Indian Politics

Why Randomly-Selected Politicians Would Improve Democracy

2011-03-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

At last I found something about politics at Technology Review :D

http://www.technologyreview.in/blog/arxiv/26488/

Bravo! I support the research. Random people are likely to be better than power-hungry people. Reason why Manmohan, Sonia, Rahul are better than likes of Sushma and Advani.

The anti-national Opposition

2010-07-05T02:48:00.000-07:00

It is sad that the opposition parties don't support the government in positive measures which are not populist. I'm referring to the deregulation of petrol prices. I'm no expert in economics, but the measure seems pretty sensible to me. Like each household, government also has to manage its finances, and going high on deficits is perhaps not in national interest. (Recent happenings in Europe come to my mind.)
Subsidy should be targeted at the needy, and should not be universal. And in any case, subsidizing a precious natural resource that is running out doesn't seem to be a good idea - it's like subsidizing a bad addiction! The money saved by this can be spent on targeted but very ambitious welfare schemes like NREGA, Right to Education, upcoming Food Security Bill..

Last month I was in Korea and I asked a friend whether government subsidizes petrol there, and he looked at me curiously and said "Why should the government subsidize?". He also told me that there is a "pollution tax" that owners of diesel-operated vehicles have to pay.

Lastly, going by Vajpayee government's ways, BJP itself was likely to take this step. And now they have shut down Bharat in protest. Opportunistic.

Debt crisis pushes Europe toward economic reforms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_Sweden_an_Oil-Free_Society
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil

Anderson : what's the fuss about "letting him go"?

2010-06-19T06:08:00.000-07:00

M.K. Rasgotra seems pretty sensible in this interview - http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article472296.ece

If Anderson wanted to come to India voluntarily, he obviously would want to go back! What's the fuss about "letting him go" that the press and opposition has created.. If he came to India after being promised safe passage, how can u think of arresting him.. And why would he come without being promised a safe passage?

Am I missing some point?

Walking With The Comrades - by Arundhati Roy

2010-03-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

Reading Arundhati's essay in Outlook - 29 march issue. Get a copy of it.
It's shocking that this happens in the same country where I live. I wish Manmohan does something to peacefully solve this situation. I pray that all our brethren get to live a life of peace, dignity, human rights, and prosperity.
It also reminds me of a meeting with a retired IAS officer, a sincere woman, maybe 2 years ago. I had asked her about the impact of someone like Manmohan being on the top - how it has affected the administration at lower levels. She praised Manmohan for starting the administrative reforms. The only criticism she had was of the government's handling of the Maoist agitation. She said that the government treats it as a law and order problem, but it is not so - it's a social issue. Now, I also regard this as the biggest shortcoming of the Manmohan era so far - the failure to solve this crisis raging within our borders. We cannot blame Pakistan for this. Given the current situation, it is difficult to call today's India a land of culture, values, democracy, civilization. The tribals seem to be more civilized, more humane, than our government.
Thanks Arundhati for this essay.

Narayana Murthy speaks

2009-10-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from Narayana Murthy's interview, that appeared in The Times Of India, Ascent - 14 October 2009, Bangalore edition :

Question: What were the challenges you faced during your entire journey and how did you overcome them?
Narayana Murthy: We faced a lot of difficulties in the beginning, because at that time, the country was a closed economy. It took two-three years and about 50 visits to Delhi to get a license to import a computer of 50,000 dollars. It would take ten days to get foreign exchange to travel abroad even for a day. It took two-three years to get a telephone connection. We went through extreme difficulties. But all of that changed, thanks to Dr Manmohan Singh and Late Narasimha Rao and their progressive strategies. It was the economic reforms of 1991 that made all this progress possible.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/TOIBG/2009/10/14/TOIBG_2009_10_14_43.pdf (~2 MB)

Something gone wrong with them..

2009-05-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Singh-weak-PM-campaign-targeted-at-govt-not-individual-BJP/articleshow/4576691.cms

Rajnath Singh, the president of the BJP, the party with a difference, says that the "weak PM" campaign was targeted at the Congress government, not any individual. I feel that most of the Indians have enough intelligence to see that the PM is an individual. And it has taken years for the party to clarify this? Because they have been repeating this "weak PM" slogan for years.. Now there can be the following options:

The BJP thinks that majority of Indian voters are morons
The current BJP leaders are the biggest morons on earth. After Vajpayee's exit, something has happened to their basic mental faculties.

