Idiot Inside

Brace yourself!!!

If you thought you have had enough of a bumbling, incompetent Manmohan Singh, you are in for a shock.

The PM-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi is proving to be a disaster.

The anti corruption crusade of Anna Hazare was the ideal opportunity for Rahul Gandhi to exploit what he thinks is his core constituency - the middle class and the youth. Apart from of course the poor, who are affected most by corruption. But he was nowhere to be seen for the first 10 days. 

Then on the 11th day he came out to voice 'his' opinion(!!!) in the Parliament, reading from a prepared speech, violating zero hour rules. Instead of taking a statesman like stance, he attacked the Anna movement, tried to come out with what he called a game changing solution (tom tommed by his chamcha media cronies) of bringing Lokpal as a Constitutional Authority. Idiotic, to put it mildly. But then what else can you expect from someone who has lived in ivory tower throughout his life, and who has no idea about the popular sentiments. His proposal, despite Congress making all efforts to get support using paid cronies speaking in TV studios, was dismissed with the contempt it deserved. 

And to compound the shame ( a la M S Dhoni team in England ), he gave a miss to the Parliament on Saturday, when the Lokpal issue was being debated, and was not to be seen at all. He also shirked his duty as an elected member of Loksabha by not voting on the resolution. He was taking an insurance in advance. Should anything go wrong in the future, he can claim that he did not support the resolution. Should it go right, no one will remember that he did not vote. So much for his leadership (sic) qualities!!!

After this, do you want to have anything to do with him playing an active role in the country in the future?

The balance of power has shifted

For long, the politicians had the upper hand. They dictated policy making, most of which benefitted them and their parties, rather than the people. They, who dont miss an opportunity to claim the primacy of Parliament, did everything in their capacity to ensure Parliament didnt work, lawy making held hostage to petty party politics. In a way, the cart was before the horse.

Now, the horse is firmly in front of the cart. The agitation for Jan Lok Pal bill has shaken the politicians out of complacency, made them debate issues of national importance in Parliament, and made them  understand that in a democracy, it is the people who comes first and foremost. The politicians and parliament are only a means to achieve an end.

Anna Hazare's crusade may have many drawbacks, but we have to thank him for putting the power back where it should be - with the PEOPLE.

And that is no mean achievement. We owe him a great debt.

The Shikhandi of Indian Politics

The PM said he was "hurt" by charges levelled against him and although he had made mistakes, he was not guilty of misdemeanor. "In the course of seven years as prime minister, I may have made mistakes. Who is above making mistakes? To err is human but to accuse me of evil intentions, of conniving at corruption is a charge I firmly repudiate," he said.

This has been the problem during the past few years. Manmohan Singh has adopted the stand that he is uncorrupt, assuming that corruption begins and ends with Financial Corruption. This is not true.

I am reminded of a discussion with a very senior Advocate long time back. We were discussing corruption in the judiciary.He said that while financial corruption was rampant in the lower levels of the judiciary, as one goes up the ladder to the Supreme Court, the corruption is more moral in nature. The SC judges could be, and were influenced by appealing to their political ideology, personal beliefs and exploiting their lack of ethics. For example some of the Judges believed in capitalism, and this resulted in them giving judgements against the common people, in favour of the big business. He opined that this corruption was more dangerous than the financial one (of course,this dialogue took place  Pre-CJI Balakrishnan days!!. Balakrishnan took financial and moral corruption as CJI of India to abysmal levels).

Manmohan Singh, likewise is morally and ethically the most corrupt Prime Minister India has seen, and we have had some really rotten ones. His only interest has been to protect his, his masters (that includes Sonia Gandhi, big business houses and the USA) interests. And he has totally disregarded the common man. Why should he, when he has not been elected once by them, and do not have any intention of going back to them?. He has not just stood passively, but as is being revealed, actively facilitated many scams, including the 2G and CWG, that resulted in the systemmatic loot of the country. He has shown absolute moral and ethical bankruptcy.

The UPA, in general, and Congress, in particular, has put him and his financial integrity, as a front, while going berserk with looting India.

Can you think of an analogy from our scriptures? I can.

