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AN-32 : Mystery continues

AN-32, a transport aircarft of the Indian Air Force mysteriously disappeared about a week ago with 29 people on board while flying over the Bay Of Bengal. Here's all you need to know about the aircraft, its sudden disappearance and sequence of events in the matter.
Date of disappearance : 22 July 2016
Place of origin : Tambaram airbase (Chennai, Tamil Nadu)
Destination (headed to) : Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands)
Take-off time : 8:30 am
Flight went off the radar : 9:12 am
Expected time of arrival : 10:30 am
Type of flight: Routine courier flight

Passengers on Board (29)
Crew members : 6
IAF Personnel : 11
Army : 2
Navy : 1
Coast Guard : 1
Civilians : 8

Details of the search and rescue operations

• 17 ships (13 from the Navy and four from the CG)
• 12 aircraft (8 from the Navy and 2 each from the IAF and CG)
• Five helicopters of the Navy
• A submarine of Navy
• Satellite imagery using CARTOSAT 2A and 2B which have the ability to cover areas of the swath of 27x27 km with a resolution of 0.8 metres.

Progress of the operations
After intense aerial and surface scanning, the operations are now significantly shifting under water.
In words of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar " Many floating objects have been found in the area and possible transmissions have been picked up by satellite imagery, however no concrete evidence has emerged so far. " 

About AN-32 aircraft
The Indian Air Force reportedly has a fleet of 105 AN-32s in service.

•  The AN-32, a twin-engine aircraft, is primarily used as a cargo flight.
•  In this case, it was carrying 29 people on board – 23 personnel and six crew.
• The aircraft has the capacity to transport either 7.5 tonnes of cargo or fifty passengers.
• There are ten variants of the AN-32: An-32A, An-32B, An-32B-100, An-32B-110, An-32B-120, An-32B-300, An-32LL, An-32MP, An-32P firekiller and An-32B-200.

  (Courtesy : Indian Express)

From the history...
Similar incident took place when an Indian Air Force plane AN-12-BL-534 simply vanished as it made its way from Chandigarh to Leh. The aircraft with 98 defence personnel disappeared, intensive search for which did not lead to any success.
In 2003, 35 years after the plane went missing, a trekking party in Spiti region of Northern Himachal found the remains of a human corpse which was soon identified as that of Indian Army soldier Beli Ram, one of the passengers on board AN-12. Subsequently the cause behind the incident was found to be that the flight had descended before expected and had fallen into the Dakka glacier.

The battle of Paradise

Kashmir, or the Paradise on Earth, as it has been called for long, is muddled up in an unending battle ever since independence. The series of controversies has continued as a result of national, religious and cultural conflicts.
Everybody would agree that if the Kashmir issue were handled with care immediately after Independence, the fate of this 'paradise' would have been different. However talking in today's context, the situation still isn't being handled with much care.
Heard of somebody called 'poster boy' cum a terrorist of Hizbul Muzahidin shot down in an encounter. (A terrorist, in my opinion, doesn't deserve publicity of his name)
I've heard some fortune tellers predicting that this encounter would cause a rise in terror in the valley. But interestingly, same people don't find a single word in their dictionaries to congratulate defence forces on the achievement. Hence doubts arise!
As another great surprise, I find 'a few' local people agitating against army. But this is not something new. We have seen those locals hoisting Pakistan's flag and burning the Indian one. We have seen people supporting terrorists and protecting them from security agencies.
It feels both pain and anger at heart when people in our country throw stones at defence forces and flowers at terrorists. Why? For giving the rightful place to a terrorist who himself had chosen this destiny? Pains more because there are fearless supporters for a terrorist but few who support army in the valley. 

