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आज तिरंगा झालाय नामी
साऱ्या देशाचि त्याला सलामी,
कार्य भिमाच आलय कामि, सदा ऋणी तयाचे
आम्ही...
देशा संगे आज नटवीला
जिल्हा तालुका गावं
घटणेच्या पहिल्या पानावरती गाजतय माझ्या भिमाचं
नाव...जय भीम.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Buddha quotes----Dhammapada (Theravada Buddhism)
‘No enemy can harm one so much as one’s own thoughts of craving, hate and jealousy’ (Dhammapada 42).
“The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.” -The Buddha
"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many generations.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men
Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it."
-- Siddharth Gautam, The Buddha
"He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.” -The Buddha
life has no meaning in itself but we can make life meaningful----buddha
19. “Much though he recites the sacred texts, but acts not accordingly, that heedless man is like a cowherd who only counts the cows of others — he does not partake of the blessings of the holy life.
20. Little though he recites the sacred texts, but puts the Teaching into practice, forsaking lust, hatred, and delusion, with true wisdom and emancipated mind, clinging to nothing of this or any other world — he indeed partakes of the blessings of a holy life.”
-------------------------------
One who keeps company with fools
Will grieve for a long, long time.
Living with fools is painful,
As is living with foes.
Living with the wise is delightful,
Like relatives gathered together.
Therefore
You should follow a good, intellegent person
Who is wise, insightful, learned,
Committed to virtue, dutiful, and noble,
As the moon follows the path of the stars.
(Dhammapada 208)
.------------------------------------------
There is no fire like passion,
No crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation,
No sickness like hunger,
And no joy like the joy of freedom.
Buddha
Dhammapada.
-------------------------------------------
“The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.” -The Buddha
"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many generations.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men
Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it."
-- Siddharth Gautam, The Buddha
"He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.” -The Buddha
life has no meaning in itself but we can make life meaningful----buddha
19. “Much though he recites the sacred texts, but acts not accordingly, that heedless man is like a cowherd who only counts the cows of others — he does not partake of the blessings of the holy life.
20. Little though he recites the sacred texts, but puts the Teaching into practice, forsaking lust, hatred, and delusion, with true wisdom and emancipated mind, clinging to nothing of this or any other world — he indeed partakes of the blessings of a holy life.”
-------------------------------
One who keeps company with fools
Will grieve for a long, long time.
Living with fools is painful,
As is living with foes.
Living with the wise is delightful,
Like relatives gathered together.
Therefore
You should follow a good, intellegent person
Who is wise, insightful, learned,
Committed to virtue, dutiful, and noble,
As the moon follows the path of the stars.
(Dhammapada 208)
.------------------------------------------
There is no fire like passion,
No crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation,
No sickness like hunger,
And no joy like the joy of freedom.
Buddha
Dhammapada.
-------------------------------------------
Loving kindness
This is what should be done by a clever one to arouse the advantageous:
Having attained a peaceful state: He should be capable, straight, and very
upright, easy to speak to, gentle and not proud, contented & easy to support,
with few duties, living simple, with calmed senses, devoted, & neither angry
nor greedy. He should not do any mean thing, which wise men would criticize.
Always he should wish: Let all beings be happy, joyous, glad, safe and secure.
Whatever living creatures there exist, still or moving, small or large, seen or
unseen, far or near, already existing or coming into being, let all these living
beings without any even single exception be completely happy!
One should never despise anyone anywhere, nor humiliate anyone anywhere,
nor ever wish for any being misery or harm, because of anger or irritation.
Just as a mother would protect her only little son even risking her own life,
exactly so should one cultivate an unbounded mentality towards all beings;
loving-kindness towards all in this universe. One should cultivate an infinite
mind, above, below and across, without barriers, without enmity, matchless.
Whether standing, going, sitting, or lying down, even when slumbering should
one practise this exalted infinite goodwill. This is said to be a Sacred State!
Sn 143-151
WHAT IS NIBBANA?
WHAT IS NIBBANA?
By Mahasi Sayadaw
(From 'Nibbanapatisamyutta Katha' or 'On the Nature of Nibbana',1995)
(From 'Nibbanapatisamyutta Katha' or 'On the Nature of Nibbana',1995)
Nibbana means extinction or annihilation. What is extinguished or annihilated? The round of suffering in the realm of defilement (kilesa vatta), of action (kamma vatta)and of result of action (vipaka vatta) is extinguished or annihilated. The realm of defilement encompasses avijja, ignorance, tanha, craving, and upadana, clinging or attachment. The realm of action includes both meritorious and demeritorious deeds that contribute to emergence of the endless round of rebirths. The realm of the result of action, usually called kamma result, relates to the consequences of actions, good or bad. Every action produces a resultant of mind, matter, six sense-bases, feeling etc. Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking are all manifestations of the result of action or vipaka.
Failure to grasp at insight-knowledge which recognizes the real nature of existence when a man sees or hears something is ignorance. When he declares that he sees or hears something, he does so with the wrong notion that it is actually his ego that sees or hears. But in fact, there is no ego. This wrong notion deludes one into believing that things are permanent or pleasing or satisfactory. It, therefore, gives rise to craving, which, as it intensifies, develops into clinging. This is how defilement builds up its own empire.
As soon as clinging to sense-objects develops, efforts must at once be made to satisfy the desire for those sense-objects. The volitional activities or sankhara would start operating. In the present context they may be called kamma-formations, for they are responsible for forming or shaping actions. When, as a result of such formations, death takes place in the course of existence, it is inevitably followed by rebirth, for patisandhicitta, rebirth-linking consciousness, arises soon after cuticitta, death-consciousness. Death is followed by becoming. In other words, a new life begins. This, it may be said, is a resultant (vipaka) of kamma formations which again and again bring forth conscious ness, mind, matter, six sense-bases, contract, feeling, etc.
Dependent, therefore, on vipaka vatta, there arises kilesa vatta; and dependent on kilesa vatta, there arises kamma vatta. The revolution of these three vattas is incessant throughout the endless round of existence. It is only when insight-knowledge is applied to the practice of noting the phenomena of arising and passing away of the aggregates that Path-consciousness develops and Nibbana is brought near. At this stage, ignorance, with its faithful attendant, defilement, is annihilated. In the absence of defilement, no fresh actions or kammas can be formed. Any residual kamma that happens to exist after the annihilation of defilement will be rendered inoperative or ineffective. For a Worthy One, ¶ Arahat, no new life is formed after his death-consciousness There is now a complete severance of the cord of existence which signifies annihilation in sight of Nibbana.
