E-Voting

Now a days, everything that we do in our daily life has got an internet solution. Most of these things can now be done at the click of a mouse. Just a few years back, all these things involved manual work that consumed lot of time, patience and problems. Just to enlist some of those things, they included “booking a rail/bus ticket”, “paying electricity and other utility bills”, “doing money transfer”, “shopping”, “booking a movie ticket or that for a sports match”, etc. The list is endless. However, there is one thing that probably has been forgotten that should be made online by now. I am talking of online voting.

Nobody is giving much thought to this election process. The government has probably forgotten that it is this election that still enables India to depict proudly its status of being the largest democracy. It is a genuine concern because the polling rates have fallen rapidly. Now a days, there seems to be just 50-60% polling in the urban cities. The literate population is turning away from using their ballot.

The main cause for this decline is that most of us are always on the move and are hardly present in our native land at the time of election. Most of the eligible students study in schools/colleges outside their native place. Also, many end up in jobs in places away from their home-town. It is but natural for them not to go to their native just for voting.

Not only that, people tend to give more priority to their personal life and hence don’t feel voting as an activity worth enough to go to the voting booth and cast their vote. They would rather spend time with their family or meet some relative or get some urgent household work done. They cannot be blamed for not using that time to vote. Today’s life has become such demanding and competing that one has to spend each and every bit of time for his/her personal activity.

To add to all of these, there are still others who do not have a registered voter’s card, as getting one is a government process that usually gets delayed by a long time.

Hence, by looking at all these, the only viable solution is in making this voting process online. Today we see so many polls on internet like “Best Company “, “Most innovative company”, “Best Actor”, “Best Youth Icon”, etc. We do not have a separate polling booth for these polls. All these surveys are mostly done online that takes up hardly 10-15 minutes of our time. Similarly, if our voting gets online as well, it would enable many migrants to vote. It would make the voting job as a comfortable and time-saving activity. This would certainly increase voting participation in the urban sections of people.

I have come across the NGO “EFG” that is trying to spread the voting awareness among people by organizing seminars, rallies, etc. It is a very noble effort by these people, who are really conscious of the decline in voting interests. They are doing their bit and now it is government‘s turn to do something that is very much needed and along with launching “e-voting”, start promoting voting in cities.

Only when all of India participate in election, can our nation be truly called as a democratic nation.

Kismat's Trap

Call it luck,fate, destiny, kismat, naseeb or bhagya. It is all the same and still I have never fully understood as to what is this Kismat.

In my school days, my English teacher had said that Luck is nothing but God. She explained that it is just a word to define God's presence, because something happening by chance in one's favour can only be manipulated by God and therefore luck can never be explained in normal human terms. I have often tried to figure out how God is synonymous with luck and still not been successful to either prove or disapprove the correlation.

Logic fails to explain it. Science calls it probability. Sometimes I wonder that maybe it is not at all complex and is just another word coined by human beings to give a appropriate name to their mistakes or someone else's success.

Many a times, people say that it wasn't their day. Sometimes students before exams say it all depends on your luck. You may get easy questions or you may not be able to recall something needed at that time. Still, there are many others who contradict and say success doesn't lie in luck. They feel that it is pure hard work. When Shah Rukh Khan was once asked about the reason for his success, he had said "You have to be at the right place and at the right time."

Yet there are many who still associate fate with palmistry, and may sometimes develop an inferiority complex in themselves after discovering that their fate line is not blurred/missing. Just to add a note, Panini (the great Sanskrit scholar) had etched out the education line with knife on his palm to make out for the missing line.

According to most of the religious mythology, everything has been decided beforehand. And no one can change the "vidhi ka vidhaan". It is said that none can change destiny.
In the movie "Serendipity", the girl believes in the power of luck and decides to choose her partner only if luck brings him to her. Maybe it sounds ridiculous or superstitious but if properly analysed, people still fall prey to the sheer superstitious power of fate.

For example, today we have many games and lottery that lure people to squander their money by giving them false promises of Kismat. All the share markets, stocks are all one or other form of Kismat. Not only that, the charms, gems,amulets, etc. still have a market of their own.

Kismat is such a beautiful mystical event that it makes almost anyone believe in it. One can't help but get engulfed in this maze and then get trapped and wait for the angel to open the door.

