Eyecatchers-122: "Two Million Books/Articles/Images in Public Domain!"

A news item in the Newscape section of The Hindu, Madurai edition of November 21. 2008 caught my eye. It was about the Europeana Digital Library, which was launched on November 20, 2008. It had to be closed after it was swamped by Internet users. Then I went to their website (www.europeana.eu). Swamped is right. 10 million hits per hour! Naturally they had to close down. However, they have offered to come up with a robust version by mid-December.

In the meanwhile some info about the Europeana project.

Europeana is a search platform for a collection of European digital libraries with digitized paintings, books, films and archives. The project was initiated by the European Commission. The Library contains around two million digital items, all of them already in public domain.

I repeat for the sake of bloggers, all the 2 million items are in the PUBLIC DOMAIN, which means you can use, re-use, distribute, re-distribute, excerpt and probably modify also; of course, with ncessary credit/attribution. Sort of bonanza, what you think!

The project aims to have 10 million works by 2010, when Europeana is due to be fully operational.

Grateful thanks to The Hindu and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Open Access-6: "Open Access and the New Possibilities Offered by Digitization"

As open access takes on strength and visibility, new possibilities appear. The capacity to link documents together constantly grows in importance. Linking research articles with their underlying data is also being increasingly discussed. Researchers are not yet used to sharing data with others. But, with computers, new forms of exploitation of vast corpora of documents and data are becoming possible. Even a perfunctory use of Google makes this point clear. In the end, one may even wonder whether the venerable article and the mode of publishing it has generated for the last three and a half centuries will make sense much longer in the new environment.

In the end, exactly as Origen has taught us, the changes in communication technologies shift our relations to documents and transform the meaning we ascribe to their existence. If this is true, then it is time to go back to fundamentals. Fundamentally, science is open knowledge and its energy flashes out of the shock of ideas. The end result of this fundamentally agonistic activity is a critical edition of sorts, always striving to reach perfection, yet never ended or ending. Seen from on high, science is little more than an endless concatenation of texts that correct or refute each other, topic by topic, argument by argument, fact by fact. One might say, however scandalous this might sound at present, that science is a kind of Wikipedia, but a Wikipedia where attribution is closely monitored and where participation depends on credentials. If this characterization of science succeeds in capturing some of its essence, it becomes legitimate to ask whether the researcher will still be an "author" of "articles" 30 years from now. The author form is a child of print, and authorship is different from attribution. Whether authorship will still be needed in a few decades is a question well worth asking.

The answer is far from certain....But a choice remains before us: will scientists and scholars finally recover the control over the tools needed for their great conversation, or will it increasingly be taken over by commercial interests? This is what open access is all about....

Excerpt from "Digitizing and the Meaning of Knowledge" by Jean-Claude Guédon, Academic Matters, October/November 2008.

Posted by Peter Suber in "Open Access News" at 11/22/2008 01:28:00 PM

Grateful thanks to Jean-Claude Guédon, Academic Matters, Peter Suber and Open Access News.

Health News-8: "Insulin in Spray Form"

The Chief Executive Officer of the Generex Biotechnology Corporation of U.S., Anna Gluskin, launched the world's first Recombinant DNA human insulin buccal spray nationally in Kolkatta on Monday (November 17, 2008).

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, November 18, 2008 ("Snapshots")

Wikipedia articles on "RECOMBINANT DNA" and "INSULIN":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recombinant_DNA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin

Grateful thanks to The Hindu and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Letters-56: "Campus Violence"

1. Students get emboldened and resort to arson and hooliganism because of the support and protection from political parties and caste leaders. Even students who want to study earnestly are denied a healthy atmosphere or dragged into caste politics. Unfortunately, police hesitate to take action as it can culminate into a serious law and order problem and the opposition can exploit the issue. Though condemnable, the police inaction in the law college episode must be seen in this context. - Tharcius S.Fernando, Chennai.

2. True, the police inaction is unacceptable. But had the police swung into action and the exigencies of the situation constrained them to use force resulting in the death of even one student, vested interests would have seized the opportunity. Many more lives would have been lost, not to mention the torching of scores of buses. The task of the police is delicate and difficult indeed. - G.M.Jeyabalan, Sattankulam.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, November 18, 2008 ("Letters to the Editor").

Grateful thanks to M/s.Tharcius S.Fernando, G.M.Jeyabalan and The Hindu.

Eyecatchers-121: "What is happening in Sri Lanka?"

