If Winter Comes, Can Spring be Far Behind?

To many of us the year 2011 will be known as a year of turmoil, a year of halting governance or lack of governance. To many still the year will be a year of setbacks on economic and political front what with the kind of fall witnessed in rupee and market in a spin of an unknown proportion! For those associated with Anna and for those in the forefront of movement against corruption, the year 2011 will certainly appear to be hugely disappointing and perhaps cruel too. A movement launched for a good cause; a movement aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the toiling and grieving masses reeling under the scourge of corruption would like to remain energised so that there is no let-up in it. Political masters who should not be masters in the first place were at the receiving end of the public ire for having done nothing to contain corruption that had affected their life so very badly. In fact, most people in the street thought politicians, at least some of them, actively contributed to building the corpus of black money which if brought back into legitimate circulation could radically improve the quality of life on the ground.

To many the year 2011 will remind of Gloom and Doom. People lost money in the stock market. People had to cough up more money for buying their basic necessities. People received poor or no service from the corporate houses for which they had to pay through their noses. To top it all the year will be seen as complete failure of the government, its inept and bad handling of public concerns including midnight swoop on Baba Ramdev and arrest of a septuagenarian Anna in the unearthly hours of the day.

In short, the year 2011 can be put down as: "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." Although not all of what Dickens had said about the eighth decade of eighteenth century would apply to our own period, much of what was stated during the period of the French Revolution is applicable to our own times. That explains gloom and doom of 2011.

But 2011 has drawn to a close and we are on the threshold of a New Year which many of us believe would lead to a better tomorrow when the mist of despondency will clear with the rise of the sun in the horizon. It will, one hopes, not just fondly, that with this winter will go all that was shady and seedy and its place will emerge a spring that will bring joy to the millions who have been deprived of their right to happiness.

If winter comes, can spring be far behind?          

Is it Forbidden?

Having failed to contain Anna on his demand for a strong Lokpal, the Congress has let loose a war of venom. The party and the ministers are speaking a language of the street and spreading all kinds of canards against Anna whose only offence, if I may say so, is that he has raised the issue of corruption like no one else has ever done in the past. He has received tremendous public support and this has clearly unnerved the government and it appears to have lost the sense of decorum, discipline and decency in public life. Some of them have spoken a language that one would not usually speak. They are hitting him below the belt as well.

Their common grouse against Anna is that he is now indulging in politics. Another grouse is that he represents RSS and BJP. What if he does? Is it forbidden? Is that the issue? Is politics only the prerogative of the declared politicians? Can an average citizen of the country not engage in politics? What after all is politics and can politics ever remain divorced from normal life? Politics relates to 'activities involved in getting and using power in public life, and being able to influence decisions that affect a country or a society.' It's a pious function. It's another matter that our politicians these days have confined its meaning to those activities that benefit them, their close relations and cohorts. Society or country hardly ever comes to their mind. Therefore, they cannot appreciate the political design, if any at all, of Anna and his team. But the way they are attacking him in the name of politics, it would seem that politics for Anna is a crime. They can engage in anything in the name of politics, not Anna. What a strange argument and the more they offer this kind of argument, the more they alienate themselves from the people. And this instead of helping their political cause is only going to help Anna in mobilizing more and more public support.

Unbecoming of a Government

For a government to go back on its commitments and renege on its promises so often is tantamount to fraud on its people. It is highly unbecoming of a government of any civilized country to behave in this manner as our national government has behaved lately. It has already been indicted by the apex court's amicus curiae on its handling of Baba Ramdev in a midnight coup. It has received all kinds of flaks it could from the same court on various corruption cases. In fact, in one of the orders on Black Money, the Supreme Court just fell short of calling it a failed state. There could not have been a stronger indictment of an elected government.

The government, however, has carried on shamelessly. When Anna was on fast for 12 days at Ramlila Maidan, no less a person than the prime minister himself wrote a letter to him in which he promised to incorporate his main concerns in the Lokpal as demanded by Anna Team and on this assurance Anna broke his fast. Prior to that a drama was enacted in the parliament where Pranab Mukherjee announced 'sense of the house' on those very demands which subsequently the prime minister apprised Anna of.

After Standing Committee submitted its report after long recess, it once again became clear that the government was again going back on its commitment to give a strong lokpal. Anna once again had to issue threats whereupon government seemed to be working overtime to include those demands Anna had made. Things seemed to be moving in that direction. Then again things seemed to move in a different trajectory giving rise to oft repeated complaint of the civil society that this government was not keen to tackle corruption. In fact, position began to change and alter like the climate of Delhi: foggy, misty and sunny and again foggy and misty. In these 48 hours the government has come full circle on many things and returned almost to the original position of not acceding to any demand.

Even now when the government appears to have made up its mind to create a lokpal that would have none of those elements that were suggested by the Team Anna, nothing is certain. This may be a deliberate ploy of the government from a strategic point of view. If it is so, it is certainly in a very bad taste and clear indication that the government is not at all keen to take any concrete and decisive steps towards tackling corruption. The whole country has risen like a phoenix against this genie of corruption, but government seems hell bent on protecting the corrupt when it should be seen on the other side. For a government to consistently go back on its commitment and renege on its promises, all that can be said is that it is highly unbecoming of it and this is going to work to its disadvantage in the days to come.

