what does Mortgage and Reverse Mortgage mean ??

A ‘mortgage’ has come to be defined as the transfer of an interest in property (or the equivalent in law-a charge) to a lender as a security for a debt. While a mortgage is quintessentially not a debt, it is the lender’s security for a debt. In simpler words, a mortgage can be understood as a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower.

Mortgages are strongly identified or then associated with loans secured on real estate and indeed come as a boon to realtors who can raise the desired sums of money by pledging a part of their vast land portfolio and the widely prevalent practice of only mortgaging land in most parts of this vast country makes their task that much easier.

The reverse mortgage scheme that has come to be offered by most of India’s leading banks in recent times has indeed come as manna from heaven in the case of senior citizens who have access to either a tract of land, personal property or then a house of their own as the same can now net them a regular income till their last breath.

The concept is very simple and easy to understand, a senior citizen who owns or holds either a house or property, but lacks a regular and stable source of income mortgages his property based on the banks assessment of it’s worth and the bank in turn begins to pay the person concerned a regular payment which continues till his/her last breath.

What makes the above mentioned scheme even more alluring or enticing is the fact that the person can continue to reside in the mortgaged house throughout his/her life span and will not be evicted under any circumstances. The bank however abrogates unto itself the right to dispose of the property/house in question after the demise of the senior citizen and any excess amount left over form the sale of the property at the then prevalent market rates is duly disbursed amongst the legal heirs.

Primarily known as the Housing Finance Industry, the net worth of the mortgage financing industry within India has been estimated at 18 billion US dollars. A significant though belated change in the structure and functioning of the mortgage industry has come to define it in recent years.    

Social Workers - Job Decodified

Social Workers are indeed a strange species, wandering around from place to place a la wandering minstrels spending their time with the deprived, deprivated and down trodden sections of society, going unwashed and underfed for days on end, taking up cudgels on behalf of any cause or then people who tickle their fancy and strike a chord deep down in their hearts.

A natural empathy, inherent ability to put up with hardships and making do with the most rudimentary means of life sustenance, capacity to fall asleep on either a continuation of newspapers, on the hard ground, or then anywhere under the surrealistic skies and the heart and souls of either a nomad or fakir are pre-requisites or then much desired qualities in any and every social worker.

Putting a definition to or then making an effort towards confining the life skills of a social worker would indeed be an exercise in futility one just has to look up to people like Medha Patkar, Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Bill Gates, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Bill Clinton, Mother Teresa, Nafisa Ali, Amod Kanth or others of their ilk to understand what social work is all about.

My life is my karma or deeds or so Mahatma Gandhi once spoke, social workers is what social workers do, they take up cudgels on behalf of the downtrodden, deprived and marginalized sections of our so called society, raise their individual and collective voices against atrocities both real and perceived, galvanise public opinion against the misdeeds or sins of omission and commission of our so called rulers, organise protest marches and agitations against transgressions of women and child rights, barrack and lay siege to factories and establishments where the reprehensible practice of child labour is rampant.

Stick onto trees like a leech and even go down with them in a heroic effort to safeguard our environment, make Tinsel Town demigods(?) seek public pardons for having committed the sin of hunting down an animal belonging to an endangered species and last but not the least even take on the might of the government in a show of sheer bravado in order to ensure that an important anti corruption legislation or watchdog did not end up being a toothless tiger and irrelevant document gathering dust within the hallowed (?) precincts of the Lok Sabha (lower house of India’s parliament) library and also selflessly reach the battlefield during wars and skirmishes in order to render yeomans service and apply a salve on the wounds suffered by our indomitable warriors on both their bodies and psyches.

Please log onto the websites of the Greenpeace foundation, Amnesty International, Sparsh, Child rights and You (CRY), Helpage India, Concern India foundation, Make A Wish Foundation, Being Human or any other such site to gather crucial and humanising information on how you can and more significantly should make a difference.               

Insight into the job of Bartending .

Bartenders are stereotypically people who prepare or mix both alcoholic drinks, cocktails and mocktails for the patrons of bars, restaurants, star hotels, lounges, clubs, dance bars, dicotheques or then any other establishment that serves both alcoholic as well as non-alcoholic drinks.

The bartenders quintessentially are expected to memorise and perfect the preparation of standard cocktails and various other exotic combinations like bloody mary’s, granitas, virgin mary’s , rum and cokes, gin and tonic, lime and vodka and many other such intoxicating drinks and remain steady and alert on their feet despite imbibing or inhaling the stuporous fumes emanating from any and every bottle in their immediate vicinity.

