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Obama Deficit Brings U.S. Closer to the Brink of Bankruptcy

See what Martin Hutchinson, a popular economist from US, says about recent budget of The U.S. government under Obama. America is gradually sinking deep under its own load of borrowings so much so that it is reducing itself from a surplus to a deficit nation in a very short time. Please read this.

U.S. President Osama’s budget for 2011, presented on Monday, shows a deficit of $1.3 trillion for the fiscal year that ends that September. That shortfall is actually $287 billion more than the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had projected less than a week earlier, when it had released a budget forecast of its own for that same fiscal year.

Granted, we’re getting used to seeing budget deficits expand at a pretty quick pace these days. But even by government standards an increase of nearly $290 billion in less than a week is almost too much to bear!

All kidding aside, $105 billion of this $287 billion increase came about mostly because of a change in “assumptions.” The CBO budget assumed that all the 2001 Bush tax cuts would be reversed, whereas the Obama budget reverses only those that applied to the rich (those with incomes above $250,000).

The CBO budget also made the ridiculous assumption that the “Alternative Minimum Tax” (AMT) would be allowed to revert to its 2001 level, forcing 25 million taxpayers to calculate their taxes twice - and to then pay the higher of the two estimates. That was never going to happen, and the Obama budget finally abandons that idiotic piece of fiction.

The disparity in deficit projections between the CBO and the Obama administration weren’t limited just to fiscal 2011. For the period from 2011 to 2020, the CBO forecasted a budget deficit of $6.047 trillion, while the Obama budget released just days later projected a shortfall of $8.532 trillion - a difference of $2.485 trillion.

The difference in assumptions between the CBO and Obama projections explains nearly half of that difference. Of course, that still leaves the other half. And “a troublesome half”, it is.

In 2011, most of the extra spending seems to be devoted to a jobs program and to additional defense expenditures for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s somewhat disheartening to see that the administration can’t project more progress on the budget-deficit issue during the next few years. After all, the Obama budget even assumes that we’ll be helped along by a robust economic recovery!

The lowest projected deficit in the next decade is a $706 billion shortfall forecast for the fiscal year that ends in September 2014. That doesn’t sound too bad in the context of the 2009-2011 figures, but it’s almost $300 billion larger than the highest federal-budget deficit in human history before 2009.

The most alarming trend of all appears if you compare the current budget with what had been projected for the fiscal 2002 budget, a forecast made in February 2001 by U.S. President George W. Bush, who was in his first year in office. As is the practice today, budget projections back then were made in 10-year increments. So it’s worth comparing the spending projections for 2011 made by the Bush administration with what’s actually been put into the budget.

Our finding: The February 2001 projections were hugely too optimistic; current spending is fully 41% higher than what had been projected at that time.

That has two implications. First, it shows that budgetary control by both parties since 2001 has been utterly lousy (the Republicans controlled the presidency and the U.S. House of Representatives for the 2002 through 2007 budgets, but spending still soared). Second, it shows that out-year projections a decade into the future are often ludicrously over-optimistic.

The implications for the current budget are ominous. If 2020 spending exceeds current projections to the same degree that current spending exceeds the projections made back in 2001, then spending will amount to 33.4% of 2020 gross domestic product (GDP). Add in, state and local spending, and you shall see total U.S. public expenditure would exceed 50% of GDP, close to that of the worst European countries: France and Sweden.

What’s more, since 2020 revenue is projected at only 19.6% of GDP, taxes would have to go up by 70% from currently projected levels to make the budget balance.

Yikes! Even if we introduced a federal Value Added Tax to try to meet that deficit, it would have to be set at an impossibly high rate.

The current budgetary shambles is the fault of two presidential administrations, and both parties in Congress. They have wrecked what back in 2001 was a perfectly solid U.S. budgetary position.

If U.S. budgetary problems continue on their current path, our elected officials in Washington will completely destroy the U.S. financial position in the next decade, and will lead the nation into bankruptcy.

We need an immediate improvement in politician behavior on both sides of the aisle. Otherwise, it will be too late.

Now we see the reactions of Americans,

There was a budget surplus when Bush and the Republicans came into office. Nobody complained about the cost of the bombs being thrown on countries that did NOT attack the USA. NO body is complaining about the huge military expenditures which are constantly expanding, although there isn’t an enemy in the world that can match the American military might. Nobody complained about deregulation, which resulted in the bailout of big banks and similar companies. Nobody complains about the million/billion $ bonuses these companies pay their incompetent executives from taxpayer money. Perhaps you should start adding the cost of these items, all a result of policies under George W. Bush and company. With all these unwanted expenses what else is expected; the more we spend on military for no sensible wars on innocent people in the wretchedly poor countries in Asia and Africa, one day we shall become one of them! 

Until the public wakes up and realizes they have been played by both political parties, things will continue to get worse. It will take a long time to make any progress here, so, things are.

Demand accountability in ALL politicians or get rid of them. Its our only hope!

Gee you mean the Feds lowball deficit projections and highball revenue projections. No. What do you mean on the road to bankruptcy? We’re already there effectively. We’re printing bogus $ to buy our own debt our creditors won’t buy anymore.

Our country needs a new political party that actually follows the constitution. The democrats and republicans are controlled by lobbyist and corporations. Until Americans get smart enough to understand this simple fact we will be misled by either party and never really know what is actually going on or who is really influencing the decisions that our government makes.

The corruption is too deep. Radicals are running our country. We are doomed.

It’s the American deficit, not ‘Obama’s. It started big time with Reagan, the Bushes but not Clinton. If you’re honest you’ll stop blaming Obama.

You may contact me on my Email ID given below,

ashokkothare@yahoo.co.in

ashokkothare@gmail.com

I invite you to visit my other blog if you are interested in stories.

Ashok Kothare’s Blog

You may visit Freedom of Expression for intelligent discussions.  

Warning: This is Not another Wall Street Conspiracy Theory, but Facts

I found an article by a noted economic adviser, Shah Gilani in a very important economic periodical on the net. The topic addressed in this is related to subjects quite close to our own in this country. How in the US stock market taxpayers’ money is swindled to fill pockets of Goldman Sachs and others is discussed. The height of corruption in that country becomes clear from this discussion and so I am giving it on this blog so that we will know what our counterpart boys are likely to indulge in, when big banks like State Bank, ICICI, Orient, Punjab are going to blunder by investing the depositors money on the gambling den of the stock market. To save the banks there in the States Fed (Federal Reserve) poured taxpayers money to them and there is no questioning to them as the bosses are all hands in gloves similar to here where CEOs of the banks are hand in gloves with the racketeers from the stock market. The ultimate looser is the taxpayer and he even does not know about it!

Please read what Shah has said about the affairs in the US.   

Just last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to directly pay billions of dollars to banks as part of its scheme to bail out insurance giant American International Group Inc.

According to committee Chairman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, the testimony that congressmen heard just didn’t “pass the smell test.” What really stinks about the whole mess is not only the cover-up of what really happened and why, but the inability of anybody in Congress to actually do their homework and be able to frame pointed questions and get to the truth.

It’s not complicated, but it is convoluted. Here are the facts and some questions that Congress needs to ask - and that the American people deserve straight answers to.

What the House Committee heard, overwhelmingly, on Wednesday was that AIG had to be bailed out because if it wasn’t, the financial implosion (explosion that causes building to collapse within) that would result would send unemployment to 25% and America into the tailspin of another Great Depression.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and former Treasury Secretary Henry M. “Hank” Paulson Jr. both testified that the systemic risk resulting from the bankruptcy of AIG would destroy the company’s insurance businesses, devastating millions of Americans and resulting in economic ruin.

Let’s start there. The reality is that at the time of the government’s initial $85 billion infusion into AIG on Sept. 16, 2008, for which it received a 79.9% ownership interest; there was no mention of AIG’s endangered insurance subsidiaries. In fact, New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinello, who oversaw AIG’s insurance businesses, was confident enough in the subsidiaries to consider transferring $20 billion in excess reserves from the insurance subsidiaries to their AIG parent.

What were really sucking the life out of AIG were collateral demands - in other words, margin calls. A wholly owned, London-based financial-products subsidiary of AIG had written hundreds of billions of dollars of credit-default-swap contracts on exotic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).

The derivative swaps on the CDOs were insurance policies that would protect the buyers of those CDOs against losses on underlying sub-prime mortgage pools. As losses on sub-prime mortgages mounted, the insured parties demanded more collateral from AIG. AIG ran out of cash to make the collateral calls.

At the time of AIG’s crisis, the Fed and the Treasury Department were terrified that if the “counterparties” to AIG’s credit default swaps weren’t paid, the ripple effect would threaten all counterparties - not to mention the entire financial system.

So here’s what the Fed did. It formed two Delaware-based, limited-liability companies, Maiden Lane II and Maiden Lane III (Maiden Lane I had already been set up and funded by $29 billion of taxpayer money to buy and hold the bad assets from the failure of The Bear Stearns Cos., so that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) could take over whatever remained of Bear’s carcass). Taxpayers money is used without the consent from the senate, all done clandestinely!

Maiden Lane II borrowed $19.5 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to buy $39.3 billion of residential mortgage backed securities from AIGs solvent insurance subsidiaries for $20.8 billion, or about 50 cents on the dollar. Maiden Lane III borrowed $24.3 billion from the New York Fed to buy an asset portfolio of CDOs, whose “fair value” was estimated to be $29.6 billion.

The CDOs were purchased from AIG’s counterparties. Between the $29.6 billion the counterparties received, and the cash they got from the collateral calls provided by taxpayers when AIG didn’t have the cash to make good on its obligations, those counterparties were made 100% whole on more than $62 billion in par value of toxic-derivative CDOs. Toxic-derivatives are those investments who are sure to fail!

