To crack a whip is not that bad!

When you have an entire popular movement going on against corruption (the Anna fever), people will behave properly. Or at least they will project and show that they behave suitably. And they believe in the motives of the public voicing the concerns.

That is the way I thought. However now it turns out that even if Lokpal Bill is passed I doubt the 100% implementation. Even for the provisions under the bill, there is less clarity and more mystification. Another fast by Anna Hazare looms large. 

Recent case in point is the call made by the 'clean' (and ineffective?) CM, Prithviraj Chavan to 'all the ministers' to declare their assets.

And response was not that spectacular or great. Only fifteen ministers out of forty actually declared their assets. Ironically the ministers who ignored the CM's diktat are mostly from the Congress Party!      

The hurry and steadfast pattern of the Central Government to pass the bill is astounding. Now it emerges the winter session is to be extended. And PM himself, gave a statement that Govt. is committed to pass the Lokpal bill and ministers and bureaucrats are working day and night!        

This sudden sense of urgency is a complete contrast to the laid-back attitude of the Government back in April 2011, when it all started. Some people will argue that this 'act under pressure' is not desirable for the Parliamentary democracy.

However the crux of the issue is that it takes a seemingly unconstitutional outer force (a very old Gandhian campaigner and unprecedented public support) for government to act fairly to deliver something that will potentially change political arena forever. And Hopefully for better.

New Ministry of Sycophancy and Absurd Affairs

Unbelievable and equally absurd things do take place in India. Quite regularly. And nothing comes close to the sycophancy of the Congress guys for their Madam Sonia Gandhi and PM.

Recent episode of Shri Kapil Sibal and his extraordinary avowal and blatant wish to 'actually censor and effectively control' the content on the World Wide Web was an indication of how the tenure of this UPA is deteriorated.

I mean it is absolutely strange and silly to even imagine, a top level babu sits in Sanchar Bhavan in Dilli and sifts through the uncountable and varied content on the web! 

And a separate entity 'Department of Internet Scrutiny' is carved out to decide what content is appropriate and what is out of place. This department would invariably report to Minister for IT and Telecom!  By the way there are almost 100 million net users in India as per Internet World Stats reports and the number is continuously growing. 

And who knows I 'will not be able to opine freely on this blog' as per the Constitution if this proposal of Mr. Sibal really happens. Even if that same Constitution gives me freedom of speech! Mind it - this is one of the fundamental rights.   

What is really baffling is the fact that Mr. Sibal chose to speak about this restriction and put forth the scenario of concern about the content that can jeopardize communal harmony. However it was too obvious that he was more anxious about the content against the Madam G and PM-ji. One can understand if there are external/ internal security concerns for India as a nation.

To the best of my knowledge Kapil Sibal is a senior Supreme Court lawyer and considered as the most knowledgeable practitioners of Law in India. And how come he did not take into account the amendment to Section 66 (A) of the IT Act 2000.

It provides for a very wide offence pertaining to electronic/online defamation -- an offence punishable with three years imprisonment and fine.         

Section 67 of the IT Act makes the publishing and transmission of obscene content a criminal offence. And there are internal inspection mechanisms set up by Google, Facebook and others. If government thinks people are eligible for punishment, enact this law and file cases!

Larger and more important point is we are not living in Iran, China or any dictatorship. We are in India. We have certain duties and rights given by Constitution of India.

Why this kolaveri kolaveri di?

You haven't seen/heard this new song 'why this kolaveri kolaveri di'? It has turned out to be so much of a popular song. That too in Tamil and English words mixed. Some even claim it has transformed into youth anthem. Not only in India, but the fans are all over the world. 

Apparently the meaning of kolaveri is murderous/killer rage. Now I thought whatever is happening/ has happened last few weeks, it is incredible. 

We see intolerance increasing day-by-day. Has Amrtya Sen's 'argumentative Indian' disappeared? Or are we, the people enraged beyond limit? The issues are many and people are fed up with the problems like price rise, corruption and they are happy with politician bashing. 

Is patience such a rare commodity? People are simply not ready to listen to any excuse for the still-to-come solutions. 

