Ab Tak Battis?! A Poor Idea

The Planning Commission of India has recently revised its estimates for income levels for the poor in our country. The revised figures have been increased from Rs. 20 & 15 to Rs. 32 and 26 for the urban and rural poor respectively. That is a stupendous upward revision of 60% and 73% respectively. Those are impressive numbers. If you are living in 1987 (well, that is an arbitrary number, but you get the point).

The planning commission is as relevant today as socialism was 30 years back, i.e. not very much. The defunct thinking of the commission has once again indicated our ruling elite's grasp on reality. Our leaders and bureaucrats have drifted so far away from reality that they have forgotten what a rupee is worth in today's time. Understandable if you always deal in unaccounted cash. More so if you have a white ambassador with a tony house in posh locations, with electricity, water and your telephone paid for! It is actually possible for our politicians and bureaucrats to live on 32 rupees a day, because they do not pay for shit. With the normal folk picking up the tab for every comfort they have it is obvious that they would forget the worth of hard earned money.

But we must rectify the situation immediately. I suggest that we pack up the members of the commission and send them to Jhabua or Barmer with 32 rupees a day for a period of one month. No orderlies, no cars, no sarkari perks. Let us see if that changes their definition of being above the poverty line. Any economist or human being for that matter who thinks we can bind the definition of poverty around an income line needs to get their heads checked. When apparently eminent economists such as Montek Singh Ahluwalia make such mistakes they should be booted out with their much above-the-poverty-line incomes repatriated to people who need it much more. In an economic environment so dynamic, so complex, we need a group of people who are still in touch with reality. We need people who understand what poverty is before they attempt to define it. If this bunch of highly qualified, over paid morons cannot even identify the problem; how the heck are they supposed to provide solutions for them?

It is time we employ some above-the-brain dead-line economists to work in the planning commission. People with compassion, people who know what it means to struggle for every meal, people who know how difficult it is for the poor to just survive in our lopsided, 8% growing economy. Our economy exhibits properties of physics assumed to work in black holes. Not only is the gap increasing between the rich and the poor, it is also increasing between the lower sections of the divide; the urban and the rural poor. Devoid of any sense of how our recent growth has been concentrated only across a section of the society, measures such as the above are absolutely futile. In a country where the Prime Minister is an eminent economist (ha!) these medival standards of well being should be thrown into the dust bin (which by the way costs around rupees 50 now days).

Rest in Peace: Troy Davis

Far away in Georgia USA, yesterday a man was executed by lethal injection for a murder that was committed in 1989. That man was Troy Davis. Though I found out about the case 2 hours prior to his execution, I felt a sense of panic and anxiety given the background and history of the case.

Here are the essential facts. Troy was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death; for the murder of an off-duty cop in 1989. Since then serious doubts have been raised about the basic facts of the case; keeping Troy Davis' life hanging in balance for almost 20 years. The hollywoodesque manner in which the case has swung dramatically; his execution had been stayed at three earlier occasions, has finally ended in the death of the convicted man, shattering the hopes for a miracle.

The case had caught the imagination of a lot of people, with the Pope, Desmond Tutu, ex US president Jimmy Carter and many other thousands, coming out in support of a reinvestigation. Even the US Supreme Court had inquired about finding new evidence in the case to make sure justice was being done, both to the victim's and convict's families. At one occasion the court stayed the decision to execute Troy two hours prior to the procedure. There were no such reprieves this time around.

The reason I felt compelled to write about this case is primarily because of the unease I felt about watching a man die when so much doubt existed regarding his guilt/innocence. A lot of people might argue that with the case having gone through all the legal motions, it was the right thing to do. I cannot disagree more. How can any legal system condemn a person's life when substantial doubt exists on either innocence or guilt. The courts in the case put the onus of proving innocence on Troy Davis; substantiating their lack of conviction about his guilt. The merits of the case can and will be discussed endlessly, the truth of the matter is that a person has been robbed of his life.

God forbid, if ever Troy Davis is proved to be innocent, everybody who was convinced that he committed the murder will have blood on their hands. And it will too damn late to even talk about justice.

2 Fast 2 Spurious

Salman Khurshid's declaration to the press that the government is considering reservation for muslims in central govt. jobs has kick started the congress' campaign for the 2014 elections. There is no doubt that this ill advised move is in direct response to Narendra Modi's sham of a fast. In a bid to outdo each other, the Congress and the BJP have plummeted to new levels of mindlessness. As always, the loser will be the Indian public, again forced to choose the lesser of the two evils.

