A Bountiful of Hope

As the FM opened his kitty, the nation, particularly the youth, who form over 50% of the population, had lots to cheer about. Starting out with the basic need for education, where an allocation of Rs. 31,036 crore has been made for schooling, and 3675 crore for elementary education, the budgets heralds the coming of age of the Human Resource Development policies of our government. The intent to have a young educated and skilled generation is clear, with the target of raising a skilled workforce of 50 crore people by 2022. Even with a sharp increase in overall social sector spending, aimed at short term ‘good’, overall, fiscal prudence ruled the roost, so as to not burden the future generation with too much debt.

The proposal to have a new and modern India for a better tomorrow is etched deep in the budget, with 46% of the total outlay being allocated to infrastructure. Cities, the dream destination and beacon of hope for the young multitude have seen a steep, but much needed raise in budgetary allocation. The proposal to provide tax concessions on green technology such as CFLs augurs well for the long term sustainable future of our nation.

In the short run, however, the adjustment of the tax slabs will take care of bracket creep, providing the working class with a higher disposable income. This will further fuel domestic demand, especially amongst the young and the ‘nouveau riche’, who have a considerably higher marginal propensity to consume. As such, cheaper gadgets like cell phones will only add to the demand.

The partial roll-back of the stimulus, however, will mean that the economy, facing considerable inflationary expectations, and starting to overheat, can let off some steam. This will lay the roadmap for a low-inflation high growth trajectory and lead us towards a more vibrant future, something that the hebetic generation greatly desires.

PS: The abridged version of the above article appeared in TOI, Lucknow edition on 27th Feb,2010.

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The problem with religion

A nine year old girl in Brazil is allegedly raped by her step-father, and gets pregnant, carrying twins. Doctors say that because of her tender age, and the twins inside her womb, her life is in danger, so she goes in for an abortion. The church responds to this by excommunicating her, and all those who helped her get the abortion done-her mother, the doctors involved. The step-father is not ex-communicated.

Now, I am a secular person, and not against any particular religion, but any doctrine, which ignores basic facts about rape, that too of a child by a family member, and then her right to life, and responds by ostracizing her at a time when she needs the support of the society, I cease to have any respect for the people who run that doctrine.

To me, what was shocking was not just the response of the local archbishop, but also the defense of his actions by the Vatican. Where has all the sense and sensibility gone? This represents a fundamental problem with religion altogether, which is following the text of its Gods by the letter, not in spirit. In a case like the one above, the church takes no action against the step-father but goes to great lengths to defend the life of the unborn twins, when it has no respect for the life of the nine year old.

The idea of religion, and the concept of having a few men dressed in robes of a revered color having the ultimate say in the interpretation of the religious texts needs reform. And this reform will not come by a mass social movement, it will be a silent revolution, taking place in the minds of free men and women, when every individual will choose for himself and herself, whether he would rather follow his conscience, and do what seems ‘right’ or listen to someone (mis)interpret the gospels of the messiahs. The color of the robes, and the actual preachings of the texts concerned is not important, what is important is that the underlying message of humanity is not lost: we must follow the basic principles of morality, and our actions must be determined with what seems right or wrong to our inner-voice. The independence from organized religion and moving towards an enlightened individual will eventually bring in universal harmony. Motivation for one’s action should be morality; religion, at least the way it is supposed to be, is a platform for moral actions, and this may not be needed in an enlightened world, in my opinion.

I am sure the day this happens, I will see unicorns grazing in my backyard, and people flying around on broomsticks.

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The Nuances of Democracy

For the past few weeks, trouble has been brewing in Orissa, where some miscreants have attacked churches, killed and beaten up Christians. I fully and unequivocally condemn these attacks, and for that matter any sort of violence.

