Indian Awake

Lalu’s solution for drought: Eat less – WTF!!

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:43:00 +0000

Finally we have a WTF statement from one of India’s finest comedians, Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav, former chief minister of Bihar, former husband of chief minister of Bihar ….oops..I’m sorry…husband of former chief minister of Bihar and former union railways minister. He has come up with this unique solution to avoid the impending food crisis due to a bad monsoon.

Prasad goes on further in the same article asking everyone to eat just one meal a day and that way the food stock can be made to last for 13 months. This statement has confirmed it at least for me that this guy could have no way been responsible for the supposed turnaround in Indian railways. As it is there are claims that he inflated the profits and many railway insiders claim that he reaped the benefits of his predecessors hard works (one Mr. Nitish Kumar in particular is counted by top Railway honchos as one of the best Ministers the railways has had in many years). If these are the kind of innovative ideas Mr. Prasad can think off, I can wonder what a tough time railways officials might have had in managing his whims and brainwaves during this tenure. I still remember the scheme to introduce matke ka cups in trains to promote local potters and remember exclaiming to myself WTF!

Technorati Tags: WTF,Laloo Prasad Yadav,Indian Railways

Govt holds virginity test for MP brides – WTF!

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:01:00 +0000

This is a new section inspired by bloggers like Amit Verma and Prem Panicker. I’ll try to point out articles and news pieces which manage to evoke that reaction : WTF. And the Govt of MP has provided the ideal start to this series. Click below this article to read the full coverage. Apparently the MP govt has taken upon itself to get people married( with taxpayers money of course – WTF). And after a case where a woman gave birth while getting married, it plans to get brides test for their virginity to prevent false claims. The reason why prospective brides are clamoring to get married is because the govt is also giving away some money for the couples getting married. Here’s an excerpt from that article

All 151 girls who participated in a mass wedding conducted by the Madhya Pradesh government on June 26 were forced to undergo virginity tests before doing so.

The mass wedding in Shahdol, 600 km east of Bhopal, was part of a welfare measure, the Mukhyamantri Kanyadaan Yojna (Chief Minister’s ‘giving away the bride’ programme) begun by the state in April 2006. Under it, single adult women from poor families – be they unmarried, widowed, divorced or abandoned – who have found themselves prospective spouses but cannot afford the wedding expenses, are married off in groups and paid a fixed sum of Rs 6500 as well.

The funny part is the fact that the govt claims all single adult women are eligible – be they widowed, divorced or abandoned; but goes to test their virginity. I think this is an insult to women and all those women rights groups and human rights activists should be pouncing on the MP govt for this regressive and simply ridiculous plan.

Technorati Tags: WTF,MP govt,virginity test,Amit verma,Prem Panicker

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President Patil promises slum free India in 5 years

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:59:00 +0000

In the first address of the new UPA government President Pratibha Patil today announced ambitious plans amongst which included the Rajiv Gandhi Awaas Yojana, on the lines of the Indira Awaas Yojana. The scheme promises to provide housing for all the slum dwellers within 5 years. The shortfall in urban housing is around 25 mn units. That is very a ambitious goal and one that makes me skeptical. Not that I want to be a cynic, but have these schemes really helped the people. Year after year, the government announces newer schemes; each one more pompous than the other.

The only development which has happened is by the people themselves. By which I mean the private sector since it represents the actions or efforts of individuals to achieve and grow. So that begets the question, is it appropriate for the government to start building houses? I’m more interested in the Tata low cost housing project, dubbed the 'Nano' of the housing sector. Only a company which is profit oriented can actually do a good job of satisfying its customers. That might sound ironic, but it is the truth. Non profits, governments or communities can only do so much. Only when driven by profit will an organization turn to efficiency and quality. A Govt sponsored housing scheme would be bloated, delayed, filled with corruption and a probable failure. Whereas private sector run housing projects have generally been successful, although Govt must step in to facilitate.

What the Govt can do though is change the Land ceiling act to aid more FSI and also ease the process of land procurement; at the same time ensuring that poor landowners get a fair deal. My heart wants to believe in this Govt scheme, but my brain needs more details from the Govt rather than mere promises

Technorati Tags: Rajiv Awaas Yojana,Pratibha Patil,Slum free India,Indira Awas Yojana

This is my first post from my new nokia 5800.

