OUR INCOMPETENT POLITICIANS!

Another day, another blast, many more lives lost, another day of constant bickering on TV, another day for indignation and hopelessness. Where exactly are we going wrong in our war against terror?

What we hear #1: We strongly condemn the attacks.
Substitute with: We're tired of condemning attacks; if we don't come back to you with the justice that you, as citizens of this country, deserve after trusting us to protect you, we'll add another amendment to our constitution that makes it legally possible for you to remove the expensive security that we're granted with your hard-earned money every time we use the word 'condemn' after an attack.

What we hear #2: It is a cowardly act.
Substitute with: How do we know it's a cowardly attack? Because it takes one to know one.

What we hear #3: We will not succumb to terrorism.
Substitute with: We will make good on our promises and strengthen preemptive measures that will allow us to stop terror in its tracks and not subject you to the same old rinse-repeat routine you've been hearing from us for we don't know how long.

What we hear #4: This was a planned attack.
Substitute with: Instead of exchanging flirtatious couplets in a parliament session with opposition parties, we will actually plan and debate on what steps we need to take to strengthen security.

What we hear #5: We'd warned the (affected) state government of possible terror attacks.
Substitute with: We'll not try to wash our hands off what is essentially our collective responsibility and add insult to your injury. We'll consider such meaningless utterances a punishable crime henceforth.

What we hear #6: The government pledges X lakhs of rupees for bereaved families.
Substitute with: We will stop this cowardly act of putting a price on innocent lives lost for no fault of theirs. Instead, we'll establish a welfare fund for families affected by terror attacks that will be transparent and will support the families for as long as they need.

What we hear #7: There are no leads yet.
Substitute with: You know someone will 'claim' responsibility, right? We'll tell you when they do.

What we hear #8: We can't fight terror alone.
Substitute with: We can't fight terror. Period. Let's make way for those who can.

What we hear # 9: The perpetrators will be brought to book.
Substitute with: The perpetrators will be caught and will be accorded capital punishment. We will expedite capital punishment to convicted terrorists as a deterrent and to demonstrate zero tolerance to threats to National Security.

Any more you can think of????

WHY THE HELL CAN'T PRANAB MUKHERJEE BE PM OF INDIA!

Why should Manmohan Singh, down with his health problems and displaying no real political spark, continue as India's prime minister when it is Pranab Mukherjee who has been running the show so effectively? 

Is there anyone in Congress party who is half as capable as Pranab Mukherjee?

Pranab Mukherjee deserves the maximum credit for internationalizing the Mumbai attacks, for exposing Pakistan and calling its bluff again and again, for effectively isolating it. He deserves the main credit for pulling through the Indo - US nuclear deal. He is remarkably fit for his age and take the kind of workload that even people twenty years younger would not dare take. He heads the maximum number of government committees, cabinet committees? 

Pranab Mukherjee is erudite, down-to-earth political, a good if not a fiery orator and a great crisis manager. He can manage any major portfolio - Foreign, Finance, what have you. He is a true all-rounder, the Kapil Dev of Indian politics. None but Lal Krishna Advani showered him the highest of praises when he presented the interim budget. Mukherjee is the crucial link between the Indira-Rajv era and the contemporary world and that's something the Congress needs all the time. Its strength is its history and Mukherjee is the best link between the two eras. The Prime Minister must be an all-rounder, a good overall politician, capable of inspiring the nation in moments of crisis.

If anyone says he is inspired by Manmohan Singh, I would suggest the claimant be immediately put on a lie detector. Singh is a good soul but is the least inspiring of all Indian prime ministers. He is said to be great economist though where is the published evidence of his brilliance. 

Same for Chidambaram. He is already finding the Home portfolio a bit too tough for his liking. I would still have no cudgels with the Congress if they make Manmohan the Finance Minister and make Pranab Mukherjee the Prime Minister in recognition to his lifetime - and also his recent - achievements. If that does not happen, just because Mukherjee is not a yes-man and once revolted against Rajiv Gandhi, I have a serious problem. I don't want to raise the provincial issue but Sourav Ganguly's last years as captain and player and Pranab's last few years in government seems to bear a striking resemblance. There's strange conspiracy in the corridors to keep the most deserving man out of the top slot.

