Cost Of Hiring Most Organizations Are: Fill & Download for Free

Thank you for the A2A[1][1][1][1].I have written about this before on Quora, but the same question keeps coming back to haunt the Indian subcontinent.We just passed August 5, 2020. This date marks the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir by the Indian government. If you have missed the details on my earlier analysis on the Kashmir Problem, I invite you to read through this one.Edit 1:I thank all my readers for your overwhelming support for this writing. Many of you have expressed the hope that this post should reach all Indians, Pakistanis, people in the west, leftist-liberal Indian journalists, biased western media... that list is long. All of that can happen, only if YOU take the initiative to do YOUR bit. As Gandhi advised us - "Be the change you want to see in the world".If you are numb with the overdose of biased reporting from Washington Post, New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera (this list is long too), you can respond by doing this - share this writing through your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts… whichever social medium you use. This will not happen without YOUR action. The false narratives on Kashmir can only be dispelled by supplanting them with the truth.When did Kashmir start losing its peace?[2][2][2][2]The world we live in today, if you were to ask for a commentary or analysis or opinion on the Kashmir problem, there is one argument that will garner unanimous agreement across the South Asian subcontinent (and even from foreign affairs experts around the globe and self-styled experts on Kashmir from the western media) - that the history of the Kashmir problem starts with 1947.Take a look at the 59 other answers to this question on Quora. 90% of those answers begin with the narrative of what happened in 1947.The expanse and the magnitude of this myopia is disconcerting!The seeds of the Kashmir problem were sown centuries before 1947 came into being. 1947 and the birth of Pakistan simply triggered what could be the beginning of the end for this most disturbing and perennially lingering episode in the history of the Indian civilizationWhat is the Kashmir Problem?Kashmir is not a territorial dispute.Kashmir is a dispute emerging from a civilizational struggle.A struggle for uprooting a civilization with an indigenous and deeply ingrained culture of peaceful coexistence between ethnicities and religions… and forcibly replacing it with a virulent strain of Islam that borders on the insidious and violent totalitarianism of Sunni Wahhabism.Kashmiri Hindus - The original Inhabitants of Kashmir[3][3][3][3]According to folk etymology, the name "Kashmir" means "desiccated land" (from the Sanskrit: Ka = water and shimeera = desiccate). In the Rajatarangini[4][4][4][4], a history of Kashmir written by Kalhana[5][5][5][5] in the mid-12th century, it is stated that the valley of Kashmir was formerly a lake. According to Hindu mythology, the lake was drained by the great rishi or sage, Kashyapa, son of Marichi, son of Brahma, by cutting the gap in the hills at Baramulla (Varaha-mula). When Kashmir had been drained, Kashyapa asked Brahmins (the highest caste among Hindus) to settle there.If we go by written history, Kashmiri Hindus are the aborigines of Kashmir. The native pagans who survived centuries of cruelty and oppression while keeping the flag of Indian civilization fluttering in the valley against all odds.However, as a result of the incessant invasions by Muslim barbarians, some parts of the Indian civilization began to witness a change in demographics in favor of Muslims. Kashmir happened to be a key example of one such region.Exodus of Hindus from KashmirKashmir and its original inhabitants - the Hindus of Kashmir have been in existence for centuries before Pakistan or any of the Muslim League leaders and the proponents of the 2 Nation Theory were even born.From the 14th century to the present times, the Hindus of Kashmir have been at the literal bleeding edge of the clash of civilizations. As a result, over the course of a few centuries most Kashmiris had been converted out of the Hindu fold by the force of intimidation and brutal violence that characterized the better part of Muslim Rule in Kashmir.By the turn of the 20th century, Kashmiri Pandits came to represent the bulk of the Hindu presence that remained in Kashmir. The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community.Some westerners pose the question, why do all Kashmiri Hindus belong to just the Brahmin caste. Well, that is because all the other (Hindu) castes were converted to Islam by the swords of the tyrants who ruled the valley. Tyrants like Sikander Butshikan[6][6][6][6], Ali Shah, Shamsuddin Iraqi and others who not only carried out terrible genocides but also destroyed the centers of Kashmiri Hindu spiritual and intellectual life. History bears evidence to the desecration and destruction of great Hindu temples like the Sun Temple at Martand and countless other shrines.A rare photo of the ruins of the Surya Temple at Martand, which was destroyed due to the iconoclastic policies of Sikandar Butshikan, photo taken by John Burke in 1868.Source: Wikipedia on Sikandar Butshikan[7][7][7][7]Kashmiri Hindu women were beautiful. There was a time in Kashmir under Afghan rule when their striking looks became such a burden on their families that their noses had to be cut-off and their heads shaved, to protect the Hindu girls from the lustful eyes of the ruling barbarians.Such atrocities created pressure on the dwindling Hindu community to flee from Kashmir not once or twice but 7 times since Islam came to Kashmir. The demographics of the Kashmir region continued to change decisively in favor of Muslims. This episode will be continued to its climax when we get to 1990, the year Hindus were "ethnically cleansed" out of Kashmir.1947The Indian civilization finally woke up to an era of realizing its long cherished and hard fought dream of nationhood. However, fate had destined one last blow of plunder and pillage of a different nature.A man named Mohammed Ali Jinnah mistook independence from the British to mean the subcontinent had just turned into a once in a lifetime opportunity to a grab-all-you-can real estate bonanza[8][8][8][8]. He claimed that the Muslims needed a separate homeland, just because they were born Muslims, and needed protection from the violent and unpredictable Hindus in an independent India. Jinnah made sure they got one at the cost of 2 million dead and 14 million displaced from their homes. But, for Jinnah's overbearing lust for a kingdom and a throne, that was small price to pay so long as Muslims could secure their “only for us” homeland. A few decades down the line that cherished homeland for Muslims would turn out to be a paradise for the rich and the privileged among Punjabi Sunni Muslims and a purgatory for Muslims of all other types and sects. But, Jinnah didn’t know that yet.While Jinnah and his coterie enjoyed their newfound real estate, the British spiced up the situation with a menu of options to the autonomous princely states. Those options were - merge with either India or Pakistan, or remain independent.The king of Jammu and Kashmir, Raja Hari Singh chose the latter. His decision caused serious concern in Jinnah's homeland named Pakistan (Land of the Pure).Pakistan's Lust for Kashmir and the First Kashmir War of 1947 - 1948Neither the Indian Independence Act of 1947[9][9][9][9], nor the Radcliffe Boundary Commission[10][10][10][10] indicated that Kashmir "belonged to Pakistan".There is no documentary evidence that the British, at any point in history considered Kashmir to be gift-wrapped and handed over to Pakistan. All historical evidence strongly suggests that the British wanted the fate of Kashmir to be determined by its ruler, as was the case with all other princely states from the Union. For Pakistan to claim that Kashmir belongs to them on the basis of a Muslim majority will be as much a figment of their imagination as for Mexicans to claim that California belongs to them on the basis of an overwhelming majority of Hispanics in that state.Yet, rulers in Pakistan worried