For a change, India is wide awake now and Anna has given the people a hope of resurrection. Systemic change is what people of India are clamouring for, and if it has to come at the cost of the government, so be it.

Decline in Congress

The flutter that Anna has caused in Congress by bringing so many political leaders from opposition parties on 11th Dec at Jantar Mantar is understandable. But one expected the party to behave in a saner manner and if the rank and file appeared to have gone berserk, as many appeared to have, the leadership should have whacked whips. That would perhaps be asking for too much from a party that is set on the course of decline.

Beni Prasad, a new convert to the congress, has been most strident in his Anna bashing. He says Anna is not a Laat Saheb. This clearly betrays his feudal mind set. Anna calls himself a fakir. Then he says if Anna is 74 years old Congress is 125 years. You do not need any further proof that the party is on the decline. He is comparing an individual to a party. How thin and bankrupt the party has become that it can be compared to an individual? Good for the party. And then he issues a warning. Come to UP, we'll see you. By the way, where is Ghaziabad?
Then there is some Hanumanth Rao who in a stentorian voice shouted--mend your ways, Anna, or else...Then someone else said from somewhere--Anna should stop saying anything about Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi is their deity. How can anyone say anything about a deity they venerate?

Well, congress has long ceased to be a party. At best it can be described as a mansion of the Gandhis and the Nehrus and the members of the party as occupants of the outhouse of the mansion. These occupants of the outhouse can variously be described as servants, flunkies, caretakers etc. So whenever someone says a thing or two about the Gandhis and the Nehrus these occupants cannot keep quiet. They must shout at the top of their voice to keep the critics at bay. The utterance of Manu Singhvi, the chairman of the standing committee on Lokpal bill, that 'debate was undemocratic' (he was alluding to the debate some of the political party leaders had with Anna on various aspects of Janlokpal on 11th at the Jantar-Mantar) was most distasteful, to say the least. If debate can be called undemocratic what else remains of a democracy? Debate is the essence of democracy, no matter it takes place.  More evidence of the party having been on a free fall course.

The problem with these congressmen and women is that they refuse to see what is happening in the world today, and even if they see them happening, they refuse to take any lessons. What Anna is saying or doing is not just limited to India. This voice is rising all over the world. People are beginning to realize that their rulers, de facto ones--not the de jure ones--are the worst self-servers. They are being ruthlessly uprooted from the position of power. The unmistakable message is--don't take people for granted, and do not take them for a ride.   

Bihar is Changing, Bihar has Changed.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Bihar has changed, and is changing rapidly. Important thing is to know whether it is also changing and improving the quality of life of the people around. It would be a travesty of truth if we do not see the positive impact of these changes. Without doubt it has changed and improved the life of many people in Bihar and obviously such people are happy to gloat about these changes and improvements. But the gloat is not for all, not for the majority who have failed to reap the benefit of positive changes that Nitish has brought about. There is no doubting his sincerity. He is working tirelessly for a new brand called Bihar. It has become a progressive state. But there are problems which he refuses to see. Merely by enacting Right to Service Act, a government cannot expect to straighten out administrative ripples that are aplenty. Before embarking of laws and acts, he should have concentrated on a quality administrative infrastructure. That sadly is missing. If it were not so, the owners of a reputed shopping mall of Patna would not have been released almost immediately after they were arrested by the irresistible City SP Patna who is now doing a great job at Araria. We were given to understand by Nitish himself that gone were the days when a policeman would receive a call from higher ups to release someone arrested for some criminal acts. Those who were caught were caught for selling fake and spurious brands in their shop. This is a serious crime, but the government took it lightly. The seal of the shop was opened and it is once again allowed to do brisk business. And we are told Bihar has acquired the status of the least corrupt state. Seems corruption has acquired a new definition in Bihar.

One wonders how could one arrive at this conclusion without delving deep into the rot that has set in here. Babus still take money to do an official work. PDS still sells things in black market. Markets are full of spurious things including life saving drugs. Big babus are going on amassing wealth. Yes, there are demonstrative cases of some having been put behind bars or some whose properties have been confiscated. They have demonstrative effect. And most of the positive vibes that we see in the media and elsewhere are attributable to these demonstrative measures. Against one demonstrative case there are ten cases that are not demonstrated.

There is rampant corruption in all government schemes, without exception. Money meant for the needy merely trickles down to them. The major chunk is gormandized midway. One classic example of massive corruption is the scheme of tree plantation. Crores and crores of rupees are siphoned off in the name of planting of trees. You don't need any magnifying glass to see corruption in MNREGA. Those in power have raked in moolah, and they are thriving in this regime.