Why ANNA IS RIGHT and YOU ARE WRONG Ms. Arundhati Roy

Ms. Roy is articulate and intelligent and can cleverly appeal to people's intellect by her rational manner of presenting things. Fortunately, not this time. She has exposed her limited self and narrow minded approach. Nobody has bought into her shallow article. Anna represents a movement of a people who have been frustrated and cheated consistently by the people it has voted to power.

Ms. Roy, it is only when one starts to go under, is the true import of a quagmire felt. Corruption in India has become so institutionalized, endemic and systemic, that it requires nothing less than a revolution to stem the rot. Anna's movement is a reflection of the pain and angst that ordinary citizens go through either experiencing corruption first hand or helplessly watching the wealth of the nation being usurped by the political class with bureaucrats working in tandem and very often with the judiciary also flowing with the tide.

While the JLP bill will not be a panacea curing our nation of all its ills, it will at least provide a force to the much needed cleansing that is necessary for us to sustain as a successful nation. Since you have in the past been a very vocal critic of the Govt and many of its policies, why would you want to object to some others voicing their thoughts and protesting peacefully against their display of smugness and high-handed behavior on issues related to corruption? Let the Govt not succeed in pitting one civil society faction against the others with the ultimate aim of forcing the corruption issue to slip below radar once again (after all they are the biggest beneficiaries of the systemic and all prevailing corruption).

It is a shame that this movement did not come sooner (after all the the LP has been 42 years in the making), but now that the moment of reckoning seems close, let not this kind of squabbling derail the movement. Contribute to it if you can or else give it your blessings.

Now about the points that you have criticized and why you are wrong:-

Anna Hazare: I didn’t know much about him before March 2011; even now I don’t know everything about him. As a person he may not be perfect, maybe he has done some mistakes in his past, who cares? Name one single person who has not committed any mistake in his/ her lifetime. Now he is on a mission to do a greater good. What about you? Are you perfect? Have you not done any mistakes in your past? Let me frame the question in a different way? Did you always support the system? Even though you supported Narmada agitation, why Environmental historian Guha criticized your activism. Why Supreme Court found you guilty? I believe that everyone’s style of fighting is different, it may not please others. Even Supreme Court found you guilty. I support you with my heart. But not now, even you have the right to express any erroneous comments.

Gandhians with gun vs Gandhian: In your essay “Walking with the comrades”, you described Naxals as “Gandhians with gun”. You don’t want to accept Anna’s policy as Gandhian policy. Do you think killing oneself (Anna) is worse than killing thousands for the cause they believe?

Arvind Kejriwal: You are talking about Arvind Kejriwal. Don’t forgot, he is the man behind RTI. I believe that is one of the best things that have happened to millions of Indians. I am neither supporter nor against to anti-reservation. But I think you want to see only the mistakes somebody does. I feel that “support to Kashmiri separatism” is far worse than supporting anti-reservation.

Media: Even I am not a supporter of current media. But I don’t have a choice. They only report which is a hot topic. They don’t want to care about other topics. Yes, I agree with you about media. They have to report other issues. It is their responsibility. Not reporting those issues can’t be illegal only unethical, I think. Why don’t you convince NDTV lead by your cousin to show only other issues? If the media didn’t cover other issues, how come its Anna’s fault? Why are you pointing other issues, when you are commenting Anna?

Perfect timing for anti-corruption agitation: Narmada Bachao Andolan started in 1991 and you joined the movement in 1996. What are you doing all those 5 years? I am not blaming you for joining in 1996 only after your book was published (personal work was finished). Moreover I came to know about that movement only because of you (great speaker and you were my hero at that time). Everyone is motivated at some point of time to do something great. I believe that it’s better if you stay calm if you don’t agree with Anna rather than to criticize him doing well. I feel happy that someone has finally started the anti-corruption movement. May be its late but at least it’s started. 

Your opinions are similar to the one of the opposition leader. You always want to criticize someone/something to stay on top of the news. What do you want to say by pointing the time of start of the movement? Don’t you think that pointing the time of starting the movement makes you worst criticizer?

