Dicing & Splitting India further & the resulting catastrophe!

I am a big fan of Dr. Singh and Chiddu but the crass mind of many a silly politician in India knows no diplomacy or decency. We all know that our parliament has an almost 70% of such jokers. Who sadly do wield tremendous vote banks of ignorant and poor masses that can steer up a real ruckus that no decent Indian in public life can easily handle BUT cave in to the hysteria?


Venom # 1: Ajit Singh (former Charan Sing's son), who wants Harit Pradesh carved out of UP

Venom # 2: The Haryana gang of Chautala & Sons may need another

Venom # 3: The North Eastern States low lying despots

Venom # 4: Other UP, MP and Bihar despots

Venom # 5: Mulyam and Laloo may also want their share of the pie for them and their sons and progeny.

If hunger strike until death works for a "K. Chandrashekar Rao from AP & in the bargain can reap Telengana for himself" then it will work for us too, they are likely to think and rally a band to sit at the gates of Parliament and hunger away.....NO matter what ever justifications may be righfully advanced for this new State of Being and its coming into existence!  Its a signal that will launch countless more demands on similar lines and newer justifications still!

Please pause for a moment and think about the fissures and fractures this can cause to the unity of India.

Some fools say: USA has 50 States lets have 50 too!  How idiotic to think like that!  What do the people who say this know any thing beyond the 25  to 30 miles of the radius of their peanut brains???

Forming a State is that easy right?  All it takes is a hunger strike by a prominent leader and the Nation's government will come on its knees!!!

Growing up in India, even though I am from Kerala, my parents ALWAYS told me and taught me and my sisters that: "YOU ARE FIRST AN INDIAN before you are a malayalee.  NEVER have parochial tendencies as an Indian.  Respect every language, every religion and every culture and its people within India." 


Venom # 6: Worst of all do you think others of AP will yield to giving away Hyderabad that easily to Telengana???.....the list of madness and its resulting calamities& how it can keep India down could go on ad-infinitum! The founding fathers saw this and that's the reason Indian States were largely carved out on linguistic lines.

What really has gone wrong is: Corrupt minded and self seeking politicians and their money power over ignorant masses coupled with a wacko Indian bureaucracy that needs uprooting and revamping and an archaic system called Parliamentary democracy (that when misused & hijacked) always fails and can fracture development. Which as you and I will agree is most important in India. DEVELOPMENT at various levels.

SO BE AFRAID! INFACT you and I and all of right thinking Indians and Indians worldwide need to be very afraid of what a bunch of fools can do to paralyze India by way of agitations, mass hysteria and passions running wild. Can you imagine the calamities.......and financial costs.....I do not want to go there.

YES none of it has happened so far. But it could....that's what I wrote about and it’s just a serious opinion.

So do not "pooh, pooh" the matter that simply, my friend.

I know my blog is hard hitting, but analyze it carefully and you will realize it’s not "jumping to conclusions".

The potential to foment trouble of the proportions I am talking about: within the Indian Union is scary, no matter how much it may be down played. What also happens is that decent politicians such as Dr. Singh and Chiddu ….like minded folks like us who may not be used to hard bargaining tactics of the crass politician can easily cave in... ...You need a Late Sardar Patel kind of dynamic or a politically savvy mind of the former Sir Chetpat Pattabhirama Ramaswami Iyer, KCSI, KCIE (Tamil: சேத்துப்பட்டு பட்டாபிராம ராமசவாமி அய்யர், Malayalam: ചേത്തുപ്പട്ടു പട്ടാഭിരാമ രാമസ്വാമി അയ്യര്‍) (b. November 12, 1879–September 26, 1966), also called "C. P."

NO, I am not calling for the separation of Former Travancore in Kerala as another State....please do not get me wrong. All I am saying is we need a person or persons with the iron will to catch the "Bull by the horn, quell violence and any nonsense" and deal with real issues confronting India......Possible???...... Then I am relieved!


No more Splits and Dicing of India please.

We are a people group and we should think INDIA and Development on all fronts and not let some foolish politicians resort to the easy route of abusing the Father of the Nation by subtle misuse of Gandhigiri, to suit their selfish ends!

Please Bureaucrats and right thinking Politicians of India rally around and STOP the menace of "Indian Batwara"!

We are now becoming a laughing stock on the world arena too!

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1947392,00.html

Is'nt that SAD!

The Pulverization & Decimation of India: not from outside BUT sadly from within!

A mad bull has been let loose on Indian terra firma, that's what I infer from the recent demands for new Statehoods growing like a can of worms. Foolishness knows no end!
Self seeking politicians, no good politicians who wield fiefdoms almost like Maharajahs see their great chance to become “Chief Ministers” and a weak central government of Coalitions is confabulated and finds its self increasingly on a sticky wicket.

Will this be the beginning of the end just when India seemed to be a powerful Union and a force in the Sub continent & the world.

Will there ever be a moment when the Nation's people groups collectively resolve to say: “We will never again say “Hum Nahin Sudherenge” ever again???? We need to change and change for the better of man kind and the world!”

