For millions of Indians, the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto brings alive the haunting images of the May 1991 killing of their own former premier Rajiv Gandhi.
Both Rajiv and Benazir died similar horrific deaths, falling prey to determined killers -- both at election rallies.
Security experts point out that both leaders fell prey to militants, for whose misplaced causes their respective countries had found it expedient to support at some point of time.
Both Benazir and Rajiv died when they were out of the power.
Benazir had returned to Pakistan only two months ago to fight elections amid attempts in Pakistan to usher in civilian democracy. If her Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had won the January election, there was every possibility of Benazir taking the reins in Islamabad.
Rajiv was assassinated when he was campaigning in the 1991 elections. If his Congress party had won the polls, it would have again catapulted him to the country's top post.
Ironically, the two young leaders shared other similarities too.
Benazir became the first and the youngest women to head the government of an Islamic state at the age of 35 - in 1988.
Born in 1944, Rajiv too had the distinction of becoming the youngest prime minister of the world's largest democracy at the age of 40. That was in 1984, after the assassination of his mother and predecessor Indira Gandhi.
Both had education in the West and were widely perceived as the harbinger of a new age and modernity in their homelands.
By unwittingly transmitting the dream of modernity, both had become the heartthrobs of the millions as they headed the governments of their respective countries.
After the Simla Agreement in July 1972, followed by nearly two decades of strained ties between the two countries, it were Rajiv and Benazir who broke the ice holding a summit in Islamabad in 1988, on the sidelines of a South Asia summit.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Obituary: Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto followed her father into politics, and both of them died because of it - he was executed in 1979, she fell victim to an apparent suicide bomb attack.
Her two brothers also suffered violent deaths.
Like the Nehru-Gandhi family in India, the Bhuttos of Pakistan are one of the world's most famous political dynasties. Benazir's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was prime minister of Pakistan in the early 1970s.
His government was one of the few in the 30 years following independence that was not run by the army.
Born in 1953 in the province of Sindh and educated at Harvard and Oxford, Ms Bhutto gained credibility from her father's high profile, even though she was a reluctant convert to politics.
She was twice prime minister of Pakistan, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1993 to 1996.
Her two brothers also suffered violent deaths.
Like the Nehru-Gandhi family in India, the Bhuttos of Pakistan are one of the world's most famous political dynasties. Benazir's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was prime minister of Pakistan in the early 1970s.
His government was one of the few in the 30 years following independence that was not run by the army.
Born in 1953 in the province of Sindh and educated at Harvard and Oxford, Ms Bhutto gained credibility from her father's high profile, even though she was a reluctant convert to politics.
She was twice prime minister of Pakistan, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1993 to 1996.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Innovations that will change our lives
IBM released its annual “Next Five in Five” predictions, visions that sketch out future. These predictions talk about how the technology will shape our lives in the future.
The current set talks about a future where driving will be a relative pleasure, eco-friendly devices will save money and ‘super’ doctors will use advanced technology to probe our body's innermost depths in search of disease.
Here's further into the five innovations that will change how people around the world will work, play and live their next five years.
Internet goes 3D
The popular online immersive destinations, such as Second Life, will evolve into a 3D Internet, much like the early work by AOL and Prodigy evolved into the World Wide Web.
The 3D Internet will enable new kinds of interactive education, remote medicine and consumer experiences, transforming how we interact with our friends and family, teachers, doctors and more.
Imagine being able to virtually walk the aisles of your favorite stores, interact with experts and even virtually try on clothes, all in the convenience of your own home.
Kids will be able to experience things that they could never access through traditional means. For example, they will be able to walk through rain forests or visit ancient Rome.
Working with a broad community, and leveraging decades of experience in supercomputing, visualisation and work with the three major game platforms (Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3), IBM hopes to help build out this next-generation Internet, one that is open, immersive and 3D.
Mind-reading phones
“Presence” technology allows you to be found on the network, whether it's a computer network, mobile phone network or any other kind.
Presence technology in its current form amounts to instant messaging applications. In five years, however, mobile devices will have the ability to continually learn about and adapt to your preferences and needs.
Several telecommunication groups are testing technology to allow mobile devices and networks to learn about users' whereabouts and preferences as they commute, work and travel.
These systems works with a variety of wireless networks including GSM, GPS, RFID and WiFi. It relies on sensors like GPS, processing software to filter information, an intuitive interface and it uses important events to adapt to the user's preferences.
Real-time speech translation
The movement towards globalisation needs to take into account basic human factors, such as differences in language.
