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Nitish Katara Murder Case A Delhi court on Wednesday pronounced the judgment in the sensational Nitish Katara Murder case. The court held Vikas Yadav, son of Utter Pradesh politician D P Yadav, and his cousin Vishal guilty of murder, abduction, and destruction of the evidence. According to the prosecution Nitish Katara, son of an IAS, was kidnapped from outside a marriage venue by Vikas Yadav Vishal and Sukhdev Pahalwan on the fateful night of February 16-17, 2002 and was murdered later on. Reason behind the murder was victim’s proximity to prime accused Vikas Yadav’s sister Bhatri Yadav. Vikas was out on bail in the Jessica Lal murder case when he committed the crime.

Case Summary Earlier Supreme Court had transferred the case to a Delhi sessions Court from a Ghaziabad court as Ms Neelam Katara had complained of continuous threats and attempts to thwart justice. This not ended here, the  ‘last seen evidence’  Ajay Katara ,was framed in false FIR’s, was abused verbally ,and remained under continuous threats to his life throughout all these four or five years under the influence of the Yadavs. Even Bhatri Yadav had deposed in the case, never responded to the several summons issued by the court since April 2003.Now she has appeared from some where is saying in the media that her brothers are innocent and are framed by the political rivals of her father.

Quest for Justice This case is not a simple court proceeding as happens usually in any murder case. It was the quest of an individual for justice that was being continually delayed under the influence of evil mighty forces threatening the whole society .It was the Mother of the Victim who fought against all the odds. She was backed by the media, social organizations and many others who wanted the justice to prevail. But it was only a moral support real fight she won on her own.

 Justice Prevails This verdict has sent clear signals to those who don’t have any respect to the law that on the basis of money and power one cannot get away from law. The verdict has once again put the shaken beliefs of people into the judicial system. Though the justice is delayed but it is never denied.

The Ace Bollywood producer Jhamu Sugandh died of cardiac arrest on 28 May afternoon.He was hurried to the Life Criticare Hospital in Juhu because of having a breathing problem. He died after some time in the hospital.he was associated with the film industry as a producer, financer etc.His sudden death sent shock waves across all the film industry. His death is being considered a big loss to the film industry.

He had produced, financed and collaborated with a varied range of films such as, from

Bandit Queen, Water, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam etc. His company Jhamu Sugandh Productions had made some hit films such as Rangeela, Aks and some more.He had also collaborated with some other film directors such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mani Ratnam, Aamir Khan, Deepa Mehta .He was also an advisor at Amitabh Bachan’s AB Corp. His company Jhamu Sugandh Poduction was also associated with the Kolkata film industry. Recently he had planed to produce at least six Bengali films.

He was having an adventures nature and had never hesitated to produce the films having controversial themes. Whether it was Deepa Mehta’s “Water” or Buddhadev Dasgputa’s ‘Kaal Purush’.He always financed ,produced and collaborated with those films that he thought ,take the Indian cinema to the new hights.He always welcomed the themes that touched the hidden and sensitive issues whether they were related to society, religion or politics.

‘Johny Gaddar’ and ‘Gulal’ were the last films he was associated with.Because of financial difficulties he had to abandon these projects and had lately become a recluse. He was not happy with the films being produced because he thought ‘cinema that he believed in and produced had ceased to make a difference to the film industry.’

Jhamu Sugandh’s sudden demise has caused a dent to the film industry that can’t be dealt with.Industy has lost a man who always provided some fresh air to it. Such experimental and daring personalities always show new ways to their respected fields and the Indian and Film Industry has lost one. He is no more but his films are like a lighthouse that always will guide the Industry to experiment with the new ideas.

Election Summary Panchayat elections were held in Punjab, one of the northern states of India, on 26 of May. Average polling was recorded to be 75%.Accept some incidents of violence the election was largely peaceful. The polling started at 8a.m. and was scheduled to end by 4p.m.But voting continued even after the scheduled time and the voters were seen waiting in long queues for their turns to cast their votes.

