"Apostles of neo-consumerism.... Extortion" :::: Sabotage !! Derail !!! :::: We are at the end of 'first 25 years' of a new century .... None can ever have a 'satisfying' answer ... :: We can all pose questions .... that's Nagaland of 2026 and beyond ??

We have come to the end of the year 2025. 

This is not just the end of a calendar year. Take a closer look - we have also come to the end of first quarter of the new century. How much we have traversed is something that ought to be looked into. 

This is all the more important in the perspective of Nagaland. Imagine where things stood around 2000 and what has been achieved or not achieved. 

Last 25 years or to be precise 28 years has been 'years of extortion' for Nagas and other citizens of Nagaland.  

In the process - what everyone has been deprived is the 'road to peace and development'. People called it Solution. But last two decades and more also produced a so-called Status quo Club. They have kept the state and the people away from transition. 

And this status quo means - the old menaces of corruption and nepotism would prevail. Now at the fag end of December 2025 -- around Christmas season --- people no longer harbour hope. Why ? --- it's no longer a question. Probably everyone knows the answer. 

Life is like that - I suppose. Things go awry at times ..... twisting and turning as the river Dhansiri. Around these --- there are protagonists - political and otherwise - who would nurse a secret or two of their own. 

Of course the world has changed a lot since 2000 or to be precise since 1997 or for that matter even 2003. 

For a few minutes --- let us think universal - the well perceived global context. Take a pause - malls are half deserted today; but in 2003 or 2005 or even till 2007 -- the malls made a lot of sense. 

Capitalism and Consumerism ... etc etc.

A boy born in 2000 is today 25 and he knows what's good for him and what's bad. He probably can analyse well - why he has remained an underachiever.

Who was the uncle who displeased his parents? Who was the leader who disturbed his father's job and today he is still coughing out handsome amount of his hard-earned money to 28 other 'uncles'.  

In short he/she - a youth of 25 plus - in Nagaland today has to handle being 'apostles of neo-consumerism' and dealing with their patrons and patrons.  Home sickness is still a disease ....

"Country road ... take me home" - is still a favourite song. But there are 'less roads' .... and probably there is brain drain.

A group of Naga young women made news in Pune recently. Is it their fault alone?  

We have questions. But no one can have a satisfying answer. We can only feel uncomfortable and also make our friends and even detractors uncomfortable. 

The book 'The Power that Be' says humankind has remained the same old stuff -- never stopped worshiping. 

It argues - the people have only changed the icons to worship. His reference was to 'skyscarppers'. Later on people discovered semi-Gods in shopping malls.  

The end of capitalism .... is another refrain. And all that is passing by. 

Narendra Modi's government has 'Act East Policy'. But when it comes to northeastern states - it is by default or design wrong protagonists --

N Biren Singh

Himanta Biswa Sarma

Neiphiu Rio and

Thuingaleng Muivah.

The NSCN-IM leader has shown his ultimate strength and weakness - in the form of Oct 22, 2025 - Soomdal speech.

This happened a day after Oct 21st when Rio turned a neo-champion of regionalism. The helpless and 'starving' Cock was chained.

N Biren Singh is by now an established liability and also a part 'spoiled' kid. Himanta defies definition as of now. Can he retain Assam for the Lotus party -- is a crucial thing to unfold in just about a few months. 

We know this world where 'consumerism' need not be always based on seduction.

Blogger and an Angami Naga friend 

What would a world like this look like? 

Novelist J G Ballard’s thesis in one piece of fiction has been that if consumerism gets politicized, the world is going to revert exactly to what it was before capitalism.

A mindless bundle of war, violence and killing. Neighbouring Manipur has gone through that. There might be foreign hands and there might be Biren Singh's failures; but the fact is mutual suspicion is strong. 

In Nagaland -- some brave people came forward and staged a Common Platform rally on Nov 18. That was a winner.

It killed the efforts of those who wanted to create hurdles for a gathering that wants Peace, Solution and Development. They have ensured a success tale as a milestone -- without Boleros from rich and powerful and also despite veto power of some organisations and notwithstanding the fear of guns.  

