As I Saw it The Black Sunday- 08 Dec 2013

As I Saw it  The Black Sunday- 08 Dec 2013

Indian team was being thrashed by South Africa in their second ODI. The top team in ICC ranking. Some of the Indian batsman rated as the best were crumpling down as they were novice to this game of cricket.

Back home the four states (MP/Rajasthan/Chattisgarh/Delhi) were bringing in the most humiliating out come. The 125 years grand old party congress was thrashed and beaten down to most tragic low. The hallmark was corruption ¼Hkz’Vkpkj½ inflation eagxkbZ and women’s safety.

How and why?

·         The trend started with 2010 “Common Wealth Games” when number of small and big corruption cases were brought up. Top officials of IOA and GOC were put behind bars

·         This was followed by CAG report on 2G and coal mine allocation. Whether right or wrong the complete blame was attributed to the existing Govt (UPA-II)

·         Mishandling of Ramdev’s agitation at Ramlila Maidan and followed by Anna’s Lokpal bill agitation when he was arrested added fuel to the fire.

·         Gangrape of Damini in Delhi on 16 Dec 2012 and neglect and poor presence of top leadership of the congress did not associate with agitating young generation at India Gate and around. While Delhi remained paralyzed for nearly two weeks no central Govt or political leader “Connected” with the young agitating crowed in and around India Gate. 

·         Rising prices, devolution of Re further aggravated the situation.

·         Janta is angry and anguished with the ruling party (UPA-II)

Other reasons

• Loose and controversial utterances should be avoided by senior leaders.
• Lack of strong leadership at the state levels. People at the late stage being projected, Jyotirmay Scindia is an example in MP.
• We must appoint state presidents strong committed with orational skills who are good communicators.
• Such appointment should for full five years who are accepted by all class understand state politically well.
• They should build cadres have full authority to appoint district, block, and Gram Panchayat Level organizational structure.
•  It has to be a continuous process. Some bold decisions are required.
• Non political forces to be encouraged. One such example is that of Ex serviceman. They project an honest and committed force and well respected by the people.

Next General Elections are 5-6 months away. Still time for the “Congress Party” to build up and come back as a “formidable Force.”

Our depleting and degrading politics and political environment

Our depleting and degrading politics and political environment

Party time in India: 140 new ones up in 60 days                                                

2014 RUSH EC insiders fear many floated launder money; pleas for more powers to check wrongdoing fall on deaf ears.

In the run-up to the 2014 general elections, it’s party time in India. No less than 140 new political parties have been registered with the Election Commission in the last two months. From 1,392 parties in August-September, the number swelled to 1,534 by mid-November.Godmen, builders, property dealers and retired bureaucrats are among those who have floated the parties, ostensibly to have a say in the world’s largest democracy. Election Commission insiders, however, fear it may not be all politics, but actually business-even of the shady kind-driving this rush into a field where the entry is all too easy. An unrecognized political party needs just 11 members to gt registered for all times. In the last Lok Sabha elections, 1,150 of the 1,250 registered parties accounted for only about 1% of the total votes polled. If these parties are not interested in political activity, then why are they floated?

Political/Electoral Reforms-

Mushrooming of political parties has degenerated the basic foundation of a strong democracy.

What we need to do.

- To start if recognized party is to get registered should have at least eleven hundred (1100) members and as of now.

- The membership no should increase to 11000 in 1 year and more than 1 lakh in 3 years.

-Any party who garners less than 10%  of votes be disbanded

The views of Veteran Politician-Som Nath Chatterjee

‘POLITICS LOOKS LIKE FREESTYLE BOXING’

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, is known for his frank views. The 84-years-old leader, who was elected to Lok Sabha 10 times, feels he is lucky to be out of active politics since he would not have been able to survive in the current atmosphere.

Politics appears to have become a freestyle boxing match, a shoddy game and the kind of language being used in public meetings and TV debates, one gets a feeling that some leaders are trying to win a competition in abusive politics. In my view, media is giving too much prominence to the abusive language being spoken by some leaders.

My point is that with the polls barely five months away, serious issues affecting the people of the country are missing from the public discourse and the role of media could have played in farcing the political parties to spell out their stands on price rise, unemployment, communal harmony and other related issues is not being done. Have the large sections of media not anointed a particular gentle man as the PM even before elections? Why is the media nowdays hesitant to discuss his past, particularly the role in communal riots, so let us be fair.

