Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Australian Open 2017 was interesting' that was published in Newsband

Australian Open 2017 was interesting

The year 2017 will be remembered by tennis fans for it featured the legendary battle between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open. Rogerer Federer won his 18th Grand Slam crown and his first since Wimbledon in 2012. Serena Williams, playing sister Venus, continued her dominance, capturing a professional-era record 23rd title. She defeated Venus. Serena’s presence in the final was unsurprising. All four finalists were over the age of 30.

 With their triumphs in Melbourne, Federer and Serena, both 35, managed what only a few of the greats have.

Australian grand slam has been a ' grand' success for tennis lovers. The most deserved players and the most respected players of recent times won their titles. They pushed the art of tennis to dizzy heights by playing a superb role in its promotion

Great achievement of Roger. It is really awesome. He was never going to lose that game. Yes he had a short block for awhile but soon got back on track. It would be nice to see Nadal with not such an aggressive look continually on his face all through his games but that's his makeup and it is a real turnoff. Anyway the best player in the world won and that's all that matters. Such a gentleman is always through every game he plays.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Serena Williams is the length of time she has been winning Grand Slam titles. The first came on 11 September 1999 in New York; the 23rd on 28 January 2017 here in Melbourne.

The match itself will quickly be forgotten; but never the achievement. Richard Williams used to beg tennis clubs to part with their old balls when he started to put his daughters through their paces in the Los Angeles district of Compton, and now Serena has more Grand Slam singles titles than anyone who has ever played the game, with the exception of Margaret Court.

Williams is now just one behind the Australian - who was watching on the Rod Laver Arena - and in the view of the 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova, it is a record she could "shatter" before her playing days are done.

Dinesh Kamath's news 'MSAI along with Heart Foundation spread awareness on road safety to students' that was published in Newsband

MSAI along with Heart Foundation spread awareness on road safety to students

By Dinesh Kamath

PANVEL: Members of Medical Student’s Association of India (MSAI) along with Heart Foundation, NGO, conducted a seminar on road safety in Shantiniketan Public School, New Panvel, on 31 January, 2017 with an aim to spread awareness on road safety measures, rules and regulations amongst children.

Around 100 students of 6th and 7th standards attended the seminar which was conducted by the third year medical students of MGM Medical College, Kamothe- Vasvi Sharma and Jyoti Sravya along with Dr. Jayakar Ellis, President, Heart Foundation.

While stressing on the importance of following road safety rules Dr. Jayakar Ellis said: “People need to be responsible for their own safety. Unless that happens, the road accident rate is unlikely to come down. It is important to inculcate road safety rules right from childhood.”

“Students are the best messengers to spread road safety awareness in the society. This is the reason why we decided to conduct a seminar for students of this age group,” said Vasvi and Jyoti.

The students were taught on how to be safe, follow traffic rules through Power Point presentations, charts and placards.

Appreciating this initiative, Mrs. Swati Roy, Principal, Shantiniketan Public School said, “The role of student in Road safety is very important and we are so elated to have this type of training for our students. We also assure that we will continue to teach the other students in our school too”.

The students too expressed happiness and vowed not only to follow traffic discipline themselves, but also spread awareness about rules and regulations to others in the society.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Make railway commuters feel secure' that was published in Newsband

Make railway commuters feel secure

While sabotage is indeed a factor in some derailments, bad railway performance is responsible for the majority. The main causes of accidents are variation in the wheel gauges of two coaches, carriages being run beyond their useful life, failure of railway equipment, derelict staff, rail fractures and even non-railway factors.

India’s Railways serves the vital function of providing travel access to millions. Mahatma Gandhi had said that ‘Third Class in Indian Railways’ have the responsibility of making it equitable and comfortable and that it must also be safe.

There is need for budgetary support to raise safety in a government-run transport network. Replacing ageing and unsafe carriages with modern one is necessary. But supply has not kept pace with requirement.

Raising the performance of the Indian Railways needs a clear vision for both service and financing, with zero tolerance for accidents. Use should be made of technologies such as ultrasonic flaw detection to keep tracks safe,

Only additional funds or upgrading railways with new technology won't serve the purpose of the railway safety. Because the majority of accidents were caused by factors completely under control of railway administration, most incidents can be prevented just by strong vigilance and performing duties by each individual responsible person. The strong administrative control is the need of an hour.

Mere fund allocation will not work. What is required is monitoring - the utilization of the fund, the quality of work carried out and fixing responsibility and penal action where the official is found guilty. Railway should attach priority to safety of passengers and cleanliness of the compartments and toilets. There is no point in launching ambitious and costly projects like bullet trains to the benefit of few without ensuring safety and hygiene to the ordinary passengers in ordinary trains.

While it has become a habit of the government and politicians to blame the 'anti- national' or terrorist elements for almost every railway accident, the investigations have shown lacunae in the operations itself. The tracks swell as the trains are obsolete and need replacement. The drivers and other fourth class employees do not get adequate remuneration or facility for healthy working conditions. The signal system is poor and sufficient funds are not being allocated. "Derelict staff" - this is the real cause of mostl rail accidents. Our inherent systems on which promotions are made automatically but not based on quality output.