One participant from a remote village enthusiastically said -  "ainei mori asey ... extortion paisa dibo lagey. kam bhi nae. Ekta rally teh jailey maribo ?  Na paribo hola

(We are at the mercy of conditions... facing death on daily basis. No money; but we have to pay tax. There is no job around. Just for attending a rally; people will kill us .... ? Is life that easy ? ) 

Salunthang Lotha, president of Naga Hoho, was one of those who attended and spoke  at the Nov 18 rally. He was in Delhi lately and he said : "This was a historic rally. Nagas have expressed their inner feeling .... an exasperation with the system we are in. It is an early warning".

ends   

Bangladesh : Pendulum has shifted 'away' for Delhi after 15 years ::::: "A priest is a shepherd, the world is a wolf" :::: What's Bangladesh Army up to ?? :::: Hasina-bashing has limitations in terms of garnering votes !!

 "A priest is a shepherd, the world is a wolf".   

The Metaphor

The Priest as Shepherd: A spiritual leader (priest, pastor, parent, teacher) responsible for guiding, feeding, protecting, and uniting their people (flock).

The World as Wolf: Represents evil, division, false teachings, or harmful influences that threaten the flock.

The Conflict: Do shepherds build walls to keep wolves out, or do they go out to save the lost ??

Why Guns have say : Blogger - somewhere in eastern sector 

Bangladesh is in turmoil. Let's call it a part of pre-election episode in the entire series and these will continue !!

Polls have been announced in February 2026? 

Vital questions -- What will interim chief advisor Yunus benefit after the polls? The same yardstick applies to his sponsors including the Deep State ? There is every possibility - the BNP will do better than any other party. 

Jamaat also has its own sets of expectations. 

Things to watch -- How would Awami League supporters and cadres align and with whom ?

Vital Poser -- What is and what will be the role of Bangladesh army during and after the elections? 

For Yunus and the newly floated NCP - they need time to 'consolidate' their position. 

The NCP is at best .... a party with support base in Dhaka and Chattogram; they need to expand base across Bangladesh.

Merely - Sheikh Hasina bashing has a limitation. It could be like the Hindi saying - "Aata Nahi Ghar mein. Mummy puri banao". 

It is clear - things are at make or break stage for the NCP and Yunus and also the Deep State and other interested foreign powers. 

Thus; India-bashing is a good tool politically. 

About the growing control of Islamists in Bangladesh, the parliamentary panel headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor pointed out that Jamat-e-Islami, which was previously banned, has had its electoral registration reinstated, which will enable it to participate in the upcoming elections.  

'Prothom Alo' newspaper office torched on Dec 18 late night violence 

"The continuing ban on the Awami League will obviously call into question the inclusiveness of any future elections in Bangladesh," the panel pointed out. 

The committee has expressed concern about a recalibration of Bangladesh's relation with Pakistan and the expanding footprint of China -- especially in terms of infrastructure, port development, and defence-related cooperation. 

In this context, it cited projects like the expansion of Mongla Port , Lalmonirhat Airbase, and the submarine base at Pekua that is capable of accommodating eight submarines when Bangladesh has only two. 

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son and advisor of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has warned that the interim government in Dhaka, led by Muhammad Yunus, is attempting to install an Islamic regime and that the country’s deteriorating security situation poses a direct threat to India.

In an email interview with 'The Indian Express', Wazed said --

“Elections with the largest party, the Awami League, and the third-largest party, the Jatiya Party, being barred from participating disenfranchises half the voters of the country. This is going to be a rigged election".  

Pendulum has swung. India should have been more practical and more far-sighted post-1971. For 15 years, things were with us because of Hasina factor. 

The emergence of Bangladesh proved religion alone cannot be basis for forming one or two nations. Helping East Pakistan transition was perhaps not a mistake; but the lapses were in other areas.

One of them was -- after Bangladesh was created; India presumed that the 'thought process' of the new nation would be different. It won't be so radicalised; so much of anti-kafir.

