Saturday 28 April 2012

Democracy has its ills and evils too:

Definition of democracy as it stands accepted by all is a system of the people, by the people and for the people. It sounds good appearing to be most idealistic in terms of politics as this mode of governance is supposed to involve the people in general without confining it to a limited few like feudal lords, rajas and maharajas who, as is the history, always exploited the people for their own benefit and interest with hardly a few exceptions here and there. To procure this ideal system the people had to revolt at the cost of their life in many a countries throughout the world. Does the system really hold good for the interest of the people in general practically serving their cause is the question. True, dynasties of the earlier rulers are no more there in many a countries including India as they are since replaced by the elected set of persons, elected by the people in general themselves. The experience as per the very scenario obtaining as on date is just much different than what it might have been expected during the days of revolutions. A society quite in a disarray is the scene with lawlessness and corruption flagrantly rampant every where with common people suffering like more or less they did in the days of the then rulers. The difference is only that earlier the people used to suffer in the hands of the then rulers who brutally applied their own rules and laws to suit their whims, fancies and personal interest and the same thing is now done in the garb of democracy by a coterie of persons operating in different locations. The so called democratic system, the rules and the laws so evolved are more taken advantage of by the persons of shady character, criminals, rapists, gangsters, land grabbers and those who are neck deep involved in different modes of corruption.

Sunday 22 April 2012

The unbalanced discovery boosts the unseen blast

Discoveries are there many but all of them may not be meaningfully oriented. In fact only those discoveries count that carry with them a manifestly clear message on the subject failing which they are bound to collapse, they  may rather elicit negative results. Those harnessing themselves to the task of making some discovery or the other have to keep in mind that ‘The unbalanced discovery boosts the unseen blast’.

Thursday 19 April 2012

My book ‘Beyond the barriers’–a note on queries

My book named earlier as ‘Phoenix’ has since been changed to ‘Beyond the barriers’. The book is in publication stage by  my publishers at Varanasi duly monitored by Gyanendra. Certain anxieties have been expressed from many quarters in respect of the material the book contains which of course can’t be elaborated at this stage. May be I am able to partly share the contents by way of a synopsis shortly in days to come. Features wise, however, the salient areas so covered in the book, which is some what of an autobiographical nature, are more or less like this –At the outset, At a glance, Evolution of Banking system in India, Emergence of Trade Union(s) in Banking Industry, Trade Unions: Concepts and convictions, Trade Unions and Politics, Relevance of Trade Unions in the context of modern age, Price of leadership, On a personal note, Last page. I respect the queries and the requisitions so made by different people not only in the banking sector but also others from various quarters and I make a note to ensure that they are not deluded in their expectations. I also make a note that the book ‘Beyond the barriers’ comes out of the press as soon as possible to reach those who have already subscribed to it in advance and also the ones who have otherwise been expressing their keen interest in it.

Links:Brief chronology of events

           Evolution of banking system in India

Wednesday 11 April 2012

On face book:

I am not that much conversant with the operation on face book, I am rather a novice in the area but whatever I could lay my hands on till now it is enough to convince me that it is most powerful a medium from inter communicational angle. Only the other day while strolling in the park I heard a person talking to another telling some thing like ‘…..as simple as face book’ and this inspired me to resort to operating such a tool without much of a strain on nerves. I quite realise that this tool is most useful a mechanism from the point of view of expressions. I know that there are people taking liberties vomiting their ill conceived fancies in a manner free styled and unbridled as if hankering for jumping to some thing pornographic in the guise of an aesthetic display. This is far from any decency and deserves to be discouraged. Setting aside exceptions of this sort rest of what emanates from the face book is just fascinating as it is full of utility orientation. It is in fact for the users of the face book to direct its usage in a positive manner avenues for which are there in plenty. I like it, I love it.