In Mahabharatha, on the 10th day of Kurukshetra War, Bheeshma was the General of Kauravas, marshalling the troops brilliantly. The Pandavas were flagging. It was then Krishna advised to have Shikhandi in Arjuna's chariot, with Arjuna hiding behind Shikhandi. Shikhandi was a Eunuch (no disrespect to Eunuch's here). Krishna knew that Bheeshma will not fight Shikhandi, which is precisely what happened. Using the opportunity, Arjuna attacked Bheeshma, now weaponless, and incapacitated him, thus taking him out of the equation. Those days what was being fought was Dharma yudha, with both parties following strict rules and fighting ethically. It is said that Dharmam died  that day, and the last 8 days Adharmam ruled roost in the battle fileld.

Manmohan's situation is similar. He is the Eunuch in the Congress/UPA chariot.

P.S: This post should not, in any way, be taken as disrespectful to the unfortunate Eunuch Community. The term is used only to explain the concept of a person who is neither this or that. I have great respect and empathise with the Eunuch community, who are ostracized by the society, and are forced to tackle immense physiological and psychological problems on their own. May god bless them.

Lokas above and below Earth as per Scriptures and layers as per Modern Science - Coincidence or ???

In the previous blogpost I wrote about my interpretation of the concept of Heavean and Hell, as probably would have been envisaged by our wise forefathers.

As per hindu mythology, depending on whether you follow Vishnu puranam or Bhagavath Geetha, there are 7 Worlds (Loka) above the Earth (including Earth) and 7 below (excluding Earth).

The Seven Worlds above the Earth are Bhur loka (Earth), Bhuvar Loka, Svar Loka, Mahar Loka, Jana Loka, Tapa Loka and Satya Loka.

The Seven Worlds below the Earth are Atala Loka, Sutala Loka, Vithala Loka, TalaTala Loka, Mahatala Loka, Rasatala Loka, Patala Loka.

I am not going deep into descriptions about these 14 lokas. Depending on which puranam you follow, there could be minor changes in the nomenclature.

But what is striking is the similarity between the various layers of atmosphere above us and the lokas(there could be a mismatch of a number here or there - it is the concept that is important). If you analyse the atmosphere above us, we see Earth, Troposphere, Stratosphere,   Mesosphere, Thermosphere and Exosphere. These layers almost match with the concept of Lokas above us in the puranas!!!

Now coming to lokas below Earth - We have the Crust, Mantle, Outer Core, Outer Core of Molten Metal and the Solid Metal Inner Core. Again view the near similarities between the Lokas below the Earth as per the scriptures!!!. This just cannot be atrributed to a coincidence. How did our forefathers, who did not have access to modern scientific equipments were able to create a concept of 14 lokas above, below and including earth, which is as close to reality as possible? It is sheer genius.

Heaven and Hell

As a child, I have been told many stories about how doing bad things would ensure that I be roasted in hell, after my death, while doing good deeds would ensure that my soul is liberated and I would enjoy the bliss of heaven. It was always like, "you will go down to hell" or "you would go up to heaven" as the case maybe.

I have always thought that our forefathers, who did not have the technological assistance that we have today, were much wiser and had a better understanding of our environment. Even those that were not visible to the eyes. This knowledge has come from deduction, and not induction. Our knowledge today is through scientific analysis (which is an inductive process) while theirs was more Analytical and inductive. It was based on putting two and two together. It is also why, while our current scientists and rationalists scoff at Astrology, which is deductive by nature, I have personally experienced Astrological predictions coming true so many times, that it is impossible to discount it as pure chance.

Coming back to the concept of heaven and hell, were our forefathers thinking in terms of the core of the earth, which is molten in state with a temparature above 5500 degree celsius where everything will be burned to cinders? See how similar it is to the concept of hell, which is blistering hot, uninhabitable and burns everything beyond salvage!!!!  We also talk in terms of all the pressures of our sins weighing down on us. It has to be. The pressure at the core is phenominal - 330 to 360 gigapascals ( 3300000 to 3600000 atm)!!!. It is also down from the surface of the earth, i.e. around 5000 kms. Thus the term going down to hell or roasted in hell is quite apt.