We never presumed within decades Bangladeshis would forget the torture and forgive their tormentors and seek greater cooperation with Pakistan.

ends 

What did Tharoor panel really warn ??? :: Awami League office torched :::: Protests erupt in Bangladesh after anti-India radical Osman Hadi's death ::: Was helping Bangladesh/East Pakistan get its freedom and the manner it was left 'independent' a strategic blunder ?

Protests erupt in Bangladesh after Osman Hadi's death, Awami League office torched

From Indian point of view - was helping Bangladesh/East Pakistan get its freedom in 1971 and the manner it was left 'independent' a strategic blunder ??

A Parliamentary panel led by Shashi Tharoor has recommended that the government of India must strictly monitor to keep any foreign powers from setting up military foothold in Bangladesh and offer Dhaka a comparative advantage in development, connectivity and port access.

"While the challenge in 1971 was existential, a humanitarian and a birth of a new nation, the latter was of a graver, a generational discontinuity, a shift of political order, and a potential strategic realignment away from India," says a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor. 

Protesters also gathered at the residence of India’s Deputy High Commissioner in Chattogram after news broke of the death of Sharif Osman bin Hadi and threw stones at the premises. Stones were hurled at the residence of India’s Deputy High Commissioner too. 

(32-year-old Hadi was a senior leader of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha and an outspoken critic of Sheikh Hasina and also India )

****

Foreign interference especially by the US deep state has been a matter of concern for both Dhaka and New Delhi.  Bangladesh's security forces have also been accused of serious abuses. 

In 2021, the US sanctioned its Rapid Action Battalion - a notorious police unit accused of carrying out numerous extra-judicial killings - citing human rights violations.

****

The demonstrators assembled outside the Khulshi premises around 11 pm on Thursday, shouting slogans over Hadi’s killing and raising chants against the Awami League and India.

Chanting slogans and waving placards, protesters accused authorities of failing to protect Osman Hadi, the convener of political platform Inquilab Mancha and a radical leader known for his fierce anti-India and anti–Sheikh Hasina rhetoric. 

Massive protests broke out across Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, with thousands gathering at Shahbag following the death of radical leader Sharif Osman Hadi, a polarising figure known for his strong anti-India rhetoric.

Chanting slogans and waving placards, protesters accused authorities of failing to protect Hadi, the convener of the political platform Inquilab Mancha and a key organiser of the July uprising. The demonstrations soon escalated, with a group vandalising the office of Daily Prothom Alo, the country’s largest newspaper, amid heightened outrage.  

Local media reports that several people are stranded inside the building that houses the offices of Prothom Alo & Daily Star. Protesters first vandalised these offices and then set them ablaze. 

Sheikh Hasina in 1990s - Getty Image/BBC 

(She was first elected to power in 1996. She earned credit for signing a water-sharing deal with India and a peace deal with tribal insurgents in the south-east of the country.

But at the same time, her government was criticised for numerous allegedly corrupt business deals.) 

According to the Associated Press, soldiers and paramilitary border guards were deployed outside the two buildings but did not take action to disperse the protesters. Security officials tried to persuade them to leave peacefully as firefighters arrived outside The Daily Star building.  

Some protesters raised overtly anti-India and anti-Awami League slogans, including “Demolish Indian aggression!” and “Catch and slaughter those who belong to the League (Awami League)”.

Bangladesh’s foreign office earlier confirmed that Hadi had died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore. He had been in critical condition since December 12, when he was shot in the head by unidentified assailants while campaigning in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. He was later airlifted to Singapore for advanced medical care but did not survive. 

The interim government has appealed for calm, urging citizens not to take the law into their own hands. 

A day of national mourning has been announced on Friday, with special prayers to be held at mosques across the country.

Sharif Osman Hadi came to prominence during the July Uprising and the campaign seeking a constitutional ban on the Awami League. Casting himself as a hardline opponent of pro-India politics, he also targeted the BNP, warning that a return to old-style politics would quickly collapse.

Bangladesh's longest-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed began her political career as a pro-democracy icon, but fled mass protests against her rule in August 2024 after 15 years in power. Since then, Hasina has been in self-imposed exile in India, where she flew after being deposed by the student-led uprising which spiralled into nationwide unrest.

On 17 November, a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death after convicting her of crimes against humanity. 

