ISRO Embroiled In Land Scam; How Deep Does The Rot Run?

A lot of people had asked me why I wasn't commenting on the current biggest crisis gripping the LDF government in Kerala. The fact is I was thinking it is no help commenting when a blind and deaf CPM leadership is allowing VS Achutanandan and his faction to fritter away the goodwill of the people. Things have come so far that IAS officers in the state have become bold enough to question the policy decision of an elected government, and more seriously, have their way.
Yes, I am talking about the issue of the new chief secretary. I feel ashamed to think that I belong to the only state in India where IAS officers still think they are the ones who rule. They succeeded in making the chief minister revoke his earlier decision on appointing someone junior as chief secretary.
Now compare this with how IAS officers get slapped around by political thugs in some other states. I don't for once say what is happening in Bihar is wrong, because this service of suckers specialized in enriching themselves at the cost of tax payer money, without helping to make the administration efficient. I am not saying there aren't good officers but most of them are inept and corrupt. The sad thing is such a cadre of opportunists has been able to arm twist an elected Leftist government!
Okay, but that is not the main issue why I decided to write this post. That is about the land scam involving the CPI ministers, the CM, and the ISRO.
The CPI ministers I don't care two hoots for; the party was hand in glove with Indira Gandhi during Emergency and poor Karunakaran got thrashed for the atrocities committed during the time. CPI has always specialized in running with the hares and hunting with the dogs.
But what is making me, and many others angry, is the involvement of ISRO, India's premier space research agency, in this deal. News reports have indicated that someone from the organization was keen to get the land sale approved faster than usual and followed the proceeds personally.
The question then is who is this person and what has the ISRO done about finding his culpability or innocence. Also, is this a one off affair or a deeper malice in the organization? Whatever it is, there is something rotten here, something that is not expected of a premier organization like ISRO.
I am wondering how the ISRO chief and others can go on making noises about getting land for their money is enough. Why can't these technocrats see the role of that villain officer in the whole scam, order an enquiry, and if necessary, boot the guy out. Come on, don't tell me guys who know rocket science cannot fix this problem. To all my instincts they are just trying very hard not to see this issue.
Or is it that even the ISRO higher ups have a hand in this deal? In that case, this needs some serious investigation - maybe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. In an organization where a sex spy scandal once exploded I won't rule out this possibility.
Or why are the ISRO higher ups trying to brush the issue under the carpet? This country with its millions of poor is paying you guys in the hope that you will make our name in the annals of space science. And, speaking for those poor people, let me tell you that if you don't come clean of this the day won't be far off when you will be held answerable.
To me, dear friends, this is the major issue here: Achu may go as CM, CPI ministers may have to quit, but the real issue is - if there is a rot in ISRO and, if there is, how deep has it gone? When you are trying to launch satellites for the global market, you need to keep your backyard clean. I am wondering if ISRO and its chiefs are up to the task. If you are, the whole of India will bow in gratitude to you, otherwise time won't be far off when your photos will be trampled on in the streets.

