I don’t know whether the elections in Iran was stolen or not, and I would not be surprised if such a regime did that. But why do Western media express outrage over a stolen election in Iran but they don’t even feign outrage over lack of elections in Saudi Arabia? [via The Angry Arab News Service.]

I couldn’t have said it better. So American media, just do your job and cover the events and keep your opinions to yourself; for a change. Moussavi is no harbinger of democracy and is an old player in the Iranian system of governance dominated by theocracy. In his heyday, he was in fact more fundamentalist than your current hate-favorite, Ahmadinajad. So consider me as a silent spectator and don’t ask me to paint my Twitter avatar green.

John Cole is also not too enthusiastic about coloring everything green:

If someone can give me one legitimate piece of evidence that wearing green boxers is going to help bring democracy to Iran, so help me I’ll wear plaid from head to toe and shoot for world peace.

Jeff Goldberg at The Atlantic says:

The overarching goal is to see the birth of a democratic Iran, not to make ourselves feel good, or get in the way

But of course, feel free swathe yourself in green; I’m just telling you why I’m not.

Why just outrage about Iran? (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

[Source]. The above picture taken by Ritesh Uttamchandani is sparking some discussion in the blogosphere. As you see, it shows tea stall owners, Sunil and Arvind Parmar having their lunch with Mangal, their Dalit servant sitting below their table. Most are outraged at this display of blatant discrimination pointing especially to the fact that the boy is a Dalit.

While not commenting on the appropriateness of the treatment, wouldn’t it be also true that the boy was sitting there because he is a servant and not because he is a Dalit? Of course, the relationship between him being a Dalit hence a servant cannot be denied much like race and poverty are intertwined in the United States. But that’s besides the point. Amit Varma comments:

I’d bet that if Mangal wasn’t under the table, the Parmars would have their feet on the ground, not on their seats, where they seem rather uncomfortable. Is that out of concern or disgust, you think?

I find that interesting because it might be culturally acceptable that servants not share their owners’ table at lunch. Would it be acceptable if the boy was not sitting under the table and in fact was on the floor next to them? I’m sure most middle-class and upper-class families in India do not sit with their servants for lunch at their dining table. So why the moral outrage at this picture? It may simply be a class issue and not a caste issue; which makes it just as likely in any culture around the world. Of course, whether you think this picture is nothing out of the ordinary or despicable is upto you.

Cultural Discrimination (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

Although I stayed up most of the night watching the results stream in and following the chatter on Twitter and blogs, I’ll freely admit that I’m less aware of the political situation in India than of the United States (let the accusations of desh drohi begin). So feel free to take my thoughts and opinions with a grain of salt. If you notice the seat share in this results, the BJP-led NDA alliance lost more or less 10-12 seats but the Congress gained more than 50-60. Where did these gains come from? The Left, BSP, and RJD lost heavily and Congress seemed to luck out on the choices it made regarding its pre-poll alliances. Rahul Gandhi seemed to emerge like a potential leader especially in Uttar Pradesh where the fortunes of the party made a comeback after a hiatus of nearly 20 years. Naveen Patnaik leaving the NDA and Varun Gandhi’s tantrums popped BJP’s bubble so predictions of its rise to power were unrealistically optimistic.

Manmohan Singh does not actually come off as an inspirational leader but only after Indira Gandhi in 1971 has a Prime Minister been re-elected to another term. Although the victory cannot be completely attributed to him, his candidature as a Prime Minister did no harm to UPA just as Advani (or Modi) candidature did to the NDA. I continue to oppose the route Manmohan Singh will take to the Parliament (he did not contest a Lok Sabha election) but the laws allow him to be appointed to the post. The least we can expect of our politicians, ministers, and Prime Ministers however corrupt or criminal they may be, is that they be elected not selected or anointed to the Parliament. In fact, Sonia Gandhi has more of a right to be a Prime Minister given her influence and power within the Congress party than her appointee. Political skills and governing ability are two essential qualifications needed in any politician and only in this case, has one of them been optional. Given the immense trust shown by Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party in Manmohan Singh, I’m sure the Indian voters would have appreciated the same confidence in voting for their top leader.

