There is lot of discussion on slumdog millionaire including criticism that it portrays all the bad things in India. The western world may adopt a holier than thou attitude and enjoy the dark underbelly of India. But isn’t it the reality? In fact the reality is perhaps worse than what could have been depicted in the movie. At least there is a millionaire aspect in the movie which is hard to find in the real life. Did we forget films like Chakra and Paar and many others which have won national awards and critical acclaim within India? It is possible that the western world is using this grim reality for its own agenda and its intention is questionable. But then why give others a chance to point a finger at us and then blame them for not doing the right thing or in the right way. Let us recognize that these problems exist in India and they exist in abundance. So let us address those problems in a comprehensive manner so that no one will have a chance to ridicule us rather than trying to sweep the dirt under the carpet and pretend as if everything were fine. If we need to change anything we must in our heart of hearts admit that there is a problem and then only we will be able to change it. Instead of wasting our time in questioning the intentions of outsiders let us put our house in order. Let us consider the process of psychological healing that involves facing the deep rooted suppressed emotions and looking at it from a new perspective. If someone has decided to use it or play dirty it is his problem and he has to deal with it at some point of time. As far as we are concerned let us just be thankful to them for throwing light on our dark side and making us aware of its existence so that we can deal with it sooner rather than later. Our worst critics can at times be our best friends. Let us recognize the fact that the whole can't shine when a part of it is languishing in the dark.
Talking about dogs whether from slums or elsewhere another incident comes to mind in which our Supreme Court announces that terrorists are animals. I hope the honorable court is aware that Ms. Menaka Gandhi may take strong exception to such observations as according to her the animals especially the dogs deserve better treatment than the human kind. People who have exhausted all alphabets as far as categorization of security is concerned and moved beyond Z (now it is question of how many + after Z) think that a stray dog has the fundamental right to attack a small child and kill it whereas no man has the right to take the dog outside its preferred habitat leave alone killing it. Well protected, she has no idea what it feels like to face a bunch of stray and violent dogs on a lonely road especially when you are with your kids. I wonder what people like Ms. Gandhi who chooses the dog over someone else’s kid for social brownie points will choose if the choice is between a stray dog and her own child.
Even then the animals deserve more mercy than the terrorists whose only intention is to kill as many as possible without rhyme or reason or remorse. Apart from these three there is another species that aid and abet these terrorists either directly or indirectly when they are actually obliged to serve this country and its citizens. One wonders what term will be appropriate for them who are responsible for this systemic failure making us incapable of effectively tackling this menace.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Mumbai attack and the enemy within
Lot of water has flown down the river since the Mumbai terror attack. However, it still brings to light a lot of interesting points. To start with one wonders what kind of training, motivation or inspiration are provided to these 20 something young guys so that they are so determined not only to carry out these dastardly acts and but also to lay down their lives in the process. Though completely misdirected, one can’t help appreciating the leadership of these terror outfits for their strategy and impeccable execution using inexperienced young guys who have just been trained for a few years. I am sure the corporate world would like to learn a lesson or two from these people. I doubt if our national leaders are even interested to think about it. All they understand is their balance in some Swiss bank. There was a scam even for caskets meant for the Army and that should give us an idea regarding the level to which our leaders can stoop for a few dollars more.
In stark contrast to the professional planning and execution by the terrorists who were well equiped we were amateurish taken completely by surprise despite frequent attacks in the past. How could we leave the Gateway of India completely unguarded and without surveillance? Our lack of preparedness and right ammunition was glaring in our face till at least help arrived from the capital. The extent of disaster could have been much worse but for sacrifices of brave hearts like Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar, Ashok Kamte, Sandeep Unnikrishnan. Bomb Blast in India has become a routine affair; thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of our leaders. However, the attacks in Taj and Oberoi were different from the other attacks in the sense that people who were victims of these horrible ordeals were not common people who travel by local trains, wait at the bus stop or go to Gokul chat. In fact a few parliamentarians were also victims of this attack though they survived. But our leaders are incorrigibly corrupt and nothing is going to change them. They are incapable of seeing beyond their immediate selfish gain. They lack the thinking ability to realize that when you spoil the system for your own selfish gain you may end up paying the price for it one day. Because no matter how powerful you may be you are still part of the system that you have destroyed. Corruption and nepotism have spread like cancers in our society and have made our systems hollow. No wonder these illiterate guys with a few years training can strike at us at their will.
