World's Biggest Democracy Fair

World's much awaited biggest democracy fair opened for public today with the announcement of dates by the organisers- "The Election Commission of India". This fair will be up for display on a convention theatre spreading over 3,287,263 square kilometres. Although this theatre holds 1,100 million people; only 714 million of them will have a right to participate in the fair. The organisers have saved the best of this fair for a 5 separate day’s show- April 16, 23, 30, May 7 and May 13. A total of 543 prizes are up for grabs and the winners will be announced on May 16. Since, the fair organiser’s hold the exclusive territorial right to use the brand “ELECTIONS”; they have decided to name this fair as - “INDIAN ELECTIONS”. Part of Indian intelligentsia however feels that it would be better to call this a “Dance of a Democracy”.

Everyone; including murderers, rapists, dacoits, gangsters, people with twisted mindset or of foreign origins etc, is free to set up stalls in this fair either in partnership or even solo. It is widely expected that most of the stalls will be set up by 3 separate “Conglomerates”; each owned by Congress, BJP and The Left. A new age electoral politics Corporation, BSP is expected to be the 4th biggest player in the fray.....One thing that is common to all the 4 stall owners is their remarkable ability to divide the participants along religious, caste, colour, linguistic, regional lines........All 4 have done an extensive research on the divisive agenda and owns exclusive patents for it........they seldom allow anyone to use their patents.

Just to give you a quick example- Congress Conglomerate has an exclusive patent to the suffix “Gandhi” and the word “Good Governance” while BJP Conglomerate owns a patent for “Hinduism”. Left Conglomerate’s patent exists on the word “Pro-Poor” while BSP Corporation holds its patent on “Scheduled Castes”. In addition to these patents, certain “labels” too are in vogue- All 3, barring BJP have labeled themselves as “Secular” while BJP has a “Communal” label attached to it.

For next 75 days, every single person of those 714 million participants will count and will have a price for it.......people without jobs will be promised decent jobs; one who doesn’t have basic amenities will get a hope; downtrodden will hear as to how their future will be brighter than before; landless will receive a hope for land; education for all; justice..........so on and so forth. In other words-hope, ambition, aspiration, expectation, desire, faith, religion, caste, language, region etc of every single person belonging to the 714 million block will be traded in the market......

Come 76th day and a completely different style of horse-trading will begin........Old Conglomerates will break and new ones will form, new Corporations will be incorporated. Suddenly, a consensus will emerge around one name and Government will be formed.....543 winners will again win. News channels, newspapers, power-brokers, psephologists etc will rake in the moolah all through the fair.....

Alas! People of India will again lose............However, one thing they will not lose is “HOPE”-the biggest dividend of a democracy.....In the end, Democracy will be the only real winner.....

A Disclaimer

I want to add following as a postscript to my last two posts-

1. I am not a US basher; rather I strongly feel that answer to most of the problems faced by mankind lies in a cocktail of capitalism and democracy; of which US is the giant lab....It's an altogether different matter that the question of the type of democracy and capitalism is still open and needs comprehensive answers.......
   
2. Last but not the least, these two thoughts took shape during my conversation with Rakesh, my best friend.....

And The Contradiction Continues- II

February 24' 2009, various news channels and websites began flashing news of Standard & Poor's downgrade of India's sovereign rating from "stable" to "negative"......Moody's might be the next to follow suit.

Reasons cited by S&P for the move-‘India’s fiscal position has deteriorated to a level that is not sustainable in the medium term’. One of their credit analyst went on to say- "We expect the deficit to remain high at 11.1 per cent of GDP in fiscal 2009-2010. The fiscal deficit could widen if the next government implements another stimulus package."

Elite analysts from the much maligned investment banking fraternity were quick to offer their take on the downgrade- all of them justifies it......... I have no problem in their justification of this downgrade................After all who cares about their analysis.......... "Lehman", "Bear Stearns", "Sub-Prime", "Madoff" or "Standford" are telling examples of their capabilities and analysis.......At times, I wonder who will score more in terms of the understanding of "basic common economic sense"- a common labourer or a rickshaw-puller on Indian roads or highly paid but intellectually bankrupt analyst community........no doubt as to who will be the eventual winner.......our common man understands economics better, does that roadside vegetable vendor rings some bells!!!!

