Sunday, February 16, 2014

How many passengers can you fit in an Ambassador ??

Apparently – four across the back and one in the front.

One last Champagne brunch

With our time here in India fast running out, we decided go out with a bit of style.

Yesterday, we went to our last champagne brunch – this one at the Leela Hotel in Gurgaon.

The brunches at the Leela, Gurgaon have always been special for us as it was where we went for our very first brunch. There is also the added bonus that, for a (large) fee, you can choose to have Dom Perignon as your champagne of choice.

What better way to celebrate finishing up in India I say !!

A good time was had by all and we finished the day back at DHOM’s place, in the back yard.

Here are some photos from the day:

DIBP Farewell

On Saturday night, Tania’s DIBP colleagues did a surprise farewell for Tania.

They set up the Henry Lawson Club in an Arabian night’s theme with Arabian food and of course – sheeshas.

The big surprise of the evening was a Bollywood poster featuring Tania and myself - we’ve both never looked so thin !!

We just wanted a say a big thank you to everyone for the lovely night and for the great poster.

It’s going straight to the pool room !!

The Hindi text says: Oh, the places you will go

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Today's newspaper articles

Today’s articles come from a variety of news sites (“The Independent”, “The Telegraph”, Reuters and the Foreign Policy website). They discuss the interesting events of Indian politics from this week including (my favourite), pepper spray being used in the Indian parliament.

Enjoy:

Delhi's grass-roots activist chief minister resigns

Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal waves his resignation letter as he addresses supporters at Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party offices

Getty Images

Andrew Buncombe

Asia Correspondent

Friday 14 February 2014

Just 49 days after he was elected as the chief minster of Delhi, an anti-corruption campaigner resigned from the post when his political opponents blocked a plan to introduce an official ombudsman for India’s capital.

Arvind Kejriwal, whose grass-roots Aam Aadmi party, or Common Man party, (AAP) stunned its rivals by seizing control of the Delhi state government after an election last November, said other parties were scared their members would be investigated if the ombudsman’s office was established.

“From here, I am now directly going to the Lieutenant-Governor’s office to hand over my resignation,” he told his cheering supporters in the centre of Delhi. “I wish I get a chance to serve the nation and the state soon.”

Mr Kejriwal’s resignation came after the Congress party, which backed his minority government, voted with the opposition to block the bill. He said on Friday he would recommend that new elections be held in Delhi.

“We might have done some mistakes. We are also human, but we tried our level best,” he announced.

Mr Kejriwal has led protests and hunger strikes against government corruption. They have included sit-ins demanding public access to government documents, lower electricity rates and the transfer of control of the local police from the federal government’s home ministry to his administration.

Supporters of Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, chief of the Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party (AAP), listen to his speech (Reuters)

His campaign has earned him admiration from working people in the city and elsewhere in India, along with support from a considerable number of middle-class citizens who are exhausted with the country’s endemic corruption. Yet his critics have accused of being unwilling to govern and preferring instead to behave like the activist he has been for many years.

His party controls 27 of the 70 seats in the state legislature and the Congress party has eight. One politician recently quit Mr Kejriwal’s party following differences over implementation of various policies. The remaining seats are held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Socialist Party legislators.

The showdown between Mr Kejriwal and the Congress party – which run the federal government - came over a 2002 federal home ministry order which said Delhi state government could only enact laws with financial implications with its approval. The Associated Press said Mr Kejriwal defied the order on Friday and sought to introduce the ombudsman bill in the state legislature, saying the order was arbitrary.

The evening drama, played out beneath a rare winter downpour, comes as India prepares for a general election. The ruling Congress party, led by Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul, is on the back foot and is expected to do very poorly. In turn, the front-runner is the BJP’s Narendra Modi.

But after its success in the Delhi state election, the AAP announced it would contest more than 300 seats in the general election. Some analysts have suggested the AAP could secure enough seats to blunt Mr Modi’s surge. One senior AAP official recently told

The Independent the party expected to get at least 40 seats.

“Kejriwal’s resignation caps a tumultuous 49 day reign as chief minister of Delhi. It was perhaps the most eventful month and a half of any state government’s tenure in recent memory,” said Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“What remains to be seen is whether the Aam Aadmi Party can leverage this moment to connect with voters outside of the Delhi region. Polls suggest their reach, while growing, is still largely limited to the national capital region.”