But what I say here today is not about the violence, but the politics of violence. No doubt it is in the interest of some groups to stoke communal passions, but what shocks me is that the Central government is supposedly considering imposing article 356 and dismissing a duly elected government. The home ministry has also sent various advisories to the state, to reign in the rowdies. I agree that the state has been lax, and that it needs to pull up its socks to provide a sense of security to all the people. The state has obviously failed to do its duty, to prevent flare-ups and to prevent loss of 'sense of security' among the minorities.

Now, look at the case of West Bengal, through all of 2007. Nandigram burned for most part of the year, and there were reports of police atrocities. Villagers were driven out of their homes, tens killed in police firing, and media was barred from going anywhere close, possibly to prevent the true state of affairs from ever coming to light. Such was the extent of the breakdown, that bloody gun battles were fought for control of villages, and the victory of the ruling party over the opposition in one such battle led the CM to comment "paying them back in their own coin" , effectively approving violence sponsored by his party. The state intelligentsia was up in arms against the Chief Minister, and there were protests nation-wide.

Now one may say, was West Bengal in 2007 not a fit case for the dismissal of the state government, which had, for the sake of development, forgotten the human factor involved, and where, the party cadres ran amok, killing, looting and burning. The only difference that I see between Orissa now, and WB then : now the violence is targeted against a particular community. Back then, anybody who stood by the villagers was attacked. The other very convenient fact: Then, the ruling party of WB was a major partner in the Central government, whereas the Orissa ruling party today is a steadfast opposition house.

So, I humbly ask, just because the present crisis has a communal shade to it, it is OK to impose President's rule, but last year, when the state itself terrorized its people, was it OK, because people of all religions were being targeted equally..

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The Curious Incident of the Stranger on the bus

Its been a long time since I posted anything, and the whole world has gone topsy-turvy since then.. More about all that later, but for now, I describe the curious incident that happened to me on a BMTC bus :

On a nice sunny Bangalore morning, I got ready to get to work, and took the usual 0830bus from my home. Initially it was all crowded because of all the school kids, but that soon cleared out, and the bus was empty. Then, standing close to the rear door, I saw that a man sitting in the rear seat was eying me quite curiously. I was surprised, but then I deduced that he seemed a rather rustic fellow, little less on bus etiquette.. Not minding him, I continued to enjoy the show on the radio, apparently meant for the 'fatafat generation'. Am not sure if I qualify for the same.

At the next stop, literally half the bus got down, and I found a place to sit on the last row.. This curious guy, finding an empty place next to me, came and perched himself there, and then, I felt a nudge on my right arm. I take out the ear-phone from my ear, and look at him, and he asks me, brimming with innocence :

Stranger : Are you a north Indian?

Me : [Very surprised, since no body in this city has been so blatantly regionalistic with me ever] Yes.

Stranger : From where are you?

Me :[Eyeing him with a great deal of suspicion] Delhi.

Stranger :[ His eyes light up in a weird kind of way] Oh.. Beautiful City. Can I ask you a question?

[Wondering as to what he has been doing all along anyway, I nod]

Stranger : Are the people in Delhi nice.

Me : [To cut him off, I answer rather sternly] Yes.

Stranger : [With a rather childlike curiosity] But I have heard people in Delhi are not nice to strangers.

Me : [Trying to a give a clean diplomatic answer] They are as nice as people in Bangalore.

Stranger : [Still not very convinced, but taking my argument at face value] Oh ok.

After this, I go to listening my music, and he starts ruminating, trying to assimilate all that I have told him, and debating with himself as to how much my words can be trusted.. A few minutes later, another nudge. I take out my ear-phones again, and look at him.

Stranger : Is it true that North Indians do not make friends with South Indians.

Me :[ With a look of consternation] No. It is not true.

Stranger : But I have heard so..

Me : North Indians are friendly people.

Stranger :[Still doubting me] Do you have friends who are south Indians?

Me : [Without thinking] Yes.

Then, I turn away, and start listening to the music. As my stop comes, I get up from my seat, and head to the door. He tugs at me, and asks

Stranger : Are you sure you have South Indians as friends?

