What’s so fake about fake maoist encounters?

 By Avishek Ganguly

June, 2010: Maoists kill women and child in Kangaroo court in Gumla town in Jharkhand

July, 2010: Maoists kill a 13 year old boy in Handibhanga village in Orissa suspecting him to be police informer.

August, 2010: Maoists hack to death 3 aged members of a family together suspecting them as police informers.

July, 2010: Top Maoist leader Cherukuri Raj Kumar alias Azad killed by Police in Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh

August, 2010: Maoist leader and kingpin of Jnaneshwari Express sabotage, Umakant Mahato shot dead by security forces in Midnapore, West Bengal.

The first three incidents, as per government or media records are terrorist activities by the Maoists. Well now coming to the last two incidents where security forces killed top Maoist leaders. The latter events would also have been normal but on the contrary, there have been allegations that they were fake encounters.  Human Rights Groups, led by Maoist sympathizer, Varavara Rao, have accused the government of killing Maoists when they were unarmed. They say that the killings were absolutely inhuman and the government needs to answer. In a bizarre chain of events, our railway minister, Mamata Banerjee too has shown her sympathy for Maoists and has questioned the nature of the killings.  So, were our security forces and police really wrong in fake encounters?

What exactly does a fake encounter mean? In simple terms, it is like staging a real encounter where unarmed people are killed in point black range or something like that. So then, what about the kangaroo courts where Maoists kill common people? Are the victims armed or does a hand to hand combat take place? They are tied, dragged and killed in the most inhuman manner. The first 3 incidents mentioned above will give you an idea.  What about innocent bus and train passengers who were killed in the Maoist sabotage? So if that is justified as some stupid revolutionary act, then what is wrong with surrounding a top Maoist leader and killing him in point blank range for the country’s security? In all countries, terrorists are neutralized. I guess the same should be done for these people too, whatever is the way: real or fake.

Human rights groups argue that it is inhuman to kill Maoists in such a way. I guess the question of humanity and inhuman behavior arises when we are dealing with human beings in the real sense. Based on what the Maoists are doing, I can’t put them in the category of humans. In fact they are even worse than animals. I think the best answer to these baseless allegations by the human rights groups is to adopt more draconian measures on the Maoists. It was KPS Gill, who had put an end to the Khalishtan movement in Punjab by his “goli ke badle goli” methods. The same should be applied on the Maoists too. Strike hard and instill terror, this should be the tactic.

There is nothing surprising about Mamata’s Banerjee’s stand on the Maoist issue. I guess everyone now understands that she is trying to throw the CPIM out of power in West Bengal by hook or crook. And if that means sympathizing the Maoists, there is no harm. After all these insurgents are making her road clear by killing CPIM leaders in the state. Tomorrow, if Lashkar-e-Toiba speaks against the CPIM, I guess Mamata will support them too. As a railway minister, she is already failure and yet she is leaving no stones unturned to get the chief minister’s seat.

To conclude, I can say that I do not find any fault with fake encounters on terrorists, and in fact support them. If terrorists can kill innocent people, they should be treated in the same way too. Mahatma Gandhi had once said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. However, with complete respect to the Father of the Nation, I guess this quote does not fit for the terrorists. If not the eyes, but at least their hands and legs should be chopped off so that they become a non entity.

Black and white: creating that degree of warmth

By Avishek Ganguly

Photography has its own aspects to portray and give life to myriads of moods, emotions, scenes and situations. It is an art in itself which teaches us to understand and get a feel of the world around us. Since childhood, I have been interested by photography and after I got my first camera, I turned it into my favorite hobby.


Now coming to the main subject, the color styles of photography. Everyone loves to experience with photo styles. Be it changing the white balance to using some red eye reduction, the camera person tries to make his or her photograph unique. The same goes with color styles, which can give a completely new dimension to each photo. For me, black and white images are the favorite. Nothing perhaps creates more visual interest and brings out the inner character of the subject than a photo taken in black and white mode. Whether it is capturing busy streets or a trait in a human character, black and white can be used wonderfully to capture some subtle yet delicate nuances of life.


If you ever come across some old photographs, say of the pre independence period, you will see most of them are in black and white. In fact, one of the main aspects that make it my favorite color style is the nostalgic feeling that it attached to it. An old photo in black and white tone speaks a lot than normal color styles. The same holds true for capturing human moods and shades. By taking a snap in B/W, you can incorporate a degree of drama and warmth into the subjects of the photo.


