Monday, December 31, 2007


It's the done thing, isn't it

to write a note as the old year fades

and so, with about three and a half hours to go

for the clock to strike midnight

I just want to put the most significant thing i've done

in the past year

on this space.

The picture shows the pilot of a radio programme

totally conceived and executed by kids

we called it radio bachpan

the kids were from what is known as

the 'disadvantaged sections'

they were kids

from the wrong side of the tracks

I was blessed to have the privilege of working with them


May all your troubles last
as long as your New Year's resolutions.

WISHES FOR
A HAPPY AND FULFILLING YEAR AHEAD TO YOU
FROM FRANK KRISHNER

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Flood impression


The floods in Bihar are the worst in a decade. The devastation in a lot of the places is heart rending. In some areas, the water is not going to recede for months.
As I travelled through Sitamarhi, Begusarai and khagaria, I discovered that in roadside stalls, the price of food has shot up over 300%, and that matches the price of raw grains or milk. Milk is hardly to be had in some areas, and is sold between 30 and 50 rupees a litre!
The situation of the very poor is hopeless, because even the 'rich farmers' have been devastated. The small framers, who could at least emply a few men to work on their fields have no fields left. The fields are now under water. The river flows through them.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

English, August

It's August
India's turned 60



So what's it like?

How poised are we?

Where do we go from here?

How much more hype?






What's the buzz... tell me what's a -happening
that's still the mantra of
the man and women


in the street

The water's there
knee-deep
in some places chest-deep


the 'chines' food roadside stalls

the vibrancy of the ordinary person

new aspirations
new wants
new frustrations

and there's a new aspirational language
in the land of Hind
it's called English

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Hard Truth


Walking into my parlour this week were two kids.

One about fourteen and the other twelve.

Their father, a watchman, had lost his job some time ago

They came to ask me to help them stay in school.
They're Nepali kids. Brahmins, not dalits. their father made the mistake of dreaming too high. He got his elder daughter an education in Notre Dame Academy, where he himself was the watchman.
In 2005, just as his daughter was about to sit for her Class nine finals, the man, victim of undue harrassment by the principal, was forced to appeal to the labour court for justice. At the first opportunity - and that came when the school fees were delayed - the girl was brutally beaten by the principal, the late Sister Jayshree, and kicked out of school. Even though there was gross violation of norms by the principal, the poor man could not get his case heard, even though a doctor had certified that the bruises were because of the beating. the reason was that the District magistrate at that time, had a daughter studying in the school. The local Tv stations brokethe story in 2005, when the man went to appeal for justice to the Chief minister. By the time the order to reinstate the child was put into motion, but never actually delivered to the school, it was too late... anyhow, the girl has appeared through open CBSE. The case is now in the labour courts.
The reality is this. The father is still without a regular job, trying his best to make two ends meet.
School fees haven't been paid since March this year, the boys are in Loyola School.
I wrote to the Principal of Loyola school, asking him to keep the boys on till October, by which time, i'd try to scrape up some money and get sponsors for the kids.
Right now, the bill is about rs 6,000.
The boys' fees will come to rs 450 each per month.
I'd be happy to have some help with this.
Is there anyone out there who can help?

Sunday, July 08, 2007

EATING OUT

HAVE YOU EATEN OUT LATELY?

Patna, the Bihar Capital has a selection of newly opened Restaurants and food courts for our spanking new middle class that has emerged out of the cracks since 2005.
Raj Rasoi is a good choice, and so is Yo! China near Bandar Bagicha. The Big Mac is on its way soon.
In the meanwhile, several new eating places have opened up for the labourers who are so busy building Patna’s new infrastructure, it’s going-nowhere storm drains, it’s broader-by-two-feet roads.

These great snackbars serve 'sattu' roasted gram flour, chappaties- coarse pan bread, and a selection of exotic salads: mainly chilli, onion, and salt

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Dustman

He comes on his rounds every morning.
Shoeless.

Clueless.

Merrily swinging in through the gate.
Charging up the stairs.
Punching the call-bell.
Bring out the garbage.

Eighteen
Handsome
Illiterate, well- almost

Picking up teh garbage
Working with an NGO
A thousand bucks a month.

But what of the future?
when it comes, it comes
Sunshine
and rain
I'm healthy, that's all, he says....




VISIT THIS LINK

07-07-07 musings


The seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh year of the twentyfirst century.


The sound of music flows from nine locations across the world reminding us that our world is melting, and we'll all be down the tube unless we do something about it.


A dam wall collapses in Rajasthan inundating 60 villages


And in Gangtok: the voices are getting stronger: stop that damn dam!


The Sikkim Lharipa Association extended its support to the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) in its on-going Satyagraha.


Pemdup Tshering Lepcha, President, SLA, has said in a press statement that the issues and concerns raised by ACT are for “the propagation and preservation of the rich cultural heritage of North Sikkim and Sikkim on the whole.”


“If the existing customary laws and way of life is disturbed then the very identity of the Lepchas and the Sikkimese people will be compromised,” the SLA has said.


The SLA has congratulated the “brave youths of Dzongu for having the courage, sincerity and sense of sacrifice to protect their native land and the people.”


“We will extend all possible support to ACT in this just struggle. We request the Government of Sikkim to take the issue very seriously and resolve the grievances of the people at the earliest,” Mr. Lepcha said .


Will the Government of Sikkim seriously consider the issue, or will it be a puppet in the hands of the Union Government?

The Morning After

It's the Morning After the Great Music concert and the declaration of the 7 New Wonders of the World.

The Taj Mahal is one of the ‘new’ wonders of the world.
So is the Great Wall of China.
But the pyramids of Egypt or the Sphynx didn’t make it.
It’s the ‘American Idol’ of Contests. Anyway, I suppose it’s time to celebrate a great deal of nothing?

Meanwhile kids still sleep, homeless on pushcarts in Patna, Bihar India.

While on that note, Bihar, here’s a charming blog called ‘A canvas full of dreams’ which you must visit. A charming place to visit. Here’s a sampling:

I have spent more than a month in Muzaffarpur. It has been a different experience from all that I’ve had so far. Every town has its own story and I guess it’s important to know the stories of a town to understand the uniqueness of the smaller towns in this country.

