Finally, India agrees to stop subsidizing food insecurity

As we stand a  few weeks away from Rio+20, sustainable development, it seems, is finally making sense to our government. Yesterday (Tuesday) in the parliament Sharad Pawar, India's union minister for agriculture, announced that his government was ready to reduce subsidy on synthetic fertilizer and instead  divert funds to organic manures, bio-fertilisers, green manures and promotion of organic farming. 

Undoubtedly, this is the best news ever - and perhaps the most sensible remark ever from Sharad Pawar - I have heard in a very long time, as far as agriculture is concerned. To me, it has a clear meaning: India is finally ready to stop subsidizing food insecurity.

President Obama has an Indian Connection!

So, you are an ardent fan or a sworn enemy of the US president Barak Obama and you think you know everything about him, do you?

Well, here is something you don't know: Barak Obama is a citizen of India and resident of a village near Hyderabad. Don't believe me? Well, there is proof - a local mobile phone number registered in the name of Mr Obama.

Yes, a couple of weeks ago, this cell phone number - +9177523297  - was assigned by Airtel (that is one of India's largest cell phone service providers) to a Mr Barak Obama after he filled up an application form that had a photo of, who else but Obama himself? According to the form, Obama, however, is 21 year old and is a resident of a village called Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh state.Interesting, isn't it?

Sadly though, the media came to know about it and kind of blew it up into a big controversy. It wrote how the form was actually filled up by a certain Mr Prasad with Obama's photo pasted on it and how the mobile company never bothered to question that because all it wanted was to sell a new subscription. Hmm , if you ask me, this is the greatest gesture of displomacy and fair trade. I mean, c'mon, why should anyone not do business with an American president? Better still, why should a mobile company official say 'no' to an American president? So he did what he thought was only fair: assign the no.
God bless his soul; now we Indians could get in touch with Obama so easilly: just dial a local number!

Unfortunately, the higher authorities  in that mobile company were a little less believers who cancelled the subscription. Then came the  police and they went a step further, booking both Prasad - the person who signed the form and the Airtel salesman who accepted it.
Sad end of the story, but now you know Obama  is a man with an Indian connection even if lasted for a week!

Transgender Bidhan doesn't deserve to die

Bidhan - a male to female transgender in Mumbai, has threatened to kill himself tonight. And I am writing this blog to say that Bidhan doesn't deserve to die.

So, why does Bidhan want to kill himself?
The reason is painfully simple: the society, including Bidhan's family isn't allowing Bidhan to live.

Bidhan who is 21 year old, wants to get a sex assignment surgery (SRS), but the law requires the consent of his family which they have refused to give. In fact, his parents  have reportedly threatened the doctors with dire consequences if they performed the surgery. As a result the surgery, scheduled for last 17th April in a Mumbai hospital, was cancelled.