While taking a landscape photograph, most of us tend to take it in the normal color mode. Well, change it to sepia and see how distinctly the mood changes. A friend of mine once took a landscape photo of Dashashwamedh Ghat in Banaras in black and white and it how well it complemented the vivacious yet holy mood of the city. The same snap, if taken in normal color format, would not have looked so grand.


Indian photographers have always experimented with B/W. One of the greatest Indian press photographers, Kulwant Roy has been credited with creating some of the best black & white snaps of the pre independence years all over India. To ace photographer, Raghu Ra too, B/W offers a distinct identity to a photo which can enhance its meaning which sometimes go unnoticed with the naked eye.


To sum up with the words of Rai, “a photograph has picked up a fact of life, and that fact will live forever”. This is exactly what one can do by preserving the nostalgic moments through black and white.

Bengal loses what India does today

 By Avishek Ganguly

I am very thankful to my friend, Subhadeep, who has very well pointed out the apathy and ignorance Bengalis have towards their own state in his blog section Small Strokes. When it comes to criticizing and making faces at people of other states, the Bengalis are the first. However, when it comes to repeating the same political mistakes and acting in some uncivilized manner, they too acquire the first place. Take most Bengalis, when they go to some other city or state, the first thing that they do is to criticize that part of the country, in spite of completely ignoring the fact, that the place may have a completely different custom, tradition and way of living, which may not match with theirs. Such is the false vanity of Bengalis; they fail to get out of that well of “Bangla ego”.

Like my friend pointed out, Bengalis have always been influenced by some ideals, without even understanding or analyzing whether it is good for themselves, the nation, or not. Be it worshipping some communist leaders of Soviet to making fanfare about some sub standard Marxist writer, false idealism is a deep rooted aspect in Bengal. Please do not get me wrong, but I have noticed one thing. Most people in Bengal have deep reverence for Bengali freedom fighters compared to the other Indian nationalists. There is absolutely no problem with it but what ails me is the way some Bengalis criticize other nationalist leaders and completely disregard their contribution towards Indian freedom. To most of them, India gained independence only because of Bengalis. This very thought has a deep rooted sense of false vanity and ego, rather than any love for the state or the Bengali nationalist leaders.

What is more painful to see is the total apathy, ignorance and “do-not-work” attitude that has grasped the whole of the state. A race which once produced some of the best writers, scientists, political leaders and geniuses in almost all fields of knowledge has now turned into a docile and insignificant class of people which no ambition and ideals. Thanks to more than 30 years of Left rule, we have become a spineless and submissive race- “nobody thinks, nobody cares, no beliefs, no convictions, no enthusiasm”

Rajiv Gandhi had once remarked “Calcutta is a dying city”. Former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam also echoed the same thing when he spoke about the deteriorating state of Bengal in a seminar two years back. Loyal to their age old customs, Bengalis started criticizing the remark, instead of properly understanding the causes why it was made. Perhaps it is a habit of Bengalis to criticize people who identify their faults, instead of rectifying the very mistakes. Why Bengalis fail to realize the fact that there is absolutely no disrespect involved in admitting a mistake and rectifying it, is a big mystery.

When Dr Kalam had made the statement, the Bengal intelligencia shot back with baseless excuses like “Bengal is the most cultured state in India”, “Bengalis are educated and creative class” and so on. The basic fact they failed to realize is that when a new comer comes to a city like Calcutta he or she does not peep into Coffee House or Rabindra Sadan to see what is happening, but is rather exasperated to see the sad traffic situation in the city or the “never-do-work” attitude in government offices. When the judiciary passed the law against street agitations and processions in Calcutta, our left politicians left no stones unturned to criticize the judiciary in harsh words. Their brigade, led by Biman Basu, even had the audacity to mock the judiciary. Remember the” Amitava Lala, Bangla Chere pala”, statement?

Well, I guess Basu and his left brigade have succeeded in their own way in making good sense retreat from the state. The young generation has already started migrating elsewhere and even senior citizens are now looking for settling in other states. It is really unfortunate that when the country is moving at a rocket’s pace, Bengal is moving at a snail’s pace.

Internet marketing and its scope in India

 By Avishek Ganguly

Internet Marketing, also known as online marketing is one of the newest techniques of marketing that is being implemented by businesses worldwide. Be it global giants or start up firms, everyone is keen to understand this very new concept as it throws up new opportunities to woo the target audience and make them potential customers.