Me : [emphatically] Yes, many of them. [The bus comes to a stop, and I get down, and look back, at the curious face of the guy in his mid twenties, trying to comprehend data fed to him by a complete stranger, seemingly against the indoctrination that he has had all his life.]

As I walked to work from the bus stand, out of sight of that strange man, I must confess, I am guilty of profiling my friend list based on regionalistic considerations : The only consolation, most of my friends turned out to be South Indians.

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Fear Factor

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
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Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

It is this creation of Thakur Rabindranath Tagore that comes to my mind, when I hear the reactions of my fellow countrymen to the terror attacks on the nation. Chain e-mails advising caution, the advice of family and friends and well-wishers to not go out 'too much' or to crowded places, to the point where travel itineraries are being changed, all follow as a consequence.

I cannot put into words how I feel, when I hear such reactions. The purpose of the terrorist’s attacks is not so much to kill (considering that they kill less than a thousand countrymen a year), but to ‘terrorize’. And this, they seem to be carrying out to perfection. Although the serial blasts in B’lore killed just two people, it scared enough number of them to warrant an increase of security at the IT-BT companies, even at the hands of CISF. This was followed by e-mails from security officers to the employees of their respective companies, asking them to follow a strict regimen, without which they will not be allowed inside. Ironical, since most employees are shareholders of the company. The best case precipitate of this is that the people end up being treated without respect, worst case: they are seen as suspects.

It is this fear psychosis that Alan Greenspan talks about, that the Americans experienced in the backdrop of the September 2001 attacks. Such fear, mostly unfounded, gives the terrorists their sense of victory. It is for this precise reason that I salute Mumbai, where the locals are just as crowded and the markets bustling, on the morning after. Bangalore may not be known to have such a spirit, but the malls on the day after were the usual, with people looking for best bargains. Yours truly was one of them, not particularly because I wanted to buy anything, but to prove that we are not scared.

I would be happiest if all my countrymen show spirit and mettle, to fight terror, where it matters most: in the mind.

PS : I fully condemn terrorist attacks, and they represent the worst possible face of humanity. My condolences with the bereaved, and sympathies with the injured.

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Mid-summer crisis

A premier cellular service provider says "Barriers break when people talk".. And this is so true, now more than ever before.. With the Gurjars at the negotiating table, the trouble at ground zero seems to be ebbing. The main fall-out of this : trains have started plying again, and mind you, this is very important to keep the economy on track..

But the point I make here is entirely different.. What is it that will finally solve this impasse.. The Gurjar leaders have gone on record and said "ya to ST status de do, ya goli maar do".. With such being the ferocity of their demand, an obvious solution seems unlikely.. What is it that the Raje government can offer to help restore peace and normality.. I do not know how this impasse will end, but as long as the two sides keep talking, I am sure some solution will be found.. It has to be a compromise for both sides, but the state government must act fast and swift, to ensure the common public is not inconvenienced..

A question to all the intellectuals who are reading this.. What would you do if you were heading the government, while a particular section of the society resorted to similar voilence and economic shutdown.. I personally believe that if calls for negotiations fail, and the violence continues unabated, a complete blockade of that area might be the way to break up the agitators.. No power, no water, phone networks down, and then restrict supplies into the region. This should continue till the agitators walk the extra mile to the negotiating table.. What is important here is to let the people know that while they have a fundamental right to a peaceful gathering to put forth their demands, holding the State ransom and restoring to violence will not get them anywhere..

I am sure some of you will disagree with my methods here, but this is a last resort, to make sure a solution is found through dialog, not through the lathis.. In any case, please do leave a comment what is it that you would have done, if you were to find yourself at the helm of affairs when such trouble broke out..

