ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) has lost contact with India’s first moon mission, the Chandrayaan-I. With that India’s first moon mission has come to a premature end. Chandrayaan was launched on 22 October 2008 using a PSLV. Chandrayaan-I was carrying 11 scientific instruments on board, among which, 6 were foreign. It was expected to send data about moon for about two years, but it has ended in just about 10 months.

Though the mission has ended prematurely, majority of the scientific objectives have been achieved, claims ISRO. It has sent many high resolution images of lunar surface and craters. The data will help ISRO in better understanding of the lunar environment.

The mission is not a complete failure as it not only has sent many detailed pictures on moon but has also given ISRO valuable experience in space flight which will prove critical as ISRO is aiming to land Chandrayaan-II on moon in a few years time.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and PM Manmohan Singh after winning the elections

Defying all expectations and poll predictions, Congress and its allies performed much better than expectations getting a thumping mandate for the next five years, from nearly 57% [wiki] of electorates who voted. Manmohan Singh will be the next prime minister of the country in the 15th Lok Sabha. He is only the second PM after Pt. Jawahar Nehru to be elected to a second term in PMO after being in centre for full five years.

UPA (United Progressive Alliance) won about 260 seats (up by a whopping 79 seats when compared to 2004), just marginally short of the magic figure of 272. Congress itself secured 206 (+60) seats, a feat that it was not able to repeat since 1991. NDA failed miserably, managing only 157 seats, down by 14 seats as compared to 2004. BJP won mere 116 seats (-22).

Mamta Banerjee’s Trinmool Congress (TC) won 19 seats (2 in 2004), Jayalalitha’s AIADMK won 9 seats (0 last time), Left parties won only 20 seats (53 last time), Laloo’s RJD could manage only 4 seats against the 24 which they won in 2004. Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP was unable to open its account (they had 4 Mp’s in Lok Sabha last year).

Big guns who were able to secure their seats include:

Priya Dutt (Mumbai North-Central, Congress), Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram, Congress), Varun Gandhi (Pilibhit, BJP), LK Advani (Gandhinagar, BJP), Rajnath Singh (Ghaziabad, BJP), Congress’s chairperson Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareily, Congress), Rahul Gandhi (Amethi, Congress), Laloo Prasad Yadav (Saran, RJD, he lost from Patliputra though), ex PM H.D. Deve Gowda (Hassan, Janta Dal- secular), Sachin Pilot (Ajmer, Congress), P Chidambaram (Sivaganga, Congress, he lost initially and asked for a recount in which he won), Maneka Gandhi (Aaonla, BJP, she also lost in the first counting but was declared the winner after a recount), Navjot Singh Sidhu (Amritsar, BJP), Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Sahib, BJP), Chiranjeevi (Tirupati, PRP, he lost from Palacole though), Mulayam Singh Yadav (Mainpuri, SP), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna, Congress), Sushma Swaraj (Vidisha, BJP), Jaswant Singh (Darjeeling, BJP), Jayaprada (Rampur, SP), Murli Manohar Joshi (Varanasi, BJP), Mohd Azharuddin (Muradabad, Congress)

The list of notable heavy weights who lost is as follows:

Laloo Prasad yadav (Patliputra,RJD, he won from Saran though), Ram Vilas Paswan (Hajipur, LJP), Shekhar Suman (Patna Sahib, Congress), Chiranjeevi (Palacole, PRP, he won from Tirupati though), Renuka Chaudhary (Khammam, Congress), Ram Naik (Mumbai North, BJP), Vinod Khanna (Gurdaspur, BJP), Chetan Chauhan (East Delhi, BJP), Mani Shankar Aiyar (Mayiladuthuraj,) Nafisa Ali (Lucknow, SP), Margaret Alva (Uttara kannada, Congress).

From the state point of view, the biggest surprise for me was UP. Congress won 21 seats in the state, an increase of over 50 % as compared to last time’s 9! Even Congress leaders dint anticipate this resounding success in the important state of UP. BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) won only 20 seats, an improvement of just one seat from 2004. This broke the dream of the “sarvajan samaj” leader Mayawati’s hope of becoming the king maker and hopefully the next PM of the country. Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party suffered huge loss of 12 seats as they could only win on 23 constituencies.

