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A blow to 'Inspector Raj’ Rahul comes calling |
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Modi's high stake strategy
Examining sound-spelling behaviour
Loose connection No horror, no show A strong statement Trip to nowhere
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A blow to 'Inspector Raj’ In
a relief to companies tired of “Inspector Raj”, Prime Minister Modi has streamlined official raids and reduced paper work. Companies will now have to fill a single form online for labour laws compliance. “Fifty types of department chase them, 50 types of form have to be filled in”, he said on Thursday. Inspectors, numbering 1,800, have lost their discretionary powers. They can no longer decide the timing of a raid or the factory to raid. Based on available data and given criteria, a computerised system will select Inspectors and companies for inspection and the report will have to be uploaded in 72 hours. There is a danger of such a system in which inspections are centralised and orders for inspection come from above being in violation of the ILO's labour inspection convention to which India is a signatory. An element of surprise and a check on external pressure have to be ensured. Having interacted with industrialists for long as the Gujarat Chief Minister, Modi has a first-hand knowledge of problems industry faces: complicated procedures, multiple laws, official harassment and red tape. If manufacturing is to pick up and foreign investment to flow in, he will have to simplify business and employment rules. By launching a provident fund number portability that allows a worker to retain his Aadhaar-linked PF number throughout his professional career, the Modi government has also removed a major irritant for PF contributors. A sum of Rs 27,000 crore lies unclaimed in PF accounts. A universal number will help a deceased worker's heir to claim his dues like cash left in a bank. Modi, however, is taking a big political risk by trying to make hiring and firing easier. The government plans to amend labour laws to achieve this objective. The previous UPA government had left the issue untouched fearing a backlash from trade unions. Currently companies, and even government departments, hire contract staff or outsource manpower requirements to bypass labour laws. However, only 8 per cent workers have formal jobs and the rest work in the unorganised sector where working conditions are pathetic and require government attention.
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Rahul comes calling Rahul
Gandhi visited Chandigarh on Thursday; somewhat stirred the already shaken Punjab Congress by the words he spoke and some that he did not; and left. This is what has been happening in the Congress across the country. No one seems to know who is in charge where, and what their goal is. The campaigning for the Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra saw very few appearances by the top leadership. Whether this was by design or for lack of interest, either way it shows there is something seriously wrong. No battle can be won without a fight. The party leadership has been torn between introducing internal democracy and the pressure from the old guard to carry on with the ‘high command’ culture. Rahul could do little before the elections for the fear they would lose. Now there is nothing to be lost; the party has hit rock bottom. It is time for decisive action, ruthless if need be. Let those who want to be party spoilers do their bit; there is time till the next big elections, especially in Punjab, to rebuild the Congress. Before that, Rahul has to decide what he and the party stand for - a liberal democratic organisation or a centrally controlled force. Action against Shashi Tharoor made it look a bit authoritarian and lacking in confidence vis-a-vis the
BJP. Why should it be so allergic to an innocuous appreciation of the government? Punjab is a prime example of drift. Having lost an Assembly election despite heavy anti-incumbency, and then the Lok Sabha polls in which new entrant AAP grabbed what could have been the Congress' for the picking, the party is none the wiser for it. Rahul stated the obvious: They will lose again if they fail to unite. What he failed to see is that action, not advice, is needed from him. At the moment, the BJP is playing the role of Opposition in Punjab more than the Congress. If it gets an urge to form the next government independently it should not be a surprise.
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Thought for the Day
Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that's no reason not to give it.
