Heights of Political Rivalry

 

The digital generation has literally changed the dimensions of the game of politics. India has never been through so much polarisation, public drama, mudslinging and hurling of abuses during the course of election campaigning as witnessed in the latest edition of the general elections. Politicians are stooping to new lows. This trend might not be the first instance in Indian politics, but with the ubiquitous media anticipatorily catching each act of the politicians, people are witnessing the never before seen picture of each of their political idols.

In reality, thanks to the new technological innovations, varied types of snooping devices are now unearthing malicious closed door meetings too. Now hardly any public meetings or gatherings of the self-proclaimed VIPs in any corner of the country can escape public eye. At this juncture, it is quite startling to find how leaders aspiring to be representatives of people either at the state or central level fail to present an impeccable and eloquent image of themselves before the masses. Even toddlers would put up best behaviour when we brief them that they will be duly rewarded and judged for all their actions. Are these so called saviours of nation fall short of this basic common sense akin to kids? All the candidates representing different political parties must realise people cast votes with a hope that the individual would revive the community they live in terms of better infrastructure, safe drinking water, drainage, electricity and security for their families. As per constitution, these representatives are liable to cater to the needs of the people of the constituencies they represent. Instead of discussing the issues of governance and policies that can change the face of the society why these candidates resort to the dirty games raking up personal issues?

We Indians assiduously proclaim to be the inheritors of oldest civilisation and are the upholders of culture and virtues. But the behaviour of these politicians presents a completely different picture of etiquettes to the World. These leaders are denigrating the democratic setup of the country by dragging personal issues into the campaigning business. Most of these speeches have become highly polarised and divisive, indulging in defaming their political rivals. Much to the dismay of public all these demeaning and pungent retaliatory statements are aired by 24x7 vigilante news channels. A section of people are now ashamed of owning up such leaders whose repulsive dimensions are exposed. These statements are sparking resentment among people. The tall image of their icons is now falling short of credentials. The repugnant and derogatory remarks and clearly raising doubts among intellectuals and elite about the competency of leaders and future of the nation even. Whether they are fit to be statesmen or even eligible to lay claims on the highest echelons of power?

The extended spell of polling across the different parts of this vast nation in 9 phases is unintentionally doing a great disservice than good. Undeniably, the election commission deserves appreciation for the meticulous planning for peacefully conducting the free and fail and elections so far baring minor incidents. They must have toiled for several months to carry out the humungous task of conducting election in the world’s largest democracy. The noble intentions of this authority are unquestionable. But with the official election process having set in motion from March 6^th till May 16^th the rapacious politicians instead of invigorating faith in democracy are insinuating people and dividing them. Election campaigning which have started on a positive note has started spewing venom as they clumsily vie for every single vote. Now instead of issue based politics, cheap tricks are coming to fore ground.

Ironically, though leaders might ignore their claims and statements, they are now thoroughly watched. As elections are entering the final phases, the leaders instead of displaying their best attributes, they seem to appear before us in their dubious best. It is becoming excruciatingly difficult to watch the television or read newspapers as all of them are glutted by this rancour.  There is hardly any utterance about development and progress; their speeches are full of ridicule and mockery.  It is high time that these politicians adorn a befitting posture and exude an iota of patriotism at least.  Else election commission should pronounce that campaigning hence forth be banned en masse or detain the leaders who make abominable comments without reservations. Else the citizens of the nation are forced to undergo the torture of putting up with the vociferous vicious comments that arouse the passions in otherwise docile and law abiding citizens.

These leaders might probably bury their differences as the final curtain falls on the election stage. But the insinuations of the acrid speeches refuse to die down in the common men who idolise their leaders. These petty leaders who for their political ends have divided the community on caste, creed, religion, regional lines have impregnated deep seated repugnance. Election Commission must have come up with tougher and stricter laws that can at least put checks on the distasteful and disparaging comments. In India we have stringent laws and punishments for any misdeed but as always they are never enforced. Perhaps, EC is also paralysed by similar bug. May the election mark a new beginning and rejuvenate new hope about a vibrant India.

 

 

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Business Proposition in shifting IPL7 to UAE

Match fixing allegations has taken away sheen off the IPL (Indian Premier League) that was riding high on people’s frenzy for cricket. Once considered a gentlemen’s game, cricket no longer invoke such credentials. Neither the players nor the owners of the various franchises hence forth are regarded as promoters of game. The IPL is now an organised business strategy and an entertainment contrivance to enthral cricket fanatics’ world over. Especially the inconsistencies of team performances leave us astonished. It is incredible how a team posting an extremely unrealistic high runs on score board on one day gets dismissed at bizarrely low score the next day. May be the unpredictability is main cache attracting some while others simply thrash it for its incongruence.

The initial few seasons of IPL were a big hit as the broadcasting services and media made huge money but slowly the interest had waned. These matches used to make a big dent on viewership of other channels as well. With the result, other channels were even forced to reschedule their entertainment programmes during the prime time on match days.  But with attested evidence of involvement of bigwigs and players in the match fixing cases in the IPL 6 people developed an indifferent attitude towards the IPL as such. It has kind of lost its credibility. This year the palpable frenzy is missing due to allegations of spot fixing, money laundering, betting and termination of franchises.

IPL started in 2008 is touted for its biggest commercial success. It is held annually during the months of April to June in India. When IPL-2 in 2009 clashed with the general elections the match venues were shifted to South Africa. This year again IPL extravaganza had to  be moved out of India, as the Union home minister expressed his inability to provide security for the matches as it clashed with election dates. There were several places on cards- South Africa, Bangladesh, UAE and Sri Lanka as favoured venues. But then it was decided that IPL would be conducted jointly in India and UAE with the first spell of 20 matches from April 16^th to 30^th  to be played in UAE at three different venues- Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi each having seating capacity of around 25 thousands. The second spell would be played in India from May 2^nd to June 1^st except in May 16^th which is the counting day. The crucial decision of selecting the venues had lot of business implications for the cash rich IPL body.

A number of issues have been taken into consideration to ferret out best returns in business. But the first question is why did South Africa fail to garner sufficient support to pull IPL to its turf when it has successfully conducted IPL 2? Unconfirmed reports indicate that Cricket South African has demanded Rs 150 Crores to host the event while UAE obliged to host it for Rs 60 Crores. Besides the money aspect, weather conditions and the time zone are different. A difference in timings might definitely hit the viewership hence the option was discarded.

But by choosing UAE, IPL has enhanced its prospects of making more business. UAE falls in similar time zone and the weather conditions during this part of year are almost same. The atmosphere and pitches would be similar leaving little scope for franchises to complain.  While it is known fact that UAE has the highest population of Indians abroad, hence IPL can milk the cricket crazy Indian expats. Its treasuries will be guaranteed a steady inflow of revenue too. By stretching itself to UAE it has increased its propensity of finding more sponsors for the event. As evident from the crowds from the completely packed stands in all of the matches, IPL seems to have stuck gold. The response of the crowd is amazing and the entertainment hasn’t sizzled out unlike in South Africa where most of the stands were empty. Further since UAE isn’t much far from India, fans can attend the matches and watch their favourite teams in action.