I came across an open letter from Mr.Douglas Devananda, Secretary, People's Democratic Party of Eelam, in the Tamil daily, 'Dinamalar'(Madurai, November 16, 2008 - prominently published in the second page). It makes one wonder what is really going on in Sri Lanka. I am furnishing below some excerpts from that open letter.

1. 95% of the Sri Lankan Tamils live in the area under the control of the Sri Lankan government; only 5% of Sri Lankan Tamils are living in the area which is under the control of LTTE. Even most of these people would like to get out of the clutches of LTTE but they are restrained forcibly. The LTTE is using them as a shield to protect itself.

2. It is the habit of LTTE to seek peace when its position is weak to buy time to re-equip itself for war again.

3. Even Hitler, who is considered to be the worst dictator the world has ever seen, did not kill his own people. But LTTE has killed and has been killing its own people.

4. LTTE has no faith in democracy.

5. Gandhiji chose the path of non-violence to fight the British and Subhas Chandra Bose the path of arms. Yet Bose never thought of murdering Gandhiji. LTTE supremo Prabhakaran is not like that. LTTE has systematically eliminated other Tamil leaders who fought for the Tamils either through the democratic path of non-violence or the path of violence like the LTTE. Thus it has killed thousands of elder Tamil statesmen, experienced Tamil politicians and fellow-fighters.

6. Intelligentsia who disagree with LTTE, people who question their path, people refuse to pay the tax imposed by LTTE and persons who refuse to take up arms to fight for them meet with violent end.

7. Even the LTTE cadres who question the measures adopted by LTTE are destroyed.

8. LTTE has forcibly abducted Tamil youth from their homes and trained them to fight the war.

9. Tamils issue and LTTE issue are two different issues.

If the above are true, then the people of Tamil Nadu are being taken for a ride by the Tamil Nadu politicians. Why there is so much hue and cry? Are the Tamil Nadu politicians using the Sri Lankan Tamil issue for their own selfish ends and to divert the attention of people from real burning problems like rampant corruption, spiralling price rise, alarming power cut leading to closure of many factories and rendering thousands of workers jobless, student unrest and caste violence?

S&T Watch-37: "Tricolor on the Moon!"

The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) onboard Chandrayaan-1 successfully ejected and landed on the lunar surface. With the Tricolor painted on its sides, the probe marks the presence of India on the moon. India thus becomes the 4th member of the elite club.

Source: The Hindu, Madurai, November 15, 2008.

Detailed Wikipedia article on "MOON IMPACT PROBE":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Impact_Probe

Grateful thanks to The Hindu and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Facts & Figures-57: Inflation down to 8.98%

The Tamil daily Dinamani, Madurai, reports that the country's inflation rate has come down to 8.98% as of November 1, 2008.

Grateful thanks to Dinamani.

Facts & Figures-56: "Bimonthly Electricity Bill, Rs.1,02,468!"

I came across this news in a Tamil daily. The Minister for Power of the Govt of Tamil Nadu, Arcot Veeraswamy has informed the Tamilnadu Legislature that the electricity bill for the residence of former Chief Minister, Ms.J.Jayalalitha for two months was Rs.1,02,468 and that of the Chief Minister, Mr.M.Karunanidhi, Rs.15,000.

One wonders how many persons reside with Ms Jayalalitha and what are all the gadgets they have, to consume so much electricity! Especially when you remember her speech about 'plunging Tamil Nadu in darkness'. Is not conserving power by minimising the consumption the responsibility of all of us, especially our leaders?

Osama, Obama and Omama!

Aravind is my pet and I have written about him and posted his photos in this blog several times. His latest antic is, he has started calling me, 'Omama'.

'Mama' in Tamil means 'Uncle'. So he generally addresses me as 'mama'. Now suddenly he has started addressing me 'Omama'. He is an avid TV watcher. Nothing escapes his keen eyes and ears. He has been listening on TV about Osama and recently Obama. Tamils have a great weakness for alliteration. It is probably in his blood too. Now he insists on calling me 'Omama'. I told him that Osama and Obama stand at two extremes like north pole and south pole and I am a nobody, somewhere in between. He assured me that did not matter. So I am 'Omama' to Aravind. I think it is okay.