I am trapped and I need to be rescued. Where is the angel whom I am seeking? When will Lady Luck knock my door? If I am to believe the protagonist in Shantaram who defines the angel as "Luck is what happens to you when fate gets tired of waiting", then how long should I (or rather my fate) wait?

“Fabulous Four”

For me, to pinpoint the Fabulous Four, I need to dig deep into Indian mythology. But wait a minute, I am not judging these famous characters by their skills and prowess. The underlying factors to pick up these mighty personalities are more based on their honesty, integrity, truthfulness and kindness.

Hanuman

He is the only character that has never come under any criticism or controversy in the entire Indian history, save for an incident where he refused to accept his “son” as his own. That can be partially justified, considering the strange circumstances in which his so called son was born. Apart from that, he isn’t a human. This can also indicate that animals are more honest than humans.

He has never crossed his lines and always maintained the respect for everyone around him, right from his birth. He also had respect for the Brahmastra that Meghanath had thrown upon him, by not defending it and allowing himself to be bounded by it. He was a true devotee of Ram, which was depicted when Hanuman tore his chest out to reveal Ram and Sita in his heart. This amar (immortal) lord continues to be amar in everybody’s heart in this “Kalyug”.

Karna

Karna was a very brave and dexterous person. He was the guy who had met with lot of injustice in his life. Though an upper caste by birth, he was refused proper education, because of lower-caste of his foster parents. He was not allowed to show his skills in front of Pandavas, for the fear that he would outshine them. He was also forbidden to attempt the Swayamavara of Draupadi.

He is the greatest donor ever known in the history of mankind. Even though when he was warned that Indra would come in disguise and ask for his kawach and kundal (his shield and earrings), thus leaving him defenceless, he still readily parted with his life saviour elements, by using his sword to separate them from his body.

Just as a note, he was killed unfairly by Arjun when he tried to remove his wheel that had sunk in the muddy ground.

Eklavya

Eklavya was also one of the characters who could not become famous as a skilled archer, just because he was refused education by Dronacharya on grounds of his lower caste. To add to that, he was also asked to sacrifice his right hand thumb as a token of guru-dakshina. There is not much mention about Eklavya as his growth was restricted. But still, he will always be remembered for the greatest “Guru-Dakshina” ever, in the history of mankind.

Mahabali

Mahabali, the Lord of Asura (devils), was the greatest and the best king on the patal-loka (underworld). Even though an Asura, he always kept his word. To add to his power, he decided to perform a yajna. To stop the yajna, Lord Vishnu had to come to him, disguised as a dwarf (popularly known as Vamana avatara) on the pretext of begging for something. Before Bali (Mahabali) could promise the beggar alms, he was warned by his wise teacher, Shankaracharya, to refuse to give anything, as he had recognized the true identity of the beggar. But inspite of being aware of all this and also knowing that it could be disastrous for the yajna that had been continuing for a long time, he promised the beggar, 3 steps of land.

Even being an asura, he kept to his word and on the contrary, the gods had not kept their word of sharing the amrita (nectar) equally with the asuras, during the samudra-manthan.

These above characters always stood by their principles and words. Although there were many other great characters like Krishna, Rama, Yuddhishtira, Ravana but they all have been accused of deviating from the moral principles as a safeguard measure to protect themselves or their kin. So we find that the people who are portrayed as “good” also have flaws in their character, and the others, who are equally honest, are simply tagged as evil, on the pretext that they are asuras.

Old Television Days

Going back in the memory lane, the one thing that we all have in common is the old television programmes.

Back in the 1990’s, when I was a kid, I still remember the advent of television in India and slowly in my neighbourhood and eventually in my home. Doordarshan soon became a household name. Doordarshan brought with itself a whole set of serials varying from entertainment to sports to quiz to cartoon to suspense thrillers.

As it was the only channel available in that period, most of us have grown up watching the same serials and soaps. Today watching some of the episodes of those serials that are re-telecasted, makes me nostalgic. So, I just decided to enlist some of the popular serials that, I am sure, all of us would have definitely been part of it at some point of time.

Sunday was the most loaded, starting with Rangoli at 7am. We used to have breakfast watching the old melodies. Rangoli was followed by a serial meant for children, which changed over the time. Some of the popular ones were “Jungle Book - Moguli”, “Chandrakanta”, “Shree Krishna”. “Shaktimaan” which became a huge hit, was shifted from Saturday to Sunday, as a result. Then there was also “Captain Vyom” a sci-fi thriller.