First of all, parties will have to decide whether they are ready to put an end to the politics of competitive abusiveness. Next, they have to ponder over the fact that why the youth of the country shun politics and look for other alternative avenues to express their views. In the last days of my life I will be happy if politics is not looked down upon with disdain. 

China on the Run-History in the making China unveils boldest reforms in 3 decades

China on the Run-History in the  making    China unveils boldest reforms in 3 decades

China unwrapped its boldest set of economic and social reforms in nearly three decades on Friday, relaxing its one-child policy and further freeing up markets in order to put the world’s second-largest economy on a more stable footing.

The sweeping changes helped dispel doubts about the leadership’s zest for the reforms needed to give the economy fresh momentum as three decades of breakneck expansion shows signs of faltering. Pricing of fuels, electricity and other key resources now a source of major distortions-would be mainly decided by markets, while Beijing also pledged to speed up the opening up of its capital account and further financial liberalization.

“The reforms are unprecedented.” Said Xu Hongcai, senior economist at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a well-connected Beijing think tank. “Reforms in 1990s were limited to some areas, now reforms are all-round.” President Xijinping and Premier Li Kequang, appointed in March, announced breakthroughs in social policy, pledging to unify rural and urban social security systems and to abolish controversial labour camps, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing the document. The plans, more comprehensive and specific than initially thought, also dispelled concerns that Xi would need more time to take full charge of China’s vast party and government bureaucracy.

If Mr. Xi is able to manoeuvre his country on a new growth trajectory, even a sustained 8-9% growth rate, he would ensure China would become the world’s wealthiest “NATION” into decades. This would be both a challenge and an opportunity for India. China’s economy is now a major pillar of the world economy. If Beijing stumbles, New Delhi will suffer as well. Yet there is also no reason to believe a powerful China will be hostile to India. The worst case scenario is most likely if India remains in its present economic doldrums.

China is on a path of progress. Economic performance or activity is a dynamic process. This requires a change every 20-30 years, looking for more aggressive & progressive policies. China is a unitary functioning of the Govt, though a collective leadership guides the desting of the Nation (China). We have world class economist (Manmohan/Chidambram/Montek Ahluwalia (Dy Chairman of Planning Commission) Raghuraj Raman (Gov RBI). But our polity has nosedived to a new low. Politics has become disruptive, destructive and divisive day by day. The objective is just to garner votes and seek power. Nobody talks about changing India for better. Only slogan mongering.

Wake up India

Fact File-Point to Ponder -The fact’s in the fire

                                                                                                                                02 November 2013

Our netas seem to display a lack of knowledge of our own history. It is time they did their homework diligently

If some of our political leaders were to be contestants on a history segment of a Kaun Banega Crorepati-type quiz, chances are they would go home empty-handed. Politicians are known to subtely twist historical facts to suit themselves. But, in today’s world, with its easy access to information, such sins of omission or commission are all too easily caught out. And with 24 hour television, the common refrain of being misquoted is also one of diminishing returns. While some of these gaffes are controversial and insensitive, like Congress leader Beni Prasad Verma saying that “I am happy with this inflation’, many are comical and some are just plain fudget facts. Comments that twist historical facts expose the poor grasp our leaders have over our own past.

On Tuesday, at the inauguration of the renovated Sardar Vallabhbhai patel memorial Museum in Ahmedabad, Gujarat chief minister and prime ministerial aspirant narendra Modi reportedly said that Jawaharlal Nehru did not attend Patel’s funeral. Which is not the case. Other instances where Modi has got his facts wrong are in saying that Chandragupta Maurya belonged to the Gupta dynasty, that Chine spends 20% of its GDP on education (Beijing devotes hardly 4%) and that Gujarat empowered women (the sex ratio has fallen in the past decade). Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also seemingly got it wrong when he referred to the ‘large 70-foot ashes with dead bodies’ in Uttar Pradesh in the heat of the state election campaign earlier. It is not just our netas who are prone to gaffes.   Topping the global list would be former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s remark that ‘You can see Russia from land here in Alaska’. Former US president George W Bush’s ‘Bushisms’ like “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully” have found a lasting place in public memory.

