Windows 8 Review

Windows 8 will make its public debut on October 26 and has been controversial ever since Microsoft first released information about the operating system to the public. What most  can agree on is that Windows 8 is a shift away from the traditional desktop-orientated operating system towards a system that can be deployed on a wider variety of devices.

 

The 10 features listed here are but some of the benefits coming with Windows 8.

1. Support for x86 PCs and ARM devices. Windows 8 is the first edition to operate on both ARM-based devices and traditional x86 PC based systems. A specialized version of Windows 8, called Windows RT, runs on ARM-based hardware. Regular versions of Windows 8 can't be deployed on ARM-based devices.
Windows RT is limited from a consumer perspective. While you get Office and Internet Explorer by default, you can't install legacy software on the system, so you are left with the Windows Store and its apps when it comes to applications. It is comparable in this regard to Android tablets or Apple's iPad.

2. The new dynamic Start screen. All Windows 8 systems boot into the Start screen, which is a collection of tiles that link to apps, programs or settings among other things. Apps can be designed to display live information like the current weather report, your monitored eBay items or new photos that you have uploaded from your mobile phone right on the Start screen.
This page has been optimized for touch-enabled devices, but can also be controlled with the mouse and keyboard. Microsoft has been heavily criticized for making the start page mandatory for all systems.

3. Windows Store. From here, using a Microsoft Account, users can purchase, download and install apps. The store will offer free and paid applications, and its revenue potential is without doubt one of the reasons why Microsoft pushes the Start screen that much despite the criticism it received for it.
Apps are limited to the Start screen environment. While it is possible to use shortcuts to load apps from the desktop, Windows 8 will automatically switch to the modern user interface to load and display those apps on the system.
Windows 8 users benefit from a centralized location where they can download tested and validated applications that reduce the chance of installing malware on the system. Non-Windows RT users can still install desktop applications as usual.

4. Native USB 3.0 support. No Windows operating system but Windows 8 supports USB 3.0 right now natively, and while we may see support for USB 3.0 added to older versions of Windows 7 at some point in time, it is not clear yet when and how this is going to happen.
That does not mean that current Windows users can't benefit from the significant faster transfer speeds of USB 3.0, only that it is necessary to install third-party drivers to add support for that to their operating system.
Windows 8 users can connect their USB 3.0 supporting devices directly to the PC to benefit from all related features without having to do that.

5. Multiple monitor support. If your PC connects to multiple screens you will benefit from better support for multi-monitor systems in Windows 8. This includes options to extend the taskbar and wallpapers across several monitors, or to display the start page on one screen and the desktop on another at the same time.

6. Improved search. Microsoft has improved search significantly in Windows 8. When you search now, you are taken to the modern UI interface where you search in a full screen environment. Results are displayed once you enter the first search term based on previous use and a number of additional factors.
Filters on the right let you switch between apps, settings, or file related search results. What makes search superior to previous versions is that it is near instant, and that it is also powering in-app searches. If you run the eBay app for instance, you can open the search menu there to search on eBay directly from your desktop without web browser.

7. Built-in synchronization, cloud storage. If you log into Windows 8 with a Microsoft Account, your preferences are automatically loaded from the cloud. This includes personalizations, app settings, passwords and language preferences. You get the same experience whether you sign-in in New York, Tokyo or Paris, provided that the computer runs a version of the Windows 8 operating system and that logging in with a Microsoft Account is enabled.
Microsoft's cloud storage service SkyDrive is integrated into the operating system, allowing Windows 8 users to access data hosted on SkyDrive from their Windows 8 system. You can save documents to the cloud to access them from any device either through a web browser or automatically when logged into a Windows 8 system.

8. Speed and performance. Windows 8 boots faster than Windows 7 thanks to additional improvements made to the boot process. Hybrid boot for instance saves some of the data that is required to boot to the disk to speed up the system start significantly. The same is true for the shut down of the system and wake up from sleep.
Windows 8 is also faster when it comes to multimedia performance. Recent benchmarks by Techspot show an increase of about 10 percent over Windows 7 in benchmarks such as PC Mark 7, Mozilla Kraken or Google V8.

9. Refresh and reset. Refresh and reset are two new features of the operating system that may help when things are not running as smooth as before. Refresh basically reinstalls Windows without affecting your personal files. This can be helpful if you are running into an error or issue that you can't seem to resolve.
Reset on the other hand restores the operating system to its factory settings. Both options are considerably faster, thanks to less user interaction and other annoyances, than manually installing the operating system anew on the computer.

