Help Me With Set Up eSign in WorkDay

Read a lot of these answers. Most of this is more or less typical stuff we hear. My case isn't so typical.(This is going to be very long, there's no one I've ever shared this with in real life, in this much depth).I'm a 27 year old woman, been married for 2 years. A little necessary background - I was always told that I'm extremely attractive and smart and chased around by guys. But I had neglibile dating and sexual history by the time I was 25, because I was the kind who kept waiting for 'the one', the one who'll be blow me right away, make me feel the things I never have. It's funny because I'm very logical and rational when it comes to other aspects of life, but this is how I was when it came to love and romance - living in my fairytale world and waiting for my prince charming like a silly teenaged bobblehead.But then, I actually met 'the one'.. at least I thought so. I was absolutely intimidated by his attractiveness and intelligence (and I liked being intimidated). He was also very charming, humorous and a very good talker. He was PERFECT. And he fell in love with me, and treated my really good. What could have been better than that? I could never imagine. We got married just within 9 months of having met and 6 months of dating.But something started changing soon after we got married. He started acting aloof. He didn't even want to talk to me, or want to know about my life, or share anything about his. He never showed me any affection,compassion or care. Even his good bye kisses felt very formal. It was like we had no emotional bonding at all. He didn't even care for me when I was sick, he would just tell me to 'get well soon' like I'm some casual acquaintance. The height of insensitivity was when ny father had a heart attack, and he was completely unfazed. He told me to stop crying like an idiot and behave like a 'grown woman', because he wasn't dead after all. And when were out, especially in social settings, this same man would be all over me, not letting go of my hand, giving me small pecks and telling people how he had the best wife ever. Then, when no one was around, he'd go back to being a stranger. And while he didn't care about most things, there were some things he obsessively cared about. He was really concerned about what I wore. He kept buying me expensive dresses, shoes, jewellery - even when I'd clearly tell him that I absolutely do not want it. My closet literally looks like that of a supermodel. He was also obsessed with my body and he noticed the tiniest and most irrelevant things about my physical appearance. Sometimes, he'd stare at me for hours. At first, I found it very romantic. But it wasn't romantic - it was creepy.At times, he was extremely critical of my physical traits and said totally insensitive things. I take very good care of my fitness and appearance anyway, but he would find flaws in me that you wouldn't even think would be noticeable, such as my breasts could have been firmer, that I should do butterfly stretches to have more of an inner thigh gap (I DO have one, but hey, it's not wide enough!), that my underarms are a little discoloured.I can't imagine how this man would feel about me once I'm no longer at my peak of physical attractiveness.When he 'compliments' me, it's something bizarre like "I love how your face is perfectly symmetrical, and how your facial features are like scientifically proportionate.", “I honestly can't think of anyone other than Adriana Lima who's more beautiful than you.” What the fuck? A heartfelt "you're beautiful" is many times more welcome, but that never came.He would do the same for my mental abilities too. Like, the other day he called me forgetful and questioned my knowledge as a chartered accountant because I couldn't instantly remember a clause of the Indo-US double tax treaty. Hello, I'm human ?I couldn't figure him out. With each passing day, he seemed more and more distant and cold. There were times when I confronted him about it, but for no use at all. I could be crying my eyes out and he'd calmly say "you're being stupid and irrational". He'd tell me that all 'problems' were entirely in my head. That he's just occupied with work and is the kind of person who needs a lot of space. That it just wasn't 'logical' to feel the way I did. He'd condition me to believe that everything I felt was lacking, was somehow my fault entirely. He's very good with arguments and manipulation and he'd prove even the biggest pile of gibberish to be the most logical thing ever. But this didn't help how I actually felt. I was getting more and more miserable with each day. I felt horribly inadeqaute, insecure, ugly.That's when I started seeing a psychiatrist and when I described all my problems to her ( I was fairly convinced that all my problems were nothing but a delusion, just like he had told me - and that's the problem I went to her with), she was quick to conclude that I was perfectly normal and rational, I definitely wasn't delusional or indulging in hallucinations. She started assessing his personality instead, on the basis of things I'd tell her. Then, she started to tell me to look for certain 'signs' in his behavior and mannerisms. And she was ALWAYS right. I started to notice things that I never had before, or had simply overlooked. Looking back, there were n number of red flags I had downright ignored.So, this is the kind of person my husband is. He has no care or empathy for anyone in this world. There's no one he is emotionally close to. He doesn't love me one bit. Not me, not anyone else. He LOVES being admired. When he's kind or helpful to people - it's because he wants to be admired. He's very hard on himself, just like he is on me. He'd think he's fat while you could count 6 rippling abs on his stomach that very moment. He turns into a self loathing monster if he is ever less than extraordinary. He is OBSESSED with his social image. Everything about his life MUST appear absolutely perfect to everyone else. That's all - his world revolves only around himself and we're all just some irrelevant, replaceable puppets.One major thing that I found out (okay, I had to invade his privacy for that) was that he had a spy conduct a detailed background check on me before he asked me out. It's a 37 page document that lists everything from dating and sexual history, lifestyle, social circle, family, the kind of image I carry, the kind of perception people have of me and a lot of strange stuff. I don't know how that person would've found out all of this, but it was accurate to the core and it absolutely freaked me out. The reason for all of this is simple. He wanted to marry a certain kind of girl - she's beautiful, tall and thin, feminine, successful in her career, dresses a certain kind of way, doesn't have sketchy sexual past or trashy habits etc. I was ticking all of his boxes, and that was that. He couldn't care less about me as a person, let alone be in love with me. He buys me all that stuff and pays so much attention to my appearance for those exact same reasons. And that's why he wants to show to the world that we have a perfect marriage.Yes, he is a classic case of a narcissistic nutcase​.Now, I have the puzzle figured. But I haven't confronted him about it. I'm still married to him. I no longer try to develop any kind of connection with him other than the biweekly​ sex (which he initiates) , and he seems very happy and at peace this way.I have no clue how to go about this and how to break it to him that I don't want to be with him anymore. My psychiatrist has warned me that he could act like a complete psychopath, could harm himself and could be dangerous if I told him that I want to leave him. Not because he loves me, but because I would be breaking the perfect illusion he's worked so hard to create, and which he protects fiercely. She told me that he also would be very insecure about anyone seeing through him because deep down, he KNOWS how abnormal he is.I would also be giving a major shock to my parents, who have no idea of all of this. It would be an earthshattering thing for them if I got a divorce (Indian society - where people endure an entire lifetime of physical abuse but still don't separate). Moreover, my father already is a heart patient.To everyone else, I'm the luckiest woman on earth. I have the most desirable man ever. Yet, every night, I cry endlessly into my pillow. I feel extremely weak and clueless. The truth is that I'm still coming in terms with the fact that all of this was nothing but a short lived beautiful nightmare which will now scar me and leave me broken for life.I loved him with all my heart. Sometimes I feel like I still love him, and that I should let him be the way he is and stay with him anyway. But I know that isn't the right thing to do. What I don't know is - how to go about it. And I have no idea how long I'll take to figure it out.

There is no denying fact that technology is impacting every business today. Like every business, the legal industry is also expanding with technology.Law firms are adopting legal technology to easily transform their practices with a standardized platform. With technology adoption, law firms can reap many benefits like to generate more revenue, quality work, productivity, and efficiency.As per the research, technology platform have evolved with practice management, finance and accounting, client relationship management, knowledge management, security on a single platform with effectiveness and efficiency.Top three benefits of technology which is expected by all the law firms and lawyers are given below:1. Increased Productivity: The most obvious benefit that law firms are looking for is better efficiencies. It is all about boosting the productivity.How technology will help in productivity? At most of the law firms, a huge amount of time is spend on administrative tasks such as billing, client intake, data entry, following up with prospects, etc.By using technologies like artificial intelligence, law firms can automate many of these administrative processes quickly, freeing up hours. Law firms and lawyers can use this time to be more productive, focus on improving the business, and provide a better experience for clients.Reduce Liability: As a lawyer, you can obviously appreciate the importance of reducing liability. According to the ABA study, approximately 45% of malpractice claims in 2010 were related to things like missed deadlines, improper calendering, lost files, procrastination, conflict of interest, or mathematical errors.It may seem foolish, but these things happen to anyone in the midst of a busy workday. The best way to avoid them is to have a systematic, process-driven approach to run a practice.How technology will help? Technology provides tools to calendar deadlines, manage contracts, assign tasks, and store files with great comfort.Law firms can use cloud software programs to develop a more systematic approach to run your firm where your files and data are properly organized and easily searchable. This will signNowly improve the processes to eliminate the risk of making an avoidable, but costly mistake.3. Better Client Experience: In today’s competitive business era, the customer experience is becoming the most important factor that contributes to success.In order to thrive in today’s legal industry, you have to stay ahead of the competition by delivering truly exceptional customer service.How technology will help? Technology can signNowly improve the experience of accessing and purchasing legal services. It can streamline arduous processes, lower costs, and enable more seamless communication.Today’s consumers expect things to be easy. They don’t want to print off documents for signing, fill out forms by hand, or mail in checks to pay your fees. They want to e-sign documents from their smartphones, fill out digital forms instead of paper ones and pay their bills online by credit or debit cards.So this is affordable, easy-to-use technology solutions for all of these things!In fact, Legal Support World offers both customizable online intake forms and document automation with e-signature to make the clients onboarding process as seamless as possible. And you can do online billing with any of the popular law management software which offers credit card processing through LawPay.This is the time for lawyers to fully embrace technology and utilize it to their advantage because it is the best way to get ahead of the competition and set your firm up for success in the future.So adoption of technologies is beneficial for law firms, not a big risk!

