Who is Anna Hazare? What is Lokpal Bill?

Very few social activists have captured the attention of Indians across the globe as Anna Hazare did during his "fast unto death" over the issue of the Lokpal Bill in New Delhi in April 2011. 

Hazare, a Gandhian by belief, outlook and practice, has become the face of India's fight against corruption. During his fast over the Lokpal Bill, Hazare, a quintessential traditional Indian by looks and mannerism, managed to inspire and mobilize the support of even the ultra-modern Indians - Indians for whom the word "social" only means having a profile on social networking sites. 

The "Anna Hazare fast" can be described as the first real "social networking movement" in India. Hazare, a former Army man, began his social activism from Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra, where he successfully led a movement against alcoholism and made Ralegan Siddhi a "model village". From a soldier to a social reformer, and a right to information crusader, Anna Hazare's journey of four decades has been unprecedented in terms of a non-violent yet effective campaign of resurrecting a barren village into an 'ideal village' model and empowering the faceless citizen through pioneering work on Right to Information.

Lokpal Bill:

The Lokpal is a body with a chairperson who is or was a Chief Justice of India and eight other members. The Lokpal Bill, an effort to rein in the pervasive corruption in public life, was first floated in the late 60s, but failed to become law despite successive attempts. 

Implementation of the Lokpal bill will hopefully reduce corruption in India. The basic idea of the Lokpal is borrowed from the office of the ombudsman in other countries. It provides for filing complaints of corruption against ministers and members of parliament with the ombudsman. 

The government's Lokpal Bill has kept the Prime Minister and the judiciary as well as conduct of MPs in Parliament out of the ambit of the anti-corruption watchdog. The PM, however, will come under the purview of Lokpal after he demits office. The bill gives permission to Lokpal to probe any Union minister or officials of Group 'A' and above rank without any sanction. 

According to the government's draft, the body will have a chairperson and eight members, including four judicial members - who will be former or sitting judges of Supreme Court or chief justices of the high court. The Lok Ayuktas in the states does not come under the purview of this bill as the Centre cannot intervene in the powers of the state. The Lokpal will have its own prosecution and investigation wing with officers and staff necessary to carry out its functions.

Battle of words between Nasser Hussain and Ravi Shastri !!!

The controversial Decision Review System (DRS) was at the crux of a verbal joust between commentators Ravi Shastri and Nasser Hussain while on the air during Day 3 of the ongoing Trent Bridge Test between England and India. 

Earlier, in a column for a leading local newspaper, Hussain had stated that it was a 'disgrace' that the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) had refused to accept the use of lbw reviews, adding that a holistic implementation of the DRS should be made mandatory by the International Cricket Council (ICC) , instead of leaving the choice to individual boards.

The BCCI is reluctant to call the Hawk-Eye into play for adjudging leg-befores as it feels that the technology is not foolproof yet. But the issue came to the fore on Day 2 when Harbhajan Singh was given out lbw off Stuart Broad's bowling when replays showed a clear inside edge onto his pads.

Reacting to Hussain's salvo, Shastri slammed him indirectly on a pre-play show for insinuating that the ICC was pandering to the whims and fancies of the BCCI and that India's tremendous stature in the game had spawned jealously in the rest of the cricketing fraternity. "They (England) are jealous about the way the IPL is going, jealous that India is No.1 in world cricket, jealous about the fact that India are world champions. They are jealous because of the too much money being made by BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). Bottom-line is that they have never been No. 1 in the world in Test cricket."

Then on Day 3 while the two were sharing the microphone in the commentary box, Hussain picked a bone with Shastri. "Ravi, I just want to pick you up on something you said on a show yesterday, questioning my right to call non-use of DRS a disgrace. Well, I have earned that right after 96 Test matches to voice my opinion on the game of cricket. It is my job and my right to voice my opinion," the former England captain said."You also said that there was a jealousy factor about India going to be No.1. No one is more proud than me about India at top," Hussain added.

Shastri however, stuck to his guns. "You said, disgrace India not taking it. India has got every right to decide whether to take it or not. India decided not to take it because they don't think it is foolproof. Technology is improving all the time and after seeing the way Hot-Spot has behaved, Hot-Spot has become cold spot. I think India has got every right to believe and do what they did. England were the last to adopt the DRS and now they vouch by it. India tested it three years back and they had a problem with it in the series against Sri Lanka. Yes, Harbhajan's dismissal was a howler and it should not have happened."

How will India do against the Brits?...India Vs England - The History !!!

