Game on, but who should I follow?

The troubling thought that came to mind when Adarsh broke was, What if these very senior chaps are not an aberration ?

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Why is media so enthusiastic about CBI registering a case against Gen Thamburaj? For the info of my fiends this case was again unearthed by the army itself and held an internal inquiry and found few persons guilty allegedly conspiring with a builder Kalpataru over a select piece of Pune Cantonment defence land. One of the companies of the same builder is also under the CBI scanner for illegally obtaining prime defence land in Kandivili in Mumbai with the support of former minister of defence production Rao Inderjit Singh and former Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor. The CBI has already registered a preliminary inquiry into the Kandivili land deal last month and moving towards registering a proper case.
While it is impossible to isolate or insulate military personnel from increasingly money oriented Indian society, it is important that military ethos is maintained or professionalism will be hit hard in the services.And therefore, because of the strong ethos of this org and zero tolerance on corrupt activities it cleanse it’s org before being pointed by others. Media houses should restrict and report facts rather than sensationalizing it.

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As a aspiring officer in the indian armed forces this kind of news is really saddning. But I must agree and have come to terms with it as I have seen and observed how the greed and favourism have gotten inti army as my fellow candidates boastfully told me that they will be selected even if they perform badly in the ssb interviews because they are related to or knew ranked officers, and they did. The psychlogical eveluation now in ssb is completely ignored because it can establish who is lying and who is greedy or is more vunarable to being corrupt. The only thing stoping it at some level is because of
the written test else I would say only god can protect this nation.

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The honest and brave general should retire gracefully. Going to courts is an ill advised move. He will be remembered by a thankful nation.

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By and large the army is more honest than IAS or IPS Officers. It would do more harm than good the way suggested. civilian officers get promoted tp additional secretary og GOI minimum equivalent o Major General.
Their perks and priviledges are beyond your immagination. They control Police and CBI and thus no case comes up like now.
This wrought has taken place because Men in Uniform are not respected as done in UK or USA. There is no parity in Pay scales and Promotions between them 90% of commissioned officers go home below the Rank of Colonel.
First improve the Protocol, Set up a Separate Ministry for Veterans like in USA, Give OROP to all. You will see that there would be no case as being disclosed by Babu lobby to tarnish their image.
Alas! Manmohan singh has also done nothing for servicemen. If you future is dark what would you do? I am sure you will slip faster than VK SINGH et al.
Please do not blame services, blame yourself for having biased opinion.

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The blog is written with an unusual expectation, that an institution in the country will not reflect the situation in the country itself. This is most illogical and unrealistic. And if we are unrealistic, we shall never discover the remedy for the malaise. If spurious drugs can be sold without fear, putting lives in danger, if all transactions are determined and driven by the answer to the question, “What is there in it for me?”, what else can we expect? We cannot have the defence establishment insulated from this reality. Partition of the country took place on the basis of religion but it is well known that people from a neighbouring country freely enter India and engage in all kinds of activities, facilitated by the short sighted ambition of some to win elections, even the spectre of partition threatens us again. Wherever you look, you see the same disease: in government schools, teachers draw their salary but do not teach. In offices, the staff shall work even without breaking the rules only if there is an incentive. In this setting we want the army to be an island of sincerity and honesty! Some, like the writer, can nurture such ridiculous expectation and comment on how things should be as if that is not known! While we consider this the tragedy of India, many would see this as tremendous opportunity! This is how the sub continent has been for centuries, enslaved again and again through treachery and sabotage from within. The question that looms large is whether Indians are capable of governing themselves.

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Media should get a balanced perspective on any issues related to the military, especially cases of alleged corruption. For every bad hat there are a thousand dedicated, nationalist ones with impeccable integrity. Media is also grossly unfair and incorrect on commenting on morale of the military at the drop of a hat. By doing so, media does a dis-service not only to the last bastion in the country but the country itself. The Services are far too dedicated and resilient to be affected too much by erratic and remote incidents. Media only plays to the gallery for TRPs and sensationalise any report when it has a larger duty towards the nation and society. It also must guard against exploitation for segmented gains of the power centres.

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The army chief is fighting not for the country, but for one year extension to keep his position. The Gen Thamburaj is allegedly striving for a select piece of land in Pune. God save this country.

