Building blocks of Chennai

That was the day when the Corporation of Madras was born. The man behind the making of the city’s corporation was Sir Josiah Child, a top official of the East India Company. Elihu Yale was the then governor.

In his letter dated September 28, 1687, Child made known his plan for the setting up of a Corporation that would include Englishmen and a few Indians. The local body was to have a Mayor, a recorder and a town clerk. It was to be armed with the power to decide petty cases and to levy rates upon the citizens for the building of schools, a town hall and a jail.

Child was keen that the councillors should consist of three Englishmen, three Portuguese, seven Moors and Hindus. He also suggested that the councilors and the recorder take oath to be true and faithful to the English King and the Company; and that the three Englishmen should always be servants of the company. Conservancy and Public Health were not thought of in those days.

Temples of learning for women

At a time when even the thought of educating women was at its nascent stage in the country, Chennai got the first college for women in the whole of the then Madras Presidency.

Founded by the government in 1914, the Madras College for Women began functioning out of a huge rented building, the Capper House, just opposite the sands of Marina. The college got its present name, Queen’s Mary College, in 1917. What began with a modest strength of 37 now has several thousand students on its rolls.

Ms Dorothy De La Hey, the founder principal, served the institution for more than two decades. During her tenure (1914-36), the college grew by leaps and bounds. With the support of Lord Pentland, the then British Governor, De La Hey expanded the college campus by buying adjoining houses besides building new structures.

In 1915, Pentland House was opened, followed by Stone House in 1918, and Jeypore House in 1921. Besides these, the houses of two British era judges S Subramania Iyer and Sankara Iyer were bought in the mid-1920s and the college was raised to the “first grade” in 1923.

During the 1980s, Capper House appeared to be on the verge of collapse because of no maintenance; and in 1993, a part of the building collapsed. Efforts to save the building failed and it was demolished in 2003.

The Womens’ Christian College on College Road, Nungambakkam is another old institution that played an important role in the cause of women’s education. Established in 1915 as a joint venture of 12 missionary societies from England and the USA, it acquired the stately Doveton House in 1916. The building was named after its previous owner Lt Gen John Doveton, who lived in the city in the late 18th century.

Chennai one lakh years ago

The primitive man had made Chennai his home, more than one lakh years ago. The credit for discovering it goes to the Father of Indian pre-history, Robert Bruce Foote (1834-1912). A British geologist and archaeologist, Foote in 1863 found Paleolithic or 100 thousand-year-old stone tools used by our ancestors in Pallavaram. That was the first pre-historic find in the whole of India. Soon he stumbled upon several Paleolithic tools in and around the present day Poondi reservoir near Chennai besides discovering cave shelters of the primitive man at Gudiyam in Tiruvallur district.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is holding a photo exhibition on the pre-historic facets of Chennai till August 22 in Clive House, Fort St George. Entry is free.

22 Ways to Over clock Your Brain

“I just found out that the brain is like a computer. If that’s true, then there really aren’t any stupid people. Just people running DOS.”

The brain is a three-pound supercomputer. It is the command and control center running your life. It is involved in absolutely everything you do. Your brain determines how you think, how you feel, how you act, and how well you get along with other people. Your brain even determines the kind of person you are. It determines how thoughtful you are; how polite or how rude you are. It determines how well you think on your feet, and it is involved with how well you do at work and with your family. Your brain also influences your emotional well being and how well you do with the opposite sex.

Your brain is more complicated than any computer we can imagine. Did you know that you have one hundred billion nerve cells in your brain, and every nerve cell has many connections to other nerve cells? In fact, your brain has more connections in it than there are stars in the universe! Optimizing your brain’s function is essential to being the best you can be, whether at work, in leisure, or in your relationships.

It’s simple, your brain is at the center of everything you do, all you feel and think, and every nuance of how you relate to people. It’s both the supercomputer that runs your complex life and the tender organ that houses your soul. And while you may run, lift weights, or do yoga to keep your body in good condition, chances are you ignore your brain and trust it to do its job.

No matter what your age, mental exercise has a global, positive effect on the brain. So, here are 22 ways to boost your brain power:

1. Run up your brain cells.

Research suggests that people who get plenty of physical exercise can wind up with better brains. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., found that adult mice who ran on an exercise wheel whenever they felt like it gained twice as many new cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in learning and memory, than mice who sat around all day discussing Lord of the Rings in Internet chat rooms. The researchers weren’t sure why the more active rodents’ brains reacted the way they did, but it’s possible that the voluntary nature of the exercise made it less stressful and therefore more beneficial. Which could mean that finding ways to enjoy exercise, rather than just forcing yourself to do it, may make you smarter – and happier, too.

