End of an era: Left and Indian political colossus Jyoti Basu passes away

Veteran Marxist leader and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu died at the AMRI Hospital of multiple-organ failure at 11.47 a.m. on Sunday. He was 95.

"Jyoti Basu is no more," said party state secretary Biman Bose.

Basu was admitted to the hospital on January 1 with acute respiratory failure bordering on pneumonia. He was also undergoing treatment at the hospital for age-related ailments.

Born on July 8, 1914, Jyoti Kiran Basu's name was shortened by his father to Jyoti.

In 1996, Basu seemed all set to become the first Communist Prime Minister of India. However, the CPI (M) Politburo decided not to participate in the government, a decision that Basu later termed as a historic blunder.

Basu was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1946, contesting the Railway constituency. He served as Leader of Opposition for a long time when Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy was the Chief Minister of West Bengal.

Basu's admirable eloquence both as an M.L.A and the Leader of Opposition drew the attention of Dr. B. C. Roy, who had a strong affection for this young leader though his stand was completely against the policies of the then State Government.

He led several agitations against the State Government and earned an enviable reputation as a politician, particularly among students and youth.

Beside organising the movements of railway labourers, he led a historical movement of teachers who were protesting against their meagre salary.

Between 1967 and 1969, Basu was the Deputy Chief Minister of West Bengal in the United Front governments. He worked under Chief Minister Ajay Mukhopadhay.

When the Congress returned to power in West Bengal in 1972 under Siddhartha Shankar Ray, Basu faced defeat in the Baranagar Assembly Constituency and complained about unprecedented rigging. His Party CPI (M), decided to boycott the Assembly till a fresh election was conducted in 1977.

From June 21, 1977 to November 6, 2000, Basu served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal of various Left Front governments. In 1996, Basu almost became of Prime Minister of India.

Basu resigned as Chief Minister of West Bengal in 2000 for health reasons, and was succeeded by fellow CPI (M) politician Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.

The 18th Congress of CPI (M), held in Delhi in 2005, re-elected Basu to its Politburo, although he had asked to be allowed to retire from it. On September 13, 2006, Basu entreated the CPI (M) to allow his retirement due to his age, but the resign was turned down.

At the 19th Congress in early April 2008, Basu was not included in the Politburo, although he remained a member of the Central Committee and was designated as Special Invitee to the Politburo. (ANI)

Obvious reasons for separate State(Telangana)

For Your Understanding….

Whenever the topic of Telangana is raised, many of us blindly support Andhra or Telangana based on where we come from. Not sure how many really think of why the demand for separate state has been there for such a long time. The 2 major reasons why the demand has been pending for so many years is WATER AND HYDERBAD. People around the state have earned and invested in and around Hyderabad so there is a concerns about the safety of the investment if the state is separated while both the major rivers in our state flow mostly through Telangana. Below are some facts that are few reasons for the demand. Sentiments can be foolish but not facts.

a. There are 10 districts in Telangana, 9 in Andhra and 4 in Rayalaseema. Out of these 7 districts in Telangana, 3 in Andhra and 1 in Rayalaseema are considered severely backward districts which means 70% of districts in Telangana are backward while in Andhra it is 35% and in Rayalaseema it is 25%. Apart from these there are some areas in all parts of the state which are also backward.

b. 45% of the state income comes from Telangana region. When it comes to utilization of funds, the share of Telangana is only 28%.

c. Normally canals are dug to supply water to the crops from rivers for cultivation. The amount of land cultivated through canals in just Guntur district is more than the land cultivated with canals in entire Telangana region.

d. Nagarjuna sagar dam is built in Nalgonda district which is in Telangana but majority of the water from the dam is used for Krishna and Guntur district. The original dam was supposed to be build much ahead of its present location but the location was changed so that it falls in the Telangana region. Due to the construction of the dam several hectares of Lime stone mines vanished as part of the dam back waters. Everyone know that lime stone is used for producing cement. Even the natural resources were not allowed to remain.

e. Fluorinated water problem is only in Nalgonda district which has not been resolved since decades.

