Saturday, December 25, 2010

The Muslim Black Box: Kaaba

For all aspiring readers: Note:
This is not an attempt to malign or make any religion feel inferior or obstructed.
This is only a finding and thought to see us all in one light….the light of unity and peace.




An inscription and a Greek account fix Muhammad's birth in 552, not 570. Muhammad's career took place not in Mecca but hundreds of kilometers to the north. Yehuda Nevo. The classical Arabic language was developed not in today's Saudi Arabia but in the Levant. 

Long before Islam came in to existence, Kaaba, in Mecca in Saudi Arabia was a pilgrimage site. The word Kaaba might have come from the Tamil Language which originated around 1700BC. In Tamil Nadu Kabaalishwaran temple is Lord Shiva’s temple and Kabaali refers to Lord Shiva. The black stone at Kaaba is held sacred and holy in Islam and is called "Hajre Aswad" from the Sanskrit word Sanghey Ashweta or Non-white stone. The Shiva Lingam is also called Sanghey Ashweta. So what is in Kaaba could be the same what Hindus worship. 

The pedestal Maqam-E-Ibrahim at the centre of the Kaaba is octagonal in shape. In Hinduism, the pedestal of Brahma the creator is also octagonal in shape. Muslim pilgrims visiting the Kaaba temple go around it seven times. In no other mosque does the circumambulation prevail. Hindus invariably circumambulate or Pradakshina, around their deities. This is yet another proof that the Kaaba shrine is a pre-Islamic. In Shiva temples Hindus always practice circumambulation or Pradakshina. Just as in Hinduism, the custom of circumambulation by muslim pilgrims around the entire Kaaba building seven times shows that the claim that in Islam they don’t worship stones is not true.

Allah was one of the deities in Kaaba long before Islam was founded. It might come as a stunning revelation to many that the word ‘ALLAH’ itself is Sanskrit. In Sanskrit language Allah, Akka and Amba are synonyms. They signify a goddess or mother. The term ‘ALLAH’ forms part of Sanskrit chants invoking goddess Durga, also known as Bhavani, Chandi and Mahishasurmardini. The Islamic word for God is., therefore, not an innovation but the ancient Sanskrit appellation retained and continued by Islam. Allah means mother or goddess and mother goddess.

The King Vikramaditya inscription was found on a gold dish hung inside the Kaaba shrine in Mecca, proving beyond doubt that the Arabian Peninsula formed a part of his Indian Empire. (Ref: page 315 of a volume known as ‘Sayar-ul-Okul’ treasured in the Makhtab-e-Sultania library in Istanbul, Turkey). King Vikrama’s preachers had succeeded in spreading the Vedic Hindu sacred scriptures in Arabia and Arabs were once followers of the Indian Vedic way of life. The annual fair known as OKAJ which used to be held every year around the Kaaba temple in Mecca and the present annual hajj of the Muslims to the Kaaba is of earlier pre-Islamic congregation. . Even to this day ancient Siva emblems can be seen. It is the Shankara (Siva) stone that Muslim pilgrims reverently touch and kiss in the Kaaba.

Muslims shave their head and beard and don special sacred attire that consists of two seamless sheets of white cloth. One is to be worn round the waist and the other over the shoulders. Both these rites are remnants of the old Vedic practice of entering Hindu temples clean and with holy seamless white sheets. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Kaaba has 360 idols. Traditional accounts mention that one of the deities among the 360 destroyed when the place was stormed was that of Saturn; another was of the Moon and yet another was one called Allah. That shows that in the Kaaba the Arabs worshipped the nine planets in pre-Islamic days. In India the practice of ‘Navagraha’ puja, that is worship of the nine planets, is still in vogue. Two of these nine are Saturn and Moon. In India the crescent moon is always painted across the forehead of the Siva symbol. Since that symbol was associated with the Siva emblem in Kaaba it came to be grafted on the flag of Islam.

The Hindu Vedic letter in Sanskrit "OM" if seen in a mirror one can see the Arabic numbers 786 and this is the most sacred number for Muslims and copies of the Arabic Koran have the mysterious figure 786 imprinted on them. In their ignorance simply they do not realize that this special number is nothing more than the holiest of Vedic symbols misread and none of the Arabic scholar has been able to determine how they chose 786 as the sacred for them. In short muslims are also going around Siva Lingam at Kaaba, seven times as Hindus go around it seven times.

