BJP projected to win 34-40 seats in Delhi: India Today-Cicero opinion poll

Rajiv Kumar

New Delhi January 12, 2015:BJP is all set to make a comeback in Delhi after more than 16 years, while Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Admi Party (AAP) is likely to be close second according to the latest round (Round 2) of the India Today Group-Cicero opinion poll. The biggest loser as per the opinion poll will be the Congress party, which is likely to see further decline in its fortune.

VOTE SHARE

The survey findings show that BJP is likely to get 40 percentage point of votes, an improvement of about 7 percent compared to its December 2013 Assembly poll performance. Aam Aadmi Party is expected to get 36 percent of votes, against its previous 2013 performance when it got 29.4 percent of votes, a gain 6.5 percentage point. Congress' fortunes continue to decline with the party sliding further down to finish by garnering 16 percent of votes, down 8.5 percent compared to its December 2013 performance. Others are expected to score 9 percent of votes.

SEAT FORECAST

As per the opinion poll, BJP is likely to get 34-40 seats, an improvement from its 2013 performance, when it got 31 seats. Though Aam Aadmi Party is expected to gain its vote share but this gain may not translate into party's seat share, with party projected to win anything between 25-31 seats. Congress is likely to win 3-5 seats, down from 8 seats it won in December 2013 poll, and Others between 0-2 seats, as per the latest round of the India Today Group-Cicero opinion poll.

BIGGEST POLL ISSUES

The issues remains the same as they were during the Lok Sabha polls in 2014. Though Narendra Modi's government has made many announcement on women security front yet the issue remains a key issue with 20 percent of respondents giving it maximum weightage. The NDA government in centre came to power on the plank of corruption yet 17 percent of Delhiete polled still feel that it remains an important issue. 12 percent of the respondents felt that water scarcity is the most important issue while 10 percent feel it's the price rise.

CHALLENGES FOR THE NEW GOVT

On being asked as to what will be the biggest challenge for the new government, 39 percent of the respondents of the India Today Group-Cicero opinion poll feel basic civic issues like electricity, road and water will be the most difficult task for the incoming government. 33 percent feel, it will be on the law & order front while 15 percent feel it will be health and education. Only 6 percent of the respondents surveyed feel Narendra Modi's flagship mission cleanliness is an important issue in Delhi, and transport facilities coming last with just 3 percent of the respondents feel that it will be a challenge for whoever comes to power in Delhi.

MOST PREFERRED CM

Even after facing allegations of running away rather than running the government after just 49 days, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal remains the most-preferred choice for chief ministerial candidate, with 35 percent respondents rooting for him. BJP’s Harsh Vardhan is a distant runner up with 23 percent support. Only 6% of the respondents of the India Today- Cicero Opinion poll expressed their confidence in former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, followed by Arvinder Lovely (5 percent) of the Congress. Delhi BJP president finished fifth with just 5 percent votes, followed by Congress' Ajay Maken and BJP's Jagdish Mukhi, 4 percent each.

PERFORMANCE OF MODI GOVT.

The performance of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre is expected to have more impact on the polls in Delhi than anywhere else in the country. Asked to rate the performance of the Narendra Modi-led government, 36 percent felt it was performing beyond expectations while 30 percent felt it was meeting their expectations. However, as many as 25 percent felt the central government was underperforming.

PERFORMANCE OF 49 DAY AAP RULE

Even though the AAP did not emerge as the first choice to form the government in Delhi, about 36 percent of respondents surveyed felt its debut attempt at running the government in the national capital exceeded expectations. This may be the reason why he is still favoured for the CM’s post. Around 35 percent people felt that the 49-day-long government ruled as per expectations, while 20 percent felt they were let down by Kejriwal.

METHODOLOGY:-

The opinion poll was conducted by India Today- Cicero between Jan 2-6, 2015. Sampling size achieved was 4459 respondents in 70 assembly constituencies and 210 polling stations.

Who are the Yazidis and why is Isis hunting them?

Unjustly regarded as 'devil worshippers' on account of their unusual beliefs, the Yazidi have for centuries been one of the most persecuted minorities of the Middle East. 

Islamic extremists regard them as infidels, worthy only of being killed.