But at the end of the day, if the Congress and NDA continue on their reforms started in 1991, I wouldn’t complain too much. The reduced power of the Left is reason enough to feel optimistic. But if the Congress feels tempted to usher in their socialist policies that have failed India post-Independence then I hope Indian voters will not be as unforgiving.

Security, I’m told does not poll well and economic development is all that Indian voters care about which if true is a disturbing thought. I feel national security is one of the primary responsibilities of a government that no private entity can or should provide. So when we claim that security is not at the top of the voter’s list of criteria for voting then they may have simply lost trust and confidence in the government to provide them with basic security and it is each man for himself. If tomorrow, there are bomb blasts in another Mumbai train then all you can do is pray that none of your friends or family were in that train because you know the government could care less because voters don’t consider it an important issue. I just wonder at what point would we deem it important to demand security rights or do we have to wait on another attack on the Parliament for the government to take our internal security seriously? I hope Manmohan Singh has a plan for his next five years if not the coming hundred days, as he promised.

Indian Election Results Reaction (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

Personally, I have come to accept the fact that UPA may in fact retain power in spite of a horrid record on national security. And I’m fine with it as long as the Left is left out in the cold with their insane and obsolete anti-India beliefs. There ought to be a law that the Prime Minister must be from the party with the largest seat share in an alliance so that way regional parties do not act presumptous and focus only on winning the state they are most likely to. The Prime Minister is a national position and should accordingly represent at least a broader region of the nation however loosely connected. But then as we stand currently, the Prime Minister is not even expected to contest a Lok Sabha election.

Finally, I’m sure although most who are interested in following the results as they stream in will be tempted to stay away due to the shrill 24-hour news channels. I would suggest staying updated using the new and official Indian Elections Results 2009 website. They even have a map feature that pleases the GIS-nerd in me. Ultimately, it is going to be a numbers game and all issues however barely mentioned will be soon forgotten and we’ll be beholdened to our mai-baap political masters for the next 5 years (unless some unreasonable fringe doesn’t get its share of the pie).

The Great Indian Election Tamasha (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

Two more option packages set the Prius apart from more common economy cars and aim to establish its wired reputation. First is the $3,600 solar roof package, which includes a solar panel that powers a cabin ventilation fan to keep the interior cooler when the car is parked. It also includes a remotely activated electric air conditioner the driver can use to pre-chill the interior for as much as three minutes before entering the car.

I find that a perfect merger of its perceived environmental image and consumer comfort. But I am somewhat skeptical of a ‘green car’ running a remote-controlled AC with no one in the car. The mileage has also increased to an astounding EPA mileage ratings of 51 mpg city and 48 mpg on the highway, compared to 48 and 45 mpg for the old car. However, the temptation to add more and more features for ever-demanding consumers has also proved to be too great:

It only gets worse in the winter, because the available leather-wrapped seats now boast electric seat heaters. These devices, among my favorite options in most new cars, are a contradiction in the Prius because the heating coils amount to a near-dead short in the electrical system that heats the wires built into the seat bottoms. It’s possibly the most profligate possible use of electricity, though one which I regularly enjoy in various test cars. This single feature probably draws more electricity than anything on the car save the electric motor, and it seems completely out of place on a Prius. And this doesn’t even address the matter having of leather seats in the car voted “Most likely to haunt the parking lots outside vegan markets.”

I guess environment-friendliness can be taxing and some people rather buy the Prius as an advertisement of their environmental beliefs rather than actually act on them. But still, the Toyota Prius is still a far superior hybrid vehicle than its counterparts. Pending some personal and professional decisions, I might be in the car market for a car soon and the temptation to get a hybrid is strong. However, the wallet will definitely rule supreme.