that Kashmir would either remain independent, or worse, join India. Pakistan's lust for Kashmir was born out of the perverted ideology that territories in the South Asian subcontinent, with Muslim dominated demographics, should belong to Pakistan.This twisted ideology of gabbing land with majority Muslims in the name of a “Muslim homeland” would be busted in 1971 when Muslim East Pakistan initiated a mass rebellion against Muslim West Pakistan. In return, Muslim West Pakistan launched one of the worst genocides recorded in recent history on Muslim East Pakistan[11][11][11][11].That genocide and the uncontrollable influx of refugees from Muslim East Pakistan into India resulted in India’s intervention and the subsequent surrender of West Pakistan before India… one of the only recorded cases in recent military history of one nation publicly surrendering to another. East Pakistan changed into the independent nation of Bangladesh[12][12][12][12]. But, Pakistan didn't know all that yet.To secure Kashmir, Pakistan dispatched tribal marauders to seize Kashmir by force. On 22 October 1947, Pakistan's Pashtun tribal militias crossed the border of the state. These local tribal militias and irregular Pakistani forces moved to take Srinagar, but on reaching Baramulla, they took to plunder and rape and stalled.Hari Singh's Decision to join IndiaMaharaja Hari Singh made a plea to India for assistance, and help was offered, but it was subject to his signing an Instrument of Accession to India. The then British Viceroy Lord Mountbatten would not allow India's intervention without a formal treaty with the Maharaja. The Instrument of Accession broke that stalemate. By executing this document under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh agreed to accede to the Dominion of India. The Instrument of Accession gave India’s Parliament the power to legislate in respect of the state of Jammu and Kashmir only on the matters of defense, external affairs and communications.The events that followed on the battlefield, to the settlement at the Line of Control (LOC) are widely documented, and I will refrain from detailing facts well known. The Indian army succeeded in pushing the Pakistani marauders back, so that two thirds of Kashmir, including the Srinagar valley remained in Indian territory, while the remaining one-third of Kashmir including the region of Gilgit Baltistan came under Pakistani occupation. The irony is that Pakistan renamed that seized and occupied territory as “Azad Kashmir”, meaning liberated Kashmir. Liberated from what… from an infant Indian state that was still struggling to stand on its feet? India calls it “Pakistan occupier Kashmir” or PoK.Pakistan’s Contribution to Developing “Azad Kashmir”Today Muzaffarabad, the capital city of Azad Kashmir proudly serves as the global headquarters of the Pakistan military sponsored terrorist group Hizbul Muhahideen. Thanks to the Pakistan military, all of Azad Kashmir has a well developed infrastructure of terrorist training camps that are used regularly to launch terror attacks on the Indian side of Kashmir[13][13][13][13]. Global terror organizations such as Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) also share terror training centers along with the Hizbul Muhahideen in Azad Kashmir. The LeT and Hizbul have conducted multiple terrorist attacks on Indian soil. The Hizbul Mujahideen has been designated a global terrorist organization by the Unites States[14][14][14][14], European Union[15][15][15][15] and India. The Lashkar-e-Taiba has been designated a global terrorist organization by the United States[16][16][16][16], the United Kingdom[17][17][17][17], the European Union[18][18][18][18], Russia, Australia [19][19][19][19]and the United Nations[20][20][20][20] and India.The territory of Azad Kashmir is occupied and regularly used by the Pakistani military to recruit young, unemployed young men from families living below the poverty line and training them to become the Islamic fundamentalists and jihadis that can conduct sabotage and subversive activities on the Indian side of Kashmir. This arrangement fulfills 2 critical objectives for the Pakistani military.It builds into Pakistan’s narrative for the global audience that Kashmiri freedom fighters homegrown within India’s borders are fighting against Indian occupation.It allows the Pakistani military to wage a relentless proxy war on the Indian armed forces stationed in Indian Kashmir, without risking any of its regular personnel. Once the terror training mechanism is in place, terrorists can be produced a dime a dozen, as disposable war machines.So much for “Azad Kashmir” or PoK.Syed Salahuddin, the supreme leader of Hizbul Mujahideen in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), with his menSource: The Week[21][21][21][21]The Instrument of AccessionThe Instrument of Accession, which Maharaja Hari Singh signed with India was a simple document. In the blank spaces, it had a place to fill in the name of the state, the name of the ruler, the date of accession, a place to hold the signature of the ruler and lastly, a line where Lord Mountbatten would put in his signature.This simple document was used to persuade 602 princely states to join the Union of India. When a princely state signed the Instrument of Accession, it gave India’s Parliament the power to legislate on the matters of defense, foreign affairs and communications. Thereafter, the delegates of the princely states would meet with India's Constituent Assembly to gradually bring their kingdoms under the full purview of the Indian Constitution. The princely states were also participants in the formulation of the Indian Constitution. This process of political amalgamation was somewhat similar to the Constitutional Convention of the United States, also known as the Philadelphia Convention that took place from May 25 through September 17, 1787. This process would culminate in a complete adoption of the Indian Constitution by the state in question thereby consummating the accession of the state to the Union of India.With Jammu and Kashmir, the process diverged a bit. Though Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession, his government pointed out that they were signing the document under exceptional circumstances, as they were “under attack from a neighboring hostile entity - Pakistan”. So as not to be rushed into the process, they asked for more time to align themselves with the Union of India.The Constituent Assembly agreed to this special request.However, there was a debate on which parts of the Constitution would apply to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which would not, and at what length of time would the accession be complete. To accommodate Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India, the only temporary Article in the Indian Constitution was drafted. This was called Article 306A which later became Article 370.Article 370In March 1948, the Maharaja appointed an interim government in the state, with Sheikh Abdullah as the prime minister. In July 1949, Sheikh Abdullah and three other colleagues joined the Indian Constituent Assembly and negotiated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), leading to the adoption of Article 370. The controversial provision was drafted by Sheikh Abdullah.Article 370, which came into force in 1952, empowered J&K to be a near autonomous state since it limited the Indian government's authority to just external affairs, defence, finance and communication. This provision allowed J&K to have a Sadar-e-Riyasat for governor and prime minister in place of a chief minister till 1965 as well as its own flag and constitution.Article 370 ensured that the law of citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights of the residents of Jammu & Kashmir is different from the residents living in rest of India. Under Article 370, citizens from other states cannot buy property in Jammu & Kashmir. Under Article 370, the Indian government had no power to declare financial emergency.Sheikh Abdullah wanted to turn Article 370, the only temporary provision in the Indian Constitution, into a written-in-stone edict that could not be replaced or terminated