By retiring after the second test match, Sangakara denied Ashwin 2 wickets in this series!!!

'One Rank One Pension (OROP)': The Rights and Wrongs

Someone asked me what is my take on the demand for 'One Rank One Pension (OROP)' by retired defense personnel in India. I am son of a retired Indian Army officer and thus OROP, if and when implemented, is going to directly benefit my family. My father gets a pension and naturally his pension would also increase if OROP is implemented. So, one may think that I am fully supporting the demand as well as protests/agitations by the veteran defense personnel in New Delhi. 

Right and Wrong.

I do and firmly believe that defense personnel, serving as well retired, should be the best paid men in the country. Unlike everyone else in the country, the soldiers stay away from their families for long periods, serve in remote and inhospitable areas and face dangers on regular basis. Paying them what they deserve is the least we can do for them. Some people argue that defense personnel already get a lot of perks in forms of rations, subsidized products in CSD canteens, rebates on flight tickets and so on. Indeed they get all that but they do not get enough money to give their families the comfort that they and their families deserve. The life of an army officer may look very glamorous from outside but it typically is not as glamorous as it looks. Defense personnel and their families give a lot to the country and they definitely deserve better financial benefits. I do know that I am deviating from the topic as the current demand is not related to salaries at all; it focuses on pensions.

Coming to the demand regarding pensions, veterans are asking for same and standardized pension for every retired defense personnel at each designation. As per some sources, a Lieutenant Colonel retiring in 2010 gets higher pension that a Major General who retired in late 90s. It is definitely unfair and should change. The year of retirement should not decide the pension. If salaries are increased on the basis of increasing cost of living and inflation, pensions should also increase to match the current levels. I am completely with the veterans on this point. And so is the government. Government has already announced that it is committed to implementing OROP after ironing out some administrative challenges.

Now, lets talk about areas where I disagree with the veterans;

1. Veterans are demanding a 'Rolling Adjustment Plan' under which they want the pensions to be adjusted every year. There are around 22 lakh defense pensioners and the number would keep growing. A 'Rolling Adjustment Plan' would be quite difficult to implement. Plus, it would create a huge financial issue (do not want to use the word 'burden' due to my immense respect for the armed forces)
2. One should note that the usual norm is of a 10-year adjustment for all the other government pensioners (source: Times of India; as shown in the picture below). Hence, the demand is to make extremely drastic changes, which would have a long-term impact 
3. 
4. Veterans need to understand that the armed forces is not the only organization, which is eligible for such a system and benefits. Once this is implemented for the armed forces, other departments (e.g. BSF, CRPF, railways etc) would also ask for similar changes. The request would not be unjustified as others should also get better benefits. Keeping this in mind, the veterans must understand and appreciate the fact that the decision and calculation is not a straight-forward one for the government. Government has to ensure that they do not make a hasty decision, which is impractical. Else, they would face similar requests, agitations and protests from others
5. Another point (small one) is that I, personally believe that personnel from the armed forces, serving or retired, should not indulge in such agitations and protests. I do agree that it may have been difficult to make others hear their voices without such means yet I feel that defense personnel should not indulge in such protests and agitations. It is uncharacteristic for the defense personnel (even if they are retired) to adopt such measures. The government has already communicated that they are committed to implementing OROP. I think the veterans should now show some patience. Else, this would start to look more like 'arm-twisting' than anything else. This is also giving a lot of cannon-fodder to presstitutes, who do not even need a reason to target the government

Overall, the overall demand is justified and there are no two-ways about it. Veterans deserve better pensions and more. However, the adjustment plan is unreasonable and impractical, which would lead to an administrative and financial nightmare. And the approach is uncharacteristic. 

On a side note, majority of the people in India respect the armed forces and anything related to the armed forces becomes a popular topic. Several civilians are showing their support to the demand of the veterans, which is heart-warming. 

However, more than anything else, I am extremely pleased and proud that the government is making cautious moves instead of opting for hasty populist measures in order to earn quick brownie points. Approving the demand and implementing OROP without putting enough thought would have been and still is an easy option. But the government is choosing to weigh the impact from all angles before implementing OROP. This government does not seem to be interested in gaining short-term political mileage at the cost of long-term negative financial impact. 

That is why, I trust this government and leadership. 

Right approach but probably wrong combination

"Draw is the last option. You have to risk losing to win Test matches" - Virat Kohli, Skipper of Indian Test Team

I completely agree with him and that is why the loss in his first test as captain did not hurt. India could have easily drawn the test but they lost while trying to chase down the target. No shame in that.

However, I do not think that he is picking the right team. In the crucial third test match of the India-Sri Lanka series, he has retained Stuart Binny in the side. Agree that it is a seaming wicket and Binny may pick few wickets but Bhuvneshwar Kumar would have been a better option. 

