Thank God Obama is the President of the USA

Last week I was surfing the news channels for some news on Satyam when Obama’s speech was being telecast live in one of the channels and I continue to watch him. I found quite a few things very impressive about his speech.
He has clear priorities, vision and action plan.
He is fundamentally strong, has clarity of thought and he knows what he is talking about.
He is analytical and willing to tackle difficult situations rather than avoiding them or sweeping them under the carpet. He proactively responded to his critics and explained why he was doing what he was doing.
He set very realistic expectation and didn’t paint a rosy picture as most politicians tend to do. He is aware of his responsibility and obligations.
He is not constrained by his tenure and thinks long-term.
He is honest, well intentioned and has courage of conviction. He admitted that it was frustrating bailing out AIG but there was no better choice left.
His speech was in complete contrast with that of our politicians during this election time. Our politicians are engaged in mud slinging or rather it is more than mud that is getting slung.
He emphasized on the need to improve governance especially in the financial sector, improve standard of education and making it accessible to all and ensure good medical facilities for all besides renewable energy and another important issue. He said that for long-term competitiveness they needed engineers and scientists. We should learn from this direction that USA is taking rather then blindly follow the west in all these aspects. Our politicians support investment through p-notes instead of bringing in complete transparency into all financial transactions. Avoidance of tax by innovative methods should completely be stopped. Education and health have been completely commercialized. One is linked to our children and the other is to our health and people will do everything within their capability to ensure that they get the best. Because of this sentiment today there is open loot in these two sectors. In education it is not just the admission or annual fees but every possible source of income that includes books, uniform, and transport is being used to the hilt. In one very famous school students can’t bring food from home and are forced to buy it on the school premises. Even at this time of recession when many have got pink slips or a cut in their salary, most schools have increased fees according to their sweet will. There seems to be no restrictions. Parents have little choice but to pay through their nose. During our days we hardly used to buy a new book as any book once released used to be prescribed for a few years and one could manage with old books. These days one can find new versions released every year with minor change or rearrangement of chapters so that every year students have to buy a new set of books. When I joined IIM in 1992 the year the fees were increased from Rs.6000 to Rs.15000 for the first time. I had already worked for 2 years and I thought I could manage Rs.30000 in two years though it was much more than what it used to be. Again next year it was increased to Rs.27000. Thanks to some stipend for summer training, some arrear from SAIL and additional help from my elder brothers that helped me to gather this unplanned amount. In the current situation people from similar background can’t afford to go to IIM. The financial help provided by the IIMs has also increased but I don’t know if it is sufficient. Just a few decades back the only thing that mattered was one’s merit and if one had that he could aspire to study in the best institutions. Today things have changed and very soon higher education will be out of the reach of the poor. While giving an example of how one shouldn’t compromise on long-term vision and rather should forego a few luxuries if there is a need to tighten the belt Obama mentioned about education of children. That reminded me the only focus that my parents had was our education. When my father retired in 1971 pension was meager and ours was a large family. I was not old enough to start going to school. The only asset he had built was a house at Baripada, a small town in Orissa which had decent educational facilities. Because of that vision and commitment today all of us are reasonably well established. The teachers in those days used to go out of their way to encourage and help meritorious students. All of us have benefited from the fact that teachers were willing to give us tuitions for free or taking payment only when we received our scholarship. These days tuitions and coaching are also big business. Today the money I spend in one year for my daughter who has just joined LKG in a reasonably inexpensive school in Hyderabad is more than what I might have spent till I completed my engineering from REC Rourkela. When USA is worried about their education system and wants to change it drastically why do we continue to ape their model?
The current scenario in medical is extremely disturbing. In the last few decades the number of diseases and their frequency of occurrence have gone up many folds. Though we grew up in a much smaller town (the first city I visited was Ranchi after appearing in my matriculation exam) perhaps the environment and quality of life were much better. During our childhood days there were large unoccupied fields everywhere and we used to play a lot apart from other exercises like walking and cycling to school or anywhere else. These days I stay in a very low profile but spacious apartment with lot of open space compared to most flats. But even then there is not enough place for the children to play. My daughter who has just joined LKG needs to go to school at around 8 AM and shall be back around 3 PM. Isn’t it a little too much for a kid of 4 years? When we contacted the school authorities though they agreed with our view point we were told that in most cases both the parents are working they have this extended time. My son has been in the same school for the last 6 years and I know that this school is actually better than most others in terms of homework etc. However, I wonder if the need of the child shouldn’t take precedence over everything else. But barring one or two exception most schools are like that; so one doesn’t have a choice really. I am not sure if not having a TV was actually a blessing in disguise. These days the number of tests that a child appears in one class is perhaps more than that I might have taken to complete professional courses. Lack of open spaces and fresh air, pollution, and a stressful lifestyle that starts quite early have added to sickness and diseases that were unheard of. Decent medical facilities have become very expensive. One wonders if the consultant doctors in the private hospitals have their targets for room occupancy, expensive tests done and overall revenue generation. Most doctors either own or have some arrangement with test centers and medicine stores. Just in case you have a medical insurance, the doctors will ensure that they squeeze you as much as possible. The doctors seem to be greedier than the business leaders in the corporate sector. In fact, most good hospitals are actually managed by corporate groups and with complete deterioration of standard in govt run hospitals people don’t have a choice.
When US president is talking about complete revamp of their educational and medical system I think it is time we stopped and learnt from their experience as there is no point in following a path that has not led to desirable results. I hope that our leaders will take a cue from Obama and seriously look into the issues of education, health and corruption.
Obama also talked about moving towards saving and investment culture from borrow and spend culture. Unfortunately we in India are bent upon doing just the reverse with ample support from the credit cards issued by the foreign banks. Long back Yudhisthir had replied to the yakshya that the happiest person is the one who doesn’t have any debt and had saved his brothers.
Lastly one hopes that with increased focus on domestic front and a true democratic spirit that Obama has USA would stop establishing its hegemony over the whole world by hook or by crook. While having a strong democracy for their own country most of its leaders have supported oppressive autocratic govt. throughout the world. Most of the today’s terrorist organizations are actually like Frankenstein created by its explicit and tacit support. Look at how Pakistan has become a victim of its own dangerous game. The means and end can never be separated as the end is essentially a manifestation of the means that one adopts. One hopes that USA will play a more responsible role and will help the world to become a better place. Hence, a truly democratic leader like Obama is good news for all countries including India.