Here’s the rationale behind this egregious (very bad) maneuver: Government officials believed that the counterparties would sell their toxic junk, and would then cancel their CDS insurance contracts with AIG - which would then end the margin calls. They are likely to sell that junk to any outside country like India or China! Indian prime minister who is known to be the agent of American interest is expected to force any one of the above mentioned banks to buy them and that means Indian taxpayers will pay for it ultimately!

In the public hearings, House Committee members focused on why the Fed paid out 100 cents on the dollar to the counterparty banks and why those involved in the payout scheme then tried to hide who got that taxpayer money.

But the real story was unfolding behind the scenes. Congress doesn’t know about it, and the American people don’t know about it either. Nevertheless, it will prove to be nightmare affair of massive proportions.

Although there were many U.S. banks that received inordinate amounts of money in this pay-off scheme, an equally sickening amount was paid to a handful of foreign banks.

But the biggest recipient of the cash siphoned from taxpayers was Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS).

A Conspiracy Theory You Can’t Laugh Off

The same day that AIG received the $85 billion taxpayer infusion back in September 2008, Goldman Sachs Chief Financial Officer David A.Viniar said he “would expect the direct input of our credit exposure to both of them [referring also to bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings (OTC: LEHMQ)] to be immaterial.”

Goldman officials had been telling every analyst or journalist who would listen that the investment bank was hedged against any counterparty risk. But what Goldman officials weren’t saying at the time was that the company was also hedged against AIG going bust. How? The company had purchased credit-default-swap insurance on AIG’s demise.

We know that is true because Stephen Friedman - the former Goldman CEO and onetime New York Fed chairman who was called to testify at the hearing - said so.

Attached to Friedman’s “Factors Affecting Effects to Limit Payments to AIG Counterparties: Prepared Testimony of Stephen Freidman Jan. 27, 2010,” was a “Chronology of Selected Events and Disclosures.”

That chronology included a reference to an Oct. 31, 2008 Wall Street Journal article that Friedman specifically chose to illustrate that it was common knowledge that Goldman was not in need of any government assistance, and wouldn’t be in any danger if AIG were to fail. This Journal excerpt included by Friedman contained the statement: “Goldman hedged its exposure by making a bearish bet on AIG, buying credit-default swaps on AIG’s own debt, according to one person knowledgeable about this move.”

Friedman was called to testify for one very key reason: At the time of the payments to the counterparties, he was chairman of the board of the New York Fed, which authorized those payments. But that’s not all. As a member of the board of directors and a former CEO of Goldman Sachs, Friedman would no doubt have had an excellent idea of the investment bank’s exposure to AIG - as well as what it stood to gain from those payments.

Freidman subsequently resigned from his post at the New York Fed on May 7, 2009, in response to criticism of his December 2008 purchase of $3 million of Goldman stock, which added to his substantial holdings - a purchase made only after he had ushered through Goldman’s approval to become a bank-holding company, enabling the firm to feed at the Fed’s generous liquidity trough.

Friedman continues to serve on Goldman’s board. But that’s another story.

Another Way to Print Money

Congress and the public have forgotten what was happening in the fall of 2008. Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) were not trading. There were no buyers. It was impossible to accurately price mortgage securities and even harder to price CDOs. The only “price discovery” mechanism was the London-based Markit Indices. These indices were supposed to represent various pools of mortgage securities and CDOs.

Unfortunately, it is possible to make bets on the direction of the indexes. In order to hedge what holders of these complex and toxic assets couldn’t sell - or for pure speculation or “other” purposes - traders sold short and drove down the indexes.

It didn’t matter that mortgage pools really weren’t defaulting and that they were still paying out cash flow, they were judged to be worth pennies on the dollar simply because the only “active” price-discovery mechanism against which they could be valued were the indexes. And it was these indexes - which were being shorted by “interested parties” - that drove down prices and triggered collateral payments on credit default swaps to AIG’s counterparties.

Goldman was paid 100 cents on the dollar - or some $12.9 billion - for the CDOs it had AIG write credit default swaps on. All the counterparties got 100 cents on the dollar. Why is that an issue? Because the CDOs that were insured hadn’t actually defaulted and were still - according to what Maiden Lane III paid - worth about 50 cents on the dollar. So why would the Fed assume the CDOs were never going to recover and that the insured parties were entitled to get paid as if the collateralized securities were totally worthless?

Even more suspicious is the fact that there was a more elegant and simple solution to the problem. And that solution was already available. Why was it not used?

The problem at the time was that rating-agency downgrades were about to trigger more margin calls against AIG. By then, however, the U.S. government already owned 79.9% of AIG. Surely it would have been cheaper for the government to make any margin calls than to pay off all of the counterparties. Even more sickening: If that solution was implemented as the value of the CDOs increased (which some have), collateral that was given to the counterparties would actually have to be returned to AIG - now 80% owned by U.S. taxpayers. We cannot say this simple solution U.S. government did not get to. That means the whole affair was deliberately concocted. For whose benefit?

This whole affair raises scores of questions. Last week’s hearing before Congress drove that point home. In fact, as I watched the testimony, I realized that our elected representatives didn’t even know the correct questions to ask. That’s why it’s time to write your congressmen and tell them to ask the, to the point, questions to get the facts out of the horses mouth.

• Why didn’t the Treasury Department make the required margin calls - if they were needed - and stand to get collateral back if the insured CDOs rose in value?
• Why did the New York Fed buy paper at 50 cents on the dollar and pay banks 100 cents, when they had no idea what the intrinsic value of those securities was at the time?
• Who really leaned on the New York Fed to not disclose who got our taxpayer money?
• What did Stephen Friedman know about the payments to Goldman?
• What records exist of correspondence between Friedman and Timothy Geithner, who was then president of the New York Fed?
• What records exist of correspondence between Friedman and Henry M. Paulson, Geithner’s predecessor as Treasury secretary and a former Goldman CEO himself?
• If Goldman was really hedged as Friedman appeared to claim, then why did taxpayers pay the investment bank 100 cents on the dollar?
• Did Goldman (and others) drive down the value of securities to collect cash, demands to be made whole and at the same time buy credit-default-swap insurance on AIG, which they were helping to sink?
• Can we see the trade blotters of Goldman’s trading desks to determine what trading strategy those traders employed during this period and later when making record profits?
• Why are so many Goldman Sachs people in so many powerful government positions?
• Why has the United States government allowed a cabal (group) of financial interests to hijack America?

To this report, American responses were quite eloquent. Let us read them too.

Shah Gilani’s article raises some questions that I think our Congress is too afraid or stupid to ask, after all, no one in Congress is going to loose their jobs over the financial crises that has this country in a strangle hold. And perhaps the people of this country are too afraid or stupid to hold Congress accountable for allowing the banks to rob us blind, yet again. See the mental set up of American ordinary people is almost same as that of our Indian counterpart!

Few have any financial knowledge or interest except to get re-elected. Questions would embarrass their primary funding sources and perhaps cut off their supply of money for their next run. This situation will be swept under the rug after appropriate grandstanding and we savers will be left to pay the bills. American politicians are not different from those here!

The centralizing flow of money away from the people and the land needs to be reversed at the source, not at the top where more banks can find more ways to subvert any new ‘banking’ laws. Indian Reserve Bank is not answerable to people!

Congress is owned by Wall (Dalaal) Street. Blank Fein and Dimon let their dog bark at them from time to time to perpetuate the illusion of democracy. But it’s all bullshit! Your role is to shut up, buy cars and LCD TV’s, eat fast food, and send your sons to die in some foreign hell-hole so Halliburton shareholders can get richer. The beauty of this system is that Americans actually believe all the crap (nonsense) and believe they are the best. This last comment tells about the slapdash mentality of American common man, when he is careless why should his representatives be more vigilant.  

You may contact me on my Email ID given below,

ashokkothare@yahoo.co.in

ashokkothare@gmail.com

I invite you to visit my other blog if you are interested in stories.

Ashok Kothare’s Blog

You may visit Freedom of Expression for intelligent discussions. 

Glass–Steagall Act

Last week we saw the comments of ex Fed Chaiman Paul Volcker and in that he has mentioned this act. This week I am giving the general idea of the act so that my readers may understand the usefulness of this act. China’s success in keeping the depression away is attributed to this act and so I feel earnestly that we must also consider implementation of this act to protect ordinary people from the evasive activities of the gambling community using funds for speculative activities. An open discussion on the subject may be allowed to know more about the effects of this law on our economy. One thing we must not forget and that is, this act was introduced in 1933 and was repealed in 1999. During this period U.S. did not suffer from any serious depression. And as this law was repealed within a few years the measure depression U.S. had to face. This clearly shows the effectiveness of this law.     

Two separate United States laws are known as the Glass–Steagall Act. Both bills were sponsored by Democratic Senator Carter Glass of Lynchburg, Virginia, a former Secretary of the Treasury, and Democratic Congressman Henry B. Steagall of Alabama, Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Currency.

The second Glass–Steagall Act (the Banking Act of 1933) was a reaction to the collapse of a large portion of the American commercial banking system in early 1933. It introduced the separation of bank types according to their business (commercial and investment banking), and it founded the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for insuring bank deposits. Literature in economics usually refers to this latter act simply as the Glass–Steagall Act, since it had a stronger impact on US banking regulation.

