After a long wait America has found a real leader, a real hero- President Elected Barack Obama is the man who can lead America-Lead the world. The Illinois senator built his decisive wins on three leadership principles: A clear vision, clean execution and utilization of right people at right moment.

Though there will be no time for him for honeymoon with white house, it will be really learning lesson for all of us how a leader can lead the world. We all know this is the toughest time in American History and at this time only a leader can put America back on track. This is the time to take tough decisions as well as handling the sentiments of common people. I think this man can do that; this man can make America proud.

I know everyone of you already listened to the futuristic speech on the historical eve. I am putting that speech over here again to clarify my stands why I am saying this man can put America back on track. I am also putting the mail we the democratic supporters got before this speech.

Email we have received before the speech.

"Barack Obama
reply-toinfo@barackobama.com

To suman chakraborty

Date Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 1:10 AM
Subject How this happened

Suman --

I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history.

And I don't want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.

We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing...

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack"

Here is the speech of the real leader, our hero BARACK OBAMA-every one of you should save it in your memory.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.”

One thing is really interesting this time is developing public relations through emails and social networking sites; we will discuss this issue later some time.
Now this honeymoon period will be over soon, he will be thrown to the reality, all the eyes will be upon him to see if our elected president is really making Americans dreams true. Lots of expectations on Barack, we will see how he is handling all our expectations.

BARACK, we believe “Changes Can Happen and Yes You Can.”

read more

Finally The D Day is coming, before going to vote we should review both of the candidates’ candidature for this presidential election.

Name: Barack Obama

Birth date: August 4, 1961; Honolulu, Hawaii

Family: Married Michelle Robinson (1992-present); Children: Sasha (2001) and Malia Ann (1999)

Religion: Christian

Education: Columbia University, B.A., 1983; Harvard University, J.D., 1991

Barack Obama was born at the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black Kenyan from Nyang’oma Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham, a white American from Wichita, Kansas. His parents met while attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was a foreign student. They separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama’s father returned to Kenya and saw his son only once more before dying in an automobile accident in 1982. After her divorce, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro's home country of Indonesia in 1967, where Obama attended local schools in Jakarta until he was ten years old. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade in 1971 until his graduation from high school in 1979. Obama's mother returned to Hawaii in 1972 for several years and then back to Indonesia to complete fieldwork for her doctoral dissertation. She died of ovarian cancer in 1995. As an adult Obama admitted that during high school he used marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol, which he described at the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency as his greatest moral failure.

read more

It is not too hard to understand the problems our ‘poor’ state is going through, thanks to the ‘political’ ideology of few, who really don’t care about anything except their own political ambitions. It is really funny, the people who once insisted on removing English education till the 6th grade sent their own kids to English Medium schools to ensure that the ‘Ingregi’ learning process is not disturbed. The funniest part is, the ‘politically aware’ bong community sends those same stupid politicians to represent the community.

I still remember the days when the Left Front government was first elected in West Bengal. There were so much ‘hope’ of some radical change, change for good. Yes, the change happened, not overnight though, most of it was for bad. When the ruling party calls ‘Bandh’ to stop everything, what do you expect…PROGRESS? Come on..give me a break. There was a time when West Bengal was ahead of a lot of other states in quality of education, quality of work (no no..not work ethics..please) and quality of life. Few years ago I was talking to an old friend of mine, who happens to be a political BIG SHOT now. We were having good time with few friends and I just jokingly asked him…’What do you say about the fact that from among the top five states of India we are now among the bottom five’. His serious response were…believe me or not.. ‘we are still ahead of Bihar and Jharkhand’ and ‘it is all center’s conspiracy’. By the way, his kids go to the best English medium schools in Kolkata. In 2005, I had the opportunity of meeting Mr. ’Lenin reincarnated’ at Banga Sammelan. To be honest, the only thing I can say about him …” Are you kidding me?”

read more

It is not too hard to understand the problems our ‘poor’ state is going through, thanks to the ‘political’ ideology of few, who really don’t care about anything except their own political ambitions. It is really funny, the people who once insisted on removing English education till the 6th grade sent their own kids to English Medium schools to ensure that the ‘Ingregi’ learning process is not disturbed. The funniest part is, the ‘politically aware’ bong community sends those same stupid politicians to represent the community.