Every Saturday and Sunday evening, one movie used to be shown. I still remember when a power cut during the programme used to disappoint us so much, that we all kids of neighbourhood used to pray to God, to get the power back. The joy that we used to experience when power used to come was the ultimate one.
Regarding the animated programmes, there were “Aladdin”, “Disney Tales”, “Sindbaad”, etc.
Coming to the religious programmes, “Shree Krishna” by Ramanada Sagar was the best and my favourite. I hardly missed any of its episodes. The other serials were “Mahabharata”, “Jai Hanuman”, “Om Namah Shivaya”, etc.

Doordarshan also had its share of comedy programmes like “Dekh Bhai Dekh”, “Nehle Pe Dehla”, etc. Among the thrillers, magic and suspense were the programmes like “Alif Laila”, “Vikram-Betaal”, “Tehkikaat”, etc.

There were other episodes that were also liked by certain sections of people like “Surabhi”, “Shanti”, “Swabhimaan”, “Turning Point”, “Yug”, “Akbar –The Great”, “Bharat ek Khoj,“Noor-Jahan”, etc.
There were also some musical shows and quizzes like “Antakshari” and various programmes.

Between various programmes were beautiful nostalgic melodies like “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara”. The famous advertisements of “Nirma”, “Bajaj (buland bharat ki buland tasveer)” still haunt our memories. Even the screen that used to appear in case of transmission problems, which had the seven vertical stripes of rainbows , reminds me of the old television days.

Having said all the above things, I can’t stop myself from comparing those days with the current television scenario. Today we have an abundance of channels that are dedicated to news, music, movies, cartoon, television daily soaps, bhakti, etc. Today we have lot of celebrity driven news and reality shows, that have be come the norm of today’s entertainment. Religious serials have declined. News channels have become the crappiest ever since. The excitement of waiting and watching for a movie has gone. The impatient wait for an episode for a week has also diminished. Even with so many channels in all languages and also with recent foreign channels, we have so less quality programmes to watch. The bulk of repeated advertisements, that intrude the normal show, add to the irritation of the viewers.


Inspite of all the good serials of Doordarshan, it has today become a laughing stock among everyone and it is only viewed in the rural areas. Probably because Doordarshan still connects to the heart of India and hence cannot afford to be glamorous to cater to the needs of urban India.

But the saddest part is that our new generation will miss the whole fun and knowledge offered by those day programmes. It is a pity that they cannot enjoy and imbibe the beauty of our great epics “Ramayana”, “Mahabharata” and “Krishna”. I am not sure if they will really miss something by not having a chance watch the legendary shows of DD. Of course there have been new ventures in the cartoon sector that have greatly developed owing to the new and better animation technologies. But I must say, that’s all that can really be called as shows meant for children and nothing else, can be safely assumed as unobscene or not vulgar. The difference between news channels and entertainment ones have blurred. The idiot box has become the idiotest. Now the only genuine reason for still remaining glued to the dabba is watching live sports (mostly cricket).

Let's all turn atheist!!!

In view of the recurring bomb blasts and the recent attack against churches, one is bound to think about the origin of all this. "Why all of a sudden?", one gasps at the very first mention of these agitations. One always has a perception that religion is behind all this.

I have always wondered at the logic and the cause for all these. What do these miscreants get in return? After finding no definite answers, I divert myself to another question. Why in the name of religion? Why not in the name of the poor? Why not in the name of the vulgarity of our films? All the other topics, apart from religion that were once strong protests have subsided. Even the hot reservation issue has become silent now. The water sharing disputes among the southern states also crop up only when there is a shortage of rains. Then why can't the dispute on communal matters mitigate? Why these religion matters always come up every now and then? Why behind every attack, every bomb blast, the religion issue gets dragged into?

The problem I feel is too much loyalty to one's own religion. The group of persons, who get very possessive about their beliefs and religion, somehow get the wrong perception that their religion is the best and the other religions are a threat to their principles. The common people, however, do not bother about these things. They have lot of other things on priority like, making money, growing their career, taking care of their family, etc. If an outsider takes a look into the Indian society, he/she will be really amazed to find the harmony with which all the different religions' people live together, talk together, and have fun together. Looking at these, one can hardly imagine the same group of people to be at daggers with each other. So the conclusion is that the average society people have no problem with the people of different religions. Hence, the blame lies with those small group of narrow minded fanatics that claim to be extra loyal to their religion. If we take a closer look, we can easily identify such societies and associations that are lurking and operating in every small town and cities. They form themselves in groups and try to create fear, suspicion and mistrust in people towards those of other faith. Sadly, these are backed and funded by our own politicians who want attention and can even go to the extreme of blaming the minority religions for every thing that goes wrong. To make matters worse, these khadi-clad figures try to mix social and economic conditions to the religion issue. These people keep reminding the general public about it and they dig up the past to support their statements.

