Monday, May 29, 2006
Brian Lara : Sydney :: Micheal Clarke :: --------??
Brian Lara named his daughter Sydney, after the ground where he scored his first test century, a memorable 277 against Aus at the SCG.
If Michael Clarke were to follow Lara's mode of nomenclature, his son would be christened..................Chinnaswamy
Hehe.
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Brian Lara named his daughter Sydney, after the ground where he scored his first test century, a memorable 277 against Aus at the SCG.
If Michael Clarke were to follow Lara's mode of nomenclature, his son would be christened..................Chinnaswamy
Hehe.
Labels: cricket
Monday, May 15, 2006
On Reservations
Surjit Bhalla, the economist, has reached rather startling conclusions in a Business Standard report based on the 1999 NSS data.
The Conclusion is that the 'Upper Castes in the country do not have a dramatically higher chance of getting top jobs in comparison with SC/ST's and OBC's, in case all of them have the same level of education'.
Before furnishing the data, a few clarifications-
- This survey considers a person who has passed at least high school
(Xth Std) as a part of the 'Educated'
Labour Force.
- A 'good' Job is defined as a 'professional,
technical or a managerial'
job held by those who've passed at least high school.
Here's the data -
Probability of getting a good job
Pre-reservation || Post-reservation
SC/ST's 31.7% 63.9%
OBC's 28.6% 41.3%
Muslims 35.9% 28.0%
Caste Hindus 39.2% 28.0%
Let me elucidate.
The data suggest that an SC/ST high-school passout (this obviously includes those who've done UG/PG) has a 31.7% chance of landing a 'good' job.
For a Caste Hindu, the corresponding figure is 39.2%.
Hence, today the probability of landing a 'good' job for an SC/ST is barely 25% lower than that
of a caste Hindu. The difference is negligible especially if you factor in the fact that most of the SC/ST population is concentrated in the villages, where job opportunities are scarce. No discrimination whatsoever :)
Now, if Kamalnath goes ahead and implements the 22.5% reservation for SC/ST's in the private sector, the discrimination becomes very evident.
The Chances of getting a 'good' job for SC/ST's shall go up to 63%.
For OBC's the figure shall rise upto 41%.
These increases will be at the expense of the Upper Castes and Muslims, who'll bear the brunt of the government-mandated discrimination.
The figure for SC/ST's (63%) will now be almost 125% more than that of Caste Hindus (28%).
This is what the dumbass KamalNath intends to do. With the Intent of correcting a marginal difference of 25% (which may not be because of discrimination, mind you), he has come up with a grandiose reverse-discrimination scheme, that shall prove to be a nail in the coffin of the Upper Castes.
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Surjit Bhalla, the economist, has reached rather startling conclusions in a Business Standard report based on the 1999 NSS data.
The Conclusion is that the 'Upper Castes in the country do not have a dramatically higher chance of getting top jobs in comparison with SC/ST's and OBC's, in case all of them have the same level of education'.
Before furnishing the data, a few clarifications-
- This survey considers a person who has passed at least high school
(Xth Std) as a part of the 'Educated'
Labour Force.
- A 'good' Job is defined as a 'professional,
technical or a managerial'
job held by those who've passed at least high school.
Here's the data -
Probability of getting a good job
Pre-reservation || Post-reservation
SC/ST's 31.7% 63.9%
OBC's 28.6% 41.3%
Muslims 35.9% 28.0%
Caste Hindus 39.2% 28.0%
Let me elucidate.
The data suggest that an SC/ST high-school passout (this obviously includes those who've done UG/PG) has a 31.7% chance of landing a 'good' job.
For a Caste Hindu, the corresponding figure is 39.2%.
Hence, today the probability of landing a 'good' job for an SC/ST is barely 25% lower than that
of a caste Hindu. The difference is negligible especially if you factor in the fact that most of the SC/ST population is concentrated in the villages, where job opportunities are scarce. No discrimination whatsoever :)
Now, if Kamalnath goes ahead and implements the 22.5% reservation for SC/ST's in the private sector, the discrimination becomes very evident.
The Chances of getting a 'good' job for SC/ST's shall go up to 63%.
For OBC's the figure shall rise upto 41%.
These increases will be at the expense of the Upper Castes and Muslims, who'll bear the brunt of the government-mandated discrimination.
The figure for SC/ST's (63%) will now be almost 125% more than that of Caste Hindus (28%).