Hence, the definition of Nibbana runs thus: Nibbati vattamdukkham etthati nibbanam; nibbati vattarndukkham etasmim adhigateti va nibbanam. In Nibbana, the round of suffering comes to a peaceful end. Hence cessation of suffering is Nibbana. In other words, when the Path of an Arahat is reached, the round of suffering ceases.
Nibbana is, therefore, peace established with the annihilation of suffering. For the sake of brevity, please note only this -- Nibbana is synonymous with absolute peace. Annihilation brings about complete elimination of rounds of defilement, of action and of result of action. The Commentaries say that the state of peaceful coolness or santi is a characteristic of Nibbana. When coolness occurs the ambers of suffering are extinguished. But what is to be noted with diligence is the complete annihilation of the three rounds of defilement, action and result of action which all go to create mind, matter, volitional activities, etc.
In Ratana Sutta, annihilation is described as quenching the flames. "Nibbanti dhira yathayam padipo," runs the relevant verse in Pali. With men of wisdom like Arahats, all becoming is extinguished in the same manner as light is put out. Their old kammas or actions having come to exhaustion, no new kammas which create new becoming can arise The flame of existence is thus put out.Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu !!!!!!!!!!
Emperor Ashoka
who was ashoka?
Emperor Ashoka (274–232 BC) is a famous personality in the Indian history .Ashoka is the third Emperor of the Mauryan dynasty, Ashoka is also referenced as Priyadarshani a Prakrit word meaning good looking. He set very high standard to rule his kingdom which is followed in developed nations in recent times. Ahoka was the first ruler of India which united all India uniquely first time very successfully. During his rule today's India,Pakistan, Bangladesh,Parts of Afganistan and Iran was part of the Mauryan Empire.
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Early life of Ashoka before to become Emperor
Ashoka was son of Bindusara the Second Emperor of Mauryan dynasty and grandson of world famous Chandragupta the founder of Mauryan Empire. He had given royal military training.He was awesome fighter,hunter and he had fabulous skills with swords.
During rule of Bindusara many ministers rebelled against the Empire. Ashoka got responsibility to get control over rebels and to stop riots in Avanti province because he had reputation as a awesome warrior. Until the last moments of Bindusara the Empire was not stable.Many of Bindusara's son started fight over succeeding the Mauryan Empire. Many of them were not capable as compared to Ashoka. It is said that ill Bindusara near to death was in favour of his son sushim to succeed the throne but ministers strongly supported Ashoka.
After becoming Emperor the war of Kalinga
With support of prominent and other ministers Ashoka declared himself Emperor of Mauryan dynasty. Ashoka killed his brothers to get rid of conspiracies against him.
Further He declared war against prosperous state of Kalinga i.e Orissa when kalinga state denied to come into fold of his Empire. War of Kanlinga caused tremendous violence. Though finally he won the war and state,he suffered by outcome of bloody war. Ashoka was already seen as heartless and cruel.
The change of Heart
Even after winning a war and fulfilment of ambitions, he was not happy. He realised first time that violence never brings good outcomes. He suffered nervous breakdown by looking the numerous crying widows, parent less children,corpus of soldiers,infants,and civilians, He found himself the most unfortunate man on the earth who made this things to mankind.
After passing through war field he found the Buddhist monks busy to helping injured and finding unfortunates to save thier lives. For them no one was stranger to help and cure. Ashoka came in contact with buddhist monk Upagupta and after impressed by Buddhism principles,he embraced Buddhism.
Ashoka was a wise secular
Though Ashoka is seen mostly related to Buddhism, it should be noted that he was a wise secular.Mauryan were Jain since the founding their empire. He did not banned other religions,sects which were present in India since earlier time. Although he banned animal sacrifice offered in Yagnya or rituals by vedik religion.
Archaeologists have found epigraphs in which Ashoka had ordered to every states of his empire to respect each religion,sects,cultures and offer them freedom and mutual respect.
The Ashoka has significant role to spread Buddhism to different parts of known world of that time. He sent his only daughter Sanghamitra and son Mahendra to Shrilanka to propagate Buddhism and scholar monks to east west Asia as well as far east Asia and many countries of Europe.
The Buddhism survived in original form called as Theravada in Sri Lanka and south east Asian countries. It is available in Pali language which Buddha himself used for preaching in common mass.
Ashoka raised about 84,000 structures of Vihars,Stupa,chaitya for propagating and preserving Buddhism in his empire which consisted Indian Subcontinental countries,some parts of Iran/Persia and Afghanistan as well.
change is law of Nature
Change is Constant
According to Buddha "nothing is permanent,only permanent thing is change"
Everything around and within us is changing.Constant change is law of nature and we should not be attached to the things to be a peaceful and happy mind.
The one of the major reason of unhappiness is that , we are attached to the things which are not permanent.
Attachment is the major reason that we are taking birth after death of this body life.
We are so much attached to the things that we are unable to recognize that we become unhappy when things don't remain as it is!!
We must understand that "change is permanent" and attachment is the reason that we are taking birth in body form ages over age.
Overcoming attachments of any kind is key to coming out of birth and rebirth process and it is called as nirvan or nibban in pali language.
Everything around and within us is changing.Constant change is law of nature and we should not be attached to the things to be a peaceful and happy mind.
The one of the major reason of unhappiness is that , we are attached to the things which are not permanent.
Attachment is the major reason that we are taking birth after death of this body life.
We are so much attached to the things that we are unable to recognize that we become unhappy when things don't remain as it is!!
We must understand that "change is permanent" and attachment is the reason that we are taking birth in body form ages over age.
Overcoming attachments of any kind is key to coming out of birth and rebirth process and it is called as nirvan or nibban in pali language.
Four types of Persons
story
On one incident bhagvan Buddha was passing through a village.After traveling long distance through jungle Buddha decided to take a bit rest.Buddha was taking rest under the shadow of a tree,then this news spread into the village.One of man of village was so much curious about Buddha.He was good by nature but he was confused about certain questions about life .He always wanted to be a good person but he always felt he did not know "what is the way to be a good exactly".Without losing a moment,he started to find the place where Buddha was arrived.He certainly found the Buddha and asked Buddha for his precious time.Buddha without hesitation asked about him.
The person asked Buddha, "who is the best person in the world? and what should one has to do to be a good person". Buddha smiled and without any late ,Buddha replied to him,There are four types of persons in this world.He categories these persons into four types.
The person who don't live for self nor for others:Some people are so unhappy that they don't live for good purpose.They are just living because they have life.They don't take interest in worldly happenings.They don't want to do useful deeds for self nor for others.This kind of persons are not different from non living things which don't affect the lives of anyone.