So, play a sport, train for an event such as a marathon, triathlon or “fun run,” or work out with a buddy to help keep things interesting.

2. Exercise your mind.

It isn’t just physical exercise that gets those brain cells jumping. Just like those head-pumped cabbies and piano jockeys, you can build up various areas of your brain by putting them to work. Duke University neurobiology professor Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., co-author ofKeep Your Brain Alive, says that finding simple ways to use aspects of your brain that may be lagging could help maintain both nerve cells and dendrites, branches on the cells that receive and process information. Just as a new weightlifting exercise builds up underused muscles, Katz says that novel ways of thinking and viewing the world can improve the functioning of inactive sections of the brain.

Experience new tastes and smells; try to do things with your nondominant hand; find new ways to drive to work; travel to new places; create art; read that Dostoyevsky novel; write a buddy comedy for Ted Kennedy and Rush Limbaugh – basically, do anything you can to force yourself out of your mental ruts.

3. Ask why.

Our brains are wired to be curious. As we grow up and “mature” many of us stifle or deny our natural curiosity. Let yourself be curious! Wonder to yourself about why things are happening. Ask someone in the know. The best way to exercise our curiosity is by asking “Why?” Make it a new habit to ask “why?” at least 10 times a day. Your brain will be happier and you will be amazed at how many opportunities and solutions will show up in your life and work.

4. Laugh.

Scientists tell us that laughter is good for our health; that it releases endorphins and other positively powerful chemicals into our system. We don’t really need scientists to tell us that it feels good to laugh. Laughing helps us reduce stress and break old patterns too. So laughter can be like a “quick-charge” for our brain’s batteries. Laugh more, and laugh harder.

5. Be a fish head.

Omega-3 oils, found in walnuts, flaxseed and especially fish, have long been touted as being healthy for the heart. But recent research suggests they’re a brain booster as well, and not just because they help the circulation system that pumps oxygen to your head. They also seem to improve the function of the membranes that surround brain cells, which may be why people who consume a lot of fish are less likely to suffer depression, dementia, even attention-deficit disorder. Scientists have noted that essential fatty acids are necessary for proper brain development in children, and they’re now being added to baby formulas. It’s possible that your own mental state, and even your intelligence, can be enhanced by consuming enough of these oils.

Eating at least three servings a week of fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel and tuna is a good start.

6. Remember.

Get out an old photo album or high school yearbook. Your brain is a memory machine, so give it a chance to work! Spend time with your memories. Let your mind reflect on them and your mind will repay you in positive emotions and new connections from the memories to help you with your current tasks and challenges.

7. Cut the fat.

Can “bad” fats make you dumb? When researchers at the University of Toronto put rats on a 40-percent-fat diet, the rats lost ground in several areas of mental function, including memory, spatial awareness and rule learning. The problems became worse with a diet high in saturated fats, the kind that’s abundant in meat and dairy products. While you may never be called upon to navigate a little maze in search of a cheddar cube, these results could hold true for you as well, for two reasons: Fat can reduce the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your brain, and it may also slow down the metabolism of glucose, the form of sugar the brain utilizes as food.

You can still get up to 30 percent of your daily calories in the form of fat, but most of it should come from the aforementioned fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds. Whatever you do, stay away from trans fats, the hardened oils that are abundant in crackers and snack foods.

8. Do a puzzle.

Some of us like jigsaw puzzles, some crossword puzzles, some logic puzzles – it really doesn’t matter kind you choose to do. Doing puzzles in your free time is a great way to activate your brain and keep it in good working condition. Do the puzzle for fun, but do it knowing you are exercising your brain.

9. The “Mozart Effect.”

A decade ago Frances Rauscher, a psychologist now at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, and her colleagues made waves with the discovery that listening to Mozart improved people’s mathematical and spatial reasoning. Even rats ran mazes faster and more accurately after hearing Mozart than after white noise or music by the minimalist composer Philip Glass. Last year, Rauscher reported that, for rats at least, a Mozart piano sonata seems to stimulate activity in three genes involved in nerve-cell signalling in the brain.

This sounds like the most harmonious way to tune up your mental faculties. But before you grab the CDs, hear this note of caution. Not everyone who has looked for the Mozart effect has found it. What’s more, even its proponents tend to think that music boosts brain power simply because it makes listeners feel better – relaxed and stimulated at the same time – and that a comparable stimulus might do just as well. In fact, one study found that listening to a story gave a similar performance boost.