India's Tech Success: Powered By Sweatshops And Slave Labor

I am departing from my usual topics for this post but I think this topic is more important than any of the political games being played in New Delhi right now. Yes, it is about how some unscrupulous IT companies are exploiting India's IT professionals.
I have heard over the last few weeks several stories of how companies are forcing rookie programmers to work under the threat of legal action. Many of my readers may not be unfamiliar with the problem, but what has astounded me is the depth and scope of it.
It goes like this: a young chap just off college is recruited by an IT company. He is mostly from a small town or a village and not very familiar with the tactics being employed in the job market. Nor are his parents much aware of it - they are just too happy their son/daughter landed a job even before getting his/her degree.
Okay, now the guy finds himself in an office where he is not learning anything of value - he is being used as a simple coder (no major addition to his skills). Soon he get disenchanted and is looking for a way out. And given the scarcity of good workers in the Indian IT market, he sure enough gets an offer from another company. He wants to leave.
Now starts the game. His employer says he can't. They talk about a bond he has signed when he joined. They threaten legal action. They demand money for training expenses (!!!) incurred. They call up his parents and threaten them of legal action and criminal cases against their son. (Mostly such companies leave off the girls, fearing it could lead to harassment complaints being filed against them). They bring all sorts of pressure to bear - it is mental torture. And if the guy still insists on leaving they deny him any certificate to show his experience, and may even go to the extent of serving legal notices on him.
An advocate friend tells me 90 per cent of the time such companies win. The guy stays back - he resents it but he has no choice. If the bosses were sane guys they would have realized that having such people in the workforce is counterproductive. But then, they are sadists - they just want to ruin his life, just don't want him to make it in life!
Why do they do it? No easy explanation. It probably is just a mixture of some of these: bruised egos of the bosses, the difficulty in finding talent, resentment at your junior getting a higher paid and better job...
It sounds terrible and so improbable. But it does happen.
Why? Mostly because the young guys who face this problem aren't aware of their legal rights in this country. And because their parents are cowed down by the threats of legal action the company bosses make.
I recently helped a few such guys to get out of such a company. And I know those guys still have friends there who don't want to continue but are afraid to jump.
I am not saying all IT companies are like this, but there are many out there. A quick scan through some of the discussion boards will tell you what I mean.
We are talking of becoming an IT power. If we cannot guarantee basic rights to our IT talent how are we going to do that? Makes me wonder. And before you get me wrong, let me tell you this is not about cutting costs. These companies have the money but just treat their employees like shit. Maybe it is about mindsets not changing with the times.
We aren't talking about illiterate workers in some rural brick kiln being made to do bonded labor, but about our cutting edge workforce - our IT professionals - being treated like slaves. Are we out to build an IT superpower or an IT slave empire?

Brits Tested Mustard Gas On Indians, So What Is Our Government Doing?

The Guardian report on imperialist Britain testing poison gas on Indian soldiers has shocked me, as it would any self-respecting Indian. I now want to spit on Manmohan Singh for his utterances glorifying the British occupation of India. Does the Indian prime minister think testing mustard gas on Indian soldiers is something that we Indians can be proud of? Of course, Singh would undoubtedly be proud of such an event if he were one of the unfortunate guinea pigs. He likes to flaunt his servility to the West and act as the White Man's agent while adorning India's highest elected office. How sad.

It is 60 years after we got rid of the White Man and his rule and it pains me no end to see our rulers falling over each other to please their pale skinned masters in the United States and Europe. When can we get rid of these blood-sucking double agents from Delhi? They are the greatest blemish on modern India's face, sucking the blood of Indian poor millions and imposing the neo-imperialists' wishes on a people who cannot raise their voices.

I am waiting to see when our rulers will ask Britain to explain its conduct, and at the very least, cut off diplomatic relations with that country. However, I am not hopeful that anything worthwhile on this front will come from our current crop of political leaders. They have too much invested in the West to fight to redeem the honor of those fellow countrymen who were treated as animals by the imperialist British. If India ever needed a revolution, we need it now - to get rid of these political bastards in Delhi.

Joseph, Kuruvilla... It's Time For The LDF To Jettison KC (Joseph)!

It is clear Minister Kuruvilla from the Kerala Congress (Joseph) is going to lose his seat in the government. Many media guys see Achumama's victory in the LDF decision to keep Kuruvilla out, pointing to the Pinarayi faction's initial refusal to oppose the tainted minister.
However, to my mind, there is a broader issue at stake here - concerning the LDF. The Kerala Congresses, irrespective of which front they have aligned with, have always been headaches. Filled with leaders who are corrupt to the core, the only difference between the various Kerala Congress parties are that of the difference between tweedledom and tweedledee.
That is no surprise considering these parties have their own sectarian political agendas, trying to keep their Christian vote banks to cling on to power, and in turn, distribute the spoils of power among their vote banks.
The Congress, the main constituent of the UDF, has no no but to cling to such communalist outfits to try to gain power. But it is time for the LDF to think if it needs the support of such corrupt outfits.
Despite all the media efforts to whitewash Kerala Congress (Joseph), it is clear as hell that the party and its leaders are corruption incarnate. Plus, party leader Joseph's weakness for women is well known, leading to his humiliating exit from the LDF ministry.
Now Kuruvilla who replaced Joseph is on the way out. Question is, will the next entrant to the ministry from the party add to LDF's headaches? I have little doubt that will be the case.
I just cannot understand why LDF needs to carry around such dirty baggage. Why can't LDF just jettison Joseph and co and say enough is enough? That will definitely add to the CPM's and LDF's image.
Let me hope that better sense prevails in the LDF leadership!