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Milkha Singh, Gurbachan Singh Randhawa and P.T Usha know what it takes to make an Olympics memorable. All three have experienced the ecstasy of reaching the finals and the agony of narrowly missing a coveted Olympic medal.

‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh missed the bronze in the 400m sprint in the 1960 Rome Olympics, losing by one-tenth of a second. Four years later Randhawa reached the finals of the 110m hurdles. In 1984, at the Los Angeles Games, Usha lost the bronze medal in 400m hurdles by 1/100th of a second. As India prepares for the Beijing Olympics, these legends analyze the performance of the current lot. All three have modest expectations.

G.S. Randhawa said, “I don’t expect any medals from the Indians considering their recent performances but I think some of them would reach the finals if they manage to improve their current best performances. Long jumper Anju Bobby George has recently crossed 6.60m but I don’t think anything below 7m would do. Middle-distance runner Sinimole Paulose and Johnson Abraham (400m) are also doing well. Renjith Maheshwari crossed the 17m mark last year and I think he would be able to give of his best at Beijing, but qualifying for the finals would be a big challenge. The women’s 4×400m relay team can also do well if they qualify for the event.

Milkha Singh said, “I don’t see any chances of medals because of the manner in which we prepare for these events. Everyone starts thinking about medals in the year of the Asian or Olympic Games and forgets about them once the events are over. We can win Olympic medals only when we have a systematic long-term training programme, regular trials and constant monitoring of athletes’ performance. My pick is Anju as I don’t have any hope from the rest. Anju can reach the finals if she improves on her current performance. The women’s 4×400m relay team should also do well. Renjith is performing well but the standard in triple jump is very high in the world.

 P.T. Usha said, “If we are basing our hopes on the good performance at the recent Asian Indoor Championship, then let me make it very clear that there is a big gap between the indoor and outdoor meets. Indian athletes have done well at the Asian Indoors but they will have to do far better to even reach the finals at Beijing. It would be great achievement if anyone among the current lot could manages to do so. My pick would be Sinimole and Preeja Sridharan. Sinimole clocked 2:03 minutes recently. I think she can make a mark if she cuts it down to 2:02. Preeja can also improve on her indoor performance. The women’s relay team (4×400) has returned a timing of around 3:37 minutes recently which is not very good. I don’t see much chance even if they manage it to 3:30 because that will still be below the national record which is 3:26.89. I do hope Anju betters her Indoor performance; she has to try her best to reach the finals.” 

An oil and gas discovery in Block CY-ONN-2002/1, near Bhuvnagiri, in the south-east part of the state of Tamil Nadu in the Cauvery Basin. This exploration block was awarded to Jubilant Oil and Gas Pvt. Ltd.(JOGPL) as Operator, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) and GAIL (India) under New Exploration Licensing Policy-IV. It marks the second hydrocarbon discovery by Jubilant Energy in 5 months.

The new discovery of Gas and light crude oil is made in Andimadam and Sattapadi formation in the Cauvery Basin, in addition to the established Bhuvanagari Formation. A total of 110 meter of Net Pay was encountered within the well.

CY-1, the first exploratory well of the three well phase-I work commitment for this Block, commenced drilling on August 21 , 2007 and reached a total depth of 4,210m on November 16, 2007. Three hydrocarbon bearing intervals were identified based on wire line logs and mud log data.

Three intervals were selected for testing to establish the presence of producible hydrocarbons, one interval each in the following Geological Formations: Andimadam, Sattapadi and Bhuvnagiri.

Drill Stem Test (DST)-l tested the Andimadam formation in the interval 3,944-3,950 m. The well flowed gas at the rate of 35,000 SCFD through 16/64″ choke along with light crude oil of 47° API. DST-1A was conducted again in Andimadam formation within the intervals of 3,953-3,956m, 3,959-3,965m, 4,005-4,010m and 4,016-4,020m flowed gas at 21,000 SCF/D through 161 64″ choke.

DST-2 tested the Sattapadi Formation in the interval 3827m-3816m with flow of gas @34,000 SCFD through 12/64″ choke along with light crude oil of 360 API. The well did not completely unload its completion fluid and thus may have higher flow potential in the entire tested interval. The main and most promising reservoir of the region, Bhuvnagiri formation is planned to be tested by DST-3 at a later date and would include stimulation. The two positive DSTs confirmed the presence of producible hydrocarbons and J were witnessed by representatives from the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).

On October 8, 2007 Jubilant Energy had announced discovery of oil & gas in Block CB ONN 2002/2 near Mehsana, Gujarat State, North of the Gulf of Cambay in Western India.

