1243-A Daughter

(via Facebook/ Manoj Varghese)

1242-Songs of my life- "All I really need to know, I learnt from Bollywood"

Madhumita Gupta, Times Of India, ,31:07:2013

"Jinke apne ghar sheeshe ke hon,woh doosron par patthar nahin phenka karte" practical.
"Zindagi badi honi chahiye,lambi nahi" profound.
"Zindagi ek rangmanch hai,aur hum sab kathputliyan"- existential.
I got all these nuggets from Bollywood.

Actually,most of what i really need to know about how to live i learnt not in kindergarten but while sitting bolt upright in stuffy cinema halls smelling of cigarettes, paan and people in the pre-multiplex era.We didnt know about 'passive smoking' those days so we just wrinkled our noses and let things be.The 'first indirect lesson in tolerance' was learnt. However,if something bothered you beyond a point,'you hollered at the person.If he listened,it was a lesson in assertiveness;if not,in acceptance!'

From basic etiquette "Jab tak baithne ko na kaha jae,chup chaap khade raho" to 'being responsible becoming a coolie,if need be,to support your younger brothers education' films taught us what Moral Science failed to.Such was the impact of those moving scenes of a poor child sharing half a dry roti with a stray that my home has become the one-stop shop for food,rest and shelter for the neighbourhood mutts.
If these scenes left some cold,then they were seen sobbing into their handkerchiefs watching Amar,Akbar and Anthony mixing their blood in one bottle and irrigating the Ma.Medical accuracy be damned it was the thought that counted.Had it not been for 'Nirupa Royjis frail self carrying rocks or stitching in flickering diya light,would children have realised the place of Ma in their lives'

The lesson of "the eventual victory of good over evil" was of course hammered in every time we saw a Gabbar,a Prem Chopra or a Ranjeet beaten to pulp in the climax.They never played fair and consequently,ha,ha,the police arrested them in the last scene.The good prevailed and the underdog won.Even the greyish anti-hero had
either to die (preferably in his mothers or beloveds arms after a touching parting speech) or be seen coming out of the jail,this time grey only in hair but otherwise completely reformed.

Filmwallahs discovered the play way to make learning (not just Ek do teen) fun long before the education system.They subtly taught us that in films a n din life,whenever the going got tough,"songs and dances helped.From wooing a lady to placating a wronged one,from revoking lost memories to invoking gods,songs could do everything!" In films,on the one hand,many a nymphet succumbed to the charms of the hero when he belted out songs in Kishore Kumars soulful voice and on the other,these helped quite a few heroes sing their way out from the villains den with nothing else but a strategic mole or blond moustache hiding them from evil eyes.
In real life,can you imagine our big,fat weddings without Baharon phool barsao or Doli sajake rakhna From weddings to babies,school and college trips to catchy bhajans set to chart-busting tunes,songs have held sway in every part of our lives.With new research on the "therapeutic value of music",it now seems Bollywood songs may also save us a trip to the shrink.

From "inculcating core values and lending a helping hand when needed,films,off and on screen,have also led the way in teaching us the importance of following our dreams" much before lifestyle gurus of today started milking the idea dry.From Rosy of Guide to the 3 Idiots and Sid finally waking up,in reel life;and from the lanky nobody from Calcutta who became the iconic Big B to the number of directors,actors,actresses with no connections whatsoever storming the bastions,in the real one need we look further for inspiration to walk to our individual drummers
It is Bollywood which taught us that to be a blockbuster demands a mix of emotion,action,naach-gaana and drama."If aall izz not well at the end,there should be rebirth".And if it is,sequels follow.The show has to go on,come what may.
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1241-How number of states grew over the yrs to 29

Akshaya Mukul TNN
New Delhi: 
On April 1,1949,when the Nehru-Sardar Patel-Pattabhi Sitaramayya (JVP) Committee report was made public it endorsed what the earlier S K Dar Commission had said in December 1948.Arguing for reorganization of states,Dar said new states shouldn't be on linguistic basis.
 