IF I need to concentrate (heavily) on something:I have an office door, with a lock. (But, people still knock or walk-in, despite seeing me with my headphones on, concentrating on code.) I won’t take a job where I don’t have an office (and it must have internal windows so people can see if I’m busy or not, and external windows so that I can see outside when I need to think).I turn my cell-phone(s) off.I have absolute control over this.Sometimes I forget to turn them back on.Sometimes one or both discharge, and I forget to plug it in ;)I can and sometimes if not often do unplug my office phone. (Sometimes I forget to plug it back in; my boss gets irritated with me when he walks in and sees this.)I never answer voice-mail.For the most part, unless I’m expecting a call and somehow miss it — I just delete the whole box. I usually clear it once a month.If the phone is plugged-in, it’s usually for conference calls. Otherwise, I ignore unexpected external numbers, and only answer rings from people I’m currently working with on projects (or expect to call about something I’ve received prior notification about via chat or e-mail).Only my boss complains about this. We’ve talked. He knows. He doesn’t care unless something important happens; and it’s only really once a year, so, I don’t care.I check e-mail and have chat open at the start of my day. (Before I get busy. I don’t mind spending time helping and looking into things.)I check e-mail and have chat open, sometimes during lunch. (Maybe.)I check e-mail and have chat open at the end of the day. (When I’m about done and only writing things up. I don’t mind hanging around helping out when and where I can.)If I am working, I AM NOT distracted by pop-up notifications or counters from either chat or e-mail, nor news feeds, etc…This is all very basic. I cringe when I’m chatting with co-workers at their computer and see all of this crap open, or if a cell phone goes off, etc.Also different from co-workers, I don’t have or keep things like FB or personal e-mail open and accessible all-day, every-day.I might monitor personal e-mail, on-and-off, using personal devices on cellular networks, not work networks (hardwired or wi-fi), if I’m expecting a delivery, or to check home security if I receive an alert, etc.BUT, I’m just a little-bit different — after enough time and experience, I could care less about most of these things. I get some crap for not being always connected, but, I also get things done, and, so long as I’m productive and helpful, people generally don’t complain. When someone does complain, I remind them that I’m working, this helps me work, they should try it too, etc. (Notably: My boss, who complains the most, has adopted some of my habits.) Also, one of the reminders I sometimes say to people is along the lines of: “You don’t want me harping on your work habits, do you?” Usually shuts people down on-the-spot. Similarly, people have complained to HR. Sometimes that I get special treatment for acting like this. Sometimes that I’m inaccessible or unavailable. And I just shrug my shoulders and ask something like: “Am I not doing my job? Am I doing my job wrong? If I complain about someone else, will you address that issue, or is it only me?” (I have been told that I should have e-mail and chat open to maintain regular communication. But, I ignore this; I notify people if I’m going to miss or skip a meeting or be out of the office. Beyond that, I could care less. I think my communication is RIGHT ON THE MARK, instead of the obsessive nature of being always connected, always distracted, always irritated. A generational term: I tell people who get freaked-out or pissed-off about this: “Go take a chill-pill.”)I am not a dog.I do not like leashes or collars (USB chargers, nor constant communication).Part of all of this came about after being responsible for something, being asked for help because other people who were supposed to be more responsible were unavailable, and, after emulating this “nobody gives a shit and it doesn’t matter” behavior when I got stressed out (just up and went on vacation with a weekend’s notice), I was unceremoniously fired from a job. So, now I do what I want, and everyone else who doesn’t like it or can’t handle it can f-off. Life can’t get much worse than that previous time-period where you do what is asked and requested, and then get f*ed-over. Haven’t had any problems since. I do my job, do what I’m asked, limit my interactions, and don’t stress-out over things I can’t control or people who don’t care.But even before I solidified my personal work habits, they were starting to take shape — having realized that constant distractions lead to lack of productivity or accomplishment. Further: It’s my life experience. It’s not my place to shove it down other people’s throats. Those who don’t get it will learn or experience it in time, or, maybe never.So I just sorta do my thing, and let other people stress over their own crap. And when someone tries to throw their crap my way, I return the favor, so to speak.

What are your goals? Maybe they’re the wrong ones. When you think about having your goals fulfilled do you feel pumped? Or just so,so?What’s more important than having goals are the reasons you have those goals. If the outcome of your goals inspires you you’ll be drawn to them as if by magic. That doesn’t mean you won’t have to work for them, it just means you’ll move towards them in a natural way.if your goals don’t inspire you every step along the way will be work and drudgery. The why behind your goals is more important than the goals themselves. In my life I was inspired to set a goal that I would make 6 figures in 10 years. At the time I was making minimum wage. When I set that goal I thought I knew how I was going to accomplish it. Things didn’t work out the way I thought they would, I even had a few setbacks. Just 3 years years before my goal came due I was still making minimum wage, but I had been building skills. I made a job chage where I doubled my income. Eighteen months later I was able to make a contact through that job where I could make another job change that tripled that. By the 10th year anniversary of setting that 6 figure goal I was making $10,000 a month. Not only did I make my goal I surpassed it. I had to take risks and move well outside my comfort zone, but I signNowed my goal.The key wasn’t the intellectual reasons for the goal, it was the strength of the desire to signNow it, it was the emotional impact. My why for meeting my goal kept me moving in the right direction and caused me to make choices that increased my skills and take good steps in the right direction.Find your why for your goals and if your current goals don’t generate that why find some that will.

From one side of the mountain lake, five members of the group from the Grant MacEwan Mountain Club watched helplessly as a grizzly sow charged another member of the group on the other side of the lake. How did it come to this?This trip started as an attempt to summit "the easy way" two obscure peaks in the Nikanassin Range: Ruby Mountain and Thistle Mountain. I saw the steep faces of these peaks from Redcap Mountain (see trip report) on an earlier trip. The topo maps showed an alpine valley, the headwaters of Ruby Creek, gave access to the apparently gentler other side of the mountains. There is a trail partway up Ruby Creek, as far as a headwall graced by Ruby Falls, but that trail is 19 km long, heavily used by ATVs, and crosses Ruby Creek uncounted times. The idea of slogging wet-footed up a creek under a heavy pack while being buzzed by ATVs has no attraction, so I looked for another way.Maps showed me that Jasper's South Boundary Trail passed up the Medicine Tent Valley to Southesk Pass just one valley west of the Ruby Creek valley. On the map it looked as though a relatively gently sloped meadow at Southesk Pass led to a col on the park boundary that could give access to the ridgeline of Thistle, which in turn is connected by a ridge to Ruby. What I didn't notice was that the contour interval doubled above 2000 meters, just about the height of the pass.The area has an interesting history, in that it was visited by one of the first tourists to come to the Canadian Rockies, James Carnegie, who was the Earl of Southesk. Carnegie came to the Canadian West to recover from ill health after the death of his wife. In 1859, he travelled to Fort Garry, Manitoba, in the company of Sir James Simpson, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, and set off across the prairies with seven men, 15 horses and a cart full of guns in search of some part of the world where good sport could be met with among the larger animals. He signNowed Fort Edmonton, and then followed the trails toward Edson. I have not yet located sources verifying his route from there to the Medicine Tent River valley, but he definitely went along the route of the South Boundary Trail over Southesk Pass, where he expressed a desire to have Mount Southesk named after him. However, fearing it was visible from another valley, he also claimed naming rights to what is now called Southesk Cairn, a smaller peak on the west side of Southesk Pass, building what the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide calls a "giant rock cairn" on its summit.The area also has an interesting geography. Like Redcap, it's on the divide between the western Arctic watershed and the Hudson Bay watershed - both Rocky Pass and Southesk Pass drain into both watersheds.Trip length has particular importance for me. I have sleep apnea, and use an appliance called a BiPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure) machine to force air through my throat while I sleep; this appliance is in no way portable, and research shows that extended non-use would shorten my life. The benefits of outdoor exercise partly balances the potential damage, but four consecutive nights off the machine is all I care to risk. Considering this, I came up with a plan that would take me from my home in Edmonton on the morning of the first day, to the Rocky Pass trailhead on the Cardinal River Road south of Cadomin by midday, and about 12 km from there over the Rocky Pass Trail to the Medicine Tent Campground on the South Boundary Trail for the first night. From there another 19.7 km would take me over Southesk Pass to Cairn Pass Campground for the second night. Then we could return with daypacks to Southesk Pass and explore toward the col on the park boundary, and with luck, cross out of the park and onto the Thistle-Ruby ridgeline, possibly even summitting both before returning to camp for the third night. If we had the time and energy, a trip up Southesk Cairn to see the historic pile of rocks would be included. The fourth day would see us retrace our route to Medicine Tent Campground, and the fifth day back over Rocky Pass to the trailhead and thence to Edmonton. That was the plan, anyway.At any rate, I failed to entice anyone to join me for the trip in 2006, and so added it to the Grant MacEwan Mountain Club schedule for the summer of 2007. I picked June 28 to July 2 as the time, taking advantage of a weekend extended by Canada Day, but still requiring two normal workdays. In 2006, a forest fire in the upper Brazeau River area had devastated part of the South Boundary Trail, resulting in a partial closure. The Jasper Trails Office answered my e-mail with assurances that the Medicine Tent to Southesk Pass section of the trail was still open. Since there would be nobody through-hiking the South Boundary Trail until it is reopened (which would take considerable resources), it seemed likely we would have the trail and the