|
|
|
|
|
Partial diesel decontrol |
|
|
|
The food will UPA now needs alacrity, resolution THE Food Security Bill of the UPA — more precisely, its Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s — is a step closer to realisation with a Parliamentary Standing Committee submitting its report on the draft legislation, suggesting a few alterations.
Reprehensible crimes
Looming Taliban threat India, Pakistan should revise their strategy
Race disgrace
CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS: *** Excellent *** Very Good ***
Good *** Average ***Poor
On a high note
A broken dream
|
Partial diesel decontrol
Acting on the Vijay Kelkar Committee recommendations, the UPA government has allowed the oil marketing companies to raise diesel prices from time to time till the pump price matches the market rate, which means wiping out the entire Rs 9.60 a litre subsidy on diesel, possibly in the next 10 months. Last September the government hiked the diesel price by Rs 5.63 a litre and invited protests. This time the price hike is in phases and is accompanied by some relief on cooking gas. The NDA government had decontrolled diesel prices in 2002 but buried the policy before the general election. Why is the UPA government doing it so close to the elections? There are strong financial reasons. By selling oil below the cost price, the three government oil marketing companies have shown a combined operating loss of Rs 1,66,800 crore. By continuing with the existing subsidies, especially on oil, the government’s finances may go haywire, resulting in a possible rating downgrade and capital outflows. This would hurt investor sentiment and growth. Last March the fiscal deficit was an unacceptable 5.75 per cent of the GDP. Efforts are now on to bring it to 5.3 per cent. The UPA government decontrolled petrol prices in 2010 but largely on paper and left diesel untouched, fearing a political backlash. The Prime Minister has often stressed on aligning energy prices with global trends. The government has now taken the plunge. Money saved by cutting subsidises can be ploughed into education, health and infrastructure, which are priority areas. The diesel/petrol price mismatch has led to higher sales of luxury cars and SUVs. Bulk diesel users will now have to pay market rates. Costlier diesel may push up prices of goods in the short run. Ultimately, inflation is expected to fall as the calibrated price hike may be absorbed by the economy, fiscal deficit may come under control and the RBI may start lowering interest rates. Countries like the US, Germany, the Philippines, Japan and China, which have deregulated diesel prices, have low inflation of 1 to 2 per cent.
|
|
The food will
THE Food Security Bill of the UPA — more precisely, its Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s — is a step closer to realisation with a Parliamentary Standing Committee submitting its report on the draft legislation, suggesting a few alterations. One of its prominent points is on making the quantity of food grain to be given and its price uniform for all categories of beneficiaries, below and above poverty line. While this will increase the overall number of beneficiaries, the quota of people below poverty line will be reduced, which has been objected to by the Left. But there may be wisdom in keeping the scheme as simple as possible because of the huge numbers involved — the panel has agreed with the government proposal to extend the benefit to 67 per cent of the population. There will be endless debate on how exactly to design the scheme, but the cornerstone should be ensuring that no poor person is left out for any reason whatsoever. All schemes thus far have seen many needy families slip through the net, often for want of paperwork. Looking at the election timetable, the UPA may be running a bit late, but food security, along with direct cash transfer of various subsidies through the Aadhar number, could well prove to be its trump card, just as the job guarantee was in the 2009 polls. It is an irony that despite India’s buffer stocks of food grain being more than double the required, the country is home to 25 per cent of the world’s hungry poor. While the lack of purchasing power is the primary cause, extremely porous public distribution networks deprive a vast number of the poor of the subsidised food that the government makes available. That is where the true test of the Food Security Bill is going to lie. Corrections in the system would be a continuous process; the scheme, nonetheless, is a landmark that may make a very fundamental correction in a country identified with hunger for far too long.