“Rediscounting” is a way of providing financing to a bank or other financial institution. Especially in the 1800s and early 1900s, banks made loans to their customers by “discounting” their customers’ notes (promissory notes). Such a note is a paper document, in a specified form, in which the borrower promises to pay a certain amount at a specified, future date. For example, assume that a customer wants to borrow $1000 for one year. In exchange for giving him $1000 today, the bank might ask him to sign a note promising to pay $1100 one year from now. The bank is “discounting” the note by giving the customer less than the note’s $1100 face value. The extra $100 is the bank’s compensation for providing the $1000 to the customer before the note matures. The Federal Reserve System could provide financing to the bank by “rediscounting” this note, for example, by giving the bank $1050 in exchange for the note.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, bankers and brokers were sometimes indistinguishable. Then, in the Great Depression after 1929, Congress examined the mixing of the “commercial” and “investment” banking industries that occurred in the 1920s. Hearings revealed conflicts of interest and fraud in some banking institutions’ securities activities. A formidable barrier to the mixing of these activities was then set up by the Glass Steagall Act.

The Act has influenced the financial systems of other areas such as China, which maintains a separation between commercial banking and the securities industries. In the aftermath of the financial panic of 2008–9, support for maintaining China’s separation of investment and commercial banking remains strong.

The bill that ultimately repealed the Act was introduced in the Senate by Phil Gramm (Republican of Texas) and in the House of Representatives by Jim Leach (R-Iowa) in 1999. Under pressure from speculator’s lobby; as some banks (Bank of America) were in the grip of speculators the resistances to continue this act was alarming, the argument used was simple, for so many years we do not have any depression and so this act is not required! Unfortunately the act was repealed and the trouble again popped up its nasty head!

The argument for preserving Glass–Steagall (as written in 1987):

1. Conflicts of interest characterize the granting of credit — lending — and the use of credit — investing — by the same entity, which led to abuses that originally produced the Act.

2. Depository institutions possess enormous financial power, by virtue of their control of other people’s money; its extent must be limited to ensure soundness and competition in the market for funds, whether loans or investments.

3. Securities activities can be risky, leading to enormous losses. Such losses could threaten the integrity of deposits. In turn, the Government insures deposits and could be required to pay large sums if depository institutions were to collapse as the result of securities losses.

4. Depository institutions are supposed to be managed to limit risk. Their managers thus may not be conditioned to operate prudently in more speculative securities businesses. An example is the crash of real estate investment trusts sponsored by bank holding companies (in the 1970s and 1980s).

However, under tremendous pressure of gambling lobby this act was repealed. 

The repeal enabled commercial lenders such as Citigroup, which was in 1999 the largest U.S. bank by assets, to underwrite and trade instruments such as mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations and establish so-called structured investment vehicles, or SIVs, that bought those securities. Elizabeth Warren, author and one of the five outside experts who constitute the Congressional Oversight Panel of the “Troubled Asset Relief Program”, has said that the repeal of this act contributed to the Global financial crisis of 2008–2009. Misappropriation of huge funds for gambling became possible as this law was repealed. Funds of depositors were diverted for gambling and speculative activities in an unlimited way, finally leading to the crisis.

In mid-December of 2009, Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington State jointly proposed re-enacting the Glass-Steagall Act, to re-impose the separation of commercial and investment banking that had been in effect from the original Act in 1933, to the time of its initial repeal in 1999. Legislation to re-enact parts of Glass-Steagall was also introduced into the House of Representatives.

On January 21, 2010, Barack Obama proposed bank regulations similar to some parts of Glass-Steagall in limiting certain of banks’ trading and investment capabilities. The proposal was dubbed ‘The Volcker Rule’, for Paul Volcker, who has been an outspoken advocate for the reimplementation of many aspects of Glass-Steagall and who appeared with Obama at the press conference in support of the proposed regulations.

A few American Banks are against the reintroduction of this law since it is against the interests of the gambling communities who control these banks. In India we have protectors of gambler society in the form of Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram and so I will not be surprised if the government refuses to introduce the Act!  

In Mainland Europe, notably in France, Germany and Italy, an increasing number of think-tanks such as the CEE Council are calling for the adoption of stricter bank regulation through new national and EU-wide legislations based on the Glass-Steagall Act.

The bottom line is; there will be two sets of banks, one type, will cater to the needs of regular banking and will be called, Commercial Banks and the other will look into the financial affairs of the speculative market and will be called, Investment Bank or Speculation Bank. With this correction whatever turmoil in the speculative market, shall not affect mainstream economics. With this change commercial banks will not be putting the depositors money in shares market but will put it to usual lending purposes for industry, market, shops etc. Investment Banks will finance operators in that market, buy new issues of shares and do all those things such as mortgage of derivatives, shares, swaps etc. Commercial Banks will be completely isolated from any and all deals of the Investment Bank. They will not inter-deal with each other also. If an investment Bank is in trouble only finance Ministry will look into that to save it. These banks will not receive deposits from any body other than stock and derivatives operators. These banks will be mostly financed by bond sell and the money so procured will be used on the speculative market only, they will not finance any industry, shop or market for purchase of goods and so forth. Bonds of Investment Bank will not be redeemable with Commercial Bank. In this way mainstream banking is completely isolated from the gambling activity and that shall save the rest of the economy from the gamblers in the market.

I want to know; if our Reserve Bank and the finance department of the ministry are going to do the same to protect the interests of the depositors or not? We often imitate China then why not do it in this case? 

 You may contact me on my Email ID given below,

ashokkothare@yahoo.co.in

ashokkothare@gmail.com

I invite you to visit my other blog if you are interested in stories.

Ashok Kothare’s Blog

You may visit Freedom of Expression for intelligent discussions.

Pashtunkwa and not AlQaeda

Some research in the activities going on in our neighbor country, Pakistan revealed some startling facts. I want to share them with you. To put in short, let me tell you that the fights going on in the Swat and other regions have actually nothing to do with AlQaeda or such any Islamic movement but it is fight for the independence for Pushtunistan called Pashtunkwa. Following are the facts those lead to this conclusion, just read them. Many Pakistanis openly admit of these facts and so the myth of AlQaeda must be taken with a pinch of salt. It is broadly believed that U.S. politicians are playing this AlQaeda myth to keep their own people at bay! And by that trick to compell Americans to support U.S., involvement in the region of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.    

First we shall see the historical background of the issue. At the time of independence of India from the British, Pukhtuns did not accept India or Pakistan and announced a boycott of the referendum. In spite of that Pakistan was carved out of the region by British and a new nation was created called Pakistan. Ever since that time the struggle for Pashtunkwa is ongoing continuously. To misguide the world Pakistan is pretending that it is a fight of Muslim fundamentalists. If this explanation of the events is accepted we can understand why the fight is concentrating in that region only. To justify the myth of fundamentalists, Pakistan ISI plans to plant bombs and other such destructive weapons and occasionally cause damages. The purpose of these plantings of bombs and sending of so called suicide bombers is only to create an impression on the gullible world that all is going on in the name of Islam! And by the AlQaeda fundamentalists. For shrewder observers this explanation does not work as they all know for certain that the region where these fights are ongoing is already completely and with a pride an Islamic part. Why fight amongst the Muslims and kill each other when both are Muslims. That is why the doubts about the genuineness of this alibi came under consideration.            

Afghan backed fighters crossed the Durand Line from Afghanistan to openly combat the Pakistani military around 1950 to 1955, and diplomatic relation was briefly severed during this tense period. Relations were resumed in 1951, but the issue remained unresolved. A constant propaganda war was waged between the two governments, while there was evidence to suggest that the Afghan government intentionally or unintentionally was encouraging secessionist activities in Pakistan, besides Afghanistan many Congress party leaders felt a sense of obligation to their former compatriots in the Khudai Khidmatgar movement.

Khudai Khidmatgar movement - This operation was remarkably successful, and by 1977 the Afghan government of Sardar Daud was willing to settle all outstanding issues in exchange for a lifting of the ban on the National Awami Party and a commitment towards provincial autonomy for Pashtuns, which was already guaranteed by Pakistan’s Constitution, but stripped by the Bhutto government. In return Pashtuns assassinated him. Khan Abdul Wali Khan, who founded his own faction of the National Awami Party, is remembered for having eloquently replied to a Pakistani critic of the Pashtunistan cause, who asked him if he considered himself a Pakistani Muslim first or a Pashtun, by stating that: “I have been a Pashtun for six thousand years, a Muslim for thirteen hundred years, and a Pakistani for twenty-five.” This has become an often repeated sentence by the remaining Pashtun nationalists in Pakistan.

The second claim is based on purely Pashtun-inhabited territory, which includes the restoration of NWFP, FATA and the Pashtun belt of Baluchistan. This overlaps with the first claim as some proponents also include Baluchistan in this claim. This claim has some legal basis, as the Afghan government cites three international documents as basis for it, one of which is the limited validity of the Durand Line agreement signed between the British Empire and the Afghan government. The Durand border agreement demarcated the area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghanistan unsuccessfully argued that the agreement should have been valid for only 100 years. Later, international tribunal and courts found that the Durand Treaty never specified any time frame, and that Pakistan was the true heir and successor state of these regions which were handed over to the Colonial British.

Advocates of Independent Pashtunistan

Some Pashtun Nationalists believe the Pashtun people are within their rights to form their own State. They believe that either NWFP or FATA with the Pashtun areas of Baluchistan along with south and eastern Pashtun areas of Afghanistan should be granted independence forming a new state possibly separate from Pakistan called Pashtunistan / Pakhtunistan / Pashtunkwa.

They base this on the claim that the 1947 referendum was illegitimate because (I) the option of independence or joining Afghanistan was not given. (ii) The legitimacy of it is doubtful as it was not based on adult franchise but of a limited electoral college of approximately half a million and still polled barely 51% (iii) The NWFP provincial Assembly in 1947 was the only provincial Assembly deprived of the right to decide which choice it would have preferred. As such they argue that the decision to join Pakistan was illegal, and not just illegitimate, which would be more likely under common law.