Contrast this with the concept of heaven. When we talk about heaven up there, we always talk in terms of soul being liberated, a state of bliss, a sensation of floating not being weighed down by anything. A sense of lightness and unattachment. Is not outer space like this. There is no gravity. The earth looks wonderful from up there. The weightlessness and a sense of being liberated?? It is also cool, in contrast to the core of earth which is blistering hot.

The wisdom of our forefathers and how they passed on complex natural phenomena through story telling is amazing.

The mess created by 'Bean Counters', Bureaucrats and Lawyers

In 1970's the US industry were controlled/led by 'the bean counters'- a deregatory term for Finance people, who lacked strategic vision, but evaluated each proposal purely on Financial terms, resulting in disastrous consequences. The companies lacked the vision and imagination to look beyond their noses and completely ignored viable, but risky ideas that would have taken US industry to a different level. This weakness was exploited ruthlessly by the Japanese, who went on to rule the world. They in turn had their blind spot - depending too much on Process Control people, which in the end produced the exact end result - yielding space to competition. Both US and Japanese industries are in doldrums. Companies have to be led by right brained visionaries, who possess entrepreneurial spirits, who are willing to take a risk and be ready to innovate. Any Company failing to appoint such a  person, does it at its own peril.

I was reminded of this analogy watching the Central Government totally botch up the Anna Hazare issue. Instead of winning over Anna Hazare to its side by giving concessions on Lokpal Bill  (even conceding most of his requests - pray tell me what will happen if PM was to be brought under the Bill's ambit? Precisely nothing. We already have a Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Chief Election Commissioner and many Lok Ayukthas. How many politicians have been indicted or punished so far by any one of these. I include CEC because many of our current MPs and MLAs have won their seats through blatant election malpractice, including our current Home Minister P Chidambaram. How he overcame a deficit of 5000 votes in the last round of counting is an open secret to all but the CEC and the Courts. And we have a PM, who has given a bogus address in Assam, and is representing Assam, which I dont think he has even visited. Also, we have the classic case of Sonia Gandhi deliberately giving false information about her educational qualifications to the EC, and she is roaming free. The less said about CVC and Lok Aukthas, the better. And the political class will find ways to 'manage' the Lokpal head similarly), the Government took Anna head on, little realizing that he was echoing only common people's sentiments. The ordinary man is fed up with malgovernace, inflation and corruption. They were waiting to be led. And in their eyes, Anna Hazare was doing a 'Nishkama Karma'.

The Anna Hazare movement had to be tackled politically. But it was tackled as a pure administrative matter. And there lies the failure of the Government. But what can you expect from a Bureaucrat Prime Minister and 2 Lawyer Ministers, the contemptuosly dismissive PC and the blatantly arrogant Kapil Sibal (apart from 2 lawyer motor mouths who brief the media - Manish Tiwari and Abhishek Singvi). The country is being run by the modern day 'bean counters' - lawyers, who like to think always that they are smart, and others dumb, and they can spin a story when one doesnt exist, just because they are trained to speak smartly.  It is also why the Government will bite the dust in this fight. It just doesnt stand a ghost of a chance of taking on and winning the battle against Anna Hazare, because the fight against corruption is a fight between Dharmam and Adharmam. And Rajadharmam shall always back Dharmam to triumph in the long run.

I was asked by a friend of mine through E-mail as to what I think about the PM and whether Anna's current protest will result in a Revolution. The reply I wrote to him is reproduced below,

Revolution ?? No chance. Anna Hazare protest is more for the TVs and Delhi Centric. For a revolution to happen, someone has to take this message to the masses, who doesnt give a damn whether PM is in Lokpal bill or not. What they are interested is in the corruption happening in their village offices, RTO offices etc that affects them directly. As such they dont have much stake in this high level fight.

Anna Hazare' constituency is the TV watching Upper Middle Class, who are generally apathetic to Indias problems. And they have absolutely no morals. They dont mind paying bribe to get their thing done. And anyway they dont vote. Congress knows this well. It is why it has taken the police-jail route.

But PM and Congress made a big mistake. This has brought them so much negative publicity that it will be herculean for them to get out of this mess. It is amusing that while terrorists, separatists and maoists who kill people are allowed to road free and govt. enters into dialogue with them, they cannot do with a person who is holding a peaceful protest.

Regarding our PM, anyone who reads my blog knows what I feel about him. He doesnt deserve to be a Peon, leave alone the PM of India. That sums up everything.