The person who live for others but not for self:Some people are very strange,they think that if they are living for others and neglecting the self then they are the happiest but in actual case ,they do not find any kind of joy or pleasure in their life.They are not on right path either.They are always unhappy in blind faith that they are doing the great things.
The person who live for self but not for others:Some persons are so much selfish,they don't care anyone for self wish and interest.They even don't care about their responsibilities nor they feel bad for their wrong deeds.This type of persons will always judge others but never think about their own responsible behavior.Though this people living for self only,neglecting responsibilities never bring happiness to them.
The person who live for self and for others as well:Some people are happiest and have meaning in there life.They are also keen to bring happiness for self but also help others too..This persons never do things which will harm others or self.This kind of people are always busy in some constructive and meaningful work.They complete their duties and responsibilities responsibly and they are happiest persons of the world and this is the best way to live life.
Drama of vegetarians in India
Myth About Vegetarian India
If you think that India is a country of vegetarians only then it is an myth.Perhaps most people in India are non vegetarian.But it is true that some people in India makes lot of chaos about being vegetarian.First one needs to understand why this vegetarian drama was started in India. India was a laboratory of different indigenous religious around before 3000 yrs.Some of significant indigenous religions are Jainism,Buddhism,Ajivikas (these are atheistic religion in which god does not have special or any place in there philosophy)Jainism is oldest indigenous religion of an India in which non violence has importance or perhaps it is an pillar of this religion.The jains even take care that any microbes also should not get killed by them.Jains don't eat onions or any vegetables which kills microbes during there harvesting and non vegetarian is not the edible for then because killing is an taboo for them. Founders of Jainism were belonged to Warrior class,many were emperors or kings.Jainism was the major religion of India in history but nowadays Jainism is an minority religion in India but they are self employed and generally prosperous business community.
another religion which is called Buddhism which was founded in India by Lord Buddha,He was Also belonged to warrior clan of shakya in northern India.Buddha also given importance to non violence therefore for the monks eating non veg was not allowed,but in some cases the non veg not specially cooked for them is allowed to eat for them if they get in there bhiksha.vegetarian in Buddhism is not strict like Jainism and followers of Buddhism can be non vegetarian too but encouraging non vegetation is prohibited as per there basic principles.
These two religions Jainism and Buddhism made lot of impact on the population of India for not killing animals.Jain were strictly vegetarian including avoiding eating veg which cause killing of microbes during harvesting.
Other hand Lord Buddha preached against animal sacrifice done by vedik Hindus,according to lord Buddha how can killing animal can bring happiness or good for anyone? .Lord Buddha said animal sacrifice is wrong vision and blind faith.
As people became aware by Buddhism and Jainism they find it authentic and right to follow non violence.The importance of Jain and Buddhist monks started to increase because they were hardcore monk who were depended on minimum offerings by their followers and common people.Perhaps living on minimum requirements and food is mandatory for these monks.
Vedik which isn't the indegeous religion of India.Vediks are actually religion of Aryans which were migrated to India from Iran or central Asia.They follow rituals of yagnya in which fire is worshiped and animals even shudra/low cast males are sacrificed(it is called narmedh yagnya).We can still find animal sacrifice evidences by vedik in nepal and different parts of India.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/nepal/6645024/Worlds-biggest-animal-sacrifice-held-in-Nepal.html
As the popularity of Buddhist and Jain monks were increasing for there non vegetarian principles.Vedik priest also became vegetarian to counter attack.
but reason of Buddhist and Jain philosophy to become vegetarian is merely based on avoiding killing or violence.Other hand vedik allow animal sacrifice but don't eat claiming that it unhygienic to eat non veg.
Vedik even change definition of vegetarian according to their wish.The vedik priest who lives around coastal areas of India eats fishes ,crabs or sea food daily but they claim they are vegetarian because they don't eat onion.
After transformation happened in India in terms of Kingdoms.vedik established there religion and sidelined Buddhist and Jain religions by hook or crook.
But the mentality of veg and non veg taboo got deeply rooted inside India.Majority of India is not vegetarian in India nor they were vegetarian in history. The people belonged to priesthood also highly abandoned there vegetarian lifestyle perhaps they fed up of false ranting of there vegetarian superiority which was not depended on non violence but fable claim that eating non veg is not good for health.Priest related to vedik religion even have written texts telling medicinal value of non veg diet to recover illness.
But Jains strictly follow vegetarian lifestyle even today strictly and happily because the basic principles of there religion is non violence.Buddhist are not strictly vegetarian but they reduce non vegetarian life style.
Hindus which are bound to vedik religion were never vegetarian,only priest turned to vegetarian mode to beat Jain and Buddhist monk's popularity and common people were always non vegetarian.
But during this time,various taboos regarding eating habit introduced and practiced inside society of India Common Hindus eat non veg but they can't enter temple or holy place after eating non veg.They have to bath next day if they have to enter temple but surprisingly they can eat non veg other times.
Friday, 10 August 2012
WHAT IS A BUDDHA ?
The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "enlightened one". The Buddha was an "ordinary" human like you and me before he became enlightened. Enlightenment is compared to waking up, because we suddenly experience a complete transformation of body and mind when we wake up. A Buddha is a person who has developed all positive qualities and eliminated all negative qualities. One could say that a Buddha represents the very peak of evolution, as he/she is omniscient or all-knowing. With his wisdom, a Buddha really understands the truth, whereas ordinary people live like in a dream, an illusion that prevents us from understanding reality properly.
"Our teacher, Sakyamuni Buddha, is one among the thousand Buddhas of this aeon. These Buddhas were not Buddhas from the beginning, but were once sentient beings like ourselves. How they came to be Buddhas is this.
Of body and mind, mind is predominant, for body and speech are under the influence of the mind. Afflictions such as desire do not contaminate the nature of the mind, for the nature of the mind is pure, uncontaminated by any taint. Afflictions are peripheral factors of a mind, and through gradually transforming all types of defects, such as these afflictions, the adventitious taints can be completely removed. This state of complete purification is Buddhahood; therefore, Buddhists do not assert that there is any Buddha who has been enlightened from the beginning."
His Holiness the Dalai Lama from 'The Buddhism of Tibet'
The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni or Gautama Buddha, lived about 2,500 years ago in India. However, he was not the first Buddha, and will not be the last either. He taught that during this eon (very long time period, maybe comparable to the life-time of the universe as we know it), there would be 1,000 fully enlightened Buddhas who would introduce Buddhism (after it has been totally forgotten). The numbers one to three in this eon are Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kashyapa, then comes Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha some 2,500 years ago), and the next Buddha will be called Maitreya.[1]
"Our teacher, Sakyamuni Buddha, is one among the thousand Buddhas of this aeon. These Buddhas were not Buddhas from the beginning, but were once sentient beings like ourselves. How they came to be Buddhas is this.