Another important factor is to increase the passenger fares in line with that of State Road Transports. The Railway administration must allocate more funds on safety measures. But it is struggling to meet even the operating cost due to paucity in revenue. Increasing the speed and number of trains is not the criterion but to assure a safe travel for crores of people seeking Railway as their key mode of transport.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial '2016 was the warmest year' that was published in Newsband

2016 was the warmest year

2016 was the warmest year on the instrumental record since the late 19th century, and the hottest of three record-breaking years in a row. The trend is a warning to all countries that they cannot afford to rely on carbon-intensive growth any longer. The rise in temperature was largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.

A warming globe with changes to the climate in the form of altered rainfall, drought, floods, lost biodiversity and reduced crop yields would particularly affect millions in China and India. Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal has promised a steady increase in solar power capacity, going beyond the target of 100 gigawatts by 2022,

The leaders of the world must revise their industrialization policy in no time because prevention is better than cure. These require a prompt actions by the all the international organizations. Whenever any country tries to bring green revolution in energy utilization, forums like WTO and super powers like USA, USSR etc. should be supportive and have a look at the things beyond optimization of profit in international Trade & Commerce.

Indian government must impose strict rules on vehicle emission and factories and educate people on global warming. Though rules were made by our government, the government officials fail to take strict actions against rule breakers

Every country should take steps to prevent global warming in their own interest. In fact, they should help each other in preventing global warming. Environmental changes are not linear to be able to predict in a straight line. It is highly nonlinear and its impact will be sudden after crossing tipping point. India would be better off living simple life. Global warming would not spare rich. It is a message Trump should take to heart and so also Modi with all his development plans. Every Indian irrespective of caste, creed, literate or illiterate have to understand the impact of climate change and which they must tackle somehow or the other.

India has to reduce the heat by controlling the emission of carbon from fossil fuels and increase the renewable energy namely solar power. Already the awareness on solar energy is spreading and it 2020 it will take its optimum growth. But reducing carbon emission as promised in the Paris climate agreement is a tough task at this juncture of activating ‘Make in India’ concept and boosting the export market for which increased carbon emission is unavoidabe. Carbon emission coupled with pending El nino effect is a double whammy for India and we have to tackle the problem by adopting right approach.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Treat the jawans humanly' that was published in Newsband

Treat the jawans humanly

The videos showing jawans of both the paramilitary forces and the Army complaining against a host of issues from diet to colonial-era practices was shocking. There is a need to initiate a detailed study into the internal health of our security establishment.

It is a fact that the service conditions in Armed Forces and security forces are not humane. That the service in respect to Jawans that is to say those below the rank of Commissioned officers are such that one immediately feel the pinch of ill treatment and there is no remedy. You can be court martialed at the drop of a hat at the displeasure of the senior officers.

The perplexity of the situation is that we, the common people, can't believe that defence personnels have gone through such oppression. This shows that no matter in which organisation you are but you are bound to get bullied if you revolt against the superiors. This may stand as a hindrance for recruiting new individuals to the defence force as their belief in the system has gone down.

In the uniformed services job there are cases of higher bureaucratic officers ill-treating the subordinates. When you treat Army as sacred and officers like demigod, it's bound to happen. Army has never grown out of colonial era practices. Still the relationship between officers and Jawans is Master-Slave like to some extent. When it's punishable offence to disobey the senior's order, one can understand what's happening is normal. Army Chief and Generals are well aware as they climb the same ladder.

It is ignominious matter that lower ranked army men are not getting sufficient food. We all know that they follow their duty with huge risk than high ranked army men. They bear lot of difficulties that is, terrorism, cold, hot and also the fear of wild animals. But, they never make complaint. They are not common. If government is not able to bear their healthy food expenses then nothing will be more unfortunate than this.

What could be the dire effects of soldiers using social media for their genuine problems which possibly could not be solved through established mechanism? Those who always shout about our country, our soldiers, their high morals and how much it is important that we should never undervalue the sacrifice our soldiers make, where are they?

The complaints of the jawans are serious issues, which must be attended to without delay. After this is done, it must be impressed on the jawans that resort to social media is not the right way to voice their grievances, and that they must use appropriate channels to do so. Confidence in the readiness of authorities to render justice to them must first be instilled, by taking prompt action.

The truth is the privileged who replaced the Brits have made sure they continue to enjoy the same life style as the rulers did.

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movies released in Navi Mumbai’ (Raees and Kaabil) that was published in Newsband

New movies released in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

Raees

Raees (English: Wealthy) is a 2017 Indian action crime thriller film directed by Rahul Dholakia and produced by Gauri Khan, Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under their banners Red Chillies Entertainment and Excel Entertainment. It stars Shah Rukh Khan, Mahira Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Raees was said to be based on criminal Abdul Latif's life, though the filmmakers deny this, saying "The story of the film is a pure work of fiction, not based on any person; living or dead."

