The Mumbai gangrape rape case will take centre stage for a few days now. The police will or will not find all the accused (can definitely in 24 hours if it wants to). The political parties have started their blame game. Media has planned a couple …
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has earned the wrath of a section of the state's bureaucracy over the suspension of Indian Administrative Service officer Durga Shakti Nagpal. The perception is that unlike his predecessor, Mr Yadav is allowing politics to interfere with his government's functioning. But few know that even as he has put up an abrasive front on Ms Nagpal's suspension, he has also been quietly putting together a team of brilliant IAS officers who are working diligently, though under the media's radar, to keep the state government ticking.
Among these dedicated IAS officers, sources say, are Surya Pratap Singh, a 1982 batch officer, who is principal secretary at the Uttar Pradesh infrastructure & industrial development (IDC) department, and Sanjay Agarwal, a 1984 batch officer, currently principal secretary in the UP Power Department and chairman of the UP Power Corporation. These babus are widely regarded within babu circles as “incorruptible” and seen as possessing virtues that bureaucracy should uphold. So Mr Yadav, in all probability, does realise that he really cannot do without IAS officers.
This post was originally published here.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data indicates that criminal activities across the country is on an upsurge, not only sexual assaults but also theft and killings. What is worse is that jails all over are reporting jammed capacities and are in no position to accommodate the surging numbers.
We decided to do a quick analysis of the numbers available with NCRB to understand the 'inmate population' and the 'occupancy rate' of prisons at the end of 2011. The data shows that out of the 28 states of India, 10 have an occupancy rate of more than 100% with Chhattisgarh taking the lead at 256%. However, the total occupancy rate among among Union Territories is much higher at 173.7% mostly due to heavy population in Lakshadweep (500%), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (362 %) and Delhi (194%).
An interesting revelation is that Uttar Pradesh's inmate population of 82,383 is more than the inmate population of almost 17 other Indian states (see chart above). Not too surprising considering that it is the largest state in India (population-wise) and also has the highest number of MLA's with criminal cases (189). On the other hand, states like Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Mizoram and Tripura have an occupancy rate of less than 70% and have also seen a fall in inmate population over the year these numbers were recorded.
The above figures are closely related to the condition of prisons throughout the country, many of which lack in infrastructure and several amenities. To get some more insights on the states of prisons, we spoke to an official from an NGO that works closely with prison inmates in Maharashtra. He said that not only are prisons overcrowded but many lack basic amenities. "Sometimes even fans and blankets are not available and inmates have to find ways to get them," he said.
Also overcrowded prisons lead to issues like infighting which has even taken lives in the past. With courts taking years to settle cases, there seems little respite in the near future, building more prisons or increasing capacity of the existing ones is probably the only way out.
In its latest study titled 'Global Competitiveness Report (2013-14) ' by the World Economic Forum, India is seen to be continuing its downward trend and is a painfully ranked 60th of 148 economies. This report holds importance as it contributes to an understanding of key factors that determine economic growth, why some countries are more successful than others in raising income levels and to help policy makers and business leaders with an important tool for formulating improved economic policies.
Here are some key points about India's performance:
•India continues its downward trend that began in 2009. While it was once ahead of countries like Brazil and South Africa, it now trails these countries by several places and is behind China by a margin of 31 positions, while Russia (64th) has almost closed the gap.
•India continues to be penalised for its very disappointing performance in the basic drivers underpinning competitiveness. The country's supply of transport, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and energy infrastructure remains largely insufficient and ill-adapted to the needs of the economy, despite the steady improvement that has been made since 2006.
•The Indian business community repeatedly cites infrastructure as the single biggest hindrance to doing business, ahead of corruption and cumbersome bureaucracy. Notwithstanding improvements across the board over the past few years, very poor public health and education levels also remain a prime cause of India's low productivity.
•Further, the public trust in politicians has been eroding since 2009 and has now reached an all-time low at while bribery remains deeply rooted, added the report.
• Another major concern is the country's low level of technological readiness. Although businesses adopt new technologies relatively fast the penetration rates of fixed and mobile internet and telephony among the population remain among the lowest in developing Asia.
•With a ratio women-to-men of 0.36 (137th), India has the lowest percentage of working women outside the Arab world.
This year is really bad for the Indian economy CAD is 4.9% of the GDP and Rupee had a really great fall(greater than Humpty Dumpty) in comparison to the Dollar and other major currencies of the world, it seems that we are back in the 90's, but where is the magician who waved his wand in 90's and economy was back on track, probably accompanied with other major tasks like making COAL FILES disappear and baby sitting for the MADAMJI.