The recent episode of a guy trying to literally hit Union Agriculture Minister and one of the senior-most leaders, Sharad Pawar, was an indication of anger.  And subsequent reaction of Gandhian leader and darling of masses, Anna Hazare was also equally stunning, although completely unwarranted. He tried to retract, but the damage was already done. To his credit, seasoned and well behaved politician that he is for 50 years, Mr. Pawar reacted very graciously and in balanced manner. 

The incident is not one-off. Last few years have seen many such physical attacks on leaders of different hue and ideologies. 

But I just cannot understand this craze of hitting politicians. What will that attack by using your hands or throwing footwear have an effect on the political discourse? It will not serve any purpose, apart from fifteen minutes of fame. And the TV news channels will happily oblige. 

To exercise restraint by everyone including the TV news channels is the key. I strongly feel, you have right to protest in constitutional ways, no doubt. 

However, you cannot indulge in any sort of violence. At least not in our India, not in Gandhi and Ambedkar's India. As simple as that.                 

mehngai dayain khaye jaat hai!

This is so funny. Or is it weird? Don’t know. Not an expert. But still a bit confused and perplexed. I really don’t know how the rising prices of almost everything indicate affluence and material comfort?  

  

Honorable PM Manmohan Singh says the ever-increasing prices of food items do indeed indicate prosperity! “This (inflation) is a reflection of demand exceeding supply, to some extent it is a sign of growing prosperity of the country," Singh said in a press conference on the sidelines of the G-20 meet in France. 

Food inflation rose to 12.21% for the week ended October 22. People continue battle the rise in prices of vegetables, pulses and milk. And the blow comes, from nowhere. Petrol prices were up by Rs. 1.80 last week.   

This is the 13th increase in petrol prices since the fuel was decontrolled in June last year! 

And it has a cascading effect on overall goods and services. Thankfully there is no rise in the prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas as of now. Don’t know when that will be done to further complicate living for large masses of India. 

   

This was possibly the worst timing for price rise. Major alliance partner in UPA, Trinamool Congress is fuming. It threatened to withdraw support to UPA thereby jeopardizing the stability at the Center. 

Sometimes I wonder, Congress forgets the very ‘aam adami’, they were chosen to govern for the second time in 2009. Day-to-day life of this aam adami is getting difficult. Probably our political class never understands implications of continuous rise in fuel prices. 

After all an MP’s salary is tax-free and comes with additional perquisites such as free petrol, free telephone calls and free housing. They get Rs 8/ km of travel allowance also! Most household expenses – furniture, electricity, water, laundry - are also paid for by the State. MPs can travel anywhere in the country by rail, first class, and get 34 free air tickets for themselves or a companion a year. 

To baat aisi hai!    

As a citizen we have to give all the taxes. And also face the music - saiyan toh khoob hi kamaat hai. Lekin, mehngai dayain khaye jaat hai!     

Power failure is the mother of success?

So you are fed up. And frustrated with the frequent power cuts. That too when Diwali, the festival of lights is approaching. However there is no urgent cure to the problem of power paucity.

One of my friends, in that hypothetical 'if-I-would-be-made-CM' mood had famously said that he would ensure that there is abundance of water resources, land and electricity. He argued that it is the only way to prosper as a state/nation.  

Indeed the power cuts are a sad reality. And an indication to the 'status of development' in Maharashtra and entire India. Maharashtra, India’s most developed state simply does not generate enough power. Gujarat could possibly be the only exception in case of 24*7 electricity supply.

The pace of urbanization and ever-increasing population has strained the process of overall development. Ironically there is no line-up of new power generation plants, especially in Maharashtra. And whatever are there in the pipe line, they are there from I don’t know how many years.

     

And to top it all there was a show of audacity of the government, should I say the brazenness. They blamed it on the almost everything – Orissa floods, coal supply hit by Telengana dissent, and justified that all India is suffering by power cuts!

It was only after people began protesting that the government, and the media, sat up and took notice.

This is no longer acceptable. Power is one of the foundations of modern civilization. Every power cut shows how far we are from calling ourselves a developed country. 

The government needs to set up more power plants and get private investment through proper agreements, improve transmission and distribution, and crack down on corruption.

And it needs to do it now!

We, the people in opposition to We, the farmers?

This is somewhat commonplace; you are stranded in an hour long traffic-jam. You want to reach the location of an important meeting, but there are literally hundreds of vehicles in stand-still situation.

