Commonwealth journey through my eyes

At the beginning of the blog i would like to clarify to each one out there that i did not volunteer for Commonwealth Games for so-called " NATIONAL PRIDE ",a term i believe invented by politicians for their own convenience .I did it for ISHQ-E-DILLI.I did it because i felt it was pay-back time to my beloved city Delhi which has given everything to grow into a sane person(though i never liked sane people because its boring to be one and being crazy was always fun and different ).

I dont exactly remember how all this started and from where exactly i heard about the volunteer programme but as soon i heard about it i knew i had to do it but i never knew at that time it would be such a long process before i finally got the accreditation card which certified me as a CWG Volunteer ,a part of Delhi United team (in spirit and in action) and would leave me with an enriching experience with some really priceless moments , beautiful friendships , a few interesting tales about the biggest sports event in the country till date, and above all a satisfying smile and contented heart when i left the Siri Fort Sports Complex (my venue) one last time around 4 pm on 14th October 2010 .

Though i remember filling the form for it through College as a part of NSS but never got any response about my form or confirmation that they received or just any information.So, the facebookalcoholic in me decided to take out some from my status,photo updates and chit-chat on the net to fill the huge form which wanted to know everything from the day i was born to my existence till that day .An over-stretched and boring online form of atleast 5 pages (i guess it was longer than the standard passport form we fill) and while filling the form i discovered a lot of details about myself (self-discovery u know).And the form refused to accept my mobile number to contact me though i took my dad's number in a second for emergency purposes.

Then the journey of Commonwealth Games began for me.Got an interview call on my mail.Went to the Organising Committee ,CWG Delhi 2010 Headquarters situated at Jai Singh Road opposite Jantar Mantar just to find out that another fairly long form was waiting for me asking the same old details(such a waste of paper though these games were green games and they were supposed to save paper) that i had filled in the online form atleast 20 times before and the twist in the tale was they never asked to bring any photographs so the first task was to find a shop which can provide me with some instant photographs so the search was on.Finally found a shop primarily an electronics shop but he took advantage of the fact this his shop was located near the OC office which never believed in giving information to people and i guess taken up photography as a side-business(he was earning loads of money as most of the volunteers came to him to get their pictures clicked).With some real bad pictures ( i hate instant pictures ) completed filling another confusing form(i forgot to mention the online form was equally confusing in some areas)and finally i was allowed to enter the building (which had nice structure but whats' with weird colours they had painted on it) .Waited for a few minutes and then my name was called for the interview ,the question were very basic and easy and to answer them i didn't had to use my brains just common sense and presence of mind was required most of them dealt with handling emergencies .

On Sunday afternoon when i was enjoying my sweet sleep got a call on my dad's mobile(as there website failed to take my number ) informing me that i was selected as a volunteer at that i didn't feel anything and went back to my dream world.But while chatting with someone , i discovered after almost two months that a lot people were rejected (i thought everybody got selected) and then i felt good.Then began a series of boring and pakao(waste of energy,time and money ) trainings which i believed didn't help any one of us ,though general training was far better than the other two most enjoyable of them and most tolerable as well as they were the only people which made sense.

Now its been the longest blog till date i have written .And i think for my experiences at the various training sessions and the those 10 days when i actually contributed towards delivering the best commonwealth games ever i need two more blogs.so to be continued.And May God be with you till we meet again.

Protection not Prosecution for Whistleblowers'

The Right to Information Act is one of the most revolutionary laws that have empowered the Indian People like no other law in this century. The law secures citizens’ right to access information under control of public authority in any form in order to promote transparency and accountability in the system. But when the informed citizenry exercised their right to information to expose misuse of government funds or to expose corruption or abuse of power in decision-making they were thrashed and sometimes their voices were made silent forever.

“Eight RTI activists killed in seven months” when recently made headline on the first page of a national daily The Hindu it explicitly stated the fate of the citizens who dared to use the act and exposed rampant corruption. Thus, in the aftermath of the Coldblooded murder of RTI activist Amit Jethwa who exposed illegal mining activities in a wild life-sanctuary in Gujarat the Cabinet has approved a bill Called The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons making the disclosure Bill,2010 or simply called Whistle Blowers’ Bill.