Ashok Malik, a journalist and analyst based in Delhi, said that with the parliamentary polls taking place shortly, it would now depend on whether Mr Kejriwal could use the incident to his party's advantage.

"In Kejriwal's perception, he's achieved what he craved - martyrdom," he said. "He has two months to convince the country."

@independent.co.uk

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Delhi chief minister quits after corruption bill blocked

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi party sent shockwaves through India's political establishment in local elections last year, quits to protest blocking of anti-corruption bill after fewer than 50 days in office

Anti-graft activist Arvind Kejriwal, center, addresses his supporters with his resignation letter in his hand at the Aam Aadmi Party HQ in New Delhi Photo: AP

By Andrew Marszal

4:47PM GMT 14 Feb 2014

Delhi’s firebrand Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced his resignation today to protest the blocking of an anti-corruption bill, fewer than 50 days after taking power in the Indian capital.

The upstart Aam Aadmi party, formed only a year ago, sent shockwaves through India’s political establishment late last year when it scored a series of stunning successes during local elections in Delhi.

But Mr Kejriwal’s decision to resign little more than seven weeks after taking power throws his party’s fortunes into uncertainty.

His announcement came shortly after local legislators effectively shot down his efforts to bring in anti-corruption legislation – the key plank of his manifesto in December’s state elections.

Mr Kejriwal blamed the Congress party for his decision to resign, accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s party of reneging on an earlier promise to back the bill.

“Congress had promised us, in writing, that they would support the bill but when we tried to present it before the assembly today both they and the BJP came together to block it,” Mr Kejriwal said.

“They have exposed themselves and shown their true face.”

The Congress party claimed the measure was unconstitutional.

Fresh elections in the capital are unlikely, and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could try and form an alternative administration.

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Pepper spray, chaos in Lok Sabha over Telangana

NEW DELHI Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:02pm IST

(Reuters) - The Lok Sabha erupted in mayhem on Thursday when a lawmaker fired pepper spray in parliament in protest against a bill on a new Telangana state. Television footage showed pictures of lawmakers coughing, sneezing and holding scarves to their faces. Shouting protesters also broke a glass table and snapped the wire of an official's microphone.

A few lawmakers were rushed away in an ambulance while others were given first aid treatment in parliament.

"The incidents which took place in the house are a big blot on our democracy," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath told reporters.

"Parliamentary democracy provides for dissent but does not provide for the kind of disruption and attempted violence which we saw today. I feel ashamed that such an incident has taken place."

The furor erupted after Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde rose to table a bill for the creation of Telangana to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh.

Lagadapati Rajagopal, a member of parliament from Andhra Pradesh who was recently suspended by the ruling Congress party and who opposes creation of the new state, then unleashed the pepper spray.

Congress has tried to pass laws in the parliament's last session before a general election due by May, but the house has frequently been adjourned amid rowdy scenes over the creation of Telangana state.

Thursday's antics were the worst and drew criticism from parliamentarians from various parties.

"It is an unprecedented and a disgraceful situation," said Jaswant Singh of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

The bill was tabled but the session broke up soon after. The speaker suspended 17 members of parliament.

(Reporting By Sruthi Gottipati and Nigam Prusty; Editng by Angus MacSwan and Robert Birsel)

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Anti-Genocide Groups Slam Obama Administration For Meeting Controversial Indian Leader

· BY JOHN HUDSON

FEBRUARY 13, 2014 - 06:00 PM

A decision by the U.S. ambassador to India to meet with a popular but controversial Hindu nationalist politician in Gandhinagar is fueling a war of words here at home between Muslim and anti-genocide groups on one side and an array of pro-Hindu groups on the other.

On Thursday, Ambassador Nancy Powell met with the chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, in the most high-profile encounter between Modi, a Hindu nationalist leader, and a U.S. official since he was barred from traveling in the U.S. in 2005. The State Department revoked Modi's visa nine years ago because of accusations that he had done little to stop a spate of anti-Muslim violence in his region that killed some 1,500 people.