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Interesting article indeed. We have been treating Judiciary and Defense Forces as holy cows and pointing finger particularly against the Defense personnel was an act of unpatriotic sentiments. We are under the impression that all these officers and jawans do their duties with great hardship and sacrifice.Needless to say ‘ how true it is ‘. But we cannot also overlook the incentives, pay packet, pension and benefits provided to these people. An Officer leads a royal life with furnished quarters, club facilities, security and what not.He and his family enjoys concession in many respects with free medical facilities. Corruption has cheeped into the Defense establishments. Media and people should keep a strict vigil against some persons of these establishments and cut the elements before it turns out to be a demon .It is urgent.

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Two things that clearly emerge are that there is a lobby that would like to see vk singh retire earliest and second that MOD is also part of this lobby. As the article brings out this lobby is of corrupt like kapoor and others who are working with arms dealers and land mafias. Some of people in MOD are also on their payroll and hence the problem. The rot needs to be stemmed and efforts made by General Singh have been laudatory on this front. We must get after all the corrupt to cleanse the army and expose bad hats in MOD. All details available on age issue are clearly indicating deep malaise in MOD and machinations by two chiefs as also PMO. We should all pray that the supreme court gives a kick to all corrupt in army, MOD and PMO.

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The concept underlying NCTC is sound. It should be taken up for serious implementation when circumstances are more supportive. The state police forces have their limitations and are certainly not equipped to effectively counter a problem which has such a large external dimension.

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Even now if citizens of all states do not want Modi as PM then atleast create any person like Modi in every state as a CM who can work what modi has done for Gujarat.

There after Congress will never come to power like in Gujarat. There will no voting on base of cast or religion all are equals no one specials, no appeasment

Select Modi of your state and enjoy real democracy with development.

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The dilution is because of ‘Bureaucratic Control’ a la “Yes Minister”. Bold decisions, require political will which is conspicuous by its absence due to “coalition dharma”.

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It is ironic that with both the Def Minister and Army Chief being dead honest the latter has to retire this year. There is a need for the latter to stay and guide the ship through clean waters.
I am also surprised by the judgement of the Supreme Court agreeing to correctness of the Govt in taking the single record in the Army HQ (MS Branch) 1950 as correct when all other records in the same Army HQ has 1951. The judgement is faulty for the simple reason that the court should have gone into the primary issue of which is the correct date of birth. They could have ruled that the Gen VK Singh had no locus standii to get the benefit of the same having abrogated his right by agreeing to sign away his right.
We now have the prospect of getting the next Chief who seems to have a question mark against him. Will he root out corruption is a big question.
What a shame!!!

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“Untrustworthy police officer?” It seems to me that the police are doing quite a lot of heavy lifting these days fighting the enemies of the nation, with no thanks or reward from the great law abiding Indian public; while our great armed forces and their neta / babu masters acquire billions of dollars of hardware every other day and still seem to have no options to defend the nation’s honor when the Pakistani terrorists strike.

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Sure, our army and police should live by Gandhian standards while our industrialists and politicians indulge in the most obscene displays of wealth…..

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The current price of petrol includes hefty government taxes over and above the justifiable price. I live overseas (not an oil producing country) and the price is cheaper here only because the government does not charge as much tax on the essential commodity as the Indian government do. And we all know where those taxes go…..

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I think there are more fundamental questions to it. Why this steep increase when crude oil prices are dropping? Also, there is a huge dearth of transparency on how the prices are calculated. Pricing these commodities at their price in an overseas market does not make sense to me. We need to fix this first.

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This article is empty of meaning because it’s starting premise is wrong.

There is no such thing as an ”
unspoken compact with the government” which was not spoken out or written or voted upon by the people of this country.

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Good article! Thanks for being honest – so few even try to be honest about this. They care about spending a few rupees more, not the country.