The Bill provides Central Vigilance Commission powers of a civil court to hand down harsh penalty revealing the identity of the whistle blowers’ and protecting them against victimisation or any disciplinary action against them. And revealing the identity of a Whistleblower can lead to three years of imprisonment or a fine up to fifty thousand rupees or both. Though the proposed Bill comes after six years, the Supreme Court pressed the government into issuing an office order, the Public Interest Disclosures and Protection of Informers Resolution, 2004 designating CVC as the nodal agency to handle complaints.

But one of the biggest drawbacks of the proposed bill is protection only for Central, State and public government employees and not to individuals and private or non-government organisations. Though there is no denial of the fact that government employees need protection from their own organisations after they expose corruption or abuse of power in public interest and we have had incidents of unfortunate deaths of Satyendra Dubey and Shanmughan Manjunath (two government officials )after they did something similar. Though as per the recommendations of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, the scope of the proposed law could be enlarged to deal with corporate whistleblowers too.

The approval of the proposed bill by the cabinet is certainly a positive step towards protecting those who are trying to sanitise the system from deep-rooted corruption and bring in some accountability in various departments.My sincere hope and desire is that the bill gets introduced and passed in the parliament in the coming winter session and India joins the elite club of four democracies namely USA,UK,New Zealand and Australia to have a full-fledged law to protect its valuable whistleblowers’.

Stuck in the lanes of JUSTICE

The lanes which lead to an important destination called JUSTICE in worlds’ largest democracy are most often, murky, dingy and defective. And above all the legal system in our country is too lengthy, time-consuming and a painful process that it actually wipes out the very essence of the term justice. Malpractices, misconducts and techniques to linger on the cases have become an integrated part our complex legal system making the road to justice an invincible battle for a common man to win. Plus the rules governing the matters are completely transformed, twisted and turned if it involves a public figure.

The recent case of Ruchika Gihrotra which took almost 19 years, 40 adjournments and more than 400 hearings to deliver justice to a minor in a molestation case against a senior IPS officer SPS Rathore is a living example of our insensitive and overburdened legal system. Another important aspect of the case is that misuse of power by the IPS Rathore which actually lead to the displacement of Gihrotra family ,false charges against Ruchika’s brother Ashu ,her being thrown out from her school and which finally led to her suicide. And finally when Justice prevailed in the case against SPS Rathore ,he was sentenced six months imprisonment and Rs 1,000 fine which appeared as too little and too late.Ruchika’s case is just an example of thousands of cases lying and gathering dust in various courts of the country and exemplifies the fight and long –wait which the common man has to bear to find justice in the eyes of laws.While there have been other cases such as Jessica lall ,Priyadarshani Mattoo,Nitish katara cases which were also against the rich and mighty of the society only got justice due to media hype and public outcry for justice.

Another important feature of the law in our country is that the law is not at all the victim-friendly and fails to protect the whistle-blowers which strive for a better India.Brutual murders of Satyendra Dubey,Manjunath and RTI activist Shetty are examples of such individuals who fought for a clean and transparent systems but our legal system failed them.

Thus it is imperative for all of us to strive for a legal system which is proactive, checks overgrowth of power ,fast-paced , make our archaic laws match the needs of contemporary world, more victim friendly especially in cases which involves influential figures ,less time-consuming and simpler for common man to understand .But special emphasis should be paid to the time factor so that no more Ruchika, Manjunath die and others like them could be saved .And no more filing a case in court to seek redresses and justice becomes a curse for a common man and courts should no longer remain a tormented place and we should all understand that “justice delayed is justice denied”

The Forgotten heroes of our times

No in this blog i m not talking about some of my favorite stars born on reality shows or made out to cater the TRP needs of channels in this blog i talk about those two young men who lost their lives because they were taught that "there is no God higher than TRUTH"(by M.K.Gandhi) and their in their pursuit to out bring out the truth of our corrupt system they were murdered in cold blood and no one even talks or bothers about the real heroes or the whistleblowers of our times.