|
|
|
Reprehensible crimes
Young
women were lured, entrapped, tortured and exploited. No, this did not happen in some small town in the hinterland. Rather, this incident took place in a city known the world over for its excellence in education, a place in the UK which one expects the least to be the home for such crimes. Prosecutors in the UK contend that six young English girls, some as young as 11, from Oxford were systematically targeted, corrupted and exploited by a group of men who showed “little or no human decency” while “grooming” them. Of the nine accused, seven men are of Pakistani origin and two are North Africans. They are all facing a trial in the UK. Child grooming happens when an adult deliberately acts to befriend a child with the intention of exploiting him or her sexually or otherwise. It is the sheer cold-blooded targeting of an innocent and vulnerable person. Naturally, society takes a harsh view about the perpetrators of these crimes. The incident in Oxford is hardly the first of its kind. As many as 47 children were victims of a gang in Rochdale, Manchester, earlier, and it resulted in nine convictions. Abuses against women in various forms are a world-wide phenomenon. Not only that, the conviction rate in such crimes is abysmally low. Even in the UK, it was recently seen that of the one lakh reported rape cases, only 1,000 persons had been convicted. Even there, only 10 per cent of such cases are reported to the police. Even though the system in the UK is better developed, still it is unable to deliver justice to rape victims. More and more emphasis is rightly being placed on reporting crimes against women worldwide, yet societies are failing to protect their vulnerable members. More cooperation among various nations will definitely have a positive impact on curbing such heinous crimes. Beyond policing, the ultimate responsibility lies with the society at large, which should be more vigilant, sensitive and responsive. |
|
|
Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are. —Bertolt Brecht
|
Looming Taliban threat India, Pakistan should revise their strategy WITH America's announcement to withdraw troops from Afghanistan even before 2014, the date that it had itself fixed, it becomes imperative that Pakistan and India should revise their strategy and face the new development. Both have no option except to be on the same page because the Taliban, Al-Qaida's front, has neither been decimated as Washington claims, nor has it been deterred from the fixation to capture the Pushtu-speaking areas, the North-West Front Province (NWFP), now called Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa. I do not know how President Barack Obama has come to the conclusion that Al-Qaida has been finished and that America's purpose has been served. The entire terrorism in the area is because of Al-Qaida's inspiration. It does not matter whether it comes in the forefront or not. The outfit is working under different names and on different fronts. President Obama may be in a hurry to withdraw his forces to placate the American opinion, but Washington and its drones have not wiped out the Taliban, the promise which it gave when it started carpet bombing in certain parts of Afghanistan. After America's exit, the Taliban and the warlords would try to divide Afghanistan among themselves, not a difficult proposition when Kabul's forces are in the midst of modernisation and training. Even otherwise, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has been negotiating with the "good Taliban" to suck them into the administration so as to divide them. Islamabad knows, like other countries in the world, that it would be hard for Afghanistan to stay sovereign without America's support and that it would be a matter of time before the Taliban would overrun the country. They would leave the warlords to govern their fiefdoms. Sturdy and determined, the Taliban activists have dispersed themselves over high mountains to await the time when the forces of America and NATO would quit. How to ensure Afghanistan's safety is the issue that faces the world. Policies of America and India coincide since both want democracy to take roots in Afghanistan and become militarily and economically viable to stand on its own legs. Things would have worked smoothly between Delhi and Islamabad if the latter were to give up its insistence on treating Afghanistan as a country within its sphere of influence. In fact, such a policy has been in the way of Delhi and Islamabad forging joint action against terrorists, the Taliban's real face. No doubt, Pakistan is trying to defeat the Taliban with the support of America, which provides it with arms and money. Yet the Taliban factions have spread themselves all over Pakistan. The fight is not confined to Afghanistan and the Waziristan border but inside Pakistan where the Taliban groups have joined hands with the fundamentalists to fan terrorism. The ideal arrangement would be if Kabul and Islamabad could join hands to fight against the Taliban and other such forces which would become active after America's withdrawal. The biggest obstacle in the way is Pakistan's policy to have Afghanistan as its strategic depth. The late Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, tried his best to sell Kabul a status which would ensure Afghanistan's autonomy under the protection of Pakistan's armed forces. No self-respecting nation, much less the one comprising Pathans, can accept to be a satellite state. Karzai knows it and has often criticised the ambition of "elder brother", the title he has given to Pakistan. Indeed, there was a time when Islamabad flirted with the Taliban and considered them to be part of its combative strength. Pakistani rulers, including the late Benazir Bhutto, welcomed them as their "children". Pakistan went to the extent of recognising the government of Taliban at Kabul as long as it lasted, not very long. Islamabad realised its mistake of building up the Taliban only when they occupied the Swat valley and the adjoining areas, part of Pakistan's territory. The first order they issued was to close girls' educational institutions and then ban music. Although the Pakistanis were Muslims, the Taliban had a hatred for them because they were not fanatics, a cultural influence of the subcontinent. Islamabad has pushed the Taliban back after seeing their real face of terrorism. But the danger it cannot avert is that nearly one-third of Pakistan's population — including the army — has come to adopt the Taliban philosophy. Otherwise, it is difficult to understand why the killer of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was hailed as a hero and honoured. Taseer's fault was that he opposed the blasphemy laws. His son is still under the Taliban's detention. Sooner or later, New Delhi will have to join Islamabad to fight against terrorism which the Taliban are fomenting internally and externally. Both countries have to chalk out a joint action plan against the Taliban who can pose a threat to India's tranquillity. Pakistan is a territory lying between the Taliban and our country. If Islamabad falters or gets weakened in its fight against the Taliban, India would have to deal with them directly. They have already announced that they would interfere in Kashmir. This is a dangerous scenario. The withdrawal of American forces from Kabul would only create a vacuum which both New Delhi and Islamabad ought to fill. But they are mostly at loggerheads and, therefore, the success of the Taliban is on the
cards.