10. Improve your skill at things you already do.

Some repetitive mental stimulation is ok as long as you look to expand your skills and knowledge base. Common activities such as gardening, sewing, playing bridge, reading, painting, and doing crossword puzzles have value, but push yourself to do different gardening techniques, more complex sewing patterns, play bridge against more talented players to increase your skill, read new authors on varied subjects, learn a new painting technique, and work harder crossword puzzles. Pushing your brain to new heights help to keep it healthy.

11. Be a thinker, not a drinker.

The idea that alcohol kills brain cells is an old one, but the reality is a bit more complicated. In fact, a study of 3,500 Japanese men found that those who drank moderately (in this case, about one drink per day) had better cognitive functioning when they got older than those who didn’t drink at all. Unfortunately, as soon as you get beyond that “moderate” amount, your memory, reaction time is all likely to decline. In the same study, men who had four or more drinks a day fared worst of all.

Just as bad is the now common practice of “binge drinking,” otherwise known as getting hammered on the weekend. Research on rats found that those who consumed large amounts of alcohol had fewer new cells in their brains’ hippocampus region immediately after the binge, and virtually none a month later. This suggests that the alcohol not only damaged the rats’ brains, but kept them from repairing themselves later on – in human terms, that means you shouldn’t expect to pass the Mensa entrance exam any time soon.

12. Play.

Take time to play. Make time to play. Play cards. Play video games. Play board games. Play Ring Around the Rosie. Play tug of war. It doesn’t matter what you play. Just play! It is good for your spirit and good for your brain. It gives your brain a chance to think strategically, and keeps it working.

13. Sleep on it.

Previewing key information and then sleeping on it increases retention 20 to 30 percent. You can leave that information next to the bed for easy access, if it is something that won’t keep you awake. If you are kept awake by your thoughts, writing everything down sometimes gets it “out of your mind,” allowing you to sleep (so keep a pen and paper nearby).

14. Concentration.

Concentration can increase brainpower. Obvious, perhaps, but the thieves of concentration are not always so obvious. Learn to notice when you are distracted. Often the cause is just below consciousness. If there is a phone call you need to make, for example, it might bother you all morning, sapping your ability to think clearly, even while you are unaware of what is bothering you.

Get in the habit of stopping to ask “What is on my mind right now”. Identify it and deal with it. In the example given, you could make the phone call, or put it on tomorrow’s list, so your mind is comfortable letting it go for now. This leaves you in a more relaxed state where you can think more clearly. Use this technique to increase your brainpower now.

15. Make love for your brain.

In a series of studies by Winnifred B. Cutler, PhD and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and later at Stanford University it was found that regular sexual contact had an important impact on physical and emotional well being of women. Sexual contact with a partner at least once a week led to more fertile, regular menstrual cycles, shorter menses, delayed menopause, increased estrogen levels, and delayed aging. Brain imaging studies at UCLA have shown that decreased estrogen levels are associated with overall decreased brain activity and poor memory. Enhancing estrogen levels for women through regular sexual activity enhances overall brain activity and improves memory.

In Dr. Cutler’s study the occurrence of orgasm was not as important as the fact that sex was with another person. Intimacy and emotional bonding may be the most influential factors in the positive aspects of sex. As a psychiatrist I have seen many people withhold sex as a way to show hurt, anger, or disappointment. Dr. Cutler’s research suggests that this is self-defeating behavior. The more you withhold the worse it may be for you. Appropriate sex is one of the keys to the brain’s fountain of youth.

16. Play with passion!

You can’t do great work without personal fulfillment. When people are growing through learning and creativity, they are much more fulfilled and give 127% more to their work. Delight yourself and you delight the world. Remember what you loved to do as a child and bring the essence of that activity into your work. This is a clue to your genius; to your natural gifts and talents. da Vinci, Edison, Einstein and Picasso all loved to play and they loved to explore.

17. Cycles of consciousness.

Your consciousness waxes and wanes throughout the day . For most it seems to go through 90 minute cycles, with 30 minutes of lower consciousness. Watch yourself to recognize this cycle. If you learn to recognize and track your mental state, you can concentrate on important mental tasks when your mind is most “awake”. For creative insight into a problem, do the opposite. Work on it when you are in a drowsy state, when your conscious mind has slowed down.

18. Learn something new.

This one might seem obvious. Yes, we capitalize on our brain’s great potential when we put it to work learning new things. You may have a specific topic for work or leisure that you want to learn more about. That’s great.

Go learn it. If you don’t have a subject in mind right now, try learning a new word each day. There is a strong correlation between working vocabulary and intelligence. When we have new words in our vocabulary, our minds can think in new ways with greater nuances between ideas. Put your mind to work learning. It is one of the best ways to re-energize your brain.