Raees is the fictitious story of a man named Raees, set in early 1980's to 1990's Gujarat, India. The film explores how Raees' relationships and meteoric rise helped him build an entire empire from scratch, to make him the single most powerful man in the state. Less of a gangster but more of an impresario, Raees gains popularity, a cult following and most importantly the public's trust by demonstrating entrepreneurial flair, unfettered determination to achieving his goals and ironically a heart of gold. His layered character traits encapsulate an inimitable blend of personas, making him revered, loved and feared. Always thinking ahead of the curve and using revolutionary ideas of management which were unheard of during his time, but are now doctrines for students, Raees eliminates every opposition that comes his way. However, his downfall will be crossing paths with the no-nonsense police officer Majumdar, whose sole reason for existence is the elimination of crime. What ensues next is a tumultuous battle between the two, which forms a key defining element of the film's narrative. Criticizing the prohibition of alcohol, prostitution and illegal drugs in Gujarat, this film unfolds the story of a cruel and clever bootlegger, whose business is challenged by a tough cop. Thus the film narrates the story of a man who builds an empire in the state of Gujarat, the only state that still follows prohibition. It's a story about his rise and his relationships, which help him become the single most powerful man in the state.

The film has Shah Rukh Khan as Raees, Mahira Khan as Aasiya, Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Superintendent of Police Jaideep Ambalal Majmudar, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Raees's friend Sadiq, Atul Kulkarni, Sheeba Chaddha as Raees's mother and Sunny Leone as Guest appearance in song "Laila Main Laila".

Soundtrack album by Ram Sampath. The soundtrack was released by Zee Music Company. The song "Laila Main Laila" from the 1980 film Qurbani was written by Indeevar, and was originally composed by Kalyanji–Anandji, and it was sung by Kanchan, Amit Kumar, Chorus, has been recreated for the film Raees by composer Ram Sampath. Additional lyrics are written by Javed Akhtar. Thus the film has songs like "Laila Main Laila", "Zaalima", "Udi Udi Jaye", "Dhingana", "Enu Naam Che Raees", "Saanson Ke" and "Ghammar Ghammar".

Kaabil

Kaabil (English: Capable) is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Sanjay Gupta, written by Vijay Kumar Mishra, produced by Rakesh Roshan under his banner FilmKraft Productions. It features a love affair between two blind people, played by Hrithik Roshan and Yami Gautam. Music is composed by Rajesh Roshan.

The movie was reported to be inspired by 1989 movie Blind Fury with shades of 2014 Korean movie Broken.

This is the story of a man who lived, laughed and loved just like everyone in this world. Until one day, a terrible tragedy struck. Driven by the fire of vengeance, nothing will stop him. Not even the fact that he has been blind since birth. Specially-abled people often struggle with the system, particularly societal injustice and apathy. Few dare to confront their antagonists head on. But desperate times demand desperate measures. And so in Kaabil, that chosen one is Rohan Bhatnagar (Hrithik Roshan), who is blind and has an evolved sense of smell and directions. He is a terrific voice-over artist who takes mental notes of English dialogues and then translates them to Hindi in real time. His self deprecating humour doesn’t look absurd when he meets Supriya (Yami Gautam), also a visually impaired person, and declares ‘it’s love at first sight.’ They get married but don’t live happily ever after, because the local corporator Madhavrao Shellar’s (Ronit Roy) brother Amit (Rohit Roy) decides to take advantage of Supriya’s lack of sight. Kaabil begins to strike a chord here, because rape of people, including men and women, with special needs is something we often hear and read about. But can they strike back?

The film has Hrithik Roshan as Rohan Bhatnagar, Yami Gautam as Supriya Bhatnagar, Ronit Roy as Madhavrao Shellar, Rohit Roy as Amit Shellar, Narendra Jha, Suresh Menon, Md. Sahidur Rahaman, Girish Kulkarni and Urvashi Rautela (special appearance in song)

The music for the film is composed by Rajesh Roshan. Singer Jubin Nautiyal has sung three songs in the film. The film has songs like "Kaabil Hoon", "Haseeno Ka Deewana", "Kuch Din", "Mon Amour", "Kaabil Hoon" (Sad Version) and "Kisi Se Pyar Ho Jaye".

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'India should focus on political and military progress' that was published in Newsband

India should focus on political and military progress

The long-range ballistic missile Agni-V was successfully test-fired for the fourth time. The indigenously built nuclear submarine INS Arihant was commissioned recently. This proves that India is on her way to creating a robust and world-class second-strike capability. Remember that India has sworn to no-first-use of nuclear weapons. With the four tests, Agni-V is now ready for induction into the Strategic Forces Command, with a target range from 700 km to 4,000 km.

 A credible second-strike capability should also be complemented by a modern, powerful military. The Indian military badly needs modernisation across its three arms. India does have a mature political and military leadership today. In a complex global strategic environment, where nations issue nuclear threats India showcases itself as a responsible nuclear power.

India has its obligation to its citizens and its overall obligation to the humanity by developing and installing an effective and robust deterrence while adhering to its "non first strike" nuclear growth.

Today government of India is focusing on good governance. The problems of defence can be solved pragmatically by eradicating the internal termites like black money and lack of education.

Almost all the countries are trying to create deterrent to their enemy country. But there is need for India to always remember that it should not only focus on nuclear weapons but also good governance and development. Along with arms and missile, we should focus on our manual strength as well.