It is an affront to the intelligence of our people that leaders don’t bother to do their homework. They need to be careful about their words, and most certainly about their facts. Those who don’t know our history, can hardly be trusted to chart out our future. Perhaps, all parties need to conduct crash courses in historical information so that when our worthies get up and speak in public, they are on firm ground. 

The lies of Modi

It ‘s not shining for everyone                                                               01 Oct 2013

What India needs in 2014 is not a choice between alternative leaders but alternative policies that can create a better country

The rising pitch of the NaMo RaGa cacophony is further disrupting our fragile social harmony perilously ignoring today’s ground realities. Six years ago, India was promised surplus electricity following the Indo-US nuclear deal. By bulldozing this deal, UPA I jettisoned the outside support of the Left parties, thus liberating UPA 2 to generate the ‘spoils of office’ and not generate a single additional unit of nuclear power. This set in motion a nuclear chain reaction of corruption that is accelerating towards ‘escape velocity’.

The BJP, equally unconcerned about ground realities is euphorically marketing its prime ministerial candidate. In addition to the Rs. 80 crore public relations budget of its candidate, the BJP will reportedly add Rs. 150 crore and Rs. 20 crore on digital media to his personal campaign. KPMG-the global consultancy working on the Vibrant Gujarat project-reportedly declined to share their audit results but the merchandising industry (estimated Rs. 500 crore) around the PM aspirant is growing a la Obama 2008 campaign that fetched around $38 million from the sale of merchandise. Where is all this money coming from? Given such a huge expenditure, the PM aspirant’s call for confiscating illegal foreign bank accounts of Indians sounds hollow.

Reality check the 2011-13 Global Hunger Index Report released last week’s shows that a quarter of world’s hungry (210 million out of 842 million) are in India alone; 43.5% of the world’s underweight children (under-5years) are Indians.

The NaMo raga campaigns, thus, appear surreal to the ‘real’India. May be out of despair, sections of India Inc are cheering the BJP aspirant as one who will carry forward the agenda of neo-liberal economic reforms aggressively thus permitting profit maximization. Recollect that it was the BJP-led NDA government under AB Vajpayee that heralded the illusion of ‘Shining India’ and the ‘feel good factor’. Thus, they consolidated the creation of two Indias with a growing histus between them.

The first: a global wealth and investment report showed India recorded the second highest increase of high net worth individuals (HNI)-with investable assets of over $1 million-in the world. The HNI population grew by 22.2% in 2012 while their wealth grew by 23.4%.These 1,53,000 HNIs together hold assets worth $589 billion-0.001275% of our population holding assets between a third- and -a –half of our GDP.

The second: the All Rural Development Report shows that the proportion of self-employed people in agriculture, ie cultivators, is shrinking even as large numbers shift to non-farm jobs on insecure terms. In the last decade, public investment in agriculture has remained stagnant and the consequent crisis is reflected in growing farmer suicides.

Rural India’s health fared badly with over 28% not accessing treatment as they could not afford to. This proportion goes up to 37% for SCs and 32% for STs.

Despite high rural enrolment, the proportion of students in the age group attending school fell from 78% at the primary level to just 29% at the higher secondary level in 2009-10. Learning levels were also poor with less than half the students in Class 5 being able to read books of Class 1 and 2. Less than half the students in Class 8 could recognize numbers and do addition and subtraction.

This is the reality of the two Indians. It is this trajectory of enriching the rich and impoverishing the poor that India Inc wants to carry forward aggressively and is hoping that their ‘messiah’ would deliver.

What India needs in 2014, thus, is not the choice between alternative leaders but what it needs is alternative policies that can marshal our resources for creating a better India.

Neta nahin, neeti chahiye.  

HT 22 Oct 2013

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^vkt dk vkuUn* Maharashtra dated 25 Oct 2013

Modi’s lies and politicization of Sardar Patel

Can anybody decry or deny the facts that Sardar Patel was

·         A great Nationalist and secular leader.

·         He was a staunch and dedicated congressman.

·         He was a great admirer loyalist and committed to Mahatma Gandhi’s theories & thinking.

·         Nehru & Sardar Patel were complimentary to each other in every facet of life. Democratic Institutions and secularism.