Bartenders have also been known to check the credentials of customers to frequent their bars in order to ensure absolute compliance with the legally permissible drinking age in vogue within their state, serve drinks to customers when required, take and fill up orders, and last but not the least get down to pat the recipe of a discerning customer who insists upon having his drink mixed just the way he wants it.

Members of this profession are also expected to collect empty glasses, wash and clean glasses, replenish their liquor supplies and ensuring the availability of every item highlighted on the bar menu as and when required, devising ways and means of acquiring supplies at rock bottom rates and most significantly keeping their regular patrons in continued good humour.

Thought to be the exclusive preserve of men down the ages, women are now beginning to break the glass ceiling, serving to raise many a conservative eyebrow with their dimunitive presence on the other side of the bar counter, mastering the skills required to excel in the profession or then simply put in a nutshell finding their pretty feet in this male dominated profession.

As with all professions this profession to is synonymous with it’s fair share of danger as the infamous Jessica lal case in which a young, bubbly, effervescent, free spirited, blithe young girl was callously shot down by a misguided youth when she stuck to her guns and refused to fill up an order as the bar had closed down for the day at the end of the day after it’s stipulated business hours.

If making a fast bucks what you’re looking at then this profession’s certainly not for you as the drawn pay is anything but commiserate with the long hours, taxing, mind numbing, bone busting, spirit crushing and sometimes ball busting experiences that many a bartender go through.

Most bartenders are self taught, or then have acquired the requisite skills from their fore-bears, a few colleges are also  beginning to make a beleaguered effort towards imparting the desired skills but these are still too few and in far between.

The labour union office to which most practitioners of this art belong, web sites of colleges who have made forays into imparting skills or then Toastmaster’s International might just be the place to start.       

Profession of Waitresses decodified

Waitresses have earned various sobriquets down the ages: divine, supreme, enchantress, mistress of my dreams and even a censored or beeped word that refers to an illegitimate child if one were to believe a stereotypical joke attributed to the Sikhs or Sardarji’s as we have come to know them.

O! east is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet or so said Rudyard Kipling in one of his immortal poems, waitresses have certainly done their fair bit in dispelling their myth; they have donned miniscule mini skirts, long and flowing gowns, pinafores and flowing skirts, caftans, sarees or even flaunted their mammaries when the occasion has called upon them do so.

A thick or even better impermeable skin or hide, infinite patience, felicity with the most commonly spoken language within a country, passable visage, erect or upright body structure, impeccable manners, inherent ability to get downright dirty, stand for hours on one leg if required, brush off or condone sexual innuendos or overtures by desperadoes and last but not the least rudimentary self defence skills are desirable qualities in both budding and established waitresses.

Meeting orders, serving customers with a smile, taking orders, cleaning tables and floors (if required) and making customers feel at home is what most if not all waitresses do. The pay might not be earth shattering or bring the roof down, the hours are long and undulating, the job is primarily a thankless one that may earn you many more boots than bouquets; but the tips and gushing words of appreciation emanating from the lips of an appreciative customer do certainly go a long way in making up for the drudgery and mind numbing boredom associated with the profession.

Largely stereotyped as bimbettes with either little or no grey matter between their ears, waitresses have certainly dispelled this notion and how; they have cultivated or then acquired the ability to memorise and execute multiple orders almost simultaneously, learnt to laugh at/with themselves and wish away the ironies associated with the profession without bitterness and rancor and arrest the rising ardour and passion of many a budding romeo politely yet firmly by pitting them in their rightful places.

Still to get their due place under the sun, the profession continues to be looked at with disapproval, disdain and even disparagingly in most if not all developing or third world countries; yet young damsels continue to embrace the profession while turning a Nelson’s eye to the barbs, threats both implicit and explicit and real and present fear of social ridicule if not boycott; however smile all the while and be jolly, life wasn’t intended to be melancholic as Mae West once said.

Do log onto the websites of the Radisson, Hilton, Trident, Sheraton group of hotels or then colleges offering related courses for details on how one can go about entering the portals of this hallowed profession.     

             

Insight on Waiters, Waitressing and Serving.

Waiter, Boy, Garcon, Here, Snap of the Fingers and last but not the least summons through a whistle are commonly resorted to terms of endearment which are in vogue when it comes to requisitioning the services or then attention of your friendly neighbourhood waiter.