While the missile technology is rising to great heights, the MiGs are failing causing human casualties. The policy should not just be a show of strength to the world but also there should be plugging of internal loopholes

In the fast changing global scenario, India needs to stand on its own legs. Whatever arsenal we could gather should be made part of our forces. It is no secret that there is a possible scenario of future escalation of conflict in the region. Our number 1 adversary is China and it is that country which props up Pakistan against us rather than the U S. This fact needs to be considered while working on our future defence policy maneuvers.

Living in fear was a fashion till recent times with most of the people falling in love with destruction power. This should not be the case now when the world has become civilized to a great extent.

However, it is a commendable job done by India but there is need for us to improve much beyond the expectations. Agni V is another feather in the nuclear military power of the Indian defence structure. It is good that our nuclear power is becoming stronger and stronger and it is a must at this juncture when India is having border issues with frowning neighbours like China and Pakistan. India is doing the right thing by continuing missile test. It must have war preparedness and augment second strike capability. India should never hesitate to use nuclear missiles to counter the attacks from neighbours with incessant enmity.

Those who opposed n-weapons and missile development in 1998 are now congratulating the successes of this programme today. We have learnt from experience that we must always stand for our 'self-interests' just like all the other nations and that there is no need for moral grand-standing.

The last thing is that it is obvious that the cost of acquiring such weapons is huge. It is necessary that we strike balance between genuine defence concerns and the need to improve the living conditions of the people.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke like a visionary in Davos' that was published in Newsband

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke like a visionary in Davos

President Xi Jinping, while addressing during the World Economic Forum in Davos spoke in defence of the current world economic order. He supported the idea of broader internationalism and showed his opposition to the rising tide of inward-looking nationalism. He cautioned against attempts to prevent the free flow of goods, services, capital and people. He called for economic protectionism and supported the Paris accord on climate change. He called for a reform of global economic governance structures, to reflect the contribution of the emerging and developing countries.

Mr Xi called for more inclusive representation. He spoke about the dangers posed by mass migration which were the main cause of wars and conflicts. The developing countries have reaped most of the benefits of economic mobility, rather than having to deal with the difficulties of immigration. The post-Cold War era of open economies has brought unprecedented prosperity and income redistribution around the world.

No Chinese leader had been so forceful as Mr. Xi was while speaking about globalisation. China, so far, had not taken up the leadership role in spite of its economic and strategic power. But the changing world order has forced China to take up the role. Now all that Beijing is expected to do is convert its words into action. 

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Navi Mumbaikars left enthralled by Electra 2017' that was published in Newsband

Navi Mumbaikars left enthralled by Electra 2017

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Electra 2017 - a dance extravaganza by Nikhil Anand’s Elevate Dance Institute was an eye pleasing, foot-tapping experience, which Navi Mumbaikars enjoyed from the heart, on 22 January 2017 at CIDCO Exhibition Centre’s Auditorium in Vashi. It was a joyous spectrum of 50 dance performance, mixture of 15 dance forms by 400 students of Elevate Dance Institute.

 “The 15th Edition of Electra was a kaleidoscopic presentation of Folk dance, Bollywood, Hip hop, Belly dance, Jazz, Ribbon dance, Glow light dance, Spot dance, Lavani, Projector dance, Rock-n-roll, Sword dance, Theme dance, Retro, Contemporary, among others by the students of EDI to showcase their horn talents and take blessing from the present celebrity Gurus,” said Nikhil Anand, Director of the institute. “This is only for dance crazy Navi Mumbaikars,” he added.

The highlights of the show was when the celebrity guest Ditya, winner of Super Dancer, came on stage with students and amazed the audiences while watching their TV Box ideal's live performance.

At the spectacular finale, all students who have performed in Electra were felicitated by guests of honour, who showered upon the performers praise, awards and certificates, amidst non-stop applause in the background by audience expressing their love for the form of joy giving art-dance. During this show were present Super Dancer winner Ditya Bhande, Actress Tejshree, Actor Rushad Rana, DID contestant Saddam Shaikh, Tushar Shetty, Actor Shreyas Pardiwalla, Choreographer Bittu Singh, India’s got talent contestant, choreographer Eshan & Preeti, Super Dancer choreographer Palden Lama, Acash Shetty, Bollywood choreographer Amrita Maitra, Teenager Crew, Dance Plus contestant Eleangels, Crew Dance in India choreographer Khushboo Gupta, Bomsquad Dance Crew, Actor Manik Talwar, Jalak Dikhlaja Contestant Pranalini Atul, India’s dancing superstar contestant Amardeep Natt, Dynamic dance crew, 6^th India’s got talent winner  Manik Paul and others.  

About Nikhil Anand - A dreamer, a visionary and an abstract personality. Having a discussion with life at an early age made this young soul realize his importance in the world of movement. He never planned anything, as he believes that the plan is already there, we just need to explore and actualize it. Founder and Director of Elevate Dance Institute believes in discovering movement with time as he strongly believes – Time is Growth.