Real-time translation technologies will be embedded into mobile phones, handheld devices and cars. These services will pervade every part of society, eliminating the language barrier in our new smaller and faster-paced world.
Several technologies already allow travellers using PDAs to translate menus in Japanese and doctors to communicate with patients in Spanish.
Environment goes nano
With the ubiquity of IP-based technology today, it is possible to envision a technologically enabled “smart” water distribution system that helps manage end-to-end distribution, from reservoirs to pumping stations to smart pipes to holding tanks to intelligent metering at the user's site so that consumption could be managed in a responsible way.
The water distribution system would serve as a grid, much like a utility grid, at multiple levels: federal/central, regional, city/town and even down to a single residence or commercial establishment.
The current methods of desalinating water, reverse osmosis and distillation, are both expensive and high maintenance. Scientist will research methods of filtering water at the molecular level, using carbon nanotubes or molecular configurations, which can potentially remove the salt and impurities with less energy and money per gallon.
Political instability, the high cost of fossil fuels and worries about global warming have increased interest in alternative energies. Technology developments in this area will help further advance solar power and make it more efficient.
Healthcare by remote
Wireless innovations coupled with the ability to securely capture-sensitive medical data have the potential to allow healthcare to move from the traditional doctor's office to wherever the patient happens to be.
Remote healthcare is increasingly becoming important. A significant percentage of developing world populations has virtually no access to meaningful healthcare, largely because of poor infrastructure, especially lack of transportation.
In the future, technology will enable millions of people with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, to have their conditions monitored as they go about their daily lives, through sensors in the home, worn on the person or in devices and packaging.
A pill dispenser, with embedded technologies, will help patients track compliance with their drug regimen and automatically transmit the data to caregivers. Virtual doctor check-ups will add convenience, a sense of independence and security for the elderly and chronically ill.
It will be possible to take blood pressure or pulse reading on a remote device and the results sent directly to a care provider's mobile phone who can then follow up as needed.
The current set talks about a future where driving will be a relative pleasure, eco-friendly devices will save money and ‘super’ doctors will use advanced technology to probe our body's innermost depths in search of disease.
Here's further into the five innovations that will change how people around the world will work, play and live their next five years.
Internet goes 3D
The popular online immersive destinations, such as Second Life, will evolve into a 3D Internet, much like the early work by AOL and Prodigy evolved into the World Wide Web.
The 3D Internet will enable new kinds of interactive education, remote medicine and consumer experiences, transforming how we interact with our friends and family, teachers, doctors and more.
Imagine being able to virtually walk the aisles of your favorite stores, interact with experts and even virtually try on clothes, all in the convenience of your own home.
Kids will be able to experience things that they could never access through traditional means. For example, they will be able to walk through rain forests or visit ancient Rome.
Working with a broad community, and leveraging decades of experience in supercomputing, visualisation and work with the three major game platforms (Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3), IBM hopes to help build out this next-generation Internet, one that is open, immersive and 3D.
Mind-reading phones
“Presence” technology allows you to be found on the network, whether it's a computer network, mobile phone network or any other kind.
Presence technology in its current form amounts to instant messaging applications. In five years, however, mobile devices will have the ability to continually learn about and adapt to your preferences and needs.
Several telecommunication groups are testing technology to allow mobile devices and networks to learn about users' whereabouts and preferences as they commute, work and travel.
These systems works with a variety of wireless networks including GSM, GPS, RFID and WiFi. It relies on sensors like GPS, processing software to filter information, an intuitive interface and it uses important events to adapt to the user's preferences.
Real-time speech translation
The movement towards globalisation needs to take into account basic human factors, such as differences in language.
Real-time translation technologies will be embedded into mobile phones, handheld devices and cars. These services will pervade every part of society, eliminating the language barrier in our new smaller and faster-paced world.
Several technologies already allow travellers using PDAs to translate menus in Japanese and doctors to communicate with patients in Spanish.
Environment goes nano
With the ubiquity of IP-based technology today, it is possible to envision a technologically enabled “smart” water distribution system that helps manage end-to-end distribution, from reservoirs to pumping stations to smart pipes to holding tanks to intelligent metering at the user's site so that consumption could be managed in a responsible way.
The water distribution system would serve as a grid, much like a utility grid, at multiple levels: federal/central, regional, city/town and even down to a single residence or commercial establishment.
The current methods of desalinating water, reverse osmosis and distillation, are both expensive and high maintenance. Scientist will research methods of filtering water at the molecular level, using carbon nanotubes or molecular configurations, which can potentially remove the salt and impurities with less energy and money per gallon.
