மொழி, தேர்வு மற்றும் கல்வி: CBSE-யின் புதிய மூன்று மொழிக் கொள்கை ஏன் மறுபரிசீலனை செய்யப்பட வேண்டும்?

2026–27 கல்வியாண்டு முதல் ஒன்பதாம் வகுப்பு மாணவர்களுக்கு கட்டாய மூன்று மொழிக் கல்வி அமைப்பை அமல்படுத்தும் மத்திய இடைக்கல்வி வாரியத்தின் (CBSE) சமீபத்திய முடிவு நாடு முழுவதும் பரவலான விவாதத்தை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது. இந்த திட்டம் தேசிய கல்விக் கொள்கை (NEP) 2020-ன் பல்மொழிக் கல்வி நோக்கத்தின் ஒரு பகுதியாக விளக்கப்பட்டாலும், அதன் திடீர் அமலாக்கமும் நடைமுறை அமைப்பும் மாணவர்கள், பெற்றோர், ஆசிரியர்கள் மற்றும் கல்வியாளர்களிடையே பல்வேறு அச்சங்களையும் கேள்விகளையும் எழுப்பியுள்ளது.

இந்த விவாதத்தின் மையத்தில் மொழிக் கல்வி மட்டுமல்ல; கல்வி சமத்துவம், மாணவர் தேர்வு உரிமை, கல்வி நிர்வாகத் தயார்நிலை மற்றும் இந்தியா போன்ற மொழி பல்வகைமிக்க நாட்டில் மொழி சமநிலை ஆகிய முக்கிய அம்சங்களும் உள்ளன.

இந்தியா இயல்பிலேயே பல்மொழி நாடாகும். கோடிக்கணக்கான மாணவர்கள் தங்கள் தாய்மொழியுடன் ஆங்கிலத்தையும், சமூக தொடர்புகள் மூலம் இன்னொரு பிராந்திய மொழியையும் கற்றுக்கொண்டு வளர்கின்றனர். எனவே பல்மொழிக் கல்வி இந்தியாவுக்கு புதிதல்ல. கொள்கை ரீதியாகப் பார்த்தால் பல மொழிகளை கற்பது அறிவாற்றல் வளர்ச்சி, தொடர்புத் திறன் மற்றும் பண்பாட்டு புரிதலை மேம்படுத்தும் என்பது ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்ட உண்மை.

ஆனால் தற்போது எழுந்துள்ள சர்ச்சை பல்மொழிக் கல்விக்கே எதிரானதல்ல. இந்தக் கொள்கை அமல்படுத்தப்படும் முறை, அதன் திடீர் காலஅட்டவணை, மற்றும் சில மொழிகளுக்கு மறைமுக முன்னுரிமை வழங்கப்படுகின்றது என்ற உணர்வே பெரும்பாலான எதிர்ப்புகளுக்குக் காரணமாக உள்ளது.

தொடக்கத்தில் CBSE, மூன்று மொழிக் கொள்கையை 2026–27 கல்வியாண்டில் ஆறாம் வகுப்பிலிருந்து படிப்படியாக அமல்படுத்தி பின்னர் மேல்நிலைக் கல்விவரை விரிவுபடுத்தப்படும் என்று அறிவித்திருந்தது. இந்த அணுகுமுறை நடைமுறை ரீதியாகவும் கல்வி ரீதியாகவும் நியாயமானதாகத் தோன்றியது. பள்ளிகளுக்கு ஆசிரியர்களை நியமிக்கவும், பாடத்திட்டத்தை தயாரிக்கவும், புத்தகங்களை உருவாக்கவும், மாணவர்களை படிப்படியாக புதிய அமைப்புக்கு ஏற்ப மாற்றவும் போதிய கால அவகாசம் கிடைத்திருக்கும்.

ஆனால் பின்னர் இந்த அமைப்பை நேரடியாக ஒன்பதாம் வகுப்பிலிருந்து 2026 ஜூலை மாதம் முதல் அமல்படுத்தும் முடிவு நிலைமையை முற்றிலும் மாற்றியது. ஏற்கனவே பழைய பாடத்திட்ட அடிப்படையில் கல்வித் திட்டங்களை அமைத்திருந்த மாணவர்களும் பெற்றோர்களும் திடீரென புதிய கல்வி அமைப்பை எதிர்கொள்ள வேண்டிய சூழ்நிலைக்குத் தள்ளப்பட்டனர்.

ஒன்பதாம் வகுப்பு என்பது சாதாரண கல்வி நிலை அல்ல. இது பத்தாம் வகுப்பு பொதுத்தேர்வுக்கான அடித்தளமாகும். இந்த நிலையில் திடீர் பாடத்திட்ட மாற்றங்கள் மாணவர்களிடையே மனஅழுத்தத்தையும் குழப்பத்தையும் உருவாக்குவது தவிர்க்க முடியாததாகும்.

இந்த புதிய அமைப்பில் அதிகமாக விவாதிக்கப்படும் விஷயங்களில் ஒன்று இந்தி மற்றும் சமஸ்கிருதத்திற்கு மறைமுக முன்னுரிமை வழங்கப்படுகின்றது என்ற அச்சமாகும்.

அதிகாரப்பூர்வமாக CBSE மற்றும் கொள்கை வடிவமைப்பாளர்கள் எந்த மொழியும் திணிக்கப்படவில்லை என்றும் மாணவர்களுக்கு தேர்வு சுதந்திரம் உள்ளது என்றும் கூறுகின்றனர். ஆனால் பல கல்வியாளர்கள் மற்றும் பெற்றோர்கள் நடைமுறை அமைப்பு சில மொழிகளுக்கு மாணவர்களை தள்ளிச் செலுத்தும் வகையில் அமைந்துள்ளதாகக் கூறுகின்றனர்.

குறிப்பாக வெளிநாட்டு மொழிகள் — பிரெஞ்சு, ஜெர்மன், ஜப்பானியம், அரபு, ஸ்பானிஷ் போன்றவை — இனி மூன்று மொழிக் கட்டமைப்பில் சமமான இடத்தைப் பெறுமா என்ற கேள்வி எழுந்துள்ளது. பல ஆண்டுகளாக இந்த மொழிகளைப் பயின்று வந்த மாணவர்களிடையே இது பெரும் அச்சத்தை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது.

நகர்ப்புற CBSE பள்ளிகளில் பல ஆண்டுகளாக வெளிநாட்டு மொழிகள் வெறும் விருப்பப் பாடங்களாக அல்லாமல், உலகளாவிய கல்வி மற்றும் வேலை வாய்ப்புகளுக்கான முக்கியமான கல்விப் பாதைகளாக கருதப்பட்டன. மாணவர்கள் பல ஆண்டுகள் நேரத்தையும் முயற்சியையும் செலவழித்து இந்த மொழிகளில் தேர்ச்சி பெற்றுள்ளனர்.

ஆனால் புதிய அமைப்பு இந்த வெளிநாட்டு மொழிப் பாதைகளை ஒதுக்கி வைத்து, நடைமுறையில் இந்தி மற்றும் சமஸ்கிருதத்தை முன்னிலைப்படுத்துகிறது என்ற உணர்வு உருவாகியுள்ளது. காரணம், பெரும்பாலான பள்ளிகளில் அந்த மொழிகளுக்கான ஆசிரியர்கள் மற்றும் நிர்வாக வசதிகள் ஏற்கனவே இருப்பதுதான்.

இந்த விவாதம் தமிழ்நாட்டில் மிகவும் உணர்ச்சிவசப்படக்கூடியதாக மாறுகிறது.

தமிழ்நாடு பல தசாப்தங்களாக தமிழ் மற்றும் ஆங்கிலத்தை மையமாகக் கொண்ட இருமொழிக் கல்வி அமைப்பைப் பின்பற்றி வருகிறது. இந்தி திணிப்பு குறித்த வரலாற்றுப் போராட்டங்கள் மாநிலத்தின் அரசியல் மற்றும் சமூக நினைவகத்தில் இன்னும் ஆழமாக உள்ளன. எனவே மத்திய அளவில் மொழிக் கட்டமைப்பில் மாற்றம் கொண்டு வரப்படும் போது அது வெறும் கல்விக் கொள்கையாக அல்லாமல், பண்பாட்டு மற்றும் மாநில உரிமை தொடர்பான விவாதமாகவும் மாறுகிறது.