He has performed at the Common Wealth Games held in Melbourne, Australia in 2006. He has even made it big by being a part of famous Bollywood nights such as IIFA, Stardust and The Filmfare. He has also choreographed events such as IPL and ONGC Cup finals in D. Y. Patil stadium. Nikhil Anand’s incredible ability to deliver exceptional performances has established him on a national level.

An Appeal To The Authorities of Google Plus

An Appeal To the Authorities of Google Plus

I strongly feel that the Authorities of Google Plus should continue displaying Number of Views and not just Number of Followers. Since last many days, my Google Plus Score is being shown as 14,631,371 Views. I don't know why my score in Google Plus has not been updated since last many days. I appeal to the Authorities of Google Plus to please continue displaying Number of  Views along with Number of Followers. That would be the most fair thing to do. Thank You and Regards!

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Can Mr Trump keep all his promises?' that was published in Newsband

Can Mr Trump keep all his promises?

The 45^th President of the U.S. Donald Trump, in his inaugural address, vowed to end the “American carnage”, put “America First” in all policy decisions and eradicate “radical Islamic terror” from the “face of the earth”. Mr. Trump has already issued an executive order to roll back certain aspects of Obamacare, a health-care programme. Pages on LGBT rights, climate change and Obamacare are already removed from the White House website. His administration is also planning a missile defence system that could trigger a nuclear arms race.

This poses a new set of challenges, for the U.S. and the rest of the world. Hundreds of thousands of women in the U.S. protested against him showing how divided the country is. The current crisis in globalisation had helped Mr. Trump’s rise. Mr. Trump displayed his disdain towards multilateralism and unfriendly approach towards China. He has repeatedly said he will get the “best deals” for the U.S.

Mr Trump’s ideas are not appreciated by the anxious, angered, anti-establishment white working class. How Mr. Trump will meet the tall promises is left to be seen. 

Former Editor of Newsband Mr K R Bhat passes away (End of an Era)

Former Editor of Newsband Mr K R Bhat passes away (End of an Era)

NAVI MUMBAI: Veteran Journalist, Former Editor of Newsband and Editor of ‘In New Bombay’, Mr. K. R. Bhat, passed away on 20^th January, 2017, at 8.30 am, at Vinaya Hospital & Research Centre, Mangalore.

Mr Bhat was a visionary who believed that 'Local Newspapers Serve Local Needs', and would never fail to highlight any important issue of Navi Mumbai. He was a political commentator and a very social person who guided the staff of Newsband and In New Bombay as well as Aaple Nave Shahar like a Fatherly figure.  He was a very active member of Kannada Sangam. He was also conferred upon an appreciation certificate which was handed to him by the then Thane Guardian Minister Ganesh Naik for his excellent contribution to the newspaper.

Mr K R Bhat was an excellent writer of Editorials and nobody in Navi Mumbai could match him in this aspect. He was a scholar in English language and would not tolerate any mistake made while writing reports by any of his staff member. He served as Editor of Daily newspaper Newsband for four and a half years. Before that he was the Editor of Weekly newspaper ‘In New Bombay’ for many years. His style and method of writing was a source of inspiration for the members of his entire staff and so also the newspaper readers.

He had been contributing to the newspaper till the recent time but unfortunately due to illness he stopped attending the office and then proceeded to his native place where he resided till his death.  Mr K R Bhat has left behind a vacuum which will be difficult to fill.

Mr K R Bhat’s relatives have informed that there will be after-death rituals at Sri Shankara Sadana, Perla, Kasaragod Dist, Kerala, on January 30^th, 31^st and February 1^st 2017.

Members of Newsband, Aaple Nave Shehar, In New Bombay and KD Constructions Pvt. Ltd.  deeply mourn the death of their beloved ‘Bhat Sir’.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'War against hacking is necessary' that was published in Newsband

War against hacking is necessary

Is it true that the victory of Donald Trump in the November presidential election was owing to Russia’s alleged “influence campaign” that sought to tip the scales in favour of the property magnate? It seems there were hacking of email accounts of Democratic Party officials and other political figures. Further, personal information of the victims was passed on to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks and broader media. This must have led to defeat of the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton.

It is possible that a section of voters was swayed by this covert action? But the scholars say that Mr. Trump’s win was owing to domestic politics, including economic woes and the anti-immigrant attitudes of an angry middle class

Information is ultimate power in the digital universe of 21st century democracies. The rise of hacking and fake news thus is a source of deep fear. How might this impact the world where Russia and China are aggressively pushing for domination over the EU/UK?

How secure are India’s administrative, financial and commercial systems to attacks by Russia and China? Does the unprepared push towards digital-economy make matters worse? Where do all these leave India, when China is encircling India (by influencing India’s neighbours with money and military might) and supporting Pakistan to attack India?

Since it has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the US presidential election was messed with by Russia, the result should be treated as null and void by the US Election Commission. The EC then should order a re-poll after plugging all the loopholes so Russia or any other country cannot hack the presidential re-election. However, surprisingly, there is no talk or sign of such a thing happening.