Apart from UP, West Bengal sent major tremors down the political lanes. While Left parties suffered significant setback, winning only 11 (CPI+CPM) seats as compared to 29 (CPI+CPM) last time in a state which is considered their strong hold, Mamta’s Trinmool Congress emerged strong winning 19 seats, up by 18 in 2004.

In Tamil Nadu, AIADMK won 9 seats (+9) while DMK consolidated by 2 seats to take their tally to 18.

In Maharashtra, Congress added 4 seats as compared to 2004 to finish at 17, while BJP lost 4 seats and their final tally in the state was just 9!
Bihar was one state which brought wide smiles on face of NDA. BJP won 12 (+7) while JD-U won 20 (+14). Though other major parties in state, RJD (4,-18) and LJP (0,-4) were completely wiped out.

BJP also took blows in MP (16,-9), Rajasthan (4,-17). Congress improved by significant numbers in Kerala (13,+13), MP (12,+8), Rajasthan (20,+16)

Few things are very clear from the way India has voted:

• People of India have voted for stability. They want a government which can run and take strong decisions for five years (hence the mandate in favor of Congress and allies and against blakmailer parties like Left, BSP,SP etc. People have denied totally regional parties like RJD and are now turning towards national parties for better governance. Congress can work without the constant fear of its allies withdrawing support and we can expect a stronger coalition government and they can formulate their key policies with freedom and without much hassles.
• Advani, Modi are not the faces people of India want to see as their PM. People of India do not want their leaders or parties to be working on secular lines. Hate speeches by <sarcasm> honorable </sarcasm> Mr. Varun Gandhi dont seem to work outside Pilibhit either. People want real issues and not just issues which are made up just for the sake of it. BJP had much greater support when honorable Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji was in picture. It is not hard to believe that BJP needs a leader with a clean image like him to be able to challenge Congress in next elections in 2014. As Advani has already offered to quit, is Modi the natural choice for the next (dare I say) PM in waiting? If yes, god help BJP, because unless Congress does something terribly terribly wrong this time, I am afraid people are not ready to see and accept Mr Narendra Modi as the PM of the country.
• Rahul Gandhi is a force to reckon with. This election the battle was between youthful exuberance of 38 year old Rahul gandhi and the experience of 81 year old Lal Krishna Advani, and we know who prevailed. The fact that Congress won on more than 60 seats out of 126 (source: Aaj Tak) where Rahul Gandhi travelled shows the effect this young power house of Congress has on the common man of India. BJP needs a younger and dynamic face in their party to woo the younger voters. And no, Varun Gandhi is not a wise choice. They need someone who is more likable. Rahul Gandhi can also be the Congress’s PM candidate for the next elections.
• Start power does not guarantee you sucess, well almost. Defeats of many prominent personalities like Chetan Chauhan, Hans Raj Hans, Raj Babbar, Vinod Khanna, Jaspal Rana, Chiranjeevi, Shekhar Suman is a proof of that.

I am thankful for a few things.

• We can expect a stable and stronger government,
• People like Mayawati can only dream of becoming the PM of this great country.
• BJP must have learnt that India does not want to be divided on basis of religion. We (okay, most of us) do not ratify politics of hate. If you want to win, you need to bring better faces than Advani and Modi, someone like Sh AB Vajpayee.
• Small parties like RJD, BSP, SP, Left who thrive on the lack of a consensus amongst the Indian voters and hence get what they wanted just because they have the seats that the coalition government needs, need to re-think their agendas. People of India have clearly shown them the door and made it clear their is no room for parties who create instability in the government.
• I am happy that opportunistic politicians like Ram Vilas Paswan lost. Man, that guy is present in every party just because he has those few seats which the alliances need to form the government. Not surprisingly, he gets a portfolio too. And I am sure, he does not allign with the alliance likely to form government with just the motive of “actively” participating in the government and hence be able to serve the people of the country better.