ஆனால் இன்றைய எதிர்ப்பு முழுமையாக அரசியல் சார்ந்ததல்ல. பல பெற்றோர்களும் கல்வியாளர்களும் “மாணவர்களுக்கு உண்மையான தேர்வு உரிமை உள்ளதா?” என்ற கேள்வியையே எழுப்புகின்றனர்.

கொள்கை காகிதத்தில் நெகிழ்வுத்தன்மையை வழங்குகிறது. ஆனால் நடைமுறையில் நிலைமை வேறுபடலாம்.

பள்ளிகள் இயல்பாகவே ஆசிரியர்கள், பாடப்புத்தகங்கள் மற்றும் தேர்வு அமைப்புகள் எளிதாகக் கிடைக்கும் மொழிகளைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்க விரும்பும். பல CBSE பள்ளிகளில் இது நடைமுறையில் இந்தி மற்றும் சமஸ்கிருதத்திற்கே முன்னுரிமை கிடைக்கும் சூழ்நிலையை உருவாக்குகிறது. இதனால் “தேர்வு சுதந்திரம்” என்ற கருத்து நடைமுறையில் குறுகியதாக மாறும் அபாயம் உள்ளது.

இந்தக் கொள்கை முழுமையான கல்வித் தயார்நிலையின்றி அமல்படுத்தப்படுவதால் அச்சங்கள் மேலும் அதிகரிக்கின்றன.

பல பள்ளிகள் தகுதியான மொழி ஆசிரியர்கள் பற்றாக்குறை, இறுதி செய்யப்பட்ட பாடத்திட்டமின்மை மற்றும் புத்தகங்கள் இல்லாமை போன்ற சிக்கல்களை ஏற்கனவே சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளன. முந்தைய ஆண்டுகளில் NCERT புத்தகங்கள் வெளியீட்டில் ஏற்பட்ட தாமதங்களையும் நினைவுகூரும் பெற்றோர்கள், மொழிப் பாடங்களிலும் இதே பிரச்சினை உருவாகுமோ என்று அச்சப்படுகின்றனர்.

சில இடங்களில், புதிய பாடப்புத்தகங்கள் தயாராகும் வரை கீழ்நிலை வகுப்பு புத்தகங்களை மாணவர்கள் பயன்படுத்த வேண்டிய சூழ்நிலை இருக்கலாம் என்ற தகவல்கள் பெற்றோர்களின் கவலையை மேலும் அதிகரித்துள்ளன.

இது ஒரு முக்கியமான கேள்வியை எழுப்புகிறது: அடிப்படை கல்வி கட்டமைப்பே தயாராக இல்லாத நிலையில், கோடிக்கணக்கான மாணவர்களை பாதிக்கும் அளவிலான கல்வி மாற்றங்கள் அமல்படுத்தப்பட வேண்டுமா?

கல்வி சீர்திருத்தங்கள் வெறும் அறிவிப்புகளால் வெற்றியடையாது. அதற்கு திட்டமிடல், ஆசிரியர் பயிற்சி, பாடப்புத்தகங்கள், கட்டமைப்பு வசதிகள் மற்றும் படிப்படியான மாற்று நடைமுறைகள் அவசியம்.

அதிலும் முக்கியமாக மாணவர்களின் நம்பிக்கை அவசியம்.

இன்று பல மாணவர்கள் அதற்கு மாறான உணர்வில் உள்ளனர். பொதுத்தேர்வு தயாரிப்பு, போட்டித் தேர்வுகள், பயிற்சி வகுப்புகள், திட்டப்பணிகள் ஆகியவற்றால் ஏற்கனவே அழுத்தத்தில் இருக்கும் மாணவர்களுக்கு கூடுதல் கட்டாய மொழிப் பாடம் மேலும் சுமையை ஏற்படுத்துகிறது.

பல ஆண்டுகள் வெளிநாட்டு மொழிகளை கற்ற மாணவர்களுக்கு, தாங்கள் செலவிட்ட உழைப்பும் கல்வி முதலீடும் இனி மதிப்பற்றதாக மாறுமோ என்ற அச்சமும் உள்ளது.

இந்த விவாதம் இந்திய மொழிகளுக்கு எதிரானதல்ல. பல மாணவர்கள் தங்கள் தாய்மொழி, ஆங்கிலம் மற்றும் பிற இந்திய மொழிகளை ஆர்வத்துடன் கற்றுக்கொள்கிறார்கள். ஆனால் கல்விக் கொள்கை மாணவர்களின் கல்வி தொடர்ச்சியையும் தேர்வு சுதந்திரத்தையும் பாதுகாக்க வேண்டுமே தவிர, நடுப்பாதியில் கல்வி அமைப்பை திடீரென மாற்றக் கூடாது என்பதே முக்கியமான வாதமாக உள்ளது.

இந்தியாவின் வலிமை அதன் மொழிப் பல்வகைமையில்தான் உள்ளது. எனவே கல்விக் கொள்கைகளும் மாநிலங்களின் மொழி மற்றும் கல்வி மரபுகளுக்கு மரியாதை அளிக்கும் வகையில் இருக்க வேண்டும்.

மாணவர்கள், பெற்றோர், ஆசிரியர்கள் மற்றும் மாநில அரசுகள் ஆகியோர் கல்வி அமைப்பின் பங்காளிகள்; அவர்கள் வெறும் கொள்கை பெறுநர்கள் அல்ல.

பல்மொழிக் கல்வியை முழுமையாக நிராகரிக்க வேண்டிய அவசியமில்லை. ஆனால் அதன் அமலாக்கம் மெதுவாகவும், திட்டமிட்டும், மாணவர்களின் நலனை மையமாகக் கொண்டும் இருக்க வேண்டும்.

ஆறாம் வகுப்பிலிருந்து படிப்படியாக அமல்படுத்தும் ஆரம்பத் திட்டமே தொடர்ந்து பின்பற்றப்பட்டிருந்தால், பள்ளிகளுக்கும் மாணவர்களுக்கும் இயல்பான மாற்றத்திற்கான நேரம் கிடைத்திருக்கும்.

மொழிக் கல்வி வாய்ப்புகளை விரிவுபடுத்த வேண்டுமே தவிர, மாணவர்களின் மனஅழுத்தத்தை அதிகரிக்கக் கூடாது.

இன்றைய சர்ச்சை கல்வி குறித்த ஒரு பெரிய உண்மையை நமக்கு நினைவூட்டுகிறது: நல்ல நோக்கத்துடன் உருவாக்கப்படும் கொள்கைகள்கூட, போதிய தயாரிப்பின்றி அமல்படுத்தப்பட்டால் மாணவர்களுக்கு சிரமத்தை ஏற்படுத்தும்.

இந்தியா பல்மொழி நாட்டாகத் தொடர்ந்து வளர வேண்டும். ஆனால் அந்த பல்மொழித்தன்மை ஆர்வம், சமநிலை, தேர்வு சுதந்திரம் மற்றும் கல்வி ஆதரவு ஆகியவற்றின் மூலம் வளர வேண்டும்; கட்டாய உணர்வு அல்லது மறைமுக அழுத்தத்தின் மூலம் அல்ல.

ஏனெனில் வகுப்பறைகள் நிர்வாக சோதனை கூடங்கள் அல்ல.

அவை குழந்தைகள் தங்கள் எதிர்காலத்தையும் அடையாளத்தையும் உருவாக்கும் இடங்கள்.

Language, Choice, and the Classroom: Why CBSE’s New Three-Language Rollout Needs Rethinking

The Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) recent move to introduce compulsory implementation of a three-language framework for Class IX students from the 2026–27 academic session has sparked widespread debate across India. While the policy has officially been presented as part of the multilingual vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, its abrupt implementation and structural implications have raised serious concerns among students, parents, teachers, and educationists.

