Musings Own Thoughts

As I write, the news is coming in that the Lokpal bill will fall and get deferred, once more. While we are novices and incapable of understanding the nuances of drafting legislation and its constitutional validity or otherwise, we realize that all the parties in this issue have violated the KISS (Keep it simple Sir) principle. The basic question is corruption and underlying it is man's greed which is seemingly insatiable. So the simplest and most effective solution to the problem is to live for others, acquiring wealth to acquire basic comforts and needs and giving the excess to others or holding wealth as a trustee and custodian for our less fortunate brethren.Where there a bribe demander, there is a giver and behind their action is often a desire to acquire something out of turn or something undeserved. So the simple mantra, is to reduce ones needs and live unselfish lives. What do we get instead? A popular group of self styled representatives of civil society activists profe...

Who is a leader? Who is a CEO? Our Prime Minister never leads but is always lead by 2G's (Soniaji and Rahulji). He is a CEO working in the interests of the corporates. This is but natural because he has been appointed by Soniaji and is on the pay roll India inc. He has never faced an election and therefore cannot care for the people who elect their leaders. Everybody, without exception says that we have a gentle PM with the best CV in the world, but the net result of his interventions since 1990, when from an obscure position of chairman UGC, he was made finance minister in the Narsimha Rao government, his policies have led to the massive enrichment of the rich at the cost of the poor. The last two decades have seen,unprecedented rise in economic disparity, hitherto unknown in the history of India. While the 8-9% GDP story has made headlines, the rise in hunger, the decrease in per capita food consumption to pre-independence levels has barely made it to the consciousness of the peo...

After 13 days of fasting finally our dear Annaji broke his fast on national television at the Ramlila grounds. Let us now look back at the phenomenon called Anna and attempt to analyze from where it has come and what is its future trajectory. The man seems to be a rustic villager, simple looking but complex personality who from all accounts seems to have a big ego. He claims to be destiny's child as he considered his escape from the jaws of death, a call to a higher calling in life. The man dedicated his life to rural upliftment of his bretheren and by all accounts Ralegan Siddhi became a model of rural development based on watershed development and social reform. All this was done by Anna in a manner an army man would adopt, a combination of coercion and persuasion more of the former than the latter. His work and his spartan life style won him admiration and acclaim in Maharashtra, India and abroad resulting him getting the Magsaysay award, an asian equivalent of the Nobel prize....

Well in continuity of my blogs, today our PM finally made the grand gesture and the appeal to a great citizen called by a simple name Anna which means brother to call of his fast. If we go back to the beginning, Anna Hazare was an army man who survived a near death experience. The subsequent introspection led him to a path of rural development and uplift. One thing led to another and he started developing the habit of fearlessly taking on the establishment on issues of corruption at the state level. Destiny led him on to greater achievement, and today he stands on the threshold of a revolutionary change in Indian democracy. While his critics, including myself feel that he has exceeded his brief, by insisting on holding the Government and Parliamentary system to ransom by taking maximalistic positions, even his worst critics will acknowledge, that but for his fast and agitation, the political class would certainly not have acted. Even today there is still a feeling amongst his team a...

A week is a long time in politics, but a very short time to take a considered stand on an issue as important as the Lokpal issue. While I was expecting a confrontation between Government and Anna Hazare, I never expected seasoned political figures in Government to blunder so badly as they have done so. Well I can only say that this is the result of making a technocrat with a CEO approach, the Prime Minister of a nation. While we feel comfortable having an honest, sincere, hard working qualified man as PM, we cannot feel inspired by his leadership. In fact, today more than ever before in his career, Dr. ManMohan Singh's deficiencies as a leader have shown up. At the end of the day the buck stops at his desk and he must take responsibility for the series of errors of the UPA2 government. However, the governments' loss has been team Anna's gain and a predominantly middle-class, urban movement has transformed into one that has captured the imagination and mood of the nation. 2...

Dear friends, On the occasion of India's 65th birthday, I was keenly looking forward to a PM who would rise above the pettiness of his government and party and make a grand gesture of reconciliation to the civil society members. This especially after they had demonstrated over the last few months the widespread support their draft had amongst the intelligentsia. I personally am among the few who have read both the drafts and realized the clever game played by Pranabda Sibal Chidambaram cabal. Very cleverly they have defanged every bit of the snake venom an effective Lokpal would have been able to inject into the corrupt system that we have in the name of governance and rule of law. Our country today has reason to be proud of its democracy, however, we need to understand that our system has many flaws which need correction. Politics and politicians of all parties with exception of perhaps the communists have become a professional exclusive club, where familial lineage, money power...

Noble Ends Ignoble Means This is something which has had me thinking for a very long time and is especially relevant to the anti-corruption campaigns which have become the hottest issues, dominating the headlines. Corruption has become part of our DNA, almost as if we cannot help but be corrupt. It exists in varying degrees, minor most are the so called “harassment bribes”, given to get things that we are rightfully and legally entitled to, not out of turn or for any other direct or indirect consideration. This is the first and most elementary example of noble ends achieved by wrong means. However, a fine distinction can be made, where we may feel that the alternative of not paying is so cumbersome and involves such a lot of trouble that we would rather pay. On the other hand the receiver is often a clerk or a poorly paid peon or orderly who while working in a government office has no incentive or scope for promotion. Often we cloak this “harassment bribe” in the garb of “baks...

Civilization is a term which means many things in many a context, but we tend to rank a nation, its people and social-religious groups based on its civilization content. As a nation, we Indians justifiably if I may add take great pride in our ancient heritage and civilization. The principle content of this is the concept of the universal consciousness or oneness, which pervades all that exists. These kind of conclusions came from highly advanced and Self realized souls. Thus civilization contrasts with barbarianism or primitive existence. Civil society is governed by laws which address the questions rising out of difficult situations. India is blessed with a visionary constitution which has taken care of many situations. Aruna Shanbaug's case has served as a catalyst to open up a debate on euthanasia. Euthanasia stands for good death "Eu" good and "thanatos" death. It really means a humane end to existence in those undergoing inhuman suffering. This can take th...

First, I do not know Binayak Sen personally, nor do i have any direct knowledge of the issues or the stake holders in this battle. Hence, I plead that I am unable to answer this question based on evidence or facts. Therefore, the next question, you may ask is why write about the issue and waste my precious time and yours. To that pose, I certainly have an answer. In any situation faced in life, we need to make a choice and this choice is based on many factors, the most important of which is "discrimination", known in Sanskrit as "viveka". As a human being, I possess an intellect which allows me to use my reasoning faculty to make a judgment and decide weather Dr. Binayak Sen is an enemy of the state and a traitor. A gold medalist, pediatrician, from CMC, Vellore, gives up a life of comfort and relative fame and glory and chooses to work in a tribal area among the poorest of the poor. Dr. Sen, by his example and by all accounts of his body of work should serve as an ...