The New & Improved Prius 2010 (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

SprintCam v3 Results for High-Speed Video (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

Minimalism is all the rage in home workspace organization and without actually experiencing or putting yourself through the paces of reducing your clutter, it may seem like a fad. Try reducing your clutter to the absolute bare essential and you’ll find how difficult it can be. Inspired by these brilliant examples on the web, I’m planning on making my workspace more efficient at least at home first. The first step is to tidy up a little and capture your current and existing setup for comparison sake later. Featured below is my home workspace located in the guest bedroom:

Apart from a little sprucing up, it is pictured as it exists. I tried making this a meme on Twitter but only Parag responded and Sakshi promised but has not yet delivered (will my blog readers be more cooperative?)I have a IBM Thinkpad T60 which is the only brand I’ve trusted over the year and remain impressed by its robustness; for at least three years. I use a Logitech laptop stand for ergonomic reasons and having typed up my 280-page dissertation recently, I can vouch for my carpal tunnel syndrome-free wrists. I even carry it with me in my backpack when I go to the neighborhood coffee shop and have received plenty of “I wish I had one of that” remarks. I prefer a mouse instead of using the laptop’s track pad and my Moleskine sits right next to me for quick hard-copy notes. Given the scant HDD space on my Thinkpad, I use a Fantom Drive external HDD to store my music and backup my documents and photos. The wall behind the screen featured family photos. The JBL woofer sits hidden behind the laptop although I’ve moved it out to the living room now. A comfy leather chair makes the workspace complete and the window on my right keeps me connected to the world outside. Other images from my workspace are here and here. Don’t forget to scroll over the images for notes. Adding these images to the Lifehacker Featured Workspace pool on Flickr has garnered nearly 1,500 views so far making them the top 5 images in my Flickr photostream already. I guess plenty of people are equally obsessed about personal workspaces.

Using 19″ dual monitors at work, I have found them immensely productive. Recently, I got a Dell 22″ widescreen monitor, an Apple bluetooth wireless keyboard, and a Logitech wireless optical mouse. This not only lets me enjoy a much wider screen space but also greatly reduces my cable clutter. The revised workspace is featured below:

The laptop can stay closed now and I access it through the keyboard and the mouse with a widescreen with a 1680 x 1050 resolution. Thanks to Arzan’s suggestion, I’ve placed the laptop on the keyboard tray now freeing up precious deskspace. Updated picture coming soon. I hope to get a new laptop soon; I’ve had my eye on the Macbook Pro for more than a year now. Hopefully I get it as a graduation gift ;) Until then the Thinkpad quietly chugs along albeit close to its three-year anniversary when my previous laptops have died.

How about sharing your personal workspaces? Put them on Flickr or Picasa if you don’t have a blog and past the link in the comments.

Update: After working on Arzan’s suggestion, I tucked away my laptop on the keyboard tray underneath along with the external HDD (see image below). This made it easier for the cabling too. The desk space now has only the monitor, keyboard and the mouse. I’m thinking of getting rid of the bookshelf above the desk and raise the height of the monitor by 2-4 inches and a curved deskpad from IKEA to avoid the sharp edge cutting into my wrists while I type. But that’s for another day.

Personal Home Workspace (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

Mind you, Georgie hates all denim; low-rise or otherwise. The dude should stick to stating misguided opinions on climate change or making political predictions that never come true. Or perhaps his next column now will be on the usage of the word dude and how if Shakespeare would not use, we shouldn’t either.

Denim Haters (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

Kal Penn enters the White House (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

In a first for Mumbai, a portal www.MumbaiVotes.com, with the city’s most comprehensive resource for reliable, meticulously researched, and objective information to track promises and performance of the city’s MP’s, MLA’s and Corporators as well as candidates standing for elections this year, has gone live. MumbaiVotes is currently tracking 915 politicians and has over 3681 newspaper articles, video interviews, election manifestos and legislative records that can be accessed with a simple search.

As Satyen points out, the primary objectives of Mumbai Votes is to make information about their candidates readily accessible and hold our elected officials accountable. The advent of the Internet has made archiving, accessing, and dissemination of information quite easy and as the American elections showed us, this information can be pivotal in vetting our choices to lead us in these interesting times. I love it that it is a non-partisan effort and does not suggest any slant in favor or against any party.