10. Price. As it stands right now, Windows 8 will cost significantly less than previous copies of the Microsoft Windows operating system -- $39.99 upgrade to Windows 8 Pro that includes a free Media Center upgrade. And while that's a promotional offer that expires January 31, it is likely that Microsoft will not increase the price afterwards to Windows 7 levels where a retail upgrade copy of Windows 7 Pro costs $199.

Advantages:  

1. Boot up speed. One problem that’s always dogged Windows is how long it takes to go from a cold boot to a usable state. I stripped down Windows 7, removed everything I could from the boot process, and upgraded to a SSD just to get it loading in what I consider an acceptable time-frame. If you can’t be bothered to do all that, the good news is Windows 8 loads much, much faster, even when dual booting.

2. Refresh/Reset. This great feature lets you reset Windows to the factory settings, useful in case of a malware infection, or if you just want a clean start. Refresh keeps all of your user profiles, data and apps in place, while wiping programs you’ve installed. Reset is much more extreme and clears out all of your personal files and apps, and changes the PC’s settings to the defaults.

3. File History. I’m a big fan of this new inclusion, which is a combination of Previous Versions and Windows Backup, and protects your files against corruption or unwanted changes. It monitors common locations, like Libraries and the Desktop, and when it detects a change to a file, automatically makes a backup to your choice of location (which includes SkyDrive and networked drives). You can set how long File History should keep versions of all the changed files.

4. Windows Defender. The new Defender is really a tweaked version of Microsoft Security Essentials, the company’s standalone antivirus tool.  It’s fairly basic, especially when compared to other free alternatives, but really is about time Microsoft had proper built-in antivirus protection.

5. Windows account synchronization. Linking your Microsoft account to the OS means all your apps and preferences can be saved to the cloud, allowing them to be synchronized across any other devices you have running Windows 8. If you don’t have a Microsoft account you can quickly set one up.

6. Improved file management. When you copy or move a file in Windows 8, you are presented with a graph showing the transfer speed and a regularly updated completion estimate. Copy or move multiple files and they’ll be stacked up in the same window.  A big improvement over the previous system.

7. Hyper-V. The new OS comes with Hyper-V, a powerful replacement for Windows Virtual PC that you can use to run multiple guest operating systems simultaneously. Great for developers and IT professionals.

8. Storage Spaces. Windows 8 lets you use multiple connected disks (of any size) to create a pool of storage, which is treated as a single location with its own drive letter. If you start to run out of space you can simply connect another drive to the pool.

DisAdvantage: 

1. Faster, but negligibly so. With all the added benefits one has to wonder: "just how fast is it?" Well, according to the benchmarks the difference isn't substantial in day-to-day use, the performance assessments focusing on differences that will hardly ever be noticed by Windows 8 users that do not use benchmarks.
An extra few points in Google V8 will go unnoticed in terms of browsing experience when modern browsers in Windows 7 are already fast to start with. Boot-up times are indeed much improved, but shaving a few seconds when booting is like starting a car faster; not going to make any real difference unless the user constantly restarts the computer, which commonsense dictates is an unlikely scenario. The same can be said about gaming or multimedia performance, which improves to a point where only benchmarks and timers can pinpoint the difference.
Basically unless you want to squeeze that last tiny drop of performance, you're better off sticking to the version already installed.

2. Windows 8 Store lacks relevance and is immature. The first issue with the store is that it's mainly designed for Windows UI apps, leaving the aquisition of Desktop apps to the developer which makes it look like an afterthought. The second and most important is the insignificant number of applications available through Windows 8 store compared to the plethora of apps designed for the "Desktop Windows" making it just a gimmick until the platform matures; it can take some time to take off which is why a rushed upgrade is a bad idea. Facebook, Google+, Instagram are all missing right now, and these are just three examples off the top of my head.

3. Microsoft account is required. Windows 8 provides two methods of authentication, one using a local account and the second relying on a Microsoft account. The only way to get access to complete Windows 8 functionality is to use the latter, basically forcing you to apply for a Microsoft account in order to benefit from all features. Want to use a Google account? Tough luck. Features like Windows Store only work with Microsoft account. If you do not have one or do not want to create one just for Windows 8 you're out of luck.