|
|||
Race disgrace The problem of racial tolerance is essentially upsetting and raises the question of the extent to which any society can be morally and culturally pluralistic. Racism continues to be rampant and “colour blindness”, a mere ideological construct to hide the insidious colour consciousness that has been an inherent part of Western history. In this context, the bitterness over racially charged issues aiming at justice and the general nature and implications of liberalism cannot be overlooked. Acts of racism need not be manifested only in large-scale riots; they can also be felt on a day-to-day basis. We cannot ignore such infuriating intolerance. To site a personal experience, once when travelling in a National Express coach in England from Northampton to Cambridge, the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes on seeing me munching a sandwich. Virtually everybody on the bus was eating some sort of lunch. But coming up to me, he flung a rather rude remark: “Mind you, do not litter the bus.” I could have apologised with embarrassment and put away my sandwich and accepted his arrogance, but being the only Indian on that coach, I realised why I was his target. I retaliated by telling the driver that he was exceedingly discourteous and that I being a Visiting Professor at Oxford knew how to observe civic sense. We in India, I said, travelled in far better air-conditioned buses compared with their terribly suffocating coaches. My loud admonishment resulted in a prompt apology from him, and like a mouse, he retreated to his seat, never to cast a glance at me for the rest of the journey. I remember another confrontation while taking an early morning walk in the Fellow’s Garden at St Anthony’s, Oxford. A huge Afghan Hound came rushing at me and when I scurried out of its path, its English master remarked, “Don’t worry, this is not an Indian dog.” I could only tell him laconically, “No wonder, it is so badly behaved.” Retaliation, I feel, could be one way of reacting to racist behaviour. Such instances give us the opportunity and articulation to enter the field of hard politics involving issues that are racial at the core. Behind the hope for a meaningful change to racial attitudes lies an inner strength or enraged fervour seen in progressive intellectuals having a theoretical vision and the underlying strategy to fight any discrimination. There is a disturbing aspect to this struggle for liberation and any grave violation of mutual respect calls for a collective anger. Why indeed should we choke our fury when racial hatred is real, and repression of any kind dehumanising? White supremacist organisations are known for being oblivious of the harrowing effect on minority culture engineered through a system of beliefs that belittle non-white intelligence and deintellectualise their culture. In a racist society, cognisance must be taken of citizens who come together to form a community and who grant one another equal rights. The basic demand for respect sprouts from their desire to protect the integrity and sanctity of their traditions which provide the members with a recognition of their own existence. It is thus not so much a debate involving the equality of the conditions ensuring a comfortable survival but one of upholding the normative pillars of a society. To counter this unreasonably prejudiced discourse, the media, the theatre and literature must critically engage in a revisionist programme to alter the widespread racial beliefs and stereotypes. Though it might hurt to talk about racial sentiment, the rage being so intense, it is fundamental to the cause of the politics of anger and recognition that society does not delude itself into believing that racism no longer exisits. Let us also not overlook the hypocrisy in our own country where all sorts of caste discriminations are practised without
dissent.
|
|||
CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS: *** Excellent *** Very Good ***
Good *** Average ***Poor Nonika Singh Flirting is fun, sexual harassment is serious business…. But who draws the line? That's the big question Inkaar asks as it explores the ticklish issue of not just sexual harassment at workplaces but also office politics, clash of alpha males with alpha females and much more.