The country is being run by a bunch of arrogant lawyers like Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tiwari and Abhishek Singh Manuvi. What else can you expect from them?

P.S: Do not be surprised if there is a twist in the tail as far as this Anna Saga is concerned. The Government perhaps has deliberately botched up the issue, and created a situation that is tailor made for Madam Saviour, who is in a hospital bed in US, to issue instructions to release Anna and score another brownie point, at the expense of her own government. Somehow, I have a gut feeling, that this is what is likely to happen

Satyameva Jayathe

One of the key dharma in Hinduism is to be Truthful always.

There are many interpretations to this. As a kid we are told that we should tell only truth, and nothing but the truth always. As we grow older, there is a doubt as to how we can tell the truth always. Some truths hurt people. Then is it wise to tell truth?

One of my relatives, who is an elderly lady, made it a point to tell bluntly on anyones face what she thinks about them. Most were uncomfortable with this habit of hers. But not me. I was from the same stable. The beauty of the situation was that this lady never minded if unpleasant truths about her were told to her. I, who was much younger to her, often used to tell her "Mami, your cooking is trash today" or like once when she sang a devotional song and asked my opinion, I retorted with "Well! you need to pour some oil down your throat as the sound is very scratchy". She took it with aplomb. The problem she and me faced, was that others just did not want go hear the truth. It made them uncomfortable. I used to be brutally frank with my students and used to blunt feedbacks. My logic was that students should be aware of their limitations, and my feedback should spur them to correct themselves. But the flip side was my students never wanted to know the truth about them.

Thus one needs to refrain oneself from telling truths all the time but use truth judiciously. If not telling the truth will result in a benefit for others/or telling the truth hurts others, it makes sense to keep quiet. Thus you need not tell untruth, but can avoid telling the truth for a broader cause.

Even Yudhishtiran, called Dharmaputra, the epitome of truthful living was forced to tell a half lie, "Aswathama hatha kunjaraha", by Srikrishnan during Kurukshetra as telling that would result in the mayhem caused by Dronacharya, and ultimately leading to the triumph of good over evil. In the same Kurukshetra, Srikrishnan was prepared to break his vow of not taking arms during the war for a greater good.

Thus the interpretation of 'Sathyam vadaa' means lead a life of truthfulness, but dont blurt out all truths, use truth judiciously, ensure that revealing truth do not hurt others and is for the benefit of the society and mankind. What is not acceptable is telling untruth for personal benefit.

Satyameva Jayathe!

Spectacularly pedestrian speech

The key portions of PMs speech on Independence Day with my comments in brackets at the appropriate places.

"With government facing attack over multiple scams, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday promised a strong Lokpal to end corruption in high places and asserted that hunger strikes will not help address the problem, in an apparent reference to Anna Hazare's agitation (Strong Lokpal? The current version floated by his Government in the Parliament is a joke on the nation - toothless and one that would ensure no one gets punished. Hunger strike has had the effect of the whole nation being made aware of this monster that is eating us and dragging us back to medieval times. The PM is in denial mode here)

Addressing the nation for the eighth consecutive year on the occasion of Independence Day, Singh said no government has a "magic wand" to deal with the problem of corruption which needs to be tackled on many fronts and asked all political parties to "stand shoulder to shoulder" in this fight. (Dear MMS - you dont have ANY wand to solve even the smallest problem, neither does your Super PM. Why should the other political parties stand shoulder to shoulder with you when your party has not shown any decency in discussing any issue of any importance with them for the past 7 years?)

A day before Hazare was to embark on an indefinite fast demanding a strong Lokpal, he made it clear that only Parliament can decide what type of Lokpal legislation can be enacted. "I am aware of the differences of opinion on some aspects of the bill. Those who don't agree with this bill can put forward their views to Parliament, political parties and even the press. However, I also believe they should not resort to hunger strikes and fasts-unto-death," Singh said. - (But the JanLokpal committee did put put forward their views in the joint panel. Instead of discussing the merits of their version, you took every opportunity to trash them and hounded them which ended in their hardening their stance. After that, will any decent person come forward to discuss anything with your government?)

