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Showing posts from August, 2009

Will Rajasthan Police learn something from MIT project

Rajendra Bora Jaipur. It is full one year after completion of a three year collaborative project between the Rajasthan Police and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States. And it is the time for looking back and evaluate if the exercise really succeeded in enhancing performance, and improve public perception of the state police? The ambitious project was claimed to be the first rigorously evaluated police reform project in the world. The project started in September 2005 was over in June 2008. It was considered as a first genuine effort of administrative reform where a government department willingly opened itself to a neutral agency to identify the areas of concern in their basic field unit and rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of reform to provide a responsive, accountable and transparent police to citizens. During the course of project around 350 investigation officers – Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors and ASI’s – were trained at Rajasthan Police Academy for imp

Gulshan Bawra: Lyricist with the magic pen

Rajendra Bora Noted lyricist Gulshan Bawra, whose song in Manoj Kumar’s film ‘Upkaar’ – ‘Mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ugle’ – turned out to be one of the finest patriotic songs in Hindi films, passed away in Mumbai today. Many would not know that the poet who also wrote ‘Yaari Hai Imaan Mera’ for Amitabh Bacchhan’s first blockbuster ‘Zanjeer’, had Jaipur connection. The poet, who thrilled the Hindustani Film Music buffs for about 40 years had his schooling in Jaipur. He was born at Sheikhupura, about 30 kms from Lahore in undivided India. His original name was Gulshan Kumar Mehta. His family was a victim to the partition riots where young Gulshan saw his parents being killed in front of his eyes. After the tragedy his sister brought him and his elder brother to Jaipur and brought them up. The family used to live in Raja Park area and Gushan had his schooling in the Pink City. After his brother got a job, Gulshan was shifted to Delhi where he graduated from the Delhi University. He started