SO LETS STOP PLAYING PAROCHIAL, OTHERWISE INDIA WILL BE DECIMATED AND THE WORLD'S FOREMOST BANANA REPUBLIC WOULD BE INDIA AND NOT THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA (AS IS OFTEN REFERRED TO WHEN THE ISSUE OF BANANA REPUBLICS IS DISCUSSED ON FORUMS).

Mahatma Gandhi and India's founding fathers died in vain for India's freedom from the British Raj and what Winston Churchill opposed all along i.e. Indian Independence, seems to be staring at us like a ghost in the wake of seeking deliberate rampant pulverization & decimation by India by its own people some 60+ years after Independence. Where once they shed their blood for the unity of India, some 60 some years later we are watching a spectacle unfold that seems to suggest that India is breaking up????

The neighboring nations are watching, the world is watching and now India looks very vulnerable.

The greatest enemy of India is not a neighboring nation: be it China or Pakistan or a militant Nepal or Sri Lanka. Its its own foolish self seeking politicians and the lack of political will to change the stupid parliamentary Form Of Democracy that Indian politicians continue to enjoy as this present system keeps their coffers full and overflowing.  An empty mind is the Devil's workshop.  That empty mind is that of the reckless & insipid politician of India.   The rotten lot!

The best way out for India is an imposition of a Temporary form of Emergency and then revamp the whole system to a Presidential Form Of Government and rapid development to quell the madness of newer state hoods by resortin to "fast until death" scenarios.  In a land where self imolition is not uncommon (very similar to the Jihadists) this madness will only snowball into a major storm in time to come, if not seriously addressed through an Emergency or another drastic measure by the Legislative Arm of Indian Democracy!

I see this Telengana Virus becoming an epidemic and it has the potential to paralyze India or Bharat or Hindustan as its know.

God save India! Stop the menace of new state hood demands and instead kill ancient archaic bureaucracy and illiteracy and catch the bull by the horn and develop rapidly to change the tide!

DEVELOPMENT with a Capital D of India's infra structure, education, health reforms, annihilation of dying British Raj Style Bureaucracy is the only hope for India and not every day new demands for state hoods by a bunch of bandicoots and irrational politicians!

Wake Up India and Indians and let saner council prevail!  The world needs a United India and not a fractured India or an India that washes its dirty linen in public in the full glare of the world media!  Jai Hind!

Note: I was spurred to write this blog after watching the recent spate of political violence in India, for new statehoods.

Case in point: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/centres-nod-to-telangana-spurs-demand-for-9-new-states/106852-37.html

I love India too much to ever want the title of my blog to ever come true!  May that never be the case!

Thanks for reading folk!  As always your comments are very welcome!

All that glitters is not Gold!

"All that glitters is not Gold!", we know that from Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice'. Its an ancient proverb too! I was reminded of it from recent events over shadowing the world.....Friend, you are welcome to read more in my latest blog below!
Tremors of rampant, mindless distorted Capitalism is leading us into the pitfall of this new vortex & deep abyss springing from the "Affluent Middle Eastern Emirate, which I have termed 'Dubai, LLC'"!

Once again vicariously Capitalism will be faulted though in reality what surfaces is the fact that proprietary questions were never asked or even if they were: by the Lending Institutions and Governements that participated in 'Dubai LLC', the illusions & Blind Faith held precedence over rational thinking on investment policies in this Sheikhdom.....how much more will the mints print.....and to what avail as the blame game does its rounds in the minions of power in 'so called Affluent Capitals"!

This fall out will reveal many matters as plastic smiles will wear thin with the cascading effects of this fall.

It could even shake citadels of power in the Emirate itself as the real loss of wealth will be experienced in this once "Camel to Cadillac" world of illusions and make believe, is forced to come to terms with harsh realities that there is no quick and easy way to Democracy and Institutions and you cannot surely splurge your way to it. It does call for a fair share of blood, sweat and tears.  One only needs to look at the democratic values establised in India and in the West to guage that truth.

To my mind (even though I lived in this emirate for 5.5 years of my life in the 90's and benefited from its good times: being an ardent student of Economics, Finance & Auditing, I could not help wondering then and now) will all that Glitters be Gold ??? .....and if it does perenially then its not in Las Vegas but its in Dubai.  Las Vegas is what it is.  There is no pretence about it.  But Dubai is almost a nation in itself even though its really one of the Seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Well those words which I thought in the innards of my mind are coming true and establishing what the original ancient maxim always stated: "All that glitters is not gold".

Some of you may read my blog and think I am a sadist.  NO!  I do feel for many friends who are living there and are enduring all this innocently.  My heart goes out to them just the same way I am  experiencing here in the US with the recession and its own rigmarole. 

Dubai does not have the safety net the Institutions of the US offer its residents and Citizens.

Its a giant LLC (Limited Liability Company) and what an LLC is.  I would not call it "Dubai Incorporated" or Dubai, Inc.  Its Dubai, LLC and the months and years to follow may perhaps justify that reality.  Unless some friendly emirate or Nation comes to its rescue. 

Then again in these times even Nations have only fair weather friends......I sincerely hope that is not the case, 'cause the risk and stakes are very high and the touted 59 billion soverign debt is not likely to be the actual ipso facto of the whole real story either!