But Nitish Kumar has an advantage. He is generally perceived as a clean man himself. At least I do not see any thing contrary to that. His another major advantage is the non-availability of a viable alternative to which the people of Bihar might like to go to. Returning to the previous regime is completely ruled out. With all its shortcomings, it has to be said to the credit of this government that overall quality of life is certainly superior to the one we had witnessed under the previous regime. People can move around without much fear, though criminals are striking off and on. Environment has certainly improved. There is no in-built fear anywhere. But to say there is no corruption, no crime is wrong. Most of those who have favourably commented about Bihar have done so from the cosy precincts of luxury hotels without ever stepping out of Patna. Most of them had known about Bihar from media and had formed an opinion. They had not seen Bihar. So, when they visit Bihar for the first time and say Bihar has improved, they must take Biharis as naive to believe what they say. Which Bihar are they comparing this Bihar to? Nitish is capitalizing on this and yet he says he does not need any certificate from Kejriwal and others. The fact of the matter is he has been collecting certificates with both hands. Most of these certificates are issued by those who have vested interests, or by those who make a courtesy call on the ever doting CM. He accepts these certificates because they are positive certificates. Those issuing negatives certificates like the one issued by Kejriwal are snubbed by him. Same Nitish had relished the certificate issued by Anna not long. Many Biharis were unhappy that Anna issued a certificate. They were unhappy because they knew the reality on the ground.

Laloo too used to get some institutions/group of students from distant lands to speak about his business acumen and in fact many such descended on India to get a lecture or two on management from Laloo, the management guru. There is no dearth of people who believed Laloo sponsored them all. Money is not a problem with Laloo.While the same charge will, perhaps, not be brought against Nitish, there is a feeling that Nitish is seeking publicity without appearing to be so and is engaged in an image building exercise. All his yatras are a step in that direction. One would not grudge him that because he is seen as a man on mission. Nothing wrong with that. One only hoped he would also pay some attention to the real issue of corruption and not be led away by an engineered environment.

        

The Fears are Legitimate

Yes, his or his government's fears are legitimate. That the ordinary mortals, the people of India, have had too much of freedom of speech lately. That they were getting away with it all, that they were being far too critical of their rulers. Their critical observations about politicians and their activities were almost blasphemous. And the platform provided by the Facebook had simply to be dismantled. Innocuous banterings are okay, but this regular questioning of their attitude and actions was not on.

I realized it the hard way. I was on the facebook and wanted to give vent to my ire that some MPs whose only status is they are people's representatives and not their feudal lords found it below their dignity to travel 2nd AC. From the way they behaved it appeared they were born with 1st AC facilities and had to live with that all their life. The Facebook would simply not carry it. After failing the second time, I realized it was Kapil Sibal effect. Even though the government is in the denial mode, the fact of the matter is--censorship is on.

In the recently concluded Summit on Leadership one of the key foreign dignitaries had said India had too much of democracy and that it worked to its disadvantage. Our government seems to have bought this idea and may have concurred with this view especially in view of the fact that Anna Hazare and his movement against corruption commanded best social network coverage. But for this the movement against corruption would not have floored the government and even now when Anna's threat looms large, the government fears that if there is no check on some of these social network channels, it may be fighting a losing battle against those who see corruption as the biggest evil in the country. The fears are legitimate and the government, especially Kapil Sibal, will be within its rights to put some kind of censorship on such social network outlets where people from all walks of life congregate to vent their ire against their government that thinks it has divine right to rule.

The problem is--there are far too many outlets. You cannot shut all of them down. Needless to say, I had to give this detailed account because Facebook did not provide me the face.

Anna Hazare Has a Point

Anna was criticized by many for saying 'only one slap?' I too had not taken it kindly though I had also questioned the unanimity of the politicians in condemning the slap when the same unanimity was missing in the case of ministers and MPs thrashing citizens in UP. What happens is when you get to hear only a small part of something, the broader meaning or substance is lost. That is what happened with Anna too because most of the media people reported only the 'operative part' of his statement that had news value or nuisance value for them. It got flashed in no time and since social networking system works at break-neck speed, it was all out in the open in no time and soon became a huge issue with some, especially those belonging to the political spectrum. Sharad Pawar's men found an easy outlet in public properties and they destroyed them with unconcealed glee. Ostensibly, Pawar asked his supporters not to take law into their hands. This was a necessary political posturing he had to do. Pawar has so much money power that he can easily buy support and supporters from the market where poaching is a legitimate political business. We keep seeing instances of poaching both in parliament and elsewhere.

Somehow, Anna felt there was a need to explain his position. And he did explain at length. I did have the privilege of going through his long explanation. It might look like a justification though. Generally speaking, I do not approve of justifications. Justifications show you have a disturbed conscience, you have a conscience-prick. There are always exceptions to rules. I would like to see this justification by Anna as an exception simply because it is an eye opener of sort. Even though some of the media people have reported that Anna has justified slapping of Pawar, I have seen it mentioned in his blog that he has disapproved of this act of slapping by Harvinder Singh. But he has also hastened to put a poser: what occasioned this slap? Why an ordinary citizen of the country was forced to take law into his own hands? This is a fundamental question that needs to be answered because in it we would find solutions to many of our present day polity problems. Clearly, it indicates there is failure of the system somewhere that failed to deliver justice to the common people of the country. He is within his rights to question why these politicians are not angry when for the past six decades or more people have been bearing the brunt of government sponsored violence wreaked on the ordinary people. And then he goes on to give threadbare account of corrupt practices indulged in by Pawar and his political henchmen. There are innumerable examples which appear irrefutable. He has justly questioned the silence of these people on the specific instances of corruption and on the specific instances of killing of the innocent people by various governments from time to time. He has questioned them on their impotent silence. Anna clearly has a point here and instead of asking him questions on his 'only one slap' remark, these people need to answer his questions.