The information is gleaned from “various sources like election manifestos, newspaper articles, video interviews and data sourced from reliable sites like PRSIndia.org, ADRIndia.org, eci.gov.in, loksabha.nic.in among others” and made visually appealing for a quick glance at a candidate’s record and promises [detailed methodology (PDF)]. You may be disappointed that this resource covers only Mumbai but it is just a start. Considering the overarching aims of this project and time spent (5 years) in collecting data for just these constituencies, it may take a while to document all 543 constituencies. I’ll be more than satisfied if we manage to document even half of that by next elections. Perhaps crowdsourcing information collection followed by validation can help speed up the process; something that the Indian diaspora like myself can also contribute to. I understand that this is just a start and we are quite a distance away from an Indian version of DailyKos provided Internet access and penetration is more ubiquitous. Only then can the Indian electorate flex its muscles and show that we don’t need any high promises but merely knowledge of opinions and policy solutions of our potential political overlords.

As the tagline at Mumbai Votes says, This Time Don’t Just Vote…Select. I couldn’t have said it better. Fulfill your democratic responsibilities by casting your informed vote in your constituency. After all, we get the leaders we deserve.

Mumbai Votes – Election Campaign Resource (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

Dallas Museum of Art, TX

Our primary reason for visit was the Dallas Museum of Art which is currently hosting the Tutankhamen exhibit. We booked VIP tickets to cut the wait time short and opted for the once-a-month late Friday night. But still the museum was crowded…with kids. I’m sure the ‘Mummy’ had more to do with the interest than interest in ancient Egyptian archeology. However, there was no mummy at display but only smaller artifacts found in the famed Tutankhamen tomb. It was definitely great to see these objects that were supposed to keep the boy king busy in his afterlife but I must say that I was disappointed at not seeing even the outer-fourth coffin in which he was embalmed. We were told the sarcophagus along with the Russian doll-like caskets never leave Egypt. Instead we saw photographs and enlarged X-Ray images and MRI scans of the mummy which although impressive cannot lift your dampened spirits. Thankfully no one was dancing the Walk Like an Egyptian although you could see hazaar kids in those overpriced ($35!!!) King Tut headgear.

‘X’ marks the spot where JFK was shot, Dallas, TX

The next day we visited what may be a far more popular tourist destination in Dallas – the spot where Jack Kennedy was assassinated. The street even has couple of X marks to show where exactly he was shot. It brings out the best in human morbid curiosity. As you walk around the grassy knoll, you come across couple of guys with a table and a clip chart showing how Lee Harvey Oswald was probably a fall guy and the fatal shots probably came from the fence behind us. This is the baap of all conspiracy theories but admittedly has more teeth to it than any other. One of the guys reportedly had first broken the story and photos on the finding that JFK probably was shot from the front instead of in the back of the head. Heck, he had photos of the JFK autopsy too (dunno if they were real though). It helps when the Vice President Lyndon Johnson admitted that Oswald probably might not have been the lone gunman. The sixth floor of the Dallas Book Repository from where Oswald (allegedly) shot Kennedy has been converted to a museum of sorts with pictures of that fateful day. Again a badly designed museum space not equipped to handle the tons of visitors that this place attracts.

The uninspiring JFK Memorial, Dallas, TX

The Kennedy Memorial across a few blocks and designed by Philip Johnson is a ugly monstrosity built out of bare concrete columns. Again we imagine this looks better at night but totally lacks the subtle beauty of other memorials like the Vietnam wall. Perhaps Dallas simply does not want to remember that day and you cannot blame them for it.

Visit to Dallas (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

Unlike the U.S., India is not a simple dichotomy of red states and blue states. Based on the 2004 elections results, you can see the splash of colors thanks to the hazaar parties; national and regional [click to enlarge]. Chances are that this color palette is going to get more enhanced this election cycle and we might just transcend into the 256 color palette that early Windows users were accustomed to. I can create a similar map based on results of upcoming elections or even as the results are streaming in.

Feel free to disagree with my color choices for parties. Requests for change in colors will be entertained as long as they are backed with solid reasons.

Created using ArcGIS 9.3 with data from Election Commission of India. Also, check out Thejesh’s mapping of the constituencies on Google Maps.

