Andhra was the state that was badly hit by the heat wave. More than 1000 people died there. Now the south-west monsoon which started in Kerala on June 8th, has covered Karnataka and reached Andhra.
“Monsoon sets in over Andhra Pradesh”:http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/jun/16ap.htm
bq. Meteorological Centre Director C V V Bhadram told rediff.com the monsoon has covered the Rayalaseema region, most parts of Telangana, except Adilabad district, and south coastal Andhra Pradesh up to East Godavari district.

Finally it poured — the South-West monsoon. The first rains came on the morning of the 8th. It was a real good downpour. Today the whole day it did not rain, but a weak shower has started now at 10 PM here. The Met dept after watching the rain yesterday predicted that monsoon would hit the coast yesterday. After seeing that the rains were weak, it also added that the rains were weak.

I have been travelling extensively in Kerala, both to the North and South. Everywhere there are posters asking people to boycott American and British products. There are also posters saying that we don’t need globalization. There is no poster which tells what Kerala needs.
There was an extensive and violent campaign against Coke and Pepsi. Today I read in “The Hindu” that for the first time, since its entry into India, Coke has registered a ‘modest profit’. So the only benefit of the Communist campaign has been that, lots of poor people who made a living selling Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks, lost their daily wages for some time.

These few days have been unbelievably hot here in Kerala. Every day when I wake up, the sky is overcast. By 9 am the clouds vanish and the sun comes out. Then the air becomes humid and you start oozing sweat. The onset of the monsoon moved from May 21st to June 5th.

A student belonging to the student wing of the Communist Party did not have the required attendance. So the principal of the college did not let him write the exam. The student filed a case against the college. He also asked for a large amount of money for the “emotional damage”.
In a bold move, the High Court of Kerala said this on the case
* The principal has the right to ban college politics and no one can question his authority
* This does not violate any constitutional rights of the student
You have to have studied in Kerala to understand the importance of this statetemt. Politics runs in the blood of everyone here. In every college, elections are more important than studies. This results in violent fights, resulting the deaths of students. The colleges then get shutdown, and classes are lost. Many colleges are held hostages by Goonda gangs which are usually outsiders.
This is why I love the Kerala High Court.
A previous acheievement of Kerala High Court is banning of smoking in public places. It is now a crime for which you can be arrested without a warrant.

” 4 women, 2 children beheaded in Rajouri”:http://www.sulekha.com/redirectnh.asp?cid=309614
bq. In a gruesome act of reprisal against the family of a security services personnel, militants belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad beheaded six members, four women and two infants, in Chowikan Kotedara village of Rajouri district last night. The militants stormed the house around 11 p.m. on Sunday and beheaded the six persons, including two infants, Arshad Mohammad (4) and Maroof Ahmad (2).
I have nothing to say.

Few years back when the Communists were in power in Kerala, they sanctioned a Pepsi bottling plant. Now the Communist controlled panchayat has decided to cancel the licence. The official party policy is to boycott multinational goods in protest against the Iraq war. But all Pepsi bottling plants in West Bengal are running fine. No one is shutting them down.
“Kerala govt to provide legal protection to Pepsi”:http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=10766
bq. In West Bengal, there were three Pepsi units and two Coca-Cola units. CPI-M was boycotting the products of these companies in the state while allowing the companies in West Bengal, he said, adding CPI-M’s “attitude was against the development of the state.”
The comrades in Bengal are currently “busy killing people”:https://varnam.org/archives/000097.html. So time cannot be wasted on implementing stupid official policies.

We are now two weeks away from the onset of monsoon, and one more participant has entered the monsoon prediction game. This time it is a Think-Tank called Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation, based in Bangalore.
“Indian think-tank sees 15% monsoon deficit”:http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/may/14monsoon.htm
bq. “Basically, there is a 15 per cent deficit for the whole country for the entire year,” Prashant Goswami, scientist at the Bangalore institute, told Reuters. The Centre uses sophisticated software to predict rainfall based on an analysis of patterns of past data.
This is a deadly combination: ‘think tank’ and ‘sophisticated software’. Like any other model, this one too could not predict last years drought. But no other model predicted it as well.
So at this point in time here are the main contestants with their predictions:
* Indian Met Dept: “96%”:https://varnam.org/archives/000072.html
* International Research Institute: “normal”:https://varnam.org/archives/000093.html
* CMMC: 85%
But then the Indian Met Dept. in a bold move made an announcement on when the monsoon will hit India. This time it will be “June 1”:http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=21370. This works out fine for everyone, since June 1st is the day the schools re-open after summer holidays.
This blog will be reporting from Kerala on June 1st on this prediction (unless the Communists there, upset at the thought that rains are hitting India before China, decide to destory all communication facilities)
PS: Why are think-tanks called so ? Do they think in a tank ?

Here are the results of the elections held in a state ruled by the Communist Party of India.
“Bengal panchayat poll violence takes 14 lives”:http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=23728
bq. West Bengal today put Bihar to shame in the three-tier panchayat election which left at least 14 dead and 36 injured, as per official figures. Police had to fire 27 rounds to quell violent mobs from both the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Front and Opposition in more than three districts. Unofficial circles put the death toll at 19.
Even women were not spared. Two women voters were gunned down by Communist Party of India(Marxist) group members. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee claimed that the elections were by and “large peaceful”:http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030512/main1.htm.
This is the definition of peace according to the Communists of India.

“McCarthyism’s Indian rebirth”:http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/may/13praful.htm
bq. So vicious and depraved is this campaign that the Library of Congress is unlikely to reverse Prof Thapar’s appointment. But other US institutions and universities might want to play safe and avoid appointing Indian scholars of Left-wing or anti-communal persuasion.
Wouldn’t that be something. So Mr. Bidwai equates Left-Wing == ant-communal. Let’s see for a moment what that means in the state of West Bengal where some Left-Wingers are conducting elections.
Continue reading “More Praful Bidwai Jokes” →