Political instability, the high cost of fossil fuels and worries about global warming have increased interest in alternative energies. Technology developments in this area will help further advance solar power and make it more efficient.
Healthcare by remote
Wireless innovations coupled with the ability to securely capture-sensitive medical data have the potential to allow healthcare to move from the traditional doctor's office to wherever the patient happens to be.
Remote healthcare is increasingly becoming important. A significant percentage of developing world populations has virtually no access to meaningful healthcare, largely because of poor infrastructure, especially lack of transportation.
In the future, technology will enable millions of people with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, to have their conditions monitored as they go about their daily lives, through sensors in the home, worn on the person or in devices and packaging.
A pill dispenser, with embedded technologies, will help patients track compliance with their drug regimen and automatically transmit the data to caregivers. Virtual doctor check-ups will add convenience, a sense of independence and security for the elderly and chronically ill.
It will be possible to take blood pressure or pulse reading on a remote device and the results sent directly to a care provider's mobile phone who can then follow up as needed.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Brand Modi on a roll
NEW DELHI 23/12/2007, Sunday: In a conversation with a few colleagues, BJP’s prime ministerial hopeful L K Advani said that a win for Narendra Modi in the Gujarat elections was something like Indira Gandhi’s triumph in 1971. What the saffron veteran was alluding to was the Iron Lady’s success in fending off many foes: a faction of her own party, an opposition gang-up and a hostile media.
Modi had his hands full. In the weeks preceding the polls, party functionaries in Delhi close to BJP president Rajnath Singh were freely offering some wisdom on the Gujarat scene. Modi, they said, was facing a tough battle. The Sangh Parivar was sullen. Was it not revealing that Singh had been asked to extend his campaign in the state?
Often accused of being a loner, Modi is not often a victim of doubt. A stubborn person , he stuck to his guns even when droves of his party colleagues turned against him, and he was run down by RSS and VHP leaders, besides the Congress and political activists.
The Gujarat chief minister has always been an ambitious man. He first came to notice in Delhi circles with Murli Manohar Joshi’s Kashmir to Kanyakumari rath yatra. In the 90s, he was a BJP general secretary. His saffron beliefs were quite evident and he was given to defining the Ayodhya divide as a tussle between “Ram” and “Babri” parties to the media.
However, at a time when BJP rose to power in Gujarat, ironically, Modi was virtually shunted out due to the ire of leaders like Keshubhai Patel.
His big chance came when criticism of Keshubhai’s administration mounted after the January 26, 2001 earthquake. He lobbied hard for himself, getting Advani to endorse him as successor to Patel to pull the saffron chestnuts out of fire.
Even after he took over as CM, BJP faced an uphill task. Modi himself had had to eke out a victory from Rajkot. But then a coach of the Sabarmati Express was torched, killing 59 karsewaks, including women and children returning from Ayodhya, by a Muslim mob near Godhra railway station.
As the burnt bodies arrived at Ahmedabad, Hindu mobs began targeting Muslim. The violence spread through central and north Gujarat and the role of BJP and VHP leaders in fanning the violence was evident. The state government took its own time to act, rendering Modi open to the charge that he masterminded anti-Muslim violence.
Irrespective of the merit of the charge which found credence when Supreme Court strictured Modi with remarks likening him to Nero, there is no disputing the fact that the communal polarisation helped him sweep the 2002 polls.
Modi once told an interviewer that he would never be able to get rid of Godhra taint. There are many who will not allow him to forget the riots, but he also has an opportunity to recast himself in a more accommodative mould. Those who know him feel that Modi will make the adjustments required on the national stage, but the temptation not to allow the dilution of Brand Modi may equally strong.
Modi had his hands full. In the weeks preceding the polls, party functionaries in Delhi close to BJP president Rajnath Singh were freely offering some wisdom on the Gujarat scene. Modi, they said, was facing a tough battle. The Sangh Parivar was sullen. Was it not revealing that Singh had been asked to extend his campaign in the state?
Often accused of being a loner, Modi is not often a victim of doubt. A stubborn person , he stuck to his guns even when droves of his party colleagues turned against him, and he was run down by RSS and VHP leaders, besides the Congress and political activists.
The Gujarat chief minister has always been an ambitious man. He first came to notice in Delhi circles with Murli Manohar Joshi’s Kashmir to Kanyakumari rath yatra. In the 90s, he was a BJP general secretary. His saffron beliefs were quite evident and he was given to defining the Ayodhya divide as a tussle between “Ram” and “Babri” parties to the media.