In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union through Afghanistan supported Pashtun ambitions for the creation of an independent Pashtunistan (also called Pakhtunistan) in the border areas of West Pakistan. Several border clashes and ruptures of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan ensued. The movement was never able to gain popular support considering that Pashtuns in Pakistan were always better off than their counterparts in Afghanistan. Furthermore, an independent Pashtunistan would likely suffer economic and political hardship as Pashtuns in Pakistan have successfully integrated and have a disproportionately high representation in the government, bureaucracy, military and more importantly business. Critics are afraid that advocates of Pashtunistan will likely worsen the economic status of the community. Pashtuns also dominate the vital transport trade in Pakistan along with many other commercial and business ventures in many of its urban cities not located in the Pashtunkwa regions.

Pashtunistan advocates also questioned Afghan support for their cause, since it was largely known that Afghanistan did not wish to ever see an independent Pashtunistan, but aimed to annex it. Also, Afghanistan never showed willingness to allow its own Pashtun majority regions to join an independent Pashtunistan. Some Pak based Pathans say that the Afghan based Pathans are jealous of them and so not to be taken seriously.

Pashtun nationalism in the form of the previous theories is quite weak at present, the Pashtun presence within Pakistan’s ruling establishment is quite significant and they are represented in the Armed forces, civil service and political system and in business both nationally and provincially. Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, Ayub Khan, was Pashtun, while Yahya Khan associated himself with Pashtun culture, despite being of Persian Afghan heritage. There is support; however, to rename NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa (translates as Pashtun quarter). All the same, they have no say in any of these places! Punjabis control them all! In most places they are treated as servants by the Punjabis. Research clearly point to the fact that the Punjabis are the root cause behind the problems of the Pashtun! Pashtun being simple and the Punjabis being shrewd the problem is becoming serious day by day.

Begum Nasim Wali Khan (the wife of Khan Abdul Wali Khan) declared in an interview: “I want an identity… I want the name to change so that Pathans may be identified on the map of Pakistan… [Pakhtunkhwa was] the 3000 year old name of this area: the name used by Ahmed Shah Abdali who said he forgot everything including the throne of Delhi but not Pakthunkhwa”. Notable is the fact that she referred to the desire to be recognized on the map of Pakistan, and not separated from it. Some observers dub it as a typical womanish error, they criticized her by putting it this way; and she did not know what she was talking!

The belief in NWFP that the Pashtuns get an unfair deal from the Pakistani government which is based on the failure to honour Hydro royalty agreements, refusal to allow the renaming of the province, refusal to grant provincial autonomy, perceived discrimination by other ethnic groups (to be more precise Pashtun Nationalists often target Punjabis) towards Pashtun, and their language and culture, and the fact that after the Baluch many of the regions of “officially poverty stricken” in Pakistan are in the Pashtun belts.

The pashutnistan issue is not a simple issue as some or many people think. Every-one draws their own political conclusion to support their own theories but here we are going to see facts not some form of made up stories. So much has been made up by individual that one does not know what is what. The Pashtunistan areas are those areas that become independent of Afghanistan in the 1800s. Thus a new short history of the south part of Afghanistan began a new chapter.

While Britain did every thing to include it in India it failed many times. See (1897 wars letters of the expedition of Swat, Dir and Momand tribes), how the Brits were defeated time and again. The over-all victory of 1912 and 1920 against the British in Pashtunistan put an end to the Durand line. But many are not aware of the true history and account of this region. I may write a detail article some-time almost covering every-thing in order to separate fictions and propaganda from facts, or better see, www.pashtunistan.net

The Pakistani government has officially left the renaming issue to the NWFP government, and has indicated its willingness to respect the wishes of the NWFP government. However, until 2007, no elected NWFP government had ever pressed the issue - perhaps, because much of the nationalist grievance would be resolved, and nationalists parties, would lose a strong rallying call. This clearly explains how the problem at the swat is simple to resolve! But once the problem is resolved political parties will have no issue to work on and so they deliberately keep this issue unresolved! 

Considering the fact that Pashtun live in every province of Pakistan, and that the Pakistan Army - the most influential body in Pakistan - is made up of 25% Pashtun, as against 60% Punjabis, many Pashtun are under wrong impression, they have considerable influence in Pakistan and see it as their homeland. It is also worth noting that Karachi, not Kabul, or even Peshawar, is the largest Pashtun city in the world.

These pro-Pakistan Pashtun, claim to be the majority and they point to democratic elections in Northwest Frontier Province as proof of this. They are highly sensitive to the idea of Pashtun separatism or Pashtunistan, which they believe would be unsustainable without deep ties to Pakistan. It is these pro Pakistani Pathans against whom the people pro Pashtunistan are fighting; killing them to revenge their selfish betrayal to the mainland. The pro-Pashtunistani Pathans call the pro Pakistanis as treacherous and deserve to be punished. The callous Punjabis use these pro Pakistanis to control the pro Pashtun; keeping the movement for independent Pakthunkhwa paralysed. Fights at Swat and adjoining region are on this account and has nothing to do with the so called AlQaeda. It is like Pathan fighting Pathan for Pashtunistan and not Islam as it is shown!    

As cultural and historical grievances against Pakistan have dissipated over the years, nationalists have begun turning to language and economic arguments to bolster their cause. They also now state that Pakistan’s other ethnic communities look down upon Pashtun with disdain. They further resent the prevalence of Urdu and Persian words in the Pashto language, and believe that if left unchecked, Pashto will be diluted with Urdu words in Pakistan, and with Persian words in Afghanistan. The ultimate fear, that the nation as Pashtun, will simply dissolve and vanish in Pakistan, Punjabis and the Sindhi-Multan culture super heading on that of theirs.

Pakistanis (mainly Punjabis) keep on misleading the fight for Pashtun as fight for Islam and by that tactic to evade the whole issue. Idiotic U.S. politicians are found handy in the process. And that makes the simple issue very complicated! Punjabi politicians are making money out of this fight; see my article in the archives of this blog, “Wonder economics of Pakistan” 29^th October 2009.

We see that the Pathans are good in fight but very bad at negotiations just like Marathas from Maharashtra Sate in India. In Maharashtra the border issue with Karnataka is unresolved for that same defect of the ruling class.

This inability to negotiate to get their Land independence reverts them to take to all the more dangerous fights; but the question is; how long this will go on!

          You may contact me on my Email ID given below,

ashokkothare@yahoo.co.in

ashokkothare@gmail.com

I invite you to visit my other blog if you are interested in stories.

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You may visit, Freedom of Expression for intelligent discussions.        

Your new flat has no resale value!

My friend Mr. Pandaw told me that his nephew has decided to return to India from U.S. and wants to purchase a flat in Mumbai. He wanted to consult me on that matter. I am always consulted by my friends on any matter before they commit in them and so I told him to come any day and we shall sort out as to how to go about that. Actually the issue of purchasing a new flat in a new building should not be an issue for any consultation; I thought, but when we sat to discuss the details of the subject it was found to be a very interesting a matter, I want to share it on this blog posting with all my readers.

My friends nephew is a civil engineer and had worked as that in many countries on deputations by his American employer for almost twenty years. His experience in the matter was by that standard quite authoritative and so I wanted to learn from him his style of working on such topics. I mean how he thinks about selecting a flat and all those things. It came out to be a very out of the ordinary.

As planned Mr. Pandaw, accompanied with his nephew Mr. Harshal, his highly educated wife Snehal Agnihotri came to my house, and we after preliminary introduction sat to work on the topic. Harshal told me that he would like to know the average life expectancy of buildings built now in the city before we begin the discussion. I told him that the Mumbai Municipality expects that it should be around 40 years.

“That means the structure maybe not be serviceable after that period and that the building as has become not suitable for occupation shall be pulled down by the builder and a new building will be built on the site. Considering the environmental conditions in this city, moist salty air having excessive percentage of corrosive gases with high humidity, iron corrodes much faster and so the reinforcement within the concrete members of the building such as columns, beams and slabs become short life.

I know technically cement concrete is recommended for places where ambient temperature is around 15 to 20 degrees C and at Mumbai and most of the places in India ambient temperature is always far exceeds this limit. That implies high temperature of the atmosphere causes cracking of concrete exposing inner steel reinforcement to the corrosive air and that accelerates corrosion of the steel reducing its size eventually making the structure weaker and vulnerable to forces such as gravity, volcanic and other vibrations due to surrounding sounds.   

Harshal told me; that is the practice in the western countries, and quite often even seemingly good constructions are also pulled down by the authorities. I remarked that we are now copying western ideas in almost every matter and so it is quite possible that the same practice will be working in due course in Mumbai also.

Here for the first time Snehal, wife of Harshal spoke; suggesting that in such a situation the price of the flat should be in relation with this small life of the structure. If it is not; then it is not worthwhile to purchase the new flat. She told me that in old times as we all know normal life expectancy of structures was about a hundred years and the costs were considered from that. I told them that as per my knowledge at present the costs of flats are more decided by the location and carpet areas and this short life expectancy is hardly considered by people. This remark surprised the couple.

What are other options available was the next point for discussion. I told and Pandaw concurred that other option in case they want to stay in the city is to make a lease agreement or a rental and pay the rent. When both of them made some calculations and found that if they take a loan from the bank as bank loans are readily available, then the monthly EMI comes to the same as the plausible rent for that flat. That automatically suggested that it is better to go for rent than for purchase. We worked out other calculations and eventually came with values those showed that it is by all standards advantageous to go for rental than take the trouble of paying stamp duty and then other hustle and bustle to keep that short-lived flat.