—Agatha Christie
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THE Bengalee understands, our Calcutta correspondent wires, that Mr. Bhupendra Nath Basu has been elected President of the next session of the Indian National Congress to be held in Madras. The result of the election, so far as the Punjab is concerned, is a disappointment. For 28 years the Congress has been holding its annual sittings in different provinces, and while every one of the provinces claiming seniority has had the honour of furnishing a number of Presidents, it is matter for regret that the Punjab alone should be kept out by the more insistent claims of the other Provinces. Apart from the aspect of the case, the selection of Mr. Bhupendra Nath Basu is in every way unexceptionable. He is undoubtedly a trusted and tried leader in whose soundness of judgment and staunch advocacy of the national cause in the country has full and unabated confidence. We deeply regret that the Punjab has once more been grievously disappointed, we have nothing but commendation for Mr. Basu's selection in itself. Malaria and well-water
IT will be remembered that in Bombay city there was a conflict of opinion between the people and the scientists in the matter of malaria preventive measures. The latter adopted the policy of preventing the people from using well water and wells were being closed as far as possible. Partly owing to long-standing custom and partly to the insufficiency of municipal water supply, the campaign against wells had caused practical and real difficulty to the people. A monster petition was, therefore, prepared and submitted by 50,000 signatories urging the inexpediency of continuing the policy of closing the wells until an adequate supply of water from municipal agency was ensured.
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Modi's high stake strategy In his whirlwind innings of the first months in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown that he makes his own rules as he goes along. They are, in essence, a mix of good theatre, self-interest and a propensity to place his Bharatiya Janata Party's interests above other considerations. In a similar vein, the Prime Minister gave two of the major portfolios, Finance and Defence, to one person, competent as he is, who needed a breather to present his initial budget and has had hospital stints since then. Perhaps he is seeking to prove the point that he, rather than any of his ministers, runs the show. More recently, Mr Modi has shown that he does not respect norms in becoming the prime campaigner for his party in electioneering in the state assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, hardly a role for the country’s Prime Minister. Such electioneering coincided with a particularly intense phase of cross-border firing along the Indo-Pakistani border. He remained undeterred and continued with his campaigning even as civilian lives were lost. Apparently, he felt that the BJP’s victory in these two Opposition-ruled states, particularly in Maharashtra, would strengthen his hands at the Centre and hence had priority over other national affairs. To suggest that Mr Modi is aspiring towards a presidential form of government is irrelevant because, as Indira Gandhi had shown during the peak of her power, a parliamentary system can be subverted through the simple expedient of gathering power and imprinting upon Cabinet members and the country who the boss is. Indeed, it would appear that Mr Modi is fully utilising his initial grace period to gather as much power in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as he can. He has a majority in the Lower House and is seeking his party’s weaknesses in the Upper House to win as many states as possible eventually to tilt the balance. At the same time, Mr Modi has caused a flutter in the opposition camp by raising their hackles. Take the instance of slipping in the name of the publicity-seeking MP, Shashi Tharoor, in his list of personalities who can help him in his Clean India campaign. Predictably, the Kerala MP fell for the bait and lost his cachet as a Congress spokesman. The Prime Minister is, of course, working on a wider canvas by appropriating Congress and national symbols to veer the country away from the consensus the party of Independence, the Congress, had built over many decades of independence and since 1947. In a sense, Mahatma Gandhi was the antithesis of what the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) stands for. But despite having been reared by the RSS and helped by it to rise in the political hierarchy of the BJP, Mr Modi had no compunction in appropriating the Mahatma for his Clean India campaign, denuding his philosophy of his other basic tenets inimical to RSS philosophy. Even more daring has been Mr Modi's attempt to raid India's Independence hero and first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to steal his idea of periodically lecturing schoolchildren on the virtues of life. Logically, it would be difficult to imagine two totally different personalities than Modi and Nehru in their understanding of civilizations and India's place in the universe and the ideals India should follow in advancing the interests of the country. Whether by conviction or expediency, Mr Modi is at the same time willing to pay a price to the RSS family to keep it from rebelling. One sterling example is the patronage being extended to men like Dina Nath Batra and his pseudo-historical exercises in mixing myth with facts to evolve a history regimen that is being promoted in Gujarat schools, to begin with. There is no harm in BJP leaders and Cabinet ministers appearing on television against a backdrop of gods and goddesses, but if the young generation of an entire nation is to be indoctrinated in myths, rather than the past as it was, it would produce a nation of pygmies. Among the many contradictions of Mr Modi's make-up is his zest for the instruments of modern technology in governing and communicating with the public at large. In the last general election, Mr Modi made a paradigm shift in campaigning by how he used technology to advance his cause, leaving his opponents miles behind. And since assuming power, he has sought to harness technology in governance, even by taking over the Congress' Aadhaar scheme after repeatedly denouncing it. It is not unusual for opposition leaders to transform themselves on assuming power. A remarkable aspect of Mr Modi's change has been how daringly he has taken parts of the Congress-built consensus that suit him and his philosophical bent while seeking to change the very essence of such consensus. Perhaps Mr Modi fashions himself after Kautilya, who preached that there was nothing good or bad in advancing the state's interests. The twist in his case appears to be that in asserting the country's interests, Mr Modi has ideals contradictory to the house Nehru, the Mahatma and a host of tall leaders of the Independence movement built over the decades since 1947. How far Mr Modi will achieve his larger goal of replacing national goals by a form of Hindu nationalism mixed with traditional doses of RSS myths remains to be seen. The Prime Minister is still in his honeymoon period and has room for manoeuvre. One hopes his political instincts will warn him of the dangers of tearing the country's inter-ethnic, inter-religious and inter-linguistic ethos.