4. SkyDrive integration only. Microsoft places its own services in the first lines of "assault", which can be viewed as a good thing in terms of added functionality, but at the same time doesn't offer an alternative to the people out there using Google Drive or Dropbox that have already paid for extra storage space on the popular cloud storage providers. Then there is the issue of all cloud data being stored on Microsoft's own servers, which might not sit well with some users as far as privacy concerns go.

5. Windows Defender can't replace a dedicated security software suite. While it provides a certain basic degree of security, Windows Defender is still pretty far away in terms of overall functionality compared to dedicated security software suites and it still doesn't integrate with Windows Firewall to provide a unified interface for the integrated security software. It's addressed only for basic security needs which basically means that it can't offer the same degree of protection as a fully fledged security suite.

6. Multiple monitor support is only useful to some. Because let's face it, this does not target every Windows user like some of the features do. It has a limited applicability because of the obvious hardware requirements and having the ability to separate the new Windows 8 UI from the Desktop on two separate monitors is not necessarily important when the old Desktop did just fine before. A similar functionality exists already that allows to separate working spaces on multiple monitors; this is just as good when there are not two different interfaces to play with, but just the older Desktop.

7. The new ribbon desktop interface is different, but not necessarily improved. A few months ago Microsoft decided that an Aero-like look a la Windows 7 is not worthy of Windows 8 and accordingly has removed all transparency effects from the desktop interface. The change was made for the sake of using less resources, directly benefiting tablets not desktops. It's not necessarily better looking and it certainly doesn't provide extra functionality over the older Windows Explorer which is important when defining the term "upgrade." Same functionality, just the look is different.

8. Windows 8 UI has a higher learning curve and makes simple operations more complicated. A good example of how the new UI makes Windows 8 seem unintuitive is power options, as performing simple operations like shutting down the computer is for some reason more complicated to do than it was with Windows XP or Windows 7. This is just an example of how the learning curve in Windows 8 is higher than with any other desktop operating system to come from Microsoft. Then there is the confusion added by a separate interface. Pressing a button switches from Desktop to Windows 8 UI and vice-versa, which will only encumber inexperienced users that were used to a single place to conduct all operations.

Conclusion

Depending on your personal needs, other features such as Storage Spaces, Secure Boot, Windows to Go, the SmartScreen filter, specific store apps or the file history feature may as important, or more so.
Some of the features can be integrated into other versions of Windows through third-party programs, customizations and tweaks, while others, like the Windows Store, can't.

Article :  http://betanews.com/2012/08/20/10-windows-8-features-you-should-know-about/

How to install Windows 8 on VMware Workstation

Prerequisites to install Windows 8 in VMware Workstation:

1. VMware Workstation, that can be downloaded from FileForum.
2. Windows 8 ISO, that can also be downloaded from FileForum.

Before getting down to business you need to download VMware Workstation and of course Windows 8 ISO. Microsoft provides a 90-day trial for Windows 8 that is currently available to download, but if you have another Windows 8 ISO available you can use that instead. This guide will cover general guidelines that are valid for any Windows 8 version and requires VMware Workstation to be installed beforehand.

Depending on the level of control that you want to have during the creation of the virtual machine you can chose between "Typical (recommended)" and "Custom (advanced)" with steps to follow depending on the option selected available below.
To install Windows 8 in VMware Workstation by using "Custom (advanced)" follow the next steps:

1. Open VMware Workstation and select "New Virtual Machine" -- or press CTRL + N in VMware Workstation.
2. Select "Custom (advanced)" and click "Next".
3. Click "Next" and select "Installer disc image (iso)" and click "Browse" then navigate to the location where Windows 8 ISO is downloaded/located, select it and click "Open".
4. Click "Next" and insert the "Windows product key" if you have one; if you don't have one just leave the fields empty and click "Next" and validate the prompt.
5. Type a new name for "Virtual machine name" or leave it as is.
6. Select the location of the virtual machine and make sure you have at least 16GB for 32-bit Windows 8 and 20GB for 64-bit Windows 8 free space in the selected location -- as recommended by Microsoft, but 30GB is better to avoid running out of free space.
7. Next you have to select "Number of processors" to match the ones installed (typical for a desktop computer to have just one) and "Number of cores per processor" that for a single core CPU it is one, for a dual-core CPU it is two, for a quad-core CPU it is four and so on -- this is to ensure the virtual machine is functioning at optimum parameters.
8. Click "Next" and select the RAM memory size that you want to allocate to the virtual machine -- Microsoft recommends a minimum of 1GB for 32-bit Windows 8 and 2GB for 64-bit Windows 8, but you should double the minimum requirements for a smoother operation.
9. Click "Next", "Next" and then select "Create a new virtual disk" to set up from scratch -- the other two options should be left alone for inexperienced users.
10. Click "Next", "Next" and allocate at least the minimum recommended space from step No. 6 then select "Store virtual disk as a single file" for optimum performance.
11. Click "Next" and use a different name for the disk file or leave as is.
12. Click "Next" then "Finish" and the install process will start.