I still remember the days when the Left Front government was first elected in West Bengal. There were so much ‘hope’ of some radical change, change for good. Yes, the change happened, not overnight though, most of it was for bad. When the ruling party calls ‘Bandh’ to stop everything, what do you expect…PROGRESS? Come on..give me a break. There was a time when West Bengal was ahead of a lot of other states in quality of education, quality of work (no no..not work ethics..please) and quality of life. Few years ago I was talking to an old friend of mine, who happens to be a political BIG SHOT now. We were having good time with few friends and I just jokingly asked him…’What do you say about the fact that from among the top five states of India we are now among the bottom five’. His serious response were…believe me or not.. ‘we are still ahead of Bihar and Jharkhand’ and ‘it is all center’s conspiracy’. By the way, his kids go to the best English medium schools in Kolkata. In 2005, I had the opportunity of meeting Mr. ’Lenin reincarnated’ at Banga Sammelan. To be honest, the only thing I can say about him …” Are you kidding me?”

read more

The very thought that I hail from Bengal used to make me proud from my childhood. In my childhood and teens the literary works of Rabindranath, Sarat Chandra, Bankim, the spiritual works of Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna, the culture and intellect of the average Bengali used to influence me a lot. I used to ask my father, who was a very knowledgeable person about various facets of the Bengali culture.

But now can I evoke the same sentiment about being a Bengali? I am apprehensive, I have thousands of questions. Is it the same Bengal I used to be proud about and always held in high esteem? Is this the Bengal I, as a Bengali would dream about? The Bengal, notorious for its bandhs, strike, hartals. It doesnt matter which party will rule the state, the results are not going to be much different. It took one ruling party to pass a rule that English should be studied only from 6th grade onwards. This single decision broke the backbone of thousands of Bengalis in the 80s and 90s. If a quantitative research is undertaken, results will show how Bengalis missed out in the national and global competition because of this. I was lucky to study in an English medium school, but not many of my friends were. In engineering college, I can think of numerous brilliant students who could not clear job interviews because of poor spoken English. This absolutely preposterous policy ruined the dreams of so many Bengalis.

read more

The very thought that I hail from Bengal used to make me proud from my childhood. In my childhood and teens the literary works of Rabindranath, Sarat Chandra, Bankim, the spiritual works of Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna, the culture and intellect of the average Bengali used to influence me a lot. I used to ask my father, who was a very knowledgeable person about various facets of the Bengali culture.

But now can I evoke the same sentiment about being a Bengali? I am apprehensive, I have thousands of questions. Is it the same Bengal I used to be proud about and always held in high esteem? Is this the Bengal I, as a Bengali would dream about? The Bengal, notorious for its bandhs, strike, hartals. It doesnt matter which party will rule the state, the results are not going to be much different. It took one ruling party to pass a rule that English should be studied only from 6th grade onwards. This single decision broke the backbone of thousands of Bengalis in the 80s and 90s. If a quantitative research is undertaken, results will show how Bengalis missed out in the national and global competition because of this. I was lucky to study in an English medium school, but not many of my friends were. In engineering college, I can think of numerous brilliant students who could not clear job interviews because of poor spoken English. This absolutely preposterous policy ruined the dreams of so many Bengalis.

read more

I accompanied some of our friends from Mission for Human Excellence, another NGO run by some people like us (under the guidance of Sw. Satyabodhananda), to Belpahari last week-end just to find out our “Sabor” brothers and sisters leading the lives of animals. Our politicians avoid their duties by declaring those areas to be MAO-infested. Yes, we saw fully loaded CRPFs moving in the midst of hungry savages. They can’t be terrorists!! We chanced to enter the hut of one such family to find out some leaves and forest mushrooms being boiled in hot water to be taken as probably the ONLY meal. Getting rice as meal is like a dream to them. We didn’t carry cameras purposefully. Taking photos of such poverty-stricken skeletons living on the foothills of plateau and outskirts of forest would have been a shame on us, who waste to display our wealth and save to guarantee our future, when the present itself is so bleak for Sabors, the ancestral tribes of Bharat. The Mahabharata and Ramayana bear their names as one of the earliest inhabitants of this holy land.

Let India shine outside the IT parks, opulent malls and the magnificent multiplexes.