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Sat, 23 May 2009 05:48:00 +0000

Dr.Singh takes oath, Karunanidhi frowns

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:28:00 +0000

Dr. Manmohan Singh led the Congress back to power with a improved mandate after the gruelling month long elections. The markets have cheered his comeback by running amok and registering the highest gains ever at the sensex. It seemed that the youth bridage of the Congress won the show for them against the unimaginative campaign of the Advani led NDA. Now that the celebrations have gradually reduced, its time to take into account the ground realities.

The clamour for key ministries started right after the elections results were announced. RJD chief Lalu was the first to fall on Sonia's feet begging for forgivance as he and Paswan had left out the Congress during seat sharing talks and offered them a measly 3 seats. The Congress was offended and decided to go it alone in Bihar. Lalu and Paswan eventually had to bite the dust against the incumbent Nitish who reduced them to virtually nothing. Congress which was still smarting at Lalu's high handed act, left no chances to show Lalu his rightful place in the alliance. The coveted Railway ministry wasn't going to be his any longer.

Karunanidhi was one of UPA's faithful allies and felt justified in demanding a bigger share of the prize. Not to mention the fact that Congress itself was ready to dump him in case the AIADMK won the elections as was expected by all pollsters. But the wily old Karuna managed to trump his detractors and ensured that his party still stayed relevant to the Congress. Karuna who was in the hospital due to illness as the election results came out, rushed to Delhi once he realised that the power equations had changed. He reportedly demanded 3 cabinet ministries: 1 for his daughter, 1 for his son and 1 for his grand nephew and 4 independent state ministries.

But Congress currently is in a position of strength and with the SP and BSP both supporting the UPA, doesn't actually need the DMK. In fact its the DMK which needs the Congress to survive at the state level. Congress it seems had shot down Karuna's demands and offered him only 2 cabinet positions and 2 state ministries. A miffed Karuna has decided to not participate in the govt and support it from outside. Congress has sent out a strong signal to all its allies, that no arm twisting or blackmailing will be tolerated unlike last time. This is a good sign and this time the Congress definitely would have no excuses for non performance or for not taking bold decisions. The people of India have given them a strong mandate and its upto them to deliver.

Mumbai Votes at Pathetic 43.52%!!

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:39:00 +0000

So Mumbai does it again, clocking a dismal voter turnout. Actually even the rest of Maharashtra hasn't done too well, pulling around 45%. Its really a shame, since everyone expected Mumbai to respond after the terrible attacks in November. It seems that our 'Chalta hai' attitude has crept back following some semblance of anger after the attacks.

Maharashtra has seen one of the highest number of farmer suicides, worst power shortages in a decade coupled with high unemployment rates. That immigrants have caused all the trouble to Mumbai is a favorite cry for all Mumbaikars. Politicians are reluctant to take action against them since they are a strong votebank. So what do we do? Instead of coming out and voting and proving that the middle class is a larger votebank, they sit back and prove the politicians correct. So much for political activism and youth awakening.

As long as we keeping sitting in our homes and cribbing, nothing good will happen. Trust me nothing will happen. Lets forget about dreams of a developed India if we are not willing to do our duty!

26/11 report today; Govt may file case against 5 Pakistanis

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:16:00 +0000

Thats today's news. So our government has decided to file cases against 5 people. I know that it is an essential part of the work to be done against the terrorists. But the fact that worries me is that there is been hardly any progress in finding the wrongdoers. Pakistan continues to flip flop. Its amazing, since the country seems to be run by a bunch of jokers each one making a statement and the next denying it. Not that India seems to be governed very maturely at present.

Now the scary part is that the initial anger is gone. The fact is even I seem much more at comfort with status quo. I guess thats true for all of us. Everything is back to normal. The only thing which will save us is the anger. We cannot afford to sit back and relax.

Maybe we all need a dose of Rang de Basanti. No please no, I'm not advocating any killing of politicians. But we need some anger.

"Abhi khoon na khola to woh khoon nahi paani hai

Jo desh ki kaam na aaye woh bekaar jawaani hai"

Khoon chala....khoon chala

Anyone wants to be James Bond?

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:08:00 +0000

All the evidence pointed towards a gross intelligence failure. Lets analyze what are the reasons:

Lack of money: India isn't rich enough to spend whatever is required to cover all the intelligence needed to protect ourselves. Atleast thats what is being understood by me. Since all the resources are getting used up for our 550 MPs, over 3000 MLAs and probably over 20,000 corporators.
Lack of technology: We still aren't advanced enough or probably the research organizations in India are far too mired in bureaucracy to do anything useful.
Lack of Interest: I guess this is the most important reason. People just don't care. Or rather the people whose job it is to care just don't give a damn.