After terrorism, Hacking is worldwide threat that breaches security cordon clandestinely to play havoc. Even if lives are not under threat, it gives an opportunity for wishes and aspirations of other nationals to penetrate and sideline the views of majority nationals and have their scores settled finally. It has the power to change the landscape of the future. That USA was regarded highly secured and impregnable was brought to nought on 9/11 when twin towers came crashing down following attacks by terrorist groups. Using her might America not only crushed militancy within and outside her boundaries but made USA safe again.

Within a couple of decade we see American elections could be penetrated, hacked. It proves that all is not well with USA too. Mr Trump’s Nelson’s eye on hacking is dangerous for US and rise in hacking will mar plans of leaders and upset fair election processes. A collective effort as “War against Terror” is essential.

Video: Dinesh Kamath during Annual Day Function of Daily Newspaper Newsband

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'World will miss Obama' that was published in Newsband

World will miss Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the American people one last time. He highlighted his administration’s top achievements. He warned about rising economic inequality, simmering racial divisions and regression into intractable partisanship. He has one of the highest approval ratings in recent history. He urged Americans to rebuild trust in democratic institutions by reducing the corrosive influence of money in politics.  

Obama has built an impressive legacy spanning domestic and foreign policy. Inheriting an economy buckling under a severe economic recession, he buoyed the sinking assets of American enterprise. He did excellent job in matter of Iran nuclear agreement and Osama bin Laden. Obama, however, was less effective in détente with Russia and China.

Obama was U.S.’s first African-American president and a man of the 21st century. In spite of the negative approach of the Conservative Republican Law Makers who vowed to see that none of his plans go through the Congress because of their racial hatred towards him, the people really admired him for the way he and his family conducted themselves in the White House during the last 8 years. No doubt, Obama will go down in the annals of the US as one of its great presidents. That, the racist republicans cannot stop.

He assumed Office with a sincere vision - as any young individual would; to rid the world of nuclear weapons, end gun-culture at home, abolition of racism, bring stability in Middle East, spur the country's economy etc. He took the bulls of Wall Street and tamed it legally.

Obama will be missed, more so because now the entire world is under a phase of political and economic transition. Democracies will have a razor-sharp eyes on the US as Trump comes to power. Trump is showing likelihood of targeting two more countries: Iran and China

Obama identified with the common man and emerged as a crusader to end terrorism. He believed in building up democratic institutions and left the post without black marks and enhanced dignity to the highest office. He will be remembered forever

Obama represents the lowest rung of the population in the USA. He made things relatively better for the coming Trump administration. Obama played the stick of diplomacy with caution and care. The 44th African-American president Barack Obama's farewell speech was quite impressive. India had expected many things from him especially in the matter of Pakistan. But after the death of Osama-bin-Laden, America's steps towards terrorism was totally redundant.

The U.S.’s first African-American president will be remembered as a thoughtful Commander-in-Chief, a leader who strived to provide a progressive template for being, and a man of the 21st century who was as comfortable with social media and popular culture as he was sensitive to searing pain of victims of gun crime or racial hate. He will be missed.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Will AAP win Punjab?' that was published in Newsband

Will AAP win Punjab?

Arvind Kejriwal was sworn in as Chief Minister of Delhi in 2013. Kejriwal saw himself as rivalling Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi, fighting corruption and communalism. The AAP’s bid for power in Punjab is more an extension of its plan of action in Delhi.  

In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, AAP did poorly outside Delhi, Punjab and Chandigarh. The party won all its four seats from Punjab; the decision to focus on these core support areas, instead of spreading itself thin, thus made sense. In Punjab, the AAP could position itself as an alternative to both the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Congress. The agrarian crisis, the drug mafia, jobs and development issues are in the forefront of the AAP’s campaign. AAP needs to groom a regional leader in Punjab. Punjab might be important for the AAP’s national goals.

In the earlier years of establishment of AAP, It was found that their leaders were working sparkly on various issues like, agrarian crisis, drug mafia, jobs and development. But, day by day their unity became weaker. One leader blamed other leader within the party. But, now after getting support from Panjab they have united once again.

Citizens of Punjab have always had a choice between a highly corrupt, dynastic local party, and another highly corrupt local party – acting as a vassal of a (dynastic) monarchy. This time they have a third choice – a party which has brought about some change in every legacy party of India by reawakening the dormant values in Indians, even though its efforts to govern/deliver are constantly thwarted by centrally controlled agencies.

It takes time to bring about change in governance, but no one can reach their destination without making a start. Only the citizens of Punjab can improve their state – by voting for progress – not the same old plunder/corruption.

Much of Indian media is orthodox. They are fine with long-standing parties, but are wary of any new party. Legacy parties are heavily funded by vested interests, and the Indian media is not too shy to act as a party propaganda machine. If Indian democracy is to survive, and corrupt Indian polity is to be persuaded to mend its plundering ways, then India must have new parties and voters must support them to change India.

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movies released in Navi Mumbai’ (The Bye Bye Man, Founder, The Crew, Majaz and Coffee with D) that was published in Newsband

New movies released in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

The Bye Bye Man

The Bye Bye Man is a 2017 American horror thriller film directed by Stacy Title and written by Jonathan Penner, based on the chapter "The Bridge to Body Island" in Robert Damon Schneck's book The President's Vampire. The film stars Douglas Smith, Lucien Laviscount, Cressida Bonas, Doug Jones, Carrie-Anne Moss, Faye Dunaway and Jenna Kanell.