What have you done against corruption? Do you think India is not a corrupted state? If your answer is no, I have nothing to say. If yes, what have you done to stop corruption at country level? Why are you paying attention to what America is doing in Afghanistan or Sri-Lanka with LTTE’s? I am not saying you shouldn’t or you can’t. When you have more important issues within the country, why are you looking outside the country? I think, you want international media to pay attention to you and you succeeded in that. Anna is lot better than you. He is doing some good actions to free India from Corruption rather than commenting others.

Finally: I support JanLokpal Bill and I support Anna. “India is Anna”.

P.S.- Definitely Arundhati Roy is not corrupt. But the same is case with Manmohan Singh. They should use their intelligence to improve the country and not otherwise. Sad state of affairs - Bad luck for the country. What is the value of their education, if they are what they are today? An uneducated rickshaw puller is better citizen of India.

LOKPAL BILL- WHAT GOVT IS DENYING

There are major differences between what the civil society activists want and what the Government is willing to concede.

Prime Minister Issue
While the activists want the PM to be covered by the Lokpal Bill, the Govt. says it will make it dysfunctional.

MP Scan
Activists want the power to investigate horse trading by MPs, but the Govt. insists the Speaker can already prosecute them!


Judge Scanner
Activists say a 7-member bench of Lokpal can give permission to register an FIR against the corrupt judge. The Govt. says the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill will address this issue. Activists say it deals only misbehavior, not corruption.


CBI Under Lokpal
Activists want CBI to function independently under Lokpal. The Govt. believes a separate investigative agency should be created for Lokpal.

Deciding the Quantum Activists want demands of the 11-member Lokpal to be charged to the Consolidated Fund of India. The Govt. wants the law and finance ministries to have the final say in deciding the quantum.

Courtesy: India Today

BILLIONAIRE BABA- THE EMPIRE BUILDER

The yoga guru has turned every business profitable, from yoga to ayurveda, agriculture to infrastructure, bio-research to broadcast, eith occasional help from governments.

Yoga Czar
RS 1,115 crore is the net worth of Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust and Divya Yog Mandir, spread across 1,000 acres in Haridwar!

Startup Guru
Ramdev involved with 200 companies, from ayurvedic pharma to broadcasting. Net worth not known.

Pharma Power
Divya Pharmacy factory in Haridwar is spread across 3 acres.. In a year, the ayurvedic brand rakes in Rs 350 crore!

Luxe Retreat
Newly built luxury haveli, Shiv Kuti, valued at Rs 30 crore.

Food Foray
A food park worth Rs 500 crore in Haridwar, built across 95 acres!

Overseas Opulence
More than 40 centres worldwide, including the $2 million Little Cumbrae island off Scotland!

Franchise Force
825 Patanjali  arogya kendras and 709 chikitsalayas across the country.

Vaid-Vantage
A battery of 1,000 ayurvedic vaids and 125,000 yoga experts across India; 50 vaids treat over 2,000 outdoor patients a day in his 300-bed hospital.

Real Estate Mogul
Ramdev foraying into real estate, the premium Arogyam commercial-cum-residencial complex on the Delhi-Haridwar highway. Cost estimated to be Rs 500 crore. Spread across 19 acres.

Courtesy: India Today

RACE BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA

Today everyone is talking about the next superpower, will it be China or India. Statistics show that China has outpaced India in every aspect of growth. But some argue that India is fast catching up. But what’s the current scenario? Is India ready for the superpower status? Or are we irretrievably behind in the game of catch-up with China?

Walk into any store, we’ll see Chinese-made goods-everything from shoes and garments to toys and electronics. But the ubiquitous "Made in China" label obscures an important point: Few of these products are made by indigenous Chinese companies. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find a single home grown Chinese firm that operates on a global scale and markets its own products abroad.

In the process, India has managed to spawn a number of companies that now compete internationally with the best that Europe and the United States have to offer. Moreover, many of these firms are in the most cutting-edge, knowledge-based industries-software giants Infosys and Wipro and pharmaceutical and biotechnology powerhouses Ranbaxy and Dr. Reddy's Labs, to name just a few. Last year, the Forbes 200, an annual ranking of the world's best small companies, included 13 Indian firms but just four from mainland China.

