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Can Indian EVMs be hacked?

Can Indian EVMs be hacked? Debapratim Ghosh, Assistant Prof. (Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar) replies/gives his opinion as follows: I know the Indian EVM in a fair amount of detail through an ex-professor during my PhD days. Here it goes: 1. The Indian EVM is not designed by a single person or group of persons from a single company. There are no foreign designers involved. In fact, the design is made by taking contributions from (a) the Election Commission of India (b) a Technical Experts Group (TEG) consisting of professors from IITs, IISc etc. and (c) Non-commercial public sector manufacturing units such as BEL (Bharat Electronics) and ECIL (Electronics Corp of India Ltd.). 2. Most EVMs around the world are essentially generic microcomputer systems which can do multiple functions or tasks. On the other hand, the Indian EVM can only be used for voting and nothing else. Hence there is only one single program that runs in it, and that is for voting only. So, introducing a

Don't you just love lawyers?

A Mafia Godfather finds out that his bookkeeper, Guido, has cheated him out of $10,000,000. His bookkeeper is deaf and dumb. That was the reason he got the job in the first place. It was assumed that Guido would hear nothing so he would never have to testify in court. When the Godfather goes to confront Guido about his missing $10 million, he takes along his lawyer who knows sign language. The Godfather tells the lawyer, "Ask him where the money is!" The lawyer, using sign language, asks Guido, Where's the money? Guido signs back, "I don't know what you are talking about." The lawyer tells the Godfather, "He says he doesn't know what you're talking about." The Godfather pulls out a pistol, puts it to Guido's head and says, "Ask him again or I'll kill him!" The lawyer signs to Guido, "He'll kill you if you don't tell him." Guido trembles and signs, "OK! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, buri

JUST LEAVE IT

Just leave it. It is a wonderful sentence. If we know the value of it, we won’t be suffering as much as we do in our lives. The principle of JUST LEAVE IT ( Worth Practicing) - Try convincing a person once or twice. If he or she refuses to get convinced, Just Leave it - When the children grow up and make their own decisions, do not impose, Just Leave it - Your frequency doesn't match with everyone in life. If you can't connect with someone, Just Leave it - After a certain age if someone criticises you, don't get upset, Just Leave it - When you realise that nothing is in your hands, stop worrying about others and the future, Just Leave it - When the gap between your wish list and your capabilities increases, stop self-expectations, Just Leave it - Everyone's path of life, size of life, quality of life is different, so stop comparing, Just Leave it - When life has given you such a wonderful treasure of experience, stop counting your daily earnings, Just Leave it - If this

Indian Elections 2024 - The Headlines From Abroad

Indian Elections 2024 - the headlines from abroad A compilation: “Will the outcome of India’s election increase intolerance” - Deutsche Welle “Modification of India is almost complete” - TIME Magazine. “India’s election: fixing a win by outlawing dissent damages democracy” - UK Guardian “Is India’s BJP the world’s most ruthlessly efficient political party?” - Financial Times “‘Messianic spell’: how Narendra Modi created a cult of personality” - UK Guardian “Narendra Modi Is Preparing New Attacks on Democratic Rights” - Jacobin Magazine “With democracy under threat in Narendra Modi’s India, how free and fair will this year’s election be?” - The Conversation, Australian Research Council “India can grow fast with or without Narendra Modi” - Reuters. “Modi Is Making India’s Election All About Himself” - Bloomberg “Progressive South Is Rejecting Modi” - Bloomberg “Modi’s Campaign May Have Already Peaked” - Bloomberg “‘Billionaire Raj’ Is Pushing India Toward Autocracy” - Bloomberg “India’s

This is Called Out of Box

OUT OF BOX Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town, a Merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the Moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant’s beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchant’s debt if he could marry the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylender’s wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail. They were standing on a pebble-strewn path in the merchant’s garden. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the s