It is sad that while we as a people seem to be maturing our politicians seem stuck in a different era altogether. Resorting to such opportunistic and attention seeking tactics not only points to the insatiable greed for even more power but also a general lack of grasp on the new realities and needs of Indian politics. Mr. Modi's and Mr. Khurshid's plans make it clear that no matter what happens, our political parties are intent on not only ignoring but actively subverting the will of the people. Civil society, the middle class, the poor can keep talking about economic empowerment, greater rights, education and other flimsy things, our political parties will either continue talking about creating an environment of sadbhavna (goodwill) or carry on with their exploitative policies. There is no real tangible action to address the concerns that they claim to be at the heart of such initiatives.

The disconnect with public sentiment that our politicians display is scary to say the least. With the two biggest parties pre-launching their campaigns for the next general elections this week, one would have expected much more effective ploys to catch the attention of the people. While leaders in the BJP like Modi and Advani have chosen to dive into the fray on the back of shameless self-promotion, the Congress does not seem to have any new ideas. One was hoping that the BJP would have built on the popular mood against corruption but the party has chosen to indulge in an elaborate media backed tamasha. Both the fast and Advani's proposed rath yatra are essentially marketing exercises. There is no intent on addressing the real issues. To affect change, to reduce corruption, to improve how we live. All they want is to come to power one way or the other. Unfortunately, our political class does not seem to have evolved at all. They go back to the strategies which have no doubt worked in the past but are far from relevant in today's scenario.

Mr. Khurshid's recent statement on even more reservations needs to be seen in this light. The Congress is uneasy with the Modi's fast and his attempts at rebuilding bridges with the muslim community. The congress' insecurity is hard to comprehend especially because it is fairly easy to see Modi's lack of intent to actually do so. Not to mention that many other citizens have not forgiven him for 2002, let alone the muslim community. Such short-sighted knee jerk reactions are not expected from a mature political party looking to lead the nation. If they really wanted to mitigate the reaction to the fast all they had to do was ask their leaders to join it. Mr. Vaghela held his own fast at the same time. They had a wonderful opportunity to call Modi's bluff. After all he claimed that the fast was for sadbhavna; what better to achieve it than to reach out to your opposition.

Coming up with 'innovative' ideas is not that difficult. If you are looking to solve problems. Our politicians across the board seek one and only one thing: power. They will continue to do so and indulge in activities which take their personal cause further. We the people will continue to suffer; we will be subjected to mindless policies, fasts and other tamashas. Democracy and governance will have to wait.

A Modicum of Options

Narendra Modi (NM) is seeing victory in the recent SC decison to direct the Gulbarg Society massacre cases to the trial court and has asked the court to examine the findings of Special Investigation Team. It is quite shameful that Mr. Modi has chosen to treat a mere postponement in the hearing as vindication of his stand. His and BJP's flawed & premature interpretation of the order is also extremely worrying, as the verdict is being seen as sufficient cause to clear the way for Mr. Modi to be projected as the party's next prime ministerial candidate. The fact that somebody like NM can get away with the most horrendous of crimes and even consider running for the PM post should make us rethink of how our country works.

Bolstered by the verdict, there are few people within the BJP who will find it difficult to oppose NM's grand intentions. After all, what can you pin on him, now? The BJP should have acted much before and removed him as the CM. Now as the notoriously sluggish judicial process drags on, victories are being pulled out of thin air, there is little ammunition to stall NM's rise in the party.  People outside the party are helpless and will have to just watch from the sidelines as NM continues to consolidate his stock in the biggest opposition party the country has. The only way to stop him will be at the next general elections and in this country nobody can ever predict what might happen, even after the results are declared. We can sit idly by and hope that he does not become the PM. Just like we did when Sonia Gandhi, Laloo and Mayawati were within sniffing distance of the big red chair. This helplessness that our democracy imposes on the electorate is dangerous to say the least. 

Mr. Modi unfortunately has a lot going for him too. Gujarat is performing exceedingly well on the economic front, NM is the darling of the corporates, Indian and foreign alike. Massive investment has been infused across manufacturing, infrastructure & the education sectors, generating employment opportunities for the 6 crore strong state. The state contributes handsomely to the national growth, in spite of the prevailing recessionary environment. The brilliant performance of the state has established him as an able and willing administrator.

On the political front too his stock has been rising; he is about to complete 10 years in power. There is little sign of any real leader emerging within the BJP in the next few years. His image as a non-corruptible leader is a big asset considering the number of chief ministers who are embroiled in some scam or the other, across party lines. As a testament to his increasing influence, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) a research wing of the US Congress has recently published a report citing him as a strong candidate for prime ministership in the 2014 elections. In the few business conferences I have attended, international corporate leaders have showered lavish praise on NM and his efforts in bringing about efficient governance in the state of Gujarat. They are amazed at his and the state government's un-India like business acumen and the sheer ease of doing business. Not very surprising, that profit driven corporates are ignoring the small insignificant details that are of no concern to them!