"It was found Hasina had ordered a deadly crackdown on protesters between 15 July and 5 August 2024. She denied all charges against her. Up to 1,400 people were killed during the weeks of protests leading up to her ousting, most by gunfire from security forces, UN human rights investigators said," - says BBC. 

Parliamentary panel led by Tharoor in its latest report says -- "If India fails to recalibrate at this moment, it risks losing strategic space in Dhaka not to war, but to irrelevance". 

 

ends 

New study claims .... Adolescence - from nine to 32

 These are five brain phases:

Childhood - from birth to age nine

Adolescence - from nine to 32

Adulthood - from 32 to 66

Early ageing - from 66 to 83

Late ageing - from 83 onwards

"The brain rewires across the lifespan. It's always strengthening and weakening connections and it's not one steady pattern - there are fluctuations and phases of brain rewiring," Dr Alexa Mousley told the BBC.

These patterns have only now been revealed due to the quantity of brain scans available in the study, which was published in the journal Nature Communications. 

During Childhood; 

the brain gets less efficient during this stage. It works like a child meandering around a park, going wherever takes their fancy, rather than heading straight from A to B.  

Adolescence starts 

... around the onset of puberty, but this is the latest evidence suggesting it ends much later than we assumed. 

It was once thought to be confined to the teenage years, before neuroscience suggested it continued into your 20s and now early 30s.

This phase is the brain's only period when its network of neurons gets more efficient. 

** The brain stays in the same phase between nine and 32.

Early ageing - This kicks in at 66, but it is not an abrupt and sudden decline. Instead there are shifts in the patterns of connections in the brain.

Instead of coordinating as one whole brain, the organ becomes increasingly separated into regions that work tightly together - like band members starting their own solo projects.

Although the study looked at healthy brains, this is also the age at which dementia and high blood pressure, which affects brain health, are starting to show.

Late ageing - Then, at the age of 83, we enter the final stage. 

There is less data than for the other groups as finding healthy brains to scan was more challenging. The brain changes are similar to early ageing, but even more pronounced.  

Prof Tara Spires-Jones, director of the centre for discovery brain sciences at the University of Edinburgh, said: "This is a very cool study highlighting how much our brains change over our lifetimes."

She said the results "fit well" with our understanding of brain ageing, but cautioned "not everyone will experience these network changes at exactly the same ages".

"Living memorial to Congress failures" :::: MNREGA ... was designed on a Leftist pattern ... It glorified poverty --- "Gadda khodna" ..... ::: It was an art of "creation of non-durable assets"

G Ram G Bill passed in Lok Sabha 

** There was an agenda to glorify the Trap that glorified Poverty and encouraged rural people to be 'stagnant in mind !!

MNREGA was - a typical Left-liberal scheme !! 

It was antithesis to the concept of Developed India. 

The erstwhile UPA regime of 10 years between 2004 and 2014 led by the Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh duo had several problems.

One - it was remote controlled by Sonia and guided by the National Advisory Council headed by her. This panel was an idyll gathering of armed-chair communists. 

They liked several things inherently. One was the pro-Left tilt and anything to do with 'glorifying poverty'. Hence, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) came. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi's name was added only on the eve of 2009 elections.

Between 2006 and 2024 -- NREGA has cost the Government an estimated Rs 12.2 lakh crore over the past 18 years.

The scheme is riddled with corruption, fake job entries, and bureaucratic inefficiency.

Initially, it was based on cash distribution and here 'jhola-wallahs' NGO workers made their entry. 

Instead of empowering rural workers, it has become a tool for political handouts and vote-bank politics.

 

It was a scheme essentially about 'gadda khodna' and the ecosystem hyped it. The so-called global appreciation was less on merits and more guided by the latent agenda of the west.

The concept of a 'developed India' was never considered then. Narendra Modi changed that all is a different chapter.  

The UPA scheme even harmed agri sector and 'just digging' ensured some cash flow.  

The new Bill piloted by the Modi Govt will for the first time, address complaints from farmers about labour shortages during crucial agricultural periods.

The G RAM G Bill introduces a provision to pause rural employment for up to 60 days during peak sowing and harvesting seasons. This will ensure adequate availability of farm labour.