I will request media people too to exercise some caution, for they do not seem to read and comprehend things properly and state something that is not quite the thing. When you pick some words from the middle of a sentence, those words would be yours and not those of the author because you have reported them out of context. A classic example can be found in the oft-repeated quote "ignorance is bliss". Is this what Thomas Gray had said? No, definitely not. Ignorance can never be bliss. Nor did he say this. He had said, and I quote, "where ignorance is bliss it's folly to be wise." Now just compare the meaning of the two. Taken separately both the statements are 180 degree out of phase and kills the very spirit of what the poet had said. Media must be more vigilant and must have the ability to read properly, comprehend the meaning and then come out with their observations or comments. Journalism would be nothing if it failed to fully grasp the meaning of words and sentences, both stated and unstated meaning of words and sentences. Those who still feel Anna has justified the slapping should read his write-up and focus on comprehending the meaning. Anna has a point and he has stated it clearly too.     

Why Bankers Knocking at Court's Door?

Wage settlement and 2nd option for pension have left bankers more distraught than happy. Media that claims that nothing is taboo for it has shown absolutely no interest in examining why bankers are not happy with it, especially with the way 2nd option for pension has been given. But the matter certainly calls for some look in. Wage settlement has made them unhappy because they were given  to understand they will be kept on even keel with the government employees who have been bestowed everything in 6th pay commission. That in reality they are no where around them is now well known. The entire ghost of corruption hangs around the necks of the government employees despite opulence coming their way through pay commission. And bankers who sustained India and its fledgeling economy even during the period of the worst recession when great banking behemoths of the world collapsed have been roundly cheated by the government as most of the bank employees see it. No doubt government could perform this feat because some of the key leaders of UFBU chose to be on the side of the government.

But more than the settlement it is the matter of 2nd option for pension that has hit them the most. Govt. through IBA having no official status told the bankers that banks did not have enough money to pay pension to all employees. A strange argument indeed. The government has money to pay to all its parliamentarians for doing nothing; it has money to give dole to farmers and other wilful defaulters of banks; it has money to pay to those organizations that are perennially in loss and are surviving on tax-payers' money for years on, but it has no money to pay pension to its bankers who are filling the coffers of the government year after year!

Finally, it was settled that the serving employee would cough up 2.88 times of whatever they received by way of arrears for the month of Nov 07. On an average an employee had to pay up Rs. 70000/- to become eligible for applying for 2nd option. Those who had retired in order to become eligible for 2nd option had to pay up 156% by way of interest on the amount they had received as bank's share of provident fund. It was a huge sum of money.

Why this 2nd option? Well, when the original offer of pension was made in 1995, the scheme contained a clause that said if there was any break in the service the employee would forfeit his pension. There was a huge protest and many either did not opt for it or withdrew it after opting for it. Long after the scheme was closed, government withdrew the clause. Since with the withdrawal of the contentious clause the offer of pension had acquired a new status, the legitimate expectation was fresh option would be given to those who had not opted in the first place or had withdrawn because of that sinister clause. Banks quietly made an announcement of the modification and before majority of employees could know about it, the scheme was closed. So most of the employees were left high and dry. That is the history behind the 2nd option. We have a democracy where people's own government consistently cheat them.

When pension was allowed in 1995 for the first time for banks other than SBI, it was implemented with effect from 1.1.86 and rate of interest charged was a mere 6% against 288% and 156%. And instead of making it effective from the due date, it was made effective from 27.11.2009, a date decided by the esteemed and erudite troubleshooter of UPA the honourable Pranab Mukherjee.

Now let us now contrast it with what the statute (Pension Regulations, 1995)--a statute is a government instrument--says. It says "the bank shall be a contributor to the fund and shall ensure that sufficient sums are placed in it to enable the trustees to make due payments to beneficiaries under these regulations." The statue further stipulates:
a) the contribution by the bank at the rate of 10% per month of the pay of the employee; b) the accumulated contributions of the bank to the PF and interest accrued thereon up to the date of such transfer in respect of the employee...It further lays that the "bank shall cause an investigation to be made by an actuary into the financial conditions of the fund every financial year on the 31st day of March, and make such additional annual contributions to the fund as may be required to secure payment of the benefits under these regulations." Nothing of the kind was done. Instead, money was forcibly taken from the pockets of bank employees who have been contributing and contributed to the well being of the nation. The settlement became due on 1.12.2007. An employee retiring from the bank on say 31st July 2009 would, as per the statute in force, have got his/her pension from 1.8.2009. But no, the much learned Pranab Mukherjee decides it would be paid from 27.11.2009. Was it his birth day or that of someone close to him and his family? Can you find more blatant abuse of power in a civilized country where a government tramples upon its own statute? The aggrieved bankers have naturally knocked at the doors of honourable high courts and the apex court of the country, because left to these politicians in power, they will have the same drama enacted all over again. We are already witnessing activities in the theatre of the absurd. There is no end to absurdities. The shortfall as suggested by the actuaries were shared in the ratio of 70:30 by the banks and employees. While employees have been made to pay their share of 30% through their nose, banks have been allowed amortization of their share by RBI and the government. Can anyone find a better example of institutionalized cheating of its own people by the government of a civilized country?