Congress will be able to form the government with the support of just a few more small parties and independents, leaving no room for SP, BSP and the likes.

Thanks to the Election Commission Of India for conducting free and fair elections. Managing elections for over a month and that too in a country of over 700 million electorates is a tough job.

I hope to see a better working government this time. Winning the elections is just the beginning, the real work starts now, fulfilling the expectations and faith people have shown in you.

Good luck to Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Download the complete list of winning candidates of 2009 General Elections from
here. (PDF, 53 kb,from ECI website)

Disclaimer: Though I have taken utmost care in giving the correct stats, some errors still might have crept in. If you come across any, please notify me.

Data collected from various sources including IBNLive, image from BBC

I feel like killing myself for not writing this piece before 16 April (i.e. before the day elections started). I remember that I decided that I would run a campaign of sorts on all my blogs so as to create whatever awareness I could at my small level and encourage my fellow citizens to go out and cast their vote in the 2009 general elections. But I don’t know how I became so lazy that I could not find time to write this all important topic. And here I am, writing this post when two out of five phases of the elections have already passed and fates of candidates for more than half of the 543 Lok Sabha seats have already been sealed in the ballot boxes. But better late than never. (*promises to self to be more responsible in future*)

So India, the largest democracy in the world is currently voting to choose the representatives to 15th Lok Sabha to lead us, “hopefully”, for the next five years. This is the biggest  democratic event mankind has ever witnessed as more than 700 million (714,103070 to be exact) people lined up to cast their vote. Never before in history, man witnessed participation at this large scale.

What do these elections means for India?

India has been shining, and shining bright for the last decade or two. Our economy has been on steroids, clocking 6-8 pc GDP growth consistently for a few years now, our scientific achievements (Chandrayaan) have been a fairy tale, our military might (now don’t compare with US or China et al, peace) and what not. But I am sure most of us would agree with me here that if only we had good leaders who can think of nation above self, power, money and everything else, we would have been miles ahead of where we are now. Because we know that there is not any lack of brilliant and hard working brains here.

Indian politics is dirty. Period. But makes the politics dirty? Politicians. And who elects the politicians? We, the people. This is where I feel these elections can be different from all the previous ones. Of the 700 million people who will exercise their right to vote this year, a staggering 65% of them are below the age of 35. This the highest India has got so far in terms of young electors. Youth thinks differently, there is no one doubting that. They they don’t think orthodox, “most” can think above the lines of region, religion, caste, color and other such crap, or so I believe (I hope I am not wrong). Not that I am saying our parents grand parents are all fools and incapable of making wise decisions but when talking of majority and witnessing the politics we have in our country today, I am somewhat inclined to think that the youth can do a better job than those who previously elected leaders giving preference to religion, caste, region etc of the candidate.

That means more than 450 million young and ignited minds deciding the fate of the country for the next five years, now that’s unprecedented and revolutionary. All the major political parties realize the power of young voters in these elections. And that is why every one is trying to woo the young voter in as many ways as they can. Like BJP’s huge campaign online which has for sure ruined my (and probably your too) online experience since months. BJP’s ads can be seen many websites, I don’t know how much money they spent on online advertising. BJP and Congress has been actively engaging young voters on hugely popular sites like Facebook and  Twitter. Special campaigns have been designed for targeting the youth. Every one knows that youth holds the key in these elections. Do you?

Why should you vote?

This question is a no brainer actually. You are a citizen of this country and that is enough reason for you to vote. It is your country, if you do not care for it, no one else will. Your non-vote can even lead to election of a non-competent leader or someone whom you don’t want. Why let that happen? If you crave for the rights the democracy of this country has given you, you are expected to fulfill your duties towards it as well, that is cast your vote. If you think that one vote doesn’t make any difference, then remember the old saying, the droplets fill an ocean. If everyone were thinking like you, there would be no elections at all. If you start at your level, others will follow. At least you can be proud that you do something at your end and not like many many other who can only sit and whine about the endless this country faces while making no contribution or efforts in trying to get rid of the problems.