Acknowledging that corruption is a big obstacle in national transformation, he said the menace should be discussed in a manner that should not create an atmosphere in which country's progress comes into question - (Note that he only mentions that corruption should be DISCUSSED, but did not promise any ACTION)

He also admitted that funds meant for welfare of common man end up in the pockets of government officials - (What about politicians? And we have been hearing this story about 85% of money meant for social sector getting diverted to many pockets since Rajiv Gandhis time. This UPA government has been in power for 7 years!! Have you taken a single step to solve this?)

Speaking from a bullet-proof enclosure amid rains, the Prime Minister touched on a variety of subjects including the sensitive land acquisition issue, naxalism, terrorism, economy and inflation. Unlike in the past, foreign policy issues found no mention in his 40-minute speech on the 65th Independence Day from the historic 17th century Mughal monument of Red Fort - (Even on an independence day, he has to speak from the shelter of a bullet proof enclosure!!! Independence also means that all of us should be able to walk free on the road without the fear of being attacked by terrorists. And that includes the PM)

It is not right to bring the judiciary under the ambit of Lokpal as this would go against the independence of the judiciary, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. PM admitted that we do need a framework in which the judiciary becomes more accountable. "It is not appropriate to bring the judiciary under the ambit of Lokpal. We believe that any such provision would go against the independence of the judiciary. "It is with this aim that we have introduced the Judicial Accountability Bill in Parliament. I am confident this bill will be passed soon," he said - (We have enough bills and laws. The Government thinks mere passing of bills means the issue is resolved. They give a damn about implementation. And there in lies the failure of our nation. Judiciary, like politicians, live in denial mode. If they are not, then they would have taken action against the corrupt Ex Chief Justice Balakrishnan and Justice Dinakaran, long long ago. And they are only the tip of the iceberg)

In short, the PM's speech has been spectaculary pedestrian. He doesnt convince us. What the heck, he doesnt convince himself.
 
And he definitely doesnt inspire us. What a shame!!!

Hey Captain! It may not matter to you, but it does to us.

Like Hindustan Motors, the makers of Ambassador Car, who were totally ignorant of a concept called Product Life Cycle, which finally led it to a comatose situation, the Indian Test Cricket Team has been on borrowed time for a while.

The middle order was ageing, and ageing quickly. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman are into their late 30's. They have done stellar service to Indian Cricket. But they are at the fag end of their career and needs to be phased out over a period of one year.

Harbhajan's decline was visible to everyone other than his friend Sachin and Indian Selectors. Any decent cricket fan knew that he cannot take wickets, given even a square turner. At least he used to keep the runs down with his negative fast, flat leg stump line. Even that is no longer true. Bhajji is typical of the current Indian Team and Board. He has refused to accept there is a problem, even when it was staring on his face (I still remember a homily of my HPCL GM - "Son, we know you Sales officers will have problems in your Areas. We are not interested in that. What we look for in a Review meeting is whether you are AWARE that there are problems, doing something about it. It is the attitude and thinking that is critical for us). Bhajji has lost his flight, spin and doosra, and with it his effectiveness. He needs to be send back to the Domestic Cricket for a year of grind. When even Ranji players start thrashing him, he will understand how far he has come down.

We really need to look into why our medium pace bowling, where we were supposed to have riches a few years back, is bare. Why do we have highly paid coaches if the batsmen cant last 75 overs as a team, bowlers get thrashed for 700 runs in a helpful track and fielders drop catches by buckets. Heads must roll.

M S Dhoni has never lost a series before. But his Test Captaincy is average. He is just not pro active enough. Also his Wicket Keeping has been abysmal.

The long and short is that our players are just not working enough on their game, with the exception of Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman. They are holding on to their places by virtue of their reputation. This is a sure road to disaster.

The fans have reduced the rating of Indian Team from AA to BB- after this England tour.

But will things change. I doubt. 15 years back, we saw the emergence of two wonderful players in an England Tour - a certain Sourav Ganguly and one Rahul Dravid. When was the last time an exciting talent hit the Test Scene in India after that? I can't remember. Therein lies the root cause.

We dont mind if a better team beats us. But what is galling is the way we lost without even putting up a decent fight. And to add insult to injury, we have a captain who said 'it doesnt matter if we lost the No.1 spot". Well it was clear it didnt matter to him or his team, but 'IT DOES MATTER TO US FANS AND THE NATION".