A canvas full of dreams.

An interesting insight into the world of India’s Adivasi population. Rajesh Toppo, a Tribal from Orissa has a blog which should be accessed by all who are interested in tribal affairs whether in Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa or Bengal

Sundargarh tribals

Friday, July 06, 2007

Travelling film south Asia

Gangtok will play host to some outstanding South Asian documentaries for the first time ever in Sikkim.
The Travelling Film South Asia 2007 Documentary Film Festival will be held here July 6- July 15, brought to you by Rachna Books here in Gangtok.
The "Travelling Film South Asia" was started by the reputed Himal Association from Nepal which has been offering a platform for documentary filmmakers and their audience to meet under a common roof since 1997.
Over the years, the Travelling Film South Asia has come to be a tradition that is reckoned the world over for the outstanding films it showcases.
I was privileged to host the show in 1997, in Patna Women's College courtesy filmmaker Sriprakash from Jharkhand who brought the show over.
BTW, it's strange how the google search isn't picking up news about the Sikkim Hunger strike! It's time for budding film makers from Sikkim to get that docunetary started.

Sikkim Saga


Finally, CNN IBM starts a story... Thanks to Shwetank from TV 18 who received my e-mail five days ago and who probably moved the news up the chain....
Meanwhile Fragmented Rainbows 2 has a 'posting' problem.
Click n the photograph link for updates about the latest developments.
More bloggers are joning the fray

Monday, July 02, 2007

Silence from Sikkim!

No news on the Sikkim Lepcha agitation over the past 48 hours.
The Lepchas have traditionally been a very peaceful, non marital race.
This Hunger strike is perhaps out of character.
Did the Sikkim government, in the hands of Pawan Chamling, really think this one through?
Or was it a case of the Nepalese majority bureaucrats feeling that Lepcha land wouldn't matter?
Or is it actually the Indian Central Government twisting Sikkim's arms?
Nar bahadur Bhandari always spoke of the fcat that if something accepts any Sikkimese, regardless of ethnicity or religion, it affected each one of us.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

India Media black out on Lepcha Hunger strike

An old Lepcha lady on her second day of Hunger strike. Stop the Indian Government from flooding the habitat of the people of Sikkim.

I am angry.

India has once again shown its true colours. When Sikkim was annexed -- oh, we Indians love to rewrite History, and so the 'correct' term is 'merger' -- however, after the annexation of this tiny Himalayan Kingdom in 1975, a special status was given to Sikkim. No legislation could be thrust upon it unless ratified by the people of Sikkim. In the years that have followed, there has been a consitent onslaught to 'bring the Sikkimese' into the 'mainstream'.

Now, it seems, using its immense clout, the Government, which has been already imbroiled in several developmental projects using the gun, sees Sikkim and its nonviolent, peaceful-loving population as pushovers.

Once again, people are trying to use divisive politics.
There are voices in Gangtok saying that it is not a Nepalese issue, it's a lapchay issue.
There are more whispers from the trader community, that there wil be profits in the making, after all, it's not their land, and they're not tribals.
Sikkimese of Bihar origin are told , it's not your problem, keep quiet, mind your dholbi shop, barber shop, and paan dokan.

Nepali, Bhotay, Lepcha, Madhesi or Anglo: make no mistake this is a Sikimese issue. it's the common wealth that will be submerged. POur land will be destroyed, and the lions share of the profits [ha! profits! what porofit!] will be reaped by the people of the plains.

We have no objectionto mini-hydel projects. More than enough electricity can be produced that way. Why spoil the Himalayas?

This is also an Indian issue. Do we want to further ruin our already fragile eco-system and let our remaining rivers run dry?




The strike goes on. The small Lepcha tribe against the might of the Indian government and the docile government of Sikkim. More and more support for ACT and the Satyagrahis on hunger strike has been pouring in from Gangtok and other parts of Sikkim. Lepchas from Darjeeling and Kalimpong too have been coming in regularly to voice support to the cause. People from all walks of life and other communities too have been expressing concern, but this is not enough. We have to turn this into a National issue.

Bloggers over the world have started responding:


While a virtual mainstream news blackout continues to exist with regards to the hunger strike of many Lepcha, the indigenous inhabitants of India’s Himalayan state of Sikkim, against a hydro power project planned along the Teesta River in Dzongu, some enterprising journalist from a website called Asian News International has shown more initiative than all my colleagues in the Western media and written a serviceable summary of the situation.

Michael Deibert, Writer. [click the link for his reaction]




Meanwhile Tenzing Lepcha, who started it all enters the ten day and counting. He's weakening. And still the Indian Media is silent!!!!!

LINK to WEEPING SIKKIM

Sikkim Governmenmt Speak

IT TOOK TEN DAYS FOR THIS, MR MLA?


Ten days after the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) started their indefinite hunger strike against hydel power projects in Dzongu, the area MLA has finally broken his silence on the issue.

Sonam Gyatso Lepcha has, for the first time, expressed his opinions on this issue, preferring it through a press statement released to the media here today.

“As the elected representative of the Dzongu Constituency and being born and brought up in Dzongu, I am fully aware of my responsibilities and will always protect the rights and interest of the people of Dzongu.”

“I would like to state that in interest of the people of Dzongu, the Government has taken every step necessary as required under the law regarding the hydro project in Dzonguin Dzongu.

The acquisition proceedings were conducted comprehensively and in full consultation with the people of Dzongu. Required formalities have been fulfilled to ensure that the environment, culture and the ethnic character of Dzongu are fully protected.

This project was initiated by the Government keeping in mind the total interest and future of the people of Dzongu and the State,” he says in the press statement.