If you are young and you are think of what can be achieved if these (or most) 450 million vote. You are one of these 450 million. Would not you want to participate and cast your vote and make a statement?

Also I would like to quote here two great personalities:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy

Whom should you vote?

Now this is a tricky question. No matter what age group you belong to or what are your values you just can’t think of genuine politicians who are worthy of your vote. Though in the end decision is your to make but the problem lies in the fact that it is not easy to make even that decision because there are just no politicians whom you can vote on their merits. Indian elections have always been about choosing between the lesser of the two evils. Both the national parties, “Indian national Congress (INC)” and “Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)”, have their “cons”. Its really tough to choose between the two, not because the both have done exceptional work but because you have to actually look through the profiles to see which part has the candidates which have lesser criminal records against their names, which has criminals politicians who are not involved in any scam or forgery or any other mis-conduct. You don’t have the luxury of choosing that who amongst them has more nation loving,honest, strong leaders. This is the common dilemma shared by most of the voters, specially first timers in India.

Now that is what dis-heartens me. Can’t we find 543 worthy leaders for ourselves in a nation of 1 billion people? It actually discourages you to rather not vote as no good is going to come of it anyway. But this attitude is wrong. Still you have to choose, even if it means choosing between the two evils, because if you don’t, who knows, the greater of the evils is voted to power, and we don’t want that. Also, after elections if the greater evil is in power and it commits a blunder, you can’t blame anybody because did you do anything to keep them from power? No. So do vote, wisely.

But still if your self does not allow you to vote for any of the evils, because no matter even if you choose someone who is the lesser evil in your opinion, they will still bring you shame. They will still do acts which will make you think, “How could have I elected these people to power?” I was in a similar dilemma last year during Delhi legislative elections last year, when I could not think of who should get my vote? I could not decide on any party. Both had numerous negatives. Then finally, I voted for “no-one” using a special provision provided to us voters, under 49-O. It basically enables you to cast a “null vote” i.e. your vote is valid, but not in favor of any party or candidate. Mind that it is not a “negative vote”, meaning your vote will not affect the outcome of the elections if even 1 normal vote is cast. Though I am not sure what will happen if every elector decides to vote using 49-O. Here is what is written on NIC website about 49-O.

49-O. Elector deciding not to vote.-If an elector, after his

electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters

in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as

required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his

vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in

Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb

impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.

Read the full “THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS RULES, 1961? here on the NIC website.

This method is not very easy to use as there will be many obstacles in your way. Even the elections officer on duty are not aware of this provision. When I went to vote, they almost turned me down saying there is nothing like this. But I came to know later that there were others who also tried to cast their vote in this manner but were actually scolded and turned down by the authorities present on election duties at the polling station. So if you decide to vote using 49-O, go prepared with all the proofs.

Take print out of the text above (in quotes) and also the print out  of (scroll to point #11 on page 8 ) this PDF from Election Commission Of India’s (ECI) ECI_voters_guideline_2006. These two should be enough. This thing sure exists, I have myself used it. Authorities on paper there might not know it, its your job to convince them. (Don;t attempt any heroic or sensational act at the polling station, just be polite, I am sure the officers will reciprocate).

(Read more about my experience of voting using 49-O)

Please note that unlike the spam mail that is under circulation for years now, there is no clause suggesting cancellation or re-polling under any circumstances due to 49-O. Your vote will have NO effect on the outcome of the elections. Though I agree that whether you are actually contributing by voting using 49-O or not is debatable, but I tend to believe that it is a contribution in someway atleast. If you think same, you can also vote using 49-O if you can’t decide on any party or candidate.

There you go, the bottom line is you HAVE TO vote if you are a responsible citizen of this country. Even if you think no one is worthy, you have to elect because otherwise the greater of the two evils can come to power. Still if you think voting is useless, vote using 49-O, I have given you another option. If you still don’t vote, DIE!