Indian Elections Color Palette (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

The biggest problem [regarding H1-B visas] with big companies, is that they are just too big and these things just pass under the radar. Most of people working here are desis, and desis won’t complain against their own managers / colleagues for practicing this, simply because it doesnt affect them. The biggest problem with big companies like (insert big tech company name here) is that there is just way too much power with managers. Once the chain of desi managers is built from VP – Director – Senior Manager – Manager, then its almost impossible to break the chain.

What’s worse is the amount of regional groupism that exists in these companies beyond these H1 issues; we have teams of 14-20 people where in every single member of the team is from one region (Read: Chennai, or Hyderabad). Team meetings are sometimes conducted in regional languages; I fail to understand how is it possible that an entire team of managers and his reportees manage to be from one geographical area from India.

Desi politics and bureaucracy rule in this part of the world – just like working in desh. If you don’t lick up to your boss, however good you may perform, you are always an underachiever – on the other hand if you are boss’s best buddy, you can sail through. Your promotion depends on “visibility” and “impressions” on other managers, not your performance. Staying late is a good sign, but not getting your work done before time.

For an average American, all this comes across as really dubious and shameful. There’s a reason why there is a developing sense of anger against Indians, especially amongst educated & qualified Americans. It has been years of such lousy behavior that has engulfed at least the Bay area, and dangers to take over the IT sector completely that is making Americans treat Indians with contempt and anger. I sometimes don’t blame them. If I were in their shoes and had to watch this kind of charade everyday at workplace, I’d ask my senator and government to stop hiring foreigners too.

I believe that this is a technology industry experience. Do any of you also working in the industry have similar experiences? What about other industries? If you think commenting can be dangerous to your employment, write to me and I will exclude all personal details, like I have done with the above email, before I share.

Desis to blame for the ban on foreign workers amendment? (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

One such pre-condition was the ban on hiring of foreign workers at ailing banks. This led to Bank of America rescinding on it job offers to foreign MBA students graduating from US business schools [hat tip: Rohit]. The politicians on Capitol Hill feel that these jobs should be offered to Americans. Who was responsible for this pre-condition? Protectionist Democrats and the Obama administration? You would be surprised that it was in fact, Republic Senator Charles Grassley and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders (the only Socialist in the Senate) who introduced this amendment to bar people holding H1-B visas from working in so-called taxpayer-funded banks. These senators falsely assume that banks are hiring foreign workers instead of Americans when in fact, the opposite it true. Any desi student knows that U.S. companies are not hiring them because they are cheap but because they are the best people for the job. Processing an H1-B visa in fact entails additional cost that hiring American workers would not. Given the higher proportion of foreign students in graduate programs especially in top-ranked universities, it is not surprising that an American company is more likely to hire a foreign student. Given the so-called abuse of the H1-B visa system by certain large Indian companies, a case could be made to prevent people who haven’t studied in the U.S but even then, it would miss the point of attracting the best possible talent.

As Megan McArdle says:

As a committed free trader–and an MBA who went through the mass layoffs of the last recession–my sympathy is all with the MBAs. These are people who mostly aren’t eligible for scholarships or subsidized student loans; they’ve borrowed or spent close to $100,000 in America to get their degree, many of them in hopes of staying here. They’re intelligent, highly skilled, and promise to be net contributors to the tax system . . . so America kicks them in the teeth and sends them home without a job.

By keeping these students out, America is actually sending skilled human capital away which in turn makes creating and maintaining efficient and profitable businesses all the more difficult. The “Buy American” clause runs counter to every conservatism principle there is given the arguments of merits, free trade (of intellectual capital, and supporting legal immigration; in fact it exposes xenophobic fears that prey on rational sensibilities. It makes a false assumption that there is a pool of American workers who are equally qualified and willing to replace foreign workers.