campgrounds to ourselves.I was surprised when nine people signed up for the trip, since many of them needed to arrange time off work for the Thursday and Friday. GMMC doesn't offer many trips longer than a weekend, since that is when most people are available. Three of them dropped out, leaving a manageable group of six and me.We were a typically varied group, ranging in age from 25 to 61, five men and two women, one member an experienced rock climber on her second backpacking trip, another an experienced backpacker on her second trip involving scrambling, others with broader experience, and a leader who doesn't backpack much, hadn't been on a five-day backpack for 42 years, and had just celebrated his 60th birthday.We left Edmonton as scheduled in two vehicles, meeting at the Tim Horton's in Edson just after 10:30 a.m., and then off by 11 o'clock along Highways 47 and 40 and the Cardinal River Road to the Cardinal Divide lookout, where we had lunch at about 1 p.m. at the picnic table provided. A barrier indicated that the road was closed beyond that point, still 2 km from the trailhead. A stroll down the road showed no reason for a closure, so we opted to drive around the barrier and see how close we could get to the trailhead. We made it all the way to the trailhead parking without seeing any change in the road quality. By 2 p.m. we were all sorted out and on our way under cloudy skies with the odd wind-blown raindrop. Two minutes down the trail I realized I'd left my bear spray in the car. I decided to leave it there: my load was heavy enough, two other people had bear spray, and there were seven of us - a group of five is supposed to be enough to avert bear attacks.The trails shown on the Mountain Park NTS topo (83 C/14) are largely imaginary. The only one accurately shown is an ATV trail that follows a seismic line from the trailhead and after 4.5 km turns northwest into the valley between Mount Cardinal and Tripoli Mountain, the source of the Cardinal River. The trail over Rocky Pass, used mostly by horsepackers, leaves the ATV trail somewhere along its length, but not where shown on the maps. We never spotted it, but we had been directed to an alternative route by the Jasper National Park backcountry manager, a route that would cut the number of fords of the Cardinal River to one from three.Following his directions, we followed the ATV trail to where it curves into the upper valley, and then headed onto a foot trail to the top of the river's bank. The trail continued downstream on the bank's crest, gradually fading away, until we signNowed a point where we could make our way down the steep bank to a fairly elaborate horse camp on a flat beside the river. Here we forded the river (calf or knee deep, and only about three meters wide) and then continued, still downstream on the far bank, until we came to where the horse trail crossed the river. A right turn onto this trail took us along the muddy trail and up what was more streambed than trail up toward Rocky Pass.Muddy though it often was, the trail was easy to follow. Before long we were in open alpine meadows that stretch for about four km over the pass and across the Jasper National Park Boundary (marked by a sign warning of firearms restrictions), offering fine views of Mount Cardinal on the right, Mount Mackenzie on the left, and Mount Balinhard ahead across the Medicine Tent Valley, before descending to cross a stream just below a waterfall, and rising again briefly across a scree slope. This last section of trail is narrow and should be taken with care.Once it is back in the trees, the trail descends steadily with occasional switchbacks down into the Medicine Tent valley, joining the South Boundary Trail. This section of the trail is on the opposite side of the stream draining Rocky Pass (Cardinal Pass) from that indicated on the map the east side rather than the west. The Medicine Tent Campground, 100 meters north of the junction, was empty when we arrived at 7 p.m.The Parks Service has two levels of backcountry campgrounds: semi-primitive and primitive. Medicine Tent is primitive. We had heard what that means: nothing is provided except a pole to throw your food-hang ropes over (bring your own ropes) and a toilet pit. Medicine Tent also has a firebox surrounded by a square of logs to sit on and some blocks of tree trunk for tables. The toilet pit is a somewhat shallow trench next to a log nailed between two trees. There are no tent pads, but we were able to find sufficient flat spots to set up our four tents. We had a fire in the firebox, but cooked our suppers on a variety of stoves. By 10 p.m., we were ready for bed.It rained for part of the night, but was dry when we rose for breakfast. By 8:10 we were on the forested trail heading up the Medicine Tent Valley. Occasionally the view opened up, particularly where the trail crossed one of three rocky washes, largely dry on this occasion but obviously having carried massive amounts of water in the past. On one of these we had some minor difficulty picking up the trail on the other side, so we built up an existing cairn and stuck a stick in it to make it more visible.On the way we stopped briefly at the deserted Medicine Tent Warden Cabin, which had a fine crop of dandelions in front of it and a real outhouse for that civilized touch. Later, we signNowed the La Grace Campground, 9 km from Medicine Tent Campground, and paused for lunch. We were discouraged to see a sign indicating we had another 12 km to go to the Cairn Pass Campground. I had already been struggling, unused to the heavy pack and (as it turned out) having adjusted it poorly, but others in the group were also not looking forward to the trudge up and over Southesk Pass.The weather had started out cloudy, but moderated to a mix of sun and cloud by lunch. However, as we proceeded up the river into more open country, the sky darkened. By the time we signNowed the only one of the three Medicine Tent Lakes adjacent to the trail, it was clearly going to rain shortly, and it seemed likely that the rain would continue for some time. There was also the possibility of lightning, which would be dangerous in the high and open ground of Southesk Pass. Accordingly, but not without regret, we made the decision for health and safety reasons to make camp and take shelter below the pass.Because of last year's fires in the Brazeau area, the Cairn Pass campground is officially closed, but we had received special permission to use it rather than have to base ourselves in the distant La Grace Campground for our explorations around Southesk Pass. Thus it was with regret that we quickly pitched our tents and set up tarps before the rains hit us below the pass. We resolved to have as little impact on the area as possible. I crawled into a tent for a nap to see if I could restore my sense of well-being, and went to sleep to the sound of rain pouring on the tent fly.I for one was astounded when I awoke to a strange warmth and brightness, and stumbled out of the tent to find the sky mostly blue with fluffy white clouds. Mountain weather had fooled us again. Eric wanted to make a quick dash up the Southesk Cairn. He was unable to get anyone to join him, so I gave him one of a pair of FRS radios we had brought, and instructed him to check in from the base, from the summit, and every 30 minutes.The rest of us had supper, and organized a food hang from a tree at a goodly distance from our tents, while catching Eric;s progress reports. Occasionally he was visible through the binoculars Jeff had brought. When he reported himself on the summit visible from our campsite (apparently not the highest point), I had him stand there while I took a few shots at maximum (12X) zoom with my camera, not knowing until I could download the shots whether he would be visible.   Eric returned before dark, reporting that there were two cairns on two summits, neither of them meriting the adjective "giant" We went to bed in anticipation of an early start in the morning.At 6 I rose again and soon roused the others. We had breakfast, hung our food, and organized ourselves for what could be a long day off-trail. By 9:30 a.m. we signNowed Southesk Pass, where a cairn decorated with a bighorn skull greeted us. The col to the northeast on the park boundary that had looked so approachable on the map revealed itself to be a tall and steep scree slope. We thought it might best be signNowed from the left. The unnamed peak on that side of the pass had a cliff band angling up to its summit, and when we had gone far enough up the meadow to the east of the pass we could see that the area above the cliff band formed a ramp that could take us high enough to check out routes to the col. The cliff band was low and broken at its lower end adjacent to the meadow, and we easily gained the ramp above it.From there on it was an uphill slog on various sizes of loose reddish-coloured rock with an increasingly chill wind at our backs. There was no sign of a trail, animal or human. About 4/5ths of the way to the summit, the rock changed to light gray and we gathered behind the minimal shelter of the rock face below the ramp to ponder our next move. We could see from there that it was simple enough to cut across the scree to the ridgeline above the col, and it looked as if ways could be found around the three rock steps interrupting the ridge leading down to the col. What we couldn't see was a way off the far side of the col onto the Thistle ridgeline; the east side of the col looked even steeper than and just as loose as the west side that we had avoided by going up the ramp.After some discussion we decided to proceed to the summit of the peak on which we were standing, and then head back down to the pass, with the option of heading up Southesk Cairn if time and conditions were right. This we did. Near the summit the rock changed again, to a yellow-gray, and the ramp ended, causing a diversion to the right to avoid down climbing a step. We signNowed the summit at around noon, and were rewarded with excellent views to the east of the Ruby Creek valley, Ruby Mountain, and Thistle Mountain, and to the west of the Medicine Tent Lakes and a sea of nameless peaks.There was no cairn on the summit, so Jeff piled up five or six rocks to mark our presence, and we decided that for unofficial reference purposes we would call the peak GMMC Mountain. The cold wind howled at us as we had some lunch and took photographs. Although my cell phone showed one or two bars, I was unable to complete a call.We returned the way we came, except for diverting to our right onto a snow-filled gully partway down and variously sliding, boot-skiing or plunge-stepping to the level of the meadow. It had taken us about 2.5 hours up from the pass and 1.5 hours down. When we returned to the cairn at the pass, everyone except me wanted to climb Southesk Cairn. We had already looked down on the summit of that peak from GMMC Mountain, and I preferred to take photos of the many alpine flowers in the meadows of the pass. Both of the people who had brought bear spray had left it in their tents, but I made the decision that I now consider an unwise one to split from the group and return to camp to await them after having my fill of flower photography. The others headed up as Eric guided them on the route that he had found when descending the previous day, which would pass among some interesting outcrops on its way to the summit. I managed to take a few shots of the group in the distance before I lost sight of them as I headed back to camp.On my return, I looked at the trail with new eyes, and realized there were numerous places where a bear could be concealed, and