The film begins without much ado, takes you straight into the world of advertisement world where creative director Maya (Chitrangada Singh) has slapped a case of sexual harassment against her CEO Rahul (Arjun Rampal). As the enquiry begins many more tension fraught questions raise their head…. has Maya used her proximity to Rahul to rise in her career… is Rahul the typical MCP jealous of the success of his protégé? How can a woman who has slept with her boss out of her volition accuse him of such a grave misconduct? There are no clear cut answers and just as the members of the enquiry committee are divided fifty-fifty, so one would assume is the audience. At least that seems to be the intention of the filmmaker as he offers point and counter point.
But just before you fully comprehend the grey zones of two ambitious people at war the justification of their maneuverings and actions takes it head down. The simplistic solution to their dilemmas further dilutes the theme and once more like an average Hindi film ambition is made to seem like a dirty word. As the steam goes out what is left is an appetizer whose main course disappeared. You wonder aloud what was the fuss all about in the first place? Suddenly, the bold subject which the film delves into instead of offering an incisive insight becomes an average fare. The film becomes more of a peep into the ad world and the dynamics at work in this creative profession that thrives on hard-selling. Even the open ended climax doesn't leave you with food for thought. Rather brings a feeling of dissatisfaction. Certainly one expected more from Mishra. Casting, however, doesn't leave you disappointed. Chitrangada Singh who transforms from the bubbly enthusiastic girl to tough as nails ambitious woman yet brittle from within is apt for the part. Arjun Rampal too fits the bill as the creative ad maker and is convincing within the confines of his role. Only if their romance and dilemmas had been persuasive the film would have made the grade of meaningful cinema. In its present avatar despite some lilting songs set to music by Shantanu Moitra it is no more than watchable. By the way the so called torrid scenes between the lead pair are not even half as steamy as the ones you might have seen before.
|
|
On a high note Does a musical, or more clearly a near-opera, make waves today? It may sound contrived for starters but one soon gets into the somewhat dated genre and then onwards it's smooth sailing or so it is with Les Miserables based on that Victor Hugo's literary classic. The musical, however, is written by Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg and Herbert Krestzner. Set in Paris, it is the story of Jean Valjean, a prisoner who escapes and later becomes mayor of a town in France, and his association with the illegitimate Cosette (Amanda Siefried).
There is Valjean's ever persistent pursuer Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe), Cosette's pretty mother Fantine (Anne Hathaway). Inn-keeper Monseuir Themardier (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his pick-pocketing wife Madame Themardier (Helena Bonham Carter) and their children Eponnie (Samantha Banks) and Garnoche and the die-hard revolutionary Marius (Eddie Redmayne) who is in love with Cosette. Director Tom Hooper does an excellent job weaving in and out of this plethora of cameos, endowing them with flesh and blood and in the process capturing graphic images, like the habitat of innkeeper with his customers in various stages of inebriation. Ironically the competent screenplay by William Nicholson has a line which says, "it's better than an opera." And the Censors seem to have thankfully dosed (the shows are generally held in the afternoon) through some naughty lines.
As for the performances, this ensemble cast lives up to its reputation with Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway, a notch higher than Hugh Jackman and Amanda Siefried. Helena Bonham Carter is as usual brilliant in her delightful little cameo while Samantha Banks is just about adequate but Eddie Redmayne a clear misfit. Les Miserables is for niche audiences, so catch it when you can and preferably in the first week.
|
|
A broken dream THE Big Bad Apple as New York is often referred to is one of Hollywood's most common subjects but the stories woven around it are not always interesting. In Broken City it is just the opposite as the election for the city's mayor takes the centre-stage.
The present incumbent is Nick Hostellter (Russell Crowe) and Jack Valliant (Barry Pepper), the one aspiring to replace him. Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) is a sort of private eye hired by the mayor to shadow his wife Catherine (Catherine Zeta-Jones) whose fidelity is suspect.