***  NREGA gave -- Unproductive labour ?

Roads that wash away after the first monsoon because of poor construction. Ponds that are dug and refilled every year—a cycle of meaningless work. But good for Babus, netas, NGO workers.

Workers being paid to dig and refill the same holes just to meet job quotas.

The term "glorified poverty" was a criticism leveled at the UPA-scheme MGNREGA) because critics argued that while it provided a safety net, it did not create permanent assets or skilled jobs.

The MNREGA focused on so-called old growth rate. Poor could get some cash for 'digging' - what poorer societies did for decades if not centuries.

Narendra Modi was right when he said in 2015 that -- "My political instincts tell me that MNREGA should not be discontinued. Because it is a living memorial to your failures. After so many years in power, all you (Congress) were able to deliver is for a poor man to dig ditches a few days a month". 

Criticisms of MGNREGA under the UPA also included issues such as 

- corruption and embezzlement, 

- reports of siphoned funds and manipulated records. 

There were bureaucratic inefficiencies.

Looking back the scheme suited 'old India style of governance'.

Babudom thrived at every level.

In one of the north eastern states - I was told 'MGNREGA' workers -- were paid because of their 'dance' performance at a wedding of local VIPs.  

Big arguments were thrown out -- 

MGNREGA successfully reduced rural poverty, 

- provided income security, prevented migration, 

and also strengthened local governance. (Most of these claims are just claims.. unsubstantiated on ground but held correct in so-called motivated studies and official reports).   

As explained by Union Rural Dvelopment Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan; a significant structural change under the VB-G RAM G Bill is the introduction of shared funding between the Centre and the states. 

Under MGNREGA, the wage component was fully funded by the Centre. 

This relieved states of financial burden and ensured uniformity. But it was not based on practical issues in many states.

The new G RAM G Bill departs from the MGNREGA model.

Now states will have to contribute a larger share of funds. 

It proposes a 60:40 Centre-State funding split, shifting from Centre-heavy 90:10 (for northeastern, Himalayan states and UTs) and the 75:25 model. 

The Modi government says this will promote cooperative federalism and better alignment with local development priorities. States, it says, will have greater ownership of the scheme's outcomes.

MGNREGA was globally recognised for its demand-driven, rights-based design, allowing rural households to seek work when needed and claim compensation if employment was not provided. The VB-G RAM G Bill marks a shift away from this principle.

Under the new system, employment will be generated through pre-approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, which are consolidated upwards at block, district, and state levels and integrated into a national infrastructure framework. 

The government said this will improve efficiency, asset creation, and alignment with national infrastructure goals.

Was UPA's MNREGA ... a "leaky Bucket" ? ... that suited many ???

MG-NREGA was a Trap that kept People Poor ::::: NREGA just kept people dependent on government handouts.

It encouraged rural people and women to opt for low-paying jobs.

Studies revealed many workers preferred doing NREGA work over migrating to cities for higher-paying jobs. Laziness was glorified yet again.

Instead of learning new skills or finding better work, millions are stuck doing manual labor with no future growth.

ends 

Controversy over 'Missing' Nehru Papers ::: Culture Minister says "they are not missing; they are with Sonia Gandhi"

Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that scholars, researchers, students and citizens "have a right to access original documentary sources to arrive at a truthful and balanced understanding" of Jawaharlal Nehru's life and times.

"On one hand, we are being asked not to debate the blunders of that era. On the other hand, primary source material that could enable informed debate is kept out of public access," he tweeted on the backdrop of 'missing' Nehru papers. 

The Nehru papers have been a contentious issue between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress, and a section within the PMML has been pushing for "reclaiming" these papers, which were taken back by Sonia Gandhi several years ago.

Shekhawat, in his post on X, said Nehru papers are "not 'missing' from PMML". He added that the word 'missing' entails that the "whereabouts are unknown".

"In reality, 51 cartons of Jawaharlal Nehru papers were formally taken back by the family in 2008 from the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (then NMML). Their location is known. Hence, they are 'not missing'," the Union minister said.