But I am impressed with the poser of Sagarika Ghosh on CNN-IBN. She boldly anchors Face the Nation where she claims nothing is a taboo. If so, why this banking episode does not find any space there? Is the conscience of the nation so bland, so vapid that it does not care for such things?

We would like to hear something from those pretending to be concerned with the concerns of the nation. One hopes concerns of a nation are not limited only to the parliament and things associated with parliament.          

Nostalgia in Instalments

One runs the risk of being branded as status quoist if one talked of nostalgia beyond a limit. For nostalgia instead of taking you to the future takes you back to the past. But the trend today is to talk of returning to the future and looking forward to the past. In other words, future and past would seem to have been liberated from the clutches of tense (time). I would not quite know what would be the status of present today; or, whether present too has been liberated from the clutches of tense. But yet, nostalgia is not acceptable in its entirety. We cannot allow it untrammelled freedom. Therefore, I choose nostalgia in instalments.
The first instalment is here. When young, I was introduced to the taste of Lopchu. Its aroma is unforgettable. It has not compromised with this aroma for decades and one sip of it will bring you the same joy it brought you decades ago. It will, provided you get the real Lopchu. Market is so full of spurious things that possibilities are you will never get the genuine thing. Therefore, you will not get the aroma you have grown up with. But chances are you will get the real Lopchu too. And so you will have the satisfaction of relishing the aroma. This is my nostalgic moment. It comes in instalments, and comes in great measure. I fondly cling to that.   

Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep.

Yes, the woods Frost described were actually lovely, dark and deep. But the woods we are forced to countenance these days in our country are far from lovely, leave alone dark and deep. We have so many woods tailing something or the other. For instance, wood tailing bolly, tolly, kolly and what not. I really cannot keep count of them. They all seem to be wagging tail of Holly. That is precisely why we have borrowed 'wood' from Hollywood to create our own bollywood, tollywood, kollywood and lo! Pakistanis have made their own lollywood. We are getting to hear bhojiwood from those making Bhojpuri films. For obvious reasons, I have not allowed them capital first letter, for I don't treat them as proper nouns. Hollywood already seems to be suffering from bankruptcy of ideas. Their films are bizarre, to say the least. Indian film industry whether located at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai or Hyderabad is doing quite a good job, and as we can see quite a few from other frontiers including from Hollywood are descending to India to find  space in our film industry. So if anyone, it is those people who should ape us and not we. For God sake, get rid of these woods and return to the woods of Robert Frost. They are truly lovely, dark and deep. 

Ye Dil Maange More

So the honourable parliamentarians have decided that they need an upgrading of their status! They want the divinity to be fully crowned on them so that they are set apart from the ordinary mortals. And why not? The raise they gave themselves on their salary and perks is not enough to proclaim their divinity. They need more. Ye dil maange more. They are not the ones to buy the theory that they are not the masters. Anna might shout from the roof top that the people who sent them to the parliament are the real masters. Officially they might only be representatives of people. De Jure does not count for much. It is De Facto that is the real thing. Representation of the People Act needs to be re-christened as Masters of the People Act. The present act belittles them, shows them in poor light. How can they who have all the makings and ingredients of feudal lords be condemned as mere representatives of people! Did it not mean they merely held attorney powers of people who could withdraw it at their will? This was not acceptable to these honourable members of parliament. What if they are only playing up their presence in the parliament? An attorney power holder is never superior to the attorney power giver. And they want to remain superior to the rank and file of the country. So, they must raise their status. And since it is all in their own hands, they do not have to seek any permission from anywhere.

India never had it this bad

Its not just FDI. Utility or otherwise of it can be determined sooner or later. Its not even the call of 'no work no pay'. These things on their own do not bother a great deal. In fact, MPs would care two hoots for 'no work no pay' for very obvious reasons. Even though certain things would happen on their own without anyone seemingly doing anything about them, yet the way we are conducting ourselves, the feeling is inescapable that the nation has come to a halt. This feeling is bad because it saps nation's energy. And for this, no one but the present government is responsible. It seems the government can do nothing good. FDI may be good for the country as PM and some of his ministers claim. What was the harm in discussing it before okaying it in the cabinet? This logjam would have been avoided. The government has managed to create so much negative energy all around. India never had it this bad.   