To install Windows 8 in VMware Workstation by using "Typical (recommended)" option follow the next steps:

1. Open VMware Workstation and select "New Virtual Machine" -- or press CTRL + N in VMware Workstation
2. Select "Typical (recommended)" and click "Next".
3. Select "Installer disc image file (iso) and click "Browse" then navigate to the location where Windows 8 ISO is downloaded/located, select it and click "Open".
4. Click Next and insert the "Windows product key" if you have one; if you don't have one just leave the fields empty and click "Next" and validate the prompt.
5. Type a new name for "Virtual machine name" or leave it as is.
6. Select the location of the virtual machine and make sure you have at least 16GB for the 32-bit Windows 8 and 20GB for the 64-bit Windows 8 free space in the selected location -- again, 30GB is better to avoid running out of free space.
7. Select "Store virtual disk as a single file" to keep the virtual HDD in a single file and optimize performance then click "Next"
8. At the next screen click on "Customize Hardware..." go to "Memory" -- Microsoft recommends a minimum of 1GB for 32-bit Windows 8 and 2GB for 64-bit Windows 8, but you should double the minimum requirements for a smoother operation,
9. At the "Processors" dialog box select the "Number of processor cores" available for your CPU.
10. Click "Close" then "Finish" to start the install process.

If there are any devices that can be attached to the virtual machine VMware Workstation will notify you during the installation. After the process is completed you are able to use Windows 8 in VMware Workstation. It is recommended to install VMware Tools as well; it can be accessed from VM -> "Install VMware Tools..."

Now you will have a fully working Windows 8 inside VMware Workstation.

Microsoft Office 2013

Microsoft recently unveiled the consumer preview for Office 2013, the newest version of the company’s productivity suite, calling it “the biggest, most ambitious Office” to date. The new version of Office includes integration with online services such as Facebook, Flickr, SkyDrive, and YouTube.

Microsoft Office 2013 emphasizes cloud integration with new Office 365 subscriptions for home users, a greater focus on touchscreens, and Office on Demand virtualization, but what about the things we don’t know? Microsoft is keeping quiet about several key issues, including pricing, release dates, and whether the software giant will be including Android and iOS devices in its Office 2013 rollout.

Microsoft claims that any Office 365 features you can access in a Web browser will work with Android and iOS devices. But exactly what that means is unclear. Current versions of the Microsoft Office Web apps do not work for editing documents on tablets or smartphones. All you can do with the current version of Office 365 is access your email, calendar, contacts, and tasks via Exchange Online, and view Office documents via SharePoint.

Read more

Visual Studio 2012 and .NET 4.5 now available!

With Visual Studio 2012, Microsoft delivering a productive and powerful development experience, one that makes it easy to develop on your own or as part of a collaborative team, all the while building apps that target the latest platforms.  The interesting question for every developer out there is - what app will you build today?  You can discuss it more during the Visual Studio 2012 Launch Event on September 12th.

Developing great apps for Windows 8 is an important goal of this release. Furthermore, in addition to the Blend tools that ship with Visual Studio 2012 RTM, Microsoft had also released a new Blend + SketchFlow Preview for Visual Studio 2012 that addresses some top Blend customer requests, including support for WPF, Silverlight, and SketchFlow.

 

Top 12 of Visual Studio 2012

In case you’re still deciding whether to download Visual Studio 2012, or haven’t been keeping up with all the news about the release, I’ll leave you with 12 good reasons to upgrade today. ;-)

#1) Develop for Windows 8

Visual Studio 2012 contains all the tools you need to develop killer apps for Windows 8, from templates, to designers, to testing, to debugging. Blend now comes with the Visual Studio installation providing rich visual tools for creating Windows store apps using HTML/CSS and XAML. Using these tools, you’ll find everything you need to develop a great app and submit it to the Windows Store.

For more information, see the Windows 8 App Developer Blog and the Windows Dev Center.