No wonder with interest in IPL ebbing in India, organisers should seek greener pastures to keep both its commercial promise and charisma alive. Indians who have become globe trotters in recent times are known to be movie buffs and cricket freaks. Enthused by a positive response for IPL7 in UAE it may not be preposterous to expect future editions of IPL on foreign soil. India International Film Festivals so far have been patronised by Indian movie lovers settled abroad. It shouldn’t be startling if IPL organisers too take the same route.....

 

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The World Cup Football 2014 @ Brazil: Protests Galore

 

Brazil, the largest Lusophone nation, venue for two world’s biggest extravaganza, FIFA Cup in 2014 and Summer Olympics in 2016 is set to rule the sports roster for the next two years. With the FIFA cup due in less than 2 months, there has been a surge in enthusiasm about the world football festival. The beach country Brazil is undoubtedly the most favoured place on earth this June. Brazil is popular on the world map for the fun, frolic, samba dance, beautiful women and above all football which is its heart and soul. The unprecedented celebrations will kick starts in Sao Paulo when Brazil takes on Croatia on June 12^th. 

 

When Brazil won the bid for conducting Olympics and World cup, the historical decision of shifting the mega sporting events to an emerging nation has been lauded internationally.  But the ground situation in the country suggests otherwise. Brazil has been going through a trail of inglorious melancholy for more than one year due to pitched protests. Much to the chagrin of Brazilians who complain of massive corruption, poor infrastructure and sub standard education, the venues are not ready for the World Cup. Last year as a rehearsal for the World Cup when Confederation Cup was held in Brazil, the event was meted out with protests and military had to be called to take stock of the situation. Insiders say that the situation would be no different for the main event as agitators are planning 64 protests targeting the 64 games scheduled as a part of World Cup.

People have become restive as the problems have been compounded ever since Brazil won the bid for Olympics. Fares of public transport have been hiked, favelas (slums) dwellers were evicted and almost $22.8 billion invested for building various facilities and necessary infrastructure for the games across 12 different cities in Brazil. Government planned for ambitious infrastructure and stadia as found it as right time for developing the country. But these mega events have divided the country into two: the one whose lives were hard hit by the corruption and burgeoning dislocations and the other half comprising the upper middle class and rich smitten by the excitement of the world cup and stung by the joyous fervour of football. Country is currently battling between the passions of the football aficionados who are optimistic about the world cup and the displaced favela dwellers, protesting about unmet public demand representing the grievous state of affairs.

In the wake of these raging tensions, a cross section of people believes that football will be the greatest equaliser. In no other part of world can a game of football evoke so much emotion, energy and solidarity as in Brazil. The real magic lies in their national anthem that drives crowds delirious. It can fuel the stadium with enthrallment and thus compatible with both patriotism and protests as well. Even people are heavily relying on the performance of national football team to do the miracle for the country.

After winning the bid for both World cup and Olympics government had  an ambitious $ 400 billion worth plan of overhauling the country infrastructure that includes airports, road and rail transportation. People were overwhelmed as they expected that infrastructure, roads, hospitals and other allied services would also improve. But nearly 25% of those projects stand cancelled, delayed or reduced in scope. Several promises like bullet train linking Rio and Sao Paulo aren’t realised even now. People are vexed of broken and false promises. Instead all the 12 stadia for the world cup are beautifully decked up without any lateral development in the infrastructure. These stadia are like white elephants and after the World cup and games they could no longer use them. Further the grievous water crisis is making things much worse. Government has started rationing water to people. Regular supply of water has been drastically cut for domestic purposes. With reservoirs hitting their lowest ever storage capacity, organisers are having real tough time.

The burden of investments made for renovation and construction to install the state of art facilities within stadia is felt by common man as prices have escalated tremendously. For most of them watching football match is a cultural thing. But with a hike in ticket prices majority are denied them of this pleasure too. Moreover, some of the oldest favelas with rich historical and monumental values are going to be decimated and hence dwellers are strictly opposing any of those moves. World Cup organisers are quick to dismiss this news but till now 65,000 people have lost their homes. Due to the aggressive interventions of police during the evacuation processes, drug gangs started gaining more momentum and cities have become less safe.

About 3.3million tickets for World Cup are up for sale and so far 2.5 million tickets have been sold.  Due to the controversies of slow pace of stadium renovation and construction 50 thousand free tickets are marked for the workers for all first-round matches except the opening game. Even now the preparations for the world cup are far from complete; there are concerns among the officials about players’ dissatisfaction regarding the arrangements. This world cup unlike others has a great deal of compelling results to offer both on and off the field. If Brazil succeeds in organising both the mega events with aplomb, it will go down the history as the first ever South American country to do so. Further it would promote the idea that developing countries too can excel organising world class events, hallmarks of developed nations. The games are going to be another big challenge as the country will experience a major change in leadership with presidential elections due for Oct 2014.  Hope the 30 days of World football fest in Brazil would leave an illustrious footprint in the sporting history. The controversies looming the World Cup seem to be never ending as even the logo has been ridiculed on twitter for looking like face palm.

 

 

 

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Presidential Elections in Afghanistan

The South Asian country, Afghanistan raided and swayed by Taliban is eagerly waiting for the results of the Presidential elections 2014 to be announced on April 24^th. Our North west neighbour, the hot seat of the Taliban was plundered, ravaged and left decrepit by arduous wars is trying to enter the new realm of hope. Elections held in the first week of April had registered 60% voting wherein eligible 12 million voters exercised their franchise.  Young women and men strongly defied the sanctions of the Taliban who threatened then with grave consequences, reached election booths in teeming numbers. As per the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan, ballot boxes have been transported on donkey backs to the inaccessible hilly terrains to facilitate the process of the choosing a President who can lead them into a new frontier. There are three front runners for the post of President former Foreign Ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmai Rassoul and a veteran politician Ashraf Ghani. President Hamid Karzai is not allowed to contest elections as per the country’s constitution.

These elections are receiving international attention against the backdrop of US decision to pull back NATO-led International Security Assistance Force or ISAF installed in 2001 by the end of 2014. The decision to recall approximately 53,000 troops is bound to have incriminating consequences in the South Asian region, a region known for fragile interstate relationships. Taliban who are against restoration of any democratic process are disrupting the presidential and provincial elections as several regions have witnessed spurt in bomb blasts and violence. The occurrence of these incidents was more pronounced in the east and southern parts of the country, the regions bordering Pakistan.