Friday, June 29, 2007

Weeping Sikkim

News from Gangtok: Dawa Lepcha, the general secretary of Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) who was leading an indefinite hunger strike here, was admitted to a hospital on Tuesday. ACT has been demanding scrapping of hydel projects coming up in North Sikkim’s Dzongu area. Doctors found ketone level of Lepcha, on a fast for the last seven days, negative which could affect his kidneys. East district additional collector Naveen Chettri said Lepcha’s condition improved on Wednesday.

more on this issue here
http://fragbows2.blogspot.com/

India governemnt sneaky Scheme

They are all sitting on hydro-dollars like petro-dollars. So if you can develop it, it's a way of earning the revenue," he explained. "The only question is in doing so, how do you feel the pulse of the people? But the sensitivity issue of the local concerns has to be addressed in the very initial stage so that vested interests don't come at a later stage and create problems."
if you haven't read the story , click the VOA logo



Dollars? Mr Ramanathan.
And what use are these hydro-dolars, may I ask?
Can your hydro-dollars buy virgin forests, untouched that FEED the Teesta by providing the precipitation that becomes the snow?

Can you buy back the hundreds of rare species of orchids?

The beautiful mountain butterflies that have only this one place in the whole world to exist?
Can these dollars buy back a way of life?

The people of Sikkim don’t need your rehabilitiation

Or your plunder

A few environmentally friendly mini-hydel projects would be enough to sustain the power needs of Sikkim and a few neighbouring areas.
But India doesn’t look at NEED
It’s GREED.
This sneaky scheme was put in place when the BJP was in power at the Centre.

After selling out the Tribals of India and turning their homelands into desolate holes in the ground
The pot bellied Madhesis turned their evil eyes on our Sikkim.

WHY hasn’t the Indian television media made this a story yet ?

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Baichung and more




Baichung Bhutia does not remember the first time he kicked a ball but the poster boy of Indian football has definitely kicked his way to the top to become a household name in the region.
A fan of the legendary Diego Maradona, the 5’8 feet 31 year-old from Tinkitam in Sikkim, dubbed the Maradona of India, has takenIndian football to new heights becoming the first Indian footballer to
break into European football.

Well, i remember Baichung as a 16 year old schoolboy from Tashi Namgyal Academy, teh youngest player in the Governor's Gold Cup national Tournament, playing for Sikkim B.

Here's a link to a story about his visit to Bhutan

Sikkim may be submerged by yet anoither dam prohect.

Read about the agitation here




Reservation for dalits?

I have been rather ambivalent for a while when it comes to the 'reservation' question.
Reservation for dalit christians is an issue that has very string reactions even within the Christian community. by and large the Church Official seems to support it - that means the Bishops and Priests. The laity maintain that there is no 'caste' in Christianity, so if Daits want to become Christians, they should forgo their 'caste' privileges.

St. Stephen's College has made news and sturred up contriversy by putting in a 10 percent reservation [40 seats] for Dalit Christians and has lowered the all round 'cut off' marks to 60 percent, raising an outcry.

This clarified things for me and made me think different.
Click here to see what changed my views.

St. Stephen's shows the way.

I am carrying the full text of an excellent article that I am in absolute agreement with. Other so-called 'Christian' colleges should emulate this as well. St. Stephen's college, Delhi is one of India's best known colleges.


A Christian move
Prakash Louis


Christian tradition holds that St Stephen was a man full of faith and threw himself into his apostolic work with the greatest zeal. God blessed him by enabling him to perform great wonders and signs. This was in the first century CE.

It appears that St Stephen's College by reserving 10 per cent of seats for Dalit Christians has gone back to its tradition. In spite of strong opposition from faculty members, the decision of the college to reserve seats for Dalit Christians and to scale down the cut-off point to 60 per cent is a move in the right direction and at the right time.

This move by St Stephen's is a bold step.

According to the officiating principal of St Stephen's, Valson Thampu, out of a total of 400 seats, 10 per cent would be reserved for Dalit Christians.

But he went a step further and said that all avenues will be explored to ensure that those who are admitted cope with the demands of a rigorous education.

Further, he asserted that the college would carry out a merit audit, taking the wind out of those who always hide behind merit whenever reservations come up.

This move by St Stephen's will now compel the government to make public the report of Justice Ranganath Mishra National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities and to implement its recommendations.

The commission has clearly stated that Dalit Christians, irrespective of their converting to Christianity, continue to suffer from the tyranny of the caste system.

It is common knowledge that Dalit Christians are subject to cumulative and multiple discrimination within the caste system since they are untouchables. They are discriminated against by upper caste Christians since they are Dalits; they are subject to exclusion by upper caste Hindus since they continue to be treated as untouchables; and they are denied the provisions of reservation since they have embraced Christianity.

The long-standing demand of Dalit Christians to be brought under the constitutional purview of reservation was denied on the pretext of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950. Taking this into account, the Mishra Commission has recommended that Para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950, which originally restricted the Scheduled Caste net to Hindus and later opened it to Sikhs and Buddhists, should also include Christians.

This timely action by St Stephen's is in a sense implementation of the constitutional mandate, which directs the state not to discriminate against any citizen on the basis of caste, class and creed. At the same time it demands that the well-being and rights of weaker sections be promoted and protected. Moreover, St Stephen's has reiterated the fact that this decision is in line with its minority status, and that within minorities Dalits deserve to be included.


Expectedly there is opposition from some faculty members and upper caste lobbies in the name of merit being sacrificed for affirmative action.

For ages, these advocates of merit have been direct beneficiaries of invisible but uninterrupted reservation in minority educational institutions like St Stephen's.

For generations these people have benefited out of the educational services of St Stephen's.

But the moment the college has made up its mind to include Dalit Christians in its educational mission, they are up in arms.


It appears that the determination of the management to implement the constitutional directives will triumph over their opponents.


The decision to provide reservation to Dalit Christians seems to be in line with the directions given by B R Ambedkar to judge the social services of Indian Christianity: "It is necessary to bear in mind that Indian Christians are drawn chiefly from the untouchables and to a less extent from low-ranking Shudra castes. The social services of missions must, therefore, be judged in the light of the needs of these classes".


Many conscientious citizens of the country have welcomed this historical decision of St Stephen's. This step has once again proved that education is a tool for inclusion and justice and not an exclusive domain of the elite.


The writer is director, Bihar Social Institute, Patna.