#2) Develop for the Web

Visual Studio 2012 and .NET 4.5 provide the latest advances in ASP.NET including web optimization improvements (minification and bundling), new templates, HTML & CSS editor improvements, page inspector, and new publishing tools. We’ve added new features to support JavaScript development including IntelliSense improvements, a new DOM explorer, and a JavaScript console. For more information, check out the Web Development team blog.

Page Inspector

#3) Develop for Windows Phone 8

Visual Studio 2012 will provide support for developing Windows Phone 8 applications (both with a Express SKU as well as a freely downloadable plug-in for VS Pro and above). This will come online in the future, once Windows Phone 8 and the developer SDK become available. Some new features to look forward to include native C++ support, the ability to target both Windows Phone 7.x and Windows Phone 8 applications, multi-chassis support, and enterprise publishing. Stay tuned for more info from the Windows Phone team.

C++ Windows Phone 8 Application

#4) Develop for Windows Azure

Visual Studio provides the best possible tools to develop your cloud services. In Visual Studio 2012, you’ll notice cloud tooling improvements including support for distributed caching, new publishing options, new templates, and a lower install footprint. Using Team Foundation Service with Windows Azure, you can now achieve continuous integration and continuous deployment of your software. For more information, please visit the Windows Azure .NET Developer center, and download today’s release of the Windows Azure SDK for .NET.

Deployment history

#5) Develop Business Applications

Visual Studio 2012 contains a variety of tools for developing business applications. SharePoint developers will find new designers for list and content types, new templates for site columns and Silverlight web pages, as well as new options for deploying SharePoint sites. ALM features like performance profiling, unit testing, and IntelliTrace are now available for SharePoint development. Client-side development has been improved as well, with support for JavaScript debugging and IntelliSense. For more information, please visit the SharePoint developer team blog.

SharePoint List Designer
Meanwhile, we’ve also announced a new app model for Office and SharePoint 2013, which enables you to host your apps in the cloud, and to use web technologies to develop them. Visual Studio 2012, along with the Microsoft Office Developer Tools for Visual Studio 2012 – Preview, gives you the tools to program with the new app models for Office and SharePoint. To learn more and get started building apps for Office & SharePoint 2013, head to http://dev.office.com.
LightSwitch is a powerful tool available for building business applications for the Desktop and the Cloud. Starting in Visual Studio 2012, LightSwitch is available as part of the Visual Studio Professional, Premium and Ultimate installations. LightSwitch includes a variety of improvements in Visual Studio 2012, such as a new theme, the ability to access data from any OData source as well as create OData services, Active Directory integration, and new business types. We also are working on support for HTML clients, which will be available as an add-on to VS2012. To learn more, please visit the LightSwitch Developer Center and the LightSwitch team blog.

LightSwitch in Visual Studio 2012

#6) Develop Games and other 3D Applications

Visual Studio 2012 includes graphics tools to help game developers become more productive, making it easier to build innovative games. From debugging DirectX graphics, to designing and coding DirectX shaders (HLSL), to inspecting and manipulating graphics assets (images and models), Visual Studio 2012 provides all the functionality you need to build graphically rich 2D/3D applications.

Visual Studio 2012 Graphics Diagnostics Tools

#7) Take advantage of the latest language advancements

If you’re developing in C# or Visual Basic, you can take advantage of the language new features in Visual Studio 2012 and .NET 4.5 for asynchronous programming. Using the new async and await keywords, you can write asynchronous code that looks a lot like the synchronous version:

The C++ support in Visual Studio 2012 includes the full C++ 11 standard library as well as new language features: stateless lambdas, SCARY iterators, range-based for loops, and scoped enumerations support. Visual C++ 11 also adds seamless access to Windows Runtime components through C++/CX as well as C++ Accelerated Massive Parallelism (C++ AMP), which enables hardware acceleration for the execution of your data-parallel C++ code.
For JavaScript development, please see more details about the improvements we’ve made in the Web development section above.
Lastly, if you’re using F#, you’ll enjoy improvements for information-rich programming, which enable you to program directly against data services, and are made possible by F# type providers and LINQ queries.

#8) Performance, Reliability, and Compatibility Improvements

In addition to adding new features, we’ve also invested heavily to improve the core capabilities of the product. For example, we’ve invested in performance and made significant improvements in areas such as the toolbox, typing and editing, debugging, and solution loading time.