Fresh Mandate

UPA Govt. took a policy decision on FDI without taking its allies, opposition parties and people of the country into confidence. Clearly, majority does not seem to be on its side. The govt. is a coalition of several parties and one party cannot claim monopoly which the Congress is seemingly doing all the way. This does not augur well. FDI may be good, may be bad. This must be decided by the country as a whole and not just by some handpicked people claiming to have got more knowledge than others. Maybe, they really have more knowledge. But still they need people's certification which the government does not have as it had not promised to bring in FDI in its declared election manifesto. The immediate crises that the govt faces border on its credibility. First, it declared its policy when it could easily have discussed the matter in the parliament in the on-going session besides discussing the matter with its own allies that support and sustain the government. Second, the government has declared that it is not going to roll it back come what may. That being the position, why should there be an all party meeting to discuss a non-negotiable matter? Is it not waste of time and energy? PM convenes the meeting and yet he is not going to attend the meet. What kind of a prime minister do we have? Pranab Babu is supposed to be trouble shooter, when in fact more often than not he is the trouble creator. He is a staunch supporter of FDI and has played a crucial part in getting it approved without consulting anyone. Its the same Pranab Mukherjee that forced bankers to settle for pension from 27.11.2009 flouting the statutory provisions of pension giving rise to much heart-burning amongst the bankers. The rationale is bizarre. The date just occurred to him and he finalized it. And we have to take it that he is a democrat who loses his temper every now and then. He is the one to lead the all party meeting. Unfortunately, those on the opposite sides also do not inspire enough confidence. When both the protagonists on either side are firm that they are not going to re-negotiate the question of FDI, what's the logic of this meeting that is taking place at this point of time? If the govt.  is strong in its conviction, it should be ready to debate the issue under provisions for voting and if it loses it should go to the people and seek their mandate. Fresh mandate seems to be the only way out of this chaos to which the UPA has pushed our country into.

Know Thy Limit

Even if it looks like a well-orchestrated exercise of witch-hunting and vendetta against Kiran Bedi, she must be proceeded against. If she has done all that as has been alleged, let her face the music. After all it is the rule of law that must prevail. No matter how big the person who committed these legal felonies. But the moot point is--are we going the way we should go? If Bedi can be proceeded against for what is yet to be established, how about those honourable MPs who have swallowed phone bills and house rents etc. running into several crores of rupees? Should they be allowed to enjoy the comforts of their respective offices while the likes of Bedi be guillotined? Does it make sense that Meira Kumar, the Honourable Speaker of Lok Sabha, should enjoy immunity when she owes the government so much money? Not just immunity, she enjoys the grudging veneration of the whole nation as the law enforcing authority(presiding officer) in the Lok Sabha. A swindler is a swindler no matter where he/she is placed. She should be made to cough up the money with interest, tried for her misconduct and till the trial is over, she should be made to vacate the post she is holding by default. And how about those MPs who owe money to the telephone department? Does government have to set up a committee to find out why our public undertakings are going down the drain? It is because of these parasites who are draining these undertakings of their hard earned money. Time to act. Else, the people will have the right to rise and revolt like they are doing in several other countries. There is a limit to anything. India appears to have crossed all limits and if people occasionally cross their limits, it should be understood why. Know thy limit and stay within it.

Divine Right to Rule

It was a rare sight. Politicians belonging to heterogeneous groups came together and condemned in one voice the action of Harvinder Singh slapping Sharad Pawar. Without doubt the act was a blasphemous one and was justly and roundly condemned by all the honourable 545+ MPs. Augurs well for our parliamentary democracy. Elsewhere too the act was roundly condemned. We do not often get to see this kind of solidarity amongst our honourable MPs. The only other occasion in the recent past where they showed near unanimity was when they chose and decided to give themselves a rise in their salary and perks. On everything else they do not see eye to eye, not even on those matters that seriously concern 121 crore people. Not even on those matters that seriously impair the security of the country and its people. EM Forster's parliament was a talking shop because his parliament saw the possibility of getting some sense out of nuisance that was talked in his talking shop. Our parliamentarians do not talk these days. They shout, they howl and throw missiles at one another. But if someone dared to slap them, they would come together like one bundle of sticks. Augurs well. It was a condemnable act and was justly condemned by all holding high values of democracy, what if some of them are perceived as proven criminals. They have a divine right to rule. Let's not make the mistake of believing that they are our mere representatives, holding our power of attorney which we could withdraw at will. One slap on a politician elicited so much anger and violent reaction. But what if some up sits up and asks why these very honourable MPs did not react and condemn the acts of those ministers and MPs in UP who beat up ordinary people? If Harvinder Singh did not have right to slap Sharad Pawar, did those ministers and MPs have the right to beat up people? And how about the media? We saw how media repeatedly showed the SlapAct so that it got firmly entrenched in the minds of people. Why the same urgency was not shown while reporting the UP kicking and beating act of the ministers and MPs? Was it because this SlapAct had better news value and therefore possibilities of improving TRP? Augurs ill.     

Anna Going Astray

Anna seems to be seriously impaired by his personal inability to articulate his thoughts properly. Or, maybe he is simply not equipped to do that. Else, how does one explain his off-hand remark on SharadSlap? Not just computers, even human beings run on the principle of GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). If you have stored garbage inside you, you will disgorge garbage on sudden impulses. We all know, Anna is not a well-read man. Therefore, he does not have much stored inside his belly. He himself realizes this. What however he does not seem to realize is the fact that he should speak less and should not open his mouth on everything. Media will always approach him for his bytes because whatever Anna says has a news value, nuisance value not excepted. If his off-hand remark on SharadSlap was bad enough, his prescriptions for reforming a drunkard by tying him to the nearest lamp post is worse still. By these two strokes he has succeeded in distancing many of his supporters and many have begun to question his credentials as well. Anna needs to be wary of this. We all remember how he had chastised Prashant Bhushan for having expressed himself on Kashmir. When he could caution Prashant Bhushan, why he himself did not take that caution? Even though he is not a politician, the need to clarify every statement he makes puts him in the category of politicians. Kejriwal had to defend Anna by saying that Anna has clarified his position. It simply does not wash. Why do you have to clarify? Had he not aired his views on these matters, there would not have been any need for clarification. Clarifications don't always clarify. His not being equipped also contributed to his fall out with his blog writer. He is an icon. He needs to conduct himself like one. The Halo should have the Glow. The glow is flickering out. Anna needs to be careful with his words. We were taught in our schooling days that if you are not sure of the meaning of a word or an expression, just avoid using that. Anna will do well to remember this, because he is spearheading a war against corruption and we do not want to lose him on such flimsy grounds. The whole country is beholding to him. He must not fritter away what he has earned deservedly.

