Will you join me in 10 10 campaign?

I am generally not very optimistic about campaign and summits but the Copenhagen's climate change meeting next months is something that I am looking forward to. I am ask to address the world leaders in the conference and I will make a strong pitch how India is doing its best in fighting against the climate change? How India, the government from local to regional to central level, never think about providing public transport at affordable price and millions of people from villages commute to town on highly inefficient jugadus (See picture below)?

I was kidding. There is nothing like this. I am not fortunate enough, if it is considered so, to address the world leaders. What I am excited about is that I have come to understand or I am convinced that these meetings and these leaders will not or cannot do anything other than having good champagne and nice sea food for dinner. They will give one or the other excuse for not pledging to reduce carbon emission in a realistic time frame. They will pledge to reduce 10 or 20% by 2050 by that time many of us will be dead or near to death. No one will remember this pledge and glaciers will continue to melt if any of them will be left by then. So it is hopeless to expect anything from these meetings.

If we want to make any real difference then we need to do something at personal level or technically speaking as economist prefers to say micro level. Ultimately to a large extent we, each or most of us, are responsible for the level carbon emission or global warming. China does not want to produce millions of plastic chairs and other things and fire crackers and cheap clothes if we are not going mad to buy them. We can not and it is not pragmatic to go and protest against a petrochemical factory in New Mexico or steel production plant in Shenzhen. We can do a little bit sitting at home and in our everyday life to save some energy and ultimately help in reducing carbon emission.

I am highlighting some, none of them is my original idea but reminding myself and my audiences, of them here. We can switch off the electric equipment while we are not using. I have started switching off my computer (rather than hibernating) and the router and modem as well. I am not sure how much energy it saves but definitely millions of us start doing this it will be significant to quote! Why not take your bag or not ask for a bag when we can manage without that. People go for to buy a quick lunch (sandwich or burger as American will call it and French fries or chips) and take a big plastic or paper bag and picks more than couple of tissue paper. Ask yourself do you really need those many even if they are free and Mc Donalds makes billions selling rubbish? you can come up with many more ideas. You and I will save some energy from now on. I am not sure if it will be 10% reduction of current consumption by the end of 2010 but lets target for that.

Amen.

Inside Lalgarh - Part 4 (final)

One of the best report by IBN live on Maoist affected or government ignored area Lalgarh



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Inside Lalgarh - Part 3

One of the best report by IBN live on Maoist affected or government ignored area Lalgarh



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Inside Lalgarh - Part 2

One of the best report by IBN live on Maoist affected or government ignored area Lalgarh



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Inside Lalgarh - Part 1

One of the best report by IBN live on Maoist affected or government ignored area Lalgarh


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Why does MNS want to stop non-Marathi coming to Maharastra?

Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena (MNS) has taken the cause of Marathi people. It is doing a good job, as all of us know, by beating common people from Bihar on streets to beating democratically elected SP leader Azmi in state Asseembly. It was not enough so it has taken even more serious things in its hands - they beat an IAF officer from Bihar. Why on earth this Mumbai (or if can be extended to Maharashtra) needs a Bihari IAF officer? Are there not enough Marathi IAF officers to defend Maharashtra? If the great son of Maharashtra Shivaji Maharaj can defend his motherland then why not current generation that goes to pubs on weekends and visit malls and enjoys materialist life can defend Mumbai itself. All the Non-Marathi IAF, RAPF, CRPF and CISF should be banned to enter Maharashtra. It is a welcome step for every Marathi that now MNS is trying to secure jobs in Indian railways and SBI. It has issued notices warnings to Indian railway board and SBI not to recruite non-Marathis for Maharastra posting. When Indian railway did not adhere to the MNS warning, MNS activist disrupt railway boards exam and had beaten the candidates.

All this sounds very good to the ear if you are Marathi and you feel that now the jobs will be secured to your kids and there will be prosperity in the state. Isn't it? And this might bring votes to fascist party like MNS but this is fundamentally wrong. None of the Marathi-pride supporters including MNS came to oppose the NSG commandos during Mumbai terrorist attacks. Did any one say that they did only Marathi commandos in Taj hotel? I doubt. Mumbai is rich and so it Pune. These cities have company head quarters and factories that generates lots of employment. How many of these companies will survive if these so called Marathi companies are not allowed to operate in Bihar (or now Jharkhand) and West Bengal? Every manufacturing company gets raw material (e.g. iron ore, coal, Aluminium etc) from other states. Can someone imagine TISCO in Mumbai with the mines in these so called BIMARU states? How long Tata Motors (now Tata Engineering) survive if it does not get almost free iron ore from Jamshedpur that happens to be in Jharkhand? If Bihari people who come to work in other states do not exist then who will travel? Marathi people do not travel that much anyway. Trains will be empty anyway, why railway will recruit Marathi people then?

Marathi pride might sound great but the greatness and the wealth in Mumbai does not come from Maharastra only. Directly as labourer or executives and indirectly by providing raw material other states are also contributing the development of Mumbai. People need to understand these basics and discard gunda parties like MNS and Shiv Sena. Of course it is difficult as these parties or should I call gangs have mussle power but people power will win over them if used properly and consistently to challenge them.