Waiters almost seem like men from another planet, they more often than not shrug away the vilest of abuses without batting an eyelid, remain standing for hours on end without a whisper of complaint on their lips, maintain their poise, decorum and unflappable charm in the face of the gravest of provocations, and last but not the least serve out gourmet meals while making do a meal barely fit for human consumption themselves more often than not.

The ubiquitous English butler Jeeves has become the epitome of all things related to waiters and also been immortalized by P.G. Wodehouse in his plethora of work on a master/butler relationship, a stiff ramrod straight back, stiff upper lip, unflappable sense of decorum, inherent ability to put up with long and often inhuman hours of work, smile away your worries and temper tantrums while continuing to serve either a shrew or harridan without a cuss word or protest emanating from your lips and last but not the least pirouette like a ballerina through crowded aisles and passage ways are much sought after abilities or then desirable attributes in a stereotypical waiter.

Motion pictures or then moving images of all hues, budgets, in every language under the sun, with or without multi star casts and helmed by the crème de la crème of directors have served to establish or carve out a larger than life image of the humble waiter; waiters have doubled up as spies, police officers, undercover agents, enemies of the state and what have you. Waiters have unabashedly romanced their heroines, saved them from the clutches of the villain and his henchmen and even essayed the role of Sir Galahad when required, but, pray, tarry for a while and ponder on the fact that this is largely restricted to the silver screen and is a figment of the director’s vivid and over imaginative imagination.

Nimble footedness, almost inhuman balancing abilities, honouring the most banal of requests with a smile, answering the most idiotic query in a civilized manner and a razor sharp memory capable of imbibing every favoured customers’ quirks and eccentricities are the hallmarks of a waiter/butler cast in the Jeeves mould.

A multitude of schools, colleges, international and domestic hotel chains, clubs, resorts, lounges and their many counterparts have gone about setting up or establishing training schools wholly devoted to imparting the desired and much sought after skills and their related websites would be the ideal place to glean information on the minutest details pertaining to the profession. The pay is nothing to write home about and the hours of work are long and undulating, but the tips are the proverbial icing on the cake.    

Trucks and charms of being a truck driver.

Truck Drivers have been and will always continue being a law unto themselves, becoming a member of this hard drinking, free swearing, repeatedly cussing and often randy brotherhood is about as difficult as getting a membership into an Ivy League club.

A driving course that familiarizes you with the pre-requisites of being a truck driver, related/applicable traffic rules, applicable U.S. state and federal laws, long haul routes, and ability to chart your own course is as good a starting point as any. Many a hiring company insists upon a completion certificate issued by the concerned driving school apart from an applicable and blemish free driving license.

The hours are long and arduous, the job is more often thankless than not, you may have to stay away from your home and near and dear one’s for weeks if not months on end, the pay though barely adequate is not exactly the stuff that dreams are made of, you must be in love with your own company and possess an almost inhuman quality of forsaking almost all human contact for long periods; yet despite these professional hardships and eccentricities the numbers of people employed as truck drivers continue to show a healthy upward trend within the US of A.

In addition most if not all truck drivers are wholly and solely responsible for picking up and delivering freight from one destination to the next and loading and unloading their cargo if either required or then mandatorily stipulated in their work contracts. They are also accountable and responsible for steadfastly following all laid down applicable laws and ensuring that their working equipment is always maintained in an optimum working condition.

Long Haul Drivers are also responsible for plotting their own routes. In most cases, operators are provided with or given a delivery location and deadline, and they must determine ways and means of delivering their shipment to it’s exact location on time. This can indeed be difficult as drivers must firstly find routes that allow large trucks and secondly, ensure steadfast compliance with all applicable rules and laws enforced by the United States Department of transportation. They also need to maintain scrupulous log books containing details of the distances covered on a daily basis, observance of rest periods in conformity with the laid down laws in this regard and last but not the least unflagging compliance with the prevalent speed limits on different roads, national and state highways and within respective state boundaries.

Specialist truck drivers usually work with unusual/hazardous loads; they carry liquids, inflammable materials, hazardous materials, nuclear fissile materials, oversized load cars, chemicals and so on and so forth; such drivers must always adhere to all laid down laws in this regard to rule out any and every possibility of a hazardous industrial or individual mishap.

The International Brotherhood of teamsters and trucking union websites would be the ideal place to make a beginning.   

who is a event planner ??