There is a very thin line between loyalty to oneself and disloyalty to others. That thin division has to maintained strictly by all faiths. One should not get so much carried away by the religions, that they start vandalizing holy places or start blaming other sects for one's condition. We don't want another Crusade or the Swastika fight again. The only solution is to forget what has happened. Let us defeat the purpose of our enemies. Let us not fall prey to our politicians' shrewd communal tactics.

In other words, let us not believe in anything attached to religion. Let us be bold and become atheists. Let us all sacrifice the root cause of all these evil. If we want to live in true peace and harmony, let us abandon our individual faiths and believe solely in our karma and destiny. Sometimes some things have to be changed by drastic measures. Let's all face it.

The mighty Dal-chawal.

Do you have Dal???
Enna sarrr?
dal, daaal..
It is the most common scenario when a north Indian sits down to eat "Meals" in a Tamil Nadu restaurant. The most basic and the most common food across all the north Indian states is the famous Dal-chawal. It is always an essential part of food at household, dhabas and restaurants. Yes, the sight of steamed basmati rice with hot dal and ghee floating in it is enough to make you go hungry. Believe me, it is the most satisfying and filling dish that one can have. No other food pair in the whole Indian food community is as relishing as Dal-chawal.
Even those running after pizzas and burgers, finally resort to Dal-Chawal at the end of the day.It is also the most nostalgic food item for all Indians outside their home.
Even though India may be leaping ahead in technology and growth, even though the count of millionaires will increase and the country might be divided economically in various sectors, there will be one thing that will be common to all. The common food habit(Dal-chawal in particular) will keep the different communities, divisions and sections of people glued to each other. It is this invisible string that binds all of Indians together no matter in which part of world they are.
So, be it channa dal, moong dal, masoor dal, or dal makhani, dal fry,
Dal-Chawal is the King.

PS: This post is dedicated to my sister who taught me how to prepare Dal-Chawal.

The dilemma

The reason why I would like to revisit the debate between "love marriages" and "arranged marriages", is because of my discovery of another Indian truth. It is not the debate between "love" and "arranged", rather it is between within caste and inter-caste. At the end everything boils down to so called "caste". No one knows the benefit of within-caste marriage, but still follow it like a divine order, as if their forefathers are watching them from the heavens. Dare not go against our set standards, or else, I will see you in heaven. Is it because of some unknown fear or because nobody wants to think differently, still remains the big unanswered question.

But because of this unsaid rule, it is we who have to suffer.. The new generation, who somehow can not accept the paradigms have to cope up with the side effects, just to see their parents happy. One marries someone just to make their parents and grandparents elated. Of course, it is every child's duty to make their parents happy. They have made lot of sacrifices and compromises just to enable us to live a better life than they had. Hats off to all parents (Dil se). I am not advising or asking all the youngsters to rebel. I am just putting forward the dilemma in which these youngsters get into. This dilemma has no quick fix solution, or no solution to be more accurate. We have to suffer, we are destined to accept things we don't like, for the sake of the so called society.

To explain the troubles that one can get into if one is bound into the unsaid rules, let me give some real life scenarios. A guy/girl, when grows up, gets a picture of his/her near future like better education and sufficient money (again money is never sufficient, but that's another philosophical topic) and only then a good life partner. He/she might have made a mental plan as to when and how to achieve those, but alas, he/she was not even aware of the plans their parents (in other words, the society standards) had made. His/her plans conflict with theirs and life goes into chaos. After the chaos is temporarily sorted by mutual disagreements and compromises, he/she is shown the list of potential spouses (mind you, this list has been achieved through years of hard work, discussions, bargaining,. negotiations and more strangely, the person not being aware of the whole process).
So what should the person’s reaction be?????

The answer is not easy. The person realizes the hard work spent for that remarkable feat, hence cannot reject those right away, in fear of hurting sentiments and emotions (Emotions and sentiments are the words that I strongly hate, just because they become the biggest obstacles in any person’s life). If that was not enough to create a total dilemma in the person’s mind, he/she is indirectly threatened by saying that if they miss this chance, there is very less probability that they will get another man/woman of such caliber.

