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Showing posts from October, 2009

Roti, Kapda, Makaan, Aur Broadband!

Finland, a small Scandinavian country is making headlines nowadays. No it’s not because of Nokia, which was founded in Finland and has impacted (or should I say ‘connected’ ;) ) our lives in such a huge way. Finland has just declared fast broadband access a legal right for all its 5.3 million citizens! This is aimed at increasing the broadband penetration in its villages. The Finnish government has provided a broadband of 1 Mbps as of now with a final aim providing a connection of 100 Mbps speed!! (Source: CNN ) This makes me wonder how much we are lagging behind the world when we have to run from pillar to post to just get a connection which claims to boast of speeds up to 256 Kpbs. And it is not just about broadband (which frankly seems a far cry given the pitiable state of the country), people here are still struggling with crumbling infrastructure and corrupt politicians. Much has been said and talked about how we can improve the situation. But frankly there is no single solution

The Festival of Lights (and Sound!!)

Sitting in the office on Diwali's eve, my Inbox is flooded with mails from people wishing a very happy Diwali. I give them a cursory glance and then Shift+Delete them as all of them are sent to a Distribution List. You just happen to be in that DL!! Everybody in the office is in a celebratory mood but I am worried about packing my stuff in boxes and moving them (I am shifting to a place near the office). Anyways, I too have bought some crackers and diyas this time, nothing high-profile though as I will be shifting soon. The decision to buy crackers was a tough one. When I was a kid, I just loved bursting crackers and often had a fight with my father to buy more crackers. ;) All that changed when I was in class 10th and was highly influenced by the 'Avoid fireworks' movement. I shunned bursting crackers, thinking that I am doing my bit for the environment; much to the delight of my father. (He always said that buying crackers is like putting money on fire!). The inner devil

Why India should share Arunachal Pradesh with China?

We, the Indians, tend to be an emotional lot. We are very sentimental about our language, our culture, our cricket, even our politicians (unbelievably so!). So it might seem very unpatriotic of me to say that India should share Arunachal Pradesh with China. But in the next few paragraphs, I will try to justify myself. China is now a super-power. It is a permanent member of UN Security Council. It has grown enormously in importance both economically and militarily, so much so, that even President Barack Obama cancelled his meeting with Dalai Lama. This is the first time in the American history that such an incident has happened. When even the US is refraining to antagonize China (despite claiming to be a champion of human rights and the only beacon of democracy), why are we still supporting Dalai Lama and Tibet when it is clearly against our national interests? It's time to get real. India has already fought two wars with China since her independence and has suffered huge causalitie