This is what the dumbass KamalNath intends to do. With the Intent of correcting a marginal difference of 25% (which may not be because of discrimination, mind you), he has come up with a grandiose reverse-discrimination scheme, that shall prove to be a nail in the coffin of the Upper Castes.
Labels: politics
Saturday, May 13, 2006
|Friday, May 12, 2006
Caste
Caste is one of the great unmentionables among the educated youth in our country.
The young 20 somethings, educated in elite public schools, pride themselves for their ultra-rational approach to life, spurn illogical religious beliefs in word and deed, decry 'Fate' and in short, exude the spirit of William Henley's lines -
"I am the master of my Fate,
I am the captain of my soul"
Fair enough. Sublimation of the Religious instinct is wholesome and desirable.
In keeping with the spirit of the times, it is natural to expect the youth to become not just less God-fearing, but also less obsessed with identity, more inclusive and liberal and less susceptible to prejudices.
Strangely, this doesn't seem to have happened.
The hypocrisy of the Ayn Rand toting youth is pretty evident in their obsession with Caste and Identity. While it is considered politically incorrect to inquire about someone's caste, Caste remains something very close to everyone's hearts.
I could sense this while surfing profiles randomly on the orkut community yesterday.
Orkut is a social networking hub which is predominantly used by Internet-savvy, twenty-somethings. Many among my own list of acquaintances describe themselves as 'Atheists', 'Agnostics' and 'Humanists' in their profiles. Yet, you'll find the same blokes in the 'Thenkalai Iyengar' and 'Havyaka Brahmin' communities ;)
Strange, but apparently our friends don't sense a contradiction.
The maniacal obsession with Identity is scary. There is a community for almost every
sub-caste on orkut. Babboorkamme brahmins, Hebbar Iyengar, Reddys, Iyers, Agarwals, Jats, Kauls, GSB's, Dalits...you name it.
Mind you, these communities are populated by urbane, English-speaking yuppies who are more likely to swear by Ayn Rand than by God.
The 'enlightened' youth may try their hardest to present their 'pseud', rational selves, but to no avail. The fact remains that in India, NOBODY, i repeat nobody is willing to spurn their identity. Period.
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Caste is one of the great unmentionables among the educated youth in our country.
The young 20 somethings, educated in elite public schools, pride themselves for their ultra-rational approach to life, spurn illogical religious beliefs in word and deed, decry 'Fate' and in short, exude the spirit of William Henley's lines -
"I am the master of my Fate,
I am the captain of my soul"
Fair enough. Sublimation of the Religious instinct is wholesome and desirable.
In keeping with the spirit of the times, it is natural to expect the youth to become not just less God-fearing, but also less obsessed with identity, more inclusive and liberal and less susceptible to prejudices.
Strangely, this doesn't seem to have happened.
The hypocrisy of the Ayn Rand toting youth is pretty evident in their obsession with Caste and Identity. While it is considered politically incorrect to inquire about someone's caste, Caste remains something very close to everyone's hearts.
I could sense this while surfing profiles randomly on the orkut community yesterday.
Orkut is a social networking hub which is predominantly used by Internet-savvy, twenty-somethings. Many among my own list of acquaintances describe themselves as 'Atheists', 'Agnostics' and 'Humanists' in their profiles. Yet, you'll find the same blokes in the 'Thenkalai Iyengar' and 'Havyaka Brahmin' communities ;)
Strange, but apparently our friends don't sense a contradiction.
The maniacal obsession with Identity is scary. There is a community for almost every
sub-caste on orkut. Babboorkamme brahmins, Hebbar Iyengar, Reddys, Iyers, Agarwals, Jats, Kauls, GSB's, Dalits...you name it.
Mind you, these communities are populated by urbane, English-speaking yuppies who are more likely to swear by Ayn Rand than by God.
The 'enlightened' youth may try their hardest to present their 'pseud', rational selves, but to no avail. The fact remains that in India, NOBODY, i repeat nobody is willing to spurn their identity. Period.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
A few questions
How unnatural is it for Humans to consume the milk of another species?
Can there be a graver violation of animal rights than the practice of keeping a cow perennially pregnant to maximise milk production?
Is the government right in subsidising milk products, thereby encouraging the consumption of unhealthy fatty food and perpetuating the misery of Cows?
Why isn't the moral brigade opposing the heinous practice of artificial insemination of cows with as much intensity as Cow Slaughter?
Aren't we Indians guilty of the worst form of hypocrisy by shamelessly consuming milk intended for the calves and yet professing our reverence for 'Go mata'?
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How unnatural is it for Humans to consume the milk of another species?
