Congress in comatose!

Congress party was founded in 1885 (132 years ago) with the objective of achieving independence from British. After return of Gandhi from South Africa in 1914 he joined Congress and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement, with over 15 million members and over 70 million participants. Thereafter Gandhi was Congress and Congress was Gandhi, till his death in 1948. In independent India, since 1947, Congress ruled all the way till 2014, for 55 of 67 years excepting few brief spells 12 years.

• Today, it is clear that as a national force Congress is in comatose, if not dead. Its brand is severely damaged and carries very little that is positive. And it has no real political message for its small base of voters.
• During Gandhi & Nehru era, Congress was largely democratic, secular, ethical, patriotic, tolerant, despite no alternative forces. Today it is saddled with selfish, corrupt, opportunistic, unethical wheeler-dealers.
• During Indira Gandhi regime and with Sanjay Gandhi’s entry into politics some four decades ago, the party has increasingly been organised and unified not by any discernible ideology or political program but by the dynastic principle. 
• The Janata Party which defeated Indira Gandhi in 1977 was a patchwork coalition of regional parties. The Janata Party formed with socialist and anti-Congress ideology during the emergency and lost relevance soon after. 
• Its constituents tried to keep the anti Congressism alive through the Janata Dal but that was an insufficient glue and it fractured into several versions of the party.
• LK Advani changed Indian politics with the Ram Janambhoomi movement in 1992. The anti Congress impulse of the Janata Party's fragments became an anti Hindutva impulse. 
• Under Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress stopped standing for anything much. It did not have any real ideology and this continued under P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh. 
• One of the lessons of India’s post-Independence politics is that dynasticism in parties is an incurable disease. 
• Once a party has traded ideology for family rule, there is no turning back. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Shiromani Akali Dal were once deeply ideological and broadly meritocratic. But they are now family firms. Similarly, the Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party and Telangana Rashtra Samithi were not founded as family parties, but now are organised as such and will remain so.
• The best that can be said about this version of the Congress is that, unlike most other Indian parties, it has never really regarded any group of Indians as enemies. Every one, in the right circumstances, is a potential Congress voter. But a party that can stand for anything is quite likely to stand for nothing, and this form of pluralism usually means grubby cynicism.
• The party will bumble along because being family owned there is no accountability. It is possible that the Congress may be revived under another leader. But Rahul Gandhi has a few more decades of activity ahead of him. This will work to the disadvantage of the party as it fades nationally into irrelevance.
• Both the Country and Congress have given plenty of opportunities to prove his leadership to Rahul Gandhi. He has flunked each of these big tests, turned into a subject of mirth, ridicule and voter apathy. For the sake of his own legacy, he should leave Congress alone.
• India still needs the Congress, the party that led the Independence movement and, in some form, has governed the Centre for 55 of our 69 years as a nation-state. The ideology that Congress represent is centrist liberal will always be there. 
• Votes swing like a pendulum from left to right, but it always settles around the centre. Congress was written off in 1977, when it was wiped off from the entire northern part of the country, winning just 8 or 9 seats (though it made a strong showing in the southern states). Three years later it came back with a huge majority. It was again written off in 1989 and then in 1996. 
• In 1998, many people said that the BJP yug has started and it will rule for the next 30-40 years. But Congress resurrected in 2004. Unfortunately this time now in 2017, Congress lacked credible and visionary leader.
• But Congress still has a chance. Punjab results have shown that dormant Congress supporters will back the party if it presents a credible leader like Amarender Singh. They will consider Congress as an option against BJP, if alternate is not Rahul. 
• The issue of demonetisation created a sharp political divide and provided the Congress the much needed opportunity not only in stopping the saffron juggernaut but also in reversing its losing streak and making a political u-turn, but Congress failed to encash.
• The Congress registered a consolation win in Punjab and emerged as the largest party in Manipur and Goa, in terms of seats, but lost the opportunity to form the government largely due to poor negotiations by the party’s state interlocutors and the flip flop by its national leadership.
• In many states and country there is rising discontent against BJP and Modi. Yet BJP is returning due to this discredit of Rahul Gandhi and his Congress.

The Congress party at present does not have a strong leader and workable structure and its ideological agenda of leftist-welfarist policies for the poor has been hijacked by the BJP which it is using cleverly to position itself as the single dominant party in Indian politics. The Congress needs to rewrite its ideological agenda and open the entry gates of the party for people with rightist views within its broad spectrum of secular politics and revive itself by rebuilding the party organisation by repopulating its cadres with foot soldiers and flag bearers at the grassroots level and setting up realistic goals to do a political rebound in the distant future. Otherwise it will get marginalized into oblivion.

