Robinson Crusoe Spaced Out 2008

Sure to Tickle Your Funny Bone !

Afterall Laughter is the BEST Medicine..rite...???

Falling Over Backwards

As Most of you would have read it by now, I am just reproducing below the complete article that was published in - " The Hindu " (11th April - 08)

OBC quota law held valid

Exclude creamy layer, review list after 5 years, rules Supreme Court

J. Venkatesan

New Delhi, April 10 The Supreme Court, in a significant verdict on Thursday, upheld the law enacted by the Union Government providing 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes in Central educational institutions such as IITs/IIMs from the academic year 2008-09.

A five-Judge Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice, Mr K.G. Balakrishnan, in an unanimous verdict running into over 500 pages, also held that the 93rd Constitution Amendment inserting Article 15 (5) in the Constitution to enable the Centre and States to enact quota laws is valid.

The court disposed of a batch of petitions questioning the quota law and the 93rd amendment. In March 2007, the apex court had restrained the Centre from implementing the quota law on the ground that no data was furnished by the Government and the data relied on was only 1931 census.

While deciding the issue in favour of the government, the court had struck a balance by directing exclusion of creamy layer among the backward classes.

It said “the 93rd Amendment Act is not violative of basic structure so far as it relates to State and aided educational institutions. We do not find Article 15(5) to be conflicting with Article 15(4).” The court also agreed with the Centre to exclude minority educational institutions from Article 15(5) and said “it does not violate Article 14 as minority educational institutions are a separate class.”

The court, however, made it clear that creamy layer should be excluded from the socially and educationally backward classes. “Without exclusion of creamy layer, the SEBC (Socially and Educationally Backward Classes) list is not valid. As far as the parameters for identification of creamy layer are concerned, the office memorandum dated September 8, 1993 may be applied. OBC should be deemed to mean SEBC after exclusion of creamy layer. The creamy layer principle does not apply as far as scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are concerned."

The court held that the 2006 quota Act cannot be held invalid on the ground that no time limit for reservations has been prescribed. However, a review of the backward classes list must be made after 5 years.

The court said that the definition of OBC in Section 2(g) of the Act shall be read as ‘SEBC’ other than SC/ST determined by Central Government, and if the determination is with respect to caste, creamy layer shall be excluded.

It said the Central Government shall examine whether a criteria of grace marks of 5 can be granted to backward classes and thereafter if any seats remain vacant, they shall be split with the general category students.

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" India is the only country in the world where people fight to be called backward. " - N R Narayana Murthy

Well said, Bill....!

The below is a link that has the transcript of Bill Gates's speech at IIT 50 - San Jose, CA 2003. He talks passionately about a Brand called “IIT“ built by a third world country.

http://akash-ganga-rwh.com/IIT50/BillGatesSpeech.html

Please note that after his speech, he takes questions from Rajat Gupta on behalf of the distinguished audience, and gives his viewpoint on various issues. One of the questions that Mr. Gupta asks Mr. Gates =>

“If I may switch topics a little bit and talk a little bit about education and get your views. While IIT has done so well they are still in a sense organized along very traditional boundaries, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, et cetera, et cetera. Many of the breakthroughs you talk about are cross-disciplinary; they are in new fields like bioinformatics, biomedical engineering, so on and so forth. What's your view of the future educational institution? What advice would you have on IITs in terms of how they should architect themselves and conduct research, conduct programs and so on?"

To which Mr. Gates replies =>

“Well, there's one thing that IITs have done that I would never tamper with and that is the merit-based approach that's used. (Applause) If you get the inputs right it helps a lot with the outputs. (Applause)"

Well, I am not sure if the Dravidian sycophants and champions (aka) dogs of social justice are listening...! But, please note that this was said by one the highest, of the best corporate brains in America in 2003; much before the Central Universities Reservations Act 2006 was passed in the parliament. So, even if that Act is implemented, your future "Tamilchelvans, Marans and XXX-nidhis...." won't stand a chance to enter the corridors of Great Companies.

Because every company, would only want to hire arguably the best. And, it’s only justified, that when companies like Microsoft, Google say that it’s facing challenges hiring the right talent in India..!!!

Take away points:

Reservations breeds Incompetence.
Incompetence breeds Pseudos
In the absence of the Absolute, Pseudos run amok....!!!

AreYouWhoYouWantToBe ???

My brother mailed me some pics that he had taken sometime ago.......Reaallly got kicked up by this one ;-) !!!! (Haven't done anything worthwhile tho'....LOL)

It's That Time of the Year !!

"...........We don't need no thought control..........."