Of body and mind, mind is predominant, for body and speech are under the influence of the mind. Afflictions such as desire do not contaminate the nature of the mind, for the nature of the mind is pure, uncontaminated by any taint. Afflictions are peripheral factors of a mind, and through gradually transforming all types of defects, such as these afflictions, the adventitious taints can be completely removed. This state of complete purification is Buddhahood; therefore, Buddhists do not assert that there is any Buddha who has been enlightened from the beginning."
His Holiness the Dalai Lama from 'The Buddhism of Tibet'
The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni or Gautama Buddha, lived about 2,500 years ago in India. However, he was not the first Buddha, and will not be the last either. He taught that during this eon (very long time period, maybe comparable to the life-time of the universe as we know it), there would be 1,000 fully enlightened Buddhas who would introduce Buddhism (after it has been totally forgotten). The numbers one to three in this eon are Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kashyapa, then comes Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha some 2,500 years ago), and the next Buddha will be called Maitreya.[1]
Steve Jobs - a successful Buddhist Businessman
Imagine the scenario: a billionaire walks into a mobile phone shop. The sales assistant says, 'Can I help you?' but gets the reply 'Just looking, thank you.' The man tries a few phones, lifting his glasses to look at the detail of the display. He presses a couple of buttons. He shakes his head. He could buy any phone in the shop; in fact he could buy the shop, or even buy the chain. But he doesn't. He walks out, empty-handed.
It sounds like an urban myth but it could be a day in the life of Steve Jobs, who is chief executive of two technology companies that are admired both inside and outside their respective industries: Apple (which makes the iPod and a range of computers) and Pixar (which made the films Toy Story and The Incredibles). Apple made him a multi- millionaire, Pixar made him a billionaire, and the two mean that at the age of 50 he has cemented a unique position as a force in computing, consumer electronics (through the iPod), the music business (the iPod again) and Hollywood.
And despite all that, he still can't choose a mobile phone. (How nice to find you have something in common with such people.) His problem, he says, is that he can't find things that satisfy him. 'I end up not buying a lot of things,' he says, carefully, when I ask how he chooses what to buy from the myriad of gadgets and technologies in the shops. 'Because I find them ridiculous.'
I'm in an anonymous underground room in Paris with Jobs and a large group of journalists, in a floor below a conference centre where people are flocking to a showcase of Apple products and services, a cacophony of promotional videos and software demonstrations with amplified voice accompaniment by eager geeks. But here, it's quiet. Jobs is dressed in his trademark black turtleneck sweater and blue jeans, and trainers. The only gadgetry here is an iPod nano, the credit card-sized player he has just launched.
Despite his rock-star approach to unveiling new gizmos, Jobs has no great love of the media, which has from time to time exposed details about his private life that he would rather keep to himself. Thus he is a prickly interviewee, disliking personal questions, always aiming to turn the conversation back to his companies and their output. Though outwardly friendly, with an easy smile, in time he betrays his impatience through his hands and shoulders.
Suggest something he disagrees with " such as that there might be demand for an FM tuner in the iPod " and he'll respond with the unprovable 'People don't want that.' Questions he deems foolish are themselves rebuffed with a brusque question, such as 'Oh yeah? Who?'
A friend who once worked at Apple suggested to me that 'Steve basically thinks of the press as insects.' Certainly, he is hard to engage at a personal level. And journalists are always at a disadvantage to Jobs, which may be just how he likes it. He has the insider knowledge of which way the technological river is flowing. When I questioned him, Apple had not launched its video-enabled iPod, nor begun selling videos from its online music store. But to me it seemed obvious that would happen, and soon. Isn't it a logical next step, I asked?
'Whether people will buy a device just to watch video " it's not clear,' Jobs replied easily. 'So far the answer's been no, because there are several devices out which play video and none of them has been successful yet. So, um " so far, nobody's figured out the right formula.'
What's missing from the other devices already on sale, then?
'Well, uh, if we knew then I probably shouldn't talk about it,' Jobs beamed. Three weeks later, he did talk about it, holding aloft the video iPod he had known then was ready: 'Never before has it been done where you can buy hit, network, prime-time shows online the day after they air on TV and watch them on your computer and iPod.' Whether it's the right formula remains to be seen, of course.
So, looking forward, what does he see? For example, will TVs and computers merge? 'Our personal belief is that while there's an opportunity to apply software to the living room, the merging of the computer and the TV isn't going to happen. They're really different things. So yes, you want to share some information [between the two], but people who are planning to put computers into the living room, like they are today, I'm not sure they're going to have a big success.' That's a no, then.
He is disparaging about approaching development backwards. Home networking wirelessly whizzing music and video around the house? 'I think in the future you'll see some of that, but you've got to be sure it's not a technology in search of a problem.' Wireless headphones for your iPod? 'It means you not only have to recharge the iPod, you have to recharge the headphones, and people don't want to do that " so again, I think it's like so much f you see: a technology in search of a problem.'
But when he's got a problem that needs some technology to solve it, he can be as painstaking as he is about his computer company's output. He once described how he and his family chose a new washing machine. Not for them a cursory study of the spin speed and price tag; instead they discussed European versus American design, relative water use, detergent demands, everything. When I remind him of this, he smiles slowly, and says, 'Yeah, but you have to have a washing machine, right?' It's all the other things that frustrate him. So how does he choose things? 'Same as you,' he says slowly. 'We're both busy and we both don't have a lot of time to learn how to use a washing machine or to use a phone " you get one of the phones now and you're never going to learn more than 5 per cent of the features.' He's talking much faster now, accelerating in frustration. 'You're never going to use more than 5 per cent, and, uh, it's very complicated. So you end up using just 5 per cent. It's insane: we all have busy lives, we have jobs and we have interests and some of us have children, everyone's lives are just getting busier, not less busy, in this busy society. You just don't have time to learn this stuff, and everything's getting more complicated.'
That frustration is characteristic of the man. Jobs, 50 last February, is notoriously finicky about the tiniest details of the products that Apple produces. (He gets less involved in Pixar's output.) The iPod's success largely derives from its ease of use, which derives from his insistence, when shown prototypes, that one should be able to pick any piece of music within three button presses from turning it on.