From today I believe the blog site that I named "We are 'Like this only'" extends not just to India and the SAARC region but to the World as well.  Especially in the light of this new blog posting.  Accordingly I changed the general note to all my blogs to say "my spontaneous world views..."

Thanks for taking time to peruse this blog.  As always, please feel welcome to comment.  Irrespective of whether you agree or disagree with my views.

The above blog was prompted by the article in the link below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/business/global/28dubai.html

XXX-XXX

The Significance of an Entity's Name

Note: Some of my clients have been laboring over their new Company Name. I always tell them to get their name right for many reasons. I am sharing below views expressed by other professionals too on the Significance of a Name and I have compiled this material from segments of articles authored by others for the benefit of my clients and also to help me conserve energy as I can just point them to my blog instead and hope they get it right! :-)

Significance of the Name of any Business!
(be it a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Non Profit or an Incorporated Entity)

Considering the importance of a good business name, it is amazing how little
time and effort many business people put into choosing their company’s name. This lack
of forethought and planning in choosing a business identity is akin to building a home
before checking to see if it is in a flood zone: At least, with the home, local governments
have developed laws to protect homeowners from this foolishness. Spending a little time
and thought about your business name BEFORE building your business may save you a
great expense later on.

Why is Your Name So Important?

Your business name is the first image that your business projects. It is what customers

will remember (good or bad) about your business that will either draw them to it or

send them to a competitors’ business. Assuming your business lasts for many years,

you will have invested a lot of time and money building it. Part of the value of your

business is the name. If you have branded the name, your brand alone might be worth

more than the assets of the business itself. How much are the names: Harley Davidson,

Star Wars, or McDonald’s worth? If McDonald's decided to change its name to Fred's

Burgers, it is obvious that the company would be worth far less than it is now. Why?

Because, McDonald's spent a lot of time and money branding their business name on the

public’s mind. Further, just opening up a McDonald’s restaurant guarantees the

company a minimum amount of revenue because of its name.

What You Should Look For In a Name

So, what should you look for when choosing your business name? Ask yourself the

following 10 questions about your business name:

1.) Is it easy to remember?

2.) Does it tell people what your business does?

3.) Is the meaning confusing?

4.) Is it unique?

5.) Will your business or your market outgrow the business name?

6.) Can it be branded?

7.) Is anyone else using this name?

8.) Is it trademarked?

9.) Can you trademark it?

10.) Can you protect it in other ways?

An effective branding system starts with a great name. Unless you can put a name to
your company that will distinguish it, you cannot proceed with creating a brand. It is
similar to a newborn child, who must first be named before he or she can create their
unique identity. Only then can you proceed with succeeding methods that are aimed at
creating your mark in the market and enabling your business growth.
Creating a Name: Naming a company or brand is not as easy as naming a newborn child.
Indeed, multiple factors come into play such as producing a name with a good recall on
the consumers, the type of product you have in your business, its features and usage, and
other benefits that consumers can experience from using it. That is just one aspect of
what you need to consider when naming your product or brand.
The other end of the formula requires you to envision yourself in the mindset of the
consumers. How is the product useful to me? And what benefits can I get from using it?
Add to that all other competing businesses that offer the same product as you do. These
are all pointers you need to look into if you want to get a share of the market and increase
sales production.

Do's and Don’ts: Creating a business name can be confusing sometimes, either for lack or

excess of ideas that make it difficult filtering them out. Below are a few tips you should

consider when naming a business:

· Opt for memorable and catchy names instead of generic ones that are difficult to

register in the minds of the consumers.

· Never use names that literally describe the product. Go for creative ones.

· If possible, do not use geographical names because it limits the scope of your

business. However, this is an advantage if your product is associated with a given

locale or affinity.

· Refrain from restrictive names to save you from trouble in the future in case you

want to expand your line of business.

· Keep them short so as to produce memorable names.

Name as Part of Branding Strategy: A business name is not just a name; it represents your

business identity. And in the business community, the way you represent and project your

image is crucial in determining success. This is because perceptions, more than the actual

value of the product or services, is essential in helping consumers decide on whether to

buy that product or not. On top of the brand itself, it makes association with the company

and its reputation. That is why most businesses spend and invest most of their efforts on

building a trusted business reputation that will strengthen the trust of consumers on their

company.

Your business name essentially determines how far your company will go in this

endeavor. When people encounter your business or brand, you have only a meager

amount of time to catch their attention. If you fail to do so, then you would have lost a

potential customer. More than just intriguing, a good business name is one that compels

your target market. If you can produce one, then it will surely catapult your business to

your desired commercial success.

A good business name is not just a superficial aspect involved in branding but rather a

legitimate business factor that must be taken into consideration.

As can be envisaged a name is very Significant for a Business. More so in today's realm than ever before!

Thanks for taking time to read and be informed about this important topic and piece of information when you are about to embark on an exciting new business venture. If you are so inclined please also feel welcome to comment on this compilation and the blog!

All the very best in your exciting new and bold venture!

XXX-XXX

Compiled by Koshy P.George, CPA resident of Silicon Valley, CA and includes his own views along with views of other professionals included in other published articles.

http://www.kpgcpa.net/

A good doze of Shashi Tweets is good for Indian Politics!