19. Write to be read.

I am a big proponent of writing in a journal to capture ideas and thoughts. There is certainly great value in writing for yourself. I continue to find that my brain is greatly stimulated by writing to be read. The greatest benefit of writing is what it does to expand your brain’s capacity. Find ways to write to be read – by writing things for your friends to read, by capturing the stories of your childhood, starting your own blog or whatever – just write to be read.

20. Try aroma therapy to activate your brain.

One day, as I was falling asleep, while listening to endless speeches at a conference, my brain suddenly perked up when I caught a whiff of lemon from someone’s cologne. I immediately felt alert and found it much easier to pay attention to the presenter. I discovered aroma therapy really is useful and I have used it ever since revitalize or to relax.

Energizers include peppermint, cypress and lemon. Relaxants: ylang ylang, geranium and rose. A few drops of essential oils in your bath or in a diffuser will do the trick. You can also put a drop or two in a cotton ball or hanky and inhale. One caveat for the workplace; make sure no-one is allergic to the oils before you use them.

21. Drugs to increase brainpower.

Coffee and other drinks containing caffeine help students consistently score higher on tests. Since caffeine restricts blood vessels in the brain, it isn’t clear what the longer-term effects may be when it comes to your brainpower. So instead of coffee breaks try gingko biloba and gotu kola herbal teas. Ginkgo biloba has been shown to increase blood flow to the brain, and improve concentration.

22. Build a brain trust.

Surround yourself with inspiring people from a wide variety of fields who encourage you and stimulate your creativity. Read magazines from a wide variety of fields. Make connections between people, places and things, to discover new opportunities, and to find solutions to your problems.

Remember that no matter what your age or your occupation; your brain needs to be constantly challenged to be at its peak in terms of performance. Whether it’s doing logic puzzles, memorizing lines from Shakespeare, or learning a new skill, keep your brain busy, if you don’t want it to rust away like a car in a junkyard.

http://ririanproject.com/2006/11/03/22-ways-to-overclok-your-brain/

India’s Fighter Aircrafts

The Indian Air Force (IAF; Devanāgarī: भारतीय वायु सेना, Bhartiya Vāyu Senā) is the air arm of the armed forces of India. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict.

The Indian Air Force has a strength of over 1,915 (combat & non-combat) aircrafts.[69] Most of the IAF's aircraft are of Soviet/Russian origin. The Air Force also operates some aircraft from Britain and France. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under licence produce some of the Russian and British aircraft in India. The exact number of aircraft in service with the Indian Air Force cannot be determined with precision from open sources. Apparently reliable sources provide notably divergent estimates for a variety of high-visibility aircraft

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_of_the_Indian_Air_Force

Mig-21

The Indian Air Force has been one of the largest users of the MiG-21 since its initial employment of the plane in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 and later Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. That war witnessed the first supersonic air combat in the subcontinent when an Indian MiG-21FLs shot down a PAF F-104 Starfighter with its GSh-23 twin barrelled 23mm cannon.^[8], thereafter it shot down 3 more F-104 starfighers & one MIG-19 before the war ended. It was also used as late as 1999 in the Kargil War

http://www.acig.org/artman/uploads/

Mig-27

 

Mig-29

MiG-29s are dedicated air superiority fighters of the IAF.^[72] The MiG-29 (NATO: Fulcrum) has a top speed of 2,445 km/h (Mach 2.3) and is armed with a 30 mm cannon along with R-60 & R-27 R missiles. The IAF began deploying MiG-29 in 1984 and was the second airforce to do so^[76]. Since their induction, the IAF's MiG-29s have undergone a series of upgrades including more efficient and powerful radar (Zhuk-ME), weapons system and upgraded engine

India was the first international customer of the MiG-29.^[14] The Indian Air Force (IAF) placed an order for more than 50 MiG-29s in 1980 while the aircraft was still in its initial development phase. Since its induction into the IAF in 1985, the aircraft has undergone a series of modifications with the addition of new avionics, sub-systems, turbofan engines and radars.^[15] The upgraded Indian version is known as Baaz (Hindi for Hawk) and forms a crucial component of the second-line offensive aircraft-fleet of the IAF after the Sukhoi Su-30MKI.