Sikkim Express Memories

Sarikah is the new Executive Editor of Sikkim Express in 2007.
I had the same post, though not as 'formalised' in 1987.
In those days, it was really just the Managing Editor Mr. Ram Patro [now deceased] and the Executive Editor [yours truly] who were the 'editorial staff'. There was Dhriba Gurung, who was the Editor and staff of the Nepali langauge side called 'Himali Bela'.
Sikkim Express was the first newspaper in the region to go 'offset'. There was an immense composing machine, a primitive comupter which would work on Wordstar commands. We were also the first in Sikkim to have an electronic typewriter on the golf-ball principle.
Sikkim Express was where I received my 'hands on' training in computers. I started on the princely sum of Rs 700 a month, upped to rs 900 two months later, and after six months, I was received the 'princely wage' of Rs 1400 plus a holiday Christmnas bonus which included a return flight to Patna!
I believe that Mr Ram Patro's son, who was an impish little boy at the time has taken over as Managing Editor.
I'm sure that Sarikah is going to breathe life andfire into thepblication.
She was recently given an award by the Sikkim Government.




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ACT FOR SIKKIM NOW

NEWS FROM Gangtok :

Mega Hydel Project planned to submerge virgin forests of Sikkim!

The argument that the mega hydel project is needed to gain revenue is as strange and phony as the picture on the right. Why would the Centre freeze grants to Sikkim? Which are the private comapnies that will benefit from this Hydel project? Is this a state-owned project?


Members of Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) have come down heavily on the ‘coercion, subjugation and administrative intimidation’ that the people of Dzongu are being subjected to.


ACT members say that government functionaries were resorting to pressure tactics to gain support for the Teesta hydel power schemes.


The allegations followed after Dzongu MLA Sonam Gyatso Lepcha came up with signatures of 86 people, apparently in favour of the power project, after a meeting on June 21.

“Most of the landowners are primitive tribesmen, docile, god-fearing and submissive by nature and a majority of them do not want to part with their ancestral land,” said Tseten Lepcha, the chief coordinator of ACT. “But they are being threatened that if they do not part with their lands all government facilities will be stopped. All those fighting for their lands, rights and future are being branded anti-national and politically motivated.”


Pressure tactics are not new to Sikkim politics, or to politics anywhere in India. During the raj of the Sikkim Sangram Parishad under Mr Nar Bahadur Bhandari, pressure was of a far more direct kind. I remember when his Sangram Youth Wing came to 'apply pressure' following an article that appeared in the Sikkim Express, or how the district administration applied 'pressure' to the publisher of Forthrightly, a Sikkim weekly to stop a very popular column on Sex Education and HIV issues called 'Body Talk'.


However, read on:





“The government should settle the matter amicably,” said Mr Thukchuk Lachungpa, president of Citizen Forum. He said that if the government still fails to act, Citizen Forum is ready to join the hunger strike.


The Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee is also supporting the ACT. The party has appealed to all the NGOs and political parties to extend their support for satyagraha and the strike to check the arbitrary, thoughtless, discriminatory and anti-people activities of the state government and “save Sikkim from becoming another Nandigram and Singur.”


Mr NB Bhandari, SPCC president, said: “Even the locals need legal permission to go there because it is a restricted area. How can these power projects be constructed there?”


Mr Bhandari said.





That's a laugh. Sikkim will never become another Nandigram and Singur. There are too few people. Would Mr Bhandari have sung the same tune had his own party been in power? I would say, yes, because Mr Bhandari has fought valiantly for Sikkimese identity.


The issue is whether we need to submerge our beautiful hills which have pristine forests, rare butterflies, even rarer species of orchids. It is one of the last sanctuaries for Alpine flora and fauna. It is the homeland of the Lepchas, the vanishing tribe. This is a Human rights' issue that must be raised.


LET'S ACT NOW AND RAISE THE ISSUE ON EVERY FORUM AVAILABLE.


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Friday, June 22, 2007

Bizarre Bihar

From Katihar in North Bihar: Just when you thought police complaints can’t get any more bizarre, comes the case of a twoyear-old boy in Bihar who’s charged with rioting and firing at police. He faces arrest and has been asked to surrender.
Toddler Raj Kumar Jha, son of Raju Jha of Nababganj village in Katihar district may not be able to stand without holding his parents’ hands, but in the eyes of the law he stands charged with firing at the police at Nababganj and has a warrant of arrest out against him. A case has been registered under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 349 (using force) and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code.
This is what happened.
The Manihari Police lodged an FIR (no 10/07) on January 30 against a dozen people, including the infant, charging them with attempted murder and rioting after a clash between two groups during a Muharram procession.
Police had to open fire to break up the mobs but no one was injured, sources said. Fearing police reprisal and arrest of their son, the parents are said to have fled from the village and are on the run.
Katihar superintendent of police Anil Kishore Yadav said he had ordered his deputy to get details of the warrant against the twoyear-old, saying he couldn’t do anything to revoke the order until he received a full report. The officer-in-charge of Manihari Police station couldn’t be contacted despite several attempts. His staff said he was busy with arrangements for a lok adalat.

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Rare Sikkim Documentary by Ray


It's a film by Satyajit Ray --- one that has never shown in India, courtesy the ban imposed on it by the Union Government.

The world lost track of Sikkim , the Ray documentary made at the request of the Chogyal, when the king's American wife Hope Cook left the Himalayan kingdom to go back to New York, never to return.

There are only three copies of the film left, but not in very good condition.

Can we start a campaign to restore it?

Click here for the full story

Random thoughts

Bihar Police foolishness never seems to subside. click here


However, the most distressting story of the week has been the blatant violation of the rights of the physically challenged by Sahara Airlines. NGOs, in the interest of protesting and affirming the righst of the disabled, should rethink booking flights by Sahara for their conferences et al. Bycott Air Sahara tillthey come out with a catregorical apology and a compensation package and ensure that the disabled get dignified treatment on board.


Monday 25 June is when Worldspace Radio will finally take a stand. Bangalore based SPIN, channel 44 will broadcast from 7 am till 10 am music by Queer singers, songwriters, and musicians.
It's nice to see the community slowly coming out of the closet.
I have specifically written in a commendation and a comment acknowledging India's queer activists Ashok Row Kavi, Nitin Karani, Owais Khan, Pawan Dhall, Arif Jafar, Shivnanda Khan, Sylvester Merchant, Vjay Nair, and several others for their brave and pioneering work giving the gay, transgendered and lesbian communities a voice in India.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Where do pets come from?