India has also developed much stronger infrastructure to support private enterprise. Its capital markets operate with greater efficiency and transparency than do China's. Its legal system, while not without substantial flaws, is considerably more advanced.

Even as the dragon and elephant economies are together projected to dominate the world in a matter of decades, there is a palpable difference in the way China and India work on the ground. China is spectacularly effective in building infrastructure and is currently investing almost half its GDP. Meanwhile, India is the classic example of a ‘promising’ economy: more than half its GDP is consumed by its billion-plus population; half its population is younger than twenty-five, giving it a unique demographic advantage; 350 million Indians understand English, making it the largest English-using country in the world; and it is, of course, the world’s largest democracy.

But when it comes to gross domestic product (GDP) figures and other headline numbers, India is still no match for China, for now. 
India displays every bit as much dynamism as China. Indeed, by relying primarily on organic growth, India is making fuller use of its resources and has chosen a path that may well deliver more sustainable progress than China's FDI-driven approach. "Can India surpass China?" is no longer a silly question, and, if it turns out that India has indeed made the wiser bet, the implications-for China's future growth and for how policy experts think about economic development generally-could be enormous.

In economic jargon, the supply curve of labor was flat but is now sloping upward, so that rapidly increasing demand for labor resulting from rapid growth is driving up wages. That means that China is beginning to “rejoin the human race” as capital accumulation meets scarcer labor and growth slows.

By contrast, India has a far more abundant supply of labor, as well as a more favorable demographic profile, so that, as India’s investment rate increases, labor will not be a constraint. India will thus become the new China of the past two decades.

Besides, in contrast to China, where economic reforms were quicker and more complete, India still has a way to go: privatization, labor-market reforms, and opening up the retail sector to larger, more efficient operators are all pending – and will give a further boost to India’s growth rate once they are implemented.

In the race to superpower status, who is likely to breast the tape—China’s hare or India’s tortoise? China’s awe-inspiring sweep, compared to India’s relatively mild rise, could tempt an easy answer. But one can argue that the winner of the race with the biggest stakes ever might not be determined by who is investing more and growing faster today, but by something slightly more intangible—who has superior innovative skills and more entrepreneurial savvy and is grappling with and expanding in the most intensely competitive conditions.

At the end, it might come down to just one deciding factor: Can India fix its governance before China repairs its politics?

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Courtesy: http://www.hvk.org/articles/0703/6.html

                 Raghav Bahl: Superpower    

WIKILEAKS AND IT'S IMPACT ON INDIA

Much has been written about Julian Assange and about WikiLeaks these last few weeks. From the morning news till we go to bed it’s the only thing heard on the news channels. Here I have tried to brief about it and what India stands to gain or lose from it.

ABOUT WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks is a non-profit media organization dedicated to bringing important news and information to the public. They provide an innovative, secure and anonymous way for independent sources around the world to leak information to journalists. They publish material of ethical, political and historical significance while keeping the identity of sources anonymous, thus providing a universal way for the revealing of suppressed and censored injustices.
It has been represented in public since January 2007 by Julian Assange and others.

Its website, launched in December 2006 and run by The Sunshine Press claimed a database of more than 1.2 million documents within a year of its launch.  

WikiLeaks states that its "primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behaviour in their governments and corporations."
WikiLeaks has leaked documents in two instalments.
The first instalment of 77,000 documents related to the American military campaign in Afghanistan.
The second instalment of 400,000 documents related to the American military presence Iraq. According to the Twitter message, its third instalment will contain a much larger number of documents.

HOW DOES IT AFFECT INDIA

Of the above mentioned half a million leaked records, 5,087 refer to India.

It seems to be focusing on India's relations with the US too. It is, therefore, possible that in addition to corruption involving Indian personalities, the documents about India which have reached WikiLeaks also relate to India's policies on Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

According to WikiLeaks, US states that "We need to reassess Indian involvement in Afghanistan and our own policies towards India, including the growing military relationship through sizable conventional arms sales, as all of this feeds the Pakistani establishment paranoia and pushes them closer to both Afghan and Kashmir focused terrorist groups while reinforcing doubts about US intentions. Resolving the Kashmir dispute, which lies at the core of Pakistan's support for terrorist groups would dramatically improve the situation. Enhanced US efforts in this regard should be considered."