Do You Want to Attract Miracles into Your Life? Do Your Part

According to an old native American legend, one day there was a big fire in the forest. All the animals fled in terror in all directions, because it was a very violent fire. Suddenly, the jaguar saw a hummingbird pass over his head, but in the opposite direction. The humming flew bird flew towards the fire! Whatever happened, he wouldn't stop. Moments later, the jaguar saw him pass again, this time in the same direction as the jaguar was walking. He could observe this coming and going until he decided to ask the bird about it because it seemed very bizarre behaviour. "What are you doing, hummingbird?" he asked. "I am going to the lake," he answered, "I drink water with my beak and throw it on the fire to extinguish it." The jaguar laughed. 'Are you crazy? Do you really think that you can put out that big fire on your own with your very small beak?' 'No,' said the hummingbird, 'I know I can't. But the forest is my home. It feeds

A N O S O G N O S I A : What is it?

A N O S O G N O S I A: What is it? Anosognosia, is a temporary forgetfulness, according to French Professor, Bruno Dor, of the Institute of Memory and Alzheimer's Disease (IMMA), La Pitié-Salpêtrière, Hospital, in Paris. He addresses the subject in a rather reassuring way: "If anyone is aware of his memory problems --he does not have Alzheimer's." 1. I forget the names of families; 2. I do not remember where I put some things; This is "Anosognosia" or temporary forgetfulness. Half of people 60 and older have some symptoms that are due to age, rather than disease. The most common cases are: 1. forgetting the name of a person; 2. going to a room in the house and not remembering why we were going there; 3. a blank memory for a movie title or actor\actress; 4. a waste of time searching where we left our glasses or keys; After 60 years, most people have such a difficulty, which indicates that it is not a disease, but rather a characteristic, due to the pas

Vote and Spread the Importance of Voting

Vote and Spread the Importance of Voting A ll the B eloved C itizens come and do your D uty to E nsure that your F uture is in G enuine and resposible H ands which is so I mportant. J ust K eep your L ong leave plans aside and M ake sure you will N ot miss the O pportunity of P ressing the button Q uietly thereby discharging your R esponsibility. Also S pread the message T o the U naware V oters as to not W aste their X tremely important vote & do Y our bit in building the future of this Z ealous nation Vote and spread the importance of voting. Courtesy: Anonymous

Some Quotable Quotes are Compiled from a KT Article in HT

Some quotable quotes are compiled from a KT article in HT 1. When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent. 2. The fundamental cause of trouble in the modern world is that the stupid are cock-sure & the intelligent are full of doubt. 3. What's patriotism? Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government only when it deserves it. 4. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right & if wrong, to be set right. 5. I'm more scared by natural stupidity than by artificial intelligence. 6. Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies. 7. Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor & campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. 8. I've come to the conclusion that Politics is too serious a matter to be left to politicians. 9. Politicians are the same everywhere. They promise to build a bridge even whe

Murphy's Law on Buttered Toast

Murphy's Law on Buttered Toast Murphy drops some buttered toast on the kitchen floor and it lands butter-side-up. He looks down in astonishment, for he knows that it's a law of nature of the universe that buttered toast always falls butter-side-down. So he rushes round to the presbytery to fetch Father Flanagan. He tells the priest that a miracle has occurred in his kitchen. But he won't say what it is. He asks Fr. Flanagan to come and see it with his own eyes. He leads Fr Flanagan into the kitchen and asks him what he sees on the floor. "Well," says the priest, "it's pretty obvious. Someone has dropped some buttered toast on the floor and then, for some reason, they flipped it over so that the butter was on top." "No, Father, I dropped it and it landed like that!" exclaimed Murphy. "Oh my Lord," says Fr. Flanagan, "dropped toast never falls with the butter side up. It's a miracle. But wait... it's not for me to s