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Sense and Sensibility

The nation is at war.. A silent war.. An economic war.. The prices of food are rising, since the agriculture output has been stagnant for years.. The oil prices have doubled in less than a year, and the government cant do much about it.. Inflation in general is rising, and again, the powers to be seem helpless.. Unfortunately, having a seasoned economist at the helm of affairs hasn't helped our nation much..

It is in the midst of a situation like this that our PM called for energy conservation by all Indians. This may seem like a desperate measure, may be it is, but the fact of the matter is, Indian public lacks basic common sense, and nothing much seems to be happening about correcting this.. The more educated the people, the more they waste.. Yes, its true, countrymen, the educated class seems to care a hoot about the general scenario.. The poor even today save resources, for their personal economic gains, but the rich it seems can afford to waste... A TV channel did a quick check on a successful 26 year old guy in Pune, who believes in splurging, and he says : After I work hard, I deserve to enjoy. Perfectly alright. You deserve to enjoy, but not waste Sir!!

There are umpteen examples, starting from the most myriad of things : leaving ACs and fans on unnecessarily, using a light at 3 in the afternoon on a sunny day in a brightly sunlit room, geysers on 24x7, keeping ignition on at 180 second traffic lights, keeping the refrigerator door open for minutes at a stretch, half of the dinner wasted every night, keeping the tap open while brushing etc, I could just go on and on.. These are minuscule things, I must say, but the collective cost of all these on our nation, and planet in general is huge.. But not many care : "I am paying for it, so"..

In crisis stricken times, our government deserves our support, and we need to chip in to make sure our next generation has a better future.. Well, my brethren, countrymen, let us join hands together to do our bit, not just for the nation, but for the planet at large. Every little bit counts, make sure you do yours.

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Hail the free people

The world is changing.
I feel it in the water.
I feel it in the earth.
I smell it in the air.

For how else do you explain these phenomenon.. Whether it is the nascent democracies of Nepal and Bhutan, or countries like USA or India, seasoned democracies, the will of the people reigns supreme.. There is no other way to explain an action like this in Bihar, India. Or, the election victories of former insurgent Maoists in Nepal. Or the rise of one who represents change, and hope..

To me, all of these mean just one thing : That the world is maturing as a democracy.. The time of the people has come..

PS : The only thing is wish for is that the communist regime will take a more open view to the autonomy talks, and that protesters will not be run down with tanks..

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Long live the quotas

Whether we like it or not, the quotas are here to stay, for a very very long time, probably longer than our lifetimes.. But then, the Supreme Court did a good thing, by laying clearly the ground rules for the quota based admissions..

The problem, however, lies in implementation of these policies. The SC clearly says that anyone who has completed UG education cannot be considered backward, and thus PG courses should not have quota. But that doesn't deter Arjun Singh, does it.. Tell me, someone who got into an IIT because of the quota, will also get into an IIM right after that because of the same quota policy.. Now this is downright unfair, Right to equality be damned!! Also, we all know the outcomes of the pereodic re-considerations of the reservation policy.. Every decade the government dutifully extends the SC/ST reservation by ten more years, and the same will also be done for OBCs from now on..

And then, some things which were not totally expected happened. Our very own beloved sleepy head, opportunist ex-PM said : The creamy layer must be kept out of SC/ST reservations too.. Bingo, the man I least expected to hear this from has spoken, and sensibly for a change.. Politics indeed makes strange bed-fellows : logic and Deve Gowda!!!

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We have the power

The summer is here, and the heat can already be felt.. Met department says it will be one of the hottest, and given the planning and execution of our government, be prepared to face uninterrupted power cuts all along.. The country faces an acute shortage of electricity, so much so that many a times, the grids are in danger of tripping owing to excess demand..

It is in this back-ground that the Indo-US nuclear deal becomes all the more important.. I know even if the deal goes through without hiccups, and the government moves at a fast-pace on the execution, it is still a long ten years before we can see power from the reactors.. But then, atleast ten years later, we will have power... Going by the current rate of capacity addition of conventional sources, I do not see a major change in scenario anytime soon..