other places that looked like bear diggings. I proceeded with hyper awareness and clacked my trekking pole on rocks as often as possible, and it was with a sense of relief that I arrived back at our tenting area. I found our food hang was undisturbed, and so were our tents. It was nap time again, and I crawled into the tent.Shortly after waking up I thought I heard a shout. I listened closely, but it was not repeated.I separated from the others before 2:30, and expected them back in camp by around 6, all things considered. By 6:30 I was anxiously watching the visible parts of the trail down from the pass, but saw nobody. It was nearly 7 p.m. when I definitely heard voices; it took some time to realize they came from behind me - my companions were returning from an unexpected direction. They approached my vantage point visibly excited. I knew it wasn't because they were seeing me again, but it took a while for the story to come out. There had been a close encounter with a grizzly sow and cub.What had happened was that the route that Eric had led the group up to the summit on was rejected as a descent route by the less experienced scramblers among them. A lower-angled ridge leading down from the summit on the opposite side from the ascent was the obvious less-exposed choice. Unfortunately, this route also led directly away from the trail up to the pass. They could see a low ridgeline through the meadows northwest of Southesk Cairn that would take them past the two higher Medicine Tent Lakes and allow them to circle back to the South Boundary Trail and return to our camping area from the other direction.All went well as the group made its way down the west ridge of Southesk Cairn and then off that ridge to the much lower ridgeline through the meadows by the southernmost Medicine Tent Lake. By the time they signNowed the second lake on this route they had become somewhat strung out. John, in the lead, headed for the west shore of the lake. When the others got there they thought the east shore was a more direct route, and shouted at him that they were going that way. But John didn't hear them. So now John was heading up the west shore and the other five were heading up the east shore.Then John saw the bear, and the bear saw John. John raised his arms over his head and shouted loudly. The bear, a grizzly sow with a cub of the year, charged John, stopping only a few feet away. It then turned and went back to its cub. The others, across the lake, heard the shouting and turned in time to see the bear make another charge. They all began making noise. At this point, the sow took her cub and ran off up a valley to the southwest. John and the group continued to the far end of the lake where they got back together, and went on in a state of considerable and understandable excitement back to the trail and to the camping area.The point is obvious, and has been made frequently: when in bear country, stick with the group and make your presence known. We all knew that. Yet first I separated from the group, luckily with no effect, and then John did, with potentially disastrous results. It is fortunate that the incident turned out well for all concerned, thanks mainly to John's presence of mind in the face of a charging grizzly.The remainder of the trip had no more excitement. In short, we spent the night where we had set up our camp. A call of nature had me out of the tent at 5:20 a.m., and when I saw the sunrise touching the tips of the peaks to the west and painting the clouds pink, I had to grab my camera for a few shots before crawling back into bed. We packed up in the morning. Just as we were leaving we saw the only other people we encountered on the entire trip, a couple who said they had come from La Grace Campground that morning, and were day hiking to the pass. Although they were booked (like us) into Medicine Tent for that evening, when they heard our group would be there they stated that they would probably spend the night at La Grace. We understood and did not take it personally. We then went back along the South Boundary Trail. With a little help from my companions, I was able to adjust my pack properly and move more efficiently. Nevertheless, we were in no hurry to leave the more scenic upper valley for the dubious charms of the campground, and took lengthy breaks at La Grace Campground, and the warden cabin (where I had a brief nap), and soaked our feet in the Medicine Tent River where the trail went along its shore. We still arrived at the campground in plenty of time to have a leisurely Canada Day supper and exchange memories of Canada Days past. The weather remained warm and sunny all day.The next day we were on the trail to Rocky Pass before 8 a.m., eager to get the elevation gain over with while we were fresh. Once back up in the alpine, we took our time again. The warm sunny weather with an occasional cooling breeze suited us well. We eventually made our way down the other side and over the ford, then up the bank and back to the trail leading to the ATV trail. The last 4.5 km to the trailhead were easy walking.Just before we signNowed the trailhead, the couple we had seen near Southesk Pass caught up to us. We learned that they were from Prince George, and had visited this area for the last several Canada Day weekends, as it was usually deserted.At the trailhead, several vehicles, house trailers and ATVs were parked. Just after we got back to our cars, several ATVs came roaring along the trail we had just left, kicking up clouds of dust. In a final bit of good fortune, we had completed our trip without sharing the trail with them.We arranged to meet back at Mountain Pizza and Steak in Edson for an early supper. The women in the group were somewhat concerned that a bunch of grubby unwashed backpackers would not be welcome there, but others pointed out that many Edson residents were loggers, coal miners or oil patch workers, and we would probably stand out less then they thought. As it turned out, when we got back to the restaurant, all of us in fresh clothing, we shared the restaurant with a large group of Harley riders, some in full leathers and most with do-rags on their heads. We didn't feel at all conspicuous. And the pizzas were delicious.

To understand why Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency on India, we have a begin at least a decade earlier in 1964. But before I continue, here are my sources.Emergency Retold by Kuldip NayarThe Emergency by Coomi KapoorIndia after Gandhi by Ramachandra GuhaIndira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi by Katherine FrankThe Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi years by Pranab MukherjeeEach of these books provide various pieces of the puzzle in understanding emergency. Most parts of my answer derives from these works. I would have loved to read Indira Gandhi, the Emergency and Indian democracy by P. N. Dhar (Indira Gandhi’s principal secretary), but a copy was hard to come by. Now, to the answer itself.Nehru’s Passing - 19641964 was an eventful year for both India as well as Indira Gandhi (IG). After suffering a defeat at the hands of Chinese in the Sino-Indian war in 1962, Jawaharlal Nehru was a broken man. He has been suffering from kidney ailments since 1959. He suffered two heart attacks in quick successions in late 1963 and early 1964. He must have suspected his end was near. The press were also debating on who would succeed him and “After Nehru?” dominated the headlines for a while.The extreme left wanted Indira Gandhi to succeed him (Indira Gandhi had been Nehru’s unofficial secretary for several years and had also served as a congress president for about 10 months in 1959–60). But both Nehru and his daughter rejected these advances. In fact, only a few months before Nehru’s passing, IG wrote to her American friend Dorothy Norman about retiring from politics. This was not the first time Indira Gandhi expressed her desire to retire, it had been going on for a about two years.In January 1964, Nehru met with K. Kamaraj (then Congress President) and on the very next day, Lal Bahadur Shastri who had left Nehru’s cabinet only a few months ago to return to party work (based on the Kamaraj plan) was inducted back. He was not given any portfolio. This to some hinted at a succession plan.On May 27, 1964, after suffering a third heart attack Nehru passed.Indira Gandhi was devastated. The only person she trusted any more was no more. Her estranged husband (Feroze Gandhi, not related to Mahatma Gandhi) had passed four years earlier in 1960. Her children were still in their adolescence and were far away in England. The rest of Nehru’s family also were not too close.When her father passed, Indira Gandhi felt lonelier than ever. She had no job, no source of income and not even a house to stay in.Three days later, on May 30, the congress met to decide on Nehru’s successor. Morarji Desai threw his hat in the ring, but Shastri had the backing of K. Kamaraj and the other leaders of the Congress party. The decision was ideological - Shastri was a moderate, while Moraji was an extreme right-winger. Two weeks after Nehru’s passing, Shastri became India’s second prime minister.Indira Gandhi was inducted into Shastri’s cabinet as Information and broadcasting minister, an insignNow cabinet position. If rumours are to be believed, Shastri offered the positions of PM and/or foreign minister to Indira Gandhi, but she apparently declined. Indira Gandhi’s biographer’s wonder if the offer was made in earnest or was merely symbolic.The only man in a cabinet of old women, 1965Soon after she was inducted into Shastri’s ministry, Indira Gandhi began to establish herself as an independent leader. She (along with finance minister T.T. Krishnamachari) represented the PM in the Commonwealth PMs conference held in London in 1964. She also travelled extensively in Europe and Asia that year. During her absence from the country, Swaran Singh was sworn in as the External Affairs minister. That seems to have been the prime cause of the friction that was to develop between her and Shastri. Her biographers argue that she(egged on by her coterie) might have been slightly angry at Shastri because he had not consulted her before the appointment (IG felt that she had better knowledge on foreign relationships having travelled around the globe since her childhood).In late 1965, Indira Gandhi would go on to critize Shastri for “veering off from Nehru’s Socialist tendencies.” However, long before that she would go onto upstage him and became a leader in her own right. The skirmishes that began in April 1964 between India and Pakistan would go onto peak in the month of August. Indira Gandhi did not only holiday in Kashmir at this time, but she would go to the battlefront and visit the soldiers.She would return to the battlefield once again in September. And this time, she would arrive to a warm welcome from Kashmiris. She would establish a devoted following and even the press would go on to call her - the only man in a cabinet of old women. After the war was won in September 1964, Shastri was hailed a hero, but Indira had to some extent, endeared herself to the masses.Soon, she had better things coming.The ascension - mid 1960’sAfter Shastri unexpectedly passed in 1966, the question of succession arose once again. This time around, there were more than two names. Moraji Desai who had lost in 1964, wanted the post again. Gulzarilal Nanda (acting PM after both Nehru’s and Shastri’s death) entered the contest. Soon, YB Chavan (Desai’s man from Maharastra), SK Patil, Sanjiva Reddy and Indira Gandhi were all in the race.Once again the responsibility fell on Kamaraj and his group