My View:
Since 2014, Modi & BJP having higher success rate in direct races with Congress than when it faces off against regional parties indicates that it is trouncing of Congress rather than its victory. Phenomenal rise in political parties operational costs, dominant role of money & caste in winning elections have paved way for entry of hooligans into politics in the disguise of businessmen and industrialists. Today majority of legislatures are occupied by these anti social elements. Congress is worst effected with no good person in sight among its cadres. Inner party democracy had vanished and centralized decision making by 'high command' is also undemocratic and anti-national. Money rules every where. Unless the situation is reversed, Congress party has no future. And reality is it won't change so easily and is destined to vanish in near future.

What money can't buy?

Some of the things that money can't buy:

1. Respect
2. Work-life balance
3. Manners
4. Common sense
5. Integrity
6. Good friends
7. A worry-free day
8. Trust
9. An honest politician
10. Peace of mind
11. Patience
12. Luck
13. Time to relax
14. A strong work ethic
15. A positive attitude
16. A happy home
17. True love
18. Talent
19. Wisdom
20. Happiness
21. Humility
22. A good reputation
23. Relationship with your kids
24. Justice
25. Selflessness

.... and many more.

There are many people who aren’t well-off but yet they are honest, trustworthy and happy. They are respected for what they are & not for what they have.

It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, 

but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that 

you haven't lost the things that money can't buy ... George Lorimer

Nanavati KM murder conviction 1961

The Nanavati murder trial was not just one of the most sensational crime cases in India, it also triggered the end of the jury system. Sylvia is central not just to the case, but also to its hold on our imaginations. Projecting her as the innocent victim of sinister manipulations, turning the murder victim into the villain and the killer into the hero, was the only way for the defense to save her husband. Nanavati was initially declared not guilty by a jury, but the verdict was dismissed by the Bombay High Court .The High Court agreed with the prosecution's argument that the murder was premeditated and sentenced Nanavati to life imprisonment for culpable homicide amounting to murder. On Nov 24, 1961, the Supreme Court of India upheld the conviction. 

The executive pardon came through within just three years of his being jailed. Then, Kawas’ friends in high places helped him, a convicted murderer, get speedy emigration to Canada along with his family. The Nanavatis packed their bags, and jettisoned the baggage. Among Toronto’s welcoming Parsis, Sylvia and Kawas built a new life—not on guilt and bitterness, but on the realization of what both had meant to each other in the past, and still did. To quote one of their friends: “The Nanavatis were a happy normal family with children, grandchildren and a beautiful Irish setter.” 

Kawas died in 2003. In 2015, at 83, Sylvia moved from their long-time Burlington home to an assisted living flat, still a devoted “mum” and doting “gran”, as can be gauged from her Facebook posts and conversations with close family members.

Naval commander Kawas Nanavati and his wife, Sylvia

On the morning of 27 April 1959, the handsome, 6ft-tall naval commander Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati and his beautiful English wife, Sylvia, ran some chores together. Kawas had just returned, nine days ago, from a two-month voyage at sea. Together they took their dog to the veterinary hospital in Bombay’s Parel, bought tickets to the matinee show, and returned home to their flat in Colaba for a lunch. But all was not well. Sylvia was distant, cold and aloof. As she would tremulously tell the court later: “My husband came and touched me. I asked him not to do it as I did not like him.”

Then she was forced to make a brutal confession: She had been having an affair with their flamboyant and rich Sindhi businessman friend, Prem Ahuja. Later that afternoon, Kawas went to Ahuja’s home, armed with a revolver. He barged into Ahuja’s bedroom, and shut the door behind him. Three gunshots were heard going off inside the room. When Kawas came out, Ahuja was sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood.

Through the initial sessions court murder trial by jury, Kawas’ legion of worshippers cast him as Lord Rama enjoined by his dharma to slay Ravana, who had abducted his innocent wife. The editor of Blitz, Russy Karanjia, drew this analogy frontally. A copy of Blitz during the trial sold for ₹2 per copy, up from the normal rate of 25 paise. The defence team did it more obliquely, presenting Kawas as the ideal man: a decorated naval officer away at sea for months in the service of the country, forced to leave his wife vulnerable to the machinations of an evil man with no patriotism on his CV.