Afghanistan had an excruciating past. The war with Soviet Union ended in 1989 later on the country was pushed into civil wars fought by people of different ethnic origin that wrecked the country’s economy and left it weak and unstable. After several years Taliban- an alliance of Muslim clerics, students and former fighters of Soviet Union wrested their control over the country till 2001. Taliban forcibly advocated radical practices of Muslim culture and any violation was met with grave punishments. Women’s independence has been totally curtailed under the guise of Sharia. With the result once cosmopolitan and urbane Kabul has become home of public lynching and floggings. Women were largely confined to home and girls were forbidden from attending schools. Having forsaken their freedom, women are solely resting on their votes as weapons of change. An independent survey conducted by Free Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA) indicated that first priority of the majority is restoration of peace followed by infrastructure and health care.

Since President Karzai failed to sign a bilateral security agreement with US, it is left with Zero-option but to withdraw the forces completely. With the result, Taliban is spreading its poisonous fangs into remote regions where coalition troops have signed off. The long term strategy of Taliban is to slowly gain strength and avenge back with military action. Some reports suggest that foundations of Taliban have weakened as donors are no longer willing to donate with US armies pulling back. Apart from security issues withdrawal of NATO troops might impair the generous foreign aid and technical help for aerial combat for the native forces.

The Presidential elections would be a reprieve for the turbulent nation with a weak economy. The winner of the elections must get more than 50% of valid ballot else the top-two positions have to go for a run-off which will be held by the end of May.  Run-off would cost the state exchequer with addition $ 100 million apart from the raging security concerns. Independent Election Commission is also worried of fractured verdict as reports indicate that elections were mired by fraud.  As per latest reports of counting of the ballot, the front runner of this Presidential election is Abdullah Abdullah, a eye surgeon with nearly 42% of votes.

At this juncture, it is imminent to discuss about the book “The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan 2001-2014” written by US journalist Carlotta Gall, clearly attributes the incriminating role of Pakistan, a close ally of US for the sad state of affairs in Afghanistan. But the situation could be reversed as the contenders for the top post currently are not gullible village mullahs but matured politicians and intellectuals. Gall is her book doesn’t mince words in discussing the vicious role of Pakistan which has been sending proxies across the borders as militants to drive away US.  She adds that, this is just a part of its 40 year old pursuit of usurping its weak neighbour. Having realised the evil intentions of Pakistan to keep Afghanistan as a burning cauldron, all the candidates for the President’s post promised to sign the bilateral security agreement with the US. As per this agreement, a contingency of military troops would stay back after 2014 to train the native forces. A part from the threats of Taliban excesses, Afghanistan is looming under pressure of possible civil war by restive tribes in the south and eastern regions. The new president primarily has a grave challenge of keeping the fractured country intact. Hope this election might deliver an absolute majority to one of candidates. For peace in the Afghan land would entail harmony in the entire South Asian region.

 

 

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Economic Freedom of States of India- Gujarat Story

The principal opposition party has unleashed its campaign blitzkrieg on its trump card of “Gujarat Model of development”, the achievements of which are largely contested by rest of the political parties. As several development parameters in terms of Human Development Index haven’t put Gujarat in forefront. Hence the basis of the projection of this particular state is under scanner. Incidentally, the state doesn’t figure in the list of 7 most developed states in India as per Raghuram Rajan committee. With the result critics have seriously derided the achievements of the state as Goa and Kerala being rated as the most developed states. The methodology employed by the committee is multidimensional index (MDI) wherein 28 states are categorised as least developed, less developed and relatively developed. Gujarat was under the less developed category with mediocre performance.

The Cato Institute along with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in New Delhi and Indicus Analyticus has published the Annual Economic Freedom of the States of India (EFSI) written by Bibek Debroy, Laveesh Bhandari and Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar. EFSI rates Gujarat as India’s top state in economic freedom. In 1980’s work has been initiated by the Fraser Institute to measure the Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) as economic freedom is associated with greater wealth, higher growth and improvements in human development indicators. EFW is also a measure of human progress and its role in sustaining civil and political liberty.   Economic Freedom of India has begun to surge with the opening of the markets in 1990 as the human development indicators have shown a marked improvement. But the position has slipped in the recent years and it is currently ranked at 111^th position among the 152 countries. Incidentally India has slipped from 76^th position in 2005. In spite of the significant decrease of the economic freedom of the country, the notable achievement has been a considerable improvement in economic freedom of different states in India.

The EFSI calculated for 20 large states of India is based on three parameters where state has direct control and any improvement in any of these issues would have a sizeable impact. They are size of the government: expenditure, taxes and enterprises; legal structure and security of property rights; and regulation of business and labour. The index indicates a direct correlation between the economic freedom and the well- being of the individuals.   Economic Freedom Index (EFI) of different countries was found to be a valid indicator of the social progress and hence this study has been extended to different states of India as well.  In general, higher economic freedom indicates better or higher per capita income for its citizens, lower unemployment rates, better sanitation facilities and are the states which attract more investment even. Though economic freedom is not synonymous to good governance, absence of economic freedom indicates poor governance- a typical situation, where state is burdened by the excesses of the bureaucracy, inordinate delays, massive corruption or in short prevalence of jungle raj. This indicates that better governance can vouch for greater economic freedom.

EFSI of 2013 indicates that Gujarat has been at the top of the table consistently for three years separated distantly from Tamilnadu. On the scale of the 0 to 1, Gujarat is at 0.65 with Tamilnadu at 0.54 in second position. Gujarat pegged at 5^th position with 0.46 in 2005    has climbed to the first place. Next best state as per the index is Andhra Pradesh, which is currently at third position in the table has average growth rate of 10.4% while Gujarat averaged at 12%. The report assumes greater significance as good governance proclaimed during the election campaign is not farce.

Gujarat has recorded successes in agriculture, social welfare programmes and water resource management. Other vital and key aspects of governance  which are assessed this includes: efficiency of government in protecting human life and property, quality of the justice mechanism, the availability of judges, completion of cases by courts and police investigation. It is also evaluated by the recovery of the stolen property and rate of violent and economic crimes. Gujarat government has been accused of favouring businessmen by offering sops especially land at cheaper prices. In this context it is important to evaluate the other important variables of business that are in ample supply in the state. The cost of business is affected by an increase in transaction. The state ensured efficient and quicker transaction processes by preventing bureaucratic delays, implementation of Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (IEM) and good infrastructure. Gujarat registered a sharp decline in the man-days lost due to strikes and lock-outs, higher wage rates as compared to minimum wages and decline in pendency of cases (prompt judgment).

 

Gujarat has consistently maintained higher weighted averages in regulatory and legal arenas. It is not a typical free- market state characterised by large and expanding public sector enterprises. It has welfare programmes in place but subsidies are much lesser when compared to other states. Farmers are charged for power with a guaranteed supply 24x7. While Andhra Pradesh is in third position not for any marked improvement in any of the areas but due to significant under performance of other states. Overall median performance of Indian states has improved from 0.38 in 2005 to 0.43 in 2011. Even the poverty rate of Muslims (11.4%) is much lesser than Hindu for Hindus (17.6%).