Mysuru-Kodagu and Chamarajanagar: Litmus Test To Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Mysuru-Kodagu and adjoining Chamarajanagar reserve Lok Sabha constituencies in the South Karnataka region are attracting undue attention not because of being neighbours. It is because of the significance they get connected with Siddaramaiah, the incumbent Chief Minister and a native of Mysuru district while Varuna, the constituency he represents in the state Assembly is also one of the constituents of Chamarajanagar reserved Lok Sabha constituency. Outcome crucial to continue as a CM: Both constituencies are being represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party members in the outgoing Parliament. Former State and Union Minister V Sreenivasprasad is Chamarajanagar MP and Prathap Simha represents Mysuru-Kodagu and both of them have been denied tickets to contest. S Balaraj is the BJP candidate and Sunil Bose is the INC aspirant in Chamarajanagar. On the other hand, Yaduveer Wadiyar, the scion of the erstwhile Mysuru dynasty and M Lakshman are the contenders from BJP and INC respec

Karnataka Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Personal Prestige, Political Future On The Test

Politics is the last resort for scoundrels- George Bernard Shaw. Bengaluru: Seven more days are left for the first round of polls to 14 constituencies of Karnataka, but a short trip in multiple constituencies of several districts doesn’t indicate that general elections are underway. Thanks to the code of conduct being rigidly adhered to, you don’t even come across wall writings, banners, billboards, cutouts, hitherto a big nuisance during polls. Heatwave feared to affect turnout: Hunaswadi Rajan, Group Editor of Lok Shikshan Trust publications including Samayukta Karnataka, the oldest Kannada daily newspaper feared-“There is a danger of the polling per cent dipping down if the same present heatwave continues until the polling day”. Personal prestige to the fore: Generally and especially in Karnataka, local issues, candidates, and anti-incumbency factors play a vital role at the time of state Assembly elections unlike during Parliamentary polls. Interestingly, it looks to be the other

Please Don’t Open Your Car Trunk From Inside

On my way home today from Navi Mumbai to Malad at around 8:15 pm, as soon as I took a right turn from WEH going towards Malad Station, a policeman signalled me to stop. As I stopped, he asked me to open the trunk of the car. I opened the trunk from inside and was about to step down, but the policeman said, “OK OK You may go.” I started my car and started driving, but something struck my mind, as from my rearview mirror, I saw one of the policemen immediately on his phone. I went a bit ahead took the service road and found a good street light stopped my car on the side. Switching off the engine I went and opened my car trunk physically. Guess what !!! ... I was shocked to see two small zip-lock pouches with white crystals inside. It was numbed on the pouch ... but just decided to throw it away and thanked God for saving me from such rascals who would have caught me in a drug-related case .. trying to extort a huge amount from me to stop the case. The policemen must have informed t

Lok Sabha Polls 2024: NDA-INC Face Fierce Fight In Karnataka

Bengaluru: Eight days are left for the first round of polls in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies of Karnataka as the polling is scheduled for next Friday 26 April. A quick round in a select few constituencies of multiple districts belonging to the old Mysuru region or the Southern Karnataka however fails to give any indication of the trend or pulse of the people! Voters prefer to remain non-committal! A few decades back scribes enjoyed touring the poll-bound areas to have a glimpse of the emerging trends, busy interacting with all types of people available in public places. Many of them, sitting below a huge tree or sipping tea in small canteens rejoiced voicing their frank opinion over the ongoing polls, but not anymore. These days, thanks to the onslaught of social networking sites and the menace they have created, people prefer to remain non-committal! Unaware of money: Chikkanna, a farmer of Achhalu village close to Kanakapura preferred to be dragged into a brief conversation after an

Paraprosdokian: 40 Funny Sentences You Won't Expect

By Jennifer Gunner, M.Ed. Education, Senior Writer A paraprosdokian is a sentence or statement with an unexpected ending. It means “against expectations” in Greek, and typically puts the first part of the sentence in a new and humorous context. Keep reading for examples of well-known paraprosdokians from comedy, literature, and music. Funny Paraprosdokian Sentence Examples Using these figures of speech in a joke, piece of writing, or a song can expertly twist your meaning. They keep an audience engaged and aware of a comedian’s ability with wordplay. When you start reading examples of paraprosdokians, you’ll find that they make up the punchline of some hilarious and sophisticated one liners! Paraprosdokians From Comedians Henny Youngman’s famous joke “Take my wife – please!” is perhaps the most well-known example of a paraprosdokian in comedy. You expect that he’s using his wife as an example for a joke, but then indicates he wants you to literally take her away by adding the punchli