·         However Mahatma Gandhi preferred Nehru to lead and show the way. Sardar Patel gave his full to Nehru and the Nation in his short lived 3 years after Independence.

·         Sardar Patel was a strong, no nonsense leader when it came tolerance & patience specially so related to hard core Hinduttva.

·         If Sardar Patel had become PM then the fate of organizations like JanSangh/Hindu Mahasabha/VHP/RSS etc would have vanished from the Indian scene.

·         Why has NaMo suddenly woken up to hail the greatness of Sardar Patel. To project a national image for himself.

·         Raise a bogey of Nehru V/s Patel thus trying to bring a disrepute to the era of great leaders Nehru/ Indira/Rajiv and now RaGa.

·         Why other front leaders of BJP & related organization are not coming in open support of “Great Liar NaMo

Cut the apron strings

Cut the apron strings                                                    17 October 2013

The BJP cannot play its role in the political arena if it has to function according to the dictates of the RSS

It is becoming an increasingly uncomfortable combination, the RSS and the BJP. And the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statements justifying the RSS getting involved in political maters can only make things worse. Mr. Bhagwat has now said that letting foreign companies into retail is akin to unleashing armed forces on unarmed people. Mr Bhagwat, perhaps in his zeal to put the RSS firmly onto the political centrestage, seems to have forgotten that long ago and far way, his predecessors have Sardar Patel an undertaking that they would stay out of politics in return for the leader lifting a ban on the organization. During the Vajpayee years, the RSS did not even raise a squeak when he went to Pakistan. Contrast that with its later fury against LK Advani when he made his Jinnah remarks. Narendra Modi’s challenge will be not just to beat back the Congress but the RSS as well. With India’s youthful demographic, he cannot be seen to endorse the antediluvian views emanating from Nagpur. The RSS, to its discredit has not evolved its ideology; it still believes that issues like the mandir and keeping out foreign investment excite people. But the more worrying thing is that the RSS is demonstrating that it is in the driver’s seat.

Indian democracy has certainly evolved to a stage where people would be chary of electing a person who is controlled by an extra-constitutional force and that too a regressive one. In recent times, the RSS has not shied away from intervening forcefully in the BJP’s affairs. It minced no words when Mr Advani went into a sulk over the choice of Mr Modi as the prime ministerial candidate.

Ultimately, the BJP has to cut loose from the RSS’ apron strings. It cannot play its role as a party of governance or opposition as the case may be if it has to function according to the dictates of people who have neither been elected not have any idea about the aspirations of a new India.

Editorial HT dated 16 Oct 2013

Comments:

Do you want to be ruled by RSS? Responsible for assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on 30 Jan 1948. We are to move towards an inclusive growth taking everybody along.

JAI HO

A Crisis of confidence

A Crisis of confidence                                                                            25 Sep 2013

Can India’s backward polity ever provide a pro-growth economic environment?

Less than a decade ago, enthusiastic investment bankers and financial research analysts were tom-toming the India growth story. India, they said, has so much potential, it could be one of the world’s biggest economies in the next couple of decades. For this, they used spreadsheet models, in which they plugged in a growth rate of 8-10% and projected it for the next 30 years. They learnt this in MBA school.

Of course, anything growing at a compound annual rate of 10% will become pretty massive in 30 years (17.4 times, to be precise). Hence, the sharp minds made an earth-shattering prediction: that anything growing very fast will become very big over time. Clients of financial institutions, seduced with such a rosy picture about the land of miracles, bought into the idea.

Boring economies of Europe, growing at 1-2%, just didn’t carry the spiciness of India.

In all this, a few uncomfortable questions were never asked. For instance, is the government committed to providing a pro-business, pro-growth economic environment? Is the Indian polity ready to accept this new capitalist system? Are we socialist or are we market driven? Can we actually grow so fast every year, considering each power plant or new road or mining approval takes years?

Are we efficient manufacturers for the world? Are our taxation and regulations in line with fast growth requirements? Do we have an educated or skilled workforce to grow average incomes 17 times in the next 30 years? Is our infrastructure in place?

We are, whether the government like to say it or not, in the middle of an economic crisis. In the next two years, we will see many companies go bust, large layoffs, massive inflation and high unemployment. There is no getting away from it. The government could take some steps to soothe the situation, but instead it is interested in tokenism-closing petrol pumps, immaterial austerity drives and controls on consumption.

