A recent RTI inquiry has revealed that Karnataka CM, Yeddyurappa spent a staggering Rs 1.7 crore to renovate his bungalow, (Rs 35 lac was spent on redoing his bedroom) which is not even his official residence. "Anugraha", the so-called designated residence for the CM is currently occupied by the state home minister.
Can we say that India is a poor country where millions don’t even get a square meal but our leaders, who take the solemn oath to serve them, squander obscene amount of public money on fulfilling their personal fancies? It is scandalous, immoral, and licentious that our chosen leaders run amuck with national exchequer and get away scot-free. They are white collar criminals and ought to be severely punished for their unashamed bravado and extravagant indulgences. What is surprising and totally shocking is that there are no set standards, protocol, or guidelines for such expenditures? A leader’s wish, howsoever reckless, becomes supreme and rule books are compromised by sequacious bureaucrats and servile colleagues, who are equal partners in such crimes against people and the nation.
Such outrageous behavior of our public servants strikes at the basic human principles of propriety, which has been an anathema to our leaders from Nehruvian days. Probably the genesis of this horrendous practice can be traced all the way back to what Nehru’s administration at centre and the state governments failed to put in the books in black and white. After independence, the Viceroy House became the official residence of the President of India, and properly laid down policies and rules guide the maintenance of the property and everything related to it. Pretty much similar legal and administrative provisions have been made to run and maintain the Governors’ residences, Raj Bhawans, in the states. But no clear cut policy or guidelines were ever enacted regarding the official residence of the Prime Minister in Delhi and that of the Chief Minister in a state. This state of ambiguity opened up the possibility of misuse by unprincipled politicians, who stole public money to decorate or renovate their ‘temporary’ residences in brazen violation of existing rules and making a complete mockery of human decency and moralistic demand of propriety.
Nehru chose Teen Murti House for his residence, which now houses Nehru Memorial and Library. His successor Lal Bahadur Shastri lived at 10 Janpath, half of which is now Shastri Memorial while the other half serves as the residence of the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi. When Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister, she lived in several residences ending with 1 Safdarjung Road, which has since become a memorial after her assassination in 1984. Others like Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, VP Singh, Chandra Shekhar, IK Gujral, and HD Deve Gouda lived in several different residences when they served as Prime Ministers. It is pertinent to note that whenever a housing unit becomes the official residence of the Prime Minister, a plethora of activities are set in motion to equip it with various infrastructural upgrades and to comply with the various security requirements costing the country a bucket and resulting in a huge and totally unnecessary drain on the national exchequer. Had there been a designated residence of the Prime Minister since independence such recurrent expenses could easily have been avoided. Luckily, when PV Narasimha Rao took the reins in 1991 he had the sagacity and maturity to designate 7 Race Course Road as the official residence of the Prime Minister and put an end to the bizarre practice. However, most of our states don’t yet have designated real estate recognized as the official residence of the Chief Minister. Even if there is one, such as in Karnataka, it is totally up to the Chief Minster to stay there or choose some other place according to his own whims and fancies as RTI inquiry has revealed in the case of Yeddyurappa.
How do we put a stop to such blatant and irresponsible behavior of our public servants, which largely go unnoticed, barring some recent revelations, thanks to the RTI cases? No wonder most of our political leaders, public servants, and even judges are vehemently opposed to the prying tentacles of RTI inquiries and are working furiously on the ways and means to circumvent them. Steps must be taken without any further delay to put in place a coherent policy framework followed by rules and guidelines regarding official residence of the Chief Minister in states so that misuse of power and authority can be stopped and state exchequers don’t have to bleed while catering to the eccentricities of our shameless ‘leaders’. Urgent action is needed to ensure that policies regarding government housing for public servants are suitably strengthened. It is high time concerned departments and authorities are made totally accountable and are required to apply stringent standards and oversight leaving no room whatsoever for interference or violations of any kind by anyone irrespective of the office and position they may occupy.
Jai Hind!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Cry Mother India, Cry!
That’s what I wanted to shout in my howls of pain and grief at the totally unconstitutional and totally outrageous behavior of MNS goons in Maharashtra assembly when they slapped a member of the august house, Abu Azmi, for taking his oath in Hindi and brought the proceedings to a shameful halt.