A few miles away from Mecca are a big signboard which bars the entry of any non-Muslim into the area. This is a reminder of the days when the Kaaba was stormed and captured solely for the newly established faith of Islam. The object in barring entry of non-Muslims was obviously to prevent its recapture. Kaaba is clothed in a black shroud. This custom also originated from the days when it was thought necessary to discourage its recapture by camouflaging it. 

Another Hindu tradition associated with the Kaaba is that of the sacred stream Ganga (sacred waters of the Ganges river). According to the Hindu tradition Ganga is also inseparable from the Shiva emblem as the crescent moon. Wherever there is a Siva emblem, Ganga must co-exist. True to that association a sacred fount exists near the Kaaba. Its water is held sacred because it has been traditionally regarded as Ganga since pre-Islamic times (Zam-Zam water).

Monday, December 20, 2010

Facebook offers Rs 38 lakh package for IIT Madras students

Facebook offers Rs 38 lakh package for IIT Madras students -> Chennai, Dec 5 (PTI) : Social networking site Facebook has offered a package of Rs 38 lakh (USD 85,000) for IIT Madras students during the ongoing placement season, a top official of the institute said. Companies selecting prospective candidates from the country''s premier educational institute IIT Madras began on December 1.
However, Facebook leads the chart with a package of Rs 38 lakh, IIT Madras Advisor (Training and Placement) N Ramesh Babu said. "Every year, the selection process commences in December and this time too it began on December 1," he said.
Every year students eagerly await to participate in the campus selection and this year too more than 260 companies have registered so far, he said, adding, "But we expect it to cross 300 companies." Asked on the selection processes, he said the final round of interview would be done later.
"For example, Facebook after conducting all the rounds, will conduct another interview via Skype from the US and when a student gets selected he/she will be offered USD 85,000 package," Babu explained. He said around 1000 students from various streams including B Tech, MTech, MS, Doctoral programmes, MBA, have registered for placements this year and so far around 30 students have received offers from various multi-national companies including Goldman Sachs, IBM and Boston Consulting Group.
Last year the highest package was offered by Tower Research Capital at Rs 28 lakh per annum and about 225 companies had visited the institute for selecting 700 candidates. This time, while the leading package was offered by Facebook, an oil company has offered to pay a package of Rs 28 lakh, he added.

Facebook offer 70 Lakh job to an IIT student

Calcutta: In a new round of placement, the social networking giant Facebook has offered a package of 70-lakh per annum to a IIT-Kharagpur student. The offer which is a record in IIT Kharagpur's history, was made on the first day of placement to a student who gives his name as DKS, who does not want his full name to be revealed. He revealed that he has received a 'join-us' post from the website. He is to graduate from the school of computer science and engineering at IIT-Kharagpur in 2011. The offer is three times higher than last year's top offer from Barclays. This was made for an offshore placement, mostly in the U.S.Officials revealed that Facebook's offer letter includes a starting salary of $90,000, a relocation bonus of $10,000 and a one-time signing amount of $25,000, although many suggested that the entire offer translates to about Rs 1.7 crore.This high offer has created a buzz on the IIT campuses and the IIT students hope that this year's placement will be better than the previous two years which were affected by the global economic downturn. Interviews are being held in the IIT campuses across India. Facebook has already shortlisted 10 students from IIT-Madras. Close to 30 students were placed from IIT-B on Friday. Many companies like Transocean, Tower Research, Goldman Sachs, Bank of American, Deutsche Bank, Citibank and Capital One have made some important placements from the IIT campuses offering hefty pay packages.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Seven Big Indian Corruption Scandals

India has been rocked this year by a series of corruption scandals that have embarrassed the ruling Congress party, rattled markets and delayed reform bills as the opposition stalls parliament.The country, 87th in Transparency International's rankings based on perceived levels of corruption, is no stranger to scandals.


