Anonymous, Indian government, and Operation India

On May 17th, the popular hacker group, Anonymous declared the 'Operation India', against the censorship and the blockage of torrent website by the Indian Government. They have hacked the website of the ruling Congress party, and the website of the Rajya Sabha, that is the upper house of the Union Parliament.

This is the message that was given by one of the videos.
"

Hello world. This is Anonymous. It has come to our attention the seriousness of the injustice that the people of India are suffering. Suffering from the denial of their freedom of speech. Something many of use take for granted. From blunt and brutal physical assault to sophisticated technical barriers -- and the more insidious corporate threat from within -- the Indian press and media has been under attack over the last year. Since January, one journalist has been killed, and there have been nine other attacks on journalists. There have been six instances of intimidation of journalists and writers, the blocking of 11 websites, telephone taps on political leaders and civil society activists, hate speeches on Facebook, the social networking site, and censorship of books and films. This is not only immoral. It is sickening. Murder simply to deny people their natural rights. However the FBI is looking for Anonymous. We have not hurt anyone but murderers are allowed to roam free. This is not a threat to the Indian government. It is a formal warning. If there is not a change in the handling of your press as well as your freedom policies. 

We are Anonymous, we are legion, we do not forgive, we do not forget, expect us.



"

I personally support Anonymous. The Indian government of the ruling congress party has been unable to put the corrupt behind bars, and those who already were in Tihar jail, have been released on bail, like Mr A Raja, whose corruption cost the state approximately 5 billion US Dollars. 

Anyonymous, the Indian people are with you. We are aware of the injustice we are facing. It's time to rise.

We are Anonymous, 
we are legion, 
we do not forgive, 
we do not forget, 
expect us.

Agni 5 Missile

Agni in Hindi or Agnis in latin, means fire. 

Yesterday, at 8AM, I was getting ready for school. Little did I know, on the East coast, the Agni was to be tested in seven minutes.

There has been a lot of hype in India about this missile, our first ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile). Last week, an article on China's military buildup was featured in The Economist. And then, I realized that India had become Worlds largest arms buyer in terms of the number. Maybe there is an arms race between India and China?

Anyways, people debated, on how we need to tackle difficulties like poverty and infrastructure on Indian news website, and ranting on the British aid to India on BBC. And I agree with them, there are countries where aid is much more needed than in India. But, the overall opinion was that the missile is needed such that India becomes more than just a regional power and can balance China's military rise. America seems to be backing it's strategic democratic ally, India, and calls for restraint.

However, there is a lot of confusion in the Chinese media. The media has been passing comments like, "India should not over-estimate it's strength", and on the next day, they say that the range for Agni V is not 5,000, but 8,000 Kms. People say this might be a move to prevent countries in Europe from selling arms to India. But here, we cannot say anything, they can be right or wrong.

A missile launch has made me understand many things about how things work here in Asia. China seems to be nervous, atleast the media does. The missile covers all of China. The test was successful, and will be in production in a couple of years. However, this has created many questions in my mind, some which even I dont properly understand.

This wasn't just a missile test, but India's entry into an elite club of nations, which exposed how India and China stand in Asia. These are just my thoughts.

Thanks for reading. 

After Apple, Starbucks coming to India.

India is a place of a billion people, a very huge market. India's middle class is growing and spending per capita is growing every year. Also, the Indian Government has allowed 100% FDI ( Foreign Direct Investment) in single brand retail, which allows foreign companies like Starbucks, Apple, Louis Vuitton and others to operate their own stores.

Starbucks has been trying to get into the Indian market for around 7-8 years now, and there is some good news for them. Starbucks have struck a deal with Tata Beverages ( an Indian company) to setup a new company - Tata Starbucks company. This is a very good news for Indians, like me who are completely bored by the Cafe Coffee Day stores ( also called CCD).

The first stores will come in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, the three most populated metropolitan regions in India. They will come up in strategic locations like Airports.

Starbucks will open its first store in India by October-September and by the end of 2012, there will be 50 operational stores.


I am pretty excited for this!

If you have any suggestions, tips and comments, leave them below!