These papers were "handed over officially in 2008, on request", with records and catalogues maintained by PMML, he said.

Shekhawat said that scholars, researchers, students and citizens "have a right to access original documentary sources to arrive at a truthful and balanced understanding" of Jawaharlal Nehru's life and times.

"On one hand, we are being asked not to debate the blunders of that era. On the other hand, primary source material that could enable informed debate is kept out of public access.

"This contradiction cannot be ignored. This is no ordinary matter. History cannot be curated selectively. Transparency is the foundation of democracy and archival openness is its moral obligation, which Mrs Gandhi and the 'family' need to uphold," he argued.

Shekhawat, in his long post, further wrote, "What does require an answer is this: Why have these papers not been returned despite multiple reminders from PMML, including the recent reminders in January and July 2025? The nation deserves clarity." 

"I respectfully ask Sonia Gandhi ji to explain to the country: What is being withheld? What is being hidden? The excuses given by Smt Sonia Gandhi for not returning these papers are not tenable. The point is that why are important historical documents still outside the public archive? "These are not private family papers. 

They relate to the first Prime Minister of India and form part of our national historical record. Such papers belong in public archives, not behind closed doors," Shekhawat argued in his post.

  

India-Bangladesh ties marred by inflammatory remarks by new floated NCP leader in Dhaka :::: New Delhi closes visa application centre in Dhaka

The summoning of the Bangladeshi envoy came a day after a Bangladeshi political leader issued a provocative threat against India. 

“We expect the interim government to ensure the safety of Missions and Posts in Bangladesh in keeping with its diplomatic obligations,” the MEA said, adding that India had expressed serious concern over security threats to the Indian High Commission.

On Monday, National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Hasnat Abdullah warned that if Bangladesh was destabilised, his country would seek to isolate India’s northeastern states, known as the Seven Sisters, and provide refuge to separatists. 

“If Bangladesh is destabilised, the fire of resistance will spread beyond borders,” Abdullah said at a rally. 

Separately, Bangladesh has summoned the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka, seeking cooperation in an ongoing case and again demanding the expeditious extradition of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Last month, Hasina was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity in connection with unrest last year that reportedly left over 500 people dead.  

India on Wednesday closed the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Dhaka amid growing security concerns following threats by extremist elements and provocative remarks by Bangladeshi leaders.

The Indian Visa Application Centre located at Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka, the capital’s main integrated centre for Indian visa services, shut operations at 2 pm citing the prevailing security situation. In a statement, the IVAC said all applicants who had appointments scheduled for Wednesday would be rescheduled for a later date.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi summoned Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India, M Riaz Hamidullah, and conveyed India’s strong concern over the deteriorating security environment in Bangladesh. 

The MEA said the envoy’s attention was drawn to the activities of certain extremist elements who had announced plans to create a security situation around the Indian Mission in Dhaka.

Science is 'good' ::: But what happens in an era of Social Media when ... Man/woman is compelled to constantly fight against Technology ??

In the pretext of turning out as someone who can 'Rule our world' --- have we "unshaped" it for us; but little realising that ... having traveled so far ... we do not know how to take the corrective steps ? 

Take some data available in the most-open source - that is internet. 'Tinder' has lost about 594,000 UK users between 2023 and 2024. 

** Hinge dropped by 131,000 and Bumble by 368,000. The value of shares in Match Group, the company that owns Tinder and Hinge, also dropped by 80 per cent since the highs they reached during pandemic. 

Closer home I have numerous friends - who are already bored with Facebook and Whatsapp. 

If Facebook was an infectious fever; Whatsapp is utter non-sense because from the other side - --- 

Some is expecting your response. And if you choose to put a Smiley. There will be next question -which part of the posting - he/she liked. Blue tick is a signal someone has read your message but that 'blue tick' business can be blocked as well. Then comes some irritating phone call - "hello. kindly check the whatsapp. It's urgent but not so serious of course".

Chances are that your mood will be spoiled. It is happening the world over and in every home and with everyone and every relation.  

(Various App icons .... The illustration features a large, red broken heart on a dark red background)

Once upon a time - people would have said - 'Smoking is injurious to health'. Today; we are generally clueless.  