Enthusiasm People were very much enthusiastic about the elections whether it were the elders or the young ones who were to cast their votes first time .People could be seen heading towards the village schools to cast their votes. The enthusiasm of the voters, scene at the election venues presented the view as if some village fare was being held there. Young ones were seen mobilizing the voters to cast their votes and the elders, who were even unable to walk, were seen being brought to the polling venues. At village level, during the Panchayat elections, people, always have detested the role of political parties whether it were the candidates or the voters, and have refrained from indulging in the party politics. It was evident from the scene as very less party signs or flags were seen throughout the whole process.

Oldest Democratic Tradition The word Panchayat is derived from the word ‘Panch’ means Five. So the literal meaning of the word ‘Panchayat’ is ‘a group of five’. Panchayat is not the name of an elected body whose members are elected by the people of some village but it is a tradition that is being followed by the people of India for times unknown. In the older times people used to choose their wise elders as their Panchas(panchayat members) and Sarpanch(head of the panchayat).During the rule of Muslims and British East India company  the tradition was largely prevalent though it largely depended on the government that ruled the country . After independence the whole process of electing the Panchayat changed. Now the Panchayats are elected in a democratic way by the people of the villages. People not only take part in these elections but they take part in it enthusiastically

Local Governing Body Panchayat works like a local governing body at village level. It handles almost all the issues that affect the village whether it is a family dispute, dispute among families or individuals, or the development of the village, all is handled by the panchayat. This is the sign of deep roots of democracy that India has.

Crude oil prices in the International Market have crossed the $125 mark and have put the Indian government in a tight spot. During the time of the present government the oil prices have been kept on soaring .Now the prices of crude oil has arisen to such an extent that the Center Government cannot avoid the decision of raising the price of oil from 10 to 15 rupees per litter. On one hand the subsidies in petroleum are mounting and on the other hand if the decision is implemented then wrong political signals will go out.

During the rule of Manmohan government the prices of crude oil soared from $40 to $125 per barrel in the International Market. The government can either raise the fuel prices or can let the state-owned oil companies slide into red. Oil companies have been left with a very low cash flow if they are not bailed out of their present situation then the supply of oil will be affected and will increase the problems of the government. This became evident from Singh’s statement on tuesday when he said that, “We will not allow (government-run) oil companies to suffer, it is a big problem”. Government can not ignore the present situation as the economic situation of the state owned oil companies is worsening day by day and can lead to scarcity of petroleum products.

During the rule of the Manmohan government the prices of the essential commodities have arisen a lot .Further increase in oil prices will affect the whole economy and will affect the prices of everything. Manmohan government has almost completed four years and the Lock Sabha elections will be held after one year. As the assembly elections are scheduled to be held in some states in the near future, the present situation has put the government in a very tight situation. Congress has already lost the Karnataka elections to BJP. And any decision regarding massive increase in oil prices will harm the Party’s political interests. Rising inflation will affect the lowest and middle sections of the Indian society, which will harm the possibilities of returning to power of the ruling party.

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Indian government cannot control the international oil prices because they are decided by OPEC. Rising prices have remained the reason of the criticism for the government in the past and the further increase will become the reason of more criticism for the government. There are very limited options for the government and it will have to chose either of them whether it suits the political interests or not.

The man who wrote 80- scientific papers, set up more than 40 institutions, initiated Space program of the nation, led its nuclear energy program. Yes we are discussing about Vikram Sarabhai. A boy from a prosperous Jain family of a textile mill owner from Ahmedabad. He and his seven siblings were educated in a private school established on the family’s 21 acre property. This institution was frequently visited by personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru etc. which infused the sense of patriotism in them.