At the centre of the debate is not merely the question of language learning, but the larger issue of academic fairness, educational preparedness, student choice, and linguistic balance in a culturally diverse country like India.

India has always been a multilingual nation. Millions of students naturally grow up speaking their mother tongue at home, learning English in school, and often understanding another regional language through social interaction. Multilingualism is therefore not new to India. In principle, the idea of encouraging students to learn multiple languages is educationally beneficial. It can enhance cognitive development, communication skills, and cultural understanding.

However, the current controversy surrounding CBSE’s implementation is not about opposing multilingual education itself. The concern arises from the manner in which the policy is being introduced, the timing of its implementation, and the perception that the framework indirectly privileges certain languages over others while limiting genuine student choice.

Initially, CBSE had indicated that implementation of the three-language framework would occur gradually beginning from Class VI in the academic year 2026–27 and progressively extend to higher classes over several years. This phased approach appeared practical and academically reasonable. Schools would have had sufficient time to recruit teachers, prepare infrastructure, develop curriculum materials, and allow students to gradually adapt.

But the subsequent decision to implement the framework from Class IX beginning July 2026 dramatically changed the situation. Students and parents who had planned their academic pathways under the earlier structure suddenly found themselves facing a major curriculum change at a crucial stage of secondary education.

Class IX is not simply another school year. It is the foundation for secondary board examinations and often determines the academic rhythm that students follow for the next several years. Introducing abrupt curricular changes at this stage inevitably creates anxiety and confusion.

One of the most debated aspects of the new framework is the growing concern regarding indirect Hindi and Sanskrit preference within the implementation structure.

Officially, CBSE and policymakers maintain that no language is being imposed and that students retain flexibility in language selection. However, many educationists and parents argue that the practical structure of the framework creates indirect pressure toward specific Indian language combinations.

The concern deepened after discussions surrounding the categorisation of languages under the revised framework suggested that while foreign languages may continue to exist, they may no longer enjoy equal status within the core three-language structure. This has created apprehension among students who have spent years studying foreign languages such as French, German, Japanese, Arabic, or Spanish under the earlier curriculum system.

For years, many CBSE schools across urban India encouraged students to pursue foreign languages not merely as optional subjects but as academically meaningful language pathways connected to global education, higher studies, and international careers. Students invested substantial time and effort in developing proficiency in these languages over multiple academic years.

Now, many parents fear that the revised structure indirectly sidelines such language pathways while prioritising Indian-language combinations that often practically narrow down to Hindi and Sanskrit in many institutions due to teacher availability and administrative convenience.

This is where the debate becomes particularly sensitive in states like Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu has historically followed a two-language educational formula centred around Tamil and English. The state’s educational and political history contains decades of strong opposition to perceived linguistic centralisation and compulsory Hindi imposition. As a result, any centrally driven language restructuring immediately acquires broader political and cultural significance.

Yet, the present concern extends beyond political ideology. Even many parents who are not politically opposed to multilingual learning are questioning whether students are truly being given meaningful choice.

In theory, the policy promotes flexibility. In practice, implementation realities may produce something very different.

Schools naturally prefer language combinations for which teachers, textbooks, and examination systems are readily available. In many CBSE schools, this often translates into prioritisation of Hindi and Sanskrit due to existing infrastructure and administrative convenience. Students theoretically “free to choose” may therefore find themselves practically restricted by what schools can realistically offer.

The result is a growing perception that while the policy avoids explicitly mandating Hindi or Sanskrit, the operational structure indirectly nudges students toward those options.

Such perceptions become even stronger when implementation begins before adequate institutional preparedness exists.

Several schools have already indicated difficulties regarding availability of trained language teachers, finalized curriculum material, and textbooks. Parents and educators are also concerned about the possibility of delays in publication of revised educational materials, especially given recent experiences involving delayed release of revised NCERT textbooks in other subjects.

Reports that students may temporarily rely on lower-grade language materials while revised curriculum resources are being developed have further increased anxiety among parents.

This raises a serious question about educational governance itself: should large-scale curriculum reforms affecting lakhs of students be implemented before foundational academic infrastructure is fully prepared?

Educational reforms cannot succeed merely through policy announcements. Successful implementation requires preparation, consultation, transition planning, teacher training, textbook development, and institutional readiness.

Most importantly, it requires student confidence.

At present, many students feel the opposite. For students already balancing board preparation, competitive examinations, projects, coaching classes, and extracurricular expectations, sudden addition of another compulsory language requirement at the secondary level feels overwhelming.

The burden is especially significant for students who have already spent years mastering a foreign language and now face uncertainty regarding whether their prior educational investment will retain meaningful academic value under the revised framework.

This concern is not about resisting Indian languages. Many students willingly learn multiple Indian languages alongside English and their mother tongue. The issue instead is whether educational policy should preserve continuity and genuine flexibility rather than abruptly altering pathways midway through secondary education.

There is also a larger constitutional and federal dimension to the issue.

India’s strength lies in its linguistic diversity. Educational policy in such a country must be sensitive not only to national objectives but also to regional educational traditions and cultural realities. A language framework that appears administratively neutral at the national level may still produce unequal practical effects across different states.

Policies implemented without sufficient consultation often generate resistance not because people oppose the objective itself, but because they feel excluded from the process.

This is why educational reforms require gradual implementation and broad stakeholder participation.

Students, parents, schools, teachers, and state governments are not merely passive recipients of educational policy; they are active participants in the educational ecosystem. Abrupt top-down implementation without adequate transition safeguards undermines trust and creates unnecessary friction.

The solution does not necessarily require abandoning multilingual education. Instead, policymakers could revisit the pace and structure of implementation.

A genuinely phased rollout beginning from lower classes, as originally proposed, would allow students to adapt naturally over time. Schools would gain time to recruit faculty and build infrastructure. Curriculum developers would have sufficient opportunity to prepare quality educational resources. Students already studying foreign languages could continue their academic pathways without disruption.

Most importantly, the policy would then function as educational reform rather than educational shock.

Language learning should expand opportunity, not increase anxiety.

The present controversy surrounding CBSE’s three-language rollout ultimately reflects a larger truth about education itself: even well-intentioned reforms can create hardship when implemented without adequate preparation, clarity, and sensitivity to ground realities.

India unquestionably benefits from multilingualism. But multilingualism flourishes best when driven by curiosity, inclusion, flexibility, and academic support — not by sudden compulsion or structural pressure.

Educational policy must therefore strike a careful balance between national vision and student well-being.

Because in the end, classrooms are not administrative laboratories.

They are spaces where children build confidence, identity, and their future.

India at Paris 2024 - What to look forward to on Day 4 30-July-2024

Archery - India lost to Turkiye in quarters. 

Hockey  Indian men drew 1-1 with Argentina

Badminton - Satwik and Chirag had a walk over as  Germany's Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel withdrew. Lakshya defeated  Belgium's Julien Carreggi in straight games and Ashwini & Christina lost to Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chihara Shida in straight games

Shooting - Air Pistol mixed team  Manu Bhaker & Sarabjot Singh finished 3rd and will play for Bronze medaland Rhythm Sangwan & Arjun Cheema finished 10th

1pm - mens trap. Prithviraj Thondaiman is currently last end of day 1

1pm : Ramita finished 7th in 10m Air Rifle finals... At one point she was as high as 2nd

3:30 pm - Arjun Babuta finished 4th 10m Air Rifle event in finals. He was in medal contention for long before losing out

Table Tennis - Manika Batra defeated Prithika Pavade of France in the round of 32 in straight games 

Overall not a great day

Day 4 30-Jul

Archery : Ankita and Bhajan Kaur will be in action from 5:15 pm in their round of 64. Dhiraj will be in action at 10:45 pm in his round of 64 match. In case they win that match they will proceed to the next round which will be immediately after the round of 64 match

Hockey 4:45 pm Indian men will take on Ireland

Equestrian : Anush Agarwala will be in action the Dressage day 1 event at 2:30 pm

Rowing : Balraj Panwar will be in action at 2:10pm in the quarters of men's single sculls

Badminton - Satwik and Chirag will face Indonesia's Alfian and Ardianto at 5:30 pm and Ashwini & Christina will face Australia's Mapasa  and Yu at 6:20pm

Boxing : Amit Panghal will be in action against Zambias Patrick Chinyemba at 7:16pm. Jasmine will take on Philippines' Nesthy Peticio at 9:24 pm. Preethi will take on Colombia's Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda at 1:22 am.  