2010 -- LOAN BRIBERY CASE
The case broke after a year of investigation on Nov. 24 when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested eight people, accusing them of bribery for corporate loans.
The arrests included the chief executive of state-run mortgage lender LIC Housing Finance and senior officials at state-run Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of India.
While the size of the scandal is not yet known, local media have reported it could run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
The CBI is probing 21 companies involved in India's booming infrastructure sector for links, but has not named them.
The bribes were allegedly paid by private finance firm Money Matters Financial Services, which acted as a "mediator and facilitator" for the loan beneficiaries, the CBI said.
Companies whose officials have been arrested have all denied any wrongdoing. Individuals arrested have not yet commented.
Government officials, including ministers, have said this is a case of individual wrongdoing and not a widespread scam.
2010 - TELECOMS LICENCE ROW
Telecoms Minister Andimuthu Raja was sacked after a report by India's state auditor said his ministry sold licences and spectrum below market prices, depriving the government of up to $39 billion in revenues.
The scandal swept up as high as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had to explain to the Supreme Court why he sat on a request for permission to charge Raja with corruption.

In its report, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) also said rules were flouted when the licences were given in 2007-08 which led to many ineligible firms getting them.
The CBI has launched an investigation into alleged corruption at the ministry. Nobody has been charged yet and Raja has denied any wrongdoing.
The CAG said Unitech units got licences despite having inadequate capital, Swan Telecom got a licence even though there were monopoly issues and Reliance Communications got undue benefits as it sought permission to offer services under the more popular GSM technology.
Revenue authorities have questioned Nira Radia, a top lobbyist, as part of an investigation into whether money laundering and forex laws were broken when the licences were purchased. Radia has denied any wrongdoing and has said she is cooperating with the probe.
2010 - COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Allegations of corruption over the international sporting event that took place in Delhi in October are being investigated by several bodies including the anti-corruption watchdog, the state auditor, the CBI and a special committee set up by Prime Minister Singh.
The Congress-party led coalition government came under fierce criticism for mismanagement and ineptitude over the sporting extravaganza which cost up to $6 billion.
Allegations of corruption spanned a broad spectrum including issuing of contracts and purchase of equipment -- from treadmills to toilet rolls.
India's anti-corruption watchdog has identified more than 16 projects with possible irregularities.
The Congress party eventually sacked Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the organising committee, as secretary of the party's parliamentary wing.
Aides have been arrested and local media has said Kalmadi could be arrested once he returns back from a foreign trip.
2010 - HOUSING SCAM
Congress party politicians, bureaucrats and military officials have been accused of taking over land meant for building apartments for war widows. The CBI has begun investigating the case.
Local media say apartments with a value of $1.8 million were sold for as little as $130,000 each in the apartment block, which faces the Arabian Sea in one of the world's most expensive stretches of real estate in Mumbai.

The government has sacked the chief minister of western Maharashtra state, Ashok Chavan, who is a member of Congress.
The apartment block is also being investigated for several violations of norms, including environmental laws and land-use rules.
The government has now effectively taken back permissions allowing owners to occupy the apartments, which are required for water and power supplies, leading to the disconnection of these services.
2009 - SATYAM
The founder of Satyam Computer Services, one of India's top software firms, resigned in January 2009 after admitting profits were falsely inflated for years.
The fraud, estimated at $1 billion, was India's largest corporate scandal and was dubbed "India's Enron".
With clients abandoning it, shares were hammered down to near-penny-stock levels.
The government stepped in to save the firm by appointing a new board of directors and midwifed its sale to Tech Mahindra. The firm is now called Mahindra Satyam.
The founder chairman of Satyam, Ramalinga Raju, and other officials including the then chief executive officer and chief financial officer, were arrested under several charges including fraud. The cases continue in court. The defendants have said they were not involved in the fraud.
1992 - SECURITIES SCAM
Several Indian stockbrokers were accused of siphoning off over 35 billion rupees ($778 million) of funds, mostly from inter-bank transactions, to fuel a rise in the Mumbai stock market in 1992. It involved top officers of state-run and foreign banks and financial institutions, bureaucrats and politicians.
News of the scam led to an over 40 percent fall in shares over two months, wiping millions of dollars from market value.
Harshad Mehta, the main accused, died in 2002, convicted in only one of the many cases filed against him, for misappropriation of funds in a case involving the use of money from the bank account of carmaker Maruti Suzuki for trading in stocks.
Several bank executives were convicted for fraud in allowing bank funds to be used for trading stocks.
1986 - BOFORS GUN DEAL
India's purchase of artillery guns from Swedish firm Bofors in 1986 was rocked by allegations that 640 million rupees ($14.2 million) -- a huge sum then -- was paid as bribes to people close to then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to swing the deal.
The scandal caused an uproar in parliament, led to a split in the ruling Congress party and the defeat of Gandhi in federal elections in 1989.
Its fallout has stymied India's defence expansion, with officials for years unwilling to take decisions on purchases that could later be probed for corruption.
Amongst the people probed were the London-based Indian business family of the Hindujas, who were later acquitted by a court of any involvement.
The case has dragged on for years without any result.