f. Two major rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra enter the state of AP in the district of Mahaboobnagar(the biggest district in Telangana) but the district always remains the worst draught hit areas along with Anantapur because there is no project and process with which the water can be utilized. The plans for utilization has been pending for decades.

g. RDS (Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme) is build in Mahaboobnagar to provide water to 85000 hectares of land in the district. The leaders of Rayalaseems blasted the gates of RDS and water is supplied to KC (Kurnool-Cudapah) canal while only remaining water, if any, is supplied to the lands in Mahaboobnagar.

h. 3 TMC of water from Gandipet is sufficient to supply drinking water to our city. Every year 1700 TMC of water is wasted and is flown into Bay of Bengal from river Godavari. Starting from Nizambad to Bay of Bengal there is no project allowed to build on Godavari. If it is built leaders in Godavari districts fear that the fertile lands in the area may fall short of water. If the Godavari water is utilized properly, there will be no scarcity for food grains in our state.

i. In Telangana regions, only few areas cultivate one crop a year and very rarely two crops a year while most of the land doesn’t even cultivate single crop. In both the Godavari districts, Krishna and Guntur district, two crops a year is common and there are times where even 3 crops a year are cultivated. The only reason is WATER.

j. Government issue G.O.’s for implicating its decisions. G.O number 610 is the longest non implicated G.O in the history of AP. The G.O was issued in 1986 by late NTR who was then the CM of AP, which is not yet implicated. The G.O speaks about the share of Telangana employees in Government jobs in Telangana region.

k. 33% of the population in Mahaboobnagar district have left the district for livelihood to different parts of the state due to draught and majority of them are working as daily labour. No other district has so many people who fled the home place due to lack of livelihood and working as daily labour.

l. There are 25 plus government degree colleges in Krishna, Kadapa and Guntur district while there is not even a single government degree college in Ranga Reddy district.

m. Dairy development corporation of AP purchases milk from farmers across the state for distribution. For the same milk, in Andhra, the government pay Rs. 24 to the farmers and in Telangana they pay Rs. 22 per litre. Partiality is shown even in milk J

n. In between 2005-2008 government sold lands worth Rs. 20000 crores in and around Hyderabad which was utilized to build projects in Rayalaseema and Andhra.

o. Not even a single project was completed in Telangana in the last 5 years while several projects were completed in Andhra and Rayalaseema.
Not just Telangana but areas of Northern Andhra, Prakasham and parts of Rayalaseema are still backward. The state needs to progress as a unit. People are suffering across the state and they need a solution.

Nobody wants a split in the state but when the people of one region are constantly humiliated and denied of what they should be getting, such demands keep coming. Let us show maturity in understanding social problems keeping aside the sentiments.
Spend some time reading this attached file to know why need a separate state Telangana..

Why people are asking for telangana??????

Dear Literates,
Did we ever had a thought why people are asking for a separate state of TELANGANA?

If it were a will for power and money of few polticans (like KCR) ,would the struggle for separate telangana last for 54 long years?

where was KCR in 1969 movement when 400 students were fired by army?
Taking advantage of this sentiment, few political parties have tried to separate telangana and thus claim a hero status
and then establish a strong regional party.

KCR is definatly not an identity or icon of telangana. there is a lot of facts to be know.


History of Hyderabad state (Telangana) and formation of AP:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Hyderabadi-way-is-rooted-in-Telangana/articleshow/5332072.cms

Initially, TELANGANA was a separate state with Hyderabad as its capital and was know as Hyderabad state, which got the independence in Sep, 1948.
Then, till 1956, The TELANGANA was an independent state.
It was free for 8 years before Sri potti sriramulu garu has fought to seprate andhra and rayalaseema disticts from Madras state.
later on some of politicains have merged Hyderabad state (Telangana) with other distircts and formed AP according to GENTLEMEn AGREEMENT.

few facts that need introspection:
Till 1956, the total Irrigation in TELANGANA was 20 lakh acres but now hardly 11 lakh acres.why?Is land in telangana futile?

If so why is there a agricultre output 100 % more in Nizam's time compraded to present day?
The tank irrigation in 1956 is 11 lakh acres, In 2004 it is 2.4 lakh WHY??