Shooting - We have the Air Pistol mixed team bronze medal match at at 1pm - Manu Bhaker & Sarabjot Singh 

12:30pm - Day 2 of mens trap. Prithviraj Thondaiman will be in action

12:30pm - Day 1 of womens trap. Shreyasi Singh and Rajeshwari Kumari will be in action

Medal possibilities - Shooting pistol mixed team bronze 

India at Paris 2024 - What to look forward to on Day 3 29-July-2024

Archery - Women's team lost to Netherlands 6-0. Except Ankita Bhagat rest two were not firing well.

Badminton - Sindhu won in straight games against  ABDUL RAZZAQ Fathimath Nabaaha of Maldives. Prannoy defeated Germany's Fabian Roth in straight games

Boxing - Nikhat defeated Germany's Maxi Carina Kloetzer in the first round match. It was an interesting close contest, even though Nikhat won by an unanimous 5-0 decision. 

Rowing - Panwar finished second repachage rounds.. He is through to the quarters. I was wrong in saying that his medal contention was over. He still has to finish in top 3 in his quarters to proceed to semis. 

Swimming - Both our swimmers were in action. Srihari iwas way outside his PB  and the 14 year old Dinidhi was just outside her national record time in the 200m freestyle (3:30pm). As expected both didn't progress beyond the heats.

Shooting -  Manu Bhaker won the first medal for India in shooting. She was in contention for silver till her last shot but finished with Bronze. She looks to have moved on from her disastrous outing in Tokyo. 

In 10m Air Rifle qualifications Ramita and Arjun Babuta have qualified for the finals. Elavenil and Sandeep didn't progress. 

Tennis - Men's Double first round Bopanna and Balaji Sriram lost to Edouard Roger & Gael Monfils in straight sets. 

Table Tennis - Sreeja Akula defeated Christina Kallberg of Sweden in the first round

Sharat Kamal lost to Deni Kozul of Slovenia in the first round

Manika Batra defeated Anna Hursey of GB in the first round

Harmeet Desai lost to France Felix Lebrun in straight games

I expected all 3 to progress but Sharat lost. 

Day 3

Archery - We have the men's team event day. We are in the Quarters and will face the winner of Colombia vs Turkiye match at 6:31pm. Semis that will be at 7:17pm. 

Hockey 4:15 pm Indian men will take on Argentina

Badminton - Satwik and Chirag will face Germany's Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel at 12 noon. Lakshya will face Belgium's Julien Carreggi at 5:30 pm and Ashwini & Christina will face Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chihara Shida at 12:50pm

Shooting - We have the Air Pistol mixed team qualification at 12:45 - we have two teams Manu Bhaker & Sarabjot Singh and Rhythm Sangwan & Arjun Cheema 

1pm - Day 1 of mens trap. Prithviraj Thondaiman will be in action

1pm : Ramita will be in action in finals of 10m Air Rifle 

3:30 pm - Arjun Babuta will be in action in the finals of 10m Air Rifle event 

Table Tennis - Manika Batra will play Prithika Pavade of France in the round of 32 at 12:30 am (past midnight) 

Medal possibilities - Men's team in Archery and Arjun and Ramita in Air rifle

India at Paris 2024 - What to look forward to on Day 2 28-July-2024

Day 1 was a mixed day for us. I was expecting the mixed team to make progress from the qualifying in the 10m Air Rifle event but didn't happen. Ramita and Arjun finished 6th and Elavenil and Sandeep finished 12th. 

In the 10m Pistol men's both Arjun Cheema and Sarabjot finish 18th and 9th in the Qualifying.

In the 10m Pistol women's Manu Bhaker finished 3rd and has qualified for the finals but Rhythm finished 15th.  

Hockey - India defeats New Zealand 3-2 in the first game. 

Rowing - Balraj Panwar finished 4th and moves to the repachage rounds.

Boxing -  Preethi Panwar in the 54kg round of 32 defeated Vietnam's Vo Thi Kim Anh 5-0 on points

Table Tennis - Harmeet Desai defeated Jordan's Zaid Abo Yaman in the first round 4-0

Tennis - Men's Double first round Bopanna and Balaji Sriram vs Edouard Roger & Gael Monfils was cancelled due to rains

Badminton - Lakshya Sen defeated Kevin Cordon of Guatamela in the Group stage game in straight games

Satwik & Chirag defeated Lucas Corvee & Ronan Labar in the Men's doubles Group stage game in straight games

Tanisha & Ashwini lost to Kim So Yeong & Kong Hee Yong of Korea  in straight games

Day 2 

Archery - We have the women's team event day. We are in the Quarters and will face the winner of France vs Netherlands match at 5:45pm. We will face mostly Korea if we move to the semis that will be at 7:17pm. Can we win our first Archery medal? That has been a wish for quite a few years right from the days of Limba ram

Badminton - Sindhu will start her campaign with ABDUL RAZZAQ Fathimath Nabaaha of Maldives at 12:50pm. Prannoy will take on Germany's Fabian Roth at 8pm

Boxing - Nikhat will take on Germany's Maxi Carina Kloetzer at 3:50pm in the first round match 

Rowing - Panwar will be competing in the repachage rounds.. This is only for finishing order.. medal changes are gone as soon as he finished 4th in his heat

Swimming - Both our swimmers will be in action. Srihari in the 100m Backstroke heats (3:13pm) and the 14 year old Dinidhi in the 200m freestyle (3:30pm). Don't think either will progress beyond the heats. 

Shooting -  Manu Bhaker will be in the finals at 3:30 pm 

We have 10m Air Rifle qualifications for women and men at 12:45 and 2:45 pm respectio- Elavenil, Ramita, Sandeep Singh, Arjun Babuta will be in action

Tennis - Men's Double first round Bopanna and Balaji Sriram vs Edouard Roger & Gael Monfils hich was cancelled yesterday will be played today... Mostly after midnight. Sumit Nagal will take on Corentin Moutet of France at 3:30 pm

Table Tennis - Sreeja Akula will play Christina Kallberg of Sweden in the first round at 2:15 pm 

Sharat Kamal will play Deni Kozul of Slovenia in the first round at 3 pm

Manika Batra will play Anna Hursey of GB in the first round at 4:30 pm

All 3 should progress  

Medal possibilities - Women's team in Archery and Manu Bhaker

India at Paris 2024 - What to look forward to on Day 1 27-July-2024

 Even though today is the official start of the competitions, Indians have started competing since day before yesterday. Archery ranking round was held and Indians - Men's, Women's and Mixed teams are directly through to the Quarters. 

Today all events starts at noon India time. 

Shooting - 

We have 10m Air Rifle Mixed team event. We have two teams competing. There are a total of 29 teams and we have Elavenil and Sandeep Singh Ramita and Arjun competing. Elavenil and Sandeep should have a good chance of progressing to the finals. Which is at 2 pm India time. 

Followed by 10m Air Pistol Men's Qualification at 2pm - Arjun Cheema and Sarabjot Singh

Followed by 10m Air Pistol Women's Qualification at 4pm - Manu Bhakar and Rhythm Sangwan

I am expecting at least 2 finalist from the three event.  

Rowing - Balraj Panwar will be competing in the Single sculls heats. Top 3 from each heat will move to quarters. And he didn't as he finished 4th

Boxing - We have Preethi Panwar in the 54kg round of 32 at 12:02 am against Vietnam's Vo Thi Kim Anh. 