Alright, lets see what we can do about it.

What is the purpose of this blog?

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:10:00 +0000

3 months have passed since the Mumbai Terror Attacks happened. Today as I scan the headlines of the major newspapers, I find the issue still finds a place. I'm not going to state that we have completely forgotten it. Today's update is that Pakistan has flip flopped on the dossier which India had handed them

What worries me is the fact that it has become just another piece of news, which people sift through since there is no major update. My greatest fear is that both the governments of India and Pakistan will keep dilly dallying for a while after which we shall have elections and then them and slowly the issue would be forgotten. Until of course another major terrorist attack(God forbid!) happens and then we will all stand angrily, newspaper headlines will scream at the apathy of the government, people will light candles, there will be talk of war, the army will be placed on alert and so on and so forth.

The whole thing has become a big joke. Governments forgets, the media forgets and even the people forget after some time. The only people left are the ones who lost their dear ones in the attack. I guess even they move on after some time. Its the same thing again and again. The government accuses Pakistan and ISI, while Pakistan keeps refuting the charges. Our leaders straightaway rule out war as an option and naturally so. But there is no other alternative which is explored by the our government.

Now you might ask, dude! Its easy to sit out there and complain, why don't you come out with real solutions instead of writing another blog. I'm not here to keep pointing fingers at the government and just talk about the youth taking responsibility and all that crap. I won't blame the police, intelligence or the people for their apathy. Its not that they don't care, they just don't have a choice.

Ok! so what is the purpose of this blog ? Like the previous 2 posts highlight the steps for the Government, this blog is devoted to practical steps and course of action

Create awareness about the issue globally and keep reiterating the fact everywhere that Pakistan is a terrorist state
Spread the word, through articles, blogs, media about the issue so that the Government does not put it on the back burner
Create a online community and a fund to organise events, protests throughout the country
Use the fund to hire lawyers and file Public Interest Litigations against the lackadaiscal policies of the Government, enforce important laws, checkmate the Government in case of any scandal

Going forward:

A strong community which will virtually sell their vote in return for action from the government. Since vote is the only thing that political parties care for, we shall use that in a desicive manner.
All members act as citizen journalists carrying hidden cameras at all times capturing corrupt officials and bureaucrats. The PIL team will file cases against them and follow up.
A citizen's portal targeting all issues and raising them by threatening the government and parties if needed with votebank or media expose's

I don't know if this mission will succeed or not, but I shall atleast avoid the guilt of not having tried!

8 things India Inc, govt must do against Pakistan: R Vaidyanathan

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:49:00 +0000

-December 10, 2008 (from rediff.com)

The three-day-long terror strike on the country's financial capital was devastating in terms of its reach and impact. It has left Corporate India badly shaken and the elites numb.

It is no more about bombs being thrown at bus stations or trains getting blasted. It is no longer about only Nagpada or Govindpuri residents losing limbs and lives. Terror has now climbed up the value chain.

As the new age entrepreneur Kiran Majumdar Shaw told a Bangalore newspaper, "So far, the terrorists targeted common people. Now the society's elite, the business sector, is the target. What happened in Mumbai is a loud wake-up call for all of us to do something to protect ourselves."

Corporate India did not bat an eyelid when Mumbai train blasts took place, or when Sarojini Nagar was burning on a Diwali day, or Hyderabad was weeping two years before.

But today, every corporate captain is angry, and so are the celebrities who people Page 3 of newspapers, due largely because the attacks on the three top hotels were directly aimed at those who frequent these places, for business or pleasure (contrast this with the scant coverage of the carnage at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, for example, where commoners were involved).

All the same, the bleeding-heart liberals would be back to their routine ways after a few days. They will lament that the captured terrorist has not been given his favourite food and not allowed to watch TV or use his cell phone; they will say his human rights are violated. Just wait for the chorus.

Of course, this time it will be between Page 3 and the jholawalas (activists) and that should be an interesting match to watch, but that's another story.

In the last ten years, not a single session of any seminar sponsored by the CII or Ficci or business/general journals has focussed on terrorism. When this writer once broached the importance of talking about it, a senior business captain said it is for the government to deal with.

Many of those seminars gave importance to Musharraf and now Zardari, as if they are going to provide any solution when they are a part of the problem.

