Friday 17 September 2010

Line of Fire:A true story- Techies excuse me

Line of Fire:

A true story... A conversation between a passenger and Software Engineer in Shatabdi Train. Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the Air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and was still not entitled to Air travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to do!!

He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use.

'Are you from the software industry sir,' the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop.

Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car. '

You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir. Today everything is getting computerized. ' 'Thanks,' smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation.

The man was young and stockily built like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass. '

You people always amaze me,' the man continued, 'You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside.' Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naiveness demanded reasoning not anger. 'It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it.' For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement. 'It is complex, very complex.' 'It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid,' came the reply. This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence crept into his so far affable, persuasive tone. 'Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office, does not mean our brows do not sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing.'

He could see, he had the man where he wanted, and it was time to drive home the point. 'Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centers across the country. Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security. Do you Understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?' The man was awestruck; quite like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination.

 'You design and code such things.' 'I used to,' Vivek paused for effect, 'but now I am the Project Manager.' 'Oh!' sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, 'so your life is easy now.' This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, 'Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder.

Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality'. He continued, 'To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always changing his requirements, the user at the other wanting something else, and your boss, always expecting you to have finished it yesterday.' Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realization. What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth.


My friend,' he concluded triumphantly, 'you don't know what it is to be in the Line of Fire'.

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that Surprised Vivek. 'I know sir,..... I know what it is to be in the Line of Fire......' He was staring blankly, as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time. 'There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the tri-colour at the top only 4 of us were alive.'

'You are a...?'

'I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a soft assignment. But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker.

It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my captain sahib refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded; his own personal safety came last, always and every time.' 'He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured soldier into the bunker.

Every morning thereafter, as we stood guard, I could see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me. I know sir....I know, what it is to be in the Line of Fire.' Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of how to respond. Abruptly, he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence of a man for whom valour and duty was a daily part of life; valour and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes. The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight. 'It was nice meeting you sir.' Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This hand... had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the tri-colour.

Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute.... It was the least he felt he could do for the country.


PS : The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and various other acts of bravery, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the nation's highest military award. Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!

EVERYONE U MEET IS FIGHTING A HARD BATTLE !

This came by mail and i reproduce it , Salute Capt. Batra for his duty.. Jai Hind Vande Mataram.. Now how many people want AFSPA revoked and want to live comfortable, as L.B.Shastri said ' Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' - Now no one seems to be bothered about both Jawan & Kisan..Wake Up Bharath or you would loose both...

Wednesday 8 September 2010

Hindu by Law, Christian by faith- His own words

In this post thought I wanted to share the mail transcripts with Shri. Umashankar, IAS the officer whose reinstatement to service has brought joy to all Corruption crusaders also to the evangelist who view that this is Jesus Christ's victory...
I requested for Shri.Umashankar's permission to reproduce the mail transcripts and has agreed to the same...



From: Umashankar IAS., [mailto:umashankarc@gmail.com] 
Sent: 05 September 2010 00:14
To: S.Ranganaathan
Subject: Re: Your stand

 
Dear Mr.Ranganaathan,
I have the liberty to change my faith anytime. 
If you ask any Tiruvarur man, he / she will say that the large temple tank was cleaned by me in the history of the town. 
But right now I believe in Jesus who has rescued me when I was going down after the ELCOT transfer. I feel that I am alive today because of Him. 
Today Jesus shares the secrets of future with me. I have no worries in the face of serious problems because of Him. 
So why make a fuss. 
And I have a right to remain in the IAS because there is no bar on such change of faith. 
Apologies if I have hurt your sentiments. 
Regards
Umashankar
C.Umashankar IAS., (TamilNadu Cadre)
e-governance Specialist
Chennai, Tamilnadu
India
Co-Moderator: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eGovINDIA
Mankind deserves open standards and open source software. Only the chosen ones get its taste. Others just hear the taste.
Chennai:
Ph: 91-44-42020423

On Sat, Sep 4, 2010 at 9:57 PM, S.Ranganaathan <s.ranganaathan@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Mr.Umashankar,
At the outset I would like to congratulate you on the fight against corruption raj, which you have as I follow the news and otherwise,have a clean slate.
There is something disturbing in the last two days, Firstly on Wednesday when your suspension was revoked, I was happy at the news as an straight forward officer has been reinstated. But your press statements for the last two days have been disturbing.
You are setting  a trend wherein conversion from Hindu to Christian will be for opportunities but retaining the faith. You claim that in 1984 you converted to Santana Dharma (Hindu), but now you claim that’s for legal requirements, your job, promotions, and status for not getting thrown out. But you inform that your faith is with Christ.
Sir, with honor pls. say that you are a Christian, we will accept you as a straight forward, uncorrupted IAS officer, but to claim the benefits of deprived society & to have faith in Christ is even a insult of Christ… You are also hurting all the Hindus who have not converted even after being pressurized.
I believe as a straight forward officer if your faith is with Christ, you have done wrong to use the Quota, so it would be apt to resign from your present position. To fight corruption, you can make public your grievances and sure the society will accept you.
Let better sense prevail, and may Lord Jesus give you the strength to be true… 
S.Ranganaathan

Pls. comment on this issue, this is the trend in Tamizhnadu, which is going to change the equation against Hindu's...Jai Hind ..Vande Mataram

Monday 6 September 2010

IAS Quota-Hindu By Law, Christian by Faith- the Way Forward

Pranaam, Bharathvaasi, for the last 3 days i have questioned all my friends, acquaintance, n tweeted on this subject, everyone seems to be silent, no answers available. Can we seriously understand that this is a very important phenomenon which has erupted, convert for status and money, reconvert for Quota, when someone exposes, everyone is lost for answers, even the best of legal luminaries.
Searching for answers i questioned a lot of elder Govt. Staff, they say this is the way of life in cornering Quotas.