However, at a time when BJP rose to power in Gujarat, ironically, Modi was virtually shunted out due to the ire of leaders like Keshubhai Patel.
His big chance came when criticism of Keshubhai’s administration mounted after the January 26, 2001 earthquake. He lobbied hard for himself, getting Advani to endorse him as successor to Patel to pull the saffron chestnuts out of fire.
Even after he took over as CM, BJP faced an uphill task. Modi himself had had to eke out a victory from Rajkot. But then a coach of the Sabarmati Express was torched, killing 59 karsewaks, including women and children returning from Ayodhya, by a Muslim mob near Godhra railway station.
As the burnt bodies arrived at Ahmedabad, Hindu mobs began targeting Muslim. The violence spread through central and north Gujarat and the role of BJP and VHP leaders in fanning the violence was evident. The state government took its own time to act, rendering Modi open to the charge that he masterminded anti-Muslim violence.
Irrespective of the merit of the charge which found credence when Supreme Court strictured Modi with remarks likening him to Nero, there is no disputing the fact that the communal polarisation helped him sweep the 2002 polls.
Modi once told an interviewer that he would never be able to get rid of Godhra taint. There are many who will not allow him to forget the riots, but he also has an opportunity to recast himself in a more accommodative mould. Those who know him feel that Modi will make the adjustments required on the national stage, but the temptation not to allow the dilution of Brand Modi may equally strong.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Google reveals what Indians look for online
What did India search for online last year? For the first time in history, Google's offering a few answers.
Orkut burned up the charts at Number 1 - so social networking is now definitely in.
Sania was the hottest sports star and the Mahatma the most searched for politician. Gandhigiri anyone?
Foreign holidays are now more popular than ever and Kashmir's back on people's lists! From Bollywood - actresses got more attention than the guys - pity they still don't get paid on par!
And people now search for movies Online - that ties up with rising levels of movie piracy on the net.
Orkut burned up the charts at Number 1 - so social networking is now definitely in.
Sania was the hottest sports star and the Mahatma the most searched for politician. Gandhigiri anyone?
Foreign holidays are now more popular than ever and Kashmir's back on people's lists! From Bollywood - actresses got more attention than the guys - pity they still don't get paid on par!
And people now search for movies Online - that ties up with rising levels of movie piracy on the net.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Aati Kya Khandala
Hindi
A Kya Bolti Tu ?
A Kya Mai Bolu ?
Sun
Suna
Ati Kya Khandala ?
Kya karu Ake mai Khandala ?
Are Ghumenge, nachenge, gayenge Aish karenge aur kya
Urdu - Best
AAP KYA BOLTEIN HAIN?
HUM KYA BOLEIN??
MULAIZAH HAI
IRSHAD
TASHREEF LAYEINGI KHANDALA?
KYA KAREIN HUM TASHREEF LAAKE KHANDALA ??
CHAHELQADMI KARENGE, RAQS KARENGE, NAGMEIN SUNAYEINGE, TAFREEH KAREINGE AUR KYA!!
English :
Aye what do you say?
Aye what should I say?
Listen.
Speak on.
Coming to khandala?
What should I do, coming to khandala?
We'll roam, we'll loaf, we'll sing, we'll dance we"ll
freak, baby,what else?
Sanskrit : This is too good
Aye balike, twam katham kathisyasi
Aye balakah aham kim kathisyamh
Shrinvasi!
Shrunha
Kim twam khandaalaa agchasyasi
Aham kim kurwasyami khandaalayeh
gamisyami, bhramisyami, nryuthyami, gaayami, maja
karishma, kim karishyami?
Kannada:
Ye, Yen heltiya
Ye, yen helabeku
Kelu
Helu
Bartiya khadalakke
Yen madli nan bandu Khandalakke
Are Suttadona,Kuniyona, Maja Madona Matte yenu?
Punjabi :
A ! ke boldi tu;
A ke mein bolan;
Sunh
Sunha
Chaldi khandala
Ki karaan ae ke mein khandala
Are Ghoomenge, Turainge, Naachenge, Gaavenge, Mauj
Karenge, Aur Ki ?
Telugu :
Aye, ainte chaepphuta vu
Aye,ainte chaepala
Vinu
Chaeppu
Wastava Khandala
Yem Chesedhi? vacchi Khandala
Thiruguthamu, eguruthamu, aadthaamu, paadthaamu,maja
chesthamu inkemi?
Tamil:
Enna solre
Ennatha solla
mudalla kelu,
sari sollu
Kandala variya
kandala poi enna panrathu
Vera enna .oor suthuvom aaduvom paaduvom jalsa
pannuvom
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