All Those Market People

Market is flooded today with things we could not have imagined earlier. Call it the gift of globalization or liberalization. And all those market people who are flooding our market with products they cannot sell in their own backyard are here not because of their love for us. They are here for the love of lucre. Service providers of all kind are here, not so much because they want to provide service. They are here to force money out of our pocket. Complex as modern lives have become, these market people seem to have solutions for all of them. There is a new business mantra doing rounds these days: every challenge presents an opportunity. Everybody with any business acumen is out to exploit the situation to the hilt. Nothing new really. Only the emphasis is new, and often this emphasis is carried too far and at a heavy cost to us consumers. One of the solutions provided by these market people is flooding market with food supplements. Amway is a big name. And so is Lupin. Its Wellness Noni is a food supplement, an anti-oxidant vying and competing with Amway's food supplement and anti-oxidants. It would seem that they are interested in your health. So they are here. Not true. They are interested in your wealth. So they are here. I say so because the things they bring in the market are so exorbitantly priced that you will be hard put to buy them. And they will make it look so very essential for your day-to-day life that you will be forced to buy them through your nose. Its another matter that you and I are not in a position to ascertain the genuineness of what is on offer. But the cost! Its simply incredible. Why should a pack of 100 tablets cost more than Rs. 2000/- is really hard to understand. Likewise, there are many things in the market today that claim to have been drawn directly from the nature and made available to you at a cost that will simply rob you off of whatever you have in your pocket. This seems to be the latest mantra of these market people. Bring every single penny out from the consumers' pockets.

Now with 51% FDI in single-brand retailing and 100% in wholesale cash and carry trade having been allowed, the Walmarts, the Tescos and the Tarrefours will spring up in our neighbourhood and will change our life style for ever. We will be forced to forget whatever our seniors, our ancestors have bequeathed to us. Maybe, we might as well become part of the stone age that is long forgotten and the posterity will read about us occasionally in history. The moot point is--are we ready for that? 

Anger Spilling Over

No gainsaying the fact that any demonstration of anger in the manner we are getting to see of late is to be deprecated. No civilized society, democracy or no democracy, can afford to provide any space for such deeds. It was Sukhram some days ago, it is Sharad Pawar today. These need to be condemned in no unmistakable terms. But then, no matter how much we may like to bury our heads in the sand, the question arises--why is this happening? What have we done or not done that is forcing more and more people to demonstrate their anger in this manner? Why the anger of man in the street is spilling over? No matter how unpalatable the question, we need to countenance it here and now. The growing mismatch between 'what is' and 'what ought to be', the growing gap between 'haves' and 'have-nots' and the growing number of politicians and men and women in position of power found immersed in neck-deep corruption with small possibilities of looted wealth being retrieved, plus the growing indifference and callousness of the governments to deliver justice have added to the frustration of common man who is indulging in these acts of desperation. Its time for all conscientious men and women to rise above petty-mindedness and to do things they promised at the time of assuming powers from the hands of the English whom our seniors banished from the country at the heavy cost of their own life and comfort. If we fail to do that we shall fail to keep anger from spilling over again and again. The result will be disastrous.

Corporate Thieving

They all do it. They literally pick your pocket. Some in the name of annual maintenance charges (AMC), some in the name of service charges and some in the guise of providing medicare. All service providers almost without exception fleece us day in day out. Eureka Forbes the providers of water purifiers religiously collect their annual charges, but conveniently forget to provide the service for which they take payment in advance. Punjab National Bank makes a lofty commitment to provide interest relief of 1% if the interest segment is serviced during the moratorium period of an education loan. They do not provide it. If you demand performance of the commitment, they make excuses and do not attend to your queries. Mediclaim Insurers make tall promises at the time of making you their customer. Their promises and commitments are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.Once they have collected the money, their attitude and behaviour change. In times of need they harry you with questions and try their best to run away from providing the promised service. I have cited just three instances, but host of other service providers do the same. I call them all corporate thieves. Strangely enough, none of them provide you with any definite number or address where they can be contacted in times of need. Eureka Forbes' land line telephone at Patna office remains perennially 'out of reach' and others give you toll free numbers that are usually non-responsive and even if they respond, they hardly ever provide the relief you have sought. Market is full of such corporate thieves. One needs to be extra vigilant. If one seeks bank services one should always keep all relevant documents and should seek the copy of the charter of commitments to customers so that whenever they renege on their commitments, they could be taken to task. In today's world of corporate thieves customers/consumers need to be exceptionally careful. Otherwise, they will pick your pocket. This has become one of their main sources of income.   