They are an ethnic Kurdish people who tend to have fairer complexions than many in the Middle East.

They regard wearing blue as sacrilege, they never eat cabbage or lettuce and their men often have long beards and wear their hair in plaits – which make them resemble the cartoon characters of ancient Gaul, Asterix and Obelix.

They adhere to a 4,000-year-old faith passed down and adapted through the generations by word of mouth and composed of elements of several religions.

Their reverence for fire and light derives from the ancient faith called Zoroastrianism, the religion of Persia long before Islam arrived. 

They combine such Christian practices as baptism with Jewish or Islamic circumcision. Like Buddhists they believe in perpetual reincarnation.

But it is the central tenet of their religion that has led others to brand them devil worshippers.

They believe in one God who illuminated seven angels with his light. 

The greatest of the seven is the Peacock Angel, known as Malak Taus, who is dressed in blue (which is why the Yazidi refuse to wear the colour). 

His other name is Shaytan, Arabic for the devil or Satan.

The Yazidi believe that God left the Earth in the care of the seven angels and told them to obey Adam. 

The Peacock Angel refused, stating that Adam was created from the soil, and God’s light could never be at the mercy of the soil.

He was cast out for his disobedience, but was quickly reconciled with God who respected his argument – which proved he was, in fact, the most loyal angel of all.

This is why the idea that he was akin to Lucifer is so misleading.

Tragically, the Yazidi are also victims of another misunderstanding, over their name.

Sunni extremists believe it derives from a deeply unpopular seventh century caliph – or leader – Yazid ibn Muawiya.

In fact, it comes from the Persian word for angel or deity, 'Ized'. Their name simply means ‘worshippers of God’.

Yet no such theological distinction interests Islamic State fighters in a Middle East where minor divergences between Sunni and Shia Muslims are a matter of life and death, and the region's 12million Christians are diminishing by the day.

In such a murderous atmosphere, ‘Satan worshippers’ are inevitably the targets of genocidal fanatics.

Even to ordinary Iraqis, they are seen as bogeymen to frighten children with.

The Yazidi once lived in a wide area across Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Georgia and Armenia.

But successive waves of persecution - they claim to have survived 72 genocides - by the Ottoman Turkish rulers of what is now Iraq, by Saddam Hussein and now by Islamic militants, have reduced the number of Yazidi from millions to an estimated 700,000.

In recent years, some 70,000 have fled to Europe, where 40,000 live in western Germany. 

This is not surprising. Since the Yazidi welcomed the US invasion of Iraq after 2003 and admire Israel, they attracted the malevolence of Al Qaeda and other jihadists before the Islamic State came on the scene; in 2007 massive truck bombs killed 500.

What makes the Yazidi still more vulnerable is the insular nature of their community. No one can convert to their religion, you have to be born into it. They also practice endogamy – that is, they only marry members of the same faith.

They believe that when someone dies, their soul passes into a new member of the community and that purification of the soul is only possible through continual rebirth. 

The worst possible fate, therefore, is to be expelled from the community because the soul can never then be purified or saved.

Equally, anyone who voluntarily leaves the religion risks death. In 2007, it was reported that Du’a Khalil Aswad, a Yazidi woman, was stoned to death for converting to Islam and marrying a Muslim man.

Feared, villified and slaughtered for centuries, it is in many ways remarkable such a strong community of Yazidis still exists at all. But now, with the Islamic State’s determination to wipe them out, they perhaps face their greatest test of all.

BJP all set to form govt. in Delhi, says India Today-Ciesaro Opinion poll

Rajiv Kumar
New Delhi: It seems as if the people of Delhi are in no mood to give Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) a second chance. This is revealed in a India Today- Ciesaro Opinion poll. According to it BJP with 39% of votes will get anything between 34 to 40 seats in the 70-member Assembly.

With 36% votes Aam Aadmi Party is projected to have a tally of anything between 25 to 31 seats. Congress comes a poor third and is predicted to garner 16% of the votes and win 3-5 seats, down three from the polls held last year. Others are projected to bag 0 to 2 seats with 9% of the vote share.