But then, everyone has gotten their priorities wrong.. The left thinks it will be able to win votes thanks to its anti-US stands.. West Bengal, will take time to forget the Nandigram episode, and Kerala will give left the incumbency heat.. Another major minus for the left, the delimitation will reduce the number of rural seats, a traditional vote-bank of the left.. On the other hand, the Congress has made its peace, and is infact promoting darkness in the villages.. This only makes me laugh, because instead of saying we helped electrify so many villages, they are saying, we failed in rural electrification, and now we give them cheap kerosene for their lamps.. The saffron brigade, now opposing the deal, will operationalize the same, if it comes to power the next time. This way, it can take credit for the deal...

The Left's concerns about the US are certainly more of a mental roadblock than anything else.. Anything to do with Uncle Sam (Aunty Sam???) is taboo.. And the Prime Minister's assurance is enough for me to know that our strategic interests are not jeopardized..

I write this, not because I advocate the deal since I am not aware of the nitty-gritties of the same, but because I think that energy security is very important for a growing economy.. And not just in terms of oil.. We need to do every bit that we can to make sure that India's growth story does not hit a road-bump due to energy shortage.. If it takes a nuclear deal, so be it..

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Grounded

Bangaloreans can take heart, they will not be the only ones suffering from the connectivity issues on the new airport.. It seems even in Hyderabad, where the new airport opens in about a month, there is no proper road connectivity.. How have things come to such a turn?? Not one but two instances.. An airport takes atleast four-five years to plan, and another three to construct, and a connecting road may take, in the worst case, a couple of years.. But still, the airports are ready, but the roads are not.. Wonder where we went wrong?? And what should we do to prevent another infrastructure disaster??

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A Rotten Apple

Have been contemplating for a while to write a post about the ongoing controversy on the Bharat Ratna, and how our leaders have devalued it by using it as a tool to show personal gratitude to their fellows rather than highlighting the nation's pride in the awardees actions.. And I was also thinking about how the State Awards have become a matter of oneupmanship, where each one is trying to get his/her protege/mentor the award.. And I said to myself : Look what they have done.. What a rotten thing..

And then, events in quick succession sent me thinking : Is it just the country's political leaders who are doing this.. And the answer that I came up with was a stunning NO.. I went over the events of the past few months, and realized that this attitude is deep rooted into all of us, and with regard to every award possible.. There is no point in blaming our politicians for this : after all they come from the society, and represent the society at large.. This apple is rotten to the very core.

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By the people, of the people, for the people!!!

This infrastructure project is meant for the people, belongs to the people(coming from their tax money), and built by the people(NHAI- a PSU). And then, why should the people wait for the VVIPs to tell them to use something that is essentially their own.. They should rightfully take what is meant for them. Exactly what Delhi did, and the public did what can only be defined as commendable. In this act, they took cue from India's supercop, who had, in her times, thrown open the Zuari bridge, after people were tired of waiting for the PM to inaugrate it. Legend goes it was to be named after the PM, but then, the small act by one Traffic SP of removing the barricades by hand, changed all that.. Long live the people.

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Hindi hain hum, watan hai, hindustan hamara

This report left me stunned.. I don't know if I should be feeling happy or sad. When China can have a national language that is spoken by just about half of the country, why cant Hindi be our National Language.. Why did people undergo self-immolation, buses have to be torched, and students killed in police firing..

And I must admit, all this, it turned out, was not entirely bad for the country. We all learned English, and were able to become a global force in the services sector. But who knows, just like Japan or Germany, we could have become a global hub even with a national language apart from English. But the greatest fallout of this violent agitation is that we will, as a country, never have the national integration as envisioned by our freedom fighter forefathers. For a lot of people I know, the state still comes before the nation. And from my personal experiences, I can say this feeling exists mostly in the non-Hindi speaking states.