Kawas told the court—“Ahuja had an evil influence on my wife”. The defence put on full display letters written to Ahuja by his besotted lovers, and the bacchanalian trove recovered from his flat: one bottle of gin, two bottles of whisky, two bottles of rum, 11 beer bottles, a bottle of brandy, a bottle of Benedictine, and several empty bottles of alcohol, during the prohibition-era Bombay. In an essential corollary, Sylvia was portrayed as the helpless victim of playboy Prem Ahuja.

Her adultery triggered a murder case which ended the jury system in India; set off a fractious turf war between the judiciary and the executive after the Bombay governor suspended the high court’s sentence; necessitated the sitting of a full constitution bench of the Supreme Court to clarify the boundaries of the governor’s powers of pardon; and even forced prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru into that maelstrom.

Despite embarrassment and blame she was accused of being a amoral, sex-hungry foreigner jumping into an adulterous bed with no thought of her valiant husband sailing the seas in defense of the nation, and no care for the children neglected because of her uncontrolled desires. Sylvia and Kawas had by then made up; she had moved into her in-laws’ home with the children, determined to save her marriage and appear in court in Kawas’ defence. 

Not just the devoted wife, she was the perfect mother to the three children born between 1950 and 1956. During Kawas’ long months at sea, she took on all the responsibilities of PTA meetings, homework, swimming, birthday parties and weekly visits to the grandparents. The strongest endorsement of her place in the family is the unqualified support she got from her in-laws. As soon as they heard about the shooting, they despatched a close family member to the Metro cinema hall. Kawas had dropped her and the children there for the matinee of Tom’s Thumb, before going to requisition a revolver from his naval ship and then to Ahuja’s flat for that fatal showdown. She was brought to Southlands, the home of his parents, Mehra and Manekshaw. She spent most of those difficult years with them.

A friend who stood by her through the worst said, “There was nothing flirty or flamboyant about her.” An advertising veteran and thespian guffawed away the Blitz suggestion that she could have been the innocent victim of sinister potions who described Ahuja as a “nice person”, “attractive” to women for his looks and charm. If Sylvia was a victim of anything, it was of neglect, a danger more commonplace but no less insidious. But Sylvia suffered from loneliness even when Kawas was by her side. Ahuja was the harbour master of this game. He was good-looking, he was dapper, and he was richer by far. He drove a convertible and smoked expensive cigars. It was easy to succumb to his charm. Many women had, hopelessly, as the besotted letters produced in court proved.

Sylvia's life as a navy wife was sequestered. Though she was only 28, already a mother of three, she was not wise to the ways of bachelor dandies.

Nanavati received support from influential Parsis and the Parsi Panchayatand and also backing from the Indian Navy, while the Sindhi community backed Mamie Ahuja, sister of the victim. Among the jurists, Ram Jethmalani led the prosecution, while Karl Khandalavala represented Nanavati.

Public opinion was decidedly in favour of Nanavati, seen as an upright naval officer with middle class values and a strong sense of honour. Public opinion held the sentence of life in prison was too harsh and supported a proposal, mooted by the Blitz, to grant a pardon to the cuckolded naval officer. The Blitz magazine played a significant part in raising public opinion in favour of Nanavati and keeping the issue alive for over three years until the pardon was granted. Nanavati had previously worked with V. K. Krishna Menon and had grown close to the Nehrus during that time. During the time of Nanavati's trial and sentencing, Nehru was Prime Minister of India and his sister, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, was governor of Maharashtra.  Nanavati spent three years in prison; it was feared that a pardon for him could elicit an angry reaction from the Sindhi community to which the Ahuja family belonged. At around this time, the government received an application for pardon from Bhai Pratap, a Sindhi trader who had been a participant in the Indian independence movement, and had been convicted for misusing an import licence. Given his freedom fighter background, and the relative smallness of his offence, the government was inclined to pardon Bhai Pratap. Finally, an application seeking pardon for Nanavati was obtained from Mamie Ahuja, sister of the deceased. She gave her assent for his pardon in writing. Vijayalakshmi Pandit, then governor of Maharashtra, pardoned Bhai Pratap and Nanavati on the same day.

The story has become plot for several hindi movies - Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke (1963), Achanak (1973) and Rustom (2016).