Forget growing 17 times in 30 years, we will find it difficult to sustain even modest growth.

Extract of an article TOI 7 Sept 2013 Chetan Bhagat

Comments:

Undoubtedly we are in the middle of economic crisis; in the next two year we will see many companies go burst, large layoffs, massive inflation and high unemployment. Though some “Macro Economic” policies and directions could be contributory factors. The main cause is “Exploding population” not being addressed correctly. A large no. of youth who are short of quality education, enhanced lack of opportunities, gives rise to increasing indiscipline, are all causes of anxiety. A chaotic unsocial and indisciplined environment exists, where do we get investments and development.

HELP INDIA!

Narendra Modi- PM Candidate

Narendra Modi- PM Candidate                                                                                      20 Sept 2013

13 Sept was ‘D’ day for BJP to have chosen to declare Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, candidate, for 2014 elections. 13^th  was chosen considering very auspicious because Atal Behari Vajpayee’s 1^st Govt lasted 13 days 2^nd for 13 months and finally from 1999-2004. The jubilation in some selected major cities (Delhi, Patna, Lucknow and many smaller cities) reflected as BJP has mustered a support of 273 MP’s and the parliamentary Party has elected the PM.

Let us have a look “How” “The follow UP” Likely outcome” and final picture.

“How Narendra Modi” ?- He has been thought-out as a party leader by the hierarchy of RSS. Atal Behari Vajpayee & Lal Krishna Advani never allowed direct interference of RSS in political functioning of the BJP. This direct political dominance started with the dictated appointment of Nitin Gadkari as the president of the BJP, more than 3 years back. If RSS was really keen to see Modi as a national leader of the BJP, they should have appointed him the president of the BJP and not “Rajnath Singh”. But their designs were clear they wanted somebody else’s shoulder to carry the baggage of the RSS hence Rajnath Singh.

The follow UP and the likely fallout

RSS will set the agenda, Hinduttva &Ram Mandir, Polarization of caste oriented politics. The riots in Kishtwar in J & K and recent riots in Muzafar Nagar are quite an indication of things to come.  Modi is yet to be accepted as a PM candidate within the BJP. LK/MM/Sushma/Anant and many others (Yashwant Sinha/Jaswant Singh/ Shatrughan Sinha) are not in line with the RSS dictated methodology. They all are politically finished or would be wasted out drenched out, and many others would beheaded ruthlessly. .

Conventionally leader of the parliamentary party is elected by the elected MP’s (LS members) or the name is proposed by the Party hierarchy and endorsed by the elected members. BJP claims themselves to be the most democratic and transparent party. They have put this all by the side, and are being dictated by the RSS. BJP’s top leadership is behaving like timid and obedient sycophants’. There is no reflection of leadership they are only the His Master’s Voice. (HMV)

“Final outcome”

BJP has to score 272 marks. They have a capacity to put up just 300 candidates all over India. Even if BJP does extremely well, may win in 150 seats the best (amounts to 50% success) . They would still need 123 more in nos. Even if their present alliance parties (SAD + SS) give those 30 seats the ‘BJP’ still would need nearly 85 more numbers. Next to impossible.

What is Modi?

Hard core communal. Aggressive-vkØked, abrasive-vi?k’kZd, dictatorial- rkuk”kkgh, revengeful- çfr”kks/k.  If he has allowed a situation, that no communal riots since 2002, he has kept the minorities under pressure and threat. He directed his henchman to eliminate those whom he didn’t like or tolerated.   A minister, Sohrabuddin, Isharatjan and many more were eliminated through encounters by his loyal police officer’s who are languishing in Jail. Anybody who came in his way as a political bottle neck he succeeded in eliminating them politically. The so called top political leadership of BJP at the national level can forget their political ambitions.  LK/MM/Sushma/YS/JS/Vinay Katiyar please find a graveyard or another battle ground. Modi is not a political threat to any other political party; Narendra Modi is a physical & political threat to his own party BJP.

BJP has accepted him as PM candidate, reluctantly, forced on them. How can Nation accept Narendra Modi.