CHOICE AMONG DEMOGRAPHIES

BJP is the first choice for 39% of the under 25 year voters while 38% of them prefers the Aam Aadmi Party. Only 16% respondents up to 25 years prefer the Congress.

Among female respondents 39% are likely to vote for the BJP while for 36% Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party will be the first choice. Only 17% would like to vote for the Congress.

While 39% of the (all age) male respondents of the India Today- Ciesaro Opinion poll preferred BJP to lead the next government in the national capital, 36% prefer Aam Aadmi Party. Only 16% male respondents looked forward to vote for the Congress party.

AREA-WISE TREND

In rural areas of Delhi both BJP and AAP are going neck-and-neck with 34% of the respondents preferring the BJP and 33% the Aam Aadmi Party. Congress lags at third with 16% people's choice.

The survey finding shows more affinity for the BJP in Delhi's upper/upper-middle class localities with 45% of the respondents preferring the party while 39% of the people in these areas may go for the Aam Aadmi Party.

ISSUES

The issues remains the same as they were during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. Even after six months of Narendra Modi led NDA government coming to power in Delhi on the plank of corruption, the issue remains on the top of electorate's mind with 21% still feeling that is the single most important issue. Announcements on women's security have failed to secure the fairer sex and failed to comfort the Delhi's voters with 17% feeling women's  safety remains a key issue. 15% of the respondents felt that water scarcity is the most important issue while 12% feel it's the price rise. Only 10% of the respondent feel that electricity supply is a major poll issue.

MOST PREFFERED CM

Even after facing allegations of running away rather than running the government after just 49 days AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal remains the most-preferred choice for chief ministerial candidate, with 35% respondents rooting for him. BJP’s Harsh Vardhan is a distant runner up with 19% support. Only 9% of the respondents of the India Today- Ciesaro Opinion poll expressed their confidence in former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, followed by Arvinder Lovely (8%) of the Congress.

PERFORMANCE OF MODI SARKAR

As per this opinion poll, 34% of the respondents surveyed believe that Modi sarkar has ushered in acche din and his government's performance so far has exceeded their expectations while 33% believe Narendra Modi government has performed as per their expectations. Only 22% of the respondents believe BJP government at the centre has so far not met their expectations.

AAP GOVT PERFORMANCE

About two-third (67%) respondents of the India Today- Ciesaro Opinion poll said they were satisfied with the work done by Arvind Kejriwal during his 49-day tenure. This may be the reason why he is still favoured for the CM’s post. While 35% of them felt Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party government's performance exceeded expectations, 32% felt his government did fine. Just 22% felt let down by the 49 days of Kejriwal's rule in Delhi.

PUBLIC OPINION ON MODI

About three-fourth (74%) of the of the respondents of this poll give credit to prime minister Narendra Modi for energising the otherwise snail paced administration at the same time 48% say Modi has failed to keep his promises. On the diplomacy front 62% of the respondent surveyed gave full marks to PM Modi diplomatic efforts and feel Narendra Modi as PM has lifted the status of India across the world.

While 56% of the respondents see Narendra Modi as a strong and decisive leader who is fulfilling the promises he made, 35% feel he is self-centred and is not bothered about the country.

With much fanfare Narendra Modi launched his flagship national level campaign Swachh Bharat on October 2 this year with an aim to accomplish the vision of 'Clean India' by 2 October 2019, 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. But about half i.e. 46% of the respondents of the India Today- Ciesaro Opinion poll don't see it as a genuine effort to clean India and believe it is just a show-off.

PUBLIC OPINION ON AAP

The allegation and commonly held belief that Aam Aadmi Party isn't yet ready to run a government reflects in this opinion poll as well with more than half (53%) of the respondents agreeing that Kejriwal led AAP hasn't matured enough to govern. While 60 % of the respondent surveyed agreed to what AAP is claiming - that corruption declined during its 49-days rule, 51% feel AAP cheated people by fleeing from responsibility of running the government.

While 55% of the respondents of this poll want to give Arvind Kejriwal led AAP party government another chance, 54% believe Arvind Kejriwal was more interested in protests rather than governing. 60% of the people of agree to what Arvind Kejriwal is claiming - that AAP government brought down rates of water and power.