We’ve also taken care to improve the backward compatibility of Visual Studio 2012, and enabled you to continue collaborating on projects with teammates using Visual Studio 2010 SP1.

#9) New IDE Productivity Features

The Visual Studio 2012 user interface includes an updated look and feel, which is consistent with the latest Microsoft products, and designed to focus your attention on the code. The overall environment has been streamlined, including simplified toolbars, a lightweight Find dialog, and less tab clutter by previewing files rather than opening them during debugging. Using Quick Launch, you can now search the IDE for any menu or command.

New Find Dialog

#10) Improve your code quality with enhanced testing tools

Visual Studio 2012 includes a wealth of testing tools.
Microsoft Test Manager 2012 has been enhanced to embrace exploratory testing (sometimes called agile testing), which allows you to explore the product in any way you want while keeping relevant steps and data that can be used to directly file bugs and feedback:

Lab Management has also been greatly simplified in this release with the consolidation of agents and the introduction of standard environments, which allow you to benefit from build-deploy-test workflows without the dependency on Hyper-V or SCVMM.
With Visual Studio 2012, we now provide the ability for you to include additional adapters to support 3rd party unit testing frameworks such as xUnit.net, NUnit, and others. The new Test Explorer will showcase all of the tests across your solution regardless of which testing framework they were written for. Visual Studio 2012 will continue to provide support for traditional unit tests written using the classic Visual Studio Unit Testing Framework, and adds support for writing tests in C++ as well.

New Test Explorer

#11) Reduce cycle times using tools for agile practices

Visual Studio 2012 contains a variety of tools to create transparency between team members, reduce waste, and accelerate the flow of the project. As you set out to start the project, PowerPoint storyboarding is a useful way to communicate the requirements of the software. When you get further along, the Microsoft Feedback Client can be used to gather feedback on the working bits from external stakeholders.
Team Foundation Server 2012 provides a rich toolset for planning out your sprints, managing the backlog, and tracking progress. I recommend reading my earlier post, where I explored these features in detail. As an example, below is a picture of the taskboard, which can be used to easily edit work items during a standup meeting:

#12) Deliver Cloud-Based Services with Smoother Collaboration between Operations and Engineering

Each release of our ALM tools, we’ve integrated additional roles to improve collaboration across the team, and decrease cycle time. This release, we’re including operations, which is increasingly important for today’s cloud-based services apps. Many of you are already using System Center to monitor your applications in production. This release, we’ve introduced a new management pack, which will allow critical production issues detected by System Center 2012 SP1 to be immediately assigned to the development team with high quality diagnostic information via TFS and Visual Studio.

System Center Operations Manager
These kinds of tools for operations and engineering are something we plan to continue delivering in the future. For example, System Center 2012 SP1 will also introduce “Global Service Monitor” (GSM), which allows you to monitor your application’s functionality, performance, and uptime from multiple endpoints around the world.

How can you get them?

• If you’re an MSDN Subscriber, you can download them today from MSDN Subscriber Downloads.
• If you want the free Visual Studio Express 2012 products, or free trial versions of Visual Studio 2012, you can download them from here.  Visual Studio Express for Windows 8, Visual Studio Express for Web, and Team Foundation Server Express are all now available.  Express for Windows Phone and Express for Windows Desktop will be available later this fall.
• If you want to install .NET 4.5 separately, you can get it from http://www.microsoft.com/net.
• For volume licensing customers, Visual Studio 2012 products will be available starting tomorrow (August 16th) from the Volume Licensing Servicing Center.
• Packaged products will begin to show up in stores next month, with some products available for purchase digitally in selected regions starting in the next few days (visit the Visual Studio product website for details).

 It’s time to start your engines, and begin downloading today!

Will India Become a Superpower?

“The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity”  - Jawaharlal Nehru, 14 August, 1947.

India with its third largest economy, slotting next to China and USA, has all the attributes to become an economic super power by 2025.India's core strengths lies in its democratic framework, which can be routed to bridge the divide at the social and economic level.

Education holds the key to fulfill many ambitions from the individual to the family, the society and the nation at large. Considering that the major part of the Indian demographics is young, with over 450 million students in the education segment, there is a huge potential in this sector, to generate skilled workforce. Meaning, with skilled workforce the employment rate will increase manifold, which in turn can bring about greater economic power at the individual, family and society-level, with its cascading effects on the nation at large.