Editorial in HT

Change gears on the road to Delhi                                                              

Naredra Modi and the BJP should now work towards framing inclusive policies

The coronation itself was perhaps not what Mr Modi had hoped for, with the party patriarch LK Advani sulking and staying away/ while the party may be celebrating the fact that it has stolen a march over its rival the Congress, it will now have to transform itself into a government-in-waiting and its newly anointed leader will have to start thinking nationally.

In recent years, the BJP has been little more than a disruptive opposition in Parliament, It has come up with very little by way of policy or solutions to the many problems that India faces. For a start, the people will be looking to Mr. Modi and the party to come up with answers on how to overcome the dreadful economic crisis.

Declaring a prime ministerial candidate in advance makes it incumbent on the BJP to now come up with its blueprint on how to revive the economy and it is no use saying that the Gujarat model can be replicated elsewhere. It cannot be replicated in such a vast and diverse country like India.

The RSS may have pushed Mr Modi through, but its brand of exclusivist politics will not yield results for its protégé. He has to rise above Hindustva to appeal to Indians in general.

Where Mr Modi will face a considerable challenge is winning over the south where the BJP has not got much of a foothold.

He will have to get over his penchant to market himself as the sole savior of the party and win over allies well in advance. Not many of them, as evident, subscribe to Mr Modi’s brand of politics. It has been a long road from Gandhinagar to New Delhi; it will certainly be a rocky one from prime ministerial aspirant to prime minister. 

Ebb of A Once Hungry Tide

Ebb of A Once Hungry Tide                                                                    05 Sept 2013

India’s political class must celebrate, not bicker over, the unprecedented decline in poverty

                             

Rather than seize the opportunity and claim credit for it-after all, the 8% growth, which was central to the decline in poverty, could not have happened without the sustained reforms by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee – the national leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party has chosen to decry the poverty decline itself. It argues that the Planning commission’s estimates are based on an unacceptably low poverty line. Not to be outdone, the Congress leadership recently rushed to reprimand Raj Babbar and Rasheed Masood for 9clumsily) trying to defend the poverty line.

The significance of the latest poverty numbers can be best appreciated by recognizing that during the first three decades of Independence, the nation saw no decline whatsoever in poverty at an even lower poverty line than the currently used Tendulkar line. In contrast, in the latest round, thanks to the 8.6% per annum growth, we have cut the proportion of the population living below the Tendulkar poverty line from 37.2% in 2004-05 to 21.9%, three large poor states – Bihar, Rajasthan and Odisha – have each slashed this proportion by 20 percentage points or more.

But our politicians and television journalists uniformly deny these gains on the specious pretext that the Tendulkar poverty line is too low to accurately capture the progress in poverty alleviation. It does not natter that at $1.29 per person per day in purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars, this line is above the $1.25 poverty line that the World Bank uses to measure extreme poverty in more than a hundred developing countries.

For the sake of argument, however, suppose we so raise the poverty line 50% above the Tendulkar line. This amounts to Rs. 7,500 per month per urban house hold of five at 2011-12 prices. In PPP dollars, it equals $1.94 per person per day a hair’s breadth below the $2 line that the World Bank reserves for measuring poverty in the middle-income countries.

The implication of this exercise is stark: if we wish to track the destitute, the prudent course will be to leave the Tendulkar line alone. If a higher line is still needed to give comfort to our politicians and television journalists, let us introduce a second line. It is time that the politicians and television journalists recognize the obvious: by denying the unprecedented poverty decline that has happened, they run down growth and harm the poor in the process.

Extract of an article in TOI dated 24 Aug 2013 Arvind Panagariya

 Comments:

Undoubtedly, poverty levels have come down. When I remember my days of 50’s or even 60’s, washer man, milkman, mochi used to be in tattered clothes, and broken and dilapidated cycles. Today such working class people are better dressed and move on motorcycles. Purchasing power is better and working class people are aspiring for even better and why not.

The percentage of the people (BPL) is on the increase. Because we are in the phase of “EXPLODING POPULATION”. This number (BPL) would continue to grow larger till we bring in some stricter norms as a “Population Policy”. Food Security Bill is an excellent approach to provide essentials to the majority of the (67% people of Population). Food Security Bill is in the real sense is JEEVAN SURAKSHA BILL. 