Also, they could have tried KL Rahul as the wicket-keeper as it would have given a better balance to the side. I hope I am wrong about all this. I hope India plays well and wins this test.

It is happening!!!

Latest census statistics reveal that the share of Hindu population in the overall Indian population is declining. In fact, the share of most communities have either declined or have not witnessed significant growth. However, Muslim population has increased.

The statistics does not give a reason to be alarmed per se. However, if we connect this change with what the intelligence agencies have been warning about i.e., a ploy to slowly, steadily and systematically change the demography of India, then it cannot be ignored. More importantly, the change in demography is quite significant in certain states.

Few months back, I had seen a video of a lecture by Prof. Bajaj in which he had explained how the demography of India is slowly changing. He had also explained what the intelligence agencies have been warning about. As per them, the plan is to convert India into a Islamic dominant state by 2040!!! That seems difficult to believe but he had explained the kind of 'targets' that have been assigned. I had shared the video and many friends said that it is a RSS propaganda. Soon afterwards, news regarding 'Love Jihad' started to surface and some of those, who were arrested, confessed that 'targets' were assigned to them. 

I agree that it is difficult to believe that India would become a Islamic country by 2040. It may be an aggressive target but it does seem like there is actually a target. And now we have the census figures to support that. 

It is happening slowly but steadily. There is no reason to panic but lets not keep our eyes shut as well. We let the Mughals come in and later the British come in by ignoring the signals. Lets not repeat it. Else, soon we will all be singing IS-IS-Baby!!!

Ananya's birthday celebration in school

Ananya's Birthday

Yum Yum...Chapar Chapar

Narendra Modi's performance: Where does the issue lie?

All my friends, family members, colleagues know that I am big supporter of Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister of India. I like to call myself a 'believer' than a 'supporter'. It is funny that sometimes people come to me and ask me about Modi's policies and stances, as if Modi is my uncle who discusses such matters with me!!!

I am regularly pulled into discussions and arguments with people who do not like Narendra Modi. More often than not, such people do not have any preferred leader and criticizing Modi has become their favorite passtime. It is the latest fashion. Anyways, I do not really pay any attention to the opinion of such people.

In the past few days, I have also had discussions with few 'mild' to 'moderate' Modi supporters. I would be wrong if I say that I have not been alarmed by their questioning of Modi's policies and strategies. I have noticed that several Modi-supporters have now started doubting his abilities. They argue that nothing is happening on the ground. To get more weightage, they throw in statements like "Corporates have also been questioning Modi", "My clients, who are significant players, have been quite unhappy" and "I am in India, I know the situation at the ground level". More often than not, I respond with a 'Gautam Buddha-like' spiritual smile.

Yesterday, I spoke to a good friend, who I would categorize as a 'Strong' supporter of Modi. I asked him if he is also witnessing this new trend where Modi-supporters have started questioning his plans and policies. He responded in affirmative, which led to my follow-up question - "How do you respond?". His answer was quite interesting.

So, whenever people come to him and ask him about his views on Modi and why there is no development at the ground level, he says, "I agree that Modi is a failure. The previous Prime Minister was better. At least there used to be a new development every week in the form of a corruption scandal. We should bring him back"!!! He told me that shuts the people up in most cases!!! I found it an interesting response and I am going to try that!!!

But I want to ask all the so-called supporters of Modi who have now started questioning him that who are they comparing Modi with? When they say that Modi has so far been a failure, what is the benchmark that they are using? Do they know of any other former Prime Minister who was able to perform better than Modi in little over 1 year? Do they know of any other current leader who they believe can do better than this? I doubt that answer would be 'Yes'. 

Currently, they are comparing 'Modi' with 'their own expectations from Modi'. Narendra Modi never said that he would be able to turn things around in one year. More importantly, anyone with sane mind should know that it is not possible. India is a big country and is facing all kinds of issues, which are deep-rooted. Turning things around would take time. And it would require investments. 

I would give another example. On several occasions, I have felt disappointment after watching a movie that I was eagerly and anxiously waiting for. However, when I have watched the same movie later (after a few months), I have enjoyed it. The issue was not with the movie. The issue was with the expectations. My expectations used to be so high that the movie was not able to match up to it.

I believe the same is applicable in the case of Narendra Modi and that is where the issue lies. Some of us were probably expecting that the man would come and turn India into a developed nation and an economic superpower within a few months. No one would be poor. Prices would fall down. Everyone would have jobs. Cities would be clean. Roads would be perfect. They may not agree that they had such expectations but they surely are behaving in this manner. I any case, there are no issues with expecting such things but one must be realistic about the timelines. As they say, Rome was not built in a day.

I urge people to be more patient. Modi government has been trying to attract investments. Without investments NOTHING is going to get better. Once the investments are in, things would 'slowly' and 'steadily' improve.