Do I blame the Obama administration and Democrats for allowing this restriction to stay in the stimulus bill? Of course, I do. Admittedly, people responsible for drafting the bill had to make several compromises to attract Republican votes but I fail to understand why these conditions were not removed after Republicans refused to vote in favor. Political bickering leads to such compromises that have no direct bearing on solving the crisis and merely results in America being less attractive to skilled immigrants and in turn, less competitive in the world arena. This financial crisis will eventually lead to global restructuring following which the intellectual talent and conducive business environment tempered by smart regulation will be key factors in the next emerging economic superpower. Ignoring skilled immigrant talents will only drive them away to other pastures that will be only too eager to accept them. Otherwise you risk America becoming the land of mediocrity and even idiocracy; case in point – this Verizon customer representative and his manager [YouTube link; hat tip: Rohit].

Banning Foreign Students from American Banks (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

John McCain, one of the fiercest proponent against earmarks calls such spending ‘wasteful’. But are all earmarks wasteful? According to McCain probably yes but plenty of his colleagues in the Congress disagree. In fact most of the spending that McCain has been deriding as wasteful has been proven to be justified upon close examination. But even if you consider all spending is wasteful then Republican earmarks constitute about 40% of the total which given their representation in this Congress is proportional. Irrespective of party affiliation, every member has his finger in the pie. If you check the list of all members [Excel spreadsheet] requesting these earmarks, you will note that “Republican Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi tops the list, with $470 million in earmarks for himself and his colleagues. Next up is Cochran’s seatmate—Republican Roger Wicker, hitting the scales at $390 million” [source]. Talk about rich blue states funding a poor red state. So much for the abhorence for wealth redistribution, eh?

So how do they justify these earmarks? Lindsey Graham (R-SC) when reminded of his earmarks said, his spending proposals had merit, and were therefore worthwhile: “I think I should have the ability as a United States senator to direct money back to my state as long as it’s transparent and it makes sense.” So basically spending that Graham appropriates is ‘worthwhile’ whereas any other spending is ‘wasteful’? It reminds me of that classic line we used to use in school – tera khoon khoon aur mera khoon Coca-Cola? In fact, the cherry on the top is that these Republicans are urging Obama to veto the bill when in fact, it is a legislation drafted by the Congress. Asking Obama to veto a bill filled with your members pork barrel spending when you failed to do the same to a Republican president not more than six months ago is plain hypocritical.

I see a simple solution for Republicans if they want any moral standing to criticize earmark spending. Drop all your earmark requests for this year and then challenge Obama to veto the bill. Heck, I’ll support you if you do that. Otherwise it is plain demagoguery and scoring cheap political points.

Railing Against Earmarks (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

Do you open up most when you’re online? Well, don’t.

I love the way she opens her article by reprimanding you immature bloggers who shoot your mouth off at the slightest hint of injustice (or coffee stains). So if you want to be honest with yourself and share your feelings even if they aren’t libelous, Pallavi says no. Karan Johar would concur and says, parents know best. But then parents can’t blog either just because they finally figured out how to go online.

Thanks to a recent observation by the Supreme Court, which could become a template for all future cases.

I knew it! The Supreme Court saves all judgments and rulings as a .dot file and simply replaces the blogger’s name and their URL for future cases. Ok! that may be a bit unfair. We all know that typewriters are still the rage.

“There are so many charges against Ajith, such as x, y, z. Our constitution does not allow such activity so it is not acceptable,” says Cyber lawyer Karnika Seth.

Pallavi then quotes a cyber lawyer (sounds like a task for Chris Hansen), Karnika who I think may have told her what those “x, y, z” charges were. But you see, space is such a premium even online that you wouldn’t want to waste precious megabytes kilobytes bytes bits that would go into mentioning those charges that are so pertinent to this case. Unless the Constitution explicitly charges you with crimes against humanity if you blog using the characters x, y, and z. We’re a vowel-friendly nation.

There are punishments for posting obscenity, inciting public disharmony, intimidation, even defamation. The problem is that how will these laws be interpreted.

Err…that actually makes sense and sounds insightful in recognizing the core problem. Wait a minute, am I reading a blog?

In the heat of the Mumbai attacks, Cheytanya Kunte blogged against journalists revealing vital info on TV. He was forced to apologise by the channel.