Indian MiG-29s saw action during the Kargil War in Kashmir in 1999. The IAF used the MiG-29s extensively for providing fighter escort forMirage 2000s which were used for firing laser-guided bombs on enemy targets. According to Indian sources during the Kargil War, MiG-29s from IAF’s 47 (Black Archers) Squadron successfully locked onto two Pakistani Air Force (PAF) F-16s which were close to the Indian airspace. Since India and Pakistan were not officially at war during the time, the MiGs were ordered by the IAF command to give up the chase. After this incident, the PAF ordered its aircraft to stay well within the Pakistani airspace.

http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~rajwar/pictures/planes/iaf_planes.html

Mirage 2000

Mirage 2000s, capable of flying at 2,500 km/h (Mach 2.35), are the IAF's premier multirole fighter jet. These aircraft can carry a wide range of weaponry including two 30 mm integral cannons, two Matra Super 530Dmedium-range missiles, two R550 Magic close combat missiles and various ground attack munitions.

India has assigned the nuclear strike role to their Mirage 2000s. In 1999 when the Kargil conflict broke out, the Mirage 2000 performed well during the whole conflict in the Himalayan peaks, even though the Mirages supplied to India had limited air interdiction capability and had to be heavily modified to drop dumb and laser-guided bombs. The two Mirage squadrons flew a total of 515 sorties, and in 240 strike missions dropped 55,000 kg of ordnance. Easy maintenance and a very high sortie rate made the Mirage 2000 one of the most efficient fighter of the Indian Air Force in the conflict.

Indian Mirage-2000s have been integrated to carry the Russian R-73AE Archer missile and the indigenous Indian built Astra missile.

Su-30

The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is the IAF's prime air superiority fighter. The Su-30K variant was first acquired in 1996. In 1996, the IAF signed a US$1.6 billion contract with Russia for the supply of 50 Su-30MKIs and the technology transfer and license to manufacture 140 Su-30MKIs by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.^[71] The twin seater, multi-role fighter has a maximum speed of 2500 km/h (Mach 2.35) and has a service ceiling of 20,000 meters. The aircraft, with one mid-air refueling, can travel as far as 8000 km, making it an effective platform to deliver strategic weapons.^[72] In 2007, US$700 million were spent to upgrade IAF's remaining 10 Su-30Ks & 8 SU -30MKs to MKI Std variant^[73] and signed a contract for the supply of 40 additional MKIs with Russia.

 

http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Flanker-Imagery.html

http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Flanker.html

http://p2o2.blogspot.com/2008/09/woops-f-35-got-downed-by-suhkois.html

Top 3 IT cos see revenue growth despite slowdown

Despite the uncertainty in the global economy, the top three IT majors have seen revenue growth from all important sources of income: from the North American and European regions, in the financial services vertical and from application maintenance and development (ADM) offerings between fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

All of these are bread-and-butter targets for the industry.

(The table shows the basis point change for revenue contribution across geography, verticals and service offerings. For instance, TCS saw Europe’s contribution to revenue increase from 29 per cent to 29.5 per cent, so the increase is 50 basis points – or bps. This article considers chunks of revenue that account for at least more than 50 per cent of total revenues, across geography, verticals and service offerings.)

Interestingly, as seen in the table, Infosys has seen a slump in percentage contribution to revenues across all of the above counts except North American revenues.

TCS saw a slump in percentage contribution to revenues in financial services, while Wipro saw a slump in ADM.

All of this means that while bread and butter services continue to grow, new services, geographies and verticals are growing faster, thus contributing to revenue growth.

The table also shows that while traditional ADM offerings have kept pace with, or even lagged, overall revenue growth, newer services such as BPO and infrastructure services have galloped, especially for Infosys and TCS.

However, percentage contribution from telecom to total revenues has fallen for all three while contribution from Europe has slumped for Infosys and Wipro.

These majors attribute the fall predominantly to the dollar strengthening against the European currencies, though business volumes have also slumped. The top client for both Infosys and TCS is a telecom vendor in the UK.

Infosys has also said that a significant number of its clients have gone for an all-out cost cutting exercise, where they are nipping offshore costs as well. TCS, though, has reported an overall increase in volumes and an increase in offshoring as well.

Infosys has done well particularly in the manufacturing vertical. However, Mr S. Gopalakrishnan CEO and MD, Infosys, told Business Line last week that it is early days yet to talk of a turnaround. He felt that should a major shake-up happen in GM or Chrysler, the ripple effect would be felt across. “Manufacturing is not out of the woods, yet.”

RAM not MAR - Modi to Congress

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is undoubtedly an unbeatable master of using words. He can create something out of nothing and that too in some minutes. Modi is not only a good orator but more importantly a creative orator.

Recently he said “Whole SRP is after me” referring to Sonia-Rahul-Priyanka. Congress party today answered Modi’s SRP comment with MAR(Modi-Advani-Rajnath). But Modi immediately corrected MAR to RAM(Rajnath-Advani-Modi) and joyfully talked about it at around six public meetings across the state connecting this to Congress’ vote bank politics.