But in recent months, blackballing Modi became untenable given his status as the front-runner to become India's next prime minister. That created a dilemma for the Obama administration and served as a vivid reminder of how events from more than a decade ago can still have repercussions years later.

"They should not have met at all," said Shaik Ubaid, a founder of the Coalition Against Genocide, a group that spreads awareness about the 2002 killings in Gujarat. "But I hope they at least talked about pogroms and concerns about religious freedom."

The rub on Modi is that many believe he approved or actively encouraged violence against Muslims in the 2002 riots. In 2012, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an advisory body,insisted that he not be issued another visa because of his role in the bloodshed. Modi and his supporters vehemently deny the allegations and point to an Indian Supreme Court inquiry that found no evidence to prosecute him.

As the prime ministerial candidate for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is ahead in most polls, he is favored to win enough seats to form a government after India's general elections in May. For groups in the U.S. dedicated to strengthening ties between the two countries, the meeting was long overdue.

"This move is only positive," Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu America Foundation, told The Cable. "U.S. policy should be one of meeting all parties who could potentially lead the country. The largest and oldest democracies need to have a strong relationship."

Shukla said it was hypocritical of the U.S. to single out Modi for religious intolerance under the Immigration and Nationality Act while other more malevolent foreigners went unpunished. "Our stand is about parity in U.S. law," she said, pointing to examples of U.S. engagement with Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bengali leaders accused of religious violence.

Sanjay Puri, the chairman of the U.S. India Political Action Committee, agreed. He warned that the U.S. risked being seen as meddling in India's internal affairs. "He's the duly-elected leader of a state of 60 million people," he said. "It is not our calling in the U.S. to interfere with India's electoral process. When we take a position on someone, it gets amplified and used by Modi's opponents."

That's exactly what the State Department wants to avoid as it navigates the sensitive terrain between Modi-watchers in the U.S.. "This is simply a meeting happening on the ground in India," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki during a press briefing.

"It's not a reflection of anything else than outreach to a broad range of officials."

In a short readout of the meeting, the U.S. Embassy in Delhi said that Powell and Modi discussed the importance of the "U.S.-India relationship, regional security issues, human rights, and American trade and investment in India."

For Modi critics, the statement was wholly unsatisfying. "I'm disappointed," said Biju Mathew, co-founder of the Campaign to Stop Funding Hate. As one of the original activists that successfully lobbied the State Department to revoke Modi's visa in 2005, Mathew said Washington owes the victims of the Gujarat riots an explanation for the meeting.

"It's quite common practice for officials to meet with politicians of prominent political parties in any country, but that is not the issue," said Mathew. "It's disappointing that there was no warning of the meeting and no explanation as to what transpired during the gathering. For instance: Which human rights issues were brought up?"

For the State Department, a number of thorny issues remain. Technically, it would not be difficult for Foggy Bottom to resolve Modi's travel status. Although the department originally determined that Modi was ineligible for travel under the Immigration and Nationality Act, it's not bound by that earlier decision. "Our long-standing policy with regard to the chief minister is that he is welcome to apply for a visa and await a review like any other applicant," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told The Cable in December. "That review will be grounded in U.S. law." However, a Congressional aide familiar with the matter says Modi is demanding assurances from the State Department that if he re-applies, his application won't be rejected.

"At some point, the State Department has to acknowledge that Modi has never been convicted by any Indian court of wrongdoing," said the aide. "That's what Modi wants to hear."

Doing so risks inflaming the leader's vocal opponents in the U.S. But given the importance of the economic ties between the two countries -- $100 billion worth of trade each year -- it's unlikely that the State Department will let a decade-old dispute disrupt relations should Modi become the next prime minister. "The United States and India are moving forward with a strategic partnership that is broad and deep," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.

Getty Images

Monday, February 10, 2014

Newspaper article

Today’s article comes from the weekend’s “Indian Economic Times” and talks about setting up a Ministry for Cows.

.......not sure what to say about that !!

Despite four agencies on bovine welfare, Rajasthan to set up cow ministry soon

By ET Bureau | 8 Feb, 2014, 04.14AM IST

By Akshay Deshmane

Rajasthan’s animal husbandry department’s officials are hard at work to set up India’s first ministry for cows.