Sunday 8 April 2012

A brief chronology of events in Banking Industry/State Bank of India

Year
Month Date Event
1720 Government Bank of Bombay established at Bombay (now Mumbai).
1770 Bank of Hindostan comes into existence at Calcutta (now Kolkata) as first to introduce its own paper money which of course was not recognized as legal tender
1786 General Bank of India formed.
1788 Carnatic Bank established at Madras (now Chennai).
1806 June 2 Bank of Calcutta established -It was later renamed as Bank of Bengal
1809 Jan 2 Bank of Calcutta becomes Bank of Bengal circulating their own currency notes as paper money to be accepted later on as valid legal tender for public transactions extending the status equally to other presidency banks viz. Bank of Bombay and Bank of Madras.
1819 Aug 16 Massacre of Peterloo at St. Peters Field, Manchester, occurred killing large number of men and women who had joined a rally of workers.
1829 Aug 17 Union Bank established
1840 Apr 15 Bank of Bombay is established
1843 July 1 Bank of Madras is formed
1861 Paper Currency Act is passed
1865 Allahabad Bank is established.This was the first fully Indian owned Bank
1866 Presidency Banks at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras are granted the status of bankers to the Government of India.
1874 Alliance Bank of Simla is established
1876 Presidency Banks Act is passed.
1884 Oct A resolution demanding fixation of 8 hours of work in a day at the maximum was passed by Workers Organisation of America (WOA)
1886 May 1 Strike by workers of Chicago where merciless killings at a large scale took place.
1887 Nov 11 August Spice, who alongwith 3 other trade union leaders was hanged for trade union activities, said seconds before his death “…A day will come where our silence will be more louder than our words”.
1890 May Day (1st May) was internationalized.
1895 Punjab National Bank is established.
1906 Bank of India and Canara Bank come into existence.
1907 Indian Bank is established.
1911 Central Bank of India is established.
1919 ILO (International Labour Organisation) is formed.
1920 July 09 Imperial Bank of India Indian Staff Association is formed under the Benevolent Societies Act at Calcutta (now Kolkata). It was duly registered under Indian Trade Unions Act only on 24th May’1932.
1920 Oct 31 AITUC formed under Lala Lajpat Rai's presidentship at New Delhi
1921 Jan 27 Imperial Bank of India established by merging 3 Presidency Banks –Bank of Bengal, Bank of Bombay and Bank of Madras with their 70 offices/ branches throughout the country..
1923 India falls in line in observing 1st May as May Day
1926 Indian Trade Unions Act comes into existence
1935 Reserve Bank of India established as Government of India’s Central Bank. Sir Osborne A. Smith, who was earlier one of the two Managing Directors of the Imperial Bank of India, was appointed as its first Governor.
1937 Indian Overseas Bank established –founder being M. Chidambaram Chettyar.
1946 Apr 20 All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) founded. This is as claimed by AIBEA itself but there is another version that it was established in September’1950 at Jullundur with Soumendranath Tagore, President, All India Imperial Bank of India Indian Staff Federation, elected as the first President and Dayal Das elected as the first General Secretary. In the next conference of AIBEA that followed on 4th March’1951 at New Delhi, G.G. Mehta of Bombay and Roshan Lal Malhotra of Imperial Bank of India Indian Staff Association, Jullundur, were elected as President and General Secretary respectively.
1946 Aug 01 First ever Strike in Imperial Bank of India by Imperial Bank of India Indian Staff Association continuing for 46 days. It was withdrawn on the 15th September’1946.
1946 Sep 26 Indian Banks Association (IBA) is formed at Bombay (now Mumbai) with 22 members which figure has since risen to 159 members.
1947 May 3 INTUC (Indian National Trade Union Congress) formed at New Delhi
1947 Oct All India Imperial Bank of India Indian Staff Federation (later named as All India State Bank of India Staff Federation) comes into existence.
1948 July 1 Industrial Finance Corporation of Indiia (IFCI) is set up.
1955 Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) forms its own trade union known as Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS)
1955 July 1 State Bank of India is formed by replacing Imperial Bank of India. It becomes the first Bank in India to be nationalized.
1955 Dec 28 Pen down strike observed by State Bank of India employees in response to the call given by All India State Bank of India Staff Federation seeking modifications in Sastry Award. This was followed by strike on 6th and 7th January’1956. Mohanlal Majumdar, the then Secretary of the All India State Bank of India Staff Federation was arrested in Calcutta.
1956 Staff Welfare Scheme introduced by State Bank of India by allocating an amount of Rs.10 Lakhs as necessary measure to start with.
1958 New Delhi Local Head Office, a new Circle, opened by State Bank of India.
1959 State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act is passed enabling State Bank of India to take over 8 former State associated banks as its subsidiaries.
1960 Mar 21 National Industrial Tribunal, popularly known as Desai Award, constituted by Government of India. It was headed by Justice K.T. Desai. Published on 30th June’ 1962, the Award was implemented in two parts (1) with effect from 1/1/1962 and (2) with effect from 30/7/1962.