Satyendra Kumar Dubey ,an IIT Kanpur alumni,working with the National Highway Authority of India on project golden quadrilateral exposed high-level corruption within NHAI,detailing the financial and contractual irregularities in the project.From the higher officials of NHAI to the then prime minister A.B Vajpayee he left no stone unturned to bring the wrongdoers to the books and inturn just asked for anonymity .But his name was leaked which finally led to his assasination.But the larger question remains after his death that do we stand by those people who are upright,have the courage to fight the system and support them in their ventures or are we a society that just cribs and make huge hue and cry about the rising levels of inefficiency and corruption and do nothing about it.Or have we become so insensitive that this no longer boils our blood and what kind of a society we are heading towards?

Shanmughan Manjunath ,an IIM Lucknow graduate ,working with Indian Oil Corporation was murdered by oil mafia after he sealed three petrol pumps on charges of selling adulterated fuel in Uttar Pradesh.Another question that comes to my mind after examining both the stories is that why cant our law protect the crusaders of our times ,two young men who were the victims of exposing the deep-rooted and high levels of corruption in the system.Two young men who dreamt of a corruption free India and efficient use of public resources and who couldn't remain turn blind eye to all the crimes deserved this ?

But after so many years of their death no one even talks about Public Interest Disclosure (protection of informers' )Bill and many still stake their lives to protect the interests of people against many evils in our society be it corruption,scams,human rights violations etc.As this reminds me of the recent brutal murder of RTI activist Satish Shetty who exposed land scams in Maharashtra .Right to Information Act talks about INFORMED CITIZENRY to promote transperant and accountable system but i ask who will be accountable for the deaths as many manjunaths ,shetty's and dubey's even fight today for our better future and better tomorrow the society or the law?

DELHI with a DIFFERENCE

As Me and My city gears up for the Commonwealth Games i have begun to feel the DIFFERENCE and change has come to Delhi.After years of listening that Delhi will be transformed before the CWG ,the city is experiencing makeover to cater the needs of its own people and our lovely guests who would be visiting during the ongoing Hockey World Cup and Commonwealth Games in October.

With fleet of Low- floor and air-conditioned buses marching all around the city the public transport seems to have come par with the public transport systems of the global cities of the world.And how can we forget our very own Metro services which have now become a part of our daily lives and our existence as a Delhite. Plus the Delhi is one of the very few cities of the world where public transport system is totally Eco-friendly considering the needs of the times and vision for a greener and cleaner Delhi.The most important of all is that how all these services have made our lives so easy ,travel which cheap,comfortable and readily available and experience which is one of its kind .

From better roads to series of newly constructed Flyovers at various junctions to foot-over bridges have reduced the time to reach our destinations in a more safer and convenient way.Another significant change which has come to the city is newly appointed young police officers and especially women which i have noticed over some months and who are visible at most busy roads,near girls' colleges etc.This is a very interesting change as city is not considered a safe paradise for women.

The concepts of Bhagidari and E-governance has paved the way for new age governance where government believes that successful and meaningful governance cannot be achieved without the participation of people.It has given way to less corrupt and transparent systems where citizens can question,get involved,monitor progress of projects and free of red-tapism .

But the best change or transformation i should call it is the in attitude of People of Delhi and AWAKENED and ENLIGHTENED youth who believe in "MY DELHI-I CARE".With large number of non-government organisations looking after various issues to last week protest of young girls of Kamala Nehru College for "trees are our neccesity ,pavements are our right" to hundreds and thousands of Delhites registering to volunteer for commonwealth games to people filing loads of RTI's to keep a check on various government departments and their work .I can certainly say that this responsible citizenry would help in many folded progress of the city in an all-round manner .

With this i can certainly be proud of being delhite and can assert that Delhi is a city with a DIFFERENCE.Though there is still loads of work to be done with 'joint-ownership' with the government but Delhi has set an example for other Indian states and is all set to become one of the most GLOBALISED and VIBRANT cities of the world.And i would like to end with saying that "SHERA IS ON TRACK OF PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY"

A Date With DEVELOPMENT

My date with DEVELOPMENT was an enriching experience, where i walked in as concerned Indian and after hours of discussion ,interaction,alternative solutions and out-of-thinking came out as an enlightened citizen with plethora of new ideas and vision for a BETTER INDIA and BETTER WORLD.