by future Indian governments. This violated the very understanding which India’s Constituent Assembly had reached with the state of Jammu and Kashmir - that the accession of the state to the Indian Union would be put on a slow but certain pace through Article 370.Fortunately for India, Sheikh Abdullah did not succeed in voiding the temporary nature of Article 370, which is why the Article reached it’s logical conclusion on 5 August 2019, under the Indian government led by Prime Minister Modi.Article 35AArticle 35A which comes under Article 370, gave the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature full discretionary power to decide who the 'permanent residents' of the state are. It gave them special rights and privileges regarding employment with the state government, acquisition of property in the state, settling in the state, and the right to scholarships and other forms of aid that the state government provides. It also allowed the state legislature to impose any restrictions upon persons other than the permanent residents regarding the above.Article 35A, proscribed non-permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir from permanently settling in the state, buying immovable property, acquiring land, applying for government jobs or any kind of scholarships, aids as well as other public welfare projects.The Night of January 19, 1990Almost 40 years after the First Kashmir War…Pakistan had not forgotten its unfinished business from the war of 1947 - 1948. It had captured a third of Kashmir. However, two-thirds of Jammu and Kashmir which included the prized Kashmir valley was still in Indian territory. Pakistan had been biding its time for an opportune moment to strike.That time came in the late 1980s. By 1989, Pakistan believed it now had a proven strategy. It was the one used to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan. The strategy of infiltrating well trained Mujahideen across the Indian border into Kashmir to train and arm locals and incite them to foment jihad against every Indian entity present in Kashmir.Also, Pakistan had the nuclear umbrella, to deter (as it hoped) any significant pushback from India in response to the proxy-war about to be launched in Kashmir. The nuclear threat was a tactic that Pakistan used very effectively against a far more powerful but surprisingly docile India, for a span of almost 25 years (till a man named Modi would come and call Pakistan’s nuclear bluff).Thus, Pakistan launched an asymmetric war in Kashmir.The cold, dark night of January 19, 1990, had stirred into life the worst nightmares of Kashmiri Pandits living in the Kashmir valley. Screaming from loud speakers and crowded streets was a message for the Sikhs and Hindus living in Kashmir - Ralive, Tsalive ya Galive which translated from Kashmiri means "Convert to Islam, leave the place, or perish".The threats had been coming in for a long time, but the night of January 19 is said to have seen a demented assault of a different level. Almost 3 decades later, Kashmiri Pandits shiver remembering the night that forced them into exodus.Colonel Tej Kumar Tikoo, a Kashmiri Pandit himself, describes that fateful night in his book, Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus[22][22][22][22]."As the night fell, the microscopic community became panic-stricken when the Valley began reverberating with the war-cries of Islamists, who had stage-managed the whole event with great care; choosing its timing and the slogans to be used. A host of highly provocative, communal and threatening slogans, interspersed with martial songs, incited the Muslims to come out on the streets and break the chains of 'slavery'. These exhortations urged the faithful to give a final push to the Kafir in order to ring in the true Islamic order. These slogans were mixed with precise and unambiguous threats to Pandits. They were presented with three choices - Ralive, Tsaliv ya Galive (convert to Islam, leave the place or perish). Tens of thousands of Kashmiri Muslims poured into the streets of the Valley, shouting 'death to India' and death to Kafirs.""The (Kashmiri) Pandits could see the writing on the wall. If they were lucky enough to see the night through, they would have to vacate the place before they met the same fate as Tikka Lal Taploo and many others. The Seventh Exodus was surely staring them in the face. By morning, it became apparent to Pandits that Kashmiri Muslims had decided to throw them out from the Valley. Broadcasting vicious Jehadi sermons and revolutionary songs, interspersed with blood curdling shouts and shrieks, threatening Kashmiri Pandits with dire consequences, became a routine 'Mantra' of the Muslims of the Valley, to force them to flee from Kashmir."Ethnic Cleansing of the Kashmiri PanditsThrough the export of battle hardened Mujahideen into Kashmir, the Pakistan military and the ISI had set in motion a strategy which would later be described as "bleeding India by a thousand cuts".The Muslims in the valley were being trained physically and psychologically, to envision a Kashmir free of any Hindu influence, geared up to demand statehood and complete independence from India.Before the turn of the 21st century, Kashmir would be ethnically cleansed of Hindus that had called it home since the inception of the land.Those Kashmiri Pandits that Stayed Back or Returned…However, some Kashmiri Pandits would not leave or would come back to the valley. These are their stories.The teacher and his students: Neelkanth Raina was a school teacher who chose to stay back, despite the dire warnings from the Muslim fundamentalists. He was killed by his own students in cold blood while his neighbors assisted the killers in quickly escaping from the crime scene. The murder was meticulously planned and skillfully executed.The Lab Assistant: Girija Kumari Tikoo was a laboratory assistant at a Government High School. She had already left the valley along with other Hindus in early 1990, and was living in a refugee settlement in the neighboring Jammu province. Hindus living in refugee settlements in their own country just because their Muslim neighbors would no longer want them in the neighborhood - ever heard of such a travesty of fate in any other part of the globe? She went back to the valley for a few days to collect her dues from the school never to return. On her way to the school, she was kidnapped by Muslim fundamentalists, gang raped and sodomized before being cut into pieces in a saw mill. She was survived by a 4 year old son and a 2 year daughter.The Professor and his Wife: Professor K.L Ganju and his wife, Mrs. Prana Ganju were kidnapped along with their nephew. After showering bullets on the professor his body was quickly disposed of into the turbulent waters of the river Jhelum. Like in the movies, his nephew was given a choice - to jump into the river or watch his aunt's modesty getting outraged, of which he took the first choice, and survived. Mrs. Ganju, she was gang raped, her breasts chopped off before she was killed.If you dig into Kashmir's history circa 1990 and the early 90s, there are hundreds of gruesome cases of terror and betrayal against resident Kashmiri Hindus to narrate. But, the cases of Neelkanth Raina, Girija Kumari Tikkoo and the Ganju couple drive home an important point. All of them were killed after the Hindu community had already left. These atrocities were thus a signal from the Muslim majority community to the exiled Hindus, never to even think of returning to their homeland. Their houses had been occupied, their places were being renamed, Kashmir was no longer theirs.Just as the dust of Hindu eviction from the valley was settling, it dawned upon the terrorist leadership of the Kashmir valley, their mentors in Pakistan and their apologists in the media all over the world that the public perception of the secessionist movement in Kashmir was getting damaged. So, a narrative began to be promoted that the Indian government had conspired to get the Hindus evicted so that Indian security forces may freely oppress the Muslim population. The religious terrorism of the Kashmiris underwent a cosmetic surgery, and began to be called a political struggle.The underlying thought