People might be forgiven for thinking that the only job in event planning is the role of an Event Planner. It is imperative that people begin to realize the scope of this industry and the millions of jobs that this sector of the economy really has to offer.

Consider or then ponder over this: other than their creative thinking skills, most people who work in events management have strong and proven organizational skills. That is because of the sole reason that they are expected to juggle a full range of logistics to execute and implement various programmes.

Most event planners handle anything between 35-150 events in a calendar year and are solely responsible of the entire gamut of operations including: planning the event, creating event budgets, designing and sending/handing out of event invitations, planning seminars, handing out and collecting speaker evaluation forms, designing or then hiring requisite or required event related software (s) and last but not the least the compilation and due distribution of an event binder.

For those who have strong organizational and office skills, the truth is that administrative assistants and office managers are more often than not busy in organizing a full range of corporate events in the corporate world. While the human resources department may be in charge of the company picnic or holiday party, the administrative assistants are providing the much needed logistical support including lining up of vendors and formalization of time bound agreements for delivery of services and a wide variety of much needed goods.

Liasioning with travel agents and domestic/international airlines and tour operators for the best possible deals if the picnic/event entails to and fro travel. Finalising and putting in place all stay and catering related arrangements and nailing down transportation arrangements within the city or resort that the company executives and their families would be staying at and last but not the least ensuring that the who’s who of the company/organization are always kept in resounding good humour.

The profession is not always all about blood, sweat, tears, filth, grime and short fuses; but like all professions does have it’s flip side too: the crème de la crème of event managers do get to hobnob with matinee idols, royalty, political icons, page 3 elites, beacons of the world of sports, enticing and beauteous fashion models and many a society’s movers and shakers.

Pay packages are meant to keep your body and limb together and the ability to put up with starry tantrums and abuse, eccentricities, whims and fancies and exalted senses of self importance is a pre-requisite, the job might entail getting down right and dirty, is more often than not totally thankless and you might be left to fend for yourself more often than not.

If you’ve got the infinite patience of a Maddona and the impermeable hide of a rhinoceros you’ve certainly got what it takes baby. Logging onto NPO.net, Association Forum or INLEAD.in might be a good idea.            

Who is a Human Resource Manager - responsibilities decoded .

As a Human Resource Manager, “You are responsible for a whole gang of people that you probably didn’t pick, may not like, might have nothing in common with and who perhaps won’t like you much.” The Human resource manager is more often than not a prize specimen or then founder member of an exotic breed, infinite patience, unimpeachable integrity, willingness to put in long arduous and ceaseless hours of toil, super hero like ability to meet the most insurmountable of timelines and last but not the least an immense pride in self and the man management skills of either a Henry Ford or then Lee iaccoca are essential attributes that any human resource manage needs to possess.

You need to be completely self motivated, have a readily willing and ever available shoulder to cry on, conspicuously display the ability to listen to the most inane excuses and implausible reasons for not having met deadlines, willingly put up with bruised egos, ceaseless bitching about the boss, departmental head or fellow worker and all this without batting an eyelid, venting your pent up frustration and anger and pulling out all your remaining hair in sheer frustration and total futility of the entire exercise; “all in a day’s work did someone just quip.”

It can get very wordy and lengthy; “ a Manager or more precisely human resource manager is an employee who forms part of the organisation’s management team and is accountable for exercising delegated authority over human, financial and material management to accomplish the objectives of the organization. Managers are responsible for managing human resources, communicating, practicing and promoting the corporate values, ethics and culture of the organization and for leading and managing change within the organization.” And all this while you just wanted to do your job.”

Human resource managers are also responsible for mentoring, coaching employees, inducting them within the organization, preparation of all organization related handbooks and employee manuals, issual of appointment and offer letters, compilation of employee’s personal dossiers, security and travel related arrangements of employees, employee welfare, salary administration, 360 degree feedback, performance appraisals, cafeteria and comfort zones meant for employee or staff use, travel and stay related arrangements of all company executives whose nature of work entails travelling, making all the requisite arrangements for all staff picnics, birthday parties, anniversaries, picnics and get-togethers, seminars and public relation events.

The Human resource department may also be responsible for arranging visas, travel documents, security and immigration clearances and work permits and strict compliance with all the medical and labour laws applicable in the case of multi-national companies or organizations. The take home pay though good is certainly not enough to keep you rolling in the hay, though an MBA degree from a premier HR institute might just add a couple of zeroes on your salary cheque and websites of universities or colleges offering human resource qualifications is as good a place as any to make a beginning.