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Examining sound-spelling behaviour When asked how the nonsense word “ghoti” could sound the same as “fish”, George
“the ‘gh’ is equal to ‘f’ in rouGH “the ‘o’ is equal to ‘i’ in wOmen “the ‘ti’ is equal to ‘sh’ in naTIon
English is considered quite a mongrel language, having absorbed extensively from Latin, Greek, French and Germanic languages, along with a few others. Most of them lent it their own system of sounds and spelling, causing inconsistencies in its sound-spelling behaviour. The advent of the printing press in the fifteenth century standardized its orthography but the illogical relationships between the sounds and spellings continue to be a daunting prospect. A discussion follows: 1. She made her debut, careful not to make a faux pas before the connoisseurs of art. Most words of foreign origin following the Roman alphabet, like English, continue to retain their spelling structures and pose difficulties to users in spelling them on the basis of pronunciation. Not having seen them in print before, it is hard to guess that “debut” comes with a “-t”, “faux pas” with an “-x” and an “-s” and “connoisseurs” with a pair of double consonants “-nn-” and “-ss-”, not with single ones. 2. The farmer went out to sow the seeds while his wife decided to sew his clothes. The two words “sow” and “sew” are identical in pronunciation but differ in spelling, as evident. English has numerous pairs of similar homophones: “horse, hoarse”, “mare, mayor”, “suite, sweet” and “hymn, him”. The words in each pair share the same sounds but maintain distinct semantic identities. In speech, they are interpreted by the context of use. 3. It was hard to believe John Smith was to receive the coveted prize. Those studying English learn a rhyme in school: i before e, except after c, as in “believe” and “receive”. The vowel sound <i:> has many other spelling realizations, visible in “he, meet, ski, amoeba, eat, key, quay and people”. The words given here are short and their spellings easy to remember. But when it comes to longer words, such an array of letters available for a definite vowel sound can be puzzling. 4. Swati could manoeuvre/ maneuver the dialogue/ dialog on jewellery/ jewelery in her favour/ favor. Here, British spellings are followed by American spellings. The pairs of words above illustrate how the two major varieties of English have minor spelling differences in respect to certain words. English is marked with redundant letters. Just as the word “colour” loses “-u-” in “color” and “programme” its “-me” in “program” in American English, the words “manoeuvre, dialogue, jewellery” and “favour” too shed a few letters in this variety because they don’t add to the sound structure of those words. Patterns emerge, as in “color, humor, labor” but not without exceptions like “glamour”. The latest invasion faced by English orthography is from the texting culture in digital technology where words get compressed even beyond recognition. Users must conform to the standard spelling system restricting themselves to one convention at a time; British or American.
