Muggu

Copy : Right & Left.

Kerala IG caught copying from photocopied chit during LLM exam  was one of the many news headlines in the Times of India dated 5th of May ,2015

The facts were that the alleged examinee was caught copying from a photocopied paper kept between answer sheets. And  the IG was appearing for the subject of constitutional law on the day he was allegedly caught copying.Of course ,he denied it.And there are reports that IG had answered less than a quarter of the paper when he was caught red handed.

Many will argue that since copying was being done from a photocopied paper ,was it cheating ? Because , Xerox is so popular in our country,IG thought that copying from a photocopied copy is  allowed ! And if this was so ,how can the IG be alleged to have cheated ?

There is a  Delhi University Xerox case,wherein a group of publishers have sued Delhi University & a photocopier shop which photocopies notes for  students from books .It is alleged that photocopying en masse is infringement of copyright .

Copying is an art , science or both or maybe more than that . And Indians are maestroes   at copying ! Indians have taken copying to dizzying heights so much so that it  is a passion now ! And maybe, a profession ! Very soon ,there will be courses offering how ,why & when to copy. And of course, what to copy..Mass cheating in Bihar Board exams during the class 10th examinations in March ,2015   proved that families bonded through cheating & how ! .And this is kahani ghar ghar ki across our nation. 

In the aforesaid case, wherein the IG was allegedly caught copying , he was appearing for the subject on constitutional law.Maybe because, the Constitution has been amended nearly a hundred times since it was made,it was difficult to remember it all, except through copying ! This also means, that police care two hoots about the law of the land, that is the constitution.Not that we ,the people believed otherwise .Just that this episode makes it official ! And since a member of law enforcer has been caught in the act, it is amply clear that copying is the birthright .In other words, all have a license or better still, a duty to copy.

This is not just limited to academics & examinations. It goes beyond all that !

So many budding artists,authors ,dramatists ,poets,singers,writers, realise that before the ink has dried on their manuscripts,their labour of love is credited to someone else ! This happens repeatedly in Bollywood .This has spread to Blogosphere & all over the net as well ! So many media houses use photos ,works of wannabe & upcoming artists without any ethics & morals.Forget giving royalty ,the poor people get no credit for their works of art.

Fareed Zakaria  was suspended for plagiarism by CNN as also Time.This is just one instance of how the high & mighty have tried to copy to get fame. There are many such examples which has brought shame instead of fame.

The Indian Copyright Act, was extensively amended in 2012 to incorporate many changes & make it more stringent .Yet ,the functioning ,so far ,has been dismal.

Many provisions still need to be enforced. Many stakeholders are unhappy .Many provisions are under judicial scrutiny.The  Copyright Board is yet to come into existence etc. Some parts of the laws need clarity and so on.

Maybe ,Copyleft could provide some respite to  infringement of copy right.Copyleft is an agreement whereby the creator of a piece of art allows reproduction ,distribution ,adaptation of art with the precondition that the resulting adaptations,distributions & reproductions are bound by the same agreement.

And till things improve, solace must be found in words of Wilson Mizner " If you steal from one author,its plagiarism ;if you steal from many ,it is research ."

Raangoli

Spotlight : Saved In Sri Lanka by Devika Fernando

Saved In Sri Lanka 

by 

Devika Fernando

Some People Are Destined To Meet 

Blurb 

Some people are destined to meet.

It sure feels that way when Sri Lankan tour guide Sepalika meets Daniel. The mysterious tourist from Ireland steals his way into her heart and makes her question everything her life is built upon. Instant attraction turns to love – but does he feel the same? And what about the secret she’s hiding from him?
Follow the two on their quest for a happy ending amid the beauty and wonders of the tropical island paradise of Sri Lanka.

Watch the Trailer

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Meet the Author

Almost as soon as Devika Fernando could write, she imagined stories and poems. After finishing her education in Germany and returning to her roots in Sri Lanka, she got a chance to turn her passion into her profession. Having lived in Germany and in Sri Lanka with her husband has made her experience the best (and the worst) of two totally different worlds – something that influences her writing. Her trademark are sweet, yet deeply emotional romance stories where the characters actually fall in love instead of merely falling in lust. She draws inspiration from everyone and everything in life. Besides being a romance novel author, she works as a self-employed German web content writer, as a translator, and as a faithful servant to all the cats, dogs, fish and birds in her home. What she loves most about being an author is the chance to create new worlds and send her protagonists on a journey full of ups and downs that will leave them changed. When she’s not writing, she’s reading or thinking about writing.

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Alpana

Cover Reveal : The Activist & The Capitalist

THE STORY ....

“I’m not drunk – just a litt-le high.”

On a magical moonlit night, Jai and Anusha meet and fall in love. When they meet again however, they discover that Jai is the crass capitalist developing Rasa Vihar, the heritage building that Anusha and her NGO are fighting to protect. Inevitably they clash, with neither willing to concede to the other. The problem is that although publicly they are enemies, in private, they are wildly attracted to each other. – but when secrets and betrayals enter the equation – things really begin to get out of control. 

WILL THE ACTIVIST AND THE CAPITALIST EVER BE ABLE TO FIND COMMON GROUND?

IN INDIREAD'S LATEST PUBLICATION 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vibha Batra is an advertising consultant, author, poet, lyricist, and columnist. Her published books include: Sweet Sixteen (Yeah, Right!), Seventeen and Done (You Bet!), Eighteen and Wiser (Not quite!)--a young adult trilogy published by Penguin--Ishaavaasya Upanishad, a translation of her grandfather, Shri Vishnu Kant Shastri’s book published by Rupa Publications, a poetry collection titled Tongue-in-cheek and a collection of short stories titled A Twist of Lime. She has also contributed short stories (Indian Voices, Happy Birthday to Me, Urban Shots Love Collection, Down the Road, City of Gods, Vanilla Desires, 9.69 seconds, Chicken Soup) and poems (Dance of the Peacock, Suvarnarekha, 20-20) to several national andinternational anthologies and written for various magazines.

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