Snehal inquired if there is any protection for the flat owners in case when the building is pulled down and new structure is made, she meant to know if flat owners have any right to a flat in the newly made building. I phoned to one of my other friend who is a part time estate agent and he told me that as yet; there is no such protection to previous owners of flats. That clearly shows that a flat owner is on the street as the old building is pulled down. All the money he has spent and the troubles undertaken to buy that flat are in vain! He is back to square! That means the price he pays is for only 40 years of holding and after that period, his right is automatically canceled.

We worked on other aspects of the concept of owning a flat in the city. Many points came up when we together decided to compare owning verses rental and to my surprise we dug out quite a few points that showed very clearly that owning a flat in this city is not worthwhile. Let me give you our finding.

When owned a flat you are stuck up to that locality and even if you want to leave that place for better location that you may discover at latter time, it is not possible easily. You keep paying for the flat installments and by the time you have finished paying the installments the life of the building is already less than half and so if you want to resale it; may be you will not get the correct compensation and the whole deal will prove to be a loosing proposal. Later on to dispose the flat is not easy unless you are ready for compromise as the structure is now old and may be needs frequent repairs which you have to do as you are the owner (temporary) of that flat! Other troubles related to the society matters of the building are not any less annoying.  

Structures made before 1980 were made to last 100 years by putting appropriate extra steel in the reinforcement but after that as the local body decided that life expectancy need not be more than 35-40 years, builders are making structures of poorer reinforcements. Ready reckoners declared by the government also do not take into consideration this short life of the structures and so the complete affair seems to be dubious. By definition, the costing method must take into consideration three measure factors and they are cost of actual construction, location of the flat, life of the building. Sorry to say, that is not happening, life of building is not considered at all.   

As for rental you can leave the place after the lease period to any better location and there is no trouble. It is often found that many flat owners like to retain a tenant who is paymaster and so in case you want to continue the flat owner is very ready to accept to extend the lease. At any given time a tenants is better positioned than the flat owner. The present law gives fabulous protection to tenants than the owners and so the option of rental is at any time better than to take the trouble of purchasing the flat, particularly in view of the fact that the building in which you are going to buy the flat is not going to last more than just forty years!

While making lease agreement one should make it for as long a period as mutually possible and that makes this option far better than owning a flat. At present builders insist that people buy the flats but if all become wise about the short life of the flats they make; a time will come when builders shall be ready to lease the newly built flats.

We also studied the clandestine methods builder these days indulge in to cheat the gullible, innocent buyers who take loans from banks and pay the money to the builder, pay the first few installments to the bank, and then come in trouble as the builder did not complete the building. In such eventuality the borrower is at risk while the builder is safe! Present law does not hold the builder any responsible for the loan; both the bank and the borrower are in trouble. One more incidence was discussed in that a borrower took loan from the bank and was paying EMI regularly but by bad luck he lost his high pay job. He had to stop payment to the bank and the bank confiscated the flat, all previous installments he had paid were lost and he was literally on street nowhere to go! Many such cases were sited. As for rental the flat is all ready and no troubles of this nature are possible, you are absolutely sure of getting the possession of the flat. As of the legal protection to the borrowers, better say nothing, the delay tactics of our judiciary almost kills the complainant.

Finally the couple, Mr. & Mrs. Agnihotri decided to go for rental and the meeting concluded on even note.

You are requested that you inform your friends who are likely going to buy a flat in new building in this city of Mumbai; you may ask them to log on this blog and read it. My intentions are very clear; I do not want simple ordinary people like me and you to be in any trouble just because we are not well informed. The very purpose of this blog is to entertain and with that to enlighten.

Adieu

          You may contact me on my Email ID given below,

ashokkothare@yahoo.co.in

ashokkothare@gmail.com

I invite you to visit my other blog if you are interested in stories.

Ashok Kothare’s Blog

You may visit, Freedom of Expression for intelligent discussions.        

Barrack Obama and the Bhagwatgita

I know you are all wondering about what is all this, talking of the US president and the holy book of the Hindus in one breathe. There is a solid reason for that. Let me explain it to you. When president B. Obama was awarded prestigious Nobel price he reiterated the policy of sending armed forces to the Afghan-Pakistan border to contain iniquitous AlQaeda resurgence.  

He was given the price for peace and while receiving that if he proclaims the importance of violence to reach peace some may feel it is incoherent however, those who know the teachings of Bhagwatgita will only appreciate the move of the president of the US! I do not know if this gentleman, at all knows, any thing about the teachings of this book of the Hindus.

Barrack Obama is often associated with names of M. K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King and both these persons were known for their non-violence. In view of this, it is fairly appropriate that this comment of Obama on the occasion of the award distribution ceremony rather perplexed his admirers. I do not know if Barrack has had read Gita but I feel very strongly that it is only remotely possible that he has read this book. We know Barrack Obama is only a smart politician and not known for any pedantic background or scholarship.     

How Gita came to be; we shall see first, before go into the contents of that Holy book. At the commencement of the great War of Bharat, Arjun was in two minds about whether it will be appropriate to fight this war and kill so many people he knew and with whom he was related. He requested his friend and Guru Lord Krishna to explain as to how it is proper to kill all these people. And there, the great teaching of Hindu philosophy, Bhagwatgita came to be.

Lord Krishna told Arjun that to get lasting peace one has to destroy evil at its roots and that is possible only by a war of destruction! Particularly if evil forces are in the hold of rule and in addition to that it also has judiciary in its control, it is impossible to manage and manipulate that evil. No amount of negotiations can ever be of any substantial effect and under such condition the only alternative left is to destroy that evil by killing it. Kauraw, the cousins of Pandaw, were in ruling authority and were holding judiciary of the kingdom and so to win over them by any peaceful negotiations was next to impossible. In Mahabharat many instances of such peaceful negotiations are given and it is shown that they all had gone unsuccessful. After many attempts, the choice of going to war was taken and so, now to retreat was not a sagacious decision. After Lord Krishna explained the true path, Arjun fully satisfied was ready for the violence and a great violent war took place.

There is a universal dilemma between path of peace and that of violence. Some philosophers such as those in Jainism insist on peace without compromise while Hinduism proposes the equilibrium. Gita the prime work of Hinduism explains in detail the exact principle and method behind the compromise to make peace work successfully. Cosmos is driven by some laws and Gita refers to them and suggests; when violence is to be used and when not. Evil continues to thrive when peace is taken for granted. If violence is kept ready to eradicate evil, evil keeps at the lowest intensity and life becomes worthwhile. We may say, the tower of peace is supported by the columns of violence since, evil is the force that keeps on pulling it down like gravity.  

It is like having a police around. Knowing that police is ready for action criminals keep low and crime is avoided but if there is no police presuming as suggested in the Jainism that everything is alright; evil doers crop up their head and the society is in trouble. Americans are posing as international police and so it appears that Barrack Obama is doing all this in the capacity as a police to eradicate evil in Pakistan. We often see police rushing in affected houses to save the victims, at times without formal permission; this act of US government is more like that, if I am right!   

In present time at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border the situation appears to be more or less similar. AlQaeda are not negotiable people. They are bent on killing their rivals and so, either they or US, was the choice. If AlQaeda is not killed at their hiding place, they are going to kill more of the US. Barrack Obama and his administration have now realized that they have no choice but to kill this outfit at any cost. It looks apparently; there is similarity in the two situations, one at the Mahabharat war and the other at Pak-Afghan border.

History of the birth of AlQaeda says that US created it to stop Russian onslaught on Afghanistan and as the problem was resolved in favor of the US; by definition, one may say that this outfit, AlQaeda should be closed down. But things did not happen that way. AlQaeda continued to grow since it was based on the evil principle of hatred! Any thing based on hatred and jealousy, are not easy to contain, they keep on growing like weeds in the farm. US is facing the devil it created to destroy others. Now the devil is bent on destroying its creator, United States of America!

Barrack Obama feels confident that his army can hold and even destroy this evil force but many observers are of the other opinion. Looking to the fragile economic condition of the US the chances of it wining over this outfit are remote. Particularly when we know that Pakistan does not want to destroy AlQaeda. The fight may go on but I feel as many do that the Vietnam episode is repeating. US may succumb in this fight.

Lord Krishna said in Gita; evil that is in power and also at the judiciary, cannot be contained unless destroyed but to do that the other force has to be virtuous. Luckily in case of Pandawas they were virtuous and so the message applied aptly in their case but here in case of US and AlQaeda we cannot say surely that US is virtuous and AlQaeda is evil. Looking to the way US has done damage to many simple and innocent developing and under developed countries by using tools like World Bank and IMF one cannot say that US is a virtuous force. It is as evil as the AlQaeda in its own way. Some Pakistanis say; AlQaeda is nothing but the evil face of US itself! They ask; can one destroy its own face.

So what we are going to witness is the fight between two evil forces; Pakistan posing as a cunning referee and poor Afghanistan as helpless onlooker and any one wining is of no advantage to the good of the world.

All evil forces always proclaim themselves as virtuous, so does US on one side and AlQaeda on the other side. Finally we can say that even though both situations look alike, in actuality they are not exactly alike! As such, message of Gita is not exactly applicable in this situation.      

You may contact me on my Email ID given below,

ashokkothare@yahoo.co.in

ashokkothare@gmail.com

I invite you to visit my other blog if you are interested in stories.

Ashok Kothare’s Blog

You may visit, Freedom of Expression for intelligent discussions.        

Corruption or co-operation ?