This entire exercise of assessing the states takes into consideration not just the growth or excellent performance in one or two aspects but an overwhelmingly large range of factors. Hence performance of Gujarat in individual aspects may not be outstanding but when a range of indicators are considered it has emerged as the winner indicating an well- rounded improvement in all aspects of governance.

Eventually 21 different variables encompassing diverse aspects of economic freedom are utilised to obtain the composite freedom index in 20 large states in India (as data for other smaller states were not available). There are various studies that could individually measure the well being of the state but till now the no efforts or studies have evolved to measure the governance. This study has been unique in this way. This has also emphasises that greater centralisation of power has been impinging the freedom of states. It recommends decentralisation not only in union-state relations but also decentralisation and devolution of power within the state to empower the third tier of governance, the local governments. Though the state doesn't present the perfect picture of good governance but its ability to maintain communal peace post 2002 riots, renewed efforts to walk through the path of development are undoubtedly the traits of good governance.

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Missing Agenda on Science Policies In Election Manifestos

 

Election season in any democratic country are characterised by debates pertinent to all issues of governance. Though the so called election debates were initiated by media channels on a humble note, with onset of different phases of elections these constructive debates have sequentially decimated. The election campaigns are now reduced to personal attacks, mudslinging and expletives. The real electoral issues are biting dust, meaningful dialogues and constructive policy making decisions have almost vanished from their speeches. Parties have become so very busy in personal aggrandisement that core issues have been buried and even their respective party manifestos are now high on appeasement policies, welfare programmes, and reservations without vision for a vibrant democracy. It is now conspicuous that both media and the political parties have conveniently ignored discussions on the STEAM (Science, Technology, Environment, Agriculture and Medicine). It is unfortunate that despite active participation of highly educated and accomplished people as contenders for the current Lok Sabha elections there is not a single mention or discussion of prospective policies for amelioration of research in the country. In the squabble for power political parties are grossly undermining and evading discussions, important policy decisions on crucial aspects that offer greater opportunities for progress and development in science and technology.

Unfortunately, except for the scientific community, the issues related to investment in science and technology, the quality of research and its impact on the society at large are awfully missing in election manifestos. Almost all the national parties have resorted to drum beating their own vision and policies on various aspects of governance excluding science. The election festival now offers just a feast of the freebies, subsidies, welfare programmes etc, and the entire campaigning trail is woefully devoid of any policy Indian science.

Though the progress of Indian Science has been trailing, it received a greater audience with the candid admission of Prime Minister in the Indian Science Congress. In early 1990’s India was three times ahead of China in scientific publications but now Chinese are producing thrice the number of papers we do. Worse, even citations for our publications and the quality of the science reflected in the research articles have stooped down to new lows. With the result, the hierarchical heads of India have promised an increased budgetary allowance towards science which is now pegged at 0.9% of GDP. But sadly till now even the monetary benefits haven’t been completely materialised. Public funding of science in India is lot lesser than other BRIC countries (China-1.84%, Brazil-1.25%, Russia-1.12%).

The present phase of Indian science has been referred to as state of structural and financial stagnation by Mathai Joseph and Andrew Robinson in a paper published in Nature, April 2014. It is matter of serious ignominy that India failed to produce a Nobel Laureate post 1947 and all the India-born scientists in the recent past are awarded Nobel Prize for their work done abroad. Indian science needs a major over haul to restore the glory of its decrepit scientific empires. The paper discusses about the major hurdles in science and proposes future plan of action for the policy makers too. Indian Science is afflicted with the huge problem of working in small groups that barely collaborate. Scientific organisations have obtained a categorical bureaucratic status in India post independence. With the result, instead of fostering innovations, the heads of institutes again scientists of higher acclaim are vying for the top administrative posts leaving aside research to the juniors. Thus, good science has become a matter of chance. India is now ranked 10^th in its scientific output but ranks 166^th in terms of citations. It has abysmal records of obtaining patents, while China accounts to 20% of patents filed with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) India has mere 1.9%. Other major impediments hindering the progress are its promotion system that is based on the longevity of service rather than achievement. As a result the longest serving candidate would invariably be the head of all major projects. Even when certain leading institutes are generously funded, unreasonable restrictions are imposed on funding foreign travel of young researchers and students to attend various conferences. Finally, the lateral movement of researchers between organisations is highly discouraged. Worse even, some of the Indian Science Organisations have failed to take serious action on issues of plagiarism.

To stem this downward trend of scientific institutes four constructive strategies have been proposed to reengineer a bold science policy for modern India. First major step would be decoupling the scientific organisations from government to empower them to take a call on the research proposals and disburse funds to such projects unequivocally. Second should be a periodical rotation of roles and responsibilities with a fixed tenure limit for individuals. Third- fostering collaboration and coordinating the work of different institutes, individuals and industries working towards development of a particular technology. Finally a concrete plan should be evolved to disburse government funds to various institutes. Certain reputed institutes in the country has no dearth of funds, hence smart diversification of funds to fledging university laboratories, institutes can help in grooming a smarter set of Ph.D students. Above, all a career in science should be made more attractive by providing conducive and exciting work environment and a rewarding career. It has to be realised that a challenging and stimulating career and not necessarily the financial rewards can usher the younger generation into the business of innovation. Hope the newly elected government would clearly ear mark the promised 2% of GDP towards Science and catapult the fortunes of country.

 

It would be pertinent in this context to even recapitulate the strategies proposed by Gautam R. Desiraju, elected President of International Union of Crystallography for triennium 2011-2014, has briefly illustrated bold strategies for Indian Science, which can bestow a sense of direction and vision to our science policy. He opined that  by simply pumping money for science projects, popularising it and fly-by visits of renowned Western scientists can’t revamp the debilitating phase of Indian science. 

He suggested a way forward for the policy makers. Firstly- provide modest funding to a very large number of small, single-investigator monitored projects. For instance to modest projects in State Universities to promote enthusiasm and mass participation. Second-providing heavy and government directed funding into projects of national importance like energy, water and public health. Third is scraping the existing system of awards and prizes or recognition to dissuade the youth from chasing the prizes instead of working for good science. Lastly as a long term strategy  efforts should be made to do away with the existing system of reservations in educational institutes and institutes of higher learning, improving the quality of undergraduate teaching and training by setting up better laboratories, laying out clear path towards administrative and scientific growth of individuals. He clearly remarked that paucity of funding is not crippling the research but lack of leadership, honesty and healthy climate are taking a toll on resurgence of Indian Science.

