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Archive for September 5, 2007
September 5, 2007 at 2:51 pm · Filed under tributes
India lost a mother on this day, 10 years back.
Her contribution to humanity is, well, unfathomable. In an era of conflict, Mother Teresa’s compassionate approach without any sort of favoritism is an example and a half for those who build paradigms even when it comes to humanity. 10 years down the line, Sister Mary Nirmala Joshi continues to keep up the good work at the Missionary, but no other name is synonymous with service for the poor. Look at any list of women in India, and you ought to find Mother Teresa right up there. Ironic, that our best representative in community service is of Macedonian origin, but who cares really - that’s what she was all about - wholehearted service irrespective of race and religion.
But this post isn’t about what she has done for the people. It isn’t a tribute to a woman who was a perfect depiction of love, compassion and strength. It’s about a little event that went unnoticed on this day, 10 years back.
‘Acharya’ Giriraj Kishore is a senior member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The VHP, of course, is India’s biggest cover-up of Hindu nationalism, if that’s what its interests are. When the Mother breathed her last, and she was awarded a state funeral for obvious reasons, Giriraj Kishore spoke against it.
His stupid point - she was Christian, she belonged to the Church and as a result, every little act of charity she undertook was an automatic incident as a result of being part of the Church. That, apparently, didn’t merit a state funeral. Besides - according to Kishore - she carried out secret baptisms of the dying.
What kind of lowly filth makes such statements against a women of her nature and achievement? The absurd claims by the VHP didn’t find refuge, not even in Mother Teresa’s critics. I’m not sure which pre-historic India the VHP live in, but that deserves another post altogether so I’ll leave it at that and let the hate-mail pour in.
Back to 2007, her non-political agenda of helping the poor is something that must be referred to time and again, for every cause out there that’s trying to help those below the poverty line. If there ever was a contemporary saint, a biblical Holy Mother depicted in flesh, body and bone - it’s her.
They say Gandhi was the Father of the nation. She, in all certainty, ought to be titled Mother India - the Saint of the Gutters. Calcutta’s streets are indebted to her.
As long as poverty and conflict exist, you shall be missed. Er, actually, you shall be missed forever.
Image source: allindiansite.com
September 5, 2007 at 12:40 am · Filed under business, debates, politics, regional
Islam prohibits usury.
It instructs all its followers to stay away from taking or giving any form of interest. Now interest, of course, is one of the basic foundations of banking. Which is why I flinch with disgust every single time I come across the paradoxical term - ‘Islamic Banking’. The whole idea behind prohibiting interest is to ensure that the borrower does not get taxed or punished. But with concepts like Murabaha, a customer faces an extra payment anyway. So what’s the deal?
For those who are new to Murabaha, it’s a typical Islamic banking product, as far as Shariah-compliance goes. Murabaha involves the bank purchasing a commodity at the market-value and then selling it to the customer at a higher price than the market-value. Instead of interest in a traditional loan, the bank makes a profit with the difference of the purchase value. Vehicle murabaha’s are a common sight in Islamic banks around the world. A simple example - you can’t afford a brand new Swift for 4.5 lakhs, so the bank purchases it at 4 and sells it to you at 5. The vehicle is under their ownership until you complete the installments.
But guess what? You end up paying 50k more. And that’s what it really is - a tweaked loophole, something that some folks are trying to exploit.
Islamic Banking has had its share of success in Arab nations, with many banks opening an Islamic branch and some even starting their own Islamic bank. The Middle East Bank in Dubai recently underwent a ‘conversion’ to Emirates Islamic Bank under the Emirates Banking Group. It’s being both - adopted and accepted.
But I don’t see something like that happening in this nation. For one, I haven’t seen the Muslim community unite and speak against usury in contemporary India. I’ve known many Muslims who invest in mutual funds, shares and traditional non-Shariah compliant banking products. Most Muslims in India who would go on to bank tend to think with a secular starting point. The government has done a decent job of separating the religion from an average Indian’s daily life, and most Muslims are already accustomed to getting through their day with their own adjustments as far as the faith is concerned. So, the first challenge would be to get the Muslim population of India to cross over to Shariah-compliant banking products, and they would have to cite the teachings from Islam’s core to bring about the change.
But hey, the bigger challenge would be to keep them on. Tax, if anything, is a killer in the nation and I don’t see how a Shariah-compliant banking product can offer tax-benefits to people who invest in it. This would, in all probability, take a serious hit on the Islamic banks in terms of popularity when everyone figure out that they don’t get much tax benefits anyway. Only the devout, who follow the Book to the T, would end up being loyal customers to an Islamic bank. And that’s a small number - hardly enough to sustain the operations of a financial institution.