How can such an incident be tolerated in our country? Does it not constitute some kind of federal crime and invite stringent punishment to the perpetrators? Can our Central government and leadership continue to put up with this naked violation of our constitutional rights? Can our courts not take cognizance of such heinous acts and punish the guilty? I don’t know what the recourse is but tolerating such nonsense is not an option.
Hindi is a language recognized in our Constitution as is Marathi and several others. This entitles an Indian to take his oath in the language he or she chooses. Why does everyone have to take oath in Marathi in Maharashtra assembly? Had it been a mandatory constitutional requirement one can raise objection against such violation but it is not, so what’s the hue and cry? How long are we going to remain Punjabis, Bengalis, Biharis, Tamils, Marathis and so on? When are we going to become Indians first and last? Why our politicians are feeding this culture of hatred and indifference toward our own compatriots? The country was partitioned in the name of religion and we have been mute witnesses and victims of innumerable communal riots since then, which are more often than not, are planned, provoked, and executed by our shameless politicians to cultivate vote banks or to axe their grinds. Language became a flash point in the 60’s especially in our southern states when our national leaders from Delhi tried to impose Hindi down their throat in questionable manner. Caste and regionalism keep raising their ugly heads from time to time when our scheming politicians hatch conspiracies to play with the emotions of vulnerable and deprived masses in the name of protecting their interests and welfare. All of us will have to hang our heads in shame at the painful realization of where we stand today as a nation and it is largely because we have either been conned or exploited by our so-called ‘leaders’ in their nefarious games and by their serpentine greed for power and pelf.
MNS is a product of evil politics of regionalism made fashionable by Bal Thakre of Shiv Sena, who spewed venom against migration of people from southern provinces to Mumbai. Raj Tkakre has taken a leaf from his notorious uncle and has earned huge notoriety for his vitriolic remarks and political diatribe against migrants from northern and eastern states to Mumbai. The uncle-nephew duo claim to be the self-proclaimed custodians of Mumbai and everything Marathi and have been indulging in all kinds of unconstitutional and criminal acts in the name of fighting for the bhumiputr ranging from common threats to public beating of powerless migrants who have every right to live and work anywhere in India including Mumbai and Maharashtra.
It should not really matter who belongs to which state in our country. It should count merely as a geographical reference as a place where one was born or grew at. Just as people born and brought up in Maharashtra can live and work in any city or town anywhere in India, people from other states and regions can choose to study, work, or live in Mumbai or Maharashtra or what have you. Who are these MNS leaders, their cronies, and their lumpen followers to question and deny our constitutional rights of residence and language? It is high time these crooks and thugs are booked under the provisions of law and are legally barred from indulging in such practices ever again.
Jai Hind!
How can such an incident be tolerated in our country? Does it not constitute some kind of federal crime and invite stringent punishment to the perpetrators? Can our Central government and leadership continue to put up with this naked violation of our constitutional rights? Can our courts not take cognizance of such heinous acts and punish the guilty? I don’t know what the recourse is but tolerating such nonsense is not an option.
Hindi is a language recognized in our Constitution as is Marathi and several others. This entitles an Indian to take his oath in the language he or she chooses. Why does everyone have to take oath in Marathi in Maharashtra assembly? Had it been a mandatory constitutional requirement one can raise objection against such violation but it is not, so what’s the hue and cry? How long are we going to remain Punjabis, Bengalis, Biharis, Tamils, Marathis and so on? When are we going to become Indians first and last? Why our politicians are feeding this culture of hatred and indifference toward our own compatriots? The country was partitioned in the name of religion and we have been mute witnesses and victims of innumerable communal riots since then, which are more often than not, are planned, provoked, and executed by our shameless politicians to cultivate vote banks or to axe their grinds. Language became a flash point in the 60’s especially in our southern states when our national leaders from Delhi tried to impose Hindi down their throat in questionable manner. Caste and regionalism keep raising their ugly heads from time to time when our scheming politicians hatch conspiracies to play with the emotions of vulnerable and deprived masses in the name of protecting their interests and welfare. All of us will have to hang our heads in shame at the painful realization of where we stand today as a nation and it is largely because we have either been conned or exploited by our so-called ‘leaders’ in their nefarious games and by their serpentine greed for power and pelf.