of leaders (referred to as “syndicate”). They felt that Indira Gandhi was the right choice. They convinced Nanda, Chavan, Patil and Reddy to withdraw, but could not persuade Desai a second time.An internal election was held. Indira carried it easily with 355 votes against Desai’s 169. Desai was only able to garner support in Gujarat (his home states) and parts of right-leaning Bihar and UP. And on 24 January, 1966, Indira Gandhi became India’s first woman PM.Some biographers have theorized that the syndicate backed Indira Gandhi only because she was a weak leader and a woman at that. They argue that the syndicate hated Moraji and they felt they could control Indira Gandhi. I think they are projecting the view of the right-wing opposition and some INC members like Ram Manohar Lohia to the entire syndicate (Through 1966 and 1967, the opposition and media ran a smear campaign calling Indira “Goongi goodiya” or “the puppet”). I personally think Indira Gandhi was chosen because in party full of right-leaning upper caste conservatives, she was the closest to being moderate and slightly left-of-center (to continue Nehru’s socialist policies).Either way, Indira Gandhi felt a need to assert herself as an independent leader and her actions in the next couple of years can be explained by that.The rise of RSS and Jana SanghFounded in 1951 as RSS’ political arm, the Jana Sangh (BJS) performed quite poorly in the 1952 and 1957 general elections. It did not fair well in any of the state assembly elections either. This is when they decided to go back to their roots - militant activism.After Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, India did not witness any large scale communal riots for a decade. However, one erupted in Jamshedpur, Bihar in 1959 after RSS and BJS activists turned a petty dispute into large scale fighting. Two years later, in 1961, another large scale communal riot broke out in Madhya Pradesh and this was spearheaded by ABVP. In the same year, another riot broke out in Uttar Pradesh. In UP, both BJS and ABVP played a role. Jamaat-e-Islami-hind’s also seems to have played a role in the last one.On the back of these riots, BJS did well in Bihar and UP in both the state and the Indian general election held in 1962 . Outside these states, another conservative party - the Swatantara party - did well in the 1962 election (the party’s first election since inception).In 1964, violence erupted in Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. In 1967, riots broke out in Ranchi (then in Bihar). RSS and BJS had a hand in these riots. In the 1967, Indian general election, BJS did better in UP and Bihar than it had done the previous time. With no party gaining a strong majority in UP, the Congress government folded in just 19 days. BJS also made inroads in Gujarat and Rajasthan where Swatantara had done better in 1962. In the UP state assembly election in 1967, BJS won 99 seats and became the main opposition.So, flaring up communal tensions before an election became BJS’ election strategy.After the 1967 elections, RSS and BJP expanded into the western states. In 1969, clashes claimed over 650 lives in Gujarat. In 1970, about 100 people, majority of them muslims were killed in clashes in Bhinwandi, Maharastra. However, the BJS could not capitalize on either. By passing some populist bills, Indira Gandhi appealed to the masses. Congress swept the 1971 general election and BJS lost signNow amount of ground they had gained in the last decade.They began to wait for an opportunity to gain back the lost ground.Antagonizing the INC leaders - late 1960’sIndira Gandhi faced her first election as PM of India in 1967 on the back of failed monsoons, economic stagnation, rising unemployment, food crisis, and communal violence. It was the first election since Nehru’s passing and then there was the stigma of “goongi goodiya”. Though, Indira came back to power at the centre with a slim majority, INC was thrown out of power in nine states. People, both within the party and outside, began to question her leadership. Indira Gandhi, more than ever, felt the need to assert herself individually and as a leader.To quash opposition’s cry that she was a mere puppet, Indira Gandhi began to distance herself from the syndicate and centralize power within PM’s secretariat. She brought in P.N. Haksar (who had been a friend of her and her husband when she was attending college in London) as her secretary in 1967 and within the next couple of years, her secretariat had four more men including P.N. Dhar (The other three were D.P. Dhar, T. N. Kaul and R.N. Kao). Incidentally, all the five men were Kashmiri Brahmins and so was Indira Gandhi. Over the years, the group earned monikers like Kashmiri mafia and pancha pandava. Soon, all policy decisions were being made in the prime ministers secretariat and not the PMO. Indira’s cabinet (including Finance minister Moraji) was mostly in the dark. This began to irk the congress leadership.During this period, Indira Gandhi also ensured that her supporters rose to prominence in the various state units of Congress. Soon, she had support of various chief ministers and their state units.Things worsened in July 1969 when Indira Gandhi removed Moraji Desai from her cabinet and issued an ordinance to nationalize bank. A right-winger, Moraji Desai, was opposed to this move. Only a month later, in August 1969, she chose not to support Sanjiva Reddy, Congress’ official candidate in the presidential election and backed V.V. Giri to take the role. V.V. Giri won the election comfortably and became the fourth president of India. This further irked the congress leadership.In November 1969, the congress syndicate expelled her from INC. With the support of CPI and DMK, Indira Gandhi managed to stay in power even after the Congress split.Indira’s tussle with Judiciary - late 1960’s and early 1970’sIn a bid to differentiate herself from her opposition (who were mostly right-wing conservatives) and in an effort to appeal to the masses, Indira Gandhi began moving further left (according to some biographers, after a nudge from P.N. Haksar and other secretaries) in terms of economic policies in the late 60’s. This involved implementing some populist schemes.Bank Nationalization - In 1969, Indira Gandhi passed an ordinance to nationalize 14 banks. However, a share holder of one of the banks and a couple of other Jana Sangh members approached the Supreme court to repeal the ordinance. A bench of 11 judges heard the case and struck down the ordinance based on a legality with a majority of 10 against 1. The lone dissenter was justice A.N. Ray. Four days later, Indira issued another ordinance to prevent further judicial intervention in the matter.Abolition of privy purses - In 1947, when India became independent, princely states were asked to secede to India in return for some privileges. One of them was monthly allowance known as privy purse. In the early 60’s, Kamaraj and Atulya Ghosh had wanted to abolish the privy purses, but Nehru vetoed it. In September 1970, Indira Gandhi introduced a bill in parliament to abolish the privy purses. The bill passed in the Lok Sabha, but was defeated in the Rajya Sabha. Under these circumstances, Indira approached the president to issue an order to abolish the privy purses. V.V. Giri dutifully obliged. However, Madhavrao Scindia, then prince of Gwalior, appealed to the SC to de-recognize the order. An eleven judge bench did just that in early 1971 with the majority of 9–2. A.N. Ray was one of the dissenters again. Without the required support for her in the parliament, Indira Gandhi chose to dissolve the parliament.The Golak Nath inheritance case - Earlier in 1967, the SC ruled against the parliament and held that the parliament had no power to abridge the fundamental rights (in this case, the right to property that had been denied by a 1953 land reform act). Indira Gandhi attempted to introduce a bill, giving the parliament to amend any part of the constitution, however, she did not table it fearing failure.The Keshavananda Bharathi Case - Ruling in another land reform case in 1973, SC held that the parliament cannot change the basic structure of the constitution. This reaffirmed that the constitution and not legislature was supreme. This was also a blow to Indira’s ego.Elevation of A.N. Ray as chief justice of India - In 1973, Indira Gandhi decided to appoint A.N. Ray (who had been pro-government all along) over three senior judges. One of those senior judges was K.S. Hegde (who in the Allahabad high court) had allowed some evidences in the election malpractices of Indira Gandhi (during her 1971 election) which she wanted quashed. Indira Gandhi apparently wanted the judiciary and government to work together for the betterment of the people, but not many saw it that way.Indira hatao and Indira wave, 1971When Indira announced fresh elections in 1971 after dissolving the parliament, the opposition parties including INC(O), BJS, Swatantara, CPI (M), a couple of socialist parties and various other regional parties formed a “Grand Alliance”. With far-right and far-left parties (along with other moderates) in the same mix, the uniting factor was not ideological, many have observed. On the contrary, the opposition united against Indira. They wanted to oust her and it reflected in their campaign slogan - “Indira hatao” or “oust Indira”. Indira Gandhi used it to her advantage by rephrasing the slogan as “Gharibi hatao” or “oust poverty” and used it as her own campaign slogan.In the years prior to the election, Indira Gandhi has positioned herself as the leader of the poor by enacting land reforms and other populist schemes. She was also an eloquent speaker and had a lot of charisma. She was able to connect with people wherever she went and she did travel through the country, addressing 20 meetings a day. More importantly, the green revolution began to bear fruit, the monsoons arrived on time that year, inflation stabilized and economy showed signs of improvement. Riding on the back of these, Indira Gandhi won by a landslide. The grand alliance was a complete disaster.Soon after the election, Raj Narain who competed for the Rae Bareilly seat against Indira in 1971 (and who along with Ram Manohar Lohia had been instrumental in toppling the UP congress government in 1967 and had also phrased the “Indira hatao” slogan) and lost, filed a petition with the Allahabad high court alleging malpractices by Indira Gandhi during the 1971 election (charges included bribery, illegal vote solicitation, use of religious symbols, etc among other minor offences).That did not hamper Indira Gandhi. India played a vital role in the liberation of Bangladesh later in the year and in the process, defeated Pakistan in a war. Indira Gandhi was hailed as hero by even her fiercest opponents in the media. People rallied against Pakistan and communal tensions were at a low. An external emergency was imposed and that seemed to calm down things too.Well and truly, an Indira wave swept the country.The doting mother - 1972–73The early 70’s were a relatively calmer periods for Indira. After India’s victory over Pakistan, she had the backing of the masses. Her election malpractices case was progressing at a snails pace. The opposition was still reeling from their losses the previous year. Some parties became altogether irrelevant. During this period, Indira Gandhi went about centralizing power even further. Her loyalists were given important posts in the state units of congress. Anyone who failed to fall in line were removed and replaced. Opposition parties in congress ruled states began levying charges of corruption against the state