According to the great marketing guru, Philip Kotler, “We never thought that the Internet would become an advertising medium even a decade back. What has happened of course, it has become an advertising medium and a direct marketing tool and emails are a cheaper way to send messages to a lot of people if you have their names and it’s easy to get clicks measured. I think that any company that fails to prepare a good website for itself and utilize Google and Yahoo and the others to reach and influence target audience is making a huge mistake.” This very statement perhaps sums it all. Today it is one of the top priorities of almost all companies to have a good website which provides a platform to reach millions of people within a second. Such is the power of technology based marketing today!

To put it simply, internet marketing is a unique marketing concept where various forms of social networks and online communication channels like online articles, blogs, search engines, social networking sites and online ad programs are utilized to promote products or service to the worldwide audience. Internet marketing is not limited to a particular region. The target market is spread all over the world. A man sitting in Alaska can become a prospective customer for a shop in Ambala, that’s how online marketing works.

Coming to the Indian context: what’s the scope of internet marketing here? Says Dr Kotler, “I don’t think that you will have to wait long to see the Net economy pouring into India, especially in the city and business sectors. Its use, I believe, will increase at an increasing rate and leave behind those businesses who are not alert enough to realize its power to carry on business more efficiently”. With more than 40 million active users in the country, an internet marketing boom is not very far to happen. Top notch internet marketing giants like Bruce Clay Inc, are already all set to start business to tap the huge potential market.

With in the next few years, the possibility of internet marketing looks very bright in India. To the industrialists, the nation has become one of the most important global markets, and internet usage is increasing at a fast pace. This has provided an excellent platform for online promotion and marketing. Moreover, it is also set to become a good employment generator among the educated Indian youth.

To sum up in the words of Dr Kotler, India is a on a roll and internet marketing can be a great tool to accelerate her economic progress.

Were the British discriminative towards Indians?

 By Avishek Ganguly

The previous day I was reading an interesting blog written by a gentleman, Ankit Arora, under the Small Strokes section. He had rightly pointed out that it would have been better had the British stayed in India for another six decades. Well, as I had liked the post I discussed it with my friends and shot came the reply, “people like me and the author who write and say such stuff do not love their country. They should rather go to England and be slaves there”. Well, during the conversation, somebody pointed out that “ in the British rule, no Indian was ever judged in the right way. The English always looked down on Indians and exploited them”. I started thinking over it. Were the British really discriminative towards Indians?

Well, let me be very clear from the beginning that I do not agree with my friends that the British were discriminative towards Indians. On the contrary, I feel that they were the ones who really understood the intellectual capability in us and used it in the right manner. But just like in any debate or discussion, I will present my views logically about why I feel that the British never looked down on us.

Take for example, the very thought of freedom and democracy. I guess it was due to the contact with western civilization through Britain that our leaders really felt the need for Indian Independence. In this regard, mention needs to be made of Allan Octavian Hume, the founder of the Indian National Congress. Well he was an Englishman who felt that the need of the hour was political reformation in India. Amazing it may sound, but even today the main national party that is in the center, was founded by a Briton.

It is beyond doubt that the British were the ones who first provided a platform for intellectual Indians. They were the ones who first patronized Indian writers, scientists, philosophers, and learned people. In spite of being foreigners, it was they who again revived Sanskrit (which was almost becoming a dying language during the Mughal period). Be it supporting Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Rammohan Roy in social reforms to preserving the historical heritages of the country, it was the British who made India progress and reform. And we still say that Indians were only exploited in the British rule.

Agree or not, almost all famous Indians whom we worship as idols had worked with the British and earned worldwide fame. Radhanath Sikdar, Dadabhai Naoroji, CV Raman, the list goes on. And why only the famous ones, ask our grandfathers. They too had worked in government offices and got their due salary, pensions, gratuities and everything, just like any other common English employee received. So what was the discrimination all about?

We should also not forget that the British were the first to respect Rabindranath Tagore with the noble Prize. Such was their admiration for the great writer and poet. Was that discrimination? But what about the disrespect that we Indians have done to the legend, by not even preserving and saving his Noble Prize and letting it get stolen? I guess the answers are simple.

The British may have come to India for their own interests but the faith they had on colonial India was perhaps much more than we Indians, really have on our country. Just like their homeland, they tried to instill that discipline in their colonies too. They were the ones who created the backbone of progress and reforms and we are such impotents that we can’t even preserve that, let alone continue it. More than discrimination, I feel India was saved due to British rule from the path of darkness.