But where is out Honourable FM sahab probably be waiting for PM sir to get free from his duties of madamji and give him some notes from the class of the 90's. These are the great minds of the country they shouldnt be disturbed, let the rupee fall, as I am writing this rupee has crossed 68 and still nothing has been done. On 13th of June FM asked the fellow countrymen to not to buy gold, this made me ponder how not buying of gold will help economy to revive, being a layman to economics(as I studied economics till secondary school only) I tried to understand things.
We Indians have mad craving for gold and why it shouldnt be it helps making your wife shut and thats a good investment. India produces 2.44 metric tonnes of gold every year but county's annual consumption is whooping 1000 tonnes, so rest of the demand has to be imported, and the payment has to be made in dollars so here comes the simple demand and supply rule, so to buy that much amount of gold the demand of dollar increases in the market and so the price of dollar rises
" And the article was not to explain such a simple thing"
Do we need Dollars to buy only gold NO!!!!!!!! The major burden on our Foreign Reserve is dependence on the crude oil. Almost 79% of India's crude oil requirement have to be imported all of that has to be paid in dollars, and as the country is growing more number of vehicles are coming on the roads they need oil to run on. India's dependence cannot end and this this plays a major role in Fiscal deficit and this has to be stopped.
So how can we stop dependence on crude oil-
1) Giving subsidies on vehicles which run on alternate sources, subsidies which are being given to the corporates in different forms of tax exemptions. Corporates are given lakhs of crores as subsidies, India's whole IT industry is running on Tax Exemption and the subsidy given on fuel just amount to only few thousand of Crores.
2)Developing research for alternate medium of transportation and developing great infrastructure for public transportation.
"These are the few basic points more can be added to it"
There are many other ways by which economy can be revived but countries economy will only start flourishing the day when our dependence on oil will end.
Two recent events will redefine the Indian economy more than anything else - the Food Security Bill, and the shrinking trend in Indian GDP.
To begin with, Indian agriculture is great. Despite so many hurdles, India is the biggest producer of milk and pulses in the world, and leads in at least 10 other areas substantially. We have world-class research institutes, and sincere scientists, politicians and farmers.
However, the big challenges now are:
Issue 1. The successful passage of the Food Security Bill 2013 - Since more than 50% of people depend on agriculture for their direct incomes, and because 67% of Indian population will be directly covered by the handouts of this Law, it's profound.
Issue 2. The central role of Indian farmers - The HUGE promises made in the Bill require massive procurement of foodgrains (wheat, rice, coarse cereals) which means our farmers need to work really hard to produce more (since imports are ruled out). Given the extremely low productivity of agriculture in India, this means that in a few months or years from now, the strains will start showing.
Issue 3. Why our farm productivity is not going to improve anytime soon - The table clearly highlights the structural problem with Indian farm productivity. Majority of the farmers are stuck with very small landholdings due to social, personal and family reasons. Consolidation is the crying need of the hour, but that entails huge social readjustments.
Issue 4. Skewing the farming patterns permanently - Grow more wheat, more rice and more coarse cereals is the implicit message in the new law to all farmers of India. So why bother with growing vegetables? Hence, erratic patterns of vegetable production and an inflationary push is likely.
Issue 5. Shrinking GDP growth rate - '7% plus annual GDP growth rate guaranteed' period is gone forever. Fuelled in no insignificant part by large global fund flows courtesy easy monetary policies of the West, India enjoyed while the fun lasted. Now, we need to work hard at the basics to get to that level of growth. And that is easier said than done.
Issue 6. Borrow more, Print more - Since the food security commitments HAVE to be fulfilled always - there is no sunset clause, and no government dare take on 67% of the population of 1.2 billion (and growing) - this means heavy borrowing or heavy printing of currency may happen frequently. Both imply massive inflation in the short and medium term. That inflation will hurt everyone - even the poor.
All these together mean we are in for a long stretch of painful readjustment. Tighten your seats, ladies and gentlemen!
Suddenly everyone is interested in the functioning of the Reserve Bank of India and the steps it is taking to avert the fall of rupee from "grace". News channels, newspaper , social media all writing column after column along with long spreads of photographs about the new man at the helm of the central bank and how he will save the economy from this never ending downward spiral. When was the last time you saw such long spreads of photographs of the Reserve Bank Governor? On closer analysis it turns out that the media is just smitten by Mr.Raghuram Rajan. Aptly termed as the "rockstar banker" Mr.Rajan comes with a formidable reputation.An alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad who went on to become the youngest chief economist at the IMF, he was amongst few economist(including Nouriel Roubini and others) who predicted the 2008 global financial crisis. Previously Mr.Rajan was chief economic advisor to the Indian government. Many believe that he was specifically brought in to head the central bank and it was decided that he should spend some time at Delhi and familiarize himself and understand the functioning of the political and governance structure in India before moving to Mint street.
Mr. Rajan has an unenviable task at hand. The former tiger economy is in bad shape with depreciating rupee, increasing CAD and general slowdown all over the economy compounded by a government which continuing its irresponsible inefficient welfare schemes and spending binge. It remains to be seen how Mr.Rajan known for his foresight and innovative thinking can change and reorient the thinking at the Reserve Bank of India and is able to solve the problems created by a fiscally irresponsible government and changing world economy with the monetary tools at his disposal.
Anyone having trouble remembering the grimness of the December 2012 rape incident in Delhi should read this article published in The Guardian before any further rumination. I too, like others who are applauding today's capital punishment for the culprits, find solace in the belief that capital punishment might be the effective ointment for palliating the wounds such crimes inflict on our society. But let us not get so obsessed with this superficial balm that we ignore the need for removing root cause of the disease. "Death for all" might be the rally point of social media activism, but is 21st century India ready to arrive at a consensus on rejecting regressive anti-feminine practices, about which even the most learned men are silent? Here are some.
1. Dowry - What discomforts me, is not the rapacity of the 50-something father and his archaic justifications for this evil system, but the bizarre silence of the well-read stop-rape-Facebook-activist groom and his timidity about defying dowry, a system that shatters the last ounce of self-worth girls are left with after years of discrimination.
2. Domestic Violence - I'm reminded of an anecdote from a neighbour. The husband, father of two beautiful daughters and a prosperous lawyer, who used to be a big fan of the show Satyamev Jayate suddenly turned into an enemigo número uno of Aamir Khan and the show. I heard him conclude how the show's idealism could "break families". Not surprisingly, what caused this transition, was the broadcast of an episode about the menace of domestic violence.
3. Double-think - It seems as if we have already given up the fight against malefic factors that reenforce an unjust perception of the fairer sex. Instead, we proudly proclaim our craze for such agents - actors, musicians, politicians or self-proclaimed men of God. Is there such a dearth of role models in India that even those with the best formal education cannot resist falling prey to the propaganda of Beelzebub? Double-think: To deliberately believe in lies, while knowing they are false.
The "Death for all" is a welcome judgement. But, beyond this apparent victory there are a thousand other wars to be fought, in remote regions of the country that are out of sight of the media's camera, in faraway towns where no one stands up for support, inside sealed walls from where the victim's voice cannot be heard. The fighter is hardly applauded; not many are interested in the outcome. Such small daily fights for the values we believe in but do not work towards are destined to bring us to a juncture where we might have to stand alone on the other side of "usual", maybe against our families, to build a safer world for a daughter that isn't born yet. Are you ready for it?
So here is one more socialist who clams to make Delhi a corruption free state if his party comes in rule in coming LS election. Appreciated his talent and his thought but what i am concern about is that, Does he have the support of people even half of the population of Delhi?
He is fighting alone for us, for our country, for our people and he needs our support to drive and take our country to the next level. I don't have to give a introduction of Arvind Kejariwal and I don't have to tell you his sacrifices also. Have you ever thought why he chooses the country over a IAS officer job? He is doing so to make us breath in a free india. We talk all the bullshit about BJP vs Congress or NDA Vs UPA or MODI Vs Rahul. But i don't even imagine that any on of these names (which is intriguing every where in new and all street side ) have any thing new they blame each other and they don't bother about people of county they just want to rule in center (Delhi).
We all talk about politics in watch TV read news paper but it will not create that difference which we need to take our country to the next level. We are happy to compare our self with CHINA and being named among growing economy countries. We need to stand and pull up our shocks because simply by sitting and saying our country has corrupt politician nothing can happen to this country. Dude get up.. where are you ? You are living in a democratic country and if you wish you can change the nation u know.
All I want to say that Please think from your point of view and join AAP and help AAP in any ways financially or socially if you really concern about the country and being a responsible citizen.
To Join please visit: http://www.aamaadmiparty.org
"Oh! Aah! Take the world and paint it red..."
Some denizens of Nagpur seem to have taken this song too literally. These people are found everywhere- roads, restaurants, hospitals, railway station, parks, courts, colleges and even schools! You just need to look around and you are sure to find someone spewing that disgusting red fluid from his mouth. Yes I am talking about the age old habit of people spitting here, there and everywhere!
Although Maharashtra has banned the consumption of gutka, people are still consuming tobacco in the form of kharra, khaini and paan. Even gutka is available to people if only they know where to buy it. The number of people getting addicted to these has shot up rapidly. The fact that even children are resorting to these is disturbing. And an aftermath of this is that our clean and green city is getting dirtier by the day.
People don't seem to think twice before spitting on roads, on staircases, on walls, in toilets or for that matter any place they find. And the fact that they don't feel even a smidgen of remorse is even more saddening. The roads of Nagpur as it is are not safe to drive. The numerous potholes, the faulty signals and the utter disregard for rules by the people make it dangerous to ply on our roads. And now to add to the woes one even has to look out for these people who spit at their own whim. This nuisance is not just on the roads.
Way back in standard tenth I used to go to a coaching class. The stairs of this building used to be dirtied by the tell tale signs of spitting. We had put up posters saying 'Agar zaara si bhi insaniyat baki hai toh mat thuko' but still it didn't help. We had forgotten that humans have lost this humanity long time back. However we did come up with a brilliant idea and put some posters of Hindu gods and goddess on the walls. Miraculously, these ignorant god fearing fools stopped dirtying the walls! However we cannot go on putting up these posters everywhere, can we?
I think our NMC and the police finally need to wake up from their slumber and take definitive action. Police needs to be empowered to fine these offenders. NMC can help by providing proper spittoons at places so that people can use those to spew. But all these will be nothing till we change our own mindset. The day we see this menace as a problem is when we will effectively find some solutions to it. Dear offenders, please appreciate that road to development and better well being needs to be clean. You are dirtying it not just for yourself but also for others. Don't you think a cleaner and healthier world will be a better place to live in?
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When I was about to take admission in engineering, I was frustrated by seeing the guys with a rank as bad as mine (if not worse) getting admission in a much better college than the college where I got the admission. The only reason for above mentioned difference was that they belonged to “reserved” category.
I have no objection to reservations being provided to the really underprivileged section. But when lakhs of middle class or affluent people who (un)fortunately fall in the reserved categories take the unscrupulous advantage of reservations, then it does become a cause of exasperation. The sad part is that neither govt. nor these people themselves (on moral grounds) do anything to control this rampant abuse of merit. How can a govt. sit back and see affluent people getting reservations and general category destitute being deprived of opportunity?
The system of reservation was adopted at the time of independence to attain equality in the society. The way politicians manipulated this law to divide and rule is a matter to be worried about. Indian society has moved forward towards equality but on the contrary, reservations have increased by manifolds in last 60 years! Now reservation is nothing but a way to strengthen vote banks.
Now, reservations stand at 49.5% of the total seats in a public sector company/educational institution. How many of these 49.5% do we find from really underprivileged section? Most of our reserved category peers are not “backward” at all. They themselves find the word “backward” to be an abuse but they enjoy reservations! So, the fruits of reservations don't reach the underprivileged.
The attitude of political parties to attract voters is in fact dividing the nation into different factions. Congress party is trying to entice the Muslim voters by promising them reservations. This is simply unacceptable! One's caste can't be changed but religion can be. Say a general category Hindu is not getting a job or admission in an institute. So, he will simply convert his religion to Islam and he'll fall into reserved category!
Political parties have to think in national interest and must pursue towards providing reservation to really backward people of the country irrespective of their castes or religions. Some would say that it is an unrealistic solution as how one would find who is backward in a country as big as ours. But there can be a way out possible by the use of technology as in Adhaar cards. There is a need of serious effort on the part of govt. to try to uplift the people of these classes not by giving them reservation but by giving them financial assistance. Last, but not the least, financially stable people from these categories should voluntarily give up the advantages of reservations because they are not "backward" at all.
PS: I had originally written this article on my blog: http://innocentsid.blogspot.in/2012/03/curious-case-of-reservations.html
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Acknowledging the gravity of situation, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India has launched a 36 week long 'Malnutrition Quit India Campaign' in November 2012 and has roped in Aamir Khan as the face of campaign who is also the UNICEF brand ambassador for malnutrition. The campaign has been rolled out in four stages to run back-to-back with some overlap. Stage 1 is to create awareness on symptoms of malnutrition for a period of eight weeks. Stage 2 is to give a clarion call and is spread over a period of six weeks. In stage 3, focus is on basic critical practices for maternal and child care as prevention from malnutrition. Stage 4 aims at informing the public about acquiring services and Mother Child Protection card. Television advertisements are particularly targeted towards sensitizing citizens of the country towards the plight of malnourished children and mothers so that they come in for-front for doing their bit while print and radio medium are targeted towards creating awareness amongst the real sufferers.
The campaign seems to be well thought out as it is also leveraging upon Aamir Khan's reinforced credibility as crusader of social change established by success of Satyamev Jayate, a series by him dealing with social issues. Close to 40 short films and advertisement for radio, print and television in 19 different languages to connect with the Aam Admi and spread awareness against malnutrition have been produced by Aamir Khan along with lyricist and ad guru Prasoon Joshi.
However, critics are criticizing the campaign on the account that roping in Aamir Khan is nothing but glamorizing malnutrition and the real focus should be on Accredited Social Health Activists who are running ICDS nutrition program in villages. But In such situations where we look to bring about attitude change, source of message is of high importance and here Aamir Khan with his established credibility is a more effective source of message than the ASHAs to bring about the desired results.
But it would be folly on our part to think that Aamir Khan would solve the problem with swirl of magic wand as the magnitude of problem is humongous and the causative factors are deep entrenched in system. In spite of all this, it is reasonable to believe that Malnutrition Quit India Campaign is a step in right direction as we have seen in past the success of pulse polio campaign that how synergy of government agencies and appeal from public figure can do the trick and achieve what once seemed next to impossible.
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India being the largest democratic nation in the world registered a voter poll percentage of less than 60% in the last parliamentary elections and it was worse during the earlier elections. The prime factors behind such a dismal voting percentage over years vary from irresponsible governments to arcane registration procedures. Though in recent years voter registration has been made simpler, voter percentage has not been improved.This has been mainly because of the lazy Indian citizen who never votes but still complains about so may things.
In the awake of such a pathetic voting percentage some social analysts have put forwarded the implementation of compulsory voting which at present is implemented by only a few countries like Australia, Argentina, Singapore, Brazil etc. Though compulsory voting has a set of pros and cons in its implementation it has a different set of pros and cons in case of India. Compulsory Voting has the advantage of boosting the voter turnout and the elected representative not just represents a section of population but a majority of population. It makes voting a civic duty for the citizens of the country.
Recent Australian elections reported a voting percentage of 95% which has never ever happened to India. If a citizen fails to cast his vote he should provide a valid reason for abstaining from voting and if he fails he will be fined. Implementing such a strict law in India is difficult and with a better refinement of compulsory voting it can be implemented in a better way.
From the side of the Government, it should speed up the voter registration process and the citizens on their part should consider voting as a civic right. In a country where more than half the population resides in rural spaces, polling booths should be set up in the nearby zone. All government and private organizations should permit their employes to cast their vote on the polling day. Students should be self motivated to vote and fight for their rights.
People should leave their misconception that a single vote doesn't count and take the recent Australian federal elections where people have perfectly used their power to vote by overthrowing the incumbent government whose policies were criticised all over the country and the Labor Party (incumbent) has suffered its worst ever defeat in 100 years. People should inspire from such incidents and understand that we are the real policy makers in this nation. We can no more afford to blame the government until we exercise our power by voting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting
http://www.indian-elections.com/india-statistics.html
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Today onions are available for Rs 80 a kg in most parts of Mumbai and they are not the 'pinkest' nor well-rounded, leave alone the tears they extort.
But onion shortage is not a new crisis which has suddenly hit us out of nowhere. In fact, it has become quite periodical. However, one report says that it is the media that really creates the crisis.
Farmers in Lasalgaon have been upset with the media. They hold the media responsible for sensationalising the rising the prices of onions, thus hampering their income. “This is the only chance they have to make money and by putting the rising prices in the spotlight, the government is building pressure to bring down the prices. Thus, the anger against the media,” explained an onion exporter.
Sad that people still like to shoot the messenger. Having covered onion crisis in Lasalgaon, Nashik Maharashtra some years ago, I was witness to sacks full of onions rotting away in the godowns while the rest of state/country reeled under a severe shortage. So media is not alone to be blamed, the greed to store for a more lucrative tomorrow plays a bigger role.
But why the big issue over onions. Surely, we can do without them. There are many substitutes says this article.
I think grounded channa (besan) and yogurt/ chaas is a good substitute for adding bulk to your gravy while substituting onions. So while you prepare a Punjabi curry or say a dish requiring a voluminous gravy, this combination is apt to give it its bulk and lend a good taste too! - Sanjeev Kapoor, Celebrity Chef, Khana Khazana
Housewives try simpler ways out to meet the crisis. One grates potatoes and uses for the phodni, while another uses tiny pieces of garlic. Yet another uses spring onions while those who can afford (and health permits) use tomatoes. Some just parcel the onion they get as accompaniment when ordering at a Mughlai restaurant and take it home.
And now there is news about India importing onions from Afghanistan
With onion prices continuing to remain high, Punjab based traders have started importing it from Afghanistan through Attari-Wagah land route in Amritsar.
Don't know whether Afghanistan onions taste different but the Osh Pyozee (stuffed-onions dish) from the same country is quite something I hear. Vegetarians do not open the link - the dish is not as innocent as it sounds.
And while we are on recipes, have you heard of Zwiebelkuchen. According to Wikipedia, it means onion cake in German and is either a one-crust pie made of steamed onions, diced bacon, cream, and caraway seeds on a yeast dough or a leavened dough that is particularly popular in the German wine-growing regions.
This is the recipe for the Onion cake for those who have outlandish tastes.
I discovered quite something else in the market today. Something called the Brown Onion paste available at Rs 58 only. If you promise to use just a teaspoon every time, you can easily cook some 30 dishes with this paste. And since the onions are fried, you will consume less gas too.
Last month, onions were costlier than stocks too said an online site. One newspaper spoke about how apples have become cheaper than onions but why the comparison at all? You cannot give tadka with apples. Period.
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And so I will vote for Modi and not for our cute little Cambridge-educated Baba. Why, you ask? Because for once Rahul Baba is not interested in the post. Not that he is suitable, anyway. On the other hand, Modi looks like a man possessed. For all his fallacies, he lets his work show. To quote from an article,
A mere 5 percent of the population of the state of Gujarat contributes 16 of India's total industrial output and 22 percent of its exports. Agriculture in Gujarat is prospering at a massive growth rate of 10 percent in comparison to nation's average of 3 percent. The state has been able to achieve the unthinkable feat of providing 24X7 supply electricity to rural households.
Baba on the other hand is too shy to take the lowly minister's job. He is the crowned king for whom the throne awaits, it's just his decision when. We shall all be waiting with flowers in our hands to welcome him!
Look at the dump we are in and look at the response from our Prime Minister, if we have one, that is. Our Finance Minister says that India's golden period has been under the UPA. God save us if this has any semblance to a golden period. As MBAs, you hear corporates whisper that "our numbers are low" as beads of sweat form on your head. Dreams have been squashed, people are worried about getting a job, leave alone getting a humongous salary. So then if you ask me who will you vote for, I shall unabashedly say, Narendra Modi.
He has his ghosts, but what option do we have? It's either him or again another dummy from the party/alliance whose lows know no bounds. I have had enough and so have thousand others like me. We don't know whether a temple will be built in Ayodhya or not, nor do we care. We don't know who is secular. No single party in India can be called secular (appeasement politics doesn't make you secular, it makes you all the more communal). We need jobs, we need growth, we need a vibrant economy. We want to stand tall in the world market as we once did not so long ago before this government decided to treat this country like a family heirloom.
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Why is any stance which remotely comes close to being anti-Modi or anti-BJP considered pro-Congress? I'm not a pro-Congress person but if people are going to talk about Indian politics, they should sway clear of Rahul vs Modi discussions as they are outrageously futile.
In Rahul you have an inexperienced person with nothing great up his sleeves. So don't vote for his party. Makes sense. But don't make Modi out to be this herculean saviour. He is what he has been made out to be by our unethical media. In fact it was our incompetent media which gave rise to this banal Modi vs Rahul "baba" face off.
The Internet is a wide, open and fair source of information. So take some time out and find out for yourself how good the Gujarat model is. The BJP and especially Modi believe in extreme right-winged politics and hence favour rampant privatisation of the type that can be observed in Gujarat itself. The semblance of economic development that is associated with Gujarat only favours the bourgeois. Search the Internet and find out where Gujarat ranks among Indian states on HDI.
Those who are in the oblivion about the ill effects of privatisation should read up more on this issue, such as how England was under Margaret Thatcher. To sum it up, all parties are communal but while other parties turn communal to score political points, BJP is communal by ideology.
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A sense of feeling for the nation, is Nationalism. Similarly, a sense of feeling for India is Indianism. But does it actually exist in the hearts of Indians?
This is really a question, the answer of which needs to be researched.
Recently,in 2011, the world cup cricket concluded. There was a lot of excitement all over the world regarding it. India was finally the world champion after a long gap of 28 yrs. But there was one particular point, worth noticeable, other than this during the whole 35 days tenure.
In these 35 days, there were no state agitations, not a single communal violence, no naxalite attacks and no violence in Jammu and Kashmir. India was at ease and peace. Indianism was at its peak amongst all Indians. We wanted Indian Cricket team to win, irrespective of being a Hindu or a Muslim...a Maharashtrian or a Punjabi...a rich or a poor. But why is it absent during other times? Why do we forget that being an Indian is our identity? Why the sense of INDIANISM remains unavailable?
For this, one of the primary answers by Indians would be..."why the sense of INDIANISM should prevail anyway. India is equivalent to a hell on earth...Corruption is at its peak...we still don't have high literacy...etc etc."
But then, before expecting something from the country, have we ever imagined that if we have performed our duties well and proper.
Have our civil servants and others in the service sector, thought of becoming, people-friendly, have a positive attitude, and provide responsive, proactive, transparent service to the billion people.
Have the graduates of IIM's and IIT's have thought of possessing the characteristics thinking only from the point of view of INDIA and not how much packages they are getting.
As a common person, have we thought of keeping our environment clean and tidy.
I am sure, Indians hardly think over it.We have a tendency of only complaining.But then, as Indians we need to have a vision. A vision for India.... a profile of India which we all want today.It's our dream. And the dream is....
"A Nation that is prosperous, healthy, secure, peaceful and happy, the rural and urban divide is minimal, there is an equitable distribution of energy, where agriculture, industry and service sector work together in symphony. A Nation that is one of the best places to live in on the earth and brings smiles on a billion faces."
So to conclude...
India is very fortunate to have 540 million youth out of a billion people. We are comparatively doing well in many fields. Time has now come for us to make our country, righteous.Righteousness comes out of good character which eventually leads to harmony,which makes the citizens enlightened.
So let us rededicate ourselves today and work towards making India a prosperous, happy and secure nation, with smile on billion faces, thus imbibing the sense INDIANISM to the core.
JAI HIND
If Manmohan Singh could do magic in 1991, why not now ?
When the economy is in shambles and jobs are hard to come by, where is Manmohan Singh's jaadu ki chaadi (magic stick) which revived the Indian economy during the 1991 crisis?
With the unemployment rate rising sharply and inflation at its peak, the question that arises in our minds is whether the economic situation is bad only in India, since European countries and the USA are growing at a meagre rate of 1-2% too. Or it the economy bad because of the political unwillingness to push important reforms and instead pass populist bills such as the National Food Security bills as soon as possible with this year's state assembly elections and next year's general elections in mind.
The current account deficit and fiscal deficit have gone beyond the limits we need to restrict them below. The need to restrict fiscal deficit to 4.8% of GDP is commonly quoted by the government to justify the hike in the fuel prices. But when asked from where they will arrange the huge amount of money (about Rs 90,000 crore) required for implementing the national food security bill, they have no answers.
Will poor people benefit from this bill? Perhaps yes. But do we have the infrastructure facility to properly implement the bill? No. Little ground work has been done by government for seeing the bill through on ground. While the Rs 90,000 crore burden remains a big question, the government announces that it will not create any new jobs for a year as austerity measures. Not only the UPA government, but almost all the national and regional parties are in a race for passing populist bills in their states, which makes the economic situation even worse. All parties behave the same way for wooing voters.
The reach of these populist measures has been limited to a limited extent only. Simultaneously, just to project themselves as messiahs of poor people, parties have been opposing FDI in multi-brand retail and other important bills which would have strengthen the economy.
Quick-fixes for the economy now are unlikely to make investors pump in job-creating investments. Such investments instead depend on long-term factors, which are being ignored by politicians focused on the 2014 elections.
Can good economics make for good politics in India?
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Pseudo-secularism is at its best is here.
I am taking everything into consideration. But voting is important, elections are important. Rather than claims that the author of this article made (Don't Undermine Indian Politics by jugraj singh in State of the Nation), let's come to reality.
We have two parties at the centre, BJP and Congress. And we have a Third Front. The chances are that a Prime Minister would be from either of the parties. If I talk about the Congress, who sees an able leader in their party who can lead the country? We did see last 10 years and any person who is in a position to compare, can understand that it was really a very corrupted regime by any party till date. I as a middle class person feels it! I as a student felt it! I as a working guy felt it! I as a consumer felt it! I as a brother felt it! I as a son felt it! So choosing Congress after seeing those 10 years is out of question.
Looking at BJP, first and foremost, no party can take the COMMUNAL tag onto them whatsoever if they have to win the Lok Sabha elections. A party won't take that risk ever. BJP is projecting itself as such a party. You don't see a Ram Mandir issue prominently rising anymore. They are talking about Good governance, Good administration which is good. This is what is creating a hope in the minds of the Indians! They need a change. Desperate Change! Narendra Modi is leading a state which has advanced undoubtedly, of course it cannot be perfect. No state can ever be. But atleast in comparison to other states it is in a better state of affairs. So practically speaking, I would rather give a chance to that person who has proven it through his work as an administrator rather than an already seen party for 10 years.
Coming to the third option, if Congress and BJP get equal seats, the third front would come to power indirectly. Like in the 1996 and 1997 era, we saw H.D. Devegowda, I.K. Gujral. Congress would be giving an outside support. Who in the third front do you see capable of holding such a post. Mulayam? Mayawati? Mamta? Nitish? Pawar? Come on!
So at present, I am looking at the best alternative I have with me as a voter. I have an optimism in my eyes. I have a dream. I don't know Mr Modi would be able to fulfil my dreams and make this country a Superpower or not. But I certainly know, he deserves a chance. So does BJP! Give them 5 years. Let us decide then which regime was better.
This country is waiting for a new dawn, a new era to begin.
The involvement of juveniles in gruesome crimes has triggered a new debate in media platforms and society. People are advocating reducing age of criminal responsibility in India. Even the government is considering grading the crimes committed by juveniles over age of 16. But in my opinion,even though it's necessary in current scenario, it will serve only as a short term deterrent in preventing such crimes. Juveniles and even young adults are at a phase in their life when their decision making capabilities are not developed fully but they have all the strength and energy at their disposal. Add to this, the risk taking attitude, peer pressure and influence of external mediums along with a neglected or troubled childhood and we may get an emotionally scarred individual. Also, we are witnessing an alarming increase in the rate of suicides among teens as well as young professionals. Looking into the factors which may contribute to juvenile delinquency following issues can be taken into consideration.
1. Media: It can be held responsible because it portrays before us, a scenario where violence is a justified mean to achieve objectives. Moreover, they heavily underplay the effects of violence (antagonist dies of a single gunshot wound and protagonist lives happily after killing 50-60 odd men). Moreover the recent debate in news channels might have lead to an impression that if you are a juvenile you can commit any crime and get away with a maximum of 3 years of sentence. Even suicides are televised as sensational piece of news(as in the case of late Jiah Khan).
2. Parent-Child Relationship: As a fast paced life is keeping parents on their toes, they are working day in and day out for providing economic security to their families. But the special bond which provides emotional security is breaking. Maybe the new generation is changing so rapidly that the older one is finding it difficult to keep pace with it. Maybe somewhere, we are mistaking pleasure for happiness and preferring short term goals to long term relationships.
3. Lack of professional counseling and increasing work pressure: Not many institutes provide professional psychologists to its members. Competition is becoming more academic oriented and survival of the fittest is the norm. Even personality development classes in institutions teach us how to be successful in corporate world rather than how to be deal with life and be happy. We are becoming more knowledgeable but less wise. Pressure of performance is building stress while a lot of youngsters are being overwhelmed by the sheer load of expectations and responsibilities and losing themselves in criminal or virtual world (which could be helpful if used responsibly rather than as an escape mechanism).
We seem to be running so hard against time, afraid that we will fall behind, scared to lose. We are forgetting that life is not a sprint but a marathon and even though we may sprint in the first lap but eventually we will need stamina to finish the race.