Indians are plagued by the feudal-colonial mind-set oblivious of raising questions.  Further an unparalleled subservience together with a docile and sycophantic attitude is crippling the emergence of Indian scientists with a free, outrageous and revolutionary thinking that can  explore the new world of challenges. Also the basic Indian trait of equating age to wisdom has resulted in the geriatrics occupying the highest echelons of administrative authority in scientific organisations. The problem is aggravated by variants of corruption like the "inbreeding" propelled by old boys association, caste based reservations in small institutes, administrative vindictiveness and vagaries in research funding. 

For a nation richly endowed with resources, personnel, talent and education a more promising and able leadership can change the contour of Indian Science. The recommendations proposed by seasoned scientists would be an invaluable feedback for evolving a futuristic science policy for our nation.

 

 

 

 

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Convoluted Perceptions About Indian Science

In spite of the successful launch of India’s second navigation satellite recently, the whimper of heated debates about the exigency of funding space projects by government still refuse to die out. A cross-section of people emphatically question the need for shelling out public money for scientifically empowering the nation with cutting edge technology, while millions of Indians starve to death. They even unapologetically dispute the relevance of missions to Moon and Mars. This outlandishly ridiculous mockery of satellite launch programmes at the behest of abject poverty experienced by millions of people only reflects the apathy of general public towards scientific programmes in our country. But practically, it is unreasonable to couple these two issues.

Why is that we refrain to shed the tag of underdogs? While it is time for celebration and extending laudatory support to the Indian scientists who have slogged to master space technology why should boorish comments and whimper of pessimism be a tag line in some of newspapers? For the past 66 years of Independence, several poverty alleviation programmes and policies have been enforced to ameliorate the standard of living of millions. When the neighbouring South East Asian countries, liberated from the shackles of colonialism around the same period, are racing against time to emerge as super powers, we in India with its boundless talent, resources are lamenting about our pursuits in scaling greater heights in advanced scientific technology.

Why are we so interested in entrenching ourselves into the tunnels of pessimism and stupor? When developed nations of the world are considering India, still an emerging country as a potential threat in global technology market, why should we be vitriolic about funding science, at a stage when India space programme is delivering miracles and astounding results?

It is really sad that India even after 67 years of independence has to still boggle down under the pressure of poverty alleviation programmes. In fact, we should realise that scientific research and technology development would augur more job creation, improve the quality of life and enhance transfer of technology. Any nation with a sound technological skills and scientific advancement can reap the benefits of the sophisticated technology in multitudinous ways.  For example- mastery in satellite launching would keep ISRO on a high pedestal in the global satellite launching market worth several billion dollars. Moreover as the cost of labour is low, with its proficiency in the rocket technology, ISRO and its allied partners can refurbish this gigantic task of satellite launching in frugal budget and on long term it can earn billions of dollars for a developing country like India.

Within science, there are certain allied branches like astrology, homeopathy etc., are undermined but  they constitute the rarest consolidation of knowledge, facts and valuable theories which are to be treasured. Science literally means a system of acquiring knowledge and knowledge can be acquired by study or practice. Over a period through observation and experimentation, people have made it enterprising. Hence nation can hardly afford to ignore the potential advantages of invigorating interest in science. But unfortunately, there isn’t any iota of debate about step-motherly treated accorded to science in terms of budgetary allocation. It is cynical that  at a stage when Indian economy is burdened by a slew of subsidies, ravaged by numerous scams and mind boggling corruption people conveniently avoid debating on the insignificant allocation  of government funding towards science.

 

 

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Successful Launch Of India's second Navigation Satellite, IRNSS 1B

With the resounding success of launch of the navigation satellite, IRNSS 1B (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System), the second in the series of 7 navigation satellites by the work- horse PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) C-24 ISRO has registered another illustrious achievement on April 4^th 2014.  Incidentally this also marks consecutive 25 successful launches of the PSLV, the most reliable launch vehicle. It was a text-book perfect precision launch and within 19min of the launch, the satellite was put in its designated geosynchronous orbit. PSLV vehicle was flying in XL configuration, a method wherein additional propellant in the PSLV solid rocket boosters is used. It increases pay load capacity and thus it can put satellites in higher orbits. XL configuration was flown for 5 times earlier including the launch of IRNSS 1A (first navigation satellite in this series), GSAT-12 (a communication satellite), RISAT-1 (a remote sensing satellite), Chandrayaan1 and Mangalyaan. This satellite was built in a record time of seven months. The first satellite, IRNSS 1A in this series was launched last year July by PSLV C-22.  With this launch India will inch closer towards developing its own Global Positioning System (GPS).  It will enable India to pin point any location from anything varying from 10 mts to 1500 km. It has been designed for close geographical monitoring of the borders. The entire constellation of satellites is going to be launched by 2015 and the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System will be completely operational from 2016. But basic navigation services can start after the launch of four satellites, that is by end of 2014.

India is now the 6^th country after US, Russia, Europe, China and Japan to have its own GPS (Global Positioning system). Till now India has been largely relying on American GPS System.  IRNSS will be similar to American GPS, GLONASS of Russia, Galileo of Europe, China’s Beidou or the Japan’s Quasi Zenith Satellite System. IRNSS 1B, 44 mt tall and 1430 kg satellite carried a precision clock called the Atomic Clock. It has a mission life of 10 years from the date of launch. IRNSS, 1420 Crore project will be very useful in active terrestrial, marine and aerial navigation, disaster management, vehicle trafficking, fleet management, as a navigation aid for travellers, integration of mobiles, mapping and geodectic data capture.

IRNSS has two services-standard positioning service (SPS) provided to all users (civilians) and Restricted Service (RS) an encrypted service which can be availed by authorised users (military). The entire system has two segments- the space and the ground. The space segment consists of seven satellites working in tandem. Three of which are put in geostationary orbit and four in inclined geosynchronous orbit. The ground segment involves 21 ranging stations and a Master Control Centre (MCC).  Some of which are located in lower latitudes to facilitates coverage to low inclination satellites. The first one, IRNSS 1A in the series has started functioning and its performance was evaluated too. The second satellite, IRNSS 1B will start working by the end of 2014. Two more satellites in the series, IRNSS 1C and 1D are slated to be launched in 2014.

Development of indigenous GPS system is inevitable for India, as access to foreign global navigation satellite systems is denied during hostile situations. India whose geographical borders are severely threatened and intimidated needs a system which can ensure a complete surveillance. Navigation system is crucial for both civilian and commercial services as well.

 

 

 

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Job Creation : A Crucial Election Promise

It is election season and promises galore by all the political parties are making headlines. For reasons beyond comprehension most of the affirmations are never realised until unless those issues jeopardise the foundations of parties. Nevertheless, one of the national party in their election manifesto has promised creation of 10 crore jobs for an inclusive growth if voted to power. If the party could effectively generate such large scale employment our country can shed the tag of emerging nation and embrace the status of a developed country.