Modi said, “Couple of days back in a public meeting, I said SRP for Sonia, Rahul, Priyanka because this is SMS era and short forms are popular, easier to use and handy to remember, but Congress leaders took this very seriously and day before yesterday, they called a meeting in Delhi, where it’s top leaders were present to think, discuss and decide, how to answer back Modi on his SRP comment. Now, today they have created an announced MAR to answer my SRP. They have made this MAR by combining Modi’s M, Advani’s A and Rajnath’s R. But there is a difference between their MAR and my SRP. I said SRP, respecting seniority of Congress leaders and therefore I chronologically used Sonia’s S first, Rahul’s R then after and Priyanka’s P at third place. Congress should also respect seniority and therefore their MAR should be corrected to RAM where our party president Rajnath’s R comes first, Advani’s A second and Modi’s M third. Congress has come out with MAR and nor RAM because if they say Ram, they feel, their vote bank would be in danger.”

Thousands of People present in series of rallies on Thursday, over joyed Modi’s RAM with cheers and dhols.

Excellent Article on LTTE and Tamil cause

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE [Images]) is in its death rattle. It was decisively defeated by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces weeks ago, but a handful of its leadership headed by Prabhakaran has cynically and cruelly prolonged the agony of the Tamil civilians by using them as a buffer and human-shield in order to delay the re-establishment of the writ of the Sri Lankan Government in a miniscule piece of territory (about 20 sq.kms), which has been declared by the government as a no-fire zone to avoid collateral casualties among the civilians still under the control of the LTTE and to enable them to escape from the clutches of the LTTE.

Prabhakaran is a leader with a split personality. During the 26 years he has dominated the Tamil landscape in Sri Lanka [Images], he had shown a remarkable organizing capacity and an ability to motivate his followers to perform virtual miracles. His motivation of his cadres to acquire a capability for action by air and sea would go down in the history of insurgency and terrorism as indicating an organizing capability of a high order. The LTTE under his leadership managed to bring almost the entire Tamil-inhabited territory in the Northern and Eastern Provinces under its control. The determined manner in which the LTTE fought against the Indian-Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in the late 1980s and frustrated its efforts to defeat it spoke highly of its capabilities for a conventional warfare.

If Prabhakaran had the activities of the LTTE confined to conventional warfare and developed the LTTE as a purely insurgent force, which targeted only the Armed forces and not innocent civilians, he would have acquired greater support from the international community for the Tamil cause. The rational side of his personality as illustrated by his organizing capabilities had to constantly contend with a highly irrational side, which drove him to simultaneously take to terrorism of a  shockingly brutal kind.

The targeted killings by the LTTE of many Sri Lankan Tamil leaders, who were perceived by Prabhakaran as possible impediments to his rise as the unquestioned leader of the Tamil community, and its brutal assassination of Rajiv Gandhi [Images] in May 1991 were the outcome of the irrational side of his personality. No other Indian leader had done more to help the Sri Lankan Tamil cause than Indira Gandhi [Images] and Rajiv Gandhi. Only a sickly and sickening irrational mind could have ordered the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and Laxman Kadirgamar, a highly-respected Tamil leader, who was a senior adviser on foreign policy to former President Chandrika  Kumaratunge. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi on Prabhakaran's orders shocked Indian public opinion----including public opinion in Tamil Nadu--- and weakened Indian support for the Tamil cause. The assassination of Kadirgamar shocked the Western public opinion and led to the declaration of the LTTE as a terrorist organization by the Western world, thereby denying the last vestiges of Western support for the Tamil cause.

As the LTTE faced one defeat after another during the last three years from the Sri Lankan Armed Forces---initially in the Eastern Province and finally in the Northern Province ---- the irrational side of Prabhakaran's personality erased his rational side. His shocking use of the Tamil civilians in order to delay the final end of the counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism campaign undertaken by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces is driven by this irrational streak in him, which now  dominates his personality.

The prolonged agony of the Sri Lankan Tamils caused by the final bout of Prabhakaran's irrationality and loss of lucidity in thinking has to be ended.  The Sri Lankan Armed Forces, which have shown patience till now and deliberately slowed down their operations, cannot be faulted if they have come to the conclusion that the time has come to liberate the no-fire zone too from the clutches of the LTTE by undertaking limited operations with small arms and ammunition even at the risk of some collateral casualties to the civilians.

The desperate attempt of Prabhakaran to use civilians to protect himself from the advancing Sri Lankan Army can be attributed  to the total loss of lucidity in his thinking and his consequent inability to face the bitter truth that he and his organization have been defeated decisively by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and that there is no chance of their staging a come-back.