A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to, "Where do pets come from?"










Adam and Eve said, "Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you any more.
We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us."


And God said, I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me.
Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves."

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve.
And it was a good animal.
And God was pleased.
And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail.

And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom, and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."

And God said, "I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.."


And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and, was a companion to them, adored and loved them. And they were comforted.
And God was pleased.

And Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride.

They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well."


And God said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are.

The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration." And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.

And Cat would not obey them.


And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.

And Adam and Eve learned humility.
And they were greatly improved.
And God was pleased..





And Dog was happy.
And Cat didn't give a s----t one way or the other.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Uncouth Bihari Minister



Bihar's Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh was in the eye of a storm for pushing an elderly woman in Bhagalpur district when she went up to him to ask for a job, causing her to fracture her arms.


Singh has denied the allegation.

Singh reportedly pushed Phoola Devi, whose husband had died three years ago, during a function in Bhagalpur district, about 200 km from Patna on Thursday. Phoola Devi's arms were allegedly fractured due to the push Singh gave her when she approached him for a job on compassionate grounds.


This Bihari minister is not a servant of the people. Uncouth and belligerent, he's not the person who thinks he owes his position to his constituents. After all, we know how 'free' and 'fair' elections really are in Bihar, and how much depends on muscle power and caste calculations. The Bihari Minister has an ugly face. Chief minister Nitish Kumar may be more of a gentleman, but it's a tough task getting his Ministers to behave.

The opposition members in Bihar baying for Singh's blood are no less uncouth and unmannerly. Ask many of these opposition MLA's what their role is, and they'll say it's to oppose, to prevent the ruling party from gaining ground, and that means to sabotage any proper development plans!
In the caste equations and tussles, the real poor are left to wallow in poverty.


Personal notes


It's just one of those days that drags on. Listlessly. the weather is dull, wettish.

I've just been browsing and have come across this very interesting blog. It's about a 'closet gay' and his experience in India. Appealing.


It's still a tragic fact of life that a nation which was the most liberal in thought has been enslaved by Victorian thought and still accepts Macaulay's nineteenth century legislation.


As I have said time and again, it's time to make a change.... let's take a look at ourselves honestly, and we'll see so many things that are very real , some experiences that are so much a poart of ourselves, our families, our village, and yet we are afraid to acknowledge that they exist, that it's human nature... and so we let the steel shutters come over our eyes...

on another topic altogether, this time in Bihar click here

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

VOTE MANIA

I think most Indians would agree that Abdul Kalam has been one of the most outstanding Presidents that India has ever had.
If Giani Zail Singh was the first President that cast a shadow on his office by openly saying that he would gladly take a broom and sweep for Indira Gandhi, President Abdul Kalam has brought vision, integrity, intellect and dignity to the office.
Most of us would love to see him at Rashtrapati Bhawan for another term.
However, politicians have their own agendas, so let's see what happens.

Indians love to vote, it seems.
Here's a take on another kind of vote

iDOLS AND iDEALS


Indian Idol 3, the desi version of American Idol, has suddenly attracted the attention of the Sikkim and Darjeeling hills because of this man. Such was the frenzy of voting for him that the network got jammed and the mobile phone providers were in for a rough time.

While voting for your favourite singer is fine, shows like Indian Idol somehow enhance MORE REGIONALISM THAN TALENT. I’ve seen appeals on e-groups, like Coolbihari for Biharis to vote en-masse for a Bihari contestant. So are we looking at musical talent or the emergence of regional feeling?

It’s great the way in which the Government of Sikkim is going ahead with its green programme. Every department has to set aside one percent of their budget for tree planting and ensuring that Sikkim remains green. In Bihar, there’s no such vision, or priority. The forest cover is perpetually shrinking, and the water table is being depleted at an alarming rate, but who’s bothered? Not the Bihari Bureaucrats. Not the Bihari Politicians.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Maria and the Others

The Patna Cine Society screened three Porteguese films this week.
This is thefirst time in its two decade old history that Portuguese films awere screened here.
I caught the third one, by Jose de sa Caetano on Sunday.

Maria, an executive from Oporto, is in the search of Mr Right.

Her two friends, Joana, a doctor that has fallen in love to a co-worker, and Isilda, a funky and quirky hairdresser seem to be happy with their lives.
One day though, everything changes. Maria is forced to take care of her father, who suddenly becomes bed-ridden .
During these days of turbulence, Maria thinks she has found the perfect man, a mysterious Star, an habitué of chat channels on the Internet.
The three friends find out that sense of humour can be the key for a happy life.
A film where love arrives when you don't expect it and goes away when you think it is safe.
It's a film that is very much a woman's film, and deals with contemporary issues.

Sadly, we were only five people watching this movie.
Cinema buffs in Bihar need to become pro-active.


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Education Puzzle

With the Patna University and the state government deciding to de-link colleges from the Intermediate Council, it's a tough time for several bihar students as even hole-in-the wall schools with a +2 curriculum have jacked up fees to near astronomical heights.

Students who have passed out from government schools wil face problems as +2 faciities haven't been started in all government secondary schools.

On the other hand, vocational courses are the answer for the middle classes.

Here, we see several fly-by-night 'vocational institutes' especially those trying to cash in on the 'Media' craze. Even colleges like BN college can't do justice to their 'Functional English' course which has a component for media.

Credible courses are given by Ravi Bharati Institute of Communication, but they are strictly for institrutions and social groups. Notre Dame Communication Centre runs an effective video production course.








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In Memoriam

The strangest thing about somebody dying is the ritual of seeing off the corpse.
It’s called paying one’s respects.
It’s understandable that a person’s relatives, friends, and colleagues feel a sense of loss, and that being present at the last rites holds a meaning for them. But just adding to the crowd at a funeral because it’s the done thing?
This may sound indelicate to you, but why must somebody be obliged to go to somebody’s funeral just because you happened to know the person?
In the past three days, I’ve had several people ask me why I didn’t visit Notre Dame where Sister Jayshree was laid out in state, and some were very surprised when I chose not to attend the funeral.
The nun and I weren’t exactly on the best of terms.
We were civil to each other.
Appropriately bobbed our heads while passing and all that.
She was known as a good administrator. She ran her school admirably well.
She really couldn’t be described as a very social person.
was very surprised to hear of her death, but not surprised when I came to know what caused it. She usually came across as somebody who was under a lot of pressure, and had this habit of sounding off! Patna has lost an able educationist.
The Sisters of Notre Dame, no doubt, are still to get over the sudden loss of an accomplished and able family member.
Her accomplishments in the field of education and administration will be remembered.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

India Shining or India Whining?