Suddenly, all the high aspirations and dreams of the person are shattered to the ground. His/her expectations of his/her partner are put to a toss. He/she has to make a decision quick enough (in other words, accept the parents decision)…….or else, god knows, what may happen!!! The world might end….

Why didn’t the LHC(The Large Hadron Collider) fail and create a black hole to end the universe? At least the dilemma would end.

Government work is God’s work

In India, the government is always stereotyped as “slow, traditional and corrupt”. Their policies are always considered an excuse for politicians prior to elections to gather votes. People feel that these policies remain only on paper. That is the general idea of any government policy or project. People often resort to private companies for quicker solutions.

Let me try to give a different picture of Indian government policies.
The first word that comes to my mind when I think of government is “Trust”. One can safely trust the government policies and schemes. Private companies always look for profit. They will never do anything that is non profitable. Sometimes they become so much business oriented that they are ready to cheat their customers through indirect means. On the contrary, the goal of any government policy is welfare of public, even though it might give a return. The aim is to benefit the masses, improve their style of living, give them better life security, etc. Government plans will never cheat or betray customers. For instance, investing in a government backed mutual fund is always considered safer. One can safely put their money and forget about the risk of losing the amount.

Another thing about government initiatives is that they not very expensive. This is because the majority of people are still middle class people and government. The policies are always designed, keeping the common man in mind, so that they can make use of them. Doordarshan channel comes free of cost and it has loads for good quality programs for all age groups. Indian railways are very much cheaper than any other private mode of transport. All the low cost airlines that had tried to make a revolution few years back is now back to their rocketing prices and hidden costs and taxes. All the government hospitals/clinics provide free treatment and medicines at minimal costs. Many government schools or colleges have fees that can be easily afforded by anyone. BSNL is a lot cheaper than any other service provider.

Consider the case of government jobs. They have better insurance policies and retirement plans. The employees feel more secure working in a government organization. In view of the recent slowdown of the US economy, many US based companies have started laying off people. These private companies, mostly in IT and ITes (IT enabled services), have started firing employees based on some excuses. In these companies, the employees always work under pressure, which can be a health concern. In government jobs, the employees can enjoy their work and life, without worrying about their future. The recent Sixth Pay commission (a government policy for the government employees) is a brilliant example of the above statements. It proves that the government does care for it employees and will keep coming with new policies, as and when needed.

ISRO, DRDO, AIIMS, IIT, IIM, NTPC, BARC--- All these institutions are Indian government initiatives and they all are renowned for their expertise all over the world. They all have brilliant students and faculties and they all are the best in their domain.
One should be proud of Indian army and military, which are examples of perfect management and discipline. They do their duty at all times. They do not even think about the so called “profit” factor. Imagine if they were to do their jobs only if that work yielded profit.

All said, the implementation of any govt. policy takes longer time because it needs to be reviewed many times by different departments. It needs to be accepted by majority. Only when the government is certain that it caters to majority, it goes ahead to implement the policy. The reason, government policy gets delayed is because lot of people start misusing the power of democracy. These narrow minded people use democracy as their weapon and oppose every project of govt. for a few days of fame. To ensure that government’s work becomes God’s work needs the cooperation of the public to implement its policies perfectly. If all the government employees vow to work honestly and diligently and if the common man starts to take initiative at their own level, instead of blaming and complaining, only then the lines inscribed on Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore, will truly prove its meaning.

Why the "other guy" has a girlfriend?

Everybody in the world has different physical and behavourial characteristics. Some are fat, some are short, some are dark.Some can sing well, some can dance perfectly, some are intelligent whereas some are strong and well built. One can enlist lots of such traits and features. Everyone tries to achieve what they don't have. And they always wish something like "I wish i were taller", "I wish I were fair",etc.
One can broadly categorize these characteristics int two parts:appearance related and behaviour related.
Of these, behaviour related things can be improved by attending several classes and constant learning.But changing physical features is much more difficult and costly.Hence people develop a constant inferiority complex in themselves.This complex is very often reflected in guys who don't have girlfriends.
Let me list out the possible thoughts running across several such "Singles".
A dark-complexioned guy: I wish I were fairer. Girls would have been simply attracted to me.
A fair-complexioned guy but of short-height : Only if I weren't shorter,I would not have been rejected by her.
A fair, tall guy but not muscular: I wish I had those shoulders and biceps. Girls would have definitely fallen.
A fair,tall, well built guy but not intelligent: Girls like intelligent guys, not a dumb person like me.
A fair,tall, well built and intelligent, but not rich: If I had money, I could have won any girl by gifts and treats.
A fair,tall, well built,intelligent and from rich family background: I have everything, but these girls love my money, my appearance. How do I know which one of these will love me truly? I wish I did not have so many things.
If you are still not convinced with the above statements, you may watch the movie "Bedazzled".