Though the Godavari and Krishna rivers are entering the SO called ANDHRA PRADESH in TELANGANA why there is no water for TELANGANA for irrigation? why is telangana in such a helpless condition.

Krishna enters the ANDHRA PRADESH at Mahabubnagar (TELANGANA), still the people in Mahabubnagar suffers without any water?

though more Than 2/3rd's krishna and godavari water flows through telangana before flowing
into sea,why is there a suffering in telngana?

Out of 900 TMC water of krishna only 100 TMC water is used in telangana ,rest being flown into Andhra.

Out of 1154 TMC water of GOdavari oly 100 TMC is used in Telangana.
If this water is equally shared ,additionally 70 lk acres irrigation land would be added in telangana.

0 % of srishailam water is used by Telangana.

Nagarjuna sagar originally was proposed to be built 19 kms into telangana,later on it was moved out and only 5% of its output is used by telangana.

Nagarjuna sagar and srishilam have almost 0 benifit to telangana.

Out of thousands of bore wells which were dig here about 700feets depth, works only a few hundreds.

Telangana population is 42% of AP population,only 8 % of Secretariat employees are from telangana.

less than 20 % of judicary employment is from telangana.

NALGONDA, Example of FLOROSIS effect, we might have studied in our books, but we never ever thought why?

People of nalgonda have Nagarjun Sagar near by then why should they drink flourine water?
JUST THINK.. Whats the situation of the so many projects Pochampalli, Ichampally, Devadula and almost 15 projects are pending.

BEST CM of AP,NTR garu completed the so called TELUGU ganaga project ,which supplies water to coastal andhra distircts and to CHENNAi when people of telangana are starving.
People often accuse that telangana has developed hyd ,what does it need more.60% of poulation(settlers) and 80% of property in and near hyd is owned by people of andhra and rayalaseema.

Why is that an ANDRHA business man starting business in hyd prefer to employ only people from ANDHRA?why is there a regional bias?

How many indusrtialists and promint businesses men can we name or see from telangana?Ramoji,GMR,GVk,padmalaya studios ,anna puna ,satyam and so many are owned by people from andhra .

lagadapati raja gopal has 10,000cr project to be bulit in hyd,prompting and agitating a fake hunger strike.

look at pulivendula,look at kadapa.

name a prominent place in telangana other than hyd(hyd already exploited by andhra most of its property is mostly owned by andhrites)?

vizag,vijayawada,kakinada,nellore,guntur are some prominent places in andhra.where as warnagal next prominent place in andhra is half the size of vijayawada,both population wise and economically.

look around in office ,how many people from telangana, are employeed in IT and how many are sons of farmers from telangana,when 70 % of our state depending on agriculture,do you think there is an equal share?

can you find any rich farmers in telangana?At least framers having 50 % income of what that andhra farmer own?

why is there a less employement of telangana people in gov?

Peoples say ,who stopped telngana people from taking oppurtunties,its not our fault.but as matter of fact telangana was already suppressed under feudal system of nizam's and was in needof support
rather than exploitation of resources.

If there was no discrimination and exploitation of resources forget about wall there is no need of bridge at all.
oo lirerates please educate your selves on these facts.

If you are from andhra ,do watch below videos and question your selves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkivNybmZac&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKmyTgT0kSo&feature=related

Why is a villan character or comedy charcter protrayed as a guy from telangana in telugu movies?Why is that hero's native place is from ANDHRA region in movies?

As you could see current fuss in AP,no one from andhra is atleast aware of above facts and more concrened about there properties in hyderabad.

They have a feeling of loosing something,as if lossing an oppurtunity,wealth ,then what did telangana loose in 50 odd years?

No body wishes a separate state if there was no reginal bias,if a region is not deprived.


Thanks
Avinash Hyderabadi

Bharti slashes mobile roaming charges, shares fall

A rickshaw driver talks on his mobile phone as he rides past a billboard outside...

Bharti Airtel launched yet another new billing plan on Friday, slashing mobile roaming rates by nearly 60 percent and signalling a tariff war in the world's fastest-growing wireless market was far from over.