JAIPUR: Indian officials know bovines are a serious business. Ask those policemen "sent to police lines", whatever that means, for being derelict in protecting Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan's buffaloes.

Thankfully, the animals have been rescued, presumably putting an end to rampant cattle rustling in the Wild East. But we need to actually look further west to see a politician putting her money where her mouth is. Vasundhara Raje pledged a ministry for cows during her recent election campaign and having swept to power, guess what, she's sticking to her word.

Religious leaders close to the political leaders of Rajasthan asked for a cow ministry and that's exactly what they'll get — and that too in the rapid span of two months, a pace that's noticeably faster than that of the average bovine.

Rajasthan's animal husbandry department's officials are hard at work to set up India's first ministry for cows. The ministry will help establish "a world university on cow science" for carrying out research into agriculture and other subjects that centre around the animal, which Hindus regard as holy. It will also thrash out a policy for the protection, conservation and improvement of indigenous breeds besides stemming the trafficking of the animal.

Chief Minister Raje's recent decision to include the cow ministry in her much-touted 60-day governance plan has forced officials to get going with the programme. But being a pioneer isn't easy. In several detailed but off-the-record conversations with ET, the officials didn't seem to be as wildly enthusiastic as they should have been. Confusion and irritation seemed to be the prevailing emotions.

Issues of jurisdiction

Some of them are of the opinion that there's already too much cow-related administration going on. That's just nitpicking, the government might argue, pointing out that there are only four state agencies under the animal husbandry department engaged in the welfare of cows and other bovines. These include the Cow Conservation Directorate, Gau Seva Commission, Animal Husbandry Directorate and Rajasthan Livestock Development Board (RLDB).

Each has specific responsibilities that include development and research of cow breeds and fodder; monitoring the 1,304 cow sheds in state; calf protection and urine and dung management; and rescuing stray cattle. "The cow conservation directorate was added only recently, around the time of the assembly elections, adding further to the already elaborate bureaucracy of livestock conservation in a state which has India's largest number of cattle," a senior animal husbandry department official pointed out.

The existence of several departments to conserve and protect cows and other bovines has made the process of setting up an entirely new ministry complicated "due to issues of jurisdiction," he said. Oh, turf battles. Something cows and politicians would understand. The official elaborated on this. The new ministry will have to resolve "jurisdictional issues with other departments such as forest, revenue and Panchayati Raj because of the implication of the activities the cow ministry is expected to undertake," he said.

There's also some legal fine print that could kill the state's admirable initiative. "Legally, states cannot set up ministries. They can only propose and set up a department. So it is likely that, eventually, the state will settle for the option of setting up a department." But all that means is duplication of work, said one former official. "It's good if they want to protect cows and start a ministry for that," said Dhirendra Bhandari, former director of the state's animal husbandry department and chairman of Rajasthan Gaushala Seva Sangh.

"But there are existing institutions doing the job just fine, not creating any pressing need for a cow ministry. During the (Ashok) Gehlot government's reign, Rs 140 crore was allocated for the Animal Husbandry Directorate by the state government and Rs 32 crore disbursed by the Gau Seva Commission during this financial year for protection and overseeing functioning of cow shelters and cattle."

First farewell

The weekend just gone, we had the first of our farewells out at our friend’s farm in Faridabad (about 45 min on the outskirts of Delhi).

Prashant, Ayesha, Prem and mum (aka Mrs Kalra), put on a Indian-style BBQ for us at their lovely farm.

The family runs cooking classes at the farm that you should try if ever you find yourself in Delhi:

http://delhifoodtours.com/mums-kitchen/

http://delhifoodtours.com/dads-grill/

We couldn’t have asked for better weather on the day: it was perfect BBQ weather.

Someone brought a footy so that got kicked around; there was a badminton tournament going on and of course, the inevitable World Series Backyard cricket.

It was really great to see the kids (and the adults) running around in open space and having a good time.

There was even a bonfire that everyone seemed to gravitate towards as well as two cute puppies that kept the kids amused.

A fun afternoon was had by all.

To the Kalra family: thank you so much for your hospitality and for being such great friends to us. We will miss you.

We hope that you will make it to Australia one day where we can return the hospitality in spades !!

Here are some photos from the day: