tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79537411832580895792024-03-06T01:15:19.357-08:00On Second Thought...A blog that aims to trigger thought about topics of current relevance by offering alternative points of view.The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-24091550404163942522014-03-26T05:55:00.000-07:002014-03-26T20:33:17.446-07:00AAP and Doom -- A Rejoinder to TVR ShenoyThat he is a respected senior journalist and an astute political observer and commentator was what over the past years drew his readers to the many articles of TVR Shenoy. Without exception, his pieces were peppered with sound arguments qualified by keen observation and a unique understanding of the complex 'mathematics' behind the issues.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
So it was with much expectations that I, surely alongwith many like-minded all over the country, dipped into his recent pronunciations on Mr Kejriwal and the AAP. ( <a href="http://www.rediff.com/news/column/ls-election-column-tvr-shenoy-keriwal-is-walking-the-path-to-destruction/20140319.htm">http://www.rediff.com/news/column/ls-election-column-tvr-shenoy-keriwal-is-walking-the-path-to-destruction/20140319.htm</a> ) The quote from the Bhagavad Gita at the beginning prepared the reader for a balanced judgement upon the erring (according to TVRS) AAP boss. But unfortunately, despite a typical assemblage of supporting facts, the rather shoddily and hurriedly constructed argument soon came to a facetious conclusion -- that Mr Kejriwal should better have second thoughts before "..ranting and raving against the very media that propelled him to fame" and success in December, 2013. And the author is sure that the end of it all is going to be a replay of the grand Kurukshetra spectacle.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfV3yZaZQVnrluc3ky2Y4x-0PHD1lhfhccCpojWpzlD1_GN19VvmsjshZEZ8dnKdNsEO9aKT7ZHVWzvCcVcjwv3l345t50Q247UMEx44WG2COtcCssEWyeGHaSI-JJbiBNd6s4NfKj27MH/s1600/journalism2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfV3yZaZQVnrluc3ky2Y4x-0PHD1lhfhccCpojWpzlD1_GN19VvmsjshZEZ8dnKdNsEO9aKT7ZHVWzvCcVcjwv3l345t50Q247UMEx44WG2COtcCssEWyeGHaSI-JJbiBNd6s4NfKj27MH/s1600/journalism2.jpg" height="306" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(pic courtesy --web)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Kurukshetra was the scene of the mother of all 'Black-against-White' battles of history and lore. And most of us would know that the Bhagavad Gita is the wisdom of life's philosophy as preached by Lord Krishna with which he persuaded Arjuna to shed his queasiness and gird up for the battle. So far so good. But was that not about the quintessential defeat of evil, and the triumph of good? Ah, yes, now we get it. In spite of being projected as "Mr Good" by the condescending media, and pushed onto a gilded seat in December last, Mr Kejriwal, the thankless villain, is now showing his true colours as the personification of evil.<br />
<br />
Now, let us see, who are the "forces of White", the good souls who have arrayed themselves against this 21st century Darth Vader? The pristine white of Khadi on the one side is matched by the saffron of the massed patriots, and even joined by the crimson of the socialists, the green of the minorities -- all strung like beads on a strong nylon/mylar Corporate thread, courtesy of a few top business houses of the country. What more do you need to assure victory? Once that classic victory is at hand, the media are ready to trumpet it to the far corners of the world! So, blow the conch, and let the battle begin...<br />
<br />
This is verily laughable.<br />
<br />
I have no qualifications to preach in a Lordly manner to TVRS about the media being the stout Fourth pillar of a civilized society and all the related stuff. But the fact being such like, it is prudent to examine what the media was doing in the past decade or more when the Nation was going through a slow and steady slide down a slope in all spheres, and God forbid, it appeared to do that according to a well-scripted scenario. It would not be far from the truth that, apart from occasional barks of some of the 'watch dogs', the "cushy" quietude of the media scene was seldom disturbed through these long years of nepotism and undisguised graft.<br />
<br />
The media, as is taught in better media institutions, has many roles to play. The first and foremost is to report to the "aam aadmi" (the "aurats" too are included, automatically!) what all is happening in the country and how it will affect his life and fortunes. Another of the tasks is to 'educate' him about issues about which he may have little knowledge or time to brush up on. The "watch dog / whistle-blower" role too is an important one, given the nature of politicians to choose greed and graft as their bedfellows. The operative question here is how well did the Indian media --and its respected stalwarts-- play these roles in the troubled decade in which the "aam aadmi" could do with a hefty dose of "being wised up" and hand-held. Apart from the national headlines of this scam or that, which kept surfacing with alarming regularity (and which soon died a natural death in the amnesic public mind), what concerted analysis and moral onslaught did the keepers of the media's conscience mount on this erosion of honesty and integrity? Pretty little. The visual media, even sunk to the nadir of media responsibility when it wore kidgloves to interview a mumbling head of the nation in the post-scam days.<br />
<br />
Now the veteran journalist TVRS speaks of the media that had "propelled (Mr Kejriwal) to fame". Had he himself portrayed Mr Kejriwal as perhaps a righteous answer to the rot in the polity? Had the media undertaken any such campaign to project his anger and frustration at the colossal graft that had engulfed the society? All I could say is, I don't know of any such media blitz. It doen't need a PhD in media studies to know who owns and runs most of the media that matters. Indians are second to none when it comes to perfecting the fine art of "media gate-keeping", all the while shouting themselves hoarse about their openness and impartiality. When a frustrated and angry Kejriwal "ranted and raved" against the corporatized media, the journalistic pundits in the North all exhibited a knee-jerk reaction. It was left to the more honest and media-savvy practitioners of the art from the South to issue a sound and studied response to Mr Kejriwal's protestations.( <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/why-overreact-to-kejriwals-criticism-ask-journalists/article5789153.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/why-overreact-to-kejriwals-criticism-ask-journalists/article5789153.ece</a> ) All I wish to do now is to plead with Mr TVRS to spend some time in honest self-examination.<br />
<br />
Even today, the Indian media remains by and large "filtered", and whatever unfiltered news that gets around is mostly via the social media -- which again is victim to the draconian powers of the rulers. This is particularly so when the news makers happen to be "persona non grata" so far as the ruling class, the opposition, the other "stake holders" and the media barons are concerned. How could this fact be "white-washed" and hidden anymore?<br />
<br />
Coming to more "serious things", TVRS says "...whether it is foreign policy or defence strategy, sharing river waters or nuclear energy, the AAP refuses to have a coherent policy on anything..." So unfortunate. Yes, these are all big things, more serious issues, and perhaps life-and-death matters for the country as a whole. C'mon, what are the pronouncements of the major parties on these issues? What do they say about such issues in their election manifestos? (Not that manifestos are sacrosanct documents to be followed in letter and spirit post-elections!) Not much, except make vague noises about vague things.<br />
<br />
TVRS continues to analyse the many shortcomings of AAP: "... (it) has no policy framework, no declared ideology to give it a structure.... no record of governance.." I know the author is old enough to answer the same set of questions factually if he were to ask those about Nehru and his cohorts when they took over the reins of government from a seasoned Mountbatten. Still India did not sink into the oceans, and thanks to the Five-year Plans and such like, even progressed to a degree of self-sufficiency in many areas. But thankfully in those days "development" meant other things, and not a squeezing of the common man and siphoning of the Treasury into ever deeper pockets.<br />
<br />
Let us go back for once to the pre-election days of UPA-1. Did they release a 'road map' of what all they were going to do as regards the above key areas once they came to power? Did they once let the people know that once they came to power they would let FDI flow in unhindered and would sign various nuclear agreements and such like, with no indemnity clauses offering protection to the Indian citizenry?? Did the UPA-2 (or their "standard" adversaries) even mention that it was their plan to slowly and steadily erase the 'losses' of the petroleum companies by giving them autonomy to decide prices? Did they telll us they will permit companies to bring in genetically modified seeds and foods? Did they tell us they would give corporates heavy subsidies so that they would look after the "aam aadmi" with love and affection? Did they tell us about the Andhra bifurcation??? A thousand questions beg for answers. Election manifestos are good for providing laughs -- in the post-election scenario for the victors once they go over their clever skulduggery.<br />
<br />
Sir, who are we trying to kid? People now have a "united front" against them-- a united front of the ruling class, the opposition and the corporates. They were helpless. But when a slim opportunity presented itself, the worm turned and that is what you saw at the Ram Leela Maidan. In the chaos of the moment, something emerged, and Mr Kejriwal, as I see it, realized that in order to change the system, one has to be part of it. There is no argument that in a short few weeks, it is not possible to organize a well-oiled party machinery as the "standard parties" had done over the past many decades. There is likelihood of many imperfections coming to the fore in the functioning of the AAP and its cadre. As everybody knows, an absolutely 'democratic' crowd simply deteriorates into a mob, with expected results. God forbid...<br />
<br />
But in the dark polity of present day India, Mr Kejriwal offers a glimmer of hope for the voiceless multitude, whose voices have been suppressed and manipulated. For once, after 1947, the crass confidence of the major parties have been shaken somewhat and there is trepidation in the air. What if ...??? Mr Kejriwal is a symbol that represents that million-rupee question for the average, honest, good at heart, law-abiding, tax-paying "aam aadmi" of this great nation Don't blame him if we wants to try a new button or two in the EVMs this time round. Remember though, Destiny has very funny ways of getting even with very clever people...<br />
<br />
On second thought, it appears that we must once again head back to the Bhagavad Gita:<br />
<br />
<i>"Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana,</i><br />
<i>Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani "</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>["You have the right to perform your actions, but you are not entitled to the fruits of the actions.</i><br />
<i>Do not let the fruit be the purpose of your actions, and therefore you won’t be attached to not doing your duty."]</i><br />
<br />
In his infinite wisdom, the Lord is sure to have intended these timeless words as a reminder to the "aam aadmi" too, particularly before the cruel month of April!<br />
<br />
* * * * * * * * * * * *<br />
<br />The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-89991544551068318382014-03-19T22:28:00.000-07:002014-03-19T22:28:24.433-07:00AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CECBefore the Hon. Chief Election Commissioner:<br />
<br />
Sir,<br />
<br />
We, the people of India (aren't we thrilled when we pronounce that phrase our Founding Fathers have put down in the Constitution!) beg to present the following before you.<br />
<br />
We are indeed thankful to you for providing us with that long-hoped for button in the EVMs -- the NOTA button. For once, we have a means to express our disapproval of, our displeasure with, and our dismissal of some of those who would not leave us alone until we let them represent us in the Houses of the People. And that too for five lone years, given the history of close co-operation between the Treasury side and the Opposition, something that is only rarely seen when it comes to debating and passing some legislation that might even remotely benefit those poor souls who had sent these worthies to their posts initially and who continue to cough up the taxes that maintain them in style. (No, we are not forgetting the "other incomes" they have, but that is something that we don't discuss openly in Arsha Bharat.)<br />
<br />
As any "aam aadmi" could learn if they care to visit the Election Commission's website, it is the Constitution of India that has vested in the EC the powers of "... superintendence, direction and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to Parliament and Legislature of every State and to the offices of President and Vice-President of India". If you dig further, you will be tickled to see "...elections to the Lok Sabha are carried out using a first-past-the-post electoral system ... the winner being the candidate who gets the maximum votes ". Oh my, it is as simple as a race, with the first to touch the tape declared the winner. How simple and time-tested and time-honoured!<br />
<br />
Ours is a democracy, perhaps the largest in the world, touch wood. When we were in school and we had a 'mock Assembly", and when we voted, we remember it was just one vote that swung the balance one way or the other. That is democracy's way of saying that if we have hundred people, what 51 says is right, though we may not want to immediately condemn the unlucky 49 to summary hell. Today's polity, as the Hon. CEC too is aware of, is littered with parties large and small, angling for a piece of the post-election pie. Little do they attempt to forge alliances before they face the people and the elections. (Who doesn't know the best ploy is to sit on the fence and join the winning side at the last moment?)<br />
<br />
Another vexation for the humble citizen voter has been the proliferation of people who styled themselves as "people's reps", but whose past was mired in criminality and anti-social activities. This sometimes meant all the buttons of the EVM were assigned to candidates who were basically a bunch of bad apples, oranges or mangoes. In the good old days, the "aam aadmi" could gleefully put his stamp upon all the names, and the vote will be declared invalid and not counted. But today's voter, thanks to your largesse, could now register his displeasure and disapproval of those self-styled servants of the public.<br />
<br />
The NOTA (none of the above) button, we feel, has as much importance as the others that represent each candidate. Had it been representing somebody "other than the above list of you know who", surely when the polled votes was "first past the post", s/he would be declared the winner. But the democratic wisdom of the EC has unfortunately chosen to ignore in toto "the will of the people" that is represented by the NOTA button.<br />
<br />
This, sir, is most unfortunate and undemocratic, if not completely unsportive.<br />
<br />
No amount of tautological acrobatics is going to prove that "none of the above" means "one of the unwanted above". No, and NO! How could anybody come to such an interpretation? In simple terms, the voter is saying that he does not see anybody whom he could trust as far as representing him is concerned. It is not a question of the "lesser devil" winning.<br />
<br />
This is not the time nor occasion to bring up questions of real, proportional, democratic representation and all that. Let us just say that if the EC is willing to ponder for a moment what was the spirit of democratic elections envisaged by our Founding Fathers, then surely the EC would readily declare a re-election with a list of new candidates -- if/when the NOTA button's tally crossed the post first.<br />
<br />
It is usually the politicians who are fond of giving peple little sops when the public gripes. You raise a hue and cry for a Lok Pal, and they readily give you one -- sans tooth and nail! You raise a clamour for a NOTA button, and there it is on the EVM in the very next election. But to what avail? Sir, we understand, your exalted post is no political seat, and your duty has been sanctioned by the Constitution itself. It is our humble prayer that you should at the earliest link the NOTA button to a more meaningful and truly democratic implementation of the will of the people, in letter and spirit.<br />
<br />
While on the subject of the spirit of democracy in elections, may we invite your attention to, and learned action as regards the interpretation, of a couple more factors. The first is that of the present practice of a person contesting from more than one constituency. This, simple reflection would tell us, is not in the spirit of the representation of the will of the people of a locality, and further, it is wasteful of the resources of the EC too. This has to be done away with, sooner than later.<br />
<br />
The second, and perhaps a more important point upon which your immediate attention should be focussed, is the somewhat vexing problem of unelected people occupying responsible positions of power. Surely we understand that amending the Representation of the People Act requires more than your indulgence. Still, the Nation's larger interests will be served if we specify that no post in this country, from that of the Panchayat President to that of the Prime Minister, shall be occupied by a person who has not faced the litmus test of being elected by the people in a democratic contest.<br />
<br />
It is with prayers for consideration of our pleas and fervent hopes of an impartial and just intervention in these matters, that we present the above before your honourable self.<br />
<br />
Most sincerely yours, Sir,<br />
<br />
-- Aam Aadmis of this great Nation<br />
<br />
* * * * * * * * * * * *<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-72124023458602347902014-03-17T22:33:00.000-07:002014-03-17T22:48:48.863-07:00THE NEED TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELDIdioms, in any language, are wonderful ways to convey deeper and subtler shades of meaning. They offer us the distillate of the wisdom of ages packed into an innocent short phrase. It is no different when you think of the phrase "a level playing field". From 'play' it goes deeper into more serious territory.<br />
<br />
Well, let us just say that levelling the playing field is not about driving in a bulldozer and levelling the whole place ruler flat. It is more about the need to offer fairness to all the participants. And fairness is a powerful operative word in a democracy, and that too in the "world's largest democracy". Over the past half century and more, we have succeeded in hypnotizing ourselves into believing in that proud phrase by the Goebbelsian trick of repeating that ad nauseum. (Everybody knows it contains as much truth as the tourism operator's infamous motto 'God's own country'. And the one thing <i>that</i> phrase has achieved is to invite the ire of the Almighty for dragging Him into all the skulduggery that is going on in this land of ours--which hasn't helped matters either.)<br />
<br />
In the run-up to the elections, the playing field cannot be anything other than the political one, where, like the Olympics or Asian Games, great entertainment for the masses is staged once in five years. (Rome had its gladiators and the circus, we recall from our civics lessons, to keep the masses 'entertained' and free from thoughts that would eventually lead to unpleasant questions--unpleasant to the rulers, that is!) Every nation prides itself on the wisdom of its Founding Fathers who shaped the Nation and finalized its Constitution, the operator's manual for running the complex machinery of governance. India, I guess, has perhaps a Constitution that qualifies to get into the Guinnes Book. (The Brits were wiser, and left most of the things unwritten, so that things could be interpreted a lot more flexibly.)<br />
<br />
However, upon second thoughts, it appears that our great fathers of the Constitution had committed a truly undemocratic gaffe in not insisting on the playing field being level first before the crucial "election games" were played out. For once, ignoring the fence-sitters and the fence-jumpers, let us concentrate on the two main opponents. On the one side is the guys who have all the money, the Treasury benchers, and on the other, the chaps who must rake up a ruckus always, the Opposition. Seriously, is there any fairness when they go to the polls as far as the Constitution sanctions the rules of play?<br />
<br />
Elections are declared by the EC, but that does not automatically ask the ruling side to step down and go home and face the elections as "aam aadmis". Ditto is the case with the Opposition members -- though, admittedly, their clout is less than the ruling honchos. The tamasha of the government goes on as the manoeuvrings begin, and it is quite plain that the machinery of government and the tax payers' money is freely used by those who continue to be in power to favour themselves in the election 'match'. Where is the fairness in this?<br />
<br />
India over the last six decades has had a procession of democratically minded greats walking into the hallowed halls of the Parliament and it is a shame that none had thought of bringing in the truly democratic move to dissolve the government fully before declaring elections. We have the President and his team of Governors to oversee the governance of this huge country in the interim, have we not? Who is afraid that tsunami waves will inundate this land once all the players are banished for a month or two while the poll machinery kicks into life? The truth must be that the ruling class (and the hopefuls!) found the present "loaded dice" situation quite "convenient", and so let it be.<br />
<br />
Today the voting "aam aadmis" are increasingly becoming aware of the need to have a NOTA button on the voting machines, and more importantly, of the need to link that to bring in the notion of democracy with its 51% to be called the majority and recognized as such. Then there is that mirage to be chased -- the right to recall our "beloved representatives" once they, post-election, like Frankenstein's monster, assume a whole new identity marked by a grand manner of omnipotence and utter unaccountability. For five long years they ride roughshod over the poor voters who had lifted them onto the 'gaddi'. (Well, we have none other than ourselves to blame for that, though, as only the most complete nincompoop will fall for the same old promises and sweet talk.)<br />
<br />
But, on second thought, it appears to me that the task of urgently doing something to level the playing field takes precedence over all the above reforms. We don't exactly have a clutch of angels in power, and surely abuse of power and misuse of positions of power will always be part of electioneering. Not only that, so long as the culture of "kow-towing" to the powerful are embedded in the minds of the 'babus' and the police force, and to an extent in the mindset and attitudes of at least some of the election officials too, the practice of a ministry continuing in power while the election process is on, will not ensure a healthy and democratic reflection of the "will of the people".<br />
<br />
It is time we ordered in the bulldozers to begin the task -- pronto!<br />
<br />
* * * * * * * * * * * *<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-67029910059857821892011-06-09T03:16:00.000-07:002011-07-02T11:05:27.992-07:00'CHATHURVARNYA' -- A WHOLE NEW FUTUREIt is amazing how that tenuous something called culture is very tenacious when it comes to not letting go of you ... despite your earnest attempts at jettisoning it like you would an impoverished relative. Culture and its ramifications are indeed a deep-rooted thing and you just cannot shoo it away on a whim, though you might dislike it much in the interests of an egalitarian society.<br />
<br />
These thoughts occurred to me as I was recently watching from the sidelines the brouhaha over the 'satyagraha' of the swamy in saffron, it's quick dispersal by a diktat of (in all likelihood) the home ministry and the ensuing battle royal of words.<br />
<br />
But before that a word about our cultural baggage called 'Chathurvarnya', which literally means four 'colours' / classes. ( <a href="http://www.hindubooks.org/sudheer_birodkar/hindu_history/castevedic.html">http://www.hindubooks.org/sudheer_birodkar/hindu_history/castevedic.html</a> )It is common knowledge at least to the yesteryear generations that society in India was divided for convenience (whose, is a moot question) into four classes--the priestly, the ruling, the trading and the labour groups. This, on the whole, was a very convenient arrangement. The priests, naturally, took care of all the poojas, homas etc and did their best to propitiate the Gods with yajnas and other offerings, and it was not a tough task to propitiate the priests if you had the requiste gold coins and other presents ready. The warrior class kept themselves in training and on the strength of their sharp tools of the trade, kept everybody in line and levied taxes, reigned, and lived and loved happily ever after --until perhaps their son/s took it into their heads to 'retire' the father. The traders were not much different from their counterparts of the present times, and as lobbying sirens like Ms Radia were not invented then, resorted to the more mundane ways of rigged weights and measures and some plain adulteration to chalk up sizeable profits, married into 'money' and lived happily. The labour class was kept out of mischief by solid day-long work, either in the fields or under the craftsmen builders etc. As trade-unionism and such like 'emancipating' ideas were not popular yet, they spent most of their time bent to their work and was thankful in the evening to be permitted to go home to a meal that kept body and soul together and some rest. This was a most happy state of affairs.<br />
<br />
And the world happily went round and round about its axis and none had any complaints. Brahmins were content to be brahmins, the kshatriyas were more than happy playing their roles, the traders, like always, were blissful so long as the till resounded with the jingle of money, and the poor sudras merely took their fates in their stride. Then what we now call the 'winds of change' started blowing, and from what ensued, one may not be too far from the truth if one believed that it was an ill wind that blew nobody any good. The quiet balance of society was lost as the 'colours' and castes were in a hurry to intermingle and, more often, this was to the accompaniment of physical violence.<br />
<br />
Then (let me sum up history into one sentence), for good or for bad, we Indians went in for a casteless system, and threw the 'chathurvarna' philosophy into the waste heap of history-- except in the times of elections, weddings and interviews. And in these modern times when Fair & Lovely rules, 'colour' could never hold its own, in a way, try as it might. But there are people who keep insisting that the system has its merits too. ( <a href="http://www.echarcha.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1055">http://www.echarcha.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1055</a> ). Personally I thought I did not know enough to take sides in such a complex issue--until I heard some of the wise pronouncements of men who matter in the India of today. This was what I referred to above in the second paragraph.<br />
<br />
When a person (and that too a respected Minister at the Centre) with the background and education of Kapil Sibal endorses the merits of the 'Chathurvarnya', one naturally has to listen. ( He is the minister for the most-valued export of India too--human resources!) While commenting on the recent adventures of the saffron-clad sanysi Ramdev poaching on the territory of the professional politician, Mr Sibal was very specific as to where the lines were drawn.<br />
<br />
<b>"A swami who teaches yoga to the country should not teach us political aasans (postures)",</b><br />
<br />
said the honourable minister, referring, of course, to the ascetic's 'jumping of the fences' from yoga postures to political posturing. I simply loved the tone and the body language of the minister as he uttered those words. So would most of you when you watch the video: <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/stick-to-yoga-not-political-aasans-govt-on-ramdev/201667">http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/stick-to-yoga-not-political-aasans-govt-on-ramdev/201667</a><br />
<br />
Coming from a man who has studied law, and more importantly, history, surely this sounds eminently reasonable to a layman like me. 'Chathurvarnyam' was by and large about keeping the 'purity' of the classes. After all, the word 'caste', pundits tell me, has its roots in 'chaste', and 'Jati', or religion, is derived from the root syllable 'Ja', which means 'to be born'. So it is probably in the best interests of everybody if we kept the 'divisions' clear-cut and separate, and kept to "our" side of the fence when it came to our pursuits in life. Just imagine the chaos that would ensue if the brahmins chose to go (okay, okay, suppose they were pushed ) into the battle field with their mantras and tantras, and no swords and no courage? What about the warrior choosing to don the sacred thread and undertake a major yajna? God forbid! What could you expect if the dapper trader were made to heft the hoe and the pickaxe in the fields? And imagine the poor sudra suddenly finding himself one fine morning on the trader's chair, or for that matter, on the throne of the ruler? With no disrespect meant, let me say this -- it will be ABSOLUTE CHAOS, as chaotic as chaos can be!<br />
<br />
What the knowledgeable minister meant was when a sanyasin (either by birth, or in the modern era, by choice and training) trespasses into areas where he has no right to tread, let alone rush in like a foolish angel, he should realize that he is upsetting the fine balance of nature. He should calmly follow his vocation of teaching yoga to all and sundry, including perhaps ministers, prime ministers and corporate honchos. Have we all forgotten the sagely and powerful Dhirendra Brahmachari who was the personal yoga guru of the former PM Indira Gandhi? He never chose to dirty his hands with politics; rather, with aplomb he got politicians to play political games of chess .<br />
<br />
Despite all our proclamations of 'modernity', India is, I am glad, at heart, a nation that bows to its cultural past and 'chathurvarnya'. I dont subscribe to the views of those who scream 'dynastic rule' whenever a minister's or a prime minister's son or daughter becomes a political functionary. Nobody cried foul when a trader's son became another, or a labourer's son or daughter went into, ahem!, labour. Even today to be a priest in one of the millions of temples in India, you have to be born the son (no daughters, please!) of a brahmin! Such is the stranglehold of your cultural past. Then why this half-hearted acceptance of a "classy" system?<br />
<br />
With such thoughts and the exhortation of our ebullient minister fresh in my mind, I logged onto the website of the Parliament to dig out the antecedents of our worthy 'netas' who steer this country along through the stormy seas of allegations and scams. If we wanted to preserve the 'chaste' nature of our caste system, naturally we had to have a look at the parentage and education of these worthies. Segregation of the 'varnas' according to the professional training was the primary standard, as per the dictum of dear Sibalji. Sadly I could not confirm whether the yoga guru under reference was trained in anything in addition to yoga. But the backgrounds of most of our ministers and MPs left me 'rolling on the ground laughing', if you will permit me to adopt the fav phrase of the 'chat' crowd.<br />
<br />
Mr Sibal, the Parliament website informs us, was trained in history and law. Just that? Not even a graduate degree in politics?? Oh, oh, then what the heck is he doing in politics? I dont know, but at least, was his father a practising politician? Sibalji, you ought to be wandering the corridors of law courts looking for clients, and not the corridors of power in the large round building, if you will follow your own prescription. You will have good company there, as our defence minister A K Antony and Mamata Banerjee too are law graduates; and so is Andimuthu Raja! Surely I am given to think that with his astute knowledge of the finer points of law and his charming personality and fantastic body language, in no time Sibalji could be the top legal eagle or legal vulture once he switches to the home turf of law. (When you come to think of law graduates who 'jumped fences', the first name that strikes you is that of Barrister Mohandas Karamchand. A friend was quick to point out that, considering the present state of affairs of the Congress and India, he felt that MK ought to have stayed put with his law practice.)<br />
<br />
And what about economists? We have a bevy of economists in the government, beginning with PM SIngh. ( probably that is the reason for all the economic woes of the country... too many cooks!) Mr Singh ought to be enlightening students at some temple of learning instead of taking all the flak by pretending to be a politician. Both Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi Maran are economists, and look at the trouble that erupted when they mixed money, which they know all about, and politics, which was not their rightful turf.<br />
<br />
Murli Deora, our former petro minister, is a BBA from Boston University--no wonder he always ran his ministry like a businessman obsessed with profits and little else. Look at Suresh Kalmadi--he has absolutely no background in either sports or politics; he is a graduate of Fergusson College, Pune, and also an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla, and then trained in the Air Force Flying College,Jodhpur and Allahabad. What is he doing in his present position (not inside Tihar jail) instead of serving the country in the field in which he was trained at considerable expense to the taxpayer? We will all have some trouble pinning down Shashi Tharoor --B.A. (Hons), M.A., M.A.L.D, Ph.D., D.Litt (Honorary), Dr. Honoris Causa, educated at St Stephen`s College, Delhi University, New Delhi, and Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, U.S.A. What qualifies him to be in politics? Chidambaram, our astute Home minister, has the unbeatable combination of science, law and business administration under his belt (if he wears one over his dhoti should be no concern of ours), but sadly, he too lacks any qualification in politics.<br />
<br />
Our future hope, Rahul Gandhi, has an M Phil in development economics from Trinity College, Cambridge University, U.K. But instead of being a member of the committees that attempt to steer the country along lines of economic development, what is he doing jetting/biking around, getting arrested etc and playing the politician? His father was a pilot and his jumping fences into politics was not a wise decision as everybody knows. His mother Sonia's qualifications ( 1. Three year course in foreign languages (English & French) completed in 1964 at Instituto Santa Teresa, Turin, Italy; 2. Certificate in English from Lennox Cook School, Cambridge, UK, completed in 1965) make her eminently suited to an advisory position in one of the many committees on education-- but certainly not politics.<br />
<br />
My 'treasure hunt' on the Parliament's website revealed to me one thing beyond any reasonble doubt. Almost all the "sitting politicians", including the perspicacious and amply loquacious Mr Sibal, are "fence jumpers" from one 'varna' to another, and in doing so they have violated the 'chasteness' of caste/varna as defined under the 'chathurvarnya' system, and as upheld by Mr Sibal. It is interesting to note that my hurried search succeeded in unearthing only a couple of "professional" politicians-- Mulayam Singh Yadav [B.A., B.T., M.A. (Political Science)) and our own beloved, omni-present Pranabji [M.A. (History), M.A. (Political Science), LL.B., D. Litt. (Honoris Causa)] You just cannot take an issue with their being present in government--they belong to the "political varna".<br />
<br />
What are these other gents (and ladies) doing in the political arena, instead of quietly pursuing their respective professions according to their 'varnas' of belonging/training? Perhaps this should serve as an "instrospection trigger" for them, I guess. At least Mr Sibal owes it to himself (and to all of us) to think seriously about what he himself has stated as the guiding principle of this great nation. I urge him to think nothing of what will happen to the ministry he is holding charge of once he quits, and stand by what he believes in and propel himself with alacrity to the practice of law, and make an exit from politics, which, as things stand, is no place for a gentleman and a lawyer. Perhaps the political field's loss will turn out to be the legal profession's gain. Surely we dont need lawyers to teach us politics or run this country, nor do we want business admins to encroach into the political arena. Since when has politics become the first refuge of so many "out-castes"? Sibalji is right--let each profession keep to its own turf, which would be a healthy practice if ever there was one.<br />
<br />
Psst! On second thought (lest I am viewed as a heartless stickler for tradition's 'varna' straitjacket), let me give a private tip to Sibalji: next time when you are about to project a small granite missile at somebody, see that the glass walls around you are lowered out of harm's way-- it is less messier.<br />
<br />
Long live 'chathurvarnya' -- only let us hike the 'classes' from four to forty or so to accommodate most of us comfortably!<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-28483188031800930922011-05-20T01:52:00.000-07:002011-05-24T17:57:30.827-07:00OIL MEN, OILY MATTERS ...Despite being a cynic, I was one who had always believed that even to the darkest cloud, there would be that wee bit of a silver lining.<br />
<br />
For once, am I not right?!<br />
<br />
If it wasn't for that hefty and hurried post-election hike of Rs 5 in the price of petrol, how many of us would have bothered to stop and ponder the clever money-making tactics of the corporates and their cronies in the ministry? It is a fact that the slow and steady squeeze was on the consumer and the tax payer for long. Those who have a longish memory will recall the "Gulf war surcharge" that was put on fuel by the government when there was the Kuwait war. The knee-jerk protests of the political parties promptly came in its wake. But when the war ended, nobody, not even the 'watchdog' media, remembered to bark against it.<br />
<br />
If you rewind a bit and put two and two together, you could very well see when the price decontrol fever started. The Niira Radia tapes had revealed how ministers like Raja and Deora were put into place by the interested corporates. And everybody who knows our corporates --no need to mention names; they are all the chips of the same old block!! -- knows how they go about getting things done with a large bucket of grease for the palms of the ministry honchos.<br />
<br />
The other day I heard our FM Pranab whining that it was all the doing of the oil companies. Poor man, he was trying his best to scare the inflation to go away, and here were these heartless oil chaps playing havoc with his well-laid plans to contain inflation and make this India a heaven for the 'aam aadmi'. The FM and the PM (himself a financial wiz!) sadly seem not have noticed that the increase in fuel prices are likely to affect anything and everything, either directly or indirectly. You cant fault them; while studying the economic impact of such measures in minute detail, it may not be possible to notice such 'affects' that might immediately occur to the 'common sense' of the common man in the street.<br />
<br />
All I wish to say about it is, with their demonstrated 'acumen' in economics and planning, these guys won't make the grade even if the corner paanshop was recruiting somebody to mind its accounts. Ah, perhaps "scientific economics" was somewhat counter-intuitive! How these guys are continuing to formulate this great Nation's economic 'policies' is a mystery to me. Dont we have some guys who understand "straightforward economics" in this country?<br />
<br />
We think these guys are idiots who do not understand profit and loss and inflation and such stuff. But, NO!! On second thoughts, I dare say they ARE intelligent beyond measure; the problem is that we are not wired to see their reasons and reasoning, and their formulae with "secret ingredients" that make them do what we ultimately think is a foolish approach that compounds the problem. A look at a few things that have blended into the background will reveal their very clear thinking and their purpose.<br />
<br />
The other day I received an SMS. This is what it said:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Petrol (per litre) prices in:<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pakistan <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 26<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bangladesh <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 22<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nepal <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 34<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Burma <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 30<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Afghanistan <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 36<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>India <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 67<br />
-------------------------------------------------<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Basic cost <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 16.50<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Central taxes <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 11.80<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Excise duty <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 9.75<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>State tax <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 8.00<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Vat/cess <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 4.00<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Total<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rs 50.05<br />
-------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Simple arithmetic (easy! we can work it out ourselves; this is not running into lakh-crores to boggle our minds!) tells us that the cumulative taxes work out to more than TWICE the basic price of the stuff. And as the taxes are computed as a percentage of the price, every time the price goes up, the "cut" of the government too goes up! No wonder like brothers in thievery, there is this unbeatable nexus of the cronies! I haven't bothered to check the comparative pricing in the neighbouring countries. You could do that if you have some contacts here and there. But you dont need to do any comparative study to see that this is a grand rip-off.<br />
<br />
I phoned up a couple of friends in the industry and they confirmed most of our worst fears about pricing, about the interntional fuel trading sharp practices, futures trading etc. But ther is really no need for us to go into all that, or understand all that, in order to question the logic of our ministers and their minions when it comes to "policies" on fuel pricing.<br />
<br />
There are other little-heard stories to fuel pricing that will take us first to the high altifude games in the aviation fuel sector.<br />
<br />
At a time when the "aam aadmi" was charged Rs 60 plus for a litre of the kerosene-laced stuff called petrol all over India, jet fuel was going for less than Rs 45 a litre! By now the country is privy to the heavy and continued losses that Air India have been incurring and how it was the need of the hour to "get rid of it" to save the national waste etc etc. In a magnanimous last-ditch gesture to save the national carrier from its loss trap, the government, in 2008, wrote-off the excise and customs duties on aviation fuel. What a patriotic and timely action, we all thought! However, not only did Air India fail to get out of the red, but they drove the staff into another wave of strikes, pushing the airline into a deeper abyss of loss and debt.<br />
<br />
But Air India's loss was the gain of the other airlines--all private players and "cronies" of the government. How? When the government so charitably wrote-off the duties, it was not for Air India alone, or for a limited period. With a fell stroke of the pen, they just abolished the duties on aviation fuel! And all the private airlines were(are still!) flying about on the cheaper fuel and raking in hefty profits --putting the entire subsidy burden indirectly on the poor man in the street who pays dearly! What a Robin Hood-ian technique of robbing poor Peter to pay Paul a grand subsidy!<br />
<br />
For the sake of a record here are the prices as on 17th May, 2011:<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Petrol<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- $ 128 / barrel<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Aviation fuel <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- $ 135/ barrel<br />
<br />
This is what ultimately translates as Rs 67 for the man in the street and less than Rs 50 for the "high-flyers"! Surely airline companies too, like 'good' businessmen the world over, are willing to "kick back" a percentage of the profits that they make as a result of this largesse at the expense of the tax payer.<br />
<br />
Do you still think that our ministers are embodiments of stupidity and they dont understand economics? The laugh, dear reader, is on you ...<br />
<br />
If you think that the 'subsidy game' is limited to aviation fuel, think again. Diesel right now happens to enjoy subsidies along with kerosene and cooking gas. When we think of diesel, the common man naturally thinks of the railways, the backbone of the nation, and of the road transportation network, the life-line of the country.<br />
<br />
But no, there is another large group of diesel consumers who are quietly consuming all that they can without getting into any loud controversies and without rocking the boat. No prizes for guessing who this new breed is, though I am sure you may not come anywhere near the truth with your guesses. They are the mobile companies. Mobiles ran on 2G or 3G, we all thought. No sir, all their towers run on diesel gensets, and with electricity "service" being what it is in our country, you could imagine the huge quantum of diesel that would be needed to keep the networks alive.<br />
<br />
Greenpeace, the environmental NGO, has estimated that the exchequer loses a whopping Rs 2,600 crore annually as a result of the 'subsidy' enjoyed by the mobile companies. (<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/india/Global/india/docs/cool-it/reports/telecom-report-may-2011-web-optimized.pdf">http://www.greenpeace.org/india/Global/india/docs/cool-it/reports/telecom-report-may-2011-web-optimized.pdf</a> ) And are we naive enough to believe that the government is ignorant of all these goings on in the country? If they really are, then it is best that we are rid of such a body of worthies called a government--ASAP!<br />
<br />
Add to this the growing trend of "portable power". Thesea are huge diesel gensets mounted on trucks that could be hired and deployed at the point of use. Apparently no rules of noise or other pollution apply to these "portable polluters". If you look around you could see them chugging away from morning till evening, and sometimes through the night, making money for the owners...and all powered by the subsidized diesel! Nobody has as yet done a study on these millions of power units that daily consume millions of liters of diesel; but the figures are likely to be equally mind-boggling as are the mobile tower ones.<br />
<br />
And what are subsidies? It is nothing but the common man's tax money, and not anybody's dowry!<br />
Think of the heavy CO2, smoke and noise pollution created by all these millions of heavy gensets and how the carbon footprint is going to be made larger as a result. We have rules to harrass the poor 2-wheeler rider on the strength of the various stages of the Bharat pollution laws. But when the railways or the buses and trucks on the roads, or now these millions of diesel gensets, spew out tons and tons of pollution into the atmosphere, our lawmakers conveniently look the other way.<br />
<br />
Now to come to the point as regards fuel pricing, if we are to decontrol prices, let us decontrol fully, and we will pay the international prices. Let the government get out of the equation and give up their "cut" of the taxes, except perhaps a small import tax. Let there be the a rationing of the stuff with a minimum quantity offered at a controlled price. (The government have always decried rationing, arguing that it will bring in black-marketing; but it is the job of the government to see that black-marketers are in prison... or, maybe in the ministry, but certainly not out in the streets!)<br />
<br />
There has to be a dual pricing for fuel, particularly diesel, so that the core sectors get diesel at a fair price that will hold inflation in check, and the profit-making private players like mobile tower operators and portable power salesmen will have to pay a higher price, and not ride along happily at the cost of the tax payers of this land.<br />
<br />
It is high time the "free market" pricing for fuel was abolished and government controls reinstated on a critical input like fuel. That, whatever our pundits will say, is the only way inflation can be checked and development ushered in this country.The government have to see that there is more transparency about the domestic oil production and how it is tied into the system as regards pricing. If the planners and ministers do not claim to understand such simple and straightforward logic, then they could very well quit and take up profitable employment with those companies whose writ they run now. No sir, the people wont pay you good money to do such disservice as you do now to the nation.<br />
<br />
The writing is on the wall; if you can read, well and good. Before the entire nation rises in anger in a fiery revolt, it would be in your own interests to put the record straight in a hurry and price aviation fuel, diesel, petrol, cooking gas, kerosene etc in a rational manner --and NOT according to the whims of your cronies in corporatedom. Such a step might just pour some oil on the troubled waters.<br />
<br />
Otherwise it could well be a lot of trouble on exremely oily waters that wouldn't be easy to navigate..... or survive!<br />
<br />
The choice, sir, is yours to make !<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-61196519886899192882011-05-15T21:13:00.000-07:002011-05-15T21:32:50.778-07:00ADDING FIRE TO THE FUEL ISSUELong have the government and the oil companies been playing a hide-and-seek game and avoiding core issues and inconvenient (for them!) questions. It is time we added some fire to the fuel issues so that out of the conflagration the truth would emerge.<br />
<br />
This nation was not conceptualized as a market economy where the vagaries of the market forces would determine its direction and fate. Such was NOT the idea of the Founding Fathers and Planners of this great nation, who wanted to give shape to a welfare state where the needs of the citizenry guided its policies and actions. The core systems of this nation were planned and implemented not as profit-and-loss enterprises, but as mechanisms to realize certain needs and meet certain aims, and to contribute to the stable working of this democratic nation. PM Singh and his 'liberalization' brigade are welcome to go to the founding principles of this nation if they wish to update themselves. It is evident that these worthies do not understand, nor care for, stable social systems as mediated by a people-oriented government.<br />
<br />
In this context, does the government believe that stability in the fuel sector is key to national developement? And how are they proposing to achieve that in the face of a fickle oil market? For them the best option is to leave the people and the nation at the mercy of the market forces and let them fend for themselves. At the very same moment they are not foregoing the additional monies that accrue to them by way of taxes whenever a price hike is implemented--and that too without any "sweat"! This is something akin to running with the hare and hunting with the hounds!<br />
<br />
The Indian taxpayer has made substantial investments in oil exploration and refining and related infrastructure. The Indian refining and processing costs are some of the lowest in the world. What about the Indian crude production? What percentage of the domestic needs could be met by that alone?<br />
<br />
Another little publicized fact is that the Indian oil companies process the imported crude into various value-added products and re-export a huge quantity of that, earning sizeable profits. There is no separate import of crude for this; it is clubbed with the total import, and the whole burden is put on the shoulders of the consumer in the street. This has to be stopped.<br />
<br />
There is widespread feeling that the government is a willing dancer to the avaricious piping of the oil companies when it comes to the "loss assessment" and the periodic arbitrary hikes in fuel prices. Internationally crude prices rise and fall, but in India the fuel price has only one way to go--UP! Maybe this is the 'progress' that they have in the 'progressive alliance' that is the government...<br />
<br />
It is time we got clear answers to at least a dozen questions.<br />
<br />
<b>A DOZEN QUESTIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT</b><br />
<br />
<b>1. What was the total quantum of domestic crude production in 2010-11? And its total pricing?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>2. What is the final sale price per litre of domestically refined fuel, including nominal profits? (Transportation costs can be considered separately, as it is done now.)</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>3. What percentage of domestic consumption could be met by processing the domestic crude?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>4. What was the quantum of crude imports for the previous year ? Its total cost ?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>5. What was the processing cost in the Indian refineries? (As the infrastructural investments in refineries etc have already been made by the taxpayer, that need not be factored in; rather, what are the actual refining/processing costs?)</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>6. Considering the above (# 4 & 5), and adding a nominal profit, what is the recommended retail price of a litre of the 'imported' fuel? Is it cheaper or costlier than the domestic processed fuel, and by how much?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>7. What is the total quantum/value of re-exports of petro products made by the oil companies in the same period as above?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>8. Have the above value-added petro products been manufactured from crude imported separately or from the total quantum of imports for the year?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>9. What is the profit that has accrued to the oil companies from the above (# 7) export transaction?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>10. What are the Central taxes/State taxes respectively on a litre of fuel?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>11. What was the tax amount that accrued to the government each time as a result of the last three price hikes? What percentage of the taxes are ploughed back into oil-related fields?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>12. What was the total subsidies that were given to the oil companies? On what basis was it computed?</b><br />
<br />
As we all know, these are all 'inconvenient' questions for the "powers that be". Vague statements and obfuscation have been the characteristics of "official speak" in this connection till now.<br />
<br />
It is high time a strong mechanism for the rationalization of fuel price (one nation, one price--why Delhi should have the lowest price?) and its maintenance at a stable level has to be evolved as a national priority. Frittering away the precious results of the sizeable investments made of the tax payer's money in building the temples of progress of this nation, sadly, is the unsustainable economic mantra of Singh and his cohorts.<br />
<br />
NOBODY has the right to sell off what he has not built or what he doesn't own!<br />
<br />
This mindlessness has to be stopped--NOW!<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-50005105545241364322011-05-15T06:28:00.000-07:002011-05-15T06:45:23.637-07:00WHOSE MONEY IS IT ANYWAY ???Over the past many weeks, our little group had busied itself mainly with just a couple of questions.<br />
<br />
Do we need politics, and do we need a government of the kind we have now.<br />
<br />
For our close-knit group, mostly of men, living within our limited means was the only way, whether we were retired or about to retire, employees or honest businessmen (yes, such a tribe do exist in this Mahan Bharat, now better known for its predatory corporates and their cronies for whom dishonesty is the key to success! ) or entrepreneurs. Inflation was very real for us as it squeezed our lives for no fault of ours, and it wouldn't go away despite the admonitions of stalwarts like Pranab Mukherjee or even PM Singh. Nations can easily go into what they term a deficit budget and spend much more than they have. Unfortunately such fiscal magic does not come to bail out the poor man trying to make both ends meet in these hyper-inflationary times.<br />
<br />
The above serious questions were triggered mostly by the changing "colour" of recent politics. Gandhiji, as most of us agreed, was perhaps the greatest of politicians. But his type is an extinct breed even in his Congress party, though they took care to wear 'khadi' and the 'Gandhi cap' till recently. Not any longer. In these enlightened and modern times of 'gen text' and social media, khadi has gone God alone knows where. And if anybody wants to have a look at the 'Gandhi cap', s/he could go to Jantar Mantar or wherever else Anna Hazare is --he wears one proudly; and by God, it does suit him! Perhaps it is good that Congress has jettisoned both Gandhi and his cap and khadi at one stroke. But we are likely to agree that politics of the right kind is the fuel that powers any healthy democratic society. But the trouble with today's politics is that it is one hundred per cent party politics --and if you are not a party maniac, there is pretty little for you there.<br />
<br />
Now how about governance? Those that are old and experienced will surely know that orderly governance rather than unfettered anarchy is what gives a well-rounded fullness to life. Now what all areas do we need to be governed in as a people? First and foremost, law and order in society; then a happy compromise has to be maintained between the conflicting interests of the billion citizens of this nation, and that calls for some policies that are acceptable to most and that will guarantee the welfare of virtually all. Healthcare and social security/welfare also call for a strong framework of governance. Regulating the economic mechanisms of a teeming nation surely needs perspicacious governance. And, looking outwards, taking care of ourselves and proactively interfacing with the alien nations of today's shrinking world requires great acumen in governance. A closer look would reveal that every collective human activity in society and a nation demands policies of governance which shall put the collective needs and aspirations of its people uppermost.<br />
<br />
When you start thinking like that, do we dare to call the bunch of dissembling, opportunistic, arrogant, profiteers manning the machinery of government at the current moment a government? There is likely to be agreement that there need be no great discussion about whose interests they are serving with alacrity at this very moment. The collective citizenry, and their welfare, is far from their minds!<br />
<br />
But, just a moment. Who is 'funding' all that tamasha that goes on in the name of government and governance? Who is paying the stratospheric costs of maintaining this expensive bunch of "ministers", whose main job seems to be to minister to the needs of their corporate cronies ? And whose money is being siphoned off when an institution built up as a result of meticulous planning and decades of hard work is "disinvested" in an instant? It is time for us to begin asking that question rather loudly...<br />
<br />
Whose money is it anyway?<br />
<br />
Handling money with prudence requires fiscal knowledge, experience and integrity--precisely the qualities that we least see in our ministers. The CAG's indictment of the government first on the 2G scam and recently on the Air India scam ( worth about Rs 10,000 crore and surely more, and according to many knowledgeable insiders, the first step in its disinvestment and handing over to a private player who, purely in the interests of National pride probably, is willing to take over a loss-making organization!) makes one thing patently clear--the present crop of ministers should be the ones that we should trust last/least when it comes to handling the tax payer's money.<br />
<br />
The last straw was the inordinate hike in fuel prices that came as a post-poll gift to the 'aam aadmi'. According to the oil companies, apparently run by a bunch of retired angels, they are losing about Rs 10 on every litre of fuel sold and yet, they have, in a gesture of love and compassion, hiked the price by only about half of that. Oh, what magnanimity! At this rate, if we are to believe their protestations of loss, they should have gone right under a long time ago. And this country would not have been poorer for that!<br />
<br />
What beats all logic is that it is in the midst of this long history of "loss making" that the oil companies are vying with one another to open another 1,000 fuel outlets in a small state like Kerala. It beats me when it comes to understanding their logic. Ah, maybe they want to exhaust all their stock and commit "hara-kiri" and die trying their best to help the motorists..like a candle in the wind that burns itself to nothing. Ho, the poor heart bleeds when one thinks of that... No wonder Murli Deora, the former petro minister always wore a pinched look when he was talking about oil companies and fuel prices. Who knows the heartaches of heading a ministry cursed with perpetual losses and perdition??<br />
<br />
It is unlikely that many of us saw a small news item in the papers (no, such small stuff is below the "sensation level" of the TV channels) a few days back. The headlines merely notified us that Rs 20,001 crore was being paid to the oil companies as subsidy by the government. Naturally this was to compensate the losses that the companies had run up. This was in addition to the earlier instalment of Rs 20,911 crore, which took the total subsidy for 2010-11 to Rs 40,912 crore. The total loss for last year was, according to the companies, Rs 78,000 crore, and naturally they demanded their pound of flesh by asking the government to cough up another Rs 30,000 crore. But our beloved government, in a gesture of supportive sympathy to its 'subjects', roundly rejected this demand! What more do you want??!! The figures make for interesting reading -- for those who can understand figures.<br />
<br />
But the question that comes to the aam aadmi's mind is, do we trust these guys with such astronomical sums of money? ... our money?? It is a very funny situation. The oil companies import crude, refine and sell it in India for a loss. The government compensates them not fully, but as and how they deem fit, with a subsidy. Both are funded by the tax payer's money-- the public sector oil companies and the government. Now what about all that Indian oil from Indian wells? And who is the loser? And who is the wiser??<br />
<br />
Now will somebody tell me how much a litre of fuel will cost if somebody were to import it and sell it like many other imported commodities? I put the question to a few trader friends and they tell me, quoting the prevailing prices, that it should be way cheaper than the price at which we are forced to buy it now. Ah, the taxes, both central and state, on every litre of fuel. What is the tax money on fuel used for? For developing 'infra-structure' in the related fields--that translates as oil wells and refineries, roads, vehicle manufacturing etc etc.<br />
<br />
Oh, that means we the tax payers are funding oil exploration, and we own the producing oil wells in India. What returns are we getting for all that "share money" we have pumped into that? Pretty little. The arithmetic of the oil companies become clouded when the question of the quantum/pricing of local crude/refined fuel comes in. But now the trend is for the public sector company to explore and dig productive wells and then give it all away to players like Reliance. Nobody has forgotten the move for handing the Assam refineries to them on a platter by the crony minister. But then the sad truth is that a large percentage of the tax on oil is goes to fund the existence of the top heavy and extravagant "gaddi" of ministers and their coterie.<br />
<br />
Those who had been paying some attention to the annual budget for the year would have noticed the crores and crores of corporate subsidies allowed. To what purpose? How does that benefit the 'aam aadmi'? We have to stop this mindless spending of our hard-earned money by an inept bunch of ministers and other functionaries. If oil is to be decontrolled, let it be decontrolled fully so that anybody can buy it for the prevailing international rates and not the "fixed" rates as dictated by the "conglomerate". And whatevery subsidies are given have to be seen to reach and to benefit the end-user. No sir, we dont trust the oil companies, nor our beloved bunch of ministers. So please get off our backs with your complicated fiscal calculations.<br />
<br />
In an era when liberalization, globalization and privatization have proved to the bane of the common man in every developing economy, and is seen clearly to favour only the huge corporate players, it is time we asserted ourselves and brought in the necessary changes. Let us keep the CO2 emissions at bay by curtailing oil consumption. Let us develop our public transportation systems which would be mor eficient and cheaper from every angle. And let us see how much oil we have here in our wells, and at what price we can sell that without earning a loss for the public sector firms. Let us ration that fuel so that the public sector and the transportation sector and the public get their due share without driving up inflation. If you want more than your share, you could go for imported fuel at a higher price.<br />
<br />
We have to end this conspiracy. They manufacture more cars and drive up the expectations of people with fancy ads. Then they charge you through the nose for the fuel and siphon off our money for their mindless spending and skyhigh profits. Will anybody in their right senses opt for the expense of car and the tedium of traffic jams and gridlock wasting their time, to speak nothing of frayed nerves and health issues breathing in all that pollution, if one had effective public transportation? So whose interests are the government serving with this vicious circle of pricing and increasing demand?<br />
<br />
This has got to end.<br />
<br />
And the first step in that direction is to make the government sell the product at the correct price and not at an inflated one. The second is to rein in fuel-related inflationary trends by rationing fuel to essential services. The third is to rationalize imports and delink its price from that of the local oil produced.<br />
<br />
Enough and more cheating has been going on in this country in the name of many things. A resource-rich country like ours could easily manage itself very well--if we are honest. For Western-educated and western-bribed and western-arm-twisted people like our planner Montek Singh or our PM Singh, this argument may not make much sense. But then on second thoughts it is time we stood up and told them in no uncertain terms that we are not recipients of their charity; rather they are the paid servants of the honest and upright tax-paying people of this country. And we want our country to be run the way WE want.<br />
<br />
Sir, it is OUR money, and we guess WE HAVE A SAY in how you spend it for us!<br />
<br />
Let us tighten those purse strings a bit and show them who is the boss!<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-75949886039550661512011-04-11T07:15:00.000-07:002011-04-11T19:23:48.562-07:00GETTING A 'NUKE' EDUCATIONWhile 'channel suffering' (some of my friends also call it channel surfing) a few days back, I was arrested by the face of Anil Kakodkar, the former chief of the Atomic Energy Commission and perhaps the last word in things nuclear in India. Sadly (for me), the interview was in its last few frames and I was chagrined that I couldn't follow what the learned man was saying about things that had caught the public's imagination in a scary manner in the post-Fukushima weeks. However, one phrase caught my ear, and that was "educating the public" about nuclear energy and its advantages, and perhaps about its other long-term plus points.<br />
<br />
That was the note on which the presenter too wound up the discussion, and with these words ringing in my ear, I came to a decision--get some nuke education, ASAP. So I set out trawling the Net and talking to 'educated' people, mostly my friends who are scientists with the space organization, some knowledgeable medical doctors and army officers, and any and every body who could/would give me some additional nuggets of information and knowledge about the somewhat mystical science of the nucleus in its split avatar.<br />
<br />
One thing that struck me (perhaps because of a thick skull and little within that) was that it is an esoteric science that is not very clear about matter/s when you get down to the nitty-gritty and also it has more questions than answers to critical issues--most of which get grouped under the broad rubric of things that science will 'soon' have answers for. Nu-clear is 'clear' enough, but it is not the old-world clarity that we all know and cherish, but something totally 'nu' that only the cognoscenti (pretend to!) understand fully.<br />
<br />
When you travel back in time, you could see that it all started in Germany back in the late 1930s with the discovery of nuclear fission by Otto Hahn and others. Germany was into serious nuclear research from then on, (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_nuclear_energy_project">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_nuclear_energy_project</a>) with scientists seeking to understand matter and energy and such mysteries. At the end of WW-II, the rocket and atomic scientists and equipment were quietly transplanted to the US (the Russians too got their share), with gifted scientists like Oppenheimer (the 'father' of the A-bomb: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Robert_Oppenheime">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Robert_Oppenheime</a>r ) and others leading the research. But for a government that was seeking the ultimate weapon of mass destruction to dominate the world with an unprecedented fear factor, the development of the A-bomb was top priority (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project</a>). While developing a weapon to kill, one doesn't stand on fine considerations and try to understand the subtler nuances. You then are not far from the shady terrorist fabricating a home-made IED (Improvised Explosive Device) for nefarious purposes--you want to carry it about with some amount of safety, but once it is out of your hand, you dont bother how it kills -- so long as it kills effectively. We all know what this kind of 'research' led to. The first A-bomb was tested on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico.(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_nuclear_weapons">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_nuclear_weapons</a> ) Hardly a month later, in August, the US 'tested' the little-understood technology at the earliest opportunity in Japan--twice.<br />
<br />
This sort of a 'shady' past is inseparably tied to nuclear science. ( 'Old Configuration, New Context' -- K S Jacob, The Hindu: <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article1685224.ece?homepage=true">http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article1685224.ece?homepage=true</a> )The primarily military nature of nuclear R & D had created this aura of mystery. Transparency was something that was missing all along and safety was an afterthought in the military sector, despite what the 'insiders' will tell you. In the post cold-war era, the substantial investments made in the nuclear field were set to be recouped by companies mainly in the West by re-engineering the systems for power production. That nuclear power was touted as a 'clean' and 'advanced' option was in itself one of the best PR coups of the modern era orchestrated by the nuclear corporates. How quickly the world had forgotten Hiroshima and Nagasaki ! It was now fashionable to 'go nuclear'. Obviously, as is often the case with "developmental decisions" worldwide, the questions here were not technological, but 'economical', which in simple terms meant "commissions".<br />
<br />
But the complacency of the world was shaken by the Three Mile Island (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_acciden">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_acciden</a>t) and Chernobyl (<a href="http://www.greenfacts.org/en/chernobyl/index.htm">http://www.greenfacts.org/en/chernobyl/index.htm</a> ) nuclear accidents. But the "fallout" was short-lived. The nuclear industry PR wizards were able to 'contain' the information damage much before the nuclear spill itself could be contained fully! Ultimately they succeeded in fully dismissing safety and other concerns from the minds of the public, and promoting nuke power again, brushing aside risks and anxieties. And the governments (translation: greedy politicians) once again embarked on a spree of 'going nuke'. And the latest and perhaps the greatest victim of that PR barrage was Japan itself. As a people, it had experienced the horrors of the nuclear holocaust and have suffered for generations. But watch how their pacifist and anti-nuclear stand was watered down and how they were 'sold' so many nuclear power plants as a 'safe' option to power their burgeoning power needs. Japan has once again been cursed by the nuclear genie unleashed from the proverbial bottle. Post-Fukushima, many questions remain unanswered.<br />
<br />
Where are the experts now who said that it was all safer than the safest? Where are all those nuke wizards who knew how to get the nuclear 'genie' back into the bottle when it sort of misbehaved? What are their definite answers to the worried questions of the public at the receiving end? What is the difference between an A-bomb and the radiation from a nuke plant that has gone haywire? Well, they will tell you one is military and it is part of an act of war; this is pure civilian...and as a result probably a lot 'softer' in its fallout... God!<br />
<br />
It is in the post-Fukushima context that one has to take the words of pundits that the general public needs to be "educated" about the nuclear options. ( <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1557377.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1557377.ece</a> )<br />
<br />
If one is to go by the volume of 'education' that the nuclear lobby has till date foisted upon the world's vulnerable public, and its quality vis-a-vis the truth about the nuclear option, one would term it not exactly education. Fortunately the English language has many words to convey different shades of meaning. In totalitarian states and such other places, they speak of "re-education" to make the citizen tread 'happily' the line of new thoughts and ideologies. Nuclear 'education' too is somewhat in that class. Indoctrination, in my humble opinion, would be a more honest and a more truthful word to denote that.<br />
<br />
But I do not want to be a member of the 'thought police' and so I do not think it is my duty to 'educate' you regarding the ideal nature of nuke power. Rather, permit me share with you what all I learned in the meantime.<br />
<br />
The Indian government's brinkmanship at the time of the nuke deal with the US and how it survived and went ahead with the deal by forging new local deals by 'spending good money' has been leaked well and truly by Wikileaks. Another hurried nuke deal was struck with France in order to prop up the troubled French AREVA and this led to the brouhaha over the Jaitapur power project. In a country like India where "cut and paste" artists supply any number of environmental impact assessments (<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1607058.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1607058.ece</a>) and other 'studies', including seismic and other critical data, it is not difficult for the 'powers that be' to paint a rosy picture of all being safe and environment friendly and pro-people and pro-development on the strength of such 'cooked-up' studies and reports. This has happened in the case of Jaitapur too despite massive public protests led by people like retired Supreme Court Judge P B Sawant and others. (<a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/interview_we-dont-want-to-negotiate-on-jaitapur-plant_1517634">http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/interview_we-dont-want-to-negotiate-on-jaitapur-plant_1517634</a>)<br />
<br />
Jaitapur is a quiet place with a great diversity of wildlife and with Nature probably at her best. The Madhban plateau on which the giant nuclear plants will be built is the largest coastal plateau in the Konkan with a unique biodiversity. But it will no more be like that if we let the energy Czars have their way. 40,000 people will be displaced from their homes and lands, their livlihoods destroyed, countless tigers, elephants and hundreds of other species 'erased' and the landscape levelled into an arid moonscape. All in the rush to build the mega EPR (the European Pressurized-water Reactor, also called Evolutionary Power Reactor)... which has NOT YET been built or tested fully ANYWHERE in the world ??!!!??? A ticking time-bomb waiting for a seismic incident or a tsunami to unleash its destruction far and wide. Do we need to be the guinea pigs in this mega experiment, this mega-disaster-in-the-making???<br />
<br />
Each of the giant Jaitapur reactors will have a capacity of 1,650 Megawatts of electrical power, and the six reactors together will output just short of 10,000 MW of electricity. Great! But there is another side to it too. Atomic reactors are "hot" devices; REALLY hot ones. The thermal output of each reactor is about 5,000 Megawatts, and that means a total of 30,000 Megawatts of heat will be generated. Since their conversion efficiency is at best between 25 and 30 per cent,<b> approximately two-thirds of their energy will be dumped into the sea</b> and a smaller per centage into the air as waste heat. Did you say global warming? This will be some sort of a massive local 'warming' that will play havoc with fisheries (the livelihood of most of Jaitapur's poor locals; but then you have GOT to make some sacrifices for development!) and affect the weather and our lives in unprecedented and unforeseen ways.<br />
<br />
Experts have warned that the higher 'burnup' in the EPR, a design ploy to increase the 'productivity' of the reactor, may result in a thinning of the fuel cladding, making it prone to early failure. A study by the French power utility EDF has reported that the toxicity from the radioactive waste of the EPR is <b>four times</b> that of ordinary reactors, and is especially high in radioactive Iodine and Bromine, which stay at dangerous levels of radioactivity for over...no, not a hundred years, but more like <b>a million years</b>.<br />
<br />
Today in almost every 'civilized' country (including India!) they have rules and regulations against dumping waste. Before you junk your car or even your PC, you have to conform to many rules that specify how to get rid of all that dangerous waste material without damaging the environment. But all those pollutants are "chicken feed" when you compare them to nuclear waste. Nature can in certain ways tackle even worst pollutants. Areas devastated by giant oil spills have shown a re-emergence of life forms and 'normalcy' after just a few years. Man-made chemicals are perhaps the exception here (including plastics) when Nature concedes total defeat. But what about the accumulating cache of nuclear waste that goes on piling up over the years as the plants operate? Even without any tsunami or quakes to complicate issues, the accumulated nuclear waste challenges safe storage and safe disposal/re-use/recycling. The nuke lobby says they will be safely stored until science finds a solution/use "tomorrow". A team of Japanese anti-nuke pacifists on a global mission has compared the nuke plants to houses without toilets for waste disposal. What will be the quality of life in such a place? But lack of toilets will only drive you nuts or give you dysentery, not maim you for life right from the womb, and till Kingdom come.<br />
<br />
In the case of Jaitapur too it is not clear where the nuclear waste emanating from all the reactors will be dumped. The plant is estimated to generate <b>300 tonnes of waste</b> each year. And the French EPR reactor waste will have about <b>four times</b> as much radioactive Bromine, Iodine, Caesium, etc, compared to that from an ordinary pressurized water reactor like India's Trombay unit. In fact details slowly emerging out of Fukushima (<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sci-tech-and-agri/article1566421.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sci-tech-and-agri/article1566421.ece</a>) speak of a ten year gap of safety regimes being tested or verified. Also, reports speak now of the dangers posed by the massive storage of nuclear waste --stored "casually" near the reactor in small pools. One expert has called that a greater threat than if the reactor itself were to melt. The details of neglect that have slowly 'leaked out' are worse than the radiation leaks, and they are appalling in the extreme. And, mind you, all that has happened in Japan; a technology-minded and disciplined society like Japan, and one with a 'healthy respect' for things nuclear. But bureaucratic short-cuts and industrial apathy oriented to mere profitability played havoc at Fukushima, and an emergency of frightening proportions is unreeling fast before our very eyes--one that the world has been reassured again and again will never happen.<br />
<br />
In the context of Jaitapur, right from the beginning there were voices of concern that were brushed aside by the "powers that be", the foremost of which is the PMO, and then the nuke lobby and its middle men. The Tata Insitute of Social Sciences came down heavily on the project for its negative social and environmental impact. ( <a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/jaitapur-nproject-sitting-on-high-severity-quake-zonetiss/730737/">http://www.indianexpress.com/news/jaitapur-nproject-sitting-on-high-severity-quake-zonetiss/730737/</a> ) But the study has been rubbished by the NPCIL, the Nuclear Power Coporation, which will build and operate the plants. (<a href="http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/10/stories/2011011058922000.htm">http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/10/stories/2011011058922000.htm</a>)<br />
<br />
It is interesting in this context to listen to the eye-opening revelations of Dr Gopalakrishnan, former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board:<br />
<br />
<i>“... The AERB's disaster preparedness oversight is mostly on paper and the drills they once in a while conduct are half-hearted efforts which amount more to a sham.....</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>In the case of earthquake engineering, the Nuclear Power Corporation strategy is to have their favourite consultants <b>cook up the kind of seismicity data which suit them.....</b></i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>There is practically no independent verification of their data or design methodologies. A captive AERB which reports to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) makes the overall nuclear safety management in India worthless.....” </i><br />
<br />
That, coming from a person like him who was definitely in the know of things, should shock us into some sort of action against the casual, "at-any-cost" approach of the nuke lobby. The 'cut-and-paste experts' are active to serve the interests of the 'government' and the nuke lobby, whether it is environmental impact or seismic safety or nuclear dangers.<br />
<br />
---> <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/comment_why-should-jaitapur-be-made-a-guinea-pig-for-untested-reactor_1520843">http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/comment_why-should-jaitapur-be-made-a-guinea-pig-for-untested-reactor_1520843</a><br />
---> <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1555422.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1555422.ece</a><br />
<br />
Now what about even a truthful and factual study? Have we achieved that scientific certainty when we could with some amount of surety predict the ways of nature? The present conditions, including seismic and weather, are no guarantees for future safety. It is interesting to listen to a voice of sanity as Gopalkrishna Gandhi examines the need for 'long-term learning' from the Fukushima fallout. (<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1586399.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1586399.ece</a> ). Surely the public will learn from history and will be guided by their more knowledgeable peers. But our 'leaders' want to 'sell' us progress at any cost, and pocket their 'share' with no qualms.<br />
<br />
Have the proponents of nuke power seriously looked at alternatives? India is so placed that she is rich in many sources of power. Hydel (not environment-threatening mega dams, but mini- and micro-hydel power plants for local needs), wind, solar and now hydrogen-based power. All these are safer at any time than nukes, and with some focussed research, could be harnessed to supply enough power for our immediate and future needs. What is needed is the will, the political will to do that. Instead, in our country the political will is to pursue easy money from 'imports', whether we need it or not, whether it is a white elephant or a mammoth of some other hue. The Indian setup is full of such intentional 'starvation deaths' of successful indigenous enterprises in order to benefit somebody somewhere far away...of course, with the right kind of 'commissions'. The latest such casualties were the Indian vaccine manufactories, prestigious institutions working to full satisfaction and with an enviable track record, that were closed down on the whim of our "minister for health"! (<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1510997.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1510997.ece</a> ) So let us strongly root for an exploration of alternative energy strategies with redoubled vigour--NOW.<br />
<br />
When it comes to nuke power, the French are in the forefront, with most of their energy needs supplied by nuke plants. They have no choice as their other energy resources are virtually nil. But when you look at the nuke 'market', the US has a strong presence, with the French being only a second-level player. (Remember, practically all the Japanese nuke plants were supplied by US firms, including the ill-fated ones at Fukushima.) Both the French and the Americans fall over each other to reassure the purchasers about the safety and superiority of their systems. But look at what happens when the French try to sell their 'third generation' advanced nuke power plants to the US. There is a huge hue and cry (<a href="http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_59795.shtml">http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_59795.shtml</a> ) about endangering the lives of Americans with sub-standard and untested technology! This is probably the best example of doublespeak that one may come across--the Americans are pushing their own 'Fukushima-standard' technology around the world, but when it comes to building one on their soil, they are scared stiff ! If only there was the sale of a US reactor to France would we learn of its inherent dangers from a suitably strident French outcry!<br />
<br />
However, disinterested readers could easily glean critical information after a careful reading of the above article and afterwards they will be in a "better educated" position so far as the unproven technology of EPR is concerned, and how dangerous advocacy for them can be. I must urge you to spend quality time reading the above article by Ms Cathy Garger at Axis of Logic.<br />
<br />
However, what stood out like a sore thumb was the fact that the concern of the US goverment for 'people' (and, for that matter, democracy and other high-flown ideals) is confined to within their nation's borders, and when it comes to protecting the commercial interests of American companies even at the risk of millions of lives of innocents, they play another tune. If someone could dig up the 'deals' made by GE with Japan for the sale of Fukushima and other reactors, it would make for some sordid reading. This is obvious when you look at the lengths to which they went to twist the arm of the Indian government - I am sure you had your favourite reads of the Wikileaks "India cable-gate" series. Activist Gopal Krishna has made a good case against the Jaitapur project, and I guess your nuke eduction wont be complete without a look at it. (<a href="http://www.rediff.com/news/column/why-the-jaitapur-nuclear-plant-must-be-opposed/20101229.htm">http://www.rediff.com/news/column/why-the-jaitapur-nuclear-plant-must-be-opposed/20101229.htm</a> )<br />
<br />
Advocates for nuke power say that it is the most viable and cost-effective approach for clean power. How true is that? The cost per mega watt of installed capacity for the EPR is over Rs 20 crore, compared to Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore for a coal-based plant and Rs 7-9 crore for Indian-designed boiling water reactors, according to Delhi Science Forum chief Prabir Purakayastha. But one look at the trouble-plagued and delayed first French EPR at Olkiluoto in Finland, begun in 2005 and still not completed nor commissioned, tells you that cost over-runs and escalations will ultimately make the energy economically unviable. You can imagine how the whole thing will materialize in a country like India.<br />
<br />
A glow of hope in this dark scenario is that the German financier has backed out of the Jaitapur project on account of "reputational risk"--that means, they dont want to be seen supporting such 'anti-people' projects. (<a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/145949/german-bank-pulls-jaitapur-nuclear.html">http://www.deccanherald.com/content/145949/german-bank-pulls-jaitapur-nuclear.html</a> ) Germany till recently was an advocate of nuke power. But the policy has cost the present government dearly in the wake of increasing public protest against extending the service life of existing nuke plants in Germany. Now the German policy is to take everything nucler with a large pinch of salt. Greenpeace, the pro-environment protest group too has interesting details about the project. (<a href="http://weblog.greenpeace.org/nuclear-reaction/2010/03/nuclear_news_edf_nuclear_react.htm">http://weblog.greenpeace.org/nuclear-reaction/2010/03/nuclear_news_edf_nuclear_react.htm</a>l )<br />
<br />
Whatever be the negatives you or anybody can dish up, the govenment remains "committed" to providing its people with the latest and the greatest. (<a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_congress-signals-commitment-for-jaitapur-nuclear-power-project_1519966">http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_congress-signals-commitment-for-jaitapur-nuclear-power-project_1519966</a> ) How could one fault such altruism?! Forget the commissions they have pocketed, and look at the growth rate the country will achieve with all that cheap and abundant power!! Our ministers, from the top down, are singing the praises of nuke power and are set to worship at these modern temples of power, come what may. Politicians are naturally power crazy, and Megawatts of nuclear 'power' are likely to supercharge them with a strange 'high' and make them forget all else. But when ultimately the reactor core starts going 'hyper-critical' and radiation comes leaking invisibly in search of living, breathing flesh to sear it into the agony of a painful death for no fault of yours, don't look around for all those 'yeah-sayers' to save you. Even if they are around, they are sure to survive somehow as their thick skin is likely to be impervious even to the nuclear radiation; at worst, you could expect a mutation of the political species into something much more abominable.<br />
<br />
So take your nuclear education seriously and make up your mind whether you need it. REALLY need it in your soil, in your backyard. If the Americans or the French are so keen to build nuke power stations, let them build it in THEIR backyards and sell us the power. (It will be easier to invent a way to transmit power over great distances using some new-fangled tech than inventing a safe use for nuke waste!)Do you want to be a guinea pig in the biggest nuke experiment of all time?<br />
<br />
It is your life, and the lives of your loved ones...and also the lives of your dear, beloved countrymen. Don't play dangerous nuclear roulette with your lives and with Nature and make this beautiful earth a radiation graveyard. And dont be too sure Anna Hazare will undertake another fast to save you and the country!<br />
<br />
IT IS ONE FOR ALL, AND ALL FOR ONE --all, except the above thick-skinned ones!<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-10929433163444512552011-04-07T03:07:00.000-07:002011-04-07T09:29:16.705-07:00TRYST WITH DESTINY -- A SEQUELFast rewind to another century, another time, another situation -- and another man!<br />
<br />
But the similarities with the present should shock any upright, right-thinking, honest Indian.<br />
<br />
--- A selfish and autocratic government that ignores and suppresses the rights and aspirations of its citizens, a siphoning away of the vast resources of the country into alien coffers, rampant 'double-speak', tricks of the trade like 'divide and rule', a "democratic championing" of the downtrodden minorities, laws rules and regulations to protect the government's own interests, threats of rightful protests being treated as sedition ..... the list could go on and on.<br />
<br />
Surely we are talking of the India of the British Raj days. But it is not difficult to detect the similarities with the present situation or the tenor of the government. At the most what one would need to do is to rephrase some of the things to put them into the proper choronological perspective.<br />
<br />
To those of a generation now somewhat long in the tooth, the pre-Independence scenario is all too familiar. Today those very epochal events that served to shape this great nation are only vague commentaries in the cavalierly textbooks that students cram to somehow get through the ten/twelve years of schooling so that they could sit for the "Entrance" exam and fulfil their destiny of being little better than info-coolies or medics to hand-hold the aging West. For today's "gen-text" (most of whose fathers were little more than mischievous gleams in the eyes of THEIR fathers and mothers at the time all that and the famous Tryst with Destiny happened!), it is mere text that has no contemporary relevance, especially in today's neo-liberal world without walls where chasing their destinies means being ready with skill-sets that have a demand. The parents who egg on their beloved children (oops! child!) sadly have no idea about how over the past decades a liberal education has deteriorated to little more than mere specialized training to impart 'skill-sets'. Add to that the Government's knee-jerk reactions to things like Lelyveld's book on the Mahatma, and the alacrity with which a ban order is slapped on it--which somehow promote the implanted poisonous comment that Gandhiji is "not all that great as he is made out to be" as he too was open to many "things". Dont blame the younger generation if they think that the past was not all that great. For them it is at best a distant unreal chimera.<br />
<br />
But as they say, history repeats itself and historians repeat each other, ad nauseum. But unfortunately it is not the lot of mankind to learn from history. And today's 'truant' schoolboy has only his parents to blame if he is a stranger to history, and is more at home with other more 'utilitarian' studies. But he is fortunate that he has better and more "connected" tools to enable him to explore history and more, and share and interact with his peers. I urge the younger generation to do that NOW with a vengeance and come to their own conclusions. My job is merely to tell you what to look for, to ask to you look again and think again and see "the wood for the trees", to make comparisons and then, well, to ACT !!<br />
<br />
If you read that first para again, and put it into the present context, you would agree that it pretty well reflects what is happening around us. Period. But I had in mind what the Brits were doing in pre-Independent India. Believe me, history is more entertaining than any fanciful novel you might have read recently. Just look at the example of the ridiculous "salt legislation" that the Brits dreamed up--so that their ships could sail with stabilizing cheap ballast of salt from London. But the salt would fetch a price in India only if there was acute scarcity of that normally plentiful commodity in India. Ah, easy. Legislate that no one should make salt in India, and if anybody broke that rule, nothing less than the "cooler" for him. The Dandi March (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Satyagraha">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Satyagraha</a>) taken out by a determined Gandhiji is today the stuff of legends. The few crystals of salt that Gandhiji made in symbolic protest on the seashore of the obscure village of Dandi ultimately crystallized into Independence for this nation and its people, and earned the little village a name in the annals of history.<br />
<br />
Today the caucus of politicians and their corporate cronies who style themselves as the government is enacting more draconian laws against its own people at the behest of "the powers that be". ( I dont have to ask you if you have read the India cables part of the Wikileaks.) They thrust "development" in your face--whether you want it or not. The Tehri Dam and the Jaitapur nuclear power stations are only a couple of examples that spring to mind. If today you so much as travel to Jaitapur, you will end up in jail as you have broken some law! Whose law is it anyway? Whose country is it anyway??<br />
<br />
While the Brits siphoned off the money {John Keay's "The Honourable Company" is a delightful/shocking account of the legerdemain of the Brits in India: <a href="http://www.indiaclub.com/Shop/SearchResults.asp?ProdStock=6447">http://www.indiaclub.com/Shop/SearchResults.asp?ProdStock=6447</a>. Keay paints a detailed picture of the Company "... a band of South China Seas buccaneers who helped create the London money market, controlled half the world's trade, recruited armed forces larger than those of most states and became a private empire that was the jewel in the British crown. Founded in 1600 to challenge the Dutch monopoly of the hugely profitable spice trade, the Company was built on hardship, greed and savagery... } largely into the coffers of the East India Company and indirecty into the British government treasury (and a proportionately smaller share into the pockets of the functionaries of the Company!), today's corporate and political buccaneers siphon it into numbered accounts in the many havens of black money like Switzerland. I am sure every Indian in every far off corner of the world is familiar with the flood of scams that marked the New Year, which surely would have contributed billions into the hoard. The echoes of the loud expostulation from the Supreme Temple of Justice in reaction to the apathy of the government vis-a-vis chasing the black money and the people behind it ("What the hell is happening in this country...") have hardly died down.<br />
<br />
One thing is painfully plain. The 'government' is playing a game of obfuscation and delay and doublespeak. You cant blame them, in a way; it is their bread and butter (and more!) that is being threatened! We will be fools if we for a moment think that they are serious about ending corruption and sleaze and slush money; they are frantically looking for ways to "re-channel" all that money. Witness the 'legislation' that is planned to bring back to India all that black money by way of individual FDI, and the loud protestations of 'agreements' with many foreign governments that will be jeopardized if we publish a few names and clamp a few into jail in India on clear charges of grave economic offences. In this democracy they want us to believe that and more! It is a lark... At least the Brits in their day considered the public to be lesser fools and not absolute nincompoops!<br />
<br />
It is all a big 'eye-wash' and the proposed Lokpal Bill too will be like many other Indian Bills--legislation without any "teeth", and with enough and more loops and holes--that is, if the government has its way. The 'watchdog' that is supposed to bite the wrongdoer or the thief, will instead be administering a "massage" to his fat bum! (<a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/134429/latest-headlines/lokpal-vs-jan-lokpal-a-study-in-contrast.html">http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/134429/latest-headlines/lokpal-vs-jan-lokpal-a-study-in-contrast.html</a>) The whole thing is a laugh--if you can laugh at serious things. And they have been sitting on the Bill for very nearly half a century, and yet they have the gumption to ask us for more time!<br />
<br />
We have had enough of "crony-corruption" in this land, and this has to stop. And that is where the relevance of this second Tryst with Destiny lies. And this is where the Gandhian protest of Anna Hazare assumes new significance.<br />
<br />
The last century had thrown up an immortal man who gave us the freedom to speak our minds and to live proudly as free Indians. Today the poor soul lies (safely) buried under the mountains of black money amassed by his own 'followers', and his memory has been sullied by the lies and half-truths that fuel that party to which once he too belonged. Yes, I have the Congress party and Gandhiji in mind. If Gandhiji were to return today, just as King Mahabali does during Onam as Malayalis believe, he shall in all probability eschew non-violence when it came to "handling" his own partymen! In the India of today, the politicians and their cronies know for sure that Gandhiji, conveniently forgotten except on October 2nd, and safely ensconced in the protraits that line their rooms and their offices, could not come down to put a spoke in their well-oiled wheels of sleaze and corruption.<br />
<br />
But Destiny works in strange ways. The 21st Century needed another Gandhi to spearhead our Second Liberation Struggle--this time not from the Brits, but from our own so-called elected, democratic government. Wasn't it the great American writer Edward Abbey, an umcompromising and honest humanist, who said that <b>“...a patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government”</b> ? Yes, the time has come for every Indian patriot to rally to do precisely that. Today the great Gandhian Anna Hazare has thrown down the gauntlet before the government and has signalled the start of an unrelenting, uncompromising struggle to wipe out corruption in government and public life. Surely this is already showing signs of building up into a groundswell that will shake and topple the thrones of corruption.<br />
<br />
The noble Hazare put it like this: "... This is the next struggle for our independence. Even though the British have left, only the colour of the rulers' skin has changed, nothing else has." How true!! Our 'babus' and 'netas' are more British than the Brits when it comes to pure hauteur! Already there is growing concern and support for Hazare and the idea that he champions. The young and the young at heart are using the social media to reach out to one another and to put more steam into the iconic struggle, the likes of which we haven't witnessed for a long long time. Here is crusade which any average Indian can identify with and join while forgetting all other personal affiliations and preferences. Surely there is every chance the movement will beat with the pulse of all Indians and culminate in the 'liberation' of this nation from the octopus-like clutches of corruption.<br />
Who is this humble man Hazare? He is a one-man army against corruption. The other day while launching his fast unto death at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi he said:<br />
<br />
“I have been working for the society for long time. For the past 35 years, I have not gone home. I have three brothers and I don’t know the names of their children. I don’t have any bank balance.... the public takes to satyagraha when all the doors are shut. If he [a Congress party spokesperson] says that this is wrong, does he mean to say that people should continue to suffer? The public will have to protest when there is a threat to their independence." Hazare is an ex-soldier and in him we can see a humble, yet strong and determined man who is in every way suited to wear the mantle of Gandhiji. Read all about him and his crusade at: < <a href="http://www.annahazare.org/">http://www.annahazare.org/</a> ><br />
<br />
Who are the people who are sharing the experience and fasting along with him? Hundreds have joined the symbolic crusade. Here are just a couple of stories of supreme sacrifice for the sake of the nation:<br />
<br />
<i>Sixty-year-old Geeta Gupta, one of the protesters who had come from Dehradun to participate in the fast, said, "My son came to take me back home and requested that I should end the hunger-strike , but I told him that my responsibilities for the family are over. I am ready to die for the country, if that is the sacrifice required to get rid of the menace of corruption." She said that sitting idle and thinking that what difference a joint committee or renewed draft bill on corruption would make is not going to help. "We cannot sit idle. Anna has shown us the way and it is the right moment to do something ," said Gupta. </i><br />
<i>Dr Praveen Sharma, a professor of neurosurgery at MGM College in Mumbai, is also on fast. "I have treated many patients and will continue to do that till I live. But this is the moment to treat the malaise of corruption . I have taken off from my duties to participate in the protest.</i><br />
<i></i>(Do check out the full story at <<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Groundswell-of-support-for-Anna/articleshow/7894607.cms">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Groundswell-of-support-for-Anna/articleshow/7894607.cms</a> > )<br />
<br />
For the curious and the uninformed, here are other links worth reading:<br />
---> <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/article1604213.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/article1604213.ece</a><br />
---> <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1607789.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1607789.ece</a><br />
---> <a href="http://expressbuzz.com/nation/ready-to-talk-but-can%E2%80%99t-take-rash-decision/263294.html">http://expressbuzz.com/nation/ready-to-talk-but-can%E2%80%99t-take-rash-decision/263294.html</a><br />
---> <a href="http://expressbuzz.com/nation/show-courage-to-fight-graft-hazare-tells-pm/263166.html">http://expressbuzz.com/nation/show-courage-to-fight-graft-hazare-tells-pm/263166.html</a><br />
---> <a href="http://expressbuzz.com/nation/hazare-caught-in-pmo-nac-crossfire/262996.html">http://expressbuzz.com/nation/hazare-caught-in-pmo-nac-crossfire/262996.html</a><br />
---> <a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW">http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW</a><br />
---> <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1607058.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1607058.ece</a><br />
---> <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1607073.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1607073.ece</a><br />
---> <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1603784.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1603784.ece</a><br />
---> <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1603787.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1603787.ece</a><br />
---> <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1603791.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1603791.ece</a><br />
---> <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1603879.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1603879.ece</a><br />
<br />
The time has come for all Indians to rally round the iconic figure of Anna Hazare as he takes on the powerful and arrogant Goliath of our government in perhaps a fitting replay of the true Gandhian approach. In these modern times, if we are to take a cue from what happened in Egypt and other countries where the regimes had stopped listening to the peoples' voices, the tools of social networking will demonstrate that they are also powerful tools for social change. The new tools will empower the people to interact in a more meaningful and powerful manner. It is up to all of us to fuel the wave of protests that will gather strength and, tsunami-like, break down the bulwarks of corruption and obfuscation that the politicians and their cronies have erected around themselves over the past decades.<br />
<br />
The winds of change have indeed started blowing. It is only a matter of time before they will attain unstoppable gale force. The entire nation is waiting for the dirt and filth of corruption to be blown away. India is waiting for a rebirth into a nation founded solidly on truth, ahimsa and co-existence.<br />
<br />
Destiny leads the nation and its people to a new tryst with its real future.<br />
<br />
Are YOU ready?<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-83980312107274882272011-03-24T10:11:00.000-07:002011-03-24T10:50:00.105-07:00SABARIMALA -- A RECAPThe media is a "one-trick pony"-- more, or less.....<br />
<br />
A sensation-a-day is the mantra on which the media celebrates its existence. A sensation at least once in a few days is the formula on which it manages to thrive. No sensation for a couple of weeks, and that is the sure-fire blight for "media-wilt"! Idle thoughts these are not. Anybody who has perhaps a less than average memory, but who is careful about keeping a note of half-a-dozen sensations from the previous month, and checking for its "progress" for about three months would come to the above conclusion. Then there is another interesting side to sensations too-- you just can't have a couple of simultaneous sensations! One of them will get relegated to the back of nowhere in no time!<br />
<br />
Such being the curious nature of media "attention" on issues that are more than mere sensations, it behoves the responsible citizen to "recap" and "revisit" topics and issues that demand more than a cursory attention. The recent tragedy at Sabarimala on the occasion of the Makarajyothi (in mid-January) is fresh in the minds of at least some of us, and surely the date is etched indelibly in the minds of the poor souls who lost a father, a husband, a son or a brother in the melee at Pulmedu on that fateful day. Do have a look at my earlier post "Sense and Sabarimala". ( <a href="http://2ndthinker.blogspot.com/2011/01/sense-and-sabarimala.html">http://2ndthinker.blogspot.com/2011/01/sense-and-sabarimala.html</a> )<br />
<br />
The weeks that followed the tragedy saw a tapering off of interest in the matter despite a rather spirited slanging match between the Forest Department, the Electricity Board and, of course, the Devaswam Board. Now the brouhaha has virtually died down and we (and surely the media!) are waiting for something else to happen before we start our response engines!<br />
<br />
I was in the meantime keeping track of the post-tragedy fallout.<br />
<br />
It was interesting, nay amusing, to see the government (which means the clever politicians!) playing hide-and-seek with the question of whether the Makara Jyothi was man-made or not, and in the event that it was man-made, who was/were the man/men who made it! The Chief Minister, an adroit old hand, easily side-stepped the issue by saying that it was a matter of 'faith' into which the government was loath to enter! No question of any enquiry of fact-finding regarding a question that was debated ad-nauseum by all and sundry, including the rationalists. It is fated to remain a mystery.<br />
<br />
The sad fact remains that the Makara Sankranthi pilgrim rush is mostly as a result of the pilgrims' wish to witness the 'divine jyothi'. What goes without saying is that the creation and perpetuation of the "cash cow" that the Makara jyothi was a legerdemain that was being accomplished with the tacit knowledge and connivance of the "powers that be". Those who have been following the developments are sure to remember the many revelations in the media as regards the truth about this "magical flickering light that appeared on cue" at Ponnambalamedu, and for a glimpse of which hundreds of poor pilgrims had paid for with their precious lives.<br />
<br />
Here are a few links of interest:<br />
<br />
"...The ‘Makarajyothi' issue has taken a new turn with a former Commissioner of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) writing to the Devaswom Ombudsman in Kerala, asserting that the TDB had indeed been lighting the fire seen atop Ponnambalamedu..." Read more at < <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1117779.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1117779.ece</a> ><br />
<br />
"...Contending that Makarajyothi was not a miracle but a man-made fire, the Supreme Court was moved on Saturday to stop lighting it at Ponnambalamedu near the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala in January every year... More at < <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1117782.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1117782.ece</a> ><br />
<br />
"...The Hindu on Friday posed the question (is the Makara Jyothi man-made) before a number of prominent persons closely associated with, or seek to represent the interests of, the revered and ancient forest-shrine. The answer: it is indeed man-made...." Follow the story at < <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1110275.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1110275.ece</a> ><br />
<br />
The clincher, however, was the statement made by the Pandalam Raja himself in a letter to the Editor of The Hindu newspaper. ( <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1110364.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1110364.ece</a> ) The Pandalam Royal family is part and parcel of the legend of Lord Ayyappa and even today the Raja retains many privileges, including being the official custodian of the Lord's festive ornaments and paraphernalia. The Pandalam Royal family has been involved with the rituals of the Ayyappa temple from the very beginning. But apparently the Devaswam Board's clever stratagem for making some solid quick money did not "gel" with the rather orthodox Raja, and he has now come out with a categoric denial of there being any "divinity" associated with the flame that flickers at Ponnambalamedu.<br />
<br />
The Raja being the accepted authority as regards many customs and rituals of the Sabarimala temple, there does not seem to be the need for any further authority to accept the truth that the "divine jyothi" is a man-made sham jyothi, lit in order to deceive the poor pilgrim. We have to educate the pilgrims about the truth of the jyothi before the next Makara Sankranthi day. Tout it as a part of the temple ritual, if you will. If the environment and forest ministries will permit, the Devaswam Board can open a trekking path to Ponnambalamedu and make some good money by selling a limited number of passes to pilgrims so that they could witness the "deeparadhana" and the "jyothi" being lit at the hilltop. Well, why not??<br />
<br />
If that is not possible, maybe for the present, the Board and the government have to see that no "clandestine jyothi" is lit there, throwing the pilgrims into another dangerous convulsion. It may be recalled that the Indian Space Organization had promised detailed satellite maps of the terrain to the government and the Board. It would be interesting to keep track by satellite of the presence of any "human agency" lighting the "divine fire"! Why can't a body of selected public figures, Board officials, Forest and government reps and a few rationalists be permitted to be present at the Ponnambalamedu venue on the Makara Sankranthi evening so that the issue could be settled once and for all???<br />
<br />
That, precisely, is the rub!! Nobody wants to "settle" the issue for good! Why? There is good (?) money in it! That, dear reader, is the sad truth behind all that apathy...<br />
<br />
Another curious development that was briefly reported was the claim made by a group representing the "malayarayans" and "malappandarams" and other hill tribes that they traditionally had the claim to light the Makara Jyothi at Ponnambalamedu. They were driven off when the forest area came under the Electricity Board after the commissioning of the Sabarigiri hydel project. The tribals are vocal about wanting their claim restored. A very interesting development indeed. I dont know, but they do not seem to have moved the court yet in this connection. This would tie in with my earlier suggestion. Restore the tribals' right and also start a new 'pilgrimage' to Ponnambalamedu and "market" the jyothi as a part of the Sabarimala rituals. This definitely would save lives and unnecessary rush and madness that have increasingly come to be a mark of the Sabarimala pilgrimage as the years go by.<br />
<br />
Yet another aspect that led to the tragedy that received the attention of many officials and functionaries was the unprecedented burgeoning of crowds at the hilltop temple. Not only that the mechanism of crowd control had miserably failed at the Sanctum and all along the trekking paths, there was another 'phenomenon' this year. All the roads leading to Sabarimala were clogged with vehicles and irate pilgrims.<br />
<br />
It will be easy to understand if you approached the whole 'phenomenon' from the 'result' and did some 'reverse engineering' to arrive at what had caused all this. The 'result' this year was that the waiting period for everything, be it 'darshan' of the Lord, be it the time in the last-leg queue before the temple, be it in the trekking paths, be it on the roads.... the waiting period could be counted in hours...something like eight to fifteen or more hours...and sometimes, in the far off approaches, almost 20 plus hours.<br />
<br />
This was an unusual phenomenon. The usual mechanisms of traffic and vehicle movement and parking and other controls were not working effectively, with the result that vehicles and pilgrims were "pouring in" and clogging every inch of space for miles and miles around. And they were right royally stuck there, mostly in the mountain roads, and far away from anything or anybody. With wait periods growing into something like half a day, or more, these pilgrims became a body of "captive customers" for the "vultures" who moved in, charging at times Rs 50 for a bottle of water, Rs 25 for a snack or other unimaginable sums for paltry products and services.<br />
<br />
This was an appalling 'phenomenon' noticed and confirmed by many officials, of course, "off the record", and by many pilgrims, who wanted to be very much on record. So what is the conclusion that any dimwit can come to in the light of this shocking revelation? The whole crowd situation was, to a large part, "engineered" this time by another avaricious bunch--the traders and shopkeepers who "service" the pilgrims. It is common knowledge how every trader, every jeep and other private vehicle driver is squeezed for "commissions" by reps of parties and power groups. There is no need to try and identify these 'extra-constitutional' powers. They are as real as real can be, and they span all political colours and affiliations. Forest officials, particularly, mention this nexus between the local political functionaries and the traders. And anybody who knows anything about at least the abkari and real estate and other "mafias" of God's Own Country only know too well that when it comes to 'milking' the people, pilgrims or non-pilgrims, there is consensus and nexus and what not between the (here, micro) "corporate" players and the political players--which, after all, happens to be a nationally accepted reality these days!<br />
<br />
It would take some spirited and impartial enquiries to bring to light the "real truth/s" behind the Sabarimala tragedy. As I suggested at the very beginning of my earlier post, right now that seems like a possible outcome only if Lord Ayyappa himself listens to the pleas of the faithful and "calls the shots", so to speak. The rest of us, if we remember to bother, can be satisfied with a vague report that might have good company while gathering dust in the repositories of the government -- where all such reports eventually go upon their submission.<br />
<br />
In the meantime there was some mention of a master plan made and submitted to the State Government by that Master Builder, Laurie Baker. [ "...A pictorial report prepared by the late architect Laurie Baker on creating essential amenities for Sabarimala pilgrims without harming nature has been gathering dust for the past 15 years..." Read more at < <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article1118038.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article1118038.ece</a> > ]<br />
<br />
Naturally, from what I heard, Baker, ever the man of sensibility and unmatched love for nature, favoured the hill temple to be maintained in a spartan manner, with all the concrete monstrosities that have mushroomed around the sanctum, dwarfing it beyond belief, to be razed to the ground. Pilgrims would be permitted to trek up the hill path, again maintained in a natural manner without concrete walkways, with the Pampa Ganapathy Temple serving as a gateway point. This is an eminently sensible and practical suggestion. But the master plan, prepared after a first-hand visit by the Master himself, lies gathering dust in the shelves of the Secretariat.<br />
<br />
Will the authorities publish that precious document?? PLEASE! And invite comments from architects, the general public, pilgrims and priests and also from planners so that some kind of a practical solution could be arrived at as soon as possible. But then that would call for a serious 'purpose' in the 'mind' of the government, at best an inanimate and inhuman mechanism.<br />
<br />
I have been, on the side, talking to many knowledgeable and gifted people who shared their ideas and concepts to "streamline" the Sabarimala pilgrimage as a unique experience that could even be marketed as a " spiritual destination". The details, like the pieces of a large and complex jigsaw puzzle, are now slowly falling into place. But I am sure of one thing--when a group of live minds with sincerity and enthusiasm come to concentrate on a problem, the solution is likely to be simple and elegant and beautiful.<br />
<br />
On second thought, that's what WE ALL want with regard to the Sabarimala situation, whether we are believers ourselves or not. I am looking forward to sharing with you that final shape/solution of the 'jigsaw puzzle' in a future post.<br />
<br />
So, here is to a sensible Sabarimala pilgrimage!<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-90910534220797603142011-03-20T10:39:00.000-07:002011-03-21T20:16:09.479-07:00LORD, GIVE US THIS DAY OUR 'NOTA' BUTTON !Sincere prayers will always be answered--eventually!<br />
<br />
That was what we were solemnly assured by "Kaappi Annan", the retired GOM (grand old man) who usually presides over our little group at the coffee house with all the aplomb of Kofi Annan at the UN. (Incidentally, the name is a pun on 'coffee' and 'annan', meaning the elder brother; let us admit it, Annan's wise ways, his crisp comments and observations, and above all his wonderful common sense, kept us on the straight and narrow and focussed most of the time, and we all loved it.)<br />
<br />
For quite some months the discussion had kept coming back to democracy and voting, and how the clever coalition politics had short-circuited the very idea of a truly democratic election and a selection by the people. Then out of the blue another avatar --the EVM-- burst on the scene, complicating the already murky situation further. From before most of us were born, we had paper ballots. Whether it was by a slip of the finger, or sheer plain ignorance or by a clever 'sleight of hand' that a virgin slip of ballot paper was added to that ever-increasing heap of 'support' for Mr Invalid, it has to be agreed that this particular possibility inherent in the paper ballot was sometimes really really desirable. Then some clever guy (probably the same guy or group who dreamed up the 'coalition' political formula and a short-cut to power) wanted to take India into the 21st century, along with the average office and factory and the corner 'dhaba' who were "computerizing" with a vengeance--end of paper, and the augury of the paperless Electronic Voting Machine.<br />
<br />
The EVM was slick and it was digital and, of course, paperless! And it was infallible!! The entire country welcomed it with open arms. Many of us, who had with horror looked to the periodic punishment of being sent as Presiding Officers for elections, heaved a collective sigh of relief when the EVM came onto the scene as it lessened our "manual labour" a lot. Things sailed on pretty smoothly for a while. Then came all sorts of doubts about the 'fool-proof' and tamper-proof nature of the EVMs. The government was vehement in its assertion that the EVM could not be tampered with. But computer experts were quick to point out that it was possible to 'hack' any piece of electronic gear at the "root" level-- if you knew how to, and if you had some simple tools of the trade. Today even the general public is quite savvy about "hacking" as they see and hear about such hi-tech exploits almost daily in the media and on the Net. For the dedicated hacker, or "cracker", virtually nothing seems to be impossible. There have been occasions, even recent, when accusations were made that "doctored" EVMs were substituted in order to manipulate election results. That is another ball game and it has to be addressed on its own--later, as it is not our concern right now.<br />
<br />
Our concerns to begin with, were the "arithmetic" of the coalition politics, and also how the EVM had made it well nigh impossible for the voter to really mark his/her preference in situations when the choices were equally undesirable. His vote went to somebody, whether he liked it or not, whether he wanted it or not. Once s/he was in the polling booth, s/he was under the tyranny of the EVM and you HAD TO push some button or other. With the paper ballot, you had a fool-proof "fall-guy" always-- Mr Invalid-- though it was a crime to make a vote invalid purposely. Ah, but then a slip of the finger could always be excused... But who said our politicians were asinine with "nothing in the upper storeys"?? With one fell and clever swoop they had cemented their position well by pushing all those invalid votes into favouring someone or other. We didn't like it one bit.<br />
<br />
This then was our "bone of contention", and the problem that vexed our little group's humble brains for a while. Nobody could think of a solution. And the government and the Election Commission were sitting pretty saying that this was progress and everything was fine the way it was. It was then that Kaappi Annan one evening uttered those famous words about sincere prayers and how they will be answered--eventually. He probably wanted to tell us dimwits that the clever politicians (who else is that invisible behemoth called the government?) would never agree to make a change that they knew would eat into their chances, and so our only alternative was prayer and supplication to the Almighty.<br />
<br />
Dutifully we followed suit and sincerely sent up our prayers in this regard heavenward. Though we had our doubts whether the Creator would choose to intervene on our behalf with the Left who never believed in Him, or with the Right who knew that it was better to believe in the Americans who print 'In God We Trust' on their coins and leave it conveniently at that, often giving His status to the little round gold icons. With the recent announcement of elections, our prayers took on a note of urgency bordering on panic. And at last, proving our Annan right, the Supreme Being responded to our prayers. As has been recorded in many apocryphal stories, to many of us this too happened as a dream conversation, an executive summary of which would go something like this:<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"O Lord, give us this day our NOTA button..."<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"I have created the Heaven and Earth, and many things besides, but am yet to hear of this.."<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"O Lord, it is the NOTA button on the EVM..."<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;">"Children these days have an abominable habit of speaking in acronyms... What's it?"</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"O Lord, it is the Electronic Voting Machine..."<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"I dont remember creating that... And what of this funny button?"<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;">"O Lord, it is a button we want on it... it's the 'None Of The Above' button..."</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"I dont claim to understand these newfangled gizmos, but let me make one thing absolutely plain... I did not create the EVM, and so it is not my responsibility to give you buttons for 'none of the above' or 'all of the above' or other combinations... Do you get that?"<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"O Lord, have mercy and please succour us..."<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"My word is final. I dont think it is a big deal for you to approach the CEC; my angels tell me he was the one who gave you the EVMs initially. From reports that reach me, I understand that the machine is fully tamper-proof. How do you expect me to insert a new button into that? Further I cant think of my name getting dragged into headlines about 'corruption in really High Places' and such like if I choose to touch the machine with intentions of making alterations to that. In the circumstances you would do well to submit your prayers to the CEC. All I would want to say is that those who have read their 'puranas' and the fables know that it is easier to wake a sleeping man than one whose somnolence is for the TV cameras. Prayers dismissed as being ultra vires. Over and out..."<br />
<br />
The dream faded away and we were jolted awake in cold sweat. The jolt registered something like 9 plus on the Richter scale, but we found ourselves on the terra firma once again the next evening at the coffee house.<br />
<br />
At last Annan spoke: Now that the Good Lord has chosen to wash His hands of the affair and has mentioned the CEC, let us think of submitting a prayer before that lordly official. There is logic in what the Almighty did point out. But then when a process or procedure is computerized, it should offer the user all the features that were inherent in the original, conventional system. Any departure from that is a violation of the standing rules of the game and it has to be legally questioned. Courts of Law surely understand questions of discrimination and non-conformity etc. But as a first resort let us propitiate and persuade the God of Poll Things about this NOTA thing, before we think of moving the machinery of Supreme Justice, decreed Annan sagely.<br />
<br />
So we got together and drafted another prayer--this time on paper.<br />
<br />
<b>Before the Honourable CEC:</b><br />
<br />
Permit us, Sir, to bring to your exalted notice a situation that to many would appear as funny, but to us a most serious and urgent one. As we all know the Indian Constitution states that any citizen of voting age can contest an election in our land. Though the architects of our Constitution were men of calibre and honesty, in essence they appear to lack forward thinking. They put no defining limits on the specs for the candidates. A professed Gandhian, who moonlights as a goonda, can contest by the side of a refined criminal or a self-styled joker or one of those scions of 'brand' families. Whether it was through their goodness or their lack of foresight that they permitted this, we know one thing. In the days of coalition politics, the clever parties can field a number of candidates who are all chips of the same old corrupt bloke, though there might be some apparent variations of colour.<br />
<br />
Right now the voter in the country is facing a huge dilemma. An overwhelming section of politicians consist of those who have given bribes and those who have taken bribes and then those worthies for whom the oaths of office that they take are as holy as dicer's oaths, and also many of those who betrayed the trust of the people. If the bunch of contestants happen to be from this 'unholy group' (it is more than likely that this will be the case), the voter may want to choose "none of the above" to represent him and conduct governance.<br />
As of now the "mechanics" of the EVM makes it mandatory that you have to choose one from the list, whether that is your true choice or not.<br />
<br />
Kindly note that the paper ballot system gave an option to the voter of not voting for any one from the list if he so desired. It is educative to seriously consider a hypothetical situation when the votes polled for all the candidates taken together number far less than all those polled for "none of the above". Where is the mandate? Dont we have a democracy, at least on paper, where a majority is a must? The present EVM denies the voter this option of indicating "None of the above" that was tacitly present throughout in the paper ballot system.<br />
<br />
<b>We strongly urge you to take urgent steps to denote one button in every EVM as 'None Of The Above'.</b> <b>We also need legislation to specify that if any candidate polls votes that are less than the number polled for NOTA, he cannot be elected.</b> Really we must specify that a candidate must poll more than 50% of the total polled votes if we are to have a truly democratic election, and not a charade of democratic procedures.<br />
<br />
In the greater interests of the country and democracy we the responsible, law-abiding, tax-paying voters of this great nation demand of you the above changes in the EVM and the rules that govern elections. We have enough time to consider and implement such changes before the forthcoming elections. In this context we submit once again the following prayer before your exalted self:<br />
<br />
<b>O Great CEC, give us this day our NOTA button..... PDQ! *</b><br />
---------------------------------------------------------------<br />
* Pretty Damn Quick<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-49996742751385309912011-03-19T03:06:00.000-07:002011-03-19T07:32:14.593-07:00THREE MISSIVES<b>I. To the First Citizen of the U S:</b><br />
<br />
Hi Barak!<br />
<br />
Surprised? You shouldn't be, as post-Wikileaks, the skies haven't fallen--yet, that is. Now the leaks that hog the front pages are the ones from Fukushima. That is, until a few days back-- when the Hindu burst an Indian bombshell by starting publication of the India-related cables sourced from Wikileaks.<br />
<br />
I am no longer sure whether you have been briefed/updated about this as I have my own reasons for not trusting those guys around you in government and diplomatic circles to keep you tuned to what is happening around the world --and hence this letter.<br />
<br />
But what triggered my missive was in fact the letter by one Mr T Darmalingam from Chennai published today (19 March, 2011) in the Letters to the Editor column of the HIndu itself. (<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1552233.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1552233.ece</a>)<span id="goog_176239864"></span><span id="goog_176239865"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a> To me he seems to be a particularly perspicacious gentleman and his thoughts rightly deserve some attention, and perhaps consequent action, from you. The reader's thoughts, if you will allow me an edgewise pun, do not leak and hold water very much. Let me quote:<br />
<br />
"...the US diplomatic staff, like their counterparts elsewhere, have a lot of spare time at their disposal. They collect plenty of gossip and pass them on to their bosses to justify their presence..."<br />
<br />
Apparently Mr Darmalingam is one who knows very well the rarefied levels at which the diplomatic corps cavort and is somewhat of an insider when it comes to knowing first-hand how the diplomats stretch the truth somewhat just to make their reports entertaining and 'authentic' with local colour, so that the State Department would accept their raison d'etre withour demur.<br />
<br />
I dont know much about what kind of Americans generally opt for the diplomatic services. But a comparatively "khushi" (the Brits spell it 'cushy') diplomatic junket in the East is not exactly what I would call a "bitter pill" to either a young man or woman, or to the more mature person who knows his marbles. As has been said ad nauseum, the East is East and the West is West..etc etc, and consequently it may not be easy for the average westerner to understand fully the complicated working of the Eastern (here please read Indian) mind--at the best of times, we, born and brought up and guaranteed to die or commit suicide or be killed here in this land of our fathers and father's fathers, do not understand the Indian mind!! In the light of this holy, unalloyed truth, read in conjunction with certain other truths revealed by our honourable PM in the Parliament itself yesterday, the statement of Mr Darmalingam merits closer study and analysis,and eventual acceptance.<br />
<br />
Our most honourable PM has indicated that the so called India Cables, as leaked by Wikileaks and now published by the Hindu, are in effect fictions. The other people whose names have unfortunately been quoted in the leaked documents too have, to borrow the words of the PM himself, "stoutly denied the veracity of the contents". You know Barak, you cant dispute the honourable words of the PM of the largest democracy of this world. As the First Citizen of the most powerful democracy of the world you know it as well as we do that lies, half-/un-truths and obfuscations are anathema to those who habitually uphold the best traditions of democracy, come hell or highwater or even colossal leaks.<br />
<br />
Let me urge you to come to the obvious but unpalatable conclusion after considering what that master sleuth Sherlock Holmes has said about particularly trying circumstances: "....however improbable something is, it is not wholly impossible.." when all things are considered. Your diplomats, enjoying to the hilt their high life in the post-cold war era, and that too in a land (in)famous right from the days of the Raj for the charms of its dusky high society wall flowers, have been feeding you, excuse me, very tasty bits that were basically crafted with crap. If you attend a couple of parties, particularly in Delhi where the high and the mighty and those wannabes and those who imagine themselves to be the H & M throng such watering places in droves, it wouldnt be too difficult to garner a few names that mattered. The diplomats, being mostly men of high education and imagination and a great degree of resourcefulness, and highly romantic to boot, soon found that they could with ease fabricate a "serial fiction" in the best traditions of the Indian TV soaps, with intrigues galore, and send it as cables to HQ back in the US. Like the Indian housewives emoting in front of TV sets before, during and after the "serial killers", those in the State Department, in the thrall of "what is going to happen next?...will she poison the other woman??..or will he be pulled into a damning situation once the pregnancy is discovered..." etc etc, failed to see, as they say, the wood for the trees. This is my best surmise, under the circumstances.<br />
<br />
And guess what? Diplomats know only too well that they have immunity, not only from colds, cruelty and AIDS, but from more virulent and dangerous things. They thought the boffins at the State Department knew their marbles and would play the game properly. It is plain that their confidence that the cables were never going to see the light of day emboldened them into garnishing the tales with the most salacious of intrigues and allegations and outright inventions and figments of fancy. Didnt you notice the half-smile of Mulford as he dreamily kept to his lintany of 'no comments'? He didnt deny writing those cables, but couldnt bring himself to say anything about what he thought was never going to be discussed in public. Actually the gaffe was not theirs, but you know whose.<br />
<br />
High diplomacy is one helluva job spiced with intrigues and stuff as everybody including Mr Darmalingam knows. The prevailing cloak of mystery is what contributes to its mystique. Once the mystery is lost in the glare of public disclosure, it becomes as stale as a magic trick demo-ed step-by-step. It was the certainty that their sacrosanct cables were never going to come to light that led your diplomatic functionaries give free rein to their imagination. How on earth could someone in their right senses believe that the stalwart politicians of India, who eat, sleep and breathe democracy, and sweat and toil for the poor of the country, be 'bought' with a few dollars, so to speak??!! Stuff and nonsense, if not fiction and farce...<br />
<br />
There is, I believe, no need to chastise those poor guys who walk the tightrope of diplomacy. Let them have their share of fun. Also, on many occasions the least said is often the best. Let the diplomatic corps continue to attract men and women of imagination and romance and send them off to exotic lands all over the world to foster 'relationships'. Come to think of it, without the charming diplomats and their parties, this world would be a dull place indeed.<br />
<br />
But when you do need information, and that too authentic information, it is best to rely on the old stalwarts of the "cloak and dagger and trenchcoat" brigade. Just tell them to go easy on the dagger part and make greater use of the cloak. Trenchcoats, sadly, are passe and are seen only in period movies. The three-piece suit too has lost some of its cutting edge. The trendy thing is to wear a Sherwani or such stuff and 'blend' with the 'desi' crowd or perhaps cleave into them as the Bible puts it very succinctly and play your cloak/uncloak stuff. Surely their reports are likely to be more reliable than the Booker-winning tales of your diplomats.<br />
<br />
In one word, dont trust them for your information, though there is no harm in reading them for sheer entertainment.<br />
<br />
Yours, as always.<br />
<br />
--Aam Aadmi.<br />
<br />
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br />
<br />
<b>II. To Her Excellency the President of India</b><br />
<br />
Your Excellency,<br />
<br />
It is with trepidation and hope that we, the average upright, law-abiding, tax-paying, non-bribe-taking, more-or-less honest citizen of India makes bold to write to you. Again, you being woman of sensibility, the Mother figure, holding this august position, gives us the courage to speak to you directly about our worries and concerns. We shall be brief.<br />
<br />
The country as you know has been passing thorugh the "radiation belt" of scams and allegations ever since the new year dawned. The seriousness of these allegations have woken up the Supreme Temple of Justice of the land to take what action is deemed best under such circumstances.<br />
<br />
If the scams of yesterday were primarily economic, the present transgression, if it is to be called that, is into the territory of morality and integrity. Serious allegations have surfaced as a result of the airing in public of what are called the India Cables as released by Wikileaks and published serially by the Hindu newspaper. No one in their right mind would say that the allegations are frivolous. On the other hand, if they are true, they point to absolute rottenness to the core at the highest levels of government and diplomacy, not to speak of politics.<br />
<br />
These allegations are to be met by something more substantial than "stout denials" by the parties concerned. As the Rashtrapathi ( or shall we say, as the Rashtramatha) your concern shall be for justice and truth as it reflects on the integrity of the government and its mechanisms. We are not looking at the integrity of individuals or the innocence or lack of it of individuals. We are concerned about the manner in which the collective mechanism of government has come under a black cloud of the suspicion of serious wrongdoing.<br />
<br />
After all, the government is an elected body of ordinary and fallible men and women. So it would be best if the government is asked to step aside for a while and undergo a litmus test for truth and probity administered by you and the Supreme Court directly. As has been pointed out in the article 'Bribery charge must now be investigated' by Siddarth Varadarajan (The Hindu, Page 10, 19 March, 2011; <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1552023.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1552023.ece</a> ), it would be an easy matter for our investigation agencies to 'triangulate' the various bits of information and navigate to the very core of truth.<br />
<br />
Rather than let the atmosphere fester with allegations and counter-allegations and truths and half-truths and what not, it would be in the interests of the Nation and its people if the truth was discovered at whatever cost and revealed before the people and the world. Such an effort would send powerful signals to the wrongdoers from within the country or without, and also give us the tools to weed out anti-democratic and anti-people practices with strong laws that call for absolute transparency and total accountabilty in government and governance.<br />
<br />
Praying for sensible, decisive and immediate action, we remain, Madam,<br />
<br />
Most sincerely yours,<br />
<br />
-- Aam Aadmis<br />
<br />
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br />
<br />
<b>III. To the Honourable Chief Justice of India</b><br />
<br />
Your Lordship,<br />
<br />
Permit us to place before you the copy of our missive to Her Excellency the President of India, in which we have attempted to address our concerns.<br />
<br />
Your Lordships had recently echoed our very thoughts when in exasperation the highest Bench of Justice of this land expostulated "What the hell is happening in this country?"<br />
<br />
My Lord, we too do not know what is happening in this country, and most of us would like an answer to that lakh-crore rupee question that is uppermost in the minds of most Indians. It is time, we believe, for an independent investigation, directly overseen by the Supreme Court of Justice of this land, to be ordered into all the murky issues that plague this nation of ours. The truth is only feared by the obsurantists and wrongdoers, but is welcomed by the citizenry at large, as your Lordships know. The PM's pointed admission of the pressures of "coalition dharma" leaves not even the principled individual free of the taint of graft and the stench of nepotism. The current crop of "leaks" is more serious -- if there is even an iota of truth in them. The wilful erosion of democratic and sovereign values, if true, is a prospect that frightens the right-thinking citizen beyond measure.<br />
<br />
To put this Nation back onto the rails of democracy, respectability and truth, honesty and probilty in public life calls for an immediate diagnosis of the cancer and its excision once and for all.<br />
<br />
The last sanctuary of the honest citizen, we are convinced, is the Citadel of Justice that you command.<br />
My Lord, we pray for Justice that should be seen to be done, with fear or favour to none.<br />
<br />
Most truly yours,<br />
<br />
--Aam Aadmi<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-80645145319335380182011-03-10T20:47:00.000-08:002011-03-15T20:49:45.590-07:00A(B)C MEGACORP PUBLIC ISSUEI have had my faith in the Indian ... all along.<br />
<br />
You ask anybody about India and Indians and they are sure to harp on the one-hundred-and-one types that make up that body politic called the Indian. And perhaps in an attempt to salve your irritation, s/he would quote the old school civics text and tell you that India's strength lay in its "unity in diversity"--a dramatic phrase that suits dramatic moments like when addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, at one end, or when maybe delivering a mere speech from the not-so-grand local public podium, at the other. But it is one phrase that is a very difficult pill to swallow, in spite of the accompanying glass of undiluted patriotism. Indians are a diverse bunch --and that is an understatement, if ever there was one!<br />
<br />
But I still had my faith in the typical Indian all along.<br />
<br />
Because I had, by pure accident, stumbled upon a factor that was common to all Indians. Take them from the know-it-all North, from the suave and sambar South, from the hauteur driven 'Colonial' East, or the Bollywood and black-money West, put them on any alien soil, and simply watch; keep watching for some time, and soon you will see a shocking pattern emerge. Despite their 'schooling' in the diverse corners of the world, despite their having 'absorbed' the culture, hairdos, hemlines and intonation of the surroundings, despite their being elected to the civic bodies and the clubs of the alien soil, despite their....(here put that big list of things that hard-working Indians are apt to achieve in no time in alien lands)....yeah, despite all that, when they come home... --not to a leased bed-sit or flat, but to their own home, bought and furnished, as only an Indian can do, whether he is in his own 'backyard' in India or in Suburbia in the US or Canada or Europe-- ....yes when they come home and "drop their guard", which had all along been 'up' in order to be good Western citizens, they instantly revert to being a "typical" Indian in their way of thinking and talking and acting...and 'acting' includes beating the wife, pulling up the daughter or even "honour killing" the sister, or behaving in umpteen other ways that will be quite obvious and familiar to a typical Indian observer as 'desi' ways.<br />
<br />
There is a singular Indian streak in all Indians. Period. And I had all along believed that whatever the Colonials or the Neo-colonials did, they penetrated only the surface, not even the thick skin, and underneath it all, us Indians staunchly maintained our Indian-ness, our insularity and our cranky ways of doing things which we had inherited from our great-great-great grandparents. You just couldn't 'brain-wash' an Indian-- for obvious reasons, say the anti-Indians! But my years of careful observation and experience had made me pretty rooted in my conviction that when it came to the crunch, you could trust the Indian to behave like an Indian.<br />
<br />
But not any more.<br />
<br />
I see an Indian (and that too not one picked at random from the teeming streets) behaving with typical un-Indian-ness. He is only Indian in his dress and manner and his blue turban. But he has been totally brain-washed by all the neo-liberal stuff they drummed into his brain at the Western B-schools and universities where he spent a lot more than his impressionable youth, if we are to believe his bio. No, I do not blame him at all for what all he is doing--or not doing, which is more than what he is doing, when you look at it from that angle. It is purely a neo-liberal Western conspiracy, as I and many of my acquaintances think and believe.<br />
We came to that conclusion the other day while discussing the article "Corporate Socialism's 2G Orgy" in The Hindu of 7 March. The article paints a horrifying picture of a systematic "subsidizing" of the corporates of India at the expense of the poor and the agriculturists and the middle class. This was being done particularly since our man came to occupy the 'hot seat' as a 'chosen man'. The figures quoted in the article--which are 'legal' figures released by the Ministry, no less-- would put the other recent scams to shame and qualify this 'official' and 'legitimate' scam to occupy the pride of place in the Guinness Book of Records.<br />
<br />
If you have any doubt about its nature as a scam, go no further than the Oxford Dictionary--any dishonest scheme/swindle qualifies it as a scam. I urge you to read the article in question once again (<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1515930.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1515930.ece</a> ) and come to your own conclusions whether the legerdemain of juggling with figures in order to hide the honest truth is a fraud or not. The budget, particularly this year's, is mere sleight of hand, a conjuring trick, that hides more than it reveals.<br />
<br />
India, if we bid goodbye to the "feel-good" neo-liberal era and time-travel backwards, prided itself on the economic and social vision of the Founding Fathers of this Nation and its Constitution and its later policies. The very Directive Principles positively envisioned a Welfare State, where in a short term economic and social stability and equality was expressly planned to be augured in. The Five-year Plans, whatever might have been their shortcomings, if any, were the fuel on which a nascent India steamed ahead enviably. Huge sums of public money were invested in creating and consolidating the core infrastructure of this vast nation. The result of all these steady steps of reform and nation-building could very well be seen in many spheres.<br />
<br />
Had we continued along that pathway of providing a better life, a better tomorrow for the "aam aadmi" of this great nation, surely today we would have achieved a greater and a more real and a more honest growth than what is trumpeted by the blowers of the neo-liberal horns. What happened in the era of the neo-liberal euphoria? There was this unprecedented and unnecessary frenetic call for growth and more growth. And one by one the great pillars of infrastructure built up with the sweat and tears of the public was got rid of by repeating the mantra of 'disinvestment'. Every public service and utility was starved and suffocated and left to die an unnatural death, while the private corporates grew fat on the carrion of these great public institutions, whose planned decimation left a huge vacuum that they were eager to occupy.<br />
<br />
The very servants of the public (the only time politicians and ministers will use that phrase is during the poll tamasha days) paid from the coffers to safeguard these pillars of public service, removed the corner stones and the cap stones of these edifices. If you are fond of scams, especilly the ones not yet uncovered, look no further than to the reign of Mr Ramdoss, our honourable minister so concerned about the health of the general public, who with extreme alacrity shut down ALL the centres of preventive vaccine production, citing some vague WHO directive. Now after so many years, a Parliamentary panel has found that what was done was "not proper". (<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1510997.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1510997.ece</a>)All right, and thank you, but what has the Panel finally DONE? Have they restored the status quo ante and ordered the immediate reopening of these manufactories? Has anybody been punished for the 'misdemeanour'? How many lakh-crores were paid by the foreign drug companies, and to whom? And how much money had been siphoned out by these companies in the last few years by way of inflated prices for a product that had been manufactured absolutely satisfactorily all these years by these home-grown institutions establised as part of the Five-year Plans?<br />
<br />
More important--did they consult the owners before shutting the laboratories and manufactories down? The public owns them, and you just can't 'disinvest' something that is owned by someone else. Try it elsewhere and see where that would get you! If this is not a dishonest scheme, I dont know what is...<br />
<br />
Mr Singh will, if you ask him, quite 'honestly' tell you that he was not told of all that, and more. And, poor man, graciously he would accept fully the blame. What difference does it make whether he accepts the responsibility or not? What good does it to the country, and to you and me? Once you accept the blame, you should do your best to reverse the error, repair the damage as good as you can. AND punish those that were supposed to tell you and keep you abreast of things and who didn't, and THEN punish the actual wrongdoers. Without doing that, if you go on repeating the "error in judgement" mantra, the judgement errors will soon snowball into judgement terrors.<br />
<br />
In the good old days (and that means about 5-10 years back, or if you will, before 2004 ), ministers had a few people in their offices whose chief occupation was to read the day's papers and prepare 'important' cuttings for the great man. I gather that such cuttings from local vernacular dailies, with translations, used to be sent North in the past. Mr Singh has apparently only illiterates in his staff whose vocabulary seems to be limited to a monosyllabic 'yes sir', and who don't read the papers. As for the sanitized images that appear on the visual media, the less said, the better. A gentleman friend who retired as a Judicial officer tells me that the Honourable Justices of the HIgh Courts often kept an eagle eye out for instances of social injustice, as reported in the major newspapers, and many were the times when they intervened with the power that was vested in them 'suo motu' in order to correct the situation in a grand gesture of the upholding of Justice, absolute and impartial.<br />
<br />
Our man as he pursued his economic studies ad nauseum in the foreign centres of learning seems to have forgotten all these things. His brain now registers only the neo-liberal mantras and his guiding lights are the politico-corporate junta. He doesn't see anything wrong in this new amalgm of Yankee interests as he has been totally brainwashed. Only the other day he had equated stolen money with subsidies given to the poor-- the first (and let us hope it will be the last too) such instance when the 'leader' of a nation of largely poor has disowned the poor totally. The only thing that merits his attention and according to him deserves subsidies is the corporates --which is the holy truth as per the Bible of the neo-liberals.<br />
<br />
This being the reality of the day, it would be foolish to hope for and wait for some sort of a 'change' for the better for the common man. The only course, as has been suggested by my Judge friend, is to approach the last refuge of the common man, that symbol of Justice, the Supreme Court, and bring this blatant discrimination in implementing the tax burden. The common man must pay, or else.... If you are a corporate, oh, you will be mollycoddled. The Supreme Temple of Justice would surely not tolerate two laws for two different people, and its heavy gavel would come crashing down upon the wrongdoers. A good plan, surely. So let us by all means move the Supreme Court for the redressal of our grievance of discrimination. But is that the only way out?<br />
<br />
And that brings me to the A(B)C plan.<br />
<br />
I have a better scheme. Let us all get together and subscribe Re 1 each and as per company rules and all else and in full compliance with the laws of the land etc etc, float a company --the <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Aam aadmi (Bharat) Corporation</span></b> -- to pursue our well-being and prosperity! I guess it is possible and allowed under the corporate and other laws. We will probably have the largest subscriber base and enough money to take care of everything, including the hire charges for top level PR honchos (who needs Radia if you can afford the best?), ads in all the major media etc to establish our 'corporate image' and presence.<br />
<br />
And above all the votes we hold are better than the second-rate votes that are cast in the board rooms of common corporates--they can be cast, and that too effectively, in all the public elections!<br />
We ARE the largest corporate entity that all India, nay, the entire world has seen. We are the NUMERO UNO, and on top of the Fortune 500! And we are...<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Aam aadmi (Bharat) Corporation </b></span>!!<br />
<br />
I will guarantee this will work. Mr Singh, programmed by his Western education to recognize corporate power, will see reason and we will soon garner all that we wish for and more, for ourselves and for our 'corporate agronomists', who no longer will have to look for an inexpensive means of snuffing out their lives in the face of 'economic situations'!<br />
<br />
It is a dream to top all dreams. On second thought, why don't we get down and do it ASAP ???<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> * * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-45899030746102997612011-03-04T10:28:00.000-08:002011-03-04T19:27:08.722-08:00DEMOCRACY --AND ITS ARITHMETIC<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">Let us admit it, quite a lot of us are not good at Math. And for most of us "yesterday's kids", our fathers weren't exactly swimming in dough; and in all probability they thought it was infra dig if their kid went to college on a 'bought' seat. To boot, they never believed in running their households like a Karate master ran his Dojo--kids were by and large left to their devices. Otherwise (horrors!) quite a few of us would have ended up as engineers or doctors, the only careers worth pursuing --at whatever cost-- according to Gen X's parents. That meant we the lazy-bums could spend a number of years blissfully at college pursuing the liberal arts when you were free from pursuits of other more interesting kinds. The result? A lot of accumulated sins that finally overtook most of us by the end of 2010 in the shape of figures and sums.<br />
<br />
Whoa! I can't imagine the nights of trepidation I spent grappling with figures with so many zeroes that it appeared as if they were being spewed out by a Gatling gun. Came February and the only figures I was willing to think of were less than fifty; more in the vicinity of 35--36 and about 24 or roughly thereabouts. But March, right from the Roman Era, ("...beware the Ides of March...") was a month of trouble and tribulation, though they hadn't yet invented that annual exercise in skulduggery called the Budget, not at least in Rome. My fears came true as I scanned the following...and figures once again started bombarding my enervated mind.<br />
<br />
<b>"...We do not have a democracy ... Any country where only half of the eligible voters are registered and where only half of those who are registered vote and where only half of those who vote like their choice, is NOT a democracy. Any country that isn’t ruled by its government, that is ruled instead by the (corporates), isn’t a democracy ... any world government that is ruled by trans-national corporations isn’t a democracy. Yet such is the state of our national and global governments..."</b><br />
<br />
<br />
(Edits and emphases mine, done in order to make the statement more direct and general. I urge you to read the original essay It’s Healing Time on Earth at < http://www.smallisbeautiful.org/publications/brower_92.html > . Though the context is different, its relevance to the average, caring citizen is very high indeed. It is a sad commentary on the interests and focus of today's parents and youth that most of them would not have heard of its author David Brower or have an idea why his thoughts are highly relevant in our times.<br />
<br />
Mr Brower has been a leading figure in the environmental movement and an articulate spokesman for a sustainable society for many years. He is the founder of 'Friends of the Earth' and the 'League of Conservation Voters'. In 1982 Brower founded Earth Island Institute and the Brower Fund, and he initiated the biennial "Hope of the Earth" conferences on peace and environmental and social justice. Brower has been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize. His is a voice of sanity in today's world that jives to the cacophony of 'development' and 'growth'.<br />
<br />
The great man's words sound uncannily familiar because they echo the subliminal thinking of the average Indian, especially in these times. Was he by any chance speaking of the Indian situation? No. His reference was, of course, to the US --though it is applicable to anywhere in this world where such a situation prevails. With Dr Brower's permission I would like to re-phrase his words a bit to reflect the "Indian Reality", with which I am sure he may not have been on intimate terms. It could go something like this:<br />
<br />
"We DO NOT have a DEMOCRACY...in our country where only half the eligible voters are registered, and where only half or less than half of the registered voters "exercise their franchise", and less than half of those voters are lucky to cast their votes for a candidate they like, (the others are forced, especially in the era of the EVM, --the electronic voting machine-- to cast their votes for one of the undesirables who have got into the machine like a ghost that cannot be exorcised; oh, bring back the paper ballot, where with a flourish of your fingers, you could indicate "none of the above" and side with that great favourite of the masses, Mr Invalid! Or, better still, give us a button for him on the EVM!) and where after the elections, the 'winners' would need to cobble together at least half a dozen parties forming a "coalition of interests" and stake their claim for forming the government...”<br />
<br />
Let us look at the 'rule of the corporates' part of Dr Brower's statement separately, though that is another reality that has come to stay in the Indian polity, if current signs are any indicators.<br />
<br />
Democracy is government by majority. That means out of a hundred, you must have at least 51 with you, to swing the majority in your favour. Really? Is that the case now in our governments, Central and State? I can't let my head overheat and self-destruct by trying to compute the final numbers based on the above proportions and divisions. I leave it to the Math-savvy amongst my readers to arrive at the approximate figures and enlighten us.<br />
<br />
It doesn't, however, take a degree in astrophysics to arrive at the shocking reality that stares us in the face -- the democratic "mandate" works out to less than 10 in 100.<br />
<br />
And what is this "mandate" stuff? T/read carefully...; it is:<br />
<br />
<b>"...the authority to carry out a policy or course of action, regarded as given by the electorate to a party or candidate that wins an election".</b><br />
<br />
Whew! The good thing is that it applies only to the winning candidate! It surely is not applicable to those few who have never contested an election in their life and yet come to sit in the "gaddi" and go about with a thick skin and a sanctimonious air and act as if they have had all the mandates in this world. It IS a laugh...<br />
<br />
The operative phrase when you consider the mandate is "...wins an election". In the days before bought college seats and paid media news, while in school you could not pass ('win') from one grade to the next if you didn't have a minimum, measly "pass percentage". And according to the great and the best tenets of democracy (by which ALL our "leaders" swear, whether they are to the right or the left of right or the real left that is really to the right, or in groups of varying permutations and combinations of the above) the "pass percentage" is 51%. Only that gives you a "democratic” mandate.<br />
<br />
The mandate that you assume by/for yourself in a coalition situation is in accordance with what you term the "coalition dharma" and what the rest of the world terms the "coalition adharma". Dharma is a very curious word that beats translation into English. The closest you could come is perhaps by saying that it is, literally, <b>"...a decree or custom, as per the eternal laws of the cosmos, inherent in the very nature of things..."</b>. So don't you see that "coalition dharma" is "cosmic" in its roots... something like the "Divine Right" claimed by the ruling class of pre-Democratic, pre-Socialist, pre-Revolutionary days, though ‘CD’ has thankfully a faint echo of the ethos of India's past, yet is fine-tuned to the banking and other needs of the modern era.<br />
<br />
This then is the Arithmetic of Democracy. And it took one Brower to shout that the arithmetic indicated that the Emperor was in truth walking about starkers, his "modesty" revealed in all its glory (?!) without the cover of the garb of democracy! How long has this democratic 'tamasha' been going on? Doubtlessly for quite a long while. It is an expensive tamasha when you look at the trouble and the expense the Election Commission goes to in order to conduct this charade of 'democratic' elections. Only the concept and the procedure is democratic; the arithmetic is not because figures usually do not lie. Why go through this five-yearly exercise in futility? I can already hear the strident protests of the politicians as they rally to the defense of the “democratic rights of the citizen”. The elections are as good a rubber stamp as any to give any coalition of scoundrels and others who traditionally have taken refuge in politics, the legitimacy of a democratic mandate.<br />
<br />
What Mr Brower has said of the US is more than true when it comes to the situation in India too. After all, according to the self-styled guardian of democracy globally, the US and its 'partner' India are the world's two greatest democracies, maybe in 'quality' and size, respectively. With a 'healthy' emulation of all things American, and a parroting of their rhetoric, the Indian system has of late become a Xerox copy of the politician-corporate nexus perfected in the best Yankee fashion of governance. As Mr Obama and Mr SIngh thump each other's back in mutual congratulation about an undying commitment to democracy, if you listen closely you could hear the sound of so many corporate axes being ground in the background. Perhaps the one major difference in India is that, post-elections, the axe-grinding is the loudest sound that marks the "functioning" of the circus called government.<br />
<br />
Let us call a stop to this inane game and save a pretty packet too. We will come to some sort of an agreement so that a "musical chair" kind of arrangement could be worked out with "equal opportunities" for politicians of all possible colours. Think of the savings, not only in election expenses, but all the JPC bills, and the savings effected by downsizing the CBI and CVC and other such Constitutional bodies, to speak nothing of the grand saving made in the time and effort of the Honourable Justices of the Supreme Court, the only beacon of hope left for the "aam aadmi" in this land. Let us have some sort of a 'civilized' arrangement for government, rather than all the "horse trading" ( somebody tells me the horses might file an objection to the use of the term!) and other embarrassing uncertainties just prior to "staking" a 'majority' claim, which in reality is perhaps the slimmest 'minority', if there is such a usage.<br />
<br />
But, on second thought, I doubt whether such saner counsels will prevail in this great democratic sub-continent of ours. I can imagine the screaming headlines: "Democracy butchered", "The Darkest hour of Indian Democracy", and more. If you are honest, dear, gentle reader, at least to yourself, you could see without making an effort that democracy had already been butchered, made into mincemeat and was being cooked and eaten with savour for the past many decades in this land of Gandhian 'ahimsa' and vegetarianism, and also that Indian democracy hadn't made much real progress from the dark midnight hour in which it was conceived back in 1947.<br />
<br />
What makes me so sure of that? If we had cared for democracy in a serious way, we would have had legislation to limit the total number of parties to two, to specify that you needed to have some minimum education before you could get into the bodies of governance and legislation, to insist that nobody other than a duly elected person shall have the right to occupy any such position and, most important of all, to make it mandatory that a clear majority in polled votes as against the registered votes is absolutely essential before the 'mandate' could be exercised. If no one was able to score that essential "minimum pass-mark", or if the public had indicated that their choice was "none of the above", then the President and his Gubernatorial minions could very well run the country--until such time as a clear and popular alternative emerged.<br />
<br />
Surely running a country of law-abiding, democratic citizenry who are happy that their will has prevailed is not likely to tax the abilities of the Supreme Commander of the Nation’s Forces and his able lieutenants.<br />
<br />
By the way, where are those bells? We shall with alacrity bell these fandangle* felines.<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
* fandangle: a useless and/or purely ornamental thing<br />
<br />
* * * * * * * * * * * *</div>The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-1852430183831453532011-03-01T07:41:00.000-08:002011-03-02T09:19:27.235-08:00RAISON D'ETRE<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">When it comes to saying things with the right kind of 'flavour', I guess you will have to hand it to the French.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">English would have been so poorer had it not been for the long period of the Norman's sojourn in the Queen's Isles. Whether it is the subtlety of rarefied lies that mark diplomacy, or the fickleness of taste that mark fashion, or the flights of fancy that define the world of romance, or, admit it, when you get down to the raunchiness of sex, you would find it difficult to say what you really would like to mean without the fecund French turn of phrase.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Poor English, despite its closeness to the custodians of culture on the other side of the Channel who happen to be the only ones who know how to taste the <b><i>joie de vivre</i></b>, has no words like these that mean the same thing. Let us turn to the old reliable OED--the Oxford English Dictionary, that final arbiter of meaning for us, careful users of the King's/Queen's tongue. <b><i>Raison d'etre </i></b>(No, don't try to pronounce it and demonstrate to the entire world that we the non-French will never get it right!) is "... the most important reason or purpose that accounts for or justifies someone or something's existence". Read that again and it easily boils down to "...someone/something's reason for being around". Switch to the plural and you can include all the noble and the not-so-noble reasons that call loudly for that something/someone's existence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Good. An abstruse everyday French phrase and we have got it licked in two minutes flat! Now, onto more mundane things.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Now for VFM, the mantra of the Middle Class. "Chathurvarnyam" or the four-class system, was, with the zero and Sanskrit, the invention of Indians. But then in 1947 they threw that out along with the Brits and their Colonial peccadilloes, though 'desi' games like cricket were nurtured side-by-side with 'kabaddi', the truly 'Indian' game in spirit and methodology. The Socialists had their working class and India had no class!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Then God thought that perhaps nascent India needed the MC. Accordingly this class has been expressly ordained into being by our Creator for the very purpose of giving some sheen by contrast to the "business-class" citizens of India and also for serving as the subjects of the Maharajah of Air India, so that once in a while that royal personage could give a boost to his sagging ego and his bottom line by doling out real, unalloyed vassal-like treatment to the MC when the poor souls bought tickets to perdition and flew his silver jets --jets bought with their tax money and whose engines gulped the aviation spirit thrice subsidized by their tax money! Ho, the ways of Providence are indeed mysterious...<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">I didn't know what VFM meant until a friend's 'savvy' kid wised me up--Value For Money. Maybe they teach all those acronyms in B-schools, along with avarice and a total lack of emotions that are the pre-requisites to being a good 'manager'. But most of us populating that middle level know that value for money is something that you look for in everything, whether it is cars or cattle, chappals or chattels, flats or farmhouses, umbrellas or underwear, or that ultimate high of "shopping", a suitable bride or groom!!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Now let me come to the lakh-crore rupee question--why do we need to bother with these two phrases in our everyday lives? When you want to get something or someone into your life, it is best to ask away these questions and get the answers <b><i>before</i></b> we act. But us middle class mortals are not that fortunate usually. By the time we have a breather in life and realize that we are part of the great MC crowd, we have many of these things and people solidly in our lives. So when it comes to the pinch, or sometimes the crunch, we have to ask these unpleasant questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">This is one such time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">From the first generation of those babies who were the aftermath of the "midnight tryst", with Destiny or whoever else it was, to the generation next and now to the 'generation text' (conceived mostly in the sedate pre-texting days), Indians have been patient. Patient for sixty long years. Nobody is perfect, we all know. And you need time to "perfect your act" and perform.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">All right. But <b>sixty</b> years? Sixty long, grinding years...?? Don't you think it is a bit long? You would be patient with a son/daughter who took the long and circuitous route to his/her ‘slot’ and success in life; but your patience is likely to be rewarded with the happy sight of him/her living a full life with aplomb at least by the ripe age of maybe 30, 35 or even 40. Half a century is the insane limit. SIXTY years... and then some. If you are still not with me there, I urge you to start counting from 1947--no need to be finicky about whether to start from the midnight hour or not. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">What is the <b><i>raison d'etre </i></b>of a government--any government, for that matter? To govern, naturally, stupid! Our government is a clever consortium--they govern strictly according to the dictionary; no need to see if it is to the satisfaction and welfare of the governed, as that is not specified in the dictionary! How many ministers do we have in our Central ministry ? How many in each of our States? How much are they costing the Exchequer, a fancy word invented by the Brits --who love pomp and ceremony, fancy-dress balls and, of course, fancy words-- that ultimately means the poor guys who shell out their money as taxes?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">The <b><i>raison d'etre </i></b>of this veritable army of self-serving worthies is to 'govern' us and conduct our affairs. How? Ah, my dear Sir, broadly as we wish them to be conducted, and to our general satisfaction and overall welfare. That is why we have representative democracy, and that is the reason for YOU being sent THERE.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Democracy? Ah, yes... But today democracy is like Milma milk, which starts out as the "real thing" --milk from the udders of real, live, honest-to-goodness cows. But then the milk gathers volume, with all sorts of buffalo milk and water being added to it before being fed into the big maw of the dairy machinery, where a judicious amount of "reconstituted milk" (fancy name for the white stuff called milk powder) is added, water is added, various fats and other stuff are added, and is finally checked with that magical device called a Lactometer that tells you if the resulting stuff has the consistency and specific gravity and the colour of milk. It is NOT milk, as you knew it and drank it as a child, but in a court of law you could swear that it IS milk, and you won't be hauled up for perjury. They sell it in poly packs for a fancy price with the catchy slogan " Here is goodness you can wake up to...". (So sad that the Englishman has no 'Vishu' or 'Kani', and so "Keralam kani kandunarunna nanma" has to remain un-translatable.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">What I was meaning was that by the time democracy reaches the upper echelons of power and power brokers, it is as bad as Milma milk... or, as good as Milma milk. It all depends on your point of view. (I do not want to be pulled up for libel--when I used the word Milma, I had in mind any similar dairy product from any State of India which has more or less the same consistency and background. Perhaps I should ask my dear, gentle reader to substitute the word with ‘Milpa’ or 'Palma', an imaginary dairy product, in order to serve as an object of comparison to illustrate the dilution and total transformation of quality/originality as the 'process' is completed.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">If somebody in the meantime has computed the total cost of maintaining all these "servants of the people, for the people", let us ask the second question. Are they returning any VFM? Opinions are sure to differ wildly. So let us look at percentages, rather than 'digital' questions of 'yes' or 'no'. Does the VFM come anywhere near the "pass percentage" of 35 % ? Or, is it A-grade performance at 60%, or exemplary levels at more than 80% ? Or, are we talking about "performance" that is more like a measly less than 10%?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">One thing is clear. When those expensively-maintained ministers, including the prime among the lot, go about saying that they did not know what was happening in their ministries, that very admission is proof positive of extreme "under-performance", if not total non-performance. Will any employer, past or present, here or in any corner of this wide world, continue to tolerate such an employee, and that too at great expense, not to speak of the damage he does to the system?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Looking at the definition of <b><i>raison d'etre </i></b>clarifies another moot point too. The reason for existence should 'justify' that. So much of money spent for so long on so great a bunch of non-performers.... What justification could anyone have for this gross travesty of governance? What value are we getting for this huge investment. Nothing--except double-digit inflation!! And onions, God alone knows, at what rate of inflation!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">This 'tamasha' has become something like a circus that has grown to occupy the entire "big top", with the audience kicked out into the rain and the slush. It is high time we realized that, if at all it is a circus, it is for our 'entertainment' and we have tickets and a right to occupy at least our gallery seats. And, let them not forget it, we demand VFM when it comes to the "entertainment value".<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">We have, whether we like it or not, a huge machinery called the bureaucracy peopled by scores of functionaries from the chaprasi to the Chief Secretary, and, again, funded by our 'enthusiastic' tax contributions. Are they not capable of keeping the machinery of governance well-oiled and running smoothly for a while? C'mon, we have had enough and more "policies" and high-flying things like that taken care of in the past sixty years and more, and I guess we could survive for a few years, if not more, on the sheer momentum of the past policies and principles. We don't want this expensive circus eating up our hard-earned money --at least not until a bunch of "fresh recruits" agree to "play ball" as per our wishes and decrees and give us some guarantees about VFM.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">By no stretch of imagination could a reasonable man in our country now accept the <b><i>raisons d'etre </i></b>for the existence of the body of self-styled "guardians" of our Constitution and "protectors" of our lives, who have taken an absolute disregard for accountability and probity in public life to the very nadir of decadence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">This must stop. This must be stopped.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">And the time--and the opportunity-- for taking that decision is right round the corner.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"> * * * * * * * * * * * *<o:p></o:p></span></div>The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-8977400865857118612011-02-24T00:36:00.000-08:002011-02-28T01:26:36.190-08:00PERUMON TO SOUMYA: MURDERS MOST FOULEver since Sage Parasurama with a flick of his able wrist propelled his divine battle axe from Gokarnam to Kanyakumari and magically reclaimed the strip of land called Kerala from the sea, it has been a balmy, temperate place. The Keralites, spoiled beyond measure by the idyllic climate, the natural beauty and the sedate pace of life in the Sage's own land, (now dubbed God's Own Country by the wiz kids of Stark Advertising who "sell the State" for Kerala Tourism) were the only people who stridently complained about the HOT summers and the BLUSTERY rainy season. If they had travelled around and discovered for themselves what heat meant, or for that matter cold, they wouldn't have dared to open their mouths again.<br />
<br />
We had our share of the heat spells, and admittedly, a fair share of the windy monsoons. But more or less pleasant and balmy weather was the hallmark of the land all along, not only when the tough Sage had directly supervised the running of his pet country, but through the later centuries too when a string of kings and chieftains held sway over the land. Had it been otherwise, it would have found sure mention in that delectable "garland of legends" ('Aithihyamala') by Kottarathil Sankunni, raconteur par excellence. The Brits, for all their colonial faults, couldnt be said to have been lax when it came to documenting the climate and weather patterns of the sub-continent. Also, the Maharajah of Travancore, who took the initiative to establish an observatory, one of the oldest in the sub-continent, was an amateur weatherman himself. The long and short of it is that never was recorded in the history of this ribbon of land any typhoons or squalls or suchlike manifestations of the anger of the weather gods.<br />
<br />
Until the fateful day of July 8, 1988.<br />
<br />
According to the experts of the Indian Railways (whose main business we thought was running trains efficiently and on time--at least trying to-- and not weather-watching), Nemesis in the guise of a tornado stealthily and suddenly appeared and lifted ten coaches of the Bangalore-Kanyakumari express train off the Perumon bridge and plunged them into the depths of the Ashtamudi lake, killing about 105 people. That many in country boats were fishing nearby did not deter the tornado as it was confident it could do its dark deed with absolute stealth. Not a single palm frond nearby was shaken by the tornado --such was its stealth and focus! The eyes of the weather men and their weather radars were clouded over with stealth technology by the tornado while it struck, so that all over the country no unusual weather was observed or recorded.<br />
<br />
It was usual right from the days of the British Raj for officials to devote considerable time to personal hobby interests, and more so when their jobs involved long periods of offficial inactivity. The railway Safety Commissioner's job was one such. In times of no breach of safety, he spent time idly like a chafing war horse. It was quite probable that he had in his spare time over the years cultivated an intimacy with the vagaries of Indian weather that had probably escaped the eyes of the harried regular weathermen. He knew the stealthy tornadoes intimately.<br />
<br />
One look at the "mysterious" (the 'mystery' had to do with "how did it happen?" But to the layman without much imagination, it appeared that some flaw, probably in the rails, had caused the train to derail and plunge into the lake) accident site convinced the Safety Commissioner that the villain was a stealthy tornado! After due investigations and examinations of witnesses, most whom as typical Keralites were ignorant of what a tornado was, he submitted a detailed report. Suffice to say the report went to great lengths to ensure the safety of the railways and its minions in the post-tragedy scenario. As a wag pointed out at the time, the people were fools to think that he would act like the Public Safety Commissioner; his official designation amply clarified his duties, and he only did what he was supposed to do.<br />
<br />
Whether the accident and the tragedy was the result of human error or oversight, his choice of an "Act of God" as the causal force had about it a stroke of genius and benevolence. In these days of Ahimsa, no scapegoats were needed to satisfy the bloodlust of the public. Probably what guided him was also the philosophical resignation that whatever you did could not bring back those who had found a watery grave on that tragic day; surely the plight of the living was supreme, whose lives could be made sheer hell by unpleasant and unnecessary questions that could be raised by all and sundry. The tornado upon whom the blame was fixed for the tragedy was sure not to protest the finding of the Commission, as it was unlikely that it would visit Kerala again for another Millennium or more. This is how public servants and Commissions of Inquiry should function. Find a generally acceptable and credible culprit and close the files after due legal process. Thanks largely to such practices, the railways could get back to their business of keeping the largest network of rolling stock in the world rolling steadily and smoothly.<br />
<br />
Along with the Indian Posts & Telegraphs (now a doddering non-entity, thanks to Liberalization era reforms) the Indian Railways shared the distinction of being behemoths who were a law unto themselves. The disdain exhibited especially by the telephones department when a poor customer sought to raise a complaint of over-billing is only legion. They claimed, like the government of today does with the list of names of the black money kings, that they had immunity and they were not under obligation to make public "technical information" like the phone usage details of an individual. Finally that saviour of the "Aam aadmi", the Supreme Temple of Justice, ruled that so long as the department took money from the public in lieu of a service, it would be bound by the relevant rules. And the behemoth had to, unwillingly though, shelve its hauteur and behave.<br />
<br />
The Indian Railways often is something like an empire with its own laws, and answerable to none. When sometime back a couple of lady academics whom I knew well undertook a journey from Trivandrum, Kerala, to Hyderabad, the most precious content of their baggage was their doctoral theses and related papers. Their "possessive behaviour" triggered the antennae of some among the legion of thugs and thieves ( I am not here meaning those in the employ of the railways and who practice the above trade), cut-purses and bag snatchers who, with impunity, make an excellent living off the many trains plying the length and breadth of this vast land of ours. That night their baggage was stolen. Luckily the ladies awoke in time to discover their loss and tried their best to get the Ticket Examiner do something about it. He, true to his official training and behaviour, brushed aside their plaints and pleadings and went off in a huff. Thanks to the initiative of co-passengers, the broken-open suitcases were discovered in the vestibule--where the chagrined thieves had dumped them. The papers were in disarray and thrown to the floor and the wind was doing its best to distribute it over the countryside. The duo, downcast and dispirited, got down at the next station and lodged a complaint with the Station Master and the police, who apparently believed that sympathetic behaviour did not go well with officialdom. With much hardship they attended their interviews and returned.<br />
<br />
Months later the machinery of justice, turning ponderously, finally issued a summons to the professors to attend a hearing in some north Indian city court. As they were busy academics and as they had good legal advice, they were finally able to prevail upon the railways to shift the venue to within Kerala. At the hearing the tone adopted by the counsel for the railways made it appear that the two ladies had started from Kerala with a load of worthless papers with the express aim of defrauding the railways of a tidy sum of money! Fortunately this vein of questioning and argument did not 'gel' with the presiding Judge and, pulling up the railway's counsel for his frivolity and lack of civility, reminded him about the railways contractual obligations etc (buying a ticket entitles you to such, no less). In the end damages were awarded to the two lady academics, and all agreed that it was not the money but the spirit of the award that made the whole exercise worthwhile.<br />
<br />
A young man who lost a couple of his fingers when a damaged window shutter fell on his hand was chastised by the railway counsel for not exercising caution and common sense and for trying to make an easy living by embezzling money from the railways. If you know the phrase "adding insult to injury", you will know exactly how the plaintiff felt. Fortunately some eagle-eyed youngsters discovered that the same coach was continuing in service without any repairs, and reconsideration of the case laid the blame squarely upon the railways, leading to a redressal of the original complaint.<br />
<br />
Instances like the above are countless and they read like an enumeration of the railways' continuing criminal apathy towards the plight of passengers. They take your money and act as if they are doing you a favour. They act as if they are an unquestionable law unto themselves, and time and again they prove in the lawcourts and in public that they cannot be "touched".<br />
<br />
It is perhaps some sort of a tragic coincidence that on the 23rd anniversary of the Perumon tragedy, a 23 year old young girl's life was snuffed out, largely as a result of the continuing indifference of the Indian Railways. Soumya, an ill-fated commuter in the Shoranur Passenger train, was the victim of attempted robbery and later cruel rape and cold-blooded murder by the miscreant who had pushed her out of the running train. The tragedy shook the conscience of Kerala in many subtle ways. But televised reports of the railway Divisional Manager's conference the next day presented "text book attempts" at discovering novel ways of shifting the blame. It was patently clear that the railways were culpable for the lack of any security arrangements for the passengers despite long-standing and vocal demands by the travelling public. Technicalities will always be found to explain away inconvenient truths and to brush the dirt under the carpet. Such is the inhumanity of officialdom, especially in post-independence India.<br />
<br />
The railways have grown into a huge machinery of indifference and its minions are apparently strangers to what is commonly called conscience. Its responses are, to put it another way, typical corporate behaviour. Wash your hands of all inconvenient truths and distance yourself from all that could be troublesome to you. Money-minded corporates could get away with such behaviour. But in a national service like the railways, funded by public money and meant as a service to the tax-paying public, and NOT as a profit-making mechanism, this sort of anti-people behaviour can no longer be tolerated. The concept of the Welfare State might be anathema to liberal economic pundits like Mr Singh or his cohorts, but India has a set of Constitutional guiding principles that are distinctly different from the personal preferences of people who come and go, or people who somehow get in and refuse to go.<br />
<br />
Ours is an elected democracy and public instititutions must fulfil their public obligations, and accountability is not something that can be shifted to "the other man". This should be insisted upon with the clout of the laws of the land. We recall with gratitude how the Supreme Court once made the telephones Goliath bow to the little David, the "aam aadmi". Once again the powerful gavel of the Justices should hammer into indifferent giants like the railways the need to displace their arrogance and impunity with social commitment, civic sense and a pro-active approach. Officials should realize that they are nothing if not the servants of the millions whom they serve every day. This is the right time for the railways to augur in some changes. They have a sensitive woman heading the ministry, and perhaps a woman's touch could prove to be the magic element to restore what was lacking till now.<br />
<br />
It is so sad that on the 23rd anniversary of the Perumon tragedy when a child born back then was sacrificed again for no crime of hers upon the altar of the indifference of the railways. Govinda Samy's hands are literally stained with the blood of Soumya. We witnessed the railways, like Pontius Pilate after the sentencing of Jesus, ritually washing their hands of all liability and culpability. But anybody could see that the water has turned a deep crimson red...with the blood of the innocent young girl.<br />
<br />
QUO VADIS, railways???<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-86221270436607192922011-02-23T18:02:00.000-08:002011-03-08T05:53:16.796-08:00THE GREAT INDIAN HOPE TRICK<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">Legend has it that it is the greatest of the Indian conjuring tricks. And till now none has been able to decipher fully the secret of the great magic trick.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">The Great Indian Rope Trick is the ultimate illusion, the conjuror's magnum opus.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">In the simpler version, the magician, playing on his pipe like a snakecharmer does, 'charms' a stout rope to rise into the air , and when it is high in the air, a little boy climbs it. In other fancier versions the rope is thrown into the air and then it is persuaded to rise and rise until it disappears into the clouds. The little boy climbing the rope soon vanishes from sight. Soon the magician would climb after him with a sword and he too vanishes. Then dismembered organs start raining upon the ground. Moments later the magician reappears and with an "abracadabra" or equally powerful incantations, "re-assembles" the little boy. And all ends well. Applause. Clink of money.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Within the last hundred years or so only a couple of people have managed staging the simpler version of the rope trick before audiences. But hurry not dear, gentle reader if you were on the verge of mourning the passing of our position as masters of illusions. The stage is now set for perhaps the greatest magic 'trick' of the century. And like every good conjuring trick, this too is more 'trick' than treat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">It is The Great Indian Hope Trick.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">To the Indian languishing in the doldrums of helplessness and hopelessness in the "Kali kaal" of mega-scams, serious diversions like the GIHT offer a much-needed relief, and perhaps a safety valve for their pent up tensions. After the great Parliamentary Kururkshetra battles, the hard-won 'JPC victory' is indeed heady wine that fills one with equally heady hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Enter the illusionist, doing his best to look dapper in the customary blue turban, mumbling mumbo-jumbo, and throws the 2G JPC hope/rope into the air. The people are charged with hope. Yes, this is going to be the real thing, and they jostle for ringside seats. This JPC stuff will go all the way into the rarefied regions of corruption and reveal everything. Surely magicians, we forget easily, are adroit entertainers with their fingers on the pulse of the audience. The "abracadabra" and the mumbo-jumbo and other loud incantations fill the air, all the while many climb up and down, appear and disappear. Then the fun part will begin with swords being brandished left and right, and body parts raining down and making the whole scene bloodier than an abattoir on Christmas eve or the guillottine platform at the peak of the French Revolution. The audience, brought up in the grand traditions of Bollywood and the Indian television, loves all that gore and the loudmouthed dialogue, and go ga-ga over the whole tamasha. After the requisite number of 'scenes' to classify it as "serious entertainment", the show will come to a close and the magician will put everything/everyone back together again, to great applause. All would have forgotten what the whole tamasha was about and go their respective ways --happily entertained. None knows this better than the conjuror and his cronies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">I dont think one needs to be an astrologer of repute with a laser vision to pierce the darkness of the murky future and make such a prediction. It is the natural outcome of any conjuring trick. All ends well and the magician goes home pocketing your money. How does every magic trick work? There is nothing great about it. While your attention is focussed on the trivial and you are hoping for something 'miraculous' to happen, the magician is pulling his strings behind the scarf, and with sleight of hand, deceiving you. Illusion? Deceit? Yes Sir!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Simply put, it is grand deceit! And very convincingly and entertainingly done too! The Great Indian Hope Trick is not going to be any different ... hand on heart!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">If you are keen, you can dig a bit deeper into the history of all the earlier JPC 'hope tricks'. How many were there? I would rather emulate our PM and say, I dont know because I was not told. Bliss!! (Gautama Buddha was in all probability not familiar with the bliss of ignorance; else he wouldn't have searched long for the ultimate bliss.) How many JPCs were boycotted "for political reasons"? As if politicians need any a-political reasons! Every reason they come up with is political! What were the findings of the various JPCs constituted since the first R-day? Has a single politician been punished or at least inconvenienced upon the findings of any JPC? Forget about the culprits being decapitated or their limbs cut into pieces--though that would have been their fate if our Founding Fathers had the wisdom to borrow the strict Sharia laws instead of implementing a tame civil code in our country! Ask away any more JPC questions that come into your mind. The answer, I can assure you in every case, would be that nothing 'untoward' happened and that it ALL ended well.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">What more do you need? You had your JPC, your high hopes, and you were entertained grandly at your own expense for quite a while, when you had been in a state of "willing suspension of disbelief". Now you can all go home; the trick is over. The conjuror is confident of the outcome. Otherwise how could he still harp on the fact that he is putting on the show as a result of the strong persuasion/coersion of the opposition, and not because he feels there is a real need for one! What more indication do we need for concluding that this is going to be another stage-managed show? If the recent well-rehearsed "media interaction" is any pointer, surely the man with the bag of tricks knows how to pull off the "hope trick" too!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">So the conjuror is all set and he is playing the pipe and coaxing the rope, and along with it the hopes of the public, his audience, into the blue yonder. As we stand transfixed at the sleight of hand that would bring us entertainment of a rare nature (for which we have already paid in advance with hefty taxes), remember to administer a strategic pinch to one's own person once in a while and maybe one to your immediate neighbour too, if only to prove to yourself that you are awake and not under any spell.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Remember how fond we are all of magic tricks. Forgotten those days in school when the street magician put in an appearance? The child in us still loves those tricks. But let us also not forget that this is not the time for frivolous entertainment. Hope is a serious state of mind and it is perhaps the only thing that propels you along through a life of vexations. And guess what, hope is ALWAYS positive. Tricks have no place where hope reigns.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">And be sure to the tell the conjuror that if he knows the rope trick, to get on with it--fast. And make no mistake about it, the one trick we would ALL love to see would be the one where the guy "charms" the heavy rope into a magical noose that would fly to the necks of the guilty.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">No less --if he is serious about the applause at the end, and his 'salarium'.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"> * * * * * * * * * * * *<o:p></o:p></span></div>The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-67124611316503228932011-02-20T22:16:00.000-08:002011-03-02T22:04:01.050-08:00THE NEO JOURNALISM SCAM<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">Another 'great' scam broke the surface right beneath our noses last week. But most of us missed the 'tip of the scamberg' for various reasons.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">This is the great Neo-journalism Scam. No newspaper has yet come out with investigative disclosures about it, nor have the omnipresent/omniscient channels aired any secret footage, though the whole thing had happened “right in their backyard”, so to speak.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Journalism was, in the good old days, confined to print and the average Indian still could recall names like The Times of India, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, The Hindu and a few more, not to forget those stout fourth pillars built in the vernacular. Those with long memories and a fondness for the heyday of journalism in India would surely recall the names of many stalwarts, adoration for whose iconic status made many a young man take up journalism as a career, and either make good (a rare event) or, mostly, sink in a sea of drink. Today perhaps the only survivors from the army of old warhorses are people like Kuldip Nayar, S Gurumurthy and T V R Shenoy, the grand old men of upright journalism.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Journalism was mostly reportage, and reportage was largely about bringing before the common man things that he ought to care about and which affected his life and existence, and which he could easily understand once a capable journalist who 'knew his marbles' had spent some time analyzing the issue. Once in a while, once in "an exciting while", journalism was about digging muck, and bringing up murky issues and goings on and shining the light of disclosure upon them. This the general public enjoyed with glee, though mostly they were the victims of these scams the journalists dug up. Politicians and corporates might borrow the phrase "who is afraid of (V) Woolf" to indicate their disdain for the pen-pushers, but they took care to wine and dine them and to be on the "right side" of these powerful scribes, largely from a fear of their ability to upset the apple cart with one flick of their pens, and secretly from the conviction that it was not easy to influence the true journalist beyond a point.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">This comfortable state of affairs was upset with the arrival of private TV channels in the middle of the last century. With the proliferation of the 'visual media', a bevy of high-voltage, 'eye-candy' types replaced those who had studied the ropes of journalism. And who owned the channels? With the more than a crore of rupees a day hire for the satellite transponders and the other astronomical costs for equipment and studios, not to speak of the salaries of skilled technical and other staff, it was an expensive ball game. Result? Only the very well heeled could dabble with this new medium, the darling of the masses. And corporate money, black and white, found its way into the ‘channels’ and as everyone knows, (or should know) corporate cheques comes with a lot of attached strings, visible and otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">It is ironic to note the upsetting of journalistic values with the coming of visual entertainment. What once got the reader's respect was the journalist's perspicacity, his/her perseverance, and his upright reportage. With even the day’s news putting on the garb of high entertainment on television, the poor journalist who slogged in the background was forgotten and the limelight was upon the 'anchor' or the newsreader--whose journalistic acumen was virtually zero, but whose 'eye-candy' factor was near 100 per cent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">I am not for an instant forgetting stalwarts like Tim Sebastian of the BBC, who made watching an interview a uniquely cathartic experience. Nor am I insinuating that the Indian subcontinent and its television had spawned only duds. But that is all in the past...and passe. I am basing my take on the current crop of the “cream of Indian television journalism”. I had thought that people like Vir Sanghvi, Rajdeep Sardesai, Barkha Dutt et al were charged with the active blood of young go-getters who would stop at nothing when it came to bringing good TV journalism to the masses. But no more after their recent self-indictment -- in full view of the entire nation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">INDIAN TV JOURNALISM IS DEAD. What appears to wear its clothes and lip-syncs to an 'approved' script is the ghost of an accepted Indian practice--Paid Journalism. This then is the Neo-journalism Scam. Are there any more journalists of the old school left in India who could take up the Herculean task of digging up the truth behind this unsavoury transformation? No, the question is not WHETHER they were paid or not. They were, to judge from their 'convenient' silence and the adroitness with which they avoided all kinds of questions that would have occurred to a rookie journalist on a petty two-penny assignment. What would tax the investigative journalist's brains is --WHO paid the money and HOW MUCH was paid in order to buy their silence and their complicity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">I am, of course, referring to last week's nationally televised TAMASHA OF THE YEAR--the PM's "coming out party" on television before the cream of the media.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Interviews are about asking the right questions, beginning with the most innocuous perhaps, drawing the interviewee out with more related questions and then popping the quarter-million, the half-million and then the million-rupee questions that leave little squirming space for the person on the hot seat. Those who have watched Mr Tim Sebastian’s interviews would instantly know what I mean. But one thing has to be admitted--to the honest man who has nothing to hide, no interviewer can conjure up an instant nightmare, try as he might. It is sheer nonsense to believe that a 'clever' interviewer can 'trap' anybody. No, and NO. ONLY IF you are fond of dark corners to hide, then that is a possibility, where you will feel trapped by the spotlight of intelligent questioning.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">If you watch a recording of the whole apparently well-rehearsed 'tamasha' with 'Singh as King', you would discover that not even a single worthwhile question was put to the PM. Nobody in this country is naive enough to believe that spirited youngsters like Mr Sardesai and others of his ilk have forgotten all that they had learned in the schools of journalism. Their apparent amnesia is the surest sign of their having taken "favours" to limit the interview to nothing but an exchange of sweet nothings.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Like the clarion cry of "physician, heal thyself", it is time for another loud exhortation to reverberate in the Indian media firmament now-- "Journalists, investigate thyself". Are we to believe that the whole thing was "spontaneous"? C'mon... How many meetings were there between the "powers that be" and at least some of the journalists (and their corporate cronies and bosses) which laid the foundations for the “interview”?? Back in the good old days when sages like Vinoba Bhave observed a vow of silence, people would throng to the prayer meetings at which he would finally break the silence to listen to his words of wisdom. Mr Singh after his long vow of silence, given to whom we dont know, needed to 'break his silence'. And the entire nation rallied before the TV sets to witness the great man wilt before the machine gun fire of questions and </span> spill the beans. But like every well-compered program, this too went to the complete satisfaction of the “backroom boys”. (A word of apology is in order—the gender distinction is out of place after Ms Radia and her adroit PR capers!)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">The million rupee question...oops! the lakh-crore rupee question is, WHO PLANNED THE MEDIA DRAMA? What was the "quid" promised for the quid pro quo? Will we ever get answers to that and other related questions?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">SHAME on you, the greats of Indian television, for not exhibiting the common sense of even a semi-literate man in the street, let alone that of an average journalist.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">SHAME on you for lacking the courage to at least politely call a spade a spade.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">SHAME on you for not knowing the difference between 'dharma' and 'adharma'.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">SHAME on you for not doing your minimum to speak in defence of the poor millions of this nation at whom a pittance is thrown as subsidies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">SHAME on you for having willingly sold your integrity and HUMANITY, God knows for how many pieces of silver.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">What shall serve to wash away from Indian journalism this limitless stigma? No “Ganga jal” for you, not so gentle men; your touch shall pollute the divine river beyond redemption. Perhaps the only choice before you now is "sati" --a jump into the purifying flames of the pyre of journalism that you chose to light on that day, unashamedly and with false unction.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN"> * * * * * * * * * * * * <o:p></o:p></span></div>The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-53438870670562598752011-01-25T19:40:00.000-08:002011-01-25T19:40:07.951-08:00CRIME AND PUNISHMENT<div><b>Of Being Zero-savvy</b></div><div>It is too sad. Most Indians have forgotten most aspects of their cultural roots, roots that gave them credit for many things and gave them some respectability as carriers of a great tradition. Thanks to the Indian Space Research Organization and its perspicacious pilots at the helm, today Aryabhata is a name that is well preserved in the minds of at least the school children and votaries of quiz programmes. This genius, who lived in the 478--550 AD in the court of the Gupta emperors, was mathematician-astronomer non-pareil. That he was probably born in Kerala is an idea that opens up other possibilities, surely. It is the words of Bhaskara I, who about 100 years later wrote a commentary on his masterly treatise 'Aryabhatiya' that sums up his achievements: </div><div>"...Aryabhatta is the master who, after reaching the furthest shores and plumbing the in-most depths of the sea of ultimate knowledge of mathematics, kinematics and spherics, handed over the three sciences to the learned world."</div><div><br />
</div><div>And as the world knows and accepts, Aryabhata was the one who invented the grand concept of the zero and unleashed it on the world.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The power of zero has never been more apparent to the non-savvy guy on the street than now. Aryabhata himself had stated that his work 'Aryabhatiya' was composed 3,600 years into the Kali Yuga, when he was 23 years old --which corresponds to 499 AD. That tells us we are into Kali Yuga by about 5,000 years plus. Not bad when you notice that at least one good has come to pass. The average person, whether in India or elsewhere, I am sure has his/her difficulties when it comes to tackling numbers with more than, say, half a dozen zeroes. Perhaps in a fitting revenge of the past, in India 5,000 years into Kali Yuga, we are now faced with the mammoth task of digesting numbers with God alone knows how many zeros. Surely we are going to need all the blessings of these past masters if we are to make head or tail of all those zeros. Aryabhata, Bhaskara, Varahamihira and the great minds of the past are having the last laugh as we grapple with the 'genie from the bottle'.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Of Black and White</b></div><div>The airwaves are saturated with zeroes. The print media, for once, is foolishly ignoring their advantage and playing a low-key game. Whether it is a few lakh-crores or maybe a few crore-lakhs, it just doesnt make all that difference when you listen to it on the TV channels. On the other hand, just imagine the impact in print of 1 followed by, ahem, a whole procession of zeroes. Who bothers if you can count? But the sheer impact tells you that it is HUGE. English is a poor language and has no adequate word to describe such a size. Perhaps India should, along with 'curry' and 'verandah' and 'pucca', contribute an apt word too to describe figures of such grand proportions.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Be that as it may, let us take a closer look at all these zeroes and what goes with them. It is the latest revelations about the wealth stashed away in Swiss and other banks. These days when even diehard Socialists are shouting themselves hoarse about the need for wealth creation, what is wrong salting away some wealth in a bank or two. The trouble is, they say this is all "black". Ah, the colour of money! The government in its wisdom does some exercises every March-April ("...beware the Ides of March..." Google that and be scared!) and announces a financial 'road map' for the country and its citizens to follow. This involves sums with Aryabhatiya scales of zeroes, and in the end they append what is termed 'deficit'. The common man doesnt understand much about that, except that the government is spending more money than it has. Good, we think, for them; but we pay for it all with runaway inflation and price rises and all that. In brief, the government approved financial 'tamasha' is supposed to be all in "white", despite the existence of the deficit. Anything that goes beyond that and is not accounted for is all grouped under "black".</div><div><br />
</div><div>What the average Indian thinks of black money is that it is the paltry sums made by the average trader and businessman by defrauding the government of some taxes. If the average tax is say, ten percent on goods etc, it will take a long time and millions of tranasctions before a trader could amass black money totalling lakh-crores. But what shook the man in the street has been the pronouncements of the Honourable Judges of the highest Temple of Justice of this land, perhaps the last sanctuary of the common man in this country. They speak in strong terms of the plunder of the nation to the tune of lakh-crores by the 'kings of black'.It sure paints a totally different picture. And the average citizen naturally has a tendency to go by what the Justices say than by the words of Kapils and Sibils, blue eyed boys though they might be. Here is money that has been plundered from the law-abiding, tax-paying citizens of this country and has been salted away in safe havens outside our country. And the money amounts to...forget it, you wont be able to make sense out of the zeroes; just take it that it is many times more than what the government earmarks for our national budget. Oh my God!!!</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Of Treaties and Testosterone</b></div><div>Even if you are the type who believes only half of what you hear, definitely this is going to make you think. Suppose we get all that money back into the country, you are not going to need any loans from the World Bank or the ADB, who are all basically Shylocks in expensive suits after their pound of flesh. If we are to believe that what has come out now is only the "tip of the iceberg", then every single Indian is going to end up with a tidy sum in his name in a government-sponsored bank account. No, not in Switzerland or in Germany or in that unpronounceable place called Lichten--what, but in our own Nationalized banks that had weathered the recent economic tsunamis with aplomb.</div><div><br />
</div><div>C'mon, quick march, let us get those baddies and get all that money that is rightly ours. Not so fast! Says who? Says our own beloved PM, the FM and others who are "in the know of things". What, may one ask, is the problem? It is the treaties, my dear sir. Treaties, the dictionary tells us, are agreements between two States or Sovereigns relating to mutually agreed and mutually beneficial things/situations etc. So if we have a treaty with say, Mauritius, for trade, what we will expect is that we will agree to imports and exports between the two countries that will be to the benefit of both. If the treaty is about the extradition of criminals and such like undesirables, again the conditionality of mutual benefit is there. Only a nincompoop would think of inking an accord that would benefit only the other side.</div><div><br />
</div><div>And talking of treaties and Mauritius, one is reminded of the treaty that India signed with that nation sometime back. The then FM was at the time waxing eloquent about the gains that India would reap as a result. But after all these years of runaway inflation and what not, the average Indian is yet to be persuaded to see some of its advantages, except, if we are to believe the naysayers, that it has served as a conduit for ill-gotten 'black monies'. Whatever is the stuff of treaties and diplomat-speak, one thing is certain. Treaties, national or international, should never overstep the dictates of our legal system and the laws of the land, which are supreme. One cannot have two different laws applicable. The 'umbrella' should be our laws. Period. If some idiot in some ministry has put his signature on a piece of paper without paying due respect to the established laws of the land so as to circumvent its intent and effectiveness, it is time he was sent to his "father-in-law's house" posthaste. Dont we have a Law Minister? A Foreign Minister? And a Prime Minister, who are all paid handsomely to look after all these affairs?</div><div><br />
</div><div>In India, to do the business of govenment as per the dictates of Indian laws, all one needs is a conviction of your just stand and some testosterone in your system. It is a documented fact that testosterone levels decline with advance in years. Still, one doesn't suspect that the collective testosterone levels of India have fallen to such abysmal lows as has been apparent now.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Of Crime and Punishment</b></div><div>Recorded history is full of attempts at reconciling crime and its punishments. Googling for such terms would bring in results that would curdle your blood with the gruesome nature of some of those punishments. Ah, but we who live in "civil" societies need not quake in our boots or chappels. Already the FM and the government is thinking of some 'amnesty' for the 'blackies' if they promise to declare their cache and bring back some as 'legit white' into the country. What a lark! Make a cool 1,000 crore as 'black', park it abroad and get some good interest too for a while, get in touch with the Financial Ministry honchos and tell them, "Look here I wish to help the country, what is going to be your percentage?" You strike a deal and none could be wiser, all for the price of a "Legit-white" stamp from the Ministry! Hooray!!</div><div><br />
</div><div>On second thought, I was struck by some of the things that had escaped me in my hurry to digest all those zeroes. We are still a Republic--arent we reminded of that on this Republic Day! I will leave it to your memory of those civics lessons in school to spell out what a sovereign republic means. We have our laws and we have at least one of those Four Pillars of our democracy standing erect with not much damage. The Romans were perhaps the first who codified laws and naturally, they included various crimes and punishements too. The punishment meted out in those days for what could be termed broadly financial misdemeanour was attachment of the property and exile of the accused. We are on safe ground there. We are in the Indian soil and ruled by our own laws and the legal system, and safely out of reach of any 'treaties' or such bogeys. And the 'accused' are all holders of Indian citizenship and they have vast holdings in India. So what is preventing the ponderous machinery of the government from going to work on extracting what is due from these clever sultans of 'black'?</div><div><br />
</div><div>I dont think we have to ask the FM or even the PM or any other dignitary to do this "dirty work"; it is infra dig. We have minions enough in the Income Tax and other ministries who are 'at home' doing such work a per the laws of the land. Just give them the names, if you wish, in a sealed cover, and before you could say 'Jack Robinson' (or, if you are a patriotic Indian, before you could say 'Kapil Sibal'!), you would hear the sweet sound of money tinkling into the nation's coffers.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Yes, why are we not doing that ASAP?</div><div>That is the 'lakh-crore rupee' question in the mind of every upright Indian on this R-Day.</div><div>And I wouldn't take issue with anybody if s/he were to think of R-Day as Reckoning Day!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Republic Day salaams!</div><div>----------------------------------------------</div><div>PS: Here is a useful link if you are bothered about buttressing the Four Pillars of democracy with a fifth one:</div><div>< <a href="http://india.5thpillar.org/">http://india.5thpillar.org/</a> ></div><div><br />
</div><div> * * * * * * * * * * * * </div>The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-34818487010527363012011-01-21T02:22:00.000-08:002011-01-21T08:54:16.359-08:00INTEGRITY -- A REALITY CHECKPersonality is what marks a person, and what one notices at the very first glance. It is very real, but when you look at it closely, it is at best an abstract quality. C'mon, you don't have to be 6 feet plus and built like a prize fighter to have an attractive personality. Come to think of it, EVERYBODY whom you know has that mystic quality, and it is precisely that that has endeared the person to you.<br />
<br />
And personality is marked by many traits. Integrity is certainly not the least important of those. At this point it is interesting to check out its dictionary definition. Integrity is the quality of being honest and upright, and firm in your moral principles. As children grow up they pick up yardsticks to measure these ethereal qualities listening to the stories from mythology, and reading little essays on the great personages from history like Mohandas Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Jesus of Nazareth, Gautama Buddha...the list is endless. Once they arrive at adulthood and start facing the barrage of real-world challenges, they will have opportunities to put their ideas and convictions to the litmus test of their consciences. In an overwhelmingly positive manner, in say eight or nine cases out of ten, the individual will choose to tread the path of integrity. That is a statistic that should thrill us to no small extent.<br />
<br />
Recently after seeing the word integrity repeated ad nauseum in the news media, I asked this question to myself--Is the average Indian, the "aam aadmi", a person of integrity? Does he have this quality in at least a passable measure to qualify him to be a subject of this "Mahan Bharat desh" ? Before answering that, I thought perhaps I should put the question to a cross section of people I would meet in workaday situations.<br />
<br />
My first 'quarry' was the milkman. In our place people who are too lazy to get up early in the morning leave a small vessel or a bottle at the door for him to leave their daily quota.<br />
<br />
I accosted him: "Would you steal that stainless steel vessel and claim that you had filled it and left it securely?"<br />
<br />
Rather than answering me in a businesslike fashion, he fired a broadside at me: "Why should I?"<br />
<br />
"Oh, just like that...you could sell it, make some money and add that to the price of the unsold litre of milk... sort of two birds with one stone..."<br />
<br />
He eyed me in a strange way. "Sir, you are being mischievous this morning..."<br />
<br />
I knew if I persisted in this line, my friendly neighbours would soon bundle me off to the psychiatrist, and so I hit another tack.<br />
<br />
"Suppose you saw someone else steal it, what would you do?"<br />
<br />
"Sir, such thievery does not happen in our locality."<br />
<br />
"Why?"<br />
<br />
"Because we are not like that..."<br />
<br />
End of my "integrity check" with him. Stepping out for my morning constitutional, I knew I would soon run into my paper boy. As I turned the corner, there he was riding his bicycle. He was a hardworking poor boy who delivered the paper and ran errands just to scrape togther some money for his studies and books. I put more or less the same set of persuasive questions to him, and he simply shook his head, smiled a wan smile and pedalled off, surely with some trepidation about my 'state of mind' that morning.<br />
<br />
As luck would have it, there was our neighbourhood policeman waiting at the corner bus stop. We chit-chatted and slyly I put the question to him in a roundabout manner. Instinctively, he became suspicious and defensive. I reassured him that my questions were purely like those put by the "channel damsels" to the interviewees. He stoutly upheld his honesty and integrity. But what floored me was his quip--"Sir, one thing I will say, the average policeman is more honest than some of our ministers..." and he went on to paint a picture of the 'Force' peopled by stalwart and honest men and women, with maybe one or two bad apples who gave a bad name to the entire gang. I had to agree with him there, though I had my own figures to replace the "one or two" with!<br />
<br />
That morning 'walk' was more like standing around and talking to whoever caught my fancy and putting roundabout questions to them along the above lines. My findings after an hour and half of meticulous (...and dangerous! I was in danger of losing my stand as a more or less upright retired 'gentleman'!) "data mining"? The average person has truly solid notions about morality and integrity and, except perhaps in isolated instances of great pressure or temptation, or both, s/he would strive to maintain her/his integrity. And when it came to the question of shielding one who has been openly lacking in the above qualities of personality, they were vehement in their stand that they wouldnt be parties to shielding such.<br />
<br />
As I walked back, I couldn't contain my great relief and the thrill of discovery that ALL WAS NOT LOST for India and Indians. If I knew a suitably expressive Latin or Greek tag like 'Eureka', I would have, though clad in my tracksuit and sneakers, dashed along in a passable imitation of Archimedes! I was happy that I was living in India and in my locality among such upright people.<br />
<br />
My mind was racing to grapple with many thoughts. How do you find out if a person has integrity and honesty programmed into him? Should his wife "root" for him? Or, maybe his party should go on repeating the "truth according to Goebels". Ah, the best would be to let some PR firm (no need for high profile Radias here.) unleash a blitz of "personality building ads". Uh, oh... how did my milkman, my paperboy, the police constable and the half a dozen others whom I had "put into the crucible" emerge as persons of integrity? They surely did not wear labels of integrity on their foreheads???<br />
<br />
A person as he grows up and interacts with the world, slowly but surely builds up a cache of imperceptible things. Soon they accumulate and add some sheen to his humble personality. It is perhaps something like a brittle skin of glass. One small mis-step, and the whole thing would crumble at your feet, and like broken glass, would cut you deeply. The patina of integrity is, at every step, added to by your little actions.<br />
<br />
Integrity is not your birthright. ("I am the son/daughter of parents of professed and proven integrity!") Nor is it something that you can claim as part of your group ethos. ("I AM a Gandhian, and so...") Claims of ignorance is the last way to acquire it. ("I didn't know anything...") Rather, it is what the "outsider" sees in you, feels in you and respects in you as a result of the sum-total of your actions and reactions. If you behave like a common cutpurse, or worse still, like the PR man of a clever cutpurse, then, even if you are an actor who is "Oscar stuf", it is very difficult to come across with a "convincing performance" that will carry the day. Why, one may ask. Because the average upright Indian knows what exactly he would do in a given circumstance, and it is not easy to hoodwink him/her with niceties.<br />
<br />
On second thought, let me "root" for the upright, honest, moral Indian "aam aadmi".<br />
<br />
YOU are the ONLY hope for this great and beloved nation of ours!<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-33749180410742423172011-01-17T05:36:00.000-08:002011-02-28T01:19:08.005-08:00SENSE AND SABARIMALASwami Saranam!<br />
<br />
That could roughly translate as 'the Lord is our sanctuary'. It is the loud invocation that traditionally reverberates on the trails to Sabarimala, the famous hill temple of Kerala, that ended up inthe news last week for the wrong reasons. It could also be our cry when we witness the decades-long apathy of the Devaswom Board, the body vested with the responsibility of admininstering the Hindu temples of Kerala, (and surely administration includes the 'administration' of the considerable inflow of funds too) and the Government --only the Lord can save us from them both.<br />
<br />
The Police and the Forests departments are engaged in a blame game now, targeting each other. And the God's own Board will put the blame squrely on the others in all likelihood. I gather there is a Vigilance department enquiry afoot, and later there could be perhaps one by a judge, sitting or otherwise. It does not take a degree in rocket science to predict what the outcome of the probes would be about what caused the tragedy--huge, unruly crowds, panic, stampede, maybe a wee bit of a laxity on the part of the police or forests departments etc etc.<br />
<br />
On second thoughts, to many it looks like a classic case of greedy, fraudulent oversell.<br />
<br />
The common factor in last week's needless tragedy (in which more than 100 pilgrims lost their lives and hundreds were injured) and the one in 1999 (when the death tally was about 50 plus, and the injured topped a hundred plus) is what is called the 'Makara Jyothi'. Pilgrims, mostly from the neighbouring States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka, are eager to witness the 'jyothi' at any cost, as for them that is as good as a personal encounter with their favourite Lord Ayyappa. Their Keralite brethren are not very much behind them, though there could be a fair number of sceptics. "Bhakti' is a strange and a heady thing, but we all agree that faith is best left to individual preferences.<br />
<br />
Being one of the old school, I chose to consult some old timers, some of them long enough in their teeth to 'hit a century'. (Googling for Makara Jyothi and related topics would be an eye-opener!) What I learned was that in the early decades of the 20th C, when Sabarimala was not as heavily "pilgrimmed" as it is now, was closely connected with tribal observances. One of them was the lighting of three fires to represent the triumvirate of Gods -- Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Siva). And this was done by the tribals of the Kantamala hills (Ponnambalamedu, the seat of the Jyothi, is on these hills) on the Makara Sankranthi day. Sankranthi is an occasion marked by festivals all over the Indian sub-continent. ( <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makar_Sankranti">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makar_Sankranti</a> ) It is perhaps the most important day for pilgrims to Sabarimala too. In those olden days, if you were lucky and if you had good eyesight (the forests were thick and heavy mist would envelope the hills by sundown), you could catch a glimpse of the 'aarathi' done by the tribals in the far off hills from the Ayyappa temple courtyard. Another auspicious sight was the 'Makara nakshatram', which could be spied above the same high hills to the East. This is the star Sirius that is visible over the eastern sky clearly during this period. But by no stretch of imagination this could be mistaken for the 'divine fire' that flickers three times from the hillside.<br />
<br />
In the post-Independence era, particularly after the implementation of the Sabarigiri hydel project, these hills came under the jurisdiction of the Kerala State Electricity Board. The Board and Forests officials on many occasions used to be present during these annual tribal ceremonies too, as is recalled by many old officials. But as the years flew by, in the 1960's and '70's and later, the Sabarimala temple was fast becoming a 'pilgrim magnet' , with crowds in their lakhs visiting the hill shrine. The pilgrim rush brought with it sizeable incomes and, in its wake, another rush to enter the Devaswom Board, even by the agnostic 'Lefties', after declaring that they were bona fide 'faithfuls' ! It probably was some 'bright spark' in the temple board who saw the infinite possibilities in the eagerly anticipated 'Makara Jyothi'. Today, as many KSEB, Forests and DB officials would assure you, but strictly off the record, the Jyothi is a "well-organized divine phenomenon". A huge cauldron of camphor is lit and a huge wet sack cloth is waved above it to present to the devotees dotting the hillsides and the temple courtyards, already at fever pitch, three flashes of 'divine light'.<br />
<br />
It was in the post-jyothi moments that both the tragedies struck. A glance at crowd statistics would point to the fact that the crowds were peaking around the Sankranthi day, and what was uppermost in the minds of the pilgrims was catching a glimpse of the jyothi. Faith and 'bhakti' do not proceed along the rails of rhyme or reason, or common sense. It is at best a grey area of personal beliefs. But the basic question is one of ethics and honesty and truth.<br />
<br />
The jyothi may be a fiction, but then 'marketing' a fiction is no crime if you do it openly and if you do it well, giving the customer 'value for money'. Look at the film industry. They sell unreal dreams, and charge you through the nose in some of the better movie theatres of the metro cities. The booksellers are minting money selling you highly overpriced fiction, and the readers are happier than ever! By all means sell the jyothi too to a willing public as a ritual of the hill temple; but give the devotees at least standing room and some comfort, if not ringside seats. Please.<br />
<br />
I think it was in 2008 the rationalists approached the authorities for permission to visit the hills and debunk the myth of the jyothi. Though they call themselves rationalists, I guess they lack common sense. Would a government and God's own board want to kill the proverbial goose that was on a laying spree of golden eggs? But it is high time we thought if it was ethical on the part of an elected government, and that too in the 21st C. to be a party to what is in effect a fraud foisted upon the unsuspecting, innocent pilgrims -- with deadly results.<br />
<br />
So what is your verdict? Who, basically, is guilty of the carnage? Think again.<br />
<br />
* * * * * * * * * * * *<br />
<br />
<b>SABARIMALA - a corollary</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Makara Jyothi, Makara Vilakku...</b><br />
Lost in a sea of contradictions and confusion regarding the Makara Jyothi, Makara Vilakku etc, I again decided to speak to an octogenarian, an ardent Ayyappa devotee and a person with ample sense.<br />
<br />
His take--"...As we all know the Makara Nakshatram (the star Sirius) is clearly visible during the Makara Sankranthi season on the eastern horizon. In the olden days, with the thick forests, the dense fog and overall darkness after sundown (these days there is heavy 'light pollution' in the atmosphere on account of larger amounts of pollutants, dust and lights from the cities etc), it was often not easy to distinguish between the sky and the outline of the hills where the tribals lit the 'aarati'. The 'aarati' was not a huge fireball as it is now, and often even those who had good eyesight found it difficult to see the flickering light, fainter sometimes in comparison to the bright star. The Jyothi is the light of the Makara star, but soon it got confused with that of the 'arathy' in the minds of the devotees, as both the star, low in the easten horizon just above the hills, and the tribal 'arathy' appeared very close to each other to observers in the Ayyappa temple precincts. The Makara Vilakku, on the other hand, is the festival of lights in the temple itself that is got up in connection with the Makara Sankranthi day. It may be recalled that such "vilakku" festivals are quite popular in Kerala and quite a few such names are well known in connection with many temple festivals even today."<br />
<br />
<br />
As controversy rages and one gets dragged in all directions and loses sight of all logic and rational thinking, it would be interesting, for the curious at least, to seek out some information, a comparatively easy thing in the Web era.<br />
<br />
Here is a sampling; your search is likely to unearth other gems.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makara_Jyothi">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makara_Jyothi</a> <--- About the Makara Jyothi<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i58IaLnICrs&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i58IaLnICrs&feature=related</a> <--- A docu style expose'<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urn4gOiPbCk&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urn4gOiPbCk&feature=related</a> <--- The Kerala Minister's clarification and more details about the ritual<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vCOTF8-7nM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vCOTF8-7nM</a> <--- Rahul Easwar, a scion of the SabarimalaTantri (chief priest) family, explaining things<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tattamangalam.com/images/makara-jyothi.JPG">http://www.tattamangalam.com/images/makara-jyothi.JPG</a> <---TN Gopakumar in Kala Kaumudi (Malayalam)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.srai.org/tragedy-at-sabarimala-the-miracle-of-makara-jyothi/">http://www.srai.org/tragedy-at-sabarimala-the-miracle-of-makara-jyothi/</a> <--- NDTV footage<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://wikimapia.org/#lat=9.4367003&lon=77.1073723&z=13&l=0&m=b">http://wikimapia.org/#lat=9.4367003&lon=77.1073723&z=13&l=0&m=b</a> <--- Wikimapia satellite map of Sabarimala and the terrain around, including the site of the recent tragedy<br />
<br />
It is interesting to note that in one video the Devaswom Minister himself admits that the Makara Jyothi is lit by officials. The point I wish to stress is that such things gets swept under the carpet and the average devotee is tacitly encouraged to ascribe some kind of a divinity to the flickering light that appears on the hill side on the Sankranthi evening. The tempo is built up to fever pitch, and once something unpredictable or freaky happens and the crowds go ballistic, then it is a surefire formula for tragedy.<br />
<br />
Again, who is to be blamed?<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> * * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-9926413860315719582011-01-17T00:22:00.000-08:002011-01-18T09:05:23.413-08:00YES, PRIME MINISTERDear Prime Ministerji,<br />
<br />
Only an apology will set my mind at rest, Sir.<br />
<br />
As one among the millions of "aam aadmis" you have chosen to represent and uplift, I all along had my faith in what pundits have come to call "Manmohanomics", and had dutifully, every year, listened/watched the budget broadcasts and trusted the learned opinions of the "expert panel" that it was all economic tightrope-walking and that it was not going to affect the "aam aadmi". Though the post-budget blues had hit me too I thought, I was by and large consoled by the studied opinions of the experts.<br />
<br />
But recently my faith was shaken, nay hijacked, by the media, who claimed in their expose' that each of us "aam aadmis" had been "robbed" to the tune of a few thousand rupees, totalling a grand tidy sum, in what has now come to be labelled the 2G Scam. For an instant I lost my faith in your firm grasp of economics.<br />
<br />
However, I when I heard Sibalji, I was relieved and heaved a great sigh. Frankly, I can count maybe to 25,000 or, at a pinch to 50,000, but arithmetic and figures have never been my strong points. (You should have been there when I went to the Treasury to collect my pension benefits and cursed myself for not attending to my maths classes, so I could tally up the bundle of notes handed to be by the teller!) Believe me, I had my own difficulties with the figures presented by your mInister Mr Sibal. But I believe in his figures fully and totally, as apparently you have, the moment you noticed that you must lay the facts and figures before your voters (sorry, no need to stand on technicalities; we ARE your voters, whether we voted for you or not), authorized him to do so. Adroit lawyer that he is, my feeling is that he is the greatest arithmatician since Aryabhata and Einstein. Kudos to his brilliant presentation, our minds have been cleared of any media-generated misconceptions. How cavalierly of us 'proletarians' to think that you never had our good in your heart. I thank Sibal for reminding us that the 2G procedure had insured the current low telecom rates enjoyed by us all.<br />
<br />
On second thoughts, I guess I could view with admiration your perspicacity and economic sense when you silently advocated holding the price of spectrum at the 2001 levels. In our country when inflation is affecting everything else, it was indeed a laudatory step to try and rein in the price of something as important as radio spectrum, which I understand is critical to the development and progress of the country. You are fortunate to have at least two ministers in your cabinet who are conscious of the need to put a bridle on prices. One, of course, is Mr Raja. The other is Mr Deora, our petroleum minister, who takes a lot of flack unflinchingly. But everybody conveniently forgets the two or three times he cut the price of aviation fuel, which I think now is about Rs 45 plus a litre. Again, a gesture in the right direction, I think. The car is the rich man's toy; let us not forget that there are millions of "aam aadmis" flying to the Gulf and elsewhere in search of a job, who I am sure will be benefitted by the lower price of jet fuel.<br />
<br />
I am hoping that with ministers like them and Mr Sibal, it wont be long before you could arrest the rocketing price of commodities and foodstuffs. Perhaps you should think of re-inducting Mr Raja into the Food ministry; it is the right thing to do as the humble man who just followed your economic line had to go out for no fault of his. Do consider seriously giving him the charge of the food ministry. Surely his firm-handed efforts should in no time send the prices, including those of onions, crashing to the 2001 levels.<br />
<br />
Sir, our apologies to you for suspecting your wisdom as regards the "larger interests" of the nation. I am sure just as our minds have been calmed, you too must be experiencing a relief beyond compare now that you have set the record straight. Now at this peak of personal satisfaction that you have served the nation and its interests to the best of your ability, you must give up this thankless job and retire to the peace of some nearby sanctuary. But before you do that, will it be too much to ask you to put in place some legislation so that us poor "aaam aadmis" would be eligible for some refunds once the government implements the 2001 priceline for foodstuffs, kersosene, cooking gas, petrol and such stuff. I am sure your brilliant 'economic' mind could devise some way of doing that.<br />
<br />
I cant hold my laughter when I think of all those moneyed fools who spent about five or six times the original price to buy off the spectrum from the original buyers. If they were keen, they need have only paid a marginal profit of a per cent or two. To have splurged so much of money, and that too on something as intangible as radio spectrum, shows that they were imprudent businessmen. Ah, it takes all sorts of people to make up this world; but then it should not affect us people whose consciences are clear.<br />
<br />
On further thoughts, I have a feeling that your anti-inflationary price-holding tactics may not be for the good of the older generation at least. As things stand, "vanaprastham" does not cut much ice with the older generation--perhaps as it is not subsidized like pilgrimages,. But the prices of onions and everything else have had the salutary effect of making a large part of our population to once again discover and embrace the many attractions of a frugal living, which Gandhiji had all along advocated. As a recently retired person I could vouch for that. So maybe double-digit inflation is good, as it could be a virtual short-cut to "vanaprastha" and ultimate "moksha"!<br />
<br />
Do sleep on that, Sir.<br />
Once again, with apologies and salaams,<br />
Sincerely yours,The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-5164742752729256082011-01-16T23:07:00.000-08:002011-01-19T18:42:25.214-08:00SCAMS AND THE MAN<b>The Blame Game</b><br />
The airwaves and the print media, not to speak of the Web, these days are saturated with a war of words in what could be called a "blame game" that targets primarily the politician. As always, it is true smoke could not exist without some flames somewhere. But now the smoke is billowing thick, leaving no doubt in anybody's mind about its source! And it is amidst this thick pall of smoke that one should work trying to separate the perpetrators of the various 'scams' from the 'front guys' and the 'benamis'. A tough task indeed!<br />
But then I for one, with quite a few others that I know, do not want to blame the politicians for the present state of affairs. I know that is a serious statement to make, and at peril to oneself, unless one happens to be a past master in the art of dodging the brickbats that come flying in one's direction! But patience! A moment's reflection will clarify my stand.<br />
<br />
<b>The Democratic Tamasha</b><br />
The whole 'democratic tamasha' began, as our school text books tell us, back in 1948 --though it must be admitted that it took some decades for the process to become truly 'business-like'. Today's politician is a career politician. And politics is a 'desirable' career. Otherwise respectable parents wouldn't be pushing their offspring into it with the same kind of enthusiasm and expense with which they push their little one into a career in medicine or software. To make it a career and ultimately to obtain a paying position in politics today takes an awesome amount of money and slogging. This will be clear to all but stubborn morons when one considers the cost of air time and print space for ads, the expenses for multi-colour hoardings and handouts, the money that goes into the wining and dining of your cohorts, the other sundry expenses like 'goonda fees' and such like. And the desperate final fling is when you have to count out hard cash to 'buy votes'--as it is put by the uncharitable ones on the 'other' side. And after all that, it is again a 'maybe' for you to become a politician with a paying post, say like an MLA or an MP --your destiny waits in the ballot box or, today, within the RAM of the electronic voting machine. But once the results are declared and the candidate is 'in', he cuts the umbilical to his "beloved electorate" and soars free like a Helium balloon into the blue yonder of umpteen 'possibilities' of personal enrichment--no strings attched! Only the naive will expect the dyed-in-the-wool politician to be not open to various temptations. And temptations have had a bad press all along from the days of Christ.<br />
<br />
After all, the end and aim of every career is personal enrichment, quite often on the material plane. For the politician, once he is "in the gaddi", thank God, hopefully for five years, what is there to keep him from recouping what he had spent? The doctors do it unashamedly once they start their 'practice', and I am told the engineers too are not much different. Even the humble 'chaprasi', the petty 'babu' or the policeman who bribes his way into the 'system' tries his best to 'recoup' the money that he had spent to make the coveted post his own. Every person who 'invests' a tidy sum to secure an employment knows that this is the reality in our country. Then why single out the "poor career politician" as the odd man out?<br />
<br />
<b>Quid Pro Quo</b><br />
Come to think of it, what really are the incentives for the average politician to tread the narrow path of idealism and principles like integrity and accountability? What will he be 'gaining' if he is only loyal to the people who have voted him into power? You ask him, and he is sure to enumerate the many difficulties with which he secured the requisite number of votes! The end, as they say, often justifies the means, and the parliamentary electoral system happens to be the only means for the politician to get into the system (except in the case of a few lucky ones--more on that later!) and he used that to his advantage. Once he was in, what happened next was not any more the business of what is politely termed the 'electorate'.<br />
And these days when PR honchos and corporate bigwigs pull the strings to anoint one the uncrowned 'emperor' in a powerful ministry, the mechanics of 'quid pro quo' naturally is the only principle that applies. Ta-ta to the voters, till we have need to meet next! As a wag recently put it, it is more 'quid' than quo! And the 'quids' defy being counted by the man in the street, who I doubt could count anything so stupendous as 1,76,000 crore or even a figure a tenth as large.<br />
<br />
<b>Systems and Control</b><br />
For ideas about what to do in such a situation, I guess you have to turn to a couple of old time masters --one from the Industrial Revolution era and another from the more modern Electronic Era of the 20th C. James Watt, ( <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt_steam_engine">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt_steam_engine</a> ) as he was perfecting his mechanical monster spewing steam, saw that soon it would 'run away' unless he put bridles on his 'baby'. And the resourceful man bolted on what is called a 'governor' on his machine. The rest, as they say, is history, and we sing his praises for having "harnessed" steam to power man's progress. Flash forward to another era, and we have Harold Black the inventor of the electronic amplifier. It is said that the inspiration for a brilliant way to control his amplifier and make it linear occurred to him while on the Hudson river ferry back in 1927. ( <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Stephen_Black">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Stephen_Black</a> ) His 'feedback amplifier' has revolutionized the pace of the communications revolution in the decades since.<br />
<br />
Is there a lesson in that for us humble humans? Sure. Any system, to work controllably and usefully, requires some amount of 'feedback'. One look will tell us that in common with many other sociological systems that man has devised, the political system too lacks this essential factor--corrective feedback. And the lack of effective feedback is what has contributed to all this "runaway behaviour" and the attendant troubles in the system. You don't need a degree in rocket or atomic science to tell you that the solution to the ills of the present political system lies in precisely this--the incorporation of corrective feedback.<br />
<br />
<b>Come Easy, Go Easy</b><br />
The practice of periodic and continuous performance assessments is common in academia and industry. Accountability is the keystone of academic and corporate structures; but it appears to be virtually invisible in the political edifice. So, why not have this model implemented in the political arena too? The person who came to occupy a cushy seat in the "gaddi" as a direct result of the votes polled against his symbol has, at the end of the year, to earn at least about 75% approval from his electorate in another 'assessment'. In these days of on-line everything, it will not be such a hassle to ask the eletorate (at least those who have no Web access) to go to the nearest government office, log in and record their 'assessment' of their MLA or MP. In order to rule out fraud, there should be a period when the full details of the 'poll' would be posted on-line and complaints received and errors rectified. If the 'humble servant of the people' fails to qualify, he finds himself 'run out' in the middle of the game, and forfeits to the Exchequer all the remuneration that he has received from the taxpayer's money, including the benefits going to his retinue.<br />
<br />
It is simple and direct. If he takes the votes of the taxpayer and gets into the House of lawmakers and then only takes orders from some capitalist crony or some female in the garb of a 'PR persona', let him be fully in the employ of that person and get paid from his/her coffers, and not the Nation's. The "aam aadmi" has had enough of the crocodile tears of the "powers that be", whether it is about the personal/privacy concerns of the corporates or the losses of the oil companies and such stuff -- which seem to be the only things that occupy the minister's mind day in and day out. Nobody sheds at least a tear or two for the man in the street --who ultimately has to foot the bill for all the 'tamashas' galore by way of taxes and more taxes. Do we need another definition of irony?<br />
<br />
No, no and NO. The buck has to stop here, and now. It is basically a question of accounts and accountability.<br />
<br />
<b>Two For Us</b><br />
Along with this simple modification to our democratic system, a few other changes too should fill the bill for the present. We must have a two-party system, so that the bane of 'coalition politics' will be ended once and for ever. Whatever your political affiliations or leanings, you have to join the system on one side and contest the elections on the strength of your public, declared policies. Finer things like how to tackle a turncoat joining the other side midstream could be to left to our Constitutional experts. But I guess two parties should be the absolute limit in any honest to goodness democracy.<br />
<br />
Then again there should be a Constitutional proviso that nobody who is not elected through a duly democratic process should be able to occupy any Constitutional position-- even if s/he were a "laad sahib ka betta". Everybody knows only too well what happens when such a person occupies a key position and s/he is unsure or undecided about his/her priorities and commitments --which obviously are not to the poor voter, who, as a matter of fact, did not elect him/her in the first place!<br />
<br />
Let us bring in these simple and basic changes to our Constitution and India could be a model for 'real' democracies --not in another hundred years when idealism will come to prevail universally, but after the very next elections.<br />
<br />
<b>JAI HIND --and her people!</b><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>* * * * * * * * * * * *The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7953741183258089579.post-81965891783217308802011-01-16T23:00:00.001-08:002011-01-16T23:10:57.140-08:00The Profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10279313433963145948noreply@blogger.com0