They lied without any hesitation. And how glad I am that the Indians saw through their hypocrisy and lies. And they are continuing their nonsense lying after taking a severe beating. Yes, they were a party with a difference in 1998. They still are. But the "difference" is different. Now they are the most blatantly lying party. They are the party whose hypocritical campaign relied on the the stupidity of the Indian electorate. For people with some intelligence can see through such blatant hypocrisy and lies.

Satyameva Jayate

Evaluating the govt...

2009-05-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

The major achievements:
* RTI Act: has proven crucial for transparency, fighting corruption
* NREGA: the most ambitious, sensible, sustainable poverty eradication programme in the country's history
* Nuclear Deal: India will start manufacturing & exporting nuclear equipment in few years, and get massive electricity in next decade.
* Good agricultural growth. [will add citation soon]
* Last, but the mightiest. Making India the second fastest growing major economy in the world. 9% growth is unprecedented in Indian history, at least the post-Independence history.

The cons:
* Reservation
* Neglect of internal security. The performance was on par, or maybe a little better, than NDA's.

Overall:
No govt has done more for the country. The unprecedented 9-10% growth is amazing. Keep it up, Dr Singh. Thank u so much... Strengthen the internal security, and keep up the pressure on Pakistan..

Twisted facts = Lies

2009-04-20T12:38:00.030-07:00

Some days ago, I saw BJP's advertisement in Times Of India. It was a perfect example of how facts and figures can be twisted to prove whatever one wants. It was a little shocking. But not so much, considering all the lies and hypocrisy being talked by BJP for quite some time now.
Anyway, I didn't write about BJP's misleading ad. But today I saw that Congress has clearly busted BJP's false projections. See Five Myths About the Economy Propagated by the BJP

(Ok, an example of twisted/misleading facts: Economic growth was mediocre during first 4 years of NDA rule, and it was good(8+) during the last year. On the other hand, first 4 years of UPA rule saw excellent growth(8.9% on avg), while last year is witnessing low growth due to severe global economic crisis. The BJP says that UPA turned Indian economy from 8% to 5% growth! Absurd! The low growth in this globally turbulent last year is comparable to the average growth during NDA rule! I hope that people understand.)

This time, BJP has stooped quite low in distorting truth and making all kinds of false charges against UPA government. I hope that public knows the truth, and will honour Congress for good performance over last 5 years, and teach BJP a lesson for their lies.

BJP, do you have a single true argument against UPA government? Something in which you did better during NDA govt?

Advani has been exposed. Educated middle class should vote for Congress this time. Rural vote hasn't been BJP's strength. NREGA and good agricultural growth should fetch good rural vote for Congress. Minorities won't think of voting Advani to power. So who's voting for BJP? Maybe Gujaratis, and some hot-tempered people moved by Advani's speeches, who don't know the reality. Or people who want more mosques demolished..

Meritocracy: The dream of Democracy

2009-04-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

What kind of leaders do we want? What have we always wanted? We have hated power-hungry people, who don't care for us. We have hated liars. We have hated people who don't have any integrity. We have hated hypocrites. In other words, we have hated "politicians". Well, most of them...

We want people who have an integrity, who care for us, who have done something for us. We want that substance should triumph over style. We desire that the "proof of the pudding is in the eating". We may not say it, but if we introspect, we've always wanted someone who is a "politician by accident". Because "politicians by nature" are (by definition:) power-hungry, selfish, liars, hypocrites. [1]

We have always wanted Meritocracy. The Managing Director of our company never gave any hi-fi speeches to us. But the company grew a lot in his leadership. What do you expect if the Managing Director were to be elected by the employees and the office boys? ... The same has been happening to India. Democracy has its flaws. However, meritocracy seems impossible to accomplish directly at the national/political level. How do you objectively measure merit? And without democracy, a system has the risk of turning into dictatorship any time. So we have democracy.. With a dream that we have meritocracy too.. through benevolent, meritorious leaders. Like Dr.Manmohan Singh and P.Chidambaram.

PS: Many thanks to Narasimha Rao for introducing meritocracy in our democracy, by making Dr.Singh the Finance Minister in 1991.. And the reforms followed!

Jai Ho! Jai Hind!