Hockey - Men's grounp stage match against New Zealand at 9pm. Need to have a winning start

Table Tennis - Harmeet Desai against Jordan's Zaid Abo Yaman at 7:15 pm

Tennis - Men's Double first round Bopanna and Balaji Sriram vs Edouard Roger & Vasselin of France at 3:30 pm 

Badminton - Lakshya Sen vs Kevin Cordon of Guatamela at 7:10 pm Group stage

Satwik & Chirag vs Lucas Corvee & Ronan Labar at 8pm Men's doubles Group stage

Tanisha & Ashwini vs Kim So Yeong & Kong Hee Yong of Korea at 11:50pm - Women's doubles Group stage

Outside of Indian participation looking forward to some great competition in the Swimming pool..  

 

Views on Nirmala Sitaraman's defense of CAA/NRC

Watched the interview of Nirmala Sitharaman in one of the tamil channels defending the CAA/NRC. Her key views 

1) This is amendment is primarily targeted for those who came to India during the India Pakistan wars and are staying for 60-70 years without any benefit

2) As this is primarily targeted for those affected during the wars we are not looking at others - be it Sri Lankan tamils etc. 

3) NRC is not discussed yet so why are we talking about it

4) Protest you can but opposition is stoking violence and the Congress President by stating she stands with the protesters is only supporting violence 

My views 

1) If the amendment is targeted only at those affected by the wars and who came at that time, what is Afghanistan doing in that list? Secondly the cut off date is 2014 and not 1971 war? 

2) The HM was clearly stating that the NRC is part of the whole process and that NRC will follow CAA. He was categorical in asking all of us to understand the chronological order of these 

3) Congress President stating that she supports those protesting doesn't mean she supports violence. Does it mean those who are just condoning the violence (like the PM) don't want anyone to protest peacefully? What stupid logic is this?

Really surprised that a senior journalist like Karthigaichelvan didn't bother to raise follow up questions to the minister. 

Rajnikanth's Entry to Politics - Short take

What was talked about from mid 90's is finally happening in the end of 2017. Rajnikanth has decided to enter politics by forming a separate party and has announced that he will face the assembly elections whenever they happen next. To an extent he also clarified why he took so long to make this decision. Whether it is convincing enough is another matter.

He claims he was pushed to this decision based on the happenings in the last one year. He has also promised that if he cannot deliver on poll promises he will resign in 3 years.

He made some right noises that he is more about ensuring corrupt free government, with people more frustrated with the levels of corruption this statement would be well received.

Very first mistake according to me is - claiming that he will not do anything till party is formed at the right time before assembly elections. Already people are bit irritated that he took this long to take this decision and even now if it's not active from day one not sure how well that will be received.

Even though I personally feel this is a very long overdue decision, not sure how well he will be effective and accepted as a leader.

Given the fact that Jayalithaa and Karunanidhi are not active and the fact that Stalin was not able to capitalize on the issues in Admk is a clear indication that the people of Tamil Nadu are looking for options. Will Rajnikanth be able to fill the void left by the two leaders ? - Only time will tell.

Wishing him well in his new journey. 

RK Nagar Elections - What's at Stake

RK Nagar elections are scheduled for 21st December and this is already more than 6 months delayed. (Any seat cannot be vacant for more than 6 months). EC declared that the EPS-OPS gang will keep the 2 leaves symbol and the next day announced the election date. 

EC taking so long to decide on who gets this and the delayed bye-elections doesn't augur well to project their so called independence. 

Even though we had two independents who were getting more media coverage - Vishal and Deepa - don't think they had any chance in the elections. Vishal might have got few votes because of him being a Telugu and Deepa might have got few votes because of sympathy for Jayalalithaa but they had no chance of winning any elections. 

The problem for any leader, is the people surrounding them. Case in point is Deepa, she was over hyped by the people around her and she thought she is the reincarnation of Jayalalithaa. Initially OPS group (in February during the initial revolt against Sasi clan) also fell for the hype but they realized their mistake and started distancing from her. Now with her nomination papers also rejected its time to put her to political oblivion. Vishal's case may play out differently, we will wait and watch. 

Coming to the key players and what's at stake for each of them. 

Starting with DMK - This is a must win situation for Stalin. It is a test of his leadership. With no Jayalalithaa ADMK is doesn't have the same magic. ADMK still has the government machinery but losing this election will be a huge disgrace for Stalin. The party, especially his family which is not happy with his leadership will start revolting and it will be very difficult for Stalin to manage them if he loses this election. With VCK support (which has considerable backing in north madras) their chances have increased. 

EPS - OPS - Madhusudhanan their candidate, is the presidium chairman of the party. He is a local of the constituency and has good cadre backing. However, EPS and OPS merger is coming apart at the seams and any sabotage from within will be a complete disaster for his chances. Losing this election might be a loss of face for the party, I don't think they would mind much. 

TTV -  There is so much hatred among people for the Sasi clan. The main objective of TTV is not win the election but to get at least 1 vote more than Madhusudhanan. His main trump card will be money power, which is what they tried in April also. In case he doesn't get more votes than Madhusudhanan, it will become more difficult to hold on to the few leaders he has now. They will all switch to the other side, already few jumped ship once the symbol went to the other side. In case he gets more seats than Madhusudhanan, he will use that to position his group as the real ADMK, which will be a disaster for EPS-OPS gang. 

All in all Stalin has more to lose than anyone else. The fight between TTV and Madhusudhanan is more about who gets more seats than the other. 

PS : There is another party BJP, less said about them better. No way they will even get their deposit back. 

New Actor Politicians of TN - What 1 year has done to TN Politics

Post September 22nd of last year (It is exactly 1 year since JJ was admitted in Apollo) things have changed drastically in TN politics. Jayalalithaa spent around 75 days in the hospital before passing away on December 5th of 2016. The other veteran of TN politics, Karunanidhi is sick and is completely out of action. 

ADMK is in doldrums and there is considerable hate against the Sasi clan among the people. Feb 7th when OPS revolted against Sasi there was little bit of hope but with his inability to pull more MLAs into his side that also fizzled out. Now with EPS being the CM and OPS merging back things are back to square one for the party. EPS and OPS need some strong backing to take on the clan and that they are currently getting from BJP which hopes to make a headway into TN. 

DMK is a bit clueless without MK. Stalin is not able to make a decisive move on bringing down the government. Things would be completely different if MK was still active. DMK still is in a much better situation that ADMK.

While TN was expecting and waiting for 22 years for Rajnikanth to enter politics looks like his contemporary Kamal will enter politics before him. 

Rajni has been giving mixed signals for last 22 years, his golden opportunity was in 1996. To me that blame should also go the late PM PVN Rao who should have backed him wholeheartedly and that would have also ensured Congress at least managed it's vote bank if note increased the same. They had around 15% vote back then. In 1996 with his backing TMC and Congress rode on the anti-incumbency that Jayalalithaa faced. She was decimated even losing her own seat. In 2004 he gave a statement opposing PMK which was part of the DMK Congress alliance, but they won all seats that they contested. That would have been clear indicator for Rajni that his pull among the people was waning. There is also a popular view that he makes political statements before release of his movies. 

In July of this year he met with his fans and has asked them to be ready and they will be called when there is war. We will have to see if he really takes the plunge this time. 

Kamal on the other hand was harassed during the release of his Viswaroopam movie. That anger against Sasi clan and JJ is also there. With the passing away of Jaya that anger is coming out in the open. He is making all right noises in terms of his tapping into popular sentiments like NEET opposition, Corruption, etc.

With the two main leaders of the two main parties in TN out of action, there is definite political vacuum. This is what the likes of Rajni, Kamal and also BJP want to occupy. 

Let us look at what they can accomplish in electoral politics

Rajni - I am still not convinced if he will really enter politics. Even if he enters, he doesn't have the same popularity which he had in 1996. His health and age will also be against him. In case he really enters, he can at best get 10-15% of the votes which will not help him win many seats to be a serious contender. He will slowly go the Vijayakanth way. 

Kamal - He is an elitist. I am really not sure how he will be able to connect with general public. Some people are joking that people cannot understand his tweets, how are they going to understand his policies. Seriously he has met Kerala CM and Delhi CM and claiming that all these are learning process. Post his meeting with Kejriwal the statements indicate he might move closer towards AAP. AAP has not had any impact in TN so not sure what Kamal can do to them. Kejriwal is also someone who is strong headed person and Kamal is also similar in character, so both of them working together would also be very difficult. Communists are not an option at all. Starting his own party he will not get more than 2-3% vote share. 