For making that one statement alone, which shows his mindset, MSD should be sacked.

"Upakaram cheythillengilum, Upadrivikkathirunnal mathi"

There is a saying in Malayalam,

"Upakaram cheythillengilum, Upadrivikkathirunnal mathi"

A loose translation - If you can't help, at least try and not to do any harm.

Indian industry must be uttering this sentence a million times a day while thinking about the Central Government.

The Indian Governments led by Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh etc did their best to stiffle Private entrepreneurship for decades. They had a vice like grip over the Private Sector using the Licensing system and other draconian controls. In 1991, P V Narasimha Rao (the credit has to go to PVN and not to MMS) had no option other than to liberalize, privatize and globalize the economy. Whether out of compulsion or not, he was imaginative enough and bold enough to dismantle the existing non performing, constrain creating system. This one act provided the filip for our private sector to unleash their entrepreneurial skills. They fully grabbed the opportunity and took Indian economy to greater heights. It is to A B Vajpayees credit that he understood that the role of Government in the future is to be one of facilitator to the industry, than an owner or controller of the industry. He was clear about the need for infrastructure development and connectivity. Though Rajiv Gandhi ushered in the Telecom revolution, ABV's initiatives saw greater broad band and mobile connectivity, which has created a revolution in the corporate and personal lives. Apart from this Vajpayee kick started the National Highways project - the Golden Quadrilateral and the N-S & E-W Corridors. It is to the eternal shame of UPA Government that they have dragged their feet on the project which should have been completed in 2007, but is not likely to be completed in this decade. He also wanted to connect the rivers, but this too has not seen the light of the day under the new government.

Despite the UPA government putting every conceivable road blocks in the way of economic growth - rising interest rates, credit squeeze, dragging feet on second generation reforms, diversion of funds to non productive social schemes like NREGA (which has resulted in lack of funds for infrastructure development projects), poor fiscal discipline, rising revenue and fiscal deficits, double digit inflation, approvals being denied, labour law amendment defered, agriculture being ignored ............ the list is endless- the economy has grown at around 7-8%. And this during a global recessinary period.

This is not an anamoly. Our economy is growing DESPITE the Government, or rather INSPITE OF the Government. The growth is driver purely by Private Sector initiative, who are fighting a losing battle of late, what with government totally apathetic to their basic needs of providing funds at competitive interest rates, and making basic investments in the right infrastructure projects (while it is welcome that our Airports are being upgraded, that should be the least of our priorities. The priority has to be to upgrade the Road, Rail and Ports that facilitate movement of goods). And the Government has not made much investments in the next generation Internet Connectivity. While our current connectivity might be sufficient for data transmission, the future needs of the IT sector for higher bandwidth is not being talked about at all. This will result in our country losing its competitive edge in IT in the long run.

While one can cite Ambanis, Tatas, Mittals, Dhoots etc as people who have benefitted from Government support, the fact remains that only a chosen few have got the support from the UPA Government, for obvious reasons. The facilitation for the industry by the Government has to be broad based and all encompassing.

Of late, the Government, which is clue less on inflation, is taking retrogative steps by increasing bank rates steadily, raising tax rates to cover up its poor fiscal performance, not making investments in infrastructure and generally dragging its feet on all policy matters.

Is it any wonder the industry is asking it to leave things as it is, and not worsen it?

MMS saved by the bell

Dr.Manmohan Singh's patron saint, the US, has come to his aide inadvertently.

MMS and his government has been reeling under the accusations of numerous scams, lack of governance, inaction, mismanagement of the economy, spiralling inflation and the real prospect of a drastic drop in GDP growth. They were struggling to explain to the country the reasons behind this (to be fair to them, they have no clue as to this themselves) and with parliament session on, would have been in deep trouble answering an aggressive opposition.

But with USA economy in shambles, Eurozone crumbling, US credit rating reduced to AA+ leading to fear of double dip depression worldwide, MMS can heave a sigh of relief.

For a while now he has run out of excuses as to what is going wrong with th economy. He has blamed terrorism, rural people eating more because they are earning more under NREGS (which is a joke as more and more people are dropping below the poverty line and malnutrition figures are on the rise), supply side constraints (whatever that means!! Well it means that we are not producing enough to meet our demand. And what do we do to increase supply - not only nothing, but we further take steps to reduce supply by increasing the interest rates!!!!) and so on.

