Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Corruption is not a post independence phenomena

India was always a corrupt country, it was there before independence, so don't feel ashamed that our forefathers fought for independence and we are wasting it.

Go to the following link or read a part of it here:

http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/06/03/stories/2002060300311000.htm

In "Mahatma Gandhi - the Last Phase", Pyarelal, the Mahatma's secretary, says Gandhiji was deeply worried over the growing corruption and scramble for loaves in the Congress, discord and the personal rivalries among members of the party high command. He was sad that there were pocket boroughs, bogus membership, the deadweight of inert majorities and the electioneering malpractice and hypocrisy of self-seekers. Everybody was anxious to get onto the Congress bandwagon now that it was in power. The more Gandhiji saw of this, the more his conviction deepened that there was no other way of purging the Congress organisation of corruption except for the party to go out of power politics.

Gandhiji followed upon his concerns at the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) in November 1947. He mooted the idea that the political goal of the Congress having been achieved with the attainment of Independence, it ought voluntarily to liquidate itself. He argued that the dissolution of the Congress as a party would release the energy of all the progressive and patriotic elements in the country and harness it to the great task of nation-building. After the AICC meeting, he repeated his advice: "I am convinced that no patch-work treatment can save the Congress. It will only prolong the agony. The best thing for the Congress would be to dissolve itself before the rot sets in further. Its voluntary liquidation will brace up and purify the political climate of the country. But I can see that I can carry nobody with me in this."

The following week, Gandhiji returned to the subject again. He remarked that if a big national organisation like the Congress could not be purged of corruption, untruth and such other unseemly practices, and if its infiltration by self-seekers could not be stopped, it was clear that its doom was sealed and that he would not shed a tear if it disappeared. "If a patient cannot be cured of a disease, the best thing that can happen to him is to pass away," he said. Imagine the angst that drove Gandhiji to such a desperate thought.

Subsequently, he told Rajendra Prasad, then Congress president: "One brick after another in the Congress edifice is loosening and coming off. The Congress has become lustreless. We should either keep before us the pledges we gave to the people and duly implement them or plainly admit that all we said before was mere rhetoric that can have no place in practical administration." Gandhiji also told the constructive workers that in the general "there is so much corruption today that it frightens me". Also, we must recognise the fact that "the Constitution we want or the social order of our dreams cannot come through the Congress of today".

Eventually, he embodied his wishes in `The Last Will and Testament' made public a day after his death. In this document, he averred that having attained Independence, "the Congress in its present shape and form i.e., as a propaganda vehicle and parliamentary machine, has outlived its use." For these and similar reasons, he asked the AICC "to disband the existing Congress organisation and flower into a Lok Sevak Sangh".

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Bigg Boss is coming!!

Bigg Boss is the latest in the list of copied versions of International Reality Shows on Indian Television. And the time looks great. Sony has build up a sky high interest for the show. SET MAX ( getting the eyeballs thanks to ICC Champions Trophy) has been showing the promos for the show and the show host Arshad Warsi is basking in the fame of Lage Raho Munnabhai.
There have been many shows where you vote for the contestant of your choice, like Indian Idol but here you have to vote for the contestant you HATE. The only wish i could make was if it was like the original controversial Reality show Big Brother which was uncensored in many countries which is not entirely possible in India.

Though the contestant names have not been revealed officially. It would be done officially only on 3rd of November. The list will surely include Rakhi Sawant, Ravi Kissen, Vinod Kambli and Karan Wahi. Rakhi Sawant needs no introduction as the item girl. Vinod Kambli has had his share of limelight both as cricketer and a celebrity. Ravi Kissen is a popular Bhojpuri Star. And Karan Wahi a TV actor. It would be fun to watch Rakhi Sawant speak as mostly what she speaks is never thought off. If Sony can rope in Mika it would be icing on the cake. Riya Sen and Ashmit Patel wont be on the show as had been planned. Smriti Irani too wont be there as her dates are booked for other shows. Its tough to have people on the show for three whole months.


Well to know more about the show read the following lines taken from Sony's website.

Are you tired of watching fake emotions, exaggerated drama, contrived storylines and typical plots in your daily soaps???

Then, get set for real drama like you have never seen before.

BIGG BOSS, the Indian version of the internationally acclaimed show – Big Boss is set to take the nation by storm from November 3rd onwards.

Bigg Boss, the all powerful and god-like entity will rule the lives of 13 handpicked celebrities from various fields. He will make them do things that you could never imagine and show you a side of them that you have not seen before. This unscripted soap will entertain you with its unadulterated drama, raw emotions, genuine laughter and so much more. Bigg Boss will show you LIVE drama as it happens.

To top it off, Bigg Boss has found the ultimate assistant – ARSHAD WARSI to help him in finding these celebrities and to take you on a roller coaster ride like no other. Arshad Warsi is set for a role of a lifetime. And, you get set for a unique primetime soap that will leave you gasping for more!

THE FORMAT:

The house:

Bigg Boss has built a basic and functional house at the outskirts of Mumbai where he will house 13 celebrities for 3 months. The house is large enough for 13 people, but small enough to ensure that they are always in each other’s space.

30 cameras will capture their every move to ensure that celebrities do not have any privacy [except in the bathrooms].

The house does not contain any tools of entertainment or means of communication with the outside word…

No television…No Radio…No Music player…No Books…No Internet…No phones…etc.

Celebrities cannot leave the house once the show starts… unless they are evicted through public vote.

Can you imagine being stuck inside a house for 3 months? How would you feel if your freedom was taken away? Read on for more…

Back to basics:

Each celebrity enters the house with 1 suitcase. They have to prioritize their needs and pack everything that they will need for 3 months. Once they enter the house, Bigg Boss will not allow anything from outside into the house without his permission.

The celebrities will have to cook, clean, sweep the floor, etc. without any help from maids, assistants, cooks, etc.

There is no make-up artist or stylist to help them look their best on television. They have to fend for themselves.

Can you imagine your celebrities without all the help that they take for granted? Think of all the fun while watching them do the household chores.

Bigg Boss’s power:

Bigg Boss will give the celebrities the weekly and daily tasks through which they will earn their weekly budget. The group will use the budget to buy food items to survive in the house.

The group can wager 25%-75% of their weekly budget with Bigg Boss depending on the difficulty of the task. If they are successful, Bigg Boss will increase their weekly budget and if they fail at the task, they will have to live like paupers.

Nomination and Eviction:

Nomination
Each housemate nominates 2 celebrities for eviction to Bigg Boss. [cannot nominate themselves].

Bigg Boss chooses 2 celebrities with the maximum number of nominations to be put up for public vote.

Voting lines open and the viewers vote to throw out the celebrity the hate the most from the Bigg Boss’s house.

Eviction
At the end of the week, the voting lines close.

The celebrity with the maximum votes is evicted from the Bigg Boss’s house.