What is not so ordinary is the reason of traffic-jam; onion farmers in a huge protest walk peacefully with placards. They are trying to draw attention to their plight. The farmers want the ban on onion export quashed.  

  

Now reactions to this situation were disorientated. I was trying to find out what was happening and why it was so. Suddenly I heard, ‘these bloody farmers! They need to go out of our way.’ Not surprisingly it was frustrated declaration from one of the ultra rich guys driving an expensive, fancy car. 

I was taken aback and started thinking. Not by the delay but by the expletive reaction of ‘supposedly rich, educated, and urbane folks’. The farmers are facing one of the worst crises continuously in general and devastating in this particular case. 

The annadata, the farmer, not working in 'five days-a-week & and great weekend' but almost all the time, is staring at nastiest situations and trying to find out solutions. Those who cannot see any positivity, commit suicide. Some are living under duress. Others opt to migrate to the cities. The slum areas are swelling.

And we just cannot wish away the reality.       

There is a peaceful protest; agreed,roads are closed for some time.And you start shouting and abusing. Is it most horrible manifestation of ‘us versus them’ or ‘India versus Bharat’ syndrome? I don’t know. 

I don’t have any shred of resolution. I am neither agricultural expert nor an extraordinary economist. 

Last year total onion produce was 145 lakh tons. This year it would be 151 lakh tons. There was delay in implementing the ban on export last year. The rates per kg were 70-80 rs. So on these accounts, last Friday Central Government decided to ban the export of onions; early in the season.   

However there are repercussions all over. The predicament is that this will not benefit the farmers. Nor the consumers. It is the nexus of traders and middlemen who gains ultimately; much to the chagrin of farmers.

Invariably the politicians, ministers need to ‘not play dirty tricks’ and genuinely look in to the matter and do something constructive, instead.  

Precaution and prevention is better than cure

Just think about this awful situation. God forbid, if your near and dear ones, especially the elders are faced with any security threat, the police may not be able help them. 

National Crime Records Bureau has published a report about the state of law and order in the states. It says in Maharashtra alone 320 senior citizens were killed in 2009-10. There were 104 ladies out of these. 

The numbers of crimes perpetrated against senior citizens are also on rise in other states of India.  

The report also observes that even if the senior citizens were to go to police department for help and to complain, they are not properly treated or paid attention to. 

Alarmingly National Crime Records Bureau, in another report has claimed that from 2006 to 2010 there were almost 21000 crime cases involving police personnel!  Beating, rapes, extortion, underworld nexus, disproportionate assets with respect to income, false encounters, and ineffective investigations – everything is there in the list.    

On one side Maharashtra is considered to be one of the most progressive states. There is good development and per capita GDP is high. And so on. 

However if the government and police department is not able to secure the lives of the senior citizens, it is despicable state of affairs. This is basic minimum duty of the government and police department. And let's not even talk about the repeated bomb blasts and terror strikes! It is a completely different and equally important topic.     

God knows when will the state government go ahead with police reforms - salary, working conditions, advanced weaponry and gadgets for the police department.Certainly there is lot of scope for improvement.    

  

On the solution side I think all of us should have a constant vigilance. The senior citizens can come together and associate to take care of themselves. Even Non-Governmental Organizations can play vital role.  

    

Mismanagement of ‘Unprecedented Public Movement’

One of my friends has an interesting observation to make. Interesting because somewhere his statement mirrors a dimension of plethora of issues staring the Congress in the face. He says ‘Sibbal & Chidambaram create problems, Pranab Mukherjee solves them and mostly Rahul Gandhi takes the credit!’

Now this time around to handle the mess resulted from mismanagement of ‘Anna Movement’, the Harvard educated lawyers’ duo of Sibbal and Chidambaram was out of the picture. Although these very two leaders ‘bungled’ in the first place.

            

Sibbal almost alienated the masses from the Congress in the way he negotiated with Team Anna after April 2011. With his ‘I-know-it-better’ attitude and arrogance, he ultimately made sure that Anna Hazare was more resolute than ever on and after 16^th August.

Chidambaram made monumental blunder of first equating Ramdev Baba with Anna Hazare and then arresting the Gandhian leader and then forced to release. He thought he will get away, claiming Delhi’s Commissioner of Police was the decision maker! That trip of Anna Hazare to and from Tihar was a catalyst to galvanize the nation in support of the peaceful protest and the fast.  