Commenting on the occasion, Chairman Shyam S. Bhartia and Co-Chairman Hari S. Bhartia of Jubilant Energy said: “These tests are notable because for the first time ever the Andimadam and Sattapadi formations have proved to contain producible hydrocarbon within the Block and open the potential for new productive reservoirs in this part of the Basin. This second successive discovery in the last 5 months certainly epitomizes the focused approach of the exploration program undertaken by Jubilant Energy.” 

Consumers can expect a transformation in the looks and functioning of Indian Railways with phenomenal funds being committed to keep pace with the growth. The proposed public investments, complemented by private investment, is expected to change everything from the facilities at railway stations to stepping up freight loading capacity by 39% in five years.

For providing world -class service to customers, the railways is planning to invest Rs 2, 50,000 crore in the next five years.

This is very much possible considering the fact that railways has managed a 130% increase in investments in capacity expansion the last four years from 13,000 crore to 30,000 crore by using surplus generated from better utilisation of assets and productivity.

While internal resources and market barrowing will help it to raise 60% of this proposed mega investment, the rest would come from private players. Moves are already on to raise Rs 1, 00,000 crore through public private partnerships. This investment will translate into modern facilities at metro stations and multi -modal logistics parks.

Global tenders will invite investments worth Rs 15,000 crore to develop the railway stations at New Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, Patna and Secunderabad. Private partners will also be roped into set up diesel locomotives factories at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore.

Besides, railways will invest Rs 75,000 crore over the next seven years to enhance its capacity to move goods. Now three-fourths of the goods traffic moves on about 20,000 km of railway’s saturated high-density network and port railway lines. The fresh investment will help in doubling and laying more fresh lines, building bypasses, flyovers and crossing stations. This also includes construction of the eastern and western corridors. The expected capacity to load cargo this year is 790 million tonnes. The investments would ensure this is enhanced by 310 million tonnes at the end of the 11^th plan. .

Investments on smaller scale would be made to build foot over bridges at all 195 B and D category stations and to increase the length of platforms in 144 stations. The

entire work which costs Rs 500 crore will be completed in two years. Completing the second phase of Mumbai urban transport project at Rs 500 crore, expansion of Chennai metro between Vella chari and St Thomas Mount section at a cost of Rs 496 crore and electrification of 3,500 km are the other major investments planned for the next few years. Setting up a wagon reconstruction unit in Bihar, a coach factory in Kerala, modernising the workshops in West Bengal, Kerala and in Rajasthan are also on the cards.

The Nation’s attention remains glued to one part of the country from where citizens of India are being targeted by a handful of lumpens and is being forced to flee an Indian city for being ‘outsiders’. Meanwhile, in an unknown ’safe house’ somewhere in the capital, a writer from another country who made India her country of residence since 2004 is being quietly but firmly cajoled to leave the country by the Government of India because of another handful of lumpens. The two situations may strike one as being totally different.

In the case of north Indians being told to get out of ‘Marathi’ Mumbai by Raj Thackeray and his fellow goons, our outrage may be more palpable because of fellow Indians being victimised. In the case of Taslima Nasreen, it’s a sometimes bothersome-for-some Bangladeshi writer whose desire to stay on in India is being made increasingly difficult by an Indian government looking for an easy way out.

But in both cases, it’s the notion of the ‘outsider’ that gives the licence for most people who should be appalled by the treatment meted out to Mumbai’s ‘North Indians’ and Ms Nasreen to keep quiet.

For both sets of victims, theorising about what constitutes ‘belonging’ doesn’t matter: Even the statistics of 30-40 per cent of Mumbaikars coming from north-India doesn’t underline forcefully enough the idea of the migrant finding ‘home’ in a place away from where he or she left by choice or otherwise. In this context, geographical entities are superfluous. A Marathi’s sense of belonging can be as strong in Lucknow as a Bangladeshi’s can be in Kolkata. Since 2004, Ms Nasreen has been renewing her resident permit every six months. (She first came as an exile to India in 2000 after living in Europe, after being forced to leave Bangladesh in 1994.) 

In November 2007, a proverbial bunch of loudmouths in Kolkata went on the streets rampaging and protesting against what they called the writer’s ‘blasphemous’ prose. Soon, Ms Nasreen removed the offending passage, hoping that the act would be atonement enough. That was not to be, as a few fanatics wanted her out of the 

country - or worse. And the West Bengal government complied by shuttling her out of Kolkata.

It is up to the Government of India that will hopefully renew Ms Nasreen’s resident status to send out the message as to which side it is on. Otherwise one would start thinking that the government tacitly agrees with Raj Thackeray that people should stay rooted to the spot on which they were born till they die.