Let me get this straight, after all the megabytes (yup, we bloggers buy memory by the megabytes) spent in discussing the Cheytanya Kunte case, you think he was punished for revealing vital info? What do you think he is, Abdul Qadeer Khan? He was charged with libel, threatened with a lawsuit, and asked to remove his post which he did. It wasn’t like a teacher saying “now go say sorry to your friend for punching him”. Even if we differ on whether his words were libelous or not, at least mention the correct charge that NDTV had lobbed on him. I don’t expect Watergate-ish journalistic research but use the damn Google. And what’s with “info”, seven more characters and your editor would have fired you? Or just too Twitter-ized? But given your “x, y, z” lines, this is Pulitzer-worthy.

Gaurav Sabnis complained about the standards of teaching at a Management institute. His write-up was forced off the net. Rashmi Bansal, who wrote about the same topic faced the music too.

Now we are entering territory that may makes Pallavi look absolutely inept as a journalist. As Gaurav explains, his “write-up” was NOT forced off the net and it still exists. The entire IIPM brouhaha was about forcing his “write-up” off his blog which he refused to do and resulted in IIPM getting bitch-slapped by the blogosphere. I again remind Pallavi of her research classes in journalism school or do as we bloggers do, use Google. But at least you got it partly right when you write Rashmi “facing the music” (we love our metaphors, don’t we?) Can you care to elaborate on the music that certain anti-social elements associated with IIPM were threatening her with?

The article then cites loopholes in the existing law by quoting Amit Varma and Rashmi Bansal. But concludes with a gem:

So, next time you upload a video to youtube or a photo to Flickr, message your friends on Facebook or update your blog make sure you aren’t breaking the law.

Bloggers, remember the “x, y, z” ways in which you can break the law? Pallavi asks you to remember those when you go about your Web2.0 ways.

Journalist Needs Help (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

General elections have been announced. If you are not on the voters list, or are not sure that you are, just go over to Jaago Re and register online as soon as possible. Spread the word. Bug your friends, family, colleagues and neighbors. Nag them until they sign up.

And on polling day, make sure you vote.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to vote. Again. I wish we had absentee ballots.

You can follow IndiCast’s election coverage here.

Exercise your Vote (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

The Supreme Court ruling said to the youth, “You are a computer student and you know how many people access internet(sic) portals. Hence, if someone files a criminal action on the basis of the content, then you will have to face the case. You have to go before the court and explain your conduct.” I’m glad not to be a computer student because now I have no idea of how many people access Internet portals and can be exempt from blogging with responsibility. Jokes aside, although everyone agrees that we should blog with responsibility no one ventures into defining what responsibility is and how fragile public sentiment can be. Blogging aside, can political parties now simply cite “hurting public sentiment” by suing journalists who dare to investigate their actions during or after elections? If you say journalists are different, I ask why. They don’t seem to be limited by their professional ethics given the recent coverage of Mumbai attacks. By allowing criminal proceedings to be filed against the youth, the Court may have opened the doors for frivolous charges. Intimidation of ordinary people by merely threatening to file suit can be a viable alternative to squelch criticism. Will a blogger living outside India be required to come down to India for his ‘tareek pe tareek‘ for merely voicing his opinion against a certain individual or organization? Any reasonable individual wants to avoid going to court in order to stay away from a long legal process and this might be just the crutch ‘offended parties’ may use to stave off critcism. Even the Supreme Court admits this in Indian Oil Corporation v. NEPC (2006) [via]:

“a growing tendency in business circles to convert purely civil disputes into criminal cases. This is obviously on account of a prevalent impression that civil law remedies are time consuming and do not adequately protect the interests of lenders/creditors. Such a tendency is seen in several family disputes also, leading to irretrievable break down of marriages/families. There is also an impression that if a person could somehow be entangled in a criminal prosecution, there is a likelihood of imminent settlement.”

