I am not crazy about cellphones. So when I was asked to cover the midnight launch of the Apple iPhone 3G in India, it didn’t really seem worth sacrificing my sleep.

I walked half-heartedly to the Vodafone store in nearby Connaught Place, hoping to see frenzied youngsters jostling for vantage position outside its shutters. I had read horror stories of people abroad queuing up 60 hours ahead of schedule for a chance to buy the iPhone first.

There was jostling all right, but only among photographers and journalists. There was not a customer in sight.

Till midnight, the media was cloistered inside the store in New Delhi listening to a live band and staring aimlessly at the wall.

At a minute past, the action started. The first buyer was handed the iPhone. He grinned and posed interminably for photos and the news channels. Then the second, third and fourth customer appeared in quick succession.

All of them didn’t mind paying 31,000 rupees ($712) for a phone including some features that don’t even work in India, because the country doesn’t support 3G services yet.

I step outside for a breath of fresh air. A stray dog saunters past — flummoxed by the hubbub no doubt. There are no curious onlookers nearby. Is India really aware the iPhone is out today? Do the majority of its people really care about the high-tech smartphone?

Maybe the outlet launching the iPhone in a Gurgaon mall has done better. Or maybe Indians aren’t really impressed by a phone when inflation is above 12 percent.

Either way, I need to catch up on my lost sleep. Here’s wishing the Apple iPhone 3G better luck over the weekend.

India is no longer the “one-medal nation”. Sushil Kumar ensured that by winning a bronze medal on Wednesday, just a week after shooter Abhinav Bindra struck gold in Beijing.

Kumar beat Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhstan in a bronze medal bout of the men’s 66kg freestyle wrestling event.

Bindra had won India’s first ever individual Olympic gold medal in the men’s 10m air rifle event on August 11.

And another medal is assured with Indian pugilist Vijender Kumar surviving in the boxing event.

On Wednesday, Sushil Kumar became the first Indian to win a wrestling medal at the Olympics since 1952.

Join us in congratulating him.

It’s official. Vodafone will sell the 8GB 3G iPhone for 31,000 rupees ($712) and the 16GB model for 36,100 rupees ($828). And this for a 3G model when India does not even have 3G services yet.

Vodafone and Airtel will launch the 3G Apple iPhone in India on August 22. Airtel is yet to announce its price for the phones but it’s unlikely the pricing will differ much.

The price of the 8GB model in the U.S. is $199 and $299 for the 16GB model. So is buying the iPhone in India worth it or will the grey market rule?

Who will buy the new iPhone? All those who had pre-booked? The ones who want to get the latest gizmo on day one of its official launch in India or the geeks who cherish anything Apple?

The other night I was surprised to see my seven-year-old son walk out of bed, shivering, crying and barely able to speak.

Calming down after 10 minutes, he said that he was getting regular nightmares about bomb blasts.

India has seen a series of bombings in recent years, this year serial blasts have rocked three major cities.

The first was in the western city of Jaipur on May 13, killing more than 60 people.

At least 16 bombs exploded in Ahmedabad on July 26, a day after blasts in the southern Indian city of Bangalore killed one person and injured several.

Television channels have flashed footage of the bombings time and again and my son has asked me endless questions like “why do people set off bombs and kill”?

I consulted a child psychologist the other day, who gave me a patient hearing and said my son was probably getting panic attacks. He advised me to take him for a counselling session as a precautionary measure.

This incident got me thinking about the effects of violence in children and I wonder how people have been coping with this problem.

A colleague asked me to keep my son away from the television for a while.

Is this the only solution? I am still searching for answers.

As the country watched in horror after terrorists exploded bombs in Ahmedabad and Bangalore ahead of Independence Day last month, a small village in far north-eastern Manipur had just finished a symbolic ritual in its efforts to end its grief over a crime purportedly unleashed by state actors.

Friends, families and human rights groups observed the last rites of 24-year-old Thangjam Manorama Devi, four years after she was allegedly raped and killed by personnel of the Assam Rifles paramilitary force. By performing the rites, they broke a pledge not to conduct the ceremony until their demands for punishment of the guilty and the repeal of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from the state were fulfilled.

Like the Manorama Devi episode, excesses by security forces (I won’t add the word “alleged” because I have personally experienced it, being kicked, punched and shoved in the face with the nozzle of an SLR rifle while walking back home one night after attending church service), coupled with a sense of government neglect continues to alienate citizens of less-developed areas like the northeast and Naxal-dominated regions of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa.

Lack of economic opportunities is also a key factor in the proliferation of militant groups - in Manipur alone, there are reportedly 30-odd militant groups operating - perhaps joining an underground group is just another form of employment?