The senior-most trouble shooter, another lawyer from Calcutta, Pranab Mukherjee was entrusted to solve the logjam. Many believe he came to the rescue after intervention by Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.

Meanwhile PM-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi wasted another opportunity to rise to the situation and be true leader. Invariably he participates only when situations are not the most challenging; his interventions are mostly carefully choreographed and ceremonial.    

Apathy of Congress towards Maharashtrian Leaders notwithstanding, the Prime Minister had to rope-in another lawyer, Vilasrao Deshmukh to settle the matter with Anna, on the advice from Sharad Pawar.        

All along Congress leaders undermined the situation as a procedural issue to work on the Lokpal Bill. However it was a political issue and required fine-tuning on the negotiations.  The fall-out was much bigger to cope up.    

Political astuteness of Anna Hazare outmaneuvered the entire Congress grouping of leaders. BJP supported the movement in order to make the most of it.  

The spin masters of Congress tried to portray this movement as ‘a threat to the supremacy of the Parliament.’ It was unnecessary; Anna Hazare did not aim to weaken the ‘Parliamentary Democracy.’ 

What the movement has achieved is enormous change in the way people participate in democracy and the belief that ‘we can be part of the lawmaking and administration; our voice will be heard’. The Members of Parliament have to listen, they want to be re-elected!  

The message is loud and clear for the entire political class. ‘Listen & Perform or Perish.’                   

       

Anna Hazare, Congress and ‘Fast' Uprising

Another fast, another upsurge in the popular sentiment against corruption! Aided by almost 24*7 ‘live telecast’ on umpteen numbers of TV channels. Catalyzed by unforeseen public support to a 74-year old ex-army Gandhian activist, Kisan Baburao alias Anna Hazare.

It is all unprecedented, indeed. The kind of participation by public at large is unseen and unheard of, at -least in last two decades, if not after 75-77 JP movement.  

Congress in its true over confident way first tried to blacken the face of the movement with its amateurish first time MP and spokesperson Manish Tewari calling Anna Hazare, an epitome of corruption from head-to-toe! Some Congress members invented the eternal 'foreign hand' in this movement, hinting at support by US!

Going by the way, Congress leaders are commenting, one feels sometime soon, people will pick them all and dump them in a mental hospital. The statements made by Sibbal, Chidambaram and others backfired. All along the Government and the Congress leaders under estimated the public response.

The next blunder was to arrest Anna Hazare in the early hours and putting him in Tihar! He was awarded a judicial custody of 14 days. Apparently Anna was a threat to the society and in few hours the u-turn followed!  

However, Anna Hazare proved to be far more shrewd and intelligent. His rustic common sense and political moves outmaneuvered the entire ruling class. He not only got all his demands met, he went out of Tihar, when he wanted, to a grand welcome by thousands of people.

At the moment this is a week, since he started his fast. All the eyes are glued to TV to see what happens next.

Congress is almost clueless except for some sort of back channel talks by a senior Maharashtra Government official and Bhayuu Maharaj, Indore based spiritual Guru, who is close to all major political players in Maharashtra.

Today the situation is such that people will do what Anna Hazare says. India did not have ‘moral and popular’ leadership in last so many years. The momentum must not fizzle out. However what I feel is far more important is that Anna has a historic opportunity to seize.

He can actually tell people to observe honesty and sincerity in their day-to-day life. He can call on people not to give the bribe in the first place.  And howsoever all love to hate political methods; he can tell people to vote and elect honest people! Now this is a tall order.              

The Great Indian 'Congress' Circus

So what do you think about charms of old form of entertainment – circus? In the absence of 375 TV and dozen FM channels, movies and circus formed core of entertainment sources in good old days. 

Some people still miss that era. And some people call a 125 year old political party – a circus! Rajiv Gandhi loyalist and out of job former minister known for his foot-in-mouth proclamations, Mani Shankar Aiyar produced another gem – Congress Party is a circus and everybody has a role to play. And the 24, Akbar Road office of Congress is a dharamshala! 

Only other senior leader competing Mr. Aiyar in pronouncing absurdity , would be the chanakya or the mentor of PM-in- waiting Rahul Gandhi, and quote-a-day Mr. Digvijay Singh.  General Secretary and MP, Satyvrat Chaturvedi, reprimanded by replying that if Congress Party is a circus, then Mr. Aiyar is the joker! Party spokesperson Manish Tewari went to the extent of saying that Mr. Aiyar has a reputation of being a loose canon and such comments were uncalled for.  