Indian Museums: the sorry state of affairs

 By Avishek Ganguly

Indian museums are in a sorry state and need immediate attention and renovation. Well, this shocking fact has been revealed in a recently published report by the UNESCO on the eight national museums across the country. A survey made by volunteers and experts of the School of Planning& Architecture, the Delhi Tour Guides and the Arts & Aesthetics Departments of JNU and Jamia Millia Islamia Universities in the national museums in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata has brought out some disturbing facts which are enough to make every Indian ashamed.


In the first phase the team had surveyed national museums like National Museum, the Red Fort Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi, the Victoria Memorial Museum and Indian National Museum in Kolkata and the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai. Their verdict: the museums do not even have the minimum amenities required to be of international standards. In the next phase, some other museums like the Archaeological Museum at Patna, Sarnath Museum, Nehru Museum of Science and Technology and some others will be surveyed. However, considering the deteriorating state of the national museums, one can easily assume the condition of the ones located in smaller cities.


Nevertheless, the results do not come as a startling fact. If you happen to be in any museums of India, you are bound to see ill maintained artifacts, next to nil security arrangements, lack of minimum civic amenities, no signage on the displayed items- the list goes on. Being a citizen of Kolkata, I have visited the Indian National Museum a number of times and was disappointed, rather annoyed, with the condition there. In an instance, I once saw a part of a bronze statue belonging to the Maurya dynasty was lying in bits and pieces. I immediately went to the curator to inform about the incident, but to my utter disappointment, the authorities were completely reluctant to look into the matter. Such is that state of affairs in our Indian museums.


In 2009, the government announced a 14 point agenda meant towards renovation and reformation of Indian museums, but as one can understand, nothing has been done till date. The center, it seems has completely turned a blind eye to the agenda and if such things continue, most of our precious artifacts and relics will either be stolen or turn to rubble.


Renowned historians and archeologists too are concerned about the issue. According to Naman Ahuja, renowned historian and former curator of the British Museum, the UNESCO report is very unfortunate and should be an eye opener for authorities who have neglected our rich heritage and culture. He says that a sea change is needed in the overall system, which should aim at creating awareness from the basic level. For example, instead of recruiting people through some baseless exams like UPSC, the initiative should be bring in those who are really interested in Indian history, tradition and culture. Also active participation of the youth is required (an aspect which the government has never given a thought).


Inviting the private sector for the upkeep of museums can also be a feasible option. Take the contemporary art galleries, they are so well maintained. The same can also be done for our museums if the private sector is involved. Red tapism is virtually absent and people are professional there.

The UNESCO report has already done a great deal in bringing down India’s ranks in the international museum platform. When so much stress is being given on improving tourism in the country, this will indeed turn to be a hurdle. It’s high time that our administrators wake up from slumber and do something to preserve our rich heritage.

Tiger conservation: to be or not to be

 By Avishek Ganguly


The tiger, our national animal is in great danger today! Look at the “Save the Tiger” Initiative ad of Aircel and you will have a rough estimate of it: just 1411 tigers left in India. Well, from the day that the counting was made to the time when I am writing this post, there must have been around 20 tigers already dead from that list. Such is the rate of tiger deaths in India. While our country still has the largest number of tiger population in the world, it is perhaps our duty to increase this population- for the sake of nature, for ourselves and for the country’s pride. So is all this fuss and big big words about tiger conservation really taking place in India? Let’s see.


After the eye-opener of the shocking truth about the present tiger population, the Indian government made a task force to prevent death of tigers and also increase their population. The Prime Minister has already approved the protection force and around US$153 million has been pledged for this purpose. It has been decided that the Indian government along with renowned national and international agencies such as the WWF will be the part of the task force. Indeed a good initiative and lets keep our fingers crosses that this plan truly bears fruit. This plan is a ungradation of the "Project Tiger" inititaive that is already in place.


Poaching is the main factor that is responsible for the loss of tigers in India. In this regard it needs to be said that China has the market of illegal tiger skin, nails and other body parts. This was revealed at the International Tiger Conference that has held in India last February. As decided in the conference, India and Nepal have agreed to prevent illegal tiger trade through stringent checks across the border. (The India-Nepal route is a favorite among poachers for trading in animal parts).


Other initiatives are also underway. The government has already allocated funds to relocate more than 200,000 villagers from tiger reserves to prevent poaching and provide a better habitat for the animals. Under the proposal, a sum of around 900 crores will be allocated yearly to states to look after the 39 tiger reserves in the country. Thanks to the environment minister, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, steps are really underway to create awareness among the common public about tiger conservation.


Though much is being done, lot more needs to be done to save India’s national animal. We, the common people should also play a part to make this world a better place for tigers! Help the government by expressing whatever thoughts you have about tiger conservation. Live and let live!