units.However, another storm was also brewing.In June 1971, Sanjay Gandhi (second son of Indira and Feroze Gandhi), after having interned at Rolls Royce London for three years, established the Maruti Udyog limited to manufacture affordable small cars indigenously. The licenses required to set up the industry were granted so quickly, the press complained of nepotism. Both Indira and Sanjay brushed these off.Soon, many congressmen began to believe that Sanjay was the future and began to line up behind him. One of those men was Haryana’s chief minister Bansilal, who sold a large tract of land (questionably very close to defence land) for a pittance. Bansilal also managed to arrange a loan for purchase of the land and setting up the plant. The press tore into Bansilal and both Sanjay and Indira Gandhi.Maruti was set to fail from the start. It’s founder had no prior experience manufacturing a car or running a company, the company did not own any technology and it did not even attempt to establish relationship with companies selling technology. Despite these problems, the government placed an order with Maruti to manufacture 50,000 cars, even before a single car had been produced.P.N. Haksar was critical about Sanjay, Maruti and Indira’s unwavering support of both. That caused a rift in his relationship with her and the latter began to gradually sideline him over a couple of years. Finally, he was forced into a retirement in 1973. After he left the secretariat, Sanjay became the unofficial policy maker and principal secretary of Indira Gandhi. Henceforth, all policy decisions were being taken by Sanjay and his henchmen, to name some, Siddhartha Shankar Ray (chief minister of WB), Bansilal (chief minister of Haryana), R.K. Dhawan(Indira’s additional secretary), V.C. Shukla(IB minister), Om Mehta(Home minister) and D.K. Barooah (the then Congress president).Trouble in Gujarat, 1973–74After the monsoons failed in 1972–73, India faced an acute food shortage in 1973. Strained relationship with USA (who were themselves in a quagmire in Vietnam) meant that food imports were not smooth. To ensure that there was proper distribution of food grains (and to keep the food prices down in UP where an election was to be held), the central government took control of wholesale grain trade in 1973. Gujarat was one of the states hit by this decision. Its allotment quota was cut down by 30,000 tonnes from 105,000 tonnes to 75,000 tonnes. Price of essential commodities like wheat, jowar, etc. that were already high soared even further.Amidst this predicament, internal rivalry within Gujarat congress saw power change from the hands of Ghanshyam Oza (an Indira Gandhi loyalist) to Chimanbhai Patel (an Indira Gandhi dissident). Chimanbhai Patel had influence in many educational institutions in the state and he was seen as someone who meddled with the internal affairs of these institutions. As a result, he began antagonizing the state student unions.In October 1973, crude oil prices shot up due to the oil crisis in the middle east. This in turn contributed to increase in prices of commodities.In December 1973, Jana Sangh organized multiple bandhs through out the state to cripple congress. Serious riots broke out in Rajkot, Porbandar and Jetpur. On December 20, 1973, students of LE college at Morbi went on a strike to protest the increase in food fees at the hostel. A fortnight later, on January 4, 1974, students of LD college of Engineering at Ahmedabad went on a rampage burning down the canteen and attacking the rector’s residence. The State Reserve Police (SRP) )were brought in to control the situation, but they only ended adding fuel to fire by beating up the students and jailed over 300 of them. This provoked the students across the state to call for a strike on January 7. Sensing an opportunity, Moraji Desai and Jana Sangh encouraged the students to form Nav Nirman Yuvak Samiti(NYS).On January 6, 1974, the Jana Sangh organized a state-wide “anti-police day”. The very same day violence broke out in Ahmedabad. Buses were stoned and ration shops were looted.Various trade unions called for an Ahmedabad bandh on January 10, 1974. Large scale riots broke out. Clashes between protestors and the SRP led to shootings in over 20 locations. On the same daய், NYS was formed and trade unions began demanding Chimanbhai Patel’s resignation (once Chimanbhai became the main target, the Jana Sangh withdrew from the agitation because they sympathized with him). Agitations spread to nearby towns and continued for a further two days. Most of them were spontaneous and led by common people.The NYS called for fresh strikes on January 17, 1974. Soon, riots became an everyday occurrence in almost every major city/town. Buses were burnt, government offices were attacked and ration shops were raided. Police were brought every single day to crush these riots.Trade unions called for a state-wide bandh on January 25, 1974. Fearing more violence, Chimanbhai imposed curfew in over 100 cities and town. That did not prevent the protestors from taking to the streets. Riots continued for three more days until the army was brought in on January 28.Another round of riots erupted on February 4. Curfew was imposed, but the riots continued undeterred. The students, the teachers and trade unions wanted Chimanbhai Chor’s (used to refer to his corrupt ways) head. While Chimanbhai tried to resist, he was forced to quit. He did so on February 9, 1974. The Gujarat assembly was suspended and president’s rule was imposed.However, just a week later, agitations broke out again, demanding dissolution of the Gujarat assembly. Moraji and Jana Sangh openly offered their support to these agitations. Over the next months, clashes between agitators and police would claim over 50 lives and over 95 MLAs resigned.On March 12, 1974, Moraji Desai announced an indefinite fast till the Gujarat assembly was dissolved. Just 4 days later, the Gujarat assembly was dissolved and the four-month long agitations came to an end.More trouble in Bihar, 1974Even before the situation was resolved in Gujarat, another arose in Bihar. In February 1974, students wings of political outfits like Jana Sangh (ABVP), CPIM (SFI) and Samyukta Socialist party (SYJS) formed an organisation Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti (BCSS). Unlike in Gujarat, where agitations broke out against food prices and then turned political, the one in Bihar was outright politically motivated.The first agitation the BCSS called for gherao (surround or encircle) movement to prevent the functioning of the Bihar assembly during the budget session on March 18, 1974. The CM of Bihar promised to look into their demands, but the students did not believe in him. Riots broke on March 18 when the student began to gather. There was looting and arson. Government offices were set on fire. The police retaliated harshly killing at least 3 students.In response, the BCSS called for a statewide strike on March 23. Within that week, 30 more students were killed in clashes between the student organisations and the police. Around this time the BCSS signNowed out to Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) to lead their movement. A freedom fighter and a Gandhian, JP was hesitant at first to join the violent movement. However, prevailing poverty in the country ,the success of the Gujarat movement and his own criticism of Indira Gandhi motivated him to join the movement. He came out of political retirement to lead the students on two conditions - 1. the protests should be non-violent and 2. the protests should not be restricted to Bihar.Through April and May 1974, both violent and non-violent protests took part in various parts of Bihar, demanding the dissolution of the Bihar assembly. The government retorted to these demands by brutally suppressing them. People were killed in police firing at Patna and Gaya among other cities. As the protests intensified, Indira Gandhi was unrelenting. Her biographers argue that she feared other states would also make such demands if she were to dissolve the Bihar assembly.Railway strike, 1974As protests raged in Bihar, another erupted in May 1974. Demanding eight-hour workdays and an increase in pay, railways workers throughout the country went on a strike on 8 May 1974. Led by George Fernandes, then president of All India Railwaymen’s Federation, over 70% of permanent employees refused to return to work. No trains ran. Travelers were stranded and essential commodities did not signNow their destination.Though George Fernandes himself was arrested on May 2, 1974, the railwaymen decided to go ahead with the strike. Writers have argued that entire India was shutdown the entire duration of the strike.Indira Gandhi responded to this with brutality. She suppressed the strike without mercy. Thousands of agitators were jailed under the draconian MISA and DIR acts. They were beaten up in jail. Thousands more lost their jobs. Many more were injured in clashes with the police.The strike continued for 20 days. During this period, some trains were operated with the help of the army. Fearing more repercussions, the strike was called off on May 27, 1974 with no immediate gains. However, it reestablished the solidarity of the railway labour force.JP movement, 1974In late April, JP and Indira Gandhi began exchanging a series letters. The exchange began cordially, but did not end so well six weeks later. Each accused the other and the misunderstanding was growing.With Indira adamant, JP decided to take the Bihar movement to the next level. On June 5, 1974, he led a massive procession through the streets of Patna. The rally culminated in a meeting at Gandhi maidan where JP called for a ‘Total revolution’ to realize the unfulfilled promises of freedom. He spoke of hunger and poverty, soaring prices and corruption. He spoke of the authoritarian ways of the government under Indira Gandhi. He spoke of a achieving a ‘a real people’s government’ in one year. He asked the students to boycott colleges and examinations for a year to rebuild Bihar and the country.In August, JP toured the Bihar countryside extensively. Everywhere he went, he received a warm welcome. People gathered in thousands to hear him speak. They waited for hours on the sides of the road to have a glimpse of him. Soon, he was turning in something Indira Gandhi had hoped he would not - the moral conscience of the nation.JP called for all the opposition parties(except CPI) through the country to unite against the Congress. Jana Sangh was already involved through ABVP. In fact, the leadership of the movement at local levels had passed into its hands. An associate of JP reported this alarming development to JP, also indication that people were attracted to the movement for the wrong and negative reasons. Another man who was openly critical of the JP movement was R.K. Patil who had toured Bihar with JP on his invitation. He does not question JP on his integrity, but only the movement direction and final goal - “What after the Bihar assembly was dissolved ?” and also extra-constitutional nature of setting up parallel governments and demanding the elected one be dismissed. He also indicated that the behaviour of the mob with and without JP was different, the latter leaning towards ruckus.On November 1, Indira Gandhi and JP met (arranged by D.P. Dhar) at New Delhi to find a resolution. Indira Gandhi offered to dismiss the Bihar government provided JP withdrew his demands to dismiss other state governments too. JP rejected the compromise. Three days later, on his way to a rally at Patna, he was manhandled by the police. Trying to avoid a baton, he stumbled to the ground. Police’s behaviour towards an old man suffering ill health sparked to outrage through the country.By the end of 1974, India had organised itself into two opposing camps. The first group (including non right-wing, non Jana-Sangh Indians) hailed the JP movement, sometimes labeling it the ‘second freedom struggle.’ They were critical of Indira Gandhi’s authoritarian ways and corrupt Congress government. The other camp (including non Congress Indians and hindus) were pained by JP’s decision to collude with Jana Sangh to oust a democratically elected government.The dance of the Ananda Margis, 1975The Ananda-marga is a bizarre organisation founded by equally bizarre man called Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar in 1955. Founded as a socio-spiritual organisation, the Ananda-marga soon turned political and were in direct opposition to the communist parties in West Bengal. Through the 1960’s, the organisation employment violent methods to achieve its political ambitions. In 1969, the Ananda margis held a conference in Cooch Behar. When the communists intervened, it turned into a blood bath. Intelligence reports revealed a plot by margis to assassinate senior leaders in the government.Known for their bizarre rituals in burial grounds and crematories, bizarre dances using skulls and daggers, bizarre rallies in red robes wielding swords, lathis and skulls, Ananda marga gained great notoriety when Sarkar was charged with the murder of six of his former disciples in 1971.Demanding Sarkar’s release, the organisation undertook several violent protests between 1971 and 1978. They raided Indian embassies in various countries, kidnapped and assassinated officials, bombed buildings and even, threatened self-immolation. During his incarceration, Sarkar’s wife left him for his personal secretary, citing his violent behaviour and other heinous crimes going on within the marga. She also accused Sarkar of sexually assaulting young boys.Suspicion fell on the organisation when Lalit Narayan Mishra (an Indira Gandhi man, who had been involved in a corruption scandal that had troubled her through 1974) was assassinated on January 2, 1975 in Bihar. The police first suspected a railway worker who they thought had retaliated at Mishra, the then railway minister, for brutally suppressing the railway strikes, leaving many railway employees unemployed.Two more men were arrested days later and they implicated a man close to Indira Gandhi, alleging her involvement. Indira, for her part blamed the CIA (Mishra had been very close to Soviet leaders) and the JP movement for creating an environment of violence. For a while, the Jana Sangh and RSS were also suspected. However, the CBI alleged that the Ananda margis had done it to pressurize the government to release Sarkar.In 2014, four Ananda margis were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for assassinating Mishra.Three of those Ananda margis had already been convicted on charges of attempted assassination of A.N. Ray (Indira Gandhi’s man in the judiciary) on March 20, 1975. A.N. was then the chief justice of India.JP movement 2.0, 1975In January and February, 1975, JP toured the country seeking support. In speeches he gave in front of huge crowds, JP (albeit implicitly) began comparing himself to Gandhi and the Indira Gandhi regime to colonial rule in India. He urged his supported to remain non-violent and warned them about the effects of violent protests like Indira Gandhi assuming dictatorial powers.Indira Gandhi, on the other hand, considered the JP movement to be against her personally.JP planned for a march on the parliament on March 6, 1975. As the date approached, people (mostly from UP and Bihar) started pouring into the capital. To dissuade more people from joining them, the government forbade the entry of buses and trucks into capital. 15,000 policemen were brought into the capital. Despite all these efforts, over 750,000 people gathered at Delhi and walked towards the parliament in procession, demanding Indira Gandhi to “vacate the throne.” JP compared the rally to Gandhi’s Dandi march.For Indira Gandhi, the noose around her neck began to tighten. So far, the epicenter of JP’s movement have been elsewhere, but now it was at her doorsteps.On March 18, JP led another march at Patna to commemorate the anniversary of the Bihar movement. In the following months, he toured the southern parts of India to gain support there.The final blow - March to June, 1975Amidst the protests that had been raging through the country for over 18 months, Indira Gandhi testified in court in her election malpractices case on March 19, 1975 (in the process, becoming the first PM to testify in court).In April, Moraji Desai went on a fast, demanding fresh elections in Gujarat. Indra Gandhi agreed to hold one in June and the opposition began to unite. Campaigns polarized the state even further and L.K, Advani, a Jana Singh leader, said that his party would continue to do the same.June 12, 1975 was an eventful day for Indira Gandhi. Early in the morning, she learnt that her long time associate D.P. Dhar had passed on. A few hours later, she found that Congress lagging behind the Janata front in Gujarat (The Janata front formed the government with the help of Chimanbhai Patel, who they had help overthrow in 1974 and who had defected from Congress to form a new party). However, the most devastating news came from Allahabad. Though she was acquitted on twelve of the fourteen counts, she was convicted for the other two - 1. She used UP government resources to construct rostrums to address her election meetings, 2. Her election agent was sill in government employment when he began campaigning. Her election was overturned and she no longer was an MP. Furthermore, she cannot contest another election for 6 years.Justice Sinha who delivered the verdict stayed his order for 20 days so that the Congress can decide on its new leader and ensure that the functioning of the government is not hampered. It was also to give Indira Gandhi time to appeal in the Supreme court.The charges on which Indira had been convicted were so trivial NY Times opined that India had unseated its PM for a minor traffic offence. Decision to appeal the verdict was soon made. For the time being, Indira would continue as the PM.On June 13, the opposition parties gathered at the Rastrapathi bhavan and demanded the president to dismiss the prime minister. JP opined that it would be shameful and cynical if Indira Gandhi were to stay in office. However, Indira Gandhi still had the support of her MPs and congress men. CPI also supported her questioning, the motives of the right-wing opposition. To show that Indira also had the people’s backing, Sanjay’s man Bansilal began ferrying people to the capital. Everyday, a crowd gathered in front of the prime minister’s residence and shouted out their support. And everyday, Indira Gandhi would speak to them. However, in the background, congress men who had PM ambitions (like Jagjivan Ram and Swaran Singh) began making their moves. Another camp within Congress dubbed Young Turk were also contemplating revolt.In the meantime, Sanjay was planning on gagging to press. He thought it was a necessary action to stop rumours and muster support for his mother from the lowest echelons of society.The opposition parties wanted to organise rallies against Indira. JP, on the other hand, wanted to wait for the Supreme court verdict.Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi was busy mustering support. On June 20, Indira Gandhi addressed a huge crowd (allegedly of about a million people), claiming the opposition wanted to liquidate her physically. In the same rally, DK Barooah declared that “Indira is India and India is Indira”.Two days later, on June 22, the opposition parties led by Moraji called for a “do or die” movement to overthrow Indira Gandhi.On June 23, Supreme court began hearing Indira Gandhi’s appeal. After two days of arguments, the SC vacation judge V. Krishna Iyer concluded that “Indira had not committed any of the grave electoral vices” and could continue as the prime minister. She could also participate in discussions in the parliament, but can not vote on any of the issues.After the conditional stay was granted, Indira Gandhi wanted to resign, but was persuaded against it by Sanjay and SS Ray, argues Katherine Frank. Others however argue that this was not an earnest offer. Either way, the PM and her confidants decided that she would stay. Sanjay and SS Ray began insisting that drastic actions were necessary in case the opposition continue to protest.The opposition considered the supreme court verdict a victory and wanted Indira Gandhi to resign. They called for a massive rally at Delhi on June 25 to be held under the leadership of JP.When the opposition was preparing for the rally, Indira and team began toying with an idea of an internal emergency. On June 25, a draft ordinance was prepared by SS Ray and was being discussed at the PM’s residence. A decision to impose the emergency that midnight was made. Later that evening, the president was advised of the developments almost around the same time JP was addressing a rally at Ram leela maidan at Delhi.Oblivious to the developments, JP, in his rally, demanded Indira Gandhi to resign. He called countrywide agitations on June 29 and urged students, trade unionists and farmers to take part in it. He asked the police and army not to obey illegal orders. Indira Gandhi latched on to this and would offer this as her reason to impose the emergency in the coming days.On June 25, 1975 at 11.45 PM, based on the recommendation of the prime minister, the president of India, Fakruddin Ahmed, imposed the emergency. Within the next few hours,all the opposition leaders including JP and Moraji Desai were arrested. Power supply was cut to most newspapers.The next morning, Indira Gandhi made a nationwide broadcast on AIR and told the country that an emergency had been imposed due to internal disturbances.ConclusionAfter Nehru’s death, there was no clear successor to take his position. After Shastri passed unexpectedly, Indira was chosen. Some thought she would be an ideological successor to Nehru and Shastri, while other considered her a week women who could be controlled. Right from the start, she had to deal with multiple violent groups. First it was the naxals, then it was fundamentalist organisation like the RSS, the Ananda Marga and the Jamaat-e-Islami-hind. To assert herself as an independent leader, she centralized power and antagonized senior congressmen (some of them with PM aspirations who would come back to haunt her). After getting her men into key positions in the center and various state governments, she failed to keep a check on them and prevent corruption. She then sidelined her ideological secretary in favour of her son who wanted to get things done, no matter the means. She shied from criticism and when the opposition demanded answers, she took it personally. She was constantly fighting the judiciary and the press too.By 1975, Indira Gandhi had antagonized almost everyone. She thought they wanted her head. The Allahabad verdict fed her fears. Feeling cornered, she retaliated back with vengeance.The blame certainly lies on Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi and his coterie. But I don’t they are the only ones to be blames. The RSS and Jana Sangh were playing a dangerous games through late 60’s and early 70’s. To achieve their political motives, they instigated agitations. Moraji Desai played alongside them. They tricked JP into their movement to lend it credibility. And that is why emergency was declared in India.