Corruption was the main poll plank of BJP in the Lok Sabha polls and the ITG-CICERO poll outcome says it is still there to nail Congress with 70% of the respondents saying Congress is the most corrupt party. On other most nagging issues for Congress, nepotism and internal divisions, the situation is no better either. 51% of the respondents feel Congress promotes nepotism while 37% see it as a divided faction-ridden house.

On the question of developing Delhi, 39% of the respondents say AAP can deliver better in providing electricity, water and ensuring good roads while BJP is close second to AAP on overall development of Delhi with 36% of the respondents going with AAP than 35% staying with BJP. On keeping inflation in check, 44% of the respondents chose AAP while 40% of them felt AAP was best equipped to ensure women safety, the most important social issue that has given Delhi a negative name globally, crime against women.

On 'who should form the next government in Delhi', 42% favoured a BJP government but, on the flip side, 44% said BJP should not be given the chance. According to the ITG-CICERO poll, AAP should form the next government in Delhi with 47% respondents opting to give the Kejriwal party a chance. Here also, the misery for Congress continues, with a huge 63% of the respondents saying the party doesn't stand a chance to form the next government in the Indian Capital.

METHODOLOGY:-

The opinion poll was conducted by India Today- Ciesaro. Sampling size achieved was 4273 respondents in 70 assembly constituencies and 210 polling stations.

ISIS vs. AL QAEDA: Which is more dangerous?

By: Rajiv K Mishra

LEADERSHIP

Al Qaeda

-          Scattered & often confusing leadership with Ayman al-Zawahiri at the core.

ISIS

-          Tightly-knit military council under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi that makes all the group's strategic decisions

MANPOWER

Al Qaeda

-          Is facing dwindling manpower resource and believes in guerilla warfare. Left with few thousand fighters.

ISIS

-          Has more than 1 lakh active fighters and growing

SHIA MUSLIMS

Al Qaeda

-          Believes killing Shia Muslims could be counterproductive

ISIS

-          Have targeted Shiite Muslims

TACTICS

Al Qaeda

-          Relatively less brutal than ISIS

ISIS

-          Very brutal to be repulsive

ISLAMIC CALIPHATE

Al Qaeda

-          Ledership believes caliphate will emerge only after the wider Muslim world has been purified, and that establishing it requires social consensus.

ISIS

-          Believes in sectarian divides

FINANCES

Al Qaeda

-          Dwindling fast after killing of Osama Bin Laden.

ISIS

-          As per Iraqi intelligence the organization had assets worth US$2 billion making it richest jihadist group in the world

EQUIPMENTS

Al Qaeda

-          Mainly small ammunitions like AKs rifles, bombs, machine guns, sniper rifles, mortar shells, mines etc.

ISIS

-          Has acquired many mainstream heavy battle machines including battle tanks, rockets, short range anti-tank missiles.

MEDIA

Al Qaeda

-          Believes in traditional medium to reach people; occasionally uses social media

ISIS

-          More media savvy. Advertises its projects on social media. Never forget to chronicle its brutality.

Why Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi may have a long life

Three quotes explaining why #AAP government in Delhi may have a long life:

1.    “Upon gaining a vote of confidence on the floor of the House, the AAP would not have to confront another trust vote for the next six months.”

2.    “And secondly, if it were to start investigating corruption cases against the Congress, it would be imprudent to expect the BJP to vote against it in such a scenario.”

3.  "From an organisational point of view, the Congress needs the AAP to shed its image of a corrupt government. If they do withdraw support, it won’t be good for them at all. They need to repair their image before they move on into the general Lok Sabha elections." 

THE MYTHS OF MUSLIM RAGE

Salman Rushdie’s memoir, Joseph Anton, has hit the bookshelves just as the world has become embroiled in a new controversy over Islamic sensibilities. The extraordinary violence unleashed across the Muslim world by Innocence of Muslims, an obscure US-made video, has left many bewildered and perplexed.

Rushdie was, of course, at the centre of the most famous confrontation over the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad. The publication in 1988 of his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, launched a worldwide campaign against the supposed blasphemies in the book, culminating in the Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa on 14 February 1989 condemning Rushdie to death, and forcing him into hiding for a decade.