Are we India Shining or India Whining? Thus asked a journalist in an article in The Economic Times.
It’s become common, the police standing by and the district administration twiddling its thumbs as the politicians do the ostrich act as mobs go berserk on the street.
The moment the police take a tough stand, all hell will break loose, with politicians falling over each other to set up enquiries when the rioters are injured by police action.
It’s a shame, all right.
And it’s also a shame that the real issues get muddied in the melee… are the Gujjars really tribes? Can tribe and ethnicity be changed by government order?

By The Way, my moodometer is on display here

Still, I'm Sad...

It's another day at the office. The same grind, maybe.

Even so, there's a lot one can do when seated at a desk, in the gaps between tasks.

So, while waiting for something to materialize, I'm filling up this blog.

I still haven't got over the way my squirrel passed away in the night.

That's what happens.

But I've got a lot of advice on that.

Someone pointed out that the Vaastu of my flat should be changed.

The terrarium should be shifted one way.

Another said that somebody with an evil eye may have watched me feed my squirrel with a milk bottle.

That's why babies should be fed in private, he said.

Another said that it was probably the opressive heat.

Still, I'm sad..... like in the Boney M song.



Anyway, here are some articles tat you may like to read about Bihar on Frank Opinions.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Farewell Sister Jayshree


Sister Jayashree SND(59), the Principal of Notre Dame Academy passed away on 7, June 2007. She suffered a massive heart attack compounded with asthama.

The paradox was that CBSE officials from Delhi contacted the school on the same day morning announcing that Sr. Jayashree was selected as the Best Principal at the national level!

Sr. Jayashree was known as a strict Principal. Jayshree was known to be a woman who spoke her mind, at times brutally frank. She was completing her sixth year as Principal of Notre Dame. The chief Minister, Nitish Kumar sent his condolences and directed the Collector of Patna to offer a wreath on his behalf.

The school hall was overflowing with her , students, teachers, parents, from Kerala, Religious and priests. Archbishop Benedict Osta SJ was the main celebrant.

Honorable Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly Uday Narain Chowdhary too was present. Fr. Peter Arokiasamy SJ preached the homily.

Death of a Squirrel

Whew!

It's good to be back.

The automatic Google Robots decided that this blog was not the prouct of Darth Vader.

Okay

I'm a bit depressed today, because a squirrel died.

It had fallen from a nest 14 days ago. This is how it looked 14 days ago.

I nursed it and it was doing fine.

It became sprightly and was growing.

then suddenly, this morning

We found it dead.

No reason apparently.

Well fed.

It was frisky at eleven last night.

Four in the morning we held its warm, lifeless body.

Still soft.

What killed it?

Heatstroke? A weak heart?

Really don't know.

Sikkim Update

Heavy rain damaged more than 10 houses and triggered a number of mudslides in Sikkim's East district on Sunday in a repeat of Saturday’s storm and fury.
The downpour snapped power and water lines, a few hours after they were restored.
In Kopibari, below Deorali, a suburb of Gangtok, a number of houses were damaged when the water supply lines of the army collapsed, causing landslides.
The slush and debris from the steep incline rushed down to the village, hitting around 10 houses.
Two persons were injured.
The affected families have shifted to safer locations.
Similarly, in Tathangchen above Gangtok, a family has been asked by the district authorities to evacuate their house as the building has sustained damage making it unsafe for living.
Another building — a house owned by Pratap Tiwari, the additional secretary of the buildings and housing department — located on Indira Bypass was evacuated after a landslide left it perched atop a hill dangerously.
Damage to four more houses has been reported from Dikchu in East Sikkim, 40 km from here.At Burtuk, along the bypass, debris and boulders washed down by the jhoras have blocked Indira Bypass.
Repair work is still on.


Kalimpong:

The body of 20-year-old Suchitra Chettri, who had been missing from Saturday, was recovered from the bottom of a cliff at Ramitaytar on the outskirts of the town today.
Suchitra, who studied in Class XII in Sai Institute of Education and Research (formerly known as Kamal Jyoti School) here, had apparently committed suicide by jumping off the edge of the cliff from a height of more than 1,000 ft, police said.
According to family sources, Suchitra had been reprimanded by her uncle on Friday evening after she returned late from school and lied to him about it.
“She told me that the principal had held her back, but when I called up her principal, he denied doing so,” said her uncle G.B. Chettri.Originally from Teesta village, Suchitra, had been brought up by Chettri, who is a resident of East Main Road here.
Chettri had brought the girl to the hill town after her mother left them and her father hit the bottle. It was her uncle who lodged a missing persons’ diary at the Kalimpong police station on Saturday.
However, despite the efforts of the police, her family and friends, she remained untraced till today.Early this morning, a couple of boys, who were out for a stroll near Ramitaytar, came across a pair of lady’s sandals lying in the area. Having heard about the missing girl, they searched around and chanced upon what to them looked like a body below the cliff.
They immediately informed the residents of the area and with their help they went down and identified the body as Suchitra’s.
The police later recovered the body, and sent it for post-mortem.
“It could be a case of suicide,” said Humayun Kabir, additional superintendent of police, Kalimpong.
The principal of her school, D.K. Bhandari, said Suchitra was a disciplined girl and good in studies as well.
He said he could never imagine that she could take such a drastic step.

Bihar: Stranger than fiction

Sour grapes?



