect the integrity of our nation.

Hey Indians! We are one community. Different are those who try to divide us and kill us. Rather than pointing towards each other, let's outcast them who defame our existence. The spot of terrorism can't be washed till the time we come together on a single platform and prove that before being Muslims or Hindus, we belong to the supreme community of Indians.

The historic nuclear deal which affected the relations between the two democracies badly has been overshadowed by the global economic crisis which will enable the two estranged democracies to work together on a lot of scientific, environmental, energy and other issues. And as the new administration prepares to take the charge of the white house amidst the worst economic crisis faced by the world in the past eighty years, America and India will find themselves increasingly working in tandem to try and evolve a new global order beyond both socialism and capitalism.

Let's hope for the best and pray to bring the two greatest democracies of the world who gained independence from the same colonial power on a friendly platform thus making the world a better place to live in.

The popular image of India in Western media is hungry and poor people struggling to survive in pathetic slums in Mumbai, one of the horrendously congested polluted cities. When India, and not an affluent ‘developed’ nation, sends lunar probes, this seems to aggravate some people. They argue that India should remove poverty and feed everyone rather than spend money on space exploration.

Others see this view as patronizing and argue that India has the same rights as all countries to pursue scientific research, which will benefit even the poorest through application of technological advances. They further claim that the US Apollo programme spurred great innovative leaps in avionics, telecommunications and computer technology, which have all contributed towards improving society and raising living standards.



Is going to the moon still a matter of prestige?

The race to space started after World War II. In addition to boosting national prestige through propaganda, US Apollo Programme objectives were military and technological as well as scientific.

For USA, Soviet Union, Russia and now China and India, the space programme is of great prestige value.

President Kennedy is said to have confused NASA director James Webb by saying “Everything we do ought to really be tied in to getting on to the moon ahead of the Russians, otherwise we shouldn't be spending that kind of money, because I'm not interested in space. The only justification for the cost is because we hope to beat the USSR to demonstrate that instead of being behind by a couple of years, by God, we passed them.”[i] Finally the Americans, as the only country to date, managed to land men on the moon on 20th July 1969.

Going to the moon first was a matter of prestige and not for staking a claim to territory. After landings on the Moon, the United States explicitly disclaimed the right to ownership of any part of the Moon.



What happened When Other Countries Reached the Moon?

In 1957, when the Soviets launched the first artificial satellite Sputnik I, the constant beeping of the radio beacon as Sputnik passed overhead every 96 minutes, demonstrated to the world the technological superiority of the Soviet Union. This really made the American go full throttle on all efforts to reach the moon.

In only about six years after the first human landing on the moon in July 1969, the Space race ended officially with the Apollo-Soyuz docking in 1975. The general people and the administration in USA lost interest in space and the moon. Political thinking overrode scientific thinking. President Nixon had the Apollo 17 launch postponed, as he feared an accident would jeopardize his re-election.

In China, the Beijing government used the Chang’e and later the spacewalk to show that China had arrived as a superpower. Change’s mandate is also a military one as it aims to exploit the known huge lunar reserves of helium-3 as a nuclear fusion power plant fuel as disclosed by Ouyang Ziyuan, the foremost Chinese expert in underground nuclear testing and extraterrestrial materials.

In Japan, JAXA, the Japanese Space Agency, had a "Wish Upon the Moon" campaign in 2007, which collected 412,627 names and messages taken to the moon along with scientific instruments.

 

Future Lunar Missions Planned

USA and Russia, and Japan, ESA (European Space Agency), China and India have pursued space exploration and there has even been much cooperation among them.

USA will send the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2009 to photograph and measure previous landing sites. One possible aim is to silence conspiracy theories, which claim that all lunar landings were filmed in studios.

ESA (European Space Agency) Aurora Programme plans a moon-landing mission by 2024. India plans to place a robotic rover on the moon by 2010/2011, a manned spaceflight by 2014 and moon landing by 2020.

China already has the lunar orbiter, Chang'e orbiting around the moon. China plans a moon landing together with Russia by 2020.  Japan already has two lunar spacecrafts orbiting the moon and is planning a lunar base by 2030.

 

Will the Moon Mission Change India?

Will the results of lunar/space exploration affect scientific progress so that innovations and advances can be translated into mass production very quickly? This is very difficult to say at short notice. Another difficulty is how do we determine if such technological advances actually result only from space programmes and not from other fields.

Mobile phones are a great leap forward and is changing India as telephone connections have for the past fifty years been a real nightmare in India. Would any technological advance be comparable to mobile phones or computers in general? This is very difficult to say.

Would the moon missions trigger a technological and arms race with China or a race to conquer the moon for its mineral deposits? That unfortunate outcome is also possible.

At least a significant effect would be the morale boost to the educated populace of India.  This could have a significant outcome on economic, social and political climate as national confidence increases. At least one group of people would be unquestioningly happy, philatelists or stamp collectors.

Reference: [i] From a tape recording in the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library.