Review : The Funda of Mix-ology

Just finished reading " The Funda of Mix-ology - What bartending teaches that IIM doesnt..." by Mainak Dhar

Mix-ology: The art / science of making a cocktail
Funda: Short for `fundamental', slang for the 'low down' or wisdom on a subject. Synonyms- gyaan; adj- Fundu; plural- fundae
IIM: Indian Institute of Management; a group of leading management institutes in India meant to achieve " Peace of Mind " and keep the rat-race alive. (Ironic Is'nt it..?)

This is Defineteley not another IIT / IIM Campus story, which talks about the run of the mill interlaced with jargons and campus lingos. But its more on the aftermath (after graduating from IIM) of the narrator who dreams about why he is doing, what he is doing...? Is there a way to break away from the monotony thats eating him alive..? Is there a way by which, he can carefully strike a balance between what he has to do at the moment for money and also pursue his passion (writing in his case).....?

Most of us would have undergone these type of moments in life. Some of us would have even seriously contemplated and dared to be different. But do we get a chance to ever check out what lies in store if we take a particular direction...? Or can we say " This is the best life, that I WANT and so let me have it. " ? Even if we have a option to take a glimpse of the future, we may not be all that satisfied because there is bound to be something we may not want to be a part of.

The book manages to avoid a lot of cliches and strikes a chord with the reader, who is able to identify himself with some of the mental delusions that the narrator goes through. It however, doesnt actually teach any bartending tricks (thats for the dummies) or glorifies the words of people who couldn't make it to an IIM and say that " See, I told you. There is more to life than just cracking the CAT...!! ". One fine week the narrator almost quits his job, almost gets killed, and understands that the secret to having a more accomplished life lies not in any classroom but in mix-ology, the art of making a good cocktail with the best ingredients that life offers you.

But, as I was nearing completion I was repeatedly getting reminded of something that my friend Swaminathan (who now works for Texas Instruments, Bangalore) used to say => " Happiness is found along the way, not at the end of the road....! " - which is so fricking true...!! Yes, it sounds very simple and may seem like something that you already knew, but never felt it hard or had someone beside to reinforce.

Ultimateley, the sweet moral at the end of the story doesn't force itself upon the reader. It's upto you to agree to what the author says => That Life is like a Glass of Long Island Ice Tea; to Enjoy it, you have to Mix it up.

That message, puts a smile on your face. :-)
Say Cheers !!!!!

Sad, but very true !

A Serious Suggesstion for the IITs...

It feels really nice to read articles about the clout of IITs in the western world. Well, looking back - they are, seriously successful models which in India we failed to replicate...!!!! And now after so many years, the Government of India has just woken up and is making promises to gift one such Insti to almost every single state where it has a coalition partner or to garner votes (refer to vote bank politics).

To look at it even from a modest point of view, its amazing to read about the achievements made by these institutes and its alumni. Now, as each of the IITs approach their respective " Swarna Jayanthi " (Golden Jubilee), the spotlight and the urge for excellence has only increased several folds.

With so much happening and IITs being a Hotbed of Innovation, my point of view is that its high time that we capitalise on the moment and, would'nt it be great, if each of these 7 institutes set up a School of Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Law...????

Almost all Indian Companies have now realised the importance of Product Development in various fields at various stages. And major efforts are on in R&D Divisions. Because, we cant go on by being satisfied with just services (service based companies). Also, Research at IITs, has been happening from day one. A simple Example is: Prof. Ashok Jhunjunwala's Contribution at IIT M. And with the advent of IIT M Research Park, the need for additional support on Patenting of critical technology developed, would only increase a thousand fold.

Hence, its a humble suggestion to the IITs / and all (Central Govt sponsored) Engineering and Research Institutions to consider and look into it before it gets too late..!!!! In India, we often just sit back and wait for things to happen !!! We only wake up the moment we hear that someone, somewhere has patented the Basmati Rice or a Type of Medicine with regards to Ayurveda..!!!

Setting up a center for Intellectual Property, is something that would augment the industry tremendously. That would be one more way to foster Excellence, and recognise the Brightest and Smartest. IIT Kharagpur has already come out with such a school and they have a tie up with an American University too. But, instis like IIT M can always approach Germany which provided technical assistance in the past, for a second time..!! (apart from utilising the funds generated from alumni associations worldwide).

People reading this blog just give it a thought. It may not be something that can be achieved overnight, but if implemented at least in a small way to begin with, would defineteley be a Gaint leap for India...!!!!!

Happy New Year 2008 !!!!

Oh, and Do get ready to rock this Year !!! :-)