Help me God I want to be slim !!Obsessions related to weight loss

Every Tom, Dick and Harry wants to own or possess a sculpted body like Sylvester Stallone’s or then every Martha, Jane and Jenny hankers for that elusive hourglass figure in a ceaseless quest to become the next Miss Universe or World as the case may be.

This ceaseless quest though downright ridiculous and often bordering on the downright ridiculous has succeeded in spawning a multi-million dollar aspirational industry wholly and solely devoted towards this ludicrous thirsting for the elusive el doradoish ‘hour glass or then size zero figure’.

Hours of blood, sweat, tears, failures and recriminations, and innumerable comebacks from the verge of sheer hopelessness and near insanity have made a Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarznegger, Sharon Stone or then Nicole Kidman the individuals they are.

So kindly do yourself a favour and immediately put a stop to this borderline manic obsessional behavior; seek an appointment with your friendly neighbourhood dietician or nutritionist, determine your ideal weight in close consultation with him/her and then embark on a mutually beneficial and rewarding journey without ever forgetting the dictum that “the journey of a million miles always begins with a single step”.

Cut our the fat in favour of the lean, divest your freezer of red meats and take to white meats like chicken, fish, shrimps, prawns and crabs as if there was no tomorrow and last but not the least make fat is out and lean is in your guiding light.      

ON VARIOUS FACETS OF LIFE

 KAHLIL GIBRAN (1883-1931)

"His power came from some great reservoir of spiritual life else it could not have been so universal and so potent, but the majesty and beauty of the language with which he clothed it were all his own." -- Claude Bragdon

On Children
 Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

On Giving
 Kahlil Gibran

You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little of the much which they have--and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.
And is there aught you would withhold?
All you have shall some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights, is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
And what desert greater shall there be, than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

And you receivers... and you are all receivers... assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the freehearted earth for mother, and God for father.

On Freedom
 Kahlil Gibran

At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,
Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them.
Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.
And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfilment.


You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,
But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.


And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?
In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle your eyes.


And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free?
If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead.
You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them.
And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.
For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their own pride?
And if it is a care you would cast off, that care has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you.
And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared.


Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape.
These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling.
And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light.
And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.

On Friendship
 Kahlil Gibran

Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.


When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.


And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

On Death
 Kahlil Gibran

You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.


In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?


For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?


Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

JAN LOKPAL BILL

This article is the contribution of Wikipedia and answers all queries pertaining to “THE JAN LOKPAL BILL” and is meant for  educating the masses and creating widespread awareness about the same .- Sunndeep Chopra

The Jan Lokpal Bill (Hindi: जन लोकपाल विधेयक), also referred to as the citizens' ombudsman bill, is a proposed anti-corruption law in India. It was proposed by anti-corruption social activists as a more effective improvement to the original Lokpal bill, which is currently being proposed by the the Government of India. The prefix Jan (translation: citizens) was added to signify the fact that these improvements include input provided by "ordinary citizens" through an activist-driven, non-governmental public consultation.

The Jan Lokpal Bill aims to effectively deter corruption, redress grievances of citizens, and protect whistle-blowers. If made into into law, the bill would create an independent ombudsman body similar to the Election Commission of India called the Lokpal (Sanskrit: protector of the people). It would be empowered to register and investigate complaints of corruption against politicians and bureaucrats without prior government approval^[4]. First introduced in 1968^[5], the bill has failed to become law for over four decades.^[6]

In 2011, Gandhian rights activist Anna Hazare started a Satyagraha movement by commencing a fast unto death in New Delhi to demand the passing of the bill. The movement attracted attention in the media, and thousands of supporters. Following Hazare's four day hunger strike, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that the bill would be re-introduced in the 2011 monsoon session of the Parliament^[7].

Accordingly, a committee of five Cabinet Ministers and five social activists attempted to draft a compromise bill merging the two versions but failed. The Indian government went on to propose its own version in the parliament, which the activists reject on the grounds of not being sufficiently effective^[8].

Contents [hide] ·         1 Background ·         2 Key features of proposed bill ·         3 Difference between Government and activist drafts o    3.1 Highlights o    3.2 Detailed ·         4 Campaign for the Jan Lokpal Bill o    4.1 Notable supporters and opposition ·         5 Drafting Committee ·         6 Criticisms of the bill ·         7 Controversies ·         8 See also ·         9 References ·         10 Associated picture gallery ·         11 External links

Background

The Lokpal bill was first introduced by Shanti Bhushan in 1968^[5] and passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969. But it did not get through in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. Subsequent versions were re-introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008,^[9] but none of them passed.