When England and India start their four-match series next week, the clash between two of the leading sides in Test cricket is eagerly anticipated. A genuinely appealing contest is ahead of us, and not one artificially pumped up by media hype, which surrounds even the most mundane of tours there days. It appears that fate has come down ever so slightly in England's favour. The first two venues in this series, Lord's and Trent Bridge, are known to favour swing bowling. England's ability to swing both the new and old ball is a big reason behind their recent rise up the rankings. In addition, India are missing their greatest counterattacking weapon.

There's no batsman in the world who can disrupt bowling plans quicker than Virender Sehwag, and he'll be missing for at least the first two Tests. India could dispute that reasoning by saying that they played without Sehwag the last time as well, in 2007, and won at Trent Bridge to clinch the series. Also Sachin Tendulkar enters the 1st Test at Lord's with a highest score of just 37 at the ground.

As Indian sides always will, those of 1936 and 1952 contained some fine natural cricketers. For no obvious reason their best batsmen in those days seemed more likely to be tall and wristy and elegant, like Mushtaq Ali and Rusi Modi, than small and wristy and insatiable, like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. John Woodcock on India's 1936 and 1952 tours of England - "The team was featuring an incompetent prince-captain and a colossal allrounder in Lala Amarnath".

A cricket relationship that was one-way traffic, in England's favour, for most of the 20th century has now turned towards India. Though lacking the edge of their rivalries with Australia and Pakistan, these two countries share emotional and historic ties that predate the 79 years they've been playing Tests and the recent rise of both teams has seen them more evenly matched than ever before. Since 2007 they've played for the Pataudi Trophy - named for Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan, who played for both teams - which India have won twice on the trot and now travel to England to defend.

----- Courtesy CRICINFO

World Cup Glory !!! ... One for team INDIA ... One for the Master SACHIN...

Twenty-eight years on from the match that transformed the history of world cricket, India recaptured the crown that Kapil Dev and his men first lifted at Lord's in 1983, and this time they did so in their very own back yard. An iron-willed 97 from Gautam Gambhir was matched for intensity by the finest captain's innings since Ricky Ponting in Johannesburg eight years ago, as MS Dhoni trumped a poetic century from Mahela Jayawardena to pull off the highest run-chase ever achieved in a World Cup final.

Against a triumphant backdrop at the Wankhede Stadium, victory was sealed by six wickets with 10 balls to spare, as Dhoni - who had promoted himself to No. 5 to heap extra lashings of responsibility onto his own shoulders - rushed through the gears as the victory target drew nearer. With 15 required from 17 balls, he flicked Sri Lanka's only true threat, Lasith Malinga, through midwicket for consecutive boundaries, before smoking Nuwan Kulasekara over long-on to finish on 91 not out from 79 balls, and spark the most delirious scenes of celebration ever seen on the subcontinent.

But run by run, over by over, minute by minute, India picked themselves up, dusted themselves down, and turned the screw on Sri Lanka with a determination that a lesser group of men could not have begun to muster, amid the sure knowledge that several billion countrymen were investing all their hopes in their actions. And though he himself played just a walk-on part in the wider drama, it was Tendulkar who was chaired from the field as the celebrations began in earnest. "He's carried the burden of our nation for 21 years," said the youngster Kohli. "It was time to carry him on our shoulders today."

Can INDIA emerge as a Heart Fav for World Cup 2011..Perhaps YES !!!

Despite of having a dismal start in the one-day series against South Africa, there are no doubts that team India will emerge as a favourite for the world cup cricket which is to start from 19^th of next month. While playing in the conditions which are most suitable to it in the world, the 15-man squad of India which is to be announced on Monday, January 17, will surely be good enough to be put across any other team.

Though, the team India has always relied upon its batting strength while facing the rivalling teams, the pitches at sub-continent would also provide it with a bowling edge this time. On the pitches where the ball hardly ever bounces above the waist line, having a combination of Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan and Virat Kohli will definitely benefit the Indian side which is also one of the hosting nations besides Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

While cricket analysts are saying that India did not have any proper fast bowlers which could give tough time to the opponents into the event, they tend to forget the fact that fast bowlers like Steyn from South Africa have always proved to be too costly on the Indian pitches. Having leg side rule rather stringent accompanied with a limited number of short balls available to them, these bowlers would most probably have a cut out role on the sub-continent wickets.

Expectedly, pitches during the world cup would be low and slow. This is a fact which points out that teams from sub-continent, particularly India and Sri Lanka will have better chances of bagging the event. 

The only issue Indian team may have to face is that they all have not played together for long. There have been injuries, rotations and other issues with the players which kept them from displaying consistency. However, considering the leadership abilities of the skipper MS Dhoni, this may no longer remain a big issue for the favorite host squad.