Anna Spreading his Net Wider

We are enamoured of Anna for having awakened the soporific citizenry of the country against the monster called corruption. All kudos to him and to the team that has brought about this change in attitude. From the look of it all, we can easily see the impact it has tended to make all around. We call it Anna effect. We all are aware that we have barely made it to the preliminary target. There are miles to go. Anna has stood his ground despite multi-pronged attacks on the team. This is because people are on the side of Anna because they believe Anna is serving the right cause. But Anna should desist from spreading his net wider and take within its ambit issues like drinking and public flogging of drunkards. He will be within his rights to advocate against drinking habits and should try to reform them as he has reformed his village Ralegaon. But asking drunkards to be tied down to a lamp post to be flogged publicly is going a little too far. To drink or not to drink is a matter best left to individuals. I fear if he spreads his net on such issues, he might lose confidence of people (even those drunkards) with him in this fight against corruption. My earnest request to him would be to concentrate on corruption and leave such matters to individual's choice. He should not open too many fronts. 

Gold Coins for Sachin

Earlier it was Cricket Association of Bengal. Now it is Mumbai Cricket Association. If Sachin scored 100th century, which many hope he will one of these days, he will be honoured with 100 gold coins. Meaning thereby MCA will add to his unencumbered riches. All over the world people are rising and revolting against those who have amassed huge wealth when they are made to drudge on for their survival. Here we are pampering someone already pampered with everything. His coffers are already full up to the brim. In fact, his riches are spilling over. His newly acquired house at Mumbai has the parking space for more than 50 cars. Is it required? Is it desirable? Is it not dispensable ostentation? Once so rich, the Americans are on the streets camping against those who have amassed so much wealth rendering them penniless. The world is going topsy-turvy with people sharply divided between haves and have-nots. Instead of bridging the gulf between the rich and the poor, we are widening it.

There are people who have also demanded Bharat Ratna for Sachin. Anna too joined this chorus recently. Bharat Ratna for playing cricket! We thought this was given to those who contributed to bettering the life or life sustaining ingredients. Without doubt, Sachin's feat, not contribution as I understand, is great. And he is constantly feted for that. It has improved his life, his personal life. But the people, the society has not benefited from his cricket. Should Bharat Ratna be given for that? Time to re-think. Anna revolutionized and brought about an awareness that has changed the life around. Narayan Murthy gave a new identity to India, improved the quality of life of myriads of people. I would rather have them as Bharat Ratnas, for their glitter will never fade. Sachin's feat too will be remembered. But Bharat Ratna and 100 Gold Coins! We have a case here at Patna. A student was given gold medal by Patna University for academic excellence. It turned out to be faked gold. 100 gold coins (I am sure they will be genuine) for cricket, and fake gold for academics! Which way are we headed?   

Banking Scenario

One of the most intriguing things about our media is it has failed to see the malaise that afflicts India's public sector banks. There has been a sudden spurt in NPA in banks. Fact of the matter is there is no spurt really. It was there all the time. Only it was hidden away from public glare. It was not reported and auditors played a key role in that. Having myself been a part of it not long ago, I know for sure how we were discouraged to show NPA. Today, RBI has come out saying banking fundamentals are strong. If that is the case why banks had to steal on pension fund? Why banks are not contributing their share in building the pension corpus of various banks and why do they have to violate the statutory provisions of pension regulations? These are some of the unpalatable questions that banks and the government need to address. Instances of massive frauds have been on the public domain for quite sometime now and bankers are fighting legal battles all over the country. The question is if the fundamentals are strong, why should banks shy away from paying up their share in pension corpus? If fundamentals are strong, why banks had to seek and get amortization when no such concession was extended to the employees? Frauds to the extent of more than Rs. 100000 crore are committed in balance sheets of various banks.They have been falsifying balance sheets for a long time now. Strangely enough, the media that takes so much of moralistic stand on various issues is  vehemently silent on this matter when it should greatly concern them. Bankers provide economic stability to the country, farmers provide food security. And yet both of them are left insecure, left to fend for themselves. Is our banking system also going the Maharaja way and the ways of the PSUs that are facing extinction threats that dinosaurs faced ages ago? Media, your silence is intriguing.

Bihar and Lokayukta

Some of the professed Patna based Annaites chose to burn the copies of the bill on 15.11.2011 when in fact the proposed bill is still in the process of being given a final shape. When some of the salient features of the proposed bill came into public domain earlier, Team Anna felt disappointed and stated its disappointment in public, evoking Nitish retort. Nitish subsequently clarified that the bill is still at the nascent stage and fresh ideas wherever they are received from are being given consideration and went on to declare that his Lokayukta will have a probing wing of its own. We had burnt Lokpal bill  in August this year because that bill was presented in the Lok Sabha by the government. But this bill is not presented in the Assembly by the government and the bill is yet to take a formal shape. Should one burn something that is yet to be born? Will it not be a case of foeticide? The professed Patna based Annaites have already committed this sin. Foeticide is not just a sin but also a crime.