And to all who think I oppose local languages, please note, I dont. I favor the classical status to Tamil, and the government support for regional literature. But this does not mean that everyone is taught their mother tounge as the first language under the education system. We should be teaching English as a first language, Hindi as second language, and the native language as the third language. This is only fair to communicate with the world, the nation, and your neighbor. Unfortunately, these priorities are applied in reverse today.

The sentiments of 1965 linger today, and anyone speaking Hindi or for that matter any language apart from Tamil is given stares, and occasionally wrong directions in the land of Periyar.. I just hope we have another Iron-Man, who will perform the thankless task of national integration, just like Sardar Patel did the job of political integration. Or may be I could do it.

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Priceless!!

Tickets to the Bryan Adams Concert,Palace Grounds:Rs 4000
Dinner for two at an upscale restaurant : Rs 3800
Getting an auto to take you to these places : Priceless!!!

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Doctor doctor, please

Doctors take the Hippocratic oath, and are to live by it.. But with increasing frequency, I am seeing blatant violations of the sacred oath, in particular, of the sixth point mentioned here.. Every week, I keep hearing news of doctors going on strike, to protest either an assault on their colleague, or to protest the increase in duration of their course, or the introduction of caste based quotas, or against the health minister... The list is endless.. Try Google, you will get an idea of how big the problem is.

And now comes the disturbing part : Patients, including children dying for want of medical attention.. This is something absolutely unacceptable, and the government must, at the very onset of strikes like these, invoke ESMA, and make sure the medicos are back to work.. Health services cannot be held ransom to the whims and fancies of a few, no matter what.. These are "essential services", and they must continue, come what may, war or peace..

On the other side, the doctors do have a right to have their voice heard.. But a strike, that ends up killing patients is not the answer. I think the key here is a overhaul of our system, where tyrant ministers, sitting in their plush offices make rules on issues that affect the lives of these doctors. Rather than have this, we could have a medical council doing this work, which would constitute of doctors, and not bureaucrats.. Separation of the medical world from the clutches of a popular government is the buzz word..

This sort of a system, where the public does not have to suffer due to the wishes of a few is important, and for the simple reason : the scant medical facilities that our country has cannot be held hostage by anyone : they must continue to serve the people..

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Corporate Government, Anyone??

I have had this question asked to me a lot of times : wouldn't it be a lot better if we had a corporate style governance.. And while the proponents of this theory list out the obvious benefits like quick decisions, faster development, more transparent functioning etc, there is one aspect that they completely fail to recognize, and that is the social responsibility of the government..

If you look at how corporates work, they will feed the bread-winning horse the most, which is very fair on their part.. For eg, if a certain division is making most of the company's profits, that division will also get the maximum budget.. Abberation like the one in the case of Apple Computers, where the profit making Apple II funded the eventually proved disastrous Apple III for a long time, and caused a survival crisis, are considered poor managements decisions..

But now, consider a government setup in a country like India.. The profits will come in from the industries, the commerce centered around the cities, the taxes paid by the urban citizens etc etc.. However, most of this money is not spent back on them, unlike a corporate, but spent on rural education, health care etc, which by any model, will never be profitable.. That however, does not mean our money must not be spent on it, for we can not expect a village school in a tribal area to be economically viable, this just means that as a civil society, we must accept this form of subsidy, for these children of lesser mortals cannot be, and should not be denied education for want of funds.. Same goes with rural health care, and a variety of other such schemes..

And if the country was indeed run by corporates, you would see a six lane and six track Golden Quadrilateral, lined up with all the industries, while the rest of the country would languish in the dark.. And after this, they might also claim to have no budgetary deficit, which shouldn't come as a surprise.. What we really need is better planning and investment in the rural areas, to make them self-sufficient and economically a "non-white elephant", atleast in three to four decades.. Till such a thing happens, my fellow brethren, we must share the burden for the greater good of the country..

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