I don't think both coming together and forming a party would also change things drastically. They can at best become the second largest party in the coming elections. 

BJP - There is complete hatred among the people for the saffron party, all their efforts to occupy the space of ADMK is coming to naught. NEET, Cauvery, Hindi, Demon, GST, Petrol there are so many things for which people are angry about BJP. It is very difficult for them to make any entry, their best hope is tag along with ADMK and win few seats. 

DMK should move quickly to ensure the current government falls and elections are held. They will sweep the elections if they are held any time soon. I don't think they would want to risk allowing the ADMK the full term. We don't know what can happen in those 3.5 years. 

Trying to understand Nitish Kumar's decision

Yesterday was an interesting day of developments in Bihar politics. Nitish Kumar the CM, who was pushing for Tejaswi Yadav's (Laloo's son) resignation post the CBI charge sheeting him in a corruption case, took the decision to quit the CM post. 

Obviously it was clear that he had the backing of BJP and was back as CM this morning. He wouldn't obviously quit if not for the assurance of BJP support. Nitish and his JDU alone cannot win elections and he needs the support of other parties to win elections. Individually RJD is stronger than JDU. 

With this move, one of the strong alliance partners of the opposition has moved back to BJP. BJP would have also felt that they cannot repeat their 2014 performance in 2019 without more alliance and they felt it is better to ally with Nitish. 

Background

Let us go back to 2013 when Modi was rising up on the BJP side and Nitish hated him to the core and he snapped the long alliance that he had with BJP. He wanted to ensure that the muslim vote is not lost. 2014 parliamentary elections changed everything when everyone lost badly in Bihar. He quit and made Jitan Ram Manjhi as the CM. Once elections were nearing he was worried that Manjhi will grow too big and came back as CM and tied up with Laloo and Congress and formed the mega alliance. The alliance won easily with Nitish being projected as the CM candidate. 

CBI conducted raid about a case of corruption when Laloo was the Railways minister. Laloo and family got 3 acres of land for letting them run 2 BNR (Bengal Nagpur Railway) hotels through a rigged process. This 3 acre property was initially sold to a benami and later transferred to a company owned by Tejashwi and Rabri. This is the reason for Tejashwi being charge sheeted. 

Nitish's Demand

Nitish wanted Tejashwi to come clean from the case - basically he wanted him to resign. Laloo was not keen to have his son quit so Nitish resigned. As I mentioned earlier he would have finalized BJP support before quitting. It would have been interesting if Laloo had called his bluff by asking his son to quit. 

The Other Player Congress

The other partner in the mega-alliance Congress is once again the easy punching bag for media which is really frustrated that there is no alternative the Modi who is becoming more powerful each day. Nitish met Rahul on Tuesday also but Rahul couldn't do anything to ensure the alliance stayed. It is easy to blame Rahul and Congress for letting the alliance wither away and its not that they don't have a share of the blame being the largest opposition party. They are not the only reason. 

Why Nitish took the decision to move back to BJP

Nitish asking Tejaswhi to quit for a charge sheet is just a reason for him to move back to BJP. There are union ministers with charge sheet who are still continuing, for that matter Nitish himself has cases of Attempt to murder and murder against him. I personally wouldn't be surprised if all these were pre-planned right from the CBI charge sheet (why else is a 13 year old case is coming back to light now?) 

What are the probable reasons for Nitish moving away now

1. There are rumors that Laloo was ok to dump Nitish and support BJP if all cases against his kids are dropped. Nitish wanted to preempt such a move and so he went with BJP.
2. There were talk about him being a PM candidate for the opposition in 2019 and it is obvious that he has high ambitions of becoming the PM. Then why did he quit, probably because he felt that BJP will be very difficult to win. Even 2014 elections BJP was growing strong when he quit, so has he learnt his lesson or will it be a repeat of 2014 mistake? Only time will tell 
3. End of the day he is the junior party in the alliance (which will not be the case with BJP - at least in Bihar) and any day Laloo can ask his son to be made the CM. 

End of the day politics is about survival, Nitish probably felt he can continue as the CM and keep his PM ambitions aside for some time. 

He is 66 now and with 2019 ruled out he will be 73 in 2024 and only in Indian politics people have career plans for such age :)

I am the best.... The problem is the opposition is even better....

I am the best to take care of security.... Proof of the pudding - Kashmir is in trouble... Naxals are still killing lots of people

I am the reformer and best for the economy.... Proof of the pudding - Growth has slowed down.... No jobs being created.... Yeah the best thing that I did demonetization

I will take care of the agriculture and farmers... Proof of the pudding - every where there are farmers protesting even after a good monsoon (except TN)....

Is there anything that I have not proved that I am the best?

The only problem is there is an even better opposition.....

2019 - Nothing can and will stop me

Post Conviction Surprise and the short lived happiness - OPS vs VKS

Sasikala, Sudhakaran and Elavarasi were convicted by the Supreme Court this morning. 

The OPS camp was expecting that the MLAs will move out of the resort and support him. At least that is the reading many people had. It still stays at 11 including OPS. 

It is no surprise that Sasikala has propped up Edapadi Palanisamy as her proxy. It was expected that someone will be propped up and it is Edapadi who was even talked about immediately after Jaya's death. 

The real surprise in all this is that the MLAs have still stayed with Sasikala. When Jaya was alive it was a completely different case, it is a huge surprise that MLAs are staying with Sasikala. Not really sure what is the hold that she has on the entire MLAs. Is it that the many of them were selected by her as candidates which is the reason for this? 

The governor has to either accept Edapadi's claim and swear him in or give OPS also an opportunity to prove his majority. For that OPS has to prove that he has more MLAs than the 11. 

OPS camp has to move aggressively in convincing the MLAs to move to his side, otherwise his game is over. 

The general public were against not just Sasikala but her entire clan. With Edapadi being her proxy the government will be completely run by her family. 

People were happy with the verdict this morning but with the MLAs supporting Sasikala's proxy and their happiness looks to be short lived. 

Tamil Nadu politics - OPS Vs VKS - Options and way forward

Background : 

December 5th or for that matter September 22nd changed the face of politics in Tamil Nadu. With Jayalalithaa being admitted in hospital and her subsequent demise things took a dramatic change in ADMK and Tamil Nadu politics. 

Going by the statements made by OPS recently, Sasikala requested him to take over the CM position as he had been 2 time CM and anyone else would cause the trouble in the party leading to a split in the party. The other side has not issued any denial so far at least. 

OPS had been performing well especially his handling of the Vardah cyclone, to a large extent the jalikattu protest (except the last day violence), the way he went to AP to speak to Chandrababu Naidu to ensure water is released were all very good. He was also very accessible to all especially the officials and things were going in the right direction. 

Also I was personally happy to see the ruling party and opposition talking to each other in a civilized manner (funnily Sasikala quoted that as the reason for sacking OPS). 

Sasikala took over the position of General secretary in late December and it was well known that she will also want to take over as CM eventually. When she called for the legislative party meeting on 5th of February it was a forgone conclusion that she will get elected as the CM. As expected the party MLAs selected her as the CM. Panneerselvam submitted his resignation and also proposed her name for the position of leader of the Legislative party and eventually the CM. 

Even though there was absolutely no public or cadre support for Sasikala people were more or less resigned to the fact that she is the CM. What no one expected was what happened on 7th of February when the caretaker CM went to Marina and sat on a meditation in front of Jayalalithaa's memorial. 

The moment he uttered the sentence that they were irritated by his good work it became apparent that the party is splitting. It was funny to see some of the party spokespeople who were on show during his meditation stating that "Annan" is praying to amma that everything should go fine and immediately after his press conference calling him a traitor. 