Open Book Policy in Examinations

As I write about this topic, I am reminded of my school days when History subject was a bête-noire. The night before my history exams, used to be a complete nightmare. Today we have many students getting stressed up at the mere mention of exams. They start panicking a few days before the exams. Students either resort to complete night outs or sleep late before the night, deteriorating their health. Even a few minutes before the exams, many can be seen trying to remember as much as they can. They have a constant fear of forgetting one or the other thing. This is the tragedy of today’s examination system. Open-Book system can change all the above.

Of course, it is very difficult to prepare an exam that truly tests an individual's skill and talents. But the current examination system fails to test anything other than one’s mugging skills. It defines a syllabus that consists of a few chapters and then requires students to mug them up and spit it out as best as they can, on the examination day. It cannot identify whether a person has understood the syllabus or has just vomited everything out of his/her memory.

This system generally creates the impression in students’ mind that they would be called talented only if they are able to learn everything by heart. They get disappointed when they fail to do so and it creates an inferiority complex in them. No one knows beforehand as to what questions might come up in exams and it may so happen that the portions not studied by a person comes in exam and his/her partner who might have studied only that, answers them successfully. So it is more of luck in that case.

Open-Book Policy will remove undue advantage to any candidate and ensure that everyone gets equal chance and opportunities. Everyone will be provided with the same resources and they can actually show their skills and understanding during the tests. If books are allowed during exams, then the questions will be of different types that will test the students’ ability to understand the text, read between the lines and hunt for the answers. When studying, one will have to analyze each and every line thoroughly. One cannot escape just by mugging up things. This will eventually give them a better understanding of the entire syllabus, which will be easier to remember. The reason why one fails to remember things is because they merely try to memorize them.

To prove the effectiveness of Open-Book Policy, let’s consider the real time scenario when one actually gets into a job. At that point of time, one hardly needs to remember precisely all the details of their syllabus that he/she had studied in their school days. So when coming up with a solution for a problem, they are free to refer books, internet, etc. They can get all the information whenever needed. At this point, the skill and effectiveness of an individual is determined according to what he/she does when given all the resources. One can be called talented only if he/she is able to use his/her resources in a smarter and efficient manner. So why should one be asked to memorize everything in his/her lower classes?

Mugging up has another great disadvantage. When students memorize any article, they forget it soon after exams and then they have to learn everything again before next exams. So effectively, at any point of time, they hardly remember anything. So practically, then there is no use of memorizing if one has to forget them immediately after the exams. Open-Book system will make all the students all time prepared for exams and they need not panic immediately before exams.

Students in order to learn everything just try to skim through everything and do not concentrate on one particular chapter or portion. This makes them just very vaguely aware of any one topic. If books are allowed, then they can leave aside all the memorizing stuff and concentrate more on the statements. This will ensure that they also enjoy studying and are able to retain whatever they read and are fully aware of what they have understood.

Open book systems can also minimize copying during exams, because there will be no question of chits and other things. Many students who resort to copying do not study the portions as they feel they can get away with chits. This also discourages other honest students who get poor marks in spite of studying. Sometimes students who do not get sufficient time to prepare (maybe because of fever, marriage or deaths in family, etc.), get low marks. By Open-Book policy, students will be affected to a much lesser extent because of the above incidents.

The one and the only one thing that Open-Book cannot test fully is memory power of students. For that there can be one subject that will only test memory. Perhaps some subjects like Civics and Geography can have the exception of not having Open-Book system. But definitely other subjects should have the system of books during exams.

In conclusion, Open-Book policy will stop the old practice of mere mugging and will replace it by testing analytical skills. It will be able to test the skill and talents thoroughly. It will give more satisfaction to the individual and to others. It will result in the students having a better and complete understanding of the subjects. It will also stop the dread of exams in them and will make them ready for exams anytime with minimum preparations.