Truth is we are not used to hear so candid and accurate statements about the general degradation of our political affairs. This grand declaration, however, mirrors what is happening to the grand old party. It is an all time nadir. Access to 10, Janpath is what matters the most to succeed.  

Some people think that Mr. Manmohan Singh has been one the most ineffective and non-influential prime ministers. And not necessarily, only BJP and Mr. Adwani feel this way.  There is a growing sense of disappointment about UPA II. It is embroiled in so many scams and political blunders. 

To compound woes, the infamous Tihar-jail niwasi A. Raja now insists that PM and P Chidambaram ‘knew’ about whatever happened in the 2G scam.Other leader there in the jail, Mr. Kalmadi  is 'diagnosed' with 'dementia'! 

It would be a huge task to restore faith and feel-good factor about the party. Moreover, Congress should thank their stars that the Opposition is utterly in disarray!              

Bomb this political thoughtlessness!

Another day, another series of bomb blasts in Mumbai - "India's Financial Capital." Same modus operandi. And same bloody blame game. 

Still 'new and unsettled' Chief Minister, Prithviraj Chavan in desperation, almost defended lack of action and lack of intelligence. He talked about his inability to do anything substantial because Ministry of Home Affairs is with coalition partner – NCP! Ultimately CM is, as the name indicates, Chief Minister, head of government. He signs the last on the files.

One never gets ‘ideal conditions’ to administer and govern. One has to rise above predicaments and deliver instead of giving excuses.  

The political class, in general, indulged in dirty politics over what? 18 dead and 180 injured people and pathetic security condition for ‘aam aadmi.’ Most vulgar sideshow was when the entire set of important politicians including PM visited the ailing sufferers in the hospitals much to chagrin of the relatives, who were whisked away by the security personnel. 

What are you supposed to do is lead from the front, coordinate between security agencies. Expedite the search operations for the culprits. That is the least you can do when you are in power. What ‘future prime minister’ Rahul Gandhi chose instead is to make a grand statement – 99% of times bomb blasts have been averted, 1% would happen! 

How does he know? How did he conclude on the numbers? Certainly the timing was bad. It sounds almost as if ‘we are helpless.’   

Even CM was not allowed to visit injured people at one of the hospitals. What does this indicate? Obviously it points to the fact that general public is fed up and wants concrete action on the ground. And very soon. 

Meanwhile as general public, let's be more cautious and vigilant. All the time. 

Baba, Anna, Congress, corruption and black money

As per the preamble to the Constitution, India is a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic. Gradually it is turning into Republic of fasts! 

First it was Gandhian Anna Hajare and his team. They were promised that a committee would work on joint draft of Lokpal Bill. Eventually Government and Team Anna Hajare had meetings. Now it appears that even this would meet a dead end. Senior minister Kapil Sibal targeted Anna Hajare and his supporters for skipping the latest meeting. Team Anna Hajare says recent events since the last meeting don't inspire any confidence that the government is serious enough.

‘The recent event’ involves a Yoga guru and his political aasan!  Baba Ramdev, with all his political ambitions launched a fast at Ramleela Maidan, New Delhi. He claimed he wants Government to bring all the black money back to India.  

The interesting prelude to the events leading to the fast included a grand welcome of Baba Ramdev by four senior cabinet ministers along with Cabinet Secretary and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. Congress Party was trying to utilize the opportunity to play ‘divide and rule’ and abate the Anna Hajare-led movement. 

However what followed was a nightmare, literally. It will haunt both the Central Govt. and Congress Party for many years. The hunger strike was on and almost 65000 people came to support. At odd hours of late night 5000 police men and CRPF guys marched the venue. 

There was a complete mayhem. The eviction of Baba accompanied the use of teargas and lathicharge. It resulted in 70 people getting seriously injured and subsequently hospitalized.  

Baba was evicted and flown to his ashram at Haridwar. He would continue his fast. But the helpless and unarmed people who were sleeping after peaceful protest were harmed. 

And here comes the shocker, the Prime Minister said yesterday, "It is unfortunate that operation had to be conducted but quite honestly, there was no alternative."  Just don’t know how to react.