Governor's dilemma

Governor going to Delhi and then Mumbai for a few days was not right when things were happening in Chennai. Governor is also being careful in ensuring no one legally questions him. The following actions prove that 

1) He accepted OPS's resignation within a day even though his actions were clear that he was in no hurry to swear in Sasikala. 
2) Denied the secret note he sent to Home ministry - even though he wanted to wait till the DA case verdict is out which is what he had apparently quoted in that said note. To ensure he is not questioned in the courts, he quickly issued a denial about such a note
3) Not allowing parading of MLAs - the Sasikala group was keen to parade the MLAs which OPS also requested him not to allow

Options and way forward 


For OPS

All in all OPS has nothing much to lose and has already gained a lot. He has become a true hero from being termed the mixture mama that is a huge. There is a huge groundswell of support for him and whether he will be able to win an election with that is a different question, but at least for now the general public seem to favor him over Sasikala.

• He at present has only 7 MLAs and with most of them lodged (don't want to use the term locked up) in the private resort in ECR the number can at best go up to 10 immediately. 
• I believe that if his request to withdraw his resignation was legally tenable the governor would have allowed that. 
• In case the SC acquits Sasikala in the DA case, his aim would be to get at least 20+ MLAs which will ensure the Sasikala's side doesn't get to rule the state (this is also true in case she gets convicted and appoints a proxy)
• The best case scenario that OPS would be hoping for is SC convicting Sasikala and the majority MLAs move over to his side. 
• In case SC convicts Sasikala and she would nominate some other proxy and try to rule from inside the jail or through the so called mannargudi mafia. 
• The worst case scenario for his is Sasikala is acquitted and whoever are with him currently desert him. He would have a tough time to keep his political career alive then. 

For Sasikala

With governor having no inclination to swear her in as the CM, her options are limited. Till date she has been able to maintain most of her flock together. She has more to lose than gain. 

• In case she gets convicted in the DA case, she will try to appoint a proxy as CM. Having seen OPS someone who is known not to have high ambitions revolt she would be very worried about appointing anyone to the post of CM, she might go with a safe option of someone from the family which might also cause more trouble for her. 
• Her best case scenario is the get acquitted in the DA case and ensure she continues to keep her flock of MLAs intact. 
• In case she loses more than 20 MLAs (either way the verdict goes) she can as well bid goodbye to her political ambitions as there too much hatred for her and her family among the general public and also the party cadres. 

For Governor

Having decided to wait for the DA case verdict to be out and playing it safe legally so far his options are pretty simple unless things take a dramatic change in terms of the number of MLAs supporting both groups. 

• In case of conviction request ADMK to select a new leader 
• In case of an acquittal swear in Sasikala
• In case the MLA supporting both groups change drastically (don't think that will happen unless there is a conviction) will be the most interesting option. Will he go for a composite floor test? Or ask either of the two groups to prove the majority? To me personally he will go with Sasikala group or go for a composite floor test as he has so far not allowed OPS to withdraw his resignation and if he was ok with that option he could have done so already. (In the said note that he sent to home ministry he has not mentioned anything about withdrawal and called OPS as only the caretaker CM.) 

Side notes

• It was pathetic to see some of the ministers in such inebriated state, if you are so drunk stay at home or at least don't talk in front of the press.  
• The cops are playing it safe and not taking any directions from either side. Which is expected, but what was really surprising to see is they didn't even act when the press were attacked yesterday. 
• OPS's house is so very accessible and there were more curious crowd trying to see what is happening there. I could see people going for their evening walks just drop by to see what's happening. 
• There are also lots of women supporters showing up at OPS's house.
• There is definite backing from central government for OPS. They would also want to ensure the party stay together as they need ADMK support during the President election. It would be interesting to see how central government acts in case Sasikala gets acquitted. 
• I would also be interested to see what will happen to all this public support that OPS has now in case there is an acquittal. 

For people checking for updates very hours or minutes, don't expect anything to happen till the verdict is out. The court has already gone back on its words that they will issue the verdict within a week. Hope they issue the verdict tomorrow (02/14) at least.  

All in all interesting times ahead for a political junkie like me. 

Jallikattu - Surprised about the reason for protest - It is same as justifying female foeticide

Last few days Tamil Nadu has been seeing protest across the state in support of Jallikattu (Sallikattu - it is actually taking the coins that are tied to the horns of the bulls, that was the main objective of the sport). The main reason in support is that we will lose the entire breed of stud bulls. 

What many of the supporters argue is that the Stud bulls if Jallikattu is not held would be sent to slaughter house immediately after birth. This will lead to the extinction of the entire breed and then we have to import bulls for reproduction. 

The bulls were earlier used for farming and as bullock carts. With more mechanized farming and trucks being used for transportation the usage of bulls have reduced drastically. Now they are primarily used for reproduction. 

What I am surprised is that people are willing to accept this reason. This argument is same as justifying female foeticide. The reasons that were given for female foeticide were financial reasons - getting them married, giving dowry, etc. Now same is being given as the reason for not raising bulls - they don't give anything in return except help in reproduction whereas a cow gives milk. The main reason why people are using this line of argument is is to dramatize the whole issue. 

The main reason for giving away bulls for slaughtering is definitely not stopping Jallikattu it is because their usage in farming and bullock carts has stopped. Just saying that what was followed for long has to be followed even now will not get you so much support (people will talk about child marriage, sati, etc. as counter argument), only dramatization of the issue will ensure maximum support. 

What some people argue is that even if what Peta argued is true in terms of putting irritants into the eyes of bull, forcing bulls to drink alcohol, poking them with sharp substances during Jallikattu, the farmers are the ones who take care of them for the other 364 days. This is the most absurd argument that you can hear, why is it that the farmer who has been taking care of the bull for 364 days cannot properly care for them one more day? Also is this some kind of a black Friday for the farmers where they are able to turn profitable in a day? 

The other argument is that drinking the milk from a cow which mated with foreign bulls will cause cancer, why drink milk in the first place? Stop drinking milk if you think it will cause cancer. 

Just because someone supports Peta which spearheaded the campaign doesn't mean all Peta ambassadors should be maligned. What happened to some of the actors is completely unacceptable. 

I am not against Jallikattu. Like it happened couple of years back lay down proper rules which has to be followed. No irritants in the eyes of the bulls, no poking them with sharp equipment, no biting of the tails, no forcing alcohol down the throats of the bulls and only one person catching each bull at a time. Ensure all these and conduct Jallikattu. 

To All my Nationalist Friends

This post is dedicated to all my nationalist friends (or the so called BJP supporters). 

What exactly happened is that few people shouted slogans supporting Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat (that they were martyrs, they were wrongly killed, etc.) and that Kashmir has a right to self determination. 

Afzal Guru - even though he was hanged on circumstantial evidence, I trust the decision of the SC. 

The main anti-national slogans were 

“Bharat ki barbaadi tak, jung rahegi, jung rahegi!”

“India, Go Back” 

These were made by Kashmiri students - But aren't these things that are heard in Kashmir on a daily basis? Your ally in J&K says much worser things and are more aligned to separatists views. Didn't we as a nation agree in UN that we will allow self determination in the entire Kashmir (this includes what is occupied by Pakistan)? 

Scotland voted on whether they can be separated from Great Britain? - Should all those who voted yes be jailed for sedition? Catalunya also wants to separate from Spain - can we jail everyone for sedition? Oxford University union took a pledge that they will never fight for the King - even though they were termed as anti-nationals no one was booked on sedition. 

We as a nation are not ready to listen to these kind of statements made in public - we are not ready for such a democracy. 

We are however, ok with people saying things like this country is useless, this country is going down the drains, I cannot live here within our living rooms. I have many of my friends who live outside India (still Indian citizens) who have said worser things. Can we book all of them under sedition? 

The main issue to me is why was Kanhaiya Kumar, JNU students union president, arrested on charges including sedition? Did he shout slogans against India? It seems that police have learnt that he was no way connected to the slogan shouting, so would they tell the courts that he can be released? I hope some sense prevails. 

What is nationalism in letting someone getting arrested on sedition charges for no fault of his? When you can ally with a party which mostly aligns with the views of separatists what right does BJP has to give gyan on nationalism to everyone? 

Do we need a law on which "No One" has ever been convicted but it is most abused by all politicians? My simple answer is NO. 