process actively promoted by Pakistan was - now that Kashmir has been cleansed of almost all traces of Hinduism from the valley, it is time to revert back to the 1947 formula concocted by a consortium of land-grabbing, power crazy demagogues from the Muslim League, that every piece of land with Muslim domination, should secede to Pakistan.To this day, Kashmir remains a religious and civilizational conflict. It has no political dimension except on the surface.2019: Pre August 5Kashmir and the Rest of IndiaThe picture below shows how young women in Kashmir spend their day. Pelting stones at Indian security forces is the high point of their morning or afternoon.Source: Zee News, IndiaAnd this is how many young women in the rest of India spend their day. Bouncing ideas off each other during the lunch hour so they could crack that technical challenge they encountered during the morning.The above picture is from one of the campuses Infosys[23][23][23][23] has built across India. Infosys is the legendary Indian IT behemoth that was the first Indian company to be listed on the US NASDAQ in 1999.I am not promoting Infosys, I have no personal interest in the company but, I have a point to make.Time for a Q & AQ: Does Infosys have a campus in Kashmir?A: No.Q: Why not? Wouldn't young women in Kashmir want to switch the low-paying job of stone pelting[24][24][24][24] with the far more lucrative job of code crunching on laptops?(Yup, sources within the Pakistani military run a well-funded operation[25][25][25][25] of financing young Kashmiri men and women for pelting stones at Indian forces stationed in Kashmir)[26][26][26][26].A: They cannot, even if they wanted to.Q: Why not?A: Not a single IT company- Indian or multinational has a presence in Kashmir.Q: I don't get it! India is the 5th largest economy globally and is home to almost all the major IT corporations of the world. Some of them like Oracle Corporation have even built their largest Development Centers outside of the US[27][27][27][27], in Indian cities[28][28][28][28]. And then like Infosys and WIPRO, India has its own litany of indigenous IT companies and many fledgling start-ups spread across the land. Azim Premji[29][29][29][29], the Chairman of WIPRO and one of the richest men in the world (as of August 2020, he is 253rd on the Forbes list of billionaires[30][30][30][30]) - is a Muslim himself! Then why have these IT business houses and their tycoons ignored the state of Jammu and Kashmir?A: Well, their hands are tied. The special status provided to Jammu and Kashmir by Articles 370 and 35A ensures that non Kashmiris cannot buy land in Kashmir. So long as Kashmir is "protected" by its special status within the gilded cage of Article 370 and 35A, there is virtually nothing that someone even as powerful as Azim Premji can do.The Developmental Hurdles Posed to Jammu and Kashmir by Article 370 and 35AArun Jaitly held cabinet positions as Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Defence in the Narendra Modi government. As a former lawyer of the Supreme Court of India, he was regarded across the nation and even internationally as one of the finest minds in India's corridors of power[31][31][31][31]. He passed away on 24th August 2019 (just 19 days after Article 370 was abrogated by his government).In a blog post titled "How Article 35A hurt the people of Jammu & Kashmir", Arun Jaitley wrote the following."The State does not have adequate financial resources. Its ability to raise more has been crippled by Article 35A. No investor is willing to set up an industry, hotel, private educational institutions or private hospitals since he can neither buy land or property nor can his executives do so. Their ward cannot get government jobs or admission to colleges (as they are not Kashmiris). Today, there are no major national or international chains which have set up hotel in a tourism centric State. This prevents enrichment, resource generation and job creation. (Kashmiri) Students have to travel all over, including Nepal and Bangladesh, to get college admissions. Engineering colleges and hospitals, including super-speciality facility set up by Central Government in Jammu are lying under-utilized or unutilized since Professors and Doctors from outside are unwilling to go there. Article 35A has prevented investment and dismantled the State’s economy. ""Article 35A, which is constitutionally vulnerable, is used as a political shield by many but it hurt the common citizen of the State the most. It denied them a booming economy, economic activity and jobs.""The historic blunders of special status under Article 370 and Article 35A had cost the country both politically and financially."In one of his last comments after the abrogation of Article 370, Jaitley said - "Article 370 invoked the separate status that led to separatism (in Jammu and Kashmir). No dynamic nation could allow this situation to continue."With the revocation of Article 370 "A historical wrong has been undone today. Article 35A came through the back door without following the procedure under Article 368 of the Constitution of India. It had to go.""The decision of the government will help the people of Jammu and Kashmir the most. More investment, more industry, more private educational institutions, more jobs and more revenue will come,” he said, adding that “Kashmir’s regional leaders now feel they would not be able to whip up the fake issue of 'sentiment verses benefit'."Sentiment versus BenefitSentiment versus benefit, and economic, educational and financial benefits to be precise. Let's chew on that for a moment, and when we start drawing on the juice on that thought, we should think it through.For those of us here in the US, consider a hypothetical situation to understand what Arun Jaitley means. Say for example, I were born into a Hispanic family in California in the year 2000. In the year 2014, the population of Hispanics officially surpassed that of Whites in California. I am now a teenager dreaming of growing up and going to Stanford or UC Berkeley (just examples) for my college education, and later getting hired by Google or Facebook or any of the tech giants in California’s Silicon Valley. In effect, I have bright visions of my future as I see it playing out in my very own state, an economically vibrant part of the world.Now, a charismatic leader rises up in neighboring Mexico and starts a rant for the separation of California as a state from the US and its accession to Mexico, on the basis of an ever growing Hispanic majority in California.Is that a legitimate claim? Should I be thrilled with that?A final question to Kashmiris on BOTH sides of the borderIf you are a Kashmiri parent of Islamic faith on either side of the LOC, ask yourself this - would you be happier sending your child to one of the world renowned Indian Institutes of Technology or would your child have a brighter future attending the famous madrassas of Lahore?Your children will inherit the future you create for them.Sources:India's Move in Kashmir: Unpacking the Domestic and International Motivations and Implications - Christine Fair in LAWFARE, August 12, 2019Footnotes[1] Carla Stewart's answer to What are some real life examples, good or bad, of karma?[1] Carla Stewart's answer to What are some real life examples, good or bad, of karma?[1] Carla Stewart's answer to What are some real life examples, good or bad, of karma?[1] Carla Stewart's answer to What are some real life examples, good or bad, of karma?[2] What is the Kashmir Issue?[2] What is the Kashmir Issue?[2] What is the Kashmir Issue?[2] What is the Kashmir Issue?[3] History of Kashmir - Wikipedia[3] History of Kashmir - Wikipedia[3] History of Kashmir - Wikipedia[3] History of Kashmir - Wikipedia[4] Rajatarangini - Wikipedia[4] Rajatarangini - Wikipedia[4] Rajatarangini - Wikipedia[4] Rajatarangini - Wikipedia[5] Kalhana - Wikipedia[5] Kalhana - Wikipedia[5] Kalhana - Wikipedia[5] Kalhana - Wikipedia[6] Sikandar Butshikan[6] Sikandar Butshikan[6] Sikandar Butshikan[6] Sikandar Butshikan[7] Sikandar Shah Miri - Wikipedia[7] Sikandar Shah Miri - Wikipedia[7] Sikandar Shah Miri - Wikipedia[7] Sikandar Shah Miri - Wikipedia[8] Carla Stewart's answer to Do you think Pakistan should be a secular state like before?