The announcement accelerated losses in the shares of Bharti, the country's top mobile operator. The stock fell as much as 3.3 percent but trimmed losses to 2.7 percent at 284.90 rupees by 0825 GMT in a Mumbai market that was up 0.3 percent.

The price war, aimed at grabbing new users ahead of fresh entrants waiting in the wings, has raised concerns about telecom firms' profitability. Four new firms, including ventures funded by Telenor and Etisalat, are set to start services this year adding to the existing 11 operators.

Bharti's market value has slumped more than a fifth this year to about $24 billion and its stock is the second worst performer in the main index that has risen about 72 percent. Rival Reliance Communications has fallen about a quarter in 2009.

Bharti, whose about 115 million users account for more than 23 percent of India's total mobile subscribers, in September cut call charges within its own network to 50 paise (U.S. 1 cent) a minute and in October launched a low-profit per-second billing plan, reacting to competition.

Tata Teleservices, the No. 6 operator, was the first to launch per-second billing, deviating from the industry norm of per-minute billing. The offer was a roaring success and the firm has topped the new signings for three months in a row.

Bharti's latest offer will allow users to recieve calls at 60 paise a minute while roaming, and they can make calls at 60 paise a minute within the Airtel network and at 80 paise a minute for calls to rival networks.

Analysts say Bharti still charges about 8-10 percent higher than Reliance's call prices.

Bharti has said it would be competitive in pricing but had no intention to match the lowest price in the market.

Britney Spears' Twitter account hacked

Pop diva Britney Spears has become a victim of Internet hackers.

The Toxic singer's Twitter and MySpace accounts were hacked and the messages posted on her page claimed she worshipped the devil.

However, several of the messages were deleted after Spears' management regained control of the account, reports China Daily.

The 27-year-old singer's Twitter feed has more than 3.7 million followers and is updated by herself and her "team" of handlers.

A message apologized for "any offense the hacker's messages caused."

Applicants for CAT increased

The CAT is out of the bag and has stunned business schools. For the first time in 10 years, the number of applicants for the Common Admission Test (CAT) has taken a plunge. In spite of an extension of 10 days for online registration, a little over 2.41 lakh applicants registered for the exam this year, against 2.7 lakh last year. The CAT exam is the gateway to MBA in Indian Institutes of Management and other top-rung business schools.

The lower number of applicants also caught the CAT Committee unawares. The committee that's holding this year's examination had made a provision for 3 lakh applicants and had kept a buffer ready in case more applied. Now it's searching for answers. "This year, candidates probably noticed the effect on salaries and employment due to economic slowdown," says Satish Deodhar, CAT 2009 Convener and faculty at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). CAT numbers have consistently registered impressive year-on-year growth of 15-20 per cent in recent years.

Devi Singh, Director, IIM Lucknow, blames unexpected numbers on poor placements. "Since last year's placement scenario wasn't so good, it seems only serious students are going in for MBAs. Earlier, everyone whether a serious candidate or not would write the CAT exam.

While CAT organisers are slightly startled, some industry watchers expected this decline. Says Gautam Puri, Vice Chairman and Co-founder, Career Launcher: "I am surprised the number of applicants managed to touch 2.41 lakh. We were expecting the numbers to be between 2 lakh and 2.25 lakh. Career Launcher, an education services company, offers test preparation to potential MBAs."

Puri attributes his pessimism to poor placement record at B-schools last year. "The feeling among students was that there was no point taking the CAT if it did not guarantee impressive placements, he says.

Another major factor for numbers taking a free fall seems to be CAT turning computer-based. "The moment it became computer-based, students from hinterland backed out, claims Puri. Career Launcher registered higher enrolments for its MBA preparation modules in metros while fewer enrolments were recorded in smaller cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur and Jaipur.

In view of fewer applicants for the CAT, lower-rung institutes that had a harrowing admission and placement season last year have started gathering their act together. One of the steps being considered is reduction in admission fee, according to Puri.

What's in store for the CAT next year? "The numbers will in all probability come back. Or even when they stay at these levels, that's good enough for IIMs. We have only a little more than 2,000 seats on offer," says Devi Singh.