In the hut, we also saw a pretty princess, hardly five years old. She was lying on the ground with her grandma-probably to dream about a heaven where there is no hunger. It was noon then. The leaves and mushrooms were boiling in hot water. We had some chocolates. One of us gave her some. She didn’t show any interest to open them. Probably, she was still in her dream-world that is free of hunger. Many of us asked her name. She remained silent. Her silence broke my heart. Her blank look blocked my vision with tears deep inside. Her indifference to the chocolates (the prized possession for any kid of that age) kicked me hard on my belly for, I am still being lured by the ostentatious display of wealth by a handful of successful rich Indians. Is that success? My little princess was silent.

read more

I accompanied some of our friends from Mission for Human Excellence, another NGO run by some people like us (under the guidance of Sw. Satyabodhananda), to Belpahari last week-end just to find out our “Sabor” brothers and sisters leading the lives of animals. Our politicians avoid their duties by declaring those areas to be MAO-infested. Yes, we saw fully loaded CRPFs moving in the midst of hungry savages. They can’t be terrorists!! We chanced to enter the hut of one such family to find out some leaves and forest mushrooms being boiled in hot water to be taken as probably the ONLY meal. Getting rice as meal is like a dream to them. We didn’t carry cameras purposefully. Taking photos of such poverty-stricken skeletons living on the foothills of plateau and outskirts of forest would have been a shame on us, who waste to display our wealth and save to guarantee our future, when the present itself is so bleak for Sabors, the ancestral tribes of Bharat. The Mahabharata and Ramayana bear their names as one of the earliest inhabitants of this holy land.

Let India shine outside the IT parks, opulent malls and the magnificent multiplexes.

In the hut, we also saw a pretty princess, hardly five years old. She was lying on the ground with her grandma-probably to dream about a heaven where there is no hunger. It was noon then. The leaves and mushrooms were boiling in hot water. We had some chocolates. One of us gave her some. She didn’t show any interest to open them. Probably, she was still in her dream-world that is free of hunger. Many of us asked her name. She remained silent. Her silence broke my heart. Her blank look blocked my vision with tears deep inside. Her indifference to the chocolates (the prized possession for any kid of that age) kicked me hard on my belly for, I am still being lured by the ostentatious display of wealth by a handful of successful rich Indians. Is that success? My little princess was silent.

read more

With not even a month left before the most popular festival of the Bengali community sets in - Durga Puja - it seems just the time to spend a bird’s eye view on how this spectacular event is celebrated overseas among the expatriate Bengalis of New Jersey.

Remember the autumnal season, Shorotkaal, of West Bengal, when sheuli and kaash phool playfully tease the air? This heralds the arrival of Goddess Durga, with her four children, to her baper bari on earth, that calls for almost a week long ritualistic celebration. Artistic mandaps enclosing beautiful idols, dazzling lights, and fancy food stalls are erected in every nook and corner of Bengali neighborhoods. It is hard to forget the scent of ghee in oil burning for the goddess’s arati, the softness of the marigold petals that are showered on the goddess’ feet during anjali, the taste of ghugni and phoochka, or the beat of the dhaki playfully assisting the priest’s incantations during the entire puja.

So how do we fellow-Bengalis commemorate such an enchanting festival thousands of miles away from our homeland, here in New Jersey? Fortunately, that has been accomplished in a slightly modified fashion.

In New Jersey, Durga Puja is celebrated, on the closest weekends to the actual Puja date, by different Bengali clubs and organization, two of the oldest of these being Kallol and Garden State Cultural Association. The former holds this event at the Ukranian church, in Somerset while the latter holds it at the Plainfield High School, in Plainfield. The attendance at both places has been so humongous that they decided to celebrate the festival on the same dates in order to split up the crowd and enable easier management.

read more

India is 61. In the last 61 years have we achieved our goal? To be precise was their any goal at all? Many of us will say “In a country like
India, where there is so much difference in wealth distribution, Government is likely to have its hand full with providing the basic roti, kapda & makan to mass” or “half the population does not have enough to eat”. Is Independence about celebrating a day in the year, grasping little tri colored flags, pronouncing aloud that we are ‘Indians’? Or is it about learning from past mistakes and making our leaders accountable for the polity and the society we live in? What doesIndependence means to us?

The Preamble states: “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.”

Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic - are we?

The word sovereign means supreme or independent.
India is internally and externally sovereign - externally free from the control of any foreign power and internally, it has a free government. But is our government is free????? Inflation has shot up to a 16-year high of 12.44 per cent.Is India economically independent? Are we sovereign at all?

read more