Remember, We All Grow Old With Time

Father's handprints Father had grown old and would take support of the wall while walking. As a result, the walls had discoloured, wherever he used to touch and his fingerprints got printed on the walls. My wife detected this and would often complain about the dirty-looking walls. One day, he was having a headache, so he massaged some oil onto his head. So while walking oil stains were formed on the walls. My wife screamed at me after seeing this. I in turn shouted at my father and spoke to him rudely, advising him not to touch the walls while walking. He looked hurt. I also felt ashamed of my behaviour but did not say anything to him. Father stopped holding the wall while walking. And fell down one day. He became bedridden and left us shortly. I felt guilt in my heart and could never forget his expressions and forgive myself for his demise shortly thereafter. After some time, we wanted to get our house painted. When the painters came, my son, who adored his grandfather, did not

Dictator, Democrat: Public Perceptions And Facts

Bengaluru: India has been acknowledged as the biggest democracy in the world since the previous century after the country attained freedom from the clutches of the British. There have been periodic elections regularly but during the emergency considered the black chapter for banning the fundamental rights of the citizens. Dictator controversy: Maybe after the dubious stint of emergency giving rise to a second struggle for freedom, the controversial decision also paved the way for a new series of accusations against Indira Gandhi. Indira Priyardarshini Gandhi popularly known as Indira Gandhi served the country as the third Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 and later from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. Decades later, she continues to be termed as a dictator while at the helm of affairs of the party and country. Samarendra Kundu's revelation: Samarendra Kundu, a Janata Dal leader had come to Bengaluru when the Janata Pariwar parties were in power during the earlier eighties. H

Niranjan Mukundan Bags 4 Golds, One Silver and Two Bronze Medals

Niranjan Mukundan has finished off the Norwegian Swimming Championships aka Bergen Swim Festival 2024 with 4 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronze (a couple of seasons' best times and PBs) Niranjan is currently in Bergen, Norway taking part in the Norwegian Swimming Championships aka Bergen Swim Festival 2024 and won 4 golds, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals. This competition had around 800+ swimmers from 12 countries competing to be the best. Here are his accomplishments in the Norwegian Swimming Championships aka Bergen Swim Festival 2024 : 1. Gold in 50m butterfly, 200m freestyle, 200m breaststroke and 400m freestyle. 2. Silver in 100m Freestyle. 3. Bronze in 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke. Niranjan is inching closer towards the Paralympic “A” qualifying time in the 50m butterfly event. First Indian Paralympian to join the 100 medal club: Niranjan Mukundan has created a new history by becoming the first Indian Paralympian sportsperson to join the 100 medal club by winning 100 internation

Why India Must Know About Baisakhi

Why India Must Know About Baisakhi While the Sikhs celebrate Vaisakhi across India; Rest of India wonders if it is about doing Bhangra and dancing. No, it is not; Baisakhi holds a lesson for all Indians. Specially in this day and age. So this day in 1699, in a congregation of people from all across India...standing there listening to their Guru the then, Gobind Rai. Gobind Rai asked for human sacrifice of five men one after the other. Five men from different castes from different parts of India stood up from the crowd of thousands. 1) - A shopkeeper, Baniya called Daya Ram from Lahore 2) - A farmer, Jat called Dharam Das from Meerut 3) - A so called low-caste water carrier, called Himmat Rai from Jagannath Puri, Odisha 4) - A tailor, of Cheemba caste called Mokam Chand from Dwarka, Gujarat 5) - A barber, of Naai caste called Sahib Chand from Bidar, Karnataka With his choice of disciples from five different corners of India, Gobind Rai ji visualised the national dream... from the coast