Now he is safe. With US ruled by a bigger Asshole than our PM (What a wimp Obama has turned out to be. He rode to power promising change. But US citizens never that it would be a change for the worse. Under Obama, US has lost its Military No.1 position, Moral No.1 position and now Economic No.1 position), and US economy likely to be in doldrums for a couple of years at least, MMS is safe. He can blame the US led global recession for all his economic ills.

Some people are born lucky - like our PM. He has become a PM for 7 years when he has not won even a municipal election in his life, he is being hailed as father of reforms when actually the only thing he did was to follow the orders of Narasimha Rao (MMS actually baulked at implementing reforms in his draft  first budget which was thrown at his face by Narasimha Rao who then read the riot act to him to prepare a budget which changed the Indian economic scenario), and he is hailed as one of the best Prime Ministers of India(sic) when to all effect, he has been the worst.

P.S: Though everyone seems to be worried about the Stock Market crashing (which doesnt mean much anyway for most of the people other than a handful), the real worry is the rise in our Revenue Deficit from about 1% + in 2008 to 3.4% currently, and the Fiscal Deficit from 1.5% + in 2008 to 4% + now.

Slight redesigning of the blog

Have done some work on the fonts and the width of the reading area, to make the blog easy on the eye and look professional. The design templates in the background is being retained, though I was tempted to go for a bland look. Then thought it would differentiate the blog from a standard newspaper blog.

Enjoy your visits to this blog.

Want better governance?

Want better governance? Implement the following,

No security for anyone, including the Prime Minister - Remove the black cats and Z-level security for all, and just see how the internal security of the country, the police and the intelligence community are made to work professionally by the powers that be. The much needed reforms in the Police will be implemented like lightning when the politicians become afraid of their lives. As of now, they live in ivory towers, without a care in the world as to how many common people are killed by terrorists. Have we heard anything on who was responsible for the latest Mumbai blasts?

Do not provide accommodation to the Ministers, politicians and Government Servants - Let them hunt for houses, enter into rental agreements and pay rent like you and me. They will then appreciate the plight of ordinary people.

Withdraw privileges on Travel - Let them all travel cattle class by Air India or by Indian Railways or by State Road Transport Corporations. I dont have to elaborate on this.

No overseas medical treatment - Not even in super speciality hospitals in India. Why should Sonia have her surgery in US? She can get herself treated in any of the Government Hospitals in India, and being alloted a bed in the General Ward or in the Paid room. Then she will appreciate what a common man has to undergo to get treatment and the quality of it.

I can go on and on. But I presume you get the drift. Our politicians, ministers and their party chiefs are so away from the reality, have lost touch with the common man, and lead such an elite life that they dont know and can't understand their plight. Gandhiji was sent on a bharath darshan by Lokamanya Tilak, which opened his eyes to what the real India is (Quite unlike the promo tours of Rahul Gandhi). And that was the foundation for his National Leadership. It is time we insisted our 'leaders' undergo some of the hardships that you and me undergo.

Debt Trap

The interest rates have gone up steadily. The manufacturing sector has slowed down. Grains are rotting, despite bountiful rains and it is still pre-harvest period. The Government is rudderless. There is a capital flight from the country. Despite all this, the GDP is growing at 7%.

This appears to be paradox. But is it?

The GDP is growing despite the Government. Post liberalization, the industry is less reliant on the Government, and the Government policies have little impact on the economy in the medium term. Or let us say it has only marginal impact. The industrial and services sector are self sufficient which leads to them contributing a bit to the GDP growth.

There is another reason. I had written about this before. Despite the real income coming down over the past couple of years, people are buying more because of the credit facility available -either as Bank loans or through Credit Cards. In effect, they are paying from the future income anticipated. Thus the money supply is much more than what it should be. It is a debt driven growth, which cannot be sustained. One has to just look at USA to know where we will end up.

In the  past the debt entrapped only the Central and the State Governments. Now it is extended to you and me. Still doubtful? Try preparing a Balance Sheet on your personal Assets and Liabilities, and see where you stand.