Letters-55: "Violence on the Law College Premises"

1. The TV images of the clash between two groups of students on the Dr.Ambedkar Govt Law College campus, Chennai, were spine-chilling. I have never seen someone beaten to unconsciousness. It is hard to believe that those involved in the violence are students; worse still, they are supposed to get justice for the common man in future. Police may not have the jurisdiction to enter a campus without the principal's explicit request. But common sense and humanity should override legalities during incidents such as the one that took place on Wednesday. - C.G.Senthilkumar, Sunnyvale.

2. It was shocking to watch policemen stand as mute witnesses to the violence on the law college premises. Of what use is a probe into an incident when the guardians of law and order - who can prevent it - watch as if they are helpless? If policemen cannot stop a criminal act taking place right in front of them, what is the need for a police force? - P.Balavinodan, Coimbatore.

3. The gory scenes of students clashing among themselves with logs and stones were rattling. The fact that those who indulged in the violence were students who were supposedly being groomed to become legal luminaries is indeed unfortunate. They should perhaps undergo a course on peace education before being taught law. - R.Sampath, Chennai.

4. The clash on the college campus is a pointer to the declining values of education. Once again the police failed, remaining a mute witness to the incident. - B.Arun, Palladam.

5. The police inaction is highly condemnable. One really wonders what is the purpose of posting a posse of policemen outside the campus was. The excuse that they were waiting for the principal's permission is unacceptable. - N.Ramakrishnan, Chennai.

6. The incident was a manifestation of caste prejudices. It was awful to see the police watching the incident like passers-by. - A.G.Rajmohan, Anantapur.

7. The sight of a student bearing the brunt of the save and brutal attack by a group of stick-wielding students was gruesome. Equally painful was the stoic inaction of the policemen on the spot. No law-enforcing authority can remain passive when brutal acts like place right under its nose. There can be no second opinion that those responsible for the violence should be dealt with strictly under the law. - V.Ganesh, Chennai.

8. It was shocking to see the brutal attack on college students by none other than their own college mates, right in front of the police. The government will have to explain to the people why the police did not act. Some officials have been suspended. But the right thing to do would be to terminate their services and freeze their retirement benefits so that such inaction does not recur. The students who indulged in the cruel attack should be punished severely. They deserve no mercy. - N.Manoharan, Coimbatore.

9. I strongly condemn the rowdyism indulged in by the students. The most agonising scene was that of the policemen who could have prevented the violence. The future lawyers behaved like thugs, venting their ire on an unconscious student beating him almost to death. They should be punished severely and barred from pursuing education. - Rajendra Kumar, Chennai.

10. One feels sad about the lack of discipline and tolerance among students. Politicians have succeeding in exploiting the student population for their ends. Using them as pawns, they have split them on the basis of religion, caste and other factors. They have also taught the students to indulge in violence, arson and group fighting. The result is what we saw on Wednesday. Although the police knew the trouble was brewing, they stood as spectators. Their explanation that they waited for the college authorities to permit them to enter the campus is unacceptable. - K.Venkataraman, Mumbai.

11. The incident raises many questions. Is violence taking over our lives? Is it becoming a way of life? How did the students carry weapons into the college? What was the college administration doing? Was it not aware of the brewing trouble? Why did the administration not call the police in? Who is to blame for this and similar incidents? Politicians who spread caste violence? Police who act only on instructions of higher officials or politicians? The education system? What sort of lawyers are we going to see in the next few years? Lawyers who fight their cases in court or settle cases by violent means? - R.Mohan, Chennai.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, November 14, 2008 ("Letters to the Editor")

Grateful thanks to M/s.C.G.Senthilkumar, P.Balavinodan, R.Sampath, B.Arun, N.Ramakrishnan, A.G.Rajmohan, V.Ganesh, N.Manoharan, Rajendra Kumar, K.Venkataraman, R.Mohan and The Hindu.

Health News-7: "World Diabetes Day"

To counter the alarming rise of Diabetes world over, World Health Organization and International Diabetes Federation have started observing November 14 as World Diabetes Day as the first step in combatting diabetes is creating an universal awareness of the dangers ofr diabetes.

What is special about November 14? It is the birthday of Frederick Banting whose concept led to the discovery of insulin and so in his honour the particular day has been chosen.

The adage 'Prevention is better than cure' is very true of Diabetes. Because, as of now, there is no cure for diabetes. It can only be controlled but not cured.