Maybe the best part of the film is the debate between the mayoral contestants. But even that is not worth plodding through this mindless entertainer. Despite the banality of the story both Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe do a good job. Catherine Zeta-Jones has precious little to do but comes second best to Natalie Barrow in the oomph department.  |
||
|
Movies on tv
Saturday january 19 Cowboys & Aliens HBO 9:00PM ZEE CINEMA 7:15AM Officer 10:40AM Viewers Choice 2:10PM Bulandi 5:35PM Toofan 9:00PM Nayak STAR GOLD 8:25AM Garv: Pride and Honour 11:45AM Krrish 3:35PM Ek Hi Raasta: The Power 5:55PM Masti 9:00PM Dammu 11:40PM Police Force ZEE STUDIO 8:00AM The Hand that Rocks the Cradle 10:20AM Sleepless in Seattle 12:30PM Guthy Renker 1:00PM Redbelt 2:55PM Confessions of a Shopaholic 5:40PM National Treasure 8:20PM Anger Management 10:30PM The Chronicles of Riddick SET MAX 7:45AM Crook 10:45AM Partner 2:00PM Hadh Kar Di Aapne 5:10PM Robot 9:00PM Singam: The Fighterman STAR MOVIES 8:36AM The Front Row with Anupama Chopra 9:06AM Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl 11:56AM Spider Man 2 2:05PM You Don't Mess with the Zohan 4:18PM Immortals 6:45PM Eragon 9:00PM John Carter 11:48PM The Darkest Hour HBO 8:55AM Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster 10:30AM She's the Man 12:30PM Kung Fu Panda 2 2:15PM Tropic Thunder 4:20PM Ocean's Twelve 6:45PM How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days 9:00PM Cowboys & Aliens 11:40PM Johnny English Reborn Sunday january 20 Ferrari Ki Sawaari STAR GOLD 12:00PM ZEE CINEMA 7:15AM Tu Hi Durga Tu Hi Kaali 10:10AM God Tussi Great Ho 1:30PM Hum Aapke Hain Kaun...! 5:45PM Taarzan: The Wonder Car 9:00PM Vishwatma STAR GOLD 9:50AM Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii 12:00PM Ferrari Ki Sawaari 3:05PM Diljale 5:55PM Billu 9:00PM Ek Tha Soldier SET MAX 7:00AM Suhaag 10:45AM Amar Akbar Anthony 2:30PM Lok Parlok 5:40PM Rowdy Rathore 9:00PM Ek Tha Tiger STAR MOVIES 6:04AM Big Daddy 7:37AM City Hunter 9:53AM Hitman 12:19PM John Carter 2:38PM Fantastic Four 4:53PM The Darkest Hour 6:11PM Johnny English 9:00PM Titanic SONY PIX 7:40AM Open Season 2 9:10AM Daddy Day Camp 10:50AM Monsters Vs. Aliens 12:40PM Universal Soldier 2:35PM Aeon Flux 4:25PM War of the Worlds 6:45PM Days of Thunder 9:00PM Agent Cody Banks 11:15PM G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra HBO 6:40AM You've Got Mail 9:10AM Peter Pan 11:30AM Gamer 1:00PM Cowboys & Aliens 3:35PM Johnny English Reborn 5:45PM Cobra 7:15PM The Grudge 9:00PM I Am Legend 11:00PM Source Code
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Till interval the engaging pace at which the movie moves as it juxtaposes diverse points of view of not only the lead characters but also of other employees of the office it does build up a credible plot if not an intriguing sexual conspiracy. Post interval the narrative also attempts to dig into the predicament of women who dare bring out such issues in the public eye. 
The music by Claude-Michel Schonberg is catchy and the songs are performed by the actors themselves with Anne Hathaway doing a great job with the opening number On My Own. But the last quarter is somewhat contrived and spoils the overall effect.
This story is heavily biased as everyone is sleeping with someone else's wife. It is loosely put together thanks to a weak script by Brian Tucker and director Allen Hughes doesn't do much to improve it. The clues come too easily. More follow and mayor Hostelter takes credit for bringing a broken city back to life. Not unexpectedly cinematographer Ben Seresin freaks out on the familiar skyline.
Cowboys & Aliens is a 2011 American science fiction directed by Jon Favreau and starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde. The film is based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. It is a story about a spaceship that arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys and natives stand in the way of aliens.
A little boy, Kayo (Ritvik Sahore) thinks of nothing but playing cricket. His father, Rusy (Sharman Joshi), thinks of nothing but his little boy. To fulfill his son's dream of playing at the Lord's Cricket Ground, the honest and upright Rusy performs his first small act of dishonesty: he borrows a gleaming red Ferrari for one hour. A wild, breathless, bumpy ride begins then. Ferrari Ki Sawaari is a story of small guys and their big dreams, and how one night changes their lives forever.