Elon Musk was a multi-millionaire by the time he signNowed the age of thirty-one thanks to his creation of the company that became PayPal, the popular money-transfer service for Web consumers. Musk has become one of a new breed of what the New York Times called "thrillionaires," or a class of former high-tech entrepreneurs who are using their newfound wealth to help turn science-fiction dreams into reality. Musk is the founder of Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, a company based in El Segundo, California. In 2005 SpaceX was busy building the Falcon rocket, which he hoped could some day make both space tourism and a colony on the planet Mars realistic goals for humankind.Musk is a native of South Africa, born in 1971 to parents who later divorced. His father was an engineer and his mother—originally from Canada—was a nutritionist. Musk was fascinated by science fiction and computers in his adolescent years. When he was twelve, he wrote the code for his own video game and actually sold it to a company. In his late teens, he immigrated to Canada in order to avoid the required military service for white males in South Africa. It was still the era of apartheid, the South African legal system that denied political and economic rights to the country's majority-black native population. Musk was uninterested in serving in the army, which was engaged at the time in a battle to stamp out a black nationalist movement. Thanks to his mother's Canadian ties, he was able to enroll at Queen's University in Kingston, one of Ontario's top schools.Musk had planned on a career in business, and he worked at a Canadian bank one summer as a college intern. This was his only real job before he became an Internet entrepreneur. Midway through his undergraduate education, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a second bachelor's in physics a year later. From there, he won admission to the prestigious doctoral program at Stanford University in California, where he planned to concentrate on a Ph.D. in energy physics. He moved to California just as the Internet boom was starting in 1995, and he decided he wanted to be in on it, too. He dropped out of Stanford after just two days in order to start his first company, Zip2 Corporation. This was an online city guide aimed at the newspaper publishing business, and Musk was able to land contracts with both the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune to provide content for their new online sites.Musk was just twenty-four when he started the company, and he devoted all of his energies to see it succeed. At one point,"Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough."he lived in the same rented office that served as his company's headquarters, sleeping on a futon couch and showering at the local YMCA, which "was cheaper than renting an apartment," he explained in an interview with Roger Eglin of the Sunday Times of London. Still, the company struggled to fulfill its contracts and meet the payroll and other costs, and he looked for outside financing. Eventually a group of venture capitalists, investors who provide start-up money to new businesses, financed Zip2 with $3.6 million, but he gave up majority control of the company in exchange.In the end, Musk's decision was a smart one. In February 1999 Compaq Computer Corporation bought Zip2 for $307 million in cash, which was one of the largest cash deals in the Internet business sector at the time. Out of that amount, Musk was paid $22 million for his 7 percent share, which made him a millionaire at twenty-eight. In 1999, he used $10 million of it to start another company, which he called http://X.com. This was an online bank with grand plans to become a full-range provider of financial services to consumers. The company's one major innovation was figuring out how to securely transfer money using a recipient's e-mail address.Musk's proven track record from Zip2 helped it gain serious attention and generous investors right away. Two important executives signed on with him: investment banker John Story and Bill Harris, the former chief executive officer of Intuit Corporation, the maker of the best-selling Quicken accounting software as well as TurboTax, a tax-preparation program. Harris was appointed president and chief executive officer of http://X.com, with Musk serving as company chair. The company received a generous infusion of $25 million in start-up capital from Sequoia Capital, a leading venture-capital firm in California.http://X.com went online in December 1999 with a bold offer for new customers: those who opened an online checking account with http://X.com received a $20 cash card that they could use at an automatic-teller machine (ATM). If they referred a friend, they received a $10 card for each new member who signed up. Within two months, http://X.com had one hundred thousand customers, which was close to the number signNowed by its major competitor, Etrade Telebank. But consumer skepticism about the security of online banking was http://X.com's biggest obstacle to success, and there was a setback when Musk and the other executives had to admit that computer hackers had been able to perform some illegal transfers from traditional bank accounts into http://X.com accounts. They immediately started a new policy that required customers to submit a canceled check in order to withdraw money, but there were tensions in the office about the future of the company.In March 2000, http://X.com bought a company called Confinity, which had started an Internet money-transfer presence called PayPal. PayPal was originally set up to let users of handheld personal digital assistants, or PDAs, transfer money. It had only been in business a few months when http://X.com acquired it, and Musk believed that its online-transfer technology, which was known as "P2P" for "person-to-person," had a promising future. He and Harris did not agree, and Harris resigned from http://X.com in May 2000. Five months later, Musk announced that http://X.com would abandon its original online bank and instead concentrate on turning itself into the leading global payment transfer provider. The http://X.com name was dropped in favor of PayPal.PayPal grew enormously through 2001, thanks in part to its presence on eBay, the online auction Web site where person-to-person sales were happening in the hundreds of thousands. When PayPal became a publicly traded company with an initial public offering (IPO) of stock in February 2002, it had an impressive debut on the first day of Wall Street trading. Later that year, eBay bought the company outright for $1.5 billion. At the time, Musk was PayPal's largest shareholder, holding an 11.5 percent stake, and he netted $165 million in valuable eBay stock from the deal.By then Musk had already moved on to his next venture. In June 2002 he founded SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies. He had long been fascinated by the possibility of life on Mars and was a member of the Mars Society, a nonprofit organization that encourages the exploration of the red planet. Filmmaker James Cameron (1954–) is one of several notable Mars Society members. Musk wanted to create a "Mars Oasis," sending an experimental greenhouse to the planet, which in favorable alignment of the planets is about 35 million miles distant from Earth. His oasis would contain a nutrient gel from which specific Mars-environment-friendly plant life could grow. His plan had a cost of $20 million. But then he learned that to send something into space with the standard delivery method, a Delta rocket made by the Boeing Corporation, would add another $50 million to the cost. Musk even tried to buy a rocket from Russia, but realized that dealing with the somewhat suspect international traders who dealt in such underground, or illegal, items was just too risky.Borrows star Wars >nameMusk thought that maybe he might be able to build his own rocket instead. He began contacting innovators and technicians in the American aerospace industry, and he managed to lure some experienced engineers and technical specialists away from companies like Boeing and TRW to come and work for him at SpaceX's headquarters in El Segundo, California. He had a much more difficult time attracting venture capital for this idea, however. "Space is pretty far out of the comfort zone of just about every VC on Earth," he admitted to Matt Marshall of the San Jose Mercury News. Instead, he was forced to put up his own money to build what would become the first reusable rocket in the private sector.Musk and his new SpaceX team began to build two types of Falcon rockets. The name came from the "Millennium Falcon," the spacecraft in the Star Wars movies. The plan was to build a rocket by using existing technology and at the lowest possible cost. The Falcon I, for example, uses a pintle engine, which dates from the 1960s. It has one fuel injector, while standard rockets used by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) generally use what is known as a "showerhead" design that features several fuel injectors. The company also needed a theodolite, which is used to align rockets, and instead of buying it new, they saved $25,000 by finding one on eBay.There are other, equally expensive costs associated with rocketry. Since Musk's design would be reusable, the company needed to get back the rocket's first stage, which the rocket sheds as it leaves the Earth's atmosphere. The part usually falls into the ocean, according to safety plans, but retrieval at sea is expensive.The New "Thrillionaires"Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (1953–) is ranked the seventh richest person in the world. Allen has used his wealth to finance SpaceShipOne. This private manned spacecraft, built by aircraft design pioneer Burt Rutan (1943–), was the first of its kind to signNow suborbital space twice, which it did in 2004. For this two-time achievement, SpaceShipOne met the conditions of the $10 million Ansari X prize, established by the X Prize Foundation to encourage private entrepreneurship in aerospace.Doom video game co-creator John Carmack (1970–; see entry) founded a computer game development company called id Software in 1991. He is considered one of the most gifted programmers ever to work in the gaming industry. He was one of the creators of the successful Doom and Quake games, which sold millions in the 1990s and attracted legions of devoted fans. In 2000, Carmack funded a new venture, Armadillo Aerospace in Mesquite, Texas, with the goal of building a manned suborbital spacecraft. It lost its bid to win the Ansari X prize when its vehicles ran into technical problems and crashed in 2004 and 2005.In 1995, Jeff Bezos (1964–) launched Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more, an online bookseller that became one of the most impressive successes in American business history. With an estimated personal fortune of over $5 billion, Bezos began donating some of his wealth to various philanthropic causes, but he also established an aerospace company. His Blue Origin, like Allen and Carmack's ventures, is also committed to manned suborbital space flight. His project is to be propelled by a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and kerosene and is a vertical-takeoff and landing-vehicle.Companies that contract with NASA charge $250,000 to bring such parts back, but Musk found some ocean-salvage companies that knew how to handle sensitive material. He found one that agreed to do the job for just $60,000. The Falcon does not have a specialty computer on board, which can cost $1 million alone to install and maintain. Instead its computer is a basic one that uses the same technology as an automatic teller machine and costs just $5,000.Envisions Hondas in spaceBy building a reliable rocket at an affordable cost, SpaceX hopes to be able to take small satellites into orbit for a fee of around $6 million. This is half the standard rate in the aerospace business to take something into space. The company already had two customers—the U.S. Department of Defense and the government of Malaysia. "Many times we've been asked, 'If you reduce the cost, don't you reduce reliability?' This is completely ridiculous," Musk explained to Fast Company writer Jennifer Reingold. "A Ferrari is a very expensive car. It is not reliable. But I would bet you 1,000–to–1 that if you bought a Honda Civic that that sucker will not break down in the first year of operation. You can have a cheap car that's reliable, and the same applies to rockets."Musk serves as the chief technology officer of SpaceX. All employees are shareholders, and the company's casual but committed atmosphere is reinforced by the workday presence of Musk's four dogs. He no longer sleeps at the office, however, for he has a home, a wife there, and in the garage a McLaren F1, a $1.2 million car that is the fastest production, or non-customized race car, in the world. He has testified before members of the U.S. Congress on the possibility of commercial human space flight and has also established the Musk Foundation, which is committed to space exploration and the discovery of clean energy sources. The Foundation runs the Musk Mars Desert Observatory telescope in southern Utah, as well as a simulated Mars environment where visitors can experience what life on Mars might be like, including waste-burning toilets. "I think human exploration of space is very important," he told Reingold. "Certainly, from a survival standpoint, the probability of living longer is much greater if we're on more than one planet."