Joseph Anton is Rushdie’s account of the fatwa and the years that followed. So, what does the battle over The Satanic Verses tell us about the current controversy over The Innocence of Muslims?

The Rushdie affair is shrouded in a number of myths that have obscured its real meaning. The first myth is that the confrontation over The Satanic Verses was primarily a religious conflict. It wasn’t. It was first and foremost a political tussle. The novel became a weapon in the struggle by Islamists with each other, with secularists and with the West. The campaign began in India where hardline Islamist groups whipped up anger against Rushdie’s supposed blasphemies to win concessions from politicians nervous about an upcoming general election and fearful of alienating any section of the Muslim community. The book subsequently became an issue in Britain, a weapon in faction fights between various Islamic groups.

Most important was the struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran for supremacy in the Islamic world. From the 1970s onwards Saudi Arabia had used oil money to fund Salafi organisations and mosques worldwide to cement its position as spokesman for the umma. Then came the Iranian Revolution of 1979 that overthrew the Shah, established an Islamic republic, made Tehran the capital of Muslim radicalism, and Ayatollah Khomeini its spiritual leader, and posed a direct challenge to Riyadh. The battle over Rushdie’s novel became a key part of that conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi Arabia made the initial running, funding the campaign against the novel. The fatwa was an attempt by Iran to wrestle back the initiative. The campaign against The Satanic Verses was not a noble attempt to defend the dignity of Muslims, nor even a theological campaign to protect religious values. It was part of a sordid political battle to promote particular sectarian interests.

The second myth is that most Muslims were offended by the novel. They weren’t. Until the fatwa, the campaign against The Satanic Verses was largely confined to the subcontinent and Britain. Aside from the involvement of Saudi Arabia, there was little enthusiasm for a campaign against the novel in the Arab world or in Turkey, or among Muslim communities in France or Germany. When Saudi Arabia tried at the end of 1988 to get the novel banned in Muslim countries few responded – not even Iran. It was that fatwa, imposed for political reasons, that transformed the controversy and the confrontation.

The biggest myth of the Rushdie affair is the belief that best way to prevent such confrontations is by restricting what people are able to say to or about each other. In the battle over The Satanic Verses, many intellectuals and politicians sympathized with Muslim anger, blaming Rushdie himself for his plight. ‘There is no law in life or nature’, the novelist John Le Carré insisted, ‘that that says great religions may be insulted with impunity’. ‘We have known in our own religion people doing things which are deeply offensive to some of us’, Margaret Thatcher observed. ‘And this is what has happened to Islam’. After riots in Islamabad, the American embassy there expressed its ‘wish to emphasize that the US government in no way associates itself with any activity that is any sense offensive or insulting to Islam or any other religion’. It became accepted in the post-Rushdie world that it is morally wrong to give offence to other cultures and that in a plural society speech must necessarily be less free.

These myths about the Rushdie affair have shaped responses to every similar conflict since. Every one is being reproduced in the current debate about Innocence of Muslims: the belief that violence is being driven by religious sensibilities, that all Muslims are incensed, and that Muslim anger is reason for new restrictions on free speech.

It is true that Innocence of Muslims is a risibly crude, bigoted diatribe against Islam. But the idea that this obscure film that barely anyone had seen till this month is the source of worldwide violence is equally risible. As in the Rushdie affair, what we are seeing is a political power struggle cloaked in religious garb. In Libya, Egypt and elsewhere, the crisis is being fostered by hardline Islamists in an attempt to gain the political initiative. In recent elections hardline Islamists lost out to more mainstream factions. Just as the Ayatollah Khomeini tried to use the fatwa to turn the tables on his opponents, so the hardliners are today trying to do the same by orchestrating the violence over Innocence of Muslims, tapping into the deep well of anti-Western sentiment that exists in many of these countries. The film is almost incidental to this.

The insurrections that have transformed much the Arab world over the past year have certainly created a new terrain. They have undermined old security structures, created a greater sense of social fragmentation, and opened up new spaces for Islamist politics. What has really changed, however, is that over the past decade political rage has become far more inchoate and increasingly shorn of political content. To be ‘anti-Western’ used to mean to take a political stand against Western policy. Now, it simply expresses an unformed sense of fury, leading to a random, frenzied outpouring of anger. The nihilistic character of anti-Western sentiment today means that it can attach itself to the most arbitrary of causes. Even an obscure YouTube video can seemingly launch worldwide protests.