I should be ashamed of myself for blaming the outsiders for creating troubles in my motherland. Yes, I mean when I say that because some leaders of India have even changed the meaning of an outsider. Tell me, who is an outsider? India is a single nation comprised of twenty eight states which combine their diversities and make India the richest culture of the world. But, here the scene seems to be completely different. A person of one state becomes an outsider in the other state. Oh Indians, where have you buried the feeling of unity in diversity? Can't you see our mother weeping and deeply hurt by such divisions? How can I blame anyone else for dividing my nation if dividers are the citizens themselves? They should be ashamed who follow such tactics to raise their political stature and divide the people in order to rule over them. If a person is a leader in true sense, his aim should be to fight for the rights of the whole nation and not only a particular state.

And the biggest question arises when people of such interests are supported by others and even order to torture others to prove their spotless stature. With proud, I call my motherland the biggest democracy of the world but now a day the light of democracy seems to be taking the shape of dictatorship. Who is to be blamed? Yes, I knew that everyone's fingers would point towards the leaders. Why is this blame game, my friends? If a democracy is by the people, of the people and for the people then why such situations even arise. Where we were when such leaders were selected who try to cut into pieces their own motherland and try to raise the feeling of hatred between the people of the same nation. Today, you are fighting on the roads, burning vehicles and killing others for a person who won't even come for your cremation if you die. If you yourself are the supporters then who else can be blamed for your miserable condition.

Ministers in parliament purchase votes and millions of rupees fly in the air whereas people still beg for a single penny on the roads to fill their bellies. We all hear about these issues but before coming to the conclusion a bomb blast occurs and the media diverts our attention towards that and again before reaching to any judgments about the terrorists , our mind is forced to be engrossed with the breaking news of the warning given by a leader to a star for expressing her emotions. So, where is our role? Yes, good question. And I do understand this as I am also a sufferer of the same net. But if we think wisely, our role is actually spread everywhere but the above example is given to make us understand how we should be capable to give right importance to the right subject and stick to it until the right conclusion is drawn out. The solution is to stand up and raise our voice and if not capable to stand then at least support those who fight for the right cause. Make others aware of the realities and use your most important instrument VOTE to throw out such dictators and help in making your nation a true democracy for which Bapu and Bhagat Singh sacrificed their lives and Chacha Nehru dreamed of day and night.

It is a sad state of the world we live in, stalkers,murderers,crimes of all kinds, I find it appalling.

Whatever happened to natural human compassion? Loving your neighbor? I have asked that question in a couple other articles. Any decent human being on God's green earth knows about compassion.

If they are more than just decent, they actually put that compassion into practice.

Unfortunately though, more and more people are becoming cold, and as you can see the consequences can be tragic.

Even if the man was stalking the woman as he was accused of, he still deserved the decency of law enforcement and a trial, not someone's vigilante justice. I send my condolences to his family, even if he was guilty of stalking the woman, nobody's life should be taken so coldly.

Apparently, the woman was grotesquely proud of the grisly murder she committed.

She walked through the market in her Indian village with the severed head in hand for all to see.

When asked, the woman said she had no remorse, I can somewhat sympathize with her if it truly was self defense, but her behavior afterward leaves me skeptical of that claim.

Employees of Jet Airways complain that they were notified imprompto without any regards for their feelings. Most of the people laid off, were still on probation. Thanks to Indias conservative attitude, Indian Banks were not affected. But a majority of indistries are still reeling under the crash. 

The question is , whether the aviation industry be able to offer reasonable flights to their customers,and will the joint venture between Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines be able stand the slump or are more lay-offs going to take place. People fear the golden age of the aviation industry bom is over.

In Uttar Pradesh, a state located in the northern part of India, scientists have come out for a noble cause-to teach science and inculcate scientific temper amongst poor students of rural areas.

Scientists of the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) located in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow have taken the initiative for the noble cause.

"The move can be attributed to our social responsibility. Scientists are not aliens. After all, as a responsible citizen of a country they should take such project for the uplift of the poor and downtrodden,’’ said a scientist involved with the project.

As a part of their novel initiative, the scientists will set up several nodal centres in various rural schools, wherefrom the upcoming project will be launched.

Any poor village student will be able to visit such nodal centres where learning science would be an altogether different experience. Through stories, exhibits and of course movies, students will learn scientific principles.

"The unique learning will also help students to co-relate scientific principle with the events of everyday life,’’ said another scientist, who is all geared up for his new role.

The scientists feel their initiative will leave a trail that others will follow.

I don't say that the statement made by him eradicated terrorism or reduced the sufferings of those who already suffered but still it should be a great moment of happiness not only for me but for each and every true Indian who was waiting for this initiative to be taken by any powerful leader. Till now, there was the lack of solution because there was none who could accept the truth and if ever accepted the expression lay far behind. Pakistan has been operating terrorists on the head of India (Jammu and Kashmir) for a long time in the name of militancy but none from Pakistan ever accepted this fact which made the roots of terrorism stronger.

But, for the first time in Indo-Pak history a top Pakistani leader agreed with India's stand and revealed the truth which has cursed Indians for decades over decades. And the fact cannot be denied that a person who himself becomes the victim can better understand the pain of others. He reflected this when said “They (terrorists) killed the mother of my children so it's very personal for me.” Not only this, he also denied the assumption of most of the population of the two nations as being enemies to each other when he said” India has never been a threat to Pakistan”. I, personally thank you, Mr. Zardari for at least taking the initiative and dare to utter the truth and I am sure that your powerful words will also be accompanied by truthful actions as well.