Three Wisconsin college students come up against the sinister Bye Bye Man. The luckless victim at the center of the story is Elliot (Douglas Smith), a college kid who just moved into a creepy off-campus rental with his best bud, John (Lucien Laviscount), and girlfriend, Sasha (Cressida Bonas). Life seems perfect until Elliot makes the mistake of looking in the bedside table of this fully furnished haunted house. Obsessively scrawled inside the drawer is the mantra of the movie: “Don’t think it. Don’t say it.” “It” is revealed when Elliot pulls back the drawer lining to see the comically non-terrifying name. “The Bye Bye Man,” he says, out of idle curiosity, not realizing that he has sealed his fate. As it turns out, anyone who says the name gets a visit, and the more friends and acquaintances a person tells, the more people the spirit haunts. The Bye Bye Man is basically a fatal virus. It spreads fast when the afflicted person can’t keep his or her mouth shut. Elliot and his friends start having weird visions and hearing chilling noises. Huge scratches appear on the walls that only Freddy Krueger could have made. Of course there’s a mysterious backstory to all this that isn’t too hard for Elliot to track down at the local library.

The movie has Douglas Smith as Elliot, Lucien Laviscount as John, Cressida Bonas as Sasha, Doug Jones as The Bye Bye Man, Carrie-Anne Moss as Detective Shaw, Faye Dunaway as Widow Redmon, Michael Trucco as Virgil, Cleo King as Mrs. Watkins, Jenna Kanell as Kim and Erica Tremblay as Alice.

The Founder

The Founder is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel. The film stars Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc and portrays the story of his acquisition of the McDonald's fast food chain. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch co-star as McDonald's founders Richard and Maurice McDonald.

The movie narrates the true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers' speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.

The movie has Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, Nick Offerman as Richard "Dick" McDonald, John Carroll Lynch as Maurice "Mac" McDonald, Linda Cardellini as Joan Smith, Patrick Wilson as Rollie Smith, B. J. Novak as Harry J. Sonneborn, Laura Dern as Ethel Fleming, Ric Reitz as Will Davis, Justin Randell Brooke as Fred Turner and Wilbur Fitzgerald as Jerry Cullen

The Crew

The film ‘The Crew’ is directed by Nikita Mikhalkov and produced by Leonid Vereshchagin.

The movie narrates a story about bravery, self-sacrifice and human dignity put on trial by the merciless power of nature. A young pilot is fired from military air force after disobeying an absurd order. He gets a job as a co-pilot with a civil airline. Being brutally honest and direct, he is not on best terms with his new colleagues. During a flight to Asia his crew receives a distress message from a volcanic island and makes a decision to attempt a rescue mission. Will it be a success? Will they survive the disaster? They have a single chance to find that out: by being a team and sticking up for one another.

The film has actors like Danila Kozlovsky, Vladimir Mashkov, Katerina Shpitsa, Agne Grudyte, Sergey Shakurov, Sergey Romanovich, Sergey Gazarov and Yang Ge.

Majaz

“Majaz” Aye Gham-e-Dil Kya Karun, named feature film on biography of AMU’s alumnus Asrar-ul-Haq Majaz. This is a feature film of two and half hours duration which is produced by the “Dream Merchant Films” and directed by Ravindra Singh. Shakeel Akhtar, an alumus of AMU is the writer of the film. Producers of the film are Shakeel Akhtar alongwith Dr. Madihur Rehman Khan.

Majaz was a renowned Urdu poet popularly known as Majaz Lakhnawi, born on 19 October, 1911 in Barabanki and died on 5 December 1955 at the age of 44 only. He was known for his romantic and revolutionary poetry. He studied in Aligarh Muslim University and also wrote the University Tarana. The last stanza of his poem, “Jo Abr Yahan Se Uthega Wo Saare JahaN Par Barsega” is mostly used in public gathering of Aligarians.

Coffee with D

Coffee with D is a Hindi film starring Sunil Grover, Zakir Husain, Dipannita Sharma and Anjana Sukhani directed by Vishal Mishra and produced by Vinod Ramani.

The movie has an interesting story. Arnab is a popular news anchor, he has an expensive lifestyle and a pregnant wife to take care of and losing his job would mean a failure on both counts. But the world trusts Arnab to come up with something new as he has always done and so he does! He decides to infuse a new lease of life in his show by announcing an interview with the most infamous and most wanted don of the Mumbai underworld, 'D'. Coffee with D is a hilarious escapade of Arnab and his team of Neha, Roy, Rummy and Chussi. The plot revolves around how Arnab manages to get an audience with D in Pakistan and the extent to which he has to go to make that happen. And finally, the interview with the man himself whose motivations of doing this interview are totally different and utterly sinister.

The film has Sunil Grover as Arnab, Zakir Hussain as D, Dipannita Sharma as Neha, Anjana Sukhani as Parull, Arnab's wife and Rajesh Sharma as News channel owner.