In other words,  we may say contributions/influence of Internet of Social network sites are as ambiguous (enigmatic and also puzzling) as human history's uncertain future and a rather unstable past. 

Unlike now ... that is December 2025 --  in the meantime - we have bid farewell to the 'quarter' of the new century ....

in circa 2012 when Tinder, a mobile dating app, launched on college campuses in America it quickly became a hit. Tinder, by letting users sift through photos of countless potential dates with a simple swipe, made it easy and fun.

 In 2024 -- 'The Economist' ran a feature-story under the headline - Why people have fallen out of love with dating-apps'.  

Mind you online dating had been around since Match.com, a website for lonely hearts, launched in 1995, it had long struggled to shed an image of desperation. 

Has Internet/Technology/Social Media/Dating etc etc "failed" us ? 

If so why ? Were we looking for 'the threshold' of Future .... through the pages of contemporary setting? 

What about History ... Logic or even 'psycho' related issues ? Are we being 'ultimate idealist' ?? When it all started - it looked like a varsity on your table computer... later laptop -- something that has survived and thrived. 

The 'tablet' ... no one knows .. how many around in the neighbourhood ... but some governments supplied in schools. In the process - some suppliers, babus etc etc made money indeed. 

The 'revolution' started when one should share details of the 'kitchen' shows .. the breakfast table, meeting friends.

We St Anthony gang from Shillong (a Don Bosco institute) discovered each other after 35 years. ... Journalists made groups.

Ex-Please Trust India (Please Try to Improve)

Ex-U will Never Improve ... and so on and so forth. 

It all meant like "utopian dream" of social media: billions of average people could throw fragments of their lives onto the internet for global share and liking.

We reported reality from the ground level. 

Journalism suffered. As Mobile handsets improved -- wrist watches vanished. Camera took a beating. But to 'post', and to interact with others’ posts, was to participate in a grand project. 

Intellectuals - genuine and pseudu ones pretended "meritocracy" and so on and so forth.

But according to an article in 'New Yorker' --- "..... doing so doesn’t make much sense anymore, and it’s a little hard to believe it ever did. 

What do we see on social media now, more than fifteen years since its advent? A sea of influencers and creators aspiring to varying degrees of high-budget polish; headlines announcing the latest horrors of international wars; images, videos, and text generated by artificial intelligence; and unmitigated trolling". 

Some politicians benefited by it. Example - Narendra Modi.

A person 'hated' so much right from the word 'go' -- could emerge stronger and more popular ignoring media. He could not have done so in the 1980s or so.  

Atal Bihari Vajpayee once had confessed about his 'weakness' and said - "I like to see my in newspapers every morning. It's intoxicating".  

Some politicians suffered  - examples - Manmohan Singh -- he became MMS and was mocked.

His party colleague (Rahul G). ---

Jokes about -- 2 G, 3 G etc etc and Rahul G --- damaged Congress prospects during vital period of their career.

An old 'girl friend' of mine --- once posed a question -- "Is Data process in your journalism any less critical than a stock exchange?" 

I doubt whether she could have asked that -- without internet power or Social Media.  

In between ... the world has changed.

Science is 'good'. Certainly it can unleash the human spirit. But people are also realising --- “I think people are more suspicious of oversharing ...".

Desi Netas often throw Hindi one-liners and quite apt ones. 

"Iss mein kya rakha hae (What's left in all these)" ?

Quite True -- I suppose.  

The prestigious 'Financial Times' reported that time spent on social media worldwide peaked in 2022, and fell by almost 10% by the end of 2024. 

The decline they highlight is most pronounced among people in their teens and 20s. 

Other data suggests that since 2014, the shares of people who use such platforms to “stay in touch with friends, express themselves or meet new people” have declined by more than a quarter.

Delhi's pollution. North India's winter or even Summer of June. -- Sultry nights, steamy days.

Wife with headache. A 'nagging hubby' if you are a woman. 

Moisture soaring and so is mercury. You can escape inside to air-conditioning ... maybe. 

But what does this Internet, that uncle Google and the omnipresent Social Media do to you as an individual?