The Congress decided in 1948 to re-examine formation of states and formed the JVP Committee.It opposed the linguistic basis,but said: If public sentiment is overwhelming,we as democrats have to submit to it. It said the times not ripe for creating more states,but added a case can be made for APs Telugu-speaking people.This fanned a movement among Telugu-speaking people of Madras state the highlight being Potti Sriramulus death after a 56-day fast on December 15,1952.AP was born on 1953.

The creation of AP opened the floodgates.Bowing to pressure,Nehru in 1953 formed the States Reorganization Commission (SRC). In September 1955,it recommended the abolition of A,B,C,D category states and said there should be 16 states and 3 UTs.It recommended formation of Hyderabad state.Bulk of its recommendations was accepted leading to the passage of State Reorganisation Act,1956,and creation of 14 states and five UTs.
 
In May 1956,Puducherry became a UT after the French handover.

In 1961,Goa was liberated.

Gujarat and Maharashtra were born in 1960.

The government capitulated to the Sikh homeland demand in Punjab.The status of Chandigarhif it would be the joint capital wasn't settled initially,later the two states agreed to share the city.
 
Nagaland was carved out of Assam in 1963.

In 1966 Meghalaya was carved out of the same state.

In 1971,Himachal,Manipur and Tripura were born.Also UTs of Sikkim and Arunachal were created.Sikkim became a full state in 1975.

The Jharkhand movement was brewing,so was the demand for separation of hill regions from UP.Tribal areas of MP wanted a separate identity.BJP created Jharkhand,Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh on November 1,2000.
 
It took another 13 years for Telangana to be born.

 

(Times Of india, 31:07:2013)

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1240-FINALLY,AP REACHES ITS T-JUNCTION

How The 29th State Will Be Formed

Bharti Jain | TNN New Delhi: 

With the CWC giving thumbs up to Telangana,the formal process for the creation of Indias 29th state will get under way in earnest.Estimated to take a bare minimum of 122 days once the resolution for creation of the new state is passed by the Andhra state legislature,the state reorganization proposal will have to be approved thrice by the Union Cabinet apart from being ratified by the state legislature and,finally,Parliament.
 
The first step would be a reference by the Union government to the state legislature to pass a resolution for formation of a separate state of Telangana.On the basis of this proposal,the Union home ministry will prepare a Cabinet note over the next seven days and submit it for approval.
 
A Cabinet meeting will take up this note and form a Group of Ministers (GoM) comprising the ministers of home affairs,finance,education,health,irrigation,power,environment and forest,railways,HRD,chemicals and fertilizers,food and consumer affairs and labour besides deputy chairman of Planning Commission to examine the economic issues linked to creation of the new state.This GoM is likely to submit its recommendations in a 30-day timeframe.
 
The Union home ministry will study the GoMs recomm e n d at i o n s over the next 15 days and a c c o rd i n g ly frame the Cabinet note,to be moved with draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Bill.
 
The note will request the Cabinet to approve the draft Bill,recommend to the President to refer the Bill to the state legislature,ask the finance ministry to appoint an expert panel to recommend measures for smooth transition in terms of financial management and viability of the reorganized states and seek setting up of a dedicated unit in the Planning Commission to manage economic and financial factors in the rest of Andhra.This unit will ensure multifaceted development of the region with the help of better financial management and adequate devolution of Central funds.The Cabinet approval for this is expected within seven days.
 
Over the next couple of days,the draft Bill through the home minister and the prime minister will be sent to the President,requesting him to refer it to the state legislature under Article 3 of the Constitution.The state legislature will have 30 days to consider the draft Bill and give its views,which will then be vetted by the law ministry over the next seven days.
 
The Cabinet note with the draft reorganization Bill vetted by the law ministry will be put up for approval and is expected to be cleared by the Cabinet in five days.
 
Once the draft organization Bill is approved by the Cabinet,a notice for its introduction in Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha will be given.This may take a couple of days.The consideration and passage of the Bill is expected over the next 15 days,followed by Presidential assent over the next two days.
 
Thus,the process of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to create a separate state of Telangana will be complete.

POWER SHIFT


WHAT STATEHOOD MEANS FOR TELANGANA

Control over Krishna and Godavari waters Catchment of 68% Krishna | 69% Godavari river But so far,Telangana got only 32% Krishna water.Agitators said should get 70% Prakasam Barrage,Nagarjuna Sagar,Srisailam draw away water to other AP regions Benefits of irrigation canals | 74% Coastal Andhra | 18% Telangana | 8% Rayalaseema 

45% of APs forest area in Telangana across five districts. 