MNS is a product of evil politics of regionalism made fashionable by Bal Thakre of Shiv Sena, who spewed venom against migration of people from southern provinces to Mumbai. Raj Tkakre has taken a leaf from his notorious uncle and has earned huge notoriety for his vitriolic remarks and political diatribe against migrants from northern and eastern states to Mumbai. The uncle-nephew duo claim to be the self-proclaimed custodians of Mumbai and everything Marathi and have been indulging in all kinds of unconstitutional and criminal acts in the name of fighting for the bhumiputr ranging from common threats to public beating of powerless migrants who have every right to live and work anywhere in India including Mumbai and Maharashtra.
It should not really matter who belongs to which state in our country. It should count merely as a geographical reference as a place where one was born or grew at. Just as people born and brought up in Maharashtra can live and work in any city or town anywhere in India, people from other states and regions can choose to study, work, or live in Mumbai or Maharashtra or what have you. Who are these MNS leaders, their cronies, and their lumpen followers to question and deny our constitutional rights of residence and language? It is high time these crooks and thugs are booked under the provisions of law and are legally barred from indulging in such practices ever again.
Jai Hind!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Money, Politics, and Our 'Leaders'
Business houses and money have always played significant role, implicit or explicit, in our politics. Even Mahatma Gandhi had accepted the friendship of the House of Birlas. But that was indicative more of his larger than life stature and respect by Birlas to an undisputed leader of the masses rather than a quid pro quo between a wily politician and a greedy businessman. How this role and use of money degenerated into naked display of political shenanigans and as instruments of power play leaves you gasping for convincing answers, legitimate or illegitimate, isn't it? But if you dig deep into the pages of our history you will be shocked to learn that our past has been replete with corrupt deals and scams right from Nehru’s administration days. T.T. Krishnamachari and Nagarwala cases are just a few examples that people might even remember now that had tainted our politics early on. Starting from Indira Gandhi administration it has been downhill to the abyss we have reached now. Due to complex political realities of our country - steeped into dynastic lineage and hero-worship, a novice (her experience was limited to less that 2 year stint of a MoS, I&B in Shastri's administration) - Indira Gandhi - Nehru's daughter - was catapulted to the highest seat of government after the sudden and premature death of LB Shastri shrouded in controversy till this day.
What happened thereafter has the seeds of decay and degeneration that has taken a monstrous form now and is thriving by the day due to the divisive leaders sitting on and hatching their vote banks and the so-called compulsions of coalition politics. The plan of regional satraps to use Indira Gandhi as their pawn failed in totality. Indira proved too smart to dance to somebody else’s tunes. Old guards who quit the party under the Kamraj Plan regrouped themselves as Congress (Opposition) while Indira’s group was known as Congress (Ruling). A new game of political permutation and combination got initiated and region, religion, caste and creed started raising their ugly heads for the first time and those rather than the ability and dedication of a leader started emerging as prime factors and criteria for electoral ticket allocation. One may even shudder to think but it’s largely believed that Indira plunged India into the Bangladesh War of 1971 more to assert her leadership in her party and to end the internecine factional political fights plaguing the length and breadth of the country than to ameliorate the plight of Mujib’s Mukti Vahini. This, however, brought new tensions in our international relations with US and a deep hatred of Pakistan, which continues till this day and has been haunting India in the form of full-scale war, minor border scuffles and lately as cross-border acts of terrorism. Nixon never liked Indira and she in turn loathed him so much that she - the daughter of JL Nehru, one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement along with Nasser and Tito - embraced the Soviet Union through a friendship treaty without blinking an eyelid. What followed in the years to come – nationalization of banks, government quota and controls, ‘Garibi Hatao’ nonsense, 1975 Emergency and so on – brought increasing global alienation and untold miseries to India and its people. The rot continued unabated during the Janata Dal and other regimes that followed and the common man remained at the receiving end of our unprincipled politicians, who would go to any extent to cling to or remain in power. The actors and perpetrator change, we see new faces and new slogans but the evil, sinister game continues uninterrupted. Our spineless leaders continue to drink our blood and rejoice together behind closed doors dismaying at our credulity and foolhardy.