But sadly, the law is not yet on our side. Clause (2) of Article 19 of the Indian Constitution elaborating on freedom of speech includes the following “reasonable restrictions” – security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency and morality, contempt of court, defamation, incitement to an offense, sovereignty and integrity of India. Please tell me how these restrictions are reasonable. As you see, anything under the sun can be categorized as an restriction to your freedom of speech. If I say something innocuous and that leads to couple of weirdos smashing shop windows in the town, all it does to get me into trouble is the weirdos saying that my words made them do it. My freedom of speech will be curtailed under “public order” or “incitement to an offense” restrictions. Shouldn’t actions be punished instead of words? Arundhati Roy regularly violates her freedom of speech rights by advocating independence for Kashmir thereby endangering “sovereignty and integrity of India”. But apart from calling her ignorant, I wouldn’t want to reprimand her for what she thinks as a solution to the Kashmir issue. This post in itself can be considered as a “contempt of court” since I dared to talk against the Supreme Court ruling. Where does it stop?

Restricting Freedom with Excuses of Responsibility (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

The world celebrated Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday this past Thursday. Darwin, as many know, is known for his revolutionary theory of evolution. Evolution has been unanimously acknowledged by the scientific community and served as the basis of biology. But compared to other scientific theories (yup! gravity is a theory too), evolution gets the step-brotherly treatment from the general population driven primarily from religious dogma.

Surprisingly, according to this chart by Pew Research, a higher percentage of Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews abelieve in evolution than atheists (unaffiliated)[via]. Go figure! Does this imply that religiosity does not affect belief in evolution? Probably but it helps to remind oneself that Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews make up for less than one percent individually of the total population and they are more likely to be college-educated and high-income. The religious zealots of these religions are less likely to be in the United States although religious tenets of Buddhism and Hinduism isn’t in conflict with evolution compared to Christianity. High levels of education and income probably explain the Jewish angle. It is still a significant level above the general United States population of which only 48% believe in evolution. The role of religion in social and cultural life in the United States has permeated to the educational system leading to skewed beliefs and results in United States lagging behind in belief for evolution compared to its peers of developed nations.

Sakshi had raised the issue (on Twitter) on whether people really understand how evolution works as opposed to belief. I admit that the Maharashtra school board hardly touched on the topic let alone explain it. If it was taught after 10th standard, I had already opted for a Biology-exempt curriculum of PCM (Physics-Chemistry-Maths) for my 12th boards. Yup, I blame the educational system for not including teaching of evolution earlier but that’s a rant for another day. I would attribute belief in evolution or for that matter, any scientific fact as deferring to the experts whom we implicitly trust. There is much in our technologically advanced society that we do not understand but believe in. Of course, one should make utmost efforts to understand evolution but to merely dismiss it without actually studying it because of its apparent contradiction with your religious beliefs is detrimental to your intellect. On a related note, read Olivia Judson’s Dr Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation delightful, fun, and of course, informative book on mechanisms of evolution.

On the Indian front, if a higher percentage of Indians ‘believe’ in evolution then it is probably due to the fact that there is no competing argument present in the Indian society as intelligent design is in the United States. The level of religiosity in India is similar to that of the U.S. but compared to Christianity, Hinduism perhaps does not impose strict beliefs that believers need to adhere to be considered as Hindus. Science and religion have largely co-existed peacefully in India and although there have been occasional skirmishes, science and education has been left alone. Not surprisingly, belief in evolution in rigid Islamic societies is pretty low too and I’m not sure the United States wants to be in that company.

Do only Atheists believe in Evolution? (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)

Now if the police had arrested him for his attack on the women in pubs, it would be completely understandable because it was a crime that was committed but the lack of action on that first act set in motion the events that followed. He wasn’t remanded to custody for his pub attack crimes but for something that he has not yet done. Unless the police act on actual crimes and not on uncommitted ones, we will have a confusing law & order situation.

Mind you, this is in no way condoning his stated actions and I couldn’t disagree with his regressive views more. If you think, this might not be the best time to raise the question of such ‘preventive action’ given Muthalik’s history but then when is it? Tomorrow it could be you for a far more innocuous thought that you simply expressed aloud and had no intention of carrying it out. Any legal experts out there who would like to shed more light on this issue?

Preventive Custody – Valid or not? (Published at Nerve Endings Firing Away)