Shashi Tharoor as 'Minster Of State for External Affairs' (Former UN Under-Secretary General) is one of the best things to happen to Indian Politics, in order to shake up the Citadel Of Silly Immature Politics in India. There are others like him too in the Congress and I consider it a harbinger of good things and a consolidation in time to come in Enriching the Quality Of the sagging Indian Political Landscape.

The new order needs to gather political momentum and the earlier the better.

Go on Shashi keep t...weeting and let the Indian Politicians get used to it and hopefully some will emulate you too.....
The good thing is Prime Minister "Singh is King" and he is backing you in all of the silly controversy raised by goons!

Some of the Indian Joker Politicians behave like kids. I suggest the silly Indian Politician (who makes much ado of nothing) wear diapers and be given a lollipop each until they grow up and behave well. That would mean diapers and lolipos for almost 75% of the: Lok Sabha (US congress) & Rajya Sabha (US senate equivalent)combined....hmmm!

Time has come to clean the augean stables and induct more genuine folks like Shashi into Politics and not let the old crass order win yet another round!

Is the GOP of India: The Congress Party listening???

....& BJP_Bajrang Dal_ RSS Combine's (India's very own KKK) goose is cooking

For all the secularism the BJP touts and talks about they always apparently had another hard liner agenda as was evident during VARUN GANDHI's election campaign earlier this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DloYO-3DirM

That speech a few months back brings back what the 'Indian KKK's' true intent is:

ETHNIC CLEANSING OF INDIAN MINORITIES AND REESTABLISH BJP's OWN BRAND OF HINDU RASHTRA!

What a "heinous thought" was being nurtured & treasured in the hearts and minds of these crazy hardliners in this party ??? that has no genuine secularist principles to boast about except a sham!

A young novice parliamentarian named Varun Gandhi in his stupid egotistical pursuit blurted out BJP's true colours and turned them Red all over! But being election season some months back they were quiet and 'avoided varun'....hmmm!

This Pary produced a sterling personality such as the Former Prime Minister Atal Behjari Vajpayee (a true visionary and a secular human) but that was it! As soon as his grip and era came to a close the hard liners took over.

Thank God India is secular and Indians are the wiser by all the fracas that has unfolded in recent days.

The public should ban such hard liners and even the Shri Ram Sena, Mutalil et al.

Wonder where "Bajrang Bali" their non existing concocted God is and how come he is not coming to their rescue as the BJP house falls apart and "Lanka Burns"!

The Hinduism I grew around is a tolerant and a wise and deep philosophy and I always respect their gurus and saints due to their proposed wisdom and love for peace.

Not the crass & violent kind as is perpetrated by the BJP .....

The last time they made a bold proclamation was during the 1970s' and in unsuccessfully trying to pass the Dreaded & Sinister 'TYAGI BILL' which sought to forcibly reconvert all Christians to their radical brand of Hinduism or be thrown out of the country???

http://christianpersecutionindia.blogspot.com/2008/09/2008-mangalore-church-attacks-divide.html

Mercifully the stupid bill failed and the BJP lost the next election during the '70s'!

Seems the '70s' have not taught the BJP-RSS-BAJRANG DAL to leave the Indian minorities alone.

It is interesting how Varun Gandhi's hate speech started the folding up of the BJP.

I wonder if the BJP will rise up again with that same old constricted vision & charade.

India has changed by leaps and bounds in assimilating itself with the rest of the world while BJP continues to seek 'Ram Rajya' and live in the past by breeding hatred and infesting the world with their hate and crime!

PEOPLE OF INDIA NEED TO SHUN AND BAN THEM! THEY HAVE LOST CREDIBILITY AS A SECULAR POLITICAL PARTY TO LEAD THE INDIAN PEOPLE!

LTTE's Prabhakaran is silenced! & India's KKK & The Commies are humbled..

Very Interesting recent developments half way across the Globe:


1. India's very own Ku Klux Klan (KKK) "The BJP" and the Communist God Haters: "CPI & CPI(M)" were both defeated and humbled at the recently concluded Indian Hustings for the Indian Parliament!

2. Sri Lankan LTTE's Prabhakaran (who master minded Former Indian Prime Minister: Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi's killing 18+ yrs ago) meets the same fate as Saddam Hussein did and India's secular credentials are firmly restored at the recent Elections!

Wow!

That's like a double whammy for those who are: Terrorists, Hate Mongers, Lovers of Old Style Communism in short those against Western Style Governance, Ideas and Concepts for growth and development for the Indian Subcontinent and region!

A major victory for all who stand by Secularism and Democracy!

#3. Let's also hope the old and crass order of politics represented by Lalu, Mulyam, Ram Vilas Paswan, Amar Singh: "The Birth Day Panderer and owner of the Older Brother Younger Brother Legacies" comes to an end and is eradicated from Indian Politics and the Augean Stables are cleaned by the well meaning brigade headed by Rahul Gandhi and his band of merry men and women!

Jai Bharat! Long Live the new winds of change on the Indian Political Horizon!
This is your shining hour to establish yourself and better the Sub Continent Region through a Cleansing of the Political Arena and above all inculcating GOOD & CLEAN GOVERNANCE!

Comment on the Teflon Tribe of India

Hi Suhel,

Right On!