Scams - Released in the last one month

The NDA government happily mentioned at the end of the first anniversary of them having assumed office in May 2014 that there were no scams in the one year after their assuming office. 

Not even a month passed and we have multiple scams that has cropped up - Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje connection with Lalit Modi, Vyapam Scam, Pankaja Munde scam, PDS Rice Scam in Chattisgarh. BJP can still say that these are issues (except in the case of Swaraj) all are not related to the central government, but the perception that these scams create in the people's mind in very bad. 

Let us go over one by one 

Sushma Swaraj

She got the British government issue travel document for Lalit Modi so that he can be with his wife who was supposed to undergo treatment in Portugal. She did that without involving her ministry or checking with the Finance Ministry (under whom the ED comes) which had a case against Lalit Modi. Her defence was that she did this on humanitarian consideration. She has a personal relationship with Lalit Modi and her husband and daughter were working for him - with those in mind she should have recused herself from this issue and let her bureaucrats handle the issue. The best option would have been to have him promise to get back to India in lieu of the travel document. The defense that there is money involved doesn't cut ice. 

She didn't involve her ministry, talked to her England counterpart directly, didn't get inputs from Finance ministry and didn't recuse herself from a case of a close friend doesn't warrant her to continue in the Government. 

Vasundhara Raje

Vasundhara issued an affidavit to support Modi being issued travel document and stating that the case against him are politically motivated and she explicitly stated that her giving this affidavit should not be revealed to the Indian authorities. There is a money angle also to this where Lalit Modi has invested money in her son's firm. It is debatable whether this is quid pro quo but there is proof that money has changed hands in lieu of some shares in his company. 

Vasundhara is a strong regional leader and she can even bring down the Rajasthan government or start a party on her own if she is asked to resign. That will definitely play in the mind of the BJP leadership. Her giving an affidavit to an accused with a disclaimer that her affidavit should not be known to the Indian authorities is in itself a reason for her to go. 

Vyapam Scam

I am scared to write about it. This is a bit old as it is about the irregularities in recruitment and entrance exams (munnabhai style) which happened between 2008 and 2013 (not sure if it is still continuing). The issue has come up to limelight because many of the witness/accused are dying under mysterious circumstances. We have had maybe one or two witness being killed but so many dying is a cause of concern. We still don't really know the whole truth about this but with SC hearing a bunch of petitions requiring CBI probe has made the CM extremely vulnerable. As the central government is led someone who is not very close to him. 

Chattisgarh PDS Scam

As far as scams goes this is pretty simple one - Increase the number of PDS ration cards on record and pocket the money that was supposed to go to providing PDS to these cards. There was an huge increase in the BPL cards issued and there was cash found in ACB raid in March of this year to the tune of 4 crores. This is also early days for this scam and it has to be thoroughly investigated as to who are the real beneficiaries of the scam. 

Pankaja Munde Scam

The issue being raised is that there were orders issued by her to persons known to her family without following due tender process. This is a case of probity - in case the orders were issued to anyone other than the people known to her family there wouldn't have been any case as it could be explained as executive decision and as long as there were no money involved that explanation would have been accepted (same as the 2G case - the 1.76Lakh scam can easily be explained as executive decision but the 200 crore money trail to Kalaignar TV cannot be explained). 

Congress is Happy

Congress must be very happy having so many scams to go against the ruling NDA government. However, there seems to be no clear strategy on how to handle these which was clear from their going on about the palaces and losing focus. It is clear that the monsoon session will go for a toss if no action is taken on these scams especially the Lalitgate where they will not relent till they get the blood of both Vasundhara and Sushma. Surprising that Media has moved on to Vyapam scam having forgotten the Lalitgate from this week - Congress cannot afford to do that. This is the best opportunity for them to make a come back. 

The Prime minister has kept quite and it is his prerogative on when he wants to speak. As Swapan Das mentioned in his article today I remember the interview where Rajdeep kept asking about riot and he didn't utter a word about it and kept staring in the distant and Rajdeep was forced to move on. There is no necessity for him to speak also. 

What's Next

Sushma and Vasundhara have to resign and there should be a thorough probe on the other three scams. Why is it that the BJP has not pressed them to resign yet? - It is simple this will set the benchmark for all other scams. BJP would not want to yield so soon. July 21st is when the Monsoon session is going to start and it is going to be interesting to see whether they wait till the Monsoon session is completely washed out or act before that. 

Excellent Job by the Armed Forces but???

The army suffered huge damage in Manipur on 4th of June when the militants of the NSCN(K) group attacked them and we lost 18 army men. 

On 9th morning Indian army with intelligence attacked back and took out around 50 militants. It was a well executed operation with no casualties on the Indian side. 

The Army issued a statement which was a bit vague in details. The statement did mention just that the operation was in the border and that President of Myanmar said they don't want to allow any militants operating out of their land and that they were not involved in the operation. Everything was perfect till then. 

Then the government stepped in and the MOS of I&B Col Rathore shot off stating that we entered the Myanmar and the army of Myanmar was informed. This led the Myanmar government to issue a denial that this happened, this put them in an embarrassing position. 

The Minister also went on to state that we wanted to send a message and we will repeat such operations in future against any country. He added to good measure that we will take out militants at any place of our choosing. This is plain immaturity on the part of the minister. The Ambassador has been called to explain the statements and the NSA is rushing to Myanmar also. Minister also tweeted with 56InchRocks which is plain chest thumping. 

Covert operations has to stay covert and always the message will go out in a subtle way to the people who has to get the message. 

First and foremost people of this generation who are jumping in joy have to understand that this is not the first time we have our army enter other country and take out militants. Those who have read Kaoboys of RAW will know that we had a covert operations wing under RAW which ensured every militant actions had a retaliation. IK Gujral government wound down the covert operations wing of the RAW. 

There are many more such operations, in 2003 we entered Bhutan and with the help of their army took out northeastern militants. Also heard on the TV that during the Narasimha Rao government an entire Battalion entered Myanmar and took out some of the militants.  Myanmar and Bangladesh government headed by Sheikh Hasina allowed us to conduct such operations. 

Secondly this has caused huge embarrassment to the Myanmar government. They will think twice before agreeing to a similar operation request. 

Thirdly there are political reasons for this and I am sure the army action in itself (without the statements by the Government) would have proved a point that the government was decisive in acting against the militants. 

Hope the government learns from this episode and don't go about chest thumping. Read that the PM and EAM are upset with this and I hope that is true. 

Operation Raahat - Successful Evacuation of People from Yemen

Operation Raahat - The operation to evacuate Indians from Yemen has been successful. We have successfully evacuated nearly 4000 Indians and few more from other countries. 

Excellent job done by Ministry of External Affairs in coordination with the Airforce, Navy, Ministry of Home Affairs and Air India in this Operation. 

Good part is that we have received requests from 26 other nations to help evacuate their nationals also and Government is responding to the same. 

Way to go. Nice to see us taking a lead on this humanitarian initiative. 

India had deployed 3 Naval Ships and the C17 globemaster from IAF in the evacuation. Air India has also been flying out people from the country. 

MoS of External Affairs, VK Singh was on the ground coordinating the entire operation. The Indian Army has many experience of evacuating people from natural disasters and other situation, this experience would have definitely helped VK Singh, who was a former Army chief, in coordinating the entire operation. 

Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister was also actively involved. Finally nice to see her getting to do some work as EAM, as till date PMO was taking over most of the EAM's activities. 

Heard that Twitter and other social media was also used by people affected to reach out to the Indian embassy officials, which shows us how the social media is getting more and more integrated and useful in our lives. 

Lastly the controversy about VK Singh's tweets about the media. Having been a chief of Indian Army, he would have got used to people taking orders from him and not questioning anything he said. However, now that he has become a politician and that too a Minster, he has to understand that he has to be a bit more diplomatic. His tweet after visiting the Pakistan Embassy for their national day celebrations was also not in good taste. That doesn't justify what Times Now try to do with VKDisaster hashtag. 

This operation is a success and us helping in evacuation of nationals of other countries shows how to exhibit our soft power.