Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Only one blemish in Sachin’s otherwise clean career' that was published in Newsband

Only one blemish in Sachin’s otherwise clean career

Sachin Tendulkar became a sporting icon due to his feats on the cricket field. Tendulkar rose as an unprecedented nationwide hero-phenomenon. For a generation starved of heroes, and short on confidence, he served as a source of inspiration and motivation. Even when Indian cricket got mired in charges of fixing and bribery, Tendulkar was left untouched. He deserved the extraordinary outpouring of emotions at his farewell match on his home ground in Mumbai. He is deservedly being honoured with the Bharat Ratna. He was rightly nominated to Parliament last year.

At 40, the cricket icon is the youngest ever to receive the award. His performance in the field of cricket was so powerful that many held him indirectly responsible for our lack of performance in Olympics since Indian masses got more inspired by Sachin than by sportspersons like Saina Nehwal, Sushil Kumar or Abhinav Bindra. He was instrumental in making a game played by only 7-8 nations more attractive than sports played by all the countries of the world.

Some people say that Bharat Ratna should have been reserved for better cause than for cricket which is more as an entertainment than sports. But Sachin took cricket to such a high level that the entire country was united in applauding Sachin’s style of playing this sport. Sachin did what no political leader could ever do. He was instrumental in uniting all our countrymen.  

Sachin is one of the best sportsmen of our country. No doubt about that. But he had made only one mistake in his life and career. He had surrendered his captaincy due to his inefficiency in concentrating in batting while doing the job of captaincy. That’s the only drawback in his entire career which is otherwise without any blemish. But Sachin is human, not a God, and hence may be forgiven for this blemish.

Sachin deserves the Bharat Ratna that has been bestowed on him by the Central Government. Whether Dhyan Chand should have got that award before him is debatable.

Whether Sachin's achievements are on the same platform as JRD Tata, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Vinoba Bhave is debatable.  But when scientific achievements (C. V. Raman, CNR Rao), film making (Satyajit Ray), artistic excellence (Lata Mangeshkar, Bismillah Khan, Bhimsen Joshi) are eligible for Bharat Ratna, why not sports achievements?

There is no doubt about the fact that giving Bharat Ratna to Tendulkar is a highly obvious political move bearing the elections in mind. It could have been given to him a year or two back. Why now?

Anyway, this phenomenal cricketer is part of India's identity and is venerated in country and abroad. He already is a Bharat Ratna in true sense. With his phenomenal game and unblotted career he has set up a true example and inspiration for present and future generations. We can have an award after his name in few years. Such is his credibility. Presenting him the Bharat Ratna is the right decision.

Dinesh Kamath's cartoons based on 'Alooramji' that were published in Newsband

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'School managements, students and parents should behave themselves' that was published in Newsband

School managements, students and parents should behave themselves

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: There have been many cases in Navi Mumbai where the parents of the school students had differences of opinions with the school managements. If this type of incidents continue what will be the plight of the students? Both the school management and parents should give a thought to this.

Just recently about a 100 students of Vidya Prasarak Mandal (VPM) school were denied entry to the school for non-payment of fees because the parents of these students were against the fee hike staged by the school management. The parents informed the Education officers from Thane and Navi Mumbai as well as police officials. Parents also assembled at the school gate.

Thane education officials asked the management to allow the students to attend classes and find alternate means to solve the dispute. As per the RTE Act, students cannot be denied entry. The Education officer promised that a probe would be initiated into this dispute.

The parents even approached the child rights commission to intervene in the dispute but the latter refused owing to a high court order earlier.

This was not the first time that this school had hiked the fees. They had done the same thing last year too in spite of ‘Parent Teacher Association’ not having approved it.

Here is another similar case. The students of VPM School, Airoli were made to wait outside their school gate for nearly an hour as the fee hike dispute between parents and the management continued. The management relented only after education officers from the zilla parishad issued notices. It was decided that the inquiry committee would be set up by the deputy director and the decision they would arrive at should be accepted not only by the school management but even by the parents.

The parent teacher association (PTA) in Nerul’s St Xavier’s High School and Junior College had threatened to file a contempt petition against the Thane Education officer for disobeying the high court’s order which had asked him to resolve the school’s change in management through hearing within six weeks of the order. The high court had directed the education officer to conduct a hearing of the trustees, petitioner and other persons including principal and submit a report within six weeks. But the education officer didn’t obey the court’s order.