Everybody deserves a second chance, but not everyone is strong enough to seize it.

Impacts:

1. Young lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who shot into fame with this case, had the distinction of assisting prosecution for conviction of Nanavati and at the end had to persuade victim's sister Mamie Ahuja to sign petition for pardon of Nanavati, to facilitate pardon of his another Sindhi convicted client Bhai Pratap for a small offense of import license misuse. Therefore, Nanavati's pardon was a deal only.
2. The Blitz championed the cause of Nanavati. The tabloid priced at 25 paisa, was selling at 2 rupees per issue at the height of the trial. The question put to public was that 'what would have you done if you were in his shoes'. This is a classic case of public opinion mobilization by a tabloid Blitz with its relentless campaign projecting murderer as innocent and victim as villain, and at the end it prevailed.
3. But for Nanavati's close contact with Nehru & Krishna Menon etc, his pardon petition would have been simply dismissed. Connection with 'high places' really work.
4. While Parsis, Navy, Media & Public backed culprit Nanavati, Sindhis were polarised for victim Ahuja. The rule of law and the demands of the society clashed with each other. At the end 'rule of the law' was undermined, unacceptable non sense in a democracy.
5. During trial period, Nanavati managed to remain in comfort and easy access of the Navy's detention quarters for a year and five months despite being unqualified for civil crime. The warrant of arrest to put Nanavati in jail for life couldn't be served on him because the state's Governor had issued an unprecedented order staying the sentence 'till the appeal is disposed of'. Upon Nanavati's appeal turned down by SC, he finally had  to go to Bombay's Arthur Road Jail. 
6. Upon uproar in parliament, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court, presided over by the Chief Justice of India, had to sit to interpret the relevant articles of  the constitution delineating the powers granted to the governor  vis-a-vis those assigned to the judiciary. 
7. The case has become plot for 3 hindi movies so far.

Personal safety tips for women

The sad reality is that we live in an increasingly violent society in which the fear of crime is ever-present. Personal safety has become an issue of importance for everyone, especially for women. No matter what your age or physical condition, it is important to understand that you can and should defend yourself physically. Statistics clearly show that your odds of survival are far greater if you do fight back. 

Some 1.9 million women are physically assaulted annually in the United States, and 15-25% of all American women will report a sexual attack or rape at some time in their lives. And majority of sexual assaults go unreported. The highest rates of sexual violence occurred against women age 34 or younger. While men can also be victims of such violent crimes perpetrated by women, the vast majority are committed by men against women. 

Here are some personal safety tips:

• Avoid a person or a situation which does not feel you safe.
• As far as possible go in groups, never alone.
• Be Paranoid and Suspicious. It is always better to be safe than sorry. 
• Being mentally alert is the greatest weapon you can ever have. 
• Don’t open your house door without knowing who is on the other side.
• Dress to Kill. Clogs, high heels, and tight skirts are hard to run and fight in, while scarves and long necklaces are easy to grab. Modify your fashion style or wear comfortable clothing when walking alone.
• Always carry a door wedge with you when you travel. A wedge is often stronger than the door it secures.
• Never get in a vehicle with a strangers regardless of what they tell you because it isn’t going to be good.
• Escape is always the best option. Run away, yell for help. Throw any item with you, do whatever you can to attract attention. 
• Make Eye Contact. It is your first instinct to lower your gaze as you walk to your destination. Looking straight into the face of potential enemies is the better option. Eye contact scares off attackers for fear of your ability to identify them.
• Fight to escape. Men have certain physical advantages over women, including upper-body strength, height and body frame. Men physically assault women use their size, strength and terror tactics. The goal to fighting back is to escape. Women should not struggle against an assailant's greatest strengths. That will just exhaust yourself. Wait for the moment when he's distracted. Use that close proximity to strike back. Strike the eyes, knees, throat or groin or use both of your palms to clap him hard on both ears which will disorient him.  Any move you make, you must have a chance to run and it's explosive.
• If the criminal is after your purse or other material items, throw them one way while you run the other.
• Pay attention to your surroundings. When walking alone, women should avoid being distracted and should pay attention to their surroundings. Present strong body language and walk confidently. Don’t be on your cellphone when you're walking to your car.
• In a parking lot, look at the cars parked on either side of your vehicle. If a male in a vehicle is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, or if you are parked next to a van, always enter your car from the side opposite the strange vehicle. If the parking lot is particularly dark or deserted, it may be wise to go back and find a friend or guard who can walk you to your car.
• Keep eyes and ears open, hands free. Be alert to who and what is around you. Talking on a cell phone or listening to headphones makes you easy prey for a predator. The only reason you should be using your mobile phone is notify a friend of your whereabouts or to call for help. Make sure that your hands are free to defend.
• Predator’s game plan is the element of surprise. Predators are good liars and they're good at staging a false reality. They lower your guard, gain your trust and get close to you. If you feel uneasy in a certain neighborhood, it's likely that your gut is telling you to get out of there.
• Run, Run, Run. If the predator has a gun but you are not under his control, take off. Predator will only hit you, a running target, four out of every 100 shots. And even then, it most likely will not be a vital organ.
• If you do decide to fight, make sure your first move is as forceful as possible. It may be your only hope.
• Every predator fears of getting caught or getting hurt. Don't act as the predator expects you to. Shouting at them out might cause them to back off. Even if a predator says 'No', women should still be vocal. Yelling or screaming attracts attention. If it's a theft, you might want to give him your wallet. If the assailant wants you to go with him somewhere then you have to do everything in your power to prevent it. Once he gets you to an abandoned area, there may be no way to escape and the likelihood that you will be seriously injured increases tenfold. So if that means yelling or screaming, do it. Stay Put. So do whatever it takes and never give up.
• Regularly change your walking routine. Plan out a few different routes that you can take and mark out safe houses in your mind at intervals along the way. 
• If you find yourself alone with a strange male while entering lift in a high rise apartment late at night. Enter the lift and if you need to reach the 13th floor, press all the buttons up to your destination. No one will dare attack you in a lift that stops on every floor.
• If a stranger tries to attack you when you are alone in your house, run into the kitchen. You alone know where the chili powder and turmeric are kept. And where the knives and plates are. If nothing else, start throwing plates and utensils all over. Let them break. Scream. Remember that noise is the greatest enemy of a molester. He does not want to be caught. 
• While getting into an auto or taxi at night, note down its registration number. Then use the mobile to call your family or friend and pass on the details to them in the language the driver understands. Even if no one answers your call, pretend you are in a conversation. The driver now knows someone has his details and he will be in serious trouble if anything goes wrong. He is now bound to take you home safe and sound. 
• If the driver turns into a street he is not supposed to and you feel you are entering a danger zone. Use the handle of your purse or your dupatta to wrap around his neck and pull him back. Within seconds, he will feel choked and helpless. In case you don’t have a purse or stole just pull him back by his collar. The top button of his shirt would then do the same trick. 
• If you are stalked at night. Enter a shop or a house and explain your predicament. If it is night and shops are not open, go inside an ATM centre. They always have close circuit television. Fearing identification, no one will dare attack you. 
• Try Anything and Everything. Additional approaches are offering your wallet, jumping out at a stoplight, doing something to cause an accident, or signaling to other drivers. 
• Some women choose to carry pepper spray or a firearm as a method of defense. While that’s fine, make sure that you know how to use your weapon of choice properly and effectively. Some people will not be incapacitated even by a full-face pepper spray. If you’re carrying it in your purse, you will only waste time and alert the attacker to your intentions while you fumble for it.
• Never depend on any self-defense tool or weapon to stop an attacker. Trust your body and your wits, which you can always depend on in the event of an attack.
• Don’t carry anything if you’re not willing to use it because then it just becomes something that the bad guy can take and use against you.
• Avoiding a car-jacking. Lock all doors and keep windows up when driving. Most car-jackings take place when vehicles are stopped at intersections. The criminals approach at a 45-degree angle (in the blind spot), and either pull you out of the driver’s seat or jump in the passenger’s seat.
• In case of driving a car and minor accident, never get down. Make sure doors are all locked and windows up until police turns up. If you need to speak to some one, lower glass an inch to talk. Be sure engine is running. Or situation permitting drive on to the nearest police post or station and report. 
• You return to your car and it has a flat tire. Back away. Return to wherever you came from (restaurant, store, etc) and call for help. If someone comes up to you and wants to offer help, say, No. If a man, he could be a predator. If a woman, she could be the lurer.

No matter what happens, never stop fighting. If you’re in a fight for your life, make sure you’re the one who wins. Realize that even if you’re injured (which you most likely would be in a self-defense situation), it doesn’t mean it’s a critical injury. Just keep fighting and have faith that you will persevere. At the end of the day, you must be the one who lives to see another day. 