The remarks of the CM of Kerala regarding Major Unnikrishnan show the real feelings of our leaders towards common man. It actually came from his heart. These leaders are no different than the Britishers whom they have replaced. At least the Britishers never pretended and our own leaders have plundered this country more than Mahmud of Ghazni, the Moghuls and the Britishers combined. Look at the action of another leader, the CM of Maharashtra, where it all took place. He thought this was an opportunity to further the career of his son. So like visiting his personal property he took his son and a director along with him when Mr. Ratan Tata himself who is the rightful owner of the hotel was waiting outside for a long time for the place to be handed over to him. Where are the leaders like Lakbahadur Shastri who asked his son not to accept a job offer as he thought it was an indirect bribe to him?
The silence of Raj Thakre was really deafening during those 3-4 days when people from all over the country were involved in this sordid episode either as victims or as fighters, one wonders where was Raj and his team of goondas? They could have selectively protected at least the Marathi Manush. This brings to light their true character. It is one thing to beat up, harras and threaten helpless and defenceless people who are struggling to make a living but it is quite another thing to be able to fight a real threat or almost a war waged by trained and well equiped terrorists.
I have a good friend who is an excellent IPS officer and I once asked him about his posting to the state capital and his reply was that the plum postings were reserved for those who could pay the right amount. Here in Hyderabad there was a burglary in one of my friend’s house and he didn’t even report to the police as it is well known without the right contact you will end up being harassed by the police keeping in view his experience with them when he had lost his mobile. So how can we expect the fishermen to proactively pass on any information to the police?
No one wants war; very true. No one wants to die a violent, miserable and senseless death either in a terrorist attack. The point is not whether you want a war or not; but if you are forced to choose only between war and random terrorist attack which one you will choose. We have been known to be a very soft target as a country. Are we going to do something about that image? If we can't bite let us refrain from barking also. Last week I saw "A Wednesday" on UTV. It was a good and timely movie. The common man played by Naseerrudin Shah was not keen to do what he did, but circumstances had left him with little choice. What would one do if it is a fight for survival? Unfortunately we are not living in an ideal world and it is time we learnt from our past mistakes and take some concrete actions. Moreover, may be the definition of war has changed over time. The war as is conventionally known to be fought on the borders might have undergone metamorphosis in the age of technology. Perhaps we are already in it whether we like it or not.
Last but not the least is the role of media who made it easier for the terrorists by their senseless live telecast. What happened to their own thinking which they keep on writing and discussing about others? Even if there was no law to prevent it they could have used some self regulation and self discipline. There are more important things than TRP e.g. lives of real people.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
transparency and accountability
Transparency and accountability are very important in public life and persons holding any public office are obliged to adhere to both. Obama also mentioned something similar in his speech yesterday. But some of the recent news in India is quite contrary to this view point. One of them is by none other than the Chief Justice of India. He is of the opinion there is no need for judges to declare their wealth. In fact, it should just be the opposite. Judges should set an example in this regard. They are supposed to be the epitome of honesty and integrity. If they don’t come forward and lead by example then what can be expected from bureaucrats and politicians? Another is the revelation that the Rajus of Satyam fame have lot of properties and have diverted lot of money through benaami accounts. How can we have any asset in benaami account? It has to belong to some legal entity be it an individual or an organization. Apparently there is some legislation in this regard that is gathering dust somewhere. Isn’t it preposterous? Why don’t we just make it completely illegal or impossible to have anything in benaami account? I just wonder if a similar practice exists in any part of the developed, democratic world. It is time we had a unique identification number and all transactions should be linked to this number.
Not many months back there was also the issue of investment in stock market through P-notes. Even our finance minister supported this practice and it is completely legal as per SEBI. Should the government try to take the index to a certain level or lay down process and guidelines keeping fundamental principles in view and allow the index to find its own level as decided by the supply and demand? One of the fundamental principles that should never be compromised upon is transparency even if it means that investment by FIIs will reduce. In a country where there is huge black money and its citizens are vulnerable to terror attacks, it is preposterous to encourage such investments. When the stock market fell and the index started sliding our finance minister advised people to stay invested. It won’t be surprising if the government advised domestic institutional investors to support the market. Now that the market has gone down further who is going to make up for the loss?