Among the various events relating to Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran in which India figured during this period, four could be sensitive from India's point of view.

• Firstly, the pressure exerted on the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government by the George Bush administration to send Indian troops to Iraq. By July, 2003, the Vajpayee government had decided to say no to Washington DC, but there were a lot of voices in Delhi in favour of accepting the US request.

• Secondly, the papers captured by the US intelligence after the occupation of Iraq from the Iraqi government departments showing or corroborating the alleged involvement of Indian politicians in contact with the Saddam Hussein government to acquiring preferential quotas for the import of oil from Iraq (the oil for food scandal).

• Thirdly, the pressure exercised by the Bush Administration on the Manmohan Singh Government for voting against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. The government of India succumbed to this pressure as a quid pro quo for the Indo-US civil nuclear co-operation agreement of July, 2005.

• Fourthly, the analysis and assessment made in the State Department and the Pentagon regarding Pakistani allegations of Indian involvement in Baluchistan.

Is it possible that WikiLeaks might have also got hold of diplomatic cables between the US Embassy in New Delhi and Washington DC on Indian political leaders, bureaucrats and policy-making? Has it also got hold of messages sent by the US Embassy in New Delhi to Washington DC about the escape of Major Rabinder Singh, the mole of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Research & Analysis Wing, to the US in 2004 and about the detection by the Indian counter-intelligence of a US mole in the sensitive National Security Council Secretariat in 2006? The documents to be released by WikiLeaks need to be carefully scrutinised.

NEGETIVES FOR INDIA SO FAR

• The WikiLeaks has painted a disturbing picture for India. It shows India had tortured Kashmir prisoners.  
• It is being said that the next WikiLeaks would expose India as a corrupt nation.
• It may affect India’s relations with other nations particularly with US as it discloses the foreign policies of the nations.

POSITIVES FOR INDIA SO FAR

• The first lot of WikiLeaks documents paints a flattering picture of India as a reliable, trusted and respected power in a world that worries itself sick about neighbouring Pakistan.
• Two cables from the Middle East show India in favourable light in the region. 
• In one, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa inquires from US interlocutors about the extent of India's involvement in Afghanistan and notes that Bahrain sees India as very positive force in the region. "It's a new era," he says. "They can be of great help." 
• In another document, UAE's crown prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, referred to as MBZ in the cables, supports the US decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan arguing that it would not tilt the balance of power, and even if it did, "India's strength as a stable democracy would ensure that it would not ever be in as 'risky' a situation as its neighbour." 

• An Italian foreign policy expert clubs India with France and Britain among powers that could be trusted to have nuclear weapons. 
• A US based company has assessed that there was little to fear with nations such as India, Britain, and France having nuclear weapons." 
• WikiLeaks vindicates India’s charge of ISI involvement in 26/11 terrorist attack. So it can help uncovering major involvement of ISI in other terrorist attacks as well.

 But the generous references to India may just be the tip of what could be a wicked iceberg. Among the 251,287 cables that are with WikiLeaks, 3,038 are from the US embassy in New Delhi. The very fact that top US officials frantically called New Delhi to warn Indian counterparts about the leaks and brief them about the contents suggests that fireworks are in store.

WikiLeaks ABOUT INDIA

• WikiLeaks controversy over Rahul Gandhi’s alleged remarks that Hindu extremism is a bigger threat to India than the LeT. Reacting to this the BJP slammed Rahul Gandhi saying, "He has little understanding of India. He gave leverage to Pak propaganda against India by saying that Hindu extremism is a bigger threat than Muslim militants.
• WikiLeaks has warned that India faces bio-terror threat. US diplomats were concerned that India could be the target of a biological terror attack, with fatal diseases such as anthrax being released into the country before spreading around the world, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.  The cable focused particularly on the lack of preparedness of Indian authorities for such an attack, assessing Indian government assurances that the country could defend itself against bioterrorism to be "unconvincing".
• The latest WikiLeaks revelations expose the tough talk that took place between the United States and India post 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
   

Courtesy: WikiLeaks & http://greatbong.net