Prevention is better than cure 

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

My View:
Avoiding situations of danger is far easy than facing, fighting and surviving. Women must be aware of and avoid dangerous situations around them. In most cases, pedestrians or public transport users especially during odd hours are vulnerable. Women in cars are relatively safe. Women in groups are far safer than single. The victims and their families of kidnap, rape and murder suffer agony for prolonged periods. There is no society, in this world, which provides absolute safety for women. Women must keep themselves informed about the risks and avoiding them is prudent. Parents must take care of their young daughters.

IT in trouble, in India?

• The Indian IT industry’s worst fears seem to be coming true.
• H1B restrictions and automation resulted in uncertainty in Indian software industry apart from slow growth of global economy.
• Annual turn over IT in India is $150 billion (Rs. 975,000 crores). 78% clients from USA.
• The IT sector in India is generating 39 lakhs direct employments.
  (for every one direct IT job, there would be about three indirect employments)
• At least 1.8% of employees are likely to lose their jobs. It could go up to 5%.
• Hyderabad has 4 lakhs IT employees with supporting employees of 12 lakhs.
• 116 Big software companies exist in Hyderabad.
• The seven companies—Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Cognizant, DXC, and Cap Gemini —and which together employ 1.24 million people, plan to let go of 4.5% of their workforce, i.e. at least 56,000 employees, in 2017. 
• TCS, the largest IT employer with close to 390,000 employees, does not have any plans to ask anyone to leave this year.
• All seven companies are still in denial mode and attribute the planned exits to a “marginal” increase in the number of poor performers on account of a “more rigorous” performance evaluation process. 
• India's IT sector has about 1.4 million mid-rung employees, who typically have 8-12 years of experience and earn Rs 12 lakh to Rs 18 lakh a year. 
• Salaries at higher levels are in the range of Rs.24-36 lakhs per annum, in Hyderabad. Seniors with experience of 10-20 years are being targeted. 
• Roles that were typically assigned to employees with over 10 years of experience are now going to machines. 
• Hiring process for 2017 is likely to be slow with IT majors expected to cut down intake of engineers by 40%.
• In Hyderabad at least 1,000 seniors with designation of Group Project Manager, Project Manager & Senior Architect are being pressurized to opt for VRS.
• Infosys announced that they would add 10,000 jobs in USA. For every US job, they would have to lay off 4 employees in India. Its growth was 13.3% in 2015-16 has slid down to 8.3% in 2016-17.
• In Wipro 10% of 1.81 lakh employees may get laid off as soon as performance review gets completed. They may be replaced with freshers.  
• DXC is in the midst of a three-year plan to reduce the number of offices in the country from 50 to 26. The company plans to ask 5.9%, or 10,000, of its 170,000 employees to leave this year.
• Tech Mahindra is planning to lay off an estimated 1,500 employees across all levels. Spokesperson said the company “has a process of weeding out bottom performers every year and this year is no different”. 
• Tech Mahindra has suspended salary revision process for employees who have been with the company for more than six years, until there is a management review. 
• Cap Gemini is likely to terminate 5% of its 1.13 lakh workforce. They have issued notices to 200 in Mumbai office.
• IT solutions company Cognizant is expected to retrench over 10,000 employees in the country. Out of which 1,000 or more are likely from Hyderabad. 
• Cognizant has been under pressure from investors to shore up margins, boost profitability, deliver growth and return cash to shareholders. Last month, Cognizant reached an agreement with activist investor Elliott Management, which holds 4 per cent stake, to boost its operating margins from 19.5 per cent in 2016 to 22 per cent by 2019 by streamlining costs, improving operational efficiency and aggressively employing automation to optimize traditional services.
• Cognizant recently announced a voluntary separation package for its employees. 
• Cognizant is asking employees (which includes Associate Director, Director, Vice President and even board members as well) to retire voluntarily, those who are grossing more than 40 lakhs with 9 months salary.
• Cap Gemini India CEO says 65% of IT employees are just not re-trainable. Probably, India will witness the largest unemployment in the middle level to senior level. Most IT employees come from low-grade engineering colleges.
• Nasscom says there is a need to re-train up to 1.5 million, or nearly half of its sectoral workforce. 
• Poor growth and pressure on profitability has prompted most companies to save on costs.
• The layoffs reflects their under-preparedness in adapting to newer technologies and dealing with the fallout from Trump’s protectionist policies.