All lyrics of the film are written by Sameer; all music composed by Superbia. The film has songs like "Coffee With D" sung by Anu Malik, "Nation Wants To Know" by Shaan, "Ali Ali" by Shabab Sabri and "Tumhari Mohabbat" by Shaan. 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Strategic partnership should be with the right countries' that was published in Newsband

Strategic partnership should be with the right countries

India’s decisions over the past two decades to upgrade more than 30 of its bilateral relationships to “strategic partnerships” are not bad. The term “strategic” implies a future convergence of interests in areas that are vital: security, defence and investment.

India signed strategic partnership with the east African country of Rwanda recently. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Gandhinagar.

Since 1998, when India announced its first strategic partnership with France, successive governments have signed such partnerships with dozens of countries. Countries on the UN Security Council such as the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia and China, or others such as Japan, Australia, and some of the neighbours have genuinely contributed to India’s security and economic interests. India should focus on countries with which there is a long-term vision on securing India’s needs.

The US considers Rwanda an important strategic ally in large part because of its geographical location as a gateway to eastern DR Congo and much of the world’s most precious mineral deposits. Country also has outsized influence in the region. To cite just the size, the GDP, etc is to miss the point.

It is felt that both the strategic partnership and bilateral ties are being mixed together to present a view that the countries involved are projecting economic interests. India has signed many agreements of military interests and projected them as beneficial to economy. Commercial issues have been dealt in the garb of security interests.

Strategic partnership is essential with countries which are having potentials on economic front like defence, power, industries and investment. Having 'strategic partnership' with countries which are having less ingredients to growth are a mere window dressing process and what is the use of having unnecessary key agreements without potential for mutual growth? It is nothing wrong to have specific individual bilateral agreements but strategic partnership is something more. Strategic partnership should be with the countries with political and economic stability. To develop mutual courtesy on social and economic front with a nation, it is better to have specific agreement rather than use 'strategic partnerships' which are with more meaning.

The word ‘Strategic’ could be considered for any relationship if it is going to: (a) Strengthen the efforts to ensure Sovereignty of the Indian Territories as enshrined in the Constitution of India. (b) Help protecting and exploiting our EEZ, Space - Satellites, Space station & Inter-Planetary probes. (c) Support n ensuring Access and Navigational Rights and Economic Exploitation rights in International Waters, incl. the land and waters of Antarctica and Artic Territories. (d) Help in ensuring Personal Safety of Indian Citizen abroad, and ensuring the economic rights of Indian Citizens and / or the Commercial interests of the Nation either abroad or on any inter-planetary territory. (e) Helps in obtaining favourable Trading International Trade Conditions and Markets for Indian produce, goods and services. (f) Ensure free and unhindered flow of information in any form at affordable and reasonable cost.

Faces of Online Hero Dinesh Kamath

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'More employment seekers and less jobs' that was published in Newsband

More employment seekers and less jobs

The number of people who annually reach working age are found to be more than the availability of jobs. The International Labour Organisation has forecasted that a few more millions are set to join the pool of the jobless during this year and the next. There is a big number of people facing vulnerable working conditions. The challenge for policymakers worldwide is to ensure that incomes do not fall below the levels of basic subsistence

The generation of employment has been slowly declining creating vast number of jobless youth working force. The industrialisation with latest technology has displaced manual labour with machine labor and advanced profitability to few oligarchs and business tycoons as reflected in world economic surveys. The alternative lies in promoting agriculture sector and allied industries which are labour - intensive and can boost food security and economic development as well. Only a paradigm shift in policy can cater to people's welfare.

Scholars are assuming that next decade will be fortunate in nature not only for emerging economies but also for the whole world because new opportunities will be emerged.

India has younger population which has reached enormous proportions, with annual "job-needing" youngsters who enter the market forming about 16 million to 18 million. Added to them, over 50% of the 500 million other able bodied working class are already in various struggle levels of eking out their existence in fits and starts. It is now fairly well understood that the so-called Globalization, which began in the early nineties and started its hegemonic entries into almost the entire world, has created more jobless than those who were benefited - although the population who benefited have had it all great, relegating a huge volume of other population into poverty levels. India, today, has about 450 million working class people who are in that condition, and the Government (whichever party is at the center) seem to care two hoots to solve this deadly problem of under-employment and un-employment. The answer to this dangerous trends that bring forth huge exoduses is Localization

There is a mismatch between the 'ready for job' population and the creation of jobs. Beyond wage earners and salaried class the number of people in vulnerable jobs are in hike and the global scenario in this regard is not good to reduce the percentage with creation of jobs with security. The global economic slow down and changes in the life style of people and policy of polity reduced the creation of jobs. For example China's shift from export led economy to consumption oriented concept led to loss of blue collar jobs. Trump wants to regain all the jobs US has lost on outsourcing which will create vulnerability for Indian jobs at US. Declining oil prices send thousands of workers jobless on loss of demand. These vagaries in job market is gaining momentum and the ILO must reduce the job market vagaries and reduce the mismatch between the job seekers and the creation of the same.

For a populous country as ours, the present employment strategies will not yield result and the number of educated unemployed will go on increasing. Gandhiji's stress on handicrafts will yield some results.