How else can we explain the co-existence of Ajit Singhs, Bhajan Lals, and Chautalas with the likes of Mayawatis, Paswans, the formidable Yadav duo - Lalu and Mulayam and so on? Each one of them has carved a niche out of the pie of Indian politics, which they nurture for their survival and from time to time flaunt to claim the biggest pound of flesh in the event of a political crisis and an impending calamity. JMMization, in my opinion, is the quintessential personification of that new creed of our political masters and a testimony to the low level they could stoop to for the greed of power and pelf. It is precisely for that reason that a Shibu Soren is an honorable MP of India.
You talk about political and electoral reform - it's really a very noble thought! But let me remind you of few incidents from the recent past. During Rajiv Gandhi's administration the passage of Anti-Defection Law was being touted as the ultimate instrument to end the Ayaram-Gayaram phenomenon in Indian politics if you could recall. But the law had many holes in it and it left enough room for political maneuvering and circumvention. Why could it not be a blanket law that simply disqualifies an MP/MLA when he/she switches party affiliation? If you ask the government or a parliamentarian today, I'm sure you would get a diverse picture and all kinds of justifications ranging from pragmatic ones like political stability to may be even emotional ones such as national unity and integrity. May be some law can be passed about funding of elections and the government of the day can make tall claims of eliminating corruption from the electoral process but I seriously doubt the efficacy of such law and am convinced of the fertile minds of our politicians who would surely find ways to breach that law without any serious penalty.
Political games and machinations are a strange phenomenon; it breeds and nurtures unique uniformities. Look at a US educated technocrat and suave fellow like Ajit Singh. He behaves exactly like a Shibu Soren or a Mayawati when it comes to cracking a deal for himself or his party. Late Syed Shahabuddin, a retired IFS officer and later an honorable MP had the same political facade - retrograde, pessimistic, and unashamedly pandering to appeasement - as that of any small-time Muslim politician, whose only claim to leadership is his religion and championship of minority community. What Rajiv Gandhi did first by overturning SC judgment in Shah Bano case and later (rumor had it - at the behest of his cousin and the then Home Minister, Arun Nehru) by opening Babri Masjid - allowing Hindus to worship in the disputed temple - is an equal disservice to the nation and its unsuspecting masses to that what followed in unearthing of Mandal Commission Report from the archives and implementation of OBC quota that burned the nation at the hands of Raja VP Singh, who rose to the helm by sounding the death knell of corruption from public life that shrouded Rajiv, his friends and his cronies in the Bofors controversy. LK Advani, aghast at the thought of Hindu vote being divided by VP Singh in the name of castes planned and played the masterstroke of Hindu card to perfection by embarking on a Ratha Yatra to Ayodhya to resurrect the birthplace of Rama and reaped unprecedented exploits for his stature and his party. Being provoked and stoked by well-calculated doses the Hindu anger rose, swirled and eventually culminated into the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya under the BJP rule and shamed the nation. A year later Mumbai burned as fundamentalists and Shiv Sena torn the fabric of our fragile reality. The Gujarat riots are the latest chapter in the story of shame - gloriously being written by the stinking, loathsome politicians - in our secular democratic India . The nation today stands divided into Hindus and Muslims and then sub-divided into umpteen caste and groups clinging to the apron strings of their spineless and unpatriotic leaders who never really care about anybody but themselves. In the Darwinian jungle of Indian politics everything goes in the name of so-called social justice, minority welfare, and championship of the poor and downtrodden. Who can believe today that Dr. BR Ambedkar, whose name is so nakedly abused and misused by many a politician for their vested interests was vehemently opposed to the idea of caste based reservations and that he resigned from Nehru's cabinet due to his differences with him on the issue?
In retrospect, we can take pride in the abilities of our politicians and leaders in mastering the art of political chessboard. A laborer turned politician, Madu Koda of Jharkhand amassed a fortunes running into thousands of crores during a short stint of two year as chief minister. Sons of a police constable, the Reddy brothers of Karnataka can hold the administration to ransom on the strength of their wealth and political clout. But does anyone of us care to think, at what cost? From being something else, when would we become an Indian, first and last? Rising literacy and prosperity of Indians and healthy social movements like Lead India and Teach India augur well for our future and bring hope that before long Indians would become educated, informed, and smart enough to read between the lines and figure out the hidden intentions and ulterior motives of our myopic politicians. Only then we could learn to elect good and able leaders, who would serve the collective interest of our society and our beloved nation and make Mother India proud! I stand in prayer for that day to dawn .....Jai Hind!