The requiem for the LTTE could be written without fears of going wrong, should the LTTE stage a comeback as it had done on occasions in the past. It has been defeated beyond recovery. His conventional as well as terrorist capabilities are in  shatters. Earlier conventional wisdom that small groups of the LTTE might still be able to keep indulging in sporadic acts of terrorism in different parts of Sri Lanks needs re-consideration.

His desperate delaying action at the cost of immense suffering to the Tamils, whose cause he claims to espouse, is meant to give him an opportunity to seek safe sanctuary either in Tamil Nadu or elsewhere from where he could try to re-start his fight against the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. It is in the common interest of India and Sri Lanka that Prabhakaran is finally able to make peace with his maker by either being killed by the Armed Forces or by taking his own life. A defeated Prabhakaran, if left alive in India or elsewhere, would not be a threat, but could be a nuisance for both the countries.

After the death of the LTTE, which is expected any day, what is the future of the Sri Lankan Tamil cause? Would a requiem for the LTTE also mean a requiem for the Sri Lankan Tamil cause? Hopefully not. It is in India's interest that the LTTE as a terrorist organization is destroyed once and for all, but it is not in India's interest that the Sri Lankan Government and Armed Forces proceed from the destruction of the LTTE to the destruction of the Tamil aspirations for greater political and economic rights in their traditional homeland and for greater human dignity.

Let us not forget that ever since our independence in 1947, the Bengalis of the then East Pakistan, the Balochs and Sindhis of Pakistan and the Tamils of Sri Lanka have been India's natural allies. It was this reality which persuaded Indira Gandhi to assist the Bengalis of the then East Pakistan to achieve their independence. Even though successive governments in New Delhi [Images] refrained from supporting the causes of the Sindhis and the Balochs, Indian public opinion sympathized and continues to sympathise with their cause. It was sympathy for the Sri Lankan Tamil cause at New Delhi when Indira Gandhi  was the Prime Minister and in Tamil Nadu, which induced India to take up their cause in the 1980s.

There is no reason why India should not pride itself and seek to be the paramount power of the region. To emerge and remain as the paramount power, we need natural allies in the region around us. We should not let the legitimate aspirations of our natural allies---whether they be  the Sindhis and Balochs of Pakistan or the Sri Lankan Tamils--- be crushed by  a brutal regime--- whether in Islamabad [Images] or in  Colombo.

Since 1947, the Balochs rose twice in revolt in favour of independence for their homeland. On both occasions, they were defeated by the Pakistani Armed Forces as decisively as the LTTE by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. The Pakistani leadership brutally used the Air Force against the Balochs to crush their freedom struggle. Undaunted by this, the Baloch people, under a new leadership, rose in revolt for a third time two years ago and their third war of independence is still going on.

The remarkable victory of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces against the LTTE was partly due to their improved counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism capabilities made possible by Indian assistance in the form of training and sharing of intelligence and partly due to their emulating the Pakistani Armed forces in the brutal use of the Air Force against people whom they portray as their own. Just as the Balochs were defenceless against the brutal Pakistani air strikes, the Sri Lankan Tamils were defenceless against the Sri Lankan air strikes.

The US has used air strikes in Iraq and Afghanistan----but in foreign territory and against foreign nationals. Only three countries in the world have used air strikes in their own territory against their own people---- the Pakistanis against the Balochs, the Russians against the Chechens and the Sri Lankans against the Tamils.

President Mahinda Rajapakse has repeatedly promised that once the LTTE is defeated, he would be generous in meeting the political aspirations of Tamils. He gives the impression of being a sincere man, but will the Sinhalese Army with its head bloated by its success against the LTTE allow him to do so? The indications till now are not encouraging. Many Sri Lankan officers might have been trained in India, but their mindset and their attitude towards the minorities have more in common with those of their Pakistani counterparts than with those of their Indian counterparts. Therein lies the danger that after winning the war against the LTTE, the Government, strongly influenced by a victorious army, might trey to impose a  dictated peace on the Tamils.

If the angry Tamils once again look up to India, there is no reason why we should not reciprocate provided a new leadership emerges in the Tamil community and it has drawn the right lessons from the brutalities of the LTTE.

The LTTE is deservedly dying, but long live the Tamil cause.

B. Raman

http://news.rediff.com/column/2009/apr/23/guest-b-raman-on-situation-in-sri-lanka.htm

Words of wisdom from former CEC, N Gopalaswami

Words of wisdom from our former CEC, N.Gopalaswami based on his interview published in the Rediff

"You see, you do your job and leave the others to do their job. I don't think there should be any conflict in that. If you want to keep your sanity, then you follow one rule. Do your duty and never think that other's duty is your right. You do your job. Attitude lies in work,"

"If you do something, you say you are overdoing it and if you do not do anything you say you are not doing anything."