In other parts of the country, there are many who feel alienated because of their ethnicity, or religion. Muslims face profiling even in cosmopolitan cities (I know of a good friend, a senior journalist at that, who was unable to find accommodation in posh south Delhi. Landlords he approached told him they don’t rent to Muslims). Allegations of innocent people being framed and tortured by police following terror attacks have also been reported by newspapers.

The diabolical bombings in Bangalore and Ahmedabad also appear to have been carried out by home-grown extremists with a grouse against the state, trying to justify their actions with atrocities committed against a particular community.

Some time ago during a media event, I was trying to explain the security situation in the northeast to a senior journalist over dinner, when he suddenly stopped me in mid-sentence. “That’s the difference between people who come from your region and the rest of us,” he said, continuing “When we talk about the army, we just say ‘the army’ or ‘our army’, whereas you, wittingly or unwittingly, call them ‘the Indian army’, as if they were some foreign occupying force.”

I never realized it before, but he was right. And as a journalist trying to maintain an objective perspective, I have since taken care every time I have a discussion on the subject, But there are many others who, wittingly or unwittingly, still use that phrase - perhaps a manifestation of an underlying sentiment.

Sixty years after the country gained independence, many things have changed for the better, and we can afford to be proud of the nation’s achievements, our democracy (chaotic as it may be), and the many great men and women who have brought us to where we are.

But there is always the other side of the coin, and the truth is that there are many who feel they have been deprived, who still don’t feel like celebrating their independence.

When the tri-colour flutters and the nation erupts in celebration on August 15, some places in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir will probably observe bandhs, with the possibility of bombs exploding, as it has been the case in previous years.

In his address to the nation last year on Independence Day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he had a “vision of an India that is undivided despite diversity…. where every citizen feels proud to be an Indian.” Are we there yet?

By Erik Kirschbaum:
Abhinav Bindra won India’s first ever individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the men’s 10m air rifle.

Bindra had been fourth after qualifying but had a brilliant final round and even hit a near perfect 10.8 on his last shot to pull in front of Henri Hakkinen of Finland, who dropped to bronze with a poor final shot of 9.7.

That allowed China’s Zhu Qinan, the defending Olympic champion and heavy favourite, to pass him on his final shot and win the silver medal.

“It’s just great,” Bindra told Reuters just before climbing on to the podium.

And — the celebrations have begun .

Babli Bindra, Abhinav’s mother, quipped: “Now I have lots of work ahead as he is the country’s most eligible bachelor.”

Already, the 25-year-old shooter’s female fan base is growing.

“Abhinav, will you marry me? My parents will have to buy that much less GOLD now,” read one congratulatory message posted by ‘Kaveri’ on the Reuters website.

Join us in congratulating Bindra.

Now that the proverbial Left monkey is off the government’s back, the country’s education system will be among the sectors on the radar of the administration in its push for reforms.

With more than half of the billion-plus population aged 25 or below and foreign players eager to have a share of the lucrative industry by setting up branches in India, the education sector can potentially bring in a huge amount of foreign investment.

And for many students who would otherwise be squeezed out of the few elite colleges or would have to study abroad, opening up the system could make world-class education available to them without having to leave the country.

So the education minister’s recent remarks that the government may introduce in the August session of parliament a long-delayed bill to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India will be intently followed by institutions from countries such as the UK, Canada and the US.

High-profile institutions like Oxford, Harvard and Stanford have evinced interest in setting up shop here, apart from hundreds of others.

The Foreign Education Providers (Regulation for Entry and Operation) Bill was cleared by the Cabinet in 2007 but was never introduced in parliament.

The communists, who propped up the government for almost four years, were opposed to opening up the education sector, arguing that the entry of foreign players would benefit only a few who could afford the high fees.

But with an estimated 160,000 students spending $4 billion annually for higher studies abroad, bringing foreign institutes into the country could bring down education costs drastically and make quality degrees available to more. Imagine someone studying in Delhi obtaining an Oxford degree.

Another area of concern is the threat of a deluge of fly-by-night operators who would only eye profits without giving value to education if there is no proper regulation.

On the other hand, too much government control would deter quality institutions who would like to maintain a certain amount of autonomy to be able to function properly.

The answer could lie in the National Knowledge Commission’s recommendation to set up a regulatory body on the lines of the RBI for banks or TRAI for telecom.

With the Bill having a good chance of being taken out of cold storage this year, arguments in favour of and in opposition could be loud. The question remains - will it benefit the intended beneficiaries?

Another moot point - will HRD minister Arjun Singh and Co seek to stuff their quota doctrine down the throat of Harvard once it is in desi territory?

One of the most striking things about the weekend’s bomb attacks in Gujarat was the mixture of savagery and sophistication.