There are one-off incidents, but on the whole, Muslims in India have managed to co-exist very well with their Hindu and Christian counterparts. Barring the Shiv Sena and the Godhra incidents, newer governments have done their bit to enforce that the Muslim community do not feel like a minority, even as the media might paint a different image. As we move towards religious harmony, setting up Islamic banks and enforcing it on the people not only threatens to divide the customers of India’s banking industry today, but it also gives right-wing Hindu extremists and the likes of the Sena a whisker of an opportunity to speak up against this, sparking more communal violence.
Islamic Banking might just make those extremist idiots look like smart-alecks. We don’t want that, do we?
It would be best if existing retail banks offer Islamic products within their current schemes and carry out their ledger-separation, overlooked by a Shariah authority, who can certify that the profit is indeed separated. Besides, it offers a more legitimate front - the Sena would have to think twice before attacking at a larger and more ‘legitimate’ organization like ICICI, Stancy, HDFC or HSBC.
We’d rather focus on the scams and bribery and give the common man his due. And work on the tax - it burns a landmine in the pocket.
September 5, 2007 at 12:04 am · Filed under terrorism
There’s a big, big problem with being one of the fastest-growing cities in Asia, and the region’s hottest destination for technology.
We’re also destination numero uno for terrorist attacks.
The underworld are already moving to Bangalore, because this is where the money is. And considering that terrorism and underworld make a rather healthy marriage - they need people on-site to execute the missions - Bangalore needs to worry (not panic, mind you) and shield itself. Proactively. Because - like other things - without protection, we are screwed with a capital S.
But where? Here’s a quick analysis looking at potential targets within the city, the reasons, and the impact if indeed they were attacked.
Government/military strongholds
Vidhana Soudha - A poor-terrorist’s Parliament attack, this would probably result in fewer but more important casualties. Rest assured that every camera within the city will be covering the impact all throughout, and that’s what the real objective of terrorism is anyway - mass panic. Similar targets are the High Court and even the Town Hall, which has a seating capacity of 1500 people.
Bangalore Airport - The traffic at the airport has grown exponentially, over the years, and the little HAL base is still, really, a makeshift airport, which is why Bangalore’s new Devanhalli airport is coming up. However, security has been tight as ever after 9/11 and it’s highly unlikely that the terrorist would inflict serious damage at the airport. But a bomb here would surely get CNN And BBC involved.
Contemporary Bangalore
Think average IT-goer, and you automatically think INOX, PVR, Brigade Road, Central, etc. The multiplexes are a big, big attraction in twentieth-century artificial Bangalore, and they’re crowded to suffocation on weekends. The Forum have already taken steps - there’s a bomb-detector in place for every vehicle that enters the premises. And PVR have always frisked cinema-goers, albeit getting uncomfortable at times. Anyway, smart thinking.
Technoville
The real big targets. It is impossible to think of Bangalore minus a software industry, and that really, is the heart and soul of urban Bangalore. Infy and Wipro seem to have bought half the town itself, especially on the outskirts, and they are the face of this city after all. ITPL in Whitefield, Embassy Golf Links Business park on the inner ring road, bits around Koramangala, Indiranagar and M.G. Road are a hot-favourite for the contemporary Bangalorean too.
The common Bangalorean
And the forgotten one too. The Majestic, City/National market areas are always crowded. While the Cantonment station isn’t overcrowded, City is, and it didn’t have too strong a security check until Laloo enforced it at stations throughout recently. Still, an open area where one can lose themselves in the crowd real easy.
Religion
This, seriously, is the biggest threat. Bangalore is home to a few religious strongholds, especially a few important temples. The Bull Temple, built by Kempegowda, is of extreme importance especially around November and December when there is an annual festival - a groundnut fair, to celebrate the harvest. And there’s a bigger one too - ISKCON - certainly contemporary Bangalore’s most spectacular property in terms of divine importance. ISKCON have a very strong security check around, and it’s well guarded - CCTV and the works, reminding us of the Vatican. There’s also the Jamma Masjid - a Muslim favourite within the city, and even the tomb of Sufi saint Tawakkal Mastan. Any attempt to attack here could spark communal violence, and for those who remember the Saddam’s execution’s aftermath, it could get nasty, especially in areas around Munireddypallya.
Luckily, Bangalore has a strong military presence as well, and most MNCs within the city are already paranoid about security. The Microsoft offices have their bomb-detection mechanisms in place from almost a year, so there is coverage already. Still, I somehow feel it’s a bubble about to be burst, and I can’t help question how little the authorities are doing to improve security at most of these places.
What pisses me off more, is that most of contemporary Bangalore - the malls and multiplexes - have the counter-measures in place, but the common Bangalorean has been forgotten. We can’t have the government focus only on protecting IT strongholds and ignoring the rest of the city, it’s just not done. I hope they realise this soon enough and act accordingly.