"We send thousand of files during our tenure (for recommendations) to several people. Some get accepted and some don't get accepted. If you want the officials to simply resign just because their recommendations have not been accepted you will have not one secretary left in the office. They all will have to go,"

India’s SLV’s

Geopolitical and economic considerations during the 1960s and 1970s compelled India to initiate its ownlaunch vehicle program.[11] During the first phase (1960s-1970s) the country successfully developed a sounding rockets program, and by the 1980s, research had yielded the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 and the more advanced Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), complete with operational supporting infrastructure.[11] ISRO further applied its energies to the advancement of launch vehicle technology resulting in the creation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) technologies

SLV project was started in early seventies and was designed to put 40 Kg payload into a 400Km circular orbit. SLV3 rocket had four solid-propellant rocket motors, inter-stages connecting the forward skirt of one stage with the rear skirt of the next stage, inertial guidance and control systems to steer the vehicle along a predetermined trajectory and a heat shield to protect the fourth stage and the satellite payload[11].

The SLV project was lead by APJ Abdul Kalam[12] who also had the additional responsibility for designing the fourth stage of the SLV. He had Dr VR Gowariker who was the expert in the field of composite propellant.

The milestones consisted of :

• Development & qualification of all subsystems through sounding rockets by 1975
• Sub-orbital flight by 1976
• Final orbital flight in 1978

Wernher von Braun [13] during his visit to ISRO mentioned the American physiological complex of NIH (Not Invented Here) and said, "If you have to do anything in rocketry do it yourself", he commented, "SLV-3 is a genuine Indian design and you may be having your own troubles. But you should always remember that we do not just build on success, we also build on failure"[14].

 

ASLV - Augumented Satellite Launch Vehicle

ASLV was configured as a five-stage solid propellant vehicle, weighing about 40 tonne and having a length of about 23.8 m. The strap-on stage consisted of two identical 1 m diameter solid propellant motors similar to SLV-3 first stage, other stages being the same as in SLV-3.

 

The payload capability was thus raised to 150 Kg as compared to SLV-3's 42 Kg capability. Closed loop guidance, active from the ignition of the second stage motor to the separation of the third stage, was employed in ASLV while SLV-3 had used an open loop system.

First Launch Date: 24 March 1987. Last Launch Date: 04 May 1994. LEO Payload: 150 kg. to: 400 km Orbit. Liftoff Thrust: 92,780 kgf. Total Mass: 41,000 kg. Core Diameter: 1.0 m. Total Length: 23.5 m. Flyaway Unit Cost $: 9.00 million. in 1985 unit dollars.

 

 

 

 

 

PSLV - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

The Polar Space Launch Vehicle is a versatile heavy launcher developed to permit India to launch its own IRS-class 1600Kg satellites in sun-synchronous orbits, though it could also be used for GTO mission. It also served as the stepping-stone for GSLV heavy lift configuration for mainstream GTO orbit.

The basic PSLV configuration is 44.4 meter tall weighing 295 tonne and four stages using solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately.

Of the six strap-on motors (PSOM), depending on mission requirement first two or four of PSOM are ignited on the ground, to augment the first stage thrust. Each of these solid propellant strap-on motors carries nine tonne of HTPB based propellant, burn for 45 seconds and produces 662 kN thrust. The remaining strap-on motors are ignited 25 seconds (at ~3 Km altitude) after lift off.

GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle)

The GSLV (Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle) Mk-I is a heavy communication satellite launcher developed to enable India to launch its own INSAT-class 2,000 to 2,500Kg satellites into Geo-Transfer-Orbit (GTO) for Indian and foreign communication satellite market.

The GSLV has four liquid propellant strap-on indigenous Vikas motors (L40) based on Ariane Viking-2 engine of SEP, which are ignited on the ground, to augment the first stage thrust.

GSLV will be declared operational after one more successful developmental flights (D3). GSLV-D1 successfully launched 1540Kg GSAT-1 satellite into GTO on 18-April-2001 and GSLV-D2 launched 1825Kg GSAT-2 to GTO on 8-May-2003 . Commercial flights C1, C2 & C3 is already budgeted, including long lead-time items for C4, C5 & C6 [43] .

Efforts are already on to improve the payload in GTO in progressive steps of 2,200Kg, 2,300 Kg and 2450Kg by 2006 [44]. Other than GTO missions, GSLV can also perform mission to LEO and polar missions.