Most Expensive Bharat Scams & Corruptions

1. Fraudulent CWG: The Commonwealth Games scam
  • Discrepancies in tenders and alleged misappropriation amounting to about Rs 8,000 crore.
  • Urban Development Ministry directed the Delhi Development Authority DDA to freeze the company’s Rs183 crores guarantee
2. Satyam’s corporate scandal:
  • Satyam Computers, the fourth largest IT Company of India with 53,000 employees was charged in manipulating the balance sheet by illegal means.
  • Satyam’s operating margin wasn’t the 24 percent as shown in its accounts audited byPricewaterhouseCoopers, but just 3 percent.
  • Satyam had nothing close to the reported 5,360 crore ($1.1 billion) cash pile on its balance sheet. The real amount was just a measly $78 million.
  • On January 9, 2009, Chairman Ramalinga Raju surrendered to the police and confessed for the 7,100 crore fraud case.
3. The Harshad Mehta scam:
  • Harshad and his associates triggered a securities scam diverting funds to the tune of Rs4000 crore (Rs 40 billion) from the banks to stockbrokers between April 1991 to May 1992.
  • A Special Court also sentenced Sudhir Mehta, Harshad Mehta’s brother, and six others, including four bank officials, to rigorous imprisonment (RI) ranging from 1 year to 10 years on the charge of duping State Bank of India to the tune of Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion)
4. The 950 Crores Fodder Scam:
  • Animal Husbandry Department of Government of Bihar in which irregularities of nearly Rs 950 crores (US $ 210 million) were detected.
  • The scam was unearthed in 1996 during the regime of chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, but it goes back to 1980s and is believed to have started during tenure of Jagannath Mishra Lalu had ordered probe into these massive irregularities in accounts by constituting a committee.
5. The great Capital Market fraud of 1990s: “
  • C.R Bhansali plundered and looted the trust and money of people which resulted in a loss of over Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion).
  • C R Bhansali first launched the finance company CRB Capital Markets, followed by CRB Mutual Fund and CRB Share Custodial Services.
  • CRB Capital Markets raised a whopping 176 crore in three years.
  • In 1994, CRB Mutual Funds raised 230 crore and 180 crore came via fixed deposits.
  • Bhansali also succeeded in raising about Rs 900 crore from the markets.
6. Bofors scam
7. Spectrum Raja
  • A chartered accountant he used to run a family business, NH Securities.
  • He targetted smaller exchanges like the Allahabad Stock Exchange and the Calcutta Stock Exchange, and bought shares in fictitious names.
  • His dealings revolved around shares of ten companies like Himachal Futuristic, Global Tele-Systems, SSI Ltd, DSQ Software, Zee Telefilms, Silverline, Pentamedia Graphics and Satyam Computer (K-10 scrips).
  • Ketan borrowed Rs 250 crore from Global Trust Bank to fuel his ambitions. Ketan alongwith his associates also managed to get Rs 1,000 crore from the Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank.
  • According to RBI regulations, a broker is allowed a loan of only Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million). There was evidence of price rigging in the scrips of Global Trust Bank, Zee Telefilms, HFCL, Lupin Laboratories, Aftek Infosys and Padmini Polymer.
9. Cobbler scam
  • Sohin Daya, son of a former Sheriff of Mumbai, was the main accused in the multi-crore shoes scam.
  • Daya of Dawood Shoes, Rafique Tejani of Metro Shoes, and Kishore Signapurkar of Milano Shoes were arrested for creating several leather co-operative societies which did not exist.
  • They availed loans of crores of rupees on behalf of these fictitious societies. The scam was exposed in 1995.
  • Officials of the Maharashtra State Finance Corporation, Citibank, Bank of Oman, Dena Bank, Development Credit Bank, Saraswat Co-operative Bank, and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait were also charge sheeted.
10. Dinesh Dalmia