[8] Carla Stewart's answer to Do you think Pakistan should be a secular state like before?[8] Carla Stewart's answer to Do you think Pakistan should be a secular state like before?[8] Carla Stewart's answer to Do you think Pakistan should be a secular state like before?[9] Indian Independence Act 1947 - Wikipedia[9] Indian Independence Act 1947 - Wikipedia[9] Indian Independence Act 1947 - Wikipedia[9] Indian Independence Act 1947 - Wikipedia[10] Radcliffe Line - Wikipedia[10] Radcliffe Line - Wikipedia[10] Radcliffe Line - Wikipedia[10] Radcliffe Line - Wikipedia[11] Operation Searchlight: Genocide unleashed on Bangalis in East Pakistan[11] Operation Searchlight: Genocide unleashed on Bangalis in East Pakistan[11] Operation Searchlight: Genocide unleashed on Bangalis in East Pakistan[11] Operation Searchlight: Genocide unleashed on Bangalis in East Pakistan[12] Carla Stewart's answer to What are some real life examples, good or bad, of karma?[12] Carla Stewart's answer to What are some real life examples, good or bad, of karma?[12] Carla Stewart's answer to What are some real life examples, good or bad, of karma?[12] Carla Stewart's answer to What are some real life examples, good or bad, of karma?[13] Militant Training Camps in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir: An Existential Threat[13] Militant Training Camps in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir: An Existential Threat[13] Militant Training Camps in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir: An Existential Threat[13] Militant Training Camps in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir: An Existential Threat[14] State Department Terrorist Designation of Hizbul Mujahideen - United States Department of State[14] State Department Terrorist Designation of Hizbul Mujahideen - United States Department of State[14] State Department Terrorist Designation of Hizbul Mujahideen - United States Department of State[14] State Department Terrorist Designation of Hizbul Mujahideen - United States Department of State[15] L_2019209EN.01001501.xml[15] L_2019209EN.01001501.xml[15] L_2019209EN.01001501.xml[15] L_2019209EN.01001501.xml[16] Amendments to the Terrorist Designation of Lashkar e-Tayyiba - United States Department of State[16] Amendments to the Terrorist Designation of Lashkar e-Tayyiba - United States Department of State[16] Amendments to the Terrorist Designation of Lashkar e-Tayyiba - United States Department of State[16] Amendments to the Terrorist Designation of Lashkar e-Tayyiba - United States Department of State[17] Terrorism Act 2000[17] Terrorism Act 2000[17] Terrorism Act 2000[17] Terrorism Act 2000[18] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003D0902:EN:HTML[18] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003D0902:EN:HTML[18] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003D0902:EN:HTML[18] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003D0902:EN:HTML[19] Listed terrorist organisations[19] Listed terrorist organisations[19] Listed terrorist organisations[19] Listed terrorist organisations[20] Sanctions List Materials[20] Sanctions List Materials[20] Sanctions List Materials[20] Sanctions List Materials[21] When I met Salahuddin in Pakistan[21] When I met Salahuddin in Pakistan[21] When I met Salahuddin in Pakistan[21] When I met Salahuddin in Pakistan[22] Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus: Tikoo, Colonel Tej K.: 9781935501343: Amazon.com: Books[22] Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus: Tikoo, Colonel Tej K.: 9781935501343: Amazon.com: Books[22] Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus: Tikoo, Colonel Tej K.: 9781935501343: Amazon.com: Books[22] Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus: Tikoo, Colonel Tej K.: 9781935501343: Amazon.com: Books[23] Infosys - Wikipedia[23] Infosys - Wikipedia[23] Infosys - Wikipedia[23] Infosys - Wikipedia[24] How Pakistan funds separatists, stone-pelters in Kashmir through illegal barter trade at LoC[24] How Pakistan funds separatists, stone-pelters in Kashmir through illegal barter trade at LoC[24] How Pakistan funds separatists, stone-pelters in Kashmir through illegal barter trade at LoC[24] How Pakistan funds separatists, stone-pelters in Kashmir through illegal barter trade at LoC[25] ISI’s budget for Kashmir stone pelting is Rs 1,000cr - The Sunday Guardian Live[25] ISI’s budget for Kashmir stone pelting is Rs 1,000cr - The Sunday Guardian Live[25] ISI’s budget for Kashmir stone pelting is Rs 1,000cr - The Sunday Guardian Live[25] ISI’s budget for Kashmir stone pelting is Rs 1,000cr - The Sunday Guardian Live[26] NIA roused after undercover STING on stone-pelter funding in Kashmir[26] NIA roused after undercover STING on stone-pelter funding in Kashmir[26] NIA roused after undercover STING on stone-pelter funding in Kashmir[26] NIA roused after undercover STING on stone-pelter funding in Kashmir[27] Oracle to set up biggest development centre outside US in Bengaluru[27] Oracle to set up biggest development centre outside US in Bengaluru[27] Oracle to set up biggest development centre outside US in Bengaluru[27] Oracle to set up biggest development centre outside US in Bengaluru[28] Oracle's second largest campus will soon be a reality in Bengaluru[28] Oracle's second largest campus will soon be a reality in Bengaluru[28] Oracle's second largest campus will soon be a reality in Bengaluru[28] Oracle's second largest campus will soon be a reality in Bengaluru[29] Azim Premji - Wikipedia[29] Azim Premji - Wikipedia[29] Azim Premji - Wikipedia[29] Azim Premji - Wikipedia[30] Azim Premji[30] Azim Premji[30] Azim Premji[30] Azim Premji[31] Arun Jaitley, Bold Indian Finance Minister, Is Dead at 66[31] Arun Jaitley, Bold Indian Finance Minister, Is Dead at 66[31] Arun Jaitley, Bold Indian Finance Minister, Is Dead at 66[31] Arun Jaitley, Bold Indian Finance Minister, Is Dead at 66

Short answer: Vicidial (officially titled “VICIDIAL” or sometimes “VICIdial” by its developers) is a call center suite specializing in predictive auto dialing and inbound call routing, featuring management, chat, full reporting, and email communication modules. Vicidial has been in active development for many years and has added several powerful features over that time, but perhaps its strongest strongest advantage is that it’s open source (AGPLv2 license), making Vicidial free to distribute and use. I’ve installed hundreds of Vicidial systems, and not one of these clients have had to pay the developers of Vicidial a penny for the software (though they sell a set of manuals which I strongly recommend).Longer answer…Vicidial is a Disruptive Steamroller Flattening the Proprietary Telemarketing Equipment IndustryWhen I was working as a lowly “IT guy” at a call center several years ago for a large call center in Las Vegas, Nevada, my duties included mostly fixing people’s access to email and rebooting one of the dozens of desktop computers installed across the many cubicles organized in long rows across two floors of agents. This particular call center focused on the timeshare industry. We were still in the grips of the Great Recession, so many of the employees were desperate for deals (and the commissions they added to their paychecks). At the center of it all (and the thing I wasn’t allowed to touch because it was so complex and expensive that it required a service contract that cost my employer thousands of dollars a month) was a propriety auto dialer system. It was huge, and I mean “huge” in the literal sense – it took up two racks in the server room and made more noise, when all its fans were spinning, than a jet at takeoff.It consisted of several boxes that looked a bit like this, but each was far bigger, and even more dated in appearance:When the system failed, and the people being paid the expensive service contract were quoting a fix of “several hours”, the commission-based employees who relied on the phone system to generate their paycheck practically rioted. This system cost well into the six-figures and now wasn’t making or taking calls (or making money). My boss implored me to find a solution – fast.I downloaded and