The Gujarat scenario highlights the uncomfortable contradiction that we live with today. A country yearning for growth and prosperity, yet ignoring the ugly realities of our politics. While almost everyone will agree that the state of Gujarat has done exceptionally well on the economic front, it is in stark contrast to the developments on the social front. Many argue that the Muslim community too has grown with the rest of the state (including leading Muslim leaders such as Mr. Vastanvi), and the economic growth has been all encompassing. Agreed...maybe. But that is shying away from the truth. While I think, we do not need to deny his capabilities as an able administrator, we should definitely not ignore his massive failure as one in 2002. He is not fit to be the CM of the state, let alone the country! Regardless of how the judicial system eventually assess him, history has proven him to be a person not fit for governance. The sad thing here is that we are at a point of time in this country, where we could have voted the incumbent out based on real issues like governance, performance, corruption, etc. Unfortunately the next election too seems to be moving in a direction where it will again be all about politics. The BJP will leave many voters with no option but to tolerate more of the same, if they continue to be defensive and are unable to provide honorable alternatives to NM.

It is a sad reality of our country, where the people are willing to not only overlook but defend leaders like NM. Even if he had not led the economic growth in the state, he still would have been the CM. Now that he has managed to perform well in that role, a case is being made to portray him as a probable PM candidate. As a maturing democracy one would hope we will not be subjected to that possibility. It is really up to the people now. There are instances in history of able administrators with murderous tendencies rising to power riding on the indifference and sense of well-being  prevailing among the masses. Germany is yet to shake off its notorious legacy completely because of one man, despite being an economic power for most part of the last century.

Is this how we want our country to be judged, are we willing to pay any price for growth? We should all ask ourselves these questions.

Sitting Ducks

Yet another blast, yet another statistic of the dead and the injured. The same routine shamelessly repeated, Rahul Gandhi visiting the hospital to meet the injured; as if that is exactly what they need right now, the government announcing muavza, the PM making another unconvincing pledge to deal with terrorism.

The fact that the Delhi High Court was bombed in May at almost the exact spot has not occurred to our politicians. We got lucky that time, this time 10 people (and counting) have paid for our government's lethargy. We never seem to learn or even want to learn from past incidents and mistakes. No cameras were installed since the May blast, the home minister has stated in parliament that intelligence was shared with Delhi Police, yet things like these happen with alarmingly high frequency. Government apathy has achieved such levels whereby the people of this country are suffering in every aspect of their lives. This is exactly why the bombers could visit the same spot again and give it another try. And they will continue to succeed if real, tangible changes are  not made to the security infrastructure in this country.

The way we deal with security issues is excruciatingly slow and outdated, we are content with a system that was effective dealing with domestic disturbances decades ago. Thuggish looking fellows in khaki uniforms holding lathis is not going to stop technologically savvy, determined terrorists. We have for long used our forces as a deterrent rather than an effective way of seeking out and stopping such terror attacks. Our agencies have for long been content with setting up pickets and posting cops around important locations. We shun technology like plague, in fact we do not even possess the necessary skills to work with any technical equipment. Just days after the Diwali blasts in Delhi, most metal detectors were not working, not to mention the fact that these would not be able to detect the improvised technologies that have been utilized to prepare modern bombs. CCTVs installed around various locations in Delhi either do not work or are not monitored. In a recent study more than 40% of cameras at the international airport were not even operational! (read here).

At the risk of sounding repetitive and perennially cynical, our security agencies are mainly ineffective because of the corruption and lack of professionalism of our politicians. Their overriding selfishness and general lack of knowledge and will to govern has only added to the dangers we face as a country. One has to only look at the number of cops that are employed to guard our politicians to understand the reasons behind our inability to deal with terror. Today most of our private offices and establishments are guarded by private security firms. There is clearly no lack of manpower in this country, yet we find it difficult to build a police force which can be effective. Like everything else in this country (airports, roads, other infrastructure, power generation, education, hospitals) the government is content leaving essential duties to the private sector. They cannot and should not be allowed to wash their hands of off our security needs.

Post the 26/11 attacks there have been numerous reports of delays in procuring necessary equipment for our forces. Where any acquisitions have been made they lie unused and rot away for lack of skills and manpower. Such lethargy in dealing with issues like national security has subjected the people of this country to frequent senseless killings. Being a large country with a population of a billion further adds to the ignorant attitude of our governments. Terror attacks have become a way of life, we all just wait to hear about the next one and move on.

Making the right noises is not doing enough, strict implementable actions need to be taken. Our govt. machinery needs to wake the fuck up and start protecting the people. While politicians move around in armored vehicles with a security cover payed for by OUR taxes, ordinary people are being killed in the streets. In a country where living in itself is such a painful process, living without fear of being killed should at least be guaranteed by the governments we elect.