The senior leaders of Congress Party now say Baba is a thug. 

The Congress President and PM were privy to all the proceedings and decision making. Certainly the situation could have been handled properly.  

BJP and others are ready to exploit the situation to their advantage. More importantly the fight against corruption should not be converted in to eternal political battle between Congress and BJP.  

  

 

Special people, special treatment

Very Common instance. You are out of your home and want to reach office in time. Usual rush and traffic. And you get to know roads are closed! Reason: President is visiting Pune city. For some obscure function. So? 

So there are protocol and usual safety measures. And the common people and their travails and inconvenience - taken for granted - simple. It is your need to commute to the workplace. You have to literally find the way out to your destination. 

The President of India if and when, wants or has to go to any place for work, inauguration, meetings or just like that, is accompanied by 75 vehicles.  

The President of India uses a Mercedes Benz 500 SEL (W126) and with the national emblem on the license plate, while the Prime Minister uses a B5-level 2007 armored BMW 7 Series. Both are escorted by the SPG in Tata Safari and Mahindra jeeps.There are doctors comprising the medical team for unforeseen emergencies.For the CMs, Cabinet Ministers and others the convoy is still big with some variations in the number of vehicles and Medical teams.

I feel people have forgotten. The Bombay High Court in Feb. 2011 had questioned as to why VIPs, right from President to the Ministers of State and Mayors, use roads during rush hour causing undue hardship and inconvenience to the general public. 

And President's office had specified that after the court remarks several measures will be taken to avoid embarrassment as much as possible. Henceforth President’s convoy size would be scaled down by replacing few cars with mini-buses. 

However main reason remains to be the threat perception to the lives of VIPs. The High Court also had observed that there are SPG and commando for protection. 

More relevant point is The High Court commented that the Traffic Department can arrange all the flow of traffic and roads in such a way that there is less hardship for the general public.

It is different matter that there is no significant change. Disgusting fact of the matter is that we live in a country where there are few VIPs and VVIPs who gloat about their security. It is sort of status symbol for them that they are different than common people and they would show off.  

Bye the way, the budgetary allocation in 2011 for the elite (SPG) Special Protect Group, which guards the Prime Minister and certain other VIPs, is Rs 279 crore.  And the budgetary allocations at the state levels are on the same lines. Certainly there is some expenditure on vehicles, fuel and their maintenance.

It is not that these should be changed drastically. However there has to be a judicious balance.

Successful first step, long way to go

Last few days were exceptionally different. Very rarely have something unique happened in India with huge support from people. I think this would qualify as an unprecedented event, when there would be a committee of elected politicians and people from civil society drafting a crucial law. The Lokapal Bill gives a much needed push to the fight against corruption.

Small section of India, Lutyens' Delhi and some people in south Mumbai for example, are very cynical and envious. They just cannot fathom how a man without any articulation and high English accent or any flashy upmarket lifestyle could go ahead and catch imagination of almost whole nation, which is deprived of and looking for any true leader. 

Fact of the matter is that a 73-yr-old ex-army Gandhian, Anna Hajare, has got extraordinary support from all the Indians, irrespective of cast, language, region, state, religion.    

The united nation got someone to follow on a very precious topic – fight against corruption. Not to forget the media, especially the electronic one, rallied and gave coverage of all the details of the fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar.

Although Anna Hajare had been working on various issues in Maharashtra for last 22 years, it is now in New Delhi that he has a projected image on the national level.  Some even compared him to the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and JP. Fortunately he is very clear in his head, he is not the ultimate savior of people. He is just another activist resorting to non-violent measure to protest.

Some tried to thwart this joint exercise of people at large and Anna Hajare, saying the institutions, the executive, and the judiciary is in grave danger. Actually even the Central Government ignored and under-estimated the fast. They tried to play it down, until realisation came in form of astonishing outpouring of public support.     

Lokpal bills were introduced in Parliament in1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005, and in 2008, yet they were never passed. It is such a case, almost every MLA, MP, or Minister will detest, simply because honest representative of people is an extremely rare species! 

The Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's ombudsman Bill) is a draft of anti-corruption bill that would pave the way for a Jan Lokpal, an independent body like the Election Commission, CVC, and CAG which would have the power to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.  

All said and done, this is certainly no time to be complacent and to gloat.   