Not sharp or symbolic

Not sharp or symbolic                                                                              11 Sept 2013

Obama’s handling of Syria is a case study in how not to do foreign policy

                

The president started out with an understanding that the Syrian conflict is a messy sectarian struggle that cannot be influenced easily by American military intervention. He was disciplined in resisting calls to jump into a cauldron. But from the start he confused and undermined this policy with loose rhetoric, perhaps egged on by some of his advisors and critics to “do something”.

In truth, Obama-and many others-miscalculated. They believed that al-Assad’s regime was near the end, misreading both its strength and brutality, but also the level of support it has from several segments of Syria.

But what American national interest is being followed? The administration says it is upholding international law.

The nature of the strike, we are told, will be short and symbolic-shot across the bow. In the midst of a civil war in which both sides are in a high stakes struggle for survival, does anyone think that this will make any difference?

I don’t think that this strike, should it eventually take place, will be as damaging as its critics fear. The Assad regime will likely hunker down, take it, and move on. It will make little difference one way or the other. But the manner, in which the Obama administration has first created and then mismanaged this crisis, will alas, cast a long shadow on America’s role in the world.

Extract of an article in HT dated 04 Sept 2013  Fareed Zakaria

Comments:

Finally US has found another target in the “Oil Rich” west Asia. This time Obama has defined the time limit, sixty days extendable by another thirty days. Total of ninety days of engagement.

What has happened to the region during last 12-15 years?

IRAQ- First intervention, since Saddam Hussain pounced on Kuwait.  Let us not forget Saddam Hussain was the biggest terrorist within his own country and his immediate neighbours. Nobody could dare Saddam Hussain. Iraq was the most liberal Islamic country, belly dancing bars; women were dressed in modest western style dress. Skirts up to below the knee length. Very rich and happy go lucky people. US pounced on Iraq for more than a decade and left them in a lurch to fend for themselves. Today where is Iraq, more than 30-40 people are killed in ethnic violence and bomb attack.

Afghanistan

As a sequel to 9/11 US started bombing Afghanistan from the night of 7 Oct 2001. Nearly twelve years have lapsed. Only victory having nabbed and killed “Osama Bin Laden” in operation “Geronimo” on 2 May 2011.

Now US & NATO have decided to pull out by mid 2014. What will be the fate of Afghanistan? Country will be ruled by “Land Lords” of different classes and the country will be splintered into 3-4 class of land lords. There will be a blood bath on regular basis killing 30-40 people on a daily basis.

Libya & Egypt

Great interference by the US. They remain more destabilized than before. No effective and fruitful solution is visible in the immediate future.

I recall a book written by Arun Sourie, “WORLD OF FATWAS” where he analysis and describes how regimented is the religion. They cannot be served by democratic norms only a dictatorial regime can control them. The deepen fall out of this US policy has been to ferment fundamentalism.  Fundamentalism is on the increase and terrorist groups are growing and making the countries like India more and more threatened. So the “American Citizen” far off can remain safe . The ultimate aim of US policy. 

The Fact File

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Comment: Regional Parties and its implications

The mushrooming of regional parties has weakened the democratic structure: The emergence of Coalition politics since 90-91 has been biggest hindrance in the development process of the country. Barring the period 91-96 when Narsimha Rao (as PM) and Manmohan Singh (as FM) pulled off a miracle in introducing economic reforms, which brought the country to a level upto 2010. Indian economy became the biggest challenge to the global economy. I am not an economist but can conclude every rising economy is bound to slow down after “Twenty years”. And be rest assured it would bounce back with a gestation period of 3-5 years.

A word about regional parties. They are like “Cancer” to the Indian Parliamentary Democracy. They have no “National Agenda” or a program at the national level. They (Regional Party) woo the voters on the basis of religion, caste, subscasts and lure them with goodies. They win sufficient no seats to form a coalition Govt at the centre. These cancerous Parties (Regional Party) demand lucrative/attractive berths in the cabinet. Make money and become the balancing power. Mulayam, Mayawati, Karunanidhi, Badal’s are living and glaring examples.

Can we become wiser?

Look beyond politics

Look beyond politics                                                                            22 Aug 2013

It’s time to liberate Hinduism from politics, identity and protest, and delve instead into its plurality of doctrines, stories and delimmas.