Now, at least, terrorism is being realised as a problem facing the country.

Let us summarise what the real situation is and what the corporate sector should do if we are serious in fighting terrorism on our soil.

1. Recognise and treat Pakistan as a terrorist state. The state policy of Pakistan is terrorism and their single-point programme is to destroy India. This needs to be internalised by every business baron including the owners of media.

2. Now, the elite of Pakistan are more angry, since India is growing at 7% and they are given CCC rating and stiff conditions for borrowing from the IMF.

Many an academic from that country, who I have met in global conferences, has openly lamented that nobody talks about Indo-Pak relations anymore, but only Indo-China or Indo-American, etc. They want to be equal but they are in deep abyss.

3. Pakistan is the only territory in the world where an army has a whole country under its control. This is an important issue since studies have found that a large number of corporates in Pakistan are ultimately owned by the Fauji Foundation (FF), Army Welfare Trust (AWT) Bahria Foundation (BF), Shaheen Foundation (SF) all owned by different wings of armed forces (See paper presented by Dr Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha on 'Power, Perks, Prestige And Privileges: Military's Economic Activities In Pakistan' in The International Conference on Soldiers in Business -- Military as an Economic Actor; Jakarta, October 17-19, 2000).

Hence, do not try to think of Pakistan without its army, irrespective of who rules that country temporarily and nominally. At least 70% of the market capitalisation of the Karachi stock exchange is owned by the army and related groups.

4. There are three groups in India, who are obsessed with friendship with Pakistan. One is the oldies born in that part before partition and who are nostalgic about the Lahore havelis, halwas and mujras. The second is the Bollywood and other assorted groups, who look at it as a big market. The Dawood gang has financed enough of these useful idiots. The third is the candle light holding bleeding heart liberals (BHLs) who cannot imagine India doing well without its younger brother taken care of.

All three have been proved wrong hundreds of times, but they are also opinion makers. Shun them, avoid them and ridicule them.

5. We should categorically, unambiguously, unequivocally boycott Pakistan in all aspects for a decade or more. Be it art, music, economy, commerce, or other hand-holding activities. That army-controlled state has to realise that it has done enough damage to global civilisation.

More than 100 acts/attempts of terror recorded in the world since 9/11 have had their roots in Pakistan. More than 40% of the prisoners in Guantanamo are Pakistanis.

6. We should recognise that it is our war and nobody in the world is going to wage it on our behalf. What the Americans are thinking, or what the Britishers are going to do, will not help. A determined country should have a sense of dignity and independence to fight its war.

We should stop interviewing leaders from that country who mouth the same inanities that "you have not produced any proof." The Government of India should perhaps create a museum of proof between India Gate and North Block.

I am amazed that a country of a billion is required even to furnish proof. If one-sixth of humanity says that the terrorist state of Pakistan is the root cause of global terrorism -- it is factual. Let us not fall into the trap of providing proof to the culprits.

7. We should realise that a united Pakistan is a grave threat to the existence of India. Hence, we should do everything possible to break up Pakistan into several units. This is required to be done not only for our interest, but for world peace.

8. We have made a grave blunder by suggesting in the international fora that "Pakistan is also a victim of terror." That is a grave error and it will haunt us for decades. They are perpetrators and our government is in deep illusion if it tries to distinguish between organs of power in that country thinking it is like India.

There is only one organ, namely its army (with ISI as a sub-organ) in that country, which owns and controls at least 70% of the GDP in that country.

If we want the world to treat Pakistan for what it is, then we should start practising it. Always call it the 'terrorist state of Pakistan' and never have any illusion that it is going to be any different.

If corporate India, including electronic/ print media, starts practising this, we should see results in a few years. Are the elites listening?

The author is professor of finance and control, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, and can be contacted at vaidya@iimb.ernet.in. The views are personal and do not reflect those of his organisation.

12 steps to shock-and-awe Pakistan's economy : R Vaidyanathan

noreply@blogger.com (Vindows) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:31:00 +0000

-December 11, 2008 (from rediff.com)

I did not anticipate the huge response my inbox received for the article slamming Pakistan. Many of those who wrote in have sought concrete steps to tackle the Terror Central.

The terror attack on world citizens at Mumbai has created revulsion and outrage all over the world. It is imperative that India seize the opportunity provided to destabilise Pakistan.

A stable Pakistan is not in the interest of world peace, leave alone India. Army controls the country and owns its economy.