However, the education officer convened the hearing after the date of submission of report had expired and they just recorded the statement of all the stakeholders.

The school’s functioning hadn’t been smooth ever since the issue of fraudulent dealing by the earlier trust, in 1985, cropped up. The old management allegedly transferred the school trust to another party, keeping the rules and regulations aside. They used an identical name to cheat City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which owns the land. This provoked CIDCO authorities and they filed an FIR with the Nerul police station for the alleged fraudulent. The issue finally reached the high court and the court directed the Thane Education officer to sort out the issue through a proper hearing and submit a report. But what is shocking is the career of 6,200 students was at stake as the change in management of the school was not done as per rule.

There are schools in Navi Mumbai which fail to maintain basic sanitation and hygiene. Access to clean and well-maintained toilets is a basic requirement, within educational institutions. This aspect often gets neglected. In some private schools, students refrain from going to washroom as it is not cleaned regularly. The other aspect is purification system for drinking water. There should be a water purification plant in schools and that should be maintained as well, so students get clean, potable water. The Education Department of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) went to the extent of threatening these schools’ management that if the general hygiene was not maintained, the schools would be issued notices.

Most private schools in Navi Mumbai do have a very good sanitation system since the monitoring by NMMC is commendable. In one of the schools, in fact, lakhs of rupees are spent on sanitation and hygiene. The school's washrooms are cleaned with disinfectant three times a day. This proves that such schools genuinely care for their students.

NMMC had also been playing an important role in this matter by cracking down on lax school facilities. It went to the extent of cutting the salaries of the workers or contractor who are tasked with maintaining general hygiene in civic schools and who failed in their task.

It is the duty of Education Department of NMMC to pay due attention to the sanitation facilities within both private and civic run schools.

The good news is that the department officials and the employees under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) promised to not only focus on administration work but also keep an eye on the conditions of washrooms. Parents were also encouraged to bring their concerns to the notice of the department. Managements of schools were threatened that they would be made answerable to the department.

There should be a system which should ensure that NMMC schools have clean washrooms and heavy penalties are levied in cases where the standard is not maintained. Daily inspections in every school should be conducted. Budget allocated for this purpose should be adequate.

The dispute between parents and school management had even taken place on the sports ground i.e. at the Fr Agnel basketball court. Agitated over the disqualification of their wards’ team, angry parents took over a basketball court in Fr Agnel Sports Complex in Vashi. Stalling the finals of the under-14 girls tournament, parents of students from Vibgyor high school, Goregaon, parked themselves in the middle of the court for two hours before local police intervened. Vibgyor was disqualified by the Districts Sports Office (DSO) on the ground that it fielded students from more than one board. This is the height of competitiveness, where players are sitting at home and their parents are hitting the court. The sports department of the school was of the opinion that these parents are defeating the very spirit of sports.

There was still another case where police had to be called in to the Gold Crest High school in sector-29, Vashi, after parents protesting a fee hike refused to leave the school premises until the management agreed to call a meeting of the parent teachers association (PTA). The policemen asked the parents and the school administration to resolve the matter amicably.

Such constant disputes between parents and school management will only prove detrimental to the career of the students. In larger interest of the students both the school management and parents should display maturity and solve whatever problems they have between them in a more disciplined manner so that the students are not affected in any way. Such disputes are become so common in Navi Mumbai that one feels bad for the students who ultimately become the losers. It is the duty of both school management and the parents to set an example to these students by solving problems in a more civilized manner since after all, these students are bound to be the parents and teachers of the future and they should be taught right from now the right way to settle such minor and petty disputes.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Why is the value of Rupee eroding?' that was published in Newsband

Why is the value of Rupee eroding?

The value of Indian rupee continues to worsen. Why? There are domestic factors that seem to be working against the rupee. Trade data

shows acceleration in exports and a significant fall in imports; if these trends continue, the value of rupee will worsen still more.  

It’s government’s illogical policies/pressures that have troubled the Indian economy and has sent us in a state of fix. We are facing stagflation today. If we try to rectify inflation then stagnation worsens and vice versa.

RBI governor tried to control inflation but under the pressure of the government he had to decrease marginal standing facility to help the business houses raise cheap loans so that they may reap more profits by selling more products to consumers.

Can Inflation be ever controlled by these dubious moves? The swing in its value has made investors from abroad to think twice when investing in India.