Our passport office and RTA are also good examples of complete lack of accountability. Public institutions like these should have SLAs. That doesn’t mean that they provide a passport or a license to anyone who demands it, but there should be clearly laid down processes and system in place. This will not only help the genuine citizens but also will reduce granting passport or driving license to the non-deserving candidates. In the recent past I had applied for reissue of my son’s passport in which my name was mentioned as Tapas Panda instead of Tapas Kumar Panda which is my official name. This passport was made in Bareilly when I was in China on a project and normally we don’t use the middle name Kumar. I submitted an affidavit on stamp paper regarding this mistake. But I was asked to submit advertisements in two news papers that I had changed my name. I visited passport office to meet the PRO and explain to him that I had never changed my name. By the way all these queues at Passport Office in Hyderabad are in the basement. You can find old persons and mothers with infants standing in these queues for hours. Why can’t the ordinary citizen be treated with a little decency? After waiting in the queue for a few hours I was told that I had to take an appointment for meeting PRO which would be provided in the general enquiry counter that had much bigger queue. So next day I stood in the general line for half a day just to get an appointment with the PRO, who was not even prepared to listen and asked me to submit the copies of the advertisements. So I had no choice but to contact an agent outside the passport office for the necessary ads who charge you anywhere between 700-1000 for two ads in local papers that must have cost him Rs.100. Is there a nexus between insiders and outsiders? There are so many telephone numbers but no one answers any of these. There is also a mail id but no one replies to your mails. As ordinary citizens who have to work from day to night to earn a living you can’t do much from a practical standpoint.
To start with RTA should become RTS; authority should be replaced by service. Let us make an honest and sincere effort to come out of that British Raj mentality. The mindset should that of a service provider and not that of someone who has the power and hence can act by whims and fancies. When I was with Daewoo Motors one very senior Korean executive had expressed his opinion about Indian management style. His assessment was that the Indians in senior positions are very particular about their authority but absolutely unmindful about their obligations. According to him authority and obligations go hand in hand. When will our officers and ministers realize their obligations to this country and its citizens?
Anyone found guilty of betraying the public trust should be suitably punished and debarred from holding any public office in the future.
Not many months back there was also the issue of investment in stock market through P-notes. Even our finance minister supported this practice and it is completely legal as per SEBI. Should the government try to take the index to a certain level or lay down process and guidelines keeping fundamental principles in view and allow the index to find its own level as decided by the supply and demand? One of the fundamental principles that should never be compromised upon is transparency even if it means that investment by FIIs will reduce. In a country where there is huge black money and its citizens are vulnerable to terror attacks, it is preposterous to encourage such investments. When the stock market fell and the index started sliding our finance minister advised people to stay invested. It won’t be surprising if the government advised domestic institutional investors to support the market. Now that the market has gone down further who is going to make up for the loss?
Our passport office and RTA are also good examples of complete lack of accountability. Public institutions like these should have SLAs. That doesn’t mean that they provide a passport or a license to anyone who demands it, but there should be clearly laid down processes and system in place. This will not only help the genuine citizens but also will reduce granting passport or driving license to the non-deserving candidates. In the recent past I had applied for reissue of my son’s passport in which my name was mentioned as Tapas Panda instead of Tapas Kumar Panda which is my official name. This passport was made in Bareilly when I was in China on a project and normally we don’t use the middle name Kumar. I submitted an affidavit on stamp paper regarding this mistake. But I was asked to submit advertisements in two news papers that I had changed my name. I visited passport office to meet the PRO and explain to him that I had never changed my name. By the way all these queues at Passport Office in Hyderabad are in the basement. You can find old persons and mothers with infants standing in these queues for hours. Why can’t the ordinary citizen be treated with a little decency? After waiting in the queue for a few hours I was told that I had to take an appointment for meeting PRO which would be provided in the general enquiry counter that had much bigger queue. So next day I stood in the general line for half a day just to get an appointment with the PRO, who was not even prepared to listen and asked me to submit the copies of the advertisements. So I had no choice but to contact an agent outside the passport office for the necessary ads who charge you anywhere between 700-1000 for two ads in local papers that must have cost him Rs.100. Is there a nexus between insiders and outsiders? There are so many telephone numbers but no one answers any of these. There is also a mail id but no one replies to your mails. As ordinary citizens who have to work from day to night to earn a living you can’t do much from a practical standpoint.
