The quintessential Dravidian ideologue!!!

Patriarch of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

5 times CM. 6 Decades of Political Career. Titan of TN Politics.

Dravidian Pride!!!

டாக்டர் கலைஞர் மு.கருணாநிதி!

From Independence To Emergency, Nehru To Modi, Mandal To Hindutva, He Saw It All. Till the end, wrote his own script.

From being groomed by the iconic social reformer, Periyar E.V. Ramasamy in Dravidar Kazhagam to taking over Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam from "Anna" C.N. Annadurai, Karunanidhi had marched along success all the way. 

The DMK by then had already made significant reforms and even at that time allowed for monotheism. With Karunanidhi at the helm, the DMK entered a new phase: the party that shaped him would, in turn, be shaped by him. The rest is history.

Someone who dedicated all of him to his people and Tamil till his last breath. Tamil literature has had a massive contribution thanks to him and the epic writings he has left behind will make him immortal. Never has there been a confident and sensible Orator who has truly meant to change lives of people like he has. A great Administrator and a progressive thinker who always stood for oppressed people. The very reason of Tamilnadu's industry & IT boom. The legend who fought all his life.

He may have left us, but not without making a defining impact. His legacy will stay on forever.

RIP.

- DC

Cauvery - "UniteForHumanity"!

The Cauvery dispute began in the year 1892, between the Madras Presidency (under the British Raj) and the Princely state of Mysore (as Karnataka was known then) when they had to come to terms with dividing the river water between the two states. Since then, Cauvery river water has been a bone of contention between the two states with Tamil Nadu asking for it's fair share (or so it may seem from the initial agreement) and Karnataka claiming what's rightly theirs. 

There has been intervention from both the governments in what's likely to favor each of their respective states. Yet, there has been contempt of Supreme Court order in the part of Karnataka government most times. But not to judge who is right or wrong just yet. Perhaps, it's the people's welfare that these governments hold priority for (or at least we believe so). 

Karnataka does not seem to be happy with setting up Cauvery Management Board for monitoring water availability and it's use as part of the SC verdict. Also, the Union government is not comfortable with the SC verdict to form the Cauvery management board within the stipulated period. We may start to believe that the upcoming elections has its say in this but we do not know it for certain just yet. Only time will tell.

After all this protest from Tami Nadu (most of which where staged by Politicians to up their political mileage), things do not look good. But of course, with the amazing response and the support shown from Karnataka people over STR's noble idea "UniteForHumanity", we may well hope for a better resolution. Indeed, it's love and humanity that helps us all survive. Let's just hope! :)

Let's hope for more rain. Let's hope for farmers' lives to get better. For if that happens, ours will be better too!

- DC

P.S. Time we started looking at options to save water. Be it at home or elsewhere Let's not waste water. Let's try rain water harvesting. Let's plant more tress. Let's plea to state government and concerned authorities to streamline drain passage and come up with a fool proof way of saving and sustaining water levels.

The Superheroes deserve to decide!!!

They keep us safe. They fight our enemies. They die for the country. 

They struggle to sustain in extreme conditions, taking on the bullets as they come. They go through rigorous training and develop near impossible skill sets to function the way they do. They sacrifice a normal life to ensure we can live in peace. That's just the summary of an army man's resume.

Every time we lose a brave soul, we shower him with praises on his act of heroism. Not just the praising and respect, they deserve even more, like Akshay Kumar cam out saying it is in our best interest to ensure a sustainable future for their families after martyrdom. Government don't seem to be doing enough to assist them in monetary terms. May be its time they did.

And even before that, the foremost thing that the defense ministry need to curb is the delay in procurement of weapons and safety vests which is being criticized time and again. Least do we know what's happening in that front so cant be blaming. Let's hope it is all being done well. If not, let it come out well soon. And the second most thing being the accountability of Defense force in decision making which is lacking in nearness. 

Away from the increasing politicization of the recent surgical strikes that the Indian armed forces conducted across the Line of Control (LoC), one aspect that is not properly highlighted in our discourse on the subject is the fact that it was a “strategic decision” — a decision taken at the highest level of the political leadership of the country (involving the Prime Minister of India). Such strikes, as the Congress rightly points out, were carried out in the past (it claims that there were three such strikes in between 2011 and 2014). But the difference between those and that conducted last fortnight is that unlike the recent ones, the past strikes were “tactical” in nature. 

This said, the Modi government has not undertaken any major reforms in the arena of national security in the last two-and-a-half years of its tenure as promised. The military leadership of the country is highly disgruntled that its voice is not being heard in the civilian-controlled Ministry of Defense. A long standing demand for having a Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) or any other equivalent post to be a single-source of interactions between the military and the political leadership has not been met. The country’s intelligence-gathering system is said to be highly fragmented.

All these things are really surprising since many expected that if any government could vitalize India’s national security structure, it was the Modi government. In fact, the BJP’s elections manifesto in 2014 had promised that the Modi government will “reform the National Security Council to make it the hub of all sector-related assessments”, “completely revamp the intelligence gathering system by modernizing the intelligence department”, and “ensure greater participation of Armed Forces in the decision-making process of the Ministry of Defence”. Regrettably, there have been no signs of implementation of such promises, although the present government has competed half of its term.

And that means that behind all the bravado surrounding the latest surgical strikes, India’s national security decisions continue to be ad hoc in nature, a sad scenario for a rising global power.

Hope reform is on its way and for the betterment of the people and the army men alike. 

- DC

P.S. http://www.lifestalker.com/indian-defence-blogs/

MODIfication - The change we all hoped for!!

Rarely has any world leader come full circle the way Modi has. Denied a U.S. visa for nearly a decade for his handling of religious riots that broke out in the state he then led, Modi recently fled into New York to an overwhelming reception - as an immensely popular leader and a sought-after strategic partner. 

There has been a notably huge void in the whole democratic system - the element of trust that had eroded particularly in recent years as negligence both at the Centre and state level, had caused a loss of public confidence at a time when the expectations of the people were soaring. Modi with his enthusiastic and careful approach is essentially calling for a revival of the trust between the government, business, society and other institutions. This is the most critical element in restoring faith in the minds of people. A ray of hope and revival of sorts is so vital in building the economy. Hope the PM lives up to his words of bringing a better future. Hope for a better INDIA!

Almost as soon as Narendra Modi became prime minister of India, words spread around rapidly about the increasing level of apprehension on true India. Of course the growth of Gujarat had people believe in the man and led him to the throne. One would not quarrel much of what has recently been unleashed by the PM - Make-in-India campaign, a lion's step, as quoted by the PM himself. The driving of this project and restoring India's place in global manufacturing comes as a highlight. Sought to inject a new optimism among businesses and improve the economy through streamlining of sectors across the country, this campaign promises much. To succeed, the PM must bring about fundamental changes in the economy and steer a stable course in a country prone to conflicts.

Big Vision. A Better India. All it takes is a Change. Hopefully the man - Modi is the change. Let's be hopeful.

- DC