What happened thereafter has the seeds of decay and degeneration that has taken a monstrous form now and is thriving by the day due to the divisive leaders sitting on and hatching their vote banks and the so-called compulsions of coalition politics. The plan of regional satraps to use Indira Gandhi as their pawn failed in totality. Indira proved too smart to dance to somebody else’s tunes. Old guards who quit the party under the Kamraj Plan regrouped themselves as Congress (Opposition) while Indira’s group was known as Congress (Ruling). A new game of political permutation and combination got initiated and region, religion, caste and creed started raising their ugly heads for the first time and those rather than the ability and dedication of a leader started emerging as prime factors and criteria for electoral ticket allocation. One may even shudder to think but it’s largely believed that Indira plunged India into the Bangladesh War of 1971 more to assert her leadership in her party and to end the internecine factional political fights plaguing the length and breadth of the country than to ameliorate the plight of Mujib’s Mukti Vahini. This, however, brought new tensions in our international relations with US and a deep hatred of Pakistan, which continues till this day and has been haunting India in the form of full-scale war, minor border scuffles and lately as cross-border acts of terrorism. Nixon never liked Indira and she in turn loathed him so much that she - the daughter of JL Nehru, one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement along with Nasser and Tito - embraced the Soviet Union through a friendship treaty without blinking an eyelid. What followed in the years to come – nationalization of banks, government quota and controls, ‘Garibi Hatao’ nonsense, 1975 Emergency and so on – brought increasing global alienation and untold miseries to India and its people. The rot continued unabated during the Janata Dal and other regimes that followed and the common man remained at the receiving end of our unprincipled politicians, who would go to any extent to cling to or remain in power. The actors and perpetrator change, we see new faces and new slogans but the evil, sinister game continues uninterrupted. Our spineless leaders continue to drink our blood and rejoice together behind closed doors dismaying at our credulity and foolhardy.
How else can we explain the co-existence of Ajit Singhs, Bhajan Lals, and Chautalas with the likes of Mayawatis, Paswans, the formidable Yadav duo - Lalu and Mulayam and so on? Each one of them has carved a niche out of the pie of Indian politics, which they nurture for their survival and from time to time flaunt to claim the biggest pound of flesh in the event of a political crisis and an impending calamity. JMMization, in my opinion, is the quintessential personification of that new creed of our political masters and a testimony to the low level they could stoop to for the greed of power and pelf. It is precisely for that reason that a Shibu Soren is an honorable MP of India.
You talk about political and electoral reform - it's really a very noble thought! But let me remind you of few incidents from the recent past. During Rajiv Gandhi's administration the passage of Anti-Defection Law was being touted as the ultimate instrument to end the Ayaram-Gayaram phenomenon in Indian politics if you could recall. But the law had many holes in it and it left enough room for political maneuvering and circumvention. Why could it not be a blanket law that simply disqualifies an MP/MLA when he/she switches party affiliation? If you ask the government or a parliamentarian today, I'm sure you would get a diverse picture and all kinds of justifications ranging from pragmatic ones like political stability to may be even emotional ones such as national unity and integrity. May be some law can be passed about funding of elections and the government of the day can make tall claims of eliminating corruption from the electoral process but I seriously doubt the efficacy of such law and am convinced of the fertile minds of our politicians who would surely find ways to breach that law without any serious penalty.