To start with RTA should become RTS; authority should be replaced by service. Let us make an honest and sincere effort to come out of that British Raj mentality. The mindset should that of a service provider and not that of someone who has the power and hence can act by whims and fancies. When I was with Daewoo Motors one very senior Korean executive had expressed his opinion about Indian management style. His assessment was that the Indians in senior positions are very particular about their authority but absolutely unmindful about their obligations. According to him authority and obligations go hand in hand. When will our officers and ministers realize their obligations to this country and its citizens?
Anyone found guilty of betraying the public trust should be suitably punished and debarred from holding any public office in the future.
Hope and Change for USA and the world
As tonight I watch the swearing in ceremony of Barack Hussein Obama I remember many years ago when I was in school, having an argument with my elder brother. My brother was of the view that anything is possible and I was of the view that there are certain things which are impossible in the real world. To prove my point I gave the example of someone who is not a citizen of USA becoming its president. My brother argued that someone capable enough can gather enough support to amend the constitution and become the president and it is in realm of possibilities. If we stretch anything to its extreme then it may look absurd. But if we go by the spirit of an argument or issue, the 44th president of the USA Mr. Obama has achieved the impossible. Obama is a faithful follower of Abraham Lincoln who I think is the greatest leader in the history of the world. What makes USA such a great country is the fact that despite everything they have rallied around the fundamental concept that “All are equal, all are free and all have a right to pursue happiness”. This wonderful concept has taken precedence over everything else. A great idea can change lives as well as its quality. I really like Obama for the fact that more than anything else he stands for hope and change. He brings in that perspective and conviction. May he succeed in making this a better world!
What about an Obama for India that we desperately need. We perhaps had one in Dr. Kalam but unfortunately he was the president and in India the president has very little power. We need 274 Obamas to bring in the required change; an impossibility though I am afraid to bet my last penny on that. Who knows?
What about an Obama for India that we desperately need. We perhaps had one in Dr. Kalam but unfortunately he was the president and in India the president has very little power. We need 274 Obamas to bring in the required change; an impossibility though I am afraid to bet my last penny on that. Who knows?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Is India a democracy?
We the people of India would like to believe that ours is the largest democracy in the world. Is India truly a democracy? I think we are a democracy only on paper but in spirit we vacillate between autocracy and oligarchy.
To start with at the highest level we don’t have a democratic mindset. Our leaders do not think independently and give their opinion on each issue. They rather follow the instruction of the party president and keep the interest of the party ahead of the nation. We can see open display of sycophancy that cuts across all areas within the country. On occupying power our leaders behave as if the state were their personal fiefdom. In the democracy you should see your position as a role within the system. Outside that role everyone is equal and has no special status. That is the spirit of democracy. Where are the leaders like Lalbahadur Shastry who was not able to pay the monthly installment for his car loan? I was quite impressed or rather delighted to read that our current PM Manmohan Singh went to the RTO to renew his driving license. Unfortunately he has been portrayed as a weak Prime Minister. I think he is one of the few leaders who have strength of character. Just look at the confidence with which people at high places (not just the politicians) do as they please including killing others. In the recent past a few cases have gone against such powerful people largely owing to the involvement of the media. However, such cases are few and far between. The general feeling is that if you have the right contacts you can do anything and get away with it.
The second level is the democratic process. A few days back I was pleasantly surprised to see Prof. Trilochan Shastry giving a speech to an august gathering in one of the channels. He was one of the most respected professors in IIM Ahmedabad and was deeply involved in the social work. He made an excellent point on the selection of party candidates for the election. Currently it is decided by the goodwill of the party bosses. He also made an interesting point that we have guidelines for all kinds of organization except a political party, but who will bell the cat? Surprisingly, when it comes to their own benefit the politicians from different parties, who always fight amongst one another, present a united front. No wonder India as a country has got maximum deposits in Swiss banks and no one is interested to know the names of the account holders though these guys are more dangerous then the terrorists. I think the current practice of ticket allocation itself gives rise to sycophancy and autocracy. In this kind of scenario personal loyalty takes precedence over capability or character. We all know that only mediocre and incompetent people will agree to be yes-men. What kind of people will fall on the feet of the party supremo in full view of public and media can only be left to the imagination.