So creating an awareness of diabetes is very important to prevent it. As for diabetics, since there is no cure, the most important steps are changing their lifestyle and taking proper medical care. Negligence could result in serious trouble as diabetes is a silent killer. It has been found out that excess sugar in blood could permanently damage small blood vessels in the heart, eyes and kidneys, which could result in heart attack, blindness and kidney failure respectively.

Some of diabetes statistics are highly disturbing and scaring:

(a) One person is dying for every 10 seconds in the world.
(b) Two new diabetic cases are identified every 10 seconds in the world.
(c) 7 million new diabetic cases will be identified by 2025.
(d) 80% of diabetics in the world will be present in developing countries like India.
(e) India is the Diabetic capital of the world.
(f) It is not now a disease of rich people. It is a disease of sedentary people with unhealthy diet habits.
(Source: http://www.diabetesnews.in/2006/12/diabetes-statistics.html)

World Diabetes Day has a different theme each year. This year the theme is "Diabetes and Children and Adolescents".

I am a diabetic, who has been pretending all controls for others only and who does not have much faith in allopathy. A recent check-up has put inside me a little fear. My fasting sugar is more than 200 and postpradial, 292! I do experiment on myself, knowing fully well that I am playing a dangerous game. Now I have decided to be more strict with myself and have actually started putting into practice stringent measures.

1. Regular Walk 2. Regular exercise 3. More vegetables (specially recommended for diabetics) and ragi and wheat products and less rice. 4. Regular AUT 5. Regular intake of Herbs and Herbal powders 6. Drinking a lot of water, especially in the morning on empty stomach (Water therapy) 7. Regular check-up.

Take care, don't fall a prey to diabetics! Now I have got more statistics, which you can see for yourself:

Today more than 17 crore people in the world are diabetic. By 2020, this figure would jump to 37 crores. Every year, 70 lakh people become diabetic. Every year 38 lakh people die of diabetes. Every year 70,000 children become Type-I diabetic. (Grateful thanks to Mr.P.Alaguraju and 'Dinamani', Tamil daily, November 14, 2008).

Detailed Wikipedia article on "WORLD DIABETES DAY":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Diabetes_Day

About World Diabetes Day:
http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/the-campaign/about-0

Diabetes Day : Global Events Round-up from NowPublic.com:
http://www.nowpublic.com/health/november-14-world-diabetes-day-global-events-roundup/

Defeat DKA and save lives:
http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/the-campaign/diabetes-and-children/dka-awareness

Diabetes and Children:
http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/the-campaign/diabetes-and-children

Detailed Wikipedia article on "DIABETES MELLITUS":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes

Diabetes Information Hub:
http://diabetesinformationhub.com/

American Diabetes Association:
http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp

Grateful thanks to DiabetesNews.in, WorldDiabetesDay.org, NowPublic.com, DiabetesInformationHub.com, American Diabetes Association and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Letters-54: "Lessons from the US Presidential Election"

The US and India are the two biggest democracies in the world. The people and political parties in India should, therefore, learn a few important lessons from the just concluded American presidential election. Our parties should rise above considerations of parochialism, caste, religion and other divisive forces.

As for the people, they should give importance to the merits of the candidates, based on their record of service, integrity, and experience. The elected and the defeated candidates should respect each other and refrain from mud-slinging. The media should create awareness among the people on all these aspects. - T.Ramaswamy, Chennai.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Tiruchirappalli, November 12, 2008 ("Letters to the Editor")

Grateful thanks to Mr.T.Ramaswamy and The Hindu.

Eyecatchers-120: "Mars Lander dies in Arctic Dust Storm"

NASA has lost contact with the Mars Lander, bringing an end to the Phoenix mission five months after the spacecraft became the first to land in Mars' arctic plains and sample water on another planet.

A raging dust storm has blocked sunlight from reaching its solar panels. The craft's demise was not unexpected. With sunlight waning and winter encroaching the arctic plains, scientists had said that it was a matter of time before Phoenix would freeze to death.

Since its landing in May, Phoenix has sent back a bonanza of scientific discoveries, such as the confirmation of ice on Mars. -

Excerpt from the article, "Mars Lander 'dies' in Arctic Storm" - The Daily Telegraph" from The New Indian Express, Tiruchy, November 12, 2008.

Detailed Wikipedia article on "Phoenix" with color photos:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(spacecraft)

Grateful thanks to The Daily Telegraph, The New Indian Express and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

S&T Watch-37: "Unique Odourprints"

I came across a news item in The New Indian Express (Tiruchy edition, November 12, 2008) which says every human being has a unique fragrance like a fingerprint or DNA, quoting the Daily Telegraph. According to Jae Kwak, who conducted the study at Monell Chemical Sciences Center, Philadelphia, USA, this means that biologically-based odourprints like fingerprints could be a reliable way to identify individuals. A database of human odourprints could be created.