  • Dinesh Dalmia was the managing director of DSQ Software Limited when the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested him for his involvement in a stocks scam of Rs 595 crore (Rs 5.95 billion).
  • Dalmia’s group included DSQ Holdings Ltd, Hulda Properties and Trades Ltd, and Powerflow Holding and Trading Pvt Ltd. Dalmia resorted to illegal ways to make money through the partly paid shares of DSQ Software Ltd, in the name of New Vision Investment Ltd, UK, and unallotted shares in the name of Dinesh Dalmia Technology Trust.
  • Investigation showed that 1.30 crore (13 million) shares of DSQ Software Ltd had not been listed on any stock exchange.
  • He paid for his own education at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya by selling fruits and vegetables on trains.
  • The fake stamp racket involving Abdul Karim Telgi was exposed in 2000.
  • The loss is estimated to be Rs 171.33 crore (Rs 1.71 billion), it was initially pegged to be Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 bilion).
  • Telgi’s networked spread across 13 states involving 176 offices, 1,000 employees and 123 bank accounts in 18 cities.
12. Virendra Rastogi
  • Virendra Rastogi chief executive of RBG Resources was charged with for deceiving banks worldwide of an estimated $1 billion.
  • He was also involved in the duty-drawback scam to the tune of Rs 43 crore (Rs 430 milion) in India.
  • The CBI said that five companies, whose directors were the four Rastogi brothers — Subash, Virender, Ravinde and Narinder — exported bicycle parts during 1995-96 to Russia and Hong Kong by heavily over invoicing the value of goods for claiming excess duty draw back from customs.
13. The UTI Scam
  • Former UTI chairman P S Subramanyam and two executive directors — M M Kapur and S K Basu — and a stockbroker Rakesh G Mehta, were arrested in connection with the ‘UTI scam’.
  • UTI had purchased 40,000 shares of Cyberspace between September 25, 2000, and September 25, 2000 for about Rs 3.33 crore (Rs 33.3 million) from Rakesh Mehta when there were no buyers for the scrip. The market price was around Rs 830.
  • The promoter of Cyberspace Infosys, Arvind Johari was arrested in connection with the case. The officals were paid Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) by Cyberspace to promote its shares.
  • He also received Rs 1.18 crore (Rs 11.8 million) from the company through a circuitous route for possible rigging the Cyberspace counter.
14. Uday Goyal :: Plantation firms’ scam
  • Since few firms in mid-90s were subject to no guidelines, the plantation companies during that time also got away with profit protrusions.
  • The plantation firms projected themselves as a part of IPO and assured massive returns.
  • The investors were lured and the companies accrued profits from fake campaigns of around Rs 8000 crores plus.
  • Uday Goyal, managing director of Arrow Global Agrotech Ltd, was yet another fraudster who cheated investors promising high returns through plantations.
  • Goyal conned investors to the tune of over Rs 210 crore (Rs 2.10 billion).
  • Over 43,300 persons had fallen into Goyal’s trap.
15. Sanjay Agarwal ::  Home Trade scam
  • Home Trade had created waves with celebrity endorsements.
  • He swindled Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) from more than 25 cooperative banks.
  • The government securities (gilt) scam of 2001 was exposed when the Reserve Bank of India checked the acounts of some cooperative banks following unusual activities in the gilt market.
  • the Public Provident Fund (PPF) was affected.
  • A sum of about Rs 92 crore (Rs 920 million) was missing from the Seamen’s Provident Fund.
  • Sanjay Agarwal, Ketan Sheth (a broker), Nandkishore Trivedi and Baluchan Rai (a Hong Kong-based Non-Resident Indian) were behind the Home Trade scam.
  • Initiated in 2000, Home trade invested rs 24 crore in promotional campaigns to attract investors.
  • The scam affected 8 co-operative banks that lost Rs.82 Crore in EPF scheme.