Rupee slide is detrimental to Indian economy as we import more than we export - especially oil imports, which is the key to inflation, will be dearer due to rupee slide. RBI has to take strict measures to control the stability of rupee which is key to keep the interest rates, inflation and economic instability under control. As election is round the corner, high volatility of prices, rupee and stock market may lead to a volatile marketplace both economically, financially and politically. UPA and RBI should focus on limiting current account deficit, trade deficit and managing financial instrument diligently to make a significant impression rather than looking for last few pennies to make before they

give away power.

Rupee will rebound after the elections. But the future will not be bright because of the structural faults. The structural faults are related to high corruption, lack of discipline, ignorance, poor governance, and lack of unity within the nation. The environment in India is not conducive to fix these structural faults. They still look to the West for approval of their performance and this lack of confidence is a result of the above stated structural faults. A strong and honest government is needed to fix these structural faults.

The Rupee has been weakening ever since the country attained independence in 1947. One had to pay Rs. 4.50 to a Dollar to buy an air ticket to the USA in 1966. Today, the price of an air ticket to the USA is almost the same in Dollars but, in Rupee terms, it is 15 times what it was in 1966. China is manipulating its currency exchange rate to prevent Yuan from appreciating. Here we are struggling to keep INR from depreciating. What a contrast!

Fall of rupee against dollar is matter a of serious concern for a parent

whose son/daughter studying abroad with meager scholarship and need

support from India. Fall of every rupee affects those parents who live on

a fixed monthly salary, though some exporters may be celebrating the weakening rupee.

Successive governments’ misplaced priorities have had their share of influence on eroding the value of Rupee. We need to concentrate more on Primary Sector (Agriculture and allied services) to bring about a structural change in economy. The government must take steps to make agriculture a profitable proposition.

India should try to reduce excessive dependence on Foreign Institutional Investors funds and encourage domestic savings and investments as foreign funds will always be highly volatile depending on world’s economic climate

This is the only way forward to improve our economy and instill the faith in our currency.

Video: Dinesh Kamath sings medley of Amitabh Bachchan's hit songs

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movie-releases in Navi Mumbai’ (Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, Singh Saab the Great, Last Vegas and Battle of the Year) that was published in Newsband

New movie-releases in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (Translation: My Fair Lady, In Your Love) is a 2013 Indian romantic comedy film written and directed by Punit Malhotra. Produced by Karan Johar under the banner of Dharma Productions, the film features Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shraddha Kapoor in pivotal roles.

The movie has an interesting story. Sriram Venkat is the most shallow guy on earth who doesn't value relationships, family, friends, life or the country. Not necessarily in that order - because he couldn't care less about the order. This makes him the clear 'black' sheep of the family.

At some point this shallow man begins to narrate the story of the crazy relationship he shared with Dia Sharma - his ex girlfriend, a firebrand social activist who wanted to change the world. An attraction which was physical initially but then got emotional and finally veered into complex territories resulting in a clash of ideologies and mindsets which drove them apart bitterly. Sriram believed that charity begins and ends at home. Whilst Dia felt that you have to be the change that you want to bring about.

However Sriram realizes that he is not over with Dia and still loves her and that she is the best change that ever happened... and will happen to his life.

But Dia has moved on and is now in an obscure village in Gujarat called Jhumli.

Sriram lands up in Jhumli to take his love back... But Dia refuses to return with him. Frustrated and faced with the ultimate challenge, Sriram realizes the only way he can impress upon Dia to come back with him is by making Jhumli independent. By helping others - something he is just not accustomed to do. This is the biggest irony of his life.

What he doesn't bargain for are the various road blocks he might face, in the face of politics, corruption and clueless villagers. But the biggest hurdle he faces eventually is himself. His own moral fabric which isn't upto the challenge he has undertaken.

Will Sriram be able to win back his love? Will he be able to bring about the change in Jhumli as well as in himself??? This is the story of a boy and his struggle to cross a bridge... a bridge that bridges the love and gap between two people.

The film has Imran Khan as Sriram Venkat, Kareena Kapoor Khan as Dia Sharma, Shraddha Kapoor as Shabbu Patel, Esha Gupta as Nisha in a special appearance in song Dhat Teri Ki, Nizhalgal Ravi as father of Sriram Venkat, Avantika Malik Khan in a Special Appearance in song Dhat Teri Ki and Kalyani Natarajan as sister-in-law of Sriram Venkat.