He went to study physics at Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. There he studied under the able guidance of Nobel laureate C. V. Raman. It was here only he cultivated friendship with Homi Bhabha, who set up India’s atomic energy program. In the post independence era, Vikram set up several institutions a few independently like Physical Research Laboratory’ and cofounded a few with his wife Mrinalini as well like: the Darpana Dance Academy. He also founded the Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association, India’s first textile research cooperative; the country’s first market research  agency, the Operations Research Group; the Indian Institute of Management( Ahmedabad) and helped in setting up the national Institute of Design. This also reveals the versatility and the range of interests he had. His consistent approach involving the use of scientific method, financial planning had a nationalistic purpose.

During the era of cold war, when space technology was being used of military purposes, it was unthinkable for a developing, poor struggling nation to aspire for a space program for peaceful purposes. Sarabhai made it seemingly possible and mandatory for developing technology for communication, weather forecasting and mineral prospecting; answering the need of a developing nation.

With his imaginative zeal, he managed to complete projects like satellite instructional television experiment to beam educational content to 2400 poorest villages, building agricultural complexes serviced by atomic power and desalinated sea water. Working for 18-20 hours a day, he gained respect using both charm and persuasion, in the eyes of his seniors like Bhabha, and then leading industrialist Kasturbhai Lalbhai. They collaborated with Vikram in many of his ventures.

Missed Out Opportunity The nuclear deal between India and US, which could have brought both the countries very close to each other, is almost dead though some signs of hope are left yet. It was a great opportunity missed by the Indian government that could have solved its future problems related to energy requirements.

Reasons of Criticism It has been conveyed to India repeatedly by the US government through bureaucratic medium that only a green signal By India before the June end can still save the deal. From the initial stages the deal has always remained controversial .It was not being debated and criticized only by the bureaucracy and politicians but also by the public of both of the nations. It was being criticized in US by the patrons of nuclear non-proliferation. In India it was being resisted mainly by the left parties. Their view was that the deal will affect country’s sovereignty .Governments of both the countries were trying their best the reach  an agreement which was being equally opposed in both of the countries. It included a lot of efforts on both sides such as convincing the scientific community, diplomacy, and legal expertise.   

Natural Friends Both the countries are the largest democracies of the world and are fighting a war against terrorism. India’s record of non-proliferation, Democracy, and support of US war against terrorism after the 9/11 had projected it the natural ally of US. On US persuasion, India had abandoned the project of India Iran gas pipes line through Pakistan. Now the N-deal also has been left to fate because of some internal differences, has almost reached to the stage of ‘deadlock’, and thus India has lost all the limited opportunities it was offered to meet its energy requirements.

Energy Requirements India meets it energy requirements by importing 70% petroleum products from the other countries. Indian economy is growing at a great pace and its energy requirements are also increasing. Because of its limited energy resource it is dependent on the other countries .This dependency is also a threat to the sovereignty of the nation. India has never indulged in nuclear proliferation as compared to the other countries. All the deal was related to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. When everything is in the favor of both the countries then why this deal is being criticized. Reasons may be related to the countries but are much more related to the vested interests of some people who do not want to see both the nations coming closer to each other.

One of the key issues in achieving water sustainability is the pollution of water resources. Pollution of water resources, particularly the surface water exacerbates water constraints and shortages. Majority of rivers, lakes and seasonal rivulets in the country are today contaminated with the discharge of sewage and effluents.  While the groundwater is largely pure, the leaching of contaminants as pesticide residue and heavy metals is increasingly threatening underground resource too.

Significant progress has been made with regard to availability of appropriate technology to treat the sewage before it is discharged into the surface water. The standards that prescribe the level of treatment before the sewage is discharged into a water body are also in place. In spite of all these, the surface water bodies remain polluted. The river Yamuna is an example of all efforts to improve the quality of wastewater that went waste.

The fault lies in adopting standards that do not take into account the total load of a pollutant into the water body. The standard for Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand, which represents the extent of organic pollution in a water body, is fixed at 30mg/l in the country. This means any industry or infrastructure project or municipality has to treat the sewage or effluent to a level of 30mg/l prior to discharging the same to a water body. A water body like a river does not drain a single source of sewage but hundreds of sources. Even if each source of sewage, say every residential colony discharges the sewage in compliance with regulatory standards of 30 mg/l, the cumulative effect of this is responsible for the current state of affairs of rivers.