Mc. Kinsey Global Institute (MGI) in its 2014 report “From poverty to empowerment: India’s imperative for jobs, growth, and effective basic services” released in February, had briefly summed up the India’s economic status and suggested a way forward.  It has credited the wave of economic reforms initiated two decades ago to be the major game changer in India’s fight against the abject poverty. With the result India experienced fastest growth, bringing down the numbers of extreme poverty to 22% or 270 million from 45% in 1994. Though it is no mean achievement to celebrate, there is still a long way to go. Even a perfunctory analysis of the Human Development indicators suggest that a vast majority or nearly 56% or 680 million people don’t have access to 8 basic household needs (food, energy, housing, drinking water, sanitation, primary health care, education and social security). It turns out that 680 millions of population or roughly 2.5 times the population below the poverty line are deprived of essential needs which are measures of standard of living and this constitutes the empowerment line.

Policies till now have been targeted towards alleviation and considerable progress has been made. Now there is need for new aspirations and higher vision to take the country into the next level. The empowerment gap or the additional consumption of bringing the 680 million to empowerment line is nearly equal to 4 percent of GDP. The cost of bridging this gap is seven times higher than the cost of eliminating poverty. Though public spending has increased to make public services more accessible, only 50% of government funds are reaching the needy. Moreover to bring about a sustained improvement in people’s life there is a need for more ambitious and bold inclusive reform agenda. GDP of the country can be boosted by reforms includes that stimulate job creation. An estimated 115 million or 11.5 crores are needed to absorb the growing population, encourage active labour force participation, expedite shifting of labour from farming sector and improve their standard of living as well.

In order to kick start job creation, India must make efforts to improve the business and investment climate for labour-intensive manufacturing, construction and services. The business atmosphere in India is crippled by poor infrastructure facilities, red tape across various government organisations, tedious taxation procedures and antiquated labour laws.  Additionally, for an inclusive growth four key aspects are to be prioritised and streamlined to set a stage for large scale job creation. They are -despite lower returns from agricultural sector when compared to manufacturing, construction, trade and hospitality sector, nearly half of labour force is currently employed in farm work. Hence bolstering a shift of labour to non-farm sectors can improve their incomes. Second, data indicates that registered enterprises are five times more productive than unregistered enterprises. But India’s unregistered enterprises engage almost 70% of non-farm labour. Thus, there is an urgent need to increase the proportion of the organised enterprises. Next, companies with more than 200 employees are known to be eight times more productive than small and tiny companies working with 5 to 49 employees. Greater economies of scale can be achieved by initiating labour intensive industries. Nearly 84% of India’s manufacturing enterprises employ less than 50 workers compared to 24% in China. Finally, building a skilled and trained work force in our country with huge demographic advantage would give an extra edge both in domestic and International markets.

China with its aging population and upward movement of labour towards more knowledge intensive industries, more opportunities are opening for other countries in the labour intensive sectors. India should stake claims by creating investment and business climate necessary to boost its share in global manufacturing labour market. Further, the job creation within the country must be more diffused and geographically balanced. Hence small, vibrant and emerging middle–tier cities with thriving economies which are well connected must be developed to minimise massive labour movement to overcrowded megacities.

To address the issue of job creation MGI outlined six critical reforms which if introduced effectively can ensure substantial employment to millions of Indian youth. Firstly, greater emphasis should be on improving the execution and productivity of infrastructure investment. Infrastructure development and job creation are intimately linked. Better infrastructure enables job creation; which in turn provides governments with resources to invest in additional infrastructure. In India, states with better infrastructure tend to create more organised sector jobs with higher wages. Though the investment in this sector has been almost quadrupled in 10^th and 11^th five year plans, the outcomes have been 63% below the expected outcomes. Except for railway lines and rail electrification, nearly all other sectors in infrastructure fell short of delivering. Two strategies have been proposed-one is delivery approach and other is greater focus on capital efficiency through non-traditional sources of financing and optimisation of assets. India should focus on “job creation engines” through targeted intervention in construction of industrial townships, tourism circuits and food processing parks that can generate 11 million jobs.

Secondly reducing administrative burden, especially for MSMES (Micro, Small and Medium enterprises), through government process improvements. India currently ranks 134 out of 189 countries in World Bank’s 2014 ease of doing business indicators. Due to the complexities of regulatory environment, lack of transparency and prolonged legal proceedings, businessmen are shying away from investing in Indian markets. Different countries across the World have advocated various methods to reduce administrative burden. These can be effectively replicated in India too. For example: introducing “one-stop shop as in Columbia” or digitising the file tracking system records or commissioning specialised commercial courts etc. Thirdly, tax system is India is chaotic as centre and states levy wide variety of taxes, it is essential to remove tax and product-market distortions to maximise economies of scale. Fourth, rationalise land markets by reforming land records and encouraging new models of acquisition. Recently passed Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill of 2013 has made the process of land acquisition more difficult and time consuming. Alternative methods of land acquisition followed in states like Gujarat and Maharashtra can be put to practice. Fifth India has the second strictest labour laws regarding the protection of permanent employees in the World. Labour market should be more flexible though incremental reforms for a productive business expansion. Industries with more than 100 employees have to obtain permission from the government to layoff a worker. This kind of environment undermines competitiveness and forces the industries to stay small.

Finally, building skills for poor workers through government supported systems would change the trajectory of their income levels. It is estimated that an illiterate worker with appropriate training could realise an increase of 40% in wages, while a literate worker with primary education with requisite skill set can obtain 70% higher wages.  The funds diverted for MNREGA programme which provide manual work to the unskilled worker for a period of 100 days in rural areas can be diverted for imparting new skills. This can empower the rural youth for a life time and have an everlasting impact on their standard of living.

To sum up, a culmination of committed leadership and political will is needed to foster India into a path of progress and prosperity. Further ambitious policies and reforms evaluated by intellectuals should be effectively implemented to drive India towards path of betterment and growth. Political manifestos shouldn’t be instruments of bewitching voters but they must be documents of vision meant for real execution to beget change.

 

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A Road Trip To Dwarka & Surrounding Places

Since it is the election season despite our keen interest about the outcome of the elections, as we set off on a road trip to Dwarka from Somnath, 230 km away, our focus has shifted to the inside story of Gujarat. This election season, progress and development of Gujarat has been the key electoral issue and people all over the nation are keen to learn about this state in particular and about the progress & welfare of people in particular. So we were all eyes to observe every nook and corner of the state during our long drive. Long drives offer the best opportunity to interact with people and the liberty to break the journey any time to investigate a new place. It is surprising that people in this region seems to have unambiguous and unequivocal stance on various issues and majority seem to be satisfied with the present state of affairs.