Music for the film is provided by Vishal-Shekhar. There are nine songs in the films. They are Dhat Teri Ki sung by Sanam Puri and Aditi Singh Sharma, Chingam Chabake by Shankar Mahadevan and Shalmali Kholgade, Tooh by Mika Singh, Mamta Sharma, Vishal Dadlani and Shruti Pathak, Naina by Neeti Mohan and Kamal Khan, Dil Duffer by Shruti Pathak and Nitesh Kadam, Moto Ghotalo by Sukhwinder Singh and Sanah Moidutty, Dhat Teri Ki (Remix by DJ Rishabh) by Sanam Puri and Aditi Singh Sharma, Chingam Chabake (Remix by DJ Kiran Kamath) by Shankar Mahadevan and Shalmali Kholgade and Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (Mashup by DJ Kiran Kamath) by Shankar Mahadevan, Shalmali Kholgade, Nitesh Kadam, Shruti Pathak, Sukhwinder Singh, Sanah Moidutty, Mika Singh, Mamta Sharma, Kamal Khan and Neeti Mohan (Remixed by DJ Kiran Kamath).

Singh Saab the Great

Singh Sahab the Great is a 2013 Hindi Drama film directed by Anil Sharma. The film features Sunny Deol, Urvashi Rautela and Prakash Raj as main characters. The film also has Amirta Rao and Johnny Lever playing important roles.

Singh Sahab the Great is a story about a common man, who takes pride in his honesty. He leads a simple life and believes in honestly and true values. Sunny Deol plays a Collector of a small city of UP, who fights corruption and injustice. The story is driven by love and its strength. It is a story about change not Revenge.

The kind of power that this collector has is commendable. He has the best of all worlds, whether from judiciary or police. The film preaches that if this power is well exercised, the society can benefit in a major way.

In this film there is this entire system, mafia, government and politicians that Sunny Deol has to battle with; there is a home that he comes back to as well. All of this strikes a good balance in his life and also helps him take all the conflict heads on.

The film, which is set in current times with Sunny playing a collector, isn't all about action though. There is quite a lot of drama involved with an inherent humour forming a part of Sunny's characterisation. Amrita Rao plays the role of a journalist. She essays a very important role, that of a righteous kind of a scribe. Her heart is on the right side of things in this film. The film is to an extent an action drama which is based on the topical subject of education mafia, and will see Sunny back in his very popular macho action image after a long time. The film has the number one bad guy of Bollywood right now, Prakash Raj, and the handsome bad boy, Aseem Merchant. In short, the film is based in North India and is about the education (and cheating) mafia. While Sunny Deol tries to curb the mafia in his characteristic way, Prakash Raj and company, who are on the wrong side, try to thwart his attempts to rid the system of all evils.'

The music of the film is composed by Anand Raj Anand. And the title song of the film is composed by the legendary singer Sonu Nigam. Singers are Sonu Nigam, Kumaar, Sunidhi Chauhan and Anand Raj Anand. The film has songs like Singh Saab The Great, Daaru Band Kal Se, Palang Todh, Jab Mehndi Lag Lag Jaave, Daaru Band Kal Se (Remix) and Heer.

Last Vegas

Last Vegas is a 2013 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jon Turteltaub, starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline.

Four best friends in their late sixties – Billy, Paddy, Sam, and Archie – decide to have a bachelor party in Las Vegas for Billy, the last of them to be getting married.

An all-star ensemble featuring Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Robert De Niro, the film offers an effective humor and heartfelt dichotomy, with De Niro and Douglas handling the most emotional scenes. The film succeeds in offering a heartfelt theme and decent comedic plot.

When Billy — played by Douglas — gets engaged to a much younger woman, his friends Archie, Paddy and Sam — Freeman, De Niro and Kline, respectively — throw him a bachelor party in Las Vegas. A romantic complication that occurred between Billy, Paddy and Paddy’s dead wife decades ago emerges and ultimately comes to a head during their stay in Vegas. That is how complicated the plot gets.