Political games and machinations are a strange phenomenon; it breeds and nurtures unique uniformities. Look at a US educated technocrat and suave fellow like Ajit Singh. He behaves exactly like a Shibu Soren or a Mayawati when it comes to cracking a deal for himself or his party. Late Syed Shahabuddin, a retired IFS officer and later an honorable MP had the same political facade - retrograde, pessimistic, and unashamedly pandering to appeasement - as that of any small-time Muslim politician, whose only claim to leadership is his religion and championship of minority community. What Rajiv Gandhi did first by overturning SC judgment in Shah Bano case and later (rumor had it - at the behest of his cousin and the then Home Minister, Arun Nehru) by opening Babri Masjid - allowing Hindus to worship in the disputed temple - is an equal disservice to the nation and its unsuspecting masses to that what followed in unearthing of Mandal Commission Report from the archives and implementation of OBC quota that burned the nation at the hands of Raja VP Singh, who rose to the helm by sounding the death knell of corruption from public life that shrouded Rajiv, his friends and his cronies in the Bofors controversy. LK Advani, aghast at the thought of Hindu vote being divided by VP Singh in the name of castes planned and played the masterstroke of Hindu card to perfection by embarking on a Ratha Yatra to Ayodhya to resurrect the birthplace of Rama and reaped unprecedented exploits for his stature and his party. Being provoked and stoked by well-calculated doses the Hindu anger rose, swirled and eventually culminated into the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya under the BJP rule and shamed the nation. A year later Mumbai burned as fundamentalists and Shiv Sena torn the fabric of our fragile reality. The Gujarat riots are the latest chapter in the story of shame - gloriously being written by the stinking, loathsome politicians - in our secular democratic India . The nation today stands divided into Hindus and Muslims and then sub-divided into umpteen caste and groups clinging to the apron strings of their spineless and unpatriotic leaders who never really care about anybody but themselves. In the Darwinian jungle of Indian politics everything goes in the name of so-called social justice, minority welfare, and championship of the poor and downtrodden. Who can believe today that Dr. BR Ambedkar, whose name is so nakedly abused and misused by many a politician for their vested interests was vehemently opposed to the idea of caste based reservations and that he resigned from Nehru's cabinet due to his differences with him on the issue?
In retrospect, we can take pride in the abilities of our politicians and leaders in mastering the art of political chessboard. A laborer turned politician, Madu Koda of Jharkhand amassed a fortunes running into thousands of crores during a short stint of two year as chief minister. Sons of a police constable, the Reddy brothers of Karnataka can hold the administration to ransom on the strength of their wealth and political clout. But does anyone of us care to think, at what cost? From being something else, when would we become an Indian, first and last? Rising literacy and prosperity of Indians and healthy social movements like Lead India and Teach India augur well for our future and bring hope that before long Indians would become educated, informed, and smart enough to read between the lines and figure out the hidden intentions and ulterior motives of our myopic politicians. Only then we could learn to elect good and able leaders, who would serve the collective interest of our society and our beloved nation and make Mother India proud! I stand in prayer for that day to dawn .....Jai Hind!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Why Don't We Have Any Obama in India?
I live in New York city and some months back I read Rajdeep Sardesai's article in Hindustan Times about US elections and that why we do not have an Obama in India?
If you come to think of it, the why and how questions
leave you wondering and groping for answers and
explanations. Does the answer lie in our ancient
socio-economic set up organized around caste and
hierarchy which were originally invented and planned
for social order and resource management but have now
been hijacked by the wily politicians whose
shenanaigans and deceptions have acquired almost an
art form?
I studied history in India and later business
administration in US but have always been interested
in studying and observing what goes on in India. It's
great that things are getting better now in our
country and India is starting to earn the respect and
admiration it deserves. But the sad realization of the
contradictions and ironies of India leave you
completely dumbstruck and puzzled. Can we explain
everything by our history and legacy? How did things
degenerate into the present diseased state where we
have a shining INDIA and a wailing BHARAT?
Being a business consultant, I try to explain
everything in Hoefstede's famed factors of
socio-economic analysis which portrays India as a
country with very high power distance index (PDI), a
society that respects authority and hierarchy. But
sometimes I wonder, could it be a bourgeoisie
conspiracy of keeping the masses illiterate, poor and
uninformed that has brought India to present state of
imbalance and imbroglio? TV was invented in 1930s but
even after independence India chose not to introduce
it until 1980s. Was it because India didn't have the
funds or was it by design to disallow dissemination of
information and thus the empowerment of people at
large? Central School system was conceived and
introduced in 1960s for imparting a consistent and
high quality school education to the children of
senior civil servants and defence personnel who were
required to serve in different regions of the country.