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Loose connection Big
fish eats small fish and a shark gobbles it all. In the new age of business, big corporations are those sharks ready to decimate all competition. On this premise is based Sonali Cable, which has at its heart a significant topical concern and a love story too. Prime focus, of course, is on this small broadband provider run by who else but a feisty gal, Sonali Dattaram Tande (Rhea Chakraborty). She bucks the trend and refuses to let big business swallow her enterprise. And keeping her company are a bunch of young enthusiasts, most importantly Sada (Raghav Juyal), who believes even a small ant can make an elephant go crazy. In her support group is also her childhood sweetheart Raghu (Ali Fazal), who happens to be wily politician Meena tai's (Smita Jaykar) son. Does that help? Yes and no, since mommy dearest has bigger and better dreams for her son. In a nutshell, it's not easy even for a tough gal like Sonali to take on the might of the elephant. In this case he comes in the shape of a caricature of a tycoon Waghle (Anupam Kher) with an ear bud perpetually stuck in his ears. This khakhra-munching lord and master of Shining, a conglomerate, has designs to control akha Mumbai. Expectedly, their paths are bound to cross. To some extent Sonali Cable does up the ante and does raise the bar of expectations as well as conceptualisation as it tries to pitch forth the plight of small businesses, which are increasingly under the threat from big players. Indeed, the issue at hand is a serious one and one that deserves serious attention. So, only expected that a film can at best flag it and not find a realistic solution. But, in its bid to make the underdog win, the narrative turns far too simplistic. Never mind Sonali Cable's claim, 'we never go offline', the film goes online and offline literally as well as metaphorically. Certainly the film has some realistic portrayals as well as some decent performances, including that of the lead pair, as also of Smita Jaykar and Raghav Juyal. Lyricist and singer Swanand Kirkire as the alcoholic father stands out. But in the absence of any transformative or moving moments, the film is encumbered further by a host of subplots. Too much unwanted detailing like the heroine's background (of a mother who eloped) derails the otherwise refreshing and interesting storyline. And, as is the wont of many zara hat ke films this one too loses its steam, far sooner than you expect. The moot question — should you or shouldn't you hook on to this cable? Well, it certainly won't keep you hooked, but can make for time-pass if not a paisa-wasool watch.
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No horror, no show The story is being narrated by Vlad's son. Currently Turkish leader Mehmad II (Dominic Cooper) has been sent to hire a thousand boys to fight. Director Gary Shore orchestrates the battle scenes like any Roman historical movie such as Ben-Hur or Quo Vadis. Dracula's pretty wife Mirena (Sarah Gudon) is forced to take a backseat in this action-packed drama. It may be giving Dracula a modern image, but Dracula without horror is no Dracula at all.
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A strong statement The
Judge is an intense legal drama that is brought vividly to life with all its foibles, love-hate relationships but has at its core a torrid relationship between father and son.
The lead roles are played by two brilliant actors, one in his prime and the other in his twilight. Robert Downey Jr is Henry 'Hank' Palmer and Robert Duvall is Judge Joseph 'Joe' Palmer of the title. Our story begins with brilliant lawyer Hank asking for postponement of his case in Chicago to attend the funeral of his mother in Carmville, Indiana. He and his dad just cannot get along. Once in small town Carmville, he is reunited with his rather diverse brothers, the 'slow' Dale (Jeremy Strong) and Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), once an excellent baseball player forced to give up due to an accident. The condolence dinner is held in a restaurant owned by his childhood girlfriend Samantha Powell (Vera Farmiga). That she has a teenage daughter Carla (Leighton Messler) makes Hank wonder if she is his child. Then there's Hank's daughter Lauren (Emma Tramblay) as she is closer to her dad than her divorce-seeking mother; However, human ties take a backseat as old man Joe is booked for a hit-and-run case. Hank decides to defend his dad and is backed by an alcoholic Dickham (Billy Bob Thornton), who makes it a ritual of throwing up before entering court. Director David Dobkin does an excellent job and is aided by an imaginative screenplay that keeps the viewer engrossed right through. James Kamkinski's camera caresses and Hank cycling in the country-side is a soothing relief. Both the Roberts match each other frame for frame, but Duval takes me five decades back when he made his debut as Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. Vera Farmiga is her usual excellent self and Vincent D'Onofrio, Billy Bob Thornton and Jeremy Strong also shine in this superb, not-to-be-missed human drama.
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Trip to nowhere Director-producer Hemant Madhukar's debut 3D horror film boasts of a budget bigger than any other desi horror film has seen before. But there's not much to show for it. Supported financially by a travel portal, this film takes the road to horror quite diabolically — unfortunately the crudeness involved in the telling makes it not much of a show.