Therefore, the standards in the developed countries are being revised and are now being based on the Total Maximum Daily Load calculations rather than a source based limit as not a fixed value but a calculated figure based on (1) sum of the allowable loads of each pollutant from all sources (2) variations in flow and (3) a margin of safety to ensure that the water body can be used for its designated purpose.

Rajasthan Royals have emerged as one of the strongest cricket team in the ongoing Indian Premier League. There is not any star cricketer accept Shane Warne and Graeme Smith   Prior to the matches the team was being considered to be the weakest team in the IPL This became evident when they lost their first match to Delhi Dare Devils. But they defeated the Kings XI Punjab in the next game and have won the next five matches in a row. They have lost only two games out of thirteen and and have reached the semifinals with highest point tally of 22.

Team is owned by UK based company Emerging Media Its franchise was acquire by the group for $67million, was the lowest bidding price for any team. Shane Warne is the captain and coach of the team. It is the only team in the IPL having a foreigner captain.

Warne’s magic is working well as they have kept their winning streak on, accept some debacles in. Captaincy is being praised by all. His aggressiveness has inspired all the players to perform at their best..They have played in a very disciplined manner whether it is the bowling department or the batting department throughout whole of the series. This all has happened under the guidance and leadership of Shane Warne. His crafty tactics have worked a lot in their favour.

In the last game they dashed the Mumbai Indians’ hopes of semifinal by scoring a spectacular last ball win over them. The team needed 15 runs in the final over and they won it by scoring two runs off the last ball and also have kept their winning streak on.

Chasing the target of 146, Rajasthan Royals had lost five wickets till the end of the 12^th over for just 77 runs .When Kamran Akmal (18), Swapnil Asnodkar (17), Shane Watson (18) and Mohammad Kaif (12), all failed, it were Ravindra Jadeja (23 not out) and Niraj Patel (40 not out) who then, bailed the team out of the crisis .They both not only scored required 69 runs but also preserved their unbeaten record at home.

Sidddharth Trivedi kept, both the Mumbai Indians’ openers, Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya, under control and Sohail Tanvir forced the visiting middle and lower order to dance to his tunes. Both the openers could score only 60 runs from the first 10 overs. Their disciplined bowling attack lead by Sohail Tanvir (4 for 14) and Sidddharth Trivedi (2 for 31) restricted the Mumbai Indians to the score of 145 for 7.

Although the Royals team is lacking quality batsmen as compared to the other IPL teams their determination to win, disciplined performance whether it is balling or batting ,and the aggressive captaincy have proved the cricket pundits wrong who had considered it the weakest team in the earlier stages of the IPL.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is a regional political party having its base in maharashtra.It was founded by Raj Thackrey, nephew of Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackrey on 9^th of March in Mumbai. He was as the second powerful person in Shiv Sena after Bal Thackrey and was aspiring to become the next Chief Minister. He could not succeed because he was sidelined by Bal Thackrey’s son Uddav Thackrey.

He broke away from Shiv Sena and announced his future plans regarding starting a new party and it policies. He left Shiv Sena because it was an “ailing party” and was being “run by petty clerks” and had “fallen from its former glory”.He was not satisfied with the ways the party ideology was being implemented. He did not want to have hostilities with his uncle who “was, is and always will be his mentor”. But Hostilities between both of them kept on growing because of his continuous criticism of  Bal thackrey’s policies.

He declared the motto of his party ‘I am of Maharashtra; Maharashtra is Mine that reflected his party’s communal Hindutva  ideology. He, from the starting had declared that his  

party(MNS) will be a secular party and will accept anyone who will follow the the party moto  ,I    am of Maharashtra,Maharashrtra is Mine. But his history as a Shiv Sena leader reflect the opposite view as a long time hardliner as compared to the other leaders of the party.                                         

                                       In February MNS hit the headlines when some MNS activists opposed a Samajwadi Party rally and clashed with Samajwadi Party workers in Mumbai. In the following days people saw the ideological implementation of MNS’s policies when they started a compaign to expel the North Indians out of Maharashtra.   MNS activists attacked especially the migrants from Utter Pradesh (UP) and Bihar. They were forced to leave, even they students highly professionals as doctors were not spared.