A significant portion of its GDP is due to army-controlled entities (See: Military Inc - Inside Pakistan's Military Economy, by Ayesha Siddiqa; OUP; 2007). One can easily say that Pakistan economy and its Army/ISI are synonymous.

Unless this elementary fact is internalised, we are not going anywhere. This implies we should stop talking of a stable Pakistan since a stable Pakistan means multiple attacks on many more cities of India by that rogue organisation ISI, which is the core of the Pakistan Army and the heart of Pakistan's economy.

Let us not even assume that Zardari is in control. Poor man -- he did not trust his own investigators to probe his wife's assassination -- he wanted Scotland Yard to do the job. Now he blabbers that if his investigators are satisfied, then he will initiate action against terrorists sitting inside Pakistan.

Periodically, the Pakistan Army likes to present some useful idiots (as Lenin would have called them) as elected representatives and we swoon over such events.

India should take the following steps to destabilise the economy of Pakistan:

1. Identify the major export items of Pakistan (like Basmati rice, carpets, etc) and provide zero export tax or even subsidise them for export from India. Hurt Pakistan on the export front.

2. Identify the major countries providing arms to Pakistan and arm twist them. Tell Brazil and Germany (currently planning to supply massive defense items to Pakistan) that it will impact their ability to invest in India. Tell Germany that retail license to Metro will be off and other existing projects will be in jeopardy.

3. Incidentally, after the arrival of Coke and Pepsi in China, the human rights violations of China are not talked about much by US government organs. Think it is a coincidence? Unless we use our markets to arm-twist arms exporters to Pakistan, we will not achieve our objectives.

4. Tell American companies that for every 5% increase in FDI limit for them, their government needs to reduce equipping Pakistan by $5 billion. That is real politics, not whining. Let us remember that funds are in desperate search of emerging markets and not the other way about. Let us also remember that international economics is politics by another name.

5. Create assets to print/distribute their currency widely inside their country. To some extent, Telgi types can be used to outsource this activity. Or just drop their notes in remote areas.

6. Pressurise IMF to add additional conditionality to the loans given to them or at least do not vote for their loans.

7. Create assets within Pakistan to destabilise Karachi stock market - it is already in a shambles.

8. Cricket and Bollywood are the opium of the Indian middle classes. Both have been adequately manipulated/ controlled by the D-company since the eighties. Chase the D-company money in cricket/ Bollywood and punish by burning D-assets in India instead of trying to have them auctioned by the IT department when nobody comes to bid for it.

9. Provide for capital punishment to those who fund terror and help in that. We have the division in the finance ministry to monitor money laundering, etc. It is important that terror financing is taken seriously and fully integrated into money laundering monitoring systems and this division is provided with much larger budget and human resources. And it should coordinate with RAW.

10. Encourage and allow scientists/ academicians/ elites of Pakistan to opt for Indian passport and widely publicise that fact since it will hurt their self-respect and dignity. There will be a long queue to get Indian passports -- many will jump to get our passport -- since they will not be stopped at international airports. It is rumoured that Adnan Sami wants one. Do not give passports to all -- make it a prized possession. Let it hurt the army- and ISI-controlled country. This one step will destroy their identity and self-confidence.

11. Discourage companies from India from investing in Pakistan, particularly IT companies, till Pakistan stops exporting its own IT (international terrorism).

12. In all these, it is important that we do not bring in the domestic religious issues. The target is the terror central, namely Pakistan, and if there are elements helping them here then they also should be punished -- irrespective of religious labels. If Pakistan is dismantled and the idea of Pakistan is gone, many of our domestic issues will also be sorted out.

Will the Indian elite go for the jugular or just light more candles and scream at the formless/ nameless political class before TV cameras?

It is going to be a long haul and may be in a decade or so, we can find a solution to our existential crisis of being attacked by barbarians from the West. We need to combine strategy and patience and completely throw to the dustbin the 'Gujral Doctrine' by that mumbling prime minister about treating younger brothers with equanimity. The doctrine essentially suggests that if we are slapped on both the cheeks we should feel bad that we do not have a third cheek to show.

He, according to security experts, seems to have dismantled our human intelligent assets inside Pakistan, which has resulted in the gory death of thousands of Indian citizens in the last few years.

Such is our strategic thinking in this complex world since our political class is not adequately briefed and the elite don't think through issues. Better to be simple in our talks and vicious in our actions rather than the other way.

Hopefully, this November attack will create a new vibrant India capable of taking care of its own interests.