While the hardline Islamists have managed to bring out thousands of people on to the streets in violent protest, there is little to suggest that the majority of Muslims, even in Egypt, Libya or Pakistan support them. Indeed, hardliners are only forced into organizing such demonstrations because of their lack of popular support. Those who do not support the Islamists do not take to the streets, so are generally ignored in the West. The reactionaries come to be seen as the true voice of Muslim communities. At the same time the perception that the violent mobs are representative of Muslim feeling has lent support to calls for offensive works such as The Innocence of Muslims to be made illegal and, in this case, for the film maker to be arrested.

At the height of the battle against The Satanic Verses Shabbir Akhtar, the Muslim philosopher who acted as a spokesman for the anti-Rushdie campaign, mocked the equivocations of Western liberals. ‘Vulnerability’, he wrote, ‘is never the best proof of strength’. The more you cave in to those who would censor, the more they wish to censor. And the more you seek to appease the hardliners, and view them as the ‘real’ Muslims, the more you marginalise progressive movements in the Muslim world. The myths enshrouding the Rushdie affair have ensured that the lessons we have drawn from the battle over The Satanic Verses are the very opposite of the ones we should have learnt.

Courtsey:  

How Praful Patel killed Air India!

In an unprecedented whistleblowing act, former Indian Airlines chief Sunil Arora wrote to the then cabinet secretary B K Chaturvedi in May 2005 complaining that he and the IA board were being pressured by then civil aviation minister Praful Patel and his OSD to take financially damaging and commercially unviable decisions.

In his May 28, 2005, letter, Arora listed the decisions on which the board was overruled: purchasing more jets than required, disallowing IA to fly on viable routes to make way for other operators and, even "changing the seating configuration" to favour a particular aircraft manufacturer.

Two Lok Sabha MPs, Prabodh Panda (CPI) and Nishikant Dubey (BJP) have now approached the CVC for a probe into Arora's allegations, saying the government has failed to act.

"I would like to place before you a series of events and certain directions given to me by my immediate superior officer and the minister of civil aviation which have a vital bearing on certain critical decisions being taken in Indian Airlines and Air India... I have been constrained to write in detail to be able to explain the nuances of the verbal directions, the infirmities in the subsequent decisions taken and my consequent sense of unease in the matter," Arora wrote.

He also expressed apprehension over the consequence of his action. "Sir, kindly pardon my impertinence but I implore you to share the contents of this communication only with the Prime Minister... I would not have taken the liberty of making such a suggestion but for the fact that like every mortal, I fear for my personal and family safety."

Complaining of pressure, Arora said, "During the last one year, almost all board meetings of Air India, and even some board meetings of Airports Authority of India have become a farce. Instructions on key agenda items are communicated before hand on telephone or personally by minister, civil aviation, or by his OSD K N Choubey. No suggestions to the effect, that the issue in question requires a more detailed examination or that there are some implications are countenanced. The key word is 'immediate and unquestioned compliance'." Some of the most glaring instances are cited:

"AI discussed their dry leasing plans in 99th board meeting held in Mumbai on 17.7.04. Prior to this meeting, minister spoke to me... said since he and secretary, civil aviation, were satisfied about the correctness of the plans, it is expected that we should immediately endorse it during the board meeting. When I tried to tell him on telephone that the agenda item raises some issues, I was curtly asked to endorse the proposal and a counter question was posed on the telephone that when the minister and the secretary himself are satisfied, what more is there for us to see?"

Arora further wrote that the minister forced him to seek flight slots for IA to the UK and the US during the winter schedule instead of the profitable summer schedule even as private airlines were allowed to fly to these destinations in the summer.

"There is a clear mismatch between the reply given before the members of Parliament and the real facts. On 18.01.05, I got a message to immediately speak to the minister on telephone at his Mumbai landline... There was a conversation which went on for 15 to 20 minutes and minister civil aviation clearly told us not to file for flights to London, for the summer schedule 2005. He started by saying that since Indian Airlines does not have wide-bodied aircraft, it would not be advisable for Indian Airlines to apply for the slots at this stage.