My post below is about instances from the day of suspension to the day of reinstatement of service. The sequence is very clear, this IAS officer writes to All India Confederation of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Organisations and they have supported him. But this officer plainly says his faith is with Jesus, then he deserves to be punished for the bogus certificate,maybe.  Request all legal luminaries to comment and take action on such people who are misusing the Quota regime. Quota is to help the deprived, socially and thereby economically, but such Umashankers seem to have planned their progress through system of deceit. Should We allow abdicate them of mis-using the system?


TN government suspends IAS officer Umashankar -22 Jul 2010 03:38:51 AM IST

According to highly placed sources, the action was taken for reportedly producing a fake community certificate while joining duty. Sources also said that the Central government and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) have been informed about the suspension. His office was also taken over by another officer by Wednesday afternoon.
When contacted, Umashankar, a 1991 batch IAS officer, declined comment. Umashankar said he was yet to see the orders. Being a government servant, it was not proper for him to discuss it with media, he added.

‘Karunanidhi family, government harassing me’-27 Jul 2010 03:42:33 AM IST
Suspended IAS officer C Umashankar has moved the National Commission for SC/ST in New Delhi, to protect him from the illegal harassment by the Tamil Nadu government, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s family and the powerful Maran brothers, who are closely related to the CM.

Suspension of Umashankar condemned 02 Aug 2010
 “Why was C Umashankar suspended? Was it because that he was honest? Was it because that he denied contracts for the family of Chief Minister of the State and for the ruling DMK politicians” are a few questions among the number of questions raised by the Central and State Government SC/ST Employees Federation.

'Action against Umashankar not vindictive' 07 Aug 2010
The Tamil Nadu government on Friday sought to dismiss allegations by AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa of “vindictive action” against IAS officer C Umashankar, saying that action was taken against the bureaucrat following allegations that he grabbed the privileges of a Dalit by producing a false caste certificate to join the civil service.

Revoke IAS officer’s suspension: SC/ST body 15 Aug 2010
The All India Confederation of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Organisations asked the State government to revoke the suspension of Dalit IAS officer C Umashankar immediately.
Dr Udit Raj, national chairman of the confederation, told Express here on Saturday that the State government is deliberately victimising the Dalit officer 

Umashankar back in saddle 03 Sep 2010
The State government on Thursday night revoked the suspension of senior IAS officer C Umashankar and posted him as managing director of Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (TANSI). Umashankar was suspended on July 21, while he was functioning as the Commissioner of Small Savings, on charges of producing a fake community certificate to join the IAS two decades ago.
When contacted, Umashankar said, "The victory goes to Jesus Christ. I have put my full faith in Jesus Christ and the Lord has delivered me from the crisis. I thank all the newspapers, especially the New Indian Express, which stood by my side at the time of crisis. I thank all the Dalit organisations, Left parties, AIADMK and the PMK for supporting my cause."

Umashankar dares to prove charges against him 04 Sep 2010
Giving details about his community certificate, Umashankar said until he completed his SSLC, he was known as C Asoke and his caste was Pallan (Scheduled Caste). But in 1984, his father got him reconverted to Hinduism with the name Umashankar. “All legal processes have been done and my reconversion was notified in the Gazettee as well,” he said and pointed out that only the UPSC or the Government of India can refer my community certificate for clarification and not the State government because I am not an employee of the State government. The SC had laid down clear-cut rulings in this regard.” He also observed his community certificate was verified twice before and after he assumed charge as an IAS officer and the UPSC had found it valid.

Stating that even today, an inquiry was going on in his native (Tirunelveli), he said a senior leader in the State directed one of the committee members to give a report against him. However, he declined to reveal the name of the leader.

Umashankar said he was given very short notice - just three days - to physically present himself before the inquiry panel and warned that an ex-parte decision would be taken if he failed to do so. As long as the committee’s proceedings were against the law, he would not attend it,
Umashankar said. “By law, I am a Hindu till now. But by faith, I am Christian. The transformation took place two years ago when I faced a crisis,” he clarified.  Asked whether it was right to approach political parties being a government servant, he stoutly denied it saying, “I did not approach any political party and their statements supporting me were spontaneous.”
Coutesy: NIE website: http://bit.ly/cNyOpf - Search 'Umashanker'

In the First message Umashankar is shy of the media, mentions that he cannot divulge anything due to his status as Central Govt. Servant, lets accept he is a straight forward person, he has hurt the sentiments of Hindus in this nation and also cornered the reservations available for SC/ST being from Christian.
Would not have written about this, but this will set a trend in all the converts to reconvert, corner all the benefits of SC/ST and then say faith is important. I also want YOU to Comment on this incidence...
Jai Hind.....Vande Mataram