Schedule of the General Elections 2009

Here is an excerpt from a blog post i wrote here on my other blog:
http://knayam.com/2009/02/01/rafael-wins-australian-open-beating-federer/

It was the scene when at presentation ceremony the great Roger Federer broke down and cried inconsolably. Man, I could not bear those scenes. Roger said” May be ill try later. God, its killing me…” and then he broke down cried his heart out for long time. A tsunami of emotions at that very moment. A terrible sight for tennis fans. I would have written about how he played the match but after watching this, I am not in a position to write anything. It was just so overwhelmingly difficult to see him sry. That shows how much he wanted it (a win against Nadal in finals) and how badly it hurts him losing yet again to Federer. But I dont think the loss again was the factor that made him cry. Nadal has just gotten so deep.. ahh…forget it. I wont say anything. It was just too hard to see that. For the champion he is, I cant believe it. You are still the champion and still the greatest Roger. That is one sight I will never forget.

The both played gruelling tennis for almost 5 and a half hours (314 mins) and at the end it was a double fault by Verdasco serving at 30-40 down 4-5 in the final set which winded up the match. That was a sad ending to a great semi final. The duo shosed impeccable physical and mental strength in the match.

The match had everything you would want. It was really hard to choose between the two. Verdasco hit 95 winners and still ended loosing,that tells you the quality of the match. Total points won were 193 to 192 in favour of Nadal. Both the players played amazing shots. They were drained of almost all their energy but somehow to everyone’s wonder, they managed to produce enough steam when it mattered, even in the fifft set,in the post 4 hour stages of the match. The WImbledon final last year between Nadal and Federer was also about 5 hours of time but we can not forget that they had rain breaks in between. These guys played exhausting tennis for continously 5 hours. Today’s match was itself worthy of a final.

Verdasco was in supreme form through out the tournament and he defeated one of the favourites and in form player, the Brit, Andy Murray en-route to the semis.

On the other hand you have Nadal. Man with the never-say-die attitude. He will chase any ball in the court. For him the point is not over till it changes the score board. He picks up impossible balls, which any other player would not even bother to chase. No matter how good your winner is, if he will try his best to reach out to it and put the ball in your court. He just makes you play an extra shot. The thing is, sometimes the opponent ends up hitting an unforced error which becomes a plus for Nadal as he wins a point which was almost gone. That also gives confidence to him and makes his opponent ponder what extra do they need to do? How much more virtual winners do they need to hit? Today also in this match, when Nadal was serving 40-30 at 3-4 in the fourth set, Verdasco hit 4 shots which would have been scorching winners against anyone but Nadal not only managed to keep the ball in play but also won the point on a magnificent pass. He can win a point from any part of the court. If you are thinking of winning a point from long rallies of him,forget that, he is un matched there.

It was a delight to watch the forehand of Nadal. That is a fiery and devastating weapon on tennis court today.

Im a huge huge fan of Federer but the shear guts of this man, Nadal, makes me his admirer. He has what it takes to beat a champion like Roger and keep him guessing.

That being said, what can Federer do to stop this incredible athlete? Im too small a person to comment on that, Federer knows better than any other man on earth but there are two aspects which are very important. His first serves in percentage. Though Federer has a great serve, can hit aces on his will but for beating Nadal, his 1st serves in should be high. He can also try chasing a few points like Nadal does. In my opinion,he tends to give away points easily. Its seems like he thinks,okay,this is strecthing for too long, I am a great player, I can win even if I let go this point, so lets play the next point. That can not be the case with Rafa. Apart from that, his game is just too divine. I watch him in awe.

I hope I will be writing a post about Roger winning his 14th slam after a great final on Sunday and there by equalling the great Pete Sampras’s record of most Grand Slam titles.

All the best wishes to you Roger.

Go Roger go!