I had some really telling experience on 21st December at Vadala station on harbour line of Mumbai at about 5:15 pm. I was waiting at Chembur Station to go to V.T. and there came one Vadala local. I thought better move to Vadala and there to then get another train from Vadala to VT. I alighted on platform three and to reach platform four I walked up to the staircase. There I realize my problem of knee pain and decided to walk over the track to go to platform 4. We senior citizen find it difficult to climb the steps and particularly to climb down is very difficult particularly if you are also suffering from height vertigo. As I reached the platform one policeman in plain dress stopped me, reminded that crossing track is not permitted, and requested me to follow him. I followed him along with other one more policeman with two more similar young offenders. We reached a small room where we were asked to wait. After sometime the other two boys were called and then as they were released I was requested to enter a small room where one man quiet hefty and looking like an inspector but in plain clothes was sitting on one side of the table, two policeman occupied other two sits and I was suggested that I may sit next to one police who was holding some papers gripped together by a clip. Some names were already written on that. My name was asked and that was added then he asked my age and as I told him I am 68 they looked quiet pensive and told me that the mistake I have done should cost me 1200/- rupees and they were about to prepare the slip of the amount. Then one of them said if I wish may talk in the court tomorrow and explain if I have any objection to the charge. I after going through this told them that I do not carry so much money and it will be good if they can settle the matter mutually as they do always. They knew that I shall ask for that and were almost ready to negotiate. The officer sitting in the front told me to pay 400/-. On that I told him that I do not have that much money but I can pay 200/-. They looked to each other and decided to accept my offer. I paid them the amount and go out. I was a free man once again!

During this interlude, we had some conversation and that was very interesting. Let me share that with you. While negotiating one of them, without my asking, explained to me that the money they take is not all going to them but it is shared by the whole department. Not only that but the money goes up to the chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Home Ministers R. R. Patil. They said, R. R. Patil was a poor man but after becoming home minister in the last term he turned out to be a crorepati. I was told that Ashok Chavan has set a quota to be collected for him by police. They also told me that the laws are made in such a style that people cannot honour them and so they have to finally do some adjustment so that old people like me are spared some arduous punishment for as simple a mistake as crossing the track! This taking money should not be taken as corruption but as co-operation to people by the police! I appreciated the explanation. This explanation gives new dimension to the practice of taking money by the government people to relieve people from stupid laws that government has been making! He further told that if the penalty was kept as low as rupees 10/- for crossing; that would earn the government some revenue; instead this money goes elsewhere.

I told him that I cannot climb these steep stairways of the railways due to my knee problem and also I am suffering from shakiness. So while climbing down I feel giddiness and that is why I am tempted to cross the track in place of climbing up and climbing down the steep stairway on the platform. There was no train in the sight and so I should be excused but they refused. I told them that railways should provide a ramp so that old, pregnant women, heart patients, people on wheel-chairs can climb in the platform. They remarked that it is useless telling them anything worthwhile since they are only police and have no concern whether the system is correct or not, their job is to simply catch the erring individuals.

In this context I want to give my concept of the ramp, let me explain it here.

 Given here is a schematic view of two methods of providing stairway to the platform. In the first one we see regular stepped staircase as usually used. In the next is ramp way. This has low steepness and so easy to climb for ailing people such as old and others just mentioned earlier. While the stepped one could be the main passage, ramped one can be provided as optional for the concerned people. And so it may be not very broad but could be as wide as just four to five feet. This ramp way should be positioned at the middle of the length of the platform. Ramp length will be about thirty feet for the climb of 6 feet. This will give reasonable comfort for the ailing people.

I suggest that this can be developed through sponsorship by companies who will be allowed to put their ads on it to recover construction cost and maintain it. So that it will not cost railways any expenditure. First this ramp be built on busy stations and then on other stations where ever they are needed. There are many charitable institutes who will come forward to build such ramps and so I see no difficulty in doing this and help ailing and old people. One thing important and that is; railways will put a notice board on the entrance of the ramp-way clearly mentioning that the ramp is intended for specific people as mentioned here. So that people like me can be relieved and shall never be tempted to cross the track!         

You may contact me on my Email ID given below,

ashokkothare@yahoo.co.in

ashokkothare@gmail.com

I invite you to visit my other blog if you are interested in stories.

Ashok Kothare’s Blog

You may visit, Freedom of Expression for intelligent discussions.       

Oxygen Replenishment

Encouraging diatom farming on sea and other large water bodies

a concept study

We talk of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere and it is mostly due to increased use of fossil fuels. As we burn more and more of this fuel increase in the percentage of this warming gas is inevitable. The corollary of this, increase in the percentage of this gas, is that percentage of Oxygen gas is reducing almost in the same percentage. One record shows in the nineteenth century that carbon dioxide was 325 ppm in air, which was considered as standard for further calculations, and now we find that this share is 389 ppm in 2008. That means, oxygen depletion is of the order of 64 ppm over the century and that is mostly attributed to the fossil fuel burning. This gradual reduction in Oxygen is yet not independently investigated so far but to my mind further lowering of this life giving gas may be responsible for many health problems so far not directly blamed on it. Another reason for increase in the percentage of carbon dioxide is generation of large quantity of cement. While producing cement calcium carbonate is roasted to get lime which simultaneously fuses with clay and makes the cement. This carbon dioxide is also released in the atmosphere. In this process no atmospheric oxygen is consumed. Ever increase in this warming gas is a concern of all the environmentalists today.

I want to publish this paper to give general idea about how the new concept of diatom farming or more properly may call it oxygen farm; in the ocean or any large water body can help solve this problem and at the same time offer large employment. But that is not all; in addition to that this concept if properly exploited can offer large number of products made out of this algae and similar other varieties of phytoplankton. By exploiting this concept properly, we can control gradual loss of oxygen, which is the main concern of all environmentalists.     

Primary concept

By the natural effects as it is, this variety of life keeps growing in the ocean and other large water bodies and at present, it is the principal source of oxygen to atmosphere. When we were searching the principal source of oxygen to atmosphere, found that plant organism in the process of carbon fixation due to photosynthesis releases some oxygen and that way nature is replenishing the lost oxygen and maintains the balance. However, on further investigation found that during 24 hours, quantity of oxygen consumed by respiration is much more, than released during photosynthesis during day light and that means in effect large or multicellular plants are not true suppliers of oxygen to the atmosphere. Finally, we found that unicellular plants such as diatoms and that type of variety produce more oxygen in sun light than they consumed for respiration during 24 hours. Oxygen released in this way dissolves partially in the water in which they grow and if the plant is surfacing on water, some part of such released oxygen is discharged into atmosphere. This variety of plats grow very rapidly and they proliferate profusely continuously releasing considerable quantity of oxygen in air and that portion of oxygen they release in water is used by water plants and other life in that water however, when the portion of water on the surface evaporates oxygen held in that is also released to air. In this way, a continuous supply of fresh oxygen is maintained keeping atmospheric oxygen percentage at constant level.

Nature has an innate capacity to replenish continuously consumed oxygen and the process was going on until now when human interference has exceeded this limit. As human consumption of fossil fuel has increased, atmospheric oxygen level is reducing at the same rate as increase in the level of carbon dioxide. I presume hypothetically that the natural rate of plankton or diatom growth no more matched by the rate of increase of carbon dioxide due to this excessive consumption of oxygen by fossil fuels. Now I suggest time has come for human being to help nature increase the production of plankton by undertaking diatom farming or oxygen farm in the ocean or such large water bodies particularly in temperate zone where they grow more effortlessly. I have also suggested ‘inland’ farming at the end of this article as an alternative to ‘on ocean’ farming.

Farming technique  

When this diatom grows naturally, observation showed that supply of Carbon dioxide to them for photosynthesis and oxygen for respiration and other nutrients such as silica and phosphorous when available they grow well. That means, in artificial diatom farming, take care to see that supply of these things is proper to them. Diatom begins to grow in the water but as their need of Carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and oxygen for respiration increases, they rise up at the surface for adequate supply from atmosphere. However, when Carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and oxygen for respiration supplied by bubbling air in the water body by some arrangement, such as windmill, to run the air pump, they may grow well even at slightly close to surface and not on the surface. Keeping water cleaned, of dead diatom and other waste material that may come in that place, by frequent filtering and to this power supply from the same windmills is possible. Offering support material for the diatom to hold on, I found rice husk and charcoal ash, a suitable medium since it supplies silica to diatom as they grow on it; rice husk and ash both is consumed in the process of growth of diatom. Some mechanical device such as hauler provided with filter mechanism periodically removes fully developed diatom colonies and removed for further processing on mainland. Filtered water recharged back to sea. Use of windmill makes power readily available and that way the complete unit becomes self sufficient in power. This cleaning of algae bloom from time to time is required to keep water as transparent as possible so that sun light can reach up to lower level where diatom colonies begin to grow. This also helps in keeping the farm from attracting big fish such as whale and shark.

Expected difficulties

This diatom and other plankton varieties we may grow; is food of many fishes including large ones such as whale and shark along with many smaller species. Obviously, we must understand that when large quantity of diatom is regularly grown in a particular place in ocean these fishes are most likely be visiting there. To avoid they scoop out the yield before the farmer do; only possible way is to remove the developed diatom colonies at quick frequencies; say on daily basis. Even then, some small fish is going to get a part of it. Whale and other big fish may visit only if the colonies are very large and by experience, one can know at what growth these fish is attracted and after careful study, the farmer shall keep the growth in suitable limit to avoid big fish. Other difficulties are, drifting of the farm due to waves in the ocean, storms, heavy rains on the ocean, and accidents due to ships colliding on the farm. A suitable lighting arrangement using power from the windmill may solve the last mentioned difficulty.  