Renewed calls for the bill arose over resentment of the major differences between the draft 2010 Lokpal Bill prepared by the government and that prepared by the members of the associated activists movement — N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India; Lokayukta of Karnataka; Shanti Bhushan; Arvind Kejriwal; Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court; and members of the India Against Corruption movement^[2].

The bill's supporters consider existing laws too weak, full of contradictions and insufficiently empowered to combat corruption.^[10][11] On the other hand, critics of the Jan Lokpal Bill argue that the bill attempts to supercede existing constitutional bodies and attempts to create a super-institution with sweeping powers, which can be dangerous for the future of democracy.^[12]

Key features of proposed bill

Some important features of the proposed bill are:^[2]

1. To establish a central government anti-corruption institution called Lokpal, supported by Lokayukta at the state level.
2. As in the case of the Supreme Court and Cabinet Secretariat, the Lokpal will be supervised by the Cabinet Secretary and the Election Commission. As a result, it will be completely independent of the government and free from ministerial influence in its investigations.
3. Members will be appointed by judges, Indian Administrative Service officers with a clean record, private citizens and constitutional authorities through a transparent and participatory process.
4. A selection committee will invite shortlisted candidates for interviews, videorecordings of which will thereafter be made public.
5. Every month on its website, the Lokayukta will publish a list of cases dealt with, brief details of each, their outcome and any action taken or proposed. It will also publish lists of all cases received by the Lokayukta during the previous month, cases dealt with and those which are pending.
6. Investigations of each case must be completed in one year. Any resulting trials should be concluded in the following year, giving a total maximum process time of two years.
7. Losses caused to the government by a corrupt individual will be recovered at the time of conviction.
8. Government officework required by a citizen that is not completed within a prescribed time period will result in Lokpal imposing financial penalties on those responsible, which will then be given as compensation to the complainant.
9. Complaints against any officer of Lokpal will be investigated and completed within a month and, if found to be substantive, will result in the officer being dismissed within two months.
10. The existing anti-corruption agencies (CVC, departmental vigilance and the anti-corruption branch of the CBI) will be merged into Lokpal which will have complete power and authority to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
11. Whistleblowers who alert the agency to potential corruption cases will also be provided with protection by it.

Difference between Government and activist drafts

Highlights

Difference between Draft Lokpal Bill 2010 and Jan Lokpal Bill[13]
Draft Lokpal Bill (2010)	Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill)
Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo motu action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.	Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body with a role limited to forwarding reports to a "Competent Authority".	Lokpal will have the power to initiate prosecution of anyone found guilty.
Lokpal will have no police powers and no ability to register an FIR or proceed with criminal investigations.	Lokpal will have police powers as well as the ability to register FIRs.
The CBI and Lokpal will be unconnected.	Lokpal and the anti corruption wing of the CBI will be one independent body.
Punishment for corruption will be a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of up to 7 years.	Punishments will be a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of up to life imprisonment.

Detailed

The following table details differences between the Government and activist backed versions^[14][15].