These agitations don't show up when brave soldiers sacrifice their lives in terrorist attacks. It's bitter truth we don't find much tears at those times. Why to forget, was there such agitations when Kashmiri Pandits had to suffer? Probably because their conscience lies with terror groups, too dangerous for the nation.
This situation exists when our valiant soldiers have always fought against the enemies and natural calamities for the same people at the risk of their own lives. Even if they choose not to be grateful to the security forces, atleast be appreciating the army for it's our own!
Above all, expected journalists to be fair enough. But, that's not the case as well. Either they have sympathy with the people involved, or fear more from terrorists than they trust our armies. To know why I'm saying so, read the following extract quoted from a news report:

" For at least the past year, strategists in the military and political establishment have had to consider the advantages and disadvantages of eliminating Burhan – given the fact that they generally don’t seriously consider the option of capturing such high-profile targets alive.
They could not ignore the fact that glowing stories of Burhan’s fight against the state had motivated large numbers of youths, including many teenagers, to take up arms.
On the other hand, the evidence of the last autumn indicated that his funeral would be a highly emotional mass event, which could inspire more young people to join the militant ranks.
The overwhelming question they had to face was this: Would Burhan become an even bigger icon in death than he had been in life? The obvious answer was: Surely. "

While somebody questions the need of encounter by bringing name of Shaheed Bhagat Singh into the debate, few others assert that judiciary could have handled the issue knowing well that the case would stretch to no less than 15 years and a chance for what happened in case of Yakub Memon. Then there are those who want terror to be controlled peacefully. But we must remember, little violence is necessary to establish peace in the modern world.
"Peace talks can't be held until terrorism is controlled." That's what we usually to Pakistan. But when it comes to curbing terror on our own land, a single encounter creates much agitation. Why have we got more tears on death of a terrorist than we get on the martyrs? A section of media is busy defending terrorist activities instead of following its duty is to raise issues of the common man. We must get rid of this ideology!

Anybody who stands on the side of a terrorist definitely is not an innocent and deserves the same punishment. To those asking for 'less strict actions', did you beg the same for Kashmiri Pandits when they were forced to leave their traditional homes? Some people find their long term benefits even by supporting terrorists. Do we need such tolerant people in 'Intolerant India'? Anybody who hoists Pakistan flags and raise ISIS slogans, certainly is not a Indian at heart. And they are most likely to be involved in terrorist activities in the near future. Why don't take action at the right time? 
Wish this battle ends soon and on a happy note that brings peace forever.

Mission admission

The results have been floating around for quite sometime now and the season of college admissions has now arrived. It has been really hard to score good despite the stress and peer pressure on young brains. But the hope to get way into a prestigious college exists, though only until the cutoff lists are out.
Heard of those golden times when somebody passing XII would eligible to be a school principal! Think about it today, even a student scoring 95% finds it tough to secure a seat in the 'temples of knowledge'. Doubt it? Check out the table below. 

My mind doesn't allow me believe that some student could be perfect enough to score something more than 99% marks. But the cutoffs demand this! Average students, perhaps, have no place to exist in this scenario.
I wonder if this happens due to a large number of applicants for limited seats. Although there are some non-conventional courses which get fewer applicants, we know only about 10% students of the country have access to higher education. What would have been the situation if all of them applied, a question bit difficult to answer.
A bigger question is - are we heading in the right direction? Aren't we stressing young minds to do what everybody has been doing for long? Appear for exams and score big howsoever be it possible.
Thousands of students study exactly the same subjects. It's like feeding same dish to over a billion population, even when this dish is expired and is largely irrelevant today. And there are almost no questions raised as a denial to follow the tradition would mean challenging the well established institutions of education.
The child was hardworking and well focused for the entire year. But had mild fever on the exam day, couldn't perform well on exam day. Whole year went in vain. Just a day is enough to judge the entire year and marks are considered the only basis of his performance.
When are we going to relieve the stress on the younger generation? Or things are well planned to keep them running behind the marks for years. Hope this rat race ends some fine day.

To be or not to be a topper?