The rise of protectionist politics in advanced economies has increased the pressure on companies there to outsource contracts to local companies, instead of firms in India. This is making growth prospect more difficult for Indian IT companies. But with a president as unpredictable as Trump at the helm of affairs, the fear is that things can get more serious over time. 

In the past, companies never facilitated nor encouraged employees to upgrade their skills, nor adapted modern technologies but continued with obsolete ones as a strategy to maintain attrition at minimum. Ridiculous as it seems, that the whining Indian IT jobs, once the most coveted in the country, are no longer secure and that morale in the sector is at a low.  The leaders are meeting clients, so they know about the change in (their) thinking. The bottom most guys adopt easier and learn. It is therefore, this middle management that is most difficult to change. The reality is that mid level managers never touches the outside world. Imagine someone with eight years of experience in something like manual testing with job going away due to automation and having a home loan or a child at a private school. There is huge human cost to this change and it will hit us hard. 

The bad news is that the worst is yet to come. 

My View:
Brexit marks globalization's biggest reversal since the end of WWII. Such a secular shift impacted growth, corporate profits and asset prices. It adds to the conditions for slowdown in global growth and increased the chances of further shocks. Three legs of globalization: immigration, trade and capital mobility are under varying degrees of duress. Global exports of goods & services are falling, global inter-bank lending retreating with growing political risks. Globalization has enabled rich becoming much richer, upper middle class becoming richer leaving majority lower middle class and poor remain unchanged. Societies have been vertically divided between have's and have not's. The vulgar and disproportionate utilization and display of resources by upper classes has become point of heart burn for majority lower classes giving rise to protectionism and nationalism exemplified by Trump's winning. Reversing these trends is no easy task. Indian IT sector growing on 100% export model carries unknown and uncontrollable overseas risks with no means of mitigation. Instead of 15-20% annualized growth if it contracts by just 5%, its existence comes under threat. Its devastating effects impacts one and all. Now the decision of exempting IT sector from stringent labour laws by granting them hire & fire powers at will, will come under scrutiny. Instead of feeling helpless we must change our economic growth model reducing global risk exposure to minimum, exploit our strengths and keep going carrying all sections of society together. Avoid comparison with China etc and endeavor should be to improve ourselves over previous year by at least 5%, if not more.

Bilkis Bano gang rape case

Detailed story of Bilkis Bano in Telugu

By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi | Updated: May 4, 2017

Bilkis Bano gangrape case verdict: The rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members was one of the most horrifying incidents that had taken place during the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat.

The Bombay High Court upheld the life imprisonment sentence of 11 accused in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case that had occurred in 2002. The rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members was one of the most horrifying incidents that had taken place during the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. For the past 15 years, Bilkis Bano had taken up the matter with the local police, an NGO, the CBI and the courts to get justice for herself.

On March 3, 19-year-old Bilkis Bano along with her family were on their way, escaping a mob on a truck. Bilkis was five months pregnant and accompanying her were 17 other people in the truck, including her 2-year-old daughter. The truck was attacked by an armed mob, who gangraped her and killed 14 members of her family including her daughter, her mother Halima and cousin Shamim.
The 19-year-old approached the local police station to register a case against the assailants. However, the police dismissed her case and threatened her with dire consequences if she proceeded with the matter. She then approached the National Human Rights Commission of India and petitioned the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court directed the CBI to probe into the matter. In the meantime, she along with her family were issued threats, which forced her to request the SC to move the case outside Gujarat. The SC then shifted the case to Maharashtra.

In the Mumbai court, charges were filed against 19 men, including 6 police officers and a government doctor. In January 2008, 11 of them were sentenced to life imprisonment for gangrape and murder. The CBI however had asked for death penalty for Jaswantbai Nai, Govindbhai Nai and Radhesham Shah, who were charged for having played a significant role in planning and execution of the entire incident. The 11 convicts had however, filed an appeal to the High Court challenging their conviction.