Coming back to the downgrade, I am still waiting to hear S&P's views about Doctor Obama's budget.......released 2 days after India's downgrade.......I was trying to add up the total number of Zeroes in $1.75 trillion federal deficit.......I sincerely hope S&P knows that this $1.75 trillion estimate is just $250 billion more than what was estimated few days back!........If this not enough, then read this -"The $1.75 trillion deficit projected for this year would represent 12.3 percent of the gross domestic product, double the previous post-war record of 6 percent in 1983, when Ronald Reagan was president, and the highest level since the deficit totaled 21.5 percent of GDP in 1945, at the end of World War II."

Wonder, if above calls for any downgrade for US!!!!!!! Or if 11.1% of GDP (India's projected fiscal deficit) is worse than 12.3% of GDP(US's projected fiscal deficit) .........perhaps lower the GDP, bigger the problem!!!! OK fine....then what about the fiscal condition of Europe-shouldn't they be downgraded?? ...........It is growth stupid...........economic growth contraction is a sure shot pill for no downgrade......US and Europe is contracting while India is not, don't you know their economy is still growing ......can't you understand this?

Stupid....it is not the economic fundamentals that decide the ratings.....it is the names of the agencies.... Consider this-Standard and Poor use its rating lever to lift the "Standard" and hit the so called "Poor".......It depends on the "mood" of the Moody's as to who to downgrade and who not.......Fitch has a hitch when it comes to informed judgement.....

Last but not the least, here are two reports filed by "BusinessWeek" while reporting on the fiscal condition in India and US, albeit the context is different....Decide for yourself

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D96JBAU00.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

& http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2009/02/sp_downgrades_i.html

And the contradictions continues.......

PS- I have deliberately used "Dr" as a prefix to Obama because most of the people look up to him as someone who has a cure for every problem.....I have my own doubts.........In my views he has done what he could have done-to create history by becoming the first Black President.....and his moment is gone.......Don't agree with me? Go back in history and we have numerous examples......Rajiv Gandhi of 84????

And, The Contradiction Continues-I

"How long can I continue to look for reasons to feel good about the contradictions that surround us on a day to day basis?”- is a question I often ask myself ...........more so after reading about the incidents in "Swat Valley" and "S&P downgrade of India's ratings"-latter one arising out of my conversations with my friend Rakesh...

Firstly, recent incidents in the Pakistan’s Swat Valley not only horrify me but also confuse me. I am confused because Swat, often labelled as Pakistan's Switzerland (I personally hate these "labelling comparisons" as all they do is to denigrate the "compared" (Swat) in front of "compared with" (Switzerland) by limiting their description/qualitative potential- more often only east/developing world gets these labels- would anyone call Switzerland as Europe's Swat?....how can anyone justify Kalidas to be called as "India's Shakespeare", even when he precedes Shakespeare by more than 5 centuries or Gandhi as India's Martin Luther King & not otherwise) and part of NWFP was the region that gave us a leader like Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan-someone, who single-handedly raised an army of apostles of peace-Khudai Khidmatgar and had a huge following amongst the residents of the region. So, how, when and what converted this peaceful and secular but an innately independent region into a hotbed of militancy and fundamentalism? Answer lies in nowhere but Jinnah's two-nation theory and America's cruel foreign policy.

A deeply secular NWFP region with in the realms of Pakistan would have defeated the concept or very idea of Pakistan. Hence, the establishment and its bigger nemesis-army, started a systematic nurturing and nourishment of fundamentalist forces as a counter force to peaceful tribal’s by playing on the innate sense of independence that prevails amongst the various ethnic tribes of NWFP region. This process of de-secularisation reached its nadir at the height of cold war....as American policymakers assisted by its Pakistani counterparts began using the people of this region in its bid for supremacy in the world order against Soviets.

An impoverished Afghanistan became the only real battleground for obvious reasons. I really marvel the astute policies of Western policymakers as they always manages to play their dirty games in the far-away lands...else how would you justify no battlegrounds in Europe’s neighbourhood of Romania, Hungry, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria or a larger Eastern bloc as reasons for war in Afghanistan were also present there.....