We started off with an exalted note, a thundering applause, and an optimistic tryst with destiny. Despite obnoxious Churchill laughing away sardonically. We installed the most erudite of scholars at the highest echelons of power. Even as that could not deprive us of our web of superstitious ignorance. We strived to help Indira’s India turn duplicitously  socialist carving out a veritably stimulating mixed economy. That did not prevent us from cementing the biggest feudal setup in modern times. Now a full circle; we are a capitalistic mega success, a military super power in the making, an economic giant, and foremost of all, a proud nation zealously loved, fervently guarded and sacredly held in esteem. And our lofty, unwavering proclamations of nationalism have decisively helped us masquerade our sickening class society as a vibrant and robust democracy.

It is imperative not to discount the significance of political democracy, or the labeling of it. After all, electoral voting is deeply crucial in sustaining a system that can be controlled by those exuding self-perpetuating power attained via means legitimized as desired. Democracy has become the horse for our moral rides, the unquestioned credo that stirs us to inaction, the mystical justification for the status quo. Holiest of scriptures is our Preamble which bestows upon us our long cherished national identities we refuse to critically interrogate and through those, we the people of India have given to ourselves unfathomable hyperboles.

A deeply religious society fractured with majoritarian fanaticism and yet we are the proclaimed seculars; distinctly divisive run our regional tendencies and yet we are constitutionally united; magnitudes in riches determine the electoral reach of candidates and yet we bask in largest democratic glories; unashamed playground for the capitalists of the world and yet documented we are as a socialist nation. We like to be observed as romanticized studies in great contrasts, of the slumdogs and millionaires; yet we are in reality a sustained plethora of unfortunate contradictions refusing to resolve.

Six decades ago, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar put it rather mildly, “On the 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognizing the principle of one-person-one-vote and one-vote-one-value. In our social and economic life, we shall by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one-person-one-value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions?”

We have not only embraced the contradictions, we revel in them. One of the vicious outfits we entertain these days is ironically called Youth for Equality which has started appropriating none other than Dr. Ambedkar himself to further its agendas of privileged caste-blindness. Whereas Dr. Ambedkar aimed for a casteless society, he did so by recognizing the root and demanding its elimination. Before dreaming of a casteless India, he made it very clear that it is Hinduism whose scriptures be burnt down, for “inequality is the soul of Hinduism.” He wrote, “Caste is a disease of mind. The teachings of the Hindu religion are the root cause of this disease. We practice casteism and we observe untouchability because we are enjoined to do so by the Hindu religion. A bitter thing cannot be made sweet. The taste of anything can be changed. But poison cannot be changed into nectar.”

Republic of India has failed to change the poison into nectar because it is the poison we the apparently innocent, well-meaning, decent folks have voluntarily been administering within our families and schools. As a result, we not only now have major political parties unabashedly displaying Hindu affections through systematic violence against religious minorities, what is worse is we blame no longer Hinduism proponents, but their victims as the casteists: the untouchables, the Dalits, the indigenous peoples discarded by our majoritarian religious identity. The public perception that Dalit activists are the ones practicing casteism has gained unprecedented mileage in recent times, and the upper caste elitists who refuse to give up an ounce of their privileges are the ones christened as equal rights champions.

Not very dissimilar is our collective attitude towards the poor working class being the cause of embarrassment in face of our superpower aspirations. It is not the poverty that a bunch of us in power corridors - of justice, education, technology and legislation - have institutionalized to our benefit, which needs to be felt ashamed of. In fact, we gloat over the emerging India’s list of billionaires and star cricketers driving Ferraris and celebrities getting paid tens of crores per movie appearance. What we are ashamed of are our poor working class folks who get regularly evicted out of the rising cities we showcase for potential foreign investments.

The shining India up for sale comes tagged with a befitting disclaimer: “There is nothing wrong in being rich if it is hard-earned money.” No questions asked as to whose hard-work enables accumulations for the rich. Questions about capitalistic contradictions no longer require any answers. Capitalism is here to stay and flourish. After all, we have voted our parliamentarians to power and they have welcomed imperialistic trade to enslave us once again. The question that needs to be answered and addressed is that of the undesirable elements that weaken the otherwise radiating image of our beloved country - the question of the Maoists, of the disfranchised, of the destitute, of the refugees.

Full Article : http://www.saswat.com/blog/reflections-for-15th-august.html

Report By Ramachandra Guha: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/publications/reports/pdf/SR010/guha.pdf

Article of The Hindu: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3284696.ece