                                     On May 26 Raj Thackeray declared his new campaign to be launched.He said Pune, with its large number of reputed universities and institutions imparting higher education is attracting students from Northern states, who are given admissions on massive donations, leaving the deserving Marathi aspirants in lurch”. In the new academic session north Indian students are going to be the next target of MNS, who will have to dance to the MNS’s ideological tunes.

                                Raj Thackeray has found a new job this time he has decided to teach the North Indian students some of the ideological lessons. North Indians have contributed a lot for the development of the country and even for maharashtra.If they are thrown out of Maharashtra the created gap cannot be fulfilled. Ideologies are made by people for people to be followed but not for some lines drawn on a paper dividing a nation into parts. It is the historical fact that wherever making found suitable conditions for better living it migrated to that place. One can try to oppose the trend but the fact can’t be. 

                      After the gap of one year the gujjar community has hit the headlines once again. They are demanding the status of Schedule Tribe (ST) for the community and have declined to accept anything less than that. Under the name of Gujjar Arakshan Sang harsh Samiti  the community have blocked the road and railway traffic thus bringing the state to a standstill. An incident of police firing, in which 12 persons died further, enraged the rath of the community. Thousands of gujjars with their leader, Kirori Singh Bainsla, havebeen agitating with the dead bodied on the railway tracks in KARWADI since 25 of May.

                    In 2003 during the election campaign for the  Rajasthan assembly the BJP under the leadership of Vasundhara Raje had promised ST status  for the gujjar community but the promise remained on papers .Bainsla formed the Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti and the agitation began on May 29,2007.Soon the agitation crossed  the state boundaries and expanded to some parts of India. The agitation ended within a week   when Bainsla convinced by the Raje government went to Jaipur for talks and there was a compromise between the government and him some community people blamed him of selling out the agitation.

                 But this time he has forced even the national government to examine the community demand for ST status and nothing less than that is acceptable to them. He has claimed having the support of politicians including Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan to his cause.

This whole controversy is not the agitation of one community but is a struggle of a section of the society that has been deprived of its due status economically and socialy.Some political forces may be working behind the scene but they cannot remain unnerved. After independence every political party followed the policies that most suited its interests. Instead of providing basic infrastructure like education etc, to the poor sections of the society they further divided the Indian people by launching new economic policies like reservation. India has changed a lot after independence. The reservation policy was made and was applicable only on the public sector. With the emergence of private sector the reservation policy has lost its importance. This reservation policy has to a lot extent deprived some people of the due reward for their abilities.

                          The private sector has never compromised to the reservation policy. We have some examples of some leaders asking the private sector to follow the reservation policy that never happened and was declined even publically. This whole controversy has arisen because of some vested political interests and is being fueled by some political vested interests. Poor people are going to get nothing because without education and other personality developing facilities reservation in itself is nothing. Deals will be done on papers and the coming generations will have to face the results.

It has often been observed, the greatest achievements of creative minds are not most widely known. So is the case of Prasanta Chandra Mahanlanobis. He was the man who is remembered for his outlining of Second Five Year Plan which he submitted to the National Development Council in 1955.  He was conferred with the responsibility of Statistical advisor the cabinet.

He formulated a plan the meet the nation’s primary objective of providing employment through increased industrial production. He observed that production of steel determined the differences in the incomes across countries. He recommended huge investment in heavy industry which created steel cities of central and eastern India.  Though not being a trained economist, he approached to planning largely based on the prevailing views of the era.