Once war got over, everyone left this region’s to its fate. The fundamentalist monster ably supported by the petro dollars continued to nourish itself until that ghastly attack on common man in US helped world sit up and take notice. Now, US is back in Afghanistan fighting with the people it once helped raise into a force....

This endless saga of contradictions still continues and will perhaps continue forever in the form of India and Pakistan. More so, because Muslims in post partition India have and will continue to enjoy constitutionally guaranteed fuller rights to observe their religious faith, peaceful life, freedom and relative prosperity as compared to their respective counterparts in a country that was carved out of India as a supposed home to all the pre-independence Indian Muslims. No wonder, Indian Muslim populace continues to outnumber Pakistan’s.......Two-nation theory has been comprehensively defeated yet the contradiction in Pakistan continues...........

The endgame is nowhere in sight. If there is one, then that horrifies me........because horrific is the thought of possible danger of Pak nukes falling in the hands of fundamentalists....and if and when that happens, many contradictions will get wiped off from the face of this earth forever.....but at a severe cost.

So, how can we wriggle ourselves out of this current crisis? Think out of the box-may be do a "Kautilya"; meaning.........float an idea for re-unification of India and Pakistan!!!!! But where will we get our Chandragupta Mauryas from ???? Perhaps in our social scientists, political commentators or economists...But what will they do? Simple.............they will study the idea and come out with various costs-benefit scenarios and possibilities..........or, they will toss up new refreshing ideas into the air.....a few of them might get awards for their work......and if successful, a "Nobel Peace Prize" as well.............. Trust me, beauty of this entire experiment is that it has no human cost to it........though it is an altogether different matter that human life comes very cheap in this region..........Not for someone who looses his/hers loved ones........... it is about time that we begin to work on these contradictions.............to make them go away...........so that, 1/5th of humanity gets to see and experience a much better world for themselves and future generations..........world and humanity at large will benefit the most.......

If this is a case of "hoping against hope".......or a desire to be labeled as a day-dreamer .....or to give all the sceptics and the doubting Thomases a reason to laugh out loud...........Certainly not.....Don't modern day Europe offers us that hope?.........Arguers will argue that the situation is not comparable......But we must not forget that even today's India and Pakistan share much more commonalities than what Europeans ever did at any point of time in their history. Besides, we are not that much divided as they were historically..........For confirmation, talk to any visiting ordinary Pakistani or an Indian and everyone will have hundreds of separate stories of mutual affection and respect to share.......On my part, I did put up this question to my brother after his Pakistan visit; and trust me he had all the nice things to say about that country and it's people....even about their immigration officers!

Think and propagate...........

S&P downgrade part to follow..........

Three Weeks of Contradictions

It’s been 3 weeks since I updated my blog last and the reason lie in the apparent contradictions, I found myself face to face with, time and again over that period. How ironical that it is those very contradictions that ultimately provide food and fodder to introspect, think and write. It happened so many times, when I began writing and did not continue as my motivation level and conviction in my thought process was at an abysmally low level.

But then, two events of last week brought me back to my usual self..First one was the last week’s request from my neighbour. It was the evening of 10th February when Rohit, my next door neighbour checked on my blood group; “B(+ve) it is”, I replied. He asked me if I can give my blood platelets to his friend’s mother, who was in the hospital fighting the last stage of blood cancer and I agreed. Next day, I went to hospital twice; first for blood tests and later for undergoing the separation process of platelets and plasma from my blood. Needless to say that the amazing feeling of doing something worthwhile was simply unexplainable despite the pain that I had to bear due to my weak veins. In fact, the doctor had to take the needles out as veins of my left hand swelled with an unbearable pain. Thankfully, my veins of the other hand helped complete the process. But the real learning lied elsewhere.

While I was filling in the donation form, the doctor asked me the name of the patient. I told him, “I don’t know her name”- an answer for which the doctor was not ready. But, what he said afterwards was simply awesome.....He said- "It is nothing but the good deeds of the lady that is making people, completely unknown to her, come and give her blood when she needs it most”... That comment was very deep and true and will stay with me forever.....Unfortunately, I just heard from Rohit that she is no more. It was very sad to hear that but then I am sure that her deeds will continue to help her wherever she is now...I pray to God to give her loved ones strength and courage to bear this unbearable pain and irreparable loss.