The stretch of the Kathiawar peninsula we are travelling is humid and extremely hot. Due to some preoccupations we started little late in the day so had to bear the brunt of the scorching heat. But it has been a visual treat to drive through the country side. People are very friendly decked up in colourful and bright clothes from top to bottom, a guileless way of protecting themselves from the hot climate. Both men and women are seen wearing several ornaments and gold nuggets. The roads undeniably were good by Indian standards except for very patches where construction was going on. During our entire course of journey we came across with constructions or renovations. This region has lush green fields with cotton, sugarcane and castor crops. Apart from these small luxurious patches in certain village hamlets with coconut plantations and other fruit trees reminded me of the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh.

Dhirubhai Ambani's House at Chorwad

Around 30 km from Somanth, we stopped at a place Chorwad. a village on International map for being the native place of the industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of Reliance Industries in Bombay. We had a glance of the building where the industrialist lived. A memorial was instituted in 2011 in the building commemorating his 80^th birth anniversary. Our next stopover was Madhavpur beach, a beautiful coastline lined with coconut trees. It is believed that Lord Krishna married Rukmini in this village Madhavpur. It acclaimed importance as it has a long conservation project on the endangered marine species Green Sea and Olive Ridley Turtles.

 

Madhavpur beach

The long drive along the coastline is fantastic with the cool sea breeze giving respite from the hot sun. Further this entire stretch of the coastline has numerous 1000 MW windmills installed by the Suzlon Corporation to tap the unexplored potential of the huge coastline of Gujarat. We briefly halted at the temple of Narvai mata a famous Goddess of the region with Crocodile as her carrier. The temple is located besides the road but was calm, quiet with lot of positive vibes.

Narvai Mataji Temple

We were then eagerly looking forward for our next halt Porbander. The city is incidentally the birthplace of Sudhama and Mirabhai (devotee of Lord Krishna).  As we entered the city, we were advised to visit Sudhamapuri, a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna’s friend Sudhama. This place is highly revered among the Rajasthani Kshatryia’s who visit the temple immediately after marriage to confess sins and invoke blessings of Sudhama for a happy married life.  This temple was built in early 1900 in the centre of the city. Interestingly, this temple has a maze and there is a popular belief that crossing the maze would remove all the sins. Though I simply dismissed the belief I crossed the maze just to get rid of the weariness of the journey and to adorn a playful mood.

 

Sudhamapuri Temple

 

 

Maze at Sudhamapuri

 

Our next halt was the much awaited Kirti Mandir the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi. It is memorial built in memory of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi. As we entered the place a mystic serenity dawned upon us and flabbergasted at the reverential salutes offered by a group of Marathi ladies ahead of us in the Mandir. These kind of innocent gestures are indeed reflections of adulations of common man who hold the father of nation in high esteem. The original birthplace of Gandhiji is adjacent to Kirti Mandir. The Mandir is 79 ft high signifying the 79 eventful years of Gandhi. The Old house of Gandhi was bought by his great grandfather Harjivan Raidas Gandhi who renovated it into a three storied building with 22 rooms. A narrow path from Gandhi’s ancestral house leads to Kasturba’s house. The road leading to Kasturba’s house was raided by stray dogs and cows and was poorly maintained. We went inside the two-storied house and offered tributes to the undaunted, legendary women of our nation. Next we moved on to the gallery and museum which has a collection of various possessions of the Gandhi family and photographs. Mandir also has a Balamandir and a library. The place epitomises the triumph of truth and non-violence in India’s long struggle for Independence. The huge life-size oil paintings of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba at the centre of the Mandir sanctify the place and emanate audacious vibrations. After this magnificent experience, we moved on to Mool Dwarka, our next stop.

 

Kirti Mandir

 

The room where Gandhiji was born

Kasturba's birthplace

Mool Dwarka is few kilometres away from Porbander, the place where Lord Krishna stopped after leaving Mathura. The place has several tiny temples with Sivaling on the path leading to the main entrance of the temple. The main temple has the idol of Ranncchod as Lord Krishna was called after tricking Kaalyavaan, who had a boon that he cannot be killed by any weapon, into a one to one battle and then flees to a lonely place. Infuriated Kaalyvaan then calls Krishna Ranncchod (one who flees the battle field). At this stage Krishna enters a cave where King Muchkund was sleeping. King Muchkund obtained a boon from Devatas that he would be asleep for a longtime and whosoever disturbs his sleeps would be burnt into ashes. Krishna tactful leaves his robe on the sleeping king and Kaalyavaan mistaking him for Krishna wakes him up and gets annihilated. The temple also has a Siddheshwar Mahadev   with a Swamyambhu Sivaling. Just opposite to this temple complex is an archway that leads to a two storied a step-well. Except for the main temple complex, other structures in that compound are deserted and poorly maintained. We were deeply upset by the gross neglect of the concerned authorities.  Alas!!! Places of religious significance which are adored by people were neglected and stagnated to ruins.

 

Mool Dwarka

Back to wheels, we commenced our journey after breaking for a late lunch towards Dwarka. The next important stopover was HarSiddhi Temple in the village Harshad. The route to Harsidhhi Temple was fantastic with back waters lashing towards the shores of this village. The beauty of these waters is enhanced by numerous water birds which are perching in the tall grass lands and trees nearby. HarSiddhi as an incarnation of Amba was worshipped by Lord Krishna who constructed a temple atop of the hill Koyla Dungar. It was kuladevi of yadavas. Later Jadgu Shah, a Jain merchant built a temple new temple in 13^th century below the hill, we visited the temple below the hill where the main idol is worshipped now. There is a Harsiddhi mata temple in Ujjain, which was worshipped by Vikramaditya. It is believed that Vikramaditya requested the mata to come to his kingdom at Ujjain where he could worship her daily. The Goddess obliged and we were indeed lucky for having visited the temple in Ujjain as well.  We then quickly moved onto our final destination Dwarka.

HarSiddhi Temple

Dwarka is one of the ancient cities of India. It is regarded as one of the four most sacred Hindu pilgrimage sites of chardham. The other three are Rameshwaram, Badrinath and Puri. Located at almost the tip of Kathiawar peninsula, it was the capital city of Krishna who built his kingdom after leaving Mathura. It one of the oldest sunken cities and even now Archaeologists comprising a strong group of scuba divers are actively searching underwater in the Arabian Sea for the ancient artefacts of this city. Dwarka has the famous  Dwarakadeesh Temple (King of Dwarka, Lord Sri Krishna) originally constructed in 6^th century on the banks of river Gomti by Krishna’s Grandson Vajranbha over Lord Krishna’s residential place. Around 8^th century, Adi Shankaracharya visited the temple and worked towards its renovation. Currently a Shankaracharya mutt is constructed in his honour abutting the main temple.