I politely remonstrated that none of the other airlines, which have been permitted to go abroad viz Jet and Sahara, had wide-bodied aircraft till that time and if they can be considered for flights to London, Indian Airlines being the national carrier, should at least be given equal footing, if not precedence. The response on the other side was that, Indian Airlines should apply for flights to London or for other UK and US destinations only from the winter schedule."

Source: ET

Sanjiv Bhatt's open letter to Narendra Modi

Dear Narendra Modi,

You must have been apprised about the punishment meted out to your loyal lieutenants Dr. Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi, as well as the misguided foot-soldiers of misconceived Hindutva, who have now been condemned to spend a life in prison. Was it perchance that you smartly distanced yourself from all these unfortunate people at an opportune moment? Have you spared a thought for the innocent family members of the accused who have been sentenced to a lifetime behind bars? It is believed that you were once a married man. At some point in your life, like all normal humans, you might have been touched by the magic of love, even thought of having children starting a family, perhaps! Have you even once thought about the plight of the wives and children of your onetime adulators who have been condemned for life?

Mr. Modi, have you ever looked at your actual image, stripped of the designer dresses that you are so enamored with? Have you ever looked at the reflection of the real face behind the mask? Have you ever introspected about your true-self concealed behind the meticulous imagery created by your media managers? Have you even once thought whether it is really worth it to sustain power, even if it requires sacrificing fellow human beings at the altar of expediency? Have you ever considered, even once, whether it is alright to facilitate or connive in the killing of another human being just because he does not conform to your beliefs? Is it really worthwhile to deceive your own self…. or, is it only a small price to pay for your political ambitions?

I hope and pray to God that you get the time, wisdom and opportunity to find honest and truthful answers to some of these questions during this lifetime.

God bless!

Sanjiv Bhatt

Is China better at capitalism than America?

Conventional wisdom holds that Uncle Sam's free-market model is the best in the world. But China's growing clout is causing economists to think twice

The 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union seemingly put to rest any doubts about the supremacy of America's capitalist system. Guided by the magic hand of the market, the U.S. had created more prosperity than any other country in history, while the Soviet system crumbled under the weight of its creaky, bureaucratic machine. But the subsequent rise of China, whose economy combines aspects of capitalism and central planning, has thrust the U.S. model under new scrutiny. While Uncle Sam continues to limp his way out of the Great Recession, China has hardly broken its stride. Is China's brand of capitalism simply better than America's?

Yes. China is winning the future: China is smoking us, says Zachary Karabell at The Daily Beast. Both the U.S. and China engage in a lot of government spending, but China puts its money into infrastructure, transportation, alternate energy, and housing, all of which "will yield long-term benefits for the Chinese economy." The U.S., on the other hand, spends on "consumption, safety nets, and the military," which comprise a shakier foundation for economic growth. The "sclerotic inability" of the U.S. government to "productively invest for the common future" is the reason why its "form of capitalism has ceased to fulfill hopes, dreams, and needs of far too many people."
"China's not the big trade cheat harming America's domestic economy"

Nonsense. China's system is a pale imitation of ours: It's fashionable to proclaim that China "is eating our lunch," says Ian Bremmer at Reuters, but it's all "baloney." Just look at the way Chinese manufacturers "copycat everything foreign, from cars to watches to iPhones to social networks." The Chinese system will never "foster the entrepreneurial spirit" that makes these innovations possible, because the drearily unimaginative state is the "majority owner" of the economy. China has been able to "shoehorn a crude version of a beautiful financial system into its state-controlled economy and get some good results." But it will never be able to replicate the breakthroughs that are the hallmarks of a true free-market system.
"Chinese capitalism is just another knockoff"

Either way, the U.S. can learn from China: At every turn, America sees "ideological hang-ups standing in the way of what everyone realizes must get done" in investment and education, says Michael Schuman at TIME. In that sense, we could learn a lot from China, which dispassionately puts "pragmatism and problem solving over ideology." That's the Chinese model America should adopt: "Dropping the political bickering and ideological grandstanding and doing whatever is necessary to create prosperity."