The third level is the implementation or the experience at the ground level. Not having the right people or the process is one thing but even after you have selected from the limited options that you have the actual distribution of power can take you by surprise in the prevalent coalition politics. Jharkhand is an interesting case from that perspective where an independent candidate could dictate terms and become the Chief Minister. Look at the recent results in J&K. PDP actually managed to get more seats this time but went to the opposition. Last time with only 15-16 seats they happily ruled for around three years. In centre also RJD or DMK or even LJP have few seats but exerts considerable influence due to the typical structure of the government. In this kind of scenario honest politicians are unlikely to do well. This kind of situation provides a field day for the unscrupulous and manipulative leaders. Our leaders are expert in playing the game of one-upmanship and the easiest way to play the game is to show off who can cause how much inconvenience to the hapless public. If leader x can hold the traffic at peak hours for 10 minutes to provide him a clear road and then the others can try for 20. If x can have 10 bodyguards for less protection and more display then others can try for at least 15.
No wonder that increasingly our judiciary is getting involved in many issues that should have been resolved by the executive as part of their normal duties. But the recent news that the judges used the PF funds of junior staff to buy luxury items for themselves makes the situation really hopeless for the ordinary citizens of this country.
There is an urgent need to deal with corruption at all levels as strictly as in China where one official was awarded death sentence recently for his involvement in corruption. That may be a little too harsh but quick and exemplary punishment can only save this country from this cancer.
To start with at the highest level we don’t have a democratic mindset. Our leaders do not think independently and give their opinion on each issue. They rather follow the instruction of the party president and keep the interest of the party ahead of the nation. We can see open display of sycophancy that cuts across all areas within the country. On occupying power our leaders behave as if the state were their personal fiefdom. In the democracy you should see your position as a role within the system. Outside that role everyone is equal and has no special status. That is the spirit of democracy. Where are the leaders like Lalbahadur Shastry who was not able to pay the monthly installment for his car loan? I was quite impressed or rather delighted to read that our current PM Manmohan Singh went to the RTO to renew his driving license. Unfortunately he has been portrayed as a weak Prime Minister. I think he is one of the few leaders who have strength of character. Just look at the confidence with which people at high places (not just the politicians) do as they please including killing others. In the recent past a few cases have gone against such powerful people largely owing to the involvement of the media. However, such cases are few and far between. The general feeling is that if you have the right contacts you can do anything and get away with it.
The second level is the democratic process. A few days back I was pleasantly surprised to see Prof. Trilochan Shastry giving a speech to an august gathering in one of the channels. He was one of the most respected professors in IIM Ahmedabad and was deeply involved in the social work. He made an excellent point on the selection of party candidates for the election. Currently it is decided by the goodwill of the party bosses. He also made an interesting point that we have guidelines for all kinds of organization except a political party, but who will bell the cat? Surprisingly, when it comes to their own benefit the politicians from different parties, who always fight amongst one another, present a united front. No wonder India as a country has got maximum deposits in Swiss banks and no one is interested to know the names of the account holders though these guys are more dangerous then the terrorists. I think the current practice of ticket allocation itself gives rise to sycophancy and autocracy. In this kind of scenario personal loyalty takes precedence over capability or character. We all know that only mediocre and incompetent people will agree to be yes-men. What kind of people will fall on the feet of the party supremo in full view of public and media can only be left to the imagination.
The third level is the implementation or the experience at the ground level. Not having the right people or the process is one thing but even after you have selected from the limited options that you have the actual distribution of power can take you by surprise in the prevalent coalition politics. Jharkhand is an interesting case from that perspective where an independent candidate could dictate terms and become the Chief Minister. Look at the recent results in J&K. PDP actually managed to get more seats this time but went to the opposition. Last time with only 15-16 seats they happily ruled for around three years. In centre also RJD or DMK or even LJP have few seats but exerts considerable influence due to the typical structure of the government. In this kind of scenario honest politicians are unlikely to do well. This kind of situation provides a field day for the unscrupulous and manipulative leaders. Our leaders are expert in playing the game of one-upmanship and the easiest way to play the game is to show off who can cause how much inconvenience to the hapless public. If leader x can hold the traffic at peak hours for 10 minutes to provide him a clear road and then the others can try for 20. If x can have 10 bodyguards for less protection and more display then others can try for at least 15.
No wonder that increasingly our judiciary is getting involved in many issues that should have been resolved by the executive as part of their normal duties. But the recent news that the judges used the PF funds of junior staff to buy luxury items for themselves makes the situation really hopeless for the ordinary citizens of this country.
There is an urgent need to deal with corruption at all levels as strictly as in China where one official was awarded death sentence recently for his involvement in corruption. That may be a little too harsh but quick and exemplary punishment can only save this country from this cancer.
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