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Another paid article? The protests are not justified? In the name of “flourishing business” or rather selling national resources to business houses in Bharat and abroad is to be justified at the expense of common man’s pocket and there should be no protest? What liberalization of farm sector? Can you do anything in the name just by covering things in fancy words like “liberalization”? Bringing in foreign companies like Wall Mart suppresses the local small retailers too. 30% tax on petrol! WHY?? Why so many taxes everywhere? Why so much suppression? Is this the reform all about? So Indians traveling abroad are not looted for bringing back jeans and camey soap?! Is that what you are justifying the huge unfair increase in petrol prices? Is that what you want to use in justification of 16 times increase in petrol prices along with gas and diesel? Ever thought of the tons of grain rotting in Govt. godowns? Ever thought of the poor farmers who grow these grains committing suicide in this country out of poverty while the big corporates buying them out throw lavish parties? Ever thought of the people sleeping on the street? Ever thought of the crappy pot filled roads? Ever thought of Govt.’s failure to provide proper electricity, water – the every very basic amenities to the people? Wow! What a shame that someone wrote this piece of article. How long can we continue to wear rosy colored glasses on our eyes and not see the truth in our society, but run after fake image? Who gives a damn to the GDP when you can’t provide basic emenities to the people even after 63 years of rule? Who gives a damn if your great reforms brings the value of rupee from 1$=1Rupee in 1957 to 1$=56 rupees?! Who gives a damn if you cannot get out corruption from society or from the system? What about big leaders doing multi-billion scams spend a couple of months in jail and go free? While the law system takes decades to solve cases.
The common man’s perspective and interests are side tracked, while the system caters to big businesses. It’s time we wake up and see the reality as well as face the truth. Face the truth and do something concrete to improve. Not just raise another price yet again ripping the poor off. Jai Hind.

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Petrol is taxed heavily to make up for the failure of government to collect direct taxes from the people. In this setup, the middle class (which is largely salaried) gets whammed twice by first paying taxes in form of salary TDS and then in form of petrol taxes. This policy of boosting the lagging IT returns through petrol taxes is what is wrong!

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A hillariously misleading article. Look at what this moron is saying that patrol is used by the rich. Has he seen the rich driving a Alto or Santro in India. Only these cars and the 2 wheelers run on patrol now a days. When patrol is only 10% of the overall subsidy bill all the attention of the govt and its paid scribes are on it only. We as the middle class does not mind paying the due price for patrol, but at 70+ rupees per litre it is loot that the govt is indulged in. How can HT allow such callous writing or are they gone to such extend to support every govt. action that desparados like this writer are having a field day not. The writing defies logic and the publication does it more.

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I believe if the govt. clean up the corruption, they can manage the economy better. The Petrol price hike does have ripple effect and affects the life of the common man, whether we like to acknowledge it or not. Govt. should also remove the subsidies they give on luxury items like Gold, Diamonds (last year 57K Crore exemptions were given on that). The protests are not because of the price hike, the protests are because of the mismanagement and complete mis-governance by the Central govt. – They are not able to get the black money (do not see the resolve in the govt even to try) from overseas banks, the tax payers money is siphoned off into the pockets of the corrupt who go scot free… Having said that, if the govt. has to reduce subsidies, they should also cut down on the taxes which amount to 50% of the cost of Petrol…. It is a good sign that the govt is not blinking in view of the protests, but they should stop the corruptions and scams which are ruining the country

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Quite a statement, but sadly this article seems politically motivated. The article lacks the depth and does not cover inflation or current or future government policies which affects middle class and poor alike.

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AM seems loke a child who does not understand economics and politics. The timing of the latest rise was only politcal. Why were the prices not raised when oil was $128 a barrel and now only $95 because at that time the sevarl elctions wer around the corner. Pleas AM do not thing that you or the govt can fool the public ALL TH TIME. Good governance is to build consensus before such actions.which this govt has completely forgotten. They think they can do whatever and whenever they like. Not in the 21st century. They are fully answerable to peole who have woken up. This govt did not even consult its allies on whose support they are in parliament. AM please grow up before justifying the autocratci actions

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Absolutely brilliant .. BUT I disagree with one of the assumptions ..

“Petrol is a fuel that is used only by the middle class and the rich. The only machines that use petrol to any great extent are:
* Cars
* Two-wheelers
* Portable generator sets
The poor don’t use any of these. The middle class and the rich do.”

Petrol/Diesel is majorly used for public transport and goods carrier .. and price hike even by a fraction directly/indirectly kills the poor if not the middle class or the rich.

Fantastic point of view though ………

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This guy is delusional…the indirect affect of price rise is more on poor & middle class….