Grateful thanks to The Daily Telegraph and The New Indian Express.

Eyecatchers-119: "Wedding in the Sky!"

'Jumping' into Marriage
Couple wed in first 'Bungee Ceremony' in the World!


A couple married 150 feet in the air before celebrating with a kiss at the end of a bungee jump. Sandra Eens and Jeroen Kippers, both 25, became the first people in the world to marry suspended high above the ground in a specially converted cradle. They were watched by 10 close friends and relatives as they took their vows in front of a minister before going over the side and locking lips upside down. Directly below them was the marquee where the party then enjoyed a wedding reception. The pair paid over ₤7,000 for the privilege of being the first customers of new company, Weddings in the Sky.

Courtesy: The New Indian Express, Tiruchy, November 12, 2008 ("Vignettes")

Detailed Wikipedia article on "BUNGEE JUMPING":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungee_jump

Grateful thanks to The New Indian Express and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Letters-53: "A Lesson or Two"

A more significant aspect of Mr.Obama's landslide victory was Senator John McCain's gracious concession speech. Mr.McCain was full of praise for Mr.Obama, recognised the new era in American politics and offered full cooperation and support to the President-elect. Is not this so striking contrast to the Indian situation where those who lose in the elections allege corruption and rigging in the voting process? The losing political parties generally look for the earliest opportunity to topple the government, demand imposition of President's rule and ask for mid-term polls. - S.N.Krishnan, Chennai.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, November 6, 2008 ("Letters to the Editor")

Grateful thanks to Mr.S.N.Krishnan and The Hindu.

Letters-52: "Dr.Martin Luther King's Dream Realized!"

A biracial man with an African father, an Indonesian stepfather, with the middle name Hussein and last name Obama, having a family in Kenya is what everyone today calls the most powerful man on earth - the President of the U.S. Martin Luther King's dream has at last been realised. - Srimathi Venkatachari, Chennai.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, November 6, 2008. ("Letters to the Editor")

Grateful thanks to Srimathi Venkatachari and The Hindu.

My Photo Album-30: "Suri at the Taj Mahal"

This photograph makes me feel nostalgic. It was taken by a professional photographer who makes a living by taking photographs of visitors to the Taj Mahal. It is more than 30 years old and was hiding itself between the pages of a book, when I came upon it.

I was on a 23-day All India conducted tour by one Kumaran Travels of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. From Madurai, Tamil Nadu, we went up to Srinagar in Kashmir. On the way back, we visited Delhi, Agra and other places. The entire trip was performed by a bus.

(The photo taken at the Delhi residence of the then Prime Minister, Shri Morarji Desai, I have already posted in this blog.) From Delhi we went to Agra. We left Delhi in the early hours and were inside the Taj as soon as it was opened for visitors. So I look a bit tired. Further, the photo has faded as it was kept inside a book and was forgotten for a long period of time.

This memorial to his Queen Mumtaz Mahal by Emperor Shah Jahan, which is one of the seven wonders of the world, evoked a feeling of awe in me.

Random Thoughts-16: "Cluttering, Uncluttering and Decluttering"

I take pride in calling myself a booklover and book collector. But my family members have different ideas and call me by different names, which I prefer not to mention here.

I have been collecting books from my childhood. For a person who does not own a house and who is compelled to shift house periodically, this could be a real headache. Under these difficult and painful circumstances, however best I tried, limiting and preserving books was becoming a great worry.

During the course of my life (I am nearing 60), I have hardened my heart and parted with a lot of books out of desperation, despair and dejection. Yet I was accumulating more books and paper-cuttings than I was getting rid of. The painful part of it is the volume of my reading was going down all the time. So it is obvious I was accumulating more cud than I can chew.

The other painful thing is when I wanted something, more often than not I was finding it difficult to locate it. I would be pretty sure that I have the required material with me, still I would not be able to lay my hands on it. It is as good as or as bad as not having it.

What to do?

Sometimes friends are helpful in this regard. They borrow books and never return them. Here the crunch is I have only a limited number of friends. For this sake I can’t develop new friendships.