Can there be a graver violation of animal rights than the practice of keeping a cow perennially pregnant to maximise milk production?
Is the government right in subsidising milk products, thereby encouraging the consumption of unhealthy fatty food and perpetuating the misery of Cows?
Why isn't the moral brigade opposing the heinous practice of artificial insemination of cows with as much intensity as Cow Slaughter?
Aren't we Indians guilty of the worst form of hypocrisy by shamelessly consuming milk intended for the calves and yet professing our reverence for 'Go mata'?
Labels: culture
I HATE Celebrity Culture.
While common sense suggests that we should judge an individual's reputation on the basis of his actions, the actions of Celebrities are judged on the basis of their reputations. Can anything be more disgusting than that?
My convictions in this regard were re-inforced yesterday when I read some despicable quotes at Political Compass attributed to some of the all-time great celebrity public figures who are often thought of as being beyond reproach.
Pasting a few here -
Whosoever shall be guilty of rape, polygamy, or sodomy with a man or woman, shall be punished; if a man, by castration, a woman, by boring through the cartilage of her nose a hole of one half inch in diameter at the least
- Thomas Jefferson, in the Virginia Bill number 64, 18 June 1779
Not the kind of comment you would've expected from Jefferson - the champion of Freedom and Liberty.
I do not consider Hitler to be as bad as he is depicted. He is showing an ability that is amazing and seems to be gaining his victories without much bloodshed
-Mahatma Gandhi, May 1940
Sickening quote from the 'champion' of Non-Violence.
I am strongly in favour of using poisonous gas against uncivilised tribes ... to spread a lively terror
-Winston Churchill, writing as President of the Air Council, in 1919
If our country were defeated, I hope we should find a champion as admirable (as Hitler) to restore our courage and lead us back to our place among the nations
-Winston Churchill, in his Great Contemporaries, 1937
Homosexuality is immoral and disgusting.
-Ayn Rand, 1971
The word and working of God is quite clear; that women were made to be either wives or prostitutes
-Martin Luther
The Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher's knife. They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs
-Mahatma Gandhi, on absolute non-violence, speaking to biographer Louis Fisher in June 1946
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While common sense suggests that we should judge an individual's reputation on the basis of his actions, the actions of Celebrities are judged on the basis of their reputations. Can anything be more disgusting than that?
My convictions in this regard were re-inforced yesterday when I read some despicable quotes at Political Compass attributed to some of the all-time great celebrity public figures who are often thought of as being beyond reproach.
Pasting a few here -
Whosoever shall be guilty of rape, polygamy, or sodomy with a man or woman, shall be punished; if a man, by castration, a woman, by boring through the cartilage of her nose a hole of one half inch in diameter at the least
- Thomas Jefferson, in the Virginia Bill number 64, 18 June 1779
Not the kind of comment you would've expected from Jefferson - the champion of Freedom and Liberty.
I do not consider Hitler to be as bad as he is depicted. He is showing an ability that is amazing and seems to be gaining his victories without much bloodshed
-Mahatma Gandhi, May 1940
Sickening quote from the 'champion' of Non-Violence.
I am strongly in favour of using poisonous gas against uncivilised tribes ... to spread a lively terror
-Winston Churchill, writing as President of the Air Council, in 1919
If our country were defeated, I hope we should find a champion as admirable (as Hitler) to restore our courage and lead us back to our place among the nations
-Winston Churchill, in his Great Contemporaries, 1937
Homosexuality is immoral and disgusting.
-Ayn Rand, 1971
The word and working of God is quite clear; that women were made to be either wives or prostitutes
-Martin Luther
The Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher's knife. They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs
-Mahatma Gandhi, on absolute non-violence, speaking to biographer Louis Fisher in June 1946
Monday, May 01, 2006
Much Ado about Nothing
The Average Pay of Goldman Sachs Employees is a whopping $521000.
To put that into proper perspective, the size of the workforce is over 22000, and that includes a whole lot of secretaries, assistants and janitors ;)
This makes me wonder why the Desi Media goes gaga over a handful of IIM grads with outstanding profiles getting Analyst jobs at sub $100k salaries in firangi investment banks including GS.
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The Average Pay of Goldman Sachs Employees is a whopping $521000.
To put that into proper perspective, the size of the workforce is over 22000, and that includes a whole lot of secretaries, assistants and janitors ;)
This makes me wonder why the Desi Media goes gaga over a handful of IIM grads with outstanding profiles getting Analyst jobs at sub $100k salaries in firangi investment banks including GS.