Fencing

To keep the diatom farm drifting from the allotted place a fencing of drums is the suggestion. Drum fencing, commonly used to keep in control oil spills at present, is by far the most suitable suggestion until now. Similar arrangement may be used and if better arrangement is invented, that shall replace it. 

Possible places and countries to participate

Almost all countries bordering on ocean in the temperate zone are possible contenders. All seas near most of the countries such as USA, China, Australia, Canada and Russia are probable contenders. Growing diatom colonies in warm waters have not shown very promising results but there are some varieties on which scientists may do experiments and if that comes out successful, such oxygen giving diatom farms can grow almost anywhere.  

Random calculations

While deciding the size and other parameters of such oxygen farm; first variable to consider will be quantity of oxygen to replenish. For number of molecules of oxygen consumed same number of molecules of carbon released in the form as carbon dioxide. In the reverse process of releasing oxygen, we will have to see that number of carbon molecules fixed to release same number of oxygen. Other values used to calculate are as given here, 14C = 16O2, C = 30% dry weight of algae produced; with these values calculations show that for releasing 100 tons of oxygen in air approximately 68000 tons of wet algae or 3400 tons of dry algae is produced. To produce that quantity of algae we need a farm of size roughly 50 hectors if the requirement is on per week basis. However, actual values we will find only by real time method. These values likely changed; depending upon variety of diatom, availability of nutrients, other factors such as predatory interference, storms, scooping method, and frequency of scooping and high wind will change the final production of oxygen from such farms.

Every nation will have to find out how much oxygen it consumes on fuel and that will decide the obligation for that country for investing in such oxygen farms. 

Present work on similar concept

Even though no farm concept worked on at present to produce oxygen, we see that similar concept to produce large quantity of algae to produce fuel oil are under experimental stage in Australia. A glimpse of that may help understand what will be possible when worked on this project.

In a recent project funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Dr Jian Qin, of Flinders University, investigated the use of a well-studied green alga known as Botryococcus braunii, or Bb for short, as a supplier of biological hydrocarbons. Bb is a colonial alga of lakes and reservoirs, where it blooms into large, green, floating mats – and it is a remarkably oily little plant. Up to 75% of the dry weight of this particular species is a natural hydrocarbon that can be converted into petrol, diesel or turbine fuel or other liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons. In addition to producing this it also releases quantity of oxygen in air and that is an additional factor in its merit.

Dr. Jian Qin says in his paper that the research phase is almost completed and regular production run is likely undertaken soon. Steve Davidson adds, ‘We’ve finished the initial stage of this research funded by RIR&DC. Biotechnology Company SQC Pty. Ltd. has developed a Partnership with Flinders University to seek more funds through public and private sectors to further our research.’

 Pollution Control - other options in view

Much of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere comes from the burning of fossil fuels. With concerns over global warming, new methods for the thorough and efficient capture of CO2 being sought out. An alternative to Carbon capture and storage, by attaching an algae pond, or photo bioreactor to any fuel burning plant, the carbon dioxide produced during combustion, first cooled by using heat exchanger and then fed into the algae system. Nutrients sourced from sewage, thus turning two pollutants into resources for the production of oxygen with biodiesel as derivative, with a land requirement much smaller than other crop sources. Carbon Capture and Storage in the form of algae residue can help control global warming considerably. Such oxygen farms expected to solve the problem of oxygen depletion at the factories such thermo power plants. Cement plants produce carbon dioxide as calcium carbonate breaks into calcium oxide and carbon dioxide and due to burning of coal powder to produce heat.

Carbon dioxide from the flue gases of the industry first cooled to normal temperature before feeding on the controlled atmosphere of algae growing photo bioreactors. Oxygen generated released to air free. Algae product sold; as manure to farmers and some quick revenue earned to pay for the expenditure of running this bioreactor.

Carbon Credit - Oxygen Credit

This project deserves admission in Carbon Credit convention. Moreover, should be included in the Kyoto protocol, so that farmers of this project will benefit and that may make this concept even profitable.

Inland farming

We see that when this farming done in sea; predators such as whale and shark are the menace in addition to that other hazards such as storms, drifting due to waves and heavy wind are difficult to control. In this context, I suggest use of otherwise unused large land mass available in plenty in places such as Siberia, Australian dessert, Canada, US and many others for this type of farming. For that, shallow lagoons made not more than 40 cm deep, seawater pumped in it, and all other process kept same. Here also windmill will supply the power for all operations. Even though there will be no danger of predators and even small fish to eat away the yield; periodical scooping recommended maintaining the freshness of the final yield of algae. Seawater pumped in the lagoon and from some other suitable point removed back to sea; this action may help keep the quality of the water constant. 

Other prospects - Feasibility

While suggesting a new concept one should also consider the economic viability of such concepts; otherwise, this concept will prove to be only of academic value. Oxygen even though the main product is by obligation given to nature free and that means, we have to find out what other products will yield to make such projects feasible economically. We shall now see other prospects of this concept in this context. In this part, I suggest how to use the algae scooped and collected on regular basis.

Special types of diatoms such as Bb, that can give good quantity of fuel oil are exception but for other diatoms other uses for example, suitable for producing protein or as food for human being is also possible. If nothing, else, all algae are suitable as fishmeal, bird meal and manure and that use is of much importance. Side products like, grassland developed using this algae-manure can be useful for rearing deer. I specially recommend that, such oxygen farm if developed on prairie and in the surrounding region deer farm also developed, will work as the most profitable proposal. This has been proved that goat farming is less profitable than deer farming and that is because deerskin is almost twenty times more expensive and meat is five to ten times more expensive than mutton. Food to weight-gain ratio of deer is far better than that of goat and ram. Proliferation rate of deer is far better than that of goats. Per se to improve viability of this project deer farms will prove better than goat farm.  

In due course, more profitability factors will become noticeable when actual implementation of this concept is taken in. 

You may contact me on my Email ID given below,

ashokkothare@yahoo.co.in

ashokkothare@gmail.com

I invite you to visit my other blog if you are interested in stories.

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You may visit, Freedom of Expression for intelligent discussions.         

Mosquitoes, houseflies and the city barber

This happened some forty years ago when one of my friends was doing his PhD; for that he had taken up the work of finding capacity of different known insects as disease spreaders. Commonly we consider that mosquitoes and housefly are the insects that spread dreaded diseases like influenza, dengue, malaria etc. While he was collecting data for the work he accidentally happened to collect some samples of my hair fallen on the ground as my Barber used to visit my house to cut my hair in those days. I wondered why he did it but it was an accidental act on his part but as the investigation proceeded we felt that it was a god wished act.

Next day he went to his lab, washed the sample of hair in distilled water, put the drop on a glass strip they use to observe microorganisms under the microscope, and began to observe. He found some very horrible things on the sample and took a back. Immediately he phoned me and called in the lab. I could not believe what he was talking about the sample of flock of hair he had collected at my place. What he had discovered was a new insight for every body because he had found that my hairs were infested with microbes of as many as seven contagious diseases. While I was not suffering from any one at that moment. I really do not remember names of all of them but one I remember is tuberculosis referred to as TB. This made me think about the instruments my barber was using. I decided to contact that barber and told my friend my qualm. Next day, I went to barber’s place, told him that my friend, whom he also knew, wants to take a few samples of his instruments, and that evening we reached his home to take washings of all the instruments. There we took washings of all the instruments including the towel he uses to cover the body while cutting hair. There were about six samples in all; two of combs, one of razor, one of scissors, one of the mirror and one of the towel. All the samples were put under microscope and found no microbes on any one sample! This put both of us in a quandary. Some thinking was required to understand the situation and so we spent time imagining about various possibilities. That evening I went to my barber’s place, and enquired about his daily routine. He told me that he begins his day at about 7:00 am, and goes about visiting places for work; he returns home by about 1:30 pm, and takes his meal and midday sleep, gets to work by 3:00 pm, and continues until evening, returns home by about 7:00 pm. Takes a wash and at that time he cleans his all instruments with some antiseptic liquid like detol, wipes them clean dry, that was his routine. There I remembered that when we had gone to his place he had already cleaned the instruments and also the towel we took washing was already washed and kept for use for the next day. This explained the doubt we had and so we told him that we want to take sample wash once again and that will be immediately as he reaches home. One final question I asked him before we left his house, I asked how many heads he does on an average? He told, about thirty to forty.

Next day both of us went to his house and waited until late evening but he did not return; that was a catchy situation and we maintained our calm and kept on waiting. Finally he came and we finished taking samples, thanked him, he surreptitiously attempted to find out what was all that we were doing; I assured him that it is merely an academic exercise and he need not worry about this things. The samples of the washing were put to test and my theory came to be correct. We could detect as many as six microbes on the samples. They all were dangerous and if could infect any weak person would make him sick. This clearly shown that this barber is collecting these microbes from places and people whose hair and shavings he makes during the day. They remain on the instruments until he cleans them at the evening by that antiseptic liquid; again next day he collects new samples of similar disease causing microbes and moves with them virtually working unwittingly as a carrier of diseases; helping to spread the disease, and all this without the slightest idea of what he is causing. On enquiry it was found that at haircutting saloons, no washing of instruments is done at the end of the day!

Our further study on this subject revealed that the number of such microbes depends upon how many heads and beards he cuts. As this number increases the possibility of variety of microbes increases.

One doctor told me on hearing the finding that, if this is the case, a city barber is more dangerous than a housefly and a mosquito.

Can we do without a barber? I became all the more baffled but soon found way out; you know what I did? Well, you may not agree with me for this suggestion but I really accepted it. I began to cut my hair; shaving I was already doing as all men do these days. It was a very comic experience, cutting your hair all by yourself, indeed but about that we shall chat some other time! I have been doing my haircuts since then. 