You have hit the nail on the head and the Teflon Tribe is the bed rock of the cess pool of corruption in India! It’s the Giant Black Hole of corruption that pulls in Politicians, Entrepreneurs and the Aaam Admi due to his/her misfortunes.

The tribe loves the system since it breeds the decay and keeps their coffers full.

This tribe knows very well that the jack pot is the old behemoth and archaic ancient administrative system inherited from the British Raj and that no 'Indian in Public Service' or the 'Government in power' has the juice in their ----- to tear it down.

As you have pointed out the fault line in your article it would be nice if you could do a follow up blog on how to tear down the old edifice.

May be people in power and those who can do some thing about it do not know how to shatter it and rebuild all over again.

Please be that guiding light too!

India needs that expertise desperately....the Question for the hour is: "who will bell the cat"? Or should it be rephrased as "who will conquer this Anaconda/Python???"

Regards,

Koshy George
San Jose, CA

Is it the end of Free Market Enterprise!

Some are prone to think that the US is done with and it does not matter any more!

How wrong!

Recently I was prompted to respond to an individual who commented on CNN IBN and those comments are replicated below:

The world is a Global village and boundaries on the lines you are touting have actually dwindled or are on their way out.I highly recommend this book to you:"The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century" an international bestselling book by Thomas L. Friedman.In the context of the understanding gleaned from that book there is no desertion from one's country.Even Adam Smith the Father of Economics or a Samuelson and others never thoughts on those lines about gifts and endowments within people groups of the world.Please do read and appreciate the contents in the light of the matters explained.India and Indians are a major contributory to the World and so has Dr. Mohammed Yunus a Nobel Laureate from Bangla Desh and Ravi Shankar of India and ......and.....and....the list goes on!Where is the questioning of abandoning your country?Since time immemorial the earth belonged to man kind and he/she is welcome to explore and settle where he/she pleases to expand one self.Coming to America, its a land of opportunities and many an Indian has become a Global Indian belonging to all nations of the world due to the abilities enabled by this Great Nation just as India opened its arms to invading armies since centuries back. Many of them did exercise the choice to settle there and make India great! Some decided to go back to their own lands and so be it.America is the land of Free Market Enterprise and breeds its own situations largely determined by Market Conditions and some times determined by the havoc wrought by the people in power, miscalculations and abuse. Such as is the case right now.That does not mean America is to be written off as a has been!Do not make that mistake as you watch events in the world unfolding and prejudge.There are many Indian Americans who love India as deeply as when they first left its shores and they love this new land of their adoption. At no point have they felt ungrateful, I should like to think and embrace.The more we Indians live out our lives on this Global Platform called Earth we should be humble and devoid of religious, caste, creed and we Indians of India alone in its exclusivity thoughts far and far away behind us.I sincerely hope I have been able to help you assimilate and comprehend matters as a fellow Indian.As a Global Indian I plead with you and other Indians with similar dispositions and also people with Mutalik's bent of mind (infamous Mangalorean Taliban) please do not fan parochial flames in the world we live in as you live and breathe the same air 24/7.Try a different tune and see how beautiful the world truly is even with all the negatives abounding! Look to see what you can do to make a positive effect in the world we live in and join the growing tribe of this humanity.

Mangalore & BJPs' fortunes at the 2009 Hustings

The BJP & its Sub Divisions are on a train wreck hurtling down into a ditch, all in one go!

Seems like their goose is already cooking with their nonsensical vituperation on their appalling Mangalore incident interpretations!

The BJP has indeed caught a tiger by the tail by being on the wrong side of Moral Policing and every actor they have put up on the media stage to speak in their defense is becoming a laughing stock and a mockery and a sham.

Thanks for bungling along the way.

Seems like their folks are drunk on Som Ras....keep drinking lots of it until the hustings....please!

Here at this link are some more hilarious moments. This time its their alter ego: "The Taliban minded asli folks" http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ram-sene-no-culture-cops-just-hoodlums/83844-3.html

Is Satyam, PwCs' Nemesis!