My View:
Though Modi has evaded prosecution so far, he can't claim innocence. His comments justifying the riots - such as every action having an equal and opposite reaction - betray grave negligence on the part of the Gujarat chief minister, ignoring his constitutional duty to protect the people of his state. Nor did Modi lift a finger against the bandh called by his party along with right-wing Hindu groups, which triggered riots by parading the bodies of Godhra victims. While Modi was quick to visit Godhra after the Sabarmati Express carnage, he made no efforts to visit the riot-affected areas in Ahmedabad. Modi neither expressed remorse for killings of Muslims in such a scale by Hindu militants nor provided relief operations but actively abetted Hindu militant groups. Even the relief amounts paid were Rs.2 lakhs for Hindu victims and Rs.1 lakh for Muslim victim. Even this was due to hue & cry of the NGO's. It is tragedy such a Modi is PM of India, the largest democratic secular nation in the world!

Income Tax evasion in India

Manu advised that taxes should be related to the income and expenditure of the subject and should be collected without pinching the subject and spend on social services beneficial to the community. Kautilya states that if the King failed in his duty, the subject had a right to stop paying taxes, and demand refund of the taxes paid. The affluent had to pay higher taxes. Kalidas states that it was only for the good of his subjects that King collected taxes from them. 

The tax evasion propensity of Indians stem from some deep seated hangover from feudal times when the state was exploitative and citizens considered taxation system as - exorbitant and arbitrary; fundamentally illegitimate; excessively burdensome; irrationally complex; patently corrupt; simple greed. It is usually a varying combination of the above. As long as people are poor and less educated and governments are irresponsible, inefficient and blatantly corrupt in public spending, efforts for higher tax realizations will be thwarted by its citizens.

In India, today, income tax is paid by salaried class in full; business class remain the largest tax evaders; and people in informal sector just don't pay taxes. Collecting income tax from all subjects is next to impossibility. Politicians and business houses are the biggest tax evaders. Income Tax Officers are the blatantly corrupt and they actively assist tax evaders.

In India only about 1-2% of the population pay income tax. These figures effectively tells us that the domestic tax evasion is bigger concern than chasing the black money stashed abroad. It doesn’t make sense for any government to chase a magic treasure hidden somewhere in foreign lands when there is massive scale of income tax evasion happening right under its nose. But in a country like India where 30% are below poverty line , 70% are agriculture dependent, 90% people are employed in informal sector with most people's earnings are below taxable limits, it is no surprise that only 2% of 120 crore about 2 crore people pay income tax. As long as political spending is irresponsible, resembling that of erstwhile Nizam's, for which funding is done in black money by industrialists and businessmen and as quid pro quo they receive political favors of at least 10-100 times, the menace of tax evasion and black money will persist. The need of the hour is political will and bureaucratic honesty to eliminate the menaces of tax evasion, corruption and black money which are pulling down our progress. The culprits are politicians, businessmen & bureaucrats. Corruption has become so much rampant that it acquired dangerous levels of societal acceptance. It is hard to find anyone who doesn't deal with black money.

Broadening the tax net and taxing agriculture income are no solutions to increase tax revenues. 70% of population lives in 700,000 villages with meager incomes. Taxing them will yield nothing since collecting taxes requires very large numbers of taxmen with infrastructure and revenue net of expenses could very well be negative. That was the underlying reason for exempting agriculture income from income tax, not out of any love of politicians or government men for farmers. The reality is that taxes evaded by politicians/ industrialists/ businessmen/ bureaucrats on their ill gotten wealth is much larger than the amounts that are likely to be received by widening the tax net and/or taxing agriculture income. If Government focuses on corruption elimination, tax evasion by bigwigs up to 90% level, the tax revenues will treble or quadruple or even more. But where is political will and bureaucratic honesty for this herculean task?

The reality is that no one in the world pays taxes willingly and smilingly. That would be very strange economics and irrational. Hence laws and its enforcement must be stringent so that people will comply with the law or fear the law. Chances of getting caught & punished must increase from present below 5% to at least 80%, otherwise crooks will always find ways around laws with the help of rogue politicians and bureaucrats.

No. Tax evasion isn’t as widespread, or even as deliberate, as we think. 
Are Indians hard-wired to evade taxes?

Government's solution to the problem is usually as worst as the problem itself.

My View:
Government failed to collect income tax from all qualifying persons and the present scenario resulting in heart burn among the honest tax payers. While salaried class pays full, others evade most and pay nominal amounts. Habits won’t be change overnight. It will change when people will see changes around them, and they see their money is put to right use and is beneficial to them. Just passing legislation, making public life miserable doesn't produce lasting results. The question is people should trust government and winning people's trust by government men is not easy. Until then people look around the laws and at the end worthless government can't force people beyond certain point.