Three sex workers in Muzaffarpur, about 70 km from Patna were declared untouchable in a meeting convened on Saturday by the self proclaimed community chief Rani Begum, who was defeated in the civic bodies elections that concluded last week. She was elected ward councillor in the last elections held in 2002.
Rani Begum reportedly appealed to the community members not to visit the three boycotted sex workers even in event of a death in their families.
Officials said the three sex workers who were facing social boycott approached the district administration Monday for help. The District Magistrate Vinay Kumar said, 'I advised them to file a police complaint against those who decided to impose the boycott'.
The socially boycotted sex workers have sent a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission and are planning to file a complaint in the court.
This picture showa a 'launda' or dancing boy [traditional male sex worker] at a Bihari village wedding. Certain castes consider eunuchs, effeminate males, or sex workers 'auspicious' and they have a rtiual function at weddings.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Pick of the day

People living in Bhutan in the early '90s who didn't prescribe to a
particular openess of Buddhism, speak a particular language, and whom weren't able to trace a couple generations back to the area they were living in, were dealt a brackish card of life: Leave the country.

Now, the elements established
by the Bhutanese government as to who was and wasn't a citizen were somewhat
simple, yet for those who were safe and allowed to stay, the dilemma of living
in a country that limits your representation in public affairs became even more
complicated. After some debates and certain agreements between India, Nepal and
Bhutan were made, people not classified as citizens of Bhutan left the singular
peace of the country they called home, with others somewhat affected by the
event following in tow. Finding a home was to be a difficult task. Eventually
most settled temporarily in eastern Nepal, a bed for communist insurgents primed
to dethrone the Nepali crown. Unbeknownst to these travellers from abroad, in
one full swoop they became both refugee and illegal immigrant.

An excellent piece on the politics of Bhutan. I remember when i was in Sikkim we did a number of stories on the Ethnic Nepalese in bhutan who were being pushed across the border. What does the new-fangled 'democracy' exercise in Bhutan mean?

Rather insightful article here

Bihar is next. The Super 30 experiment is quite famous by now. but corruption never ceases. Read the story here

Closing down the Super 30 experiment is no solution. the names of these bogus institutions should be published. And in future, the children and ther parents should sign undertakings to be honest and not endorse rival products!

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

BIHAR VERSION OF XP

An excellent creative effort, certainly not my own.
Hats off to the person who created it.
For your collective enjoyment.

I'd LOVE having a real desktop like this one


This happens only in Sikkim


Two popular eateries located at MG Marg here had to shut down on Sunday after Government officials raided in their premises.

The District Collector (East), Vishal Chauhan, inspected the two establishments- Quick Bite Fast Food and Rasoi Restaurant, above Tourist Information Center along with officials from the Sikkim Food and supplies department, following several complaints lodged by their customers.

The surprise raids were the outcome of many complaints received by the DC’s Office over the use of domestic LPG cylinders by these two eateries, against standard norms for commercial establishments.

Along with this, the DC’s Office had also been receiving complaints of unhygienic conditions of these two eateries located in the heart of the Capital.

Several customers had made complaints over the lack of hygiene in the kitchens of the two restaurants.


Read the full story here


That's why I always say Sikkim is Heaven.

When I was staying in Gangtok the late 80's and 90's, the one thing that I really approved of was the way in which the Government took its role seriously as a positive force.
And also how citizens took their civic duties seriously.
[BTW, that pic is me enjoying a delicious meal at my favourite Hotel Tibet in 1987]

I wish the enlighetened citizens of BIHAR, the ones who are so interested in seeing their State get a better deal, read the full story and cick on the link.

Bihar can never hope to see unhygenic eateries shut down, or being raided for defrauding the government by sing domestic gas cylinders in a commercial establishment. It's because the local administartion is corrupt to the core, and simply because citizens don't care to be informed.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Roundup 2

Several thousand tribal and Dalit Hindus in India
have converted en masse to Buddhism at a ceremony in Mumbai
This is the link which you're looking for as reported by the BBC
The other one leads you to a report from a year ago.

Religious Roundup:

Thousands of people have been attending mass ceremonies in India


at which hundreds of Hindu


converted to Buddhism and Christianity.

[Click the photograph for the BBC story]

The Dalits - once known as Untouchables - hope to escape the prejudice and discrimination they often face.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at the house of Bihar Dalit journalist and social activist Umesh Manjhi, whom I taught at a journalism workshop some years ago. His sister was converting to Buddhism at the Maharashtra meeting, he told me. Manjhi, who hails from Bihar's Musahar [rat-eater] caste, says that Musahars were not actually castes at all but tribals.
The question is, is this 'conversion' just politics? If it's just for political ends, doesn't it defeat the purpose?
These converts known as 'Ambedkarites', are often looked down upon by the traditional Buddhist heirarchy, so what do these 'changing religion' practices really achieve?














BBC REPORTED


Pakistan couple jailed because Islamic Law doesn't acknowledge Gender-Reassignment surgery







A Pakistani court has jailed a married couple for three years for perjury after a dispute over the husband's sex. Last week the court ruled that the husband was, in fact, a woman, despite sex-change surgery and that the couple had lied about his sexual status. It also said their marriage was un-Islamic because it was same-sex.







The case is believed the first of its kind in Pakistan. The couple said they would appeal against the sentence and have asked President Musharraf to help.






Shumail Raj, 31, had sex-change surgery to become a man and then married his cousin - who was aware of the condition but says she needed his help to avoid being forced into wedlock with someone else.

Raj had undergone surgery twice in Pakistan over the past 16 years to become a man. But tests carried out by doctors on behalf of the court ruled that Raj, who has a beard an moustache, was still a woman. He himself says that he needs to go abroad for more treatment even though his breasts and uterus have been removed.
The judge, Khawaja Mohammad Sharif, said he was issuing a "lenient" sentence, below the maximum punishment, because the couple had apologised.






Reports said Mr Raj and his 24-year-old wife Shahzina Tariq appeared shocked by the verdict.







"We appeal to President Musharraf to intervene. Mr Musharraf is talking about moderation and enlightenment. We hope he will do something for us," Mr Raj said.

Earlier, the couple told the court that they had got married so that the wife could avoid an arranged marriage.






The bride's father wants to annul the wedding . But the couple argue that they married to protect the bride from being sold into marriage to pay off her uncle's gambling debts.






Shahzina Tariq says they are not homosexuals and they married because they are in love.






They were arrested a fortnight ago after the bride's family complained about the gender of her husband.