The model was excellent and if replicated on pan-India
scale, many more of our kids would have mesmerized the
world and not just some of the lucky few passing out
of awe-inspiring IITs and IIMs. But education remained
on the State list until 1976 and the myopic
politicians made a complete mess of it in the name of
regional pride and love of mother tongue. Many of them
are dead now but the stink and odor that they left
behind is still pervasive and is defiling our school
systems not to speak of destroying millions of
precious lives and dreams. I wonder....
As ill luck could have it, dynasties are everywhere in
India, not only in politics. Look at our film industry
- one of the largest and most celebrated the world
over. But look at the quality of films we produce.
Geniuses like Shyam Benegal struggle and the likes of
Naseeruddin Shahs and Om Puris have to compromise on
their craft to make a living but Karan Johars and
Farhan Akhtars are the new glamor boys in town. Why on
earth we don't teach films at the University? All the
top actors and directors of present generation barring
few exceptions are sons and daughters of older
generation of film personalities. They assist their
folks and friends, so have the privilege of learning
the basics in-house or with friends and family before
they launch their own projects or make forays into
films. Same has largely been true of business in India
as well until recently when internet and mobile
telephony started revolutionizing everything. The
story goes on...
In such a set up, Rajdeep and everyone of us should be
wise to understand that it is next to impossible that
someone like Obama could rise in India to the top.
Jai Hind!
If you come to think of it, the why and how questions
leave you wondering and groping for answers and
explanations. Does the answer lie in our ancient
socio-economic set up organized around caste and
hierarchy which were originally invented and planned
for social order and resource management but have now
been hijacked by the wily politicians whose
shenanaigans and deceptions have acquired almost an
art form?
I studied history in India and later business
administration in US but have always been interested
in studying and observing what goes on in India. It's
great that things are getting better now in our
country and India is starting to earn the respect and
admiration it deserves. But the sad realization of the
contradictions and ironies of India leave you
completely dumbstruck and puzzled. Can we explain
everything by our history and legacy? How did things
degenerate into the present diseased state where we
have a shining INDIA and a wailing BHARAT?
Being a business consultant, I try to explain
everything in Hoefstede's famed factors of
socio-economic analysis which portrays India as a
country with very high power distance index (PDI), a
society that respects authority and hierarchy. But
sometimes I wonder, could it be a bourgeoisie
conspiracy of keeping the masses illiterate, poor and
uninformed that has brought India to present state of
imbalance and imbroglio? TV was invented in 1930s but
even after independence India chose not to introduce
it until 1980s. Was it because India didn't have the
funds or was it by design to disallow dissemination of
information and thus the empowerment of people at
large? Central School system was conceived and
introduced in 1960s for imparting a consistent and
high quality school education to the children of
senior civil servants and defence personnel who were
required to serve in different regions of the country.
The model was excellent and if replicated on pan-India
scale, many more of our kids would have mesmerized the
world and not just some of the lucky few passing out
of awe-inspiring IITs and IIMs. But education remained
on the State list until 1976 and the myopic
politicians made a complete mess of it in the name of
regional pride and love of mother tongue. Many of them
are dead now but the stink and odor that they left
behind is still pervasive and is defiling our school
systems not to speak of destroying millions of
precious lives and dreams. I wonder....
As ill luck could have it, dynasties are everywhere in
India, not only in politics. Look at our film industry
- one of the largest and most celebrated the world
over. But look at the quality of films we produce.
Geniuses like Shyam Benegal struggle and the likes of
Naseeruddin Shahs and Om Puris have to compromise on
their craft to make a living but Karan Johars and
Farhan Akhtars are the new glamor boys in town. Why on
earth we don't teach films at the University? All the
top actors and directors of present generation barring
few exceptions are sons and daughters of older
generation of film personalities. They assist their
folks and friends, so have the privilege of learning
the basics in-house or with friends and family before
they launch their own projects or make forays into
films. Same has largely been true of business in India
as well until recently when internet and mobile
telephony started revolutionizing everything. The
story goes on...
In such a set up, Rajdeep and everyone of us should be
wise to understand that it is next to impossible that
someone like Obama could rise in India to the top.
Jai Hind!
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