What is most ironical is, it seems there were many glaring matters that were staring at the eyes of any Prudent Auditor and prima facie it appears they were callous in not pointing out matters and at least attempting to Qualify their Audit Report on those counts.It seems a Qualification of the Audit Report would have been justified on these counts at least:1. The veracity of the reported figure of number of employees in the company touted at approx 52k!Did PwC not verify this and find it inconsistent?If yes (as is now being reported in the media) how come they issued a clean report?2. Surely the benami transactions must have been reflected on the Balance Sheet under "Loans & Advances".Did the auditors verify these? Did they obtain justifiable documentary evidence and purpose of such loans and interest etc in order for them to not Qualify the Audit Report?After all it is a Balance Sheet Audit as well as Risk Based Auditing and is reasonably expected to render a true and fair view of the Financial Statements?3. Did they sensibly obtain a Letter of Representation on specific issues year-on-year of its audit of this once prestigious client?4. Why is it that Satyam was paying PwC an Audit Fee twice as much as what Infosys and other competitors were paying its External Auditors for such similar audits of those entities, as has been reported in the media?5. Was PwC a party to all this and more in its Audit of Satyam's Books of Account?6. As per Auditing Tenets:a. An Auditor is a watch dog not a blood houndb. Rocks lie beneath, straws float aboveHow come a carefully crafted Risk Based Audit Approach through the process of Observation and Enquiry followed by Substantive Audit Procedures & Adequate Documentation not yield answers to basic issues legitimately meant to be asked by any Prudent Independent Auditor?7. Were PwC as External Auditors ignorant or complicit?OrIs it that there are so many loop holes in the Companies Act and Audit Guidelines operating in India that it is possible to get away with murder and quietly pocket Audit Fees and move on from year to year and continue to generate reams and reams of work papers of no consequence?8. What about Quality Control? In seven years of Audit, was SATYAM never picked up for a Quality Review of working papers and the audit?9. Were Engagement Partners never rotated?10. Were they not aware that this is a Sox client due to its being listed on the NYSE?11. What kind of Sox audit did they perform on Satyam? How SAD if on any one of the above questions raised, PwC was found lacking!!!There seem to be one too many faux paus to a Chartered Accountant and any man of ordinary prudence who knows about Financial Statements & rudiments of Financial Auditing that all this could escape scrutiny during an audit.I say all this based on the suggestions from the emerging media reports on the matters reported so far.The facts and ground realities of the audit and circumstances may be some thing else.Time will tell, for sure.It would be interesting to see how PwC offers its defense to such basic questions about auditing and many more as matters surface! It’s most certainly going to be a rough and long winter for PwC.It is fearful what could happen to one of the Greatest Accounting Firm world wide as it tries to resurface from this awful bad quagmire!Sad it had to happen to PwC! I am very sad! That a few rotten professionals associated with PwC could have tarnished the name of Pricewaterhouse Coopers world wide due to their callousness and highly negligent behavior, if that at all be the case! PwC is no doubt one of the very best Institutions and Firm to work for and to be associated with.I sincerely hope and pray that PwC will be able to come through this difficult chapter and punish and disassociate itself from the erring members of its firm so that it can continue to be one of the Best and Leading Accounting Firms there is, world wide!I hope ICAI will not have reason enough to black list the firm due to a few irresponsible members of this venerable Giant and a Great Auditing firm.I still remain a sincere well wisher of PwC despite all of these tragic finger pointing that is happening to PwC from various quarters almost on a daily basis.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi

Shah Mahmood Qureshi is one of the craftiest double edged swords in the world of Diplomacy, if he has indeed made such sweeping statements and utterances!He has managed to expose Pakistan as a "Genuine Fair Weather Friend" of the US.How sad?Such statements have exposed to the world what the shell nation of Pakistan is all about and leaves no doubt in any one's mind what it can do as a Sinister Rogue Nation!It has the cheek to attempt to openly Black Mail the US, just because of a change of leadership in the US!Let him know and understand that Every American President is a Patriot and if Pak tries any fancy stuff or another it will be weeping very soon.Imagine Pakistan (a nation whose coffers are truly empty and living out each day on dole) has the guts to Saber rattle the US and India?If the media reports are accurate this is indeed Very Interesting! Indian Government keep up your pressure on this your Western Neighbor, the tactics employed by the Honorable Shri Pranab Mukherjee and his team are working well to win India much deserved credibility in its fight against International Terrorism of which Pak Officialdom is the principal perpetrator!Jai Hind!

Pak's Querishi

If you notice the face of the Pak Foreign Minister depicted you can almost read what he is thinking!I tell you he is flustered at India's recent success and guts in International Diplomacy, which is driving him insane and nuts almost to the edge of a precipice to make silly statements that even China will not take seriously! Coming from him!Its all his own and Pak’s wishful thinking I should like to think that they have China to buddy up to!The rate at which they are committing international faux paus these days pretty soon they will become a liability for any Nation they desire or choose to be associated with!I should like to postulate pretty soon this man is going to start singing/crying n front of the media......& perhaps a camera man may catch him scratching his head wondering what he can ever say to get on the right side of things....don't you think?May be he will start singing: "Ba, Ba, Black Sheep, have you any....."It’s sad to note that within a year plus since the assassination of a Great Leader: The Late Benazir Bhutto, this “Nation” called Pakistan has flip flopped in so many different ways that it does not know which way to turn! A bungling President and PM and now a bungling Bureaucracy! Wonder when ISI will do a cart wheel and have a humpty dumpty fall…..soon I should like to think!In retrospect I am reminded of what India’s NSA (Mr. M.K. Narayanan) told Karan Thapar of CNN-IBN during an interview some time back:“General Pervez Musharraf at the helm of affairs in Pakistan was better for India”.I wonder if the people of Pakistan will ever reap the benefits of a Genuine Democracy!

Malegon Blast ATS Report

Its a relief that this report made it to the light of day with out much delay!Sadly the haters of Mahatma Gandhi: the Father who fought for a Secular India, took umbarage & shelter within the BJP sub divisions and engaged external merceneries to carry out such dastardly plans infiltrating the Army and bright young minds.Glad this dragnet got exposed!Now India has to watch out for Nepal too.....Terrorism truly knows no limits nor can it be defined only as an Islamic exclusivity!Hats of to a Hemant Karkare and the Maharashtra ATS for relentlessly pursuing these evil people.His death and loss though sad was not in vain!All those Brave Hearts of ATS who died on 26/11 does every Secular India the Globe over, Proud!Saluting you,Sincerely

Is Sanjay Dutt a Politician in the making?