Singareni collieries excavate coal for industry,power stations Power generated supplied to entire south India Region has limestone deposits,besides bauxite & mica Jobs For Region's People
 
Only 20% APs Govt employees were from Telangana,Population-wise,should have been 40%,more than 6 lakh.In reality,barely 3 lakh Less than 5% dept heads in AP govt were from Telangana.
 
Only 6 out of 12 AP CMs from Telangana 

As A State Telanganas per capita income,10th highest in country,notch above all-India average.
In absolute GDP terms,Telangana (without Hyd) above Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, Ukhand,HP,Goa.Among all states,at 15th place.

TELANGANA STATE,s

68% KRISHNA WATERS

45% OF ANDHRAS FOREST AREA

20% COUNTRY'S COAL DEPOSITS

50% AP REVENUES FROM HERE

 
WHAT IT MEANS FOR ANDHRA

In absolute GDP size,Andhra region third among states, 
Per capita income of Andhra 11th highest,above all-India average 
Rich in agriculture,owing to Godavari and Krishna deltas 
Within AP,coastal Andhra is superior economic entity Considered rice bowl Now loses control over rivers Krishna and Godavari 
Loses control over mineralrich Telangana region 
Has to develop new capital 
Loses Telangana revenue that was 50% of state revenues

 
WHAT IT MEANS FOR RAYALASEEMA

Srikrishna Panel called RAYALASEEMA, AP's most deprived/ backward region This,despite fact that five AP CMs from Rayalaseema,among them YSR,Chandrababu Naidu 

Compared to Telangana and Andhra,Rayalaseema worse off in industry.
Basically agrarian 
Flight of capital from Rayalaseema to Karnataka with Reddy community investing in real estate and industry in Karnataka 
Perception that Andhra region exploitative With Telangana carved out,possibility of Greater Rayalaseema statehood demand 

(Times Of India, 31:07:2013)
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1239-Telangana's Here

 

Its a political decision,but the economic challenges of carving out a separate state are huge. 

With the UPA coalition partners and the Congress Working Committee having endorsed Telangana,its creation within the Indian Union is now a reality.Though the demand for Telangana dates back half a century,statehood had remained elusive till the fading electoral fortunes of the UPA changed political equations and made the idea more politically acceptable.By forming Telangana the UPA hopes to tap consequent goodwill and win a few more seats in the general elections next year.But the decision also raises serious political and economic challenges.
 

Politically there can be a backlash from proponents of a united Andhra Pradesh,unleashing turmoil.Claims regarding the exclusive status of Hyderabad will remain a flashpoint for many years.But the most important political repercussions will be in other states where regional aspirants have laid new claims for statehood for Gorkhaland, Bodoland, Vidharbha,Poorvanchal, Vindhya Pradesh and so on.
 

On the economic front the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh can change the fortunes of a large state of 85 million people.One of the faster growing states in the country,Andhra Pradesh has successfully brought down poverty levels to 9.2%,which is less than half the national average.It has also emerged as one of the leading states in information technology, pharmaceuticals, health services and infrastructure.It is essential to ensure that a break-up would spur and not whittle down these achievements.
 

Smaller states are generally easier to administer,although this isn't a slam-dunk as the cases of Jharkhand or more recently Uttarakhand which caved in entirely to floods show.In certain cases larger states can mobilise more resources,as Andhra demonstrated by being the most successful among Indian states in tackling Maoism.

Whatever might be the long-term advantages of the division of Andhra, its clear that in the short term there will be many challenges.The additional funds for building social and physical infrastructure will burden the central government,adding to fiscal deficits which are already weighing down the economy.Business in coastal Andhra Pradesh will lose easy access to the large market in Hyderabad,while those in Telangana will be unable to easily access the large ports and tap the advantage of the huge gas reserves in Godavari basin.

The decision to create Telangana has been made on emotive and political grounds.But the devil lies in the details,which have been given short shrift.

(Times of India, 31:07:2013)

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