16. Telecom scam (Sukh Ram)
17. HDW Submarine
18. Bitumen scam
19. Tansi land deal
20. JMM Bribery Scandal
21. St Kitts case
22. Urea scam
23. Anantnag transport subsidy scam
24. 1971 Nagarwala scandal
25. Churhat lottery scam
26. Animal Husbandry Case (1990)
27. Kerala SNC Lavalin power scandal (1997)
28. Barak Missile Deal Scandal (2001)
29. Tehelka Scandal (2001)
30. Taj corridor case (2002-2003)
31. Nitish Katara Murder Case (2004)
32. Oil for food programme scam (Natwar Singh) (2005)
33. Jessica Lal case (2006)
34. Human Trafficking Scam involving Babubhai Katara
35. Gujarat Fake Encounter Controversy (2007)
36. Cash-for-vote scandal in the federal parliament (2008)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A summary of Obama's message to India

A summary of Obama's message to India

Barrack Obama took India by storm and captured the hearts of millions of Indians with his eloquent speeches. Here is a summary of things he said in India, about Indian and to Indians for your inspiration. Please share this with your friends and add to the text in comments what we have missed.



I bring the greetings and friendship of the world's oldest democracy - the USA, including nearly three million proud and patriotic Indian Americans.

You can't simply "visit" India but you have to "experience" it.

India is not simply emerging; India has already emerged.

Thanks to the hospitality that Indians have always been known.

India's treasured past-a civilization that has been shaping the world for thousands of years. 

Indians unlocked the intricacies of the human body and the vastness of our universe. 

It is no exaggeration to say that our information age is rooted in Indian innovations-including the number zero.

India not only opened our minds, she expanded our moral imagination.

I have always found inspiration in the life of Gandhiji and in his simple and profound lesson to be the change we seek in the world.

I am mindful that I might not be standing before you today, as President of the United States, had it not been for Gandhi and the message he shared with America and the world.

India - An ancient civilization of science and innovation. A fundamental faith in human progress.

This is the sturdy foundation upon which you have built ever since that stroke of midnight when the tricolor was raised over a free and independent India.

I have an extraordinary amount of respect for the rich, diverse civilization here.

In meeting with survivors (of Mumbai terror attacks), I saw first hand the resilience of Indians.

You (young Indians) are future leaders, future educators, entrepreneurs and future electors. More than half of all Indians are under 30 years old. It is a great statistic. Every single child holds promise of greatness.

How do you want to make the world a better place? This is your century to shape. There are powerful examples before you.

Believe that no matter who you are or where you come from, every person can fulfill their God-given potential, just as a Dalit like Dr. Ambedkar could lift himself up and pen the words of the Constitution that protects the rights of all Indians.

This is the story of India; it's the story of America - that despite their differences, people can see themselves in one another, and work together and succeed together as one proud nation.

Jai Hind!, and long live the partnership between India and the United States.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. The largest passenger airliner in the world.












Saturday, November 6, 2010

Funny Love Letter!!!

China, India, Brazil become ‘major players’ at IMF

China and India receives long-sought recognition Friday as global economic heavyweights as the International Monetary Fund(IMF) gave them and other emerging powers a significantly larger role in stabilizing the world economy.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced planned reforms to the fund’s voting power after a meeting of the organization’s board, declaring that no longer would emerging economies feel that they are ‘‘invited to the table, but minor players.’’

Brazil, China, India and Russia are now ‘‘major players,’’ Strauss-Kahn affirmed at a news conference. He calls on these nations to assume greater responsibility in guiding the global economy.

The board’s decision elevates China to No. 3 in voting power above traditional IMF powers such as Germany, Britain and France. A number of smaller European nations and oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia lost votes so that ‘‘new changes in the global economy will now be reflected in changes in the fund,’’ according to Strauss-Kahn.

Developing countries have long criticized the voting system of the IMF, which was established after World War II to stave off a reprise of the Great Depression. The United States and Japan maintain the two largest voting shares, but two European seats on the 24-member executive board will now be reserved for emerging economies.

The overhaul was called for when world powers met last year in Pittsburgh in an effort to revive global growth after the collapse of financial markets. The so-called Group of 20 nations will meet again next week in Seoul, South Korea.

Strauss-Kahn calls the changes the ‘‘most fundamental governance overhaul in the fund’s 65-year history, and the biggest ever shift of influence in favor of emerging markets and developing countries to recognize their growing role in the global economy.’’

The reform also encompasses the governing board’s membership, expanding its top tier from five to 10.

Currently, there are five countries that essentially make up this group in the IMF’s 24-member executive board as they are always represented: the U.S., Japan, Britain, France and Germany. The group will be expanded to 10 with the addition of China, India, Brazil, Italy and Russia.

The IMF’s full membership of 187 countries must also agree on the changes. Some countries may need legislative approval.