Issue	The Jan Lokpal Bill [3]	Government's Lokpal Bill [1]
Prime Minister	Can be investigated with permission of seven member Lokpal bench.[14]	PM cannot be investigate by Lokpal.[16]
Judiciary	Can be investigated, though high level members may be investigated only with permission of a seven member Lokpal bench.[14]	Judiciary is exempt and will be covered by a separate "judicial accountability bill".[15]
MPs	Can be investigated with permission of seven member Lokpal bench.[14]	Can be investigated, but their conduct within Parliament, such as voting, cannot be investigated.[15]
Lower bureaucracy	All public servants would be included.[15]	Only Group A officers will be covered.[15]
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)	The CBI will be merged into the Lokpal.[15]	The CBI will remain a separate agency.[14]
Removal of Lokpal members and Chair	Any person can bring a complaint to the Supreme Court, who can then recommend removal of any member to the President.[14]	Any "aggrieved party" can raise a complaint to the President, who will refer the matter to the CJI.[14]
Removal of Lokpal staff and officers	Complaints against Lokpal staff will be handled by independent boards set-up in each state, composed of retired bureaucrats, judges, and civil society members.[14]	Lokpal will conduct inquiries into its own behavior.[14]
Lokayukta	Lokakyukta and other local/state anti-corruption agency would remain in place.[15]	All state anti-corruption agencies would be closed and responsibilities taken over by centralized Lokpal.[15]
Whistleblower protection	Whistleblowers are protected law.[14]	No protection granted to whistleblowers.[14]
Punishment for corruption	Lokpal can either directly impose penalties, or refer the matter to the courts. Penalties can include removal from office, imprisonment, and recovery of assets from those who benefited from the corruption.[14]	Lokpal can only refer matters to the courts, not take any direct punitive actions. Penalties remain equivalent to those in current law.[14]
Investigatory powers	Lokpal can obtain wiretaps, issue rogatory letters, and recruit investigating officers. Cannot issue contempt orders.[14]	Lokpal can issue contempt orders, and has the ability to punish those in contempt. No authority to obtain wiretaps, issue rogatory letters, or recruit investigating officers.[14]
False, frivolous and vexatious complaints	Lokpal can issue fines for frivolous complaints (including frivolous complaints against Lokpal itself), with a maximum penalty of 1 lakh.[14].	Court system will handle matters of frivolous complaints. Courts can issue fines of Rs25,000 to 2 lakh.[14]
Scope	All corruption can be investigated.[15]	Only high-level corruption can be investigated.[15]

Campaign for the Jan Lokpal Bill

Gandhian activist - Anna Hazare

Main article: 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement

The first version of the Lokpal Bill drafted by the Government of India in 2010 was considered ineffective by anti-corruption activists from the civil society ^[17]. These activists, under the banner of India Against Corruption, came together to draft a citizen's version of the Lokpal Bill later called the Jan Lokpal^[17]. Public awareness drives^[18] and protest marches^[17] were carried out to campaign for the bill. However, public support for the Jan Lokpal Bill draft started gathering steam after Anna Hazare, a noted Gandhian announced that he would hold an indefinite fast from April 5, 2011 for the passing of the Lokpal/Jan Lokpal bill^[7][19][20].

To dissuade Hazare from going on an indefinite hunger strike, the Prime Minister's Office directed the ministries of personnel and law to examine how the views of society activists can be included in the Lokpal Bill.^[21]. On April 5, the National Advisory Council rejected the Lokpal bill drafted by the government. Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal then met social activists Swami Agnivesh and Arvind Kejriwal on 7 April to find ways to bridge differences over the bill^[22]. However, no consensus could be reached on April 7 owing to several differences of opinion between the social activists and the Government.

On April 7, Anna Hazare called for a Jail Bharo Andolan (translation: Fill jail movement) from April 13 to protest against Government's rejection of their demands^[23]. Anna Hazare also claimed that his group has received six crore (60 million) text messages of support^[24] and that he had further backing from a large number of Internet activists. The outpouring of support was largely free of political overtones; political parties were specifically discouraged from participating in the movement^[25]. The fast ended on April 9, after 98 hours, when the Government accepted most demands due to public pressure. Anna Hazare set an August 15 deadline for the passing of the bill in the Parliament^[26], failing which he would start a hunger strike from August 16. The fast also led to the Government of India agreeing to setting up a Joint Drafting Committee, which would complete its work by June 30^[26].

Notable supporters and opposition

Union HRD Minister - Kapil Sibal, a notable critic of the citizens' version of the Bill

In addition to the activists responsible for creating and organizing support for the bill, a wide variety of other notable individuals have also stated that they support this bill. Spiritual leaders Sri Sri Ravi Shankar^[27] and Yog Guru Ramdev^[28] expressed support. Notable politicians who indicated support for the bill include Ajit Singh^[29] and Manpreet Singh Badal^[30] as well as the principal opposition party, Bharatiya Janta Party.^[31][32] In addition, numerous Bollywood actors, directors, and musicians publicly approved of the bill.^{[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]}

Notable opposition to the citizens' version of the Bill was expressed by HRD minister Kapil Sibal and other Congress leaders; Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamta Banerjee; Punjab Chief Minister and Akali Dal leader Prakash Singh Badal; Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray, and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Jagdish Sharan Verma. ^[41] Although BJP showed their support earlier, there were reports that BJP shared Congress's concern "over letting the civil society gain the upper hand over Parliament in lawmaking".^[42]

Drafting Committee

The drafting committee was officially formed on 8 April 2011. It consisted of the following ten members, including five from the government and five drawn from the civil society^[43][44].