A road movie of sorts, everything happens in one night between the 125 km stretch of the Pune-Mumbai highway when a group of youngsters (all friends) are traversing on their way to an exclusive new year's night party in Mumbai. The five friends — Prem, Vivek, Aashika, Diya and Jaks — have actually won free entries to the event and are pretty much looking forward to a fantastic time. But the road they travel is littered with demons and deceit. And since they make the trip at night, it's bound to be dark and pretentiously scary en route.
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& PICTURES 10:58AM Aar Paar: Judgement Day 1:41PM Karma 5:04PM 36 China Town 8:00PM Mahabharat 10:37PM Kambakkht Ishq CINEMA TV 7:00AM Race 11:30AM Bewafaa 4:30PM Blackmail 8:55PM Special 26 HBO 10:35AM The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 1:59PM The Hunger Games 4:49PM 30 Days of Night 6:54PM The Smurfs 9:00PM World War Z 11:22PM War of the Worlds INDIA TALKES 6:00AM Mahanadi 9:30AM Jyoti 1:00PM Purana Mandir 4:30PM Honhaar Bachchey 8:00PM Jagir MOVIES OK 10:25AM Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani 1:35PM Housefull 2 4:55PM Humshakals 8:00PM Betting Raja STAR GOLD 5:15AM Biwi Ho To Aisi 7:55AM Don 10:55AM Garv: Pride and Honour 12:25PM Dabangg 9:00PM Singham STAR
MOVIES 12:00PM The Amazing Spider-Man 2:30PM Fast & Furious 6 5:00PM Rambo III 7:00PM Bean 9:00PM AVP: Alien vs. Predator
& PICTURES 9:33AM Masti Express 12:00PM Men in Black II 1:52PM Mujhse Shaadi Karogi 5:11PM Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi 7:59PM Taarzan: The Wonder Car 11:03PM Deewane Huye Pagal CINEMA TV 7:00AM Sangharsh aur Vijay 11:30AM Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 4:30PM Shoot on Sight 8:55PM Jaal: The Trap HBO 6:00AM Jack Reacher 10:40AM World War Z 1:00PM Pacific Rim 3:38PM The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 7:02PM Kill Bill: Vol. 1 9:00PM Pacific Rim INDIA TALKIES 9:30AM Jagir 1:00PM Mahakaal 4:30PM Black Commando 8:00PM Dharam Ki Jung MOVIES OK 8:55AM Hello Brother 11:40AM Ra.One 2:55PM D-War: Dragon Wars 4:30PM Dostana 8:00PM Mar Mitenge 10:50PM Mard Ki Zaban STAR GOLD 7:15AM Main Balwaan 9:35AM Agneepath 1:10PM Indian 4:15PM Dabangg 2 9:00PM Singham Returns STAR MOVIES 6:30AM Bolt 10:30AM Fast & Furious 6 1:30PM Thor 2: The Dark World 3:30PM The Amazing Spider-Man 6:30PM The Wolverine 9:00PM Thor 2: The Dark World 11:30PM Jurassic Park
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In some instances, it would seem, Mr Modi is poking his critics in the eye to tell them that he is strong enough to discard conventions and conventional wisdom. Initially, he showed his contempt for the intellectual classes by appointing a school leaver to look after the country’s highest institutions of learning.
Bernard Shaw explained: 
And what ensues is animosity and rivalry that begins with conniving schemes, manipulations, political compulsions and stretches on to some blood being spilled. Then there is a build-up to the final moment of victory. Whose… now, now do we need to spell it out?
As
The cameos are well-fleshed. But the core of the story is the father-son, explosive, relationship because the father never wants to accept that 'the child is father of the man'. 
Weird encounters on the highway try to add bite to the piteously engineered contretemps and the follow-up of gruesome murders that eliminate them one by one and make the entire spiel predictable and unsurprising. Veena Malik has a bikini scene, which could be the sole selling point of the film. Otherwise, there's very little to be had in this tacky attempt to feature a ghost out to wreak revenge on the people who killed her and her family by means of a rash road encounter. Shabbily crafted, poorly enacted, with little attempt to create credible chills or scares, this one plays it by rote, largely. And the experience is not pretty —in spite of the high production cost claimed.
Saturday October 18
Sunday October 19