I was born Hindu, and I am a nationalist. So you can call me a Hindu nationalist. So said Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. His social media armies call themselves “proud Hindus” and “Unapologetic hindus”. Your humble columnist has the dubious honour of coining the phrase ‘Internet Hindus’. Author Salman Rushdie has said he finds the rise of hindu intolerance in India at the moment just as worrying as the rise of Islamic intolerance.

The assertion of majoritarian Hindu identity dominates the political space. In the cultural space the celebration of festivals has become a tad too consumerist. We need to ask ourselves who exactly can call himself of herself the 21^st century Hindu? Does Hinduism today permit any complec interrogation by those born Hindu? Is simply an RSS-style assertion of ‘national identity’ taking the place of a realistic appraisal of that Hinduism means, what it should mean, in the modern era? After all, traditions are best kept alive if revitalized for newer generations. Apart from the politics, at an individual level, it seems as if we are still in search of 21^st century Hindu.

Today there are protests by Hindu outfits against western culture, against art exhibitions, against films, plays, books and authors. Given this culture of incessant protest and outrage, few of us Hindus stop to think whether the religion of our birth has been reduced to a banner of protest against Islam, against westernization, and against so-called pseudo-secularism. Why are many of those who declare they are Hindu perpetually offended?

As a journalist in Delhi, I report daily on Hindu nationalists and Hindutva politicians, But reporting from Sabarimala, Jagannath Yatra, Kumbh mela and Kalighat temple, I find that the avalanche of legends, practices, shrines, stories totally dwarf the politics played in their name.

It’s time to try and liberate Hinduism from politics, identity and perpetual protest, and delve instead into its plurality of doctrines, stories and dilemmas. There’s no reason why explorations in Hinduism should not be a serious input into modern debates on caste, environment, sexuality and gender rights. To give Hinduism new life, the modern Hindu should resist simply remaining a political Hindu.

Extract from an article HT 14 Aug 2013 Sagarika Ghose

Comment:

Communalism spreads hatred & divisiveness in the society. This leads to fundamentalism. Fundamentalism leads to aggressiveness and riotous approach. And finally we land up with terrorism and related activities.

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Wake up India?

The Fact File Music for healing

Music for healing                                                                               24 July 2013 

In front of me are 16 musicians from the Orchestra Solidarite of the Resonance Foundation in Barcelona, The Spanish branch of the foundation created by my friend and colleague Elizabeth Sombart. The audience of about 300 is made up in equal part by severely disabled adults, young and old, Many in wheelchairs, and their minders. We are in a special facility that keeps and looks after people with severe disability.

They play earnestly, disregarding the occasional yelp or loud gargling of a member in the audience. After four short pieces, all noise has ceased. The piano is wheeled to the centre. Elizabeth walks to it, bows to the audience and with the orchestra, launches into the third movement of the Chopin concerto. The minders are visibly losing their watchfulness and tension. There is a palpable calm taking over the room.

Resonnance performs more than 400 times in six countries every year-Switzerland, Romania, France, Spain, Belgium and Lebanon. All these concerts, save two dozen, are for deprived audiences, locked up in prison cells, hospices, old age homes, facilities for the mentally disabled, for the ravaged. Students who study at Resonnance centres do so on condition that they will perform at these concerts without fee and with absolute dedication. This, and musical excellence, are the two aims of the foundation. Caring for society’s less privileged and an understanding of the healing power of music are dinned into young musicians till it becomes a part of their DNA. The orchestra has no one older than 25, with most still in college.

I have the possibility of chatting with the young musicians: “Ah, yes, we perform practically every Sunday. And it’s great to see the effect the music has on various groups. After this, it would be difficult to play for only concert audiences”.

Neuroscientists are revealing more and more about the power of music and the arts. We are a country that traditionally sings to our unborn children. Yet, I cannot imagine music being used as a strategy for healing on a national scale. Not musicians giving so much time and respect to the ‘dregs of society’.

Extract of an article by Mallika Serabhai ‘The Week’ dated 14 July 2013

Comments:

Music is essence of life. Not only stimulates disabled and mentally challenged, music is an instrument of unity globally. Music shuns hatred and divisiveness. Music is a life to all living beings. It has been proved beyond doubt milking animals yield gets enhanced, if played around the fields the crops give better results, sugarcane yields are greatly affected specially the sugar content. Experiments have proved light soft and classical music played yields the best results for milking animals and crops.