Girish's Blog

Mr. Vasant Purke State Education Minister for schools and Mr. Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, the education minister have done a complete hatchet job for over 16 lakh SSC students in Maharashtra. For the last three years the Ministers have been fooling around with the admission process and have been made to eat crow every time by the Courts. Being an Education Minister, one would think that he would be the first to learn his lessons. But politicians I suppose are in a different class where “learning lessons” is not taught! This year too, the High Court has thrown out of the window as unconstitutional the Education Ministry’s best 5 subject percentage notification. All SSC schools were informed much before the exams about the best 5 rule, as a result lakhs of students have concentrated on only five subjects so as to get a high percentage. The SSC results proved this – almost 14000 students getting more than 90%, more than 40000 students getting between 80-90%, as a result of which the ICSE s...

I was in my final year of studies for CA when the Bhopal gas tragedy occurred in December 1984. I distinctly remember articles warning of an impending tragedy as the company cocked an arrogant snoot at the Government and its officials. If you recollect in those days the Indian economy was not doing too well and we depended a lot on the benevolence of the US. We as a political class have always been used to doing “haanji” to our rulers – earlier the British as colonialists and subsequently to all the economic power houses who have wanted to milk India dry. We, unfortunately have always had extremely callous Governments which approach the people only during elections. With a teeming population with very little health care for the masses, a tragedy like Bhopal in any other country would have had the Government come down like a ton of bricks on the management of the entity, but our country behaved as gracious hosts and escorted the culprits out of the country. Just look at what Mr. Obama ...

Jai Baba Swami At 6.45am on May 21 five of us left by road for Dandi for attending the sevadhari shibir. From my centers CIFE as well as Ambuja-Andheri, I was the only person attending this shibir, hence I was to travel alone by car. A couple of weeks before leaving for Dandi I had requested my ex-Acharya to check with his contacts at other centers whether sadhaks/sadhikas who were to attend Dandi shibir but had not got their travel arrangements in place could travel with me. Through his efforts, Shri Prem Paras called to say that his wife and he would join me on the trip. I requested him to see if two more sadhaks could join so that we had a full load and could travel in collectivity. We got two more ‘samarpit sadhikas’ from Juhu Center and I was happy that we got a full car load – as it is more beneficial travelling together in positive collectivity, sharing experiences along the way. The previous day I had asked my office to give me five writing pads and five pens to carry to Dandi...