Job market finds its groove

They are hiring again - and at all levels. After almost three consecutive quarters that saw a hiring freeze trend with selective hiring at best, recruiters across key sectors such as healthcare, consumer electronics, automobile and information technology (IT) are actively looking to increase their headcounts. Industry executives say mid-level hiring to hire managers with a few years of experience is the strongest sign yet of a recruitment rebound. Entry-level hires are also up. "Demand for both mid and entry-level recruitments has risen compared to six months ago, indicating companies across various sectors are looking for expansion," said Pramod Thilakan, executive director at the Executive Recruiters' Association. Domestic demand is aiding consumer electronics and automobile companies. Samsung India is recruiting middle and senior marketing professionals, though company officials did not give numbers. Rival LG plans to hire 250 to 300 people in the next six to seven months. "Our focus is on strategic products and we plan to hire experienced professionals for sales and marketing functions," said Yasho V. Verma, HR director at LG Electronics India. Some 30 per cent of Maruti Suzuki's 700 planned hires will be senior and middle recruits and the remainder will be fresh engineers. "Salaries offered are higher than last year's," said S.Y. Siddiqui, managing executive officer, administration. Hyundai has also advertised overseas for recruiting experienced executives.

IT recruitment, hit by a recession in the key US market, is picking up. "Hiring is still not at the peak level of mid-last year but it is building up," Shantanu Banerjee, director, HR, at European IT firm Steria's Indian unit.

Hindustan టైమ్స్

Cyclone Phyan brings rain to Mumbai

Cyclone Phyan might not hit Mumbai directly, though the metropolis will feel its impact due to extremely heavy rainfall, Mumbai meteorological department officials said on Wednesday.

'The cyclone may not directly hit Mumbai, but the impact of the severe weather has already started in the city. In the afternoon perhaps, it will be more severe. Disturbed weather is expected with heavy rains, storms and the sea will become very rough," said a met department official.

Cyclone Phyan was currently 350 kms away from Mumbai, said IMD officials.

Cyclone Phyan skips MUMBAI

80 fishing boats, 800 men missing in cyclone-hit Arabian Sea

Ahmedabad/Panaji, Nov 11 (IANS) About 80 fishing trawlers, with an average of 10 men in each, are missing in cyclone-hit Arabian Sea, organisations of fishermen along India's west coast said Wednesday.

As Cyclone Phyan intensified and tore northwards, slated to make landfall along the north Maharashtra-south Gujarat coast late Wednesday night, there were reports of boats missing at sea, despite repeated warnings from the authorities over the last few days that no fisherman should venture out.

Gopal Tandel, president of the Daman Machimar Sangh (fishermen's association), told IANS: 'Fifty fishing boats with a total estimated complement of about 500 fishermen are still out at sea and are on the path of the cyclone headed this way.' Daman is a small coastal enclave on the Gujarat coast.

'There were about 80 boats out fishing but about 30 of them have either returned or are on their way back,' Tandel added.

Administrator of the union territory of Daman, Satya Gopal, said the Coast Guard authorities had sent out a Dornier aircraft to warn fishing boats to return. He said that over the last three days, special warnings were being put out by the administration advising fishermen against venturing out to sea.

While there was no information from Maharashtra till Wednesday afternoon on any fishing boats missing at sea, fishermen's organisations in Goa told IANS that an estimated 30 trawlers were missing.

The Coast Guard started a search for them. 'Our patrol vessels are already on the lookout for the trawlers. We have also pressed a lookout aircraft into the operation, which will scan the sea off Goa in search of the missing trawlers,' Goa Coast Guard Commandant N. Saxena said.

Rain delays the match

The start of the seventh One-day International (ODI) cricket match between India and Australia at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday has been delayed due to inclement weather.

The possibility of the match being played at all looks remote with heavy rain pouring down during the past 24 hours. A cyclone alert has also been issued by the India Meteorological Department.

Play was scheduled to begin at 02:30 pm. Umpires will now inspect the ground at 5:00 pm and take a decision.

The seventh and final ODI is inconsequential as Australia have already won the series 4-2.

Meanwhile, the first day's play between Board President XI and the touring Sri Lankan side at the Bandra Kurla complex has already been called off.