AN OPEN LETTER TO SANJAY DUTTDear Sanjay,Easier said than done, Bro'!You are indeed brave and venturesome!Kudos for that, hope its not just a flare that will die out before the year is out....You have a good heart but the idea of Obama and Obama-mania calls for much, much more. You also need to understand Governance and cannot afford to be impulsive....I am not discouraging you but PLEASE do not try to short cut your way to it by hoping to strategize it with a Munna Bhai & Circuit and Cronies style to get to your real life Political Goal. Catch phrases such as "Jaddu Ki Jhappi" etc will only put you in Sarah Palin mould and not Obama Mould. Reel Life is not REAL Life...ask California "Governator": Arnold, he will tell you!Suggestion: Perhaps Arnold may be a better choice to model after and an appointment with him may be worth it than a sitting with Obama. It may be more believable and realistic as well as transformational and achievable in Indian Politics given your personality type.Not all politicians have to be in Obama mode to change the world. We need Arnolds too...You also need the likes of a Rahm Emmanuel, David Axel Rods and David Plouffe type characters to believe in you for starters....to make Obama-mania and Indian Mania.I would like to think some in the Indian Political System have been slaving away at Obama style and approach silently and steadily and are several miles ahead in the race and are already on a trajectory. They envisioned and caught the Obama fever much earlier. They have a groundswell of support in India among the poor and the masses and are well on their way and believable. The faces of Obama Style may come to light and to the world from the election process of 2009 itself? At the moment such folks prefer to remain incognito and be a silent worker, even avoiding giving media interviews. All this is good signs. The best leaders are carved in obscurity. You should care not to be impulsive. My advice is keep natural tendencies at impulsiveness far from you. Its one of your known threats & weakness to succeed in Politics and those who have an axe to grind and are close to you right now in politics are exploiting it to seek their own self serving ends. So do not become a Bush Style Politician without your realizing it you are walking on that path by being impulsive.There are several rising Obama style stars in the Political Parties you unfortunately chose to ignore in your Political Plunge....do you know the persons I am referring to....Take some Guesses!These persons may not have an Obama like credential but are gradually and steadily chipping away at that style and are finding success in casting it into a Indian Grass Root Mode and are winning accolades as well as brick bats.Yes such individuala are getting ridiculed, called a 35 %, a fool, ignorant etc, etc, etc but they are silently chugging away with their heads kept down and working hard. Actually all the negatives hurled at them are good signs as they trudge along on their own "Dandi March" across the Nation and are always self evaluating and improvising based on valuable critisism!Pretty soon the Political Landscape in India will change and change for the better. The Aya Rams and Gaya Ram days of the old are getting obliterated what with 26/11 and Malegaon helping the cause. A new band on Smart Indian Politicians is on the Anvil. I can feel it in the air and I am Jubilant about that prospect and REAL CHANGE in years to come!Don't get me wrong....I think you are a great guy and very personable. Indeed I wish you well in your new venture but....not an Obama Model Wish at the moment BUT surely an Arnold Model wish into Indian Politics!Jai Hind!

Will it be a BJP led coalition again in 2009?

Dear Editors of CNN IBN,This video is appalling!!! We Indians take up issue with Taliban and fundamentalist Islamic folks.What is happening and what can happen under the banner of BJP and its various sub-divisional entities is equally harmful to the Nation's Secular identity.In India any thing is possible at the elections and given that reality I think even if the BJP or its NDA alliance or if it happens to be a newer Alliance they need to take a swift stance and the attitude should be reflected in their Manifesto namely,1. "WE WILL NOT HAVE Sushma Swaraj and her brand of Hindutava's imposition on the secular folks of the Country."She may have an eye on the Minister of Information & Broadcasting Ministry and would surely issue gag orders to the freedom of the press etc if the BJP were to get a sweeping victory at the polls. Again I say this 'cause any thing is possible.2. Lets hope for the very best that the BJP will be sensible this time around by distancing polarizing people in their government should it so happen that they are the ones to rule India for the next Five years...3. I am expecting to hear very soon that the "Moral Police" who beat up the youngsters in Mangalore were "disguised congress and UPA elements".4. The BJP is seriously providing a lot of fodder for the people of India to consider at this coming elections and causing us to take a long, hard and deep look at them! I wonder if the Secular forces within the BJP want that, what with their sub divisions active in Malegaon, Burning & overseeing the gang rape and killing of a Nun in Orissa: Kandhamal, regular atrocities being committed on Christians in India, all over and many other known and tangible episodes.PLEASE PLEASE do not start blaming the UPA and all that dear BJP and FIX your party instead. 'Cause this is India and it is a known fact that you do wield undue influence over the polity and most likely you will come to power whether it is a digestable reality or not.Nevertheless if you do come to power please pretend to be Genuinely Secular for the Next Five years and put your best foot forward (I am assuming that that BJP foot would be the secular foot....) In the midst of all this many a Secular Indian wants to bash up Rahul Gandhi and other youngsters in Politics who happen to be politically connected and are in Politics but surely they would not perpetrate such heinous and dastardly acts as narrated above and bring down the country's image in this manner??? At least the Congress and the UPA are secular!Sincerely,Sd/-[A Secular Indian appalled by all that is seemingly possible in the Land celebrating its Republic Day!]Will we ever change 'We ARE "LIKE THIS ONLY"'! and "Hum Nahi Sudharna Chahate Hein!"