Here are the higlights of the match:

(Sorry for the bad quality A/V)

(I have written on this Mangalore incident on my other blog. In case you dont follow it, you can find the post here: Women attacked in a pub in Mangalore)

I asked the question of the poll in this post to about 11 people in my class.
8 out of 11 opted for option number 3 while 1 person each selected option number 2,4, and 6. Of the 5 girls,1 of them chose 2 option as her voice while rest went with # 3. Out of 6 guys, 3 selected option # 3 while 1 each went for 4 and 6. The one which selected option 6 had this to say “WTF”. (WTF!?)

I also asked them to write their views on the issue if they wanted to. Here is what a few of them had to say:

1. Nikhila (female):

Westernisation to some extent is fine. The main use of clothes is to cover yourself,in the name of westernisation people dress sensually. They think that wearing small clothes (tiny infact) is modern and fashion. Obviously they give a wrong idea.People can say they can wear whatever they wish. But she is not the one who sees herself in that dress.So we have to dress in a way that we dont pose any wrong idea to others.

2. Anonymous (Male):

3rd option because everyone has his/her way and right to live. No one can change anyone by force. One can be changed himself only and not by any other. So to do this kind of deed to anyone is a hinious crime. So I opt 3rd, because it depends on person whether she/he should follow her culture or be much westernised as said one can be changed by himself.

3. Anonymous (Female)

These kind of offenses, who ever do these crimes should be hanged till death. The people who can not respect life and others, they dont have a right to live.

Mr. Ramalinga Raju, Chairman of Satyam Computers, which is/was a very respected name in Indian IT industry has in public confessed to have forged companies account to show higher profits over the years. Mr Raju has accepted that 50.4 billion rupees ($1.03 billion) of the 53.61 billion rupees of cash and bank balances the company reported on Sept. 30 were non-existent. [Source] Words of shame really,from mouth of a man who founded this company in 1987,named it Satyam (means “truth” in Sanskrit,talk of irony  now), made it the 4th largest IT company in India.

Mr. Raju has admitted that he showed more profits than there actually were. They kept on forging the companies accounts book hoping that their company has a sound base and they will be able to cover up the deficit in the next quarter/year. But that dint happen. He then tried to buy two companies of his son so that he could relate the difference in profits to purchase of those firms and fool everybody, but due to a strong negative reaction by the investors, he was forced to let go his plan. Seeing no escape, as a last resort he confessed the scam. Mr. Ramalinga Raju has now resigned.

Lets see how big Satyam is. Satyam boasts of names like ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, and Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third-biggest carmaker as its customers. Satyam is a huge company,employing more than 50k people. I cant imagine what those 50k people would have felt when they heard this news. The investors who trusted in the company lost their money to the cumulative tune of thousands of crore of Rupees. Foriegn investors will now think hard before investing in an Indian firm. Volume of jobs being outsourced to India can also be affected. All this can hit India’s booming economy real hard.

From a student point of view also, this spells disaster. In this time of grave economic crisis,recuitments were already down. God forbid, if company does dissolve, 50k will go somewhere. These already well trained workers will be readily absorbed first by the other companies which could result in further decrease in recuitments. (I will be un affected as I am not related to Satyam’s field of work as I am doing Biotechnology.Though I am not sure there ever will be any recuitments of Biotech students.hehe.)

It is such a huge blow to Indian corporate world that you can safely name it “Enron of India.” You cant think of a possible reason or excuse how and why a scam of this magnitude go un noticed for so long. This shows how good our corporate governance is. How was he paying his taxes if he was just inflating his profits. How was he paying his employees? Its hard to accpet that he was alone in the plan.
Satyam has been removed from important indexes like BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) and NSE (National Stock Exchange).[Source] Yesterday,when Mr. Raju disclosed this scandal,Satyam Computers’s stock plunged by about nearly 80% in BSE Sensex.

Whatever steps are taken here after,this incident has all what it takes to shake Indian economy to its roots, more so because of its timing. Though, steps should be taken so that these criminal acts are not repeated in future and so that confidence of investors can be re-instated in Indian corporate world. And ideal start to this would be getting Mr. Raju behind the bars. This itself is not a tough job as influential eople in India do not find themselves in prison very often, but doing it this time will set an example for others that,who ever you are,if you break the law,you will be punished.