Second incident took place as as recently as previous Saturday, while we were at the engagement ceremony of Sunil (my wife-Bobby’s brother). I noticed that Mamta didi’s (my wife’s elder sister) sister-in-law left the venue abruptly with her husband. Later, when I enquired about the reason with Mamta didi, she told me that Anil, their son who is an army officer has suffered a major accident. As if it was not enough, his wife was not with him so the flow of news from Siliguri, his place of posting was not proper. Their other son left for Siliguri as soon as he heard about the accident but he would not reach there until next afternoon. Whatever little information they were getting from Army sources was not sufficient for them or for that matter any other parent in a similar situation. It was then I decided to do something about it even after knowing that Siliguri, until that moment is just a city name for me.

Soon, I had with me the contact details of three persons; I knew that one of them would be able to help me get the details. I was right as, Dhruv; my friend-Rajat’s cousin posted with Indian army in Jammu got me the complete detail of the accident and the injury suffered by Anil in less than 15 minutes. He further gave me a telephone number of one service-man that Anil’s parents could call to check his condition. I apprised Anil’s family of whatever I heard from Dhruv and also gave them the number to call at. I am sure, confirmation of the facts via different source must have brought them relief and satisfaction....

Two quick lessons in general- “Good deeds always stand by you when you need them most” and “A sense of responsibility not only help others but also help resurrect one’s own conviction and faith in his/her abilities’.

Personally, it made me feel good as these two incidents not only reinforced my faith in the beauty of human relationships; but strengthened it further. No wonder, I draw much of my satisfaction and contentment from those very relationships.

Though, it is an altogether different matter that same Saturday night interaction with one of our relative couple (who, I always felt very close to until an awful incident last summer) didn't go down well with me. Not because, I was found lacking in showing my respect towards them despite whatever they did to my father last summer; but simply because of a realisation that modern education system does not offer any guarantee of a good human behaviour of reciprocation. To my extreme surprise, only word that I could hear during those 40 seconds of interaction was a cold reply to my greeting......I could do nothing but smiled at myself.....as I am not going to let stray incidents like this desist me from investing in my relationships...

Spiritual Gyani

Well oiled hairs neatly combed as if every single hair has been personally attended to; a chic white shirt folded up his sleeves and black trousers covering his short and frail physical structure with a smile all over his face; that is how he will come across to you when you meet him; day after day. He is Gyani.... office boy at MPS Technologies-one of my past employers. Why am I writing about him? What has he got to do with me when I have already left MPS more than a year back?

He had caught my imagination ever since I noticed him taking special care of my needs, while I was at MPS. Just a look at Gyani’s face was enough to make him understand my requirements- tea, coffee or water.......Reason, I thought lied in my designation- Head of Accounts....

It is almost 14 months since I left MPS...... yet nothing has changed vis-a-vis Gyani...A telephone call would come to greet me on every occasion- Deepawali, New Year etc. Moment, I step into MPS office, Gyani would come from nowhere with a smile on his face and glass of water in his hands followed by a cup of tea-exactly as per my taste. Why haven’t I been sent into oblivion by Gyani? I ask this question to myself every now and then...Reason was not at all difficult to find..........

I have always respected him for what he is and not what his job was at MPS. I used to lend him my ears whenever he had something to share or complain about. Never did he ask for any special favours or help........So, was Gyani paying me back in his own way for my behaviour towards him? Perhaps he was.......but then there are so many others who never did......So, what separates Gyani from others......

And, I managed to discover the real reason during my recent visit to MPS. I noticed him wearing a badge on his shirt and made an instant enquiry. He told me- it is Lord Krishna and Radha.....my curiosity grew further.....and that is when I came to know about his monthly pilgrimages to Mathura- birthplace of Lord Krishna.......It occurred to me instantly- meagre earnings are not enough to stop someone from pursuing his/her spiritual interests...Gyani’s spirituality was more important to him than the money he earns.