My wife and children were and are making my life miserable by threatening to throw out everything, if I do not get rid of, well in their language, ‘the junk’ myself. I started having nightmares of finding my room barren with the books having vanished from there.

Then I came across this article in time.com: “How to live with just 100 things”
(http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1812048,00.html)

Very interesting article and if you are like me, a must read and I hope even otherwise everyone reads it. That is how I came to know about Dave Bruno and clutter-free living and goal-oriented minimalists and SHED (acronym stands for ‘Separate the treasures, Heave the trash, Embrace your identity from within and Drive yourself forward’).

Dave Bruno’s online musings caught the attention of a lot of people (obviously there a lot of people like me) and suddenly the Net erupted with websites and articles on decluttering.

When I looked up ‘declutter’ in Google, it came up with 1,170,000 results for declutter in 0.25 seconds! Hats off to you, Google!!

Some of the results from Google are really very interesting and innovative. I am citing a few examples for your kind perusal, in the fond hope that you also will like them and maybe you may also try to declutter your home.

1. How to Declutter Your Home: http://declutteryourhome.blogspot.com
2. Declutter Your Home Fast and Save Yourself from Embarrassment by Ricky Liang : http://ezinearticles.com
3. Declutter Forum: http://www.amazon.com/tag/declutter/forum
4. Declutter 15 minutes a day: http://www.43things.com/things/view/113682/declutter-15-minutes-a-day
5. Get Organized Today with Free Tips Booklet: http://ineedmoretime.com
6. Cut Clutter: http://organizedhome.com/articles/cut-clutter
7. No More Clutter, Declutter Your Home: http://www.myhouseandgarden.com/declutter.htm
8. How to Live with Just 100 Things: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1812048,00.html
9. Ask the Experts: 5 Steps to Clutter-Free Living: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1812185,00.html?iid=redirect-declutter
A detailed and directly relevant article to this topic I came across in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsive_hoarding. As usual, Wikipedia is very informative and I picked up a few valuable points from there also.

Now, don’t ask me whether I have decluttered my room. As always, implementation is hardest part. Hope I shall get around to do it sooner or later.

Grateful thanks to Time.com, Google and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Letters-51: "Obama's Historic Win"

1. The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America is a historic global event for more than one reason. He won on a positive note. He never appealed to the narrow sentiments of race or region. He believed in and stressed on the oneness of America throughout his campaign. His strong academic background helped him to project himself as a statesman with a liberal outlook. He is not arrogant like his predecessor. May our political leaders too develop the vision of oneness and give up vote-bank politics. - G.Sankara Bhanu, Hyderabad.

2. The epoch-making election of Mr.Obama is perhaps the second earth-shaking event in the American history, after the abolition of slavery. That the descendant of a social class once frowned upon and socially boycotted should rise to the top post in the U.s. is indeed a miracle and testifies to the wisdom and sagacity of the Americans. Both the Democrats and the Republicans should rejoice at this historical happening, for it is beyond party politics. - K.P.R.Iyer, Bangalore.

3. Americans told the world that for them, it is the personal qualities of a leader that are more important than anything else while choosing a President. They are more worried about job losses, high taxes and the outsourcing of jobs, which the President has promised to control. - P.K.Jayanandan, Kozhikode.

4. Never since the release and election of Nelson Mandela has there been such euphoria worldwide. The victory is not just of an African-American but of the spirit of liberty and equality. Mr.Obama is not an individual but a phenomenon heralding the changing consciousness of Americans and the rest of the world. -Joshua Kalapati, Chennai.

5. Mr.Obama's victory has proved that racism has been buried deep and a political leader must be above race, religion, caste and creed. When will our country choose its leaders in an election that is free from the considerations of caste and religion? - E.Rajakumar Arulanandham, Palayamkottai.

6. Mr.Obama's victory is a moral victory for all Americans who believe in equal rights, the need for change and democracy. The expectations and responsibility that go with his victory are high. - Sumathi Chandrashekaran, Chennai.

7. Three cheers to the people of the United States! By electing an African-American to the highest office, they have set an example to the racially prejudiced westerners and the caste-conscious Indians. - Sixtus Thundathil, Kottayam.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, November 6, 2008 ("Letters to the Editor")

Grateful thanks to M/s.G.Sankara Bhanu, K.P.R.Iyer, P.K.Jayanandan, Joshua Kalapati, E.Rajakumar Arulanandham, Sumathi Chandrashekaran, Sixtus Thundathil and The Hindu.