Dwarkadeesh Temple

The present temple is 2500 years old five storied complex supported by 72 pillars with two entrances, the main entrance in the north (Moksha Dwar) and Southern entrance (Swarga Dwar). A flight of 56 steps from South entrance leads to the banks of river Gomti. It is believed that the original idol was hidden for several years to protect it from the Muslim invasions and an idol from Rukmini’s temple was installed in its absence.  Sri Vallabhacharya was believed to have reinstalled the original idol after the construction of new temple. The old temple was desecrated by a Muslim king Muhammed Shah in the year 1241 and was declared as panch peer after breaking the temple into five pieces.

 

Dwarakadeesh Temple in day light

The temple is also referred to as Jagad Mandir with exquisite carvings on outside while the interior of temple is strikingly simple. It has a mystic beauty in day light and under lights. Just inside as we enter through north entrance on to the right side there is an idol of Veneshwar Mahadev in the basement. The idol of Dwarakadeesh is 1 mt long made in a shiny black stone with four arms holding conch, chakra, a mace and a lotus. The temple complex has small temples dedicated to mother Devaki, consorts Rukmini, Jambavati and other queens, devotee Mirabhai, sons Pradhyumna, Anirudh and brother Balaram. Jagad Mandir has a very unique tradition of hoisting flag on the summit  of temple. The flag is 52 yards long with symbols of sun and moon and made in colours of green, yellow, pink, blue, red and white. It is changed five times a day. We had the privilege of watching one such flag installation ceremony. Devotees throng the temple premises and sing song in praise of Dwarakadeesh during the entire event. It is a spine chilling event to observe priests scaling 100 ft high for changing the flags. Though there was a continuous stream of tourists in the temple we could have a very quick darshan as no one was allowed to stand before the idol and pray. Consequently, we could even experience the supreme bliss of the Divine Harathi at night. From the temple’s south entrance we descended 56 stairs to reach the Gomti River. Since it has grown dark we couldn’t really enjoy its beauty but there were few devotees who were gently lowering diyas into the river.   

Rukmini Devi Temple

Then we strolled on the roads at night to experience the culture of the one of the oldest cities of India. The city has a huge population of cows and especially the smell of cow dung pervades across all the lanes of the market area. Undoubtedly they have the best dairy products which are relatively unadulterated and pure as compared to the milk available in cities.  Next morning we set out early to first visit Rukmini Devi temple 8 km from Dwarka in the north. It is a lonely temple sprung apart from the main city. Old legend about the temple says that sage Durvasa cursed Rukmini who took a sip of water without offering Durvasa. Angered by her impoliteness, he cursed that she would be separated from her husband for 12 years and it is also the reason why water in Dwarka is salty. The temple has a richly carved exterior with sculptures of various nartakis and elephants at the base. But sadly till date the people in that area have no access to uninterrupted supply of drinking water. Priests of the temple were urging tourists to make donations towards buying tankers of drinking water. As a token of gratitude to the donors a glass of drinking water is offered to all the visitors of temple as Prasad.

 

Rukmini Devi temple carvings

We then moved on to Nageswar Jyotirling, popularised by Gulshan Kumar of T-series who donated huge sums towards temple maintenance and development. Temple is relatively a newly construction and the sacred Sivaling is located in the basement of the sanctum sanctorum.  The Shivaling is in stone and it is trilobed at the top resembling the head of a rudraksha. Within the premises there is a huge statue of Lord Shiva. The calm and tranquil location of the temple offered sumptuous blessedness and rapture. On the way to Beyt Dwarka we stopped at Gopi Talav, 20 km from Dwarka. Locals say that unable to bear the pain of separation from Krishna, Gopis from Mathura came to visit him at this place. Further, after dancing with him for a last time on Sharad Purnima day, 999 Gopis offered their lives in this pond and merged with the Lord. It is believed that they have turned into yellow clay. Even now the soil of the pond is smooth and yellow and it is sold as Gopi Chandan. There are small temples of Krishna, Rukmini, SriRama and others adjacent to the pond. We were not really impressed as the real sheen is lost due to poor upkeep.

 

Nageshwar Jyotirling

 

 

Gopi Talav

Our next stop was Beyt Dwarka, an island, which can be reached from the Okha port in a boat. Okha is 30 km from Dwarka and the last point on the western frontier of India. By the time we reached Okha port, it was extremely crowded with visitors vying for a place in the the boats and almost all the boats were packed to the maximum limit. It was a hot sunny morning at 10am in the morning. Further the overcrowding on board and the heat of the reflected sunrays from the sea surface added to severe discomfort. As soon as we got off the boat, we engaged a autorickshaw to reach the temple, located inside narrow lanes.  Most of the religious scripts refer to Beyt Dwarka as the original abode of Lord Krishna. The huge temple which was 500 years old was built by Sri Vallabhacharya and the idol was believed to be built by Rukmini. The bright beautiful idol of the lord was a visual treat and mere glance of the Lord dispelled away our weariness. Beyt Dwarka was also the place where Krishna met his friend Sudhama. Some of the ancient relics were up for display in the inner chambers of the temple. Small temples are dedicated to Hanuman, SriRama, Mahadev, Rukmini, Satyabhama and Jambhavati inside the premises.  As we just came out of the temple we had a tough time escaping a huge herd of cows and on our return journey at the Okha port we were impromptu greeted by street vendors selling chilled dahi in earthen pots and plastic cups, a speciality of this place. We later found out that Beyt Dwarka is venerated and visited by Muslims and Sikhs in large numbers as the island has a shrine of Haji Kirmani Pir and a Gurudwara.

Traveling to Beyt Dwarka

In the evening we visited other tourist attractions within Dwarka. Almost all the temples in Dwarka are located close to the seashore. We first visited the light house and sat down at the sunset location to bid farewell to the waning sun. It was extremely beautiful sight and then walked on the sands and reached Bhadkeshwar Temple. The temple rests on the edge of the sea and offers an awesome view of the sea and sunset. A small path from the beach leads towards the temple built on the rocks lashed by the seawaters. It is small temple dedicated to Mahadev. After a nice camel ride on the beach, we left for Gayatri Shakti Peeth, a relatively new construction managed by a private trust. It had idols of Gayatri, Savitri and Lakshmi Devi. Next we visited a very old Siddheswar Mahadev temple.  It had very old water well and a bore pump in its front yard. The temple was very lively and brightly lit. Next we stopped at Swami Narayana Temple built within a guest house and maintained by BAPS (Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swami Narayana Sansthan). After the darshan in the temple, we walked to the main market and savoured the local Gujarati Thalli for dinner. Our entire trip to Saurashtra was awesome. We left the place for Delhi with everlasting memories of the sacred places and the friendly people who made our trip remarkable.

 Sunset at Dwarka beach

Bhadkeshwar Mahadev Temple

 

 

 

Photography courtesy: Dr. Bhaskar Teegela and Samanvit Teegela

 

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