If your day starts with huge crowd seeking study tips from you, you're probably someone whom the world calls a topper. And your tips may include Regular study, consistent hardwork, blah blah blah...
Asked my Guruji how to be a topper. He replied "Simple steps my student! Throw the phone away and deactivate all social media accounts. Study minimum 16 hours a day and attend my tuitions for extra marks in the rest hours!" As you would guess, I managed to stay away from the crazy Guruji itself.
And on a fine day I discovered there was another 'easy' way, with the infinite power of money. The newspapers questioned the toppers for the very first time as they have found a few innovative toppers connected to the roots. We owe the talented toppers to the state of Bihar and Gujarat as the news say.
I didn't find Prodigal science to be a big issue, if a topper has coined the word. It would have been worth debating if some politician quoted it. Let's reward our education system for the synthesis of the term 'Prodigal science', something which is about cooking. The subject demands extensive research and a patent if considered suitable by the authorities.
But the things are not justified. After all they are toppers and a topper is always right. They secured the title with tremendous efforts and orders for a re-exam are a threat to the entire class of toppers. What if they raised demands to ask every student to recite the multiplication table of 19 and declared him fraud if unsuccessful? Oh, no less than 99% students would be disqualified this way! All degrees are slipping away, this decision must be challenged in the court.
Imagine the creativity of a topper who writes 'Tulsidas ji pranam' in an essay on the great figure. I doubt the wit of people cracking jokes on this generous view. Don't they see that it signifies our values of greeting with a 'Namaste' or 'Pranam'. It should rather be appreciated as an attempt to say the most in least words.
I would thank these toppers for helping my little brain understand the way toppers are different, something which I have always wondered about. Being a topper isn't easy though, when things turn around on you as now. Decide if to be, or not to be a topper?

Are we logical?

Over 7 billion people live in a world whose control lies in the hands of just a handful of people - powerful politicians, elite businessmen, clever bureaucrats and talented journalists. They are those who enjoy the legacy and on the other side are those like us who have not yet learnt how to properly dream of being powerful and pass our days in managing our daily needs.
This is a well known fact that half of the world's wealth lies in the hands of just 1% of population and is estimated to increase. This is a big economical inequality. Wish the great souls that keep inspiring me to choose satisfaction and peace over money be successful in turning these riches to their disciples and put an end to the division of society.
Thinking on whether the world is actually biased or it appears to be? Do the things go on logically? At least, in theory! If everybody in the world actually started using not so commonly found 'common sense', there would have been no wars or the terrorist attacks.
If you don't know, let me tell you how far logical the world is. Time travel and reincarnation is banned in China. And South Korea bans movie theaters which are against their 'values'.
Why talk of the world? Let's talk of our own country, the largest democracy! Somebody who coined the term as 'To the people, by the people, for the people' must have not known that votes will replace people soon. The change is legitimate, after all it's the votes that count, no matter how and from where they 'arrived'.
The governments' accounts in our country are usually found empty, thanks to the 1000 crore club of corrupt politicians. Inflation rates get to the sky, the public needs urgent solution. Our leaders are good in this as well. Give free water, free electricity, free laptops, free bicycles, free, free, free! Then increase the taxes to recover for the all free stuff. That's easy indirect trading for the votes.
Think everything goes logically? It does, until you yourself are not involved in it!
Got stuck in a situation of emergency? Call the cops. Let's see if they arrive at time. Even if they did, there is huge risk of them running away in the midway. Remember what happened in Mathura?
The truth is bitter. We do know of  'Padhega India, tabhi to badhega India'. Education should have been free. Although when you step out for a professional course, you have to be ready to lose all your parents' savings. Another bitter fact is the govt can increase salaries of it's own MLAs by 400% but cannot do anything to institutions that have become more like shops where degrees are sold. A car loan can be interest free but education loan cannot be.
Sleeping on footpath was never a big crime, but suddenly car of a celebrity drags over the sleeping poor and the court finds everybody associated with the case innocent. Certainly some ghost must have been the culprit.
The life is even more complicated. Just try attempting for a job, and your entire family history would be sought out. I won't find an answer if the interviewer asks me 'Why don't we hire your dad's sister-in-law's sister's son in your place?'
When you are almost ready to give up in this illogical world, suddenly a vision and enthusiasm to change the things strike your mind. Let's tempt the govt to change this. Organize a dharna at XYZ road and take the minister from our area in confidence. But you need permission from authorities, which is probably not going to land up very soon. Anyways I will protest, and then arrives the police when it is not needed, ready to take down your 'gangmembers'. Your protest is good, but an attempt to stop them displace you can lead to framing of charges of interruption in work of police. Who knows an encounter specialist is getting ready for his next work? Complicated nexus! Get me out of this!