Poorer nations have attacked the IMF’s voting arrangement for giving too much weight to the United States and its allies in Europe, noting the traditional power-sharing arrangement that put a European at the head of the IMF and an American atop the World Bank, its sister institution.

China and others have long sought to challenge the U.S.-European understanding. Strauss-Kahn’s term runs until 2012, the same year presidential elections are scheduled in his native France. A Socialist candidate defeated in the primaries in 2007, he is widely tipped to run again.

IMF officials say the reform essentially resolves any problems it has with a ‘‘democratic deficit.’’

Emerging countries were recognized for the size of their economies and for their impressive growth figures. Their economies are expanding sometimes two to three times faster than the US, Japan and Europe. Their debt ratios are falling much quicker as well.

The reforms represent a shift of about 6 percent of the IMF’s share assessments from the traditional Western powers to developing nations.

Still, there have been critics of the proposed changes. Aid agency Oxfam has called the voting power shift insufficient and notes that the Philippines has less weight than Luxembourg despite having 200 times more people. Others have criticized the effort as an attempt to paste over the harsh consequences of IMF austerity policies in nations such as Ethiopia and Latvia.

Considering the impressive growth of emerging nations, Strauss-Kahn said he expected their power to increase again in 2014 when the IMF is scheduled to reassess voting rights.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Indian Rupee Symbol

Indian Rupee (INR) has got its own Symbol. To popularize the Rupee currency note, Govt. of India has picked up the design made by Shri D Udaya Kumar. The rupee symbol represents the Devangiri script’s (र) which in Roman represent R for Rupee. There are two parallel lines in the symbol one actually of Devangiri Script and another for representing it as a Tricolor National flag as explained by the Udaya Kumar. Udaya Kumar is assistant professor at IIT Guwahati.

Earlier, Govt. of India invited people in the open contest to send their symbol design to Finance Ministry. After considering all design below four designs were short listed by Ministry.


History books contain major distortions from Daily times (March 30, 2004)

History books contain major distortions: SDPI
By Waqar Gillani

LAHORE: Pakistani history textbooks contain major distortions that foster an “artificial identity and ideology” on the basis that Muslims and Hindus are enemies, the former righteous and the latter conniving, deceptive and cruel, says a report by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

According to a brief of the report - The Subtle Subversion-The State of Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan - compiled by AH Nayyar and Ahmed Salim, the Pakistan Studies, History, Civics and Urdu textbooks portray Hindus as backward and superstitious, burning their widows and wives. They portray Brahmins as inherently cruel, asserting their power over the weak, especially Muslims and Shuddras.

In Social Studies classes, students are taught that Islam brought peace, equality, and justice to the subcontinent and only through Islam could the sinister ways of Hindus be held in check. “In Pakistani textbooks ‘Hindu’ rarely appears in a sentence without the use of adjectives ‘conniving’ or ‘manipulative’,” says the report.

The report gives examples of certain books containing inaccuracies. In ‘Social Studies’ for class VIII (Punjab Textbook Board, Lahore), the account of the ‘Muslim World’ is not correct historically or geographically. “The child is quite likely to gather from the phrase ‘the Muslim world’ that a particular place in the world is called the Muslim world. The book has chapters titled ‘Mountains of the Muslim world’, ‘Seas of the Muslim world’ ... Muhammad-bin-Qasim is declared the first Pakistani citizen.”

Schoolbooks are “full of errors and false statements” about the struggle for independence and the Two Nation Theory, says the report. “The history in these books is claimed as an unpunctured and smooth fabric and presented in religious terms, ie, Hindus versus Muslims, and no economic, historical, social or political causes given. The Two Nation Theory is justified and all history of mutual co-existence denied. For example, all resistance in 1857 (War of Independence) is claimed for Muslims whereas the Hindus and Sikhs were also a part of it.”

The report says Civics textbooks carry on with many of the faults of social studies in that there is no coherent order of the contents. “The ideological content is immense and throughout, the Two Nation Theory is presented as the basis of Pakistan and the economic and political factors that led to the creation of Pakistan are ignored.”

The story of Partition is described with “self-serving half-truths”, says the report. “The authors of Mutala-i-Pakistan (class IX-X, NWFP Textbook Board, Peshawar) state that after the establishment of Pakistan ‘the Hindus and Sikhs created a day of doom for the Muslims in East Punjab’.”