It's remarkable that Jobs is still about. By rights, he should have disappeared decades ago, after being kicked out of Apple in 1985 and starting up another computer company that couldn't make a profit, and buying an animation company that almost bled him dry (and which he tried to sell several times).
Yet NeXT Computer was bought by Apple, throwing him a lifeline which let him take charge again of his creation. And Pixar Animation, which Jobs co-founded in 1986, came up trumps with the first totally computer- generated feature film, Toy Story, giving him leverage over the all-powerful Disney and making him a billionaire in its stock-market floatation.
Still, Apple was just chugging along before the iPod relaunched it in October 2001. The ubiquitous small white machines now generate just under half of its $14bn revenues, and are still growing.
It sounds easy enough. But Jobs has rarely been offered, and rarely taken, the simple path. The son of a college student and a political science professor, he was adopted by a family led by a machinist at a laser manufacturer. Although his birth mother had made it a condition of his adoption that his new parents get him to attend university, he dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, after just six months. But then he became a 'drop- in' back at Reed, attending only the courses, such as calligraphy, that interested him, while scratching an existence earning a few cents recycling cans and eating for free each week at the local Hare Krishna temple.
He got a job with the games company Atari, then left to travel in India. On his return, he worked for Hewlett-Packard before setting up Apple Computer in 1976 in the Jobs family garage with former school friend and computer hacker Steve Wozniak.
Apple grew and prospered, and so did Jobs; the Macintosh introduced the idea of 'windows' and 'mice' to the wider world. Microsoft adopted the idea and made it famous, continuing a long rivalry between Jobs and Bill Gates that stretches forwards and back in computing history. While Jobs obsessed over details, Microsoft steamrollered its way into companies and took over the world.
What's peculiar is that Gates has frequently been wrong about the overall direction of technology. His 1995 book The Road Ahead is full of clunkers about how life would develop; Microsoft barely realised that the internet was coming along.
By contrast, you'd be unwise to bet against Jobs. In 1996, when NeXT Computer had already failed in its attempts to sell hardware (and so was having to concentrate on software), he gave a long interview to Wired magazine. In it he forecast that Microsoft wouldn't find out a way to own the Web, that nobody would make money from web browsers, that the Web would be a huge hit for commerce (at a time when Amazon was barely six months old), and that the internet would revolutionise the supply of manufactured goods, by letting consumers specify fine detail of their desired product which could be relayed back to factories. Dell Computer, for example, works on precisely that basis. And Dell is by far the most profitable of the computer manufacturers. Jobs tends to be right about the direction of technology.
He has been wrong a few times, though. At NeXT, he thought people would pay a huge premium for an overdesigned cube-shaped computer (it had a laser-cut magnesium case; most manufacturers just used injection-moulded plastic). Only 50,000 were sold over eight years. At Apple, he thought people would pay a premium for a cube-shaped computer, the Cube; they didn't. In the same year, 2000, he thought people would prefer to watch DVDs on their computers, rather than making their own music compilations by 'burning' CDs. They didn't. But he learnt from the latter mistake: Apple immediately bought in a music-playing program called SoundJam and its developer, Jeff Robbin. SoundJam became iTunes, the program that feeds the iPod, and Robbin leads its software side.
What has helped Jobs back from his errors is his ability with people. From a point of minimal leverage he has bettered both the Disney corporation and the record labels, two of the toughest (legal) negotiators on earth. Disney gave Pixar a favourable deal; the record companies licensed the iTunes Music Store, which has more than 75 per cent of the entire legal music download market.
Alan Deutschmann, a journalist who researched Jobs's middle years for a biography called The Second Coming of Steve Jobs, believes he displays two personalities in his dealings with people: Good Steve and Bad Steve. The Good side is charming, and can make people believe almost anything; that's the side on public view at the rock- star product launches. He's been said to have a 'reality distortion field' " by a mixture of charm and exaggeration, he can make you believe pretty much anything. But once he's walked away, you're sometimes left thinking 'Huh?' Or as Bud Tribble, another of the early Macintosh employees, described it: 'In his presence, reality is malleable. He can convince anyone of practically anything.' But, he added, 'It wears off when he's not around.' (Tribble, too, still works at Apple.)
When the Good Steve system hasn't worked, or isn't needed, there's Bad Steve. He can get furiously angry, an emotion reserved for private moments with staff or those he thinks have been disloyal or useless. And his relationship with the media has its ups and downs, too. While he loves hobnobbing with celebrities, he hates being treated like one, and Apple's relationship with the press reflects that.
'Apple manipulates several narratives to continue to make its products interesting fodder for journalists,' comments Jack Shafer, editor-at-large of the webzine Slate. 'One is the never-ending story of mad genius Steve Jobs, who would be great copy even if he were only the night manager of a Domino's pizza joint.'
He probably wouldn't stay night manager for long, if he were. Jobs is a fiendishly good negotiator, a skill honed in the 1970s, when he charmed every supplier in Silicon Valley into providing parts for the first Apple computers. It's this ability that makes him valuable to Pixar, where Jobs isn't so involved in the production side (that is handled by John Lasseter). Jobs's role was to write the cheques (which nearly bankrupted him, until the company was floated) and barter with film studios. Which he did with accomplishment: Disney gave in to Pixar, and is presently trying to woo it back to a new distribution deal " a deal that Jobs is making Disney give up all sorts of favours for, like providing content in the form of TV shows for his Apple iTunes store. The giant Disney, kowtowing to the tiny Apple? A bizarre reversal.
Viewing his life, one feels that Jobs, a Buddhist, came into some serious karma in his previous existences. Not only is he a billionaire but last year he fought off pancreatic cancer, usually a quick and efficient killer. He had a scan and was told it was a tumour that would almost certainly be fatal. He was told to go home and 'get his affairs in order' " 'which is doctors' code for 'prepare to die'. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means ... to say your goodbyes.'
That evening he had a biopsy: it turned out to be a rare form of pancreatic cancer that makes up just 1 per cent of cases and, crucially, is curable with surgery. Talk about your karma payoff. And yet with all that karma accumulated and dissipated, Jobs doesn't believe that technology is going to change the world. 'This stuff doesn't change the world. It really doesn't ... Technologies can make it easier, can let us touch people we might not otherwise. But it's a disservice to constantly put things in a radical new light " that it's going to change everything. Things don't have to change the world to be important.'
So then finally, what is the last piece of technology that he acquired " not made by Apple " that really delighted him? He pauses for long seconds, looks down, puts his hands on his knees, looks away. 'I actually bought a bicycle recently. It's just ... wonderful.'
And how did he choose it? What sort of bike? What's so great about it?