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[1] Osho speaks:

"The world of politics is basically of the instinctive level. It belongs to the law of the jungle: Might is right. And the people who get interested in politics are the most mediocre. Politics needs no other qualifications except one -- that is, a deep feeling of inferiority."
- From Misery to Enlightenment, #7

"In politics you don't need brains, you don't need intelligence, you don't need sensitivity, you don't need awareness, you don't need love, you don't need compassion. These are all barriers! In politics you need just the opposite qualities. Disqualifications everywhere else are qualifications in politics. All that is needed is a mad hunger for power -- and that is created by an inferiority complex."
- The Secret of Secrets, Vol 2, #4

"I was, and still am, amazed how he could become the prime minister. But the first prime minister of India was of a totally different quality from any other prime minister who was to follow. He was not chosen by the crowd; he was not, in fact, a chosen candidate. He was Mahatma Gandhi's choice.
...
That's how a poet became the prime minister; otherwise there is no possibility for a poet to become a prime minister - unless a prime minister goes mad, and becomes a poet, but that will not be the same thing."
(On his meeting with Jawaharlal Nehru) - Glimpses of a Golden Childhood, Session 42

"We have given atom bombs into the hands of children. If no accident happens, that will be a miracle. There is every possibility that an accident is bound to happen. Children are playing with atom bombs.

Politicians are the most immature minds in the world. Only third-rate minds become interested in politics; mediocre people and people who are suffering from an inferiority complex, they become politicians. And in these people's hands are atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, laser beams, and this and that.

You can cease at any moment! -- I may not be able to finish my discourse. Any moment... we are sitting on a pile of hydrogen bombs, and there are so many... it is unbelievable how stupid man can be. We have so many hydrogen bombs that we can destroy every single human being seven hundred times. Now, what stupidity! For what? A man simply dies a single time. If you want to be very cautious, twice will do -- but what is the point of seven hundred times?"
-- The Book of Wisdom, #2

More quotes

Dr. Manmohan Singh speaks..

2009-04-07T08:59:00.000-07:00

"In 1991, while presenting the Budget for 1991-92, as Finance Minister, I had stated : No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come. I had then suggested to this august House that the emergence of India as a major global power was an idea whose time had come. Carrying forward the process started by Shri Rajiv Gandhi of preparing India for the 21st century, I outlined a far reaching programme of economic reform whose fruits are now visible to every objective person. Both the Left and the BJP had then opposed the reform. Both had said we had mortgaged the economy to America and that we would bring back the East India Company." - Ref

"Whether I am a weak or a strong Prime Minister, actions of our government speak volumes about it." Ref

"Throughout my life, I have believed that substance triumphs over style, performance over public relations, and hard work over short-cuts. I am not a sloganeer. I will readily concede that most of my opponents make more rousing speeches. They may have more catchy phrases and may run better marketing campaigns. But unlike the NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate, I will not be found weeping in a corner while hoodlums tear down a centuries-old mosque. Nor will I be found wringing my hands in frustration while one of my Chief Ministers condones a pogrom targeted at minorities. And I will certainly not say things in Pakistan that offend every Indian and then abandon my stand when it becomes politically inconvenient within my party. Mr. Advani has the unique ability to combine strength in speech with weakness in action. This is not the kind of strength we need. " Ref

"I have often said that I am a politician by accident. I have held many diverse responsibilities. I have been a teacher, I have been an official of the Government of India, I have been a member of this greatest of Parliaments, but I have never forgotten my life as a young boy in a distant village.

Every day that I have been Prime Minister of India I have tried to remember that the first ten years of my life were spent in a village with no drinking water supply, no electricity, no hospital, no roads and nothing that we today associate with modern living. I had to walk miles to school, I had to study in the dim light of a kerosene oil lamp. This nation gave me the opportunity to ensure that such would not be the life of our children in the foreseeable future.

Sir, my conscience is clear that on every day that I have occupied this high office, I have tried to fulfill the dream of that young boy from that distant village."- Ref

---watch this space for more--

Also see: Do we thank him?

Anybody got this book? To the Nation, for the Nation

Advani: Memory Loss or Shameless Liar?