If you have an answer -- get back to us.

A mischievous response will be -- "Whenever you have turned a page in life ... someone has kept a copy".

  

ends 

Return of Dr 'Reform', that's Namo ::: Strategy did not work on farm sector :: Rahul Gandhis and ecosystem should not stall this :::: Is Bharat ready ??? Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025 :::: Draft Law ends the decades-long Sarkari monopoly on nuclear power

Acronym may be 'SHANTI' ... that's peace !! 

But Moditva is back with a mega reform strategy .....

Global players - Westinghouse, GE-Hitachi, 

France's EDF and Russia's Rosatom have expressed willingness to partner with Indian firms

Conglomerates Tata Power, Adani Power and Reliance Industries have already indicated interest in investing in nuclear energy.... 

.... Rahul Gandhi should be 'observed' keenly .... he may lead the cat out among the pigeons during Germany trip itself. 

He should not be forced to withdraw it as the '56-inch' Narendra Modi gave in to  the pressure (caved in) to 'agri-middlemen' protest in 2021 ??? 

The government tabled the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025 in Lok Sabha.

When passed by both the Houses of Parliament, the Bill will repeal the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 – two laws long viewed by industry players and foreign partners as major roadblocks to investment in nuclear power.

This signals a major overhaul of India's civil nuclear framework. 

The draft law aims to end the decades-long state monopoly on nuclear power and enable private sector participation.

"The Bill seeks to provide for a pragmatic civil liability regime for nuclear damage and to confer statutory status to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board," Union Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh said.  

The SHANTI Bill aligns with India's broader goals of 

* increasing the share of nuclear energy in the national energy mix, 

** promoting innovation in nuclear science and technology, 

*** expanding non-power applications, and continuing to meet international obligations on nuclear safety, security and safeguards.

WHAT DOES THE SHANTI BILL PROPOSE?

A key shift proposed under the SHANTI Bill is allowing Indian private companies to apply for licences to build, own, operate and decommission nuclear power plants and reactors 

- activities that have so far been restricted mainly to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and joint ventures with other state-run firms.

*** Reform with 'cautioning' and protective measures ::  

Private companies incorporated in India would also be eligible for a range of nuclear-related activities, including fabrication of nuclear fuel, transportation and storage of nuclear and spent fuel....

, and the import or export of prescribed equipment, technology or software.

However, companies incorporated outside India or controlled by foreign entities will not be permitted to hold licences. 

Also, sensitive activities such as fuel enrichment, spent-fuel reprocessing and heavy water production will exclusively remain under government control.

The legislation limits liability for a nuclear incident to plant operators and explicitly exempts equipment suppliers, addressing a key concern that had deterred foreign vendors.

The Bill caps the maximum liability for each nuclear incident at the rupee equivalent of 300 million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), an IMF-defined reserve asset, in line with international norms.

Operators will be required to maintain insurance or liability funds ranging from about USD 11 million to USD 330 million, depending on reactor size. 

A separate nuclear liability fund will cover excess claims, with the government stepping in if damages exceed the capped limits.

Blogger 

Stringent penalties are provided for violations, 

*** ranging from Rs 5 lakh for minor breaches to up to Rs 1 crore for serious offences. 

All operators – public or private – will need government licences and safety clearances from the AERB.

Foreign-controlled firms will be barred from holding licences.

The Bill is closely tied to India's climate commitments, including the goal of net-zero emissions by 2070 

(blogger will be 100 years old and Modi .... 120 !!) 

.... And a target of achieving 100 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity by 2047, up from about 8.2 GW at present.

To reach this scale, the government has underlined the need to better harness indigenous nuclear resources, 

** enable participation of both public and private sectors, 

*** and position India as a meaningful contributor to the global nuclear energy ecosystem.

Certain exclusions are also specified in the Bill: 

Operators will not be liable for damage to the under-construction nuclear installation itself, other installations on the same site, related property, or the means of transport carrying nuclear material at the time of the incident.

The Bill grants statutory status to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), which currently functions under an executive order, strengthening the safety and oversight framework. It also proposes the creation of an Atomic Energy Redressal Advisory Council to resolve disputes.

ends