He holds a hand up. 'That's as far into my private life as I want to go,' he says. And with that, Steve Jobs moves on again.
Source: Independent, The; London (UK)
Also see an inspiring speech by Steve Jobs on Graduation Day Stamford College here
Steve Jobs created a cult. Read about it here
To understand Gain loss, pls read here
Steve Jobs created a cult. Read about it here
To understand Gain loss, pls read here
Mettacittena,
Bugs Tan
Inventor
Posted by Uncle Bugs at 9:59 PM
http://buddhistbugs.blogspot.com/2008/12/steve-jobs-successful-buddhist.html
It sounds like an urban myth but it could be a day in the life of Steve Jobs, who is chief executive of two technology companies that are admired both inside and outside their respective industries: Apple (which makes the iPod and a range of computers) and Pixar (which made the films Toy Story and The Incredibles). Apple made him a multi- millionaire, Pixar made him a billionaire, and the two mean that at the age of 50 he has cemented a unique position as a force in computing, consumer electronics (through the iPod), the music business (the iPod again) and Hollywood.
And despite all that, he still can't choose a mobile phone. (How nice to find you have something in common with such people.) His problem, he says, is that he can't find things that satisfy him. 'I end up not buying a lot of things,' he says, carefully, when I ask how he chooses what to buy from the myriad of gadgets and technologies in the shops. 'Because I find them ridiculous.'
I'm in an anonymous underground room in Paris with Jobs and a large group of journalists, in a floor below a conference centre where people are flocking to a showcase of Apple products and services, a cacophony of promotional videos and software demonstrations with amplified voice accompaniment by eager geeks. But here, it's quiet. Jobs is dressed in his trademark black turtleneck sweater and blue jeans, and trainers. The only gadgetry here is an iPod nano, the credit card-sized player he has just launched.
Despite his rock-star approach to unveiling new gizmos, Jobs has no great love of the media, which has from time to time exposed details about his private life that he would rather keep to himself. Thus he is a prickly interviewee, disliking personal questions, always aiming to turn the conversation back to his companies and their output. Though outwardly friendly, with an easy smile, in time he betrays his impatience through his hands and shoulders.
Suggest something he disagrees with " such as that there might be demand for an FM tuner in the iPod " and he'll respond with the unprovable 'People don't want that.' Questions he deems foolish are themselves rebuffed with a brusque question, such as 'Oh yeah? Who?'
A friend who once worked at Apple suggested to me that 'Steve basically thinks of the press as insects.' Certainly, he is hard to engage at a personal level. And journalists are always at a disadvantage to Jobs, which may be just how he likes it. He has the insider knowledge of which way the technological river is flowing. When I questioned him, Apple had not launched its video-enabled iPod, nor begun selling videos from its online music store. But to me it seemed obvious that would happen, and soon. Isn't it a logical next step, I asked?
'Whether people will buy a device just to watch video " it's not clear,' Jobs replied easily. 'So far the answer's been no, because there are several devices out which play video and none of them has been successful yet. So, um " so far, nobody's figured out the right formula.'
What's missing from the other devices already on sale, then?
'Well, uh, if we knew then I probably shouldn't talk about it,' Jobs beamed. Three weeks later, he did talk about it, holding aloft the video iPod he had known then was ready: 'Never before has it been done where you can buy hit, network, prime-time shows online the day after they air on TV and watch them on your computer and iPod.' Whether it's the right formula remains to be seen, of course.
So, looking forward, what does he see? For example, will TVs and computers merge? 'Our personal belief is that while there's an opportunity to apply software to the living room, the merging of the computer and the TV isn't going to happen. They're really different things. So yes, you want to share some information [between the two], but people who are planning to put computers into the living room, like they are today, I'm not sure they're going to have a big success.' That's a no, then.
He is disparaging about approaching development backwards. Home networking wirelessly whizzing music and video around the house? 'I think in the future you'll see some of that, but you've got to be sure it's not a technology in search of a problem.' Wireless headphones for your iPod? 'It means you not only have to recharge the iPod, you have to recharge the headphones, and people don't want to do that " so again, I think it's like so much f you see: a technology in search of a problem.'
But when he's got a problem that needs some technology to solve it, he can be as painstaking as he is about his computer company's output. He once described how he and his family chose a new washing machine. Not for them a cursory study of the spin speed and price tag; instead they discussed European versus American design, relative water use, detergent demands, everything. When I remind him of this, he smiles slowly, and says, 'Yeah, but you have to have a washing machine, right?' It's all the other things that frustrate him. So how does he choose things? 'Same as you,' he says slowly. 'We're both busy and we both don't have a lot of time to learn how to use a washing machine or to use a phone " you get one of the phones now and you're never going to learn more than 5 per cent of the features.' He's talking much faster now, accelerating in frustration. 'You're never going to use more than 5 per cent, and, uh, it's very complicated. So you end up using just 5 per cent. It's insane: we all have busy lives, we have jobs and we have interests and some of us have children, everyone's lives are just getting busier, not less busy, in this busy society. You just don't have time to learn this stuff, and everything's getting more complicated.'
That frustration is characteristic of the man. Jobs, 50 last February, is notoriously finicky about the tiniest details of the products that Apple produces. (He gets less involved in Pixar's output.) The iPod's success largely derives from its ease of use, which derives from his insistence, when shown prototypes, that one should be able to pick any piece of music within three button presses from turning it on.
It's remarkable that Jobs is still about. By rights, he should have disappeared decades ago, after being kicked out of Apple in 1985 and starting up another computer company that couldn't make a profit, and buying an animation company that almost bled him dry (and which he tried to sell several times).
Yet NeXT Computer was bought by Apple, throwing him a lifeline which let him take charge again of his creation. And Pixar Animation, which Jobs co-founded in 1986, came up trumps with the first totally computer- generated feature film, Toy Story, giving him leverage over the all-powerful Disney and making him a billionaire in its stock-market floatation.
Still, Apple was just chugging along before the iPod relaunched it in October 2001. The ubiquitous small white machines now generate just under half of its $14bn revenues, and are still growing.
It sounds easy enough. But Jobs has rarely been offered, and rarely taken, the simple path. The son of a college student and a political science professor, he was adopted by a family led by a machinist at a laser manufacturer. Although his birth mother had made it a condition of his adoption that his new parents get him to attend university, he dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, after just six months. But then he became a 'drop- in' back at Reed, attending only the courses, such as calligraphy, that interested him, while scratching an existence earning a few cents recycling cans and eating for free each week at the local Hare Krishna temple.