installed vicidial onto a machine that looked like this:I’m not kidding. It was just some cheap piece of junk tower we had laying around. About an hour and a half later and it was making test calls using a VoIP account. For the rest of the day the agents, the management, and I were learning as we were going, but Vicidial had us back up and running for exactly $0.00 (excluding the deposit made to the VoIP account provider). Even the minutes were cheaper using VoIP than what the local telephone provider was charging to power the old system. We were using our Internet connection in a completely new way, and it redefined how this call center conducted its business.That’s disruptive. Horace Dediu (in his extremely informative “Disruption FAQ”) defines disruption as:Disruption happens when the strong are defeated by the weak. More precisely it’s when those with unconstrained access to resources have them taken away by those with minimal or no resources. It’s a phenomenon that is in contrast to sustaining competition where the strong get stronger.You cannot tell me that the huge publicly-traded company making that unbelievably expensive (and now broken) dialer ever saw anything like Vicidial coming. It took about a month, but the owner of my call center broke all of his service agreements, sold that broken system, and moved completely over to Vicidial. He called himself a sucker for not knowing about Vicidial when he first bought that system. Vicidial notes on its for-profit website that Vicidial is:In use at over 14,000 companies in over 100 countries around the worldThat’s definitely a lot of business snatched up by a software suite that costs nothing to install and operate. Someone thinking of opening a call center today, for either outbound or inbound service (or both), would be crazy to not consider Vicidial; yet not too many years ago you were considered crazy if you didn’t buy a dialer that cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.What Vicidial Offers a Call Center Beyond its Price of Zero DollarsHere’s just a sample list of the features that Vicidial provides, which is likely out of date as new features are constantly added:Ability for an agent to call clients in succession from a database through a web-based screenAbility to display a script for the agent to read with fields like name, address, etc. filled-inAbility to set a campaign to auto-dial and send live calls to available agentsAbility to dial predictively in a campaign with an adaptive dialing algorithmAbility to dial on a single campaign across multiple vicidial dialers, or multiple campaigns on a single dialerAbility to transfer calls with customer data to a closer/verifierAbility to open a custom web page with user data from the call, per campaign, per In-Group, or per listAbility to autodial campaigns to start with a simple IVR then direct to agentAbility to broadcast dial to customers with a pre-recorded messageAbility to park the customer with custom music per campaignAbility to send a dropped call to a voicemail box, queue or extension per campaign if no agent is availableAbility to set outbound CallerID per campaign or per listAbility to take inbound calls gathering CallerIDAbility to function as an ACD for inbound and fronter/closer verification callsAbility to have an agent take both inbound and outbound calls in one session(blended)Ability to start and stop recording an agent’s calls at any timeAbility to automatically record all callsAbility to manually or automatically call up to two other customer numbers for the same leadAutomatically dial unlimited alternate numbers per customer until you get an answerAbility to schedule a callback with a customer as either any-agent or agent-specificAbility in Manual dial mode to preview leads before dialingAgents can be logged from anywhere with just a phone, web browser, and an internet connectionFaster hangup and dispositioning of calls with one key press (HotKeys)Definable Agent Wrap-up time per campaignAbility to add custom call dispositions per campaignAbility to use custom database queries in campaign dialingRecycling of specified status calls at a specified interval without resetting a listDialing with custom Time Zone restrictions including per state and per day-of-the-weekDialing with Answering Machine Detection, also playing a message for AM callsMultiple campaigns and lead-lists are possibleOption of a drop timer with safe-harbor message for FTC complianceVariable drop call percentage when dialing predictively for FTC complianceSystem-wide and per-campaign DNC lists that can optionally be activated per campaignAll calls are logged and statuses of calls are logged as well as agent time breakdownsLoad Balancing of call across multiple inbound or outbound Asterisk servers is possibleAgent phone login balancing and fail over across multiple vicidial serversSeveral real-time and summary reports availableReal-time campaign display screens3rd party conferencing(with DTMF macros and number presets)3rd party blind call transfer3rd party conferencing with agent drop-offCustom Music-On-Hold and agent alert sound for inbound callsEstimated hold time, place in line, overflow queues and several other inbound-only featuresSkills-based ranking and call routing per inbound group(queues) and campaignQueue Prioritization per campaign and inbound groupSingle agent call queuingAbility to set user levels and permissions for certain features and campaignsAbility for managers to listen-in on agent conversationsAbility for managers to enter conversations with agents and customersAbility for managers to change the selected queues for an agentAbility for agents to select a Pause Code when they are not activeAbility for agents to control volume levels and mute themselvesAbility for agents to view the statuses of other agents on the systemAbility for agents to view details for calls in queue that the agent is selected to take calls fromAbility for agents to select and click to take calls in queue from their agent screenAgent shift enforcement by day and time, defined per user groupMulti-function web-based agent API allowing for control of agent sessions including click-to-dial outside of the agent screenLead import web-based APIWeb-based data export utilitiesSeparate Time-clock application to track user work timeWeb-based administrationDID, phone and carrier trunk provisioning through the web interfaceInbound email handling through the agent web screenChat with customers from a website through the agent web screenChat with managers and other agents in the agent web screenThe agent web application is available in English, Spanish, Greek, German, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Slovak, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Traditional Chinese and Japanese.The admin web pages available in English, Spanish, Greek, German, Italian, French and Brazilian Portuguese.Again, this is an incomplete list. I follow Vicidial’s developer twitter feed as new features are announced there when they are enabled.Because it is Open Source, I Add Custom Features ConstantlyPerhaps the best features of Vicidial are the ones it doesn’t currently have yet. What I mean is, because it’s an open-source software program, someone like me (or you!) can edit Vicidial to do anything you want. Try getting one of the proprietary suppliers of auto dialers to grant you access to their source code!My clients have asked me to write up customization for just about anything you can think of, and as long as it isn’t a request so time consuming that it would be ridiculously expensive (think “hire a team of developers to implement”), or a something that would conflict with an existing “core feature” of Vicidial, then I’m able to quickly able to write up what they want.VoIP is Cheap, and Getting Cheaper; It’s a Disruptive Technology all by ItselfEven though Vicidial itself is free to download, you still need to pay someone to provide actual voice service to and from your server. Years ago, that meant paying you local telephone monopoly, but today, there are thousands of companies providing service over the internet (VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol) competing on service and price for your dollar. Rates deep into the sub-penny-per-minute are now the new normal, and Vicidial allows you to switch carriers on the fly, meaning you can move to carriers offering the lowest costs (or simply request a rate decrease from your current carrier under the threat that you can simply leave!). These VoIP companies are sometimes just a single person with networking experience, a far cry from the massive workforces of the “twisted pair” copper telcos of yesteryear.ConclusionVicidial is, in other words, the future of the call center industry. It’s a phenomenon within the telecommunications business, improving the fortunes of everyone who has taken the time to master its features and deploy them effectively.