To be exact, the three lifelong friends make a trip to Vegas in order to witness the wedding of their oldest pal Billy, who is finally tying the knot — with Lisa (Bre Blair) a 31-year-old “baby.” Only Paddy, isn’t so much going as he is being conned into going, because of an old feud with Billy (Billy didn’t come to the funeral of Paddy’s wife, who had passed away a year earlier, who also was a childhood friend). As it turns out, Billy has been carrying a torch for her since they were kids and simply couldn’t show up and eulogize her because of it.

Still, they have been best friends since childhood, so when Paddy, Archie, and Sam show up and see Billy there, Paddy almost turns around and heads back to Brooklyn. The boys convince him to stay, but when they get to the hotel, it turns out that they don’t actually have rooms because neither Archie nor Sam ever actually made reservations. While sorting things out, they run across Diana (Steenburgen), who is a lounge singer crooning to an empty room. As can be expected, both Billy and Paddy are both immediately drawn to her.

She befriends the group and agrees to travel with them to Billy’s hotel where a funny mix-up (and Archie’s amazing good fortune) lands them in an exclusive VIP penthouse suite with their own concierge, Lonnie (Romany Malco). Now these four must sort out their long-standing differences, while remembering what made them friends in the first place while attempting to sow what is left of their oats in Vegas while attempting to forget their advanced age and relive their glory days. However, the four quickly realize that the decades have not only transformed Sin City but are now testing their friendship in ways they never quite imagined.

Battle of the Year

Battle of the Year is a 2013 American 3D dance film directed by Benson Lee. The film stars Josh Holloway, Chris Brown, Laz Alonso, Caity Lotz, and Josh Peck. Battle of the Year is based upon Lee's documentary about the b-boying competition of the same name. It initially held the working title of Planet B Boy, and includes some cinematography by the original doc DP "Vasco Nunes".

The movie follows Dante and Jason as they try to put together a B-boy team that will win the upcoming Battle of the Year under the belief that proper coaching can take any team to victory.

Josh Holloway (TV’s “Lost”) plays Jason Blake, a former basketball coach enlisted by longtime pal and mogul Dante Graham (Laz Alonso) to whip a team of dancers into shape for the Battle of the Year. Despite his burgeoning alcoholism and a few personal reservations — “I ain’t that guy any more,” he grunts — Blake agrees, recruiting Graham’s sharp-witted, dance-obsessed intern Franklyn (Josh Peck) as an assistant.

Graham assembles his team of the best American dancers from across the country. Blake begins the arduous process of molding a group of individual stars into a cohesive unit. But as dancers like Rooster (Chris Brown) and Do Knock (Jon Cruz) compete for the spotlight, Blake finds his skills as a coach tested, even as Graham begins to exert pressure on him to deliver a team that can bring home top honors at the competition.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Why this double standard?' that was published in Newsband

Why this double standard?

The Commonwealth countries are supposed to believe in human rights, democracy, good governance, rule of law and freedom of expression among others. Then how is that Commonwealth Head of Governments’ Meeting 2013 (CHOGM 2013) took place in Sri Lanka which had grave human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan military against Tamil civilians in 2009 during the last battles against the LTTE?

The Rajapaksa government had hoped that the summit would help in restoring its international credibility. Exactly the opposite has happened. There is a harsher spotlight on the country’s rights record, new allegations have been levelled even while old ones refuse to go away.

Some heads of government vociferously opposed this Meet and stayed away. They included even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

British Prime Minister David Cameron displayed the guts to publicly criticise Sri Lanka’s rights record, issuing an ultimatum to President Rajapaksa to institute by March a credible inquiry into allegations of rights violations. He did what the Indian Prime Minister should have done. He visited Jaffna, connecting with the Tamil people and their problems first-hand. This is what our Indian Prime Minister should have done too. But he didn’t do it.

If our PM had visited Jaffna and interacted with the victims of war, it would have strongly registered India's concern for Srilankan Tamilians. Also it would have registered that India strictly adheres to the Foreign polices imbibed so far. Victims primarily require empathy, only then there can be a proper focus on the alleged crimes caused, which British PM did.

Well, Let us now wait and see how our Indian Prime Minister will deal with Sri Lanka issue in March 2014 at the U.N. Human Rights Council.

It is true that British PM did the right thing by strongly opposing the atrocities against Tamilians in Sri Lanka. But one can’t understand as to how the British PM, who had displayed full sympathies and support for Tamilians in Sri Lanka, could agree to fund for mine clearing in the northern part of Sri Lanka. This double standard adopted by the British PM is not appreciated by any Indian.