He got a job with the games company Atari, then left to travel in India. On his return, he worked for Hewlett-Packard before setting up Apple Computer in 1976 in the Jobs family garage with former school friend and computer hacker Steve Wozniak.
Apple grew and prospered, and so did Jobs; the Macintosh introduced the idea of 'windows' and 'mice' to the wider world. Microsoft adopted the idea and made it famous, continuing a long rivalry between Jobs and Bill Gates that stretches forwards and back in computing history. While Jobs obsessed over details, Microsoft steamrollered its way into companies and took over the world.
What's peculiar is that Gates has frequently been wrong about the overall direction of technology. His 1995 book The Road Ahead is full of clunkers about how life would develop; Microsoft barely realised that the internet was coming along.
By contrast, you'd be unwise to bet against Jobs. In 1996, when NeXT Computer had already failed in its attempts to sell hardware (and so was having to concentrate on software), he gave a long interview to Wired magazine. In it he forecast that Microsoft wouldn't find out a way to own the Web, that nobody would make money from web browsers, that the Web would be a huge hit for commerce (at a time when Amazon was barely six months old), and that the internet would revolutionise the supply of manufactured goods, by letting consumers specify fine detail of their desired product which could be relayed back to factories. Dell Computer, for example, works on precisely that basis. And Dell is by far the most profitable of the computer manufacturers. Jobs tends to be right about the direction of technology.
He has been wrong a few times, though. At NeXT, he thought people would pay a huge premium for an overdesigned cube-shaped computer (it had a laser-cut magnesium case; most manufacturers just used injection-moulded plastic). Only 50,000 were sold over eight years. At Apple, he thought people would pay a premium for a cube-shaped computer, the Cube; they didn't. In the same year, 2000, he thought people would prefer to watch DVDs on their computers, rather than making their own music compilations by 'burning' CDs. They didn't. But he learnt from the latter mistake: Apple immediately bought in a music-playing program called SoundJam and its developer, Jeff Robbin. SoundJam became iTunes, the program that feeds the iPod, and Robbin leads its software side.
What has helped Jobs back from his errors is his ability with people. From a point of minimal leverage he has bettered both the Disney corporation and the record labels, two of the toughest (legal) negotiators on earth. Disney gave Pixar a favourable deal; the record companies licensed the iTunes Music Store, which has more than 75 per cent of the entire legal music download market.
Alan Deutschmann, a journalist who researched Jobs's middle years for a biography called The Second Coming of Steve Jobs, believes he displays two personalities in his dealings with people: Good Steve and Bad Steve. The Good side is charming, and can make people believe almost anything; that's the side on public view at the rock- star product launches. He's been said to have a 'reality distortion field' " by a mixture of charm and exaggeration, he can make you believe pretty much anything. But once he's walked away, you're sometimes left thinking 'Huh?' Or as Bud Tribble, another of the early Macintosh employees, described it: 'In his presence, reality is malleable. He can convince anyone of practically anything.' But, he added, 'It wears off when he's not around.' (Tribble, too, still works at Apple.)
When the Good Steve system hasn't worked, or isn't needed, there's Bad Steve. He can get furiously angry, an emotion reserved for private moments with staff or those he thinks have been disloyal or useless. And his relationship with the media has its ups and downs, too. While he loves hobnobbing with celebrities, he hates being treated like one, and Apple's relationship with the press reflects that.
'Apple manipulates several narratives to continue to make its products interesting fodder for journalists,' comments Jack Shafer, editor-at-large of the webzine Slate. 'One is the never-ending story of mad genius Steve Jobs, who would be great copy even if he were only the night manager of a Domino's pizza joint.'
He probably wouldn't stay night manager for long, if he were. Jobs is a fiendishly good negotiator, a skill honed in the 1970s, when he charmed every supplier in Silicon Valley into providing parts for the first Apple computers. It's this ability that makes him valuable to Pixar, where Jobs isn't so involved in the production side (that is handled by John Lasseter). Jobs's role was to write the cheques (which nearly bankrupted him, until the company was floated) and barter with film studios. Which he did with accomplishment: Disney gave in to Pixar, and is presently trying to woo it back to a new distribution deal " a deal that Jobs is making Disney give up all sorts of favours for, like providing content in the form of TV shows for his Apple iTunes store. The giant Disney, kowtowing to the tiny Apple? A bizarre reversal.
Viewing his life, one feels that Jobs, a Buddhist, came into some serious karma in his previous existences. Not only is he a billionaire but last year he fought off pancreatic cancer, usually a quick and efficient killer. He had a scan and was told it was a tumour that would almost certainly be fatal. He was told to go home and 'get his affairs in order' " 'which is doctors' code for 'prepare to die'. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means ... to say your goodbyes.'
That evening he had a biopsy: it turned out to be a rare form of pancreatic cancer that makes up just 1 per cent of cases and, crucially, is curable with surgery. Talk about your karma payoff. And yet with all that karma accumulated and dissipated, Jobs doesn't believe that technology is going to change the world. 'This stuff doesn't change the world. It really doesn't ... Technologies can make it easier, can let us touch people we might not otherwise. But it's a disservice to constantly put things in a radical new light " that it's going to change everything. Things don't have to change the world to be important.'
So then finally, what is the last piece of technology that he acquired " not made by Apple " that really delighted him? He pauses for long seconds, looks down, puts his hands on his knees, looks away. 'I actually bought a bicycle recently. It's just ... wonderful.'
And how did he choose it? What sort of bike? What's so great about it?
He holds a hand up. 'That's as far into my private life as I want to go,' he says. And with that, Steve Jobs moves on again.
Source: Independent, The; London (UK)
Also see an inspiring speech by Steve Jobs on Graduation Day Stamford College here
Steve Jobs created a cult. Read about it here
To understand Gain loss, pls read here
Steve Jobs created a cult. Read about it here
To understand Gain loss, pls read here
Mettacittena,
Bugs Tan
Inventor
Posted by Uncle Bugs at 9:59 PM
http://buddhistbugs.blogspot.com/2008/12/steve-jobs-successful-buddhist.html
10 laws that shaped The Republic Of INDIA
In the beginning, laws were about laying the Republic’s infrastructure. As it matured over the years, laws reflected the sophistication of its superstructure. If a law passed in the early years was meant to realize the basic promise of holding free and fair elections, a recent one was designed to make the system more transparent and accountable. The evolution of laws tells its own tale about the 60-year-old Republic.
1. Fleshing out democracy
The Election Commission of India was constituted on January 25,
1950, just a day before the Constitution came into force. It is no coincidence that the Indian republic’s first major legislative measure was to implement its Constitutional commitment to usher in universal adult franchise. What has fleshed out the world’s biggest ever experiment in democracy is a set of two laws bearing the same name, which was borrowed from Britain, the Representation of the People Acts 1950 and 1951.