His remarkable contribution was setting up of large scale survey, application of statistical theory to the existing Indian problems and created institutions which could carry on the work he began after his lifetime as well. He studied mathematics and physics at Cambridge and returned to India and began teaching at Presidency College, Calcutta. He employed statistical methods by starting a small statistical laboratory in the college. This laboratory evolved into Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). National Sample Survey (NSS), Central statistical Organisation were also founded by him.

In the country where less than 1/3^rd part is connected by paved roads, the unemployment, shortage of food supplies a complete study was required to find out the gravity of the problem. It was recognized that the investments undertaken by the country had not effectively eliminated poverty and political agendas as well as economic policies began to directly address rural backwardness.

The operational research approach to planning in India was the famous paper on which Mahanlanobis model was based. He was closely associated with Rabindranath Tagore as he was the earliest bibliographer of Tagore’s literary output.

Is there someone between you and your loved one? Hey, now, don’t get wrong ideas, as this is not a daily soap. That is why there is no revengeful woman or disloyal man. So what is that is forcing the couple apart?

Well, if there is a beep on the mobile, or a ping on the messenger, a beat on the IPod, a scrap  on the SNS, an email on the Blackberry, a high score on Need for Speed and  much more. You know it is true, knowingly or unknowingly, technology has swept into our lives and is playing a major role in drifting the couples apart. So how does it feel living a Gizmo- invaded life?

Let’s find the roles of all the gizmos playing in our lives and how these favourite gadgets are throwing us away from each other. Mobile phone first of all. A wife is busy in deleting the messages and irrelevant delivery reports while her husband was narrating her his day at work. No wonders she missed half of what he said which has become her habit now. There is another employee who is always busy calling while on the dining table. So there is no interaction between the couple in total and what is boosting is bad eating habits.

The next culprit creating mayhem is in the relations is the gaming console. For many a day stands incomplete without the relaxing game. So by the time they are finished with the game, needless to say that after winning, wife is already fast asleep. The excuse……… it’s my own way to de-stress myself and she knows about this.

There is also another obsession for a gadget that leads to a better understanding between the couples, wonder? The couple has its own way for bed schedule. The wife would like to visit her social networking profile over the internet on ORKUT and FACEBOOK. The husband loves to listen to the music on his iPod. This is their regular schedule before going to bed. Don’t you wonder when do they interact with each other? Well it takes place between those techno sessions. Also they do stay in touch through the Gtalk and SMS.

Receiving  a lovely message when the work stress is getting on surely peps up. Do you as well wonder how this can be done by an electronic message? Also it invite a distraction from the regular work with a temptation of reply back to emails or regularly checking the SMS and replying the same.

Life of Indira Gandhi was span which witnessed the transition between socialist India of Nehru and Liberal India of today.  She ruled through a mixture of populist antipoverty thought which was in fact the major force who brought her to power and her strategic alliances internally, with the left parties and externally with other likeminded nations like former USSR. She in fact used the factor in her favors which bothered her father- the anti- imperialist tenets.

She actually was not a corridor between the past and present India after independence. She witnessed the last phase of cold war as both the axis powers withdrew sharply. Back at home, explosion of corruption because of babudom expanding into the economy of the nation, banks were nationalized.  There were schemes like small savings and tax avoidance were introduced to stabilize the economy and the middle class lives were subsidized.

At the party level she impacted the congress to the extent that it has never recovered. Her wish to keep the power in her hands and to make the regional bosses puppets in her hands. The result was the bifurcation of the party. Talking positively about this habit we got something which changed the shape of the world map- the creation of Bangladesh, is a testimony to the leadership she provided at the time of serious political crisis.

She backed Green Revolution; to meet the scarcity of food supply in the country, stood up to the Americans; by openly accepting strategic alliance with the former USSR, authority in space; made Sq. Leader Rakesh Sharma the first Indian to visit space outside earth, scientific research;  in making country nuclear  power capable and made “Buddha Smiling”, political supremacy; by imposing emergency and faced defeat in 1977 elections when she ended emergency voluntarily.