Pick of theday


A Hindu's love for an ancient Sufi shrine

By Gunjana Roy, Bhagalpur (Bihar),

May 27: For eight long years, a 65-year-old Hindu man has been managing with care and devotion a Sufi shrine after Muslims hit hard by the 1989 communal violence gave it up.

Suresh Bhagat, who has virtually deserted his family in the process, says he enjoys every minute he spends at the 300-year-old shrine of Bazid Dargah Pahalwan, a revered Muslim preacher, in Amapur village some 20 km away.

The last of the Muslim families left the village in 1999, a decade after Bihar's worst communal riots killed hundreds and marked the end of Congress dominance over Bihar.

Read the rest of this story, whioch is yet another example of how the common man in Bihar is far more spiritual and understanding of the true spirit of Hinduism than the hate-mongering high-profile 'saviours'.

I spotted the story here


Besides boasting of the tiger forests, wild life sanctuaries and a lot of
rich flora and fauna, what is exactly the life of the rural people here? Are
they basically simple, happy villagers living in peace and harmony
subsisting on
occupations like fishing and honey collection from the forests
or is it the
other way round? The local folks, being themselves a part and
parcel of this
high risk zone, been sadly ‘molded ‘by circumstances into a
bunch of inhuman,
atrocious people?


Read this interesting article in a blog by ratul banerjee


Sunday, May 27, 2007

Nar Bahadur Bhandari convicted

Former Sikkim Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari was on Saturday convicted in a disproportionate assets case by a designated CBI court .
The court of Special CBI Judge S W Lepcha held Bhandari guilty under the prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The quantum of punishment will be pronounced by the court on Monday. The case relates to the alleged construction of a five-storey building by Bhandari in Gangtok at a cost of Rs 15.22 lakh which is unaccounted for.
The case was being heard by the designated CBI court since September 1994.
Bhandari was the chief minister of Sikkim from 1979 to 1994.
He was the all powerful Chief Minister in teh late '80s. His Sikkim Sangram Parishad party has the enviable record of capturing 100% seats in the state assembly. Absolute power corrupts, and in 1994, there was a split in his party, with Pawan chamling from South Sikkim becoming the new Chief minister.
had He is presently the president of the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee.
As Correspondent for the Telegraph and Executive Editor of Sikkim Express, and later 'Forthrightly', I have many interesting stories about the man, who was, and continues to be an astute politician.

Seven-yr-old faces dowry charges

Sameer Kumar, Abhay Mohan Jha reported for NDTV on Saturday, May 26, 2007 from (Begusarai, Bihar)

A seven-year-old has been charged in a dowry case in Bihar. Santosh, a class four student has paid the price for a crime he did not commit.

My comment: The age for being enrolled in primary school is six years, a student in class four will be at least 12 years, the usual age when rural Biharis start scouting around for child-brides. Either the child's age has been erroneously reported, or here's a genius that passed Class one at age four!

First Post

This is where Fragmented Rainbows Continues
In its new Avatar

Odd Couple

Bihar never ceases to surprise. When you talk about sexuality issues, the week’s unusal story is about a Muslim man married who a Hindu Hijra [transegender] in a Bihar court.
Mohammad Salim married eunuch Jaygopal Malakar in Chapra district civil court in the presence of several people including two legal witnesses last Tuesday. This is Salim's second marriage.
According to advocate Jungbahadur Singh, Salim in his affidavit prepared at the notary said he married Jaygopal Malakar, a dancer in his music band with the approval of his first wife. Salim is father of a two-year-old girl, born from his marriage to Sanjida Khatoon.
In her affidavit Jaygopal Malakar said she married Salim on her own will. "Salim's parents and his wife accepted me as second wife," Malakar said. Salim and Malakar said they would also solemnise the marriage in keeping with Muslim rituals soon. Singh said the couple met two years ago and fell in love with each other.
This has expectedly, brought in a lot of flak and opposition from the Moslem clergy who say that the marriage is un-islamic.
Mihammed Salim and Jaygopal are true trailblazers. Human and sexuality rights activists should watch this story and its aftermath carefully. Will they be left in peace or will the media publicity destroy them?

PICK OF THE DAY


Every day, here's good stuff I've noticed

Aniket Keshkamet, an MBA graduate who now works for GE Finance, has moved jobs twice in the last three years and seen his salary nearly treble.

"I get a pension that is part of the package and healthcare, for the whole family, dependent parents, my wife and myself," he tells me.

With a population of well over one billion people, India shouldn't be experiencing that kind of wage inflation but it is - not least because many millions of people are failing to get the education that they need
.

READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE:
What is holding India's economy back

Thursday, May 24, 2007

ATM’s there, but where has the money gone?

The biometric automated teller machine (ATM) inaugurated by rural development minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in his constituency Vaishali worked for less than 10 days. The custom-made ATM was installed, especially to help people employed under India's national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGA) collect their wages.

The biometric ATM was the first of its kind made for people who cannot read or write. It uses sophisticated and features like fingerprint verification and voice-guided animated screens to help daily-wagers withdraw money. In fact, the NREGA workers were reportedly trained to use the machine.

On March 12, when it was inaugurated, 210 workers opened accounts in the Central Bank of India branch in Vaishali. Since then, just about a handful withdrew Rs 1,000 each. The ATM ran out of money soon, a source, said.

The ATM was meant to protect workers from local contractors who routinely take a cut from their wages in return for getting them on the list of government employment schemes.

The NREGA was launched promising some 60 million households in India a certain level of financial protection through guaranteed work or unemployment benefits. In Budget 2007-08, Rs 12,000 crore have been set aside for 330 districts covered under the programme.



When contacted by a reporter from the Financial express,Central bankbranch manager Satish Kumar, in Vaishali, said he was appointed only a few days back. The money to be stocked in the ATM was calculated by the BDO (block development officer), he said. The BDO forwards the estimate to the rural development ministry and other associated government bodies. This is checked once again by a CAPART (Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology — an autonomous society under the rural development ministry) officer. When the BDO receives the funds, he gives them to the bank that then fills the ATM. with cash. “I’ve written to all concerned, including the BDO and the district magistrate,” Kumar said.

But now the ATM has run dry, obviously because the BDO hasn't got the funds.

Or is the BDO another link in the corruption game?