I feel this is just the beginning,a first step of a long, long journey. And lest we forget, unity of people is indispensable.  

Khel khel mein!

There are three things indispensable in Indian society, per se. Cricket, Politics and Cinema. People just can’t resist talking about these and having their own 'expert' opinions. 

Out of these, Cricket in India is special, it is not just any other type of sport; it is indeed a religion. That we Indians love and worship our cricket players is an understatement! And when you win world cup, it is extraordinary moment.

What does this win really signify? It is not just a euphoric moment worth the celebrations. It also brings about the fact that we have someone, a group of people, who are world champions. The real icons are very few and far between. Simply because we have more number of Kalmadis, Rajas and other dishonest and shameless public figures and icons than Sachin, Anna Hajare, APJ Abdul Kalam, Saina Nehwal and Dhoni. 

Last few months witnessed a decrease in collective self confidence of people. There was deficit of trust, a sort of self doubt was evident.

You need someone to look up to, someone as an idol and larger-than-life entity. And people almost literally worship sports icons and film-stars such as Rajanikant and Bachchan Sr.   

In an environment filled with negativity, lack of transparency, corruption, day-to-day issues like inflation, pollution and not to forget/ forgive the scams, it is rare sight to see entire nation erupting in genuine joy. Last time we lifted the world cup was in a distant 1983, 28 years ago! It was made such a prestige issue, as if we did not win, Sachin would forever be termed as lesser player. 

The people were joined by Hindi film-stars in what could certainly be called as the extended festivities. The revelry continues.     

    

Girls are source of happy life!

Numbers don’t lie. They have their own stories to tell. And it is fascinating to listen.

For example, now you have 1.5 Indians in every group of six people in this world. Consider this - India's population at 1210193422 is equal to total number of people from USA, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia!

It is widely believed that God took more time to create girls and boys were the job done in hurry! Girls are more intelligent and powerful than boys. Eventually, they give birth to new life.

However if you go into the details of 2011 census data, the warning signs emerge. Now we have the lowest number of girls per 1000 boys since independence. In 2001 census we had 927 girls per 1000 boys. It is reduced to 914 in 2011. When we had very low literacy rate in 1961 the girls were 976/1000 boys. Ironically now that we have 74% literacy rate, people 'opt for' and 'want' boys only. Instances of aborting a girl child are far too many to ignore or not act against.

As far as Maharashtra is concerned, the picture is not at all rosy. We have 883 girls per 1000 boys. Punjab has 886. And this when these states are progressive, developed and have one of the highest per capita incomes.

Kerala has a healthy figure of 959/1000 boys. Traditionally seen as backward states, Chhatisgarh, Mizoram, and Meghalaya are better off with 964, 971, and 970 respectively!      

There are dangerous social ramifications if the balance of male and female is tampered. Every effort is to be made to maintain the equilibrium. Equal treatment to girls and strict implementation of punishment upon checking sex of the child before birth are some of the corrective measures.

Food for thought!

So what do you do, when you pass out from an IIM?  Companies are chasing you to join them in the management section? Offers are too many. The remuneration packages are obscene.

332 other students at IIM Bangalore chose safe and lucrative path to corporate glory. Certain Mr. Ashutosh Sawant opted to start a venture along with farmers in his hometown Kadegoan in Karad, Maharashtra.

Of late it has almost become a trend to be indifferent and thoughtless about anything that has to do with rural folks, farmers or rural India (real Bharat) itself.  What Mr. Sawant has done is radically different and very rare. It is a welcome relief, nonetheless. At least some one is doing something to upgrade the farmers in his vicinity.

It takes lots of guts to say no to cushy and high-paying jobs.

We have robust production of fruits and vegetables. But the amount of waste is outrageously high. Technical know-how like drip irrigation and correct use of chemicals are two areas with huge scope for improvement.

Mr. Sawant would work with farmers, process and export frozen fruits like alphonso mangoes, frozen strawberry, pomegranate arils, frozen vegetables and cauliflower florets.

This should make farmers rich, happy and satisfied, at least in his village.     

What could be the motive? I think some reality check would help.

India produces 80% of world's pomegranates. Shockingly we process and export just 2%.  What’s more? The total value addition and processing of fruits and vegetables in India is around 4%. Global standard of processing is 45%-50% of the total production. We lag behind.