The report points out that the Muslims were responsible for similar atrocities against Hindus and the Sikhs in West Punjab and Sindh. “Communal killing on a large scale took place in Rawalpindi in Feb-March 1947, termed as the rape of Rawalpindi. It was the work of Muslims, the Sikhs being victims. A more recent book repeats it in different words, again omitting the parallel atrocities committed by the Muslims of West Punjab and Sindh on Sikhs and Hindus.”

The report notes that the Objectives Resolution of 1949 is presented uncritically, “even though it took sovereignty away from the people and, quite contrary to (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah’s views, made a move toward a theocratic state; this should be taught critically and not as ‘the truth’.”

The report says there were major themes and ideas omitted from schoolbooks “since they did not fit the ideological straitjacket in which the young Pakistani mind was sought to be confined. Several authors have identified how the writing of history has been systematically distorted to foster an artificial identity and ideology. The entire focus of this effort is directed towards proving the historical differences, enmities and differences between Muslims and Hindus and the righteousness of the Muslims as opposed to the cunning, deceit and cruelty of Hindus.”

“In his brilliant study on the murder of history in Pakistani textbooks, KK Aziz has provided the reader with the major inaccuracies, distortions, exaggerations and slants to be found in each officially prepared and prescribed textbook and in a representative selection of private commercial publications which are in wide use as textbooks. In his thorough and fascinating post-mortem of 66 Pakistan Studies and History textbooks, he has compiled an extensive list of errors they contained. Rubina Saigol’s analysis of Pakistani educational policies and curriculum reveals the way in which the nation state’s ideologies are realised in actual textual practice. In her words, this led to an exploration of the translation of official policies into action at the level of text production. Mubarak Ali, AH Nayyar, Khurshid Hasnain, Pervez Hoodbhoy and Tariq Rahman have also looked upon the enforcement of distortion in History and Social Studies textbooks. For Tariq Rahman, history is mutilated in textbooks to construct a mind-set that serves the broader polities of state.”

The reports says Pakistani textbooks during the 1950s and 1960s contained detailed and at times appreciative accounts of the ancient Hindu history and culture. All books started with the ancient civilizations of Moenjodaro, Harappa and Taxila, narrated indigenous mythologies without bias and recounted the grandeur of the early Hindu and Budhist kingdoms. “Some of them were even occasionally critical of the Muslim heroes also.”

According to the SDPI, the process of “negative change” had started from day one. “As early as November 1947, the government held a conference of educationists to lay down guidelines for future educational policies ... even in the life of Jinnah, the resolution of the Pakistan Educational Conference recommended the adoption of Islamic ideology as the basis of education.”

The report states that textbooks during the Ayub era were balanced between traditionalists and modernists, but Yahya Khan’s educational policy was more receptive to Islamic interests.

“The curricula and textbooks of Bhutto’s new Pakistan emerged through the dismemberment of the state. Because the Two-Nation Theory came under attack, there was an over-emphasis on the Two-Nation Theory in the form of the Ideology of Pakistan and on finding the roots of the Pakistani nation in the neighbouring lands to the west, again based on religion. The Ideology of Pakistan was the focal point in the objectives of Bhutto’s Education Policy.

“Zia-ul-Haq started the process of Islamisation in full measure. The textbooks continued to lay even greater stress on the Islamic perspective of historical events. The new education policy was presented as a five-year programme. It listed nine national aims of education. The first four highlighted Zia’s political agenda of Islam. The phrase ‘Ideology of Pakistan’ was installed with vigour and all the textbooks were re-written to reassert the Islamic orientation of Pakistani nationalism according to Gen Zia’s Socio-political concepts.”

According to the report, one of the major problems with this method, “which relegates the anti-colonial experience as secondary to the communal question,” is that the Pakistani student never learns the meaning of his colonial past and its vestiges, “which continue to dominate his life even today in the form of an elite class of civil and military bureaucracy, landlords and comprador capitalists”.

The report concludes that the growth of intolerance, fundamentalism and extremism is strengthened by curricula and textbooks in public schools. The public school system has a “fundamental weakness in that critical thinking, analysis and difference of opinion is not allowed to be developed as a natural activity in learning”.

The report is part of the SDPI’s Civil Society Initiative in Curricula and Textbooks Reform project.

Source : http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-3-2004_pg7_16