"We are 'LIKE THIS ONLY'!” & “Hum Nahin Sudharna Chahte hein!”

People from the Indian subcontinent will instantaneously assimilate the sense behind both expressions in the Title Phrase....and how deep set it is and runs in the fabric of the Society in the many people groups from the SAARC region (Member Countries are: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh) in varying degrees, to the detriment of progress in all spheres of activity in the region and extending to the world as well.

After all "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century” (by Thomas Friedman ISBN 0-374-29288-4), which is true and any symptoms in a region of the world have global implications, like it or not!

Often times we say "We are Like This Only! Or Hum Nahin.." and laugh about it and move on...but I like to stop and think there is a deeper systemic problem we are ignoring in that phrase and message often ignored to our own collective failings in matters concerning the Region that encompasses SAARC. I believe this is a region that offers a lot to the world community and can even do more but for the deep set impasse that runs like a dagger across its fabric.

The WESTERN NATIONS have been seriously concerned about another collective scourge in the African Continent for a long time: Poverty, Mal Nutrition, AIDS, Illiteracy, backwardness until they decided enough is enough and they collectively rallied as Politicians (case in point:Mr.Tony Blair, former UK Prime Minister) a Musician (Mr.Bono), an world wide icon & Entrepreneur of the IT world named Bill Gates, a former US President: Bill Clinton, a Media Personality (Oprah Winfrey Andersen Cooper of CNN ) Many Hollywood Actors and other prominent folks such as Rev. Rick Warren, Rev Franklin Graham; all saw how serious the problems of Africa are and how it affects the rest of the world and they acted upon it with great gusto. and the uplifting ongoing changes and positive results emanating from Africa are self evident.

They did this through a movement and by spontaneously mobilizing and infusing large dozes of Money, Time and Effort to deal with that huge challenge rightly identifying it as a scourge in that region. What is even more unique about the movement is this was not a State sponsored event. It was Empowered Individuals from different disciplines in life coming together to help alleviate the People of Africa's from their sufferings.

No doubt the SAARC Region also has similar challenges as in Africa and they are alarming too but I think there is also another Big Problem that is unique to the SAARC Region and it has been flying under the radar for a long while completely ignored. That problem is "We are like this only" and "Hum Nahin Sudhrenge"
(To those who do not follow the Hindi Phrase, translated it means: sheer obstinacy and resistance to any change.)

Some likely factors are:

1. Centuries of ruling by different conquerors over the region and suppressing the people’s aspirations....2. Socialistic vision of each country's founding fathers by intentionally marrying Former USSR style Communism (now non existent) with Capitalism...Of Course its worthy to note that change has been ushered into India in particular, by progressive Congress and BJP leaders (Dr. Manmohan Singh and AB Vajpayee & others), Bureaucrats and Entrepreneurs’ since the last 15-20 years....but still the old die hards of the old order keep pulling the Sub Continent Region down!3. Fundamentalist Religious reasons, illiteracy, ignorance, abject poverty, politicians exploiting people groups for vote banks, social stigma all chip in too.....to add their twist to the Symptom & long standing Malady.

To deal with it, the WEST need not come calling. There are enough and more people from the Sub Continent Region who can empower and bring about the change as was done in the case of Africa.
A collective vision is needed and the Media could influence the change spear headed by Private Channels, Entrepreneurs’, Film Stars of Bollywood and other Regional Cinema and Celebrities from different walks of life all coming together to make concerted efforts to rid the region of the scourge. One can look at Indian Idol and similar other Regional TV programmes to notice the galvanizing effects of such events in the Region.
Can an AFRICA style mobilization which was actioned by the WEST be adopted by the Media, Entrepreneurs, Bollywood, Corporate Giants from the Region, Intellectuals Authors & Economists like Dr. M Yunus (of Bangla Desh) & Arundhati Roy, The different Khans of Bollywood, A Mohanlal, Ambani...... imagine all of them from the Sub Continent come together to do some thing about changing "We are like this only"!?

A dynamic, deliberate and ongoing effort to rid this Symptom from this important region of the 10/40 window would usher in faster & lasting change?

Its time that the Sub Continent came into its own.....and there is a lot of hard work needed to make that dream a reality.

A 26/11, Malegon Blast, Hindu Maoist Nepal, Jihad-ism in Bangladesh, Religious Fanaticism as demonstrated by the Indian Taliban: Mutalik of Ram Sena, deeply entrenched Corruption and Nepotism in Government across SAARC Nations (the lone Bhutan being an exception), Seperationist tendencies in the SAARC region, The breeding of Satyam's Rajus ...all continue to multiply and breed in this region partly due to "Hum Nahin " or "We are....only!" mentality.

Dear Reader, I hope there is enough fodder for thought in the above paragraphs to provoke people to agree and hope that in due course of time we can all see a dream realized in the positive upliftment of the SAARC region from the scourge!

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