To save your health and particularly health of your children, who are less immune to such contacts, had better do their hair cutting at home. I would suggest that we should develop a practice by which members of the family will do cutting for each other, for example, wife will do haircut for husband and for children, and sister can do it for her brothers, brothers can help each other and so we may be able to avoid going to this haircutting saloon and save ourselves from diseases such as aids (this may be spread through razor used to cut beard and moustaches. A very small drop of the blood of the patient can cause the spread of this disease to the next person getting his beard cut! This can happen, for the reason, that while shaving with a razor microscopic cuts on the skin are unavoidable! I am afraid a large number of aid cases may be due to barbers!), TB, common cold, swine flue and many more!

Next time you visit your choicest barber and on returning if you sneeze be sure you are in for it! My intentions are not to frighten you but only caution; BEWARE OF YOUR BARBER!!               

You may contact me on my Email ID given below,

ashokkothare@yahoo.co.in

ashokkothare@gmail.com

I invite you to visit my other blog if you are interested in stories.

Ashok Kothare’s Blog

You may visit, Freedom of Expression for intelligent discussions.       

Origin of Khoja community

There are many versions of the origin of this community. Since, we did not have a regular practice of keeping records there always is a wave of controversy about almost all the matters related to history. We have to depend on either unfounded information carried by mouth and to that added are the references of some old books such as puranas and other ancient literature such as a poetry or a drama. Some people who claim to be authority on such matters come with many other references such as travelogues by foreign travelers. In spite of all this there always is a wind of some controversy about the acceptability of all these theories propagated to explain origins of communities. Today we are going to discuss my findings about the origin of this very important community of Khojas.

Sassanid Empire of Iran was the last Zoroastrian kingdom and the explosive growth of the Arab Caliphate coincided with the chaos caused by the defeat of Sassanids in wars with the Byzantine Empire. Most of the country was conquered between AD 643 and 650 with the Battle of Nihawand marking the total collapse of the Sassanids. Arabs defeated Persians and other Iranians and introduced their religion Islam.

Yazdgerd III, the last Sassanid emperor, died ten years after he lost his empire to the newly-formed Muslim Caliphate. He tried to recover some of what he lost with the help of the Turks, but they were easily defeated by Muslim armies. Then he sought the aid of the Chinese Tang dynasty. However, the Chinese help did not avail and Arab Muslims ultimately defeated the Chinese forces in the battle of Talas, a century after death of Yazdgerd III. The Umayyad would rule Persia for a hundred years. The Arab conquest dramatically changed life in Persia. Arabic became the new lingua franca, Islam eventually replaced Zoroastrianism, and mosques were built. Most of the Zoroastrians went into hiding to avoid conversion to Islam and those who could not were forcibly converted. 

In 750 the Umayyad were ousted from power by the Abbasid dynasty. By that time, Persians had come to play an important role in the bureaucracy of the empire. The caliph Al-Ma’mun, whose mother was Persian, moved his capital away from Arab lands into Merv in eastern Iran. Almost all people were converted to Islam and in the process a large number of foreigners who were traders from India were also forcibly converted to Islam and in that two communities, from Gujarat of business, called Bhatia and Lohana were involved. During those days Indian businessmen of these two communities were carrying a lot of import and export business with Iran and through that place they were doing trade with other countries up to Greece, Turkey and Rome.

Conversion was an extraneous effect but as they came to India and told the gory tales of what was happening in those countries they casually told about the so-called conversion to Islam of them. Actually nothing particular had happened and the matter could have been canceled out but unfortunately things did not happen that way. The Mahajans of Bhatia community of Gujarat took it in the most erroneous way and told these Bhatias that they are thus excommunicated henceforth. They were a few hundred of them, these innocent people with their families had to accept the foolish verdict of those Mahajan and after that they began to stay separate from the usual colonies of the Bhatias. It is believed that the same fate befell the converted Lohanas who were converted almost during the same period. It is guessed that this happened around 8^th century. The people who were only apparently and not actually at mental level converted were per force made to accept that they are no more Hindus but Muslims, however, in these Bhatias only men were converted and their women and children were still Hindus and as a result they considered themselves as only half Muslims and half Hindus. This attitude of this very proud community gave it many interesting facets in the later period. Even until recently many Khoja ladies continue to worship their chosen god lord Krishna! These converted Bhatias did not accept the idea of Islam that woman is nothing better than a pet and be cared for as that and used as that; this is why most of them still believe that their women are Hindu even though the men are Muslim! Many Khojas used Muslim names in the Muslim countries while in India they still preferred the Hindu names. Over all relations between the Hindu Bhatia mahajans and Muslim Bhatia was not very bad since they still had many common relations. Their relations continued to be cordial. Over the period however, it changed and after a few generations the relations were almost completely severed. This was mainly attributed to the fact that these converted Bhatias had intermarriages with new relations in the Iran and Turkey. Other important reason was that in the mean time the Hindu Bhatias accepted Vaishnava sect of the Hindus and became vegetarians and stopped meat and flesh eating which was their original diet. There is a set of arguments given by some to explain why in those days Bhatia Mahajans accepted Vaishnava cult and that is; during Muslim rule Muslim Bhatias progressed enormously and that began to attract more and more Hindu Bhatias towards them. To save the community from being totally converted to Islam the Mahajans converted the community to the Vaishnava sect. Whereas the Muslim Bhatias were changing in blood and habits at the same time. In spite of all these; one thing remained constant that they were always very proud of their whatever Bhatia pedigree. They did not intermarry with lower class people but insisted that they marry with the people of proper standard only. That way these people continued to maintain their blood quality almost on per with their Hindu counterpart. Bhatia word means warrior or Kshatriya. Bhatias are considered as the most high class amongst the Gujarati people.      

After this very unfortunate incidence these Bhatias continued their business activity in great strength because the Muslim aggression was ever increasing and the success in conquering lands made them all the more important to the new order of rulers. Bhatias became principal suppliers of valuable merchandise to the new Muslim rulers and in that one item was the women!

Amongst many items one item that these people traded in was human slaves! These people would buy slaves and sell them after ferrying them to the markets of proper trade. Amongst them were many women slaves sold by their family to make money. These slaves were mostly sold to the rulers and the nobles from the Muslim community. Very often the sultans and the Khans from these communities would order for good and beautiful woman for their harem. Muslim masters had a very special interest in their harem, they would proudly tell their guests the number of beautiful women they had in it! Since according to Islam a woman is like a pet, not supposed to have any freedom of choice, and will be looked after as that, this practice was very common in those societies as it is understood that this religion is meant for only men and women are to be taken care of as pet, like cats and dogs and nothing more! As pets are well taken care of but still they have a belt or chain in their neck so that they do not escape; similar attitude was found towards women by the men of Muslim communities. It was considered proper and so no body ever objected to that practice. In India we see amongst Brahmins similar attitude towards women and that is explicitly shown in their book, Manusmruti. Bhatia traders would satisfy their clients and for that they were moving places mostly in Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan also some east European countries since the most beautiful women were found in these countries and that too very easily and cheap! They after purchasing these girls would train them to be able to live in their master’s home comfortably. Quite habitually they would buy sisters and one may be sold to a sultan for a good price while the other sister may be accepted by the owner Bhatia as his consort! That way this community came to be related to many rulers. This new relation gave them additional power on the business. The noble bearing and kindheartedness of these people often made them help even their Hindu counterpart since a Khoja never forgets that he is a Bhatia first in fact. The business grew together in that Muslim period for both Bhatias. As these people quite frequently preferred to marry the beautiful slave girls who were very nice to be their wife the community slowly changed in its looks. These converted Bhatias became more decent and beautiful looking and fairer than their Hindu counterpart. As a rule we find that these people are normally good looking, their women are worth watching at, well behaved and kindhearted. A perfectly and highly civilized community indeed. The cruelty of other Muslim groups such as Arab, Pathan, Turk, Tajik and Iranian is not seen in them even though they have their blood in them due to intermarriages. They are mostly Shia but over a period some took to Sunni sect for better business opportunity in that Sunni Muslim world. This is by all standards a perfect business community though; lately we do see some of them taking to career in big businesses at executive level. Such changes are unavoidable.

Why called Khojas?

This name to this community came to be in vogue when they took to supplying wives to the sultans and sardars of the Muslim kingdoms. To search means Khoj in the Persian and so these traders were nicknamed as Khojas meaning those who do the search for the best girls! They were considered as expert in the business. Later on that became the real name of the community. I was told that the Sulemani Khojas are the most original amongst all the Khoja communities. The chief of them is called Agakhan! Interestingly this person never marries in the community because all Khoja women are supposed to be his sisters! This way the blood of this family has already almost completely changed from the original Bhatia strain. I was told that at present the Agakhan is more a European than Indian, also prefers to stay in France.

Lohana community who were converted had similar fate but because their trading items were far removed from those of the Khojas they were called memon. Similar things might have happened within them; and to protect Lohanas from being converted to Islam their Mahajans preferred to convert to Vaishnava sect; and become vegetarians. Originally Lohanas are vaishiya, meaning traders.

In Gujarat three important business communities are found and they are, Bhatia, Lohana and Bania. Bhatia and Lohana were mostly in import, export, and big business since ancient times while Bania are always in the local trade, mostly shop and such small business. In later period as Jainism spread overriding Vaishnava cult, Banias converted to that faith.   

You may contact me on my Email ID given below,

ashokkothare@yahoo.co.in

ashokkothare@gmail.com

I invite you to visit my other blog if you are interested in stories.

Ashok Kothare’s Blog

You may visit, Freedom of Expression for intelligent discussions.