Someone might argue that he is taking those pilgrimages to pray to God for his wishes to come true. Even if he is, then also I beg to differ from those making such arguments for one simple reason- purity of his belief.

That one discovery brought me face to face with real but invisible Gyani- a deeply spiritual person who could create connections and bonds with people just on the strength of his faith in God. His spirituality gave him access to a never ending source of love and affection from where he could draw at will...

No wonder- “Gyani” means “knowledgeable.” Despite his lack of formal education, his understanding of spirituality and its power makes him more knowledgeable than anyone claiming to be so.

Sakim-Story Of Determination

He was rated highly by all his village school teachers in Saharsa district of Bihar; after all education was his best ticket to take a flight out of the hole of abject poverty, his family was into. His poor parents were doing everything they could with their meagre resources to help him attain his goal. “Resources and its paucity” was fighting a losing battle against the resolve of Sakim and his parents until it found an able ally in the village shop owner, one fateful afternoon.

Gory incidents of that day were powerful enough to crush the resolve of Sakim; who would soon found him inside a train to Delhi. A debt of Rs 200 or US $ 4 altered the course of life of an 11 year old kid forever. Fate alone knew that that village kid who used to enjoy reading his daily lessons would soon have to wash utensils in a big city restaurant to meet his ends.

His first salary was more than enough to repay that Rs 200 debt of the shop owner back home in Bihar; but it was nothing when compared with what he had lost- his childhood...For next 3 years he would break his back every day in his pursuit to fight that stigma, he was carrying since that afternoon. The money that he earned would help marry his sisters into respectable families. Whatever was left was used to construct a one room hutment for his family.

By the time he went back to his village, that kid who had left the village 3 year ago had become an adult. His erstwhile school teachers tried to persuade him to go back to his studies; but the charm and pull of big city life was too powerful. He found himself back in that train to Delhi after a gap of six months; his younger brother giving him company. This train journey was a lot different from the one he had undertaken in the past- he had new plans and a new goal- to save his brother from doing a Sakim on him.

When he had left Saharsa station, he had a role in sight for himself- that of a driver and he was relying on his fellow villager for helping him achieve that. His plan was simple- to learn driving in the night and work during the day. However, fate again had different plans in store for him.
The person who, Sakim was relying on to execute his plans chose to turn his back on him. Quoted reason- Sakim’s poverty doesn’t entitle him to sit behind the wheels. Unlike last time, Sakim would not have to fight a lonely battle. Another fellow villager who heard Sakim being ridiculed for his poverty came up to him and handed him his cab keys. He made Sakim sit on the wheels giving him driving instructions while playing the role of a perfect navigator.

That one gesture again altered the course of Sakim’s life forever. The fear of wheel was gone and in came a desire to excel in the driving arena. Now, Sakim drives a cab, stationed outside Hazrat Nizamudin (HZM) railway station and ferry visitors throughout the city. He calls the man who became his saviour that night, his “Guru”, perhaps rightly so. His younger brother is studying in a Delhi school and his parents live back home in much better condition than what they were 5 years back, all thanks to Sakim’s amazing grit and determination.

I heard Sakim’s story in his own words on the morning of 5th January 2009 after I hired his cab for Rs 400 following much persuasion and bargaining. His story really moved me and I felt ashamed of myself to bargain with him for 100 rupees- considering that it was double that amount which changed Sakim’s life forever.... with an apologetic note I handed him Rs 500 and told him to keep the balance.

We exchanged mobile numbers, he told me to save his number in my phone book and call him up for cab whenever I am at HZM railway station. Two days later, he would follow up our interaction with a phone call- something that reminded me of much talked about corporate etiquettes one is expected to follow to ensure one is registered in other’s mind....... Though Sakim never required one to do that; he is already registered in my mind.....

There is no dearth of Sakims in this country or for that matter anywhere on this earth...... but then what separates this Sakim from other Sakims is his amazing grit and determination to erase the incidents of past while taking inspiration from them and using them as a tool to rebuild his life. Sakim is successful in his own way and his success is no less than anybody else’s- he was able to win a major battle in his war against the abject poverty. However, he has a long way to go as there are many more battles left to win this war.....with his grit and determination he will come out as a true winner in this war...