2009-03-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

"People have right to know why Pakistan has been sending terrorists to India since the UPA came to power at the Centre," the veteran BJP leader LK Advani said.

aiyo, I am shocked how can he lie, appearing so confident. Even the last trace of conscience to speak truth has left him, and he can lie freely like an actor. He forgot that the Parliament attack happened while he was the home minister. Not to mention other bomb blasts that most Indians have got used to. He forgot that Kashmir was burning with insurgency much more during NDA rule. I agree that UPA govt didn't pay the needed attention on internal security. But NDA did nothing better, with Advani himself being the home minister. At least Congress didn't politicize the issue when the parliament was attacked.

And Mr Advani, at least the UPA didn't send these terrorists back to Pakistan, as you did when our plane was hijacked.

I think Mr.Advani suffers from memory loss, or is a shameless liar. In either case, he is unsuitable for being Indian PM, playing with the destiny of a billion plus people.

Perhaps this is the trait of general politicians, and the reason why we have hated "politicians". During the last 10 years or so, we've had better leaders in Vajpayee, Dr Singh, Sonia Gandhi. We don't want to go back to the shrewd and liar kind again.

My understanding is that Pakistan sponsored terrorism has nothing to do with UPA/NDA. And so far, none of them have taken the steps required to strengthen internal security, and get Pakistan to dismantle the terror network. I am hopeful, that post 26/11, with Chidambaram as the Home Minister, some positive steps would have been taken to strengthen the internal security.

By the way, this is not his only blatant lie. He lies so openly about Indian economy having been better during NDA rule. The fact is just the opposite. "The economy has grown at an average of 8.9 per cent in the first four years [of UPA rule]. Compare this with the average of 5.8 per cent during the six years of NDA Government."

Updates
Another one: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/advani-either-ignorant-or-in-slumber-says-chidambaram/444257/

Do we thank him?

2009-03-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered who is responsible for the I in BRIC? Have you ever wondered who is responsible for all the "India and China" talk in the world?

(click on the image to enlarge)
From Thomas Friedman's bestselling book "The World is Flat".

Updates: As of March 2009, India's foreign reserves are $ 248.724 billion.

"The facts about economic growth under the UPA Government speak for themselves. Over the last five years our economy has grown at an average rate of about 8.6 percent per year, a growth rate unprecedented in the history of India. By contrast, the average growth rate in the NDA period was only 5.8%. " (Link-1 ) (Link-2)

It is under this govt that India became the second fastest growing major economy in the world. "The economy grew at 9.4 per cent in 2005-06 and 9.6 per cent in 2006-07".

"I think history will remember Manmohan Singh as the man who made India a miracle economy with 9% growth, and clinched the Indo-US nuclear deal." - The Times Of India Editorial

Have we thanked him?

Jai Ho! Jai Hind!

---------------
Also see: Quoting Dr Singh

PS: Yup, the late PV Narasimha Rao has a very big contribution too. But he is no longer in active politics, at least on earth! Hence the stress on Manmohan Singh!

European Role in Indian Development

2009-03-28T16:15:00.002-07:00

M.K. Gandhi: Studied at University College London
Jawaharlal Nehru: Studied in England, including Trinity College, Cambridge
Dr. Manmohan Singh: D.Phil from the University of Oxford
Sonia Gandhi: Born in Italy
P Chidambaram: MBA from Harvard, US

Jyoti Basu: Studied law in UK
(I don't know if we can relate Jyoti Basu with development, but nevertheless, he's an icon, a mass leader)

Seems like British/US Universities have been influential in shaping some of our best leaders.. Thank you!

Where r u from?

2009-03-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

Ironically, none of the current PM candidates were born in present-day India. Both of them were born in what is now Pakistan! Dr Singh was born in Gah, and LK Advani in Karachi.

Relax, India!

2009-03-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

I saw the horoscope of LK Advani today, and I'm relieved. I hope to have a more relaxed sleep today. If the date/time is correct, chances r that his good time in politics is over! I predict that he's not our next PM. Thank God! Thanks Rama! Thanks Krishna! And thanks to the jyotisha seers of ancient India.
Congrats Dr Singh! Keep up the good work, wish u good health and mood! Thanks for all you have done for us. Words cannot come close enough to....

But frankly speaking, Advani's horoscope is not worth this fame too.. I wonder.. Sa, Ke in lagna, lagnesha in 12th. Debilitated career lord.. Then how come this guy is so famous.. Yes, politics is quite favored because of Ju in swakshetra in 5th. But not so much fame..