1950, just a day before the Constitution came into force. It is no coincidence that the Indian republic’s first major legislative measure was to implement its Constitutional commitment to usher in universal adult franchise. What has fleshed out the world’s biggest ever experiment in democracy is a set of two laws bearing the same name, which was borrowed from Britain, the Representation of the People Acts 1950 and 1951.
While the 1950 Act laid down the procedure and machinery for preparing electoral rolls and demarcating constituencies, the 1951 Act did the same for conducting elections, from their notification to the declaration of results. In the many amendments that have since been made to the two RP Acts, the canvassing period, for instance, has been reduced from a month to a fortnight.
2. Shielding agrarian reforms
The first Constitutional amendment, piloted by Nehru in 1951, effected far-reaching changes in diverse areas. First, it imposed “reasonable restrictions” on the freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to practice any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business. Second, overturning a judicial verdict against reservations, it introduced a clause clarifying that any special provision that the state might make for the educational, social or economic advancement of any backward class could not be challenged on the ground of being discriminatory.
Given the priority then of dismantling the zamindari system, the most politically sensitive aspect of the first Constitutional amendment was the introduction of the Ninth Schedule to insulate agrarian reforms from legal challenge. The Ninth Schedule served very well as a shield to the various land reforms laws passed by states in the first three decades after Independence.
3. Reforming Hindu customs
When Ambedkar introduced his comprehensive Hindu Code Bill in Parliament in February 1951, there was such opposition to it that he resigned as law minister within seven months. It was only after it won the first Lok Sabha elections in 1952 did the Nehru government muster the courage to revive the Hindu reform agenda, that too in the form of piecemeal legislation.
Even so, the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 was revolutionary as it outlawed polygamy and introduced the concept of divorce in a community that believed that marriage was a sacrament which bound a couple together birth after birth. Equally significant, the Hindu Succession Act 1956 conferred full ownership on women for their share of the family property rather than the limited rights that had been traditionally given.
4. Taking on untouchability
For all the social reforms made during colonial rule, the Constitution abolished untouchability for the first time. The Republic took another five years to back the abolition with a law that penalizes various manifestations of untouchability, the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955. Since this law was however confined to instances of caste prejudice and discrimination, theRajiv Gandhi government came up with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 to deal with the more violent caste-driven offences.
5. Redrawing the political map
The seventh Constitutional amendment enacted in 1956 introduced the concepts of linguistic states and Union territories, both of which have stood the test of time. Though the demand for linguistic states was widespread, the impetus came from the fatal hunger strike of Potti Sreeramulu in 1952 for carving out Andhra state from the Telugu-speaking districts of the composite Madras state.The formation of the Andhra state in 1953 was followed by the appointment of the States Reorganization Commission (SRC), which did not however agree with the idea of redrawing boundaries purely on linguistic basis. Though SRC recommended the formation of a separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital, the government, bowing to the pressure of Andhra leaders, merged the two Telugu-speaking regions in 1956 to create Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, though SRC recommended that Bombay remain a composite state encompassing Gujarati and Marathi speaking districts, the government yielded in 1960 to the demand for creating Maharashtra by merging all the Marathi speaking districts.
6. Checking defections
After bagging the largest ever majority in the 1984 election held under the shadow of Indira Gandhi’s murder and the subsequent massacre of Sikhs, Rajiv Gandhi came up with the long overdue anti-defection law, in the form of the 52nd Constitutional amendment in 1985. But it only made defections harder, not impossible. Politicians exploited the loophole that recognized a defection by at least one-third of the members of a legislature party as a split.
The Vajpayee government plugged this loophole with the 91st Constitutional amendment in 2003. The only way defections can now take place is through the merger route, when at least two-thirds of the members of a legislature party agree to its merger with another.
7. Special law for Muslims
This law is widely believed to have triggered a chain of events that undermined secularism: Rise of Hindutva, revival of BJP, outbreaks of communal violence, demolition of Babri Masjid and terrorism. For, when the Rajiv Gandhi government came up with the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986, it was seen as an attempt to appease Muslim fundamentalists by overturning the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case.
While the court rendered a Muslim husband liable to pay maintenance to his deserted wife, the law enacted in the wake of the judgment gave the man the option of making a one-time provision within three months for her lifetime depending on his economic status. Ironically, for all the calumny heaped on this special law, the benefits received under it by Muslim women in many cases have turned out to be far greater than they could possibly have got under the secular law.
8. Grassroots democracy
The Gandhian dream of Gram Swaraj (village self-governance) entered the realm of possibility in 1992 when the Narasimha Rao government pushed through the 73rd Constitutional amendment. Panchayati Raj, which had for decades been ad hoc and notoriously bereft of powers and funds, suddenly acquired Constitutional trappings.
Besides taking democracy to the grassroots, the Panchayati Raj law demonstrated the efficacy of reserving one-third of the constituencies for women, a provision that has been repeatedly blocked in the case of the two higher layers of governance. It was also closely followed by the 74th Constitutional amendment to institutionalize Nagar Palikas in urban areas.
9. Piercing the veil of secrecy
If this law enacted barely five years ago has put even the Chief Justice of India on the defensive, that too repeatedly, there can be no better measure of the extent of its impact. Not surprising, given that the Right to Information Act 2005 is acknowledged as one of the most progressive transparency laws in the world. Besides specifying the limited organizations and categories of information exempted from its purview, RTI provided for independent appellate bodies and penalties for errant officials.But the Manmohan Singh government, instead of basking in the glory of its enactment, has already made two abortive attempts to dilute it. It is increasingly clear to rulers that whoever opposes RTI is on the wrong side of history.
10. Welfare on steroids
No list of India’s seminal laws can be complete without the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) 2005. For, this law, recently renamed after Mahatma Gandhi, is undoubtedly the most ambitious welfare scheme in the 60-year history of the Republic. The security of guaranteed employment for 100 days in a year to every rural household volunteering to do unskilled manual work has shown the greatest potential as an anti-poverty measure.
If Rajasthan can claim credit to have pioneered RTI before it was adopted at the national level, Maharashtra is the progenitor of the concept of guaranteed rural employment. There is happy synergy between the two major enactments of the Manmohan Singh government.
RTI is being used by activists as a safeguard to prevent intermediaries from diverting or misusing NREGA funds.
(Reference-http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-23/india/28125405_1_ninth-schedule-law-minister-reasonable-restrictions/2)
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