1960 Mar 7 All India indefinite strike in State bank Begins. Major demands included interim relief and payment of additional bonus for 2 ½ months with effect from 1956. It was called off on Federation Secretary Charles Coutto’s telegram ‘Acceptable solutions arrived’. Employees resumed duties on 25/3/1960
1964 Aug 1 Kanpur Local Head Office, a new Circle with 88 branches and 42 sub offices, opened by State Bank of India.
1964 Dec 1 Ahmedabad Local Head Office, a new Circle, opened by State Bank of India.
1965 Feb 1 Hyderabad Local Head Office, a new Circle with 61 branches and 41 sub offices, opened by State Bank of India.
1967 Dec 23 Social Control Bill introduced by the Finance Minister of India, Morarji Desai. The bill, by adding a clause as 36AD in Section 15 of the Banking Regulation Act, aimed at drastically curbing trade union activities of bank employees.
1968 Feb 28 Strike by employees in all the banks including State Bank of India in protest of Clause 36AD incorporated through Social Control Bill introduced by the Finance Minister of India, Morarji Desai. The strike was a tremendous success.
1969 July 19 Nationalisation of Banks -14 major Banks in India nationalized by the Government of India.
1970 Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) is formed.
1971 Oct 01 State Bank of India’s Banyan Tree emblem changed to ‘Shoonya’ (Zero) as a result of personal initiative taken in the matter by the Bank’s Chairman R.K. Talwar.
1972 Jul 1 Patna Local Head Office, a new Circle, opened by State Bank of India.
1972 Jul 1 Bhopal Local Head Office, a new Circle, opened by State Bank of India.
1975 Jun 26 National Emergency promulgated in India by the Prime Minister of the country Indira Gandhi.
1975 Aug 15 Top leadership of All India State Bank of India Staff Federation met Indira Gandhi, the Indian Prime Minister, in the form of a delegation apprising her of the problems faced by the bank employees during National Emergency in the country.
1976 Jan State Bank of India joins IBA (Indian Banks Association) as its full fledged member.
1978 Apr 1 First Director of the Central Board of State Bank of India representing workmen appointed with Nirmal Chaudhary as the first incumbent. After his death in December’1982, he was replaced by M. R. Awasthi, the then President of AISBISF, who served as such for two terms.
1980 July 15 Nationalisation of Banks -6 other Banks in India nationalized by the Government of India. With this Government of India owned banking in the country rose to 91%.
1982 Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) formed.
1982 Nirmal Chaudhary, Secretary, AISBISF, falling sick, he hands over his charge to M.R. Awasthi as acting Secretary of the Federation at its headquarters at Kolkata.
1982 Dec Nirmal Chaudhary is no more. As decided by the affiliates of the AISBISF, M. R. Awasthi from Lucknow and P. Lakshmi Narasaiah from Hyderabad were authorized to jointly act as Spokesmen of the Federation as an interim measure.
1983 Oct 25 General Council Conference of the AISBISF is held at Patna unanimously electing M. R. Awasthi and P. Lakshmi Narasaiah respectively as President and Secretary of the Federation.
1985 Employees of Lal Imli (BIC) at Kanpur went on indefinite strike for 18 days demanding fixed working hours. They won the battle after local Court intervened. It was fixed hours of work with one day weekly off and half an hour as lunch recess.
1986 Nov 20 National Convention on Financial Institutions held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The convention was organized by Mohan Kumar Mangalam, a minister in the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet.
1993 Oct 29 Pension Scheme introduced in other banks (other than banks like State Bank of India) in terms of the settlement signed at the level of the industry.
1995 July 29 State Bank of India Staff Association (Bengal Association consisting of several states of North India) celebrates its Platinum Jubilee at Kolkata.
2005 June 2 8th Bipartite settlement concluded between IBA (Indian Banks Association) and NCBE/ AIBEA/ other unions.
2007 June 29 Government of India acquires the entire Reserve Bank of India shareholding in State Bank of India consisting of over 314 million equity shares at a total amount of over 355 billion rupees.
2010 Apr 27 9th Bipartite settlement concluded between IBA (Indian Banks Association) and NCBE/ AIBEA/ other unions providing an over all increase of 17.5% in employees wage structure.
2010 May 24 Payment of Gratuity Act (amended) made operative raising gratuity limit from 3.5 lakhs to 10 lakhs with effect from date.
There has been a demand by my readers of Evolution of Banking system in India to let them know more on the subject preferably in a chronological order and keeping such a requisition in mind I am adding some more details in the matter. In fact this extract has been taken by me from my book ‘Beyond the barriers’ (under publication). The table so reproduced is not that exhaustive but briefly covers the salient events occurring in the Banking industry/ State Bank of India, more so in the context of the relative trade union movement. There are certainly more of details worth quoting on the subject but they are avoided at the moment for want of space. I  may take them up in the next opportunity that comes my way for the purpose availing necessary chance in the matter.
Link:Evolution of Banking system in India
         A cursory look on pension in State Bank
         http://gallery-neelkanth.blogspot.in/2012/04/my-book-beyond-barriersa-note-on.html