Dubai: There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a career to pursue. A major consideration is whether or not the job offers a work-life balance. Is the nature of work flexible or manageable? Does it offer good career growth prospects? Or does it pay a lot of money?For many professionals, particularly those who have come to the UAE for the money, it is the size of the paycheque that matters most.To determine which jobs make a mint all the time, Gulf Newscrunched the numbers by reviewing more than 300 professional titles or positions in the UAE based on two key metrics: basic wage and allowances.The job titles considered fall into key job groups: accounting and finance, health care, human resources, information technology, retail and corporate banking, marketing, legal, office support, hospitality and services, among others.Topping the charts are occupations that require a knack for strategic thinking, mathematics or accounting, with salaries not less than Dh50,000 a month. Those who are great leaders, expert communicators and have a knack for turning prospects into clients also show up on the list.Here’s a closer look at the 12 highest-paying roles among key professions in the UAE:1. Chief executive officersAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh100,000Salary range: Dh75,000 to Dh135,000Salary applicable to: Bank CEOsWhat CEOs do/ why they earn much:Chief executive officers serve as leaders in organisations, so everything they do and all the decisions they make can have an impact on the company’s bottom line. “They are normally appointed to their roles by a board of directors, if they have been with the business for years, they have most likely worked their way up the ladder and had a very positive impact on the overall business growth and potentially led the business to [an initial public offering],” says Jennifer Campori, Charterhouse managing director.“The argument of whether CEOs deserve high salaries has long been debated, [and] the best answer I can give is that some deserve the high salary and others are paid a high salary simply because they can command that [pay]. Overall, CEOs should be the keystone to a business, inspiring leadership and hopefully, transforming a business,” she adds.What it takes to get the job: The qualifications would depend on the nature of an organisation, but it is ideal to have both a graduate and undergraduate degree, with a strong background in finance and leadership.Other job titles offering the same average monthly pay: CEOs in oil and gas companiesSource: Charterhouse2. Marketing expertsAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh95,000Salary range: Dh80,000 to Dh90,000Salary applicable to: Chief marketing officersWhat CMOs do/ why they earn much:Just like CEOs, chief marketing officers (CMOs) have a huge responsibility, as they manage the marketing operations of an organisation and work towards improving the brand. Employers expect them to exude strong leadership, as well as planning and strategic thinking skills.CMOs are mainly responsible for creating and executing strategic marketing plans, directing the development and implementation of brand strategy, managing events, achieving revenue growth and profitability, and ensuring brand recognition, among many others, says Charlie Burke, recruitment consultant for sales and marketing at Hays.What it takes to get the job: The candidate should be a strategic thinker, creative and innovative, meticulous planner, and possess commercial awareness, as well as project management skills, interpersonal skills, follow-up skills and computer literacy, according to Burke. Minimum qualifications would normally include a university degree in marketing, sales or similar and experience in managing a marketing/sales team.Source (salary figures): Charterhouse3. Top accounting, finance professionalsAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh75,000Salary range: Dh55,000 to Dh90,000Salary applicable to: Chief financial officers (CFOs)What CFOs do/ why they earn much:Chief financial officers rank high on the pay scale because they are seen as a “key trusted strategic adviser” of an organisation, says Colleen Schooling, regional head, Europe and UAE, at CPA (Certified Public Accountants) Australia.“In today’s world, the perceptions and recommendations of market analysts play a big part in determining the value of company share prices via their ability to deliver future profits and cash flows to shareholders. They determine that by analyzing key data prepared and communicated by corporate CFOs. Hence the CFO’s salary, given their importance with this role, has gone up the pecking order,” says Ralph Khoury, CFO at TBWA\RAAD Middle East.What it takes to get this job: The key to become a successful CFO is to have a passion for finance, accounting and delivering shareholder value. “You can’t be afraid of making the tough, and of course being your own man. CFO qualifications are important. Economics and Accounting Majors provide a good base, as does ongoing professional development under the CPA mantra. But at the end of the day, it is the real life experience of handling those tough decisions that provide the best qualification,” adds Ganesh Prabhu, CFO, Simmons & Simmons Middle East.Other job titles offering similar compensation: engineering project directorsSource: Charterhouse4. LawyersAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh77,000Salary range: Dh60,000 to Dh106,000Salary applicable to: Chief legal officersWhat chief legal officers do/ why they earn much:Companies hire their own lawyers to ensure their business is protected from possible lawsuits or legal issues. “[It is the in-house counsels' responsibility] to protect the business from a legal and compliance perspective. They manage all contractual issues and agreements, along with ensuring that the company is limited from any forms of legal liability,” explains Kate Bramwell, business manager, legal, at Hays.What it takes to get this job:A general counsel position requires a candidate to have at least a law degree with the right legal qualification. “In the Middle East, many candidates are qualified either to the UK, Australia, New Zealand or the US. Looking closer to home, many general counsels are qualified to the Jordanian, Beirut or Egyptian Bar,” says Bramwell. “Typically they will have a minimum of eight post-qualified experience. They will typically have trained within a law firm and have around five years' experience of working within private practice when they will then move on to work on an in-house basis which is viewed as a more commercial take on a legal role.”Source: Hays5. DoctorsAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh 73,460.75Salary range: Not availableSalary applicable to: Specialist neurologists, vascular surgeons, child psychiatrists/psychologists, heads of obstetrics and gynaecologyWhat neurologists do/ why they earn much:The position, just like any other doctor, requires extensive training and education. “Neurologists are highly trained physicians who specialize in diagnosing and treating the diseases of the brain as well as any impairment to the spinal cord, autonomic nervous system, peripheral nerves, muscles and blood vessels that are associated with any of these structures,” says Sharad Sindhwani, head of product development at Naukrigulf.