Savagery because of the way a second wave of bombs were detonated at a hospital, apparently to target the crowds of concerned relatives who had gathered there. Had they been watching Contract, a recently released Bollywood film with a similar plotline?

Sophistication because of the way the coordinated attack was planned and executed without the intelligence agencies getting a sniff of it, even though dozens of people must have been involved.

It also looks as though the IP address of an American living in Mumbai was hacked to send an email just before the first blasts. Perhaps the perpetrators remembered how Daniel Pearl’s kidnappers were traced in 2002 from a email sent from a cybercafe in Karachi. This time the sender of the email will be harder to trace.

The bombers also stayed one step ahead of the police by not using mobile phones to detonate Saturday’s blast. That allowed the bombers to detonate the second set of bombs without having to worry about the mobile phone network being closed down (as police in Bangalore did on Friday). It could also will rob the police of some potentially valuable leads.

By reportedly using old, rented bicycles instead of newly bought ones, as they did in Jaipur, the bombers may also have covered their tracks more carefully.

The email from the Indian Mujahideen was professionally put together, even if its message was one of hatred. In it, the group insisted that “each and every Mujahid belongs to this very soil of India”, and mocked the “cunning ones who call themselves the ‘Intelligence Bureau’”.

So far the police seem to have few leads on the Indian Mujahideen, but this level of sophistication and planning will undoubtedly lead some people to suspect the presence of a foreign hand.

It already has made some people wonder if India’s intelligence agencies are well enough equipped and resourced to cope with this sort of threat.

But there is one thing I simply do not understand. The email says the attacks targeted Gujarati Hindus. But if that was the case, why were some of the bombs left in the Muslim-dominated old city? But I guess the working of a Mujahid’s mind are not always easy to understand.

As a financial journalist, covering politics and parliamentary debate is sometimes part of my job. What I witnessed on Tuesday in parliament — wads of cash being flashed around inside the lowerhouse– is something I had never bargained for.

The civil-nuclear deal with the United States will go through, and some reforms may be pushed by the government with the help of
its new allies. But politics will never be the same again, tainted by allegations of bribery and a vulgur display of money power.

Shortly after his government won a convincing victory in parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the victory sent a message to the world that “India’s head and heart was sound and India is prepared to take its rightful place in the comity of nations.”

India has attracted global attention due to its strong economic growth and aspires to be a global power. But now more than ever, it needs to fix its politics and governance so that these two key elements do not derail its ambitions.

All political parties will need to seriously think about the events of the past few days and work out mechanisms to prevent it from happening again.

Global best practices need to be imbibed to help politics and governance catch up with the demands of a globalising economy. If it does not happen soon, then ordinary Indians’ cynicism and disillusionment with their politicians will become irrecoverable.

Too much is at stake.

Much as he tries astrologer Rajan Chopra can’t keep the pride out of his voice as he speaks to me for the second time in 24 hours.

It’s victory march at 7 Race Course Road after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wins a closely-fought vote of confidence 275 to 256 in parliament and the temptation for Chopra to say “I told you so” is overwhelming. But Chopra, a political and corporate astrologer who predicted yesterday that the government would win the trust vote, says “it’s a victory for astrologers as well”.

If popular predictions are anything to go by then stargazers say the strong Saturn in Congress President Gandhi’s astrological chart is to be thanked for the government’s victory and the Congress party will be wise to look heaven wards for further guidance before general elections next year.

“As I have said before, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh will play a very crucial role now, along with party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav,” Chopra says. “I am basing my prediction on three things - the chart of the Congress party, that of opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of Sonia Gandhi.”

Don’t the stars of Manmohan Singh count for anything? His answer confirms something that non-stargazers suspected all along. “Gandhi is the main force behind him.”

Kanpur-based astrologer Ramesh Chintak who strongly believes there is no branch of astrology that can help predict the future of a political party or outfit, says Saturn is strong in Gandhi’s stars which may have led to Tuesday’s turn of events.

However, he cautions that astrological predictions of any single individual cannot be trusted to foretell the fortunes of the party as a whole. He prefers rather to strengthen his prediction with safer bets.

“I heard the speeches made by (leader of opposition) L K Advani in parliament and I think he indicated even then that the opposition may not in the end win the motion. You also have to take into account the general word on the streets that the government is likely to win the vote,” he says.

When I tell Chopra that India’s Science and Rationalists Association dismisses astrology as superstition, he assures me that he is “a scientific astrologer and a paramedic man on top of that”.

Chennai-based astrologer K.B. Gopalakrishnan was quoted on websites with astrological charts to bolster his claim that Manmohan Singh was safe on the trust vote. Although astrologer M N Kedar, a member of the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences, strongly predicted that the planetary position was not in favour of the government.