One more thing. If you are unhappy with Modi, think of an alternative. Do you really think Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee, Laloo Prasad Yadav or Sharad Pawar would be better? If yes, then I really do not have anything to say to you. If no, then please stop questioning Modi's abilities. He is not only the best bet, he is the only bet!!! Please note that I am not discouraging discussions/arguments over new policies, priorities, stances etc. That should always happen. After all, we may or may not agree with everything that Modi does. I, myself, have some complaints from him!!! If Modi starts to falter, all of us need to start looking for an alternative. However, please do not question what has he achieved in 1 year, 1.5 years, 2 years and so on. Please do not look for short-terms gains. Such short-sightedness has already harmed us in past several decades. 

India needs to improve on multiple parameters (if not all) and that would require a long-term all-encompassing growth strategy. I firmly believe that Modi has the vision to take us there. As I said, I am a 'Believer'. 

Is Indian Team ready for a 5+1+5 strategy?

Though I firmly believed that India needed a change in captaincy as far as the longest format of the game is concerned, barring his first test as Captain, I have so far not been impressed with Virat Kohli as captain. 

In his first test as Captain of the Indian Test team, the team lost while trying to chase down a target when they could have safely opted for a draw. The intent was quite visible and it was a welcome change. That loss did not hurt as it does not feel bad when efforts are visible.

It is still quite early days for Kohli as Captain and there is no reason to be too alarmed. However, what is quite worrying is Kohli's preference for 5 specialist bowler strategy. Now, there are no issues with the strategy Per se but Indian team does not seem to be quite ready for that strategy.

Indian team is going through a transition phase and there are several young and inexperienced players in the side. Till a few years back, Indian middle order comprised of Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly/Raina/Yuvraj, Laxman followed by Dhoni. Now, we have Sharma, Kohli, Rahane followed by Saha. Definitely not as reliable. None of these batsmen (Kohli included) have a lot of experience in saving and winning test matches and this line-up is likely to struggle against all good bowling sides. 

Following are some issues with the '5 Specialist Bowler' strategy:

1. Wicket Keeper: Saha is quite good behind the stumps but is not a reliable bat. If we play only 5 specialist batsmen (who are young and inexperienced), a couple of wickets may bring Saha on the crease with a job to save a test. I would not put any money on Saha to pull us through. If Kohli wants to stick to 5+1+5 strategy, he needs a better/reliable wicket batsman. The issue is that there are no strong candidates. Naman Ojha had a decent 2014 Ranji season but is not reliable. Uthappa was the leading scorer in the Ranji trophy but his wicket-keeping skills leave a lot of be desired. If he improves, he can be a strong candidate. Dinesh Karthik is quite inconsistent. Parthiv Patel is no longer scoring enough runs in the domestic circuit. Rayudu must not be an option in test cricket. So, it seems that there is no option but to stick with Saha. In that case, we must have 6 specialist batsmen or an all-rounder who can bat really well.
2. The 5 specialist bowlers that India included in the recently concluded (and embarrassingly lost) test match against Srilanka were Ishant, Aaron, Ashwin, Mishra and Harbhajan. Out of these Ashwin is a decent bat. Harbhajan can bat but is far from being reliable. And others are...no comments. For a 5+1+5 strategy to work (and especially with inexperienced batsmen and Saha), the team needs a good bowling all-rounder (That is is where I wish we had an 'in-form' and 'fit' Irrfan Pathan).
3. The other issue is with the choice of pacers. Kohli has been using words like 'aggressive' and 'aggression' in press conferences a lot and he has indicated that he wants pacers who can hit the deck and bowl fast. Again, in theory, there is no problem with that approach but the trouble is that we have Ishant and Aaron. They are both quite one-dimensional bowlers. We need variety and that is why India needs to include Bhuvi (who can also bat a bit) or a fit Shami (god knows what has happened to him).
4. Lastly, there is another issue with the choice of spinners but this issue has nothing to do with the 5+1+5 strategy. Harbhajan Singh has been quite ineffective in the test and he is nowhere near his best. To add variety to the attack, it would make sense to include Pragyan Ojha instead. There were some concerns over Ojha's actions but since he did play against Australia A, he must have been give an all-clear. Herath's success also highlights the value of a good left-arm spinner.

The loss in the last test against Sri Lanka was quite heart-breaking especially when we had an upper-hand in most sessions. I hope Kohli shows some flexibility and better judgement in future matches. 

Tirangaa at Home

Independence Day 2015

Thanks Indian Cricket Team for the amazing Independence Day gift. Ch***ye Saale

Kasam Se....Arif Bhai ne Dil Chhoo Liya!!!

Happy 'Tumor Removal' Day!!! #PorkistanRemoval

Ananya Birthday Invitation

Family Dinner at Barbecue Nation

Time with Shishhterrs!!!