In leadership summit the topic under consideration was "INDIA'S DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES AND THE ROLE OF YOUTH".The seminar was organised for students of

Delhi University who were interested in exposure to the realities of India and for opportunities other than the corporate sector and white -collar jobs.

The summit was addressed by three eminent journalists namely Pankaj Pachauri(Manging Editor-Special projects and Prime time anchor NDTV-INDIA) , Vipul Mudgal(Resident -Editor Hindustan Times) and Binoy Job (Director and Media Adviser to PMO) who have over the years engaged themselves in balanced reporting and have been committed towards developmental issues which concerns the millions in the country.

Interacting with the leaders or more precisely the entrepreneurs of tomorrow Mr Pachauri

stressed that 2010 was a defining decade for the country which has full of energy and youth and pointed out on the changing times in each sector as even the last two lok sabha elections were also fought keeping in mind the AAM-AADMI of the country.He motivated us to look beyond which is easily available and towards alternative sectors such as Food sector(as by 2050 Indians are going to spend 46% of their total expenditure on food ),Health sector(second largest expenditure by indians by 2050)and to rely on entrepreneurship.

Mr Mudgal focussed on the "shifting paradigms in our times "where development has become a RIGHT .He called for JANKARI, NIGRANI and BHAGIDARI from this vibrant youth where the democracy has transformed itself from the electoral to a participating one .He also emphasised on youth's services to bridge the gap between the rural and urban population and opportunity to monetarily gain from these opportunities lying ahead.

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The best part was the last part when the responsible and active young students put forth their doubts,asked critical questions ,interacted and indulged in out-of -box thinking with the eminent panels.Equally enthusiastic was the panel who shared their expertise,knowledge and experiences with us while satisfying our inquisitive minds.Another interesting part of the session was that politician bashing,media criticism and blaming the system and government for everything was strictly prohibited.

At the end i would like to say a big congratulations and hearty thanks to leaders for tomorrow (not-for-profit youth leadership movement mainly working in college campuses),their founder

Mr. Binoy Job ,national president Ms. Anchal Dhar and the whole lft team who behind the scenes worked very hard to make this event a grand success .Special mention to my friend Mr. Chaahat Khattar who sent the invite almost 1 and half months ago so that i can attend such a wonderful event and be part of change.At the end i would like to say i m a PROUD member of lft .keep up the good work guys.

IPL catches eye-balls,who cares about winter olympics

In a cricket obsessed nation like ours where Indian Premier League grabs all the eye-balls and media attention even before it's start, courtesy the controversies and tweets emerging on a day-to-day basis we have actually forgotten to cover an ongoing international sporting event called the winter Olympics.

The 21st winter Olympics are currently being held in Vancouver,British Columbia and Canada and includes 15 winter sports and 82 teams from around the world are participating in the Olympics and most astonishing fact is that even the Indian contingent is part of the event ,still no Media coverage of the event .They Media is highly content with covering cricket and what Mr Lalit Modi is tweeting and what new controversy is being raged about IPL by Shiv Sena and MNS.

Our Media is more interested in providing all-round coverage of IPL from cheer girls to new brand ambassadors of IPL teams as we hardly find any pictures ,articles,coverage or visual footages of the Olympics in newspapers and news channels.

The most heartening part is that the media is depriving the people from the newsworthy information about and international sporting event .Even the players who are participating in the event would be disheartened by the absence of the coverage and support from the people of their country.As most people of the country do not know about the event or the players.

So at the end i sincerely request all the media organisations to please cover the event for all sports lovers including me ,so that we get an exposure to interesting winter sports like Alpine Skiing ,Curling,Luge and many more .And most importantly to gather support ,love and fan following for players who despite all odds participate in the event .

All my best wishes Ski athletes Tashi Lundup and Ski athletes Tashi Lundup and Luger Shiva Keshavan and guys hope u rock and get medals for us .