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There are lakhs of electricians, plumbers, vegetable vendors… and many self employed youth are riding motorcycle, scooters and mopeds… are they rich?? Such hikes really damage their day to day survival.
Let us take an example of an electician who moves using a two wheeler. Does not have stable income.. earns anything between 100 to 500 per day.. depending upon the season and work available. Even if he earns 15000 per month, do you fit him into a middle class? When the man lives in a urban village like badli, munirka, kotla.. on rented house..
While the hike is inevitable, the scrupulous way it is done – that’s what makes every one angry. Why can’t they oil firms keep increasing/decreasing every fortnight – as mandated. The morons running the UPA govt will not let them do it – because – it suits them to hold the hike before major elections and it does not immediately hurt them when the price is raised when there is no immediate election.

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Vladimir Putin, Lal Bahadur
Shastri, Sir Sheshadri Iyer & Sir M Vishweshwarayya’s grand-sons Ravindra
& DK Ravi, VS Acharya & BS Yeddyurappa (Churches were attacked; BSY was
CM; VSA was HM), Rajat Gupta (made Indian companies globally competitive),
Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi (converted to Christianity but was the son of a
Parsee Iranian Shia Muslim), Homi Jehangir Bhabha (a relative of Pakistan
Founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah), Shah Rukh Khan (father is a Pakistani Muslim),
Indira Gandhi (husband was the Parsee-Speaking Iranian Shia Muslim Firoz
Jehangir Nawab Khan Ghandy; USA President Richard Nixon sent USA’s 7th Naval
Fleet , carrying atom bombs, against India during 1971 Bangladesh war but
India’s trusted friend Russia sent its own naval fleet to defend India &
told USA that any USA war against India is a USA war against USSR; the furious
& sadistic Richard Nixon ordered for the assassination of Indira Gandhi
& her sons with the help of Non-Aryan European Christian male & female
human bodies, GPS & REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE – NANO & BIO TECH SENSORS–NEURO
IMAGER –OR – BODY SCANNER – NEURO SCIENCE – NEURO PHYSIOLOGICAL – NEUTO PSYCHIATRIC – NEURO & BODY CLINICAL
TRIAL – NEURO PSYCHOLOGAL – BASED REMOTE BODY AREA NETWORKS (BAN), REMOTE MIND
READING NETWORKS & REMOTE MIND CONTROL NETWORKS, REMOTE EVERY BODY PART TOUCHING,
MASSAGING, ROMANCING, LENGTHENING, SHORTENING, MOLESTING & RAPING NETWORKS
& REMOTE 24-HOURS-A-DAY TALKING, SINGING, SOUND BLASTING & SLEEP
DEPRIVING NETWORKS) Rajesh Pilot (a PM prospect & a future rival),
Jithendra Prasad (contested against the Non-Aryan European Italian Roman
Catholic Christian Sonia Antonia Maino for President of Italian National
Congress), Madhav Rao Scindia (a PM prospect), LTTE Prabhakaran, his sons,
daughter & wife (make Sri Lankan Buddhists & Sri Lankan Hindu Tamils
fight & weaken each other), Raja Ram Mohan Roy (failed to convert him to
Christianity), Narendra Vivekananda Paramahamsa (attracted European Christian
females, including the sexually promiscuous Margaret Isabella, who gave him STD
disease), Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (tricked him into worshipping his traumatized
wife as Goddess Kali) & Mahatma Gandhi (made to eat meat & hear sheep’s
voices inside his brain; killed by the European Greek Christian Nathuram Godse,
whose European Greek ancestors came to India during Alexander’s invasion &
European Christian Crusade Wars against Jewish Rabbi Freedom Fighter Joshua
Jesus Christ’s Jewish Israel & Muhammad’s Arabia), Netaji Subhash Chandra
Bose (made to have sex with Non-Aryan European Christian God Adolph Hitler
worshipping European German Christian woman), Aurobindo Ghose (did not allow his
wife to join him in Pondicherry but he was coerced into having a live in relationship
with a twice-divorced, sexually promiscuous French woman) & Jawaharhal
Nehru (did not allow him to sleep until 3 am every day until he wrote to Mahatma
killer & Non-Aryan European Greek Christian Nathuram Godse’s Greek
Christian relative Edwina Mountbatten) were victims of the Non-Aryan European
Christian & USA Conspiracy to monitor, manipulate & control Asian
Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, Koreans & Nepalese. OM!

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