“Neurology comes under specialty medicine and a consultant in this area is highly valued and highly paid. The time required to become a consultant [or neurologist] depends upon a number of factors [including training]. Training time is minimum eight to ten years. Most often [they] are PhD/doctorate holders.”What it takes to get this job:To practice as a neurologist or a medical consultant in the Gulf region, one has to complete the registration and licensing process from the respective state council of health. “This is a rigorous process and obtaining a license is difficult,” adds Sindhwani.Note: Some sources, however, claim that certain doctors like cardiologists make more than Dh180,000 a month, but this amount is believed to already include commissions. Small private clinics also tend to offer much lower rates.Source: Naukrigulf6. Senior bankersAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh70,000Salary range: Dh63,750 to Dh77,500Salary applicable to: VPs for corporate banking, retail banking, branch network, alternate channels and asset and liabilitiesWhat bank VPs do/ why they earn much:“The VP of the bank is heavily involved in crucial decisions, including long-term large level loans, potential investments that can raise the profile of the bank and, to be honest, the senior level roles within banking are seen as the key decision makers that can transform the image of the bank,” says Campori.“Normally, banking roles are a monthly salary and then an annual bonus that is made up of the individuals performance, the banks overall performance and potentially linked to key investments the individual has been involved in."What it takes to get this job: Senior banking positions are often filled by individuals that have worked their way to the top. “In most cases [they] have started at entry-level roles within the banking industry and worked their way up the ladder,” adds Campori.Other roles that offer the same average monthly pay: Marketing vice presidents, project directors in oil and gas companies, bank chief operating officers (finance and operations)Source: Charterhouse7. Senior mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineersAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh62,000Salary range: Dh40,000 to Dh68,000Salary applicable to: MEP project directorsWhat MEP directors do/ why they earn much: Responsibilities of MEP directors can vary from one company to another, but they’re mainly in charge of matters that have to do with mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations in construction projects. They may focus on one specific area for a company or they could be the person responsible for all MEP matters for one huge project. “[In contracting and consulting firms] they are responsible for all of the work being completed on time and correctly, and for liaising with the developer and consultancy,” explains Corrina Ford, MEP recruitment consultant at Hays.What it takes to get this job: Candidates should have at least 20 years’ experience with an MEP background starting usually as a mechanical engineer and working their way up through the ranks, says Ford. “[They] must have a degree in mechanical or electrical engineering, experience in managing big projects and have worked for a similar company, a contractor, consultancy or developer.”Source: Hays8. Top IT managersAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh60,000Salary range: Dh50,000 to Dh80,000Salary applicable to: Chief information officers (CIOs), IT directorsWhat CIOs do/ why they earn much: They lead and manage projects involving design, deployment, testing and support of business solutions. The job involves coordinating, setting up of an information technology department; defining policy and procedure, organizing structure and team management.What it takes to get the job: The candidate should ideally have at least ten to 12 years’ experience in the IT field, working his way up from IT analyst to senior role to managerial level. “Candidates also need to be up to date with the latest technologies and certifications,” says Farhan Khan, IT recruitment consultant at Hays. Minimum qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in computer or IT and at least three to four years in a managerial role. “Leadership skills is a must,” says Khan.Other roles with similar pay: Executive creative directorsSources: Hays, Kingston Stanley, Charterhouse9. Retail head buyers/merchandisersAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh55,000Salary range: Dh36,500 to Dh52,500Salary applicable to: Head of planning/merchandising; head of buying for a luxury retail brandWhat head buyers do/ why they earn much: The role of a head buyer of a retail company is crucial in every business. Whatever decisions the buyer takes can impact the brand or image of the retailer, so it is important that the person holding this position is up to date with the latest industry trends and possesses enough insights into the “potential upturns in the customer market.”“At the end of the day, if customers are not buying what is presented, the brand is impacted and of course, this ultimately impacts the bottom line. As this role is key to the bottom line of the business, the salary and level of the position should also be aligned to risk and reward,” says Campori.What it takes to get this job: A candidate should ideally hold a degree either in marketing, business studies or retail management. “You most likely would have started your career on the shop floor and worked your way up to becoming a buyer,” adds Campori.Source: Charterhouse10. ActuariesAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh55,000Salary range: Dh30,000 to Dh80,000What actuaries do/ why they earn much:Actuaries work mostly in insurance companies, where they analyse various data to assess the possibility that an event will occur, such as the risk a car will crash. Evaluating risks are necessary in order to draw up insurance policies that can help lower the cost of that risk.“These are business professionals who deal with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty, they are in constant demand within the finance sector and demand is always far in excess of supply,” says Ian Giulianotti, director at Nadia Recruitment Consultants.What it takes to get the job:Becoming a fully credentialed actuary requires passing a rigorous series of professional examinations, which usually take seven years. “In some countries such as Denmark, most studies take place in a university setting, others such as the United States, studies take place during employment through a series of examinations,” says Giulianotti. “In the UK and the countries that follow its process, there is a hybrid university exam structure.”Source: Nadia11. PilotsAverage monthly pay: Dh52,500Salary range: Dh30,000 to Dh75,000Why pilots earn much:Pilots are highly sought after especially in the Gulf region, where the aviation industry is fast growing. “There is a worldwide shortage of qualified flight deck professionals and the Middle East carriers are a magnet for applicants. Additional benefits include free housing, utilities , school fees and provident fund investment,” says Giulianotti.What it takes to get this job:A number of exams and trainings, on top of a license, need to be completed. “Commercial pilots require a license which meets the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, and must pass a number of exams both written and oral and crucially pass a medical fitness exam,” says Giulianotti.“Training can either be obtained privately through flight training schools which the individual has to finance at a cost of approximately $ 250,000 (Dh918,000) or through a cadetship with an airline where the student is tied to the airline for a set period of years. Pilot training is ongoing throughout the career path.”Source: Nadia12. Restaurant general managersAverage monthly pay including allowances: Dh50,000Salary range: Dh25,000 to Dh 70,000What restaurant general managers do/ why they earn much:General managers are responsible for the overall operations of a restaurant. They don't just manage staff and day-to-day operations, they also aim to boost sales. They're usually expected to have full control of the budget and know how to prepare "profit and loss statements" which generally show whether or not the company is making money.