She has deep sense of patriotism as she refused to bar the community from employing in her personal security staff unless there was concrete evidence as she had an excuse that she was the Prime Minister of India and everyone in the country. This also speaks the courage and commitment she had.

We no longer see a 50 or a 25 paisa coins. It is still minted by the Reserve Bank of India. Inflation has rendered these two denominations barring of any buying power.  In cities, no one accepts them.

Expenditure on households in the budget across the country has been increased due to the inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index as it has touched a 59 week high. Food items have become expensive. Primary food articles, like pulses, fruits, vegetables and spices have increased the burden on the pocket of a common man.

Increase in the prices of oil and manufactured goods also fueled inflation. Being pinched on a daily basis, common man has become more conscious about the food prices across the nation.

What doesn’t come the mind of a common man immediately is the fact that the value of savings and investments is also getting eaten by the inflation. To elaborate here; if one invests Rs. 100 for a year at a fixed rate of interest per annum. After a year if he gets Rs 110, out of which Rs 10 is the income from investment or interest. It should not be viewed as true ROI (return on investment) as it is to be calculated after deducting the inflation rate from the income. Assuming that the rate of Inflation is Rs.7 currently, the real return on income is Rs 3 only. So inflation rise should also bother you as an investor.

We cannot take banks deposits as an ideal long term investment if you are planning for your child’s education or marriage or your own retirement. As the inflation rate is at par with the rate of return on your bank savings, it becomes vital to explore the options to beat inflation and help your money grow, that too in a fashion that it should meet you future requirements.

Investment in stocks is the best possible option according to majority of financial planners. Investment should be in blue chip companies. Looking back at the results of past 3 years, these stocks have returned over 25% beating inflation, which stayed on an average of 5-6%. For those who want minimum risks, equity based mutual funds are best options. Investing in gold would be another better option.

Olympics 2008 would be remembered for many reasons. In the history of the game of hockey, this was for the first time that India failed to qualify for the Olympics. It is peak time to remember the golden era of the Indian Hockey when India got a medal in the Olympics from 1928-1980 except once in 1976 which includes 8 golds.

It all started for a friendship between two British colonels who were part of Gallipoli Tragedy during the First World War. As a friendship gesture, an Indian Army hockey team toured for the first time to New Zealand in 1926. The hosts were shocked by the classic game showcased by the visitors and thereby established that Indians are indeed a world apart.

It was Dhyan Chand who mesmerized the world with his extraordinary skills. He led the Indians thought of taking part in the Olympics. In that era, a mixed team of 16 players, this 18 year old, legend of hockey, the “other rank” soldier from the Brahmin regiment stood out not because of the goals he has scored. It was the elegance and grace which he showed while scoring the maximum goals. Every goal scored was a lesson in the game of hockey from an institution, Dhyan Chand.

In the next three Olympics between 1928 and 1936, India stood like a behemoth, Dhyan Chand lived up to the expectation and the faith rested by the IHF. He was never called for selections trials.  England, the defending champion in 1928 Olympics, backed out when they saw Dhyan Chand at the Folkstone Festival Hockey enroute Amsterdam. It was the rarest occurrence in the history that a colonial country as mighty as the British Empire kept out from a particular sport for three Olympics. It is same British, 80 years later ironically, defeated India in a qualifier thus ensured India’s first exit from Olympic Hockey in 80 years.

In his autobiography, “GOAL” Dhyan Chand has mentioned that he only scored 3 goals in the finals though he was credited with 6 out 8 goals scored in the finals of 1936 Berlin Olympics in the Olympics records. Dhyan Chand’s legacy is not just confined to the pre- independence era. After partition, during 1947 a strong claim was made to declare India’s three Olympic golds neutral like British India or undivided India. The 1936 game team had 18 members, which had 8 Anglo Indians, 4 Muslims and 2 Hindus from Pakistan. But even the free India team won that psychological was as all of those 14 souls dwarfed against the towering dinosaur, Dhyan Chand.