Friday 6 April 2012

Anarchy in the name of rituals:

The holy city of Varanasi and the ghats on the bank of the sacred river Ganges (Ganga) are no more that holy a place as they used to be in the past traditionally since ages where people from all over the country, nay all over the world, used to congregate and take a dip in the waters of the river with the belief that this acted as a vital source to absolve themselves of whatever sins they  might have committed in their life. They did so also with the conviction that the type of such a bath coupled with certain rituals in the form of a puja (worship) was a sure way of going to heaven when they die. Such a puja used to be and is still performed on their behalf by the local priests who practically behave more as gangsters than the real holy men. These priests have their own prescribed rates for each ritual and the worshippers are forced to pay them exorbitantly failing which the worshippers have to face their wrath and curse in most crude a form. The most surprising phenomenon is that even in the present day world of ultra modern culture at the level of the society there are people who can’t afford disregarding the dictates of the priests for the fear that this may annoy the so called god men to the detriment of their future births. Such a false belief on the part of the devotees is not only highly ironical it is in fact a grave tragedy which they suffer from for no logical a reason. Only the other day I saw some of the priests on the bank of the Ganga at Varanasi well clad in jeans and multi coloured shirt practicing the puja on behalf of their customers/ devotees as if they were enjoying some picture in a cinema hall and had nothing to do with their traditional dress of dhoti/ kurta with a vermilion mark on their forehead. It is difficult to comprehend as to why the people should pose their faith in the god men so blindly. What the priests practice and the way they do it in the name of rituals is an act criminal in nature and in fact the devotees themselves are a party to such a crime by voluntarily succumbing to pressure tactics of the god men. Wake up India, wake up.

Link:Entity of God(s)

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Dry leaves

IMG0072A dry leaves2These are the dry leaves of an old tree that once blossomed to sumptuous greenery forming a pleasant look in the past. Now that its days are over it has to feel contented with the new generation of plants and cluster of greener leaves blossoming in its bottom. Some day they too will grow old with their dry leaves fluttering in the air as a vain attempt to survive till they vanish completely. This very much applies to mankind also.

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Sunday 1 April 2012

Initiative for sex

Romance and sex have all along been most dominant a factor since ages, nay since day one after life started on the earth planet. Chanakya, the great sage and diplomat who was the chief advisor to king Chandragupt Maurya, held a view that women have eight times more anxiety for sex compared to men and this view fully holds good in the case of birds and animals,LOVE even creatures. One thing that differs in this context is as to who is a fore runner in the matters of initiatives for the purpose. There it is the male that stands first both in the case of humans and animals. If a man feels proud in offering several temptations like valour, money and wealth to the opposite sex, animals do the same thing and it is the meat that acts as a major incentive in their case as they have nothing like money or wealth to offer. A tiger, besides exhibiting his valour and strength in so many ways to a tigress, no sooner he kills his prey he offers it to her and she easily succumbs to temptation offering her sex to him readily. So does a dog. Blue bulls are known to be vegetarians in strict terms but they drag their female partners to green pastures offering them the leaves of grass, crop and the plants. They are known for keeping three partners at a time. It is a mystery only as to why initiative part is more dominantly played only by males and not that much by females.

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