Member	Qualifications and status
Pranab Mukherjee	Finance Minister, Co-Chairman
Shanti Bhushan	Former Minister of Law and Justice, Co-Chairman
P. Chidambaram	Minister of Home Affairs
Veerappa Moily	Minister of Corporate Affairs
Kapil Sibal	Minister for Communications and Information Technology
Salman Khursid	Minister of Law
Anna Hazare	Social Activist
Prashant Bhushan	Lawyer
N. Santosh Hegde	Former Lokayukta (Karnataka) and
Arvind Kejriwal	RTI Activist.

The Government's handling of the formation of the draft committee, involving the civil society in preparation of the draft Lokpal bill, was criticized by various political parties including BJP, BJD, TDP,AIADMK, CPI-M, RJD, JD(U) and Samajwadi Party. ^[45][46]

The committee failed to agree on the terms of a compromise bill and the government introduced its own version of the bill in the parliament in August 2011. ^[47]

Criticisms of the bill

Pro-bill activitist Arvind Kejriwal

The bill has been criticized as being naïve in its approach to combating corruption. According to Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President of the Center for Policy Research Delhi writes^[48] that the bill "is premised on an institutional imagination that is at best naïve; at worst subversive of representative democracy". The very concept of a Lokpal concept has received criticism from HRD minister Kapil Sibal in that it will lack accountability, be oppresive and undemocratic^[12].

The pro-bill activist Arvind Kejriwal rejects the claim of Lokpal being extra-constitutional with the explanation that the body will only investigate corruption offences and submit a charge sheet which would then tried and prosecuted through trial courts and higher courts. And that other bodies with equivalent powers in other matters exist. And also that the proposed bill also lists clear provisions for the Supreme Court to abolish the Lokpal^[49].

Despite these clarifications, critics feel that the exact judicial powers of LokPal are rather unclear in comparison with its investigative powers. The bill ^[50] requires "...members of Lokpal and the officers in investigation wing of Lokpal shall be deemed to be police officers". Although some supporters have denied any judicial powers of Lokpal,^[51] the government and some critics have recognized Lokpal to have quasi-judicial powers. ^[52].

The bill also states that "Lokpal shall have, and exercise the same jurisdiction powers and authority in respect of contempt of itself as a High court has and may exercise, and, for this purpose, the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (Central Act 70 of 1971)shall have the effect subject to the modification that the references therein to the High Court shall be construed as including a reference to the Lokpal." ^{[53] [54] [55]}. Review of proceedings and decisions by Lokpal is prevented in the bill by the statement "...no proceedings or decision of the Lokpal shall be liable to be challenged, reviewed, quashed or called in question in any court of ordinary Civil Jurisdiction.". As a result, how the trials will be conducted is unclear in the bill, although the bill outlines requiring judges for special courts, presumably to conduct trial that should be completed within one year. The critics hence express concern that, without judicial review, Lokpal could potentially become an extra-constitutional body with investigative and judicial powers whose decisions cannot be reviewed in regular courts.^[56].

The matter of whether the Indian Prime Minister and higher judiciary should or should not be prosecutable by the Lokpal remains as one of the major issues of dispute. Anna's own nominee for co-chairing the joint panel Justice Verma, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, has expressed his constitutional objections for including the Prime Minister and higher judiciary under Lokpal^[57]. According to him, "this would foul with the basic structure of the constitution"^[58].

Critic - Aruna Roy

Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy has said "Vesting jurisdiction over the length and breadth of the government machinery in one institution will concentrate too much power in the institution, while the volume of work will make it difficult to carry out its tasks". She and her colleagues at the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) have proposed an alternative mechanism consisting of five institutions^[59].

Controversies

In April 2011, the involvement of the bill co-chairman Shanti Bhushan was questioned after a CDROM emerged with audio clippings of a telephone conversation allegedly between him, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh about influencing a judge.^[60] All involved reacted to the allegation saying that the CD was fabricated and demanded a formal investigation to verify its authenticity.

On August 16, 2011 Hazare was placed under arrested at his residence by Delhi Police just as he was leaving for the JP Park to commence his unlimited hunger strike. He was arrested on the grounds that his protest would cause law and order problems in the city. The police also simultaneously arrested Arwind Kejriwal and other supporters. Large crowds gathered in protest of this action forcing the police to detain thousands^[61]. Many in the city also participated in a candle light protest at India Gate in response.