Sure, this would change over the years.

Time to act for Congress, for Maharashtra

More things change, more and more they remain the same. This is especially true in case of political situation in India.

Maharashtra has seen more number CMs than the number of 5-year tenures of Vidhansabha. Certain Mr. Ashok Chavan was replaced by Prithviraj Chavan, the foreign-educated, Rajyasabha MP. Apparently he is known for clean image and good administration capabilities.

As a confidante of both 10, Janpath and country’s bureaucrat PM Manmohan Singh, he had handled key ministries.  However the relatively hassle free policy decision making of Delhi is no match for rough and tough politics in Mumbai.

How do you judge 100 day performance of a CM overwhelmed by the coalition partner? At best NCP takes credit for different plans. At worst Congress is staring in the face of depths of despair. This could be the ultimate all-time low point.

The Congress is so listless; there is not even semblance of real good governance in the state. Forget the implementation of various schemes and general peaceful law and order condition.

An IAS officer is burnt alive; a mafia like sand trader threatens a journalist of similar consequences. The environmental conditions deteriorate in cities. The builder- bureaucrat- politician- criminal nexus is operating at its peak.

The imbalance and deficit of growth in all the regions of the state has its shares of problems. Demand of a separate state, in case of Vidarbh, is one of the manifestations of the social unrest.

There are lots of expectations from Prithviraj Chavan. How he delivers is extremely important. For the Congress Party. More significantly for Maharashtra. The clock is ticking.

Let’s not forget. This is 50^th year of formation of Maharashtra. And the state should bounce back and continue its march towards all-inclusive development along with measures of the nature conservation.                      

Turning adversity into opportunity

There is some good news. For a change! That too in such a critical part of life - Education.

Education will find its way to our homes through the internet.

Our country is on the verge of educational revolution. And technology would help it; internet, fibre optics, bandwidth are the keywords. There is ambitious plan of connecting all the 700 Universities and almost 26000 colleges in next two years. HRD ministry is working on the modalities and implementation details.

Now the stark reality - gross enrolment ratio of India is 12.4. It is very poor in comparison to 80 of more developed nations.   

Moreover who enrol do not essentially complete. On national scale 47% students opt out after the 7th Class. Approximately 20 crore Indian youth don't go to college! For Maharashtra the drop out rate is 30%.  

Government has taken a concrete step and done nice thing to pass Right to Education. Then there is Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). The focus is to expand and improve the standards of secondary education — classes VIII to X.  

The government has set up a Rs 700 crore National Innovation Fund (NIF) to encourage ideas to improve enrolment levels and the quality of secondary education in government-run and government-aided schools.

The basic aim is to increase access, equity, quality and improve management at the high school level.  

I am one of those who feel that education is very important to lead decent life, apart from basic necessities - Roti, Kapda aur Makaan.

Let's hope everything works out well to convert hardship in to growth prospect.

Current degraded affairs

It is said that in this day and age of 21st century, change is the only constant. So almost everything modifies. For good or bad. 

There are few things that remain constant, with respect to our great nation. The corruption charges against people from Congress are always there. Even if this is 2011, the ghost of Bofors still haunts the grand old party. The 2G saga continues relentlessly.

The opposition is adamant on a JPC. There are internal frictions within BJP. Murali Manohar Joshi, old and almost retired, found a lifeline as the PAC chief. And Mr. Manmohan Singh delivered a masterstroke - ready to appear before the PAC. It took Sushma Swaraj & Co. to intervene vehemently.     

The confession by Assemanand has hit the BJP-RSS parivar hard. It would be difficult for the right wing party to keep distance from the likes of Indresh Kumar and Assemanand. Ironically Mr. Digvijay Singh seems to be vindicated.

It would do well for our country, if CBI and NIA investigate all the bomb-blast cases and come out clean with unbiased results. Let there be no colour of terror. Punish and prosecute every extremist. 

In all this political turmoil, the otherwise problematic conditions for common public are ever increasing. The food inflation has its worse effects. Onions can really induce tears. But surprisingly there is no debate, action or anything on this front. Neither by the opposition nor by government.

It will be the nastiest thing to happen to our society, if majority of our public cannot afford 'food'!

We as citizen should not become unconcerned. We can keep raising the issues on individual and collective levels.